This Is All Preparation for The Future

                So something strange happened to me the other day. Well, I say strange but it sure didn’t seem that way at the time. Until I was talking with good friend of mine and he asked me if I thought it was a coincidence that we were talking at that very moment over that specific subject. My answer of course was no. I personally don’t believe in things like luck or coincidence no matter how important the matter (ex: running into a friend or finding $10 in your jacket pocket). I believe there is only God and the mysterious (or not so mysterious) ways and people through whom/which He works to make everything according to His perfect will. 

                The “strange” thing that happened that I mentioned really wasn’t that strange. Through a series of circumstances my finances happened to be a little lower this month than the norm. So, when my friends decided to head to the movies I decided to not. I could have easily headed back home from where we were but I decided in going to a friend’s (an elder in the church) house nearby and visit. This man is quite wise. And, it happened that we eventually sat in his living room talking and ended up on the subject of our work here in León. And, as I mentioned earlier, he asked me the question over coincidence. This made me think back as to what happened throughout my day, week, month, and last years that have lead up to the very conversation we were having in his living room. 

                Now you might be thinking that this was a little deep. But, think back in your life and where you are now and what you are doing and think about all of the events that lead up to it. A lot of things had to come through for you to be where you are and I guarantee you that it can’t be a dead, lifeless, thing like luck, but a very alive and loving God. This is your story, and it is very unique to you and you alone. You cannot have the same story as another. Trust me too that you don’t want to. God is constantly preparing you for what you are about to encounter in the next 5 minutes or the next 5 years. So this AIM program, the death of a loved one, or the spare cash you found in your jacket pocket is all preparation for your unique story and future. And, in the end, He is preparing you to be more like Christ, because He loves you that much. Just as an old friend once told me, “Your whole life has lead up to this one moment.” So stay in the path of God and don’t rely on your own plans like is says in James 4:13, because we are “a mist that appears for a little while then vanishes.” (James 4:14 NIV) But we are to trust in the Lord's will.

“I am telling you your story…. I tell no one any story but his own.” –Aslan, The Horse and His Boy, The Chronicles of Narnia.

- Nick Flesher (Aim, Mexico 09)











(read more of Nick's blog articles here)

Trust God Even When It Hurts

Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him and he will direct your paths."

You may think that your hurting is pointless, that giants you face are unconquerable, but no one ever stood on the mountain of God without first climbing it. God loves you and he wants the absolute best for you, he knows us, he understands us, and he wants us to trust him even when it hurts! Because as he says in Isaiah 55:8 "My ways are not your ways and my thoughts are not your thoughts." God tells us 'not to lean on our understanding', because we can't see the big picture! So when we don't trust God, we always are settling for less, even when we think that this is the best that life has to offer. Which is why he also says to 'acknowledge him and he will make your paths straight'. Acknowledge, that he is the Almighty God who loves you, trust he will do what he promises and he will guide you, he will straighten your paths! I know this because I have experienced this, I had and still have to trust God even when it hurts, even when I think I have a better way.

I grew-up a military brat, moving from state-state all my life. I grew-up without many friends, overtime I would make a few just to leave them. Most nights I'd be crying and praying to God for us not to move again so I could stay and make friends (which was difficult for me).

Do you know what God's answer was? We moved…twice…I felt I had been stabbed in the heart, it was horrible. However God had something better than I could have ever imagined. God's answer to me that night, wasn't a "no" but rather, "wait". God knows what he's doing and he knows the best way of going about it also. Right now, I'd say God is answering that prayer. Not he has answered it, but he is answering it. My dad retired and God lifted me from my despair. I met friends, good friends. But just when I thought, it couldn't get better than this, God sent me to AIM and I had met people I now can call brothers and sisters. God led me through my pain through my hurt and he's not through with me yet! He has a beautiful plan for me and its far greater than anything that I can imagine, he just wants me to trust him. Which is exactly what he wants you to do also. Trust God even when it hurts.

James Hagler (AIM, Scotland 09)

Blind

Nothing is going according to plan…
Israel is tired and irritable.
Moses is unsure and insecure.
The only thing working out is Pharaoh’s consistent and solid, “No” echoing throughout all of Egypt.

And it’s in this moment that Moses asks a simple question… “Why did you ever send me?” He can’t help but wonder, “Why me, God?” “Why here?” “Why like this?” “Why?” Moses might have been intimidated, he might not have been eloquent, and he may not have wanted to play the role… But he fit the part perfectly. Moses was taken away as a baby, but grew up as a Prince of Egypt. He killed a man and ran, but along the way found a family and learned to lead by tending a flock of sheep. His whole life God had been preparing him for this moment. God was bringing His chosen nation out of Egypt. He was taking another step towards the salvation of His people, and He was using Moses to do it… But Moses was blind. He couldn’t see who God had made him to be. The very thing Moses questioned the most, was the very thing he was created for… And still he couldn’t see.

But, maybe you don’t have to see. Maybe the unseen is what becomes the most clearly seen in the end. All I know is that God is at work in, through, and all around me… Maybe it’s just that I can’t see it.

Moriah Thomason (Aim, South Africa 09)

Animaimers Meet Taco-Man

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God Helps, Even At My Breaking Point

Every Christian knows that God will always help. It is one of those things that I was taught in Bible school and tell others when they are facing trials. Do I really believe that it is true? It is easy to say God is helping his people when I am comfortable or when I get what I want. It is also easy to say God has abandoned me when I feel alone, useless, or to the point of burnout. Is God at my side when I feel like I cannot move forward in my work, when things are moving backwards, and I am ready to throw in the towel? It is hard for me to say, but God is helping me even when I am at the breaking point.

Take a look at God and the Israelites. When leading them into the Promise Land, God was with them step by step. In Exodus 23 God begins to tell the Israelites of their guardian angel. God tells them that He will destroy nations and continually bless His nation. Then in verse 29 He puts a time table on the fulfillment of His short term plan. God states the it will take more than a year because He does not want the land to be desolate and the wild animals to kill the Israelites. In verse 30 God puts His plan into simple words, “little by little.” I have no doubt that God could solve all problems in seconds but He knows the supreme benefits of “little by little.” When God tells the people this they have already been through so much and are still waiting for the final victory. What if when I feel burnout God knows that He cannot just give me the victory because of the negative repercussions? What if God actually knows what is best for me? I forget sometimes that God is omniscient and my mind can only understand so much. God has historically and infallibly held to His promises and His help is part of the Christian promise. God is with me through every hard time even when I cannot see the next step on my journey of faith.

Ryan Jarboe (Aim, Italy 09)

First Contest Winner!

We are proud to announce that Evelyn Galvan won the first ever AIMER HUB contest!  Thanks to all who played.  We hope next year to have an even bigger competition!

I Can't Convert Anyone!

I find conversion to be a dirty word.

I know it’s in the Bible. I know conversion is a great thing and reason to rejoice. But that’s not what I’m talking about. Let me explain with an example.

A few weeks ago a friend ask me about a mutual acquaintance of ours who was not a believer, but she had been to church a couple of times and was definitely interested in Christianity to some degree. So when my friend brought her up, he asked me simply “so, have you converted her yet?”

That question left a bad tasted in my mouth. It was simple enough and he asked it with genuine interest in her spiritual state, but to my mind, he may as well have asked “did you complete steps 1-12 of the Christian-making process as laid out in your AIM-approved ‘How to Make a Christian in Twelve Easy Steps Workbook?’”

When a person decides to devote their life to Christ and turn away from everything that defined them before that point, it isn’t ever because “I converted them.” That sounds cheap and easy and it shouldn’t be either of those things. Conversion isn’t something I can strive for. It isn’t a goal I can reach in someone else’s life. I can’t earn a conversion badge to go on my conversion vest every time someone decides to give their life to Jesus, no matter how much influence I did or didn’t have in that decision. 

Here’s a phrase you never find in the Bible –

And   _______  converted ­­­­­­________ .  

You never hear an apostle bragging about how they totally converted that Roman official. In fact, you never hear the conversion of a person or people attributed to someone else. 

You do hear things like the story of Lydia…

“… who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to pay attention to what was said by Paul. And after that she was baptized, and her household as well…” Acts 16:14-15a (ESV, emphasis added)

Or the Philippian jailer who…

“…brought [Paul and Silas] out and said ‘Sirs, what must I do to be saved?’ And they said ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved, you and your household.’” Acts  16:30b-31 (ESV, emphasis added)

Who opened Lydia’s heart? Who must the jailer believe in? The Lord.

Sure, Paul and Silas had some influence in the conversions of these people, but the decision was theirs, as a direct result of God’s actions in their lives (Lydia’s opened heart, and the jailer witnessing the miraculous freeing of Paul and Silas from prison.) Paul didn’t convert anyone, and neither can I. 

I can share the love of Christ with them. I can talk to them about the life that Christ offers to them. I can be a light to them that they cannot ignore.

But under no circumstances can I ever convert someone. 

Jacob Norwood (AIM, Utah 09)