Romania Day 1 Snip-It's

         This morning we woke up and went to a Romanian Baptist Church for Bible study and service. The teens who were in the Bible study were mostly kids from the Livada Orphan Care (LOC) group homes so they were really receptive to Americans. We were fortunate enough to have a translator during service as well so we were able to understand the pastor's sermon. 

 After service, we headed to the LOC office for orientation. We learned some of the ins and outs for the week that is ahead of us, but really we all know it's a learn as you go kind of thing, and we have to be FLEXIABLE! That's the key to ministry any where! 

       Then we headed over to the LOC group homes to go hang with the kids, they ranged any where from 13-21 years old, so it has been easy to relate and have an actual conversation with. After one round of Farkel, we decided we were done. 

      And thats when God put "K" (names cannot be mentioned) in my pathway. Wow oh wow! At first our conversation consisted of those awkward questions you first ask when you meet someone for the first time; however, knowing my time in Romania is short, I decided to jump right into it. Which surprisingly actually worked!! And come to find out, she rarely opens up to people! "K" and I connected on a personal level; we talked about family complications and the anger we have had towards God for what we'e felt like have been a "bad deal of cards." It's crazy when you choose to be transparent with your life and your testimony and allow God to use your mess for a message and and change your test into testimonies!! 

        We start camp (almost like an extended version of VBS) tomorrow, and I'm excited to love on the kids and teach and show them about their Heavenly Father who loves them soooo much!!! Please be praying for hearts to be open, and for dead ears to come to life and we bring the word tomorrow!! Great things are ahead; I can feel it! 

Y the L Not

A lot of people tend to have a misconception about the organization Younglife. Their conception is far beyond wrong.

I got involved in Younglife the beginning of my freshman year of high school. We painted our faces, had random dance parties, food fights, & swallowed gold fish pretty much on a regular basis.

Crud Wars 2010

Growing in friendship and in community. As the days grew longer and months began to pass by, we began to learn what Younglife is all about. Fun and games was just the start of a wonderful journey.

I was pretty consistent in attending my freshman year; however, sophomore and junior year became pretty hectic. My parents started the process of divorce my sophomore year, and piece by piece my world as I knew it began to unravel. Nothing was the same any more. I was confused and didn't really have an idea of my place anymore. A sense of independency overcame me. "Courtney is the only one that will take care of Courtney. Don't rely on anyone to do anything for you." Deep down, as much as an independent person I may be, I secretly always wanted someone to be a cheerleader in my life. That's when the lovely woman, Randi Wideman came in. For the last 4 years, this joy filled woman of God has consistently poured into my

Randi & I
Homecoming 2011

life and the lives of the rest of our campaigners girls. High school is tough! The constant struggle of trying to fit in, making friends, our appearance, everything! And then add teenage hormones into the mix, and it's just awful! Since day one, she has drilled the Bible verse Songs of Solomon 4:7 into our brains! "You are altogether beautiful, my darling; there is no flaw in you!" That verse is permanently in my brain for the good! This verse has played a MAJOR role in finding my true identity in Christ! From struggles with my body to pleasing people consistently. I AM beautiful! God made me perfect in His image! She was, and still is concerned with what is going on in our lives, the good & the bad!
My junior year was probably the hardest of them all. I couldn't seem to find the balance between working, working out, and growing in my relationship with God, and it showed! It was also a difficult time because I no longer felt at peace at the church I was at but I tried holding on for as long as I could, mainly because I HATE change. It happens, but I was pretty devastated. Already coming from a hard background I had trust issues, but this just really increased my anxiety.
BUT, through all those problems, Younglife, my leaders, & my campaigners group was always there! Summer after my sophomore year I attended YL camp for the first time at Frontier. I was so stoked and excited! I had heard so much about all the fun and excitement that awaited the best week of my life. Little did I know, the best week of my life soon became the worst. My great-grandfather passed away half way through the week and I was more than heart broken. Literally weeping so hard I was drooling; another little side note, I HATE CRYING! Despite my ugly cries of grieving, my cabin and leaders all took the time and each wrote me a letter of encouragement. One of my other sweet, precious leaders, Brittany Trevatham,

Britt & I
Thanksgiving 2013

quoted the bible verse Matthew 5:4, "Blessed are those who mourn, for they s hall be comforted." I clung to those words left and right! I had no idea that emotions that would come, days, even months after my great-grandpa's death.
         You see, Younglife isn't just a place of fun and games; Younglife is a group of people all with one thing in common...WE'RE JESUS FREAKS!!! Loud and proud!! And with that in common, we get to do life together, through all the crazy stuff that may happen! Honestly I can say, Younglife is the only reason I made it through all 4 years of high school. I was the only consistent thing I had in life. And now, now I have been blessed with a forever family to come to when times get too rough the and the boat of life starts rocking.

         TODAY; I get to fly half way across the world with my family and make Jesus known! Today we fly to Romania. We will get to love on those who don't get love on a regular basis, and tell them about their Heavenly Father who wants nothing more than to hold them in His arms! I am so excited to take on this adventure with my family!!!

More posts soon :)

Who Am I?

I will be honest. My last post was about 7 months ago! Good golly! It's not that I haven't wanted to write, or had the urge to write. I just...couldn't. So let me explain.

As some of you my or may not know, my trip to Africa last summer was supposed to be a bit longer than it was. I was supposed to be in Kenya for a little over a week and then fly over to Uganda to meet with some friends. However, my plan ISN'T always God's plan. My last night in Kenya was spent rejoicing from the week, enjoying each others company, and playing games.
You see, I am quite the competitive person when it comes to games. That can be seen as a good thing or a bad thing. Good thing because I like to play hard to win; bad thing because sometimes I can take it a little too far. We were running around and I was trying not to get tagged, so logically I jumped over a bush in attempt to get away. Well, that jump was the end of the game; the landing of my jump didn't end so gracefully and I ended up breaking my foot. I couldn't walk on it at all! The boys on the team had to help carry me to my bed. I feel asleep for a bit, but was by the toilet for most of the night throwing up due to the amount of pain I was in.

I don't remember much, from the  day after I broke my foot, other than the village nurse coming and injecting me with a pain killer written in another language. After that, the only thing I can really recall is waking up in a taxi a couple hours later on my way to the airport to get my plane ticket changed. Talk about an interesting journey.
My foot was seen as quite the inconvenience to many; however, I am a firm believer that everything happens for a reason. My foot breaking was all apart of God's faithfulness to protect His servants. My heart still aches talking about all this. So I am not going to get too much into it. BUT I will say, if it were not for my foot breaking, I wouldn't be here today.




Through all of this, God was teaching me lesson after lesson. "Courtney, I've got you. I love you. I am your Daddy, and I WILL protect you." He proved to me His power, and His provision. That the hurt and the pain would be taken away. Medically, physically, and emotionally.
If you had told me before my trip what would happen in the months to follow I wouldn't believe you. The break in my foot was so severe that I was told I would be in a cast for at least 3 months, if not more. Again, God's plan is greater than our own, even medically. My church (The Harvest/ The Mvmnt) was so consistent in praying for the healing hands of Jesus to wash over me. Knowing and believing that God is capable to do all we ask of Him. "Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you." -Matthew 7:7     

 God is ALWAYS faithful. I was HEALED a whole month and a half early after I was told I would be in the cast for AT LEAST 3 months if not more!
Some like to say that because "I'm young" is the reason I healed so early. WRONG!!! Give glory where glory is due! Even my doctor was shocked because my first x-ray didn't medically match up to the one she took on the day my cast was taken off. GOD IS SO GOOD!

Even though my Heavenly Father was taking care of me. I still struggled with who I was. If you knew me before my break, I was a pretty active girl! I would go to boot camp in the morning and then the gym later that day, sometimes even twice. Three workouts in one day! That's what I did. That's who I was. Being wheelchair bounded in a cast, I couldn't workout, heck I couldn't walk! And until two weeks ago, March 17th, I wasn't even cleared to run! I lost who I was. I lost all passions I had (like blogging).

BUT THAT'S NOT ME! I'm not that girl! I'm not the one to let my situation and circumstance define me, but for the past 8 months that's who I have been. From the girl in the wheelchair, to the girl in the boot, to the girl back to normal, to the girl back in a boot, and now to the girl in a brace.
I am putting my once broken foot down! I am not who I once was. Just like our past sins don't define us, neither do past injuries! I am reclaiming me! Reclaiming my identity. I am Courtney: God's daughter, His servant, His beloved.