Mexico on the brain.

The day I look forward to twice a year every year has finally come! 

The day we head to Mexico!

Tonight about 7 pm or so, I will be leaving my church parking lot with 50 other people (our biggest group yet!)  to head towards my favorite place on the planet... the canal in Reynosa, Mexico. I am so excited!!! So, not that I have been blogging very much lately anyways... but I will be away from the computer and therefore away from the blog until I get back. But, once I return, it will be blog central updating with tons of photos of my favorite niños! Not only do I look forward to seeing all of my "familia" down in Mexico, I also look forward to serving with the amazing group of people that goes down. We really become like family... and it's truly so much fun and such a blessing to our team just as much (or more) as it is to the people we go to serve. 

I absolutely can't wait to see these sweet little faces on Sunday morning! 

adios ♥

ch ch ch changes

So I have been totally slacking here lately on the whole blogosphere, and I have a big excuse why: I have had a lot of big changes happening lately and have not had the chance (or desire, to be honest) to sit down and blog about everything. Have you ever gotten so far behind in something that just the thought of trying to catch up seems super overwhelming and intimidating? That's exactly  how I have been feeling.

So first off, let me tell you that I have officially moved back to Alabama from Oregon. The timing was right and a lot of things fell  into place at the right time for me to move on; so I did. I am so forever grateful for all the friends and experiences that I gained during that chapter of my life and I will never regret moving there, and so far I don't regret moving back. I officially moved June 2 to come home, but I've only been back in Bama since June 6 because we had a mini vacation in Nashville after I flew in on the 2nd. I have thoroughly enjoyed seeing family and friends again and I am looking forward to jumping head first into ministry at Lifepoint. Man, I have missed that place. I went back for the first time this past Sunday and it was like I never left. Like a breath of fresh air after feeling like I was sinking for so long.  With all of that being said, my blog will be going through some major changes in the next few days/weeks. For starters, I'm still technically considering myself a part of The Crash team, but I am not currently with them in Oregon. I hope to join back up with the officially again wherever they head to next. I am kind of tossing around the idea of a blog name change, and while I contemplate that decision, I will be making some layout changes and possibly making new buttons(if I end up changing my blog name, obviously.)

One thing I ask is that you all please just hang in there with me as I make this transition into a new beginning of a new chapter in my life.

What will I do now? Good question. I do know that I will be going to Mexico in July(thank You, Jesus! I sure do miss that place!) and then I plan on getting a job in my hometown for the summer, going back to school in the fall to finish my Religious Studies degree(only one more semester!), and going to India in December. After that, good question. One thing I do know, it's all in God's hands from here!

Creation Celebration

In my last post on April 22(forever ago, I know. I know... I am slacking) I mentioned at the bottom of the post that The Beautiful Mess was having the first official service project in the Whiteaker neighborhood that night. Well, since it was Earth Day, we kind of unofficially named the project "The Beautiful Mess Earth Day Creation Celebration."
These are the posters(designed by Mr. Zach(Herb)Gideon) that were posted throughout the neighborhood to get the community talking and wondering who The Beautiful Mess is and to let them know what we were planning;

We met at 5:00 at the Eugene First Evangelical Church on Monroe and 8th on Sunday evening and broke up into teams to go into the community and clean up garbage, debris from the recent snow storm we had, old furniture, or anything else anyone in the area needed and wanted us to do. We then went on to invite them to dinner with one of these:

This was given to people we helped or just random people we met on the streets. We went back to the church to eat tacos/taco salads provided to us by a community group from The Shift Church in Albany, Oregon. 

There were a lot of good conversations and fellowship and all in all we had about 60+ people sign in at the registration table to join a clean up team. 

It was pretty awesome to see a community come together to serve and show the love of Jesus. Here are a couple of pictures... some taken by me and some not... of the evening.

And here is the sign up table crew(some of them):

Woo hoo! These guys did an awesome job setting this whole event up, and we were truly blessed at how the whole evening went and we look forward to doing the next project soon!
This coming Sunday... and every first Sunday of the month from here on(assuming it does well) we will be hosting an open mic night/coffee shop type deal and we hope to draw in people from the community to perform things like poems, art work, singing, telling a story or testimony... just whatever happens. We will serve coffee and desserts and hopefully get to have some really great conversations with people. Can't wait to see where God takes this crazy, Beautiful Mess.

Oh what a night

Or should I say day/weekend?! My birthday was on Thursday and it was so much better than I thought it would be seeing as how this was my first birthday away from home. I plan to give a play-by-play of my day... so just bear with me!
First, I was greeted with a coffee from my favorite coffee place when Audrey got home from taking Deci to school. Journey came in and told me "happy birthday" lots of times... well, she tried to tell me "happy birthday" and it's the thought and effort that makes it special!
The mailman came and brought me lots of birthday cards and a package! I was so excited, because while I was expecting the package... I was definitely NOT expecting cards from anyone!
I received one from Nick and Brandi Longshore that included a Starbucks gift card, one from Nancy, Anna, and Allison Montgomery, one from Miranda and Erik Emanuel(and their sweet children), one from my sweet mother, and one inside the package from my favorite cousin ever, Ashley who lives in Georgia! (and has a blog here, in case you are wondering)
Inside the package was a super awesome journal/scrapbook thing that I am SO excited about using, I just have to think of the perfect thing to do with it first, an awesome 2-3 page letter and, like I mentioned earlier, a card!
I was literally in tears at the outpouring of love from my friends and family back home that I was totally not expecting to experience! Just when I thought my birthday couldn't get any better(seeing as how my friends in Oregon already threw me a surprise birthday party on Monday!), my friend Kylee showed up at the front door with a HUGE chocolate cupcake and beautiful flowers for me! It was so sweet of her to stop by on her way to work... go out of her way(because my house is DEFINITELY not on the way to her job) just to make me feel special!
I'm telling you all... I have the best friends/family in the entire world. You could try to argue that statement with me all day, but I would win! I never expected gifts or anything from anyone(except maybe my mom), but I was blown away at the things I received!
Here is a pic of all my gifts(including the ones already mentioned in my blog about my surprise birthday party.)

Later on in the day, I skyped with my mom, sis, and brother back in Alabama for a while and that was such a fun time! I love getting to skype with my family, but with the 2 hour time difference it is so hard to coordinate a time where we can all sit down with nothing to do for a few minutes. I'm so glad it worked out where I could see them on my birthday. It was definitely more special than just a phone call. 

After our family skype date, Holleigh, Maribel, Audrey and I went out to the Granary (an awesome pizza place in Eugene) to eat. It was so good! Our awesome server took our picture for us:

There is no group of girls I would have rather spent my birthday with! I would have added a couple of people to this picture if I could, though. Since my birthday was a weird day of the week, a lot of people had to work... sad day. But, we had an awesome time and yummy pizza!

After this we went to the rose garden where there is this super old tree that sits smack in the middle of the rose bushes and such. It just so happened to be blooming and it was so beautiful! 

We left the rose garden and took Holleigh back to her car because she had some things to do at home, and Audrey, Maribel, and I went to Yogurt Extreme for dessert! I love frozen yogurt so much... it was only fitting to eat there on my birthday! It was so yummy! 

After Yogurt Extreme, I went to Maribel and Thania's apartment for Bible study and to hang out with my working friends who had finally gotten off work! When I got there, there was another cake waiting on me! It was an orange jello cake and it was awesome! 

I thought my birthday was over(and technically it was) but the next day I received another birthday card and some drawings from 2 of my favorite little girls from back in Alabama, Emma and Ava Rhoden. Also, my mom bought me a NOOK tablet from Barnes&Noble that came in that day as well! I have been playing with it nonstop and already have like 4 books downloaded to it. I love it so much! It's the best birthday gift I think I have ever gotten(thanks mother!)

My birthday festivities continued yesterday(sort of) when Holleigh and I got the chance to go to a Ducks baseball game for free! I love baseball here lately for some reason, and it was like 75 degrees outside... perfect day for baseball! It was an awesome time, for sure! 

I am so thankful that the Lord placed me in a place like this with so many people who care so much about me! I don't know how my birthday would have been without all of these amazing people He has placed in my life. Thank you, Jesus! 

*Tonight is our first service project in the Whiteaker district with The Beautiful Mess! We will be cleaning  up the neighborhood and inviting people back for dinner in the basement afterwards. Please be in prayer for our team as this happens. We really hope the Lord blesses our efforts and plants seeds and fosters relationships tonight.

Life on a Mission: Guest Post

My blog is titled:

A Day in the Life of a Crash Team Member

But what does that mean in my life? 

Today I am guest posting on 

So, click on over to read about things that are, in my opinion, the easy and hard things about "Living Life on a Mission."And while you are at it, go visit Kerrie's store: missionary kerrie's for some super cool clutch purses/iPad cases HAND SEWN by Kerrie to support her(and her husband's) trip to India! (Yes, in case you were wondering... the same India trip I will be taking!)

Where have I been?

via

Have you missed me? 

I have been totally absent from the blogging scene lately... and that includes reading the blogs I keep up with as well. I am partially to blame for this, but most of the blame goes to a ferocious stomach virus that attacked our house over the weekend and the first of the week. Deci started on Saturday followed by Audrey on Saturday night. Journey ended up sick by 3:30 Sunday morning and I woke up sick on Monday. Today is the first day I feel normal since then, although my stomach is still a little uneasy. On top of that, my business class ended this week so I had that final to study for. I had a test on Buddhism in World Religion due, as well. Also, I am working on the Crash newsletter for the month of February (whew! That sounds like I am a lot busier than I feel!) So, needless to say, blogging has been the farthest thing from my mind this week, but I am ready to get back on track!

So, a few praise reports this week! 

I've been learning a lesson on patience and waiting on/trusting the Lord this week.

Those of you who know me personally or who have been reading my blog for a while know that I have been searching for a job since August to no avail. I have had interviews and such, but no job offers and it was beginning to get frustrating. Have you ever felt like you are praying and praying and God is just sitting up there twiddling His thumbs(His mighty big thumbs, if I had to guess)? I HATE to admit that is how I had been feeling. A few posts back, I talked about how I had an interview at my favorite frozen yogurt place (Vanilla Jill's) and then later on how they called me in for a second interview. Well, I received an email Sunday evening saying I HAVE BEEN HIRED! I know, I know, it's about time! That's what I felt like I was saying to God as I thanked Him for answering my prayers! I felt so silly afterwards for not fully trusting in Him 1000%. I am so thankful to serve a God who sees my life in eternity when I am faced with the curse of only seeing the "right now." 


Another way the Lord has reminded me He is in control is through my India mission trip planned for January 2013. My $500 deposit is due this week(which I was going to have to mail in 2 days before in full in order for it to arrive on time) and as of Saturday I did not even have half of the money. I had already had the conversation with Kerrie(she's in charge of the trip) about getting my money back if I wasn't able to finish paying the deposit. Well, Saturday morning came along and I went to a conference on leadership. Sitting next to me was a guy that has joined us in our ministry here in Oregon who wrote me a check for $100. Next thing I know, my friend Alec is giving me money he already owed me for a knit hat I made him. He keeps throwing(literally) cash my way and it ends up totaling $39. So, at this point I needed only around $50 more to reach my deposit and an anonymous donor gave me $100 more! Which put me $42 OVER the deposit amount of $500! (I had a check already on it's way for $100 from Kerrie's dad as well) I was able to send the money into TREC, International in time for the money to arrive before the deadline! 
Isn't our God amazing?! 
It's taken these small reminders from Him for me to remember that I am safe in His arms. Always. I don't have to worry with tomorrow or even yesterday anymore. 

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" 

Luke 12:25

"Do not boast about tomorrow for you do not know what the day will bring." Proverbs 27:1

Thank You, Jesus for Your promise to never forsake me... that You wish to give me a future and a hope, and as long as I trust in You and seek Your face, I don't have to worry about what that looks like because You are writing my story. And thank You  for always being faithful and answering my prayers even though I am less than faithful on a daily basis. 

Happy Valentine's Day!

Happy Valentine's Day to my lovely friends! 

via.

I've been thinking back on old memories trying to think of my most memorable Valentine's Day and I have to say it was a few year ago, when I was in high school, I had knee surgery ON Valentine's Day! It wasn't too bad, and after the surgery my (then) boyfriend came over and brought me a HUGE bag full of chocolate and a card and sat with me while I was recovering. Definitely the most memorable in my mind.


Today I am babysitting 2 sweet children, spending time with Jesus, and later having a Valentine's dinner with some friends followed by frozen yogurt at my favorite place! I would love to hear about your Valentine's Day plans! While you're at it, tell me your most memorable Valentine's Day, as well! 

And Happy Valentine's Day to my only true love, Jesus!

For God so loved the world, that He gave his only son, so that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life! -John 3:16

We love because He first loved us. -1 John 4:19

♥

A Proverbs 31 Woman

I have recently been thinking a great deal about being single. I have been single for like.... 2 years or more now? (Not that I necessarily want to be married or have children right now or within the next few years) Sometimes, when I have those days of self-pity, I start to really feel sorry for myself and think "Lord, what is so wrong with me?" Then I realize, I have a Man in my life who would never forsake me, never cheat on me, never ever ever leave me, someone I can tell all of my secrets to and not feel like I will be judged, and who will always love me no matter what life brings and His name is JESUS! That sounds so cliched for a Christian woman to say, but honestly, when you just really think about that, isn't it amazing?! The God of the universe wants an intimate relationship with you and can totally fill all of the voids in your life that you think having a worldly relationship will fill. We all have heard the old quote that says "A woman's heart should be so hidden in Christ, that a man must seek Him first to find her." and this has been my adopted quote for life lately. My prayer is that I will fall so much in love with Christ that the idea of being single will never even cross my mind because I am so infatuated with the Lord, and if someone happens to come along and wants to run the race after God with me, then so be it. Also, I have been focusing on a couple different scriptures lately that have brought a great deal of comfort to my soul regarding this topic. These scriptures paint a picture of what an ideal wife should look like based on what the Lord says about it.

A wife should put her husband first, as she does the Lord. -Ephesians 5:22

So many times in my life I do not put the Lord first. Why do I think I could have a relationship with the right perspective, when I do not put the Lord first and foremost in my life EVERY. SINGLE. DAY? 

The steady dripping of rain and the nagging of a wife are one and the same. 

-Proverbs 27:15

Okay, so this one is definitely more on the funny side, seriously?! haha this just cracks me up. But on a serious note, I complain A LOT! I try not to be so negative all the time, but it just leaks out before I can stop it sometimes, and I don't want my husband to hate me because of it. It's something I am working to overcome.

And lastly, my prayer is that I can become a Proverbs 31 woman. 

Who can find a virtuous and capable wife? She is more precious than rubies. Her husband can trust her and she will greatly enrich his life. She brings him good. not harm, all the days of her life. She finds wool and flax and busily spins it. She is like a merchant's ship, bringing her food from afar. She gets up before the dawn to prepare breakfast for her household and plans the day's work for her servant girls. She goes to inspect a field and buys it; with her earnings she plants a vineyard. She is energetic and strong, a hard worker. She makes sure her dealings are profitable; her lamp burns late into the night. Her hands are busy spinning thread, her fingers twisting fiber. She extends a helping hand to the poor and opens her arms wide to the needy. She has no fear for winter for her household, for everyone has warm clothes. She makes her own bedspreads. She dresses in fine linen and purple gowns. Her husband is well known at the city gates, where he sits with the other civic leaders. She makes belted linen garments and sashes to sell to the merchants. She is clothed with strength and dignity, and she laughs without fear of the future. When she speaks, her words are wise, and she gives instructions with kindness. She carefully watches everything in her household and suffers nothing from laziness. Her children stand and bless her. Her husband praises her: "There are many virtuous and capable women in the world, but you surpass them all!" Charm is deceptive, and beauty does not last; but a woman who fears the LORD will be greatly praised. Reward her for all she has done. Let her deeds publicly declare her praise. -Proverbs 31:10-31

I pray with all of my heart that one day when I am married and later when I have children, that I will be the wife that the Lord has laid out here in Proverbs: smart, brave, trustworthy, God-fearing, loving, motherly.... all of these things. I know that I am single because I am not capable of being all of these things right now, and I fully believe that my ministry here in Eugene is best done while being single(not true for everyone here on our team, ie: Q&A, Holleigh and Alec...just me personally) and the Lord is working on me and molding my heart to His will and to be able to one day be the best wife and mother I can possibly be to bring glory to His name. 

So, what does that mean for my life right now? It means I will focus on falling more and more in love with the Lord everyday. It means I will not let being single get me down ANY LONGER. It means I will be satisfied with the life God has placed in front of me. I will chase after His will with all of my heart, soul, mind, and strength. 


*Linking Up!
I was referred to this blog today by Kerrie(The Williams Post) and I have been reading it all day! Her name is Casey Wiegand and she is an awesome blogger who is totally transparent in her writings in a way that I wish I could/would be. Go check her out and show her some blog lovin' ;)

Mission: India and Mexico

We are all called to be Missionaries. I fully believe that with all of my heart and soul. Actually, so does God. Don't believe me? Well check out Matthew 28:19 which says,

Go therefore and make disciples of ALL NATIONS,

 baptizing them in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

This does not mean some people need to go and make disciples, or most people need to go, or only the ones that God calls should go... this means all people. All of us are called to go and all of us are called to go to all nations. No excuses. 

This summer I am taking a trip to Mexico. I believe it will be my 7th or so trip. I have begun to lose count. To see a video about what we do in Mexico and to read an awesome blog by the missionary family that our Mexico team considers our own family go here.
 Anyways, I am also planning on making a trip to India in January of 2013 with Lifepoint which I a TOTALLY STOKED about. It will be first of many overseas mission trips I take. 

Please be in prayer for me as I prepare spiritually and physically for these trips. It takes a lot of preparation to go on mission trips, including raising funds and making travel arrangements, and since I live across the country from Lifepoint, I have to do all of that myself where Kerrie (who does a WONDERFUL job) plans all of that for the people there joining the trips. It can be a stressful experience while planning and preparing, but I know without a doubt that God is calling me..... and you, for that matter, to GO. I know it will all work out, because He will provide! Also, please be in prayer starting now for the people that we will come in contact with, whether they accept Jesus during our trip or not, pray that seeds will be planted. Also, pray that everyone who is making the trip will find the means to get there and will be changed for the better because of the trips. 

And He said to them, "The harvest is plentiful, 

but the workers are few. 

Therefore, pray earnestly to the Lord

of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Luke 10:2

The More I Seek You.

I apologize in advance if this turns out to be a complaint filled blog post, but it will get brighter by the end, promise ;). I have been felling really dumpy today for no apparent reason. Not much happened in the course of the day. I woke up feeling like I didn't get near enough sleep. I sat around until after lunch and then went to get my Oregon driver's license (woo hoo, I'm legal! ...and registered to vote!) which cost $65 that I didn't really need to spend... and went to a thrift store with Audrey to look for yarn and didn't end up buying any. I still haven't eaten dinner. I feel really fat and out of shape today because I tried to exercise this morning to a 45 minute workout video and could barely get through the first 15 minutes. My jeans are no longer fitting and I just feel all around unhealthy. (Read how I am trying to change that here) Anyways, so I was sitting at my desk just about ten minutes ago reading through a devotional book that I got for Christmas and was just "taking time to walk and talk with Jesus" as so stated in my book. My side of the "walk/talk" was going a little like this:

"Jesus, I hate this day. I hate how I feel. I feel gross, fat, blah, useless, helpless and I am running out of self confidence and self esteem. I am not sure why I am feeling this way. I don't know why I am even going to bother with that stupid job interview tomorrow, because I am not good enough to work at The Buckle... come on, have you seen the people that work there? They ooze fashion and beauty. Definitely not me. On the other hand, if I don't find a job fast I am going to run out of money. Also, everyone will think that I am not trying hard enough. Am I trying hard enough? I'm not even sure of that myself. What am I even doing here? I feel dumb. I miss Alabama... I miss my friends, I miss Lifepoint, I miss my mom. I MISS MY LIFE. It was so easy to just exist in Alabama surrounded by people who make life fun and simple. WHY AM I FEELING LIKE THIS?"

Jesus's side of our "walk/talk" was going somewhat like this: 

"Are you done? ....okay good! Open your Bible and start reading. I can give you rest and peace from all of this. I am on your side even when it seems that no one else is."

So, at this point, I open my Bible and this is what I read:

Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light." 

Matthew 11: 28-30

Woah!? Really, Jesus? You are amazing! Why do I ever doubt? Why do I ever question? So then, I pull up Facebook and find this picture posted on my timeline from my grandmother:

Wow.. I tell you honestly that my mind has been blown tonight. Why has my mind been blown when I should know that our God is so more than capable, yet I continue to doubt all the time.

I will go to bed a happy girl and wake up tomorrow refreshed and ready for my interview, because no matter the outcome I know that I AM good enough and I am NOT useless. Things will work out in God's perfect timing, and I am totally okay with that. :)

I leave you with a song that I absolutely LOVE... it always makes me feel like I am in the room with God. Ever since this conversation I had with the Lord took place this evening it has been stuck in my head. :) Enjoy!

Hello, my name is...

Breanna! I am totally new at this blogging thing, but I have to admit, I was getting a little jealous of all of my friends(Audrey and Kerrie) that have blogs, so I am going to give this a try! Their blogs are pretty great, and this one is blah in comparison, but I have to start somewhere...just bear with me! So, back on topic. There is so much that I want to blog about first and I am not totally sure where I should start. Maybe with some pictures?

This is my mom(Tammy), my sister(Lexus), and me. This is from right before Christmas. I ventured home on a  long 6 week trip to Mexico (I will get to that in a minute) for 2 weeks, and then to Alabama for 4 long, but wonderful weeks. We went to a local park type thing called Nocollula Falls where they have a huge display of Christmas lights and such during the holidays. In case you can't tell, we were extremely cold!

I currently live in Eugene, Oregon, with a team called The Crash.We are here to change the way Christianity is viewed in a place that is the least churched area in the United States. We hope to build relationships, love on people, and show them the love of Christ ultimately so that they will want what we have, and that is joy in our salvation through Jesus. We will be here a minimum of 5 years, probably, and in that time period we hope to have a church up and going and be able to replace ourselves so that while some of us may stay, the rest can in turn move on to the next place so we can plant churches and change the reputation of Christians throughout the United States and the world eventually. This is a picture of some of our team this year:

Pictured: Luis Corona, Quinton Williams(holding Journey Williams), Derrick May, Audrey Williams, Breanna Rains (me!), Holleigh and Alec Woodward, Deci Williams.
Not Pictured: Jeff Tennant, Richie and Sharee Powell, Zach Gideon

Now! About Mexico... I LOVE IT! Should I leave it at that? Ha! I won't, but I definitely could! I have been going to Mexico with my church in Alabama since 2008, I think? Anyways, I have loved it since the first step I took off of the van onto the dirt roads! I sometimes wish that God would call me to move there so that I would have an excuse, but I know it is His timing and definitely not about my selfish desires.

This is Natasha with Rosa on her back and me with Dulce on my back. All of these people in this picture mean so much to me! Rosa and Dulce are just 2 of the 6 children in the family from the Canal, which is what the area we minister to is known as, that I consider to be my second family. They also have 3 brothers and a sister, and a mom and dad that love them and the Lord very much.

We do a lot of things in Mexico like:

Build houses. In this picture, I am looking up Spanish Bible verses to write on the inside walls of the newly built house. It is so important for these families to be saturated with God's Word, and we strive to help them with that. :)

Here I am painting trim boards for the house. This is obviously an important thing, because we want the houses to look nice, but to be honest this is the WORST thing in my opinion haha, I hate painting trim boards! But, all in the name of the Lord, right?! :)

This past trip, we had the opportunity to go to a wedding for a couple that means a great deal to some members of our team. They planned the date around the time our team would be down so that we were able to attend. It was truly an amazing time! We also got to play games at the wedding.

Like musical chairs! We played some crazy games too, like one where you had to grab hands with a bunch of girls and we all took off running as fast as we could through the room. It was insane and people were falling everywhere. It was definitely an experience I will never forget and I am so glad that we were blessed with that opportunity. 

I could go on and on about Mexico and Oregon, but I will spare you for now! I hope this blog doesn't fail epically, and if it does, oh well! Because I love to write and this will be a good place for me to keep everyone who is interested up to date on our journey here in Oregon, as well as my mission trips and just life as a church planter in general! Talk again soon!

To find out more about me and my family visit my About Me page!