Our First Week

So I'm here!!! I'm finally in Juarez, Mexico and it's wonderful. It is so much better than even expected. Everyone here is so wonderful! The best part is how much time we get to, and are suppose to spend with God.

I suppose I'll start at the beginning, in the airport. When I left my family and went back to the airport I was super overwhelmed. I was coming to a new place, to meet new people, and do new things. I was stepping into the unknown, and I did not like it very much. Not to mention it was my first time on a plane. I must have looked so funny to everyone around me. It was really strange, but it wasn't bad. When I finished flying (two flights with about a two hour layover) I went to retrieve my bags and meet up with Ty. After I found him we waited for all the girls to get there and then made our way to Juarez.  When we arrived in Juarez we got to our rooms and unpacked and settled in. There are six girls here. We all share an apartment style house thing.When I was done unpacking and everything finally settled down I was so overwhelmed. I was being bombarded with the thought that I should just catch the next flight home and forget about all this. How much easier would that have been anyway? I wouldn't have to be on my own, I wouldn't be so far, and I wouldn't be dealing with all the difficult things that I didn't much want to deal with. I knew, however, that this is where God wanted me, and that was the only thing stopping me from not actually leaving. I simply tried to calm down and continuously reminded myself that this was where God wanted me to be. One thing that was asked before we went to bed was why God wanted you here. So when we got back to our room I began to pray about it even though God had already given me an idea almost immediately. I realized that God wanted me to be here so I could learn to fully depend on Him. It wasn't until the next day when we were sharing with the group what God told us that I fully realized what God meant by that. He knows just how dependent on my family I am. How I would ask my sister before everything I ate if it was okay, or, if I was going through a problem, I would need to go tell her right away what was wrong and talk it through with her, and or a couple of my closest friends. I realized even more that I am also very dependent on my dad. How often I would call him at work to tell him what I was doing, ask him a question, or ask him to do something for me. I often wondered what I would do when I was older without my dad, but then realized that I could just depend on my husband. God showed me that He didn't want me to depend on any human like that, He wanted me to depend on Him. He wants to be the first one I go to when I'm having a problem or going through something. He wants to be my first and foremost, my life. It was a bit difficult for me to realize this because I fooled myself into thinking that He was.Now I continually remind myself that I am here for Him. Not only here at YWAM but here on earth, for Him to use me as He pleases. I know He is going to do amazing things with my life while I am here, He has already started.
So what else are we doing with our time besides learning and listening? A LOT! This week we had a book to read. They gave it to us on Sunday and we had to have it read by Friday, and then have a book report for it as well.. The book we read was Is That Really You, God by Loren Cunningham. It's really showing me how to hear God's voice and to follow and obey Him. Other things we are doing are hanging out with and getting to know each other. As I mentioned earlier there are six of us girls. We have Marissa, Elizabeth, Lehydi, Estrella, Kelsey, and me. The boys are Erick and Alex. We have spent some of our nights playing games together. We had the most intense game of JENGA that lasted for the longest time. One night we played Uno Flash which was crazy. It was a lot of fun laughing and playing together. On Tuesday night all the women at the base went to do Zumba. It was crazy. Many of us rediscovered that dancing is not our forte, but we had a lot of fun doing it. We also have a newsletter to write and get out. All of that, plus diving into God's word and listening to His voice adds up to no(or at least not much) boredom . We all also have "duties" that we need to do once a day (they are suppose to take two hours) me and two other girls (Estrella and Marissa) have dinner clean up. Although sometimes it may seem like a lot of work, it is also a lot of fun! We laugh a lot while doing it.
One concern people had with me being here and being a vegan was if I would/was eating anything. There is no need to worry about that, at all. Ty and is (lovely) wife Leah are being very accommodating. I have something to eat for every meal and if it's not part of what everyone else is having I'll have some leftovers. I'm eating very healthily too, with a lot of vegetables. Also one of the boys, Alex, has the duty to cook the dinner. He is really good at cooking my things, and he knows what I can and cannot have. It amazes me how understanding he is with it, especially because veganism and Mexico don't really mix. It just goes to show just how WONDERFUL our God is! My lip ring does need to stay out (or at least I think, I never actually asked, I just took it out, it's easier.) My lip retainer, however, is working very well and is a wonderful substitute. Even if I had to take it out, I would, because this is where God wants me, and what He wants me to do.
      I guess that is it for now. OH! Except safety! We are VERY safe here. We are behind a fence with a lock and a guard that comes overnight. It is more safe than you can even imagine. I'll be posting pictures soon. :) This entry is a little bit long, they shouldn't all be this long. One thing to remember, God is wonderful, and he is working in me wonderfully!