Libby is in Mexico

1 March 2010:

So the past 2 months have been incredible! I am absolutely loving what I am doing and learning and experiencing! I am doing well, all healthy, not home sick and just loving it!

I am now in Tijuana which is right next to the border of California so it;s quite a lot more dangerous than Ensenada. Simply because it's at the border but it means we have even more amazing ministries! We have had so many amazing speakers. I feel very priviledged to have had such awesome speakers, such as Tim Pratt on Team Building, Brenda Lewis on Destiny, Dean Sherman on Spiritual Warfare and Todd Rutkowski on How to Grow. I have learnt way more than I expected and I can see how much I have grown. It's really exciting!

We are busy all the time and I have so many stories to share but I will just share two. -The carnaval and Zona Norte.

  
The carnaval was 5 days long and took up most of the city. Its a big event. But quite different to ours. It's basically a massive promotion for alcohol, drugs and sex. They were advertised everywhere. So we decided to have a free cafe running, where we built a stage put on music and danced and performed dramas. It was really cool and a lot of people were prayed for! We then went to the middle of the carnaval and the dance group performed on one of the main stages and it drew a huge crowd. It was a really cool experience. We then took a big speaker and just started dancing on the street and again it drew a big crowd and we had dance battles with people watching and fire displays and it stood out because we were girls dancing but we were dressed! ha! but really all the other girl dancers were wearing practically nothing and doing very degrading things. So we definitely stood out and people heard more about God and what YWAM does! So it was really really cool.

 
The other really impacting thing was Zona Norte which is the red light district in Tijuana! We worked in red light district in Ensenada but that was nothing to what we were about to experience. We went in a big group and basically just prayer walked around the main area where the prostitutes wait. I was not prepared to see what I saw when I turned that corner. About 40 girls aged 12 up lined up against the wall of the whole street. All wearing nothing, with huge "stripper" heals. It kinda took my breath away. And they were so young. It broke my heart. We walked around asking the girls if they wanted any soup we had made. Some took it some didn't. We spoke to some and they were so lovely and so pretty but so broken. As we were walking around I could feel this heaviness on me and it felt so dark. I asked others if they could feel it and they all could. It was intense. The more we walked the more girls there were and we saw girls leave with men and come back after a job. It really wasn't nice. But I was also pleased God was showing me other peoples' realities. It was hard to see it but also very good. In the middle of the main streets are two clubs that I would call the devils pits. They basically take children off the streets, kill them and sell their organs. I actually couldn't believe what I was hearing when I was told. But that's why we find it so important to go to these places and simply pray. When we finished the prayer walk I just burst into tears. I was totally broken for all those girls and the children and their families. It was all so spiritually dark. But at that time God spoke to me in so many ways. Serioulsy all night he was revealing things to me and I found it awesome how I was breaking for these people and yet God was still speaking to me and my life. We go to Zona Norte every wednesday so prayer for that would be awesome! 

 
In 4 weeks time we are going to India. Im so excited for it I think it's going to be amazing! Hard but amazing! We are going to Pune, Goa and Calcutta. We are working in schools, HIV orphanages, the Mother Teresa foundation and much more. We are there for 8 weeks and as a group need $48000 (dls) to go! 

 
So yeah I am having incredible life changing experiences and I'm so thankful for all your prayers and financial help to get me here! THANK YOU! 

 
Prayer requests:

Money. I still need to raise about £1500 to go to India! We are doing group fundraisers too but any gifts would be massively appreciated. If anyone would like to give a donation please contact me on facebook or at itslibby@hotmail.co.uk

After DTS: Prayer that God will reveal what he wants me to do after my DTS as right now I have no idea.
My family: I know they miss me but pray that they have peace and also financially for them too as my parents would love to come out for my graduation but it will cost a lot.

Just prayer that God will work even more in my life. In ways I can't imagine.
Thankyou! Much love!
Libby

1 Feb 2010:

It has been a month already. That is ridiculous! Time is going so fast and feel like I only arrived yesterday! But I LOVE IT HERE!!!! I am so happy I decided to come back and God is working SO much in my life and I am excited for everything to come!

So each week we have a different speaker, with a different topic and we basically get discipled. The speakers are from all over, with different stories and different backgrounds and have so much to share. Our speakers so far have been Rob McAlpine, Linda Walker and Randy Bixby (who heads up IHOP). I have gained way more than i thought I would have already and many people in the group feel the same. God is really working in peoples lives and changing them forever. Me too and its awesome! I am learning so much and learning new things too and it make me excited for the future!

We then have the arts aspect. Each week there is a different focus and then we choose the art we want to focus on more. We have had photography, drama, dance and worship. I am going to choose dance as my focus. The arts have been awesome so far. We have been really priviledged and had really talented professionals teach us and the dance for me was the best. Our teacher, Edgar is an awesome dancer and in two weeks time I am dancing with him in the Ensenada festival!!!!
During the week we also have local outreach, which varies from working with the homeless, the prostitutes, painting churches etc. Last week we had really bad weather and heavy rain and wind which caused a lot of damage to our base, but that was nothing compared to the damage to peoples homes, we we went out into a really poor area and handed out food and dry warm clothes and shoes etc. That was a pretty cool day, as we got to pray for loads of families and made connections with them and told them about our homes of hope ministry and they were really receptive. We played football with all the kids and we also managed to get 3 out of 7 vehicles stuck in the mud. One truck took an hour to get out which made the locals highly amused!

So its all going amazingly well and I am really enjoying it! I love living in a community (it suits me), sometimes annoying and stressful but a learning curve!
Another really exciting thing is that the out reach phase, (which is two months long) is happening in India! I am really excited about this, a little nervous too but its going to be an awesome opportunity and also very testing! I am excited to see what God is going to do when we are out there!

Thank you to everyone who has been praying for me and supporting me, it means SO SO much! So THANKYOU!
Prayer requests! :-
+ not to feel home sick as this is the longest I have been away from home and I want to enjoy it all!
+ protection and good health
+ finances, as I have tuition fees to pay and I need to get more money for India! Any help would be much appreciated.
+ For my parents and family, that they dont miss me too much or worry and to just be at peace with me being here.
+ and just for God to work even more in my life and for me to get everything i can out of it!
If you would like to contact me email me at itslibby (at) hotmail.co.uk or facebook or you can ask my parents for my mailing address! I would love to get letters!!! really i would! :)

An update from Libby:
Libby is now safely in Mexico, here are some initial photos



Ywam base mexico                                              Libby in the dorm at the YWAM base

On the 2nd of January 2010 I am flying out to California, then driving down to Ensenada Mexico where I will be living for the next 3 months doing my DTS (Discipleship Training School) with YWAM (Youth with a Mission). I went in the summer to work on 'Homes of Hope' and totally fell in love with the people and the place and decided to go back for a while!

I will be in the lecture phase for 3 months, learning about Jesus, the Bible, and building on my relationship with God. There will be a team of us who will be using our talents in the creative arts, creating dramas and dances and photography! We then use these tools in outreach. I don't know the full details as it's a little bit of "one of those go and find out things" so I will keep you updated when I'm there!

I will be away from home for 5 months, the longest I have ever gone and the longest my parents won't have seen me! I'm really excited but naturally as it gets closer I am more nervous and will miss home I think!