Recruiting, recruiting, recruiting

Hello everyone!

First of all, I am so thankful for the work of salvation that Christ did on the cross and the grace that we are able to receive because of it!
Second of all, I'm so grateful for the opportunity to recruit in Pennsylvania, Missouri and Arkansas. In Pennsylvania I visited Messiah College and Lancaster Bible College and I was able to spend some much-needed time with my family.

My brother, Ryan, and I

Now, I'm currently in Missouri staying at Southwest Baptist College. My fellow (and former) intern, Dustin has been driving me around to the different colleges I need to go to. Last Friday was spent at College of the Ozarks, yesterday was spent at John Brown University in Arkansas and tomorrow and Friday will be spent at Southwest Baptist.

Recruiting has gone well so far and has been an awesome experience! Thank you so much for your prayers and support.

 Pray for:
-My boss, Katie, and my friend, Alison, as they are working in Haiti this week
-My friend and coworker Ariealle, and her grandmother who is very sick and in the hospital right now
-That God will raise up a generation of young people who want to be involved with TouchGlobal

Praising God for:
-The blessing of family and having a place to go home to!
-Safe travels around the United States thus far :)
-Using me in a way that glorifies Him!

Love you all!
Chelsea :)
"Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit."
2 Corinthians 3:17-18

Planning My Course...

"In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps." - Proverbs 16:9

Me and George, one of our construction site leaders

This verse keeps coming up more and more in my life, especially in the past few weeks.

For those of you who do not know, I'm currently in Minneapolis, Minnesota. I got here on Saturday and I spent today sitting in meetings with some awesome people who do a lot of behind the scenes stuff. Tomorrow I'm going to a writing workshop with some other communications people from our national office.

Two weeks ago, I had no idea that I would be on a plane to Minneapolis at 6 in the morning this past Saturday (Shout out to Jen who drove me to Mississippi at 4 a.m.!). Again, the reoccurring verse: Proverbs 16:9.
I'm learning more how important it is to have Christ as my solid foundation, the steady person that I can lean against. He blesses me in amazing ways! And He is literally determining my every step, and I am happily following!
The past week was great with teams from California, Maryland, Missouri and old friends from Pennsylvania! During our block party, one of the team members helped to lead a person to Christ. Still praising God for working in the city I love!

Please pray that:

• I'll travel safely as I am going to Pennsylvania, Missouri, Arkansas and Kansas in the next month
• I'll continue to give God the glory when He creates amazing opportunities for me!
• God will recruit interns when I travel to different colleges in the coming weeks

Praising God for:

• The unique opportunity to learn more about communications in Minneapolis
• Being able to go home to Pennsylvania for 2 weeks!
• His faithfulness and steadfastness

Praying for those of you that are reading this, that God is working in your life too! Thank you so much!


Chelsea :)

New Orleans: Round 2!

There is something inexplicably satisfying when you know you are right where you belong. That's how I feel right now.
I'm  in Louisiana and thanks to the generosity of my friends and family, I am at 100% support!
Let me tell you about God's faithfulness: one month ago, I had a total of $200 per month promised to me. This past weekend, I reached $1,100 per month and I can only give Christ the glory.
My first week back in Louisiana was spent with other staff from Crisis Response. We had meetings to discuss the past year and look forward to this next year. I am so excited to be a part of this ministry!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me! I'm so blessed by the people here and back home :)
Please pray:

• That I will establish a good routine between classes and work
• That this year will be productive and that God will continue to bless Crisis Response

Love,
Chelsea
"The Lord is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation; this is my God, and I will praise him, my father's God, and I will exalt him." Exodus 15:2

So Thankful!

I just want to thank everyone that made it possible for me to come to New Orleans. This summer was life-changing and I learned so much about God, other people, ministry and myself. I spent my last night with all my interns last Friday, staying up til 2 in the morning laughing with Katie and Ronnie and Keri. I also want to recognize the staff in New Orleans. We had an intern send-off party last Friday and I realized how much each and every one of them have touched my life. I have truly found a home and a family in Covington, Louisiana that will always welcome me and treat me as their own. Saturday morning, as I watched Ronnie drive away at 5 am, I realized how grateful I am for people like her and everyone else on staff here. The accountability and just the feeling of being home is amazing.

The interns and Katie on our last night!

I have such a peace about coming back to New Orleans in September. This past summer was the first step to something incredible that God is doing in my life. I'm so excited to see what it is! As I'm writing, I am sitting here in my parents living room so thankful for them, the rest of my family and their support as I embark on a new journey. I've been officially accepted by ReachGlobal to return to New Orleans and serve for 11 months! I'm praising God for how steadfast, faithful and sovereign He is! What an amazing God we serve!
As for returning, the projected budget is about $1,100 a month. I need to find supporters willing to give financially on a monthly basis, so I will be spending the next month doing that. I plan on leaving September 10th in order to make it back to Louisiana in time for the annual meetings that the Crisis Response staff holds.

Praise:

•   Jesus Christ is sovereign, mighty and worthy to be praised!
• I made it back to Dauphin, Pa safe and sound! So happy to be surrounded by my family :)
• I've been accepted to ReachGlobal for an 11 month term

Prayer:

• That Crisis Response will have more and more teams volunteer to serve
• God will provide the people who are willing to support me financially this year
• That I will remain diligent in building a team of people who will support me through prayer

Once again, thank you to everyone who has kept up with my blog this summer and has prayed for me! I'm looking forward to writing more when I return to New Orleans in September.
God Bless!
Chelsea
"See what great love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know him." 1 John 3:1

The Power of Christ in Me

This week has stretched me in ways that I never saw coming. Circumstances that I thought I would never have to deal with this summer hit me with full force. This morning I was reflecting on all of the silly little things that tripped me up this week and I knew it was Satan messing with me and my friends. The song "In Me" played in the car and I had to play it over again because I just love the lyrics. They're so encouraging and I just wanted to share! :)

In Me
by Casting Crowns

If you asked me to leap
Out of my boat on the crashing waves
If you ask me to go
Preach to a lost world that Jesus saves

I'll go, but I cannot go alone
'Cause I know I'm nothing on my own
But the power of Christ in me makes me strong
Makes me strong

'Cause when I'm weak, You make me strong
When I'm blind you shine Your light on me
'Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability
How refreshing to know You don't need me
How amazing to find that you want me
So I'll stand on Your Truth, and I'll fight with Your Strength
Until You bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me

If you ask me to run
And carry your light into foreign land
If you ask me to fight
Deliver your people from Satan's hand

I'll go, but I cannot go alone
'Cause I know I'm nothing on my own
But the power of Christ in me makes me strong
Makes me strong

'Cause when I'm weak, You make me strong
When I'm blind you shine Your light on me
'Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability
How refreshing to know You don't need me
How amazing to find that You want me
So I'll stand on Your Truth, and I'll fight with Your Strength
Until You bring the victory, by the power of Christ in me

To reach out with Your hands
To learn through Your eyes
To love with the love of a savior
To feel with Your heart
and to think with Your mind
I'd give my last breath for Your glory

'Cause when I'm weak, You make me strong
When I'm blind you shine Your light on me
'Cause I'll never get by living on my own ability

Please continue to pray for me and the staff as the summer comes to an end. That we'll recognize Satan's attempts to discourage us and that we will have supernatural strength and endurance these last two weeks. I can't believe I'll be home two weeks from Monday! Thanks for all the prayers and support :)

Love,
Chelsea :)

Hurray for People and Progress!

I love people. Especially people from New Orleans :)

Dave and I in front of the working sink!

The other day I was sitting in Katie's car, minding my own business. I had just come from a job site and was in a Wendy's parking lot waiting for my roommate, Ronnie, to get there so we could have lunch. I was blasting Lecrae when a man on crutches walked up to the car and knocked on the window. I rolled down the window and he asked what I was listening to and if I had any cash. I happened to have two bucks on me so I handed it to him. He grinned, thanked me and started to hobble away. I returned to rocking out to Lecrae and jumped when I heard another knock on the window. It was the same man, so I rolled down the window again. He thanked me again for the cash, then proceeded to drop a dirty paper bag onto the passenger seat. He muttered, "Here, I found this in a dumpster." Then limped across the parking lot again. The bag was full of ant-infested trash.
Only in New Orleans, would I exchange two dollars for a bag of garbage. Wouldn't change it for the world :)

I was able to visit Dave's house this week! I am so amazed at the progress made from a year ago! The team from Brookfield was the second team to work on that house last summer. Now, the interior is nearly finished, the kitchen has a sink and running water. This is so exciting! Also, I love visiting with Bridget and Michael; they are such an awesome family!

Dave, Michael and Bridget

Thank you for continuing to lift me up in prayer. As the weeks run down and I only have so much time left, pray for strength and energy to finish this part of the journey strong. I love you all so much!

God Bless,
Chelsea :)

"And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to  pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him, bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God." Colossians 1:9-10

King's Reply

Sometimes I don't think I fully comprehend the damage and destruction caused by Katrina. Yes, I work here. Yes, I've seen pictures and footage. On the other hand, my first time coming to New Orleans happened 4 years after the storm.
Ronnie and I were riding into the city on Thursday when we stopped at a red light. Beside us was a maze of highways and interstates intertwining in bridges. I've stopped at that red light many times and occasionally, you might see a man walking up and down the intersection, asking for money.  Ronnie looked over at me and told me about the first year she came down. She said that there were tons of people living under those bridges with tents set up. Some didn't even have a tent, but simply a mattress on the ground, just trying to find shelter underneath those busy highways.
 I talked to one of the staff members last night who is from New Orleans. I asked her about the week of Katrina and what it is like now. She said that some people say it's no different than any other week in the city, but she can tell the difference. There's something on the people's faces when you walk past them.
When I walk around the city and I see empty, abandoned houses my heart breaks. Still, I don't think I can fully appreciate what this community went through. Some team members have asked me why anyone even stays in New Orleans; why would you want to live in a bowl that at any given moment could wash away? The best answer I can think of is that it is their home. They love this city even more than I do. What humbles me and puts me in awe is that Christ loves this city even more than them. He died for the people in this city.
This week, I was reminded why I am here. To let Christ's love shine through me and Crisis Response so that maybe the next homeowner we help will see Jesus through us.

Thank you for your prayers,
Chelsea

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’" Matthew 25:40