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"dont forget next week will begin our 3 week series on AIDS." ugh. not againpastor scott. this is the third time now i've watched these videos, heard the talks. sure, AIDS is a huge problem, and pictures are sad, and statistics unreal. but it doesnt reach me or anyone around me, so i wont worry about it.
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that was my attitude. to me, in 8th grade, youth group on wednesday nights was just to socialize, -- oh yeah, and i mean of course God, right? eh, i'd do my duty to him during worship, now was my time with my friends.
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so i didnt go to church this wednesday expecting anything, just to see my friends. maybe learn a new fact, but not something that would change my life.
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after chillen for a while, we all gathered into the sanctuary. me and my friends took our usual 2 rows, and pastor scott asked us to "open our hearts and let God speak." *yawn* "yeah, uh huh, ok. lets go on with it", i was thinkin'.
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well, during the first video, while all my peeps were talking, i was crying my eyes out. HOW EMBARASSING!! having them all look at me weird and laugh was humiliating. i honestly could not control myself. i wasn't prepared for God, but he was prepared for me.
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every year we watch the same videos. never changes. so why something happened that night, no idea. a while after this happened i remembered praying a previous prayer, asking god to break my heart, and to see the things the way he sees things and to touch lives and make a difference. even before that i asked what my purpose was in life. /// step 1&2 done. step 3...in process.
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i was silent the rest of the night. back at home, nothing. first, i was embarassed that i broke down in front of everyone, then i was confused. it took me a while to figure out what God was saying. but this is it: "aubrey, YOU are chosen. i chose you. you are going to be a light. and you are going to make a difference. are you willing? do you trust me?"
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being a just 13 year old girl, i mean, i guess i could do it. so i jumped in the deep end.
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things started to unfold february of 2008. Brio mag had a challenge to the girls to sponsor a child and then meet them the next summer of 2009 on mission trip. i talked to my mom and prayed about it, and i only felt led to sponsor the child. so, i chose one. Luis Fernando Alonzo, 6 years old. after a few months, i started to think about the trip again. so i sent in an application for guatemala, and within a month got an acceptance letter...now, $3000 was a lot of money to raise, considering i only babysit a few times a week at $5 an hour. the $32 for luis was really pushin it already. but again, i prayed about it and felt led to try. i started getting more babysitting, so that was a start. later, lucy gave me the idea of making my plates and selling them.
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i knew of our church's annual christmas/thanksgiving craft show, so i bought the needed materials, made a few, and sent in an application. i was soon accepted. now i had a lot of work to do. (skip a few months time to the craft show). early november was the show. i spent all summer making the plates and had about 300. in two days, i made over $600. a lady leading girl scouts asked me to come teach the girls how to make them and she would donate. there i made about $150. another lady owned a dance studio and ofered to sell them there. Lucy sold them at the bank and made about $300. overall, in profit, i made over $1300 from the plates. and i am still getting orders. the rest of the money soon came in from overly generous sponsors.
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so here i am, on march 12, 2009, talking on how God's hand is on my life. and he's working in me, and i am so ready for guatemala now.
-aubrey
"if you think you can,you can,
and if you think you can't,
you're right."