How often do you get to witness something this beautiful...

A couple months ago one of the girls at the cafe and I were talking about hearing the voice of God. She´s been a believer for a while and was expressing frustration about not being able to hear his ¨voice.¨ ¨Is it audible? Or is it just something I feel? How do I know that if I follow it, it will be good?¨ We talked about how the Lord speaks through people, circumstances, his Word and prayer. She still walked away a bit frustrated with how to hear Him. So I challenged her to tell the Lord that she was willing to be obedient and wanting to hear from Him.
Today as I was walking home from church I ran into my friend standing in an open doorway. As I waved hi from across the street, she called me over. I saw in her hand a large bag of food. With a trembling voice she said to me... ¨The Lord keeps putting the little man who lives here on my heart. I felt like I needed to bring him food, but I don´t know him and I don´t if he is going to accept my gift. Will you ask with me?¨ As the little man came to the door, my friends quivering hand held out the bag of groceries as her little voice said, ¨I know you don´t know me, but I feel like I´m supposed to give you this food. God bless you.¨ As we walked away she began to cry. ¨The Lord has been putting that man on my heart for a week. Thank you for sharing this moment with me. I guess that´s what listening to the voice of the Lord means...¨
I write this story with tears in my eyes knowing that the Lord is moving in this girl´s life causing her to not just be a hearer of the Word but a doer.

A New Normal…

Before I left for Ecuador, I was talking to one of my friends about all the things I was freaking out about… mostly Spanish to be real honest! And he told me, “Don’t worry. It’s just a New Normal.” I just gave him that ‘I have no idea what you are talking about’ look. And he said, “Look, think about all the times you started something. How nervous were you the first time you stepped into Starbucks on your first day of work? And now its no big deal. You could do it in your sleep.” He had a point. At some point in every stage of life there is a New Normal. Something that is New right now but by the time you leave it, it’ll feel as Normal as breathing.
Today I bought my ticket to come back to the United States and I was having a hard time breathing. People keep asking what I am planning on doing once I come back and to be honest I just don’t know. There is nothing I am feeling extremely passionate about doing and to be honest, that scares me. But just last night I was reading my journal from when I first got here to Ecuador and I actually had a good chuckle. It was all so NEW; learning Spanish, making friends, living in a foreign country. I actually wrote: I am so proud of myself. I walked home all by myself today. Now it feels so normal, I think of it LESS than I think of breathing! It used to be a new that scared me to death… but now it’s my life that I’m having a hard time leaving. Moving back to the States feels like I’m starting all over again… with the new. Hopefully one day it’ll feel normal again.

Maybe it’s time to stop being a saint…

A Sunday morning is such a good time to just sit and listen. I think about what Jesus said… the Sabbath was made for the man, not the man for the Sabbath. SO last Sunday I didn’t go to church… yep I’m a heathen. My favorite place in the world on Sunday mornings is on the roof of my house. There isn’t anyone in my house. All the good church people have already left for church and all the rest are sleeping off their hang over (hey, I’m just being honest). All that to say, this Sunday, I went up on the roof at about 10 in the morning and as I sat down to have my time with Jesus, he told me to listen. I decided to write down all the things I heard… here’s my list:

Birds singing (2 different kinds!)
Church Bells
Wind through the trees
Hammering
Door slamming
Cars racing down the street
Honking
Fireworks
Engines roaring
Water rushing
Dogs whining
Music blaring

If you were to sit on your roof, I’m sure you’re hear something different, but no matter where in the world you are there is noise. Whether that noise is coming from within or without depends on who you are and where you’re at. Either way, the Lord is probably trying to speak to you the same way he was trying to speak to me…Slow down, close your eyes, listen, be still, be silent. Allow me to speak. I love you. More than you can comprehend, imagine or dream. My love goes beyond yours for your family, ministry or significant other. What I say I love you more than life itself, they aren’t just words, I proved it by doing just that… laying down my life ALL FOR YOU.
Maybe you, like me need to spend some time being a heathen… stop doing things FOR God and starting getting to KNOW God.

Too much luggage...

A team of 15 from Brookwood arrived in Quito on Thursday, October 8. I couldn’t help but jump for joy when I saw them! That night as I laid in bed, I also couldn’t help but mull over the details of the following days in my mind, including how to get SO much luggage on the next flight without getting charged $200. This is something I had been mulling over and trying to figure out for the past couple of weeks. I thought… well I could send Daniel to the counter because he doesn’t speak any Spanish, so it’ll be so frustrating to them that they’ll just let us through. But then I thought that was pretty mean to the people at the front desk and to Daniel! OR I could just pretend I couldn’t speak Spanish… but then I figured that was a little deceitful.
As I laid there, the Lord said, Walk up to the front desk, put down all the passports and let me handle the rest. I thought I heard him wrong. There is no way it could be that simple.
The next morning before we ever went into the airport, I got the team together and said, “Look guys, we have about 20 kilos over each person… so we’re just going to have to pray and let the Lord do the rest.” We prayed, walked in, and I set the passports on the counter. The lady behind the counter marked each piece of luggage with weight and everything. Every single bag was over and we had about 3 extra bags, on top of 3 guitars and a keyboard. She handed me the tickets and said, “Have a good flight.”
That was it… all my fretting and the Lord already had it all figured out. Sometimes the simplest answer is best one.

A dead fish over chicken and rice…

This weekend after the team left, I got to spend a few days in Quito resting up from the 8 days of ongoing work. One night as we were walking home from dinner, we saw the same lady we had seen going to dinner sitting on a little wooden plank. My heart broke for this woman and we decided to go and buy her a little dinner.
My heart was bursting with joy as we offered her chicken and rice… my heart broke as she scowled and refused the offer. I asked her if maybe her family would like it. Through gritted teeth she said, “This is all my family needs,” as she pulled out a dead, gross fish from under the board she was sitting on. We walked away with a wonderful dinner as she sat there clutching her old fish.
As we walked down the road, it hit me… this is all of us. Here is Jesus offering beautiful, delicious grace, but we would rather cling to our own way of doing it. Instead of graciously accepting the free gift that he offers, our pride makes us hold onto our works and what we can do to “earn” our own salvation. Oh how it broke my heart to walk away from this women… but just a block down was a little boy, Joe begging for food. He hungrily and excitedly accepted our small offering. As we walked away he called out to us, “Chau!” I turned around to see the biggest smile I have ever seen and a little hand stretched out to the heavens waving emphatically.
“Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these. I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it.” – Mark 10:14-15

Today I went to court....

Yep… that’s right. Today was cultural experience #197302. Here’s how it all started. In June my roommate Nicole came back from band practice with a black eye and no saxophone. She was supposed to play that weekend and was walking home after practice with the guys from the band. A car full of guys jumped out and one of the guys grabbed her sax. If you know Nicole at all, she is the most laid back person you will ever meet… UNLESS you try and steal her sax. My sassy friend fought her little heart and got a nice little shiner for her trouble. As they drove off, a friend of hers pulled up and they all jumped in the car and had themselves a nice little car chase in Loja! It turns out the guys got caught at the bus terminal trying to rob some other lady. What does all this have to do with me you ask?
NOTHING… except that we had to go in and testify that the sax did indeed belong to Nicole.
Yesterday (3 month later!) I received a phone call asking for Nicole. I explained to them that she wasn’t here and the man explained to me that she had to be here to testify. I then explained to him that she couldn’t because she was living in a different country and not coming back. He then informed me that I had to go in AGAIN to say that indeed the sax belonged to Nicole, even though I had already done that 3 months ago.
All that led up to this morning when Colin, Steven and I (the “witnesses” to Nicole’s sax) had to go in and testify in front of a judge and in front of the guys who robbed Nicole. The entire time I was completely nervous thinking that I wouldn’t understand the “formal” words, but it turned out to be quite funny having to stand up with my right hand up saying that I would tell the truth in Spanish (first time I’d ever done that in English or Spanish!) and explain why Nicole no longer lived in Ecuador.
Yeah… as Steven put it, I think we’ve now been through every cultural experience that there is… funerals, robberies, weddings, baby showers, and now the judicial system. Oh the life I lead :).

Miracles keep happening...

In about a week and a half I have a team coming from Greenville, South Carolina... Brookwood Church. I love these guys and I am super excited to see what the Lord does with them this year. I think back to last year when I didn't know them yet. The Lord must have given Daniel (the leader of the group) an extra measure of grace when he was told a 26 year old was planning his trip... thanks for believing in me Daniel! And now I think about this year and I can barely contain my excitement!
Here's why: normally the planning is the most stressful part of any trip. As I was sitting at the bus terminal in Bolivia, I started thinking about everything I needed to do to make it happen. I had in my head that we would have a big concert in San Sebastian (the plaza in front of El Sendero), but as I sat and prayed about it, the Lord said NO.
SO... I started brainstorming with Jesus of all the things we could do. When I got back to Loja, I was talking to Colin about one of my ideas to have a concert in the Tecnica (the Catholic University). Several people had told me that there was no way I was ever going to get a concert there, but as we talked about it, the Lord brought to my mind my friend Matt. Matt is an English guy in charge of the English conversation club at the Tecnica. I decided he would be the perfect person to talk to... and 5 minutes later he walked in. We talked for about 4 hours about all SORTS of stuff and he said he would love to help me out. I was thinking that maybe we would be in a back auditorium or something and before I knew it, he asked me... "How does 11am in the cafeteria sound?" First of all, the Tecnica is Catholic so the fact that they would LET us in is a miracle. Second of all, the cafeteria is RIGHT in the center of campus. Third of all, 11am is right in between everyone's classes when they hang out! I was not expecting THAT to say the least.
On top of this miracle, the Lord has BROUGHT the people I need to talk to into the cafe as I was working. One day I needed to talk to the pastor of one church and the youth pastor of another church... that evening they BOTH came in within 30 minutes of one another. He has provided people to cook, bake and show the team around. He has provided translators and speakers without me even raising a finger.
The Lord has provided opportunities I could never have imagined and people I could never have asked for! Seriously, I CANNOT wait to see what's going to happen...

4 Months from TODAY...

Today is September 21st... Four months from today I will be making my way back to the United States. To be honest, it scares me even more than coming here in the first place. I think back 2 years ago when I was getting on the plane and I am just amazed at how the Lord has chosen to use me. I CAN'T BELIEVE IT!?
In honor of the time the Lord has given me here, I would like to share something that happened this weekend. Those of you who have kept up with me will remember my friend Leydi. I met Leydi about a year and a half ago and since then the Lord has been working in her life. For the past 8 months or so, she has showed absolutely no interest in the Bible, the gospel or anything in between. That is when the Lord told me to back off. I have shared the gospel with her, she knows the truth but has no interest in hearing it. The Lord told me to love her, pray for her but to stay back until she was ready to move forward.
A miracle happened this week. She came to the cafe to let me know she is pregnant and she is getting married in 2 weeks. But bigger than that, she said that while I was in Bolivia she tried to call me... she wanted to go to church with me. I almost fell off of my chair. I told her I would love to have her come with me to church next Sunday and we've agreed. It's a date.
I have known the Lord is at work in Leydi's life since the moment I met her... I have prayed for her, with her and have asked you to do the same. I am asking once more that during this time of change, the Lord would move in her life in a mighty way and that she would come to know HIM as her Savior.
As I think about saying goodbye to Loja, it makes me want to cry... but I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Lord brought me here for many reasons and that His Word does not return void.

If he says pray, you PRAY... if he says run, you RUN!

What would you do if the Lord asked you to do something weird... that was my dilemma many times during my trip to and from Bolivia. I will give you two examples...
Number one... I had arrived in Santa Cruz at 2 am where I was warmly greeted by an immigration officer wanting $135 from me for a visa ONLY because I was a US citizen. After I had paid, he told me that he could not put the visa in my passport because I did not have a blank page in my passport. After much pleading, he put it in the back (though he informed me that he shouldnt have). After a goodnight sleep, I spent the day with Debbie and Graham Frith, SIM missionaries who started El Alfarero (one of the reasons I went to Bolivia). At 3pm, with plenty of time, we got in the car to make the quick 20 minute trip to the airport. When I arrived there, the man behind the counter informed me I was at the wrong airport and there was no way I was going to make my plane. As we ran back to the car, I began to pray. I only had 3 and a half days in Sucre to get to know the cafe and if I missed this flight, I would only have 2 and a half days. Graham informed me that we would try but it was pretty much inevitable that I would miss my flight, seeing that the journey across town was 40 minutes. By this time it was 3:15 and my plane was leaving at 4:00.
As we sped along the road, the Lord told me to pray, and not just to myself, out loud. Mind you, I had just met these people a little more than 12 hours before. But the Lord would not let it go, so I asked them if it was ok and I prayed... more like begged the Lord to make it possible.
We came barrelling into the parking lot and I jumped out of the car as Debbie grabbed my suitcase. I saw a sign that said, Must be checked in 20 minutes before the plane takes off... I threw my passport down on the counter and said, "Please tell me I made it." The man looked at his watch and said, "You made it by 2 MINUTES." Thank you Jesus.

Story number two... on my way BACK to Ecuador, I had to change flights in Lima, Peru. I only had one hour to get to my next flight and when we landed in Lima I realized the flight was a bit late, so really I only had 45 minutes to get to my next flight. While I was waiting for everyone to get off the plane, the Lord told me "Run." And I thought to myself... really?? I still have a bit of time, I will be fine... not to mention, I am going to look like an idiot running through the airport. But he kept speaking to my heart, "Run." So as soon as I got off the plane, I started to do my fastest speed walk I could. Everyone around me, as suspected, looked at me like I was crazy. As I rounded the corner for the security check in, I looked behind me and saw a plane full of people coming from a different direction, delaying the people on MY plane for who knows how long. I barely sqeeked through security as the line went from 10 to 200 people. WOW... I should listen to the Lord more often, dont you think??
I seriously am amazed at how the Lord took care of me on this journey... from big things to small things and everything in between he watched out for me. Thank you Jesus!

Motobike experiences in Bolivia...

Mari told me that we were going to go around to the different pueblitos around San Ignacio to visit the mission churches that the Jesuits started. That sounded like an awesome adventure to me, but then she said, "Can you drive a motorbike?" So "drive" is a pretty strong word... my dad taught my sister and I how to drive a motorbike before I left for Ecuador, but I never thought I'd actually use it, especially not driving the crappy roads in Bolivia! Thankfully enough, Diego, another guy that was with us offered to try his hand at it, though he had NEVER driven one. Needless to say, this left me very nervous and holding on for dear life.
We started our little adventure at 9am, with the Bolivian sun beating down on us and mosquitoes hitting us like the front of the windshield. It was quit an adventure to say the least... and this is where the Lord began to speak to me.
For the first hour, I was having a heart attack... the roads were horrendous and I thought we were going to die at any moment. All I could do was stare at the bumps and holes in the road and pray, 'Please Lord, help us to get back in one piece.' But then the Lord said to me, why are you so consumed with the road? You're not driving. You're either going to trust the driver or you're going to get off. If you trust the driver, it means you can look at the amazing view around you and leave the driving to him." I realized that is like my relationship with my God... I am a control freak and more days I stress about next to everything going on, but the Lord was trying to say to me, "Do you trust me? Do you trust me to drive you in good places? Do you trust me to have your best in mind and keep you safe no matter what the path in front of you looks like?" So as we drove down that dirt road, I began to just trust and take in all the scenery. Can I tell you the journey was much less stressful. So now, I just need to apply this same principle to my life... trusting that my Driver will take care of me no matter what the road in front of me looks like.