Experiencing God's Goodness

Hello, 

       I can not begin to explain to you how thankful I am for all your prayers and financial support. God has shown me so much these past couple of months and has definitely stretched my understanding of Him and His character far beyond what I knew.

      We had just recently got back from two conferences in Pittsburg and Ohio. The first one was at Refreshing Mountain Camp and our speaker Paul Hawkins spoke on the Character and Nature of God. This retreat definitely reformed my mind and heart on what I thought about my creator. It broke me and took me to a whole different level in my relationship with God. The next conference was The Finish the Task Conference and our two speakers Danny Lehmann and Dan Baumann spoke on the call that we as christians have in the 10/40 window where millions of people are unreached with the gospel. 

I asked God constantly, through this time, that He would put a passion on my heart for what is a passion on His heart. I asked for clarity in the direction He wants me to go. He definitely re-sparked the call in my life for over seize missions and I am looking into different directions I could go but ultimately my future is in His hands and I am totally ok with that. 

       I am sure as you all have heard the East Coast got hit pretty hard with Hurricane Sandy, especially down town New York and the coast lines of the state. We just happened to be at the conferences those weeks, by the grace of God, but our home and neighbors were definitely on our hearts and minds and in our prayers during these times. Our power did go out for around 4 days and so did all cell service and internet. Our specific town didn't get hit as bad as other places, praise the Lord, but the rest of New York did. By the time we got back the power was back on, and within a couple of hours cell service and internet was back up and running. The only damage that our base received was the roof to our carriage house pretty torn up, a whole side of our fence was blown completely apart, a tree fell, and lots of leaves everywhere. We were blessed by what God had done for us. The rest of Long Island however, received much more. Gas is very hard to come by here and all the grocery stores are pretty bare. But we are recovering. Slowly, but surely. =) 

      We have about 2 weeks left of lecture before Thanksgiving break. I am so proud to say God has answered my prayers. I prayed a lot that God would either provide somewhere for me to stay here in New York or a plane ticket home for the holiday. God chose stay in New York. A friend and her husband live just a few towns away and have been gracious to let me borrow their couch for a couple of days over Thanksgiving. I was so blessed. And a little more than a month away is Christmas break. I brought that to God once again and asked Him again for either a place to stay or a plane ticket, and this time He spoiled me with a plane ticket home. So I will get to see all my wonderful friends and family this Christmas. I am so grateful. 

I am absolutely loving it here in YWAM and in New York. This is definitely where I am suppose to be for sure.  I love the people, I love the city, and I love the program. 

Thank you all again so much for your prayers and support. I couldn’t be doing this with out you. 

<>< Shelby ><>

Time For Take Off

I just wanted to take a minute and thank everyone for all the prayer and financial support! I would not be here if it wasn't for all of you. And I am so blessed and honored to have his opportunity. 

I am currently in Smithtown, NY and absolutely loving it! My plane travels over here were good. No complications... Praise the Lord! And everything is settling in quite nicely. =) I am rooming in a room full of 9 girls all my age and we are having a blast. Its such a wonderful experience getting to know each of them and their personalities. I couldn't have asked for a better group to room with. 

We have started our Lecture Phase which is the first part of the DTS (Discipleship Training School) program and so far we have learned a lot about the core values of YWAM, when and were it was founded, past history, expectations, and how to have quiet time with the Lord. This week will mostly be an orientation week full of learning about each other and expectation of this school, work duties, etc... but next week we will start on everything else. I am super duper excited because they told us that at the end of this week, after going through a somewhat stressful orientation week, they would take us in to the city (Manhattan). So we will be catching the train which is located right by our base and will take us right into the heart of the city. 

Also, one of the expectations of YWAM is that you get involved in a local church off campus for the remainder of the 3 months here. So each sunday we will be attending a church of our choice located around the area and they will be giving us 3 weeks to decide and settle in one. So I am very excited to see the direction God will be leading us all in this area. 

Prayer Need: I ask for prayer over the hearts of everyone here. That we would be completely penatrated by the presence of God. Also, for safety where ever we go and that God would use us to reach lost hearts. 

Financial Need: I am still in need of financial support for the second part of DTS. The outreach phase is close to $4,000.00 not including airfare prices. Would you be whiling to pray about sponsoring me? We will be going to Asia working with organizations involved with Human Trafficking and Adults and Kids with special needs come this January. If sponsoring me is something you would like to bless me with contact me via Facebook or email and I will give you all that information you need. (shelbymace12@yahoo.com)

Thank you again everyone for everything. May God bless you just as much as you have blessed me! 

Sincerely,

<>< Shelby Mace ><>

The First Step

Well Hello,

I have been so amazed at the way God is putting things together right before my eyes. Just the way everything is going so smoothly gives me a sense of direction that everything is right where God wants it to be. At the beginning of March I sent in my YWAM application that I downloaded from online. I filled it out and off it went. It took about a week for the actual YWAM base to get it but they eventually did and called me shortly after that. Meredith Standberg, the lady that has been helping me get involved, told me that they had spent the past week praying together as staff of the Smithtown Metro NY YWAM base and they have felt clear clarification that I need to be there. So they sent me my acceptance package and there it be! Its official! I am off to NY. =) I have been checking out plane tickets and from the sounds of it I will most likely be in NY September 15, 2012. Classes start September 16th.

I have been trying to budget my schedule to meet all the financial requirements and the first payment of $500.00 is due to them asap. I have been believing and having faith that God will provide.. and guess what.. He did! All of you that have sent me gifts of money in my graduation cards  have helped in that! I have put all of it together and so far I have received exactly $950.00. Just enough to put down the first payment. I am so blessed! God shines again! I have also received a check from the hospital (Peacehealth St. Johns Medical Center) that I have earned and that also comes up to around $4,000.00. So I am half way there!! 

I don't know exactly where I will be going when I get to China. I probably won't know any of that until  November-December. So in the mean time, please join me in praying for God to direct my steps along with the steps of the base leaders and staff.

I am very exciting to see what God has done however quite nervous at the same time. Traveling for the first time by myself, being away from the people I love, safety and hope. All of that is things I have been giving to God, asking for Him to take and bring peace to it. I found out just the other day that in some parts of China if not all of it, it is illegal to be a christian. I thought I would be afraid, but honestly that gives me more of a passion to use my actions to spread the Love of Jesus Christ. I know beyond a shadow of a doubt He will take good care of me and I pray that in every way He will use me to further His Kingdom!

Well this is just the beginning and the first step in the right direction. I will keep you all posted about the next stepping stone in this amazing adventure that is about to embark.

Thank you all so much for the prayer and financial support! You all are so wonderful and close to my heart! May God bless you!

Sincerely,

<>< Shelby Mace ><>

Just the Beginning

Thank you for coming and viewing my blog. This is just the beginning of a great journey God has set me on, and I am so excited to share this adventure with you. On this blog I will update as often as I can what things have happened, and the recent activities around the world. This will be a spot where you can go and see just what your giving and prayers did in someone else's life. =)