Mexico!

It´s been quite awhile since I wrote! I tried to access this page at an internet cafe, but for some reason it wouldn´t load. These last few weeks at the base have been extremely busy and (almost) always fun. Northlake´s team left this afternoon and I´m sad to see them go. It was good to speak English for awhile, but now it´s back to Spanish and I have three weeks to become fluent!

Spent today in Mazatlan, and it was beautiful as always. Didn´t get my hair braided and didn´t get a tattoo. But I did buy a mug! Yeah, not as exciting, I know.

How about some stories for you? Last night a huge thunderstorm raged outside and the power went off for a minute. I was sitting at a table in the kitchen and got kind of freaked out. In completely darkness, I stood up and pictured the kitchen in my mind. Nope, I thought, no obstacles between me and the bedroom door. So I started walking (I could have sworn I wasn´t running) and ran STRAIGHT into a large wooden post. I smacked my face so hard Brisa heard it in the bedroom and when she came out I was holding my nose, which by that time was turning purple. An ice pack helped the swelling go down, but it still hurt everytime I thought about what just happened and laughed. Today, only a small lump remains on the right side of my nose as a battle scar, and a minor case of whiplash, I think. Prayed all day that no one would ask me what happened.

Earlier this week I spent time with the team in a small village outside of Culiacan. I was standing with the audience as the team performed skits and dramas and made friends with some girls my age. I was so sad to go, knowing I would probably never meet them again or learn anything else about them! I keep with me a picture and prayers. The town is predominantly Catholic, but not anything like US Catholicism. They worship the Virgin Mary, and have an alter to her up on a hill where they take offerings of food or flowers if someone´s sick or they want to ask for something. I pray that they come to know that Jesus is the way to God and that he doesn´t ask for sacrifices and offerings, only for their hearts! This way is much easier and much harder at the same time.

To end, I have a set of amazing stories about healing. Two weeks ago in church, I prayed that God would use me to bless people and I felt like he told me he would use me to heal people. To hear this, I was very excited and a little nervous. I pictured myself in a small village laying my hands on a poor old lady and speaking in tongues and watching her walk away when all she could do before was....limp, or something. I don´t know. Anyway, as time went on I started to get frustrated because this scenario didn´t play out and I questioned if I heard God right. I spent this last week in the base. I didn´t even get to go out to the small villages! (except for the one mentioned above, and there wasn´t any miraculous healing passing through my hands there as far as I could tell.) No, instead of sharing my gift with the world, I stayed at the base all day and all night, cleaning and cooking and taking care of 12-year-old Katherine, who was sick for two days because she didn´t drink enough water. As I sat on the edge of her bed and fed her one more browning apple slice, I questioned my purpose in being in Mexico. By the end of the day I was getting tired of hearing how her stomache hurt and got the idea that I should fast until she recovered. This turned out to be a God-sent idea because it made me much more invested in getting her better and far more eager to pray, because I got really, really hungry. Well, she did get better the next day (before breakfast, thank goodness!) and went with the team. Sammi Moran, however, stayed home very sick and I got to sit with her and rub her back until I thought my arm would fall off. While I was sitting there, I asked God if I should fast again, and he said no, but pray. So I prayed. And spent the day by her bed and at the hospital with her holding her hand and encouraging her.

So if you´ve got any bit of sense in you, which I didn´t, I´m sure you can see where these stories lead. Which I didn´t. God did use me to heal! But definitely, definitely not in the way I thought He would. In His wisdom, he knew that performing a direct, miraculous healing through me would cause my head to swell up so big I´d never come back down to earth again. But he used me behind the scenes, in an ordinary way, and did extraordinary things in my heart. Moral of this story? God is still smarter than me and answers to prayer can be surprising. So be on the lookout.

That´s all for today. Please pray for decisions about my future. Love you all!