Mixed Emotions

I can’t believe I’m going to be back in the U.S. one week from today. I have very mixed emotions. On one hand I am excited to be back in the States and see my mom and my friends, go to my church, eat good food, and move into my house. On the other hand, God has been doing so many good things in my life and in the lives of others during our time here in Uruguay. I have learned so much about depending on God to use me, because I am completely incapable of leading apart from Him. Speaking in Spanish and not having much time to prepare for things have been huge challenges for me, but I wouldn’t have it any other way. 

Admiring God's creation

This last week was another great week. Monday we had our weekly staff meeting, and that night was the Vida Estudiantil outreach meeting. I was blessed to help prepare a drama for the meeting based on the song Everything by Lifehouse. We only had two days to prepare the drama, but God definitely worked through us and that is evident by how well the drama went. Also, 114 people came to Vida Estudiantil which I believe might be the highest number they have ever had!  

Tuesday was a holiday, so I wasn’t able to go to campus, but I had two great discipleship meetings with Stephen and Barrett and with both of them we talked more in depth on what it looks like to live like a Son of God rather than a slave or an orphan. That night we had date night with Jesus, which is always a great time to be refreshed and recharged spiritually. Wednesday we had our English Club special outreach and a group of us were blessed to be able to talk to two girls for probably 2 hours. They were extremely nice and open to talking, and we are hoping to be able to meet up with them again before we head back to the U.S. That night we had our bible study, and we talked about what gospel-centered ministry should look like. Gospel-centered ministry should be centered on the gospel, and centered on grace and truth rather than flattery. We talked in the study about not being leaders that want to be needed, but leaders that want their followers to grow up and mature as quickly as possible and how that process is painful for leaders. Paul compares this to a pregnant woman about to give birth. She doesn’t want the baby to continue to depend on her, but to be out on its own and able to grow and mature. I really enjoyed that time with my guys!  

The famous hand

Thursday I was blessed to go with Jesse and Erik to meet up with a new believer named Angel. Erik and I met him a couple weeks ago, and soon thereafter Jesse and Erik shared the gospel with him and he prayed to receive Christ! I was able to go with them to do follow-up with him. I really enjoyed that, because I don’t get to do that a lot as a student staff, so that was another highlight of my week! Afterwards, Erik and I met up for discipleship and talked through the book of Jude. Jude is a book I haven’t read much of, but Erik chose to go through that and so we did. I was surprised by how much I learned from studying such a small section of scripture! That night we had men’s time, which Tyler (a Cru staff) and I were able to plan most of. We did a photo scavenger hunt, and then ate pizza and played a funny game. Afterwards we went around and encouraged each other as men and pointed out what appreciated about each guy. It was a really fun night. Friday the women planned a creative date for the men. They called it "Manventure". We started with some challenges, then ate a delicious taco dinner, and ended with the women all pretending to be a different guy while playing Mafia (A game that we play a lot on our project). It was such a blast and I am so thankful for all the women on our project! Later that night we had our soccer outreach, which was a lot of fun. I finally got to play because I don’t have stitches anymore, so I was on a team with some of our hotel workers which was a blast!   Saturday our group had the day off so we traveled to Punta del Este, which is the main tourist destination in Uruguay. It is a peninsula filled with beautiful hills and beaches. We spent the day taking pictures and just relaxing. Punta del Este is probably the most beautiful part of Uruguay that I’ve seen, so it was so amazing to be able to enjoy God’s creation together as a project. We ended the evening by watching the sunset.

A beautiful sunset in Punta del Este

Today we had family time, and then I went to the market to buy some things to take back to the States. In a little while we will be heading to our last Sunday church service. I am excited to see what God does this last week here in Uruguay. Please keep us in your prayers!!

"Let heaven and earth praise him, the seas and everything that moves in them." Psalm 69:34

Sons of God

"And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!" So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God." Galatians 4:6-7

My hand is healing fast!

This past week has probably been my favorite week of project so far, both ministry wise and fun wise. Not only am I feeling 100% better, I was finally able to get my stitches out on Monday… and it feels so amazing! My hand is healing very rapidly, and I’m so thankful that my injury wasn’t worse. Vida Estudiantil on Monday was definitely the best one we’ve had so far. A Christian doctor spoke about depression, which is a very relevant topic to Uruguayos and one of our teammates shared a powerful testimony of how God has changed her life regarding depression. 107 people attended the meeting and 4 people prayed to receive Christ! Praise God for changing Uruguayo lives. Tuesday was my only day on campus for the week, but I was able to get into the best conversation I’ve had so far. Stephen and I did soularium (a set of pictures used to start spiritual conversations) with one of the friends we’d met at the Social Sciences faculty. We wound up talking to him for close to an hour and a half about the gospel and some of the reasons we believe its truth. He considers himself somewhere between Atheist and Agnostic, but was very open to talking with us and we hope to talk with him more in the future. On Tuesday I was able to meet with both Stephen and Barrett for discipleship, which I really enjoyed. That night I led bible study once again, and we talked about the significance of being called Sons of God and because of that Sonship we can call God Abba Father… or in other words Daddy or Papa. Since that bible study, I’ve consciously tried to call the Lord “Daddy” or replace the words God or Lord when I’m reading the bible with “Daddy” and I’ve experienced an even more intimate relationship with Him because of that. 

Our group enjoying the weather in Salto

Wednesday we packed up or bags and got on a bus headed north for Salto for our mid-project break. While in Salto, we ate some great meals, enjoyed much warmer weather, relaxed in thermal baths, and had some great team bonding time. It was a much needed and very enjoyable mid-project break. Saturday we spent the day at a small church in the country putting on a mini “VBS” for the children. We sang songs, did a bible lesson, and played games with these kids. I really enjoyed being able to show Christ’s love to these children, even for just one day. They were so happy that we were there! Today we went to a church service just around the block from our hotel, and afterwards a group of us went to a massive Sunday market. Tonight we have family time and team time, and tomorrow it’s back to a normal week of ministry. I can’t believe we are leaving in less than two weeks, but I definitely want to make the most of my time left here and let God use me however He wants! 

Hanging out with the kids

 

Tired, yet blessed

Tired. I think that’s the word that best describes how I’m feeling right now. I have been sick for the last few days and am still feeling under the weather. A lot of our team has had their health attacked on our trip. People have had anywhere from your typical chest cold to much more serious problems. Even in the midst of all of the enemy’s attacks, God has been so good to us and has blessed us. Our team has been so unified this entire trip, and that is something that isn’t always typical on a trip like this. Ministry is always much more effective with a unified team. This last week a lot of stuff has been happening. 

Stephen (one of my disciples) and I

Monday we had the Vida Estudiantil outreach meeting, and I met a lot of new people. I had been praying that God would allow me to connect with some more Uruguayos, and he definitely answered that prayer with the new connections I made at the meeting on Monday. Tuesday I went back to the Facultad of Social Sciences where I was able to reconnect with all the students Jesse and I met the first two days we were there, including Bruno and Rodrigo who we got to share the gospel with a few weeks ago! I also had the privilege of meeting with Barrett and Stephen for discipleship. I’ve really enjoyed getting to know my disciples on a deeper level, and meeting with each of them is the highlight of my week and makes my being here in Uruguay so worth it. Tuesday night was date night with Jesus, and it was much needed! I was able to spend two hours alone with the Lord and it was really nice to connect with him for an extended time, and it helped rejuvenate and refresh me.  

Celebrating our birthdays!

Wednesday I had the privilege of meeting with my other disciple Erik, and I really enjoyed our time together. As we were finishing up, a guy came up to talk to us solely because Erik smiled at him. He was so excited to meet us, and after we told him we were here to meet students and learn more about the culture he excitedly gave us his contact information. It was so great to see God provide a student who initiated with us! Wednesday night was bible study, and we talked about we need the gospel not just at salvation, but everyday of our lives! I love leading bible study with these guys because they always come prepared and have the desire to grow. My 21^st birthday was on Wednesday, and not only was it mine, but my friend Aaron turned 21 the same day, and another girl named Casey from my project turned 21 on Thursday. On top of all that, our Uruguayo friend Santiago turned 23 on Monday so we had a combined birthday celebration that night with cake and some rounds of my favorite game Mafia. Thursday I woke up sick, so I wasn’t able to make it to campus that day unfortunately. I was able to relax and read quite a bit so that was nice. As student staff, I have the privilege of leading the prayer/worship team and Thursday night we had our first worship night, led by our very own Aaron Esqueda. The night was really God-centered and others-centered and it was amazing to share in that time of celebration and praising God.

Creative date night!

     

Friday was our first creative-date night and so the guys planned a date for the women. Some guys made a delicious meal for the women, and then we played a game called “murder in the dark”. For some odd reason our project is obsessed with murder mystery games, but I am perfectly fine with that! We also had another soccer outreach Friday night which went very well.Saturday was probably my least favorite day of project so far. We went to a Josh McDowell conference. Now normally when I think of a conference I think of main seminars and then break-out sessions. This was not the case, because Josh spoke for the entire time. We were there from 9am-7:30 pm with just 4 short breaks. If the content was good, it might have been more bearable, but the entire thing was basically sex-ed. I am just glad it’s over! Today we had free time before church, and left for church around 4:30 and just got back about 30 minutes ago. We were at the church for over 5 hours! It was long, but they served us so much food in the end that it made the long service totally worth it.

A group of us at the Josh McDowell conference

God has definitely been teaching me to be patient. I really like to be on a schedule and for things to move quickly, but things just aren’t like that here. I’ve also been learning to take every day one day at a time and enjoy it, because in a few weeks I’ll be back home and back in my routine. This week we will be heading to Salto to take a mid-project break and to process what God's been doing so far and to be refreshed and ready for what He will do during the remainder of our time here in Uruguay. I really want to make the most out of my remaining time here, and I want it to glorify God!

“Therefore, my beloved brothers, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that in the Lord your labor is not in vain.” 1 Corinthians 15:58

Buenos momentos en Uruguay

7 men couldn't finish this massive plate of steak!

I could go on and on about every detail about this project so far, but I really want to highlight some of the best things that have happened this last week. Discipleship started this week and I was able to meet one-on-one with all three of my disciples and get to know them on a deeper level. I asked them questions about themselves and what their goals were for the summer. Each of the guys are so different from each other and have very different needs, but I am so excited to be a part of each the guys’ lives this summer and pour into them. “Discipleship without evangelism is just Christian counseling.”- that’s what my discipler told me this year. If we just get together and talk about life, and there is no evangelism or ministry happening outside of the discipleship meetings, then it can’t be called discipleship. 

My new friend Gabriel and I at the soccer outreach

With that said, I was able to go sharing with all three of the guys. Stephen and I were able to meet a guy named Fernando at the Catholic University. He was very open to talking with us about spiritual things. I asked him the question “On a scale from 0-100% how sure are you that you are going to heaven?” and he responded with just 70%. I told him that we knew how to be 100% sure that you're going to heaven, and I asked if he’d be willing to hear what we believed. Stephen and I went through the 4 spiritual laws with him, and he agreed with all of the points. Our conversation had to be cut short, but we hope to see him again another time! Barrett (another one of my disciples) and I were also at the Catholic University. We met two guys named Italo and Martin who we talked with for probably 30-45 minutes. We didn’t get to share the gospel with them, but we did obtain their contact information and we invited them to come to the Vida Estudiantil outreach meeting, which is tomorrow night! I really hope they come and I look forward to talking with them more. My third disciple, Erik, and I were at the University of Psychology on Thursday. Erik introduced me to some of the friends he had met previously, and they spoke nearly perfect English, which is very rare! We conversed for a while, and transitioned to a more spiritual conversation. Erik plans on meeting with one of the guys more, and looks forward to getting into more spiritual conversations. After meeting with Erik, I went sharing with one of the girls on our project. The two of us initiated a conversation with 3 students who were sitting down on some benches. They didn’t speak much English, and about 5 minutes into the conversation, the girl I was with left because she wasn’t feeling well. This was the first time that I carried on an entire spiritual conversation in Spanish, with no one else to back me up! Praise God that he worked through me and I was able to share the gospel with these 3 students. This summer God has been showing me that when I place complete trust in Him, He can use me. I just need to take a step of faith and let Him do the work because I have His Spirit inside of me! 

Some Uruguayan friends and I at Maycol's fiesta

A couple of other highlights from the week: Wednesday was our 1^st outreach day, and the English club outreach at the Catholic University had over 60 students come to practice their English! The soccer outreach on Friday was a huge success, and my friend Jesse was able to share his testimony, and Andres was able to share the gospel with those who came. Yesterday, we were able to go to the Uruguay vs. Venezuela soccer game, which was a blast! The stadium was crazy, but it was so much fun. After the game, Maycol (one of the Vida Estudiantil students) had a birthday party. We ate lots of food, drank mate, and danced the night away! 

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”           Acts 1:8

A group of us at the Uruguay vs. Venezuela soccer game