Here recently I have been so excited with the way facebook has given me the chance to share with so many people about my internship to Kenya. I have been able to use the site to network with others and share my heart and passion for the ministry all through facebook. In addition to being able to use the site for Kenya purposes, I spend countless hours looking at my friends postings, status updates, and profiles. God has been speaking to me in the past week to stop putting idols before Him. I need to STOP being on facebook 24/7 and start living a life that is not dependent on facebook. Tonight I felt this overwhelming sensation that I need to fast from facebook. Not only do I need to just fast from facebook, but I need to do it for at least a month. My profile is still visible, but I deleted my wall, I stopped all email notifications, and I don't know my password. This semester I have fasted from facebook and I stopped after a week to get on for "support raising." Now, I don't know what my password is and I have no real reason to get on. My goal and purpose in all of this is to show others that facebook is not all that it is cracked up to be. There's more to life than that notification you just received. There's more to life than someone liking your status. In the past couple of months I have found myself updating my status several times a day. You might ask, why? Honestly, most of the time it was to see how many people I could get to "like" my status. Sounds stupid doesn't it? It's the truth.
God has been showing me through various ways that I need to not put anything before Him. God needs to be number one. I can not have any idol before Him: no website, no human, NOTHING before Him. This is hard to completely grasp. Nothing before my relationship with God. That means every time I let my mind wander I have to remember to take every thought captive to Jesus. 2 Corinthians 10:5 "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ." This means that I am going to have to lean on Jesus during this time of not knowing. Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge to him, and he will make your paths straight."
God has big plans for this facebook fast. His plans are so big that I cannot comprehend them, but that's the goodness of the Gospel (that we can't understand how big our God is). This fast will give me time to truly be set free from things that are currently going on in my life and for me to turn my focus towards the One who loves me. This fast will give me time to devote towards praying for the ministry I am going to be a part of and for me to pray for my teammates. Prayer is key with this internship. I need to be faithfully praying with all of my heart (not half of it) for the ministry that I am going to be a part of. God has BIG plans for all of this. I'm trusting in Him to move in my heart and life through this fast.
Prayer requests:
Pray for my heart to be set right in Christ.
Pray for my desires to get on facebook to vanish.
Pray for God to be at the center of all I do.
Pray for revival on Trine University's campus.
Pray for God to be revealed to me in BIG ways through this fast.
Pray for my support to be raised for Kenya.
Pray for current CMF Missionaries and Kenyan nationals currently in Nairobi.
Pray for my relationships to thrive through this fast.
How can I be praying for you? God has gifted me with the passion for praying and I want to lift you up in His Name. If you don't want to comment with your requests, feel free to email me your requests to kenyapray@live.com.
In Christ,
Brandi :)
I will be going to Nairobi, Kenya for 8 weeks during the Summer of 2011. Please pray for myself, my team, and ministry going on there currently.. God bless <3
Wednesday, March 30, 2011
Saturday, March 26, 2011
Testimony
The following is my testimony that I shared with 300 other students, parents, and supporters of Christian Campus House at our Annual Spring Banquet.
For 18 years of my life I was physically, emotionally, and verbally abused by my father. In December of 2007, I left my real family due to a domestic violence case. At that point, I was homeless. I stayed with my best friend for a while before I found a permanent home. I ended up moving into my friend Heather's home permanently. The family was really inviting and took me in as if I was there own child. I was forced to go to church when I lived with this family. I never really "got" the messages or listened to what was going on. The family I was living with helped me get to college.
August 23, 2008 I moved 4 hours away from home to go to Trine University. 4 hours away from my past. 4 hours away from the drama of my hometown. 4 hours away so that I could start a new life. A new life is what I started! The second day I was on campus I went to a worship session with Christian Campus House (CCH). Worship was good and I thought I could get to know a lot of people through the organization. I started attending everything that dealt with CCH from Freshman Girls Group to Friday Night Activities.
Around the middle of fall semester it really hit me that people in CCH were different than me. It really hit me that they had something that I was missing. One of the senior girls in CCH named Erica was very blunt with me one day and asked me why I cursed. I had no response. God spoke to me through her and from that day until now I have stopped cursing. That one step has started a changing trend. I have changed so many things in my life since that day. During Christmas break, I returned to my friends’ house and I was reading a book called "Velvet Elvis" by Rob Bell. This book really touched my heart because it shared the Gospel with me and helped me realize I had a hole in my heart that could only be filled with Christ. I accepted Jesus into my heart!! :)
After Christmas break I started seeking God more and learning more about the story of Jesus. I met with my campus minister, Travis, and he helped me seek God to heal all the hurts and pains from others in my life. He encouraged me to forgive everyone for the things they have done to me that have hurt me. I wrote a list of ways people have hurt me and through a process of a couple of weeks I forgave every single hurt on the list. I forgave my brother, my father, my mother, every single person that has ever hurt me. I had been meeting with Robyn and she was showing me what scripture says about baptism. On my first missions trip to Dungannon, Va I felt God calling me to share with others that I wanted to lay down my past and be renewed in Christ. I was baptized on March 13, 2009! During that moment I could not explain how I felt. God was soo good and I was so excited to be starting this journey of loving and serving Him.
After returning from Virginia, I applied to be a missionary at Cedar Point to tell others about the amazing things God had been doing in my life. I found out that evangelism is not the easiest thing to do, but I knew that God was teaching me how to do it that summer. Between Cedar Point and school I went back to my hometown to stay with my friend and her family. I found out that the Denise, my friends’ mom, had moved out and that her and her husband were in the process of getting a divorce. Being “home” just didn’t feel like home anymore.
After Christmas break I started seeking God more and learning more about the story of Jesus. I met with my campus minister, Travis, and he helped me seek God to heal all the hurts and pains from others in my life. He encouraged me to forgive everyone for the things they have done to me that have hurt me. I wrote a list of ways people have hurt me and through a process of a couple of weeks I forgave every single hurt on the list. I forgave my brother, my father, my mother, every single person that has ever hurt me. I had been meeting with Robyn and she was showing me what scripture says about baptism. On my first missions trip to Dungannon, Va I felt God calling me to share with others that I wanted to lay down my past and be renewed in Christ. I was baptized on March 13, 2009! During that moment I could not explain how I felt. God was soo good and I was so excited to be starting this journey of loving and serving Him.
After returning from Virginia, I applied to be a missionary at Cedar Point to tell others about the amazing things God had been doing in my life. I found out that evangelism is not the easiest thing to do, but I knew that God was teaching me how to do it that summer. Between Cedar Point and school I went back to my hometown to stay with my friend and her family. I found out that the Denise, my friends’ mom, had moved out and that her and her husband were in the process of getting a divorce. Being “home” just didn’t feel like home anymore.
Once my second year of college started, God had been laying on my heart for a while that I needed to reconnect with my real mom. I didn't know how I was going to communicate with her or what I was going to say, so I just prayed about it. Eventually, in October, God led me to write my mom a letter and send it via snail mail. I told my mom that I was sorry for everything that had happened and that I had forgiven her. I told her that I had grown so much. That I had grown independently and that I had found my identity in Christ. I told her I wanted her to be a part of my life again. I prayed over the letter before I sent it in the mail.
On October 31, 2009 I received a text from my cousin Courtney (who is the only family member I stayed in contact with during this time) and she told me that my mom had received the letter and it was the best thing she could have ever received. God knew this was the perfect time for us to reconnect. I could not have been any happier at that point. God had placed my mommy back in my life!
During Christmas break in 2009 I met up with my mom again for the first time in two years. This meeting was in God's perfect timing. It was not easy. It was one of the hardest things I have done to approach my mother, who I had not seen or talked to in two years. One of the first things she said to me is that she just wanted to move on and put the past in the past and have a relationship with me. God answered my prayers! I was so excited to just move forward and have a relationship with my mom!
During this same Christmas break chaos occurred at Denise's house. I came back to Trine a week early because I felt unwanted and uncomfortable. In February, I was emailing Denise and the conversation ended with her telling me to have a good rest of my life and that she did not want to be a part of it. I was homeless, again!
Broken and unknowing of what God's plan was for me, but still trusting Him, God led me to be a missionary with Campus Crusade for Christ for the summer in Wildwood, NJ. This would provide a home for me to go to during the summer, a place to grow closer to God, to share Christ's love, and make money with a summer job. God provided. He not only provided me with a home for the summer, but He provided me with over $3,000 in support so that I could spend the summer telling others about Him. God is so awesome. During the summer God really laid on my heart that being an evangelist is what I am called to do. Telling others about Jesus comes so naturally to me and I am able to open up to anyone. I'm excited for my future missions to glorify God's Kingdom.
It is now my junior year and God has been blessing me with so many things. I have had a home for every break from school. CCH has truly been a place for me to grow in my relationship with Christ. I have been able to share my love for Jesus with several people on campus. One of my friends and I started having weekly “Prayers for Revival” meetings. We pray for God to be known to everyone on campus-students, faculty, and staff. God has been faithfully working to answer our prayers and to make Him known on Trine’s campus.
From June 8, 2011-August 2, 2011 I will be in Nairobi, Kenya with 17 other college students through an organization called Christian Missionary Fellowship International (CMF). While in Kenya I will be working alongside the team of CMF missionaries and Kenyan nationals currently serving there. We will be traveling to the Mathare Valley slum each day to be a part of the ministry going on. Mathare Valley is a one square mile slum outside of Nairobi with approximately 800,000 residents living there. I believe that the ministry I am a part of in Nairobi will bring me one step closer to seeing where God has called me long-term.
This internship would not be possible without the prayers and support of churches, family, and friends. The more I learn about this trip, the more I realize I need people to pray for me. Pray for the ministry that will take place while my team and I are in Nairobi. Also, pray for all of my support to be received. The total cost of the internship is $5,672 and currently I have raised $2,600, which is 45% of my goal.
Through all of these highs and lows in the past four years, God has provided. I am not homeless anymore! I have the new CCH Girls House to call home next year. The Girls House will provide me with a place where I can reach out to the lost and grow in a community of believers. I am excited to see the growth within Women’s Ministry with the addition of the Girl’s House. Thank you for your support to this ministry.
In Christ,
Brandi :)
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
8 Weeks in Nairobi, Kenya
Hello friends!
I have decided to dedicate this blog to my summer internship in Nairobi, Kenya. I will walk through the process with each of you on what God is teaching me before, during, and after the trip. I will give updates on my support that I have raised and prayer requests. I will have a YouTube video ready soon that will give me the ability to share my heart and vision for my trip to Kenya. In order for me to be able to go to Kenya, I have to raise $5,672. As of 3/23/2011 I have raised $2,135 which is 38% of my total! God has been faithfully providing for the ministry that I will be a part of!
Here's a breakdown of what it would take for me to be fully funded with different amounts of people.
If 50 people donated $70.73.
If 100 people donated $35.36
If 200 people donated $17.68
If 400 people donated $8.84.
So, if 100 people were to commit to supporting my internship, and donated $35.36 each, I would have $5,672 and be done with support raising! I am in awe at how God has been providing for me with this ministry. I am trusting that He will continue providing every single dollar that I need.
You might be asking yourself, why is Brandi going to Kenya? Well, in Matthew 9:35-38 it says "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” I am God's worker. He has called me to do missions work wherever I am. On Trine's campus I have had the ability to lead others into a deeper relationship with Christ and share my passion for ministry. For the past two summers, I have gone on summer long missions trips. During the summer of 2009 I went to Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio to reach out to my coworkers. The summer of 2010 I was in Wildwood, New Jersey with 43 other college students from Campus Crusade for Christ. While in Wildwood, I was able to share God's love on the boardwalk, in the community, and at my work place.
Summer of 2011 I will be working in the Mathare Valley of Nairobi, Kenya, a one square mile slum that houses 800,000 people. I cannot even fathom what life is like in this slum! 17 other college students and myself will be working alongside current Christian Missionary Fellowship International (www.cmfi.org) missionaries in Nairobi. The main focus of our ministry is to show God’s love through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). CHE is a holistic program that seeks to transform individual’s lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The ministry there involves vocational training, microenterprise, healthcare, education, evangelism, and partnership with local churches to reach the people of Mathare Valley. My team and I will go into the slums each day making home visits, visiting schools and working with children, providing HIV/AIDS education, praying with and discipling families, and ultimately sharing the love of Christ to those who do not know Him. I believe that the ministry I am a part of in Nairobi will bring me one step closer to seeing where God has called me long-term.
Aside from raising support from individuals and churches, I am currently doing two different fundraisers to reach my goal; a t-shirt sale and wristband sale.
T-Shirt Fundraiser:
Kenya Pray? Wristbands:
I have decided to dedicate this blog to my summer internship in Nairobi, Kenya. I will walk through the process with each of you on what God is teaching me before, during, and after the trip. I will give updates on my support that I have raised and prayer requests. I will have a YouTube video ready soon that will give me the ability to share my heart and vision for my trip to Kenya. In order for me to be able to go to Kenya, I have to raise $5,672. As of 3/23/2011 I have raised $2,135 which is 38% of my total! God has been faithfully providing for the ministry that I will be a part of!
Here's a breakdown of what it would take for me to be fully funded with different amounts of people.
If 50 people donated $70.73.
If 100 people donated $35.36
If 200 people donated $17.68
If 400 people donated $8.84.
So, if 100 people were to commit to supporting my internship, and donated $35.36 each, I would have $5,672 and be done with support raising! I am in awe at how God has been providing for me with this ministry. I am trusting that He will continue providing every single dollar that I need.
You might be asking yourself, why is Brandi going to Kenya? Well, in Matthew 9:35-38 it says "Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.” I am God's worker. He has called me to do missions work wherever I am. On Trine's campus I have had the ability to lead others into a deeper relationship with Christ and share my passion for ministry. For the past two summers, I have gone on summer long missions trips. During the summer of 2009 I went to Cedar Point, in Sandusky, Ohio to reach out to my coworkers. The summer of 2010 I was in Wildwood, New Jersey with 43 other college students from Campus Crusade for Christ. While in Wildwood, I was able to share God's love on the boardwalk, in the community, and at my work place.
Summer of 2011 I will be working in the Mathare Valley of Nairobi, Kenya, a one square mile slum that houses 800,000 people. I cannot even fathom what life is like in this slum! 17 other college students and myself will be working alongside current Christian Missionary Fellowship International (www.cmfi.org) missionaries in Nairobi. The main focus of our ministry is to show God’s love through Community Health Evangelism (CHE). CHE is a holistic program that seeks to transform individual’s lives physically, emotionally, and spiritually. The ministry there involves vocational training, microenterprise, healthcare, education, evangelism, and partnership with local churches to reach the people of Mathare Valley. My team and I will go into the slums each day making home visits, visiting schools and working with children, providing HIV/AIDS education, praying with and discipling families, and ultimately sharing the love of Christ to those who do not know Him. I believe that the ministry I am a part of in Nairobi will bring me one step closer to seeing where God has called me long-term.
Aside from raising support from individuals and churches, I am currently doing two different fundraisers to reach my goal; a t-shirt sale and wristband sale.
T-Shirt Fundraiser:
 |
| Above is the front of the t-shirt. There is an outline of the Africa with a heart over Kenya. |
 |
Above is the back of the t-shirt. My intent in selling these t-shirts is for people to pray more often, pray for Kenya as a nation, and to pray for me while I am there. |
Cost of t-shirt is $20. |
You must pay before you will receive your t-shirt.
Shirts will be pre-ordered and need to be placed by
April 15, 2011.
Sizes are Youth XSM to Adult 4X. Colors are Neon Green and Neon Pink.
If you would like to purchase a t-shirt, email me at kenyapray@live.com Please be sure to indicate what size and color you want. Also, please give me your cell phone number so that I will be able to contact you.
Kenya Pray? Wristbands:
Above are the wristbands that I am selling to raise funds for Kenya. 100% of the proceeds from the bracelet sales go towards my internship! Cost of the bracelets are 1 for $3 or 2 for $5! If you would like to purchase one or more bracelets, email me at kenyapray@live.com for more details.
Prayer Requests:
Pray for the hearts of the people in Nariobi I will be meeting everyday.
Pray that the children would find people to sponsor them so they can have an education, 2 meals a day, etc.
Pray for me to be able to raise all $5,672.
Pray for my team of 18 people who I will be ministering with this summer.
Pray for the current missionaries in Nairobi to get all of the things ready in preparation for us interns.
Pray for Kenya as a nation to come to know Jesus Christ.
Thanks for your prayers and your support as I embark on this journey of a lifetime!
In Christ,
Brandi :)
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