live to love

Day 18

2011-07-15T13:42:00.000-07:00

Today we visited North Seymor. We got to see sea lions, blue footed boobies, frigates, lizards, and a chameleon. I got bit by a bunch of annoying horse flies.

After dinner, my team was invited to perform our "everything" drama at a church. Being at that church was a neat experience. They way they pray and praise God with all their hearts is so cool. They literally call out and cry out to Him. The church is small but they are so willing to go out and serve God. After our skit and after a teammate shared her testimony, I led prayer for their church and we invited them to come to the dock with us to see our other dramas and to witness to other people.

While we were having worship there, I saw a woman with her arms lifted high also worship with us. Her name was Jaqueline and I got to talk to her. She told me about her life. When I asked if she had any prayer requests, she said that she wanted the Holy Spirit to come into her heart. She wanted God to reveal to her what He wanted her to do with her life. Fear was reigning in her life and so she also asked for boldness and courage so that she could witness to others. I praye for her and she wasso grateful. The pastor and some others from the church that we visited earlier were there an I got a chance to talk to them. We talked about their church and shared about how we each came to know Christ. The conversation was all in Spanish so it was a bit difficult. Difficult but maneagable. I also talke to someone name Juan who's been coming back every night.

What I really like about ministering at the dock/pier is that we are able to build relationships with the people there. People that came to see the dramas from previous nights keep coming back. The relationship aspect is neat. The pier is basically in the town square area and so we get a lot of people who pass by.

Aw man, one more day here! So sad but I really do miss my bed and shower. It's kin of hard sleeping without blankets. But ehhh... I'm incredibly blessed :D

Day 17

2011-07-13T22:49:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

Today we went to the same school we visited two days earlier for more work projects. We painted other buildings and classrooms. I now have a paint smear on my shirt (due to the hug steve goley, founder of big world ventures gave me) and a hugeeeee hand print on the back of my shirt (due to him smacking my back). Steve Goley is awesome. He's like everyone's dad on this trip and is good at giving big bear hugs.

After painting, me and teammate named Cammie got to go into a classroom to help teach english to the little kids. Apparently they knew a lot of English already and I have to stop them from counting over thirty. They knew animals, colors, clothing, supplies in English. They were so enthusiastic about showing off their English. They would quickly raise their hands adx run to the front to answer questions. I was very impressed. I taught them "head shoulders knees and toes" and a song about Jesus in spanish. They loved it. A little girl randomly walked up to me to give me a picture that she drew for me. It was a picture of a blue footed boobie (a bird) that said "I love you". That made my heart all bubbly and warm inside.

Before we left, 3 girls came up one by one and sang us a song with movements. Then kids started showing off their acrobatic skills. They were doing splits, cartwheels, flips, and head stands. Cammie and I hugged them and the teachers before we left and exchanged emails with the teacher to send her pictures. After lunch, I played with a group of girls. We had a fail game of duck duck goose. They then taught me how to play gato (cat) and raton (mouse). It's similar to duck duck goose but more quirky. Sarah (a teammate) and I played London bridge with them. We also had sprinting races. I lost a wheel barrow race (with sarah as my partner to a five year old.......
Saying good bye was so sad because they kept asking when we were returning.

At 7:30, we performed our "everything" skit two times. After the first one, Kim (my fellow leader/LIT) and I talked to a woman named Betsy. She told us about how she accepted Christ. She said it was because her brother was in jail for drugs. He turned his life around and saw the change he made in his life. She wanted that too so she also accepted him! But currently, her brother strayed away from God and has fallen back into his old ways. Only she remains. Her daughter is also not a believer because she has more head knowledge than heart knowledge. Betsy also has marriage problems with her husband. She made it clear that although this was all happening, she still had the joy, love, and peace of Christ. We prayed for her and as we were praying, she started crying. She was so thankful and said that she was on the galapagos today for her daughter's 25th birthday. She fel that it was God who orchestrated the whole moment. We are all from different places but ended up meeting tonight. Totally all God. His timing is perfect.

After performing the dram the second time, I hesitantly walked up to a man named Rafael and had a conversation with him all in Spanish about Jesus and his faith. He showed ip at the end other drama and explanations and so I invited him to come out tomorrow. He happily agreed. I can't wait till tomorrow night!

Love y'all,
Michelle

Day 16

2011-07-12T23:03:00.000-07:00

Hola!
Today we had an excursion. We took a two hour boat ride to it. Mannnnnnn was it a bumpy ride. Some people were throwing up....I felt a bit sick too an so I took a nap because naps make me feel better. We got to snorkle a bit and i saw a sea turtle nearby poking it's head out of the water. I also saw a sea lion flipping in the water. So cool! There was a man and his daughter who also came along with us. They were from Brazil and were really nice. The dad sang me a song in portuguese.

After lunch (fish and fresh orange juice), we took a hike. Our hike had green trees and plants everywhere. It looked like a green enchanted forrest. I imagine it to be the forest where Snow White ran off to. We saw some tortoises in there. Apparently they can live up to a year without food or water. Because of this characteristic, pirates would bring em aboard an so when they need meat, they would eat them. We also got to visit some pirate caves. There were also passion fruit trees and some people tried them and thought that it was really good. Even though this is not allowed, I took a volcanic rock from that area and hid it in my backpack....... Hah hah....same with a coral from yesterday at tortuga beach.

We then took our 2 hour boat ride back to Santa Cruz (where we're staying). We invited the man and his daughter to come see our drama at the pier at night. We saw them there but they had to leave early. I got a chance to talk to some people, pray for them, and give them a bible. One guy was crying because he could feel the Holy Spirit move in him. So awesome. We're also doing another skit called "Everything" by Lifehouse. Love that skit! Simple but powerful. Guess who I am! I'm the depression character....so like me, right? Hah. We're also going to do another one with just my team so that we can perform it in the day time and not just have to wait till tonight to do it with other people from different teams. Thanks for reading, the prayers, and comments/emails. Sorry for not responding to emails/comments cuz I don't really have time. Know that I very much appreciate them and that they make my day. All of you make my day!

Love,
Michelle

Day 15

2011-07-11T23:08:00.001-07:00

Greetings!

Today we went to a school to do a work project. We sanded walls, painted them, and weeded. When we painted the walls, we applied the wrong color and had to do it all over again. It's ok though because painting is so fun!

After that, we walked for about 45 minutes to get to the beach. The path we took was soooo nice. the pathway was paved with rocks and all that surrounded us were different shades of green. Green trees, green cacti, green plants. Lizards blended in well with the rocks. I and a couple others always seem to drift away and be the last ones of the group because we like to take our time and enjoy nature. We found a hermit crab along the way, named it Hermie, and brought it along with us to the beach. The moment we felt the cool breeze and smelled the salty air, we knew we were near. As soon as we stepped on the soft silky sand, it was like a glimpse of heaven. The water was blue and clear. There was no end to the horizon. The waves rushed upon the sand and would gracefully creep back down. There were random big black iguanas just chilling in the sand either alone or groups of three an four. I'm certain that some of them are fire breathing iguanas......

As we walked past the beach, we went traveled along another path and went to another area of water that seemed somewhat private. The water was a aquamarine color with green and blue blended in. It was so clear that you can easily see your legs under water. These waters were calm and peaceful. You can see every ripple-big or small. I saw schools of fish and some crabs. There were fish randomly jumping from the water and if you went out far enough into the water you could see sea turtles! I and my teammate Sarah admired the beauty. The way the water reflected the plants and trees. The way there would be trees growing right at shore, rooted in the soft sand. We couldn't stop gushing about how beautiful it all was and how amazing our creator truly is. Our honeymoons with Jesus=can't get any better. At one of those moments, a pelican flew down 3 feet above our heads. It was hugeee. We then decide to swim sideways/backwards to "add spice to our lives" haha. The walk back from the beach was pleasant as well. Even though we walked a total of 4-5 miles, I wasn't tired at all.

For dinner, I had a burger with some cultural additions such as eggs and sauce. I almost asked for alcohol thinking that i was asking for napkins......hah....ha....After that, we went to get ice cream! Mmmm. A drama was performed by the pier two time and there were a handful of people watching. I got a chance to talk to some of them and pray for them. Many of the people watching were teens and some were saved. Yay God! My Spanish keeps improving. Whoooo. I'm excited for every night because we want to do some teen ministry by the pier (where they all hang out). We'll have dramas and maybe some worship each night there. Thanks or reading and for prayers! Please continue to pray for those that are sick on this trip and so that God uses each and every one of us mightily. Thanks for everything.

Love,
Michelle

2011-07-10T21:19:00.001-07:00

We have officially arrived in the Galapagos, home of the tortoises.. So far, I have seen two pelicans, an iguana, and some horses and cows. The hot and humid air makes me sweaty an sticky. I'm probably just spoiled by SD weather though. It is so beautiful here. There's luscious green trees and plants here. Everything here is somewhat flat. The environment is friendly and there is a small town feeling. It is quite quaint and you can basically walk to almost anywhere. There are trails in random places. If you think about it, trails are somewhat mysterious. You never know which path they'll lead to. For some reason, I reminded me of God"s plans for me. I dont know every single detail and path that God has laid before me. But I need to trust Him each day because it a process. Living for him day by day. The beauty of it is that I don't know what's going to happen. It's not an adventure if you already know te ending. Take the path that is of God and trust Him. I truly believe God has given me an adventurous heart. Quito was awesome but the moment the plane landed and I took my first step on Galapagos' soil, I knew that I was made to explore. Made to venture into all of God's beauty. Every fiber of my being was excited and my heart throbbed.

I feel like I'm roughing it a bit more here which is good and exciting (yeah im a bit weird). We totally didnt rough it at all in Quito. We can't flush our toilet paper here or drink their water or brush our teeth with it. The room I'm staying kind of smells like my grandpa's house in Texas (family, you prob know what I'm talking about). At the place I'm staying at is cozy and you can tell that the way eerything is set up, community is promoted.

In the afternoon around 4, we went to the Darwin Research Center. It basically was a walk in nature museum. There were so many different types of cactus, plants, birds, and other animals, I got to see iguanas, crabs that can walk on water, and bigggg tortoises (galapagos). It was so nice and peaceful. I truly enjoyed Gods amazing creations.

After that, we were given money to buy dinner. There are so many eating places that are walking distance here. It resembles a mini market except they are mostly restaurants. Food here is sooooo good and decently priced. Eating in the hot humid air at night with glowing lights left me feeling giddy inside. I like the feeling of knowing that I'm not in my own country. I had some shrimp and after that, Danny the eleven year old translator showed me a good place to get ice cream! Mmmmmm

After that, some people from the trip had a spontaneous worship on the steps outside. It was a great moment to soak everything up.

Well that's all for now. Tomorrow we'll be doing a work project at a school. Whoooo. Good night! Thanks for all the prayers!

Love,
Michelle

ps: once again please take notice that I type this all out on my little iPod touch an I don't really look over what I write or check for mistakes because it's a bit tough to do so on a little screen. Sorry!

Day 14

2011-07-10T14:52:00.000-07:00

Last day in Ecuador! Today we journeyed to the center of the earth aka the equator. Today was the day where I sat, jumped, stood on the two hemispheres-north and south at once. It was fun! for lunch I had....wait for it.....guinea pig! When our food arrived it looked so gross. It was basically a guinea pig cooked well done. The claws and head are highly visible on the pig. Despite the gruesome appearance, it tasted like seasoned chicken with herbs. It was surprisingly good.

After visiting the equator monument, we went to the market for about an hour. We had team time and shared about what we learned, what we liked the most, our struggles.

Our translators are awesome. They are all nice, funny, helpful, and encouraging. I'm going to miss them so much!

Galapagos tomorrow!!!! Yayyyy. Peace out Ecuador!

Day 13

2011-07-10T13:30:00.000-07:00

Today was our last ministry day in Ecuador. I can't believe how fast time has been slipping by. We performed our drama two times at a public park. Parks here are gorgeous. Green trees, green grass, random sculptures, and sometimes a mini river with a bridge are the elements of many parks here in Quito. I was able to pray for a handful of people who wanted prayer and encourage them. After the second drama that we performed, I and another teammate talked to two factory workers who were on their lunch break. They were incredibly nice and beautiful. They were so encouraged by us and kept thanking us for praying for them and for coming to Ecuador.

One of the main things Ive learned on this trip is boldness. Not being afraid to approach others. Not letting fear or pride get in the way. Being unashamed and absolutely driven to lead others in Christ. Man has God been using Us. He works for the good of those ho love Him. So what's the salvation count for this year? 1,024 people! Not only are they saved but they're getting plugged into churches and discipleships so they can grow in their faith. Praise God for providing when He calls you to do something.

Today we had our talent show called "a talent only a mother would love." It was wonderful! All the skits, dances, weird talents were entertaining. A teammate of mine won the talent show. His talent that only a mother could love? Singing all the elements of the periodic table. That's what you call talent, alright.

Ahhhhhhh feeling so blessed right now. Hope y'all are feeling the same way!

Love,
Michelle

Day 12

2011-07-09T21:51:00.000-07:00

I got married tonight in Quito, Ecuador. Yep, keep reading till the end on for more details.

Today we visited an orphanage and performed our drama. We got to play with the orphanages, hand out toys, and help pass out food for lunch. I helped feed some kids airplane style. The kids are clingy and adorable. It was a delightful afternoon of play- blowing bubbles, jumping rope, writing "Jesus cristo es amor" in chalk, face painting, laughter.

FUAGNEM tonight was emotional. Susie gave a message on marriage with Christ. Being in a relationship with Christ is different from being in a marriage with Him. Being married to Him means intimacy and exclusiveness. So what does it really mean to marry Him? It means that we:
1. Accept His proposal
2. Communicate everything with him (consistent prayer/devo time)
3. Love Him with your life
4. Obey Him
5. Realize that it's forever, eternal

This message deeply resonated within me. It's amazing how God chooses to marry us. It doesn't matter how many times we fail Him, disappoint Him, or break His heart because He will NEVER divorce us. Talk about being risky, eh? There are times when I think to myself "sure I'd like to be married one day." But I realize that it doesn't matter because I'm already married to the creator of love.

So after the message, if students were ready to marry Christ, they would walk down the aisle with a rose and bible in hand. They would kneel down, answer a couple questions, and be prayed over for. After that, they would sign an adhesive marriage certificate (in which they can keep in their bibles). After that, they received a nail adjustable ring lined in sterling silver.

Before walking down the aisle to the altar, one of the leaders said to me "smile, it's your wedding day." My face broke into a huge grin and stayed there the entire night. The whole night, I was all tears and smiles. God hasnproved to me that He loves me with His life and now it's my turn. Our honeymoon? Riding giant tortoises off into the sunset in the galapagos islands. Thanks for reading and for the prayers.

Sincerely,
the newly wedded

Ps: didn't think I'd get married so soon did you?
Pps: sorry for all the grammar/spelling mistakes. I type everything out on my ipod and it autocorrects for me a lot :(

Day 9

2011-07-05T14:48:00.000-07:00

Today we went to a poor community in Ecuador to perform a drama and to do a work project. Where were basically the slums of Ecuador. Homes were made of metal sheets and there were dust and dirt flying everywhere. it was hard to breathe and dust would get in my eyes. Even though there was a "do not litter" sign, there was trash Iittered almost everywhere. I can't even imagine living there. How did I get so blessed??? As soon as I got off the bus, two girls came up to me wearing big smiles on their faces and wrapped their little fingers around mine. They wouldn't let go of my hand nor woul they stop hugging me. It was adorable and reminded me that that is how we should act towards Christ. The kids there were so enthusiastic when they were watching our drama and playing with us. I prayed with a kid to accept Christ and he wanted to try and pray in English haha.

The work project was split up. The majority of the guys did most of the laborious work while most of the girls painted the church. There were some small paint fights and I had paint splattered on my hair, clothes, and skin. It was great. To top it off, it was raining on and off. To thank us at the end of the day, some of the older girls in the community performed a couple traditional dances for us and they all prayed for us at the end. Before we left, we prayed or the pastor and leaders of the church. It was a great day being able to be the hands and feet of Jesus. It's not me loving them but Christ loving them.

with lots of love,
Michelle

Hanging On

2011-07-04T15:06:00.000-07:00

Wow. Yesterday was amazing. God definitely knows what I need and provides without me really asking for it. So anyway, I'm a HUGEEEE fan of Britt Nicole. If you don't know her, search her live videos on YouTube! I love her genuine and sincere love for God. She is so inspiring. She came to Ecuador to give us a free concert out of the kindness of her heart. Knowing that she was leaving the day after, I was determined to hunt her down and creep on her so that I could meet her. When we had our "eye surgery" sermon, students who wanted "eye surgery" to receive Christ's vision would go up to LITS and leaders for prayer. If there were people without a team then they could go to Britt Nicole. I was just about ready to disown my teammates. Hahhaha just kidding.....kind of. So that afternoon, I went to the bathroom to relieve myself. Some of my teammates were sitting by there and they told that Britt Nicole stopped by to say hi and to chat with them for a bit. Apparently she left as I was walking towards them. Being the big fan that I am, I wa freakin out and was kind of devastate to know that I missed my chance to meet her. All of a sudden a teammate points out that Britt Nicole is walking back my way. I was soooo happy and excited and we asked her why she came back and she said "God told me to come back." AMAZING!!! She then prayed for one onmy teammates and praye fo me as well. She gave me two big hugs and I have 3 pictures with her. One is blurry but I'm not deleting it hahha. I just felt sooooo blessed after my encounter with her.

I also saw her again sometime later during the day and greeted her. She still remembered my name!! At her concert in our rented tent, I made sure I was right in the front middle of the stage. I was close enough to the point where I could touch her because she would be only one foot away from me. Oh and before she got on stage, we waved at each other. Britt is such a prayer warrior! She would randomly grab someone's hand, ask for their name, and pray for them. All her prayers were spot on. She has such an amazing way of reaching out to people and connecting with them. It's so evident that Christ is in her. She has so much love to go around. When she performed her "Lost Get Found" song, tears were streaming down my far and before I knew it, I was bawling. I didn't even notice until I felt her make physical contact with me but she knelt right in front of me. She rested her forehead against mine and with her hand on my shoulder, she prayed for me. She prayed exactly what I needed to hear. She also prayed in tongues which was pretty cool. From then on, I could not keep tears from rushing down my face. What I remember most was having the desire to be completely used by God. The bible says that we were made for greatness and that we'd even be able to do greater things than that. Imagine that! Man God is just so wonderful. How can I not serve Him? How can I not give Him my life?

After the concert, I waited in line for about two hours. The reason that it takes so long is because she takes the time to pray for each person she meets. When it was my turn, I thanked her for the concert and prayers. We started talking for a bit and she asked me what I liked to do. I responded that as of now, I kinda liked helping people. She them asked me about nursing. My jaw dropped in awe. This person knows basically nothing about my life. In case y'all didn't know, I'm actually doing nursing cuz I feel led to do so. If you talked to me early last summer, I would tell you that I have no idea what I want to do with my life. I didn't really consider nursing because it didn't appeal to me. After my trip to guatemala, God completely changed my perpective on the world and his people. And that's why I'm doing nursing. Britt told me that God told her that I was doing nursing and that I'm doing exactly what He has planned for me. All this time Ive been wondering and worrying whether or not I'm doing God's will or my own will because I want to do what God wants me to do. Britt reassured me satin that I'm definitely on the path that he's paved for me. The path that He has prepared in advance for me. Woooow. What a wonderful confirmation. I've been getting little confirmations here and there but neve have I had one like this. She just really encouraged me and told me that God's going to use me for great things. What a blessing!! I didn't even really ask for a confirmation but God gave it to m anyway to put my heart at peace. Now I truly know that there's nothing that can stop me from completing the calling He has for my life. There have been people who discouraged me from pursuing nursing because they questioned my motives behind it. Now I can honestly say that I'm doing it because God told me to. During training before this trip, my mom said something that really stuck out to me. She said "When God calls you to do something, He'll provide and make a way." Yesterday was such a god given day to me. God definitely displayed the charcteristic of a father who loves to please his children. He obviously knew that Im a big fan of Britt and somehow orchestrated a day full of her knowing I'd be so encouraged by it. I went to sleep last night with a huge smile stretched on my face. God is too too good. All the time.

I have to go now so I'll finih up this post later and talk about my ministry day today. Love y'all!

Love,
Michelle

Day 7 & 8

2011-07-03T11:46:00.000-07:00

Hi!

Because I missed a day, I'll be talking about what happened yesterday, the night before yesterday, and today!

FUAGNEM was amazing the night before yesterday (sorry that kinda sounds confusing). Worship is just as unbelievable as always. What I love about the trip is that even though we give it our all in the day time, we get filled right back up at night. Not only is this trip for others but it's for us to learn, to build a closer relationship with Christ each night, to have our lives changed, to never be the same. During worship, all I could feel was God's amazing love. I can truthfully say that I love Him with all my heart. I couldn't stop repeating it to Him that night. He is amazing and SO good ALL THE TIME. My circumstances and problems don't dictate who He is. If you're readint this and don't know of his unconditional love, I urge you to seek Him. He loves you so much and has so much planned out for you. His love changes lives. It changed mine!!! Even when everything fades away, His love remains. It never fails. There's NOTHING we can do to separate us from His love. No sin, failure, flaw can keep Him from loving us. Knowing this gives me so much joy or peace
If I have God, what else do I need? He's been so faithful to me in not just the big things, but also the little things.

I've been learning so much from everyone on this trip. They all have different gifts, talents, and are all just so encouraging. It excites me to see students and leaders rush to the stage to share their testimony on How God is using them. SO ENCOURAGING to see their hearts and their love and willingness to serve God.

Jed our speaker that night gave a message on normal Christianity. One of the points he talked about was that even though we carry shame from the sins we've done in the past, we shouldn't avoid God. he wants us to come back to him even more than we want it ourselves. He has confidence in us. he also talked about how we need to redefine Christianity and our faith if outsiders don't see a difference in us. Also, if they don't think that being a Christian is more fn whatever else they're doing, something is wrong. Wrong because God is so fun, exciting, adventurous, risky.

Also, people are (STILL) coming up to me to tell me that they really liked my message which is so cool. This just encourages me so much. So because people have been recognizing me, while waiting for our flight to Ecuador, I was on the hunt for a banana. I couldn't find one and I ran into 2 people from the trip and we started talking because they recognized me. And I was talking about how I was searching for a banana and one of them had one and gave it to me!! :D I'm totally convinced that God nudged my heart to share because He knew I'd need a banana. HAHAHA just kidding. But in all honesty, I'm not saying this because I'm trying to put a false humility front or anything, but I truly believe it was all God. God who gave me the words and the wisdom. The strength to be able to stand in front of 350-400 people and share what He put upon my heart. Knowing me, there's absolutely no way I could have done it on my own.

Even though my teammates are such fun people, I can't help but compare it to last year in Guatemala. I miss it so much. But at the same time, I'm slowly learning that there's a purpose for EVERYTHING that happens. And that despite that, God is still going to do amazing things and use His people mightily. Oh and guess what the salvation count is so far from all 8 teams?? 253!!! PRAISE GOD!

OK so YESTERDAY was our second ministry day in Ecuador. WE performed our drama 3 times at the park. There were these little kids that kept coming back to watch and play with us. So adorable! I had the chance to lead 2 people to christ. Surprisingly, some of the Ecuadorians that we encountered were Christians which was neat because we were able to encourage them. It was also awesome being able to encourage other people who've fallen away from God and those who've rededicated their lives to Christ. A teammate and I prayed for a woman who was experiencing a lot of pain in her leg and when we prayed for her, she instantly felt better. Yay, God!

Our translators are so nice and willing to help us whenver we need help. AND I've been getting a lot better at spanish. I can basically keep conversations flowing (mixed with a bit of ingles) and share the gospel a bit in spanish. Even though there's a language barrier, I love that we don't need to be able to communicate with just words. Actions are louder than words. And when they see love through our actions, it really makes an impact on their lives.

Today is a rest day and so we will all be attending seminars. Today is also the day that BRITT NICOLE will be giving us a concert. She's been hopping around on teams and won't be able to get the chance to go on mine because she's leaving tomorrow. I will be STALKING and looking for her all day today until I get a picture with her haha.

This morning Susie gave a sermon called "Eye Surgery". It was about how our lives are not ours and how having the vision of Christ is important. I also learned today that Jesus' disciples were teenagers (except for Peter). TEENAGERS?? they were exactly like us. They struggled with pride, doubt, fear, emotions, anger, etc. But God used them and they were able to impact the world becuase they had "eye surgery" and received spiritual vision. As a result, God was in their eyes. No longer did it become THEM doing things but CHRIST doing things. They were able to change the world because the Holy SPirit empowered them and they always had God before them as their focus. Having His eyes require a complete crucifixion of all south will. We have the mentality that it is us developing our gifts and talents for God. BUT it's not about us doing His helping. Because if it is, it's still about US. not Him. It's about seeing what God sees. Instead of asking God to help us be patient, loves others and be joyful, we ask Jesus to do it for us. Because if we have His eyes, it's more than just the forgiving of our sins. Rather it is a deep transformation and conversion. If we have His vision.

Ok I would finish, but i'm all out of time and unfortunately i have to stop here. sorry ):

bye! thanks for all the prayers!

love,
michelle

Day 6

2011-07-01T12:43:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

FIRST OFFICIAL DAY IN ECUADOR!!! Our flight was delayed a couple hours and so we didn't make it to Quito until night time. The plane was soooo nice and we got a full meal with free games/movies/shows on their entertainment system. Instead of one aisle, there were 2 aisles!! Today was our first ministry day and we performed our drama at a park. I got to play pato pato gonzo (duck duck goose), freeze tag, and red light green light with the kids there. Some kids accepted Jesus in their hearts today which was really cool. Ecuadorians are very friendly. It is different from Guatemala. In Guatemala last year, we couldn't flush our toilet paper due to lack of good sewage system or brush our teeth with their water. In Ecuador, we can do all of those. Also the people here dress kind of like how we dress in America whereas in Guatemala, the majority of people there wear traditional clothing. Also, the roads here are better and more people have cars. The mountains here are beautiful and we can see them from where we're staying at. We are now back at the hotel early because there is still another group of people from our trip who aren't here yet because they were delayed. I can't wait to have more and longer ministry days. I guess today is a day where we kind of ease into it haha. Internet here is kind of expensive, meaning that I won't get that much time on the computers. Well that's all that's happened for now. Thanks for reading my posts!

Sincerely,
the frogger blogger (my roomies made me put this because i blogged on here wearing my PJ's in Miami)

Day 5

2011-06-29T22:58:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone,

Today we officially finished training for our drama! We are now ready to perform them in Ecuador! whoohoo!

As I was up on the forth floor of the hotel around noon, I heard music being played down at the center of the hotel. Being my curious self, I went four floors down towards the lobby and people on the trip were playing worship music. We had a guitar and flute going. It was really neat worshiping right in the center because other guests in the hotel would walk by appearing really intrigued. As time passed by, more and more people from the trip joined the spontaneous worship. A leader talked about how when we worship God, we worship in spirit and truth. And so he suggested that instead of singing the actual verses of the song, we would make up our own words, our own song to God. We sing whatever we feel in our heart. Would you rather have someone sing you a song written by someone else or a song that they wrote for you? I'm guessing that the second choice is the more favored one. In the same way, God's probably like that. Even David poured his heart out to God by writing songs to Him (look at psalms). This was a unique experience because I'm used to singing songs that were written by Christian artists rather than singing by pulling words from my own heart and making my own song to Him. (ok i really don't know if that makes sense at all...it's late)

At FUAGNEM, we had youth revival. As I mentioned earlier, I am one of the four people picked to share a message. I was SO NERVOUS speaking in front of 350-400 people. My palms were sweating, my voice was trembling and I could feel my hands slightly shaking while holding my flash cards. I would keep reminding myself throughout the day that God gave me the message to give to others and that my words are actually His words. That I can do all things throuh him who strengthens me. that even though I'm weak, He will still use me. Even through I was nervous I knew that I just had to because if I can't handle the little things God gives me, how can I handle the bigger things? Thank God for my loving teammates who prayed for me before I spoke and for a dear team leader of mine who let me practice in front of her a couple times. Also, huge thanks to Abby who was the first to know about this and cheered me on. but anyway..... I DID IT :D!!! even though I made some mistakes and actually admitted that I was nervous, the people on this trip are so encouraging and just continued to cheer me on. After I spoke, people would go up to me and tell me that my message really spoke to them and encouraged them. One girl even told me that she was struggling with fear and was looking for a specific verse that talked about it but she couldn't find it. but then i just happened to include it in my message! coincidence? more like God's perfect timing. Even though people on my trip may feel encouraged by the message, I think I feel even MORE encouraged by their words knowing that God actually used me to encourage others. In a way, it was good that I was fearful of sharing the message God laid on my heart because I was forced to trust God to give me the strength and confidence. I'm taking over fear one step at a time. baby steps, people!

GUESS WHAT!!?!?!? I'm flying to ECUADOR tomorrow!!! :D SO EXCITED!!! Man, it's going to be great. can't wait to just love on people! well it's 2:33 am, so off to bed I go! Thanks for all the prayers and support! hope y'all are doing well!

love,
michelle

Day 4

2011-06-28T20:11:00.000-07:00

Hello!

Today consisted of a training for our drama for the entire day with mini breaks in between. It's a long process but it's slowly coming together and I can't wait to see the more final and polished product. We also had training where we reviewed some spanish, learned a spanish song, and talked about the culture and customs of Ecuador.

At FUAGNEM, the topic was on modesty and why it's important to be modest. How you dress says a lot about who you are. It was really cool because you get to see the guys' perspectives on it. The guys put on a fashion show of what NOT to wear for girls. It was entertaining but trust me, you do not want to see pictures. After that, some girls put on a fashion show on how to dress modestly and still look decent. Each FUAGNEM is a blast. There is so much freedom in worship, I love it! People lift their hands up high, jump, dance. It reminds me of what my Sunday School teacher once said (shoutout to jimmy!). He said that sometimes when you worship, you just gotta move because when you move, your spirit moves a bit too. And we shouldn't be afraid to worship freely or worry about what others think. I mean if you really know God, who He is, and what He's done for you, how can you not worship Him with all your heart? This has definitely been convicting my heart a bit. I really do love worship because it's when you can get totally lost in God's presence. But sometimes (scratch that, a lot of times) I hold back even though every inch of my body wants to worship God to it's fullest potential. I can easily do it by myself in my room but when I'm in the sanctuary at church it's difficult because I tend to worry about what others think of me. It's hard, but I'm learning.

Today I did my first tuck in for the some of the student girls. Each LIT/leader is assigned a different room every other night to visit the students before they go to bed. This is so that they can talk about their experiences, share what they've learned with each other, and pray together. It was lots of fun and I really do like the girls on my team this year (:

oh and GUESS WHAT! I'm speaking tomorrow.....ahhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh. so nervous. alright, well time for me to go to bed! buenas noches!

con mucho amor,
michelle

Day 3

2011-06-27T15:05:00.000-07:00

Hello everyone,

Today we had all the students arrive in the Miami International Airport and my responsibilities were to wait at gates and greet the new students coming in. It was fun to see the relieved, yet excited faces on the students when they spotted us waving in our bright lime green shirts. My shift was 6 hours long, from 10:30-4:30. All the students are just buzzing in excitement and I can't wait to get to know them better.

After my shift, we had dinner and had our first FUAGNEM. What's FUAGNEM? It stands for "fired up and going nuts every minute". At FUAGNEM, there is worship and a message. Tonight was about what it means to be a Christian and Susie (speaker) calls it "big birtha". It's to make sure that we have all confessed, repented, and made Christ rulers of our lives. Just because we say we're Christians does not always mean we are if we have not given our hearts to Christ yet. At the end, we all sang "happy birthday" to ourselves haha. Tommy Bailey leads worship for us and worship is just mind blowing. I can really feel God's presence and I keep tearing up at every worship that we've had so far. It's amazing seeing everyone worshiping God with all our hearts. With our arms lifted high, hearts lifted high, praising the God on high. Oh man, the passion in the room is overwhelming (in a good way).

Even though I'm a LIT and LITS technically don't participate in dramas, I requested to be in it this year because it's so much fun being apart of such a powerful drama. Plus, it's better than watching on the sidelines, at least I think so. The drama is based on the gospel and it is called "The Toymaker and His Son". The toymaker is God and the toymaker's son is Jesus. They create the earth and the trees in the garden of eden (mimes). Adam (the prince) and Eve (the princess) are also created by God and when they sin by eating the forbidden fruit from the forbidden tree, all goes downhill. They are separated from God and Jesus. The evil magician represents Satan who deceives, lies, destroys. There is also a spanish dancer which represents Mary who gives birth to Jesus. There are also other toys and they represent us. They have freewill and can choose whether or not to follow the toymaker and his som (God & Jesus). In a nutshell, God heals, forgives, loves, and wins in the end. Jesus rises up from the dead and no longer is there a wall separating the toys from their creator. We had auditions today and I was cast as a cat! That should be fun. I basically work for the magician and beat up the toys haha.

Well, off to bed I go. Once again, I'm sorry for all the grammar mistakes and if it seems like all i do is ramble. i don't really reread what i post because I don't really have that much time on the computer. ok well, Good night (:. and good morning/afternoon to you depending on the time of day you're reading this. Miss y'all!

In Christ,
Michelle

PS: I am thankful for my dear mother who gave me encouraging and comforting words to me yesterday while I was feeling a bit anxious and home sick. and yes, everything is much better now (:. I'm really getting the hang of all this (as in being a LIT)

Day 2

2011-06-26T09:24:00.000-07:00

Hi Everyone!

I arrived in Miami yesterday and didn't get to our hotel until around 10. It was a pretty long and tiring day because my flight kept getting delayed and pushed back haha. But despite that, I was able to get some much needed sleep on my flights. My favorite part of flying is looking out down the window as we descend lower and lower from the sky. Everything looks so small from up high, but as we get closer and closer to earth, everything seems to increase in size. It starts from seeing the clouds to seeing mountains, valleys, lakes, to buildings and houses and then to seeing cars buzzing on the highway like little ants. I don't know why but it kind of gave me a glimpse of how God sees us. Seeing the entire world (except in my case, a small piece) and looking at is similar to looking at a dollhouse. All the little details seem insignificant and small but they're not. In this way, although there are so many of us (around 6 bill), God cares enough to know every single detail about us, no matter how insignificant they may seem to us or others. He knows our desires, our weaknesses, our strengths, our hearts. I think that's pretty neat.

My roomies so far are pretty cool and everyone on this trip is very nice. I also got to see some teammates from last year which is so exciting. So this year, as I mentioned, I'm a LIT (leader in training) and I'm pretty darn nervous. I honestly don't know how to be a leader. I guess this is where God comes in to guide me haha. prayers would be appreciated, thanks!

Every year, before we fly off to the country that we go to minister to, there are 2 people that give a short encouraging message the night before. And yep, you guessed it, I'm one of them. So this makes me even MORE nervous. speaking in front of about 350 people....oh man. haha. but I know that it doesn't matter how i do as long as i deliver the message that God wants me to deliver.

So this morning, we had breakfast, worship, and a message. The message was about the book of revelation. (I'll explain a bit more later here because i have to go)After the message we had training where we learned how to communicate more effectively with teammates and learned a bunch of rules regarding safety, health, and etc . That's basically it so far. Thanks for reading! Sorry for the grammar mistakes, the non fluidness (yeah i'm pretty sure that's not a word) and hopefully it wasn't too boring and made some sense haha. i promise my posts will get more exciting once i'm in Ecuador. Well, time for some more training. Hope y'all are doing well.

Love,
Michelle

Greetings!

2011-06-08T17:38:00.000-07:00

Hi everyone!

My shirt for Ecuador & the Galapagos came in the mail! YAY! I am so excited! Thank you for all the financial help, prayers, and or encouragement. I am truly blessed by all of you. I will have access to internet for 15 minutes each day and so I will do my best to post on here each day so that you all can keep up with me. I have been connecting with some of the members who are on my team this year. Five people who were on my team last year in Guatemala are also on my team this year. I can't wait to see them all and meet all the new and unfamiliar faces. Every inch of my heart trembles in excitement. I cannot wait to see what God has in store for us in Ecuador. I ask that you continue to keep my team and I in your prayers. Once again, thank you so much!

Love,
Michelle

PS: I bought LOTS of bubbles, stickers, some coloring books, and toys to bring over to Ecuador. I've also strung a lot of bead bracelets and wove some string bracelets to give away on this trip. Seeing these things each day are wonderful reminders of what is to come in TWO WEEKS (oh snaps, so soon!).

PPS: I forgot to mention that I'm a LIT (leader in training) this year. This makes me apprehensive but I know that it will be very rewarding (:.