May update :)

FYI: I am PACKED and ready to go :)

Well it is Wednesday and I leave for Dallas with my mom on Friday! I am super excited and can not wait for this weekend and the start of an amazing summer in Japan. :)

Some updates in May...
-Finals stressed me out of course, BUT I did not let them consume me like I have in the past! I did great and was happy with finishing my first semester at WBU!
-I came home with great grades for this semester and was extremely happy about that!
-I received a $400 scholarship for next semester! Anything helps pay for school when you go to a private university!!! :)
-I got to see me aunt from CALI!!! and spend time with her and family members while she was down :)
-I have a friend getting married on August 8th and I will return from Japan on the 6th and be able to make her wedding! How exciting :)
-I have 17 prayer warriors for this summer and am so BLESSED to have people committing to pray for my team and I throughout the whole summer! THANK YOU!!!
-My home church held a commissioning ceremony for me and I was truly blessed by the support within my church and from my family.
-My mom will get to take part in my commissioning with my team in Dallas before I head off!
-I have enjoyed being home and seeing high school friends and my family :)

Prayer requests
-Unexpected money is needed for Japan...
-My debit/credit card has fraud on it! I will share more about this later...

Wake UP!!! The Lord is calling you... Lose the stubborness...

So if you don't know me personally I will be blunt with you:

I am VERY stubborn!

Anyway now that I have set that out there for you I will start my blog :)

Well this deals with last night as well as my past experiences with the Lord calling me to do things for HIM! Last night at synergy I was praying about becoming part of the leadership team for the BSM. It is not like it is a hard decision to make, but I had to make it a hard decision. Why? I am stubborn and I will admit that. I just have a hard time fighting my battles with God and when to do something and when not to. If you read my last blog about how great is our GOD! you would read about another stubborn moment I had. Whether to speak up or not. I am the queen of excuses! So when it comes to the leadership team, I struggle in saying yes. I know I would be a great asset to the team and would love to, but I just am on the fence about it and can't make a decision. Always have my excuses..

Donnie (BSM director) issued a challenge to us last week. Become a servant... Well you know, I thought about it. BUT guess what that isn't good enough! I am so stubborn. I have an amazing opportunity to reach out to several students at my school and build them up, but do I do it? no... One of my close friends that I have made lately allowed me to open up to them. It is so much easier for me to fly across the world to Germany and Japan to share the gospel, but I struggle doing it at WAYLAND! What is going on? Once again I make excuses as to why I won't talk to this person or why I won't say things bother me and explain.

Another challenge offered to me this week... hello Haley you play on a volleyball team... open opportunity to start a ministry... here come the excuses. When is this going to stop? When am I going to just stop with the stubbornness and say yes to what the Lord is calling me to do? As much as I would like to say TODAY i will stop, I still find my excuses... Please be in prayer for me..

Prayer Requests

-A close high school friend of mine, Eloisa Luna, had her father pass away two days ago. Though I do not know how this feels personally, I am so hurt for her. Please pray for the Luna family.

-Please pray for my stubbornness and willingness to just DROP the excuses...

-I am reviewing for my finals :) and :(

How Great is OUR God?

Last night was the last night of SYNERGY for the semester. Synergy is the weekly fellowship that the BSM holds on Monday nights. I have really enjoyed being able to go to that this semester and being able to connect with new friends!

So last night we were singing a song in worship and I just became extremely emotional and convicted of not giving God all the glory. I don't recognize him near enough for the happiness in my life. Then the BSM director opened the floor for anyone to share just how great God is in people's lives. Already being emotional I couldn't talk, well I thought I couldn't. Perhaps I should have and really became transparent to the students I attend Synergy with, but I didn't.

God has done some amazing things in my life this semester and though I was unable to express myself last night, I know I can express it here. And to those of you reading this, I am just being transparent and showing you what God is doing in my life!

This semester started off pretty rough for me and has continually gotten better, but definitely had huge bumps along the way. I came to Wayland knowing 4 people and having only met the volleyball team during Thanksgiving. I wasn't real worried about making friends or finding a church home, just serving God in ways that were still unknown to me. Well I have had my struggles with volleyball, with financial problems, with trust, with raising money for Japan, with my grades, with family struggles and with accepting myself for who I am becoming. What I realized last night and became so emotional about is the fact the God has handled EVERY bit of these struggles and I have yet to give him praise for it. How sad is that!?

The Lord has blessed with with an amazing church here in Plainview and I could not have be led to a better church to call home at Wayland. The university group has been such a joy to be around and build up and keep each other going strong throughout the semester. I have made close girl friends and kept an amazing roommate who I can't wait to have more memories with. Volleyball is getting better and I am slowly, but surely accepting my role. God is helping me through this and I know he will continue to ease my heart. Why did I ever worry about my financial problems with school or Japan? Waste of my time, stress, and I should have been praising God during this whole time. The Lord continues to provide in both of these areas and deserves ALL the praise! Christ has healed my heart through broken and upsetting relationships. He has shown me what real love is and no matter how much I get hurt, he is the ultimate HEALER! My grades are fine and I need to focus on HIM! Not the A or stressing about the B, focus on HIM and give him the glory. My family has struggles, but through everything I know God is working on something wonderful and we will see it someday. Till then I WILL PRAISE MY GOD! Through a very rough and emotional semester these last few weeks have been full of joy and happiness. I can not express how happy I am that I have stuck with everything and not given up! I have been blessed with an amazing friend lately who has pulled me through and helped me to see God's glory. From one friend to multiple other building friendships I truly thank God for providing me with an amazing person to come into my life and whip me into shape!

How great is our GOD? Let me just say that more than any words could ever say, I will praise him for the greatness he has done in my life. It is time to leave the selfishness in my life behind and focus on the fact that EVERYTHING has to do with how great MY GOD truly is!

The harvest is HERE! The kingdom is NEAR! You said ask and I'll give the nations to you O Lord that's the CRY of my heart.

JSI RETREAT!

Well I just returned Sunday night after driving 700+ miles to Davis, Oklahoma! Our JSI retreat was held at Falls Creek this weekend and went very well. We learned a lot of things :)

I got to hear a lot about what our plans are for the summer and how we plan to take these plans on! I am so excited to reach out to Tokyo! We are focusing on west Tokyo this summer and narrowing it down to 9 train stops only. I along with another intern will be assigned a specific area that we will cover the first month with smaller teams that come in for a week or two weeks. Then along side the high school interns that are going to come in in July, we will match up 2 interns and 3 high school interns with larger teams of 200+ that will come in toward the end of the summer! I am excited :)

I definitely have to go shopping :) Sounds like fun, but with limited money for shopping, I will make it work! In Japan we will try to wear mostly dresses and skirts to fit into the culture as well as try to look nice. Japanese women dress very nicely and can be found running around in heels! So cute! So with the many pairs of jeans I have, they will not be used in Japan this summer because it is too hot! Dresses and skirts = party :) I'm excited!

Our goal for the first month of the summer is to get the gospel of John into every mailbox of western Tokyo! That is extreme! Remember that Tokyo alone is at a population of 33 million and is getting close to 34! This gospel along with a card of interest and maybe a small tract will be just one way we will be able to reach those who are seeking something greater in their life! As the return the card to our leader we will be able to personally contact them and continue to plant and grow that seed! :)

I might think of more later to share, but I got to head to class :)

Galations 6:9

SPRING BREAK!

Spring Break was another success this year, but was completely different than last year's! Last year I traveled around Texas visiting friend's and family with my good friend Matt. We went to my cousin's wedding at the end of SB before heading back to NMMI!This year, since I am not at NMMI and am enjoying a little bit of freedom at Wayland I was able to do my own thing :) I wanted to see friends and family for my SB, but ended up just seeing friends! I had planned to see all my family for Easter, but that will be a challenge in itself now. Anyway I got out of school Friday at noon and started my adventure of SB 2009!

Friday- I traveled to Portales, NM to see my good friend Matt and spend some time with him. He had practice that afternoon and after he showered and got packed we headed to Alb, NM to go see his family for the weekend and buy him a puppy! We got in about 10 p.m. that night.
Saturday- We went dog shopping! In the ABQ mall they have an adoption center that Matt wanted to look at for a puppy. We found the dog that we thought he would get, but when we returned later that night the dog was already adopted. Matt's mom and stepdad took us out for dinner at Texas Roadhouse and we had a great time :)
Sunday- The adoption agency would get 3 new puppies this morning, so we went bright and early to see if Matt wanted one of those. But before the mall we went to the animal shelter and looked at tons of precious dogs that needed a home. Matt's mom, stepdad, and little brother came with us and also looked for a puppy of their own. We all ended up going back to the mall and adopting a 4 month pitbull mix! She is precious and Matt named her Athena! We loaded the car and headed back to Portales that night!
Monday-Since Matt and the other guys didn't have spring break the same week I stayed in Portales with the new puppy to help train her! It was an adventure, but I must say I can't wait to have a dog of my own one day!
Tuesday- Matt had school again and football of course so I stayed with Athena working on the potty skills a little more. I was a little upset about the accidents she had in the house, but she is getting better!
Wednesday- This morning one the guys I went to NMMI with that also goes to Portales took me to Clovis, NM to meet IBC from San Angelo to go on the ski trip! I am so grateful they were able to pick me up there! After getting lost in Clovis, Jay and his girlfriend and I finally found the IBC bus! We traveled to Santa Fe to get our rentals and then back to Glorieta to sty in our cabins!
Thursday- We headed out to Santa Fe to go skiing and well for me snowboarding! It was a great long day of fun in the sun on the snow! Most of us ended up stripping down our layers to just a t-shirt and pants! We all had a blast and all got sun burnt!
Friday- Another fun day of snowboarding! I had a great time with my college friends and the little high schoolers who love to be around older people! It was fun! I had many falls and many slides down the slopes, but I am proud to say I stayed up most of the time :) Jordan, a friend of mine cut me off on one slope and in front of about 10 people from our church, I slid 100 yards on my belly! Face first!
Saturday- We all packed up and headed home after an amazing time at Santa Fe and staying in Glorieta cabins! I was picked up in Clovis by Matt and we went to watch a few of his girl friends play in a soccer game! I miss soccer so much :) That night we hung out with other friends from NMMI that go to Portales now and enjoyed a little Mexican Food that made us sick!
Sunday- We had a fun lunch at a Chinese place there that was very good and I am craving it now! I got to play with Athena, the new puppy a lot and we bought her some new food and a fun toy (piggy) that she enjoys playing with! After a long day and many movies I came back to Wayland to start the remaining weeks of school!

-There are about 7 guys that played football at NMMI that now transferred to ENMU to play!

-I have a girl friend that I ran track with at NMMI that now runs at ENMU and one of the volleyball players from NMMI, may also go to ENMU in the fall!

-Athena is precious and helps me clean the nasty boys house when I feel like it!

-SB was fun :)

$620 was my last updated amount that I needed and I am pleased to tell you today that my trip is PAID!!!! I received another $1000 from the missions committee at my home church and have my entire trip paid off now :) I will be sending the final check of $2800 in next Wednesday and have been blessed so much! The Lord has provided and is truly amazing and has shown me this yet again!

School is going well and I have a test coming up soon, but I will live :) For those of you who do not know I am a student that stresses over tests and want a high A! So before spring break you can imagine I was stressing out a lot :) I had 2 presentations and 3 tests to take before leaving on break! It was an adventure, but through prayer God put me at ease and I still did okay on my tests :) This is why we are told to not worry :) It is in HIS hands!

SPRING BREAK! That was last week and I had a great time! I went write another blog to tell you about my spring break and what I did over the break :)! I was able to read on one of my books though. It is The Shack and I am almost finished with it! Then I can start with 2 books I need to read by April 17th!

Well my training weekend in April is coming up soon and I am very excited to drive to OKLAHOMA for the training! I know God has prepared me for this trip in many ways and continues to. This training is one step closer to send off time in May! Please continue to pray for JAPAN and the hearts of the sweet japanese people I will be in contact with!

Well I am off to another blog to write about SPRING BREAK!

Have a blessed week :)

John 3:30

Well with $2200 to go and only exactly 3 weeks to go...
I am excited to report great news! My church at home had another
missions committee and has sent me another $1500. So now my new total
is only $700 and I am so excited about this...

I went home for the final weekend of the rodeo in San Angelo to
see the rodeo of course and spend time with my daddy :) unfortunately
my mom is still in Wink and I haven't got to see her since I left for
Wayland in January. Though I think I will get to see everyone for
Easter :) Anyways - while I was home, I went to church on Sunday
and was given two checks totaling $80 from church members there....

SO --- now my total that I still need is only $620! God is great and he will provide
:) I have been blessed so much through my home church and my close family and
friends who have stuck by me and supported my decision to go to Japan!

Thank you to everyone!!!

On a side note I have been praying about joining my church here in Plainview...
First Baptist Plainview, I have talked to several close church friends and feel
like this is and will be a good decision for me. Even though my home church in San
Angelo is the church I have always grown up in, I practically live here in Plainview.

Well I am off to work at the intramurals basketball game :)

Will update more sometime this week... but I can't promise because

SPRING BREAK starts in twooooo day !!!

Isaiah 41:10