Shelby Shaping!

God has been doing some major Shelby Shaping lately. I am always learning how ridiculous I am. My life is a constant process; seeing my flaws and Christ showing me where I need to get better. At first that thought makes me discouraged like, Dude..when will this ever end? But then I realize how great it is that He doesn't leave me like I am; a mess, swimming upstream without a paddle. He's by my side, caring enough to pull me out of my sinful self, cool huh?

Anyways. Shelby Shaping. God's really been convicting me lately on my attitude. I find it too easy to get frustrated with things or uneasy. I find myself focused on myself way too much. I find myself with attitudes I just straight up don't want to have. The last couple weeks our new church start-up team has been studying the fruit of the spirit...

"But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." Galatians 5:22-23

When I read these I am kind of embarrassed to admit how many of them I am (in other words, am not) overflowing with. That's what I need to be. I have the Holy Spirit in me so I need to also be overflowing with that proof. At first thought I was being all human & thinking, Hey, I'm a pretty joyful girl. Hey, I stick by people when things get tough..That's faithfulness, no? Hey, I'm getting better at self-control. Blah blah blah. Oh Shelby..
When I think through the fruit during my day to day life I realize how much I'm lacking. How even in the areas I thought I was doing okay in...I'm SO lacking.
As a group we talked about how they are in order, you can't have one without the ones before it. They are the FRUIT not the FRUITS. It's a package, having one leads to another. With that thought...I have a lot of work to do. It really is deep in my heart to present myself to God as His follower who is displaying the fruit of a walk with Him.

So as come in to contact with daily strangers, as I participate in what seems like endless construction projects, as I continue learning this language, as I build more friendships, and as I wake up every day I ask you to pray for me.

Pray that I would show Christ's love to others and allow my love to reflect His.
Pray that I would never falter in my joy for this life I have been given, every bit of it.
Pray that the peace which surpasses all understanding would fill my every move.
Pray that I would remember how much patience it would take to put up with myself and then demonstrate that to others.
Pray that I would humble myself and show complete kindness to everyone in my path.
Pray that I would fix my eyes on Jesus and that in me, through Him, HIS goodness will show forth.
Pray that I would prove myself faithful in every maner, every situation, ever friendship, and every test. No matter what.
Pray that I would show gentleness day in and day out.
Pray that I would bridle every part of me (The things I say, think, & do) with self-control.

Pray that I would overflow with proof of my life in Christ. That others would ask, what's so different about that girl? Pray that God would help me as I seek to be filled with His fruit.
If this is your desire too, I urge you to pray for all nine of those things above! Join me as I strive to walk in the Spirit, closer to God, letting him shape me!
"Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman..." 2 Timothy 2:15

catch up.

 

We're still working away at construction and preparing to start the new church/center with the kids. I don't have too much of an update on that area of things other than we're keeping on, keeping on. Instead I figured I'd just share with you some pictures of life here in Bolivia over the last couple months. These pictures are pretty random but I hope you enjoy them! :)



Bolivia's liberty house where they signed for their independence.

Love this scene.

 

These little rascals often times wake me up, fighting. Just had to laugh at the picture.

Mornings like these...Absolutely love them.

It's Christmas time in the city :) Out to see the Christmas lights!




 

This is Joe! He is another intern from the US who is living in our house. We're growing to be real good friends and it's just nice to have another mid-westerner to hangout with!

Toty, David, & I at a wedding in December!

Tranquil day in the market. I try to steer clear of that scene!

Congratulations to a good friend here on her wedding day! Absolutely beautiful bride.

Our whole household together for a family wedding over Christmas!



The little things mean the most; Christmas 2012



Sucre! Bolivia's capitol, pretty snazzy place!

Adopted Cousins ;)

Christmas Day in Bolivia!

Visiting a Dinosaur museum in Sucre.

A dear, dear blessing & friend here in Cochabamba, Salem!

Some of the family in Sucre during our trip!

Coooooookin! Wish I took a picture of the roses this kid made out of tomato skins.



After a 12 hour bus ride from Sucre back to Cochabamba, this is the sunrise I got :)

Soccer game from a while back!

Guess who officially has a visa? This girl. Guess who is no longer illegal? This girl. Guess who's excited? This girl.

 



The Start Of Something New.

Last weekend our church here in Cochabamba prayed over us and saw us all off. Why you might ask?
On Sunday, the 17th the center team is starting a new church! Up in the community of the center kids there is no christian churches, no one reaching out to those people. Our team feels very strongly that God is calling us to be His light to those people. Starting from scratch and looking at all the many responsibilities that need filled, it seems a tad overwhelming. We have all been in constant prayer about what God wants to do through each and every one of us. For me, I didn't feel God asking me to switch churches for some time. I liked the church body I had just gotten plugged into, I was growing there, and I didn't feel the call to go up to "Taquiña" (The name of the community). But one day I woke up and felt such a strong burden to reach out to the mothers, the fathers, the teens, the families. Since that morning I've been praying for this new start and this new endeavour. I really would love it if you would join us in prayer for this new church as well...

Pray for patience and peace in all our team starting the church (10 people in total).
Pray for the lives of the families, that they would be open and able to come.
Pray that the word would be preached and hearts would be opened!
Pray that God's will be completed through and in every person involved in this new church.
This week is crunch time as we work on finishing touches to a sanctuary and keep working on all the classrooms at the construction site. We hope to utilize this physical structure in showing the refuge of God's love and redemption. At times it's easy to get wrapped up in the eagerness to finish the construction in time, the plans that have to be made and completed, and the work we have to get done. I only hope to remember every day that this is an opportunity given by God and completed through Him. He is our cornerstone.

All I Need.

Last week another missionary, Devon, and I went on a mini trip to Tarija, Bolivia. Devon had a friend living there and a church she wanted to visit so I agreed to tag along! It sounded like it'd be fun adventure but I really had no motive or understanding of why I was going there. Well God did...

Tarija is a beautiful part of the country, known for it's grapes and loving people. We experienced both! The church's pastor and his family were incredible hosts to us. We volunteered to fix up some things in the church in the mornings with some of the youth group and then spent the afternoons visiting the country together from vineyards to lakes to circuses. We were shown such love from the body of Christ, I find it hard to explain. After 4 days the family was truly treating us like their children, the youth group like our sisters (coming to the bus terminal to see us off), and we had successfully made unforgettable friendships.

  

Before our trip Devon was a lovely girl. I knew her from a few missionary get togethers but didn't truly know her. By the end of our 4 days I had found a dear, dear sister in Christ. We shared so much of our hearts with one another. Every day and night we sang worships songs, prayed, and shared verses with each other that God had put on our heart. We found that we are two very different girls but that God is working in us in very similar ways. On the bus ride home (17 hours!!!!) we spent a majority of it chatting in English about trials and tests in our lives and the twists and turns that have brought us to where we are; amazement in God. We are both in love! We are in love with God and where He has us, serving Him in Bolivia. Our energy and joy and love just bounced off each other all week! What a breath of fresh air and a blessing Devon was to me!

The city of Tarija in the background!

Giant versions of Tarijan instruments.

One thing we found ourselves going back to in our conversation was the thought ..
All I Need Is Jesus. At the beginning of our trip I was expressing to Devon that I'm not sure about my next step in life and that it is a subject of much frustration. She advised to fix my eyes on Jesus, to leave the worrying, surrender myself and seek Him first. Later on we started hearing lots of songs with the lyrics of letting go of everything but Jesus, He's all we need, all we should want. I admitted to her that I don't treat Jesus like my prized possession like I should. We decided to make that a prayer for our lives as we fixed our eyes only on Him. The amount of spiritual encouragement I received throughout the week was incredible.

 

 


The crabs & fish we ate near the lake. DELICIOUS.

We've got the joy, joy, joy, joy, joy down in our hearts!

The last couple months I have been praying that God makes the desire of my heart, His desires! He did just that! This week I surrendered my worry about the future and truly was seeking after Him first and foremost. As I sanded down a church door in southern Bolivia this week, wrapped up in silent prayer I received confirmation for my next step in life. That is why I went to Tarija. To clear my mind of my every day thoughts and to really spend some time in worship with God. Time to submit myself and look to Him.

 
 I realized that God isn't taking me somewhere that I'll feel comfortable and can live a casual life. He isn't keeping me here where I am in love with everything around me. But He is putting His desires in my heart, no matter how difficult it may be for me to follow after them. He is calling me to stretch myself more than I ever have and to continue only looking on Him.
Right now I am beyond excited that God has given me the answer to my prayers and the direction of my future. I am also scared out of my mind. I am scared to dedicate more years away from my family and friends. I am scared to step out in my faith even when others may not support me. I am scared. And for that reason I am completely sure this is what God is asking of me...

The things of this world will grow strangely dim, in the light of His glory and grace.
You can have all this world, give me Jesus.