the beauty of an open heart...

Meet Carie and Brittany.

This is the 3 of us in China where they are currently living.

They have been two of my best friends for years now... We met as Freshman at Faulkner University, and have been friends ever since. Our journey together has been crazy! The ins and outs of our friendship are definitely filled with ups and downs, but when I look back over the past 6 years, I see God's mighty hand working out some beautiful things!

I really believe that God brought us together, along with another dear friend, Laurel, because He knew that over the course of the next several years, He was going to be able to use us, with our specific personalities & talents & passions, in each other's lives.

I am so thankful for these friendships, and the ways I see God using these girls.

For example, take Brittany. 

This is a picture of the two of us in Malawi, Africa in the summer of 2006. The summer before this, Brittany went on her first mission trip. She went with Landmark to this orphanage in Malawi, and the work of the Lord overseas opened her heart to missions. For the past 2 years, she and her husband, Will (also a best friend from the college years). have lived in China, teaching English in a university there, and serving an ever greater purpose for God. 

She and Will are going to be moving back to the States in July. Will wants to go into youth/worship ministry, so they have been keeping their eyes open for the next door of opportunity that the Lord will open for them.

(Note: Know of any youth/worship minister positions open? I am trying to find them work near me. haha!)

And then there is Carie. 

This picture is from that same trip in 2006. Carie may have the most compassionate heart of anyone I have ever met. Her heart belongs to children in need. Children who need food, shelter, and clothes, but more than any of that, they need to be introduced to the One who loves them so much that He died for them. Once Carie started going overseas to serve, she realized that she was just not satisfied staying here and being comfortable at home. She felt the call to go. And boy has she gone! She's been on short-term trips to Honduras, Panama, and Malawi. She then spent about 6 months in India before moving to China for a year to be a part of the work that Will & Brittany are involved in. 

Now that her year in China is up, she is preparing for her next leap of faith. That leap happens to have her jumping back to India, back to the needs of the children who stole her heart the first time she was there. This time, she will not be serving as a part of a work that has already been established, but beginning a new work in a new place. She, along with a family she grew close to the first time she was there, are beginning a new journey in which God is leading them to a new city to start another home for orphans and homeless children. I am so excited about all that God can do through them and their open hearts and open hands. 

I would love to tell you more about the work Carie plans to do, but why don't you hear it from her? She has recently started a blog to keep family and friends updated as things progress. Check it out.

Today I ask you to pray for these girls and their families as they prepare to transition into and be engaged in the new work He has for them.