Children Ministry Day

On Saturday I was able to participate in a children's ministry day. It was the first one I had ever been a part of and I am grateful I was asked to go. Our team broke up into three different groups doing four different projects. 

The boys' group built and stained a bookshelf and the other team of girls packed bags to take to the ER for the children there with their parents and they got to learn about pet therapy. My group cooked and served lunch at a homeless shelter called Lifeboat.

It was such and awesome experience to get to help 4 girls 3rd grade and under cook soup and grilled cheese. They were eager to jump right in and help and were excited that THEY were the ones who actually did the cooking. I took two girls and taught them how to butter the bread and put the cheese on them. While we worked hard on 18 grilled cheese the other two girls helped open the cans of veggies and throw them in a HUGE pot! It was hard to let the girls flip the sandwiches because the pan was hot, of course and they were too short to reach it, but we tried our best. At noon they got to ring the "dinner" bell then helped spoon out the soup and put cookies on their plates. 

There were two little kids who lived there so after lunch our girls were able to become friends and play with them. The girls had a great time and so did I! 

Being at my church I am learning more and more each day about what Jesus was talking about when he said to take care of the "least of these." I am thankful that I am able to do my part to make the world a better place and "show Jesus."

Thank you Father for what you are able to do through me!

Until next time...Matthew 25:40

 

Happy Birthday to my Love

Today is Matt's birthday!!! Happy Birthday Matty!! This will be short, but he is 26 today so I am going to list 26 things I love about him...ready.....go!

1. Godly
2. Talented
3. Funny
4. Adorable
5. Loving
6. Sweet
7. Thoughtful
8. Compassionate
9. Smart
10. Hard Working
11. Great with kids
12. Cute
13. Great family leader
14. Not afraid to set me straight, when I need it
15. Animal Lover
16. Great at impressions
17. Loves to travel
18. Always thinks of himself last
19. Is okay with me going back to Haiti
20. Encourages me in my walk with the Lord
21. Pay ours bills on time
22. Loves geeky things
23. Is taking me to Comic Con
24. Huge family man
25. Sings ALL the time
26. Married me :)

Some of these may seem silly, but they are traits I am very thankful that he has!

 

Haiti Support

          As most of you know, I recently have returned from Haiti. The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to go and assist a missionary family from my church, Salem First Baptist Church. While I was there I was privileged to help in a first and second grade classroom at Cowman International School, which is a Christian school. The school is an English speaking school and teach American curriculum because in Haiti an American education is valued. It is located in Cap Haitian which is the very northern tip of Haiti. The school is very short staffed and the teachers are grateful for the little help they receive from short term missionaries, like myself.  While I was at Cowman my heart was stolen by my class, and still after being away from them for almost three months I catch myself thinking and talking about them, and most importantly praying for them and their families. Haiti is a broken place with many broken and hurting people. The full time missionaries whom live there have given up almost everything to answer the call the Lord had given them to serve the people of Haiti.

          When I returned from Haiti I was thankful to be on American soil, with my husband next to me, but I was wishing to be back in Haiti. The day I returned I started praying for the Lord to send me back and I have not stopped praying for it since then. Because our Lord is faithful He has asked me to return! I am so thankful that our BIG God can and wants to use a small sinner like myself! I will leave for Cap Haitian, Haiti on May 17 and return on June 7. I will be in charge of organizing and coordinating Cowman School's "end of the school year" program. I am thanking the Lord everyday for the opportunity to see the students again.

          This opportunity is not a cheap one, and in order for me to be able to answer this call from the Lord I am going to need to raise enough money for my flights and the expenses I will have while staying in Haiti. I ask that you pray about helping me get to Haiti. If you feel the Lord is wanting you to give please comment on this post. If you do not feel like you are called or able to give I just ask that you pray for the funds to come, my health and safety, and the country of Haiti. I thank you for your support and prayers in this adventure to reach the lost in the name of Jesus.

           The internet connections in Haiti are not always available, but I will try and blog every few days. If you would like me to speak at your church or any kind of group about my last trip or after I return from this one, you can email me sierra.horst@yahoo.com. Thank you for your prayers and support while I go on this adventure in the name of the Lord!

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Acts 1:8 (NIV)   

It's a Sibling Thing

Growing up all I wanted to do was be an only child, but now that I am an adult I am very thankful for my sister (Kandi) and my brother (Garrett.) I hate that we don't see each other that often since they live in St. Louis, but I am so glad they left this poor provincial town (did you get the Disney reference?) They are such talented people with huge hearts that I am glad they have taken their talents elsewhere. When the three of us get together, I hope you don't have anything to say because you are not going to get a chance to say it. Matt gets very overwhelmed we we are all together. It is non stop movie/TV quoting, laughing, and lots of name calling (in a good way.) Matt being an only child he has never had a sibling bond and it is really hard to understand if you have never been there before. I am writing this because lately I have really been missing them. When I moved to STL for 4 months I got super spoiled, I lived with Garrett and Kandi was right down the street. Garrett and I watching a A LOT of TV together and Kandi shared her love of art with me. We went to lots of fests together and played a lot of D&D (we are nerds.) So now that I see them like once every 3 or 4 months it really stinks. I wanted to write this for myself but mostly for YOU, whoever you may be. I need to brag on Kandi and Garrett but I want to help you if you are having a rough relationship with a sibling. So let me brag for a minute...

Kandi- She is that person who really could care less what you say or think about what she is doing. If she wants to travel the country she will, if she wants to move here or there she will. She lives in the moment and loves life fully! She always sees the beauty in the broken things or even people. She reads WAY too much celeb gossip. She has a way with words and is one of the smartest people I know. She falls in love easily and I don't mean with people, but with animals, hobbies, and whatnot. She is always reading and learning about new things. She is an amazing artist! She will fall asleep whenever she pleases even in the back of Dagger's car! She has done more in her 27 years than most people do in their whole lives. FUN TIME SEESTER TIME!

Garrett- He is that guy that says what he wants! I stands up for what he believes in and will defend it till the end. He seems rough on the outside but is really just a huge softy, especially for animals. He is so so so smart, and has A LOT of useless knowledge. NEVER play The Simpson's Scene It with him, because you WILL lose! He is the best dungeon master! If you ever are having a bad day and need to laugh, he is your man. He can out cook ANYONE! He almost got in a fight in high school because of me! He does not care what you think about him, he will do what he pleases. Sometimes he doesn't give himself enough credit, which is not always a bad thing. He has a heart of gold. He has a deep love for movies most people hate. He is the best big brother a girl could ask for! "Donde, está, la biblioteca. Me llamo T-Bone La araña discoteca."

I wrote this to explain how important sibling relationships are. Without mine I would be lost. They are the ONLY people in the world who know what you've gone through 100% because most likely they have gone through it with you. When everyone else fails you, you still have your siblings. If had grown up an only child like I wished I would not know the things I know today. I would not love the things I love, or know some of the useless information that I know. I would not have the CRAZY childhood stories that I have. As Kelly Clarkson says "life would suck without them" (well she says "you"), but you get the point. When something super awesome or super sucky I want to share it with them. Siblings are the best part of life! So if you don't have the relationship with your siblings like you probably should, change that! Call them and say sorry or tell them you aren't mad at whatever they did. Siblings are the best part of life and I can't imagine going through this crazy life without them!

 

Back to Haiti

After I wrote my blog yesterday about losing hope in going back to Haiti so soon, God proved me wrong! I am going back! I am going in May and will be there for three weeks! I cannot wait to see my kids again! I will be coordinating the "end of the year" school program for Cowman. I have never done that before so we will see what happens, but the Lord will see me through. 

His timing is always perfect! He answers prayers! He asked "who will go" and I said SEND ME! 

See you soon Haiti!

Until next time....Psalm 27:14

Lets Get Dirty

It has been 1 month, 3 weeks, and 3 days since I was on Haitian soil. It has been 1 month, 3 weeks, and 4 days since I have seen the beautiful chocolate colored faces of the children whom have stolen my heart. I was praying to be seeing them very soon, but the Lord has a different plan, and although it stinks...I am OKAY with it. I know His plan is perfect and His timing is never off, so I just trust in Him and pray for the moment I can see those beautiful faces full of bright white teeth again! 

Isn't that what we am made to do.....to wait, until He says "GO!" and then run like the wind, but where do I run? The answer to that is easy....where ever He wants me to go. In this life we are all too worried about what WE want and what others are going to think or say, and the truth is, those are two really good reasons to why we get stuck and comfortable. We don't want to go to the slums and interact with "those" people, because people we went to high school with, that we haven't seen in 5 years, and to be honest we really don't even like that much might say something bad about us. OR.....we might get a little dirty, or we MIGHT have to sell our Iphones or not be able to go shopping for new shoes every weekend. We just might have to put someone in front of ourselves. OR the thing that is most likely to happen....We just MIGHT fall in love with the slums and with "those" people. 

I taught a series to my youth group one time called Weird: Because Normal Isn't Working, the basis was to teach teens to not be scared to be weird for Jesus. One of the lessons was all about how weird Jesus really was when He lived on earth. Think about it...he hung out with tax collectors (everyone hated the tax collectors.) The healed to lepers (the people who were "unclean" and no one wanted to be around.) Jesus got dirty, He got smelly, He got down and dirty, if you will. We need to get dirty, and smelly, spend our time showing Jesus to those who no one "cares" for...guess what.....Jesus cares for them! He cares more for them than He cares for your new car, new Iphone, new shoes, or your social status! No, it isn't wrong to have any of those things ( I have an Iphone) but when you care more about your stuff than people and more importantly Jesus, then you have a problem. 

The reason I wrote this is for me. Because I care WAY too much about what people think or say. I need to put my "stuff" down and go get dirty. I need to hug the "unclean" people, and I need to show Jesus more!

Until next time...Matthew 25:35-36 

Enjoy this video!