Courage To Say Yes

Courage to Say YES

By Kelly McLaughlin

In only a few days God moved with the Holy Spirit through our Mexico missions ministry team  in such a powerful way. I honestly don’t even know where to begin because there were so many miracles in such a short period of time. The common thread I believe is the power of the Holy Spirit and the courage to say YES. 

 Our group very quickly bonded on day one in Lauren’s garage as we set out on an adventure of a lifetime. Although we didn’t know each other after a few days we were filled with the spirit, in love with each other as Christian brothers and sisters and ready to serve the orphanage of Rancho de sus  ninos  Mexico.  This kind of miracle only happens when you open yourself up and say YES to God. You know what he’s asking you to do and you step out boldly and say yes! I will go, I will go to Mexico and I will be open to whatever you want to show me!! I will gladly serve the families and Orphans of Mexico! I will be your hands and feet and I will love anybody you put in front of me! 
It’s so hard to pull out one story from the trip. I’m happy to share with any of you over lunch or coffee but I’d like to say my favorite part was when we worshipped because it was bilingual! The songs we commonly singing in worship were translated into Spanish and  seeing over 450 people worshipping God was overwhelming. They were not  just singing!!  People were dancing, jumping, crying, voices lifted, hands raised and you could feel the love and praise in the room!!This happened at the Orphanage and also at Bethel Las Playas in Tijuana Mexico. This kind of experience really made me see how much joy we can have if we just let go and love God with all our hearts. If we can just be vulnerable, authentic and loving. I know the Holy Spirit provided joy that I have never seen before. 
The Lifestreams ministry group was blessed beyond measure!!  You didn’t have to look far to find God‘s hand everywhere with safe travels, midnight tacos, incredible relationships, beautiful worship, and Holy Spirit encounters. 
I encourage you to look at yourself and find ways to say YES!!!  If not you then who!? Get out of your comfort zone and enjoy the ride because Jesus is waiting!! 

My Missionary Assignment

Short-Term Missionary Assignment
To Rwanda, AFRICA

My most recent missionary assignment took me back to Rwanda, Africa in March of this year, where I was invited as the main speaker to a two-day women’s conference held at the Assemblies of God Global Missions Church in the Capital city of Kigali. God gave me a message on “Discovering Who You Are in Christ,” which was the conference theme, and it brought women of all ages and all walks of life: pastors, deaconesses, leaders, professionals, marrieds, singles, grandmothers, mothers, daughters, and college students. As unprecedented and extraordinary as the conference was, so were the events leading up to and after the conference. 

The first day was spent visiting families in the impoverished villages of Kigali, and hearing life transforming testimonies from several families in the community. Men gave testimonies of how they learned to love their wives, save money, tithe, give back to their communities, acquire land, build homes, and so much more - all in a biblical context! This fruitful work is the result of God’s empowering and redeeming love through World Relief (www.worldrelief.org. World Relief is a philanthropic organization that partners with local churches in providing relief to the most vulnerable all over the world who are suffering from violence, poverty, and injustice. The stories of these men, women, and children in the village were incredibly moving. At first, most of the women were silent and expressionless with a hardness in their eyes as they looked at our team seated on small benches on a dirt floor in a very small house, but when I looked in the eyes of each one of them, praying that they would see and experience God’s love, a smile would break forth and their eyes lit up! Before parting, the women were hugging me, and wanted to have pictures taken!

The next day, I was interviewed at a widely known Christian radio station which had been promoting the women’s conference of which at least 500 women were expected. I had so much fun listening to the radio announcer and speaking live on air about the conference theme “Discovering Your True Identity!” People were calling in and saying that they would be traveling long distances to attend! After the broadcast, the announcer said to me, “I have learned so much from you. I want to be called your son, because I have no parents.” I was overwhelmed, humbled, and honored. What an amazing opportunity to speak into this young man’s life (who has the public’s ear daily) about who he is in the eyes of God, and the amazing plans God has for his life! To this day, we have stayed in touch, and he has recently married a beautiful Godly woman!

The Women’s Conference was a huge success! Women came from all over the region. Most of the women sitting on the front row were leaders representing their cities in Rwanda and Uganda in various roles through the church, the government and the community. I must say, I was almost intimidated as I stood up to approach the stage...but then a bold, confident, vibrant fire within my spirit rose up with unspeakable joy! What an experience it was! I have never felt so liberated with so much joy, speaking connecting, and engaging with so many amazing women; doing what I know God created me to do! These women talk back to you when you speak, clapping and shouting in Kinyarwanda, “Yesu Ashimwe!” (Praise the Lord!) The music and singing were incredible, and that was just Day One!

2018 Mexico Mission Trip Testimonials

Danielle Dotts - Going to Mexico in this mission trip was a big step of faith for us as a family. Between finances, organizing it with our two kids and just overall logistics, it felt a little overwhelming. But we felt the Lord leading us to go, and we didn’t want to miss the opportunity to minister with Lauren and all the rest of the amazing Lifestreams team. The orphanage, La Misión, was such an amazing place of refuge for all who live and visit, emanating this atmosphere of love and joy. Being able to serve alongside Lifestreams family was a priceless experience where the Lord really grew our love for one another supernaturally and provided us tons of laughter and treasured moments. 

For me, the moment I’ll most treasure was going in teams to pick up trash and evangelize to the neighboring community with my husband, daughter, Ivett and Michelle. We we’re praying and asking the Lord for direction and just for blessings over the neighborhood when we saw a little girl, about 12 years old, holding a young baby. We asked if we could pray for her and her family. She gladly accepted and we asked her to bring the rest of her family out so we could pray over them as well. After a sweet exchange, translated by Ivett, each member of the family (mom, dad and three girls) prayed to receive Jesus in their hearts. And then we were able to tell them about the orphanage down the street that also has a church they can attend. I felt so overcome by love for those people, that neighborhood and my sweet friends I was serving with and I know I was experiencing the heart of God for us. I can’t wait for our next missions adventure as a family!

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 Jack Kehoe -  It was so amazing getting to join Lifestreams ministries for the RDSN trip. It was an awesome experience as a young guy getting to see such a powerful group of women ministering in the power and authority of the Lord. I really got to see a different side of His character through that. I was also profoundly impacted by the heaven mindedness of this group and I left much more aware of what it looks like to live in the kingdom 24/7. I am very grateful for this experience and am still reflecting on all the amazing things God did!

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Kelly McLaughlin - Our group very quickly bonded on day one in Lauren’s garage as we set out on an adventure of a lifetime. Although we didn’t know each other after a few days we were filled with the spirit, in love with each other as Christian brothers and sisters and ready to serve the orphanage of Rancho de Sus Niños Mexico.  

This kind of miracle only happens when you open yourself up and say YES to God. You know what he’s asking you to do and you step out boldly and say yes! I will go, I will go to Mexico and I will be open to whatever you want to show me!! I will gladly serve the families and Orphans of Mexico! I will be your hands and feet and I will love anybody you put in front of me! 

It’s so hard to pull out one story from the trip. I’m happy to share with any of you over lunch or coffee but I’d like to say my favorite part was when we worshipped because it was bilingual! The songs we commonly singing in worship were translated into Spanish and  seeing over 450 people worshipping God was overwhelming. They were not  just singing!!  People were dancing, jumping, crying, voices lifted, hands raised and you could feel the love and praise in the room!!

This happened at the Orphanage and also at Bethel Las Playas in Tijuana Mexico. This kind of experience really made me see how much joy we can have if we just let go and love God with all our hearts. If we can just be vulnerable, authentic and loving. I know the Holy Spirit provided joy that I have never seen before. 

The Lifestreams ministry group was blessed beyond measure!!  You didn’t have to look far to find God‘s hand everywhere with safe travels, midnight tacos, incredible relationships, beautiful worship, and Holy Spirit encounters. 

I encourage you to look at yourself and find ways to say YES!!!  If not you then who!? Get out of your comfort zone and enjoy the ride because Jesus is waiting!! 

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Michelle Harris - My experience with the Lifestreams Missions trip to Mexico went above and beyond my expectations. I approached the trip expecting to see Holy Spirit working in marvelous and miraculous ways. I was not disappointed!
One of the highlights of my trip included praying over a young man at the alter without an interpreter present and when someone did come up to interpret for me, the young man had understood everything I had been saying to him the whole time! The 3 of us were amazed! The young man interpreting for me kept asking him in Spanish as I asked a couple questions to make sure he had understood and he kept repeating in Spanish that he had understood everything I had been telling him!
I also had the wonderful experiences of Treasure Hunting, leading people to Christ in the barrio, worshipping with Jesus Culture, and playing with the children at the orphanage. Through my experiences, I had a personal revelation of my ability to step out and do missions work. My personal limitations in no way hindered my ability to show God’s love or Holy Spirit power. Mission’s work is now an open opportunity for me!

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Sandy Perez - I went into the Jesus Culture Mission Experience at Rancho de Sus Niños expectant for God to show up. I was excited to see what he was going to do in others, but never actually thought about what he would do in my life. You see, I was a team leader, if I’m honest I was excited yet so nervous. Thoughts ran through my head such as, Will I be a good leader?, What if I wasn’t a good leader, etc. But God is so good, I later met my team who was a group of amazing leaders, leaders in their communities, cities, some even in other nations! Through them God was revealing to me qualities of leaders and divinely put them in my path to confirm a calling that I was considering to leave behind due to fear. That week in Mexico shifted something in my spirit, and gave me a brand new confidence to walk out the calling on my life to partner with God to lead people in whatever area he places me in.

Maria Sainz's Healing

Jackie's Interview