“The Lord reigns, let the nations tremble; he sits enthroned between the cherubim, let the earth shake. Great is the Lord in Zion; he is exalted over all the nations. Let them praise your great and awesome name— he is holy.”
Psalm 99:1-3 
 
This morning the #TeamMexico presented the Freedom drama in a local  plaza. When they were done a student talked to a man who had actually seen the drama preformed near this plaza the day before. He  began telling the ministry  team, “ Yesterday I was on the way to the bar and when I came upon the team doing the drama I stopped and watched it. I did not talk to anyone, but I was so moved that I left and never went to the bar! I could not stop thinking about what I saw.”The student continued to share the Gospel with this man and he prayed to accept Christ!!! 
 
#TeamMexico has been captivated by the presence of God. As they continue to move from plazas, markets, orphanages, and homeless centers, God is moving in their midst! Each night stories of divine encounters fill the air as students share how God is moving each day. Please continue to pray for the Lord to display His wonders and draw many people to Himself. 
 
A few captions from the day:
 
“For me the most impactful thing is being able to watch how God moves people  to the right place at the right time for an encounter and also how God is transforming students.”  ~ Jamal Sterling
 
“It has been really awesome seeing so many people come to Jesus!” ~Logan Elkins
 
“I love seeing the eagerness in the students! They fill their ministry packs and prepare for the next ministry opportunity because they are so excited about sharing the gospel at the next ministry site!” – Caitlyn Green, Team Director/ Country Coordinator Mexico

“So the sun stood still, and the moon stopped, till the nation avenged itself on its enemies, as it is written in the Book of Jashar. The sun stopped in the middle of the sky and delayed going down about a full day. 14 There has never been a day like it before or since, a day when the Lord listened to a human being. Surely the Lord was fighting for Israel!” Joshua 10:13-14
 
The day began with one team going to a maximum security prison. The team was told that the odds of their getting in was small, but to pray and see if God would give them favor. The team fiercely prayed sun stopping prayers, asking God to do the impossible. 
 
You see, the local contact who was working to get us into the prison had been trying to get access since December. He had gone more than 25 times asking for permission, and had been denied every time. It was a long shot for this team, but that didn’t stop them. They had already seen God stop rain, bring divine encounters, and open doors at other ministry sites that no man could make happen. So trusting God with access to the prison was natural. 
 
Awe Star teaches that we are to have a heartbeat of obedience. We are God’s willing witnesses, ready to move and go where ever that He directs us, to be moved toward a divine encounter. So this team knew no man could keep them out of the prison, and no man could give them access. It was God who was directing their steps! 
 
The team showed up and without missing a beat had access to the prison. God did it! He put the right person in the right place at the right time, so the team could collide with the encounter He had already arranged! How cool is that?!! Four inmates gave their lives to Jesus today! 
 
A few captions from today: 
“I couldn’t believe it! I got to lead four men to Jesus in the maximum security prison! It was awesome!”-Gavin Jackson
 
“Today was amazing! I saw a lady on the bench and I felt like I was suppose to go talk to her. So I went and she prayed to receive Jesus! “-Taylor Bedore
 
I shared the ‘net’ after the drama. It was the first time for me to share the gospel at the end of the drama. God gave me the words to say and it was really powerful!-Megan Gilbert
 
“Our first drama I kept seeing this guy across from us on a truck. I kept thinking this is the guy I’m suppose to talk to. I went to him and God gave me the words to say and he came to know Christ! It was incredible!” -Kylar Thornton
 

Walking in the AWE…
Both teams headed out yesterday for an intense day of ministry. Awe Star teaches about walking in the ‘awe of God’. It is referenced in Acts 2:43, “ Everyone kept feeling a sense of AWE and many signs and wonders were taking place through the apostles.”
 
As teams entered markets, parks, and Refugee centers, each team filled the air with prayer The atmosphere was thick. First time student missionaries were nervous, a little scared, but praying with intensity that God would do in them what they knew they could not do themselves.  
 
They had been prepared to share their story on the street and then told after they performed the street drama that is a chronology of the gospel in the local language, that they were to prayerfully engage the people. Stepping out in faith, they looked for the one God was leading them to talk to. 
 
Most have never engaged in this type of intense ministry. Obstacles of language, self-doubt, and a little fear accompanied them as they stepped out in as much faith as they could muster up. 
 
Then it happened. Student after student began seeing God break out of Eternity and invade time to fill their mouths with words as they boldly shared the gospel. Families, children, displaced peoples, and even homeless were begin transformed as students talked with them about Jesus. It was beautiful. It was the Awe….
 
A few captions of the day:
“ I saw a boy, I knew God wanted me to share the gospel with him. I asked the leadership if I could go talk to him. We had stopped for lunch but God had more in store. I asked the boy if he knew who Jesus was? He said no. I then shared all the way from creation to resurrection and the boy wanted to receive Jesus, It was awesome!”– Jedi Edwards
 
“We were in the refugee center and we had just done the drama. I saw a couple little girls and began to share the gospel with them. Then a few more showed up, before I knew it ten kids had come over and I was able to share the gospel and lead all ten to Jesus!--Madison Swopes
 
“ I was most surprised today that when we prayed, God really answered it! It was raining and we began to pray so people could see the drama and hear the gospel. Then all the sudden the rain stopped, we did the drama, as soon as we were done, the rain started back! God stopped the rain so we could share the gospel!” –MeKenna Barnes

Today both teams worked extremely hard to learn the drama, FREEDOM. They continued to learn how to share their testimony and how to share the Gospel to the people of Nuevo Laredo. Tomorrow the team will go out into the city and begin sharing the Gospel.

Please be in prayer:
That the team will get a good night of rest to maintain their health
That they would continue to be unified
That the Lord would give them strength to push back darkness in Nuevo Laredo
That hearts would be broken for the Lord
That salvation will reign in Nuevo Laredo

The Mexico Spring Break teams arrived safely to where they are staying!

They enjoyed the time of discipleship and fellowship, getting to know each other on the ride to Nuevo Laredo. After unloading and celebrating with worship, the team went to bed to prepare for a long day of drama training tomorrow. 

Please pray for the team:

As they learn the drama, that they would see it as more than "just" a drama
That God would unify them as they work together
That they would walk in His power as they push back darkness
That God would draw people to Him as they watch the drama be performed
That salvation will reign in Nuevo Laredo

If you are interested in following the trip and praying for this team please:

1. Sign up for Instant TEXT Updates!  You simply have to send a text message from your cell phone to subscribe: In the “TO” space, type in the numbers “81010.” In the “message” space, type “@mexsb19”

​2. FOLLOW US ON FACEBOOK: Awe Star will also be doing live videos and instant updates throughout the day. Follow us on Facebook at @AweStarMissions

#Dontmissout on all God is going to be doing the next week! 

How you can begin praying for the Team now as they prepare to go! 

1. Preparation: Ask that we would also have everything we need for our final preparations. This includes students packing and preparing at home and our office staff, who must make sure drama costumes are ready, food supplies are purchased, vans are available and ready, and attend to many more last-minute details. Most of all, ask God to go before us and prepare the way for the ministry He desires.  

2. Travel: Travel to, from and within the country must all be covered in prayer. We drive to Nuevo Laredo, leaving before dawn on Saturday morning, March 16. Pray for our drivers, our vehicles, our border crossing and travel within the country as we move from drama site to drama site. Pray for safety and sweet fellowship as we go and tell.

3. Focus and Unity: The students will learn our 18-minute pantomime drama, “Freedom,” soon after we arrive in Nuevo Laredo. They have only a short time to memorize and practice it before heading out to share the gospel. Pray for attentive focus, ease in memorization and true unity throughout the week so the drama can serve as a creative and effective tool for the kingdom.

4. Leadership: Please pray for out country coordinators and team directors as well as our POPs and MOMs (male and female small group leaders). These different levels of leadership include different levels of responsibility for making sure the mission is carried out, the students are safe and well cared for and that genuine discipleship takes place. Ask God to grant them an extra measure of wisdom, especially as they must often deal with the unexpected.

5. Connections with Believers: Please pray for Pastor Nicolas Alba and other church leaders/translators with whom we will work. Ask God to bless them for the time they give us and for His favor on their lives and families. Ask that their ministries, their churches and their kingdom influence would grow exponentially.

6. Divine Encounters: When a willing witness meets a seeking soul, that’s a divine encounter, which opens the door to the sharing of the gospel. Pray for many such divine encounters from start to finish of this trip. Often, it’s the most unexpected divine encounters and the most unlikely situations that become the best places for the gospel to take root and grow.

7. Lasting Impact: Pray that the influence of this trip will be felt far behind spring break 2019 in the lives of all who leave home and family behind, in the lives of the nationals who work with us and especially in the lives of the people we serve and lead to Christ. Ask God to allow the reverberations of this trip to echo into eternity. ​