Prayer

 

 

And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him. 1 John 5v.14-15

 

And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him. Hebrews 11:6

 

 But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose he will receive anything from the Lord. James 1v.6-7

 

First of all, then, I urge that supplications, prayers, intercessions and thanksgiving be made for all people, for kings and all who are in high positions that we may lead a peaceful and quiet life, godly and dignified in every way. This is good and it is pleasing in the sight of the God our savior, who desires all people to be saved and come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus. 1 Timothy 2v.1-5

 

You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on our own passion. James 4v.3

 

May he grant you your heart's desire and fulfilled all your plans! May we shout for joy over your salvation, and n the name of our God set up our banners! May the Lord fulfill all your petitions! Now I know that the Lord saves his anointed; he will answer him from his holy heaven with the saving might of his right hand. Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the Lord our God. They collapse and fall, but we rise and stand upright. O Lord, save the king! May he answer us when we call. Psalm 20v.4-9

 

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you. 1 Thessalonians 5v.16-18

 

Thanksgiving: a prayer that expresses thanks to God.

Supplication: the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.

Prayer: a solemn request for help or expression of thanks addressed to God.

Faith: complete trust or confidence in someone or something.

 

 

Hey friends:)

          Thank you for taking time to read this and spend time in prayer for Carrie and I. We need y'all's prayers and your support means so much to us! I just wanted to take a moment to tell you a bit about what God is teaching me and how you can keep us in your prayers. As of late, I have been really convicted of how much faith I have in that God will answer prayers. We have been discussing faith with some of our friends from church here and I have realized just how small a mustard seed is. Sometimes I think back to the complete trust and surrender that I had as a child and how that special faith that kids have should teach us as adults. The way kids don't doubt and truly believe what God will do inspires me and reminds me to look back on all that God has done. When we remember all that He has been faithful through and see all the incredible things that we overlook, I wonder why I ever doubt what He will do. He is so good and in study of prayer, I have realized how I forget to thank Him. So, I want to tell you all some of the amazing things God is doing before I ask for any more prayer requests.

          God has blessed me so much with the friends I have made here in Malawi. I knew that the only thing that would be really hard in moving was leaving my family. I still miss them, but having a church and group of friends here has really made this place like another home. Carrie and I were concerned about how we would work together, but its amazing that she hasn't gotten annoyed with me yet. Or at least I don't think she has:) We have become fast friends and I am so thankful for her. Another thing is just how much I love my students. God has given me a heart for them and I hope He will use me in their lives as much as He uses them in mine. The opportunities we have to perform and reach out are almost too much to keep up with, but I love how much people are doing for the Lord here. All in all, we love what we do. I would never have guessed that I would be here, but God's plans and ways are truly higher than ours. Below is a list of things that we need your prayers for especially in the next few weeks.  Thank you!

em

 

• Please pray for our families and our relationships. Carrie and I miss them a lot and its hard to not have the greatest contact with them. We want to be growing our relationships and friendships with them even while we are away. Its important to be a part of their lives and we want them to know how much we love them.
• Our students. We want to be good examples to them and love on them. They need Jesus so pray that He will use us to share Him with them.
• Who can know what the Lord has prepared for next year? We are praying about what to do and where He wants us to be. Please pray for clarity and confirmation for us.
• Abide, prayer, the Word. I have neglected quality time with God and have been learning about that all year. We want to be seeking Him daily and not get distracted with anything even if its "ministry." How ridiculous that I can use that as an excuse. I need to be learning and growing in the Lord each day.
• We still want more outreach opportunities, so pray for open doors and more time.
• Our girls desperately need ballet shoes. If you can help or know someone who can, please let us know!
• Dancing all day everyday on concrete takes a toll, so pray for our bodies. However next semester we are installing a real ballet floor which is like a miracle! Huge thank you to Ballet Mag and ABCCA, and especially to the Lord.
• Speaking of faith, our church Flood Malawi is in the midst of a project called Walking on Water. We are trying to buy a small plot of land where we can have church. Pray that the Lord will provide funds and open hearts to what He wants to do.
• And speaking of money, please pray for continued funding for Carrie and I to be able to continue being here/going home/etc.
• Please also pray for all the teachers who live on campus here. Everyone is finally settling in and is very busy. It can be stressful at times, but we are called to be a unified body. Please pray that God will give everyone One Heart.
• Carrie and I are constantly running errands. We go to the tailor, fabric store, meet up with people to plan for work, as well as just hanging out with people and going grocery shopping. It is difficult to get everything done without having a car of our own. So, don't laugh, we are actually in a drawing to "win a car." :) It may seem silly, but its actually a big deal for us.
• Important Dates: November 3rd, November 22, and December 12th are the days of our upcoming shows. Please, please, please pray that God will help us get everything prepared and coordinated as well as use them for His glory.

Thank y'all so very much! We love you:)
em

Dear Friends,
          It has been too long and I cannot believe how fast the time has gone. To think that we are already half way through the semester blows my mind. Much has happened since my last blog, so I will try to remember all of the important things! Thank you so very much for all your prayers! They are much needed and I know God has been listening. Carrie and I absolutely love what we do here and I can see God working through it all. Please continue to pray for our students to know how much we love them and want them to grow in the Lord. Please also pray that Carrie and I will build each other up and push each other toward Christ. Other prayer requests would be for our school ABCCA and our church Flood. Pray that God will use these ministries for His glory and the spreading of the gospel. Thank you all so much!
          Once we got into a routine, the craziness settled down a bit (at least until Christmas gets closer.) So, we have settled into all of our classes and they are going really well. We are encouraged by our students hard work and dedication along with all the potential that we see in them and in the entire ballet program. God has placed about one hundred and twenty students in our classes which is wonderful and a challenge at the same time. We want to minister to them as well as push them in ballet and it can be overwhelming. Sometimes I feel unqualified to try to 'lead' so many girls. It is humbling to ask God to use me even despite mistakes and shortcomings. It is a privilege to teach so many girls with such great attitudes and they bless me so much. I am very excited to see how the Christmas Production goes this year! Everyone has been working hard on preparing and I hope that it will reach out to the students families and that people will come to the Lord. There is still much to be done though, so please, please, please keep all of that in your prayers!
          It is so cool to me how God gives his children so many different kinds of talents in order to put them in different places at different times to impact different people. Our workplaces should be one of our "outreach" opportunities. I have enjoyed seeing people with different gifts like teaching, leading, music, dance, sports, medical, organizing etc. coming together to spread the gospel. Carrie and I are really excited to take some of our students to perform around the community and share the gospel through dance. That hasn't really been done here much, so pray that God uses the dances and brings the opportunities! We want our girls to learn how to use anything- even something silly like dance for the Lord, because He uses everything to touch people in different situations. We also had the opportunity to perform with some of our friends from church in a huge music festival called City of Stars a couple weeks ago. It is a 'secular' festival, so it was a big deal that they let a Christian group perform. Our friends group is called One Lord and they did Christian rap with a little bit of remixed ballet. It was a lot of fun! Carrie and I both want to get into the community more and are looking into different ministries, but it is hard to find time. We are hoping to rearrange our schedules a little bit to make it easier. There are so many ministries and we are trying to find the ones God is calling us to.
           Last year, God taught me about the importance of memorizing scripture. He made it clear to me how we need to have His word at all times. As I was memorizing James, He showed me how important prayer is. I saw that when I was studying the author and how he was always on his knees. Someone who inspired me to be in constant communication with God would be my mom. In fact, that's something I am learning right now, to remember to look back... to look back on what God has taught us and who has been influential, to never forget what He has used to get our attention. I think its important to share how far God reached to pick us up out of darkness. Its important to remember how it had nothing to do with us and how His incredible grace has no end. His continual daily grace doesn't run out and that is what keeps our hearts bound to Him. Besides learning to remember, its becoming clear how the quality of time spent with God really matters. "Chashah" is the strong's word used in the Bible for "be still." It means to be inactive. "Meno" is the strong's word for "abide." A couple of its definitions are 'to remain' and 'lasting.' What does it mean to be inactive before the Lord? How can I keep my mind inactive and waiting for Him instead of letting it be distracted? I want to remain in His word and have that be lasting. I want my time spent with Him to be a learning time and that is my prayer right now. God is so faithful and I am encouraged by how He works in all of us differently at the same time!
          On another note, Malawi is beautiful and living in another country has changed my perspective more than I thought it would. When we have time to go out and explore, its been fun and we love to go out to eat and hang out with friends from church. One of my favorite things to do when we have a chance to get away on the weekends is going to Lake Malawi. Hopefully we will be able to go more often! A couple weeks ago, we went with some friends and had a great time relaxing on what feels like the ocean. At school, we recently had "Reading Day" which is a big deal here where everyone dresses up as a book character. The kids got really into it and it was a fun day off. This week is also Mother's Day here so we are having a long weekend. Its nice to have a break before the rush until Christmas begins. We are enjoying some rest since usually we are always running around doing something. I also got a package in the mail from my wonderful grandparents and parents last week!:) I have to say that was the highlight of my month. I love hearing from my friends back in the states so that's been fun to stay in touch with people across the world. Carrie and I have also gotten to be good friends and I am super thankful for that. I thought it would be hard to move to another country with someone I didn't know, but it has been great. I think we bonded over our love of coffee and coke:) haha. Anyways, I love you all and am so thankful for your prayers! I am praying for you as well! Enjoy the pictures below! Much love,

Emilie

 

 2 of my favorite people:)

 

 

 how we survive

 

 getting our hair colored

 

 

I was a bit concerned...

 

 

We loved it and this is the real us:)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pictures of our students

 

 

Reading Day:)

 



 

 

 

 

 

 

 

fun with friends:)

 

 

 Festival Performance

 

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Dwell in Me, and I will dwell in you. [Live in Me, and I will live in you.] Just as no branch can bear fruit of itself without abiding in (being vitally united to) the vine, neither can you bear fruit unless you abide in Me. I am the Vine; you are the branches. Whoever lives in Me and I in him bears much (abundant) fruit. However, apart from Me [cut off from vital union with Me] you can do nothing. (John 15:4, 5 AMP)