God has a dream for your life.

Made it through my first week of language school! The first few days seemed like such a struggle for me to make it to school. I felt like I had to drag myself out of bed, get dressed and walk to school. I felt such a battle going on inside of me. The only thingI knew to do, was to run was to God, sit at His feet and ask Him to help me fight the battle in front me. Going to language school is taking the next step in making Guatemala my new home and being able to speak in Spanish. It is taking the next step to being able to further the name of God in Guatemala. As the battle raged inside of me, the words once again filled my head that it would just be easier to give up now to go home. But I know Guatemala is where I am called and the words going through my head where just lies form the enemy. God will help me throughand provide for me. All I have to do is just let go; stop trying to control my own life and let God take control.
 

I was reading in Genesis today about how God provided the sacrifice for Abraham. God asked Abraham to sacrifice His son. Isaac was the promised heir of Abraham. He was the fulfilmentof the promise God made to Abraham to make Him the father of all nations; a promise that his offspring would be as many as the stars in the sky. But yet even with that promise, God asked Abraham to sacrifice his son. God was asking Abraham if he was willing to take the one thing God had given Him, the promise to be the father of all nations, and sacrifice it before him. Abraham surprisingly obeyed God. He took his son and the things need to make a sacrifice to God. And just as he was about to kill Isaac, God stopped Him and provide a bull for him to sacrifice instead.
 

Are we willing to give up what is most precious to us? Even the promises that God has given us? Are we willing to place it backin His hands to let go of and let God have control of our lives?Even when we don’t know what might happen in the end? Do we trust in God enough to let go and know what He has for us in the end is better than we could ever image? God desires to be our center, our lover, the one that fulfills our empty hearts. He wants to guide you and direct you in this life. He has a dream for all of our lives and He wants to walk with us and fulfill that dream in us. If only we would let go of controlling our lives and let God take over.    

                                       ( Me and my friend Grace with are house family.) 

I have found my new home!!

As many of you know I have been interning in Guatemala with Faith in Action for a year and a half. The time I have been here has really molded and shaped me in to who I have become. Being here has taught me life is not about me me me, and making a comfortable life for myself on this earth. Life is about God and making His name know to the lost and broken, no matter the cost. Living a life fully sold out to God and His purposes has brought me more joy and happiness than anything I have ever experienced. I have truly found my calling, my purpose in this world; it is to proclaim the name of Christ. We all have a different call on our lives but it is all for the same purpose, it just looks different in how God has us accomplish it. I have found my call…my place in building up the kingdom of God. I very excited to announce that I feel God has called me to stay in Guatemala to work alongside FIA (Faith In Action) to further the gospel of Christ and spread His love to the lost and broken people of Guatemala. A lot of prayer has gone in to this decision by me and the leadership of FIA. We all feel at peace with this and know that this is the plan God has for my life at this time.

I am very excited to be making Guatemala a more permanent place of ministry and working alongside FIA. One of my primary focuses is going to be starting a Children’s Ministry in the mountain villages and the villages alongside the tributaries of the Rio Dulce River. Where ever we go into any of the villages we are always surrounded by children. Through the year of being here my heart has felt a burden to do more for the kids; to teach them more about God, who He is, and His love for them. The FIA ministry leaders feel the same way and want to further the work they are doing with the children. My heart for doing this is to teach the next generation who Jesus is, what it means to live a life for Him, and build up the army of God by preparing His children. The heart of FIA is so clear and that is to train up the people in the villages to help themselves and be self-sufficient, not depending on the missionary’s for everything they need. So just like the example FIA is, my heart is to teach the women in the villages how to teach the children so that there can be a consistent program for all the children and they won’t be dependent on me and the rest of FIA to be there. My prayer is that the women in the church would take ownership of it and raise up the children of their village to know God.

I will be attending a language school here in Guatemala for one mouth in January. I have learned a lot of Spanish in the last year and a half, however, I am still lacking in my grammar and need to learn more so that there won’t be anything keeping me from all that God wants to do through me here in Guatemala.

To make this possible I need the support of prayer and finances. I could never do this by myself and I was never meant to, as the body of Christ we are never meant to do anything on our own, but to work together as a body. We all have our different place in the work of God. Some are meant to send and others are meant to go. But nothing would happen if any part of the body tried to do it all. One of the most imported things I need is prayer; everything first happens in prayer and is one of the most important aspects of any ministry. Our purpose in doing anything we do is to win souls for Christ and to spread His name; that would never happen unless we pray and seek out the heart of God and walk where he leads.

I also need financial support. The work that I get to be a part of with FIA is not a one man act; the ones that send are just in evolved with what God is doing in Guatemala as the ones that are in Guatemala doing the work. The gospel would never be furthered in the remote places of Guatemala unless there are people to go and other people to send. I have a monthly goal of raising $2,500 per month. This covers room, board, and traveling to and from all our different home bases. It will also cover my phone bill, internet, health insurance, personal costs and anything that I might need, as well as an emergency fund. It will help cover part of the ministry materials needed to work with the children as well as help to pay for traveling to and from the US. My goal is to come back to the US once a year.
I ask that you would pray about supporting me and if you feel called to support the work in Guatemala I need people to support me on a monthly basis. If you would like to support me monthly or give a one-time gift please go to www.fiaministries.com, go to the donate page and click the drop down menu to choose where your money goes, then select Amanda Culver. If you would like to give by check please make it out to Faith in Action, put Amanda Culver in the memo line, and send it to 4990 Dovetail Lane Colorado Springs CO 80916.


Thank you so much for all the support and prayers you have given me through the time I have been here. God is really moving through the people in Guatemala and I am very exited to be a part of what He is doing here.

With Love,

Amanda Culver