It has now been one month of learning, growing, crying and laughing!
First of all…praise the Lord because… I CAN EAT MEXICAN FOOD.
Because of Jesus and because of prayer, I can eat Mexican food. Thank you for praying with me! It has been about a year and a half since I’ve been able to eat Mexican/oily food. I came to Mexico in faith trusting that God wanted me here even though I could not eat the food. I got over the peanut butter and jelly sandwiches quickly which really sparked me to ask God to heal my stomach. “God, if you are calling me to the nations, including right now in Mexico, can you equip me by making it possible for me to eat the food?” I didn’t start eating the food right away, but I would eat a little here and there. I chose to get a giant carne asada burrito one Sunday knowing that I had the whole day to rest and recover. I never felt like I needed to rest. In the past, I’d have to be in bed for a few hours. Since this burrito, I’ve eaten all the meals and have felt JUST FINE. WOW GOD! Thank you, Jesus. I cannot wait to eat food!
Last week, the topic in class was the father heart of God. We had a great teacher from Colombia. He was so passionate about the topic and I could really see how much he believed in what he was saying. We learned a lot about the ways we are living as orphans (spiritually) and then how to step into living in the freedom of being a child of God. I was reminded of my need for God and the invitation I have to not stay in the orphan spirit but to step into life as a daughter of God. We focused on the story of the prodigal son for a day. Instead of spending a lot of time looking at the characteristics of each son, we looked at the characteristics of the father. The father waited and waited for his younger son to come back and when he finally came, the father ran to him, embraced him, and met him where he was. The father was seeking after his younger son. During the party, the father goes outside to seek after his older son to meet him where he is at. No matter which son I relate to at any given time, God meets me where I am and seeks after me because he wants to and because he loves me.
Ministry in Street Life: Last week, we went to Tijuana to clean up the streets. God cares about this place and so do we. We did practical ministry that day walking down the streets and cleaning up garbage. Many people were saying thank you and many people were curious why we would clean the area. It was an easy way to love the community and I really enjoyed it. This week, we did some street evangelism after having a class about sharing the gospel through personal testimony and passion. I struggled with this because of the language and just having the confidence to start a conversation about Jesus. I was glad that I could listen to our leader evangelize in Spanish and translate some of it in my mind. My friend, Mariana, was so kind and would translate for me as she had conversations with others. I appreciate and love her a lot! I plan to practice evangelism with her playing the “stranger.”
This weekend, I went to the market with a small group from the base. Our driver dropped us off saying he would be back in three hours. I was not expecting to be out at a market for three hours and I did not bring any cash. oops! We did have fun and we were able to spend time speaking Spanish. I learned a Mexican dance in the parking lot of a gas station and then performed it on the beach to some friends- It was a very, very fast line dance. We went to a coffee shop and I was able to use a translator app on my phone to get to know a fellow student that I do not talk to much because of language. Now we hug and laugh whenever we see each other even though we cannot communicate that well!!
This week we are learning about friendship with God and we had a speaker who teaches through storytelling- specifically stories in his life. He is very quick to give credit to God and I am feeling challenged to see where I need to give credit to God rather than to myself. This week has reminded me that God wants to be apart of all moments. At the end of the week, I was definitely feeling exhausted from constantly being challenged. But God…! He is so kind to me. During our Friday morning reflection, I told God that I do not want to be pushed- at least for a little bit. I did not care how the reflection time was spent as long as I was not being pushed. And God did not push me. I felt heard and loved. It was the nicest thing ever. Jesus, you are so nice to me. Yes, I love to be challenged and I love to grow, but being able to sit without pressure is where I want to be. And I found that sitting with Jesus.
We were joined by the DTS from Ensenada this week for class. We will be going to their campus in a month for a week as well. On Wednesday, we had a harvest festival full of food, blow up houses/activities, horses/camels and a dress up competition. Did I join the competition, yes. Did I perform and shout about cows in front of a large crowd? Yes. “No mates las vacas.” “Don’t kill the cows.” My friend in the cow is Christina (from Norway). She makes me laugh until my stomach muscles hurt or until I nearly pee my pants (very nervous for the day this happens). P.s I am a Chick-Fil-A worker – apron from the kitchen, hat from a friend, cardboard from Amazon box.
Outreach location- Last Friday, the outreach locations were revealed! One group will go to Mexico and Colombia, a second group will go to Cambodia and Malaysia, and a third group will go to Japan. Right after the locations were revealed, we were told to pray for 15 minutes and write the order of preference based on what you think God is saying. Over the past few weeks, I have noticed that God usually tells me something before I finish asking the question or statement. So, when I went to pray, I asked God where he wanted me to go and I got Japan before I finished the question. I decided to go with this because that is how God had been speaking to me recently. I wrote Japan as my first option then added a note that I didn’t care which other country was 2nd or 3rd. I liked all the locations and I knew I would be placed wherever God wanted me. The leaders spent the next week praying over our lists and creating the teams. I was starting to second guess my thoughts, but I was still confident that God knew where I would go. This Friday night, our groups were revealed through a scavenger hunt! I was put on the Japan team! We have a team of 9 students and 2 leaders. I don’t know much about Japan and I did not pack for winter because I was expecting to go somewhere hot and humid. I am very excited about what God is going to do in Japan with our team. I think we have a strong team who is willing to do the work of the Lord and I am excited to serve and learn alongside them. Japan is 1% Christian so our work is cut out for us.
Things have been going well and I feel like I am settling in great. I try to leave the base once a day on the weekends to switch things up. I miss my family and friends but I am having a great time making new friendships!
Want something to pray about? Okay!
- Praise God for healing my stomach
- Pray for our Japan team to be united with each other and Christ as we prepare for the outreach
- Pray for Japan to be open to receiving the love of God
- Pray for me to continue to let God do whatever he wants to do
Oh yeah I met Shawn Johnson! I was walking up to my work duty in deluxe hospitality (where some teams stay when they come to build a house with homes of hope) and I saw a women, 2 men, and 2 kids. I saw that the woman was Shawn and said “Shawn Johnson, is that you?” she was so kind and introduced herself. Her husband introduced himself as well and we talked for a bit about their build, my DTS, and WA. I was a tiny bit late to my work duty. I got a picture with her the next day and played a little game with her daughter while the adults were working out!
