Rain

I slowly came out of my dreamy state sometime during the night, to a familiar yet different sound than I had not heard all summer...rain. Half awake I took a few deep breaths, savoring the fresh cool breeze and the smell of wet trees and fell back to sleep.

The next morning was equally as beautiful as I got up and went outside to see that the whole camp damp from the night before. It looked refreshed after enduring so many days of the long hot summer that had not seen rain for months. The birds were singing a song of gratefulness and even the trees seemed to stand a little taller after drinking in the much needed nutrients.

It was Saturday morning and the busyness from the week was put on hold as we enjoyed a lovely homemade breakfast made by one of the full time staff, Kearstin, who had opened up her home to us summer staff. We all enjoyed one another's company and savored the time we had together as we all knew, but didn't want to admit, that our time together would soon come to an end.

We saved our plans to go on a boat ride for a more sunny day and decided to explore a nearby museum in town instead.  I can't remember the last time I've been to an art museum, but I was ready to put on my creative thinking cap. As we went from exhibit to exhibit I tried to make sense of or appreciate the artist's creation. Sometimes I was completely confused and other times my interest was sparked as I wondered if the artists intention of the piece matched the conclusion I had come to. 

Later that evening we were invited to go to a dance performance of one of the cook's daughters. Alicia, the beautiful cook who we normally saw in work clothes, met us at a park that evening. When she came walking up to us she looked radiant, but her beauty was not only on the outside, it radiated from the inside, like that of a mother who was so proud of her daughter. Not an arrogant kind of proud, but that of sweetness and humbleness. We strolled through the park, like little chicks following our mama hen, and across the street until we ended up at a church which had once been a movie theater. Before we even got inside, I could hear the music and I knew it was going to be a spectacular night. 

We watched 30 or more dancers who had been in an intensive training for the week, perform with all their hearts. Being a dancer in the past, I know there are different ways that you can dance. You can perform practiced moves with a "performance" smile or you can dance from your soul. And that night I watched so many dancers dance this way, unfazed by the crowd and wrapped up in the music and movements.

Thinking about this day, I am reminded once again that I serve such a creative God. I can appreciate life through so many different lenses. Though these lenses I can discover more of God. I become more aware of his greatness and incomprehensible majesty. As I soak in the present moment and take time so see His beauty, worries and fear fade and his peace fills my mind as he whispers words of love to my soul.

Tigers and horses and clowns oh my

June 30, 2014

“The circus is in town!” Looking back, I’m not sure why I was debating whether or not I should go with the group but in my defense it was just after dinner and things were winding down after another day of work. I wanted to take a shower and I  rest but knew if I did, there was no chance I was going to get back up again until morning. Thankfully, with just a few minutes to make up my mind I decided I didn’t want to miss out and joined the rest of the crew as we went to go see the circus. 

When we got inside the large tent, like the ones you see in kids books and movies, we grabbed some popcorn and sat down on the some rickety benches that looked like they had been set up and taken down one to many times and that any show could be their last. 

Then the show began...with tigers. The space between the tigers and I was not much and the cage keeping them from me looked about as sturdy as the benches we were sitting on. One, two, three tigers came onto stage and kept coming, knowing where to go and took their seats until all 7 had been seated. They just sat there until the man in the black suit somehow told them to do something e and they did. With one of him and 7 of them it was almost as if they were in a trance, obeying all of the orders of this man. The beautiful power animals performed almost flawlessly. Jumping though hoops, walking across bars and one even gave him a hug! 

The circus continued with funny little clowns, horses, a man that did tricks on a large swinging pendulum, dancers, and even a very flexible woman who could sit on her head and shoot an arrow while upsidedown..with her FEET. Needless to say it was a fun time and I left assured that the few hours less I would sleep that night was well worth it.

But while driving home I couldn’t stop thinking about the tigers. For some reason their situtation reminded me of how I sometimes live my life. Sometimes I am like one of those tigers. God has given me power, strength and a purpose for my life but their are times and situations that I don’t live that way. I let life live for me and I let culture, negative thinking or lies rule me. I do what they tell me, perform the act well but don’t live the life I was intended to live. I'm trying so hard to perform in an act that was never made to show who I was created to be. I am not an animal rights activist but watching them did make me think. I felt bad for the large animals with so much power, who were powerless. Thankfully, unlike the tigers I have a choice. I don’t have to let someone else decide what I will and won’t do. I just have to live life purposely so I don’t get caught up in an act.

Friday Night

It's Friday night. I'm sitting in Starbucks listening to Jazz music that's mixed with the sound of people talking in Spanish, all while I'm writing in English. I just finished eating some street tacos after walking down the bustling street of spectators and race car drivers all anticipating the big Baja 500 race tomorrow. Its the perfect way to end a week of work and learning.

We have covered all the training material and I am so excited to start working with the groups this coming week. Time has gone by quickly and I'm so blessed to be able to have this opportunity this summer. My teammates and Agua Viva Staff are all so great. I'm blessed to be working alongside all of them.

Weekend with my Mexican Family

My Mexican summer has been off to a fantastic start. After a few days of orientation we were all assigned to a different family who we would life  with for the weekend. My beautiful family was Jackie and Jesus who are a fun loving couple with incredible love for Jesus and for each other.

Friday night Jesus got home around 8:30pm and told us that he had just talked to his dad. We ended up deciding it would be a great time to go to their house and eat some cerviche. We hopped in the car and started the 40 minute drive to their house. We had some fabulous dinner around 10pm and the night went on with conversations, listening to sermons and so much more that I didn’t catch because I was so tired that I kept dozing off. Around 2:30am the festivities ended and headed back.

Saturday was filled with more fun. It started out with a time of encouragement, then we went to a fun little outdoor food court in that had so many fun foods from different countries. We decided on Sushi and some yummy natural waters. Then we went to Los Globos, an out door market where we bought fruits and veggies and also went hunting for treseros, or little treasures. It was truly a beautiful day.

Sunday we went to church and then I had the privilege of meeting Jackie's parents as well. We went over for some barbecued chicken Mexican style and enjoyed each others company.

 They made me feel so at home and the experience was better than anything I could have asked for. I came back from my weekend refreshed, encouraged and ready to serve this summer.

Bienvenidos

Hey Friends and Family,

Thanks so much for all your love and support. I consider you an essential part of my team as I embark on my adventure to Mexico this summer. I covet your prayers and believe they are extremely powerful! I would love to hear from you and you can email me anytime at stephanie.anne.murray@gmail.com.

I am so excited to see what God is going to do with this summer. I know with all my heart that this is where He has me and I don't want to miss what He wants to teach me during this time. God has already been working on my heart and showing me His faithfulness and that He is trustworthy.

As I walk through this door He has opened, it is not without fear but I am confident He will be with me every step of the way. Agua Viva is an amazing ministry and I feel so privileged to be able to work alongside them. As I have observed their mission and vision from the previous week long trips I have done with them, I am so excited to learn and grow more from what they have to offer. If you want to know more about them you can visit their website at www.aguaviva.com.

In just one week from today, I will be in Mexico meeting the rest of the summer staff as well as some of the full time staff who will meet us stateside. There are 7 summer staff  all together. We will cross the boarder and drive Agua Viva, which is a camp about 20 minutes outside of Ensenada, which we will call home for the summer.