LIONHEARTED LANDLOPER

“Giving to those in need what they could be gaining from their own initiative may well be the kindest way to destroy people.” - Robert D. Lupton ***        A lot of times, people have a certain mindset regarding mission trips. "I'm going to save people," they think to themselves, "I'm going to change the world." But, in reality, you're not.  Long-term missionaries spend years building relationships and working among people in order to learn their culture and earn respect. Spending two weeks in a country you know little about does not make you a hero nor will it spark some major revival. Do not go if you think you are going to "fix" their country or do something they cannot do for themselves.        Whatever it is that we are going to do, there are people already in the country who could do it just as good (and probably better) for cheaper than the price of our plane tickets to even get there. More problems arise when people show u...

        Something inside of me is starting to feel restless. Partly because I don't feel very "Beccca-y" anymore, and partly because I miss the short, refreshing adventures that gave me a break from the humdrum of daily life last year.        I feel like I don't get to be myself. I feel slightly too common. All I do is go to school, do homework, go to work, and sleep. Markers, dictionaries, and journals are collecting a little too much dust. There's not any free time to set up a hammock and spend an hour doing Beccca stuff like I'm so used to. Part of that is okay and just necessary in this season of life. But also, having that time to fully be myself is very important. The lack of it leaves me feeling slightly unfulfilled and unsatisfied. I need some sort of outlet to express my manymanymanymany thoughts, opinions, and feelings. I need time to draw pictures and play with cardboard and sing as loud as possible. But I also need to understand t...

    So now what? Now that I have completed Pack Your Bags, what am I going to do with my life? I mean, PYB was my ONE BIG ADVENTURE, right? What even is there to live for anymore?      Well, God is always taking me on new adventures. In a couple weeks, I will start school with Canvas School of Ministry here in the Flathead Valley through Northwest University which is based in Kirkland, WA. Basically, I get to earn a degree (Ministry Leadership) and actually be able to pay for it as well as get ministry experience and connections as I go. These connections will set me up for an incredible start on the mission field when the time comes.     I have been attending Canvas Church (formerly Kalispell Christian Center) for 14 years of my life. While I was at Trinity Bible College, I was able attend Montana Youth Conference as a Representative of my school. While I was there, I was given the job of guarding a door that happened to be near two men who were...

    Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me this year. Thank you to everyone who has been reading my blog. Thank you to everyone who helped me come to this school and see what I have seen. Because of you, I have had my worldview widened. I have figured out a little bit more of who I am as an individual. I have traveled the world. Also, I have gotten a huge rash on my face and hands in South Africa -- but I won't blame you for that one.     Thank you for giving what you felt led to give (resources, prayer, encouragement) and joining with me while God took me on this great adventure. He always does things better than I would have known how to if I were in charge. Fortunately, I'm not. Blessings, Beccca B.

   It feels like I just set foot on campus -- but now I am leaving. Pack Your Bags has been an incredible adventure. I have been to so many places, made so many friends, and bought so many cases of bottled water. I have lived with Maddie this whole school year and have taken all kinds of classes. I don't want to say goodbye. I have spent so much time right here in Ellendale as well as overseas...         And now I find myself slowly packing. It feels weird to have hardly any homework and be spending my time quietly boxing up my belongings. This place has been my temporary home, and now the season leaves as quickly as it came.     There's something sad about it. I don't want to leave the friends I feel like I just made. I don't want to lose the input and advice of professors I have come to look up to. But at the same time, there's something exciting about it. Pack Your Bags was not my only adventure -- it was the kickoff. God is holding my ha...

Scratch-off map of the world     I am officially back at school and getting into motion for this next semester of adventure. Just two short weeks until we leave for our month and a half trip to South Africa.     I am getting really excited for this experience and the things I will be able to see God do. Sure, I may be nervous about the petty stuff -- like the time difference or the implications of wearing so many long skirts for such a long period of time -- but even those small things add to the big picture and make it seem slightly more exhilarating. I like changes and things you can't plan for no matter how hard you try. Or, I at least like them for the most part.     Please be praying for our team as we prepare our hearts these next two weeks for where we will be going, what we will be doing, and who we will be serving.

    Spending these last few months at Trinity Bible College has been one of the best decisions I have ever made! It has been such a privilege to sit in classes that are focusing on things I deeply care about and want to learn. I have already learned a lot about ministry and how to serve in all different ways. God is constantly giving me reassurance about my passion for missions.      It is good to be home with family and friends for winter break. I live in a beautiful place, and I practically broke my nose on the window on the train as we drove through Glacier Park and I pressed my face up against the glass to see the dark silhouettes of real life mountains. I have about a month to save up, pray, and prepare my heart for the next semester coming up. I get the sense that I can live anywhere on earth but there will always be something special about Montana. I am so grateful for all the people who go through life with me.      My year is ju...

[leaf]     We will be leaving for our next trip on Friday! We are gone from the 4th through the 13th. Please keep these cities and our team in your prayers as we are gone! We are praying for God to move in lives and reveal Himself everywhere we serve. Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy-laden and overburdened, and I will cause you to rest. [I will ease and relieve and refresh your souls.] (Matthew 11:28 AMPC)   

    On Monday, my team will head to South Dakota to spend a week on the Pine Ridge reservation. We will be serving at a church there and doing all sorts of things -- from children's ministry to a short drama. This will be our first official mission trip, and I am getting so excited as we prepare and pack. It's approaching so quickly. Please join us in prayer this week.

It is August, the month of adventure (as it tends to be in my experience).     And as the days count down to my leaving date, the details of leaving present themselves more pertinent. Things such as "how is this fitting in the car?" and "Who is going to take care of my goldfish?"     I like my goldfish, but honestly, I was not expecting him to survive long enough for me to have to worry about it.     And now we put petty things aside.    I have never been lead by God to do something as bold as to leave everything and everyone I know and obey Him, and that excites me. I may joke about spending my days in North Dakota alone and staring at the mountainless landscape, but I really am excited. and I do think it will be a great season of life and I will learn a lot. God could call me anywhere to do anything and it would be exciting solely by the fact that God called me. So please pray with me as I go -- For provision and moments with God, fo...

"Stanton Lake" by Becca Brander Sometimes it feels as if I have  eight hundred trillion and twelve  things on my to-do list, and only  fourteen seconds  to get them done. But, then I realize I'm exaggerating and there's only like twenty-something things to do and I have two months or so. Which can still be overwhelming, but it's a lot less daunting than eight hundred trillion and twelve.   The other day, I decided to finish getting my passport   -- because it seems like a good idea to have a passport when I'm planning on traveling to Africa and such this next year.  You see, I had already filled out my passport application and gone to the courthouse, but the lady and her desk informed me that my birth certificate was not chill and my driver's license was an insufficient photo ID. So I grabbed my better birth certificate, and (because I do not have any other photo ID) headed back to the courthouse a couple days later to figure this thing ou...

I started to let myself worry that I would show up in August to Ellendale, and spend the next 8 months essentially staring blankly at empty fields and missing home. I thought that perhaps this "year of adventure" would turn out to be a year of humdrum, all the while my close friends would be going off doing something actually dauntless and worthwhile. So this morning, I wallowed in my dismal pajamas. That is until I was kindly told "do your devotions." by my best friend. So I did. And the Lord (being the Lord), knew exactly what He wanted to tell me. "What good is a girl with a funny hat in the empty fields of North Dakota?" I asked God. I thought my feelings were justified. But no sooner than I could come up with another gloomy remark -- He comforted me with the warmest reassurance. I realized that it is better to sit silently in the will of God than it is to travel across the planet on my own. Not only that, but I would much rather stand in a field...

    My name is Beccca Brander and I was born in Polson, MT in the summer of 1997. I lived in a trailer house for nine years on the side of a mountain with my mom, dad, sister, various cats and dogs, some goldfish, a goose, chickens, that one random salamander, and our two goats. Our goats liked to sit on the couch when we weren't home.        We eventually moved to the bigger town of Kalispell, MT and lived in a  number of houses and apartments in that area. During this time, my sister moved out, my parents split up, and I learned how to speak Pig-Latin. The latter fact being of the least importance, yet still very vital information regarding the development of my personality.        It was in the midst of all these struggles and changes in my life that God became more real and personal to me. This growing relationship with the Creator of the universe began to shape how I thought and lived. You see, the more I get to know Him an...