Back in NOLA

As some of you might know, I'm in New Orleans writing this blog post! Just being here for the past 24 hours has reminded me how  much I absolutely love this city. I have missed driving around these crazy streets, eating amazing creole food and seeing God at work in people that I meet.

Yummm! Gumbo!

Just this morning, I went to church at Castle Rock Community in the city and it was so incredible worshiping with old friends and meeting new ones.

My new friend Raeion. We got to have lunch together!

The reason why I'm here in NOLA this week is because TouchGlobal is having their biannual meetings to go over new sites (like New Jersey) and strategic plans for the rest of the year.  Please pray for us this week as we meet,  pray and plan. Also pray for my safety as I fly back to Pennsylvania on Thursday morning. I am praising God for the ability to be a part of such a Christ-centered ministry! I also want to thank my supporters because you all made it possible to be here this week.  I'm looking forward to updating my blog and telling you how this week goes.  Thank you for your prayers!

Love,
Chelsea

Sex-trafficking in the Crescent City

If your family is anything like mine, you're probably grocery shopping tomorrow for the big Superbowl party this Sunday. Whether you are hosting or going, you are one of the thousands that will tune into the big game. You may not know that a lot more than football is happening on Superbowl weekend every year. While one team wins a championship, hundreds of lives are ruined by the hour.

Superbowl weekend is the biggest weekend in the world of sex-trafficking in the United States. When all of those fans arrive in the city of New Orleans this weekend, so will many people who are trapped in sin and looking to exploit girls and women in exchange for money.

Check out this article by Justin Holcomb from Mars Hill Church and join me this weekend in lifting the women and girls of New Orleans in prayer.

Pray:

• For protection of the girls and women whose lives are in danger this weekend
• For those who are using sexual exploitation for their own gain; pray for their souls and their salvation
• For the end of human trafficking. Our God is greater!

-Chelsea

Leaving

Today was very hard for me, as it is my last day being with my fiance before I move back to Pennsylvania. In fact, it's very possible that I won't see him for more than two months. Two things occurred to me tonight:

1. My God is bigger than my problems.
2. My God is my strength. Not my future husband.

Dustin and I watched the Indescribable lecture by Louie Giglio a couple of nights ago. If you haven't seen it, you can watch it here. Basically, Giglio gives an incredible presentation on the magnitude of God by exploring the mysteries and the vastness of the universe. I realize now more than ever just how incredibly small I am. That my entire life, let alone seasons of my life, is just a tiny spark of light that extinguishes within seconds. And suddenly, every problem that I've ever encountered is diminished in the presence of a big huge and holy God. The four months that stand between me and our wedding day is nothing, absolutely nothing, when I remember that my God holds the universe in the palm of his hand. It is estimated that there are about 200 billion stars. If you were to count every star at the rate of one star per second, it would take 6,341 years. The Bible says that God has created every individual star and calls them by name. That is my God.

Secondly, I was reading Psalm 73 today and came across these verses:

"Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever...But as for me, it is good to be near God. I have made the Sovereign Lord my refuge; I will tell of all your deeds."
(verses 23-26, 28)

This giant God, this sovereign Being is my refuge. I take shelter in him because he is strong and he is enough. I don't know about you, but I find comfort in that tonight. That, despite my smallness and insignificance, I'm watched over by my heavenly Father who delights in me when I call upon his name in prayer.

Mini Update

I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas and that you were able to celebrate the birth of our risen Lord! My Christmas was great and spent with Dustin's family. I'm realizing how awesome marriage is going to be. Dustin and I always talk about how blessed we are to be marrying into families that are supportive, generous and kind! It's wonderful to feel apart of a family, even while you're away from home.

Merry Christmas!

On Christmas day, I milked a cow with Dustin's cousin, Callie! 

Right now, I'm preparing to move back to Pennsylvania for the next, almost 5 months. During that time I'm looking forward to visiting New Orleans in February, visiting our Hurricane Sandy site in Galloway, NJ a few times and of course, planning my wedding.
This weekend I'm sending out a newsletter with an update on our Hurricane Sandy relief efforts. If you would like and update and don't receive my newsletters, just give me your email address and I will get one to you!
My latest project for TouchGlobal is writing an article for EFCA Today, EFCA's online magazine. Check out the magazine here. I'll provide an additional link when that article is published.

Prayer Requests:
- I can always use prayer for more support! Please pray that God will raise up people who can give financially and commit to praying for me.
-Safe flight back home (Friday, Jan. 11th)
-Easy transition back in Pennsylvania.

Money Talk

I just spent the past 2 hours pouring over my budget, listing the Christmas gifts we are getting everyone, silently groaning noting every time I subtract a dollar, calculating every last cent.

I know, it's blank. This was before all the scribbling :)

I'm pretty sure this isn't normal, but my heart beats faster when I see how money looks on paper. And I mean, it beats like a drum. Not in a happy, excited way. In a "ohmygoodnessthislookshorribleIamsobadatthishowwillIeatthismonth" way. Then I text Dustin.
"Hey, I don't think we can buy presents for extended family this year."
"Hey, it doesn't look like immediate family is going to work either."
"Hey, are you sure you want to do presents for each other this year?"

No, I'm kidding. It's not that bad. But all this to say: I GOT PAID TODAY!! That means most of my support is going towards savings for the next plane ticket I have to buy!! Thank you all so much! It just touches my heart to know that the people I love and pray for are also praying for me and supporting my passion to tell God's stories! Technically, I'm supported for the next couple months but I'm still in need of about 4 supporters (able to give $50 a month) who can carry me through until August. So please pray for that, friends!

Tonight, after having my budget heart palpitations, I just want to step back and praise my Savior for the reason I can celebrate this time of year. He was born and killed for a hopeless wreck like me. Not only that, but he resurrected to save my soul and prove that He alone is my Jehovah-Jireh. The Lord has provided for me over and over again. As I reflect over this past year and how He has given me all that I need, I would like to invite you to do the same. Maybe share with a comment on this post? Thanks :)

Love,
Chelsea

Reflection

I've been opening my laptop, going to my blog and looking at a white, blank text box since Monday morning. In the end, I close the laptop and tell myself I'll write this blog later.

Last weekend, I went to New York and New Jersey in the wake of Hurricane Sandy. I saw a lot of things. My trip to Colorado this summer was just a tiny glimpse of what it's like to be involved in a initial response to a natural disaster when the wildfires terrorized the city of Colorado Springs. I can't compare it to last week's trip at all.

I'm honestly not sure what to say. I could write about the gasoline lines. I could write about moms, dads and children carrying bundles of soaked belongings from their house to the curb. I could write about the woman who teared up, telling us that her teenage daughter was handling the loss of their home very well and that she was proud of her. And then there is the overwhelming response from people who want to help. Tables are set up everywhere offered free food and drinks. People are giving out donated coats from the trunk of their car. Amazing things happen in a community when there is a crisis.

One team from Pennsylvania really touched me last Saturday. I'm pretty sure Cornerstone EFC comes to New Orleans to serve at least once a quarter. You get the picture, they are there a lot and I've had a lot of interaction with them. But they really blew me away last week.

Hoboken EFC is located in New Jersey and the city itself is actually below sea level in most, if not all, parts. So, needless to say, Hoboken had a fair amount of damage after Sandy. Hoboken EFC had knee-deep water in their basement which was not only renovated a couple years ago but also the center for a lot of ministry that happens in the tiny, one square-mile city. The Pastor Paul I met on Friday (Nov. 2) was not the same pastor I saw again, 24 hours later. On Friday, I met a man whose heart was breaking and who was physically and emotionally tired and unsure of what to do next. As the penetrating smell of mold hung heavily in the air we breathed, he was discouraged and quiet. So...we set up a course of action.


Cornerstone's response was immediate and enthusiastic. They embraced the challenge of gutting out a dank, smelly basement and hosting a neighborhood block party. Quite possibly the first block party every in Hoboken! I didn't get to hang around much on Saturday in Hoboken because we were pretty much on the move all day, but for the short time I was able to stop in and visit I was so encouraged! Of course it's always nice to see old friends :) The block part seemed to be a huge success! Never have I seen strangers gather in front of a building just to hang out and eat some hotdogs in the northeast. Wow, what an incredible, practical way to show the love of Christ! These people had been stuck in their dark, powerless houses for days and just seeing another person and having a conversation was a delight for them!

I suppose I should have just started typing a long time ago...I discovered what I wanted to blog about! Again, this disaster just makes support raising more urgent. The ONLY reason I was able to travel last minute to the northeast is because of the generosity of EFCA paying for my plane ticket, food, etc. In order to be able to do this the next time TouchGlobal wants to respond to a crisis, I need to use the support money raised to get there. Please prayerfully consider being a part of the kingdom in this way. If  you are already supporting me and you plan to keep doing it for another year, you are AWESOME. Just shoot me an e-mail to let me know :)

chelsea.buffington@efca.org

Love in Christ,
Chelsea

P.S. - I took a million pictures, but they aren't uploading. Check back for pictures or check out TouchGlobals Facebook.

Hurricane Sandy Created a Mission Field

I am amazed at God's sovereignty. Today, I am completely and utterly amazed by that.

Just the front of a long line of people waiting for gasoline

I had emailed Mark earlier this week about doing whatever he wanted me to do in the wake of Hurricane Sandy to get the news out. I never expected him to ask me to come to the east coast this weekend. Within 19 hours of getting a phone call from him, I bought my plane ticket, packed, finished a presentation due the next day, did various other things I was planning to do this weekend, presented my presentation had one last meal with Dustin and hopped on a plane to Philly. Can I just say right now that I love my job? And air travel.

Today was definitely an experience. I've never seen hurricane damage so soon after the actual disaster. It was eerily similar to New Orleans and the pictures I've seen post-Katrina. People lined up for at least a mile at most gas stations, both standing and in cars. While driving through New Jersey last night, we would hit spots that were completely blacked out.

 I walked up a street today and people wandered past me, unsure of what to do with their soaking wet possessions piled up on the sidewalks. I saw the caution tape slapped onto a house that you could see straight through to the back door. I looked at pictures taken of a woman's house that was completely under water. And I watched a pastor light up at the mention of doing a block party and handing out food tomorrow in front of his church. I listened to the story of a woman who worked in a shelter for the past few days, helping people who had a home one day and nothing the next. I sat around a kitchen table and talked to a family who was excited to have us in their house and wanted to learn more about this ministry.

Photo taken in front of a property on Staten Island.
Things salvaged from the flood.

I don't think people realize how bad it is until they come here and see it for themselves. That's why I'm doing this. People need to know and see pictures and hear stories of real people that we've met that are suffering and struggling. People that are rejoicing because of their hope in Christ, not their hope in things. Today, I heard that 3% of Staten Island (which has a lot of damage) claims to evangelical Christians. That's 3% of over half a million people. We believe that a mission field is created in the wake of every crisis. This is a mission field. We have an opportunity.