our Abba is so good to us.
we have been in Guatemala for almost two weeks now and already I have seen first hand the Love of Jesus. whether that be in the midst of doing ministry, eating meals with the entire squad, during worship, on activation days, or simply being in the Word and in His presence.
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the presence of the Holy Spirit is so evident here. you could feel it the minute we stepped off the plane that God has blessed this country. you can see it through the beauty of HIS creation: it is green and luscious and there are SO many flowers – i have taken so many pictures of flowers because you can see the intricacies and intentionality He had in creating just a simple flower. wow!
psalm 8:1&3-4 :: “Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth! You have set your glory in the heavens…When I consider your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars, which you have set in place, what is mankind that you are mindful of them, human beings that you care for them?”
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you can see it through HIS people: Guatemalans are quite possibly the kindest and caring individuals I have ever met. you could say “buenos!” or “como estas?” (good morning, afternoon, evening) (how are you?) to anyone and they would immediately look at you with a smile – most likely because it’s a gringa (white girl) trying her best to converse in Spanish – ha! they are also so selfless – they would drop – quite literally – anything to help you. they work so stinking hard their entire lives to provide for their families, from sunrise to sunset. it shows how easy we have it in America, and how blessed we are that we can have time to be kids and not have to worry about providing financially for your family at 5 years old.
there is something that the church in the States is missing about having to fully rely on the Lord in ALL things. sure we tell the Lord that we trust in His timing relating to relationships, work, or that we get a 100% on a test. or whether the live-stream of service will work or that the sound system won’t be messed up next Sunday. these people trust that the Lord will provide 5 quetzals (0.64 USD) from work that day to feed a family of 6. yet, the peace and joy of the Holy Spirit is so evident in them – they know that whatever happens, He is still good.
“All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need… They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people” (Acts 2:44-47a).
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our team’s ministry hosts in Itzapa demonstrate this love for the Lord so well. they’ve sacrificed their home for their school that they started three years ago, and have continually thanked the Lord for how He has blessed and provided for their ministry. they have also done so much for us – they provided a full meal for us and even did a fun snack game where we tried all the different types of chips from a tienda (basically a mini store) – both of which most likely cost a lot for them! their selflesness demonstrates the love Christ showed for us and also the love that Jesus and the disciples showed during His ministry. they’ve shared with us that if they didn’t have the financial support from their supporters in the States, that they wouldn’t be able to do this ministry that is doing such amazing things!
recently, they just finished art classes that they were having every Thursday and Saturday and put an art exhibition for the parents and students which was VERY successful! they are now going to start providing English classes on Wednesdays and Saturdays and start fundraising for a VBS – all happening in their home. this family is such an inspiration to me, when I think of them, I think about and clearly see the love of Jesus.
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the Lord has been giving me His heart and His eyes lately, which has helped so much in my relationship and growth in faith. it’s grown my child-like faith that is so scarce in this world nowadays and I’ve been able to experience TRUE joy. something I learned yesterday is that we ARE worthy of His love (read 1 John 4:7-21 to understand more about our deserving of His love). He’s shown me that people want to know who I really am, that vulnerability leads to growth – in my identity through Him and it shows the imperfection of humanity. through my imperfections, He takes it and makes it beautiful through His care and love, his perfection and grace.
also, getting into the Word and learning what His character is (it has been the same throughout the ages) and your identity in Him, helps combat the lies the enemy places in your head. we have been doing deep dives into Luke 4 (if you’ve never studied that passage – do it! it reveals so much about how to combat the enemy!) and it has been so eye opening to me in how the enemy operates. knowing Scripture helps you know the power you have over the enemy and also who you are in Christ. it’s also a way that He communicates with you – Scripture is God spoken. it’s literally the words of Jesus – so cool! get into the Word, know how He speaks and it will be 100% easier to identify when He is speaking to you!
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to those back home reading this in the comfort of their homes, work or even at church, I ask you to stop and thank the Lord for all that He has done for you. if you need to, get down on your knees and thank God that He has blessed you with so much. but then I challenge you to ask the Lord to show you how you can live more like Him, how He can make you uncomfortable in the ways that you are living comfortably. how you can be more Christ-like to those around you and live completely under His Will and His direction. because when you do, it’s absolutely beautiful 🙂
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own” (Matthew 6:33-34).
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AUDREY!! This is Awesome!!! So glad you’ve been a regular on B-plot lately!!