As the deer longs for streams of water, so I long for you, O God. I thirst for God, the living God. When can I go and stand before him? Psalm 42:1-2
My soul craved from the fountain of the living water. My thirst for Christ was dehydrating me. I’ve been doing my quiet time but it’s hard when you don’t have your personal space. I wanted to be away from everyone and dwell in the presence of God. I could have made up excuses not to do ministry so I could be alone with God. I realized something though, if I had allowed myself to do what I wanted to do, I would have missed out on so many blessings God set before me. I’ve been blessed to speak and understand Spanish. I’ve been able to be there for people to translate. I’ve been blessed by many amazing stories of how God has worked in peoples lives. I’ve also heard heartbreaking stories and have been compassionate towards others. I’ve had many opportunities to pray for people. I’m glad I didn’t allow myself to say no to ministry because there is truly joy in being there for Gods people. In missions it is vital to find a corner, find a place where there is no distractions to be refilled by the living God. I knew I needed Jesus to fill me from His living water to do His work and I was grateful I got two hours alone when I needed it.
On Monday, we were able to be part of the church planting in Calvary Maranatha. In this class instead of the pastor teaching it’s the students who teach in small groups and get critiqued. When you plant a church it’s important that you know how to teach the word.
Before breaking up in groups, Pastor Trent taught and he spoke on how to correctly study and interpret the word of God. The Lord spoke to my heart. It’s been months that I’ve had the desire to teach the word of God but in the recent weeks that desire has intensified. I was reminded of the the Inductive Bible study class I took at CBI because he went over points I had heard before. Then we joined small groups to hear the students of the class share a teaching and be critiqued on it. Let me tell you, I felt for the person who taught. It’s tough getting criticism but its good because you get to improve on areas you need to grow.
Mazatlan is gorgeous! We went on a 10 minute boat ride to an Island to see a church plant. It was an awesome experience.
CULIACÁN
We were able to be a part of running the Mexico and Beyond Conference. From doing children’s ministry, to being a greeter, to cleaning, to translating, to serving food. On our last day we helped break down the church stage, the audio booth and clean an area outside because they were going to remodel it. I cant wait to see picture of the end results.
Prayer request:
- As our time draws near pray for the people our team has encountered, many have given there life to the Lord
- That God gives me a vision for my next steps
If there is any way I could be praying for you please let me know.
God bless
Araceli
