all bright and beautiful

for iceland:

remember, our message is not about ourselves;

we're proclaiming Jesus Christ, the Master.

all we are is messengers, errand runners from Jesus for you.

it started when God said, "light up the darkness!"

and our lives filled up with light as we saw and understood

God in the face of Christ, all bright and beautiful.

gal. 4.5-6


oh, that iceland would know the Light that fills our hearts.

"the gospel will persuade no one unless it has so convicted us that we are transformed by it."

-brennan manning

Gleðileg Jól

merry christmas from iceland.

thank you, god, for jesus. immanuel, god with us. the savior.

the greatest gift in history.

may you all be continually amazed by the sacrifice and love of jesus.

may you realize the great gift we have through jesus - the salvation of our souls.

the world needs to know our reason for celebrating.

blessings.

rae

Reykjavik

Hello from Whoville!

You think I'm kidding, but you wouldn't believe how Whoville-like Reykjavik is during Christmastime. 

This will be my first Christmas away from home, but if I had to spend it anywhere other than Texas, Reykjavik would be that place. I'm in luck.

Iceland is wonderful. We have been here just over a week, though it feels like longer. Out of 17 people, all but 4 of us got a stomach bug within the first 3 days. It was crazy, but thankfully we have recovered.

Ministry has been wonderful, most of the time we just go out and talk to people, make friends, pray for people on the streets, etc. Last Saturday night we were out until 3am handing out free hot chocolate and coffee to people who were out partying. I've never seen anything like it. People were coming up for prayer, to read verses from the Bible, just to talk... Icelanders are very open to anything spiritual, so the door for sharing the Gospel is WIDE open. 

At one point in the night, a young man came up to the table to get a drink. It's pretty rare that my heart completely breaks for a particular person, but my heart broke when I saw this guy. Oliver was his name and he looked very young. I could tell he had been drinking and maybe done some drugs. But other than his slurred speech, he seemed pretty normal; just your average european hipster. For some reason I was so burdened for Oliver. As I watched him, he reached for a drink and said, "I just got out of rehab yesterday.... and tonight... I fell." He asked if we could pray for him, so we did. The whole time he just kept yelling, "God, give me strength! God, give me the strength!" We eventually got him a ride home and later found out that Oliver is only 16 years old. He is one in thousands of young people in Reykjavik that are addicted to some sort of substance. This night got me dreaming about half-way houses and what it would look like if the young people of Iceland were captivated by Jesus, if they caught a glimpse of the love of God - the inheritance of His children. It would turn this whole city upside down.

Needless to say, God loves Iceland.
I love Iceland.
You should come here, because you would love Iceland.

I hope you all have a wonderful, merry Christmas. 

May you remember and celebrate the greatest gift we have in Jesus, the redeemer of our souls. 

xo

our team of 18 leaves on Monday morning for the wonderful, cold, dark, beautiful country of Iceland.

can't wait to see what God's up to.
may we be used to make his name known among the people,
may we be willing to give whatever it takes to see the truth get to those who don't know it.

pray for us?
much love.

rae

we leave for iceland in 14 days.

unreal.
absolutely unreal.

now for an update, a real one:

// my iceland team is made up of two leaders, a family of four, a cook, dancers, musicians, a videographer, artists, and lord of the rings nerds; 18 people in all. we are going to have an amazing time and more importantly, we are going to tell people about jesus and see how we can love them. i've been on a few different outreaches, but i can honestly say i have never been this excited to go. this outreach planning has been so stress-free and everything has been falling into place since day one. we've been told we can do whatever we feel like god wants us to do each day, so we have an amazing opportunity before us. please pray for understanding as people hear the truth, relationships to be built with icelanders, team unity, joy/positive attitudes (as there will only be 4 hours of sunlight a day), wisdom, and that we will walk in obedience regardless of if we "see fruit" or not.

// this DTS has been such a learning experience so far. it's been wonderful. we have some of the most wonderful people as students in this school, they are insane! we have seen many people come to lord through these students already and we aren't even on outreach yet. it's been really great to see them learning and growing and to be a part of it. i have personally learned many valuable lessons throughout the last few months as well. i've been learning to value someone's discipleship over my comfort, to speak truth even when it's uncomfortable, and to ask hard questions.... basically, god has taught me a lot about discipleship in general. it's not easy, but it's what we are called to, and it's extremely rewarding. and humbling. and challenging. all at the same time. i'm so grateful.

// thanksgiving is already over, and i can't believe it. my family came up here all the way from texas! they were here for the whole week and since it was their first time to see montana, showing them around was so much fun. it was one of the best thanksgivings i've ever had, even if it was away from home. god is good to me, having them here was such a gift.

// my roommate and i have been going craft-crazy. we are like two old ladies. all we do is crochet, sew, knit, and decorate our room. and we love it!


that's my life right now.
i hope all of you are doing wonderful this cold, wintery christmas season. i'm missing you and can't wait for the next time i see your happy faces. thanks for your prayer and support.

xo

fall.

this is the kind of stuff i get to experience in Montana:

seasons do my heart good.

a light has dawned.

i'm excited to tell you that in December I will be leading an outreach team to

. iceland .

yeah, we might be slightly crazy.
yeah, we are going to be cold. real cold.
yeah, it's going to be dark all day.
yeah, it's going to be AWESOME.

The people walking in darkness
have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
a light has dawned.
You have enlarged the nation
and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
when dividing the plunder.
-Isaiah 9:2&3

growing pains.

I'm back in Montana, snuggled up in my little dorm room. I just got home from a quick trip home to Texas to see my best friend get married. I'm so grateful for planes and the ability to be across the country in only a few hours...

Tonight I'm thinking of childhood & my family. Sometimes I get busy - really busy - & don't get time to just sit & think; process life & what's going on, but tonight I have this quiet room all to myself, just me, my thoughts & I. 

You know, I really love where I live. I love living in this valley surrounded by mountains & evergreens as far as the eye can see. I love what I am doing here, I get to disciple people & go to the nations & tell people about Jesus. I love the people I live/work with, too, we share the same vision.

But there are days that I really miss my family. I miss the friends that I grew up with. & today is one of those days. 

For me, that's the hardest part of living so far away... & sometimes I want to run back to my roots, to the home I grew up in & my parents who love me to death. Some days I want to go back home & sleep in my grey blue room & wake up whenever I want. Just like old times. I'm laughing, because sometimes I just really want to be a kid again. I mean, part of me always wants that, but it gets worse when I go home & realize that things are different that they used to be. Life won't ever be the same again. I will never be a kid again. I will never relive those times. 

My friends are getting married. 

My brother is getting older. 

People are moving away. 

Friends are graduating college & settling down. 

Church is changing. 

Things are just different. 

It makes me want to clinch my fists & hold onto everyone tighter. But I know I can't. Honestly, that's just where I'm at tonight. It's bittersweet. There's such a war in me, the battle between wanting things to stay how they were & wanting to keep going, to keep discovering, traveling, loving people... to keep growing. 

As sad as it is to grow up, I know that life must get richer from here, I just know it. Jesus has been good to me. The more I know Him, the more I see His goodness increasing in my life. There are hard days. There are days when I have to really try & remember why I'm here. It helps to remember that this isn't the end. I must think eternally, we all must. When I remind myself of that, & remember the goodness of the Gospel, these costs definitely prove to be worth it.  
 Jesus is worth it. 

Goodnight.

truth.

just a song that my heart has been singing.
love getting my heart focused on what amazing things God has done for us.
it keeps me going in this life. it keeps the mundane extraordinary.
it keeps me in a place of gratefulness & urgency.
jesus has been so good to us, his undeserving people.

august already?

life lately has consisted of:
 - DTS Equip. this deserves more than one bullet point... this is the leadership school i've been in this summer. what an amazing training! 
     god has shown me so much during this time. post to come.
 - reading. books books & more books. "leaders are readers."
 - teaching. yep. me. teaching. not just once, but twice! & i didn't fail. 
 - studying. final exam is THIS friday!
 - planning DTS curriculum.
 - more studying. :)
 - driving. because my dad drove my car up here last month! 
    what a blessing, when the nearest target is 25 miles away. 
 - swimming at the lake.
 - thinking of my best friend's upcoming wedding.
 - sailing... or dreaming of sailing.
 - dinner prep on the weekends. which is now over. 
 - going over applications for the Fall DTS (Discipleship Training School). the next group of about 60 students will get here mid-September.
 - praying about where to go for said DTS. ^ where to go? where to go? africa? asia? europe? s america? australia?  :)

good stuff.

one year.

i just want to take a moment today to praise God.
as many of you know, i was in India this time last year when my friend was hit by a train.
miraculously, he survived, though he lost his right leg.
some days it seems like just yesterday... other days, it feels like years & years -- i feel about 5 years older than i was a year ago. things like that have a way of growing you up.

God has been so stinkin' faithful in these last 12 months.
especially to david, but also to everyone that was with me in India.
this process is not over yet. i know i am still learning, growing, healing.
some days i still ask God what the heck He wants to do through this.
some days i still wonder if i will ever feel normal again, if i will always battle these new fears.
BUT...
i can definitely tell you that even though this has been a hard year -- probably the hardest year of my life so far -- it's been the richest. yep. the richest.
i've learned in a new way that following Jesus is worth it, because He is worthy.
my faith has been tested this year, & some days i really questioned whether i really wanted to do this or not... follow jesus.
but in this way, i can say it & mean it: following Jesus is worth it.
He is a faithful God.
i can say it because i've experienced his faithfulness in the darkest of times.
He is a good God,
sovereign over all,
Immanuel (God with us),
full of love & compassion,
a healer of hearts,
the God of life.
& He is worthy of praise.


hallelujah.

i must start this post by apologizing for being the worst updater ever. i hope you can all forgive me.

life has been crazy busy, but so wonderful.

i am home now, & by home I mean Montana. beautiful, lovely Montana. so much has gone on the past couple of months: thailand, leading 15 people overseas, learning how to lead, ministry, preaching, teaching, praying, singing, seeing people come to jesus, playing guitar, trying to speak thai, getting sunburned, celebrating thai new year, falling in love with southeast asia all over again, bus rides, lots of laughs, hike, border run to Laos & many things in between.

over all, our time in southeast asia was crazy good. what an amazing trip we had - we were so blessed by our contacts & how amazing our locations were! we got to do so many amazing things & see so many amazing things. god was so faithful. it was so rewarding after the months of planning & preparation! i definitely had some hesitations in going back to asia so soon after india & everything that happened while i was there, & i had so much self-doubt in my leadership abilities, but GOD WAS SO FAITHFUL. what a sweet season god is bringing me through. just personally, i have learned so many new things about being a leader & god has done it all, because i definitely couldn't have done any of it on my own. this was my first school to staff, & i came in feeling really clueless & ill-equipped, but God's been faithful every step of the way & now these students are a week away from graduation. i can't believe how time flies! yesterday we had interviews with the students from my team & to hear about all that god's done in their hearts since january was so rewarding. not even just hearing what the students have learned, but actually seeing the physical difference in their life, like God has brought them from one person to a completely different one... that is the greatest "paycheck" ever. i am one lucky kid...

i'll be back in Texas May 21- June 3 for my sister's wedding! if any of you wanna hear stories from my time in Southeast Asia, please call or email me, i'd love to meet up!

much love.

the cost of discipleship.

"When God calls a man, 
He bids him come and die."
        - D. Bonhoeffer

thailand.

We have been in Thailand nearly 2 weeks already! Time flies, & we still have 6 weeks on this side of the world. I'm looking forward to every minute.

Our first few days here were spent in Bangkok where we got to pray in two different red-light districts & God spoke to me SO much those two days. What a blessing it is to be a light in a dark place, to see what God has reached down & pulled me out of & to know that His love goes so deep for the people of Thailand. At first I was overwhelmed by what I saw on those streets; even angry. But the more I walked through, seeing men & women caught in this trap, God's love overwhelmed me... He loves these people. He wants to be reconciled with them. That's why He sent Jesus. I couldn't help but think about the old testament, how God had made a covenant with His people & they broke it. Time & time & time again He said through prophets to return to Him, so come back & be reconciled to Him, but still they ran - to idols, to other loves.  & finally He sent Jesus because we could never fulfill the law. He sent Jesus to us. He sent Light into darkness. & we are the light of the world. It's a privilege to go, to be where He would have been. 

Now our team is settled in Ubon Ratchathani. We are working with a church here in the city. We have been to several surrounding hospitals & we've been able to play worship, share testimonies, perform dramas, & preach the gospel at all of them. We've even been able to pray for some of the patients, which is sweet. Every day there are 3 of us that get to share our testimonies & tell how to become a christian on the radio for 45 minutes! Which means that Ubon & the surrounding areas all have a chance to hear about Jesus... there are 700,000 people the area where our message is broadcast! Not to mention we've been sharing at different stations each time! PRAISE GOD. It's been such a great week & we have been so encouraged & blessed by the Thai church. They are such a beautiful example of Christ & the early church & they love each other. We are learning so much from them! Thai people are wonderful, we are so well taken care of & we feel so welcomed & loved here! Please continue to pray for salvation here in Thailand. The people are open to hearing, so pray that seeds grow. Pray for fruit & pray for people to tune into the radio each day.

37 on my two feet combined.

That's a brief update, God is up to something here. 

Thanks for your prayers & your love. 

the harvest is plentiful.

can't believe this day is already here, but we are leaving @ 3.30am for Thailand!

the months of preparation & anticipation are over... the students are so pumped to be heading there for 8 weeks. we have such a great privilege to be able to go there & see God at work in the hearts of the people,  to build relationships, & to tell people the great news as often as we possibly can. I'm so pumped to see what He has in store for us there. 

e will be all over thailand throughout our 8 weeks, mostly in eastern & northern thailand, so please be in prayer for us! the people are open to the gospel, so pray that we will be bold in sharing & pray for the harvest.  pray that God actively works in our weaknesses & that fear wouldn't dictate how we live & minister over there. we have 17 people in all, so pray that traveling goes smoothly & that people are healthy (we have quite a few sick people around here right now). please pray that God gives my co-leader, Steve, & me wisdom, discernment, guidance & grace; that He would continue to lead us as we lead the team.

can't wait to be back on my favorite side of the world. God is so good. 

He is worthy of praise.

thanks for praying. i'm blessed to be sent out by you. 

rae

Psalm 96

oh, Saturday, how i like you.

hello from montana! man, it's been snowing all day & the ground is covered. as much as i am ready for warmer weather, i have to admit, it's so beautiful. i'm happy to have the snow. & i will be in hot weather soon enough because...

...outreach in Thailand is a little over 2 weeks away! can't believe how fast this lecture phase has flown by. i'm still really liking DTS staff. it's been quite the transition, but every day i'm just so grateful i get to be here & be a part of what God is doing here. i'm really blessed. even when it gets a little hard, i still just feel so lucky. the students rock & i like the community here.

this past week was on missions & our speaker was the base director from ywam Taiwan. such a great man of God, loaded with stories & a heart full of passion for jesus, the gospel & evangelism. i know the students liked this week, & i really did, too. God just met me this week & it was so personal. i've been dealing with a lot of stuff on my own & God really spoke to me about my heart this week. i'm getting so excited for outreach!

just wanted to update y'all really quickly. i would love to hear from you, because my phone's been out & i feel like i haven't heard from anyone back home in weeks, so feel free to email me or something. :) 

love y'all.

hi fam & friends.

i am still alive, i promise.

i just returned home last night from a full week of mini-outreach in Oregon with this winter DTS. It was my first time in Oregon & i loved every minute of it. the northwest is a really great place! you texans are missing out if you've never made time to come up here. 

our week was great, we spent each morning in lectures (this week's topic was relationships & we had some solid teaching from our base director) & after that we went out for ministry each day. the first day my group & i worked at a school, gardening, painting & building a shed. it was sweet just being outside in the non-snowy weather. :) on tuesday my Thailand team went out on the streets to meet people & talk about jesus. we met a homeless man named roger who was about to take a nap on a bench in the park. one of our students brought a ukulele so we sang him a song or 2 before he went to sleep. we sang all over the streets & prayed over Salem. it was sweet! 

the next day we volunteered at a food share, which was sweet. & thursday we were back on the streets meeting people & praying. thursday night the whole school spent the evening in Portland to join up with    Nite Strike, a ministry for homeless people of Portland. it's HUGE. they feed a ton of people & tell them about Jesus each week. since there were so many of us ywamers, we went out on the streets & prayed & also handed out food/clothing to people who weren't going under the bridge to be fed. it was a really eye-opening night and asking god what to pray for the city was overwhelming but still so beautiful to, in a small way, see how He sees. i want to see more things through His eyes.

friday we were out & about in Portland for a day off. i was with michele all day, we went all over downtown. shopped. got some donuts (mine was maple & bacon... delish) & a fruit smoothie. rode the train. saw 2 guys get in a fight. it was a great day! i love the diversity of the city.

while in Salem, we stayed at an awesome church. it's the home church of one of my fellow dts staffers, his dad is the pastor, so we were hooked up with a nice place to sleep & hangout. one of my favorite parts of the week was seeing all that this church is doing to reach their own community. they have started so many ministries, one being a clinic that provides free medical care for the homeless & people who can't afford it. people are coming to know jesus through this clinic & many have been healed. also, they've started a community center that is partnered with local businesses, so it's not just a christian center but it's a part of the secular business in Salem. there's a coffee shop & a fro yo shop within the center & the top floor is a giant prayer room. the atmosphere there is awesome. even while i was there, i saw the workers talking with people about jesus & encouraging them in their places in life. they are really reaching people through what they do. i left feeling so inspired by what god is doing through these ministries & how they are taking normal everyday jobs, & places people go & turning it into a passion driven ministry. i'm praying god makes me so visionary...

that sums up our week in Oregon...

staffing dts has been great so far. even though i came in pretty clueless & didn't really have any idea what i was doing, i've been so blessed being here & i feel like i'm in a constant state of learning (which i don't mind). i'm learning to watch people & learn from what they do. the people i staff with are so gracious & awesome. they teach me so much by how they lead & how they love jesus.  i am blessed to live life with them. on top of that, the first school i'm staffing is full of rockin' students. it's been so cool seeing god work in their hearts & hearing how much they are learning -- it's such a sweet thing to be a part of.

have a great week, lovelies. thanks for keeping up with me. i miss you guys.

adventures...

hello all.

well it's been snowy snowy snowy here lately & a lot of it's been melting today, which makes today very wet & slushy but it's been nice to see the sun! 

it's been pretty crazy busy around here. between small groups, one on ones, lectures, worship, outreach prep & everything in between, life's really picked up. we are in our fourth week of this winter DTS & it's been great so far! this week's lectures are on Grace & Holiness, a topic that never gets old. the Gospel is such great news & i love being reminded of it. God's grace is so huge & so good. i know God's spoken to many of the students this week & i feel so blessed to see it happen, to be a part of it, & to have God speak to me as well.

last week Kris (fellow DTS staffer) & i had the privilege of taking a student from my outreach team up to Canada to go renew her passport. (it was my first time to go to Canada.) it was quite a process once we got up to Calgary, but she ended up getting her passport 20 minutes before the offices closed for the weekend! praise Jesus. i want the world to know that i survived the coldest temperatures i've ever been in: -41degrees F! Kris also showed us around Banff, which was so much fun! probably the prettiest place i've ever seen in my life, i want to go back when it's warmer. :) anyway. Canada was sweet, & i like the friends i got to go with.

we are leaving for Salem, Oregon on Saturday for a week of mini outreach. i'm beyond excited to get to go there & do some ministry with these students. we are doing homeless ministry, working in the school district there & a few other things -- i'm pumped! can't wait to tell you guys all about it. so get ready.

that's my update for now. i feel like i left so much out, but that will have to be good enough. thanks for your prayers, i'm still trying to adjust to life here & transitioning from student to staff/leaving home, but God's been teaching me a lot, so that's good. i'm encouraged by all of you & fueled by your support & prayers. y'all are the best. 

love y'all & hope you are all doing wonderful. missing you texans.

email me if you'd like. justdandyy@gmail.com.

xo rae

whirlwind

i'm alive. in montana. & loving it.

i arrived here on thursday night, and winter DTS just started yesterday. so i've survived my first two days of staffing DTS!!! what a whirlwind! this school has 43 students (bigger than usual) & 12 staff. i've jumped right in. even though i feel clueless as to what i am supposed to be doing right now & i'm trying to find my role/place on staff, i just feel so excited & blessed to be here because i know God brought me here.
i am so privileged to get to be serving here & lucky to be a part of what God is doing to make these students world changers & people who will forever impact the kingdom of God because of their time here.
wow. i am so blessed. based on the time i've spent with the students so far, they are a really really awesome group of people & i'm so ready to see what God has prepared for them in these 5 months & for us as staff as well. i believe it is going to be a sweet season. please be praying for us. i am thankful!

thanks for reading, i'm blessed by you!

i'll update again soon, but for now i'm off to go grab some coffee

& then do zoomba with some of the girls...

:)

rae

ps. there is NO SNOW here right now. can't believe it. it's been cold, but no snow yet... 

i'm probably in for a rude awakening here pretty soon. :)