Tijuana 2018 BSSM Mission Trip
At 2am on April 5, 2018, myself and 50 other students and leaders (most of which I didn't know) left for Tijuana Mexico. After a long day of travel, we arrived at what would be home for the next week. I was exhausted, but full of anticipation for what God was going to do! It was an amazing week full of testimonies of God's goodness, faithfulness and kindness! Below are just a few of my highlight testimonies and then a video I made of the trip:
The Lion
On my first day in Tijuana I found a quiet place and began to pray, “God give us boldness, let the lion rise up in us...” or something along those lines. Soon after a girl I didn’t know on my team approached me and told me about how that morning she had been drawing a picture of a lion and felt God wanted her to give it to someone. She wasn’t sure who, but when she heard someone comment on my eyes, she knew it was for me. The lion she had drawn had blue eyes!! She proceeded to give me a word of encouragement about it, but I honestly barely heart a thing. I was so astounded that as I was praying about a lion, she was off somewhere drawing this picture! My heart felt so loved by God and I felt Him saying, "Yes. I've heard your prayers and I will give you boldness and faith!".
To make things even cooler - In the very beginning of the year we received prophetic words from the prior year students in our Pastor's Revival group. Today as I was packing I stumbled upon it and instantly felt the Holy Spirit put his hand on me as I read these words “You may not feel like a lion now, but I see you roaring at graduation....” Now I can say yes, God has fulfilled this prophetic word. He has caused me to roar like a lion with new faith, boldness and hope!!!! This IS INDEED the time to Arise and Shine!!! Jesus. He is the Lion that has risen up in me!!!
A Powerful Word and New Encounters with God
Still on that first day of the trip we did a fire tunnel. (For those who don't know what this is, it's basically a prayer tunnel you walk through while people pray for you). When it came my turn to go through the tunnel, our amazing leader Gerardo Ramos gave me a powerful word. He said so many things that I wish I could remember it all, but as He was speaking I felt God's presence come upon me powerful and I was barely able to stay standing. The only part of the word I could really remember was at the very end. He said he saw me on stage saying just two words "Come back" and people running forward to come back home to Christ. This was very similar to other words I have received from people and that God has personally spoken to me this year about calling the lost home and mothering the lost children. The whole way through the fire tunnel I felt such a heavy presence of the Father and I felt my legs giving out beneath me. I felt such joy and after I finishing walking through I fell to the ground and began laughing as I kept envisioning people coming home! For quite some time afterwards my legs were like jello.
Throughout the trip we did these prayer tunnels multiple times and nearly every time I ended up on the ground. I would ask God, "What is the purpose of this?" while I laughed and laughed till it hurt and could not walk. Later someone on my team said to me, "God is marking you". And when I fell to the ground yet again, I felt God say this time. I am marking you for Mexico. I do not know the full extent of his meaning, but I will say. He definitely increased my boldness and faith during that trip. It was not in my logic or my reason, but it was a faith that rose in me. A faith that did not require reason!
Heal Bodies and Healed Heart
On that first day, a friend of mine gave me a word about having an anointing for inner healing. A couple months prior to that, after another powerful encounter with God, I received a word about inner healing as well. It was confirmation. Years ago I struggled with the healing question, not because I didn't think God wanted to heal the body, but because I felt so certain God cared about the heart being whole! Now in Tijuana, I felt a certainty of both. That God wanted to heal both!
During our ministry in a conference, we broke up into teams. I joined the healing room teams. The very first man we prayed for asked for prayer for many things, but as we prayed for him and God gave us words for him, it became evident that the work God was doing right then was in his heart. This beautiful elderly man wept as God spoke to this man of His pleasure in him. As my friend gave him a word and put her hand on his heart, this dear man fell to the ground. Afterwards he was beaming with joy. God placed such a love in my heart for him that even just glancing at him throughout the conference would bring me joy!
We also prayed for multiple ladies for healing and each of their pain went away completely! I have recorded a couple testimonies that are in the video below. While God was healing their bodies, he was also healing my heart. He was showing me that he was the same today as he was in Bible times. He still heals. He still moves. He is powerful and mighty!
A Lost Daughter
While most of the trip we actually ministered to believers, Pastors and leaders, we did go to the street one night to minister. As some of our team worshiped, others of us began to walk around and pray for people. One dear woman came over to myself and a few others and said she wanted to be free of her drug addictions. We began to pray but as I did, I felt the Holy Spirit prod me. The way to her deliverance was only through Jesus Christ. We began to share the gospel with her and asked her if she wanted to receive Jesus. She said yes, but then as we began to lead her in a prayer, she suddenly said she had to leave and left. Because of the language barrier I was unable to speak with her further. Please pray with me for this dear woman who wants to be free. I have been learning these past few years of how real our enemy is. But I also am aware of how REAL my God is. While we did not get to lead this woman to Christ that day, I believe God will send another and she will find freedom. She is a lost daughter, but I believe God will find her and bring her home!
One reason I tell this story is because of how it marked and taught me. We could have prayed a quick prayer for her deliverance and gone on; however, I know certainly that the Holy Spirit was in that moment and he was encountering her. I learned to trust the Holy Spirit's leading. He wants her to have freedom, TRUE freedom. And that, only comes through Jesus Christ!
Chinese Restaurant Invaded
On one of our last nights, we headed out to minister to youth leaders. We didn't know what to expect, but we were surprised to find out we would be doing ministry in the middle of a Chinese restaurant at a mall... which was still open for other customers as well. So there in the middle of the restaurant, our team shared super vulnerable testimonies and a message. The leaders began to cry out as God ministered to their hearts. It was an interesting scene. There we were. Raunchy videos playing on the screen in the background. Customers staring over at us all wondering what was going on. And then we had a prayer line and many came up weeping as we prayed for them.
It was on this night that I discovered my new 12 year old friend. She spoke Spanish and a bare minimum English. I English and a bare minimum Spanish. But I saw a fire and boldness in her. She joined me praying for people, and I would look to her and say, go ahead and pray. Each time she would, I would observe the Holy Spirit falling on the person being prayed for as they began to weep and be touched. I have no doubt God has great plans in store for this young MIGHT woman of God!
In the Neighborhood
While we had free time at our base, a handful of us decided to go walk around the neighborhood on two occasions. During that time out, our team led people to the Lord, God healed a woman's eyesight, we prayed for and ministered to many community people and we were led to a house up on the hill where a young mute girl lived. While we did not see this young girl speak, we DID see her face transform as she encountered love. On that first day we were able to play with her and her brother and minister to the mother. We all fell in love with these children and decided to return before we left.
When we returned, we were able to meet the children's father also and pray for him. He decided to recommit his life to Christ. He showed us his Bible and told us that he was now eager to read it! It was here in this moment that something hit me that never had before. When the apostles went out and shared Christ and people received Him, they made sure the people had both the baptism of water and of the Holy Spirit! Before we left, we prayed for this man to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I walked away with this hunger in my heart. Not for my sake, but because when we leave, this MAN is the leader of his community. He needs the Holy Spirit, just a we all do! I began to pray, oh God, I don't know how to do this!!! But I know this, God wants to empower this man in Mexico, just as he wants to empower you and I! We need Him!
More
I'm sure there are many more stories, but it is hard to remember them all. I will be forever marked by the many I saw healed, by the way the Holy Spirit led us and gave us boldness and I am hungry to grow in him more!
The Lion
On my first day in Tijuana I found a quiet place and began to pray, “God give us boldness, let the lion rise up in us...” or something along those lines. Soon after a girl I didn’t know on my team approached me and told me about how that morning she had been drawing a picture of a lion and felt God wanted her to give it to someone. She wasn’t sure who, but when she heard someone comment on my eyes, she knew it was for me. The lion she had drawn had blue eyes!! She proceeded to give me a word of encouragement about it, but I honestly barely heart a thing. I was so astounded that as I was praying about a lion, she was off somewhere drawing this picture! My heart felt so loved by God and I felt Him saying, "Yes. I've heard your prayers and I will give you boldness and faith!".
To make things even cooler - In the very beginning of the year we received prophetic words from the prior year students in our Pastor's Revival group. Today as I was packing I stumbled upon it and instantly felt the Holy Spirit put his hand on me as I read these words “You may not feel like a lion now, but I see you roaring at graduation....” Now I can say yes, God has fulfilled this prophetic word. He has caused me to roar like a lion with new faith, boldness and hope!!!! This IS INDEED the time to Arise and Shine!!! Jesus. He is the Lion that has risen up in me!!!
A Powerful Word and New Encounters with God
Still on that first day of the trip we did a fire tunnel. (For those who don't know what this is, it's basically a prayer tunnel you walk through while people pray for you). When it came my turn to go through the tunnel, our amazing leader Gerardo Ramos gave me a powerful word. He said so many things that I wish I could remember it all, but as He was speaking I felt God's presence come upon me powerful and I was barely able to stay standing. The only part of the word I could really remember was at the very end. He said he saw me on stage saying just two words "Come back" and people running forward to come back home to Christ. This was very similar to other words I have received from people and that God has personally spoken to me this year about calling the lost home and mothering the lost children. The whole way through the fire tunnel I felt such a heavy presence of the Father and I felt my legs giving out beneath me. I felt such joy and after I finishing walking through I fell to the ground and began laughing as I kept envisioning people coming home! For quite some time afterwards my legs were like jello.
Throughout the trip we did these prayer tunnels multiple times and nearly every time I ended up on the ground. I would ask God, "What is the purpose of this?" while I laughed and laughed till it hurt and could not walk. Later someone on my team said to me, "God is marking you". And when I fell to the ground yet again, I felt God say this time. I am marking you for Mexico. I do not know the full extent of his meaning, but I will say. He definitely increased my boldness and faith during that trip. It was not in my logic or my reason, but it was a faith that rose in me. A faith that did not require reason!
Heal Bodies and Healed Heart
On that first day, a friend of mine gave me a word about having an anointing for inner healing. A couple months prior to that, after another powerful encounter with God, I received a word about inner healing as well. It was confirmation. Years ago I struggled with the healing question, not because I didn't think God wanted to heal the body, but because I felt so certain God cared about the heart being whole! Now in Tijuana, I felt a certainty of both. That God wanted to heal both!
During our ministry in a conference, we broke up into teams. I joined the healing room teams. The very first man we prayed for asked for prayer for many things, but as we prayed for him and God gave us words for him, it became evident that the work God was doing right then was in his heart. This beautiful elderly man wept as God spoke to this man of His pleasure in him. As my friend gave him a word and put her hand on his heart, this dear man fell to the ground. Afterwards he was beaming with joy. God placed such a love in my heart for him that even just glancing at him throughout the conference would bring me joy!
We also prayed for multiple ladies for healing and each of their pain went away completely! I have recorded a couple testimonies that are in the video below. While God was healing their bodies, he was also healing my heart. He was showing me that he was the same today as he was in Bible times. He still heals. He still moves. He is powerful and mighty!
A Lost Daughter
While most of the trip we actually ministered to believers, Pastors and leaders, we did go to the street one night to minister. As some of our team worshiped, others of us began to walk around and pray for people. One dear woman came over to myself and a few others and said she wanted to be free of her drug addictions. We began to pray but as I did, I felt the Holy Spirit prod me. The way to her deliverance was only through Jesus Christ. We began to share the gospel with her and asked her if she wanted to receive Jesus. She said yes, but then as we began to lead her in a prayer, she suddenly said she had to leave and left. Because of the language barrier I was unable to speak with her further. Please pray with me for this dear woman who wants to be free. I have been learning these past few years of how real our enemy is. But I also am aware of how REAL my God is. While we did not get to lead this woman to Christ that day, I believe God will send another and she will find freedom. She is a lost daughter, but I believe God will find her and bring her home!
One reason I tell this story is because of how it marked and taught me. We could have prayed a quick prayer for her deliverance and gone on; however, I know certainly that the Holy Spirit was in that moment and he was encountering her. I learned to trust the Holy Spirit's leading. He wants her to have freedom, TRUE freedom. And that, only comes through Jesus Christ!
Chinese Restaurant Invaded
On one of our last nights, we headed out to minister to youth leaders. We didn't know what to expect, but we were surprised to find out we would be doing ministry in the middle of a Chinese restaurant at a mall... which was still open for other customers as well. So there in the middle of the restaurant, our team shared super vulnerable testimonies and a message. The leaders began to cry out as God ministered to their hearts. It was an interesting scene. There we were. Raunchy videos playing on the screen in the background. Customers staring over at us all wondering what was going on. And then we had a prayer line and many came up weeping as we prayed for them.
It was on this night that I discovered my new 12 year old friend. She spoke Spanish and a bare minimum English. I English and a bare minimum Spanish. But I saw a fire and boldness in her. She joined me praying for people, and I would look to her and say, go ahead and pray. Each time she would, I would observe the Holy Spirit falling on the person being prayed for as they began to weep and be touched. I have no doubt God has great plans in store for this young MIGHT woman of God!
In the Neighborhood
While we had free time at our base, a handful of us decided to go walk around the neighborhood on two occasions. During that time out, our team led people to the Lord, God healed a woman's eyesight, we prayed for and ministered to many community people and we were led to a house up on the hill where a young mute girl lived. While we did not see this young girl speak, we DID see her face transform as she encountered love. On that first day we were able to play with her and her brother and minister to the mother. We all fell in love with these children and decided to return before we left.
When we returned, we were able to meet the children's father also and pray for him. He decided to recommit his life to Christ. He showed us his Bible and told us that he was now eager to read it! It was here in this moment that something hit me that never had before. When the apostles went out and shared Christ and people received Him, they made sure the people had both the baptism of water and of the Holy Spirit! Before we left, we prayed for this man to be baptized with the Holy Spirit. I walked away with this hunger in my heart. Not for my sake, but because when we leave, this MAN is the leader of his community. He needs the Holy Spirit, just a we all do! I began to pray, oh God, I don't know how to do this!!! But I know this, God wants to empower this man in Mexico, just as he wants to empower you and I! We need Him!
More
I'm sure there are many more stories, but it is hard to remember them all. I will be forever marked by the many I saw healed, by the way the Holy Spirit led us and gave us boldness and I am hungry to grow in him more!
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