We're Back!

Back in Ensenada this week! We were in Tijuana for the last week's speaker... The base in Tijuana is brand stinking new so the accommodations were absolutely beautiful! But the weather, for Mexico at least, was less than comfortable. Let's just say that I am not looking forward to the biting winter air on my visit home in December!

Anyways... Baja 1000 baby. This past weekend, Ensenada, and all of the Baja peninsula for that matter, hosted the annual Baja 1000 race! We spent a majority of our free time roaming around town, talking to various competitors, talking to famous competitors, watching the races, and looking both ways before we crossed any streets :)

Making the last corner before the finish line!

Some late finishers...

Easily going over 120 mph on the final home stretch!

Cinderella

We've all heard the Walt Disney version of Cinderella. A servant girl living with her evil step sisters and their mother, sneaks off to the ball, loses a slipper, fits the slipper, and then lives happily ever after. But have you ever heard the original version; the story passed down from generation to generation throughout the ENTIRE world? How is it that a beautiful girl with a beautiful name, and probably a beautiful voice, ended up living in such unfortunate circumstances??

The story was first recorded in 1st century BC by the Greek historian, Strabo. His story tells of a servant girl, Rhodopis (the "rosy-cheeked"), who is out washing clothes in an Ormoc stream, a task forced upon her by fellow servants, who have left to go to a function sponsored by the Pharaoh Amasis in order to find himself a wife. At the stream, she leave her sandals on shore and wades into the water in her bare feet. While she is busy washing the clothes, an eagle flies away with her rose-gilded sandal and drops it at the feet of the Pharaoh in the city of Memphis. Taking it as a sign from a god, he asks all of the women of his kingdom to try on the sandal in hopes that the one to whom it belongs will be his wife. Obviously, Rhodopis is a perfect match. They fall in love, marry and rule the kingdom together.

Several more versions of the story appear in "One Thousand and One Nights" (Arabian Nights) including "The Second Shaykh's Story", "The Eldest Lady's Tale" and "Abdallah ibn Fadil and His Brothers", all dealing with the theme of a younger sibling harassed by two jealous elders.

The most popular version, however, was written by Charles Perrault in 1697. His version was the first to introduce the pumpkin carriage, the fairy-godmother, and the glass slippers.

In each of the original versions, however, there is a major difference to the Walt Disney version we are accustomed to.

A long time ago, and far, far away, a prince sought earnestly for a wife fit to be a princess. His father, the king, had agreed that he would not arrange a marriage for his son in hopes that their kingdom would one day be marked by true love. So he arranged a ball. A chance for EVERY woman in his kingdom to dance with the prince. And a chance for the prince to chose a bride from ALL of the women in his kingdom.

Cinderella, meaning 'ash girl' or 'unrecognised', was, as we know, a servant to her step sisters and her step mother. Her father, having died mysteriously, left behind a rather large inheritance for his one and only biological offspring: Cinderella. Originally, however, her name was not Cinderella. No parents in their right mind would name their daughter 'ash girl'. It was not a name, it was a curse. No, the name 'Cinderella' was given to her by her stepmother after her fathers death in the attempt to brain wash the girl. The evil stepmother wanted the inheritance for herself, and so she renamed the girl in order to strip her of her identity; the identity of an heir. She was called 'ash girl' and so she became just that: an ash girl. A servant; forced to sleep by the fireplace in order to attend to the fire throughout the night. She had forgotten her true self, but she was quick to remember her false identity. A lie.

One day, when Cinderella was sorting the mail, she came across a letter that was addressed to all of the women of the household. In some round about way, she decided that she was included in the address, so she read the invitation to a ball.

Her stepsisters had other plans for her, and before she knew it she was busy getting them ready for the dance. And she accepted her fate without complaint. She was, afterall, an ash girl.

In an act of desperation, she left her chores to attend the ball. She washed herself, put on her best dress and slippers, and made her way to the dance she was forbidden to attend.

Once it was her turn to dance with the prince, he was immediately entranced by her beauty and grace. All who were present were entranced by her. Even her stepsisters and stepmother were entranced by this unrecognisable girl. Who was she??

She soon, however, was reminded of her false identity as the clock struck midnight. She needed to go home and finish her chores before the ball ended and her step-family returned! So she ran. Without explaining herself or saying even a word, she turned and ran. The prince, not used to having young women run from him, was confounded. All he had to identify this girl was the slipper she had left behind during her hasty escape. So he went to work.

This is an interesting part. Imagine for a moment that you are Cinderella. You obviously are aware that the prince is going around the country to every household looking for none other than you. He has your slipper and all you have to do to escape from your miserable life is drop your water buckets and run to the town he is currently in to try on the slipper that you know without a doubt fits you. But no. You have accepted you false identity. You believe the lie. You can't be a princess, so why try? Instead, you go about your duties as is routine, and, when your stepmother locks you in the basement upon the prince's arrival, you go without a fight. It is only by some miracle that the prince stumbles upon your presence and recognises your face behind all the dirt and ash. And the slipper fits. You are the one.

Normally, the story ends here. Cinderella and the princeget married and live happily ever after. But that is not the ending of the original story...

When the prince and his new treasure arrive at the castle, she is bathed and clothed as a princess, and sent to stand before the king that he may question her. It is quite apparent that she is not fit to be a princess. Not to mention a queen one day. The king asks, "What is your view on the education of my kingdom?" She had never thought about it. "What do you think about the economy of my kingdom?" She had never thought about it. In fact, herwhole life she had only thought about her situation. She had no finances of her own, why would she worry about the finances of the kingdom? She had no education, why would she be concerned with the educationof others? And so the wedding is postponed until she is fit to rule as a queen. She is sent to royal school in order to learn the way royality. She is sent to re-shape her identity. She is sent to destroy this lie she has believed most of her life and replace it with the identity of a princess. It is only after her graduation that she marries the prince and they become king and queen of the kingdom. Then, and only then, do the live happily ever after.

We are Cinderella. We have been brought up believing a lie from the devil and his demons.

The lie that we are worth nothing.

We could never be good enough,

holy enough,

pure enough,

smart enough,

cool enough,

religious enough,

strong enough.

We could NEVER be His bride.

But we are. And He loves us so much He seeks us out! He gives us a new identity in Him, and He gives us His Word in order that we might learn and grow and develope a relationship with Him. We are His heirs. Let that sink in. Put yourself in Cinderella's slippers again. How would you feel if your true identity was revealed. You finally find unconditional love and this royal identity. How would you feel about that?

Now come back to reality. What you have is way more powerful and REAL than the story of Cinderella! God has spoken, He has chosen you, the slipper fits, and now you're called to grow and learn and develope a relationship with Him so that you can be fit to 'marry' His Son and receive the inheritance He has for us. And yet we sit and do nothing. We accept our false identity of the world and go about our daily routine of serving ourselves or our jobs or our worldly passions.

I'm not saying we need to sell everything and become missionaries (unless that's your calling). I am simply suggesting that we really look at our identity in Christ. To not be so passive in our walk with Him. We have been called to be more than ash girls, so let's drop that identity and actively see God so that our new identity will be what God calls us: His sons and daughters. His heirs.

Gotta love the weekends

This is the time for us students to just chill. Saturday is just free time! No obligations, no meetings, no lectures, no work duties, nothing! Just some tacos, maybe a lil game of football or futbol down on the beach, possibly a movie downtown, and sometimes some intense Halo 3 sessions. Chill.

Sunday is even better. Church in the morning - we all kinda scatter and go to different churches around town... depending on where you wanna go. I've been going to the Bajio church a few minutes away from the base. Most of the people who live in the Red Light District go there (the ones that go to church I mean). It's an amazing service! We start out with a good hour or so of worship music (in Spanish), and then anyone who wants to can get up and share something, sing a song, play an instrument, or just whatever he/she feels lead to do. Every week my buddy, Victor, from Bajio, gets up and does a freestyle rap. This guy puts Eminem to shame! He's unbelievable! And it's all to give glory to God. Then we hear a sermon. Usually giving thanks to God for His forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Followed by a time for fellowship and just hanging out with the bums. It's radical. Literally.

Sunday afternoon usually consists of a nap. Sometimes, if anyone is feeling up to it, we'll head down to the beach again for some more sports. Sunday night, however, is filled with some hardcore prayer and intercession. This week the plan is to pray for our outreach funds and preparation.

Pray with me?



...

Calling

Well, I'm doing it. I don't know how and I don't know when (exactly), but I'm doing it.

I have a calling to start something in India. I don't know what yet, but I feel it. And India is just the start of something bigger. I am currently in the process of connecting with a YWAM base in Haryana, India to begin my journey. My hope is to make it out there in April of 2010, provided finances are in order, and to live there for a few months working with the teams that come in for ministries. My prayer is that God will open my eyes to the ministry that He wants me to start. Maybe it won't even be an Indian ministry, but He has called me there to start with.

It is so awesome to see how God first put a desire in my heart, then grew that desire into a dream, a compassion. And then He made it into a clear calling. He put people in my path who have experienced India. He gave me contacts, numbers, emails, info. How much more confirmation do I need?

Finances? That's God's problem. Support? He is my Rock and my foundation. Encouragement? His Word has never been more encouraging. Safety? Prayer.

Value

If there is a god, why are there innocent people suffering?

Christianity is the only worldview that not only gives value to us as humans, but also does so by humbling it's savior. Our Savior. Jesus Christ. Our Lord. God.

He loves us so much, unconditionally in fact, that He actually sent His only son to the earth to die for us. For everyone. We are all equally and infinitely loved by Him. Osama Bin Laden. Mother Teresa. Barack Obama. He died for all of us; thereby declaring our value to Him.

He didn't die to save the animals. He didn't die for nature. He died for His spiritual children. For us. In today's world, societies everywhere believe that we humans are no more significant than the animals. Everything is god and we are all god and we are all the same. Sometimes people will put a limit on it and say, "Well, okay maybe dogs. We're all equal to dogs and up, but not insects or rodents." My first response to that would be: "Well aren't they 'god' too? Isn't 'god' in insects and rodents too? Aren't they the same as dogs?" But for argument's sake, let's just go along with their belief no matter how contradicting it is.

So everyone is equal to dogs, eh? If there is a human baby and a puppy in the middle of the road with a big semi truck racing towards them both, and you can only save one, which would it be? Duh, the human baby. Let's go even further. Let's say the dog is closer to you and the baby is on the other side of the road but still in danger... I think anyone in his right mind would still making a diving effort to save the baby.

But why?

Because we have value. Because we know this value that God has given us. Maybe the world can't explain it, but they know it. It's a sense of justice. A sense of morality. A sense of conviction. A sense of value, sacrifice, and love. Unconditional love!

If there is a god, why do innocent people suffer?? How could there be a god that would let this horrible injustice happen? There can't be! ... right?

If there is no god, what makes these people innocent, and who cares if they suffer.

Destiny

This weeks speaker, Brenda Lewis, is an AMAZING woman! To sum her up, she's a fashionable grandma of four, young at heart, compassionate, full of the spirit, and she has a lot of worldwide connections... but I'll explain the significance of that later.

To start today's lecture, we went around the room sharing our a top priorities on our Bucketlists. Although I wanted to say stuff like, "Go to space" or "BASE jump into the Grand Canyon", I was immediately filled with a compassion for missions! Countries began to flow through me, and I felt a need to write them down (in no particular order): India, Ireland, Poland, Isreal, Greece, Benin New Zealand, Borneo, Brazil, Argentina, Malaysia, Indonesia,  Napal, and many more that I will share at a later time for reason that I will share at that time ;)

I was at a loss of words. At one time or another I have felt a calling to each of these countries for specific, individual reasons concerning missions, but God had not confirmed this calling... until today. My feelings and emotions became my calling. I am to be a missionary. I am to travel the world. I am to start a ministry. I am to establish this ministry in MANY countries.

After much prayer over the past month, God has also confirmed an outreach area for my DTS. South Mexico. Specifically Chiapas. Here's how God confirmed it...

First of all, many of us had been feeling a call to travel to South Mexico, so it was added to the list of "Possibilities," along with Chili and Argentina. The main problem we faced here, was that we needed to split our huge DTS of 31 into two groups. Who was going to go where? And how could we be sure that where we were to go was God's will and not our own?

We were given two colors, 'gold' and 'silver', and told to pray and ask God which color was for us. We were NOT informed as to which color represented which country. So we sought God. Almost immediately I knew that 'gold' was the outreach to Argentina and Chili, and I nearly put it down without even seeking God. But I felt uneasy. So I reluctantly asked God to guide my thoughts, to help me focus on His will for me instead of my own desires. Proverbs 8. Nothing else. So I looked it up. I felt that I should start reading and which ever choice I came across first, silver or gold, I would pick. Verse 10, "Choose my instruction instead of silver, knowledge rather than choice gold," Now the crazy part is that when I came to that verse, my brain mixed stuff up a little, and this is what I read instead, "Choose silver rather than choice gold." BAM! I did like a triple take, but there it was, plain as can be. So I put silver down. South Mexico. Rainforest. Highlands. Central valley. Soconusco. Sierra Madre de Chiapas. And conflict. Lots and lots of conflict. We have our work set out for us.


To make financial matter more interesting, however, a few of us students have spoken up about a calling to reach out AFTER the DTS outreach. We call it our "Mini Outreach." Guess where we all felt called to go?? INDIA!! After a month of prayer and seeking God's will for us, we each individually felt a call to India. To confirm this further, our speaker happens to be the CEO and founder of C.R.I. (Children's Rescue Initiative) based in ... INDIA! She has lots of info on the cheapest and smartest ways to travel to India, live in India, and minister in India!

Here inlies the problem. Thankfully, it's God's problem, but I must wait on God to resolve it before I can do any of these things above. Finances. I am already in need of finances to pay for my DTS outreach to South Mexico (I'm about $2,000 short), and a rough estimate of the 'Mini Outreach' to follow is around $4,500. I want to put an exclamation point after that, but I feel that it is well within God's ability to provide for me. :)

I am learning not only to trust in God's providence, but also to seek Him in this matter. To 'actively' let Him provide. He wants the glory, and by seeking Him in the matter, and money that miraculously arrives is 'directly' from Him!

And so I ask you, readers, friends, family, Will you be a part of God's plan for me by helping me along the way? Honestly, everything from prayer and donations to helpful tips and advice about traveling (and India) are all a step down the path. If you would like to contribute, please email me at << my_homie_mike@hotmail.com >> I cannot express to you how grateful I, and the people we will minister to, would be. Your help is more than appreciated, it is blessed.

Relationships

I'll start with the story of Jacob and Esau. Everyone knows the story of the two brothers, so we'll start at the part where Jacob hightails it outta town. He's on the move, running for his life, when he stops to sleep for the night. The Bible describes the spot where he rests as "a certain place." This detail is significant because this is not a religious site; it isn't the top of a mountain or the edge of the sea, there isn't a temple nearby. Jacob falls asleep in random place by the side of the road. That night, he has a dream. An intense dream in which God speaks to him and says, among other things, "I am with you and will watch over you wherever you go, and I will bring you back to this land. I will not leave you until I have done what I have promised you. "

What God does here is astounding. People at that time believed the gods resided in religious places, places where gods are expected to be - temples and holy sites and shrines and altars. But this God is different.

This God appears at rest areas.

This God speaks to people at "certain places" along the way.

This God doesn't need temples and holy sites and rituals.

This God will speak to anybody, anywhere, anytime.

Jacob then takes a stone and sets it up as a pillar to mark the spot, making a vow: "If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father's household, then the Lord will be my God."

Years pass. Jacob marries, starts a family, and eventually reconciles with Esau. He stopped pretending to be someone he's not. And then one day he returns to the spot where he made his vow to God. The book of Genesis says, "He built an altar, and he called the place El Bethel, because it was there that God revealed himself to him when he was fleeing from his brother."

Bet is the Hebrew word for house. El is one of the names for God. Bethel, the "House of God."

Imagine you're one of Jacob's kids: you have just arrived in this new land, and there's a stone pillar there that your dad can't stop talking about. He's telling anyone who will listen this story about something that happened to him years ago, and he's stacking rocks on top of rocks. He's stacking them so high, he turns the whole thing into an altar. And he keeps talking about a vow he made to God, and you have know idea what the point of this is. It seems a bit much. And then he starts calling this pile of rocks the House of God.

What if you asked, "Dad, what's the big deal? They're just rocks."

I imagine Jacob would respond: "Yes, you're right, they're rocks, but they're more than rocks. You have to understand, I was on the run and thought my brother was going to kill me. My life was over, but God saved me. And God brought me to a new home. And I had food to eat and a place to sleep and eventually God gave me a family. These aren't just rocks. These are a symbol of life for me. God came through for me."

They're rocks, but they're more than rocks.

We do this all the time.

If we were to go through your garage or storage shelves or sock drawer, I guarantee we would find the strangest things. I have a trophy from elementary school. The little man on top is broken, the lettering is faded, and the years have revealed, shockingly, that it isn't real marble. But I've kept it. I haven't thrown it away because it's more than a trophy to me. That trophy is the first time I actually won something on my own. It represents a certain period of my life and the struggles of being a 1st grader.

It's a trophy, but it's more than a trophy.

Jewelry, pictures, sculptures made by children, antiques that have been in the family for years, art projects, souvenirs, velvet paintings - we hold on to them because they point beyond themselves. If we ask you about a certain picture and why you have it displayed in such a prominent place in your home or office or why you carry it in your wallet everywhere you go, you'd probably respond by talking about the people in the picture, where it was taken, when it was taken. But that would only be the start. Those relationships and that place and that time are all about something else, something more. If we kept exploring, you'd probably end up using words like trust and love and belonging and commitment and celebration.

So it's a picture, but it's more than a picture.

This physical thing - this picture, trophy, artifact, gift - is actually about that relationship, that truth, that reality, that moment in time.

This is actually about that.

Whether it's what we do with our energies

or how we feel about our bodies

or wanting to have control in relationships

or trying to recover from heartbreak

or dealing with our ferocious appetites

or the difficulty of communicating clearly with those we love

or longing for something or someone better,

much of life is in the same way connected with our sexuality. An when we begin to sort through all of the issues surrounding our sexuality, we quickly end up in the spiritual.

because this

is always about that.

And so this guy always has a girlfriend, and it has become a joke among his family and friends that the day he loses one girlfriend, he finds another. Which raises the question, Why does he need to have a girl? What is his real need, the one that drives hime to need a girl? And if we could get at that, would he not need a girl so much?

And she's got a coldness in her heart toward her husband, but it's really about something that happened years before she even met him.

And he's got this thing he does, and he keeps telling her that all guys are like this, and she wants to trust him, but she's dying to know if all guys really are like him, because it's getting a little weird.

And she's single and fine with it but still has this sense that she's a sexual being, and she's trying to figure out how to reconcile this because her married friends keep trying to set her up with a "nice" guy they know, which gives her the feeling that her friends think she is somehow incomplete because she isn't married.

And they keep having these arguments about things that are so trivial it's embarrassing. Yesterday they got into it over how the cars should be parked, and the day before it had something to do with the phone bill, and before that it was about whose turn it was to take the dog out, and now it's happening again - they're in the kitchen debating how a tomato should be properly sliced.

They've been living together now for several years, and they would say it's been great, but they're at this point in the relationship where issues like trust and commitment and future and kids and marriage are starting to linger in their minds and hearts, and underneath it all they both have this question: "Are you the one?" But neither of them has ever actually voiced it, and both of them experienced their parents' divorcing at a young age, so anytime the subject of marriage comes up, things get confusing and tense very quickly, and so they're just at this moment realizing that this argument really has nothing to do with how to slice a tomato.

Because this is really about that.

It's always about something else.

Something deeper. Something behind it all. You can't talk about sexuality without talking about how we were made. And that will inevitably lead you to who made us. At some point you have to talk about God.

Sex and God. They're connected. And they can't be seperated. Where the one is, you will always find the other. This is why sexuality is "this" and spirituality is "that." To make sense of one, we have to explore the other.

And that is what this is about.

Emotions

His fierce love sets me aglow.

I am alive; Full of spirit.

His intense love is enduring.

I am adequate, capable, confident.

He is assurring and uplifting;

A compassionate Being.

In His powerful tranquility, I am secure;

Satisfied in His potent love, I am at peace.

Full of life because of His zeal;

I am vibrant and penetrating.

Because of His invincible marvelousness,

I am in wonder and awe.

He has made me lighthearted, yet full of heart.

I am his beloved child,

He is my Heavenly Father.

He loves me boldly, immensely, radically,

And I am overwhelmed in His emotions.

Day of the Dead

As you may well know, today is the Day of the Dead here in Mexico. Talk about spiritual warfare! Although most people who celebrate this three-day holiday do so innocently, there are some radicals who view this day as an opportunity to please the spirits of long-lost relatives and ghosts. Sacrifices. Human sacrifices. Off in the distance, I can see small dots of light throughout the mountians of Ensenada. While most of the fires are most likely small gatherings for those who wish to mourn family members who have died, there are a few fires that are not so innocent...

Nevertheless, we went about our as scheduled. This morning we had a new speak, Jack Hill, who isn't the most intrigueing man I've met, but I suppose he's here for a reason. His topic for the week: Relationships. What a broad subject. All of life is based on relationships. Consequently, he didn't stay on a single concept for long, and he moved so fast from subject to subject that I never really got the point of his lecture. Literally. He was just kinda babbling. In fact, the main thing I remember from the entire speach was when he was trying to explain split-brain research methods and theories... I know a thing or two about psychology, and I can tell you he had no idea what he was talking about. Actually, NO one had any idea what he was talking about. He listed off some random psychological facts (most of which were either misinterpreted, or just down right wrong), and then somehow managed to tie them to how we shouldn't follow pure intellect, but more so our 'spiritual hearts' (something about how our 'spiritual heart' is closely related to our right-brain because it deals with emotions and there meanings... Personally, I don't think we can relate our spiritual heart to anything physical or else we would be basing it off intellect which would completely defeat the purpose of seperating the two...).

I am perfectly content with follow God's plan for my life and assuming that it is the desire he would have placed in my 'spiritual heart' had I been able to define it. Why do we burden ourselves with such unimportant theories and nonsensical problems as these? We will never understand everything about God, so why can't we simply pursue an intimate relationship with Him with all of our heart and gain understanding and knowledge directly from He who is omniscient?! Instead we waste our time trying to define, explain, and identify the undefinable, unexplainable, and unidentifiable!

"Be still, and know that I am God" - Psalm 46:10

Enough said...

Week 5 Summary: Mission Stories

[This is a picture of one of my roomies. We were at the top of stadium with absolutely NO fences or walls to keep us from falling six or 7 stories to the ground! Pretty cool view. This picture describes him perfectly (his name is Josh); Always worshipping our God and King. He is one of the most talented guitarist/vocalist I have met. I look forward to working with him after DTS...]

Well guess what... I'm almost caught up! That means after this post, no more of the 'Week Summary...' crap. It just doesn't give the weeks justice.

Week 5 was relaxing. Peter Iliyn, the speaker, joined YWAM in 1976, and dude, this guy has got some stories. Before he shared any of these miraculous tails with us, however, he made us promise something... He made us promise that one day down the road, when we see him again, we have to go up to him and tell him OUR stories. Someday our stories are going to be even more miraculous than his.

I can't really re-tell his stories because it took him around two or 3 hours per story, and I would just butcher them. But he did just finish writing a book which I will find out the name of...

One thing that stuck out to me throughout all of his stories, was the fact that whenever he made a friend in the part of the world he was witnessing to (which was usually a muslim area or a communist area) he always stayed in contact with them. He would send them cards and small packages regularly, and through this he was able to develope amazing communications overseas. So amazing, in fact, that two of his good friends are now the highest ranking muslims in their nations, one of his friends is the embassador in another Islamic area, and he also has variously ranked muslim friends throughout the Middle East. Basically, if Peter wants to go anywhere in the muslim world, he can not only go there without government problems, but he is also protected and sheltered by his friends during his stay. Through his vast amount of friends, he has been able to reach out to the muslim world in a radical way.

That stuck out to me because I have been making lots of local Mexican friends... specifically while on La Bajio outreaches (I will soon be starting a blog concerning these weekly outreaches in order to describe their impact more efficiently). Hopefully God will use these relationships in the future to help further his Kingdom. Only time will tell.

P.S.

I just want to give credit to Adam Daniel Kryzer for some AMAZING photography. I will probably be stealing some of his photos to post on my blogs... Haha, he gave me permission :) O, and check out my other blog at: << godsappetizer.blogspot.com >> That one views my journey with God through a different perspective...

Week 4 Summary: Kenny Peavy

I honestly can't tell you what this week was supposed to be about... It's not cause I didn't pay attention or something like that, it's simply because Kenny Peavy didn't follow a SINGLE one of his slides for the week. Not once did we take notes or listen to a boring lecture! Kenny has this amazing ability to hear the Holy Spirit speak directly and clearly to him! Therefore, we spent the entire week doing whatever God laid on Kenny's heart for us to do. Awesome experience. By far the best week of DTS yet! Let me share a little of what happened...

Monday was our first taste of Kenny. We weren't sure what to expect because we had heard so many different things, but none of us were prepared for a 4 hour worship service followed by people pouring out their hearts to each other and to God. It was an intense time.

Tuesday and Wednesday were similar. We spent the both mornings digging deeper into each other's lives; we were exposing ourselves like never before! It was a time of complete trust, vulnerability, encouragement, and seeking the Holy Spirit.

Thursday was... well it was challenging to say the least. Again, we found ourselves sitting around the room earnestly seeking the Holy Spirit. Keny would put in his encouraging words every once in awhile, but then he said something specific... Quite randomly, he looked up and pointed directly at Jonathon, another fellow student of mine... Now without going into details, it's important to understand that Jonathon has had a TERRIBLE childhood, but it is also important to understand that Kenny didn't no this... In fact, Kenny had spent so much time in prayer that week, that he hardly knew any of us. Anyway, Kenny points at Jonathon and says, "My heart aches for you. What has happened to you is not your fault, but it has scarred you forever. God has given me a vision, and I see you leading 3 people to Christ in the near future. Years from now, I see you as a teacher leading thousands to Christ. Follow Mike's ministry." Then he looks around and ask, "Is there a Mike here??" and literally before anyone could move a muscle his eyes fell on me. This is what he said: "You. You're Mike, right? I see you as the tip of an arrow with a wake of people following in your path as you pioneer a ministry. God hasn't revealed to me what kind of ministry it is because it is a new type; one that has not been brought about yet."

Can you say "WOW"? Let's just say that I am excited. I had only told a few people, but I had already felt God's calling for me to start a ministry, I just wasn't sure what type or where. Talk about confirmation. God is good. That night we had one of the most intense worship sessions that I've ever had the privilege to be a part of. God spoke through us and opened many of our eyes

Friday we did our weekly trip to La Bajio (The Red Light District) and it was miraculous to say the least. I've been meaning to start a blog specifically about La Bajio because I have had the opportunity to make quite a few local friends on the trips, but I can't wait share what happened so... First off, I have to mention that we had some crazy prayer sessions regarding this specific trip all day Friday, and we could feel the Lord preparing us for something amazing. We brought guitars, food, and Bibles... About an hour after we arrived and began our ministry, one of the drunks began to praise God very enthusiastically, and singing loudly with his hands held high. The Holy Spirit was moving. All of a sudden, he begins to shout out, "Perdoname Dios!" Which means 'Forgive me God" and then a small light appeard on his forhead and pushed him to the ground! His head smacked the concrete, and he was knocked out. Immediately, we all gathered around him began to sing/pray for his healing and safety. Blood began to soak the ground. We prayed harder. The cops came and, within minutes, the ambulance arrived. We continued to pray. As the paramedics knelt down to examine him, he casually stood up and walked to the nearest chair. The blood stopped. No more pain. Then the cut dissappeared. In place of what was once a gaping whole, there was a small bump. AMAZING. God is good.