"Remember who He is. Remember who you are. And then, just live."

Let me just say, God is absolutely here and working in Quillota! It has been such an incredible thing to see Him working so clearly in the small amount of time that I've been here.

Last Saturday, we had the opportunity to visit a ministry site where we will be working the next few weeks. Renacer means "to be born again"and it's the name of the site we visited. Currently undergoing a lot of construction and planning, Renacer provides a safe place for many in the community and runs a number of ministries, including providing housing for the homeless, delivering clothing to the elderly, and running programs for children who live in the poorer part of the city. We will have many opportunities to work at Renacer by helping to teach English classes and getting to know people there. However, Renacer is very much in need of prayer! There is a need for at least $5,000 dollars to complete the projects that are already in progress. The director of Renacer also needs help and direction with how to run these many areas of ministry. They simply don't have enough resources for each area even though there is a desire to meet every need. Please pray that the director and volunteers will gain a more clear understanding of where their resources should go so they can do more effective ministry! I'm excited to share more about what our ministry there will look like in the coming weeks.

Currently, the interns are working through a discipleship curriculum with the Millers' and the Jones' called Gospel Identity. We've only done one day of study so far, and it has already given me so much to chew on. The first main theme we started working through has been understanding who we really are in Christ, apart from what we do. Often, we can think that what we do is what ultimately defines us, but as children of God, it is actually who we are that defines what we do. It was so hard to describe who I am to the rest of the team without describing what I do! Believe me - try it for yourself, and see what you can come up with. It's hard! But God defines us as His children, first and foremost, and out of our understanding of that truth flows our actions. I've gained so much wisdom from our team already, and I've been writing down things they've said that have impacted me. Meredith Jones said in a conversation a few days ago,

"Remember who He is. Remember who you are. And then, just live."

The Gospel is just that! We can often make it more complicated than it really is. We can often make a checklist of the things we should do or the ways we should improve to become "better Christians" and become closer to Christ, but instead we can trust that He will work with us as we battle our sin and we have the freedom to live in His grace! It has been an incredible time so far, and I look forward to what else I will learn as we delve deeper.

Thank you for your prayers and your encouragement!! I hope and pray that the Lord is blessing you as well :)