Good Morning Family and Friends
Thank you all for your prayers. My new team and I have safely arrived in Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. God is so good. Last week in Costa Rica, we went to debrief, which is a time where we can rest as a squad before moving on to another country. During that time, I got an all girls team named, Girlz on Fire!! I am so excited for what the Lord has in store for us here in the Dominican Republic.
During our time in debrief, our mentor, Stephanie, gave a teaching on the Old Testament. She talked about the importance of the temple that God told the Israelites to build, which houses the Spirit of God in the Holy of Holies. As she was talking, I was asking the question in my head, Why don’t we have something like that today? The answer to my question is found in the Word of God. When Jesus died he tore the curtain of the Holy of Holies which allowed everyone to have full access to God, not just the Priest. (Matthew 27:51) God also sent the Holy Spirit to be housed in our body as a living temple: “Don’t you realize that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit, who lives in you and was given to you by God? You do not belong to yourself.” (1 Corinthians 6:19) We no longer need a temple built by human hands because our body is the temple built by God. I hope this is as encouraging to you as it was for me. Knowing that our bodies are temples of the Lord should change the way we treat our bodies.
One of my amazing teammates, Abby, has been praying about doing the Daniel fast as a team during our time in the Dominican Republic. The Daniel fast consists of only eating fruits and vegetables. When she presented it to our team we all said yes! This has been a great way for me to see how poorly I have eaten in the past. We are on day three and it has been very hard not to have sugar or processed foods. I have enjoyed putting into practice what I am learning. My encouragement to you is to take care of the temple that God has given you; food is not the only avenue that you can take. You can watch what you listen to, what you watch on TV, what you read in books, and the people you choose to hang out with. These are all great avenues to protect your temple, which houses the Holy Spirit.
I miss you all so deeply! Stay encouraged! Keep my Squad in your prayers.
Your Sister In Christ,
Antoinette
