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Thursday-Monday blog… This is just updated as things go along. Sorry, it’s random…
Well, I said goodbye but not without some tears shed. I woke up Thursday morning with a complete peace and I was going to Africa to do the Lord’s work and that was it. I was READY. So, so, so ready. Then the goodbyes came and the final prayer over us. Woah. I cried like a little baby as my family, some of my favorite girls on the planet, and best friends all surrounded, touched, and prayed over and for me. Suddenly I realized I’m going to Africa for the summer. I will not see these people for 3 months, or 11 weeks, or 79days (whichever one is easier… haha!). It broke my heart. If you know me you know I LOVE hugs. They’re my favorite! I will miss my mama’s hugs when I wake up in the morning and all throughout the day. I will miss my little brother constantly “aggravating” me and then randomly telling me he loves me and hugging me. I will miss my daddy hugs. I will miss my best friend hugs. I will miss getting picked up by one of my “little sisters”. I will miss my big brother hugs. I will miss the youth girls in my church and the JOY they bring to my life. I will miss one of my other families that I spend a TON of time at their house. I will miss their precious kids that are constantly loving on me. I will miss a lot. So many precious people wrote me letters (or did a slideshow) and I read them and laughed and cried. My dad wrote me the sweetest letter that I will forever cherish. I am so thankful to have the support of my family and friends as I embark on this journey with Jesus. To each one of you reading this blog (that I know) I MISS YOU!


So, ready to hear some stuff Jesus has already taught me, showed me, and done??? This is called “on a happier note”…
-My luggage got put all the way to Mozambique! I was supposed to get it in South Africa but it got put all the way to Mozam. Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus! Praise Jesus! Oh and my bag was 47 pounds. Yeah, I did GOOD! And I believe it will be 44 pounds by the time it gets to Pemba…. Because Jesus does miracles!
-The Lord keeps showing me that He is SUSTAINER!!! He WILL sustain me through these weeks. He thanked ME for being obedient and going. ME? Are you kidding me? Jesus thanked ME. How HUMBLING! I said well Jesus, anything for YOU! Obedience is better than sacrifice afterall!
-I ate AIRPLANE food! For those of you who know me, I don’t eat airplane food. I am one picky, picky eater. It looks nasty, smells disgusting and I can’t put it down normally. But I think Jesus is changing my taste buds because I REALLY enjoyed it. Hahaha. I actually wanted more. If you know me well(and my crazy eating habits) you’re saying “what in the world, Emily??!!! I can’t believe it” right now. Haha
-we met some pretty crazy amazing missionaries going to Africa this summer. LOVE getting on international flights and being able to talk about Jesus and what ALL He is going to do this summer. How EXCITING! I love how Jesus brings His body together.
- I had my “when heaven invades earth” book out and we got to talk to the flight attendant about the book. She had read it before and LOVED the book. It was neat.
- my “verse for the day” on my ipod was Matthew 28:19-20. Ha, perfect Jesus!
- Riding on an airplane for 16 hours was not the best or worst experience… ever. Haha our plane shook most of the time. It was interesting. We’d try to go to sleep and our plane would just shake back and forth. I prayed in the spirit A LOT because it felt like we were going to crash at any second. And we were over water MOST of the time Then we sat in front of 2 SCREAMING kids that kicked our seats, kept hitting us in the head, dropping their cups on us, etc. ha Jesus is always wanting me to bear more fruit. But it was an adventure!
- this is our picture after traveling for 20 hours straight…


-As I arrived in south Africa I forgot how MUCH I loved the African accents. Oh I LOVE them!! I told the first lady I met, “Oh I’ve missed your beautiful accents!!”
-As I am writing this we are staying at a beautiful hotel. We have a wonderful bed, shower, food, etc and I am just so excited about actually being able to LAY DOWN and go to sleep. I am so sore.
-I can’t believe I’m in Africa and I’ll be here all summer. Alex and I keep turning to one another and saying “we’re IN Africa!!” yes, I love it here.
-I’m about to have my first African meal of the year. YUM! I can’t wait!!
-I am so ready to play with orphans tomorrow! Hip! Hip! Hooray!
Saturday/Sunday
-We arrived safe and sound with all of our luggage. PRAISE JESUS!!! I am not rooming with Alex or my other friend, Laura. At the moment I am all by myself in a room. I am a little sad that neither of them is in a room/house with me.  It will be ok though… it will. As I continue to know the girls in my house it will be fine. In our house, we have a girl from France who barely speaks English, girl from England who just hates this heat and bugs(poor darling!... she is SO sweet though!!!), a girl from New Zealand(who is probably the nicest person I’ve ever met), and 2 other girls from the united states. We will get more people Sunday!
- oh let me tell you living conditions… this is interesting.
We are all SMOOSHED into this little house. It is TINY!!! We do have 2 bathrooms though. We CAN’T flush toilet paper EVER or we’ll mess up the entire system. We each have a little bed and that’s about it. We do have a small kitchen with the cutest LITTLE stove and sink. Our house “mom”(she’s like 24.. she’s on staff) said she only takes a shower maybe twice a week. Yeah, I’m used to one everyday… guess that’s not going to happen. Hahaha. There just isn’t enough water. So, looks like I’ll be nasty all summer. But it really won’t matter because everyone else will be. Right when you take a shower you start sweating because it’s HOT! And we have no AC or a fan. I’ll get used to wearing a hat and doing all sorts of things with my hair. It’ll be fun.
-I had rice and beans last night. They were actually really good! Praise Jesus! I may not like them in 3 weeks but I liked them last night. I’m learning that here you don’t eat because you like something. Food and eating is not an enjoyable thing, it’s what you have to do to survive. So, I will probably not enjoy eating for the next 11 weeks but I will have to eat to survive. It’s a whole new mindset.
-Please pray I sleep better. I haven’t been able to sleep well at all. It might be because I’m not used to it being so hot or the fact that my “window” is just like a mosquito screen and I can hear animals literally at my ear the whole night. It will take some getting used to. But I NEED to sleep! I have been waking up, wide awake about 5 am….which is so not me.
-All the students I meet are really sweet. We are all different and unique, but it’s been fun. We have people from so many different countries.
-We had a worship night last night and it was incredible!! The stars are BEAUTIFUL and it was wonderful just to praise the Lord underneath the stars all together as a group. It was perfect.
- Do I miss home? Yes. I think as things get busier and I can actually communicate with people I will be ok but until then I miss home. I do love it here. I do. But it’s tough. It’s minute by minute dying to myself. But yet the living conditions as hard as they are(and believe me it’s TOUGH) it’s not unbearable. I’m getting used to it. I am having to continually trust Jesus and speak to Him to get me through. I am having to lean on Him ALL the time. I’m tired. I’m weak. I’m weary. But, it’s all going to be ok.
-This morning we had church and it was good! It was hard because we couldn’t understand the worship(it was in Portuguese and makuwa). But then Heidi spoke and that was precious. I sat at the altar and just talked to Jesus. Oh how I needed that time.
-I’ve had two meltdowns today. I just really miss home and I miss my family and friends. I want to be able to talk to everyone so badly and it’s rough not being able to. It’s hard not being able to hear my mom’s voice or being able to talk to my friends or family. I just miss home. Please, please, please pray for strength. Pray the Lord would be my sustainer. He promised He would be so I am resting in that. Once it we get busier I think it will get easier. We just have nothing to do right now so that is making it harder. I am praying it gets easier.
-We went to the beach today(it was beautiful by the way) and on our way we saw a little boy probably about 3 years old get run over by a truck(land rover). We saw the tires literally run over his body. My heart sank and all I could do was pray in the spirit. They picked him up off the road and we saw his foot just hanging. Half of his foot was just hanging by skin. Sadly, he will most likely lose his foot because the hospitals here are not very good. He was screaming then he went into shock. It was very hard to watch. I DO still want to be a nurse. It didn’t gross me out and immediately my first thought was what can we do! I wanted to help that poor little boy so much, but there was nothing I could do. It was very hard to watch. We are praying he doesn’t have internal injuries but we saw the car run over his back… then his foot got stuck. Oh so hard to watch and something I will never forget.
-I am mentally, physically, and spiritually exhausted. It’s only 6 pm at the time I am writing this but I am so exhausted. I can’t wait to go to sleep.

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mais uma semana(one more week... in portuguese!!)

At this this time next week I will be boarding the plane. I will have already said goodbye to my friends and family and I will probably still be crying! I think me crying a lot is completely justified! I AM going to MISS my friends and family. I am going to miss my hugs from everyone. I am going to miss my church. I am going to miss pouring into my youth girls. I am going to miss leading sunday school class. I will miss ALL my youth. I am going to miss hot showers. I am going to miss good food. I am going to miss my bed. I am going to miss well, a lot....

BUT, I am going to see people get healed, raised from the dead, worship and dance for HOURS everyday, sleep in a tent for some weekends, share the gospel with villages, love on orphans, feed village kiddos, be a nurse, learn how to scale a fish and cook it completely, wash my clothes by hand, take COLD bucket showers, and just LIVE IN AFRICA!!! I've gone to Africa for a week and three weeks but that was just like "a trip"...now i'm actually going to LIVE there for 3 months!! What???!!!

I am excited. I am emotional. I am going to be DYING to myself EVERYDAY. I need Jesus MORE! I WANT Him MORE! I want to experience SO much... and I KNOW I will! I will constantly be in His presence! I am thrilled! I am anticipating and expecting it ALL... hard and easy. bad and good. I'm ready! Jesus is on my side. I'm in the center of His Will. I'm ready... let's do this together Jesus!

Please be praying for me as I leave. Pray for my family. Pray for my youth girls. Pray for my friends. Saying goodbye is NO easy thing. Pray that I understand the language and grasp it easily. I want to be able to talk to everyone.

So many things have been prophesied over me about this trip and I am just so excited! God is SO GOOD!

Please keep up with me on here and facebook while I am away! I will be posting pictures and updates! I know everyone wants to see ME scale a fish and then cook it, see what I have to use the bathroom in/on. Etc. etc. haha oh the adventures that await me! This is so funny... and i love it!!

This song keeps playing in my head... it's called "Follow You" by Leeland..
You lived among the least of these

The weary and the weak
And it would be a tragedy for me to turn away.

All my needs you have supplied.
When I was dead you gave me life.
How could I not give it away so freely?


And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.


Use my hands, use my feet
To make your kingdom come
Through the corners of the earth
Until your work is done
'Cause Faith without works is dead
And on the cross your blood was she'd
So how could I not give it away so freely?

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken.
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

I give all myself.
I give all myself
I give all myself... to you.
And I give all myself.
Yes, I give all myself.
And I give all myself... to you.

And I'll follow you into the homes that are broken
Follow you into the world.
Meet the needs for the poor and the needy God.
Follow you into the World.

compelled by love to go to africa....
Em

Prayers of the Righteous Avail Much!

The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach the good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted and to proclaim freedom for the captives. Isaiah 61:1

Prayer Warriors,
I am now writing to you asking you to pray day and night for my journey. For eleven weeks I will be waking up at dawn, spending time with Jesus as I look at the crystal blue Indian Ocean, eating a piece of bread and fruit for breakfast, then going to class which consists of worship and hearing missionaries from around the word speak, and then my afternoons are free. Since my afternoons are free, my opportunities are endless. I can play with 300 orphans, feed 1000 village kids, wash my clothes by hand (and bring up the water to do it up from the well), email/facebook/update my blog, etc. For twenty days while I am there I will be helping leading a children’s camp. Then at least one weekend I will be traveling to a village and sharing the gospel with a group. We will be sleeping in tents, no showers, and just out in the wilderness and ALL that comes with that. I will be stretched...for sure. But during that time so many people will be healed and saved. It’s all worth it!
Where I am going people get healed, saved, delivered, and raised from the dead DAILY! Many people ask why it happens so frequently. The answer is they have SO MUCH FAITH!!! They can’t rely on ANYTHING BUT JESUS!!! Imagine if we could get to that place. If we could, the same things would happen here! Oh how BEAUTIFUL that would be! I am greatly anticipating so much. So many things have been prophesied over me and I know that they will all carry out. I believe for miracles when I pray for people. God’s presence is there in such a heavy, glorious way.
I leave May 27 and will return August 15. During that time period you can contact me via facebook or on here. Please contact me! I want to hear from you! I will only be getting on the internet probably twice a week. My days will be long and BUSY so when I can get away I will.
Please be praying for me before I leave. I have many things to do, and they all have to get done. I have a lot of people to tell goodbye and that makes me very emotional. Please pray for my family and youth girls (I am a youth leader and mentor about 15-20 girls) as I leave them. Pray the Lord would just love on them while I’m gone in great ways. I am leaving them in God’s hands and that is the perfect place.
Prayer Request


“If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer.” Matthew 21:22

*A clean heart-Pray that the Lord would reveal to me anything that I need to get right with him, so that I can be a useful vessel.
“Righteousness goes before Him, and prepares the way for His steps” Psalms 85:13
“Let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out
of reverence for God" 2 Corinthians 7:1
"Create in me a clean heart, O God. Renew a right spirit within me" Psalms 51:10

*Faith- Pray my faith increases! I want to see miracle after miracle. And when I pray for people I want the Lord to be able to use me to raise them from the dead and heal them. I want my faith to INCREASE! Pray that I will put my FULL trust and confidence in God to work out each detail for his greatest glory, and not depend on my own strength.
"And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him" Hebrews 11:6

"But my righteous one will live by faith, and if he shrinks back I will not be pleased with him. But we
are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who believe and are saved" Hebrews 10:38-39

*Unity-Pray that our team would be united as one as the body of Christ. We MUST walk as one in the Spirit throughout our entire journey. Pray for a spirit of unity among us. There is no room for dissension, discord and negativism. Our team is about 100 interns, then missionaries, etc. and then we will be broken down into groups and then I will be living with about 10-12 girls. I don’t know many of these people. But I know we’re all part of God’s body of Christ.

"Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace" Ephesians 4:3
“May the God who gives endurance and encouragement give you a spirit of unity among yourselves as you follow Christ Jesus, so that with one heart and mouth you may glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ” Romans 15:5-6

Jesus says, "I in them and You in Me, that they may be perfected in unity, so that the world may know that You sent Me, and loved them, even as You have loved Me" John 17:23

"For by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free,
and we were all made to drink of one Spirit" 1 Corinthians 12:13

"How good and pleasant it is when brothers live together in unity!" Psalm 133:1

*Strength- Pray for physical, spiritual, mental, and emotional strength. Pray that the time I have with Jesus here in Brandon before I leave is precious and He teaches and grows and me more than ever before. He is already doing so much in me and I just love growing deeper with Him.

"The LORD turned to him (Gideon) and said, "Go in the strength that you have and save Israel out of Midian's hand. Am I not sending you?... I will be with you" Judges 6:14, 16

"My grace is sufficient for you; for my power is made perfect in weakness" 2 Corinthians 12:8

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for a the proper time we will reap the harvest if we do not give
up" Galatians 6:9

"He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. But those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they
will walk and not grow faint." Isaiah 40:29,31

"Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit says the LORD Almighty." Zechariah 4:6

"So do not fear, for I am with you; do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you and
help you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." Isaiah 41:10

"I can do ALL things through Christ who gives me strength" Philippians 4:13

*Speech- Pray that God will sanctify my mouth in EVERY way, to be used for His glory.

Pray for praise to always be on my lips-"Do everything without grumbling or complaining, so that
you may be blameless and pure" Philippians 2:14-15

Pray for God to give me the words for each encounter-"For in Him you have been enriched in every way- in all your speaking and in all your knowledge- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in
you. Therefore, you do not lack any spiritual gift; He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will
be blameless on the day of Jesus"

"Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given to me, so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel" Ephesians 6:19-20

*Safety- I am in the CENTER of God’s will this summer. He is holding me in the palm of His hand. There is NO greater place to be. I will be around Christians and non Christians the entire summer. I will have rules and follow them. Every day I am dying to myself and laying my life down for Jesus. He can do WHATEVER He wants. His plans for me are good and I trust Him. Trust Him for my life with me!
"The LORD will keep you from all harm- He will watch over your life; the LORD will watch over your coming and going, both now and forevermore" Psalm 121:7-8

"If God is for us, who can be against us?" Romans 8:31

Jesus said, "Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do
not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid" John 14:27

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present
your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will keep your hearts
and minds pure" Philippians 4:6-7

"If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, even there your hand will
guide me" Psalm 139:9-10

"Praise be to the Lord my Rock, who trains my hands for war, my fingers for battle. He is my loving God and my fortress, my stronghold and my deliver, my shield, in whom I take refuge, who subdues people under me" Psalm 144:1-2

*Pray against the enemy- In the same way God has a plan that He wants to accomplish in and through us, so the enemy has a plan. Pray that God will bind the enemy, and the precious blood of Jesus Christ will answer whatever comes from satan. May the LORD rebuke him, and speak a fresh curse over him daily! May God shut the enemy’s mouth, as He shut the mouths of the lions for Daniel.

"Arise, O LORD! Deliver me, O my God! Strike all my enemies on the jaw; break the teeth of the wicked"
Psalm 3:7-8

"Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee from you" James 4:7

Again, pray that God will put a hedge of protection around us, so the enemy has NO accessibility. We are covered by the blood of the Lamb!
“I will go before you and level the mountains; I will break down gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron.” Isaiah 45:2

*Sleep- The enemy wants to do anything he can to wear us out while we are doing what God has called us to do! Pray that when I lie down I will have sweet, sound, full sleep so that when I arise I will be rested.

"I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety" Psalms 4:8

"... He grants sleep to those He loves" Psalms 127:2

*Physical well- being- Pray that God will strengthen our physical bodies in every way. Pray He will protect us from every illness-from food poisoning (We are going to be eating some WEIRD food, and you all know how picky I am.), nausea, headaches, malaria accidents, infectious disease, etc.

"You hem me in- behind and before; you have laid your hand upon me" Psalms 139:5

"Fear the LORD and shun evil this will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones" Proverbs 3:8

"The LORD will guide you always; He will satisfy your needs in a sun- scorched land and will strengthen your frame. You will be like a well- watered garden, like a spring whose waters never fail" Isaiah 58:1

Encouragement and Unwavering/Unconditional Love- One reason we are there is to be an encouragement. And with everything in me that is what I want to be to them. I am a living example of God’s faithfulness. I have a testimony to tell. I want to be an encouragement to those kids, young and old. I also want to love with a love that can only come from the Lord.

“Encourage the oppressed.” Isaiah 1:17
“Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciple.” John 13:34
“Love must be genuine” Romans 12:9 (In my flesh, I can’t love genuinely. I want to love with a love that does not favor and is an encouragement. And that love can ONLY come from God.)

Also pray:
-My luggage gets there safely.
- I have FAVOR with my luggage.
- The Lord would be our protection as we sleep in South Africa for a night.
I am praying for each one of you as I am gone. THANK YOU for praying for ME! I am so humbled and thankful. When I come home I want hugs, hugs, and more hugs!! May the Lord bless you and keep you! Thank you for your prayers! “I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now." Philippians 1:3-4
I am ready to go play with orphans and village people all summer!! Just a few more days!

Held in the arms of our Creator,
Emily Yeatman