The Adventures of Darcey & Watson

So, you know that post I wrote about the elderly man on the corner of Hebron and Marsh? Well, God gave me an opportunity to actually help out in a practical way. Though it was small, it was still neat that God thought of that. Here’s how it all happened.

Katie and I were headed to lunch somewhere on Hebron, when we had to stop at the light at Hebron and Marsh. Then I notice the same man with the same sign wearing the same clothes and I knew I had to do something. So I grabbed my wallet, fished out the only cash I had in there (though I was tempted to write a check), rolled down my window and handed him all that I had (Five Dollars), and before I could say anything, he said very sincerely “God bless you miss, and Thank you”. Though I couldn’t give much, the Lord still allowed me to do something. I’m just thankful that He cared that much, and I pray that the man will see God’s love through that small act of obedience on my part.

God does provide.

Source: God Provides Even the Small Things

As I was driving the other day, I passed a man on Hebron who was holding a sign that mentioned his wife is on oxygen and they are having a hard time financially, so any help would be appreciated. I’m sure some of you have seen him there before if you’ve driven down Hebron past where all the restaurants are before the Dallas North Tollway. There are actually a lot of people who hold signs for help in the area, and I usually say a quick prayer for them and keep on driving; but this time I was stopped at that light and I looked at his face.
I wasn’t prepared for what I saw. In his eyes there was such a sad, deep pain that I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. As he ever so slowly walked by with his cane, I also noticed a cross necklace around his neck. He was dressed in a casual white t-shirt and khaki pants, his hair was white and his beard was messy, his face covered in dirt. This whole scene made my heart ache. I felt the Lord saying, pray for him. So I did.
I wish I could have stopped and helped him in some practical way, but then the Lord brought to mind the elderly in the retirement home that we have the opportunity to touch on such a personal level. I don’t think I will ever really grasp what it means to them for us to visit these people every other week. Who knows what the Lord is doing in their lives through us being Jesus to them.
Praise the Lord I am able to do something practical for these people by loving them and listening to their stories. Building relationships with them. I still pray for that elderly man on the corner of Hebron and Marsh, who knows if his story is true, or if he is even a believer… but God knows him. He loves him. Knows how many hairs are on his head, the deepest desires of his heart, and wants to call him his son.

Source: A Heart for the Elderly

Tonight was the last night that my three roommates and I went out for a time of fellowship together as roommates. However, I think this (and the first time) was my favorite of all. We travelled to Addison to a coffee shop that Katie had visited a while back with another lady who used to be on staff with GFA. We were all kind of dragging ourselves out the door because it has been a rather long week and our tiredness was catching up to us. Once we arrived, we all got ourselves some yummy snacks, coffee beverages and a small dinner, sat in the back of the cafe, and proceeded to talk, play games, and have a grand old time.
Soon, two men started to perform some live music, which was kinda loud, but rather enjoyable at the same time. Though we had to talk kinda loud so we could hear each other. We didn’t mind. Katie beat me at Ultimate Tic-Tac-Toe, we played a few rounds of Kings in the Corner, sang along with some of the songs the guys were playing, shared some goofy times of nonsense laughter, and then discussed what verses the Lord had been pointing out to us lately. Soon enough, we decided to put away the game of cards and read through a book of the Bible. Ephesians was chosen, and so we proceeded to read through it chapter by chapter (passing it to the next person at the start of a new chapter).
As we read through the Word of God, we stopped to comment on certain parts as they came up in our hearts. A lot of “AMEN!”s were said before we even finished the first chapter. It was so refreshing to open up this book after hearing two messages by Gayle Erwin who came to share some words of encouragement with the Gospel for Asia staff yesterday and this morning.
When the musicians took a break, one of the guys came back to our table (we had been applauding their music the whole time and so they decided to come say “hi”) and asked what we were doing. We told him that we were reading through Ephesians and he was glad to find out we were Christians as well.
As our time drew to a close (it was getting kinda late, and we were remembering how tired we were before discussing the Lord and His goodness) we closed the Word and drove home discussing how refreshing it is to meditate on His promises and remind ourselves of His truth.
Now it’s time for me to go to bed, but I wanted to reflect a little longer on this great time of fellowship that we had as roommates, but further than that, sisters in Christ. One Body. A Unity that can only be accomplished through the Spirit of the Lord that dwells in our hearts. I’d say this was a good way to “end” this chapter of my living situations, and I very much am looking forward to my next.
Thanks for listening!

Source: Fellowship at a Coffee Shop

“For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.” – Jeremiah 29:11

“I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.” – John 14:27

“And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to [His] purpose.” – Romans 8:28

“Fear not, for I [am] with you; Be not dismayed, for I [am] your God. I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you, I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.” – Isaiah 41:10

Lately I’ve been rather scatter brained. It feels like so many things are happening in my life right now (won’t really go into detail), that they are just creating a fog in my brain that I can’t seem to get rid of. Usually when this happens I will simply give it all to the Lord and let Him handle it because I really don’t need to worry myself over them. This is what I thought I was doing this time, but for some strange reason they all came rushing back with no warning. So again I find myself scatter-brained and trying to call on the promises of the Lord to carry me through. A good song that I’ve been repeatedly listening to (I tend to do that when I need to get a message drilled into my head, listen to a single song about 100 times a day) is Promises by Sanctus Real. 

Source: God’s Promise

So I was thinking recently about what I would say if the question was asked me “How would you describe yourself in a few sentences?”

I wasnt sure at first, but after a little while I came up with this:

My name is Alexandrea Wessner, and I am a child of the One True God. My mission in life is to love others as God loves me, and make His name known throughout the nations. This is accomplished through my pursuing a relationship with Jesus Christ that grows deeper daily.

And that is who I am in a nutshell. Thanks for reading.

Source: Who Am I?

This past Saturday a group of us GFA peoples went out to have a nerf war at a playground near one of the familie’s house. It was a great form of exercise, and I rediscovered some muscles that have long since been dormant in my body. Pushing through the pain, I must say that playing with nerf guns outside when it’s slightly windy is a challenge. I had near perfect aim… when we were inside… but then add the element of teams, adrenaline, and wind… I was lucky if I could hit one person each round!

Though I did find out that Tim and I make a pretty good team. We played where if you were shot, someone on your team had to come and tag you to unfreeze you, but if both of you were shot, then your team was out. So much like how a medic in Team Fortress 2 stays right by a heavy so you can annihilate your foes without much harm done to the dynamic duo, I was Tim’s medic and we made a really good team! (see you can learn practical applications from video games! Like…. how to survive in an all out Nerf war!)

I’m looking forward to the next nerf war, and I’ve even brought my nerf gun to my desk at work, and it’s already played a big part in the sanity of our little web department. Here’s the story:

Adam came by to work on my computer and while he was here, I was playing around with my nerf gun. Natalya sees Danny down the hallway and says “aw! Danny was just in the hallway… I know! I’ll email him!” So she proceeds to email Danny (the vice president of our organization). Her email was something along the lines of “I need you! unless you’re doing something really important”. A few minutes later, Danny comes into Web and I release a stream of nerf darts at him. To which he says “I knew there was something up, Natalya never emails me that, I should have come around the other way so I could have seen you too! (referring to me standing near my desk out of view of the door)”

You know you work in an awesome place when you can shoot the vice president of the organization with a nerf gun and he thinks it’s cool.

My weapon of choice

Source: Nerf Wars!

The past couple of weeks has been full of many opportunities to serve. I travelled to Tennessee with a group of GFA staff and students to work a booth at the National Religious Broadcasters conference (NRB). Although it was a tiring 6 days, it was also very enjoyable to spend time in fellowship with people I wouldnt normally hang out with.
Everything from the 12hr drive there and back, to meeting people like Kay Arther who stopped by the booth, made the lack of sleep and long hours worth it. Not to mention I ended up sponsoring another Bridge of Hope boy!
After getting back from NRB, preparations began for Gospel for Asia’s Renewing Your Passion conference that is happening from the 15 – 17th of march (this weekend). I have been asked to man the myGFA booth during breaks, lead one of the two video teams who will be recording the sessions, and I volunteered to help out with registration because my best friend Katie (who is over the registration part of the conference) is a man down. Even though there will be a lot on my plate (as well as everyone else’s) it will be great to meet the different ministry partners and extended family of the ministry, as they all gather in our office.
With RYP coming up, there is also the other tasks I am responsible for day-to-day. Such as writing copy for the weekly email digests, posting the twitter statuses, writing the copy for the World Water day landing page, etc.

Even though there is a lot going on, I still feel at peace. I am thankful that I am not on my own through this stressful time. The Lord already knew this time would come around, AND He promises to be with me through it all. He never gives us anything we can’t handle through His strength. Praise God for a body of believers who work together for the furtherance of His Kingdom.

Source: Peace in the middle of Chaos

At GFA there are some people on staff who stay up till midnight to answer the phones for people who decide to give a last minute gift. And upon delivering some Starbucks to one of them, i decided to dress funny to make them laugh, since their job is usually pretty serious. was a great time.

Source: Comic Relief on New Years Eve

This Christmas was a memerable one spent with my friends and ‘family’ in Texas. Yes, I missed my family in PA, but as far as Christmases go, I would say this hits the top 10.

There was time for our friend group to exchange gifts and fellowship over wonderful baked goods. The first snow of the year occured on Christmas afternoon, blessing us with a white Texas Christmas. Fun gifts were recieved and given. The Christmas story was told starting in John 18 when Jesus shares in His own words why He was born, and then continued in Matthew where He was born in a manger. Games were played, memories were made, families missed but since we are blessed with Skype we were able to see them and smile and spread love, a sleep over occurred, and Jesus was glorified.

Below are a few pictures from my iPhone of some of the festivities. If you want to see more legit ones, check out my Facebook sometime soon, I will be uploading them tomorrow.

Merry Christmas! Cant believe how fast it came and was gone, and how fast this whole year of 2012 flew by.

Source: A White Christmas in Texas

Sorry it has been a while since I have posted anything on here. Let me catch you up on some recent happenings in my life the past month or so. Starting off with a recent picture of me!

Yes, I’ve grown a hideous nose and have been working on that mustache for quite some time now. Looks great right?!

Part 1 – Tim Zink:

One of the most exciting things to happen to me is the introduction to a new chapter in my life. Courtship. There is this amazing guy who was in my school of discipleship class back in 2009. He had apparently been praying about courting me for 2.5 years before I found out, and had already gone to leadership for permission/advice and had been told to wait. We have been best friends since the SD year, yet I had NO idea that he liked me. Either I’m clueless, or he is just really good at hiding things.
So I found out he liked me and I kinda freaked out. Thinking that this could ruin our friendship and I didn’t want to lose him as a friend and brother. I also didn’t like him like that. I took this news to my mentor and she prayed with me and asked me to go, pray and fast about this. She said to not have a “yes” or “no” in mind, but be okay with whatever answer the Lord gave.
I did so and was praying for the Lord’s will in this situation. After a while I didn’t really want the answer to be “no” because I was starting to like him too! So I started praying for the Lord to change his heart so this whole situation would be settled. After all, it’s a really big decision and I didn’t want to mess up anything between us.
After a while the Lord just kept confirming time and time again that He was in this relationship, since the beginning, and has been preparing us for courtship with each other. Soon, he discovered that I liked him too, and so we went back to leadership, they prayed about it, and gave us the go ahead, and now we have been happily courting since August 29th.
I also will be going to spend Thanksgiving with him and his family in Florida! Even though it’ll be way warmer than I’m used to for a Thanksgiving, I’m still looking forward to meeting his family and building relationships.

my mom came to visit and took this picture of me and Tim

Part 2 – Detox/Elimination Diet:

A few of my friends and I have decided to embark on an interesting journey of hunger and no caffeine. We have started the Detox/Elimination diet. It starts off with two hard days of only drinking green smoothies, then a week of very few veggies, fruits, and rice, slowly after that we can add stuff back in to see if we are intolerant to anything that we add in. So far I’ve had more energy, but have also been sick most of the time. This diet is supposed to last till December 4th, but it’s really tough! Thankfully we can start to add in real foods soon, and last night was the first dinner that actually looked like a real meal, vegan chilli! Yum. I’ll let ya know how it goes as the weeks progress.
Part 3 – Colonial Grand at Hebron:

I’ve moved apartments! From a third floor to another third floor apartment, but this is a big improvement. Not only is this apartment within walking distance from the office, but it’s in the same apartment complex as Tim and the rest of my friends, I’ve gained a roomie, the apartments are “luxiary” apartments and reeeeeally nice, there’s great amenities, and it’s right next to Sprouts! I’d say it’s a winner!

Part 4 – Camping:

I went camping this past weekend with a HUGE group of Gospel for Asia staff peoples and their families. It was a marvelous time spent in the great outdoors. We played Horseshoes, had fellowship, napped in hammocks, froze at night, saw all the beautiful stars, there was a camp fire, we took a hike to the lake and skipped stones and walked a bit, played guitar, had fellowship with the Lord in His creation… it was an amazing time

A group of GFA staff members went camping this past weekend at Eisenhower state park

Part 5 – Marriage!

My aunt Kristie got married recently and I’d say it’s a great catch on her part, and on his. Happy times indeed, welcome to the family Jeremy

Jeremy and Kristie, don’t they look happy!

This is Jeremy and Kristie with their four beautiful children. Such a happy family!

That’s pretty much all I can think of at the moment. Thanks for catching up! I’ll keep you posted on any new developments and hopefully post more often than I have been. Have a great day!

Source: A Courtship has Occurred, Change is Happening