But God I love 'IT'...

'It', the infamous, all consuming, cant bare to part with, please you cant take this one, 'it'. 'It' can look different to all of us, 'it' can be a place, a thing, a person, a memory, an emotion, a dream, a plan, anything! But what does look the same is the fact that 'it' being taken away, no matter what 'it' is can destroy you and leave you on your knees.

I had this revelation a week ago when I was forced to finally take my car, named Bruce, to the auto body shop because he was more than broken. (I refer to my car as a person all to often, so just accept it and lets move on.) I knew it would be costly, as most repairs are, but I cried out and prayed to Jesus that it would be a $300 dollar price tag so I would be able to pay for it as well as my airfare deposit for El Salvador. Sure enough a week and a heart wrenching conversation later, I was told that my car would in fact cost $2,500 to fix at minimum. Tears flooded my eyes.

Now before you write me off as an entitled brat who didn't plan well, like I had even felt for myself, let me tell you the back ground and reasons for my tears. Its basically the straw that broke my back scenario. I'm going to bring you into my heart in this moment, before this I had already felt like the Lord was stripping me of everything I was holding onto prior. Things that I thought were good and right and frankly what I thought I deserved. Yet still after putting up a fight to not let go, I ended up releasing and giving it all to God anyway because He always told me it would be worth it.

What had I let go of you might wonder? Well, in complete transparency because that's what I'm all about, broadly I thought I had let go of my life. Specifically I let go of, my schooling in Flagstaff and what I had thought was my solid and good plan to become a teacher. I let go of my dearly treasured Wyldlife girls in Flagstaff that I was starting to live life with so closely. I also let go of my Wyldlife teammates, more like family, which was more than heart breaking. I let go of my old relationship, I let go of my best and closest friends. I let go of being close to my family and loved ones. I let go of Arizona to embark on a brand new adventure in the Pacific North freaking West. Then I came up here, and then I began to let go of my plans, ALL of them. My money because it was getting put into First Year. I let go of my expectations of what I thought I was going to have in coming up here. I let go of people that I really liked having in my life, I let go of my heart and who I wanted to have it. Then what felt like I had nothing more to give, Jesus took my wheels. (see what I did there!)

This wouldn't have mattered so much normally but the reason I think it did hit me so hard was because I didnt know what I was holding onto while holding onto my car. Guess what it was? Ready for it....independence. A car meant I could go where I want, when I want, and not have to depend on anyone. Talk about a blow to both my ego and my heart. In being faced with the GIANT auto bill I also had to make a decision, was I going to El Salvador anymore or was I going to choose my independence. I couldnt afford either so it then felt like I was going to lose my car and my dream to go to El Salvador. So yeah it really did break me.

So naturally I got very, very mad at God. Yelling and screaming saying that "He couldn't do this anymore, that I had nothing else for Him to take away." I cried out asking "why He would do this if in laying my life down He wasn't going to show up in any ways!" It was in that desperation He asked me, if I trusted Him at all.

I wanted to quit, I wanted to yell and cry more than I wanted to fight, I wanted to throw up my hands and just stop in my tracks, I didn't trust God as much as I thought I did. I wanted to let Him handle certain things on His own and I would handle the rest. You don't do anything half way with God, like I was doing, therefore He kept stripping me of what I wouldn't let go. So I was faced with a decision, to choose if I trusted that God wanted me to go to El Salvador and would provide or I didn't, wouldn't go anymore and keep trying to do life on my own. Since we're playing the guessing game, any ideas as to what I chose?

If you guessed letting go of another 'it' and surrendering even more to Jesus and HIS WILL for my life, you'd be right. I let go of Bruce and all the independence that went along with him. I chose to instead hold onto with ALL of my might to the promise that God has amazing things in store for me in El Salvador. I chose to trust Him with every spec of my being that He will provide for me like He always has and always will, that somehow come March 28th (my birthday, coincidentally!) I will be on a plane going to share the gospel, pray for the sick, and contend for hi
s kingdom in El Salvador.

Our team will be serving alongside a local church, La Ruta(The Route) in San Salvador. From La Ruta we will conduct healing services in rural churches as well as gospel outreaches in local high schools. Previous teams have seen incredible miracles in the healing services and many student have come to faith in Christ in the schools. We are trusting God for mighty miracles in Jesus' name and for many to come into the kingdom with all our initiatives.

My financial deadlines are approaching and I am left praying and working my butt off to come up with the money! I have $410 of support raised so far and I am left to raise $1,000 dollars by February 15th, and then the $700 by March 10th. So I'm reaching out far and wide for help!

I pray that you consider supporting me financially. A gift of $50, $100 or $150, or any amount is more than appreciated and welcome as well as tremendously needed. If you cant support me financially then I pray you come along side me in praying for the trip as well as God providing for me and my team to go! 

Just so you know, gifts are tax deductible and can either be mailed to:

Anastasia Plumb
c/o City Central Church
425 N. Tacoma Ave
Tacoma, Washington 98403

or can be donated online by clicking the link below;

http://www.catalystschool.com/give

Click the 'First Year' student and then when you put my name in type 'El Sal' next to it.

Thank you for considering supporting me through prayer and/or giving. This trip would literally be impossible without the generosity of so many. Grateful for you heart, your belief in me and my dreams and taking the time to read this and love on me!

The Rock Winter Retreat 2015

This past weekend I was blessed with the opportunity to serve along side some incredible leaders and take our little family of middle and high schoolers to Buttercreek Lodge for the Youth Winter Retreat. This jammed packed weekend led to breakthrough in so many of the kids lives, as well as my own. We had the honor of having this godly couple Chad and Heather speak about the identity we carry as sons and daughters in Jesus Christ. 

As I was praying for the weekend I asked the Lord what He was going to do, and how I could help? He told me, "I will shift hearts back to me! I will win them over and bestow gifts upon them. I will mark them with my truth and my glory." I put this in bold because not only is it what the Lord spoke over the weekend, but I bold it so you and scroll back up to it and find it easily after I describe what took place this weekend. You're welcome for the bookmark.

This weekend, we started off with a road trip full of excited kids heading up to the woods to escape. When we finally landed in Buttercreek they were all too  eager to unload and start the weekend of fun in store for them. Unpacked both literally and to me what seemed to feel like an under layer of unpacking too place, everyone in that cabin became lighter, in simpler words, Jesus came into the room and man did the atmosphere change. We began worship and started club and the kids became wrapped up in the present with the ones around them. Chad and Heather shared their testimonies with such vulnerability, hearts softened and the Holy Spirits presence feel upon the room. They began the weekend dropping the hammer on the enemy and declaring over the kids that their identity in Christ sends Satan running for the hills. AMEN! 

Now if you're reading this thinking how could it get any better, well take a deep breath and get ready, because it did. Then next morning as the groggy kids were waking up from staying up until 3am the night prior because they're kids and that's just the things they do, the Lord moved on my heart and just whispered, "Watch how I show up today. Watch my love overflow in these little ones, in these hearts around you." And so I did. 

As laughs followed our hilarious program team, and songs of praise followed worship once again the Holy Spirit fell upon the room with even greater force. As we worshiping, the atmosphere was taken over by love, and soon to follow was an even greater revelation of the Lords love for us. Chad once again came up to speak and shared about Gods immense love for all His children, that's right adults are metaphorical children too. Then we broke up into girls and guys groups and Heather spoke to the girls room and Chad the guys. Heather spoke love into the girls hearts, the love of their Heavenly Father. She brought awareness to what society is calling love to look like, how its portrayed as immediate, its conditional, its tormenting, it involves triangles, and it had an end if things aren't "perfect". She brought awareness how our lenses are shifted to view love as fleeting and hard to find, how it remembers mostly bad and seldom good. Then she paused, feeling the prompting of the Holy Spirit she had us declare who we were because the scariest thing to the enemy is a Christian who knows who they are. Let me repeat myself, the scariest thing to Satan is you knowing EXACTLY who you are and how you were created.

[[ We declared at the top of our lungs, "We are daughters of the Most High King! We are beautiful! We are loved! We are seen as treasures to God. We are wonderfully made. We reflect the image of God. We are daughters of the Most High King, Satan you cannot touch me!" ]]

Now because I'm a girl, I don't know exactly what the guys did, but what I've heard was that Chad had them close their eyes and ask the Lord to give them a present. He asked them to shut their eyes and ask, "Lord what do you want to give me?" ALL of the guys were saw amazing pictures of the Lords promises and gifts and smiles spread across each of their faces in the presence of Jesus. 

Moving into the afternoon the kids were able to explore outdoors and walk down to the river we were by! They played and hung out with each other for hours and played ridiculous games. Laughter erupted from the living room during Battle of the Bands (Taylor Swift Edition) and all I could help but pray was, "Lord let these memories, these moments be with them the rest of their lives." Finally after a meal that we all could have sworn was from heaven, thank you Amy Buskirk, we transitioned into our evening club. Chad brought the house down again as he highlight the Temptation of Jesus in Luke 4 in a completely new way. Coming off of a 40 day fast God allowed Satan to tempt Jesus, saying "If you are the Son of God, command this stone to become bread." Obviously Jesus was hungry, 40 DAYS without food! Come one I get hungry from 40 minutes without food, anyway the part that Chad highlighted was the specific wording, "IF YOU ARE THE SON OF GOD..." The devils schemes are never new, the devil was having Jesus question his identity. JESUS! And guess what, because Jesus lives within you, Satan will come at full force to attack your identity. To get you to question everything about who you truly are. It was after that we had the kids stand up and we were able to pray and minister to them with the Lord. 

Needless to say tears were spewing out of my own eyes, let alone others as kids received revelations of who they are! Thank you Lord for how wonderfully you made every single little one in that lodge, that was a room full of powerful prayers, worshipers, servants, speakers and kingdom shakers! 

This is the time you scroll back up to the bold to remember what the Lord told me He was going to do this weekend because He more than came through. Kids lives were changed this weekend and I got to witness the Lords power in such a beautiful way. Looking back at this weekend I pray its more than the typical camp high that follows this retreat, I pray this weekend was a steak in the ground claiming victory of their identity of who they are! I pray this weekend impacted every single one of the littles ones hearts as much as it impacted my own.