a new season

I just thought I would give a little update on where I'm at so far. Friends have been asking for updates but I find it difficult to reach out to everyone. So, social media it is. :)

As I mentioned in my last post, I quit my job of seven years working as a Behavioral Therapist at a local school district. That was a huge step for me. I had nothing to fall back on except hope. Hope that God would open up the right doors and lead me to something. In the mean time, I started babysitting. That was a huge blessing to me. Two days after I quit my job I had a great family ask me to watch their daughter. Two DAYS. Through them, I was approached by another family to watch their two children. The Lord has been so faithful. I am truly in awe of the small ways he cares and reveals himself to me.

 Fast forward 3 weeks and I went on my first job interview in seven years. It was nerve-racking to say the least. The interview was with my college pastor, who just planted a church in Long Beach, California. The position I was interviewing for was the Kids Ministry Director. Praying, waiting, and wondering if I was qualified enough, was difficult. After a week of constant prayer, I was faced with a question. The same question that I've been asked a lot these past two years. It was God asking me again, will you be obedient to where I am calling you? He hasn't failed me and he never will. His plans for my life have proven to be so much better than my own. Saying yes to him has been one of the greatest adventures of my life. With that said, I got the job! God has had his hand on this since the day I met my pastor all those years ago and I think its so funny to see how everything has played out. I am humbled and in awe of who God is. He is so incredibly faithful. I am so excited for this new season of growing and learning how to be a leader.

Please pray for me when you think about it. This is all so new for me. Pray that I will remain teachable and humble. For wisdom and discernment. Most importantly, pray that I will be able to disciple well.

Back to the grind

Hello friends! I have been back for two weeks now. It amazes me how fast time can go. These last couple weeks have had its ups and downs. I had to say goodbye to some of my best friends. They are now spread throughout the world. Literally. It was like closing one chapter and starting a new one all at the same time. Equally exciting and terrifying, but mostly bittersweet. Goodbyes suck. Theres no way around it. Seeing my family was amazing and helped with the sadness I was feeling. Its funny, community living was not my favorite thing in the world. However, being home and somewhat alone has made me miss it tremendously. I never thought those words would ever come out of my mouth. Thats coming from an introvert. Madness.

Now life is still moving forward and I'm trying to figure out what to do with myself. I quit my job officially at the school district, a week after being home. That was a long time coming. The Lord gently and sweetly nudged that into my heart and after months of praying about it, I pulled the trigger. So I'm virtually jobless at the moment. The weird thing is, I'm not worried or stressed about not finding anything. The only thing I have to hold onto is my faith in Gods provision. The Lord provided me with $10,000 in two months for my lecture phase and outreach. TWO MONTHS! That was something I never thought would happen. I know this sounds crazy to most. I get it. It sounded crazy to me too. It still sounds crazy to me. But He did it. So I trust completely in him and his provision for a job. Not worrying about it is the most freeing feeling I have ever experienced. He's traded my worries and fears with his peace. He has provided babysitting jobs in the meantime to get me by. I am currently in the process of updating my resume and applying for jobs in ministry. After a lot of prayer and conformation, I feel that is where he's leading me. I'm not exactly sure what it looks like yet. My heart is to disciple. I am praying for vision and clarity for what area of ministry to go into.

That pretty much sums up where I'm at right now.


With that said, Ch!na was absolutely incredible. We held English Corners at some University's. We would spend most of our days making friends and inviting them to learn English. That was our ministry. I had one ministry partner and we would lead the English Corner with games, a story and discussion questions. Evangelism is illegal in Ch!na. We had to be careful and use discernment on what to say and when to say it. All of the study topics were geared toward the bible but if we had a spy or something in the group, they wouldn't be able to tell. I will never forget all the joy, laughter and conversations we had as we taught them about the love God has for them. Seeing the way they processed truth -without any walls up or preconceived judgements was a beautiful thing. Explaining what the bible is and how to use it was so humbling. Telling them about Jesus and who he is and watching them grow hungry and curious to learn more. "More Jesus stories," they would say. So we gave them more. I found myself learning as I taught -seeing things from a different perspective almost every single time. Watching the Holy Spirit work through me. There were so many times when they would ask me a question and I didn't have an answer. They are smart. Way smarter than me. Without fail, the Holy Spirit showed up and gave me the words to say. It was a challenge at times, but we grew and learned together.

Theres so much more I could say about it. The Lord did so much. He softened hearts, changed peoples way of thinking, he taught me about grace, love and that pursuing him, no matter the cost, will always be worth it. I made so many great friends. Friends I still talk to and will continue to plant seeds in, encourage and love. My heart is so full.

Here is a 4 minute video of everything we got to do. http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=3tOoIDg21Bw&feature=youtu.be

Here are a few pictures of my favorite things we did:

English Corner friends

The Great Wall of China

We went to the orphanage every week. And every week, my heart was wrecked for these sweet lives.

Renmin University in Beijing. The Harvard of Ch!na. A communist university where you can major in Marxism or be recruited to join the Ch!nese political party. We shared love with journalists, prosecutors, scientists and active members of the communist party. This was a personal highlight of the trip for me.

I want to thank all of the people that prayed, encouraged, loved and supported me throughout these last six months. You have blessed me more than you'll ever know. 

Prayer:
Please pray for focus, vision and clarity as I look for a job and that I may be lead by the spirit on what to apply for.

Thank you!!

Blessings,
Christy

Week twelve :: final update for awhile

Well friends, it's about that time. I'm leaving tomorrow night!! I am still in shock at how quickly time has passed. I'm sure it will hit me when I'm on the plane tomorrow... Or when I land in Ch!na. :) Please keep my team in your prayers over the next few months. We will begin our ministry fairly quickly once we arrive. The biggest request I have right now is health and protection. Please be interceding when you think of it. I won't be posting anything on my blog for security reasons. However, I will be emailing my parents weekly and will ask them to update everyone on their Facebook pages. 

Thank you to everyone who has supported me throughout this journey! You have blessed me more than you'll ever know.

Prayer Points:

• That we may be lead by the Holy Spirit during ministry

• Wisdom and discernment 

• Travel Mercies

• Health

• Protection

• Team Unity

•  For The Lord to use us mightily 

•  For the people of Ch!na that they may be open to us

• For The Lord to wreck us all with love for this country

Here is one last picture of my team and their names. 

From left to right: Caleigh, Megan, Ellen, Faith, Tim, Lindy, me, Tim & Molly

Next time you hear from me will be in June! Thank you all for your prayers and support!!

Love,

Christy

Week ten and eleven:

Things are getting pretty busy these days. Forgive me for not updating this sooner. In lecture, we had Ben Nonoa, teaching on the Father Heart of God and Kenny Jackson, teaching on Kingdom Relationships. 

This past week was our last time going to Community Outreach. It was sad to say goodbye to all these faces but I am so thankful for the time we got to spend loving on them and telling them about Jesus. 

This boy stole my heart. His goofiness and sweet spirit reminded me so much of my cousin, Nathan.

My heart is full of gratitude, thankfulness and love as I share that: I am OFFICIALLY going to Ch!na!!!! The funds came in and in 8 days I will be on an airplane heading to Asia! I am completely humbled and in awe of who God is and the ways he provided along the way. Thank you to everyone who has prayed and supported me this far, from the bottom of my heart. You'll never know how much every single one of you mean to me.

 The journey is only half way over and these next three months will be crucial. My team and I leave next Sunday evening and will be in Ch!na until early June. I ask that you continue to pray for us as we get ready to depart. Once I'm in Ch!na, I will not be able to update my blog or communicate with anyone over social media. I will be emailing my parents weekly and will tell them to share any prayer points or updates on their Facebook pages. 

This week will be our last week of lecture and we will begin packing. Joy. (said in immense sarcasm) Im in shock at how fast the time has gone. These last two and a half months have been life changing. I am so in love with God and am amazed at how deep he has taken me these past couple months. His love and faithfulness knows no bounds and he has proven that to me. 

Well friends, thank you for reading and know that I am so thankful for all of you. I will try my best to give a short update before I leave and have some specific prayer points. 

All my love,

Christy

Week nine: An early update

This week looked a bit different because the Fall DTS just returned from outreach. We actually got the opportunity to meet with the Fall Ch!na team and hear their stories. It was SO encouraging and got me even more excited to leave in just 27 DAYS! Ahhh I cannot WAIT to go!! :) We also found out we will get an opportunity to go to another city in Ch!na and teach at a government-run church. In case I haven’t already explained this, here is an explanation of the churches in Ch!na: There are 3 different types of churches.  1) International churches: anyone who is not a citizen of Ch!na can go in as long as they have their passport and the pastors can teach whatever they want (for the most part).  2) Government run churches: anyone can go but the pastors have to have their material approved by government appointed officials so they can only teach certain things from the bible. They regulate it because they don’t want the Ch!nese citizens to be taught anything bad about the government.  3) Underground churches: churches that meet in secret (apartments, ect.) to share the love of Jesus freely to whoever comes. That is why it is such a big deal that we will get the opportunity to teach at a government run church where everything is extremely filtered by the government. There was also a testimony night where all of the teams that returned spoke about their trip and we got to watch a recap video from each team. I will try to see if I can get the Ch!na teams and post it so you get a glimpse of the ministry in Ch!na. Please continue to pray for my team and our ministry that will start in just 27 days!!!

For those who have been wondering, my teammate got all of her support in!! I am still not quite there. I have a small window of time/grace period. I am unsure of my current balance at this time. I'm guessing I need about $2600. Please prayerfully consider supporting me. You can do so online at: 

http://www.ywammaui.com/index.php/feepayments

You can send mail and checks to: 

PO Box 790237 Paia, Hawaii 96779 Attn. Christy Morffi

{Make checks payable to "YWAM Maui" with a note attached that it is for Christy Morffi}

I am deeply humbled by everyone's support, prayers and compassion for my ministry. Thank you to all who have been reading and praying each step of the way. 

Love,

Christy

Week eight: A mid-week update

The fall school has returned from outreach! It has been great seeing everyone again and hearing some of their stories. Tomorrow evening, each team will be sharing testimonies (Bangladesh, Ch!na, Nepal & Indonesia). I am so excited to hear what God did in them and the lives that were radically changed through them. I have heard a little of what team Ch!na did there and that has made me even more excited to go. Here are some pictures of where I'll be going.

I am so excited to see this amazing city and be a part of the ministry there. I'm also looking forward to being completely  immersed in their lifestyle and culture. Most importantly, I'm looking forward to sharing the love of Christ with the lost and broken. Please keep my team in prayer as we are preparing to leave. 

With that said, this amazing group of people is heading to Ch!na in only 5 weeks!! Sounds awesome, right!? Well, in order for me to go with them, I need $2800 by THIS Friday (my last payment!!). It may sound impossible, but I know God will provide. Please consider supporting me at:

PO Box 790237 Paia, Hawaii 96779 Attn. Christy Morffi

or online at: http://www.ywammaui.com/index.php/feepayments

Prayer points:

• Team unity

• A bigger heart for Ch!na and the people we will meet

• I've been sick with strep throat. A quick healing would be fantastic.

• Financial support for my teammate, Faith ( top row, second from the right) and myself.

Thank you all for your love, prayers and support!! It really means the world to me.

xoxo,

Christy

Week seven

Another week is in the books. Time is FLYING! I'll be in the Big C in just over a month. As the days pass, I'm growing more excited and expectant in what The Lord will do there; both through and in me. God has been working in me so much this last month, I feel as if I'm undergoing heart surgery. He's made himself present to me and has shown me so much of who He is as a Father and a Savior. My heart feels as if it could burst at the amount of love and joy He has poured into me this last month. It isn't always easy, there are a lot of tears involved, transparency, and boldness to speak out things I've held inside my entire life. However, He has proved himself faithful, gentle and loving each time. That's just who He is. He saved me. I can't believe it has taken me this long to fully accept his love for me. It's never been by my works or good deeds but by His grace. That's my King! 

My team went to watch the sunset at Haleakala yesterday. It was absolutely breathtaking. Here are some highlights.

Team C

In case you didn't know, I am still raising funds for Ch!na. The total cost for my outreach will be $4150. So far, The Lord has provided $1500!!! That was enough to buy my plane ticket! (Insert hoots and hollers here) :) Please consider joining me in my ministry. I would be beyond blessed by your support!! 

You can send mail and checks to: 

PO Box 790237 Paia, Hawaii 96779 Attn. Christy Morffi

{Make checks payable to "YWAM Maui" with a note attached that it is for Christy Morffi}

or online at: 

http://www.ywammaui.com/index.php/feepayments

All my love,

Christy