So this Saturday, we went out to town as a team to spread the Gospel.
We started prep by bringing backpacks full of bibles (in Spanish, of course), Gospel bookmarks, and Gospel bracelets. (These basically have colors according to the Gospel to represent it in an easy-to-remember way.)
We took these to town and began handing them out and, like always, the people are so eager to receive them!
It was simple: We prayed, then walked through the center square and gave them to anyone who we felt to. It's easy, though, because kids are EVERYWHERE, selling their bracelets & hairbands & whatnot, but as soon as you give something to one child, you're suddenly mobbed by 10 more, all reaching toward you saying, "Y yo, y yo! Y para mi hermana y mis padres!!"
I love sitting down with the kids, though, and taking the Gospel bookmark (which has the references to look up) to look up all the verses to read to them. All we can do is pray it makes an impact, that it really gets into their hearts. There are so many people who have a god, but not a relationship with THE God, the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, so we have to be specific when we're presenting the Gospel.
The hardest part about this outreach, which still gives me goosebumps and a wrenching feeling inside of me, is when I'm with one of my team mates, Rachel, and we're surrounded by kids, and we reach into our backpacks for more bracelets, bibles, or bookmarks, and there's nothing left. We look over to our two other team mates, Gus and Sam, and mouth "Do you have any more bibles?" to see them shaking their heads no.
If you've never experienced having to turn someone down a bible because you don't have any more, it's heartbreaking.
All the thoughts are running through your head: "If I could have given this one kid a bible..he could have taken it to his family and they could get saved!" "I might not ever see him again..." "She might never get another chance to know Jesus.."
But all we can do is hope that by our actions, we've accurately represented the only Christ they may ever see, and pray Jesus will become known to them, into their heart, as their Lord and Savior.
Monday, November 18, 2013
Friday, November 15, 2013
IBS WEEK 4
Colossians 3:2
My weekly devotions have all been focused on letting God be in control instead of myself wanting to be in control of my life, so my IBS verse is:
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
The previous verse is a beautiful reminder of Christ’s power, sitting at the right hand of God, where our eyes should be. Why wouldn’t my eyes be there? He literally has the universe in His hands, everyone’s beginning and everyone’s end. I love meditating on this fact, and it reminds me of the song “How Great is Our God” when the verses say “…beginning and the end…” and “…the Lion and the Lamb…”, and what an incredible truth that is! He is everything, the beginning and end, the Alpha and Omega, the Lion and the Lamb; His birth being the start of the world’s greatest rescue mission, and His death not being the end, but only new life. It’s hard to even see the things of this world when you truly meditate on God and His greatness.
My application is to read Colossians 3:1-4 every night before I go to bed so I can have the Word remind me of God’s glory, power, and who I am in Him.
My weekly devotions have all been focused on letting God be in control instead of myself wanting to be in control of my life, so my IBS verse is:
“Set your mind on things above, not on earthly things.”
The previous verse is a beautiful reminder of Christ’s power, sitting at the right hand of God, where our eyes should be. Why wouldn’t my eyes be there? He literally has the universe in His hands, everyone’s beginning and everyone’s end. I love meditating on this fact, and it reminds me of the song “How Great is Our God” when the verses say “…beginning and the end…” and “…the Lion and the Lamb…”, and what an incredible truth that is! He is everything, the beginning and end, the Alpha and Omega, the Lion and the Lamb; His birth being the start of the world’s greatest rescue mission, and His death not being the end, but only new life. It’s hard to even see the things of this world when you truly meditate on God and His greatness.
My application is to read Colossians 3:1-4 every night before I go to bed so I can have the Word remind me of God’s glory, power, and who I am in Him.
IBS WEEK 3
Matthew 26:41
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
This is a strict command, which is repeated in almost every epistle. We are not only instructed and encouraged, but commanded to watch for the enemy. He is everywhere, and as it says in 1 Peter, he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. As we know, his purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, with the language of lies. As long as we keep watch we’ll know him when he comes, and the more time we spend with Jesus, the more He’ll open our eyes to the lies of the enemy as we’re more familiar with the Truth of Christ.
The prayer is the most important, as this will give us wisdom, discernment, and knowledge, as well as keeping us filled with the Spirit, which is who will keep us protected and safe on the path of righteousness. We must remember that we’ll continue on this path as long as we remain filled with the Spirit (that’s a continuous command as well—to be continuously BEING filled). Crucifying ourselves on a daily basis is crucial to allowing the Spirit do his work; as the Word says, our bodies are weak…the strength in us is Christ working and moving in us. As long as we’re not quenching the Spirit and allowing him to do his work, we’ll be walking closer to Christ every single day.
My application from this IBS is to, over a long period of time, create a concordance of verses according to various life aspects. For instance, if the topic is Joy, I will have a list of verses pertaining to joy and how to attain it through Christ.
“Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the body is weak.”
This is a strict command, which is repeated in almost every epistle. We are not only instructed and encouraged, but commanded to watch for the enemy. He is everywhere, and as it says in 1 Peter, he prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour. As we know, his purpose is to steal, kill, and destroy, with the language of lies. As long as we keep watch we’ll know him when he comes, and the more time we spend with Jesus, the more He’ll open our eyes to the lies of the enemy as we’re more familiar with the Truth of Christ.
The prayer is the most important, as this will give us wisdom, discernment, and knowledge, as well as keeping us filled with the Spirit, which is who will keep us protected and safe on the path of righteousness. We must remember that we’ll continue on this path as long as we remain filled with the Spirit (that’s a continuous command as well—to be continuously BEING filled). Crucifying ourselves on a daily basis is crucial to allowing the Spirit do his work; as the Word says, our bodies are weak…the strength in us is Christ working and moving in us. As long as we’re not quenching the Spirit and allowing him to do his work, we’ll be walking closer to Christ every single day.
My application from this IBS is to, over a long period of time, create a concordance of verses according to various life aspects. For instance, if the topic is Joy, I will have a list of verses pertaining to joy and how to attain it through Christ.
IBS WEEK 2
Romans 6:23
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This was one of our memory verses back at my home church, The Springs, as a leader. Every time I read it I get something new—my eyes are opened to a whole new truth by the Spirit. At face value, it’s obvious: sinners die, and Christ gives us life. But sinners don’t just die—we are condemned to an eternal suffering in Hell among the demons. Eternal life isn’t a physical thing, but spiritual. It’s a gift, not something we’re entitled to as humans, to be able to spend eternity praising the Lord who saved us from ourselves, the world, and Satan’s chains.
We’re born sinners, that’s not debatable. We’re not deserving of anything more than those chains, but God deemed us worthy. We’re His creation and He loves us, enough to buy us from damnation. He didn’t simply save us, but bought us and paid with His own Son. It’s by Jesus’ blood that we’re covered and nothing else. The inheritance we now have is by that and that alone.
My application with this IBS is extremely simple: to re-read this every day for the next week as a reminder of this truth that’s so quickly overlooked and forgotten.
“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
This was one of our memory verses back at my home church, The Springs, as a leader. Every time I read it I get something new—my eyes are opened to a whole new truth by the Spirit. At face value, it’s obvious: sinners die, and Christ gives us life. But sinners don’t just die—we are condemned to an eternal suffering in Hell among the demons. Eternal life isn’t a physical thing, but spiritual. It’s a gift, not something we’re entitled to as humans, to be able to spend eternity praising the Lord who saved us from ourselves, the world, and Satan’s chains.
We’re born sinners, that’s not debatable. We’re not deserving of anything more than those chains, but God deemed us worthy. We’re His creation and He loves us, enough to buy us from damnation. He didn’t simply save us, but bought us and paid with His own Son. It’s by Jesus’ blood that we’re covered and nothing else. The inheritance we now have is by that and that alone.
My application with this IBS is extremely simple: to re-read this every day for the next week as a reminder of this truth that’s so quickly overlooked and forgotten.
IBS WEEK 1
Philippians 2:1-2
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
If we have ANY of these things, then be like-minded with each other, and have love and unity. Not just any love, though, but the same love that Christ has shown us. Agape love; a love that is without condition, one in which emotion doesn’t affect. This is my prayer for our team Guatemala as we’re beginning this 6 month adventure of serving the Lord…not alone, but together, leaning on one another and needing each other as the brothers and sisters God put with us for a purpose.
My prayer is for us to be like-minded and unified, especially when troubles and trials arise. I want God to be the center of all we do, as He has blessed us so greatly with this opportunity, and with all of the comfort, compassion, love, tenderness, encouragement, and fellowship with Him. My application is to make sure we, as Team Guatemala, continue to pray together each night as we did in training once we found out we’d be stationed here together.
“If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from His love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose.”
If we have ANY of these things, then be like-minded with each other, and have love and unity. Not just any love, though, but the same love that Christ has shown us. Agape love; a love that is without condition, one in which emotion doesn’t affect. This is my prayer for our team Guatemala as we’re beginning this 6 month adventure of serving the Lord…not alone, but together, leaning on one another and needing each other as the brothers and sisters God put with us for a purpose.
My prayer is for us to be like-minded and unified, especially when troubles and trials arise. I want God to be the center of all we do, as He has blessed us so greatly with this opportunity, and with all of the comfort, compassion, love, tenderness, encouragement, and fellowship with Him. My application is to make sure we, as Team Guatemala, continue to pray together each night as we did in training once we found out we’d be stationed here together.
Sunday, November 10, 2013
I'm Not Alone
God's put so many people in my life for a family, but not just that.
I have millions of brothers and sisters throughout the world, all of whom lift their hands to the One True King.
How could I possibly feel alone at any given time when I'm surrounded by a crowd of Sons and Daughters?
<3
I have millions of brothers and sisters throughout the world, all of whom lift their hands to the One True King.
How could I possibly feel alone at any given time when I'm surrounded by a crowd of Sons and Daughters?
<3
This place is EASILY becoming home.
I love the center.
It's funny how having things of your own instantly makes things more like home.
The people here, obviously, makes it a home.
From watching movies with the McClain girls, dancing with Tito in the hallway, sitting up front with Scoot and GusGus while they play League, and decorating our room with Sarita makes me smile :)
We've taken a spare mattress and put it in our room and covered it with blankets and pillows as a little couch..(We took the comfiest mattress in the center, I swear.)
Also Sarita got Christmas lights for her birthday, so we've strung those up in the room, along with having a bunch of cute little candles around on the mantle.
This paired with my homemade apple cider and Christmas music blasting every time we're in the room has made it a nice and cozy place to be.
Easily Level 5 with the people here.
<3
It's funny how having things of your own instantly makes things more like home.
The people here, obviously, makes it a home.
From watching movies with the McClain girls, dancing with Tito in the hallway, sitting up front with Scoot and GusGus while they play League, and decorating our room with Sarita makes me smile :)
We've taken a spare mattress and put it in our room and covered it with blankets and pillows as a little couch..(We took the comfiest mattress in the center, I swear.)
Also Sarita got Christmas lights for her birthday, so we've strung those up in the room, along with having a bunch of cute little candles around on the mantle.
This paired with my homemade apple cider and Christmas music blasting every time we're in the room has made it a nice and cozy place to be.
Easily Level 5 with the people here.
<3
Nov. 10 2013 - Weekend
So we had the Pastor's Conference here, which was AMAZING--SO many pastors from ALL over came down, and meeting everyone and getting to listen to their messages was such a blessing.
Super stressful having so many people flooding the center, but absolutely incredible at the same time.
Yesterday was Sarah's 21st birthday, and I'm so glad we got to spend it with her here in Guat. :)
We stormed the room in the morning with balloons singing to her, then that night we got all dressed up and went to Rainbow Cafe for probably the most amazing tea we've ever had in our lives, then came back and watched The Croods in the old sanctuary on a bunch of mattresses together.
It was a very nice night.
Praise the Lord for letting us do all of this stuff...like seriously the fact that we get to serve Him and have so much fun together is just His goodness and nothing else.
Super stressful having so many people flooding the center, but absolutely incredible at the same time.
Yesterday was Sarah's 21st birthday, and I'm so glad we got to spend it with her here in Guat. :)
We stormed the room in the morning with balloons singing to her, then that night we got all dressed up and went to Rainbow Cafe for probably the most amazing tea we've ever had in our lives, then came back and watched The Croods in the old sanctuary on a bunch of mattresses together.
It was a very nice night.
Praise the Lord for letting us do all of this stuff...like seriously the fact that we get to serve Him and have so much fun together is just His goodness and nothing else.
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