I have to offer my sincere apologies for not posting all of last week. I know that some of you really like to know what’s going on here, but last week was the most intense week of my training. We were busy all day, and then 3 of our weekday nights we had something scheduled as well. I don’t even know where to begin, but I’m going to start with last Sunday.
I have been trying to go to Auto Mercado here for a while now, and I finally got a friend in the other school here to take me. This store sells a lot of American brands, so I was curious to see if I could find any gluten free items. Amanda and I walked there and it’s about a 15-20 minute walk to Plaza del Sol, so we had some great conversation on the way. The super market was nice and extremely pricy, but I found some new things to snack on. We had a great time at El Panino, a little restaurant that serves great coffee, tea, and sandwiches. Amanda had coffee and she recommended an all natural tea with fruits and spices for me. The tea was delicious, and it was nice to get off base and have a deep conversation with a new friend. I was so blessed by her, and enjoyed getting to know her a little better.
As for our classes last week, they were based on The Divine Plumb Line, Forgiveness, Soul Ties, and Authority. The Divine Plumb Line teaching is based on Amos 7:7-8, and it was developed years ago by a YWAMer. When constructing buildings, builders use a plumb line to see if they are building straight. In the same way, God uses a plumb line to see if His people are lined up with His word. We are either living passively in sin (rejection) or actively in sin ( rebellion) The only way to “line up” with Him is humility.
As a part of this teaching we discussed many lies we believe, and sins that we have committed as a result of those lies. We spent the last 3 days of our week in public confession, cutting soul ties, and forgiving others. The public confession started on Wednesday, and it was a little awkward at first, but it was so good. Our primary teacher for the week, Vanessa, led us in the public confession. Basically, she would say if you have ever …, then stand up, and repeat after me. We did this first in English, then in Spanish. We got though the first two on the list Wednesday, only confessing sexual sin and sins having to do with the magic arts, witchcraft, new age, palm reading, horoscopes, etc. It was very humbling for me to stand up in front of others, and I was surprised at how many of use struggle with the same things. Well, we didn’t get very far because 2 of my teammates really needed some additional time of repentance, including one girl who had been housing a demon for quite some time. She was fighting this demon, and trust me, it was quite the struggle. After over an hour, I heard this demon say, “what about the others?” It was hard for me to believe that this sweet little girl had something that ugly living in her. I can’t imagine how much she had been tormented by these demons, and we kept worshiping, praying, speaking scripture over her, and a few primary staff spoke to the legion of demons to come out of her. The really awesome part was when some of our team picked her up and carried her to the cross. You guessed it, the demons didn’t like this at all, and they fought them tooth and nail. If you have never seen someone possessed by a demon, you may not know that they can violently throw the person all over the place, so several people had to stay with her, so she wouldn’t get injured. The girl said she only remembered about 20% of what happened, but she had to make a decision to accept Christ as Lord to fight this legion, and that’s what she finally did. Praise God, after much prayer and quite the battle, she gave her life to Christ, and the demons had to flee. Praise God for her deliverance, and new birth. That afternoon we baptized her and several others in a canoe that we filled with water outside our classroom. Vanessa wanted to baptize her that day, and the canoe was the best option to do so. She even told Toni, our DTS leader, that she wanted him to buy a cake and have a birthday party for our new sister, and have a “birthday” party for her and the others that were baptized. As you can imagine, Wednesday was a super tiring and emotional day. We even danced some Salsa and Merengue, and played games. Latinos really know how to party and that is just one of the many reasons I love it here!
I will post more later!
Wednesday, October 20, 2010
Wednesday, October 13, 2010
Busy girl!
This is just a quick note to let you know that I have been super busy the last few days! I'm sorry for not posting, but this week is an intense week for us, and I will post some new stuff soon. I'm not going to promise a certain day, because I may not be able to post until things let up around here. Sleep and God take priority! Be praying for us as we confess literally all of our junk and bring it into the light this week! Let the healing begin!!!
Saturday, October 9, 2010
The Secret Place
I can’t believe I’ve been here for 2 weeks! Wow, how time flies when you are having fun and growing in Jesus! The last few days have been great, and it’s been beautiful here! Thursday morning we had a some instruction time, and then our teacher let us process what we have learned in groups. We really are receiving so much information in a given class period that my brain hurts! We are hearing English, then Spanish, or vice versa, so that probably doesn’t help my little brain that is trying to translate and learn God’s Word! It was nice to be able to take time to reflect on my notes, then hear what a few of my teammates are learning too.
Thursday afternoon was our first local outreach ( cruzada in Espanol). We walked to the University Costa Rica to chat with students. I wanted to go to the school of education because I figured I could relate to students who want to teach. We were in groups of 3-4, but most students in that area were in groups of 2 or sitting alone. I stayed in the general area of my group, but went to talk to 3 different ladies who were sitting alone. I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity because my group was shy! I love witnessing to random people in the USA, even though sometimes I get really nervous. I spoke mostly in Spanish except for my last conversation. Most students learn English in HS here, but they don’t have anyone to practice with, so they lose it. They have some English in college, if they go, but again, they don’t practice it often enough to retain it. I had some great conversations and one lady I met was Melissa, a 30 year -old pre-school teacher, who was expecting her first baby. She was really nice, and we talked for about 15 minutes. I found out she was Catholic and attends church regularly. She said she even did a weekly bible study typically, but was just too busy right now with work, doing school, and was tired from the baby-to-be. She said that it was hard to find a teaching job in Costa Rica and the pay wasn’t very good. I talked with one girl (forgot her name) who was very nice but it was obvious she wanted to study, so I let her do so. The last girl I met was named Susana. She was by far the friendliest girl I met. She is 22 year old, and is studying English and Nutrition, but she was waiting for her cousins outside the Education building. I asked her how long it had been since she came to this area, and she said it had been about 6 months ago. I smiled, for I knew she was a divine appointment. I asked her if she thought that it was a coincidence that we met today, and she said “Yes.” I told her I didn’t think it was a coincidence. I didn’t go straight for the Gospel with her because I felt I was supposed to build a friendship with her first. She spoke excellent English, but she was really hesitant to speak English at first because she said was embarrassed. I told her not to worry, because I feel the same way when I speak Spanish. I told her we might come back to that campus and asked for her phone number. She wanted to give me her e-mail instead, so I took that down. I’m going to invite to her and maybe her cousins to our family night on Wednesday. Please be praying for all of these ladies, that they would come to know Jesus personally, if they don’t already know Him. Especially be praying as I will be e-mailing Susana tonight or tomorrow.
I had my first one-on-one with my staff partner Rosella at lunch Thursday. She is so amazing and is genuinely interested in getting to know us. We will meet weekly, and it can be for as long as I want. She asked me how I’m doing, how things were going with my roommates, what I was learning, etc. I really am going to enjoy meeting with her, and have wanted a consistent mentor/friend/accountability partner for a while now. I just love YWAM and how they do ministry. No wonder they are all over the world, changing lives for eternity! I love that YWAM is so biblical, and operate in excellence.
Friday we learned about the Secret Place. Where is the Secret Place? I’m so glad you asked!!! It’s in your heart! The Secret place is a place of transformation! Did you know that you are the only one who can come between you and God? You are a powerful person! God gave you the free will to make decisions. God could have just made us love Him, couldn’t He? He is our Creator after all? Who wants someone to be forced to love them? God is the same way, He wants us to choose Him.
Some notes from Thursday &Friday that you might enjoy:
* You are a spiritual house that needs to be filled with God’s Spirit, so that He can fill you with all the treasures from His heart.
*There is power in the spoken word, and those words create faith. Don’t speak words over yourself because we destroy our own faith by declaring it over ourselves. The enemy cannot hear your thoughts, so don’t say negative things aloud.
* How to Experience Intimacy with God- Have Faith, Radical obedience- awakens your heart, brings life, Holiness
* The purpose of intercession is relationship!
* When you look down on intercession, you look down on the very job that Jesus is doing!
* Vanessa said that if she has learned anything from the Christian life, it’s that we need to become professional repenters! “Repentance produces life!!!!
Today was filled with rest and work. I was up earlier than normal because I took a friends weekend duty. A group of folks were going bungee jumping today, and she wanted to go. They actually didn’t go today because the tremor( mild earthquake) created a mudslide in the area where they were going. I felt the tremor as I was talking to a German missionary here last evening. I didn’t know what it was, until she said it was an earthquake. I just thought someone was shaking the couch I was sitting on, or doing something crazy downstairs. I was totally ignorant of what was going on, even though I felt a tremor when I was here in March. I just love to feel the power of the tremors. It reminds me of how small I am, and how big God is. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, I just think they are freaking awesome! Praise God the plates below us are releasing some stress every so often, because if they didn’t do that, we would have a major earthquake here. From what I understand, the last big earthquake in this area was in January of 2009. My church did some work in the “earthquake zone” when they came last year, and when we came in march, we traveled to the earthquake to help paint a church there. The earthquake was devastating, so there was still some damage we noticed as we traveled there
.
Other things I did today: took a nap after my morning duties, spent some good time with God (a group left for another city for the afternoon so it was quiet...yeah!) went for a jog, then did more dishes for dinner.
Well, it’s getting late, and I am going to get ready for bed. God Bless and let me know how you are doing and how I can pray for you!
Love,
Stephanie
Thursday afternoon was our first local outreach ( cruzada in Espanol). We walked to the University Costa Rica to chat with students. I wanted to go to the school of education because I figured I could relate to students who want to teach. We were in groups of 3-4, but most students in that area were in groups of 2 or sitting alone. I stayed in the general area of my group, but went to talk to 3 different ladies who were sitting alone. I wasn’t about to miss an opportunity because my group was shy! I love witnessing to random people in the USA, even though sometimes I get really nervous. I spoke mostly in Spanish except for my last conversation. Most students learn English in HS here, but they don’t have anyone to practice with, so they lose it. They have some English in college, if they go, but again, they don’t practice it often enough to retain it. I had some great conversations and one lady I met was Melissa, a 30 year -old pre-school teacher, who was expecting her first baby. She was really nice, and we talked for about 15 minutes. I found out she was Catholic and attends church regularly. She said she even did a weekly bible study typically, but was just too busy right now with work, doing school, and was tired from the baby-to-be. She said that it was hard to find a teaching job in Costa Rica and the pay wasn’t very good. I talked with one girl (forgot her name) who was very nice but it was obvious she wanted to study, so I let her do so. The last girl I met was named Susana. She was by far the friendliest girl I met. She is 22 year old, and is studying English and Nutrition, but she was waiting for her cousins outside the Education building. I asked her how long it had been since she came to this area, and she said it had been about 6 months ago. I smiled, for I knew she was a divine appointment. I asked her if she thought that it was a coincidence that we met today, and she said “Yes.” I told her I didn’t think it was a coincidence. I didn’t go straight for the Gospel with her because I felt I was supposed to build a friendship with her first. She spoke excellent English, but she was really hesitant to speak English at first because she said was embarrassed. I told her not to worry, because I feel the same way when I speak Spanish. I told her we might come back to that campus and asked for her phone number. She wanted to give me her e-mail instead, so I took that down. I’m going to invite to her and maybe her cousins to our family night on Wednesday. Please be praying for all of these ladies, that they would come to know Jesus personally, if they don’t already know Him. Especially be praying as I will be e-mailing Susana tonight or tomorrow.
I had my first one-on-one with my staff partner Rosella at lunch Thursday. She is so amazing and is genuinely interested in getting to know us. We will meet weekly, and it can be for as long as I want. She asked me how I’m doing, how things were going with my roommates, what I was learning, etc. I really am going to enjoy meeting with her, and have wanted a consistent mentor/friend/accountability partner for a while now. I just love YWAM and how they do ministry. No wonder they are all over the world, changing lives for eternity! I love that YWAM is so biblical, and operate in excellence.
Friday we learned about the Secret Place. Where is the Secret Place? I’m so glad you asked!!! It’s in your heart! The Secret place is a place of transformation! Did you know that you are the only one who can come between you and God? You are a powerful person! God gave you the free will to make decisions. God could have just made us love Him, couldn’t He? He is our Creator after all? Who wants someone to be forced to love them? God is the same way, He wants us to choose Him.
Some notes from Thursday &Friday that you might enjoy:
* You are a spiritual house that needs to be filled with God’s Spirit, so that He can fill you with all the treasures from His heart.
*There is power in the spoken word, and those words create faith. Don’t speak words over yourself because we destroy our own faith by declaring it over ourselves. The enemy cannot hear your thoughts, so don’t say negative things aloud.
* How to Experience Intimacy with God- Have Faith, Radical obedience- awakens your heart, brings life, Holiness
* The purpose of intercession is relationship!
* When you look down on intercession, you look down on the very job that Jesus is doing!
* Vanessa said that if she has learned anything from the Christian life, it’s that we need to become professional repenters! “Repentance produces life!!!!
Today was filled with rest and work. I was up earlier than normal because I took a friends weekend duty. A group of folks were going bungee jumping today, and she wanted to go. They actually didn’t go today because the tremor( mild earthquake) created a mudslide in the area where they were going. I felt the tremor as I was talking to a German missionary here last evening. I didn’t know what it was, until she said it was an earthquake. I just thought someone was shaking the couch I was sitting on, or doing something crazy downstairs. I was totally ignorant of what was going on, even though I felt a tremor when I was here in March. I just love to feel the power of the tremors. It reminds me of how small I am, and how big God is. I don’t want anyone to get hurt, I just think they are freaking awesome! Praise God the plates below us are releasing some stress every so often, because if they didn’t do that, we would have a major earthquake here. From what I understand, the last big earthquake in this area was in January of 2009. My church did some work in the “earthquake zone” when they came last year, and when we came in march, we traveled to the earthquake to help paint a church there. The earthquake was devastating, so there was still some damage we noticed as we traveled there
.
Other things I did today: took a nap after my morning duties, spent some good time with God (a group left for another city for the afternoon so it was quiet...yeah!) went for a jog, then did more dishes for dinner.
Well, it’s getting late, and I am going to get ready for bed. God Bless and let me know how you are doing and how I can pray for you!
Love,
Stephanie
Thursday, October 7, 2010
Eternal Destiny
Ok... sorry I didn't post this last night! The wi-fi shuts down at 11pm, and I didn't have time to post.
To change things up a bit, I am going to start out on a more spiritual note. Don’t fret, I will be funny later! J
The last 2 days of classes have been full of profound ( at least to me) revelations. I have discovered that I know so little of God’s love for me, and for the world. I took some time to journal and meditate on my notes last night, and still feel that God is moving them from head knowledge to heart knowledge. My prayer is that He would continue to transform my mind, and then ultimately my heart during this time.
One thing we discussed was eternal life. What is eternal life? Is it something we only experience when we die? Eternal life is simply to know Jesus. This is straight from the Son Himself. John 17:3 says:“ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Eternal life is about relationship with the lover of Your soul. So what is our eternal destiny then? Your eternal destiny = unbroken communion with God. As Beth Moore says, we were created out of fellowship( of the Trinity) for fellowship ( with God and others).We are smack dab in the middle of the Trinity, the most incredible relationship…ever!!! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live and love in perfect harmony. Each is a lover and a beloved. Think about that! The angels are God’s servants, and don’t even get to enjoy the benefits of this relationship. I love what Vanessa said today about the reason behind the Trinity. There is so much in His heart and mind, He had to divide it up! We also learned today that just as God has 3 identities, so do we. Each “person” of the Trinity has a specific function, and each have specific gifts to give. With God as Father, we are His son or daughter. With God as Son, we are His lover/bride. Finally, with God as Spirit, we are a minister of reconciliation. We are called to reconcile the world to God, just as the Holy Spirit is reconciling us to God! WOW!
A few noteworthy quotes from today’s class:
*God is more interested in You and your character, than what you do for Him.
*We need to keep worshipping, because worship brings revelation.
I could share so much more, but I would be typing all night! I’m sure that you will be chewing on these truths for a while anyway, just like yours truly! As you can see, I’m so blessed to be here, learning more about our infinite God. ( Please note all of the truths above were imparted to me from this week’s teacher, Vanessa.) This is only the second week of classes, and I’m already being challenged incredibly. Can you imagine what’s going to happen in the next 4 months? I can’t!!! Just pray that I will have an open heart, open ears, and an open mind to receive all that God has for me. I don’t want to miss a single word!
So I picked up my laundry yesterday, and it appears that the cleaners did a great job.
I haven’t tried on all of my clean clothes yet, but I’m hoping they didn’t shrink too much. I rarely dry my clothes all the way, so I am afraid that some items shrunk. I guess I will find out later. I was a itching quite a bit last night after putting on some clean clothes, so I hope I’m not sensitive to the detergent they use. I could’ve touched something or ate something that didn’t agree with me either. I was talking to Val, one of the staff here, and she said if I had to do my laundry here at the base ( considering the washing machine was actually working, it‘s broken more than it‘s operating), it would have cost me about the same amount. She said I would’ve done 2 loads in the washing machine and 2 in the dryer, because overloading the washing machine is what makes it break. I felt better about spending a little over $7 on my laundry after talking to her.
I had a crisis happen today that I thought you should be aware of: I ran out of peanut butter! I went to my favorite store ( so far), and they hand a small jar of peanut butter, so I read the label to check for gluten. Sure enough, there was “harina de trigo (wheat flour)” listed in the ingredients, and I became frustrated. I asked my friends with me, is there really a reason to put wheat in peanut butter? I couldn’t believe it! I’m going to try another store this weekend, and if I can’t find GF peanut butter, I’m going to ask someone to please send me some!
I was excited yesterday because we had our first small groups yesterday. Since there are 11 ladies, we have 2 groups, and the guys (8) have 1 group. Our leaders took us to a nearby park where we talked about our feelings about the first week or so, what God is teaching us, etc. This is not a structured time, so it will be nice to get away every Tuesday afternoon, and chat with my sisters. Next week, they said we will go for ice cream or coffee. It’s good to get off the base every now and then, according to the staff here. One of the leaders mentioned she was just emotionally exhausted. The other leader, Rosella, said it was so good for her to talk with us. It amazes me that no matter how spiritually mature we are, we still need each other. We are here to meet their needs too, it just didn’t occur to me at first. Rosella is also my “one on one.” We will meet each week for a brief time to talk about what is going on in my life, what God is teaching me etc. I’m really excited to have a “mentor”, and spend some quality time with her. She is a super sweet girl, and I look forward to encouraging her too.
Additionally, I have really been enjoying reading the YWAM story, Is that really You, God, by Loren Cunningham. His story is truly amazing, and God spoke so clearly to him about every aspect of this ministry. I am blessed by how biblical this organization really is, and even though it’s been a difficult transition, I’m slowly getting used to life here. My team is becoming my family. Please continue to pray for me as I transition to life here. God is so good to allow me this time to get to know Him, to rest in Him, and to be healed and restored. I wish you all could see God’s work in my Houston friend Kevin. He is truly a miracle, and has been healed incredibly from his messed up past of drugs and alcohol. God is doing mighty things in this place, and I’m not going to be the exception! Amen!!
To change things up a bit, I am going to start out on a more spiritual note. Don’t fret, I will be funny later! J
The last 2 days of classes have been full of profound ( at least to me) revelations. I have discovered that I know so little of God’s love for me, and for the world. I took some time to journal and meditate on my notes last night, and still feel that God is moving them from head knowledge to heart knowledge. My prayer is that He would continue to transform my mind, and then ultimately my heart during this time.
One thing we discussed was eternal life. What is eternal life? Is it something we only experience when we die? Eternal life is simply to know Jesus. This is straight from the Son Himself. John 17:3 says:“ And this is eternal life, that they may know You, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom You have sent. Eternal life is about relationship with the lover of Your soul. So what is our eternal destiny then? Your eternal destiny = unbroken communion with God. As Beth Moore says, we were created out of fellowship( of the Trinity) for fellowship ( with God and others).We are smack dab in the middle of the Trinity, the most incredible relationship…ever!!! The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit live and love in perfect harmony. Each is a lover and a beloved. Think about that! The angels are God’s servants, and don’t even get to enjoy the benefits of this relationship. I love what Vanessa said today about the reason behind the Trinity. There is so much in His heart and mind, He had to divide it up! We also learned today that just as God has 3 identities, so do we. Each “person” of the Trinity has a specific function, and each have specific gifts to give. With God as Father, we are His son or daughter. With God as Son, we are His lover/bride. Finally, with God as Spirit, we are a minister of reconciliation. We are called to reconcile the world to God, just as the Holy Spirit is reconciling us to God! WOW!
A few noteworthy quotes from today’s class:
*God is more interested in You and your character, than what you do for Him.
*We need to keep worshipping, because worship brings revelation.
I could share so much more, but I would be typing all night! I’m sure that you will be chewing on these truths for a while anyway, just like yours truly! As you can see, I’m so blessed to be here, learning more about our infinite God. ( Please note all of the truths above were imparted to me from this week’s teacher, Vanessa.) This is only the second week of classes, and I’m already being challenged incredibly. Can you imagine what’s going to happen in the next 4 months? I can’t!!! Just pray that I will have an open heart, open ears, and an open mind to receive all that God has for me. I don’t want to miss a single word!
So I picked up my laundry yesterday, and it appears that the cleaners did a great job.
I haven’t tried on all of my clean clothes yet, but I’m hoping they didn’t shrink too much. I rarely dry my clothes all the way, so I am afraid that some items shrunk. I guess I will find out later. I was a itching quite a bit last night after putting on some clean clothes, so I hope I’m not sensitive to the detergent they use. I could’ve touched something or ate something that didn’t agree with me either. I was talking to Val, one of the staff here, and she said if I had to do my laundry here at the base ( considering the washing machine was actually working, it‘s broken more than it‘s operating), it would have cost me about the same amount. She said I would’ve done 2 loads in the washing machine and 2 in the dryer, because overloading the washing machine is what makes it break. I felt better about spending a little over $7 on my laundry after talking to her.
I had a crisis happen today that I thought you should be aware of: I ran out of peanut butter! I went to my favorite store ( so far), and they hand a small jar of peanut butter, so I read the label to check for gluten. Sure enough, there was “harina de trigo (wheat flour)” listed in the ingredients, and I became frustrated. I asked my friends with me, is there really a reason to put wheat in peanut butter? I couldn’t believe it! I’m going to try another store this weekend, and if I can’t find GF peanut butter, I’m going to ask someone to please send me some!
I was excited yesterday because we had our first small groups yesterday. Since there are 11 ladies, we have 2 groups, and the guys (8) have 1 group. Our leaders took us to a nearby park where we talked about our feelings about the first week or so, what God is teaching us, etc. This is not a structured time, so it will be nice to get away every Tuesday afternoon, and chat with my sisters. Next week, they said we will go for ice cream or coffee. It’s good to get off the base every now and then, according to the staff here. One of the leaders mentioned she was just emotionally exhausted. The other leader, Rosella, said it was so good for her to talk with us. It amazes me that no matter how spiritually mature we are, we still need each other. We are here to meet their needs too, it just didn’t occur to me at first. Rosella is also my “one on one.” We will meet each week for a brief time to talk about what is going on in my life, what God is teaching me etc. I’m really excited to have a “mentor”, and spend some quality time with her. She is a super sweet girl, and I look forward to encouraging her too.
Additionally, I have really been enjoying reading the YWAM story, Is that really You, God, by Loren Cunningham. His story is truly amazing, and God spoke so clearly to him about every aspect of this ministry. I am blessed by how biblical this organization really is, and even though it’s been a difficult transition, I’m slowly getting used to life here. My team is becoming my family. Please continue to pray for me as I transition to life here. God is so good to allow me this time to get to know Him, to rest in Him, and to be healed and restored. I wish you all could see God’s work in my Houston friend Kevin. He is truly a miracle, and has been healed incredibly from his messed up past of drugs and alcohol. God is doing mighty things in this place, and I’m not going to be the exception! Amen!!
Monday, October 4, 2010
The weekend & Intimacy with God
This weekend was nice and relaxing. We may have activities or ministry some Saturdays, but this weekend we had free time. I originally planned on doing laundry on Saturday, but the washing machine is still not working. I wanted to go for a walk as well, but a friend on the base said, " oh just say pura vida" ( pure life), and worry about it later. So, I did, and went to eat Mexican and hang out with some girls on my team and one of the cool staff girls, Anabell. We had fun, and it was nice to get off the base and see the city. I am still a little hesistant about eating here on the base, so eating out worried me just a tad bit more. Praise the Lord, I haven't had any issues that aren't out of the ordinary for a change in diet. The beans eventually catch up to most folks here, if you know what I mean. :)
I ended up taking my clothes to the cleaners up the road today. It is a little more than double than it would cost doing it here on the base, but I do not want to wash clothes by hand again. I washed my clothes in a bathtub all summer in Spain 7 years ago, and I for one, enjoy technology, and don't want to do that ever again in this lifetime! I am going to wash some items by hand, but I think I can make better use of my time but having someone else do most of my laundry. I did not give them my favorite jeans because I want to see how they do with my t shirts and shorts. I am also all about supporting local businesses here.
Church was nice yesterday. We walked to church, and it was so beautiful to see the mountains surrounding the city on a clear day. It took us about 8 minutes to get there and we were there about 2 hours. The pastor spoke on prayer, and one of our teammates is a former HS Spanish teacher, so she translated for us. It was a good word, and then he wanted us to practice, so we got into groups and prayed. I prayed with the translater, Jody, and a native named Janet. She was getting married for the second time next year, so I got to pray for her and her upcoming marriage. I ate a protein bar once we got back from church and then got ready to go for a walk and to the store. I got some good exercise in, then went to the store. As I posted on Facebook yesterday, the store was busy, just like it is in the U.S. on Sundays. I found some tuna that said it was gluten free in Spanish, so that was exciting. I bought some bananas, tortillas, yogurt, mayo, lactose free milk, and a few of my new favorite sweet cakes made from corn. The little cakes are not very sweet at all, but they hit the spot, along with some milk, when I want a little something sweet.
I forgot to mention that we just lost a few classes on the base because the Bible Core Class just finished, and the July DTS team just left for NIKO camp. We will do this camp our 12th week here. It’s interesting not having all the folks around here like we did the first week. I made some friends, and then they left. I have made friends from all over the world in a little over a week! I have friends now from Norway, New Zealand, Germany, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, and all over the USA. I met one sweet girl who was living in Pittsburgh, PA, and we discovered this as we were on the computer. She is 21, and her name is Debbie. Most of the girls on base are 18-24, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of them who are quite extraordinary for their age. I hope to love on and mentor these girls in the coming months.
Today we started classes along with the only other school on base right now on the topic of Intimacy with God. WOW! Vanessa is staff here and she is a very charismatic and passionate teacher. (All of my classes are in Spanish and English by the way.) I am so excited about learning more Spanish! I learned so much about the love of God that I can’t even begin to process the information. I came to the conclusion today that I don’t know anything about the love of God. I really look forward to learning more this week, and then hopefully sharing what I can comprehend! I pray that this is one of many topics that will totally redefine the way I think about the attributes or things of God.
Please keep me in your prayers as my teammates and I are still not on the same page as far as when we go to bed. This has been really frustrating for me becuase I want and need my sleep.
More later...
I ended up taking my clothes to the cleaners up the road today. It is a little more than double than it would cost doing it here on the base, but I do not want to wash clothes by hand again. I washed my clothes in a bathtub all summer in Spain 7 years ago, and I for one, enjoy technology, and don't want to do that ever again in this lifetime! I am going to wash some items by hand, but I think I can make better use of my time but having someone else do most of my laundry. I did not give them my favorite jeans because I want to see how they do with my t shirts and shorts. I am also all about supporting local businesses here.
Church was nice yesterday. We walked to church, and it was so beautiful to see the mountains surrounding the city on a clear day. It took us about 8 minutes to get there and we were there about 2 hours. The pastor spoke on prayer, and one of our teammates is a former HS Spanish teacher, so she translated for us. It was a good word, and then he wanted us to practice, so we got into groups and prayed. I prayed with the translater, Jody, and a native named Janet. She was getting married for the second time next year, so I got to pray for her and her upcoming marriage. I ate a protein bar once we got back from church and then got ready to go for a walk and to the store. I got some good exercise in, then went to the store. As I posted on Facebook yesterday, the store was busy, just like it is in the U.S. on Sundays. I found some tuna that said it was gluten free in Spanish, so that was exciting. I bought some bananas, tortillas, yogurt, mayo, lactose free milk, and a few of my new favorite sweet cakes made from corn. The little cakes are not very sweet at all, but they hit the spot, along with some milk, when I want a little something sweet.
I forgot to mention that we just lost a few classes on the base because the Bible Core Class just finished, and the July DTS team just left for NIKO camp. We will do this camp our 12th week here. It’s interesting not having all the folks around here like we did the first week. I made some friends, and then they left. I have made friends from all over the world in a little over a week! I have friends now from Norway, New Zealand, Germany, Nicaragua, Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa Rica, Mexico, Canada, and all over the USA. I met one sweet girl who was living in Pittsburgh, PA, and we discovered this as we were on the computer. She is 21, and her name is Debbie. Most of the girls on base are 18-24, and I’ve enjoyed getting to know many of them who are quite extraordinary for their age. I hope to love on and mentor these girls in the coming months.
Today we started classes along with the only other school on base right now on the topic of Intimacy with God. WOW! Vanessa is staff here and she is a very charismatic and passionate teacher. (All of my classes are in Spanish and English by the way.) I am so excited about learning more Spanish! I learned so much about the love of God that I can’t even begin to process the information. I came to the conclusion today that I don’t know anything about the love of God. I really look forward to learning more this week, and then hopefully sharing what I can comprehend! I pray that this is one of many topics that will totally redefine the way I think about the attributes or things of God.
Please keep me in your prayers as my teammates and I are still not on the same page as far as when we go to bed. This has been really frustrating for me becuase I want and need my sleep.
More later...
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Thoughts on first week of classes and more of God
I can't believe the first week of classes is over! Yesterday was so amazing! We met at 8am and had worship lead by 3 of our guys. We didn't finish class until almost 3pm! We normally would retire at 12:30 for lunch, but God had other plans. Carole, who has just received the gift of prophecy this week, was up praying late again with 2 other girls from our group. As she prayed, they wrote on the board gifts/abilities that God was showing her that each of us had received. We had this great time of commissioning our gifts and they were spoken over us in both Spanish and English. The following were spoken over me: clarity, loved by God, and faithful.At the beginning of our time together, Carole came and sat down by me, and asked if she could share something with me. I said yes, of course, and she proceeded to tell me that there was a lot of confusion in my life. Guess what, she was right on. Yesterday and a few days this week, I was thinking, " why am I here"? It felt like my mind was being invaded, and all the things I knew and believed were being questioned.I've wanted to do something like this since I returned from Spain in 2002. Additionally, God had obviously ordered my steps so intricately to get me here and had provided more than enough funds to take care of me during this training, So why am I doubting His plans, His ways? No doubt, it's the enemy and his legions trying to distract me from the awesome things God wants to do in me and through our team.
The staff here have never seen a DTS (Discipleship Training Class) quite like ours. God has been moving in our hearts, tearing down idols and breaking us, and healing us incredibly all in such a short time.We have only received about a lecture and a half that was planned by staff this week, because God just told them to step out of the way.Yesterday was beyond words. The guys were commissioned first and our leader Toni, told them that they were our shield, our brothers, and they were going to help heal wounds in us that were from our childhood. They were going also be like our fathers, and love us deeply while we are here. As Toni was speaking, 2 girls started weeping and they were crying hard and loud, in a matter of a few minutes. Before long, several girls, including me, were crying, but I was crying because of the other girls pain.We all have hurts from our past, and Toni was being used bu\y God to just bring some healing to those wounds. I was hugging girls and praying for them as they cried. But it didn't take me long to cry about some of my past hurts, and Toni came up behind me and prayed for me. He prayed that I am accepted by God, just as I am, that I am beautiful, and many other things that I can't remember, but my heart can. He also told the guys on our team to come give us hugs, and just affirm us. So when I turned around, I just embraced him and he embraced me as well. He held onto me so tight, and I could truly feel God's love affirming me and healing me. I cried hard, and Toni didn't let go. I am just amazed at what God did with many of us, and how brave our young guys are. We prayed for them, that they would be brave warriors, and be leaders. The girls all got in a circle, and they surrounded us, and prayed over us.WOW, heh( we have several young people from Canada on our team so I'm saying "heh" more and more)?
God wasn't finished yet. One of our young girls, I believe she is 18, was crying so hard, she eventually was on the floor. Then, she started to move very abruptly, and aggressively. I am pretty sure she was being possessed by an evil spirit, and that the demon was throwing her around. I talked with another staff member, and he said that she was possessed by a demon as well. We prayed that evil spirit right out of her, and in several minutes, she was calm, and a few ladies were holding her, and continued to pray over her. As a side note, I believe that no one truly in Christ can be inhabited by a demon. Anyone possessed by demon cannot say Jesus is Lord. The Bible is clear about this & here are a few scriptures to back this up. Ephesians 1:13 says ," having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit". If God's "seals your salvation", ain't nobody getting you from Him ( bad grammer, I know)! John 10:28 says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. I ran and grabbed my Bible, but I can't seem to find the other verse I wanted to share. I will post it later. I also wanted to say that I may be wrong about whether or not this girl was actually demon possessed, so please don't think I'm "sister super Christian" as Joyce Meyer says, and that I think I'm all that. I just call it like I see it. Praise the LORD, nonetheless, for so much healing and deliverance in our group. We also prayed over the staff and commissioned them with the gifts they received. We sang some more, and started dancing in a train around the room. Be assured, The kingdom of darkness was not celebrating as we were. Yesterdays score: God 1, Then Enemy 0. Alleluia!!!! ( And yes, we finally ate our cold lunch at 3pm!!)
Last night was more relaxed. We had a graduation ceremony for our Bible Core Class students and some praise and worship. That's one thing I love about this place: someone is always praising God. Pretty much all day, you here people singing in small groups or individually, or the worship team is practicing. I ate dinner later since my stomach was upset, but they had already begun to sing, so I just ate and sang and danced all at the same time! I went to read a little in the prayer room, but the worship was still going on the next room, so it was great to still be able to listen. At one point, I heard "Happy Day", and came out and was watching from the second floor. Then one of my team mates motioned for me to come down and dance with them. So a whole bunch of us just jumped up and down and went crazy for Jesus! I love the freedom that I have in this place to just worship God and get excited about who He is, and what He has already done in my life and in the lives' of others, and what is He is currently doing here!
We also had a great time in our room last night as girls just giggling, listening to music, dancing, and chatting. We are truly becoming family, and it feels so good to have some family around in a foreign country when you don't know anyone.Well, I guess I kind of know one person. Kevin, a guy from my church, is here doing a second training, and it has been fun having a familiar face around. He came on the spring break trip in March as well with First Baptist.We have been trading food, because he is hungry all the time, and I can't eat the pasta, bread, sausage, etc.He gives me his salad, and then I eat some fruit and peanut butter when I don't get full. He even let me use his skpye account last night so I could call my folks! It was so good to talk to them after a whole week. That is difficult since I called home everyday when I was in the U.S.
Okay, I'm calling it a night on here. We are going to watch a movie as a team, so I want to get ready for bed before we meet.
PS Sorry about not posting pics, it's just been too crazy, and I have been so tired! I hope I can find time soon
!
The staff here have never seen a DTS (Discipleship Training Class) quite like ours. God has been moving in our hearts, tearing down idols and breaking us, and healing us incredibly all in such a short time.We have only received about a lecture and a half that was planned by staff this week, because God just told them to step out of the way.Yesterday was beyond words. The guys were commissioned first and our leader Toni, told them that they were our shield, our brothers, and they were going to help heal wounds in us that were from our childhood. They were going also be like our fathers, and love us deeply while we are here. As Toni was speaking, 2 girls started weeping and they were crying hard and loud, in a matter of a few minutes. Before long, several girls, including me, were crying, but I was crying because of the other girls pain.We all have hurts from our past, and Toni was being used bu\y God to just bring some healing to those wounds. I was hugging girls and praying for them as they cried. But it didn't take me long to cry about some of my past hurts, and Toni came up behind me and prayed for me. He prayed that I am accepted by God, just as I am, that I am beautiful, and many other things that I can't remember, but my heart can. He also told the guys on our team to come give us hugs, and just affirm us. So when I turned around, I just embraced him and he embraced me as well. He held onto me so tight, and I could truly feel God's love affirming me and healing me. I cried hard, and Toni didn't let go. I am just amazed at what God did with many of us, and how brave our young guys are. We prayed for them, that they would be brave warriors, and be leaders. The girls all got in a circle, and they surrounded us, and prayed over us.WOW, heh( we have several young people from Canada on our team so I'm saying "heh" more and more)?
God wasn't finished yet. One of our young girls, I believe she is 18, was crying so hard, she eventually was on the floor. Then, she started to move very abruptly, and aggressively. I am pretty sure she was being possessed by an evil spirit, and that the demon was throwing her around. I talked with another staff member, and he said that she was possessed by a demon as well. We prayed that evil spirit right out of her, and in several minutes, she was calm, and a few ladies were holding her, and continued to pray over her. As a side note, I believe that no one truly in Christ can be inhabited by a demon. Anyone possessed by demon cannot say Jesus is Lord. The Bible is clear about this & here are a few scriptures to back this up. Ephesians 1:13 says ," having believed, you were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit". If God's "seals your salvation", ain't nobody getting you from Him ( bad grammer, I know)! John 10:28 says, "I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one can snatch them out of my hand. I ran and grabbed my Bible, but I can't seem to find the other verse I wanted to share. I will post it later. I also wanted to say that I may be wrong about whether or not this girl was actually demon possessed, so please don't think I'm "sister super Christian" as Joyce Meyer says, and that I think I'm all that. I just call it like I see it. Praise the LORD, nonetheless, for so much healing and deliverance in our group. We also prayed over the staff and commissioned them with the gifts they received. We sang some more, and started dancing in a train around the room. Be assured, The kingdom of darkness was not celebrating as we were. Yesterdays score: God 1, Then Enemy 0. Alleluia!!!! ( And yes, we finally ate our cold lunch at 3pm!!)
Last night was more relaxed. We had a graduation ceremony for our Bible Core Class students and some praise and worship. That's one thing I love about this place: someone is always praising God. Pretty much all day, you here people singing in small groups or individually, or the worship team is practicing. I ate dinner later since my stomach was upset, but they had already begun to sing, so I just ate and sang and danced all at the same time! I went to read a little in the prayer room, but the worship was still going on the next room, so it was great to still be able to listen. At one point, I heard "Happy Day", and came out and was watching from the second floor. Then one of my team mates motioned for me to come down and dance with them. So a whole bunch of us just jumped up and down and went crazy for Jesus! I love the freedom that I have in this place to just worship God and get excited about who He is, and what He has already done in my life and in the lives' of others, and what is He is currently doing here!
We also had a great time in our room last night as girls just giggling, listening to music, dancing, and chatting. We are truly becoming family, and it feels so good to have some family around in a foreign country when you don't know anyone.Well, I guess I kind of know one person. Kevin, a guy from my church, is here doing a second training, and it has been fun having a familiar face around. He came on the spring break trip in March as well with First Baptist.We have been trading food, because he is hungry all the time, and I can't eat the pasta, bread, sausage, etc.He gives me his salad, and then I eat some fruit and peanut butter when I don't get full. He even let me use his skpye account last night so I could call my folks! It was so good to talk to them after a whole week. That is difficult since I called home everyday when I was in the U.S.
Okay, I'm calling it a night on here. We are going to watch a movie as a team, so I want to get ready for bed before we meet.
PS Sorry about not posting pics, it's just been too crazy, and I have been so tired! I hope I can find time soon
!
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