Faithful to the end

Tuesday around 12pm I arrived at the frog town house, a place where I volunteer in the community. As I arrived, I was told that todays mission was to go out to the community and play a game called "treasure hunt". If you have never heard of that game, let me explain. First off... You pray with a few people and ask the Lord want He to show to the group, then you either write or draw what you see whether it's a heart, a dog and/or a descriptive clothing (whatever it is). Once that is done, your mission is to go out and find this person that the lord wants you to go pray for. Tell him/her what the Lord want's you to say to them.

Here we are out in the community doing our mission in 90 degree weather. Me and heat don't go well together. So after a good hour or so, a few friends and I walked into The Salvation Army thrift store too look round. In other words, to cool ourselves down. As my friend, Jen and I was headed out the door we saw a camera case that she had gotten a while back. Before this scene, my friend Jen was talking to me about that case and how I should have gotten one. Here we are, in this thrift store cooling off and there were a few camera cases, brand new with the tag still one. Wanting to buy it, I couldn't because neither of us brought money. So we started to head back to the entrance. As I was about to go join with the team outside, this Latino lady grabbed my shoulders and stopped me. I was unsure why she would do such a thing, it was so unexpected I didn't even see her. Then she said, "mi country. I want your shirt". I looked at her and laughed and said "I want it too". With that statement being said, who knew that within the next 30 minutes of my time the Lord was going to bless me.

After a good 5-10 minutes of talking to this lady, I found out that she moved to the states 5 years ago from El Salvador and left everything she had down there even her family. She saw my El Salvador shirt and wanted it. To be honest, I did not want to give it to her. This was my favorite shirt from El Salvador. My comfy, workout, conversation starter shirt. I couldn't just give it away. Well, before I knew it I told the lady that I'll be back Friday to give it to her, first I had to wash it. And yeah, she was cool with it. Then we departed from one another. Outside we (my friends and I) go.

As we were all about to leave back to the community house, my friend Jen asked another friend for money to buy my camera case. So... here I am walking towards the store again. But this time I was on a mission for the camera case. Then it hit me buy a shirt, change into it, and give the shirt to the lady as a surprise. So that's exactly what I did, grabbed my camera case, grabbed the shirt and headed towards the register. Well... that lady caught me and took the shirt I was going to buy and said "me buy, you wear, and you give me your El Salvador shirt." I couldn't say no because she took it away from me and insisted me to go get changed. Then I told the lady I had to buy my camera case before I leave to go get changed. Then she took that away and purchased it and gave it back to me. I was like WHOA, should I have let that happened? I mean, I got my El Salvador shirt for FREE. If anything, I should have given the shirt to her without expecting anything back. And that's exactly what the Lord wanted for me. He was whispering in my ear saying how He wanted to bless me. Then it reminded me of the verse in 2 Corinthians 9:7 "Each man should give what he has decided in his heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver."

As I walked away I was blessed with not just one but two items, a new shirt and a camera bag. She was blessed with a shirt that I wore that day, that was originally from El Salvador. And that meant more to her than something I could have bought her for here.

Wow, Abba is so Faithful. Earlier that day I was complaining about the heat and everything. All I asked was... "Lord it's hot and I can't do anything. Can you do something." Never did I expect this to happen. Praise HIM!!!

I pray tonight that the Holy Spirit may open our eyes to see the little things & the big things that our Father in heaven wants to bless us with. Pray that we may rejoice in every situation, even when we have to give away our most prized possession. I pray that we continue to relay on you as our strength and the provider of all. Faithful to the end is who you are, Abba. Amen. 

& it continues...

Praise the Lord

I mentioned how my sister and I were presented with this opportunity to lead 7 girls down to Mexico in July. When we were first approached with this opportunity, not one bit was I concerned about the financial part. I was more concerned about the girls getting all their stuff ready for this trip that I forgot to write up my support letter. Well... Praise the LORD. I was told today that someone donated $2,300 for Gaohle and I to go on this trip. Like OH MY!!!!! The Lord provided like He always does and I can't seem to grasp it all. I'm so happy right now. YAY! Tomorrow my sister and I meet with the girls about the trip. Everything is coming together very smooth. Please continue to pray for this trip.

On a new note: I haven't had a car for 2 weeks. I gave my car over to my uncle and aunt to use while their car was in the shop. While my car was with them our family was down 1 car, so we had only 2 cars to use. Man oh man was it hard. But thankfully I have a great friend by the name, Neng, who was always willing to pick me up and take me places. God Bless you Neng! Today my Uncle stopped over around 8pm to hand over my car keys. Yay! I have my car back!!! 

On a side note: I have 7 weddings to attend this year. Pray for all the marriages that are to come and has already begun. Pray for strength, wisdom, patience and everything for all the upcoming newlyweds. Love you all!

Overall, I had such a great day filled with so many blessings. God bless you as well! Love ya!

It's Official

My next mission trip will be located in Mexico from July 9th through the 17th.

Never did I expect to go back to Mexico again. I'm in awe of what the Lord is doing in my life right now. Just yesterday a friend that I just met this past weekend invited me to the twins game. Not knowing that these tickets were season tickets. Meaning these were good seats. My friends and I literally sat right behind the dug out. The funny thing was, earlier this week I was about to purchase my first twins game tickets. Praise the Lord I didn't. He knew exactly what I wanted to do. Next on my list is the Vikings game & the Timberwolves. :)

This past weekend at the Kingdom Generation conference, Pastor James from Redeeming Love Church approached Gaohle (my sister) with an opportunity to go down to Mexico. This morning around 10am, Gaohle and I sat face to face with Pastor James. We talked about all the logistics for this trip and from the sound of it, it looks like Gaohle and I will be going. Here's the thing, I thought Gaohle and I were going to just be chaperones on this trip, but we found out that we were going to lead this team of girls down to Mexico. Puebla, Mexico to be exact. 

How crazy is that? Here I am, asking the Lord what's next in my life and KA BAM, Mexico. "Never did I expect to go back to Mexico." Praise the Lord for all the opportunities that He is putting in front of me. 

As I was sitting in that meeting with Pastor James, it hit me. I just applied to a few jobs and I haven't heard back from any of them. At the moment in my mind, I knew If I said yes to this trip, something was going to happen. Well... I said Yes and a few hours later Metro Dental Care called me. Man oh man...

Financially, I don't know how I'm going to fund for this trip. What I've learned in the past is that, if God calls me somewhere, He's going to provide. So I know for a FACT that my Father is going to provide for this trip, with NO doubt! **Watch out for my support letters. ;)

Abba, I praise you in every situation!! 

"Always be ready"

Since being back, the Lord has opened so many doors. It was hard to comprehend it all, but it's been good.

A friend that I met once, who now follows me on Facebook. She decided to donate a gently new/used stove that's worth over $600 to me. My job is to sell it and whatever profit I make out from it, I can donate it to the El Salvador base. How cool is that. So if you know anyone interested in a Black Maytag Electric stove, let me know!

As silly as it sounds, I felt like I gained boldness from this mission trip. In the past, I hated speaking in front of people. Like seriously, I strongly hated it. My mentor would always put me in front of a crowed and make me pray for them. I wanted to be obedient to him so I did it, but at the same time thoughts were running in my head; "What am I going to say. Will this even make sense? What if I messed up. Oh no all the attention is on me. etc..." All those thoughts would always race through my head when I'm on stage. Since being back, I've been given so many opportunities to speak about my trip. At first, I didn't want to do it. I wanted to plan it all out and be ready. Then as I started praying about it, the Lord revealed to me that I should ALWAYS be ready. Always be ready to give a word. Jenn Johnson said, "If you were saved for 10 minutes, you were saved 10 more minutes than someone else." In other words, there's no excuse to not share Jesus to anyone. Since I had that encounter with the Lord, I don't hesitate any more. I go with the authority that the Lord gave me, trusting that the Holy Spirit will speak through me (which he usually does). Within the past month or so, I've spoke twice. I can't wait to tell the kids at youth camp what the Lord did in my life and what He can do in their life.  "Always be ready!"

This past weekend we had another Kingdom Generation conference, our third conference that Young Adults Koinonia hosted. Every time we host something like this, it gets better. The role I play in this conference is the "Event Coordinator" along with assisting the director with any issues that he has. This past conference, we had Sean Smith from Jesus Culture who was one of our main speaker. Wow, was I blessed. I got to know him on a personal level and he was so chill and cool. I'm not trying to bash on any speakers or anything, but usually if you're a well known speaker you want to hide from people. Avoid the commotion etc. This guy got down at our level, walked through the front door and chilled with us until the conference started. He was so real. I love that about people. Anyways, another person we had was Father Craig Vasek from Bemidji. Praise the Lord for what He's doing in the Catholic community. Overall, it was a great weekend spent with great people. I met a lot of wonderful people as well as building a stronger relationship with others.

When I was in El Sal. I met some people in Iowa who wanted to me visit their base when ever I move back to MN. So here I am in MN waiting to see what's next in my life... The Iowa team messaged me asking when can I visit them. So with that being said, I'll be visiting the Iowa CFCI base sometime this summer.

Here is something new: My sister and I was presented with the opportunity to lead a youth team down to Mexico. I'm praying that this the next step in my life. How cool is that? It's not quite official or anything. I'm praying about it and we'll see what happens after this. I mean, I am learning Spanish for a reason, right?!

A lot of people will come into your life and ask you what you're expecting in your life within the next 5-10 years. Of course you would give them a rough estimate of your life plans. I would do that too. But you know what, I can't be upset with my life. Every day I experience something new, gain new memories with my family and friends that I probably wouldn't have imagined 5-10 years from now, and build new relationships. I know it's great to dream big because our God is big. But it's also good to enjoy the moment. Media & Society will tell you that you have to stay productive and make money. Money will lead to success and happiness. Honestly, I'm happy where I'm at in my life. Yeah, I may still live at home but hey I'm still enjoying life, I pay bills and I'm just like everyone else. In other words, God has a plan for you whether you can see it or not. He's not going to reveal it to you because we, as humans, are very critical. What I've realized is that, He likes to surprise us. Through our trails and happiness, that we may continue to praise Him. So keep trusting in the Lord because He has great plans in store for you. Never in my life did I expect to go to Mexico and El Salvador with it all being provided financially. If He can do great things in my life, so can He do it in your life as well.  Stay encouraged my friends! Love you all.

God Bless! :)

Minnesota

Hallelujah! Praise the Lord for being home for 2 weeks. Even though it was hard leaving El Salvador, it's been great being back. However, I can't believe I've been home for almost a good 2 weeks or so now- going on my third week. I still can't believe it, time is going by so quick. Something I miss when being in El Salvador, I was able to enjoy my time with people and not have to worry about getting things done or having to do the next thing etc. I learned to enjoy my time with people and with the environment that I was surround by. "Time" was a big thing here for me, something I struggled with for weeks. Adjusting back was rough. There were days I would break down and cry because I was overwhelmed with everything in my life, my schedule, errands etc. I would lock myself in my room and not go anywhere, hide from people and/or not do anything. People just didn't know what I was going through, even if I told them, they couldn't help me. I felt alone.
Even though I was going through all of that, praise the Lord. It brought me closer Him, through it all, He taught me to learn to trust Him, He's the Father of all fathers and He's the comforter of all counselors. I was able to reflect my memories with Him because He was with me through it all. During my 2 months stay, I was able to see what He accomplished in El Salvador.

 

As you can see in this picture above, this was when the team was still putting together the Mission House.

Within 2 weeks in El Salvador, the Short term missionaries and I helped established an English school at the community center. 

 

When the team from New York came into town we all helped paint the walls and stairs at the soccer field. 

It was great to witness the soccer boys receive their new jerseys.

I was able to see the transition between one clinic to the other.

 Getting ready to feed the homeless. This was my first time doing anything like this, so it was great to experience this down in El Salvador.

I was able to see the transition from Elsa leaving to Texas and Josue becoming the new Short-term missionary leader.

The country, the people and the culture as apart of my heart. If I could do this again, I would in a finger snap. But for now, I praise Him for the experience. I can't express how blessed I am. I truly appreciate every one who invested in me whether if it was by giving a gift, prayer, purchasing egg rolls, reading my blogs and/or following up with my Facebook posts/pictures.  May God continue to Bless you all more and more each day!

To those who are in the process of considering a Mission trip, if God calls you to go, go!


What's next? I'm not sure what's next in my life. All I know is that I'm gonna be obedient and do whatever He wants me to do. "The Mission" blogsite will still continue. Follow me if you would like. "The Mission" doesn't stop with El Salvador, "The Mission" is about what the Lord is doing in my life. So if you're interested in what's next, follow! :) 

More thoughts

 Here I am, sitting at the airport. It's roughly 9:11pm right now (central time). I can't believe i'm in the states now. I'm getting closer to home. For a good 2 months or so home to me was El Salvador, my bunk bed with 2 mattress, a courtyard stabbed in the middle of the house, and the dental/medical clinic below the house. In 2 hours or so I'll be home. The thought about it is crazy! I'm so thankful and I feel so blessed to have had this experience. It really helped show me how big our creator is, how creative He is, and how much He cares for each and everyone of us. The people, the culture, and the country all have a place in my heart. I know this isn't going to be the last mission trip nor my last time in El Salvador. This is just the beginning.

I've had a good amount of time to reflect on a lot and man, was it tough thinking about it all. (on a side note: I'm a very emotional person) I was using the bathroom in the plane and when I got off the plane, and when I went to throw away the toliet paper, I litterally was looking for a waste basket. If you don't know, most central america places don't allow toliet paper in their toliets because it can clog it. If you can picture it, you have to toss it in the waste basket and once the bag gets full you take it out. Another culture clash I had, I started speaking in spanish to people on mistake here in the airport. Ahh... was it embaressing! I have to get out of that mindset now, I can't believe how easy that was. Not to mention, I was dropped off at the airport and while walking in, someone mistaken me as a salvadorian. Seriously, they didn't even have to think twice, they were convince I was a salvadorian. How cool was that? Obvisously i'm not a salvadorian but my goal was to be one. Hey, it worked! I seriously came with zero spanish, barely any to get by and now I can start a conversation but with broken spanish that is. Oh i'm so happy! Praise the lord for teaching me how to be patient when it comes to learning. Friends, patiences is a virtue. :)

I can't wait to see my family, I am happy. It's been a while, skyping and factiming isn't the same. I'm going to miss everyone in el salvador but like I told everyone, i'm not saying goodbye, i'm saying “see you soon.”

Last blog in El Salvador

Happy Good Friday everyone!

What a great week! This week is "Holy week" so we didn't have to work at all. Instead, we took this week to enjoy our time together as a family. We went to the beach on Tuesday for a "see you soon" celebration for Jimmy and I. Wednesday, we had Henry (a soccer kid) who wants to become a pastry chef when he gets older, he came over to help bake with us. Later that evening Lauren, Ashley and I were given an opportunity to bless our church with a special song before I left on Friday. Oh was I nervous, but glory to God for the opportunity. Overall, I had fun singing to the Lord and singing along side my awesome sisters. Thursday, the soccer ministry had it's first official family meeting. We had this meeting to gather all the parents together to get a clear understanding of what the soccer ministry was about, who CFCI was and the future plans for the ministry. We had to let them know that it wasn't just about soccer, it's about our relationship with the Lord that comes first. It was a great meeting. We served pizza and oh man, it looked like we didn't have enough. But praise the Lord we had enough for the family, the students and the team to have 2 slices. What a blessing to have witness how great and how mighty the Lord is and how He truly is the provider. Praise the Lord.

So yeah, today is my last day here in El Salvador. I can't believe when I first came I was filled with fear. I had so much fear built up inside of my head that I almost didn't come. Now, I'm filled with so much Joy! I'm so thankful that the Lord gave me peace when I first talked to Him about coming. Oh did Satan overwhelm me with thoughts throughout this process, but was it worth it? YES! I've learned a lot on this trip, I've seen a lot and experienced a lot. If it wasn't for my prayer warriors, my finical supporters, and everyone else this opportunity to come down to El Salvador couldn't have happened. With everyone supporting me and believing that the Lord could actually use me, I just wanted to Thank you! Thank you for giving me an opportunity to be a missionary here in El Salvador, I'm ready to take what I've learned here and bring it back to the states. I'm ready to bring El Salvador to you! :)

 I hope you enjoy some of the pictures from this past week. :)

I'm ready to come home!