The Father Heart

I am so excited to share with all of you where I will be going on outreach at the end of September. Our team of 15 will be going to the Caribbean,  while the other two teams will be heading to Central America and Mexico. I am so thrilled that I got selected to be on the Caribbean team because it was my first choice. We will be going to the Dominican Republic and possibly Haiti. Haiti is up in the air because of the recent assassination of the Haitian president. Although the Caribbean is known for its resort destinations and piña coladas, I assure you that we will not be experiencing either of these luxuries. I hoped the Caribbean because when we first heard our options, the Caribbean made the strongest impression on me and it seemed as though the Holy Spirit may have been guiding me there. To be able to participate in outreach, I need your support, both financially and in prayer. I am so thankful and in awe of the way God has provided through many of you throughout the first part of this journey, and I trust that he will continue to provide for the outreach portion. 

 

Aside from learning more about our outreach locations, it was another amazing week of lecture. Our speaker nicknamed “Uncle Ben” was a big Somoan guy who fit perfectly for this week’s topic which was the Father Heart of God. He insisted over and over again how great God’s love for us is and there is no price to pay to receive this love.The way Uncle Ben taught stirred my heart and brought to my attention how much the Father loves and cares for his children. 

 One thing that I learned through Hebrews 1:3 is that Jesus was the exact representation of God’s being. This may seem a bit elementary to some of you,  but I had formerly believed that the character of God and Jesus were different. I knew that there was the trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, but I saw the Son and the father as different, with Jesus being more nice and approachable. It’s so good to know that the same love that we see  coming from Jesus is the same love that God has for all of us. The really cool part is that God uses the Holy Spirit to speak to us here on earth through scripture, prayer, nature, music and many other means because he wants us to know him more intimately. 

 

In my last blog I shared how much I enjoyed seeing God move in Cerro Del Ocho and I decided to go back this week. It was another rewarding Thursday ministering to residents of Cerro Del Ocho. Someone had the fantastic idea to have a bbq for the community. It created a great opportunity to share God’s exquisite love and minister to his people. A bbq here in Mexico doesn’t involve pulled pork like many of us think when we hear the word bbq. Here, they take thinly cut steak and throw it on the grill. Once the meat is cooked, there are multiple dishes that can be made with the meat as long as there are tortillas, cheese, pico, and beans present. Many times, locals here may choose to make tacos, quesadillas, chorreadas, and vampiros with these ingredients. I enjoyed being a part of the cookout and playing with the children in a hope that I may be a vessel of God’s love.

On Saturday, our free day, a couple of friends and I headed out to the market in Mazatlan around 10:30 am. The market is one of my favorite places because there is so much unique culture that it’s impossible to take it all in. There is fresh fruit, every cut of meat you can think of, spices, sweets, drinks, clothes, and all kinds of trinkets for sale. It was a blast and I hope to go next Saturday as well. 

Here is a photo of all the fresh fruit at the market

Unfortunately, Saturday evening my computer stopped working. I tried fixing it myself but was unsuccessful. Luckily, I have found someone here on base who may have the technical knowledge to fix it. Please be praying. Saturday night I went and played soccer with some other guys from on and off base. I realized while playing that I’m not as good as I thought I was. I’ll have to keep practicing so that I can hone my skills to keep up with many of the amazing locals. 

 

Thank you for reading and if God so leads you then please consider further supporting me as I prepare for my outreach portion of DTS. It is going to cost $4000 for me to participate. If you unable to give at this time, I would still be very thankful for any of your prayers for me in the upcoming outreach ministry. There is a link to the give page at the bottom. Please pray that I would stay safe and open to however God is leading me during this time. May God’s love lead and inspire you through this season. 

 

If you feel led to give click this link: Give Here Please make sure you follow the instructions on the give page.