Tuesday, August 24, 2010
Human-trafficking
Last night I had a horrible dream that for millions across the globe is a reality.
I had a dream that I was on a moving RV/bus vehicle that had various rooms on it and a bathroom with a shower. On that bus was my mom, my brother, myself, many other victims of human trafficking and about 40 men who were holding us all captive. In the dream my mom would try and protect me, shield me from the men raping me and so they would rape her instead. In the dream I remember screaming and crying because while I was so afraid, I didn't want them harming my mom. I remember feeling as if though I was stuck, I was so scared but I knew I had to get out somehow. The men on the RV would grab me, and I would scream and do everything I could to make them stop. It was horrific. Then they raped me. I was devastated and all I could do was cry. But it was at that point that I remember looking at my mom and saying, "mom, this feels like hell on earth, I am going to escape, we have to somehow get out of here" and she said "but how", "I don't know mom but we have to do something."
In the bus there was a side door and windows. At that moment I ran to the side door and was about to run out when my mom told me to wait because all those men that were holding us captive were outside and they would see me and kill me. So I waited. Shortly there after the bus pulled into a gas station and I knew that was my moment, so I rolled down a small window and started screaming for the people around to please call the police because we were being held hostage as victims of human trafficking on that bus. I remember the looks on the people's faces, they were shocked, they didn't know what to do, they just stared at me horrified. I knew that I had to do more, I had to escape so I squeezed myself out of the window and while I was doing that one of the men in the bus started charging towards me with a huge gun, I didn't know if he was going to kill me but in that moment I didn't care, I knew that either way death would be better than the hell that we were living being held captive.
I climbed on the roof of the bus and I remember the man shouting that he was going to shoot me through the roof of the bus, so I ran as fast as I could towards the front of the bus and jumped down before he saw me. But I remember before I ran off I saw my brother, he yelled for me through the window that he loved me and for me to keep running. As I ran with tears streaming down my face because I knew the men were going to kill him and my mom because I had escaped, I knew I had to escape and tell someone. I knew it was the only was to rescue the others. I ran into this neighborhood, I was so scared, I had never felt so much fear in my life, but I knew I had to get away. I remember I ran up to the fourth house on that street, I went in through their backdoor and started crying and asking the husband and wife in the house to please call the police, that I was a victim of human trafficking. I kept telling them to please close all of their windows and doors because I was so scared that the men were going to come and find me. I kept looking around in such a panic, wanting to hide until the police arrived but crying so hard because I knew my family was going to be killed. I had never felt such pain, I was uncontrollably crying and then I woke up.
When I woke up, I still had that fear for a second and then I realized that God had allowed me to see through a dream what the victims of human trafficking go through, what it feels like and it is horrific. I cried and begged God to please rescue those victims, to please bring justice, but at the same time I felt so helpless, God what can I do to help.
Isaiah 61:1
"The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
Human trafficking is real. It's something that is happening right now all over the world. And not enough people really know that much about it. We must do something to help. There are people, victims, dying everyday while we go about living our lives unaware of their pain. I heard about Human Trafficking about two and a half years ago and have been giving to help fight it through an organization called A21 Campaign. You can help too. There is another organization that you can give to called Stop Child Trafficking Now. Both of these organizations fight against human trafficking everyday, they are rescuing victims all over the world and restoring them through the love of Jesus. You can do something. We can all give excuses as to why we can't give but honestly, what is so important that we can't give, is it our monthly pedicures, manicures, our daily Starbucks coffee, while none of these things are bad, and I'm not trying to make you feel bad for enjoying these things, they've been my excuse too, they shouldn't come before saving lives of innocent victims.
This blog is read from people all over the world. Please do something, anything, you can pray for the victims, that God would send people/organizations to rescue them, that the people who are keeping the victims hostage would turn from their ways and be saved by Jesus, that God would open your heart and your eyes to help fight this injustice in your part of the world.
We were sent to set the captives free. Join me in being their freedom.
Thank you so much.
Michelle Nicole.
I had a dream that I was on a moving RV/bus vehicle that had various rooms on it and a bathroom with a shower. On that bus was my mom, my brother, myself, many other victims of human trafficking and about 40 men who were holding us all captive. In the dream my mom would try and protect me, shield me from the men raping me and so they would rape her instead. In the dream I remember screaming and crying because while I was so afraid, I didn't want them harming my mom. I remember feeling as if though I was stuck, I was so scared but I knew I had to get out somehow. The men on the RV would grab me, and I would scream and do everything I could to make them stop. It was horrific. Then they raped me. I was devastated and all I could do was cry. But it was at that point that I remember looking at my mom and saying, "mom, this feels like hell on earth, I am going to escape, we have to somehow get out of here" and she said "but how", "I don't know mom but we have to do something."
In the bus there was a side door and windows. At that moment I ran to the side door and was about to run out when my mom told me to wait because all those men that were holding us captive were outside and they would see me and kill me. So I waited. Shortly there after the bus pulled into a gas station and I knew that was my moment, so I rolled down a small window and started screaming for the people around to please call the police because we were being held hostage as victims of human trafficking on that bus. I remember the looks on the people's faces, they were shocked, they didn't know what to do, they just stared at me horrified. I knew that I had to do more, I had to escape so I squeezed myself out of the window and while I was doing that one of the men in the bus started charging towards me with a huge gun, I didn't know if he was going to kill me but in that moment I didn't care, I knew that either way death would be better than the hell that we were living being held captive.
I climbed on the roof of the bus and I remember the man shouting that he was going to shoot me through the roof of the bus, so I ran as fast as I could towards the front of the bus and jumped down before he saw me. But I remember before I ran off I saw my brother, he yelled for me through the window that he loved me and for me to keep running. As I ran with tears streaming down my face because I knew the men were going to kill him and my mom because I had escaped, I knew I had to escape and tell someone. I knew it was the only was to rescue the others. I ran into this neighborhood, I was so scared, I had never felt so much fear in my life, but I knew I had to get away. I remember I ran up to the fourth house on that street, I went in through their backdoor and started crying and asking the husband and wife in the house to please call the police, that I was a victim of human trafficking. I kept telling them to please close all of their windows and doors because I was so scared that the men were going to come and find me. I kept looking around in such a panic, wanting to hide until the police arrived but crying so hard because I knew my family was going to be killed. I had never felt such pain, I was uncontrollably crying and then I woke up.
When I woke up, I still had that fear for a second and then I realized that God had allowed me to see through a dream what the victims of human trafficking go through, what it feels like and it is horrific. I cried and begged God to please rescue those victims, to please bring justice, but at the same time I felt so helpless, God what can I do to help.
Isaiah 61:1
"The spirit of the sovereign Lord is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners."
Human trafficking is real. It's something that is happening right now all over the world. And not enough people really know that much about it. We must do something to help. There are people, victims, dying everyday while we go about living our lives unaware of their pain. I heard about Human Trafficking about two and a half years ago and have been giving to help fight it through an organization called A21 Campaign. You can help too. There is another organization that you can give to called Stop Child Trafficking Now. Both of these organizations fight against human trafficking everyday, they are rescuing victims all over the world and restoring them through the love of Jesus. You can do something. We can all give excuses as to why we can't give but honestly, what is so important that we can't give, is it our monthly pedicures, manicures, our daily Starbucks coffee, while none of these things are bad, and I'm not trying to make you feel bad for enjoying these things, they've been my excuse too, they shouldn't come before saving lives of innocent victims.
This blog is read from people all over the world. Please do something, anything, you can pray for the victims, that God would send people/organizations to rescue them, that the people who are keeping the victims hostage would turn from their ways and be saved by Jesus, that God would open your heart and your eyes to help fight this injustice in your part of the world.
We were sent to set the captives free. Join me in being their freedom.
Thank you so much.
Michelle Nicole.
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Praising in the storm
"And I will praise you in this storm
And I will lift my hands
For you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I cry
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm"
Lyrics from Praise you in this storm by Casting Crowns
Since the age of 3 I had suffered from chronic migraines. My mom says she remembers me always grabbing my head and crying to her that my head hurt. It was normal for me to get a headache about 4-5 times a week. Yet at the same time what was my normal was not normal. As a child I should not have been getting headaches on the regular. My mom did not have her first headache until she was 25 years old and here I was getting them regularly from the age of 3. As the years went by the intensity of the headaches worsened. And still plagued me until about a week and a half ago.
At the end of July I went to a conference in Dallas and I remember the speaker talking about how God is our healer and how nothing is impossible for him. So that night during worship I cried out to God and begged him to please remove these migraines that had plagued me all my life, and ironically that I had at the moment I was praying for healing. And I got nothing. So I cried out again but this time I was more angry and I said, "God, I'm not leaving this worship gathering until you heal me. I refuse to leave without my healing." And still nothing. And it was at that moment that inside of me I felt, this question, God, how am I going to tell people that you're a healer if you won't even heal me? And when I thought that I broke down crying. I think a few songs went by and all I could do was cry, I couldn't say a word. And about the third song, I looked up and just said, "You know what God, even if you don't heal me, I will still trust you, and I will still tell people that you are a healer, and I will still say that you are God, even if I never get my healing, I know that you are good." And with that I calmed down, the migraine was still there but my heart was set on the fact that God was good regardless and that my healing would come, even if I didn't feel it. So, we left that night back to our hotel room and I remember rubbing my head because it hurt so bad and my mom telling me, "Michelle, don't you have any excedrin?" I literally have taken thousands of excedrin probably in my lifetime, just in the last 3 months I've gone through 2 huge bottles so this question wasn't exactly a weird question to ask because I ALWAYS carried excedrin migraine with me everywhere I went. But that night was different, I replied, "Mom, I'm done taking excedrin, that stuff is so incredibly bad for my stomach lining and I'm trusting that God will heal me." And with that I went to bed.
Now normally if I went to bed with a migraine and didn't take anything it was a 100% sure bet that I was going to wake up and the migraine was still going to be there. But that next morning it was gone. It didn't hurt one bit. And as I took a shower that morning I just remember crying tears of joy and thanking God because I knew he had healed me. No more would I have to deal with migraines, ever again.
Then yesterday came and with it a migraine. And to be honest it is now the next morning and it is still there. I've prayed and I know that God is not a man that he should lie, He healed me a week and a half ago and no matter what symptoms I feel I know that He is still my healer. Even as I type these words I feel the pain in my head but I'm trusting in Him. And I'm not gonna lie and say that the last 24 hours has been easy because it hasn't, I have thought of taking excedrin migraine because I know that it works, it has a million times in the past but I also know that God is my healer and that if his word says that "By His stripes we are healed" then I am healed. So like the song lyrics say, I will praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands for you are who you are no matter where I am. And just like in previous posts I have told many of you to not lose hope and not lose faith as you go through your trials because He is faithful, I will not lose hope and I will not lose faith that He has and will heal my head again.
Psalm 3:3-4,8 "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. From the Lord comes deliverance."
And I will lift my hands
For you are who you are
No matter where I am
And every tear I cry
You hold in your hand
You never left my side
And though my heart is torn
I will praise you in this storm"
Lyrics from Praise you in this storm by Casting Crowns
Since the age of 3 I had suffered from chronic migraines. My mom says she remembers me always grabbing my head and crying to her that my head hurt. It was normal for me to get a headache about 4-5 times a week. Yet at the same time what was my normal was not normal. As a child I should not have been getting headaches on the regular. My mom did not have her first headache until she was 25 years old and here I was getting them regularly from the age of 3. As the years went by the intensity of the headaches worsened. And still plagued me until about a week and a half ago.
At the end of July I went to a conference in Dallas and I remember the speaker talking about how God is our healer and how nothing is impossible for him. So that night during worship I cried out to God and begged him to please remove these migraines that had plagued me all my life, and ironically that I had at the moment I was praying for healing. And I got nothing. So I cried out again but this time I was more angry and I said, "God, I'm not leaving this worship gathering until you heal me. I refuse to leave without my healing." And still nothing. And it was at that moment that inside of me I felt, this question, God, how am I going to tell people that you're a healer if you won't even heal me? And when I thought that I broke down crying. I think a few songs went by and all I could do was cry, I couldn't say a word. And about the third song, I looked up and just said, "You know what God, even if you don't heal me, I will still trust you, and I will still tell people that you are a healer, and I will still say that you are God, even if I never get my healing, I know that you are good." And with that I calmed down, the migraine was still there but my heart was set on the fact that God was good regardless and that my healing would come, even if I didn't feel it. So, we left that night back to our hotel room and I remember rubbing my head because it hurt so bad and my mom telling me, "Michelle, don't you have any excedrin?" I literally have taken thousands of excedrin probably in my lifetime, just in the last 3 months I've gone through 2 huge bottles so this question wasn't exactly a weird question to ask because I ALWAYS carried excedrin migraine with me everywhere I went. But that night was different, I replied, "Mom, I'm done taking excedrin, that stuff is so incredibly bad for my stomach lining and I'm trusting that God will heal me." And with that I went to bed.
Now normally if I went to bed with a migraine and didn't take anything it was a 100% sure bet that I was going to wake up and the migraine was still going to be there. But that next morning it was gone. It didn't hurt one bit. And as I took a shower that morning I just remember crying tears of joy and thanking God because I knew he had healed me. No more would I have to deal with migraines, ever again.
Then yesterday came and with it a migraine. And to be honest it is now the next morning and it is still there. I've prayed and I know that God is not a man that he should lie, He healed me a week and a half ago and no matter what symptoms I feel I know that He is still my healer. Even as I type these words I feel the pain in my head but I'm trusting in Him. And I'm not gonna lie and say that the last 24 hours has been easy because it hasn't, I have thought of taking excedrin migraine because I know that it works, it has a million times in the past but I also know that God is my healer and that if his word says that "By His stripes we are healed" then I am healed. So like the song lyrics say, I will praise you in this storm and I will lift my hands for you are who you are no matter where I am. And just like in previous posts I have told many of you to not lose hope and not lose faith as you go through your trials because He is faithful, I will not lose hope and I will not lose faith that He has and will heal my head again.
Psalm 3:3-4,8 "But you are a shield around me, O Lord; you bestow glory on me and lift up my head. To the Lord I cry aloud, and he answers me from his holy hill. From the Lord comes deliverance."
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
There is destiny inside of you
It's been 30 years since my mom left her country of origin, El Salvador. When she left she was leaving in a state of panic because there was a war going on between the guerrilla and the police enforcement. The guerrilla was basically trying to kill all those in politics and anything having to do with the government. The year was 1980 and my mom was studying in the university to be a lawyer. She was heavily involved in politics and because of that she and her family were targeted by the guerrilla. One night while my mother, my two uncles and my grandmother were all sleeping their house was gunned down by machine guns from all sides of the house. Someone had put a hit on her family and had paid a price in order to have my mom killed, my mom remembers seeing bullets flying through the walls and all she did was grab her two brothers and laid as still as possible on the floor. That night while my mom laid there I know that it was only the hand of God that protected them because not one single bullet touched any of them, nor did the guerrilla go inside to make sure that they had killed everyone in the house like they normally would.
The next morning my grandmother, my two uncles and my mother all started a very dangerous trek through El Salvador, then through Mexico to the United States as illegals. They paid a man to literally bring them across the border until they finally reached my great aunt's house in Houston, TX.
Tonight the Lord reminded me of that story that my mom has told me over a hundred times. He showed me how He had his hand over my mom's life because she had a destiny inside of her. She would one day give birth to two children, Carlos and Michelle. Who would then at the ages of 21 and 22 would become saved and then they would in turn touch other lives and those lives would touch other lives and so on and so forth to spread the news of Jesus. That night when those men came and gunned down my mom's house, God saw the destiny of generations to come through my mom's life and he said "no" to the enemy's plan to kill my mom. God knew that one day she would be the mom of two children who would do amazing things for God. .
Psalm 33:11 "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."
Inside of me, inside of you there is destiny. There are people that He has destined for you to reach, there are physical blessings that will be birthed through you and will impact this globe for Jesus one day.
So do not fear when trials come for the Lord your God has a plan that will be fulfilled through your life. 30 years ago God thought of me when those men tried to kill my destiny inside of my mom but His purposes stood firm and will continue to stand firm for generations to come.
Think of the possibilities, think of the generations that will come out of you. You were destined for so much more than you could ever think or imagine. Don't give up, don't turn around there's destiny inside of you.
Love,
Michelle
The next morning my grandmother, my two uncles and my mother all started a very dangerous trek through El Salvador, then through Mexico to the United States as illegals. They paid a man to literally bring them across the border until they finally reached my great aunt's house in Houston, TX.
Tonight the Lord reminded me of that story that my mom has told me over a hundred times. He showed me how He had his hand over my mom's life because she had a destiny inside of her. She would one day give birth to two children, Carlos and Michelle. Who would then at the ages of 21 and 22 would become saved and then they would in turn touch other lives and those lives would touch other lives and so on and so forth to spread the news of Jesus. That night when those men came and gunned down my mom's house, God saw the destiny of generations to come through my mom's life and he said "no" to the enemy's plan to kill my mom. God knew that one day she would be the mom of two children who would do amazing things for God. .
Psalm 33:11 "But the plans of the Lord stand firm forever, the purposes of his heart through all generations."
Inside of me, inside of you there is destiny. There are people that He has destined for you to reach, there are physical blessings that will be birthed through you and will impact this globe for Jesus one day.
So do not fear when trials come for the Lord your God has a plan that will be fulfilled through your life. 30 years ago God thought of me when those men tried to kill my destiny inside of my mom but His purposes stood firm and will continue to stand firm for generations to come.
Think of the possibilities, think of the generations that will come out of you. You were destined for so much more than you could ever think or imagine. Don't give up, don't turn around there's destiny inside of you.
Love,
Michelle
Monday, August 2, 2010
It's a heart issue
Faith is believing with your heart and not your mind. Our mind always will try and rationalize things but our heart doesn't know rationalization, it only knows what it feels. Have there ever been times in your life where you've thought, "I know this sounds crazy but I feel in my heart that God wants me to do this or do that", but really if you think about it with your mind only it sounds absolutely absurd. That's because faith comes from the heart. Faith means believing deep down inside your heart even if with your eyes you don't see it yet. It's when you have faith that God will provide financially even though your bank statement says your bank account is in the negative. It's when you have faith that God has healed you even though the doctor says otherwise, it's when you believe God has a great spouse for you while you are going through a rough season of single hood. Faith never makes sense outside of God, but with God faith makes all the difference.
This past week I went to a Spanish conference called Avivanos and it was mind-blowing. And I say that because although they didn't teach on anything I didn't already know about, they didn't show me some new scripture I hadn't already seen, it did cause a mind shift in regards to my faith. God's word is infallible, it is without void, it is and will always be true.
Luke 11:9-10 "Ask and you shall receive....for everyone who ask receives."
Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
Luke 1:37 "For nothing is impossible with God."
Like you probably, I had read these scriptures a million times, I had heard them preached over and over in my time as a Christian but I had never really taken them to heart until last week. Normally my prayer would go a little something like this:
"Jesus, I ask that you would please save my dad. Please don't let him ever die without knowing you." and then next week I would pray it again. "Please Lord save my dad, protect him, don't let him leave this earth without knowing you." Now while those prayers aren't bad they were a little bit contradictory to my supposed faith. Why did I feel like I had to plead with God? Why did I feel the need to beg him over and over and over? Because when my natural eyes wouldn't see the response I wanted I would assume he hadn't heard me and that I needed to beg him some more. And that is just plain incorrect.
But if I look at those scriptures, that are infallible and realize that His word does not lie, so if He says ask and you shall receive then if I ask God to save my dad then regardless of whether I see a change with my natural eyes or not, I trust that God has heard my prayer and that I have received my request because a.) I am His daughter and b.) His word says so. My prayer life has change dramatically and my faith has increased exponentially just by this revelation alone. I now come before God and make my requests known, I thank Him for it and wait for my natural eyes to see what has already been granted in the supernatural.
The same thing with reaping and sowing. What we sow is always going to be what He uses for us to reap from. If I sow x amount of money into an anti-human trafficking organization like a21campaign.com then it doesn't matter how much money I invest I know that I will reap a harvest because it is going towards providing justice and setting the captives free. And since that money is going towards God's plan to save this earth then I know that there's another scripture that says you can't out give God, so I know that He will in turn bless me more to be a greater blessing towards his Kingdom. His word says it so that means it will happen.
Since I received this revelation my prayer life has been completely changed. And my faith has increased beyond what I could have ever expected. Another scripture to grab a hold of is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for your declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." He has great plans for your future and do you know when your future is? It's the next second from now, it tomorrow, it next week, it's next month. He has great plans for you, your future is not full of gloom and doom it is full of greatness. Tomorrow will be a great day! Tonight I will have great sleep because it's in my future in the next hour!
When you take these scriptures that we've all heard and truly believe them with your heart, you will never pray the same way again and you will never live your life the same way again. His word is the bread of life, consume it, devour it and keep your eyes open because it will always always always come true. God is not a man that he should lie.
Love,
Michelle
This past week I went to a Spanish conference called Avivanos and it was mind-blowing. And I say that because although they didn't teach on anything I didn't already know about, they didn't show me some new scripture I hadn't already seen, it did cause a mind shift in regards to my faith. God's word is infallible, it is without void, it is and will always be true.
Luke 11:9-10 "Ask and you shall receive....for everyone who ask receives."
Galatians 6:7 "Do not be deceived; God cannot be mocked. A man reaps what he sows."
Luke 1:37 "For nothing is impossible with God."
Like you probably, I had read these scriptures a million times, I had heard them preached over and over in my time as a Christian but I had never really taken them to heart until last week. Normally my prayer would go a little something like this:
"Jesus, I ask that you would please save my dad. Please don't let him ever die without knowing you." and then next week I would pray it again. "Please Lord save my dad, protect him, don't let him leave this earth without knowing you." Now while those prayers aren't bad they were a little bit contradictory to my supposed faith. Why did I feel like I had to plead with God? Why did I feel the need to beg him over and over and over? Because when my natural eyes wouldn't see the response I wanted I would assume he hadn't heard me and that I needed to beg him some more. And that is just plain incorrect.
But if I look at those scriptures, that are infallible and realize that His word does not lie, so if He says ask and you shall receive then if I ask God to save my dad then regardless of whether I see a change with my natural eyes or not, I trust that God has heard my prayer and that I have received my request because a.) I am His daughter and b.) His word says so. My prayer life has change dramatically and my faith has increased exponentially just by this revelation alone. I now come before God and make my requests known, I thank Him for it and wait for my natural eyes to see what has already been granted in the supernatural.
The same thing with reaping and sowing. What we sow is always going to be what He uses for us to reap from. If I sow x amount of money into an anti-human trafficking organization like a21campaign.com then it doesn't matter how much money I invest I know that I will reap a harvest because it is going towards providing justice and setting the captives free. And since that money is going towards God's plan to save this earth then I know that there's another scripture that says you can't out give God, so I know that He will in turn bless me more to be a greater blessing towards his Kingdom. His word says it so that means it will happen.
Since I received this revelation my prayer life has been completely changed. And my faith has increased beyond what I could have ever expected. Another scripture to grab a hold of is Jeremiah 29:11 "For I know the plans I have for your declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you a hope and a future." He has great plans for your future and do you know when your future is? It's the next second from now, it tomorrow, it next week, it's next month. He has great plans for you, your future is not full of gloom and doom it is full of greatness. Tomorrow will be a great day! Tonight I will have great sleep because it's in my future in the next hour!
When you take these scriptures that we've all heard and truly believe them with your heart, you will never pray the same way again and you will never live your life the same way again. His word is the bread of life, consume it, devour it and keep your eyes open because it will always always always come true. God is not a man that he should lie.
Love,
Michelle
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