To bring Kingdom to those who have never experienced the Lord makes my heart rejoice, and I was able to do exactly that!
Three ladies from Cru, who have all just returned from a summer mission trip, had their first opportunity to serve the community tonight. This opportunity did not just reach Las Cruces, but all the way down to Juarez, Mexico!
We were lucky enough to come along side a ministry called "Souls", and help them make sandwiches for their Friday night Outreach. Souls Ministry go down to the Red Light District in Juarez, Mexico to reach out to the prostitues, the homeless and the drug addicts. They pray for these people, share the Gospel with them, give them food and just love on them.
While we were not able to go down to Mexico and be at the front lines, it was such a blessing to us to be able to help in whatever way was needed.
*Please keep the men and women traveling to Mexico in your prayers, pray for protection and anointing on them.
*Please also pray for the Holy Spirit to be working in the hearts of those they will speak to, so that they may be freed from the bondage Satan has over them and be saved by Jesus' grace.
If you would like more information about this ministry, you can find them at: Souls Ministry
Stories from my life as a missionary
Saturday, August 27, 2011
Thursday, August 25, 2011
And We're Off!
School has officially begun, which means meetings, meetings, mettings for us staff. It is really looks like it is going to be a great year. We already have a lot of really cool things planned out, now we just have to get the students on board and get the ball rolling.
Fresh
Two of our student leaders, Missy and Lance, are heading up a freshman movement, called "Fresh". Just from one day of tabling we gained 200 freshman contacts interested in knowing more about Christ. Our goal is to get all of them to come to Cru and connect with our freshman students. This past Monday, Fresh had their first get together, it was a free pizza party. The turn out was great, I believe a little more than 20 students showed up. Missy reports that they had great conversations with the students and lots of friendships were established.
Revolve
Last Thursday was our first Revolve, which is our weekly meeting in Corbett Center. For being the first day back to school, the turn out of students was awesome. We had about 40 students show up. Vince gave a talk about what Godly community looks like vs. broken community, and our need for Jesus to restore community. It was so good, and connected so well with everyone! Robert Frick (my lovely boyfriend) was the stand-in for music. The music was entertaining in the beginning to draw students in, and the meeting concluded with a time of amazing worship. There is nothing more glorifying and powerful to me than a sea of students singing out to their God. The night had God's fingerprints all over it. The Christians students got to connect with God and non-believing students and visitors seemed captivated. My only prayer is that people would break free of their comfort zones. You could see and feel the crowd wanting to stand up, lift their hands and sing out...but they held back, and stayed seated. How much more could the Spirit move if we just let go of our fears and worshipped Jesus with no reservations? That's my hope.
Fresh
Two of our student leaders, Missy and Lance, are heading up a freshman movement, called "Fresh". Just from one day of tabling we gained 200 freshman contacts interested in knowing more about Christ. Our goal is to get all of them to come to Cru and connect with our freshman students. This past Monday, Fresh had their first get together, it was a free pizza party. The turn out was great, I believe a little more than 20 students showed up. Missy reports that they had great conversations with the students and lots of friendships were established.
Revolve
Last Thursday was our first Revolve, which is our weekly meeting in Corbett Center. For being the first day back to school, the turn out of students was awesome. We had about 40 students show up. Vince gave a talk about what Godly community looks like vs. broken community, and our need for Jesus to restore community. It was so good, and connected so well with everyone! Robert Frick (my lovely boyfriend) was the stand-in for music. The music was entertaining in the beginning to draw students in, and the meeting concluded with a time of amazing worship. There is nothing more glorifying and powerful to me than a sea of students singing out to their God. The night had God's fingerprints all over it. The Christians students got to connect with God and non-believing students and visitors seemed captivated. My only prayer is that people would break free of their comfort zones. You could see and feel the crowd wanting to stand up, lift their hands and sing out...but they held back, and stayed seated. How much more could the Spirit move if we just let go of our fears and worshipped Jesus with no reservations? That's my hope.
Lastly, we are getting our Bible studies set up and establishing student leaders to lead small groups and missional groups all over campus. We want to see our students loving and doing life with every student around them, especially those completely different from themselves. We look forward to see the growth of our students through discipleship, quite times, evangelism and everyday life.
Friday, July 22, 2011
Live By Faith-Expect Resistance
Spiritual Warfare: definition-is the Christian concept that the Devil and demons attempt to thwart Good and the will of God. Some believe this "warfare" to be manifested in multiple ways, including by demonic possession, demonic harassment, by attacks on a person's thoughts, relationships, or life with God.
May-Upon returning home from training, my medicine which I've been taking for 4 years stops working. I have epilepsy, and a very uncommon type. I never have seizures, but do to a birth defect I was born with, the same birth defect that caused me to have 3 craniofacial/plastic surgeries, the inactive neurons in my brain started to misfire. I have taken a low dosage of medication for a long time, but in May I started to have horrible side effects-I got extremely depressed, anxiety, lost my train of thought, lost my short term memory, couldn't articulate thoughts randomly, couldn't control some of the things I said and everything made me cry.
So I changed medications, which worked well for a week, and then I had a severe allergic reaction. My mouth burst out in canker sores, my lymphnodes in my neck swelled, my whole face swelled, my lips were so swollen I couldn't close my mouth and I had vertigo. It was lovely. I ended up having to take time off work...and I could not talk to people, meet with them, go on appointments...basically there was no way to raise support. My month of May=Gone.
June-To top off my face looking like a blimp, my doctors were not convinced that these symptoms were due to my new medication so I had to continue the meds until I saw signs of a deadly rash known as "Stevens-Johnson Syndrome". If you google it, you will cringe. The second Saturday in June, I woke up with the rash, that spread across my body in a few hours...and finally they were convinced to let me stop this medication. So we started a new one, yay!
I could now start support raising. I have my entire computer backed up on my external hardrive, just to be safe. To keep all of my 100+ contacts together, with their addresses, phone numbers, calendar dates, support status, etc...I had to download a database. So I did, saved it to my desktop, along with the contact list that I had on my external hardrive. I thought that putting my contacts on my desktop would be so much easier than carrying my external everywhere. :) Oh irony. As soon as getting all of my contacts loaded and scheduling appointments, my hardrive on my laptop DIES. Literally, just stops! I quickly took it to my computer guy to look at. He did everything he could, and nothing. I was left with absolutely nothing. No database, no contacts, literally nothing. So for the next two weeks, I contacted the people I had in my phone and made due, waiting for my new laptop to arrive. On a whim, I had my hardrive looked at again, and it received the same diagnosis...dead. But I left it over the weekend, and just prayed for God's help in this. I didn't know what to do. I lost two weeks of work. But GOD IS SO GOOD. I received a call late Sunday evening from the computer guy explaining that my hardrive for some reason just turned on, randomly, and he had just enough time to save one folder...the one with all of my contacts!!! God was so gracious in that but my June=Gone.
July-I will fill you in on my next post. But know this, God is bigger, greater, and more capable of everything I expected him to be. Satan has spiritual warfare up his sleeve, but Jesus is the ALMIGHTY...no one can beat that.
Not only do I believe and agree with this definition,
but this past month and a half I have experienced it, full on.
Let me explain briefly.
I have 3 months to cultivate a team of ministry partners who will partner with me financially and prayerfully so I can be hired by Cru to work on campus with them for this next year.
This entails spending May 1st-August 1st networking, meeting with people, calling people, gaining referrals so that I can reach my goal.
Which roughly looks like having $3000 monthly and some one time support as well.
Longstory short, Satan has done whatever he can to trip me up in this process. I just wanted to share how ridiculous this journey has been, not to gain pity but more to rub it in Satan's face and glorify the Lord because He has been and will always be bigger than petty attacks.
May-Upon returning home from training, my medicine which I've been taking for 4 years stops working. I have epilepsy, and a very uncommon type. I never have seizures, but do to a birth defect I was born with, the same birth defect that caused me to have 3 craniofacial/plastic surgeries, the inactive neurons in my brain started to misfire. I have taken a low dosage of medication for a long time, but in May I started to have horrible side effects-I got extremely depressed, anxiety, lost my train of thought, lost my short term memory, couldn't articulate thoughts randomly, couldn't control some of the things I said and everything made me cry.
So I changed medications, which worked well for a week, and then I had a severe allergic reaction. My mouth burst out in canker sores, my lymphnodes in my neck swelled, my whole face swelled, my lips were so swollen I couldn't close my mouth and I had vertigo. It was lovely. I ended up having to take time off work...and I could not talk to people, meet with them, go on appointments...basically there was no way to raise support. My month of May=Gone.
June-To top off my face looking like a blimp, my doctors were not convinced that these symptoms were due to my new medication so I had to continue the meds until I saw signs of a deadly rash known as "Stevens-Johnson Syndrome". If you google it, you will cringe. The second Saturday in June, I woke up with the rash, that spread across my body in a few hours...and finally they were convinced to let me stop this medication. So we started a new one, yay!
I could now start support raising. I have my entire computer backed up on my external hardrive, just to be safe. To keep all of my 100+ contacts together, with their addresses, phone numbers, calendar dates, support status, etc...I had to download a database. So I did, saved it to my desktop, along with the contact list that I had on my external hardrive. I thought that putting my contacts on my desktop would be so much easier than carrying my external everywhere. :) Oh irony. As soon as getting all of my contacts loaded and scheduling appointments, my hardrive on my laptop DIES. Literally, just stops! I quickly took it to my computer guy to look at. He did everything he could, and nothing. I was left with absolutely nothing. No database, no contacts, literally nothing. So for the next two weeks, I contacted the people I had in my phone and made due, waiting for my new laptop to arrive. On a whim, I had my hardrive looked at again, and it received the same diagnosis...dead. But I left it over the weekend, and just prayed for God's help in this. I didn't know what to do. I lost two weeks of work. But GOD IS SO GOOD. I received a call late Sunday evening from the computer guy explaining that my hardrive for some reason just turned on, randomly, and he had just enough time to save one folder...the one with all of my contacts!!! God was so gracious in that but my June=Gone.
July-I will fill you in on my next post. But know this, God is bigger, greater, and more capable of everything I expected him to be. Satan has spiritual warfare up his sleeve, but Jesus is the ALMIGHTY...no one can beat that.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
Acceptance, unexpected and delighting.
If you read my previous posts you will remember that I said I was looking for a place to serve, a need that God could use me to fill. Well, it seems that He did.
I was asked to intern as a staff member with Cru (formerly known as Campus Crusade for Christ). Which is funny, because I had been involved in Cru for 6 years (from my senior year of high school-a year after my college graduation). It is an amazing Non-Profit Christian Organization on University campuses all around the world. Out of all the places I thought God would call me, I was not expecting it to be here...but I was excited none the less.
The process for joining staff is not very simple. You have to fill out a very extensive and personal application, have about 5 references with different criteria for each, and then you wait. You wait for someone in our region to look over my application and speak to my references, and once they okay that they will call. So after a few months of waiting, I got a call telling me I was accepted to intern, but I was not yet placed at a campus. So then I had to go through a grueling weekend of non-stop training and was finally placed at NMSU. But it is not over just yet. Now I have been given from May 1st-August 1st (roughly) to start raising support so that I can report and be officially hired.
So, here I am, about to return home and start support raising. It is a huge amount, a huge goal, and a lot of trust in the Lord in his provisions. I will keep you updated on how it all goes. But for now, things are looking good.
Wednesday, March 16, 2011
Good News!
I have a job! A great job in fact! It is such a blessing.
So, first the background story. I have been in desperate need for a job, so I can, well...survive, while I figure out my next step in life. I had been looking on the internet and around town, and nothing really popped out at me. My biggest fear was ending up at a job where I had to say "Do you want fries with that?" jk. ;)
Anyways, my mom was at the local hospital dropping off some papers (she is in advertising), and a gal at the front desk asked her if she knew anyone who needed a job and gave her the details. Long story short, in a week I had a job working for a psychiatrist. The top psychiatrist in town!
I am considered office staff, but I basically play the role of an MA, suicide counselor, prescription decision maker, appointment maker, etc... It is so fun, plus I have gotten to learn so much about different drugs, mental health, counseling and just the human mind in general. It is interesting how much the brain and our belief systems/spirituality coincide. Everyday I meet people who I can encourage and always have a name to go home and pray for. To top it off, I have amazing staff that I work with. :) Thank you Lord.
So, first the background story. I have been in desperate need for a job, so I can, well...survive, while I figure out my next step in life. I had been looking on the internet and around town, and nothing really popped out at me. My biggest fear was ending up at a job where I had to say "Do you want fries with that?" jk. ;)
Anyways, my mom was at the local hospital dropping off some papers (she is in advertising), and a gal at the front desk asked her if she knew anyone who needed a job and gave her the details. Long story short, in a week I had a job working for a psychiatrist. The top psychiatrist in town!
I am considered office staff, but I basically play the role of an MA, suicide counselor, prescription decision maker, appointment maker, etc... It is so fun, plus I have gotten to learn so much about different drugs, mental health, counseling and just the human mind in general. It is interesting how much the brain and our belief systems/spirituality coincide. Everyday I meet people who I can encourage and always have a name to go home and pray for. To top it off, I have amazing staff that I work with. :) Thank you Lord.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Starting A New
Now that I am back to doing life in the states, it seems a little hard at times to get my bearings. Sometimes it feels like the last 6 month were a dream, and then I wake up. I am in the same place, but I feel different. What do I do with that? Well I guess that is the question that I'm waiting for God to answer.
So here is what I do know:
So here is what I do know:
- I am supposed to serve, wherever the need, if that is where God intends for me to go. Whether it is cleaning poop or joining an organization...whether I'm in the background, or in front. I'm ready.
- I'm not going to continue to live in my mother's house unless I have to. Not because it is bad, but I'm ready to be fully independent.
- I need a job :)
- I will be grateful for what I have, always be willing to give it away, and not want for material things. Continue to watch and learn how to be selfless with my most "prized possessions".
- I will not fall stagnant, or at least not stay there.
- I will not lose sight of the God that I caught a glimpse of.
- I will try to run along side the active God I serve, no matter how difficult that trail is.
- I will not go to church, and do my Christian duties, but I will find a way to open eyes about the Kingdom of God and do what I can to bring that Kingdom to the here and now, for those who have not yet experienced it.
- Learning is just as vital, if not more than teaching.
- Listening is always better than speaking.
- Brokenness and humility are the easiest ways to combat pride.
- I will sustain relationships with my family and friends, and those who reside far away, I will make it a priority to have community in any way shape or form.
Monday, February 7, 2011
India
The last month of my Outreach was spent in Chennai, India (previously known as Madras) which is in Southern India. I had no idea what I was in for, but I had watched enough Bollywood videos before I got there to be super excited. I could have never imagined. People always ask me "How was it over there?" or they say "I could never go to a third world country, how did you do it?". But you know what? By God's grace, when we arrived in the Chennai airport, it was such an easy transition. Yes, it was exactly like you would imagine it in some ways. It was dirty in some areas, extremely impoverished, soldiers holding gigantic guns, thick aroma filled humid air, tons of people, and if they had a bathroom it was a squatty-potty. In other ways there was extreme extravagance, fine jewelry and linens, awesome food, the most vibrant colors I've ever seen, and the coolest people I've ever met. So if you truly want to know how it was in a third world country: It was AMAZING and I loved every minute of it. The pros outweighed the cons.
There were really hard parts of our time in India. I live close to the Mexico border here at home, and so a lot of these things I had seen. I still to this day have a hard time saying "no" to a baby begging for money, even though I know they are slaves. I have a hard time haggling a street vendor, even though I know I'm being overcharged. I had the hardest time not taking home all of those beautiful boys and girls who were orphans, gypsies, and enslaved. I cannot resist hugging a leper when they come up and pray for me, when I was are there to pray for them. I cannot deny the power of the Holy Spirit when I walk into a small room of people praising, dancing, crying and singing to the Lord, in such a sincere way...like I have never seen. I cannot but help feeling dirty and greedy every now and again, realizing how little I needed over there, and how much I cherish my "things" here. While I was in India, I felt more like the woman God created me to be, than I have ever been in the United States.
India is the wake up call to the nations. A people group who has Nothing, provides Everything for others. They should me what selflessness looks like. It didn't matter if we went to a big church or a small church, a rich peoples house or a homeless house...whatever they had, they gave it to us. In a family of 6, in a 4 room house...the family we stayed with, opened up their rooms for 12 of us. The grandparents slept on the floors outside so we could have a place to stay. The grandma, Maggie, got up at 5am every morning to make sure we ate before a long day of work. It didn't matter who they were, when we came, they gave us the best they had, even if they didn't get to eat. How Biblical is that? Didn't Jesus say "Love your neighbors as yourself"? Exactly. They showed us how to do that.
Jesus, thank you for the people in India. Protect them, bless them, and prosper them. Walk with them through the hard times, and spread your name and your Gospel through the land Spirit.
My time in India and Thailand brought my passions to life and to the surface. Many will say why did you go to University if you aren't going to use your degree? Many will see my choice to be a missionary and live out the Gospel as a failure or a "phase" I'm in. But I don't, because I know this is who I am and where I am supposed to be.
I will fight for those who can't fight for themselves, protect others from any/every injustice and love those around me like Jesus loves me.
There were really hard parts of our time in India. I live close to the Mexico border here at home, and so a lot of these things I had seen. I still to this day have a hard time saying "no" to a baby begging for money, even though I know they are slaves. I have a hard time haggling a street vendor, even though I know I'm being overcharged. I had the hardest time not taking home all of those beautiful boys and girls who were orphans, gypsies, and enslaved. I cannot resist hugging a leper when they come up and pray for me, when I was are there to pray for them. I cannot deny the power of the Holy Spirit when I walk into a small room of people praising, dancing, crying and singing to the Lord, in such a sincere way...like I have never seen. I cannot but help feeling dirty and greedy every now and again, realizing how little I needed over there, and how much I cherish my "things" here. While I was in India, I felt more like the woman God created me to be, than I have ever been in the United States.
India is the wake up call to the nations. A people group who has Nothing, provides Everything for others. They should me what selflessness looks like. It didn't matter if we went to a big church or a small church, a rich peoples house or a homeless house...whatever they had, they gave it to us. In a family of 6, in a 4 room house...the family we stayed with, opened up their rooms for 12 of us. The grandparents slept on the floors outside so we could have a place to stay. The grandma, Maggie, got up at 5am every morning to make sure we ate before a long day of work. It didn't matter who they were, when we came, they gave us the best they had, even if they didn't get to eat. How Biblical is that? Didn't Jesus say "Love your neighbors as yourself"? Exactly. They showed us how to do that.
Jesus, thank you for the people in India. Protect them, bless them, and prosper them. Walk with them through the hard times, and spread your name and your Gospel through the land Spirit.
My time in India and Thailand brought my passions to life and to the surface. Many will say why did you go to University if you aren't going to use your degree? Many will see my choice to be a missionary and live out the Gospel as a failure or a "phase" I'm in. But I don't, because I know this is who I am and where I am supposed to be.
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| At the Leper Colony |
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| Sari's |
I will fight for those who can't fight for themselves, protect others from any/every injustice and love those around me like Jesus loves me.
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| The Gypsy Children |
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| Beautiful Orphans |
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| Preaching-I was terrified :) |
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