Fending for decent coffee

Blogger's Note:

It's recently crossed my mind that I started this blog last fall to document my travels, but have not actually used it for that purpose very often. I mostly use blogs to type out super deep revelations or things that I am sifting through.

It's also crossed my mind that I don't take the time to update this blog very often.

So I would like to begin posting more regularly and to stop over-thinking what I post. My goal is to post every Thursday morning at 11am (Mountain) on this blogsite, to keep my friends and family updated on my whereabouts. And now, this week's post begins:

It's no secret that I love coffee. I advertise it all over the internet and wear clothing endorsing coffee consumption.

When I traveled for 2 months on an Outreach with YWAM Denver, I decided it was my personal goal to make sure my teammates and I had coffee (at least every once in awhile) before we even left Colorado.

Well, for the past few weeks, I have been living in Colorado, no longer officially affiliated with YWAM. I know, I know, "Once a YWAMer, always a YWAMer," but the fact remains that my life has changed quite a bit since graduating from my last school.

One big change is that I now have to buy all my own coffee, rather than having it available at the base 24/7.

Well, last Monday, I suddenly realized my coffee supplies were dwindling and that I really did not have extra cash to purchase more. So I decided to simply use my credit card. I mean, it IS for emergencies, right?

But when I was at the grocery story, surveying the cheapest possible options, I felt like I should wait to buy coffee.

We in YWAM-Land would say, "The Holy Spirit stopped me from buying coffee!"

Well needless to say, I fought it. I mean, is it really that big of a deal?

Look here, sir, there's tons of coffee in that Safeway container of Columbian blend. DO YOU REALIZE HOW LONG THAT COULD LAST ME??

Well, the Holy Spirit actually started answering me in the middle of the grocery store, and He said,

"I have something better than that for you."

So what did I do? I kept fighting of course! The coffee was right there in front of me. Why would it hurt me to just take it home?

But in the end, I decided to be *kind of* trusting and walked away, praying,

"Ok, God, I'm giving you one more day. But if I don't have coffee by tomorrow I'm coming back here and charging that huge-ass thing of Safeway coffee."

Not the most polite thing I've prayed, but I'm pretty sure I was suffering from some withdrawal. ;)

Well, the next day (Tuesday) a friend of mine invited me over for a Bible study and sleep over, so I had all the coffee I wanted at her house that night and the following morning.

On Thursday, the girl I am currently staying with offered me half of her carafe of coffee in the morning, in addition to the the very last cup I had brewed with a camping tool that filters one individual cup [see instructional video below].

So I got up the next morning and decided to go to the Friday morning worship meeting at the YWAM base, as it's open for visitors, and decided that even if I didn't get any coffee at all that day, I would still choose to have a good attitude and worship God and stuff.

After worship, a friend texted me, asking if I wanted to work an odd job the next day for $40. I said, "Yeah!" and she came and payed me in advance. I suddenly got the urge to go to Starbucks.

So I thought, "I could get a friend, have a good drink at Starbucks today and then go buy that thing of Safeway coffee for awhile."

Well, God spoke to me again, saying, "No, Angie. Go to Starbucks and buy a bag of coffee."

Guess He did have something else better in mind..haha.

 

Well, of course, I had to Instagram my Pike Place roast with soy milk (which I was also able to afford to buy) in celebration! It seems a small thing, but it really is nice to have decent coffee for a prolonged period of time.

I hope you like my story and don't think I am a crazy person. I mostly just wanted to tell a story about life's small struggles. Because sometimes, there are lessons in silly things.

Like I mentioned earlier, this is a video my sister and I made a few years ago about making coffee while "camping" in her apartment in Oregon. Enjoy!

From the outside looking in

This current season I am in is more challenging than the last, but also more stretching. God has called me to a place that causes greater trust in His goodness, which is exciting, but also difficult at times. In light of these present challenges, God keeps leading me back to stories of the Israelites' travels through the wilderness. There is one particular aspect of the story that He keeps convicting me of, and I felt compelled to share my thoughts on the story.

Throughout the various accounts of the Israelites traveling out of Egypt to the Promised Land, one of the most common things they are criticized for by modern readers is complaining. As we read the accounts of all the crazy miracles they witnessed in Egypt - the various plagues coupled with the fact that Pharaoh actually let them leave, the parting of the Red Sea, and bread literally falling from the sky - the people of Israel never failed to find something else to complain about.

Take Exodus 17 as an example. In verse 3 of the chapter, the Israelites basically accuse Moses of taking them out of Egypt so that they could all die of thirst. As a reader, this is an incredibly frustrating moment. We tend to scream inwardly at them, "Are you kidding?? How many times does God have to deliver you for you to believe that He will always deliver you?"

But the thing about scripture is that it was not recorded because it happened; stories in scripture were recorded because they happen.

How many times in our lives do we look around at our circumstances and inwardly accuse God of exactly the same thing?

Hey, God, thanks so much for calling me into ministry so that you could leave me to fall into bankruptcy.

Hey, God, thanks so much for "blessing" me with a car that consistently breaks down and causes more problems than it is worth.

Hey, God, thanks so much for giving me a family that continually causes me stress and anxiety.

The fact of the matter is, that any of the above attitudes reflect the same attitude the Israelites adopted as they traveled through the wilderness. It is an attitude of ungratefulness and pride. The belief that we deserve better than what God says is enough.

This realization is difficult to swallow, but I believe it is actually the key to a more fulfilled life. When we identify our wrong attitudes, we then have the opportunity to shift them.

When we face difficulties and challenges, it means that life is hard. It may mean that we are being stretched for the sake of growth. But here is the key question: do difficulties and challenges mean that God is any less good?

Of course, the answer is no! He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. He continues to provide and deliver because of His great goodness.

So here is my challenge, in turn, for you: The next time you feel like you are between a rock and a hard place (or, if you feel you are there right now), look at the story of the people of Israel traveling out of Egypt. And instead of looking at it as, "Well, God poured out on favor on them, and He will do it for me, too," put yourself in their place.

Literally imagine how you would feel as one of them. Realize that their reactions to their struggles merely reflect their humanity.

But then, look at it one more time and CHOOSE to change your perspective, not out of judgment for the Israelites, but for the sake of seeing things from a higher perspective. Choose to look at what God was doing to grow His children during that season. And then apply this attitude to your present situation.

These are my thoughts on the matter, and the process I am learning to apply in my own life right now. I sincerely hope that this post does not come across as self-righteous, condemning, or unnecessarily harsh because of its directness. I am learning and processing along with you.

What are your thoughts on this story? How do you deal with hardships and challenging seasons in your own walk with God?

School of Worship Month 1

As you all know, I have been at YWAM Denver since the beginning of this month as a student in the School of Worship. It is a 3 month training program for worshipers to gain a deeper understanding of who God is and who we are as worshipers.

The school includes practical musical applications like band rehearsals, songwriting, and recording opportunities, but its primary focus is on what the life of a worshiper truly looks like. Here are a few examples of some concepts I am learning about:

While weekly corporate worship is important for us as a body, worship involves so much more than attending a church gathering. It involves music and art, usually, but it also involves all that we are. I know it's been said a thousand times before, but we literally do have the opportunity to worship God every minute of every day, no matter what we are doing. Working, driving a car, exercising - even the seemingly mundane glorifies God.

We can give Him glory through all of these things through thanksgiving. Choosing gratefulness for the blessings God gives us shifts our perspective from what is wrong to what is right. In a world focused on material gain, this is a constant struggle for modern Christians, but as I have chosen to practice thanksgiving in my life, I have found so much more peace and joy despite my circumstances.

Another cool concept I have learned is that God is faithful to His Name. Often, we focus on God's faithfulness as we worship Him, and we are comforted in times of strife because of His faithfulness. But, ultimately, God is not faithful to us because of who we are; He is faithful to His own Name, which He gave to us when we accepted Christ into our lives.

The way the teacher explained this concept is how a wife takes on her husband's name when they get married. In a similar fashion, Christians take on a new name when we give our lives over to Jesus. (Which, incidentally, was the inspiration for a song I wrote for this school. I hope to be able to share it with you all soon!)

This changes our attitudes and approaches to everything! If God promises us something, yes, we can trust in His faithfulness to fulfill that promise, but it is not by our doing. It has nothing to do with what great servants we are, but everything to do with how good He is.

Let's be honest, this concept is painfully humbling. While God does in fact have great plans for every one of His children, the temptation is to forget that He chooses us for His work and purposes. Even for those called to big assignments, ultimately these assignments must be given back to God for His glory. Being the vessel for God's work is a great honor, but it is paramount to remind ourselves that in the beginning, He called us.

These are just a few of the concepts we have been learning in School of Worship, and I hope that it helped illuminate something new for you as well. I am excited to see what more God wants to reveal in the next couple of months and will keep you posted!

Mysteriously unpredictable

As a School of Worship student, I have the opportunity to work with a cell band every day. We meet up for daily practice and arrange worship sets as well as write together for the next couple months.

This past week we were asked to describe our "relationship" with our main musical instruments. We could describe this relationship as if we were dating or friends or whatever relationship terms fit best. It was a really intriguing exercise that I thought I'd share.

Here was my response:

My relationship with my voice is like when you're dating someone ultra mysterious. There are many sides to this person and s/he is completely unpredictable. One moment s/he is all quiet and sweet, and the next you are overwhelmed by the power and intensity of his or her personality.

[Obviously I used the term s/he for the sake of a mixed gender audience.] =P

Often times, even I am surprised by how big and loud my voice can be. I don't understand where this power comes from or how it is even a part of me at times.

For awhile, I tried to harness my sound because its power and depth scared me. I couldn't understand it and so I tried to hide from it.

My voice feels like it has a life of its own.

Then I started thinking - perhaps this could give me insight into how I view God. People always say "God is so big," or "God is bigger than we can imagine," but there is a huge difference when you're actually hit with the reality of these statements than when someone simply quotes them at you.

Fully feeling the weight of the hugeness of the God and creator of the universe brings awe and wonder. He is a mystery we can never solve. A problem we can never wrap our minds around.

The reality is that God is bigger and more colorful and more powerful than we can handle. We cannot physically hold onto Him.

While at times the "big" nature of God brings comfort and peace of mind, it also brings immense insecurity or even fear for some.

What would happen if I let myself go, and let Him take over in my life? Would it feel as big and scary as singing a classical aria full voice and forte, or even crazier than that?

Being in the presence of something much bigger than oneself brings so much humility. It highlights the smallness of what I am on my own.

But in order for me to fully be who God created me to be, I need to allow Him to be everything that He is. I need to believe that His power working in me and transforming my life is big enough to handle everything that I am in this present moment.

It is in the process of handing over all that we hold on to - the good, the bad, and the ugly - that God is most able to reveal Himself and how He envisions us. Just as it is most effective as a performer to allow one's own voice to ring out strong and clear and powerful to fully communicate the message of a song.

So while it may be scary and the results may be uncertain, I would encourage those of you who are reading this to allow yourselves to be open to the nature of the fullness of the the living God. To allow Him to show You who He is.

Because while He is mysterious and unpredictable, He is also always good. And so we can rest in knowing that anything He wants to show us or give us or grow in us is also good.

Outreach Part 3: Mahahual & Xcalak

And now, the long-anticipated concluding post about my YWAM Denver Outreach! Here a few stories about our travels to Mahahual and Xcalak.

Mahahual

While in Mexico on Outreach, we spent about a week and a half traveling to 2 remote fishing villages in the southern regions of the country. Up first was Mahahual, a village on the ocean with lots of cruise ships and tourism.

Street where tourists from cruise ships come to shop

Picture of beach down the street from the church we stayed at

While there, our entire team stayed and slept in a one-room church building just blocks away from the beach. We visited the surrounding villages, as well as the tourist district, praying for people and leading many to the Lord.

We also led several church services at the church that was hosting us. It was a great opportunity to encourage the pastor and congregation. The church had experienced a lot of division and conflict, so it was good to help them regain perspective and hope by reminding them that God is here to heal all their wounds.

One of the things that struck me the most about Mahahual was that the vendors and restaurant owners realized very quickly that we were not tourists, and they were quick to open up to us as a result. Building relationships with them was super easy, and the restaurant workers were happy to direct us to where we could go for more reasonable food prices, among many other tips they provided that helped us along the way.

One man even gave one of our ministry groups an entire grilled chicken just as a sign of hospitality! It was really tasty too. =)

Here are a few of my teammates hanging out by a beach home in Mahahual:

In Xcalak

Xcalak was an even smaller village than Mahahual, and we were one of the first groups (if not the first group) of missionaries to come to that region of Mexico. We spent quite a bit of time praying for and encouraging the pastor of the church there. He has been living and ministering in the village without much of a support system for many years.

The village itself is very spiritually dark, so the pastor there has come up against many conflicts and challenges as he continues doing God's work there.

We were only in the village for a couple of days, but we hosted a few church services, did dramas in the park in the center of the village, and did some door-to-door evangelism. Xcalak already has seen a shift through a decrease in drug and alcohol abuse, and we were able to continue making a positive impact in the community and atmosphere by ministering to the people we met.

At the end of this post are a few photos of one of the dramas we used at the park in Xcalak called "Forgiveness." It portrays how Jesus saves us from various distractions and temptations in our lives.

So, I hope you have enjoyed reading about the various places we traveled and the types of ministry we did there! Seeing all these new places and seeing what God wants to do there impacted me as well as the countless people we met. It has been a privilege to learn more about how God sees the world and to show others the gospel which is intended for all.

Outreach Part 2: Cancun

Hello, friends!

As promised, I am back to share more of my Outreach adventures with YWAM Denver. We spent the majority of our time in Mexico in downtown Cancun. Our team lived in an apartment building in the heart of the city and did a variety of ministries there. Typically, we had one ministry activity in the morning, an afternoon siesta, and an evening ministry. Some of the different kinds of ministries we participated in include:

1. Door to door evangelism - We visited people in a couple of colonias (small living communities) and prayed with them, invited them to local church events/meetings, and simply tried to bless them in some small way. Here are a few photos of one of these small communities:

One of the most memorable experiences I have from visiting one of these colonias was stopping by a family's house who had recently accepted Christ and had begun going to church together. The father said that they had been fighting every single day until converting. At that instant, a peace came over their entire home that they could not explain. We were able to pray with them that the Lord would continue to bless them with grace and peace and that He would grow their faith individually and as a family.

2. Street ministry - We had worship sessions, performed dramas, and delivered testimonies in parks around Cancun to create ministry opportunities for passersby.

Group of us performing a skit called "Me" in a local park in Mexico

 While the idea of performing and making public declarations of faith may intimidate and overwhelm some, it opened up so many doors for us to talk to people about their walks with God. Many people were introduced to Christ because of our team performing dramas in the streets and asking if those present wanted to receive Him.

One man even yelled out in the middle of one of our presentations, asking what he could do if he does not know Jesus! A translator pulled him aside and told him exactly what to do while we finished our testimonies and dramas for the rest of the crowd.

3. Kid's Programs - We performed for kids in local colonias and helped out regularly with an after school program twice a week.

After school program

Trying to make 11-year-olds dance

 

 

The group I worked with was mostly middle school aged kids. We played games with them, taught them some English phrases, and shared a Bible story with them every time we met. Their favorite day was kickball day. It was great to get the chance to work with them over several weeks and to build relationships with these kids. Over time they began to warm up to us more, and we were able to share with them how they can have dynamic lives walking with God.

Other Ministries - We also visited a prison, a hospital, and a rehabilitation center, introducing many individuals to Jesus, praying for the sick to be healed, and encouraging whomever we met.

Of course there are countless stories and many more adventures to tell. There is no way any one blog post could give you a full picture of what our life was like in Cancun for 6 weeks. But here are a few snapshots of the activities we did and just a few surface pictures of the people we encountered. I hope to post a few more in-depth experiences in the coming weeks.

Thanks for reading, and look out for Part 3 about our travels to remote Mexican fishing villages!

Outreach Part 1: California

There have been several requests for stories about the Outreach I went on with YWAM Denver. We traveled throughout California and Mexico from mid-December to mid-February and participated in multiple ministries as we traveled. I will do my best to detail the highlights of the trip in the next series of blogs.

Mexicali Outreach Team Photo

The first 2 weeks of Outreach were a road trip to multiple locations in California. We started in Redding, where we attended Bethel Church services and a class at the Bethel School of Supernatural Ministry. We learned from the teachings there and even had the opportunity to go downtown in Redding and do some street ministry there. We worshiped and prayed with many homeless men in the area and were able to encourage them.

From there we headed south to San Jose where we helped with a youth service, spent time working on dramas for street ministry, and worshiped and interceded for the city. We also went to Santa Cruz and worshiped in the streets downtown.The small group I was with met an extremely talented street musician. We split a pizza with him and just spent time talking to him about his life, demonstrating God's love for him through our actions.

Group Worship in San Jose, California

 We spent the remainder of our time in California in Los Angeles, where we had some team-building time at YWAM's LA base. We were able to spend some time getting to know one another better and learning how to work together and encourage one another as a team.

In LA, we were able to go to the Griffith Observatory, where tourists often go to see the Hollywood sign. The observatory is also on a hilltop overlooking the entire city. After taking advantage of the great photo opportunities, we stood on the hill overlooking Los Angeles and worshiped and prayed over the city. We asked for God to open up opportunities for His kingdom to reign in that city and simply worshiped Him.

To the right is a photo of the team posing with the Hollywood sign in the background.


On Christmas Eve, we headed into downtown LA to minister wherever God led us. The majority of our team went into Skid Row and ministered to the homeless they encountered there. But a small group of us, myself included, felt led to go to Hollywood. We took the subway and got off right at the star walk.

We prayed over the stars and the street as we walked there, as well as the entertainment industry in America. Our country has an obsession with media and entertainment, and we prayed for godly leaders and performers to be given opportunities to be lights in the industry.




 The rest of our time in Hollywood was mostly spent talking to and praying with venders on the streets. We met multiple aspiring performers looking for a chance to tell tourists about their albums. We did our best to encourage them that day, reminding them that they are important to God. Our group bonded with one vendor in particular, and he showed us around the street and hung out with us for an entire hour.

In light of people that we consider famous and influential in the United States, like the celebrities on the Walk of Fame, it is easy to feel insignificant. But the amazing thing about God is that He has time and attention for every single being that He has created. It was such a privilege to be able to show this to the individuals we encountered in California.

I hope this gives a good picture of the types of ministry we encountered while in California and that you have enjoyed this post. I will continue writing about the team's experiences in Mexico to tell even more about our travels.

The earth is the Lord's, and everything in it,

the world, and all who live in it;

for he founded it on the seas

and established it on the waters.

Psalm 24: 1-2