Like A Drum. . .

There is an aching in my belly and a stirring in my soul to write of the wonderful chaos that seems to be swirling inside of me, yet I can find no words. They seem to have been all but used up by the poets and writers who've come before me and who've put what I am feeling into words more beautifully scripted than I could ever dare compose. Yet I need to express it, somehow, someway, in some exquisite form or another, so as to convey to the small world around me the joys and fears that build with each passing day.
I am discovering what makes me come alive and that I am loved and lovely just as I am and have to change for no one. I am capable of much and yet still in need of much grace and wisdom as I travel along in life with the people who are here to travel with me. My dreams and desires are so much bigger than I can even handle on some days, I often think that they are tremendously silly and impossible, questioning if they will be fulfilled or if I will have someone beside me to fulfill them with. This journey is never certain, the people you travel with are never guaranteed to stick around the entire length of the trek, but you travel and press on just the same. You meet new strangers who soon become friends, and maybe something more, you invest your time, risk being vulnerable, and challenge yourself and them to dream bigger and live to a higher standard and calling with beautiful expectations and hopes on the horizon because to hell with it if we're not. There are always new books to read, places to see, people to meet and learn to love, oceans to swim, and dreams to be chased - - the journey doesn't ever end until we're dead. So I am trying to make the most of it, trying not to miss out on the beauty and the mystery of life, yet all the while being extremely terrified and nervous of the next bend in the road. How will it make my heart beat? Will I be able to handle the fierce drumming of stumbling upon something or someone lovely? or even the plummeting sensation of discovering something beautifully painful or terrifyingly risky? I still don't know and may never know. But I have to travel, I have to explore, I must take risks, be daring and bold, courageous and free, otherwise I will suffocate in my need to see and experience all the beauty there is to behold. . . in love.

A&E......anxiety & excitement

Things that cause panic and mini anxiety attacks:

--checking on the flight status for 7 travelers that leave for another country in two days and not being able to find any of the information you need, calling the airline service in a panic to sort out details, then calming down because you've realized you accidentally put in the flight number for the second flight, not the first. Computers cannot read minds nor correct silly mistakes automatically. 

The moral of this story is, "calm down and double check your digits."


There is a very well balanced mixture of anxiety and excitement swirling about inside me as I and my lovely group of girls prepare to travel to the beautiful country of Guatemala. There is no way that this time last year I would have ever thought that I'd be doing this or traveling there. I am learning that when you set really big dreams and goals, even ones you think are outlandish and impossible, that God is still faithful to see that they happen, that those dreams get fulfilled. He knows the desires of our hearts, He put them there in the first place, we simply must learn to hand all of those desires and dreams back into His hands in order for them to come to fruition. These are the truths I am discovering. 

I have no idea what or who we will encounter or what the ministry times will look like, however I know how good the Father is and I am expecting Him and Him alone. I just want Him to work, Him to speak, and Him to move in all situations and in every heart because that is all that counts and all that matters. His glory is our goal. 

Instruction Manual is MIA

This year has been interesting and challenging to say the least. I have learned both the right and wrong ways to do many certain things, which is probably the best way to learn anything, by experience, but definitely not the most fun way. This has made me not only realize the need but also desire to have an older, wiser, more experienced individual leading us younger ones along. There is a reason that the Bible says "Gray hair is a crown of splendor; it is attained in the way of righteousness," because they have walked more abundant roads, seen more of life and people and have taken paths that led to nowhere sometimes, but this and more is what makes them so incredibly invaluable to you and I. (Proverbs 16.31)

Ask questions, don't be shy to call them up and talk about worries, fears, joys, and hopes, ask them to tell stories, share their experiences both good and bad, and just simply listen and learn. Because the best lessons are never taught in a 50x30 room with a whiteboard, rows of desks, and pen and paper, rather lessons are best taught in everyday, simplistic, enthralling life while conversing with friends and family about it all. I wish life were that simple and freeing.. But then again maybe it can be and we just haven't figured that yet.

I want to know all the answers. For goodness sake, where is life's instruction manual??! Because we all know that learning by experience most always means looking like a fool in some way in front of many someones. It never fails. I also have a guilty and judgmental complex, if that's even a thing, where I wholeheartedly believe that a) everyone hates me for getting it wrong and I have therefore ruined all of their happiness in life because I didn't do it right and will feel bad for it until I die and b) they all think the absolute worst of me and pick me apart piece by piece, deciding what else I am capable of ruining and will do so until I die. Looking like a fool never hurt so good! ha Also, I should probably be kinder on myself and humankind as a whole.

So I guess now that I have learned a thing or two about what to do and not do in recent situations and circumstances, I can add that to my pocket book of knowledgeable things I will be able to teach or share one day with the select few who will probably listen. So please, when I am old and have a head of gray hair remember me fondly and send me some snail mail or call me. Mama Jo knows best, eh. *wink wink* In the mean time I'll gather from the wisdom storehouses of the individuals I meet along this beautiful journey so I can add to them and later pour them out once again on the next generation.

His Nearness Is Our Good

Have you ever taken a sip of your drink thinking it was perhaps sweet tea only to find out upon that first swig that you had actually poured yourself sprite instead? Startling isn't it? There is nothing more surprising than expecting one thing and instead getting something completely different, whether that be in drink beverage or in life. Most people don't like surprises, it makes them uncomfortable and nervous usually because they didn't have a part in the planning or orchestrating of it, therefore they obviously don't know what's coming. Rough, I know.

I have been surprised over and over again as of late by not only myself, but also others and most of all by God. There seems to be this lesson that I am in need of learning which is to expect God and Him alone. Not to expect my plans or my co-laborers plans or my teams plans or the pastors plans or the groups plans, but to expect Jesus. Just Jesus, in every circumstance.

Expecting the King means laying down our will, our way, and our rights in order that He be properly exalted and enthroned in our hearts and in our lives. The thing about that is that it's not easy, but that is another good aspect about the Father; He hasn't called us to walk an easy road but just to follow Him. He doesn't burden us but does offer to carry the burdens we and others have put upon our own backs. He doesn't call us to fish for men and speak the truth in love because that's simple and easy, but He calls to do that because He first loved us, He first gave all He had to us.

There is something tender and humbling when we reach the point where we realize He is worth more than our current dismal and trying circumstances. He is a better sight than wherever we may have chosen to set our gaze that isn't Him. He is worthy of being expected in the mundane as well as in the extraordinary events of our life, whether we feel it or not. Because regardless of how we feel He is still and always will be worthy of our praise and adoration.

I do not write this because I have it figured out or have mastered the art of honoring Him with every breath I take, but because I see His strength in my weakness and know that I need Him ever more. His nearness is our good. Expect Him and never be dismayed or disappointed for He is King of kings and LORD of lords, there in none like Him.

~Josie

Steady On

The faithfulness of the Lord is something that I will never cease to be amazed by.

It's been just over a year since I started my last school, Phase II, with YWAM Denver. I had no idea at the time what God had in mind, what He was preparing me for down the road or where He'd be leading me at the end of those 3 sweet and beautiful months. I am learning, yet again, that when you expect Jesus you don't leave disappointed. Hallelujah. During those 3 months God laid so many wonderful and challenging things on my heart to do, He reminded me of my dreams and desires and gave me new ones as well. He challenged me as an individual to step into my calling to lead and challenge others to seek His face through whatever means possible. Many of the teachers who came through that school encouraged us to dream bigger and pursue the impossible, knowing that it can be made possible with God by our side. They provoked us to consider what was important to us and why and caused us to see and understand that that was also important to God. Knowing that the little or big issues that are on my heart are also on His heart gives me such hope, peace, perseverance and encouragement, and a desire to continue to press into His presence so that I may know Him more.

One of things pressing strongly on my heart for the past 11 months has been my hometown of Starkville. There are broken people everywhere, not just here, but this is where God has called me and this is where I am investing my heart and myself in every way I know how for this season of my life. When I came back last July I was devastated and lost as to what to do or where to even begin with bringing the Kingdom and love of God to these people. Everything always looks and sounds so much more clear and doable from 1,000 miles away than it does when it's right in front of your nose. But now, 9 months later, I am discovering the beautiful faithfulness and power of God in a whole new way. Doors have been opened and are continuing to open in unexpected ways through unexpected circumstances and people, which can only mean that God is moving and proving Himself faithful to His promises. It's always so reassuring to know that God is where we are and in what we're doing when we step out and obey. Obedience has its rewards.

I don't know what the next 6-12 months are going to look like; although I have ideas, plans, visions and expectations I can only hope that God has bigger and better ones. I just know that He is making a way and pulling the puzzle pieces together bit by bit and He won't relent until we are fully His -- until Starkville is fully His. I am not sure why He has picked me to help in this task of stirring up the waters, so to speak. There is no better explanation than He is God and He does what He wants, He uses the weak to shame the strong and He deserves all the glory in that. All of it.

Pray with me as I continue to listen and follow where He leads in regard to 1)the city of Starkville 2)establishing a house of prayer 3)leading a young girls Bible study 4)preparing for and leading a mission trip to Central America.

As the Moravian brothers declared, "May the Lamb who was slain receive the reward of His suffering!"


~Josie Lewis

Unedited Ramblings

It's been a decade or something.
I know.

Life goes on. Perhaps not as I envisioned it to be, but nonetheless, it goes on.
My year with YWAM was more than incredible and much needed. Toward the end of my Phase II school this past Spring I began writing down my dreams and visions for life and the future and asking God what He wanted me to do and where he was leading me next. I knew what I wanted to do, if I had had my way I would have stayed in Denver almost indefinitely with YWAM, but I don't regret where God has taken me and what He's doing. Which brings me to my next step, where He called me, which was back home to Starkville, MS. Hesitation and denial were a few of my first impulses, but I knew it wasn't me or my silly mind playing tricks on me. I had a peace about coming home, maybe not completely clear direction or understanding as to why He was calling me home, but I've come to learn that He doesn't reveal all things at once. Life is a process, we have to unwrap it and go with the flow and as we do things will begin to make sense. Which they have.
Things I knew I was to do upon coming back: 1)start a prayer room/group for the community of believers in Starkville. 2)lead another Bible study and lead an outreach off of it to South or Central America. 3)co-labor with God to bring revival to Starkville.

Am I crazy? maybe. Do I care that people think that or don't fully understand me? no.
I'm here on God's errand, not man's, so of course it's not going to look normal or "right" by other standards or even sound realistic or practical. I am but one, but I am not alone.
More than once I have wanted to run back to the beautiful Rocky Mountains I call home, or fly to another country and simply stay there, but just like Esther, I know that God has placed me here for a specific agenda and purpose and if I don't walk in his will and do as He's called me to, He will pick someone else. Courage is growing, as is patience and hope. My timing is nowhere near the timing of the Lord's....nowhere near it.
I just finished planting a few things for this spring, some herbs, veggies and flowers. They're currently sitting in the kitchen windowsill freshly watered and gathering in sunlight. I know it's unrealistic and silly but I've already had the urge, more than once, to run over there and see if they've sprouted anything in the last 4 hours. There is a germination stage and a growing stage which are both obviously necessary before there can be a harvesting stage for these plants. I've gardened for years, I know the process and the toil, trial and error it takes to produce exactly what you want from your garden. However, it is much harder to take that truth and apply it to real life circumstances. It is much harder to pioneer things with people than with plants. Let's just be real.

But nonetheless, here I am, with no idea of what I'm doing. But seriously. Sometimes, actually most of the time, I'm pretty sure there are other people out there who are much more capable and qualified of doing this task than I am, but then we can just go back to that saying that God qualifies the called, not the reverse. Which seems pleasant in retrospect, but in reality it's rather scary because that means he throws you into the situation and then gives you the ammunition and strength needed to get through it. Learn as you go, grow as you go.
These are my thoughts, these are a few of my dreams.
Pray with me as I prep for leading a short term outreach to Central America this summer.
Here's to the unknown and looking foolish for you know Who.

~Josie K. Lewis

Extraordinary.

Ordinary is far from ideal, far from the wild and extravagant dreams and desires I carry deep within my soul. Desires to soar high, run free and do the unthinkable because not doing it would cause me to whither away. Striving for the attainable would be the end all, there would be no gold medals given at the end of the day, no prize to be awarded or trophies to be expected. We would all be taught to just breath. Because that's attainable.
There is a constant beating against my ribs, a pulsing through my body that begs and longs for something greater and more ambitious. That beat longs to be met with the rhythm of adventure and risk, it longs to be challenged and confronted with new possibilities. That beat won't stop, it mustn't. Make music, be loud with the life you have. Carry that beat inside of you to the ends of the earth and back, then when you have done so we can all hear the melody that pulses through your core.

New

Sometimes others words say things better than words from my own mouth. . .


"I wonder if I'll ever find my way.
I wonder if my life could really change, at all.
All this earth..
Could all that is lost ever be found?
Could a garden come up from this ground, at all?

You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of dust.
You make beautiful things,
You make beautiful things out of us.

All around,
Hope is springin up from this old ground.
Out of chaos, life is being found in You.

You make me new,
You are making me new.
You make me new,
You are making me new."

-- Gungor

Home Again...

You would think it's monsoon season here in Mississippi with the amount of rain we've been getting as of late. However, I'm more than sure that the 56% of the US that was in a drought is more than thankful.
The rain always makes me introspective and curious, which probably explains why I have been in such a writing mood these last few days. I'm so thankful that HE made some of us writers and others of us speakers and that I got placed into the writing slot. I like it here.

I've been back home going on three weeks this Saturday. It feels like longer and to be honest I would hop on a plane or in my car and return to Denver in a heartbeat if I could. But I know deep down inside of me where things don't always make complete sense, that I am supposed to be here...now. People ask me, and most likely will continue to ask me, how long I am back for, what my plans are, what I am doing next. Which is a reasonable question I suppose, but the answer isn't so simple or quick as some want or expect it to be. To pour out my hopes, visions, and plans isn't a passing comment I make or a ridiculous notion I've got in my head, rather it's something very close to my heart that very few people will take the time to listen to. That's okay...honest. Because, in reality, I'm probably more scared of my reply and answer than you are of hearing it. It's jolting, weird, out there, daring, and risky, possibly even humbling. But that is what makes me thrive, that is what gets me excited and challenges me even further. I cannot be idle.

Which brings me to my response. All of these questions I receive usually get the response of "I don't know" which is quite embarrassing or frustrating to admit at times, however it is true. I simply don't know. And that's okay. I was listening to a podcast the other day from the church I attended while in Denver, Mile High Vineyard, and Pastor Jay was speaking on evangelism. I heard this message before, I was there when it was recorded, but hearing it again in a new environment with new people, ideas, attitudes, and atmosphere surrounding me provided me with a new perspective on one of the points he made. During this particular sermon pastor Jay was talking about how he ventured out to speak on his public campus about Jesus and did so for years. He said that as he began to do this he began to realize he knew nothing of the Bible because people would ask him questions about scripture and his response would more often than not be "I don't know." However, he would always return to his dorm room and study on the scriptures asked about so next time he would have a valid response.

If you stick with me I'll explain where I am headed with this. I feel like that's me. I'm the one who is daring to do something weird and challenging and only I know the real reason and truth behind it all. I can't help but do and speak and live out what I am passionate about...which is Jesus. I may, and have, started down this really strange and uncertain road with no clear direction, my windshield is fogged and it's raining so hard that I can't see a thing. So I simply sit and wait. I wait for clarity so I can move forward, I humbly and graciously respond to people with the truth, whether that be a clear answer of movement in some direction or a simple and honest "I don't know." But in the sitting and the waiting I am not idle, that must be made clear. Sitting before HIM with desperate longing to know what to do yet simply longing to just be in HIS presence. He knows my heart, He put the passions I have inside of me, He gets it...all of it.

He is more concerned with who I am than what I am doing. That will always remain true.

One scripture that has been running through my head these past few days is Philippians 4:6-7 which says, "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

It's reassuring that even when I don't know the answer, He does and He will come through in due time if we wait on Him. He is good at what He does, always has been, always will be.

~Josie K. 

Journeying On. . .

The school of ministry development that I'm in ends in a week, three months goes by faster than one would first assume. This school and season of life that I am in has been really amazing and refreshing as God has revealed who He is to me, who I am in Him, and what's next in this great adventure.

Recently, as in the past 3-4 weeks, God has been stirring up a raging passion and desire to go back home to Mississippi and bring His kingdom way of living to the lost, hurt, broken, and confused to the people there. Being outside of my hometown bubble has allowed me to see the need, listen to God's heart on the matter, and given me a desire to want to go back and serve, love, and invest in the people there. One day recently during a morning quiet time God brought to mind the story of Esther and how God placed her in such a position that she was able and willing to rescue and save her people from destruction. If Esther didn't do it God would use someone else but He had placed her in that specific position for such a time as this; to rescue and redeem her people, to fulfill the anointing and call on her life. I am choosing to step into this next phase, this next sphere, not knowing what will evolve from it or because of it but I just know that I am supposed to go. Jesus is doing radical things everywhere and I could jump on a plane and fly anywhere in the world to do ministry but if I am not in God's will I won't be accomplishing anything for Him. So I am laying down my want and desire to go to a million and one countries or cities all over the world because I strongly desire to walk in the will of God and I have a strong desire to see my city and state come to a holy, radical revelation of the Father. I can't miss out on that.

God has used this season of Phase 2 to greatly equip me in so many forms and facets for which I am extremely grateful, especially now that I have a glimpse of how all of this preparation and teaching will come in handy within the coming months and years. God is so faithful and kind in all that He does. I am so grateful that His timing is perfect, that He knows best and desire the absolute best for us! Praise the Lord. I am more than sad and heartbroken to be having to leave YWAM Denver, my time and experience here has been marvelous and the people here have impacted and challenged me in so many ways. However, I know God has used this place and the beautiful people here to mold and shape me, to prepare and encourage me to be able to continue to step out on limbs for God even when I'm petrified. I am in love with this incredible God who deserves all the praise, glory, and honor for all that He has done and continues to do; He is perfect.
Keep me in your prayers as I go back home and step out in faith...it could be rough but I know it will be good.

~Josie K. Lewis

Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you, wherever you go.  -- Joshua 1:9

Photo Splurge...

Class Time With These Beauties 

Kingdom Nights

Sunshine Days In Denver

M.I.A.

After realizing and being scolded by a few various people at the lack of blog writing I've done, I thought I owed an update to those who chance to read this (aka my mother and G.C.). *wink wink*

So tomorrow starts the 7th week of my Phase II school here at YWAM Denver and it has so far been fabulous and really eye-opening. Our first week was on Strengths Finder, which is basically this test that we all had to take before the week started to discover our top five strengths and then we spent the next four days detailing, identifying, and learning how to live and function in our specific strengths. My top five, in case you were curious, are Adaptability, Includer, Restorative, Developer, and Connectedness; which basically means I am a relationship oriented person who goes with the flow and loves to encourage people and see them grow and develop into who they're meant to be. Basically. So yea that week of teaching was really enlightening, it brought so much clarity as to why I act and respond the way I do in certain situations and also how I can better serve and relate to other people as I grow into and discover more of who God has made me to be. The speaker, Chey, that week had us make and keep two lists, one was things we loved and one was things we loathed which we filled throughout the week as we came across certain things that we felt needed to be added to one or both of the lists. Some of the things that I wrote down were contradictory or on both lists, which was weird but it was often that it was due to the situation or setting, not that I was bipolar in my reasoning process. For instance on my loathe it list I have both "not making quick decisions" and "being rushed to make decisions." I promise it makes sense. ha. Anyway, it was fun, and still is fun, discovering how to use my strengths and then making a conscious effort to engage and practice using them in everyday situations. Good times.

About two or so weeks ago we had another lady from Boulder come and speak, which has probably been my favorite week of teaching so far. Brenda Lewis is her name and she taught on dreams and desires and did so with such authority, wisdom, humility, love, and laughter. She really had us think and consider what our dreams were and how we were living in order to achieve those dreams and desires, which made me realize, sadly, that I didn't have any dreams really. I had stopped dreaming for so long, I had become such a practical, down-to-earth thinker that I had completely avoided the idea of dreaming because I labeled all of that as impossible and unrealistic. If I can't achieve it then it will never be possible and I will never see it come to pass, that was my thinking for so long. I had gotten used to being disappointed and let down by my dreams and desires in life as I watched them all fall away unfulfilled that I just quit dreaming or allowing God to fill me with new dreams and desires altogether. Sad but true. Throughout the week Brenda challenged and encouraged us to step out on a limb and trust God to fill us with new dreams and to trust Him to fulfill them in His way and His timing, not our own. Nothing ever turns out the way we think it will anyway. So at the end of that week I took out a sheet of paper and began to write and scribble designs and ideas and hopes and plans that I felt God had been hinting at for awhile and things that I am passionate about and now I am so excited about my future, about what God is going to do, about the dreams and thoughts He's got just for me to walk out here and now. Dreaming again has never made me feel more free and alive. God is so faithful!

Tonight my Phase II school is heading up to the Eagle Rock campus for the week, I can't describe to you my enthusiasm about that fact right now, but it is real high! I spent three amazing months up there and so for me it's like returning home, it makes my heart happy. This week is going to be full of good teachings, a hectic schedule, fireside talks in the dining hall, lovely Jesus time, and living in the mountains again...I am stoked beyond words. I hope that you're week is more than amazing as well, filled with splendid moments and good Jesus time too.

~Josie K.


P.S. Shout out to my lovely mother today for being amazing, kind, patient, loving, caring, open, listening, and an all around terrific mother. I love you mother dearest, happy mom's day!

The Twelve

I have been home for three weeks and leave for Colorado again in three weeks which, for me, is more than difficult to believe and wrap my head around. I feel like a) I just got home, b) I just left for outreach, c) I just graduated from DTS, and/or d) all of the above and more. The season of life that I am in now is completely amazing, God is so kind and He continues to teach me so much about Him and myself which daily blows my mind. I've been reading through the book of Matthew for the past month or so because I realized recently that I hadn't read through any of the Gospels in quite awhile. Jesus is such a rad guy and His disciples are almost complete dunce buckets, making me wonder all the more, "why them" or "how did Jesus put up with them?!" Let me restate that God is kind. The more I read in Matthew the more I want to slap the disciples because sometimes they are dumb or the more I want to run and hide from Jesus who is more than amazing and terrifying. But If you think about it the twelve were THE first disciples and they had a lot to learn and therefore they were given much grace. Even in the presence of the Son of God they were free to be themselves, ask possibly dumb questions, and simply learn how to live Jesus and one another. Which is how it's meant to be. We are called to be free and lay our broken bodies before Him unashamedly. The disciples may have not been the brightest bulbs in the bunch but they learned as they walked with Jesus and even though they messed up or didn't even try at all Jesus was still full of grace and love for them.

Some days I'd like to think I'm smarter or wiser than the 12 disciples but then I think 'hey, they changed the world...' They may have had their slip ups and failures, sure, but who doesn't? I know I've had mine and probably have more waiting for me later down the road, but that's not what we focus on, that's not where we place our worth, value, or sights. I've learned that we can't judge our failures or successes by another man's, knowing that that'll just bring frustration and despair, but should learn to judge or measure what we do or don't do by His word. He will always take us back even though the world rejects us every time. We may not be the brightest bulbs in the pack either but He has still chosen us and called us out, which means that He trusts us and loves us; He knows we're capable of whatever He gives us whether we get it on the first try or not.
I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus. Philippians 3:14

~Josie

Gloria a Dios!

It would be nice if I even knew where to start with updating you all on the past 2+ months of my life, it's just hard to wrap life experiences and crazy God moments into a set of paragraphs. I'll give it my best though...

I finally arrived back home this past Sunday after 5 long and wonderful months of being away in CO with Youth with a mission. It has been strange and good being home, adjusting to "normal" life has its highs and lows but God has continued to show Himself faithful and constant amidst it all. Life as I once knew it has forever changed and there is no going back.

Outreach with my team to the Dominican Republic and Haiti was more amazing, eye-opening, and heart-breaking than I could have ever anticipated or imagined. I was asking God before we left for outreach what He wanted me to learn/get out of this outreach and He said "to be more willing." So, as one can imagine, God challenged me and I learned what it looked like to be willing to pick up kids until my back ached; willing to declare to a crowd the things God has done in my life; willing to hike the mountain of death; willing to love when it was hardest; willing to allow God to speak through me; willing to allow God to change me; willing to listen to the rhythm of His heartbeat; willing to bring Kingdom to earth no matter how I was feeling that day. There were quite a few days when I just didn't want to do a thing or open my mouth to share, but God never refused to meet us where we were or show us love in our frail and broken state so I had to daily make a conscious effort to strive to love and serve more. God was faithful to fulfill His promises and show Himself strong even in my weakest states.

On New Years day in the DR our team attended a local church that the DR YWAM base leader, Mitch, regularly attended. This was our second time visiting, the first time I had such a blast...the Dominicans really know how to keep a beat and go wild with it in worship! As we all settled into our seats and started worship one of my outreach leaders tapped me on the shoulder and asked if I wanted to give my testimony because they were giving us a slot that night to do so. I said sure and then started freaking out. I had something prepared but it's still nerve-racking, if not slightly intimidating. I eventually got up on the stage and began to speak in front of 200+ people and had such an overwhelming peace come over me. I was able to share with the people there about how I was once rooted in the lies that the world and the enemy had spoken over me, which lead to rotten thoughts and attitudes. Then I was able to tell them how God's truth, when you read it, listen to it, and accept it, will give you a solid and immovable foundation that gives you freedom and life. I always used to claim that my testimony, because I never got into any real trouble, had no power and would never be good enough for God too use. However, I soon realized that when I'm willing to say "yes" to God and allow Him to do what He wants through my life that anything is possible. God will use every area of your submitted life to bring Him glory, which is a humbling honor. The Spirit was heavy in that church that night and I know God was moving in people's hearts, you could feel it in the air, it was incredible.

After three weeks in the DR we traveled by bus to Haiti. The bus ride was supposed to be 8 hours, it turned into a 24 hour bus ride, but that's another story entirely. Our second week in Jacmel, Haiti we separated into small groups and just walked around the local communities to get to know the people and just be His hands and feet by simply going to communities and to houses asking if we could help them with anything. A lot of the time we would get denied because the people of Haiti don't accept much if any help from others. The first day we were able to help out a few homes, we swept, mopped and did some dishes. They were really blessed by us coming and working like we did, which led them to ask questions as to why, giving us an opportunity to tell them that we were here just to love them and serve them. It was such a encouraging time. The next day we went to another home in the same area, the lady we met at first was quite insistent that she didn't need any help. She was holding her little baby and all the while continuing to say no with a huge smile and a laugh, she was the shyest and cutest person we'd ever met.

We eventually convinced her to allow us to help her out after much pleading and laughter. Her and her husband had just had a baby 29 days before, so us coming to help turned out to be more of a blessing than we initially realized. This small family lived among 3 other families that we later learned were all related to one another. We were able to do more dishes, more than I've ever seen before, sweep their yards, mop the houses, and just sit and listen to their stories. I've never seen a family with such joy and love, they literally couldn't stop smiling and the husband couldn't keep his eyes off of his lovely wife. They were the most precious of families, all of them were so welcoming and generous to us complete strangers. After we were finished with the chores they had allowed us to do they climbed the coconut tree and chopped down each one of us girls a fresh and delicious coconut. We sat around and talked with them while we munched on our coconuts just listening to their stories and hearts, which were amazing and beautiful. What we did was simple, but it was love. However, I'm pretty sure this family showed us just as much love as we did them, they just displayed God's love, beauty, grace, and faithfulness and it truly was a blessing just to serve them.

There are so many more stories, both funny and powerful, that I could share with you, and probably will at some point, but I just wanted to give you a glimpse into what God has been doing and continues to do among His people. He is drawing His children back to Himself and forever revealing His love to the hurt and broken. I serve a big and mighty God and I'm so excited to be on this journey of life walking by His side. May His Kingdom come and His will be done! Gloria a Dios!

~Josie K.

Dominican Republic

I want to start this post off by saying that God is really amazing and He is doing so much here in the Dominican Republic and also so much in my heart. Secondly, I would like to apologize for never updating this thing. My mother harasses me constantly about it and so since I figured this was my last time near a computer for another month I would give you all a quick update.
Never having gone on a mission trip or outreach like this before has been hard at times because half the time I don't know what to expect from ministry times or just being here in general. Which is why I started off this post with the sentence I did.

God is moving so much in the DR and so much in the hearts of everyone on our team as we realize the enormity of His faithfulness, love, and power. Last night we went out into the middle of San Pedro and shared dramas and testimonies with the people in and around the square for our final time of ministry in the D.R. We pull up in our bus and the streets and sidewalks are packed with people and booths and a lot of hub-bub because it turns out that last night was called the Three Wise Men, which is the night before the DR's Christmas for their children. It was totally cool how God timed it all because that festival only happens once a year, so we had more opportunity to rewach more people because the streets were packed. So our team did the dramas and testimonies planned and added in few more because the opportunity to do so was in front of us. We ended the night by asking if everyone in the crowd would come to the front so we could pray for them. Most of them were hesitant but we encouraged them to come up and they all did and we were able to pray with a lot of people with the help of our wonderful translators. I had the urge to pray for this one lady in the crowd and had May, our Spanish speaker on the team, translate for me. We prayed for her and then May spoke truth over her and prayed with her again and she accepted Christ right then and there. (!!!) As they say here, "Gloria a Dios!" There were more testimonies when we got back and debriefed about the night of two other people who gave their lives to Christ and crazy stories that went along with them. I realized again last night through so many different situations and people how perfect God's timing is and how His heart is crying out for each person individually to return to Him.

So yea, my time here has been full of lessons from God, just walking in His goodness, and watching His power be displayed in and through His people in this country. We've been extremely blessed by having the privilege of staying at the new YWAM base here in the DR. I walked into the gates for the first time and was amazed to see where I was going to be living for the next three weeks. We have been blessed with mattresses, a pool, palm trees, DELICIOUS food, and a five minute walk from the beach. But the best part has been the staff here and our translators who all have become our dear friends. The base just started nine months ago with only five staffers, but they have done an exceptional job of serving and leading us by pure examples of faith and love. I have come to cherish the people here with all of my heart and I know saying goodbye tomorrow will be extremely difficult, goodbyes always are for me. God is doing amazing things with the people here at this base to reach out to the people here in the DR for Christ. It's been a huge blessing for me to be a part of that.

~Josie

Eagle Rock

Today I got to climb Eagle Rock. That sentence was easy to type but hike up there was everything but easy. Either I am completely out of shape or my lungs are still not okay with the high altitude. The Eagle Rock campus itself is 8,535 feet high in elevation and Lord knows how much higher the tip top of the actual Eagle Rock is. I am always amazed when my lungs act properly and actually inhale and exhale air in the fashion in which God designed them to do so.

The view from the top was insanely beautiful and it was also insanely windy and cold as heck. But it was so totally worth every painful step to the top. LOVED IT. If I could hike that every weekend I think I would, but the state of my knees, thighs, calves, arms, and overall body is in such agony right now that I think my body would crumble if I tried it again anytime in the near future. However, God's creation was absolutely fantastic and breath-taking, both literally and visually. ;)

Kk, outreach prep is next week and I am excited. I am in SIX skits, which is a darn tootin' lot, but I am pumped...outreach is going to be AWESOME. My team is completely awesome and I am just so ready to set Haiti and the DR on fir for God. whoop whoop! :)

~Josie

(my freezing face & my home from the top)

Introverted Love

Sorry for the absence from my blog and the lack of updates. It's been super crazy and busy up here but I've been having a ball. So, for starters, this past week we had an awesome lady from the Lakeside, MT ywam base come down and speak for the week. She talked on relationships and it blew my mind, half the time i was just sitting there thinking 'oh dear heavens' just because she was so right on and full of wisdom. I really love how God is bringing just the right speaker and topic at just the time i need to hear it. The passion with which the Word is being brought and the zeal with which the truth is coming at me is melting my face off and it's awesome!

Anyway, so she, Kristy Wilkie, talked on everything under the sun when it comes to relationships and was so blunt and real with all of us, it was so refreshing. her black and white teaching method was exactly what I needed and God must have known that because this week rocked my world and the way I think about or treat relationships. At the end of every lecture week we have a time of reflection and this week for reflection we wrote a letter to God telling him what he can expect from us when it comes to relationships. So I basically promised God John 13:35 which says that the world will know you love and follow God if you love others. Surprising as it may be it's really hard for me to step out of myself and my fear of being rejected and love freely. But I want people to know God and know that he loves them and I've been given this exact love so all the more reason to step out of my bubble and love without fear.

One way that i have been stretched to practice this is on Friday nights when we go down to downtown Denver for what we call Kingdom Night. We seek God's face on what his heart is for Denver that night in particular and then go out and minister to the people in whatever way God leads. It was a challenge at first to go out and talk with people and just pray with them and it has gotten slightly easier but the fear of my introverted self is still around. But Kristy Wilkie this week said something that blew my socks off; she said that we have to be people of influence and we can't do that successfully if we stay shy. Basically, we have to lay down our right to being introverted because otherwise we'll never reach people the way God desires us to. True fact.

I'm really excited about what God is doing and where he is leading me. he is stirring up the fire that's burning inside of me and giving me opportunities to apply all he is teaching me. Like, no joke, it's been insane how many doors he's opened allowing me to experience and apply what he's teaching me. GOD IS SO GOOD.

On another note....my "h"' key no longer works. I have ctrl-v'd my way through this entire post and this entire sentence. It is slightly frustrating but it's slowly becoming habit....lol. I ordered a new keyboard today which i KNOW is going to make my typing much easier and my brain much less stressed out. I am allowed to be slightly dramatic about this...yea.

I'm currently sitting next to a toasty fire in the dining hall with awesome people all around. I love the people here, God has set me among such an awesome community of people, I am so extremely blessed. God is good all the time. . . .

~Josie

Update Mate

Today is Wednesday, but you could have told me otherwise and I would have believed you. My days have been thrown so off kilter that it's slightly unnerving. Schedules are generally my friend and routine in small doses is also nice, which is slowly making it's way back into my life. Hi, i'm slightly ocd about those kinds of things.

Anyway, so this past week or so has been a crazy whirlwind of fun, new people, new places, adventures, revelations, and insights. Last week we talked about Kingdom Culture and what that involved and how to apply it to our daily lives. The five basic parts of Kingdom Culture are intimacy, honor, gratitude, life in the Spirit, and family, which can all be broken down and expounded upon. For instance, my small group took the five and wrote down our own thoughts concerning a particular aspect and then what we could recall from what we got in lecture time. I got the word intimacy and broke it down basically to 'knowing love from another without the fear of judgement' and then related it back to Song of Songs 4:7 which talks of how God sees us without flaw or blemish. Which really is a beautiful picture. I love that book of the bible anyway.

This week, starting yesterday, was the official start of lecture week. We have a local pastor, Black Mattocks, coming up the mountain all week to talk about the nature and character of God and so far it has been insanely awesome! He's laying down the building blocks and introducing us to his character in a really cool way. He's very engaging and excited about what God has done and shown him in his life and about teaching it to us. I'm excited too, to be honest. Yesterday he was talking about how there are no posers in the Kingdom of God. We're not allowed to have walls or fake identities because we've declared that we have surrendered that to God if we also declare that we are His children. It reminded me of that scripture, I think it's in John, where it talks about how nothing is hidden from God, but everything is uncovered and laid bare before Him, which is exactly how we're supposed to be living before God and before the body of Christ and the world. He's called us to be His ambassadors and we can't do that if we're pretending we're someone or something that we're not. He sees through our disguises so might as well take them off and surrender them willingly to begin with. Can I get an "Amen"??! :D

Anyway, I will write of more exciting God things soon, but right now I am wiped out. This upcoming week, Monday through Wednesday, our whole DTS group plus the other four ywam bases in CO, which adds up to somewhere around 400 people will be in Colorado Springs. We're going to this conference called Acts 1 and it's supposed to be awesome. I'm expecting amazing things to come out of this next week...and these next five months. I'm stoked, guys...to the core. I miss you all back home and hope to keep you more updated. Love!

~Josie

I MADE IT TO COLORADO

Hullo. I have made it to Colorado and my ywam base in the mountains. It is beautiful and walking out my front door this morning and seeing the mountains like literally in my front yard was kind of surreal. Love it. The people here are also so wonderful. It set all of my worries, fears, and hesitations aside.

So, this is a short update because we just got done with a really long day and I'm about to go play settlers of catan. SETTLERS OF CATAN! With girls. Yeah, I totally picked the best dts school. <3

But here are a few pictures from our road trip to hold you over until I upload them over to Google+.

Miss you all!

Cheers!

I leave bright and early tomorrow morning. . . as in by 5am. The sun won't even be awake by then, which is a miracle. You should right this down in your diary of many secrets and wonders so that one day you may tell your kids and grandkids that Josie K. was up and awake with coffee in hand before the sun ever showed his face. ;) So, I'm driving out with my friend Anna and we're taking four days to drive out to the beautiful Colorado. I am so excited about this road trip! The second night we're staying in this cool place in New Mexico, which I can't say here because I'm keeping it as a surprise for Anna. muhaha. But it looks fabulous and makes me happy.

Our itinerary, if you care to know, is as follows:

Thursday -- leave Starkville, MS around 5am and drive West. Most likely reach Little Rock, AR by lunch and Apache, OK by 6pm. Apache, OK is our destination for the first day, we're staying at a ywam base's hospitality suit for the night.

Friday -- leave Apache by 8am and continue driving West. By this point we will have traveled through MS, AR, OK, and be heading into TX. We're planning to stop at every State sign and take a picture. It's going to be awesome. Ok, continue driving and eventually reach NM where we will spend the night in unsaid location.

Saturday -- leave by 8 or 9am and head North where we will travel through Starkville, CO....completely awesome. Pictures will be taken. Take slight detour to the Great Sand Dunes, which are reported to be really cool. Drive to Colorado Springs and bunk for the night.

Sunday -- Tour around Colorado Springs and just chill and hang out for the day. Hopefully go see the Garden of the Gods which are also reported to be really pretty. Sunday is up for change and fun.

Monday -- drive to Denver and send Anna back home on le airplane to MS. Most likely cry some more. Drive by myself to Arvada, CO where I will know no one and be spending the next 5 months of my life. Eeegads.

I'm freaking out just a little bit, but i'm mostly just getting ridiculously emotional. I was watching what not to wear and started tearing up. I mean...c'mon! These next two weeks are going to be long, weird, exciting, good, scary, and thrilling I do believe. I know I'm going to miss my family and friends immensely. But I also know God is loving and I know that He is good and I know that He has called me to this place at this time and that He will never leave me. And for all of those truths, I am extremely grateful.

So, here's to life more abundant and love without end. . . .to God and God alone be the glory! Psalm 115:1

~Josie

Mhmmm

GOD IS SO GOOD. I am blessed and amazed beyond words and just completely in awe of HIS beauty and love poured out. The day is new, HIS mercies are new, HIS love is fresh and alive. Hallelujah!