Home Snow Home

Home again... Home again.... So you know you arrive in Saskatchewan in November when you get off the plane and you freeze your butt off. Well not quite because because you ask your mother to bring you a jacket and some mitts. But I was very thankful for snow on the ground when I flew over Saskatoon. I have not seen really snow since January and was really missing it.
But anyways enough about snow. I am doing really good. Being home has been really good. I have been able to catch up to some of the sleep that I have not been able to get over the last 11 months of my YWAM adventure. I am still not to sure exactly what the next year of my life will look like. Let alone the next week. I really do have a strong passion to take a trip to Mexico within the next couple of months. Well that seems to be all that is coming to mind at the moment.

One very long day

The journey back from India. That is one I will never forget. It is hard to explain but lets just say that I had Sunday morning twice. I left India on Sunday at 1:30 am and got to Nashville at 3 pm on the same day, although the journey actually took over 2 days. Crazy I think so too. But thank the Lord the way our flights worked out we were able to sleep at the times that we needed to to work out jet lag. So I think I have offically beat it.
India was one the greatest things I have ever done in my life and I would not change it for anything. It was also one of the most challenging things. God has stretched me in so many ways. But all for good yes. The week of leading was one of those challanging moments. I don't think I ever shared this with you all but I was also in charge of all the team money. So here I was always the one you go for for money. That also means I had to make sure the books where in line and we weren't missing any. I actually didn't mind it but it did take up a long time.
Honestly I think I have a lot of stuff I need to process because the last 5 weeks of my life I have spent in one of most amazing and hardest countries in the world. But it was great and there are some many things that I never thought I would see, and learned things about myself that never knew was there. I feel like I am just blabbing so I will leave you with that.

Oh and I am heathly as a horse!!

India thus far

India has been amazing. And everyday I fall more in love with Jesus. There is so much hidden beauty in India that gets looked over. For example you can go up to anyone and just start talking to them. Also this is one of the most loving cultures that I have ever been in.
God has been speaking to me a lot about my future here in India and I am really excited about it. I know He has amazing things for me. And I am not going to compromise what He has for me. The great thing is is that everything he has been telling me about my future is what I want. So I am not worried about what is to come.
I guess I can get back to India now. We are having an amazing time here in Chennai. The last couple of days we have been doing a lot of friendship evangelism. Which is basically go out in the community and make friends in hope that you can tell them about the love of Jesus. Yesterday we invited some of the neighbourhood kids to come over and play cricket. It was so much fun. Never have I thought that cricket could be so much fun. Oh and it was so hot out yesterday that I got a sunburn. Yeah imagine that a sunburn in November. Something I thought would never happen. I guess that goes to show that you can never say never.
Something else God has been teaching me is that, I have to expect the unexpected. Nothing ever seems to happen the way I thought they would. I guess that is why I am not God. Thank you Jesus.
Peace and love to all!

To lead...

To lead or not to lead that is the question? And the answer for Megan Manson is to lead.
So for some background first.
Tonight my team is splitting up. Half of the team is heading to Coimbatore, it is another city an 8 hour train ride away. The other half (the half I am on) is staying here in Chennai. We are going to be teaching english to university students as a way to build a relationship with them and tell them of the love of Jesus. I am really excited about this as I am going to be coleading this team with another guy on the team. The School of Ministry Development really has a focas on leading and this is a chance for me to follow in the calling God has placed on my life. God has been showing me in many ways that I am going to be leading in some sort of way in my future. I can not share my excited in words. As I said in my last post, I am going to end up in Mexico sometime in my life and I would really love to lead a team there first before I live there. So if anyone is interested in doing missions in Mexico let me know. But please do not take this as me forgeting about India right now. My heart for this moment in time is completely here in India.
This was short but I hope it explains what is going on in my life to this point.
Love you all!

India Con't

Hello again!! Lets start with a little update. Since the last time I have wrote to you I have been sick, road in a car that comfortably seats 5 with 10 people, including one on my lap for total 3 hours, that is both ways so only an hour and a half at a time, and done about 15 programs. I don't know how else to express my joy for India. Nothing the same ever happens. Everyday is a new adventure. Like today, our driver got a little lost and we were late for church but we still got there and were able to do our program and the people really seemed to enjoy it. Oh I forgot to mention that it is rainy season here and it has been raining for like 3 days straight and there is no end in sight. So all the while being lost we are in a car with the limit of people of course, and it is raining in the car (we have to have the windows open becuase for some reason Indians don't like air conditioning). It has been really good though and I don't want it to sound like I am complaining becuase I am not. I really love it here and am having the time of my life. It is just the Lord stretching me in all my comforts. But I do have a bed to come home to everyday so that is a blessing from God.
Being in India, God has really shown me my heart for Mexico and all of Central America. He has been showing me that it won't be to long until I will return there and continue with the ministry that He started in me. Yesterday we went to an orphange, and it made me really excited becuase that is what I want to do one day is start an orphange in Mexico. God has also been showing me that I really do have a heart for children. I love kids and can not get enough of them. It is a good thing because there are kids everywhere. And a lot of them are searching for love, and are very easy to love. There are even 3 kids where we are staying. We are staying at YWAM Chennai the School of Evangelism base. There are some staff families that have children. And there are really cute. The oldest is 3 and she has a little brother who will be one on the 31st. And there is also about 9 months old.
What else has God been teaching me? Well that I can easily get frustrated and I need to work on that. Especially when it comes to communication. Not only with people on my team but with people back home. That is why I love the internet because it is so easy to communicate with people. I can talk to Melissa via skype and it costs nothing!!! Free!! Now who doesn't like the sounds of that. So if you could please be praying that I will work through my frustrations and be able to lay them down to the Lord. Because He has taken away it before but for some reason I keep picking it back up.

To be continued...

Chennai

So here I am sitting in one of the million internet cafes in Chennai wondering what you all out there want to know. Well to start of with we made it safely to Chennai on Friday morning. It is a lot different than Kolkata. It is not quite as populated. About 7 million less. There are a lot more cows here. And when I say cows I mean cows walking and living on the street!! What a sight to see. We went to the slum area yesterday and it was amazing. The people are so loving. One lady invited us into her one room house and made us tea and gave us crackers. This all just for some prayer. In the slum area we went to there are about 10 000 people living there. That is all in the size of maybe Birch Hills. There are people every where. But I love it. Today we went to church and 3 of us gave our testimonies and did some worship. It was cool becuase it was an English speaking church so no need for a translator! Not to sure what is going on for the up comming week but I will let you all know! Love ya

I LOVE INDIA!!

Okay so India is amazing! We have been here for just over a week and I am in love with the place. Our team of 19 split up into groups of about 4 or 5 and was doing different ministry. We are working with a school for street kids, in the train station with street kids, in a day care with street kids and a muslim ministry. I and 4 other girls were working in the day care. We go to the day care in the morning and help out. It really consist of helping the kids bathe and playing with them. They are some of the most amazing kids I have ever met in my life. Than in the afternoon we go to the street were these kids live and we play with them. It was really a shock to go to the street because it was a reality that these kids really don't have a house to go home to. They love us and can not let go! It is really amazing because even though these kids are dirty and most of them have lice, I don't care and sharing God's love with them is really my only priority! I am forever changed by them. This ministry is run by a lady named Loche. She loves these kids so much and you can really tell that they are her kids even if not by birth. I have a lot to learn from her if I ever want to work with kids long term.
So on Tuesday evening (which is early morning for all of you) we are leaving for Chennai. It will be a 30 train ride. And not to sure if we have air conditioning. But it is a sleeper bus so we will have "beds" to sleep in. It really is a testimony to God that we got tickets at all, becuase there is a lot of festivals going on in India right now and they usually do not sell tickets within 1 month of the travelling date! So here we are going to Chennai!!
Have I told you that I love India!! Well I do!
Peace and God Bless!

Ps. Please leave a comment. I really appreciate knowing thoughts!!

Welcome to India!!

Well today I write to you from an internet cafe in Kolkata, India. Things are going really good. It is our first day in India after 3 days of traveling! Let me tell you that I have had about 6 hours of sleep in the last 3 days. So tonight I am going to bed really early and try to get over jet lag.
India is completly opposite to every thing I have ever seen. There are people everywhere, children begging for money and sleeping in the street. It is definatly going to be a time of surrender to the Lord and have him lead this outreach. Because if it were up to me I would be taking all the kids home with me. Please be praying for me and the whole team as we are all very tired and feeling a little stressed out. I know that this is going to be an amazing time, but with that there are going to be many hurdles that I will need to jump over. Please be praying that I will be able to put my eyes on Jesus and no one else and from that intimacy that is where my ministry will flow.
I love you all very much and talk to you later. I will be keeping you updated.

My life thus far...

My life is really amazing if I think about it. I get to go all around the world under only one stipulation. And that is I get to tell people of the love of Jesus Christ and his saving power. And on top of that it really isn't that hard. It is just telling people about my best friend. Who doesn't like to talk about there best friend. There may be some rocky times, but who doesn't have those? In just 2 sleeps I am going to India. I would be lying if I said I wasn't scared but I know that my God is bigger than fear. 1 John 4:18 says "Perfect love casts out all fear" and I know no greater love than that of my heavenly Father! On top of the fear, winning out on my emotions, is excitement. Not so much for the incredibly long plane ride, but for that of stepping out of my comfort zone into the unknown. Peace and Grace to you all!

Stateside

Well I am sitting in a youth centre in Orange Beach, AB wondering on where I should start with the update. For the next 2 days I will be sleeping in a beach resort with two pools across the street from the gulf of Mexico!! And yes that means the beach. Things are going very very good. God is showing His faithfulness more and more everyday. Us actually having a place to say is a testimony of it. The day we were driving down here we didn't even know if we would have a place to stay, we were thinking we were going to be sleeping in the van! But now we are in resort with more than we could ever imagine!! Mississippi was amazing as well. We worked with a church in Starksville. It is a college town to the tee. It has the University of Mississippi right in town. We did our program on Sunday as well as did some chair upholstery. So if you ever need some chairs redone just call on us.
On, friday we are heading to another town way north of here to do some more ministry. I am not to sure of the exacts that we are doing but I know it will be just as amazing as it has been so far. And as of today it is one week before we leave for India!! I am very very excited for this adventure. God is reading to do some really amazing things there.
Peace and love!!

Greetings

My apologies once again. Way to long in between blogs. I am way to busy for anyones health. Hope everyone is doing alright. I am doing really really amazing. Life is so good down here. It has been hot and humid, pretty much the entire time I have been here. But finally this weekend we have been getting some rain, I was forgetting what it looked like it had been so long since I had seen it.
God is doing some really amazing things in my life. He has been teaching me the true meaning of grace lately. Something given freely to some one you doesn't deserve it. And that is what I have been given is life and life abundant! He continues to show me Love and the true meaning of it. I can not wait to be able to go to India and show people who have never heard of Jesus his love to them! Please keep me in your prayers as it is going to take a lot of it while we are there.
Well on September 21st we are leaving for stateside. I am heading to Mississippi and Alabama. We are going to be there for about 10 days. We are going to be working in different churches doing programs and really just serving where we can. Thank you all for being there for me. I will try to keep a more detailed update when in India!!
Love you all!!

Here I am again!

Hey Hey all you peeps out there in blogspot land! Again I take to long in between blogs. Sorry about that. But just to let everyone know I am on Facebook everyday so if you have Facebook and I don't have you as a friend add me!! And if you don't know what Facebook is don't worry about it. I will try to remember to blog more often.

So the outreach location is decided. And if you don't already know.... It is INDIA!! WOO WOO!! Can we say Megan is excited??? Yes she is. But of course much prayer is needed.

Well a couple of weeks ago we went to Louisiana. We were working in New Orleans gutting houses. We got to lead a couple of youth groups from around the States. It was really cool, God did some amazing things in these kids lives. Not only in the kids lives but every one on my team.Megan tearing down the wall of a house in New OrleansSome of my team in the house we gutted!This is Kathryn and I. She is one of the girls from Maryland that I really got along with!
This is a UHAUL truck that I found on the way home from Louisiana. Yes it does say Saskatchewan on it. Jesus Loves Me!!

Greetings from Tennessee

So it has been about 2 months since my last blog. So I figured that now would be a good time to do it all again. So I am back in Tennessee to do the second school that YWAM offers. That would be the School of Ministry Development. This school is really about who you are in the body of Christ and what you can bring to the table. I am so excited! It has only been a day and a half and God is already teaching me so much. This is going to be one of the greatest things that has ever happened in my life. Of course prayer is always welcome. Well that is all I can think of at this moment in time. See y'all later!!

Hello Hello

So it has been a while since I have last blogged! I just don't seem to find the time. We are very very busy! But it is so amazing. We just recently got back from Belize! It was incedible. I feel in love with the place and the people. It might sound nuts but I can see myself living there one day! Or maybe even in Mexico. Well I am really excited as tomorrow our school leader is flying in. He will be here for 5 days. And he has already been to China so he will have some amazing stories to tell from there. Also we have been to the beach here in Cancun and I did get burnt! I was a tomato for about 4 days. It was not cool. But with it being over 30 degrees here every day well I guess it is expected! Love you all!

P.S. I am super happy as Mexico uses Kilometres not this mile poo!! Just a little sidenote I thought you would enjoy!

HOT HOT HOT

Hello everyone! Just a little update. I have safely made it into Mexico. Everyone got their luggage and we had no troubles getting into the country (praise the Lord). It was over 30 degrees this morning around 9 am. So needless to say it will only get hotter. I have never sweat so much in my life. We already had an opportunity to minister to someone. As soon as we got out of the airport and we were waiting for our ride, the guys on our team pulled out their guitars and began worshiping with this Mexican guy. It was so amazing. So that is all for now I will try to keep in touch via blog as my email seems to be doing silly things. I love you all.

Off to Mexico!

I have recently returned from Michigan. My team and I have an amazing time. We did a bunch of services and talked to a lot of amazing people. God did some really awesome stuff to our team and through our team. I will have to give all the details when I come home. And at that time I will also have some awesome stories about Mexico. So I leave for Mexico on Wednesday!! Yippee I am so excited. God is going to do some amazing things.PS if you haven't heard I really badly sprained my ankle last Thursday. So you could would you please pray for me. As I am leaving for Mexico and I am still using crutches, but I can walk on it but it still really hurts.

Sorry!

Okay so I realize it has been over a month since I have last blogged. I am really sorry, I guess I should start by saying yes I am still alive! God is really amazing and been doing awesome stuff in my life and my teammates. We are getting ready to leave for stateside and things are pretty crazy down here. We have been having team meetings all week, where we are working on our program and stuff of the sort (if you need more details don't be afraid to ask) and will continue to have them until we leave on Friday. I haven't really started to pack yet, and not only do I have to pack for Michigan but also for Mexico. Pray for me would ya!
So I kinda want to brag about the weather down here, one day it got to about 90 degrees fahrenheit , (and yeah I realize I am talking American Melissa so for you that is about 30 degrees Celcius).
We found out that not only are we going to Mexico, but we also get to go to Belize for like 10 days!! Talk about exciting. I can hardly wait. God is really pushing me in areas I didn't think I would see myself going. We will probably have to give a teaching on outreach and God has given me such peace about that. Never would I think that I would have such a thing as if anyone knows me I HATE to write. And not only do we have to write it but we will have to give it in front of who knows how many people. I am sooooooooo excited.
Would you all keep me and my team in your prayers as we still need about ten thousand dollars for outreach. We are totally and completely trusting God that he will bring in the money, but prayer is always welcome. Not only for the money but just general prayer is always good. I guess just for His grace, blessing and peace would continue on me and my team. Also I'm praying for you guess back home too.

I love you all,
Megan



PS. I cut my hair!! It is pretty short. That would be Anna Catherine cutting my hair and no she is not a trained professional, just a young YWAMer.

Pictures

This one and the next two are all taken our in the forest around the base! We have some good times out there!

One afternoon some of the guys and myself went golfing and this golf course was in some guys backyard. It was one of the funnest times as the longest hole was only 119 yards. On hole 2 which is only 54 yards I teed off with a putter and made it over the green.

Hey Hey

Wow so it has been over 2 weeks since I have last blogged. So I guess I should start off by saying I am still alive. Just a little update in case you didn't know this, we are heading to Alabama tomorrow for a week. We are going for the South East Staff Conference. It is all the YWAM bases in the southeast get all together for a week. I am really excited as I get to see more of the States.
I can not believe I just finished my 7th week here. Time does sure fly when you are having fun. All sorts of crazy and fun times are happening every day here. Way to much to even try to write in one blog entry. I am excited as we just had our first team building time yesterday. Our Mexico team really is getting along wonderful and we are learning a lot about each other. We are going to have a blast!! I can hardly wait. I guess I have to get through stateside first. I am really excited about that time too. Not only because I get to go back into Canada but I love my team and we are going to see God do some amazing things through us. Well that is all I can think of to tell y'all at the moment. If you have any questions do not be afraid to leave a comment and ask!!
Love ya!!

This right here is me at a little thing I like to call pickle fest. It is what it is!!



This is my small group at the Love Feast we had theMonday before Valentine's.

The are my roommates. Beside me is Kaci, than Annalyse! They rock my socks!

This is all of the girls minus my small group leader who was busy making supper!This is the boys, minus there small group leader John!

I am so sorry that I have not given anything lately. It just seems to be so extremely busy lately. And on top of that when I was going to blog, the internet was not working. So yeah. Ok so here is the truth. So on Tuesday when I found out about Greg's car accident I had the first feeling of homesickness. I really wanted to be home with the fam. But someone gave me some really good advice. Satan knows I am here for a reason and will use anything to get me to leave or be distracted, and that feeling homesick is one of those things that he may use. So don't feel angry or upset that I don't feel homesick. I am just not letting it get to me so Satan can not attack me. Yeah this may seem a little OUT THERE for some of you but this is really how I feel. I am still having the time of my life. So I haven't really told you all on the blog here where I am going. I'm sure most of you know already but I myself am going to Mexico. I am so excited about it.!!!!!! O and for stateside mission before we go to Mexico and China. Our team is again getting split up and going to Michigan and Virgina for like 10 days or so. I am going to Michigan. This is for some strategic reasons, as I only have a visa to be in the states for 3 months ( runs out on April 5th) I have to run in to Canada and get that all fixed up. So yes I will be stepping on Canadian soil during my stay down south. I am kinda excited about that. Sure it will be in Ontario, but it is still Canada. But I got to go and sleep. I love y'all and see you in 4 months. Unless of course you get the courage to make the trek down to Tennessee and come and visit me. I am sure we can find you a place to sleep. Even if it is in the cave. Just kidding. Peace out!!

O yeah and by the way we had about an inch of snow this weekend. But it is all gone now!!

God is Good!!

I really hope this story comes out as amazing it really is. One of the girls here did not yet have all the money that she needed to pay for the lecture phase. It just so happened that her birthday is on Friday. So as a birthday gift someone came up with the idea that the class should take up a offering for her. Before class had actually started we did just that, but Brooke (the leader) did not say who the offering was for, it was just for a missionary going to China. Than this afternoon we revealed to the girl that the offering was for her and told her the amount. It was over $2500!!! And the amazing thing is that there were only about 20 people in the room. That means the average given was over $100 each. And she only needed about $1700. As I think it is in Psalms 23, God not only fills our cup but he overflows it. I just felt really compelled to tell y'all this.

Just thought you would like to see a pic of the whole group.

Sleep!!

So last week sometime a bunch of us girls decided that we wanted to sleep in one of the caves that are out by the cliffs here on base. And guess what Friday was that day. A couple of the guys had found this cave a couple of weeks ago and 4 of them had slept in it the weekend before last. So us girls couldn't let those boys think they were all tough so we said we would do it too. Just to give you an idea of how small this cave is, well there were 7 of us sleeping in it and the 6th and 7th were right at the mouth of the cave, with 4 of us sleeping side by side and for one to move you all had to move with the last sleeping right next to the fire without enough room to lay flat on her back. Well a couple of the guys thought it would be funny to stay out after curfew and scare the girls at 2 in the morning. Well it worked on some of them and 4 went back into the house, but 3 of us braved the elements and stayed out the whole night. Let me just tell you that it is an experience I will remember for the rest of my life. I actually slept pretty good considering we were basically sleeping on rock. But Saturday was the only day that I have taken an afternoon nap!!
I just want to say that the people here are so amazing and we all feel like a big huge family. I am getting so much love and support in all I do, and it is so easy to give out to. So I may be teased for having a funny accent and I say "about" funny, but little do they know that it is really them that talk strange!! Only kidding. Well I love you all and miss some of you. Just kidding miss ya all!! God Bless

This is a pic of me and my small group leader Kassie. She is so amazing and trully has a heart for the Lord. She has helped me a lot and is always willing to talk whenever. O and she also brought me to Target for my first ever visit there! By the way it was amazing.

More Pictures!!

Okay so the next 5 pictures are probably not going to make any sense to anyone but I wanted to show some the super amounts of fun I am having and some of the super people I am with.This is our leader Brooke Gehman. He is a super awesome person! A true man of God.

This is Jesse. We found the carebear in the warehouse we were cleaning out for World Relief.

This is John, he is the guys small group leader. He found the training wheel in the warehouse and decided he needed some help walking. You can never be to safe.

Every one this is Joe. We had to sort out some cloths for World Relief and we fumbled across this wonderful hat and purse he so nicely modeled for me.

This is Lisa. She is so super awesome. She found this magic wand and carried around with her for a while and I decided I needed a picture of her with it. She is also the girl in the other blog with the mullet wig.

Some of the group outside of the Parthenon. No not the one in Greece but the one in downtown Nashville.

This is most of Team Mexico on the way to Nashville.

These two cutie pies are Jason Christian and Gabriella. They are the kids of one of the ladies that is doing the DTS with me. They are the cutest kids ever.

These are some pics of what we Nashville YWAMers like to call the cliffs. It is the most beautiful place on site. It is where the Red River runs.

Pictures

Hey everyone out there in internet land. Things are going super here in Tennessee. It has been pretty cold the last couple of days. And by cold I mean like I can still wear flip flops but my feet get a little chilled. I just though I would give you a little bit of pictures to see what I am up to. If you feel you need an explanation for any of these just feel free to ask. Just for your information. That is not really that girls hair we have wigs on!! I'll tell you later.

CHINA or MEXICO!!

Well our group is going to China and Mexico. As of yet we don't know who is going where but I will keep you all posted. And if you could, could you please pray for me and see where you think God is calling me too. Well I had the most amazing experience of my life the other day. And for some this may seem really weird and out there put I swear to you that is the truth and nothing but the truth. During intersession on Thursday we were waiting to hear from the Lord. And the leader Brooke got an image of Africa and a lion, we than looked around the room and seen the flag of Ethiopia. I than could not get Lauren of my mind and that she had always wanted to go to Ethiopia. We than prayed for her and it was impressed on me that she was to be going there. I than emailed her and she said that they are indefinitely going to Northern Africa. Just for those who don't know Ethiopia is in Northern Africa!!! Ok so it may not sound that amazing to read but to experience it was super amazing. Well I have to go and sleep as we had a long day, and need to wake up for church in the morning. Loves ya!!

I'M HERE!!

Well everyone rest easy I made it to Tennessee in one piece. I almost didn't get into the country, but it worked out in the end. I arrived in Nashville around 1:00 this afternoon, and found the people who were picking me up right away. We had to wait for another girl who was supposed to arrive around 2:30 but her flight got delayed until 3:45. So in between we went to the Opry Mills Mall and had some food (as I hadn't ate since 3:00 that morning). We ended up walking around the mall and than sat and talked for a good couple of hours. Cassidy ( the girl who picked me up) is one of the most nicest people in the world. We got along so well and we had only just met. Her boyfriend Mark was with her and he seems really nice also. Well to tell the truth my group of DTSers are all very nice. Well that is the ones I have met already. There are 16 in our group that is 12 girls and only 4 boys, and of these only about 12 are here today. Well I hope that is enough to please you all. Love ya all.

Ahhhhhh!!

Well it would only be 3 more sleeps as of today until I leave for Tennessee. Let me tell you that I can hardly wait for that day. God is good and has provided everything that I seem to need so this should be most enjoyable. I am writing this blog mostly as someone and I won't name names (you know who you are) has harassed me that there hasn't been anything new for him or her to read. Well this one is for you!! I know it isn't very much but it was from my heart!!