Day 3:
I'm sick. Figures. I had a headache the night before and when I woke up I almost threw up from pain. At one point I fell over. Lovely. I pressed on. I was NOT missing out on this.
Day one of VBS: a short day because of our church's feeding program. It was short, simple. Fun. So many laughs and cute kids. We weren't at the church but that didn't mean anything to these kids. God was evident.
That night our Pastoras Angelica and Nickolas spoke. Testimonies and love. They've both been through a lot. But Angelica's story brought half the team to tears. She hated her mom. She told her she wished she was dead. Told her that if God were real then her mom would be dead the next day.
She wasn't.
It took YEARS for her to forgive her mom. Torture. But God did. Before she started talking about forgiveness I felt it. A ping.
tell mom you love her
I wrote it down. At the end of her speaking there was an opportunity. Matt prayed and asked who needed to forgive their parents. A few raised there hands. I did. At this point I was shaking terribly and bawling uncontrollably. I wasn't ashamed. It's funny. In weakness, you don't care any more. I just wanted to let it go. Prayer is powerful. I had this WEIGHT lifted off my shoulders... Off my body. I wanted my Mommy.
Day 4:
Joshua 1:9
The theme for today.
Church services.
Worship was amazing. Two languages singing the same song, praising the same God? There's nothing like it.
I shared Romans 12: 21with the congregation.
Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good. (NKJV)
And then our group (Except Heidi and Mark because they preached) went and taught Sunday school. It was so much fun and the beginning of the bonding experience we were going to have that week!!
That night? More tears. When your pastor starts crying.... When the room is in tears... Yeah it was bound to happen. Theme? Let it Go
Shelby, who had no idea about my family, began praying with me. I started to calm down but then she said "don't worry about your family. They'll be okay." and back to sobbing. I let it go.
PRAISE GOD!
Tuesday, July 17, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
Mexico
Todo lo puedo en Cristo, que me fortalece. Filipenses 4:13
This is going to be quite lengthy so I have decided to break it down to a few days at a time.
So... Mexico. Can I say, Praise God? Seriously. My life has been changed in so many ways. I've been released from things and have realized so much.
Day 1 (in Mexico [not the day and a half of travel])
We crossed the border and drive the 2 hours to Ensenada. When we made it into Mexico, I was beyond terrified because of all the "warnings" I had been given. Driving through Mexico my fears began to subside... God was showing me that there is more to this country than bad or scary things. After arriving at the BEAUTIFUL home we were staying in, we headed out for my first real Mexico experience... Tacos!! Let me just say... To. Die. For. Nothing in the US will ever compete with that goodness. I made the mistake of starting with a torta which was even more amazing. After indulging in amazing food we went back to our host home and received a brief missions introduction.
Day 2:
Devotions started at 7 every morning and we split into personal Devo time at 7:30 until breakfast at 8. I would have to say that these times were one of my favorite parts of the trip. Today Cameron lead devotions by reading from James 1 and encouraging joy and telling us to be flexible in what we may be asked to do.
This day was a difficult day because we had a full day of training.
We split into our two groups:
Heidi: Angie, Cameron, Ryan, Carlos, Danielle, Mark, Marianna, Amandha, Shelby, and myself.
Matt: Jamee, Carina, Elania, Michael, Crystal, River, Terri, Brenna, and Alicia.
We were split and heading to two different churches throughout the week so we needed to plan our 4 days of VBS and think of Sunday service ideas. That took until dinner... We started from scratch!! Dramas. Memory verses. Crafts. Games. Intros. Clowns. Etc.
By the end of this day, honestly, I would have to say that I hated the trip. I was going crazy from people talking nonstop and working on the "easy" stuff instead of going out and doing something.
Patience
This wasn't about what I wanted.
I was beginning to understand that.
That night we had worship an Matt asked if they heard anything.
I had. In a way.
"Lead Me To The Cross"
Yeah. This song has always had a really deep meaning for me. Sentimental. This time, however, it meant something different.
This trip is about God. Not about me. Not about my hair or how my face is reacting to the water. Not what I want. There's a line in the song,
"bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down."
Exactly
This is going to be quite lengthy so I have decided to break it down to a few days at a time.
So... Mexico. Can I say, Praise God? Seriously. My life has been changed in so many ways. I've been released from things and have realized so much.
Day 1 (in Mexico [not the day and a half of travel])
We crossed the border and drive the 2 hours to Ensenada. When we made it into Mexico, I was beyond terrified because of all the "warnings" I had been given. Driving through Mexico my fears began to subside... God was showing me that there is more to this country than bad or scary things. After arriving at the BEAUTIFUL home we were staying in, we headed out for my first real Mexico experience... Tacos!! Let me just say... To. Die. For. Nothing in the US will ever compete with that goodness. I made the mistake of starting with a torta which was even more amazing. After indulging in amazing food we went back to our host home and received a brief missions introduction.
Day 2:
Devotions started at 7 every morning and we split into personal Devo time at 7:30 until breakfast at 8. I would have to say that these times were one of my favorite parts of the trip. Today Cameron lead devotions by reading from James 1 and encouraging joy and telling us to be flexible in what we may be asked to do.
This day was a difficult day because we had a full day of training.
We split into our two groups:
Heidi: Angie, Cameron, Ryan, Carlos, Danielle, Mark, Marianna, Amandha, Shelby, and myself.
Matt: Jamee, Carina, Elania, Michael, Crystal, River, Terri, Brenna, and Alicia.
We were split and heading to two different churches throughout the week so we needed to plan our 4 days of VBS and think of Sunday service ideas. That took until dinner... We started from scratch!! Dramas. Memory verses. Crafts. Games. Intros. Clowns. Etc.
By the end of this day, honestly, I would have to say that I hated the trip. I was going crazy from people talking nonstop and working on the "easy" stuff instead of going out and doing something.
Patience
This wasn't about what I wanted.
I was beginning to understand that.
That night we had worship an Matt asked if they heard anything.
I had. In a way.
"Lead Me To The Cross"
Yeah. This song has always had a really deep meaning for me. Sentimental. This time, however, it meant something different.
This trip is about God. Not about me. Not about my hair or how my face is reacting to the water. Not what I want. There's a line in the song,
"bring me to my knees, Lord I lay me down."
Exactly
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