Album: My Paper Heart Artist: Francesca Battistelli
This is the moment It’s on the line Which way you gonna fall? In the middle between Wrong and right But you know after all
It’s your life What you gonna do? The world is watching you Every day the choices you make Say what you are and who Your heart beats for It’s an open door It’s your life
Are you who you always said you would be? With a sinking feeling in your chest Always waiting for someone else to fix you Tell me when did you forget
To live the way that you believe This is your opportunity To let your life be one that lights the way.
I love this song especially the line "The world is watching you Every day the choices you make Say what you are and who Your heart beats for" It reminds me that my life is not purposeless. The way that we live does say who is in control of our lives.
I had my last class of the Semester today and it feels weird to think all I have left is exams and internship details!! (I have been waiting for this for a while!!)
Today I got to spend some time with my family and when I arrived at their house, my nephew was waiting for me. The words I love you Aunty Rach were music to my ears and as I held onto him I remembered how good God has been to me.
I handed out my fund raising letters for Edmonton and now its up to God to bring in the funds. Which God has been blowing me away with already. 10% of the budget has come in and now its just waiting for the rest. It has been a whirlwind of activity for the past few weeks with school and life and I finally see the light at the end of the tunnel.
I had an awesome opportunity to hear about AIA (Athletes in Action) and was really encouraged. This guy from church is involved in it and was explaining to me how it works. Its really encouraging to hear of others who are stepping up to the plate and reaching my generation by using their God given talents. It makes me so excited to get going to Quebec.
Today at school was our last internship class before we all go around the world. It is an exciting moment to be so close and to see the diversity as we will all be going different places and doing different things. It will be hard to go alone but this is the next big part of my education and starts a new page in my life.
We were left with these two main points at the end of our class 1. In the end, point them to Jesus 2. If Jesus is truly the center of your life, than there will never be such a thing as an ordinary day
Talk about something to think on for a while.
As well, for the class I enlisted an incredible first year (Reba) to make us a globe cake with dots on it where we are all going around the world. It was an excellent end to a great afternoon with my class mates!
And Lastly
My flights are booked
I leave Tuesday Jan 5, 2010 at 1205 from the Calgary Airport and I get back to Calgary on Saturday April 17 at 1103. It is an incredible feeling to have this set in stone. It's an awesome feeling to be able to begin a count down, and its scary that its less than a month!
Well school is insane right now, i am using this as a cover for taking a break on my paper due in two and a bit hours that i have yet to finish. Good news is that I got my phrase book and my birthday was wonderful finished off with creme brulee that my sister made (thanks BECK!!). School right now is insane, just lots of projects and random little things that need to get finished asap. Internship items are not main priority which means that letters have not gone out and my prayer card is still in limbo. I forgot how hard November is to survive through. well heres the letter that is going to be sent out at some point but right now theres papers to be finished....
Dear _______________________
As you know I am here in Edmonton at Vanguard College, taking my Bachelor of Arts in Intercultural Studies, with a Family and Children Emphasis. I have been given great opportunities over the past few years. I have had the privilege of discovering God’s heart for this world through; work in churches across Alberta, discovering a love for the poor in Vancouver on two different occasions, an adventure alongside Missionaries in the North West Territories and lastly a chance to discover the universal church in Thailand, Philippines, China and Hong Kong.
When it comes to my third year at Vanguard, I am required to fulfill a 400 hour cross cultural internship. God placed Quebec on my heart, in Quebec lies the town of Granby and more specifically, Granby Pentecostal Church. In the months of January through till April, I will be working under the supervision of Rev. Brent Robillard and his wife Carolyn in a small English speaking church.
I will be working alongside Rev. Brent in visitation, radio broadcasting, preaching, Bible studies, working alongside the board and the area pastors to see how God is moving through Quebec and how to reach the population of Quebec, outreach through youth and children’s ministry and lastly a breakfast feeding program at an elementary school there. Although overseas is important, less than one percentage of Quebec’s population are Evangelical professing Christians and I now have an opportunity to reach out to these people.
I have had a great backing in the past as I pursued what I feel as been the call of God on my life. This is the first time I am truly going alone and I am looking forward to what God has in store for the next coming months. In this I am asking for your support once again. I ask of you to support me in prayer; that I would be able to walk in wisdom and creativity, with divine appointments each day, safety as I travel and that I may be a blessing there to this church and the people of Granby. As well if you are willing and able to make a financial contribution towards the $2000 budget that I in place would be greatly appreciated. All donations will be tax deductible by filling out the attached response card. Regardless of how you support me, I would appreciate for you to fill out the response sheet, and send it back in the extra envelope attached so that I may also uphold you in my prayers.
I thank you in advance for your future support and for all you have given me already.
Well I am just putting it out there: People in Quebec speak French! I know rocket science there. Ill be in Granby where some French will allow you to be accepted and so I need some. Also there are some people in the church who do not speak any English, and Alain (Husband of Valerie who I am living with while i am there) speaks very little. I need french so I am throwing this out to my sisters - this is what you could get me and in the end save me from complete isolation in Quebec Its a Phrase Book, this is the type we used when overseas is first year so if possible great, if not another would suffice!! thanks in advance!
I need to build a letter. A letter that explains what i am doing and asks for support, prayer and financially. Its a tad bit frustrating as i hate having to ask for money but at the same time, i do want to go to Quebec and to be a blessing there. So I am stuck and have been for over a month. I need to write this letter and i truly do want support, not just money, I'll be needing alot of prayer, so I am attempting to get this letter done this week and i mean mailed even... oh boy. i am excited but also dreading it.
Perhaps one would describe me as emotional. I cry in Grey's Anatomy when little Grey cant be in the room with the Evan (16 yr old burn patient going through insane procedure), Extreme Make Over Home Edition makes me tear up, and I lost it in Hotel Rwanda. I take after my mom and cry at a lot of things, blogs, weddings, sad stories, name it and I probably could cry about it, and what makes it worse is that I am an ugly crier, the blotches, red puffiness is what I look like after.
Tonight is bitter sweet. A year ago my best friend and I went to Tulita to work with missionaries there. All I want is to be back there and to see my little buddy Ashton. HE's the cutest kid ever and we bonded right away (apparently he doesnt bond with anyone so it was a big deal). When we left that Sundya everyone came to the airport to see us off after a ten day immensly life altering trip. These people are now burned into my memory. Their stories are my own now. I got to see into their lives for a moment and they are a part of me now.
But tomorrow the team is going to Vancouver to work with inner city people on East Hastings. A location also close to my heart. Been there twice on missions trips and I couldnt imagine not going if I had an opprotunity. And yet I passed on this one. The past week that is all that has been talked about. I can't help but feel a hole in my heart wishing I was part of this exciting buzz, but instead I will be there seeing them off at a time in the morning that no one should know exsits. Ten days without my best friend and our new mini best friend. I dont know how to feel about it to be honest. I am so excited for what God is going to do, but I am here and will be here. Its weird to have no real purpose this coming week, I dont have a mod class, so i am going home to get my car ready for winter (which who knows ill even see any of it with me going in January), maybe riding (hopefully this works out, it would make me happy, very happy) and a random amount of work to concentrate on that I dont even want to think about. I want to go back so bad now, all of it is crashing into my mind the sights, smells, constant noise, and the moments that imprint themselves on your mind. With all of this, I stay. It didnt feel right, I dont know why, maybe to stay home and be able to babysit my niece and nephew (who are the cutest) maybe to take a moment and breathe, but in any case whatever the reason I am still here.
I just finished a note to the Valerie and Alain who I will be staying with, and my heart again is reminded that in a very few short months I will be gone. For 14 weeks, I will not be across the street from my best friend, close enough to cry to my sister, close enough to visit Shelby and Jordan and the babies, and no where near a road trip home. It is scary to think I will not have the support system to immediately surround me. That when I break down, its just me there. No one understands the look i give when I want something, the way I eat uber fast, how I can become super quiet when I am unsure of what to do. My love of country music and all things that go along with that. My great desire for peppermint tea and how I like to take forever to wake up with four alarms.
Its the unknown that is scaring me. But I know that it will be okay, just in this moment I am not sure how to go ten days with out my best friends and how will i last four months away from everything....
Here are a few of the details that I am excited about!!
1. Staying with a couple from the church and I will be in the other bedroom of the apartment The wife works in Montreal and her husband is a truck driver! So I am excited, luckily she is English but he is French speaking with little English, soo lets see how it will go!
2. I am going to have the library as my office at the church, kinda excited to look studious in the church building!
3. I have to wear dressy office clothes. Its a traditional place and I now have an excuse for some dressy shopping!
4. It will bring an end to my third year so I only have one more after this!!!!
but there are also some fears
1. home sickness 2. not knowing what to do 3. not knowing enough french to survive there 4. i will make a huge mistake 5. to not excel
This is the story of how I got to today and why I am going to Quebec!
I have the cutest niece and nephew who I love with all my heart. When I went to SE Asia in my first year of college, my nephew didn't know who I was when I got back. It hurt me so much, so with a three month internship ahead of me, my niece the same age as my nephew was last trip, I decided to do it here in Edmonton.I had it all figured out and I was feeling pretty great about it.
Than one Friday, the youth pastor was speaking about letting God stretch you and I felt God saying to me that I had two options, do it his way, or do it my way. I guess in that moment I said, fine God, so it your way and i really meant it. The next night I couldn't sleep and all I could think about was Quebec, so in the morning I asked the youth pastor for the contact info for the pastor he took a team to.
I sent an e-mail to the Pastor and it began the emails. He asked me a lot of questions and vise versa. His board approved it, and the school did to. So heres the deal. I am Going to Granby Quebec in January and will be gone till April. I will be doing visitation, feeding prgram, preaching, kids stuff and a vbs. I am soo excited but I am also scared. Its hard to let go of all my fears and to just trust God, but thats whats going on.
So this is the journey of me, Rachel, and my trip to Quebec.
Lots of stuff to do before I can go, so next on the list is FLIGHTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
