God loves you because he loves you!

Greetings to you, my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ!

These past 2 weeks have been absolutely incredible in regards to what God my Father is teaching me and the amazing adventures I have been on.

The lectures in these past 2 weeks have been on the Father Heart of God.Let me just say it has been life-changing! My perspective of who God is has been completely transformed and I have a fuller and healthier understanding of who he is as my Father. It is such a blessing that God has chosen each of us to be his sons and daughters. I don't think we fully realize what a privilege and honor and joy it is be called his children. Our Father has so much love for us. It says that HIs perfect love casts out all fear! So that means we do not need to have fear because we are filled with the love of our Father. Amazing! My Father has shown me and spoken to me his deep love that he has for me and the excitement and joy that he has from being in a relationship with me, his precious and beautiful daughter.. Our Father wants us to enjoy him and not make him out into someone who is distant.I know have fallen into the trap of religiousity which has caused me to view God as someone to be feared and a person that I am always trying to please, but always failing because I never feel that I am good enough or do enough. However, like I said, God, my Father, is taking away my preconcieved ideas of who he is and replacing them with the powerful truth in a beautiful and intimate way.

A very fun and exciting adventure the Father blessed me with was an all day hiking trip in the High Tatra Mountains. A group of 5 of us went and we all varied in our hiking abilities. Stephan and I are beginner hikers who went along to try something new. Andreas and Isabelle are very experieinced hikers, in fact, Andreas went to an Outdooring school for a year in Sweden. Ludmila is from Slovakia which automatically makes her a hiker! Well, Stephan and I started out this hike with much excitement because we did not know what we were getting ourselves into! After about 20 minutes into the hike, Stephan was ready to go home. But we pressed on, much to his dismay! It was definitely a challenge physically as we hiked in some very rocky spots that were very steep. So we took a lot of much needed breaks. I have never pushed my body to its limits until this day and I know that I only made it through because the Lord kept giving me the strength that I needed. I think this was the first day in my life that I have prayerd without ceasing because I knew I needed God's strength and encouragement to keep me going!! God completely answered my prayer and it was a very intimate day to be surrounded by the beauty of his creation and to be in constant communication with the Source of Life. I can't even begin to describe the amazing views that I saw. All I can say is our God is creative, beautiful and so powerful. The mountain lakes were absolutely breathtaking as they were filled with a color of blue that i have never seen before. It took about 4 hours to reach to the peak. The trickiest and most challenging part was the last hour because we had to climb with our legs and arms across a very steep peak. Thankfully, Andreas stayed with me and told me exactly where to put my hands and feet. There were many times that I said, "I can't do this". But Andreas would always repsond, "Kelsey, I am so proud of you. You can do this." I would then say back, "Are we almost there?" "Yes we are almost there, Keep going" . Well this "almost there" to the top took us about an hour!! I am thankful that Andreas could remain positive and patient with me otherwise I don't think I would have been able to make it. Once I reached the top, I couldn't believe my eyes .It was absolutely breathtaking! To see with my very own eyes snow capped mountains was unbelieveable. We could even see the mountains in Poland! I must say reaching the top was one of the top monumental occaions in my life! I almost want to make a shirt that says, "I climbed Krivan Peak!"!! Heading back down was very tricky, but again through God's strength I made it!All in all, it took us 8 hours to climb 8, 200 feet. I will never forget this day in my life ever!

Another monumental occasion in my life was celebrating my 23rd birthday this past Septmeber 30. I would never have thought in a million years that I would be celebrating y 23rd birthday in Slovakia! However, I am so glad God worked it out this way because it was amazing! I was able to take part in some other cultural tradtiions for birthdays which was reallly special. I don't think I have ever heard "Happy Birthday" sang to me in 4 different languages! All day the Lord blessed me with cards, encourgaing words, prayers, gifts, hugs and wonderful e-mails from lots of family and friends. And of course we celebrated with an authentic Slovakian cake which was absolutely delicious!

I am excited to announce that we have begun our local outreach to the gypsy community in Slovakia. The gypsies in Slovakia are an ostracized group of people who are forced to live outside of the cities. They live in very rundown buildings that the government has given them. They are stereotyped as people who steal and get drunk. The girls get pregnant in their teenage years and usually have around 8-10 kids. Often, they marry within their extended family which causes the children to be deformed. The men are the only ones who work because the women have to stay at home and take care of the children. Some of the men don't even work because the Slovakian people do not trust them and therefore do not give them jobs. The children will go to school. Sadly, many of them drop out early in the elementary years because they get placed in the special ed class due to the lack of stimulation and education that they are not given at home. It is a vicious cycle that these people are in because the country does not provide them with opportunities to change and nor do they supply them the help they need. Also, it is said that in 20 years the gypsies will make up half of the population in Slovakia ( currently they make up 20% of the population). It breaks my heart to write about this situation.

We at YWAM are trying to make a difference in their lives by visiting their community once a week. It our desire to show them God's love and speak truth and hope into their lives. We try to do this by playing with the kids- we offer different activites for them like face painting, soccer, jump rope, parachute, painting their nails and doing their make-up. We also do a programme for them in which we sing some fun songs and acting out Bible stories. I absolutely love being with the children! They are so beautiful and full of life. They are so eager to recieve affection and attention. I have been able to build friendships with some of the kids already despite the language barrier. I feel completely at home with the children and joy enters into my heart each time I get to see their smiles and recieve their hugs.

Well that is short glimpse into what has been happening here in my life in Slovakia. It has been incredible and everyday I thank God for leading me to this opportunity. Everyday I am reminded of God's goodness and how he knows me so intimately. My heart is being healed and the truth is being laid thick into my heart.

Remember, our father loves you because he loves you becaues he loves you because he loves you. Nothing you do or won't do will ever take away his love. It is always constant. Never-chaning. Uncondtional. His love is just for you, his precious son and daughter.

Please join me in praising God for:
-creating the beautiful mountains that speak out his power, beauty and creativity!
-giving me the strenght to climb Krivan Peak and for being my stregnth and my biggest encourager!
- the 23 years of life that he has blessed me with!
-His Unconditional love and for being the perfect Father-the deep friendships I am forming

Pray for:
-the gypsy communities in Slovakia. Pray that they will not find their identity in being a gypsy, but in being a son and daugther of the Father. Pray that the truth of who they are will sink into their hearts so that they see their purpose and have hope for the future. Pray that they will turn away from stealing and alcohol so that they can find their fulfillment in God. Pray that God will use our team to bring about a transformation in their lives.
-the Slovakian government and people's hearts will be changed on how they view the gypsies. Pray that they will see them as human beings and wil begin to treat them with dignity.- my heart to be continually opened to the truth of who my Father is and that I will live and speak out the truth every day
-safety as my group travels Europe on our Heritage tour and that we will take all the valuable information we learn and apply it to our lives

My heart is full of gratitude for all the prayers that are being sent up on my behalf. Thank-you for being my mighty prayer warriors.

May our Father overflow you with his love and joy.