Highs and Lows

The past few week has been like a roller coaster of events. But God is faithful, and i am alive! :) A continual thanks to all who have been so encouraging to me! I have been blessed beyond measure and i have so much to be thankful for! :)

Well for starters, last Thursday I got to go with Donna to Makro! Makro is equivalent to a Sam's Club or Costco in the States. I remember going there with my mom 7 years ago. I got excited seeing all the fresh produce that you can buy in large quantities. :) There is just something inside me that makes me want to cook and bake for people. I think i get it from my mother! :) Along those lines, last week was a bit hard. There came a time when i had a strong urge to go help people. I just wanted to leave school and go care for people, give them a hug, and let them know that Jesus loves them. I don't know. I think with school right now, God is teaching me perseverane and working on my heart for something in the future. I need to keep relying on His strength to get me through school.

On Friday night, I had the opportunity to go to a Vigilia at church. A Vigilia is similiar to a lock-in but, it is a lot more "spiritual." It was for the youth group, so i got to meet some new friends from church. The worship and fellowship was great but at times i got frustrated and tired because of the Spanish. haha at 5 A.M. we had a mini American Idol thing. We all split into groups and someone from each group had to go up and sing in front of everyone. Well lets just say that my group decided to flee and by the time it was my group's turn to send someone up to sing, there was no one left- except me. So i went up there, extremely tired, and took the microphone. They started playing a Hillsong song that i know in English and Spanish. But i couldn't remember the words- in my head i would sing a few words in English and then i would go into Spanish. So i just stood up there. Haha it was bad and i was pretty embarrassed. But life goes on... Aunt Donna picked me up a few hours later and i came home and crashed until 3:30 p.m. Overall it was a great experience, good practice time for my Spanish, and most importantly, a good worship time!

Church on Sunday was yet another great experience filled with heart-felt worship and a touching message. The preacher this week had a great insight on a passage in Genesis 14 about Abraham and Lot. He was talking about our life battles and how what we depend on will determine the victory. This was a message i really needed to hear because i feel like recently i have been going through a spiritual battle. There are so many things i am learning right as well as many simple truths that i need to be reminded of every now and then. I also had a great conversation with my dad on Sunday night that was much needed. I love him and miss him so much. I am excited for him because today he left for Kenya! So cool- and i have to admit i am a little jealous! I can not WAIT to hear about how God is working over there! I am so happy for him because i know Africa has a special place in his heart like Venezuela does in mine.

Also on Sunday after church a few of my teachers came over for a while to hang out and eat lunch with us. I have really started to develop a great friendship with my English teacher, Miss Bullock. She has been a great friend for me to talk to about life and i am able to connect with her. I think we are going to start meeting weekly so she can disciple me and so that we can have some good time to talk. God has blessed me so much with this relationship in my life along with many others! This is such a huge answer to prayer for me as well. :)

Now to last night. Last night my procrastination tendencies led me to working for about 5 hours or more on a paper for U.S. History. I had it all written out and was just getting ready to type it up when my stomach started hurting really bad. I was extremely nauseous and felt horrible.. well it all went down from there. Enough said. So today i stayed home from school to rest and i finished up my paper. Thank God i am slowly starting to feel better because tomorrow my school is heading out to a camp for a few days for a retreat type thing. I am SUPER excited because i have heard that people get really competitive and also one day we get to hike up a mountain. More importantly, i am looking forward to getting to know some of the people in my high school better and develop deeper relationships. :) I just hope that i am feeling up to doing everything and i am glad i got sick here instead of camp!

One other thing that has been pretty frustrating for me is my spanish. I do not remember if i talked about this in earlier blogs, but with my school being English-speaking, my spanish has become almost a discipline. I really have to force myself into working at it but i am having trouble finding the time for that. Weekends are my favorite because i get to be around church people and also practice my spanish! When it comes down to it, it all comes back to balance in life and time management. There are so many things i want to do here but i do not feel like i have enough time for! Priorites, priorites... welcome to life!

Well that is about all i have for this week! I still can not believe i am actually living in Venezuela and that i have been here for over a month! Thanks for everyone's prayers and support!
LOVE YOU ALL!
mariah

Another God-given incredible week :)

Yet another week that God has blessed me with! Thanks to all of you who continually encourage me with your comments and by telling me you read this blog. I pray that this blog not be my words but God's words of how He is working in not only my life but in those around me as well. All glory to Him forever!

The big thing that happened this week was my 17th birthday. No offense to anyone, but I FEEL OLD! I am becoming an adult all too quickly and it scares me a little bit! But it also reminds me of how short my life really is and a reminder to live for what really matters. Ha- i called my mom earlier this week and told her about all that and then i told her of how i could be married in 3 years! I think that scared her a bit but then again she and my dad got married when he was 20 and she had just turned 21! It's a little crazy to think about that but its true! NOW i better make this clear! I am not saying that because i am with anyone right now or have a 'crush' on anyone... just stating reality! :)
So yeah, my birthday was on Thursday. It was hard being away from home and getting to be with my family but God provided family here to surround me in love. Although it hurt deep when my family asked me how they were supposed to celebrate my birthday without me. To start things off, when we got to school i had a good friend walk up to me with a candle in hand and sing 'happy birthday' to me. Adriana is the girl's name and she has been an awesome friend to me since i have been in Venezuela! She is super sweet and has a gift with people- encouraging and including everyone, especially making people feel welcome! :) Then in English, my first class, my classmates and teacher threw me a little party. A few of the girls had made brownies and snickerdoodles and brought fruit drinks! YUM! :) It meant to much to me! On top of that, one of the girls in my class called her dad (who is a radio host in the mornings) and she asked him to wish me a happy birthday on the radio! HE DID and we all gathered around a stereo and listened to it! HOW COOL! :)
The rest of the day people were super sweet and made my birthday really special. In Anatomy, if you are late to class you have to get up in front and sing a song to the class. Well, one of the Korean girls named Lisa was late for class that day. For her song she sang 'Happy Birthday' to me in Korean! That was pretty sweet! Then that night Donna made some awesome skyline chili for my birthday dinner... a little reminder of home. :) After dinner Dionna asked me if i wanted to go to a lookout spot with her and talk for a bit. We went and on the way home Dionna told me we were going to go the back way. Well, i am still new here in Venezuela and come-to-find-out there is no back way home! Instead she took me to one of the girl's house from our school. Her name is Mari and she walked up and said that her grandma wanted to wish me a 'happy birthday.' Well i thought it was just another Venezuelan cutlure thing, so we walked in and then about 15 people from my school popped out and starting singing "Feliz Cumpleazaños!" Wow they got me good! i had no idea they were planning this! They made me dance latin dances (salsa and merengue). But dont worry- it was all clean and fun, just getting a taste of Venezuelan culture! I was horrible at dancing though. I was trying so hard to get the steps and then they were making fun of me becuase i would not move my hips at all! But i think i am ok with that! :) I really enjoyed the night and it was good for me to get to know some of my friends from school better. I felt like i was able to relax and laugh- which was much needed! So overall, my birthday was great and thank you for everyone who sent me a birthday message! This was definetly a birthday i will always remember!

On Saturday morning Aunt Donna took me to downtown Caracas to do a little shopping. This part of Caracas is known to be very dangerous and often you hear about people getting mugged. So Donna and I were careful in what we took and wore. I enjoyed spending some time with her and going into all the venezuelan shops! So cool! i loved seeing all the Venezuelan culture and also getting to try some new food. :) After that we went to watch Dionna play soccer. She is a BEAST at soccer and it was so much fun watching her play! She scored on a indirect kick near the goal! It was hard sitting on the sideline becasue it made me want to get out on the field and rub some shoulders with girls and kick the ball around. :) Yeah i am starting to miss soccer a bit.

This weekend has been pretty chill. Church this morning was awesome like always! :) We sang 'trading my sorrows' and 'Great is thy faithfulness' in spanish. So cool to know those songs in English. I thought of my dad for some reason singing 'Great is thy faithfulness' and just wanted him there standing beside me. :( I enjoyed talking with some friends after church and practicing some spanish. It's coming little by little- i just need to keep talking with people! I still love every minute i get to spend at the church. :)

Well I think i am finally able to pin-point what God wants to teach me: DISCIPLINE. uggggg,,, grrrrrr,,,, ouchhhhh. It hurts and its hard. But this summer i read a book about spiritual discipline and felt like i learned somethings but apparently i have a TON more to learn. For my small group at school we are reading another disciplines book. At first i was really dissapointed i had to read another discipline book beaucse i just read all this stuff. But i am seeing how much i need these things in my life. Last night as i was lying in bed reading, i heard uncle David tell Dawson, "Discipline is a daily choice..." Then i started reading my book called "Having a Mary Spirit" by Joanna Weaver, and of course, the chapter was about spiritual discipline! OK GOD! I GET IT! Ever since i came to Venezuela i started praying that God would allow me and help me grow closer to Him. I keep praying for a closer relationship with Him. Well i don't know if He could be any clearer. I NEED DISCIPLINE!
Here are a few points for the chapter i read last night that really stuck out to me:

• Without discipline and help from God you will remain the same and not grow in your faith
• We tend to want to live a life of ease rather than a life that pleases God
• the Holy Spirit is like your personal trainer and HE is WILLING to help you!
• Whenever I resist the conviction of the Holy Spirit, I am really saying no to God and yes to Satan
• When God asks, He also enables
• The battle is the LORD'S! YESS!

"No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it." Hebrews 12:11

So this is how i grow closer to God, this is how i let go of me and cling onto Him. This is not going to be easy at all! but I am so glad i have the Creator of the Universe to help me!

Venezuela has been amazing. Although it kills me beacuse i want friends and family to experience everything with me. Words can not describle many things nor can a picture. But i hope you all get a taste of what Venezuela is like and come to love it like i do! Thanks for everyone's support and love!

In Christ Alone,
Mariah Brooke

Week beyond words

Thanks for all your continual encouragement and love you all show me! I am so blessed to have people like you all in my life!

The past week has been a LEARNING week!
First, I will tell you about a lesson that I learned. It is not a good idea to stay up til 2:30 a.m. and wake up at 5:30 a.m. for school! Its actually pretty destructive to oneself! Wednesday night last week I had the opportunity to go to a small group for younger people at Casarapa. (that's where my family lived when we lived here 7 years ago!) anyway the small group was held next to the same pond that my siblings and i used to scooter around and around. So many memories came as I sat there with my uncle listening to the Gospel message being taught with an indescribable passion. Praise God for the many ways He is working and making His glory known in Venezuela! Well, i got home that night and got to work on a Bible paper I had to write about if it is possible to be a Christian Pluralist- meaning that you claim to be a Christian yet also believe there are multiple ways to get into Heaven. This was not an easy paper to write, so i was up until 1:45 a.m. with that. Then Dionna and I had to study together for an Anatomy quiz. What fun it is to try to memorize body systems at 2:00 in the morning! We were laughing so hard, so much so that later that morning my Aunt asked us about why we were talking and laughing about "urethra" so late. Apparently we were a little loud! :) Great memories though! So after only getting 3 hours of sleep Wednesday night, I was wiped out on Thursday night. If you know me well you know i do not do well at ALL with little sleep! ( I get that from my dad! :) ) so i got a little homesick that night while i was crying because i was frustrated and just wanted to talk to my mom- talk to someone who could handle the basket-case i was! But its been good to keep in touch with my family and many friends through skype and facebook! :)

Every Saturday morning since i arrived in Venezuela, i have been waking up early to go running with my Aunt Donna. I really enjoy running and talking with her. It's a great way to start off a Saturday because i get energized and am able to get more done than if i would have slept in.

Later on Saturday I got to go to youth group in Casarapa. (this is also where the Church is at). The youth group went out by the grocery store and did the skit "Everything" by Lifehouse. If you have not seen it i suggest you look it up on Youtube.com or Tangle.com! It's been so neat to see how the youth here have a passion for Christ. It encourages me all the more to continually pursue an intimate relationship with my Savior.

Now what i really want to tell you about it what i got be part of yesterday. After church Abraham (a 23-year-old Venezuelan who is really close to the Linns), 2 teachers from school, Dionna, and I were able to visit a cancer hospital. Abraham was leading us all and was the one who invited us all to go. We brought some puppets with us because we thought we might be able to see some kids- well come to find out, those puppets were a blessing! On the way to downtown Caracas, Abraham was sticking the puppets out the window and telling people "God loves you!" while at the same time handing our tracks and just making people laugh (especially us)! I kept thinking, this is one of the reasons I am here in Venezuela, to learn how to tell others about Jesus... who knew it would be with puppets! But more importantly to grow and mature in my faith while seeking Him more and more. On our way into the hospital Abraham was already passing out tracks and talking to people, and of course, waving around the puppets! Abraham led us into the first room and started to talk to the cancer patients and their families about Jesus and the Gospel. He was telling them that Jesus took all our sin and died for us so we could be forgiven. Also telling them that in Heaven there will be no more sickness or disease! WOW! God was teaching me just as much as those we were talking to! In each room we also prayed for them and gave out tracks. Abraham even had us pray in English in a few of the rooms. Some of the patients prayed the salvation prayer, so please keep them in your prayers! We were there until a guard came and told us that visiting hours were over. But our work was not done! We continued to hand out tracks on our way out and tell people that God loves them!

What an experience! On the way home Abraham asked me how i was feeling. I told him that i was learning and thank you for all that he had taught me about sharing your faith that day. He told me that evangelizing should not just be an event that people meet together to go do, but rather an everyday thing. I have continued to be amazed at what God is showing me. I hope to return to that hospital very soon!

"Be generous with the different things God gave you, passing them around so all get in on it: if words, let it be God’s words; if help, let it be God’s hearty help. That way, God’s bright presence will be evident in everything through Jesus, and he’ll get all the credit as the One mighty in everything—encores to the end of time. Oh, yes!"
-1 peter 4:10-11 (The Message)

This is the verse in my devotions this morning. Just reminding me that God deserves all the credit for everything and it's Him working- not us! My pride is detestable in his sight and i need to continually throw that at His Cross. My life is not my own. He has put me here in Venezuela. I pray that i simply be a servant and put myself completely away. Thank you for grace! I need to keep relying on God for my strength so people see Him alone. NO MORE ME!

I hope you all are doing great! I miss seeing you all face to face and spending time with you! Let me know how i can be praying you all!

Hugs and Kisses,
Mariah Brooke