I arrived in Ethiopia with my heart ready for and expecting God to do a great work in me. Joyfully I prayed and pleaded to be filled with the Holy Spirit. Day and night I knocked on the Father’s door and begged for Him to show up in big ways. I was so thirsty for Him that soon I began to demand Him to show up on my terms. I prayed for many different specifics. I kept waiting but nothing came. Not long after I began to burn out and became extremely discouraged and even angry at God. I was unable to see why God would abandon me when I was so ready for Him-  when I felt like I...

The people of Puerto Rico have taught me so much. My team and I came to serve them and to help them recover. These people find so much joy in serving others. They encourage me to give generously and to love fully. My life has truly been changed by the way they love and serve others. God’s love shines through in the way Puerto Ricans love people.    My identity is often found in many things other than God. These people remind me of God’s love for me. This pushes me to believe in my identity in Christ and to love people fully. I am going home a changed daughter of...

In San Jose, we went into the slums of the city to pick up kids to bring then to our VBS with MetroMinistries. When I saw the conditions in which they lived and noticed that they lived with nothing, it broke my heart. I immediately recognized that my life at home was really blessed. The faces of the kids lit up—like they won the lottery—when we played with them! They dance and jump with joy. We learned that many of the girls were possibly abused at home, and many of the boys had to leave their own dreams to take care of their families. Now, however, we are no longer in the city...

Jesus, The name of a king. The name of a man who came down from heaven to save his children Who were lost and broken For they lived in a world of darkness  But soon the darkness would be outspoken   Because through the name of Jesus light conquers everything.  Jesus, A man of power, who descended from Heaven, he became human to save us. He certainly is no coward. My Jesus would walk 40 days through a desert and be tempted. No he wasn’t offended,  But what Satan tried to throw at him, he simply spoke words of truth and pushed through.   To sum it up...

At the beginning of the trip, at training camp, our leaders asked us a basic question, “What’s something you’re excited for on this trip?” My answer was “I’m excited to do the things I’m afraid to.” What they didn’t know was that the list of things I’m afraid of is quite long: heights, weird-shaped bugs, crowds, talking to strangers, or loneliness. You name it, I just might be afraid of it. What I didn’t know was that God was going to challenge all of that this trip.    Heights: flying, driving in the mountains, and...

Last Saturday was an activation day. Activation is when we pray and Ask The Lord what He wants to do with us that day. We traveled down to Parramos and we were put into groups with at least one Spanish speaker (which was MariCarmen). Then the four of us, including Anna and Sabrina, prayed and listened for the Lord’s voice. We all saw various things but came to find out that the Lord pushed us in another direction. As we were walking, Marissa pointed to a woman and said “we need to go pray for that woman.” She was an older woman who looked like she needed help. We...