...........................until we leave for Haiti! WOW!!
There is an outreach team that just returned from Haiti on base now and I had the opportunity to talk to Phoebe today and get some feedback about what it was like. They were in St. Marc's the whole time they were on outreach. One of the things she told me was that everything is oppressed, the people, the air, the food, the soil, etc. One of my team members talked with a group the other day and was told that the demonic forces are SO prevalent that you can feel it when you step off the plane, so it's extremely important for the team to be unified, which is something I have been praying since we found out where we were going.
God has been teaching me SO much more then I have had time to blog about. We are pretty busy from early morning to night, so I feel like I have done a really poor job about communicating, so I apologize. My primary focus has been spending quality time with the Lord, being still and really learning to hear and obey Him. Prayer is a HUGE part of EVERYTHING we do, if we even think about something, before we take a step, we pray about it! I love it! I have really grown in the area of Intercession. We have a 24 hour prayer room on campus, between 1-2pm everyday there is a organized worship time and from 2-3pm a dedicated prayer focus. I try to go whenever my schedule allows. On Thursdays, they have been praying for Haiti. God has really been teaching me about the power of Intercession. As I have positioned myself to really hear from God, my life has been transformed, people have even noticed a physical difference in me. This reminds me of when Moses came down from Mount Sinai and had a glow around him and everyone knew he had been in the presence of the Lord.
Our speakers have been awesome!
Every week we have time for local outreach, one week we saw 5 people come to know Christ. I have witnessed healing and had many opportunities to pray for deliverance and see people freed from lies they have believed for years. We have also been building relationships with locals and lots of opportunity to pray with people. Last night we were able to witness to two different guys on the street, both open and seeking. We prayed for both of them and it was really neat to see their demeanor change and peace come over them as we prayed.
It's clear that each of us has been hand picked to be here and neat how everyone is uniquely gifted for the tasks we've been called to. We leave in just 16 days. There are ten students on our Haiti team (7 female and 3 males) and currently 1 staff. The following nations are represented on our team: Canada, Germany, France, and America. We will be leaving for Haiti around the first of July and going to the Dominican Republic for a week first (flights are much cheaper), then to Port-au-Prince for three weeks and St. Marc for three weeks, where we will be sleeping in tents in a Refugee camp, then back to the DR for about five weeks.
It has been clear to me since I arrived that God has called me here and to stay! More and more that has been reaffirmed. I am planning to join staff when I return from outreach at the end of September, however I am not sure exactly what I will be doing yet. There are many opportunities and I am waiting on the Lord for clear direction. God has told me to dream big, that I will be part of pioneering something and that I am called to 'The Nations', but not to a particular Nation. Every time I am obedient in stepping forward in faith, He continues to amaze and bless me! I plan to join staff with the YWAM-photogenX Ministry (which is focused on justice issues) and likely working with one of the ministries within it or possibly staffing a Round the World Track (also part of photogenX, which would involve mentoring and disciplining young adults. I wish I had more to share at this time. I anticipate the support I will need to raise is approximately $1,500 and I will have some one time needs.
On another note, we had the opportunity to volunteer for the local Ironman Half Triathlon (1.2 miles of swimming 56 miles of biking and 13.1 miles of running = 70.3 miles), last weekend. It was a LONG 12+ hour day, but a huge blessing and fun. I had the opportunity to mark bodies, watch the start of the race, set up timing stations, direct and encourage/cheer on competitors and watch everyone cross the finish line and cut timing chips off. I didn't even mind the buckets of sweat pouring out on my head as I was cutting chips off competitors ankles and congratulating competitors for finishing the race . I got to see all aspects of the race, which was a lot of fun! A lot of training goes into competing for a Triathlon, which made me think of how amazing God created our bodies and how crazy it that our bodies could even do something like a triathlon (and this was just a half). It reminded me of how we are running a race, as Christians, and how important our training is, how important positioning ourselves to be with and hear from God is, but most importantly how we are capable of doing SO much more then we actually do! I think too often we put God in a box. God is so much bigger then we give Him credit. When we dream big (outside of our human capacity), we allow God to step in and do what only He can do!
Prayer requests:
- I have another contract on my house (the first two fell through), please pray that everything would go smoothly and not go into foreclosure. I will be out of the country by the time it closes, so this adds another level of difficulty to the situation, but I know God is Big enough to handle this.
- That we would keep our eyes on Him and give Him the glory for everything we do.
- For our teams to be united!!!
- For all the preparations that need to come together.
- For supernatural health for all the teams going out, that no one would get sick or injured.
- For all the finances to be released for all needing support.
- For those we will encounter and minister to along the way and in Haiti and the DR.
- That we would rely on His strength for everything we will encounter.
- For revival and restoration!
- For boldness as we are called to do things we have never done before.
- For clear direction about my next step and for the support.
- For complete healing for my body (from my current illness).
- For a friend and her family, who had a miscarriage this past weekend.
May the PEACE of God rest on you!
Love, Christine
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