Independence to Dependence: More of Latin America..

Last picture of the original deliverance girls- with rubber chicken!

Quito reminds me of Portland with all it's quirky little coffee shops, and funky old buildings.

Debrief in Quito Rocked everyone's world. I didn't realize how much I had grown until the end of Ecuador. God revealed to me that I am a temptress and to step out of that spirit and into one of Holiness as a woman of virtue and honor. He's giving me vision of the woman he wants me to be, and she ROARS. it is so great being around Rozy, Betania and Linds. then spirit speaks so clearly through them. He's teaching me to submit, to lay down my rights, because they are his, and to lift up and empower my husband when I am married. We were created to be helpers as women, and there is no shame in that, it takes great strength to follow and encourage and still be confident in the voice God has given us. In Quito he told me yet again, REST- be still. Our team changed this month. Jeremias was asked to lead team Kaleo and Katie went with him. Therefore Rosa Cruz and Hailey Crump joined team Deliverance. It was so cool to see Jeremias released as a leader, and have him cry and step into vulnerability from that moment on. I feel like a proud mama letting her baby duck go.. lol. I have seen Jeremias go from being a loner to loving community, and introvert to a verbal processor. Katie has been my sister these past 2 months, letting me climb into her bed for a nap and prayer at any moment. I've seen her find her confidence, voice, and hunger for the supernatural. I'm excited for how God is going to use them in kaleo and to see how the girls shake our team up!

Peru we worked with the same Christian non profit as in ecuador, Inca Link. We are in the neighborhood Porvenir in Trujillo, Peru working with Pastor Adrian. We will be living in an unfinished children's home within a compound with team HIS, and adding team GUF at the end of the month. We are super close to the beach, which is beautiful and Rosa and I finally got to surf!! The beginning of this month i was fasting from sweets, and God spoke to me that he is even in the little things. That when we fast in the physical we are training ourselves for battles in the spiritual. The same discipline, and self control we get from God in fasting is one and the same that says no to temptation and leans on the Lord for wisdom and strength when we are weak.

This month is all about schedules. Our days start at 7 am for worship and end around 6 pm. We are either going door to door to pray with people and evangelize, or working making bricks with Jose and painting the buildings on the property. Making bricks is hard work, we are in a desert here, and it gets HOT! First we dig up the dirt/clay, add water and then stomp in the mud like we are stomping grapes- we made a brick making workout video, and music video. The mud is then scooped up into what we like to call "making a baby" and plopped into the mold, smoothed and then carried over to the rows to flip and dry..we must have made at least a thousand bricks. We are also in a drought, it is almost rainy season. Having several days without water is no longer a shock, and getting diarrhea, because we're drinking the sink water that's been "filtered" is no longer a surprise. This month I learned what it was like to buy groceries and cook for 21 people. I came to treasure McCafe's coffee, and alone time on the roof and working in the cornfields. The parables of sewing the harvest came alive walking thru the cornfields and watching them grow right in front of our eyes. God is teaching me that I am all about the harvest, but the gifts he has given me are for sewing, and planting too! I miss my grandparents a lot when I am in the cornfields, and day dream about being in Montana planting crops, and picking raspberries by the bucket full.

One of the most fun days was participating in the church olympic games. It was all the cell groups int he church competing against each other, and we were divided up between them. Erin, Denise and I were on team Adonai. Before the games began we had a pep rally at the church that contained chants, balloons, worship and lots of yelling! We then left the church and became an impromptu street parade, drums, carriages, banners and all. I competed in the 100 yd dash, and won- I was so out of breath! Also, tug o war- our team beasted. Kellen was pretty upset, because he was being competitive as usual and their team had yet to win anything. We also were taught a pretty useful game that you can play anywhere. All you need is a pair of flip flops and an empty pop bottle. Teams line up and are numbered on either side of a court, and when your number is called you run to the ends of the court grab a flip flop and try and slide it to knock down the empty bottle that is in the middle of the court. First to knock it down wins. It's a lot harder than it sounds. During we ate plenty of Peanut butter, maracqua, fresa, and coco popsicles. Half the group left before lunch, but I stayed behind and fell asleep in the grass. Finally lunch was ready and we ate with our teams and then played volleyball and soccer. Our team won the volleyball championship, and overall! It was pretty sweet.

We also got our first taste of the third world dump. Inca link has a daycare center for children who's parents work in the dump that we visit every week, so for an afternoon we switched from going to the daycare to going to the dump. We took apples, bananas, waters and a couple community cups and the hopes of getting to know and praying with the workers. I wasn't prepared for what I saw. The pictures don't do it justice at all to the smoke, the smell, and the spirit of hopelessness. Later on in the week a couple groups of 4 people came and worked from midnight to 6 am with the workers and experienced a little of their life firsthand. I can't imagine using those picks to dig through trash and find bottles and other valuables for a living, but this is all some of them know, and it's food on the table.

The last week in Trujillo Vanessa challenged me to consider a silence fast. I prayed about it and God was pretty clear that he was going to bless it. it's a strange feeling charading to everyone when I can speak, and pretty hilarious at moments too. I spent the morning with my headphones in listening to Jennifer Toledos' testimony and other talks, and God spoke so clearly to me. He asked me what are you willing to give up? Then he asked me to give up one of my best friends, Kel. What!! Why? I knew this was final confirmation he was going to be switched to another team. I had already received two prophetic dreams of him leaving our team at the end of the month. As much as it hurt to finally release him to the Lord, I knew I had to do it. There was more for us to learn and grow in a part. We were holding each other back more than pushing each other forward. God also changed how I saw my words. I realized moments I would have said unnecessary things, things just to be heard, and when my words and input was missing and needed. I felt like I could hear not just Him more clearly, but everyone around me. The power of Silence is pretty incredible.

(**This is kel- he's my brother and one of my best friends**)

Kel as K-fed. the first and best of his many hairstyles

This month he taught me to let go of control, to just BE.. that the most important thing is to just sit at his feet, and seek His face first above anything else. He taught me I have a lot of pride still rooted in my life, and that there is value in being slow to speak and quick to listen. There is no need to be competitive over worldly things, it just leads to jealousy, comparison and disunity. He taught me the importance of a childlike spirit, the value of running barefoot through a cornfield, and screaming at the top of my lungs off roof. He's taught me that being last really is being first, and that having "less" can be the biggest blessing in then world- because you make much of Jesus without distraction.

Our last day of making bricks we all had a massive mud fight. I was the first to fall in, and the first challenge was ganging up and taking down Hailey. Kellen, who is always clean, was the hardest to get, but he brought it on himself when he cheetah pounced me making me fall face first into the mud. I'll give him props, I didn't see it coming at all, but he got pretty slaughtered after that. Our fight ended with us covered from head to toe singing Jessica Simpson's song that says " I've never felt this beautiful.." remixed with mud fight lyrics. I had so much mud caked in my hair it wouldn't move. The morning had started off with people frustrated, and so we prayed for a day of Joy, and laughter, and God definitely provided.

Playing with the Kids at the daycare. Kickball was muy divertido!

Oh! and I got lice from the kids at the daycare this month, along with Becka and Rosa! What did that mean? An excuse to have a girl party with brownies, and ice cream, only down fall was the whole having to comb bugs out of my hair.

p.s I ate guinea pig this month! and Peru is my favorite food so far on the race: cerviche, ahi de gallina, and lomo saltada.