Prayer

This whole family was recently Baptized! God is so good!

Prayer Requests:

Please pray for me as I am transitioning from Mexico to the U.S. in about 3 weeks.

Pray that God would teach me through the change and that he would use it to strengthen my faith.

Please pray for my roommate Janna. She will now be living alone as well as working alone. God has been super faithful to raise up great friends and workers to work along side her but as this is a big change for me, it will be for her as well.

Pray that I will still be intentional about sharing Christ with others in the U.S.

Pray for direction in my life. I know I am supposed to go home but I am not sure what comes next and I want to be faithful to follow what God has for me.

Please pray for friendships when I arrive. One of my biggest fears is loneliness because I know that many of my friends have moved on with their lives - many are married, many have had babies, many have started new jobs, and many have completed grad school. Our experiences have been very different over the last 2 years and I am afraid that I won't be understood. Help me to be a good friend to them as well because I know that if God has been working and changing me over the last 2 years that he obviously has been doing that in the lives of my friends as well.

Help me to say goodbye well to my friends here in Mexico. Many of them I will probably never ever talk to again as they have no way of communicating from Mexico to the U.S. However, many will be able to continue communicating.

Please pray for the ministries that I am leaving here. Pray that they will continue to prosper, that more people will come to know Christ, and that the older believers will minister to and love on the newer believers that they might truly grow and love each other as the body of Christ.

• Colonia M - 7 studies that are currently meeting. - Youth in this area that are addicted to solvents and have no one to help them turn their lives around (we just started a study with them - pray for effectiveness and for us to demonstrate love.) - For the children in this area who have uninvolved parents, pray that they would have their physical needs met as well as their emotional and spiritual needs met, pray that the believers would be able to demonstrate the love of Jesus to them. Also I want to thank you for your continued prayer for these people over the last year and a half - God hears and has clearly moved in this place :)
• Pray for the University students that we were able to pour into. Pray that they would let go of traditions and anything else that is obstructing them from accepting Jesus.
• Please also pray for the men and women who beg downtown. I have been able to build some solid relationships with them over the last year and these are some of the people I know I will probably never talk to again. Pray for their salvation and that God would totally transform their lives. Please also pray for physical health for them - most of them have diabetes and have had major complications as a result. One friend is blind as a result and one recently had his leg amputated. Pray for health.

Pray that my leaving would glorify God's name even more. He has a purpose and I know I can trust that my going will advance his kingdom more than my staying.

I covet your prayers and I am looking forward to what God is going to do next in my life and to see these requests answered :)

waiting...

This was during the first few days of my trip when I was in Quito

I also went to the middle of the world :) the Equator

This was the Vacation Bible School

Playing with the kids - This is my "that hurts" face.

best laugh ever...no question

In the village we spent the most time in, they killed a cow as a way of honoring and saying goodbye to my friend Corey who is a missionary in Ecuador and has lived in the village.

beautiful little girl named Rubi

To get to one village we had to cross a river in a boat :)

and this was the view from the top of the hill above the river...totally normal to this sweet lady.

"They will be my people, and I will be their God. I will give them singleness of heart and action, so that they will always fear me for their own good and the good of their children after them. I will make an everlasting covenant with them: I will never stop doing good to them, and I will inspire them to fear me, so that they will never turn away from me. I will rejoice in doing them good and will assuredly plant them in this land with all my heart and soul." Jeremiah 32: 38-41

How amazing that we have a God who rejoices in doing us good? Who wants to inspire us to fear him? How beautiful is that?

This past month I had the opportunity to be a part of a mission trip that worked with a tribe in the southern jungles of Ecuador. It was such a great experience. It included lots of adorable children, Spanish which I love, tribal language (also super cool), and lots of relationship building. I was in many ways outside of my comfort zone and the Lord definitely used the trip to stretch me a lot. I was gone from Mexico for about 10 days and on the plane ride home I read the above passage.

Leaving Ecuador was actually emotional for me. It reminded me that not long from now I will be leaving Mexico for good. So I was sad to leave sweet friends in Ecuador but a larger weight also made itself at home on my shoulders. The larger realization that I have no idea what I am going to do next. But God is faithful, as he always is, to remind me that he is in control. I can surrender my worries, my fears, and my anxieties to him who is capable of actually doing something with my life. He reminded me that he wants to do good things for me. He actually rejoices in doing good to me. Crazy right?? I have nothing to fear.

"There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. We love because he first loved us." 1 John 4: 18-19

So please pray that my last month and a half here in Mexico will bring God glory. Please continue to pray for Colonia M where we currently have 7 Bible studies during the week, a kids club, and a sports club. We are praying that very soon the people studying with us in these studies will accept Christ and that a church will form in this community. Please also pray for the University students that we are working with. Pray that they will actually believe what the Word says and let go of their traditions that actually contradict the Bible.

And please pray that I would have singleness of heart as I finish out my work here in Mexico. I obviously want to prepare to transition home as best I can but I don't want to have a divided heart. God brought me here to Mexico and I want to serve until the very end.

Thank you so much for your prayers! :)

Here is a link to my music site for those of you interested: http://www.purevolume.com/RachelEldredge

This is at a friend's house in Colonia M - They were kind enough to butcher this really horrible smelling pig for a friend. (the kids and I had a great time watching) ;)

We recently had a volunteer team come help us and this is from our Sunday morning Bible study while they were still here.

We had several parties for Children's day and this is one of my friends sharing the gospel with a BUNCH of kids and their moms.

During Child's day we also celebrated Mother's day by making jewelry with the moms.

This is a pic from our weekly kids club, the kids have recently started liking singing along with the guitar :)

"For this reason, since the day we heard about you, we have not stopped praying for you and asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding. And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light. For he has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son he loves, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins." (Colossians 1: 9-14)

As I came before the Lord tonight to read his word, I found myself clinging to this passage. Isn't this what we are striving for as believers? That we might be filled with the knowledge of the Lord's will. That we might live a life worthy of the Lord and that we might please him in every way. That we might bear fruit. That we might grow in the knowledge of God. That we might live in thankfulness to the Father who redeemed us and qualified us.

If I am being completely honest, though I absolutely love Mexico and the work I am doing here, I have felt my heart be divided the last couple of weeks. I have been going forth in my own strength instead of having my mind steadfastly focused on the Lord. That is no way to live. It is selfish and lonely and only leads to pride. A friend of mine reminded me of a verse that caught my attention and brought me to tears before the Lord: "You [God] will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you." (Isaiah 26:3) It humbled me immediately. He whose mind is steadfast. How often do I find myself dwelling on things that are not of Christ? One of my main struggles in this moment is my fear over going home in August. My mind is not steadfast. My heart is divided in this moment between this great gift God has given me (this special time here in Mexico) and what is to come next. Surrender to God's will is becoming a daily lesson in my life. I have no idea what is next for me but I know that I want to keep praying and "asking God to fill [me] with the knowledge of his will through all spiritual wisdom and understanding." Please pray with me.

This passage also expresses my prayer for these people as I accept the fact that my time here is almost up. Paul wrote letters to the churches he started and impacted because he still deeply cared for their spiritual lives and that is how I feel about Colonia M. As I leave this group of people that I have poured the last year of my life into I want to pray that God will keep growing them in knowledge and wisdom and love and joy and thankfulness. That he will reveal his will to them. Please keep praying over this precious neighborhood. I wish I could explain in a paragraph all that goes on in just those 5 or 6 streets but I can't. I will sum it up like this: anger, strife, drugs, sex, prostitution, adultery, abuse, hunger, thirst, hate, hurt, violence, alcoholism, hopelessness, lies, feelings of worthlessness, and tears. It breaks my heart to leave these people - these friends who have become so much like family. Please pray ardently with me in these last few months that more will come to put their trust in Christ alone as their savior.

I am, as always, so grateful for your prayers. Anytime you lift me or the people of León up to the father, know that God answers. He has so faithfully been moving and I am convinced that your prayers are helping change the lives of these people God has brought me to.

http://www.purevolume.com/RachelEldredge

To me, it is joy :)

My friend N and I after studying the Bible at the university :)

The whole university group after singing and studying outside of an OXXO (its like a 711)

Colonia M

So, Sunday was a great day. I thought about what to write this month and I couldn't get Sunday out of my mind. So here goes...

Context: We now have a Bible study in Colonia M that meets Sunday mornings. We have been meeting in the house of a new believer but yesterday her family couldn't meet. We thought about just canceling the study for that week but then we asked one of our other friends if she still wanted to meet on Sunday, she said yes and that we could come to her house. So! Sunday we went to her house to study the bible.

I had been to her house countless times but she had never before invited me in. I could tell from the outside that it was small but I didn't know how small until Sunday. When we arrived at her house at 11 they weren't quite ready for us so we sat outside on some rocks and talked with her son who is about 11 or 12. My friend Janna leaned against the side of the house and then quickly sat up as she realized that the outside wall moved. I am not sure what the wall is made out of but yea it definitely moves. So then we went inside. My first thought upon entering was "how cool." No sarcasm intended.

The house has approximately 2 rooms. We walked in to the front room and it was about the size of my bedroom - but instead of having 1 bed, like mine, it had 3 and they were all touching. There was enough space to walk to the beds and no more. So we sat on the beds and I got out my guitar and we worshipped together and studied. At one point, one of the ladies who came said, "I can't see." yea...there was no light or windows. But at her request, Gordo (which means fat) stood up and connected two open wires and on came the light bulb that hung from the ceiling. safe. I didn't see the other room but I am seriously hoping it is some kind of kitchen...but then where would the bathroom be? :/

The rest of my day, like that hour of studying, was a testament to why God called me here. I went to a party and heard a mariachi band, I played volleyball with friends (including Gordo) and at the end of the day I invited those who I had played volleyball with to study the Bible and their response :) - "well yea, we need to come." HOW COOL! They still haven't come but that is how the ministry goes here...they tell us yes 1000 times and don't come and then one day they do. Amen :)

Sunday was full of things I love...singing, guitar, the Bible, friends, volleyball, Mexican culture...and being in a house with 2 rooms. The last one confused me at the end of the day. I was thanking God for everything that had happened...all the victories I had witnessed and when I thanked him for getting to study in that house I hesitated. Why did I like that??? Shouldn't that totally break my heart and make me want to weep? Shouldn't I be thanking him for getting to study only and not because we had been in that particular house? But instead I couldn't shake the feeling of thankfulness. I loved it. What did that mean???

Well, maybe I am wrong, but I think God put a love for that in my heart. As I prayed I thought...there are some people who wouldn't be able to handle that. People who aren't able to walk into a house like that without breaking into tears. Some people who would walk into a house like that and only think about the germs (which trust me there are ALOT of). But to me, it is joy. Of course I would want to better their situation if I could, but the truth is that they are fine where they are. They don't need a big house to live a happier life - they need Jesus. And yes, it is probably weird that I would rather study in that little dark room sitting on those beds than in a church or on comfy couches, but maybe that is why God sent me here. Because to me it is joy.

So there is my rant :) I also want to share that we are expecting a volunteer team from the states on April 25th. Please be in prayer for the week that they will be here. We have several events planned in different parts of the city. We will be hosting 3 parties for child's day and for mother's day and using it as a way to grow our ministry in Colonia M and start our ministry in Colonia Comfort. Please keep praying for colonia M and the work we are continuing there. We currently have 5 studies during the week, a kids club, and an afternoon of volleyball each week. God has really been opening doors like crazy!

I know that this update is super long - but it is really hard for me to decide what to share and what not to share because God has been opening so many doors :) Our work in the university is in some senses floundering and in some senses growing. We have one study that meets Tues at 1pm and this study has exactly one student - please pray for wisdom in how to continue so that it grows and also to really pour into this student. We also have a study that meets tues at 9 pm and we recently lost the house we were meeting in, so this week we met outside of an OXXO (the pictures shown above) - it was actually super cool because the students still showed up and we were able to be in a very visible spot for other students to notice what we were doing. Pray that the eyes and ears of these students will be open that they might understand and accept Christ.

Thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement! I feel so blessed :)

Here is a video of what worship looks like with University students outside of a convenience store :)

Faith

Completely stolen electricity

My city

Getting ready to fit everyone in the car to go eat dinner

One of our Bible studies in Colonia M

How easy it is to say that we must trust in God when times are good, when things are going well, when we understand what we are "supposed" to do with our lives. But what about those of us who just don't know?

The last few months have been crazy fruitful in my ministry here. Doors have opened without us doing anything to open them. But ministry is still hard. Example: in Colonia M we invited one particular lady to study the Bible I don't even know how many times...time after time after time we asked her. She came some, but sporadically and finally quit coming altogether. We had essentially given up. And then one day months later she sent us sweet bread through her daughter with an invitation to come visit her. So we went. We talked with her, and what do you think she wanted? To study the Bible and to pray. Amen. So we started studying with her. Once a week we went to her house and studied and then one day she invited a friend and so now we study with both of them. And then one day the friend invited a friend. Today we studied with all three. And these 3 friends have another friend that has come on occasion. And now we study twice a week with them and pray and we are able to invite even more. This is the definition of the Holy Spirit working. How many times did I invite this lady to study the word? But it was God's time, and with his time 3 more ladies who wanted to study. Crazy right? Or not so crazy at all if we know Jesus :)

My work here is like that. I try and fail. I share the word and see no change, no fruit. I exhaust myself trying to reach people that don't want to be reached. I share with people and think they understand and then with one sweeping statement I realize they haven't heard a single word I said. I pray and receive no immediate answer. I open my mouth to speak and out comes what I think is good spanish until someone, with a seriously crushing blow, reminds me that its awful. This is life here. But then one day, someone wants to know more about this Jesus I have been trying to share about. And I realize how small my faith has been.

I hit this point today. Wednesdays are very busy days for me right now...and usually at the end I just feel frustrated. I felt frustrated at the end of today. I cried out tonight to God and then remembered all the other times in my year here that I have done this exact same thing. Pleadingly cried out to my Daddy for answers, to remind me of his love, to give me words to speak and love for these people. And more than anything, to complain about the fact that because I see no answers, I feel completely unworthy to share at all. And then I stood up and apologized.

Honestly, today was a hard day. It was long, tiring, and altogether seemingly unfruitful. But I declare in faith that God is in control. He knows what will happen. I had to put all my cares at his feet once again. How many times have I picked up my cares again after laying them down? I prayed that he would be merciful with me if I try to pick them up again. I put in his hands my ability to share his word, I know that God uses the weak and foolish to shame the wise - may he use my weakness and my foolishness for his glory. I put in his hands my future - where I will live, my transportation once I return home, where I will work, if I will study, renewing friendships, all of my fear. And I asked for renewed love and passion for people. Renewed love for the lost, downcast, hurting, overlooked, oppressed, and poor. When I see no fruit and I see no answers I know I must have faith.

I have seen glimpses of fruit and like that study that suddenly popped into existence in Colonia M, I have seen incredible answers. Faith - yea, easier said than done :) But God is so merciful.

I currently have so much going on that I feel like to write about each thing would be even longer than everything I just wrote ;) So I have a new idea. "Specifics." I know that I have a lot of prayer partners out there that are keeping up with this blog and are wholeheartedly praying for my ministry everyday. What I would like to do is ask you guys to really commit to praying for a specific person or event every day. If you are willing to take on this commitment I will send you a list of "specifics" and let you choose according to what God puts on your heart to pray for. The list will contain specific people, families, or events to pray for and I will do my best to keep you informed of the prayer needs of your assigned prayer request and updates. To be honest, I have a really hard time praying for everyone and everything in my life right now, so I would be super excited to know that people at home are praying diligently for specifics. If you want to be one of the people praying for the "specifics" please send me an email and let me know you want to commit to pray everyday for a "specific."

I know I have said this a lot, but I just want to say again that I truly appreciate your prayers, notes, and encouragements. We are the body of Christ and I am so thankful to be edified through you.

Dance a little bit

Grafiti from my city :)

Hello Prayer Friends,

I have been feeling the need to be creative lately and have had no outlet for it. As many of you know I love music and singing and often my inner thoughts, joys, pains, and love can be expressed through song. Lately, though, this emotion inside me hasn't wanted to come out in a song - sadly. I have found myself wondering more about the love of God and what it looks like to live in that love every single day. I really want to sing about it :)

I have been faced with a lie from satan in these last few days - the lie that God's love depends on us. The Bible says that God knew me before he created me...he KNEW me. He loved me before I ever entered this world. He chose me not based on who I am, what I do, or how I live but because he is sovereign. He gets to decide - not me. Many times I find myself judging my own actions. I came to a point last night while praying when I realized, for the first time, that I almost always am sitting in the judgment seat of my own life - judging when God should love me, when he should forgive me, when he should draw near to me, how much he should love me, how much blessing I deserve, and when he should speak to me. Am I the judge? Everyone in this moment should be sighing a resounding NO. Thank Jesus I am not the judge of anything!

This is where Grace enters the picture. I know what it is. I know what it means. I know it is free. But for some reason I haven't allowed myself to truly fall into it. By continuing to take God's place as judge I haven't allowed his grace to swallow me up. When I believed in Jesus as the Redeemer of this world and of my life, I accepted that he died to cleanse me. Why is it so hard to just believe that God loves us and is so willing to forgive us. To take us back. When I sit in judgment on myself for something God has already forgiven, or when I decide that because my whole day wasn't filled with work that I am an unworthy disciple, I am not letting God take me in. I want that! I want to experience and know the true LOVE of Christ! His redemptive power alive in my life! I want to know the joy of truly releasing myself to Jesus and allowing him to clothe me in his forgiveness...his grace.

Some of you might be thinking in this moment, "what does this have to do with her update about ministry?" Well, it changes how I live ministry. If I think that my skills and my talents and my ability to share the love of Jesus somehow make God love me more or less then I am constantly weighted down by guilt because I can never live up to God's standard of holiness. But if I realize and accept that God loves me perfectly no matter the mistakes I make as his missionary and more importantly as his daughter, then I am free to live his love without the fear of messing up.

Can you picture God's love? When you think about the beauties of this world that scream his majesty - the mountains, the oceans, the deserts, the stars - Doesn't it make you want to dance? And sing? And Jump around screaming and waving your arms about?? God is HUGE and he loves us...US! And it does NOT depend on our ability to serve or work or be a good daughter, mom, father, or son. It depends on GOD! And he does NOT fail us! So take a minute to get excited by the love of your Father :) The love of your savior. Maybe dance around and sing. And maybe serve him out of love and not out of obligation or fear. He will not stop loving you.

Does this mean we stop striving for holiness? By no means...

"What then? shall we sin because we are not under the law but under grace? By no means! Don't you know that when you offer yourselves to someone to obey him as slaves, you are slaves to the one whom you obey - whether you are slaves to sin, which leads to death, or to obedience, which leads to righteousness? But thanks be to God that, though you used to be slaves to sin, you wholeheartedly obeyed the form of teaching to which you were entrusted. You have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness....But now that you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to God, the benefit you reap leads to holiness, and the result is eternal life. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord." Romans 6:12-18 & 22-23

Amen

Learning to Juggle on Thanksgiving :)

Busy eating yummy food

I ate some sugar cane with some great friends...delicious

Christmas with one of my best friends

My mom's visit to Mexico!

So I just want to update you guys after a couple of busy months. I went home for Thanksgiving and it was LOVELY. I got to see lots of great friends and eat some good food and spend time with my family. Home looks totally different, by the way, after a years time. Then I headed back to Mexico and jumped straight into working in the university and in Bible studies. In fact, my first night back in Mexico I had a Bible study to go to - and God immediately put joy in my heart when I saw the sweet faces of my Mexican friends, just in case I might have been a little homesick ;)

In December I really thought my work load would slow down because of the holidays but that didn't seem to be the case at all. I was running all over the place :) to my great delight. My roommate went home for three weeks during Christmas so I was here alone, but busy. I think God had me work to keep me from being lonely - blessings. I got to spend Christmas with my Pastor's family which was really great because his daughter is one of my very best friends. It was very similar to Christmas at home - we went to church and then we went to a relative's house for dinner...I think we ate around 11:30 ;) Most of the food had nuts in it so I couldn't eat it (story of my life) but overall it was a fantastic night. I left them at about 2:30 in the morning and they had just started watching a movie - They LOVE to stay up late. I woke up in the morning with another family that is here...great friends! I got to watch their kids open presents and I got a few presents of my own :) We ate puerto rican food for lunch which was delicious and definitely made my Christmas away from home complete.

Then my mom came to visit for a week! She was here after Christmas but during new years. We did a lot of sight seeing around León and also in a nearby city. It was not just great to see my mom but also great to show her where I live and let her meet my friends. I think she communicated pretty well for not knowing any Spanish :)

So now I feel like I am starting over. I have about 7 months left here in León and part of me is wondering what I can do here in 7 months that will have real eternal impact. Pray with me as I continue sharing the Bible in the universities. Pray for my friend R who is working with me to reach the students. We want to really share the gospel message so that if these students don't come back they will at least have heard the good news: "repent for the kingdom of God is near."

Please also pray for Colonia M (which basically means neighborhood or a colony of houses). I am teaching English in this area and I am not sure where to go with my lessons now. The center I am teaching in is going to open again this coming week and I am not sure if I should start over with my lessons to try to encourage new students to come or if I should continue building on what I have already taught - please pray that it will become clear what I should do. Also please pray for a real open door in this center. I have asked if I can start a Bible class and the Director of the center told me that I can but that it just depends on interest in the community - please pray that many would be interested. Also I would like to really reach out to the youth that live in this community that aren't in school and are also not really working. I want to share the truth with them on their level - pray that I could begin building relationships with them and really just meet them...pray that God will give me guidance and wisdom about how to start.

Also, there is a new area of town that I scouted one day as I was looking for other community centers. My roommate also scouted this same area on a completely separate occasion and also feels led to begin working there. God is very good in how he has been working out our callings and making clear his desires for us. Please pray for this area - it is extremely large so I am not sure how to name it but I am just going to call it Comfort for right now. So please pray for Colonia Comfort and what God would have us do there.

I want to again thank you all for keeping up with my life here in Mx. I am so grateful for your prayers and notes! please let me know how I can also be praying for you all...I do not want this to be a one way street. We all need to be lifted up to the father - we are the BODY of Christ and he calls us to pray together. please let me know how I can be lifting you up!