Mexico Mission Trip and Update

So yes, i know it has been quite a long time until i have put something on my blog worth reading. Also, it's been such a long time since i haven't put anything up because i have been very busy with: Red Robin work, our Mexico missions trip, sickness, and school. So yeah to start it off our Anthem team took a trip to Compostela, Mexico.

The Associate Pastor of our church, Verl, is very close to a mission's type Church there in Mexico. The main church is called La Fluenta i believe, and they have i think 8 or so church plants that they have done. While we were there in Mexico, La Fluenta had their 10 year anniversary celebration and we got to sit in on their service, which was "Awesome-broso" (if you pronounce it that way then you're saying awesome in Spanish). Their church has over 700 people who go there every week. Then they have their small church plants. We got to go help paint and do a service at one of the churches. It was in Pugo, Mexico and it was really awesome. We showed up 3 or so days before their Sunday service and repainted their entire kids house and the outside, and then we cleaned their main Church area. Keep in mind their church has cement walls and floors and white lawn chairs as their chapel's chairs. Obviously, going down to Mexico and spending time in this culture you develop a sense of appreciation for the things you take for granted in life. One of these things being carpet. There is a church here in Medford called Applegate church and I went there with a couple fellow Anthem students. This church had cobblestone walls, nice white candles everywhere, black leather couches in the Foyer, and a light show that went along with their Worship band who has produced a cd and is a big band in Medford. This was their Saturday night service, there were alot of teens there, and i am not sure if this is how their Sunday services looked, but their church is high class. So yeah all that to say, i developed an appreciation for the things we have. But anyways we got to go help out with the church in Pugo's sunday service. We helped run the kids church and Verl, our Associate Pastor, spoke an awesome message that was traslated by one of the founding leaders of The La Fluenta Church. Then we as a team prayed for indiviuals who went up for prayer from the church. It was really awesome the Holy Spirit really moved there.

That's kind of a rough outline of the kind of stuff we did there. We spent 4 or so afternoons hanging out with kids and adults at a park, played hockey, basketball, vollleyball, and soccer. It was really great being able to shine Jesus' love on them by just spending time with them and laughing.

Sadly the second day we were there i rolled my ankle very badly. It swelled up pretty big and there was bruising very high up on my leg and down below my ankle. I was able to walk on it though but i had to baby it the hole trip and i was pretty limited to what i could do. It was a bummer for sure. Also just to let you know about how else the trip was hard was the last day we were there i woke up feeling very sick. It's funny because before i went to bed that night, i told some guys about the last time i had the flu and i felt like i was going to die. Then i woke up and i was having that feeling!! It was nappy, as we say here. My ankle is still sore today and my stomach is feeling very poorly, tonight especially, but i will live.

I also worked today for the first time as not a trainee. I actually got 5 days of training in right before i left for Mexico, then i forgot pretty much everything and had to work the next day we got back which was yesterday morning ha. In the first half-hour i really contemplated quiting, but i stuck it through and by the end i was starting to get in the flow, so that was good.

Just to let everyone know about my schedule and how busy i am and when to call me here it is:

Sunday - 8 am pre-church service stay until 2 service ends
12 am work at Red Robin until about 5pm
5:30 pm high school youth group, ends around 8:30

Monday - 8 am worship time/class/church rotations until 3ish
(maybe work)
6 pm every other week Anthem students get together and hang-out with leaders

Tuesday -8 am class thing as well until 3ish
(maybe work)

Wednesday-8 am class stuff again until 3ish
5 pm middle school every other week

Thursday-7 am prayer
8 am class stuff until 3ish
(maybe work)

Friday - Work and usually we have youth events planned this night

Saturday - Work and college group at 6 pm everyother week

So this a gist of it.

The Harvest Festival we helped at for our church

Praying for the Nation

So since last Thursday I believe we (anthem) has been interceding for our nation and the president and so forth. I probably should have put this up then so that I would have reminded those of you who still check this blog out, to pray for our country but oh well... Not really but it will just have to do. But not saying that it's never too late to pray for our country. So Obama did it, and now abortion and homosexual marriage are going to start hitting home hard, so be praying for truth, wisdom, and love to be sought after. A big prayer that I think most if not all of us Anthem students have been praying for, is that the church would rise up and really dive into a deep faith in God and seek miracles and provisions that only he can do. Just to let you peeps know faith is being pursued very heavily here and right now, the Bible says it is impossible to please God without faith, and God wants us to be faithful in the small things, so I encourage everyone to be pursuing (not perusing) a great faith in the love of Jesus and the power of God.

It's funny whenever I say or think "power of God" I say it in my head with this deep "powerful" voice, kind of like when God shows up in the movie, "Monte Python and The Holy Grail". What a great movie. But in that I challenge you, yes you, to be seeking a power of God that is real, because by faith we believe that the power of God is real and immense, and that anything, yes anything can happen with that "power!" So don't think of God's power as this "aww (angle cry)" cartoonish thing, because it's real and it is powerful.

I'd like to take this time to make a shout out to J Prickett, you rock, yeah!