To Know Him

Over the past four months I have been challenged, I have been stretched and I have been abundantly blessed! Ephesians 3:20 has rung so clearly in my mind and been so evidently shown in my life lately! Semester has come to an end, and now it is time to look to what is happening next and reflect on what God has done over the past four months.

First to reflect, again I have been so blessed to be where I am. I feel extremely privileged that my job and my life is serving Jesus. The Lord has brought me back to the simplicity of the gospel and the necessity of knowing Him. That by knowing Him more I may pour out to serve others. I must first be filled by Him before I am able to give anything. There is simply nothing of me that is good or worthy; yet the magnificence of the gospel is that He is good, He is worthy and He is within me. “Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts…” (Zechariah 4:6) By His Spirit I am able to live, breathe and serve; and only by His Spirit am I able to honour Him. If I can reflect on anything it is this; that to serve Him, I must first know Him, to love Him, I must first know Him, to honour Him, I must first know Him, to reflect Him, I must first know Him, to grow in Him, I must first know Him. To know Christ, to sit at His feet, to be saturated in Him; that is the only way that I am able to serve Him.

Now for what is happening over the next few months! In preparation for August 2019 semester I will continue doing administration and registrar work remotely for CCBI, but in typical Walsh fashion I will find myself all over the World. I have been given the opportunity to work at my old job periodically over the break, this is an amazing answer to prayer for financial provision, so praise the Lord for that one and thank you for your prayers! Also I have been given an incredible opportunity, along with Jordan and Amber to serve with Calvary Chapel Nasinu in Fiji for two weeks in June. This is a very recent church plant that we have the privilege to come alongside and serve in any way we can. In July I will be going to California to visit Joe and some other friends for three weeks. The Lord has spoilt me by allowing me to go over there and I am so thankful; I pray it will be a time of reconnecting with friends and building new relationships! As well as my adventures around the world I will continue serving at Shoreline Calvary when I am home in New Zealand.

Thank you for your prayers and support as I continue taking new steps and learning what it is to be in full time ministry. There are a few ways you can be praying specifically:

• Please pray for Calvary Chapel Nasinu as the Lord begins a great work there! Please pray we can be a blessing and support to Pastor Charles and his family.
• Please pray for continued financial provision and support for everyday life as I walk in what the Lord has placed in front of me.
• Please pray the Lord would continue to give me vision and passion for where He has me and that I would be faithful in every day tasks He gives me.
• Please pray for CCBI as we rest and begin to prepare for the practicalities of the next semester.

If you have any questions about me, CCBI or Calvary Chapel Nasinu, or if you are interested in praying or supporting these ministries or me personally, please contact me and I would love to give you more information!

Advertisements

He is Sufficient

I am continually reminded of the adventure it is to follow Christ. I am continually blessed by the ways that He shows Himself sufficient for all my needs. I am continually perplexed by the love that He lavishes on me and the ways He deals bountifully with me.

The past month I have been walking in a season surrounded by unknowns. At the beginning of February I began working on staff with Calvary Chapel Bible Institute. I was bombarded with new experiences of being in full time ministry, living in a new place, surrounded by new people, being given new jobs that I had no idea how to do; and what a blessed time it was. Chaotic maybe, but through the chaos and overload of new experiences the Lord showed Himself abundantly sufficient. Ephesians 3:20 says, “Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us…” He can and will do far more than we can imagine if we allow Him to be our sufficiency, if we allow ourselves to be weak that He may be strong. This is something the Lord has truly been magnifying through my life over this past month; to allow myself to be humbled by my own weakness so that He may be glorified through His power working in me.

With that, here is a little update. I am learning how to walk in this new season, with all the practical administration duties that I have been given, along with a few extra jobs of assisting with the running of the Coffee Lounge we have on site, and the housekeeping department. Learning to balance these responsibilities while discipling and spending time with the students we have on site is a challenge, yet it is another way the Lord is showing His sufficiency through my weakness. Alongside the day to day life; I am still involved in the ministry at Shoreline Calvary on the weekends, serving in the children’s, youth and worship ministry. It is such a blessing to be able to continue serving with the body that is Shoreline Calvary even though I now live an hour and a half away. The past 10 days I was able to co-lead a team of 20 of our students alongside a team from Calvary Chapel Vista to Shoreline Calvary for a youth and children’s outreach to the community in Tauranga City. It was a blessed time of showing the love of Jesus to the community through skate outreaches, kids events, and the classic kiwi sausage sizzles. It always blesses my heart to see the Lord working in and through the people in New Zealand and allowing our students to step up by serving and supporting the local churches here is an incredible witness. It was a blessed time, now it is back to the daily studies and work of being on campus.

Sausage Sizzle Outreach with Shoreline Calvary 

Exciting things coming up in the next few months, in April I will be co-leading a team of 6-8 people to Sydney to serve at a kids camp called Camp Kedron and in June I will be going to Fiji with my brother Jordi and one of our interns Amber to serve our brothers and sisters out there who starting a church out there.

I would love it if you can pray for me:

• Please pray for the above trips, that the Lord would provide financially and prepare me for what He wants to do there.
• Please pray that the Lord would give me wisdom with discipling the students and with all the different things I come across in this new ministry
• The Lord has already shown Himself faithful in providing for my needs, but please pray that He would continue to provide for me financially as I am in an unpaid position here at CCBI
• Please pray that I would continue allowing myself to be weak that He may be strong through me and be glorified through my life

Seasons Change

 

About 8 months ago the Lord gave me Isaiah 52:12; He clearly showed me that I needed to be faithful where He had placed me as He was preparing the next steps for me to walk in. He so faithfully brought me to a place of contentment and surrender, so much so that recently when He opened a door for me to walk through it took me a month to obediently walk through, out of fear of abandoning the ministry He has let me be apart of over the last year.  I’ve been so blessed to serve at Shoreline Church for the past year, they have taken me in, supported me and allowed me to be apart of their family. I am so thankful and proud to call Shoreline Church my home church and body.

But, one thing I have seen the Lord continually do is when I get comfortable somewhere He picks me up and puts me somewhere else so He can mold and teach me more. I have been offered an opportunity to move to Cambridge to work with the staff at Calvary Chapel Bible Institute New Zealand, in a way you could say I’m joining the family business! In February 2019 I will be joining the staff for the next two years. I will be helping with the girl’s class, discipling the student girls, outreach, helping serve in practical ways, whether that be in the kitchen, housekeeping, admin or the coffee shop and basically anything else that is needed. This step of faith has been a big one for me, it is the first time I will be stepping out relying solely on the provision of the Lord. Recently I was privileged to go serve in Cyprus at the Refresh Middle Eastern Conference, there the Lord spoke so clearly to me about what He has called me to and this is just the first step towards what He has for me in the future. The Lord has called me to missions and ministry and He has given me a heart to serve Him in this way, I am honoured and excited to walk in what He calls me too wherever and whenever that may be.

1 Timothy 1:12 says, “I thank him who has given me strength, Christ Jesus our Lord, because he judged me faithful, appointing me to his service…” I do not feel equipped to serve the Lord in this way, but thankfully He doesn’t expect us to be equipped in our own right, but to be weak, to be a willing vessel, to be empty so we can be filled with His strength, His mercy, His grace and His wisdom. I need all these things daily and I cannot wait to see how He works, as I know He will do abundantly more than I could ever think or imagine! I would love it if you can pray for me, for CCBI and for Shoreline Church. This is a big change for me and I would be so blessed to have your prayers. I am so thankful to have grown up in a way that allowed me to meet men and women around the world who have left all of themselves behind and chosen to follow the Lord wherever that may lead them, it is an example that I hope to follow to lay aside the things of this world continuously choosing to follow His guidance no matter where in the world that may lead me!

Refresh Middle Eastern Conference // Paphos, Cyprus

Feel free to contact me if you have any questions about what the Lord is doing or how you can be praying and supporting these different ministries, email me or message me anytime!

Email: beckyamywalsh@gmail.com

Facebook: Becki Walsh

Prayer Requests:

• For the Lord to prepare me for this next season both spiritually and practically
• For financial provision, as this is an unpaid position and I will need to raise my own support.
• For the Lord to bring people out to serve and support Shoreline Church and CCBI ministries
• For CCBI as they move the school to Cambridge in December of this year

 

 

Actively Waiting

Three months ago the Lord brought me a few hours north of my family. He provided an incredible job and place for me to live in the span of a few days; all of this allowed me to move up and be apart of Shoreline Church. One of the main reasons I wanted to come home to New Zealand was to find and invest in a church and that is exactly what He has allowed for me. I have found community and family here and I am incredibly thankful for this season of life. About a month ago the Lord spoke to me clearly, that this is a season that He has called me to be faithful with what He has put in front of me and He is preparing the next step. He showed me this through Isaiah 52:12, “For you shall not go out in haste, and you shall not go in flight, for the Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” He has called me to be faithful in my job and at Shoreline, working with the youth and kids ministry and basically anything else I can do. It is such a blessing to be apart of this body at Shoreline Church and I am so thankful to be serving here. I am in a season of waiting, in a season of actively waiting.

The Lord has given me an incredible opportunity in waiting. He has given me the opportunity to go back to a place that I love and to be with people I love. In July I will be going to Amman, Jordan for the second time for about 10 days. I will be there as apart of a team out of California, our heart is to reach the refugees in Amman. We will be running a kids program for around 120-150 refugee kids for half the time, secondly we will be putting on a youth camp for refugees and distributing food to a few hundred families. The team that I will be apart of is predominantly youth, so another part of being on the team is supporting and pouring into the youth that are on the team. Amman is an incredible place, but can also be a challenging place. I am asking for your prayers for myself and the team. I am so excited to see what God does and how He glorifies and shows Himself to the team and to all the people we come in contact with. Here are a few ways you can be praying and if you feel called to can support this team.

Prayers:

1. Protection for the team both physically and spiritually
2. Boldness to speak the gospel and the truth that we are privileged to know
3. For the Lord to prepare the hearts of the kids and youth we get to meet
4. For financial provision for myself and the team, for flights, visas, housing and food when we are in Amman

Support:

If you are able and feel the Lord calling you to support me on this trip it would be greatly appreciated. I have been blessed to have a job and therefore have been able to pay for some of this trip, but I am still praying for the rest of the funds. If you feel that you would like to give there are a few ways,

1. If you have a NZ bank account you can simply transfer into my account

Account Details: ANZ 06-0225-0190714-00

2. You can send me money through PayPal

Account name: Rebekah Walsh

Email: beckyamywalsh@gmail.com

 

If you have any questions or would like more information on the trip I would love to talk to you about it, please email me or message me on facebook! Thank you for your prayers!

Email: beckyamywalsh@gmail.com

 

 

“I will go before you…”

The past few months back in New Zealand have been a time for many things. It has been a time of healing, recovery, rest and definitely a time of refining. The Lord has taught me many things and has poured an abundance of grace upon me. The Lord has continually confirmed my desire and the calling He has on my life to do ministry, in whatever form and on whatever continent that may be.

 In coming home I had a burning desire to be apart of a church, to fully be involved and dedicated to the people and the heart of the church. My prayer being home has been that the Lord would continue to direct my steps and guide me in the way that He has for me, while teaching me to be active and patient in waiting upon Him for the next step. The Lord faithfully brought those two desires and prayers together over the past few months. As I have been serving with my family at Calvary Chapel Bible Institute New Zealand (CCBI) and being apart of what they do I was able to get more involved and attend Shoreline Church more frequently. It soon became apparent to me that this was the church that I would love to call my home. The Lord blessed me with an opportunity to spend 10 days straight ministering alongside Shoreline Church and truly gave me a heart for the Church and for the people in it. I love the passion and the heart the church has for reaching out to the lost and teaching the Word of God. So I began to pray more seriously about moving that hour and half north to be closer to the church and have more opportunity to be involved. When making decisions like this in the past the Lord usually just tells me to take steps of faith and doesn’t necessarily confirm in bright lights “this is the way”. I really wanted the Lord to confirm to me this next step through His Word. So I simply prayed that He would and within 24 hours He faithfully did just that. Although being the way I am I didn’t quite see it that way for a few days. The Lord showed me 3 specific things through the book of Isaiah. Isaiah 6:8 “…Here I am send me” is the willingness to listen and to obey the Lord’s will. Isaiah 12:2 “Behold, God is my salvation; I will trust, and will not be afraid; for the LORD GOD is my strength and my song, and he has become my salvation”, am I willing to trust Him in my fears and worries that come with taking a step of faith. Isaiah 30:21, “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left”, will I step out in faith when the Lord clearly says to me step out. The Lord used these verses to show me the 3 steps that He had been guiding me through since I got home in September.

 All of this is pointing me in the direction of walking, I have continued praying about taking this next step and trying to be active in looking for the practicalities that come with moving. My hope in sharing this is to produce two things, firstly to encourage that our Lord is active and faithful to speak when we are willing to listen, have open ears to hear Him when He is speaking. Secondly, I am hoping to be moving up early next year, maybe February, so prayers specifically for the Lord to provide a place to live and a job to support myself when moving up and also for Him to guide my every step, to give me vision and passion for the people around me and to give me boldness in sharing His gospel with every opportunity I get.

“I will go before you, and level the exalted places, I will break in pieces the doors of bronze and cut through the bars of iron. I will give you the treasures of darkness and the hoards in secret places, that you may know that it is I, the LORD, the God of Israel, who call you by your name.” – Isaiah 45:2-3

Great is Thy Faithfulness

I’ve taken a step back so that I might apprehend accurately the many events this past year is composed of. In doing so, I see that I  have experienced many different things over the past year; but the blatant and outstanding truth is that God has been faithful throughout everything! God’s faithfulness is a constant reality, an ever-present truth, and an unfailing fact. The amount of alterations I’ve been through are innumerable, the experiences, abundant. I have been reunited with old childhood friends, and have accumulated new and lasting friendships as well. Yet truly, the only steadfast reality has been, and always will be, God’s faithfulness. I have seen it through provision, through comfort, in His Word, and by His grace towards me. The most astounding part is the invariableness of God, the fact that He is the same, yesterday, today, and forever! Seasons may change, times may change, people may change, but He is consistent and His love is never ending.

The Lord’s devotion is sure; ours, however, must be tested. And let me say, I am incredibly lacking in this area of my life. In my weakness, in my heartache and pain, in my worrying, God remains strong. I doubt His goodness and I doubt His purpose. He however, continues to be dedicated in seeing my refinement to the utter end. Our faith is tested so that we might be living examples of the hope of heaven and the endurance of the cross. My purpose on this Earth is to glorify the Creator. And if my glorifying is to be through pain, then so be it. We can get through anything with Christ, and in the end, it is a testimony to those around us of His great power.

One thing I’ve leaned though, is that persistence is one thing, but the real test, and even greater opportunity for us to portray the life of Christ, is found when we endure with patience, and with joy. Joy can be shown throughout our suffering. Our happiness should not hinge on our circumstances, but on the hope and promises that the Lord gives us. There is an eternal perspective I can project through the way I conduct myself, albeit the truth is that, for me, this does not come about easily. This comes down to contentment and surrender. I have surrendered my life to Christ, whatever my lot, my life is His and is dedicated to His disposal. Contentment is something learned, not inherited. And in all situations are we to be content. In closing, God’s faithfulness is what enables us to endure through each aspect of life, and His promise of hope and continual outpouring of grace is what enhances us to be able to endure joyfully and patiently. Day by day, minute-by-minute, I have to remind myself of these things. It is not a practiced habit for me to live this way, I hope that is not how I come across, but it is something I am learning to do, and will continue to learn, throughout my entire life.

In every season of life, God desires to teach us and grow us. My time here in Hungary is coming to an end. Within this juncture there have been many chances to grow, and I am incredibly grateful for all of them- for those that drew tears and those that sparked laughter. The brokenness of sorrow is made sweet by the Saviour who mends it. And as His gentle hands put back together each piece, He moulds new blessings to substitute the many scars. Let that be an encouragement to you today.

What’s next? I will be flying back to New Zealand on the 7^th of September, God has truly put it on my heart to return home and encourage and share all the things He has taught me. I have been praying for Him to give me His heart for the gospel and a passion that burns bright. I don’t know what that looks like practically, but if I’ve learned anything in my 20 years, it’s to walk faithfully forward, step-by-step, and God provides the practicalities. Pray for opportunity, provision for whatever God has, and that I may be a blessing to whomever I am able to serve in my time home! The sea breeze and palm trees are calling my name!

Romania Bound!

Any of you who know me, know one thing for certain, I have a slight (rather large) obsession and love for children. It’s possible that I squeal just about every time I see one. So naturally, when the opportunity presented itself for me to go and take care of them, I said without hesitation, “heck yes!” On April 14th, I and six other wonderful humans will embark on a mini adventure to Bistrita, Romania, for ten days. Our purpose and heart is to serve alongside the local church, as well as various children’s ministries throughout the city. We will also be visiting an orphanage for those with disabilities, and running an after school care program.

My heart breaks whenever I encounter an unloved child, or see one that does not know Jesus. It blows my mind just how much our God truly loves them; He sat them on His knee; they were comfortable with Him. In fact, we are told to be just as they are, to come to the Father’s feet in complete rest and perfect surrender. The amount we can learn from a child is boundless, and what we can give to them is even more, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Ten days we will be serving there, and ten days we get to share the love of Jesus with them. Please pray for these ten days! Pray that the children would be able to comprehend the love God has for them, and pray that the church would be encouraged and blessed by the work that God is doing. Pray that God would give us a supernatural unity with one another. Lastly, please pray for provision. Serving inevitably means finances, and as we know, the Lord is so faithful to provide wherever He leads. I need to raise $500 NZD ($350 USD) to be able to go. I am oh so blessed to have this opportunity, and to see God’s handiwork in my life! To Him be all the glory.

If you would like to know any more specifics or have it on your heart to support me please email me or message me on Facebook!

Email: beckyamywalsh@gmail.com