Next Stop Philly

Less than a 10 day count before airport bound once again,

PA here I come!

Look for daily updates on Origins Facebook

The promise of more info before the departure has not been forgot…

The Team: Kerri, Jason, Dave, Hyun, Blake, and Christine
Please pray for us and the people of Philly as we go to bless them!!  Any prayers here on the blog would be a great encouragement to our team

The Dates: July 1- July 7

Thur July 1 DELTA 3888   Austin – Memphis        DELTA 6262   Memphis - Philly

Wed July 7 DELTA 3091   Philly - Memphis          DELTA 3797   Memphis - Austin

The Schedule:

Thursday
Arrive in Philly at Urban Hope

Friday
Work Day
ROCK Outreach

Saturday
(team 1) Family Photo Day for members of the church
Many of the families have NEVER had family portraits!
(team 2) Basketball, games with families, etc.
Girl’s Night – games, etc.
Guy’s Night –  Surprise!

Sunday
Church
4th of July Celebrations!

Monday
All Day – Work Day!
Game Night w/ Neighbors

Tuesday
Deliver Family Photos
Philly Cheesesteaks (can they even be good without cheese? Lactose intolerance = a curse and a blessing)
Hang Day
House Church

Wednesday
Leave for Airport @5:30am
Arrive back in Austin and take a nap

Stories and pictures upon my return but real time updates can be found on
Origins Facebook just click here !

Philly Mission

Hello friends,

My next adventure is with a group of 7 people from my church to Urban Hope in Philadelphia, PA. They are a church to the neighborhood to reach the lost, broken, poor, and sick for Jesus. Many of whom are caught up in drug use, alcohol abuse, prostitution, etc.  Secondly it is a training center where teams can come and gain experience in inner city ministry.

In past years, my church, Origins, has shown up to help facilitate a large children’s camp that included up to 300 children.  They attended their house churches, worked with the teens, built relationships with the neighbors, and enjoyed the culture.  This summer’s trip will be a bit different.  Kerri, our leader, is good friends with a couple on the Urban Hope team, Bethany and Ryan.  These two love the Lord and have a huge heart for Philly.  One of their hopes is to become foster parents, but their house is not ready.  Our primary goal while we are there is to get their house as up to code as possible.  In addition to the work projects, we will have some unique chances to plan some teen events, experience the culture, and celebrate 4th of July Philly-style with the people of Urban Hope.

The reason I am writing to you about this is to primarily ask for your support in prayer and secondly your potentially support financially as we are each raising $430 for the trip.  I am looking for at least 10 people to support me in prayer.

To commit to be on my team would include that you pray for me as I prepare for Philadelphia for what I will see and how I will serve, pray as we corporately raise our financial support, pray for the lives of the children we will be with and the adults/parents we will talk with, pray for our safety, and anything else that comes to mind.  I’ll update my blog with stories and pictures once we return to Austin!  Will you join team Westling?

To support me in prayer simply respond to this email and let me know you are on board! I’ll send you a confirmation email with many many thanks. To support me financially, feel free to send me an email as a notice and/or send a check payable to Origins Church and in the memo line right “Christine Westling”. Checks can be sent to:

Christine Westling

1809 Michael Wayne Dr.
Austin, TX 78728


or you can send me direct support with credit card via the DONATE button on my blog

Please pray about both of these and respond however the Lord leads.
I am thankful for you and your encouragement.  May the Lord bless you and keep you as life continues to move us all forward!

Christine

DTS 2009

Reaching a point in life were it seemed my faith had hit a plateau, a big leap needed to be taken for any change to happen. Hearing about the adventure program at Oakridge I knew that was my leap. I threw myself into everything from the get go wanting to get as much out of every moment as possible. The more I let go the more gifts God gave, for example writing poetry for the first time in my life. If there was one word to describe my DTS it would be FREEDOM.

What do you DO for a living?

I have discovered that quitting my job has opened the doors for me to share my faith! Generally when you meet someone new the first question is “what is your name.” quickly followed by “so, what is it you do for a living?”. In the past the answer has always been the description of a job I had at the time. Now, for the first time I have no job to confuse the truth of what I actually do for a living. That TRUTH being how I try to love those around me and pray those people see the joy and peace I have because of the relationship I have with God. So, what do I DO for a living? Simply put I trust the Lord and tell those around me the truth about God. Finally the scripture that says “Always be prepared to give an answer to everyone who asks you to give the reason for the hope that you have.” 1Peter 3:15 makes so much sence!

Many people are also asking me why I quit my job, especially in the present economy. When faced with this question I am given the opportunity to share a bit about what I will be doing. I share about Youth With A Mission and that the reason for leaving the country is to study the bible and serve people. Already a few amazing conversations have started from that little question. It seems like a crazy time to be walking away from a steady income but I know there is so much more for me than a 9-5 job in an office staring at a computer. I need sunshine, fresh air, and people! Yes, all of those things are in California, so why the need to leave the country? My desire is to grow into a woman after God’s heart, much like King David (minus the whole Bethshiba part). One way to get closer to this goal is to trust the Lord with everything. Leaving everything I have known behind…friends, family, $ in a savings account, American culture, and yes, even my cell phone, I will have no other option but to trust the Lord.

Here I go in my leap of faith knowing that the Lord will bless me as I trust Him that all of my needs will be met. If you would like to help provide for me financially just click on the donate button above and Paypal will make sure I receive any funds you might like to contribute.

Thanks Friends!

What do you do for a living?
-C

Moving!

Word on the street is that I have joined an organization called Youth With A Mission (Y.W.A.M.) and am heading out to New Zealand for several months. Its TRUE!!!

All I know at this point is that I fly out of LAX March 12 and arrive at the Auckland airport March 14. OK, I know a little bit more such as, I will be studying and training in New Zealand for 3 months and then out serving people somewhere in the world for another 3 months. Most of you are probably tired of hearing this part, but once I actually leave the country I’m sure my blogs will become more exciting

The empty boxes which have been sitting in my garage for the last few months are starting to get filled! I thought it was a good time since my move out date is tomorrow. The reality of how big a life change I am making might set in a bit when my room is left with empty white walls and ghost like furniture leaving only reminders in the carpet of their existence. It is getting closer and closer!

Many things are coming together but it seems like there is still so much to be done before I leave. Luckily I gave myself a month to get ready which is looking like it will be perfect. I suppose I should go finish packing, just wanted to introduce you all to my blog which will be updated as much as possible while I am away.

-C