A Breath of Fresh Air

The past month I've been able to see and spend time with my family, friends have made a special effort to connect with me, visit with my church, and see God provide in unexpected ways.

I arrived home December 17th and we stayed in Virginia for Christmas. My highlights were that I met my niece Liliana for the first time, decorating sugar cookies, and having my friend Darla visit with us!




We headed to Tennessee for the weekend after Christmas to catch up with the App family (my sister's family), grandparents, cousins, aunt and uncles. The food was DELICIOUS and this year we had lots of fun with a Nerf war. :)

 

Eventually Christa and I headed to the Word of Life Missions Conference in Schroon Lake, NY with friends. Two years ago I was commissioned in this conference and this year I walked with my "class" of interns as we finished what we each set out to do in different parts around the world. It was refreshing and exciting to hear and share experiences and be an encouragement to new missionary interns heading out this month! I got to see some old friends too and it's just always fun to hear how God moves in each life in unique ways. You can watch the missions conference sessions using the link below!

                                     Word of Life Bible Institute Missions Conference 2013

This trip home I've been very encouraged about whatever it may be that God has in store for my future. It's a little scary yet also exciting to dream and pursue the unknown. God has been touching my heart in different ways and it will be interesting to see what He calls me to next!

I was able to visit with my home church a little and it was so good to see people who have been investing in my life for a long time now. This past Wednesday night I had the privilege of sharing my testimony with young teenagers that are going there now. SO FUN to share with them and answer questions from such an enthusiastic crowd!

 

I don't know what to do sometimes when faced with a specific need in my life... whether to share it, or not. I think that perhaps there are times for both. This visit home was a special time to see God provide. I'd been praying about some Bibles for the school and God provided for me to bring back 10 of them! Going to missions conference in NY from VA was interesting since Christa and I didn't have any money for gas. He provided for that in several ways, but what really stands out is that He chose to use people that didn't have much to give in the first place. Looking back and reading John 6:1-14 this morning has really encouraged me to have faith and trust God when facing needs I can't meet. It's a good thing that He's into doing impossible things!

Thank You, Lord, for Your faithfulness in my life! Increase my faith....

Colors of Life

Two weeks ago we had our Missions week here in the school! We have a guest missionary every day and a special mission’s chapel.

 At the end of the week we have an evangelistic activity so that as a school we can go share the gospel.This year we did the children's show Colors of Life in a nearby town.

 

 

It’s basically the wordless book come to life! J

It’s really a privilege to be a part of something like this and to see the students get excited about sharing the gospel!

Milagro



This picture is actually of Dawnell and I from last year when
 we went out sharing as a group from Bible Club.

     Yesterday Karla (a student from the school) and I went into town to witness a little. Bernal exists for its weekend tourism, the main attraction- The Peña de Bernal: The world’s third largest monolith right  here in Queretaro. Bernal is a difficult little town to witness in were the locals are concerned… but not unreachable. Yesterday was a demeaning day with rejection. One woman we witnessed to made a politely insulting commit touching my surety of what I was talking about that fell back on one of the few things that could actually sting- my Spanish speaking abilities. I knew what she said wasn’t really true… and Karla reminded me not to be discouraged… but it really did bother me. It was the kind of thing that made me want to just pack-up and go home where I could also share the gospel and without having to try so hard to simply talk, let alone communicate something of so great importance. But God humbled me and reminded me that it’s all in His timing, for His purposes, and all that I do should be simply because I love Him.

     Today, we went to the Peña to have our Bible Club and I witnessed a miracle... in my very presence a young lady passed from death to life! David (a boy from the school and Bible Club) and I shared God’s Word and watched as she realized her sin before a holy God and embraced the truth that Jesus took on Himself the penalty of her sin so that she might be free and enter into an intimate relationship with the One who created her... and God used me (of all people) as He opened her eyes... and all in Spanish. What grace! What an amazing, beautiful God!

Fiel

"Moreover it is required in stewards that one be found faithful." 1 Cor. 4:2 (NKJV)

Fiel. It means faithful. Being thorough and steady in the performance of duty set before you. This morning in split devotions in the school, "my kids" each learned what it means to be faithful as a child of God. Maricela, our school secretary, has been over my classroom this month and she had each student make a goal for their lives of one thing that they will be faithful in. Then they prayed and asked God to help them do it.

I love hearing my students pray! :) It is so neat to see God working and shaping their little lives. To help them to remember their "be faithful" goals, we all drew pictures of our goals and hung them above our offices (desks).

If you want to pray for them and their goals, here they are!

• Rebeca -to finish all her homework everyday
• Sofia -to pray
• Cristian - to pray and read his Bible
• Omar -to read God's word
• Daniel -to finish his homework and obey the teacher

There's Power in the Blood!

My roomate, Merle, has been in Mexico City with her family for some time now... off and on since the summer. Her 15 year old brother, Alex, has cancer and has been undergoing various chemotheropy treatments. It has been very difficult for their family, but God has been doing amazing things in their lives as He draws each of them closer to Himself.

Merle and Alex
Please remember them in your prayers.

Merle is a shinning light in the midst of a dominating catholic world. Her faith and readiness to share the gospel in the hospital with those around her simply shows Christ within her and her life is an example of what it means to live for the Lord.
Recently, her brother was hopitalized because he got an infection after an intense chemo treatment. The doctors declared that there was simply nothing that they could do for him. Everyone had to wait and pray.
Later the doctors said that the one thing that would help Alex is to give him blood. (Alight, this was explained to me in Spanish, so bear with me, but this would refresh his body and put white blood cells and all of the healthy good stuff your blood has in it to fight off disease.) So, a group of us from Word of Life in Mexico went to the hospital and donated our blood!
I love how the body of Christ came together to help Alex. After two weeks or so, Alex came out of the "danger zone". He is still fighting cancer, but his family is waiting for him to improve enough to return home!
Alex needed blood to encouraged life in his body. What a reminder of the need I had for the blood of Christ to cleanse me of my sin. It wasn't something I earned, it was a gift of grace. There truly is power in the blood of Christ to give new life!

In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; (Ephesians 1:7, KJV)

The whole truth and nothing but the truth!

     Have you ever shared your troubles with someone, maybe cried a little, and then waited for them to pity you and tell you, "wow, that's really tough!" ... but then... they DIDN'T!?! Instead (hopefully) they told you what you needed to hear: truth.

     The second week of October was one of those times in my life. :) It was the final week of two of my online classes and all of our school staff went to a Teachers' Convention in Mexico City for three days. This is one of those times in life where I've really felt spread thin. At one point, I felt extremely overwhelmed and sat down with someone who reminded me that God never gives us more than we're able to do because He always gives us the strength to do what He calls us to. In the end, physical things are just physical things. What really matters is how I handle the situations I am given...do I have joy?... do I have peace?... am I still in loving submission to God? I'm so thankful that God continues to show me grace by shaping and molding my life. It is also a blessing to be in a place where people will share truth with me and simply sit down and pray with me. :)

     The Teachers' Convention went great! There were some speakers from ACE in the United States that came down and shared God's Word with us ( in ENGLISH! yippy!) through a translator. There were also seminars we went to where we all learned things that will really help us to run the school better. The top three things I walked away with were:

1. Smiling is a choice.

2. My responsibility in helping my students set their school work goals for the day.

3. My character will either reinforce the godly character we teach the students to have, or it will deny its value.

Something fun- while in Mexico City, we met an Avatar! ;)

(Thank you, Erick Martínez for the photo!)

Go to the Ant....

Two days ago I came upon a community of hard workers. I noticed their diligence, their ability to follow their leader, and their persistance inspite adversity. They didn't even seem to be distracted by my presence though I towered over them with my observations and eventually sat down on the patio to admire them. I was reminded of Proverbs 6: 6-8, "Go to the ant, thou sluggard; consider her ways, and be wise: which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, provideth her meat in the summer, and gathereth her food in the harvest." That was definitely what these ants were doing. :)

God used these little ants to encourage me. Free time isn't exactly in my vocabulary right now. Everyday is full and requires a lot of energy (more mental than physical). But God is faithful and just like He gives these ants their energy, determination, and ability, He gives me what I need to fulfill all He's called me to. This is a unique time in my life and I want to learn to trust the Lord in more ways than I've ever had the opportunity to before.

... the ants are still out on the patio....