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It’s hard to believe that it has been a year since I embarked on a life-changing journey to serve, live and grow in friendship with the people of Papua New Guinea!

Today I am back home in Toronto, after another beautiful season at YWAM Ships Kona! This time around, I had the absolute joy of participating in their Discipleship BIBLE School, in which we read the entire Bible in chronological order and studied it with the goal of being able to communicate God’s redemptive plan for humanity from Genesis to Revelation!

What seemed daunting at first ended up being one of the most life-giving seasons! To each of you who encouraged me to take the leap of faith and pursue the Lord and the truth of His Word in this way, I’m endlessly grateful!

It would take a lifetime to unpack everything I learned, but I thought I could encourage you by sharing the most impactful thing the Lord did in my heart.

I entered the season wrestling with God regarding a lie that I often believe; that I was stuck in a cycle of disappointment. And I quickly felt the Lord gently challenge me with these words:

“Would you dare to hope?”

It felt like a call to the purity of simple devotion to Jesus and remembering who He is.

From Genesis to Revelation, I read story after story of a God who is more than worthy of putting our hope in. In His kindness, He proved to me all over again how true all the things He has already told me are - that He really is everything I need to have hope.

From the Garden to the call of our father of faith Abraham, the wilderness, the promised land, the cries of the prophets, exile and return, the arrival of our Saviour Jesus Christ the Messiah, the birth of the Church and the promise that awaits us in the new heavens and new earth as described in Revelation, we find One who is our Hope.

As I wait on the Lord in my season of transition, I find myself being challenged to trust in the God I know on the path I do not. And this is the anchor for my soul: that the God I know is consistent through the ages.

He is always good, His Words are ever true, and His promises never fail.

I’ve always loved the words of the prophet Jeremiah that he said in some dark years of human history:

Yet I still dare to hope
    when I remember this:

The faithful love of the Lord never ends!
    His mercies never cease.
Great is his faithfulness;
    his mercies begin afresh each morning.
I say to myself, “The Lord is my inheritance;
    therefore, I will hope in him!”

- Lamentations 3:21-24

No matter where you find yourselves, I urge you, to dare to hope. ☀️

PS - here’s a fun little video of our reading time - we loved reading the genealogies! 😄

Blog 013

I can’t believe it’s time to go home! 🏠

It’s evening time now on June 14th, and I’m currently in Brisbane, Australia! 🇦🇺 What a lovely place!

I’ve said farewell (for now anyway) to Papua New Guinea and begun my long journey back home to Toronto.

What a wild and wonderful journey this has been! The Lord has been so kind every step of the way. Each day has been full of surprises but the hand of God on my life has been ever present.

During these next days in travel and most likely over several weeks at home, there will be much to process and reflect on. But for now, I will say, this season has been a gift, it’s been like a dream, I can barely believe it!

Thank you from the bottom of my heart to each of you who have journeyed with me over these several months. Your prayers were so felt and your encouragement has been a blessing.

To those around the world, I’m sending you my love.

To those back at home, I will see you so very soon! 

💗

Blog 012

The highlands have my heart ⛰️ 

We spent our last week of outreach partnered with a local church in Jiwaka village up in the mountains of PNG. Everything about this time was healing to my heart; from the kindness and generosity of the people; to their deep hunger for the things of God; to the absolute grandeur and beauty of the scenery.

Driving through the mountains and valleys, it felt like a picture of this journey I’ve been on, or rather of life itself.

Looking back, I don’t think I’ve yet fully realized everything I’ve seen and experienced here in PNG, but this past week has certainly marked me. I wanted to be in PNG before I even arrived in Kona for reasons I couldn’t even explain. I knew it could only have been the Lord who put the desire in my heart. Some days felt like mountains and some felt very much so like valleys. So every day I would ask the Lord to give me a heart for this land and its people; I had to seek for the hidden treasures of each day.

But this past week the treasures were not hidden. The reasons became obvious. And my all questions were answered. 

I finally realized that it was all worth it.

I heard someone say:

“Mountain tops are meant to transform you by the glory of God, and valleys are designed to conform you to be more like Christ by the grace of God.”

How true this is.

I’m reminded of the book ‘Hind’s Feet on High Places’ (a must-read if you haven’t already). What a journey the Good Shepherd has us on as He leads us to the high place. The Lord is steadfast. He has consistently walked with me from the coastland, through the valley, and into the highlands - literally and figuratively.

I’m realizing more and more that God is no less faithful in the highlands or in the valley. He is the summit where our feet are. He is never far and never too hard to find.

“God, the Lord, is my strength; He makes my feet like the deer’s; He makes me tread on the high places.” Habakkuk 3:19 

Blog 011

My time in this last village we visited for medical clinics was filled with ‘God-winks’ 😉

In my time here, the truths that I’ve been reminded of are the simple ones that we so easily forget.

These past couple of weeks, I’ve been reminded in such a deep and real way of God’s presence with me. These days my prayers are always something along the lines of “God, please be with me”; and He is. 

He’s been showing me this in small sweet ways. When we arrived in the village, they presented each of us with a beautiful lei (flower necklace) - I love flowers and it was my first plumeria lei. Then a few minutes later, I met a lady who was wearing a t-shirt that said ‘Sri Lanka’ on it. To most people, this might seem insignificant, but for me, it felt like God was reminding me that He was there with me too. What are the chances that a lady in a remote village in Papua New Guinea would have a t-shirt from a small island far away in the Indian Ocean - she didn’t even know where it was! But God knew I would be there that day and I would meet her.

The ‘God-winks’ continued during the time I was there and it was just so special. 

I felt so special. I felt so seen.

Recently, I’ve been hearing Zephaniah 3:17 over and over:

“The Lord your God is living among you, He is a mighty savior. He will take delight in you with gladness. With His love, He will calm all your fears. He will rejoice over you with joyful songs”.

He’s a singing God. And He’s singing a song of joy and delight.

Now in every moment, I hear Him saying to me, “I’m singing over you beloved, do you hear my song for you?”

I can hear Him singing, and what a beautiful song it is 🎶

Blog 010

I came here to PNG with big expectations. I wanted God to do big and spectacular things.

Don’t get me wrong, I believe God wants us to believe for big things and I wholeheartedly believe He is and will continue to do things that blow our minds. But God has been doing a different kind of work in my heart.

I would tell you countless stories of praying for miracles, people being discipled, massive crowds gathering and hearing the gospel, and many getting access to medical care but you probably would not have expected that behind all of that I have been very unwell.

There was one day in particular when I was so unwell that I could not even go into the villages. At this point, I had reached the end of myself. This trip was not going the way I was expecting and I needed Jesus more than ever.

I had reached a new level of vulnerability with the Lord.

I needed a friend. And that is exactly what He has been to me.

The lightbulb went off in my head and I remembered that often it’s not about the big spectacular things, but rather the steady walk with my friend Jesus.

The things He chooses to reveal and do in our lives are almost always so unexpected.

I came into this space wanting to accomplish so much for Him and had a list of things I wanted to see happen, but then in a state of being unable to do anything, as I asked the Lord what He was trying to show me, I felt Him say, “Priscilla, my friendship with you is what I desire most”.

At that moment I realized I have a God who loves me more than I could ever love Him. I have a Father. I have a Friend. And He’s kind, not cruel.

He walks with me steadily through the seasons.

And I have nothing to prove to Him. He just desires to be with me. Whether I was here or there, doing this or that, it really makes no difference. 

My friendship with Jesus is the place I’m meant to be.

My friendship with Jesus is the best place to be.

What a friend I have in Jesus.

Blog 009

The Lord is teaching me that He is my daily bread 🫓

For everything that we need, He is more than enough.

Over the last week, we have spent time with people in a local level 3 hospital here, then at a retreat for women who are experiencing domestic violence and I just started feeling so much lack - in what I could offer and in my capacity to serve them. These are some hard situations as you could probably imagine. And nothing I was doing in my own strength felt like enough. The situations we were encountering were way beyond anything any of us could do. But then the Lord stopped me in my tracks.

I heard the Lord gently remind me that He is here and He’s got more than enough. He is more than enough.

Somehow I had already lost sight of the fact that the Lord is already here and moving in Papua New Guinea. I just have the honor of being here to witness it and partner with what is already taking place in this land. I was challenged to consider how much I actually valued His power and what He could do for the people He loves and care about. I have been challenged on a new level to believe that He is more than enough, for myself and for the people of Papua New Guinea. When did I start to throw away my faith in the impossible? When did I stop believing He was sufficient for the day?

I have been so encouraged by the joy and resilience of those living in these remote and isolated spaces even though, I, in my Western mindset think that they are somehow living in lack.

Of course, we should acknowledge the unequal global distribution of resources and opportunity, however, I keep meeting people here who are pursuing the Lord and continue to impart this assurance that God is more than enough. They are so confident that God still does miracles. So who am I to deny what God can do in this place? Anything is possible with Him.

This has been hard for me to fully believe, even for myself. I have been so quick to focus on what is hard or on what I don’t have in this season and I’ve felt the Lord gently remind me that He’s with me.

Everything I need is found in Him. There’s an invitation to come to His Table. He’s got more than enough. Wherever we are, whatever season we’re in, He’s got what we need.

He sits with us.

He dines with us.

He prepares a table before us.

He is our daily bread.

We can feast on His faithfulness.

Blog 008

Hello from beautiful Papua New Guinea! 🇵🇬

We had the joy of spending our first week here in Port Moresby aboard our YWAM Ship, the Liberty! 🚢

Never in my life did I think I would live on a ship - especially a ship on dry dock! It was certainly an experience I will remember for life. It has been a long, dry season for the crew who are patiently waiting for all the work to finish on the ship so they can sail again.

Although it has been a long few months, it is quite evident that God is desiring to do the heart work in this community that is far more important than the work that is needed on the ship.

We had the honor of hearing from the crew here, praying with them, encouraging them, and being part of a beautiful work of healing, reconciliation, and unity that the Lord was desiring to do here.

God is moving in this place. As I meet the people, learn the language, and explore the land slowly, I can see that God is already here. My prayer is that God would open my eyes to see the glory of the Lord in this land and love it as He does.

We are now moving on to Madang where we will be based for the next several months and from there, we will go out into various villages and communities to serve with the medical outreach teams.

Please continue to pray for the Liberty to sail again and reach the islands! 🌊

Blog 007

I am now just hours away from going on outreach to Papua New Guinea! 🇵🇬

The three months of training in Kona, Hawai’i has flown by! What a beautiful time!

I am so grateful for all the new friendships, experiences, conversations, laughter, tears, and everything in between.

The work that the Lord has done in my heart during my time on this island is truly remarkable. I have learned so much through the stories of people who were just strangers to me three months ago and I have grown and healed in such unexpected ways through my own journey. The redemptive work of God is truly incredible to watch!

As I continue on to serve in Papua New Guinea, I would love for you all to remember me and my team in prayer over the next 5 months.

My desire is to see the Kingdom of God at work in Papua New Guinea; for the Lord to completely burst open every box I may have put Him in, and be ready for the miraculous!

Mahalo Kona! ❤️

Looking forward to my next update from Papua New Guinea!

Blog 006

God redeems 🌺

It’s really true when people say God can heal your heart in an instant.

As we prepare to go out into the nations, we are equipped and taught various topics each week but there was one week in particular that I was especially excited to experience: Lordship Week!

The speaker said it so well when he said,

“Jesus is Lord, I just need to receive it, and He has given me His whole self, but does He have all of me?”.

This shook me to the core. I knew there was a deeper level of surrender the Lord was looking for in my heart.

For many years I struggled with a need for control over my life. I love Jesus so much and I know He is trustworthy but I don’t quite live like that’s true. In fact, I’ve had such a tight grip on my independence and stability that I almost act as if God is somehow going to let me down (which is so untrue).

Well, what I love about Jesus is that He knows the lies we believe in our hearts and how to heal us to live in the fullness of what He has for us.

I walked into my last day of Lordship Week and, publically, in front of my whole class, committed to laying down my control. I brought my whole self to Jesus, desiring to let go of my need to be consumed with my stability and security in life and choosing to commit to following Him into what He desires for me, even if that means jumping off the edge of all the familiar things I’ve had thus far in life.

It was a difficult yet beautiful moment. But God in His kindness knew that the work that needed to be done in my heart was still unfinished that day.

I will save you all the details, but after I had my moment of making my commitment to the Lord, my dear friends prepared a very special way of blessing me that completely took me by surprise. Before I knew it, I was sitting on our deck, having my feet washed by two very special people here.

For those who are unfamiliar, washing another’s feet is done to imitate Jesus’ example when He washed His disciples’ feet as an act of serving, loving, and honoring one another (John 13: 1-15). If you have never experienced this before, I will say it was the most uncomfortable yet overwhelmingly beautiful thing ever.

In a single moment, God healed my heart and completely redeemed deep roots of hurt, rejection, and dishonor which had led to my fear of losing control over my life for years. The dishonor had led to distrust, unfortunately, even in Jesus, the most trustworthy One. It was a moment of personal healing but also generational healing of a root in my bloodline. God really loves to do the full work that’s required. I didn’t even know it until I was sitting there weeping with my friends as they served me in this precious way.

At the start of the year, I asked the Lord for a word for 2023 and I got three: 1. redeem 2. restore 3. refresh.

And it feels like He is doing all three. I feel as if He has truly clothed me in white and placed a crown on my head.

Psalms 103: 4 says He

“redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion”

Jesus is our Redeemer. There is nothing too deep or hidden for Him. There are no lost moments with Him. He can bring all things back to life.

Thank you, Jesus, for the way You redeem what is broken, restore what is lost, and bring refreshment to our souls. There could not be a better way for Him to prepare my heart as I get ready for this next season of life!

Stay tuned for updates on transitioning into my next season in Papua New Guinea!

Blog 005

Change of plans… or was this the plan all along 🇵🇬

As you may recall, a few weeks ago, we found out where each of us was headed on outreach. Although it was not my first choice, I was placed on the UK/Philippines Team.

For those of you who don’t know, I always imagined that I would go to Papua New Guinea (PNG). I remember standing in our courtyard about a month ago during Thursday morning intercession time, hearing the announcement of outreach locations and thinking, ‘I’m going to PNG, I know it’.

That was not what happened and the last 4 weeks have been quite a journey processing through the reality of dealing with my unmet expectation.

I can dive into the details at a later time for those who are curious to know how everything happened, but in a nutshell, within the last couple of days, the Lord opened doors for me to have some honest conversations which led to the opportunity to reconsider my outreach location. I could not believe this was even possible!

It was definitely a moment I’ll never forget but at last, after laying it all down, the Lord gave me the desire of my heart. I get to serve in PNG! It reminded me of Abraham being asked to sacrifice Isaac in Genesis 22. I realized a few things: God is kind, not cruel. He delights in our obedience and rewards it in ways we can’t imagine. He honors our every ‘yes’. Jesus is the reward and He is better than anything we can ever have or do. And God loves to make us happy; with Him, there’s no such thing as ‘too good to be true’. We just need to obey God and leave the outcomes to Him.

How sweet it is to trust God with our desires and better yet with our whole lives. Isn’t it like Jesus, to turn it all around, just in the nick of time? All He ever wanted was our hearts.

What a joy it is to journey with Jesus ❤️

Blog 004

I’m going on outreach! You already knew that 😅 but now we know where I’m headed! ✈️

It has been an incredible journey of joining an outreach team. Honestly, I did not imagine that I would end up on the team that I’m on. I had a very different vision for how I thought things were going to go but most of us have discovered by now that the Lord works in ways we never imagine and His ways are higher than our own.

We had the opportunity to request our top two choices of outreach locations and then the leaders would pray and place us on the team that they feel we should be on. I remember writing down my top two choices and just being so convinced that I would go to my first choice and then writing down my second choice with just one word swirling in my mind - ‘pioneer’.

I still have not fully wrapped my mind around why I actually wrote my second choice but the more I think about it, it must have been God because the next day, one of the staff leaders for my second outreach location choice approached me to have a chat. As soon as she asked to chat, I knew where this was going.

God was partnering me with the pioneering team…going to England then the Philippines! 🇬🇧 🇵🇭

I felt like my world had flipped upside down.

Although I wrote down the second choice, I just did not expect this to be happening.

But it really is a beautiful thing when the Lord shows us that His plans and His ways are so much better than our own. I was so challenged to release my need for control and truly trust in the Lord with all my heart (Proverbs 3:5-6). 🤲🏽

The Lord has been kind to me as I grieved the death of my control and detailed imagination of how my outreach was going to go and the beautiful birth of all the things God dreamed up for me.

For now, all I know is I will be on a team that is pioneering a brand new YWAM base in Canterbury, England then continuing on to serve in the islands of the Philippines. More details to come! Your prayers are so appreciated!

Thank you so much for being on this wild and wonderful journey with me - much love! 💛

Blog 003

One week in and I feel like I’m home 💛

I feel like I’ve been here in Kona for months, in a good way. This place quickly became home to me and the people I’ve met have become family.

There were lots of ‘first times’ and ‘new’ things happening but it was all so beautiful. We were welcomed to the Big Island of Hawai’i with precious Hawaiian Protocol and throughout the week, we heard so many stories about YWAM Ships’ history, strategy, and vision. I’m so encouraged by all the mind-blowing miracles that have taken place in and through this base.

My heart feels like it’s been set on fire for the things that are happening through this base and I feel incredibly grateful to be here. Exactly what has been on my heart - unreached and isolated people groups - is exactly what we’re after here and I feel like my heart is bursting.

I feel so blessed to have this opportunity to go after the heart of Jesus for the unreached while training on this beautiful island until we go out into the field. Surrounded by the beauty of creation - the waves, the sunrises and sunsets, volcanoes, sea creatures, and everything in between - I think, how can we not be in a heart posture of awe and wonder?! 🥹

The Lord has been incredibly kind to me. He knew exactly what I needed and He has been providing in every way. He brought me sisters that I prayed for before I even got here. He brought me mentors to inspire me. He prepared people to give me the exact words and wisdom I needed to hear. And He even brought healing to my body.

I just got here and I’m already seeing the Lord doing miracles all around. I’m so excited about what this season is going to look like. We’ve only just dipped our toes in the water! 🌊

~P

Blog 002

The current time is 9:07 AM. I’m at the airport gate, ready to board my flight to Kona!

For those of you wondering if it has ‘hit me’ yet - nope, not yet! 😅 It has been a bittersweet couple of days saying my last goodbyes but I’m so excited about everything that’s ahead!

Over the last few days, I realized that there is moment-by-moment grace for each step ahead. No need to rush; no need to look too far ahead. I heard a friend say recently, “that’s why the Bible says the Lord’s mercies are new every morning” (Lamentations 3:22-23). This truth has taken on so much more meaning for me in recent days. So thankful for His faithfulness. 🙌🏽

With that, of course, I could not be more grateful for such an incredible community of loved ones who have supported me and showered me with love and care every step of the way. Thank you so much to each of you who have walked with me this far.

This is just the beginning! Come along for the ride - next stop, Kona, Hawaii! ☀️

~ P

Blog 001

About the in-between. It’s been a long time waiting but I’ve loved the anticipation. It’s like ordering that treat and waiting to have it. 😅

Being one week away from everything I’m waiting to see unfold, I figured I should start by answering the question I loved getting asked the most:

What has the Lord been teaching you in this process?

For those who believe in Jesus, I hope this encourages you; for those who don’t, it’ll all eventually make sense! 😊

I’m so excited about all the tangible ways I’ll get to serve in communities unknown to many of us, but of course, my motivation to go has always been Christ and His transformative work in my life. So here are two things He’s working out in my heart right now:

1: God can do anything!

Literally anything. The longer I sat on this, the more challenged I felt. I remember thinking, ‘sure, I think I believe that’. Then a couple of months ago, I asked the Lord to show me what that actually looks like. That felt like a bold move.

My prayer eventually became, “God, I want You to blow my mind”. Ha! 😂

As humorous as this might sound, I think God was using this desire to unearth some lies I believed and to challenge my faith. I’ve seen miracles with my own eyes and heard countless stories of God doing seemingly impossible things for others, but for myself, well, I wasn’t too sure about that. 

Deep down I had this doubt that it would never happen for me and I struggled with the fear of things being ‘too good to be true’. But isn’t it like Jesus to be different than what we thought? Those of you walking closely with me have literally seen the miraculous provision, favor, and timing of the Lord in the last few weeks; the impossible being made possible! And it’s still a process for me. Every day I remind myself: Is anything too hard for the Lord? Is anything too wonderful for Him? No, nothing.

(Genesis 18:14; Luke 1:37)

2: Fruit.

Not the ones we eat 😁; the ones we live out! 

Love. Joy. Peace. Patience. Kindness. Goodness. Faithfulness. Gentleness. Self Control. (Galatians 5:22-23)

I’m still working this out, but I’m realizing that Jesus is more concerned about me becoming more like Him than anything I can do for Him or others. From the Garden of Eden, He has desired communion; for us to abide in Him; for us to draw near. 

I love the imagery when Jesus says, He is the True Vine and we are the branches; bearing fruit; learning His ways; growing in His likeness.

He’s become the Gardener of my heart; bringing in life and light, restoring what had died, softening what was calloused, mending what was broken, and refreshing the parts that were dry. How sweet it is to be loved by the Father. How wonderful it is to be called His friend.

(John 15:1-17)

Although these two things might seem a little random, I know God is up to something and it all comes together in the end. So I hope you’re encouraged. I hope for now this sort of makes sense 😄 I’m so glad for the way God encourages us when we embark on new adventures with Him! There will be lots of stories and updates to come. But for now, thank you for being here with me on this journey.

Heavenly Father, thank you for the one reading these words. Thank you for peeling back another layer of who You are to us. Thank you for showing us Your ways. May we always trust You with childlike faith. May we never lose our awe and wonder. May we never shy away from the ‘heart’ work. May we desire to be more like Jesus. And may this journey bring You glory. Have Your way in the now, the next and everything in-between.

Amen.