Anything Can Happen

I chopped off all my hair and I turned 35 in August. More amazing things have happened… but these are a few that have happened this month. I just got back from seeing the Pirates of the Caribbean movie and I want to be a pirate. I am already a gypsy in my own mind, so why not be a pirate too?? Crazier things have happened. Movies always inspire me, I think that’s why I watch movies instead of TV. TV depresses me and takes far too much time. Movies inspire me and are usually only an hour or so long.

On a more serious note… I have learned recently that anything can happen. I just read that in my Bible… really! The cool thing is this, however… I think I actually, finally believe it. God used my trip to Peru to clarify many things in my mind and heart. I eluded to this in a recent post, but I want to encourage any of you out there who are hiding in any sense from who God has created you to be, to believe that anything can happen. Because I think I have been in hiding for a few years myself, yet I believe it is time for me to take a few steps toward areas in my life where I know God wants to use me, yet I have not had the confidence in the past to trust Him in those areas.

God whispered to me in His own sweet way on this trip, that He is not finished with me yet… and that woos me to no end! I am going to be a pirate… that’s what this is all about!!! God has called me to be a pirate. Just kidding. But it is similar in a way… When we step out in areas where we are unsure if we will succeed or not, we are stepping out in faith. The fear of failure has always kept me on shore in the area of Art in my life. I know I have a bit of talent… but in my mind, it is in no way close to the talent of others. I have painted a few wall murals in my life and thoroughly enjoyed it. I always thought it would be great to do it professionally, but never thought I was good enough. Well… I am setting out to sea in this area of my life because I will never know if I am good enough if I don’t try. And I just turned 35… so I better get going!!!

So, the scripture I read about anything being possible comes from Mark chapter 9 and I read it in the Message, so It has a bit of fresh language. A man asks Jesus… “If you can do anything, do it. (about healing his son from a demon) Have a heart and help us!” Jesus answered him like this… “If? There are no ‘if’s’ among believers. Anything can happen.” Then the man answers Jesus like this…”Then I believe, Help me with my doubts!”

I am aware that Jesus was talking to a specific man about a specific situation in the context of this section of scripture. But I think we can apply it to our lives as well. We need to trust God to do the things in us that He has placed on our heart. If we trust ourselves, we will certainly fail. But if He is calling us to be a pirate in certain areas of our lives, I am newly encouraged to believe that we need to trust Him to work those things out in us… He can do what we can never do. He says it Himself… “there are no ‘if’s’ among believers” He is not calling us to trust ourselves. He is fully calling us to trust Him. In this area of my life, I have always trusted myself and I know I am not good enough. However… I am finally ready to trust Him with it now, and see what happens.

Woo Hoo!!! I get to be a pirate! Pray for me.

Another Peru Collage

  

What is a Mission Trip, Really??

Peru was amazing, may I just say that first. A group of twelve of us from 4 different churches in Washington and California went to be a part of a community effort with Food for the Hungry. Two of us were from my church here in Washington, Pathways. Erin Williams (see pictures, she’s the taller one!!) and I were able to go together and we are not sorry we went!! We worked in the village of Nueva Jerusalen outside of Lima, Peru. I also got to celebrate my birthday while we were there, which fully made me cry as all the kiddos sang to me and each team member made me feel so loved. They also gave me chocolate which is beyond words anyway!!

I have lived on the mission field and been a part of receiving teams that come down, and I have also been on short term trips… and this trip was unique in many ways.

I have always seen and believed that mission trips are not only for the blessing of the receiving community… But the Lord uses all opportunity to bless and affect ALL lives involved. It is so very true that God has all kinds of agendas going on when someone ventures out to take a mission trip. Usually, the idea in a person’s head is that they are going to bless a community of people. Yet time and again, they come back 100% more blessed than they ever imagined possible. This trip was no exception.

I was so thankful to be a part of this trip. Basically, it was rich… all the way around. Our team was made up of a variety of different people and personalities, yet we worked together in an amazingly warm way. Our leadership from Camarillo Christian Church in Camarillo, CA, was great as well. The Food for the Hungry team that hosted us, melded with us as if we had known each other for years. The hosting community humbled us as they amazingly received us and showed us the Love of Jesus. We could truly see the work that had already been started in the community and has been coming to fruition in the past years.

Basically our work consisted of doing a VBS program for the elementary kids, doing a youth camp for 40 adolescents that were chosen to attend from the surrounding communities, visiting homes of some of the families in the community and attending a Women’s Bible Study to support that work as well. This program was started in this community last year by a team from Camarillo and 6 of those team members from last year were able to be on this year’s trip as well. The community was pretty amazed that 6 people returned. That spoke volumes of love to them, and their memory of each and every person from last year’s team spoke volumes of love to us on this year’s team as well!!

It was just such a holistic blessing all around. I was personally challenged and blessed by God working in me to encourage me to keep going in the areas of my talents and giftings. I think that many times, we can get caught up in just getting by and doing the next thing in our path instead of truly being who God has created us to be. I have struggled in this area for a few years. God refreshed me through this trip and reminded me of who I am in Him… and He has challenged me to move forward in that. I am thankful for God’s Love that reaches to the depths of our being. I love it when He meets me there.

If you have never been on a mission trip… now is as good a time as any. It will bless you in ways you never imagined and then some. It will also open your mindset and worldview. Experiencing God in a community that is not our own is a form of education that we will never learn in a book.