allisaw aimer

The Work

2011-09-10T13:45:00.000-07:00

These last couple of months have been busy and full of challenges. It is crazy how fast the time has flown though. I am continuing to fall in love with México and God´s people here. I am sure that almost any AIMer will say that their field was the best but I can say from the bottom of my heart that I am so blessed by the work that God has allowed me to do here.

I have been preaching and teaching 3 or 4 times a month and that has pushed me to seek a deeper understanding of God´s word. It is amazing how much my ministry has helped me to understand Jesus and his disciples. Our Lord is truly amazing and thanks to Him he is revealing that to me a little more each day.

The church that meets in La Libertad is growing stronger each day. I have been amazed by the growth I have seen in the members and specifically in one man Beto. Beto is the only christian in his family and comes from a rough past but even though he is a new christian his level of understanding and love for Christ is amazing. Beto is very quickly growing into being the church leader that God has put him in a position to be. He is only a man of 24 and a young christian but God has given him wisdom beyond his years.

I ask that you please pray for my teammate Dani she is in the hospital with an infection but should get out tomorrow. Please pray for Ivan, Jorge, Sergio, and Isabel and her family as Satan is trying his hardest to separate them or keep them separate from God.

Leaving in December

2011-06-29T13:27:00.000-07:00

One of my teammates left a couple of weeks ago and that got me thinking. I had always planned on staying the full time until March mostly because there wasn´t a good reason not to but recently thinking about leaving and my plans for my future has convinced me that I do have a good reason to leave before March.

As I am sure many of you know God has put the work here in Mexico on my heart. He has convicted me about the need and given me the desire to work here. I was thinking about what that would mean and what I would need to do to prepare for my long term ministry here in Mexico and what it came down to is that I would need to go to the preaching school in Lubbock. To be honest this isn´t really what I want to do. I would much rather just stay here in Mexico and work, but I know that I do need more schooling to better prepare me for my work here as a missionary. My coordinator gave me a good metaphor: I can stay here and dig holes with my hands or I can go back school and get some tools to dig with.

Practically this means my plan is to return in December and work until the school starts in August. My hope is that I would be able to work with the church as well another job and take the time to be at home and save up some money. By leaving in December this also means I will be able to keep my dividend which will help financially and allow me to do more in His kingdom.

I thank you all for you unwavering love and support in my work here. I am very blessed that I get to live and work in such an amazing place where I can see God working on the hearts and the minds of the people every day.

Slow Season

2011-06-18T13:48:00.000-07:00

Ministry goes through seasons, some times you are so busy you hardly have time to breathe and other times you don´t have quite as much on our plate. Right now God has put me in a slower season, my ministries have changed because the schedules of the people I minister to have changed. God has given me this time to use for personal growth and to rest up a bit before the next season comes where I will be much more busy. It is a blessing but it is also very hard because I feel like I am not doing enough, like being an AIMer means that I should constantly be busy, but our Lord took specific time out to rest as an example for us.

Last week I went to a Mexico men´s missionary retreat on the beach in Puerto Vallarta where we discussed discipleship and how we apply that to our lives and our ministries. I was very blessed to be able to sit at the feet of some amazing servants of God who were being 100% real about what ministry and their lives are about. I have been called to continue in ministry here in Mexico so this was an amazing experience to see the veterans talking about the struggles of ministry. It was an amazing refreshing time for my soul and I praise God for it.

I am not the best with keeping up with my blogs and for that I apologize. I would like to thank all of you that you are so patient and loving with me. God is being glorified because of the partnership that we have!

Praise to the Lord of the harvest!!

2011-04-02T12:36:00.000-07:00

God has blessed the work in Mexico with many fruitful disciples. One of the sisters from Guadalajara (a city about 3 hours away) is seeking support to go to AIM this fall. I know that these are hard times for all but if God has blessed you with a few extra dollars this would be a good cause. Here is her support letter:

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

I’m writing this letter to ask if you would be interested in helping me attend the Adventures in Missions (AIM) program in Lubbock, Texas this fall.

But first let me introduce myself. My name is Sofia Mendoza, and I’m about to graduate from high school in Guadalajara, Mexico. Almost 3 years ago our church, here in Guadalajara, began receiving AIM students. Their work and dedication to Christ and his church has had a great impact on my life and on the lives of many of my friends. The sacrifices they’ve made, giving two years of their life to share the good news in a foreign land, has inspired me to do the same. Of course, this hasn’t been an easy decision. After much prayer and thought, however, I’ve committed the next two years of my life to serving God through AIM.

The Adventures in Missions program is part of the Sunset International Bible Institute, located in Lubbock, Texas. It is an apprentice program that offers young people, like myself, wonderful Bible training before sending us out to intern under missionaries around the globe. It is a focused effort by and for Christian young men and women to work together to strengthen the church and bring the lost to Christ. Like the AIMers that blessed my life, I see this as my opportunity to make a difference in this world.

I am working hard to save as much as I can for this mission. I am also asking the churches here in Guadalajara to help with my support. But I know I will need other partners on this journey. Would you please consider joining me. I have been told that I should plan for a monthly budget of $625 as well as having one-time expenses of $2,000. Even if it is only a few dollars, I could use your help.

In turn, I will commit to keeping you up to date on this journey. I will write and send emails, as well as photos when possible.

Thank you for your consideration.

Your sister in Christ,
Sofia Mendoza

La Libertad

2011-02-23T14:21:00.000-08:00

I have begun my work in the church that meets in the neighborhood of La Libertad (About an hour away from León Sur out on the edge of town). I am incredibly exited to be able to work with my Mexican brethren in this way and I am very grateful to God for being able to see growth already.

Give thanks to the Lord because our one family and me church has become and two families and me church. We have been praying for growth both physical and spiritual and God has been giving them both! I do ask that you continue to pray though because even though God is blessing us greatly right now we know Satan is trying to get his foot in the door.

I thank you all for your prayers and I ask that you continue in prayer for our work. God abounds in mercy and grace!

This is a series of advertisements for advertising spots in a bus stop. The Spanish says, "How handsome I look here!"

The Holidays

2011-01-11T21:25:00.001-08:00

I wasn´t expecting to enjoy my first Christmas in Mexico as much as I did. I thought it would be much harder missing my family (church and blood) and that I will feel out of place. Thanks to God that I had neither of those problems.

The holidays have been a great break for us after finishing up Spanish classes to just be able to be with the people. I have eaten so much amazing food and had many good conversations with my church family here.

Christmas here is a little different. Instead of being on the 25 it is the night of the 24 and the tradition is to stay up all night playing games. The family I was with made tamales, pozole (a very traditional soup that is eaten at pretty much every celebration) and atole (a corn based hot chocolate). I thank God that he gave me an amazing church family here to be with.

I ask for prayers for the new church I will be working with. The family that is starting it has had many struggles and one of the men just got layed off. Please pray for them that they can have comfort and peace while God brings them through this difficult time. I know that God has amazing things planned for this work and I am very exited to be part of it!

Flying by

2010-12-17T15:59:00.001-08:00

This is me painting our apartment. It needed it!

My time here has just been flying by. It seems like just yesterday I walked off of the plane a bit scared but very exited! We are 6 and a half months in and I am falling more in love with the people, the place, and God each day. It is so amazing to be able to see Him moving in such a powerful way.

With the holidays coming everything has become just a bit more hectic. Downtown is full of people shopping, there is about double to traffic and everyone is just a bit more crazy it seems like. Our ministries have been changing and my focus has shifted from learning Spanish to reaching out to the people (not that we have not been trying to do this the whole time.) After the craziness of the holidays and my trip calms down I will be starting with giving English classes. The exiting part is that (Lord willing)I will be working in a poorer part of town with a new church that is just being planted. The potential for God to work in highly visible ways is tantalizing and I am so exited to get to work for Him in this capacity.

With as much excitement as is going on we are having some struggles too. One of my teammates had to return to the states for surgery and although we thought she would be able to return this next week she has been postponed due to slow healing. She will not be returning until after Christmas which while a blessing to be able to spend it with family she wants to get back to work! Another one of my teammates lost a large portion of her support with no warning this month and so she is unsure of what she is going to do. Please pray for my team that God will use these bumps in the road to achieve His greater glory!

This is a Mexican culture joke. The slang for biceps here is conejos or rabbits.

Serving, living, loving

2010-11-23T12:26:00.000-08:00

These last two weeks after the retreat have been kind of slow in comparison. The church is moving and doing amazing things and it is a very exiting to time to be involved in the work here. We are looking to start planting two new churches next year and as the church of León Sur is taking leadership of itself and becoming more independent this frees us to work on more outreach into different areas.

Our Spanish classes are within mere days of being completed and with the holidays rapidly approaching and the advent of having more time I am looking into finding new ministries to be able to reach out to the amazing people here. One of these I am looking at is English classes using the bible. This has always been something I have been exited for and I am exited to get started with it.

One ministry that we are trying as a group is designated disciples. I have three young men that I am trying to reach out to and build a relationship like Paul had with Timothy and several different men have had with me. The names of these three guys are: Carlos, Álan, and Christian. Please pray for these guys. They have busy lives and Satan is just as active in their lives as he is in mine and yours. My goal is to journey towards a closer relationship with God with them.

I ask that you pray for me with the upcoming holidays coming up. I am very exited to experience a Christmas in Mexico but it is always hard to be away from family (physical and church) during the holidays. I ask for your prayers in my ministries that I can reach out effectively to our brethren here in Mexico. God has blessed me so much through you and I thank each and every person for the prayers that you offer for me and the work here in Mexico.

Retreat in Ixtapa

2010-11-09T08:20:00.000-08:00

This last week we had the Mexico Missionary Retreat in Ixtapa. It is amazing how refreshing it can be to hear lessons and singing in your own language. I got to meet missionaries from all over Mexico and be encouraged in my ministries. There were 30 missionaries, missionary kids and AIMers total. To see the glory of God in his creation was something that I had been missing. That is one thing that I have found very hard about living in the city. I don't get much time to just sit and admire the beauty of God's creation.

The church that meets here in León is moving forward. We announced elders this last Sunday. This is an incredibly exiting for the time for the church. This is the ultimate goal of missionaries and even though I have only been here for the very last part of the process it is exiting to see the church I am working with growing. Please keep praying for the church here in León.

I would like to thank everyone for all of the prayers and love that I have received. Working on the field is hard at times but it makes it much easier knowing that I have a God who is able to do all things and a home congregation that is praying for me. I love you all in His love.

God is alive

2010-10-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

My life has been changing a lot recently. The first way is that we have moved onto the next part of our Spanish class which is researching about a person that effected the Latin world in Spanish then writing a paper about that person also in Spanish. This has been pushing and stretching my Spanish skills. I am getting to where I am able to communicate and talk with my brothers and sister here in Mexico in their language and the praise goes to our heavenly Father.

When I was told I was going to a field where I would have to learn a language I didn't realize what that really meant and how much frustration there is in not being able to communicate with someone. At first it really got me down and I definitely had some very hard days being frustrated that people didn't understand me and I felt very helpless. Now I have gotten to a place in which I am able to get into peoples lives to work with the people.

As a team we are preparing for a presentation to the new AIM class for a team next year. I am not traveling to Lubbock to help give the presentation but we have been filming for the last couple of weeks.

One thing that is new is we have started doing classes with our coordinator. The first part of our time here was very hectic as we had people leaving, moving, and all kinds of other things happening. Now that we have been able to settle down a little bit we have started a class every Friday where we get to do the sit down side of being his apprentices.

I ask for your continued prayers for my work and this amazing journey that God has put me on. I am incredibly blessed to have this opportunity and I thank our God for your participation in it with me.

My work this week

2010-08-29T15:31:00.000-07:00

This last week has been a weird one. I was sick for two days so that kept me from doing a lot and really put me out of the loop. It is very hard to be sick on the field where a person feels guilty for every second that is wasted and even more so for an entire two days.

On the positive side I got to go to the Children's Home on Saturday for the first time in a couple of weeks. We try and go every week on Saturday but for the last 3 or so Saturdays either the Children's Home had been doing something or we had been doing something that prevented us from going. The kids were so exited to see us and immediately latched on, this isn't word play they literally did. I got to play the game where two kids grab unto my legs and i walk along with them hanging on. This seems to be one of their favorite games. Actually just tackling me in general is one of their favorite games. These kids put WWE wrestlers to shame when it comes to jumping off of high places onto people.

The really cool part of this story is that today the kids were able to come to church and although they were late they got to go to class. It is very exiting to think about the seeds that are being planted that God will be able to work with.

Our team is going through a bit of a rough time right now so prayers for us would be greatly appreciated. The devil will use any tool that he can to drive wedges between us and God, and us and our fellow Christians.

Update!

2010-08-21T09:58:00.000-07:00

This last month has been a busy one (I know! I am very sorry it has been a month)I have been hitting Spanish class pretty hard and in between visiting families, being sick, and trying to figure out how to get all my homework done in one day I have been pretty busy.

The biggest story right now is that we are preparing for the Youth Conference in October. The missionary who was in charge of the youth has returned back to the states and so the youth are stepping up and taking charge of this themselves. It is amazing to see the things that God can do with situations that may seem sad at first.

A couple of weeks ago we returned to Cañada to do a series of bible lessons with the Children there. The group that I was working with was learning about the importance of non-violence and conflict resolution. One story that really sticks in my mind is about a little very, very poor girl. All of the children there were very poor but most were clean and had decent clothes. This little girl was very dirty and had a dirt stained orange shirt, shorts, and a pair of very old shoes on. She wasn't part of the group of children in the class but was hanging around anyways. I invited her to come in but one of the girls from Cañada told her no so she wouldn't come in. Then one of the guys who came with us invited her in again and told her to sit down. The look on that little girls face as she watch the puppets was one of those things I wish I had a camera for. She was enthralled and it just goes to show you that you never know when and where Jesus will be able to reach out and touch a life!

One thing that I have started to go to is a small group about an hour, by bus, away. It is in a very poor part of town but the people who participate love God deeply and with my improving Spanish I have been able to communicate better with them! I thank God for opportunities!

Mexico is celebrating it's bicentennial this year and I ask for your prayer as the nation and people of Mexico move into the next day, week, month, year, or decade of their lives that they will be open to the Gospel and as many souls as possible will be saved.

Pictures from Chetumal

2010-08-21T09:36:00.001-07:00

Us AIMers with some of the people who worked with us in Rancho Avalancha and Juan (in the red in the center) and Anita (in the yellow on the left) that let us stay with them.

The youth from Chetumal with Ramiro.

Stuck in traffic for 4 hours.

A few of the kids at the VBS.

Brother Abner from Chiapas.

Some more kids of the VBS.

Marquasitas one of the best foods ever!

Angel and Josué the sons of Juan and Anita the family that we stayed with.

The church building in Chetumal.

Me and Floracita a girl from the youth in Chetumal.

My week in Chetumal (pictures to follow)

2010-07-20T13:16:00.001-07:00

So this last week has been amazing. Five of my teammates and I traveled down to southern Mexico to a city called Chetumal in the state of Quintana Roo to work in a VBS. The entire experience was amazing and has helped renew me in my work here in Mexico.

We left from Leon on a Friday at 12:30 on a bus headed for Mexico city. We arrived at 5 but our next bus didn’t leave until 8:30 so we had 3 hours to kill in the biggest city in the world. I had never been to Mexico City before and was blown away by the size of it. Ironically though even though it was a huge city I was to big for everything. We met up with the sister who were going to be traveling with us to Chetumal we settled into our seats for a 21 hour bus ride. For the most part the ride was completely uneventful except for the 5 hours we got stuck in traffic.
We arrived into Chetumal at 11:00 PM on Saturday night and quickly found our ways to our hotels which amazingly had air conditioners because it was hot and humid. The next morning it was time for church. It was very interesting to worship with the small church and get to meet some of the brothers. One interesting thing about the church in Chetumal is that if you are in the church you are referred to as hermano/hermana (brother/sister).

Next stop was to get to work. We started setting up for the VBS getting everything decorate and all ready for the children that would show up in the morning. It was hot sweaty work and when we were done 6 hours later we were very relieved to walk into our cool rooms.

The next 5 days the schedule was wake up at 6 AM get ready be at the location by 6:50 to prepare for the kids and have a devotional before the niños arrived at 8. Then it was three hours of insanity. I was a helper so that meant I did a bit of everything. The kids were awesome and it was so uplifting to see them getting so exited about the songs and the activities. I have to say though as tired, hot, and sweaty as we were the leader of the VBS Carla worked twice as hard and did twice as much. We were all very impressed and refreshed by her love and devotion to the kids.
After we finished up we were free to go and check out the city and have some fun. I have to say the area is absolutely beautiful! God surely blesses His creations with amazing things and being able to see that area was one of them.

About half way through the week one of the brothers from the church Juan offered for the guys to come stay in his house. It was an amazing time to spend with a brother and even though my Spanish is the good yet I was able to basically communicate with him and his family (an awesome wife and two lively little boys) and I hope that we managed to encourage him as much as he encouraged us. A fun fact about southern Mexico culture is that every house has hammocks. It was so awesome they build hooks right into the concrete walls and just hang them up during the day.

When we left on Sunday night it was hard. We had poured ourselves out into that place so much in just a week. I pray that the 70 or so kids that came will have the seeds that were planted in their lives watered and they will produce fruit. I am so grateful to god for the opportunity he has given me.

Work, work, and more work

2010-06-27T13:52:00.000-07:00

God has blessed me with plenty to do recently. I was worried that while in spanish class I would not be able to do anything. Well that just isn't quite true. I have been very busy. At the end of most days I stop and go where did the day go and worry about the homework that I have yet to do. Life is just busy but that is such a blessing from God.

One activity I have been doing is prepareing for a VBS down in southern Mexico. I will be traveling 21 hours by bus down to a small city named Chetumal on the 9th of July. The church in Chetumal is very small, only four families, and so our goal is to try and reach out to the community through the work with the Children. I ask for prayers for this mission.

Yesterday I had another cool experince. We drove out to a government housing area about 30 minutes away from where I live all the way across town and we planted trees. The idea of the project is to create a housing area that is nice, green, and fosters a sense of community in the area. Some time soon we will be going back and teaching classes, to the children there and at another place much like it, about good character traits.

The Roller Coaster

2010-06-20T06:29:00.000-07:00

These last two weeks can best be described as a roller coaster. I have had some very awesome days that i felt productive was happy with myself and I have had a few culture shock days were all I wanted to do was sit down and cry. The good thing is that I know God is working in my life through either situation whether good or tough.

Last Saturday we went to the capital of the state in which I live Guanajuato (that is the name of the state and the capital city and is abbreviated GTO) and we had a youth rally with the youth group from GTO. It was quite an interesting experience because most of it was in Spanish so I got a really good chance to practice. The kids were great though and we all had fun and encouraged one another even if we couldn't all speak to one another.

So I wanted to talk really briefly about something cultural here in Mexico. Mexicans love soccer! I never had any interest in it at all but being down here it is addicting. Now the point to all this is that soccer is something that brings the church together. When the AK group was down here we went to the Deportiva (a sports park) and played soccer as a church. When Mexico played France in the world cup people from the church met up and we watched it together. It is amazing the things that God can use to strengthen and build up his family!

Spanish class

2010-06-10T14:16:00.000-07:00

We started Spanish class on Monday and it is exiting. I have already learned quite a few things and have even been able to apply them which is incredibly exiting. I am very grateful to God for our teacher who is very good with us and all though she pushes us with a lot of homework we have been able to get very far in just 4 days.

This last week has been a good one. I am starting to get to where I can get around León by myself which is very nice. It has been hard having to rely on others all of the time so being able to be a little bit more independent is a blessing from God that I appreciate greatly!

God is still at work here in León and it is awesome to watch. I ask for your continued prayers and say thank you for the ones you have offered and will offered. God is glorified through your prayers and that is the ultimate goal.

Comanjilla and Childrens Home

2010-06-05T13:42:00.000-07:00

I am continually grateful that God is providing me with ways to be occupied even though I cannot speak spanish. I am also very grateful that He has given me a few oppurtunites to slow down for a second and catch some rest.

We went to a water park called Comanjilla on Wednesday and that was so awesome to get to spend time with members of the church and to relax. Also while we were there a lady from the church Gloria was baptized praise the Lord. It was awesome to be there for that and to see results in a ministry of Ben.

Today we went to a childrens home and worked with them. It was very funny playing with the kids and just like any kids anywhere when I started a game with one of them soon I was playing with 4 or 5. The great thing about kids is that you don't have to speak the same language to play with them. They just want love and attention and God has blessed me with the ability to give those to them.

The First Week

2010-05-31T18:25:00.000-07:00

Wow it has been one crazy week. We hit the ground running when we got to León and I don't think we have slowed down yet! I am very grateful that I have been busy though because it is making the transition a little bit easier.

This week we have been moving everyone around. The AIM girls who were already here are moved in with the girls who came with me and they moved into my coordinators house. Well my coordinator moved into another house from a missionary who is leaving in a few months and so is moving into an apt. This made for a lot of moving to move them around not to mention trying to get myself settled in my apt but as I said before this has been a blessing from God to help me with my transititon.

I am very exited for next Monday because it is the day in which I start Spanish classes. It can be extremely frustrating to try and communicate with someone but be blocked by the language barrier. This has been frustrating but even more made me want to get started with class so that I can begin to improve.

Over all this has been a great week and a great way to start of my time in León. I am very grateful to God for the work that He is doing through me and though you. Dios te bendiga (God bless you)

In Mexico

2010-05-25T17:51:00.000-07:00

So I am in Mexico now. Everything is so new and exiting but also scary because I can't read the signs or talk to but a very few people. Today we went to lunch with a Mexican family and it was quite frustrating because everyone was talking and laughing and having a good time but I couldn't understand what they were saying but to their credit the food and hospitality was amazing! This is making me even more exited for our spanish classes and the time in which I can talk with the local people!

I want to just take a second to thank everyone who has supported me and prays for me. I could not possible do what I am doing with out your help and prayers. God has used you to bless me beyond what I would think is possible and I give the glory all to Him.

God is at work!

2010-05-08T21:01:00.000-07:00

Well it has been a while since my last blog (I am not very good at updating these types of things) but I wanted to update you on where I am. I am currently in Alaska but I am heading to Oklahoma on the 13th to visit family before I head to Mexico on the 24th. God has obviously been moving in my life and bringing me opportunities for me to grow daily which I thank him for.

All those who have been praying for my family I thank you so much. Today we cleaned up our garage and allthough it doesn't seem like that would be an answered prayer (or maybe it was, it was really bad) but to me it felt like we were finally moving on from my parents divorce 7 years ago. Most of the stuff that was in the garage was accumulated during that time so to clean it out was to move on from a hard time and gave me hope for the future with my family! That is just one example of God's amazing work in my life but I am so grateful for it.

2010-02-27T09:46:00.000-08:00

Hey so sorry for the 6 month delay in posts. Life gets crazy and I can be forgetful. AIM has been amazing so far. Of course there have been a lot of ups and downs but luckily for me I have had more ups than downs and in life can we really ask anything more? I am on a team of 7 people headed for Leon, Mexico and maybe I am a bit biased but I think we just might be the best team ever.

I really do thank everyone for all of the support both physical but most importantly spiritually. Please keep praying for me as I march on toward my field time. It is at the same time the most exiting and the most scary thing that I can possibly imagine. Once again I ask for your prayers.

Canadian Texas Trip

2009-08-16T21:04:00.000-07:00

I am back from Canadian Texas. THEY HAVE HILLS! That seems like such a small thing but I really enjoyed the scenery. Much more amazing was the hospitality of the people in that place. They opened up their homes and their hearts to us. The people who put us up were an older couple and they went out of their way to make our time that much more special I am so appreciative of them. I thank the Lord so much for the people He put in my life and the things that He is doing with me.

A lesson I didn't know I needed to learn

2009-08-13T21:31:00.000-07:00

Well it has been almost a week and a crazy time it has been. Already we have both laughed our self to tears and cried too. Everyone told me that things would be much different than I thought they were going to be. I thought I knew better and had it all down. I in fact did not. Things that I thought were going to be easy were really hard, things I thought were going to be really hard were not. I have been convicted over and over again to be a better imitator of Christ daily. I will share one of the stories with you.

I met this man at WoW (not World of Warcraft but Worship on Wednesday) who was a SIBI student from Mesa, Arizona. We were having a discussion on a Nooma video and the question was about how we could serve better. This man, I do not remember his name I wish I did, said something to the effect of "you know if I could just stop being so judgemental about others and just love them like Christ did I would be a much better at reaching people." His openness and honesty shocked me because I expected some answer that applied as a general term to others, one just like the one I had given, but that was not what he said. He set there in front of a group of people he had just met and didn't try and sound smart, holy, or rightous which is what I expected because it is what I did. That cut me to the heart because I realised what humility was and that I needed to work on it. It was being open and honest about your mistakes and faults and how they keep you from being like Christ, even with complete strangers. I saw the humility of Christ in that man.

I appreciated everyone who is praying for me and I want to thank you so much for all of the love and support that I have received. As they say AIM is a roller coaster and I just got on it.

Finally here!!

2009-08-08T22:03:00.000-07:00

Hey all I apologize for not blogging in a while. I was staying with my Grandma and I wasn't able to get onto the Internet thus no blog. So now with my long needed apology here comes the news. I just got moved into my apartment and my room mates are awesome. God has blessed me with some awesome guys who are all very encouraging. It was all very surreal all day even being in Lubbock until they called the entire class up for singing and we sang together for the first time as a class. Then it hit me, this is it i am an AIMer. The thing I have been looking forward to for such a long time finally was here. It has been a long day and I am tired but I am very exited and I will try and share this journey with you and thank you for taking time to read this.

Back from Camp

2009-07-18T16:30:00.000-07:00

So i am back from camp. Which was awesome in some ways and in others made me want to cry. I made some new friends and I got in another argument with old friend (will i never learn??) but the most importantly of all I learned some things that I need to do in order to be a more effective worker in His kingdom.
It sure is funny how when you pray for wisdom, understanding, and preparation how sometimes that comes through things that look negative on the surface and are quite painful. He sure knows what He is doing though, cause I am humbled significantly and I am reaffirmed that He has a plan for me and He hears and answers my prayers and sometimes that is with a metaphorical punch in the stomach that I desperately needed. Hopefully I can turn this learning into wisdom and use that wisdom to serve Him. So as always I ask you for your prayers because I am a weak pathetic human who needs God desperately and the prayers of the righteous accomplish great things!!

Starting the Journey

2009-07-12T01:00:00.000-07:00

So this is it. AIM in about 4 weeks. Only two more weeks until i leave for OK to visit my Grandma before heading down to AIM. Crazy to think only 2 more weeks in AK before i leave for ab0ut 6 months. I am going to miss all of my Alaskan friends so much but I am so exited to go to AIM and learn how to serve my Lord more effectively. So to the point prayers are always needed as i move into this new stage of my life and with it comes a whole set of new and unique challenges that i will meet face on and with His help will conquer.