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Posted in Life on the Field by Haille Krieg on 5/7/2012
You Know You're In Nica When...
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A 2 Liter soda seems so small...and is cheaper than water.
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The meat in your enchilada is always unknown.
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There are at least 3 people on every bicycle and motorcycle.
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You wear jeans so the sweat doesn't show on your legs after a 5 second ride in the truck.
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You're not worried about great black billows of smoke coming from across the street
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You may have to get creative if you want to run every day. Fighting off dogs is a common issue.
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Out of nowhere, you're suddenly a grandma. Your dog has puppies.
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It's raining beetles.
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Scorpions are your bed buddies.
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The 2nd most common language is whistling.
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You point with your lips, not your fingers.
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One of the first 3 questions anyone asks is if you are single.
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Ice is a real treat.
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A/C is a foreign concept.
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Eskimo is God's blessing. The sound of bells from the ice-cream cart is music to your ears. Also, you realize you're totally living up to the fat American stereotype when the ice-cream man comes right up to your doorstep, knowing he's gonna make bank that day.
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Your novio is a 9 month old baby.
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Babies cry when they want Coke.
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The sound of a pig dying is completely normal.
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Your self-esteem grows tremendously from getting hit on all day long by men of all ages, shapes, sizes, and relationship statuses.
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You never need to tell anyone that their fly is down because it's intentional. Underwear is optional.
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The road is the basura (trash). Feel free to chuck an entire plate of food out the window of a moving (or non-moving) bus.
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When something out of the ordinary happens, you just sigh and say, "Schwell, Esta Bien."
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You show up an hour late to anything and things are just about to begin.
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5 second rule turns into a minute rule.
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When it's questionable what your stomach problems are coming from, try ALL the medicines in the free clinic!
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There's a volcano in your backyard. Nbd.
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It's not necessary to shave your legs...you fit right in with the women here!
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Rice is the main dish of every meal. Everything else is just a side.
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Kids come out of the womb knowing how to kick a soccer ball.
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You teach your Nicaraguense friends new phrases like "De schnada" and "Hota-kah".
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When you have a pot-belly, flaunt it in the hot weather by folding your shirt up.
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You may have your heart stolen by some muy especial people :)
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Posted in General Posts by Allegra Forwith on 5/6/2012
***A note to all parents, siblings, relatives, friends, acquaintances, supporters, church members, etc. of AIM Passport participants***
"No man ever steps in the same river twice, for it's not the same river, and he's not the same man." -Heraclitus
At the beginning of this trip, you parents were most likely ensured by us or AIM staff that we would be returned to you safely. It was the little comfort that we could give you as you sent us off to different, dangerous parts of the world with much more unknown than the known. I'm sorry to tell you this, but we will not be returning home. None of us will be. At least not in the way that you might expect.
There is something crucial that you must understand. We have been on a journey. The same "kids" that left home four to nine months ago will not be returning to you because those people do not exist anymore. They are now memories. At the start of our journey, we said goodbye to everything we knew and everything that was comfortable. We embraced the somewhat scary, very exciting unknown. We had no idea we were also saying goodbye to ourselves.
Experiences shape and change us. We've walked for miles doing door-to-door evangelism in the bush of Kenya. We've entered bars and sought out friendships with prostitutes in Thailand. We've visited AIDS victims in the hospitals of Uganda. We've watched our friends die of kidney failure in a village in Nicaragua. We've taught English in a school in the slums of India. We've had amazing days of celebration, worshipping, singing praises to God! We've had days full of tears, just trying to process the difficult experience we went through. We've loved, served, had greatness called out in us, been challenged, and healed of past wounds. We've had to rely on our teams and God even more! It was never easy, but it was good. And we are changed.
Don't expect us to come back the same. Our hair will be longer, our skin tanned and dirty. However, the true changes are not of physical appearance but of the heart. The changes in each of us may be subtle and take time to notice, but they're there. If we walk into a shopping mall and just stand there silently for a minute, it is because we've seen children naked in the streets. If we feel reluctant to call our houses in the U.S. "home," it is because we've fallen in love with another place in the world and realized that our true home is in heaven. If our plans for the future have changed, it is because we've learned that there is far more fulfillment in living a radical life than having the "American Dream."
We will not be simply stepping back into our old lives, adjusting back to "normal." Our views of ourselves and the world have been shaken, broken down, and reformed. There is no going back; we are not who we once were, but that's ok. God has made us into the disciples He wants for His Church and His world. You may just find that the young men and women that return are a little more mature, unselfish, confident, and compassionate. You may just find that you like the new us even better than the old.
As participants, we ask for your continued love, patience, and support. The transition into the new seasons of our lives may come with difficulty, but we are ready to embrace them. We have many stories to tell if you have ears to listen. Not every story will be easy to share. Some may take time for us to fully explain or may be kept in our hearts as our own. You may never fully understand the journey we've been on, but we do not expect you to. Please just allow us the grace to find our places in our new lives without placing upon us the barriers of who we once were. Call us into the greatness of who we now are!
Finally, we participants would like to sincerely thank you for the prayers, love, and support that you've given us as we've been on this journey. The kingdom of God was spread and grown in many different ways by God through us and through you! As we begin our new seasons, we will continue to grow and step into God’s calling for us, always remembering this journey of faith and love!
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Posted in Life on the Field by Shawndell St John on 5/1/2012
When I left on this trip, we had 11 young adults varying in age from 18 to 22 years old. I pictured myself as a youth group leader, hopefully with slightly less of the "ssshhhhhhh"-ing during a church service.
I never pictured myself turning into a MOM.
I didn't realize it was happening until I had already begun the transition. I mean, as a leader you are answering questions every day about every subject, so that started day 1. Travel days, making sure everybody is together and accounted for and nobody gets lost. But it was several weeks in when the following scenario took place that I realized how quickly the change happened:
Haille: (walking into the bathroom) Shawndell? Shawndell??
Shawndell: (from the shower) What Haille?
Haille: Is it cool if we watch the rest of the movie? Do we have team stuff to do?
Shawndell: I don't know... Go ask Ryan.
And as I was scrubbing the suds out of my hair, I laughed out loud. I had totally just pulled the "go ask dad" card.
It went downhill quickly from there, when a day or two later I was waiting in the truck to head to ministry and I watch Haille approaching, her mind in her own little world.
"Haille, Haille honey..... HAILLE, you need shoes on to go to ministry."
After that, the everybody on the team started calling me Mom:
"Mom, can Amy and I go the grocery store today?"
"Mom, what time is family time?"
"Mom, my stomach hurts."
"Mom said we can have a movie night!!!"
And I catch myself saying things that only confirm the steady shift to motherhood:
"Marcus, please don't kill yourself."
"Josh, NO MORE CANDY!"
"I asked you to go GET Josh. If I wanted to yell for him, I could have done that."
"I refuse to repeat myself one more time."
"I know you don't like tea, but I promise it will help your throat feel better."
"..... 6, 7, 8, 9, ...... Who are we missing?"
Those are just a few of the symptoms I have recognized within myself. I have also heard medical advice worthy of any mom standards coming out of my mouth, and I've wondered: "Where did that come from? Cause that sounds legit!" Being woken up in the middle of the night to pray for stomach pains and stroking hair while waiting to see the doctor feels natural to me. And the evil eye... Well, let's just say I've got that down pat.
But I recognize the mom most in myself when I think of my "kids" with pride: hearing Allegra share the song she wrote, having Lindsey and Kacie ask to start their own women's Bible study, seeing Nay-nay pick up the guitar again, enjoying when Josh and Marcus teach and preach, listening to Haille lead worship and watching Amy light up on the dance floor. My heart rejoices to think about how I have seen each of them grow in the last 4 months, the confidence that they have exploded into and the love that they share for one another. Even as we begin debriefing in our last week here in Nica, I have loved hearing them share stories and listen to them calling out how each person has grown and changed since they met at Training Camp.
They are not the same.... And neither am I.
The team at New Song Mission for evening service, along with some of our many Nicaraguan friends
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Posted in Life on the Field by Allegra Forwith on 5/1/2012
These last few weeks, our team has been working with a church called New Song, located in the nearby village of Candelaria. A few weeks back, I decided I wanted to learn more about prayer, specifically intercessory prayer. So when I was given the chance to lead a Bible study, I decided prayer was the topic to teach on, and in teaching I learned much more about prayer for myself. God has a way of exceeding expectations, of going above and beyond what I could have hoped for when I decided to learn about prayer. The greatest lesson in prayer came from observation, experience, and being in the presence of a prayer warrior as she did what she does best - pray!
One day in Candelaria, a group of women were supposed to take Ryan and me around the village doing evangelism, but a down-pouring of rain kept us separated and inside. By the time the rain had stopped we only had a short amount of time left before we had to leave the village for the day. As a group we decided our remaining time would be best spent in prayer.
Linda, a permanent missionary in the area, introduced Ryan and me to the three incredible women: Rosa, Coni, and Maria. For several minutes, Rosa and Coni told us stories of the countless ways that they've seen God answer prayers and perform miracles. I quickly realized I was in the presence of a prayer warrior!
Every morning at 3, Rosa wakes up to pray for the sick, unsaved, church members, missionaries, and anyone else who's in need. She's lived through so many hard things in her life, including a stroke, yet she is one of the strongest women I've ever met. Her faith is rock solid and because of that faith God has given her the spiritual gift of healing. When someone in the village gets sick, the first thing they do is call Rosa to pray, making her the unofficial "doctor" of Candelaria. Coni raved about her as she described how Rosa prayed over a recently paralyzed woman, anointing her legs with oil, and calling her to stand up. Rosa admitted that she was "a little surprised" when the woman stood up!
"Is any of you sick? He should call the elders of the church to pray over him and anoint him with oil in the name of the Lord. And the prayer offered in faith will make the sick person well; the Lord will raise him up." -James 5:14-15
Another miracle, Rosa's daughter was declared dead by eight doctors in two different hospitals after being electrocuted left a two inch hole in her forehead. Rosa's daughter is alive and well today with only a scar to show her near-death healing.
Coni, Ryan, Rosa, me (Allegra)
After hearing these stories and recovering from the shock and awe of God's power, our group exchanged prayer requests and prayed all together. Linda said, "If you have anything you need prayer for, now is the time!" You better believe I gave Rosa and the other women my requests! For the next 30 minutes, we prayed, calling out to God. These women prayed with passion, confidence, and such faith! I wish everyone would pray as we did together that afternoon. When they spoke to God, they believed He could and would work. In my weak faith, I sometimes doubt God's power or will to do miracles on earth today. But these women, especially Rosa, live by the words in Mark 11:23-24.
"I tell you the truth, if anyone says to this mountain, 'Go throw yourself into the sea,' and does not doubt in his heart but believes, that what he says will happen, it will be done for him. Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours."
I learned so much about faith and prayer from Rosa and the other women. I am beginning to step into the gift of prayer that God has so generously given us! We are so blessed to have a Father who cares enough for us to listen to and grant our requests! As my faith and prayer life strengthen and grow, I am becoming an intercessor. Some day soon, I will be able to say with full confidence,
"I am a prayer warrior!"
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Posted in Poetry by Amy Crow on 4/30/2012
This is a spoken word that God gave me the night that I was literally on the ground pleading to Him because I was very sick with extreme stomach pain. It is crazy the way God works through our weakness! I shared my spoken word with my teammates just the other night at our bonfire, and I thought I would share it with you too! Hope you enjoy :)
You are my GOD. YOU ARE MY ALL.
So why is it that I hear no answers to my call?
Is it because I am running, running from you?
Why don’t I believe that your WORD is TRUE?
You are my GOD. YOU ARE MY ALL.
But it seems that no matter what, I always fall.
I know you are sufficient, I know you are enough.
So please GOD I beg, just fill my cup.
You are my GOD. YOU ARE MY ALL.
No more reliance on me, I will no longer stall.
This earth cannot satisfy my every need.
So what is this thing, they call the ‘American Dream’?
LORD I am so fed up, I am about to scream…
GOD I NEED YOU, PLEASE BE MY ALL.
I can’t do this on my own, I. WILL. ALWAYS. FALL.
Because I am no God, no Savior by any means
GOD I GIVE UP, I FALL TO MY KNEES!
I think that I know, that I have this all figured out.
But meritocracy is that really what it is about?
Did He really die on the cross so I could give half of me?
There is something about that I just can’t believe.
You see, He made the sacrifice, paid the price.
So why do I think that this life is… Mine?
I have no ownership, no reason to boast.
Except in CHRIST, in HIM alone.
YOU ARE MY GOD, YOU ARE MY ALL
Forgive me LORD, forgive me for what you saw
Spitting in your face, mocking your name
I am no better than the ones who made you hang
BUT BECAUSE OF YOUR LOVE, BECAUSE OF YOUR GRACE
I am made new been given a new name.
You see, you call me Flawless,
You see no blemish, not one
Because you said it is finished, IT IS DONE.
YOU ARE MY GOD. YOU ARE MY ALL.
LORD let this be my answer to your call
SEND ME GOD, PLEASE SEND ME.
I want to be used, to help set your captives free.
YOU ARE MY GOD. YOU ARE MY ALL.
YES LORD THANK YOU, THANK YOU FOR ANSWERING MY CALL!
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Posted in Admissions by Amy Crow on 4/30/2012
I lay on the cold metal table as the doctor slowly slides the needle further and further into my vein. The new blood is injected into my body replacing the blood that was once present. It is true; my blood will never be the same. But the pain is worth it; this new blood runs through my veins keeping me alive.
Okay, so maybe I haven’t had an actual blood transfusion but I have no doubt in my mind that NICA runs through my veins.
During debrief this morning I was given a piece of paper titled, Debriefing My Experience. It had columns for both the “Great Things” and “Hard Things” for the topics: “What I’ll Always Remember, Where I Served, My Teammates, Who I Met, and What I Learned.” As I sat with this paper in my hands tears immediately ran down my sun burnt cheeks, frustration and sadness took over my entire body. I HATED THIS PAPER!
How was I supposed to place my feelings into little white boxes? For me this time has been so much more than an “experience.” The people I have met aren’t just some of my good friends, or some needy people I helped and pitied for a few months. They have become a part of me. I would take a bullet for my Nicaraguan family, or my “mafia”, as Conny likes to call it. And my “teammates”… they are the ones I shared life with day in and day out. They have seen me smile until my cheeks hurt, laugh until I almost peed my pants, cry until I started weeping, worship at the top of my lungs, and love like Christ loved. They know more about me from four months than some people know that have known me for the entirety of my life. There is no way I could explain even one of them in a few short words, they are INCREDIBLE men and women of God.
“What I’ll always remember, What have I learned?” I don’t even know how to begin to answer these questions, all I know is I WILL NEVER BE THE SAME. NEVER! Not next week when I return home, not next year, not when I am a cute little eighty-five year old woman who can barely walk (you all know the special place in my heart for little old ladies…) So please I BEG YOU, don’t expect me to be the same “Amy Crow” I was when I left on January 13th because to be completely honest, I don’t even know that girl anymore.
My only expectation of my time here in Nicaragua was to truly get to know my Lord and Savior, to fall completely in love with Him. God gave me all that plus so much more, and now that it is coming to an end I feel like celebrating and crying all at the same time. So am I really ready to leave Nicaragua, to go back to my “lifestyle” whatever the heck that is supposed to mean? I honestly don’t know. Part of me wants to beg my teammates to leave me here so I can have more time with the people I love here in Nicaragua, but another part of me is bubbling in anticipation to see the beautiful faces of my loved ones back “home.”
So I am sorry if I can’t fill out a worksheet or if I can’t answer the questions I am sure I will be bombarded with when I return, but these past four months were so much more than going on a Passport trip. It was real life, MY LIFE. And not to badmouth any of the debriefing process, I completely see the purpose in thinking through these things and organizing the thoughts on paper, but honestly I am just at a loss for words. My emotions are taking over and God is showing me how much this place really means to me, the passion I have for these people! I am not completely ready to say goodbye, but I am putting my trust in my Savior, who has perfect timing, trusting that He will be sufficient in my times of weakness. That He will hold me as I am sure I will be spending many of the next few nights in tears.
God gave me these four months as a gift and now He gives me my next season of life back at “home” this summer working as an intern with another local mission organization called, Mission Indy, and after that who knows where He will lead. But one thing I do know is that I can only do these things, or anything, because I serve a God who is mighty and who understands my feelings and loves me no matter what. Seven days from today I will be packing up leaving and it might be the toughest thing I have ever done but I will make it through.
So please, don’t get me wrong, I am anxiously awaiting my time in the states, and I know that thinking and processing through this time is completely necessary. But it will be extremely difficult, and I might not always have the words to say or the answers, but that’s okay. Because God doesn’t call us to an easy life, and sometimes we can’t comprehend or voice what God has brought us through. So I apologize if my words are jumbled or if my worksheet is blank but I know that Nicaragua has affected me and God has changed me FOREVER! Thank you Jesus for these past four months, you blew my expectations away! SOY NICA (I am Nicarguan!)
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Posted in Reflections by Haille Krieg on 4/30/2012
As I sat down for church service at NewSong after playing a worship set that Marcus, Shawndell and I got asked to do 15 minutes before church started (we keep it exciting here in Nica), I decided to get out my journal and write down some thoughts I was getting.
At first, they were just about how in awe I was of the way God was working in the lives of the community at NewSong, the ways He was changing their lives and ways of thinking.
And as I was writing, all I could think of was how much I want to be a part of that!
To be so filled with the Spirit that it just overflows onto everyone around you.
To be contagious with joy.
To truly be God's mouthpiece to this generation.
To be a part of something so big, it can change the community. The country. The world.
To be living in my giftings.
To realize my true potential and how capable I am.
To do things that people say could never happen.
It seems impossible to change hearts.
People have things so deeply ingrained in them.
The devil uses that in such terrible ways.
He leads us to believe that there is no hope.
But there is!
Jesus himself is hope!
Hope of a future.
Of purpose.
Romans 8:21 says that God has placed a hope in us that creation will one day be liberated from its slavery to corruption and experience freedom.
One day, we will be completely free of any chains that still hold us captive to sin.
What glorious freedom that will be!
Until then, my goal is to be rid of and break as many of those chains that I can at this temporary home.
To try and pursue as much freedom as possible.
But not by human methods.
Not by my own power.
No, I could never destroy the bonds I've created with the enemy.
Years of human tendencies, of living by my own desires have built up so many walls guarding my heart from truth.
I could never even imagine having the willpower to change my mindset so drastically.
But my powerful, loving Abba has offered me a life of freedom from all of that junk.
And I think, how could I refuse that?
Yes God! Take over my heart!
Consume me with your love!
It's not always easy; It's completely possible to want to control my life again.
But Jesus promises me something way better.
Hope.
Freedom.
Unconditional love.
And those are impossible to re-create by my own power.
It's something that gives me purpose. Passion. It makes life an adventure.
One that I know I will never fail in if my faith is always in my Father.
And yes, I do want it that way.
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Posted in Life on the Field by Ryan Hurd on 4/30/2012
Proclaim His salvation day after day. Declare His glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among the peoples.
(Psalm 97:2-3)
The other day I posted on facebook telling you to read one of my friends blogs about a healing that happened through our prayers. I said that I was not going to write about it but I have been nudged by God to share this story with you so here it is…
A few days ago I went out into the village of Candelaria to evangelize. Those who went with me were Allegra, Lisa, Rosa, and Coni. The first house we visited was Rosa’s brother. He was beat up by some guys in the neighborhood 8 days before we visited him so Rosa wanted to take us to his house so we could pray over him.
As I was praying for Him, the Holy Spirit started telling me to ask him to forgive the guys who beat him up. So I relayed that to him and he told me that he hadn’t forgave them yet then the Holy Spirit told me that He was not a believer. So I asked Him if he followed Jesus and he told me that He did not. So I was able share with him more about Jesus and how good he is. Then I told him how important it was for him to accept Jesus.
The Holy Spirit spoke through me in that conversation. We stayed there for about 20 or 30 minutes then we started making our way through the village.
The next house we came to was the house of a widow named Ingracia. We stopped so we could pray over her and when we did we quickly found out that there were other situations that needed prayer as well. Ingracia’s daughter, who has 6 children, completely left her kids with Ingracia and has not been back in 7 months. The oldest of Ingracia’s granddaughters was in the house lying on the bed with a fever and a stomach ache. So our immediate reaction was to pray for her.
Lisa, Allegra, Rosa, Coni, and I went to battle for this girl, Julissa, in prayer asking that the Lord would heal her of her sickness. We prayed and prayed. As we prayed I thanked God that He wanted to heal her and told Him that we did not want glory for this healing. When He healed his daughter we would give Him glory for it. While we were praying Allegra and Lisa had their hand on Julissa's forehead. In the middle of my time praying the Holy Spirit told me to put my hand on her head. So I moved my hand to her head and as I did I felt a blazing forehead. She definitely had a fever because I could feel how hot her head was.
Then about 2 minutes later Lisa, Allegra, and I all felt God take her fever away immediately! Her temperature immediately dropped and all of us recognized that God just took her fever away. About a minute later I received a vision from God. My eyes were closed and I saw the exact same picture of the little girl laying on her bed in my vision as I would have seen if my eyes were opened. And in the vision I saw the hand of God grasp the little girls head and bring healing to her!
After we were done praying Lisa asked Julissa if she felt the fever brake. She told Lisa that she knew that she had been healed in that moment.
We left the house shortly after Julissa was healed. I give glory to God for healing her! He is the one that broke her fever and I was one of the people who got to experience the healing. Even thought the miraculous happened, I don’t want to end the story there. This family needs your prayers. Ingracia is a grandmother who does not have the energy to provide what these six kids need. Please pray for the family as the Holy Spirit leads you to pray for them. The kids need a mommy who will love them so please pray the God will capture the mothers heart and bring her back to her kids.Pray for provision for the family. Their tummies need food and water.
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Posted in Admissions by Ryan Hurd on 4/29/2012
This blog is a continued blog...
Through conversation we found out that Jason did know about bits and pieces of the word but only through stumbling upon it somewhere. He told us that he had never read the bible and that we were the first people who have ever told him about Jesus.
Blake is a 24 year old man from Arizona who joined the conversation when he overheard us talking about Jesus. When he came into the conversation and started speaking about God something in my being did not sit right. I kept thinking that he was sitting in on our conversation trying to twist the truth somehow but didn't really know why I thought that.
About a month ago I read a blog from one of my friend's who was living in Amsterdam. She mentioned a guy in her blog that was a false prophet who showed up one day for her bible study. That's another story but I share that with you to tell you that thoughts about the guy who was a false prophet who entered Janell's bible study in Amsterdam continued running through my head as Blake talked about the bible during this conversation. However, I didn't tell anyone and just let him speak a little more.
Blake spilled verses out to our new friend Jason so after a while I thought to myself that I may have been judging Blake and asked God to take that judgment away from me. I didn't want to judge a fellow brother who was trying to help us. However, something still wasn't sitting right. About an hour after he joined the conversation he left. He didn't have a hostel he was staying in yet so I pointed him to our hostel that we are staying at in hopes of catching up with him later to encourage him. I did get to minister to him but we will get back to him in a little bit.
In 4 ½ hours we discussed about a million things. Jason asked question after question about our faith. Allegra spoke then Josh would speak then I would speak. Back and forth we went answering questions and listening to Jason's thoughts. He was so open to what we had to say as we tried to explain the gospel to him and also he is very intelligent. He has done his research on many things including other religions. So of course other religions came up in the conversation.
Jason has a hard time believing why we say that Jesus is the only way to heaven. From what I gathered, he believes that all religions are equal and that Buddhist, Muslims, Hindus, etc. will also receive a spot reserved for them in the kingdom of heaven. He also has created his own beliefs through much study stimulating from what scientists believe. He told us that he thought Jesus was a beautiful spirit but he also thought there were a lot of other beautiful spirits. As we tried to explain to Jason why we believe what we do more questions stimulated. For 4 ½ hours we talked about many different subjects pertaining to the gospel.
In the beginning of the conversation Jason told me that he wanted to read the bible one day but it wouldn't be anytime soon. Throughout the conversation we would always refer our answers back to the bible. Also throughout the conversation I kept telling him that the only way for him to know for sure if we were telling the truth was if he read the word for himself.
Jason loves to research and look into anything and everything and I think that it bothered him a little that he didn't fully know how to defend his point of view if he didn't read the bible. So I am happy to give glory to God by telling you by the end of the conversation he told us that he was going to read the gospels in the next month! God worked in Jason's heart much more than we even saw today. Today we saw God use us to bring the good news of Jesus Christ to someone who has never been evangelized to! Praise Jesus!
After our talk with Jason I went to a restaurant and sought someone else out to talk to. I sat down with a 64 year old man from Japan and chatted with him for about an hour. We talked a lot about him and through our conversation I found out that he is Buddhist and he lives to have a happy life. I was able to share the good news of Jesus with him during that conversation telling him that Jesus is the only way to heaven! He didn't carry on a conversation about Jesus and changed the subject but I believe that God worked in his heart!
After that our team went out to dinner. When our stomachs were satisfied we walked back to the hostel. When I walked through the common area I saw Blake sitting in one of the chairs so I sat down with him and asked him about his day. Soon after that we got into a conversation about Jesus. I went into this conversation with Josh expecting to encourage another believer. However, the conversation took a turn that I didn't really expect it to take.
He started pouring out his heart and eventually told Josh and I that he did not believe that Jesus is God. He believes that the creator is God but that Jesus is not God. He started pulling out all kind of scripture trying to prove his claim that Jesus isn't God. He told us that he believed that Jesus is the son of God but didn't see anywhere in scripture that told him that Jesus is God. Time after time again he used scripture out of it's context. He could not grasp that the father, son and Holy Spirit are three separate beings but one God combined.
Josh did a lot of the talking in this conversation using scripture to show him that it actually does say that Jesus is God. I talked a little bit but we couldn't seem to convince him that Jesus is God. So I just started praying out loud that Satan would quit blinding his mind to the truth. I believe that Satan has been distorting his thinking. At the end of our conversation we asked him if we could pray for him and if he would pray for us. He told us that we could pray for him but it says in the bible to go into your room and pray by yourself instead of in front of people. Therefore, he couldn't let us pray for him while we were in the common area. Then he walked away. Josh and I talked a little then prayed for God to reveal himself to Blake.
Through all of the conversation today I saw God move. I came out of all three of those conversations feeling great about what we expressed and also having a deeper desire to know God's word better. I want to be able to defend the gospel by using every bit of the gospel that God has so graciously given us. I am continuing to pray for Blake because I don't think that he has intentions of proving Jesus is not God. I believe that He is searching for the truth and the devil has thrown some "Is Jesus really God" questions at him. And I close this blog by giving thanks to God for all that happened in the hearts of those who were ministered to today!
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