The Lord’s faithfulness is overwhelming. I sit in the Miami Airport, pondering why I should even write this e-mail to you all….but trusting that it is both necessary for you and me. It will be a good processing time for me as my flight is delayed. J
The Lord has been working and I know summer gets crazy. Rather would I write it and not have you miss out in case the hectic schedules of life cut our time short or bring lesser things to steal our attention.
About mid May, right as I was entering that hectic time where school is winding down and everything gets insanely busy….I was sitting in my living room one Saturday night, listening to the rain and felt that call, that whisper, to GO and walk in the rain. I donned my rain boots and rain jacket, grabbed my i-pod and dashed out the door. Little did I know the conversation the Lord and I were going to have that was one of those times where you hear the Lord’s voice and know that you can never go back. Things just aren’t going to be the same. The presence of the Lord was upon me and the Spirit of the Lord speaking. Visions flooded my mind, the wind blew, the rain fell harder, and I asked for more, “send more rain, send more of Your Spirit to this place God!”
From that night on my mouth was overflowing with talk of what I had seen, what the Lord might be doing, how He might be working in us, through us. Every conversation headed that direction, and amazingly everyone dove in with me, ready to meet me where I was at….conversation after conversation left me speechless as I threw things out there and people said, “YES, I’ve been thinking that too!”
The hearts of the people are ready! The Lord must have been preparing the soil for the rain.
The days slipped on, faster and faster, more passion filling my heart, squeezing breath from my lungs, more pleading of the Lord to do what He had revealed to me.
You see, it’s such a fine balance…when the Lord reveals something to us the natural tendency is to take it and run with it ourselves, like a mission we need to complete. But it was clear nothing the Lord spoke could be accomplished by the work of my mere hands. No, this was a God shaped project requiring Him to accomplish all things for us. The only thing He was asking for was faith, fervent prayer, and ears open to hear as He directs.
The bottom line I felt in my heart was that the life I had been living was not enough. Yes, I had been doing the Lord’s work and seeing Him move. He has done amazing things this year and you have prayed with me and seen the Lord answer…yet I still felt sleepy, like right when you wake up in the morning, sauntering around, not quite sure of your steps or purpose, foggily doing the routines you know will get you to work on time.
Maybe you have felt this in your Spiritual walk at some point…it’s only the moment you get doused with freezing cold water and your eyes spring open and you feel the tingling all through your body that you realize how unfeeling you had been moving and breathing beforehand. That’s the best description I have for you.
All of a sudden with eyes wide open and the end of the year in sight I started sprinting as fast as I could toward the finish line. The velocity was exhilarating and I stopped trying to keep up in my own strength.
Weird and cool things were happening-- like every minute of the day falling into place, even simple little things, I didn’t need to think, I just prayed without ceasing and God provided and I stepped forward. I stopped waking up to my alarm because the 3-5 hours of sleep I knew would not be sufficient, I fell asleep exhausted and begging the Lord to renew my strength and wake me up in the morning refreshed. I always woke up in perfect timing, His praise on my lips, and ready for what He would lay before me.
My students were a special joy in the last days of school, although I was tired and not necessarily focused, the Lord blessed our time, showing Himself the glue that was holding us together to the end.
Profusion: more and more, faster and faster
This is the word my pastor uses to describe the reality that we are headed towards the last days, close to Christ’s return.
This ending to school was like the waiting of the Lord’s return to me, more and more, faster and faster, spinning out of control as anticipation of arriving home increases... but as Acts 2:17 says, “In the last days, God says I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams.”
I cried out for more of God’s Spirit and He poured Himself out. It was a whirlwind.
Don’t get me wrong. There were so many points when I came to the end of myself. Again and again I shook my head at the Lord saying, “you’ve pushed me too far” and then He would push farther…showing me how far he really wants to go and reminding me that this is just the beginning.
School ended and God’s faithfulness remembered. I had a fantastic year. God fulfilled ALL His promises to me. I don’t have words or time to recount them all. We then jumped into our week of cleaning up, entering grades, and preparing for next year.
The Lord continued to give ideas and provide excitement for what He could do next year. On Thursday we had a farewell teachers breakfast and ended it in prayer. All the Honduran and American Staff were gathered in a huge circle (over 100 of us) in a small room. Prayer was opened up to anyone, and the Lord began to move. We began to cry out to the Lord together, tears running down so many cheeks, the Spirit was there, uniting us in vision, uniting our hearts in service to Him. It was a refreshing and life giving time where we came together and AGAIN, the Lord revealed His preparation for rain. We are asking Him to do big things, now we stand united in expectation that He will act on behalf of His children.
Leaving that meeting confirmed to me that this is something the Lord will surely do.
Throughout the planning and preparation for next year I met with a small group who have expressed deep like mindedness and we brainstormed some ministry ideas and plans for next year.
The vision is vast, but the key components boil down to:
- Discipleship
- Evangelism
- Community and Relationship
- Brokenness
- Faith
- PRAYER
Yes, the Lord has a lot of work to do.
I’ve visited the orphanage several times since I last wrote to you and the Lord has opened up some cool ministry opportunities and relationships there.
You know that my heart truly lies in this area, and the orphanage is going through a process of new leadership taking over. As the new leadership steps in they are learning and growing with the tasks the Lord sets before them. It is a perfect time for me to be watching them and learning with them, asking questions, and taking a lot of mental notes from their experiences.
The problem is that the orphanage is situated over an hour outside the city and the transportation is a problem.
As they were sharing some of their needs at the small school they have I felt the Lord move in my heart to begin asking and believing that the He would provide a car for this coming year so that the ministry He is calling us to could be more possible.
This is one of my big prayer requests, that as I ask and wait on the Lord in ALL things, that He would lay each stone in place for me to walk in the path of His will. I need your prayers to truly trust Him and watch Him work, not doing anything on my own or getting in the way but ready to be a vessel of blessing to do what He asks.
My next prayer is that this time over the summer would be a time of rejuvenation and that God would cement this vision in my heart and mind, giving me resolve and strength to fight hard when the enemy comes to steel, kill, and destroy.
I want to share so much of this with you, but the time is SHORT.
I seek Him hard to number these days aright, that I would continue to make the most of every opportunity for the days are evil, and that the Lord would bring you all around me in encouragement, prayer, and faith. That we would be of one heart and mind an that you would readily receive the “cold douse of the Spirit’s water” calling you to wake up and live fully.
These are the two amazing songs that have been pushing me forward and encouragement, please enjoy them!
THANK YOU as always for listening and learning with me.
Manda Lluvia by Marcos Barrientos -- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Schnn1zONjU&feature=related
Psalm 42:1-2
As the deer pants for streams of water,
so my soul pants for you, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
so my soul pants for you, my God.My soul thirsts for God, for the living God.
When can I go and meet with God?
