I've been sharing my journey into full-time missions with YWAM San Diego/Baja over the past few weeks. If you haven't read the first or second part, please go head & do that now so you have a full understanding of what I'm talking about. Don't worry, we won't get started without you!
Ok, so that now you have seen how God worked in miraculous ways to get me to Mexico let me tell you what all He's done since I joined YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Mexico.
The lecture phase was an incredible time of God showing me exactly who He had created me to be and stripping away the lies that the enemy had told me over and over again. Outreach was a way for me to walk out in that understanding. Like I said before, I knew this was where I was called full-time so I was anxious to get started! *I'll share more specifics about what all God showed me during my DTS (Discipleship Training School) in future blogs, I may even break out my journals and share some of the entries with you.
By another strike of “luck” during my DTS I was chatting with a young woman who had recently joined full-time staff at our Tijuana location and was telling her of visiting before in the end of June and meeting someone on Prayer Mountain. Through the course of our conversation we discovered that, you guessed it, she was that young German woman with whom we chatted!! Can you say, God’s perfect timing??
I joined YWAM San Diego/Baja full-time on February 8, 2006, immediately after my graduation from DTS. I jumped head-first into this faith-based lifestyle and haven’t looked back yet.
Ok, so that now you have seen how God worked in miraculous ways to get me to Mexico let me tell you what all He's done since I joined YWAM (Youth With A Mission) in Mexico.
The lecture phase was an incredible time of God showing me exactly who He had created me to be and stripping away the lies that the enemy had told me over and over again. Outreach was a way for me to walk out in that understanding. Like I said before, I knew this was where I was called full-time so I was anxious to get started! *I'll share more specifics about what all God showed me during my DTS (Discipleship Training School) in future blogs, I may even break out my journals and share some of the entries with you.
By another strike of “luck” during my DTS I was chatting with a young woman who had recently joined full-time staff at our Tijuana location and was telling her of visiting before in the end of June and meeting someone on Prayer Mountain. Through the course of our conversation we discovered that, you guessed it, she was that young German woman with whom we chatted!! Can you say, God’s perfect timing??
I joined YWAM San Diego/Baja full-time on February 8, 2006, immediately after my graduation from DTS. I jumped head-first into this faith-based lifestyle and haven’t looked back yet.
Over the past 10 years I’ve had the privilege of working alongside some of the most amazing people in the WORLD!! People who constantly give out of their own need and never complain. People who wake up excited to see what the Lord has in store for them that day. People who LOVE the unexpected conversations with complete strangers. People who genuinely enjoy spending time in the “trenches” loving on the “least of these”.
My co-laborers build houses, teach life skills, lead worship, cook for hundreds, disciple the nations, organize opportunities to feed the homeless, show God’s love to children in high-risk areas of the red-light district, pray with and encourage each other, and do it all with smiles and joy!
I am truly blessed to call these people family, for that is exactly what they are, my brothers and sisters not only in Christ but on earth! We have all been adopted by the Lambert Family (our leaders) and even if you leave for the next adventure, Momma Janet aka GiGi to all the kids on campus including her own actual grandchildren, with tears in her eyes, will tell you that this is always your home and you are always welcome here.
I am truly blessed to call these people family, for that is exactly what they are, my brothers and sisters not only in Christ but on earth! We have all been adopted by the Lambert Family (our leaders) and even if you leave for the next adventure, Momma Janet aka GiGi to all the kids on campus including her own actual grandchildren, with tears in her eyes, will tell you that this is always your home and you are always welcome here.
Now this is not to say that life is all “hunky dorey” as we say in Alabama. We missionaries have struggles just like everyone else. This life of faith is not easy. There are months that we don’t have enough support to cover our living expenses (for some, that’s every month) (to put this into perspective, for the entire year of 2015 I brought in a little over $8,000 TOTAL). We are raising children in foreign countries and trying to navigate international borders and healthcare. We have language barriers, we get lonely, we miss out on watching our nieces/nephews/brother/sisters/grandbabies/etc grow up. The longer we are gone the harder it is to connect with people back home, even in our home churches.
My own church is completely different and most people have no idea who I am even though I literally grew up in that church (from age 2 - 28) and was HEAVILY involved in most everything. There was a joke with one of the office ladies that if she didn’t know & I didn’t know it wasn’t happening at the church! Haha! Another friend who locked up every night said I was an honorary lock up crew member because I was always the last one to leave. But being gone for the past 10 years & only being able to be present one/maybe two Sundays a year doesn’t help with that. Social Media has been incredible for keeping my current relationships at least somewhat going but I miss those face-to-face meals, worship sessions, cruising the streets or even just sitting in the driveway chatting about life and love and loss. Now those kids that I taught in Sunday School, Nursery, youth group and even College Ministry are all married with kids (some of which are in youth group & even college ministry) and our lives are so spread out (some across the country) that scheduling face-to-face time is hard. Especially when that once a year visit falls on a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
My own church is completely different and most people have no idea who I am even though I literally grew up in that church (from age 2 - 28) and was HEAVILY involved in most everything. There was a joke with one of the office ladies that if she didn’t know & I didn’t know it wasn’t happening at the church! Haha! Another friend who locked up every night said I was an honorary lock up crew member because I was always the last one to leave. But being gone for the past 10 years & only being able to be present one/maybe two Sundays a year doesn’t help with that. Social Media has been incredible for keeping my current relationships at least somewhat going but I miss those face-to-face meals, worship sessions, cruising the streets or even just sitting in the driveway chatting about life and love and loss. Now those kids that I taught in Sunday School, Nursery, youth group and even College Ministry are all married with kids (some of which are in youth group & even college ministry) and our lives are so spread out (some across the country) that scheduling face-to-face time is hard. Especially when that once a year visit falls on a holiday like Thanksgiving or Christmas.
Now, I’m not saying this to garner pity or even sympathy. I’m just sharing so that you understand that this life is not easy but it is SO WORTH IT!!
I’ve seen God’s provision over and over and over again in my own life. One time I was on my last pair of jeans, every other pair I owned had holes in them and I knew this pair was fading fast. I looked at my bank account and it was very, very small. I knew what I would probably get in support which barely covered my very basic of living expense.
At the time I was living in San Diego and had to provide all of my own food so I made a plan that when I got my support check I would get bare minimum food (aka tuna, pasta, and rice) and would live off of that for the month so I could purchase a new pair of jeans.
I had it all planned out, on my own.
A few days later when I received my bi-monthly support check I was overwhelmed to see an extra $500 gift. At that instant God reminded me that He had already provided for my future need before I even knew I needed to ask for it (not that I had, remember, I figured it out on my own). God also reminded me that He cares for not just my needs but my wants as well. God is GOOD all the time!!!
This is just one of countless stories of His provision in my life. Again, not to say that I remember that every month when I’m trying to figure out how to make it work with what little support I have each month. I still struggle in that area occasionally but I’m getting better at just laying it at God’s feet and letting Him worry about it! Afterall, what do we gain by worrying about stuff, not even a day.
If you'd like to journey with me through these next 10 years, simply click the photo below and prayerfully consider donating towards our ministry through YWAM San Diego/Baja. God has an incredible future for us and I can't wait to see how it all pans out. I know that my part is in the realm of education and I will be helping to pioneer a K-12 school that will provide a mission-minded, project-based, quality and affordable education for our missionary families and the local communities.
- I have seen the look on the face of the mom who can now feed her children.
- The dad who doesn’t have to carry the weight of putting a roof, literally, over his family’s head.
- I’ve experienced a student hearing & recognizing God’s voice in their life for the first time.
- I’ve witnessed students sacrificially giving their most prized possessions in obedience to the Lord not expecting anything in return.
- I’ve seen $1000s come in within a matter of minutes and often times from missionaries who have nothing to give but God shows up big time!
- I’ve witnessed physical miracles of healing and strongholds broken.
- I’ve prayed over people to receive the gifts of the Holy Spirit through a prayer language.
- I’ve received and given many words from the Lord that were so encouraging and at exactly the right time!
- I can communicate in 2 different languages.
- I now have friends in England, Canada, New Zealand, Australia, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Guatemala, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Spain, France, Switzerland, etc.
- The list goes on and on!
I’ve seen God’s provision over and over and over again in my own life. One time I was on my last pair of jeans, every other pair I owned had holes in them and I knew this pair was fading fast. I looked at my bank account and it was very, very small. I knew what I would probably get in support which barely covered my very basic of living expense.
At the time I was living in San Diego and had to provide all of my own food so I made a plan that when I got my support check I would get bare minimum food (aka tuna, pasta, and rice) and would live off of that for the month so I could purchase a new pair of jeans.
I had it all planned out, on my own.
A few days later when I received my bi-monthly support check I was overwhelmed to see an extra $500 gift. At that instant God reminded me that He had already provided for my future need before I even knew I needed to ask for it (not that I had, remember, I figured it out on my own). God also reminded me that He cares for not just my needs but my wants as well. God is GOOD all the time!!!
This is just one of countless stories of His provision in my life. Again, not to say that I remember that every month when I’m trying to figure out how to make it work with what little support I have each month. I still struggle in that area occasionally but I’m getting better at just laying it at God’s feet and letting Him worry about it! Afterall, what do we gain by worrying about stuff, not even a day.
If you'd like to journey with me through these next 10 years, simply click the photo below and prayerfully consider donating towards our ministry through YWAM San Diego/Baja. God has an incredible future for us and I can't wait to see how it all pans out. I know that my part is in the realm of education and I will be helping to pioneer a K-12 school that will provide a mission-minded, project-based, quality and affordable education for our missionary families and the local communities.
Like what you've seen so far? Check out some of most recent blog posts to hear more about this crazy journey called missions.
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