Precious Hands

I've been on tour for about 14 days now.. and I have about 11 days left! The west coast is just beautiful! I've really been enjoying our bus rides lately.... everything outside of my window is brand new to me... its a beautiful thing! The Lord is just showing me more and more of Himself in everything!



























just some bullets from the last couple of performances:

* I met a little girl named Madelin, in Mesa, Arizona after the program... I asked her if I could pray for her and she said, "yes, please pray that Jesus will come into my heart.." so that night... she received Jesus as her Lord and Savior!

* 5 people received Jesus as their Lord and Savior in Camarillo, California!




While we were in Camarillo... on the Sunday night performance.. during the ministry time.. a little girl named Lily approached me during one of the songs and asked me to pray for her hand... I said, "absolutely!" and asked her what was wrong with it. She held out her hand to me and said, "I want to pray that my fingers will grow back.." I looked down and saw that she only had a THUMB on her left hand!!!!!!!! My eyes started to water! She smiled with faith! I asked her if she believed that Jesus could do this and she said, "Yes!" I grabbed her precious little hand and held it tightly....I prayed over Lily and thanked the Lord for His creation and creating her specifically in the way that He did for His glory! I prayed over her hand that the Lord would have his way...and then I began crying! I was touched tremendously by the Holy Spirit! Even though her fingers didn't grow back immediately (even though the Lord's power is FULLY capable of doing that and MORE!) she did not waver in her faith. She smiled so assured that God would heal her hand.

Juarez, Mexico

+ February 6, 2009

We crossed the border and now we're in Mexico.





























It's like another world.



















The orphanage we visited was precious though...



















It's a Christian school/orphanage that was founded by a Christian American... who visited Juarex and his heart broke for the children running around in the streets. The Lord gave him a vision to start this school and teach them about Jesus...and give them a place to live and eat.



















My heart can do nothing but relate to this man. I see these kids...



















..and my heart swells.


We are about to lead these children in creative worship...and I am so eager to witness the POWER of the Holy Spirit. O please come, Jesus. Meet these kids- satisfy their needs and emptiness. Heal them.


+


The creative worship was unlike any other than we have done before! We did a skit where we had a word on our shirt (in spanish) saying a sin that we have committed or a sin committed towards us - and we acted it out. Jonathan (being Jesus) removed our word and replaced it with HIS word! (the opposite! ie.. fear/peace)

I had ABUSE

At first, I wanted to pick 'insecurity' because that's definitely one that I can relate to...but somehow, I forgot to pick up the sheet (yeah, somehow...) and the last one to pick was 'Abuse'. I had no relation for this one. But, I taped it onto myself and began praying. Then once we start.....this terrible feeling came over me - my eyes started watering - and I felt mistreated in a way. It's like the Lord allowed me to just TASTE what abuse had felt like (ofcourse, I know, it will never compare to the harsh reaity of it) but it engulfed me. I began to realize that I wasn't really acting anymore...but that- just for that while - those feelings of abuse.....we more real to me than anything. I could barely handle it.

Then Jonathan took my word and replaced it with

VALUED

After the skit we had the kids go to the person with the word on them that they are thankful for from God....or one that He has done for them! And all of them went to words like

hope...love....peace....etc.

I was standing alone for awhile at first.. so I began to pray. But then I made eye contact with a girl......and she slowly walked over to me. I gave her a big hug - but I could feel that there wasn't one in return. The music began playing and each of us lead all the kids in some arm movements to a worship song in their language.

I did a lot of movements where I could hug myself and twist side to side... like I was hugging my dad or something. Then I heard sniffles. My heart broke. The Lord was moving and loving on her and it was so beautiful. I got to talk with her a little bit...between my little knowledge of spanish and charrades... and her little knowledge of english... we talked!

Our God is SO much bigger than a language barrier!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She had been a Christian for 5 years...she came to the orphanage at 14 or 15... she's 17 going on 18 now. Her favorite Bible verse is Ecclesiastes 3:1-8. Its just her and her mom living at home - dad left 2 years ago. She loves to sing and dance. I really had a heart for

Anna..

God is so good to me to let me get to talk to her - pray for her!

After creative worsihp we hung out with the kids and played soccer with them :o)

I got to know a 9 year old boy,

Tia..


























He was so much fun! He played around with my camera a bit.. and took some pretty good shots!!!

And then I met..

Karen (ko-ren)


















She's deaf but you wouldn't know it.... she is the ULTIMATE sneaky tickle monster!



















She hung around me most of the time.. wanting to take pictures with me and sneaking up on me and surprising me with her amazing tickeling skills. ;o) It was so precious.

She even wrote her name on the inside of my arm before I left. I was overwhelmed. She didn't want me to forget her (I won't)






















"My people, I have put my praise on your lips, bring my praise into
every situation of your lives and I will show you the power of my
praise," says the Lord! "My people, turn away from evil, come to me.
Be in the world but not of it, honour my Son and I will give you
peace and contentment," says the Lord! "Even should a woman
forget the child she bore, I will not forget you. Your name is
written on the palm of my hand," says the Lord! "Give me your
sick and I will heal them, your worries, and I will dispel them, your
burdens and I will carry them, my people. I want to set you free,"
says the Lord.

Inner Transformation!

A Radical Inner Transformation
By the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain...
(1 Corinthians 15:10)

If you believe that you are part light and part darkness, part saint and part sinner, you will live in a very mediocre manner with little to distinguish you from the non-Christian. You may confess your proneness to sin and strive to do better, but you will live a continually defeated life because you perceive yourself to be only a sinner saved by grace who is hanging on until the rapture. Satan knows he can do nothing about who you really are, but if he can get you to believe you are no different from the natural person, then you will behave no differently from the natural person.Why does this profile describe so many Christians? Because we are ignorant of our true identity in Christ.

God's work of atonement in changing sinners to saints is His greatest accomplishment on earth. The inner change, justification, is effected at the moment of salvation. The outer change in the believer's daily walk, sanctification, continues throughout life. But the progressive work of sanctification is only fully effective when the radical, inner transformation of justification is realized and appropriated by faith.

"But didn't I read somewhere that Paul referred to himself as the chief of sinners?" you may wonder. Yes, but he was referring to his nature before his conversion to Christ
(1 Timothy 1:12-16).

He made a similar statement of self-depreciation in 1 Corinthians 15:9, but continued by saying: "But by the grace of God I am what I am, and His grace toward me did not prove vain"
(verse 10)

Paul knew that who he was before Christ and who he became in Christ were two separate identities.If you claim to be just a sinner, what will you do?

You will sin!

You are professing that sin is at the core of your identity.
That's not what the Bible teaches.
Why don't we just believe God that Jesus is at the core of our
being and then begin to live like it by His Spirit?