This is India

India so far has been interesting. Learning to be in a new culture and learning the language. When we first arrived there was so much excitement in my heart to be here that all I could do is smile, but then I was told that if you smile at men that means you are interested. Well I guess I was interested in many men... hahaha... Sad but true. It's the little things that we grow up doing and mean no harm but are looked at differently in India.

Here is a list of the culture differences that I keep learning:

* do not hug men in public (guys on our team)
*don't hold hands while praying
*must eat with ONLY right hand...
* when they say 30min it means 2hrs
*everything is slower
*must wear head covering during church and prayer

Well those are the ones I have so far. I am sure there will be many more to come.

So it will be hitting the month mark tomorrow since we arrived in India and it has gone by so fast. I feel like I just left yesterday. This month has been getting adjusted to being here and learning more about the culture and how things run here. It really has been an adventure and a different pace of life here. Now we have to start learning the language which seems very difficult to pronounce things. I have picked up on some things here and there. But my hearts desire is to be fluent so that I can speak to the people here and build more relationships.

Lately we have been working with a pastor that is in the next town from us. We have done testimonies at his church, lead worship, and we do Sunday kids school. I have been in charge of putting children's ministry together and it has been such a blessing to be with the little ones that bring so much joy to my heart. Especially when the call me "aunty" that is what children call their elders. For men it would be "uncle." I am in LOVE with the beautiful children here. We also got an opportunity to go to an orphanage for the past 2 days that is 4hrs from where we live. It was such an exciting two days with the kids as we, played games, bible stories, sang songs, and loved on them. As we left the kids were hugging us so tight crying asking us not to go. I knew in that moment that they experienced the love of Jesus. That was the reason why we were there so that they may experience His love through us. It brought tears to my eyes that God could use us that way.

What is next? Well we will be starting a English service with the church we are working with. I am also building relationships with some of the young girls in church that God put on my heart to diciple. I have invited one of them to our house to spend time with her. The only thing is that she lives far from where we live, so I am praying that God will provide for us to meet every week to build that relationship. Please keep that in your prayers. One option I have is to get a scooter to get around the town which will cost me $1000 in order to start discipleship with theses girls.

If you would like to partner with me in that please go to: https://www.mogiv.com/rockmissions/ruthmendoza/

I am in love with the people of India and I could not ask to be anywhere else but here serving them. Thank you to those that make this happen every month.

Thank you for your support and love. I miss you so much! 

I am Inadequate

I am inadequate to do the work the Lord has for me in India. 

As sit here and ponder of the things I lack to teach people about Jesus or even help people in India the Lord reminds me of every person He used in the bible who was inadequate to do the work the Lord had sent them to do. 

               Now go; I will help you speak and will teach you what to say. Exodus 4:12

for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you. Matthew 10:20

But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 1 Corinthians 1:27

None of us are adequate to do the work of the Lord. It does not matter what degree we have or how much money we have. The Lords ways are far beyond our ways and far beyond what we can comprehend (Isaiah 55:8-9).

All we can do is humbly accept what he has given us and the work He lets us partake in. We are unworthy of it, but because of His grace He has made us worthy to serve Him.

Yes, through the opportunity to serve Him we will mess everything up, but He still uses us because He wants us to be part of the work he is doing so that we may experience Him.

We truly serve a gracious God who deserves all praise and honor! 

Be Humble... 

I am YOURS!

For the past of 8 years of being a Christian I never knew what it truly meant to tell the Lord "I am yours." But now I do! 
8 years ago God put a desire in my heart to be a missionary overseas. There where times when doors where shut and when doors were open. There were times when scars were so deep and wounds that hurt, but the Lord gave me His strength to keep going. First, was keeping my focus on Jesus and never looking back. Never fearing what man would say because nothing was to please man but God. 
After a year of sitting at God's feet at Impact 195 I learned what God's love looks like and what restoration feels like. Those wounds were stitched back up with God's Love. 
The Lord gave me a vision after I came back from India dancing on the rooftops with my teammate (Caitlin) to the song Rooftops from Jesus Culture (hahaha... and as I write this the song comes on my playlist). The song represents why I am going to India because of His perfect grace and because by Him I freely live. So I shout from the rooftops (of India) I AM YOURS! 
Never in my life have I ever wanted to be more with God. To please him with my whole life. All I want is more of Him and nothing else in this world. My whole life is fully devoted to Him and my focus on Him has never been so strong as it is now. When we finally get to this point of complete surrender we experience freedom like no other. I am finally FREE! 
As we continue to run the race never let your eyes swayed by the earthly pleasures because you father in heaven has so much more for you then you could imagine. His word is alive and active and He is a father that keeps His promises we just have to hold on to those promises even when things are being shaken up. We are His and our desire should be that He is ours. As He desires for us to be fully His.  

 

Here I am before You, falling in love and seeking Your truthKnowing that Your perfect grace has brought me to this placeBecause of You I freely live, my life to You, oh God, I giveSo I stand before You, GodI lift my voice cause You set me free
So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaimThat I am Yours, I am Yours
All the good You've done for me, I lift up my hands for all to seeYou're the only one who brings me to my kneesTo share this love across the earth, the beauty of Your holy worthSo I kneel before You, GodI lift my hands cause You set me free
So I shout out Your name, from the rooftops I proclaimThat I am Yours, I am YoursAll that I am, I place into Your loving handsAnd I am Yours, I am Yours
Here I am, I stand, with arms wide openTo the One, the Son, the Everlasting God

There is Freedom

My life... It's hard to imagine my life without God now. I am coming to the 8 year mark where I gave my life to the Lord. It has been the best 8 years of my life! and I know this year will be the best yet as I move to India to do God's work. So here is my story:

My father was a missionary/ pastor in Mexico. He was tender hearted, loved God, amazing teacher of the word, very smart, was amazing at playing the drums, and loved his daughters (myself and sister). He opened drug rehab homes in Mexico which are still going as of now. Thousand of people came to know the Lord because of how the Lord used him. He was my example of what it truly meant to live for the Lord.

Then years down the enemy took him down and he fell into drug addiction and alcoholism. He went to be with the Lord when I was 11 years old. My world seemed to crash down...

However, I had such an amazing mom and grandma that taught me what it meant to follow the Lord. Every weekend and holiday we would be in Mexico with my grandma. We would attend a Pentecostal church every Sunday where I taught Sunday school to the little ones at 12 years old. Moving on, when I turned 13 I started seeking things of the world and I got kicked out of school for having illegal drugs on me. My grandma was the only one for me who was God's hands and feet for me through all of this and she got sick. She went to be with the Lord. I was devastated... I searched for the things of the world even more.

I stated smoking weed everyday and drinking. That is how I would keep myself numb. Then for 2 years I became a meth addict. I OD so many times. There was one day where I completely was dead. My friends said I turned purple and I had no pulse. I remember in that moment where I took my last breath I asked the Lord to give me a second chance. As I woke up and took in a breath of air I knew the Lord had given me that 2nd chance. He had a plan for my life.

From that day my life has been dedicated to serve the Lord. By His grace I've started ministries and I have been able to travel over 35 countries. I have seen the sick healed, blind see, and people coming to know His name. Best of all I have seen His love for each nation. How he cries out for His children. How he cries out for us. I have seen His GRACE. How there is FREEDOM in the name of Jesus! In my life God has set me FREE and I will proclaim from the rooftops of India that he is God!

I am picking up my cross and following Him no matter the cost. I am willing to lose my life in order for those that never heard to hear the name JESUS, JESUS, JESUS!

God's Dream for Me

God has put it my hear to share the dream He has put on my heart. 

 

There couple of days the Lord has been giving me dreams about India. Most of those dreams have been about human trafficking victims. I have felt what it means to be in their place, I have felt the love the Lord has for them, and how there is HOPE when there is none. The dreams that the Lord has given me have been very vivid for me in ways where I wake up crying for the people of India. 

 

 

As I sat in my room praying and asking the Lord what is it that He wanted me to do with these dreams I felt Him say to use my talents. As most of you know my natural abilities are in art. I do photography, draw, make jewelry, and play guitar/ sing.  

 

Then I had a vision of making jewelry/ accessories, paintings, and clothes. This will help human trafficking victims make a living for them and also for ministry to continue to help victims like this. 

 

Here are the three main points:

 

Discipleship Doing daily bible studies, prayer, and mentoring them individually to encourage them in their growth and walk with the Lord. 

Training  Trained in the trade of jewelry-making. They will learn to work with a variety of high-end, semi-precious stones to make beautiful pieces that are sold internationally.

Educating Through teaching English and basic life skills, they will be empowered with a new confidence and competence for a changed life.

Pay: 

Wages & Work Hours  Paid above fair market value and operate on a 40 hour work week.

Loan Payoff After their first year, each of them are  eligible for a loan. They pay it back with a 0% interest rate. This is in response to predatory loan lenders who charge 600% -1000% annually, making repayment impossible for these women.

Paid Training During our 3 month training period, each women receives a salary, that increases with full time employment after this term.

It's so amazing how God has put Human trafficking in my heart for awhile for India but I did not have clarity of how it would look like but now he has given me a clear vision. This is His will! This is His dream that He has put in my heart. 

 

Thank you to those who are part of this dream. Thank you for giving your treasures and time to make this happen. Please keep praying for this ministry. God is going to do something AMAZING and you are part of it. 

 

Today is my deadline to raise $1600 and $500 more in monthly pledges. Please lift that up in your prayers. If you know anyone that would like to be part of this dream and would like give a tax deductible donation send them to: https://www.mogiv.com/rockmissions/damariscontreras/

 

My savior He can move the mountains and I know He will. Please join me in prayer. 

 

Called to Cast out Demons

MARK 16:15-20 

And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. "He who believes and is baptized will be saved; but he who does not believe will be condemned. "And these signs will follow those who believe: In My name they will cast out demons......, they will lay hands on the sick, and they will recover." So then, after the Lord had spoken to them, He was received up into heaven, and sat down at the right hand of God. And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs. Amen.

As a Christian I never thought much about casting demons or of "demons", but that they are actually pretty SCAREY! As I got into the missions field I started to become more aware of the darkness here on earth. Satan is real and demons are too! Through the years of traveling and being on the field I have had opportunities to cast out demons and bring freedom to those who have lived in captivity for so long. 

Leading to India I have never experienced so much attacks from demons... as I slept at night in India during our last trip in April I was choked by demons in my sleep. And even prior to the trip in my dreams I was attacked and I was constantly sick with a fever. At this point I knew I needed to put on the full armor of God everyday (Eph. 6). We are in a battle everyday, but sometimes we are so oblivious to it all, or vise versa... 

Coming back from India into the states was also a time where the enemy was trying to put fear in me. As I was sleeping one night in my bed I was awaken at 2 am with a horrible sound where at first I thought it was some drunk person outside of my window throwing up (it sounded really bad). Then as I tried to figure it out I heard a demon saying my name in a grumbling sound. I started to rebuke it in the name of Jesus and it started to fade away. Somehow I felt the peace of the Lord and fell right back to sleep. The next night I had a dream where I was standing in front of an Indian mirror looking at how beautiful it was and looking at myself standing in such a dark place. Then suddenly the pastor's wife we worked in India came up to me. She said "I am going to teach you how to cast out demons. First, you make sure this is where the Lord wants you to do, then remember you have all authority, and then you tell them to GET OUT in the name of JESUS!" 

(Pastor's Wife Stella)

Then the next day we had a worship leader at our school and he said "someone here is being attacked by demons." I raised my had even though I did not want to and I knew in that moment that the Lord was calling me to lay hands on people who needed to be freed from captivity from the enemies strong holds. He had let me experience these attacks because I use to have fear, but God has let me know that there is no fear because He has given me all authority.

As the enemy keeps attacking me physically with bronchitis and fevers this week I know that there is power in the name of Jesus! Demons will flea at the sound of His name! Our God reigns forever. 

I have 6 weeks left until I move to India. Please keep praying for me and my team as we continue to prepare and raise funds. I am still in need of a huge part of my trip in order to go 

and live there. I pray that you would consider in partnering with me. You can read more Info on this site and give to this ministry through there: https://www.mogiv.com/rockmissions/damariscontreras/

(Praying for healing)

(Worship with my India sisters)

Give me Faith

The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life; of whom shall I be afraid? Though an army encamp against me, my heart shall not fear; though war rise up against me, yet I will be confident. (Psalm 27: 1, 3)

In this season of my life God is building my faith because it is not unshakable... He wants us to have a faith that does not change with our emotions, but a faith that is only found in having a strong foundation in His truth and who He is. 

As I sit and pounder my life this far I have seen a faith that has been shaken because of my lack of knowing and standing in His truth. Faith should be who we are, not who we think we should be. I want to have a faith the believes the impossible even when things seem impossible. I want to believe even when I am holding onto the last strand and it breaks...and say I still believe! 

However, my faith has been shaken this month... As things never seem to fall into place... I felt my world crashing down like there was a ton of bricks on top of me keeping me from breathing and seeing what was ahead. In that moment I asked myself, " where is your faith?" It says in Hebrews 11:11- Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. Are we "certain" of what we do not see? 

As I sit here reminiscing of God's faithfulness in my life I have seen His hand of healing, His power, His love, How great He truly is. I have seen His hand upon His children and His LOVE that can never be compared to anything in this world. I have seen His love heal many lives and mine. He truly is faithful to finish the good work He started in us... 

I wanted to share this video of pictures and clips from the past 7 years of my life. Beginning  from starting an orphanage ministry to going out into the missions field... 

https://vimeo.com/52807640



My life His Story from Damaris Contreras on Vimeo.