Archive for April, 2023

I am so excited to announce that this summer I have been given an amazing opportunity to go to Belgium as a part of the MAPS program offered by Assemblies of God World Missions.

Missions Abroad Placement Service (MAPS)  is a program that allows individuals to be mentored by a missionary and learn what it is like to do missions abroad. I will be serving at Redefined Church in Tervuren, Belgium. There I will have opportunities to disciple others and work in kids’ ministries. I will also be helping with their new campus in Overijse, Belgium.

Redefined Church is passionate about restoring people’s faith in God and in the church. In the past, Europeans have known the church as a place of fear. Redefined Church desires to change that; to give people a safe place where they belong, while spreading the true gospel of Jesus Christ.

Tervuren is a suburb of Brussels

Entering my freshman year of college I was personally struggling a lot. I had a very skewed image of who God was and I did not believe that He had a plan for my life. Even though I grew up in a mission-focused family, I completely gave up on the idea of missions. I isolated myself from the church and tried to block God out of my life. However, thankfully, God had other plans. I got connected to Chi Alpha, an Assemblies of God college ministry. The people that I got connected to fought for me even when I didn’t want them to. I ended up going to SALT, a Chi Alpha student conference, where I experienced God for what felt like the first time. It was there that I realized how much God loved me, even when I was a mess. He showed me that even though I had given up on myself, He hadn’t, and would never, give up on me.

When I opened myself back up to the Lord, He flooded my heart with a love for people. That night He laid French-speaking countries on my heart. That is when I decided to sign up for MAPS. As I was working on the process, God also laid on my heart to become a servant leader in Chi Alpha at Ohio State University. There I have had the opportunity to disciple other girls and co-lead a small group. I have found not just friends, but family in Chi Alpha.

I am so excited to step out in faith and follow where God is leading me this summer! I am hoping to raise $5500, by the end of May. I would like to be in Belgium from the beginning of June until mid-August when I begin my third year at OSU. Would you please prayerfully consider supporting me financially? This is a short amount of time to raise this much money, but I believe that we serve a powerful God who provides, and I am trusting Him. I also ask for your prayers as I step out into what God is calling me to do.

If you would like to give financially, you can do so at giving.ag.org/donate (Click the Link to Donate) and type Chayla Guidry into the Your Gift box. Any amount is always appreciated, no matter how small.

Thank you for all the prayers and support!

Chayla

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Saturday

 We celebrate Good Friday.  We celebrate Easter.  What about Saturday?

Sandwiched between the suffering of the greatest sacrifice ever made and the glory of the most magnificent triumph ever won, past present, or future, is What? I am going to call it Hupomone Day! because it is the Saturdays of our life that grow true perseverance.

How often do we find ourselves on Saturday?  That blank day between suffering and triumph.  At least as we watch the events unfold, we can focus on the horror and pain.  We can anticipate the miraculous escape, the triumphant turning of the tide as God magnificently brings victory.  Then it doesn’t happen the way we want or expect.  The night falls,  a restless night, perhaps without sleep, certainly with disturbed dreams.  Then what about Saturday, what do we do?  The dawn rises, but all that we can see is Friday’s darkness.  The birds are singing, but all we can hear are the screams and jeers of the crowd; the hammering of the nails; the moans of his mother; the pounding of our own hearts.

What about Saturday.  What do we do?  What should we do?  Some will run.  Some will hide.  Some will lose faith and return to the life they had known before they felt the Master’s touch.  Some will struggle and doubt, but:

struggle and doubt + faith = Hupomone

Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.  Hebrews 11:1

Some of us have longer Saturdays than others.  Take Thomas.  I often hear people make fun of doubting Thomas.  I can only imagine that his fellow disciples gave him some ribbing but here is the deal:  Thomas Stayed!  He made it through a Saturday that was longer and more intense than any of the others.  I can only believe this made his Sunday morning all the more amazing.  Thomas grew through his Saturday.  He walked away with an understanding of Hebrews 11:1 straight from the lips of his Savior:  Jesus said to him, “Because you have seen Me, have you believed? Blessed are they who did not see, and yet believed.” John 20:29.

If Friday is Good Friday and Sunday is Easter Sunday; Saturday is Hupomone Saturday.  Saturday is when we remember His Word.  Saturday is when we remember His touch.  On Saturday the fellowship of our brothers and sisters in Christ becomes paramount.  On Saturday we scream out to God.  On Saturday we worship, we cry, we hurt, and we heal…in-spite of ourselves.  On Saturday we grow and mature as on no other day.  Perhaps that is why Saturday is in God’s plan for us.  I have experienced a few Saturdays in my life.  Some I am still experiencing.  While Sunday mornings are great!  It is the Saturdays that draw me close to God and close to God’s people.

It is in the midst of Saturday that I make strides towards Philippians 2, learning humility, and allowing God to work in me. It is on Saturday that God makes those subtle changes in me that draw my spirit, soul, and body closer to having His attitude and His values and to truly having His love.

It is on Saturday that we practice Hebrews 11:1 like no other day.  Do we trust the promise?  Are we certain of our hope? It is on Saturday that we say in the midst of it all with Joshua, “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord.”

Unfortunately, I think that it is also on Saturday that all too many lose faith, not being able to hold on to the promise.  It is on Saturday that as brothers and sister’s in Christ we fail each other as on no other day.  Perhaps this is because we do not realize that everyday is someone’s Saturday.

Bear one another’s burdens, and thereby fulfill the law of Christ. Galatians 6:2 

Are you in the midst of Saturday?  Be certain Sunday morning is coming, and when it does the most miraculous thing, the most miraculous change will not be in the situation that you are experiencing, it will be in YOU!

This post is a chapter in my book, The Hupomone Principle.  The book is available on Amazon.com  you can click on the image below

Hupomone Principle PB Cover

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