Update on IGNITE!

Hi Everybody!

I wanted to update you on how my time has been at IGNITE so far. Today marks 5 weeks since I arrived here in Antigua, Guatemala. These past 5 weeks have been insane and life changing and scary and so amazing that I can't even explain it. Let me explain a "normal" week schedule. For the most part, we are in class from 9-5 every day with a break for lunch. Classes are everything from discussing books we are reading to learning kids songs to learning Spanish to learning Inductive Bible Study to learning how to better teach Bible stories and even more. About two days a week, we take an hour or two to help out around the property(for example: raking, painting, cleaning, just anything that needs to get done). Sometimes we go to coffee shops or parks for classes for a change of scenery. On Wednesdays, we have Potter's Field Kid's Club. This is when the kids come and we give them lunch and play games and sing songs and teach them a Bible story and just hang out with them. It's seriously such a blessing and my favorite time of the week. Last week, a little two year old, her hand and mouth both stuffed with food, ran up to me with the biggest smile on her face and grabbed on to my hand and would not leave my side. Seriously, I am so blessed. :)

Now let me tell you about my class. There are 12 interns all together: nine girls and 3 guys(one married couple so 13 if you count both halves but they are one flesh :). God has turned us into a family and it is seriously the coolest thing ever. A couple of weeks ago, we got back to the Center from being out somewhere and one of the staff said, "Welcome home, guys!" and I, no joke, started crying happy tears. For at least the next two months, I am home, and this is my family and I am so blessed. We are all from such different places but so many of us have similar stories and experiences. The Potter's Field Staff is also the best.

Ok, so Inductive Bible Study. The first week we were here, Pastor Steve from Montana came down to teach us Inductive Bible Study. It was challenging but seriously the coolest study tool I have ever been given. If you don't know what Inductive Bible Study is it's kind of in the name. It is a way of studying the Bible word for word. Diving in. Taking it apart. Trying to find the full meaning. Observing it, interpreting it and then applying it to our lives. Some of you may have seen my IBS blogs that I've been putting up. We are given a verse for Monday-Friday to IBS according to our theme for the week and Monday-Thursday we share them in class and then at the end of the week we post them all on our blogs.

Just random facts that I think are awesome: where I live, I can see two volcanoes: Agua and Fuego. Fuego is active and Agua is dormant. And fireworks go off all the time. Last Saturday, ash "rained" from Fuego down on the city of Antigua for a few hours. It was crazy and we have been cleaning up from it ever since. My roommate Michaela says that it "Fuegoed". :)

When I got here, one of the first things I was told was that no one gets off this property alive. Obviously, they weren't talking physically. I came here to die to myself. Dead men have no rights. But I am alive in Christ. For me to live is Christ, to die is gain. Over these past 5 weeks, God has taught me so much. I had never realized how prideful I was. I had never realized how chained up I was. I had definitely never realized how selfish I was. But God has broken me, humbled me, shown me that I am free. He has shown me that I have a purpose. He made me His masterpiece for good works that He prepared beforehand(Eph 2:10)! How radical is that? I am so unworthy of His attention yet He designed me and has a plan for my life. I have been holding on so tightly to my plans and my timing and what I want but God has shown me that what He has planned is so much greater because He can see the whole tapestry at once whereas I just see the mess of tangled strings from the back and it doesn’t make any sense. I have been so blessed in these past 5 weeks beyond what I can even express and I know that this is just the beginning. Trust me, it hasn’t been all rainbows and butterflies. This is hard stuff. But it is so worth it. I know it will get even tougher but I will come out of it stronger. I just have to hold on to the One who hung the stars instead of trying to make everything work in my own strength.

Last weekend, we changed rooms and that was an adventure. It was a team building opportunity and we had to help each other. So now I have a new room and new room mates and I am so excited. We also went out to the market and made balloon animals for kids and the field interns did a mime to "Lead Me to the Cross".

Yesterday, we learned a mime(which most people know is kind of my jam :) to the song Dear Heart by Sanctus Real. I will try to upload the video this weekend. It was so much fun. This week our project is to learn End of the Beginning which I used to present all of the time so I am psyched.

Monday, I am co-leading a Women's Bible Study and my topic is patience. I am super excited. :)

Thank you so much for your prayers and support! I so appreciate it! Please keep reading my blogs to stay updated with what is going on over the next year and if you are just tuning in on this adventure, please go to the beginning of my blogs and read about what I'm doing.

-His servant

MaKayla <3 :)