Inner Healing

This week Rachel and I were asked to help teach the class on Inner Healing to the DTS students. We were both pretty pumped.

Until I started to get ready for it. As I prayed, I really felt God leading me to "expose myself" and share from a really vulnerable place. The topic I was to be sharing...Rejection. Ouch. Turns out that I know a little about that topic. Then I got words from many of you that confirmed what God was telling me. So I went for it.

Let me tell you, you can come to terms with a lot of things in your life. But when you have to say them OUT LOUD...IN PUBLIC, that is just something totally different. I was crying before I even started class. I stood up and saw one of my friends from across the room and mouth to her, "I don't think I can do this." So she prayed and I cried some more. It turned out really good though.

Through that and the other classes, God has totally been working in the students' hearts. Last night, we had an awesome time of ministering. The students were broken. A few of them were actually weeping (most were crying). God gave us words. It was beautiful.

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Des

PS- It is my birthday tomorrow. Feel free to shower me with attention ;)

Christmas at Home

So, my time at home has been breathtaking. I couldn't have planned a more blessed or meaningful time. God went OUT OF HIS WAY to provide me with opportunities that I never thought I would have. I got to see so many significant people. Let me explain through the pictures... My BROTHER!!! Many of you have heard me talk about my brother (Sonia's best friend who is just a part of our family). Well, I hadn't met him yet officially. So he surprised us and spent Christmas with our family. Those are "nice to meet you" flowers. So sweet! I love him.
I called my childhood best friend to get together and it turns out that our other best friend was in town from Idaho, so we had a whole high school reunion pretty much. There is one pretty pregnant Anne, Shawna (whom I hadn't seen in YEARS), Stephanie, and Joy (my best friend since first grade).
This was a special moment taken between me and a bag of Christmas blend Starbucks.
Ok. So the day after I got back to the States, my family and I went up to a cabin in Sedona. It was great. Snow on the ground. This was a picture Seriah and I took in front.
I got to fly out to Michigan TO FINALLY MEET MY FAMILY on my mom's side. AMAZING. This is my sister and I with our grandpa. I can't even put words to how significant this trip was to me. It was like finding a piece of me that had been missing for years.
Here I am with my aunt Maria and my precious cousin Amanda.
This was my sister and I in front of Stephanie's memorial tree. My aunt Sonia on the right lost her daughter (my cousin) to cancer this year after a 2.5 year battle. This was our first Christmas without her.

Here are my other precious little cousins. Amanda, Savanna, and Faith. They are stinkin cute.

I will also be leaving on Thursday to visit my old base in Mexico. So I will get to see my old friends.

It has all been so rich. I will never forget this Christmas. God was on a mission to surprise me, delight me, and bless me in every way imaginable. Thank you, Lord.

Stories

Man, I just read Rachel's blog and am going to reference you there because she did a good job capturing our experience. (The link is under my favorite links and has the word Rachel in it. Sorry, I don't have it in front of me, but you are all bright people).

Another school has past. I have just completed my third semester with YWAM Medellin. This was one of my favorite and most challenging outreaches.

I love the work we did get to do. Highlights- Fefa and I were eating at a family's house for two weeks and got to see a clear picture of what the family was going through. All Christian, but hugely suffering in silence. The father had a past of being abusive, the son had gotten into huge trouble as an adolencent (involvement with a homocide) which very much affected the family. And no one talked about it. There was so much hurt. So much unforgiveness. But so much desire to more forward in life and forgive.

The last night, Fefa and I sat them down as a family and started to tell them what we saw and what we felt like the Lord had for them. We talked about the effects of violence in the family. How it needs to be dealt with. And they had a beautiful time of asking for forgiveness from one another and speaking words of blessing. Then we prayed for all of them. It was awesome. The next day, there was a whole different feel in the house. Lightness. Love. Hope. I left so aware that we had really changed the course of their destiny.

The challenging part was that it was hard for people to trust us and consider us authorities for our ages. I was the oldest by...five years? Six? So many people missed their opportunities to receive help by not opening up.

I will be home soon. As you know, I do not have a cell phone, so the best way to get ahold of me is still via email. :)

Photos from the Amazon

 

 

 

 

Half Way Point

Our time in Macedonia has been amazing. The community has totally opened up to us and has received us with full confidence.

We are working mostly with the local schools, teaching on relationships,identity, and what it means to have a relationship with the Lord.

They are so open!

And it is the most beautiful place on Earth I have ever seen. Raw creation. It is delightful.

Pray for wisdom for me. There are some complicated things going on with the pastor. I need wisdom to know how to confront it and do what is best for the community.

The picture above was taking in a time of counseling with one of the girls in Filadelfia. She was the one I got the cool word for. So much need...