Today is the day!

Well, today is the day! I'm currently sitting in JFK airport waiting to board my first flight on the way to Zambia! There is a whole mixture of emotions right now as I said bye to my best friend last night and my parents about an hour ago! I've never been away from home for more than a week or two... So there were many tears as I said my goodbyes (right Mom and Macauls? haha - love and miss you both already!) I have also never naviagted airports on my own, I've always had my Messiah crew with me! But even though this is all scary and new, I'm trusting that God is walking right alongside me on my way to Zambia as well as beside all the people I love the most back at home. Thank you all for the support, prayers and texts! If you want to get ahold of me this summer, send me a message in Facebook or shoot me an email! Love you all :)

9 days!

Well, I have graduated from Messiah College and am officially a part of the real world! I am so blessed to have had four years at Messiah, learning, playing basketball, meeting some of the people I love the most, and growing in my relationship with God. It's so weird that it is over, but the new chapter of my life is quickly starting in about 9 days! Next Friday morning, I will board my first of three flights on my way to Zambia to spend my summer with Eric and Corie Thuma and their family doing sports ministry with Push the Rock.

I am totally blessed to say that I have raised all the funds that I needed for the summer, but I would love if you all would still partner with me in prayer for this summer. I am continuing to prepare mentally, spiritually, and physically as I pack over the next week and I can't wait to see what God has in store for me this summer!

Grace.

33 days until I graduate from Messiah College. 46 days until I leave for Zambia.

I have been beyond blessed by the support I have received over the past two months for this trip. I see God's faithfulness every day as I meet people who encourage me and support me in this new journey. A huge thank you to all who have supported me and have been praying!! If you would like to support me prayerfully or financially, see my previous post for some more information!

As I sit outside on this beautiful night on a random wall outside the science center, I am thinking about everything God has been teaching me recently. I am currently listening to this song called Brokenness Aside by All Sons & Daughters (if you haven't heard it, listen to it... so good!!!). The chorus of the song says:

"I am a sinner, if it's not one thing it's another, caught up in words, tangled in lies.
But you are a savior and you take brokenness aside and make it beautiful."

God has been teaching me so much about his grace in the past few weeks. No matter what we do, whatever mistakes we may make, God has this incredible grace for us. And it's so incredibly hard for us to try and understand. And for us to try and mimic it with those around us. As the semester winds down, I seem to have less and less grace for everyone surrounding me. And then I sit here and think about the grace that God gives us every day. I am a sinner - I get caught up in the world as I go about my day - and yet God takes my brokenness, throws it aside, gives me grace, AND he makes it beautiful. Wow.

And while I'm on a song kick - If I Ever Needed Grace by Jimmy Needham - another great one!! :)

Time is flying!

Graduation is just two months away and time is flying by! We finished our basketball season at Messiah by winning our conference (and cutting down our biggest rival's nets!!) and making it to the second round of NCAAs!! It was an incredible senior season playing with the girls that I love for the God we love! And now, I can't wait to continue to use basketball and other sports to continue ministry in Zambia!

I am getting more and more excited for my summer as every day passes! I am in the midst of raising support and getting things ready for this summer! If you would like to support me in this new journey, prayerfully or financially, that would be greatly appreciated!!! Prayers for money coming in on time and my own personal preparation for the trip would be great, as well as prayers for my family and closest friends who are helping me every step of the way. If you would like to support me financially, you can send a check made out to Push the Rock, noting my account number (INTZM14-1) on your check, and send it to:

Push the Rock
P.O. BOx 95
Emmaus, PA 18049

You can also donate online to my account by clicking on the red “Donate” button at www.pushtherock.com and following the steps from there. You should find my name and account number under the “Interns” section.

 All your support is greatly appreciated!! 

Zambia!!

Real life is coming! It’s hard to believe that I will be graduating from Messiah in four very short months, but it’s also unreal to me that my real life will start off with a summer interning in Zambia with Push the Rock. For those of you that don’t know, I am graduating with a degree in sports management with a cross-cultural ministry minor, with the dream of doing sports ministry. I interned with Push the Rock, an awesome sports ministry out of Allentown, PA, last summer working basketball camps in the Allentown, Philly, and Trenton areas. I can easily say it was one of the best summers of my life and I am so looking forward to working with them again. Also for those of you who don’t know, I have had the dream of going to Africa after college to do ministry since my freshman year of college. To look ahead to this summer and know that I will be in Africa doing sports ministry is not only a dream come true, but an incredible display of God’s faithfulness in His promises to me.

But, I’m not going to lie, the entire process scares me. When I think about raising support, leaving my family, my best friends, and going to a new place and culture, there are times when I just want to crawl back into my comfort zone and stay there. But I’m trusting that God is going to come through for me and I have had an awesome amount of support from my family, my best friends, and my team at Messiah. I know how many people have joined me in praying for this dream to come true… and I am amazed once again at the power of prayer.

I started out my college experience having no idea what I wanted to do after graduation. I chose sports management because I loved sports, but that was really the only reason. After a sports ministry trip to the Dominican Republic with my basketball team, I felt called to add a ministry minor and go into sports ministry. God and sports are two loves in my life and the ability to combine the two to reach others for Christ is an incredible thing. Sports are a universal language across the globe. They are something that brings people together and they create an awesome platform to share Christ not only in words, but in actions.

 At Messiah, we play for something bigger than basketball. We are together because of the sport of basketball, and yes, we like winning games, but it is so much more than that. We play with the bigger purpose of glorifying our God on and off the court and using our abilities as a platform to share Christ with teams that we play. I have learned over the past four years what it means to play for God and how sports are a great way to reach people. Since that trip to the DR, I have been to Uganda with a sports ministry organization through Messiah, as well as worked my summer with Push the Rock. Both of those experiences really confirmed what God was calling me to do.

I can’t tell you how excited I am to spend the summer in Zambia with my supervisor from last summer, Eric, and his family. I can’t wait to see what amazing things God has in store and to see Him continue to work in Macha. I would love if you would join me in prayer for this new journey in my life and if you would like to support me financially you can click on this link:  Zambia - Sports Ministry

You can also support me by sending a check made out to Push the Rock at:
Emily Martz
211 Dellville Rd
Duncannon, PA 17020

Thank you for all the prayers that have already been prayed and the ones yet to come. I have some pretty incredible people in my life and one truly incredible God who has been so faithful.

With love,

Emily