I cant even begin to put to words how grateful I am for all of you.
Thank you. Thank you for your support that made this possible, your encouragement that spoke life into me, and your prayers that kept me going. My life and the lives of others are forever changed, and your apart of that.
Here is a video that shows you just what God did in my life and the lives of the people on my squad this year.
Thank you again for everything. Im back in the States now, arrived just before Thanksgiving, and it was an amazing end to an amazing year. Looking forward to seeing you all very soon!!
I was sitting on a balcony in Cambodia talking with a friend, when
instantly I was back standing on the side of a mountain Peru.
__________________
Our home hung over the Huancayo valley, tucked away in the Andes
Mountains. There was nothing around us
for miles, nothing but God's beautiful creation. It is the most gorgeous place I have ever
seen.
Hills of rolling greens, sprinkled with wild flowers.
We lived in a mud hut that month, froze our butts off, didn't shower
for weeks, and we ate rice and potatoes for every meal. Our team would sit around our table beneath
the stars every night and drink coffee and hot tea. It was one of my favorite months of the
Race.
One day in particular, our team was down in the "shire" praying and
worshipping the Lord together. The sun
was setting behind us, and as we looked out over the valley and cast our eyes
on the mountains before us.... our Father unveiled his glory for us to see. And as the clouds that hung over the
mountains in front of us parted, it revealed the snow-covered mountains and
glacier, a sight...that for a lack of better words, would take your breath away.
It stood there in all its beauty and glory, as if to say "Have a look
at how glorious and beautiful I am."
And that's when I heard it. That
ever so quiet whisper of the Lord...."Do you get it? ....Can you see it, feel it? Do you know???....."
"Know what," I said.
"Do you know how much I love you? ..........This, this is all for you. Feel the weight of my love, breathe it
in. I did this for you. I brought you here, I did this."
My heart was stunned.....humbled......full.
"I love you enough that I picked you up out
of the life you had been living and brought you on this journey. I would go to any length for you....all I ask
for is your heart. I want it to be mine,
and I desire intimacy with you. So if
that means I have to take you through a radical journey, bring you on this Race
to win your heart....I will."
______________________
I was sitting in church earlier this week, when I realized...love is the
miracle. Love is the miracle
that everyone so desperately seeks to experience. Most would say that all they want to see is a
miracle happen. They desire to see
healing, provision, or manifestation....but at the end of it all, what I am
coming to discover is that we secretly, or not so secretly, desire in our
hearts to experience love, His love.
But we don't know how to do that. We lay in bondage to things like pride, hurt, and feeling unworthy.
It's a lie from the enemy, and it plagues the generations. Somewhere in all of this, the enemy has
gotten into the business of crafting this lie, and we so often fall trap to it.
But lucky for us, we have a fearless Father...and He fights for us.
There's nothing that the Father wouldn't do for us........
......and if that means taking us out of our home and comfort, to the
depths of the nations around the world to reveal His love for us, then he will
do it.
The Father says that we are
WORTHY
&
LOVED OUTRAGEOUSLY.
There is nothing we could do to ever change that, no matter how many
times we think we fail, screw up, or reject it.
.........."His love never fails" ..... 1 Cor.
13:8
He is a fighter, a relentless
pursuer, and a conqueror.
He fights for me.
He fights for you.
It's our choice to receive.
___________________
And today when I was sitting on the balcony, having this light bulb
moment, while talking with a friend....
He whispered again, "do you feel it?"
"Feel what? I said."
"The weight of my love for you child.......
And that's the love of the Father. His mighty, unfailing, unshakable, pure sweet love.
"How you finish this season, is vital for how you begin
the next season."
M.P.
It is the
beginning of our last month on the field.
This day last
year we were just finishing training camp.
*Training Camp, Team Dunamis. 10.24.10
Today's my
birthday, and I am turning 27. After a
wonderful morning spent overlooking the river, on a sunny day in Cambodia....my
belly is full from the delicious coffee and crispy bacon I just ate. My heart couldn't be more happy.
For me, today is
about more than just turning another year older. It's about thanking the Lord and celebrating
Him and what he has walked me through. This
has by far been the greatest year of my life.
While it's not
always been easy or fun, it's definitely been life-changing.
Last year as we
left training camp, I was hungry. Hungry
for the journey that lay ahead. Hungry for more of the Lord. Hungry for more of
the spirit. And excitingly anticipating
anything else that came along with it.
I had walked
through a lot that year. A lot of things
that were hard, and left me confused and lost. My weary soul was tired, and hurting and crying out for the Lord.
He told me to
surrender.
Trust.
Obey.
And faithfully
walk into what he was calling me too.
That inevitably led
me to the World Race.
I sit here
another year later. Turning 27 and now
at the end of my Race.
My heart
overflows with the passion of the Lord. I have learned a lot in this year. Walking through freedom, ridding myself of a lot of strongholds that the
Lord has so graciously redeemed me from.
I feel like I am a
different woman.
My identity no
longer rests in the hands of others....in the lies...the hurt...in the things I have
spoken over myself.
No, now my
identity is firmly planted in Him. There
are days when I struggle, yes. There are
times when I still feel lost and confused, but at least now I am lost and
confused in Him.
I am finishing
out this season, still hungry. Hungry
for more of the Lord, for more of His spirit, for more of whatever he has to
offer. But this time it is different.
I am finishing
this season, changed and stronger.
He is speaking to
me that what comes next is deeper faith.
Calling me to,
Surrender
Obey
Have faith
& trust him.
It's about
further dependency on Him.
He is calling me home
again. The course of what happens next
is unknown, and yet completely in His hands.
Looking to finish
at the rest of this season with a heart opened wide, pouring out nothing but
passion and love....surrendering everything to Him in faithful obedience,
trusting Him always.
Hurting for the abandon ones, the disabled, the broken, and
unloved.
Falling fast for your quiet boldness. Standing against persecution to proclaim the love of the Father.....bring
kingdom to your land........risking all.
Loving your deaf community. Their passion for life, for love, and for just being accepted. They have a love for the Lord that is undeniable. To be amidst their worship stole my heart and
moved me to tears.
For all the long motto rides, on sunny days to the beach, or rainy
rides on the way to teach English...you were fun.
I loved sitting on the floor in the underground church, eating fish and
rice with the locals. Hearing their
stories of fearlessly fighting the persecution of "closed" countries, which
taught me more about my own faith and what I am called to do.
I loved walking the streets and praying and declaring things over your
country. Knowing that previous people's
prayers paved the way for us to even be allowed into your country. Praying that our prayers would pave the way
for others to preach the gospels on the streets, and watch the walls come down
in your nation. For in that, our great
Lord showed me once again, the power in His name, and the importance in
praying.
I am pretty sure I ate more noodles then I could ever truly desire, I
passed on the dog meat, and wasn't too fond of a pig leg in my soup...but it
makes for fun stories now. However much
I love you, I cant wait for fried chicken and mac and cheese days again : )
I loved walking through your temples, with the beautiful architecture
and history, and down your ancient streets filled with colorful lanterns and
artwork.
Your people are beautiful, sweet, kind, and caring.
And I met some of the most incredibly awesome friends there.
I pray that as a nation, your hearts continue to soften. That His love would consume your everything, and
His light fill your streets.
You quickly became one of my most favorite places, and hopefully I will travel back to you again one day.
Until then, I will just tell of your incredible stories.....
This is what happens when the Lord
intervenes on the scheme of the enemy.
When
the Kingdom of Light overthrows the Kingdom of darkness.
An
Victory of the Holy One rains down on all who accept it.
We arrived in Kampala, Uganda on a
Thursday. At the beginning of this
month, the other two Squad Leaders and I spent time with Team Hagiazo. Just upon arriving in Uganda, we sat down
with the ministry host for the month. We
quickly learned that this month would truly hold something a little different than
the rest we had experienced thus far.
Pastor Charles, began telling us of his
heart wrenching story. Three months
earlier, in May of 2011, he lost his nephew. At just four years old, this young boy lost his life to the dark schemes
of his uncle. Charles had learned that
his own uncle had went crazy, and evil had began to consume his life. This man's life was characterized by becoming
the community's outcast, he had turned to devil worship, and joined a
cult. The further he dove into this
lifestyle, the more it overtook his mind, body, and soul.
Child sacrifice is a HUGE, rising issue
in Uganda.
In this case that's what happened.
But the story only begins there.
Minutes after this man had committed
this hatred, horrible act....he was caught. When suspecting neighbors stopped him in the street, the story would
soon unfold. And as this man tried to
escape and run, he in the end would fall victim to the communities' outrage.
His blood was then shed, in a very brutal and
disturbing manner in the center of town.
And a community was left shaken.
Hurting.
Angry.
Full of grief.
All loss of hope.
But the Lord had other plans. And three months later we would arrive to
find that we would be a part of those others plans. Our first day of ministry we would take that
four hour drive out to this lost community. Our only hope and plan was to rededicate the land to the Lord. To bring His name to this lost and hurting
home. We had no idea what to expect, and
what the Lord held in His heart for this day.
The town was expecting us. They knew we were coming, and they eagerly
awaited us. A service would be
held.
Reclaim this land.
Pray.
Bring the gospel.
What would happen that day, will be
something I, and I am sure the rest of us there will never forget. In my life, I can't remember a time in which
I saw the Lord show up quite like that before.
We had entered into a whole new depth
of who Christ is.
Arriving hours later than expected, we
arrived to a yard full of people. Children filled the place. Mothers, fathers, and the family of the ones who suffered this great
loss.
We gave it everything we had. We prayed, we danced, we sang, and then Char
got up and brought the Word of the Lord in such a raw and beautiful way.
At the end they asked if anyone there
wanted to accept Jesus.
The community stood up and threw their
hands into the air.
The day I left my heart wasn't ready to go. Excited to see family and friends again,
something felt unsettled, unfinished.
It had been a whirlwind of a summer. My heart hadn't felt that alive...ever.
My heart ached for more. Yet, I
left feeling so confused. Sure that this
was where God had called me to for this season in my life, but unsure as to
why.
I returned home, and eventually got back to the normal routine of
things, started back to school, started back working, and on to whatever was
next. There has been days over the
last few years, where something will happen, or someone will cross my path, and
it will immediately jog my memory, and I will instantly be back walking the
streets of Kenya.
And even then, I'd tell myself, it's a one in a million chance I'd ever
return.
But we serve a God of one
and a million.
Last week our plane touched down in Kenya. And I walked the streets again, that I once
walked four years ago.
*******This month, I am spending
the month with Team Wreckonciled. We are
living in Eldoret, Kenya. We are serving
alongside a ministry and church called Releasing Destiny. Their hopes and vision lies in healing the
broken-hearted and seeing people walk into their destiny. The church was helped founded by a previous
World Race team a year ago. Our hopes
this month are to continue to press into the ministry here, while also
investing in the community surrounding it.
We are living more primitive this
month, as in World Race fashion, and very much already loving it here. I will update you again next week with what
all has been going on since we arrived to Kenya. Thank you for your continued support and prayers. Missing you all back home and praying for
you. I ask that you still keep our squad
in your prayers. <3
Imagine every morning
you wake up and don't know where your food for that day is coming from.
Your home is made of
cardboard.
There are no such
things as running water.
You are considered blessed
to be wearing an old pair of holey shoes.
You live in the dump of Nicaragua.
Your living comes from
sifting through the trash collecting things that can be recycled.
It's a 100 degrees,
and there has been a drought and no rain for six months.
You have left your family,
to provide for them.
The smell of burning
trash is the constant that lingers in the air.
What if this was your life.....
"He raises the poor from the dust and
lifts the needy from the ash heap; he seats them with princes, and has them
inherit the throne of honor." 1 Samuel 2:7-8
s.jpg)
