Montenegro Musings

Montenegro was a brilliant month for me. I fell in love in Montenegro. I can’t explain it. God revealed his love to me in such a strong, passionate way.

Some musings and highlights about the month….

o   One of the biggest things I learned from her was listening to God and only doing what he tells you to do. There were a couple of times when things seemed like an opportunity, but she wouldn’t force the subject because she could sense that the ground wasn’t ready’ so to speak. While we were there, the number of Christians in Ulsinj doubled, because she listened to God and spoke what He told her to speak. She spoke so much life over me, and encouraged me every day.

o   One of the first days we were there, I had a vision of ‘staking’ the ground. I’d never done it before, and only heard about it in passing, but I really felt like we were supposed to do it. It sounds weird, but it’s like a prophetic exercise, where you wrap verses, or words around these stakes, and you hammer them into the ground. Some of my team was hesitant at first, because we didn’t want to go ‘picking a fight,’ as they say. We prayed and prayed about it, and decided to do it. It was awesome. We anointed each other afterwards, and it was just so cool.

I wish we had a more serious picture of staking, because it was incredible,  but here ya go.

I love living in community. Even though it can be hard at times, especially not having personal space, I love having conversations that matter with the people around me. One of my favorite moments was a simple conversation that I had with Jodi and Callan, from Team Unwritten, about love and God and random things. I loved it because it just started because we were all in the kitchen at the same time. I love randomness.

Team 7 Camels (minus Rebecca), with Aaron and Caroline.

Another highlight: the people in Montenegro. They were so welcoming and open. We had tons of great conversations, and formed friendships really fast. My team-mate Jodi, got to dine with one of the city’s top political officials, and Adam was invited to play with this guy Biseem in his band,“The Sexy Very Much Band.”

 

With  Biseem, of “The Sexy Very Much Band”

 I learned a lot about myself:

o   I used to think I was an extreme extrovert. I think that I am still extroverted, but I definitely need my time alone. The more comfortable I am with people, the more extroverted I become.

In Romania, I discovered that I find my worth in how I think I look that day. If I don’t feel pretty, I don’t feel loveable, and it’s harder for me to love. In Montenegro, I tried very hard to not think that my worth was based on whether or not I showered, or had a pimple, or gained ten pounds.

I never want to go back to mud pies.

o   I do not handle death-speak very well at all. I actually hate it. It kills my spirit, and crushes me. It’s always important to speak life, even when you or someone else doesn’t want to hear it. Just because your/their mind might be closed off, doesn’t mean that their spirit isn’t listening.

  I have a strong desire to be known. It’s hard for me to listen to people when they are telling me things that I already know. I worked very hard on listening this month. SO what if this person is telling me something that God showed me years ago?  Sometimes it’s good to be reminded. Sometimes people have a different perspective. Sometimes people need to say things for themselves too. Just because God gave me wisdom a long time ago, does not mean that I can’t hear it from someone else.

I experienced greater freedom. At our Awakening conference in Brasov, Romania, I prayed with Selena about breaking off two soul-ties in my life: one with my mother and one with my step-mother. “Soul-ties” is a weird word, all it means are people in your life who aren’t there anymore, but still have a hold on you. My mother, because I never really got to say goodbye. My step-mother, because she spoke death over me for the ten years she was in my life. I processed the part to do with my mother. I said good-bye, and cried harder than I ever have before. I still haven’t processed all of the stuff with my ex-step-mother, but I’m chipping away at it.

Awakening

The Awakening from andrea wendel on Vimeo.

o   Montenegro really showed me that God speaks, all the time, if we are willing to listen. He is always for us, never against us. He is passionate in his pursuit of me, and adores me.