STRONGER

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.'  Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  for the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities.  For when I am weak, then I am strong."  2 Corinthians 12:9-10

On Tuesday during crafts time with the Tejaban kids, I made a bracelet for myself that spells out the word "STRONGER".  For the rest of the summer now, whenever I look at this word I will remember that there is One who is stronger than I am and whose strength I can depend on to flow in and through me.

I guess the "hump" of any experience comes right in the middle, and goodness, has it been a difficult week!  More than once (or twice, or thrice) my strength just failed, my mind was unfocused, my heart wanted to be somewhere else.  Patience was tested, emotions were pushed to limits, prayers were cried out.  Through it all, God has been encouraging me to give up all my strengths and simply let Him fill me up with His, which is greater than anything I could muster up on my own.  While it's something that I am continually trying to remind myself every moment of each long day, simply put -- it's difficult.  When I put up my hands and say, "God, there's nothing more for me to give up to You," He always makes me realize there's still more that I'm not surrendering to Him.  He says, "No, come find strength in Me alone."

He is so faithful.  He has pushed me to the point where I am just drained, drained, drained, and empty of all belief in my own capabilities -- what a gracious, cruel gift!  "For when I am weak, then I am strong."  When I can do nothing but admit that there is nothing in me that is sufficient, that can carry me, it is then that I see God the most and am filled up with His strength the most.  The greatest victories for me in our ministries have come in the times when I cannot lean on my own capabilities because of just being so drained and it is only and simply God working through me.

There is One who is stronger than I.

Things to pray for:

1. Physical health/safety for the team:  Now that we've been here for about five weeks and are reaching limits of our strength, it's easy to fall ill (and also just to fall).  Laura also sprained her ankle on Monday while we were playing Ultimate in the rain, but she's been awesome in thrusting herself into God's ministries here as hard as ever.  Our new friend Warren from the Nashville short-term team dislocated his knee within 12 hours of their arrival and has visited the hospital.  God's worked a miracle on my ankle and I ran up a mountain with Laura, Kaitlin, and Elisa yesterday, but it is yet to be fully recovered.  Please keep all of us in prayer!

2. Unity for the team:  Something we are continually praying for.  Please keep in prayer our leaders Alex and Maggie (happy one-day-belated anniversary!) and David, our translators Monse and Lina, and our team, which includes: Mary Frances, Laura, Victoria, Elisa, Kaitlin, and me, as well as our "short-term" interns Sam and Emily.  Sam and Emily leave for home today, so please keep their safe travels in your prayers, as well.

3. Trust:  That as my strength fails and my heart is distracted, God would supply me, fire me up again for His ministries and His kingdom here in GTO.  That He would continually grace me with renewed energy, patience, and His own love and strength.

4. Relationships: That my relationships with the children of El Tejaban and the youth of the church in León (where we have English classes) would grow.  These two ministries in particular have been such a blessing to me, and I love the people we interact and work with.  Please see pictures below for faces!

ili, Vasti, me, and Israel, a family that comes to English classes in the León church.  I just love them, and love getting to know them.

Esmeralda, me, and Elisa.  Esmeralda is a girl who also attends the León English classes; she is so sweet, and I am excited to be forming a friendship with her.  Their family opened their house to the church for an helote party (helote is like corn on the cob) on Sunday.

Crafts time in El Tejaban.  On the right is the designer of the beautiful artistry on my face, María.

Chava, one of my best buddies here in El Tejaban, showing off his dragon.

We hiked up the mountain again to see the sunset last night, and it was the most glorious one we've seen yet.

My lovely interns, Elisa, Mary Frances, Kaitlin, Laura, me, and Victoria, and our "Uncle" David!  And some members of the Nashville team creepin' in the background.