VEGAS BABY

SEND the MEssage

What?- Send the Message Missions Conference
Where?-  Calvary Spring Valley, Las Vegas
When?- Oct. 11th



...This is my side to this story so lets begin with me. It was Oct. 9th 6 a.m. and I'm sleeping on the top bunk directly underneath the ceiling light, some one so kindly turns on the light and i abruptly awake. As I nearly seizure over the sudden light piercing through my eye lids, I can not explain to you the migraine that instantaneously made its home in my cranium. Great way to start a road trip in a van filled to the rim with females. I gracefully fell off the top bunk grabbing my pillow on my way down and made my way to the kitchen. We ate breakfast, prayed, and began our 2 day journey to Las Vegas, Nevada. Unexpectedly I enjoyed being on the road for the first 12 hours, the scenery was breath taking for the first 4 hours and we had quality conversations the rest of the way. There's not much else to do than to bond with the passengers sitting next to you which made for some great laughs and memories to last. Our trip consisted of one midway stop (and obviously 30 pee stops) in Calvary Chapel Pocatello Idaho, where we slept for the night. I made my bed on a row of chairs in Calvary Chapel Pocatello's Prayer Room. As I snuggled in a sleeping bag, I began to notice how peculiar my life has become. I nearly had an out-of-body experience, looking at myself lay there, looking at where I am, looking at who I'm with, and what I'm doing. My lifestyle before this was constantly surrounded by people I know, I absolutely loved my comfort zone, I never wanted to leave Orange County or the people within. I couldn't imagine myself without the beach or without the ability to surf or run or go to coffee shops. It dawned on me that my prayers have been answered. I have been praying for God to make my desires His desires.. His desires were clearly nothing I had in mind as I contently slept on a small row of chairs within a foreign church in a foreign land.haha :)

The next morning began at 6 a.m. as we piled back into the van filled with 11 suitcases, 11 sleeping-bags, 11 pillows, 11 human bodies, and food. 10 grueling but well worth hours later we safely arrived to Calvary Chapel Spring Valley. This truly was a trip of a life time.I cannot begin to express how blessed we all were at this conference.

• We had the ability to listen and glean from pastors and missionaries around the world. What an experience! We were impacted with the importance of learning culture, learning the language, and being driven by love and not duty.

•  We also had the privilege to serve at a homeless food bank, where we spent our afternoon stocking their food and with all our help the staff got to leave 2 hours early! 
• My favorite workshop I sat through was by Uturn for Christ. What a great ministry God has there. We are to think out of the box when it comes to sharing God's word to people. Don't get so caught up in the small box view of how we are to reach the lost, let your creativity God has given you to do the work of Christ! 
• My favorite event was the Cross Cultural Dinner, I had the opportunity to eat authentic meals from around the world

One of my favorite nights was when DawnMarie drove us down Vegas Blvd in our giant 11 seater "Orphanage" van. The lights were incredible, no wonder everybody goes to Vegas.. We bought an obnoxious wig and wore it around for the rest of the week, and later that night we made "Jesus" T-shirts with puffy paint.

 

Our drive home was another 2 day expenditure. Driving back to Montana was most definitely not as exciting as the trip to Vegas.....But we made it home safely by the grace of God <3 and now we begin my second module! 5 months to go!

They found it entertaining to draw on my tummy

 

Impacting reality spoken by 

men following the calling 

of our God

"There are three types of Christians.. there are the Goers, the Senders, and the Disobedient" Which one are you?
"You can go to the utter most parts of the earth but if you don't allow God's word to travel the fifteen inches from your head to your heart, there will be no change"
"If we believe people are going to hell, we should feel the need to do something about it"
"It's not a matter of TO DO, but a matter of TO BE."- Tozer
"You can have 110 accountability partners, but you're only as accountable as you make yourself"
"Reaching to the nations ONE soul at a time"
"we need slaves with a mature attitude of faith and humility"
"Language is one of the hardest things keeping us from the succeeding the Great Commission"
"Your tongue will follow your heart"
"Whoever the Lord puts in front of me, I should have an Eternal Kingdom effect on them"

"Instead of saying, "I quit", in rough times instead say "what kind of miracle is God going going to do next?"

"God knows and has chosen me for place that is perfect for me. God has also chosen a place for me that is the perfect place"



Deleted my facebook

I got rid of my facebook for a little while. sooo. here's my address and my e-mail

Brittany Harris
C.O Pottersfield ranch
P.O. box 68
Olney, montana 59927

Br.harris88@gmail.com

(SKYPE!)
Brittany.harriss  (yes, two s's)


things you can send me <3
-anything that comes to your mind
-love letters
-GREEN TEA!
-BLUEBERRY TEA!
-yummy snacks, home made goodies
-any cute shirts you no longer want ;)
-Notebook to write letters in
-Coffee drinks
-
...i'll add to this later when I can think of things.

The past week and upcoming week


Last Wednesday we went to Hope Pregnancy Center and weeded their garden. It took four hours to finish weeding completel, my fingers lost some skin and by the end of the day I was covered in mud.  I'm convinced that earth worms here take steroids, I'm not kidding you, they were huge. The day went by pretty fast. Who knew you could have quality conversation over weed-pulling.


Next Tuesday we have training for a Hope Pregnancy Center dinner. We will be serving there next Thursday. We all have to dress in black pants and white blouse.


Next Saturday (the 9th) we leave for Vegas BABBBY.
     The Interns are taking a two-day road trip to Las Vegas. Where else is a better place to be trained as a Missionary than Sin City? :) Just kidding. We're going there for a 3 day missions conference; we're also going to be doing some work shops to help equip us. I hope we get to spend a little time in Vegas outside of the conference building, I would love to talk and pray with some little lost lambs there.


Classes have been really great so far, I haven't really had much to write about so I apologize for no longer updating the blog.

CRITTERS

• The slugs here are the size of my dog. Frightening? Yes.
• There are so many butterflies, my favorite is when Darla attempts to catch one.
• Black beetles inhabit the surrounding trees and fall from the trees, occasionally landing on your shoulder.
• The grasshoppers here make awkward clicky noises and instead of flying away from you, they fly towards you.
• The mice here make me feel at home, but I'm thrilled to be able to eat my cereal without finding bugs in it..I'm glad that part of home didn't follow me.

...I've been going running most days on a trail across the highway, the most wildlife I've seen is a pile of bear poop.
The weather here has been so nice, in the 70-80's.


 I had a dream about my nephew Jordan last night...He's so sweet.. I miss his hugs in the morning that wake me up before the sun even rises. I miss hearing his little squeaky voice telling me about his dream he had the night before. I miss his obnoxious little self as he runs in circles around the house with Logan following his every move. I miss Logan calling me "Nitney" a thousand times until I finally answer. I miss catching Logan eating a Oreos under the dining room table. I miss finding Jordan's a sleeve of "oreos" with the center eaten out of every one of them and strategically placed back in the sleeve..  I miss taking him to the candy store and bringing him to the beach. I miss going to breakfast with all three of them and trying to get them situated in one booth without throwing food or making faces to the family eating breakfast next to us. I miss baby Lani, she's going to be so grown up before I see her next. Jenn you need to skype me.

"All you need to be is what God has called you to be"

"Draw a line where you stumble, then take ten feet back and draw another line. Don't risk walking the slippery slope of your first line"

"If your life is fully surrendered to the Lord, you cannot sit content unless you are doing the Lord's calling"

"God is either fully sovereign or He's not"

"Move out and be motivated by the grace of God"

"You can never trust God too much."

"There is no pit so deep that God's love is not deeper still"

"Never be that person who wont do something about it"

"Not reading your Bible everyday is like starving yourself of the calling God has for you"

"You don't want to become a religious Christian, you want to become a grateful Christian"

"We are called to be a witness where your feet hit the ground. That is your mission field."

"Love God with everything you are and love others for Him."

"The way we live our life is our greatest defense"

"Hardest part of the missionfield is living by faith,"

"Never let the fear of striking out keep you from playing the game"

"A man who wins souls is wise....So want to be wise in God's eyes? Go tell some body about Jesus"

"For God so loved the  -? WORLD, that He GAVE. So continue in that, continue in loving, continue in giving."

"Every day before you step out, there is a battle"

"Fear will immobilize you"

"The harvest is plentiful... the workers are few"

"a church that is cold to missions is dead to the cross"

...some goals...

Collect something

Memorize more scripture

Spend a lot more time in prayer

start a study group/prayer group

Take pictures of all the weird critters I see

Journal

Crochet something

Learn to draw

Practice my cursive

Read a good book monthly

Buy a pet fish

All my fragile strength is gone

Changed, like sunshine, can be a friend or a foe, a blessing or a curse, a dawn or a dusk.

...This change isn't easy...

"I will go where You want me to Go

Do what You want me to do

Say what You want me to say

To speak to the person You want me to speak to

....and at the end of the day, I will ask for forgiveness of the things I fell short and rejoice in the places I've done Your will.

Through that, I will have done the will of God every day of my life."

...Guide me oh Lord, lead me. Strengthen me, my God. ..I'm realizing how fragile my strength is...

Seek first in every situation, in every breath, in every thought, in every word.

" we not only need to know the message for the world, but also need to know the world in which the message must be communicated. "


...Take us home Jesus. please.

Why...tellme.

"While working with Jews, I live like a Jew" but "when working with Gentiles i live like a Gentile." 1 Corinthians 9:19-22
...A thorough understanding of the meaning of culture is a prerequisite to any effective communication of God's good news to a different people group. God values culture, He doesn't think like we do. He looks at the heart, not at our external behaviors.  You don't have to become like me culturally to become Christian.

...just a little something we were taught today...

Honestly.... I have a question for all of you.

Do you really believe that what you believe is really real?
...read that a couple times..
(a pastor asked me this today)
Do you really believe
-That God exists?
-That Jesus was sent to earth
-That Jesus is the Son of God
-That dying on the cross saved us
-That hell is a real place of weeping and gnashing of teeth where the worm never dies?
-That those who don't accept Christ as the Son of God are going to Hell?

.....If yes, then why don't we spend more time telling people about Jesus? 
Why haven't we made it a priority to our every MOMENT?
TELL ME WHY!
If you truly believed in Hell, why don't you spend more time taking EVERY opportunity preaching the gospel and sometimes using words?

...God has me here for a reason, but honestly what is the reason? Because all I can think about every single day as we go through the same exact routine over and over again is WHY AM I NOT OUT THERE WITNESSING! People need to be hearing the good news of Jesus... gosh dang it. Writing this is bringing tears to my eyes. People need Him...there are so many hurting souls that need a hug and prayer and most importantly Jesus's love. ....Do I have time to be here in the middle of Christopher Robin's 1000 acre woods? Jesus is coming to take us home soon and I want as many brothers and sisters to be taken up in the clouds with me. I want a big GIANT family! I want to run out of this place so badly and just go on the streets and love on people. There are so many homeless out there, even you who are reading this might be homeless! I'm not only talking about homeless in body, but also those who are homeless is spirit. You can be living in a great big home and still be considered homeless to me; because you have not found your spiritual home yet...I know where your home is. God has built you Mansions :) I have one too! Our Home is in Jesus and His home is in us. What an awesome deal that is.
I want to run away and go out into this lost world.....sharing the gospel to the homeless spirits....
honestly...I can think of a billion people I've passed by in life, at school, the gas station, grocery store, etc. that I could have easily talked to about Jesus.. But I didn't...Funny..because Hell is a real place.. How awfully selfish can I get? I feel selfish sitting here.. Why can't I die completely to self and use my time more wisely?
..listen...i know my last entry was talking about how I'm here to be trained. We are here being trained to run to the gates of hell and back. which is so true. I love the training we get here, my classes bring so much Joy to me! They are so useful and Christ directed.  But the isolation is killing me. I need to be out there, communicating with hurting hearts. These four months of solitude are going to rip my heart apart. I don't know if Christ is teaching me patience or what...but honestly, I feel like I'm losing precious time in being a disciple for Jesus while I spend most my time on this ranch.

We are going to a Harvest Festival for a mental institution tomorrow. Praise the Lord! I'm so incredibly excited for it. I can't wait to go to bed tonight so tomorrow will be here sooner.

Skull church...you intimidate me

Wednesday...Well i was going to tell you guys about my first full day of classes... but something else went down tonight that drowns out all the importance in my day of class. 

SKULL CHURCH
Before I continue, I need to make clear that I am not bashing this church. It was obvious to me that it has fruit and God is moving within those walls. But I personally have never been more scared entering into a Christian church. The building was a retired Movie Theater and as we (Darla, Erin, and I) walked in, we were greeted by a man wearing balloon pants with zippers and chains, I held out my hand to say hello, taking a quick glance at his arms, I noticed his wrists and arms were wrapped in black cloth. I love self expression and individuality, but it confuses me how some one can be filled with God's joy yet express himself in such a dark mannor.. Darla, Erin and I are new to Montana and Skull Church, so we entered this place not knowing what to expect next. Pottersfield Ranch loves this church, I'm not sure why... As we made our way through the front doors, immediately our eyes caught on to the countless skulls. Skull pictures, drawings, digital skulls, and as we sat down there was a half skelten half human poster on the stage. The lights were dimmed and red, music filled the building with screams and screeching. This was no ordinary church music. They called it alternative, punk rock, metal, scream, whatever, to me it felt satanic. I got chills as we settled into our seats, I turned to view the expression on Darla's face and I knew i wasn't alone on this one. She gave me a half smile and we both leaned into each other to whisper "what is this place?" Suppposedly it's a Bible teaching Church. I noticed people were holding their Bibles, so that was a good sign...but none of us felt good the moment we walked into the doors of this darkened movie theater. I could tell the whole service was geered towards the younger crowd, they did a good job making it a church that attracts a certain type of people. I guess I wasn't cool enough to fit that certain type of crowd. In turn, it left me scared of my shadow.

...I have never experienced a church like Skull Church... The worship began and people stood in like manner, but I couldn't tell whether the band leader was singing about his girlfriend or Jesus... I knew none of the words, and the style of music gave me the creeps. I'm sad that churches have to go to that extent to meet the people's needs in making it a comfortable enviroment...Comfortable to who is my question..
The sermon began, we went through Eccl. 6. It was real simple and I do not doubt that the Holy Spirit was moving and speaking through this man. Around 10 people were saved tonight at the alter call. It just proves to us all that God works through anyone and uses all situations for the furtherance of His Kingdom. Going to Skull church was something I've never experienced before in my life and I don't ever want to go back. ..Too bad we have to go there every wednesday. I'm not sure how I'll handle this for four months...


Today we had cross cultural studies. I have found my new love for this class. I'm so excited to wake up tomorrow and sit in another full 9-5 hour day of classes! Our teacher reminded me of a mixture between Einstein and the main character in the pixar film Up. He was so cute, I've never paid more attention in a class in my life. I will most definitely continue to inform you guys on the interesting things I learn during my time here.


...so... this day was interesting to say the least...I don't like that i've only been here for 5 days and each day has felt like a week..I miss home :(

send me letters and love por favor
Brittany Harris
C.O. Pottersfield Ranch
P.O. box 68 Olney Montana, 59927

Running to the gates of Hell..

"Life consists of your time..."

Today was an important day to be paying attention.. there was no room for being homesick. I consistently had to snatch my thoughts back into captivity so I could gain the most out of the crucial words spoken to me. I was overwhelmed and fearful of losing my concentration..I realized how important it was for me to not allow my thoughts to wander and I continued to mistakenly yearn for friendships and the life I knew. I'm frightened to let go of what I perceive as life, yet I'm even more scared to hold on.  Our life consists of our time, how am I using this time I have here in Montana? This cold, sunless, isolated place...


Today I realized why I am here..I'm here to be a runner. But to be a runner, I must go through training :) I'm here to go into this war we fight and be the one running back and forth from the gates of Hell, snatching the lost and the weary who sleep at the gates. Bearing witness for the Lord will never be a waste!   This quiet, cold, isolated time is a priviledge.


The Lord calls us to be a witness in word, in conduct, in love, in spirit, in faith, in purity.


My prayer request I ask of you is that God places my desires in my heart. NOT me placing my own desires. Its so much easier said than done..oh my gosh... its so much easier said.  Pastor Mike asked us today what is it that we really like to do? Because God has formed me in that manner. God created our inner being, my personality, my likes and dislikes. Yet, that comes with fully laying down and surrendering my life to Christ, so He can mold me. I will be deciding by the second module where God is calling me to go forth and give hugs and smiles in Jesus's name. So prayer is needed :) You guys are my strength! Prayer is so powerful!

HIGHLIGHTS

METH or LIFE  --  I found out after class today that we were to visit an old folks home. As we were on our way there, we got lost and ended up at the top of "suicide hill" and drove through some sketch neighborhoods. We passed a sign on the road that said "METH or LIFE" with an arrow pointing towards which you choose... the arrow was on Meth. I tried getting a picture of it...we also passed a man standing outside of his house, caressing his cat, staring at our van the multiple times we drove by.  haha.
...its funny to me that these have already become our highlights.. I wonder what will excite us in 3 months.  People here keep saying Walmart will be a thrill.
At the old folks home we sang hymns and praise songs, and met some wonderful people.  Sid and Hank were my two favorites, one was a 91 yr old man, the other was 80 and full of spunk. They contributed to our music by singing and playing the harmonica. The rest of the time I got to sit next to them and crack jokes about their age. We compared childhoods and I realized how much I wish I lived back then. 
The birds sang with us today as we sang worship. So beautiful. Gave me the chills.

He was my favorite :)

I SAW THE SUN TODAY! In the morning the sun peeked through the clouds. It was GORGEOUS.  But then it rained all day.

Also, I've had so much fun getting to know these girls. Two of the girls I've gotten really close with are from Philadelphia. They have accents, all day we compared the ways we say certain words. :)

By the way, why don't people vacation in Montana more often? there are SO MANY beautiful lakes out here.

I'm a cake decorator!

"Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one's life for his friends."

1 john 15:13

Today we had orientation, it was real great.  I'm excited to finally start classes tomorrow! After lunch, we cleaned the ranch for five hours. Who knew you could get that detailed with cleaning! Base boards, light switches, the works. During our cleaning sesh, Darla and I killed a black spider with Bleach, Simple Green, and Commit. Probably the biggest andrenaline rush we had all day. We (darla, sarah, and i)  had Kitchen Partol today, that was fun. They have a dishwasher here that literally takes two minutes to run through and clean the dishes. Best invention ever. I have a weird love for washing dishes..I bet that will change by the end of my training here.

"..Let all things be done decently and in order." 1 Corithians 14:40

Tonight was a girls night for Amy's 20th birthday. This is where I discovered my cake decorating abilities. You know your good when you can decorate a cake with a ziplock bag filled with frosting :)

my creation

We also made delicious "white trash" "dog chow" "crack"  whatever you may call it.

its basically chex, peanutbutter, butter, chocolate, and powdered sugar. Can we say yum?

I have a feeling God is going to be doing a lot in my heart these next few months.. I know He is faithful to teach, correct, and convict. I'm a little nervous.. Pottersfield is giving us as interns a chance to spiritually lay down our lives to deny our "self", love others, abide and the Word of God, and bear much fruit. They keep telling me that being a trainee, I can expect every aspect of my experience in the program to bring me to the point of absolute dependence on God.

Stoked.

Pray for me and the other trainees. We are in desperate need of prayers.

First days at PFR Montana

Arriving to Montana....My flight here wasn't too eventful.. people were really nice and made lots of eye contact. I like that. I slept most my way here, I was struggling to not start crying each time i woke up, so i got up to use the restroom in the back of the cabin. The flight attendant asked if he could get me a drink. So as he poured me a cup of coffee we got to talking about where I was headed. Pottersfield Ranch Montana! He was so thrilled and exactly the encouragement I needed, I love how God works. We continued to talk about where we are from and the churches we attend. He had a kind and gentle spirit. 
I had such mixed feelings about leaving home and living here in Montana. To me, it still seems surreal. I miss home.We haven't started classes yet or serving, everything starts on Tuesday. Tomorrow is our orientation, I'm a little bit nervous for it. It's very different here.. But a good different.. I'm a little culture shocked. But I'm excited to see what God has in store because, as of now, it feels impossible to last the next four months without His strength completely holding me together. I live with two very sweet girls in a room. I got the top bunk, so that's exciting. I get to put my glow in the dark stars on the sealing, praise Jesus :) I caught a throat cold the day I arrived, so my voice is gone and my throat has been on fire. I've been so exhausted, practically falling asleep anywhere I take a seat.
Last night and this morning (Sunday church) we helped out at Calvary Flathead. Playing with kids and breaking down everything. It's a thrill to be a servant for Jesus.

So, my first day here in Montana has been great, minus my cold and exhaustion. We currently have Internet in our rooms which isn't normal I guess and they are going it fix it soon. So I will do my best in keeping this blog updated and share what God is doing :)


prayer in the plane-

"Lord Jesus Christ, You are my forever love. All that I have, I owe to you...Your creation screams how vast and out of mind you are. I'm sitting in the plane's cabin staring out the window, we're soaring above the clouds. You created these clouds, they are beauty. More beautiful than I remembered. I'm amazed by You! You created the clouds! Nothing in this world can ever separate us! You are my father, my heart, my creator, my everything! ...The heavens are Your creation. You are out of mind. Jesus, You are alive! What a happy day this is. I am Yours, Jesus, my Father, my Love, my Friend.
Use my Lord, use me..Guide me Jesus, guide me... Teach me, correct me, mold and shape my heart, fulfill me and overflow me. You be the potter, I'll be the clay. Hosanna in the highest. Be my Jesus Most High. King of kings. Lord of my life, my heart, my mind, let my members praise your name. I surrender to you this day, Sept 18 that you my God, my love, my best friend, will keep me focused. Keep me convicted and corrected and following you Jesus, my love, my savior. Give me guidance. I move when you move. I love you. I thank you savior. Please keep saving me.

Love, your daughter. Amen"