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Tuesday, July 23, 2013

Pray and Have Faith

Oh My Goodness, this week flew by!!! It was a great week here in Oaxaca!

The week was focused on one main event for my village team. Monday and Tuesday were spent advertising, planning, and preparing for a soccer tournament that we were putting on in the townhome village. In this village, we have been chipping away slowly at a brick wall. So, we were worried that the tournament would not have many kids attend. So we prayed. We prayed since we started having the idea that the Lord would bring kids and parents too, that the people would hear the Word, and that it would turn out really well.

With Wednesday here, we headed out early in the morning with the other Nehemiah village teams that we recruited for the day. We arrived at the field around 11:45 to begin setting up for the day. We had a bracket made, a new soccer ball, Maria cookies and water, and paint as well. We painted our team color war paint on, and kids began to come. A team of 11 boys entered the field, and told us that three more teams were coming as well. We were so excited, and waited for the teams to come. 12:15...12:30...12:45...we still only had enough kids for one full team and three half teams. We were beginning to wonder where all the kids were that received our 150+ flyers. We stopped, congregated the team in a circle, and prayed. I prayed that the Lord would provide and that many more would come, or that He would show us that this was it and we would just have a two team tournament. Just as the amens rung around the circle and the heads pulled up, two cars full of children drove up to the field! We were so excited!!

We lined them all up, divided into four teams, and war painted their faces for the day! They were all so full of joy and excitement for the tournament to come. The first game played, and then the second, and then the third and fourth. All of these going on while more of the team shared some bible stories and played other games, such as Duct Tape Tag. As I looked around toward the end of the third game, I began to get a little discouraged. I began to wonder if the kids were even having fun, if they were learning anything from the word, and if we would see this as a "success." So I prayed. I prayed that the kids would have a good time, I prayed that the Word would be heard, and I prayed that this would be a "success." After the championship game, we gathered everyone and shared the gospel. We shared the Creation to Church story, and shared the reason for the whole tournament. I watched as many were locked in on what was being said, and also how many were looking around and just ready for the candy at the end. My discouragement continued. At the end, however, they clapped and then went around to each one of us, shaking our hands and expressing their gratitude for a great day and for sharing that story with them.

Needless to say, the tournament was a success. Yes, at times, I began to get discouraged, but I know that those thoughts were not from the Lord. We went, we shared, and the Lord worked. But all of this was done through prayer.

"For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them." -Matthew 18:20
"And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith." -Matthew 21:22

-Alex

Prayers:
This is our last week of village work here in Oaxaca, and our last week and a half in Mexico. Please pray that we would seek out every opportunity, and leave with no regrets. Pray for boldness. Pray that we can focus here in this moment, and focus on what were are doing, not on the things at home. Pray for energy and for encouragement when we are tired or worn down. Pray for open doors and open hearts so that we can get lots of information for future work, and also open ears to the gospel. Pray for homesickness to subside. Pray also for patience and love within the team for our last couple weeks.

Thank you all for your prayers, love, and support.

Saturday, July 13, 2013

A Toothpick Becomes a Pick Axe

This week has been different everyday! Let me take you on a day by day trip through my week...

Monday: Today we woke up early, and headed you to the townhomes. As we yawned, we walked through the village to one of the believers from the church's house. We were greeted with open arms, and were served a delicious breakfast of "en tomatadas." We sat and chatted with the brother and sister, and learned so much about the culture and life of this village. We were given so much great information that allows us to see the ways in which we will go about ministering here. After filling our stomachs to the brim, she showed us around the village, and introduced us to the other believers from the church. With each house, we were warmly greeted with big smiles. We were so re-energized this morning, and ready to take on whatever God has for us.

Tuesday: We got up and headed to the internet cafe. We began to plan a soccer tournament for next week, and had to come make flyers to pass out. Throughout the day, we got so much done for this. Coordinating with the lady in the village, we made a game plan for this event. We have brackets, games, snacks, prizes, and bible stories ready to share and use to meet this children and families of this village.

Wednesday. We headed out in the morning to pass out more flyers for the tournament. We started off the day with about 70 flyers, and within two hours, God had lead us to many encounters, and we were out of flyers. We were so excited, because the first week here we had to pass out flyers for a sports camp and did not have this same success. With all of our flyers gone, we sat down for lunch at a little "comedor" in our village. We have began a relationship with the woman that runs the comedor, and are welcomed there with open arms everytime we come. We ended the day at cell group with the believers. As we concentrated really hard to understand, the group went over the body of Christ. We talked about how we all have different tasks, we are all needed, we all have different capabilities, and that God has put us in this place for a specific time and purpose. We were so encouraged as we reflected on our team, and how God placed each one of us here with a specific purpose. We stayed in the village that night, and were given a family's home as they went and stayed in the store that they own there. We were overwhelmed at the generosity, and were in awe of their servants hearts.

Thursday: We woke up in the village, and headed out. Since we had passed out all the flyers we had the day before, we were looking for something to do. We stopped and talked to some people, and it was great to once again meet more individuals in this village. We headed back later, and ran errands to prepare for our soccer tournament.

Friday: This is typically our day off, but the evening was a little different. We went out to church in our shanty town village around 6. It was pouring rain once we got under the roof, and so there were only children there this week. We had so much fun loving on them and playing games. Around 7, the kids all put their chairs in rows, and it was time to start. I was asked to play guitar, which i had brought with me, and immediately got really nervous. I had prepared to play for the children, but suddenly playing in front of the few adults there, including the girl who plays on sunday mornings, made me have stage fright. However, once the pick hit the strings and the kids began to sing, it was just as comfortable as it could be. We sang about doing all that we do for the Lord, and being radically different because of His love....okay, well it was more like "Every move I make" and "Undignified." We shared the story of Moses as a baby in the river with them, and then did some activity pages. We sang some more songs like "Father Abraham" and another one about a frog(?) that the women of the church lead. We were so surprised at how well everything went, when it ended up being extremely different that we had planned on. The Lord truly knows all, and we must just follow the path He lays in front of us.

Thank you all for your prayers this week. I have truly felt them. Our village that was a huge brick wall that we were chipping away at witha toothpick, God has given us pick axes. It was a great week, and we are beginning to see that the ground is breaking for this village where none (foreign) have gone before. We have two weeks of village time left, and are excited to see what God has planned for them.

-Alex

Prayers:
- Wednesday's soccer tournament (kids to come, doors to be opened, and God's word to be heard)
- no regrets or missed opportunities this next two weeks

Monday, July 8, 2013

Renewal

This past week was sludge. However, at the end of every dark tunnel, there is light waiting to welcome you with warmth.

Going into the week, my team was at medium energy. We have been hitting a brick wall in one of our villages over and over again, and were very discouraged about it. However, we kept trudging through the tough days, and eventually made it to the end of the week. We were exhausted. We were drained. 
Then, on friday after our 4th on the 5th of July party, we had team meeting. We talked about the week, and told our plans for the upcoming week. Listening to all the other groups and hearing about their many open doors, we sunk in our chairs. We dreaded the time when we would have to share our plans and what has been going on, because frankly we could not see any fruit or future. Then, John and Jenny shared some encouragement. They could sense that someone on the team was going through a hard time, and that was because of us. They encouraged us to just take some time to be alone, to be alone with God. This sounds like something so simple and obvious, but to us, it was the game changer.
On saturday morning, the house was quiet. Everyone was sleeping in or reading. This was the perfect time to relax and spend some time with the Lord. We read Acts 17:26-27. God revealed to us that we are not just coming here to see how many people accept Christ, how many people we get to know, or anything of that such. God taught us that we are here to seek Him. He is close to us, and all He wants is for us to reach out to Him. How simple, but how extraordinary! All God wants me to do is seek Him, and walk in obedience to His will.
With this new insight, we were refreshed and renewed. We now realized that we are not here to do anything ourselves, but God is here to do great works in and through us. He brought us here to grow closer to Him and to increase that relationship, and while we do just that, He will use us to bring others toward His glory.
Who were we to doubt that God would show up. Who were we to think that we were doing anything here. When we ended up on our knees before the throne, God began to move and He began to use us.

As we enter these last three weeks, we are ready to accept the challenge. We will go into each day seeking Him, and desiring to grow closer to Him. We firmly believe, and are encouraged that God will use us and that He will reveal Himself to us in crazy ways.

Thank you for your prayers and support!

In Him,
Alex Kate

Prayers:
- open doors in the harder village to become more open.
- sports day that we hope to have next week in that same village
- the believers here to reach out to the communities they live in and spread His glory
- energy and encouragement