It's a great day to be alive!
Summer is here, and after a prolonged winter, we're enjoying spring weather up here in Minnesota. I've been enjoying...
daily bike rides and walks in the glorious back 40 acres of the BCOM campus
weekend picnics, enjoying the outdoors with good friends
creating and innovating and experimenting with making videos (I'm currently working on one with my Global Internship team to express our upcoming trip to Vienna, Austria!) and other artistic endeavors (spray paint has become my new favorite art form :)
Hanging out and getting to know Jeff Beiler. :)
Currently I'm taking a class called Biblical Worldview, and I'm learning about prominent worldviews in our day today and how they came to be. We've been focusing on post-modernism and naturalism, and I'm enjoying growing in understanding in these philosophies and testing them against the truth. I've really been enjoying the fact that truth is TRUTH-- you can test it, question it, and poke at is as much as you want and it will still be true. As I do this, I'm finding out what in my life has been built on the firm foundation of Christ, and what has been built on the shaky sand of worldly beliefs. It's invigorating to know and understand more of God, and in that getting insight into how reality works. I'm so thankful for this class because I know it's going to benefit me greatly as I journey to the greatly post-modern world of Europe...
exciting news on that note! Jeffrey has joined the team to come to Austria! Please pray for us as we continue to get to know one another and seek the Kingdom of God in our lives. Please also pray for unity within the 15 of us going to Austria and that God would continue to speak to us about His plans for us during our 16 months overseas together.
By the end of June I will need to have 25% of my budget for my 16 months in Austria. The total amount for the Internship is $29,161.63 (this includes all expenses) so 25% is $7,290.40. If God is leading you to support me financially, you can make a check out to Bethany International Ministries (please don't include my name on the check) and send it to:
McKenzie Conn
6820 Auto Club Road, Suite A
Bloomington, MN 55438
Thank you for your time and consideration!
*love
Monday, June 16, 2008
Thursday, May 29, 2008
Jeffrey Lyle Beiler!
This is Jeffrey! He's a very good friend and we are :::together:::
I've never had a boyfriend before, so this is a new experience for me, but I'm finding that it's natural and good! It's incredible having him as such a good friend. It's cool that we've both come from similar backgrounds, went through the Honor Academy together last year and now are sitting under the same teaching and experiencing the same things here at BCOM. It's exciting having a friend who has the same values as I do: loving God, loving people, serving, giving, learning, growing, changing...
It's fun to walk this life with him. We've been praying together and have the awesome opportunity of having quite a few incredible, Godly couples here on campus who are willing and delighting in investing in us and our relationship! We're excited to seek out more counsel about how to walk uprightly and wisely in this season of life and do the will of the Father.
A big thing we're praying through right now is concerning our Global Internships. Currently, Jeff is on a team (of which he's the only guy!) to go to Indonesia, and I am on a team going to Austria. Our internships are 16 months long, plus a previous 4 months of home-based support raising. That would mean that we'd be apart for almost 20 months! We've come to the conclusion that with the direction that we feel God is leading us in our relationship, it'd be wise and beneficial for us to be on the same team, so we're praying about where that will be. Please pray that God would clarify His will to us both so that we can walk in it!
Monday, May 5, 2008
Ministry Week!
Ministry Week!
As a part of the training here at BCOM, all of the students participated in a week devoted to living out what we've learned and are training for: being missionaries! We broke into 4 teams, stayed at four different churches, and hit the streets of the Philips neighborhood, seeking to do the will of the Father by building relationships and sharing Jesus through our lives and words.
I had the privilege of leading one of the four groups with my good friend Jeffrey Beiler under the leadership of our awesome Pastor: Norris Rose!
Here's my and my good friend Lindy. We went together during the day to take door to door surveys of the neighborhood we were in, asking the people what the needs in the community were and how the church could help meet those needs. It also opened the door to share with them about Jesus!
This is my awesome team during lunch. We grew really close together during the week as we worshipped and sought God together in the mornings and afternoons and shared with each other what God was doing during the meal times. We had a lot of fun too!
Here's a team going out to take surveys of the Philips Neighborhood.
Here's my awesome teammate, Warren. He has a cool beard and a hilarious laugh so I thought I'd share his coolness with you!
Every evening for dinner we went to a local soup kitchen to hang out and hear the stories of the people who are at a rehabilitation center to get their lives back on track. We made some cool friends and we're mutually encouraged by the people we met there! These two gentlemen were gracious to serve us food!
Here is our wonderful Pastor Rose! We had a great time meeting with him over coffee in the mornings and he did far more than encourage us for the days ministry: he shared his life with us. He's full of wisdom and graciously shared it with us (often with a great laugh!)
Here's part of our team at the park. We did sidewalk chalk and brought along some balls and frisbees to play with the people there. We had a good time!
Here's a woman named Victory that we met at the park. She was incredibly strung out on drugs and was barely coherent. Here I was embracing here and praying for her.
The girls!
Lake Street=Base camp. Met a lot of people and had some awesome conversations here.
Team Solid Rock!
I got to play the drums a little bit during one of our team times :)
Pastor Rose and myself- what a blessing he was!
As a part of the training here at BCOM, all of the students participated in a week devoted to living out what we've learned and are training for: being missionaries! We broke into 4 teams, stayed at four different churches, and hit the streets of the Philips neighborhood, seeking to do the will of the Father by building relationships and sharing Jesus through our lives and words.
I had the privilege of leading one of the four groups with my good friend Jeffrey Beiler under the leadership of our awesome Pastor: Norris Rose!
Here's my and my good friend Lindy. We went together during the day to take door to door surveys of the neighborhood we were in, asking the people what the needs in the community were and how the church could help meet those needs. It also opened the door to share with them about Jesus!
This is my awesome team during lunch. We grew really close together during the week as we worshipped and sought God together in the mornings and afternoons and shared with each other what God was doing during the meal times. We had a lot of fun too!
Here's a team going out to take surveys of the Philips Neighborhood.
Here's my awesome teammate, Warren. He has a cool beard and a hilarious laugh so I thought I'd share his coolness with you!
Every evening for dinner we went to a local soup kitchen to hang out and hear the stories of the people who are at a rehabilitation center to get their lives back on track. We made some cool friends and we're mutually encouraged by the people we met there! These two gentlemen were gracious to serve us food!
Here is our wonderful Pastor Rose! We had a great time meeting with him over coffee in the mornings and he did far more than encourage us for the days ministry: he shared his life with us. He's full of wisdom and graciously shared it with us (often with a great laugh!)
Here's part of our team at the park. We did sidewalk chalk and brought along some balls and frisbees to play with the people there. We had a good time!Here's a woman named Victory that we met at the park. She was incredibly strung out on drugs and was barely coherent. Here I was embracing here and praying for her.
The girls!
Lake Street=Base camp. Met a lot of people and had some awesome conversations here.
Team Solid Rock!
I got to play the drums a little bit during one of our team times :)
Pastor Rose and myself- what a blessing he was! Sunday, April 13, 2008
Ministry Week!
Hi Family! We (the BCOM students) have an exciting week coming up for us! Tomorrow the freshman class will be heading to downtown Minneapolis to divide and conquer for the Kingdom! We split into four groups and each group will be staying with a different church for the week. We'll be helping out at the church and then dividing yet again to go conquer two by two:
Walking by the Spirit
Asking God what's on His heart for the afternoon and what He has planned for us to do
Listening
Obeying!
I'm excited for divine encounters and to sow into others what has been so richly sowed into me. God is alive! I'm excited to be a part of His expanding Kingdom. Please pray for us as we seek to touch heaven, bring it to earth, and give it away. We've prayed to the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into the field, and we are being sent!
Stay tuned for updates...!
The Lord bless you and keep you and may He make His face shine upon you and give you peace.
Walking by the Spirit
Asking God what's on His heart for the afternoon and what He has planned for us to do
Listening
Obeying!
I'm excited for divine encounters and to sow into others what has been so richly sowed into me. God is alive! I'm excited to be a part of His expanding Kingdom. Please pray for us as we seek to touch heaven, bring it to earth, and give it away. We've prayed to the Lord of the harvest to send workers out into the field, and we are being sent!
Stay tuned for updates...!
The Lord bless you and keep you and may He make His face shine upon you and give you peace.
Monday, March 31, 2008
God is Here
God is here
:::right now:::
Today I'm searching what it is to seek God with all of my heart.
For if He is my only and ultimate pursuit, I will find Him. And if I find Him, I have everything.
He's here, He's found me, I've found Him...but there's so much more to find.
There's so much more.
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Today I enjoyed an easter egg hunt and a celebratory dance party in honor of the risen Jesus. :) On Thursday's we meet in small groups, but today all of the female small groups joined together in the church. One of the mentors taught about the resurrection in Jesus, bringing up that during Easter we so often focus on His death-- but He's alive! We served each other communion and celebrated His resurrection.
The Body of Christ is so powerful. And so messy. But how it ministered to my heart to have a sister look at me with sparkly eyes and offer me a representation of Jesus. This morning I was reading in John 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples and then for all believers. Out of all that He could pray for, He prayed again and again that "they may be one as We are one" -- that Jesus would dwell in us as the Father dwells in Him. Oh that the Body would be joined together under the Head of Jesus Christ!
On another note, it's been really cool to be apart of the Admissions department here at BCOM. We're hosting a campus visit weekend next week of which I've been a part of putting together. We've been improving the aesthetics of the campus in preparation for that, so I've also been able to offer creativity and help in that process- it's been fun! I look forward to posting pictures soon. We've had tripple the applications for this next August as we've ever had, so it's really exciting to see this school grow! I'm SO thankful and delighted to be here and apart of what God is doing!
The Body of Christ is so powerful. And so messy. But how it ministered to my heart to have a sister look at me with sparkly eyes and offer me a representation of Jesus. This morning I was reading in John 17, where Jesus prays for His disciples and then for all believers. Out of all that He could pray for, He prayed again and again that "they may be one as We are one" -- that Jesus would dwell in us as the Father dwells in Him. Oh that the Body would be joined together under the Head of Jesus Christ!
On another note, it's been really cool to be apart of the Admissions department here at BCOM. We're hosting a campus visit weekend next week of which I've been a part of putting together. We've been improving the aesthetics of the campus in preparation for that, so I've also been able to offer creativity and help in that process- it's been fun! I look forward to posting pictures soon. We've had tripple the applications for this next August as we've ever had, so it's really exciting to see this school grow! I'm SO thankful and delighted to be here and apart of what God is doing!
Monday, March 17, 2008
I’m learning what Jesus’ yoke is.
I’m learning what boundaries are…how to say no, how to say yes and to fulfill my yes, fully engaged, with all of my heart.
I’m learning how much I depend upon myself to love God, to follow Him, to figure out and control my life...I'm learning the soul's sigh of relief when it realizes that God is God and I am not.
I’m learning what it means to let go.
I’m learning to rest in God.
I’m learning how big God is, how sovereign He is, how good He is, how gracious He is.
I'm tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.
I always wondered if knowing God could truly be good, even enjoyable. I wondered if I could actually feel something for Him. I'd read the Psalms and be baffled that David could be so ardent and consumed in his love for God.
For me, being a Christian was more often than not burdensome, exhausting, full of obligation and even harsh.
I'm so glad that following Jesus isn't like that.
Because His yoke is easy and His Kingdom is of righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.
I’m learning what boundaries are…how to say no, how to say yes and to fulfill my yes, fully engaged, with all of my heart.
I’m learning how much I depend upon myself to love God, to follow Him, to figure out and control my life...I'm learning the soul's sigh of relief when it realizes that God is God and I am not.
I’m learning what it means to let go.
I’m learning to rest in God.
I’m learning how big God is, how sovereign He is, how good He is, how gracious He is.
I'm tasting and seeing that the Lord is good.
I always wondered if knowing God could truly be good, even enjoyable. I wondered if I could actually feel something for Him. I'd read the Psalms and be baffled that David could be so ardent and consumed in his love for God.
For me, being a Christian was more often than not burdensome, exhausting, full of obligation and even harsh.
I'm so glad that following Jesus isn't like that.
Because His yoke is easy and His Kingdom is of righteousness and joy and peace in the Holy Spirit.
I like this God I follow. In fact, I love Him. I enjoy Him. And He likes and enjoys me.
Rain or shine, He will never leave. And His presence is all I need. For real.
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