Prayer Requests for this Season

Please pray, as I mentioned in my last post, that I will be shaped into Christ's likeness and that I will live a life worthy of imitation.  That those I disciple will also look like Christ more and more!

Please also pray that I would grow in wisdom and knowledge as I am seeking to work in this new role with excellence.  May I balance my time with the North American team, with my Mexican friends, family, church, and other opportunities for ministry.  Please pray for me, too, as I am seeking to continually challenge myself to learn and grow.  Some areas that I want to grow in are counseling (I want to get further training and certification in this), missional theology, spiritual disciplines, leadership, and Mexican history and culture in general ... to name just a few things!

Please also pray for me as I will be going with a team of people to the state of Oaxaca at the end of October to participate in a missions fair.  I am so excited for this chance to visit a state I have never been to, but even more excited to help promote the Great Commission and to strengthen one of the churches there for greater ministry around the world!

Please pray for our team as they are settling into their ministry roles.  May it not be too overwhelming of a time for them as they are adjusting to so many new things.  Also, as the fall schedule is high on training, may they not be discouraged, if they feel that they are not spending enough time involved in ministry initially.

Thanksgiving:

I just want to say, too, that I am so thankful for all of you!  Even as I was praying through your prayer requests, my heart was so warmed as I thought of each one of you!  I am so blessed by the ways that God is working in your lives, even the times where you are feeling so discouraged and oppressed.  I prayed frequently that God would give many of you joy and a deep sense of His presence in the midst of your deepest heartaches (or physical aches, which can also be so draining and discouraging!!).  I am blessed beyond measure that the Lord has brought you into my life, and I will continue to lift up these needs as they are on my heart and mind.

I am also just so thankful for God's constant presence and comfort!  It is amazing to me how He always draws me close to Him even when I wasn't seeking Him.  This is what I believe about salvation -- that God loved us and called us when we were still sinners -- but I also thank Him so much that He still operates this way!  Even now that we are a part of His family, He still comes and calls to us even when we are distracted and following our own paths.  He is SO good!

Another opportunity that I am so excited about and thankful for is that today and tomorrow (Friday and Saturday) I will be attending my first Ligonier Conference ... but in Mexico City!  :-D  It is so funny to me that this ministry started just about an hour away from my home in Pittsburgh, but I needed to come to Mexico to attend a conference with them for the first time.   This should be a great time of learning and being encouraged alongside many other Mexican believers, some of whom I already know and love, and many of whom I have never met before!  I am so pumped!

Imitate Me As I Imitate Christ

"Be imitators of me as I imitate Christ"  1 Cor. 11:1

"Therefore, I urge you to imitate me."  1 Cor. 4:16

"Join one another in following my example, brothers, and carefully observe those who live according to the pattern that we set for you."  Phil. 3:17

"Whatever you have learned and received and heard from me, and seen in me, put these things into practice.  And the God of peace will be with you."  Phil. 4:9

Though these verses all refer to the Apostle Paul, I think that they are a good indicator for us that much of the Christian life -- and especially discipleship! -- implies setting an earthly example for others to follow.

I am very mindful of this as I set into this first Avance "YearOut" cycle as the program coordinator.  One of the main components of my role is to set an example for the young adults who are coming to learn about missions.  I have a full schedule of training, visiting host families, giving talks, and even one-on-one coaching times.  However, one of my biggest impacts will be how well I live my life as a Christ-follower in Mexico.  I want to be able to turn to my team and say, along with the Apostle Paul, "Here is an example that you can follow.  Live like I do." 

Wow.  That is scary to even type!  I know my own short-comings, and it would be so much easier to say, "Do as I say, not as I do." However, that is not the model that we have in Scripture.  I want to live my life in such a way that other, younger believers can be encouraged by my testimony and challenged to follow the Lord even deeper.  If you are reading this blog post, I would ask you to take a moment right now to pray for me that I would be able to live in this way.  


Note:  I have been so grateful for my church and team down here, who are tremendous helps in my spiritual growth!  I have also been more disciplined in spending time with the Lord in prayer and Scripture-reading daily.  I know that my life will only bear good fruit as I am connected to the True Vine (John 15).