November
Happy November!
I know this newsletter update is a little longer than normal, but I'm thankful to share all that God has been doing in life lately.
Firestarters Tour!
As some of you might know I have recently joined on staff with a ministry called “Firestarters”.
We seek to bring people together throughout Germany and Europe who are on fire for God. To bring people together who are in the workplace or in universities and to encourage them. To share with them that they aren’t alone in their faith with God, and to help equip those who are seeking after discipleship with others in their city.
The main point being: to see a holistic gospel discipleship movement spread and that revival would spark in Germany.
We do this by meeting with churches, youth groups, or university students and meeting with YWAM (Youth With A Mission) alumni in cities all across Germany and Europe.
Sometimes it looks like a worship night or a time of doing evangelism with them on the streets. Or it might even look like hosting a time of training for those wanting to learn more about discipleship.
I am so excited to share with you all the things I've been able to witness firsthand. God truly is moving in Germany and Europe.
These last few weeks we have been traveling to small villages and big cities meeting with pastors and university students and everyone in between.
I've been blessed to be a part of both tours, starting out on the North team and then joining up with the South team. It's been amazing to see how different God is working in each place.
NORTH TOUR
On the North tour we were able to meet with a pastor in a small village named "Gerhart". He's an incredible man who as been serving God whole heartedly since he was young. Living in Eastern Germany he shared with us many stories about being made fun of for his faith as a young boy in school and even shared how he's been a pastor since the Communist reign and also how in 2003 his church was burned down by Neo Nazi's. Since then he hasn't had an official church building but has been meeting with the community in different buildings across the town.
I was so inspired by meeting this man who truly is nameless and faceless. Hearing some of these stories I felt like I could be reading a book about his life.
He currently has been most known in the town for hosting refugees. He has hosted anywhere from 6-15 refugee men in his small brick home.
We were amazed as his level of faith and servant-hearted spirit. He literally lives day to day trusting God with each need.
When the group of us arrived at his home, he had just finished speaking at a funeral and someone felt led to give him finances. He shared with us how grateful he was for that small donation, because he didn't have any money to buy us dinner that evening if it wasn't for the donation. We were able to get a glimpse of what he currently does day to day. He loves these refugee men like they are his own sons. He looks out for them, taking them to and from any doctor's appointments and lawyer's meetings.
He doesn't always have the finances but some how the Lord always provides.
He even prays for them and shares about Jesus to these men. Many of them are following the Lord now because of his consistency in loving them like Jesus would.
On that Sunday we got to host the church service. It was really powerful as almost all of the attendees were refugees from different nations. We were able to speak life over them.
That we are all uniquely made and all of us have different paths when we follow God. That following God doesn't look the same for everyone.
At the end, the team and myself were able to pray over these families and individuals. Many of them shared with me stories about how they came to Europe and what life was like back home.
Also on the North tour team, we were able to serve at a three day conference call the "Blue Flame".
It was really powerful to see so many Germans and Danish people coming together with an attendance of more than 1,700 over the weekend. Believing for revival and unity in churches with Denmark and Germany in the region.
The whole weekend consisted of lots of prayer and worship, along with Christian speakers from across the country. I was thankful to be serving that 3 day weekend in the Children's program. It was a challenge for me as the whole conference was in German and not much English speaking but there was so much grace and I was able to gain more confidence in speaking German.
We probably had around 200 kids during the whole event, most of them being pre-school to elementary school.
Helping in the program I was able to witness powerful teachings to the kids about the "Holy Spirit" and (God's secret language) "Speaking in Tongues". I was amazed at how well they communicated it to the kids about these topics. Keeping it more on a level they would understand but not holding back on teaching just because they are younger.
I was really taken aback at how simple, yet so powerful, these teachings were.
It wasn't the normal Sunday school Bible stories that I had grown up with. I really loved it. Seeing the joy these kids had was so fun!
So thankful to have been a part of the "Blue Flame" conference. Seeing how God is giving Germans a similar vision as "Firestarters" was something really special to be a part of. God is really breaking ground in North Germany.
If you want to learn more about the conference click the button below.
SOUTH TOUR
After two weeks on the North team I then traveled down to join the South team.
My first stop with them was in
Heidelberg Germany.
While being in this city we were able to do a "Firestarters" event. A night of worship and a message with the topic to encourage Christians in the city, to sow seeds and to disciple others around them.
Right after the service a woman came to me and asked for prayer.
She shared some of what was going on in her life and I prayed with her.
I felt the Lord really leading me to share with her my story of how I came back to YWAM (Youth With A Mission)
I’m not really sure what all I said and shared with her but the Holy Spirit was really speaking through me to encourage this woman and share with her certain things.
I really felt for her and where she is at in her life and we ended up talking afterwords for a while.
I then invited her the next day to participate in street evangelism with our team.
The next day, She and a few others from the night before came with us out to the streets.
We paired up and hit the streets sharing about Jesus with those out on Halloween night.
She and I talked with a homeless woman for awhile. I was surprised at the end of our conversations how the homeless lady was willing to let me pray for her. I could see how touched she was that we listened to her and prayed for her.
After that we walked down the street. I felt the Lord leading me to walk towards a corner of the street. Next thing I knew there was a couple walking towards us that I felt the Lord highlighting to me.
I started to talk with them and quickly found out they were from Texas, and from my home town (San Antonio). The couple was so happy to meet with us and I shared with them why I was in Heidelberg. I prayed blessing for them as they had to leave. I could see how much they were as happy as I was to have met.
At the end of the evening I was going to meet backup with my team. My newly made friend stopped and she said "this is the store I used to work at for two years". "Do you want to go inside?" I said yes and we both walked inside.
The next thing I knew, she told me that she had some gift cards from when she used to work there and really felt on her heart to bless me with picking out a few things.
The store was filled with many nice quality items. Things that I would never usually be able to buy.
I was in so much shock that she really wanted to bless me like that. I ended up receiving a brand new winter jacket (something I had been trusting the Lord for many weeks). In addition to the winter jacket, she also blessed me with a brand new hat and scarf.
I almost started to cry at the checkout counter because I was in so much awe of how God provides.
She really impacted my life and I know there is more to come with our friendship and how God placed her into my life.
The rest of the tour was filled with meeting incredible people from different cities.
People were really on fire for God in their place of work or university.
One night in Gießen really stuck out to me as a place that God really moved.
We were hosting a "Firestarters" evening at a university.
The evening was filled with worship and a really powerful message by one of my friends.
During worship, myself and the "Firestarter" team sensed some things in the room. Things I could tell were really keeping the young people from engaging in worship.
Some of the things we sensed were "fear of man" and "comparison". My friends and I started to intercede for these university students during worship.
After the worship we had a message with key points focusing on what it means to be sons and daughters of the king. Speaking out identity and encouragement over these students who were walking with God. We could see that this message really hit home for a lot of them and at the end we actually had a time of response. I believe around 6 people re-committed their lives or gave their lives to the Lord for the first time. We even got to pray healing over a girl's knee at the end of the evening and she got completely healed.
It was really eye opening for many, even myself. I was so thankful to have been a part of that evening and all that God did especially because it was the last stop for me on the tour before flying back to America.
Photo on Left (Our "Firestarters" team visiting YWAM Frankfurt) Photo on right (Fun day in Marburg)
Home for the Holidays!
Being back home has been so refreshing but also an adjustment for me after being away from America for a year. I have only been home for a week now and already it has been such a good time of connecting with people and sharing with them some of the things I've been up to.
I have been able to see and do some things I've missing in Texas and spend time relaxing with my parents.
My mom and I even got to attend my favorite German festival (Wurstfest) the first weekend I was back home. It was so much fun seeing how Texans embrace the German culture because of the large German settlement in this area.
I'm looking forward to the holiday season as my sister will also be flying to Texas from her YWAM (Youth With A Mission) base in Paris.
We will get to have Christmas all together as a family, and I'm excited for the memories that will be made.
Thank you all for reading this far and for all of your prayers and support this season.
I cant believe it's already been a year, since I dropped everything I had in life and decided to completely change directions. To take a “leap of faith” and stop following the ways of the world and start to follow the narrow path of the Lord. I haven’t been the same since I have fully committed myself to the Lord again this year..
God and his faithfulness has healed and restored so much in me, and I’m constantly amazed at the things God can do and has done in my life.
Acts 20:24
But my life is worth nothing to me unless I use it for finishing the work assigned me by the Lord Jesus—the work of telling others the Good News about the wonderful grace of God
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