June was a month of great stretching and growth. This was a month filled with new beginnings, new opportunities, and traveling. During the month of May i was approached by Pastor Rafael about starting up a new youth group geared towards kids in the church from ages 8-13. It's something i was immediately excited about for numerous reasons. My heart had already began to burden for these youngsters after watching so many from our Friday night youth outreach stop showing up. Many youth from Friday nights stopped coming because they reached an age where they felt church just wasn't "cool" and began to care more for the things of this world and what the people of this world thought. I saw a great need for discipleship at a younger age. The Saturday night youth group for kids ages 8-13 that i lead is called "Roots." It gets it's name from Ephesians 3:17-19. The vision behind it is to see these kids get rooted and grounded in the Love of Christ. That their roots would grow so deep in His Love and in His word that when the cares of this world come blowing, they would be firmly established in Him!
The Lord has also opened up a new way for me to serve here at Santa Ponsa Community Church. Pastor Rafael and i had a meeting which resulted in him delegating much of the responsibilities of the church to me. I now oversea/am responsible for things such as church cleaning, sound, worship, youth, transportation, hospitality, visits, social outings, coffee shop, homeless ministry, church budgeting, and more, as well as serving on the board. I'm very busy with a lot on my plate, but i'm having so much fun serving the Lord.
Traveling...
The month of June brought quite a bit of traveling my way as well. A friend of mine, Marlon Brown, came out from Cali to visit for a couple days before we headed off to Morocco, Africa. Marlon and his family have been praying bout moving to Morocco as missionaries for a while now, so the next step was scoping out the land. It was a very eye opening experience for me. We as "westerners" have a great freedom in Christ to serve Him in so many different ways without having to worry about persecution. Morocco is an Arabic, Muslim country where native Moroccans cannot take part in any Christian church service period. We weren't allowed to say words like "missionary" or use the names of missions organizations i.e. YWAM or Frontier. They didn't mind us being Christians, and for the most part would even engage in religious conversation with you. I was able to share my faith vocally with a number of people, the Lord is so good! They are a people who are hungry for truth and starving for the gospel.
Right after getting back from Morocco it was time to pack for York, England. Rafael, Loretta (his wife), and i attended the Pastors/leaders conference held at the York Bible College in Northern England. The conference was exactly what i needed! It was a chance to catch up with some old friends in England, meet new ones, be encouraged, and exhorted by the sessions, and spend some quality time with my Pastor and good friend Rafael & his wife.
What The Lord Has Been Showing me...
What a blessing it is to realize that Christianity is about a relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ and not "organized religion." Religiosity is always faithful to give you a bunch of do's and don'ts ; relationship with God allows us to experience His faithfulness in our lives through any and every circumstance. You see, June brought many challenges, curve balls, and even a bit of disappointment...the mistake we sometimes make is thinking God doesn't see, that God doesn't know, and even that He doesn't care. Nothing could be further from the truth! It actually breaks God's heart when we conjure up such ridiculous thoughts. With all that i was going through internally, i didn't know what i needed...but God did. He knew all i needed was for Him to tell me He loved me. Was i doubting His Love? Of course not. I don't ever doubt my earthly parents love for me, even if they don't have a chance to tell me for weeks, but it's always nice to hear it. How did the Lord tell me? Through friends, Through speakers at a conference, through His Word (the Bible), and His still small voice that impresses on the heart of the believer. I truly believe that the greatest mystery in the world is the incredible Love God has for you and me! We will never know the depth, at leased not on this earth, but possibly ever. I'm thankful that He gave me a glimpse. Though it doesn't end there, He greatly desires our love! He had all of heavens love, yet He left heaven to come and get ours! How unsearchable are the riches of His Love!?!
"A change of character is better than a change of circumstance." - C.H. Surgeon
I Love you ALL! Thanks for reading.
Prayer requests...
1. Root's youth group on Saturday evenings.
2. Marlon, his wife Becca, and their children. wisdom and trust in the Lord.
3. Faithfulness in my responsibilities. That i would do ALL unto the Lord. Col. 3:17,24
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