God's plan not mine

“For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future.” ~ Jeremiah 29:11

I have really taken this verse to heart after God called me to the mission field. I was seventeen years old when He called me to mission work, but I did not want to listen. I thought I had my own plans for my life, but God said no you are going to do what I want you to do. So at age nineteen, I listened to what God was saying. He wanted me to do mission work in a different country. I thought it was Africa, but He was really calling me to Guatemala. When God called me to Guatemala, it was if He spoke it to me. It was as clear as daylight. I am not sure of what He wants me to do in Guatemala, but I know He will show me in His perfect timing. Until then, I will learn Spanish, pray for His plans for me in Guatemala and do the mission work He is calling me now to do.
~ Brittney

It all depends on perspective...

As I sit here in Guatemala sifting through the many thoughts in my brain that I want to type up for this blog, Proverbs 27:1 is what God has laid on my heart. It says, “Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring.” He has been hammering this into my mind and my heart and teaching it to me through things that have taken place this summer. God has impressed upon me that I really am not guaranteed tomorrow! Therefore, I need to be living every moment pouring myself out, serving Him for His glory. I need to be making most of the time by making Him known, like Paul who “decided to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified”. I need to jump at every opportunity He gives me to share the Gospel with those around me. Evangelism is the one thing you can’t do in heaven! He has given me many opportunities, and I have told Him “no” or “not now” far too many times. It is time to say “yes, Lord!” It is time to put aside the pride that prevents us from speaking when we most need to, the pride that causes us to do things for our own glory and not for the glory of Him who made and redeemed us. Instead, let us embrace perspective which puts everything in its rightful place, the perspective which shows us that this life is not to be wasted, but used to serve our Lord and share Jesus who is mighty to save, the perspective which enables us to use our time wisely. May it clear our minds of the things of this world and focus us on eternal things – on kingdom work! We need to lose our pride and win perspective.
-Morgan

The Summer Thus Far...

The summer thus far…

As we pack and prepare to leave for another two weeks in Guatemala, my mind reminisces about the summer thus far. The past few weeks have been a roller coaster of emotions. My heart has rejoiced over seeing God move in numerous ways, my patience has been tested, my heart has grown close to team members and children in both New Mexico and Guatemala. Most of all, I’ve grown more and more thankful for everything Christ has given me that I do not deserve. Hearing about the poverty in Guatemala was one thing for me, but then seeing it with my own eyes has put a whole new perspective on things. Hearing about the wild fires here in America was one thing, but then hearing from two ladies in Red Hill (a community we did VBS at in New Mexico) about the smoke was another story. They said just the week before we got there they could not even go outside because the smoke was so heavy they couldn’t breathe! This summer has made me so much more thankful for the small things. Even the time I spend with the Turners in between trips has been a learning experience that I am SO thankful for. Being an elementary education major and a girl who can’t wait to have children of her own someday, it’s been so awesome to see parents with Christ focused minds like theirs as they raise five children. They do such an incredible job! I don’t know that I’ve ever seen a family with such sincere love for Christ and each other.

We’ve kept pretty busy, often times only getting a few hours of sleep. We’ve shared many laughs (often deriving from the lack of sleep), and shared quite a few tears. We’ve seen God do only things He can do…we are doing some work, but His name is getting all the glory! I am so thankful that He has allowed me to be a part of the work He is doing this summer, because with or with us He is going to work. How awesome that He has given us the opportunity to join Him!!

As I pack my clothes and bags for Guatemala, I know that He is not done yet. I pray for hearts of the team members joining us the next two weeks. I pray that together, we work with our minds focused on the eternal picture. I pray that our hearts will be sensitive to listen to what God is doing in Guatemala. I pray that His spirit will guide us in all that we do, and that we remember our purpose for being there. I pray that hearts in Guatemala will be open to us and most importantly to the love and forgiveness of Christ. I pray that we remember that whether we are in Guatemala, the airport, or at home, that we are ALWAYS witnesses, reflecting Christ…..


“For those who live according to the flesh set their mind on things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their mind on things of the Spirit. For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.” –Romans 8:5-6


-Lindsey Clayton

We have our own plans...

As we drive through the desert during the two weeks we are in New Mexico, it’s not hard to see God’s beauty. Breath-taking rock formations, vibrant sunsets, and the smiles on the faces of the children all reflect God’s splendor. Even with the dust storms and harsh wind, God is there and He is at major work in the Navajo nation; He overcomes (and continually overcame) the small hindrances we faced while in New Mexico. On the night of arrival, we ate at a local restaurant named Earl’s. When our food was brought, Morgan prayed for us, and we ate. We conversed for a while, talking about the work to be done over the next two weeks, expectations, etc. Then, towards the end of our meal, our waitress brought us the check and asked if we were believers. We said yes, and she shared with us that she had been a believer for a little over a year now and that God had really pulled her out of some rough situations. She said that she saw us praying and that it really encouraged her to see other believers praying. What a great start to the trip! We are ALWAYS witnesses for Christ. Even when you’re just going to have some dinner and your mind may not be in “mission trip mode”…God is still at work around you! It doesn’t matter if you’re doing a VBS or not, if you’re on a mission trip or not, people are always watching…and God is always working somewhere. So, we must always be good examples of Jesus, because if she saw us, then others in the restaurant probably did too! As our two weeks continued, God taught me a lot about His provision and power over all situations. We may just be going for a drive to explore the city or going out to eat, but God has His purposes…so we must be sensitive to listen to His spirit and always be ready to share and to show the love of Christ.
-Lindsey Clayton (a.k.a. Rocky Top)

God has taught me so much while I was in New Mexico, but the one big thing that he taught me was how He can use my past to help others that are going through the same situations I went through or experienced. It all happened at a laundry mat. Every day a group of nine people would go to a laundry mat to share the gospel. We would walk in carrying a Bible and a little snack bag of laundry detergent. We just walked up to people in there and would start talking to them. On our last day at a laundry mat, there was a couple that walked up, but didn’t walk inside the building. I felt God telling me to walk over and talk to them, but we were about to leave. A lady on the trip, name Mikki, walked over there with me and we started talking to her. She told us about her son and her son’s father. The guy that she was with that day was not her son’s father. When this guy was standing next to her, she tried to act all cool and tested my faith to see if I really believed what I was speaking. It was hard, but God gave me the words to say. When her boyfriend walked off, she started speaking more about her life. She said that she was in and out of jail and did all kinds of drugs. She also said that she read the Bible while she was in jail. She asked her what she thought, but they were just words to her. This hit me hard because she was about my age, but it was as if I was standing in front of my birth mother and listening to her story. God used my past life to show her that God was love and that she needed Him. I could tell that she was hungry for Christ. This is a day that I will never forget. This young girl will always be on my heart and in my prayers.
-Brittney Cleveland (a.K.a Karate Kid)

It was a Tuesday morning in New Mexico, and the second time we had gone out as a group to a laundry mat. We all had our plans, our own ideas of how the visit should go, and were beginning to develop a set pattern of how the conversations should go so that we could share the Gospel with the people there. At least I did! But things were not to be so. At the first laundry mat we entered that day, the people were all closed doors. As hard as we tried, they simply were not open to conversation. My hopes and expectations for the day had been high considering how well the day before had gone, but things were not panning out that morning. That is, they weren’t until a little girl named Shelby walked in carrying a tray of jewelry to sell. She came up to me and a couple other ladies with our group, and we admired the various earrings, necklaces, and bracelets she had to offer, but did not have money to buy them. Instead we offered her something – a Bible with a tract tucked into the pages.. We told her we were with First Indian Baptist Church, and in response Shelby quickly said, “We don’t have enough money to go to church. We live in a hotel, and my dad is working so that we can buy a house. That’s why I’m selling jewelry – to help my family raise money.” We explained to her that the church didn’t want her money! That they wanted to share Jesus with her and what He has done! After talking to her a little more, she walked off to try to sell jewelry to the other people in the laundry mat, and we wandered outside to leave for the next stop. As we were climbing into the van, one of the ladies suggested we give Shelby a bag of toys that we had brought to hand out and gave one to me to chase her down with. By the time I made it over to her, she had already gotten into the car with her mom, so I bent over to hand it through the window. I could tell that Shelby was telling her mom what we had said. She smiled so big when I handed her the toys, and her mom began asking questions about the church. She told me she had been looking for a church, but hadn’t found one yet. I made sure she had all the information she needed about the church, and I told her that God had us meet that day for a reason and encouraged her to come to the church that Sunday so that they could just share and pour into her about what Jesus has done. You could tell God was working in the life of that mother. And I realized that they were the reason we were at that laundry mat that Tuesday morning. God’s sovereignty was displayed. His purpose was revealed. Though I felt rejected by the other people in the laundry mat, it was evident that God was not yet working in their lives. God was working in that woman’s life! He sent a group of 9 people to ensure she heard from Him! God showed me how He truly is working all around us, and it is often not in the way we expect!
-Morgan Eberts (a.k.a Una Sabia)


“The heart of man plans his way, but the LORD establishes his steps.” Proverbs 16:9

Snapshots from Guatemala....

As we walk away from a trip, there are always snapshots that stick with us. They flash through our memories often and flood our soul with emotions. We asked our interns to share a couple of those pictures with us from this past trip to Guatemala. Here they are:

We visited a family in Lantana. The father of the house was going through the same thing that Greg Brown went through. He was into alcohol. His wife was a Christian and she wanted to share Christ's love with him. He said that he believed in God but was a little confused about Jesus. I guess what really got me was when we prayed with the family. The daughter that was about my age wrapped her arms around me and cried on my shoulder. I started crying also. God just gave me the understanding of what they were going through. After we prayed, the preacher gave the father his Bible and I felt peace in the house. The mother and daughter kept thanking me for listening to them. Tears were pouring from my face.

We begin each VBS lesson following along and doing fun songs with the children led by the members of New Jerusalem church. Even though the songs are in Spanish, it is so fun to dance and sing these songs with the children. After we finish the songs, someone from the church explains to the children why we are here, and then begins playing a soft song in the background...the only familiar word is "hallelujah"....as the song begins to play, the team breaks up and finds a group of children to pray with. Words can not describe how God seems to work through this song with every group of children. Today, I prayed with a group of three girls and one boy (all pre-teen looking). Once the song was over, I gave them a big group hug and the girls began to walk away. As I began to stand up, I saw the boy pull his shirt over his face..he was crying and wiping away his tears. Once I realized this, I gave the boy another big hug, and we just sat there for a minute hugging and then wiping away tears. Seeing a man cry ALWAYS gets to me....but seeing a preteen boy like this crying..not caring that older boys were around..not caring about how it made him look..not caring about anything, really tore my heart out. I don't know what this boy is going through at school or at home, but I can't imagine it was anything good. However, I know that no matter where you go, a hug is a hug. A prayer is a prayer. No matter what language you speak. To know this for me was one thing, but then to see God at work in this time and to use something as simple as a hug was amazing.

Lord, help us to never forget these images. May they burn into our memories so that we live each moment for your glory alone. Show us how to live and follow You in a way that gives you all the glory, honor and praise!

Blessings & Burdens

As we walked the road with Pastor Morales yesterday we heard his heart for the people and vision for the village mission church. After a time of prayer on the side of the road, we ventured up the hill to visit a couple of families he knew. The blessing of this amazing man of God overwhelms me every trip! We were blessed to watch his heart love on children in tough situations with the most authentic expression of Christlike compassion. His example is such a wonderful picture of the Father's heart and the Savior's hands!

The burden of the day rushed into my heart as I played with a group of boys in the street. Rich Stewart and I were being schooled in ball handling skills by some young boys in the street in Lantana, when I realized how close we were to the road we had just walked. The burden of Pastor Morales' heart came rushing over me... The mission church in Lantana needs a permanent location in the village. Earlier we had paused on the road to pray for a piece of land to build a church and continue reaching the community. As I stood in the street I saw just how perfectly positioned this piece of land is for the mission.

With every blessing here in relationship we build with the local church and the families who are building the Kingdom here, come burdens for more people! Burdens to reach more. Burdens to give more. Burdens to be more of the body! Will you join us as we take up this burden in prayer alongside the local church for land? Will you pray with us for favor with the owner and his willingness to sell a piece of choice land to the mission! The blessings far exceed the burdens when we walk this journey together!

In His Grip,
JT

Prayer Always Changes Things

For those of you following the ministry blog, I apologize for the delay in an update. I will try to be more regular with posts and updates in the days and weeks to come.

Today we experienced the power of prayer in a powerful way. Our day yesterday was tough as the children seemed out of control and not ready to listen. As we shared with the leadership at Jerusalen Church about how the day went we were reminded that we had not gathered to pray before the children joined us. This was a humbling moment for us all! We were so eager to get busy working we had overlooked a basic step of obedience.

As we gathered together today in the sanctuary before any children arrived, prayers were lifted and the Father granted our team focused hearts. All morning the team experienced group after group of children listening and learning. Praying over the children and again praying before the afternoon sessions brought more of the same. The children listened, learned and responded today in an amazing way!

Thank you to our faith family here in Guatemala for helping us refocus and recenter our obedience! We look forward to one more morning tomorrow with children at Jerusalen Church and then on to Lantana to visit and share in homes. We will carry food bags and the Gospel tomorrow as we walk with the young Lantana church into their community. Pray with us as we seek His will for our remaining time here in Guatemala. Pray for open hearts and boldness to come not in the absence of fear rather boldness to come in the presence of obedience!

In His Grip,
JT