Countdown to India!

Hey friends! Hopefully you have received our newsletter and know by now that we are heading to India in less than 2 weeks! (If you don't get our newsletter click on the Connect page above to sing up) God gave me a desire to go to India 4 years ago and I can't believe its really happening! I was actually trying to go to India when I met Evan (he said he would never go there), thankfully it didn't work out. But God is saying now is the time, and we have some great opportunities! He has given us a unique vision for creative ministry including hula hoops, music, and yo-yos to start with! These can all be used to spread joy & the love of Christ that many people have never experienced. In a way that only the Lord could arrange we connected with Carissa from Hoola 4 Happiness & a woman who happened to have a ton of yo yos waiting to be used for ministry! We are excited to put this into action as we partner with Hoola For Happiness and the Good News Center. We also have opportunity to travel with the founder of Khusi Hona, supporting orphanages, and to visit some friends :) We hope to stop in Charleston for a couple of weeks in Feb. before we head to Kona to staff a DTS there. Please join us in prayer for this step of faith. They will be extremely important for us during this time. Please pray that God would prepare us with His heart and dreams for this nation. Also for guidance with every step and protection spiritually & physically (especially Evan's health). We have a large financial need to cover the costs of travel. God loves India and He is calling us now to glorify Him there. If you are interested in giving toward this mission check out the Partner page above. Otherwise things in Armenia are wrapping up nicely. Thanksgiving was spent with American friends here, complete with turkey, pumpkin pie, and stuffing shipped from the States, and even a Trader Joe's pumpkin bread! It was really nice, but we definitely missed being with family. We are in our final week of class now and it is great to be done with so much work. This has been a blessed time of preparation and we are looking forward to what's next in our journey! Thank you so much for your prayers, encouragement, and love! www.hoolaforhappiness.org www.gncranchi.com www.khusihona.org

With friends at Indian Cultural Night in Yerevan.

Hoola For Happiness!!

I'm so happy to be a Hoola For Happiness Joy Spreader! This is an amazing ministry with a huge vision to reach the nations through hula hoops! God is so fun and creative :) I love it. From the time I started hoop dancing I wondered how I could use it to bring glory to God. I had some ideas but never had a picture of what it would be in reality. This ministry is doing it! The founder, Carissa Caricato, loves Jesus, loves to love others, and has given her life to this mission. I am excited and honored to be a part of it! I haven't had too much direct involvement yet, but I'm excited to see how we are able to partner together in the future. Our paths crossed in a divine way and I know He has a purpose for it! We hope to meet up with Hoola For Happiness in India soon! Check out the website www.hoolaforhappiness.org

www.hoolaforlife.org Here with your purchase of a hula hoop (great gifts)one gets sent around the world to spread joy :) Travel Gospel hoops are also available for mission trips!

The Faith Adventure continues

Here we are! This is our School of Frontier Missions class taken the 1st week. We have students from Armenia, Belarus, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and USA! Quite diverse as you can see :) Sorry it has been a while since our last update but we have been good and busy with school! The first month flew by already. It was packed full of great teaching, growth, and a lot of research and reading for school projects. Our first 2 weeks we were blessed with pioneers who have been with YWAM for over 40 years and have even worked alongside Brother Andrew! The first week was about Pioneering new works in new places. Second week was leadership. Third week we learned about building and following Vision. Last week we were blessed with the teaching "How not to burn out in ministry." A really great message and much needed in this area of the world; stress management, rest & Sabbath, depression, etc. And this week we have a YWAM team from the States teaching us about Bible study and then Church planting. In addition to classes Evan is leading worship at school and church and we are beginning to host worship nights at our apartment.

We have some EXCITING news! Thank you for those who have joined us in prayer discerning our next steps from here. Through many crazy contacts and open doors we are moving ahead with going to INDIA in December! We are working on visa and trip details now. We plan to go until the end of February. We will travel to several different cities connecting with different ministries. One we are very excited about is joining up with Hoola For Happiness and using hula hoops to spread the love and joy of Christ! We believe God will teach us a lot through this trip and enable us to build relationships for future work. He will move and open our eyes to His vision for the nation. In West Bengal state of India alone there are over 600 people groups, hundreds of languages, many millions of people almost completely unreached with the Gospel. It is insane. We are so excited to see more of God's part for us in His great plan!

We are VERY excited to share that in March we will go to Kona, Hawaii to the main YWAM University of the Nations to staff the Awaken DTS that begins in April! Check it out www.awakendts.com We will be honored with the opportunity to lead an outreach team wherever in the world God leads. There are amazing people there and amazing things happening! We know God has BIG things in store for us in the next season.

Its all very exciting but it doesn't happen easily. We cannot do this without your support! We NEED your prayers. Please pray for us for the finances needed to get to India and our time there and then to get to Kona. Another request would be for the planning process, for favor and open doors with the visa and all the details. We have a busy schedule with school going on and with the administration aspect of our work it can become stressful. Pray for God's grace that we can manage our time well and keep priorities straight. We can't wait to share with you how God provides for this journey! He is so faithful. If you feel led to support us please contact us or give through our paypal link on the right.Truly we are so blessed with your friendships and encouragement. Partnering with us is a picture of the body of Christ fulfilling the Great Commission in Matthew 28. Thank you so much for being a part of this mission. 

By the way, if you would like to be on our newsletter email list go here to sing up! http://eepurl.com/qdZnb 

Much love and blessings. We look forward to hearing from you. Enjoy fall and pumpkin lattes!! :)
Alicia & Evan

Independance in Armenia

We have been back in Armenia for a month now! Our last post was after we finished the 2 week DNA conference. If you didn't get to watch that video, please check it out there is a great story!! After that we began looking for our own apartment. We were praying that it would be somewhere near to the school, have a washing machine, oven, good bathroom at least. Our friends and a broker helped us look at 4 apartments. (Here you have to pay a broker even to find an apartment, thankfully we got a little discount.) The place we chose is great! It has the biggest kitchen we have ever had! It is in the downstairs part of a house, not a big old Soviet apartment building! We have our own entrance and our landlord is super friendly. She speaks a tiny bit of English and almost daily asks us up to eat fruit and drink coffee. We have shade here and the owner has a nice garden where flowers and grapes are growing. It has been really hot here, 90-100 without AC anywhere except some stores; but the night drastically cools down. It is such relief.

We have had a lot of time to get all settled in, enjoy our own space again, read, and spend a lot of time with Jesus. He is really speaking to us and stirring passion and desire in our hearts. It has been really good. We just got internet 2 days ago. I (Alicia) am adjusting and learning what it is like to prepare 3 meals a day from scratch with a limited selection of products compared to America. The women here must spend the whole day in the kitchen! But talk about eating on a budge, I am always amazed for how much produce I get for so little. There is no "organic" or "genetically modified" here. Its all organic and they almost give it away! Watermelon <$1, 2 lbs of peaches- 50 cents, 3 red peppers- 25 cents, 2 lbs cherry heirloom tomatoes- 50 cents, etc. Love it. I'm adjusting to that, but striving to honor the Lord and serve my husband well in it. I'm really being challenged to be creative and prepare healthy meals for us and begin a healthier lifestyle. It is so important for us to take care of the bodies God has given us, where He dwells! This week my devotional is on healthy eating. I'm working through "Becoming the Woman God Wants Me to Be, a 90 Day guide to living the Proverbs 31 Life" by Donna Partow. It started off slow, but its getting better. "When you sit to dine with a ruler, note well what is before you, and put a knife to your throat if you are given to gluttony. Do not crave his delicacies, for that food is deceptive." Prov. 23:1-3 In our world we are surrounded by deceptive delicacies! God wants us to use self control for our own good. Twelve teaspoons of sugar will decrease your immune function by 60%. The average American adults consumes 32 teaspoons a day. We are leaving our bodies defenseless and open to sickness. Really challenging stuff to pray about and practice self control in. Pray for me as I walk this journey to a healthier lifestyle.

Sunday we went to the international church, which is a short walk from our place. The pastor is American and there are people from all over, but mostly consisting of Indian students. We are excited to see how we can get involved there and Evan will be leading worship. The weekend before we had a great visit to Vanhazor up north. I found the beautiful part of Armenia! Wonderful tree covered mountains and scenery. We visited some YWAM friends there and had a great time. We got to visit an ancient monastery from like the 11th century! Older than Americans can imagine! Beautiful place. We have also been spending time with friends here and yesterday I visited the Sisters of Charity orphanage for disabled children. The sisters were so friendly and the children seem well taken care of, but it is so sad. I spent time with the babies up to 6 years old. Many of the children have spinabifida. I don't know much about it but the kids develop mentally and physically normally, but they won't be able to walk. Because of this families just leave the baby at the hospital. These sweet ones, God's creations, just want to be loved!

So thank you for all your prayers. We are excited to start classes Monday morning! We would love for you to join us in prayer about our ministries while we are here; that we would fulfill His purposes for us here, for passion and vision from classes, and our future plans as we seek confirmation for a couple of exciting opportunities! And let us know what is going on with you and how we can pray. Much love. Definitely missing Charleston!

Blessings, Alicia & Evan

 Our kitchen/dining room

 At Haghpat Monastery

 Near Vanhadzor, Armenia

Our bathroom

God is so so so Good!

We are back in Yerevan after 2 weeks in the mountain town of Tsakhkadzor. We really enjoyed the cool mountain air as well as the rich teaching of the conference. We are so blessed at this point to be involved in what is going on in Eastern Europe and are looking forward to doing some local outreach here in Yerevan. Speaking of Yerevan, it is really hot! We are used to heat, but not with no AC! Yesterday we joined a Switzerland counseling school outreach team and went to a small church outside of Yerevan. It was a really nice time. This week we will begin looking for an apartment in Yerevan. Join us in prayer that we would be at exactly the location to fulfill God's purposes, preferably close to the school and with a washing machine and all things working!

Check out our video this video that we just made about an exciting thing that happened at the conference. Sorry it is so long, but just watch, its really cool!

Here are the links that I was talking about in the video. I hope you enjoy!

-Evan and Alicia

 For innovations at YWAM Kona campus:  http://vimeo.com/album/1502955/video/31749761

For Sourceview Bible website:  http://sourceviewbible.com/sv/

Oh forgot to mention in the video. During the offering almost $3000 was given to cover the extra costs of the conference and to go to the Iranian earthquake victims. That doesn't include the much more that was given between participants and material things such as clothing and jewelry. And the week before that a little over $1000 was given to an outreach team of teenagers from Kazakstan who came to Armenia with only enough for a one way ticket. Pretty amazing what God can provide through a bunch of poor missionaries when we ask Him what to give! :)
Also Evan had a really bad toothache during the first week that was causing a lot of pain. We believed that God would bring healing and just kept praying. Praise God now its fully better!

DNA Conference Highlights

We have had a great first week back in Armenia. We are staying in a mountain town for a 2 week YWAM conference with workers from all over Eastern Europe including Armenia, Georgia, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, and Moldova. We have loved getting to meet so many awesome people and hearing from these wise speakers! The sessions have been so rich. I wish you could hear the full teaching but I want to pass on some highlights from the first week. The conference focuses on the vision of YWAM but I think its applicable to many people in all areas of life and society. I hope that you will think about these things in your life and that something will speak to you, as we each seek to fulfill our purpose.

*True love is living to make the dreams of your beloved a reality.
   Are we living this way for Jesus? Let's live to make His dreams for our lives come true! If you're doing something that Jesus isn't getting excited about, quit doing it!
-Our picture of God is like a postcard. The real thing is so much more beautiful than the picture, there are so many more facets to see. There is always more.
Leadership
- We will all leave a lasting legacy. We all have a spiritual line and family. What legacy are you leaving?
 *A leader is a person who knows what they believe and why.
-If you can't lead yourself, you can't lead others.
  -Questions for leading self: How do I manage my thought life, body, relationships, finances, calling, etc? Is there still passion for what God has called me to do? If not, why not? Do I know the state of my character? Do I have accountability? What do others see in me that I can't see in myself? Is my love for God growing?  Is my capacity for loving others growing? Are there undealt with offenses in your heart? You are responsible for the issues in your heart.
-When reconciliation takes place it is initiated by the one hurt the most because he has come to a place of forgiveness.
-We cannot lead with influence those who we don't love and in the areas we don't love.
-God's perspective is truth in all situations, and always includes hope and redemption.Tell yourself His perspective.
-Be honest, is Jesus enough?
-Don't let your emotions lead you! Emotions guiding causes pain. Prov. 4:23 Above all else guard your heart.
-Leadership is a sacred trust given from God.
Integrity & Decisions
-Do our actions line up with what we say we believe? What is the root of why we do what we do? When we continue to ask why about an action it leads us to the root of our worldview. That comes down to our view of who God is. And asking 'so what'? It leads from our belief to an action.
-God has called us to be change makers because He is a change maker.
-Individuals & societies become like the gods they worship.
-Any description of the living God must describe Him as infinite & personal, big & close.
-If you don't believe in God because of injustice in the world, you have no foundation to talk about justice and goodness. In that case, we are equal with bugs and there is no justice.
-If you do not decide on perimeters to raise your child, the culture will raise your child. 
Biblical Worldview
1. God is infinite & personal
2. Man is finite & personal
3. Truth is constant & knowable
4. Our choices are significant: Men & women are responsible for our actions.
-We pray because we believe God is faithful, He hears, He cares, is powerful, is Creator. Praying, "if its Your will..." is a safe prayer. There is no faith, no risk, no power needed.
Purpose & Vision
*Purpose is something or an idea that God dreams up and decides on then creates someone to fulfill it.
-Purpose is to know you are living for something bigger than yourself, something that will still be around when you are gone.
-Without vision we die.
-Vision is precious like a baby. It starts as a dream of God and He drops it in a heart. We need to treat it that way. Nourish it and care for it. Don't let it die. Be a door opener for people with vision!
-Our job as spiritual leaders is to know and affirm when young people hear from the Lord.
-When we are committed to obeying God with a right spirit, He will protect the vision.

I know its a lot but this is most of my notes. It was hard to narrow down! I'm sure this week will bring a lot more inspiration. God has been pouring out revelation and vision on us this week. So thankful and amazed at His goodness and faithfulness! Truly we are called to a life of great adventure in Christ. The security that we have found in Him is so much more than anything the world has to offer. I hope you find these words encouraging.

Alicia

We're Back!

Hello everyone!

We arrived back in Yerevan, Armenia last night and we thought we would take a few minutes to update you on how we are doing and give you a little picture of life in Yerevan. Watch and enjoy!

We will try to keep you updated here. Sorry it has been so long. Thankfully we got to catch up with many of you back home! Our DTS ended well in June. It was very challenging, but God taught us soo much about His character, love, humility, etc. He really gave us hearts for people who don't know about Him and we desire to show people God's love. We have really taken on YWAM'S motto for ourselves, "To know God and to make Him known." We had a great, restorative time visiting family and friends in Indiana, New Jersey, Florida, and South Carolina! It was a restful time that we really got to process our experience and all that God did! He is such an exciting, loving, LIVING God! A life in relationship with Him is truly more fun and rewarding than anything I ever could have imagined. And that is why I keep on living this crazy life of faith! Now we are excited to be back in Yerevan the capital of Armenia following His call for us. We came back early for a 2 week YWAM conference that starts tomorrow. Then in September we will do the School of Frontier Missions as students. The focus of the school is church planting in unreached nations, with a focus on the 10/40 window. The 10/40 window is the region with the most people in the world who have never heard about Jesus. It includes North Africa, Middle East, and Asia. That is really where we desire to focus our ministry in the future. This school ends in December, but from there the world is open! We are praying about where to go for our independent outreach :)! Thank you all so much for the love, encouragement and support that you show us! We can't do this without you all! Everyone in YWAM from the president down raises support. No one is paid. This is not another short term trip for us, God is calling us to give our lives to serving Him in missions. If you feel led to support us financially monthly or with a one time gift you can always give on Paypal through the link here on our blog. Or you can send a tax-deductible check to Church of the Holy Cross at P.O. Box 506, Sullivan's Island, SC 2948. Make the check to Holy Cross and write "Georgia Mission" in the memo line. We fully believe that God will bless you for sending in prayers, finances, and encouragement as He does us for going. We desire all of God's blessings for you! Much love! In Christ, Alicia & Evan