Your love remains

Dios sabe

2012-02-11T19:10:00.000-08:00

Dios sabe means God knows and I have been repeating this phase over and over to myself this past month and a half. As I wrote before there have been a lot of aburpt changes with having to move and stuff like that and the other big thing that I've really had to keep handing over to the Lord is my visa situation, as some of you know I've had quite the time with trying to get my stuff all together in order to apply for residency. We'll I still haven't gotten the permission to stay in the country from the El Salvadorean goverment in order to complete the process of applying for residency, so what that means is I have until tuesday night to get the extention or I have to leave the country for 72 hours and go to Costa Rica or the States in order to get a new tourist visa and as I have been looking into flights, flying to Costa Rica is almost as expensive as flying back to the States, so as you could imagine I've been a bit worried about this, especially since if you know me I always like to get things done before they are due and I am always early for things if I am in control of it. However, in the midst of all of this I've have this deep seeded peace and that soft whisper saying Dios sabe, meaning that God knows how he is going to work this all out and that worrying isn't going to solve anything. It times like these when situations like this I'm so thankful that Dios sabe when I don't. I am going to the immigration office Monday morning to ask for my extension, so pray that this all goes well but most importantly that I would just continue not to get super anxious or worry about this situation and continue to just trust that Dios sabe and if I have to leave again to go to the States or Costa Rica, Dios sabe why I need to leave, because God has a perfect and flawless plan for everything in my life and even in those times when I can't see where I am going I know that I can confidently rest in the fact that Dios sabe y Dios es en control!

First week at the Center and Tremors

2012-02-06T17:02:00.000-08:00

Hey all! Last week was our first week back up at the Center and it was great to see all the kids again. Not all the children came last week because they were still getting use to going back to school so they didn't come. Overall, it was a great week and the Lord really blessed! Here are some pics from the first week.

Another thing that has happened the past couple weeks has been that I have felt my first earthquake tremors. We have had three really strong and kinda long tremors in the past three weeks. I have never experienced a tremor before that and I have to say that it is for sure a weird feeling to just feel everything shake. I'm hoping I don't actually experience a real earthquake but people here are saying that since we've had three big tremors in the past three weeks there is a huge chance that there will be an earthquake soon, so we'll just have to wait and see.

More waiting and trusting

2012-02-02T15:28:00.000-08:00

It's been a little over a week and wow how things can change and happen especially here in San Salvador. If there is one big thing that I have learned about the culture is that things can change on the dime and you just have to get use to it. Praise God that I moved many times when I was younger so I can adjust to change and for the most part I am a very chill person so when things change I can just go with it.

This past week has really lead me to just continue trusting and waiting on the Lord more and more each and every day. In the past week God has put some circumstances in my life here in El Salvador that I really don't have a lot of control over and he has really challenged me to just continue trusting him but also to not worry about all these things (phil. 4:6-7) and to remember that no matter what is happening or what ever happens he has EVERYTHING under control.

Some things that I've been really waiting on the Lord and trusting him to provide are a building for the church here in San Salvador. We were told a couple weeks ago that the place where we have been renting to have our services is no longer going to let us rent there and we have till the end of Feb. to find a new place (remember things can change out of no where). So please be praying for this and also be praying for a location that we are seriously considering and it would be great for the church but we are praying to see if this is God's will and if we can raise the money for the new place. Another of the big things is regarding housing here. As many of you know I've been so blessed to be living with the Turcios family since I have been here and it's been such a blessing. The thing is that the people who the Turcios rent the house from also came last week (last week just wasn't a week filled with great news) and told us that the owners of the house wanted to move back and we have to move and be out of the house by May (I praise God that they at least gave us some time!). So this can be kind of stressful but I ask that you all be praying that we continue to just wait for the Lord to provide that perfect house that He already has picked out for us and that we would just continue to trust him in this.

The last two things that have really been on my mind and in and through them God has been teaching me more about waiting and trusting in are about my trial of trying to get residency here and a big decision I have about my time here in San Salvador. I won't go into to much detail now because I don't have a ton of time but I will give you the quicky version but I would so appreciate if you all could be praying! As some of you know I've already had problems with getting some of my documents in order to apply for temporary residency here in El Salvador and on Tuesday that hit another snag and lead to a little bit of frustration. I went to the immigration office on Tues to get permision to stay in the country longer while I was getting all may official stuff that I need in order to apply for residency, however they did not give me permision (big yuck duck) because they want even more information than what they had originally told me. I only have 12 more days before my visa is up here and so if I don't get all the paperwork that I need and they don't approve my extension I will have to go out of the country for 3 days (which most likely means to Costa Rica, because El Salvador has a pact with the 3 countries surrounding it were you can travel freely between the four without needed a new visa but to get a new visa you need to go outside of those countries and then re-enter. So please be praying for this situation and pray that everything falls together whether I can get all my documents and the extention or not but that I would be able to continue my time serving here in El Salvador. As I mentioned before I've really been praying and seeking advice about a certain decision (a pretty big one, if you want to know specifics, email me, Skype and I'll tell ya) I have to make regarding my time here in El Salvador. Seeking the Lord's will in this decison for sure has no doubt brought me closer to the Lord! So please be praying for desernment and wisdom as I see the Lord's will in this decision.

Well I think that is it for the most part, sorry for such a long post but I wanted to bring you all up to speed. We have however started classes back up at the Center, Monday this week was our first full day. I will post more soon and it will include some pics of the adorable children at the Center!

Adios!

La Dulce Espera

2012-01-25T10:48:00.000-08:00

Iglesia Gran Comision San Salvador and the staff of the church everyday publish a devotional on a specific Bible verse. They have been wonderful and so encouraging. Last week Sarah who is on staff here and is also the other missionary from the States here wrote an excellent devocional on waiting for the Lord to answer our prayers.

In the devotional she talks about how we all want God to answer our prayers or we are waiting on him for an answer. God answers our prayers if they are in line with will and God usually gives one of three answers, yes, no or wait. She talks about how the most difficult response is wait and I totally agree with her, I would rather God say yes or no than wait. Over the past couple years I've had to learn to wait for God to respond to some of my prayers but He has told me to wait and I really don't like waiting and most of the time I dread the time spent waiting. In this devotional Sarah talks about how God uses this time of waiting for our good and that we should enjoy this week time of waiting. It was such a good reminder that sometimes waiting is the best thing for us even when we want a answer right away and how we should not be upset and say God's not answering my prayers but instead we should enjoy this sweet time of waiting on the Lord...La Dulce Espera.

For those of you who can speak Spanish below is the link to the devocional.

http://lecturadevocional.com/2012/01/14/la-dulce-esperaisaias-4031/

One Thing Remains

2012-01-21T13:19:00.000-08:00

I've had this song on repeat all week. It's been so reassuring that the LORD is always there. I especially love the verse where it says "Higher than the mountains that I face,Stronger than the power of the grave, Constant in the trial and the change, One thing... Remains" Sometimes I just need that reminder that through everything that I go through, he is constant through trails and changes!

On the other hand I have to say that sometimes its just the small things in life that make me smile...this week Lesley sent me some more sweatshirts for the children that didn't receive one during our Christmas celebration and with that she sent bubble wrap. I love bubble wrap!! I know it may be a bit strange but I got really excited when I saw it :)

Bring me Back

2012-01-16T12:36:00.000-08:00

"Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope:Because of the LORD’s great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;therefore I will wait for him.”- Lamentations 3:21-24

I've been meditating on this verse over the past week or so and God has been just speaking to me so much. I also came across this new Steele Croswhite song and I've had it on repeat pretty much all week, it's called me Bring Me Back and I love it and I hope you enjoy it too!

The Start of 2012

2012-01-12T08:02:00.000-08:00

It's been a little while since I have I last blogged, things have been a bit busy here. We have been doing lots of planning for 2012 and getting more sponsors for the children at the center as well as celebrating the New Year here in El Salvador.

On December 30th we took the children of the Center on a hike up to El Boqueron national park. The park is actually located on the volcan where El Guayabo is located. Inside this park is where the crater of the volcano is located. We started our hike out at the Center and hiked all the way up to the park, which took about 45min. Once we got to the park we headed up to see the crater. It was pretty cool to see, the crater is located in a valley type area. They said that you can actually hike down to the crater, but it's dangerous and lot of people get lost, so we stuck with viewing it from above. It was a great site to see and the view of San Salvador and the surrounding areas were beautiful. It was also a great little field trip for the children of the Center, because although this park is located on the volcano many of them had never been to this park, because it costs money to enter (a sweet God thing was that we were able to get everyone into the park for free because Silvia and I simply went a few days before to the office and asked if they would give us free admission and they did, it was sweet!!).View of the crater of the volcano.
Margarita and Claudia in front of the crater viewing area.
Some of the Children and I at the small museum at the El Boqueron national park.
The view from El Boqueron national park. You can see the city of San Salvador and another volcano( I forgot the name of the volcano) Beautiful view of God's amazing creation!!
Hiking up to El Boqueron National Park.

The other big thing that I have been working on is getting children from the Center sponsored by people and planning things for the Center in 2012.We need sponsors for the children bcause we as an organization are not able to provide all these services on our own and we want to offer them for free to the people of Guayabo in order to bless them and build relationships with them and share the Gospel with them. My hope and desire is that soon we will have close to 80 children in the center and be able to plant a church up in Guayabo. I am really excited about what God is going to do here in Guayabo in 2012, He is up to something big and I am so thankful that I get to be part of His plan to draw the people of Guayabo to Himself!!

Christmas in Guayabo

2011-12-27T09:01:00.000-08:00

Last week we had our celebration in Guayabo, sorry I had forgot to post about it until now, but it was such a blessing. Words can not describe what a blessing it was to be able to bless these children and really make their Christmas. It was filled with so many blessings from the Lord. First, Lesley E. from Stonebrook (my home church) sent 32 sweatshirts for the children at the center, this was such a blessing to these children who don't really have more than one outfit and most of the time don't have a sweatshirt. so we were able to bless the children of the center so they won't be cold. I know that getting a sweatshirt may not seem like much but to these children it means so much because they have so little. They loved the sweatshirts, so a huge thank you goes out to Lesley! Here are some of the children with their new sweatshirts! :)

We also had some fun with games and pinatas. They children love pinatas! However, I learned that they can be dangerous, especially once the pinata falls/breaks and the candy falls out because it's literally a free for all. We had lots of fun and all the children had a chance to hit the pinata. I think the funniest part was with the second pinata, I was in control of moving the pinata up and down when the children were going to hit it, but toward the end I pulled a bit too hard and I broke the rope that was holding the pinata and the pinata crashed to the floor, it was quite hilarious (you had to be there to really get it) so after I had to get the pinata because it didn't break open but that was a task in its self but I got it and was able to rip it open so all the children could get the candy. It was great fun and a grand adventure.

Jorge and Mimi teaching the children the Hokey Pokey :)
Fun with the pinata! :)
Josi playing a game with the kids before pinata time.
The children taking there shot at hitting the pinata.

We were also able to give the children in addition to the sweatshirts a gift that had things in it that ranged from toys to notebooks to candy. This was a complete blessing from the Lord, because the day before the celebration we didn't think that we would be able to give toys to the children because we didn't have enough. However, God came through in a big way, Jorge called Silvia and asked if we still needed gifts for the celebration and she said yes and Jorge was able to get more than enough boxed gifts(this operation Christmas Child gift boxes) so that we could give to the children. It was such a blessing to give them to the children and the smiles on their faces were priceless! We were able to give these children a great Christmas were most of them would not have gotten anything. I can say what a blessing it was to be able to bless these children all for the glory of God! I am SO thankful that I was able to be a part of the celebration and able to be a blessing in the lives of these children.
Here are a few pics of the children:

Christmas

2011-12-27T08:48:00.000-08:00

So our Christmas here in El Salvador turned out to be pretty cool. I have to admit that El Salvadoreans really know how to celebrate the birth of Jesus. Like I mentioned before, one Christmas Eve we went over to a friends house at like 11pm and then before midnight set off fireworks and then at exactly midnight the sky was lit up with tons of fireworks (think fourth of July fireworks multipied by 10) it was really cool, because who doesn't like fireworks ;)After we gave everyone a hug and said Merry Christmas and went inside to eat dinner. They had made a huge dinner with turkey and ham, rice, bread and other stuff so it was great. We didn't get back to the house till like 2am and I didn't go to sleep till like 2:30am and that is considered early for a Christmas celebration, mone of my friends here was up till 6:30am. As a result of staying up so late everyone sleeps in on Christmas day.We just chilled and hung out on Christmas day until we went to Church in the late afternoon. Overall, it was a good Christmas.A fellow missionary wrote this on her Facebook wall and I think it sums up what I have felt this Christmas: "This Christmas has been my first away from home - what I've learned, the true joy of Christmas (Jesus' incarnation) dwells in the heart of a believer no matter what the temperature, the traditions, or the people you share it with. Thank you Father for the ultimate gift."

It's Christmas?

2011-12-24T16:43:00.000-08:00

Today is Christmas Eve, but I have to admit to you that it doesn't feel like Christmas time at all. I think part of it is that one I'm not with my family and second there is no snow and it's like 80 degrees outside. They celebrate a little bit different here in El Salvador. Tonight is the big time when they celebrate. They celebrate at midnight tonight (yes, it is going to be a very long night, but have no fear I just drank some coffee so I should be able to stay up). We are going over to someones house and we will celebrate with them and eat with them and then everyone around the country will set off tons of fireworks. I really don't know what to expect on how long this will go on but I will have to wait and see. Tomorrow they really don't do much because they are up so late, so we will sleep in and then late afternoon we will go to Church.

Today has been a bit difficult for me to be honest actually this whole week has been a bit difficult because I am really homesick and wish that I could be with my family during Christmas. Don't get me wrong I totally believe that God wants me here in El Salvador and even during this time I just miss my family, because it's my first Christmas away from home. This morning we went to La Libertad to visit some of Victor's family, we didn't stay very long just ate lunch and then headed back to San Salvador, but I did get to see the ocean. Normally, most people can't tell when I am sad and such because I just don't show it and I can be very hard to read but apprently today was different because I keep being asked "are you sad?, do you miss your family?". I'm excited to experience Christmas in a new culture and with different ways of celebrating but at the same time I am missing my family and friends back home.

Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas where ever you are and I pray that it is a time filled with blessing and rejoicing in the day when our Savior was born.

Winter Snow has become one of my favorite Christmas Songs, hope you enjoy!

God has always got our back

2011-12-10T21:43:00.000-08:00

I have a great God story that happened tonight and it shows me once again that God is ALWAYS watching over us! Tonight I went with Jorge, Sarah and Sofi to Las Bambas in Santa Tecla, which was having it's grand opening tonight and Jorge's dad was singing at the place. Las Bambas is located on the street called El paseo del Carmen and it has become a hotspot in Santa Tecla, there is great places to eat and live music and such. There were a ton of people there and they have the street closed off so everyone is just walking around. It has a really neat atmosphere and it has people of all ages.

Now back to the awesome story about our God. So we arrived and we parked the car and such and walked like 5 blocks to Las Bambas. Once we arrived we talked for a while and then we ordered food which was actually pretty good and it was just a great time spent with great friends!! :) Then since it was getting late and Sofi was getting a bit cold, we said goodbye to Jorge's dad and then headed back to the car. Once we got the car, that's when we got a little worried, Jorge couldn't find the keys and then at that moment I remembered that the last time I saw them was when we put them on the trunk in order to close it and put Sofi in here carrier thing and that's when we started to worry a bit ( Sarah and I were saying if somebody did take them why didn't they steal the car, so we weren't sure if we had really left them there.) So we continued to look through all of the diaper bag and everything and then the security guard who was patroling the super busy street came up to us and was like you left your keys on your trunk and I picked them up to keep them safe and he handed us the keys to the car! Wow, was all that I could say, God was for sure watching out for us, because if that security guard hadn't taken the keys the car most likely would have been stolen! It was such a blessing that God placed that security guard there that night, because I truly mean that this place had lots of people walking around and anyone could have easily taken the keys. Thank you Lord!

Another thing that was cool to see was that when we offered him money for protecting the keys/cars he decline and said that he was here to serve us (for those of you who don't know in situations like this you almost always offer money and nobody ever turns down money). So tonight, I am just super thankful that God watched over us tonight!

What a day

2011-12-04T14:31:00.000-08:00

Today is one of those days where all I can do is laugh at how the day has unfolded. It started off one of those days where I couldn't sleep at all, but suprisingly I was actually awake, Thank you Lord! Then we were off to church and it was such a great time and we sang one of my favorite songs in Spanish "Desde mi interior" (The song "From the inside out" in English). I don't know what it is about that song but God speaks to me so much through this song. Then a bunch of us went out to lunch at a Chinese resterant and it was a great time and I enjoyed it so much! After that is when the excitment happened...once we got back to the house I needed to get something out of my room, so I went to go into my room and the door wouldn't open, we tried and tried but it wouldn't open. So lucky Carlos Cordova was at the house for a meeting with Victor and he came over and was trying to open the door and finally he got a knife and was using the knife to try and open it, finally he got it open. However, that was not the end of this, he wanted to see what was wrong with the door handle that caused it to not open, so he went into my room and shut the door (that was not a good idea) and then we couldn't get him out because the door wouldn't open again! We all started to just laugh, because honestly it was hilarious, but then we had to figure out how to get Carlos out and take not my room here is really small so there isn't a lot of room to move around. It took a long time and practically breaking down my door but we finally got the door to open back up. It was quite the adventure but I can tell you that I won't be closing my door anytime soon because I am scared that I will get locked in my room and although that though is quite funny I wouldn't like to be locked in my own room with no way out. To say the least it has been a crazy day and the day in not even over! I do just thank the Lord that he knows how to make me laugh, espcially in a situation and day that could have easily became super stressful, so I am super thankful for that and sometimes you just have to laugh at the things that happen in life and this was one of them.

On a completely opposite note that really doesn't have a lot to do with the rest of this post but alas I want to let you guys know about it. On Friday night we had our Christmas dinner for La Red. It was great, only a few people made it but it was still great and I enjoyed being with some people who are my age. It was also awesome because I got to see Sophie (Sarah and Jorge's little girl) and she is adorable!! I also have to say that I love that Sarah is back in ES because she is awesome and it's nice to have another person from the US so if cultural differences or things that I don't understand in Spanish she has that experience.

Giving Thanks

2011-11-24T17:35:00.000-08:00

Today is Thanksgiving but it sure doesn't feel like it but that is because they don't celebrate Thanksgiving here in El Salvador.I have to admit that the day was a bit strange for me, but I thoughly enjoyed it. I work up at 5:30am this morning just like I do every other weekday to get ready to go to up to Guayabo, normally on Thanksgiving I sleep in a lot. I spent my whole day getting to work up in Guayabo and it was such a wonderful time and I am so thankful for the time I get to spend up in Guayabo.

I have to admit that I really missed my family and friends today. I miss the part about Thanksgiving that brings people together to just share what God has done in our lives in the past year. I did get to celebrate a little bit today, because the Turcios family wanted to celebrate and so we had a little bit of foods that you eat at Thanksgiving for dinner and on Saturday we are going to make Pumpkin Pie because I brought stuff for it when I was in the States (I'm excited for this because Pumpkin Pie is one of my favs).

I have to say that this year I have a lot to be thankful for, even though A LOT has changed since last Thanksgiving, I can't thank God enough for what he has done in my life. I thank God for his steadfast and unfailing love, I thank him that he has taken care of me and through every situation he has been with me. I thank God that he has brought me to El Salvador and for the friends and family that I have made here. I'm also so thankful for my friends and family back home, I love them and miss them so much!! I can't thank God enough for what he is doing in my life and that I get to serve him here in El Salvador!

My God has blessed me beyond measure and so as this Thanksgiving comes to a close, I just thank God that he saved me and redeemed me from my sin. I also love the fact that giving thanks is something that we should do everyday, not just on the holiday. Thank you for taking the time to read this! I love you all and I hope that you have all had a very blessed Thanksgiving!!

Trip back to the States

2011-11-20T12:39:00.000-08:00

Hey All! I am now back here in El Salvador. I had a wonderful time in the States. I have to admit that all the things I had wanted to do I wasn't able to accomplish, but God for sure blessed my time at home. I got to spend a lot of time with my family and just hang out with them and that was so refreshing and enjoyable. I have missed my family quite a bit, especially my nieces and nephews. I wasn't able to visit my friends in Ames, because my car wouldn't start so that kind of dashed a big chunk of my plans for my trip back home, but like I said it was stil a great time.

I got to MN late on November 5th and when I came out of the airport, my niece Evie (who is almost 9 months) stopped crying and gave me this huge smile it was adorable and was the best welcome home I could have recieved. Then we went over to my sister's house to celebrate my mom's birthday the next day, when I walked in the door my nephew, Cyrus, was so excited to see his auntie. It was like I had never left and we continued to play all sorts of games and such like we would before I left. I know this seems like something very simple but I think that one of my biggest fears when leaving for El Salvador was that I was leaving my nieces and nephews and that they would not really understand why I was leaving them. I praise God that although my plans for my ten days didn't quite work out I got spend a lot of time with them.

I spent most of my time during the week actually still working on things for the Community Center, because somethings with the website still needed to be worked on. I also got my fingerprints done again and sent them off to the FBI, so hopefully they will get processed correctly this time. I also got to have two of the things that I miss most from the US, Caribou Coffee (although ES coffee is still better, I just love Caribou Coffe) and Macaroni and Cheese from Noodles and Company! These were for sure treats of being back in the States and I even got to see some light snow fall, I was hoping for at least an inch but never the less I got some snow. I am really going to miss the snow, this year, especially around Christmas time, because I have never had a Christmas without snow.

On the Saturday before I returned here to ES, my niece had her birthday party. She had her birthday party at a place called Adventure Park, it is this huge playplace ( imagine the playplaces in McDonalds or Burger King on Seriods). It was great and since my nephew is still to small to climb through the things by himself, I was his partner and we crawled all over that thing and it was a blast, but I do have to admit that one it was almost more of a workout than going for my run and my knees hurt so much after that from crawling through all those plastic tubes (note to self bring knee pads the next time lol).

Overall, it was such a wonderful time and I am so thankful that I got a chance to see my family again, I have missed them! I do admit thought that I missed being in ES so much and was ready to come back. I do truly believe the statement a friend told me once, no matter if you are in the US or in ES you are always going to miss people from the other country. Well, that's about it, thank you for all your prayers for my time in the US, I really enjoyed it!

Life is a Pair O' Ducks

2011-11-04T20:37:00.000-07:00

Hey all! I am sitting writing this when I really should be asleep since I have to get up in a few hours to head to the airport but I can't sleep so I thought I would share a few quick thoughts.

I can not count the number of times I have applied or used things that I learned at SPLICE. It was such a blessing to be equiped with cultural things as well as everyday life things that I really didn't even think to think of. One of the biggest things is the yay duck and yuck duck, this has been so amazing to have and I praise God that they talked about this because it helps put into words a little bit more about how to describe situations in life.

As I sit here, I am for sure experiencing a big Yay/Yuck duck moment. I am excited to be going back to the States, because I miss my family and I can't wait to see them, especially my nieces and my nephew. I am also super excited to see my friends, because I miss them so much also. However, at the same time I am sad to be leaving El Salvador, even if its only for ten days, I can say that I actually feel at home here. The people here have become like my new family and the children in Guayabo, I just love those children and not to see them for ten days is going to be hard. I can't describe or put into words how much the Lord has taught me and how much He has blessed me since I came here. I also can't tell you or thank the Lord enough for the Turcios family, they are amazing. They have not only welcomed me into their home but they treat me as if I was always a member of their family. It has been a true blessing. The past couple days I've been reminded of the fact that life is a pair of ducks there are moments that are exciting and sad at the same time. I've learned that I am going to miss people where ever I am, when I am in the States I miss people from El Salvador, SPLICE, etc and when I am in El Salvador, I miss the people in the States. It's for sure a paradox but that makes me all the more excited for when we get to Heaven. Then we will all be in the same place at the same time and we can all hang out together for eternity!!! :)

I just praise God for all that he has done and all that He will do!! To Him be the glory!!

My next post will be from the States, please pray for safe travels! Adios!

What's Up

2011-10-29T19:17:00.000-07:00

As I sit here writing this after a relaxing day here in El Salvador, I still can't believe that at this time tomorrow I will be back at my parent's house in Minnesota. This comes with both excitment and sadness...it's for sure a yay and yuck duck situation. I am so excited to see my family and friends, especially my nieces an my nephew, but at the same time I don't want to leave ES, I truly feel that I am finally feeling really at home here. I love that I have the opportunity to share Christ with the children up in Guayabo. The children in Guayabo are becoming like my little brothers and sisters and I just love them so much and pray that they would come to know the Lord.

I will be back in the States from Nov. 5th to Nov. 15th. I will be spending most of my time up in MN with my family but I am also planning a trip down to Ames to see my friends there. I do have to say that God totally provided and blessed when I went to purchase my plane ticket for this trip, normally the prices for flights from ES to MN are usually the same but the day that I went to buy my plane ticket, the ticket was almost $200 dollars cheaper than normal! PTL. The biggest thing that I will be making sure I get done while I am in the States is get everything that I need for my background check all settled and good to go, so prayers would be appreciated.

Things up at the communtiy center are going great! We finally were able to go back up to the center this past week, thank you for your prayers...it finally stopped raining and November marks the beginning of summer for them so we most likely won't have any more mega rain storms. I know I have said this before but I love what I do I love that I get to love and serve these children. I've been working a lot with the children in helping tutor them in Math. I actually kind of find it funny how God has used that subject because in school that was my least favorite subject but it has been a true blessing. This past week I had the opportunity to go and visit some of the homes of a couple of the children at the center.. It is for sure a reality check and reminds you of how blessed I am with all that the Lord has given me.

Here are some pictures from the past week! I am heading to bed here because I'm getting up early tomorrow because we are having a evanglistic concert tomorrow at church, it is going to be awesome!!! Thank you so much for your prayers and support and I can't wait to see some of you soon!

Prayer and Glorifying God

2011-10-17T10:51:00.000-07:00

Hey All,

First of all I am asking all of you to be praying for El Salvador, it has been raining pretty much non-stop since last Tuesday here and at times the rain has been very intense. The land here can not handle all this rain and a state of emergency has been declared for El Salvador, because in many parts of the country there is tremendous flooding and there have been many land/mudslides, people are being evacuated from their homes and all the rain makes many road impassable. So please pray not only for the people but also that the rain would stop soon. Especially pray for El Guayabo, as many of the people there do not have well built houses and it rains into their houses as well we have heard from our friends up there that part of the way up the volcano to Guayabo is impassable because of all the trees that have fallen and near the entrance to the community center is blocked because there was a mini mudslide that has blocked the way. We have not been able to go up to Guayabo since last Tuesday, because with all this rain and of course the impassable roads. So please be praying and pray that the people of El Salvador would turn to the Lord and the even through the midst of this crisis in the lives of these people that they would seek His face and come to know him.

Yesterday, I was completely humbled in the aspect of what it looks like to glorify God in the midist of intense adversity. This month the theme/series that we are talking about is glorifying God. This has been such a freshing series but also a very convicting one. I also have to admit that although I can pretty much understand everything since I got here, I am finally to not only just understand the messages, they are actually getting through to me (I don't know if that is the right word) but this past Sunday, I actually wasn't just listening and translating to understand what the message said, but God really spoke through the message.. I think that the first two months that I have been so focused on understanding that even though I knew the words that were being said I didn't focus on the actual message. I praise God that I have finally been able to acutally listen and understand the message. We are all to give glory to God in all circumstances and through this we are a light unto the world because that is something that sets us apart from the world that in the midst of adversity we can still praise and glorify God. I was humbled and amazed by a few of my brothers and sisters here in the church, yesterday. As I mentioned many people have been evacuated from their homes and there were a few from our church who were evacuated and they didn't have much time to get out of their homes and try and find somewhere to stay. Yet, through this adversity they still were giving God glory and thanking them that they still had clothing and they still had their family and that they had brothers and sisters in the church who welcomed them into their home even though they didn't have much room. It was a great reminder and it reminded me that through all things we have something to give God glory for because God has saved us and everyday He blesses us more and more even when we don't recongize it as a blessing. I'm just so thankful that our God is all powerful and in control of all things! To Him be the glory!!

Eres Todopoderoso

2011-10-13T09:03:00.000-07:00

Eres Todopoderoso, means you are all powerful. That for sure defines our awesome God. He is always in control of all things so matter what may happen. I was really reminded of this the past couple of weeks, especially in regards to my visa situation. I have to admit I was a bit stressed out about it because I didn't know how it would all work out if I had to leave ES, because we are in the middle of starting up some big things with the Center, but as always, God not only had it all under control, he had an awesome plan. :) So I found out that I will have to return to the States and get my fingerprints done for my background check in order to apply for residency( don't know the exact dates yet but it will most likely be between Nov. 5th and Nov. 15 and I will be back for a week to 10 days). The cool thing about this whole thing was that not only will I get to see my family and friends that I miss, but as I was talking with Victor( who's family I am living with and who is the pastor of Iglesia Gran Commision) said that he is try to make it work so that he can visit Stonebrook (my home church in Ames) in the beginning of November and we would be able to talk about what what we are doing at the center, so that would just be really cool, if it works out but either way I am really excited to see my family especially my nieces and nephew as well as my best friend Sarah! So I will update as to when I will be back in the States, I will in Minnesota for most of the time staying at my parents house, but I will make it down to Ames for a day or two, hopefully. Thanks to all of you who prayed about my visa situation and continue to pray for my ministry here! I'm so thankful for your prayers.

Eres Todopoderoso is also the title of one of my favorite songs in Spanish, so here it is because I love music.

Prayer Request

2011-10-07T17:29:00.001-07:00

Hey All!

I hope all of you are doing well! I have a quick prayer request. As you may or may not know, when I came to El Salvador, on August 16th, I entered the country on a 90 day tourist visa. The plan was to apply for temporary residency once my fingerprints and my background check were processed by the FBI and got all the apostille on it, because I need the background check with an apostille in order to apply for my residency. My mom was going to just send me the completed background check once it got processed and everything since I was already set to leave before I was going to get the document back. However, this all has not gone to plan :( and I now have a slight problem, the FBI send all the stuff back to my mom and said that my fingerprints that I had taken were not good enough and had to be redone and they could only be redone in the US, so here lies my problem is my tourist visa is up on Nov. 16th and I have to be able to get permission to stay in the country longer otherwise I am breaking the law (which would not be a good thing).So here is what my options are...I was directed to information about getting a visa extension and I have contacted the immigration services here in El Salvador about seeing if they would extend my visa until Aug when I was planning on going back to the US next, however, it's not looking very likely that they will give me an extension for that long. So right now it is looking like I will be heading back to the States the first week of November to get all my fingerprints and such redone and such. So if you guys could be praying about this situation,mainly because a lot is just unknown right now and it can be stressful at times. I just SO thankful that God is in control, so in the end everything will work out!!

Thanks so much for your prayers!!

The Happenings

2011-09-26T16:12:00.000-07:00

These past couple weeks things have still been going great, here in El Salvador. I just praise God that I have the opportunity to serve the Lord here. I truly love working with the children in Guayabo, even on those days when I am stressed or tired, they always make me smile! :) Since I have been here a month the kids and I are starting to bond and they are actually starting listen to me now, which is very important because many of the children pretty much have free regin in their homes and haven't really ever experienced discipline or have been taught a lot of what we would consider proper behavior, so when I would tell them not to throw things they wouldn't really listen but now they are starting to listen to me, PTL!! I know this is going to be a process and some days are better than others but I praise God for this progress!

I have also have had a few times in the past couple of where I have had to "exit my world and enter theirs" and I have to say it's a lot easier said than done!!! Exiting my world and entering theirs is something we learned about at SPLICE and I'm SO thankful that we did, because the times when I have encountered these moments, I did not expect them and I wouldn't have been about to do it with out God's help. During those moments I was so very thankful once again for the time I spent in CO at SPLICE!! I am so amazed at how much I use the stuff I learned at SPLICE everyday. I also miss my amazing friends so very much! I would love to be able to go shoot some hoops and play some Monopoly Deal with the Posse!!

Here are some more pics of the beautiful children I get to work with everyday!! :)

One Month!

2011-09-18T19:29:00.000-07:00

Well it has been one month since I arrived here in San Salvador! It doesn't even seem like I have been here a month, it seems more like a week or two. El
Salvador already is starting to feel like home. When I got here I hit the ground
running and started going up to Guayabo and working in the community center everyday
during the week. It has been amazing to be able to work and serve these children!
At the center I’ve been helping the students with their homework as such as math, reading and writing. Also we have been working on various projects with the kids because September is the month of El Salvador’s indepencence so we have been decorating the community center in order to celebrate.

I’ve also have been able to continue to learn Spanish more and more everyday, which has been a huge answer to prayer. The biggest thing for me is that El Salvador has a lot of slang and idioms that they use and sometimes I have no clue what someone says when they use those words but I praise God that I have friends who help me out and tell me certain words that are only used in El Salvador and how to use them and such.

Here are some more pics of the kids at the Community Center!! :)

Feliz Dia de Independencia

2011-09-15T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today is El Salvador's independence day! It's has been great so be able to experience how the people of El Salvador celebrate their independence. In El Salvador it's not just the 15th of September that they celebrate, people are celebrating and preparing the whole month, which I think has been really kind of cool. The kids at the center all month long have been working on projects to decorate the center with El Salvador's colors and flag. They would randomly break out into singing the national anthem of El Salvador and they were just so excited.

So we got up early this morning to go to the parade that they have. I was told that it is tradition to get to where the parade is going to be early (because otherwise there is no parking) and eat traditional Salvadorean food and then head out to watch the parade. The parade was cool, but it was strictly a military parade which is where all the branches of the El Salvadorean military march in the parade. It was cool to see all the people and the music, although they didn't throw out candy like they do in the states, but I have a feeling that the whole candy throwing things really only happens in the States. I got to wear my El Salvadorean soccer jersey today also so that made me very excited. It has been a wonderful day and I'm excited that I have been able to experience independence day in El Salvador.

When I am weak, You are strong!

2011-09-11T13:51:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before one thing we talked a lot about at SPLICE was the stages of transition. I have to say that I am still in the chaos stage but hopefully I will exit this stage soon. Don't get me wrong I have loved my time here so far but this week was one of those moments where I felt like I couldn't say anything correctly in Spanish and at times having trouble communitcateing and I got hit with a big dose of homesickness. I have to say that I think one of the most humbling things in cross cultural ministry is when you aren't able to communitate what you want to communiate. This experience this past week has just lead me to cry out "God Help!" I was also just reminded of 2 Corinthians 12:9

"But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me."

It's weeks like this past week that I am so incredibly thankful that where I am weak, God is strong!

Yesterday I got hit with a huge wave of homesickness. I don't know what happened exactly but I really started to miss my mom and my nieces and nephew. I think its probably because my niece, Amelia, is starting her first day of kindergarden tomorrow and I wish I was there, because I helped raise Amelia for the first 2 years of her life and I am really going to miss not being there for her first day of school. I also just really started to miss my best friend Sarah. I miss seeing her and hanging out with her. However, I'm thankful that in the midst of my wave of homesickness, God gave me something to smile about...Victor Raul and I have started to become real good buddies :) and as I was really feeling homesick, he comes running up to me and says with a smile on his face, "Alyssa, mi mejor amiga quieres jugar conmigo?" it was so cute and def put a smile on my face and it was def my yay duck moment for the day. :)

Music speaks to me so much and this morning at church God gave my a song that really hit home today and it was just a really good reminder that He is all I need no matter what is going on in my life. In English it's the song called All I need by Hillsong but I love the song SO much more in Espanol. :) I couldn't find the Spanish version so this one has English subtitles but its still really good!

A week of yay and yuck ducks

2011-09-02T19:13:00.000-07:00

Well I would have to say that this past week was a week filled with yay and yuck ducks. The yuck part of the week was that Saturday morning I woke up and I had a really really bad cough and I had no voice. Silvia called Doctor Henry and he said that I probably had picked up a throat infection from working with the kids at the center and he told me what medicine I needed and told us to go to the pharmacy ( I learned that you can buy a lot of RX drugs here without a RX). I laid low the next couple days all of Saturday and Sunday I couldn't talk at all and it was not fun! :( becauseI do have to say that being sick and such made me miss home and as much as I don't want to admit it I kinda just wanted my mom to come and take care of me because I really felt terrible. I do have to say that Silvia took care of me, it was such a blessing she kept asking if I needed anything and then she made me homemade chicken noodle soup, which was wonderful and a huge comfort thing that reminded me of home in the States. However, I finally started to feel better on Monday but not totally better so I stayed home from Guayabo.

I did have yay duck moments too! :) I went with my friends Luis and Pamlea to BW (which is one of my favorite places to eat here) and celebrated the birthday of Luis's sister Andrea and then after we met up with peeps from La Red to go see a movie. We saw super 8 and I didn't think that it was all that great. Then I got to hang out with the kids in Guayabo the rest of the week which is wonderful. It's been really cool to see that now the kids are getting use to me being one of their teachers so we are bonding more and more. :) One thing that I have found quite funny is that at first many of the students have trouble pronoucing my name because my name in no shape or form goes well with the Spanish language. I just found this funny because a lot of people can't pronounce my name in English either. The best and funniest thing was Silvia (one of the little girls) came running up to me and was like Senorita Suzie I need your help...you kinda had to be there but it was funny and I have no idea where she got the name Suzie. ;) I've also realized that the kids LOVE getting their picture taken...if they even see my camera case they ask if I will take a picture :)

I do have to say that in this past week I experienced my first bit of missing being in the US. It was mainly because I was missing my nieces and nephew, because they are just growing up so fast. My niece who is six months old said her first words earlier last week and my sister sent me this pic of her and it just made me miss her more!

One Week

2011-08-25T10:34:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a week since I arrived here in El Salvador(actually its more like a week and a half but I've been too busy to blog). It's still kind of sureal that I am actually here and being able to serve the people of El Guayabo. It's been such a blessing. So far things are going well and I praise God for that. Last Saturday I got to go to La Red again which is the college age/young adult group and it was SO nice to connect back up with a lot of my friends. We had a great time studying the Word as well as just hanging out and having fun. Then on Sunday I was introduced to the whole church and such, which was fun and then later that afternoon, I went with some of the girls form La Red we went to play some FUBTOL!!!! It was wonderful, I have really missed being able to play actual games of futbol!

I went up to Guayabo with Silvia on Monday,Wednesday and Friday and I met some more kids who attend the center but where not there last week and on Friday we had students from one of the local universities come and give dental consultations to all the kids. However, the bad part was I think that something I ate Sunday or Monday morning was not really safe for me to eat because I got really bad stomach pain, but it went away on Tuesday night. I think that it helped that we didn't go up to Guayabo on Tuesday because both Silvita and Victor Raul were both sick so Silvia had to stay home, so I got to relax during the day which was really nice, because it was really the first time since I have gotten here that I have been able to slow down a bit because I have been going going going constantly since I got here, so it was since to be able to take a Sabbath and just rest in the Lord. Thursday I didn't go up to Guayabo either because I was going to have a conference call with GCM, GCLA, Stonebrook and Victor,so I couldn't go up to Guayabo since there is no internet. It was actually really good and encouraging meeting. :)

Like I said today (Friday) we had students from UEES who are dental students and they came and did dental work on all the children in the center. It was such a blessing for the children and their parents to have the children to be able to have their teeth looked at because these families can not afford dental care. It was a really good time but most of the children cried while they were getting their teeth cleaned and such which made me really said but in the end they are going to be healthier for having cleaner teeth. Afterwards, I decided that we were all going to play games to help cheer the crying ones up and it kind of just turned into four kids grabing my arms and legs and wanting me to carry them around but it was fun and later I was giving piggy back rides and they think that that is just the coolest thing ever :)

That's about it for now. It's been a great first week and a half and I'm excited to see what God has in store next week, but for now I am going to head to bed, but first here are some pics from today.

This is Darling and I
This is Aldo Josue
This is Margarita and I
This is Yulexia and Emerson
This is Tatiana Damaris

El Guayabo

2011-08-19T16:12:00.000-07:00

I've been here a little over three days now and I'm adjusting well to all the transitions. I think that it has helped a ton to have stayed with the Turcios family when I was here before because that gave me a little glimpse of what was to expect, but there are still many transitions and changes that I am adjusting to.

Today was my third day up at the community center. It's been wonderful to work with the kids and help teach them. God is doing to do some amazing things in this community. Today all the kids learned how to say my name and the rest of the day randomly they would yell out "Alyssa" and I would ask them what they needed but they would say nothing I just wanted to say your name...it was funny( the best part was the huge smile on their faces :) We had a lot of fun playing this afternoon because since it is Friday the kids have a bit more free time and they love that I will play with them and today all they wanted me to do is to swing them around in circled while holding onto their hands....it was hilarious :) then I have piggy back rides.

I finally took some pictures today of the community center and of some of the kids. So here are a few that I took...I'll post more on Facebook when I get a chance.

I made it!!! :)

2011-08-17T15:12:00.000-07:00

Hola mis amigos!!

I've made it to San Salvador!!! PTL!! All my flights went well and I didn't have any problems other than I think that I have a bit of sinus infection because especially on the airplane I couldn't breathe out of my nose and my ears started to hurt really really bad when we went up in the air, but the symptoms are decreasing so I should be alright ( I have to say that I am really glad that I packed my "Pharmacy"). I arrived yesterday at 12pm and Victor and Carlos Artilo met me at the airport and on our way back to we went out to eat at a Mexican Restaurant. The rest of the afternoon I went with to pick up Silvita from school and then Silvia and I went to the Gym while Silvita and Victor Raul did Karate. I was super tired since I had been up since 1am but I just couldn't turn down Victor Raul when he asked me to play Wii with him. The funny thing is that Victor Raul will not speak any English to anyone except he will with me but only little bits but its adorable :)

Today like usual my favorite rooster(aka my alarm clock) woke me up this morning around 5am but I actually went back to sleep until 6:30am. I went to El Guayabo! I apologize that there are no pictures from my first day up there...it's not because I didn't bring my camera (which is usually the case) but I forgot to charge the camera battery. I was reminded instantly about why I love these people and this country. It was my first time seeing the new community center and it is wonderful! I also saw the bathroom that Stonebrook built, I am SO thankful that they built a bathroom so we don't have to go find a bush ;) The kids are so adorable, some of them are a bit hesitant at first because I am a gringa but once they realize I will speak to them in Spanish, they want to play with me. The best part of the day came in the late morning when I was sitting in one of the chairs near the door and the second round of kids came to the center and three girls practically tackled me because they all wanted me to play with them, but the funnier thing was that Tati came running and yelled out "Una gringa esta aqui" and I just started to laugh but I probably shouldn't have because they try and teach them that saying gringa is not nice(personally I think its totally fine) and that they should say norteamericana but I thought it was funny anyway. :)

Other than that I am just going to chill and relax tonight and get some more rest but my first full day here in El Salvador was wonderful. I'm going to charge my camera batter tonight so I will be able to take some pictures tomorrow when I get to Guayabo!

Adios Amigos!!

Leavin' on a Jet Plane

2011-08-10T09:23:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

Words can not describe how thankful I am for my supporters, this wouldn't be possible without you and I'm so thankful that you guys are walking with me as I head to El Salvador and I'm so appreciative of your prayers. I have some great news I have officially been released to assignment and I will be leaving for El Salvador August 16th. I leave at 5:30 (there is going to be lots of coffee involved considering my family and I will have to leave our house at 2:30am in order to get to the airport on time.) and I will arrive in San Salvador at noon which will be 1pm here in MN. I've pretty much finished packing other than the last mintue stuff that I need to pack...It's finally starting to feel real and that leaves me with mixed emotions in the fact that I am so excited to go to El Salvador and start my ministry there but I am really going to miss my friends and family, especially my very young nieces and nephew. The goodbyes will be hard this week but I actually think they will be easier than if I hadn't gone to SPLICE and learned about saying goodbye.At SPLICE as I have mentioned before Robin said that "I hope it hurts when you leave(say goodbye) because that means you have loved and have been loved" and this is such a huge thing for me, because I have never liked goodbyes. As I say my goodbyes especially with my nieces and nephew because they are too young to understand why there auntie is leaving and going far away and they have told me they don't want me to go, so prayers would be much appreciated.

About two weeks ago I spoke at a church here in Cambrige, New Hope Community Church and as many of you know that music has a huge influence on me, I love hearing new music. Although they played a song that I had heard before but I hadn't listen to in a while and I just love the song, its called 'Follow You' and its by Leeland and Brandon Heath, so I thought I would share it with it you :) So adios till I arrive in El Salvador!! :)

36 Pupusas

2011-07-18T18:39:00.000-07:00

I was going through some of my older pics from previous mission trip to El Salvador and I came across a cetain pic and I was reminded of a hilarious thing involving pupusas that occurred when on a mission trip with the team from Stonebrook. So it was our last night in ES and a group of us from the team decided that we needed to eat pupusas one last time, because they are the most amazing food ever. So take into account that it is about 11pm and so we were at the hotel and Patrick one of the guys goes up to the waiter person to order pupusas. The thing is that Patrick really didn't speak Spanish...he was good at using broken Spanish, so he said that he wanted 12 pupusas but I guess the waiter was a bit confused and really didn't understand, because about 15 minutes later(after we were wondering why it was taking so long to cook just 12 pupusas) the waiter guy came over and asked if anyone in the group spoke Spanish, so Anna and I said that we did and he was like "did your friend mean 12 pupusas or 12 orders of pupusas?". At that instant I knew what had happened and then the waiter said that he thought Patrick wanted 12 orders of pupusas, which translates to 3 per order so 36 pupusas...it was actually really really funny.

Here are the 36 pupusas! :)

Support Update

2011-07-11T12:59:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

Sorry that it has been a while since I have posted. Things have been a bit busy trying to get things done and wrapped up before I head to El Salvador. I am excited to announce that I have sent in my request to be released to assignment and hopfully in the next couple of days I will get the ok to buy my plane ticket and such and leave for ES here in the next week/week and a half. I am really thankful for all of you and this wouldn't be possible without you!

I've been spending a lot of time with my nieces and my nephew since I won't be able to see them when I leave, def a yay/yuck duck time. It will be really hard to say goodbye to them especially since they are so young and they really don't understand but for now I am enjoying my time with them, chasing them around the playground, playing with them and just laughing with them. I've also been really into the Women's World Cup, but those of you who know me well know that I love soccer and this World Cup hasn't disappointed, especially the USA game versus Brazil, it was probably one of the most amazing games I have seen and I am so excited to see the USA win the World Cup!!!

I still have to say that I really miss my friends from SPLICE!! I still think that I see/hear them when I go places. It puts a big smile of my face everytime I think of my time at SPLICE and the people who I spent that time with! :) So I leave you with some pics from when we went to Focus on the Family while we were in CO. I do have to say that we have so much more fun in the kids section than the adult area. :)

"The Posse"

2011-06-24T11:45:00.000-07:00

As I have mentioned before, while I was at SPLICE I got really close to a small group of women and we were called "the posse" by everyone else. I can honestly say to you that never in a million years would I have believed you if you would have said that I would have gotten so incredibly close with these women in just three short weeks, but God had a different plan.

Words can not describe the bond that we formed. The crazy thing about it is that we became so close and it all started on that first night at MTI together, we sat by each other in class, at dinner together and then played and intense game of horse together. We just instantly bonded. I can not thank God enough for these women! We formed a bond that will even be sustained in spite of fact that we are all going to different countries around the world. I have to admit that I miss and love them so very much but the great thing about technology today is that we will be able to keep in contact with each other! :) Also in becoming so close we have little things that will occur in our everyday life that will remind me of them. :)

The posse was made up of Stephanie, Renee, Ashley, Oriana, Christina, Emma and I. I love these ladies but I have to say that honestly 5yr Emma had a huge impact on me. I never would have guessed that a 5yr old would have such an impact on me in that little time span but I have to say that when saying goodbye to everyone, saying goodbye to Emma was the hardest for me. She will always have a special place in my heart!

Here is the group pic of everyone from SPLICE, it's the only picture were all the posse members are together, so I wanted to add it:)

This is probably my favorite picture of the posse!! :)
(L to R: Renee, Emma, me, Stephanie, Ashley)

:)

2011-06-22T14:14:00.000-07:00

Since the last couple post have been about very deep and intense things, here is a picture post that gives just a glimpse of the awesome time I had while at MTI and the amazing people I spent three weeks with! :) I will never forget the amazing time that we had at SPLICE!
Emma and Joy! We were getting ready to watch Tangled! I can say that watching Tangled will never be the same as watching it with my SPLICE family :)
Playing at the park in Manitou Springs...there is a great story that goes with this picture and me trying to sit on it correctly, but you'll have to ask about that one ;)
Laura, Christina and Stephanie walking through Manitou Springs :)
Playing Monopoly Deal...pretty much the most amazing game EVER!
Ladies night out! We ate at this amazing Mexican restaurant.
Joshua! The single ladies held a babysitting night, so the couples could go out for a few hours without their kids.
More from babysitting night...the older kids helped out too! :)
Fun at Focus on the Family. I have to say that we had more fun in the kid section than the adult section.
Just playing in Narnia :)
Ashley and I :) We are going to be neighbors, she is going to Honduras and I will be in ES!
The Posse!! :) (minus Christina and Oriana). These are some of the most amazing women I have ever met. I can honestly say that I never thought I would become so close to these ladies in just three weeks. Words just can not describe the bond that we formed! I miss them and love them a lot!

Hello's/ Goodbyes and Glorifying God

2011-06-22T13:43:00.000-07:00

I have to say that out of the three weeks at SPLICE, the last week is possibly the most intense! The sessions were really good but they also very emotional. If you know me there is one thing that I really really dislike and that is saying goodbye to people. I think maybe this is because when growing up we moved so much that when ever I had made friends I would have to turn around and say goodbye again. So I had a feeling that our session on goodbyes would be really hard and emotional.

Just like with many other things in myself I have insulated myself when saying goodbye, becuase I didn't want to feel that emotion and that hurt of having to say goodbye.Robin then asked us to write down and invited us to share with the group the names of the people who we still had to say goodbye to and that we were struggling with the fact that we had to say goodbye. I have to admit that as I started writing I just started crying, because I guess that I really didn't realize how much it's going to hurt and how hard its going to be to say goodbye. I didn't even realize that I have to tell my nieces and nephews that I am leaving. Saying goodbye is really really hard but I am comforted again and agian by something that Robin said while we were at SPLICE and if I had to pick one thing out of all the things that Robin said while we where at SPLICE that resonated with me the most it would have to be when he said one of the first days:

"that when you say goodbye I hope it hurts because then you know that you've loved and have been loved".

Glorifying God!!!

That afternoon, we gathered around in a circle and there was a pile of rocks in the middle of the room laying on top of sheets that had our joys and thanks that we had written down from the 3wks we had been at SPLICE.
We all were then told to pick up a rock and write on that rock what God has taught us while we have been at SPLICE. We then got up one by one to share in the middle about what God has taught us and to give him all the Glory for what He has done! I wrote many things on mine including: community, Sabbath, and yay/yuck ducks! I still can put into words what God in my heart while I was a SPLICE. I came to SPLICE thinking I was all good to go and such, but during three short weeks God did heart surgery on me and changed me and for that I am so very thankful!It was great to see person after person get up and share about what God has done and how he has been continually faithfull!!

Grief and Loss

2011-06-22T12:44:00.000-07:00

This was yet again a very intense topic and honestly it's one that most people don't want to talk about because its not fun. Grief and Loss are something that we all have faced and will all continue to face. This session really hit a lot deeper than I thought that it would, part of that is how have handle or more appropriately didn't handle grief and loss in my past and this coupled with the fact that reality set in that I am leaving and as a result of that I am experiencing a lot of grief and loss and others will also be feeling this because I am leaving.

How we deal with grief and loss is not just about the here and now but also how we have dealt or in my case didn't deal with grief and loss. There isn't some sure fire way that we can just deal with the grief that comes with losses as a quote in our notebook said "Grief is not itself something we recover from. It is, rather, a process that helps us to recover from the many losses we experience" I think that many times we want that sure fire way and those quick steps to just get it done and over with but the reality of it all is that grief is both hard and complicated process. However, it is this process that helps heal and grow because too many times (like almost all the time when I was growing up) I would just postpone the grief, I would use those one liners like "Look on the brightside" or "Just keep smiling" but in my attempts to avoid grief it hasn't lead to anything other than more pain and no growth.

After talking about how we deal with grief we drove into the Word of God and sought out verses that talked about grief. Through out history the Israelites were very open in their mourning of grief and loss and shared each others burdens. They didn't sit next to someone who was mourning and say "suck it up" they sat there and would weep with the person.

The next thing Robin had us do is to think of scripture that has brought us comfort in our times or grief and loss and then ask the class to share verses/passages. This was such an amazing time of worship. To just hear God's truth filling the room was a true blessing. We then ended the time by writing our prayers and laments on large pieces of paper and as we all sat in a circle, Robin invited those who wanted to share to cry out to God with their prayer. Personally, this is were I guess reality set in for me and I kind of loss it emotionally ( and those of you who know me know that I rarely ever cry) I guess I had never truly realized how much grief and loss I have experienced and so as I wrote my prayers to God, for the first time in what seems like the one of the first times in my life, I allowed myself to feel grief and mourn some of those losses I have occurred in my life. I couldn't bring myself to share with the group so I silently prayed but to be will all of my SPLICE family and being able to hear their prayers and being able to just be with them as we grieved together was such a complete blessing.

I know that I have a long way to go in this process of dealing with grief and loss but I am praying that God continues to work in my heart in this area of my life. I pray that I will continue being open to this grieving and actually continue to allow myself to grieve and be able to sit with others as they grieve. Grief and loss is hard but I always take comfort in the fact that one day He will wipe away all our tears!

Pikes Peak

2011-06-20T13:06:00.000-07:00

So now for a fun post! :) As many of you know that while at SPLICE we were in Palmer Lake, which is right near Colorado Springs. That meant that we lived for three weeks next to the Colorado Rockies, and one of the most famous mountains in the US is Pikes Peak. So the second weekend that we were in CO. The posse (Stephanie, Renee, Oriana, Ashley and I) took the cog railway up to Pikes Peak. It was truly a blast. So here are some pics:

This is the cog rail that took us up to the top. This train can stop within three seconds.

The Posse(minus Renee who is taking the picture)on our way up to the summit of Pikes Peak!

View from the top of Pikes Peak. It was a bit foggy because there was a huge wildfire on the New Mexico/Colorado boarder.

I learned that the song "America the Beautiful" was actually written as a result of a trip up to the summit of Pikes Peak. You learn something new everyday :)

The Posse at the summit!! I love these girls and we had an amazing time!

The Transition Bridge

2011-06-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

I would have to say that I have a dislike of transition but as I have been preparing to go out into the field I've had to face quite a bit of transition. Although God has been teaching me how to be flexible and He has been very gracious in helping me through these transitions in my life. However, at times change and transition just isn't fun at all...it maybe from the fact that I had to move back home with my parents for the first time in 4yrs, the fact that I don't know my exact departure date because I don't know when the needed funds will come in or the fact that even though I am still here in the US my heart is in El Salvador. I'm learning the importance of the phrase "God Help!" that we learned while at SPLICE.

To help better explain what it's like to go through transition our trainers set up a "transition bridge". The bridge was made up of a few chairs on either end of the “bridge” and these represented the beginning and end of a transition. The giant bouncy balls in the middle represent the turbulent time of CHAOS .The chaos area is not stable and the hardest part of the bridge to cross. This was also the place were people most often people would reach out for help. I would have to say that I am into the CHAOS stage in my transition from the states to ES. It's during this time of transition where I need your prayers and support as I go through this transition.

As the kids and adults crossed the bridge we learned that there are many stages of transition and although CHAOS is the hardest all the stages are important. This is important to remember because sometimes we are crossing multiple "transition bridges" at the same time and we are a different stages. The stages of the bridge are settled:which is when you are still in your comfortable place and you have just begun your transition. Then comes Unsettling: This is where things start to change and you have less control, it can be a confusing, frustration and emotionally draining time. Then you shift to CHAOS which is the hardest part of the bridge, where you are forced to depend on God in the midst of uncertainty. Then you shift to Re-settling where you are thankful that you survived the chaos but still don't know what to expect completely but hopeful that you will become back to that settled stage. Finally you reach back to the settled stage.

Come to Me...and I will give you rest

2011-06-17T12:25:00.000-07:00

Although what we learned about conflict, adversity and stress are all critical and very important issues that we will face as we go out into the mission field, I would have to say the session that God really used to start to do heart surgery on me was our day on Embracing rest and Sabbath Keeping.

Those of you who know me well, know that I am one of those people who always keeps going and going...I'm not very good at just taking time to rest and stop trying to constantly check things off of my checklist. One day one of the trainers said this to us:

"If you have so much to do that you can't rest then think about this: what are you trying to prove to whom"

When she said this she was stressing the importance of resting and she wasn't talking about sleeping...she was talking about resting in the LORD and about turning off the phone, computer,putting away the checklist and being with the LORD. On our day talking about rest and Sabbath, Robin pretty much told us to take our Bibles and sheets with some questions and go be alone with God, He made us leave our phones, computers, ipods, etc because he wanted us to get away and not worry about all the things that we have to do and get away with the LORD, because the reality of it all is that email can wait or seeing if you have a new supporter can wait till the end of the day but we need to rest in the LORD.

So that morning Robin had us go off by ourselves in the building. I have to admit this was very hard for me to be all myself with no computer or ipod but I could feel the LORD knocking on my heart but I just sat there quietly waiting but honestly it was hard for my to focus. Then Robin said that we didn't have to come back to class till the late afternoon and challenged us to go outside near MTI and continue to seek the LORD. So I decided to walk down to Palmer Lake and sit down by the lake. I can say that God met me there:) I have to admit that I came to SPLICE, exhausted and honestly spiritually worn out and I hadn't not taken purposeful time to have a Sabbath and just rest. If you would have asked me how my walk was, I would have told you I was fine because I had been spending a lot of time doing things for God and talking about God but the thing is that I hadn't been spending time to get away from all the stuff I have to do and BE WITH God. God kinda rocked my world while I was sitting down by this little pond. He reminded me that He doesn't want the stuff I do or me to just talk about Him all the time...HE me to BE WITH HIM. He reminded me of his great love for me and reminded me of the fact that to come to him I don't have to have it all together. One of my classmates at SPLICE conveyed this perfectly: In offering God Nothing, I am actually offering Him Everything. God wants us not our things, He wants US!

We sang this song one morning and I have had it on repeat since I've been back and I think that it also goes along well with this subject...enjoy!

I was thankful for the reminder and importance of taking a Sabbath. It's not about being lazy and not doing anything but its about recharging and spending time with the one who sustains us! I will tell you that I am making it a priority to have a Sabbath each week and get away from the checklists, phone calls, support raising and noise, so I can get alone with my Savior. I challenge you all to make taking a Sabbath a priority, because it will change your walk with the LORD!

God and Adversity

2011-06-16T14:22:00.000-07:00

One thing about being at SPLICE at MTI is that it is an intense 3wks. After we wrestled with and talked through handling conflict we jumped right into a few more very deep issues...adversity and stress. These are not exactly what you would call light and easy topics.

Nobody likes adversity...it put it simple it stinks and it's not fun at all,but in reality God uses adversity quite a bit in our lives (at least He has in mine!). Although adversity is not fun at all to go through...it has pushed me to depend more on the LORD. God uses adversity for many reasons it could be personal growth or it may be part of the ministry that you are doing, never the less I can say that as a missionary going out to the field I will be experiencing a lot of adversity and in everyday life people experience adversity but the real question is how do you react to adversity? Will you run to the LORD, who is good, faithful and the God of all comfort or will you run to the things of this world?

For me I don't like adversity because it is hard and its not fun and most of the time it really hurts and we just want God to take it away but as much as I don't like to say He does have a reason and He wants to revel something to us that will draw Him closer to Himself. We spent a good chunk of the time talking and dissecting 2Corinthians 12:7-10:

"or because of these surpassingly great revelations. Therefore, in order to keep me from becoming conceited, I was given a thorn in my flesh, a messenger of Satan, to torment me. Three times I pleaded with the Lord to take it away from me. But he said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me. That is why, for Christ’s sake, I delight in weaknesses, in insults, in hardships, in persecutions, in difficulties. For when I am weak, then I am strong."

We talked about how God is enough and we also talked about contentment in the midst of adversity and Robin gave us these very true statements: Contentment isn't an innate quality...it originates from God, Contentment is rooted and grounded in God, Contentment can be learned. So in the midst of adversity we should run to the LORD.Robin gave us this quote and it really resonated with me:

"We have in ourselves by God's grace and power all that's needed to carry on independently of external circumstances"

We also talked a lot about stress and I have to say that its a very intense couple of sessions. Weather we like to admit it or not we all get stressed and it effects us and the things that we do and the decisions that we make. Learned to try and identify things that stress us and how we feel/how our bodies react and how we deal with stress. We also learned about how to relieve stress. On the mission field the lack of dealing with stress can be a big issue if not dealt with and leads a lot to burnout because the missionary gets too stressed out because they can't say no and allow themselves to rest. The next session was probably the most overall intense session of SPLICE, I am not going to go into detail but we were put in a situation that we had absolutely no control over and it was quite the intense and stress level raising situation. After that occurred we talked quite about high stress situations, because in all reality as we go out on the field that first little while of being on the field is always going to be a high stress situation and honestly our highest values will be tested. This is a huge thing that missionaries have to face. However, they talked us through ways to help manage our stress which included learning to say NO and taking a Sabbath, because as I mentioned before unmanaged and prolonged high stress leads to burnout and the missionary returning form the field.

Although stress and adversity are not fun subjects to experience or talk about they are real issues that a missionary will face on a daily basis. I am SO thankful that we talked and learned about these things!

Sharks, Turtles, Teddybears and Foxes

2011-06-15T12:11:00.000-07:00

On of the biggest topics that we covered while at SPLICE was conflict. This can be a huge issue on the mission field because if you don't know how to handle conflict that can lead to many problems and many times as a result of unresolved conflict missionaries leave the field. This is just a snapshot of what we learned, but it was so good! :)

When we started to talk about conflict Robin told us that after the first year on the field, 84% of missionaries leave the location they are at, switch teams/agency or leave the field all together because of conflict with other missionaries from their home country. This stat is crazy to think about so you can see the importance of realizing how you yourself handle conflict but also how others handle conflict. So with that said here is a guess a head up to all who are missionaries or want to become missionaries: "If you are not willing to grow in your conflict management, Please: don't go to the misson field or find a way to the the mission ASAP" Learning how to manage conflict is a huge issue in cross cultural ministry and it must be addressed.

As we learned about conflict we learned about conflict handling styles...there are four main styles: the are the Sharks(who are the competing Style), the Turtles(the avoiding style), the teddybears(the accommodating style) and the foxes(the compromising style). We learned all about these styles and the advantages and disadvantages, but more importantly we learned how to relate to people with different conflict styles. When in cross cultural ministry you have to learn to exit your world and enter the other persons world, that means that you can't expect that they see everything just as you do and don't get me wrong this process is so hard and so against our culture but that is when you need to rely on God and cry out "God Help". You also need to suspend judgement and remember that different is just different not wrong. This sounds a lot easier than it actually is and I think that it is something that I am going to have to work at because I don't like to exit my world and my comfort zone but to be effective in ministry it will benifit me if I exit my world and enter their world.

This was so good to learn about and such a good learning experience and although it will be hard at times, I am so thankful that we learned about these conflict issues that will arise not only while we are still here in the States but also on the field.

SPLICE the preview

2011-06-12T15:46:00.000-07:00

I have so much to write you about SPLICE so here is a sneak preview and I will go more in depth later. SPLICE was wonderful...words can not express the blessing and encouragement it was to spend three weeks in a close knit community with over 40 other wonderful missionaries and learn about the heart issues of ministering cross culturally.

I came to SPLICE because GCM required it not because I really wanted to go...honestly to me it was just another thing that I had to do and check off of my checklist of things I needed to do before I could leave for El Salvador. I honestly came to SPLICE exhausted and spiritually drained because I had been so focused on support raising and getting things checked off of my checklist. I also came to SPLICE not really wanting to make friends or get close to people because I didn't want to have to say goodbye to them in three weeks, BUT God had a completely different plan.

On that first day when we arrived Robin(one of the lead trainers) said that SPLICE was going to be a heart surgery. When he said this, I really didn't think much of it/it didn't really register because I was so focused on guarding my heart. This is where God really started to work. I sat with a few other single ladies...they were Stephanie, Renee and Ashley. We started talking and getting to know one another and we just connected and bonded instantly. At this point, I knew that SPLICE wasn't going to be anything like I expected. God was at work. These three girls along with Oriana, Christina and Emma Cokenour were part of what everyone called "the posse" because we got so close to each other and would hang out together all the time. I thank God so very much that He brought all of us together! I was just amazed at how well all of us at SPLICE just formed this unique bond. I think that part of it was that we understand each other and what we're going through and the fact that we don't have to explain ourselves all the time...we understand each other. I was so incredibly blessed by every single person at SPLICE. I also have to say how incredibly encouraging it was to see the families interact at SPLICE many of the families had young children and it was such and encouragement to see the Godly parenting that occurred. Words can not describe how blessed I was to meet all of my new friends from SPLICE!

Here is the posse minus Christina and Oriana :)

There will be more about what I learned at SPLICE and more in the next few days. I do have a pray request though...Leaving SPLICE ended in many very tearful goodbyes ( I cried a good chunk of the day Friday and Saturday).I left Colorado on Friday and my heart is still hurting from the goodbyes I had to say...I never expected to get so close to people in three weeks...I feel like I left family :( so please pray for this transition back into "reality" as I am really missing my friends from SPLICE right now. I want my SPLICE family to know that I love and miss you all!

In CO

2011-06-04T15:10:00.001-07:00

Hola!

I'm sorry that I haven't blogged in forever (I am really going to start blogging consistently). I hope that you all have been well. A lot has gone on since I last blogged. I can tell you for sure that God has been doing some awesome things!
Since I last blogged I have moved back to Minnesota since I subleased my apartment since I am planning on leaving for El Salvador at the end of June or the beginning of July. That has for sure been an adjustment in the fact that I haven't lived at home for almost four years, but it will be a good readjustment for moving to ES and living with a family. My initial support raising is almost finish, which I praise God for! I am still praying for the rest of my support to come in soon so I ask you to be praying for that. Finally, I got into an earlier training that I needed so that was a huge blessing, the training is called SPLICE which I am at currently in Palmer Lake, CO and so far it has been good and God has been really moving in my heart by convicting and encouraging me in so many things.

SPLICE (which stands for spiritual, personal ,lifestyles, interpersonal, cultural and endurance/enjoyment) has been great, we have an amazing group of people here of 43 adults and we are going to 23 different countries. It has been amazing to meet new people and I do have to say that all the families here with kids have the cutest kids :) One of the big things that has been stressed is being one big community so this has been awesome because more and more everyday we are becoming like family here. There are so many stories of awesome and funny things that have happened here but I will just share a few.

One thing that we learned about was about the "yay duck" and the "yuck duck" it is a paradox analogy. When we talked about this it really struck me because the basis of it's meaning is that you can be really excited and really fearful about the same situation, especially in the realm of going overseas. For me this is so true, I am so beyond excited to go to ES but at the same time I have fears or concerns of giving up certain things so it has been really refreshing and encouraging to be able to see that it is alright to be both excited and concerned at the same time. Also along those lines we have been talking about the perception of missionaries and how they should be "perfect" and how it seems that a lot of the time we as missionaries feel that we need to be perfect all the time and not show the weak side of ourselves because we have that label as a missionary. It has just been really encouraging to be able to talk and discuss this with people who know exactly what your going through and such.

Another fun thing that I have done here since coming to SPLICE at MTI has been since we are in Colorado right at the foot of the Rocky Mountains, has been to go hiking, running, etc in the mountains and on the trails as a time to not only exercise but also just to marvel in God beautiful creation. So the other day Ashley( who is going to Honduras) and I set out on the Santa Fe trail towards Palmer Lake. We had only planned on hiking the two miles from MTI to Palmer Lake and then chill at the lake for the morning, however that is not what exactly occurred. Those of you who know me well know that I have to explore/be adventurous. So as we got to the lake we saw this other trail that kind of lead up this hill and into a different direction so we decided to follow it and it then lead us to another trail that would take us a lot farther and up in some elevation, so we pressed on. I was great fun except for the part where I map was labeled backwards, but before we know it we had hiked a ton and realized that we should probably head back. As we headed back we realized that we hadn't been drinking enough water and my hands swelled up like "pregnant lady finger" so we kept pushing on and finally made it back to MTI, but completely exhausted and worn out. We had hiked over 15miles in 3.5 hours and up in elevation and it was actually a lot of fun and we got to see some views of God's amazing creation. Here are some of those amazing views like Mount Herman, Palmer Lake, other mountains on our trail and the view of Pikes Peak from our trail:

You are strength in my weakness

2011-02-16T11:08:00.000-08:00

Hey All,

Sorry that it has been a while since I last blogged. I am going to try and get better at this especially once I am in El Salvador, so you will know what is going on. I hope that you are all doing well. It is finally getting nice here in Iowa!!

I would have to say that this past month has filled with so many trials but even through these trials, God has been faithful and true, despite my unfavorable circumstances, God has shown me His faithfulness, His goodness and His love for me more than ever! I've had to lean on His strength more and trust Him more and He has been right by my side through it all, helping me get through trial after trail. One verse that has been amazing for me during this time has been:

“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen.”-2 Corinthians 4:17-18.

This verse has helped comfort me. So you're probably wondering what has gone on the past couple months. Well here it goes...first, about the second week in January my nephew, Cyrus, who is going to be two this month went into the hospital with seizures and an extremely high temp and they couldn't figure out what caused the seizures, so this was just a really scary thing to have happen, so I was for sure emotional in addition to having the stresses of support raising( that was beginning to not go well at all). Then a week and a half after that, my car( the infamous ghettomobile) decided to die. This was really not good at all because with support raising I really need a vehicle to be able to drive to appointments, especially to the ones that are not in Ames. However, my "Ames Family the McClanahan's said that I could borrow their pickup truck until I could figure out what I was going to do with my car situation. This was a complete blessing, and God provided even when I thought this was going to be really hard. That unfortuneatly wasn't the end of it last week, it got super super cold here in IA (and I really mean cold, I even wore my winter jacket, and those of you who know me know that I never wear my winter coat but it was like -30) and so I went to go start up the truck and it wouldn't start no matter what I did. I was like seriously, this really really sucks and then things got worse, my mom called and said that my nephew was in the hospital because he was having seizures and a super high temp., lets just say I was very emotional because I was super concerned about my nephew and had no transportation. However, God came through again in ways that I totally didn't expect...so my roommate Rebekah and I were going to attempt to jump start the truck (which was going to be quite interesting because neither of us had ever attempted to do this before) and then some guys that live upstairs from us came and helped and we got the truck started. Praise God!! However, things weren't quite back to being ok with the car situation...this past Monday, I was on my way to Des Moines for a support raising meeting when the truck started to shake violently, make weird noises and smell really bad, so I had to pull off to a rest station and have Craig McClanahan pick me up. Like I said before, even though this past month has really sucked in regards to circumstances I have seen God come through every time. He has reveled Himself to me more and more each and everyday and I've come to rely on Him more an more. One of the things I have really pulled out of all these trails is that God is my strength in my weakness, He wants me to totally reliant on Him and in those areas of my life were I am weak, it's His strength that pulls me through every time.

As for support raising, I am at about 54% of what I need to raise in order to go to El Salvador. It's going alright, it has for sure slowed down a bit, but I truly believe that God will provide in His time! Thank you all for your prayers, support and encouragement through this process.

Salu

Alyssa

The Disciple: Will you pay the price?

2011-01-04T12:35:00.000-08:00

The theme of Faithwalkers this year was: The Disciple: Are you willing to pay the price? It was such a convicting time but also really encouraging at the same time. I wish I had a ton of free time so I could tell you all, everything that I learned and got out of Faithwalkers but I will do my best in this post to share with you those nuggets of Truth that I got out of Faithwalkers this year.

As I mentioned in my previous post the beginning of Faithwalkers was really hard for me because I had a hard heart, but as I have gone through my notes and listened to the teachings again, I learned so much truth and I so want to share these truths with you.

Matthew 16:24-25:this verse was a common theme through out the conference. If you are going to follow Jesus there is a price to pay, you have to die to yourself a thousand times a day. Something that Brent Knox said really was very encouraging, he said that it is a privilege to give things up for Christ and the glory that will be shown to us and then Brent shared something that really hit close to my heart he said: "it's an honor and a privilege to be a missionary", this is so true to how I feel, when people ask me or try and say "oh Alyssa your giving up a lot to go and be a missionary in El Salvador", but in the depth of my heart I am humble and honored that God has decided to use me to help reach the people of El Salvador, there is a fiery passion in my soul for not only those people to know Christ but to all to know Christ!!!

There is another thing that really hit me at Faithwalkers and it was during Tim Rude's message on the cost of discipleship. He talked about how you can not be lukewarm and be an effective disciple of Jesus Christ. He had a great story about his friend from Pakistan, He had asked his friend what it meant to be a disciple of Jesus and his friend said to follow Jesus and Martyrdom and this is so true, following Jesus does have a cost, but there is also a price for not becoming a disciple of Jesus Christ.

The biggest thing that I got out of Faithwalkers this year was I convicted by my prayer life and my lack of a devoted prayer life. If you would have asked me if I was faithful in my prayers for others and such I would have had said yes for sure, but Faithwalkers really was kind of a reality check for me. A couple things that Mark Darling said first he said "your prayer is a demonstration of your faith. If God where to show up on your phone bill, how many minutes would you use on Him?" This was really convicting to me, and really made me think am I talking my friends, family, etc more than I am talking to God. I should always be spending more time talking with God in my day, in my week, in my year than to anyone else. Another great bit of truth that I learned was a couple of things that Rory Whitney said, First he said that you should pray that you would love God more today than you did yesterday, that you would love your roommates more today than yesterday, etc. The Second, was that Rory said: "You have not because you ask not" God wants to bless us, God wants to hear what is on our hearts but we have to ask Him! Finally, Rory was talking about how a disciple prays for the lost, He gave the examples of Acts 4:23-31 and Luke 11:1. He said that our prayers need to be...1. Desperate in our pleadings. 2. Dependant on Him only 3. Disciplined in our practice. Prayer is hard work, so work hard. Then Rory said this " A sinning man will stop praying but a praying man will stop sinning" This quote hit me like a ton of bricks and convicted my spirit so much in the area of prayer, not in just the little things but also in praying for the lost. Rory's message really touched my heart and both encouraged and convicted me. The cry of my heart is to see all to come to know Christ and Rory's message was such a good reminder and encouragement to pray, pray and pray so more for those who are dying in this world because they don't know Christ!! Let's go out and make Christ know to this dying world!!

I just wanted to share with you a little bit about what God has been teaching me since Faithwalkers, there are still many things that I have to share with you about what I have learned. I just ask you to pray and think about your life, are you willing to pay that price to become a disciple of Jesus? Praying for all of you and for you to know God more and more each day!!

So I leave you with this video that was shown by one of the speaker called the fellowship of the unashamed.

"Break my heart for the things that break Yours!"

2011-01-03T10:29:00.000-08:00

I had the opportunity to go to Faithwalkers last week, it's an amazing time where as an association of churches we gather together to hear teachings and to worship together. It's one of the most amazing times because it's so good to worship with two thousand other believers.

My prayer at the beginning of the conference was that God would break my heart for the things that break His heart. As usual God come through in this! From the drive to Omaha for Faithwalkers till the drive back to Ames, God broke my heart of stone and gave me a heart of flesh, I was drawn closer to Him! I'm still processing what I learned at Faithwalkers, so stay tuned for more updates, but for now here a piece of what God did in my heart during Faithwalkers.

As I mentioned my prayer at the beginning of Faithwalkes was that God would break my heart for the things that break His. He for sure did that. From the time when I started to drive to Omaha for the conference, I was for sure being spiritually attacked, I was being feed tons of lies (I'm not good enough to be a missionary, that I don't have what it takes,etc...). I was feeling really discouraged and my heart was hard. However, something struck me that first full day we met, Brent Knox talked a little bit about pouring your heart out to God and Mark Darling talked about it even more and I was just really convicted by that and that's exactly what I did, because it seemed like the only thing that I could do because I know that even though I was really discouraged and had a hard heart I knew and know that the only way to get out of the funk and become encouraged is to go to the one who gives encouragement, life and everything, which is God who is my Lord and Savior! It was Tuesday afternoon was when God really started to break through to my heart. I went to a seminar by Joy Whitney called "more than Enough" and everything in that seminar pierced parts of my heart and really encouraged me quite a bit. However, my heart was still a bit hard, but I continued to just seek Him and His face and then Wednesday God totally just broke my heart and softened my heart.

I also went to a seminar which was called "God in the storm" by Charlie Meyer and His father in law. This seminar also really pierced my heart, it was an amazing story of God, This man lost everything that he owned, his own wife was even ripped from his hands and still the first thing that he said when he recovered was he thanked God and just wanted to share Christ with people that just blew me away and convicted me so much. Then that night Rory Whitney gave a message that was probably my favorite of all of Faithwalkers because it not only pierced my heart and convicted me but it's also something is very close to my heart. His message was on loving the lost. This is an area where we can always grow in. One thing that Rory said was that "we have not because you ask not" and that struck me so much, and convicted me so much in the area of prayer. Are we asking God for opportunities to share the Gospel and to love the lost? I was convicted so much. Another thing Rory said was that you should pray "God I hope that I love you more today than I did yesterday, God I hope that I love lost more than yesterday, etc and that was again so convicting. The true cry of my heart is to see the whole world come to know Christ!!!

I also got to see God answer prayer and work in a miraculous way which only He can do. A friend of mine, Hui Zhou, came to Faithwalkers, even though he didn't know the Lord, but he was seeking. My prayer was that he would come to know the Lord. Slowly through out the conference I saw God working in his life and changing his heart. About half way through the conference he began to realize that he cannot live his life with out God, but wasn't yet ready to make that decision to give his life to Christ.I was blessed to have the opportunity to talk with him a lot about God and what it takes to be a Christian. Then God as he usually does worked in His awesome ways and while driving home from Faithwalkers on Thursday night Tim and I were talking with Zhou about what would happen if he were to die today and after talking with him, he prayed to receive Christ!!! Praise God!!

Hope you enjoyed and were encouraged by what I have learned and experienced in the past week. Let's go an reach this world for Christ!!! God is so amazing and He is so good!!! :) Praise Him!!!

I celebrate the day!

2010-12-23T13:46:00.000-08:00

I've been having some good thoughts and have a lot to share with you about but I have to quick finish up some work before Christmas, so I leave you with one of my favorite songs during Christmas, I celebrate the day! I pray that you all have a very Merry Christmas and remember the true meaning of Christmas!!

"And the first time That You opened Your eyes did You realize that You would be my Savior And the first breath that left Your lips Did You know that it would change this world forever”

Our God is the God who Provides

2010-12-05T15:39:00.001-08:00

Hey everyone!

Sorry, It's been awhile since I last updated you. This will just be a quick update as I have a lot of work to still do tonight but this is a nice break. Life has been very busy but I thank God for that because I been busy with a lot of support raising efforts and such. This past month or so has been both hard and good and God has been teaching me a lot!

Our God is a God who provides!!! This is SO true and God has for sure been showing me this in my life! Oh where to start...first, overall God has been providing me with people to meet with and share my ministry with, He has provided me enough funds to be able to stay in Ames until May (which is hopefully when I will go to training,Praise Him!!), He has blessed the support raising process not only financially but also abundantly in other ways also! I just can't say it enough...Praise God!!!

Another amazing example of God's providence, was today, my roommates Rebekah Hanson and Beth Boal organized a taco feed to help raise money for my initial start up costs in going to El Salvador, specifically my plane ticket to El Salvador (which is about $800), and wow it was a complete success! We managed to raise through the generous gifts of my Stonebrook family, $1246 dollars towards my start up costs, Praise God!!! I'm in awe of God's providence today and so thankful for the generous giving of my fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. I'm just SO incredibly thankful...words can not describe!

There is SO much more to share but I ought to get back to my work ;)

Thank you all for your prayers, support, love and encouragement through out this process! I praise God for all of you.

Trust God Period!

2010-11-10T17:23:00.000-08:00

Hey all!

I hope that you are all doing well! I know its been awhile since I have blogged, life has been crazy busy. Since I returned from New Staff Training with GCM, I have been working a lot both with my job at McFarland Clinic as well as for GCM. However, last Friday the 5th was my last day of work at McFarland Clinic, so I could devote all my time to doing work for GCM and doing MTD (aka support raising). I'm really excited about being able to devote all my time, but it is going to be a trying process with not having an income, but I'm learning that I just have to trust God period! He will provide for my needs as I trust in Him and learn about what He is trying to teach me through this process.

This week I have been back in MN to do some support raising. This is both exciting but a bit stressful at times. I am excited that I get to meet up with some friends that I haven't had a huge chance to connect with for a couple of years, so its always great to catch up and see what God is doing in the lives of others.

So far support raising is going alright, but not the best. I am at about 8% of my month goal of support that I need to raise for GCM. The first couple of weeks were going well but its now starting to get a little bit harder. This week especially has been really difficult, but I keep getting the "trust me" from Him, so we'll see how he works things out. God has been blessing me in many other ways also and I'm just trusting Him period in all things. I do have to say I'm so incredibly thankful for the people God has put around me during this phase of life in support raising, you are all amazing and thanks for sticking by me and encouraging me through this process!

Some prayer requests: For time management (as I will have to be very digigent in making calls to people and setting up appointments and such), that I would be listening to the things God is trying to teach me during this process, for encouragement through this process!

Love to you all!

Alyssa

PS: Also if you are interested in helping support me in my work in El Salvador and want to know how you can help please call me at763-742-5519 or email me at alyssaraecorbett@gmail.com.

Update

2010-10-07T12:54:00.000-07:00

Hey All!

Wow sorry it has been so long since I've blogged.I don't have too much time right now but I thought that I would give you all a quick update.

Things in my life have been crazy busy but really good. The biggest news in my life is that I have now gone on Staff with Great Commission Ministries(GCM)!!! I'm SO excited for this opportunity!I love that I am going to devote all of my time to full time ministry. I am going to be a full time missionary in Guayabo in El Salvador! God is doing and is going to do some awesome things!! Praise Him!

I just returned from New Staff Training in Orlando,FL. I went there to learn more about developing ministry team to help learn how to support raise the funds needed to get me back to El Salvador. I was there with 13 other new staff. It was great to see the heart and passion that they had for reaching people for Christ! It was a great time or community and fellowship. We had a great group and we had some awesome trainers!

So I am super excited to get this process started! I ask for your prayers through this time. I pray for time management as I will have to be really organized during this process, peace and encouragement.

Also if you are interested in helping support me in my work in El Salvador financially please call me at 763-742-5519 or email me at alyssaraecorbett@gmail.com.

God Bless!

2010-07-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Hey all! :)

I hope that you are all doing well. Life has been good lately and God has been awesome but HE is always awesome! :) I just wanted to give you guys a little update on whats going on in my life.

Well, of course I have been working lots. I also have been continuing my running, which I love to do...I'm running about 5 miles everyday and I'm hoping to maybe run a half marathon in like October. Last week on the 23rd I had to move out of my old apartment, which was a little crazy because I can't move into my new apartment until August 1st, but God totally provided and I have been able to stay at my friend Alexa's apt. because she is gone for the summer. I'm SO stoked though to move into my new apt. I'm SO excited to be roommates with Rebek and Beth and to be across the hall from Sarah, Ruth and Jess (who is a sweet awesome girl I met this past sunday who is transferring from UNI :) It's also my birthday on Monday the second and I'm actually pretty excited!! I'm going to spend half the day up in MN and then I'm going to be back in ames and go out with some of the girls to Carlos O'Kelly's!! :)

In other news, I'm still going through the process with GCM in my application to the one year missionary program to return to ES! I've submited all the paperwork needed and I did the international testing packet which took like 4.5hrs in total. I'm excited to where God is leading me and I'm praying God's will in this process of returnnig to ES for a year! I do miss El Salvador a lot, especially all my friends and the people that I've met down there!

Another thing is one passage that I’ve really been meditation on the past couple of
days is Psalm 145. This is turning into one of my favorite psalms!
It’s so encouraging for me. It really just reminds me of how awesome
our God is!!!

Also another sweet random little tidbit that has been encouraging for
me has been Spanish worship music. I absolutely love Spanish worship
music. When I was in El Salvador one night at La Red we sang from the
inside out (desde mi interior in Spanish) in Spanish and I loved it!
That song as well as Hosanna by Hillsong in Spanish have become my two
favorite songs as of late.

Anyways, I hope you are all doing well! Have a great day!

Peace out!

Que Ondas

2010-07-07T07:19:00.000-07:00

Sorry its been awhile since I've blogged! So here is just a short update of the ongoings in my life! Things have been going well since I returned from El Salvador. I can tell you though that I miss El Salvador, specifically the people SO very much!!!!! It has for sure taken some time to get readjusted to being back in the states and working full time. I really miss people speaking Spanish all the time. I also miss playing Futbol!!!

In other news, as some of you may know. The last Wednesday I was in ES I sat down with Victor, Silva and Christina to talk about my future and ES.As some of you know I have been praying about possibly going down to ES longer term and that was one of the reasons I wanted to go to ES for an extended period of time this summer. Through out the trip God kept confirming it, so I talked with Sarah and Christina about it and then met with Victor and Silvia about the possibility of me coming down to ES for at least a year through GCM's one year missionary program. So since I have been back I have began this process by doing the application. It is a very detailed process and it takes some time, but Lord willing I will be accepted into the program. I truly feel like this is where God wants be to serve. God has put a huge passion and fire in my heart for the people of El Salvador! I want to serve them and love on them and share with them about what Jesus has done for us, so that they may come into a relationship with Christ. So I ask for your prayers through this process; it would be greatly appreciated and such a blessing! I also ask you to pray for the people of El Salvador, that they would come into a relationship with Christ!

Well, I've gotta peace out!

Dios Te Bendiga!!

Adios Amgios!

Te quiero El Salvador mucho!!

2010-06-19T23:10:00.000-07:00

Hey Peeps!

I'm writing on my last day here and actually its already Sunday here. I'm really sad to leave El Salvador...I really do love El Salvador, primarily the people. I've built relationships here that are going to be ever lasting. I can't wait till I come back.

The past couple of days I've mainly chilled and hung out with Victor Raul and Silvita. I also finally finished the missions website. I'm really going to miss hanging out with Victor Raul and Silvita :(
As some of you may know God has really put it on my heart to possibly come to El Salvador for a longer period of time and so on Wednesday morning, Victor, Silvia, Christina and I went out to breakfast to discuss my future in El Salvador. After talking with Victor, I've decided to apply for the 1yr missionary program through GCM!! I would deeply appreciate your prayers!! Then I said goodbye to Sarah(she was leaving to go to the States that night). Then I just hung out the rest of the night with Victor Raul and Silvita. Thursday I ran some errands and did some other stuff. Then we had my going away dinner with the Turcios family and Christina. We went to this nice Mexican restaurant and sat outside and there was this guy playing saxophone(Alexa I totally thought of you right away!!) It was SO great, I've been SO blessed to be able to stay with this family...I'm going to miss them a lot!!
Friday I finished up the missions website and ran my last couple of errands that i needed to run and finished helping Christina move into her other room.

Today, Saturday, was a great day!!! I speechless, God has blessed me SO much with all my friends here! I went to lunch with Luis and Gloria and then walked around Galerias for a while and then went to La Zona(which is the youth ministry). That was such a good and encouraging time, Jorge gave a very good message on becoming a influential leader. It was also a sad time because I had to say goodbye to people :( Then we left to go to La Red! La Red was chivo(this is awesome in Spanish slang)!!! They put up a sweet going away sign for me and then we got everything ready and played a sweet icebreaker game. Then Jorge gave a good message on finances. Then they went around the room and people shared encouragement and words with me about my time here in El Salvador...I was touched deeply. I love the people in La Red, they are like my family!! :)Then after we order pupusas of course :)great last meal in El Salvador!!! :)However, then I had to say goodbyes to everyone, this was REALLY hard :( I really don't want to leave, i'm going to miss everyone SO much!!! but I will return to El Salvador!!

God has done amazing things in my heart in my time here and I just want him to be glorified!! I'm excited to see all of my peeps in Ames again. To my El Salvadorian friends, I'm going to miss you SO much and I can't wait till I can see you again y Dios te bendiga!!

Well, I have to get up in a couple of hours, so buenos noches!! Te quiero El Salvador mucho!!!

Mas El Salvador

2010-06-15T08:45:00.000-07:00

Hola amigos!Que Ondas? (this is What's up in El Salvadorean slang)

Sorry I haven't blogged in a week. Things are going well down here. Did I mention that I love it down here! ;) The more time I am able to stop and reflect on my time here in El Salvador...I just can't believe what a blessing this trip has been. Being down here with the saints down here has been an encouragement and a huge blessing! I've started to build some good relationship bonds here.

Wednesday I went to the offices again with Sarah, Jorge and Kumar and I continued to work on the website that I am doing for missionaries. One thing that I have learned when working on making websites that it does take quite a bit of time but I really like doing it! :) Then later that night we met up with Eddie, Vanessa, Roger, Patty and Luis and we went to Gran Via. First we went and had dinner at Buffalo Wings, which was SO good! Then we went to see a movie and I don't remember what it was cause the name of the movie was in Spanish, but it was a good movie. Thursday was kind of a chill day, worked out with Sarah in the morning and then chilled. I worked on the website more and I worked on making a going away sign for Kumar since he was leaving on Sunday...I cut letters out using foam paper and putting it on string, it was sweet lookin! and then of course played some Wii with Victor Raul:) Friday Sarah, Christina and I ran some errands and then went to the University to go meet up with some people and then had lunch over at Sarah and Jorge's house (Sarah made delicious tacos again!) Then Friday night we had a going away dinner for Kumar. It was Victor and his family, Christina, Sarah, Jorge, Kumar and I. We played tag and some futbol with Victor Raul and Silvita and then had an amazing meal prepared by Sarah!

Saturday we went to play paintball! This was so sweet cause I had never played paintball before. We left at like 8:30am and got there about nine...we had a group of about 18 people. We went to this place just outside of San Salvador and it was up in some mountains which was SO sweet! Playing was so much fun, we played for like 3.5hours. We might be going back this Saturday so that will be sweet! Then Veronica and I chilled at Sarah's house for a while and then went to run some errands with Sarah. Then we started to set up for La Red and decorate Sarah and Jorge's garage for Kumar's going away sent off. We put up the sign I made and balloons. Then we had an awesome time at La Red! :) It was such a great time of fellowship! Sunday we went to church and Victor's message on how Jesus is the only was to heaven was really good!! Then the girls had another futbol game! :) It was SO much fun and my team won!! I really am going to try and get people together and play futbol and use it as an outreach tool once I get back to the states.

Last night we had a 2.5 hour soccer practice which was awesome! I seriously love playing futbol!! :) Then this morning Sarah and I did a sweet Tae Bo workout! God has really been working in my heart. I have a deep passion for the people here and I am so very grateful for the relationships that I have built. One thing God has really put on my heart is El Salvador and regards to my future. God is so awesome in how he works and I completely trust Him for what will happen in regards to my future in El Salvador! God continues to revel himself to me and is opening my eyes to things. To him be all the glory!

Dios Te Bendiga!!

Adios amigos

Futbol y mas

2010-06-08T09:02:00.000-07:00

On Saturday La Red was great! We are going through a series on the value of a cent. Which was really interesting. So Jorge proposed a challenge for the group...everyone was given one cent and they have a month to try and see what they can get for a cent. It's going to be a sweet and interesting challenge. Then after well all went out to pizza hut for dinner. Then on the way back we packed seven people into Jorge and Sarah's Honda Civic. I've come to realize that you try and fit as many people as you can in cars, you find room...haha.

Sunday we went to church and Victor started a new series called to believe or not in the Bible. The message on Sunday was on the Bible is the word of God. The message was really good. Then after the service I helped Sarah with the new members lunch. Then we went over to Sarah and Jorge's for lunch and just chilled for a little bit...then it was time for the girls to play some FUTBOL!!!! I was so excited to finally play a real game of futbol...it had been awhile. However, I got locked out of the house so I didn't have any shoes to play in. So I decided to play barefoot on the turf field...not one of my smartest ideas in the world but it was totally worth it so I could play. It was SO much fun to play...oh how I've missed playing futbol!! I for sure learned that here in El Salvador the girls do not play as aggressively and rough as we do in the states, but it was a great time and I can't wait to play again. I did end up with some pretty big blisters on my feet and it was kinda hard to walk after the game but once I got back to the house I iced my feet and put some band aid with bacitracin on them and they are now healed.I totally went to bed at 10pm and that's the earliest that I have went to bed since like last Wednesday, every other night I had been out till like 12:30am, and I wake up at 5 or 6am automatically so you can imagine that I have been tired.

Monday the morning was relaxing and then I went to the University with Kumar and Sarah. This was sweet cause I really hadn't been to the University before other than to drop people off and when we had our first La Red meeting on campus. Sarah showed me around the campus and then we saw Julio who just prayed to receive Christ on !!!and Sarah started talking with him. Then I just started talking to this guy named Daniel(at least I think that was his name lol) and I had a conversation with him and it was completely in Spanish. I was pretty excited to be able to have a conversation and he actually understood what I said...haha. Then Sarah, Kumar and I met up with Anai and talked with her about her faith and coming to church and such. Which was sweet. Then I tried what is called Yuca it was really good I can't really describe it but it was good. Since I'm not with the mission group I get to try any food I want but Sarah has told me some foods to stay away from like cortido because that like rips apart your stomach. Then after we went back to Sarah and Jorge's house to have lunch. Then we went to go to the offices and on the way we stopped by this street vendor that was selling ice cream! That ice cream was amazing! Its different than regular ice cream you get in the states, it didn't have as much cream in it! It was just so good! So I got some work done and chilled at the offices but I started to realize that my body it kinda sore from playing soccer. I guess that's what happens when you don't play for a while ;)

Anyways I'm off to the University again in a little bit.

Adios Amigos

Pupusas and more

2010-06-05T15:46:00.000-07:00

Wow I can't believe I have been in El Salvador for a week already..time is just flying by. I'm still loving El Salvador!!!The past couple days I've had pupusas and they are so great!! They are seriously my favorite food!!

On Thursday I chilled and worked on the English website for the church and worked on backing it up as well as doing some other little things of work. Then that night I hung out with Luis and we went to Buffalo Wings at this outdoor mall thing that they have in El Salvador, which was really sweet. Then he showed me all these sweet sights around San Salvador...like we went to this place called Antiguo Cuscatlán and its a famous part of the city and there is this park there that looks out over a big part of the city...its near the massive US embassy....then he showed me downtown San Salvador (like where all the national buildings are like the national palace, national theater and the national cathedral). So it was cool to be able to see some of the parts of ES I haven't seen before. So it was sweet but tiring.

Then on Friday I chilled that morning and played with Victor Raul and Sivita. Then in the afternoon I went with Sarah and Jorge to the offices and Sarah gave me some more sweet ideas of what I can do to help out with La Red (like I'm going to part we are going to have a sleepover for the girls in La Red and I'm going to spend some more time just building relationships with the girls down here, we are also trying to coordinate with the University so our church team can play against the University team and use that as an outreach tool.) to get some work done on the Spanish church website, but I ended up running a lot of errands with Sarah, which was awesome, cause we just got to talk more about the culture and I shared my testimony with her. Then once we got back to the offices we did some more work, but then the band was going to have band practice.

So then I went with Sarah and Jorge to go have dinner over at Jorge's sister's house. First we picked up Jorge's mom...she is totally awesome!!! She welcomed me into her home and was like this is your home also...it was just really touching, how she welcomed me like part of her family like immediately. The hospitality down here is amazing. We also picked up his adorable niece!!! His niece is an amazing singer!!!:) Then we got to his sister's house which was beautiful!!! They have an adorable little girl :) We had pupusas for dinner and they were great!!! Did I mention that I love pupusas lol :) We had some great conversation and it was just fun hanging out with Jorge's family. Then his niece sang for us and it was totally awesome!!!! Then Jorge's niece, Sarah and I showed everyone else how to do the hokey pokey...it was quite entertaining. I have to say that hanging out with Jorge's family was totally awesome and one of best days that I have had in El Salvador...it was just great!! :)

I've realized that it has been hard to adapt to a couple of things here...the fact that unlike in the US where you can't go places by yourself especially walking. This has been hard for me because in the US I'm so use to being able to go where I want and not really have to worry about how dangerous its going to be. With this it results in having to stay at the house quite a bit unless I can get someone to give me a ride. This has for sure been a hard thing to adapt to because I really don't like having to stay in the house, so every chance that I get I leave the house, even if its just to the store or to go pick something up. Another cultural thing that has been interesting to adapt to is that here being out at 10pm is considered really late, which is far from the view in the US. However, here the big reason is that it is just not safe for people to be out that late...for sure an adjustment from living in Ames.

Other than that God continues to revel himself to me. God just continues to open my eyes to his amazing love and grace!! I again ask you to pray for my time here, but more importantly for the church, the people of San Salvador...that we could share Truth with them, and for my building of relationships with the women of La Red.

Well off to La Red!

Adios Amigos

Ongoings

2010-06-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

Hey Peeps!

El Salvador is still amazing...I love it here! On Monday and Tuesday I just kinda relaxed and hung out around the house. I've played a lot of Wii with Victor Raul....he absolutely loves that I play Wii with him. Also on Tuesday I started giving English lessons to Silva, Victor Raul and Silvita.I've also done some errands with Christina, but for the most part, I have just chilled and played with Victor Raul and Silvita.

Wednesday I just chilled in the morning and then Christina and I went over to Sarah and Jorge's to have lunch. We had this amazing chicken soup...it was so good! We talked a little bit about how I can work with La Red while I'm here. Then once we got back Victor gave me a task to take the stuff off of the church website and put it all in files and back it up so they can redesign the website with out losing the information, this has for sure kept me busy. Then I went over to Sarah's for dinner (we had awesome tacos with beans, meat,alvacado and cheese they were SO good!) and we talked and started watching a movie. Then we went with Jorge, Luis and some other guys to go watch them play some futbol.It was a good night! Then this morning Sarah and I did an awesome Tae Bo workout video.

I've been learning so much about the El Salvadorian culture and what its like to live here. God is really teaching me what it is like to live in a culture that is very different than the one that we have in the states. I'm continually reminded of how I am so very blessed with everything that I have. In the US we are so blessed! One praise that I have noticed since I have been here is that not only have I been able to eat anything that they have made for me foodwise and I haven't had ANY stomach problems...for those of you who know me well...you know this is huge for me because I've had problems for awhile now...I guess that just means I'll have to cook El Salvadorian food all the time when I get back ;)I'm SO excited for what God is going to do while I am down here.

That's all I have for you now!ps I have epically failed at taking pictures...sorry.

Hasta Luego Amigos

In El Salvador

2010-05-30T21:36:00.000-07:00

Hola from El Salvador!!!

I'm going to try and blog every couple of days when I am here in El Salvador. It will all depend on the time that I have and how tired I am each night as to how much I will blog. I'll be blogging about what's going on here and what God is teaching me.

So I got here yesterday in the afternoon and I arrived into a tropical storm that El Salvador was under! This is crazy rain when it rains like it has and the rain affects so much down here, like how snow affects so much in Iowa. My flight was good I was just really tired from having to get up so early to get to the airport. Sarah, Christina and Gabriel picked me up at the airport. Then Christina and I got dropped off at Victor's house were I will be staying for the next three weeks! Then after I got my stuff ready we went to the meeting of La Red which is the college ministry of Iglesia Gran Comision San Salvador. It was really cool to meet a group of the college students and I also met Kumar who is the other missionary here. Sarah gave her Testimony and Jorge gave a really good message. Then we all went out pizza hut and it was sweet.

Today, I got to sleep in a bit. Then I had cereal with milk (Sarah, this is a big shocker! haha) Then we went to church, which was really sweet cause when we came in March we didn't get to go to the church here, so I was really excited to experience it. It was really good and Victor gave a good message! Then Victor and his family, Christina, Kumar and I went to the mall for lunch. Then later Kumar, Christina and I sat down with Victor and talked about out the plans for the time that I am here. So that was sweet! Then we went back to the house and Victor Raul and I played Wii together for at least a couple of hours...haha. Then Victor Raul, Silvita and played some more games, but then I had to to go cause Christina and I were going with Luis and Lelys to see Iron Man 2 which was good but honestly I was kinda lost because I haven't seen the first one. Then we had Pupusas!!! I love pupusas :)

I'm SO excited as to what God will to during my time here in El Salvador...I believe that He is going to do some amazing things!! To Him be all the glory!!!

I do have some prayer requests for you all to me praying for(these are in no particular order):
1. Just your continued prayers for this trip overall and for God to be glorifed in all that I am doing down here.
2. For my Spanish...I can understand a lot but I still have to work on my speaking.
3. The the Lord continues to break my heart for the things that break his

I'm having an awesome time here! I love the Turcios family!! Silvia,Victor,Silvita and Victor Raul are so awesome! I'm SO blessed that they have opened up their home to me!!!

Its off to bed for me cause I'm SO exhausted....still attempting to catch up on sleep from Friday. Anyways until next time

Adios amigos!!

Update

2010-05-14T12:09:00.000-07:00

Wow its been so long since, I've blogged. Life has been kinda crazy, but God has been SO good!! So I'll just give you a quick update. Since I've been back from El Salvador, I can't tell you in words how much God has changed me. God is just so amazing, to Him be the glory!!

A couple of huge things that have occured is I have gotten to share the gospel with three of my Chinese friends that I have been reaching out to and building relationships with, this has been SO cool. Secondly, Alexa got baptized!!! Woo!!! I was so glad that I got to see her make that step of faith!!! Love you Lexa!! :)

Finally, big news I'm going back to El Salvador this summer for three weeks!!! Praise Him!!!! This opportunity was totally and completely orchestrated by God. He did what I thought was nearly impossible and made it possible. So quick sysopsis of the story...so when I got back to the states after being in El Salvador, I stayed in contact with Sarah and the other leaders down there about possibly coming down for a longer period of time. Then one day I got an email from her saying that I could possibly come down for three or four weeks this summer. As you can imagine I was super stoked about this opportunity, and I really wanted to take advantage of this, but I was like there is no way work will let me take three weeks off and I haven't even worked there for six months. However, God had a different plan and worked in a supernatural way and I was just completely in awe of Him!! I talked to my boss the next day and she was totally cool with it; she was like yah sure that should be fine we can get coverage for you!! The look on my face must have been priceless. I was just in awe of how God worked!! Praise Him!!! So the past couple weeks we have been working out details and it has become official...I'm going back to El Salvador May 29-June20th!!!! I'm SO excited!!!! God is SO good!!!!!

More on El Salvador

2010-04-02T05:25:00.000-07:00

Sorry this post is a bit late but here is a little more about the mission trip to El Salvador. This is still a summarized version, if you want to hear more just ask me!

El Salvador was AMAZING...there are not words to describe how much of
an affect it had on me. It was SO incredible.I REALLY didn't want to
come back, I was so touched and impacted! I am even thinking about
talking with Jorge and Sarah about maybe going back this summer. I
loved it SO much down there and it ignited my passion for missions
even more! I have SO many stories to tell you, but I'll give you the
quick run down on the trip, I can talk for at least two hours about
the trip and thats really saying something for me! First when we were
in the Airport we went to Ruby's and I actually got a cheeseburger and
I ate the whole thing...this is big for me because it was my first cheeseburger in like 9 years lol. So the first night that we got to San Salvador the other half of the group was already at the hotel because I flew on another flight with the
Minneapolis peeps and we got there a lot later than they did, but I
got to room with Julie Johnson the whole week so that was AWESOME cause she is just awesome!

Then the next morning, Monday we started..we stayed at a nice hotel and
we got free continental breakfast every morning. The first half of the
morning we got some cutural training and broke down into our
groups...I was in the Medical group. That group was with the doctors
and after the community would get the medical consultutations then we
would share the gospel with them. So later we went to El Guayabo which
was the poor community that we were going to reach out to and we went
there to set up the appointments for the week and meet some in the
community. This afternoon was SO touching...so while the leaders where
scheduling appointments, I went over to play with this big group of
kids and then there was this little girl and I just smiled at her and
said Hola and she came running over to me and gave me a big hug and
kiss and wouldnt let go of my hand...It was SO precious and cute and
really touched my heart!! (there is a pic on facebook that Marc took
with the little girl). Then there was three kids left toward the end
of the day Brain (who is the cute little boy who hung out with us all week), Esmeralda and her sister Karla. So I wanted to play a game with them so I though about duck, duck, goose because that would be easy to explain in Spanish, however
the funny thing was that I couldn't remember how to say goose in Spanish so I changed the name of the game to pollo, pollo, pato which
is chicken, chicken, duck.

I also got to play soccer like every couple of days with El
Salvadorians which was awesome! The next couple of days Tues-Thurs we
shared the gospel with people who came for medical consulatations. I
shared with a ton of people and 10 people that I shared the gospel
with prayed to recieve Christ!!! PTL!!! It was SO amazing to see God
work!!! There were like 40 people who prayed to recieve Christ it was
SO amazing!! God is SO good!!

Then Friday was the beach day which was awesome...the waves were
wicked sweet!! I got really sunburnt thought but it was SO much fun!
Then Saturday was our last day at the community...it was really sad to
say goodbye to the people of El Guayabo. We had a bazarr in the
morning where we gave away clothing to the people...it was so awesome
to see the joy in their faces and the gratiude that they had! One
thing that was really impacting was that these people have so very
little but they are willing to give what little they have to help
others. Then that afternoon the rest of the group stayed for the
church service and the kids party but Andrew, Marc, Paul, Julie and I
went with Victor to the youth group meeting! However, before this we
had to say goodbye to the people in El Guayabo, which was
heartbreaking, especially saying goodbye to Brain:( Paul gave a sweet
message to the youth group and we got to hang out with the youth group
and have worship with them it was SO awesome!! After though it was sad
because we had to say goodbye to all the locals and our translators.
Then later we had our going away dinner with Sarah, Jorge and
Christina...it was SO good and it made me cry.

This whole trip was SO amazing and I can't fit everything into this
email. I don't have enough words to express the impact this trip had on me...it
was SO wonderful!! God opened my eyes SO much and taught me SO much!!
I want to go back SO bad...it was AMAZING!

Until next time, Peace Out!

El Salvador

2010-03-23T09:19:00.000-07:00

I only have a little time, but to sum the trip up in one word was AMAZING!!! God did so many awesome things!! We saw around 40 people pray to receive Christ!!! To Him be the glory!! There were so many touching stories, that broke my heart! I love El Salvador SO much and I want to go back very soon. Sarah and Jorge were amazing organizers!! I miss the people in El Guayabo SO much, especially Brain, Esmeralda and Karla, they touched my heart SO much!! I will write more about the trip later, so stay tuned or just ask me about it and I would love to tell you all about it!! God did amazing things and I was forever impacted!!

Peace out

El Salvador!!!

2010-03-12T16:21:00.000-08:00

I leave for El Salvador on early, early Sunday morning!!!! I'm SO stoked!!! God is going to some crazy AWESOME things!!! If you just be praying for logistics in getting there, safety and for God to be going before us and preparing hearts!!!

Peace Out!!!

Britt Nicole

2010-02-24T19:44:00.000-08:00

So Last spring I discovered Britt Nicole as a artist with the song the Lost get Found. So I was introduced to this song the other day and WOW its one of those songs that I connect with SO much. The lyrics are SO very powerful.

This is another one of Britt Nicole's songs that I discovered tonight, that just really hits home and the lyrics are SO good.

I love Tenth Avenue North

2010-02-13T11:53:00.000-08:00

So I know I have said this before but I love tenth avenue north's music, their music speaks to me like no other. I found this video that is of a song that is going to be on their new album that comes out later this year, which I'm totally stoked for!! Hope you enjoy.

The Beauty of Letting Go

2010-02-08T18:35:00.000-08:00

So this past week I would say that I got a real kick in the face by the Lord. My eyes were really opened up to the fact that I was holding on to somethings in my life that really aren't mine to hold onto and I've been holding on to "my rights". I was really humbled and awakened by the Lord. I realized that I needed to let go of these things and give them up to the Lord. I realized that these things that I had been clinging on so much to where hindering my walk with the Lord because I wanted it my way. So I decided to take this death grip off of some of these things I had been holding onto even though this I will admit scared me a bit. The beauty of it all though afterwords was I felt relief. It's amazing what happens when you just trust and obey what the Lord is asking. He is so very faithful!!

Here are a couple of verses that the Lord really used to really speak to me:

"For the LORD God is a sun and shield; the LORD bestows favor and honor; no good thing does he withhold from those whose walk is blameless."-Psalm 84:11

"I once thought these things were valuable, but now I consider them worthless because of what Christ has done. 8 Yes, everything else is worthless when compared with the infinite value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have discarded everything else, counting it all as garbage, so that I could gain Christ 9 and become one with him. I no longer count on my own righteousness through obeying the law; rather, I become righteous through faith in Christ.[a] For God’s way of making us right with himself depends on faith."- Phiippians 3:7-9

Also the Tenth Avenue North Song "Let it Go" also played a big part. I'm just amazed by God and His grace that He has lavished upon up us.

Winter Jam 2010

2010-01-27T19:20:00.000-08:00

So the past week or so has been kind of hard for me...I've been really stressed out with trying to balance working full time while still going to school full time as well as trying to deal with certain circumstances. I admit I was starting to get discouraged. However, the Lord came through in a huge way I had a good conversation with a friend and then I went to the Winter Jam concert with two of my awesome friends, this was so amazing and so encouraging and uplifting. Music like what I heard at the concert does wonders for my soul.

So on Sunday I went to Winter Jam which is a concert with a ton of Christian bands and its only ten dollars. This year the line up was Revive, Robert Pierre, Newsong, Sidewalk Prophets, Fireflight, Newsboys, Tenth Avenue North and Third Day. This concert was AMAZING! I had since Tenth Avenue North two other times in concert, so I knew if it would have just been them it would have been amazing. All the bands were good but I have to say that Tenth Avenue North and the Newsboys were my favorites by far. I just love their music. Again Tenth Avenue North's music is SO good and is filled with SO much truth. There is so much truth in their music and I can relate to their lyrics so closely, and it really just speaks to me and at times comforts me so very much, I wish there where words. One sweet thing is that tenth avenue north played one of their new songs that will be on their new album and it was amazing and seriously the lyrics speak to me so clearly. Here is a little clip of it...I can't wait to get their new album...its going to be AMAZING!!!

I hope you enjoyed that song!! I was very impressed with the concert and amazed at the impact that it did to help encourage me.

All I Know

2010-01-09T11:57:00.000-08:00

This song was a song that Steele Croswhite wrote for faithwalkers and its absoultely AMAZING. It's a song that hits so close to my heart and how I have felt a lot lately. I really encourage you to listen to the words of this song they are so very powerful.

Faithwalkers

2010-01-01T13:40:00.000-08:00

Encouraged, inspired, convicted, changed....this is the best way that I can describe faithwalkers this year...it was absolutely amazing!

This year faithwalkers was different for me than the past couple of years that I have gone to faithwalkers. If I'm to be humbly honest with you, I had a lot of reservations about going to faithwalkers this year...in light of what has been going on in my life, but the LORD urged me to go so I did. I'm so happy that I did because I came away from this conference changed.

My heart was very heavy going to faithwalkers and the first night and into the first full day, I was in protection mode...in order to protect my heart from possible hurt and that is when the Lord broke into my heart and brought me to my knees. The first full day that we were at the conference...the LORD spoke to me so much...one question that the Lord has been pressing me to answer the day before faithwalkers was " Alyssa, are willing/ready to give up this situation up to me and to just trust me?", during the day when I went to the seminars "Your knight in shining Armor"...this seminar pretty much summarized the story of my life relating to a lot of my struggles and "Are you Brave Enough?" and through these seminars,the Lord really spoke to my heart and after the last seminar I went off by myself and broke down and surrendered that certain situation up to the Lord and i for the first time really truly meant it...it was SO freeing...I wish I had more words to describe how amazing this was just to surrender this to the Lord and trust Him...its amazing how simple this sounds but its so hard to do at times so this was such an amazing experience to just trust the LORD and give this to Him. This brought me to tears and humbled me so much and I thank God so much for this!

There is SO much that I learned at this conference and I am seriously inspired, encouraged and changed. So here are some of the very critical points that I got out of the conference. There is SO much that I learned these are just a few glimpses of what I learned and if you want to hear more ask me and I'll tell you.

One of the first points I got out of the conference was to stop pleasing people and letting what they say about me, define me. I have struggled with this my whole life, especially the past year or so. I was very convicted on this. I learned that God is NOT pleased when we work to just please others to gain acceptance. It is JESUS CHRIST who defines me NOT people. This is something I'm really going to work on. The verse that really hits me regarding this is Galatians 1:10: " Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ."

The second main point I got out of faithwalkers was from Andy Gray's seminar "Are you brave enough?" and that I need to take risks and stop being SO fearful of all things especially rejection and getting out of my comfort zone. This really hit me cause I have not been the person who normally takes risks and this is actually really self centered. One thing that really hit me was that Andy said Every spiritual blessing has been given to us through Christ, we have all the tools we need to get through situations. I loved how he related it to this situation where this man was a photographer and took a picture of this women and how she feel into a disaster and how he had the chance to save her but chose not to. So the thing that really convicted me was that I've had to ask myself if there is someone who is drowning would I be brave enough to jump in and save them, even if they have a wave of chaos coming in behind them. I really was convicted on this and about taking risks. The last question that he posed to us and the one I leave for you to think about is " Are you brave enough to love?"

A third point that I got out of this conference was a huge one and had a theme through out all of the faithwalkers teachings especially the main teachings.The big thing is reaching out and loving the lost. This hit me SO much, I've had a passion before to reach the lost but this was like a slap in the face and a real wake up call and re- lit this passion in my soul to reach the lost and share truth with them. So Bill Young had some amazing points that really hit me, the first thing he said that hit me was that Bill said " People are dying all around me, what are you doing with your life?" This really convicted me. Another quote that really hit me and was one of the most profound statements that impacted me this faithwalkers and that was " LORD, stamp eternity on my eyes: 'Heaven' on one and 'hell' on the other that I might see every should in light of eternity."- Leonard Ravenhill. WOW is all I can say, this is what I want to do in my life, I want to see people in this view. Another point that Bill brought up was the analogy that if you had the cure for cancer, you would share it wouldn't you? This hit me cause of course we would give them the cure and the thing is that we have a cure and that is Jesus, so think about this statement " If you really believe people are going to hell, and you have the answer, how much do you have to hate them not to tell them." I challenge you to really think about this.

If you want to be involved in changing lives, you have to be changed and be changing. One quote that Rick Whitney shared and that was " If you are not hated by someone then, we don't know enough people, and we don't speak enough truth"-John Piper, this hit me so hard and was a real wake up call and in relation to sharing my faith. Some points that Rick gave were; to pray for the lost everyday, pray for opportunities to be a witness, to pray for courage to speak, look for opportunities to hand out invites to your church. I really want to work to apply these to my life. I also want to share this piece of truth and that is If we open our mouths God will bless it!

Then Pat Sokoll spoke and wow it was AMAZING! He started his talk with a thing that had a counter on it with how many people were born each day in the world, how many people are hearing the gospel and not believing it and then how many people are dying and not hearing the gospel. This really hit me because there were thousands and by the time that he was done speaking over 2300 people died with out hearing the gospel and that really hit me because that was really put in because he was like this whole room plus more has died without hearing the gospel and that was very powerful. The biggest thing that I got out of Pat's message was to just go out and do it and reach out to the lost. I was really encouraged and inspired to share the truth with the lost.

One of the final points that really hit me was John Meyer's message. He stressed the importance of fellowship and loving one another and being Christ to one another. He used the word koinonia which means fellowship, association, community. He gave so many verses like John 13:34-35, 1 Thessalonians 4:9, 1 Thessalonians 3:12, 1 Peter 1:22, 1 John 3:11, 23, 1 John 4:7-8. We are called to love one another. So I ask are you applying obedient faith to that? I know that I have not this past semester and I think that's why this message really hit me. I've been SO selfish and self seeking. This message moved me to tears and had a major impact on me. So I leave you with this last thing I got from John Meyer and that was we love one another as an overflow of our relationship with Christ. Are you pursuing a relationship with Christ? Through the Bible? Through prayer?

This faithwalkers has impacted me SO much and has spurred me to changed quite a few things in my life and with with His help and through His grace I will try and accomplish these things.I was impacted by the life changing teachings and the amazing worship( which is amazing and a little slice of heaven on earth, I can't wait till we're all in heaven and worshiping with the LORD its going to be SO AWESOME, words can not describe). I'm so blessed that the LORD has chosen me as one of His vessels to share truth with others, its truly amazing. I want to live to give glory, honor and praise to Him and see others come to know Him!

I also want to thank Julie Johnson, she is pretty amazing! A true blessing and I was really encouraged by a talk that her and I had. It was SO nice to share a little time with you at faithwalkers.

So I hope that you are encouraged today and I leave you with the song that hits home for me, every time I listen to it and was written by steele croswhite and it is also the inspiration for the title of this blog. Here is Your love remains.

PS: I know that many of you don't read this blog and many will not ever know that this is on here, but I just want to thank SO many of you who have been in my life this past year, you all have truly impacted me more than you know and I thank God SO much for you and you all have been such a blessing to me and I'm truly honored to know you and to get to share life with you. So I would just like to thank all of you from the bottom of my heart. Tess, wow you have been absolutely amazing! I'm pretty sure I would have gone insane without you, thanks for always being there even when I have been extremely stubborn and for always encouraging me and loving me. Craig, you have been a huge blessing to my life and have helped me SO much. Your wisdom and guidance has helped me SO much. Thanks for being there for me. Alexa, wow, girl you have been AMAZING and I'm SO incredibly thankful. Thank you for loving me and encouraging me and just being there for me. Words can not describe how blessed I am to have you in my life. Sarah, you are SO amazing. You have had a profound impact on my life and I have been very blessed by having you in my life. God has worked through you SO many times to reveal truth to me and I'm SO thankful for that. I love you and you are very dear to me. I have SO many others that have impacted me so much and I love you all and I'm truly blessed and honored to share life with you.

Christmas

2009-12-25T16:23:00.000-08:00

Merry Christmas!!!!!

This year Christmas was very different for me but still really good. This year I got stranded in Ames due to the massive winter blizzard that dropped twenty inches of snow up in Minnesota, so I wasn't able to get home for Christmas. At first I was really disappointed that I couldn't be home for Christmas but God really has blessed my Christmas here in Ames. I went to the wonderful Christmas eve service at Stonebrook last night which was awesome! Then afterwards a group of us went to see the movie the blind side...it's such a good movie!!!!

Then today I have been able to just relax and for me this is so nice, to be able to slow down for a bit and just really be able to reflect on what has been going on in my life and also to really just rejoice and reflect on the fact that a couple thousand years ago that God became flesh and came into this world in order to save us. I hope that you all have had a very blessed Christmas and have been reminded what the true meaning of Christmas is!!

Also I watched the nativity story today...I would recommend it to everyone. It's such a powerful depiction of the birth of Jesus!!

So I leave you with a song called "I celebrate the day" by Reliant K, I love this song and its a great testament to what today is all about.

Some nuggets of truth

2009-12-20T15:16:00.000-08:00

The following verses are some gems that have really stuck with me and have encouraged and comforted me the past couple weeks or so and I just wanted to share them with you.

"Do NOT be anxious about ANYTHING, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."- Philippians 4:6-7

"you will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you"-Isaiah 26:3

"Wounds from a friend can be trusted but and enemy multiplies kisses."- Proverbs 27:6

"Do not be afraid. Stand firm and you will see the deliverance the LORD will bring you today...The LORD will fight for you; you need only to be still"-Exodus 14:13-14

" Do NOTHING out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves"-Philippians 2:3

"God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in him" -1 John 4:16b

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear" -1 John 4:18a

"Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God, being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised." -Romans 4:20-21

"Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking in anything."- James 1:2-4

"My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever."- Psalm 73:26

"Because of the LORD's great love we are not consumed, for his compassion's never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, "The LORD is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." - Lamentations 3:22-24

Another gem I received a couple weeks ago out of the book David: 90 days with a heart like his was a quote from Beth Moore..."Sometimes we stand to learn the most about God from the situations we understand the least." This was a real comfort to me considering the big trial in my life that I'm going through, and have no real understanding to why so this was a huge comfort to me.

Spring Break

2009-12-13T18:25:00.000-08:00

So I thought I would update you all on something I have really been praying about and that was going on a missions trip this spring break or going to study in Mexico for a couple weeks. Ultimately with a lot of prayer,counsel and the direction of the LORD, I have decided to go with Stonebrook and go on the mission trip to El Salvador this spring.

I'm really excited!!

Oneness

2009-12-13T08:12:00.000-08:00

So this morning at church was Tim's farewell message and although it was extremely long, I got something very critical out of it. One of his main points was on the core value that stonebrook has of oneness (aka. Love and Unity) I recommend that you listen to this part of the message. One thing that really hit me from his message is to be thankful to God for the people who have hurt you. One way to look at it is that even though these people have hurt you God has used it for good to help you grow and mature in Christ, so its going to hinder your walk when you aren't thanking God for these people in your life. Just something to think about that really struck me this morning.

On another note I got this devotional in a email this morning and it really touched me and encouraged me.

Sunday, December 13, 2009
Restore broken relationships this Christmas
by Rick Warren

If you've gotten anything at all out of following Christ, if his love has made any difference in your life, if being in a community of the Spirit means anything to you ... agree with each other, love each other, be deep-spirited friends. (Philip. 2:1-2, Msg)

God sent Jesus into the world so that our relationship with God could be restored. Christmas is about restoring relationships and many of us have relationships that need mending.

God wants us to value relationships and make every effort to maintain them instead of discarding them whenever there is a rift, a hurt or a conflict.

In fact, the Bible tells us that God has given us the ministry of restoring relationships. For this reason a significant amount of the New Testament is devoted to teaching us how to get along with one another.

The Apostle Paul taught that our ability to get along with others is a mark of spiritual maturity. Since Christ wants his family to be known for our love for each other, broken fellowship is a disgraceful testimony to unbelievers. This is why Paul was so embarrassed that the members of the church in Corinth were splitting into warring factions and even taking each other to court.

He wrote, "Shame on you! Surely there is at least one wise person in your fellowship who can settle a dispute between fellow Christians." (1 Cor. 6:5, TEV) He was shocked that no one in the church was mature enough to resolve the conflict peaceably. In the same letter, he said, "I'll put it as urgently as I can: You must get along with each other." (1 Cor. 1:10, Msg)

If you want God's blessing on your life and you want to be known as a child of God, you must learn to be a peacemaker. Jesus said, "God blesses those who work for peace, for they will be called the children of God." (Matt. 5:9, NLT)

Notice Jesus didn't say, "Blessed are the peace lovers," because everyone loves peace. Neither did he say, "Blessed are the peaceable," who are never disturbed by anything. Jesus said, "Blessed are those who work for peace" - those who actively seek to resolve conflict.

This Christmas is a good time to actively work toward restoring broken relationships.

Perfect Timing

2009-11-29T12:07:00.000-08:00

This post would have been written very differently if I had written it just last night. The past three days or so have been a world wind for me. I have been broken down more than I thought that I could have been and have cried more tears than what I thought were possible.

I have realized that I have lost a very dear friendship to me and this has been a big part of my struggle and it has really broken my heart. I believe this person knows who they are so if you are to come across this post, I say to you from the deepest part of my heart, I'm so very deeply sorry, I've done wrong. I was wrong will you forgive me? I still love and really care about you! I'm praying for you!!!

Another thing that really hit me last night as I was at my breaking point was I came across this quote "whatever I cant live without is most likely what I need to let go" this really struck me. Is there something in my life that would make my life crash around me if it was taken from me? This really made me think and convicted me on somethings. So I ask you to take a moment and think about this.

On to the reference to the title of this post, as I mentioned before the last couple days I have become for broken than I even realized. However, last night I was taught a very dear lesson. I was broken and just called out to the Lord and said that I wasn't getting up off this floor until I knew He was in this situation and that I heard from Him. In His great mercy and love the Lord really shed some light on the struggles that I'm going through and reassured me that He is here and in this with me right by my side. I wish there were more words that could express this feeling of know that He is always by your side, no matter what. Another thing that he revealed to me is that I can't fix things or people, He is in control of that and I have to stop trying to take the wheel and control things.

Through the Word God gave me some gems to cling to and so I thought I would share them with you.

"My eyes strain to see your rescue, to see the truth of your promise fulfilled. I am your servant; deal with me in unfailing love, and teach me your decrees." Psalm 119:123-124

"So humble yourselves under the mighty power of God, and at the right time he will lift you up in honor. Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you." 1 Peter 5:6-7

"Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. I say to myself, The Lord is my portion;therefore I will wait for him." Lamentations 3:22-24

"The LORD himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged." Deuteronomy 31:8

"I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us." Romans 8:18

"The LORD is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit." Psalm 34:18

"For I know the plans I have for you, declares the LORD, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13

These verses really hit me and brought me to my knees. Our God is so faithful even when we are not. His timing is perfect. I know I still have a lot of growing that I need to do and there are going to be a lot of more trials but I'm taking steps forward and keeping my eyes fixed above. Keeping my hope in the one who is always true and not in circumstances or things of this world. A saying I got from a friend a long time ago that has always really stuck with me "It's Your will,not mine".

Keep running the race with endurance...with eyes fixed above.

Something to think about

2009-11-15T12:55:00.000-08:00

This was something I came across today and it really just got me thinking and I challenge you to just take a moment and think about it.

"What happened to you this week? Did you have a good week or a bad week? Did it seem like the events in your life were spinning out of control? In order for us to have deep-seated joy, we must realize that God is in control of every area of our lives.In life, things happen to us that we don't like and haven't planned. We can become frightened or angry when things happen that are out of our control. How we respond to these things will determine the state of our heart. Joy can only come as we rest in the sovereignty of God.Paul understood this well. His life was given to presenting the Gospel, discipling believers and planting churches. He effectively did these things all over the world. In the process of doing these things, many opposed him.Writing from prison in Rome, Paul was confident in the Sovereignty of God. If he had his choice in the matter, Paul would much rather have been free and spreading the gospel than being chained up as a prisoner. But in telling the Philippians to rejoice, Paul tells them that his circumstances have turned out to advance the gospel into a sphere that he would never have dreamed of (verses 1:12-14). God used a situation that He didn't like and couldn't control to advance the Gospel.When you understand that God is in control of "what happens to you," it enables you to rejoice in adverse circumstances. Joy is that deep settled confidence that God is in control in every area of my life."~ Oswald Chambers

I've realized this past weekend more and more how broken I really am...good thing God is in control. On another note I watched the movie saving sarah cain yesterday and that movie makes me cry everytime...one of the quotes that really hits deep for me, mostly because this quote describes me at times "The sad thing is, you are surrounded by people who love you, and you don't even see it." its just something to think about that really hits me.

Dreaming of someday going there....

2009-11-12T20:24:00.000-08:00

This song really just hit me this past hour/ hour and a half.

Face pressed up against the glass
Wondering how the birds take flight
& where the sun will go at night
Face pressed up against the glass
Making small circles of breath
& counting all the pieces left

Dreaming of somewhere far away
Where things get born and never feel lonely
Dreaming of one day going there, 'cause here
You gotta keep too many things inside
You gotta keep too many things inside

Breathing in shallow breaths
Feeling gentle heartbeats
& crawling underneath the sheets
Summertime, still light outside
Can't seem to penetrate
All the dark that's wanting to escape
What are those birds called
That cannot live in captivity?
Something wanting to stay alive
So she's keeping all those things inside

~Leah by Kim McMechan

Just a thought

2009-11-09T19:07:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days that I truly realize how I have messed up things and hurt people. It truly breaks my heart that I have done this and truly and deeply hurt those who I deeply care about. It has been through my actions/non-actions and my words that have hurt so very deeply. I know that I have also recived hurt from people's words and actions/non-actions. On a day like this, I'm reminded so much of God's grace and mercy. He forgives us and gives us grace even though we don't deserve it. It was also just a good reminder to me today, that He does truly love us, even when we mess up everything. So why do we do these things to hurt the people we care about? Thoughts?

Don't Fear Deeper Friendships

2009-11-08T14:59:00.000-08:00

I have been struggling a lot with Friendships and relationships with people, especially establishing those deep relationships that go beyond the surfacy stuff. I tend to not trust people and their motives because of somethings that have happened in my past. However, I came across this devotional that one of my very dear friends forwarded to me a few months ago and it really encouraged me today.

Don't Fear Deeper Friendships
by Rick Warren

"For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love, and of self-discipline" (2 Timothy 1:7 NIV).

When we're full of fear and anxiety, we don't get close to each other. We back off from each other. We're afraid of being rejected, manipulated, vulnerable, hurt, or used. All of these fears cause us to disconnect in life.

This fear is as old as humanity. When Adam and Eve sinned, and God came looking for them, Adam said, "I was afraid . . . so I hid" (Genesis 3:10 NIV). People have been doing that ever since. We're afraid, so we hide. We hide our true selves.

We don't let people know what we're really like. We don't let them see the inside of us. Why? Because if we let people know what we're like and they don't like it, we're up a creek without a paddle. Tough luck. Why am I afraid to tell you who I am? Because if I tell you who I am, and you don't like me, I'm in for it. I have no alternative. So we wear masks and we pretend.

Fear does three terrible things to relationships:

1. Fear makes us defensive. We're afraid to reveal ourselves. We defend ourselves. When people point out our weaknesses, we retaliate and defend ourselves.

2. Fear keeps us distant. We don't let people get close to us. We want to withdraw, pull back. We want to hide our emotions. We don't want to be open and honest. We become defensive and distant.

3. Fear makes us demanding. Whenever we're insecure, and the more insecure we are, the more we try to control. So we try to have the last word in a relationship. We try to dominate, control. It's always a symptom of fear and insecurity.

Where do you get the confidence, the courage, to take the first step in connecting with someone, to go into a deeper intimacy? Where do you get that courage?

You get it from God's Spirit in your life. Paul tells us in 2 Timothy 1:7, "For the Holy Spirit, God's gift, does not want you to be afraid of people but to be wise and strong (courageous), and to love them and enjoy being with them" (LB).

How do you know when you're filled with God's Spirit? You're more courageous in your relationships. You love people. You enjoy being with them. You're not afraid of them because God's Spirit is in your life. The Bible says "God is love," and "Love casts out all fear." The more of God you have in your life, the less of fear you're going to have in your life.

So the starting point in connecting with anybody is to pause, pray, and say, "God, give me the courage to take the first step." You need to do that now with a person you want to connect with.

This is for Alexa :)

2009-11-01T17:26:00.000-08:00

So I discovered this song at the end of July and I'm absoultely in love with it. This is also the official jam out song for Alexa and I.

A little wake up call

2009-11-01T16:55:00.000-08:00

Today was one of those days where I got a a little wake up call from the Lord that was much needed. He kicked my butt today and really convicted me on somethings, especially in trying to grow in relationships with people.

First this morning I read a passage from My Utmost for His Highest by Oswald Chambers and it kicked my butt. It was about how I am not my own and that I was bought at a price. The big thing that hit me was he was talking about heart break and how God has to break our hearts to lead to His purposes. This quote from the passage really struck me " If God can accomplish His purposes in this world through a broken heart, then why not thank Him for breaking yours?" I'd encourage you just take a moment and think about this. This was something that really hit me this morning and convicted me about how I have been reacting to how my heart has been broken lately.

Then Brad's message this morning at church on growing richer in relationships really hit me and hit right on a area where I am struggling in right and have struggled with for a while and that is relationships. He talked about how its not good to be a so called "one man band" in the Christian life, we need to be in relationship with one another and not isolate ourselves from others. He gave four reasons why people tend to not want to be in fellowship with others and they were being busy, efficiency and productivity, pain and selfishness. This really convicted me because I have used all these excuses (especially being busy and pain) at one point to not be in fellowship. This message really convicted me on the fact that I need to be in fellowship and that I can't keep isolating myself. I would really encourage you to listen to the message, you can download it from stonebrooke's website.

Safe

2009-10-26T19:28:00.000-07:00

I found this song today and it just really spoke to me...hope you enjoy it.

Quick update

2009-10-24T14:21:00.000-07:00

It's been so long...I don't really know where to start. These past couple months have been a huge roller coaster for me.

*I'm going back to school at DMACC currently.
*I'm finally taking Spanish again (I had forgotten how much I love that language)
*I'm still working at the clinic (at least for a little while longer I have a job there).
*I've gotten sick more than ever before in my life.
*I have been broken down into pieces the past month or so and now letting my Creator slowly put me back together.
*I have watched a lot of classic movies lately...they are so good. I watched little women for the first time in a long time a week ago (yep made me cry).
*I'm becoming more and more obsessed with music...especially movie soundtrack songs.
*I still absolutely love tenth avenue north...their music speaks SO much truth.

I discovered this song a couple weeks ago...its from tenth avenue north's old album and it is absolutely amazing.

I'm back

2009-10-24T14:17:00.000-07:00

It has been a long time but I have decided to start blogging again :)