MobiBlog

"Tuning In" to the Holy Spirit

Thu, 13 Mar 2008 21:09:22 GMT

That little "knob" that was given out as a reminder to
"tune in" to the H.S. had a very powerful effect on me.
Also Ted's examples frequently when he teaches on
how he has felt led in various and assorted ways to do
certain things - how he hears the Spirit directing him,
has also deeply impacted me.

I have this little ziploc bag of books I love to hand out at
bus stops.....I keep it wedged in between the seats or
under a seat. The other day I was noticing that it had a
torn zipper part and that some of the books were falling
out. I noticed that I only had four books left (out of a
box of 250). I flipped the bag up onto the seat telling myself
that when I got home I needed a new bag for these four
and needed to put in a new order for some more books
(Prison to Praise).

As I pulled to the end of my street & made a right hand
turn, I had the distinct impression that I was supposed to
open my car window and toss one of these books out of
the window----------now that is just plain 'ol weird, in my
book! ha! I stopped right there in the middle of the
street and said to God, "what?" "no way, you want me to
what?" No traffic, so I loitered with my car right there
for several minutes and the sensation was so strong that
I really needed to do just that - throw a book out of the car.
SO I DID IT! Right there - chunked it right out the window
(I picked the dirtiest looking one in the bag)....and zip, out
it went. And I went on my merry way, pondering what that
had meant - and thinking if anyone saw me they would think
I'd crossed the line into sheer madness!

Three days later (this was just in February 2008) I'm way
north visiting with a friend and get a call at 4 p.m. from my
hubby who is at home. He asked me "honey, did you
leave a book near a ditch by the park at the end of our
street?" I had to think for a minute.....and then remembered
that YES, I had tossed a book out....but it was on the other
side of the street, not on the park side and was maybe
100 feet from that spot he mentioned. Anyway he told
me this young man (27 yrs. old) had walked down to our
house and was asking for me (my name & address were
in the book).

He told Ralph that he had been having some troubles and
was really struggling with some things. He decided that
he would take a bit of time and clean up around the park
area. As he was doing that he ran across this book by the
ditch at the park........he sat down and read the whole book,
and wept and wept as he realized that God was reminding
him to give thanks and praise to God for all circumstances -
thru the good and the bad. The book had really spoken to
his heart and helped him give over some of his problems
to God.......

Lesson learned: Don't worry about the little litter problem if
God asks you to throw a book out the window??!!!
NO - I think truly it is that God can meet your needs any
'ol way He wants to and it might be a bit unusual!

The Bus Stop

Mon, 03 Mar 2008 22:13:24 GMT

My husband and I were on vacation two weeks ago and one day we couldn’t figure out where to go eat lunch. We ended up driving down the road until we found this out of the way secluded place that was quiet and hardly any people around. After we ate, we were walking back to our car with our kids when we noticed a young Asian girl staring at a map and looking confused. As we got closer to her, she looked up at us. She had the sweetest face so I asked her if we could help her. She said that she was a foreign exchange student and had just gotten to America 2 days ago and had come to that restaurant that day to figure out her bus route before she started work that next Monday. She said she got there and was able to get her uniform, but she didn’t have a cell phone that would work yet in the US and needed to call the bus depot to have a bus come back and pick her up. She spoke some English, but it was very broken and she said it had been hard to communicate with people because we talk so fast.

My heart was filled with so much compassion for her. Here was this young girl who had traveled all the way from Taiwan and was trying to her best to set herself up here in this new world. As I looked over at my own children, I thought of her mom and dad back home and knew that helping her was why we ended up there. I told her I would love to help her and pulled out my phone and the map that had the phone number on it. We called the number on the paper several times, would wait, and then try again but couldn’t ever reach anyone. She decided she was going to walk back up the hill to the restaurant and see if they could help her. She said she was so thankful we offered to help her and that she hoped it didn’t take away too much from our day (we were there about a half hour with her total). I wanted to just give her a ride, but she said she needed to learn how to do this herself (which I so admired!).

I offered her the other half of my sandwich from lunch, and told her I was so proud of her for being so brave to come over here and experience this in her life. I also told her not to be afraid to tell us Americans to slow down while we talk. I gave her a hug and then we left.

When we got back to our car, we prayed for her. I was sad at first because I felt like we had “failed” her, but I think now that is faulty thinking. We stopped and made a sweet connection with her and that can’t be failure. The mission wasn’t to get her on that bus. It was to connect with this person who’s here in a strange land and offer her hope that she’s going to be ok in this new season of her life. I’m still so proud of her and pray that she’s growing beautifully.

Hispanic Ministry Baseball Game

Sun, 02 Mar 2008 22:46:41 GMT

I am a school bus driver for Round Rock Independent School District and I am also part of the Hispanic ministry in Gateway. God gave me the blessing of growing speaking Spanish and now that I live in the US He put me in a job where Spanish is needed to communicate with the children that ride my bus.

About two weeks ago I was thinking on ways I can bring the news of Jesus Christ to my children in the bus and their families and God told me to just share with them the things I love most. That's why I decided to invite them to come to a park close to where they live to play baseball and soccer. When I invited them, everyone was very excited but I was expecting for just some three or four families to show up. To my surprise everyone was there and then some extra friends and relatives.

We were around 60 people in total including children and adults, we played boys vs. girls, adults and children mixed, adults only. Everybody brought something to share, a watermelon, chips, drinks etc. At the end of the day everyone was asking if we could keep doing this because of all the fun we had, some were planning on buying gloves and bats and when I mentioned that we have a small group where we study the bible some of them wanted to hear more about it. (Probably my small group is not going to be small no more).

I encourage you to just listen to God's voice, when He leads nothing can be wrong and your life is going to be filled with joy, purpose of life and peace.

Elisa Najera.

Salt and Light in my life

Wed, 20 Feb 2008 22:46:16 GMT

Although none of us will ever know the full impact of her actions, one woman changed mine and my son’s lives forever. She allowed her compassion to guide her actions and God to work through her.

When I was lost, hopeless and completely alone as no one should ever be, she gave sincere thought to my need, and asked me to visit her at Gateway Church. I found Christ there. I found answers and strength, and hope and very often, refuge.

When my child and I were abused and threatened, living in fear of what each day might bring, she helped us to find resources to sustain, educate and empower me to change our lives. She gave us places to be when we needed to escape from violence, rage, alcoholism and devastating neglect and emotional abuse. She gave me a car, to help me protect myself and my son, in case we need to flee. She provided a room in her own home, among her family, if we needed a safe place. Not only that, but she found a local school and paid my son's tuition to get him out of this environment during the daytime hours, and to start the legal process for custodianship.

When I lacked courage and hope, she supported me patiently as Christ changed my heart and I found strength, one small step at a time. And after 14 months, my 2 year old son and I moved into our new home.... and our new lives. Her compassion did not stop there. She continues to share love and hope with us as she makes every effort to help us recover and find balance in the new life that we have.That she came with her own resources to help us and enabled me to change our lives was a Blessing beyond words... but the most important thing that she carries with her is compassion and love and a willingness to serve the real need and see it all the way through, and not just for me, she serves so many in so many ways.

After a life of neglect and abuse from a parent and then a spouse, this woman ended that legacy for me and my son. My life is changed forever.... more importantly, so is my son's. Where would his life have led to, and where will it lead now? So too, are changed, the lives of all those that we will touch from this point forward. It ripples.

My next steps... to give back the compassion and love. To raise my son well. To actively engage in activities to support and mentor young women in hope of saving and restoring their lives.

Let me end by telling you that this woman really did not know me as a dear friend for whom she performed her acts of love, although our relationship has bloomed into a beautiful friendship. We had worked together, at a distance and had a mutual respect for one another. And for some reason, which I believe was God’s intervention, two years ago, on February 26, 2006, I called her from 1600 miles away in a moment of utter despair, and at that moment, she made a choice and acted on it.

Bridging the gap

Mon, 18 Feb 2008 21:57:08 GMT

Every time I pass under I-35 at Rundberg, I can't help but notice that there is a guy living under the bridge. His 'place' is between the guard rail and big power box. I have parked at the gas station and walked over there with food & stuff perhaps 6-7 times. After service this Sunday, God asked me what was I scared of? Why would I not go further than just dropping off something hot to eat or some warm clothes? I really felt led to go meet him and pray for him. His name is Alan. I prayed with him Sunday, for the first time. It felt like such a little thing, that lie Ted talked about "It won't make a difference" kept poking me in the ribs, but I did it anyway. I prayed for deliverance from alcohol and for him to be continually in God's grasp. I asked him what he needed, clothes, warm blankets, etc... and he said that he had 'everything he needed'. I still feel a little helpless because I can't do 'everything' for him, but I did 'something'. God be with him and the many who are in his well worn shoes.

Out of gas

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:38:04 GMT

The other day I was in Dominican Joes a coffee shop on South Congress and while I was waiting on my coffee I overheard a girl talking at the door. She said that someone broken down and she was going to go help push their car out of the street. I went outside to help and it turns out the girl had ran out of gas. We got her car out of the street and I asked her if she needed help getting some gas. After a moment of no response I noticed she was wearing a hearing aid and realized she was deaf. Lucky for her I speak sign langue so I told her I had a chain in my truck and I would tow her to a gas station. Once we got there I even paid for her gas because it turns out she was out of money. I felt God used me to make her day turn from bad to good and I was glad I helped fill a need.

The South Circle

Sun, 17 Feb 2008 05:35:52 GMT

For about a year now our small group has had it’s own benevolence fund. Each member contributes around $10 a month and if we see a need around us we ask the group if we can use the funds. We have used the money to help someone with loss of wages due to illness or we’ve bought school supplies for low income school kids. Other times we do service projects that don’t require money for example we helped a lady move her furniture out of her house so she could have it re-carpeted. Any person in the group can bring up a need from anyone they know and the group decides together what to do, the important thing is no one has ever been told “No.” We always find a way to help.

Community New Start - Pickle Elementary - My second visit

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:16:09 GMT

I went back the CNS to help out with the 2nd grade girls. It was so fun to see the kids again; I didn’t expect them to remember me, but they did! One little girl came running up and threw her arms around me! They all were wanting attention, so there wasn’t a dull moment. I brought a book with me to read – the after-school teachers have the harder work, I just get to come and play. As I got ready to leave, they asked me – no, begged me – to come back. I’m going to take some ‘girly’ things for them next time, and bring some clothes for the clothes closet. I have been buying a couple of t-shirts on sale at Old Navy and I’ve asked my small group to consider helping me out with getting girls clothing for the closet at Old Navy. I have a new family in the St. John neighborhood!

Impacted by the AIDS Experience

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:15:45 GMT

Walking in the shoes of an African child, hearing and seeing what she experienced was amazingly impactful. I was really surprised by how quickly I got absorbed into Olivia’s world. I was so grateful to have the space to process this and put up a prayer on the prayer wall. There were several organizations represented in the tent that I had not known about. I got connected with one that helps those with HIV/AIDS in our own community. I want to learn more about that. Saturday night, the Zambian Vocal Group provided some levity and some great music. I was really happy to see them perform again at service the next day!

Meeting Moffat Zimba

Sat, 16 Feb 2008 22:15:19 GMT

I got to sit and chat with Moffat Zimba during his recent visit to Austin. Although he seemed quiet at first, when I invited him to share the story of his ministry, Northrise University, he became passionate and animated. I couldn’t help but be interested in what he and his wife, Doreen, are doing to transform their city of Ndola, Zambia. With a belief that education is key to his community rising above the many challenges it faces, i.e. poverty, disease, hunger, inadequate healthcare and orphans, Moffat sensed a call to establish a Christian university. Being one of the many students who did not qualify for university eductation in Zambia (at that time there were only 2 universities in Zambia), he spent 15 years in the US and Australia completing his higher education and preparing to start a Zambian university. A few years ago his dream was realized in the establishment of Northrise – the only government approved private university in Zambia. It was so exciting to see video of the first graduating class (class of ’07) as they shared what this means to them and their families. Northrise is now also helping to support two area elementary schools and the only children’s hospital in Zambia. I look forward to getting to know the Zimbas and Northrise better this year.