A Collective Prayer

So to reflect a little more on my week at El Limon, I'd like to share another thought I had while hanging out with some of the staff late one night. It had been a long day of hard work in the sun and I was exhausted. It was around 9 pm and I had yet to get a chance to shower, relax, or even change from my sweaty work clothes. I noticed some of the staff were sitting with Sebastian, a young man that would be coming back with us to study through the Hope Program that Thursday. Although the las thing I wanted was to prolong my hours outside of a shower or bed, I really felt like I needed to sit and join the circle of worship that they had begun, led by Sebas. As I sat for a moment, listening and praying, I felt that God was giving me a word to share with them. I ran into my dorm for my Bible and began flipping through some passages in Psalms that I had been reading until I came upon Chapter 5. The verses that struck my attention were as follows:

"But let everyone who trusts you be happy; let them sing glad songs forever. Protect those who love you and who are happy because of you. Lord, you bless those who do what is right; you protect them like a soldier's shield." (Psalm 5: 11-12) As I shared this with the rest that were sitting there we began to reflect on how badly we want that for our own lives, but especially for the lives of all the teens on the property who are studying through the Hope Program. We prayed this as a prayer of protection and blessing on Sebas as he transitioned through the Hope Program, and I have a request to any of you who are reading this. If you know or have connected with any of the teens in the Hope Program, I ask that you take a few minutes a day to pray this prayer for that student. If you do not know of a teen here on the property, then feel free to choose any other young adult. I would just ask that we all pray a blessing over the upcoming generation of leaders that their journeys and stories would coincide with this passage, that God would make obvious to them the things in their lives that come from Him and the things that are nothing but distractions, and that in singing their glad songs they could glorify Him with the power of a generation that is madly in love with their Creator.

A Week at El Limon

So it has been awhile since I've gotten a chance to write, so I have a lot of experiences and stories to share with everyone. The traveling was a bit interesting, as on the way there the bus was over-heating and could not drive faster than 30 kilometers and hour, making the 5 hour drive about 7 hours instead. Throughout the week we had some challenges with food and project preparation. And as if that weren't enough, we also got to spend a few hours on the side of the highway waiting on another bus because our replacement bus had a bad fuel pump and needed yet another replacement. On top of all this, I was incredibly sick throughout the whole week and could hardly talk on our trip back. Most of what could have possibly gone wrong that week, probably went wrong, but the glorious part is that through all our difficulties, God showed His face in new and brilliant ways. At the beginning of James, the Bible says, "Brothers and sisters, when you have many kinds of troubles, you should be full of joy, because you know that these troubles test your faith, and this will give you patience. Let your patience show itself perfectly in what you do. Then you will be perfect and complete and will have everything you need." This passage really resonated with me as I saw many becoming frustrated and angry with our situation, but we were looking past all that God had been doing in our hearts and through our bodies the entire week, even if it did not go according to our insignificant planning! James goes on to discuss how we should praise in times of difficulty, as these times are actually opportunities to learn from Our God and grow closer in a relationship to Him. As you continue your week, I ask that as you recognize a situation that is testing your patience, instead of praying for comfort through that or that it may just be resolved, think about exactly what part of your walk it is testing. Get a journal and write that down and ask God to show His Face and His Will in that area throughout the week. As you pray, write down what you feel like God may be teaching you through the situation and what God may be showing you that week apart from it. Instead of just wishing the situation to pass, fully embrace it! Glorify God by rejoicing in a challenge, because it is not the easy times that we need and reflect on God most, but the times when our faith is tested, when our physical limits our pushed, and when our "normal" lives are disrupted that God chooses to leap into our hearts and teach us something new or just allows us to sense His presence in our lives.

Keep on Swimmin'

So to start this blog off with a bang, I'd like to share a little personal realization I've come to in my first week of the summer. I will probably be doing this often as I enjoy sharing my thoughts and hearing what others may have to say in response. I feel it is a great way to grow closer to God as a single follower and as the body of Christ. I hope that these kind of posts will help provoke thought, force you to dig deeper in your faith, and encourage you in your walk with Christ. So on that note, here goes my story......I was silently praying during worship the other night and felt as though God was really challenging me. There is always something about serving here in Mexico that helps you clear your head and see more clearly what God may want, which is always a great thing. But with every great thing comes a great challenge as well as a great opportunity. I began thinking of an analogy for my spiritual walk that started with a simple picture. I imagined myself swimming against the current in a wide and rampant river with a huge and roaring waterfall at my back. For a long time in my faith, I had been tearing through that river with the energy of a young child and the stride as large as that of Michael Phelps, but slowly my arms began to wear out. I know longer had the tenacity I once had felt. I began to just swim in place for awhile, not falling back towards the danger behind me, but not moving out of it either. My arms slowly began to tire more and more to the point that the river's current began to push me back. I felt the water splash in my face and in my eyes and began to choke as I lost hope for any forward progress. What I am describing in my spiritual walk is a sense of stagnation that slowly turns to apathy, confusion, and a bitterness towards faith. I felt as though I could no longer push forward and was forced to let the river carry me towards the danger that was rapidly approaching from behind me. I have been on the edge of that waterfall, gripping the jagged rock for a long time now, and am happy to say that God's timing is a beautiful thing. As I arrived in Mexico I began to feel renewed in my faith. I began feeling that God had restored that passion to be amongst his spirit and his followers. As I began to cry out on the edge of the waterfall, the body of Christ quickly jumped in from the edges to grab my tired arms and pull me forward. All I had to do was wake up to the fact that I wanted to keep swimming, that no matter how tired I get there is always revival in the spirit and that falling off the edge is not an option, or at least not a bright one. I am anxious to see what the river ahead holds, even throughout this summer, and even more anxious to share it with anyone who is willing to read. I hope that these words and everything else in this blog will serve as an inspiration to paddle hard against the current, keep your arms energized and moving, and propel you towards whatever it is your river holds ahead.

First of Many

Hey all! This will hopefully be my first of many post throughout the summer, so stay tuned! This is my first blog EVER though, so don't expect much. I was hoping to be able to provide some information to family, friends, supporters, and whoever else may be checking this out as to what I am doing here and give a part-to-whole idea of the big picture of what goes on here in Monterrey. I apologize for the late start, but the first week of settling in has been a bit hectic. I was not actually planning on blogging, but I thought I might give it a try and share my thoughts with you all out there. Feel free to disregard them as you like, or also feel free to involve yourself as much as you like by commenting and sharing thoughts, encouragement, questions, etc. Thanks for your care and support and I hope that all of you who are reading feel encouraged that God is doing great things all around the globe! "In this world you will have trouble, but take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33