inadequate words

so here it is…finally a report.

new mexico was amazing. it was my favorite trip of all my trips in my time here as student ministry intern/ministry to girls.

basically every morning we worked with a group called LOVE INC. or LOVE IN THE NAME OF CHRIST. they have a warehouse on route 66 and they collect donated items and then distribute them to churches and families in need. we helped with some cleaning an organizing of the warehouse. and because some people think its cool to donate couches that they have previously used as dog beds and are now drenched in dog hair, spit and pee so much so that it is no longer good enough for their dog that it must be perfect for people in need because they don’t deserve nice stuff, we helped throw things away as well. we got some solid work done and i was really proud of our kids. they worked really hard while we were there and there were only a few of them that i wanted to slap upside the head with sharp objects. but even those were completely overshadowed by the students who were truly grateful to serve.

in the afternoon we headed back to the church to put on a block party. the church has a large parking lot across the street, perfect conditions for a block party.

we had a bounce house (essential block party item), cotton candy, hotdogs, popcorn, snow cones and all for free. people from the surrounding neighborhoods wandered over either with their kids but usually looking for their kids. once they were there we were able to talk to them, tell them about the church and most importantly about our Savior. the teenagers set up a face painting table and someone had the idea to have them make those bracelets that tell the gospel story.

black = our sin
red = Christ blood shed for our sin
blue = our sins are washed away

white = we are now cleansed from our sin and pure in Christ

green = the new life we have in Him
yellow = the hope of a next world, the streets of gold we will one day walk on

this really helped the teenagers share their faith because they could talk about the beads as they made the bracelet with the kids. one day while sharing with a little girl, julie (one of my favorites even though i am probably not supposed to have favorites) asked the little girl what she thought about everything she had told her. the little girl was amazed that Jesus loved her and confessed that she loved Jesus too. julie shared with her that she could be a follower of Christ by believing in Him and following Him all of her life. The little girl prayed to become a Christian and said that she loved Jesus and wanted Him in her life. (fun stuff right?!?) well when julie and the little girl had finished talking julie correctly figured that she should probably find this girls parents and tell them about what happened. she also wanted one of our adults to go with her and be there if she needed help. someone suggested todd harris, one of our super-awesome adult volunteers, julie began to look for todd but could not find him. she could not find him because he was already inside the church with the little girl’s parents, where the father of the little girl had also JUST PRAYED TO RECEIVE CHRIST!

if you don’t think that is a fun story you need to get a new definition of fun in your life.

please pray for this family. pray that these new seeds will fall on good soil, grow into strong trees that bear so much fruit.

this is julie and little girl….too precious

and as for me, i had such a sweet time with so many of the girls in my group. i mean i just loved it. i was so encouraged to see how many high school girls are trading the things the world tells them to desire to run after their savior. it was a precious, precious thing to me to get to see them not be satisfied with simply claiming Christianity but striving, longing and crying out for Jesus. they are neat girls and it is a joy to work with them…for the most part.

one girl made me cry because she is trading (in my opinion) obedience for a boyfriend which makes me sad.

she told me she liked him. i asked her, “do you think he could lead you spiritually?”

she said, “no.”

i asked, “do you think being in a relationship with him is going to help you grow in the Lord? do you think your walk with the Lord will be stronger because of his encouragement and guidance?”

she said, “no.”

before the trip was over and after our conversation she had confessed her feelings to this boy in which they were reciprocated, held his hand, and made me cry.

our last day of our trip was one of my favorites. we went to the isaleta pueblo (a native american reservation). our first and only stop was the catholic church at the pueblo. the pastor of the church we worked with told us about how for the people of the pueblo their religion was a combination of a, forced upon them catholicism and the original religion of their people which is the worship of creations like the sun, moon, stars, etc.

we walked into the church, most kids were in and out in a few minutes but some lingered and I stayed with the lingerers. as i looked around the church i noticed how many pictures and statues there were of Jesus on the cross. now I am not in any way trying to neglect the cross or its worth or meaning to us as believers.

however, the cross is not were it ended for Jesus.

three days later, three days after Jesus died on the cross He rose! He did not stay in the tomb but the stone of the tomb was rolled away because our Lord had risen. He conquered death and it no longer has a sting or a victory because it has been beaten by Jesus Christ and that man that conquered death is our Lord!

this truth just washed over me while i was in this church and was so wonderful. i just let the tears fall down my face and praised the Lord for His greatness, more greatness than I am aware of or capable of comprehending.

but it didn’t end there…

with a face damp of my own tears i cried out in prayer to my Father for the freedom of the people of this church. that they would no longer be captive to the enemy, slaves of the evil one that have them here believing lies and worshiping false gods when another truth began to sink in.

i deserve that.

(more tears)

i deserve to be enslaved to that same enemy, captivated by the same lies. if left to my own works, will and desires i would be worshiping false gods, walking in this world, chains around my ankles, believing those lies and without hope of a future kingdom.

that is a scary thought.

but again, this is not where this story ends.

“But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ-by grace you have been saved-and raised up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is NOT OF YOUR OWN DOING; it is the GIFT OF GOD, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.”

Ephesians 2:4-9

this is amazing stuff. something i am sure i still do not understand in fullness.

that me, a sinner, wretched, lousy creature

who was perfectly content to stay that way

was taken out of darkness…

set in marvelous light

and given a hope

without ever doing one thing to deserve it.

(even more tears)

last Sunday my pastor was praying and he said that our words are just inadequate when we attempt to praise our Father and give Him the glory due His name.

they are inadequate when attempting to give thanks as well