We keep staying up until ridiculous hours of the night... or morning, I suppose... so I'm EXHAUSTED. But! Praise reports are constant because God is ALWAYS good(: I'm totally digging the fam here; my brothers and sisters are phenomenal, couldn't have hand-picked a better crowd(: Our leaders are so stoked for us- they keep telling us they realize how significant we are; today, Jonny told us we're world-changers(: So encouraging. In other news, my actual earthly parents are swinging by tomorrow! I'm so stoked; I can't stop dancing around and reminding everyone(: My parents are the best. I told Sarang and Luke that if they bring my puppy, they're LITERALLY the greatest parents on Earth and NO ONE could top them. BUT, they're the best anyway, even if Ewi didn't come with them(:
I'm really happy, and God is changing SO much in me. I'm really really excited about our relationship(: God is wonderful.
Also, we're studying Spiritual Warfare right now, which is VITAL to living a Christian life. You can't live a Christian life without evangelism- the last thing Jesus said before He went up to Heaven was, "Go and make disciples of all nations"- and you can't have evangelism without spiritual warfare. Any time we start gaining ground for Christ, we're going to face opposition. In Ephesians where it talks about the full armor of God, it doesn't say that some of us will have to fight the Enemy or that we'll have to fight him sometimes... No. Spiritual warfare is a constant thing, which we are always participating in whether we realize it or not. This week has been my favorite week of teaching, I think. They've all been my favorite, though.
I'll write more later- it's time for small groups(:
Did worship time with Ashley and her friends on the porch of their hospitality suite. Wonderful praise. The people at YWAM are amazing people and I am so thankful for the change in my daughter. It is certainly Amazing Grace. Only God could make such a transformation. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteEven with the transformation, Laura and I are still struggling with the choice Ashley is making to pursue the missionary life. We want her to be successful and get a job and be educated and, and, and ...
So we fly back to Portland to go home when...
STOP, Enter God...
I believe we met an angel at the airport! Check this out – Usually a Skycap is a young burley guy that will push the wheel chair and carry your luggage. Not so when we landed in Portland. We were met by a woman who had to be in here late 50’s, early 60’s. I didn’t catch her name so we will call her Angel. Angel was pushing me in the wheelchair with Laura walking besides her. On the way to baggage claim, the two of them started a chatting. Laura was explaining that we just left California where we spent time with our “idealistic” daughter who has decided to stop pursuing a degree and follow the mission field! Angel quickly said, “Oh, that is so nice."
You can imagine the look that both Laura and I had on our faces when Angel quickly said, "Let me tell you, I am from Russia. It is communist country and there is no spirituality there. When I came to this country with my two sons, I made them focus on studies and had them go to church. It was good until they went to college. In college they got involved in sports and other school activities. Church was not part of their lives anymore nor did they ever go back. Today, they both have great jobs BUT NO Spirituality. I made such a BIG mistake. I should have made them focus on God. So you see, you should be proud of your daughter to make such a move.”
WOW! Confirmation from God with the one thing both Laura and I are struggling with: Ashley and her choices.
God stepped in and said, “I don’t want you to lose focus on what is important!” Reminds me of the Verizon guy saying, "Can you hear me now?"
When Angel dropped me off at the AirPark shuttle, we hugged and I could feel this weird energy. I know it sounds crazy, but I KNOW I hugged an angel last night. I just know it!!
"Can you hear me now?"
Akhil