pray.

Hey all!

So. I have a prayer request! Some of you know I have a pretty bad back. I've had back problems for about 4 years now. Right now I'm hurtin'. I have rotated spinal discs and that's forcing two of my ribs out of place. Very painful. Very difficult to deal with in the south of Mexico where chiropractors are pretty sketchy. Today I'm headed to a back specialist, I guess we'll see how this all goes down. If you could pray for wisdom for this doctor, that would be grand!!

Thanks team! I love you!

Home Stretch?

HEY ALL!

So yesterday we had our first free day in about two weeks. It was fabulous. We got to go see some Zapotec ruins and then spent the rest of the afternoon in the downtown market. The ruins were AMAZING!! I'll put pictures up on Facebook at some point. SO COOL!

Spending the afternoon at the market was so fun! The only downside was majorly feeling like a tourist. I hate that feeling. Everyone wanted us to buy their stuff and by the end of it I got somewhat frustrated. I life in Mexico, and I haaaaaate feeling like a tourist. Worst feeling ever.

Today is a long day. From 8 am to 3 pm we are building a roof, and tonight we're doing ministry at a hospital. It's currently 6:40 am. We're leaving for the build site at 7:30. We finish at the hospital tonight at 8 pm. Long day.

Thanks for the continued prayers and support. Love you all. See you soonish.

THREE WEEKS

Threeeeeeeeeeeee weeks until we are back in Ensenada!!!!

I am so excited. Three weeks to bless people, and three weeks to be shaped by my Father. I can't wait to be back in Ensenada as well.

Please pray that we finish strong. Everyone is gettin' tired, but I know that God is bigger than that.

Oaxaca!

Hey all!
After a very long day of travel most of us are safe in Oaxaca. Cory and Peta are not here yet, because Cory got very very sick and also their flight got cancelled. Steph and Klaus have returned to us safely though.

We flew from Santo Domingo, DR to Panama City, to Mexico City, to Oaxaca. We left at 5:30 in the morning and arrived late in the afternoon in Oaxaca. It was such a long day of travel, but it went fairly smoothly. We had a few short layovers and not much time to get from gate to gate. However for the most part it went ok. Just waiting on Peta and Cory now.

Today we have a free day to rest and recover. I'm quite grateful for that - I'm pretty tired and have a migrane. Tomorrow we're headed to do ministry in a hospital!!!!!!!! SO EXCITED FOR THAT!!!!

Thanks for the continued prayers. I love you guys and miss being home.

Mourning.

Please be in prayer for YWAM San Pedro.

Yesterday one of the local Dominicans, a mission builder and a friend, named Frederico drowned in the pool. He was twenty years old - the same age as me.

Please please pray. Pray for his family and friends. Some of them came to the base and their wails absolutely broke my heart. Pray for his church, in which he was active in leading worship. Pray for the staff on the base here. They have faced more hardships in less than a year than others face in a lifetime. Pray for the DTS students who were present at the time of the death, especially those who tried to save his life. Pray for each person this man of God impacted and who are mourning his loss.

Philippians 1:21 "For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain"

Praise God that Frederico knew his Father, and is now looking Jesus in the eyes. Thank the Lord for the powerful testimony this man had.

Nearing the End.

Hello beloved friends and family!

It's hard for me to believe our time in the Dominican Republic is almost done. Today is our free day and I am taking full advantage of it! Blogging, beach time, lunch out with my team, and relaxing. Now don't get me wrong, being a missionary does NOT look like this on a daily basis! I am trying to rest up because tomorrow, Sunday and Monday we're building a house!! I am so excited for this. A big part of house builds in the Dominican Republic is keeping the kids off the build sites. So we have a lot of long days ahead of us, building in the heat and trying to keep Dominican kids occupied for +5 hours... Should be interesting.

Early Tuesday morning (like 4 am) we fly out to Mexico!!!!!!!!!!!!! WOOO! I am quite excited. I have loved the Dominican Republic but I will not miss the men here. I have decided that I am not going to marry a Latino man, after being surrounded by them for a month. My time here has been stretching for sure and God has taught me a lot. I have grown and been blessed by so many people, but I am excited to move on. I'm so excited to see what God has for us in Southern Mexico. The first week we will be split up and living with families in a remote village. So that means no internet for me!

God has been blessing me richly. Currently dealing with some sickness, but God is so much bigger than that. I hope you all have a blessed weekend. Please pray for my team as this weekend building will be very hot and tiring, and in the midst of that we have to pack and be ready to leave early Tuesday. Thanks so much for your prayers and for reading my blog!

The first week of 2012.

Hey all!


I know this is a little late in coming, but HAPPY NEW YEAR!!! I hope and pray your holiday season has been filled with renewal, joy and peace. Now as things get back into full swing at school or work, I pray you feel ready to face 2012!

So, I am now working on two blogs, this one and another one outlining the journeys of my outreach team. Please take a look at http://ensenadaoutreach.weebly.com/ to check out what my team is doing!!

In case you don't feel like reading two blogs of mine... here's the recap.

New years was very different for me, but we spent New years eve celebrating with the Denver outreach team that was here and the staff. We rang in the new year praying for what is to come. New Years day we had a day off and most of us spent time on the beach - even though it rained.

January 2 Ensenada outreach left for Santo Domingo to spend a week with Pastora Veronica. What a fiery, compassionate woman of the Lord. She runs a church for kids and also a feeding program. The area we were in was mostly Haitians, the conditions were very poor. We spent the week sleeping on mattresses on the floor and having very cold showers. The schedule was much more relaxed than in San Pedro. On Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays we helped serve food to the kids.

One thing I found very shocking was just how rough the culture there is. Kids engage in sexual acts at very young ages. Many of the boys have toy guns. Women there are treated like objects. It was not the most comfortable week for most of us - being faced with these things daily. We did a lot of programs, many of them for kids. We also did street evangelism and did programs in a park. We did one service in a brothel, while men came and went. That was very challenging. The whole time we were in Bienvenidos, many of us had heavy spirits. It was not the easiest week. It was however a week of firsts for me....

• first time seeing a kid point a toy gun at me with genuine anger in his eyes
• first time speaking in a brothel
• first time nearly blowing up a building lighting a gas stove (Mom sorry if you're reading this...)
• first time I've experienced an earthquake.

Being in such poor environment really made me think how much I take for granted in life. For example, internet. Hot water. Safety. Security. Being able to sleep at night with no noise. Seeing the environment these kids are growing up in makes me sad. They have to be tough, or else they'll get walked all over. To be honest, I felt relieved when we returned to the San Pedro base. I finally felt I could breathe again. God definitely stretched us this week, and I was blessed by so many kids. Now I'm excited to sleep... So that I can wake up tomorrow morning and say, "What's next God?"

If you could pray for energy and endurance for my team that would be much appreciated :) God bless you all!