First Taste

So it's already been a lil over a week into the Outreach Phase of my DTS (if you count the first 4 days of driving..), and it has blown away any and all expectations!

We arrived at the YWAM base in Guadalajara, Mexico (it's actually a few miles out of Guadalajara in a tiny village called Chapala) last Tuesday, and spent the first couple days recuperating from our long drive. Then the fun began!

On Saturday, we had the amazing opportunity to hang out at a boys orphanage! The boys took quite a liking to myself and another one of the gringos on my team lol. It was a huge blessing, not to mention responsibility, for us to take the role of father figures to these parentless children. I have never seen so much joy in a child's eyes upon our return the following Monday.

Ah, so there really is a ton of stuff going on in my life, in the lives of those around me, and in the people we have been able to impact, but I have so little time to relay it all! All I can say is that God has clearly had a hand in everything we've done. He has revealed Himself time and time again; to us and to the people we are witnessing to. He has opened new doors for my future, and now I'm waiting to see which ones He closes.

We will be going to Chiapas, Mexico on Sunday for some MORE work in the indigenous tribes. ;) I'm not sure I'll be able to adequately put into words the experiences we will be encountering... or the ones we have already had.

Trust Me?

My beloved child, you belong to me and no one will ever tear you from my hand. Fan the flame of your confidence in me. I want you to live each day without anxiety ... to come back again and again to this feeling of unwavering trust until you are never without it. Like a little child who never bothers to ask his father, "where are you taking me?" but heads off with his hand securely slipped in his Dad's - so walk humbly with me - walk trustingly with your hand securely locked in mine. Should worry and anxiety overtake you, offer me with trust your distrust, and give me with peace, your lack of peace. That helps you and gives me immense pleasure. I repeat to you, "Define yourself radically as my beloved child - Do you hear my word? Define yourself radically as my beloved child - this is who you are and how I relate to you. Sh.....Be still.....Listen.....I am here - do not be afraid; Everything will be all right. Nothing can harm you permanently, no suffering is irrevocable, no loss is lasting - no defeat is more than transitory, no disappointment is conclusive. Let the cry ..."Abba, I belong to you" rise often, easily from your heart. Trust me, for I offer no false word and do not be afraid. Do not live in fear little flock, it gives me great pleasure to give you the Kingdom.

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Silence + Solitude

Today was by far the most amazing/impacting day of my DTS thus far. The speaker for this week, Jeff Pratt, is talking on "Bringing us home." Essentially, bringing us closer to our Heavenly Father. Making our relationship with Him real, tangible, and intimate.

He told a story of a man who was having trouble with his prayer life, so he sought advice from a speaker at a conference he happened to be attending. The speaker explained that speaking to God should be as easy as speaking to a close friend (only closer than you could possibly imagine). After all, that's what God wants us to be with Him. He told him to imagine that Jesus was sitting next to him, and that all he had to do was talk to him. Ask Him questions. Hang out with Him. So the man tried it. At first, he could spend around fifteen minutes talking to this 'imaginary' friend before he got bored and his mind began to wonder. But after weeks, months, and years of using his image-maker to see his Jesus sitting by him, he would spend hours a day just chilling and laughing with his Savior!

Years later, as the man sat in the hospital expected to die at any moment from the cancer that had spread throughout his body, he asked the nurse if she could place a chair next to his bed. It was in this chair that he imagined his Jesus sitting next to him as he talked with his Lord for the last few days of his physical life. A few days later, the nurse arrived one morning with the man's breakfast to find him leaning out of his bed; his head resting on the seat of the chair; dead. He had spent his last moments on Earth in the loving embrace of his Jesus.

I bet as he lay in Jesus' lap, he was imagining the Lord of all creation stroking his head and showing him the affection of an intimate friend. He probably heard Him say, "I love you, son. And I am going to take you home with me as my lover. I am going to share my house with you. Would you like that?" And there is no more peace in the world than to have our God whispering these comforting, unconditional words of love upon you as you lay in His lap.

I want that. So today I began my intimate relationship with my Holy God. My lover. My friend. Today, I went to the mountains of Ensenada, Mexico to enjoy one-on-one time with my creator. There is no more fitting a place to spend time with the Creator than while enjoying His very creation. All day I spent with Him there. Climbing the mountain side. Wading in the water. Skipping rocks in the ocean. Capturing the beauty of the nature all around me; from the rocks on the shore, the sea urchins covering the ground, the clear aqua-green waves, and the sunrise - to the enormous mountain walls, the sound of rocks being dragged out with the tide, and the sunset. All the while singing praises to Him.

Tu eres santo, santo, santo
No hay nadie como tu.

But this Holy God of mine, who is like no other, is also my friend. And I got to spend hours with Him today. And we just chilled. Laughed together, cried together, held each other, and then started all over again. I didn't have any revelations, I didn't see any visions, I didn't hear any mysterious voices in the clouds, but I didn't need to in order to be sure my God was with me. What more would I need than a friend and a date?