Summer teams

What have I done with my summer? Well, it’s an incredible story! First, I want to bring and direct all the glory to the Lord Jesus Christ. Everything that we did was to bring glory to Him and to show people how desperate we are for Him.

This summer we had teams come down to live at the orphanage to help the building process. They would also visit all the ministries that we are doing here: the orphanage, daycare, garbage dump children’s program, local community children’s program, cell groups (community family groups from the church), and other random things too.

(watch this video: http://vimeo.com/47591922#at=0 )
I was with a team of inters that helped with the same thing: leading teams. It was such a cool groups of interns that we had (see the amazing race blog). We would encourage each other and up-lift each other, help each other, and HANG OUT! It was an amazing team that we had and God definitely put us together!

Teams…we had teams from all over the United States and Canada. Teams as big as 45 and small as 8. And teams would come at different times during the summer. We had it set up in blocks of teams for 10 days and then a break for 5 days. And then teams for the next 10 days and then a break, that way the teams could be with other teams and build connections and relationships. One time we had 100 people here…what?! So yeah, it was pretty crazy at times.

 

I also led one team that was in the jungle in Pugallpa. It was such an amazing experience and I LOVED IT! The jungle experience was completely different than the orphanage (because it’s in the desert). So it was a nice break to see a different part of Peru.

 

Leading the teams was normal. I mean children’s ministry and building is mostly the same all around the world. But the difference came during DEBRIEF. Oh that dreaded word…but this is where lives changed. THIS was the reason for the missions experience. The team had time to reflect on the day and the people here. That is the REASON for short-term mission experiences…to change YOU. And people did change. Topics started about how we are the same as the people in the garbage dumps. People have so much joy in the midst of trash. Who are the least of these in my community? Is there a spiritual garbage dump I can impact back in the States? What am I poor in? how are the people in the dump RICHER than me? And so many other questions that you would have to be here to understand.

 

If people left the missions experience unchanged…what was the point?

Just a reminder:

There is a God, our Heavenly Father, who created this world. [and His Son, Jesus Christ, died as a sacrifice to pay our penalty for our sins]

Recently, while helping our at the Wednesday children’s program, I was playing soccer with the children and twisted/sprained/rolled my left ankle. It wasn’t too bad, but definitely kept me from working or running around. Then, that Sunday, my ankle was better and we just got a new team and they wanted to play soccer, so I accepted. The game was going GREAT, until...i twisted/sprained/rolled my right ankle...bad. And this was 2 days before going into the jungles in Peru for a week to lead another team. *gulp*

But I rested and took care of it, and the swelling went down, so off I went to the jungle. And that week was so great! My ankles continued to heal and it was a great reminder:

God (our Heavenly Father) CREATED everything.

Like, how did my ankles know how to heal? Like it was a reminder that THIS was not an accident. This life is not ‘random.’ I WAS NOT an accident. God, my Heavenly Father, has a purpose for my life.

Jeramiah 1:5 – I knew you before you were formed within your mother’s womb; before you were born I sanctified you and appointed you as my spokesman to the world.

He called us by name before we were born! (Isaiah 49:1)

Psalm 139:13-15 –You made all the delicate, inner parts of my body, and knit them together in my mother’s womb. Thank you for making me so wonderfully complex! It is amazing to think about. Your workmanship is marvelous – and  how well I know it.

Spanish is impossible.

Ok, so when we ask to do something for the Lord Jesus Christ: He will give us something we cannot do, that way, (when it happens) we get none of the glory or praise for it. Perfect example is Gideon (Judges7:1-22). Gideon has an amazing story, but one of them is how his army was fighting against the armies of Midian. Gideon had 32,000 troops and God said it was too many, because they could brag about how they did it themselves (v.2 – The Lord then said to Gideon, “There are too many of you! I can’t let all of you fight the Midianites, for then the people of Israel will boast to me that THEY saved themselves by their OWN strength). So 22,000 troops went home because they were scared. God said the army is STILL too big, so the army was narrowed down to ONLY 300 TROOPS. Then God said they were good to go. (I’m not sure how big the Midian army was, but v.21 says that it was “vast.”)

So to me: Spanish is impossible. It is SUPER difficult for me. I studied two years in high school (I was forced to) and I did HORRIBLE in it. And now look where I am...in a Spanish speaking country (you gotta love God’s humor ;) haha!) Speaking a different language is even on my impossible list that I made.

Now I know that God could give me Spanish. He MADE and CREATED the language! Genesis 11:7 says that God gave them all different languages so that they could not understand each other. So God KNOWS Spanish (obviously) and can GIVE it to me. But He has shared with me that He wants to see my discipline in studying, which I completely understand. But it is still SUPER HARD. And sometimes I feel like I’m getting nowhere.

But then it’s cool because I have the mind of Christ. I have a RENEWED mind. Check out Romans 12:2 and I Corinthians 2:16

So now, if I ever speak Spanish...all the glory goes to God, b/c there is no way that I can learn it myself.

                                                                   

Lovingkindness:

So I've been reading through the Psalms and I noticed a few things. In Psalm 107 there was four different scenarios (hunger and thirst, difficult work, death, fright/shipwreck). In each of those scenarios, the Lord delivers them and then it says (each time): Oh, that these men would praise the Lord for his lovingkindness and for all His wonderful deeds.

Then at the beginning of Psalm 118 it says, let them praise the Lord with these words: His lovingkindness is forever.

And in Psalm 136 at the end of each of the 26 verses, it says: for His lovingkindness continues forever.

The Amazing Race

So I am in Peru and for the summer, and more interns come down to help out with all the teams that we have. This year, 12 interns came down for the summer. 6 for Peru and 6 for Ecuador. And for ‘initiation’ we have this thing called “The Amazing Race” [which is not to be confused with “The World Race,” which I just went on last year]

Here is out team -> 

The Amazing Race was 10 days long and each day we were with different interns, so that we could get to know each other. So the race was based on individual points, added up at the end of the day, according on what place you can in that day.

We were in Peru for the first two day and did all types of activities and then went all around Ecuador to do crazy amounts of activities.

we surfed: 

on water AND sand ;) 

we did a lot of crazy activities that were so amazing! ate silly things, like chicken feet, cow stomach, chicha (everyone chews a mouthful of yucca and then spits it into a bowl and then drinks it), wild boar, palm beetles, and so many other things! we harvested and packaged bananas (that might be at your local supermarket right now! haha) like, we did SO MANY things :) 

 this was the "Leap of Faith" which was so LEGIT! loved it!!!

 and it all comes back to prayer and thanking God for allowing us to do such an amazing job and for keeping us all safe! what a great experience and time to bond with my newest family :D

Missions School

Jungle village #4 – Huaticocha

This was the place where I spent the majority of my time in Ecuador. We built this structure! (starting in the top left and going clockwise). This is the boys dorm building. There is going to be a girls dorm, directors home, school, and church, and prayer hut built in the future, so there is still a lot of work going to be done! This is a Missions Training School, which is for the people in the jungle to attend for two years. Then, once they graduate, they will be sent BACK into the jungle (to unreached people groups and tribes) and start churches!! This is such an amazing dream that is happening here!

In the back part of the property is a place where they will have a HUGE garden, which will provide food for the students. We took machetes through the whole area to chop down the high grass. You need to do it about every month and a half and SNAP, it was a LOT of work, but so much fun! I love chopping down huge things in the jungle!  

 Here is a video about the Missions School: http://vimeo.com/37534308

mud and white socks

Jungle village #3: Peas (sounds like Paos)

What a legit place! It was so great to be here! An hour canoe ride in and the village was about 30 or 40 people. It was a small place. The kids! I LOVED THEM! Swam in the river [scary at first, b/c I’m in the jungles, so anacondas and boas are common], but I did it and had a BLAST! We played in the mud too! and so much soccer! Oh I want to go back there SO BAD! 

(the one girl behind me washed one of my socks and I washed the other...guess which one is which...haha!)

They are meeting at one family’s house for church and it is great to see all the people coming out! In a month they are going to have 8 people baptized and 3 wedding ceremonies! These people are hungry for Jesus Christ and for His Love! It is so great and I love it!

They are meeting at one family’s house for church and it is great to see all the people coming out! In a month they are going to have 8 people baptized and 3 wedding ceremonies! These people are hungry for Jesus Christ and for His Love! It is so great and I love it!

There are so many unreached people groups here in Amazon. Pray that the Lord would send out more workers. [Luke10:2]