Hablo Esphanol?

I got to bring my favorite aspect of the Mexico trip back to Pismo with me: our students.  Before going to Mexico I had gotten to connect with some of them, but while we were out of the country I got to share a room with each of the three girl students at some point in the trip.  I got to know them much better through our travels together and then over the last few weeks before they left for Nicaragua.  It has been such a joy to share in their joys, struggles, and life lessons as they get their feet wet in ministry.  I love seeing people step out and grow in their gifting.

One example of this was with our student who left her job as a Spanish I teacher to join our Discipleship Training School.  In Mexico we often looked to her to translate for us, which was quite stretching for her.  Teaching Spanish I is very different from translating in the red light district in Ensenada.  We had a few trying experiences, but we also found a man who was very eager to speak with us: so eager that he was willing to go on in Spanish even though I had no idea what he was saying.  I was separated from our translators, including our student, so I started praying for understanding and came to understand that he was saying he had fallen many times but had hope and wanted a Bible.  I went and found our Spanish speaking student who was able to translate and encourage him, plus encourage me because I had understood him correctly!  We brought him a Bible the next day, but could not find him.  Instead we found a man who spoke English nearly perfectly.  God gave me some insights for him, and we were able to speak truth into his life, giving him the Bible we had brought.  The last night was a much more difficult evening, and after some considerable discouragement, we found the man from the first evening.  It was so encouraging to see him and talk to him again, and I had the honor of processing all these events with this young translator.

The last few weeks I have had the pleasure of praying for and pouring into all of the students on this Discipleship Training School, especially the three young women.  We sent them off to Nicaragua last week.  Please pray for them...I know it will be a life changing time.  It is exciting to get to know these students, even though I am not leading this school, I feel like part of me goes with them.

Hope and Chocolate in Mexico

In Ensenada I...

was romanced by a fierce and wild God.
lost hope.
remembered a death.
played violin on a rooftop to a butterfly dancing.
served a lot of hot chocolate.

met people who build Homes of Hope.
met people who need Homes of Hope.
met people who had Homes of Hope.

remembered what hope really is.

painted the tool shed at a women's recovery home.
played with the children at a women's recovery home.
preached on beauty at a women's recovery home.

served chocolate' caliente in the red light district.

got lost driving to Rancho Sordo Mudo, a school for the deaf.
(The children were still home for the summer.)
wept at stories of God's provision for Rancho Sordo Mudo. 

saw hope living at Rancho Sordo Mudo.

served chocolate' caliente in the red light district.

drove to Tijuana to help prepare for YWAM's 50th celebration.
joined in a worship celebration with people in LA, Brazil, Amsterdam, and other places through skype on steroids.
got my picture videoed and displayed on skype on steroids.  Awkward. 

did not serve chocolate' caliente in the red light district.

visited la Bufadora.
said "la Bufadora" a lot because it is a funny word.

served chocolate' caliente in the red light district.
played my violin.
in the red light district.

somewhere between the red light district, the cliffs diving into the sea, and my violin, I found hope.

Rest in the Lord, wait patiently for Him.  Psalm 37:7

Chuwl, the Hebrew word which is translated "wait" in the above passage means:

to twist, to whirl, to dance, to writhe, fear, tremble, travail, to be in anguish, to be pained, to whirl about, to bear, bring forth, to wait anxiously, to be born, whirling, writhing, suffering torture, to wait longingly, to be distressed


to hope.

More to come...

Well, friends, I am back from my trip to Texas, which included a road trip across the midwest, and packing for two weeks in Mexico.  We leave tomorrow morning.  The three day turn around makes me feel like a flight attendant again: unpacking, laundry, repacking. 

The road trip from Texas was a success.  As I mentioned in my last entry, my friend needed to tie up some loose ends from an interstate move last year.  It was really incredible to walk with her as she handled the challenges of this process. 

I think the thing that impacted me most is how the things we do can have as much a spiritual influence as the prayers we say.  Letting go of a keepsake from a painful time; closing a door in peace instead of fear; walking away from a battle that is not yours to fight; going back to a dark place and remembering how Jesus found you there; all these acts of freedom were somehow a prayer for her, a declaration to everyone around that she is not controlled by things which once controlled her.  I don't know how it is that I get to be the woman who witnesses her beautiful life, but I never walk away the same.  Never. 

It is my priviledge to lay down my life for my friends. 

For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery.  Galatians 5:1

Goings On

End of summer, and I feel like it's time for a report.  Just the facts ma'am.

We welcomed a new family, Mike, Aleesha, and their two children, on staff this week.  They were students in the last school, and we are so excited to have them here.

More new staff are coming in October.

I am facilitating a series of workshops for the Staff Development department based on the acronym S.H.A.P.E.  (Spiritual Gifts, Heart, Abilities, Personality, Experience).  The workshops flow directly from the things I have been learning in this last season.  We each bring something different to the table...our perspective, skills, gifting, experiences, mistakes, passions, dreams...all these things make us who we are.  As we discover these things in one another, we grow stronger as a team and develop a sense of purpose from our unique identity.  So...these workshops are to grow deeper in our understanding of how God made us, and to engage one another in the process.  I am really excited to share with my team from the things God has been teaching me.

The entire staff is going on outreach together.  We do this every other year, with "family vacation" in the off years, to grow as a team.  This year we are going to Mexico, hopefully to work with a school for the deaf.  Exciting stuff.  I don't know if the students speak American Sign Language or another language, but I love any chance I get to sign.  

After our outreach, we will attend the Jubilee celebration for YWAM's 50th year.  I really like opportunities like this because it helps me understand YWAM better.

And in my personal life, I am flying to Texas this Wednesday (18th) to help a friend tie up some lose ends from her interstate move.  

Planes, trains, and automobiles...after staying in the same place for almost eight months, I will be covering lots of ground in August!