Bind us together

Another semester has concluded, but an end is far from sight. As December 14 crept closer and closer, the unavoidable bittersweet moment was about to smack us all in the face. The day came and we made the best of it. This week we closed off with our class on the restoration books. It is one of my favorite eras in the bible to study, including the prophets who played such an essential role in the completion of this era. The restoration era also speaks to us about the restoration of the church itself. In the last days, the church will be restored to its original glory that God had intended it to be. It will be a glory that remains and as we have a vision for it, we must work to bring maturity about in our lives and the church.

After class was done, we spent a lot of time together, taking pictures and telling stories. We also enjoyed a night at tinsel and lights down in Waverly and dinner together afterwards. The night before we had thrown a surprise party for the graduates as a last good bye. We spent the night sharing favorite memories, singing favorite songs and playing silly games. Its hard to see the grads leave, but I know its just another step in their calling and I'm very happy for them. They were such a special group of individuals who left an indelible mark in my life. Our prayer in the end is the Lord would bind us together. That the friendships we made would be a strength to each other in the days to come. Who knows what nation we will see each other in next, but for now, I must focus on my last semester.

Virginia

Last weekend a few of us decided to take a spontaneous trip to Virginia. it was certainly last minute but well worth it. There was a team leaving from here for an outstation in Virginia, but 3 of us had a strong desire to be with them and visit the church. So we got our things ready and prepared for the trip the night before. It was a long 7 hours to and fro but we made the best of it. Being with the Virginia church felt a little like home being that they are a hispanic church. We enjoyed delicious hispanic food and got to spend some time with the people form the church. They were so great, we enjoyed every bit of it. there was a real sense of freedom in the building. As the different students ministered and shared, there was a lot of focus on letting God move in our hearts and removing those obstacles that hinder us. Its so important to remove things like rebellion and hardness of heart in order that God may move more freely in and through us. so many leave the path or do not enjoy the fullness of God because of this. This takes a constant checking and allowing the Lord to search us. I am so thankful He cares and desires to remove those obstacles so that we may behold Him more closely.

Outstation

It's Thanksgiving once again and things have slowed down here at school. Its a good time to reflect and catch up on some hw and personal reading that has been neglected. This past weekend, a team went up to Wooler, Canada to minister in Ps. Paul Webbs church. As always, I love road trips, and this one was quite an adventure. Saturday night we spent time with the youth there, a small yet lovely group. David shared and Laura gave a testimony. Both were encouraging messages. David touched on wisdom and some keys that well help us along our walk with God. Afterwards we played a few games and just spent time with everyone telling jokes and stories. Sunday morning, we all participated in a special,  Leah led worship, Pedro shared a testimony and I shared the message. After hearing everyone speak, I feel God was reminding me the importance of knowing Him and walking it out. As we walk in what He has given us, we can both learn more and know Him more. Seeing some of things God is doing this semester, it is safe to say that God is refocusing our attention to Him and not so much on our works.
It was great to be with everyone there and get to know new people. Afterwards the Webbs took us to a Canadian Air force museum where we got to hear some war stories and see many of the planes that were reconstructed that were actually used during war.

You hear, O Lord

Psalm 10:17  You hear, Lord, the desire of the afflicted; you encourage them, and you listen to their cry.

November is the month to remember the persecuted church in prayer. There are many countries that do not allow the spreading of the gospel and hand out great punishment for it. Nevertheless, there are those faithful few who continue spreading His name with great boldness. Take some time today, this week, this month, this year, and pray for them. Not just for safety, but for boldness and grace to reach all those who have not heard the name of Jesus yet. May this be something we keep in mind not just in november, but everyday. 

Hebrews 13:3 Remember those in prison as if you were their fellow prisoners, and those who are mistreated as if you yourselves were suffering.

The Exodus

This past week was filled some surprising events, moments of testing and times of stressing. In the end it was a great week where much personal growing occurred. This week we studied the book of Ruth, Colossians and Philemon, all small books but packed with such great lessons for us all. Ruth portrays not only a love story but typifies our salvation as we are redeemed from the world into the heavenly kingdom. Colossians teaches us truths about holiness and how it depends on our relationship with Christ and not on our own works. We ended with Philemon which brings out God's heart for restoration. It was a great blessing to journey through these books and just have God speak to each one of us through them. On top of that I had my chapel preaching on wednesday. This was definitely a special chapel where God met with us intensely. The worship lasted a bit longer than usual, but so many prophecies came forth we did not want stop the move of God. God was definitely calling us to draw nearer and press higher up His holy mountain. It was a time of refreshing and encouragement for each of us I believe. The preaching that followed was on that very thing that God was speaking to us, to press into His glory, as Moses cried out at the beginning of his journey with Israel after being freed from Egypt, Exodus 33:18: "please, show me your glory."I believe God will continue to show us more of who He is as are hearts come humbly before Him, for knowing who He truly is, will be necessary for the times that are coming.

Convention Fall '12

This past week we had our Fall convention. It was a busy week but had many exciting moments. There was a group that came from my home church in Miami and some that came from our Mexico church as well. It was nice to see some whom I had not seen for a while like Cathy Sharp and the Toppers, it was nice to chat with them for a bit. This convention had a different feel to it, especially with Ps. Bailey passing away and having a new leadership. The overall feel from God was that it was a moment of going into a new move. There were a lot of words of encouragement that came through and words of strength to guide the church into where God is taking us next. Now its just time to continue and prayer and prepare for another week of class.

Birthday

This year, we celebrated our 2nd annual September Birthday Dinner. There are plenty of birthdays in September in our circle so we decided to have one big dinner to celebrate all at once. We enjoyed this event at a restaurant called the "Big Easy." As you might of guessed, it is a New Orleans style restaurant serving traditional dishes such as gumbo and Jambalaya. It is quite a vivid atmosphere as they have a live band playing American Jazz throughout the night serving for good entertainment. We ended the night with a quiet walk down to the beach, enjoying one another's company and bar fights near by, and challenging conversations. It was a great way to celebrate our birthdays and enjoy one last night out with many of my friends before heading back to Waverly.

Cuando Todo Comenzo...

This past weekend, our church celebrated its 16th anniversary. It was the first time we celebrated, making it a memorable moment for everyone.  It was a time of looking back at Maranatha's little beginning and her glorious growth as God takes us to new levels. It was great to get to know a little bit of how she got started, being someone who came quite a while after her beginning.  Those who where there from her inception shared their stories, each person representing a different generation. Some came in as kids, others as teens, others as young adults, others as adults, and each one had a message for every generation sitting in the congregation.  It was a message of loving your church, yes the "church" is the body of Christ, but there should be an identity with our home church, a connection that make her ours, so that we can all grow and help those who are to come. Maranatha is more than a building for those who spoke that day, it is intertwined with their lives, what the Pastors, leaders, and every member invested in them and now in all of us, has helped us all grow in different areas of our lives. It was a day of committing to moving forward in the new plans that God has for this little light house.

Ordinary Life

Dear sister Lyss, :) sorry for the long delay. Here is a small peak at what some of the youths and myself did this weekend.  Today we headed down to Oleeta park where we enjoyed a nice afternoon of kayaking. At times it got intense as boys will be boys, but in the end no one was hurt, and the weather more than cooperated. I'm sure we all got a great workout, and the scenery was great, the flies were hungry and the water was just the right temperature for an afternoon swim, but most importantly, the kids were happy.

Somos d' primera!

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to experience the Mexican culture for the first time. It was a last minute decision to take off with my pastor to Leon, Mexico, but nevertheless I know God was part of it all. There was much work to do in Mexico supporting our sister churches and going to many meetings, but God is raising up many that will definitely change Leon and all of Mexico. During my stay there I got to see most of Leon and traveled to Guanajuato, Salamanca, and Irapuato, to meet with other brothers in Christ. Its encouraging to see the hunger in their hearts for true, sound doctrine as unfortunately there are many pastors today who are just entertaining people with wrong doctrine. I look forward to see what God will do with them and hope to work with them soon. This was also an opportunity to learn many things that are not taught in bible school, some practical things that I saw my pastor do and just seeing how delicate some situations can be. As long as we continue to keep God first and wait on Him, I know His perfect will will be accomplished.