M.A.D. Grad!!! WOOOO!

It is official!! I made it! From the first week of October all the way through to the first week of May I have been studying Dance at Brisbane Australia’s YWAM base. I took part in a 6 ½ months long DTS (Discipleship Training School) because God led me to do it and even though I went through struggles and doubts and hardship, it has been the most life changing and incredible growing experience of my life. Right from the beginning of DTS I knew my life was blessed and I knew I had a lot to be grateful for but until I actually had to be away from my family, across the world, living as a full adult on my own in a place I knew nothing about, I had NO idea just how incredible my life was/is/was going to get. I am so excited because God has shown me so much and in the last half year so much of my head knowledge that I would use to try to be super spiritual and better than everyone around me has become heart knowledge. And I have come to this amazing realization that I know nothing in comparison to what I could know about God if I just continue to fall more in love with Him. I am not as cool as I thought I was and I don’t know as much as I thought I did. But I DO know that God is amazing and pursuing a life with Him is the only thing I really want. Christ is enough for me. I have been humbled (and could always do with more of it) and I have been tested. I have been hurt and I have been mended. I have been a failure and I have been victorious but through it all, I would have been NOTHING without the help and the provision of my Father. My entire school has come such a long way and everyone has been transformed by Jesus and it has been amazing to watch. But the time has now come for us all to graduate DTS and be put back into the real world. We spent this past week having lectures on re-entry and we are about to say our goodbyes and then it will be time to take EVEYRTHING we have learned and bring it home. But more importantly than that, it is time to go home and CONTINUE to grow in the Lord. He has taught us all so much but He is done with us. Not at all. Our mission is not over now, our assignment is just changing to fit into a new location. God still has a lot for us and I am SO excited to see where everyone in our school goes. We may be saying goodbye, but saying goodbye is just opening a door to saying hello again in the future. God is so amazing and I am SO ready to live my life for Him forever. I will fail sometimes and I will stumble, but I will always come back to Him because I KNOW He will never leave me. THANK THE LORD! <3 I am excited to say that I will be home in Arizona once again on Sunday evening! So for now I ask for prayer for safe travels, I ask for prayer for deeper desires to go deeper with God and I ask that you all pray for new opportunities for me and everyone in my school as we begin our new journeys at home and all over the world. Thank you all so much for your prayers and support and always being by my side with encouragements! I am so appreciative! I love you all! See you soon! After our graduation tonight that is! ;D Blessings, Christianna Marie!

Easter Fest Success!

Over the last 6 months I have been on this crazy adventure spending my time in Australia and Malaysia. Through this journey I have experienced God in ways i would have NEVER expected and I have seen lives change completely. Including my own. When I first felt led by God to go on this far away journey, i definitely did not expect Him to change me in the ways He has. I expected Him to simply show me how to use my arts as my ministry. And while He HAS done that, He has also done SO much more! He has shown me the meaning of love in ways I never even knew were possible, He has shown me the importance of laying down my rights and being grateful for EVERYTHING. Not just the small or little things. He has shown me the true meaning of being a blessing in order to be blessed. He has shown me the importance of relationships whether they be family or not. He has shown me how to have His heart and eyes for people and how to love them! He has proven to me His everlasting presence and I have learned how to hear Him on a daily basis!!! I did not realize 6 months ago how much my life was going to change but I am SO grateful that it has! And i would not trade one second of this adventure for anything. I wouldn't trade it for easier routs or for comfort. I am SO thankful for everything that has happened. Last week my school was in Toowoomba Australia where we were helping set up and work at Easter Fest which is one of the largest Christian Music Festivals ever. Through this tiring and hard working week God revealed to me His enormity in a brand new way I had never thought of before. On one of my breaks I was standing up on a hill looking over the festival with a couple friends and I was watching this enormous crowd sing and dance and celebrate God all together under one enormous tent called Main Stage. While we were standing there one of my friends from DTS just looked around and said, "It is so encouraging looking out over all these people and realizing that we really are not the only ones in this world that are so in love with God. Sometimes I forget He really is the God of the Universe." I don't know what it was about what He said but it shot me through the heart. At that moment I had a HUGE revelation about how big God is and how people literally ALL over the world are also part of this family that is fighting for God's love and glory! I was so encouraged and I got so excited!!! It is so easy for us in this world to center everything around ourselves but we all need to just look out the window rather than in the mirror and realize that we are not here for us. We are here for God. And there is no better way to live this life! This past 6 months has been SO hard and I have gone through some of the most difficult moments of my entire life but through it all, God is faithful. He has a plan and He uses every situation to bring glory to Him. And because of that fact, I am SO beyond willing to go through trials for Him. God is SO good, SO worthy, and SOOOOOOO faithful!!! Just Love Him!!!! He already loves you. :) Thank you all SO incredibly much for all of your prayers and support over the last 6 months! I ask for that to continue if you are willing! I only have 10 days left of my DTS in Australia and then I begin my journey home where a totally NEW adventure will begin. Because of this I am asking for your guys' feedback. So if you could, please let me know if you want me to continue this blog for when I am back home or whether you want me to make a totally new one. I am willing to do either but I want my readers to be the happiest. :)Thank you all SO much! I will see most of you in 2 weeks time!! I love you all! AND HAPPY EASTER! HE IS RISEN! <3 <3 Blessings, Christianna Marie

Welcome Back To Aussie!

Well Friends and Family, my first week back in Australia after my outreach in Malaysia has come to an end and it has been quite a busy week! But a very good one nonetheless! The majority of this week was focused on a while MAD School debrief. We spent all week sharing stories with one another all about out different outreaches! It was a time of laughter and praising the Lord for the AMAZING work He did in Malaysia, Peru, Ventuatu, Japan, and Australia! It has been SO amazing being back with my whole school again and with the entire base! Over the last 6 months, all of us really have become one big family and being able to come together again has been a breath of fresh air! It is hard to believe that we will all have to say goodbye again in just three weeks time. It is bittersweet as is expected. Now that our debrief has come to end, we are now preparing for our final local outreach here in Australia. Easter Fest in Toowoomba Australia. It will be a full week of setting up, Chai Tent, evangelism, kitchen work, walking around and doing just about any type of work you can think of; as well as doing some performances! We leave for Toowoomba early in the morning Tuesday and we will be back by Monday the following week. I am SO excited to take part in Easter Fest! It is a HUGE event and you should all look it up. God does some amazing things at this musical festival and I know the experience will be irreplaceable. Some things I am in need of as of right now from my supporters and prayer warriors are for finances in order to be able to get through the next three weeks here in Australia. I am asking for your prayers for God's provision as well as any donations you may feel led to give. As you know, I hate asking for money but sometimes there is no where to go. However! I KNOW God will provide! He has done so EXPONENTIALLY in the past and He always provides what is needed. So continue to keep me in your prayers! I am so excited to finish up my DTS but sad at the same time. Time FLIES by when you are growing in the Lord and having an amazing time. I love you all so much and am so thankful for you all! Always keep an eye out for more Blog Updates! Thank you all! MANY Blessings <3

-Christianna Marie

Team Malaylay - Half way there!

Hello friends and family! I am so happy to say that my team and I have officially made it half way through our outreach here in Malaysia and it has been an adventure I will never forget! We have been so blessed to be able to meet so many people and speak in front of so many people. We have built strong relationships and we have impacted greatly by the sweetness of all the Malaysian people. While I could easily spend all my time writing about the entire last three weeks, I am going to just focus on our last week because when God moves as much as He has been, you don't want to miss out on all the amazing details simply because you have too many stories. So! In the last week we have been many places and have seen and heard many amazing things! At the beginning of the week we were told that we would be spending most of the week in a village helping out on their farms and then during the weekend helping out with church. However, because of certain happenings, our plans changed and we didn't end up going to the village. So for the week we were waking up and spending our mornings praying and talking with God, asking Him what it is He wanted us to do for that specific day. So the first day we spent time doing evangelism in the city. The second day we did a lot of interceding for Kuching in the park that is right outside our house. Most of the week was actually spent interceding and praying for the people all around us. It was not only a good time for getting pictures and words for Kuching, but during this week we actually grew a LOT more as a team. We were getting words for each other and we were able to witness God heal a twisted ankle on our team in an instant! We then spent an evening in the park handing out homemade cookies and building local relationships with our neighbors. And i was very excited because for the first time in a long time I was able to take this time to do some prophetic art work in the park. God's inspiration is irreplaceable. The on Friday we as team decided that we should split up into our evangelism partners for the day and do whatever it is God was calling us to do for the day. So Austin (my evangelism partner) and I were praying and he felt like God showed him a pictures of a wedding and/or a celebration of some sort that we were going to be a part of. So w chose to walk out in faith, we got dressed up and set out for Friendship Park just to see what God had in store. During this day we did not find any celebrations but what we did end up doing wound up being very powerful and rewarding. We were able to spend the day praying over and blessing the whole park. We were able to speak truth out over the whole park as well as sing worship songs throughout the park. It was such an amazing day. It was beautiful seeing God's glory on earth :) Then on Saturday we went to a village where we met some locals and spent the evening in someone's home. We were able to have fellowship with them, they fed us more food than I have ever had in my life! And I was able to share a testimony while Austin shared a short message. It was a wonderful time of making relationships. THEN SOMETHING CRAZY AWESOME HAPPENED!!! The people who were hosting us that evening told us there was a wedding going on up the street and we were welcome to join!!!! SO WE WENT TO A WEDDING! Just like God told Austin we would do the previous day! Needless to say I was super pumped! God works in amazing ways and it was so encouraging! After the wedding we went back to the church we were sleeping in for the night. The next morning we were able to walk to a waterfall in the morning and we got to have our morning quiet time surrounded by God's glorious creation! We then went back to the church and were fed even more food for breakfast! Followed by the church service led by Eliza who shared a testimony and Lisanne who shared a message. After the service we had MORE food at their church's potluck! (we got rather fat this weekend ;]) And after we said goodbye to most of the village people, us and some of our new friends went back to the waterfall where we jumped around and had an adventure in the rocks p stream. It was so beautiful and so much fun! Until I biffed it in the water fall while still in my church clothing! WOO! It was fun anyway though! Once our time in the village was finished we headed back to base and then prepared for a night at a youth group. They asked if my friend Shannon and I would share the message for the night. They told us it would be at a youth group in someone's house with probably around 20 people. It wound up being in a boarding school with over 150 students. THAT WAS AN ADVENTURE! But we did it and God allowed us to make amazing friendships with the students. It was a blessed time and an amazing way to end our half way mark of outreach! And now this week we are already busy every single day and so ready to see God continue to move in and through the people of Kuching! Some specific prayer request to think about whenever you can: 1. The missing airplane and that entire situation. It is heart breaking and even though we have seen some miracles even in this situation, the families of those lost still need the comfort and help of the Lord. 2. Pray for a gal names Adaliene. She is so close to coming into salvation with the Lord. She asking so many questions and starting to talk to God for herself. Pray that she makes that commitment! and 3. Pray for my friend Shannon's and I closest Malaysian friend Kelvin. He is such an amazing guy and we love spending time with him even when he at work. Pray for good rest for him and for him to be able to the glory of our mighty Lord. =] Thank you all SO much for your prayers and support!!! I ask for that to continue! Also be in prayer for all the teams that are preparing to fly back to Australia in just a few weeks. Pray for safe travels and favor in the airports. We all readlly appreciate it! AND KEEP AN EYE OPEN FOR NEXT WEEK! My team should have another video update going up around Monday!!! I love you and all and will update once more before heading back to Australia! Thank you all! Blessings! -Christianna!

Week One: God is inspiration

Well friends and family! Week one of my outreach is complete! We spent the week doing ALL sorts of things and I am SO excited to share with everyone how amazing the people of Malaysia are. They are the absolute kindest people I have ever met and their hearts for Jesus are absolutely stunning. There is no other way to put it. We got in exactly one week ago a spent a day getting to know the area and settling in. After that it was all prayer, work, prayer, work, prayer, work. Throughout the week we wound up visiting two different schools sharing with them messages, performances, and activities. We met over 20 people that we will be spending majority of our time with so we need to be quick learners with the names! We got to meet two elderly and VERY respectable gentlemen who have incredible hearts for the people of Kuching called Uncle Mervin and Uncle Johnny. We got to become members of different cell groups with the youth ("small groups"). We took part in a college group, a youth group and two different churches. My friend and I lead a children's church last minute, and we spent a full day in the city walking around and making new friends as our day of evangelizing. One thing that will prove to be difficult is not actually having full freedom to talk about Jesus when in the city since majority of them are muslim but God has amazing plans for those days in particular I know since those people are so incredibly kind and welcoming. As a whole it was a very busy, tiring, and growing week. It was a good week! It felt good and it got me and my team excited to see what God has in store for the next 5 weeks. Our team has a lot to learn still about being a strong foundation but the more time we spend together and talk, the stronger we all become. Together as a team and individually with God. Some fun facts about my experiences this week so far! 1. The food is AMAZING majority of the time! Haha! If you know me you know that I have always been an incredibly picky eater and I knew from the beginning that that would be my downfall on outreach. However, God has blessed me because there has actually only been 2 times this week when I have had to "make" myself eat something that was not easy to hold down, let alone pretend like it was good. 2. I stick out like a sore thumb. Even in my team! I am the tallest girl so i pretty much tower over the beautiful little Asian women as well my team AND I am the only blonde. The only blonde on my team and pretty much the only blonde in Kuching! (that is exaggerated a little ;]) and 3. I am not good at "fitting in" to such a quiet culture. So i know God has something in mind with that lesson. I will let you know once I figure it out. So overall!!! This outreach is going to be absolutely amazing. God has incredible things in store and I look forward to updating you all again! I miss you all and I love you! I ask for your continuous prayers for me and my team. I ask specifically for good team foundation, for listening ears and hearts for God, for cultural understanding, and for sufficient rest (even without sleep). Thank you ALL for your support and love. I know for a fact that i couldn't do this without the support. Many blessings to you all! <3 -Christianna

One WEEK! Pray for Team Malay!

February 10th, 2014 In 6 days at 11 o’clock in the morning my fellow team members and I will be departing from the Brisbane airport and bound for Kuching Malaysia where we will be spending 7 weeks partnering with the YWAM base there, building relationships with the youth/college age men and women of the church, making connections for the base, and traveling around small villages sharing the gospel and love of Christ. For the last 4 months we have been learning and experiencing God in ways we never have before. We have had revelations and we have grown so much and now it is time to take everything we have been given and share it with the people of Malaysia. The people in Kuching really struggle with consumerism as well as hopelessness. Our team plan to start outreach off by walking in the opposite spirit and by fighting against these spiritual strongholds. God has amazing plans for the people of Kuching and it is with and only with God’s help that these people can begin to be set free. This Australian journey has been insane. God has revealed Himself to me in SO many new ways and I have never been more in love with Him. I am experiencing a hunger for the truth and for God that I know will never be satisfied because there is ALWAYS something new to learn about our mighty Lord. I am so excited about everything that has been happening in my life in the last 4 months and I cannot wait to see how much MORE different I will be by the end of our 2 month outreach. I want to thank everyone who has supported me through this crazy journey. Whether it was through your prayers, financially, through reading my blogs, or for sharing my updates you all helped me so much and I would not still be here without you. I know this journey is not over yet and I know that once DTS is over, my life is really only just beginning but I still want you all to know how appreciative of you I am. SO THANK YOU! I plan to update my blog at least once or twice every couple weeks when in Malaysia, but unfortunately I cannot promise anything. So keep your eyes open for any updates! I hope to share many more pictures and stories with you all through the rest of this adventure!!! Many blessings to you! -Christianna M.W.

Miraculous Provisions!

Has there ever been a time in your life when you were in desperate need for God's provision and even though you KNOW He ALWAYS provides EXACTLY what we need, you still doubt He is going to come through with this one situation? DON'T DO IT! Because when the time comes and He COMPLETELY provides for you, you WILL feel guilty for not trusting Him because all a long you KNEW He would be faithful in the end and it's a slap in your face that you needed. One thing I learned this week that changed my thought process a LOT was the fact that God wants to know what it is YOU want to do. It is great to go before God ans ask Him where He wants you to go, but sometimes when you ask Him that, He is asking YOU where YOU want to go. When I got this revelation this week, ya know what I did? I SAID OUT LOUD TO GOD: "I honestly don't think You are going to give me money for Malaysia and I don't think you want me there for whatever reason because if You did, I would have that money. BUT God, I WANT TO GO TO MALAYSIA!" Even just looking back on this and remembering the doubt I physically said out loud to God makes me so ashamed and disgusted with myself. I was being an inconsiderate selfish slob! And regardless of that fact, ya know what God did? Yeah. God gave me $5000 dollars in one. stinking. day. $5000!!!!!!!! And all I can do is repent and ask for forgiveness for my horrible selfishness and disbelief AND constantly praise and worship our PREFECT and AMAZING and Providing and FAITHFUL glorious GOD! NOW! I am excited because I am going to give you the full and detailed story! If you don't want to hear it, stop reading now because I actually have a few miracles to tell you all about! God is SO good! So on Wednesday of this week in our outreach meeting, my leader Paige told us all we needed to have all our money in before January 15th. One week away. And I had $0 to even finish paying for tuition. I owed over $2000 for tuition and over $2000 for outreach. I almost broke down crying but I knew I just needed to stay calm because God would do what He needed. It got harder to keep that mindset as the week went on however. But I really did keep trying. Then everyday after that, my team would individually come up to me randomly, lay hands on me, and pray for God's provision in this area. I am so thankful for my surrounding of believers. Anyway, on Thursday night we had an extra class of lectures in order to prepare us for the following day which was called "ministry day". And so we walked through the process of what the whole following day would be. But even with the preparation we had NO idea the things God was going to do. One of the things our speaker, Mark Parker, told us would be happening was a time of blessing. And during this time we would be exchanging gifts to each other. Our job was to then take that night to talk to God and figure out what was supposed to be given and to whom. Well almost immediately I knew that I was meant to give a gift to my friend, Jenni. But I had NO idea what it was I was supposed to give her. So I prayed about it and got nothin. And more of nothin. So it was a little frustrating but then I decided not to freak out about it because even if I just give a gift, it has the power to bless someone. So! With that, the next morning I decided to give one of my dresses away to my friends, Margarita. So then after our VERY powerful introduction to our day the next morning, and after we spent a long time giving thanks, worshiping, and praising God, it was time for blessing one another. So everyone got in one giant circle around the room and one by one people started giving gifts and blessing one another. And it was the most beautiful and prophetic thing I have ever witnessed! It was crazy because you would constantly watch one person give something SUPER important to them away, and immediately the situation would turn around and they would receive that same blessing BACK from someone else! People gave away their brand new iPads and iPhones and computers. People gave away long boards, and clothing and art work! People gave away iPods and EXPENSIVE cameras! People were just GIVING! And when we all got into the circle I immediately knew exactly what it was I was supposed to give to my friend Jenni. God told me so clearly to give her my purity ring. I know some people may not understand but that ring is very significant to me and I have not even taken it off my body for 8 years. It holds beauty in part of my identity that I love the world to know. I love showing physically the promises I have between God and I and so it was actually rather difficult for me to agree with God about giving it away. But considering the fact that C.J. gave me a promise ring before I came to Australia and I traded my purity ring over to the other hand at that time, I realized that it would honestly just be an even bigger blessing to be able to share that beautiful promise with someone else. And once I actually took the ring off, I felt a bit of freedom because it was also a growing up sensation for me too. SO! After watching tons of people give I finally gave away the dress and then I went up to Jenni and told her God wanted her to have my purity ring as a symbol of her love for and promises to God. And she literally fell to the ground and started sobbing harder than I have ever seen anyone cry before. I did not understand the impact the ring would have on her and I still didn't even after this. So i got down on my knees and held her in my arms and just hugged her for a while. Then I got up and went back to my place in the circle. THEN while in the circle 3 people in a row turned and handed me a piece of paper telling me specific amounts of money they were giving me for outreach!!! Then! 3 OTHER people randomly throughout the time of blessing did the same! By the end of the time of blessing I had over $2000! I was just weeping and I could not believe the things that were happening! God was truly performing miracles ALL around the room. THEN! After we had a few more hours of the ministry day, my friend Jenni pulled me aside and said she needed to talk to me about something. So I went with her and she began tell me an AMAZING story. Apparently about one week ago while we were in Airlie Beach, she had been talking with God and she had been asking for forgiveness for her past and she had been making promises to God to love Him and only Him for ever and she promised one full year of being single just so she could spend that time with God. Then she continued on to tell me how God's response to all of this was the He loved her, forgave her, and He told her He was going to give her a purity ring that He wanted her to wear always. So after getting that response she wrote down hers and God's conversation, she DREW the ring and she dated it at the top so she would know exactly when the promises were made. SO then that next week in her small group she had apparently told everyone her story. So all of her small group knew about it too so when I gave her my old purity ring yesterday, they were ALL freaking out and I had no idea why! But THAT is why she broke down! God really DID give her the ring He promised her!!! I was literally speechless. I have never witnessed anything like it! Let alone get the blessing of being a part of it! So my entire day was already insane! THEN to top it ALL off, later on my friend Lisanne pulled me aside and asked about all the money I had been given and in the end she looked me directly in the eyes and said, "once you have been physically given all the money everyone has promised you, tell me the final amount of what else you need and it is yours. Your outreach is paid for. All of it." DEFINITELY MY TURN TO BREAK DOWN! I could NOT believe what I was hearing!!!! DON'T EVER DOUBT GOD! Please!!! He is worthy of SOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO much MORE!!!!!!!!! And in one day just like that, $5000!!!! ALL OF MY OUTREACH IS NOW PAID FOR! BEFORE THE DUE DATE!!! I am light headed just thinking about it! I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!!!!!!!!! So, I am SO excited to announce that I officially WILL be going to Malaysia AND NO one has a right to say God does not provide or is not Faithful. God has done so much and He is so miraculous. My life since being here has completely changed (for the better) and it continues to do so the more I learn about God and love Him and spend time with Him. He is so amazing. And SO worthy! Goodness. 2014 is going to be an AMAZING year everyone! I hope you allow yours to be worth wile as well! Thank you to EVERYONE who has supported me and who prays for me! I ask that you continue to do that and please share these stories and miracles with everyone around you so people can know God's unlimited power and love. All glory to God! He is SOOO WORTHY! I love you all so much and I am SO excited to share all this with you! HAVE A BLESSED WEEK! -With love from Australia, Christianna!!!