between then and now

I was bound and determined to raise massive amounts of support in an extremely short amount of time and get to Bolivia to finally do ministry by June.

Did you notice the "get to Bolivia to finally do ministry" part? It's not that I haven't been doing ministry at my church in Chicago where I've been the children's minister for 2.5 years. And it's not that Bolivia is the only place where I can do ministry. I just hadn't really thought about this transitional time between Chicago and Bolivia and how God might want to use me RIGHT NOW.

So, yeah, it's July 2 and I'm in Ohio. SO WHAT?! God apparently has His own departure date set for me and a few things He wants me to do between now and then.

I met someone about a month ago who is going through some seriously heavy demonic attacks. Very in-your-face, very supernatural demonic attacks. Most everyone else has tried to medicate this person or pass the problem on to a shrink. Nobody seems to want to confront the issue and deal with the demonic (the voices, the visits, the visions), which is the root of this person's problem. Anyway, I feel like our meeting was divinely arranged. I'm familiar with spiritual warfare, and I know that I need to play a role in getting this person where he/she needs to be to battle Satan's attacks. Right now, the person being attacked, myself, and another spiritually sensitive friend are praying for a body of believers to come along side us with a desire to see freedom and deliverance in [insert name here]'s life.

Also, I've had really beautiful times of prayer and discussion with several people that I've met with for support raising appointments. I make the mistake of being totally focused on Bolivia and the needs of the people in Cochabamba, and I forget that the people I meet with to share about Bolivia are hurting and needy in different ways. Well, God finally got through to me (I can be so thickheaded!) and I feel so blessed to be able to pray with people and encourage them. Ministering to people's hearts is way more important than spouting off a list of statistics about Bolivia.

I've also been learning things...so many things...about the Kingdom of God on earth. Now that I've finished all my missionary training I've been able to dig into some books that I've been wanting to read for a while. Topping that list is this:

I recommend this book to everyone I know. It's not that Shane Claiborne provides all the answers, but he sure asks the right questions.

Anyway, God is good, faithful, and sovereign, and despite all my shortcomings, I'm just trying to follow Him.