Time of Change

My team and translators

Hello friends and family way over there on the other side of the world. So I finally have time to blog. We have a bit of free time today before we head off to Club 3 degrees for church (that's right they have Club 3 here too! sooo cool!!!)
So I am here in my outreach location of J-city! It has been sooo amazing! We have been going to slums basically everyday. Let me tell you about a few. So they each have a name BUT I am not sure what the Indonesian name for them is. One in particular I call the graveyard slum. It is somethine else. This slum is built on a graveyard. Yes, the people have actual graves in their homes. The first day we were there a lady was telling me how they were putting a water pump in and as they were pumping the water out hair, teeth and jaw bones would come up. Yeah, I didn't like that too much at all. Another slum we go to is the Railroad Slum. This slum is built around the RR. If you are not extra careful you WILL get hit by the train. It is only about 3 feet from their houses. We have seen 5 salvations already and yesterday on the Day of Compassion we saw a healing bringing it to a total of 3 healings! Praise the Lord.
When I first arrived here I didn't know what to expect but i noticed right away the spiritual warfare. In my home here, we here the Muslim's call to prayer five times a day. It is over a loud speaker for the entire city to hear. We came in just at their Ramadan and that was one of the most intense week I have ever experienced as far as SW goes. As they were all out celebrating my team and I were reading through the Bible. We read from Genesis through to Revelation. It took about 90 hours. Reading over the prayer was definitely a struggle especially at 3AM!
I want to share with you something God has been teaching me this week. The first two weeks were a HUGE struggle for me. I was about ready to go home. I was having a hard time feeling significant. Communication within the team was a battle that we're still facing but i think we have a better grasp on it. Well, God has just been teaching me that He really is the only thing that matters at the end of the day. There is no one else to live for. Everything else in this world like wealth, success,etc..they all perish. My relationship with Him never does. I've been learning that He gives me the strength to overcome anything. I've been just learning to go to Him for significance. It sooo cool, the God that created the cosmos, this earth and everything in it wants so badly to be in a relationship with me and its a real relationship. The things I have learned about God really are true. It's not just something to make me feel good. God is real and the spiritual realm is more real that the computer that I am writing this blog on.
Something I want to encourage you with is to hear God's Voice and Obey. God has amazing plans for His children.I'm praying for all of you to really experience God for who He is. I realized that I put God in a box because I couldn't understand Him. That is ok. We won't ever be able to fully understand Him. I came to a point where I just ran with what I already know about God and just full believed it and man it has been awesome. When you have a quiet time or and encounter with the living God He transforms you. He gives you strength to do anything. He gave me boldness like I never knew I had. I just had to humble myself and in doing that my world was rocked. When we humble ourselves we give room to the Holy Spirit to move and to stretch us. Pride builds up walls that really limits us from all that we were created to be. So I want to encourage you to get down on your knees before the Lord and encounter His love. The love that transforms. Go deep. Stop being afraid of what others might think because at the end of the day God is the only thing that matters. When you live a life of surrender, He gives you the life you have never dreamed. God's "BEST" is an absolute. What we think is "BEST" is a relative term. I think in the western world we like to appear that we are doing the right thing but our heart attitude isn't right. Doesn't God look at the heart? Isn't it the heart that counts? So I am praying that you will encounter God in a way that challenges you to examine yourself and ask God for conviction. A conviction that will bring transformation and growth. God loves each and everyone of you so much. He isn't distant or angry, but He is the complete expression of Love.
I know many of you may be struggling through this economic crisis but remember God holds all things together. That is a promise. He won't let go. Maybe this time of crisis is a good time for you to go to God and hear from Him. Maybe it's time for something new or just a time of refreshing your relationship with Him. He is the solid rock on which i build my foundation. I have so much more i could say but maybe just munch on these things for a bit.
I am looking forward to another post but am not sure as to when. Free time is very limited here. You can email me however, if you have any questions. I will try to reply as soon as I can.
I love you all and continue to pray for you all!