Tomorrow the second group will be heading off to Haiti! We will be passing the first group in the air as they head back to San Jose. I'm so excited after reading the blog of the group that is there now! I can't wait to see what God will do in the lives of those in our teams and the Hatians there! What a blessing to be able to go and serve and experience what God is dong in another country! To keep updated while we are there check out the blog that WestGate has and that we will be updating while there! I'll update more once we get back! :) http://westgatetohaiti.blogspot.com/
I just wanted to share a cool story. Our small group this last spring semester decided to start fundraising money through recycling. Through our group of seven girls and 3 weeks we raised $68. We decided to take this recycling idea to Awakening (Young Adults Group that I intern for) and fundraise money as a group! It was a fun event with lots of fun announcement videos for it! I have to admit I found a new hobby through doing this and a new revelation that you can make money off of recycling as a fun way for a new game! After our Sunday Ultimate Frisbee games, dumpster diving became a new fascination and every bottle found was like a prize in getting one step closer to fundraising for Haiti. We got creative and raised $154 more in the next month! So fun!
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
July 11th Wedding!
The Wedding was so beautiful and so much fun! A lot of dancing, pictures, fun memories, and one gorgeous bride! The night before we had the rehersal and then went out on a ferry on the lake at the resort for dinner, and then the wedding party stayed at beautiful Raystown Lake Resort! Check out more pictures on facebook! I went a little upload crazy today and yesterday! :)http://www.facebook.com/jessica.birchard?ref=profile
Friday, July 10, 2009
Christy's getting married tomorrow!! :)
I would like to introduce you to my best friend Christy Cannon... soon to be Christy Junod (18 more hours). Christy and I have been great friends since we met in our 8th grade year. Although we only lived in the same state for 2 years, the 7 years that followed grew our friendship in long distance with so many fun memories and trips back and forth to see each other! She has been such a blessing in my life and such a huge influence to my faith. Her family has become a second family to me.. and now the family is growing!! Christy met Anthony her freshman year of college in a shared class where they studied together and then soon after started dating. With the wedding in Pennsylvania, where they both graduated from Penn State, they will begin their lives together in Southern California! :) It is such a blessing to have a great friend as her in my life and I'm so excited to be able to be able to witness the joining of two such wonderful lives and families together!! Yay Christy and Anthony!! :)
(Christy is in the red in the first and green in the second picture)
Meet Erik and ALysa! :)
This last weekend on the celebration of American's Independence day, my old Young Life leader, declared his dependence to Alysa in the union of their marriage! It was such a blast to have old Young Life friends together in a reunion celebrating the life of our old Leader to his new bride!
To get a brief background, Young Life was a huge impact to where God has lead me today. During a time in high school, (where some may call my rebellious year) I went to a Young Life club and got connected in going to their camp at the end of the year. It was at that camp that I learned of my relationship with Jesus as something personal and intimate and began a new journey. After that, I quickly jumped into becoming a leader for middle schoolers and embarked on a life changing experience as Erik took a group of us to Peru! Erik had such a huge impact on my life in introducing me to World Missions through our Young Life trip to Peru in 2005!! It was such a great blessing to be able to witness him and his new wife on their new wedding day! :)
Friday, July 3, 2009
First time to see the ocean!
A friend from work, after being in Thailand, had developed a heart for the country and the people there. He has been tutoring a young boy from Burma English and invited him and his father to go to the beach here in Santa Cruz. I was invited to go along as well. On the ride over I learned that this would be their first time ever that they would see the ocean! I watched in curiosity their face expressions as we drove up and got out of the car. A strong Burmise culture that didn't seem to give much emotion, expressed itself quite differently as I saw a smile come to their faces as they stood on the cliffs overlooking the water. What a sweet thing it is to witness a father and a son together. The father encouraged his son to get in the water as he skeptically walked around, and the father jumped in the water splashing around in the freezing water without a wetsuit.
It's funny how something that I learn to take advantage of began to come into a new light as I started to appreciate their simplicity and point-of-view. I felt so blessed to be able to share in their excitement and try to remember experiencing something so great for the first time! I sat on the beach reading "through the Gates of Splendor" by Elizabeth Elliot imagining what it must have been like for these men as they set foot into Ecuador and began to learn the language before beginning their ministry. Although frustrating at times, that time of preparing creates some of the best and fruitful memories. I'm so thankful to be back in San Jose for this season. I have been blessed beyond measure with amazing friends, godly older women, trials that are growing and humbling me, and a God who promises to never leave or forsake me! I pray that my eyes would never become immune to the blessings He is constantly pouring out!
Monday, May 25, 2009
Freedom Summit Conference
This last weekend I got to go to the Freedom-Summit Conference!!:) It was a super last minute thing but I'm so excited that I went! I tried to upload the video from youtube to give a better idea of what was talked about, but since I didn't understand how to do that please click on the post below to watch it! (let me know if you have any idea how to post the actual video and not just the link).
With quest speakers like Pastor Francis Chan, Bethany Hoang from IJM, David Batstone, Nathan George and Phil Wickham, I felt I left more awakened and aware of the slavery that is happening now around the world and even within California. My heart broke in hearing the song "Amazing Grace" and thinking of the kids forced into prostitution or labor that have not experienced such freedom and then being reminded of the freedom we receive in Christ! There was a girl Heatherlyn who came to open in worship with a few songs she wrote. After singing she said, "We don't only lift our voice to praise, but we lift them on behalf of others." Thinking of my freedoms I started to think how I could use them on behalf of others who don't have them. With all the blessings I receive I know in my heart that they aren't just to make me happy and content, but I desire to use them to bless others. Over and over during this conference I felt this overwhelming peace for the justice God desires for His children and His desire that ultimately they may come to know Him and His love for them!
"Absence of justice leads to people taking advantage" said David Batstone from the "Not for Sale" campaign. David spoke a lot on being who God created you to be, your personality and character and using the freedom you have received to free others! Through him, I heard of a safe house that there is in Lima, Peru!! :) whhaat. I have been to Lima, Peru 4 times and have never know that there was a safe house to host children that have been freed from slavery. "We are all called- it matters in what you are gifted in. It's not 'can I be used Lord?' but 'how can I be used?'"
There was so much more that we talked about at the conference and got the opportunity to learn about in the break-out sessions! Since this is getting long, I will save more for later!! I hope this encourages you to look into the way slavery exists today and how God could use you to bring justice!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained form the world." James 1:27
With quest speakers like Pastor Francis Chan, Bethany Hoang from IJM, David Batstone, Nathan George and Phil Wickham, I felt I left more awakened and aware of the slavery that is happening now around the world and even within California. My heart broke in hearing the song "Amazing Grace" and thinking of the kids forced into prostitution or labor that have not experienced such freedom and then being reminded of the freedom we receive in Christ! There was a girl Heatherlyn who came to open in worship with a few songs she wrote. After singing she said, "We don't only lift our voice to praise, but we lift them on behalf of others." Thinking of my freedoms I started to think how I could use them on behalf of others who don't have them. With all the blessings I receive I know in my heart that they aren't just to make me happy and content, but I desire to use them to bless others. Over and over during this conference I felt this overwhelming peace for the justice God desires for His children and His desire that ultimately they may come to know Him and His love for them!
"Absence of justice leads to people taking advantage" said David Batstone from the "Not for Sale" campaign. David spoke a lot on being who God created you to be, your personality and character and using the freedom you have received to free others! Through him, I heard of a safe house that there is in Lima, Peru!! :) whhaat. I have been to Lima, Peru 4 times and have never know that there was a safe house to host children that have been freed from slavery. "We are all called- it matters in what you are gifted in. It's not 'can I be used Lord?' but 'how can I be used?'"
There was so much more that we talked about at the conference and got the opportunity to learn about in the break-out sessions! Since this is getting long, I will save more for later!! I hope this encourages you to look into the way slavery exists today and how God could use you to bring justice!
"Religion that is pure and undefiled before God, the Father, is this: to visit orphans and widows in their affliction, and to keep oneself unstained form the world." James 1:27
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