Update!

So I recognized that I hadn't written here for a while, and I do want to keep you guys updated. Life has been pretty hectic! Between classes, meetings, discipleship, and administrative tasks for the Christian Student Fellowship, my schedule has booked up. God is teaching me to balance my schedule in a manner that glorifies Him (and to prioritize!)

I've been meeting with a few girls consistently, and things are going well. The Lord is teaching me to serve each of these girls individually according to their needs, and to teach them according to ways in which they need to grow. I'm constantly amazed at how God uses someone who can become as scatter-brained and distracted as me to be a light for Him. This is a reminder of how dependent I am, and how anything of eternal value that happens is purely a result of Him working through me.

I am planning on returning to China for this winter break again. I've been preparing by raising support and praying for spiritual readiness. I'm asking God to be focusing the team as we prepare, and to be orchestrating our time there to make Him known. I'm very excited. I will keep you updated as the time for China draws nearer!

I want to thank all of you who pray for me and support me. God is so gracious to me, and has given me great friends :-)

Some recent pictures...

A pick-up football game at our "Turning Point" retreat. Turning Point is an on-campus retreat we have at the beginning of each year. It serves as an opportunity for students to get to know each other better, while also being challenged to start their year with a focus and drive to know Christ and make Him known.

Some delicious festivities! This is a picture from a recent ladies' "Tea Party" that we had one Sunday after church.

This is a picture from a recent weekend that Phil and I spent in Maine with our friends Andy and Dawn. It was a great weekend!

Before school started, a bunch of us drove 5 hours to upstate Maine for a white water rafting trip. It was super fun and super awesome. We were in 2 different rafts, so we were designated the "red" team and the "green" team. Here's a picture of our "red" team before our rafting adventure.

Thanks guys!

Knowing God and Hurricane Irene

So I've been reading J.I Packer's "Knowing God" lately, and wanted to share some (immensely) cool thoughts.

There's a chapter about 1/2way through the book that is titled "Thy Word is Truth". It talks about how first and foremost, God is King, and also, how God speaks and things come into existence. It elaborates on how God, as the sovereign Creator and Sustainer of all things, has created humans to be in relationship with Himself:

"...though God is a great King, it is not His wish to live at a distance from His subjects. Rather the reverse: He made us with the intention that He and we might walk together in a love relationship. But such a relationship can exist only when the parties involved know something of each other. God, our Maker, knows all about us before we say anything (Psalm 139:1-4); but we can know nothing about Him unless He tells us."

Let that  resonate for a minute -- the all-powerful Creator of all things has made Himself known to us by telling us about Himself. This is infinitely amazing! This causes me to meditate on His goodness and His love for us.

And it's only possible for us to know Him as He reveals Himself to us. There's no way we could know about God apart from Him telling us about Himself. This should propel us into a state of thankfulness and awe. Genesis 1:28 shows the very first instance of God speaking to man... He initiates the relationship. And it is the same today. If God does not initiate a relationship with us, it is impossible for us to truly know Him.

Sitting in my apartment in the midst of hurricane Irene, I read this on the very next page:

"...the whole Bible insists that all circumstances and events in the world are determined by the Word of God, the Creator's omnipotent 'Let there be...' Scripture describes all that happens as the fulfilling of God's Word, from changes in the weather (Psalm 147:15-18; 148:8) to the rise and fall of nations."

On the same page, it quotes Isaiah 55:10-11:

"As the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and making it bud and flourish... so is My Word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty, but will accomplish what I desire."

I've never meditated on that verse like I did today, in the midst of crazy rain and winds in the Hurricane. As the rain falls to earth and waters things and makes them grow, so God's Word falls on us and nourishes us and makes us grow. This highlights the vitality of spending time in God's Word, soaking in His truth and growing by the power of His Spirit.

J.I. Packer goes on to talk about the Bible as containing God's promises, which are all kept.

"How does God's faithfulness show itself? By His unfailing fulfillment of His promises. He is a covenant-keeping God, He never fails those who trust His Word."

"A fixed, constant attention to the promises, and a firm belief of them, would prevent solicitude and anxiety about the concerns of this life. It would keep the mind quiet and composed in every change, and support and keep up our sinking spirits under the several troubles of life... Christians deprive themselves of their most solid comforts by their unbelief and forgetfulness of God's promises."

God is constantly amazing me and teaching me more each day about His power, His might, and His glory. He's also been challenging me, someone who has struggled with anxiety in the past, to cast all of my anxieties on Him, for He cares for me and is bigger than any troubles or problems or tragedies life can throw at us.

Just thought I'd share my thoughts during the hurricane today - God is surpassingly amazing.

I need support :)

For the next two years of my life, I will be working as a semester missionary at the University of Massachusetts, Lowell. I will receive a $400/month stipend, which will almost cover my rent per month ($500). Other than that, I am working a few hours at an office at the university. I am relying on God's provision through monthly supporters. Also, the less hours at the office, the more hours spent doing discipleship with girls. This can only be done as I receive support financially, either one-time gifts or monthly gifts, which are especially helpful. If you would like to consider supporting me & partnering with me financially, please let me know! If you cannot support me financially, I need a prayer support network as well. If you're interested in supporting me financially or prayerfully, please let me know! My e-mail is Lauren_Buckley1@student.uml.edu.

Instructions For Financial Donations
Two options:

a) Tax-deductible option - Go to this link (http://www.namb.net/givenow/), and click on the Support a Mission Service Corps Missionary tab. b

b) Mail option - Send a check with 9786 in the comments section to:

North American Mission Board
Attn: Accounting - MSC
PO Box 116543
Atlanta, GA 30368

My summer in China

As many of you know, I spent 2 months in China this summer on missions. God did some amazing things while I was there, and He continues to! I'd love to share some of the things I saw and heard while I was overseas.

My team: I was in China this summer with a team of 3 other missionaries, all from Mississippi. Nick Starkey, Maryalice Truitt, and Timothy Wells (left to right) were my companions this summer in making the Gospel known in Northeast China.

Some of the first friends we made were:

JACK

Jack has recently become a believer through a series of amazing things that God orchestrated over the past 6 or so months. Before Jack gave his life to Christ, he was an atheist. Some of our American friends from Christmas in China decided to pursue Jack and share the gospel with him, although they had heard that Jack was told about Jesus before and rejected Him. They spent their 3 weeks in China sharing with Jack, spending time with Jack, and loving Jack. On the last day during the Christmas in China experience, our American friends decided to try once more to share Christ with Jack, and it was on that day that Jack became a follower of Jesus Christ. 6 months later, when we arrived on the scene in China, we were introduced to Jack and made instant friends with him. God used Jack in enormous ways while we were in China. He worked through Jack to translate bible studies, work with us during our 2 months there, and eventually be teaching his own gospel-sharing class before we left. Jack was also baptized while we were there.

ALLEY

Alley became one of my best friends during my time in China this summer. I met her through a contact list left by some girls who had been there before me. Alley and I spent lots of time together eating lunch or dinner, reading through some scripture, talking, walking around the city, doing bible studies, and having fun. God grew Alley (and myself!) in enormous ways. I was blessed to be able to walk alongside her and disciple her as she was learning and growing. After our first week in China, we were blessed to be able to see Alley get baptized!

MERLIN
Merlin also became one of my best friends during my time in China. She had given her life to Christ a few months prior to our arrival, and was growing quickly and eagerly. She had lots of questions, and a hunger to know God better. Merlin and I spent many hours together talking about how to handle struggles and trials as followers of Christ, and how to glorify God in the midst of hard times. Merlin is on fire to share the gospel!

ALLEN
Allen was also a Christian for about 6 months when we arrived there, another recipient of the good news via our Christmas in China teams! Allen's testimony was one that will forever amaze me. He was skeptical about the idea that there is a God, and responded accordingly when the gospel was shared with him. The missionaries involved with him continued to show love and patience to Allen, and would share Christ with him continually. Allen tells us there was a night when he didn't get a wink of sleep, and the reason was that he could not stop thinking about Christ. That was the night when Allen decided to surrender his life to Christ. Turns out that was also the night when one of the missionaries stayed up all night -- praying for Allen to receive Christ! God is amazing. We were blessed to see Allen get baptized at the same time as Jack and Alley.

BRIAN
Brian also had recently become a follower of Christ, and was baptized while we were in China. Brian has a strength and determination to see God glorified, and a hunger to know Him better. Not to mention Brian is a Celtics fan!

FREEMAN
Freeman also became one of our very close friends. He speaks nearly perfect English, and is extremely interested in the gospel of Christ. Freeman is still searching and sifting, and there is a stubbornness in his heart to surrender himself to Jesus. Join with me in praying for Freeman to let go of the things that are holding him back and to give everything into Christ's mighty hands!


SCHEDULE: What did our days look like?
You might be wondering what our day-to-day schedules looked like. From 8-10 AM Monday-Friday, we would learn Chinese (we were enrolled as international students). Our teacher's (English) name was Haley, and we were able to share the gospel with her. We went out with her a few times to dinner or KTV (Chinese karaoke... the most interesting thing you'll ever come across).
After Chinese class, the day was yours. We filled our schedules with lunch appointments, dinner appointments, bible studies, and just plain hanging out with friends. I would generally eat lunch with a girl and then invite her back to our apartment for a bible study. As my time in China came closer to an end, I would strategically spend more and more time with the girls that I was discipling, answering their questions and teaching them from the scriptures. There was lots of free time, which was great. It meant that we could hang out with friends for as long as we (and they) wanted to/could. This proved to be a very beneficial aspect of our time in China.

Here is a picture from our Chinese class. In the middle is Chen Laoshir, our teacher (Haley).

Other Chinese happenings:

Our Chinese friends bought MaryAlice and I bunnies. No kidding.
I named mine Charlie, and she named hers Pablo.
Charlie and Pablo lived for 4 days after we got them... but it was a great 4 days!

We held a going-away party and invited all of our friends over. Our apartment was filled to the brim with virtually everyone we had met during our time in China. What a great night!

We spent a day visiting Jack's campus (he was  medical university student). One day Jack will be a doctor. This picture is amusing because it's where I lost my first Chinese phone. My phone decided to take a dive into the well behind us.

Nick showing a substitute teacher some dance moves, and vice versa.

Chinese Wal-mart proves to be slightly different than American Wal-mart.

This is all I got for now - - more to come!

New to this whole blogging thing.

Hey guys.
Everyone's been asking me about my time in China and to keep them updated on my life, so I figured a blog would be a cool thing to get! I'll be updating it and letting everyone know.