Here I Raise My Ebenezer

 "Ebenezer" is a Hebrew word and is literally translated as "Stone of Help." I just love to think about God and all his faithfulness. I often think about the story of Samuel and the Israelites fighting the Philistines. Once they turned away from their other gods and cried out the Lord, he saved them. "Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the Lord has helped us.” (1 Samuel 4:12)

Every day I hear the ocean waves crashing on the shoreline, the waves are so constant, we all know they will not stop crashing onto shore until the world ends. This is like our Heavenly Father. He is so constant. When he says he will do something, he will do it. I am here in Mexico imagining putting up my own Ebenezer. "Thus far the Lord has helped me." And he will continue to help me, as he calls me to himself. My favorite verse right now is 2 Timothy 2:13, "if we are faithless, he remains faithful, for he cannot disown himself." Faithful is who God is, the very essence of himself, if were to stop being faithful, he would cease to exist because he is faithful. 

Now that I am staff here at YWAM San Diego/Baja, the reality of missionary life is setting in. I am so blessed and excited to do more of God's work here in Mexico! But it is also scary! Being in Mexico means learning Spanish. Being in YWAM means monthly staff fees. Being a missionary means hard and thankless work. But as Paul writes right before verse 13, "Here is a trustworthy saying: If we died with him, we will also live with him; if we endure, we will also reign with him. If we disown him, he will also disown us;" We are so blessed to serve the Lord in any way he has called us. 
So, what is your Ebenezer? How far has God brought you? How far are you letting him take you? 

*Note: As you all now know, I am officially staff here. Yay! This means I now have monthly staff fees, this includes housing fees, food, transportation, ministry etc. Can I ask you, my precious readers and friends to prayerfully consider supporting me monthly? If you would like to financially support me monthly or give a one time gift you can make a tax deductible check to YWAM San Diego/Baja and send it to the address below:

YWAM San Diego/Baja c/o Ellie Swenson

100 W. 35th St. Ste. R

National City, CA 91950

OR, you can make a donation through YWAM San Diego/Baja's website, www.ywamsandiegobaja.org and click on DONATIONS AND PAYMENTS on the homepage. Then click on STAFF SUPPORT. 

Thank you all for reading! I have over 600 page views which is super awesome. If you have any questions or would like to contact me, my email is: eswen91@gmail.com. 

Subiendo/Climbing

I have a story. 

I am in my bed, minding my own business and I feel the Holy Spirit prompting me, compelling me, calling me to climb this mountain. I think to myself, "I am not good at climbing, I am not conditioned, I don't really like to work that hard, it is a huge mountain, there is no way I can get to the top." But God gives me this undying passion for this mountain. My desire to scale this mountain becomes so strong I MUST conquer it. So I begin to climb. At first it's okay, I am not hard on myself to get to the top fast. I take my time. It is even a little fun. But soon, the higher I get the more I realize I have to go. The higher I get the more I see that the top is still so far away. I am trudging, tired, frustrated. I cry out in frustration. I stop. I kick the dirt. I can't do it. There are others on the mountain too. Some are sprinting past me, I feel like a loser. There are some behind me too. Everyone is cheering me on, helping me, encouraging me. It's not the people, it's me. I am my own problem on this mountain. I look back down. I have come far. I can see other people at the base of the mountain. They are happy. I could go back down and join them. But I know there is a fiesta at the top of the mountain. There is blessing at the top, opportunities I wouldn't have if I stayed at the bottom. Now that I am getting higher, God asks me to lead some people around the mountain. I feel under-qualified. What if I get these people lost? What if I stumble and fall and they laugh at me? What if I am too tired to lead these people? My desire to lead people is strong, I have always dreamed of leading others, but I feel so weak. But God reminds me of his words in Isaiah 40: 

 "Do you not know?

    Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

    the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

    and his understanding no one can fathom.

 He gives strength to the weary

    and increases the power of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

    and young men stumble and fall;

but those who hope in the Lord

    will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

    they will run and not grow weary,

    they will walk and not be faint."

This isn't a real story but it is a great picture of my life. When I was 17 I knew I was called to learn Spanish and be in Latino ministries. I just knew it. God gave me a huge undying passion for the Latino culture. The Spanish language is my mountain. My strongest desire is to learn it, to proclaim Jesus' love in the heart language of the people around me here in Tijuana. I feel so weak. Some days I feel like I am sprinting, my head and my mouth are working together. Some days I am trudging and I even give up. But God is my everlasting God, he doesn't give up. He has called me to this language and he alone is the one who gives me victory! He has called me to lead people, to lead children, through him all things are possible. I have given my 5 loves and 2 fish and he has multiplied it. Yes, the more I learn, the more I realize there is to know. Fluency is a thing in my future, something I have to look forward to. So for now, I am strolling along, taking in the splendor of this language, learning new things each day. But I can't wait for the fiesta at the top, I hear there are great tacos. 

Nana of the Year

So I have announcement to make, I have officially become staff here at YWAM San Diego/Baja. I am here in Tijuana for two years. I just praise God for all that he has given me. It has been a dream to be able to do ministry here in Tijuana. God has given me such a heart for this city and the immense need here. I keep thinking of the verse in Ephesians 3:20, "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." Praise God from Whom all blessings flow! 

I have written about the ministry we do in Zona Norte called Zone Kids. I have been given charge of the younger children's program. I am so ecstatic about this as I love children, and I have an extreme heart for the area, so this is a big deal for me! God for sure has a plan for this time here.

Part of the Zone Kids ministry is a mom's Bible study where the moms come and have a Bible study and fellowship during the kids program. One lady who has been coming to the Bible study is named Mercedes. She brings her grandchildren. She has one granddaughter named Stephanie who is one year old. I just love Stephanie and through that, I have really gotten to know Mercedes. She takes care of her three grandchildren because her daughter is addicted to drugs and is very unstable. I can see in Mercedes that this effects her greatly. She is always telling me about her daughter Jaquiline, and how she is so unstable, that she is in and out of house, doing drugs, having boyfriends etc. Mercedes is very open in the Bible study about her struggles and I know she is so open to learning more about God and prayer, and trusting in her Heavenly Father. Mercedes is really trying to trust that God has a plan but I can tell she is discouraged. She is a wonderful grandmother, Stephanie is very attached to her. I love it. God has a plan for her life, more than she can ask or imagine. I want her to know this in her heart not just her head. 

• Please pray for Jacqueline that she will get the necessary help that she needs so that she can be the mother and daughter that she needs to be. 
• Please pray for Mercedes that she can really know who God is and trust in his plan for her family. 
• A praise that God has really answered my prayer in being able to lead the kids program in the park! 
• And finally can you please pray for me and my Spanish? I am discouraged and I feel like it is impossible for me to learn.

I just love Stephanie! I think this was the first time she had ever seen bubbles 

and she was making such a funny laugh!