On Sunday night, (November 17) some of us DTS students worked with SOMEA (School of Missions, Evangelism, and Apologetics).We went out to Tijuana to offer free hot chocolate and cake. It was a really sweet time with my classmates going out and loving on the people on the streets on a chilly night. There would good conversations and a lot of smiles from people who were receiving the hot chocolate. We set up on a street full of night life and busy people. Because it was at a crosswalk, we could talk to people while they waited to cross. This also meant we had a lot of rejection because people were busy getting to their destination and a lot of them were not interested in stopping to talk or grab the free cup of hot chocolate. I went up to someone sitting in a corner to give them some hot chocolate because they seemed like they would like something warm. This person would not lift their head up and just refused the hot chocolate. I kept watching this person when I went across the street because they were so alone. They would not lift their head and their posture reflected brokenness, exhaustion, and a spirit that has given up. On our way back to the vans, we passed by someone we saw on our way out and this person was under blankets that were completely covering him to keep him warm and as safe as possible. He came out of his blanket to grab the hot chocolate. I was really feeling God’s heart for these two people today. They’ve clearly been through some stuff to be on the streets. Even though some bad decisions were made, they are still someone’s son, grandson, brother, nephew and they still have a right to be loved by people and to know God loves them. That’s all we really want, right?
The week of November 17, the topic was on the Holy Spirit and it was a great week. I feel like I often forget about the Holy Spirit. We started the week with a Bible study on the Spirit, the breath of God, and Ruach (the Hebrew word for breath, wind, spirit, etc). It was God’s energizing spirit that raised Jesus from the dead and it really is crazy that this spirit lives in me. God, the Father, is the will. Jesus is the Word and Holy Spirit is the work. They all work together to reveal their nature and character to us. We also talked about the difference between the indwelling of the Spirit and the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I’ve had questions about the baptism of the Holy Spirit for the last two years and I was very excited when this topic was brought up. The Holy Spirit is a promise and a gift. I understand everyone has different opinions and thoughts so listen to mine and then go to the Bible and find your own answer. When we believe and accept Jesus’ death and resurrection, the Spirit comes and is now dwelling in us. We are sealed with the Holy Spirit – Ephesians 1:13-14, John 7:37-39. John 20:21. Because of the blood and power of God, we receive the indwelling of the Spirit. The baptism of the Holy Spirit like we see in Acts is for empowerment. This edifies us and is an empowerment for witnessing. We can be filled with more of the Holy Spirit. Our prayer at the beginning of class everyday was “Holy Spirit, I want to know you more.” We had some questions to reflect on :
Are you looking with eyes of faith or eyes of unbelief? Do you believe who I say I am? Do you trust me? (-God) How do you live by the Spirit? How would you rate yourself on all the fruits of the spirit? Where do you want to grow? What do you want more of?
When talking about the fruits and the gifts, we recognized that fruit is grown and gifts are given.
During our small group of that week, we talked about the functions of the Holy Spirit and a verse that really stuck out to me was Romans 15:13 “I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Confident hope through trusting in Jesus is what I strive for. I think that is why I am here.
On Monday (1/18), we went to the park to hand out balloons that had words of encouragement and truth written on them. this was our last Monday ministry We also played card games like UNO to invite people into a moment of community and to create a space to ask about them and share about Jesus. It was a beautiful park with so many people!
On Wednesday (11/20), during our community meeting, we heard a message from a great evangelist. He preached on the Good Samaritan with a focus on the person in the ditch who needed help rather than the people who were helping/not helping. We can’t minister to people by looking down at them. We’ve got to get on the same level and walk with them. A question that got me thinking was ” How do I let myself be found and loved by God?”
The weeks are going by so fast. I am trying to spend time at the prayer house more and those have been good moments. I helped decorate for Christmas one day and that was so fun! On Saturday (11/23), I went to a cute surf coffee shop for a smoothie and then a restaurant that was actually someone’s house and front yard that they turned into a restaurant and it was so, so delicious. I watched my nephew, Cory, play football and ate some good food. My friend had a mac and cheese burger – this place was amazing. We ended the night with carne asada on base. It was a much needed, good food day.
On Sunday (11/24), we spent the day praying, fasting, and worshipping for the finances of our friends still in need for outreach. Although I had all my finances, I loved standing beside them and believing for them. Just like Aaron and Hur held up Moses’ hands during the battle, I felt like we were holding our friends hands up believing for a victory in their finances. We sang, we prayed, we painted, and money was coming in! Again, thank you thank you for being apart of this journey!!
On Monday (11/25), I went on my last Trailblazer ministry time to Zona Norte in Tijuana. I did not know this until the end of our time when they prayed for us! It was a great last day because we brought posters out to the streets with the question “why are you thankful?” People wrote why they were thankful and we were able to have conversations with them. I was the sign holder so I was smiling at people and pointing pens at them to encourage them to come write! A man that we have met before was there. He is pretty vocal and likes to get in your space. My teammate, Travis, took the time to step away from our group (of a lot of girls) and listened to the man, Angel. Travis shared his heart with us when we left the streets and it was beautiful to hear how he cared about the man and his brokenness. Travis was imitating Christ in this moment. He stopped what he was doing and he listened to a broken person, just like Jesus does with us. Great last day!
New week. Topic: Lordship! This week was all about surrendering our rights (that are actually not our rights) to Jesus. These rights include future, family, reputation, finances, resources, marriage, health, control, being right, false comforts, lifestyle, country, and culture. Jesus is rightfully Lord, and worthy of our lives. This is an everyday thing and it feels so good surrendering things and placing them at the foot of the cross.
THANKSGIVING in Mexico did not disappoint. We had a huge, base wide dinner with lots of leftovers so it really was Thanksgiving. I was expecting to have one small plate, but we were able to eat as much as we wanted and had more the next day. I missed being with my family and eating my mom’s rolls, but I Facetimed them and she agreed to make me rolls when I get home. My favorite part of the day was seeing my friends experience Thanksgiving. My Norwegian friend, Christina, wanted to go behind me in line so she could see what to get. (I made her get everything) We made a fun video of all the people before and after their first Thanksgiving meal.
(First week of December) The last week of lecture phase was this week and the topic was on evangelism. Very fitting for the week before outreach. Our speaker was a man who does a lot of ministry and evangelism around the base and community and it was engaging, encouraging, and challenging. All of us who believe this good news should want to share it with others- that really challenged me! We practiced sharing the gospel and our testimonies. We also practiced “pick it up and preach.” We pick up a random item and connect it to the gospel. It was scary and kind of fun after you got the hang of it and were creative. We did some brainstorming on how to love people based on the five love languages and how to connect them to the gospel and sharing the kingdom of God. He showed us how to use clown acts to share the gospel. One day he called up two people to teach them how to “clown” and somehow I went up there. I was a clown. Who knows if I will do clown ministry in Japan! It is a little intimidating.
Last weekend we got to go to America to shop for outreach. I LOVED IT. It was so fun to go shopping with Christmas music and friends. The sun and palm trees were a little confusing with Christmas but that’s okay! I ate all the food and shopped at stores that felt like home.
On Sunday (12/1), some of our classmates got baptized- at the ocean right outside of our base (where the water is bad hehe). It was so much fun! Tidal, a dad in our DTS who is also a pastor, baptized anyone interested. We prayed for each person, they went out to get baptized and then we cheered as they walked back to shore. One friend who leaves near the base had her parents come for her baptism and her dad even got to baptize her. Another friend had his mom come and it was sweet watching her see her son get baptized.
Japan Updates: On 11/26, our team had a fundraising idea to sell hugs/carry the hugs to Japan. At this point, we owed $8,511 and the other teams were fully funded or within $2,000. It was crunch time! We stood outside the plaza with our signs and our arms open wide to send hugs to Japan. At one point, I put the cup of money in a friends hand and told him to pray for it to multiply. As he finished, I looked at my phone and CASSIE sent a virtual hug on VENMO all the way from Lynden. It was answered prayer and really encouraged our faith in that moment. That was when we started asking for virtual hugs and some sweet friends donated!! Thank you. All the money was due 11/29. We still had four members who needed money on that Friday morning. We met as an outreach team for prayer and intercession before class. Then, right as class was starting, our leader, Caleb, went to update the board. He erased one name and we were all so excited. Then he erased another, and another, and then the last one!! It was beautiful and crazy and wonderful. WE ARE GOING TO JAPAN. TOMORROW.
Thanks for reading 🙂 I am so glad I have these updates to share with you and to remember my time in lecture phase! I did not want it to end, I loved it so much!
ON TO OUTREACH!!!! Japan