Week three

This last week of my Discipleship Training School was amazing. The subject of the classes was the Father Heart of God. He did some amazing things in my life through everything that happened this week. He has really been showing me a lot about who He is and who I am. He has been really pruning me over the last couple weeks to make me more like Him. This week was a lot easier on me as I think I am getting into the swing of things and the rhythm of life here on the base. God has really been showing up in this time. On Friday I got the opportunity to go to the red light district during the day to do some ministry. It was an amazing experience. We went around the area led by someone from the colonia (Spanish for neighborhood) making house calls and praying for people in that rather poor, rough part of town. When we finally got back to the house we had left from, the children were out front playing so we all started playing with them. As we were Michael (one of the leaders and translators on the base) came outside and told us there was one more person we needed to pray for. We went into the house and found a woman crying and were told her husband had left her and that she had three children. As they continued talking with her I gathered from my limited Spanish that she had started using drugs to help deal with the pain and that she was actually on drugs at the time. She had fallen away from the faith and had started having questions whether or not God still loved her or if He existed at all. Through much prayer and many tears she eventually repented ad came to Christ with her pains.

Today I had the opportunity to go to a small pueblo (Spanish for village) outside of Mazatlan called La Quelite. It took about an hour and a half to get there in a truck-taxi (that's right, here they have taxis where you basically sit on benches in the back of a truck with a cover over it) to get there, but it was worth it. It was a small village in the mountains where things seemed to be very slow-paced and quiet, a nice change of pace from the city. It was a lot of fun to walk around the town and see the simpler way of life the people there live. We had the opportunity to climb to the top of a mountain where there was a shrine to the patron saint of lost causes. The view from there was spectacular! Probably my favorite experience from the excursion was when we all decided to take a ride on some donkeys and horses that were there with their owners in the middle of town. Everyone got on their animal, leaving me with the last pick. I looked around and found the last available animal, a small boy's worn out, sorry looking, tiny donkey. There are some hilarious photos of me on that poor little burro. Overall it was a very good, relaxing day.

week two

This week we sunk into what I suppose "normal life" here on the base is going to be like. Class every day, 2-4 hours a day, work duties 10 hours a week, evangelism, and base intercession make for a pretty packed schedule. That means a fairly small amount of free time and a very tired group of DTS students. We have been pushing it pretty hard, but through all of it God has really been working in and through me. I am so glad to be here being a part of God's Will for Mexico and for my life as well. Today was a good example of how this all comes into play. We woke up at 5:50 so that we could leave by 6 to go climb to the top of the tallest natural lighthouse in the world (right here in Mazatlan) for intercession with a local church, then headed back to the base for a quick breakfast and shower, then we all rushed to clean the base and practice a drama and the worship set for the multi-church youth event we helped put on at 11. After all of that I am completely worn out, but I am so glad that we got the opportunity to partner with a local body to war for this city and to make a difference in some local kids' lives. Though I am sore and exhausted, I wouldn't trade this for the world.

Week 1

This week has been really amazing so far. All the people here are so loving. I love all of the other students and I can tell all the staff really cares about us getting the most out of this experience. Spiritually this first week has been very good for me as well. God has already begun to do some great things in my heart, showing me His Heart for people and showing me what He wants to clean up in my heart. I know that these are the beginnings of great things and that the One who started a good work in me will carry it on to completion. The thing that keeps going through my mind is that I can hardly believe that all of this is real. This has been such a big dream of mine and now God is finally making it happen!

arrival

Well, I got to Mazatlan safely earlier today. The flights were pretty good, but I am pretty tired. The weather here is amazing! The city seems like a place I will quickly fall in love with and the people here are great! Everyone here on the base is really friendly and I can tell they will all be easy to get along with. I can also tell that my Spanish skills will improve pretty quickly because everything outside the base is in Spanish and about half the people here on the base are fluent. Most of all, I can tell just by being here that God is going to do some great things in me here. I can't wait!

final week in the US

Well, this is my last week before I go to Mexico. To say that I'm totally prepared would be an overstatement, and I realize how unprepared I am more and more as time goes on. Actually, last night I was getting prayed over for this trip at Current Church and God kinda helped me realize just how much I am unprepared for what He is going to do. I don't mean that in a bad way, it's more like I have tried to prepare myself for this trip, but I have mainly been thinking with my own intellect about what I want and what I think will happen, but I believe that He is going to do so much more through it! Ephesians 3:20 says that He can do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine which means that no matter what great things I think to ask Him for in relation to this trip, He can do (and wants to do) even greater things. God is so good!