I'm really numb. I can't make decisions. Sometimes it's even difficult to talk. All I seem to be able to do well at this point is just sit and listen....or....something.
A friend emailed and asked how I was feeling. This was my response:
I have realized that the word "dead" or "died" no longer mean anything to me. What I mean by that is I can't compute them. I think to myself, "Chris is dead", and I find that my mind doesn't know what that means. It's like when you try to spit something out the window of a moving car, and it just comes right back at your face if you don't do it just right. I think death is the same way for those of us left behind. If the person who's dying or died doesn't do it the "right" way, that is in a way that we can begin to grasp the reality of it, then it's like the concept that they are dead never arrives to a place of comprehension...or it does eventually, but it takes a lot of spitting out that window to get the right angle so that it doesn't come back in the window or splat all over the car. I think I'm still spitting out the car and giving myself a bath right now.
Everytime I try to think, I just get smacked in the face somehow. So my brain has stopped thinking beyond what is necessary to get through the day.
I'm home for a week. I flew in tonight, and I go back a week from tomorrow. The memorial service is Monday night.
Friday, June 22, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
Saturday, June 16, 2007
I held an ostrich egg!!!
So, this week we had a couple of folks here from the Cy-Fair Christian Church youth group in Houston, TX. They came down in March and spent a week with our youth as they do every year. This time the two youth pastors brought a few of their seniors because they chose to have their annual senior retreat here in Cofradia! They only came for a couple of days to spend time with the youth here, and we had a good time doing just that! On Wednesday afternoon, we took everyone to Arrayanes to hang out, and then that night we did a movie night showing The Prestige. Then on Thursday, they hung out and relaxed in the afternoon, and then we took their team and a few of our own youth to have Tacos for dinner in Pilas. It was a great time of hanging out. In addition, the team worked on the new church and up in Mojocuautla in the mornings. At the end of their trip, they had some debriefing time and shared about what had impacted them during their time here and how they were going to carry that with them as they start the new phase in their lives, heading off to college. It was wonderful to see them again and to spend time with these few once more before they graduate from the youth group.
One very interesting thing that happened on Wednesday on our way back to Cofradia for the movie night: we stopped at an Ostrich farm that is about half way between the two towns. I have never seen an ostrich up close like that, and this place had a ton of them! They sell the meat and the hides. They also had a ton of goats, bunnies, and some other strange looking birds.
It was a ton of fun and extremely fascinating. One alpha-male was very actively protecting his "woman" and his territory. It was hillarious because one of our youth was provoking him, and he even did some weird dance thing that they do not only to intimidate others but also to attract females! We had a good time laughing at Chupa and teasing him that the male ostrich was hitting on hime! Check out the video of this intimidation dance!
Here's a still shot of the alpha-male.
The coolest part though was that the owner, who is an uncle to one of our youth boys, actually went in and brought out an ostrich egg that had just been laid that day for us to hold!! It was still warm even!! And it was gigantic! Sandy said that they gave one of these eggs to her aunt Pola once, and Pola cooked it. She told Sandy that the one ostrich egg made as much as 10 chicken eggs and it filled the whole pot she used!
Me holding the ostrich egg with Papa looking on!
Here's a closer-up of the egg...I told you it was big!!
(That's a storm coming in the background!)
One very interesting thing that happened on Wednesday on our way back to Cofradia for the movie night: we stopped at an Ostrich farm that is about half way between the two towns. I have never seen an ostrich up close like that, and this place had a ton of them! They sell the meat and the hides. They also had a ton of goats, bunnies, and some other strange looking birds.
It was a ton of fun and extremely fascinating. One alpha-male was very actively protecting his "woman" and his territory. It was hillarious because one of our youth was provoking him, and he even did some weird dance thing that they do not only to intimidate others but also to attract females! We had a good time laughing at Chupa and teasing him that the male ostrich was hitting on hime! Check out the video of this intimidation dance!
Here's a still shot of the alpha-male.The coolest part though was that the owner, who is an uncle to one of our youth boys, actually went in and brought out an ostrich egg that had just been laid that day for us to hold!! It was still warm even!! And it was gigantic! Sandy said that they gave one of these eggs to her aunt Pola once, and Pola cooked it. She told Sandy that the one ostrich egg made as much as 10 chicken eggs and it filled the whole pot she used!
Me holding the ostrich egg with Papa looking on!
Here's a closer-up of the egg...I told you it was big!!(That's a storm coming in the background!)
I have to say that one thing I never realized was how odd-looking and ugly ostriches are! I mean, I don't mean to malign the ostrich as an animal, but it certainly was not the most attractive specimen of the animal kingdom that I've ever seen! The female that the male was "protecting" had lost most of her feathers underneath her wings. It was a very strange sight to see. Check out this photo!
Anyway, it was a really fun and extremely interesting experience! They never stuck their heads in the sand, but at least now I can say that I held an ostrich egg!! The best part though was watching the youth hanging out and enjoying their friendships. A couple of the Texas youth have been down here the last two years at least, so they know our youth and have friendships with them. Mili and Sandy had such a good time with Sarah, and the boys seemed to be enjoying Will and Ryan. It's neat to see that they don't let language get in the way of knowing each other and enjoying a friendship that means something eal to each of them! We can all learn a little something from that! I know I do every time!
Anyway, it was a really fun and extremely interesting experience! They never stuck their heads in the sand, but at least now I can say that I held an ostrich egg!! The best part though was watching the youth hanging out and enjoying their friendships. A couple of the Texas youth have been down here the last two years at least, so they know our youth and have friendships with them. Mili and Sandy had such a good time with Sarah, and the boys seemed to be enjoying Will and Ryan. It's neat to see that they don't let language get in the way of knowing each other and enjoying a friendship that means something eal to each of them! We can all learn a little something from that! I know I do every time!
Friday, June 15, 2007
The First Rain
It finally rained!!! Monday we saw our first rain of the 2007 rainy season, and let me tell you, that storm was a doosy! I was in Arrayanes with Sandy and Mili and their family. We had just eaten lunch, when the wind started to pick up and the lightning and thunder started. So, we all scrambled to bring in the rest of their firewood and put out the wood fire (for cooking) and other things as it started spitting. Just as we got into the house it started pouring. It was so wonderful because the water falling from the sky was COLD, and the wind was so cool and refreshing! The temperature dropped like 15 degrees as soon as the wind started blowing before the rain started, and with the cold rain and the cool breeze, it was a marvelous experience!
I was kicking myself, however, because I didn't have my camera with me. Their little brother was out playing in the rain and mud of their front yard, and Mili and their little sister (Aide) were sitting on the doorstep talking as the rain poured down. And it was just a marvelous storm to boot....quite picture worthy! The best part is that several hours later, the sunset was incredible! In addition, the plant life that lines the road all the way home was cleaned off from all the dust, so even the dry brush looked alive for the first time in a while. The rain forrest aspect of this tropical location started to come out that day, and it was amazing!
YEA FOR THE FIRST RAIN!!!
I was kicking myself, however, because I didn't have my camera with me. Their little brother was out playing in the rain and mud of their front yard, and Mili and their little sister (Aide) were sitting on the doorstep talking as the rain poured down. And it was just a marvelous storm to boot....quite picture worthy! The best part is that several hours later, the sunset was incredible! In addition, the plant life that lines the road all the way home was cleaned off from all the dust, so even the dry brush looked alive for the first time in a while. The rain forrest aspect of this tropical location started to come out that day, and it was amazing!
YEA FOR THE FIRST RAIN!!!
Youth Fun!
Last Friday, we played the Human Machine game with the entire youth group. It was so much fun, and I wanted to share it with you here! We had four groups of 4-5 kids, with our new student leaders acting as group leaders (since they were already familiar with how the game worked). I gave them a list of possible machines and 1 minute to choose. Then they practiced and performed their machines for the rest of the group. I recorded each on on my camera, and I'm posting them here for your viewing enjoyment!
This first video was Sandy's group, which performed a TV/DVD player with a music video playing on the TV. When I asked for volunteers to go first, she jumped at the chance. Her group consisted of her and Beto as the TV screen with her sister Mili acting as the DVD player; Pedro played the owner of the DVD player; Riki was tagged with the job of being in the music video that shows on the screen. In the video Pedro asks Riki if he is the guy from the song "Riki Take My Hand" by Fishers of Youth (our local youth rap band). He says he is at which point Pedro raves about the song and decides to play the DVD with the music video.
This first video was Sandy's group, which performed a TV/DVD player with a music video playing on the TV. When I asked for volunteers to go first, she jumped at the chance. Her group consisted of her and Beto as the TV screen with her sister Mili acting as the DVD player; Pedro played the owner of the DVD player; Riki was tagged with the job of being in the music video that shows on the screen. In the video Pedro asks Riki if he is the guy from the song "Riki Take My Hand" by Fishers of Youth (our local youth rap band). He says he is at which point Pedro raves about the song and decides to play the DVD with the music video.
Martin's group was next, and they made a mixer (with dual beaters, like the hand-held kind). They even went so far as to have the chord plugged into an outlet! The members of the group are: Martin as the base/motor, Karla & Adolpho as the two beaters, Gollito is lying down as the chort, and Lorenzo is the outlet. Very creative!
The final group was Jose Luis's group, and they acted out an iron. There's no motion, but they did a good job making the shape of the iron and even have the chord running from the back. This group consists of Julio and Chuyeke as the bottom of the iron (lying on the ground), Mirna as the iron handle, and Jose Luis as the chord. Again, very creative!!!
All the kids had a good time (as you can tell from the laughter and chatter), and they were much more responsive and involved in the rest of the evening, even during the lesson, which was taken from Nehemiah (since we had just spent so much time studying it on the retreat). Steve talked about how the wall in Nehemiah can be symbolic of the wall that we put up around our hearts to protect ourselves from the enemy, and he challenged them to seek out those vulnerable places in their walls and seek the Lord in fortifying them so as to strengthen their faith, their relationship with the Lord, and their Christian walk through this world. It was a very fun evening. Stay tuned for more fun youth group game videos!
The third group was Chuy's group. And they also did the TV/DVD player with a movie playing: The Matrix. This group consists of Ana as the viewer (sitting on the other side of the screen from me), Ruben as the DVD Player, and Chuy and Roger play the TV screen/movie. They act out a slow-mo fight scene from Matrix. Hillarious!
The final group was Jose Luis's group, and they acted out an iron. There's no motion, but they did a good job making the shape of the iron and even have the chord running from the back. This group consists of Julio and Chuyeke as the bottom of the iron (lying on the ground), Mirna as the iron handle, and Jose Luis as the chord. Again, very creative!!!
Sunday, June 10, 2007
Student Leadership Retreat
June 6-7 we took four of our oldest youth to Mazatlan for a 2-day student leadership conference. Chuy (age 21), Jose Luis (age 20), Sandy (age 20), and Martin (age 20) are our four oldest and most mature youth in the group, and all have shown signs of leadership among our youth. We had a great time with the four of them, and they really began to knit together as a leadership team over those two days. Our desire is that beginning this summer they be leaders in the youth group and not simply members/attendees. We're looking forward to seeing how the Lord develops this beginning and affects younger youth in profound ways.
Anyway...about the retreat. We studied the whole book of Nehemiah looking at his Devotion, his Action, the Opposition he faced and how he dealt with it, and how he Built the People, since the call on his heart was for his people and not just for his city of Jerusalem.
(Breif summary: Nehemiah who lives in Susa and is cupbearer for the king, hears that the wall of Jerusalem is still in ruins even though the people began returning there from exile 70 years previously. They had rebuiltt he temple but not the city wall and were therefore left exposed and vulnerable to the enemies aroudn them. He receives permission from the Persian king to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and the king even agrees to pay for it all! Nehemiah returns and with the aid of the rest of the Israelites rebuilds the wall in 52 days (!!!) in the face of strong and scary opposition. The last half of the book is about how Nehemiah and Ezra (who had returned to the city with a group of Israelites 13 years earlier) lead the people back to a public and formal rededication to the Lord their God).
Steve taught the first three lessons (Devotion, Action, Opposition), and I gave the final lesson. It was a lot of information, but it was important information. However, the really cool about this lesson is that it may be the foundation for the mentor-training study/program I'd like to do in the fall with Sandy, and hopefully Mili as well. My desire is to equip them to be able to mentor the younger youth in the group and in the surrounding communities.
Anyway, one cool experience was that we climbed up to the Mazatlan lighthouse for our discussion on opposition. Our desire was that they hear this lesson with the entire city below them to emphasize the concept of standing on the rock and seeing the opposition (represented by the city below) for what it really is...small and easily squashed when you're rooted in the Rock of Jesus Christ and His Truth! It was really amazing, and the sunset was unbelieveable! Sadly, I did not get a picture of the sunset because I didn't want to distract from the lesson, but it was incredible to sit and watch it as we completed the study.
Anyway...about the retreat. We studied the whole book of Nehemiah looking at his Devotion, his Action, the Opposition he faced and how he dealt with it, and how he Built the People, since the call on his heart was for his people and not just for his city of Jerusalem.
(Breif summary: Nehemiah who lives in Susa and is cupbearer for the king, hears that the wall of Jerusalem is still in ruins even though the people began returning there from exile 70 years previously. They had rebuiltt he temple but not the city wall and were therefore left exposed and vulnerable to the enemies aroudn them. He receives permission from the Persian king to return to Jerusalem to rebuild the wall and the king even agrees to pay for it all! Nehemiah returns and with the aid of the rest of the Israelites rebuilds the wall in 52 days (!!!) in the face of strong and scary opposition. The last half of the book is about how Nehemiah and Ezra (who had returned to the city with a group of Israelites 13 years earlier) lead the people back to a public and formal rededication to the Lord their God).
Steve taught the first three lessons (Devotion, Action, Opposition), and I gave the final lesson. It was a lot of information, but it was important information. However, the really cool about this lesson is that it may be the foundation for the mentor-training study/program I'd like to do in the fall with Sandy, and hopefully Mili as well. My desire is to equip them to be able to mentor the younger youth in the group and in the surrounding communities.
Anyway, one cool experience was that we climbed up to the Mazatlan lighthouse for our discussion on opposition. Our desire was that they hear this lesson with the entire city below them to emphasize the concept of standing on the rock and seeing the opposition (represented by the city below) for what it really is...small and easily squashed when you're rooted in the Rock of Jesus Christ and His Truth! It was really amazing, and the sunset was unbelieveable! Sadly, I did not get a picture of the sunset because I didn't want to distract from the lesson, but it was incredible to sit and watch it as we completed the study.
The trailhead
Gena on the neverending stairs!
Arriving at the world's highest working lighthouse!!
Studying the opposition we face and how to deal with it -- all with a God's-eye view!
The city/port of Mazatlan, Sinaloa, Mexico
The Pacific Ocean view just before we started our study
And the view just after the sun finished setting...breathtaking!!After that we headed to the YWAM DTS house there in town so that Jose Luis could meet the directors, see the facility, pick up and application, and hear about the program. He and Riki (Chuy's younger brother) want to attend DTS in the fall. It will be a feat, but all things are possible with our God.
Another aspect of the retreat was the team-building games, which I was in charge of. We did
several in the van on the way to Mazatlan, and we had fun discussions as we talked about answers to various challenges and get-to-know-you questions. We arrived in the city and had breakfast at Pura Vida (the greatest restaurant ever), then proceeded to the hotel for the first 2 studies (Devotion & Action). In between them we played a game called Human Machine. They had to come up with a machine that they could act out using all members of their team. They spent some time brainstorming and finally decided on a washing machine. Check out this video of their Human Machine!
Another aspect of the retreat was the team-building games, which I was in charge of. We did
several in the van on the way to Mazatlan, and we had fun discussions as we talked about answers to various challenges and get-to-know-you questions. We arrived in the city and had breakfast at Pura Vida (the greatest restaurant ever), then proceeded to the hotel for the first 2 studies (Devotion & Action). In between them we played a game called Human Machine. They had to come up with a machine that they could act out using all members of their team. They spent some time brainstorming and finally decided on a washing machine. Check out this video of their Human Machine!
Another game we played was called Blind Square. We took them to the beach, blindfolded them, then threw a really long rope on the ground and told them they had to make a squre with it. That was it!!! It was very interesting watching which ones took more leadership and which ones didn't, or rather which ones led and which ones followed and how well they did each of those. They started off well and almost had the square in under a minute. But they didn't realize that, so someone else started taking over and the ended up twisted into a figure 8. In the end they had to untie the ends of the rope and start from scratch to finally get the square. As we debreifed them after they finished, they admited that they had not been working as a team but rather each one trying to get the others to do it their way. It was neat to be able to draw parallels with past team-building experiences from the mini-reto that we did with them when Cy-Fair was here in March. In the end they decided they wanted to do it again and try to do it better, which they did.
The beginning --figuring out who was where and how much rope they had
They almost had it and SO quickly!
But then they got twisted -- here's the figure 8
Starting from scratch
Finally SUCCESS!!The final team-building game took place in the van on our way home on Thursday. It was called Desert Survivor. They were to pretend they were survivors of a plane crash in the desert. They had salvaged 11 items and had to order them according to their imporance to survival. This required them to colaborate as a team and come to a unified decision based on their plan of action for survival. This activity was really useful given the challenge we presented these four at the end of the retreat: they are to plan a 1-day camp for the rising 7th graders who will be joining the youth group this summer. The puropose is to welcome them into the youth group give the new students a sense of who we are and where're going. They have already had a couple of planning meetings and seem to be doing well so far. Please keep this planning and team-building in your prayers. We've encouraged them to plan something that will take us to a location outside of Cofradia (the beach perhaps??), and they will be the ones completely in charge of planning and executing the camp. We are here for guidance and resources as they require -- and of course for chaperoning and driving when the day comes.
Our new student leaders are off to a great start! I'm excited to see how God works amazing things in each of them and through each of them in the year to come! Please continue to remember Sandy, Chuy, Jose Luis, and Martin in your prayers!
Our new student leaders are off to a great start! I'm excited to see how God works amazing things in each of them and through each of them in the year to come! Please continue to remember Sandy, Chuy, Jose Luis, and Martin in your prayers!
Saturday, June 02, 2007
The prayer of faith...continued
The marvels of prayer are continuing, and I just HAD to share them!
On Wedensday I went to family group, but we arrived early. So, Sandy and I headed over to Carla's to wait for her and her mom to be ready for group. As we were talking and returning to Erika's for family group, Sandy was sharing with us how the Lord had been answering prayer over the previous couple of days.
1) Last week at youth group, Steve asked if any of our students would be interested in a 5-week intensive DTS-like program in July and August. Five students raised their hands, but 2 were extra-excited about the opportunity: Julio and Mili. It would require them to get permission from their parents (since they are under 18), a recommendation from the pastor, fill out an application, and pay 2000 pesos (~$2oo USD). The bright side of that price is that the students will be participating in the youth camp we're attending in August, so the cost of the program includes the cost of camp. Anyway, Mili went home and over the weekend mentioned it to her parents, and her mother very quickly opposed the idea and closed the subject saying that Sandy was doing so much over the summer that this program was too much and therefore Mili could not go. We all started praying over this because Flavia seemed to dismiss it pretty quickly. Well, Sandy shared with Carla and I that the day before the school had been mentioned again, but her mom wasn't very hip to the idea still. Sandy and her mom later ended up in the kitchen alone, and her mom started talking to Sandy about the school. She apparantly had in mind that Sandy wanted to go as well (which wasn't the case), and proposed to Sandy that she refrain from this opportunity so that Mili could have a chance at it. Sandy said that she had not had plans to attend, but took advantage of the opportunity and told her mom that was fine and that she'd love for Mili to have this opportunity. At that point Flavia seemed to give her approval!!!
The only issue left was the money issue. Sandy said that later that day she and Mili were in their room discussing all this, and Mili brought up the cost. Sandy told her that they still didn't know if the ministry would help with the cost or not, but regardless that Sandy would give Mili ALL of her money (saved, earned this summer to pay for camp, photography earnings, etc.) so that Mili could go to school. This meant that Sandy was sacrificing the youth camp so that Mili could go to school for 5 weeks. Mili didn't like this idea, but when Sandy said "which would you prefer: the two of us go to just the youth camp, or i stay home from camp and you go to the school?" Mili responded that she would choose the school. I was shocked at how quickly and joyfully willing Sandy was to give her sister this opportunity and hope. She said that she hasn't seen her sister so excited about anything related to her faith in a really long time and she just had to do whatever she could to encourage this excitement in Mili. She took the chance to encourage Mili to keep praying, to work hard, and to simply trust the Lord to open the doors. It seems that he's doing that so far.
2) Sandy continued saying that she was in the hamock Wednesday morning/early afternoon just talking to the Lord about all that had gone on and praying and petitioning and thanking him. As she continued, she moved into a line of prayer that I had challenged her to on Monday. Last Monday, as I already blogged, we talked about the fruit of Goodness, and how it DOES -- it acts. She was challenged to pray and ask the Lord what he would want her to DO. She received an answer from Psalm 32:8 and Psalm 33. The jist of the answer was to continue waiting on Him, and He would make it clear in due time what He wants her to DO. The answer was "Wait and Trust me." Well this Monday we studied faith and how Faith FIGHTS because it remembers that on the other side of the battle is a promise waiting to be fulfilles that merits the fight. So, her challenge this week was to spend the week praying and asking the Lord what the promise was He had awaiting for her because she's been in a "fight" for quite a while now...so what is she fighting to attain. On Wednesday she told us that her prayer time in the hammock movced to this challenge, and ask she asked the Lord what the promise was that He had awaiting her. She said the Lord answered her out of Acts 1:4,8
She said that basically the promise was that she was going to be a witness for the Lord and she would do so in the POWER of the Spirit. She seemed so excited because God has been answering her so quickly these days, and in ways that really encourage her to keep praying! On Friday night at youth group Martin gave the lesson, and he talked about how God has a plan for each one of us; we just need to wait on him and trust that He will reveal his purpose for us when He's ready. On our way home, Sandy was sharing with me how the study encouraged her even more in light of the prayer challenges and answers. She basically she feels like the last couple weeks God has been saying to her, "For now just wait and trust that I do have something for you to do. But when the time comes, hold on, cuz you're gonna really take off in that plan!" She's really excited about this, and she's looking forward to being even more involved in the youth group and being able to share with others and encourage them to the depth of relationship that she is finding in her Lord!
On Wedensday I went to family group, but we arrived early. So, Sandy and I headed over to Carla's to wait for her and her mom to be ready for group. As we were talking and returning to Erika's for family group, Sandy was sharing with us how the Lord had been answering prayer over the previous couple of days.
1) Last week at youth group, Steve asked if any of our students would be interested in a 5-week intensive DTS-like program in July and August. Five students raised their hands, but 2 were extra-excited about the opportunity: Julio and Mili. It would require them to get permission from their parents (since they are under 18), a recommendation from the pastor, fill out an application, and pay 2000 pesos (~$2oo USD). The bright side of that price is that the students will be participating in the youth camp we're attending in August, so the cost of the program includes the cost of camp. Anyway, Mili went home and over the weekend mentioned it to her parents, and her mother very quickly opposed the idea and closed the subject saying that Sandy was doing so much over the summer that this program was too much and therefore Mili could not go. We all started praying over this because Flavia seemed to dismiss it pretty quickly. Well, Sandy shared with Carla and I that the day before the school had been mentioned again, but her mom wasn't very hip to the idea still. Sandy and her mom later ended up in the kitchen alone, and her mom started talking to Sandy about the school. She apparantly had in mind that Sandy wanted to go as well (which wasn't the case), and proposed to Sandy that she refrain from this opportunity so that Mili could have a chance at it. Sandy said that she had not had plans to attend, but took advantage of the opportunity and told her mom that was fine and that she'd love for Mili to have this opportunity. At that point Flavia seemed to give her approval!!!
The only issue left was the money issue. Sandy said that later that day she and Mili were in their room discussing all this, and Mili brought up the cost. Sandy told her that they still didn't know if the ministry would help with the cost or not, but regardless that Sandy would give Mili ALL of her money (saved, earned this summer to pay for camp, photography earnings, etc.) so that Mili could go to school. This meant that Sandy was sacrificing the youth camp so that Mili could go to school for 5 weeks. Mili didn't like this idea, but when Sandy said "which would you prefer: the two of us go to just the youth camp, or i stay home from camp and you go to the school?" Mili responded that she would choose the school. I was shocked at how quickly and joyfully willing Sandy was to give her sister this opportunity and hope. She said that she hasn't seen her sister so excited about anything related to her faith in a really long time and she just had to do whatever she could to encourage this excitement in Mili. She took the chance to encourage Mili to keep praying, to work hard, and to simply trust the Lord to open the doors. It seems that he's doing that so far.
2) Sandy continued saying that she was in the hamock Wednesday morning/early afternoon just talking to the Lord about all that had gone on and praying and petitioning and thanking him. As she continued, she moved into a line of prayer that I had challenged her to on Monday. Last Monday, as I already blogged, we talked about the fruit of Goodness, and how it DOES -- it acts. She was challenged to pray and ask the Lord what he would want her to DO. She received an answer from Psalm 32:8 and Psalm 33. The jist of the answer was to continue waiting on Him, and He would make it clear in due time what He wants her to DO. The answer was "Wait and Trust me." Well this Monday we studied faith and how Faith FIGHTS because it remembers that on the other side of the battle is a promise waiting to be fulfilles that merits the fight. So, her challenge this week was to spend the week praying and asking the Lord what the promise was He had awaiting for her because she's been in a "fight" for quite a while now...so what is she fighting to attain. On Wednesday she told us that her prayer time in the hammock movced to this challenge, and ask she asked the Lord what the promise was that He had awaiting her. She said the Lord answered her out of Acts 1:4,8
"On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about....But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' "
She said that basically the promise was that she was going to be a witness for the Lord and she would do so in the POWER of the Spirit. She seemed so excited because God has been answering her so quickly these days, and in ways that really encourage her to keep praying! On Friday night at youth group Martin gave the lesson, and he talked about how God has a plan for each one of us; we just need to wait on him and trust that He will reveal his purpose for us when He's ready. On our way home, Sandy was sharing with me how the study encouraged her even more in light of the prayer challenges and answers. She basically she feels like the last couple weeks God has been saying to her, "For now just wait and trust that I do have something for you to do. But when the time comes, hold on, cuz you're gonna really take off in that plan!" She's really excited about this, and she's looking forward to being even more involved in the youth group and being able to share with others and encourage them to the depth of relationship that she is finding in her Lord!
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