He shows up in unexpected ways

it isn't much of a surprise to most of you that finances have been a struggle for me in the past few months. It has been an uphill battle more often than not. There are times when it is really easy to be discouraged...and then you open up a box of cinnamon toast crunch and God shows up. Last Monday ( memorial day) we had the day off from the base. I was hanging out at my apartment watching some morning news and eating a bowl of cereal. I was thinking about finances and some fun stuff I would like to do that always involves money, when I nonchalantly read the label on the box of cereal, "you could be a winner!". I rarely even check under pop tops for the million dollar prizes let alone take the bag of cereal out of the box to check under it....and sure enough...in the bottom of the box a credit card shaped package. As I pulled it out I was still a little skeptical. As I removed the silver colored wrapper I saw the gift card in my hand was for 25$. It might as well had been for a million because I was jumping up and down....Crazy ehh....

A week Later...

The 25 dollar gift card burning a hole in my pocket I decide to go to the ARC (our local thrift store). Thinking I may find some tank tops or other summerwear I start looking through the modge podge of items to find a snowboard and bindings for 25 dollars! I immediately pick it up and check it out making sure that there isn't a catch. Finally as I am satisfied with the fact that I am not going to be ripped off in anyway I take it up to the check out to find that it is saturday and thus 50% off everything day. I leave the thrift store with a 13 dollar snowboard, 12 dollar gift card, and the reassurance that God cares even about the littlest things in my life.

may update

    Happy Mother’s Day to all of you mothers. I hope this Mother’s day finds you well and blessed. Know that you are appreciated by all but especially your children. Mom, thank you for all you do for me that goes overlooked. I cannot imagine my life without you in it.

    I want to take some time and update you all on the past few months. This spring I have been working with the Multicultural DTS. It is a group of 8 boys and 8 girls from all over the world here to do our Discipleship Training School with a bit of a twist. We spend extra time teaching our student’s how to learn and appreciate other’s cultures and to see how unique God has made every culture. We have seven eight nations represented between our students and school staff. I am the only American small group this quarter and it has been an amazing experience. This school is one of the most unique schools we have ever run. Many of these students come from a very broken past and have been basically going through a “Follower of Christ 101” course.  It has been neat to be apart of speaking truth into their lives in very basic ways. I have a small group of four girls. I am blown away at how much the Lord has done in them in this past five weeks. Many have come in with deep rooted depression, drug abuse, self image issues, as well as many other difficulties. As they learn more and more about the character of God they have opened up the door to healing in every area of their lives. In two weeks half of the school leaves for the Around the World outreach. These students will spend the next 80 days traveling from here to San Fransisco, San Fran to Tokyo, Tokyo to Mumbai, Mumbai to Mozambique, Mozambique to San Paulo, San Paulo to Bogota, and Bogota to Toronto. The focus of this outreach is to help the poorest and most destitute in the world. The other half of the school leaves in 5 weeks for Costa Rica to help in hurricane relief.It is exciting to see these students embody the principle of being “broken healers”.

    This week also marks the end of the road for our teams that our currently in the field. We have 46 students and staff returning from Panama, Thailand, and Mexico. These teams have worked in safe homes for child prostitutes, orphanages, shanty towns, feeding shelters, and slum ministries. This upcoming week we will get to hear from all of these teams about their work.

    Thank you all for your prayers and support. I am still building my financial support and am overwhelmed at how faithful God is. Thank you all for your generosity, prayers, and encouragement. Thank you for being apart of bringing HOPE to a dying world.

oh...

so, they made this documentary about us last year, after the shooting, before i came back on staff. it follows the life of 5 dtsers during the boarders dts. its complicated to really explain it all, but the documentary is done and is being pitched at a bunch of film festivals. HBO and AandE are really interested in it, so it may very well come to a television set near you. but...it is us. our good our bad and everything in between. I cant wait to be able to show it to those of you who wonder just what i do. watching it tonight  made me remember...remember why i came back, why i am here at all. i was here the week of the shooting and it shook me. the documentary starts off with tiff in her dts giving her testimony. she starts by sharing a bit of her life then they fast forward to the 911 call from charlie and then goes through this whole dts and then it ends with tiff saying "i dont know what the lord has for me in the future, but i am just going to trust, trust him with my life."  little did she know three years ago that she had done just that...and died that december night, and no one or no thing will be the same since. i know i am not.

he is risen indeed

You woke me up in the morning
To say, "He is risen."
And I replied with a smile,
"He is risen indeed."
And somehow you always leave the room
Alive with truth and beauty
And carry yourself like you know
That it's all just a matter of time

I said, "But maybe I'm too far down this time."
"Too proud to hope too weak to climb."
But you just pierce through me with eyes
And I know I'm done

And I can
And carry yourself like you're sure of it
Like the stitches dissolved
And the wounds all heal in time
Your words are giants next to mine
And your thoughts are giants

I only hope that someday
I might resemble you in
Even the smallest way
I only hope that
You can be proud of me

Spring is here in Denver, Colorado. With the unseasonably warm winter spring feels as though it has been here for sometime. As I sit and write this I look out of my balcony at the 16’ of snow that sits below and laugh at how unpredictable the seasons are around here. I feel like in many ways this has been my life.

Just to fill you in. I have been staffing for YWAM Denver up at our Eagle Rock campus for the past few months. I came out on a temporary status before my team leaves again for Bosnia. I have been helping facilitate the two courses running this winter. It has been a great joy to be a part of watching almost 100 men and women between 17-32 have their lives changed and then given the chance to go and change others. This weekend the students leave for the outreach portion of their schools. We have teams leaving for Mexico, Panama, Thailand, and Albania..

During their schools I was in charge of running a weekly outreach to the homeless in Denver. Every Monday we would take 15 students to either Boulder or Denver and spend time talking to, getting to know, and sharing our lives with some of those living on the street in our area. It has been an amazing experience to engage in the community in this way.

                This has been a season of change for me. My coming to Denver was originally a transitional period between my time at home and leaving for Sarajevo. Shortly after coming here our team discovered that our leaders wife has a medical condition that will keep them in the states for at least a year. This of course is very disappointing, but we as a team and myself as an individual believe that we should also stay in the states and return as a team. This changes quite a bit for me. After some consideration I believe I should stay on staff with YWAM Denver. I will be working with the base here in training and outreach. YWAM Denver has a vision to train and send out aid workers into the world. We do this through a beginning training course called a DTS. This is a course where students come and learn about how to do aid work in some of the worlds most difficult areas. We are a faith based group and there is also help in learning about their faith and some of the "whys" for what we do. After their lecture phase is over we send them out to various places of the world where they are involved in meeting physical, emotional, and spiritual needs in very practical ways. Currently we have teams in Thailand, Mexico, and Panama. As a base we send 20 short term teams out a year and have 3 long term teams as an extension of our stateside base.

       My role this quarter in YWAM Denver is working with the multi cultural DTS. I am a small group leader with the school. We basically work as mentors with a few students; talking with them about what their learning, coming along side them, and serving them in any way we can. This is really the heart and soul of what we do and I am excited to be a part of it.

    What’s on the horizon for me... I am heading back to Columbus April 6- 11. During this time I will be meeting with supporters, visiting with my family, and raising support. If you are interested in meeting with me please email me back and let me know that you are interested and what time frame works for you.  If you are interested please email me at humanitarista@mac.com or call me at 614-893-9629 . I will be sending out monthly updates via email if you know someone who is interested in receiving updates please feel free to send me an email and give me their contact info.Please feel free to contact me with any questions, comments, or concerns, Know that you are all in my thoughts and prayers and I hope that God continues to bless you all.

Peace and Joy,

Laurie Granger 

its the small things

i am continually amazed at how this life turned out. i am scared to death half of the time... the half that i am not thoroughly enjoying this ride. but i fear things that i know i really need not to. and that's a challenge. i wonder if that trust thing will always be an issue for me. i think trust would not be as powerful if it wasn't able to overcome fear? i have come to the realization that life is an ongoing lesson in trust. a lesson that i have become more and more aqauinted with

he's making all things new

i can't explain it really, the change 61 days make. i could start with the obvious i guess. a new city. a new job, ect. but it is much more than that really. i cant describe it as accurately as i would like but it is like laurie v 2.0. for starters, i have become a vegetarian , and quite by accident at that. i began with a fast....i was going for a while so i was just on juice and water and then moved back up to vegetables . but then i just kinda decided to stay with that for the most part. sure ill eat your occasional dairy and bread but in all honesty i am quite content with the no meat thing. and it seems to be suiting me well. secondly, i am becoming far more adventurous than the city limits of columbus proper had allowed me to be. i have begun longboarding. it is a blast. let me start by saying this is a stretch for me. i was never a skater, or very athletic, or had an balance, so this is quite a feat for me. now i by no means am very graceful at this. my skinned knee and bruised ankles can attest to that, but thats kinda the fun in it all. another change: my temperament . i wouldn't say that it has changed all that huge as much as it has evolved. i have lived my life as a pretty easy going person, but has taken a different route. one of more integrity and less give a damn. not working a nine to five and wholly relying on the Lord's provision scared the hell out of me at 21, at 25 it is something so out of my hands that it is freeing. either this is going to end with me falling on my face or proving God's hand in my life and either way i will continue to do this. i know this is the right path. that is the truly liberating part. it leaves me with a new outlook on my years ahead. in the mean time i am having the time of my life v2.0. he is making all things new. again.

to do list for the spring/summer:

one month shoe fast

join a community garden

master the art of the slackline 

own and be sweet at longboarding

camping in the rockies

renegade wildfower

silent retreat