More Beautiful You

Little girl fourteen flipping through a magazine
Says she wants to look that way
But her hair isn't straight her body isn't fake
And she's always felt overweight

Well little girl fourteen i wish that you could see
That beauty is within your heart
And you were made with such care your skin your body and your hair
Are perfect just the way they are

There could never be a more beautiful you
Don't buy the lies disguises and hoops they make you jump through
You were made to fill a purpose that only you could do
So there could never be a more beautiful you

Little girl twenty-one the things that you've already done
Anything to get ahead
And you say you've got a man but he's got another plan
Only wants what you will do instead

Well little girl twenty-one you never thought that this would come
You starve yourself to play the part
But i can promise you there's a man whose love is true
And he'll treat you like the jewel you are

So turn around you're not too far
To back away be who you are
To change your path go another way
It's not too late you can be saved
If you feel depressed with past regrets
The shameful nights hope to forget
Can disappear they can all be washed away
By the one who's strong can right your wrongs
Can rid your fears dry all your tears
And change the way you look at this big world
He will take your dark distorted view
And with his light he will show you truth
And again you'll see through the eyes of a little girl
~Jonny Diaz

I think this song pretty much speaks for itself. How awesome is our God to make us beautiful?!
I hope all is well! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

There is no one like our God!

Today was an incredible time at Light in the City. Light in the City is a pregnancy center that supports young mothers and help give advice to women who are considering abortion. Our translator for the day, Hannah, was telling me that the average age of girls getting abortions is 12. How awful! But what a blessing it is that Janice and her team can be Jesus to those young girls and ultimately save lives!

Today we lead the Thursday night prayer meeting here at Salem. We started off with me singing and then we all got to share a little bit of our testimonies. It was really awesome to see the women respond to our stories. After we all spoke we had a time for prayer requests and then we all took turns praying aloud. Some in English and some in Estonian. The posture everyone took was that of kneeling at their chairs. At first I thought it was really cool and then I started to feel really guilty. When was the last time I knelt before the Lord and spoke to Him. Sure, I have my quiet times, but when was the last time I got down on my knees and truly offered myself to Him? You should have heard the way the women were praying! It was all older women, who have probably known Jesus longer than any of us have been alive, and the way they prayed was so humbling. They were so passionate about their Savior and, you could tell from their voices, that they were SO in love with Him! They are an awesome picture of what it means to love the Lord with everything you have! For some women, He is all they have. It was just so incredible!

Tonight we are packing up our bags and getting ready to head home. It's a bitter sweet feeling, as usual! We leave for the port around 1:30, the ship leaves at 6:00. We'll be in Stockholm around 10:00 Saturday morning (Swedish time) and we should be back in Dallas around 8:15 Saturday evening (Dallas time)!

Prayer Requests and Praises:

• Praise- God is the God of this city!
• Praise- We had an INCREDIBLE time
• Please pray that we would rest up for our long journey ahead of us
• Pray for safe travel! And also a better flying experience this time. On the way here we had some rough plane rides!
• Pray for Salem Baptist Church, that God would rise up leaders and teachers, so that this church may be the difference in Tartu. That they would be a light for an otherwise dark and depressed people, and that He would bless them with everything they need!

He's the God of this city! See you guys in the states in a few short days! I love you all more than you know!

Forever His,

EmilyJo

What Happens in the Sauna, Stays in the Sauna!

Sorry I didn't update you guys yesterday! After the conference, we were invited over to Janice and Linden's home for some sauna time. I know what you're thinking... "Dang! They have a sauna!" But don't get too excited! Everyone here has one in their home. It's a way of life here. It was interesting to say the very least! Let's just say it's tradition to be hit with juniper branches... yeah...

So yesterday was a very calm laid back kind of day. After all the cooking was finished we were able to just hang out together and relax. We had a few of our translators over for some games so we had a lot of fun!

Last night, at the the conference Pastor Maggo had all of "The Texas Ladies" come to the front where he and Janice presented us with a present and some flowers and had the church pray over us. At that moment, everything from all the technical difficulties from the week to all the crazy children all of the sudden felt completely worth the effort. The fact that God used us to change so many lives made all our hard work pay off! Glory to Him! Many of the women want to come to Janice for counseling next week and almost all the kids can't wait to come back to church! I think the thing about the conference I loved the most was getting to know all of our translators. They are all high school girls and so fun and full of life! It was cool to hang out with them and get to know their hearts and what's going on in their lives! They really blessed our hearts this week! Estonia now has a very special place in my heart. Isn't it funny how, no matter the language, a tickle is still a tickle, and the older boys are a little too cool to do the motions to the theme song?

Praises from yesterday:

• We got to relax before the conference
• There were 42 children in attendance
• Kandace made some incredible cake and Ann Marie made some awesome veggie soup!
• The kids were asking more questions about Jesus!!!
• We made some new friends!

Today we are going to a place called Light in the City to host a clothing exchange for the children here! I'm so excited to see what God has in store! He's the God of this city... may we be His light!

There will be another post later tonight! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

GRRROUUUNNNNDD BEEEEFFF!!

Praise Jeesust we slept wonderfully last night!! Such a blessing! Thank you for your prayers and support! We had a fabulous day of making 18 dozen snickerdoodles! Ann Marie LOVED it! And I didn't get one because they were all gone! They really like the sweets here!

Today at the conference they talked about the following things:

• What is love? 1 Corinthians 13
• Depression
• Cancer/Heart Disease Prevention

The Taste of Texas consisted of Kandace's AMAZINGLY DELICIOUS Chicken Tortilla Soup and Ann Marie's WORLD FAMOUS snickerdoodles. And to drink we served lemonade! We didn't quite double as expected, however the numbers were higher than yesterday! Praise! What a blessing! We also handed out cook books that had the recipes of all the food, desserts and drinks we will be making for the women this week. For music today, we had two Estonian folk singers come and share with us. After the conference, they put on a concert. It was pretty interesting to see their style of music and variety of instruments. The ladies really enjoyed it and even sang along!

Now for the kids! Today we had 44 children! We were very excited to gain new friends to play with and we couldn't have done it without our fabulous volunteers and translators! They rock! We told the stories of the Last Supper and Jesus praying in the garden. The kids showed more interest today in hearing about Jeesust and asking questions. Praise Him for curious children! We had snickerdoodles and punch for snack and they ate ALL of it! This resulted in lots of sugar highs! Tomorrow we're serving carrots and water!

Prayer Requests and Praises for today:

• Praise- Jennie's ankle is MUCH better today! Thank you for your prayers!
• Praise- more women and children were in attendance! Please pray for even more tomorrow!
• Praise- AWESOME NIGHT'S SLEEP!! And the birds toned it down for Ann Marie! Thank the Lord for ear plugs!
• Praise- Gorgeous weather and some rain!
• Please continue to lift up Valentina. There's still no sign of her!
• There will be a funeral here tomorrow. Please pray for peace in this building!
• Please pray for another awesome sleep tonight!
• Tomorrow a few of the volunteers are coming to hang out. Pray that our time with them is blessed and a fun break!
• SEND THE CHILDREN! We know there are so many more women and children that need light. Please pray they would find their way into our doors! And may we learn to love them with a God-sized love!!

Ciao! I love you all more than you know!

Forever His,

EmilyJo

Jumal is Good!

Last night me and Jennie were the only ones that actually slept. Marie, Ann Marie, Kandace and Monica didn't get much sleep at all. They were running on coffee for sure! They clam there's a wild kingdom of birds outside our window... they might just be going crazy!

We woke up at 7:30 to get our day started with a little breakfast and quiet time. After getting ready for the day it was off to the kitchen for some ALL day cooking for Monica, Kandace, Ann Marie and Jennie, along with a few Estonian helpers. While everyone was cooking Marie and I got to walk around the streets of the neighborhood that surrounds the church and pass out flyers for the conference. It's funny when you pass things out on the streets, because the people that see you doing it, they kind of run away! We had an awesome time just praying over the women of the city and handing out the flyers. We knew the Lord would get them in the right hands!

After that Jennie, Kandace, Monica, Janice and myself went to the grocery store. Guess what! It looks exactly like Kroger except everything is in Estonian! Who would have thought! Then we all came back to get ready for tonight!

Let's talk about the Womens' Conference first! The topics for the evening were-

• Children? I want my children to know I love them. I want to raise them to be confident, solid adults
• Family? I want my family to be full of love and laughter. Used the 5 Languages of Love
• Aloneness? How can I be happy and content while I"m single?

Our "Taste of Texas" consisted of the chili Ann Marie made today and chocolate chip cookies with... of course... peach tea!

Janice said "Tonight was way beyond our expectations! We can expect attendance to double for tomorrow!"

What a blessing!! The women were very responsive and were like little sponges soaking up all the truth they could!

I got to sing the song "Sweetly Broken" by Jeremy Riddle with one of the translators, Margit, today! It was incredible! I sang it in English first and then we both sang it in our own languages and the congregation joined it! It was so amazing to see people from two completely different countries praising one God in the same song!

Now for the children's part!

We had 26 kids tonight which was a great start for the week! This is the very first time EVER this church has ever seen a VBS! How crazy!! The kids really enjoyed it and are sooo excited to come back tomorrow!

We had an awesome day today! Jumal was soo good to us! Here are the prayer requests and praises for today!

• Praise- Today went so smoothly!
• Praise- 60 women and 26 children were in attendance!!!
• Praise- Jennie's ankle was much better today. Please pray that tomorrow is even better!
• Please please please pray for an awesome night's sleep!! We rejoice in the fact that when we run on empty God provides, however, we would LOVE sleep! Also pray for God-sized energy!
• Pray tomorrow would be an even more incredible day! Bring the children! In His word it says to let the children come to Him, and I believe that means ALL His children- young and old! We're SO excited for numbers to possibly double!!
• Language barrier between us and the children. They were really crazy today which made things a little harder to manage between rotations. Pray for patience and guidance on how to discipline with love.
• Valentina, as far as I understand, did not come today! Please continue to lift her up! She's a broken woman who needs light in her life!

Well friends, it's almost 10:30pm here so I'm going to leave it at that! Thank you for all your prayers and support! Jumal is good! I love you all more than you know!

Forever His,

EmilyJo

WE'RE HERE!!!! (The good stuff)

A few things we actually know:

• The Swedish Palace- not so impressive... don't tell them I said that!
• The belief in deodorant isn't a universal thing!
• A hot shower and a very long nap sounds AMAZING right now!!

It is just after 8:00 pm here and I feel like it's already midnight! I think the traveling and nonstop walking everywhere has really taken it's toll on all of us! Something that I noticed that God really spoke to me about was on the cruise. As Marie and I were on the deck taking pictures (by the way, Marie is the picture queen!), I was watching as the ship gracefully skipped over the water. It really captivated me how it's almost like the ship is asking the water to gently move out of the way and the water obediently did as it was told, making ripples along the side of the boat. It really reminded me of how gentle and tender God can be to us sometimes. Maybe this is totally out there, but how often do we just ignore the simple requests He has? We always think God ONLY works in HUGE ways, when in reality the smaller things are usually the things that speak volumes to us in the most simple ways and places. A whisper of hope or a spot of light coming into our hearts during our morning showers or our commutes to work. I think so often we over look the small things!

Prayer Requests for today:

• VOLUNTEERS! We have quite a few volunteers for the conference and VBS tomorrow and we're so excited to have them! Be praying for them as they step into this roll of leadership, that God would open their hearts as well and that we could be examples to them
• Jennie's ankle. She hurt it at camp last week and it's still really bothering her. Pray for healing and patience
• Tomorrow is Day 1 of the conference and we have no idea what to expect! Pray for open minds and flexible attitudes among everyone involved
• There is a woman that lives in Tartu that Janice spoke with a few days ago. Valentina was very drunk and said she was too bad of a person to come to church and that she just wishes the evil would come out of her. We have all committed to praying that God brings her to the conference, sober, and that he would break down the walls of her heart. Also, that He would show us how to love her and how to be a light to her.

That's all I've got for today. Pray it up! We're all crossing our fingers for an awesome night's rest and energy for tomorrow!

God is so good! I love you all more than you know!

Forever His,

EmilyJo

WE'RE HERE!!!!!!!! (the boring part)

Ok so what seemed like FOREVER we finally arrived in Tartu. Here's what went down. You'll have to bare with me because the keyboard has really strange keys!

Our flight from Dallas to Atlanta was probably the worst flying experience of our lives. Our seats were right next to one of the back engines. We couldn't hear each other talk and it felt like our seats were vibrating the entire time. We were SO glad the flight was only a little under two hours!

We landed in Atlanta 15 minutes early which was good because we had to take the subway to our terminal. There were military men and women everywhere so it was really neat to see them. We boarded our flight and, luckily, we were all in the same row! I was on the very end and I sat next to a girl from Sweden. At first I didn't think she spoke English so I didn't talk to her. She was crying for the first part of the flight so I just began to pray that God would somehow allow me to communicate with her. During the last twenty minutes she told me she was just pretending and that she really spoke English so we had a nice little chat.

After landing in Stockholm, we were picked up by the biggest taxi I've ever seen and he took us to the ship where Linden and Janice, the Estonian missionaries, stowed our luggage. We then went on our very own tour of Stockholm. Now, when I say "own tour" I mean Linden tried to get us to old town. We only got confused a few times! We rode the Metro to some other part of town where we saw all kinds of old buildings and the palace of the King and Queen of Sweden. After taking way too long grabbing a bite to eat we had to book it back to the ship. We ended up getting off the Metro and seriously power walking to the port. It was a little stressful but we made it!

The cruise was unbelievable! For all of you out there who thought we were just taking a ferry ride, you were seriously mistaken! It had a casino and restaurant, spas, stores and a cafeteria! Of course, we were all so exhausted we didn't really get to see much of the ship, just the upper deck where we took pictures of us leaving the port!

This morning we had planned on waking up at 7:30 Swedish time, however at 3 this morning Jennie and I were wide awake, so we went and explored the ship. We didn't find much, but we did find a place to get hot tea. So we sat for a while and then headed back to our room and waited for everyone else to wake up. The other ladies woke up at 7:30, except it was actually 8:30 because Estonia is an hour ahead of Sweden (who would have thought!). At 10:00 EVERYONE of the boat had to exit at the port. Do you know how long it takes to get hundreds of Swedish people out of one door? A very long, frustrating time!

So we drove two and half hours in what is called "The Queer Bus". it's a bright yellow, really old minibus. We were styling to say the very least! So then we got to Salem Baptist Church, where we will be calling home for the next few days, and settled in.

This evening we had a training/meeting for all the Estonian helpers for the week. It was really cool to meet all of them. The girls that are helping with VBS all speak English and are in high school. They are so fun and SO excited to get the week started!!


To be continued...

TOMORROW!!

All the Is are dotted and Ts crossed! Ready or not here we come!!! I can't believe it's finally here. It seems like we were just starting the planning process last week, but the countdown is finally coming to a close and we're leaving TOMORROW! Please be praying for safe travel, calmed nerves and low stress levels! Also be praying that God would remove all distractions. I would hate for anything to get in the way of what He has in store!

This is another short post. This time tomorrow we will be boarding our overnight CRUISE over the Baltic Sea to Tallin. From there it's a two hour drive to Tartu, where we will call home for the week ahead. Exciting times!
Pray! Pray! Pray! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

2 days!

This post is going to be short and sweet! We're leaving in two days and there is an abundance of emotions going through my head right now. I'm nervous about getting ear infections from the plane ride, I'm excited to go to a new place, but most of all I'm anxious to see what the Lord has planned for us. He's going to do some amazing and mighty things and I can't wait to share them with you guys!

Just real quick, the prayer request today would simply be for all the preparations for the trip. Pray that the flyers in Tartu and surrounding cities would end up in the hands of the women that need to come to the conference. Pray for our team as we, and our families, get ready to go. From the packing to the Holy Spirit going before us and making a way! Where there is brokenness, God heals!

I told you guys this would be a short one! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

Twenty-First Time

Nowhere to live, nowhere to fall
he used to have money, but he’s wasted it all.
His face is a photograph burned in my mind,
but I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He sleeps under stars, that’s all he can afford
His blanket's an old coat he’s had since the war
He stands on the corner of Carter and Vine
But I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

He may be a drifter, he’s grown old and gray
But what if he’s Jesus and I walk away?
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
but I pretend not to see him for the twenty-first time

She’s twenty-nine but she feels forty-eight
She can’t raise three kids on minimum wage
She’s cryin’ in back of the welfare line
but I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

She may be a stranger tryin’ to get through the day
but what if it’s Jesus and i walk away?
I say I’m the body and drink of the wine
but I pretend not to see her for the twenty-first time

This is a call for a change in my heart
I realize that I've not been doin’ my part
when I needed a Savior, I found it in Him
He gave to me, now I’ll give back to them

Drifter or stranger, father or son
I’ll look for Jesus in every one
’cause I am the body and drink of the wine
and I’m thankful there’s more than the twenty-first time
~Monk & Neagle

This song has been smacking me in the face for the past few days. How often do I pass someone on the street and think I'm better than them or thank the Lord that I'm not in their position? Don't lie, you do it too! It's called being human. We do it on mission trips too. We see someone that obviously needs some light in their lives, but we just walk by them because they are rough looking or they're standing by a creepy house or are in a broken down car. Is the old man with a cane that's standing under a tree, wearing clothes that look like they've never been washed really any worse off than me?

As Estonia grows closer (5 days to be exact), I keep finding myself praying for rough situations and brokenness. I rely on the promise of where there is brokenness, God heals.

SO much to do, so very little time! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

6 more days!

Today we will be meeting to pack up all the clothes we are providing for the clothing exchange that we will be hosting in Estonia. This will be one full day of women bringing the clothes their children have grown out of and exchanging them for new ones that fit. Please be praying that God would create divine appointments for us to talk to the women and share the Gospel with them. I think this trip is going to be bigger than we can imagine and I'm so very excited to see how it all works out!


Sorry this is so short... so much to do! Have a great weekend! I love you all more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

All I Can Say

Lord I'm tired
So tired from walking
And Lord I'm so alone
And Lord the dark
Is creeping in
Creeping up
To swallow me
I think I'll stop
Rest here a while

And didn't You see me cry'n?
And didn't You hear me call Your name?
Wasn't it You I gave my heart to?
I wish You'd remember
Where you sat it down

Chorus:
And this is all that I can say right now
And this is all that I can give
That's my everything

Bridge:
I didn't notice You were standing here
I didn't know that
That was You holding me
I didn't notice You were cry'n too
I didn't know that
That was You washing my feet
~David Crowder


This song has really been my heart in the recent weeks as we are getting closer and closer to going to Estonia. I think so often we think we're giving everything we have to God to use for His purpose, but are we really giving ALL we have or are we just giving the parts that wouldn't be a sacrifice. What have I done in the past week that was truly a sacrifice to further His kingdom? Just a little food for thought!

8 days! I love you guys more than you know!
Forever His,
EmilyJo

Meeting Updates- 15 days!

We had one of our last meetings until the trip yesterday and here is the updates:

Everything is falling into place beautifully, from our transportation to food and the place we're staying. Marie, our fearless leader, had been doing an awesome job at organizing everything. Something to be praying about would be preparation of the conference. We have absolutely no idea how many women to except or how many kids will show up for VBS. I don't want to make this about numbers, however, we want to make sure we have enough supplies for the crafts and enough food to feed the women. Be praying that God would give us answers and ideas as to what to do number wise. It's going to be an incredible trip and I'm so excited to see how the Lord uses us in Estonia.

In other news, my friend, Ashley, and I are going through the book of Hosea. It's not that I've never read through it, in fact it's one of my favorite books, but God has really opened my eyes this time around. How awesome is it to think that no matter how much we mess up and how far we run away from God, He finds us, He holds us and heals us, and let's us start all over. How awesome is the God we serve?! I am so captivated by this truth. I'm so in love.

We're almost to the weekend! Hang in there! I love you all more than you know!

Forever His,

EmilyJo