Meet Phil.

It's been a while since my last post. Sorry to those who still regularly check this thing. But I guess I should share the most exciting part of my life at the moment. His name is Phil. I met Phil from an awesome friend of mine about 2 years ago. The whole story is quite crazy and humorous, but I'll have to talk about that another time. Anyway, Phil is the kind of guy that you just want to be around all the time. He has an awesome beard, a great laugh, and he's just that friend that you know you can trust with anything. I remember when I first met Phil I was a bit intimidated, but that was probably just the beard. As I got to know Phil I loved hearing him speak. He was always so encouraging to talk to and I just felt comfortable around him. I never would have thought that he would be my boyfriend, but I'm fortunate enough to say that he is. God has done some amazing things in my life over the past year, and a lot has happened to lead us to this point. I can honestly say that I've never been in a dating relationship with anyone. This is the first. It's exciting for me but scary at the same time because to be with Phil is a very big deal. When Phil first told me that he wanted to be with me, I made it known to him how important of a decision it was for me. We both knew how serious it was and we still know how serious it is! Being in a relationship with someone isn't easy, but the thing I'm most thankful for with Phil is that we made a promise to each other. I made him promise me to be 100% honest about everything. And I promised the same for him. Because of that promise, we make it a priority to talk about everything so none of us will ever be left out. So there will be no secrets, no shame, and no guilt. We want God to be at the center of our relationship and because of that, we have already seen the incredible grace and love that our father has for both of us. I don't know what is going happen. I don't know how my life will turn out, and I don't know if Phil and I will be together forever. It's a scary thought, but at the same time I know that I have nothing to worry about because God is leading me. His plans are so much greater than any dream I can make up for myself. I'm just so thankful to have someone else right by my side who wants God just as much as I do. I hope all of you get to meet Phil soon.

Everything falls into place.

I'm finally starting to feel at ease with being back home. Things are really beginning to fall into place and I am confident that this is wear I am supposed to be... for now. I got a new job at Free People. It's so funny because this is my absolute favorite clothing store. It's where I get all of my style and inspiration from. I'm just amazed at how God's timing is always so perfect. This job couldn't have come at a better time. And the fact that I even got the job is just so exciting! It honestly is the absolute perfect job for me. I love the brand, I love the visuals and creativity in the store and in the clothing. The staff that I work with is such a great group of beautiful and talented people, and I feel truly blessed to be part of the Free People Denver team. As far as what is coming next... I really don't know. But I have peace about everything. I know I will be in Colorado for a while longer and I'm really happy about that. For now, I am just trusting that everything will work out in it's right time. I'm enjoying every new experience and living each day to it's fullest. I'm filled with so much joy during this time of my life, I just want to share it with everyone I come in contact with.
I'm excited for this new season.
I've been volunteering at a youth group on Wednesday nights at my old church. I've been helping lead and inspire middle school girls. It's been so amazing to continue this journey and take what I've learned in London and Romania and bring it back here :)
God has been showing me just how much he wants to bless me and give me the desires of my heart, it's just a matter of giving him my heart first.
And everything will fall into place from there.
Thanks for reading!
Lots of love,
Makayla

Home is where the heart is

...As much as I didn't want to come back to Colorado, i'm slowly beginning to realize how much this place means to me. This past month being back home has been tough because I'm still trying to adjust to my life and routine here. But I love my home. After experiencing YWAM, I've come back with a different view and perspective of Denver. The spiritual atmosphere here is really dead. Everything feels dry and boring most of the time. I need to be treating this place and these people just like I was treating London and Romania. I need to be fighting and praying daily over this place. I keep telling myself that now that I'm back in the "real world", God is so much harder to find... but I have it all backwards. This isn't the "real world". What I was doing in Europe was the "real world". I was living out my faith every day. I was loving the sick, the needy, the poor, and the broken. I was having encounters with God and I was worshipping and praying. And now that I'm back home, and the conditions are different, am I totally oblivious to the hurts and needs here? Am I completely forgetting that God is just as close now as he was then?...I have to admit that the aftermath of my experience has been one of the hardest stages in this whole growing process. God is really testing my faith and the trust that I have in Him, and it is by no means an easy feat.
This morning I had the opportunity to go back to my High school and share about YWAM and my journey. I spoke to a christian club that meets on Wednesday mornings called "First Priority".
It was so invigorating to see the room filled with eager students. I'm sure they've all had questions and doubts about God. Some of them probably don't know if they even believe in anything. But I got to speak God's heart to these kids this morning.
And I know that the words I spoke weren't mine. They were God's, because each story shared was what He did.
As I was driving on my way home I prayed for each student in that room. I prayed that he would stir their hearts for a longing of more of Him. And they're probably asking themselves now... "What is my first priority?"....
Thank you, God,for continuing to shine your light.

Home, sweet home.

I've been back home for almost 2 weeks now.
It really feels like I didn't leave at all.
The past 5 months almost seem like a dream. The best dream I've ever had.
I'm happy to be back home with my amazing family and friends, but I have been having a hard time adjusting to reality in Colorado.
Life is just different here. It's a whole new environment and culture.
I got so used to my life in London that coming back home just feels strange.
I've realized just how much I've grown up.
I'm no longer afraid of the world and I have learned to love change.
Change is good for you.
"When you keep doing what you've always done, you'll keep getting what you've always got."
That was a quote I took from one of our guest speakers in my DTS.
It's so true. If you want to experience new things and if you want to grow, do something different. Don't be afraid to take risks.
Now that I'm back home, I plan to keep seeking God and to continue on this amazing journey. My mission isn't over yet. It's only the beginning. I have such a new outlook on life now and I've really found myself during this season.
I'm just so excited for whatever God has planned next.
He has put so many important people in my life and I look forward to sharing my experiences with everyone he has blessed me with.
I'll be looking for a new job soon and I also plan on making a lot of new art. I may just start up a website filled with all of my creations.
I invite you to keep praying and following me on this journey!
Just because I'm no longer in the UK doesn't mean that my adventure stops here!
I will continue to update my blog so you guys can keep watching me grow :)
I encourage all of you to seek God.
Seek him with your whole heart.
And when you do, I can promise you that you will find him.
Lots of love,
Makayla


And here is a video I made from my amazing YWAM experience.
Enjoy!

Goodbye to the best time of my life.

I'm laying in bed just thinking about all the memories i've made here and how much I've changed since the first day I arrived in London. It only seemed like yesterday when I was writing the blog from my room about how sad I was to leave my family. It's funny because my emotions are the same ones I had then. But now I am just heartbroken to leave my family here. I think the fact that I might not ever see some of these people again just hurts me inside. Well, I know I will see them all in heaven, but it's just sad to leave this experience. If I could do it all again I would in a heartbeat. I am just so thankful for the amazing journey God has taken me on. I will never forget this season of my life. I am forever changed and forever grateful for what God has done. I am excited for the next phase and the next journey I have with him. I can't wait to go back home and take everything I've learned here and pour out into my family and friends. I have been praying about what step to take next and God simply said, " Go home and keep seeking me." I know it will be difficult at times, especially to be thrown back into the place where I felt lost and somewhat alone in my walk with God. But I have a new outlook on life now, and I am new. The Makayla you knew 5 months ago is not the same. I have seen God in a way like never before and I have discovered my true identity. I am refreshed and transformed.
I just want to thank God for giving me the best time of my life. And I would also like to thank my amazing DTS: Erika, Amy, Rafi, Alessandra, Angelica, Romina, Tom, Michela, Valerie, Ella, Jordan, Andrea, Tara, and Ben. Thanks for making every day so much fun. Thank you BLS: Ezra, Nathan, Mats, Dan, Vanessa, David, and Josmar. Thanks for your amazing leadership and for all of your support and encouragement. And thank you Lisa, Stef, and Marta for cooking for us all the time and for blessing us with your servant hearts. And thanks for your prayers. Thank you base leaders, Jose, Rosanna, J-Lo, Gabby, and the Galarza girls. You truly are such a blessing to us and watching your family grow together is just beautiful.
God Bless you all.
We will be in touch for many years to come.
This might just be my last blog post from London, but I will be sure to continue writing more when I return home soon.
Thank you to everyone who has supported me on this life-changing journey. Through your prayers, donations, and friendships, I have been blessed more than I ever expected. I couldn't have done this without you.
See you in Colorado.

Portsmouth

I've been back in England for a week and half, and I can't say enough about how much I love it here. My team is now in Portsmouth, located on the southern coast of England. It's beautiful. I am staying with an incredible family of 4: Steve and Sonja Forde, with their two lovely daughters Emma(16) and Katy(18).And you can't forget their adorable dog Errol. He is a 15 year old chocolate labrador. I only have another week and half left with them until I head back to London for my DTS graduation. I can't believe I am nearing the end of this amazing journey. Our time in Portsmouth has been quite different than our time in Romania, but it's been refreshing to be helping out with the church here and the local community. Right now we are in the process of planning a Valentines disco dance for children ages 13 and under which will take place this Friday night. I'm helping with arts and activites that will take place on the night. It's a busy week, but I'm having such a fun time with this family and with my team. It's been refreshing for all of us. We have been sharing our experience from Romania with many people here and they are so inspired to have us helping and serving. It just feels so good to be sharing God and doing his work. I wake up every morning knowing that I am in the right place. I'm just so thankful. There is so much to say that I can't put into words, but I just wanted to give another brief update.
Please be praying for my remaining time here.
And please be praying for the Forde family. Steve in particular.He has some things going on with his heart, and I just know that God will restore what is lost and wipe away the fear that the enemy has put on their family. Last night God gave me a word for them. He said, "If you believe in me, then surely you believe in what I can do." I know that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is the same God that is living in me and in you. He is a God with no limits. He is a God whose love never fails. And a God who can do all things. And I believe that God has a plan for this family and a purpose for Steve's life.
Thanks for your support!
And thanks for reading.
Lots of love,
Makayla

God speaks

So it's my last week here in Romania.
I can't believe how fast this month has gone by. I apologize for not updating my blog enough, but I can assure you that my time here has been more than I could have asked for.
I have to say that before coming to Romania I really wasn't as excited as I thought I would be. My attitude when I arrived probably wasn't the best, but my whole team was feeling similar. But after being here 3 weeks, I have fallen in love with the people here and this country.
God has allowed me to see these people how he sees them. I can just feel his heart for all of those who are lost in this place. And I am so thankful that he has been using me and my team to bring his light in such a dark place.
He really spoke to me on Saturday. Literally. You could almost say it was his audible voice.
Similar to the encounter I had with Him back in London, except this time in writing.
Every Saturday we have been helping out at a church here in Targu Mures. There are only about 5 people who attend but we were asked to lead the services. The pastor has been praying for revival in this church and he was so thankful for our team to come and share some of God's truth.
Anyway, I knew that God wanted me to speak to these people.
I spent some time on Friday praying for God to show me what he wanted me to speak.
Then he brought me to Luke chapter 15-The parable of the lost sheep.
I knew this was what I supposed to share, but I had no clue how relevant it would be for the people at the church. So for all night on Friday I was stressing about exactly what to say and all day on Saturday I was praying for God to tell me more.
At about 3:00 Saturday afternoon, I tried to organize how the service would go in my journal.
The only thing I had on the page was " The parable of the lost sheep"
And I just sat there looking at the page with my pen in my hand.
Then I began writing.
But I couldn't read what my hand was writing at first. It was very scribbly. And it was in cursive. I never write in cursive.
I wrote it again.
This time I saw what it said.
" Repent"
Okay God. You want me to talk to these people about repentance.
And then my hand wrote again...
"You repent"
Okay God. You want me to repent before I speak this message to your people.
But I don't know what to repent of.
Then my pen began writing again.
" Yesterday"...
as soon as I saw it said yesterday, chills ran over my body. I knew exactly what I had done. Then the writing continued.
" Yesterday you said you would never love anyone more than me".
I began to cry.
And God continued to write:
"You love your family"
"You love your friends"
"You love your music"
I then realized that I had put all of these things before God.
I fell to my knees and I cried out to God in repentance.

Then God wrote:
" You are beautiful.
You are smart.
You are talented.
You are loved by a lot of people.
You are loved.
You are loved.
You are loved."

Then he said:
"Give me control over tonight. Don't do anything"
I asked him, " So I don't have to prepare anything?"
He said "No. Trust me. Just relax and let me do the rest"
So I did exactly what he said.
I showed up to the church service at 5:00 without a clue as to what I would say. I just brought my bible and the words God had written in my journal just hours earlier.
I wasn't the slightest bit nervous. I knew God was about to share something special for these people and I knew I was obeying what he had told me to do.
I introduced myself and I told the people that I didn't do much preparation but that God had something he really wanted them to hear.
So I spoke. Every word that left my mouth was God's heart and his voice.
Afterwards, I sat back down in my seat and opened up my journal again and wrote,
"I'm so proud of you. I love you"
God had literally spoke to me and spoke through me to these people.
And Since Saturday night, God has been writing to me.
I can't begin to tell you how amazing it is to look at my journal and see God's writing. Him speaking directly to me.
I asked him last night why he chose to speak to me in this way and his response was:
"You are brave and not afraid. You allow me to speak."
I am just so thankful for what God has done this weekend and I'm excited for the remaining weeks I have left with this team.
But before I end this post, I just have to say that it is so important that when you make a promise to God or when you tell him you will do something, that you do it.
God keeps all of his promises, yet we are so quick to say one thing but do another.
And God wants us to love our family and our friends and our music. He put these things in our lives for us to enjoy. He just wants our hearts to be his. When that happens, everything else will fall into place.

God Bless you.
And thanks for reading.
- Makayla

Pictures from Romania

Here are some photos from my trip so far!

Colder than Colorado.

I've made safely to Romania and it is freezing.
Snow covers the streets and trees, but I am thankful to see sunlight.
Unlike London, the sun is more extrovert here. It actually reminds me a lot of home.
We are in Targu Mures. It is a cute little town with a little bit of city and a little bit of quiet.
During the 4 weeks that we are here, my team will be working mainly with orphans and street kids.
We will be going to an orphange, cancer hospitals, and the gypsy village to offer love and care to the ones less fortunate. Our goal while we are here is to seek God and to pour out his love in a way that these people and children can feel something like never before. A way that will allow them to see past the suffering and hurt, and a way to bring hope. Life is a precious gift, and I only hope my time here will be just that. I'm giving my life to God. I'm letting him use me in whatever ways he needs to in order for these people to know true love. Because sadly, most of these people don't have families or have never experienced what it means to be loved. I pray for unity as a team and I pray for a spirit of boldness. I am not afraid of what I'm about to see during these next 4 weeks because I know God is in the middle of it all. And through him, there is freedom.

Goodbye England. Hello Romania.

It is 12:05 am and I'm about to leave for the airport.
The next blog post will be from Romania!
...as long as there is internet connection.
Please be praying for my team as well as the 2nd half of my team who will be in Serbia!
I love you all!
God Bless!

-Makayla

Here's to a new year...

I'm so thankful for what God has done in my life.
2010 was an awesome year filled with lots of love, new friendships, and change.
I went to college, decided I needed to seek God, and then moved to London.
I left everything I knew to experience life 4,672 miles away from my family and friends.
But I was welcomed into a new family. I now have friends from Germany, Argentina, Spain, Puerto Rico, Italy, Sweden, Denmark, Chile, Belgium, the UK, and some hilarious Americans.
I ate my first real English breakfast.
I learned words like: "chav", "wonky", "mingen", and "dodgy"
I now call trash "rubbish".
I learned how to live in a house with 12 people.
I met Coldplay on my 20th birthday.
I had amazing encounters with God.
I fought demons.
I met some awesome homeless people.
I experienced spiritual warfare.
I learned how to cook for 25 people.
I witnessed my friends being healed.
I had prayers answered.
I stepped out of my comfort zone.
I ran two miles with a thousand santas.
I experienced freedom.
There are so many things I could list about how great 2010 has been, but for now I will just hold on to all of the memories.
It's really been an incredible year, and I know 2011 will be even better.
I can't wait to go back home and see my family and friends,
but I also can't wait to see where God takes me next.
And...
To start off the new year, I got my first tattoo last night.
It's a feather on my left side.
It represents my freedom in Christ.
Since I've been here, God has been constantly reminding me about my identity and who he made me to be.
That I am free.
I was also praying before getting the tattoo, and God pointed me to this verse:
Psalm 91: 4
‎"He will cover you with his feathers and under his wings you will find refuge, his faithfulness will be your shield and rampart."
It means a lot to me and It is now a constant reminder of how amazing my God is. And I will never forget this season of my life.

I head off to Romania on Monday and I'll be there until the 31st.
Unfortunately I won't have my laptop with me, but I will try to give updates as best I can.
Please continue with your prayers.
And I just have to say thank you so much to everyone for your support.
All my funds came in.
God is so faithful.

May God Bless you in this new year!

Love always,
Makayla

Give as you feel led

Dear Friends and Family:
As most of you know, I am currently in London with Youth With A Mission (YWAM). These past 3 months have been life changing and I’m so thankful that I have the opportunity to be here. God has clearly been working in my team, myself, and in this city. I have officially finished the lecture phase of the school, and am now heading to Romania on January 4th to complete the outreach phase. While I’m in Romania I will be staying at a YWAM base and working at a children’s orphanage as well as reaching out to the Romanian people. I only have 2 more months left overseas, and thankfully I’ve had my funds covered thus far. However, in order for me to continue pressing forward into what God has for me, I will need to have close to $1,500 by the beginning of January. I know this number seems quite high, considering December is almost over, but I am trusting that God will provide. Although finances are needed in order for me to do this, your prayers are more important than the money that comes in. Please be praying for my team, for safety, and for provision. And if you feel led to donate to my cause, you can click on the donate button to the right of the page. You can also email me at MakaylaRenaud@aol.com if you have any questions or if you would like to donate by another way of payment.
I want to thank everyone who has continued to support me on this journey. Your prayers, your love, and your donations are such a blessing. I am so thankful to have such a strong support system.
God bless you.
Makayla Renaud

Santas in Oxford, England

For those wondering how the Santa run went on Sunday, here's some photos and a video from the event. It was quite hilarious running two miles with a thousand santas.

Fighting demons, going to Romania, and everything else in between.

I'm exhausted. This past week has been the most intense week of my life.
It was deliverance week. To be delivered from something can be quite a renewing experience, however it is a process and I'm still in the middle of it. If you don't know what it means to be delivered, it's when you allow God to get rid of the spirits that have clung to you or the spirits that aren't from him, but are from the enemy.
At the beginning of the week we discussed the types of spirits.
i.e. spirit of anger, spirit of control, spirit of depression, spirit of fear, spirit of jealousy... the list goes on and on.
I realized that most of these things are spirits that I would never recognize or even think to have.
Some of these spirits may have traveled through family history, curses, or ancestors.
The most interesting part of being delivered from these spirits is the manifestation.
Everyone has different ways of manifesting, and we also discussed the different types of manifestations. ( yawning, crying, vomiting, shaking... the list also goes on and on)
We talked about the influence of demons and how there have been experiences during deliverance when demons are manifesting through the one being delivered. I wasn't afraid of this, however I had a strange feeling that something wasn't right inside of me.
On Thursday we all gathered in the living room to pray and to release these things holding us back. We began deliverance.
I prayed and asked God to take away all fear and to have complete control during this time. I wanted to be free from whatever evil spirits were on me.
I have to mention that something I found quite odd is that two times already since I've been here, there have been two different people to pray over me and both of them have stopped mid-prayer and asked if I have ever done any sort of witchcraft. In which my response was "no".
Oddly enough, someone came over and began praying for me and rebuked the spirit of witchcraft and demanded it to come out. My body had a response to this and I fell to the ground and let out a blood-curdling scream. It wasn't my scream, and everyone in the room knew that. We had triggered a spirit inside of me that was slowly beginning to show it's face. A few more gathered around in prayer over me and I prayed as well. Later that evening, my family here advised for me to receive prayer again. I went back into the living room and they had asked me if I knew of anyone in my family who has ever done witchcraft or if I knew of it in my family history. I couldn't recall ever hearing any stories or knowing of my family doing witchcraft, so I was clueless as to how this spirit was on me. They began praying over me again and the spirit began manifesting once more, except more violent this time and stronger.
I fell to the floor again letting out horrendous screams, yells and moans, and fighting the people trying to hold me down. There were 4 people pinning me down to the ground and a few others in prayer around me.
I was conscious during this whole time, however I wasn't myself. The spirit was coming out from my mouth, my eyes, and my body movements.
It was angry and it was evil.
When they began telling the spirit that he can't have me. That I am a daughter of Jesus and that Jesus had defeated it, the spirit began mocking them and laughing. My head was shaking back and forth and my arms were twisting and contorting. My stomach had convulsions and my chest would pound up and down violently while my back was to the floor.
My conscious self was very uncomfortable and I just wanted this awful thing to get off of me.
When I came to, and was able to speak as my voice and not the demon, I began crying out to God.
It was an exhausting fight, and I was quite effected by it afterwards.
But I wasn't afraid because the demon couldn't do anything to me.
I have already accepted Jesus as my Lord and he is stronger than life, death, angels, demons, or any other powers, height, depth, or anything else in all creation. Nothing can separate me from the love of God.
Even while I was receiving prayer as this demon was tormenting, every time when it was said " In the name of Jesus, be silent", the demon would shut up and fall. It was powerless whenever the name of the Lord was demanded over it.
This experience has really opened my eyes to see the reality of both good and evil. And how Satan is prowling around and trying to devour. Even to those who believe in God.
It turns out that this spirit of witchcraft that was over me was a spirit that has traveled through my family lines. All the way back to my ancestors. I am the one to cut that spirit and to now be free from whatever curse had been upon me and my family.
Things that have happened with my great Grandparents, Grandparents, and Mom and Dad may also have had an effect on this and could have fed the spirit more, however, I am proud to say that it is no longer part of me and it has been defeated.
I was also delivered from other spirits besides that of witchcraft such as the spirit of depression, the spirit of anger, the spirit of control, etc... there are many of them. And this isn't just to say that "okay I've prayed and received deliverance, I'm perfectly free and everything is gone and good"... It isn't. This is a process, and i am daily praying for God to deliver me from these spirits.
I've just been able to expose them and now I know what they are and I'm fighting the good fight to defeat them.

So on another note, I am going to Romania on January 4th for Outreach!
Our DTS team has been split into two groups. One is going to Romania and the other is going to Serbia.
We will be there for 3 weeks and then spend another 3 weeks somewhere in the UK.
I'm getting quite excited, however I still have a lot of funds to raise.
I'm going to need close to $1,500 by the beginning of January in order for me to finish this second part of the school and to go to Romania with the rest of my team.
Please keep praying! And if you would like to help support me financially on this journey, there is a donate button to the right of the page!
God Bless you!

There was more I was going to write, but It's getting late here and I feel like this post has been long enough. So I will write more soon!
Love always,
Makayla



P.s. I did the Santa run in Oxford yesterday and it was a blast!
There were over a thousand Santas running! However the experience trying to make it to Oxford was quite the pain. Everything that could have possibly went wrong for us to get there, went wrong. I ended up spending a good 25 pounds extra just to make it for this race.
But in the end it was worth it, and Oxford is beautiful.

Just in time for Christmas

On behalf of my love for Coldplay, I would just like to share a beautiful new Christmas song.
"Christmas Lights"
Enjoy!

I'm gonna run in a santa suit!

On Sunday, December 12th, I will be running a 2 mile race in downtown Oxford wearing a Santa Clause Suit! I'm going with a few of my lovely mates from London. Me and Tara will be running the race while Ben and Valerie take photos so you can all have a good laugh.
I need to raise close to $1,500 for the two month Outreach I will be going on in January. I'm doing the run as a fundraiser for my Missions trip!
If you would be interested in giving a donation to help support me on my journey, please click on the donate button to the right of my page.
Any amount helps!
If you are unable to make a donation at this time, your prayers are just as important!
Thank you
God Bless and Happy Christmas!
Love,
Makayla

Encounter with God...

I had an encounter with God today. it was nothing like I've ever experienced before.
The feeling was surreal and I'm still overflowing with joy.
This weekend, our house was almost empty due to some of the staff doing some work in Sheffield. It was very quiet, which is rare. I decided to spend some time alone in the hang-out room upstairs. I really wanted to make something so I got out my pencil and a canvas. I was trying to come up with ideas for a new project but I was getting nothing.
I was looking on google for some inspiration and I happened to come across an image of a word in graffiti. It looked like it said "Hosea".
I started praying and this is what I told God:
"God, will you reveal something to me today? I give you all of my own control. Take this pencil, and draw."
I held the pencil in my hand and just waited.
I relaxed all my muscles and my hand began moving on it's own. The pencil pressed down on the canvas and began drawing.
I wasn't afraid or shocked. I knew it wasn't me who was drawing. I had no control over the pencil.
I started laughing and just watched my hand move up and down, making circles and lines. I began judging the drawing and I asked God if it would be better if I just closed my eyes.
Then my eyes closed and I just let God carry on with whatever it was he was trying to reveal to me.
I kept telling him to just guide my hand-- to stop and go whenever he wanted.
My pencil started getting dull and I said," I should probably sharpen the pencil", and then it dropped from my hand. I sharpened it, and we continued on with the drawing.
This lasted a good 20-25 minutes.
Then my hand set the pencil aside and I held the picture out in front of me.
I had absolutely no idea what it was. And I'm still trying to work out the image.
(But what happened next is the cool part.)
So I set the picture a couple feet away from me and I just sat there, looking at it.
I asked God to speak to me to let me know what he was trying to say.
My left hand moved and touched my bible which was laying on the ground next to me.
I picked it up and my hand began flipping the pages.
(Remember, I wasn't doing any of this under my own control.)
My hands were cold because I wasn't using them with my own strength at all.
It was a very weird feeling but it was invigorating.
Anyway, my hand kept flipping through the pages until it stopped at Revelation 16:17 which reads:
"The seventh angel poured out his bowl into the air, and out of the temple came a loud voice from the throne saying, " It is done!"
I said, alright, God. Is there any other verses that you want me to read for a better understanding, and my hand began flipping through the bible once more until it took me to Hosea 10:12. My index finger was running over the text on the page, leading my eyes over the words which read:
"Sow for yourselves righteousness, reap the fruit of unfailing love, and break up your unplowed ground; for it is time to seek the Lord until he comes and showers righteousness on you."
My finger wouldn't leave the words and it kept rubbing over them back and forth, so I read the verse over and over. Then my left hand lifted from my jeans and touched my ear.He wanted me to listen. My right hand moved over to my laptop and opened up itunes and began scrolling through my music. (I wasn't doing any of this. Trust me.) I was laughing because It was so cool. haha.
My hand stopped on the song "New Humanity" by Lisa Gungor.
The lyrics say:
" A garden once was ours,
but we got lost in wars,
forgetting we were yours.
Creation felt the sting
and all the suffering was seen in everything.
And so we pray, Let your kingdom come.
We look to the day, and justice will be done.
Let a new humanity begin, a new humanity begin.
A broken world, a broken Lord,
He took the cup and poured
that life might be restored.
And in return we now,
are broken and poured out.
Oh, hear us crying out.
As we pray, let your kingdom come,
we look to the day and justice will be done.
Let a new humanity begin, a new humanity begin."
While i was sitting on the ground listening to the song, my hands lifted towards the sky and God wanted me to worship.
I began singing the words and just enjoyed his presence.
After the song finished, my hand moved back to my itunes and began scrolling through my music again.
(This is where it gets so funny.)
So my hand is scrolling, scrolling, scrolling, scrolling.
It took quite a while to get to whatever songs God was pointing me to because I wasn't doing anything.
I look up at the screen and my cursor is hovering over "God put a smile upon your face" by Coldplay.
I just started laughing and couldn't believe it. Then I stood up and began dancing. It wasn't how I usually dance though. haha. it was hilarious. It actually looked like I didn't know how to dance. I started spinning in circles and twirling around the room as if God was dancing with me. And every time in the song when it was sung "God put a smile upon your face" my hand would brush over my face and I couldn't stop smiling.
It was an out of body experience and I can't explain to you the feeling I had. It wasn't my hand that i felt touching my face, but It was God.
I don't think I can ever say i've been as peaceful and so filled with joy as I was in that moment.
It was a crazy experience.
Anyway, when the song had finished I sat back down, and my hands came together.
God wanted me to pray.
So I thanked him for the time I had and asked him to continue to speak to me about the drawing and the verses.
I still haven't came to a full conclusion about the drawing, but I do know that what I experienced was something so special. Something between only me and him. And as crazy and ridiculous as it might sound to someone else, it was real.
I'm thankful for such a fun God.

Thanksgiving in London

Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays. Not just because it's a day dedicated to good food and pecan pie, but it's a time to spend with family. It's a time of celebration and love.
Before coming to London, I knew I would be missing out on Thanksgiving and Christmas with my family this year, but it turns out I didn't miss out on anything.
The fellow Americans on my team all love Thanksgiving so much that we didn't want it to be missed. We planned to throw our own Thanksgiving celebration, just like we have it back home- Turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing, yams, the whole deal. It was exciting, especially for our non-americans who had never celebrated Thanksgiving before.
Last night was our night of thanks. As the Americans were hard at work in the kitchen making their favorite seasonal dishes, the Europeans and South Americans decorated the house. It was the most beautiful Thanksgiving I've ever had. As I looked around the room seeing everyone helping to make this night so special, it almost brought me to tears. This is what Thanksgiving truly is about. Being surrounded by people you love. And I can say that I love each and every person here. They are my family during this season of my life, and I'm so thankful to be sharing these memories with them. Once the cooking and decorating was complete, we gathered in the living room to watch "Charlie Brown's Thanksgiving". Then we circled around the table and each of us took turns to share something we were thankful for. Considering there were about 30 people at the dinner table, there was much to be thankful for. It was just such a good time. We prayed together and enjoyed the amazing food and afterwards played a game of family feud with our host, Tom from London, in a Penguin costume. Overall, it was a quality night spent with some quality people. I will surely never forget it.
Thank you, God.

Love always,
Makayla

Update!

Last week and this past weekend have been spiritually crazy, but a good kind of crazy.
The whole week was devoted to "The Divine Plumbline". The plumbline is God's perfect will, and the plan he has for us. However, we tend to swing away from the things he has for us, and in the end, we are hurt. We discussed and meditated on the different walls we build in our lives as a way to guard or defend ourselves. By the end of the week, the goal was to break those walls. It was tough for me because I never realized how skewed my image was compared to God's image for me.
A lot of inner healing took place and it was amazing to see God work in the lives of my team and myself.
It's been a refreshing weekend.


Today we found out some possibilities to go for our outreach!
Our five possibilities are:
Spain,Bulgaria,Serbia,Romania, and Israel
If you could please be praying for this destination and for my team. There are 14 of us, and we will most likely be split up into groups of two and go to different locations. I will be praying for the dividing of our team and the places God has for each group. I would appreciate your prayers and all of your support during this time.
I also should mention that we leave for our Outreach at the beginning of January. I still don't have my funds for this part of the school, but I need to raise close to $1,500 by the end of December (Not including flights) in order to continue on and carry out the rest of the work that God has for me here.
If you would like to make a donation in support of what I am doing, please click on the donate button to the right of the page, or feel free to send me an email.

Also!

This upcoming weekend, me and a few of my teammates are going on a mini outreach to Sheffield, England. Just 4 hours North of London. We leave on Friday and will come back on Monday. Please be praying for this as well!


Thanks so much for reading and joining me on this journey!
God Bless you!
Love,
Makayla

Best Birthday Ever.

A lot of great things are happening lately. I'm beginning to see the love of God in a way like never before, I'm learning to love like never before, and I'm just enjoying every minute here.
This week is a heavy week, and God is preparing me and my team for some major healing and restoration.
I'm really excited.
Not to mention, it's my 20th birthday. I woke up this morning feeling confident that this birthday would be one of the best. I'm in London. Who doesn't want to be in London for their birthday?
Although I'm missing my family back home, I do have to say that the people here are just as close as family.
Everyone has been blessing me with their love and joy all day, and I couldn't have picked a better place to call home for this season of my life.
Not only do I have an incredible support system here, but as most of you know, I'm probably the biggest Coldplay fan in Colorado.
Their music has been a big inspiration in my life, and I was planning at some point while I was here to make a stop by their studio. So I figured my birthday would be the perfect occasion.
And it was definitely more than perfect. It was perfectly perfect.
I was fortunate enough to meet both Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland today.
And I also received a lovely Birthday present from them. A Viva La Vida shirt, an autographed copy of their live cd, "Left Right Left Right Left", and also a very rare copy of "Mince Spies", a Christmas release from 2002. There were only 1,000 copies ever made, and I am a proud owner of one of them.
I couldn't be more thankful.
God really poured out his love on me today and was definitely in the midst of it all.
For those of you wondering how I managed to meet my favorite band, well it was simple.
I invited Valerie, my pal from Georgia to tag along. She loves Coldplay too.
We mapped out how we would get there and headed out for the journey just shortly after our morning lesson.
It only took us just over 20 minutes to arrive in Hampstead Heath, where we would soon find Coldplay.
We enjoyed our walk talking and were hoping that we'd get lucky and perhaps see them.
Sure enough, right as we are approaching their studio, I see Jonny Buckland (guitarist) across the street.
Valerie didn't quite know what the band members looked like aside from Chris Martin, so when I quietly told her, "Hey, there's Jonny", she didn't believe me at first until I shouted, "Hey Jonny! What's up?"
He smiled from across the street and waved as he crossed over to come have a chat.
We told him what we were doing in London, and I mentioned how great it was to be here for my birthday.
He was incredibly friendly and overall just a nice guy.
I asked him how the new album was coming along and he said they are still organizing it and that it should be out around sometime next year.
He told us that the whole band was inside and we'd most likely see them if we stuck around. So me and Val thanked him and he went back to work.
We took a seat on the bench just right outside of their place and were pretty excited about how the day was going.
Just a few minutes later, a woman came crossing the street with a bag and handed it to me, and said "This is for you." and smiled.
I opened it up to find the gifts from the band.
I was ecstatic!
Jonny must have went inside and called to have them bring out some gifts.
I was overjoyed.
Then after a while just hanging out with Valerie, I noticed Coldplay's manager came out. He looked over and saw me and Val sitting on the bench and smiled. I waved and he came over and asked, "Are you waiting to meet the band?" I said, "We already met Jonny!"
He said, "Oh! great!" And then walks up Chris Martin behind him.
"Oh, well, there's Chris!" I said. haha.
Then he turned and had a brief talk with him before he came to greet us.
He offered out his hand for a nice,firm British handshake, and asked our names and where we were from.
He also asked what we were doing in London and we told him about YWAM and our mission while we're here.
He was incredibly interested and told us that he thought what we were doing was great.
"You're reaching people in a practical way, and that's how it should be done."
He wished me a Happy Birthday and a good luck with the journey, and that was that.
Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet Guy (the bassist) and Will ( the drummer), but I did see them. I didn't want to be a bother or overstay my
welcome. I had already just met Chris Martin and Jonny Buckland. AND received a very special gift from them. I was more than satisfied.
So thanks God, for the best Birthday yet!
:)
And thank you, Coldplay!









God Bless!
Love,Makayla