Hang On and Enjoy the Ride {JSSP-Week 1}

Greetings friends! I have officially been in Jersey Shore for 9 days. What a journey it has already been as I adjust to life on the shore with my brothers and sisters in Christ. I just want to share a little recap of what my time has looked like.

First of all, the road trip here was a blast. It all started with a huge frap from Starbucks and four college students. I got to experience tolls for the first time and see various states. After 28 hours, we finally arrived at the shore! The first day was filled with a lot of activities, people, and new experiences. I had the opportunity to go to the boardwalk on the first day. This was the point where it hit me that I am no longer in the Midwest and way out of my comfort zone. Speaking of new experiences, I have learned a few things since being here:

1. If a guy approaches your car at a gas station, don’t worry, it’s normal. Apparently it is against the law to pump your own gas. 
2. Left turns are almost non existent in this state. To turn left, you first have to turn right. 
3. Sand dunes. These Jersey people really love em. It’s a $1500 fine if you are caught walking on them. During Hurricane Sandy, the sand dunes took the brunt of the storm and prevented a lot of damage in Seaside Heights/Park.
4. It is against the law not to recycle. On top of that, they are very picky about what you can and cannot recycle. I am still trying to distinguish what to recycle.
5. NJ has scary birds on the beach and boardwalk. They will try to get your food. Frankly, I do not like them and am scared of these birds. I am hoping to overcome this fear in the near future.
6. Pop is non existent in this state. It is soda.
7. Some people do not know where the midwest is (confused it with another country)/ know that North Dakota is a state in the United States.
8. Opening your mouth to speak will result in people asking where you are from and comment about the accent. 
9. It is “wa-ta” not water. I’ve been practicing ;)
10. People are lost and looking for answers. We have spent a lot of time on the boardwalk talking to people about the Gospel. 

Down by the bay

The Boardwalk

Green house ladies before church. I am blessed to be living with these ladies and enjoy all the laughter we share!

Breathtaking.

Some of the damage from Ortley Beach. This place got hit really bad from Hurricane Sandy.

My first cannoli!

The first 5 days consisted of a lot of training/sessions/community building. We have spent time digging into the Word, worshipping, and praying. We have also had the opportunity to go to the boardwalk and share with people. So far, 8 people have come to Christ! This has already been a stretching experience and I have seen growth in myself and so many others.

Project has been very exciting and fun, but it has not been the easiest transition. I’ve been missing home a lot lately-just really not wanting to be here and questioning why I am here. Other times I am so glad I am on Project. It’s been very back and forth. It’s been hard to be away from my 1st graders at work and to be in a completely new environment. There was a time at the beginning of training week where we had worship. I remember just sitting there and (literally) crying out to God. I did not know why He placed me here. I still do not know why. But one thing I know is that I am here for a purpose. A purpose much higher than my own understanding. A purpose I might not ever know. At this point, I just need to hang on and enjoy the ride. I am going to be pushed out of my comfort zone (even more) and change as a person. This summer is going to impact me for the rest of my life. Throughout the past 9 days, I felt myself “dragging my feet” as God continues to shape and pull me even more out of my comfort zone. I feel myself sometimes resisting that growth and need to grow. I am not sure how to sum up the past 9 days. There have been good and bad times, scary and exciting times, and times of uncertainty. I guess I just have to hang on and enjoy the ride. 

Prayer requests:
-Pray for the community of Seaside Heights and the opportunities we will have to love and share within the community

-Pray that I continue to trust God as I work toward gaining full support along with the other students who are working on support raising

-Pray that as students we can impact each other, our coworkers, and people back on campus as we return to school

-Pray for a desire to learn and grow as we become busy with jobs and other project events

With Blessings,

Heather 

Imperishable, Undefiled, and Unfading {Reflections from 1 Peter 1:1-9}

Hello Friends!

Life continues to bring craziness, joy, and growth, but I am loving every minute of it (or at least trying to). Most days I am clinging to the cross-my strength alone constantly fails me, but God continues to be gracious to me. I am very thankful for Scripture and the opportunity to read God's word, learn about Him, and be encouraged on a daily basis.

I decided to start reading 1 Peter and I have been amazed at the context within the first 9 verses! Here is what 1 Peter 1:1-9 says:

Peter, an apostle of Jesus Christ,

To those who are elect exiles of athe Dispersion in Pontus, Galatia, Cappadocia, Asia, and Bithynia, 2 according to bthe foreknowledge of God the Father, cin the sanctification of the Spirit, for obedience to Jesus Christ and dfor sprinkling with his blood:

May egrace and fpeace be multiplied to you.

Born Again to a Living Hope

3 gBlessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! hAccording to his great mercy, ihe has caused us to be born again to a living hopejthrough the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, 4 to kan inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and lunfading, mkept in heaven for you,5 who by God's power are being guarded nthrough faith for a salvationoready to be revealed in the last time. 6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by pvarious trials, 7 so thatqthe tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes rthough it is tested by sfire—may be found to result in tpraise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ. 8 uThough you have not seen him, you love him. vThough you do not now see him, you believe in him and rejoice with joy that is inexpressible and filled with glory, 9 obtaining wthe outcome of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

We have been born again. But only through Jesus. He is our living hope. He is our inheritance (along with everlasting life) that is:

                 1) Imperishable (enduring forever)
                 2) Undefiled (pure)
                 3) Unfading (not losing value)

Verse 6-7 really hit home for me. My walk with God is never perfect, nor will it ever be. But I know in those times of trials, my relationship with Him is strengthened. "..though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith..". This year has been crazy, overwhelming, yet wonderful. There have been many times where I feel I have had to "fight" for my faith-spend time praying, reading the Word, find my joy and identity in Christ-it has been challenging. Yet, I know my faith is being strengthened.

I have about 46 more days until I drive down to Jersey Shore for Summer Project to love on the community and share the Gospel with my coworkers and community. I will face trials. Satan will try to stop this. But the result will be a more genuine and stronger faith. God is going to do some crazy things this summer-not only in my life, but in the lives of so many people who do not yet know Him. As summer approaches, please continue to pray for the people of Seaside Heights, boldness in Christ, and for funds to be raised in order to reach people with the truth of the Gospel. If you would like to learn more about what I will be doing, please check out http://give.gosummerproject.com/heather-brasel/ 

With Blessings,

Heather

What Most (Single) People Won't Admit

I'm going to be completely open and honest. I am not going to sugarcoat anything. Last week was not my favorite week for mainly one reason-Valentine's Day. Don't get me wrong, I love celebrating with my kiddos and friends, but sometimes it can be a way for the enemy to attack you.

Being single can be great at times, but it can also be challenging. Yes, I am still young and have my whole life ahead of me, but at this part of my life, people are starting to plan. Plans for after graduation-including getting married. I don't want to put on this fake "I am happy to be single" act for those around me-somedays I am glad to not be in a relationship, but most days are not like that. I have reached this point in my life where I realize most of the people around me are either in a relationship, engaged, or married. I am happy for my friends, really. But here is the lie the enemy tells me: "You're not ___ enough". Fill in the blank. Any insecurity, fear, or thought, it has been in that sentence and it has ran through my mind.

So Valentine's Day is just one more reminder that I have not reached that stage in my life. Part of me is content, while the other part is asking God why I am single. I start to play the guessing game-am I not ready yet? What do they have that I don't? Is it because I'm not strong enough in my faith? Am I ever going to get married? These are all questions I have and things I struggle with from time to time.

Married people always say to enjoy your single years. My response to this is ignoring it. What are they to say about being single? They are married. They don't need to worry about finding their spouse. After facing a challenging situation, it is always easier to say it was worth it. I feel like it is the same with being single.

Like I said, no sugarcoating. This is really how I feel at times. Some days are better than others. I do not want you to think that I sit around all day thinking about this, because I really don't. My life is occupied with school, work, and a lot of other things. I have no idea how long my singleness will last-it could be a year, it could be a lifetime. All I can do is continue to know my Savior better and pray for my future husband and his relationship with Christ. I can also be praying for myself as a wife and that the Lord would prepare me and continue to grow fruits that I lack.

I truly look forward to the day God unites me with my husband. It will be worth the wait, the pain, and the prayers. It will be a new way to experience Christ and who He is, and I know it will be challenging, joyful, but most importantly, honoring to God.

With Blessings,

Heather

The journey has already begun.

I am thrilled to share with you a journey I have already begun! I will be spending the summer sharing the Gospel, loving on the community, and learning how to serve Christ more closely and whole heartedly with a community of 50 other college students in Jersey Shore. Everything is starting to to fall in place, and now I will sit back and let God continue to prepare my heart and resources for this summer.

Choosing to go on Summer Project was not an easy decision. It has been on my heart and mind since freshmen year, but I never felt like it was the right time. This summer is my last official summer as a college student, so what better time to give my summer to God? Originally, the thought of having to raise support was really scary. Yes, I knew that God provides, but I had my doubts. Somedays I still do. I am a sinful person, and I doubt and worry. Even though project doesn’t officially start until May, I already feel the Lord working in my heart. It’s good to remind yourself that God is the ultimately provider despite our unbelief at times. 

Jersey Shore is going to challenge me. I love the Midwest-it is my comfort zone. Jersey Shore...ehhh...not so much. I remember first hearing about a new project in Jersey Shore and I thought to myself ‘I would not want to go there’. Well, here I am, following where God is leading...and He is leading me to Jersey Shore. The culture and people are going to be different. It is going to be eye opening. But most importantly, God is going to work in this city! Please pray for the people of Seaside Heights and that the Lord would prepare their hearts to hearing the truth of the Gospel.

Support raising is a concept new to me-I have personally never had to raise support for a missions trip. Yes, it is scary. Very scary. But I am learning to trust God through this process. It is also weird having to ask people for money-it’s something our Midwest values do not agree with. Although this process is scary, I am really excited. I think the Lord is going to teach me a lot through this process, and ultimately strengthen my trust in Him. 

To say I am excited for this summer is an understatement-I am so pumped. I am going to be pushed out my comfort zone beyond belief. People are going to be impacted eternally. And God is going to be glorified about all. 

The journey has already begun.

With Blessings,

Heather 

Time in Prayer

This week I am doing something a little different-I will be taking the week to specifically pray for my future husband. I have been praying/writing to him since I was 16, but God has really put it on my heart to pray for him more intensely and specifically. So this week, I am fasting from Facebook and instead using that time to pray for my future husband and spend time writing to him. I will also be praying for the Lord to equip me and mold me into a Godly wife to love, serve, and honor my future husband and our children. I am excited for this week to see how the Lord will continue to grow in my heart and give me words to specifically pray for my future husband. I challenge you, if you have not prayed for your future spouse, let this week be the start. It is a beautiful thing to do.

With Blessings,

Heather 

I Choose JOY.

To say that my life has been crazy is an understatement. My last post was on September 2^nd-the last time I probably actually did not have homework. A lot has happened over the semester, and it continues to challenge me in many ways. Although I am now considered an “upperclassman”, I still feel like that freshmen trying to get a hold of this whole college thing. I thought it would get easier, but in reality, it became more challenging.

Looking back at high school, if I could single out one year of my high school career it would be junior year. Why? Because it was horrible. Worst year ever. I was so glad when summer hit. The year was exhausting mentally, emotionally, and academically. But I don’t want to focus on that. Rather, I want to focus on how my college junior year is going. When beginning the school year, I cringed at hearing the word “junior”. All I could think about was my junior year in high school and how that turned out. But I wanted to be optimistic. I determined that this junior year was going to be great. I was not going to let anything ruin it. Well, here I am, and I can personally say, it has been a lot more challenging than I thought. To simply say, I am finding joy in the midst of the chaos.

School. Where do I even begin? Let’s start with the word crazy. That has been my semester. I have had so much homework-an average of 8 hours a night. I have lesson plans and standards coming out of my ears, and not to mention an insane load of chocolate to help J My classes have been demanding not only mentally, but also emotionally. Being an education major may seem like it is easy, but it is actually hard. I’m interacting with kids who have poor home lives, family issues, and not enough money. I’m learning to love each kid for whom they are, not what they can do academically. Most importantly, I’m learning that teaching is always going to be challenging. Some days my heart is full, other days my heart is hurting. I’m in a kindergarten classroom right now and experience some of the most real things in that classroom. I’m overwhelmed and grateful how much my professors care for me and my future career. They want me to succeed-not for myself, but for the children. Maybe that’s why they push us so hard. I am so blessed to be in this mission field. The next 3 semesters are going to be even more challenging, but the Lord has His hand in this-along with everything else in my life!

With the demands of schooling, it has not been easy for any other part of my life. I have been at my job at the Y for two years now, and I continue to love what I do. Some days are easier than others, but when you have those great days, you know why you do it. I have fallen in love with the first grade age and would love to be a 1^st grade teacher. They are awesome! But with my class schedule, I was not receiving enough hours to support myself financially so I had to find a second job. I was offered a job at Family Wellness in the childcare center. I started orientation and am excited for this new job. It will be challenging holding down two jobs on top of school but it’s what I have to do.

Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.
-James 1:2-4

School and work is only the beginning of this crazy semester but I am thankful for this season of my life. It has been more difficult meeting with God on a daily basis, but I am learning how to incorporate it into my schedule. Spending time with Him is so necessary. I need it. More than anything else. Those times at 6 am where I spend time with the Lord is the most peaceful time of the day. When I forget to spend time with God or simply push it til later, my day is off.

But through all of the busyness, stress, and craziness, I choose joy. I don’t always have a joyful attitude, but it is something I am working on. Even on those bad days, I choose joy. The only reason I have joy is because of Him. I am seeing more fruits develop in my life, but it is only because of the challenges I am facing. God is changing and stretching me. It is a process.

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

-Galatians 5:22-23

You may be having the best year of your life or you may be in the same boat as me, but if there is one thing you can do it is this: choose joy. We have joy in Christ and it should shine!

With Blessings,

Heather 

New Beginnings

One week of school completed. How many to go? Actually, let’s not count that number. The first week of school is always the beginning. The beginning of what you ask? Well, that’s up to you to decide. Is it the beginning of another dreadful year or the beginning of a year of growth? Is this the year you are going to surrender those areas of your life that you tend to hold on to and give them to the Lord? Is this the year to break out of your comfort zone and reach out to others?

To be completely honest, I was very ready for the school year. I like schedules, routines, and school. Yes, you read that right, I like school. Must be the teacher in me coming out. But seriously, I was more ready than I had ever felt. But I wasn’t just looking forward to school, I was most importantly looking forward to what God was going to do through me and how He was going to change me.

Before this school year even started, God started working in my heart in a way I had never experienced before. He was challenging me to reach out to others. Personally, I am not a super outgoing person-I am a simple introvert. Going out of my comfort zone is really scary for me at times, but I knew if this was something God wanted me to do, I was going to do it-but only through His strength. I felt Him preparing my heart for this opportunity and I started to really pray about it.

At the end of last year, I was given the opportunity to become a CRU leader. Something that really blew my mind was that I had been praying about it and then one day I was asked. I have already felt the Lord stretch me in so many ways! It’s only been a week, but I can only imagine how different of a person I will be at the end of the year! I’ve never felt the need to reach out to other people-I always let my own selfishness take over that part of me-but God has been teaching me the importance of that. As I’ve experienced those times this week I have felt uncomfortable, excited, and amazed at the boldness that the Lord has given me. As I continue this journey, I know it will only get better.

The first week of classes has been overwhelming but exciting. My professors have been so inspiring and passionate about the field of education-it only makes me that much more excited. I’m realizing the responsibility and influence I will have as a teacher-I definitely feel intimidated but I know this is what the Lord has called me to do in this season of my life. I am so thankful that He has called me into the mission field of education. I am thankful that He has ignited this passion in my heart to love on children, teach them, and continue to be changed personally. I am very excited to become a teacher, but in the meantime, I have SO much to learn.

I feel like my life is chaotic to say the least. College tends to do that to my life. The homework, clubs, work, classes, etc, life never stops moving. It can be challenging to know if and when to add another commitment. I am excited to get involved with my church’s children’s ministry called River City Kids. At first I was hesitant with everything I had going on, but I want to serve God with the gifts and passions that He has given me. If I’m not serving Him, I am wasting what He has given me. 

As for work, I have a new group of 28 first graders. What an exciting week it was. I know this year is going to be a challenge, but I have seen myself grow so much through this job. I can’t believe I have been working at the Y for almost two years. This job has been a handful, but it is only going to prepare me more to be a teacher, and I get to hang out with 28 wonderful first graders every day. That is a blessing within itself.

This week was full of new beginnings and opportunities. It was crazy. It was exciting. It was overwhelming. But it is my new beginning. A year to grow closer to my Heavenly Father. A year to create new friendships with my brothers and sisters in Christ. A year to step out of my comfort zone and to see Him stretch me. A year to see in what areas I sin and how I need Christ even more. A year to experience Christ in a deeper passion. This is a year that God is going to blow away my expectations.

This is my new beginning. What’s yours?

With Blessings,

Heather