12:7 Serve: 1 Year Later

I can't believe it's been one year since I came home from 12:7 Serve! Time flies so quickly, and so many things have happened since then. It's been a great great year, and I'd love to update you all on it. God has been so faithful to me. :)

Before I say anything else about myself, you'll be happy to know that the 12:7 Serve team are all going really well! Over this past year, some married, some got engaged, some started new jobs, and all are serving well in where God has placed them! :D I'm so proud of all of them, and a year later, we are all still in touch! The bond that 12 people can make over 6 months is one that is not easily broken. I thank God for each one of them, that they are part of my journey. :)

So, here it is, a few highlights of this past year.

After a month of readjusting to home in August 2012 (which involved many pyjama days and coffee catch ups), I applied for a job at one of my favourite places in the world - Koorong book shop! It is a Christian book shop, and I have always loved going there, looking around for hours and sitting in the cafe! I wasn't sure what to expect when I handed in my resume, but God must have wanted me there because I got the job! I really love my job: The staff are amazing and the customers are so sweet! Not to mention the many amazing books and CDs that I've discovered there ;)

I knew that coming home, it would be time now for me to stay put for a while, and to study and prepare for whatever comes next. I know that God has placed a passion in my heart for missions, so I thought that in whatever way I could, I would equip myself to serve cross-culturally. This led to me beginning my bachelor of theology this year at Nazarene Theological College! The college is in Brisbane, and I'm in Perth, so I study externally by video conference. It's pretty much like I am on Skype, but I'm in my class so I can ask questions and everything. It has it's pros and cons: I miss being in an actual classroom, but I love being able to snack on whatever I like during my classes (though it's pretty obvious when my lecturers can see me eating popcorn on camera!). I'm also part of a program called GAP YEAR, which is a one year discipleship/training/mission program. So I am being mentored this year and I have also been able to serve for three weeks in the Kimberley (In the north of my state, Western Australia), in indigenous communities there. It was totally amazing, and I learned so much during this time! If you'd like to read more about Gap Year (Yes, my international friends, you can do this course too!), here is the Gap Year Facebook page and the official website for the college! All together, my theology degree will take three years. After this, I hope to study a masters in education, so that I can be a teacher (maybe I teacher in another country?). So that's the five year plan!

Another new thing which happened shortly after my return was I began to work in the NYI of my local church. This has been such a new experience for me! Over this year, we have put together a team of youth leaders - Me, Fer, Tar, Jonas and Yannis - who are all super amazing and inspire me all the time. :) We have held a few youth events and are beginning a small group ministry at the moment. I never really thought I'd be involved in youth ministry, but I've really loved it! The group of young people at my church are totally awesome, and are all on unique journeys with the Lord. It's exciting to be apart of that. God has been so good to me and the team during this year, and I've learned so much about myself, about servanthood, about leadership and about young people.

Well... so there's one more thing. And I don't know how else to start it but to say, "so there's this guy". :) During the course of 12:7 Serve I was able to make the acquaintance of a guy named Abdiel (the brother of my team mate, Carlos). And well, after coming back I began to know him more and realized just how awesome he is. ;) Apparently he thinks I'm pretty awesome too, so...now we have begun a new/scary/different/far away/wonderful journey with each other. :D I love this guy a lot! I love his passion for God and serving Him, I love our friendship, and I love the way he makes me laugh among so many other things! He's pretty good looking too. ;)

Haha okay okay enough of the cheesy stuff!
Can I ask you to pray for a few things?

1. For me as I study, work and serve in church. That I would find a healthy balance of the three. Also, that I would be aware of God's guidance always.
2. For my family. My parents as they work, and my little brothers (Nathan and Josh), as they study
3. For Dianella Church of the Nazarene: For its members to continue to walk with the Lord, especially the youth! That they would seek God more! Please pray for the youth team of Dianella Church as well.
4. For up and coming young leaders/missionaries in the Australia/New Zealand churches.
5. For my relationship with Abdiel: That the Lord would help us to stand the distance, and guide us as we look to the future together. :)
6. For the 12:7 Serve team: That they would continue to listen to the voice of God, and serve Him well, in whatever place they may be!
7. For Genesis Project that has just begun in the Mesoamerica Region (112 youth missionaries sent into the region over 8 years. You can read more about it here!)

So there you have it, 12:7 Serve one year later. Thank you for reading, for praying for me, for being my cheerleaders, for being my friends, for being part of my life.

My hope is that you, too, can serve well, wherever you are right now.
"If your gift is serving others, serve them well." - Romans 12:7

On the journey,
Dani

PS. One last thing. I just got back from Scotland! I was on a family holiday in Europe. :) This is something that my family has hoped for and saved for, for a long time, and it was cool to actually be here! We went to Greece and France, and then to Scotland. Oh gosh, I love Europe! Sometimes I wish I was European so I could travel around so easily. ;) But this has been one of the highlights of my year as well. :)

I love my 12:7 Team!

So as my time as part of 12:7 Serve is coming to an end, I'd like to share with you all how much I love my team, and the things I've learned from them over the past 5 months. :)

1. Estela - Thank you for your selfless servant attitude, and your willingness to give anything and everything a go. Thank you for teaching me to be honest, with my self and with others. I will miss the way you hug me and encourage me!

2. Lynda - Thankyou for your honesty. You have taught me things about myself through your words. I love it when you laugh and joke, and I love sharing those moments with you. You have leadership qualities which the Lord is going to use in so many ways!

3. Alan -  Jefeeeee, thank you for being my big brother! You have cared for me and others on the team in so many ways, even just by a simple hug. You are a gifted preacher, teacher and evangelist, and when you open your mouth to speak in these ways, I know your words are straight from God himself. I can't wait to see you serve the Lord in the future. Oh and I will miss dancing like a Mexican with you!!

4. Maura - Oh Mau Mau, thank you for always watching out for me! I will never forget our numerous nights sharing beds and hugs and laughs with each other. You have taught me through your words of wisdom and gentle spirit. You are such a beautiful lady, and by far my favourite Nicaraguan on the planet! 

5. Chennice - Thank you for believing in me. Thank you for the way you were always listening, you have made me want to become more of a listener. Thank you for the hilarious memories we've made together! I will miss your quiet but constant presence in every room, in every situation. Thank you for never giving up.

6. Erika - Thank you for being an incredible leader. You are a sensitive, beautiful woman of the Lord. Your attitude is truly that of Christ, and you have lived it out every day of this trip. Thank you for keeping your eyes open to the needs around you, and for always meeting those needs. I want to be more like you!!

7. Carlos - Oh Carlitos, the team wouldn't be the same without you! You are a constant mood lightener, and positiveness giver. You are such a relational person, and people just always want to be around you! God has gifted you with this personality so that you can serve others by building relationships. Thank you for being such a great friend and brother to me. I will miss learning Spanish with you, baking carrot cake with you, and I will even miss your horrible jokes! ;)

8. AJ - You were MEANT to be part of this team. It has been a blessing for me to see you grow more and more into a man of God over these past months. You have taught me a lot about my attitude, and how to serve without complaining or thinking the task too hard. I will miss your hilarious jokes, your angry games of Monopoly deal, and taking photos with weird faces with you!

9. Jana - Thank you for being so understanding! We have many similarities to each other, which we have found out over our journey. But even our differences have brought us together. :) I love the way you have let the Lord heal you, teach you and grow you over these past 5 months. You are always up for anything, which is such an encouragement as one of your team mates. I can't wait to see you serve the Lord in missions in the future! You're going to be a great missionary. :)

10. Helen - Oh beautiful He, my big sister. You are an amazing woman with an amazing story of God's power working in your life. It has been a joy for me to see your childhood dreams of being a missionary come true through 12:7 Serve. You are such a humble servant, and it is clear that you are always listening to the voice of God in every situation. I am also so proud of the way you have learned English over our trip. Wow, you have improved so much, it's so amazing! He, I will miss your hugs, and when you say "Que?!" like a Tica! ;)

11. Absolu - My friend, there wouldn't BE a 12:7 Serve team without you. Thank you, thank you, thank you for your joy. You light up every room that your in. Your attitude is always positive. Your work is always the best that you can give. You are an example and inspiration to your country that Haiti CAN send missionaries! You have started the rising up of more Haitian youth to serve in the nations. I am so proud of you Absolu! Keep spreading your joy to the world!

So there you have it - The 12 people who over the past 5 months have changed my life for the better. You will always have a place in my heart, and I hope to serve again with you one day. Thank you all for serving well, and for inspiring me to do the same. I love you! Les amo! Je vous aime!

Always be flexible! (Guatemala and El Salvador in words)

If you'd prefer to read about my time in Guatemala and El Salvador in words, here we go! 


For the 12:7 Serve team, Guatemala was just an add on to the sites were serving in. On our way to El Salvador, we stopped there for a few days to meet up with our leader, Milton. What a beautiful country! The weather was cooler (the complete opposite of South Mexico!), and the scenery was green and mountainous. 

As you saw in Guatemala and El Salvador (in photos), on the weekend we were in Guatemala, we were involved in a youth sports day! It was a church event held at the Bible college there. I’ve got to be honest with you, it’s been a long time since I’ve played sport!! But it was fun to get back onto the basketball court that day, even if I’m not the best player! We were also able to visit some schools in Guatemala to share with the students our “Sex, Lies and the Truth” presentation, and some of the churches there, to let them know about our project. Overall, our time in Guatemala was a bit slower paced, but we were still able to serve the people there. :)

So after those days, we made the long drive all the way down to El Salvador! Our first stop was a town called Santa Ana. We were part of services during our 5 days there, as well as working in evangelism. Like the photos in my previous post show, we spent some time fixing up a classroom at the church, changing the roof and painting it. Also, while Estela, Erika and Maura were cleaning up a classroom, they found a turtle in there! Lots of fun times while serving in Santa Ana.  

The Santa Ana church is currently starting a mission in a town close by, so on one of our days there we went and served. Again, we did evangelism and performed REMI our kids program (you can see pictures from this in my previous post!). It was really exciting to be apart of beginning this new mission. Please pray for the church in Santa Ana and their work for the Lord!

Our next stop was the town of San Miguel. We served at two churches there, doing evangelism, children's ministry, and giving testimony of our time serving on the mission field. It was exciting to be able to encourage the church members (especially youth) that they can serve the Lord and that God has purposes for them! I especially loved our pastors kids in San Miguel, 

For our last week in El Salvador, we made our way to the capital (San Salvador). Here, we visited schools to talk about our project, our testimonies and to encourage the students to continue with their English studies. One morning we were able to sit and speak with the students and ask them questions about themselves. For me, it was pretty exciting to be able to speak in English! Although my Spanish has definitely gotten better over these months, speaking your first language always feels good. :) As well as this, we visited churches in the district and were blessed by their welcoming arms and hearts towards us.

During our time in Guatemala and El Salvador, our busy schedule was always being added on to or changing. Sometimes we would wake up one morning thinking we were doing one thing, and the next minute we were doing another. Although this could have been frustrating for me, it was another chance for me to learn to be flexible. I was telling some youth the other day, that serving the Lord is often like this! We always need to be prepared to serve in what's needed, and to be flexible when plans don't work out. This is what God wants to see from us - that we keep serving with love and joy, even when things change or are difficult. 

So there you have it, Guatemala and El Salvador in words. :)

Keep serving with love and joy my friends!

On the journey,

Dani

PS. If you haven't looked yet, here is Guatemala and El Salvador (in photos). :) 

Guatemala and El Salvador! (In photos)

[1] Guatemala City

[2] A river in Guatemala

[3] Sports day

[4] Shootin' hoops with my homies

[5] Watching the soccer

[6] Los Nazarenos

[7] Du yus pikin glish?

[8] On the road again

[9] First meal in El Salvador

[10] Real life Remi and Silas

[11] Typical El Salvadorian breakfast

[12] Fixing up the church

[13] Pastor's kids

[14] Making Pupusas - Typical food from El Salvador

[15] Santa Ana Cathedral

[16] AJ's pretty eyes

[17] Beautiful children

[18] Happy Birthday Estela!

[19] Worship with the youth

[20] Warm welcomes

[21] 12:7 Serve band ;)

[22] Bible quizzing with kids

[23] Chilling with youth pastors in training

[24] Performing skits

[25] Saying goodbye to San Miguel

 ...The end. 'Guatemala and El Salvador in words' coming soon!

A God who breaks the rules! (Jana and Absolu got their Panama visas!)

Tonight we found out that Jana got her Panama visa! It's literally a miracle! The Panama embassy changed the requirements for Filipinas. If they didn't, Jana would have had to apply again and the process would take 2 months. BUT IT CHANGED! It's like the Lord changed the rules! And so her visa got stamped tonight. I knew you could do it Lord - I'm so thankful and joyful! And same for Absolu! He will be getting his passport stamped very soon. What a miracle for him! It looked impossible, but the Lord did it! He provided all the visas! There's no need to put the Lord in a box and assume that some things are too hard for Him, He can do anything! Praise the Lord!

We cried and sang and danced and prayed together. We're going to be 12 in Panama! :D

On the crazy, mind-blowing journey,

Dani

"For nothing is impossible with God." (Luke 1:37)

The Joy of the Lord is my Strength! (South Mexico)

Hellooooo everybody! ¿Como estamos?

The 12:7 Serve team is in Guatemala at the moment, and we will be relaxing and serving here for five days. Then after that comes El Salvador! But now, I'm taking a look back at South Mexico, and what the Lord did in me during those three weeks.

During our time in South Mexico, we served in the state of Oaxaca, in a town called Chahuites. There are five churches in Chahuites, led by five awesome pastors. Also, we had three additional team members serve with us during this time - Naara, Sergio and Luz. That now made us *15:7 Serve! On a side note - wanna know what Romans 15:7 says? - "Therefore, accept each other just as Christ has accepted you so that God will be given glory." It was quite fitting for us at this time!

The 15 of us were split up into groups of three, to work in the five churches in Chahuites - my group being me, Alan and Estela. :) The first weekend in Chahuites we held a Maximum Mission with around 100 youth participating. This is an something I've talked about before on here: A community service/evangelistic event to develop leaders and to grow churches. So over the weekend, many people accepted Jesus as their Saviour! Praise the Lord! This leads us to our project in South Mexico - this was called 'Projecto Pablo' - or 'Project Paul'. This is a discipleship project, where the main focus is visiting new converts and beginning lessons with them alongside the church you are working with.

So over three weeks, Estela, Alan and I along with some of the church members in the 5th Nazarene church of Chahuites, visited the new Christians and began to teach them. It was great to get to know the church members and to serve and get to know the community in Chahuites. At the end of our time, we traveled to another town to serve in another Maximum Mission, which Sergio - one of our three extra team members - was coordinating. It was an amazing weekend! There was youth as young as 12 who were there to serve over the weekend. We did a cleanup of the plaza, donations of clothing, children's ministry and evangelism. God really spoke to and through the youth over this weekend, and it was so exciting to see them step out in serving the Lord!

Backyard church service! 

LOVE kids ministry!

Cleaning up the plaza at the Maximum Mission! 

Singing time at the Maximum Mission! (Yo canto como David!)

 Pastor Edgar, his wife Martha, and their children Manuel (left) and Victor (middle)

- I will never forget them!

But there's also another side to my time in South Mexico. These three weeks have probably been the hardest part of 12:7 Serve so far. I reached a point in my culture shock/journey where I grew tired of everything. Tired of trying to speak and understand Spanish, tired of always been watched by everyone, tired of being away from home, tired of always being tired. I honestly reached breaking point. But the Lord was so good to me. For many days, it was He who held me together. I couldn't have gotten through without Him. 
 
Reaching my low point in my journey here really taught me that I can't serve on the mission field in my own strength. Daily, I've had to ask the Lord to help me through, and I am so thankful that He has still used me in my weakness. This is the same for all of us. If we try to serve the Lord in our own strength, we will eventually run dry. But remember "The joy of the Lord is your strength!" (Nehemiah 8:10) and "His power is made perfect in [your] weakness." (2 Corinthians 12:9). When faced with hard times, you won't crash and burn because "[You] can do all things through Him who gives [you] strength." (Philippians 4:13).  The Lord is with you!

On the journey,
Dani


"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." - 2 Corinthians 4:7

A God who's full of surprises (North Mexico Part 2)

Hola again everybody!

I can't believe it, our time in North Mexico is over already! God has been doing amazing things through the 12:7 Serve team over the past 3 weeks. I'm just overwhelmed by His goodness to me, and that I'm even able to serve in a way like this.

Last week, the team went to work in an area in Mexico called "Los Once Pueblos" (meaning "11 towns"). This place is exactly as it's name describes - 11 indigenous towns in the state of Michoachan. The team was split up to work in 6 of the towns that week. Estela and I were meant to work together, but due to sickness, it ended up being me, Carlos and an awesome girl called Lolita from the church in La Piedad. We worked in a town called Ichan, which has a new mission going with the Church of the Nazarene there. God was so amazing in the way he changed the lives of the people in Ichan. I have two stories to share about how our God is a God who's full of surprises. :)

One afternoon we went to a small field in the town, to spend time with the children. It was great! We played games, sang songs and did a puppet show about the story of "Jesus calms the storm" (Mark chapter 4). We had drawn a small crowd and the plan was to hold a small service. Unfortunately, while I was sharing my testimony, it started to rain! But we kept going. The rain became stronger and stronger as Carlos was preaching. And one by one, many people began to leave, back to their houses. But Carlos kept going. By the end of his message, there were the children, and a few girls standing behind them, still listening. It seemed quite hopeless. But that's when surprise number 1 happened.

As I looked behind me, right at the back I could see a girl standing there, still listening. I ventured over to her with Lolita, and began to have a conversation in awkward Spanish. Her name was Nereida. "...You hear the story?", I said. "What do you think? Do you want to make the decision to accept Jesus in your heart?" And she said yes! So Lolita led her in a prayer to accept Jesus. What a beautiful moment it was. I know there was a party in heaven for Nereida that day. :) In the days after we visited her and taught her more about growing in the Lord. I will never forget her. And she is about to have her first baby any day now! Please pray for Nereida that she would continue to grow in the Lord and follow Him for the rest of her life. :)

(Carlos, Nereida, Lolita and I)

Another afternoon we went to the town plaza to play with the children again and then afterwards, to show the Jesus film. But when I went to put in the disc for the film, I made (what I thought was) a horrible mistake - I accidently pressed play on the full length, 3 hour long Jesus film! It wasn't until half way through when Carlos and I realized what had happened! So after skipping numerous scenes and trying to calm down the restless children, the movie was done. Carlos invited people to pray afterwards to accept Jesus, but overall the response wasn't overwhelming. But it was ok! So we packed up the film, and headed off. Although it didn't make as big of an impact as we thought it would, we were happy that many of the children watched the film and were really excited by it.

But as we were walking home, a taxi driver stopped his car next to us and asked us where we were going. We thought he just wanted to give us a ride, but then he went on to say that he wanted to make the prayer to accept Jesus in the plaza, but he was too embarrassed! I was so caught off guard, and I thought – God, how do you even plan these things?! But He had planned this. So we drove to our base in Ichan and Carlos led the taxi driver in a prayer to accept Jesus as his Saviour. J What’s more, the man said that he had only seen the last 5 minutes of the film and Carlos’ speech – meaning that if we had shown the short version of the film, we would've have already finished and gone home by the time he had gotten there! God totally had this one planned out. I was just so blown away by His perfect timing, and how he planned that this taxi driver would be in the plaza at that exact time! Surprise no. 2. :)

So overall, Mexico North was such a blessed time for me and the rest of the 12:7 Serve Team. I'm really going to miss everyone there - In La Cal, Ichan, and especially the church family in La Piedad, who supported us the whole time! Please pray for our work in the South of Mexico. We are part of ‘Project Paul’ – which is an evangelism and discipleship program put in place to plant or grow a church. Over the next two weeks, we will be giving discipleship to many people here in the Oaxaca district in South Mexico. Also, please pray for the Panama visas of Jana and Absolu, and they are yet to receive them. I will update you all on South Mexico soon! Hasta luego!

On the journey,

Dani

Panchita del Rancho

Hola amigos, from La Piedad, Mexico!

Can't believe it's been a week since I've been in this beautiful country. God has been doing great things here! For our first days in Mexico we spent our time in the lovely city of Guadalajara. We got to do a bit of sight seeing, and serve at the church on Sunday. It was a great first experience of Mexico. :)

(Some children from the church in Guadalajara)

But after the weekend, a big change happened. The team was split up! In order to reach more towns, we went into groups of 5, 2 and even 1 (Alan was by himself!). So Estela and I were put together and taken to a teeny tiny town called La Cal. They call it el rancho (the ranch), because everyone has little farms. It was hard at first, but looking back I know God had big plans for us. So Panchita was at El Rancho, and what a great week she had!

The church in La Cal is a small one, with about 10 people attending regularly. What I loved about it was they're like a family, and Estela and I were able to be part of that family! Two ladies from the church owned a small deli/shop, and that became our hang out spot for the week. Every morning, everyone from the church would bring a pan and we would have a buffet breakfast together in front of the deli. And every night, we would sit and chat outside of the deli. I loved it!

Our ministry there was very community oriented. One morning, we cleaned up the plaza with the church, which was awesome. Even people who weren't from the church helped out. :) We also did children's activities 2 afternoons - we played games, painted faces and told Bible stories. A lady from the church Mari also came with us to visit people at their houses, and do evangelism. It was great to meet everyone in La Cal, and listen to their stories. During the week there was three services, which Estela and I were able to be apart of.

What blessed me the most in La Cal was being part of the family. I loved all of the church family, and their children were so much fun! I was especially blessed by a little girl called Sinai. Although she couldn't walk or talk, she was the most beautiful little girl, and I loved being by her and just watching her smile and laugh. :)

So there you have it, part one of Mexico is complete. And I'm loving this place so far. So many moments of this week were God-appointed, and I'm so thankful that He worked through Estela and I for His glory. Today we are travelling to a community called "Once Pueblos", meaning 11 Towns. It is an indigenous community, and some people don't even speak Spanish! We will be doing outreach at the new missions there, in almost all of the 11 towns. :) Please continue to pray for the team as we serve in Mexico!

On the journey,

Dani