Into the glorious unknown...

Hey there from Southern Mexico!

Things are wrapped up, goodbyes are said and its time to head out and see some other parts of Mexico and work with other ministries and see what God is up to in Mexcio. Tomorrow we (me and my friend Ashley) head to Oaxaca for a day of composure and rest before we start out for real. On Friday we will head to an orphanage just outside of Mitla to hang out there for a few days working with the ministry there. After that we will head to Puebla to visit our dear and recently baptized (Whoop! Whoop!) friend Nelly, lots of laughs are to be expected. After that we head out to Guadalajara to help out a YWAM base there. We are gonna help them set up for the next DTS that's coming in and we will actually get to meet the students and hopefully help out with whatever ministry they have going there. Finally. we are off to Puerto Vallarta to work with a dump ministry for a few days and of course we will end with a day or two at the beach :).

As I sit here with this adventure ahead of me I can't help but feel excited and greatly blessed. My prayer is that God uses this time for His purposes in my life, in Ashley's life, and the people's lives that we will meet along the way. My desire is for the Holy Spirit to have His way and that we would be constantly seeking out His voice to know what He is up to and not miss out on anything He wants to do in us and through us. Whatever happens the next several weeks all glory, honor and praise goes to Him Who Sits on Throne. King of Glory have your glory!

If you think of it we would greatly appreciate your prayers while we are traveling. Prayers for safety, divine encounters, supernatural Spanish ability, and just the supernatural. I'm not sure I will get a chance to update this while we are traveling but I will for sure be keeping a journal and will update this once I get a chance or when I get home. Thanks for your prayers! Hasta Luego Amigos!

I love this time of year here at GFM; the weather is the best in March (in my opinion), school ends, teams arrive and people prepare for what God has for them next. Saying goodbye is never easy, but its bittersweet for us here, because we all have a new phase that God is leading us into and that is always exciting and an adventure, but we have grown so close over the last year and having to say goodbye to each other knowing there is a chance we won't see each other again in this life is tough.

I have so much to say about this past week. God is so very good!! The team arrived on Saturday night and it wasn't without its complications. On the way to Oaxaca our van's breaks stopped working, but praise God they stopped working right outside Oaxaca so they were able to get to a mechanic fairly easily. Then one of our participants didn't show up at the airport on time because of delays (he eventually made it 6 hours later) and one participant just flat out didn't show up. We knew then that something interesting was about to happen with this team.

So that was Saturday, and on Sunday and Monday we had training/orientation, but on Monday night something miraculous happened. This guy that a couple of the students here shared the gospel with (on Saturday) showed up at the base to hang out. As he was hanging out he shared with the guys that he wanted to follow Christ and even drew up a church planting movement on a sheet of paper that he wanted to do! Holy Spirit you are incredible! That was without any discipling or teaching from anyone, a complete move of the Holy Spirit. Then one of the guys was talking about baptism and this guy we'll call him E said he wanted to do that so that he could be sent out so they baptized him that night. PRAISE THE LORD!! Oh how sweet worship was that night, the Holy Spirit was thick in the room that night!

I have another story from that night/week that I won't share here, but if you'd like to hear about another person touched by God this week I would LOVE to tell you, just email me and let me know.

On Tuesday we headed out for Teposcolula (Tepos) for 4 days of outreach that included a medical clinic among other things. The Lord moved in Tepos in some powerful ways and in ways that I'm convinced we will never know about! Glory to God! We were able to share the gospel with several people, pray with them, and love on them. One of my favorite stories from this week was about a bunch of kids. We were hanging out with these kids at the medical clinic talking with them, playing with them and teaching them songs. Unfortunately the clinic ended on this particular day at 6ish and we had a church service with the church in Tepos at 6pm that night. Those kids didn't want to stop hanging out, but I told them that we had to go to a church service at 6 but that we'd be back at 8pm to show a movie in the park. That wasn't good enough for them, they began to ask about the service and what we'd be doing and I started to realize they wanted to come, how could I be so dense not to ask them to come with? I guess I figured that they wouldn't want to come, but God had other plans. I told them that we'd be singing and Pastor Enrique would be talking and they said they wanted to come! So me and 8 kids headed for the church. It was awesome. They didn't stay for the whole time, but they stayed longer than I expected and who knows what seeds were planted that night and what they'll remember from that service. They hung out with us for the rest of the time we were there and I pray that the Holy Spirit moves mightily in their lives. I know I'm blessed to have known them.

Enrique and Ana. What can I say about these people? Not enough thats for sure. This couple pastors the church in Tepos and to sum them up in one phrase: They are spirit filled people. My spirit is refreshed every time I talk to them, they always have a word of encouragement, a story of encouragement or an uplifting smile. They are sweet people who love the Lord and only want to obey the Lord and love people. I love talking with them and never feel like I can get enough of their stories or wisdom. God is and is going to use them mightily here in Oaxaca and I'm privileged to know them. LORD FLOOD THEM WITH YOUR BLESSINGS!!! RAIN DOWN ON TEPOS!!

There is so much more I'd love to say, but I will leave it at that for now. God is so much bigger than any plans we have and I'm glad that its so. We have another team arriving this evening and on Tuesday we will be heading out to Tidaa to do another clinic and the hands and feet of Jesus.