Outreach

The question of the week is outreach.  Where are you going on outreach.  Well I've known for a week where I'm going but we weren't supposed to tell anyone until the full teams were announced so now here we go.  Last week Wednesday we were given our two outreach locatoins.  Then we were pretty much given an hour to ask God and have him speak to us where we were supposed to go.  Our options were Mexico City and South Africa.  Mexico City didn't surprise me too much especially since i guess Mexico City is going to be a city of focus for all of YWAM next year and YWAM Mazatlan has ambitions to plant a base there as well since there is currently no YWAM base in Mexico City despite it being teh largest or 2nd largest city in the world.  (it and tokyo keep switchin)  South Africa meanwhile threw me off.  I was expecting Africa, Chris our DTS leader had said a couple things about Egypt and i know they go to Morocco and I was like AFrica that'd be awesome its one continant besides austrailia i haven't been to sounds cool and i was kinda expecting Africa before they announced hte locations and was somewhat leaning that way.  then they said South Africa and i was like what.  Not expecting that. 

Anyway they sent us off wiht a piece of paper.  One hour.  Kinda intimidating.  But since we were learning about the voice of God and hearing the voice of God i was alright i got one hour that means God knows that and is going to speak to me in that hour.  Get excited.  For a lot of people they said it was hard to get to that place of neutrality between the two locations but for me I felt like I really wanted to go to both places.  I really want to go to Africa and while i feel the urge to go to like a more northern country Africa is Africa and it'd be freaken awesome.  Meanwhile I feel pulled toward Mexico and the Mexican culture and i want to learn spanish more etc...So was I like i really want to go to both but to be honest my desire probably was South Africa just because it'd actually be going somewhere a lot different.  Mexico City is pretty close to Mazatlan.

I went out to the beach sat down by the tide pools listening to the waves lookin out over the city.  God speak, just tell it to me.  Make it easy give me a vision give me a verse blah blah blah.  The biggest thing I learned through this process is that God speaks to us.  But who are we to tell Him how to speak, yes sometimes we can ask for a dream and he'll give us one or we'll be like if you really want this have this person come up to me and say this and it will happen.  But overall  we have to trust God to speak and we have to be attentive because we aren't always sure how He's going to do it.  Going on, I'm sittin there just lookin out over the ocean and the city.  Kinda going through logic where I want to go and why and what would be cool about each one.  And finally I'm like God which one Mexico City or South Africa and first thing that popped into my head was Mexico City.  That you God?  So again i tried to tell Him how to speak to me give me 3 obvious confirmations blah blah blah.  And he really didn't.  A lot of poeple get spoke to through the bible like God will turn the pages of their Bible with the wind and stuff or God will put a refereence in their head and it will fit perfectly so I'm like God give me a verse.  So i tried forcing the issue and trying to come up with a verse.  God didn't want to give me a verse. 

So I'm going through all this and slowly God is just revealing to me why Mexico City, my heart for Latin America, my heart for cities, he gave me an image/vision of buildings and of me tlkaing on the corner of a busy street to some poeple.  So He's showin me these things and reminding me my desire to learn Spanish etc...but I'm not really feeling to sure about this but my mind didn't really think about South Africa at all.  So then God was like circle it and go.  I was like what I dont feel like I've got any confirmations no cool vision (the images were kinda vauge and im gonna say lame) no verse etc...so i got up and went to turn in my piece of paper to Chris. 

As I walked back to teh base I was just like God if this is the right decision give me supernatural peace about it.  I went and handed it to Chris and since then the only time I've questioned my decision at all is one day for about 5 minutes but other than that I've just felt amazing peace.  That night I asked for a dream to confirm my decision.  didn't get it.  God didn't want to speak to me through a dream or a verse or blah blah blah.  He wanted to speak to me through peace.  I'm usually terrible about decisions and stuff like this and I've never felt this much peace about something not even about coming to Mazatlan.

What I pretty much want to say through all this very choppy writing haha.  Is that God WILL speak to you.  He won't leave ya hanging He will show you where to go what to do etc...But its not always gonna come the way you want it.  Sometinmes it will, my friend Caleb asked for a dream for his direction and he got one.  Awesome.  Didn't happen to me.  God spoke to me through peace after making hte decision.  I had to step out in faith with the decision first and then He spoke to me and told me it was right through peace.  (He's also shown me how if i had gone to South Africa it would have been on impure intentions etc...also apprently theres prophetic words about reivial in Mexico in 2010 so heckz yea)  Therefore...for my outreach, I'm going to Mexico City from December 26/27 to about February 5ish and then we have Carnaval outreach here for 2-3 weeks with our whole team which is pretty much mardi gra in Mazatlan, gonnna be intense i hear its a lot of sleepless nights with very little sleep days.  then our whole team will do somethings around mexico and probably build a house through our homes of hope ministry.  God has spoken I am officially a Mexican, I am a Mazatlecan and at least until March...VIVA MEXICO!!!!!!