12/27/10

Hi everyone.  Its been a little over a week since i have been here in mexico city.  I am with my team in a district of mexico city, the name is pretty hard to spell so i am not going to attempt to.  The area that my group is in is like an hour from downtown mexico city, but there is still so many people.  There are two or three story concrete houses as far as the eyes can see. Our group is living in a pastors house.  The living conditions are pretty nice actually.  We all share double beds with matresses, have hot water most of the time,  have wash boards.  Everything we really need, accept internet, lol but that has actually been a good thing.   

     The community we are living in is nice, but it was an adjustment for me when and still is.  The biggist adjustments have been a new group dynamic and having people stare at you all the time.  Since our dts group split up into two different outreach groups many people i was close with are on the other team.  so i miss them, but also since our group is different i guess the way we interact is also different.  But i get along well with everyone here but it has been an adjustment.  Also, everywhere we go people look at us becuase we are white. haha, we are lnot in downtown were most of the tourist are so we look out of place.  

   I am getting used to these things though and am starting to feel more comfortable.  As far as ministry goes.  Our group decides what we do each day. We are not really working for another ministry, but are doing our own ministries. So far what we have been doing this past week a lot is reading the bible out loud in the community, for spiritual warfare reasons.  Last thursday we had a vacation bible school for the kids in the area.  We went out into the community to invite people.  When we started no one was actaully there, but we decided to start our skit and when we did kids kinda of started coming out of the cracks.  and eventually there were like 25 kids there.  so that went well.  another ministry i have been doing is playing soccer at the local park.  a lot of kids play there and i have been getting to know them.  some of the kids were the ones that went to the bible school.  so now we are looking for ways to share the gospel with them.  today we went to the downtown area of our district.  we split into groups and read the bible out loud, prayed, interceded for the city,  read the bible in the catholic church, prayed for people.  Its was a good day.  I am running out of town at the internet cafe so i got to go. love everyone. peace out.

12/14/10

Yo yo.  This past week the speaker was Jeff Pratt, the brother to the speaker three weeks ago, Tim Pratt.  The topic for the week was spiritual disciplines.  There were a few things that stood out to me from Jeff's lecture the first day.  One, that all of us have three longings; to be loved, to be needed, and a desire to be significant in this life/desire to leave a legacy.  I definitely can relate to longing for all of these things.  The first day was related to fully living in this life.  Another point he made related to this topic is that you are not really living until you have a passion worth dying for.  He then stressed the importance of having God be your passion in life, and what your passions are is what people are attracted to.  So that is one thing that really stood out to me is that I want to have more passion for the Lord that is evident in my life.  The next few days he spoke on spiritual disciplines and why they are so important.  Then on Thursday we drove like 30 minutes away from the base to have a time of silence and solitude with God.

We arrived at a rural ranch on the coast with large mountains on right next to the coast.  It was so beautiful.  We were told that we would have 4 hours to be alone and have some time with just us and God.  Jeff gave us some worksheets that we could look over for some guidance on silence and solitude.  My expectations for the day was something along the lines of reviewing the notes that I have taken throughout DTS to see the things that have really stood out to me, talking with God and asking him my questions,  and looking over the notes Jeff gave us.  So when we were released and our silence time began my initial desire was to find a really remote location were no one was around me.  I started climbing the mountain to the left.  I followed a horse trail, I knew it was a horse trail because there was crap on the trail, up the side of the mountain.  The trail eventually ended though so i decided I would be able to keep blazing a trail through the brush on the mountain and I decided to keep going.  It was a lot harder then I anticipated, but I kept going.  As I was walking I started to sing out lout worship songs, but shortly after I started singing I started to get paranoid and scared of rattlesnakes.  I eventually got to the top of the mountain and had a beautiful view of the coast for miles.  I chilled there and just appreciated the surrounding creation and ate lunch.  I chilled there for awhile then started back down the mountain.  Once again I had to blaze my own trail.  I eventually got back to the base camp, but I was the last one to arrive because I hiked to far away and it took a long time.  It was a really good day. instead of the initial plans I had of going over my notes and stuff, it turned into a time of worship, appreciation for Gods creation, relaxation in silence and solitude with God, and a lesson in trusting the Lord.

This is the Last week of the lecture phase of my DTS.  I will be leaving with my group for Mexico City this Friday.  The time has flown by and I have learned so much.  Hopefully I have grown and matured a little.  I am pretty anxious for what the next two months hold.  I am really excited about what God is going to do in the places we visit and in us.   I am also a little nervous though because there are still a lot of unknowns about what exactly our ministries will be and things like that.  But I know God is with us and looking after us. Romans 8:28 comes to mind,

  "And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who^[a] have been called according to his purpose." 

This will probably be my last blog update for like two weeks or so.  Keep me and my team in your prayers, we'll need them.  Thanks for all the support.  I love you guys.

12/05/10

Hey guys, sorry i didn't update the blog last week, I never got around to it.  Anyways, two weeks ago the speaker was Peter Brownhill and the topic was the character and nature of God.  The week for me was alright.  The topic had some interesting points that i never thought to much about, but i felt like a lot of what was taught was review and also there was a little of information given so it was hard to take everything in.  There was some things that stood out to me during the week though.  Peter talked to us about the nature and Character of God.  He really wanted us to remember this little summary about God's nature.
    God is an-
       - invisible, personal, everlasting,
       - infinite in power, presence, and knowledge
       - a trinity of beings
He described God's character as
       - love, holiness, mercy, righteousness, justice, wisdom, faithfulness, and truthfulness

During that week I also finished reading, The Shack.  It was a really good book about a guy who's daughter gets kidnapped.  Through that experience he blames God for losing his daughter.  The man, Mack, recieves an invitation in the mail to meet God at the shack where he found evidence of his daughters death.  He goes to the shack and ends up meeting God.  Its a great book that really helped me to understand the trinity better and also was a good example of what God's character and nature is like.

A cool thing that I did last Sunday was climb the mountain that is in back of the base.  There was like ten of us who hiked the mountain, all together it was like a 6 or 7 mile hike.  here are some pics.

This past week we didn't have a speaker.  Instead we worked with one of the ministries on base, homes of hope, and learned dramas that we will use for outreach.  The homes of hope ministry provides low income households with nice homes.  The families that get homes built for them are families that are in a really bad housing situation as well as other situations.  Groups will donate money to come down and build a house for a selected family.  So group donated money so that our DTS would be able to build a home fore some one.  So that is what we did monday and tuesday this week.  Its was a lot of fun, tiring though.  The family that we built the home for consisted of a mother and her three girls.  The family really deserved the house and its was such a blessing for them.  The rest of the week we worked on different dramas that would be helpful with evangelistic in mexico city.  It was a good week, tiring though.

Another thing, our DTS as a whole needs around $30,000 more dollars to afford to go on outreach.  I, fortunately, have all my bills paid so i will be going.  But some of my other classmates are struggling financially.  It would be a huge loss if one person would be able to come along to outreach because they couldn't afford it.
It would be really helpful to my classmates if anyone would be willing to donate.  Contact me over email or facebook if you are interested in donating.  my email is elliodo803@gmail.com.  Thanks, with love.

Below are some pics of the build:

11/21/10

The speaker this past week was Tim Pratt and the topic was team building.  It was different week then the ones because it was interactive.  The week started with Tim talking about freedom and bondage.  He challenged us to dig deep and find what was keeping us in spiritual bondage.  He also wanted us to open up more with each other and allow the people in our DTS to get to know each other on a deeper level.  So on Tuesday we say around in a circle and shared with each other the hardest or most challenging things we went through in our childhoods.  There were some tears shed, but it was really good to learn about other people on a deep level.  During the week we also did a lot of team building excersises.  Some of them were really challenging, they required us to work together as a team and use lots of communication.  The activities helped me to understand the importance of leadership, listening, communication, and patients when working with a team.  Tim was a really cool guy and helped a lot of people work through things that they were struggling with or were in bondage to.  So it was a really good week to get to know my team better and to work through some of my own issues.

prayer request:

- financial support for my teammates

- continued revelation on what we have learned

- energy

- unity within our gourp

- a heart for our outreach locations

- that we will be able to hear God's voice and direction and respond in obediance

- that we will not burn out, but find strength in the Lord

Love you guys.  I hope everything is well back east.  

Love Elliot


below: a picture of me on the right and people on my team doing a  team building excersise

11/14/10

This past week was really good.  The speaker was Art Collins.  The topic was marks of a disciple.  I liked him and his teaching style a lot.  He was very generous.  Two or three different days for our breaks between lectures, Art bought us doughnuts.  One night he even took our DTS out for pizza and paid for the people that weren't able to pay for themselves.  The reason I liked his teaching style a lot was because he frequently used the bible.  If he was making a point, he would give us a scriptural example.  What I got most out of the week was the importance of scripture and just to be able to rest in Jesus.  By the end of each week I am mentally, spiritually, and usually physically exhausted.  When Art talked about resting in Jesus that really resonated with me.  The scriptural example he used for resting in Jesus was luke 10:38-41.  Jesus came to the house of mary and martha.  While Martha was busy getting things in order for Jesus Mary was sitting at Jesus' feet.  Martha was upset with Mary and tried to get her to help, but Jesus said that what Mary was doing was better and will not be taken away from her.  So whenever I get tired,  I just need to relax in Jesus' love. I don't need to be doing something all the time, and it is ok to say no.

This coming week the speaker is Jeff Pratt.  The topic i think is team building and from what I hear it should be a exciting week.  Also, I found out this past friday that my outreach fees are paid off.  I have been blessed with donations so thank you so much to everyone that has donated.  Although my personal fees have been paid, some other people in my group struggle with finding funds for outreach.  So if you would like to help them out and donate that would be awesome.  If you know how to do donate already just do it the same and i will give the money to the people in my group when it gets here.  If you don't know how to donate, send me and email. elliodo803@gmail.com.

prayer request-
- that we don't burn out, that we will keep having a desire to learn and grow.
- That we will continue to be transformed into the image of God.
- Continued revelation on the things that we have been taught.
- Continued revelation on outreach.
- and anything else.

Thanks.  I love you guys.  Hold down the east coast for me.

some of you might be receiving this picture in the mail shortly....

pictures

Ensenada has a large port that barges and cruise ships come in and out of

The cement slab that we play soccer on in back of the base.

                                     A of the base from right outside of my room.

A view of Ensenada from the ocean.

                                                    A view of the base.

The view of some of Ensenada from the roof of the base.

Another view from the roof.

                                                       Another view from the roof.

view of the ocean from the roof.

Another view.

Another view.

Downtown Ensenada.

A view of the base from the roof. 

The classroom

My bed with my room mates.

11/6/10

Sorry i havn't updated the blog in two weeks.  Life has been busy.  But two weeks ago the speaker was Kenny Peavy.  It was a really good week.  When the week began I first felt challenged.  Kenny is a very prophetic speaker, and his teaching style was basicly responding to what ever the Holy Spirit told him to do or say.  He spoke with a lot of faith and confidence in the Lord.  So that week God was really present throughout the week, in lectures, in worship, and in intercession.  I was able to release some things to the Lord that i have been holding on to.

This past week, Brenda Lewis was the speaker.  The topic of the week was destiny.  One of my things that i wanted to recieve from the Lord during my DTS was guidance.  I want guidance on where and what he is my next step in life.  So the topic of destiny was something i was interested it.  There were a lot of things talked about throughout the week, some of them more related to destiny then others.  What helped me the most, about what God has for my life, was different exercises Brenda had us do that brought to the surface dreams we've had for our life.  She said that God puts these dreams and desires into our lives and he wants to use them.  So i was able to get vague ideas about what i would like out of my life.  Some of the dreams or ideas that surfaced were; working with political leaders,  having an influence on government policies,  traveling,  getting married, living in community, working with bring peace to different people  groups or like war and peace issues.  Kinda vague dreams and ideas but it is a start in finding direction for my life.

Other cool things that have been happening... There is this guy named Jeff who runs a surf ministry at the beach infront of my base.  It runs every Saturday from 9am to 12pm.  Some DTS students and me have been going to it the past two weeks.  It has been a blast to go surfing.  Its harder then i thought it would be lol.  Also, the illnesses around the base have drasticly decreased.  We also found out how much we need for outreach.  For my trip to mexico city and Pechuca i need $2000, so if you want to donate just let me know.  Thanks.  Another thing, the past week we had a time of interecession.  We prayed about what God wants us to do on our outreach, so basicly we are planning what we are going to do.  So during this time, and previous times of interecession when ever i prayed about outreach an image of a bridge came to mind.  I shared that with the group and someone else said they also had an image of a bridge, he described it at the same as the one i saw.  Kind of crazy.  So whether that is symbolic or not, I don't know.  Other people thought about other things that were cool to.  Something that stood out to me was that this girl in the group saw my friend Miguel and I leading a soccer ministry for a bunch of kids, so well see what happens with that.

As far as prayer request, they have not changed to much. Some things to continue to keep in prayer;
- unity with the DTS
- that our hearts will continue to feel for our outreach locations
- that we will have further revelation on things that we have learned
- That we will be able to continue to become valnuerable with each other
- That we will have further revelation on what exactly God wants us to do on our outreach

10/24/10

The speaker for this past week was Peter Iliyn.  He has one of the top leadership roles for North America. YWAM.  The topic was a lifestyle of repentance.   He told a lot of crazy stories about him, his dad, or people he knows.  They were inspiring.  Peter gave us a lot of information and I am still processing lots of it and learning how it effects my life, but what I took out of the week was:

- you need to truly understand what sin is in order to recognize the need for a relationship with God. Sin is self-centered living.

- Hell is the absolute absence of God.  

- Sin is your biggest enemy not Satan.  

- the importance of repentance and confession.

- and a lot more stuff.  A lot to process.

Some other notable things about the week.  There has been a lot of people getting sick recently at the base, especially my fellow DTS classmates.  There is 5 or 6 of us in a room so germs are easily spread.  Pray that sickness wont be a barrier, preventing us from learning and growing.  Also, I still need some more money for outreach.  If you would like to donate and know how to it would be awesome if you could.  if you want to donate and dont know how email me at elliodo803@gmail.com.  One thing that I wanted from God when i entered the DTS was some guidance about what he wants for my future.  I feel like I am getting glimpses of what he wants me to do and what would really fulfill me.

Things to pray for:

- unity for our DTS group

- guidance for myself, my future, my DTS, and our out reach locations.  There is still a lot of planning that needs to be done with the outreach locations.

- health

- that our minds, eyes, and hearts will be opened to how God is moving 

- and anything else you can think of lol.

Thanks for looking at my blog whoever you are lol.  I plan on posting pictures soon so be on the look out for that sometime this coming week.  

10/18/10

Yo yo.  This past week Amanda Noyes spoke on justice.  She spoke about different justice issues that are going  on around the world.  The issue that stood out to me the most was human trafficking.  I didn't realize how big of an illegal market human trafficking had.  It opened my eyes to a lot of the reasons why people, like prostitutes, stay in the places that they are at.  She also encouraged us and stressed the importance of living out the Christian faith by caring for the poor and less fortunate.

This week Peter Iliyn is the speaker.  The topic is a lifestyle of repentence.  Today was the first day he spoke to the class and told a crazy story about his grandpa.  Through his story it was clear that God had his hand on his grandpa's life.  Something I got out of it was that God has a plan for our life.  Even if it is just minor day to day things, God has a reason for the things that happen.  Even though often times it is hard to understand.  This idea of God having a plan for our life came into play tonight when our group found out what outreach location they would go to.

So last week our leaders told us about outreach.   They told that for two or three week we would all be going to mexico city to serve there together.  The reason for choosing mexico city is because it is the city that a YWAM ministry, megacities, is focused on this year.  Each year, or maybe its two, a megacity is picked by YWAM and selected to be the focus of ministry.  The idea is to try and bring as many Christian into the city at once and basicly start a new movement in the city.  So well be at mexico city for three weeks doing evangilism and service work then the group will split into two.

 The group is to big to all go to an outreach location at once so we decided to split into two groups.  One group would stay in mexico city and go to other towns in the area and the other group would go to the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

Tonight was the night that we found out where we would be going.  The leaders didn't just divide the group into different groups and tell us where we were going, instead they choose to let God decide.  The way we did this was by doing this thing with colors.  Our leader, Tym kemp, gave us two colors, gold and silver, representing the two different outreach locations, and then he told us to pray about the colors.  Which ever color we thought God was calling us to we wrote on a peace of paper then handed it to our leaders.  So we each prayed, discerned which color God was putting on our hearts, then waited.  After much anticipation and anxiety we found which groups were which.  It was really cool to hear the stories about how God put certain colors on peoples minds or revealed a color to them.  So I found out that I will be going to Mexico City! Im pumped.  I know God has placed everyone in the right groups and the right outreach locations.  keep praying for us!

10/11/10

Hola mis amigos. I have decided to start a blog as a way to keep people updated and informed about how things are going in Mexico with me and my DTS.  I have been here in Ensenada Mexico for a little over two weeks, so there are a lot of things that I could say. But I am going to try to keep it short and informative.

   

The base I am living at is awesome.  It is what I was looking for.  The base is pretty big.  There are probably about 50 to 60 people on base the majority of the time. The base is also bilingual.  The classes are in English and Spanish. The base is also right on the beach, it's beautiful.  

 My DTS group has close to 30 people in it, which is a relatively large group for a DTS.  Everyone is cool and it has been fun getting to know people.  Within the first five days of being at the school everyone shared their testimonies, allowing us to get to know each other better.  

My schedule is similar for each week.  We get up in the morning at 7 and have quiet time, a daily devotional, until 7:30.  Then we have breakfast from 7:30 to 8.  After breakfast we have base clean up until 8:30.  Then we have either intercessory prayer, worship, or a base meeting for the next hour.  At 9:30 class starts.  A speaker comes each week and we have lectures from 9:30 to 1 each week day.  At 1 we have lunch until 2. In the afternoon, the things we do vary.  It is either work duties, mine is working in the kitchen, local out reach were we go out to the community and tutor poor local kids, have small groups sessions, or Spanish class.  In the evening we have either bible study, free time, worship night, or community night.  Then the weekends are free time.  So my schedule is pretty busy but also rewarding.  

I have already learned and got a lot out of the DTS already, but it has also been challenging.  The first week our speaker was Jack Kody.  The topic was the father heart of God.  What stood out and stuck with me was how our image of God plays such an important role with how we relate and communicate with the Lord,  how  much God loves us, and how we can do lots of ministry but if we don't do it with love it is just noise.  This week the topic is Justice and the speaker is Amanda Noise.  Today we had the introduction and didn't dig to deep into the topic, but it was still really good and is getting me excited for the rest of the week.  The DTS has  been challenging in many ways.  I can see the God is calling me to become vulnerable and let me pride down, which is extremely hard.  But I think by doing so I will be able to grow closer to the people here and allow God to work through me more.  

Keep me and the people in my DTS in your prayers.  Also, I still need money for my outreach phase.  The options are either Mexico city or Haiti/Dominican Republic.  I talk more about them in the next post.  If you want to donate money I can let you know how if you don't already know.  Email me at elliodo803@gmail.com