Day 7: A Prayer*

*(a different blog style, not the controversial worship song)

Today was our last day at the Uni CU (Ciudad Universitaria (the giant main campus we've been on)).

We started pretty normally today. We've been more and more tired each morning (obviously), but we got up! I read in Luke today. 7:30 is an interesting verse. Kinda scary in a way. Can we do that? Looks like it. Lord, let that not be our life story.

You know, today was good:

We went on campus, we talked to some people.

We talked about how to engage with culture as believers with Hugo (hopefully helpful)

We went to a futbol game (the Tigres women's team). We had a new person come! Ramiro came to the game! (thank you for praying!) Also, I don't think anyone was sick today!

We thought about how it was interesting that in a church where there aren't a lot of strong up-front women leaders, we came with team of powerful women of God, and we came during a week of on-campus protests for women's rights to be respected.

We had some excellent tacos tonight after the game and it seemed like a really sweet time for Ale. 

Spark notes version because I think I mostly want to use tonight for some prayering blogification. I haven't done this before, maybe it'll be weird, maybe it'll be cool. I'll throw in pictures and prayer requests at the bottom. Feel free to skip it, it's mostly for me.


Father, 
I feel incredibly grateful today. You know and you see my heart, but there's something good about writing it out anyway. Thank you for a chill day today; for easy conversations and good weather and for letting us see some fruit. Thank you so, so much for putting it on Ramiro's heart to come to the futbol game tonight and thank you that it was Roberto that did the follow-up and Hugo that connected best with him. Thank you that Eliana and Hugo and Alexis got to spend some time having a second meeting with the girl they met the other day. Thank you for making tonight so sweet for Ale and letting her and Quintin really shine.

God, it's been really cool getting to be a part of this team. It feels weird to feel so much confidence that I am here almost more as a structure piece than to do the actual ministry we're doing here. Please continue to give my team the same willingness to step back and gently urge the students here forward. Thank you for the strength of these women and thank you for teaching me to see a different kind of strength than I'm used to seeing. I feel very humbled, but joyously so. I feel so blessed to be a part of this team and to have the opportunity to create space for them to really flourish - which, although they seem so tired, I really believe they are. I won't write out my prayers for them, but you see them God, please bless these women in their various stages of life. Let them be aware of your nearness to them, be their strength, speak your truth to them, let them walk in freedom and confidence, and call them to lives of deep significance (a.k.a. deep relationship with you).

Please bless the students here. I really like Roberto; he feels like a leader with his gentleness, steadiness and depth. Please draw him forward and create space in his life for him to serve his peers. Cristian feels like he came from FC; please give him confidence in the deep faith you've grown in him, help him to be filled with boldness by your Spirit. My heart really goes out to Ale; she isn't the only college woman in this church, but we haven't seen the other one! Please, please provide sisters in Christ for her to walk in community with. Grow her as a God-fearing woman of influence in this church. Hugo has a lot of zeal and gifting; please grow and refine him in them and show him that you are the only thing worth living for. Quintin has so much potential, Jesus; please show him that relationship with you is what matters and show him that you have a plan for him. I don't know Diana, I think she's Roberto's sister, but will you call her to more and deeper things in you. Form good friendship between her and Ale, if it's not there already. 

God, I really, really feel like you're laying a groundwork here for something big. This little team of universitarios has so much potential. I don't know what you're going to do in them, with new leadership and new follow-ups and a soon-coming batch of high-school students that are already in the church, but it seems like you're stirring a rebirth of the college ministry here. Please do so, God. Henry and many others here have worked so long and against the tide; will you change the tide and bring a new season into this church. I know they don't do the whole sign gifts thing, but will you pour out your Spirit in abundance on them in ways that challenge, bless, and grow them, but in ways that are healthy and good for their church? Please stir in them and call them into deeper waters with you.

God, for Maricelo, Ramiro, Eliseo, Lucy, Estefani, the other Estefani, su hermana, Daniela, Alejandro, la otra chava, Marcos, and everyone I didn't meet or don't remember: will you bless them, be on their minds, don't let them find comfort in anything but you, give them dreams of you, draw them into yourself. For the ones GranCo has contact info for, help them to be followed-up well, and follow-up by your Spirit with the ones that aren't. For the ones who only met gringos, bring them to the party tomorrow. For the ones that we got nothing; thank you that you're bigger than us or the church here, please keep chasing their hearts.

Thank you for what you've done and what you will do.

I love you.

from Mederos yesterday

our team today

team with (L to R) Roberto, Don Ismael, Hugo

PRAYER (in case my prayer above wasn't concise)
-for us to dependently walk in step with the Spirit
-for more of our new friends to come tomorrow (friday) night
-for our church friends to do connection and follow-up well
-for God to lead us to anyone he has left for us to meet in our last day at Mederos
-for energy for my team
-for negative COVID tests tomorrow afternoon so we can come home :D