Thursday, March 29, 2012

Mid-week Mission: 92 Days!

 92 days until July 1st
July 1st is when the greatest/scariest/most exciting journey of my life starts!
July 1st is when I leave this country in the rear view mirror for 11 months.
July 1st is when I press forward to Ireland, Ukraine, Russia, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, India, Nepal, Cambodia, Malaysia, and a yet to be determined county in Asia.
July 1st is when I have to have $6500 in my support account!.

You have supported me to the tune of $2,000.00 (Some of which has/will be used for Race prep) as of right now! Its incredible and every time I check my account and see a new supporter it blesses my heart and really encourages me that so many believe in what God will do through me and the mission God is sending me on!

The difference between the $2,000.00 you've given thus far and the $6,500 I need in 92 days is $5,000.00 (INCLUDING financial room for my immunizations and such)!. If you take the $5,000.00 and divide it by 92days you get $54.35 a day for the next 92 days to get me to my deadline!

Ok, that’s a lot of numbers. Here is the big point! $54.35 a day for the next 92 days will get me to my deadline


Will you consider being one of those $54. partners?

Maybe cover 2 days for $108.70
4 days for $217.40
or a week for $380.45

$54.35 is about the cost of a meal for 2 1/2 at a nicer sit down casual restaurant. It may not seem like a lot but your $54.35 could be the difference between me leaving this July or not! Let God use you in this way if you can!

I’ve received so many kind/encouraging words this past week . . . I cant even explain it! I had the opportunity to share at my Church's youth group this past Wednesday about what God is doing through The World Race and how I’m going to be involved. A few gave money on the spot or bought T-shirts (You can too!)! A few expressed how they had been praying for me and asked how they can continue to pray for me, and most just had nothing but kind words to say. Again this happened with perfect strangers at our Revealed Ministries event on Friday night. In all, I have experienced a LOT of giving in the last week and can never express to you how special it is to receive knowing it will all be used for God's glory! Humbles me every time. Thank you all once again.

To give online right now click this link:


https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Adam%20Smith&tuid=10658172

Please also consider a reoccurring monthly donation of any amount!!! It helps so MUCH!!! Click the link above to give monthly!!!




LOVED.,
Lauren!<><+


"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not on thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy path." - Proverbs 3:5-6

Monday, March 26, 2012

Monday, March 19, 2012

Moving Forward: America, the beautiful


I'm back!!! What a cruise! What a week!


Thank you for staying so connected to my World Race, while I was away!


Many of  you pledged contributions and bought T-shirts! Keep it up! Spread the word!





Today I introduce to you the country that will stand as this week's "Focus Country" having to do with my World Race . . . 

THE United States of America!!!

Now, you may be thinking, whaaa? USA? Aren't you traveling to 11 countries OUTSIDE of the US? 

The answer to all of this is, yes! You are right! I woke up this morning, ready to share about one of those 11 countries and God had a different idea for this Monday's Moving Forward post. A LOT of my World Race is spent in preparation here in the states. God placed on my heart this morning the great need for prayer focus for my very own country! We have plenty of time to cover all 11 countries I will travel to before my departure in July; therefore, I feel completely at peace in spending THIS week focusing on the needs of my own country.

This includes you :)

Most of my support comes from Patriots and citizens of this great nation. In that, you may have prayer needs that this week can be lifted up to our great God as acknowledgement that He reigns and is in supreme control. This is the acknowledgement that I believe I am to catapult with this post. 

Though our world feels dark, and only growing darker, there is victory in Christ Jesus! My God is sovereign and He sees the week, He sees the poor, and He has a plan. May we focus this week on praying for our own (Not leaving the rest of the world behind of course!). We may be a "rich" nation but our faith is often weak. 

This past week was such a blessing! Rest and peace FLOODED my being.

With that said, I was witness to a LOT of human mockery. The kind of thing you only expect to see at a frat house on spring break. Even my 2 trips to Mardi Gras in New Orleans (My mama is from there!), only held a candle to the sickening display of hopelessness I witnessed within the ships confinement. God was there and I can only imagine His heart for His people as He watched His creation live desperately in search of lasting love. My heart cries out.

The love that my youth and the other leaders and I were able to display (BY THE GLORIOUS GRACE OF GOD) to and for the others on our ship was immensely appreciated. We were hardly spoken an ill word to, although we stuck out like a very moral sore thumb! Ha! The people we came in contact with, mostly in drunken stupor, could only clamor for words of thanks as we helped them to find their cabins, cleaned up their sickness from the ground, and shared the love and hope of Christ with them. We were often at a loss but our God is greater and He was there.

I came back with a heart pounding for my own people. The ones who wonder what has happened to their lives. The ones who live for the next party. I honestly can't relate to their actions but to their need for belonging I absolutely can. May I settle into my wholeness in Christ and because of what I've witnessed, be willing to share that security with others who are searching.

My weekend's return was to great sorrow and frustrations within the realms of my friends and family. 2 of my dear friends lost relatives to sudden deaths and some of my Revealed team (We have an event this Friday so satan is attacking) are weary and feel battered by the world we face and their flesh that often cries out in battle for what is right in a wrong world. 

And then there's the light. The LIGHT of Christ and it shines ever brightly. 

The darkness shall never reign and our prayers will force its' fading to deletion. 

Salvation came this weekend to someone very close to me. This salvation was the result of years of prayer and I could not be more ECSTATIC! Blessings abound :) The light of Christ shown through this darkness and brought about new life. EVER grateful!

This brought hope to my prayers for our country this week. This little saved life will face battles, no doubt. Life has not become perfect for her but instead has turned to one of hope. EVERLASTING HOPE. Purpose. Deliverance. She will never be alone again. I love my God! He is great! He is going to do many powerful things through our prayers for our country this week! I BELIEVE IT! Do you? Pray right now. Start with confession. Continue with praise for Who God is. Press on with requests for yourself and others. End with thanksgiving in faith for what we expect Him to do. He is MIGHTY to save. The lost, the poor, the broken. He is mighty to save and He is here.



Isaiah 40

Comfort for God’s People
 1 Comfort, comfort my people, 
   says your God. 
2 Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, 
   and proclaim to her 
that her hard service has been completed, 
   that her sin has been paid for, 
that she has received from the LORD’s hand 
   double for all her sins.
 3 A voice of one calling: 
“In the wilderness prepare 
   the way for the LORDa]
make straight in the desert 
   a highway for our God.a]
make straight in the desert 
   a highway for our God.b] 
b] 
4 Every valley shall be raised up, 
   every mountain and hill made low; 
the rough ground shall become level, 
   the rugged places a plain. 
5 And the glory of the LORD will be revealed, 
   and all people will see it together. 
            For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”
 6 A voice says, “Cry out.” 
   And I said, “What shall I cry?”
   “All people are like grass, 
   and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field. 
7 The grass withers and the flowers fall, 
   because the breath of the LORD blows on them. 
   Surely the people are grass. 
8 The grass withers and the flowers fall, 
   but the word of our God endures forever.”
 9 You who bring good news to Zion, 
   go up on a high mountain. 
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,c] 
   lift up your voice with a shout, 
lift it up, do not be afraid; 
   say to the towns of Judah, 
   “Here is your God!” 
c] 
   lift up your voice with a shout, 
lift it up, do not be afraid; 
   say to the towns of Judah, 
   “Here is your God!” 
10 See, the Sovereign LORD comes with power, 
   and he rules with a mighty arm. 
See, his reward is with him, 
   and his recompense accompanies him. 
11 He tends his flock like a shepherd: 
   He gathers the lambs in his arms 
and carries them close to his heart; 
   he gently leads those that have young.
 12 Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand, 
   or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens? 
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket, 
   or weighed the mountains on the scales 
   and the hills in a balance? 
13 Who can fathom the Spiritd] of the LORD, 
   or instruct the LORD as his counselor? 
d] of the LORD, 
   or instruct the LORD as his counselor? 
14 Whom did the LORD consult to enlighten him, 
   and who taught him the right way? 
Who was it that taught him knowledge, 
   or showed him the path of understanding?
 15 Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket; 
   they are regarded as dust on the scales; 
   he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust. 
16 Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires, 
   nor its animals enough for burnt offerings. 
17 Before him all the nations are as nothing; 
   they are regarded by him as worthless 
   and less than nothing.
 18 With whom, then, will you compare God? 
   To what image will you liken him? 
19 As for an idol, a metalworker casts it, 
   and a goldsmith overlays it with gold 
   and fashions silver chains for it. 
20 A person too poor to present such an offering 
   selects wood that will not rot; 
they look for a skilled worker 
   to set up an idol that will not topple.
 21 Do you not know? 
   Have you not heard? 
Has it not been told you from the beginning? 
   Have you not understood since the earth was founded? 
22 He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth, 
   and its people are like grasshoppers. 
He stretches out the heavens like a canopy, 
   and spreads them out like a tent to live in. 
23 He brings princes to naught 
   and reduces the rulers of this world to nothing. 
24 No sooner are they planted, 
   no sooner are they sown, 
   no sooner do they take root in the ground, 
than he blows on them and they wither, 
   and a whirlwind sweeps them away like chaff.
 25 “To whom will you compare me? 
   Or who is my equal?” says the Holy One. 
26 Lift up your eyes and look to the heavens: 
   Who created all these? 
He who brings out the starry host one by one 
   and calls forth each of them by name. 
Because of his great power and mighty strength, 
   not one of them is missing.
 27 Why do you complain, Jacob? 
   Why do you say, Israel, 
“My way is hidden from the LORD; 
   my cause is disregarded by my God”? 
28 Do you not know? 
   Have you not heard? 
The LORD is the everlasting God, 
   the Creator of the ends of the earth. 
He will not grow tired or weary, 
   and his understanding no one can fathom. 
29 He gives strength to the weary 
   and increases the power of the weak. 
30 Even youths grow tired and weary, 
   and young men stumble and fall; 
31 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 be faint.







LOVED.,
Lauren!<><+


PS Please, feel free to post prayer requests as comments below

Sunday, March 11, 2012

I'm SAILING! I'm SAILING!


Dear friends and family,

Today I will sail away on a Cruise liner out of Jacksonville!! Destination: Bahamas & Key West!!

No, I'm not spending all of your support money! Haha! I have the honor of chaperoning a (Seniors only) youth trip for my dear First Baptist Church Chipley family!

What a BLESSING!

For those of you who do not know me or know me not well, I have a hard time relaxing. A really hard time not living every moment to the fullest! Sadly, even at my own demise at times; therefore, I am BEYOND thankful for the forced opportunity to do just that! God calls us to rest, Ecclesiastes says there's a time for that and apparently, this is my time.

I will not deny that I feel incredibly selfish for cruising away while others more deserving of this treat, stay on dry land. Please do not count me cocky in this! The Lord has a plan in taking me away, He always does ;)

My biggest concern at the moment is that I will have to put my fundraising on pause while I am away (I am active in it every. single. day.). God showed me this evening that He is in charge of this World Race fundraising, not meand therefore, He can do it with or without me on dry land!

I wanted to let my readers know (Some of  you are SO FAITHFUL and I'm SO GRATEFUL!) that I will be out of touch until Sunday at least, if not until next Monday's "Moving Forward" post. I am going to share the ways you may help while I'm gone right here on this post. Thank you for knowing that my heart is not to desert this mission. It is to prolong my ownendurance in it, while serving a good cause, my precious youth from Chipley, FL that I love so dearly.

Pray for sunshine!! I'll post pics when I return so look for that!



Ways you may support my WR while I am away:

1. PRAY! I believe in the power of prayer and I ask you to utilize that area of giving for my World Race, daily even! 

2. ORDER T-SHIRTS! Click this link: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/

3. Donate directly to my Adventures In Missions account: https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Lauren%20Clement&tuid=11997458

4. Send check to:https://www.adventures.org/give/donate.asp?giveto=worldrace&desc=For%20Lauren%20Clement&tuid=11997458

5. Join my "Go LO Go" group on FB and spread the word by inviting others: http://www.facebook.com/groups/189937804424885/

6. Share all of my links (Blog, T-shirts, & "Go LO Go" on FB, through E-mail, and by word of mouth!!

7. Speak to your church staff about having me come as a guest missionary speaker to any group (SS, congregation, youth, life/connect group)

THANK YOU SO MUCH!!

LOVED.,
Lauren!<><+

Friday, March 9, 2012

FRIDAY = Friday Hi-5!



Friday Hi-5 is all about giving you options!!


I want each of you to be able to support my World Race in the way that best suits YOU! I am excited to be adding a link today . . .a very special link . . .read on, my friends:

1. Provide a "group" for me to come speak to andshare my World Race details with (As stated on Wed's Mid-week Mission!) E-mail, FB message, or call me:            (850) 703-0101 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting            (850) 703-0101      end_of_the_skype_highlighting       to schedule this event for YOUR "group!"

2. Wristbands. My "Go LO Go" wristbands will be a few dollars each and will be available for purchase SOON! Keep your eyes open!

3. Kristpe Kreme doughnut coupons. These too will be sold soon and you KNOW you don't want to miss out on that!

4. Etsy headbands & bracelets. These artsy piecesare ready for purchase! Follow this link and choose which piece fits you or your loved one perfectly! There is not a better gift than one that is going for agood cause! AuntBee'sStuff 

5. Now for the exciting news . . . ORDER MY WORLD RACE T-SHIRTS NOW!!! Follow this link to check out the TWO available designs and to make your order: Click this link to view and order my World Race T-shirts


Well ladies and gents, that's all I have for this Friday Hi-5! Can't wait to see what the following weeks will bring! God is incredibly moving in this mission! He has inspired others through it and you have blessed me in your responses! Keep up the awareness if you will, by sharing this blog post on your FB! Let people know they can now order T-shirts and tell everyone you see about my World Race. As we know, awareness is the initiator for change! God has called me to this mission and I wake up excited  for each day and what it holds towards reaching this goal! You are all a part and I thank you!

LASTLY and MOST IMPORTANTLY: Please lift my World Race as a whole, the people in the 11 countries I will travel through, and myself as I prepare to our heavenly Father! I can never emphasize enough the power of prayer. Pray for preparation & funding! Those are my 2 biggest requests for the moment, although I plan to share more along the way! If you feel called to specifically pray for me in my race . . .contact me and let me know! I have had 1 person come boldly to that divine conclusion so far and I really believe that there are 14 more of you (at least) out there who will do the same!

Blessings for your weekend!




LOVED.,
Lauren!<><+

Wednesday, March 7, 2012

WEDNESDAY = Mid-week Mission!


My joy is full! I have continued to receive multiple checks for the $11 amount I asked for last month! THANK YOU! Every little bit helps! I've especially been blessed that those who have little (College students, working hard to make it through school AND other "missionaries") have given what they can! Reminds me of the sweet little lady from the Bible that gave all she had in her humility. Amen!




Mid-week Mission is all about taking a moment mid-stride and focusing on ONE specific fundraising effort for my World Race.

This week I will ask you to do something EXTREMELY specific. PRAY/THINK about what group of people you KNOW or are CONNECTED with that could bring me in to speak with them. . .who is it that I could share my World Race story with in your life, that would be blessed by it and thankful for me to be there? I can think of a few examples:


1. Church congregations (As a whole)
2. Sunday School classes (Individually)
3. Choirs
4. Youth groups
5. WMU/Women's groups 4. Business partners
6. Office workers
7. Classmates
8. Families (even extended!)
9. Book clubs
10. Dance teams/groups



I'm sure I'm leaving out a few! I will be in the Graceville, Chipley, Dothan, Marianna area of FL/AL for a couple of weekends coming up, including THIS wkd! If YOU have a group you would like me to speak with and you live in this area, PLEASE comment below and/or message me on FB . . . call me!!: (850) 703-0101


If you live in the Pcola area, I will be returning to the area at the beginning of April and would be THRILLED to share here locally (obviously the most convenient)!!

If you live outside of either of these areas and you think it would be to my race's benefit to travel to share with your group, don't be afraid to ask!
I have a powerpoint and a LOT of passion to share!

God has directly spoken to my heart about this method of fundraising and I believe He is going to use YOU, my friends, family, and strangers to bring about support of all kinds! CAN YOU IMAGINE the amount of prayers that will be lifted up for my race . . .and therefore the World because of you allowing me to share with your group? BE BOLD! Ask around and contact me :)

I look forward to hearing from you!




LOVED.,
Lauren!<><+