Eyes fixed on Christ!

Greetings from Madagascar! I have now been living here for almost two weeks. There are so many stories I could tell you about all I have experienced so far; pouse-pouse drivers, my lovely flat, tsensa-sabotsy (saterday market), my crazy puppy Maximus, bed-bugs, my new-found celebrity status, food-poisoning, english conversation classes, delicious sambos (sp) a fried flour and meat concoction my wonderful landlady (and friend) Nina made for me...sooo good :), a picnic at a beautiful lake with a ghostly legend, and so much more but for this post I want to focus solely on Jesus!

In these two weeks I have experienced so many emotions; sadness, excitement, fear, exhaustion, joy, loneliness, and discouragement. And yesterday the Lord gave me a wake up call. I have not been relying and pressing into Him. Finding myself outside of my comfort zone and all alone I turned to entertainment as my crutch, my way to unwind and to be refreshed. For those of you have been following my blog or know me, know this is classic Lauren. :( Last night as the Lord made me aware I cried for the first time since being here...ashamed of how quickly I forget who is my Sustainer, my Comfort, and the only One who satisfies me. But then I remembered that the Lord is not surprised by my failure, He knows my weakness and when I recognize my sin and confess it He welcomes me back with open arms. There is no condemnation with Him.

So today I have spent my time listening to worship songs, reading the Bible, and listening to sermons, (as well as teaching at the school, buying groceries, attempting to cook lunch, walking Max [and then napping with Max], attempting some Malagasy convo on the street, getting papers certified at the court house etc). And although I am still exhausted and working through a myriad of emotions it is amazing how much my spirit is lifted and my heart encouraged! I am determined to keep my gaze fixed on Him! I know I will fall again...but I also know my Savior will always be there to pick me up! What a gracious Lord! I am so so thankful that my salvation is not dependent on my perfect obedience, but on Christ who lived a perfect, holy life and then died in my place! Amazing!

 "In Christ alone my hope is found"! 

Before I say veloma (Malagasy for goodbye) I want to share a few prayer requests with you.

• Praise for good health...pray for that to continue :)
• Pray for deeper fellowship with the Lord and consistent times in His Word
• Please pray that I would find opportunities to share my faith, these are not easily discovered and will require creativity and the Lord's guidance!
• And more specifically that the Lord would lead me to one or two young women who I could mentor and encourage in their walk with the Lord. 

Misaotra betsaka

(Thank you very much!)

The year to come! =)

Well the day has finally arrived!! Tonight (in 21 hours...it's 1:00 in the morning....how do you say insomnia?) I start my journey to Madagascar with layovers in London and South Africa along the way. I have spent the last two days in Atlanta, Georgia at AIM's headquarters for my orientation! I have met so many amazing people! In particular my ladies; Allie, Lindsey, Lisa, and Racheal who are all headed to Uganda for the summer! Love you girls and praying for you all! I truly treasure your friendships!

These few days here have been such an encouragement to my soul and a deepening of my relationship with Jesus Christ and an anticipation for my mission!

 I am so excited to see what this year will have in store. I know there will be good days and bad, tears will be shed - happy and sad, laughter will abound, friendships formed, mistakes made, lessons learned, a new language acquired (hopefully :]), learning to teach and to be taught, loneliness, and joy,....and maybe, just maybe some cooking skills??? :)

 And through it all my prayer is that this year would be a year of drawing ever nearer to my Savior and Lord Jesus Christ! Oh, this is my desire!! A year of greater hunger for His word. A year where my ultimate goal is for His name to be made great, not my own! A year of a more intimate personal relationship through consistent and constant prayer! A year where His glory is on full display to the Malagasy people. A year of living life that shows the love of Christ to all I encounter! A year where I am used as a vessel by God to bring other sheep into His fold! This is my prayer! I would be so blessed if you would join me in these prayers!

Blessings to you all!

Lauren