A 3rd of the way

These blogs are getting harder and harder to write, becuase i want to tell you all everything, but that is impossible.
Our second team left on Saturday, and they were a lot of fun, but unfortunately there were triggers to spiritual discernment that made the week very hard for me. i stayed with them at the Remnant Center and while many of their attributes made me miss the youth group in Redding, there were many times where i just sat in my room alone-prayig for them-and reading the letters and cards that you guys sent me with, thank you so much...they have really helped in my weak moments.
The team however was very good with the kids in the camp. There was one guy Erik who Tina and i both recieved the Lord's heart for, he spoke spanish and was very good with the kids. They would all line up as soon as the cars pulled in for Erik to spin them, the kids even got Erik to spin me on his shoulders (even though i fought it). I hae really fallen in love with these kids, at this particular camp there is over fifty and efter just seven visits, i know 90% of their names and who is related to who. My first day at the camp i chose to really love in these two brother Cezar 8, and Antonio 6, they were born in the states and had to move to the labor camp two years ago. They are much different than the other kids in the fact that they dont ever ask for a piggy back ride or to be spun. But the other day Cezar whipsered in my ear "cabaillto", they are finally recieving love and gaining courage. Then later i was holding Antonio and singing a song that i made up in Spanish about how i love him and Jesus loves him, and Jesus' love will never fail, and he looked at me and said "Te amo" WOW!!! these kids do not say those things. There is another boy Adaria 12, who comes to me everytime with new words that he wants translated into English, he wants to live in the States some day and be a lawyer. My prayer for him right now that is that the Lord provides a way for him to go to Jr. High. The kids get to go to school one day a week, and after what we would call elementary school they are not garunteed anything, becuase there is no way for them to get into town. I told Tina that while i am here i want to come once a week and teach the older kids math and english, she is trying to set that up.
Most all of the work that i have done so far has not bore any obvious fruit, and not that there is a problem with that becuase i know that "It's not important who does the planting, or who does the watering. What's important is that God makes the seed grow. 1 Corinthians 3:7" However, even knowing that, it is has been hard to not get discouraged and not listen to the enemy telling me that i am not doing anything here. Yesterday we went to Ensenada early in the morning to go to a church there, walking in reminded me so much of LCC, just the way that i was able to immediate feel the Holy Spirit. And i must admit that so far in over three weeks now that was the first time that i have felt the Holy Spirit, i have been hearing His voice, and i have known his presence, but the overwhelming feeling of His love, yesterday morning was the first time since the Thursday night before i left. of course...any of you that know me know that that means that i cried during the worship. and it did not matter that i didnt know what all the words meant, i knew that the people in that room had the same heart for the same God that i do. so i used the time of worship to pray, i prayed out loud, in English over all the people in there that they as well as the rest of us who know the Lord would look past color, look past culture, and language, and yearn to know the God more. The Lord is calling for people to be soldiers in His army, and that army fights united, for one cause, and one God, with one motivation-Love-and that love is universal because only God created it, only He is able to define it. There are so many other things that people in every country are falling to in search of love, and these things are claiming to be love, or able to teach love, and it is all a lie. I have become disgusted with the phrase "true love" as if there is a "false love" when in fact there is not. There is only love, and anything less than the Lord's definition of love is only lies. As we all, from every country come closer to the Lord, and learn to love each other the way that He does, and learn to love Him, the way that He deos we begin to fight together. The closer we indivually get to Him, they closer we get to eachother.
As i began to think of the work that i am doing here, and the way that the Lord has me loving people, i started to cry out for direction. To be enlightened to what He would be doing, if Jesus were in San Vicente for three months, what would He be doing differently, and then the strength to walk in that direction.
A few hours after that we were walking around Ensenada, and a guy stopped us by saying, you love Jesus, huh? Tina first wanted to just keep walking, but he was looking me in the eyes, and i couldnt just walk by. He told Tina to tell me that the Lord has a lot of work for me to do while i am here, and that i need to be sensative to the Holy Spirit becuase there are details. Then he said that the work that the Lord has for me will give me confirmation for the direction of my life.
Just as i was beginning to doubt...Jesus is FUNNY!

Bye Bye ABC

Our first American team from ABC church left this morning. God is so good, i dont think that i could have chosen a better group of strangers to spend the week with. For those of you that know how important the Pettingells are to me, there was a family from this team that reminded me of them exactly, just what i needed for my second week here. I will be visiting them, all the women from their group spoke life into me and all the men were vessels of hope for me. The kids, they were just fun. I would take Ashley and Austin as my brother and sister anyday.
Although i do really miss my baby seester!
Living here is getting a lot easier, and the language is coming to me better, also i have built relationships with people which make it easier to communicate without words.
Coming here i knew that i would fall in love with the kids at the labor camps, but the lord has really emlarged my heart to love the Mexican people as a whole. Tina's mom has taught me a lot about her culture, she is Misteco, and has taken me under her wing to make sure that i know how to do everything the way that they do, which seems to be the hardest way possible...
I have fallen in love with the young teenage group of boys that we play soccer with and have in small groups.
At the labor camps we took pictures of people and the kids and handed them out, it was so difficult, these people dont have any pictures of anyone in their family, and they immediately put all others aside and only want more and more pictures for themselves, which was heart breaking to watch. Otherwise the people here seem to have things the right way, they put family before work and school, and social life, and all the things that Americans wrap their hearts around.
I am loving it here, and already after two weeks a lot of options have opened for me in the fall, a few that i am more excited about than others, but in the whole i am excited to see the way that the Lord provides my next path for me.

June 9, 2009

Sorry I did not write on the plane, but here I am now in San Vicente. I must admit that so far this missionary stuff has not been as hard as I was expecting, partly becuase I simply love what I get to do here and because the real work starts tomorrow. The Jon Greere guy that I had everyone at home praying for turned out to be a 22 year old guy from Murrieta, not scary at all, and he brought his friend Ryan. They were awsome, and I really hope to see them again! Thanks to those guys I not only got down here safely, I went the farthest I ever have out in the ocean on a boogie board, but next time it will be a surf board. Most importantly, I can honestly that even after only a day a half with them, I learned of most characteristics of my God.
Anyway, yesterday I woke up in the morning and made a fire outside, on the fire I heated up a huge tin of water, then I put that hott water into buckets and carried it inside to a foot in a half tall and two feet in diameter tub sitting on a cement floor with a curtain seperating me from the rest of Tina's house (who I am staying with for this week). While I was standing there completely naked and uncomfortable, trying to figure out how to wash my hair I could not help but say over and over "gracias dios" becuase although the lifestyle that I am now living here is so much different, and as I am changing everyday my God stays the same. Yes I have known that, but I have never been so thankful for it. Jon and I talked a bit about the characteristics of God and how to let Him be everything that He wants to in our lives, and while I was standing there I recognized how difficult it is for us to try to get to know all of those characteristics, how much more difficult would it be if He changed them as we tried to her to know Him?!?!
I have fallen in love with the book James in the last two days, and tonight we had about thirty young boys come to the Remnant Center where they split up into their small groups to learn the lesson prepared for them. The book Jame, a letter written many years ago is now my prayer to the Lord for these boys today, and tomorrow. After the lesson Tina and I served them nachos and played soccer with them. I am extremely excited to see them all again next Tuesday and plan to pray especially for Carlos and Christian during this week, that they may be more aware of what a real man is, and how that is only possible through God.
Tomorrow we are going to two labor camps and also have man more things planned...I will update you again when I can.
Love you all!!!
Thank you for all of your prayers, my biggest request right now would be that I would have patience with the language barrier, it is not bad between the everyday people that I meet, but I want to be able to have better, deeper conversation with Tina and it has been difficult.
Buenas Noches!

Leaving Tomorrow

Holy Moly,
I leave tomorrow! The last week has been insane trying to get everything together, but Jesus has really been taking care of me. I have learned so much about Him in the last week, and how to serve Him, how to accept what He has for me, what He wants for me.
I have a lot of peace knowing that you will all be praying for me, so thank you!
I will write again when I get on the plane tomorrow. :)

Verses for today Psalm 139:13-16,
He made us to the T how He wanted to, which means that we should be striving to use the characteristics He has placed in us to be used the way He wants to use us.