// Free People: Peru Mission Trip 2016 //

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”  Joshua 1:9

About ten years ago God put a desire in my heart for missions. I have held this desire in my heart, captive by fear. As I was praying about what my 'one word' should be for 2016, God just kept placing BRAVE in my head. So taking a giant leap of faith in an act of bravery for Christ I am going to Peru this summer to literally be the hands and feet of Christ! Nervous? Yes! Anxious? Yes! Excited? You bet! 

I will be traveling to Arequipa, Peru on July 30th, 2016 to serve with a small group from Daystar Church, and we will connect with a larger group through AIM (Ambassadors in Missions). From July 30th to August 6th I will be pouring out some love on the sweet kids and women in Arequipa, teaching skills, playing and showing them the love of the Lord. I will also be supporting the medical camps in the area for the parents and babies in the city. 

As I prepare for this wonderful opportunity God has placed in my lap, I'm reaching out for support. I'd love for your support as I head out to Peru! One of the ways you can help me is to pray for this trip, the ministry, and for me personally. Only with prayer support will I be able to bless these children and mommies in the orphanages I prepare for this wonderful opportunity God has placed in my lap. 

Yes, there are financial needs. The cost of the trip is $2,100 per person, which each team member is responsible to raise in gifts to our church. Please pray with me that the funds to cover my trip expenses will be provided! All gifts, with an expression of a allocation for my trip expenses, are tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

If you are able to make a gift for this trip, there are three ways to give:  

To give a tax-deductible online donation: 

1. Go to Daystar's online giving website here (you can donate as a 'guest')

2. Click on "Downtown Campus"

3. Go down to the allocation of "Missions Directed-Undesignated"

4. Include message and put "Katlin Voigt Peru Fund" in the message box

5. Continue to fill out your information 

To give a tax-deductible donation via check:

1. Make checks payable to Daystar Church

2. Mark as attention/allocation to "Katlin Voigt Peru Fund"

3. Mail check to:

Daystar Church

908 Westover Terrace 

Greensboro, NC 27408

To give a tax-deductible donation via cash:

1. Place money in an envelope

2. Include a letter that includes the amount of money given, "Katlin Voigt Peru Fund" written, and your name and mailing address

3. Mail envelope to:

Daystar Church

908 Westover Terrace

Greensboro, NC 27408

THANK YOU for your prayer and financial gifts. Without you I wouldn't be able to take this leap of faith and I'm so blessed by this opportunity. If you have any questions or want more information on how YOU can get involved, email me at katlinvoigt@gmail.com 

Ye of Little Faith

Matthew 14:22-34(NIV)

22 Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23 After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone, 24 and the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25 Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26 When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost,”they said, and cried out in fear.

27 But Jesus immediately said to them: “Take courage! It is I. Don’t be afraid.”

28 “Lord, if it’s you,” Peter replied, “tell me to come to you on the water.”

29 “Come,” he said.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. 30 But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

31 Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. “You of little faith,”he said, “why did you doubt?”

32 And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down. 33 Then those who were in the boat worshiped him, saying, “Truly you are the Son of God.”

34 When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

How many times have we heard this story- or at least an account of this story? I know I've heard it since the time I was in the children's ministry of school; I think I may have even reenacted this scene in a preschool skit or something. I think a problem with these stories is that we can get too comfortable with them. We can skim over this passage and be like 'oh yeah, I remember this. Ye of little faith..yea yea yea' and move on. 

The thing is, God can change this story for you. He can make something connect that didn't the last time you read it; he can bring a new perspective to this lesson; he can totally change your whole thought process in the matter of a moment. This week I've become so aware at how much fear is a stronghold in our lives. Fear is destructive, devastating and crippling. Fear is from Satan and no other. 

There is no fear in love, and God is love, therefore fear = not of God.

I had an urge to read Matthew 14 today and when I did, verse 29-31 jumped off the page. See Peters faith and love- he walked on water! He didn't hesistate when Jesus told him to "come". He didn't say, 'well let me take off my sandals' or 'well the water seems cold today'. He stepped over the side of the boat and WALKED on water. Then in a matter of a moment he lost focus, he looked at his surroundings and he lost it and was consumed by the very thing that Satan himself tries to devour you with every day: F-E-A-R.

Fear. A four letter word that is damning and terrorizing. A feeling that makes grown men cower and children cry. The enemy wants to keep you in that state of fear; and want to know why...because when you're suffocated by fear you won't do anything. You'll become paralyzed by it and suddenly will panic, run, hide, cry, scream, lash out in anger- emotional and physical reactions that take us away from the hand of God reaching out to calm us. Fear. Four letters with incredible results.

Listen to the Bethel song "Brave". It's empowering and exhiliterating

"You make me brave...you call me out beyond the shore into the waves". God calls us not to fear but to have faith- faith in Him. It's so easy to get caught up in fear: fear of the unknown, fear of loss, fear of embarrassment, fear of heights, fear of darkness, fear of death, fear of being alone, fear of failure, fear of flying, fear of public speaking, fear of rejection. But God's hand is extended towards us, He says there is no reason to fear. "Do not fear" is written in the Bible 103 times, it is the most common command the Lord gives us because as humans we are consumed by fear. Reach out to the extended hand of God and commit to face your fear. Bring your fear into the light because Satan can not survive in the light and must only operate in the dark. Expose your fear to Light and the Lord will grab your hand and pull you out of the darkness you've been paralyzed in for so long. 

"Do NOT fear"