I Just Wanna Be a Sheep

First of all! Thank you to everyone who gave financially and prayerfully for my internship at YWAM-Tijuana. I could not go if it weren't for all of you. I am overwhelmed and blessed by all of your words, prayers, and financial help. Really, words cannot describe my appreciation for all of you. It is a blessing for me to see God providing in this way, foreign missions cannot happen without the Body of Christ at work so thank you for support in spreading the Good News in Mexico. iGracias a todos! 

In 2012 I went to the Urbana Missions conference in St. Louis, Missouri. Now this missions conference is HUGE, possibly the biggest missions conference in the world. At Urbana there are hundreds of mission organizations with tables full of information, videos, CDs, huge posters with really cute little children of every color, or women with heavy jugs on their heads or wearing hijabs. Bible verses, missions statements everywhere. Some organizations more trendy than others, with hipster looking people wearing TOMS, skinny jeans and a shirt from a thrift store, their paraphernalia clearly made by a skilled graphic designer with a Macbook. Other organizations got straight to the point and were less flashy. I remember just going to every booth that publicized inner city ministry, or Latin American missions. I think I probably gathered information from about 20+ ministries. 

Let's backtrack a little. After I graduated from Waubonsee Community college in 2011 I went to Aurora University. At Aurora there was a Christian group called Intervarsity. This is a university ministry that is all over the country in different colleges and universities ministering to college students. Intervarsity also heads up Urbana which is how I heard about it. Now, if any of you reading this are interested in missions or if you just have a passion for missions, go to Urbana, it is amazing. So here is my shameless plug for Urbana. Ask me about it! I can give you more details. 

Anyways. I remember stopping at the Youth With a Mission booth. It was huge, lots of tables and people and just, stuff. There was a huge banner with the YWAM logo on it, which looks like this: 

I remember little of my conversation with the YWAM-ers there but oh how I wish I could go back and have a conversation with them now! Knowing what I know, I could have asked wayyyyy better questions. Quick shoutout to all my YWAM-ers out there, isn't it so great to meet other YWAM-ers from different bases? It's like meeting a long lost relative.

So long story short, some magical dust was sprinkled on me and I somehow chose YWAM as my ministry of choice out of the 20+ I considered (actually now that I think about it, the first part of YWAM training is a Discipleship Training School that lasts 5 months, I figured I could do anything for 5 months, YWAM seemed to be the shortest commitment and I could handle that.) Then I somehow chose out of 1000+ YWAM bases in the world, YWAM-Minneapolis to my base of choice. Like most Minneapolis YWAM-ers, we often aren't quite sure why or how we chose the Minneapolis base, we just did. I know there is no such thing as magical dust but there such a thing as the Holy Spirit leading, guiding and compelling us. I honestly cannot tell you how I even found YWAM Minneapolis. It was nothing less than God's leading and direction. I had no idea what I was getting into. I hadn't the slightest inclination of what I was getting myself in to. But as I went to Minneapolis in faith, and now as I get ready to go to YWAM-Tijuana I am reminded ever so clearly of the Bible verses in Isaiah 26:3-4: "You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.Trust in the Lord forever, for the Lord, the Lord himself, is the Rock eternal." It is so easy now to look back and think about how "easy" it was to be Minnesota for all those months, and go to Guadalajara for two months. I think back and think, oh ya I wasn't nervous, I didn't doubt God for a second. But now as I come to another crossroad in my life and get ready to step into the unknown again, I realize how futile my strength is. I was nervous to go to Minnesota I am sure of it, it's just hard to remember because it was such a blessed experience. I do remember I thought I was making the wrong choice in joining YWAM. Now I am nervous about going to Mexico. I was certain for an entire week last week that I was ruining my life by going to Tijuana. But I am rooted to my Rock eternal. Nothing can sway us when we cling to our Rock. As Christ followers, we are like sheep, following or Shephard. Sheep don't always know where they are going but they follow their shepherd without question, they trust him. "My sheep listen to my voice and I know them, and they follow me." John 10:27. Let's all be sheep even if it's unknown! I am going to follow Jesus to Tijuana but where are you going to be led? You know his voice! He is leading! 

A Little Bit of Adventure

M

Here is a little tidbit about my recent trip to Bolivia. I was there with a team from Cup of Cold Water Ministries for 10 days (July 3-13). 

"My eyes were heavy. It had been nonstop travel and ministry for six days. I was finally feeling it catch up to me. My team and I sat on benches outside of a clay and mud house with a straw thatched roof, in the typical Bolivian style. The pastor stood in front of us talking over the purr of the generator we brought along with us. One of the men had carried the heavy thing up 31 miles, along the Tuichi River deep in Northern Bolivia. 

“We don’t want you leave.” “We didn’t think it would be possible for you to come.” Were some things the pastor said. I don’t think I will ever realize the significance that visitors carry when they visit Mojos. This was a tiny village high in the beautiful Andes mountains, right in the clouds. Picturesque. Untouched by civilization. Visitors were a treat.

I wondered during my time there what it was I could even share with these people. What do I have to give? Beanie Babies? Do they have a lasting effect on the Kingdom? Coloring pages? Skits about the Good Samaritan? I am skeptical at times at the Western idea of short term missions. Often people of other countries view Americans as vending machines, gringos distributing lollipops and healthcare along with a faint, “Jesus te ama (Jesus loves you).” 

These past months I have been meditating a lot on Christ’s love, and how what He did on the cross for us compels us to serve and die to ourselves. With my trip to Mexico coming around the bend (I leave August 3, 2014) I didn’t think it would be wise to go to Bolivia. But I felt so compelled to go. God made it ever so clear; he provided everything I would need to go. I couldn’t turn my back on the people of Mojos or the team I would be a part of.

So there I was sitting in Mojos on our last night there, pondering my skepticism about the ministry we had done and my seemingly incurable gringo-ness. Pondering the words that the emotional pastor was saying. I left Mojos still wondering if I had let God down. I left Bolivia four days later still wondering, “Did I do enough?” 

As someone who is called into full time missions, I am beginning to sense a trend. I often wonder, “Did I do enough?” I place a lot of the burden on myself. I don’t give the Holy Spirit enough room to work. I was compelled to go to Bolivia! I am compelled to go Mexico!  Isn’t that enough to know that He will work in and through me, in spite of me? The same goes for all of us; the Holy Spirit has given each of us a ministry, something we are compelled to do. 

It meant a lot to the village of Mojos that we came, that we hiked 62 miles round trip to this tiny village. It meant a lot to my team that we hiked to Mojos, Christ’s love compelled us to.  They will remember it forever, the Beanie Babies will be a reminder. My team will remember it forever; the blisters will be a reminder. I will remember it forever. God’s never-ending faithfulness will be my reminder. 

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14"

Here We Go Again!

Oh where to start. What draws people in? 

A picture? 

Here I am on my first ever Bolivia missions trip back in 2008!
I was 17 years old, and I had fallen head over heels in love for missions.

Maybe a video? Its from my two months in Mexico! 

Getting people's attention is...difficult. For example, getting a large group of rowdy kids to listen requires a great amount of skill. A skill I have slowly begun to unwrap. 

What about getting people's attention who have not heard the Gospel? This is something whole books are written on.

Why should we care about people who might not pay us any attention, EVER? We are never guaranteed anything in seeing the fruits of our labors. In fact John even warns us in his first letter in the New Testament that the world may hate us for our actions. So we might even suffer persecution in our efforts to love.

“For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all and therefore all died.” 2 Corinthians 5:14

This is a verse I have been meditating a lot on as my think about my own mission statement for my life. I am getting ready to go to Mexico! Why? Because I am COMPELLED to care for people! Because of what Jesus did on the Cross for me, for all of us. Why wouldn't we give him our lives? There are opportunities to show love I CANNOT say no to. This is the love of Christ compelling me to love and care for others. 

Now...I am raising funds to go to Mexico. I feel very compelled to serve and love those in Tijuana Mexico and I cannot do it without your help! If you would like more information about what I am going to be doing in Tijuana or if you would like to support me financially in spreading the Gospel I would LOVE to hear from you:

My email is: eswen91@gmail.com

My address is: 

Ellie Swenson

9830 Ashley Road

Yorkville, IL 60560

God's grace and peace to all of you! 

Bendiciones, 

Ellie Swenson 

“For C