Raridan Mission Trip

Resignation

2011-05-18T16:50:00.000-07:00

Well my friends, it is time to announce that I am resigning from the Nehemiah team of 2011. God has closed the door for this summer for me to be able to go to Israel. If you have donated directly to Royal Servants, then unfortunately I cannot return that money back to you. They can hold the funds that are already in there for up to a year, after that if I do not use it then it will go into their general fund for another royal servant who may need it. For those of you who gave me cash, or wrote a check in my name, i can repay that money if it is your desire. I will be personally reaching those of you who have donated to me. I deeply appreciate the support that you have given me and I do not know God's plans for me for the following summer, but for now, He has called me to remain right here in Yuba City, Ca.

Love to you all,
Brittany

Application

2010-11-23T16:16:00.000-08:00

Due to the compassionate help of my church's mission committee, my application for the Nehemiah team of 2011 went out on Tuesday! I am now just in the process of waiting for the mail to arrive any day now with the Nehemiah preparation packet! It is so exciting to me to know that I am going to go to Israel this summer! It still boggles my mind as to how God wants me to be a worldwide missionary for Him. I dont think that He has made any mistakes here, otherwise, how in the world would I be able to stand here today being able to say that I traveled around western Europe for HIm, and am now in the preparation process of going to Israel for Him! If you would have told me two years ago that all this would be happening in my life, I would have thought that you were completely out of your mind! I am proud of the fact though that I have changed so much in my walk with Christ and that now I am so very proud to be able to call myself a missionary for Him. Not many eighteen year olds are able to say that! It is amazing how God has changed my life within the last couple of years, man, within the last six months!!! Imagine what the world could be like if even 100 more teenagers got on board with God in our community! Imagine what talented gifts God could give them......if only they were willing.......

For Him alone,
Brittany

Nehemiah!!!

2010-10-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

So alittle over a week ago, I got a letter from Royal Servants. And this little letter I thought was going to be the same as all the others. But this one in particular held something of vital importance to me. This letter contained an invitation for the Nehemiah team next summer! Now to describe what Nehemiah is: it is a special team inside the Royal Servants that is for alumni that is by invitation only from any of your previous team leaders. And Nehemiah goes to a specific, special place that is not available to any of the other Royal Servant teams. I was invited by my Euroquest Team Leader, Curtis Burnam, to go with this years Nehemiah team to Israel and Rome, Italy. Now I am not a hundred percent sure, but I believe that we spend most of our time overseas-which is six weeks- in Israel, and then we debrief in Rome, Italy. Of course we will be at our new training camp facility in Wisconsin for two weeks prior to our going overseas. The over all cost for the trip, including my tickets to training camp, is $7,400. This amount is definitely more than last years amount for Europe; but I plan to start my fund raising for Nehemiah as soon as possible so that I may have ALL the money BEFORE I leave for training camp. I would really appreciate your prayers for this upcoming summer for me, especially prayers for my fund raising to come in the way that God plans it to. Thank you so much for all of your support and I am looking forward to another summer spent with the Royal Servants!!!

With His love,
Brittany

Everything...

2010-09-11T12:25:00.000-07:00

Today I have realized that i have not written in a while, and for that I apologize. Today, well for the past few weeks really, I have been struggling with home life. Most of you already know this, but it is not getting any better. All I keep thinking about is the trip and how badly I wish that I could be with every one of my family members that I met three months ago. I still don't understand. Why is all of this so difficult? I can understand having moments of depression over all that I have been through. But CONTINUAL depression is not something that I realized would happen. I keep thinking that I can get through this. I keep thinking that everything is getting better. But then something small triggers me into the dwelling of what I had experienced the last summer and I cannot but feel isolated and alone. I have never felt so alone in my life. And it's not like I can just go into town and hang around my friends there, because since I got back, I found that I had lost every single friend that I had before I left. It is not that I am completely complaining about this because in this stage of my life, I do not entirely mind not having friends. Because in reality, all i want is my friends/family members that are all now scattered across the United States. I wish that things were different. I wish that by now a month after I said goodbye that things would start to progress. But they haven't. I am just a girl who has gotten her whole world ripped out from under her; and the worst part is that the enemy JUST WON'T leave me alone. Every vulnerable spot in my life he keeps pounding away at, and half the time I don't know how to handle it. I know that God is the same God that was in Europe with me, but sometimes I feel like I just can't connect with Him. I feel like I am so far from deliverance that is is ridiculous. I wish that it were not true, and at the end of the day I still hold on to the hope that He has placed in me. But there are days when I feel like I am far from strong enough. Maybe that's my problem. Maybe I just need to accept the fact that I am weak and He is the only strength that can save me. I just pray that that day of rescue happens soon enough. Because I honestly don't know how much more I can take.

I am not writing this so that you could feel sympathy for me, trust that that is not my intention. My purpose is that I feel that people should know the truth about me. The REAL truth. Most of you see me in church and see the smile on my face, but it is not a smile with a meaning that you think it is. It is a smile that represents me keep fighting and striving to stay above water. It means that I have not allowed the ocean's current to pull me under, no matter how tempting that may be. Since there might be questions on how I am doing, I thought that I would satisfy everyone's curiosity. I am not alright. But I am being carried by my Savior. Please do not get me wrong. Just because I have these strong emotions does not mean that I have given up on my strong faith in who God has and will be to me. I have not abandoned my faith in the slightest bit. If anything, I have grown stronger. I am just in a continual entrapment in which I pray everyday that God would not leave me alone to handle. I know and have COMPLETE faith that He will deliver me from the mouth of the lion! But until that day, I can only pray that He hears my cry and attends to me while in my darkest of sufferings.

With Him as my rock,
Brittany

Hello Everyone!!!

2010-08-15T15:36:00.000-07:00

This is Brittany and I am finally back! I am in Arizona visiting my grandmother at the moment, but i return to the good ole Yuba City, California on Wednesday! So I technically am not home yet....but I am back in the US! I could write alot of things right now about how I trip went overall; but there is just honestly WAY too much to share to be able to narrow it down for you. I spoke to you all before i left how i challenged this trip to change me for the rest of my life. And that expectation was far beyond met. I am changed forever for the glory of God's kingdom. My sole purpose is to live out my life for Him. And while I was doing that throughout Europe, I found out who I REALLY am. My title lies in the blood of Jesus Christ. That is just to put it simple. I hope to be speaking in both services next Sunday at church; and if given the opportunity, i will share with you all of the main things that God revealed to me and spoke truth to me. I want to thank each and everyone of you for supporting me. I could not have been able to change for God and reach others if it was not for you. I had no problems when it came to safety and I just cannot express how much gratitude I have for all of your prayers! It has meant so much to me! I will continue the blog from here on in, and i hope to see you soon so that i can share my experiences with you!

With God in every part of my being,
Brittany

DEBRIEFING IN LONDON

2010-08-09T18:49:00.000-07:00

I found this interesting and it gives a good insight as to what the Euroquest team has been up to lately:

EuroQuest: Switzerland, A Spiritual Retreat

Submitted by Lindsey Powell on Sat, 07/31/2010 - 12:37.

In route to Switzerland, we spent a day and night in Italy. We stopped in Verona (home to Romeo and Juliet) and experienced a small town in Italy, and then headed up to Lake Garda. We arrived by late afternoon, just in time for a brisk(!) swim in the lake.

Driving from Italy to the German region of the Swiss Alps is breathtaking. We passed countless bright blue and green lakes, mountains that shoot straight up from the valley floor, and went through over two-dozen tunnels--one of them 20 minutes long. Then, it was on to Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland. Curtis calls the 3 days in Switzerland, a ‘Spiritual Retreat' for the team. He did some teachings, we had a full free day for the team to explore, and we camped right in the center of God's beautiful mountainous creation.

The first morning, Curtis took the team up to the town graveyard and did a teaching on Christ's sacrifice and how our sins died with Him and we must give those up to Him and also forgive ourselves. In the afternoon, we all hiked to Trumbelbach falls- located half inside and half outside the side of the mountain. Our 2nd day there, it was National day for Switzerland. A huge firework show went off at 10pm in Lauterbrunnen, but also other shows in neighboring towns went off until late into the night.... and with the mountain walls, it was LOUD booming and echoing!

During the day off, many of the students hiked all day (10+ hours) from camp, through Murren, and all the way up to Schilthorn. They were tired, but really enjoyed the experience. Other students relaxed and spent the day in Lauterbrunnen.

One of the greatest things the team has experienced and learned this summer is witnessing by actions. Through our words, actions and way we live our life, it is a witness to our faith in the Lord and these students have shown that. At multiple campsites, the owners or diretors have told Curtis how well-behaved our team has been and that we are welcome back at anytime. At night in the campsites, we often have worship time. One or two of our students leads us with his guitar as we praise God. Everytime, other campers are intrigued. They come to join, to watch, to listen. Some start asking questions, others just start singing along. Back in Paris, some of our students had the opportunity to share Christ with girls there age after worship.

We are back in London and beginning to debrief, before heading back to the states!

Lindsey Powell

BRITTANY'S BACK IN LONDON

2010-08-07T17:52:00.000-07:00

Well, as I prepare for my daughter to come home (she arrives in Las Vegas for me to pick her up on August 12th) I am taking the time to realize that the young woman I left at the Sacramento International Airport on June 25th isn't the same woman that I will pick up on Thursday. The emails and letters that I've had the pleasure of receiving from her over the last 6.5 weeks have changed for the better as time has gone by. She has spiritually and emotionally grown into a woman that society, our congregation, me and especially God can be proud of. If you haven't done so, please read the post of July 29th. It shows how far Brittany has come. Spiritually she is years ahead of many, me included. I thank God for molding her into who she is now and who she will become in the years to come.

She is my daughter, she is God's daughter. I am so lucky to have her in my life.

God Bless,
Julie

IN BRITTANY'S OWN WORDS

2010-07-29T17:23:00.001-07:00

Brittany wrote the following from Europe and it was posted on the Royal Servants web site. There are no words to describe it.

By Brittany R.

When I look back on how God has molded and shaped my life, I feel like I haven't just been with Royal Servants for three weeks. I feel like I have been living my whole life through Royal Servants. Now me, and you the reader, both know that that's not true. But as I dwell on the past few weeks, I see a woman of God daily becoming more and more humble in Christ. Granted, I am writing this in a peaceful atmosphere listening to the ongoing church bells in the Czech Republic. But this is not the reason for the humility of stronger faith. Take an inward walk with me, and I'll show you what I am portraying to...

The minute that I stepped onto the plane to Chicago, Illinois was perhaps the most difficult minute of my life. Or at least so far the most difficult minute within my eighteen years of living. It wasn't a question of if this trip was right for [me], because it was! It was a question of, "Am I ready to allow God to stretch me farther than I've ever been stretched?" I found out not a week later that I was. Throughout the past few weeks I have grown patience beyond my understanding. I have found that it is actually okay to not be perfect physically, mentally, emotionally and especially spiritually! And adding to that, I have actually grasped what a woman in today's society should actually look like! A strong, spiritual, God-willed woman is more valued that a gorgeous, skinny model always on the cover of a magazine!

My Father has placed value in my life! He has shattered the walls of jealousy, anger, and hurt that separates me from growing in Him! And I'll tell you another thing... the Lord has given me the strength to refrain from building those walls back up again!

If I had to sum up what the past three weeks has taught me, it is this. An unconditional love relationship with God is more highly valued than any earthly passion that you could ever experience. Fleshly comfort will never last as long as you want/expect it to. The Lord, my Father, knows what is the best possible for me. My God does not know how to fail. His promises are worth far more than the ends of the earth. I proclaim Christ's name on my heart. Woe to me, if I shall ever cease!

THIS IS INTERESTING

2010-07-20T18:41:00.000-07:00

The following was posted today by Brittany's team leader. It gives us all a good understanding of what the team is doing:

Submitted by Curtis Burnam on Tue, 07/20/2010 - 16:08.

Greetings,

We have had a couple of crazy days in Prague. Yesterday the team washed all of their laundry by hand at the our camp site. In the afternoon we went into Prague to do some performances. We got through one full performance and our team went out and started talking to people in the crowd. They had some great conversations with the people. About and hour later we started another performance and immediately drew an even larger crowd. While we were performing a police car pulled up and two police men got out of their vehicle. Lets just say they were not as friendly as sheriff Andy would have been on the Andy Griffith show. They were pretty upset that we had broken the law and performed with out a permit. He said I had to pay a 1000,00 Kc fine or go to jail. I opted to pay the 1,000.00 Kc fine. After that was all taken care of our team got together and prayed for the angry police officer and decided our budget could not afford any more fines. We went to the main square and went out into the city and did surveys which our team loves to do. They spent the next 2 hours talking and sharing with people. I was really proud of them for not getting discouraged and being willing to go out and bolding share without being able to perform. They met all kinds of people from Muslims, philosphers, Athiests, Catholics, and even some Christians.

Today we have had a chance to experience the sights, sounds, and tastes of Prague. They have really enjoyed their time here. God is doing some cool things in the hearts of our students. Tomorrow we leave for Krakow, Poland and will be there for three nights. Please pray for a safe trip and that God would prepare our team for what He has next in this amazing journey we are on.

Love in Christ,
Curtis Burnam

JUST AN UPDATE

2010-07-18T17:25:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,

Well I guess I should check my daughter's blog site more often-she was able to write to all of you!! What a blessing (I just read it myself!!). Communication is very difficult and with moving from place to place every other day I expect that it will get worse. I heard from Brittany via email on July 14th and she is doing very well. God is working in her and through her to spread His word. In her last email she said, "God has been so good and has gone above and beyond for me!"

The updates from Brittany's team are sparse due to their mobility. They are in Prague now and will move on to Poland tomorrow. I'm hoping for photos soon and will share them as they come in.

God Bless and thank you for your continued prayers for Brittany.

Julie

HELLO EVERYONE!!!

2010-07-14T06:43:00.000-07:00

This is Brittany and i wanted to drop in really quick and say how grateful i am right now for supporting me and allowing me be here in London in an internet cafe writing to you guys! I hope that all of you are well and thank you for all of your prayers!

Brittany

TRAINING CAMP VIDEO-VERY COOL

2010-07-11T17:06:00.001-07:00

Reign Ministries posted this youtube video yesterday. This is a great video that was taken while everyone was still at training camp in Chicago. If you look carefully, Brittany's "here and there" in the video (she's wearing a black "Man of La Mancha" t-shirt and has her hair in a pony tail). Regardless of whether you see her, this is an awesome video.

http://www.youtube.com/user/reignministries#p/c/13D78A15A1D6F9BB

BRITTANY IN LONDON

2010-07-10T15:30:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,

From what I've heard from Brittany and the updates her team leader has sent, she is doing well. I've received three letters from her since she's been gone-all were from training camp in Chicago. The only contact I've had with her since she arrived in London is an email a couple days ago. From what she said, internet communication is hard to come by. And it's anybody's guess regarding whether she can make any calls.

They are staying/sleeping at a church called Trinity at Bowes until Thursday, July 15th. At that time the team will leave for Luxembourg. The team arrived in London on July 6th at 8 a.m. and by that night they were doing the Lord's work. They went on a prayer walk and spoke with those in the nearby community. As of July 7th the team leader said he was still looking for a place for them to take showers!! It's my guess that he found a place given that Brittany's hair in the above photo looks pretty "fresh"!

Since that time, they've managed to fit in watching the semi finals between Germany and Spain and will have a victory party tomorrow for Spain. They also have been out in the community distributing fliers for the church and praying for the town. They were scheduled to have a movie night with the town's youth group last night.

From what I can figure, the above photo is from ministry that they did at either a church or community center of some type (given the other photos of the same day).

Please keep all of them in your prayers. Also, please keep the team that went to China in your prayers as they are suffering from severe communications restrictions and aren't able to send information back to the states and their families.

To all of you who supported Brittany and continue to keep her in your prayers, thank you so much. Your prayers and financial contributions have been more wonderful than I can express. As a mother, I'm so grateful that she's been given this opportunity to spread God's word. It's been through your contributions and prayers (with a LOT OF HELP FROM GOD) that she's been able to be a missionary for our Lord and Savior.

Brittany signed thank you cards for all of you and some have been sent out. I need to get the rest in the mail, my apologies.

Until next time,

Julie

BRITTANY AT TRAINING CAMP A FEW DAYS AGO-GOOD PICTURE

2010-07-05T15:18:00.000-07:00

Thought this was a good/fun picture to post. Brittany is in front and in the middle. They are practicing a dance that they will perform overseas.

BRITTANY'S ON HER WAY TO LONDON

2010-07-05T14:55:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,

On July 3rd I received my first letter from Brittany and later that day my first call from her. Training camp has gone well (as of today she's at the airport boarding for London). While in training camp, her schedule was pretty tough. Up at 5:30 a.m. , a morning hike before 7:30 a.m., breakfast, meditation, team building, lunch, three to four hours of preparing for their overseas ministry, dinner, chapel, team building and in bed by 9:30 p.m.

Today is July 5th and I just got off the phone with Brittany. She's at Chicago's O'Hare airport getting ready to board the plane to London. The above photo is her team at the airport (she's way in the back and probably impossible to see-unless, of course, you are her mother!!) They are scheduled to fly out at 6 p.m. Chicago time and land in London at 8 a.m. (London time). July 7th the Euroquest team starts their ministering to those in London.

While in training camp, the Euroquest team wrote a song that has been posted on youtube. Brittany and her team are on it-take a look: TCTV Exclusive Performance: Europe Right Now (this is the name of the video on youtube).

I'll give you more updates as they occur.

BRITTANY IN CHICAGO

2010-06-30T13:59:00.000-07:00

I haven't heard from Brittany yet but her team leader called to introduce himself to me. He said she's doing well and they've had great conversations about God and life in general. Today I was looking at the Royal Servants web site and found a picture of Brittany in training camp. It was good to see her!!! She's leaving for London on Tuesday.

Brittany made it to Chicago!!!

2010-06-27T15:52:00.000-07:00

Hi to all,

This is the point where I take over for Brittany on her blog site because she doesn't have access to email very often, if at all. She asked me to keep it going. She signed all her thank you cards on Thursday night and it's up to me to get them in the mail this week. Thank you to all of you who have prayed for her and assisted her financially.

Brittany left for Chicago on Friday. Her plane was to take off at 1:30 p.m. but it was delayed for a couple hours. During that time, she was able to start making friends with other Royal Servant students waiting for the same plane. It was really moving to see all those young people at the airport so excited about serving our Lord. As a mother, I was comforted by the fact that Brittany was already making friends.

Her plane took off at around 3:30 p.m. and she called me at 7:15 p.m. (our time) to tell me that she'd made it to Chicago. She only had a few minutes because the bus was leaving for the church they were all sleeping at for the night. Although I haven't heard from her since then, it's my understanding that they arrived last night at training camp in Lewistown, Illinois around 7 p.m. They were late in arriving at camp because one of the buses overheated!! Brittany and all the Royal Servant teams will be at training camp until July 5th. Thereafter, Brittany's team will leave for Europe. She will be doing street ministry in many different places and I will do my best to keep up my end of the "posting".

I haven't heard from Brittany since her plane's arrival on Friday night but I will keep you posted.

God Bless,
Julie

Prayer!

2010-06-23T12:28:00.000-07:00

Well I must say that everything has come down to the end. Yesterday I lost my dearest friend/my sweetheart due to the enemy trying to get me to NOT go to Europe this summer. Death entered my household yesterday and I please ask that you pray with me in the protection of my household and my family. This week has gotten worse day by day. Today I must say so far is counted safe, but the grieving of yesterday still lingers. Please pray for me and my family that no more death or loss may enter my household and that I WILL be able to get in that plane on Friday.

Thank you so much,
Brittany

FOUR DAYS LEFT!!!

2010-06-21T09:49:00.000-07:00

Well my friends, I have four more days until I leave for Chicago! I am getting SO excited and nervous at the same time! It is a very nerve racking experience that I am about to embark on, but it will be a life changing one I am sure of. Today is the day that I buy "The Box" that I am to put all of my belongings into. They ask for us not to bring a suitcase but instead a cardboard box that we can discard when we get to Chicago. So all of that to say that you know that I am getting close to leaving when you bring the suitcase out-or in my case a cardboard box! I still have roughly $300 to raise, but considering how much I have already raised, that amount is definitely doable. It is just the beginning to a manic Monday and a roller coaster of a week filled with numerous emotions. There is a joy inside of me that I cannot contain though! God has blessed me more than I would have ever imagined! I hope that my testimony can be a light and a hope to those of you who may be struggling a little. But I can say that all of my patience and listening to God has paid off in a way that is astounding to me! So now that I kind of went a little off track, I will tell/show you my itinerary so that you may be able to see where I am going and all of that good stuff! So I will end this posting here, but there is definitely more to come in the near future!

With God's joy,
Brittany

Training Camp
Jun 19 - 25	Staff Discipler training at Training Camp
Jun 26 - Jul 5	Student training at Training Camp
Jul 3	Open House .... at Training Camp

Western Europe
Jul 5	Fly to London Depart Chicago/O'Hare 6:00PM Virgin Atlantic #40
Jul 6	Arrive London/Heathrow 8:00AM
Jul 7-14	Ministry in London
Jul 15	Drive to Luxembourg, ministry
Jul 16 & 17	Frickenhausen, Germany
Jul 18-20	Prague, Czech
Jul 21-23	Krakow, Polond
Jul 24-26	Vienna, Austria
Jul 27-29	Pula, Croatia
Jul 30	Milan, Italy
Jul 31-Aug 2	Lauterbrunnen, Switzerland
Aug 3-5	Paris, France
Aug 6	Drive to London
Aug 7-11	Debrief in London
Aug 12	Return to the USA

Depart London/Heathrow at 11:00AM
Virgin Atlantic #39
Arrive at Chicago O'Hare 1:55 PM

New and Awesome Yard Sale!

2010-06-18T22:04:00.000-07:00

Why hello there. I finally have the address of the yard sale tomorrow. It will be at 3066 Elmer Ave in Yuba City. There will be collectible items within Nascar, snoopy, and smokey the bear. Other items include: snow tires, lazy boy recliner and sectional, baby accessories, women and children clothing, wet suits, camouflage gear, bone china, crystal from Germany and much much more! Please come by between 7am and 12pm if you are interested in supporting me!

Great Thanks,
Brittany

Fundraiser Results!!!

2010-06-13T18:44:00.001-07:00

Both the Mary Kay and the Car Wash went very well! On Friday, i had five people attend the Mary Kay party and we all just had a blast! There was a very good number of profits attained and I am MORE than grateful! The Car Wash today was very hard to come by with different obstacles that the devil placed before our feet this morning, but I have to say that it was very rewarding! We finally did make it over to blockbuster just to find out that a girl's soccer team had an even bigger car wash set up not even 200 yards away from us! As discouraging as that was, the five of us still pressed on! I had two friends from the church who helped along with a very loyal friend of mine, and of course my mother and sister were there! It was very rewarding to get your hands dirty and receive some well earned cash for the mission trip! I thank you all for coming and don't forget that I still have one last fundraiser! The yard sale is on Saturday, June 19th from 7am to 12pm at Darla's house which I actually do not have the address right in front of me! I do know that it is on Elmer street in Yuba City though!!! As the countdown is starting to come to an end, I am getting a mixture of emotions: excitement, nervous, scared, afraid, happy, humble, at peace, etc. I would still like to ask that you would continue to pray for me whenever my mission trip refreshes in your head. The power of pray has been shockingly amazing these last few months and I hope that these worries and waves of fear will all be worth it!

Thank you so much,
Brittany

More Fundraiser details

2010-06-11T15:24:00.000-07:00

Ok so now I have a couple of changes with the three fundraisers. The Mary Kay party is still going on tonight at 7 pm in the fireside room in the church. But the car wash has been changed to this Sunday at one at the blockbuster on Colusa Highway. The yard sale location for next Saturday still has not been resolved but it will be soon enough. In correspondence to my funding, I have roughly $2,033 in my account. There is still $900 in promised funds that have not been accounted for and then I still have the contributions from the upcoming fundraisers. Also, Gene Abshier has been a tremendous help in that he has a scholarship that I hopefully apply for back East that can possibly give me $1,000 for my accounting. Finally, funding and accounting is starting to pay off and come together! I am now able to start focusing on packing and getting excited for the upcoming six weeks of mission work! It is amazing how things that we never thought would work out, actually, work out! I don't know how all of this has come together in time, but then again, knowledge of how God works is not something that I should be intuitive about. All I can feel right now is gratitude for how much God's love is present in my life and in the lives of others who have contributed to me. I do believe that the dawn of my mission trip is starting to rise. This whole funding process has had it's fair share of troubles. But fortunately, God has placed the right people in my life to encourage, motivate, and even contribute to me! I want to leave you with a scripture that I did devotions on this morning to the kids in Summer Drama.

Psalms 46:1-7

1 God is our refuge and strength,
A very good present help in trouble.
2 Therefore we will not fear,
Though the earth be removed,
And though the mountains be
carried into the mist of the sea;
3 Though its waters roar and be
troubled,
Though the mountains shake with
its swelling

4 There is a river whose streams shall
make glad the city of God,
The Holy place of the tabernacle of
the Most High.
5 God is on the midst of her, she shall
not be moved;
God shall help her, just at the break
of dawn.
6 The nations raged, the kingdoms
were moved;
He uttered His voice, the earth
melted.

7 The Lord of hosts is with us;
The God of Jacob is our refuge.

With nothing holding me back,
Brittany

Fundraiser Dates

2010-06-06T17:40:00.000-07:00

So now I have an accurate date for each of my three fundraisers. The first one is the Mary Kay meeting held on June 11th at the First United Methodist Church in the fellowship hall at 6:45pm. The second is a Car Wash at Les Swab Tires on Bridge St on June 12th at 10am. And lastly, the third is a yard sale on June 19th starting at 9 am. The location for the yard sale hasn't been finalized yet, but if you have anything that you would like to donate to the yard sale that would be deeply appreciated. On the funds side of everything, yesterday I made out literally sixty phone calls to different people seeing if they would like to contribute to my mission trip. The result was very gratifying in that I received over $1,000 in agreed contributions. I still have a couple businesses that may be able to contribute a substantial amount and then the next three fundraisers hopefully will also help me reach my goal. I will be posting an exact update of the yard sale details later in the week and if you would like to attend to the Mary Kay meeting or help out with the car wash, please let me know. Thank you!

By God's grace,
Brittany

Funds

2010-06-01T16:01:00.000-07:00

As the time is ticking down to the final month of preparation, I find myself not being exactly were i would like to be at this point. I have roughly $1,500 in my account but others have said that they will donate. I have been making follow up calls to make sure that those contributions be met. I will shortly be having a Mary Kay meeting in which a sales representative has agreed to give all of the profits to me, so i plan to bring in a large amount of people for that meeting. Also I will be hosting a large yard sale with hopefully a barbeque included. If you have any donations that you would like to contribute, you can pay it directly online at www.reignministries.org/sponsor-rs. Any contribution would be deeply appreciated! funding is still in motion, but prayers is the thing that I need most of. Thank you in advance!

Future in His hands,
Brittany

Airline tickets

2010-05-16T22:24:00.000-07:00

This Sunday was the day in which the video was shown in front of the congregation. It went better than I expected! I had fifteen responses afterward, all of which were very interested in what I was doing this summer and what God will do in my life on this trip. So after counting the number of supporters today and from previous days who have agreed to contribute, and if everyone follows through on their promise to donate, then I will have met the $1,300 fee for my airline tickets! That is right Barbara! You are off the hook! I did it! This sum of my present funds is also 1/3 of what i need overall for my trip, so I am definitely on my way to supporting the trip to Europe! This is very exciting news to me! Alittle stress has been released from my shoulders, not a lot, but enough to be grateful for! So to EVERYONE who has contributed in either prayers, money, or both, I thank you so very much. All of your help is DEEPLY appreciated!

His joy living in me,
Brittany

Pictures of Europe!!!

2010-05-10T17:24:00.000-07:00

Church video

2010-05-10T15:47:00.000-07:00

Today, I will be recording with Mindy a one minute synopsis on why I am going to Europe this summer and it will be presented in front of the congregation this upcoming Sunday. I will be standing after service next to Pastor Lois to answer any of your questions and to give you some brochures if wanted. I promise that this is one of the first of many fundraiser related things to come. On May 23, I plan to go to Grace United Methodist Church and present my testimony in front of their congregation and see if anyone would like to make donations. I am in contact with the Pastor of Calvary Christian Church and am working on sending out the second batch of support letters. Along with that I am still working down my list on calling the addresses to the individuals who i have sent out support letters to. And finally, I am calling local Christian businesses to find out if they would like to donate to me as well. Progress is in motion, it is just seeming slow to me, hopefully not to you though. Please continue to pray for me, I definitely need it!

With all of His love in me,
Brittany

2010-05-08T23:03:00.000-07:00

I first off would like to thank the missions committee for sending out that email and supporting me. I cannot express enough appreciation! Today, i called thirty people regarding the support letters, and we will see what happens. I have about fifty more to do, but am taking it one step at a time. It seems like steps are coming together for me, it has just taken what seems like a long time. I hope that now financially things can come along smoothly. I feel like a million strings are pulling me in a million different directions, but i know that God can cut all those strings from me. I believe that He can do that for my personnel life as well, it is going good, but there is always the fear of it all coming down on top of you. Prayers would be so great right now if you have the chance. It is hard right now on not just me but my family as well.
His love burning inside of me,
Brittany

2010-05-04T15:10:00.000-07:00

Earlier then I expected, roughly eighty support letters were sent off in the mail at approximately nine o'clock this morning. I have to say how surprised I am at how fast and unexpected God has been working in my life. I hope that all of you received your letter today, and if not then you will be getting yours shortly! All donations are helpful as well as grateful and I appreciate your support! Thank you so much!
Your sister in Christ,
Brittany

2010-05-03T15:16:00.000-07:00

On friday my prep packet finally came in! I have been supplied with many different pamphlets for my support letters, which will be going out as soon as possible, and many other details on how my trip will go in order. receiving the packet has brought alot of hope and joy, along with some more stress but i have to trust that God will provide for me in every single way! Please continue to pray for me and my family that all of this will come together in the way that God wants.
Only through His strength,
Brittany

2010-04-26T15:22:00.000-07:00

I am very sorry for not writing as much as i should have, it has been a very busy last couple of weeks, but now i am so blessed to be given the next step in my Europe preparations and am now going to start cooking! My application will finally go out today, due to some complications, and within a few days 150 support letters will be on their way into the mail! Now that many school related distractions are out of the way, i may focus very deeply into what God has planned for me this summer! I am so very excited and am ready to do what He is calling me to do!
All because of Him,
Brittany :)

2010-04-10T19:44:00.000-07:00

Today, well actually this weekend hasn't entirely gone the way i expected it to in regards to my progress for the preparations for Euroquest. Application is still not sent out, but by Monday, it shall be. Some good news is that i addressed and stuffed fifty more letters today and will all be going out in the mail as soon as possible. I would like to ask for some prayer if you have a second today. These preparations have been very stressful and draining, and it would be greatly appreciated if you could keep me in your prayers. The power and grace of God is still surrounding me, I just still need to keep my patience and focus still so that everything will fall in order.

Through His strength alone,
Brittany

2010-04-06T14:24:00.000-07:00

Finally after days and days of recovery, I am back from my high school's (Faith Christian) Mexico Outreach! I could describe in detail all of the things that happened to me within this past week, but there are not enough pages to write in and not enough words to describe exactly what happened. What I can say is that, I now know the woman of God that He would like me to be. For quite some time now I was not entirely sure. But now, I see myself ready to do amazing, crazy things for God! I will never be the same; this past week has changed my life in every way possible. All of this in relation to my trip this summer, I know that Europe is definitely going to be a defining moment in my life. Mexico has mentally and spiritually prepared me for the great things that God has in store for me. I am so excited to be able to know where God is calling me to go. I can proudly and confidently say that Europe is only going to be the start of many frequent international mission trips. It is a scary thing being called to missions at least part- time at such a young age. But at the same time, it is something that gives deeper meaning and purpose to my life. I will conclude today's post with this mission trip to Europe this summer as being something that is very vital for me. It is the start to greater things and the start to the rest of my life.

2010-03-23T15:24:00.000-07:00

yesterday and today i have been working on the little touch ups for my application and for my letter. now i have quite a few addresses and have to start printing off the letters and writing down the envelope addresses yeahhhhhhh! its pretty exciting! so hopefully i can have my royal servants account set up very quickly so that anyone who would like to contribute money can sent it directly into my account. but yes all exciting stuff and now i am off to go finish up some last minute things for my mexico trip in three days!!! please keep all of us in your prayers!
His strength forever in me,
Brittany

The first of hopefully many blogs!

2010-03-21T21:02:00.000-07:00

Well here I am on this beautiful Sunday night and I am now 95 % done with my application! I also finished my letter so no i just have to go get some nice fancy addresses and sent those babies out! its been a crazy long day; scratch that. Its been a crazy long weekend! Still haven't recovered from the many hours of sleep lost within the week. I had a long LONG senior project that I had to finish and now had to finish some crafts for my schools Mexico mission trip. We leave this friday and are gone for eight days! It's really exciting but also stressful! I should just start saying goodbye to sleep cause i never get any these days! but yes, back to my mission trip to Europe. Lately i have been very encouraged by the progress that two of my friends have been making on their fundraising. It gets me to thinking whether i should try something on my own or just let it be. I honestly don't believe that I can do anything type of fund raising by myself and with the little time that i have available now, I believe that it is next to impossible. But I am very VERY happy for my friends who have made such great success! Keep going! I am so glad that God has gifted me this opportunity to go to such a remarkable place this summer and experience His love and mercy among others! I am so filled with His joy and comfort right now! Well, I think that is all she wrote and I will write more when I can get the chance! Please keep me and all the other students and trainers going on missions this summer in your prayers!
With His strength in me,
Brittany