April 2014 Insta-Recap

back in muhrica #reddingbound #partybus ♥

 

I miss Florence already! ;-( #nofilter #italiancountryside

★ #bethelitalia team reunion ♡ ♥ at Madayne

 

Lunchtime throwback :-) #teamdinner #italy #calzone #therealdeal #biggerthanyourhead

Another week, another stack of homework to complete #gonnamissthis #bssmlife

Seriously though, isn't that face perfect! ♡♥ #nephew #happyauntie

I fit in size 2 jeans today, thanks American Eagle for believing in my potential! #losingthoseitalianpounds

It's my best friends' #birthday, the funniest, most encouraging, brave, wise & successful friend I've known for more than a decade now (gosh we're old!) who's literally stood by me through thick and thin. I cant begin to list how many "thins" where she's gone above and beyond. I wouldn't know who I am without her. Happy birthday to my darling Michelle!!! Ti amo! #bestie

Crispy guilt-free nuggets :-) //1 cup panko breadcrumbs, 1 egg & 1 tbsp water, onion powder, garlic powder, pepper & seasoned salt (to taste). Toss chicken in some flour (to dry off so the eggs stick easier to the breadcrumbs), dip in the egg mixture & roll in the breadcrumbs. Repeat once or twice if desired. Preheat oven to 420°. Spray some coconut oil on a sheet, line em up and bake for 20 minutes. #chickennuggets #recipe #healthyeating dip in ketchup or lite sour cream & enjoy! #goodeats #cravings

#Dinner// Turkey #Burger on whole wheat with pickles, tomatoes & mixed greens and ketchup, with a side of OJ & sweet potato fries #healthyeating

Got me some new #headphones #rosegold

(Pic Regram from @nedwardson) ... I thought I couldn't love this city more until last night when HUNDREDS of people from the cities DIFFERENT churches gathered together under one roof for Good Friday worship and Communion and the different senior pastors and their spouses gave a word. So beautiful.

After feeling sick the past 2 days #GreenSmoothie //kale, 2 apples, ginger, orange juice & honey to sweeten. Ginger's benefits include building up immunity & fighting joint inflammation. Orange juice for some vitamin C and kale is a great detox and vitamin A, C, K and calcium and for inflammation as well. #toyourhealth #chug #healthyeating

My new external hard drive just came in the mail, checking off another item in my back-to-Kenya shopping... I'm so excited!!! Look at how small that is & my whole life fits in it! If you saw my clunky 50gb old hardrive you would get how excited I am 🙌 😃

Homemade in-n-out sauce, finally did it & dang its good even with a veggie burger & sweet potato fries, hey you can be healthy & still have some fun too :-) #cheatday

#MCM #AdamLevine #nofurtherexplanationneeded

late night worship tunes thanks to @obey_p. These lyrics by @steffanydawn blew me away. You guys need to get your hands on this album #youmakemebrave #bethelmusic

YAYYYYYYYYY!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!!! #bssm #round2 #revivalistinthemaking #LETSDODIS #comeon #celebration #ThankYouJesus 👊👊👊🙌🙌🙌🙋🙋🙋👊👊👊

#friendswhomakeyoubreakfastwhenyoudontfeeltoogood ♥

Babysitting Prince!!!

Nairobi

Cried after seeing how far God has brought us, my sister's trip to France and mine to LA in a year!

Just braided my own hair, never done it by myself before...but 1. I'm too tired to take care of my hair every morning this week 2. My mind is already in my hairdresser's chair in Nairobi dreaming of getting pampered ♥ ...Sylvia I'm coming!!!

Nairobi

In-Laws

I watched this episode of 7th Heaven once where Eric and Annie were quizzing Mary and Lucy about what they wanted in a husband. Mary's opinion was that he should be independent from his parents because she was not planning on being one of those girls who "leaves and cleaves". On the other hand, Lucy was all, "I should be close to his family because I'm definitely going to leave and cleave."

I'm such a Lucy. One of my biggest prayers is that my future husband comes from a great family. Specifically I pray for his parents and grandparents. For his mom and I to have a relationship as good or better than my mom has with my sister-in-law. For his dad to be amazing and a huge part of our lives, just because I really want a dad in my life. For his grandparents to be healthy and amazing and a part of our lives. For his siblings to be some of my closest friends. Those things really matter to me. At the same time, obviously I pray for my guy to fit into my family and find his place there. For my siblings to feel free to call him up for whatever reason. For my nephews and nieces to be in love with him. For my mom to absolutely love him.

I am definitely a leave and cleave girl.

Grieving

These next couple of weeks are emotional. On one hand I'm excited to see my family, to eat my mom's pancakes, to spend time with my sister and trade stories, to get my hair done and on the road to recovery. At the same time I'm terrified. I have no idea what the future holds. I feel like I'm not done with Redding, my heart belongs here, but a part of me feels like I'm being ripped away prematurely. I'm not done yet, the things God showed me and others, they haven't happened yet. All my dreams haven't come to be yet. Still, here I am counting the days. I'm excited to go home, but terrified at the same time.

Home holds a lot of memories for me, the majority of which haven't been pleasant to say the least. God literally rescued me from a destructive cycle when He brought me here. I was searching for meaning and searching for love and kept thinking I had found it, only I was absolutely wrong and it was the same vicious cycle, over and over again. Not just looking for love, but career-wise, I was stuck in the wrong job with an abusive boss, and this was what the rest of my life looked like. Floating from one relationship to another, from one job to another looking for meaning.

My biggest fear is being caught up in all of that again. I. Just. Can't.

I've found my reason for being in this place. Has it been perfect? Absolutely not. But I woke up each morning and I did it and for the first time in my life, I felt ALIVE.

So saying goodbye...it's a process. I'm grieving. I know this because, tonight I miss my dad. When you lose someone, the wind gets knocked out of you. The way you breathe, the way your heart beats is changed forever. At least that's what happened for me. I literally feel a weight on my chest, I miss my dad so bad I can't breathe. I know this isn't about my dad though. I'm just grieving. I'm saying goodbye.

I miss Bethel. I miss Redding, I miss California so bad I can't breathe. I miss the promise it holds and the life I've lived. I miss all the dreams I had that haven't come true yet. I miss it with every ounce of my being. I'm excited to go home. It's my home. I have hope for my city. I love my culture. I love Nairobi. But, this place has my heart, this is Home and leaving it, well, it takes the wind out of me, and my breath will never be the same.

God, I hope I come back.

Niwe Nyama ya Nyama Ciakwa

This is a Kikuyu wedding song and also one of my mom's favorite songs so it means a lot to me.

No we wiki gai athuriire

nikyo gumeinyithie aciari akwa

ado witu a mwena na arata akwa

ni we gikeno kia goro yakwa 

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Twihiitame twaitare na gwoya

mbere ya aciari akwa na arata akwa 

na bere ya kanitha wa gai

Niwe gikeno kia goro yakwa

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Twuikire gichoe itare na gwoya

mbere ya aciari akwa na arata akwa 

na bere ya kanitha wa gai

Niwe gikeno kia goro yakwa

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Twuikiri saine itare na gwoya

mbere ya aciari akwa na arata akwa 

na bere ya kanitha wa gai

Niwe gikeno kia goro yakwa

 

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Ido ciothe ciakwa ni ciaku

Diga gutiga mathiinaini

Gutora na we hede ciothe

Tuga tigithainio nii gekuo

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Ni di kwedaga hede ciothe
Kwena thiina ka kwena mwatho

Gutora na we hede ciothe

Tuga tigithainio nii gekuo

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

Ado atwa othe matwike ado anyu

Ado wanyu wothe matwiki ado aitu

Gutora anyu hede ciothe

Tuga tigithainio nii gekuo

Niwe nyama ya nyama ciakwa

Niwe ihidi ria ihidi riakwa

No we wiki gai athuriire

Utwike gikeno kia goro yakwa

 

 

 

Kris.V.Opened.The.Door.For.Me!

So I've been here 9 months now & still getting rocked to the very last second. Something happened this weekend that touched me so much that I had to write about it. It might not seem like a huge deal, it really isn't and I can't explain why it's so significant that I had to write about it...actually, I've SOZO'd myself & read Bethel books so much I can probably explain why it's so significant to me, but I'm sure nobody wants to hear any of that...anyway...here's the life-changing event...

Kris.Vallotton.Opened.The.Door.For.Me!

I don't mean supernaturally, paving the way or anything like that...he's done enough of that in class already. I mean literally opened the door. I was walking up behind him into Church, he saw me, he took a step back and held the door open for me to go in before him. I mean, there's being a gentleman, which is maybe just holding the open door after he was already inside. But, then there's being a man and showing off just how much of a gentleman you can be...in a good way. Going above & beyond.

It's such a small thing, stepping back & holding the door open. It's the same feeling I get when guys from school run ahead & open their car doors for me. It's being esteemed above the slight temporary inconvenience. It's being honored & valued for absolutely no reason other than the fact that God created me as a woman and them as a man.

So, I have to thank Kris & all the awesome men at BSSM (& the grandpa down the street who cheers me on when I'm running) who've showered me with honor without any idea they were doing it. To the men's small group that adopted my women's small group & arranged communion for us, sang and prophesied over us, just to show us love. All of you guys changed my life. Literally. I've always been taught that men like you don't exist & I was dreaming thinking they do but because you're here and you're REAL you've made me see who I am in God's eyes & who I can be. You've restored the standard. There's no going back from that.

Thank You!

Learning How to Flirt Again

We interrupt the Italy updates to talk about my favorite topic...LOVE!

I'm still on my journey in finding love, my love, the love of my life. I've gotta say, it's getting harder the closer it feels. God speaks to me really clearly in this particular area, I think because I'm especially keen to listen :-) and I truly, wholeheartedly believe it's happening very soon, when this handsome young man finally walks into my life.

So I came across this video on YouTube.

It's really interesting. It talks about how over 40% of Americans over 18 are single and how most of us (still 100% Kenyan, just grouping myself in here for a second) when asked are looking for love, trust & companionship, but always assume that other single people are only looking for sex, money or status. So the guy asks the respondents to take a risk and tell someone that they are attracted to, what qualities they are attracted to. It's pretty sweet actually.

I live in that culture though, here at Bethel, where you affirm people and tell them what qualities they have that stand out. However, I must confess, it's a lot harder when it comes to guys I'm actually attracted to. I don't know why. I guess, I'm still in that school of thought where I like him, but I don't want him to know I like him, so I treat him different from how I treat other guys and I stare secretly but ignore him awkwardly, so in the end he stills knows I like him, except that now he thinks I'm a weirdo and ignores me anyway. Yeah...it's crazy.

This video made me think though.

It's one thing if our eyes meet across a crowded hallway and sparks fly...at this point though, I don't even remember what it looks like when eyes meet and how to give that flirtatious gaze without looking desperate. I used to be an expert! OH, MINISTRY SCHOOL WHAT HAST THOU DONE TO ME!!! Kidding, kidding, relax!

I should end this without making it any more embarrassing. Let's summarize...

1. Take risks
2. Always affirm people because everybody likes to hear how awesome they are
3. Read a book on flirting and remind yourself about how it's done

:-)

Italy Mission Trip Day 4

"Heather, wake up."
"Wha--?"
"Wake up, it's 10"
"NO ITS NOT!"
"Yeah, wake up."
"Nooooooo!!"

Basically, that's what our morning looked like. The best thing about Italy was the shades on the windows. The room was pitch black, I could have slept all day and not even know it. So with tears in my eyes, I got out of bed and got ready. Our house mom was freaking out because she was told she had to get us there by 12. I was like, there's no way anyone is going to be ready that early, but still, we hurried up and got to Church by 12 and of course, no one on my team was there...but the leadership team was and that welcome we got was amazing...as was the spread laid out for us.

We just relaxed and had quiet time the rest of the afternoon and got to speak to someone coming to BSSM this year so we gave her all the inside scoop :-) Finally, we had service and the senior pastor took us into his office and prayed over us and we had some worship time there as well. It rocked!

His wife was the worship leader & daughter was the guitarist...how cool is that?! #kingdomfamilies

 

The service was amazing, we got to minister to a lot of people. The atmosphere in Church was really happy and open. We saw backs healed and pain leave and hearts ministered to. We got to break the preconceptions a lot of people had about God and love and spoke to peoples hearts.

 Next we went back to our host homes and got to have dinner with them and really bond and connect.

Italy Mission Trip Day 3 - Saturday

This morning, we had a bit of a team debrief at the Convento. This is the point I was praising the Lord saying, "what life is this I'm living, where I wake up in the morning and find out I'm going to Switzerland!" God is so Good!!! So we were split up into teams. Team 1 left for Varese & Switzerland, (with me) and Team 2 left for Asti.

We arrived at New Vision Varese Church and I have never been welcomed so warmly in my life. I wasn't as nervous as I thought I would be. I wasn't even thinking about how I would hande the language barrier, but somehow it all worked out. So we met our hosts and we had lunch with them. Boy, was that  spread!!!

So we were just chilling at the Church with the community and with a couple of the worship team members. It was raining but they decided to take us out to explore the city. They took us to what is apparently the best gelato in the world! The place was called Romano. I got a lemon gelato. It was really good.

 After some walking, we were heading to Switzerland. I was in the car with 2 Americans, a Canadian and an Italian. The border patrol officer asked us where we were from and our leader said, "Redding", the officer said, "Ah, I know Redding." I found that to be pretty cool :-)

New Vision in Mendrisio, Switzerland was beautiful. It was in a hotel conference room, there was artwork on the walls. I loved it.

Finally, some ministry updates! We prayed and got ready to minister. It was awesome to hear the hearts of some of my team members. We soaked for a bit & headed out. I felt incredibly comfortable & was saying hello to strangers.

We were activated in prophetic art & asked to draw some pictures to give out. When we were introduced, I got to share my picture which was a bad report cancelled out, with a big heart over it and a good report on the other side with streamers and balloons. I explained the word as someone had gotten a bad report at work and God was saying He has His eye over the situation and He's writing a new report so I asked if anyone there was facing that situation and 2 people raised their hands, but sadly only had 1 picture. (Looking back, I should have prayed for both of them and not just released the word of knowledge I got)

We also got to activate the kids there in prophetic art. It was amazing, those kids just grabbed the mics, no nerves at all and interpreted their pictures.

At the end of the night, we had ministry time. I paired up with Alissa, a 3rd year student, who is an amazing prophetic voice!

One woman came up who wanted us to pray for her son & a possibly bad relationship & a lot of other family relationships. I felt it really strongly I needed to love & appreciate her as a mom. Alissa went first & said she came here for her son, but God brought her here for herself. God wanted to honor and love her. Alissa called out all the gold in her and she was in tears. Then I took over and told her God honors and loves mothers. As a prophetic act, I knelt and rubbed her feet and told her to imagine me washing her feet as a sign of honor. She was wrecked.

A man came up who had diabetes and we prayed for him, he had no way of testing it out. His other request was to be a plane of the Holy Spirit. I pulled a Chuck Perry and asked him if he liked wine...lol, I don't know what I was thinking...anyway, he said yes. I told him the Holy Spirit is like wine. You can either pour yourself a little shot glass or you can pour a whole barrel. Then I asked him to imagine himself drinking out of a barrel. I don't know how well that translated, lol. I was getting a little joy-filled myself and he started laughing and we told him, he doesn't have to do anything or try hard, he just has to be himself.

A couple came up next and the girl was proper crying and I was a little freaked out, like, what's going on here? She told us basically that they were so in love and they just wanted to serve God and needed wisdom. I LOVED THAT! That was my favorite. Lord, lead us to a place where love & how to best serve you is our greatest problem! We just encouraged them that they already knew the answers and that they needed to communicate & share their hearts with each other , and we got to minister over them.

A girl came up next 7 before she told us anything, I could tell she was full of compassion & would lead people out of that. She wanted God to make her taller. We prayed, by this point I was expecting to open my eyes and see a 6 ft tall girl, but she didn't grow. Instead we called out who she was and showed her how much influence she had already and how she should be confident in God using her whether shes this height or that.

These are just a couple of the amazing things that happened in Switzerland, hopefully, I'll put some more stories up soon.

Next the New Vision Senior Pastor took us out for dinner. Pizza!

The chef posed for my camera :-)

The saddest fish I've ever seen

Calzones the size of your head!

The dessert waiter was hilarious! (I had Tiramisu btw)

At the end of the night, which was around 1a.m, we were taken to our host home. One of the other girls and me don't like cats, well, actually she has allergies, so the 2 of us went to Mirrella's house. The other 4 girls went to one of the worship leader girls house and slept out in a RV truck, fun times...but I loved my warm beautiful bedroom with the most wonderful, kindest woman ever - Mirrella. The boys got it pretty good too and slept in a fancy loft with a view. Anyway, all this to say, we were pretty spoiled with their hospitality. This church was amazing.

We set our alarms for 10:00 am.