What weve been building and an update/prayer requests

So in these two months (almost) we have been building a lot. Building relationships in the village of Bethel, building friendships on the team, buildng a house in Leon for our cook, Estella, buidling school desks for the school in Bethel, and building trust in God. Its been awesome. Building is never easy though and it doesnt always go according to plan, but if you knew everything ahead of time you wouldnt learn anything. So along with learning to trust God with the unknown, ive grown quite grateful of the unknown as well. You could maybe even say I look forward to it because its in those moments where I need to completely trust God that I get to experience so much of Him. And His plan is always sweeter. :-)

I cant wait to see what else God has planned for us to build here in the next two months...

This week is kind of an oddweek for us as we are about half way. On thursday we will be leaving for Grenada to spend a couple days with our field support for midway debrief. Just a bit of a break to recharge, get away from ministry to talk about what weve done and seen so far, and check on how everyone is doing. We also need to leave the country for a night to renew our visas, so we will be spending one day in Costa Rica. So please pray for safe travels, we will be taking public transportation the whole time and kind of on our own in a new place and that are time away will be effective and that we can continue on when we return.

Today, is also different. The team left this morning with the church from Bethel for a baptismal service. Its an outdoor water baptismal in a waterfall or a natural spring, im not exactly sure but i heard its awesome. I am back with a teammate who has a stomach infection and hasnt been feeling up to par. For the most part she is okay, but it definately drains her energy and has mild symptoms of being ill. And I have developed a rash on my chin, the underside of my chin and neck, and a small patch on my wrist, and a verrrrrrrrry dry upper lip. I dont know how to describe it better. Its just constantly dried out no matter how i try to moisturize that bad boy and the rash wakes me from my sleep and is very itchy. Its not a huge rash and is hardly noticeable, but its irritating. So if you could be praying for us both as well for healing, especially before this trip. We also we able to see our doctor today who prescribe antibiotics for my teammate, Allyson, and a topical cream for me. So we are very grateful for an onsite doctor and our gate gaurd who drove to town for our perscriptions right away!

God is still good.

Job 2:10

He replied, “You are talking like a foolish woman. Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?”

Teani

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WARNING: This may offend you...

God is so good at turning moments into learning moments. Long story short we were having a moment in the girls room that presented a friendly disagreement (that isnt important to the lesson) and then the sharing of wisdom from our leader, Shawndell (a good place for it to come from). She shared that everything Jesus did was purposeful.

Lets review right away......

EVERYTHING Jesus did was purposeful. And also important to note, He was Spirit led.

Jesus had a reason for every word he spoke, music he listened to, food he consumed, relationships he pursued, friendships he had, places he went, shirt he put on, and anything else he couldve possibly done.

And that reason was to glorify His Father, God, and advance His Kingdom. And He didnt make these decisions apart from God. He couldnt live this way without God in His life. Who is also Our Father. The big bambini, the Creator of you and me, Giver of your life and breath and heart beat EACH AND EVERY DAY, the Guy you owe everything to. Lets be honest, EVERYTHING.

But do you? Do you give everything to God? Do you do everything with the intention of glorifying Him? Or is some of it for selfish gain or personal pleasure? I honestly and ashamedly admit, I dont. Yeah, its poop. :-(

As a Christian, Jesus Christ is my role model for living and I want to be more Christ like. And it might sound tough, he does have four books devoted to his life and you may not know everything about his life but i think those five words are an excellent summary. Everything Jesus did was purposeful. Bam. Hows that for a measuring stick?

So, when I measured how I was doing, I was heartbroken. I do somethings purposefully to glorify God, I do love Him. But, Jesus didnt do Halfsies. EVERYTHING Jesus did was purposeful. Sometimes I eat food for the sake of eating food when millions are starving. I could give that food and advance the kingdom or atleast share my food and a conversation about Jesus. Sometimes I speak just to be heard and God is no where to be found even in between the lines. And sometimes Im silent when I should speak up, which is just a wasted opportunity to glorify and share. Sometimes Im not very intentional in my friendships. I dont put the effort into really getting into their lives so that I can challenge and encourage and allow them to do the same for me. I listen to some music for its beat or the way it makes me feel (I really strive not to listen to foul languaged music, but that may not be enough) and again its about me and not about praising God. I go places because Im bored without any intention of even mentioning God. And for you it might be other things. It might the movies you watch, how you wear your pants (God may have created you in His image, but we all have butts and dont need to see yours), what you daydream about, what you want to go to school for, or anything else that is a part of your life that you do that is without the same purpose as Jesus and isnt Spirit lead.

Offended yet? Well, I hope so. I am. Or rather, my flesh is. That nasty part of me that I must crucify everyday. The part of me that didnt want me to write this let alone post it, because I cant just post it for everyone to see and then not do something about it. My flesh wanted so bad not to post this so I can keep on living the way I am. My flesh told me I dont always need to be purposeful with EVERYTHING. But I do. Jesus is my absolute example. And thanks to His faithful life, I dont have to question how I should live. Theres no ifs, ands, or, buts about the life Jesus lived. He lived one way, all the time and that was with purpose to God!

So if you are feeling offended, good. Now what are you going to do about?? At this point I would highly recommend reading Romans 7:14 - 8:17. Here is even a link to make this easier for you. Youre welcome. :-) http://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Romans%207:14%20-8:17&version=NIV

Okay, so luckily, Jesus came with some really good news. "You suck at life and theres nothing you can do to save yourself, but thats why I (Jesus) came to save you if you just believe that I am came to die for your sins and that I raised from the grave and conquered death " (this is my paraphrased version)
Hosea 13:14 I will ransom them from the power of the grave; I will redeem them from death: O death, I will be thy plagues; O grave, I will be thy destruction: repentance shall be hid from mine eyes.
< br /> < br /> And then He didnt just rise up into heaven and say, "Okay, you saw how its done, now you go." No, He left us the same Holy Spirit to lead us! Seriously, how much nicer can you get!   John 14:15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
So since God, Creator and Giver of our lives, gave us his son (John 3:16), Jesus, to die and suffer for our sins so that we could live eternally in His beautiful, perfect, paradise called Heaven, why am I not being purposeful with my life???? Why am I not jumping at the chance to get into to every life I come across to tell others this good news, to use the food I have, the music I listen to, how I talk, when I talk, what I talk about and where I go to scream about Jesus, To glorify God, And advance the Kingdom!? (Answer these questions for yourself. If you dont know what your problem is, take it to God.He will tell you because, trust me, He wants you to get over it and He will enable you to do so if you so choose and ask for His help). We all wanna get there, right? So why not work a little harder to get there faster and invite God completely into our lives and then invite as many people as possible to come with us?!

It just seems absurd not to be purposeful with the purpose of Jesus.

And this means every God-given life has a purpose. So dont go thinking you dont have a purpose, because you do. God gave everyone and everything life, in case you missed that. Even the aliens, so no excuses.

You wont be perfect, no one is, but that doesnt make you a failure as long as you try. And youre not alone in this purpose. We have God by our side and He is more than enough. He will equip you. We are given the Holy Spirit, (which is a worthy of its own study, so I woul highly recommend it). Things you never thought possible of yourself (giving up things, breaking habits, stepping out of your comfort zone, maybe even dropping friends, etc.) in order to live a purposeful life for God is ABSOLUTELY possible with God. He wants this more than you! He wants you so He can love you and you can live eternally with Him! But He wont force it, its your choice.

So whats yours? A life of selfishness, over indulgence,thats unsatisfying and unglorifying and only half commited to God? OR a life of total purpose to One who you owe everything?

Im going to choose the latter.



"Commit to the Lord whatever you do and your plans shall succeed." Proverbs 16:3

"Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have receieved it, and it shall be yours." Mark 11:24

"and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always to the very end of the age." Matthew 28:20

"If you have any encouragement from being united with Christ, if any comfort from his love, if any fellowship with the Spirit, if any tenderness and compassion, then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one in spirit and purpose." Phillipians 2:1-2

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TBH

To be honest, some days aren't all that I imagine them to be. 
To be honest, I don't feel like doing much.
To be honest, I'm often homesick.
To be honest, I'm frustrated about not always being able to communicate.
To be honest, I'm not sure I'm making a difference and some days feel like a waste.

To be honest, God is much bigger than those five things (lies, doubts,worries).
To be honest, God is teaching me a whole heck of a lot personally.
To be honest, We just finished building a house for one of our cooks.
To be honest, I receive many of the sweetest and most sincere hugs and kisses from adorable children, almost daily.
To be honest, Love breaks any language barrier.
To be honest, I came across some free spanish gospel tracts that I picked up in a shop.
To be honest, I had my first conversation about my faith and how God is leading me in Spanglish.(A beautiful mix of Spanish and English)
To be honest, God is revealing to me spiritual gifts, like drawing.
To be honest, God is revealing to me plans for my future and reconfirming them EVERYDAY.
To be honest, I've learned just how intricately God is in my life and plans my life and loves me.
To be honest, God let's me choose though and I'm learning more and more to choose and trust Him.
To be honest, I love my teammates.
To be honest, I've come to realize how relevant the Bible really is to my life and I can't get enough.
To be honest, I'm a little worried about not being able to learn and read from it fast enough :)
To be honest, God has blessed me with an incredible faith family back home and I love you all.
To be honest, home is where ever God is with me. So, I don't need to be homesick. (But, I still miss WI.)
To be honest, it's much easier when I surrender EVERYTHING to God and let Him do what He knows and does best, Life. because....
To be honest, He is the creator.
To be honest, I'm more and more in love with Jesus.
To be honest, Jesus is more and more in love with me and when He calls me He says, "You are MINE."
To be honest, Jesus is leading me to love more and more the man I left at home. 
To be honest, God still has some preparation work to do in me in many areas of my life. Bring it on!
To be honest, God is teaching me I have a voice. While Satan would rather I kept my mouth shut.
To be honest, Ministry still isn't what I imagined but God is revealing His plans for me here.
To be honest, I'm really content and excited about it!
To be honest, It doesn't matter what I thought ministry would look like because this is really God's ministry.
To be honest, I'm just really honored that He chose to carry out His plan through me and...
To be honest, I might not see any of the fruit. And that's okay.
To be honest, I believe God is calling me to pursue a almost-full time ministry at home with teens.
To be honest, I believe God is calling me to pursue an online Bible Certificate.
To be honest, I don't exactly know how this will play out or how it will look but..
To be honest, I tell you this to keep me accountable and encourage me because...
To be honest, It would be easier to forget the whole idea and just get a stable, constant, 40-hr per week job that I will know what each day will look like and serve less.
To be honest, God is fighting for me against spiritual warfare because...
To be honest, that is real stuff and Satan definitely hates what God has planned here and for me.
To be honest, I am hearing God and He does answer prayer.
To be honest, I didn't know where this blog was going to go when I started with a TBH.

To be honest, God did. 

Milk and cookies with Jesus

So, Im a Wisconsin girl ( long o's included ) and I love my dairy, specifically milk and cheese. So, i knew coming here Id be giving it up if not entirely atleast in big portions. Spanish food really isnt loaded with cheese like we do up in the states. Sad day, but its still really excellent because they actually know how to cook with spices and other things and its awesome.
Anyways, I really love milk more than cheese and God has blessed some of our meal times with milk. Usually with one or two 1liter cartons to share with 15 people at breakfast for cereal. So, not the 1.5 - 2 gallons im used to sharing with just my dad. And some people dont always like what is being served and would prefer milk and cereal so I dont always end up with a glass to drink, which is cool because I enjoy the other foods. Sacrifices. Well, God blessed us with a trip to the grocery store recently where I bought my own bag of milkand then some cookies. So, tonight I had my first night of milk and cookies with Jesus out in our kitchen. :-) (i know it sounds awesome, and trust me IT IS! so go buy some cookies and grab some milk and enjoy the moment with Him and let Him do some talking while you enjoy some goodies).
I wasnt really out there more than ten minutes and He just taught me a lesson in small blessings. In the moment I had so many things to be thankful for from Him. I had the money to purchase milk, I live near a grocery store that carries milk (some people that i met in training camp dont even have the luxury of thinking about a grocery store), i had someone who was kind enough to drive my teammates and i to the store, i live at a place with a fridge! So many people dont have any cold storage here so i have a place to keep MY milk safe and cold any time i want it, i can freely worship and soend time with God at home and in this place anyway i want even over milk and cookies. All of these are small things and at home they are everyday things often taken for granted. so I just praise God for bringing that to my attention and for these gifts, because i honestly dont need milk and especially dont need cookies. But he is just such a big lover and he knew just how to make my day, seriously i just lit up over milk! I just felt so blessed enjoying that.
And what God also taught me about my time here or anywhere was just always be thinking of ways to bless others no matter how small it may seem, because it could make their day. Small blessings can really be a huge gift to someone and are always an awesome way to testify to and glorify The Best Gift Giver of All, no people not Santa, but GOD!
So I encourage you, go grab some milk or other thing you really love, find a quiet place and enjoy and let the Lord show you all his gifts and love for you. And then ask Him for ways to do so in return for others.

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Bloomers on the line

As I am washing my clothes the other day, by hand, I stopped to look at the clothes line and noticed everyone's bloomers (underwear, for the uninformed). Now we are like 3 weeks in so I couldnt help but think how awesome it was that we are already so close as a team and as brothers and sisters in Christ. Its evident in so many ways, from washing our underwear side by side and then letting them fly in the wind in our their brilliance, to sharing testimonies and prayer requests, to sharing clothes (at least on the girls side) and sharing late night laughs and snacks to conquer our incredible desire for something sweet!

So as I continue to scrub my underwear God just kind of said, "Why did you doubt?" Why did I fear i wouldnt like them or they wouldnt like me or theyd be weird, well some are but arent we all a little ;-) ? So its just really cool to see that when God is your purpose and is the center for any relationship, friends, family, dating,etc. , you have nothing to fear. It wont be easy sailing, but God orchestrated the whole thing, God brought you together for a purpose, and what God does is good and perfect.

My team is awesome (this includes the missionary couple we also live and serve with, who God has blessed us with through their love for us, God, and eachother and their knowledge ).Im very thankful for them and their friendship and their faith. and thank you to all those who pray for my team and I. Please continue to pray for us that we will growing stronger together as brothers and sisters and glorify Him during our time here and that when a conflict does arise and the Enemy tries to attack us (because im sure he isnt lovin what we have going on here) that we stay unified and keep our eyes on Christ.

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