Wednesday, June 29, 2011

New Blog.


Dear friends,
I have officially started my new blog! Since I am no longer serving in the Philippines, I am going to be writing on a new blog! Please continue to read my updates from the States and from the field! Thanks so much for your faithfulness to pray and encourage me during this journey!

-Madison

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Sola Deo Gloria.

Dear Friends and Family,

I hope this post finds you and your family well. I want to start off by say, “God is so good.” I am now back in the country after spending the last four months serving the Lord in the Philippines. I want to thank you for your prayers and support! This would not have been possible without you! The Lord used you to enable me to take the Gospel 8,500 miles from my home to a people who are lost and hurting. He used you to help me to share the Good News of Jesus Christ with many people who needed His love. Now, He wants you to see His reward for those who sacrifice to see His Name be made famous. Over 100 people were saved during my time in the Philippines and I was able to pray specifically with 5 girls to join us in the Kingdom of Heaven! Praise the Lord! He used your gift to enable me to spend my weekends at “Gentle Hands Orphanage” and “Malabon Community Outreach” holding little ones, singing of Jesus love to them and speaking of His love for even the least of these. Thank you. Your support made it possible for me to teach over children of 20 nationalities at Faith Academy-Manila. I got to see the impact of God’s love on missionary children’s lives. Thank you. I could not have followed His call to be sent to the nations without such amazing “senders.”

Over the last four months, God has made His plan for the next step in my life very obvious. Proverbs says, “The mind of man plans his course, but the Lord directs his steps.” When I left the country in January, I could not have fathomed the things to come; however, it could not be clearer that the Lord is calling me to be a full time missionary in the Dominican Republic. After months of praying and seeking Godly counsel, I have accepted a position at Santiago Christian School to coordinate the Middle School and High School Special Education Department. Hopefully, I will be leaving in October 2011. I also have the desire to get involved in the local church with the children’s ministry and local orphanage. God has been so faithful to confirm this direction and I am walking by faith that He will provide the prayer and financial support that is needed to make this possible. I will be going under CrossWorld Missions with a two year contract to serve in the Dominican Republic.

I am asking that you would commit to praying for me in this journey. I know that prayer is powerful because God is powerful! Also if you feel led, I am asking that to support me financially in this journey. I need to raise $1,200 a month in order to be at 100% support. I pray that you will join me again in serving the Lord where He has called me. I pray that you would help send me to reach those who need to hear. A missionary to China once said, “The Gospel is only good news if it gets there in time.” Thank you once again. May God Bless you and keep you!

Resting in His Faithfulness, Madison

My Biggest Fear...

I ran across this blog by a girl who is 19 and has severe cancer. She put into words, what my heart has been feeling for the last few weeks of being back in the States. I pray this sinks in just as much as it has in my own heart.

"You know what my biggest fear is? My biggest fear is for the "good" people who go their whole lives thinking that they're Christians because they go to church every Sunday and said a prayer when they were fifteen. Don't deceive yourself! True Christianity isn't caused by a building, or bloodline or mindless repetition. Christianity is when you study what the Bible says, and live consistently to the fact that everything in it is God breathed. Faith manifests action, it manifests fruit of the spirit (Galatians 5:22-23). Living for the Lord is a roller coaster, it isn't always smiles. The road is windy and hard, there is pain. But the end justifies the means, suffering is God's perfect way of showing us His love because through endurance of trials we are made perfect and complete (James 1:2-4). God is gracious to forgive our sin, we're ABLE to live because Jesus lived perfectly and died. I hope that if you claim Christianity, that this makes you rethink your prayers. Comfort isn't biblical, perseverance is. It wasn't until recently that I wouldn't be hesitant to say that, hesitant that you (whoever you are) might think I was crazy, or extreme. But it took almost dying to teach me how to live, and I want everyone in this world to experience that sweetness, regardless of their circumstances. And there is only one way to experience that." EK Photography

-Madison