Do Not Be Afraid

This past Friday I had my first dance classes with the staff kids! It brought so much joy to my heart to see the kids so excited about dancing. We used chairs for bars and most of the kids were just in their socks, but we sure had fun!

First I did a 2-5 year old ballet class. Zua and Caroline were absolutely adorable!

Here are the kids in my beginner tap and ballet classes (this picture is missing Corinna). I was so proud of how hard they tried, especially my boys!

Yesterday was a rainy Saturday in Mexico, so Ruby and I decided to take the kids to see "Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs", which in Spanish is called "Lluvia con hamburgesas" (literally translated to "Rain with Hamburgers"). We read the book with the kids in school and thought it would be fun for them to be able to compare the book with the movie.

Here we are at the movie theater!

Last weekend was Fall Break, so we had Thursday and Friday off of school. Ruby and I decided to take advantage of the long weekend and hop on a bus and explore a part of Mexico that we have never been to before (don't worry, we were completely safe the whole time)! We got some recommendations from other staff members and decided that the historic city of Zacatecas would be the prefect weekend retreat!

Here is the view from our window!

We went for a ride on an arial tramway.

The town is known for it's large silver mine. Ruby and I went for a tour of the mine.

One of the beautiful cathedrals!

A cute sweet shop where we bought some delicious Zacatecas chocolate!

Celebrating Ruby's birthday at a delicious authentic Mexican restaurant!


The weekend was so much fun and I was able to practice my Spanish the entire time! Mexico is truly a beautiful country with such a rich culture and I love having the opportunity to experience new parts of it!

Today I listened to a sermon from Oct. 4th at Ada Bible Church. The fact that I can even do that is such a blessing for me. The pastor, Jeff, was continuing to speak on the ministry of Paul and the main focus today was Paul's boldness despite the opposition that he faced in every town. Jeff said something that really stuck out to me. He said, "Fear can paralyze you and make you inactive in the role that God has placed you in. Fear can keep you from the greatest moments of impact in your life." Wow!! I began to think about the fears that I have in my life and the ways that they could be making me ineffective to the cause of Christ. I feel very certain of the call on my life to serve God through missions, and I want to make sure that I never let fear hold me back from a place that God may be leading me to go.

All throughout the Bible, God speaks to people and tells them, "Do not be afraid!" Abraham, Moses, Joshua, Jeremiah, Mary, Joseph, the women at the tomb, Paul. All of these people had reason to fear, and yet God urged them to let go of their fears so that he could do a great work through them! This message was not just for them, it is for us today! Is there anywhere in your life that fear has taken hold of you?

Do not be afraid. Be strong and courageous. Do not be discouraged.

Blessings,

Jessica