How to use words ?

I am fully aware that the month isn't over yet ( 15.04.17) but it has already proven to be a crazy two / three months since I last posted !
In march I turned 21 !!! In March I became an adult.
The week before my Birthday and the two weeks following it showed me so much love with everyone I care about wishing me a Happy Birthday and sending their love my way.
My Dad, Brother and Best Friends threw me a birthday party which included my good pal Bethan hiding in a Photo Booth and surprising me from Uni :) it was such a good way to celebrate my 21st and to dance the night away.


Gang @ my 21st

The next big stand out thing to happen was my Trip to India along with 5 other people from West and Ballygilbert. We jetted off with a charity called Tearfund who are a bunch of Christians who are committed to following Jesus where the need is greatest!
YEP... I WAS IN INDIA
The Reason why-  To see the partnership between Tearfund and West Church. We committed to raising money as a church to help TearFunds partners over in India who help victims of Trafficking !
For someone who hates flying my first challenge was to get from Dublin- Dubai, Dubai- Mumbai, Its hard to complain however when you have a full row to yourself due to the flight being almost empty :) #goals

For the next nine days I was subjected to overwhelming sounds, sights and emotions ! All of which are impossible to describe therefore ill not go into much detail (if you're reading and want to hear more, feel free to ask)

Like I mentioned the purpose of our trip was to see first hand the projects that our fund raising is going to, to see the hard work and dedication that each charity gives to Women and Children who have been affected by Human Trafficking and due to being on a mission trip before I knew to only go with one expectation- for God to work !
Its really easy to think that we're bringing God on this mission trip with us but what I seemed to forget was that God wasn't in my suitcase- He was already there at work in that country which was so evident from the people that we met- providing unconditional love and support to Women and Children in various forms.

On the first day of our trip we were with a partner that goes into the local Brothels to share the Gospel with the women. Conor and I went in and honestly the experience was not comfortable. We walked around, met some women , tried to speak Hindi (always a good way to make people laugh). After we walked up about three flights of wonky stairs we were invited into one of the rooms were four ladies stayed- the partner who we were with shared encouraging words and invited Conor and I to pray for the ladies and their families.  Although for us we felt uncomfortable I had to remember that for these women this is reality! And all I can do about it is give it over to God and allow Him to move through these partners.

One of the days we went to a Children's home for girls who for whatever reason weren't safe to stay in their homes. At this Children's home they are given a safe place where they could just be kids ! they have all their needs met by inspirational house parents who devote their lives to seeing that these kids are safe and happy.   We got the opportunity to hang out  with the girls and play games with them, they loved playing monkey ball and using the parachute ( which seems to be a global favourite), there's something about sitting under it and watching the colours, it really is mesmerising. We also got to just sit and colour in with them which provided a great chance to get to know them.

Half of the team then went about twenty minutes away to a boys home which is ran by the same charity- here we got to see the boys in the same situation and hang out with them too. Conor and I went off with the older boys... OUTSIDE to play cricket in like 33 degree heat ! it was a lot of fun but im pretty sure the boys just humoured me as lets be serious I was rubbish ha-ha.

We also visited a partner who ran a rescue home for women who are in the rehabilitation process after being involved in the red light area of Mumbai- I think honestly this is where I realised just how naïve I actually was when it came to Human Trafficking.
 It was so great to see that these women have been rescued but was heart breaking to see the reality of what happens after you've been rescued. these women ranging from various ages were unable to live (what we'd call) a normal life. For the majority of them their lives halted whenever they were trafficked and now they had to start from scratch which could have involved learning how to use a pencil or to interact with other people. We got to be with these Women and paint nails, make friendship bracelets and colour in with them. I was resulted to tears when one women started to open up and share her story beginning by saying that this felt like a family. That she had never had this kind of family before as she was sold by a family member and had lost all hope to live- BUT she then found God and found that she had a purpose in life.

One of the most emotional experiences for me while away was the day we were able to visit a Government Home for children who were either rescued or abandoned due to the effects of Poverty and or being connected with the Red Light District in Mumbai. In this Government Home there were babies from as young as 16 days old, toddlers and girls up to the age of 18. The Home was dull and plain but the one thing that resounded throughout the whole building was the joy and laughter of these children playing. The head mistress in charge of the home showed us around and what brought me peace was the fact that she knew each and every child and she was able to tell us stories about the Children. She brought us into a room where two bed bound boys lay- and what she said next broke my heart- These boys had Cerebral Palsy and basically were in the home to die, the government hadn't gave a licence to feed these boys  but this lady hadn't gave up hope and continued to provide for these boys, eventually she had to pad one of the boys beds around the bottom as he started to have movement and is now able to turn and move his legs !!

On our last day the team split in half and went to two different slummed communities where we met women who still work in the red light area or have recently came out of it, the women I met where coming to what would be a mid week discipleship group. They met together each week in a small room to pray, worship and hear the gospel. The day we were there Anita (with us all week) shared about Lazarus and how when he died it said 'Lord, the one YOU loved' means that whatever our situation Jesus loves each and everyone of us ! We prayed together and almost every women in that room came forward individually to have us pray with them and for them. Despite us not know Hindi and them not knowing English it was very evident that God was moving in that room.

Walking Through one of the Slum communities
PC: LYDS

Our nine days in Mumbai were Jam packed and there's loads I've left out of this post and I know for sure I haven't done any of the above justice. We met tons of people and the one thing they all had in common was that they had dreams and aspirations for the future which I pray they never give up on and hold on to the Hope of a better and brighter future ! I also learnt that when words fail, actions speak. We communicated without words. We played, laughed, and smiled with each other.

Our actions and emotions conveyed more than I ever imagined possible!

The flight home was a little less comfortable with turbulence every 30 seconds (maybe a slight exaggeration) but you get the picture.
*If you want to hear more- you know where to find me*

Upon arrival back to the UK I had one night sleep in my own bed and then I headed round to church  for Easter Mission (I told you its been crazy few weeks) and like always it didn't disappoint. Although I only got to be there for two days nothing makes me happier than seeing 250 kids being told about how much Jesus Loves them.
The Thursday afternoon was especially special for me as for the first time ever we put on a mini Easter Mission for 5 or 6 kids who have additional needs who on a normal week may not have been able to take part in Easter Mission due to the noise and mass of people. During this afternoon we were able to bridge the gap between special needs ministry in churches, we played games (yes with that global favourite) , made snacks, told the salvation story and sang some songs. It was a really enjoyable afternoon and im so glad I got to be a part of it.

The Global Fave
PC: JORDAN

Like always it made me proud to be a member and leader in West Church- to see that many young people devote a full week to serve God and give it stacks even with the lack of sleep.

So yes the last few weeks have been mega crazy, mega challenging, mega inspiring and its left me with lots to process and think about- but if I could, id do it all again !!





Thanks, if you've made it this far :) x

New Year, Same Me !!

Firstly, I am not one of those people who claim to be a blogger mainly because I haven't posted in what 100 years  2 years ? I am however one of those people who sometimes decides that they want to sit down and reflect on what has been happening and attempt to write about it.
Secondly, I am under no illusion that anyone reads my posts and that's okay but if your here... Hey!!

So here we are! January 2017. The last time I attempted to write a post was December 2015 and since then so little yet so much as changed. 
2016 was a year that looking back now went so quickly yet at the time seemed to last forever and I'm still trying to decided if that's a good thing or not(?)

2016 was a year that challenged me, inspired me, broke me and equipped me all at the same time. I finished the first year of my Youth and Childrens Internship and started my second (yeah, that was a surprise to me too lol). But the biggest challenge I had to face was the loss of  my beautiful Granny Margaret the woman who was a huge impact on not only my personal relationships but my relationship with Jesus, the person that always prayed for me regardless of any circumstances. She was also the woman who always told me to follow my dreams and always look for the good in people- something that I'm not too good at (but I'm working on it).

One thing that I kept realising last year is that a relationship with Jesus- being committed to God requires 100 percent, I don't know about you but the only time I've ever achieved 100 percent was in P4 on a weekly spelling test. But with Jesus there's no test, there's no teacher shouting information down your neck in order to do well but there is however an expectation to remain focused on Him and not on the other people around you and that's hard... but the most incredible thing is that God doesn't ask you to do that alone !
He places good people in our lives in the shape of mentors and friends. I have the most incredible friends, friends that have been with me in my darkest days and my happiest days. Friendships that seem to have lasted a life time and friendships that have only formed in the past year or two BUT all with the same thing in common- the love for God.
like all friendship groups none of us are perfect which is good as God doesn't expect us to be perfect but he does expect us to be honest about our mistakes and admit when you need help.
God can do a lot with an Honest heart!
There are something's in life that we simply cant do by ourselves, things that are too big for us or we're too afraid to tackle it on our own and that's a prime opportunity to use the friendship that we have!
Ecclesiastes 4: 9-10 says "Two people are better off than one , for they can help each other succeed , if one person falls the other can reach out and help, but someone who falls alone is in real trouble" !

If there's one thing I'm not good at when it comes to my friends is to simply ask them how they are doing? asking them if there's anything that I can be praying for?. its easy yes when something comes up and I'm prompted to do so but should that really be the case ?
Why can I not just text them one random day to see how they're doing... in the past it would've been because I was afraid of the 'Good, How about you?' reply but this year I'm making it a Resolution Goal to do exactly that!
The Christmas season and specifically this past weekend (6th January 2017)  has shown me exactly how much I genuinely love my friends old and new !
The wanderers returned from Uni, we explored, ate food, played monopoly, drank tea but most importantly came to together in fellowship.
Two of my bestest and greatest pals Kerry and Harry
 were baptised as a public and personal declaration of the love they have for Jesus, to symbolise that they have repented of their sin, accepted Jesus as their saviour and is willing to commit their life to Him. Two days later I got to stand alongside 13 other legends to come forward officially for the first time for communion.
Nothing fills me with love and Joy more than coming together with your church family, the people who invest in you and genuinely want to see you grow personally and spiritually.

I am continually reminded that I am thankful for West Church and everyone within it who surround me with love not just on a day of communion but every single day.

I dreaded 2017 for reason I didn't understand but now I'm excited... excited to see friendships flourish but even more excited to see more of the opportunities that God has aside for me and if there's one thing that I want to bring with me and remember this year is that my 'good' is nothing compared to Gods 'amazing'. I need to remember to give Him the authority to do more with me than I can imagine, which will require being broken but I now know that God never leaves those who love Him broken for long. And WHEN He puts the pieces back together that's when amazing things are allowed to happen!!

God can use us just the way we are! He wants to help us discover our true identity in Him and he longs to guide us into developing a positive self-image. He wants our identity to come from the fact that we have incredible value to Him!!
I'm so stoked that I get to learn, grow and ride this crazy rollercoaster of life with the most incredible people- my friends,

If you've read this far congrats as I pretty much just rambled haha :)
Courtney xo

Exploring Castlewellan with old and new friends!!