Arizona!!!

Good Afternoon,

It would seem that since Wednesday October 19th at 8:30am in Manitoba, time has flown by! Our first day travelling south, we drove from Winkler, MB, to North Platte, Nebraska. The drive was somewhere between 13 and 14 hours, with not a lot going on for scenery.

The second day of Travel, was considerably longer. We left North Platte, Nebraska at 7:00am, still in the same time zone as Manitoba, then drove for 17.5 hours, crossing two time zones to end up in Flagstaff, Arizona at 10:30pm Arizona time (12:30am Manitoba time). That was a long drive.

 Friday we woke up, went for breakfast, and headed to the Grand Canyon. We decided to leave the van in Flagstaff, in order to not waste fuel, since we would be heading back through Flagstaff after visiting the Canyon. The drive to the Canyon was about an hour and a half, during which I got to listen to Ryan and Juan Carlos speak in Spanish almost the entire way. I am catching some words here and there, and asking questions about how to say certain things. At the Canyon we took some cool pictures, did a bit more physical activity (Walking) than the 2 days previous, and headed back through Flagstaff to Tucson, where we arrived around 6:15pm.

We brought our stuff to the house we'd be staying at, then decided to go find a place to eat supper. We went to Applebee's, which was fantastic! They had an Asian Chicken Salad, and I ordered a half portion, which really wasn't half, more like 6/7ths or 7/8ths. The service there was wonderful, the atmosphere was pleasant. All around, it was a great experience. Then we headed back to the house, and watched a movie, after which I was so tired, I had a very hard time keeping my eyes open.

Today, we don't have to drive very far, and I am thankful for that. I spent some time this morning with Jesus, out on the deck of the house, with the warm sun on my back, and a beautiful view in front of me. It turns out this trip is probably going to cost me a bit more money than I anticipated, but God is good, and I am excited to see him at work in Mexico very soon.

We are staying in Tucson today, there is some shopping that needs to be done for Casa de Esperanza. Then tomorrow Juan Carlos is supposed to be in Phoenix doing some translating at a conference of some kind, and we'll be back in Tucson for night. Monday we are anticipating heading down to Mexico finally, the papers for the cars that we're importing to Mexico are supposed to be ready then.

All Praise and Honor to The Lord of Heaven's Armies!

Stepping Out in Faith!

It's official I'm leaving for Mexico on Wednesday, I'll be spending 3 and half weeks down there volunteering at a mission base called Casa de Esperanza, which means House of Hope. You can check it out online at http://www.koenesministries.com.

I am very excited about this opportunity to serve Jesus in another country. To experience another worldview, a different way of life. To learn and grow in my understanding of who Jesus is, and what he is calling me to in my life.

A lot of you will understand that I'm a restless person. I love change, I thrive on it. I need to change something pretty regularly in my life. Even if it's something small. I'm not content to stay the same. I am always changing, always adapting, always learning.

I'm at a place in my life where I want to know Jesus more, and deeper than I've ever wanted to before in my life. I spent many years thinking that I was doing fine on my own. I thought that I didn't need God in order to be successful in my life. I knew the right answers, and I said the right words. (Words are really important to me, I feel as though I articulate my thoughts well.) IT'S NOT ENOUGH! I am not enough. Without God in my life, everything is useless.

I am so afraid of becoming complacent. I want to know Jesus, I want to know the truth, I want to live in that freedom everyday. I cannot do this on my own. God is so big, and I am so small. Who am I to think that he needs to do things my way? Who am I to think that I should be able to figure him out. IMPOSSIBLE. I can do my best to learn his heart, to follow his heart, to put myself last.

I know a lot of great people who strive to know Jesus, and follow him in their daily lives. These people inspire me to try harder, to do more.

If we claim we know Christ, but do not read the Word of God and do what it says, our claim is useless. Some might say, "You say you're a Christian, but you don't even know what your holy book says?" It's not all about knowing the right answers, or having the Bible memorized from cover to cover. It's about knowing Jesus, and following him!

I want to weep for all the people who think that they're doing fine without God, they might have a lot of money, or a nice job, or fancy toys. Where is your purpose? What is the point of all that? I don't have all the answers, in fact, quite often I feel like I have no answers.

If my faith is something that I really believe in, it should change the way I act, feel, think, perceive things. It should shape all aspects of my life. Yet, so many times I fail to measure up. I am thankful to God for his grace and mercy, that it's not because of what I've done that I'm saved. It's through Jesus Christ who died on the Cross and was raised in order to allow me to come before God, and know him like a Father!

If you've made it this far, these are the thoughts tumbling around in my head, I encourage your questions or comments, email me at gerrygiesbrecht@gmail.com if you want to ask me any questions personally, if not, comment on here.

May all praise, glory and honor be God's forever!