may His name be glorified in 2012.

Thinking back on 2011 everything the Lord has brought me through is unbelievable. . .from the times I felt like I had hit rock bottom to travelling all over the place! Reading through past blog posts, it is crazy to see how far He has carried me & only by His grace have I been able to fall & rise, grow, & learn. He has taught me so much about Him & His love & I am eternally grateful to Him for everything, especially the times where I was at my lowest.

This past year has been another powerful year of God's abounding faithfulness & love. Jesus became & has been & forever will by my comfort in times of sorrow, my peace in times of chaos, my understanding in times of confusion, my rock in times I cannot stand, my refuge in times of storms, my provider in times of lacking, my faithful love in times I am not faithful. . .my best friend. Throughout this year I have seen Him in every area of my life, but of course, I do have my few favorites, ha ha!

• Walking into the CSU office to withdraw from school; I was freaking out because I didn't want to quit school (I loved it!), but I really felt like that is what the Lord wanted me to do. I begged Him to stop me, but things went smoothly; I was in the office & out within 20 minutes. I do not regret it.
• God providing in times when I had no idea how I was going to support myself.
• Every single laugh, every discussion, & every tear I shared with my friends in Fort Collins.
• Watching the sunrise at the beginning of every month; every month was a new masterpiece. 
• Teaching piano & working with 50 crazy kids all summer long!
• Costa Rica: my team, the university students, the missionaries, & the beautiful children I had the pleasure of meeting in Tirrases.
• The month of April when the Lord told me to go to Japan. I freaked out & didn't want to go, ha ha, but He transformed my heart & I am so grateful that He brought me here. 
• Living a faith adventure with the Lord.
• Travelling to so many places within a year! I get butterflies in my tummy thinking about travelling :)
• Spending my last 3 months in Colorado with my family; I love you Seth & Olivia! 
• Spending every lonely moment with the Lord during those last 3 months. 

I am so grateful for every moment this past year & I wish I could truly express how thankful I am for the people who have impacted my life, especially within this year. I give Him all glory for every moment, even my worst moments. I pray He continues to receive all glory in & through everything in the year 2012.

In 2012, may there be less of me & more of Him; may my life bring Him all praise for He is worthy! May He & His kingdom be exalted & lifted high above all. He was faithful in 2011, & I cannot begin to fathom how much more faithful He is in 2012. I pray that your New Year is blessed & I cannot wait to see what He has in store for you this year :) Thank you for sharing your life & friendship with me!

"You are more than my words can ever say, You are Lord over all, over all of my days! I will see this season through, I will fix my eyes on You, only You."

-Hillsong Live

the harvest.

The harvest is something the Lord has really been pressing into my heart a lot recently. A couple weeks ago while my knee was being prayed over, God immediately spoke Matthew 9:35-38 into my heart:

"Then He said to His disciples, 'The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest field.'" (vs. 37-38)

God has been & is continuing to be up to something here in Japan. . .please continue to pray for these people! 

They are so beautiful.

one week.

I have officially been in Japan for a week & I think it has yet to hit me that I am actually staying here longer than a couple weeks, but regardless, I am thoroughly enjoying this country & their people!

fliers & candy for st. band

Sachiko, Ayana, & I

At street band in Shinyurigaoka I met my roomie's friend Sachiko & I made a new friend, Ayana; they are both such wonderful girls & I am so blessed to know them both! At street band in Sagami-Ono (Tuesday night), Christina & I met a girl named Yukiko; she was so sweet & she even sang Silent Night over the mic. . .her fearlessness is something I look up to. Also Sunday was my first time being a part of FUSE Jesus Community Church in Machida & I loved it; my friend Ayana came (which made my day) & I was blessed with a chance to see little children dancing & praising Jesus. . .seriously, there was a little boy who was dancing all over the place! The night after FUSE we had two more missionaries join us here in Japan, one of which is an old friend of mine: Ben & his lovely wife, Jolynn; I am so grateful that the Lord brought them here safely! I am excited to do ministry alongside them.

rice, beef, & onions
yum!

I have been asked numerous times how learning the language is going & all I can say is that it is difficult, but a lot of fun. I really enjoy the language & it is beautiful, but reading & writing Japanese is the most frustrating. Praise God though because I have such an encouraging roommate & such helpful Japanese friends (a big thank you to my friends Kengo, Saki, Naomi, Yuriko, Sachiko, & Ayana for their help). Phil (another missionary here) took me to a ramen place the other night & all you college students back in the U.S. . . .the ramen there has nothing on the ramen here! It was so good & overall the food here is great, but I will be honest, some things are quite interesting haha; however, it is definitely worth trying!

On Tuesdays we all meet early in the morning here at the church in Noborito (where I live) for breakfast & prayer. I find so much joy in that because it is such a huge encouragement to fellowship together (getting to know each other & hearing about how each other are doing), as well as pray together; it is extremely refreshing.

Yesterday after Japanese class, Ben, Jolynn, Isaac, & I visited a folk village (they take old Japanese buildings to a different location & restore them); it was a gloomy day, but so beautiful! Walking through the display of homes it smelled so much like fall. . .I wish I could really describe to you how sweet the smell was! It was really neat to see how these old homes were built & it left me wondering what it would be like to live in a home that had an indoor stable right next to the kitchen (I think it would be pretty interesting). The best part was sitting around little fires with old Japanese men (we would walk into a home & there would be two men sitting around a fire & we joined them) talking & learning Japanese. We did this multiple times & I don't know why, but I got such a kick out of it, haha! There is this one old guy we met that I love so much that I really wish he was my grandpa or somehow related to me! :) It was such a blessing & it's in those moments that I feel the love of Christ. . .there is something so beautiful about simply meeting with strangers in THEIR culture & sharing conversation & laughter with them despite language barriers. After dinner Isaac & I went to an international house of prayer meeting near Tokyo & that was really cool! We worshiped & prayed over Asia, Japan, human trafficking, & the harvest. It was powerful & one of my favorite things in the ENTIRE world is to hear people praying in a different language. . .to me it is so powerful & so captivating! I love being here because I get to hear the children of God praying in a different language. . .not that praying in my own language isn't powerful or isn't effective (I'm not saying that at all), it is just so beautiful for me because even though I may not know exactly what they're saying, I can feel it & I believe it is the Spirit of God moving. God is doing a great work here in Japan, as well as in the missionaries here & the ones that are not here yet!

Jolynn & I

Praise Jesus the swelling in my knee has gone down, I can actually walk on it & I have stopped taking my anti-inflammatory pills!! I only feel a little pain when I sit with my knee bent for a certain period of time & I am so excited! All glory to God :) He is my healer & provider. . .thank You Jesus! Within this past week the Lord has been overwhelming me with encouragement through my friends in the U.S. Thank you for praying for me & for sending scripture to me. You have no idea how much it has meant to me & God is using it to build me up in His confidence & love. THANK YOU! I also want to continue to thank you for your prayers & support. . .God is so faithful in providing you in my life! Please continue to be praying for the people of Japan :) They are so beautiful & I can't wait to continue sharing stories & pictures with you!!

Thank You Father for Japan

Love,
Abigail

SUPPORT INFO: Supporting the Journey to Japan. & EFT: Supporting the Journey to Japan

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says: 'In repentance & rest is your salvation, in quietness & trust is your strength. . .'"

-Isaiah 30:15 

waiting for the others in an elevator; girls' night eating Thai food (:

home.

The view of Mt. Fuji from the roof. God is amazing.
Your works are truly wonderful!

Arrival.

Lovely Christina (:

Hey everybody, I have made it safely to Japan (Praise the Lord)! I had some excitement along the way, but the Lord brought me through customs & got me here in Japan safely. I am so excited to be here & I already am enjoying it more than I ever thought I would! What a blessing it is that the Lord has given us the opportunity to see His world despite distance & language barriers. When I arrived I was welcomed by such a loving & wonderful new friend of mine, Christina. She is from Florida & she is here on an internship; I have spent most of my time here being her shadow (thank you Christina!) & I feel so blessed to have her in my life. In such a short amount of time God has been blessing me with new friends, both Japanese & fellow missionaries from the U.S. They all have been so wonderful to me & incredibly helpful with me being the new kid :). My directors Tim & Christine are so loving & I couldn't have asked the Lord for better leaders to work under, as well as Mark (the FUSE Pastor).

Japan is beautiful & I have really been enjoying getting to know the culture. Despite not being able to read the labels in grocery stores & such, the food is really good too! The little children here are absolutely adorable & I can't help, but giggle every time I see their smiling faces. I am beginning to pick up on some Japanese too which is exciting, although I'm terrible at it, but by the grace of God I will learn it! Things are most definitely different here, but I adore/embrace the interesting differences. . .God is so cool in creating such unique people & cultures!

about to ride the train

I have been meeting such wonderful Japanese people & I am amazed by their friendliness; for me it has been such great inspiration & a wonderful example of welcoming others. Tonight we all rode the train to Shinyurigaoka to do street band/outreach & as I was sitting on the train I gazed at the Japanese people & I felt a deep love for them. Of course I love them as people & I have been loving this opportunity to get to know them & their culture, but it was different than that. . .it was like I had received a (super tiny) fraction-of-a-taste of God's love for them. I am so excited to be here & I cannot believe that God chose me. . .I am so undeserving of this, but I praise Him & I pray that He receives all glory.

Jeremy & Phil; fellow missionaries

So something I haven't really shared with many, many people is a couple weeks ago my knee became swollen & it was painful to walk on it (I had done nothing to hurt it so I thought it to be rather odd). Well after a couple days it went away & I thought nothing of it. . .four days later the swelling reappeared & it was worse than before & even more painful. My mom took me to the doctor & they drained my knee to test the fluid. After the procedure, the swelling went down & I could walk on my knee again. My tests came back negative for arthritis (praise God), but they sent me in for an MRI. The next day I went to an orthopedic (there is a dense something lining my knee cap, causing my knee to swell up )& he gave me two options. . .to have an arthroscopy/surgery (to see what was going on inside my knee, which would push back my leaving for Japan 3-6 weeks) or to go ahead & leave for Japan as planned & take a ton of medication with me to help with the swelling. What option do you think I chose?! Duh, of course I came to Japan. I had to really think about it though & I believed I was going to get through this no matter where I was.

view out my window

The swelling never returned until the day I flew to Japan. My knee was extremely swollen & I was in a lot of pain the entire trip. Just today the swelling has gone down quite a bit & I'm not in that much pain anymore; I can actually bend my leg. E-mailing back & forth with my mom, I was told that the Dr. had said I tested positive for auto-immune inflammatory disease. I'm not sure what it means exactly, all I know is that I am a little frustrated because my knee has been a real pain in the bum thus far (I have been kept from walking long distances) & I'm tired of it.

Despite my frustration, the Lord has been blessing me with prayer warriors, both in the U.S. & here in Japan. Here in Japan we have been praying against it & believing that I am healed of this. I also declare that this will no longer be a hindrance, it no longer effects me because I am healed in the name of Jesus Christ! Please be praying that no matter what happens that the Lord will receive all the glory from & through this (I am clinging to Job 13:15). THANK YOU to everybody who has been & is still praying for me! I can feel your prayers & I deeply, deeply appreciate you & your prayers. I am so thankful to have a Father that hears prayers & has a heart for healing us of our pain, emotionally & physically. Once again I want to thank you all for your support, prayers, & thoughts :) Also, please be praying for my friend Benjamin Denogean & his wife Jolyn as they are continuing to raise support for their trip to Japan, as well as safe travels to Japan next week! Can't wait to see them!

 I love & miss you all! 

Love,

Abigail

"I love You, O Lord, my strength. The Lord is my rock, my fortress & my deliverer; my God is my rock, in whom I take refuge. He is my shield & the horn of my salvation, my stronghold. I call to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, & I am saved from my enemies."

- Psalm 18:1-3

If you or if you know anybody who would like to support me while I am here in Japan, go to:

Supporting the Journey to Japan 

&:

EFT: Supporting the Journey to Japan

12 Days!

12 days until I leave for Japan!!

Support INFO at: 

Supporting the Journey to Japan

&

Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

"Praise the Lord.

Praise the Lord from the heavens,

praise Him in the heights above.

Praise Him, all His angels,

praise Him, all His heavenly hosts.

Praise Him, sun & moon,

praise Him, all you shining stars.

Praise Him, you highest heavens

& you waters above the skies.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for He commanded & they were

created.

He set them in place for ever & ever;

He gave a decree that will never

pass away.

Praise the Lord from the earth,

you great sea creatures & all ocean depths,

lightning & hail, snow & clouds,

stormy winds that do His bidding,

you mountains & all hills,

fruit trees & all cedars,

wild animals & all cattle,

small creatures & flying birds,

kings of the earth & all nations,

you princes & all rulers on earth,

young men & maidens,

old men & children.

Let them praise the name of the Lord,

for His name alone is exalted;

His splendor is above the earth &

the heavens.

He has raised up for His people a horn,

the praise of all His saints,

of Israel, the people close to His

heart.

Praise the Lord."

-Psalm 148

His Love Endures.

beautiful teapot

This past week the Lord really pressed on my heart the word endure. I am the type of person that thoroughly enjoys seeking the meaning of a word, especially words that He speaks to me about. When I say I thoroughly enjoy, I mean I really love it! I look up every verse in the Bible that uses the word, then I look for the definition in the English dictionary, & then I look for the Greek word & its meaning. I'll give you a little taste of what I found:

Endure: 

(verb used with object)

• to hold out against; sustain without impairment or yielding; undergo
• to bear without resistance or with patience

(verb used without object)

• to continue to exist; last
• to support adverse force or influence of any kind; suffer without yielding; suffer patiently

Antonyms: fail, die

Endurance: 

• the fact or power of enduring or bearing pain, hardships, etc.
• the ability or strength to continue or last, especially despite fatigue, stress, or other adverse conditions
• lasting quality; duration

Greek word for endure is hypomeno (hoop-om-en-o):

• to remain i.e. abide, not recede or flee
• to preserve
• to bear bravely & calmly

(Greek word & definition found HERE)

I finally had my disposable camera
developed; love this photo!

I guess where I'm going with this is that so often we pray, speak, & even sing the words His love endures forever, but do we understand the deep meaning of the word? After reading the above definitions I realized the word endure has not yet come alive in my life yet! It's not the Lord's fault, it is written over & over again in His Word; it is my fault because I have not chosen for it to become alive! Replace "endures" with the definitions:

His love sustains without impairment; His love never dies; His love bears with patience; His love continues to exist; His love suffers without yielding; His love has lasting quality; & the one that really twists my heart is His love has the strength to continue & last despite adverse conditions. His love continues despite the way we, as the whole world (including myself), treat others & Him. His love endures despite our selfishness, our hurtful words & thoughts, our hatred, our disbelief, our greed. . .our sin. Whoa. . .praise God for His enduring grace! 

this teapot said on the lid:
Fill me with joy, O Lord

Just some food for thought :). I desire to share more of what God has been pouring into my life currently, but it would be too long of a post so I promise, I will share more in my next post! This past weekend the Lord took me back to my childhood; my cousin Brittney turned 17 & she had a tea party in celebration of it! I haven't had a tea party in such a long time! It was so much fun & we were served 3 different types of delicious tea (in the cutest teapots I have ever seen), as well as soup, sandwiches, & scones; we tried on feather boas & hats; & we dressed up. I had so much fun talking with these women of God & laughing together; I felt like a little girl again & I praise God for giving me that taste of childhood again (I also thank Brittney & her mom for having me). 

my cousin Brittney & I outside of the teahouse

I also was blessed with the chance to speak & play piano at my old church on their missions day yesterday. God is so good & the congregation received me as if though I haven't been gone for 3 years. I saw the beauty of the Lord in their hugs, encouraging words, & obedient hearts; they truly inspired me. I also would like to thank Pastor Kettle for having me & his congregation for being so generous & loving! It went really well & I got a few giggles out of them because as I walked down the stage my mom quickly reminded me that I completely forgot to tell them when I was leaving! So I ran right back up the stairs & shared I only had 3 weeks left here in the U.S.! I also wanted to share a bit about a missionary that also spoke yesterday; he is going to Mozambique, Africa with his family next summer. I am so excited for him & I ask all of you who read this to be praying for him & his family as they support raise!

Speaking of 3 weeks. . .CAN YOU BELIEVE IT?! I can't. . .it is coming so quick & I am beginning to get nervous, but the Lord is really calming my heart & reminding me of His grace & strength. It's also been really encouraging to instant message back & forth with one of my directors, Christine Huber. Although I haven't officially met her, her love for the Lord shines & she is such a blessing & so encouraging!

I am still in the process of raising support so if you would like to know more about supporting me go to: Supporting the Journey to Japan & Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

Gigi, my neighbor's dog
captured on my film camera

I no longer have a cell phone so if you need to get a hold of me you can on good ol' facebook & if you need to call or text me just message me on facebook or you can e-mail me at: abigaillafleur_s@live.com & I will reply with the phone number :)! Please continue to be praying for not only my new adventure, but also for the missionaries that are already in Japan & please be praying for the country of Japan overall! THANK YOU!

my dog Blue & I :)

Love,
Abigail

"May His name endure forever; may it continue as long as the sun." 

-Psalm 72:17

(amen!)

thank you Jesus

http://courtlil.tumblr.com/post/10156564285

"He raises the poor from the dust & lifts the needy from the ash heap; He seats them with princes. . ." 

-Psalm 113:7-8

Electronic Funds Transfer: Supporting the Journey to Japan

So me being kind of absent-minded, I did not think about transaction fees when using one's credit card to make a donation; I apologize for that!

After e-mailing back & forth with Gail Hodel (executive secretary of PAZ headquarters in Peoria, IL) she told me about EFT which is a way of donating with no transaction fees; when a person donates via credit card, they do not get charged an extra fee on the credit card. . .it charges me, meaning whatever amount has been donated to me gets charged (does that make sense?). 

• Monthly Donation via EFT: every month on the 25th, the donation is transferred from one's checking account to the PAZ checking account. One can receive a monthly receipt, annual receipt or both. It's easy to set up & the most problem-free method of automatic donations PAZ offers. Donations are tax deductable.

If you so desire to use the EFT method, there is a form you have to fill out: 

EFT form

If you would prefer to avoid mailing in the form, once it is filled out you can scan it & send it via e-mail to: 

dove@dpc.net 

If EFT is something you do not desire to do, there are other ways of donating, click: 

Other Donating Options


In case of any problems or additional questions, please call our PAZ Japan headquarters at: (309) 263-2299 & ask for Gail Hodel, OR you can e-mail her at dove@dpc.net

Thank you so much everybody for your support & prayers! They are felt & I pray the Lord blesses you all in abundant ways!

My nephew Seth & I doing an art project with bubbles

Love,
Abigail

"'I will bless them & the places surrounding My hill. I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessing.'"

-Ezekiel 34:26

guilty.

". . .it is true that over & over again carelessness in conduct, carelessness in speech, carelessness in life & discipline bring shame upon His name, I ask you what value it is to repeat in the house of God on Sunday 'Hallowed by Thy name,' if we are responsible for that name being dishonored in office & home during the week? What value is there in coming piously to pray, 'Lord, hallowed be Thy name,' & then to drag it down by our conduct the other six days?"

-Alan Redpath (Victorious Praying)

Guilty, plain & simple. 

I'm not going to defend myself or anybody else. . .we have all been guilty of this at some point or another & we all have people in our life that do it too. Recently God has been calling me to a life led by prayer & constant communication with Him & His Spirit. Let me rephrase that, He has ALWAYS been calling me to that lifestyle, but more recently, I have had this passionate longing within me for a life that relies solely upon His Spirit. . .to achieve that, I am learning that prayer must be my life.

Along with learning how to live a life full of prayer, I have been reading Victorious Praying by Alan Redpath (thank you Mikey for letting me borrow your book!). Last night as I was reading the chapter on "Hallowed be Thy name," I was convicted of the many times in my life that I have been a participant of the above quote. I have been responsible for my Father's name being dishonored & I can't express how difficult it is to type this because I, quite frankly, don't want to be honest about it. It breaks my heart that I & others are dragging down the name of the Lord, the powerful & gracious name of Jesus, by our conduct & then we feel it is our right to call upon that name in times of trouble.

Let me ask you. . .

Do the people around you know the powerful, gracious, always loving, unchanging, selfless, freeing name of Jesus or do they know the wavering, selfish, hurtful, greedy, sometimes faithful, sometimes loving name of Jesus YOU portray?

quick update (:

I have been sitting here staring at this computer wondering where to even begin; part of me simply does not want to say anything, but I must. This week has been indescribable as I have had my heart put in check by the Lord, have been provided for abundantly, & have gone deeper in learning what it is to be a woman of God who is head over heels in love with Jesus.

I can't turn it sideways, haha, but my cousin Jon had
to dress up for work tonight! Loved his costume! (:
What a blessing my cousin is!

I, myself, cannot even begin to fathom the abounding grace & unfailing faithfulness God has & is, so it is incredibly difficult even thinking of how to explain His grace & faithfulness He has had toward me this week to you! If you desire to go into more detail, contact me! I'd love to share, but for some reason, I am utterly speechless (which is a rare thing, haha).

I do want to share with all of you how God is providing! A month ago, someone gave me a choice that they would either help me purchase a camera or they would help me with my Japan plane ticket. I prayed & I really felt like the Lord wanted me to simply sacrifice the camera situation over to Him. . .completely. & that meant not even thinking of purchasing a new camera or even saving for one. It was difficult, but eventually I began answering others (when they would ask me about my broken camera & how I was going to buy a new one) saying, "I have faith He will provide." Why wouldn't I believe that? From the day I found out I no longer had a camera I believed, "God doesn't call the equipped, He equips the called," (thank you Brent Keizer for that bit of wisdom). Well yesterday He provided. . .a friend of mine's mom (in the midst of me explaining how I was surrendering over my having a camera for Japan) suddenly responds, "Take mine to Japan with you!" I refused at first, but something God is teaching me is to accept blessings. I still cannot believe she handed over her extremely nice camera to me! I cannot express my immense gratefulness to her or the Lord. . .I really wish I could! It's just amazing how God blesses us so unexpectedly in ways we never could have imagined! 

Another blessing in relation to financial blessing for Japan. . .God has provided & is continuing to provide monthly support! This past weekend I attended a birthday party where I saw a pastor from a church I went to when I was younger; we sat down & visited. . .he ended up inviting me to speak about Japan & play the piano at his church & get this, it's missions day! Perfect timing! I am so grateful to him for being so willing to give me this opportunity & I give all the glory to the Lord for it. God has really guarded my heart, soul, mind, & body from stress these past couple months (praise Jesus!). I am so grateful to Him that He has not allowed stress to effect me, especially with all of this support raising! I also want to thank you all for your support & prayers!! They are felt & deeply appreciated. I praise God for you all every single day! If you would like to know more information about supporting me monthly. . .CLICK ME! It will lead you directly to directions ;) THANK YOU!

I leave in a month & I cannot wait to be a part of the work God is doing in Japan. I don't know why He chose me, of all undeserving people, but I am not complaining. . .I am honored & incredibly humbled. Well I gotta run. . .meeting an old friend, mister Jake (shout out!) for coffee & tomorrow I'm headed off to Texas to see my best friend from grade school get married! Time flies! :) I am so thrilled to be a part of her big day too! Praise the Lord for marriage. . .what a beautiful representation of Jesus & His church right? Love you all. 

"Create in me a pure heart, O God, & renew a steadfast spirit within me." 

-Psalm 51:10

My heart's motto & prayer every morning.

4 year olds trying to marry me off & an answer in silence. . .

some of  my missions team & I in Costa Rica!

Today was my first day at the new job & as I sat at a table shaped as an octagon with multiple 4 year olds coloring, these three little boys were absolutely shocked when I told them I didn't have a baby because I was nowhere close to being married. Their jaws dropped even more so once I said I didn't even have a boyfriend; all of a sudden I was given some incredibly wise advice. . .one little boy tells me, "Right after school today, you have to go find yourself a boyfriend!" The other two boys played off of that bit o' wisdom & told me I MUST find a boyfriend so I could fall in love, get married, & have a baby. All of this occurred in the morning. . .later the same afternoon, the first boy reminded me of my duty after school. . .for some reason, they were set on the whole idea! Made my day & it still makes me giggle thinking these little guys were trying to marry me off, haha! Trust me though, those of you who are reading this, those things are not even a priority anywhere in my life. . .I really desired to share this with you because I love to bring a smile to your face through the stories that bring a smile to mine :). Another little boy had me giggling because he told me I looked like I was 5 years old. . .he's 3. Man, those growth spurts aren't messing around!

In my last post about Ruth, I mentioned writing about some of the other things I have been learning from God in my next post, which is this one! A lot has been going on in my life, things that range from a guy to my photography/camera to the reason of my being in Japan! Because of these things, I have had so many questions & I have stood before God presenting my desire for some clear, visible answers to Him. . .not in a way that is questioning Him, but coming before Him seeking answers, understanding, wisdom, ANYTHING, but I have not received a single clear answer. Without even realizing it, I was beginning to grow weary from it, until God did answer me through my devotional. He didn't answer my questions, but He answered my weariness.

"The mine destroys & contaminates!"
graffiti in Costa Rica is awesome.

". . .His silence is the sign that He is bringing you into an even more wonderful understanding of Himself."

". . .not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation. If God has given you a silence, then praise Him - He is bringing you into the mainstream of His purposes." 

-Oswald Chamber (My Utmost for His Highest)

After reading these words (& so many more) I began to realize that I am receiving a silence that brings me into a deeper understanding of God's character; one that is drawing me closer to His purposes (the "answers" I'm looking for) for me & He is going to reveal it in His timing, not mine. The author even writes, "Time is nothing to God." My cousin & I had a discussion on this & the way I described it to her was like a surprise birthday party; if you're anything like me, you LOVE surprises! I explained to my cousin that if someone was to plan a surprise birthday party for me & then solely because I question what to do for my birthday, this someone ends up telling me that they're planning a surprise birthday party, what I'm receiving for gifts, who all is going to be there, & so forth. . .I'd be sooooooo upset! It ruins the "bigger revelation" Oswald Chambers is talking about.

I want to go deeper than a surprise birthday party though; the verse that goes along with this devotional is John 11:6: "Yet when He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where He was two more days." YEP, the story of Lazarus. . .pretty epic story right here. Although Jesus knew that Lazarus was sick, He stayed right where He was. . .Lazarus ends up dying & immediately we, as well as Mary, Martha, & their friends, question why the heck would Jesus do something like that if He could heal Lazarus & save his life?! Jesus then makes a statement which seems so messed up:

"So then He told them [the disciples] plainly, 'Lazarus is dead, & for your sake I am glad I was not there, so that you may believe. But let us go to him.'" -John 11:14-15

son of a missionary in Costa Rica

After arriving where Lazarus & his sisters, Mary & Martha resided, Jesus comes to the tomb. . ."'Take away the stone,' He said. 'But Lord,' said Martha, the sister of the dead man, 'by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.' Then Jesus said,

'Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?' 

So they took away the stone. Then Jesus looked up & said, 'Father, I thank You that You have heard me. I knew that You always have heard Me. . .'

When He had said this, Jesus called in a loud voice, 'Lazarus, come out!' The dead man came out, his hands & feet wrapped with strips of linen, & a cloth around his face. 

-John 11:39-44

This story is an incredible example of the Lord's silence. . .people questioned why Jesus didn't come sooner to heal Lazarus, I mean really, immediately after He arrived where Lazarus resided, everybody (Mary, Martha, & their friends) were questioning Him, yet He responded in silence. He never gave a reason except that they may see His glory & believe. How much more legit is it that Jesus raised a man from the dead by simply saying, "Lazarus, come out!" I also love how Jesus tells God that He knows that He hears & has always heard.

come thou fount.
(found this on pinterest.com)
I want to make something like this

If God always gave us the answers to our questions, we would never see the miracles in our life happen; miracles that give Him all the glory so that we & others may believe. I no longer desire my questions to be answered right now. . .I'm so much more stoked for these "bigger revelations" to come unexpectedly.

Living after the example of Ruth.

I miss these awesome women of God.

 God has placed this deep desire inside of me to read the stories about the amazing women of God in the Bible & to place them as an example in my life & strive to be like them. One of my favorite stories ever is the boldness of Esther, but this past week I have dived into the story of Ruth & picked apart her amazing story!

First off, let's start with how DEVOTED Ruth was to Naomi (Ruth's mother-in-law) after both of their husbands died. 

"Then Orpah [the other daughter-in-law] kissed her mother-in-law good-by, but Ruth clung to her. 'Look,' said Naomi, 'your sister-in-law is going back to her people & her gods. Go back with her.' But Ruth replied, 'Don't urge me to leave you or to turn back from you. Where you go I will go, & where you stay I will stay. Your people will be my people & your God my God. Where you die I will die, & there I will be buried. May the Lord deal with me, be it ever so severely, if anything but death separates you & me.' When Naomi realized that Ruth was determined to go with her, she stopped urging her." 

-Ruth 1:14-18

Am I truly devoted to the Lord like Ruth was to Naomi? Ruth was not willing to leave Naomi whatsoever. She disregarded her commonsense, her worries, her future to remain close/faithful to Naomi. In that same way I must disregard the same things to remain devoted to my Father.  The only thing that Ruth would allow to separate her from Naomi was death. Even then. . .death cannot separate us from the Lord (Romans 8:38-39); praise God!

"'Let me go to the fields & pick up the left-over grain behind anyone in whose eyes I find favor.' Naomi said to her, 'Go ahead, my daughter.' So she [Ruth] went out & began to glean in the fields behind the harvesters."

-Ruth 2:2-3

Ruth did what she had to do to provide for her & Naomi; she was WILLING. Another thing I noticed about Ruth in this verse was that she was TEACHABLE; she was open to learning from others. 

There is A TON more to Ruth's story: Ruth was DILIGENT (Ruth 2:7); she had RESPECT (Ruth 2:10); she was BOLD, she had FAITH, & found refuge in the Lord (Ruth 2:11-12); she was HUMBLE (Ruth 2:13); & she was PATIENT (Ruth 3:18), but I am going to skip ahead to another important characteristic Ruth displayed. . .OBEDIENCE.

Naomi gives Ruth directions on how to approach Boaz (Ruth 3:1-4) when Ruth replies:

"'I will do whatever you say,' Ruth answered. So she went down to the threshing floor & did everything her mother-in-law told her to do."

-Ruth 3:5-6

I love my niece.

As the story unfolds, Boaz & Ruth end up being married & they have a son named Obed, the father of Jesse, the father of David. Ruth's faithfulness to Naomi produced a devoted obedience (she never even questioned Naomi) & because of her obedience Ruth was blessed with the awesome opportunity of being a part of the lineage of Jesus Christ! I told my dad during our coffee date this morning that despite the fact that Ruth couldn't see the bigger picture, she had faith & obeyed. We never know what is going to come from our obedience & there is going to be times where we will never see what comes from it, but isn't having that kind of a faith exciting?! 

This entire past week I have been blessed with the opportunity to get to know God's character a little bit more & I'll share more in my next post, but I really felt like I needed to share what I learned from Ruth this week. She was a woman of God & I am determined to follow her example.

I'm gonna leave you with some entertainment; the photo to the left is a drawing I did when I was 3 or 4 years old. After going to the dentist I started to draw my people with rather large teeth :) haha go ahead & laugh at me, I think it's hilarious.

Supporting the Journey to Japan.

What a beautiful thing God did when He created community & it is an act of worship when we come together as one in support of each other.  I will be living in Tokyo for at least a year so I must raise $1,000 of monthly financial support (which will take care of my living expenses) & the only way I can achieve that is through prayer, the Lord, & through my friends & family!

How to participate in sending me to Japan!

I am moving to Japan, December 5, to serve in music ministry, kids' ministry, & advertising through photography at FUSE Jesus Community (a church located in Machida, Tokyo).


There are a few options of sending a donation:

• Donation by mail: mail a check with my name on a separate piece of paper (so they know who it is for); the address is:

PAZ Japan

c/o Project Amazon

P.O. Box 3253

Peoria, IL 61612

• Donation by credit card: Gail Hodel (executive secretary of PAZ headquarters in Peoria, IL) runs credit card donations twice a month (the 10th & the 25th). If you choose to utilize this option, please call the office at (309) 263-2299, to give your credit card information (Mrs. Hodel doesn't recommend sending the information via e-mail).

• Donation through Paypal: go to www.pazjapan.org/footer/donate.php; you will then have a choice of either "One Time Gift," or an opportunity to "Pledge a Monthly Donation." Once again, you will have to send a note saying to which missionary or which project it is being sent to; you can specify that by sending Gail an e-mail at: dove@dpc.net

• Electric Funds Transfer: EFT Info & Form

• OR you can send a one-time donation to my home address:

Abigail Shaffer

409 Oriole Rd.

Florence, CO 81226

In case of any problems or additional questions, please call our PAZ Japan headquarters at: (309) 263-2299 & ask for Gail Hodel, OR you can e-mail her at dove@dpc.net 


I also created a Facebook group: The Journey to Japan. where you can easily message me with questions or advice! :) & please, please share this with anybody you think would be willing to support me!! I will be updating this blog while in Japan too if you desire to keep up with what your support/prayers & what the Lord is doing in Japan! Thank you for your support & thank your for your prayers all! I am deeply blessed by you! 

My niece Kellyn & I; I love her picnic table blouse!

Love,

Abigail

adventure.

silence.

". . .I am more convinced than ever that there is no way you & I can move toward a deeper, intimate relationship with our God without protracted times of stillness, which includes one of the rarest of all experiences: absolute silence." 

-Charles Swindoll

I have no idea what website this came from,
but I spotted it on Pinterest.com

My mother had such a wonderful idea this morning when she told me I should go down to the riverwalk to spend my time with the Lord. I definitely took her up on that & I scooted out the door! I have been reading this book called, "Intimacy With The Almighty," (which is where the above quote resides) & the author focuses on 4 things that are important in our intimacy with God. He also says that there are more than four, but there are no less than that. One of the four is silence. 

I walked among tall trees that looked like they were lightly dipped in buckets full of yellow paint & after a little while I found the perfect spot to simply sit. I found a log surrounded by trees with the sun shining down through them & placed my book bag under my head & laid there listening to the leaves rustle. I have to say, it was absolutely blissful. I surrendered every little thing that has been buzzing around my head this past week over to Him & I told Him I was deciding to simply be WITH Him. I'm not going to share with you some supernatural experience or whatever, but I have to tell you, lying on that log with the Lord put my heart & soul at a place of pure rest. 

After awhile I began reading scripture out loud; I read a lot of verses, but the passage that really sticks out is Psalm 145. Please go read it now! It is such a beautiful chapter & it reminded me of how faithful my Father is, how beautiful the craftsmanship of His hands are, & that I need to praise Him for those things every day when I wake up. It refreshed my soul & give all the glory to God. Thank You, Lord for blessing me with the freedom to step out into nature & be with You. I praise You for the silence that I found You in this morning.

 If you desire to simply be with Him, to clear your mind, & to converse with Him on such an intimate level, I highly suggest being with Him in silence & patiently waiting on Him. He is so beautiful & worth quieting ourselves (our minds, our hearts, our cares, our busy schedules, etc.).

"If the pace & the push, the noise & the crowds are getting to you, it's time to stop the nonsense & find a place of solace to refresh your spirit. Deliberately say 'no' more often. This will leave room for you to slow down, get alone, pour out your overburdened heart, & admit your desperate need for inner refreshment." 

-Charles Swindoll

I know this may seem rather on the contrary, but I found this song with such beautiful lyrics & I desire to share it with everybody, haha! Abba by Jonathan David Helser <<click it, be with the Lord, & enjoy.