Something "Super Awesome"

I think many of you may have read my Facebook post and were wondering what was happening. Well this blog right here will tell you what it was about! But, let me tell you it was something “Super Awesome” and a great experience for me!

So for some background information before I get to the cool part: In Paraguay we are only allowed to stay three months with our visa. So every three months we cross the border into Argentina and get the stamp saying we left the country and then we return and get the stamp saying we can stay another 3 months. This past weekend was the weekend we headed to Argentina to be “renewed” for another 3 months in Paraguay. During this trip we had the opportunity to visit a Nazarene Church in Formosa, Argentina, present some workshops, and get to know the church there.

But in the weeks leading up to the trip there was some unrest within the Paraguayan Government. According to news reports the President of Paraguay was involved or tied to some land seizure and violence that caused the death of 17 people. Because of this the lower House voted to impeach him. The higher House also voted to impeach a day later, which meant the Vice President was sworn in as President. This caused a lot of unrest and there became a possibility that they would shut down the borders in and out of the country. Going to Argentina at this time was necessary, but I was worried we would not be let back into Paraguay.

We made it across the border and into Formosa, Argentina and the Pastor of the Church met us at the bus stop. We went on to the church to get ready for the service we were going to have that night. During the service we did a drama about how we don’t always answer God's call because life gets in the way and it was a really good illustration to go along with Felipe's message that night. It has been a little bit of time since I have been able to be part of a message that really spoke to me or that applied to my life at that exact moment when something is happening - but this message was one that did. In his message Felipe was sharing about Moses going to the burning bush and having to take of his shoes. I think I have only ever though of this moment as a time where Moses had to humble himself before God but Felipe used it as a way to say there are barriers – in this case the shoes - that keep us from doing God's work. This made me really think because even though I am doing God's work there are still things that scare me or I do not want to do. The service ended really late that night so we went back to the place we were staying.

The next morning we had some workshops at the church. Juliano gave the first workshop and one of the things he talked about was how we need to be praying for the people in the church before they even come and before we ever make contact with them. That night Pastor Felix gave the message and even though it was one that I have heard before I got more out of it then I did before. I have had many things that distract me while I have been here in Paraguay. Some of it is temptation and some of it is emotional stuff. But one thing Pastor said that really stuck with me and it may sound obvious to you all but it is to keep your eyes on Christ. When I let myself get distracted I lose the power I have from focusing on him. It was something that just finally clicked I guess.

After service we went to a party and ended up getting back to the house we were staying very late so I went straight to bed. I had been sleeping when I heard Camila say that Paty needed to pray. I thought it was a joke, not the praying part, just the way she said it so I was going to ask Paty to keep it down a little bit. But at that exact moment Paty was saying I do not know why I am praying for Paraguay but there is a need. When she finished, we all felt like we needed to pray more and Camilia said she had a vision or something like that. We went to the guy’s room and Camilia shared with us the vision. She said she saw a bunch of dead people outside of the Office of the President with dirt and bulldozers over the area. We prayed with her and that this vision of death would be lifted. We prayed for many other things having to do with the people of Paraguay and the issues it is facing. This moment was something awesome to be connected in prayer for Paraguay, which has become my country. At that moment I posted my Facebook status because I felt that more prayer then just our group was needed.

It is cool to see how God was working in the midst of all the turmoil in my life as well as the political turmoil. One of the things we have been focusing on this past week was Prayer and how important it is. We had been having 5am prayer this past week. I had to prepare a devotional this week for our team but instead of that I felt we needed to pray as a group. Cole and Kelly mentioned the need to pray and it came up in Juliano's workshop. I feel like all the focus on prayer this last week lead up to the intense prayer session we had on Saturday night. Something I have really needed lately from God is “answers.” I have been asking God to speak to me and show me what He has in store. I feel like God used this time in Argentina to really speak to me. Lots of stuff has happened to the team and I in Paraguay and all of it has been a huge wave of oppression. God used the events of the past week, the fear, the messages, the prayers, and the getting away from routine to help me see how much I have let the Satan’s  attacks steal my effectivesness.

I am so happy now that I had the opportunity to go to Argentina and now that I am back in Paraguay I am ready to go exactly where God is leading me! I do not think my blog post, however detailed it may be, can truly express how I am feeling right now and how much God worked in the two days I was in Argentina. I am so thankful for the God we have that gives us exactly what we need in exactly the right time.

As I finish this blog post I ask that you keep Paraguay in Prayer. What is happening here has not affected our work yet but if it continues it will become a problem. Paraguay needs help and I know God has something planned to get Paraguay through this time. People are going to come to know the Lord through this but to get to that point it will be rough. So pray for the people of Paraguay, pray for our protection, and pray for the government of Paraguay.