unstoppable

My brother, who is quite the global citizen using his medical genius to serve those in need, shared with me this awesome report from the Gates Foundation about the future in global development and setting optimistic bets for the alleviation of human suffering in years to come. The video above stood out to me for the type of work I am doing with Baja Missions. I am constantly reading, soaking up information, and encouraged by the notion of how important it is to invest in women.

A few years ago, I started praying for my heart to be broken for the things that break God's, and man did He open my eyes. I became so unsettled with injustice, I was determined to find how I could best use my gifts and passions to fight on behalf of those in need.

Of course we are small, but God is huge.
Of course we have limitations, but God is limitless.
Of course we are weak, but God is strong.
Of course we are finite, but God is infinite.
Of course we are imperfect, but God is perfect.
Of course we fail, but God never fails.
Of course we can choose to stop, but God is unstoppable.

The words above come from Christine Caine in her latest book, Unstoppable. A champion for human rights in our generation and a soul on fire for the Lord, I had the chance to hear Christine speak at the The Belonging Co. when I was back in Nashville over the holidays. Her inspiration is contagious, and I highly recommend this book on "running the race you were born to win".

I am so thankful each day for the chance to be working here in Baja and the ways God has orchestrated generous givers like yourself for it to be possible. I am learning more each day how the will of God is not a place, but to know who you are in Christ- to know who you are in His presence.

And that's where I always want to be. In his presence. And leading others there as well. For in Him, we are unstoppable.

Let's keep believing and praying for God's restoration and healing here on Earth!

trust and yarn

Looking back and reading my journal, it is so crazy the amount of fear that the devil tried to throw at me about trying something new. 

This past summer, in a restaurant parking lot, a spark went off for ladies to come with the mechanics group in January. Being the new girl with the least experience, trying new things with groups intimidates me a little. Not to mention, I don't even have many of the skills that we want to equip the women here with. But Jesus hasn't given us these visions for the women's ministry for nothing.

In prayerful preparation, he reassured me that our real mission for this week was to: encounter God through prayer, be a blessing with our presence, and encourage our sisters with the message of God's love. That's it! Gone are all the other meaningless stresses and worries.

Sweet Deb and Courtney from Virginia arrived with many suitcases packed with hours of organization and love. Prayer journals, bags, yarn, needles, fabric, a HUGE bag of stuffing, you name it, they brought it. And oh what a blessing it was!

We had the best week. God blessed our time together so much. They each taught knitting and sewing (even a little friendship bracelets and hair wraps for the young ones were thrown in before the week was over). We were able to have 3 days of class in Maneadero, 1 in Colonet and 2 days in Papalote. We all had lunch together each day and did home visits in the afternoons with the surrounding congregations.

It was tiring, but God sustained us. It was so amazing to see the work ethic of the ladies and hear what other things they are passionate about. We are excited for similar classes to continue with the local talent (turns out crocheting is pretty popular around here). The joy of being together in community was evident, and we focused devotional thoughts on being found in God wherever we may find ourselves this year. Doubting, scared, lonely, rejoicing, working- we can always be found in Him. In his peace, purpose, goodness and love.

We are going to hold on to our Anchor who has given us dreams and visions. We are going to TRUST and not grow weary.

Praise God for the safety and excitement of this past week. Thanks again to Deb, Courtney and the ladies of the Southside Church in VA for sending so much love and prayers.

Yes, my soul, find rest in God; 

my hope comes from him.

Truly he is my rock and my salvation;

he is my fortress, I will not be shaken.

My salvation and my honor depend on God;

he is my mighty rock, my refuge.

Trust in him at all times, you people;

pour out your hears to him,

for God is our refuge

Psalm 62:5-8

the price of produce

Injustice is ugly, and I have seen the ugliness of this reality firsthand the past 6 months. The lifestyle isn’t fair. The oppression is real, and the suffering is great. 

The Los Angeles Times has begun an investigative series called the "Hardships of Mexico's farms, a bounty for U.S. tables."  It tells the story for many in Baja. Take a look here: http://graphics.latimes.com/product-of-mexico-camps/

I don’t have to read an article like this to be totally distraught with sadness and feelings of helplessness. I actually didn’t make it down to the bottom without crying and having my heart broken.

I cry because I see the stories of our friends.  I see families that I have come to know and love so much. I see God's beautiful children like Sarah (above) growing up at a labor housing facility in San Vicente. I see homes without running water, electricity, or warmth this time of year.  I hear their sadness of being separated from family and living far from home for work.  I see physical pain from such labor intensive jobs, and the health problems that arise because of it. I think of payday when the earnings are often exchanged for alcohol, and the family that is left without proper nourishment. And I feel the tears we have shed together.

I also feel conviction. Conviction that we have a higher hope than the hardships we face in this life, and we as Christians are called to share it wherever we may be.

Jesus took our suffering, sin, fears and failures and squashed them when he went down the pit of hell and overcame darkness.

Darkness is looming in the fields of Mexico and across the whole Earth, but the LIGHT IS SO MUCH BRIGHTER.

We must be reminded of this daily. We can’t give up.  We have to be strong for our brothers and sisters that currently find themselves in this harsh environment. 

The church is so beautiful because the message of Jesus provides a higher hope. I have been a witness to the great things God is doing in 14 of His churches throughout Baja, and I know the same restoration is happening all across the world. 

Change is going to come. One person at a time. We can’t start at the top of the big corporate giants. We can’t begin to adjust the multi billion-dollar produce industry that Mexico provides for the US, but we can be vessels of hope. We can walk beside our brothers and sisters and believe in their dreams.

Lord willing, we have some new plans for 2015. 

I ask for your prayers!!! We need your help!

We are stepping out into the unknown and letting God takeover.

We are ready for continued spiritual warfare and cannot wait to go where He leads.  

We pray for more souls to come to Christ in this time of suffering.

Salvation belongs to our God! – Rev. 7:10

We are going to overcome by the power of our testimonies! – Rev. 12:11

WE ARE GOING TO REJOICE IN OUR GREAT HOPE!

new life for dead dreams

The retail world in Baja consists of mostly second-hand shops. Meaning that if you were to go look for clothes, furniture, appliances, bicycles, random Christmas decor etc. they would most likely come from a "segunda" or "second-hand" store.  I enjoy some good thrift shopping, but my reaction says doesn't this get old? Isn't it nice to get something new every once in awhile?

Maybe this is a stretch, but thinking about the desire for newness got my wheels turning as I thought about how we often settle for second best in life.  That perhaps we sink into routine and accept our circumstances instead of reaching up and grabbing hold of the new things God has for us.

Our God is a Creator and Sustainer of life. One who takes great delight in blessing His children. A God that forgives, forgets, heals and restores. And a God that has made us new!!

Let's not limit God for settling for second best.

Let's not settle for living vicariously through someone else or being jealous about someone else's situation, but instead step out in faith and take hold of what he has for YOU.

Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart's desires.

Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

Psalm 37

just when you need it

Tuesday morning I was driving in to the office feeling a little bland and searching for a change up in the everyday routine.  I like mornings because you never know what a new day will bring.  So I was praying for a new encounter this day or a spark in my spirit to not be caught in a rut...

Well the day passes along. Boyd Buchanan school from Chattanooga, TN blessed us with their presence this week, and they were serving lunch to the babies and boys dorms when I walked in to refill my water bottle and was asked to share my story at the group's devo that night.

This really excited me because I love opportunities to share what I have learned in my faith journey especially since I was convicted on a mission trip here just as these students may be experiencing as well.

It was a great experience to be able to spend the evening with the group, and afterwards they gathered around me and had a prayer for me. It was amazing! I truly felt God's love in that moment and his reassurance for my work here.

It was such a blessing to receive that touch of the spirit just as I had been praying for, and I am so thankful that the Lord answered my prayer and gave me exactly what I needed!

What if I had never cried out to God that morning? I may have missed this opportunity to testify to his goodness and receive the blessing of his spirit once again through our brothers and sisters in Christ!

Thanks to this team reaching out to me and being a great encouragement just when I needed it this week.

Hallelujah!

real

Being real. Being yourself. Something that has slipped away from me the past couple weeks. Still taking on a new culture and new challenges, pride and a desire to "prove myself" so sneakily gets in the way of my reliance on God.

I was challenged by a great message this morning (here) that helped me refresh and restart in a way that I have been searching for the past few weeks. By being too consumed with trying to measure up and being questioned in my doubts of: is my spanish good enough, am I qualified to be in ministry, am I the right age for this, will people like/understand me, can I have sad times as a missionary? has caused me to take control into my own hands trying to prove what I can be instead of plainly answering: no!  I can't do all of this, and that is what is so awesome about having a God who longs to be in control of my life and allow me to do things I could never do own my own. It is ok to have emotion. God wants us to be open and exposed before Him to show us where we need to lean into Him most.

I have never taught a Sunday school class, and here I find myself teaching a class to the sweetest girls in a different language! It is humorous really. And that they even receive a message! But how easily I can be too concerned with trying to get the grammar right to resonate the deep love God has for them when all the while it is God that changes hearts anyways! Amen?

So it is cool. And being open and transparent on a blog is kind of intimidating to me- but I know that we all experience similar seasons. And in the days that you feel like your communication is really one-sided with God, and you aren't getting any words back from Him, maybe it is time to push the re-start and re-surrender to your inadequacies! Because then we see the miracles of God, who can use us for far greater things than we could do alone!

In celebrating His presence, we had an awesome week here at the City of Children with a fall break team from Goodpasture in Tennessee. What used to be the ole "high school rivals" are now my friends- yay Jesus! This was their first trip here, and they jumped in and handled it like pros.  Their group leader and Spanish teacher, Kate, is a dear friend of Baja and has been serving here for many years. They had the best attitudes and were such an encouragement to all of us here with their presence. The theme for the week in VBS was using your spiritual gifts which was cool because I also saw their group as really diverse with lots of different personalities and gifts.

They also served in the community by painting an elementary school that many of the kids here attend and delivered food packages to church members of Chapultapec (pictured above).

We are thankful for these students and adults that gave their time to bring a refreshment of His light and love!

I also had the opportunity to witness the goodness of God Wednesday night, when we got to take a huge food basket to brother Samuel, one of the church members at Colonia 89. His wife died about 2 weeks ago, and he has been really lonely. He has the sweetest spirit and cannot see very well. We have been worried about him living alone, and he often mentions of how much he misses his wife. A group from here got this basket together to send him and has been lifting him up in prayer. What a beautiful picture of the church!

I hope you are enjoying fall wherever you may be! Here in Baja we have also received cooler weather which has been a great relief!

lots of blessings!

belief

Blessed is she who has believed that the Lord would fulfill his promises to her! -Luke 1:45

Filled with the Holy Spirit, Elizabeth's responds to Mary with these words as they share in the excitement of their pregnancies. Both chosen by God to fulfill big time callings. To be the mothers of John the Baptist and Jesus. Elizabeth in her old age, and Mary a virgin. Both seemingly impossible by human standards. Both filled with awe and wonder. And belief. 

Would you believe it if an angel appeared to you to proclaim your divine calling? How would you react?

In disbelief like Zechariah? Or like Joseph, wanting to flee from the relationship in fear of what people would think of your wife being pregnant before marriage?

Or do you chose to believe, and trust in the promises of God. 

We all have a big role to play in God's story. Each character is equally important. Zechariah was silenced for months because of his disbelief and could not speak until the baby was born- having to see to believe. Matthew tells us that an angel came to visit Joseph to talk him out of plans to divorce Mary- for this baby was going to save people of their sins! Wowza- right!

Are we allowing our disbelief to silence us?

Are we ready to walk fully in the plans that God has for us, or are we too worried about what other people might think?

It may be scary. We may not have all the answers upfront, but maybe God is waiting for us to fully believe to reveal all He has planned.

To believe that His thoughts are higher than our thoughts (Isaiah 55:9), and that He created good works in advance for us to do (Ephesians 2:10). To believe that He is the God of Heaven and Earth and able to do immeasurably more than we ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20). 

How cool is that! How much burden does that take off of us? Let's throw away the stress and worrying about making all the right moves to be where we want to be in 10 years etc. and start with saying- yes God, I believe in you and all that you have for me! And there, in the surrender, we find our voice.

For no word from God will ever fail.

Luke 1:37

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[update]: Just read some much more eloquent thoughts from Justin Fung on this same story and doing the impossible with God here. Good stuff!