Oh how faithful is our God

Hello from the beautiful Boulder Flatiron Mountains!! 

By God's grace and provision I am here! Thank you again for investing in the work of justice. It is thrilling to actually be here in Boulder and start working with Freedom 58! 

It is surreal to think that just 3 months ago I was living in Dallas, about to relocate for work, and now am living in Boulder, CO working to mobilize the work of justice across the globe. The Lord sure does have a way of working. He does what he wants when he wants. Not in an aggressive way necessarily, but he moves when he is ready to move and will move with or without us. We never know the activity of the Lord. One day you are sitting in your cubicle then 2 weeks later you have handed in your 2 weeks notice and have to raise what seems like an enormous amount of money in 2 months so you can begin a new job in a different time zone. Again I say, we never know the activity of the Lord. 

No matter how many times I say this, it still amazes me. I like to think I am not the easiest to surprise. I like to think I am right there with the Lord, following his train of thought and plan but he sure does know how to surprise me. I am so glad too! I need the adventure and his leadership in my life. I need the reminders that his plan is not always my plan and that he is capable of way more than I could ever ask or imagine. 

Looking back over the last 5 years of my life God has surprised me A LOT. I love it. My pride needs it. Undoubtedly, this summer I began learning more of God's character. I will continually be reminded that I can try to plan but it will just not always go as planned. I can pray for God to act within my plan. I can have faith that he can and will act as prayed; but, that is just not the way it always works. All I have planned and prayed for may be good and necessary but that isn't a pass go and it is going to happen now. 

Wouldn't you know that I left Texas, began the 20 hour trek to Colorado, without a place to live, and 2 hours outside of Denver, my roommate called and said we had a house? All summer we scoured the internet looking for and contacting various housing options. All summer we prayed the Lord would provide this good necessity. But wouldn't you know it was upon crossing the Colorado state line that we finally got something. 

God is constantly working. I know he answers prayers. I know he is faithful. The question has become, "Am I faithful?" 

Am I going to continue to be faithful to trust the Almighty? Am I going to be faithful to persevere and run the good race? Even when God is taking longer than I planned, even when the season is longer than what my definition of a season would be, am I going to be faithful to cling to the Great I Am and let him lead? Am I going to be faithful to keep in his word and prayer? 

I except God to be faithful. Our Father deserves the same faithfulness. Praise be to Jesus, literally, that our Father extends grace upon grace for our own lack of zeal and moments where we lack the same faithfulness.

It is a beautiful thing to be molded by the hands of the Creator. As I work to mobilize people's hearts for justice this year, I pray for God's faithfulness and that I would respond with the same. Oh how faithful is our God. 

Join me in praying. 

 - Opportunities to speak at CRU winter conferences across the country

 - Connections with students on campus who have a heart for justice

 - Praises for our beautiful office space and the church who is letting us office there (below)

 - Praises for you being on my ministry team! I am so so thrilled to share in this justice        journey with you

Philippines 3:14, 1 Corinthians 9:24-27, Hebrews 12: 1-2

Press on. 

Run the race.

Fight the good fight. 

We run for eternal life with Jesus. We run to be made righteous in the eyes of the Lord, as the Lord is righteous so we an bask in his presences and worship at his feet.

Jesus endured earth, the cross, because he saw the joy that awaited him as he sat at the right hand of God. He thought it all worth it. He ran the race. He ran hard.

fix my eyes on Jesus! 

I don't have to make it complicated or more than it is. Jesus asks me to follow Him. He asks me to act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with Him.

Am I doing those things? Not am I in the right career, am I to be living here versus there or am I studying the right major. Am I acting justly, loving mercifully and walking humbly with God? I think the with is important. It's not am I doing those things on my own. It says act justly, love mercy and walk humbly with God. I don't run the race on my own. I fix my eyes on Jesus and run with him. I try all the time to run the race alone. It's running the race in community and with the Lord that is important. (and hard for me)

Thank you Father for your eyes that are always upon us. Jesus you have provided a way. You fill a void that none other can fill. We don't have to just have faith that you exist. We can experience a true, forever relationship with the God of the universe. Thank you. Thank you Jesus for making a way.

I love you Lord. 

Everlasting Joy and Purpose

Philippines 2:17-18, 4:4   I Thessalonians 3:7-13

Lord God your word is alive.

There are so many questions I should ask myself as I read and study the living word.

Yet it is so easy to take it only at face value.

Pull me deeper into the word Spirit.

Help me to ask good questions to myself and to others.

Father thank you for seeing Christ when you see me. I truly am so far from holy without Christ. I don't like to think about it or admit it but it is so true. Thank you for not expecting perfection from me. Or rather for expecting it but realizing I can't achieve perfection. 

Thank you for making a way for me - for all of us! 

Jesus thank you for fulfilling God's plan to reconcile God's people for his glorious name's sake. 

Jesus I wouldn't have wanted to leave heaven. To leave the creator and Father of all, to be here on earth with us nasty sinners. We think this place is beautiful because we know nothing else. Heaven has nothing on Earth. 

Your creativity, thoroughness and precision astounds me Lord. You are so wise in all you do. You are the greatest planner of all time. You never cease to amaze me with what you have planned for me. 

Lord I want so badly to please you, to do everything perfect down to a T. I so easily let myself get engulfed in the minute details and am paralyzed to make a move out of fear it's not in line with your plan. 

The glorious thing I am reminded of by the Spirit is that you work with me and the decisions I make. You impart wisdom. Furthermore, you don't see me anyways!  You see Christ! 

Jesus this is so hard to fathom! But thank you thank you for following through with God's redemptive plan, dying for us so we could be seen as holy, when you so easily could have said no. 

Holy Spirit may my heart never become cold to what Christ did for us.

May Jesus' death never become old news.

May it always bring life to my soul, to my day and excite me to no end! 

Spirit continue to transform my mind and knowledge of the Gospel so it would sink down deep within me. 

Paul, in Philippines and 1 Thessalonians, lives in the daily excitement and recognition of Christ. l In 1 Thessalonians, Timothy and Paul give a wonderful example of how we can pray for those we are grooming in the faith. Furthermore, they show us that we truly live when we are leading others to Christ and the glory of God! Seeing others grow in their faith supplies Paul and Timothy with all the joy and reason to continue being persecuted and in prisoned for the faith. Nothing brought Timothy or Paul greater joy and purpose in life than seeing others transformed by the powerful death of Christ. How encouraging is that! That is what they lived for! When I look back at my college years, leading girls on campus, whether through bible study, being an RA, one-on-one discipleship, being intentional in conversation and creating community or just being someone they could walk through life with, was the most rewarding and life giving way to spend my four years. I loved it! 

I loved pouring into them and seeing them grow. Lord thank you for the opportunity to watch a group of girls enter college and grow for the last three years. My heart comes alive seeing them standing stronger and in worship of the Lord. That is what I live for. It has been the greatest source of purpose and joy. I had no idea this is what the Lord offers us. But is it not amazing what He does when we follow him? 

Lord no matter where I go, what I do, I pray I would never stop leading others to you through Christ. Provide ways, opportunities, courage, patience, prayer and people Spirit. 

Spirit help me to communicate this to those around me and mobilize them to invest in the lives of others. Speak to the hearts of the thousands of Christians who are satisfied with knowing you and only living for themselves. 

I pray for revival Spirit. 

Awaken out hearts. 

Show us the glory of the Lord. 

In Jesus name, 

Amen

back to blogging

Well I am back. It hit today during my time with the Lord that I love to write and share what I am learning with the Lord. So I am getting back to blogging. Why only blog when I am out of the country or doing some type of mission work? Everyday should be lived on mission. The Lord is constantly teaching me things whether I am sitting in international microeconomics, talking with friends or hearing a talk at Cru. I want to share those things. I want to encourage others that there is something greater worth living worth and it is worth chasing after. When I sit down in the Word I journal the passages of scripture I am reading with my reflections and prayers. a little plug - if you don't journal I would highly recommend it!

The blogs I will be posting will come directly from my prayer journal. I pray they encourage you and bring you into a deeper intimacy with our creator and Father.

Recently I have been going through Philippians. Today's post comes from Philippians 2:14-15, Matthew 5:14-16 and Ephesians 5:8-14.

Lord we are to be light in the darkness; a city on a hill. You have exposed me to the light and now I see. You have given us the ministry of reconciliation which means leading others into the light, exposing the darkness that covers their eyes. You have given me so many tools through Cru and life here in Arkansas and abroad to be a light shining for you but I haven't been taking full advantage of those tools. We, your children, shine like starts in the universe! I am feeling a little dull Lord. I want to shine brightly Father!

Paul reminds us in Ephesians to expose the fruitless deeds of the darkness. For me, that means speaking up more. I am quiet. Quietness can easily be taken as approval for those living in darkness. It's not that I should start being overly boisterous, condemning people or being rude in calling them out. There is a Christ loving way to do that. Me not saying anything does not show them love either. Holy Spirit awake the truths, convictions and emotions within me that reflect the Lord and His light. God you created us with emotions because  we are created in your image and you have emotions. Your heart aches for the lost. I pray Holy Spirit my heart wouldn't turn cold to the injustices, darkness and lust of this world. Set a fire within me all of my days Holy Spirit that would cause me to act, to expose the darkness in this world!

I pray I wouldn't sit back idol, tolerating or accepting the deeds of the lost but instead point them to Christ. I pray for boldness Spirit. Boldness to speak, to answer and talk about you when someone asks how I am, what I have been up to or says something I don't agree with. Spirit I pray I would do this all in an attitude reflective of Christ. I pray you would lead me through the conversation, giving me the worlds but more than anything the courage to speak, to act to expose the darkness. "We want something that is different, we have to do something that is different." - Christine Caine

Just like David with Goliath. David didn't wait for you to say "go kill Goliath and do it with 5 stones." No. David saw how Goliath and the other Philistines were acting and speaking out against you. David was stirred to move. He saw darkness and acted to expose it. He didn't wait for any green light. He acted, stepping out in faith,  knowing you would be with him. That is what I want Lord.
To move. To act.
Not to wait for signs and arrows. 
To see injustice. 
To see darkness and act on it. 
Spirit I am a new creation in Christ, with you living within me. May I walk in the light and power of the cross, the new creation I am and lead people to the light. In Christ's name,

Amen

Well folks I am not even sure what to write. In 2 weeks I will be home in Richmond, Texas welcomed by the heat and humidity, quite the contrast to the winter that has already begun here. I have already broke out the pea coat yall! I should also add that as I write this I am listening to my HOGS playing baseball at the super regional finals as they make their way to Omaha! We have a special saying for this - OmaHOGS!!! wooo pig! I have to say it is kinda weird listening this... it has been so long. I decided this is good practice to start readjusting haha.

I really can't believe I am really leaving. It is finally my time. After seeing countless students come and go through their respective study abroad times it is actually time for the 10 monther, aka me, to go home too. I don't feel like I am leaving yet but I have also been focused on finishing school and taking advantages of  my last moments here. Today I am happy to report that I finished one of my classes! Wahoo! By this time next week I figure I will be running all over the city to see friends, do last minute errands and visit the last places on my list. So I thought it would be appropriate to call this my last argentine blog. The truth is I can't sum up my experience in a few sentences. I don't even think I could do that in one blog. There has been so many wonderful experiences, memories, friendships, lessons, opportunities, and adventures. I loved my time here. It is still hard for me to believe that I even had this opportunity and am actually here! Sometime in middle school I learned of my Aunt Sara's study abroad to germany in college. I have always looked up to her and needless to say when I heard she went abroad I wanted to do the same thing. From middle school onward I awaited the day I too would be soaking up the rich culture of a latin country, learning one of the romantic languages and taking new adventures. And the time has come and gone! I am here! I am here in Argentina preparing myself to end a dream that started a long time ago.
Cosas de locos pero cuan grande es nuestro Señor no!?
I am a huge believer in that our true desires and passions come from the Lord. When we chose to fall him and put his will first he dosen't forget about those passions. He was the one who put them there. He knows where we can best serve him and he will lead us down paths of righteousness where he sees to it that those dreams are fulfilled. My desire was not originally to do missions while studying abroad. My dream was not even to study abroad for a year! The Lord did that. He started off small back in middle school with the desire to just go abroad and learn spanish. Then somewhere in high school he put Argentina on my heart. After entering college and having a personal encounter with the Lord, my relationship with the Lord went down a whole new path. Then it was him who spoke saying, "Lauren go Argentina for a year but you are not just going to study abroad. I have something else for you."

It is absolutely spectacular to look back and see and how the Lord has brought me to Libertador 6255, Capital Federal, Buenos Aires, Argentina. He is always moving. Always working. Yes, it is sad to be leaving; to know that my this time I have been dreaming of forever has actually come and gone. But equally it does not mean that this is the end. In turn it is still just the beginning. With the Lord it is never the end. Who knows where He will bring me next. What I do know is that I will continue to follow him and He will get me there.

I am excited to be coming home. I am excited to see all of you! I am excited to spend time with my family for a bit before heading back off to Hog heaven. I am excited to share this year with you all in much more detail!! The Lord has been so faithful and totally deserves all the glory. I so have appreciated all the support you all have given not only this year but in years past as well. I pray you have been equally blessed through your giving and have grown in your walk with the Lord. As for a few more announcements, in regards to ministry here, when I first got here I wrote that the Agriculture campus where I would be serving was lacking a girl's movement. I am happy to announce that throughout this semester the Lord has greatly developed the girl's movement on AG! We have seen 4 girls come to know the Lord! The movement as a whole has also continued to grow and has taken some huge steps of faith. The Lord has definitely be at work. It has been so wonderful to see how the body of believers works together all over the globe. Thanks for being a part of that! Praise be to the Father!

Well my flight leaves June 24 at 9:30 pm and I roll up into Houston bright and early the next morning. We are talking 6:30ish am people. I am so glad my family loves me :) I would love to catch up with you all and tell you more about Argentina and the year the Lord gave me! Don't hesitate to ask! :D

Until the 25th, Howdy Texas y chau a Argentina.

ps. just in case you were wondering OMAHOGS! We are going to the college world series!

This past weekend was not only Memorial Day but also marked my last month here in Argentina. What?! 

Where did the time go? I remember at different points thinking, "I just wish it was May already so I would be going home soon." And now here we are practically in June. My grandpa has this saying that just like a toilet paper roll, the time goes faster and faster as you reach the end. Well I know I am no where near the end, shoot I just turned 21, but I can definitely see the truth in this. Every year, the older I get, the faster the time seems to go. 

After being here this long, I have been around to experience political, economic, and social changes. When I arrived in September empanadas, the staple argentine go-to food, was 5 pesos and if you were lucky 4. Now the are more than 6 or 7 pesos! Inflation is not cool. Currently the inflation and exchange rate of the peso to the dollar isn't even accurate. The dollar is super important to argentine life. All big purchases, technology, homes, rent, etc are paid in dollars. Starting around January, President Christina implemented strong economic protectionist policies. Strengthening over the months, the argentines currently find themselves in an unstable environment politically, economically, and socially. What started out as a restriction on the amount of dollars one could obtain has now turned into an all out dollar blockade. Details on the matter are quite extensive so I will skip to the point. 

We, as american citizens, are beyond blessed. Yes our country has issues, politically, economically, socially and all the rest. I know. So many citizens of other countries look to the US and practically idolize it. I will be honest, this irritates the heck out of me. In my experience here, some many argentines seem to think that nothing bad could happen in the "good ol' US of A". When we both know that is far from the truth. But the more I thought about it and really tried to put myself in their shoes, in my cases the Argentine's, we are better off. No our country isn't perfect and we have our own mound of problems; but when I think about permanently living here in Argentina, where the government could take your money from the bank at any point (happened twice to the woman I live with), not allow you to withdraw foreign currency (even when you are abroad because that much control exists) or where the police are bribed and the government functions on a whole other level of corruption that we as US citizens do not know, I have to realize american citizens are blessed. 

One night as I was walking back to my apartment, the Lord really opened my eyes to see that no matter how much it irritates me to hear people's idolized thoughts of America, the truth remains that if I were them I might be idolizing it too. It is not to negate our country's problems. In fact it is just the opposite. The United States of America is still the land of the free. A place where I can walk the street without fear. A country where our criminal justice system is trustworthy and our elected officials have laws and rules that they abide by. I know there are exceptions. In the middle of my walk home, I realized I want it to stay that way and I started to pray. Over the years I have heard that we should pray for our government officials and our country. However, the number of times I actually did that would probably fill one hand. I didn't see the importance. 

The Lord is the most powerful of all the universe. He can do anything. He loves, better yet longs to hear our prayers. Our government is no less important to him. I can't control people and their actions. I can't change our government. But the Lord can. 

Praise the Lord for the blessing it is to live in the US. It is a huge blessing that I all too often take for granted. But don't just stop there. 

Pray with a sincere heart for our government. It is never to late for the Lord to work. 

Pray for those currently in office, whether believer or not, that they would truly be for the people and not their own interests. 

Pray that those christian brothers and sisters in office would stand firm for the Lord and make decisions that reflect him. That the Holy Spirit would strengthen them in an environment extremely tempting and challenging. 

Pray that the Spirit would prepare future government leaders and they would obey the Lord's call to dive into the battle that is politics. 

We who are in Christ are all missionaries. We have been called to all ends of the earth to spread the good news we have in Christ. All ends of the earth includes the realm of politics. We have a blessing living in the US and equally an obligation to pray for it to stay or even improve its current state. How beautiful and powerful would it be if we, as a body of believers, lifted up our nation to the Lord.  

Well apparently the Lord wanted to tell me something. Last weekend Vida (cru) had a weekend student retreat in the near by city of La Plata. Our students and staff from Buenos Aires got together with the students and staff in La Plata for a weekend together to grow in the word, prayer, evangelism, and more. The first two days of the retreat I found myself serving in the kitchen the whole time. Even when I wasn't signed up to help cook I was in the kitchen. By the second night, I started asking myself why I wasn't participating more in the workshops and such. I could. The other STINTers were serving but were also participating. But why wasn't I wanting to be in the workshops? The Lord whispered that I should look at fear. For me it is easier to be in the kitchen with other english speaking gringos rather than having to work to engage in spanish conversation. It is easier to do something that doesn't require much thought and be in a safe place where the Lord can't convict me of anything. However, next day I stayed out of the kitchen trying to listen to the Lord.

Apparently it needs to sink in a little more because today he spoke again. I hide behind service. Think about it - how many times do we say "Everything is good just keeping busy." I don't know about you but I get tired of hearing that word. We are all busy. But why do we keep so busy? For me, part of the reason is that it is easier to hide behind doing something rather than facing the problem, having to come to God asking him to walk me through my sin. All this "busyness" keeps us from acknowledging our true thirst for love, friendships, truth and thus thirst for the Lord. I heard this devotional a few weeks ago about Martha and Mary in Luke 10:38-42.

³⁸ As Jesus and his disciples were on their way, he came to a village where a woman named Martha opened her home to him. ³⁹ She had a sister called Mary, who sat at the Lord’s feetlistening to what he said. ⁴⁰ But Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, “Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself? Tell her to help me!”
⁴¹ “Martha, Martha,” the Lord answered, “you are worried and upset about many things,⁴² but few things are needed—or indeed only one. Mary has chosen what is better, and it will not be taken away from her.” 


Martha is so distracted by her service that she doesn't even take the time to sit at the feet of Jesus. She is missing out on just being with him, spending time together, and learning from him. Although small, there are tons of messages packed in this passage. Hearing this passage was the first time the Lord started signaling my service filled life. The Lord asks us to serve and some people are given gifts of service. However for me, my service was stemming from something else, a heart issue that needed to be addressed. I find myself being a Martha, hiding behind my service, "just keeping busy" so I don't have to actually see where Jesus truly wants me. It is hard to do nothing and just be in the presence of the Lord, listening and enjoying his presence. But I am tired of hiding in the service and being busy because it is easy. I want true freedom. And as backwards as it may seem, true freedom comes in Christ. For me it is a big step of faith to drop the busy service where I am comfortable and sit at the feet of Christ as he directs my path. But the Lord has called and I am taking the step. 

Over the past couple of weeks I have been wrestling with materialism. What it means, what it looks like, is it bad to desire good things or as christians are we not supposed to to have "excess" like fancy cars, nice clothes, a vacation home, money to travel or whatever you want. So this is a post just to throw out what has been tossing around in my head. During my time here in Argentina I have obviously lived very differently from what I do in the states. Ok maybe not as different as I would if I was living in Japan or Sudan but it has been very different. I have gone with without and I am surviving. In fact, I am loving it!

There are still those moments when I think "man I could get there quicker if I had a car." Or "clean floors would be amazing." Or "how great would it be to go shopping so I don't have to wear the same clothes over and over." So all of this has got me thinking what is the balance with materialism.

Lets face it, we have a huge consumeristic society in america. I am part of that society. I am just trying to think about what the Lord says in regards to materialism and how that affects what my desires should be. So here are some of my thoughts after a few weeks of reading and praying:

- the Lord DESIRES to richly bless us. 

That is his desire to bless his children. I am not talking prosperity gospel. He blesses in his own way. Most of his blessing is in the eternal perspective but equally he blesses us now. He knows what it good for us. Sometimes what is good is being without.

- it is ok to have a nice car. 

It doesn't have to be the car but lets just imagine here. If I have the money to buy a nice car, but have a car that works just fine, shouldn't I use that money on something else that would glorify the Lord? It could be giving to charity, buying something for someone else or sponsoring a missionary. Well I could do all of those things. Those aren't bad things but neither is buying a nice car if your heart is in the right place. If I am giving to the Lord first what is his and he has continued to bless me above that financially then it equally pleases him just to bless me. (i.e. me buying the car.) If my heart is seeking his will first, if my priorities are in line with his and I am daily striving to walk with him, then I can trust the wisdom and discernment he has given me to spend the money, that is his to begin with but has freely given to me, to buy the "extras".

- ultimately our first priority is in the Lord.
When it comes down to it, this shouldn't even be a question I am having. The Lord has told us his will that we should live in communion with him, in harmony the way he originally designed the world. Until that day arrives we are to "go make disciples of all nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit." (Matthew 28:19) This is where our hearts should lie. Having a heart focused on making disciples will take my heart away from material desires (well not completely because we are sinners after all. But it will make it easier to fill ourselves with truth and get back on the right track).

- the great balance of life.
The reason I struggle in wanting more material things is because I am a broken person. We are all broken and living in a world that is not the way it was created to be. One huge thing I am learning here is balance. There is balance in everything in life. Everything! In our brokenness, or sin, we have lost the ability to keep things balanced. We are either planners or procrastinators. Saving everything thing because you never know when you might need it or using it all up at once to meet the immediate demand. All good or all bad. Only the Lord is the master at the balancing act. He is love and justice. He is peace and war. I could go on a whole other rant with this but I will stick with this - my lack of balance has me thinking it is all or nothing. I can either have nice things or I can't as a Christian. It is black or white. The concept of there being a middle ground is hard to fathom much less define. But one does exist. That is what we are all searching for.

So the question is, what is the balance with materialism? Well I think it is personal. Every person has there own limits as to what the Lord knows they can handle. Materialism too has its limits as some find themselves stumbling over having material desires more than others. Remember balance. Our ultimate priority is serving the Lord. So if material things are keeping us from this then we need to look at our scale to see what needs to be let go. Taking the time to search my own heart, see what my motives are for the stuff, and seeking truth in scripture and in prayer about what the Lord says about materialism is something we should all individually do. Materialism isn't going anywhere therefore the way we approach it makes a world of difference.

" Wealth is worthless in the day of wrath, but righteousness delivers from death." Proverbs 11:4 

Summer has come and gone, school is starting back up, and autumn is on its way. This has been my first week back in school. I can't believe it is already time for the second semester! We experienced so many wonderful blessings over the summer!

• 3 Argentine girls starting up a new CRU movement on their philosophy campus
• 2 Columbians and 1 Mexicana who are PRECIOUS and are super excited to get involved in discipleship and evangelism on the Agriculture campus! Woot Woot!
• other students from various campuses stepping up to lead on their campuses
• receiving Kim! - new staff woman who will be serving in the ministry here for 3-5 yrs
• watching the Lord refocus our hearts
• Dad, Mom and lindsey coming to visit!!!
• having time to deepen my relationships with argentine friends
• living with the girls on my STINT team!
• seeing huge changes in the ministry here that testify to the Lord's presence in this crazy city and reminding us this is his movement
• receiving a super encouraging package from the wonderful girls back at the UofA
• in a matter of days God providing a wonderful roommate and apartment for next year
• spending amazing days switching between different campuses around Buenos Aires getting to evangelize with students and see their hearts for the Lord

One of my favorites of these evangelism days was going to a campus, Universidad de la Matanza, outside of the city to help a group of students who, on their own, just following the Lord's call, have started a campus movement of their own. One time we showed up to find 40 students ready to go out evangelizing! It was such a testament to the Lord's power and presence all around the globe.

Do you ever get stuck thinking the Lord only exists where you are? Well I sure do. Seeing these students who felt the call to evangelize just from reading the Word sure brought me down to my knees. All over the world the Lord is moving and bringing his people back to him. It can be so easy to forget but take a moment and think about it.

... ... ...

He doesn't need us. He is working in the hearts of his people all on his own. It is a privilege that we get to be a part in that. Yet so easily I get caught up in myself and the small "world" around me that I forget the Lord is equally present in Russia, currently leading a huge underground movement in China, giving dreams to Ethiopians, showing his mercy to those in Greece, and liberating those living in slavery all around the world. He is the same God no matter where you go.

Let us become more aware of His presence. Let us experience the glory of His goodness.

Summer was great. Refreshing. Full of new things and countless blessings. Now it is time for classes, new friendships, moving back to live with my precious argentine grandma, having a real functioning toilet, and living on the 29 bus. It is an exciting 3 and half months that I have left ahead of me. Who knows what the Lord has in store. But if there is one thing I am sure it is that the Lord is faithful. Always has been. Always will be. May these summer blessings carry me forward into the blessings of autumn and winter.

"I feel the rains of your love. I feel the winds of your spirit. I feel the heart beat of heaven. Let us hear. Open the flood gates of heaven."

This past week I have stumbled upon a new worship band that I am really enjoying. As I write this I am having a little jam session. Despite the ridiculous heat that brought constant sweat all day, today the Lord blessed my team and I with a great day of evangelism. This week and last we have had students step up and organize three days of evangelism on three different campuses throughout the city. These students did all of this with out being asked, prompted, anything. It was solely out of a heart to spread the love of Christ as they continue to experience it more. How cool is that?! That is the exact reason this STINT team is here - to raise up a student lead movement of passionate believers who are experiencing Christ and wanting to share that with those around them. So obviously when we were asked to go alongside and help them we jumped on it.

Today I was really excited to go out with the students to evangelize but me and my teammate Jill got off to a late start due to a few unexpected setbacks. When we were finally on our way we were almost 2 hours late but that still left us 2 hours on campus. To get to the campus we had to take 2 different buses. We got to the second bus stop and waited for 45 minutes.... that is Buenos Aires for you... ok so honestly during this waiting I was seriously wondering if it was even going to be worth us going. By the time we would get there we would probably only have an hour. However, as I thought this I also heard, "that is exactly what the Devil wants you to think. If you go home you have given him the upper hand"

Well I wasn't about to let the Devil hold that over my head. "I don't care if I only have 30 mins. The Lord will use whatever time I have there and I am not letting the Devil smile today as I give into his seductive ways."

We get to the campus with an hour left. Jill and I head off to the first girl we see sitting outside and what a conversation we had.

That hour we had - we spent it all with her. Back and forth we went as we asked her questions and she asked us back. This can be a rarity. But the questions on both ends just kept coming. Finally she asked but how do you know that God is real, that he is there? It hit me so naturally. After having a team assignment to write our testimonies in spanish last week, this was the perfect time to share my testimony, something we had yet to do in spanish. Perfect.

So hear we go, Jill and I. I go first and share with Vanessa how I know the Lord is real through the change that He did in my heart a few years ago when I went to California. 45 minutes we talked and shared our testimonies. In SPANISH! How great is our God?! We left the conversation having shared the Gospel and praying Vanessa would continue to ponder the news she heard.

Think about it. We could have given in to the Devil and turned back when buses seemed to be few and far between. But we gave the Lord control knowing that He will use whatever we are able to give Him. And He did.

Isn't it the same in our everyday life? There are tons of opportunities when we can turn back, letting the Devil have victory. But that is not how we are to fight. The devil can come in the first person, in disguised ways that blind us to even seeing that it is him all along. We fight with truth and Christ on our side. The Lord isn't asking for numbers or quantity in whatever way that looks for you. He merely asks you to follow Him and give Him all you've got. We fight from victory for victory has already been won on the cross.

For me, it is the little things the Lord does; the little ways He puts things together where I see His faithfulness and am overcome with His presence. Today was one of those days.

The past week and half students from all over Argentina got together to celebrate Christ at Effecto M summer camp. Effecto M stands for the mobilization, magnification, and multiplication effect. We had such an incredible time. The camp was situated in the foot hills of Cordoba. There were around 260 students and staff from all parts of Argentina. It was such an encouraging week to see students truly praising and loving the Lord. I had some great opportunities to talk with students and hear about how they started their walk with Christ.

It probably shouldn't, but it continues to amaze me how big our God is. He is same God everywhere you go. The same things he teaches me in the states or wherever I am, He is teaching others all over the world. During the week we focused on finding the purpose for your life. Matthew 28:18-20 says "Then Jesus came to them and said, 'All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.'"

Our individual plans may be different but our overall purpose is the same. We are all called to serve in lifting up the name of the Lord. That will look different for every person, whether that is speaking with co workers in an office, being a teacher, working overseas, being a missionary full time, or being a student and friend. The week had me asking God what His plan is for me. What is the way in which He has called me to serve and share of the grace and love He has freely given.

One night during the week was focused on missions. It was a neat experience as I am currently hear on mission and I was able to see others being encouraged to move and mobilize others. Afterwards, I talked with a girl studying medicine who feels the Lord calling her to medical missions after she completes her studies. God is moving and it is not just in our neck of the woods. It is so easy for me to forget that there is life happening outside of my life.

Overall camp was a great success. I heard so many students talking about the ways the Lord spoke to them. As a STINT team, we received so many "thank yous" for our service here in Argentina. The thanks goes out to you all as you have supported the Lord's work in Argentina.

This Thanksgiving I had the incredible opportunity to travel to Machu Picchu, Peru with three study abroad friends. I had never thought about traveling outside of Argentina, but the opportunity presented itself and, oddly enough, I really felt the Lord saying I shouldn't pass it up. So I jumped on board.

I could talk for days about the whole trip. It was INCREDIBLE! The mountains in Peru are stunning and Machu Picchu of course is amazing! We did a four-day hike to Machu Picchu that included everything from crazy van rides, hot springs, biking, and zip-lining to hiking. We were part of a group that included, two cousins from France, two Canadians, two Spainards, an Irishman, a guy from Switzerland, and of course our trusty guide Abraham.

Before leaving, I had been bathing the trip in prayer, praying that the Lord would present spiritual conversations along the trail. I am still amazed at how the Lord answered my prayer. Three conversations occurred and never once did I have to bring them up.

Day one, Thanksgiving Day, we arrived in Peru and treated ourselves to a nice Thanksgiving meal. After going around the table sharing what we were thankful for for the year, my friends began a spiritual conversation where the Lord gave me the opportunity to share what my faith meant to me.

The next conversation was 3 days into the hike and continues to leave me singing praises at how great our God is. Here we are walking along and one of our friends from France just begins asking me about Genesis. He was raised in an atheist home and had just decided to start reading the Bible. He was full of questions. He is such a smart guy and Genesis was really giving him a run for his money. So for 2 hours we talked. He had some great questions that were really making me think as well. By the end the Gospel had been shared and he told me that this was the first time he was able to talk so openly with someone about religion. There was so much that occurred throughout this conversation, but there is one thing that the Lord began showing me that continues to weigh in my mind.

All throughout our conversation, my French friend displayed how lost this world is. The idea that merely being a good person and doing good deeds for others not being enough to go to Heaven was something he just could not grasp. He wants to know the truth. That is why he decided to start reading the Bible. He is in search of the truth. But he isn't the only one. He showed me that everyone is wanting to do good and is in search of the truth. The problem is us. We have made a million different religions and everyone is telling a different truth. No one knows what to believe. We have taken what we like from different religions and adapted it to fit our lives. The truth however lies in God's living Word; not in the ideas of man. But even we, as Christians, have driven people away, made people question the truth of Christ due to our actions and allowed tolerance to spread in a way that downplays and negates the truth of Christ. Don't get me wrong, I am definitely not promoting anything harsh or radical. However, I am beginning to see a desperate need for the truth to be spread. People are lost and hungry for spiritual guidance and I am kicking myself in the butt because I am not saying anything. I am so afraid of making someone angry or loosing someone's friendship, that I choose not to share the truth I know and love.

Having these conversations in Peru encourages me that a spiritual conversation doesn't have to be hard or something you loose friends over. And I have no power over whether someone chooses to believe. That is the Lord's job. He just asks us to share so all people will have had the opportunity to at least hear the good news of the Gospel.

"I pray that you may be active in sharing your faith, so that you will have a full understanding of every good thing we have in Christ." Philemon 1:6

I would challenge everyone to open the Word and read it with an open heart, allowing the Spirit to work. Once you experience the love of Christ, you will never turn back.

What a blessing. Today after 2 hours in the post office, I received my first and probably best package. The wonderful girls in the Bible study I co-lead last year sent me a box full of encouraging letters, candy, random jokes, and Christmas decorations. I couldn't believe it. I thought I was going to cry.

Tomorrow is my last day for the semester. Just one more final and my first school semester is finished. It hit me last week how exhausted and in need of a break I was. Well today when I opened that box to find an explosion of red confetti paper and colorful letters I got the energy I needed to finish up the semester. I feel so incredibly blessed by these wonderful friends. Last year was my favorite year on campus! These girls had entered my life and been such a blessing and now they are continuing to bless me in South America. I was overjoyed and over whelmed because I didn't do anything be so blessed. That is the beauty of the Gospel though right?

Thank you girls!! Love and miss you!

"The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need." Psalm 23:1

Since arriving in Argentina, I have recited this verse over and over again. The last couple of weeks have been challenging. A good way to describe it would be an emotional roller-coaster. Some days are really great and then the next day you find yourself asking what you are doing here. I have been having a hard time trusting the Lord. There has been a lot of wrestling between us.

It isn't that I don't like it here or that I am having a bad time. Overall, I am loving it! This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I feel so blessed to be able to be here, living in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The Lord knows me, better than I know myself, and he knew that this was something I always wanted to do.

The issue is that I am being stretched. Living abroad is a time of growth and let me tell you, the honeymoon is over and it is time for growing. I am being challenged but it is good. When I look at just these past two months, I have really had to rely on the Lord in a whole new way. That is really exciting! I seriously can't wait to see what he has in store, but it is a daily struggle. This past weekend was really refreshing. I spent a lot of time in the Word and was encouraged and reminded of God's faithfulness. I don't have it all figured out but God doesn't ask me to. It isn't always easy but praise the Lord, I don't have to live on my own strength.

I forgot to add pictures to my last entry!

Here is the Buenos Aires skyline from a beach we went to on the river. Crazy, but this is not even all of it.

This my school. 19 stories. Pretty different from the states. Wish I had a better picture.

The AG campus!! O how I love AG. This is where a cat peed on my backpack. Yes a cat peed on my backpack. Good times. But really, I love AG.

Me at the National Flag Monument in Rosario.

And this is Cordoba where we had our retreat last weekend. Me gusta!

And here is the Buenos Aires Vida Estudiantil group! :)

If you want to see more check out my facebook!

So I am a little late in posting this entry and I am going to be all over the place, but I am excited to finally get it up. This last weekend I went with Vida Estudiantil to a little pueblo outside the city of Cordoba for another retreat. This retreat however was with students from all over the country who are involved in the movement. Pretty sweet. We left Thursday night on an overnight bus (double-decker and much better than an airplane) at 11:20 pm and arrived the next morning at 11ish. A pretty different way to travel for us US folks. It was a really good experience though. I enjoyed it mucho.

There was around 90 of us and we stayed in the Casa Grande Hotel. It was super fun! I loved getting to meet students from all over the country and see God's movement not only in BA but all over the country. Although my spanish is definitely improving, let me just say that there are so many different accents and some are so difficult to understand. Do not even try to understand jokes in spanish. When everyone else laughs, just laugh.

It is such a blessing to be able to participate in ministry here while I study. I have been able to make so many Argentine friends that if I was only doing my program, I would not be able to meet. Also, it is so encouraging to see the Lord being praised all over. For me, it is so easy to only think of the Lord in the US because that is the only place I have seen him. I know he is everywhere but it takes on a whole new meaning once you get to experience seeing him somewhere else. It is such a blessing to have spiritual community in a foreign land. It is challenging enough to be living in another country, but if I didn't have this community to lift me up and be the reminder that God is here in this huge city and country, where finding people who care about Christ is difficult, things would be so lonely. And for this, I am so thankful to be a part of this community.

All this to say the retreat in Cordoba was wonderful.

In other news, God is really working in my heart. I recently just finished a book by Henry Cloud that God has really been using to speak to me. Let me say this, I am really excited to see the Lord changes and grows me over these next 9 months. He has showed some of the things we are going to be working on and I am excited. However, here comes the hard part. Once you see and understand what needs to be done, it is time to get to work. So here we go. The hard part. But, exciting none the less!

My prayer - "For God wants you to silence the ignorant talk of foolish people by the good things you do." 1 Peter 2:15

My question - What does that look like for our lives?

This weekend, Vida Estudiantil Buenos Aires hosted the annual CCVN retreat. CCVN is a leadership retreat for students and professional who are involved in the movement here in Argentina. The Gringos were warned that this was going to be an exhausting weekend as there would be many students and various classes and activities; all of which would be in Spanish. Although the first night was a little frustrating because of the language barrier, I had an amazing time this weekend! I absolutely loved getting to know the students more and meeting the other students and staff members from La Plata!

We started the retreat Friday night and by the end of the night I was frustrated. I wanted to befriend everyone the way I knew how in the states. I kept thinking I didn't know what to say or how to say what I wanted to say. This all lead to a frustrated me who ended up not talking much. When I got home Friday night, I recognized that my exhaustion from Spanish overload was a huge contributor to my irritation. I also recognized that I could not befriend anyone with a bummer attitude and it is going to take more than my own efforts to learn this language. However, the truth is no matter what the language, people are people. It is not a science. Love em. Again, I surrendered over my attitude and expectations to the Lord, asking him to fill me with his Spirit, let me relax, and wake up with a new attitude. Saturday was wonderful! Even with a full day of evangelism training, talking with friends, and going out to the park to share the Gospel, all in Spanish, it was wonderful! I wasn't tired and was truly just enjoying it. Praise the Lord.

One thing I still can't get over is when we had worship. In Spanish. It was beautiful. I had never worshiped in another language. It was amazing to think of all the other countries worshiping in their native language. It really put into perspective God's presence in the world. There truly are people all over the world who have experienced the abundant love of God and can not help but worship him. It was a small room but our voices were loud.

The Lord is at work here in Argentina. My team and I can not wait to see the Lord continue to work through out this next year! Last week we were assigned the campus we would be working on all year. It is only fitting that I can happily report I am on the ag campus. :) I am pumped! The men's movement is really flourishing here but the women's side of things is in need of leaders. This year we are asking God to raise up 7 women who are on fire for Christ and have a desire to lead on the campus. We are also praying that someone on one of the political Groups, Nuevo Espacio, would accept Christ. The political groups have a lot of power on campus so think of the effect it could have if such a strong natural leader were to begin following Christ. If you all would please join us in praying for the Ag campus's women's movement and salvation of students, especially from Nuevo Espacio, that would be wonderful! God is big my friends and his work goes beyond where our daily lives lead us. Join me in praying for those around the globe and here in Argentina.

Today I literally found myself laughing out loud (in a good way). Today was my first day on campus doing ministry. The school system is different here than most universities in the states. Here public universities are free. You might think that the education would be bad right? Well it is actually better than private schools (college at least). Furthermore, there is no such thing as dorms here. You only go to campus for classes. The University of Buenos Aires, where we are doing ministry, has several different campuses all through out the city. The campuses are specific for each major - law, medicine, agriculture, philosophy, etc. Most campuses have around 30,000 students.

Ok so knowing this, guess what campus I go to today.

Agronomia. Aka - agriculture. I am stoked. The campus is about 30 minutes from where I am in the city. When I stepped off the bus, I saw pasture. This is not your typical campus. I literally walked for ten minutes next to fences of horse, llamas, goats, and ducks. One horse had a buzz cut! No mane. There were maybe 3 buildings that semi looked like classes could be help there. As I was walking around I literally said "I can not wait to take pictures of this". I loved it. It just made me laugh. It was not at all what I was expecting.

As for actual ministry, Morgan and I were able to do solarium with one girl. There is a lot of spiritual activity on this campus which is really neat to see. Most all of the "gen-ed" classes have to be taken on this campus so we get to interact with students that will eventually go to the medicine, law, etc campuses. That is really neat because then the other stinters working on the other campuses meet students who have already had seeds planted. I was told several great stories of how Cru was granted favor on other campuses because of the work on the ag campus.

Hopefully some of this makes since. I just thought me on the ag campus was worth sharing but I really need pictures to accompany this so you can somewhat picture this. I will work on getting pictures up soon!

HOLA!

Tomorrow marks the one week mark in BA (Buenos Aires)! Que lindo! (How great) My mind is constantly in Spanish mode even after such a short period of time. Before I got here, I was told that a lot of sleep was going to be necessary because it is exhausting translating from spanish to english back into spanish. I will attest to this statement - it is truth my friends. Exhausted would be correct. However, I love it! I love the fact that I am actually getting to use Spanish on a daily basis and will one day be good at this language! This might be a good time to mention that my host mom, Inez, does not speak a lick of English. We communicate though and it is great! She tells me all the time to relax and it is not important if I don't understand.

Inez is precious! She is the cutest little thing. She is 72 so she is kind of like my argentine grandma. We live on a really busy street - 6 lanes or 8 if you count the area where cars park/ the crazy drivers here drive in anyway. Seriously, I was warned by Mrs. Uhlig that when you are riding in a car here you would cross your fingers and say ," Lord if this is my time.." and it is true. It is as if the big white lines in the street do not even exist. It cracks me up. I was in a taxi the other night and could not help but laugh and think of Mrs Uhlig. And I am not sure if this is true but so far I have not seen a speed limit sign...

Continuing on the subject of cultural differences, here is a list of the things I have noticed so far:

• They love bread. Bread is a staple at every meal. I swear I do not understand how they are all so small because they eat bread like it was going out of style. Although I would not be able to pass up the bread either when you pass by a bakery in the morning. Smells wonderful. One look in the window of the bakery and you want in.
• Currently it is spring which means shorts in America. Not here. They are still rocking the boots and coats thinking it is cold.
• O I like this one - Bidets. I had never seen one before so when I had my first tour of the house I asked Inez what it was. Our apartment is pretty small mind you - think New York - so why you would waste space with such an object I do not know. I probably don't want to know.
• Turkey is an unknown meat here. There is no such thing. Ham, ham, ham, steak, salami.
• Dog poop=EVERYWHERE. If you dream of being a professional dog walker, this is the place for you! Seriously I have seen so many! As many as 10 dogs at once. I saw a man this morning with a belt on for dog leashes. Priceless. I thought that only existed in the movies.
• On the outsides of the windows there are these cool dark wooden blinds. From the street it gives a really neat look.
• Garages are super neat! Most everyone lives in a apartment here. There is one garage door and a pole with a green and red light on it. When the light turns red, a loud beeping sound warns pedestrians to stop on the sidewalk because a car is about to come out. All the cars for that apartment are kept underground. They just go right over the sidewalk and onto the street.
• It is very italian based. Pizza, ravioli, lasagna, gnocchi, etc. Also, green olives seem to be big. Every slice of pizza has a giant green olive in the middle of it... The spanish they use here, Castillano, has a lot of Italian influences. Chau, buenisimo, etc.
• Everything takes a lot longer here. Lines exist but not everywhere. And where there is a line, it usually moves really slow. Earlier this week when we were trying to set up our phone plans, we went into the same store three days in a row, twice a day for at least an hour and half each time.
• Do not, I repeat, DO NOT cross the street when the pedestrian sign says stop! Buses and cars will literally run you down. There is no concept here of pedestrians having the right of way. They do not stop.
• When I went into the supermercado (super market) I had to get my backpack zip tied while I was shopping. I might add I forgot to take out my wallet before hand... dummy.

Ahh there is so much I don't even know what else. Plus this post has already become pretty long. We have all year though right? haha. right.

This week has really just been a week of me settling in. I started classes on Tuesday and it is going well. (Did you know public universities are free here?! But hard to get into.) My stint team came on Wednesday. They are wonderful! Looking forward to spending the year with them. There are so many things I could go into but I will spare you from reading a novel. I had been trying to blog all week but was having issues logging on. Now that it finally worked I am unleashing the thoughts I had been storing up.

Tune in next week! This could get interesting my friends! As they say here - Chau! (Cha-ow)

Fish and Fry. Done.