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.