Ecuador: Highlights!

This past month in Ecuador has been so blessed. It is so hard to find the words to describe just how awesome the Lord moved in my life and in the lives of my team this past month. So much has happened, and I honestly have not had as much time to write it all down as I would have liked. Still, here are some highlights concerning how me and my team grew this month concerning living out what we believe:

 

Intimacy with the Lord:

• We need to trust Him even when we don’t understand Him.
  • On the way to ministry on the first day, I had a vision in the car of a complicated dashboard. It looked like what you would see in a cockpit in an airplane. There were so many buttons, it made my head hurt! The Lord was telling me to trust Him even if I don’t know what is going on at any given moment in time. It’s kind of like when we fly in an airplane. We don’t ask the pilot how the plane flies or what the buttons do. We just trust that He will get us from point A to point B. We should trust the Lord just the same.
• The Lord spoke to me every single day in his Word, often in ways I least expected.
  • Surprisingly, I got a lot out of Leviticus this last read-through! I would expand, but there is almost too much to share! My biggest takeaway? If we look at the Scriptures through the lens of “God is a God of love,” it opens up ALL of the Scriptures in a new way (Old Testament and all). If a certain passage doesn’t make sense when you look at it that way, go back and start again with a new mindset. You didn’t read it right the first time.
• Feedback: a time to love and call people higher!
  • This past month, my team spent time in feedback. One particular session was spent pointing out the spiritual gifts and other awesome things we saw each other walking in. It was such a beautiful time with my team.  I felt so loved by them AND by the Father.
• We are beloved by the Father.
  • At debrief following our month of ministry, my squad leaders spoke a lot of life and truth into us during out sessions. One of the biggest takeaways was this simple truth: I am BELOVED. It may seem obvious, but how does this knowledge really impact our way of thinking? Or our actions? Or the way we talk with ourselves? I am starting to grow in understanding my identity as the beloved. I’m not fully there yet, but I am progressing! 

 

Community with believers:

• Feedback: it works both ways!
  • Again, one of the ways I grew in this was during feedback sessions with my team. I not only was loved on by them, but I got to love on them as well. Some feedback sessions were intense and “the growing kind” rather than the “feel good” kind, but it was still such a beautiful honor and privilege to get to be a part of the growth in my team this past month. Community is important because it grows EVERYONE involved in the most beautiful way.
• All of us are unique, and it paints a more complete picture of the Lord when we are together.
  • Here are some examples:
    • Lee has such an incredible laugh. It brings me joy to hear him laugh. Besides this, he also has a humble heart and speaks wisdom into so many situations. His story is unique and powerful to so many people.
    • Jake has a humble, gentle heart. He is an incredibly deep thinker; he thinks about things on a completely different plane! The way he approaches feedback and the way he apologizes are both a thing of beauty!
    • Michael has such a heart for people and a desire to encourage them. This is true not only for our team, but also for the people we minister to. I can’t count how many times the Lord used him to speak specifically into someone’s current situation. No surprise coming from our team leader!
    • Colby has such a great desire to explore and get to know the awesome world that the Lord has created. I have not yet seem him slow down once and doubt that I ever will. He is literally always up for an adventure, regardless of how tired he is.
    • John has SUCH a beautiful heart. He is a servant through and through, humbling himself so that he can take care of other’s needs over his own. He also has such a heart for evangelism… And also one of the best, most genuine laughs I have ever heard!
    • Brittany is technically my squad leader rather than my teammate, but she got to stay with us the entire month, so she is practically one of my teammates. She has a fiery passion for the Lord and His work. She pours out wisdom and facilitates mind-blowing, thought-provoking discussions. She has such a heart for discipleship, it’s inspiring!
• All the laughs!
  • My teammates may be some of the most hilarious people that I have ever met. We laugh almost every minute of the day that isn’t spent in ministry. And ever time, it’s one of those gut-busting, “I’m going to pee my pants” kind of laugh attack. Man, I love my team.

 

Mission as the body of Christ:

• Walk in the power fo the Holy Spirit:
  • Having Brittany was such a blessing, because she GREATLY encouraged to walk in the gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us. How do you really know you have a gift unless you try to step out in faith and test it out? You say that you don’t have a gift of leadership, but have you sought out opportunities? You may say don’t have the gift of supernatural healing, but how often to you pray for sick people? I bet you would be surprised how much the Lord will meet you in that uncomfortable, vulnerable space. Don’t write yourself off before you realize the potential that the Lord sees in you. Don’t fall into the trap of thinking of yourself lower than what the Lord thinks about you.
  • My team and I have begun to realize just how much the Lord does in and through us. All of us walk in mercy and service, but many of us also walk in gifts of discernment and prophecy. My team has had several visions, dreams, prophetic words, and the like! But I bet you we would not have seen any of them if we hadn’t sought the Lord in these ways.
• Kiddos and soccer:
  • Ecuador has literally some of the most adorable kids in the entire world! No surprise, they all LOVE playing soccer. And they all play, no matter how good or bad they may really be. That was a huge relief for me as I am not what you would call a “pro soccer player.”
• Theatre in the park:
  • I don’t know how many skits we ended up doing by the end of the month (it was a lot), but wow, what a beautiful thing. None of us are “pro actors” either, but when are desire is to love the Lord and portray His love for all people, you better believe we will give it our all. It didn’t matter if we did the skit inside the church or outside in the park. We were determined to deliver a gospel message despite the language barrier. What better way than through motion?
• Preaching on the armor of God:
  • Oh goodness, this was definitely not something I was used to. But the amazing thing was, the words the Lord gave me for this message were powerful! Out of the overflow of the intimacy I shared with Him each morning in His word, He used me to bring a message of encouragement to the local church. The takeaway of the message? All of the aspects of the armor of God can be found in greater intimacy with Him.
• Wait… I understand SPANISH?!
  • This one is super awesome. My teammate John speaks Spanish and has been translating for us (and well, might I add)! One of the first nights of ministry, he had the opportunity to preach in Spanish, which was great because he could speak a lot longer without needing to pause for translation! You would think that this would be unfruitful for those of us on my team that have minimal Spanish knowledge, but you would be wrong! Any time I would not understand what was being said, I would start praying to the Lord (because I was determined not waste an opportunity to minister, even if no one knew I was doing it). BUT AS I WAS PRAYING, I suddenly found that I could understand almost every word that John was preaching!!! What an incredible thing to witness!

 

All in all, this month has been incredible, but I know words cannot really do it justice. I really hope this blog at least gives some kind of insight into how special it has been here in Ecuador.

 

In all things, be blessed!

 

AG