Surrender

sur·ren·der

səˈrendər/

verb

verb: surrender; 3rd person present: surrenders; past tense: surrendered; past participle: surrendered; gerund or present participle: surrendering

1. 1.

   cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to their authority.

   "over 140 rebels surrendered to the authorities"

   synonyms:

   capitulate, give in, give (oneself) up, give way, yield, concede (defeat),submit, climb down, back down, cave in, relent, crumble; More

   antonyms:

   resist

   • give up or hand over (a person, right, or possession), typically on compulsion or demand.

     "in 1815 Denmark surrendered Norway to Sweden"

     synonyms:

     give up, relinquish, renounce, forgo, forswear; More

     antonyms:

     seize

   • (in a sports contest) lose (a point, game, or advantage).

     "she surrendered only twenty games in her five qualifying matches"
   • abandon oneself entirely to (a powerful emotion or influence); give in to.

     "he was surprised that Miriam should surrender to this sort of jealousy"
   • (of an insured person) cancel (a life insurance policy) and receive back a proportion of the premiums paid.

noun

noun: surrender; plural noun: surrenders

1. 1.

   the action of surrendering.

   synonyms:

   capitulation, submission, yielding, succumbing, acquiescence; More

   • the action of surrendering a life insurance policy.

Such a simple word at first look and yet such a complex one. last week I had the opportunity to take a Walk in a park in North London, while walking I wanted to have a chat with God about the upper coming year for 2014. I usually ask God for a word that I can focus on and seek His wisdom and favour, usually it takes a while. After a while like a magical wand was waved over my mind or shall I say the Holy spirit impressed on my heart Surrender... I chuckled and said 'God can it be that simple' after a couple of days I would remember that I asked God for a word for this year and Surrender still came up.

Surrender such a big word for I defiantly have issues I am naturally inquisitive and that can often lead me to stubbornly submit to things, I have don't like the idea of yielding my planning and dreaming, relinquishing control is an issue of mine.  And while I admit this now before this word came into my heart, I thought I had progressed and I still think so but I know my Father and when He places a word on His Daughters heart its usually because he wants me to gain strength from Him, He wants me to overcome, He wants me to mature, gain new depth to what He wants for my life.

God is so amazing, he can capture with one word, I keep on thinking about Surrender what it will do to my life and my outlook, how this year of surrender is new territory. I often think of myself as my friend calls me a "Wild Pony" and In many ways she is right, I like to roam, feel the most free trotting around the ranch solo. A pony if its wild needs to be broken , eeekkkk!!! can we stop here broken sounds painful to me and I don't like pain. I mean I am the one that yelps anytime she get a boo boo or a paper cut . back to what I was saying - When a Pony is being lets use the word trained needs to its  bad habits in turn replaced with good ones, boundaries need to be set for where a pony can roam and in essence what use to bring it freedom most likely gave it death and so a whole new transformation has to happen. I know,  I am running with the pony theme a bit to much but you get the gist.  Surrender or I shall I say Surrounding with everything in me makes me squeal. I know why and I am going to try and be as transparent and honest as possible because it will require something that will cost me, something I know and believe I don't have and because of that I know that this most be a God thing. God is never settled with things that he is making anew and for that I am grateful.

Surrender ? so what does that mean for me well I think it means that I need to relinquish control, submit, allow God to do what He does best being Him.

So I am saying it here and I am saying it in faith that God will help me in all these areas to surrender.

I surrender :
Family
Friends
Work
Mission
Finance
Passion
Purpose

Choices to You, believing that you are making this a goal for me this year but ultimately for my life.

You know whats amazing about a Wild Pony that has been trained, it no more a pony or wild it becomes a horse..  usually the trainer will tell you that the beauty of the horse once grown is the fact the wildness is used at it full potential no longer is it unfocused or wondering but its drive, passion, beauty is now on display not hidden for the greater good.  I think I don't mind going through this adventure if I come out on the other side with God and a bit more character and maturity in my spiritual bank.

My prayer for me as well as you is this :

Although frightened, uncomfortable and not sure what's next that You Oh God is good, wise, holy that everything that has happened or will happen is in your hands and so are your children. Thank You Father for allowing us to grow and mature, I pray we would be less apprehensive today then yesterday and that Your will would capture our attention and our passion. May Your Kingdom be glorified and may You Show us favour in 2014 to do what you have asked and go beyond the minimum and go for it.

What Now ?

I wasn't sure, I knew things were changing whether I liked it or not and I knew that wherever I went God had to be leading me there because In my mind Missions was it....

A chapter in my life ended when I left Pais, My life didn't end. It felt like that for a while and at one point oh so very real. And then like that I woke up and felt a little bit more like me again, more like a person I use to be, more like a person who enjoyed blogging and telling stories about my life, more like a person who wants to continue Living A life To Serve and all the mess stuff in between like the mistakes, the failures and the success'.... So here I am  blog world- take a look at my life and hopeful you will learn something maybe even avoid some stuff and while your reading have a laugh, get the fact that this girl Love Jesus but like so many before needs Him so desperately that to not have him would be more a a disaster then an scary movie. 

So What Now ?   

I am living in London with my lovely but strange family and I am trying to figure out what jobs to apply for and not quite sure what next ? 

What Now ? 

Well I took a few months from serving anywhere, I found a local church and started attending community group which is actually called Gospel Community that serve a local estate in Camden and I am very blessed that God would lead me to such a church and such passionate sweet people :) 

What Now ? 
London is a different beast no more Howdy's or Hi y'all, smiles from strangers and tons of invites from people who barely know you to a big BBQ Dinner that very evening. I do adore  my city and I am starting to see the why its so amazing but I also find it quite difficult to reach out, serve a people who are cold or unyielding to help offered. Its gotten me in trouble but thats the price you pay when you want to be a light in a world that is dark, wherever I am God has placed me here, all I can do is be faithful with what his given me and try always to live out what He is currently teaching me ....

So what Now ? An amazing plan that God has had in store for all His Children that want to do His will ... 

Hi Lovely people,

this week was my birthday week, we have a tradition in my family. We have a week of good food and fun and often loads of giggles. Since being in the states it hasn't been like that for me but I have had fun.

                                        


I received an amazing neckless from my one of my closets friends: it had my favourite shape : star and a sister charm but also a Envelope charm . It gets even cooler. You could actually open the envelope charm and put small notes inside. My friend left me a sweet note and I have worn the neckless since last sunday.

Well on Tuesday I felt God dropped on my heart to remove my sweet note from my friend and replace it with the gospel, because someone would ask what it was on what was in it and so I did , in expectance and excitement... this could be so cool I thought.

I went to lunch and no one asked me and I thought ok God when will I be able to share the gospel and how, the day is over but maybe tomorrow.  So I went about my day and went to meet my student , who so happen to bring a friend.... Well I was excited to share somethings that my student and I were going through but soon realised that the girl my student had brought was engaged but never heard the topic of honouring Principles and the rules of things aka the things we are told in the Bible..

Soo after I finished our mentoring, explaining as much as i could and asked her to pray about what she heard, "I don't know how to pray she said and I know what God is but I am not close to him , how do you do that  and yeah what is that on your neck " YIPPEEEEE!!! praise the Lord. I proceed to tell her the gospel in the middle of Starbucks and after that she accepted Christ into her life.

 Did I use fancy words and made a perfect speech and explain in and out of being a Christ follower. I just asked if she wanted to know who Christ was for herself, if she wanted to make room to allow Christ to do His thing in her life and follow him, once she started to search more and be taught more about Him. She said yes!!

Our God is great , he can use anything, if your willing and man did he do something ... I am going to meet with the student this tuesday and I am excited to share with her more about the word of God....

Please keep us in your prayers

REMEMBER God can use anything to speak to people, make space and room for Him to use you...most likely you will do a much better Job then this awkward, babbling girl from London


Much Blessing and Peace

Please if you know anyone who would like to read my blog or interested in being on my mail list, prayer team  or a financially sponsors me  please send me your email below

 :)

Rocky Road ...He is stable

Hi Lovely people,

Its been a long time since I updated you on my blog, I am sorry.

SO many things have happened but I will try and keep it detailed but yet brief.  I know without a doubt that I have been stretched beyond my comfort zone in every area of life- spiritual, physically and emotionally.

My first big blow last semester was losing a team member, Cochran was a great addition to the team but he didn't realise the commitment and decided to leave in later October, I could not help but think that I could have done more to keep him here with us on mission but once he made his mind up, he was gone.

To be honest it was defiantly a blow to my leadership ego but also personally. When your on a team, your together all the time more so then any family member or best friend could be and you become like family in a very short time.

I do believe that God had a plan and I know it wasn't a surprise to Him. We had to move around a lot of things but we are still passionately serving on mission. We have become wiser in our work instead of trying to compensate for our team turning into 2 girl band.

God is so good he has given us more opportunities to partner with the other team in the Arlington area and we have been able to speak to more students and lead Bible study then I thought possible....

November we began to lead a strong group of students in mentoring- helping them gain understanding of how to be a good example, a Godly leader and servant to the community.
Our Students are so passionate about serving they really needed people to come along side them and encourage them to pursing showing people the kingdom of God in there serving.

It reminds me of A service project we had for students in December: we invited students to help with a service project day our aim to serve 3 charities and present the gospel message with children  and play games face paint kids faces at a apartment complex  in one day.

We invited our students to arrive at the church at 8am to rehears the gospel message and go onto serving our first Charity only 3 students turned up . it was quite funny because it was two guys and one girl. Both guys are quite and one in particular is super quite, it made me sad that many didn't turn up - but my heart was so overjoyed that these 3 did  overall the group of students are quite and reserved but I was excited to see how God moved on these students hearts.

The practiced the play and then we moved onto  help a safe house with the yard work and some basic housecleaning chores. Not once did we here are students complain. How crazy amazing is that, students who don't complain..WOW !!

We also went to the apartment complex and the students loved on  the kids and painted faces and played games and when we presented our play some kids knew about jesus but some did not and Praise God 5 kids prayed the sinners prayer kids style.

It was such a glorious day.

Days like that are one of the many reason why I am passionate about what I do. My students ministered to variety of people, they stepped out of there comfort zone and poured there time, strength and grace upon people that were in need, that didn't know about God. His Kingdom came and was shown by there acts....

My teams in Arlington blessed me with a great gift money to go home and I wanted to thank you all for your sponsorship and support in doing that it was very much needed and was so glad that I was able to visit my crazy, lovely family and friends.  I got to rest, eat and top up on some family time. My family are doing well but still need Jesus in there lives. My Nana of 88 is still passionate for the Lord and is continue to pray for me and the ministry she is what you call a firecracker :)

January came around and Bam! Our youth pastor stepped down due to work, a baby on the way and the commute to Dallas and Arlington.

 I was the youth director assisting the youth pastor and now all of a sudden I am in the youth pastor role, I call myself the youth director, I don't feel comfortable calling myself a pastor and I still am grasping to juggle being a Hub leader managing everyone in Arlington, being a team leader and speaking in schools and mentoring kids and also lead and manage a youth group.

On paper it doesn't make sense in my mind.. its a bit jumble and in day to day it can be really crazy but God has given me this to shepherd  these people to pour more wisdom that God has given me into the students, into the youth group and the other team.


I really appreciate your support in time and prayer and your sponsorship.
Thank you

if you could please keep me in prayer specifically about:
Next year my next step in what I should do with my visa, I have one more year with Pais and I have the next month to think about what I would like to do go home and find a new ministry to be a part of or begin the process getting my green card.

I miss my home but I also have a rule in life: "remember the last thing God clearly told you, to do with your life and stick at it until he says other wise"  the last thing was Join Pais and go to America and since praying about this since October , I have heard the same thing over and over again. If you could pray for me and the whole crazy process that would be great.

I want to lift this up to God as I will need to give my answer to Pais in the next 2 weeks.


p.s
please let me know about your lives, I miss the world not filled with teens, please let me know how your doing and what your up to,,,,

Team- Pais Arlington Central

Hi Lovely saints, Friends, family.

We have had such an incredible journey these past few weeks. We have lead a lesson on Goals at a local JRH:

 We have lead FCA: nine students gave there lives to Christ: Praise God !!!

 Prayer at the Pole

 Lead FCA Games at Local Jrh

 Supported Students at there games

 Served with students and built relationships

 All with my lovely team

 and also invited and challenged our students at youth group come along side us and serve the community.

You did this all, through your prayer and support, through your encouragement. Thank you!!!!
And my team, what an amazing group of people who want to serve and show God Kingdom to the 1,000's of kids we have met this past month.

We have taught lesson, we have handed out flyers, we have prayed with our student, served with them and minster to them and to see my team connect with students like Sarah who was invited by the team to youth group and showed up and enjoyed hearing the gospel or Tray who is a student at the local Jrh who came to youth group and really just jumped in with the other students... All of these things great or small are apart of the journey you are taking with our Father and with me....

We have come against some tricky obstacles but God has found a way FCA at local high school. No kids were expected to come but we went out to the hall ways and invited them in, 20 students came 15 stayed and 9 got saved, who knows what God has in store for all the students that did show up but our God made it possible to allow all of these amazing things to occur at the right time. Praise God that we are living our lives as He would have it

 "May His Kingdom come on Earth as it is in Heaven"


This was just a quick picture update, please keep me and the team in prayer, another up date is always round the corner... Don't forget, I want to hear about your lives, I love hearing update on my friends and family and remember Prayer request are always welcome....

Peace and Grace
Adrienne

p.s
Please pass this blog on, the more the merrier

The Wheel's are turning...

Dearest Friends,

What a month it has been for me, the teams are now on the ground and running towards the goal of spreading the gospel and Christ love for His creation, it truly is a site to see...

But with all this hassle and bussle of things, I see how God is humbling me but also making me into a person of more Character then I ever thought possible. I am not boasting here I am boasting of my weakness but it is Him that is giving me the wise words and plans to lead the teams.

This semester I was given a challenge to connect with the Director of Personnel for Arlington ISD (School governing body) and once I connect with the director work with him to find a way to get the international Pais' into the volunteer system aka allowing them to visit students who are part of the local church they lead in and also make connection with teachers who would allow them to teach in the class rooms.

It was crazy but through prayer and persistence, we finally got an answer that was simple and easy but it had been a problem for years but God's favour was upon us and we finally have it resolved.

Building the youth group:
Our youth group is very small and our challenge as soon as we got to town was laying foundations for the youth to grow . We decided to bring in an holistic model to get the students to discover there faith, pursue it . Which basically means that the students each week would have a different experience: 1- wk it would be pray and worship, 2-wk Bible Study, 3- service project//serve the community 4-fellowship.

The students have just gone through the first month of the model and already we have seen 4 students who's family are apart of the church get connect and regularly attend Wednesday night youth group.

PRAISE GOD !!!!  These students who were outsiders are now becoming people who belong not because of there parents but because of there desire placed in them by God. 


We are seeing students wanting to serve the church , family, community when before they had no avenues to do so..

This Month my personal aim was to connect with girl students that seemed quite distant  in the youth group:
One particular girl, seemed very standoffish towards me and  the team and it just seem very upset by our present but once again, I really felt that I need to make it a point to connect with her and we finally got to talk this week, she seemed very open to me once I started to talk about she was into and her busy school life. So my hope is to see her in a play next month. GOD is so good, I have no clue why she was upset the past few weeks I tried to talk to her, I don't know why she doesn't want to join or like youth group but God made a way for me to talk with her ....My hope and desire is to pursue more time with her and actually get her more connected with the church.

It is a big shock to me that people can come to the church for many year but not want to be connected to the Body and I know God has put this girl in my path to really show her the love, joy and peace God has for his people who fellowship with other people and my fear is that many students do this and walk away from the church because they never experience Gods amazing community... God Community is such an amazing place to understand more about God, His love and who we are as people..

Finally I need to tell you about our first girly hangout :
 it was GREAT...The typical girl stuff occurred, dance generation was played on the wii, junk food and loads of giggles but as we settled down to sleep I was able to talk with one of the girls I hope to mentor this year. Through all the random stories of life, she began to share her heart and the hardship that she had gone through this pass 3 yrs and I was once again blown away by God's divine skill to drawn people together.
I met this girl 3 wks ago and was instantly was  drawn to her.... Although I felt this girl seemed to have it all together and it didn't seem to want or needed a mentor, I had no idea that what she was about to reveal to me, teenage heartbreak, misunderstanding and so much more,  it just broke my heart...

While in the mist of all the heartbreak this girl had experienced I was touched because I heard how God had restored her, brought her out of darkness and the journey of how God was and is restoring her, How much it reminded me of my own teenage years and how much now more then ever I see that God was always with me, watching, waiting yearning for me to call upon Him and how He still is for theses teenagers today ....

It will always amaze me that while I am trying to minister to others they are being used by God to minister to me, it wasn't just another conversation with a teen girl, it was an honour, a privilege to see  the amazingness of God through her testimony....



Thank you so much for your support, Friendship and time for reading this....it doesn't go unwanted please continue  to keep us in pray as a team and for me in leading and guiding these missionaries who are making the generation of missionaries.

If you would like to pass this on to others please do....

Peace and Grace

Love
Adrienne

Beginning of the 4th .....

When I heard three year ago the call to join The Pais Project, I thought that It would be just one year  a year. As I transitioned from team member to team leader and then repeating my role as team leader last year, I had no clue What God had planned. That He was bubbling inside of me a new season that would force me to grow and rely on Him more deeply then ever  before. Once more show me that its nothing to do with me but its all about Him... 

Is it not a shocker that your in the mist of living your life, suddenly realize the many things you don’t know about Him and some of those revelations of who God is, is not even the tip of the ice berg. I mean you grasp an understanding of God in certain areas of your life and then God is also showing you His path is not a game or win or lose or even of luck and chance but of providence or His will and of His heart. 

I am just overwhelmed but happy and grateful that God is in the business of shocking and surprising this daughter of His....

I am in my first officially week of being a ...wait for it... Its a big title...Hub Leader, Youth Director, Team Leader....in other words I am overseeing two teams while leading another and building structure into our youth group.  Its a lot to take in... My prayers turned from my own desires and then into His desire, so once I placed my life in His hands the statement that came forth was Trust in me a little bit more, lean into me more then you ever have and again with some nervousness in my heart, I said yes

Yes to loving people into growth, to challenging teams to push behind the norm and to never settle, Yes to Him and No to me and instead of seeing loads of Oh No’s and eeekkks and I am beginning to see so many more Yes’s and possibilities in my life in then I could every have imagined

My life is in his hands and it really is the best place to be ...