when God takes over

My last update was a little short as far as words go (but at least there were pictures!), so I will try to talk a little more about everything going on here. I wish I could paint for you all a picture of everything that is going on down here, but I have doubts that that could ever be accomplished in words... especially on the Internet.

English classes started last week, which means that from 7-9 in the morning and from 7-9 at night we are teaching. Here, we use a method of teaching called TPR or total physical response which is actually pretty sweet. Instead of using a lot of books and worksheets or anything like that, TPR is kinesthetic learning. For example, we run and say the word run. Then we tell everyone in the class to run, and they associate the action with the word. TPR also encorporates a lot of other methods of teaching like stories, lots of props, and even drawings. For someone like myself who has a pretty short attention span and is not very good with repetitive things, the variety of TPR is awesome. It is really neat to see how much the students enjoy it too... and they are learning really quickly! In the morning Christy and I teach the group of adults (actually anyone older than elementary school). On the average morning we have 15-20 people, and the class of elementary kids has about 10-15. At night, Christy and I work with two of the guys-- Daniel and James-- and we teach the kids. 25-30 or so of them... which can definitely get a little loud and crazy in our lecture hall-like classroom! There is also a class at night with the adults, taught by the other interns.

Aside from English classes starting, the rest of our day generally follows the same schedule. The afternoons are definitely still one of my favorite parts of the day. Sometimes I get to see the ways the Lord is moving in my relationships with women in town, and sometimes I don´t, but I am always trusting and always praying that he is taking the seeds that are planting and making them grow. I am daily learning what it means to surrender it all to God and trust him. Really, nothing I "do" down here or anywhere for that matter can make that much of a difference for the Kingdom. But what the POWER of God can do through me and through all of us is far more than any of us could imagine.

This week during a time of prayer God led me to Jeremiah 1, and I have found myself constantly going back to what it promises. In verse four it says:

The word of the Lord came to me, saying "Before I formed you in the womb I knew you. Before you were born I set you apart; I appointed you as a prophet to the nations."

"Ah, Sovereign Lord," I said, "I do not know how to speak; I am only a child."

But the Lord said to me, "Do not say I am only a child. You must go to everyone I send you to and say whatever I command you. Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you and will rescue you," declares the Lord.

Then the Lord reached out his hand and touched my mouth and said to me, "Now I have put my words in your mouth. See, today I appoint you over nations and kingdoms to uproot and tear down, to destroy and overthrow, to build and to plant."

Praise God, this is the promise I am seeing manifested in my life. As I talk with my friends, and as doors open to share the words of the Lord, I am realizing that this is not of my doing, but of the Spirits. I have prayed before, Lord Jesus, I want transformation to take place here. I want people to come to know and live in you because I know that that is what you yourself want. Here I am Lord Jesus, use me. I am ready and willing! I want to be used, Spirit, but if you do not use me use someone else. Because really, its not about me at all, and its all about you.

Once I started to pray that, my outlook on everything here changed. I am finding myself relying on myself less and trusting the power of the Lord´s Spirit more. I am finding myself praying more, and as I pray I am finding the Lord reaching down and touching my mouth just like with Jeremiah. May we all come to surrender all and find ourselves humbly praying, not my will, Lord, but yours be done, and may we come to see the power of the Spirit of the Lord radically transforming the whole world!