teaching!

Julia, Me, JiYe, Steph-at the Christmas Party
Here is just a quick update of this past week and few days to come.

Firstly--i will be home in a week today and i am so excited to come home!! Yesterday was a wonderful day, we had a Christmas party in the evening-the classroom and we each have a stocking and get to take it home with us for Christmas. We also had gingerbread house making contest--it was bible themed-Yes i am a Bible nerd i think. We did the red sea, it was really fun and then later on in the evening a bunch of us watched free willy--what a classic.

I am really enjoying today, i have my coffee, the Word and i am working on 2 Timothy. On Monday each of us students have to do a short teaching on the book. We take a theme, or a few verses and we have to inductively teach it for 25 minutes to our small groups. I still haven't picked exactly what i am going to talk about, but i figure that when i am done charting i will look back and see what impacted me the most and speak about that. I am a bit nervous--and we are getting graded on it, but i think it will be really good, lots of fun, and interesting. Tomorrow i will spend most of the day studying, reading commentaries and books for my teaching.

Tonight a few of us are going into town and are going to go look at Christmas lights--should be fun, and its nice to get away from the base.

I still cannot believe that in a week i will be finished 1/3 of the course. Time has flown by, and i am enjoying it so much. Don't get be wrong-i do have my struggles, and times where i just want to give up but God has given me so much grace and endurance for the Word that i just want to keep reading it, applying it and potentially teach it. Yesterday the Titus teams shared about there experience overseas teaching and it made me want to do that so much. What Titus is is 3 months course that is really encouraged for people to do after they completed the SBS and it runs from sept-dec. So for the first month you study here in montana--learning how to teach the bible-doing bible overview, teaching the inductive method and then for 2 months you go somewhere overseas with a team and teach. There were three teams, two went to south american and one went to mongolia. It was so encouraging to hear what they had to say and how God used them so much. I know for me-i really feel called to be a teacher--i am not sure if that means like a school teacher--or more of a bible teacher and i have always felt really inadequate for teaching the bible. If you would want me to teach english then i would have no problem but i have always been nervous with the bible--i don't want to be a false teacher, i want to say the right things, and i want to know what i believe and be able to answer the questions. And hearing the peoples testimonies from the teams were so encouraging they all felt that way-inadequate, some of them even said that they didn't receive the greatest grades in SBS and therefore they weren't sure if they could do it but they did! and they taught pastors, did church seminars, taught in other SbS' and dts' at ywam bases and God used them so much and it was amazing. The whole time they were talking i know God was like Breanne..you need to do this. And then i would be like..no God i cannot-i don't have the time, the money, the experience, or the knowledge and God is like Breanne--you can do all things through me. This was just so encouraging and i am going to be praying about this and see if I am going to pursue it.

Here are a few prayer requests:

--teaching on Monday-that i will have clarity, confidence and that I will speak truh

--this next week is busy--with teaching, one more book to do (James), and we have a test and just getting everything ready for leaving

--Coming home--just pray for the border, two girls from Korea are coming with me and the border shouldn't be a problem but just pray that everything works out.

Thanks so much everyone..miss you all, see you soon:)

i'll be home for Christmas

I will be home so soon for Christmas, 11 days i believe and i cannot wait. This week is going to fly by, I am doing three books, Colossians and 1 &2 Timothy. And then next week i am going to teach a bit of 2nd Timothy and then we do James...and on Friday we have a test and my 930pm i will be on my way home for Christmas! Two girls will be coming home with me-they are from South Korea and are wonderful, i cannot wait for them to meet my family and we will have to explore vancouver and find some good korean restaurant--they have been waiting for good korean food .

These last few days have been awesome, i finished Hebrews on Saturday. It was such a great book-really understanding about suffering and persevering. A big theme that i noticed in Hebrews is endurance and how both Jesus endured so much suffering for us and then us as Christians are called to persevere through life and the difficulties. Specifically in during the time of when Hebrews was written Nero was ruling and he persecuted the Christians so much-hearing what he did to them is so disturbing. And the author--who is unknown-we had lots of good discussions about regarding the author--if it was Paul, Apollos, Barnabas, Aquilla--was writing to the recently converted jewish Christians. There is lot of repetition in the book, which sometime was a bit difficult to chart but i feel like it really was engraved in my mind what the author was saying. And part of the charting process is application and i decided to write out my fears, and things that i worry about and then just pray into them. I still working on it but it has been so good so far-so much peace and reassurance that God is so good and help me through anything.

So something else interested is yesterday i took a spiritual gift tests and these were my results. 1. Missionary--i don't really think its a spiritual gift-but more of a lifestyle choice in bringing my spiritual gift to a different culture and sharing the gospel.

2. Mercy

3. Hospitality.

So i have been praying into that and seeing what i can learn from it--and it did definetly confirm my desire to be a missionary and be overseas sharing the love of God with others who are hurting and bring them hope.

A few other fun things that i have done this past week

--my roomate and i decorated our room :)

--a bunch of us watched Elf-such a good movie--Bye buddy

--Lots of us have been playing in the snow--there is an endless supply but its so cold so it doesn't pack the best but we still manage to make ice balls, and go sledding.

Today was such a great day, we had lecture on Colossians and there was a really powerful illustration at the end that really brought the book to life. Firstly a big theme in the book is that Christ is sufficient and he is in everyone--we don't need to work our way up to Him but he comes to us no matter where or who we are. The illustration was-Jeridan-the staff that was teaching the book brought to the front a huge plate of double chocolate cookies and everyone was eyeing them, and then he called up another one of the male staff members who was just standing in the front of the classroom. Jeridan went to the first student and asked if he would like a cookie and of course he said yes-and then he said to the other staff guy to do 10 pushups and once he completed them they received the cookie....this continued for every student even if the student said no they didn't want a cookie he still did pushups for them...he did over 200 pushups by the end. And by the end he was so tired, so weak, it was so painful for him to the pushups and he was just weeping. This showed how much Christ did for us, even for the ones that say no, Christ died for them, for everyone. The illustration might sound silly but it was really emotional-seeing him doing the pushups and struggling so much, and see the pain and this is so small compared to what Christ did. I am really looking forward to charting this book tonight.

Well thats about all that i can think about. I am so excited to come home, it will be great to see you so many of you!!!

3 weeks!

Aaron and I went to the airport one snowy night at midnight to pick up some friends, we decided to make some signs :) and embarrass them a little.

i will be home in less then 3 weeks...17 days actually. I am so looking forward to being home with the family, celebrating Christmas, sleeping in my bed, seeing friends, going to the christmas eve service..i am so excited:) This last weekend was American Thanksgiving and it was so great to celebrate and just have a time of rest before the end of quarter. I played guitar a lot which was really awesome, watched movies, went into time, read hebrews--which i am working through this week, played in the snow--so much snow, oh my word with icicles that are 4 feet long! It was a really great time to reflect on the past 2 months and what God has been teaching me and what he has been changing in me.

This week has been awesome so far. Ron Smith is speaking on Hebrews-him and his wife Judy were the ones who started up the SBS many years ago. He is so knowledgeable and really enjoyable to listen to. Yesterday my small group and i went into town to a mongolian grill for lunch, it was so good and then went to target--(target is a exciting outing in montana:). My roomate and i decorated our room--we have a little tree and wrapped our door like a present, its really cute:) Today we had another great lecture and I am just enjoying spending time outside, walking in the snow, and just taking in the beautiful creation.

Also on an exciting note i got my test scores back and i am doing really well, and i just feel like my hard work is paying off and that God is just teaching me so much. I have never been an amazing student that gets all the great grades, i have always really had to worked at it, and i just feel like my hard work is paying off--its so rewarding. God is just so good and a verses that i have been meditating on is 2 Corinthians 12:9-But he said to me, My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness. Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.

hope you all have a wonderful day and i look forward to see so many of you soon--i cannot wait.