Shalom Prayer

I forgot to mention that I found this prayer on the Stone Church website and it is really cool and worth reading/praying through. You can access it at this link: http://www.stonechurch.ca/site/stone_church/assets/pdf/Shalom_Prayer.pdf

Blessings!

The countdown is on... we leave in 11 days!

I have to be honest in saying that I have avoided writing anything here over the past two weeks because I haven't had any exciting news to share. It started three weeks ago when we were learning some dramas. In one of them I played the part of a crippled person who was limping in pain each day. I felt the pain. I felt the loneliness of the character. Another evening we watched a movie documentary on healing and then we started Holy Spirit week where I felt like I had to start expecting God to heal me. People had crazy visions that matched each other regarding the things holding me back from being healed by God. They prayed for me daily. I felt challenged to start eating different foods in faith. I studied different passages in the Bible and felt like God was telling me that He is healing me. However, instead of having some amazing healing experience I felt the same old symptoms. I kept asking God and continuing to step out in faith. Instead of feeling healed, I ended up with laryngitis. This past week was spiritual warfare week which I thought to be very fitting as I have felt like I have been in a battle. Instead of improving I lost a lot of my energy and got an ear infection. The past couple days I have been really discouraged wondering why God hasn't healed me or if He has healed me and my body is just not getting the message. Today I have decided to stop trying to eat normal food until God clearly shows me otherwise. I am still believing for healing. I know that God is a miracle working God. I know He can heal and He still heals today. I don't doubt this. I just wish I knew why He isn't healing me the way I want to be healed and when I want to be healed...which is probably my problem because that sounds really selfish and demanding when I write it. The Scripture verse that came to my mind as I began to write this blog entry is: " But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." Matthew 6:33. Time to refocus. Time to just worship God regardless of how I feel and keep believing and asking for a miracle--and wait for Him to do it. 

Please remember me in your prayers particularly for quick restoration of my voice and for healing of this ear infection...and also for healing for the rest of my body to go with it.

P.S. The countdown is on. In a week and a half I will be on my way to the Canary Islands for the outreach portion of the DTS. It's crazy how fast the time has flown by so far. Please pray for vision and unity for our team and that God would lead and direct us and use us in incredible ways to accomplish His will and purpose. :)

Thank you for your prayers!

Believing for a miracle!

This week we are talking about the Holy Spirit in our lectures. This morning we looked at the different symbols of the Holy Spirit and noticed that it is represented by items such as fire, breath, and water which were, and still are, absolutely essential for life. The Holy Spirit is absolutely essential in the life of believers.

On Friday we are going to have a ministry time to pray for healing and I have asked God and am believing for compelete healing in my body. Please join me in praying and asking God for this miracle.

Blessings!

Islands

Canary Islands

Spanish

Exciting news

About a month ago our island team met to spend time in prayer for our main outreach. We spread out a piece of mural paper on the table and people were to write down any impressions they felt God give them while praying.  In my head I saw a map where there were several islands and a mainland to the left. I didn't draw it and almost didn't share it with the group because I thought it was insignificant. I ended up telling everyone sheepishly and our leader got really excited and asked me to point it out to him on the map. I was looking in the the area of the Caribbean and didn't see it so  I just drew the map that I saw on the paper and forgot all about it. 

Today we found out that the details for us going to the ABC islands were not working out and our leader had the impression that we had the wrong islands. God had not specifically told them what islands we should go to in the first place so they planned on going to where they had contacts. After he felt God wanted us to go somewhere different he had the Canary Islands on his heart and my map confirmed that for him as the image lines up. 

Yesterday morning I was praying and I felt like the Holy Spirit was moving across a strip of land starting in the waters beside China and it flowed west to the waters just past Africa. 

 They told us today about going to the Canary Islands and it blows my mind how the visions line up (the map and the westward direction). I am so excited for our outreach! 

Another amazing thing. Before coming here I decided to get a visa for fun as it was free even though I didn't think I would need it. The Canary Islands are apart if the EU and so I now need a visa to stay here which would cost me money if I had to get it here. Praise God for my free visa that covers all of the EU and is valid until the end of our DTS. 

God is so cool! Please remember us in prayer.

Ps. We started Spanish lessons today :)

Photos

Preaching

A 10 minute lunch break by the Mediterranean Sea after visiting the refugee camp.

Some of our team

Some of us at a pizzeria

Worshiping in the square before doing a skit.

Group Photo

A week in Sicily!

This past week in Sicily has been awesome and it has been really cool to step outside of my comfort zone and see God work. 

I am reading through the book "Radical" by David Platt and he comments: "in direct contradiction to the American dream, God actually delights in exalting our inability"(kindle location 613). I don't want to live a life that is dependent only on my own gifts and abilities but instead I want to live a life that is dependent on the power of the Holy Spirit so that God gets the glory. For me this has been the case this past week. 

One of the highlights for me was preaching at a youth (young adult) service. Friday night we were informed that one of us would be preaching and we were asked to pray about who should do it. I felt nothing and, in wanting to give the others an opportunity, I held back from offering. It didn't help that I was experiencing difficulty in spending meaningful time with God. A couple people came to me and said I should preach but I didn't think anything of it until one of our leaders came to me and said that they too had the impression that I was to preach. Typically when I know I have to preach I like to spend time in prayer and research the passage I will be preaching on at least a week in advance so that I can just spend time meditating on it. Then I write the sermon and go over it so that I know it and can preach from my heart. Needless to say, I did not have the time nor the resources to do this. I went for a prayer walk and asked God to give me something to say. He gave me a passage in Romans 8 and so I spent my afternoon reading Romans and trying to put together some scrap of a sermon. I just asked God to speak through me and I asked specifically for a word of knowledge for someone. It was the largest group of people I have preached to so far and it was a more modern church with the bright lights and stuff which I am not used to. When I saw the platform and the people I felt nervous and intimidated especially seeing as I felt really unprepared. When it came time to preach I just spoke what was on my heart and that was it. I sat down and wished I was sensitive to the Holy Spirit like Jenn Wilton or Robert Martin where they speak effectively and seem to always have an awesome ministry time afterwards--but that wasn't the case. I just sat down when I was done speaking because I didn't feel like I was to do anything specific to conclude. I felt discouraged as usual. The coolest thing happened afterwards. One guy came up to me and told me how the prophetic word that I thought God had given me for their church was exactly what he had asked God for. Another woman around my age came to me and told how one of the stories I shared was a mirror image of her present situation and how it encouraged her. It is incredibly humbling to see God take my insecurities and fumbling attempt to do what He asks and transform it for His glory. 

The same thing happened later on in the week. We were in a city center area and one person had the impression that we should do a skit so we set it up right in front of a bar patio for them to see. I got elected to quickly share after the skit with only a couple minutes to prepare. I had never preached on the street before and was nervous and I had no clue what to say so I just gave a brief summary about how only Jesus can fill the longings in our heart. Afterwards, one man got up from the patio and came to us saying that what we did spoke to him. It was really cool.

Another stretching event for me this week was our faith walk where we walked around the city and asked God to lead us to people He wants us to speak to. We also visited a refugee camp, and did a children's program at a church and on the street. I have been reminded of our need to be reliant on the power of the Holy Spirit, because it is only through Him that anything we do has any value.

All in all, our time in Sicily was fantastic! Thank you for your prayers.