Oh Canada.

Oh Canada.

As some of you may know last weekend was Canadian Thanksgiving. Living in such a place as YWAM, where we have people from everywhere (including this great land) we celebrate!

So we had Canadian Thanksgiving, which is pretty much the same as American Thanksgiving (I’m pretty sure they stole the idea from us- but hey, if they want to be grateful too, I guess we’ll let them). Honestly, it was wonderful, especially as I will not be in the States this year to celebrate my country’s day of giving thanks.

Here they are singing their national anthem:

 

Over the last 5 weeks and for the next 15, I have gotten and get the privilege of living with a bunch of these wonderful people.

Here are a few things I have learned about Canadians:

-They don’t look like Eskimos and they don’t live in igloos (don’t let your children’s picture books lie to you).

-A bunch of them speak French
-They have things called “ketchup chips” (Yeah, I don’t know… but I’m gonna get to try some real soon!)
-Our “smarties” (like the candy) are their “rockets”
-They don’t say “eh” as much as you think (though they will say “hey” quite a bit)
-Did you know that just as we have Captain America, they have Captain Canada?

-In school, they learn American geography (bonus points if my American readers can name two Canadian provinces)
-They can be pretty patriotic (at least the ones I have met)
-Canadians are treated better than Americans in other countries (hmm… makes me wonder how I can acquire Canadian citizenship)
-They really are a lot like Americans. Or maybe we’re like them.

Either way, I like this country I have never been to, but I really like (emphasis on the really) its people and hope I can go there soon!

Road Trip Canada 2014?

 

 

 

 

What do you get when...

What do you get when you put:

7 Canadians

 

1 Korean

Newlyweds from Norway

12 kids

A Malaysian who’s lived in the UK for the last 20 years

1 Costa Rican

A bunch of Americans

All adding up to 37 people (emphasis on the 37)

 

 

In a house, all together? Yes, I said all together.

 

Well, let me tell you.

Music- with half the group being musically inclined and the other half loving the music, beautiful noises can usually be heard. Whether it’s in its raw or packaged form, music, and thus, worship happens. It is a wonderful thing.

 

Mess- There is always a mess to be found no matter if you cleaned the entire house just 3.5 minutes before.

Food- People like to eat, we are no exception. The great thing about living with a diverse group of people is that there is a plethora of new foods to try and learn about. I ate octopus for the first time during one of our “Asian nights.”

 

Conflict- You don’t think that we all sit around, holding hands, singing Kumbaya, everyday, all day, do you? As much as I’d like to think we do, we don’t.

Conversation- with 37 people, there is always someone to talk to.

Prayer- While we may not hold hands and sing Kumbaya, we do like to pray. So, if you need prayer, this is the place to go. ;)

Creativity- Whether it be deciding on the most effective spot for the garbage can, editing photos, creating newsletters, or coming up with fund-raising ideas, creative things happen here.

Laughter- If laughter extends your life, I think we can all add a few more days to ours. We laugh at (I mean with) each other, we laugh at something funny the kids say, we laugh at our cultural differences, and whatever else there is to laugh about. This crew is pretty hilarious and we know how to laugh at ourselves.

Family- and I thought living in a family of 10 was large… but seriously, though we may not be blood-related, we are learning to relate to each other as family would. We even got our “mamas” and our “little brothers” and just last night I even heard someone say, “Goodnight black dad.” Yeah, we’re family.

 

 

This is just a little taste of what I’m experiencing and the loveliness that surrounds my daily life. And you know, I like these people.

 

I like them a whole lot. :)

A Morning Run

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

 Just a couple weeks ago I went running down our curvy, uneven “base road”. As my feet met the asphalt, falling into a sort of rhythm and the cool morning breeze kissed my face, I began thinking about life and what my future held. I had a feeling that God had something to tell me.

 Running across the second bridge on our road, marking two miles, I turned around and began running back. When I was about one mile away from home, God told me to start walking.

I didn’t want to at first; I was determined to run the entire way.

“I want to teach you something.” God said.

I slowed to a walk and as I did so, I came to a place in the road where there is a sort of turn-out.

The obvious, and most logical, thing to do at this turn-out was to keep walking on the path I was on. My path was straight forward, would take less time, and took no deviation from what I had already planned.

“Take the turn-out.” God whispered to my heart.

“God, this doesn’t make sense.” I thought. “If anyone were watching me, they’d think I was crazy. I can see the path directly ahead of me and it leads me to where I’m headed. It makes absolutely no sense to turn.”

“Do you trust me?” God challenged.

“I trust you.” I replied and turned off the main road.

Soon after I took the turn-out, God began speaking to me even more:

“There’s going to be times when I ask you to do something that doesn’t make sense. It may even look stupid and foolish to those around you watching. But you can trust me.” 

As I continued, I saw a bag of chocolate covered cherries on the side of the road (you never know what you’ll find…). I picked it up; it was trash and I was going to throw it away.

“Put it down.” God said.

“What?” I thought. “God, it’s trash and I want to be responsible for where you’ve placed me”

“Do you trust me? I want to show you something.”

Somewhat reluctantly I put the bag back down on the side of the road.

“That’s not your burden to carry.” God said.

I continued to walk. A few minutes later I saw another bag- this time it was a light grocery bag on the left side of the road.

“Pick it up.”God said. 

I picked up the plastic bag and walked onward.

“This is your burden to carry.”

When I got to the main campus and was now only a very short distance from my home, I threw the grocery bag in a nearby trash can and walked away.

 

“I didn’t tell you to throw the bag in the trash just yet.” I felt God say.

“You have got to be kidding me.” I thought. “I am going to look really crazy walking back to the trash can and pulling out trash I just threw away.”

I walked back, pulled out the plastic bag and walked home, where I then threw the bag away.

“I haven’t called you to carry everything, but I have called you to carry something. And with that, I haven’t called you to carry it half-way, but to carry it to completion.”

Needless to say, I learned something that morning- a lesson, I believe, that was not just for me now, but for the near future.

~*~*~*~*~

One week later, overwhelmed and stressed with things going on in my department (currently I am the head of the House Keeping department for our YWAM campus) and with people coming to me with issues needing to be resolved, I broke down and cried,

“I’m just trying to figure out what burdens are mine to carry!”

Immediately I remembered my morning run from a week previously and God’s word to me, speaking of a specific item, “This is your burden to carry.” It is then I realized that the lesson God was teaching me was being applied, right where I was at, in the leadership position I am in.

As leaders, it is easy to take on too much- “burdens” that are not ours to carry. God has not called us- you or I- to carry everything. However, he has called us to carry something; something that he wants us to carry well and to completion.

I’m still learning, and in the process of learning leadership and gaining new responsibilities, one of my questions has now become, “Is this my burden to carry?”

If it is, I pick it up. If not, I leave it on the side of the road and keep trekking. Eyes focused ahead of me, feet moving forward, carrying me home.

 

 

 

 

Saying Goodbye...

Saying goodbye is never easy. Goodbye means change. Change is hard.

In a place like YWAM where people come and go constantly for schools, missions trips, volunteer opportunities and sometimes just to visit, “Goodbye” is said far too often.

Something I have discovered in the last year and a half of being here is that no matter how many times you’ve said it, it doesn’t get any easier.

We’ve had people of all ages, cultures, and walks of life, and for the few weeks or months they are here, they become family.

A tatted up pastor’s kid, who slept under my parent’s kitchen table for a night, with an upbeat personality from Switzerland; a quiet and reserved guy who has a great sense of humor from South Korea; a tall white boy who loves singing Adelle and is beast at making blackberry jam from Missouri; a South Korean girl with a heart for missions like mine; an adventurous and outdoorsy family from Pennsylvania; a girl with a great sense of adventure from Canada; a photographer who claimed he found a “rocket” from Kansas with a heart for Latin America; roommates from Brazil who would let me pour out my heart as we cooked and ate together; a guy from Mexico who inspired me to learn more Spanish; a runner from Alaska who’s biked cross country; and the list could go on…

These people have come and gone, but they’ve left their mark on my heart.

They have inspired, encouraged, and comforted me. We have talked, ate, cleaned, traveled, laughed, sung, and even cried together. We were friends, and we were family.

While I hate saying goodbye, I have found this one fact to be comforting – I now have a home in various areas of the world; on every continent almost. It’s like I told one friend, just the other day, in my broken Spanish, “Mi casa es su casa. Ahora yo tengo un casa en Mexico.” “My house is your house and now I have a house in Mexico.”

I can’t help but think that the people whose lives have crossed my path, isn’t just a coincidence. I believe that while (as much as I hate to admit this) there will be some people I never see again, I think there will be others that I will one day get the privilege of eating, talking, laughing, crying, and ministering alongside with again.

Thinking of that gives me hope and gets me excited.

I know I still have many more goodbyes to say, but I also know that “hellos” are in store as well.
 

So thankful for this journey I’m on and the people I meet along the way,

Brittaney :)

 

My Ministry, YOUR Ministry

Hey Friends!

As you know, I’ve been working as a missionary with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for the last year, here in Chico, California. Being with YWAM, I rely solely on the support from family and friends (and ultimately God) in order to do the work that he has called me to do.

I have been so blessed by many of you who have supported my dreams, vision, and calling throughout the years. My stories are your stories and my victories are your victories! People are experiencing freedom because of you. Lives are being changed because of you. I’m not just saying this; I have personally seen lives changed through my ministry, which in all reality, is your ministry. My younger brother, Aaron, has been one of those people.

A quick testimony about the goodness and provision of God-

For the last month I have needed jeans; every single pair I have, have been mended at least once. Just yesterday I received two gently used pairs that fit me perfectly (this is amazing in and of itself as I am so short! Haha.) Then last night, I thought about how I needed to buy fruit, but really don’t have the money to do so. This afternoon I was given a bunch of apples and oranges! Wow. Praise God! I felt as if these two things were small reminders to me that he’s watching out for me and that he sees what I need. I serve a good God.

I strongly believe that God provides miraculously and he also provides through the generosity of others. Would you ask God if you may be one of the ones who will support me?

If you believe you are, donations can be sent directly to me via snail mail. Gift cards to grocery/general stores are great too!

I literally cannot do this without you. I appreciate you. Thank you so very much for listening to a piece of my heart.

Brittaney :)

Training Warriors

“Papa, this is where Warriors are trained.”

 

These were the words uttered from one of my youngest students to his father as they walked by our school one day.

This profound statement from a Kindergartener is confirmation to what God told me a few months prior.

In August, right before school was to start, I was sitting at my desk looking over the classroom. Thinking. Praying. In the quietness God spoke to me:    

“This is where warriors will be trained..” He said.

I am training warriors. Warriors.

These aren’t mere children- these are warriors! This sort of stuff gets me excited- hearing God speak, getting confirmation about what he said, realizing the immense responsibility I have been given, and remembering that it is these kids that are going to impact nations and change the world!

During class one day, we were talking about different countries when one of my kindergarteners says to me, “Miss Brittaney, I’m going to go to China.” Another one pipes up, “I’m going to go to China too!” Then I replied, “No way, I’m going to go to China one day too!”* The second child got really excited and said, “We’ll go to China and then we’ll see Miss Brittaney there!”

This brought tears to my eyes, seeing their passion, excitement, vision, and faith. Wouldn’t it be something else if one day, we all ended up in China at the same time? I mean, come on now, that would be more than coincidence! I wouldn’t be surprised though if it happened, God works in crazy amazing ways and he speaks to even the youngest of people- often times they can hear him the best as they haven’t had their minds filled with doubts and very little seems impossible to a child.

Friends, look at the children around you and learn from them, champion them- they believe they can do anything, and really they can. After all, nothing is impossible with God- the dead can be raised, cancer can disappear, relationships restored.

Become like a child today. Believe in the impossible- or rather, the possible that we’ve been told will never happen. 

*When I first felt called to missions, God put the country of China on my heart. I don’t know how, I don’t know when or for how long, but I do know that one day I will go there.

A Declaration

Monday, April 22, 2013

This is my declaration- of sorts.

The last few weeks I have really desired a family- of my own. A husband, maybe a few kids, you know. This isn’t the only time I have felt this way; it just seemed to come up a lot more this last month. It’s like it was staring me in the face- almost taunting me- reminding me that I’m single and I have not yet found the person with whom I’m supposed to share my life with.

I know I’m only 21, young and “have my whole life ahead of me”. It doesn’t make the waiting any easier.

Back to my declaration-

In this season of my life, I am choosing to be content with being single. I am choosing to be happy and happy for others who are in a different season of life.

I am choosing to lay down this “right” of having a boyfriend and completely give it to God.

  Completely being defined as:

-every day telling God, “I’m yours, my heart is yours, my dreams and desires are yours, I trust you. I know you “have it” and I don’t have to worry about anything.”

-taking my thoughts “captive”. Meaning, when a thought about a guy/potential husband comes to mind, I will stop and give it to God. Telling him again (reminding myself) that I am his and I trust him, he’s got it.

-surrendering my ideas of what my future husband should look like, act like, dress like, smell like, etc. (Haha, no worries I’m not that particular- then again, some of my friends may beg to differ).

I am choosing to enjoy life and get the most out of it that I can.

I am choosing to be and become the woman God has created me to be.

I am choosing to follow God’s voice, doing all that he asks me to do- including the little things.

I am choosing to be “all there” wherever I am; doing everything with excellence, joy, and purpose.

I am choosing to put my focus on Christ. It is for him that I live and serve and love. For HIM alone.

I realize these are a lot of “not so easy” choices- ones that will take deliberate action and thought. I know it won’t be easy. I also know that I won’t get everything right. I will mess up, I will make mistakes, I will fail a few times. However, I will pick myself back up again- or in all actuality-  let God pick me up, set me back on my feet and remind me,

            “I’ve got you. We can do this. I love you. Stay focused on all that I have for you here and now. Trust me. I’ve got your future. I’ve got your heart, dreams, and desires. I have not forgotten them. I have not forgotten you.”

 I choose to be wise with how I spend my time. (yeah, this last one seems “out of place” but it’s gotta go in here somewhere!)

 This is my declaration.

 Brittaney