Miguel Auza and Durango

***MIGUEL AUZA***

Before leaving for Outreach we had prayed for direction and God showed me the cross-streets of Zapata and Constitución.  

For the first month we would search in each new town for these cross-streets, but to no avail.  I was honestly starting to doubt if I had heard from God correctly.  When we arrived in Miguel Auza the church we were staying at was on the street Zapata and just 1 block away was the cross-street of Constitución.  It was honestly a very bittersweet time for me.  On one hand I was very excited to see God fulfull what He had shown me and confirm that we were supposed to be in Miguel Auza.  But on the other hand God really convicted me on not trusting what He had shown me.

"Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for He who promised is faithful."

Hebrews 10:23

 While in Miguel Auza we had numerous activities: presentations in the park, downtown, plazas, prayer times for the church families, etc.. 

I even had the privilege to drive a car full of clowns to the presentation!

But the one thing that stood out for me was the time my teammate Gama and I were able to visit 2 sisters who had attended one of our presentations.  One day we visited Lourdes and after talking and listening for 2-3 hours she shared with us that she has been searching for God for the past few months, but didn't know how.  That morning we prayed for her and she prayed very excitedly to start a relationship with God!

The following day we visited her sister, Azucena, and the same story!  She prayed to receive Christ and right after praying God brought conviction to her heart on how she has been mistreating kids.  Crying she asked them for forgiveness.  So awesome to see Christ bring restoration to a family right before our eyes!

Azucena, Lourdes, their kids, Gama and I at church

That week we continued visiting with them, discipling them and each afternoon/evening they attended all of our presentations.  That Sunday they showed up at church with their children and their mother.  So encouraging seeing that there will be follow-up and discipleship for them within the church!

***DURANGO***

Vacation Bible School

While in Durango we were able to serve at a local church at their Vacation Bible School.  They had very limited staff and were praying the past few days for more volunteers and we arrived just in time!

We were able to serve in the Kitchen, Arts and Crafts, Coreographies and the Bible Class

Youth Jail Ministry

We also had the opportunity to visit a youth jail.  At one of our presentations I had the opportunity to share something that God had put on my heart and afterwards one of the girls, Daniela, came up to me in tears.  Daniela shared with me about her life and how she was in such desperate need of Jesus to help her.  It is so awesome to see how God brought her to a place of such desperation where He is the only one she can turn to.

Prostitute Ministry

Prostitution is completely legal in Durango.  Crazy, right?!  Ever since we got into the city, and even before knowing that fact, God had put it on my heart to plan a night to go out and minister to the girls.  One night 2 guys and I went out to do a spiritual mapping of where God wanted us to go to minister to the girls.  Then as a team God showed us that the way He wanted us to minister to them was for each of us to write a letter to them.  Then only the ones who felt a direct call from God to go the following night would go to deliver the letters.  That night 5 of us went out to deliver the letters along with a handmade paper flower to the girls on the streets.  It was a very spiritual difficult atmosphere.  Honestly I was very affected the first night we went to map it out.  But God showed me the importance of covering ourselves in prayer before, during and after going out to minister in such a dark place.

One of the letters to the prostitutes

My daughter, 
I know what you think.  
I know what you feel.  
I know that you desire a way out.  
I feel your pain.  
I feel your desperation.  
I feel the numbness.  
I understand what it feels like not to feel anything.  
My heart breaks seeing yours broken.  
I see the tears that you try to hide.  
I see your broken heart and I want to give you a new one.  
I want to give you hope.  
I want to see yourself how I see you.  
I love you, not for what you do, but I love you because you are my daughter.  
You are the princess, the apple of my eye and my heart longs that you would cry out to me for help. 

With love, Papa Dad.  

LO DE MARCOS

We spent 3 days serving with the church here, doing various presentation in the plaza and at a Medical Brigade Event that the church put on.  We were surprised with the hospitality of the church and it’s members.

We put on an event for the kids at the Medical Brigade

After De Lo Marcos the team split up, half of the team stayed together onto the next destination and the other half returned to Chapala to run the Kings Kids camp.  Since we all didn’t fit in one van, I volunteered to return to Chapala with one of the staff for my car to caravan with the van.

TEPIC

We met up with the team that was staying at a church called "La Fuente" (The Fountain).  They graciously opened up their doors for us to stay at the church and to help serve there.  The first night we met a girl, Dalia, who had also done a DTS through YWAM.  We went out to dinner after the church service and shared about what God has been doing in our lives and in the end she paid for our dinner.  What a blessing.

The days we were in Tepic we painted the church, served in a small town (La Puga) and participated in the weekly church services.  It as a very refreshing time for us to be poured into as we served alongside the church.

Painting

Painting the church

Inviting people to the presentation

A community of indigenous people (Huicholes) that we visited

Presentation in La Puga

In Tepic God spoke to me a lot from 1 Corinthians 13:12-13 

“Trust steadily in God, hope unswervingly, love extravagantly.  And the best of the three is love.” 

ZACATECAS

From Tepic we drove 8 hours to Zacatecas.  Arriving in Zacatecas we were generously greeted by the pastor and his family at a local restaurant that one of the church families owns.  The pastors have only been in Zacatecas for 8 months, so our main goal was to serve the church, invite people, share with the city, etc..

The view of Zacatecas

The first night we prayed over Zacatecas as we stood on the balcony that overlooks the entire city.  God blessed us with a beautiful sunset, almost like an aurora.  With all of the amazing colors God reminded me of Isaiah 60:2-3.

The city of Zacatecas is a very closed city, very traditional.  That week God spoke to me a lot from 1 Corinthians 15 about planting a dead seed and how a live plant is risen.  A dead seed doesn't really have anything similar with a live plant, but nonetheless that is how a plant is given life.  That is exactly what we were doing in Zacatecas.  Sometimes we felt like we were just planting dead seeds, but it takes time for the plant to grow and to see the fruit.

During our time in Zacatecas we did a lot of presentations in various communities (Lazaro Cardenas, Los Bolos, at the church, etc.).  We also shared with the people after the presentations and throughout the day.

One day we went to the hospital to pray for the sick people and their families.

We also had the opportunity to go to a Woman's Jail and do a presentation.  I was able to talk with and pray for a girl, Jovanna.  It was so cold there that she offered me her only jacket.  It is amazing to see how people with so little are willing to give so much!

With the girls after a presentation

With one of the youth from the church.  After church she ran home (a 1 mile away) to bring me a wallet sized photo of her so I can remember her and pray for her.  :)