Welcome Spring!

This week has been a pleasure.
Josh and I had our third marriage counseling session on Monday where we were taught about being a woman of rest and a man of courage.
On Tuesday, our friend Amanda Munoz took some pictures of us. Check out a sneak peak on Facebook and be ready to see more at the wedding reception :)
I babysat on Wednesday and had a blast with the boys.
And tonight I'm going on an early-birthday date with my fiance.

To top off a good week....Anyone love a good yard sale??
Josh and I are still working on raising our support for the last two years of Trek-X. And now that our amounts are about to be combined, the task seems large!
I went to a yard sale in Nashville that supported a family’s adoption of their new daughter from China and I loved buying things knowing what my money was going toward.
So… THIS Saturday, March 31 we will be having a HUGE yard sale in Corinth on Hwy 2. 7am-5pm.

All profits go toward our journey to the Philippines.
 

Please come by if you live in Corinth and be sure to tell all of your friends!  

Have a great weekend and be encouraged... Regardless of your circumstances, Jesus is enough.
Those are the words He has spoken to me this week. He's enough.

Love you all,
Autumn

As I was praying this morning for some of the kids we met in Atlanta last week,  I prayed for a sweet girl named Kimberly, and couldn't help but think of these pictures...

Last March in Atlanta, Josh served with a team at the Pearl Lane Apartment complex. This year, Josh was not able to be in Atlanta with us, but I was placed at Pearl Lane, totally not remembering that Josh had been there until I saw this little girl that I remembered Josh talking about and seeing the picture of them together. Kimberly is a sassy, bubbly little girl who we all had so much fun with. But the special thing about her was that I really saw the Lord working in her. And from stories that Kimberly told, I believe the Lord is working in her mother as well. I don't think that she has a personal relationship with the Lord yet, but I am praying that salvation will come. And that Kimberly will be a light for Christ among the other kids at Pearl Lane. Please join me in praying for her today.

"We give thanks to God always for you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers." 1 Thess. 1:2

Hot-lanta

We just returned from a week long mission trip in Atlanta. We served in the Doraville area where we served last spring and summer. I didn't realize how much God had impacted me there last year. It felt like I was home when we drove down Buford Hwy and all the signs for shops and restaurants turned to Spanish, or Korean, or Vietnamese. I remembered all of the apartment complexes I spent time in last year. I remembered the sweet people at the restaurants who served us authentic international meals. I remembered the presence of the Lord.
Before leaving for the trip last Sunday, I prayed whether or not I should even go. I was supposed to be leading the trip. Monica and I were to show the new Trek-Xers how the Atlanta trips take place. But I had been sick. I have school work. I have a wedding to plan. And I just didn't want to do it. But the Lord reminded me He wouldn't give me more than I could handle. He would see me through. And He changed the desires of my heart. So all of us but Josh (he had to work) packed up and headed to Atlanta.
We led a team from Crosspoint Baptist Church in Starkville, MS. Go Dawgs! Sweet blessings flowed from the Lord from the moment they arrived. I knew most of the kids from last year on one of the ATL trips and from their DNow in January. It felt like family had come to serve with us when they were all getting off of the bus. I was so excited to see familiar faces. The trip went so smoothly. We went on tours of different cultural experiences, such as a Hispanic meat market, international farmer's market, Hindu temple, Muslim grocery store, and Chinese pharmacy. It's always beneficial to learn about what most of the world believes and experience their culture. We heard from Ruthie North about Refugee Beads- check it out if you haven't. We also served in a few apartment complexes, helped out some school teachers, painted a ministry site, and shared the Gospel in the midst of it all.
As for me, the Lord really provided some time each morning where I could get alone with Him. I hadn't realized how much I had been neglecting my relationship with Him lately and exchanging it for acts of religion. I felt as if I had fallen in love with my Savior again. I am so thankful the Lord urged me to go on the trip. I am so thankful for the time He allowed me to spend with Him. I am so thankful for the children we were able to love on. And I'm so thankful for the missionaries who are there full-time and will continue to teach them about Jesus.

Pray for the children and their parents in Atlanta. Many of the are stuck in religions from which are hard to break free. Many of them face challenges as immigrants to the U.S. Most of them are lost.

Pray for the students from Crosspoint. Pray their hearts would be awakened to God's call to make disciples. It's not about a one week mission trip. It's about giving our lives away to the only One worthy. Pray they will minister to the lost people in Starkville.

Pray for Trek-Xers. We have this week off as Chris and Rob travel to the Philippines to check everything out before our big move. Pray for their safety. Pray for us here not to waste our free time, but also that we would rest and enjoy the Lord.

Pray for Josh and Steven as they lead a team in Puerto Rico this week! They left yesterday and will return next Saturday. Pray for salvation in those who don't know Him. Pray for safety and for God to move.

Thanks for reading! God bless you all...

Our trip to Heaven (er)

This weekend we worked another Disciple Now in Lavaca, AR. I led an incredible group of 7th grade girls. I can't lie..when I found out I had middle school I thought "o no, not again. hyper girls and late nights." I almost dreaded it. But I found myself among a group of young ladies who were unbelievably mature in their walks with Christ. They were memorizing scripture, praying for their lost friends, encouraging (and rebuking) one another, and seeking to lose themselves as they obeyed their Savior. I was in awe. Not only at them but at the Power of the Holy Spirit inside of them. Age is no difference. It didn't matter that these girls were from a tiny town in AR. The Spirit was alive and well! Praise God for a joyous weekend.

But the fun didn't end in Lavaca. Josh and I have been long awaiting a trip to Heavener, Oklahoma- Monica's hometown. Sean and Devon (2 other Trek-Xers) are also from Heavener. And it just so happens that Lavaca is only 45 minutes away! So we made a long weekend of it and all 8 of us trekked over to Heavener. I finally got to see Monica's stories come to life. We went to Braum's- a restaurant with amazing milkshakes. We saw Cavanal Hill which just so happens to be the tallest hill in the WORLD. We went to Devon's taek won do school- he's pretty intense :) We saw First Baptist Church Heavene where both Monica and Sean grew in the Lord. We saw their high school..Go Wolves! We went to the Mexican bakery (yum) and the Deer Pen. Deer Pen is literal. It's a pen with deer in it in the middle of town! We visited with Monica and Sean's families. I finally got to meet Opa, Monica's granddad who is hilarious. And my favorite of all, the Runestone. The Runestone is a carving that vikings made in a huge stone when the came to OK centuries ago. There is a state park to honor it and it's beautiful! It's also in the top 3 most visited state parks in OK, according to Sean.

It really was a blessing to get away for a little bit. We all enjoyed just being with each other. Who doesn't love a good 8 hour road trip??

Also please be in prayer for our Atlanta mission trip. We leave on Sunday.  Have a blessed week.

Season of Change

Since December...
A few of us were blessed to work a couple of Disciple Now weekends. For those
who haven’t heard of this, it is a weekend for middle and high schoolers to retreat
and be discipled in the Lord. Josh and I were blessed to serve with some sweet
friends in Starkville where we focused on China and praying for God to move
there. Next we served together in Huntsville where I got to know some sweet
girls and talk together with them about living worthy of the Gospel. In March all
of us will be working another DNow in Lavaca, AR. That weekend’s theme is
missions. We are excited to get to lead some break-out sessions about missions as
well as invest in the students. Please be in prayer for us as we prepare our hearts
for the weekend. Pray that the Lord will raise up students to go forth in boldness
to make disciples wherever they go (Matt. 28:18-20). We're also going to visit Monica's hometown this weekend..I'm so excited!! 

Also in March we will be leading a mission team in Atlanta. I am really looking
forward to being back in the area where Josh, Monica, and I served last spring.
God really used that time to teach me more about dying to myself as I saw
couples who live among the people God has called them to love. I pray He will
display Himself in me the way He did in those missionaries.

These are 2 sweet girls I came to love in ATL.

 
As for our own discipleship in Trek-X, we just finished up the book of Romans and are moving to another New Testament book this week. We are also studying church planting and world geography. I’ve been learning that seeing people saved really is not the goal, but rather Christ-likeness. So we must desciple new believers and teach them to walk with the Lord and spread the Gospel among their spheres of influence. It’s really been exciting to see this displayed in scripture. We’ve also been praying for the persecuted nations of the world. You can find a list of these countries that face torture and death for following Christ at www.persecution.com. As believers, it is our duty and privelege to pray for our brothers and sisters in other nations. 

As for me personally, there’s a lot going on! Wedding planning is going well; most of the big things have been decided and more fun is to come. As for school, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel! I will apply for graduation this month and the countdown is on! I really am enjoying my classes this last semester. As for a little extra challenge, Josh and I are training for the Music City Half Marathon! Since I started running in high school, it has been a goal of mine to run a marathon. I doubt I’ll be running much in the Philippines, and the Music City Marathon has a band every mile, so it seemed like a good time to sign up. We are training for the half and even though it is quite the challenge, it’s been a lot of fun to train together. Overall, life is good and Jesus is all. I do ask you to pray for me to focus on Christ and to see the world in an eternal perspective. My life is in one big season of change! It’s really a sweet time and there will never be another like it so I don’t want it to pass me by. But lately the devil has been twisting my view and I’ve seen most things as burdensome and hard. Please pray that I’ll keep my eyes on Jesus. I’m really grateful for your prayers.

Love in Christ,
Autumn

'Tis the Season

I hope you’re all doing well this Christmas season. I just wanted to write you as we wrap up the semester here in Trek-X. It’s been a semester full of surprises.

For starters, I want to thank all of you for your prayers. Without prayer warriors and the help of the Holy Spirit, I could by no means survive this amazing journey the Lord has given me. I know many of you have been praying for the second half of Trek-X, which will be spent overseas, and many of you have asked me over the past few months exactly where I’ll be those two years. So, with much excitement I want to announce that Josh, Monica, and I will be moving to… 

                                                                  The Philippines!!!

It is so clear that God alone has orchestrated our lives up until this point preparing us for the Philippines. Their culture seems to be very similar to Burmese culture. Praise God He’s given us lots of Burmese friends and many hours we’ve been able to spend with them here in Nashville. It also just so happens that our partner in the Philippines, Barry Philips, has been praying for more missionaries. He already has a couple of dorms/apartments just waiting for believers to live in them! Praise God for answering Barry’s prayers. The Lord has certainly opened the door. So as of now, we will begin walking toward that door and Lord willing we will move at the end of next summer. We’ve already been communicating back and forth with Barry concerning the ministry in Aurora Province as well as about what kind of things we should bring when we come. I can hardly wait to be there! So again, thank you for your prayers and please continue to pray that our Father will prepare us for the next few months leading up to our move and especially for our lives in the Philippines. Check out www.lifttheburden.org to see more of the ministry already happening in the Philippines.

Many of you may know I’ve joked about school being “the thorn in my side” for the past year and a half. This is obviously an exaggeration, but I am pleased to say that I have completed one more semester and only have one more left! I really must admit that I enjoyed my classes this semester and really sought to learn for the sake of knowledge, not just to get a good grade. Nevertheless, please join me in praying that the Lord will give me the endurance and diligence to finish strong. Whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the inheritance as your reward. You are serving the Lord Christ. Colossians 3:23-24

 Lastly, I am very excited to announce that Josh and I have set a wedding date! We will be getting married June 2, 2012 in Corinth. Since I finished up school last week, I have been hitting the planning pretty hard (and enjoying every minute of it!). Josh and I would appreciate your prayers for us as we plan the celebration of our marriage. We desire for it to be an amazing celebration of our Savior. Marriage really is a picture of Christ and His bride, the church. And we want to celebrate that with our friends and family. But, we also want to be good stewards of the money the Lord has given. I ask you to pray for wisdom for us, as we will be making a lot of decisions over the Christmas holidays. Also, for any of you recent brides out there, I’m wide open for suggestions and tips! Thank the Lord for Pinterest!  (www.pinterest.com)

I want to wish you all a Merry Christmas! I love this time of year. As we celebrate the coming of Christ and ponder in our hearts the salvation that he brings, I am trying not to get wrapped up in the glitz and glamour of our world. Instead, I hope to see Christ in all things this holiday season. He is the light of the world. I want to give because of what I’ve been given. I want to enjoy the community and fellowship that comes with all the sweet eats. The Lord changes the seasons and turns the warm to cold. Songs about our Savior’s birth are joyful and offer peace. I could go on and on. It all points to Him. And as I pray for the many people I know who struggle through this holiday because of wounds that it often opens back up, I hope that they will see Christ through the midst of it all. And hallelujah- it doesn’t end with His first coming. He lived sinless, He died, He was raised, and He’s coming again! This calls for celebration! Merry Christmas, friends.

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Isaiah 9:6

Thankfulness

I'm sad that I am just now getting around to writing this, but then again I've had a lot of great things going on and I'm glad I can share them. I'm actually taking a break right now from final exams to write this :)

With Thanksgiving just behind us, I am praying that I, and you too, will have thankful hearts year 'round. When I think about the Lord's provision just in this year, I find myself in awe. In awe of a Maker who loves me enough not only to save me from my sin and depravity in which I was once entangled in, exchanging it for freedom in Him, but also a Savior who delights in being my Father and providing for my every need. Lately I have felt so weak and so small before the Lord. But it has been a good place to be, just resting in Him. 

This month a few of us in Trek-X went to Secret Church at the Church in Brook Hills in Birmingham, AL. If you have never heard of Secret Church or David Platt, here's the website. Platt is a man after God's heart and shares a lot of great wisdom. The topic of this secret church was Marriage, Family, Sex, and the Gospel. We learned so much about statistics of this world and how Satan is really targeting the family, which is actually supposed to represent Christ and the Church. You can get a copy of the study we went through that night from the website. It's full of amazing Scripture and teaching. The couple of days following Secret Church we all went to Barry College in Rome, GA for a retreat weekend. And wow, it was so beautiful! It was really nice to get away from school work and our responsibilities here and just enjoy the Lord, each other, and His creation. 

Beautiful chapel on Barry College campus 

Like I said, it was a beautiful place! 

Over Thanksgiving break, my family retreated to the mountains in Gatlinburg, TN. It was really nice for the 5 of us to get away together. We took in the beautiful scenery, had a Thanksgiving meal together, watched lots of home videos, shopped, and lots of other fun things. Not to be depressing, but it was also my last Thanksgiving in the states for a while, so it was really nice to spend a whole week with them. And on a brighter note, it was also my last Thanksgiving as a single woman :) I didn't capture many pictures from the week, but here's one of me and my little brother at Cade's Cove.

This week we have been participating in Global Summit at Fellowship Bible Church here in Nashville. I have learned so much! Tuesday, we heard from 10 different global partners everywhere from Peru to Sudan to Germany. They shared about their ministries and how the Gospel is going forth in their countries. I was both challenged and encouraged by these strategic partnerships that our church is investing in. Wednesday, we heard from Brian Fikkart, the author of When Helping Hurts, a book about alleviating poverty without crippling the poor even more. My worldview completely changed from those few hours listening to Fikkart. I encourage any and all followers of Jesus to read this book and let it shape your heart to becoming more like Christ. My definition of poverty was reshaped. I learned that the cause is broken relationships with God, creation, others, and self. Thus, we were all poor at one time. And giving material things to those who are materially poor only satisfies their physical needs for a short time. Relationships must be restored and unless this is the aim of our alleviation of poverty, we will only hurt the poor. I could go on and on and on, but I will leave you with these verses: 1 John 3:17-19. Today, we heard from Dave Ramsey, financial peace guru, who shared from Scripture about how to be an entreleader. He shared about having visions and goals and how to better lead those who follow us with integrity, grace, unity, and loyalty. Finally, this afternoon we met with Benny Proffit and Peter Abungu who some of you may remember from last year. They shared about what is going on in Kenya currently and encouraged us to stick to doing what the Lord has commanded us. It was a wonderful week that has really got me thinking and redefining a lot in my life and the way I follow Christ.

This is a shot of the Global Partners and their wives at Global Summit

In closing, I just want to reflect on a few things that I am thankful for and ask you, if you haven't, to do the same.
        I'm thankful for salvation in Christ alone
        I'm thankful for my family- including parents who are still married
        I'm thankful for my godly man my husband-to-be is
        I'm thankful for the funds God continues to provide for me to be at Trek-X
        I'm thankful for a house and a table with food
        I'm thankful for the freedom I have living in America
        I'm thankful to be attaining a college education
        I'm thankful for friends the Lord has given me in the last couple of years
        I'm thankful for the Word
        I'm thankful for mentors and those who faithfully disciple me and pour into my life

Praise be to God for His faithfulness. May you all be blessed this holiday season.

"But whoever has this world's goods and sees his brother in need and shuts up his heart from him, how does the love of God abide in him? My little children, let us not love in word or tongue, but in deed and in truth. And by this we know that we are of the truth and shall assure our hearts before him."
1 John 3:17-19