WE MADE IT!!!

We mad it to PERU Tuesda morning at like 2:30. I had traveled 19 hours and went 24 hours without sleep (for the first time ever). We made it here safe and sound. Tomorrow is our last day of training, and then my team will go to Lima for a few days to do some extra training. I love this country. This is absolutely the most beautiful place I have ever been. Please continue to pray for us. We have 13 villages to visit within 9 weeks. Pray that God will have His will with transportation and pray for our safety and health (we are going through alot of alltitude changes). Time is just flying by, but I know how happy that makes all of you at home.

On My Way

I am at the airport in Birmingham, AL. right now. Next I will be in Dallas and I am meeting Hannah there. Security and check-in went really well. Although, we still have alot of security to go through once we get to Miami, so please pray that goes well. It is so hard to believe this day is finally here!

Meet the Team

I am working with the IMB this summer in South Peru and serving on the creative ministry team. We will be traveling to different villages doing evangelism through drama and music. There are 6 college students from the US on this team and here they are.

Ashley Whitaker

Ashley is from Texas and has felt God's calling to missions in Latin America, she went to Ecudor in 2008 and loved it.

Hayes Parnell

Hayes is from Birmingham, AL and a junior at the University of Mobile. He leads worship at a church in Mobile, AL and will have his 21st birthday while we are in Peru.

Jon Kieth

Jon has 3 passion in life, and they are God, sports, and people. This past year he attended college at Auburn University - Montgomery.

Hannah Dreyer

Hannah is 20 years old and from Texas and a woman that loves Jesus. We have been communicating ever since she came on board about a month ago, and I can not wait to meet her. Hannah has not ever been on a plane before and she is kind of nervous, so please pray some special prayers just for her.

Brandon Penton

Brandon is 23 yearsold and from Pearl River, Louisiana. He loves sports and music.

and then there is me.

Britney Shubert

I am 20 years old and just finished my second year of college at Wallace State Community College in Hanceville, AL. I went to Honduras in 2005 and never thought I would ever go to another country. I love to travel and be outdoors.

As you all look at this, and now that you know our names, PLEASE pray us on a daily basis by name. If we have any specific prayer request once we get in Peru I will post them. God has truly blessed me with a great team. I don't see us having any conflict about anything.

6 MORE DAYS!!!!

It is getting closer by the minute. It's hard to believe that I am just a few days away from being in Peru for the summer! I cann't wait. Please continue to pray for the team. As we are getting closer to leaving and trying to get everything ready, it is so easy to loose our focus and forget what this summer is really about. We have alot to do right now and we will have more to do once we arrive in Peru. Please pray for some safety when it comes to traveling. (We are flying out on Memorial Day, and I have to got through 3 airports in the US before arriving in Peru.) Also pray that we will not get burned out the first few days we are there, and pray that we will make some a quiet/study time one of our top priorities.

If you would like to send any prayer requests, praise reports, or words of encouragement to the team this summer, you can email the to me.

bshubert2007@yahoo.com

10 MORE DAYS!!!

PLANE TICKET: $1086

FIELD COST: $1553

TRAVEL INSURANCE: $146.26

BEING A SUMMER MISSIONARY: PRICELESS

WELL, I have spent the past hour or so packing my back. Man, Can you believe it?! In less than 2 weeks I will be in Peru. FINALLY!!!!!

Tomorrow I am going to pick up a few last minute items. It is hard trying to put everything into one bag, but I know I can do it. I have even taken a few things out (and still need to make out some more) that I know I would not need. I have to get used to the whole no make-up and hair not being fixed thing. I have already gone 2 or 3 days without make-up and didn’t fix my hair today and that is going ok. I am learning if my hair is not fixed and I am not wearing make-up, then it’s not the end of the world. I think I am adapting to that better than I thought I would. It’s not that bad.

I am ready to go and have been ready to go for a while. The fact that I am going to get homesick hit me really hard last week, but now I know that I am going to be ok. I think homesickness will be something Satan will use and I pray that we be alert and know when Satan is attacking. I have met and talked to most of the team I am working with and God has really blessed me with some wonderful teammates. I pray their will be some peace in the team especially when it comes to decision making and working together. Although, I really do not see us having any conflict. I also prey that God will reveal to us any talent or ability that we have and are unaware of that He will use on the mission field and I pray for some creativity when it comes to the ministry He has called us to.

I love seeing how God has worked and is working just in the planning and preparing of this summer. I know giving up this summer, when I could be in the U.S. with all of my technology and friends, but to follow God and do something He has called me to do, is COMPLETELY worth it. I can not wait to experience God like never before and take my relationship with Him to a whole new level.

Support Missionaries?

I cam across this blog by John Piper, and I liked what it said.

Were you unable to send a Christmas present or care package to some missionaries you love this season? It’s okay. You can still bless a missionary this Christmas.

[Update: It goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway—even though Christmas is past, these ideas can still encourage our friends overseas. Let's keep serving them all year long!]

Here are 13 post-office-free ideas to get you started, most of which you could do right now from your desk:

Pray specific Scripture for them and their ministry, and then email it to them.

Call or email their parents—Christmas might be just as lonely for the ones at home as the ones away.

Purchase phone minutes for an international calling card through an online service like OneSuite and email them the account number.

Donate frequent flier miles to them.

Purchase an iTunes gift card for them. Have it sent to you and email them the account number.

Commit to pray for them on a specific day of the week for a year.

Write a song or poem or story for them. Email them the text and a recording of you reading or singing it.

Get friends and family together to create a holiday video greeting for them using Google Video or YouTube. Include lots of people you know they miss.

Make a year-end gift through their missions board or agency.

Western Union—the fastest way to send money.

Call their local florist (not everyone is in the jungle these days) and have flowers delivered, or their local Pizza Hut and have pizza delivered—with corn and shrimp as toppings!

Donate to a charity that means a lot to them.

Make a monthly commitment to support them financially.

If you have your own ideas, respond to this post and let us know what they are. Maybe next year we can offer 50 suggestions, or 100.

(Remember to use discernment in written or video communication if your missionaries work in security-sensitive locations.)

And PLEASE hold me accoutable for supporting missionaries. I know how much it touches thier hearts.

PRAYER

IT’S THE MOST IMPORTANT WORK IN THE KINGDOM OF GOD!!


Like I mentioned in my last blog I am reading a book written for and by student missionaries. The first chapter of this book speaks of prayer. God doesn’t call everyone to a foreign field, but ANYONE AND EVERYONE CAN PRAY. God can and will use you to change the world. You can impact this world on your knees.

Missionaries are people who have said “yes” to God’s calling and obediently follow Him to difficult and sometimes dangerous places. God has really burdened me about praying for missionaries, especially this week. (Just 1 other way God has changed my life.) And please let me encourage you not just let your prayer be “god please be with the missionaries of this world” but pray for some specific things, like the following:

PRAY for missionaries to be to be humble and submissive in the Spirit of the Lord.

PRAY for missionaries to be consistent in spiritual disciplines, such as prayer and Bible Study. On the mission field it is so hard sometimes to make the time to sit down and have a personal Bible study.

PRAY for missionaries to live pure and holy lives in thought, action, and words.

PRAY for all of the missionaries who, for security reasons, can not tell anybody what country they are sharing the gospel with. Persecution is strong and not every country can shout the name of JESUS as freely as we can. They go through so much and know why, yet never give up. (it is some of these particular missionaries and situations who bring tears to my eyes.)

PRAY and thank Jesus for all of the missionaries who have said “yes” to God gave up everything and move their children to another country, just to share the Gospel of Christ Jesus. (Think about that for a few moments. That is a big thing! I can not find the words to say how much that means to me.)

PRAY for the people groups who have never known a missionary and pray that God will burden a missionary with that particular people group. (41% of this world is unreached and I pray this summer I get to see an unreached people group.)

PRAY for missionaries to be able to find all of the unreached people groups of this world. There are missionaries assigned just to specifically find the people groups that nobody knows exist. Most of these people groups (I know in South America) can not be reached by a vehicle; someone has to hike a trails and/or mountains for hours at a time so that they may hear the gospel.

As a missionary, we really and truly depend on God’s people to pray for us as we share some wonderful news with a lost and dying world. My absolute biggest fear concerning this trip is people not praying for me. We are so blessed to have a God who listens to our every word and we have a God we can go to anytime and anyplace. It is such a privilege for us to enter the throne room by praying for those specials servants of the Lord!

21 days to go !!!

And it can NEVER be here soon enough!!!

Well, here I am. I have my plane ticket is booked and have all I need. I am so ready to go. God is always preparing me and doing wonderful things and I know the best is yet to come. This summer I long to be somewhere my cell phone does not work, my computer and I pod will be at home, and no TV, and Jesus is the only thing I am holding on to.

Last week I had a summer missionary commissioning service and I received a book all about student missions. I think it so amazing to be able to read this book and say I know what they are talking about, the very same things have happened in my life. My favorite line, in the book so far, a student missionary in South Africa said, “You know when you are in the will of God, when a place on the map becomes a place in your heart.” That is exactly what Peru is to me, I have never been there, but I feel like I have.

I have been more emotional concerning this mission trip, than any other missions I have done, just thinking about the country and hearing stories of missionaries in other countries just brings tears to my eyes, but I will be ok. I have to do a little bit of debriefing now. I am learning I don’t need to hold anything in concerning this trip. I need to talk about it if I have to and cry if I feel like crying.

I have said before, when being called and stepping onto the mission field it literally changes the way you see everything. I can never, ever get over how blessed I really am. I feel guilty for taking a shower using hot water. It breaks my heart to see and know there are some missionaries and people in this world who don’t have hot water. I feel like I should not be drinking bottled water, when really there is nothing wrong with tap water. Some people in this world do not even have access to running water, and even then sometimes that water one can not drink. I CAN NOT STAND hearing people complain. If we are in pain we go to doctor and get medicine, and who knows we may not go to work for a day or so. We need to thank God we have quick access to a doctor and the finances to be able to see a doctor. If we were in another country we probably wouldn’t have that and 9 times out of 10 if the doctor would be there the medicine would not. And work to us is just a dreaded ole’ chore, but to another country it is a blessing and only way to live. I just want to be content with what I have. If you have Jesus and only Jesus, you will have all you can ever need and want.

Deleitate asimismo en Jehova, Y el te concedera las peticiones de tu corazon. – Salmos 37:4