The time in Patchakan village

 Hello Lovely Blog Readers! I am thankful for you!

God completes beautiful things, a little at a time. He has plans for everyone! This is something that I am so thankful for! When he has plans they get done, and perfectly. So this week the team I was helping lead was from Texas, Northridge Presbyterian Church. It was a lot of youth! from both the Jr. high and Sr. high. They had some great adult leaders as well. This is a picture of them on our last day.

We stayed at the community center all week right by a school and a park. It was really great to be able to meet so many of the people of Patchakan.

Working on paiting the whole community center, our project for the week! Love that beach blue!

Meal time a short walk to the church!

Painting the court lines back on in the park! We did lots of park clean up!

The staff I lead with this week!

Something that really touched my heart this past week was talking to this great grandpa at Church. I was able to speak some Spanish with him. Our first interaction was him allowing me to look on to the song book so I could sing some Spanish songs! Then it was so cool because later that afternoon we all headed to a place called Jacob's Farm. It is one of the only, actually may be the only drug and rehab center in Belize. It is very small and nothing I would have expected but God is working there! and many men have come to he Lord and really been transformed by the Lord. Anyway he was there! And we all learned that this was his sugar cane land that he donated to this vision. I got to talk to him a long while half in Spanish half in English about his life and wow really cool.

So remember last week when I shared about church and how the message linked to something God showed me a while ago? Well God is so good and it happened again this week. There was a scripture reading that was the theme verse for this blog! How amazing! I have been stuck on this passage and think it is so cool! and God knows that. The speaker could have read anything! God used him to remind me God has plans and he goes with me. He is perfect at completing them! Take a look at Colossians 1: 15-20. You can also look back to my first post on here. Speaking of first posts I would encourage new readers to take a look at the old posts! It is fun to look back.

So for all of you who don't know Philippians is next to Colossians haha. Ok this has a point. So as I am typing about Colossians1 I see Philippians 4:4-9. We are going to jump in here and take a look around.

"Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again. Rejoice! 

Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near."

Ok, so for this first part I like this vision of gentleness. Can people see gentleness in us? I pray that they see this. Rejoice in the Lord always. This is a challenge some times or a lot of times but if you think of all the things we can thank God for rejoicing is a clear response no matter the situation.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition,

with thanksgiving, present your requests to God."

With thanksgiving. This is what I need to work on. It seems that some times the need is so great or worry is great or just selfishness is there getting in the way of being thankful! God hears us and answers! He is a dad who doesn't leave his children hangn. We can be thankful in our prayers. I am going to end with on more point from these verses. That is the POWER OF PEACE. 

" And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your

hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." 

It is the Lords peace that guards us. That is so cool! I think some of the things in our hearts and minds that it guards for us is:  CRAZY emotion, worry, and selfishness. What does Gods peace guard your heart and mind from? I pray  you learn more about who you are in God this week! That he has peace for you and rest for you!

Thank you for stopping by my blog! Thank you for all the support and prayers!

Love from Belize!

Hello lovely new readers and wonderful old ones. I am in Belize about to start trip number two. Last week was SO powerful! God did amazing things. The team we had was 3 different groups coming together and God really brought us together! Thank you Lord.

Too much fun at VBS

We did many things last week. We had VBS, great church worship nights, visited a nursing home and youth detention center.

Church singing, encouraging the little onese to join in

Youth Center, God did big things, seed are planted, ready to GROW

Our cooks for the week! All ladies from the church we partenered with.

 In the middle of all of these things we did some construction and clean up projects. We were in the town of Hattieville. There were many a party up in heaven this week as we saw many hearts turn to the Lord!! praise God!

Team on mid week rec!

While we were there I learned that God is powerful everywhere and that when I do head home to know that our God is the same in the US as he is here. Our pastor, pastor Mark talked to us on Sunday about coming in the NAME OF THE LORD and how when we do we are blessed! It was amazing because back in Dec. God talked to me about a verse Matt 23:37-39 and Pastor Mark talked about this! I was in a bit of shock to see how God shows up in ways like that to confirm things to our hearts to just check in and say to us, "hey remember that, because I remember it, it is still on my heart."

Let us take a look at this passage: "O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who killed the prophets and stone those who sent to you, how often I have longed to gather your children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her wings, but you were not willing. Look, your house is left to you desolate. For I tell you, you will not see me again until you say, 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'


The Lord longs to gather his children! and me and you, we are his chicks, there are many many chicks wondering around this world with out a mother wing to be safe under! Our father comes to gather us, to be our refuge! When we come in the name of the Lord we are blessed. Psalm 118: 26-29 Lets give thanks to the Lord today! He loves us so that he lets his light shine on us.

May you be encouraged today, whatever you are going through today, where you are at the Lord longs to gather you.

Thank you very much if you are a new partner with me and EMI! It means very much to me. Thank you for taking the time to read into my life. While I am here in Belize I am going to try my best to post to my blog after each trip. Go in peace wonderful blog readers! May God bless you as you walk in the name of the LORD! there is power in Jesus name!

God knows all things, Belize in 2 days

 Hello Wonderful People,

I want to start out by saying hi hi welcome to any new readers. I currently have a dining room table full of things that need to fit in a bag for Belize. Crazy that  I will be back on a plane and seeing what the Lord has had planned from the beginning for these next four weeks. I am excited about all of the different things, meeting new people, working with different teams, being in 4 different towns, learning and growing, trusting and needing God through it all.

For the past little while I have been thinking about this: We are not alone. I am so thankful, like I said in my last post, that He is my ever-present. Who else would I want around me all the time then a perfect, holy, God who is love! and knows all things and is in all things, and through him all things hold together.  Even when I know all of this, trust can be a hard. Going to different places, doing different things, walking into plans made for us can be a fight. But while we trust, God is there. And he leaves his peace and joy with us! So then even if something seems hard, it is joyful, something looks like a challenge, there is love.

Psalm 33:18-22

 But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear him, on those whose hope is in his unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love rest upon us,

O Lord, even as we put our hope in you.

One more that really just talks to Gods POWER is this in

Isaiah 40:26

Lift your eyes and look to the heavens: Who created all of these? He who brings out the starry host one by one, and calls them each by name. Because of his great power and mighty strength not one of them is missing.

I pray that in all of the things you are trusting the Lord and that his unfailing love is resting on you today! Remember in his power not one star is missing from its spot. And you dear friend, you were made by that God and made for that God, for plans that he knows!

..Be still and know that He is God..

Hello! I'm off to Belize in 8 days :)
So for the past few days I have had a song stuck in my head you can listen to here
--> Wait on the Lord 

I am learning that transitions in life can be a challenge. Almost a battle on the inside. Living in different places, doing different things, it is all a shock to my inside. This is when the Lord says "Be still Erika, and know that I am God." This passage is found in Psalm 46. I encourage you to take a look at the whole thing!

It starts out reminding us that God is our refuge and strength! and then it says he is an EVER-PRESENT help in trouble. Now it goes on to talk about the whole earth giving way. My troubles seem small in comparison, but the Lord knows us to well to miss what are troubles are, to not understand them.  Thankfully he knows me perfectly. His love can not be removed, he is my ever-present. Think about that for a moment, God is the only one that can be your ever-present. How wonderful is that?

Continue reading, The city of God is glad! God is within her, she will not fall; God will help her at break of day. Just love it. In verse 9, he stops wars! he breaks the bow, and shatters the spear he burns the shields with fire... Picture this. Craziness is going on. War, fighting, and then the Lord stops it all. "Be still, and know that I am God" What a picture. Be still, it is not "It would be better for you to be still", "I encourage you to try to calm down now", no it is Be still. We can rest, we can be still with our God. He is our helper. He stops wars.
We know that he is God. He ends saying "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth." He is the one to be praised! The whole earth one day will all confess that Jesus is Lord. He is with us, he is our fortress.

Enjoy singing along to Coffey Anderson today!

Praise the Lord he is our ever-present!
<--- some cute girls I spent the day with last weekend!

Reminder: You were made for God and made by him. In him is everything you were made for. The world, and our own heads can drown this out, can make truth seem far off. I pray for me and you today that we press in and run this race, look to the face of our ever-present and Go!

The life only God knows how to live.

         Ok so my four planned out years are over! I turned 22! I had my senior show of The Tree House Children's Home. My wonderful family came and helped out the whole weekend! What busy, crazy, sleepless weeks that lead up to that show. It is cool to see what God had planned for that whole class. There is a great story attached to senior show that I should type up for you all some day.

Then last Saturday I sat by people I didn't know and shook hands with people I didn't know and officially GRADUATED from UW-Stout.  Erika Sanborn, Interior Design Grad, feels nice to be done.  But now begins the new stuff. As the title of this post says this new part of life I do not know how to live. But the same was true four years ago when I moved to Menomonie. The Lord leads so we learn to trust then he teaches so we learn and know that he is always faithful and always right.

         I am so excited because in only 13 days I will be off to Belize once again! I will be there from June 3rd - July 3rd. I will be helping lead 4, 1 week trips.  Each trip will have their own locations and ministries. I can't wait to meet the teams that come down! :)
        I am off to organize 22 years of things back in my newly painted room at my parents house. It may take a while, but well worth it to get things in order before I head off to the next thing!
Have a blessed day and happy summer to you. Know that if you are living a new thing out that you don't know how to live, God goes before you! Lets let Him be our guide.

here is a quick pic from my b day party :) at Ol Blue, my Menomonie house, Im going to miss it!

Trusting and Following God. Joining EMI. Designing a World of Hope.

-- Hello lovely blog followers --
I am writing this note to inform you of and invite you to share in this next part of my life and new adventure God is calling me to. I am now a new graduate from UW-Stout in interior design. God has blessed my past four years with such an amazing experience learning about the Fathers love, and who I am in Him and who He is in me. While finishing up my last year at school I was praying about what the Lord is calling me to in this next part of my life. He brought me to the opportunity to apply for an internship with EMI (Engineering Ministries International). They are a Christian non-profit organization that works on design projects all over the world to reach the poorest people with rich hope through design and ultimately the LORD. They have worked in over 85 countries on over 800 projects. EMI does design work for ministries such as YWAM, Wycliff, and World Relief in developing countries. They have worked on projects such as water systems, churches, mission base camps, hospitals, and much more!
I applied not knowing if God would really bring me any further than the application. Guess what, he did! I was contacted this April for an interview, and a few weeks later was informed that I was accepted to the Costa Rica office!!!! It is so amazing that God knows how to use the gifts that he has given us. He truly knows our hearts and he sees us trusting him, and sees us waiting for him. God has really been calling me to things bigger then I am. I am learning to trust him in ways I have never had to before. So I will be gone working in Costa Rica from the end of August – Mid December. I will be working alongside the full time staff there and the other fall interns.

Because EMI is a non-profit organization both their staff and interns must raise their support. I am going to have to raise $7,600 for the 4 months that I am going to be gone. I am going to have to have my funds raised by August 6th. This funding will supply me with my travel related to projects, language school, EMI tuition, and staying with a host family. I have never raised support before so this is a step into the unknown. I know that if the Lord is calling me to this he will bring me all the way. I would like to invite you to join me on this journey and the next steps in my life with the Lord. If this is something that hits your heart please remember me, EMI, and the country of Costa Rica in your prayers. Please take time to talk to the Lord about the possibility of giving a monthly or one time donation of any amount. All the donations are tax-deductible.

I am looking forward to sharing and updating you with all of the things that God is doing! Thank you for taking time to read into my life! The Lord is Faithful!

Below is the link that contains all the information and ways to donate to my internship.
http://emiworld.org/donate_staff.php 

Also take a look around their site too to learn more and take a peek into what the Lord is doing!

http://emiworld.org/index.html 

- In HIS love, Erika Sanborn

He is doing a NEW thing!

Isaiah 43:18-19 Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the desert and streams in the wasteland.

How wonderful are these words. This says to me that God is faithful. in the deserts and in the wastelands he makes us a way! He gives us streams! of LIVING WATER.
The past weeks have been so full of busy busy work! Finding physical rest has been a challenge but the spiritual rest is in also in NEED! We have been talking at my church the past weeks about the Holy Spirit and how he is our helper and our comforter, and many many things for us. I am so thankful that God has comfort for us and rest for us when we are in restless seasons and uncomfortable transitions. I know that I need him! I am done being a Stout student in one week. This is so crazy to think about! And do you know what I haven't had much time to feel this fact, to really let it hit me. Like the verse for today God is doing new things, and he is slowly and surly filling me in on them. :)
I was so blessed to be able to go to a weekend meeting with PPM a few weekends back. What an amazing group. I got a glimpse of what my time in Belize and my time with PPM is going to look like. Love is going to be there that is for sure, and it is love that comes from God alone. I know I will be stretched this summer in ways like never before. I have recently been thinking about how next week I am jumping of the edge of my understanding. What a big jump. But the Lord is a firm foundation in whom we shall not be shaken, So I know when he calls me to Jump he is gone before me to catch me.  Here is a pic of the PPM group! lovely!

One more update for the week is another new thing that I am thankful to the LORD for. It seems that he has known my busy crazy life these last weeks and worked around and through and with them.  I was accepted 2 weeks ago for a fall internship with EMI Costa Rica. You can check them out at www.emiworld.org 
I will find time soon to fill you in with more detail.

Ok to end this I think that I for sure, and maybe you need a reminder that the LORD is mighty, his love is everlasting, we were made for that love and He is the only thing that will fill us. He hears our prayers and is longing for me and you to talk to him and listen to him! I need this to hit me tonight and the days to come. I pray for refreshing in the name of the Lord Jesus and thank you Lord for the comforter that you have given us to live in the hearts of your people!