Familiarity?

1 week 1 day 22 hours 26 minutes and 24 seconds until I board my flight to Ecuador, South America. ISN'T THAT SO EXCITING? This whole year I have been counting the months, the days, the hours, until I leave and now the day is within hands reach. As I finished my last week of my sophomore year at Samford, my head was spinning with things to do, finals to finish, work to do, and for this past year it has been all I can do to keep my head above the water. As I can finally catch my breath for a second and survey the past year, it is amazing to see what God has done. He has provided, led me through some of the toughest trials I have ever gone through, showed my brother his desperate need for God, and done a work in me that I don't think I can ever explain. But God has shown me something: something I hope I never forget.
   
    Flash back to this past Easter. I felt drowned with school and work, and the last thing I wanted to was to have a wake up encounter with God Almighty. I didn't realize it then, but I had put my relationship with Christ on the back burner, on cruise, on autopilot. I let my circumstances define my attitude and ultimately my walk my Christ. Well, I received a message on Facebook from Ashleigh Gurley inviting me and some other college girls to her girls night with the girls of her student ministry. With out thinking, I said of course and planned to go with my best friend from college, Lauren. Well life happens, and my friend couldn't go with me, and I invited my mother to go with me to the girls night at church. Ashleigh had a great night with the girls planned, as we ate and had great fellowship. But what I didn't know, was she had more in mind. As we walked together upstairs to the refuge room, silence enveloped the girls as we knew we were walking into something, but we didn't know what. As we sat down, the passion of Christ started playing. As we started watching, tears started rolling down my face unknowingly as I was so lost within the movie. And then it hit me. Like a brick wall. I had become comfortable with the cross. I was used to the sacrifice Jesus had paid for me. I heard it so many times in church via the sermon, sunday school, or worship, but it was true: I was comfortable. When the Holy Spirit revealed this to me, I just sat there. Is it true? Me? Morgan Ramsey? The girl that goes on mission trips more than stays in the States? That girl is used to the cross? Oh Jesus, forgive me. May my pride never get in the way of my relationship with Christ again. May I NEVER be used to the cross again. May I never be comfortable with the blood, the whippings, the beatings, the death you died for ME, a worthless sinner!
 
     Now I know what you're thinking: um, yeah, that's awesome Morgan, but how does this have anything to do with Ecuador? Well, I realized my disease of familiarity had spread to all areas of my life. The many times where I had said to myself in the morning, "just sleep in, you can read the Word later" and never getting around to it, within my workplace as I am used to working constantly with a mindless way of thinking, the routine of drowning myself with homework, and also with my trips to Ecuador. It was routinal, familiar, old. Ecuador became something I looked forward to doing camps, seeing my friends, doing the things I always do. My heart for this year is that Ecuador doesn't become another check on my never-ending check list. The word that the Lord gave me for this year is a word I didn't expect. I usually expect words like balance, trust, rely that allow my life to re-center around Christ. But my word shook me, this year as it woke me up from a deep sleep. It made me realize that this word is something that I need to use in every aspect of my life. My word for the year is, refresh. My life had become routine, gasping for air of something different.
     
   But I thought at first the word was only for a certain aspect of my life, my college ministry at church. My prayer for the college ministry is that we don't go through the motions of singing, "learning", and then going home. As I shared with my college leaders my word of the year for our ministry, I started to realize that I was the one in need of refreshment. God has reminded me of this through many things: a manager change at my job, the immense increase of hard work at school, and through personal events, I realized my life is not the same anymore. And then suddenly in the admits of uncertainty and insecurity, God breathed this verse into my life:

"Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: the old has gone, the new is here!"-2 Corinthians 5:17. 

   So this is where I am at. Realizing that Christ is not something or someone to be familiar with. God is truly doing something NEW in me! I am realizing that life was not designed to be routine. Jesus is constantly calling for me to be more than what I am used to. And maybe, you are reading this and saying that is exactly where I am. You're wondering why God isn't speaking and it feels like He isn't near. Well lemme tell you something: God is always near and always speaking, but in my case I had put a wall up. A wall of familiarity. Maybe your wall is work, stress, money, a relationship. Well, one thing that helps you break this wall is to call it what it is: an idol. An idol is anything that separates you from God. And my idol is routine. My schedule, my hard heart was the wall. But the most important way to demolish is to spend time with Him through prayer and the word, which is something I had ignored.

   So with all of this being said, I am taking on a different mindset for my final trip to Ecuador with Camp Chacauco. I am praying for a fresh touch, a trip that will change my way of thinking and living. I hope you will join alongside me in praying for a different trip. I leave next Thursday morning, the 29th, at 10:30, for two weeks with Samford, and then 5 weeks with Chacauco. Please pray for safe travels and health, as health is always a huge factor for me. Thank you for taking the time to read my thoughts and what God is doing in my life, as I prepare for my final trip to Ecuador!

Serving Him,
Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

Fish out of water

Well it has been officially one week since I left the country that will forever have my heart within its grasps. Now don't get me wrong, it is great to be back and to see my family that I love so much and my friends! It is so exciting sharing with them the incredible things I have experienced and to tell them all of the God stories that I have seen throughout the past two months. I have the best family and friends that a person could ask for, and I can't wait till Samford starts back up so I can see even more of my incredible friends and tell them all that God did in my life and in others lives.
     But something is missing. Something is not the same. Something is wrong. I realized that my heart, more than ever, is broken and is still in Ecuador even though my body is back here in the United States. It's like when a couple is in love: they can't stand to be apart from one another. As weird as that illustration may sound, thats how I feel. When I am serving in Ecuador I experience this incredible joy because I know I am getting a small glimpse of what I am going to do for the rest of my life. But when I come back to the States I feel like a fish out of water. Because, I know this really and truly is not my home. So please pray for my transition process physically, as I find myself getting sick a lot lately, emotionally, as it is hard to be here, and spiritually as I am trying to seek the Lord's face back in the States as well.
   Transition is a hard thing, plain and simple. The Lord has me here for a reason and a purpose, and it is my job to keep loving, keep seeking, and keep following Him. I can not thank you enough for reading along with my blogs for the summer, and I hope that you have read something that speaks to you because the Lord has been speaking so much to me this summer. Thank you for the prayers because they are so appreciated. I love each and every one of you guys and I am so thankful that the Lord has put you in my life.

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

Genesis 28:15

Well it's the day I have been dreading since I knew that I was coming on this trip. The day that I have to leave my heart here in Ecuador. But more of that later. This last week has been one of the best weeks of my life as we worked with 3 groups from Florida, Arkansas, and Kentucky in the jungle for one of our kids camps. We had 190 children in total at the camp, and it is a miracle in itself that we fit that much people in the camp. I was able to teach English, one of my favorite things in the whole world. It was so much fun to see kids learning another language! The children in the jungle are very different because they literally have nothing, but have everything at the same time. These children passionately love Jesus and it is so obvious in their worship and ways. It was a great week to spend with these children and experience the Lord in a different way. So many fun times and funny experiences that I can't wait to share with all of you. Thursday, I got the privilege of working with the other staff in La Tangugha in a medical clinic. I was one of the translators for the glasses department, and it was such a blessing to watch some people being able to see for the first time. I have always had a heart for people that can't see because I have had glasses since I was 5, and my eyesight is so bad that doctors say that they can not even fix it with surgery. So my heart goes out to people like these.
  The last couple of days have been some of the hardest of my life. I have had to say so many see-you-laters that my heart is literally in my stomach and is aching. The people I have met here are so incredible and have become my family. I know you must get tired of me posting that on Facebook and Instagram and on here, but I mean what I say. Chacauco is my home and the staff is my family. Each staff member is so incredible and brings something different to the table that no one else brings. My heart is breaking as I say see-you-later to people that I have known since I was 14 and have invested and poured so much into my life. This summer has been unforgettable to say the least, and has been a real game changer in my life and what I want to do for the rest of my life. The Lord has given me so much clarity on areas that I needed clarity about my future. As many of you know, my heart is in orphanages and that I am going to open one, one day. This summer the Lord has shown me so many things and so many options that I know that's what I am going to do for the rest of my life. The Lord has even shown me a city and ways to open an orphanage in that city, and I am so grateful and excited for what the future holds for me.
     Now, many people have asked me if I am coming back to Chacauco next summer, and I will tell you the honest truth: I have no earthly idea. I know Ecuador is where God wants me, but due to some scholarship and school things I am not sure if I will be able to come to Chacauco next summer, even though that breaks my heart even more. But, I am trusting the Lord because He knows the plans for me and His plans are precious, prosperous, and perfect for my life. And who am I to say no to His perfect plan? I am hoping that I will return and praying, but we will just have to see what happens with my school and the scholarship requirements. I know that ALL things work together for my good, whether I can see it or not. Despite sorrow and uncertainty I am clinging to one very, very, very important verse that the Lord has promised me.

"I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you"
Genesis 28:15

"Yo estoy contigo. Te protegeré por dondequiera que vayas, y te traeré de vuelta a esta tierra. No te abandonaré hasta cumplir con todo lo que te he prometido"
 Génesis 28:15

Thank you so much for reading along with me in this journey. I love you all so much!

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

My cup overflows

My heart is filled to the max and is overflowing with joy from the Lord from this last couple of weeks. We had a group from Fairdale in Louisville, Kentucky and Grandview from the Dallas area of Texas. It was such a blessing to be able to work with them because they were such good groups! We worked in a nice community in Ambato and did VBS with their children there. We had 100 children each day, if not more, which is incredible growth for the children's ministry in that area. They recognized about 6 of the children that come each Sunday. So that means that 94 of those children were new to the church and some hearing the gospel for the first time. That is so incredible to me that some of the children had heard the gospel for the first time!!! How exciting! We had an incredible week working with the children, but also working with the Apatug community, the same community that suffered persecution that I spoke of earlier in my blog. We did construction and did much needed cleaning up the area, and the people were so appreciative of the help that we gave them that they made us qui, guinea pig. Now some people were really grossed out by this since it was served as a whole guinea pig, but it is so good! Qui is the nicest form of appreciation that the Quechua people can give us. It is a rarity and used only for the best occasions. I love the Apatug community so much, and it broke my heart to see them one last time last Thursday night.
   On a happier note, many of you know that my birthday was yesterday and it was such a wonderful day. My wonderful roomies sang to me at midnight and brought me balloons, a card, and a beautiful scarf. I am so blessed to be rooming and living with the best people in the world. I love you Michelle, Carolina, Andy, Alejandra, and Michaela!! After many disrupted plans, I went to Ambato (my favorite city in the world) to shop and eat with a couple of the interns and it was so much fun! And eventually yes, my face was smashed into a cake. Gotta love Ecuadorian traditions.  I was reminded throughout the whole day that even though my heart is breaking just at the thought that my time here is now reduced to a week, The Lord has blessed me incredibly here. With incredible friends and family, my cup truly is overflowing. Blessed can not even begin to explain how I feel. Please continue to pray for me as I am traveling to the jungle today until Wednesday to do a children's camp where I will be a part of a team, and teaching English! I am so excited about that!
   Also, pray for me emotionally. My mind is consumed of thoughts about leaving, and it absolutely breaks my heart to the point of tears. Pray for my transition back into the States, as I know I will feel so out of place. Thank you so much for the prayers! I love you all!

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

To be and make disciples

Thank you so much to the ones that have been praying for me during this week during our first youth camp of the summer! I can honestly say that it was one of the best weeks of my life. We had youth from literally all over the country come to hear about the one true God for four days. And it was an amazing four days at that. We have had changes at the camp recently as we have lost two interns for the summer, Anna Sanders and Tori Walker, so continue praying for them as Anna starts her senior year and Tori starts her first year at the University of Kentucky (yuck, I know). But we have gained one new intern named Tyson Lott from Montgomery, Alabama who is about to be a junior at Auburn. Pray for Tyson as he begins his five week internship here!
     Update on Seth Peacock: He was very sick a couple of days ago, but received a shot, lots of medication, and lots of sleep and is doing much better! Unfortunately, he leaves tomorrow to make his journey home on Saturday night, so please pray for safe travels for him! Seth has been a big blessing to the camp, and we will miss him so much! I hate to see him go partially because I know I leave two weeks after him, and my heart is starting to break, but we are not going to talk about that here!
    The youth camp was probably one of the best weeks of my life in all honesty. It was so great to see youth that passionately love Jesus with their whole heart, and so encouraging for me. But my favorite part wasn't the games, the competitions, the band, the speaker. My favorite part of the whole week occurred Tuesday night. The theme of the conference was to be and make disciples. We talked the four days about what it means to be imitators of Christ and what that looks like in modern day life. At Tuesday night we talked a lot about serving one another and at the end of the conference we had a foot washing ceremony. I personally did not get to wash feet but watching the process was one of the most humbling and amazing experiences I have ever witnessed. As I watched tears stream down the Ecuadorian youths' faces, my feelings will never be explainable. I was reminded of when Jesus washed his disciples feet, and I immediately identified with their feelings of unworthiness. I placed myself in the position of the disciples and realized the incredible worth of this ceremony. I can never put in words what the Lord did in my heart that night, but it was a life-changing, perspective-changing experience that I will never forget. I hope and pray that you all can experience that ceremony, because I can not even try to explain the significance and the ultimate humbling experience.
    I am being amazed by the Lord every day in a different area. For that day it was the incredible, unfailing, unchanging love that our father has for us. And that night I got a little glimpse of that love in a different country with different people, in a totally different language but the same love and the same act of love that Jesus did for his disciples.
   Things like these happen every day around here. The Lord is so prevalent here, but he works in a different way in my life every day to show the same love He has for me. I have had the absolute best time here in Ecuador, and my heart is breaking every time I think about going back to the states in just two short weeks. I have done so many fun things and met so many incredible people, that all I can think is: this is my home. I can't imagine how out of place I am going to feel when I go back to the States, so begin praying for me in that period of transition. I have been coming in contact with different people every week, leading worship every weak with the incredibly talented Seth Peacock, seen so many things that I have been changed from the inside out all over again!
   I can never thank you for the outpoural of prayers on my life! Keep praying for us as we have a youth camp in the jungle next week, but I am staying at the mountain camp to help with a VBS here. So many exciting things are happening as I am going white water rafting tomorrow (for the ones that know my story of last year, I am securing my self in that raft so what happened last year will not be repeated)! And my birthday is next week and I AM SO EXCITED! Thank you and I love you all!

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

Galatians 6:9

Life is going by so fast here in Ecuador, but I am having the greatest time here in Ecuador! We have just finished the first real big children's camp and It was so much fun! We had four different teams throughout the camp, rojo, azul, amarillo, and verde (the best team). We were originally expecting 100-120 children, but ended up with 47 wonderful children! The government kept changing the day that children were out of school, and the camp ended up being when many children had final exams. But 100 children or not we had a wonderful time with these children. These children came from different backgrounds, different stories, different lifestyles that what I am accustomed too. We had devotionals, a talent show, a hike, an excursion to the pool, a bonfire, but most importantly we showed the children about the only thing that mattered the whole weekend: Jesus Christ. I had one of the best times of my life, but I was plagued with weariness the whole weekend, due to me getting barely any sleep while sleeping with the girls in the dorm the whole week. The Lord brought the verse Galatians 6:9 to my mind throughout the whole weekend, "So let's not get tired of doing what is good. At just the right time we will reap a harvest of blessing if we don't give up". Sometimes, it is easy to think that the work I do here is pointless, because I will never see the fruit of the harvest that I am sowing. I see the children for a couple days, pour out the love of Jesus, and never see them again. And to be honest, that can be frustrating at times, But, it gives me hope that I will eventually see what a simple VBS and being the light of Jesus can do in a child's and adult's life. And that is so exciting! This kid's camp opened my eyes to the different back grounds that the children come from. My heart was broken for one child that I noticed that kept to himself the whole weekend. I asked one of the staff here at Chacauco what was going on, and they said that his parents had just gotten a divorce recently and it was impacting the child in a negative way. Stories like these filled the camp, and it broke my heart to see children hurting and coming from different points of life to experience this radical message of Jesus Christ. It was such a good week with the kids and to see them take in the gospel, some of them for the first time was such a privilege.
   Continue to pray for us here at Chacauco as we begin our youth camp tomorrow! It will last until Wednesday, and I am so excited to see what God will do! Continue praying for me as I have only 3 1/2 weeks left and it breaks my heart to think about it!

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8

Forever Love

The last couple of weeks have been a little less than chaotic to say the least! Bringing groups, taking them home, going to the jungle have just been a few of my many activities lately! I feel like my life is a remote control and the fast forward button is constantly in play. It has been already one month since I got here and all I want is life to just slow down, so I can enjoy every moment, every minute, every hour of what God has called me to do. I have had the best time so far with the best staff in the world. We have 13 interns this year, but only 12 are present right now as the last one is coming in a couple weeks. Hannah Perkins from Texas, Anna Sanders from Georgia, Shiloh Barrow from Texas, James Wallace from Auburn, Alabama, Noah Farley from Florida, Seth Peacock from the good ole G-dale, Tori Walker from Kentucky, Emma Armstrong from Montgomery, Alabama, Michaela Charanza from Texas, Taylor Vaughan from Texas, Chris Yancey from Hoover, Alabama, myself of course, and eventually Tyson Lott from Montgomery, Alabama. Please be in prayer for us as we serve together and pray for unity and clarity. I could not of asked for better people to work with this summer.
    This past Sunday the staff and two groups one from Boon, North Carolina, and Tupelo, Mississippi, we headed down to the jungle and we had one of the best times in the world. But before we left, I was very sick and was told that I had the flu, which is not what I needed at all. A real slap in the face if I say so myself. I was reminded of the verse in Galatians 6 that says, "Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up" (verse 9). The day before we left I slept the whole day and was awake for 6 hours. I woke up the next day feeling a little better and decided to make the four hour treck down to el selva. During the four hour trip I started to think about how, why, what made me sick. So many people told me this was an attack from Satan, and that I should keep doing what I've been doing. But I started to think, what if this is God's way of getting my attention? Not to share my personal thoughts on a blog, but I have been struggling on where my focus should be on this trip. Obviously it should be on the Lord, but sometimes I get so caught up in pleasing people, even doing good things, but sometimes my focus waivers. It's true that this sickness could be an attack from the enemy, but I truly think that this was God getting my attention. He spoke so clearly when I was sick, because I was so dependent on Him and no one else. My attention was all His, and I could hear Him speaking via His word and other friends that isn't this where my attention should be? I am truly thankful that this happened because I feel rejuvenated in Him.
     The jungle trip was such a blessing, because I felt so close to the Lord. Not that I don't when I am at the mountain camp, but it is a different environment, different culture, and a lot less dependent on technology (which is my favorite part). A no distraction environment. I actually prefer the cold showers, no technology, hot jungle camp to the hot water, technology, cool mountain camp, surprisingly. It is inexplicable, you can only experience it to know what I am talking about. But, the mountain camp has been incredible as well! We are currently working with children in First Church at Ambato. Last night, we were given the incredible opportunity to give out Samitarian Purse Operation Christmas Child Boxes to the church in Apatug, a Quechua speaking church the same church that faced the persecution that I wrote about earlier. This was my second time to partner with Samiritan's purse with the shoe boxes, and it was such an amazing experience. In Ecuadorian culture, the Quechua are the lowest of low, and it was such a privilege to see these children open the boxes with inexplicable joy. I watched with tears pouring down my face as these children opened up boxes with things that we find at the Dollar Tree. But if you saw their faces, you could've promised that a million dollars was in those boxes. But the most important gift they received was not the cheap toys, toothbrushes, clothes, pictures of the gringos that sent them the things, but the opportunity to learn about our Lord Jesus Christ  and the ultimate gift that He gave. It was such a humbling experience, and I got to experience it today and tomorrow as well. I kept thinking of the song, Forever Love, by Francesca Battestelli. I was reminded of the immense love that the Lord has for us:

You are my forever love
You are my forever love
You are my forever love
You are my forever love

From the bottom of my heart I'll sing to You
From the depths of who I am I love You
With everything inside I'll run to You
Cause all that I've become I owe to You
 
Go listen to it when you have a chance! WONDERFUL song. One of the best love songs of all time, and will be played at my wedding. But nothing beats the love of our Savior. 

Thank you for the continual prayers! I love you all! 

Morgan Ramsey
Isaiah 6:8