...to an Orphanage in China!

Tomorrow is the day! We fly out! In the midst of everything this morning I had to stop and just get away from it all. I took a short trip out to Manhattan Hill to spend some time with God and preparing for this trip(If you don't know what Manhattan Hill is, it is a great overlook of the city of Manhattan). I also had to stop to write this post because of the overwhelming support you all have given me.

As I was reading in Psalms this morning I was reminded how sovereign our God is. Around every corner God has, in some way, already paved the way before me. In fundraising, he totally provided even when my faith that he would started to waiver. He has time and time again shown me how amazing his love really is. He also used friends and family this summer to really pour out his love on me. I really can't even put into words how everything about this trip has fallen into place and it is so evident that it was all at the hand of God.

This is a shout out to all of my friends! Over this past week as I have been getting more and more excited, my friends have shared in that excitement with me. I have felt so overwhelmingly loved by my Christian community in ways I never could have imagined. I can't thank all of you enough for your support and prayers.

I have felt so much support and love by everyone I know as this trip has approached, so this is a shout out to all of those who helped, prayed, supported in any way!

I think I am almost all ready to go! I have a few more things to throw in the suitcase but after that I am out of here! I cannot wait to meet up with my team and serve God along side them! I am so thankful for this opportunity! Below are some prayer requests for my trip! To God be ALL the glory because HE is so amazingly Holy! (Sorry that this post jumps all over the place, if you can't tell I am a little excited and my mind is all over the place!)

Also, follow Show Hopes Blog to get more updates from my team along the way: http://showhope.org/category/show-hope-trips/

Prayer Requests:
-Unity among my team
-That God would set up divine appointments at every turn on this trip
-All of the travel will go smoothly and safely
-Humility for all of the team
-That God would continue to prepare our hearts
-Good health for all of the team members
-That above everything else, God would be glorified!

God time on Manhattan Hill 

The view form Manhattan Hill 

Almost read to go! 

...into the depths of His love!

I really shouldn't be posting right now because this guy has to get up and go to work in the morning, however, I literally cannot sleep until I get what happened tonight down in writing! I know it is long, but read it until the end, because God is crazy cool!

Tonight I had the opportunity to speak with students about campus ministries and the impact they have had in my life! I worked at a Youth church camp last summer. That same summer camp host a "College Night" where they ask collegiate ministers and college students involved in a student ministry, to come and speak with the students about how important it can be to get plugged in.

I need to preface this with what God has really been teaching me recently. As I have been preparing for my trip to China, I have been asking the Lord to show me how to really love people well. The first way God has done this is by pouring out His love on me in very obvious ways. (Read the previous post to hear more about this!)

Now we get back to this evening! Tonight while I was talking about something very close to my heart at a place that is extremely close to my heart (this summer camp is also where I accept Christ), God poured out His love in some crazy obvious ways.

First, I was able to team up with a group of some really great people, who love the Lord, to talk to all of these kids.

Second, I was also able to see some of the staff that I worked with at camp last summer! This people are so special to me due to the fact that we served along side each other for a whole summer.

Third, I had some great conversations with these friends. I think these conversations were needed by both me and my friends. This was such a God moment because it was not what I thought I was going to get out of the evening at all.

Fourth, last summer, when I worked at this camp, I had a youth group on my team that radiated God's love in a way I had never seen another group of teenagers do. They were such a blessing to us. Well this same youth group was at camp this week and I had the chance to see all of them! This was such a blessing and made my heart smile! Just another way God so obviously poured out His love!

After the team who was speaking finally stopped talking and catching up we all headed our separate ways. As I drove back to Manhattan with some other guys I had the opportunity to really praise God for what had happened that evening. I also got to share what had happened with another one of my former camp staffers over the phone.

When we got back to Manhattan I then went to hang out with some friends who had recently been out of town, I was really excited for the opportunity to get to catch up with them. Well God had other plans. We headed out to a place I call the "Beach!" Yes a beach in Manhattan, KS! Once we got out there(it is kind of the beaten path), we ran into a woman who had been enjoying the evening and lost track of time. It had gotten dark and she was afraid of walking back through the woods by herself (you have to walk through some woods to get out to the beach). She said she was very glad some other people had shown up. She began to talk to us and tell us about her life. She had a lot to say as she had dealt with a lot. My first thought was, "Ok, lady. This is not how I wanted to spend my evening. Go away so me and my friends can hang out." However, after listening to more of her story it was very evident that she really just needed some people to show her some of God's love. I very obviously heard God say, "I have poured out so much love on you in the past couple of hours, it is time for you to pass some of my love onto someone else." Thanks to a dear friend that was with us we got on the topic of God and Church. Then ended up inviting her to church with us on Sunday. She was very gracious and couldn't stop saying how nice we were.

What a crazy awesome testament to the fact that God is in control and He loves His people! All of these words don't describe how awesome and evident God's power was tonight! Praise God for all He teaches us and for the people and things He does that through!

...to a small Kansas community.

Welcome to my blog! This is the first post I have done and it is all because God is soooo good!

Your probably wondering about the title of this blog and the title of this post. Well when I created this blog I was in the corner of a coffee shop. A coffee shop where I spend a great deal of time. Although not all of my post will come from this small coffee shop, I am sure a great deal will.

Now to the meat and potatoes of this blog post! I dubbed this post, "From the corner of a coffee shop...to a small Kansas community." I did this because tonight was the last night of Vacation Bible school at my home church in Ulysses, KS. All this week during the "missions" portion of VBS the kids have been learning about China and about the trip I am going on. You see on August 1st I leave for about 2 weeks to go work with beautiful little orphans in China. Well of course a trip like this cost a good deal of money and I was responsible for coming up with most of that money. So I have been fundraising since about March.

My home church decided that they would donate the offering that always goes to Missions towards my missions trip. First off, I was totally surprised and humbled when I found this out. God has really been teaching me about trust, as I was kind of over whelmed by the amount of money I was going to have to come up with in a short amount of time. This was just the first time that I felt God say, "See what happens when you trust me?"

Over the last couple of months I have been working and holding different fundraisers to come up with the money that I needed. My friends have had a huge part in supporting me for my trip. I had a fundraiser at my fraternity at K-State and all of my friends and fraternity brothers supported me through showing up, praying and donating. Than I had several different fundraisers in my hometown and at my home church. The members of my church have overwhelmed me with support! Through a garage sale in which they donated TONS of stuff and offerings that they have taken up for me, I have seen how God has worked through my church family.

But back to the VBS, like I said, tonight was the last night of VBS and they counted up the total that all the kids from my community back home had raised. Not only did they reach their goal of $500 dollars, they raised ever last penny that I needed for my trip! Over $1200! If that doesn't scream that God is in control, I don't know what does.

I cannot praise Him enough for showing me time and time again that He is able to be trusted! God has brought me through a lot this last semester, and I have constantly been stubborn in the lessons He is teaching me, but God is still worthy to be praised! He has shown me so much love! I am overwhelmed with His love!

I cannot thank my community and church enough for the love and support they have shown me. I know that it is all through Christ, but I am so glad He was able to do what He did through those back home.

As I continue to prepare for my trip I am constantly reminded who God is and it is so evident that he is ALREADY working out things for His glory regarding this trip. I can hardly wait 3 more weeks to see what God is going to do in China and through our team! Praise the Good Lord Jesus!

Kyle