Brasil Support Letter

I figured it would be good to post on here my support letter for Brasil. If you are interested in receiving one in the mail along with a prayer card, let me know!

Dear friends and family,

God has faithfully led me on an adventure I could never have anticipated. I will be going to Brasil this summer to engage in the work that the Lord is doing. Exodus Cry, an anti-human trafficking organization, has invited me to work in their Liberdade Initiative. Exodus Cry is built on a foundation of prayer and is committed to abolishing sex slavery through Christ-centered prevention, intervention, and holistic restoration of trafficking victims (read more at exoduscry.com).

The Liberdade Initiative: Exodus Cry seeks to mobilize a 24/7 prayer room in the red-light areas in each of their 12 host cities to pray for the end of sex trafficking and for spiritual awakening in the nation through the entirety of the World Cup, 31 days. Out of this 24/7 prayer reality, intervention teams will be sent into the red-light areas to reach out to those being exploited (exoduscry.com/liberdade/).  Liberdade (Lee-ber-dajee) is a Portuguese word that means freedom, liberty, and independence. God is speaking liberdade through the blood of Christ over the nation of Brasil.

I will be in Rio de Janeiro from May 27- August 7. My family is from Rio, so I will be living with them and working daily with Exodus Cry in the prayer room and on the streets. I have preparing my heart through the Spirit to love these people as Christ does.

I have been blessed repeatedly by the body of Christ, and I am excited to see how He provides again. I am asking for prayer partners, and, to those who are able, for financial support. I have been assured by the promise Paul spoke to the church in Philippi saying, “ my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:19) This trip will cost around 3,500 dollars for the plane tickets, other travel, food, and equipment. To support financially, please visit paypal.com, where I have set up an account under the email: marinarosa94@yahoo.com, or mail to Marina Holter, CPO 583, 820 N LaSalle Blvd, Chicago, IL 60610. I am prayerfully awaiting this experience to see how the Lord will use me as He displays His glory in this nation!

Father, I plead the blood of Christ over the nation of Brasil. May You rightfully take the praise of these people and claim Brasil as Your inheritance. Amen.

“Disse-me ainda: “Está feito. Eu sou o Alfa e o Ômega, o Princípio e o Fim. A quem tiver sede, darei de beber gratuitamente da fonte da água da vida.”

“Then He said to me, “ It is done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the beginning and the end. I will give to the one who thirsts from the spring of the water of life without cost.”

Revelation 21:6

Clarity

Monday if you would have asked me how I was doing, I would have been speechless. I resorted to answering this standard question with a metaphor.

My life is a classic novel.
I know the key events of the plot, and I know in the end that the righteous Prince wins...
However, the details which used to be meaningless are now become the essential unknowns.
I'm reading to find out the what is happening in the intricately woven story to only find that the pages are tattered, ripped, and faded.
I'm trying to read the words, and I know they are there, yet my mind can't take them in.
I try to skip around in sheer frustration to only find myself more confused.

Tuesday I threw the book out the window and sunk into the unknown - to find faith. 

The Lord washed me with the truth of His Word as a dear sister prayed Revelation 22:10-21 over me. Verses 12 & 13 drenched me like the morning mist. "Behold I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to render to every man according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end"

Beloved of Christ, as we seek Him, we find Him. As we find Him, we love Him.
This makes the wilderness worth it to know He will be found, and we will only have a greater reason to love Him.

God has been incredibly faithful in this journey of prayer. Here are a few testimonies from the last few weeks
-Last month I was 650 dollars short for my payment. In frustration I was praying confused as to why the God was still calling me to intercessory missions without providing. Just in that moment I got an email from my dad explaining how he was filing taxes and felt that he should give me the money that he gets from claiming me as dependent. He then explained it was a total of 650 dollars, and he just sent it in the mail. GOD PROVIDES!!!
-One day when I was in the prayer chapel a girl came in for the first time. I felt the Father's heart for her and decided to pray about a few specific issues that He revealed to me. As I prayed she began to weep. In that moment God released her from the bondage of sin and shame that she had been harboring. The weeping was replaced with joy as God confirmed His hand in he life.
-Students have encounter the love of God through prayer for the first time. There is something so sweet about knowing that the Spirit is moving in this campus making Jesus as their first love.
-I have over heard conversations about students waking up in the middle of the night/not being able to sleep and having the random urge to pray. (hehehehe I've been praying for people to be called to the nightwatch- being pray warriors of the night time)
-Today in Chapel we had a speaker just proclaim the truth of intimacy with Christ and the love of the Father. After there were students lingering in the auditorium, a few friends and myself then began to walk around the chapel and pray for people. It was an answer to prayer to hear a message like this, and to be able to act out on this love.
-I found out I did not get a position I applied for at a church to be the Senior High Intern, but in a matter of 24 hour God provided a new summer opportunity. I will be going with Exodus Cry (an anti-trafficking ministry) to Rio de Janeiro, Brasil (where my mother and her entire side of the family resides) to be apart of their Liberdade Initiative. I will be helping in the house of prayer, and potentially in ministry to the exploited.


Personally, I have been learning how sweet the fellowship with the Triune God is. When I crumble before His presence I feel most myself. I am completely broken, yet His grace makes me walk in the light of His truth. As I walk in the Spirit there I find the hope, peace, and joy my heart has always longed for. His perfect love casts out every fear.

Much love, joy, peace, and righteousness in the Holy Spirit to you

January/February Update

Over the past month, I have spent more time in prayer, bible reading, fasting, repentance, and worship then I have ever before.

I have been asked, “Why are you praying?” in skepticism, hopefulness, and confusion. Honestly this question still shocks me. Prayer is the heartbeat of abiding in Christ. How are we to abide in whom that we don’t comune with? “Prayer puts on in the position to hear and understand. For the Christian, prayer is an indispensable ingredient to the proper understanding of Scripture.” (Introduction to Biblical Interpretation, 85). Prayer doesn’t always result in fire falling from heaven, tear streaked faces, or powerful instantaneous breakthrough, but prayer does connect us to the heart of God. That connection, my dear friends, is the sweetest fellowship. In prayer we are bringing our circumstances and measuring them to the grandeur of the One who is seated on the throne. Prayer changes nations (2 Samuel 24:25).

A few weeks ago I was listening to a sermon by Mike Bickle. He explained how everytime he prays, he pictures himself coming before the throne of God. This throne is consumed in holiness. Thunder. Lightening. The brilliance of Christ. The living creatures crying out Holy, Holy, Holy. The elders casting down their crowns. Seven lamps of fire burning. The sea of glass. The sound of rushing waters (Revelation 4). In prayer, the veil has been torn and we boldly approach this throne, not as peasants, but as heirs and royalty (Hebrews 10:19-22, Romans 8:16-17). Beloved, if the Spirit of God abides in you, you have washed your robes in the blood of the Lamb and can confidently draw near to this throne (Revelation 22:14). In His presence we receive grace and mercy (Hebrew 4:16).

The past few weeks I have been figuring out how to divide up my 25 hours. I spend around 15 hours in the prayer room, and 10 hours with different prayer ministries. During my times of prayer I focus on praying for Chicago, Moody, and various ministries on the other campuses. I have seen the Lord change and alter hearts in this times of prayer. I often with pray along with music. Student come and go in the prayer room. As a student enters I ask for God to reveal His heart to them, and ask for Him to guide my time that I may be a blessing to them. I’m honored to be a forerunner in the ministry that God is doing at Moody. I have seen students released from the grasp of sin, rekindle their love for Jesus, and come to a deeper understanding of the Savior we worship.

Prayers for Moody would include:

-That God would be worshiped through homework

-That Jesus would be the first love on every heart.

-That Chapel wouldn't be seen as a requirement, but an opportunity to encounter God

-That the community of Moody would be marked for prayer

-That the Spirit would abound in love, joy, and peace on this campus.

-That God would be glorified in our genuine fellowship.

The Lord keeps pressing on me my need to trust Him fully for my finances. I am leaning on the body of Christ to support for my education, knowing God is faithful to provide according to His perfect riches (Philippians 4:19). I have been learning that while I abide in Him there is complete joy and peace. He is faithful to provide in accordance to His will.

Please pray for me:

-That God alone would be exalted in this calling

-That I would be able to discern whether or not to get a job along with prayer

-That the lies of the enemy would be silenced in Jesus name

-That I would be known only due to the presence of the Spirit in my life

If you are interested in supporting, becoming a prayer partner, or getting a notification when a new blog post has come up, let me know! Peace, love, and joy in the Holy Spirit be with you all

Marina

The Calling

Since my surrender to relentless grace, my natural charisma has only increased to be an all consuming passion for the cause of Christ.

My journey to the cross began its crescendo my junior year of high school. After an eight month process of seeking God I realized the only reasonable things to do was to give myself fully to truth. That night my heart sang to the Lord confessing, "All of me and it's for you."  I jumped into the ocean of mercy, and was filled with the Spirit. I no longer lived, but Christ lived in me. The life I were to live was to be by faith in the Son of God who gave His life for me (Galatians 2:20). God spoke to me that night calling me to live a life for Him alone and to be a missionary. The Spirit equipped me to intercede, all the while praising His worthy name. I read the bible and came to conclusions about the necessity of grace that stimulated fasting, self-denial, and continual praise of the Lamb who was slain. Prayer became my joy (Psalms 16:11). There was nothing I desired more than to come before the throne of God in adoration and cry out for His Kingdom to come (Matthew 6:10).

During my senior year of high school, a friend and I started a prayer meeting before our youth group and I started a bible study at my public high school. These meetings confirmed my love of prayer, learning, and leading others in intercession. This desire provoked me to applying to study at Moody Bible Institute.

A year later I was at Moody Bible Institute, meeting in the Crowel Prayer Chapel with a group of five strangers crying out to God for revival in the city of Chicago. The Gathering was created from this meeting. We began meeting every Sunday praying for hours at a time as this group became a prayer community. I never wanted to leave the meetings; all I wanted to do was to pray. During this time, I viewed prayer as simply an aspect of my devotional life, rather than as a ministry. Half-way through the second semester of my freshman year, while praying by myself for Moody I had a vision of our Torrey Gray Auditorium filled with people who were praying and crying out for God in repentance and longing. The vision switched from the crowd to the stage. On the stage were a few of my friends who had been leading worship for the Gathering, and I was singing. For those of you who don't know me: I don't sing. This startled me, and the vision left. I jokingly pushed it away. I began to tell my friends about the vision, except for the part about my singing. However, within the span of a week three different people came up to me saying that while they had been praying for me, God spoke to them saying that I needed to sing. Realizing I couldn't hide from the need to sing, so I started seeking out lessons. For some odd reason, the three voice teachers I contacted did not reply to my requests. After much frustration and prayer, God spoke to me declaring He was to teach me to sing, that He alone may get the glory.

Six months after this calling, I found myself in Athens, Greece for a three month study abroad trip. When the professors asked for worship leaders to get involved for our weekly chapel, I knew I needed to step out. I volunteered, expecting to sing back up, yet the next week I was singing in front of a group for the first time, by myself. I continued to lead during our chapel services, and began playing guitar along with singing. I became more and more comfortable. As I found my way back to Chicago, I began to attend different prayer meetings around the city of Chicago, often going to six a week. Intercession burned on my heart as I desired to see hearts changed to the reality of His glory. Attending these meetings, I found myself in a last minute position of leading. I would sing, pray, and play guitar. This was all I wanted to do. Any idea of the future was surrendered to the idea of asking moment by moment each day how the Spirit was leading me. There was a point where I confessed, "Lord I am willing to give myself up to the prayer movement."

Through this declaration I devoted more and more time to learning to play the guitar and ukulele. While I did improve through the course of a few months, the instruments never seemed to feel just right. The piano had always intrigued me. I took lessons for one year at the age of 7, but since then had forgotten everything. One day during my winter break I went to my church early and found an empty room to read my bible in. As I walked into the room, I noticed the piano. I prayed a simple prayer asking God, "Lord, I really want to play piano. If you want me to learn, will you teach me?" I sat down struck a few keys, and began to play chords. In a matter of 15 minutes, I learned to play a song. Soon, I could pull up chords for any song and play. Two days later, I led a worship time on the piano. Sitting down at the piano and singing through the Word was all I wanted to do during that break, just like the musicians appointed by King David.

A week later (December 2013) I made my way down to the International House of Prayer (IHOPKC) OneThing 2013 conference. The first day I felt the need to commit my time at the conference to seeking His face. By seeking Him, I realized who I was. I was introduced to many terms by IHOP. Mike Bickle spoke saying, "Worship is agreement with who He is, and intercession is agreement with what He said." That was when I heard the term, Intercessory Missionary for the first time. This missionary is one who prays as their full-time job, in the prayer room, engaged in dwelling in the house of the Lord. (Read more at: http://www.ihopkc.org/about/) They strive for the greatest calling to love the Lord with all their heart, soul, and mind. An altar call was then given for those who feel called to labor in beseeching the Lord of the Harvest by prayer. I stood up, as if I had no control of my actions. As I sat down I realized that I had been marked by God since my conversion to partake in Intercessory missions. As I realized this, doubt plagued my mind. I prayed to God during a worship time saying, "Lord, you taught me how to sing, but I don't know how to write songs. If this is what you want me to do I need you to confirm it." Promptly after the session was done, a man came up to me saying, "You’re creative. You need to write songs," then left. Tears streamed down my face as I realized God's faithfulness in His calling. The next day I woke up with the calling heavy on my heart. I went to one of the optional sessions that explained the IHOP University courses. As I sat in the room before it started I read about the Prophetic Worship Program, knowing that was what I had to do. I began to pray in woe, saying God I want to do this, but I barely know how to play piano. Just then one of the ushers came up to me, asking what program I was interested in applying for. As I explained she said, "Did you know Misty Edwards started only being able to play 3 chords on the piano?" This directly addressed my fear, knowing God is faithful to provide wisdom and teaching. By the last day of the conference I knew Intercessory Missions was my calling, much like the prophetess Anna (Luke 2:36-38). I became frustrated thinking about going back to work next semester. (I nanny 25 hours a week to pay for the expenses of being at Moody). All I wanted to do was to walk into my calling and pray instead of working, yet I knew I had to work to pay for the over 800 dollar room and board bill that comes monthly. I prayed, "God, I want to be an intercessory missionary at Moody." God then answered, "You know over eighty people that go to prayer meetings who would be willing to give you $10 a month to support you in this mission." In that exact moment, I decided to walk in faith, and I quit my job as a nanny.

Now I walk in faith, trusting that God will provide in a way that He alone will receive the glory. "Faithful is He who calls you, and He also will bring it to pass (1 Thessalonians 4:24)." I plan to spend the 25 hours that I would have been working in prayer, dividing the time between attending other prayer meeting in Chicago (Northwestern, Loyola, Chicago Tabernacle, and Chicago House of Prayer), prayer ministry, Moody's Gathering Ministry, and having an open prayer room in which students on campus can come pray, do homework, and commune together.

I ask for you to engage in a life of prayer with me (Acts 2:42-47). Praying "Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)" If you would like to financially support me in this mission, I have a link to paypal on the right (email: marinarosa94@yahoo.com), you may call Moody at (312-329-2020) with a direct donation to my student account, or may give directly to me if you are in the Chicago area. I am looking for monthly supporters, who will walk with me in the presence of the Lord. Please pray about how you are called to be involved.

1 Timothy 4:11-16 is my focus in this upcoming season. Verse 12 reads, "Let no one look down on your youthfulness, but rather in speech, conduct, love, faith and purity, show yourself and example of those who believe."

God has been comforting me saying, "Do not be afraid; I am the first and the last (Revelation 1:17)."

Blessings to you,
Marina

Isaiah 12

Isaiah 12 is set in the context of Israel remembering God's faithfulness to Moses, and has been my hearts prayer recently. The title for this blog comes from verse 2 as God is my strength and song. 

Isaiah 12
Then you will say on that day,
    “I will give thanks to You, O Lord;
     For although You were angry with me,
     Your anger is turned away,
     And You comfort me.
2 “Behold, God is my salvation,
      I will trust and not be afraid;
      For the Lord God is my strength and song,
      And He has become my salvation.”
3 Therefore you will joyously draw water
      From the springs of salvation.
4 And in that day you will say,
      “Give thanks to the Lord, call on His name.
      Make known His deeds among the peoples;
      Make them remember that His name is exalted.”
5 Praise the Lord in song, for He has done excellent things;
      Let this be known throughout the earth.
6       Cry aloud and shout for joy, O inhabitant of Zion,
      For great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel.