August ’12 Highlights (Photo Blog)

    Personally for me it's been SO good to be home! I loved my time in the States last month, but I always miss Candelaira terribly when I'm away. This was my longest time Stateside and my heart was so anxious to return home. Since returning, the Lord has been revealing to my heart why I love my life here so much. You can read more about it in My Journey: A Heart FULLY Alive.
   I have loved being back with my New Song family and among my Nica loves (pictured left having sweet reunion with Esmeralda and Grethel, two of my Sunday school loves). I have loved being back in this community that I adore, visiting in homes, seeing the Lord move among the people here, worshipping together, and calling one another to MORE in Christ. There is nowhere else I'd rather be!

    The Lord has just been pouring out His blessings here at New Song. One of the biggest ways that has been happening is in sending more long-term staff to work with us. This is a HUGE answer to prayer! For so long we have been understaffed and just spread too thin. Over the last couple of months the Lord has sent Carol, Tim, and Brandon here all for six months, a year or indefinitely. We have these three wonderful new long-term staff and at least two more on the way in the next few months. It's such a blessing from the Lord! (Our New Song family minus Diego, Tommy, Linda, Whit, and Carol- pictured right).

    The Lord has been moving so much in the lives of my loves Jasmina and Katalin. (If you haven't read When Life is Hard… There is Hope Part 4, please do so now). Jasmina has officially ended her abusive relationship. Her boyfriend has even left Candelaria to go back to the village where his family lives. This means that Jasmina and Katalin are no longer facing constant threats of violence. They seem so much happier and full of life! But there is still a long way to go. Jasmina is now looking for a job so that she will be able to provide for Katalin as a single mom. Right now they are really struggling just to meet their basic needs. Please continue to pray for these beautiful ladies and that they will walk in the FULL redemption that the Lord wants to bring to their lives.

   I love spending my afternoons playing with the precious kiddos in my neighborhood. Makeyling, Julissa, Dalila, and Victor come by almost every day yelling, "Lisa! Lisa! Come play with us." (Playing with Victor- pictured right). I love chasing them around the church property and then collapsing onto the stage in a fit of laughter and hugs. They bring so much joy to my life!! I love just letting them know that they are loved by me and my the Lord. I'm so thankful to get so spend my life loving precious kiddos like this. I can't imagine doing anything else! 

   Lindsay has been spending a lot of time over the past couple of months with the Vega family. She has been pouring into them personally and studying the Word with several of the women in the house. Her heart for them is so beautiful! She decided to have a worship session at their home one afternoon and invited the entire family and our staff (worship at the Vega house pictured left). It was a beautiful time of just seeking the Lord together and praying for the movement of His Spirit within this precious family. Prayer changes things and I believe that the Lord will move in His healing power in the lives of this family as a result of this time of pursuing His heart. Pray for the Lord to bring the fullness of HIS redemption!

    During rainy season Rosita and I always have our moments of mud hugs where she hugs me, tackles me and throws me into giant mud puddles. I know that this isn't everyone's idea of a good time, but it's just a part of our relationship. She shows love through bromas (practical jokes) and I show her my love for her by letting her do these things to me. It works for us. She feels loved and so do I. Well one Sunday afternoon it wasn't just Rosita and I, but an entire group of youth and nearly all of our New Song staff who got in on the fun (Pictured right- me getting thrown into the mud; don't worry everyone got their own turn). It was such a hilarious afternoon! My life completely cracks me up some days!! You gotta just embrace the messiness and receive these crazy acts of friendship. Who would have ever guessed that mud fights and practical jokes could become a ministry of their own? 

    Several of our youth girls have really been facing a lot of discouragement recently. It's a theme that I heard over and over again. Lindsay, Cadence, Carol, and I got together to discuss what we could do to really address the issue. We decided to have a day of encouragement for all of the youth girls. It was such an incredible morning!! We started our day with an intense team building exercise called "Plane Crash" that really pushed the girls to work together in unity ("Plane Crash" team builder pictured left). This led into a really open discussion about how we can grow in our support and encouragement of one another. The girls worked together to write a covenant of practical steps to becoming the unified community of love and trust that we all desire. Most of the girls signed the covenant committing to becoming this community for one another, praying for one another, and encouraging one another in real ways. We also worshipped together (time of worship- pictured right) allowing the Lord to speak to our individual hearts, break down the walls that separate us, and begin to ask Him to speak to us on behalf of our sisters. Then we spent some time writing words of life and speaking truth over one another. It was such an incredible time of community building! I believe that the Lord did real work in our hearts and that we are going to bear fruit of deeper relationships among these amazing young women!

    I have been so excited to see how the Lord is moving on Gato's heart this last month! I saw in him a couple months ago a real hunger to know more of the Lord's heart and Spirit. This month he has really begun to walk in those things. He wants more of the Lord. He wants to walk out his faith in practical ways. The guys working here at New Song have come alongside Gato and are discipling him showing him how to really walk as a man after God's heart. Gato has begun to go visiiting in the community and praying for people (visiting in one of the widow's homes- pictured left). One afternoon he was even able to see the Holy Spirit move through him and his prayers in order to bring healing (read the full story through Brandon's blog). Gato was so thrilled to see the Lord moving through HIM. I know that this moment caused his faith to really grow! Please continue to pray for Gato and the other young men in our church as they are being discipled and desiring more of the Lord. This is such a HUGE answer to prayer!! I have been praying for over two years for the the Lord to send more men to New Song to come alongside these guys and now it's happening and it fills my heart with such joy!

Bonus photos: I want to give a shout-out to our amazing summer staff. I love you guys so much!!! We were so blessed to have Patrick, Cadence, and Lindsay working with us at New Song all summer. They are amazing men and women of God and also three of my personal favorites! I just really love them and their hearts both for the Lord and for this community. Each of them dove into ministry teaching, discipling, and building relationships with families in the community. They were all three incredible assets to our ministry and amazing friends to me personally. It's been hard saying goodbye to each of them this month, but I'm really excited for the plans that the Lord has for each of them that He has already placed it on Cadence's heart to come back long-term. She's returning to the States just to fundraise and return to Nica to work with New Song discipling our middle school girls and youth and teaching English classes.

Pictured left from top to bottom: Linds and Cadence joking with Gema and Rosita, homevisits with Cadence and Patrick, Linds and me, Patrick teaching massage classes, and Cadence with her middle school discipleship group.
Pictured right top: Cadence and me
Pictured right bottom: Patrick and me