Not-so-useless-quite-helpful-information-actually-but-completely-not-the-story-that-I-wanted-to-tell-ness!

So what else happened here... Well I have had a couple very cool moments with God (couple is quite an understatement!) but here is one where I was shown something inside of me that I didn't really want to see.

We were being taught by one of the leaders at the base, Bernardo, and he was teaching on forgiveness. It was a very good lesson, I still remember a lot from it even though it was only 2 days of teaching. Mainly that forgiveness is a choice, not a feeling. That forgiving someone doesn't mean that injustice will happen. God is just, yet He has forgiven us, so why wouldn't I be just, just like Him? As well as the fact that because it is a choice, it can happen a lot! That with a really big thing that happened in life won't just disappear. Every time it comes back, forgive. Its a perpetual thing (http://goo.gl/hKqTZ) that will most likely have to happen a lot. But that is not the point or the story that I want to say. Hooray for not-so-useless-quite-helpful-information-actually-but-completely-not-the-story-that-I-wanted-to-tell-ness! Now for the story that I wanted to tell! Bernardo gave us some time after the last lesson to go someone and ask God and see if there was anyone that we had to forgive. It just so happened that there was someone in my life that I hadn't quite fully forgiven. That was Steve. Whoever Steve is. Nah, but seriously there was someone I forgave. And I was feeling a little weird and then this thought came into my head about a sin that was in my life. It was hidden very far down in my heart, very deep. It made me feel like crap. So I confessed it and laid it all down at His feet and I felt a little lighter afterwards (I now don't feel any shame towards this sin, which is good, but I don't want to share it). I started walking back (oh right! I forgot about setting! Crap... Well, I was in the park) to the base and on the way there I got Matthew 6:14 which says, "For if you forgive other people when they sin against you, your heavenly Father will also forgive you." I then realized that that is exactly what happened! I was pretty awestricken. Now for another one! (One = story.)

This story is like two, but combined into one because they were both in one weekend. We were hosting a youth event at one of the churches out here (Natio, my mentor, was running it) and I was very excited for it! So we start out and there is some music and then a speaker and then the speaker, Itiel, asked if anyone wanted to come forward that they were free to and we would be praying for them. Being in a Discipleship Training School (DTS) our leaders said that we should go up there. At first, I felt like I (KEY WORD! "I") wouldn't be able to do anything because they were all Spanish speaking. So I go up there and I just lay my hands on someone and I instantly feel what they are feeling. This happened with everyone that I laid my hands on! Some people started to shake when I started praying and then others started crying. It was like a mad house, but I'm getting used to that happening when the Holy Spirit is present. I then got really excited because He was translating for me! It was really awesome! So I high-fived Jesus and then I was really excited because I mean, high-fiving Jesus? Saweeeet! And then on the last night (that happened on friday night and now it is saturday night) I wanted to have the same thing happened. My mentor, Natio, calls me up and says, "You have fire in your hands, use it!" God has blessed me with physical heat in my hands whenever I am praying for someone and I am being guided by the Holy Spirit. Except this time I started thinking that I can do it. So I started praying for some people and they were just laughing because, well, they are thinking I am crazy for praying for them in a language they don't understand. This continually happened. I then got frustrated and said to God, "Hey man! Whats up?!" And He tells me, "You've gotten prideful." It was true, I had gotten very prideful of the fire in my hands and being able to pray for people and have them understand me. So I confessed it and asked for the guidance of the Holy Spirit again and right after I finished that little prayer, Miguel (a student) turned around and pointed to a girl and said that I have to go pray for her. So I walk over to her and I start praying and it turns out that she speaks English. Whaaaat? Thats crazy! At that moment I broke into praise and was filled once again with the fire of the Holy Spirit and then it was another awesome night!

So that is all that there is for today. If it isn't enough, go stare at a hamster. Usually that is pretty satisfactory. If that doesn't cut it, then cut it. Don't actually, for I will have to then report you. Enjoy, dance, party-hardy, go for it, and always live! WOOHOO!