This was a verse that we received from our taxi driver:
Psalm 16
"Perserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.' As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. the sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
A few things have happened here since the last time I blogged and I am so excited to share them with you guys! I just wanted to start out by saying the God that we serve is so good and he is so sovereign!! Amen! The last saturday was a great day! In the morning Chels and I had a great opportunity! I got the chance to speak a short message on John chapter 3:30. "He must become greater and I must become less" This was kinda tough with the language barrier! Chelsea sang a beautiful hymn in spanish! (She did such a great job!) We were truly blessed to receive such a great opportunity. After the service the ninos invited us to play games with them in the park at night time! We of course took them up on this! We have been waiting to play soccer down here! It was a blast! Except for the fact that I had no idea who was on my team.. this made it kinda difficult! ha It was still so much fun! After one of the families from the park invited us over their house
the next day to celebrate their son's birthday (Samuel).
When we went to the family's house on sunday for Samuel's birthday! This was such a humbling experience. This family are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. They have four children ranging from 1 year old to 12 years old. The father works 2 jobs to support his family. In the previous blog Chelsea did a great job explaining our experience there. I got to talk with the mom a lot about what was going on in her heart. She shared with me that one of her sons was actually her nephew. When Daniel was 6 months old his mom brought him to her sister to take care of because she no longer "wanted" him. Although this family couldn't afford to take care of another child, they trusted in the Lord to provide for them. He totally has. One of the things I loved most about this house was that they had a mini farm in their "backyard." They had a rooster, a hen, and probably 30 chickens that they raise and then they eat! They cooked us traditional
mexican "mole" with pollo and arroz (rice and chicken). It was so good! One of the most amazing things about this family is the joyful spirit that the Lord gives them. In the midst of poverty, suffering, worry and all the things of this world, these people alone rely on Jesus Cristo, their Saviour. So blessed to have gotten this opportunity to spend time with this family! Praise God!
Yesterday (Monday), the family had to work and so we decided to spend the day and walk to starbucks and listen to some messages and pray... Well its funny how God works because He always has special plans for us! We are totally excited about this! "Coincidentally" we met one of only 2 americans that we have met here the whole time we have been here. We got the opportunity to witness to him for like an hour! It was awesome! We are so thankful to be used by our King in that moment.
I think one of the craziest experiences here happened to us today! We wanted to go say goodbye to some of our dearest friends here who live right next to the hospital. The family here had a lot of work to do in the morning so we decided to venture out for the first time on our own in a taxi! The family had their concerns about us taking a taxi because of some of the danger but we went with the white ones which are supposed to be safe. We had no doubt that the Lord would protect us.. Well lets just say.. He did way more than that. Not only right at the time we walked out to call a taxi, a white one comes who was unoccupied, we got in... started talking to him and we told him we were christian missionaries. Turns out.. he is a fellow hermano en Cristo. We didn't get to chat much because the drive was short so we asked him if he could come back to pick us up because we felt safe with him. He agreed to! It was really sad to say goodbye to our friends. We
love them so much! Our taxi driver came back to pick us up. We got into the car and immediately started talking about how amazing Jesus is. He shared his heart felt testimony with us. It was rad because we actually forgot something at the house so we had to go back, perfect because it gave us more time to chat with him! This man totally has been radically changed by Jesus. He was a drug addict and alcoholic who was choosen by Jesus and radically changed! So cool! His wife recently passed away 2 years ago from Lupus but this man is still praising Jesus for always being so good. He kept saying "Gloria a Dios" after everything. He as well as we were really encouraged by getting the opportunity to talk with him.
It's just crazy how the Lord works. When you choose to be in the Spirit daily, He chooses to cover you with His presence, guidance, and protection. As I have said before, there is no such thing as coincidence. We are learning that everyday as we see God's sovereign and good hand all over everything we do and see.
I have had such a blessed opportunity to spend the last 4 weeks with one of my best friends Chelsea. I could not have asked for a better friend to spend this time with. We have challenged each other in many ways. I seriously have learned so much from her! I thank God to have such a good friend as her. When I was weak, she was strong and vice versa. We are a team now! I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to use each of individually and together. Thank you and I love you Chels!
I am so thankful to have been able to spend the last 4 weeks with the Serrano family. They are so sweet! Each and every single one of them has taught me so much since I have been here. They truly show God's love through the gift of service. Every day they give thanks to the Lord for everything that they have. I am so so grateful for them and can't wait to spend time with them again.
Well I am sure that there will be more afterthought after I return home. Thank you guys so much for following this blog and continuing to pray for us! We are flying home tomorrow morning very early!! We are so excited to return home and share our stories with you all!
Praise God!
Dios te bendiga!
Laurie
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Poor in the world, RICH IN FAITH!
James 2:5
“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”
Saturday was a big day! We were invited to the communities church on Saturday to preach and sing a song. Laurie did a very very heartfelt speech on John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease”. She had to write a sermon in English and of course translate it into Spanish (with the help of our lovely friends here!) and praise God it went really well!! The Lord spoke through Lo, there were many “Amens!” from our Mexican brothers and sisters! : ) I sang one of my favorite hymns, “I Surrender All” in Spanish! It was fun, its awesome to have an opportunity to sit in the front and listen to the voices of the people sing to our awesome God! Although it makes the heart jump a beat being in front of people, ultimately its all for His glory and that’s hopefully what the people will remember….not the song or the singer. Love that church, after many of the people gave hugs and kisses…many “Bienvenidos” and “Dios le Bendiga’s”….I’m pretty sure I was more encouraged than an encouragement, they have such beautiful hearts.
Later in the evening we met up with the young people from that community church at the park to hang out. We FINALLY got to play soccer!!! It was sooo fun! It was tough because it was dark, so it was difficult to not only see the ball but also the people! Haha A few times Laurie, being the amazing aggressive soccer player she is, accidentally stole the ball from someone on our own team….haha….like I said it was difficult to see faces, and we had juussst met most of them. They were very nice and encouraging new amigos! Also, another very special thing happened this night, we were invited to join in celebrating Samuel’s birthday at his house (Samuel one of our students from last week, and the photographer of most of my pictures haha).
We were welcomed into the house with lots of hugs, kisses (from little Daniel, such a doll!!) and a delicious bowl of mole with pollo y arroz (chicken and rice). Their house was half dirt, half concrete with a couple rugs to cover the dirt part. They had a one room house with two twin beds squished together for their four kids and a double bed for the parents, a microwave, an oven, a small spot in the back for their chickens, rooster and hens, and blankets hung up to separate their house from the neighbors (this actually came in handy!). The next door neighbors kept playing pop/rap music, and little Daniel was dancing for us…he started flashin’ some Michael Jackson moves, sooo cute! (ask me to see the video I took of him, its priceless). And of course, Samuel took my camera and took lots of pictures and videos. Such a beautiful family, they interacted with each other so lovingly, and joked around a lot. In recognizing their situation, it was very generous of them to invite us over for a meal, I am so grateful! Like the verse above expresses, although this family is poor in the world they are definitely rich in their faith. When we came back, I was so sweaty and dirty, I showered immediately and realized what a privilege it was just to be able to shower. I have been praying that the reality of poverty and the humble hearts of these parents we hung out with today never fades with the lifestyle I have back in California.
I’m so thankful for the Serrano family too! They are so sweet, one of my favorite things (if I haven’t mentioned this before) is how they are always giving God the glory. Whenever we thank Tia Betty for a meal, she always replies, “Gracias a Dios”. Fabby is always smiling and so encouraging! Tio Miguel went on a trip for the last couple of days and came back with coffee for Laurie and I to take home! Sweetheart! I’m so blessed! Gloria a Dios!
With Love and Gratitude-
Chels
“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”
Saturday was a big day! We were invited to the communities church on Saturday to preach and sing a song. Laurie did a very very heartfelt speech on John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease”. She had to write a sermon in English and of course translate it into Spanish (with the help of our lovely friends here!) and praise God it went really well!! The Lord spoke through Lo, there were many “Amens!” from our Mexican brothers and sisters! : ) I sang one of my favorite hymns, “I Surrender All” in Spanish! It was fun, its awesome to have an opportunity to sit in the front and listen to the voices of the people sing to our awesome God! Although it makes the heart jump a beat being in front of people, ultimately its all for His glory and that’s hopefully what the people will remember….not the song or the singer. Love that church, after many of the people gave hugs and kisses…many “Bienvenidos” and “Dios le Bendiga’s”….I’m pretty sure I was more encouraged than an encouragement, they have such beautiful hearts.
Later in the evening we met up with the young people from that community church at the park to hang out. We FINALLY got to play soccer!!! It was sooo fun! It was tough because it was dark, so it was difficult to not only see the ball but also the people! Haha A few times Laurie, being the amazing aggressive soccer player she is, accidentally stole the ball from someone on our own team….haha….like I said it was difficult to see faces, and we had juussst met most of them. They were very nice and encouraging new amigos! Also, another very special thing happened this night, we were invited to join in celebrating Samuel’s birthday at his house (Samuel one of our students from last week, and the photographer of most of my pictures haha).
We were welcomed into the house with lots of hugs, kisses (from little Daniel, such a doll!!) and a delicious bowl of mole with pollo y arroz (chicken and rice). Their house was half dirt, half concrete with a couple rugs to cover the dirt part. They had a one room house with two twin beds squished together for their four kids and a double bed for the parents, a microwave, an oven, a small spot in the back for their chickens, rooster and hens, and blankets hung up to separate their house from the neighbors (this actually came in handy!). The next door neighbors kept playing pop/rap music, and little Daniel was dancing for us…he started flashin’ some Michael Jackson moves, sooo cute! (ask me to see the video I took of him, its priceless). And of course, Samuel took my camera and took lots of pictures and videos. Such a beautiful family, they interacted with each other so lovingly, and joked around a lot. In recognizing their situation, it was very generous of them to invite us over for a meal, I am so grateful! Like the verse above expresses, although this family is poor in the world they are definitely rich in their faith. When we came back, I was so sweaty and dirty, I showered immediately and realized what a privilege it was just to be able to shower. I have been praying that the reality of poverty and the humble hearts of these parents we hung out with today never fades with the lifestyle I have back in California.
I’m so thankful for the Serrano family too! They are so sweet, one of my favorite things (if I haven’t mentioned this before) is how they are always giving God the glory. Whenever we thank Tia Betty for a meal, she always replies, “Gracias a Dios”. Fabby is always smiling and so encouraging! Tio Miguel went on a trip for the last couple of days and came back with coffee for Laurie and I to take home! Sweetheart! I’m so blessed! Gloria a Dios!
With Love and Gratitude-
Chels
Friday, August 28, 2009
Life in the Spirit
Galatians 5: 25
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I love this verse! In fact I just love all of Galatians chapter 5. It is all about the freedom we have in Christ! Wow what an encouragement and such a great reminder. Galatians chapter 5:16-26 discusses the life we receive in the Spirit. This is such a great promise that we have.. by living by the Spirit we are no longer slaves to the law or to gratify the sinful nature. Sinful nature and the Spirit are in a constant battle! But (vs. 18) if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the law! Praise Jesus!
Things of the Holy Spirit have been on my mind recently because throughout this trip I have seen first hand the work of the Spirit. Yesterday we spent the first part of our day in the optometry clinic with our American friends. They had a good amount of help with translating but we were still a huge help to them as we helped pass out prescription glasses. I was really thirsty and decided to go into the kitchen to get a drink. In the kitchen was a woman dressed in long sleeve, pants, and an apron washing the dishes. I felt so bad for her cause it was so hot in there I just thought well the best I can do is chat with her a little bit. I started talking to her and of course she was curious why I was in the states, where I was from, etc. I told her I am from California and I am with my friend on a mission trip here. She asked what religion. I told her I am a Christian... (I'm still learning as God shows me that coincidences don't happen in the kingdom... that it is truly divine). She told me she was a Christian as well. She proceeded to tell me many things that the Lord has blessed her with in her life. I asked her if there was anything I could be praying for in her life. She told me her health. I figured we have been praying a lot of healing for people on this trip.. maybe she is ill. I asked her are you sick? She said no but I used to be. I asked her what she used to be sick with. She told me that the Lord had healed her from Diabetes! Praise Jesus! She no longer has diabetes!
Honestly, I truly know this was divine appointment. This was such a huge encouragement to hear this woman's testimony. Chels and I have prayed a lot of healing on this trip... we have not seen any miraculous signs but God is moving big time! I know it! I went on to pray for this woman. I did my same routine where I ask if it is okay if I pray in English because my Spanish is not too great. She of course said yes. I started praying.. and this was very interesting but I was praying in Spanish! Random words in english but random words in spanish. I recognized after that the words I spoke in spanish were important for her to hear to understand. I truly felt that the Spirit was speaking through me to her. After the prayer we shared some words, she was choked up and so excited to tell me that is going to be praying for me and Chels on this trip. This was a woman I wont ever forget and I thank God that set up such a divine appointment.
After the optometry clinic, we went into the community to teach the little ninos. After we were done teaching the kids, one of the moms wanted to take us on a tour of the community. We went to see her house and the rest of the community. In the midst of poverty is where we truly find joy. This seems like such a cliche statement. When we have a lot of "stuff" we will be happy right? Well, maybe.. But let me just say I saw more joy in the hearts and souls of the parents and kids of this community with no "stuff" than I have seen in a long time. I truly believe and as the Bible indicates, the Lord's heart breaks for the poor. God is amongst us all yes of course, I could just see His blatant fingerprints and sensed His presence all over that place. The joy that He places in the hearts of the ninos is so contagious. All I can say is Praise Him!
Laurie
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I love this verse! In fact I just love all of Galatians chapter 5. It is all about the freedom we have in Christ! Wow what an encouragement and such a great reminder. Galatians chapter 5:16-26 discusses the life we receive in the Spirit. This is such a great promise that we have.. by living by the Spirit we are no longer slaves to the law or to gratify the sinful nature. Sinful nature and the Spirit are in a constant battle! But (vs. 18) if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the law! Praise Jesus!
Things of the Holy Spirit have been on my mind recently because throughout this trip I have seen first hand the work of the Spirit. Yesterday we spent the first part of our day in the optometry clinic with our American friends. They had a good amount of help with translating but we were still a huge help to them as we helped pass out prescription glasses. I was really thirsty and decided to go into the kitchen to get a drink. In the kitchen was a woman dressed in long sleeve, pants, and an apron washing the dishes. I felt so bad for her cause it was so hot in there I just thought well the best I can do is chat with her a little bit. I started talking to her and of course she was curious why I was in the states, where I was from, etc. I told her I am from California and I am with my friend on a mission trip here. She asked what religion. I told her I am a Christian... (I'm still learning as God shows me that coincidences don't happen in the kingdom... that it is truly divine). She told me she was a Christian as well. She proceeded to tell me many things that the Lord has blessed her with in her life. I asked her if there was anything I could be praying for in her life. She told me her health. I figured we have been praying a lot of healing for people on this trip.. maybe she is ill. I asked her are you sick? She said no but I used to be. I asked her what she used to be sick with. She told me that the Lord had healed her from Diabetes! Praise Jesus! She no longer has diabetes!
Honestly, I truly know this was divine appointment. This was such a huge encouragement to hear this woman's testimony. Chels and I have prayed a lot of healing on this trip... we have not seen any miraculous signs but God is moving big time! I know it! I went on to pray for this woman. I did my same routine where I ask if it is okay if I pray in English because my Spanish is not too great. She of course said yes. I started praying.. and this was very interesting but I was praying in Spanish! Random words in english but random words in spanish. I recognized after that the words I spoke in spanish were important for her to hear to understand. I truly felt that the Spirit was speaking through me to her. After the prayer we shared some words, she was choked up and so excited to tell me that is going to be praying for me and Chels on this trip. This was a woman I wont ever forget and I thank God that set up such a divine appointment.
After the optometry clinic, we went into the community to teach the little ninos. After we were done teaching the kids, one of the moms wanted to take us on a tour of the community. We went to see her house and the rest of the community. In the midst of poverty is where we truly find joy. This seems like such a cliche statement. When we have a lot of "stuff" we will be happy right? Well, maybe.. But let me just say I saw more joy in the hearts and souls of the parents and kids of this community with no "stuff" than I have seen in a long time. I truly believe and as the Bible indicates, the Lord's heart breaks for the poor. God is amongst us all yes of course, I could just see His blatant fingerprints and sensed His presence all over that place. The joy that He places in the hearts of the ninos is so contagious. All I can say is Praise Him!
Laurie
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Love love love!
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight"
Proverbs 3:5-6
(This is the verse we had the kids memorized today!...in espanol of course!)
Wow, I didnt realize how long it has been since I last blogged!! Sorry, I guess I've got a lot to catch you up on hermanos y hermanas!!
Well since I last blogged I saw another c-section at the hospital!! Soo awesome!! And this week I was in the "Cunera" (nursery, I think is the translation) or "Cuna" for short! There were two babies in the cuna, both days old!! awww so cute huh? Like I mentioned before how there are some big differences between US hospitals and the ones here....well walking into a hospital room in the US we almost always wear gloves. Here, I never ever wear gloves! In fact, I did a TOTAL bath on a baby, wearing no gloves...total bath my friends....sin guantes! Thats a big no-no in the states! haha The babies are sooo precious, its simply unbelievable and definitely a miracle!!
Over the weekend, we attended church in the poorer community! (The same community I left my heart in!) We made plans to come back during the week. So today was our first day there, we will be there tomorrow and friday hopefully! It was such a blast/blessing, God is so good!! We had a class of about 8 kids who were very enthusiastic about learning the alphabet, months of the year, and a couple phrases in english. We also played a fun game they taught us, and hung out for a while. They kept asking what their names were in english and would laugh hysterically when I said it. There was this adorable and super energetic (reminds me of my cute bro....miss my Carson!) little boy, Daniel. He came storming in after our english class, ran up and gave me a huge beso(kiss) on the cheek and kept runnin around the church (wrestling with the other boys, sliding down the aisle, acting like superman...typical little boy action!). We got him to slow down enough for a second to give Laurie a kiss too! ;) And when we held him up to take a picture, he went back and forth between kissing my cheek, then Lauries, mine, Lauries...haha The older girls are so sweet, and all the kids caught on really fast to the english we taught them! But Laurie and I are really nervous, please pray, because they asked us to do special stuff at their service saturday (Lo's giving a message and Im doin a song....scary!!!)I cant wait till tomorrow to share with you more stories!
Also, we went to this clinic people from the US are running to get glasses for Abuelita. While there, they asked if we would come back and help translate. Not sure how much of a help I really am, but its fun anyways...a good healthy challenge! Its so awesome to see first hand how the Lord provides opportunities and opens doors! Laurie knows a lot of Spanish and is an awesome translator! I'm so grateful we are together! Im so encouraged by these wonderful people who are here doing there best to serve the mexican community! The thing I love about all the Mexicans I've met is they pretty much all immediately make you feel welcome, like family! At lunch they of course force-fed us some good grub. AAannndd serenaded us with some fun songs! (a girl cant complain, let me tell you!) Oh! Also, today we got delicious crepas (crapes), Laurie and I were gonna share but they gave us each one. When we asked why they said it was to welcome us, Mexican tradition? Love that tradition! And apparently when someone invites you somewhere they pay for you...if thats the case I think I'm in trouble!
As always, thanks for your prayers hermano's y hermana's!! Im so grateful! God is faithful! :)
Love-
Chels
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight"
Proverbs 3:5-6
(This is the verse we had the kids memorized today!...in espanol of course!)
Wow, I didnt realize how long it has been since I last blogged!! Sorry, I guess I've got a lot to catch you up on hermanos y hermanas!!
Well since I last blogged I saw another c-section at the hospital!! Soo awesome!! And this week I was in the "Cunera" (nursery, I think is the translation) or "Cuna" for short! There were two babies in the cuna, both days old!! awww so cute huh? Like I mentioned before how there are some big differences between US hospitals and the ones here....well walking into a hospital room in the US we almost always wear gloves. Here, I never ever wear gloves! In fact, I did a TOTAL bath on a baby, wearing no gloves...total bath my friends....sin guantes! Thats a big no-no in the states! haha The babies are sooo precious, its simply unbelievable and definitely a miracle!!
Over the weekend, we attended church in the poorer community! (The same community I left my heart in!) We made plans to come back during the week. So today was our first day there, we will be there tomorrow and friday hopefully! It was such a blast/blessing, God is so good!! We had a class of about 8 kids who were very enthusiastic about learning the alphabet, months of the year, and a couple phrases in english. We also played a fun game they taught us, and hung out for a while. They kept asking what their names were in english and would laugh hysterically when I said it. There was this adorable and super energetic (reminds me of my cute bro....miss my Carson!) little boy, Daniel. He came storming in after our english class, ran up and gave me a huge beso(kiss) on the cheek and kept runnin around the church (wrestling with the other boys, sliding down the aisle, acting like superman...typical little boy action!). We got him to slow down enough for a second to give Laurie a kiss too! ;) And when we held him up to take a picture, he went back and forth between kissing my cheek, then Lauries, mine, Lauries...haha The older girls are so sweet, and all the kids caught on really fast to the english we taught them! But Laurie and I are really nervous, please pray, because they asked us to do special stuff at their service saturday (Lo's giving a message and Im doin a song....scary!!!)I cant wait till tomorrow to share with you more stories!
Also, we went to this clinic people from the US are running to get glasses for Abuelita. While there, they asked if we would come back and help translate. Not sure how much of a help I really am, but its fun anyways...a good healthy challenge! Its so awesome to see first hand how the Lord provides opportunities and opens doors! Laurie knows a lot of Spanish and is an awesome translator! I'm so grateful we are together! Im so encouraged by these wonderful people who are here doing there best to serve the mexican community! The thing I love about all the Mexicans I've met is they pretty much all immediately make you feel welcome, like family! At lunch they of course force-fed us some good grub. AAannndd serenaded us with some fun songs! (a girl cant complain, let me tell you!) Oh! Also, today we got delicious crepas (crapes), Laurie and I were gonna share but they gave us each one. When we asked why they said it was to welcome us, Mexican tradition? Love that tradition! And apparently when someone invites you somewhere they pay for you...if thats the case I think I'm in trouble!
As always, thanks for your prayers hermano's y hermana's!! Im so grateful! God is faithful! :)
Love-
Chels
Gracias a Dios!
1 Timothy 1:!2
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to HIS service."
As the end of our trip draws near (one week left!) , the Lord remains faithful to His work! We started out our day by joining our fellow American friends who are running an optometry clinic in town to do our best to help translate for them!! This was a really good learning opportunity for us and helped us practice a lot of our spanish! They are definitely doing some great work over there providing glasses and eye exams to people who can't afford them at regular price. They are also providing sunglasses for the residents here. Because of how strong the sun is, much of the community has problems with their vision. This was a very fun experience for us!
After we finished at the clinic, we came home and prepared our stuff to go into the community today! We were both so excited to get to the community and smother the little ninos with love! Of course I want to sneak one home in my suitcase :) I mean that shouldn't be a problem ... right? ? We taught basic english and played games with them! They love to practice their english, it is really sweet! My heart truly breaks for the community of people living there. My prayer is that the Lord reveals His love to each and every one of them. It really humbles my heart to see their joy and I realize how much I truly have been blessed with in this life. I pray that the Lord continues to humble my heart even as I return to the states.
The Lord is continuing to answer our prayers left and right! Praise Him!
Short Blog tonight! It has just been such a blessing to be here in Mexico with such a sister in Christ as Chelsea :) love her!!!
Thanks for prayers as always. Continue to pray for us as we will be in the community tomorrow and friday we believe!
Dios te Bendiga!
Laurie
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to HIS service."
As the end of our trip draws near (one week left!) , the Lord remains faithful to His work! We started out our day by joining our fellow American friends who are running an optometry clinic in town to do our best to help translate for them!! This was a really good learning opportunity for us and helped us practice a lot of our spanish! They are definitely doing some great work over there providing glasses and eye exams to people who can't afford them at regular price. They are also providing sunglasses for the residents here. Because of how strong the sun is, much of the community has problems with their vision. This was a very fun experience for us!
After we finished at the clinic, we came home and prepared our stuff to go into the community today! We were both so excited to get to the community and smother the little ninos with love! Of course I want to sneak one home in my suitcase :) I mean that shouldn't be a problem ... right? ? We taught basic english and played games with them! They love to practice their english, it is really sweet! My heart truly breaks for the community of people living there. My prayer is that the Lord reveals His love to each and every one of them. It really humbles my heart to see their joy and I realize how much I truly have been blessed with in this life. I pray that the Lord continues to humble my heart even as I return to the states.
The Lord is continuing to answer our prayers left and right! Praise Him!
Short Blog tonight! It has just been such a blessing to be here in Mexico with such a sister in Christ as Chelsea :) love her!!!
Thanks for prayers as always. Continue to pray for us as we will be in the community tomorrow and friday we believe!
Dios te Bendiga!
Laurie
Monday, August 24, 2009
John 3:30
"He must become greater, I must become less"
This verse is so great because it is so simple yet so complex. This is a constant reminder of the goal to which we strive daily as well as on the mission field. We are reminded that through everything we do our goal must be and will always be: He must become greater, WE must become less. Amen!
Hola Amigos!! Time for another blog to catch up on what we have been doing recently! All last week we spent working in the hospital each day. I really have been enjoying this opportunity! God has been so good and provided so many opportunities for us to show His love. Chels and I have been having a great time with our nurse friends (Eunese & Marisol), we love joking around with them and having them help us with our spanish! Over the weekend we were able to attend the church in the poor community nearby. This was great because we got to talk with the pastor at the church and set up days this week when we are going to come to the church to teach english, teach basic healthcare (how to brush teeth, wash hands, etc) and play futbol with the ninos! We are going to start that this wednesday in the afternoon! We both feel very called to this area and cant wait to see what the Lord has prepared for us there.
After church on saturday we went to Starbucks to read and cool off from the heat. As we were waiting to be picked up from Starbucks, we met an American friend! Her name is Tamara and she just moved here from the states with her husband because of his job. She is a fellow hermana en Cristo! Praise God! It was great to meet her because she doesn't speak very much spanish and was feeling a little bit homesick. Not only were we an encouragement to her but she was a definite encouragement to us! Praise God for His perfect timing and the way that He appropriately places people in the right place at exactly the right time! We have gotten to spend time with Tamara and be there with her as her husband works during the day. Her heart is in ministry and we are excited that she is going to join us this week in the poor community! I am definitely beginning to see how things really are not coincidental but part of the divine planning of our King!
Today on our way home from the hospital we dropped abuelita off to get her eye glasses adjusted and totally random but we went inside with her and turns out there was a group of Americans at this gym working with the Lyons Club here giving free eye glasses and eye exams to the public. It turns out that they are having a really hard time with translating and speaking spanish to the community and starting wednesday in the mornings Chels and I are going to go over and (attempt to) help them out! I am just amazed daily by the way that our amazing Creator operates and sets up our work for His Kingdom!
Thanks for your prayers! Please keep the poor community in your prayers this week as we prepare to go out there! We pray that the Lord will open the hearts and ears of the children and adults of this community.
Laurie
"He must become greater, I must become less"
This verse is so great because it is so simple yet so complex. This is a constant reminder of the goal to which we strive daily as well as on the mission field. We are reminded that through everything we do our goal must be and will always be: He must become greater, WE must become less. Amen!
Hola Amigos!! Time for another blog to catch up on what we have been doing recently! All last week we spent working in the hospital each day. I really have been enjoying this opportunity! God has been so good and provided so many opportunities for us to show His love. Chels and I have been having a great time with our nurse friends (Eunese & Marisol), we love joking around with them and having them help us with our spanish! Over the weekend we were able to attend the church in the poor community nearby. This was great because we got to talk with the pastor at the church and set up days this week when we are going to come to the church to teach english, teach basic healthcare (how to brush teeth, wash hands, etc) and play futbol with the ninos! We are going to start that this wednesday in the afternoon! We both feel very called to this area and cant wait to see what the Lord has prepared for us there.
After church on saturday we went to Starbucks to read and cool off from the heat. As we were waiting to be picked up from Starbucks, we met an American friend! Her name is Tamara and she just moved here from the states with her husband because of his job. She is a fellow hermana en Cristo! Praise God! It was great to meet her because she doesn't speak very much spanish and was feeling a little bit homesick. Not only were we an encouragement to her but she was a definite encouragement to us! Praise God for His perfect timing and the way that He appropriately places people in the right place at exactly the right time! We have gotten to spend time with Tamara and be there with her as her husband works during the day. Her heart is in ministry and we are excited that she is going to join us this week in the poor community! I am definitely beginning to see how things really are not coincidental but part of the divine planning of our King!
Today on our way home from the hospital we dropped abuelita off to get her eye glasses adjusted and totally random but we went inside with her and turns out there was a group of Americans at this gym working with the Lyons Club here giving free eye glasses and eye exams to the public. It turns out that they are having a really hard time with translating and speaking spanish to the community and starting wednesday in the mornings Chels and I are going to go over and (attempt to) help them out! I am just amazed daily by the way that our amazing Creator operates and sets up our work for His Kingdom!
Thanks for your prayers! Please keep the poor community in your prayers this week as we prepare to go out there! We pray that the Lord will open the hearts and ears of the children and adults of this community.
Laurie
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Gozo!! (Joy!)
Psalm 16:11
" You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more!"
How do I even begin to describe such an amazing day as today?! Praise Him!! We started out our day at the hospital around 9:30 am. Today we got the amazing opportunity to go to each of the patient's rooms and pray healing for them individually. Coincidentally (or not because God is amazing) the hospital we are working for is missing a chaplain at this time !! So rad to see how God works. We started out just going room to room praying for the patients, we were both filled with Joy as we prayed for them. They all seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the words of encouragement and prayers received. After praying for a certain amount of time we were both kinda feeling heavy on our hearts that our prayers would be sincere and not just words from our mouth of repetition.. We lifted up our prayers for each of our hearts at that time and continued with faith. Seriously about 5 minutes after we prayed.. the last patient that we went to pray for (Elisabeth) was truly a blessing. We walked in to see a lady in her late 60s maybe, bald, and very weak appearance with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Elisabeth has cancer and has already undergone chemotherapy, she is still very sick and has to undergo blood transfusions each month. This woman had more gozo (joy) on her face than I have seen in a very long time. We explained to her like we did all the rooms that we are nursing students from the US and we are here to pray with the patients today. After saying this.. her face and the face of her friend visiting lit up so bright with so much excitement! Chels and I were so encouraged. We talked with her for a while about her family.. She kept telling us that we were a "regalito" (a small gift) because her daughter had just left her and she said that I looked like her daughter! The friend of Elisabeth who was there was also excited because she said that she wasn't planning on visiting until later in the day but something just made her get in the car and come to the hospital. She as well as we truly believe in such a divine appointment! We proceeded to pray for these ladies who were so beautiful and filled with joy even in the midst of so much pain and suffering. They were filled with even more joy and encouragement and we were just so excited to see how powerful the power of prayer and a little love can bring someone.
After this we were finished praying we went to our favorite place to eat (in the garage of a family across the street from the hospital) its called Antojitos Melina! The sweetest most beautiful family lives at this house and runs this restaurant. We ended up talking to our friend Amanda for a while about the difference between religiosity and relationship with Jesus. Interesting that we had this conversation because this has been heavy on my heart for a lot of this trip! After lunch, we still had some time left to work in the hospital. We made our way down to the operating room to help clean utensils and offer our help to the nurses there. When we got down there they told us that they were going to do a C-Section surgery in an hour! We were both so excited because they said we can watch and help with the post op baby care!! (have not even come close to an opportunity such as this in the states!)
The day kept getting better and better! We helped our nurse Eunese get everything ready for the baby in the nursery and then went down stairs to start the surgery! We were able to be inches away from the whole surgery! It was such a beautiful experience!! How amazing truly is the MIRACLE of life.. Sad to say this baby that was born.. was born with downs syndrome and the doctors did not know this before delivery. In the midst of the sadness, we continue to Praise Jesus anyways for the safe delivery because he is a son of the most High!
Thank you all again for continuing to pray... We got the opportunity to visit a very poor community (where we left about half of our hearts) about 5 minutes from the house a few days ago, we are praying and trying to make some plans to start afternoon work after the hospital in this community working with a church over there. Please keep that in your prayers that it would work out and for protection! Thank you!!! Love you guys!
Laurie
" You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more!"
How do I even begin to describe such an amazing day as today?! Praise Him!! We started out our day at the hospital around 9:30 am. Today we got the amazing opportunity to go to each of the patient's rooms and pray healing for them individually. Coincidentally (or not because God is amazing) the hospital we are working for is missing a chaplain at this time !! So rad to see how God works. We started out just going room to room praying for the patients, we were both filled with Joy as we prayed for them. They all seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the words of encouragement and prayers received. After praying for a certain amount of time we were both kinda feeling heavy on our hearts that our prayers would be sincere and not just words from our mouth of repetition.. We lifted up our prayers for each of our hearts at that time and continued with faith. Seriously about 5 minutes after we prayed.. the last patient that we went to pray for (Elisabeth) was truly a blessing. We walked in to see a lady in her late 60s maybe, bald, and very weak appearance with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Elisabeth has cancer and has already undergone chemotherapy, she is still very sick and has to undergo blood transfusions each month. This woman had more gozo (joy) on her face than I have seen in a very long time. We explained to her like we did all the rooms that we are nursing students from the US and we are here to pray with the patients today. After saying this.. her face and the face of her friend visiting lit up so bright with so much excitement! Chels and I were so encouraged. We talked with her for a while about her family.. She kept telling us that we were a "regalito" (a small gift) because her daughter had just left her and she said that I looked like her daughter! The friend of Elisabeth who was there was also excited because she said that she wasn't planning on visiting until later in the day but something just made her get in the car and come to the hospital. She as well as we truly believe in such a divine appointment! We proceeded to pray for these ladies who were so beautiful and filled with joy even in the midst of so much pain and suffering. They were filled with even more joy and encouragement and we were just so excited to see how powerful the power of prayer and a little love can bring someone.
After this we were finished praying we went to our favorite place to eat (in the garage of a family across the street from the hospital) its called Antojitos Melina! The sweetest most beautiful family lives at this house and runs this restaurant. We ended up talking to our friend Amanda for a while about the difference between religiosity and relationship with Jesus. Interesting that we had this conversation because this has been heavy on my heart for a lot of this trip! After lunch, we still had some time left to work in the hospital. We made our way down to the operating room to help clean utensils and offer our help to the nurses there. When we got down there they told us that they were going to do a C-Section surgery in an hour! We were both so excited because they said we can watch and help with the post op baby care!! (have not even come close to an opportunity such as this in the states!)
The day kept getting better and better! We helped our nurse Eunese get everything ready for the baby in the nursery and then went down stairs to start the surgery! We were able to be inches away from the whole surgery! It was such a beautiful experience!! How amazing truly is the MIRACLE of life.. Sad to say this baby that was born.. was born with downs syndrome and the doctors did not know this before delivery. In the midst of the sadness, we continue to Praise Jesus anyways for the safe delivery because he is a son of the most High!
Thank you all again for continuing to pray... We got the opportunity to visit a very poor community (where we left about half of our hearts) about 5 minutes from the house a few days ago, we are praying and trying to make some plans to start afternoon work after the hospital in this community working with a church over there. Please keep that in your prayers that it would work out and for protection! Thank you!!! Love you guys!
Laurie
C-Section what?!
"A joyful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones."
Proverbs 17:22
Being at the hospital the last couple days, the atmosphere is very different! The doctors and nurses have different roles from what we've seen. Yesterday we had an offer to scrub in on a surgery....I've never heard of a nurse doing that in the states! (Hopefully we can take him up on that offer soon!) Yesterday, we also discovered a new delicious place to eat, across the street from the hospital (Antojitos Melina)! A mother runs it, two of her three gorgeous daughters help out when they can, and their house is attached to the shop (Actually the shop is in their garage). We got to sit and chat with them for a long while, they made fun of me how I cant understand them...whats new ;D...and even wouldnt let us pay for the delicious food! Needless to say we went back today for lunch, I have a feeling it will be a daily thing of eating and having great conversation!
Today we walked around the hospital and prayed with all the patients. The hospital is so small, about 30 rooms total, so we went from room to room praying with every patient there...Im kinda liking the small hospital :) It went well, but by room 29, Laurie and I were feeling mentally and physically exhausted. In fact we were tempted to skip the last room (secret, dont tell!), but we knocked on the door and walked in to pray for Elizabeth anyways. Walking in we had no idea were walking into what I like to call a "God thing". After we explained who we were and what we were doing, they all three kept saying (almost in unison), how beautiful...how beautiful, praise God, God bless you, over and over! Elizabeth, who was sick in the bed, explained how we were a gift from God because not only was she encouraged by us offering prayer, but also because Laurie looks like her daughter who had to go on a trip two days ago! Also, we learned that one of the ladies was not going to even visit, but just decided last minute to pack up and come be with her friend in the hospital. We all prayed together, in different languages but with one heart. Elizabeth is Proverbs 17:22 in the human form. It was obvious her physical health was not up to par, but she had such a positive attitude it was definitely contagious! I was so blown away at what a gift this was. Laurie and I kept thanking God for these women! Just as we were about to give up because we felt empty....Jesus sent us these three amazing women of God to encourage our hearts and rejuvenate our minds! Gracias a Dios!
After our seriously tasty pollo quesadillas y tacos with our new hermana Amanda at "Antojitos Melina", we headed to the surgery department (since we had finished praying with all the patients) When we walked in to help our buds at surgery they said there was going to be a Cesarean section in a few hours and we were welcome to watch if we wanted. Not only that but we were offered to follow the doctor up and see how they fix up the baby! Are you kidding me?? Crazy!!! Such a blast! I held the moms hand as they gave her an epidural, and saw them pull the little blue baby out of her stomach...haha. Loved it! I dont know if this is the same in the states, but we had 4 doctors in the room and one nurse! Seemed like a lot to me! :) They were very efficient and extremely welcoming to us! The doctors actually engage in conversation with us, and are very sweet! We finished the day off going back to "Antojitos Melina" and got our favorite treat "Delit"! As exhausted as I am, Im so thankful I cant even tell you! What a beautiful day filled with wonderful experiences. God is so good I dont deserve Him!
Love you all, thanks for your prayers....Id love to be praying for you so please send your prayer requests my way via email!
Dios le Bendiga!
Proverbs 17:22
Being at the hospital the last couple days, the atmosphere is very different! The doctors and nurses have different roles from what we've seen. Yesterday we had an offer to scrub in on a surgery....I've never heard of a nurse doing that in the states! (Hopefully we can take him up on that offer soon!) Yesterday, we also discovered a new delicious place to eat, across the street from the hospital (Antojitos Melina)! A mother runs it, two of her three gorgeous daughters help out when they can, and their house is attached to the shop (Actually the shop is in their garage). We got to sit and chat with them for a long while, they made fun of me how I cant understand them...whats new ;D...and even wouldnt let us pay for the delicious food! Needless to say we went back today for lunch, I have a feeling it will be a daily thing of eating and having great conversation!
Today we walked around the hospital and prayed with all the patients. The hospital is so small, about 30 rooms total, so we went from room to room praying with every patient there...Im kinda liking the small hospital :) It went well, but by room 29, Laurie and I were feeling mentally and physically exhausted. In fact we were tempted to skip the last room (secret, dont tell!), but we knocked on the door and walked in to pray for Elizabeth anyways. Walking in we had no idea were walking into what I like to call a "God thing". After we explained who we were and what we were doing, they all three kept saying (almost in unison), how beautiful...how beautiful, praise God, God bless you, over and over! Elizabeth, who was sick in the bed, explained how we were a gift from God because not only was she encouraged by us offering prayer, but also because Laurie looks like her daughter who had to go on a trip two days ago! Also, we learned that one of the ladies was not going to even visit, but just decided last minute to pack up and come be with her friend in the hospital. We all prayed together, in different languages but with one heart. Elizabeth is Proverbs 17:22 in the human form. It was obvious her physical health was not up to par, but she had such a positive attitude it was definitely contagious! I was so blown away at what a gift this was. Laurie and I kept thanking God for these women! Just as we were about to give up because we felt empty....Jesus sent us these three amazing women of God to encourage our hearts and rejuvenate our minds! Gracias a Dios!
After our seriously tasty pollo quesadillas y tacos with our new hermana Amanda at "Antojitos Melina", we headed to the surgery department (since we had finished praying with all the patients) When we walked in to help our buds at surgery they said there was going to be a Cesarean section in a few hours and we were welcome to watch if we wanted. Not only that but we were offered to follow the doctor up and see how they fix up the baby! Are you kidding me?? Crazy!!! Such a blast! I held the moms hand as they gave her an epidural, and saw them pull the little blue baby out of her stomach...haha. Loved it! I dont know if this is the same in the states, but we had 4 doctors in the room and one nurse! Seemed like a lot to me! :) They were very efficient and extremely welcoming to us! The doctors actually engage in conversation with us, and are very sweet! We finished the day off going back to "Antojitos Melina" and got our favorite treat "Delit"! As exhausted as I am, Im so thankful I cant even tell you! What a beautiful day filled with wonderful experiences. God is so good I dont deserve Him!
Love you all, thanks for your prayers....Id love to be praying for you so please send your prayer requests my way via email!
Dios le Bendiga!
Monday, August 17, 2009
God is good!
Hola Hermanos y Hermanas!
Today, I left mi corazon (heart) in a community we went to today! We went to drop off hand-me-down clothes, old toys and bedding (etc) at a church in a poorer community across the river. It never fails to shock me the gentle giving hearts of those who are less privileged than us Americans. I hardly sacrificed anything, and these people kept thanking us, calling us hermanas (sisters), wanted to pray over Laurie and I (ya...couldn't hold myself together during the prayer), as well as inviting us back to their church!! I was moved when they talked about how they wanted to help an even poorer community farther down the road (they said we were standing in a "middle class" community, but in all honesty I thought it was the ghetto of mexico). Its hard to put into words how my heart felt, so full of life I just wanted to hang out and speak spanglish with these beautiful people the rest of the evening! Not to say rich people cant do AWESOME things for Jesus too(God uses everyone)...but theres something special about people who are not only content with having almost nothing, but have the love of Jesus twinkling in their eye. To me, they are the hands and feet of Jesus, "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me" Jesus said in Matthew. I wish everyone could experience what its like to give tangible things and receive so much more in return; I know if I could always remember what this feels like Id be much more content!
This morning we also got to volunteer at the hospital for the first time! I was in surgery today. It was difficult because the nurses I was with didnt speak any english at all. After saying "no entiendo" (I dont understand) and "no se" (I dont know) repeatedly all day....I started nodding like I understood what they were saying. haha I dont recommend this, because when you answer si/no for everything....even the questions requiring a real answer, you feel dumber in the end. I got to see two surgeries (inguinal hernia repair and removal of a knee tumor). A couple weeks ago I met a man at church who is a doctor, and both his sons are doctors. Today I saw him and he acted as though we had known each other our whole lives...then I got to watch all three of them do a surgery together! Love the people here! Im also excited to hang out with Lauries sweet nurse Euince...shes offered to show us some good grub around town tomorrow!! Im so thankful for this opportunity at the hospital, what an answer to prayer!!
Thanks for all the prayers, Im so blessed to serve such an amazing God! Our God is not a dead God, and he not only hears but answers prayer! :) Gloria a Dios!!!
In Love-
Chels
Today, I left mi corazon (heart) in a community we went to today! We went to drop off hand-me-down clothes, old toys and bedding (etc) at a church in a poorer community across the river. It never fails to shock me the gentle giving hearts of those who are less privileged than us Americans. I hardly sacrificed anything, and these people kept thanking us, calling us hermanas (sisters), wanted to pray over Laurie and I (ya...couldn't hold myself together during the prayer), as well as inviting us back to their church!! I was moved when they talked about how they wanted to help an even poorer community farther down the road (they said we were standing in a "middle class" community, but in all honesty I thought it was the ghetto of mexico). Its hard to put into words how my heart felt, so full of life I just wanted to hang out and speak spanglish with these beautiful people the rest of the evening! Not to say rich people cant do AWESOME things for Jesus too(God uses everyone)...but theres something special about people who are not only content with having almost nothing, but have the love of Jesus twinkling in their eye. To me, they are the hands and feet of Jesus, "whatever you did for the least of these, you did for me" Jesus said in Matthew. I wish everyone could experience what its like to give tangible things and receive so much more in return; I know if I could always remember what this feels like Id be much more content!
This morning we also got to volunteer at the hospital for the first time! I was in surgery today. It was difficult because the nurses I was with didnt speak any english at all. After saying "no entiendo" (I dont understand) and "no se" (I dont know) repeatedly all day....I started nodding like I understood what they were saying. haha I dont recommend this, because when you answer si/no for everything....even the questions requiring a real answer, you feel dumber in the end. I got to see two surgeries (inguinal hernia repair and removal of a knee tumor). A couple weeks ago I met a man at church who is a doctor, and both his sons are doctors. Today I saw him and he acted as though we had known each other our whole lives...then I got to watch all three of them do a surgery together! Love the people here! Im also excited to hang out with Lauries sweet nurse Euince...shes offered to show us some good grub around town tomorrow!! Im so thankful for this opportunity at the hospital, what an answer to prayer!!
Thanks for all the prayers, Im so blessed to serve such an amazing God! Our God is not a dead God, and he not only hears but answers prayer! :) Gloria a Dios!!!
In Love-
Chels
Praise Him!
Romans 15:13
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you TRUST in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit."
Today was a great day! I want to start off by saying Thank you so much to all of you who are praying continually for us... its working! God is so good! He is totally answering prayers left and right and He deserves all of our praise for his divine intervention!
Yesterday, we went to the local hospital to talk to the head of all the nurses to see if we could volunteer and work with the nurses. We had some connections thanks to Miguel (thank you so much!) They were really excited to have us come work with them! We started today! Today I worked with the neonates (newborns) it was so fun! I followed around one nurse (Eunese) who really showed me the ropes! She was a great worker and I really got to learn a lot! We gave the babies baths and changed all of their linens and clothes. It was a great opportunity! As I held each individual baby I felt like God was speaking to my heart to pray for each one of them and commit them to the Lord. Praise God for awesome opportunities such as these! While I was working with the newborns Eunese (the nurse who was teaching me) refused to speak any english to me even though she knew some! This was a challenge at first but i actually really appreciated it because this definitely helped me learn quick and stay on my toes. She was such a sweetheart! Chels and I are meeting up with her tomorrow before we start work again because she wants to show us all the different food from Tabasco! We are pretty excited!
The plan is from here on out working at the hospital every day during the week and possibly also starting some english classes in the evening. Thank you again & Keep Praying! Love you guys!
Laurie
Friday, August 14, 2009
Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord!
Isaiah 40:31
"But those who WAIT on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."
The Everlasting God
"Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord, we will wait upon the Lord. Our God, you reign forever, our hope, our strong Deliverer. You are the everlasting God, the everlasting God, you do not faint, you wont grow weary!"
So we decided to split the blog up so we each write a part... here we go. We both want to apologize for not keeping up with writing this... we have been going through a lot trying to figure out what we are going to do while we are here.
Hi guys!!! The last several days have been really interesting... We have been spending a lot of time in prayer trying to find out what God wants us to do while we are here. Initially as most of you know, we were going to teach english.. Well that kinda fell through and it looks like that is not going to happen anymore! It was a bummer at first but honestly both Chels and I are flexible and open to do whatever the Lord wants us to do while we are here. We have gotten great opportunity to spend a lot of time in prayer for friends back at home and people we have come into contact with here. Chels and I listened to a series on the book of Ruth by Pastor Mark Driscoll, it was a great series and we learned alot from it (its called Redeeming Ruth on the Mars Hills website). I have also had a great opportunity to read some great books recommended to me (Just Do Something by Kevin De Young and The Gospel and Personal Evangelism by Mark Dever). Check them out! Last night we went to the local park and had the opportunity to pray with people there, eat some yummy yogurt, and get a good work out in! Praise God for the opportunities that we had.
Something that we are going to check out today is a local hospital to see if we can help the nurses and offer up prayer for the patients. There are many stories I could tell on here but I will save them for when I get home! Some discouragement has run our way, but the Lord is so faithful and we are in His hands as we wait upon Him. Please lift us up in prayer! Thanks!!! Dios te bendiga!
En Cristo,
Laurie
Our God is an AWESOME God, He Reigns! The last five days have been less eventful than we expected, and yesterday was probably our roughest day. We have been a little discouraged about not being out in the community serving. But looking back on them, Laurie and I had some precious time together, and with the family. Even though we have not been doing what we expected, I know it's all in Gods plan and His timing. We have had more time in prayer than I think I've had in my whole life ;) (not really)....and its been wonderful listening to online sermons together and reading some great books (shout out to Irresistable Revolution!)
Last evening we were able to finally make it out to the park! We got to run (goodness knows we need the exercise after all these yummy carbs), pray together, eat some yogurt that definitely gives Yogurtland a run for its money (check out delit.com.mx its frozen yogurt mixed with fresh fruit....my mom would love this!! :D) and lastly and more importantly we prayed with some people at the park! It seems that most the people we talked to are Catholic. Its a bummer we are not more fluent in Spanish so we could chat more in depth with them about Jesus....but hopefully praying with them and for them will at the very least stir up questions in their corazons!
We are really looking forward to an opportunity for serving in the "Hospital del Sureste" that our wonderful friend Mickey (Miguel) has dug up for us! God answers prayers! Gloria a Dios! Thanks so much for your prayers, keep prayin for Gods wisdom for Laurie and I!
Dios le Bendiga-
Chels
P.S.- The hormigas are gone at this point! GONE! hopefully for good! hahaha.. Praise the Lord!
unless they all died in chelsea's computer or are dormant while forming a new colony.. hmmm sneaky little pests!
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Japones!
Matthew 7:7-8
"Ask and it will be given to you; Seek and you will find; knock and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened."
Today was yet another great day! We started out the day in church with our Mexican family. The verse for today is an answer to prayer from our last blog. At the end of the last blog we asked for prayer for divine interventions while we wait to begin our work. God totally answered those prayers today.... TWICE! After church when we were waiting to get into the car, everyone was outside talking. A lady came up to Laurie and was in great distress. Laurie asked her what was wrong but couldn't understand what she was saying. This was a great opportunity for us to pray for her. At first when Laurie asked, she said no she didn't want any prayer but then when Tia Betty asked her she said yes she wanted prayer. We formed a group around her and we prayed for emotional healing because she was in such great distress. Afterwards we took her to the hospital cafeteria to eat something and when asked she told us she was doing better and was grateful for the prayers. Praise God!
After this we went back to the house for some lunch. We ate together and fellowshiped. During this time of rest... we had a great time killing and destroying all of the hormigas (ants) who have been habitating in Chelsea's computer for the last few days. (When I say we enjoyed... I mean Laurie enjoyed laughing at Chelsea trying to kill all those pesky ants). What is funny... is they have been crawling out of her computer all day long... still coming out as we speak! There must be hundreds living inside of there! So after we sprayed all the little ants.. We had to clean them all up so we found Tia Betty and Laurie was trying to ask her for a broom. She was doing sign language to explain broom while shouting "alfombra" because she thought it meant broom... Tia Betty looked very confused... and then Laurie looked up "alfombra" to realize that it meant rug.. no wonder Tia Betty was so confused!
Before church at night we walked to a cafe close to the house to enjoy some coffee! Muy rico (delicious)! After church we went to eat dinner and take a walk at the park. At the park is where we came upon divine intervention #2. We were walking around the kids park trying to burn off all these tortillas we have been consuming and out of no where this little girl just came right up to us and started talking to us. We quickly struck up conversation with her and her brother and asked them if they believed in God. The brother laughed at us and said no he didn't. Through some broken spanish we tried to ask the questions why he didn't but he was uninterested. Although we left broken hearted both of us felt that the Lord truly placed these kids in our path to plant that seed that He will continue to water. We will definitely keep praying for them (Cielo & Jose). We look forward to many more God moments as the trip progresses and want to thank everyone who is praying for us! After these experiences we are fully convinced that the Lord will continue to answer if we simply just ask in faith. May this verse resonate loudly among us on this trip.
Laurie & Chelsea
P.S. Japones means Japonese in spanish and we just decided its a really fun word to say and have been saying it all day!
(Ha-POH-NES!)
Friday, August 7, 2009
Te extranamos! (We miss you!)
Psalm 103:1-5
"Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the Lord, oh my soul, and forget not all His benefits, who forgives all your iniquity, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, who satisfies you with good so that your youth is renewed like the eagles."
best part of the night.... we got a a great picture with our favorite lady ever... Abuelita!
Please pray for divine appointments... even as we wait for our work to begin! :)
Laurie & Chelsea
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Lagartija! lizard!!!!
Proverbs 31:25
"Strength and dignity are her clothing, and she laughs at the time to come."
This verse spoke to us today as we had a great day full of laughter and bonding with our familia.
Laurie & Chelsea
p.s. We love you and miss you jodes
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Sudamos y Comimos (We are sweating and eating) :) :)
Ephesians 4:4-6
" There is one body and one Spirit- just as you were called to one hope when you were called- one Lord, one faith, one baptism, one God, and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all."
This verse spoke to us when reading it because we are continuing to realize how God conquers cultural barriers and He is still sovereign and holy as one Body and one Spirit!
We have been more than blessed, especially our stomachs :) This morning we woke up to a great breakfast with oatmeal and fruit... then as we stuffed ourselves with that Tia Betty brought out tortillas with beans (enfrijoladas)! tortillas y frijoles con todo! We left the house to go find a classroom that we are going to be teaching at. On the way to these places we got a grand tour of Villahermosa in our "cheyenne." We went to two different places to teach at but had no luck finding the directors to talk to. We went to a market to buy bread and groceries for dinner and got a delicious coffee treat to cool down. The theme of this blog is sudamos which means we are sweating.. this is a common term used around here because we are in a constant state of sweat a.k.a hace much humido! When we got back from the store we placed our goods up in our room only later to come find out everything in our room was infested with pequeno hormigas (baby ants)! Later we ate dinner with the family and then headed out to church for the night! After church we had our first taste of horchata! Once we got back to the house we had a great opportunity to talk with Tia Betty about praying for patients at the hospital. She had a beautiful testimony of a healing that took place through the power of prayer. She is so sweet and very encouraging! We cant wait to get to the hospitals to minister to the patients!
Gloria a Dios (Praise God)
Laurie and Chelsea
p.s. those red tags in our picture are our welcome pin from the church... as if we dont stick out enough already!
Tuesday, August 4, 2009
Estamos aqui!
Psalms 95:1-7
"Come let us sing for joy to the Lord, let us shout aloud to the rock of our salvation. Let us come before Him with thanksgiving and extol Him with song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the Earth, and the mountain peaks belong to Him. The sea is His for He made it and His hands formed the dry land. Come let us bow down and worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for He is our God and we are the people of His pasture, the flock under His care."
Welcome to our Blog for our trip to Mexico! We cant even express how much the Lord has already begun to bless this trip for us. Thank you for all your prayers for safe travel! We started out with a rocky start beginning at LAX airport. We arrived with all 6 pieces of our luggage to the xray station only to discover that nobody else had any of their luggage... So we sprinted back to the check in with all of our luggage and the Mexicana airline attendant just told us to put it behind some sketchy wall... We quickly caught on to the laid back lifestyle of the Mexican culture! We got on the airplane and quickly passed out from exhaustion for the whole flight :) We got into Mexico City at like 7 am mexico time and had a quick layover until our connecting flight. At this point, we are sticking out like sore thumbs and stuck with all the rest of the Americans at the airport. We arrived at Villahermosa with a warm (literally) welcome from our host family. The city is very beautiful, very green! Its really humid and hot but we are having fun with low maintenance care. We got a good opportunity to fellowship and eat lunch with our family here and get to know them better. They are awesome. We went to the church at night for service and attempted to understand as much as possible! We are praying to quickly get past that stage of frustration of learning a new language! Our family is very patient with us :)
Thanks for all the prayers
Dios te Bendiga!
Laurie and Chelsea
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