back to oaxaca
Day before /
The Lord woke me up…”the love you feel for you’re friends there (in Oaxaca) comes from me. It is a well that will never run dry. Come and access more.”
I did one of those crazy airplane hopping situations again. A few days ago, I turned 23 as I flew to California for Myah’s wedding. While in the airport, the Lord was teaching me all about what it means to be a child. 23 felt significantly further than 22 for some reason…I felt like I hadn’t done enough to be that old yet. But He reminded me that in Him, I am called to always have a childlike spirit…that growing up doesn’t mean I become cynical and cold to the world. He walked me through verses in the Old Testament that beautifully articulates how a child of God is a delight…a child of God is pure and protected and fully known. Thank goodness I never have to leave that place…..
We celebrated a new marriage yesterday. Myah was the most beautiful bride. I cried.
Flew back, got home at midnight to dirty laundry and unfinished prayer lists. Threw random items of gear and clothing around my room till I was too tired to care about anything anymore. Now it is 3am. I am saying yes to the next thing on near empty once again. Starting to see a pattern……
Day 1 /
“I am participating in life” - Amber.
Me too.
Morning /
The San Antonio airport and I are becoming really good friends. Our group is awaiting our first flight by the taco place. We look like a big dysfunctional, lost family of ducks just following each other around. I am slightly embarrassed for us.
Afternoon /
Wallace has never flown before. And he is handling it like a champ. We landed in Mexico City. After dumping out the entire contents of my backpack only to find out the frame of my bag was setting off the alarm, we finally made it through security. I got a call from mom…grandpa is not doing well at all. Not sure how much time he has left but I feel bad that I can’t help. It’s weird timing…I really don’t want all of that to distract from this trip.
Evening /
We are here. Feels like coming home. There is a common expectancy…finally more excited than nervous. Been praying for fear to be completely dismantled.
Jesus,
May they only see you. Make us warriors. God, fall afresh! Give us your burden and perspective! Thank you that you already have the victory!
Day 2 /
Father,
I am tired. I know I’m not the only one. Give us strength.
1 Corinthians 14…..”for God is not a God of confusion but a God of peace”
Today was a day of learning and listening. Our morning was occupied with reading and Spanish lessons. I love that time feels slower here. The cool light in the courtyard that rises with the scent of freshly-brewed, locally grown coffee brings peace over my mind and heart that is tempted to swirl into anxiety about the coming tasks or conversations. 6am comes with an invitation, not a weight of obligation…this is something I want to bring home. And it is my favorite thing to wake up and see my family sprawled all over the garden, reading and abiding as the sun rises, wiping away sleepy eyes. I wish I could wake up to this everyday…
This trip has already been so full of laughter. Spanish lessons were no exception. This crew just has a whole lot of joy ;)
After lunch, we filled a few bags with tracks and tortas (sandwiches) and hit the streets. Loads of prayer…..just having eyes to see and hears to hear and easily mobilized hearts / hands…we stopped and talked to a few people. I learn so much from watching Lorenzo relate to people with music and friendship to tie it all back to the Lord with such a kindness and humor.
Day 3 /
We got to visit a Zapotec family today that Libby and John had been building relationships with. They create the most incredible tapestries. Christian showed us how his family had passed down these strategies from generation to generation. The process of achieving each color was an intricate puzzle solved over countless seasons of trial and error. They taught us how to dye some t-shirts blue with their natural dying process. May or may not have dyed a piece of my hair also…..
As we waited for the shirts to dry, the family kindly served us homemade tamales. (sooooo good) Lorenzo and I heard the sound of a marching band coming down past the front door of the house. After asking for permission, He and I bolted outside and followed the sound down the street to the front of a giant catholic church in the center of the town. Today was a holiday, I don’t remember the name of it…but after asking a few questions, I found out that it was a day they set aside to honor the original tribes that were around before they were colonized. The mesh of Catholicism and their pagan gods were etched into the clothing and painted on all the banners. It is fascinating to me what people hold onto from past generations to preserve significant aspects of their culture…
………
Post trip //
To be honest, I lost momentum with the thought log. So much was happening so fast…felt like standing in front of a fire-hose, arms wide open…trying to soak up as much as possible.
I had prayed against fear and anger leading up to the trip…two things have shut me down before. As we walked into the streets, I started to see that it’s not just denying those things with a clenched fist towards the enemy…it’s turning around to my Father with open hands and asking for His perspective…His burden.
I wasn’t any less afraid…but His love carried my feet towards planting or watering seeds in the lost and confused. His truth overcame my awkwardness and very poor Spanish. I wasn’t any less angry, but instead of encountering a man who had fallen to into addiction with judgement and a callused heart…I broke and hated the enemy for stealing hope from an image barrier of God.
It was beautiful to witness the unity of the Kingdom unfolding as we did life together for a short time. “Iron sharpens iron” is reeeeaaal. We had strengths in discipleship that they’re community got to learn from and they had a beautiful dependence on the Holy Spirit that we gained so much wisdom from….
The spiritual fight always looks so different than I ever expect. I envision the sweat and grit of literally plowing the fields or building something or pulling someone out of danger and expecting an epic hero story by the end. But that’s pretty selfish and very far from reality most of the time……
We bought prickly pear ice cream from a lady on the side of the road (I won’t lie, it was incredibly tasty). As I watched my friends laugh together and blissfully consume their frozen treats I thought “bro what the heck, I asked people to give me money and pray so I could eat ice cream. that’s so lame. what are we doing here.” When I started to chat with Amber about this internal dilemma……I turned around and saw one of our guys praying for a bare-foot man next to the lady we just bought ice cream from who is probably a mother that is providing for her family with the money we just gave her. we surrounded this guy as group and prayed over him to be free from drugs and choose Jesus. He cried. I was humbled. again…His perspective is best. He is God. I am not. It’s about the long game…not a hero moment. It is about God moving in their hearts, not us coming home with epic stories.
I am also thankful God is never limited to time or space. He moves in real ways no matter when or where we end up. The last night after debrief, the Holy Spirit chucked away our tiny chisels and replaced them with a jack hammer. Ally humbly came and spoke words of knowledge over every single one of us, one by one. Profound healing and deliverance all over the court yard. One by one we were on our face in awe of such a loving, personal God. Not a single soul left untouched by the voice of the Father. We ended the night on our knees, lifting up thanksgiving, singing “haz llover (let it rain)…..rompe la puertas de cielo (open the flood gates of heaven)”. I had never seen anything like that before.
After such a profound experience in such a short amount of time, the flight home was spent pondering how to bring all these beautiful things back home. The Lord reminded me - it is still simple. He is the same God in Mexico and in Bandera and all over the whole world. Every tribe and tongue. Just keep asking Him to come…ask Him what He thinks about the things. Invite Him into every facet of life. All He desires is unity. And as long as I keep desiring the same things He does…everything else will work out the way it was meant to…what a gift it is have seen just a bit more of His glory. We get to do this…
If you’d like to pray for this place alongside us…here is a little info about Oaxaca and how you can specifically pray for them! Thank you so much! //
While there are officially 16 indigenous groups in Oaxaca, every group actually has hundreds of subgroups, each distinguished by unique linguistic and social traditions. Oaxaca’s two largest indigenous groups are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs. The roots of these two indigenous groups stretch very deeply into the early Mesoamerican era of Oaxaca. Living in their mountain enclaves and fertile valleys, many of them are farmers.
Many of the occupants of Oaxaca 95% of Mexicans identify as Christian, though most blend any Christian beliefs with traditional pagan beliefs. There remains a great need for this Christian majority to replace cultural faith with a vibrant and personal relationship with Jesus Christ.
Although Protestantism is increasingly accepted - about 8% are evangelical - they have faced widespread persecution and violence from organized crime, corrupt officials, and even their own families. This is particularly prevalent in southern states such as Chiapas, Oaxaca, and Guerrero when individuals refuse to participate in pagan rituals.
Even so, the Evangelical Church is growing and stands in great need of discipleship, sound Biblical doctrine, and strong Christian leadership.
Pray for the unreached that live on the mountainside and villages that have their own dialect and culture.
Pray that they may receive access of the gospel by workers being invited into their homes.
Pray for the word of God to be translated of their language and may know who Jesus is.
Pray that there would be a clear understanding of what it means to be a follower of Christ.
Pray for believers receive the baptism of Holy Spirit to speak in power and boldness to their peers and reach other people groups in the city, mountainsides and villages yet unknown.
Pray against a religious spirit and pagan practices that keep the people in Oaxaca blinded to the truth of the Gospel.
Pray against false doctrine and religion that is so prevalent in the state and country.
PRAYER FOR THE CHURCH
Service to God (Matthew 9:37)
Heart for God (Colossians 2:6-15)
Hearts for the Lost (Romans 15:18-19) Unity (Ephesians 4:1-3)
Peace of Israel (Psalm 122:6)
Walk in Love (John 13:35)
Deep Conviction of Sin (2 Corinthians 7:10)
PRAYER FOR THE LOST
Spiritual Blindness (2 Corinthians 4:4)
Set Free from Slavery of (Romans 6:17)
Hearts of Flesh (Ezekiel 11:19)
Come to Repentance (2 Timothy 2:25-26)
Word of God to Rise (Isaiah 10:11)
Bold Proclamation ( Colossians 4:2-5)
PRAYER FOR LABORERS
Rest and strength (Psalm 23)
Intimacy with God (2 Corinthians 13:14) Family (Ephesians 4:32)
Ministry Effectiveness (Ephesians 4:11-13) Obedience to God (Luke 9:23-24) Leadership (Romans 12:6-8)
Wisdom (James 1:5)
