God Is Moving!

What an incredible couple of days it has been!!  The week has been very full, with people coming back from outreach, people in the Awakening Track transitioning out of the track into staffing a DTS, I got to MC our Love Feast, and we got to do some really awesome community outreach!
But I wanted to share with you about the Community Outreach real quick, and then about our Outreach Testimony Report Back that all happened just yesterday!

          Every Wednesday afternoon we set aside time to go out into the community in various ways to do outreach.  As you know, we have been partnering with churches and distributing Bibles to the houses in Kona all around, and it's been amazing!!  We just heard that with our group and the DTS' that did their outreach here, over 150 families got a Bible for the first time in their home!!
Well, the outreach with the churches has ended so as we prayed about what we should do, someone got the idea to buy a bunch of burgers and head into town and pass them out to the hungry; so we did!!  We bought 20 burgers from McDonalds, walked about 5 minutes down the street and hit the beach where a bunch of surfers were.  We got to share the gospel with over 7 people and give them food.  Then we headed into town and met a bunch of homeless people who we were able to really love on.  Kona is full of people living on the streets, because it's so easy to do.  And a lot of them are caught up in drugs and drinking, so it's not uncommon to find them hiding out by the beaches and on the sidewalk drinking in the middle of the day.  We ran into about 5 people who were really drunk and just wasting the day away.  We got to share the gospel with them, pray with them, give them food, and show them Jesus' love.  It was so much fun!!

          Over the past 3 days, the campus has been filling up with the returning outreach teams who have been gone for 3 months in various parts of the world.  Fire & Fragrance teams returned from Monday morning until Wednesday morning, and it's felt like the biggest family reunion all week!! It's been so wonderful to have them back and hear all of the amazing stories.

[Pete & Kenzie Mitchell, and Ethan Leavitt as we are about to hit the streets!!]

          Every time a DTS returns, we all gather back for Outreach Testimony Report Back, where we listen to each outreach team share on the amazing things that happened, so we got to do that last night!  As I was sitting there, surrounded by well over 300 people, I listened to the stories of Gods faithfulness and His pursuit after the ones He has created and longs for, and my mind was blown at what I heard!!

The teams were sent out into India, Nepal, Amsterdam/London, South Africa, Uganda, LA, New York City, and DC.  The story of each was that the simple gospel was preached, and thousands came to know Jesus for the first time!

Uganda alone saw over 500 SALVATIONS!!  India saw in a short hour over 100 people instantly healed from major sicknesses and pains.

In Nepal, they told people that they would pray for them to be healed of whatever they had.  A man then walks up to them with a fractured wrist.  It was visibly obvious that the bone was out of place as it was penetrating the skin, and the man was in a lot of pain.  As the girl on the Nepal outreach team began to pray for him, all of the sudden they hear cracking and look down and his wrist had popped back into place and became COMPLETELY HEALED!!!!

This is just one of many many stories that we heard of over 2 hours of sharing.  It was amazing!!  With all of the outreaches combined, the Good News of Jesus was shared to over 5,000 people, and they saw over 1,500 salvations in just 2.5 months with 150 people sharing the gospel!!!  They saw blind eyes open, deaf ears begin to hear, they saw the dead raise right here in Hawaii, and many many more amazing things of Jesus pouring out His love.  Jesus is so ready to encounter His people and loves when we partner with Him and believe that He actually is willing AND able!  People are hungry to hear the GOOD NEWS of the gospel, and it's absolute proof by these testimonies.

[In the Fire & Fragrance Tent listening to the powerful testimonies]

I am so stirred by yesterday to not walk in any fear, but just to love on people the way that Jesus did and tell them of who He is and who He has been in my life.  Our testimony and story with Jesus is the most powerful tool that we carry to bring the kingdom to earth.

I hope you are all pumped & excited and that this put fresh faith in you for what God is doing all around the world!! I love you all and hope to hear from you soon!

Amsterdam: Shifting with Worship & Intercession

Hello everybody!!  I hope this little letter finds you all doing really well.  My team and I have been in Amsterdam for a little under a week now, and it has already been what my heart knew it would be... Amazing.

Since the very beginning of planning this outreach to Amsterdam, we have felt in our spirits that it was going to be very different than any other outreach we've all done in the past, and it has been just that.  As we began to pray into what that could look like, we felt a strong call to be a "strike team", meaning we would go in with a word of the Lord, do just what He has called us to, and then leave.  Since being here in Amsterdam, the word has not changed but only become more evident and alive in our hearts.  We knew that this meant we were called to worship Jesus with our whole hearts, and to intercede on behalf of Amsterdam.  Since being here, we have felt called to invest not just to the lost on the streets, but also to revive and encourage those on the YWAM base where we are staying at, De Poort [The Gate in Dutch].  We have been spending each morning in 2+ hours worshiping Jesus and praying for whatever Holy Spirit leads us to invest in that day, in the Prayer Tower.  The Prayer Tower is so amazing because it is at the top of the YWAM base and it has all glass windows over looking the whole city of Amsterdam.
This calling for this trip from the Lord has totally challenged my heart and shifted my perspective of what is most influential.  We cannot base our success on what our eyes see, because we only see in part anyways!  But we have to base our success off of our obedience, and that is what we are doing.  Pouring our love on Jesus, and praying out of that place for the hearts of His lost children to turn back to Him, is where everything is based out of for us, and it's such a beautiful thing to see.  It has united our team is such an amazing way and we are truly becoming family.
Along with worship and intercession, we have been serving the base here every day by making the meals for everyone and cleaning the building.  And then we have also been able to go out and do ministry in the streets!  Today we worked with Serve The City - Amsterdam, which is a volunteer based organization that aims to create community in their society by serving the city through organizing and facilitating volunteer projects to help the underprivileged.  We got to split into teams and some of us were able to paint an autistic school building, some helped put wallpaper in a mentally handicapped mans house, others gardened, while my team were able to feed over 100 homeless people homemade pancakes.  We also asked the Lord for words for each of them and made them cards to keep.  It was so amazing to see people get so touched by such a little thing in our eyes, but it may have changed their lives forever.

So far Amsterdam has been so amazing.  I love the city, it's absolutely beautiful and I really have fallen in love with this place already.  I am so excited to see what else the Lord does on this trip with all of us together.  It's so encouraging to see His promises being fulfilled.  I'll update more later once things happen!

Here are some pictures I've taken so far... Hope you enjoy!

   

 Prayer Tower // Top:  Panoramic view of the Prayer Tower
Bottom: View out of one of the windows of the river

[Beautiful Canals around the corner from our place]

  [Exploring with my friends, Aaron & Tegan]

[Down almost every street you will find this beautiful view at night]

 

[Blake, Shiloh, & Arrow making

pancake mix for the homeless!]

 

[At Amsterdam Square]

Amsterdam Outreach - Exciting News!

       I absolutely love being able to share exciting news with you, and that is what I have today!!  As you can see from the picture above, there is a bit of traveling in the new future for me.  And, if you have been on any other forms of media you have seen my posts about a trip to Amsterdam in March!
       I have been in The Leadership Track for just under a year now, and as leadership has prayed, they have felt the Lord call them to take an outreach as a group every 3 months, and I get to be a part of the first one!  The idea to go to Amsterdam was a word that was given to the Leadership Track by Loren & Darlene Cunningham and a few other key leaders on the YWAM base here in Kona.  As they were going over places where we had teams going consistently, they felt a tug on their hearts to send more people into Amsterdam, and asked us to take it on.  Needless to say, we are very excited to see what the Lord is going to do through us!  Here are a few objectives to our trip:

• Meet with Key Leaders in the city to possibly start Fire & Fragrance DTS' there in the very near future
• Building relationships to prepare the way for future YWAM teams to be in Amsterdam months at a time
• Going into the 3 Red-Light Districts to minister to the prostitutes who have been victims of sex-trafficking.
• Doing prayer watches in the 24-7 house of prayer in the middle of the Red-Light District
• Working with the organization Serve The City Amsterdam

 
       The more I think & pray about what this trip is suppose to hold, my spirit gets so excited!  We all have felt that we are going to be a "strike team" as we go in.  We have a mission, to revive hearts & bring life to the dead.  We want our lives to be a witness to all those around us.  We realize that our time in Amsterdam is a short 2.5 weeks, but there is such an expectation in our spirits for what the Lord is going to do!! When the Lord calls a people to a place, there is more that He can do in one day than we could do in 7 years without Him.  And the call of the Lord on this trip has been immense!!
       I know that this is the Lord by many different signs, but one of them has been the financial provision over all of us.  In just 2 weeks I was able to raise over half of the money I needed for the outreach, which is amazing!  I was also able to watch my leaders, who have a family of 5, have had over $11,000 given to them within 2 weeks!  The stories go on and on of how the Lord has been so faithful to provide for this trip.  We are all getting very stirred!
       So on March 11th, I will be flying to Amsterdam, which will be my first time to Europe.  I also have the opportunity to go to a couple other places in Europe when we are done.  We have 2 week break before we have to be back to base for the April quarter of schools.  Between March 28th and April 11th, I will be traveling with a few friends to Scotland, Wales, Ireland, and London.  Those two weeks will be filled with seeing a handful of friends that I have not seen in quite some time, visiting other YWAM bases around Europe, investing in friendships, and continuing to dig the wells of our hearts for what the Lord has for all of us in the upcoming months.

       I want to personally thank all of you for investing in not only this trip, but investing in the dreams the Lord has put inside of me.  You have each been a testimony of Gods faithfulness, and a sign & a wonder to my own life.  THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for obeying the Lord is the biggest and simplest ways.  You have been a part of a story with Jesus that is so priceless.  While we are in Europe I will try to update this as much as I can to keep you in the loop.  If you would like to receive email updates (which may be more frequent), please contact me at oceansroar@gmail.com and I will put you on there!
       If any of you still feel led to give and would like to invest in the rest of this trip, I only need $500 for all the housing, food & transportation while on outreach in Amsterdam.  Please email me at the address above and I will give you multiple options for giving!

God bless you all, have a beautiful week!

-Lizzie

A New Quarter Has Begun! [July Update]

Oh my dear friends & family and those across the world.  I want to first personally thank every one of you.  Whether you read this blog, support me financially, lift me up in your prayers, or just send a quick hello every once in a while - I am extremely grateful.  I can feel the support of all of you, and it really gives me strength in moments of weakness.  You impact my heart so greatly and I am so filled with thankfulness for your friendship & support.
I come to you with a full heart and good news to proclaim!  In just a short four days, I will have arrived to Kona 5 months ago.  There's a part of me that feels like it has been so much longer, because I miss you all so deeply.  But then there's another part of me that cannot believe it's been 5 months already.  For me to say that my expectations for this time have been exceeded, would be quite an understatement;  I have been swept off my feet by Jesus, overwhelmed by His faithfulness & pure goodness, and I stand with a heart full of gratitude.  I could not have dreamed of this time being as amazing as it has been.
Upon arriving, I felt the Lord say a few things about my time here (I share some of this in my post "Long Time No... Read?" ... and the process of what He has spoken has only continued to go deeper.
Here are a few things that have been going on lately!

Just 3 weeks ago a new quarter started here!  This is such an exciting time when students, from all over the world (literally), come for training in missions;  to be filled up with truth and hunger to see hearts come to the Lord, as their own hearts are encountered.  After 3 months of training, they leave on a 3 month outreach - to reach out to the community, and to release all the Lord has done in their own hearts to the nations, countries, cities, towns, neighborhoods, homes, and hearts, who know and don't know the love of the Father.  So we have just received 150 new students, and the campus has definitely experienced a shift.  I can tangibly feel the presents of the Lord thicken on this base, and as a result the town gets impacted and people get encountered with the love of Jesus.
As part of the Leadership Track, we do a weekly community outreach.  This past Wednesday, we had the privilege of having both of our outreaches with Salvation Army and our friends from the Marshallese community, and also a lot of the kids on campus, come as we hosted an all day Kids Camp here on campus.  We played games, worshiped, performed skits, ate otter pops, and really just loved on them as much as we could.  Then we all finished our time by eating our meals together and really enjoying each other, as we learned about their culture and listened to their stories.  It was such a fun and impacting time.
We also have been spending an amazing amount of time in the prayer room that we have here on campus.  It is such a privelege to have a place here specifically dedicated to prayer, worship, and intercession.  As part of the Track, we have taken on the responsibility of filling the prayer room 24/7, rising incense to the Fathers heart.  As a result, we have seen such a down pour of favor every time we enter.  Each day we have a 1-3pm set where multiple DTS' come in for worship and intercession, and we join them in there and just wait on the Lord to come... And He comes. Every. Single. Time.  We are constantly blown away by His presence, and how willing He is to visit us.  These times in the prayer room have become so precious to me because not only do I get to spend time with Jesus, but our relationships go deeper, and our community is even more solitifide when we set aside time, daily, to enter into His presence together, to ask as a whole what is on His heart for that day, and then to go after those things and see seeds planted, fruit produced, and things changed... and the Father received so much pleasure & honor & glory.
Just as I wrote last time, I am still the Work Duty Coordinator for the campus.  This past quarter was a little difficult since we did not have many students.  On average we have about 500 students, and this quarter only 150 came because the summer usually is a smaller group.  But we pressed through and it has been great!  I honestly enjoy this job a lot.  It can be a little stressful in the beginning and in the end, but it definitely pays to not give up and to see something completed.  I feel honored that I get to do this job, and to walk with so many amazing and influential people on this campus.  As we prepare for next quarter, I will continue to be in charge of this, as we prepare for our biggest quarter in the history of this base!  It's going to be amazing for sure!

As well as being a part of The Leadership Track intentionally, I am also a part of a bigger family here [Fire & Fragrance] who have been sending out schools called The Circuit Riders all across America, and one in London, for the past couple of months.  Their goal is "Save the lost. Revive the saved. Train them all".  The miracles that have happened have been absolutely astounding as we see every type of person with every condition of the heart encounter Jesus .  In London, in a short 7 hours of ministry, they experienced over 150 salvation's, with over 49 physical healing's.  In Denver (where they are now), they have prayed for 2 blind men, who one was also deaf, and they both got 100% healed.  They have seen an atheist deny God, have lead them to pray for the sick, seen the sick healed, and as a result they turned to believe in Jesus.  The testimonies of the greatness of God go on and on and on, I could write a whole blog about them!  It is so exciting to be a part of a bigger family and to see the Lord reveal His goodness through them.  There is no one like Jesus, and there is nothing like what He does.  I honestly feel honored and totally humbled to be serving and living for such an amazing God.  We always need reminding of our smallness, and His greatness, and the redemption and love He brings to us in the midst of it all.

Although it may seem that a lot of what we do practically here is repetitive, it is all for a goal - and that is to give the Lord glory and honor in all that we do.  I can personally testify that my heart has been radically encountered.  This encounter goes far beyond a one time experience, or a tingly moment in the spirit, it really is the day to day decisions that have created revival in my own heart, and I am seeing the reformation of my life through it.  I just finished up "The Calvary Road" by Roy Hession, and I would encourage all of you to Buy It.  It has changed my life, forever.  The gist of the book is the reality of heart revival being an every day thing, and our lives matching that revival.  It definitely isn't a light read - I get the fear of the Lord every time I pick it up because it is so full of truth, and brings a refreshing sting of conviction that brings you straight to the heart of the Lord every time.  It has changed the way I think, the way I perceive things, the way I respond, and the way I live.  It has stirred up a hunger and thirst for righteousness and purity that I only dreamed about having in the past, and now it's created reality in my heart.

If you would to know more in detail, or even chat with me on the phone about what is going on here, I would absolutely love to connect with you!  Just send me a quick email at oceansroar@gmail.com.
As I am still in need of $600.00 in monthly support, if you feel the Lord calling you to join with me in meeting that goal, you can visit the University of the Nations Support Page for either a one time donation or monthly support

God bless you all!
Lizzie



[For more testimonies or information on how you can be a part of The Circuit Riders School, please visit www.fireandfragrance.com <---- Just click there!  And you can also join the Group on Facebook, or follow Andy Byrd on Twitter]



Enjoy some photos!

[some of my friends from my DTS back in 2010!!

Emily, Jonathan & Dani]

 [We were able to surprise our leaders of the Track, Blake & Shay

and their children, Shiloh & Arrow, with tickets to visit home in NC!]

 

[Ryan and I at the PhotogenX Love Feast]

 [The lovely women I was able to disciple for three months! Sydney, Me, Elle, Sabrina, & Leah]

 

[Myself with Erin Crain and my roommate, Madeleine Curry]

 

[Beautiful Hadassah & Valor - the sweet kids I live with]

 

[Out at The Coffee Shack celebrating my friend Brit's birthday

with some incredible women]

[The sunset from my back porch one night]

 

[Traveling around the island with some friends]

 [Caleb dressed up as a Gekko, ready for the kids to charge him!

And praying for the islands with the 6-8 year olds]

 

Week 1 - Leadership Track

Friends!!!  Oh I am so happy that I get to share a little bit of whats happening around here!  It's already been over 2 (almost 3) weeks since I arrived in Hawaii.  Part of me feels like I just got here, and the other part of me feels like I never left.  With each and every day that passes, the confirmations about me being here have increased so much.  Not only have I had words from people confirming it, but the work that the Father has done in my heart already is unbelievable.  Needless to say, thank you for supporting me so much in coming back - the Lord has blessed it!

For the first couple days I got here I just rested, tried to get over some jet lag, and was getting settled in to my place here.  I thought I was going to have a week to get settled, when all of the sudden I was asked, with another friend, to take on a huge role on the campus.  With the Leadership Track, you have a practical service that you are committed to for 4 days a week about 3 hours a day.  It's part of the Servant Leadership that they value here.  So for mine I was asked to take over as Work Duty Coordinator.  Basically what this means is Erin and I have the job of connecting with every department on base (about 50 different ones), and placing 400-500 students in those departments for a certain number of hours a week for the students community service.  So we took it on!  Now if any of you know me, you know I love that type of work... computer & administration, so I fit right in.  Just yesterday we were able to get everything settled, and man did it pay off!!  It's so good to work hard for something and see the result of it.  So many lessons come in serving not for your own gain, but fully for the enhancement of others.

The Leadership Track officially started Monday!!  About 50 of us are here now, living in community with each other to the best of our abilities.  I have only known these people for not even a full week, and our hearts have grown so close.  That's part of the confirmation for me.  I love relationship, I love community, I love fighting for each others hearts, I love the messy & the reward... It's where my heart comes alive, and the Lord knew that.  So He surrounded me with 50 fired up women & men who want one thing: The fullness of Jesus in every area of their lives and the lives around them.

Before I was a little vague on what the Leadership Track is, only because I myself really didn't know, haha.  I knew the Lord wanted me here, and I knew it was to deeply challenge me, to sift me, and to raise me up as a leader - releasing me into the fullness of what He has.  But I didn't know how they were going to walk that out.  So here is a little bit more in depth of what we are doing.
- Memorizing Scripture (I am memorizing the Sermon on the Mount right now)
- Reading A House That Contends, A Tale of 3 Kings, and Daring to Live on the Edge
- Contending & Intentional Intercession
- Intentional Relationships (Family BBQ nights, coffee dates, Dessert nights, etc.)
- Practical Training & Teaching

With that, here are some of the core values of what makes up the Track:
Flexibility, Zero Entitlement, Ravenous Hunger.
Self-Motivation, Teachable Hearts, Gratitude.
A Heart Without Offense, Boldness, Personal Revival


That is a little of what our week has looked like, and it has been amazing.  I have experienced so much freedom in my heart these past 2 weeks.  One thing that the Lord spoke to me when coming here was that if I allowed Him, He would really ground me in ways I had always dreamed of, but never believed for.  But one of the ways He was going to do it was that everything that I was afraid of, when the opportunity raised, to run fully ahead into it.  So I have started to do that, which has been terrifying and shaking, but SO rewarding & freeing.  One of the ways is that I am singing on one of the teams for the Prayer Room.  Which is basically 2 hours once a week while we have a corporate session of worship & intercession.  I have only done it once, but the enemy is being crushed one step at a time and it's awesome.  It's amazing to see the Lord do some crazy life changing stuff in you, not even when you are seeking it out, but when you're just available and open to Him refining you.  And I really believe that is a lot of what this season is about.

Another part of the Leadership Track is having steady supporters.  When you are in a setting like this, having a lot to do and just serving in so many ways, having a lack of finances can sometimes weigh on you.  I fully believe the Lord wants to pour out and to use many of you in this area.  So, if you would ask the Lord if He is calling you to support me, either one time or monthly, I would greatly appreciate it.  I need a minimum of $600.00 a month to live here and I am very far away from having that settled.
Thank you to everybody, again, who have supported me in prayer and every other way.  You are all such a blessing.  I miss you guys like crazy, but love you so much more and am praying for the fullness of God in your lives!!!

Enjoy some pictures from the past 2 weeks!

[my sweet friend arrow, and an amazing sunset]

 [pool-days & my favorite things]

 [amazing men helping me move into my beautiful little room!]

 [starbucks everywhere i go]

 

[my coffee buddy, arrow]

 [hapuna beach with photogenx dts & holly]

[jonathan.  met in our dts and still one of my best friends after 2 years. so thankful for him]

 [the amazing holly, and my incredible roommates lindsay & lizz]

[some of the track, all eating breakfast together (every morning), and then middle of campus]

I love you all <3!!!

Whirlwind!

The only word to describe this past week would be whirlwind.  I couldn't explain to you all thats happened, but I will try!  At the beginning of the week, I was planning on moving to Wilmington NC with my best friend.  Well, I walk into work on Tuesday and receive an opportunity for a promotion, to be one of the Office Managers.  I am sure you can imagine my surprise at this, especially since I have only been employed there a little over 2 months.  I knew this was the Lords favor, so I decided to pray about it.  On Thursday night, I was praying and really just wanted the Lord to only make one thing go right, this way the decision was easy.  But I knew that He wasn't do that, and part of it was so that I would really seek His heart, receive His perspective, and go after His face in this time.  So this past weekend i went to Wilmington with my parents and younger brother.  It was such a fantastic time for all of us, and the Lord really began to speak a few things.  During my time Thursday night & the weekend on Wilmington, the Lord spoke a lot, but it wasn't on direction; it was about my heart.  He brought me back to many journals entries, over 6 months ago, about seeking His face and that He would give me clarity when I had to make decisions.  He spoke about how my heart is the most important thing, to guard it & to go after the things in it with all that I have.  Over the weekend my dad asked me a question, "Lizzie, if you could go anywhere and do anything, if peoples opinions didn't stop you and you really went where you were fully alive, where would you go?" Immediately my heart knew, "Hawaii".  The thought of this scared me a little bit, because I was nervous that I would use Hawaii as my crutch, but then the Lord revealed to me that that was part of the reason I stayed home.  He has used this six months to ground my faith, to stir up my hunger for His heart, and my roots have been brought deep into His soil.  All of the fear was erased and He brought hope to my heart again.

My heart for the nations cannot be described, and when I get around people who have that same heart beat, I come alive.  I was made for something more than the ordinary, I was truly made to thrive in the extraordinary & the supernatural.  I believe the Lord has put a desire in my heart, that for this season, will be quenched while being in Hawaii.   I will be on staff with Fire & Fragrance and will be joining some of my best friends on the Leadership Track they run on campus.  Some of this will include: prayer room staff, ministry into the town of Kona, serving the campus in needed areas, staffing DTS, staffing schools and leading outreaches, participating with another pioneer community, teaching in schools, and ministry trips.  The point of this track is to raise up a generation sold out for the Lord, living a lifestyle of honor and respect, worship and intimacy with the Lord.  It will be an intense season of seeking the Lord for the present and the future and investing in relationships as well as training and preparing for all He has for my life!!  I am extremely excited and expectant of what will happen and all the Father will be doing during this season & I cannot wait to see it all unfold.

At the moment, I will be leaving for Hawaii at the end of this month.  I am still in need of a plane ticket so that date isn't sure yet.  I will also need a minimum $600 a month in support.  This will include all of my living expenses; housing & food, gas for transportation, and other necessities.  If you feel the Lord putting it on your heart to support me either monthly or one time, please feel free to call me at 704 724 1175 or email me at oceansroar@gmail.com.

You can hear more about my journey with YWAM by clicking here ---> "Going Deeper"
And you can hear more about how you can be a part by clicking here --> How You Can Be A Part

Thank you so much for all of your support and prayers.  God bless you!