Paul's Missions Trip to Tijuana

   So of course I had to post my husbands prayer letter he sent out by email to my blog. It's a big deal! Missions trip :) I want to remember it! Please pray for him if you think of it and me too since I"ll have a one-month old baby :) I love how he writes...

“I set myself on fire and people come to watch me burn.” -John Wesley

   Nine months ago, Emily and I moved to Redding, Ca. We were praying about the next season of our lives and we felt the Lord saying Redding. We had heard a little bit about Bethel because of Jesus Culture and the music, but other than that we were very naïve-and thank God for that! We had never heard of a fire tunnel or people singing in the Spirit, or a grace-filled environment and the biggest change was this thing called a Culture of Honor.

   When you grow up in churches that value law over love a lot of life is based on keeping the rules and performing. So I became really good at this while convincing myself that I was free. I wanted to make sure that my outside appearance matched up with what the church thought it should look like instead of what Jesus thought. This caused an unnatural need to succeed, driven-ness, judgment of others, and comparing because in church good behavior and success is matched with spiritual promotion. So when we got to Bethel, the Spirit-filled life they were living didn’t match up with mine. Can you guess who changed? I started learning about my identity in Christ and that I am no longer a sinner, but a Saint who is called to co-labor with Christ. I started learning that Jesus actually trusts me and didn’t need to control me, but wanted to love me. So, to say that my life has been changed would be an understatement.

   Now when I share about the fire of Christ I am living it out daily in love and experience and I desire to share this love with those around me. I want everyone to know that they are royalty- sons and daughters of the King. They are called to a life of greatness and power in His name. With the encounter I’ve had I owe the world an encounter. So, if you feel led, I am asking you to pray for me and/or give money to my Mission’s trip to Tijuana. It costs $400 (I only need $300 more). We are going to Mexico to share the love of God, set the captives free, heal the sick, cast our demons, and enjoy the Acts 2 experience with our soon-to-be brothers and sisters in Christ. I pray that as you read this you start to encounter the loving nature of God and feel your destiny being called out. God is setting fires everywhere and he wants to consume you. You’re amazing and any thoughts that don’t line up with that have to go.  The quote at the very beginning is how I want to live my life. I want people and myself to be consumed by the loving fire of our God.

Thanks for your consideration!
Love and Blessings,

Paul Lanphier

Here is the Bethel link if you’d like to give towards my missions trip to Tijuana (March 27- April 3):

https://www.ibssm.org/?action=donate&target=missions&student_id=213444

Here is the link if you feel led to give towards my school tuition (excess donation to missions trips cannot be applied to tuition, but extra tuition money can be applied toward missions).

https://www.ibssm.org/a/donate/secure-form?student_id=213444&target=tuition