Garrick Family | Live It Out Tour 2011

What a bummer!

So everything was going really smoothly up until we got to Seattle and we found out that our flight to London was delayed by 5 hours! So here we are sitting in the airport waiting for our plane to get here. The sad news is that because of the delay we don’t get to go downtown London and see some of the sights. The good news is that we all got food vouchers and a large satisfying meal! At first they tried to offer us a Hotel to stay in, but we all decided we would rather sleep on an airport bench and have a full stomach, than sleep in a comfy bed for a few hours…….yes, were kinda crazy.

We will continue to update you on our travels as we get closer and closer. Keep praying!

God bless

-Alysa

We give Praise

How blessed you are Alysa to have received a calling so early in your life and how we praise God for your open heart to receive it. We know that all that has taken place over the past few months for you was appointed and anointed by God for this time. We will pray for you as you walk in God’s direction and service to Him. Our love for you, A. Mary

A Fresh Perspective for Alysa

When I look back on these last few months I can’t help but get emotional and when I try to put it into words, it seems that none of them come out right. But the two words seem to stick out the most are reconciliation and healing. Before leaving for Uganda I was wrestling with a great deal of insecurity and discouragement. I had a hard time sharing this hurt with others, but I carried the pain nonetheless. I had been hurt time and time again by the world, and had become weary and alone. My own hurt and disappointment became a lens which I viewed myself and others. Uganda was the place that I could get away from all that. It was a time that I could separate myself from the hurt back at home.  From the start of the trip to the very last day in Uganda, God was fixing my broken heart. He was healing me of hurts that only he could heal. He even brought an unexpected friendship back from the dead.

 Many of you read about my encounter with the Lord in Rukungiri. Not only did God heal my broken heart, he also gave me new eyes to see. Before this trip, and for most of my life, I have been plagued by anxiety and fear. I would have regular panic attacks and get overwhelmed very easily. But now the Holy Spirit is helping me to see with “new eyes”. I am seeing the challenges of the world, personal conflict and cultural pressures as obstacles to overcome through grace and perseverance, whereas before I could only see them as a mountain too big to climb. For the first time in my life I can now see the potential that others see. God is showing me that I have to let go of fear and anxiety and trust Him with my life instead of listening to the lies of the enemy that lead to self-doubt and disappointment.  This has been difficult considering most of my life has been consumed with fear and anxiety. When you embrace the deceptions of the flesh for so long it’s hard to let go. But now I can see more clearly how God views me and through His grace I am walking in His truth and I have been able to help others let go of it as well.

Not only has God done some amazing work in me, he has used me in ways I have never thought I would be used. A year and a half ago I never thought I would be speaking in front of thousands of students telling them about Jesus Christ, and how to be confident in their faith. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine being approached after church by a fifty-year-old man asking me to pray for him because he was struggling with what I was sharing about in church. I’m only 17, yet God wanted to use me to speak into this man’s life. The list goes on.  But the Lord has really used me in ways that many would consider impossible. I can remember back to just a few days ago when I thought “ok, well I guess now that I’m in London, God is done using me”. Boy was I wrong! Just a few moments after that I got a call on my phone from someone else who heard me speak on Sunday. This person wanted to meet and talk about what I had shared about. The topic I had shared on was fear and anxiety. I have never been asked to help someone with their fear and anxiety, but even through my apprehension the conversation went well. We met a few days later and talked for over 2 hours! We prayed and we both felt encouraged at the end.

God is using me in ways that I never thought possible. Before I came on this trip, I was dealing with too much of my own fears and insecurities to adequately encourage others. But the healing has begun and it is a clear reminder of what God can do in your life if you let Him.

I guess the point that I’m trying to get across is that I can’t believe all that He has done! He has given me new spiritual and emotional eyes. He has begun reconciliation with broken relationships back home. He has given me fresh vision and hope for my future. He healed me from areas that I didn’t even know were broken, and has used that healing to help other people. But most of all I have gotten closer to Him. Through everything that has happened to me God and I have really grown in our relationship. He has shown me a new way of looking at life, and I am now ready to share that with everyone at home.  Now that the trip is coming to a close, I hope that I can remember all that has happened and be able to share it with my friends when I get back. I am a new person and I want to live like it!

Wonderful Saviuor

So amazing that the son of God would die for me, now the purpose of life has been revealed to all young people in Rukungiri and Kihiihi.Evangelist Garrick will remain a friend to all youths in this part of the country and my my prayer is that God conitnues to use him mightly.

Jonathan K

Youth leader - Rcc

Happy Anniversary

Jennifer & John. Wishing you a wonderful and happy 20th anniversary, June 22, 2011. Our love to you both. A. Mary U. Robert

From alysa’s perspective

Here is the full version of my testimony. Sorry it got cut off, but here is the whole thing :)

What an adventure we have been on in the last few weeks! From Rukengiri to Mytiana and Kampala, we have had some amazing times. Starting in Rukengiri, we did youth conferences all over the place. They were a great success! We started in Buhunga, a little village outside of Rukengiri, and then went to Kihihi and then ended in Rukengiri. All of them were very successful but nothing compared to Kihihi.

The moment I arrived there I felt a deep sense of fear and uncertainty. I didn’t feel safe and I was very insecure.  It is what I would call my “feeling”. Just a little background, I have always been tormented by a certain feeling that I can’t describe. It is something that would create fear inside of me that I couldn’t explain so I have just resorted to calling it “the feeling’ and everyone seems to know what is going on. I begin to have panic attacks and get overwhelmed.  Well when I arrived, that’s exactly what started to happen. I didn’t want to speak and I wanted to hide out in the car. I decided to just go and sit in the church for a while and see how things went. Right when I got inside, I was claustrophobic. It was hot, stuffy, and sticky. I began to have a minor panic attack! I let myself out and tried to breathe some fresh air. But being that I was in Africa and next to the pit toilets, I couldn’t really get that “fresh air” I was needing J. But at least it was in the open air and I wasn’t as hot.

 I didn’t really understand these feelings until that night when we decided to stay for the deliverance message. That night I was completely changed. From the moment that the pastor stepped up to the pulpit I knew that there was a battle going on inside of me.  From the moment I got there the Devil had been trying to get me to feel like I wasn’t supposed to be there. I could feel myself weaseling with fear and anxiety and finally I gave up. I started sobbing and breaking down. I cried to God “Lord help me! Take this fear away from me! I no longer want this!” I repeated those lines over and over. Many others were crying out to the lord as well. Before I knew it I was being helped on the stage and I couldn’t feel my legs. I was shaking from head to toe and my body was burning up inside. Not the kind that makes you hot, but strange warmth that doesn’t make you sweats. The pastor came over and started to lay his hands on my head. He began to pray and speak holy words over me. He prayed for only a few moments before my legs began to shake and then turned to Jell-O. I collapsed onto the dirt floor and just laid there. Praying, Crying, and just soaking in the Holy Spirit. Soon I began to feel my legs again and I stood up on the stage. I took a look around but could not see much though my tears. The pastor came over to me again and prophesied to me. He told me that I would bring life to a dead church and that I had evangelism in my blood. I then sat down and just soaked in all my surroundings.

                When the night was done and we went back to the hotel my legs were still wobbly and I still felt tingly. Even the next morning I could still feel god’s presence. It was a night that I will look back on for the rest of my life! I am completely made new and FREE from the fear that had been holding me back all these years. I am glad to say that the fear and “feeling “that I had has not returned since that night. And god willing it will never return. I am keeping my guard up and seeing things through new eyes. Now, this does not mean that I don’t get nerves for things, but the crippling-panic attack-horror-fear has not returned. And now I am being a bigger and better example for Jesus Christ! Hallelujah