What Made Me Over

Her face will never leave my mind for it is deeply etched into my memory. She is just one of the many girls I met in the villages of Mezcales and San Pancho while doing the first Camp Sonshine International in Mexico. This mission trip was like nothing I have ever experienced. The way I saw God work through me and other people over the course of only ten days leaves me speechless and feeling what words cannot express. During the time I spent in Mexico, God allowed me to learn the importance of trust, the reality of spiritual warfare, and the core-shaking power of prayer.

Mezcales,  Mexico

            Before the trip I would have said with confidence that I trusted God, however, the first few days in Mexico brought my trust to a new and real level. I had been anxious concerning a painful rash I get as the result of an allergic reaction to the sun. This rash had reached its worst during my last mission trip and had encased me in my own prison and left me helpless. It stumped doctors and could not be remedied by any medication or creams I had used in past years. I feared that my rash would plague me once again and I would not be able to be fully used by God. On this trip, I armed myself with antihistamines and a special sunscreen in hopes that I would escape my rash. How could I have not realized my futile attempts were nothing compared to the power of God’s healing hand? My lack of trust that God could heal me was brought to the surface when a fellow team member prayed over me and asked that God would work a miracle. I sat stunned amidst tears of shame that I had placed hope in a prescription and had brushed aside the idea that God could indeed heal me. After that moment of realization I daily petitioned my Father to be my Shade from the sun. Each day that I continued to be free from my rash I would thank Him in silent awe and praise for showing me His power and my newfound trust in Him.    

            Being able to serve and minister without the distraction of my rash was beyond anything I had dreamed or hoped, yet God was not done teaching me. Little did I know, but the devil had been working to hinder me not only before but during the trip as well. The few days before I left I allowed myself to be overtaken by apathy and had little excitement to leave. After realizing the hold that Satan had on my heart I scrambled to rid myself of him. But he was not finished prowling and fought against our minds and hearts the most in San Pancho where we held three days of Camp Sonshine. San Pancho had such an unexplainable darkness and evil presence in it that I felt a weight on my heart and as though a small piece of me was being taken. I watched the energy, life, and light of fellow team members slowly drip away because of Satan’s dirty lies and presence in their heads. The urgency to make war against the forces not of this world screamed in my heart. Seeing God battle the devil right before my eyes shook me to an awesome knowledge of how mighty and all-powerful my God is.  We would begin a fight against the devil and his army in order to gain back hearts that were rightfully God’s and remove his lies and affliction from ourselves.

The only weapon we had against our enemy was the full armor of God. We took up His Word and prayed. The second day in this village our team declared God’s victory, glory, and power and prayed over the campground and each other. That morning when we set up for camp, there was not a moment when one of us was not praying out loud and demanding the devil to take his darkness and vanish.  Watching what our prayers accomplished brought me to my knees as I saw my friends with a light in their eyes again, joy on their faces, and the weight on my own heart lifted by my God. I saw the apathy that I had once again allowed to take control and shuddered from knowing that I had given the devil a foothold in my passion for sharing the hope that I have in Christ. I had heard people rave about the power of prayer, but never before had I really believed it. Now, it has become my life.

San Pancho, Mexico

As I look over what God taught me I realize the perfect timing for each lesson I learned. I battled against the devil before I was even in Mexico. I knew then I was right where God wanted me: where Satan was uncomfortable and fighting to detour me. I was then given mercy when God healed my rash despite my unbelief. The intense spiritual battle I later fought with God as my shield and prayers on my lips awakened a whole different level of my relationship with Christ and showed me what is really important in life. I cringe to think about all of the unbelievers who do not have the sure victory over the devil’s attacks and schemes. This reality has changed how I witness and who I am now. Finally, experiencing the absolute power we had as a body of Christ when we took up arms and prayed the devil out of our ministry in Mexico has given me hope. I was also humbled that I doubted the need and urgency to pray. As I share my story from Mexico with those who truly care to hear it, I pray God uses the experiences He brought me through to change others as it changed me. God made me over, stripping me of who I used to be and showing me how to walk a different way. I am living with a fire burning in my soul like the faces of the precious girls in my memory. God knew I would come back a changed young woman and I only hope to continue this change, so I become a reflection of Him.