Life in...Raleigh

So, someone told me they were confused by a blog post about where I am currently so to clear that up you should know I'm still in Raleigh. And it's great.

I had it hyped up in my head that if I didn't get to Costa Rica September 1st that I might burst and although it's been a bit of a challenge, I'm still here and I haven't exploded.  There are days of disappointment and a lack of direction, or so it feels, but that's when I know I have to lean in a little deeper to the promises of our faithful Father and know I am right where I'm supposed to be.  That doesn't mean you shouldn't pray for continued peace because like I said I have my days but I think we can praise for the peace that I have since felt and not exploded.

You may have noticed we were so close to 60% and then all of a sudden we fell back to 56% so I wanted to explain.  A few weeks ago some of my donors had to cancel or reduce their gifts for their own financial reasons and I have to say I am thankful it happened now and not once I've already deployed.  It showed me that I had been relying too much on the numbers and not as much on the movement of the Lord.  It showed me that I still tend to rely on the things of this world more than I should so I am thankful it happened and those donors are still great friends of mine.

The plan for the fall you ask?  Well, through no doing of my own, I have a great place to stay through December for free.  It's a young married couple in Raleigh with a beautiful house and a cute little shitzu named Stella.  They love the Lord, Young Life and the Wolfpack - what more could you ask for!?  OH! And Ryan has worked on the coffee farm attached to the YL camp in Nicaragua when he was in high school so he has a firsthand idea of what I'll be doing/where I'll be! AMAZING.

I am still fundraising and I don't have a deployment date picked out anymore but I would love nothing more to get to leave this fall still, if not this fall than the new trimester of language school starts in January.  UNTIL THEN I get to visit Nicaragua in OCTOBER and I couldn't be more excited.  It's an International Schools YL Staff retreat at the beach.  My teammates Pratt & Ashley who are currently in Nicaragua will be there, my teammate Ella (from SC) will make the trip along with staff from Costa Rica and the support staff from the US.  What a great gift it will be to spend time with these people.  It was also a great gift that a friend donated his frequent flier miles to help me get my round trip ticket!

To say the Lord has not showed up would be a bold face lie.  He has provided for me in ways I didn't even know I needed and given me great gifts like new friends/roommates and a ticket to Nicaragua.  He is faithful.

And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:19

And because this is my favorite picture...

What! not help you?

I will soon write a post about life still in Raleigh and how the Lord has shown up in every part of it.  I will soon fill you in on the plan for what's to come with my work in the ministry.  I will even explain to you why we went from so close to 60% back to 56% if you want to know.  But today I just want you to read, reread and own this prayer by Charles Spurgeon that was a part of the sermon at my church on Sunday.

Let us hear the Lord Jesus speak to each one of us: “I will help you.  It is but a small thing for me, your God, to help you.  Consider what I have done already.  What! not help you? Why, I bought you with my blood.  What! not help you?  I have died for you; and if I have done the greater, will I not do the less?  Help you!  It is the least thing I will ever do for you; I have done more, and will do more.  Before the world began I chose you.  I made the covenant for you.  I laid aside my glory and became a man for you; I gave up my life for you; and if I did all this, I will surely help you now.  In helping you, I am giving you what I have bought for you already.  If you had need of a thousand times as much help, I would give it to you; you require little compared with what I am ready to give.  ‘Tis much for you to need, but it is nothing for me to bestow.  Help you? Fear not!... O my soul, is not this enough?  Do you need more strength than the omnipotence of the United Trinity?  Do you want more wisdom than exists in the Father, more love than displays itself in the Son, or more power than is manifest in the influences of the Spirit?  Bring here your empty pitcher!  Surely this well will fill it.  Haste, gather up your needs, and bring them here – your emptiness, your woes, your needs.  Behold, this river of God is full for your supply; what can you desire beside?  Go forth, my soul, in this your might.  The Eternal God is your helper! …. Spurgeon

Amen. 

Young Life in.a.nutshell

Found this video that explains Young Life in a great way in case you are unsure of what I'll be doing.

Happy First Day of School...I'm going to the beach. :)

God is good. Always.

After reaching 50% (YAY!) and realizing the start date of orientation for language school is August 28th (boo) all in the same week, I had to keep reminding myself that God is good, always.  It seems like a simple thing to remember when working for a ministry but it turns out to be more of a struggle than I might like to admit.

The great thing about God's goodness is that it doesn't come with fine print or strings attached.  No matter what I do or don't do, He is steadfast and true.  And He keeps reminding me of this in the most subtle ways through my fundraising like the guy I met on the plane on the way to CCO or the friend I ran into last weekend who handed me his donation and disappeared or the friend that said no months ago and then made a generous donation out of the blue or the friend I met last summer working at VBS and hadn't spoken to since who rounded off my 50% and all of these happened without any work on my part.  I didn't do a thing to get these guys involved so I have to give credit to the Spirit who stirs even the most unlikely hearts.

It is easier for me to tell you how God is good today because I can tell you about the house where I'm living and the community that surrounds me.  I can tell you about the family that supports me and spreads the word even when I think about hiding in my room for a little while.  I can tell you about the encouraging words I get from people, who build me up when my spirit is down.  I can tell you of the love I feel today because it's right in front of me.

What I've struggled with more is understanding how He will be good ALWAYS.  Even if August 28th comes and goes without me getting on a plane to Costa Rica for language school, His goodness never changes.  Even if I have to wait for January to rally the last 50%, He is still gracious.  Even when my plans don't exactly match His, He is still sovereign.

I'm not saying that I don't still hope and pray for big things to happen in the next 2 weeks because I also know He is mighty, powerful and rich beyond measure.  I'm not still asking you to dig deep and live sacrificially for the glory of God to reach out to teenagers in Nicaragua, I am.  Big things have started stirring around here and as my friend says, "I love it when God shows off."  But the main thing to take from this post is that God is good always and He's got a plan for me and you.  So I'm going to keep taking those steps and lean into him a little deeper to rest in His peace.

We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. 

Hebrews 6:19

Video

Here's a link to a video from when I spoke at my mom's church in Asheville, NC about what I'll be doing in Nicaragua.  You may have already heard these stories but I would love for you to spread it around to give other people the vision as well!

Christ Anglican Church

Thanks!

ONE MORE MONTH!

July was a great break after the craziness that was June.  I loved every second of June but July was great too.  As you can see in the Updates portion on the side, you can tell I still need 54% of my budget until I can leave and I still plan to leave on September 1st so big things are going to have to happen.

*Praise* It grew 2% TODAY so 50% is TOTALLY possible this week!

I have been feeling good about the recent growth since it seemed to be stuck for so long.  Even though I still haven't quite reached 50% I don't want to discount how the Lord can move in this time.

I don't have the biggest update for you but I do have a big ask.  Will you please join my team to see how the Lord can move through you and me in His work in Nicaragua?  How amazing is it that we get to be a part of His mission and you don't even have to leave your home!?  If you're already on board, do you know someone who has a heart for Jesus, Central America and/or teenagers?  I would love to reach 50% by the end of the week and 100% by the end of the month.

Above everything else, pray. Pray for peace in whatever comes.  Pray for wisdom and grace as I make presentations/meet new people/ask big.  Pray for boldness to go out on a limb for the sake of bringing glory to Jesus.  Pray. Pray. Pray. Then, pray some more.  That's my game plan and I ask you to be a part of it every step of the way.


Isaiah 40:28-31
New International Version (NIV)
28 Do you not know?
    Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
    the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
    and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
    and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
    and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
    will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
    they will run and not grow weary,
    they will walk and not be faint.

Sweet Busyness

June.

June has been a big month. 

It started with me missing the last week of school because of my training in Colorado.  The training I went to was called Cross Cultural Orientation, specifically for Young Life International staff going ALL OVER the world.  Literally there are people going to Germany, Belgium, France, Scotland, England, Singapore, Malawi, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Nicaragua.  It was such a sweet week to get to meet people with the same heart for different nations and to see how the Lord is preparing each of them for His mission.  

The couple in PR has already been there for about 10 months and the girl starting Young Life in the Bahamas will be leaving in TWO DAYS!  I can't even imagine what that is like but I can't wait to get to that point.  Hearing everyone's story of how they said yes to the Lord's calling was so sweet and encouraging.  I remember when I was on the plane to Nicaragua in February and how encouraged I was then just knowing that people had a heart for missions in Nicaragua but to meet people who have a heart for every nation just fills me with amazing joy.  That's the Lord's heart, for all the nations, and we get to be a part of it!  I am thankful that people are choosing to follow Him to Singapore and Malawi because before that week, I didn't really know where they were on a map but now I do and will be praying for them!  

By the end of the week, all the information of what to expect when moving cross culturally to do ministry left me encouraged and energized!  God just keeps confirming this in my life and I couldn't be more satisfied. 

The amazing people I met at CCO going all over the world with Young Life! 

One of my newest teammates ELLA!  She's trying to make it to Costa Rica by September too so pray for her too! 

After returning from CCO and a friend's bachelorette weekend in the mountains, I had two teacher work days to pack up life at DMS and say my goodbyes.  I was thankful for those days to start the closure in life.  DMS was a sweet time for me and will always be remembered as the place where I started my teaching career.  Go Blue Jackets! 

From Raleigh I made my way back to Asheville for a few short days to have a few appointments with former teachers, friends and even doctors!   The highlight of my week though was getting to spend a day with the Nicaragua team and students who were visiting Windy Gap (a camp 30 minutes north of my parent's house)!  I got to zipline and go down the waterslide numerous times!  I felt like I was at camp for the week with them, it just felt so natural.  I even went to dinner and club!  I know that ministry will not always be easy and rewards may be few and far between but just the taste of what it could be like in Nica was good for my soul.  I think it's going to be great to know a few faces when I get down there and have memories to reminisce on!  Four of the students in the picture made the decision to follow Christ at camp (Praise the Lord!) and three others renewed theirs, what an amazing week it was, so glad I got to see a glimpse! 

Nicaraguans don't like to smile in picture, he's really have the time of his life, trust me. 

 Right after I got back from Asheville, the next day I left for camp with Wyld Life from Raleigh!  We drove a suburban to North Bay - a camp in Maryland that Young Life rents out for a month in the summer to host Wyld Life and Capernium camps.  It was an amazing 5 days with a small crew.  I know I've said this a lot but this too was good for my soul.  I know the kids had the times of their lives and I won't be surprised if Raleigh takes a whole bus next year!  The program and speaker were some of my favorites I have ever seen in Young Life and the camp was beautiful.  I can't wait to see how the Lord moves through conversations at camp and the seeds that were planted. 

PJ dinner on the last night! 

It's time to kick fundraising into HIGH GEAR!  I seemed to have been stuck around 40% for a while and I am still praying for September 1st!  I know the Lord can move in great ways and His glory will be shown in all that happens.  I am thankful for the summer because fundraising is my primary concern now without having to teach or lead Wyld Life.  I think of this time as a sweet gift after working so hard all year, that I get a chance to focus on this part on my ministry.  

If you or anyone you know would like more information about how to start a monthly gift to send me to Nicaragua this fall please contact me at jaboulos5@gmail.com 

Fear not for I am with you.  I am your God.  I will strengthen you.  I will help you.  I will uphold you with my righteous right hand. 

Isaiah 41:10