The Next Step

So....here's the news I've been waiting to tell you....I am going on a trip to Papua New Guinea with Wycliffe Bible Translators! I will be gone for five weeks (July15-August 20) and will be learning about the translation work there as well as getting an in-depth picture about what missionary life is really like.

Here is a video describing why Bible translation and getting the word into a language every person can understand is so important.

I hope you will prayerfully and financially join with me as I go on this journey. Thank you!

Blessings,
Sierra

On A Weekday Morning

O God, who are the giver of all good gifts, I your unworthy servant entirely desire to praise your name for all the expressions of your bounty torward me. Blessed be your love for giving your son to die for our sins, for the means of grace, and for the hope of glory. Blessed be your love for all the temporal benefits which you have with a liberal hand poured out upon me; for my health and strength, food and raiment, and all other necessities with which you have provided your sinful servant. I also bless you, that after all my refusals of your grace , you still have patienve with me and have given me yet another day to renew and perfect my repentance.
Make yourself always present to my mind, and let your love fill and rule my soul, in all those places, and companies, and employments to which you call me this day. O you who are good and do good, who extend your loving kindness to all mankind, the work of your hands ,your image, capable of knowing and loving you eternally:suffer me to exclude none, O Lord, from my charity, who are the objects of your mercy; but let me treat all my neighbors with that tender love which is due to your servants and to your children. Let your love to me, O blessed Savior, be the pattern of my love to them.

John Wesley

An Ordinary Radical

The gospel has ruined my life.

I know what you're thinking...."wait, what? What is this crazy lady talking about?" Yeah, I know. We're not supposed to talk about the good news like that....it's blasphemous! Let me clarify.

The gospel of Jesus has ruined my self-absorbed, red blooded American, commercialized life.

After honestly and prayerfully reading my Bible and such books as The Irresistible Revolution by Shane Claiborne, Seven: an experimental mutiny against excess by Jen Hatmaker and Radical by David Platt....my heart is being changed. I am learning so much about what it really means to take Jesus's words to heart and actually live them.

I grew up in church, so I've heard the words of Jesus my entire life. I went to Sunday School, I was in the church choir, I went to youth group. I know the Lords prayer and Psalm 23 by heart and all the words to all the hymns and worship songs we sing in church. I was a good Christian girl and I thought I had it all together. Well....I don't. Following Jesus is so much more than knowing what to say, or what to do. It's the attitude and the reason behind what you do, the love that propels you to give and to go. It's not about bigger and better but about becoming smaller, becoming more real.

Shane Claiborne puts it well in his book The Irresistible Revolution......"But we live in a world that has lost it's appreciation for small things. We live in a world that wants things bigger and bigger. We want to supersize our fries, sodas, and church buildings. But amid all the supersizing, many of us feel God doing something new, something small and subtle. This thing Jesus called the kingdom of God is emerging across the globe in the most unexpected places, a gentle whisper amid the chaos. Little people with big dreams are reamagining the world. Little movements of communities of ordinary radicals are committed to doing small things with great love."

If that is true, call me a radical. An ordinary radical who wants to get at the root of what it means to love, and to get at the root of what had made such a mess of our world. It is a contagious revolution that dances, laughs and loves. 

 "Conversion is not an event but a process, a process of slowly tearing ourselves from the clutches of the culture" Shane Claiborne

He satisfies my longing soul

"For He satisfies the longing soul, and the hungry soul He fills with good things."
Psalms 107:9

Longing- strong, persistent desire or craving, especially for something unattainable or distant: "filled with longing for home."

Do you ever at some time in your day get the feeling of longing, of desire for, something you can't quite name or describe? I often do. You go through your life, your work and activities and then out of nowhere...there it is. The nagging feeling that you're missing something, that there is a piece of your soul that has been misplaced. That desire for something to make you're life have meaning. So, we seek out things to fill that raging, incessant desire.

If only I could have some chocolate cake right now.....that sounds good.

The iPhone 6 is on sale! Maybe I can get it next week....

Only have to save a little more, then I can get that new mustang!

If only I had someone to love me, then I would be happy.


We try and we try, but it never goes away. Always seeking to fill that longing, and always coming up short. Well...I learned something today.

There is nothing on earth that can take that longing away. There is only Jesus.

I cannot depend on anything, any person to give my life meaning. My Creator is the only one that can. Who better to fill my heart than He who made it, and knows it intimately. All these years, this truth was right in front of me but I never saw this longing for what it was. It was HIM.
For my entire life my God, my Father, was calling me to Himself and I could not hear. I filled my head and heart with things that spoil, with things that moths can eat and thieves can break in and steal. My treasure was on earth, and not in heaven.

Speak now, Lord. Your servant is listening. This world has blinded me, but your love is now breaking through. Praise be to you, the God who breaks down walls and opens the eyes of the blind.

The God who fills the longing soul, and fills the hungry soul with GOOD things.

Great Is Thy Faithfulness

If there ever was a song that I could sing every day as a hymn of thankfulness to The Lord, this would be it. Such richness of meaning is included in it's lyrics that touches my soul.

Great is thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with thee,
Thou changest not, Thy compassions fail not, 
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be

Refrain:
Great is thy faithfulness!
Great is thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see 
All I have needed thy hand hath provided 
Great is thy faithfulness, LOrd unto me!

Summer and winter and springtime and harvest,
Sun, moon and stars in their courses above; 
Join with all nature in manifold witness, 
To thy great faithfulness, mercy and love.

Refrain

Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, 
Thine own great precence to cheer and to guide;
Strength for today, and bright hope for tomorrow
Blessings all mine and ten thousand beside. 

Refrain

I love the refrain the most. For it is so true, each morning there are new mercies that 
He provides. From family and food, to my job and my church. Not to mention the knowing 
and feeling of his very presence that touches my own spirit.
All I have needed, his hand has provided. I lack nothing that I need, he has seen fit to give me all. And that which I do not have, He knows why I don't need it at this time. 

I also love the reminder that the Lord never changes. As he has been, as I have learned him, so he shall ever be. His grace, His mercy will never run out. His compassions never fail. What a promise!  


How great is our God! Great is his faithfulness! 
 

 

ISA 12:3-6 MSG

"Joyfully you’ll pull up buckets of water from the wells of salvation. And as you do it, you’ll say, “Give thanks to God . Call out his name. Ask him anything! Shout to the nations, tell them what he’s done, spread the news of his great reputation! “Sing praise-songs to God . He’s done it all! Let the whole earth know what he’s done! Raise the roof! Sing your hearts out, O Zion! The Greatest lives among you: The Holy of Israel.”

The next big thing

 I have some plans for the summer that I am going to be telling you about soon....for now these pictures will have to suffice. ;)

The Simple Life

I have been musing lately on how I can develop a life.....which is more than just "living". It seems cliche, but I believe there is much more to how I live than the activities I do in the minutes that make up my days. The rich, raw life is what I crave. Surrounding myself with the richest things that this existence has to offer, all the while keeping my thoughts on the things of the next. I pray that God will keep my eyes open to how much more meaningful it is to spend time with the people you love, doing the things you love, than anything this hollow culture can pitch to us.

"When we crave simplicity, we are not after an easier life. We are after life." Dave Bruno

Hello Again!

Wow! I have been slacking the last year as far as blogging goes. :P I guess there isn't much to tell from a missions perspective.  Earlier last year I considered going to a training in NYC for a year dealing with reaching the unreached, but that did not work out as planned. I do believe that it was just not the time for me to get into something like that yet, as I have not finished my education here. So, I decided to stay around this area for now, though I hope to use my summers for mission trips. I believe I have a trip lined up for this summer, but more on that later..... :)

Blessings!

Back From Romania! Volume 2

After we arrived in Charlotte we continued on our way and boarded our flight to Frankfurt. This flight was supposed to take eight hours and forty minutes. It was the longest flight I had ever been on, that is until the way back which was nine hours and fifty minutes! The highlight of that long night was the inflight entertainment that's for sure!
From Frankfort we then went on to Munich, which was a very short flight. We were all very tired by then and ready just to get to Romania and in a horizontal bed! But that was not to be until 12 hours later.....
In Munich we learned that there were no seats on the flight to Cluj (that we thought we were already on) but that we were on the waiting list instead. They said that we would have to wait until the next day to fly out! We just could'nt believe all the changes that had happened today......
But again, Thank the Lord, they found a flight for us to Budapest that would get us closer to our destination. The only thing about that was the eight hour van ride that awaited to take us from Budapest to Finate. :O Finally, around 7am Romanian time, July 18 we rolled in to Finate and arrived at the camp. Boy, was I ever glad to get into bed as I was then! We had been traveling for around 40-45 hours. Though, some of the group stayed up and helped with VBS after we got something to eat. Thanks, guys!
 Later that evening I went with some other ladies to visit two other ladies and to invite them to a Bible study that we were having. They were both very friendly and invited us in and gave us something to drink. At the second house (which was very lovely) we tried fresh warm milk, fresh from the cow just 15 minutes earlier. It was pretty good, but it was weird having it warm. :)

 My only wish is that some day I will be able to speak with these people with out a translator. There are ways that you can show your love and interest in them without speaking to them, but I want to do more than that. We'll see how that goes!

More later!

~Sierra

Back From Romania! Volume 1

Hello everyone!
I have now been around the World and back and would love to share my experiences with you.There is much to say for such a short trip as we went on. :) But here goes!

We started out on July 16th when we headed to the airport around noon to meet the team and get checked in. When we got there everything seemed great but then we found out that somehow we were actually booked for the 12:15 flight instead of the 2:05 and we're not informed of this, and when we did not show they cancelled all our flights out. Big bummer! So they tried first to get us all on a flight together but had to resort to splitting us up in three groups. The first group of five (including Alicia) left for Charlotte, followed by the second (lead by Pastor Keith) that left for Philadelphia. Gabi and I, along with Mike and Lynn Lagermann were the last ones without a flight for at least an hour. In that time, we were told that we might not be able to fly out until the next day! :( Finally, after waiting three or four hours they got a flight for the four of us with the first group that left. They had been waiting to leave just as long as we had, only they had boarded and came off the plane two times already! The first was because of a equipment failure with the pilot's oxygen mask and the second because of bad weather in Charlotte. But in the end that was a blessing because Gabi and I, Mike and Lynn did not have to travel alone!
So, we joined up with the others and boarded our plane to Charlotte. After we were on board the flight attendants told us that we had seven minutes to get to the gate or we would have been turned around a third time! Praise the Lord we were able to make it with only thirty seconds to spare, even with an extra two minutes!

More later!

~Sierra

"Commit your work to the Lord and your plans will be established" ~Proverbs 16:3

Prayer Requests

 Hey All!
Just putting some prayer requests on here so that you all know how to pray for those on the team who are going to Romania. We are now around two weeks away from departure and ready to see what God does while we are overseas.

For the team-

(Cathy Bond, Rebecca Chrisman, Matthew Phillips, Zachary Phillips, Gabrielle Cullins, Sierra Cullins, Cassidy Grom, Mark Hale, Savannah Hale, Chris Harbin, Kyle Harbin, Pastor John Hedberg, Pastor Keith Joseph, Lynn Lagermann, Mike Lagermann, Karen Murray, John Pulliam, Kim Pulliam, Alison Pulliam, Jonathan Rideout, & Alicia Vessels) 

      Missionaries there-

      ( Achim & Brenda Barbos, Heather Donnelley)

Children there-

(Romanian & Gypsy children in Finate, Romanian & Gypsy children in surrounding villages) I didn’t like to say Romanian & Gypsy, like they should be different. However, there are such racial tensions there, I felt you need to be made aware of this situation. In God’s eyes, we are the same, unfortunately, they don’t see it this way.

                

Pastors-

(Keith & John, leading the conference, Pastor Morcan in Romania setting up the Pastor conference, & our Pastors here ministering to our own folks)

Travel Safety

Health/Wellness (before, during & after our trip)

 Unity

Thank you for your support!

~Sierra 

Donation Supply List

Hi All!
I just wanted to put on here a list of supplies that I am hoping to bring to Romania. If you feel led you can donate either the supplies themselves or money and then I will buy the supplies most needed.
Thank you for your help!

General:
        Treat Bags, Stickers, Bubbles

Medicine:
       Orajel, Benedryl, Tylenol, Neosporin, Itch Creams (Cortisone), Vaseline

Perishables:
       Dry salad dressing mixes,


HBA:
        Feminine Products (Pads, no tampons), Diapers (all sizes), Combs/Brushes ,Hairbands/Bows

Sports Equipment:
            Soccer Balls, Basketballs, Wiffleballs, Used ball gloves, Money to order frisbees with the plan of salvation printed in Romanian

Craft Supplies:
            Sharpies, Suncatcher paint, Paint brushes, Small plastic bathroom cups, ziploc bags (snack, sandwich, quart and gallon)

Thanks again!

~Sierra

Ramblings....

Just counting down the weeks now (four by now) and getting more excited as they pass. I am looking forward to seeing what God will do in my life as I go to this other country. For a while now I have been imagining what my first overseas mission trip will be like and now that I am very close to actually experiencing it I am actually a little nervous.  Where will my life go after this? Will I continue to do things as I have always done or will this bring about a change in me? I guess the only way to answer my questions is to go and experience and see what God brings about. He has a great plan for me and I can't wait to see what happens!

A few weeks back I read some of the book "Kisses from Katie" by Katie Davis and I have to say that she is now a role model for me. She went to Uganda a few years ago on a mission trip, during high school i think, and fell in love with the Ugandan people while seeing the poverty there. She was there she felt God telling her that this is where she was supposed to be. I can only hope that someday I will feel the voice of God telling me that THIS is where he wants me to serve, though I wonder where that will be. :) I pray that The Lord will keep me faithful, humble and reliant on him as I journey forward.

In Christ,

Sierra

Romania

I am now only six weeks away from my trip to Romania and getting more excited as the days go by. As of right now I am still fundraising but I am closer to my goal then when I started. God has provided thus far and I believe that He will provide the rest. I have another meeting with my teammates this coming Sunday so I am looking forward to learning some more about this trip and what we will be doing. Please pray for continued guidance for me and my team as we prepare to make a differience in these people's lives.

~Sierra

I'm Getting Close.....

Hi Everyone!

The trip to Romania is coming closer everyday and I am really looking forward to it, but I need you're help again. I and my sister are $418 dollars short of the money we need for our airfare that is due in the next week.
If you could please help us out we would be willing to help with yard work or cleaning. We appreciate any help you could give.

Blessings,
Sierra

Romania Mission Trip 2010 Video

This is a video that a friend of a friend did after she got back to the states after going on the trip to Romania that I am going on in July. I thought that you all would like to see it. Please pray for these people and that the Lord would prepare the soil their hearts for the seeds that we will be sowing.

~Sierra

Romania!

Hey All! 
God has put before me another way to help his people around the world.  Lord willing, Gabi, Alicia and Myself will be in Romania from July 16-25 with King's Baptist Church in Mount Washington, Kentucky. 


We will be staying in Finate, Romania and helping with a few differient events like a VBS (one for the Romanians and one for the Gypsies), a sports camp in the city (30 minutes away), a small Bible study and possibly visiting a orphanage. 


I thank God for this opportunity and I am asking those of you who are reading this if you would pray for us as we prepare for and go on this trip. Please pray that we would get the finances we need (we need over $1500 each by April 4th), that we would have safety in out travels, that we would make a impact in the lives (and souls) of those we meet. 


Also, We ask that you to donate to help us reach our goal as God directs your heart. 


Thank you so very much!


Sierra, Alicia and Gabi

Due to some things that have come up, I am sorry to say that I will not be going to Kenya this year. I thank you for your generosity and if 


you still want to support this mission, I will gladly get it to other people that can use the funds. I thank you for your support. =)

Prayers

Thank all of you for your prayers so far, it has been a great encouragement to me to know that I have
people praying alongside me. I would urge you too keep praying, as well. I hope to be going to a meeting at the church that we will be going on the mission trip with on Sunday. So, I will have more details about what I will be doing in Kenya after that. It will be good to get to meet some of the other people I will be going with from Simpsonville Baptist.

Please also continue to pray for the finances that I need for the trip, continued health from now until I leave (and after) and for daily communion with God and strength to resist the assaults of Satan.

Again, thank you SO much!
Blessings,

~Sierra