Day 34!

Wow! The last week has been so great! I keep thinking that this fire inside of me is going to die down or burn out but it just keeps growing! This last week our base leader Brent spoke on the Father heart of God...let's just say it was eye opening! I learned so much about myself I didn't know which of course brought up some big issues and revealed some walls I didn't know I had. Through Brent God shed a lot of light and truth on my life that I really needed to know. I have grown a lot in the last week and I can see myself begin to mature little by little in my relationship with Christ. On Friday, (confession Friday) our DTS spent 7 hours straight of talking and confessing before one another and just being broken and humble. It was so great that we continued to do this even after we normally finish class. It gave me the chance to see others break down that haven't yet and watch our group become more unified before my eyes! It was AWESOME!!!

Anyways, last night we had our Saturday outreach at a local Alcoholics Anonymous and it was better than I was expecting. I didn't really want to go, my heart wasn't in it at first but then God started to work in me. Most of them were men and with most of them you could see the gentleness of God in them which was completely unexpected. Then one of our DTSer's shared their testimony and we began to pray for the rest of the people. It was so cool to see my friends who don't speak spanish any better than me just reach out to these people and pray for them. It was such a blessing! I was expecting to go out and minister to these people and instead they ministered to me! Ahhh so amazing!

Tonight we had our flag pole ministry like we do every sunday night and tonight was so cool. The last two weeks when we did it I had been discouraged and couldn't hear God, especially last Sunday. This week before we left I spent some time trying to prepare my heart for the night. We prayed really hard for the Holy Spirit to meet us there while we were walking to the flag pole and God is so faithful to answer us. I decided to do intercession and pray for people God laid on my heart while I walked around the plaza. I was walking down the Malecon (board walk) and felt this almost magnetic pull pulling me to walk down the Malecon away from the crowd. I was asking God who I should pray for and the people began to thin out more and more and then, when I was almost at the end I saw this Man who just looked so hardened who was trying to be tough and macho but was hurting really bad as well. I just got this feeling but didn't know what I should do, if and what I should pray for him or find a translator and talk to him. So I prayed and then felt God wanted me to approach him, as I walked toward him he started to walk away with a friend into the crowd I followed him as best I could and then lost him. Feeling discouraged I prayed that God would help me find him again if I was suppose to talk to him. I kept walking and sure enough I saw him again and knew I had to talk to him. I went and found a translator and we started walking again trying to find the man again we walked and walked and I didn't see him anywhere and I was discouraged once again so we stopped and prayed and then talked for about one minute before I look over to see the man and his friend standing right next to us! We went over and introduced ourselves and the translator explained to them what had happened with me and asked them if they went to church, they are both catholic and the friend was more open with us and like I felt the other man was hardened. This man didn't seemed to be receptive at all of what we were saying to him and then I started to get these questions God wanted me to ask this man. I asked him if he had a daughter and he said yes, and I asked where she was and how old she was, she's 15 and at home, and then I got the feeling that he had hurt her in some way and that he may have not even known it, I told him this and then said it was ok because his daughter will forgive him. He thanked us for talking to him and then they left, he seemed to be a little less hardened by the end but it is hard to tell how he took everything, that's ok, I was obeying God and that was the main thing! I am really starting to get excited for how God is going to use me during this time and then for the rest of my life! :) Keep praying! Thanks!