My journey of Faith and how God has guided me

“A man’s heart plans his way but the Lord directs His steps.” Proverbs 16:9

I’ve been thinking about this verse a lot lately and how true it has been in my life. When I went home for Christmas after I graduated with my MDiv in Missions in December my plan was to find a biblical counseling internship somewhere. I had looked different places but nothing had worked out.

I looked on the biblical counseling website which is the website for the Association of Certified Biblical Counseling. I had looked at Washington and it didn’t work out and I looked in Oregon and one of the first names I saw was Mitch Lamotte. On December 29 I emailed Mitch Lamotte from Southwest Hills Baptist Church about doing a biblical counseling internship at their church. He told me about the biblical counseling pastor at the church, Kerry Francetice. I emailed him right away and he answered my email the next day. The way everything was coming into place I knew that it had to be God.

Right away there was some kind of spiritual warfare and it seemed that the devil did not want me to go. I don’t want to give to much credit to him though or not recognize him enough either. At first it was like I couldn’t go. We didn’t know if there would be somewhere to stay and we looked into housing and it was so expensive. I knew that if God didn’t provide me a place to stay that I would not be able to go. Not long after that I found out that I would be able to stay with a couple in Oregon. Their names are Marsha and Bill Sweitzer. Without them allowing me to stay with them I would have never been able to go to a Oregon. Before I knew it I was getting ready to leave for Oregon and on February 8 I drove with a friend to Portland Oregon.

When I saw Kerry Francetich and the rest of the staff I told Kerry I thought when I told him I was from Arizona he would think I was crazy but he said that if God wanted to bring somebody to Oregon then he was good with it. I’m thankful for God leading me and for a church and a biblical counseling pastor that is willing to answer the call of God in his life in letting me come. I am thankful for all of the people there who invited me into their life and welcomed me as a fellow sister in Christ.

I know that God opened the door for me to be at Southwest Hills Baptist Church and I know that He brought me here. I have learned so much from all of the beautiful godly people here. I love the way they welcomed me and encouraged me and showed me the love of Christ. From the first week I was there the staff had met and they prayed for me at their Wednesday meeting. It was a wonderful time of prayer and it was a blessing to see how much they loved God. They each prayed for my time there, that God would use me and that God would show me what to do. When they asked me what I saw myself doing in the future I told them I didn’t know that God led me day by day and moment by moment. The teaching pastor there prayed and in his prayer he talked about the people in the Bible who were led by God in that way and how He could still lead us in that way. It was a blessing to be able to get to know the staff there and to learn from them.

While my short time at Southwest I was able to get involved with the young adults group and connect with some of the people there. I also was able to go to the Saturday night service. I liked how it was a smaller group of people and that you were really able to get to know the people there and how they had small groups to discuss the sermon afterwards. They also had food which is always a plus 😍💖🌺🤙🏼 Lord willing someday I will be able to return to Southwest and serve there.

One of the greatest blessings that I have experienced here is to be able to meet and learn from an incredibly godly and wise woman, Rosalie Francetich. Words can almost not describe what this woman means to me. God has brought different women into my life and she is one of the women that I just want to spend a lot of time with to try to learn as much as I can from her and all of the wisdom God has given her. I want to learn from the experience she has had and what God has taught her.

The first Sunday that I went to Southwest Hills Baptist Church I went and introduced myself to Pastor Kerry and Rosalie. I think I said hi to her in an awkward way just because I was nervous and I didn’t know what to think about everything yet. Then one day after I was having a hard time and wasn’t sure God still wanted me there I walked into the office at the church she said she wanted to talk to me. She asked me if I wanted to go to lunch with her. She asked me if I would like to stay with them at their house for a couple days a week. It would be easier for me because I had to be there in Beaverton late anyways and I wouldn’t have to be able to drive back to Hillsboro those days. It was also an opportunity for me to get to know them better and for them to get to know me better.

It was a blessing to be a part of their lives and a part of their life groups and to be able to learn from them. I especially loved being able to talk to Rosalie about counseling and the way God used her in my life to help me be more like Christ! She has so much wisdom and there is so much about biblical counseling I have been able to learn from her. I love how she is able to really break apart the scriptures and help her counselees to dig into the Bible and learn what God has for them and what He wants to teach them. From talking to her it reminded me of why I love biblical counseling because it deals with the heart issues and the heart of the problem and it forces you as a counselor to address your own sin problems before you can address the problems of others. I love you so much Rosalie and am thankful for your encouragement in my life and how God has used you in my life!

The day before I left Oregon I experienced God leading me even through my desires and what I love. Marsha and Bill Sweitzer is a couple I was blessed to be able to stay with while I was in Oregon. I didn’t end up getting a picture with them but I am thankful for their kindness in letting me stay and what they taught me and how they helped me to become more like Christ. They prayed for me before I left that God would lead me as I travel and I said goodbye to them and thanked them for letting me stay at their house. Bill prayed very specifically that God would lead me to the right hotels and places to stay and that God would keep the corona virus away from me.

I went to see Pastor Kerry and Rosalie to tell them goodbye and went to tell one of my friends Damaris goodbye. I had already told Maddie and Noah goodbye the night before. There was so many things I wanted to do before I left Oregon but there was only so much time! I went to get coffee from lion heart and went to Southwest Hills Baptist Church one last time for now, a place that has been my home for the past 1-2 months. It has been a place where I have felt like I belonged, a place that I could fit in and serve and a place I could grow and become more like Christ. After that I planned on going to Cannon Beach one last time. It was getting late but I went to Cannon Beach and spent some time there. I also asked some friends where they would recommend me to go eat at. I texted one of my good friends Dolores Bonn, who lives at Cannon Beach, not knowing that she was so close to me!

Dolores had given me her address, even though she wasn’t there, and said I could go and visit her house and at least be able to see it, which I had done. I believe God leads me and even though I may not be able to hear Him audibly when I listen with a quiet spirit I can hear him speak to me and lead me through His Spirit. I decided to go to her house one more time just because I wanted to see it before I left. I was pretty sure they wouldn’t be there. I got to her house and there was a car and front and y’all I freaked out!! I was like oh no she’s probably renting out her house and there’s somebody there probably looking at it and they aren’t going to know who I am and they are going to call the cops on me!! (I know I can be dramatic 🤪🤣). I stayed in my car across the street and was looking for places to go eat at when all of the sudden I saw her get out of her car. I waved to her and then walked over to say hi to her. She was asking me if I was planning on coming back and that if I wasn’t it was ok. I told her that I probably wouldn’t because I should drive back home soon. I told her about a place I heard I could get food and she told me I should go there. I went there and y’all it is such a good restaurant! It has a gorgeous view of the beach! If it wasn’t during corona season I could have gone and sat there and had the perfect ocean view! When I got my food I called my mom and we realized how late it was. She suggested I go and ask Dolores if I could stay with them or if they knew of a place that I could stay at. I went and asked her and she said that I could stay there with them. I was able to eat my dinner with them and watch tv and a movie with them called Heavenly Deposit. It was a good night of fellowship and God knew I needed that. I am thankful for the opportunity I had to get to know a fellow brother in sister in Christ better and to develop a greater friendship with them.

Dolores you are a beautiful woman of God and I will always be thankful for your sweet heart and your godly spirit and for your hospitality. I am thankful that you and Dick were willing to let me stay with you that night. I love you so much and will be continuing to pray for you! Thank you for praying for me also and for showing me your love of Christ and your love for me that night. I will always remember you. I love your house also! It’s the perfect beach house and I love the colors and just everything about it! I never met your son but I wish I had. I am thankful for his impact on my life and how he impacted so many to live for God and to love Him more! I’m thankful for how his life pointed others to Christ! I am praying for you and his family and for all who knew him and loved him!

When I first heard Pastor Daniel Fender speak he was preaching on the book of Jude. I never knew that I could learn so much from one small book. The first week he spoke about self-centeredness. I have struggled with being too focused on self. Pastor Daniel showed us how self-centeredness is destitute. It does not deliver fruit because it nourishes only itself. Self-centeredness defiles. It disorients others until it is destroyed by destructive darkness Self-centeredness is destructive. The book of Jude shows us that we will give an account of how we lived are life and Jude wants us to be prepared for that. We need to draw near to God and we need to pray with and for others. We need to live life as a bold witness for Christ preparing for His coming. We need to remember what the prophets and the apostles said and have told us. We need to remember what Jesus has told us.

One reason I am so thankful for Pastor Daniel is that he is a humble man and he is a man of integrity. I have seen him truly serve the people of Southwest and pray for them. I know how much he cares for them. I know that he and the other staff and members at Southwest are looking at ways to live out their faith in practical ways. I have seen that through the prayer meetings they have had and through the times they have read the bible together as a church. I have even seen this through this time of Covid-19 as I have heard them talk about how they can pray together as a church for the community and the world and how they can serve and love the community better throughout everything that is going on. I am thankful for Pastor Daniel and his wife and how they have welcomed me into their church, what they have taught me, and how they helped me to live like Christ. I am thankful for them as well as Rosalie and Kerry, Marsha and Bill, the Lamotte's, Dolores and Dick and all the people I got to know in Oregon and how they not only showed me the love of Christ but showed me how to love others better.

I always have the shaka whenever I take a picture and when I asked Pastor Daniel to take a picture with me he was already prepared with the shaka! It was perfect haha. So thankful for this church.

This is another picture when I was standing in front of Southwest. When I first got there I knew nothing about it. I didn't even recognize that it was the church because I thought it was a school but now I can't imagine not being a part of it!

I found this at the beach. I think it might have been a lobster or crab or some kind of animal that most likely had been torn apart and destroyed by a bird or something.

I met Ann at the Young Adult group at Southwest. She immediately welcomed me and became one of my friends there. I'm thankful for her encouraging personality and her welcoming spirit and her friendship.

Maddie was one of the first people I met. We immediately bonded because of our love of Hawaii. I'm thankful for how she made me feel welcome as well and how she allowed me to stay in her home for a few days as well. I'm thankful for her and Noah and how they demonstrated to me what it means to love each other like Christ. I'm thankful for their hospitable spirit. I'm also thankful that they taught me how to crochet!

There are so many people that I haven't mentioned yet or that I didn't take a picture with maybe. I'm thankful for Eme and Damaris and all of my friends that I got to know at Southwest. I know God has a purpose for this time in my life and that He used this time to teach me something.

Ephesians 3:1- To everything there is a season, a time for every purpose under heaven.

I don't know if God will bring me back to Oregon or not. I know that He had a purpose for bringing me to Oregon and I know He brought me there. I believe that this is not the right timing for me to be in Oregon but I know that if He brought me to Oregon (which I believe He did) and if He has a place for me to serve in Oregon (which I believe that He does) that He will bring me back. When He does I know that the doors will be opened that He wants and that I will be able to find a job and a way to support myself there when I do return. I believe that man can never close or open a door that God has not already opened or closed Himself. That is why I was able to go to Oregon and that is why I am not there right now. He already knew that would happen. Until I am able to return, as my mentor Jana Seaborn told me, I just need to bloom where I am planted. Like Paul to be content in whatever circumstance I am in (Philippians 4:11) and love and serve wherever and to whoever God brings into my life.

May the peace of God be with you during this time and always and may you always know that God is good, He is sovereign and in control of our lives. He works all things out for the good of those who love Him, and that good is to be more like Christ (Romans 8:28-30). Love you friends and until I see you again, much aloha!

Aloha Ke Akua-God is Love!