“My relationship is just this: I am utterly given up to the vine, and the vine can give me as much or as little sap as it chooses. Here I am at its disposal and the vine can do with me what it likes”
- Absolute Surrender by Andrew Murray
Would you ever give someone you didn’t know complete control over your kids, your career choice, your finances… or even the smallest things like your grocery list? No, of course not. We would give those things to someone we trust. So why do you keep some things back from the Lord as if He isn’t trustworthy? That’s what I was faced with when reading the book Absolute Surrender. I have no reason to not trust the Lord, and I probably wouldn’t outwardly say that, but I definitely live like I don’t often. This week was a pinnacle moment in my walk of recognizing I am not absolutely surrendered, but by the grace of God I am not stuck there. I now am learning daily how to surrender every thought, every plan, and every desire to the Lord as I am excited to continue to see all He does as I simply abide in Him.
With being absolutely surrendered I find it takes a lot more dependency. You end up in moments that if you weren’t surrendered, you probably wouldn’t be there. For me I was given the opportunity to lead worship at a park outreach where I found myself really nervous and uncomfortable, but praise God it’s not about me. I stepped out of the way and watched the Lord meet me as I picked up that guitar, walked up to that mic, and began to worship Him in a language I’m not fluent in.That moment helped me tremendously because minutes after I led worship I would be sharing my testimony as well! It was a perfect segway to explain to those who watched me lead worship that I wasn’t always like this and encourage them to pray for those they know who don’t know the Lord because you never know what the Lord has for them down the road! Overall, it was an awesome outreach that taught me further of the faithfulness of the Father.
It’s been a huge blessing to serve in so many ways here! This Sunday we came alongside a church here called Calvary Chapel Tecolote and did a “church takeover”. If you are unfamiliar, it’s where we come and relieve their servants for the day and help run their Sunday service. I was given the privilege to be on the worship team as well as helping with the children’s ministry. During worship I was in awe of how faithful God is. At that moment I was worshiping in Spanish and it felt genuine. I wasn’t concerned about pronunciation, what people thought, or anything besides how good God is! This was a sweet moment that led to me going to the children’s ministry that morning and helping with a skit, coloring, and dancing with the kids. Only because, like I mentioned in the beginning of the newsletter, it’s not me, it’s the Lord doing it. I just am abiding. It’s when you are surrendered and abiding that you can be available for all God has for you! He is looking for availability not ability.
Update on Yessenia ( lady from the park outreach last week)
She is getting plugged in well. She came to the midweek study at Rosarito where she sat in their new believers class! We were able to get her a Bible and watch as various people from our group as well as people from Calvary Rosarito kept coming up to her and introducing themselves and praying with her. Please pray she continues coming and that the love of Christ would be displayed well to her! It’s been super awesome watching her come and see the people just love on her and give her the best thing they can give, prayer.
With that said I have a few prayer requests for you if you’d like to come alongside me during this season. With so much going on it’s easy to get caught up in the do this, do that. But prayer is important! Here are a few ways you can pray for me:
- For me to daily surrender to God, no matter the subject.
- For me to be a bold witness of the gospel as we go on outreaches!
- For me to take every thought captive as the lies of the enemy seem overwhelming at times.
- For the salvation of my family.
- For Yessenia to keep getting plugged in at Calvary Rosarito.
If you feel led to partner with me financially in this, my current need is for the remainder of my tuition: $2,234. If you feel led to partner with me, you can use the “Become a Financial Partner” button below. Thank you so much for all your support and love! I am excited to keep you all updated weekly as I am here in Rosarito! Check out my “photos” or “poems” tab on my blog to see more of what God is doing. Please feel free to reach out to me with prayer requests as well!
