Testimonies from Mexico trip, 2013:
Kristina Ladner
Shreveport, Louisiana
4 Feb 2014
It is hard to describe my trip to Mexico. I fell in love with Mexico, is the simplest way I can think of to describe it. I adored the culture and the people I met. Some back story—I really was not looking forward to my trip to Mexico. I tried to think of reasons not to go and never really had a good excuse, so I went. I actually had quite a bit of anxiety about this trip. However, once I was actually in Mexico, that anxiety left. During the first two days we were in Mexico, I was walking around and I would see people that I thought I recognized. For instance, I would see my sister or my best friend and then I would realize that was impossible because they weren’t on the trip with me. This happened about 10 to 15 times and I felt like later, God told me that this was confirmation that I was supposed to be in Mexico and this was His plan for me all along. My favorite part of the trip was our visit to El Refugio. I wasn’t sure what to expect before we arrived. I knew it was a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center, off the grid, where mostly men lived. Once we arrived at El Refugio, I adored it and realized that this place was the reason that I came on this trip. The presence of God is intense on this mountain. I heard several times, during my stay, that there were open heavens at El Refugio and I truly believe and felt it. Before the trip, I was having some issues with feeling alone. I didn’t feel lonely, I just felt completely alone in the world. While at El Refugio, I would sit for hours on this ledge, by myself, looking over the mountain, and just pour my heart out to Jesus, worship him, repenting to him, loving him and asking him for healing. I felt refreshed every single day, even with the lack of sleep and uncomfortable living arrangements. There is a lot of healing to be had at El Refugio and I believe that God worked some issues I had out of me while at El Refugio and I also believe that He gave me some goals to meet in order to continue walking the path He has made for me. As I was saying goodbye to Ela, she hugged me and said, You are NOT alone. How powerful was that!? One of the very issues I was only talking to God about and Ela confirmed that God was listening, He heard me and wanted to heal me of that feeling. I was meant to go on this trip at this very moment in time and I am absolutely amazed with Him. I have a deeper relationship with Jesus now and I love and appreciate Him more than ever.
Stormy Akes
Shreveport, Louisiana
4 Feb 2014
The trip to Mexico was awesome! It was my first time to travel to Mexico, so I wasn't really sure what to expect. Everything I had seen in the media portrayed Mexico as unsafe and kinda wild, but when I got there it was quite the opposite. It was very beautiful and the people were very friendly. I loved every second of it. One of my favorite parts of the trips was going to El Refugio. The people there were just awesome and you just felt loved when hanging out and worshipping and working with everyone. While there, The Lord really confirmed in me and strengthened my faith in the destiny that He has for me. He spoke to me in a way I wasn't expecting either, it was just through working and talking with the guys in the mountain. The Lord just kept working on my heart. This was definitely a good trip and I do plan to return to Mexico.
|
We had a visit from one of my friends from Texas who were to preach in the church La Roca in Jinotepe. A visit there is well worth the trip, it is a church that has grown from 200 members to 3,000 in seven years. The atmosphere is thereafter, grace by grace and I went home with a large dose of new energy.
|
|
|
Central America is full of beauty, but one of its greatest treasures is Nicaragua. The mountains, volcanoes, and lakes are all part of the exotic landscape. However, this is not the beauty that I speak of; it is the people of Nicaragua that are the real treasure. I was in sixth grade when I was first introduced to this nation through a school project. I was told to make a brochure and to draw a picture of Nicaragua on the outside. There were a few pictures I could go off of at that time, but not many, as our school was just being introduced to the Internet. So I asked God to help me draw a picture of it (it didn’t really resemble the pictures I had seen of the mountains.) Little did I know, however, that seventeen years later I would see the very sight I drew while traveling to a Nicaraguan church for a Mother’s Day service.
The whole church in Nicaragua is very precious to the Lord. God had put this nation on my heart as a child, so when the opportunity came to go, I knew it was from the Lord. God led us to minister at multiple churches on our brief trip. I knew then what it meant to be poor in spirit. I had nothing in myself that could change their lives, but God gave us some powerful words of knowledge that touched and blessed the congregations. One day God gave me an incredibly powerful word for a lady. God showed me that she lacked transportation to see her children who lived far away, but that God was going to provide the way to see them. The team gave other words that touched and blessed our Nicaraguan church family as well.
On another day we were going up into the mountains to minister. We traveled by a yellow bus we affectionately called the “Burro Amarillo,” and it was a stubborn mule, just like its name. It broke down on our way to the church gathering, but there was no way to communicate with the people to tell them we’d be late. Four hours later, we arrived to find these precious believers waiting for us with cards and flowers and the warmest hospitality. We worshiped God outside at sunset together as one church, even though most of us didn’t know much Spanish. They were all hungry for God; you could feel it in the Spirit. And the Holy Spirit did not disappoint. We had a healing and deliverance service, and God moved. Someone with a knee problem was healed, and others with headaches were healed, but perhaps the most profound healings were the ones we could not see. I would just lightly touch people and they would fall under the power of God. God was responding to their hunger. Healing tears were covering there sweet faces. I was so humbled as I watched God’s faithfulness, knowing that I had nothing to offer in myself. But one touch from God can change a life forever.
On our last day we were blessed to minister on a TV station in Managua. Our team led worship and then gave prophetic ministry over the broadcast and to the studio audience. Again, I had nothing- I had no words to speak and I had no revelations. However, when I stepped onto the stage, God began to download words of knowledge; I felt His heart for the dear ones He wanted to speak to. At the end of the TV service, we began to minister more to the studio audience. Instead of starting at the front of the room, I decided to start at the back. One woman stood out to me in particular, but we were short on a translator. As I began to pray, I knew she could not understand me. In hopeful desperation I asked God, “Lord, will You please be my translator.” I prayed for her and many others. After the service she passed out jewelry to the girls on our team. “What a sweet lady,” I thought. She then came up to me with a translator and asked me to pray again what I had prayed for her at the service. “Thank you, Jesus,” I thought. You have brought a translator so that she can know the Word you have for her. How faithful you are, God!”
I repeated the Word I had given to her earlier. The Lord told me to tell her that she should not be afraid to speak; she had a voice and needed to speak. She should not be afraid of ridicule or backlash for her words. She was called to this. The sweet woman’s face was lit up with a warm smile, which almost seemed to turn anxious after the translator left. She held on to my hand, and although I could not understand her, I knew she didn’t want me to leave. She found another translator and said that she in turn had a word for me. “Oh, how refreshing,” I thought. “After so much ministering out, God has something for me.”
Through the translator she spoke this to me: “I do not know English. I only know two words: hello and goodbye. This is why I stood in the back. I knew I would not be able to understand, but I wanted to hear from God. I was happy that you came to me but I could not understand you at first. Then, as you began to speak, a voice began to speak to me. Everything that you spoke to me just now, the voice spoke these things to me! I am going into politics and my friends have told me not to. They told me no one would listen to me and that I would get a lot of negative words against me and that I had better just stay at home. Now I know God has confirmed this to me. Thank you and your friends so much!” I was in awe. God answered my prayer! God had become my translator! Hallelujah!!
I hope I never forget what God did in Nicaragua or His precious family there. I am truly poor, yet I am truly rich. Every word from the Father brings life, and He touched so many there. He touched me. The treasure of His people, knowing He loves us all deeply, is being embossed on my heart. Every moment I surrender to Him, I am changed. God wants to speak to His children, and He can use each one of us. One word from Him can change a life forever. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Amy Ledyard Fort Mill, SC 09 OCT 13
We hope this finds you well and able to enjoy fall before all that is hectic and holiday-ish begins! 🙂
Here at FXMissions we are finding how easy it would be for everything to become hectic now; between planning trips, writing email updates, developing a curriculum, and jumping through all the hoops required to make us a 501c3 Non-Profit Corporation, we have a lot on our plates. But God is so good, and since He’s the One with the original heart for missions, we are confident that everything will come together.
Speaking of having a heart for missions, I want to tell you a story that may illustrate for you exactly what it is that FXMissions wants to accomplish; it’s kind of a two-fold calling:
The end of February 2013 Scott and several others embarked on a two-week journey to Mexico. (Spoiler alert: this is one portion of our purpose). On this trip the team made stops in six cities (one city was visited twice) to encourage and work beside ministries and/or missionaries that are working hard to make their area of Mexico a better place. Yes, there was teaching and preaching and all that one would expect from a mission trip happening on this particular trip, but, most importantly, old relationships were strengthened and renewed and new relationships were forged. If God is Love, and if we’re supposed to do what He did during His time on Earth, then love and relationships is ministry. This is part one of the purpose of FXMissions.
To illustrate the second part of our purpose I’m going to tell you more about the team. Some had been on several missions trips prior to this one; some had never been out of the country; some had been to Mexico; some had not; two members were even unexpectedly added to the team upon arrival in Mexico. The point was not to keep mission opportunities available only to those “with connections” or those who speak 47 languages, have endured a rigorous training period, and are completely “qualified.” The point was (and is) to give people the opportunity to “go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations.” Note that Jesus didn’t say, “Go if you’re good enough” or “Go if you think you’d maybe have a good time.” He said, “Go, and make.” We want this to be a reality.
I think I can speak for the whole core team when I say that we have been asked, “What is FX Missions?” more than once. I hope this brings clarity on that point.
And I hope that maybe one day you will come and go with us. Or that you’ll “go, and make” and continue to do so. 🙂
We so appreciate your interest in what’s going on with FX Missions and your prayers.
Much love and blessings to each of you. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………
Scott McClelland Arlington, TX 18 SEP 13
Would the real world-changers please stand up? The time of counterfeit Christianity and a watered-down Gospel has come to an end. Where have the valiant warriors of Christ gone? You may not feel like you have global impact today, but destiny is written on your soul. So I ask again, would the real world-changers please- stand- up! We at FXMissions have been commissioned by Christ to raise up a new generation of leaders and missionaries- those who see martyrdom as an honor and are unafraid to live their lives as a sacrifice! We invite you to take this journey with us. This time marks a big season of transition for FXMissions. We've taken some big steps in obedience to see new levels of contribution.
Several years ago, under the Lord’s direction, my family and I moved to the Carolinas to be involved in a different kind of missions training. I wanted to learn a new way to do missions; I wanted to see something new arise from missions efforts. This was not to disrespect what missions had meant to me up until that point, but was based on the belief that the Lord was about to do something new. I wanted to be in on that! The year was 2005, and I was part of an eight-person team that did a two-week training (read guinea pig) deployment in some rugged environments inside the USA. We were in unrelenting exposure to the elements and had an adverse schedule. Conditions were hard, food was scarce, and almost no one on the team had any prior experience with each other. You can imagine the difficulties. The Lord had continually instructed me to humble myself leading up to this event… I'm sure I missed a lot of opportunities to learn on that trip, but the ones I didn't miss came from humbling myself, and from being humbled.
This trip opened the door, although not immediately, to be involved in some unfolding efforts to raise up new kinds of missionaries within the organization that put on the “pilot” deployment. I worked in this effort for four years, but could tell by the end of my first year as a leader that the program was not going to be what I had envisioned. I realized that what was being advertised compared to what was being distributed in the training program were diverging into irreconcilable directions- directions that I perceived would not come back together. I knew, then, that I needed to change directions and be obedient to what the Lord had shown me back in 2002. This is when FXMissions was born.
The journey is just beginning. Come go with us! Maybe, just maybe, you will find a calling in your heart among the nations! We hope to help people discover these callings, and also to sort them out. People are not likely to achieve their highest potential perched on a pew, a couch, a fishing boat, etc.
We will train short-term teams. We will raise up captains and leaders who will exceed us in both reach and quality. We will not shrink back from the difficult, the dangerous, or the remote. We will reach the nations for Christ!
Please keep us in your prayers as we prepare to launch FXMissions Training next year. We are blessed to have you walking with us and look forward to sharing more of our journey with you as it unfolds.