Once again I find myself a little pensive about my trip. I will try to share a few highlights though.
Building Hope:
The purpose of our trip was to build the second floor of a two story building that will serve as a church and a multi-purpose center for retreats/outreaches. With a handful of beastly men, a small group of volunteers from the church, and a mighty team of 4 girls (I count myself as one of the girls, even though you might have pegged me as a "beastly man"), we completed our goal. Framing in place, columns up, and second floor completed (they will complete the first floor with materials they are used to working with). Go team! A contractor stopped by one of the last days and said that it would have taken him two months to complete what we did in two weeks (with a largely untrained team). God is good!
Now, if you know me (and you probably do if you are reading this), I might forget to tell you that we built a building. Why? Because it was a detail. It was a fruit of greater things that God is doing.
So here comes the "good stuff" :)
This past New Year, Vanesa and Abigail (daughters of the pastoral family...and Vane was the one who God took home in February) did an activity where they made little signs with words like Strenght, Prayer, Faith, Friendship, Hope, Love, etc. And each member of the family had to pick one and give it to someone else in the family and explain why. Pastor Jorge was given two: Strength and Hope. You can imagine how significant these became at the loss of his daughter two months later.
After a series of God interventions, everything was underway with the purchasing of the property and the building. On the sixth month anniversary of Vane's passing, they signed the final papers to purchase the property. As they remembered her and reflected on past experiences, Pastor Jorge suggested that they name the building...Hope...after the sign he had been given at New Years. The next week our first builders from the team showed up to Argentina. Dennis (our head constructor), handed Pastor Jorge a newpaper article that had run in the Fountain Hills local paper. The title of it read, "Vice Mayor [Dennis] builds hope". The rest of the article does not mention hope in any way. It was just God's present and continued confirmation that He is all over everything that was transpiring (and has transpired).
I love when He does that. I love watching that He has been PERSISTANT and RELENTLESS in pouring out His grace, favor, and strength upon this family that is so dedicated to serving Him. He is just like that.
For me personally, it was wonderful. He was so near to me. He spoke constantly. Not about my future. Not about the plans. Just stuff that my heart needed to hear. I want more of Him. Always. There is nothing better.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Thursday, September 30, 2010
Round Two- Ding!
A whole four and a half minutes later, I am on my way back to Argentina!
God is so good. He has been so amazing through this whole process. I am excited to go back having grown in areas of my heart and having seen some transformation in myself. The biggest transformation is that I know longer NEED to know the plan for my future. I am not in a hurry to find out the next steps. I am SO LOVING this process and loving the ONE taking me through the process, that I just don't care anymore. I trust Him. He is doing wonderful things. He will show me when the time is right. It is yummy. He is yummy.
I have been so bless by how many of you have really come around me in prayer. I am seeing the fruit! Please keep it up!!
Pray that:
1. Our eyes will be on Him and the big picture of what He is doing. That we would not get caught up or distracted with things that don't have eternal purpose.
2. He would speak TO each of us and THROUGH each of us.
3. The details of building in a foreign country come together. It has been a challenge and we need God to work it out.
4. That the team would be UNIFIED and protected from the enemy.
...and for me personally, please pray for eyes to see and ears to hear. I just want to know His heart. I want to be close and know what He is doing. I want wisdom. I want to be able to share His heart with others. I want to be used.
Oh, and pray that my man hands don't get any more manly with all the construction. I enjoy being a girl. That's not too much for a girl to ask, right? (translation- pray that I find my place in service. You might not realize this, but I am not pretty scrawny and weak. Pray that I don't get totally jacked up trying to keep up with people of normal strength!!)
Blessings and love to each of you!!!
God is so good. He has been so amazing through this whole process. I am excited to go back having grown in areas of my heart and having seen some transformation in myself. The biggest transformation is that I know longer NEED to know the plan for my future. I am not in a hurry to find out the next steps. I am SO LOVING this process and loving the ONE taking me through the process, that I just don't care anymore. I trust Him. He is doing wonderful things. He will show me when the time is right. It is yummy. He is yummy.
I have been so bless by how many of you have really come around me in prayer. I am seeing the fruit! Please keep it up!!
Pray that:
1. Our eyes will be on Him and the big picture of what He is doing. That we would not get caught up or distracted with things that don't have eternal purpose.
2. He would speak TO each of us and THROUGH each of us.
3. The details of building in a foreign country come together. It has been a challenge and we need God to work it out.
4. That the team would be UNIFIED and protected from the enemy.
...and for me personally, please pray for eyes to see and ears to hear. I just want to know His heart. I want to be close and know what He is doing. I want wisdom. I want to be able to share His heart with others. I want to be used.
Oh, and pray that my man hands don't get any more manly with all the construction. I enjoy being a girl. That's not too much for a girl to ask, right? (translation- pray that I find my place in service. You might not realize this, but I am not pretty scrawny and weak. Pray that I don't get totally jacked up trying to keep up with people of normal strength!!)
Blessings and love to each of you!!!
Friday, August 13, 2010
Deep Breath
Thank you all for your patience in getting this update. It is a soft spot for me even still, but I want to be able to share it with you.
This journey started so long ago for me in my traumatic uprooting from Colombia. These past two years have been (and still are) about healing, growth, and the refining of my calling. God birthed in me a desire to go down with the team to Argentina, and miraculously provided for me to go not once, but twice. As the plane was landing, the song playing in my ipod was "Tu has sido fiel, tu has sido fiel, siempre has sido fiel..." (You have been faithful, You have been faithful, You have always been faithful...).
From the moment we landed, I was just overwhelmed with GRATITUDE that He would have picked me for this experience. That feeling of "who am I, Lord, that You would pick me for this?" It was such a special, intimate thing to be a part of, that I often felt undeserving (in a good way).
Ministry Highlights-
The motive for this trip was to reopen Punchinello. Punchinello is an arts school for children, opened by Vanessa Szczecko three years ago. Amazing woman of God. A couple of years older than me. Just a woman that left imprints on the hearts of every single person she met. And about four months ago, the Lord decided that He couldn't resist having her away from heavenly home any more and brought her home. He healed her cancer permanently. So we went down to be a support to the pastoral family, and to throw the re-opening party. Out of privacy and respect of the family, I am not going to go into detail here and will just focus on my own experience.
I just felt very CONNECTED and honored to be a part of it. I had been praying for the school and over the new leader (also named Vanessa), so it was good to be able to see first hand that the Lord is being faithful to raise up the Joshua (as He had given me to pray), and that He is being faithful to give her the same grace and anointing to lead these children to the "Promised Land".
It was also super fun to involved with kids. Not my full-time calling, but I love to speak/teach for kids. (Pastor Bobby spoke, and I translated both into Spanish...and into children...and I love that!)
Another highlight was speaking at Rivadavia, one of their church plants in an impoverished (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) neighborhood. Months ago, I had an impression that I would speak there. I prayed about it for a couple of months and for the life of me, God would not show me what He wanted me to talk about. Minutes before service started, David asked me if I was going to share or not and it became clear to me. It was to be the first time I would share about my last two years in a public setting, as a form of praise and worship to God for having carried me thus far. I had a woman come up to me after and tell me that she was not from the church, but God told her to go to this service that night. She said that it was exactly what she needed to hear. I walked away from the experience reaaaally missing preaching. I didn't realize it, but man, I am so passionate about sharing about God's character and testifying to His goodness to a captive audience. I hope my roommate likes the new pulpit I've placed outside her bathroom.
The night before we left, I had quite a break down. I felt so...conflicted. I had so much expectation going into it (come on...you don't provide miraculously for me to go down and not have me wondering what You're up to...). I was hoping for writing on the wall. "YES DESTENI, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU! DEPARTURE DATE...MARCH 3, 2011 AT 7:14AM!!!" But that did not happen. I felt like God had opened up all these desires and began to question whether or not He was ever going to have "a place" for me (where American/Latina Desteni gets to be one whole person). So I had a bubble of emotion and doubt swell up in me. And beautiful God, so faithful...I opened my Bible and it landed on the verse "Do not be impatient for the Lord to act. Travel steadily on the path and He will honor you and give you the land." (insert ugly cry). I went to write the verse in my journal, and when I opened to the next page, the quote on top was, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've always imagined." (ugly cry turned into gymnastic facial contortion).
So to answer the big question on everyone's minds, "Are you thinking about moving down there?" I am traveling steadily on the path. I still have stuff to learn here. And I am praying about it. If you know me at all, you know that I don't make decisions emotionally or do what seems most obvious, just because it is obvious. If God gives me a green light, I think it would be a good fit. I am trying not to prematurely get attached to the idea and have it just be a stepping stone to something else. My job is to be here, now, and finish the process that I began.
I will be there again in a month and a half. I appreciate everyone's prayers. Whatever He is doing, it is good. And I will be ready, and everyone else will be ready, when it is time.
This journey started so long ago for me in my traumatic uprooting from Colombia. These past two years have been (and still are) about healing, growth, and the refining of my calling. God birthed in me a desire to go down with the team to Argentina, and miraculously provided for me to go not once, but twice. As the plane was landing, the song playing in my ipod was "Tu has sido fiel, tu has sido fiel, siempre has sido fiel..." (You have been faithful, You have been faithful, You have always been faithful...).
From the moment we landed, I was just overwhelmed with GRATITUDE that He would have picked me for this experience. That feeling of "who am I, Lord, that You would pick me for this?" It was such a special, intimate thing to be a part of, that I often felt undeserving (in a good way).
Ministry Highlights-
The motive for this trip was to reopen Punchinello. Punchinello is an arts school for children, opened by Vanessa Szczecko three years ago. Amazing woman of God. A couple of years older than me. Just a woman that left imprints on the hearts of every single person she met. And about four months ago, the Lord decided that He couldn't resist having her away from heavenly home any more and brought her home. He healed her cancer permanently. So we went down to be a support to the pastoral family, and to throw the re-opening party. Out of privacy and respect of the family, I am not going to go into detail here and will just focus on my own experience.
I just felt very CONNECTED and honored to be a part of it. I had been praying for the school and over the new leader (also named Vanessa), so it was good to be able to see first hand that the Lord is being faithful to raise up the Joshua (as He had given me to pray), and that He is being faithful to give her the same grace and anointing to lead these children to the "Promised Land".
It was also super fun to involved with kids. Not my full-time calling, but I love to speak/teach for kids. (Pastor Bobby spoke, and I translated both into Spanish...and into children...and I love that!)
Another highlight was speaking at Rivadavia, one of their church plants in an impoverished (physically, emotionally, and spiritually) neighborhood. Months ago, I had an impression that I would speak there. I prayed about it for a couple of months and for the life of me, God would not show me what He wanted me to talk about. Minutes before service started, David asked me if I was going to share or not and it became clear to me. It was to be the first time I would share about my last two years in a public setting, as a form of praise and worship to God for having carried me thus far. I had a woman come up to me after and tell me that she was not from the church, but God told her to go to this service that night. She said that it was exactly what she needed to hear. I walked away from the experience reaaaally missing preaching. I didn't realize it, but man, I am so passionate about sharing about God's character and testifying to His goodness to a captive audience. I hope my roommate likes the new pulpit I've placed outside her bathroom.
The night before we left, I had quite a break down. I felt so...conflicted. I had so much expectation going into it (come on...you don't provide miraculously for me to go down and not have me wondering what You're up to...). I was hoping for writing on the wall. "YES DESTENI, THIS IS WHAT I HAVE FOR YOU! DEPARTURE DATE...MARCH 3, 2011 AT 7:14AM!!!" But that did not happen. I felt like God had opened up all these desires and began to question whether or not He was ever going to have "a place" for me (where American/Latina Desteni gets to be one whole person). So I had a bubble of emotion and doubt swell up in me. And beautiful God, so faithful...I opened my Bible and it landed on the verse "Do not be impatient for the Lord to act. Travel steadily on the path and He will honor you and give you the land." (insert ugly cry). I went to write the verse in my journal, and when I opened to the next page, the quote on top was, "Go confidently in the direction of your dreams. Live the life you've always imagined." (ugly cry turned into gymnastic facial contortion).
So to answer the big question on everyone's minds, "Are you thinking about moving down there?" I am traveling steadily on the path. I still have stuff to learn here. And I am praying about it. If you know me at all, you know that I don't make decisions emotionally or do what seems most obvious, just because it is obvious. If God gives me a green light, I think it would be a good fit. I am trying not to prematurely get attached to the idea and have it just be a stepping stone to something else. My job is to be here, now, and finish the process that I began.
I will be there again in a month and a half. I appreciate everyone's prayers. Whatever He is doing, it is good. And I will be ready, and everyone else will be ready, when it is time.
Thursday, July 29, 2010
Round One
I leave for Argentina in the morning. (You probably didn't know since I hardly talk about it...wait...)
I feel excited, nervous, expectant, happy, worried...lots of things! I have so much on my mind that I cannot really articulate at the moment. You will have to wait until I get home and can process a bit.
Specific prayer requests:
1. Safety in travel for ourselves and our luggage :). I would LOVE for our luggage to make it there with us.
2. That I would be open for God to use me in the way that He wants to (and not be confined to my own ideas of how He has used me in the past).
3. That He would speak to me. That He would give me eyes to see and hears to hear.
4. That I would have the confidence and faith to step out.
5. That I would be able to translate for Pastor Bobby without anyone getting injured. :)
See you on the flip side!
I feel excited, nervous, expectant, happy, worried...lots of things! I have so much on my mind that I cannot really articulate at the moment. You will have to wait until I get home and can process a bit.
Specific prayer requests:
1. Safety in travel for ourselves and our luggage :). I would LOVE for our luggage to make it there with us.
2. That I would be open for God to use me in the way that He wants to (and not be confined to my own ideas of how He has used me in the past).
3. That He would speak to me. That He would give me eyes to see and hears to hear.
4. That I would have the confidence and faith to step out.
5. That I would be able to translate for Pastor Bobby without anyone getting injured. :)
See you on the flip side!
Sunday, July 4, 2010
Blessed
I am so blessed. God never ceases to amaze me and surprise me. He is so faithful and good and persistant. I think He is altogether Yummy.
Recently I was really struggling with Him with some things regarding my future, my calling, and these trips to Argentina. I had pretty much given up on the October trip, since our first payment deadline was in a couple of weeks and I was still short on the first trip. I was having a battle in myself between my intellect (what is smart, reasonable, and responsible) and my intuition (knowledge in my spirit that something is going on). I finally cried out to Him that I needed Him to INTERVENE and to speak to me.
Oh goodness. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. I think He was on the edge of His seat waiting for me to ask. That day, out of the blue, everyone I was in contact with had something to say about my name ("wait, what does that have to do with anything...oh, her name is Destiny...I get it.") People who have known me for years and are over the novelty of it. God was just stirring in me the fact that I am created with a specific destiny. My name is no accident. It is a part of who I am and what He is doing with me.
Then, very unexpectedly, I received a very generous donation in mail towards my trips that fully paid off my first trip and put me well on my way for the second. I cried. I went into the accounting office and cried. I cried in a box. I cried with a fox. I was SO GRATEFUL how the Lord not only provided, but spoke to my heart and affirmed, "Yes, Desteni, you are not imagining this. You are following me. I am doing real things in your life."
And if that were not enough, He has decided to speak to me constantly. Now, I believe that God is always trying to communicate with us, but I mean speaking to me in a particular way. For example, I had three people pray over me VERBATIM the exact same prayer. "Lord, give Desteni the HOPE and the FAITH to be able to reach her DESTINY." It wasn't on topic. And we weren't even praying over one another. People just took it upon themselves to pray for me.
And you know what else I love? He has been speaking correction to me. Areas of my heart that still need to be dealt with in order to make me a trustworthy vessel. Wish it could be done overnight, but I love walking it out with Him.
Please refer to my Prayer Requests on the side if you'd like to be a part of my prayer team. I feel like it is a very key time for me and I would appreciate people advocating for me in prayer.
If you'd like to help financially (I still need about $1400 to fund the rest of the October trip), please send checks made to City of Grace (with Desteni-Argentina in the memo) to 655 E University Dr, Mesa, AZ 85203 ATTN: Outreach.
Thanks.
"That's all I gotta say about that..."
Recently I was really struggling with Him with some things regarding my future, my calling, and these trips to Argentina. I had pretty much given up on the October trip, since our first payment deadline was in a couple of weeks and I was still short on the first trip. I was having a battle in myself between my intellect (what is smart, reasonable, and responsible) and my intuition (knowledge in my spirit that something is going on). I finally cried out to Him that I needed Him to INTERVENE and to speak to me.
Oh goodness. Ask and you shall receive. Seek and you shall find. Knock and the door will be opened to you. I think He was on the edge of His seat waiting for me to ask. That day, out of the blue, everyone I was in contact with had something to say about my name ("wait, what does that have to do with anything...oh, her name is Destiny...I get it.") People who have known me for years and are over the novelty of it. God was just stirring in me the fact that I am created with a specific destiny. My name is no accident. It is a part of who I am and what He is doing with me.
Then, very unexpectedly, I received a very generous donation in mail towards my trips that fully paid off my first trip and put me well on my way for the second. I cried. I went into the accounting office and cried. I cried in a box. I cried with a fox. I was SO GRATEFUL how the Lord not only provided, but spoke to my heart and affirmed, "Yes, Desteni, you are not imagining this. You are following me. I am doing real things in your life."
And if that were not enough, He has decided to speak to me constantly. Now, I believe that God is always trying to communicate with us, but I mean speaking to me in a particular way. For example, I had three people pray over me VERBATIM the exact same prayer. "Lord, give Desteni the HOPE and the FAITH to be able to reach her DESTINY." It wasn't on topic. And we weren't even praying over one another. People just took it upon themselves to pray for me.
And you know what else I love? He has been speaking correction to me. Areas of my heart that still need to be dealt with in order to make me a trustworthy vessel. Wish it could be done overnight, but I love walking it out with Him.
Please refer to my Prayer Requests on the side if you'd like to be a part of my prayer team. I feel like it is a very key time for me and I would appreciate people advocating for me in prayer.
If you'd like to help financially (I still need about $1400 to fund the rest of the October trip), please send checks made to City of Grace (with Desteni-Argentina in the memo) to 655 E University Dr, Mesa, AZ 85203 ATTN: Outreach.
Thanks.
"That's all I gotta say about that..."
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