I must be weak so He can be strong

So at the end of last week I had a break down. I really missed my friends from back home and other sisters in the faith who have the same mind and heart for the Lord. It has been hard adjusting to the environment and learning how to really let God capture my heart. My problem at first was that it was uncomfortable for me to be around some others who were not also passionate about the Lord and was not as focused on the mission at hand. However, through it, God has revealed to me that He may have a different purpose for me here than what I thought was going to be my purpose. Nonetheless, I have learned that brokenness is essential in order for God to fill me and work throught me. I must be weak so He can be strong. Once I understood that, I was given an abundant joy. What a blessing it is to be able to let the Lord just take hold and lead and guide me. May not my will be done, but His.

There are two other girls here that I've really become good friends with. We have all decided to study the book of James together and to hold each other accountable. I've been getting up at 6:30 every morning to wake the other girls up and to read the Bible. Yesterday, I got up to pray with a different girl here and it was really sweet.

God allowed me to share my testimony this week at our devotional meeting with the group of other interns. It was a really awesome experience to be vulnerable and open up my life. Many were shocked about my past, and would have never imagined it to be so. God really used my testimony in a couple of the girls, which is what I prayed for. It's all about Him, and the purpose of telling my story is so that others may know Him more.

This week we had two different camps. The one in the morning was held here at the orphanage and the one in the afternoon was at a plantain plantation, which are considered the slums. Our theme this week was medieval. A girl named Kacy and I both lead the Bible station this week. On Monday, we taught about the Kingdom of God/Heaven, on Tuesday we taught them about the citizens of heaven and the armor of God. Specifically we taught about the belt of Truth, the sword of the Spirit, and the shield of faith. We also had them write down or illustrate their biggest fear on paper, then we said we were giving it to God because He is more powerful than our fears. So we crumbled up the papers and threw them away in representation of handing them over to God. On Wednesday they remembered the armor, which was really cool. On that day we taught them about the creation of the world because Christopher, an older boy at the orphanage who wants to become a teacher got up at 1 in the morning to prepare our lesson and that's what he came up with. It was soooo sweet. And no, we did not ask him to do it, he did it of his own accord. But because we didn't know he was doing that we prepared to teach them the fruits of the Spirit. Kacy and I made up a song in Spanish of the fruit of the Spirit so the children could memorize it. We ended up teaching both. They absolutely loved the song. On Thursday they wanted to sing the song again and again! For that day, we planned on sharing the Gospel with them. We took colored sheets of paper and made little booklets for them. The first color was yellow, which represented the creation of the world. The next color was black, which represented the fall, or when sin entered the world. Next was red, which represented the blood that Christ shed on behalf of us. White to represent justification. So that when we have a relationship with Christ, we are seen as justified in the Lord's eyes because He sees His perfect Son.  And green to represent new life. It was really awesome to describe each one to the kids. We had them demonstrate it so they could have a visual. Meaning one person stood as God, another stood as man and there was a space between the two. In the middle of the space was a line of children who represented sin. Therefore, sin separates us from God. But Christ paid for our sins with his perfect sacrifice, so that when we personally accept Him and trust in Him our sins may be forgiven. So then we covered the sin with the red paper and united the man and God with Justification and New Life with God. I don't know if any of this makes sense on here, I'm probably better at explaining it in person. Regardless, just know that 60-70 kids learned about the Gospel this week. Pray that at least one would have an understanding, or even that they could share it with their parents.

This week we also had a health station (as well as English and Activities) in our camp, which was really cool. On the last day of camp, each child received a toothbrush and toothpaste. I have never seen kids so excited to receive a toothbrush. It was really really cool.

The whole week was really rewarding. Poco a poco, little by little, we are making a difference in the lives of the children we encounter. Not only are they learning, but I am learning a lot as well. I'm especially excited about now knowing how to share the Gospel in Spanish. It has been a challenge learning how to minister to children, but it's a challenge that has stretched my faith and grown me. One thing that I have been clinging to, no matter how much the kids seem to not be paying attention, or how much they are rowdy, or how tired I am, is that my work for the Lord is never in vain (1st Corinthians 15:58). He will use it for His glory and for His will.

On Fridays we have our culture days with the other volunteers. This week we went on a mangrove tour on a boat. It was so cool. There are all these trees growing in the water and you can see their roots. We even got to swim in the water. Then in the afternoon we went to the beach, which I don't remember if I mentioned that before or not, but it is absolutely the most gorgeous beach I have ever been to. It's like a secluded beach that you might see in a calendar or something. It is surrounded by two mountains, and is just breathtaking. I will have to show everyone pictures. Yesterday, my face got a little burnt. I will have to put on aloe and lotion repeatedly, but it was so worth it.

Today, I am just trying to rest. The weekends have truly become a time of Sabbath. Tonight we get to take a sunset hike up the mountain! I'll be sure to take lots of good pictures.

Prayer requests:
-That God would continue to humble me and to give me a heart that breaks for others to know Him.
-That I would be willing to step out on faith and take advantage of every opportunity that He places in front of me.
-That the kids we encounter this week would be excited and that their hearts would be prepared. That each one would take away something from camp that could make a difference in their life. That they would know they are special in the eyes of the Lord.
-That we would all remain healthy. One girl is sick right now, which is never fun.
-That God's light would shine to each and every person around us.

Thank you all for your prayers. Love you!!!!

By the way, Samantha, the guy who built the Eiffel tower also built a clock here in Monte Cristi which was only guaranteed to work for 20 years and still works to this day. Thought that was pretty cool that we both have a connecting point from across the world.