(This is our beautiful host family in Mancos-
Jesenya, Pablo, Anna, Jonathon, baby Daniel, Joshua)
Operation Mancos: Church Unity and building up the body of Christ!
God’s heart is for unity and the body of Christ to function with Him as the head and then all the believers working together – to speak life in to each other, serve one another, and share the love of Christ with the world. If our physical body is all torn up and sick, there is no way that we can focus on helping others when we can barely get out of bed! The same is true with the body of Christ- if we are neglecting the needs in our body and
it is falling apart or torn apart, it will be very hard to lift someone else up when your own arm is only hanging on by a thread!
Team Zeo had the challenge and priviledge of going in to Mancos this past week, where the focus of our ministry was building up the church body because there has been a lot of disunity. We spent each day visiting people who had at one time been a part of the church, and working as peacemakers to help rebuild the damaged relationships. We need to really take care of each other, visit each other, be involved in the lives of our brothers and sisters in Christ. The Lord said that we need each other- if we try to be independent, we will fall apart and be lacking in other important areas because God gave us all different gifts and talents so that we will be strengthened when they are used together!
Mancos Plaza
Odilia and I- she is a new believer as of 4 yrs ago, but her spouse is not and is very verbally abusive to her and untrusting. We were able to go to her house and minister to her and her husband for 1 1/2 hrs. You can see the brokenness and woundedness on her face…as we left, she clung to me tightly. My heart broke for her and her pain. She loves the Lord and wants to serve Him, and she struggles with lots of opposition from home (she is the only believer in the family at this point). She hasn´t been to church for awhile because her husband doesn´t like her going, but she came on Sunday! She needs prayers and the body of Christ in Mancos to really come around her and build her up! We have to take care of our family! We need to be involved in each others´lives- know the pains, the struggles, the joys- we are in this together!
Women´s night (men were at the pastors house)- this was the highlight of the week for me! We had a great turnout of women! I had the priviledge of leading this night and felt like the Lord was laying on me to talk about the deepest desire of every woman- to be
BEAUTIFUL! This church is very formal in it´s meetings normally, so first I shook this up with games, snacks, singing- just having fun. Then I asked the women who wanted to be thought of as beautiful- they shyly looked around and then shot up their hands! I don´t think that many of these women have ever been told that they were beautiful- and they live a very tough, hardworking life! We talked about how the Lord loves us before we even loved Him, that we are the crowning point of creation (more beautiful to God than these breathtaking mts that surround us!), and that He created us each uniquely and with such beauty. We also read passages of how He speaks tenderly to us! Their faces softened as they heard this message. I then shared how the Bible is God´s love story to us and how He wants an intimate relationship with each of us- this really spoke to their hearts and a few of them wanted to start this relationship with the Lord! It was such a sweet night with the women and the presence of the Lord! No one wanted to leave! 🙂
Guadalupe and her sister Alexhandria- we really connected with Lupe during our week here- we met her the day of the women´s Bible study (she and her mom both came), where she accepted Christ! Her countenance changed after this night, as she was filled with the joy and life of the Lord! She wanted to hang out with us every chance she had! Her parents were involved in the church in the past, but fell away and turned their home in to a bar to earn money. Three of us went to visit them and invite them to come back to church and to use their home as a safe haven instead of a place of destruction! The parents were very convicted and challenged by this visit, as the Holy Spirit has been convicting the father. Pray for this family (father is Miguel)- as they are located right in plaza and have a huge effect on the community- that they would turn their home in to a place that people feel loved and hear the Word of Christ, instead of a place they come to drown in their sorrows. Also for Lupe- her past has been working for her parents and serving the drinks…pray that she stays involved in the church, has a woman rise up to disciple her, and finds other young believers to encourage each other!
Worshipping in Mancos plaza!
Body of Christ in Mancos!!
