Field Time So Far... Month 2

  It's the start of month 3 of field time for us IGNITE Class 8 Interns so here's what Team Guat has been up to... At the beginning of this second month, my teammate and brother-in-Christ,  Theo, had to return to the States because he injured his knee and the doctors here told him that he needed surgery. But we soon learned that he didn't need surgery and he would be back on June 15th, which made us all really excited! Also the Drey Family of 5  heard God calling them back to their home church in California. They left last Sunday and although we are really sad to lose part of our family, I am so glad that they are following God's calling on their lives.
     So as for ministry things, we are still doing everything that I talked about in last month's update, like teaching in four schools throughout the week, hosting a Potter's Field Kid's club every Wednesday, teaching English and helping with a Kid's Club every other Thursday in Parramos, visiting the hospital on Fridays and helping with Kid's Club in Ciudad Vieja every other Saturday. Last Thursday, we had an outreach in the park where we sang some worship songs and presented one of our mimes which was really cool and I hope we get to do more outreaches like that soon. Right now we have the calm before the storm as we have a break from teaching for 2 weeks for the kids summer break. But in the next few weeks, mission teams will be arriving and in less than a month, IGNITE Class 9 will be starting.
     This summer is going to be action packed but so rich. I am really excited for what God has in store for us in the next few months. God is soooooo good and has been changing each of us to be more like Him. I am so thankful for the great team that God has made me a part of. Please be praying for us as we adjust to the new things that will be happening, especially in the next month. Please keep the Drey family in your prayers as God continues to show them His will for their lives. I would really appreciate prayer for flexibility for myself. Thank you all for your continued prayers and support!

By His Grace,

MaKayla

He Restores What I Have Ruined - Joel 2:25

Joel 2:25 says, 

“I will restore to you the years that the swarming locust has eaten,

The crawling locust,

The consuming locust,

And the chewing locust,

My great army which I sent among you.” 

     So at first glance, the detail in this verse seems random. But upon further studying, I realized that the reason that these four types of locusts are listed are because when all four are released on a plant, they would completely eat it way. Leaves, stem, flowers; all of it. What one leaves, the other eats and so on. Okay, so, now realize how incredibly cool this verse is. God says He is going to restore the years that have been completely eaten away. The years that have been totally wasted and don't even have meaning anymore. He will restore them! To restore is to bring back, return, repair. It doesn't matter how these years were destroyed; whether they were wasted or stolen. He will restore them.

     So in this process of healing that God has me in right now, this promise has brought me a tremendous amount of comfort. I don't know about you but even though I'm only 20, there are a lot of years that I have wasted. Many years have been eaten away by sin and carelessness. When I first rededicated my life to Christ, it was hard to not be discouraged because I was focused on my past and what I've done, thinking that there is no way that God could actually make something out of my life. It seemed to me like there was nothing left. That's what sin does; it destroys. But God restores. He has shown me that He is restoring the years that I have wasted. Even more, He is redeeming the past. He is going to use what I have ruined to show His strength and saving power. This is such a beautiful truth. I can already see how He is doing this in my life and I can't express how blessed I am to be saved and loved by this amazing God. The God who is the Redeemer and Restorer.

     As my application this week, I am going to draw a picture of what this verse means to me and hang it on my wall.

Whatever Things Are True... Philippians 4:8

Philippians 4:8 says, “Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report—if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things.”

     This way of thinking is so foreign in our current culture. Our everyday life is so influenced by and full of gossip, lies, and fake. You can't turn on your TV or computer or look at newspapers or magazines without seeing the junk that is filling our society. Sex, alcohol and drugs control so many lives. We're told that the way we are isn't good enough. We need to do our makeup a certain way or wear a certain type of clothes or listen to a certain type of music to be accepted. We're influenced to believe in basically whatever you want as long as it isn't God.
     What is the problem with this? These things we're being told are the opposite of what we need to be meditating on. We choose to see, hear and think about everything accept for what is true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous or praiseworthy. So what is the truth? The truth is that we are sinners living in a fallen world, but we were created and are loved by a perfect and amazing God whose grace is overwhelming.
     I have lived a lot of my life letting myself be consumed with thoughts about myself and others that are untrue, impure, ugly, etc... My prayer lately has been that God would renew my mind(Romans 12:2). I don't want to see things or think about things the way that I used to. It doesn't matter what I have done. I am free and loved. I can't sit and think about who I used to be or what I really deserve. The truth now is that I have been washed clean by the sacrifice of my Savior.
     I have realized that the enemy uses my thoughts to keep me captive and chained to my past. I am in a war against the enemy but I am not on my own and the weapons that I have aren't the same as the world's. 2 Corinthians 10:4-6 says, “For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ, and being ready to punish all disobedience when your obedience is fulfilled.” I need to take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ. I need to put my thoughts in their place. I need to test them. Is what I'm thinking true, noble, just, pure, lovely, of good report, virtuous or praiseworthy? If not then I need to get rid of it and replace it with a thought that is. This is something that I have been really working on for the past few months. This is something that you could be praying for me. My application is to continue working on this and write, “Is it true...?” on my wrist for the next week as a reminder.