The Holy Spirit is Dwelling in Us

For the past two weeks, my squad was reunited for a time of debrief and training in Antigua, Guatemala. For one week, we rested and had one on one meetings with our squad mentor, squad leaders, and coaches. It was a sweet time to reflect on the ways God worked in each of us individually and as a team.

So I want to share what was most impactful from my time in Guatemala.

Although briefly mentioned before, I want to reintroduce my host family- Katie and Wesly Sanchez. They hosted us for seven weeks with love, grace, and embrace. We truly felt like family for the ways they cared for us by making food, praying and worshiping with us, and always expressing their gratitude for us just being present with them. Katie and Wesly have been working as missionaries in Chicaman for ten years. They have four children who we had the pleasure of helping homeschool. I spent most of my time with little Elena who is three years old.

Our Host Family 

Apart from doing ministry in the villages and helping homeschool the kids, Katie led us through a Bible study about the Holy Spirit and did personal ministry/deliverance ministry with us. Before truly studying through the scriptures she provided, the Holy Spirit was that third part of the trinity that I could not explain.

I will first provide the scriptures that help me to understand the Holy Spirit and how it dwells inside of each of us as we accept Christ into our lives.

What is the Holy Spirit?

Our Squad mentor, Lindsey, refers to the Holy Spirit as a deposit of heaven left for us. She described that it helps us think, speak, and act like God.

The Holy Spirit is a seal

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.” Ephesians 1:13-14

The Holy Spirit is the helper and spirit of Truth 

“These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” John 14:25-26

The Holy Spirit is the power 

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” Acts 1:8

I learned that when we accept Christ we have a portion of the Holy Spirit inside of us but we can and should always ask God to give us more of the Holy Spirit and gifts so we can continue to walk towards greater holiness.

There are things that can inhibit us or become barriers to recieving more of the Holy Spirit. Those things can be unforgiveness, anger, pride, sin tendencies, past hurts, doubt, fear, lack of trust, vows spoken over us by ourselves or others, etc.

Personal ministry helped to reveal those things that have become barriers in my heart. We gathered together with Katie and renounced those spirits out of our lives. We asked God that he would remove and release those things and that the enemy would no longer have power or a hold on us.

The day we did deliverance I felt free and light. Once I declared my prayers against the enemy, he no longer had power or control. I have learned that some things we walk through are a part of our story but they are not our entire sorry. We can acknowledge it but rest in the promise of God that we have the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

The Lord gifted me this beautiful gift of grace and freedom that Katie taught me about.

So while I received so much joy from serving in Guatemala, the biggest change made was within my own heart.

Included in our time of rest was our squads opportunity to hike the volcano known as Acetenango. Acetenango is a dormant volcano that is next to an active volcano known as Fuego. After a six hour hike ascending 13,000 ft, we settled into our tents, ate dinner over the fire, and watched the nearby Fuego erupt at sunset. We all headed to bed early to stay warm and prepare for our 3:30 am summit to the peak of the volcano. The result was the most beautiful sunrise I have ever seen. I was simply in admiration for God’s hand in the clear skies, weather, and colors.

During our days of training in Guatemala we received teachings on identity, sabbath, evangelism and squad/team unity. They were rich with depth in scripture and application.

We landed safely in Romania on Friday after a 24 hour travel day including two brief layovers in the United States, a stop in Germany, and a train ride.

This month, my entire squad will be living together in a three story home partnering with Hope Church in Romania. Yes, thirty missionaries in one home for Thanksgiving. Incredible. On Monday we will have an evangelism day followed by a day of orientation to everything Romanian! Next month, we will be working within our teams to do an ATL (ask the Lord) month.

I am delighted in this new season of learning Romanian, living in larger community, and continuing to walk in the freedom and power of the Holy Spirit. Thanks for reading and staying updated- stories from the field coming soon !!

Be well. Love well.

Mags