Trading Anxiety for Peace
This past month has been absolutely incredible. Traveling with the 2019 Arrows International summer team taught me so many new things and I experienced Christ in a completely new way. I’ve been dancing for as long as I can remember, but I have never experienced the level of worship that Arrows brings into their dances. Under the leadership of Jeff and Natalie Lewis, our group grew closer and became a team. Jeff and Natalie allow the Lord to use them in whatever way He needs at any given moment. They are such an inspiration to everyone they meet and I am entirely thankful that the Lord has brought them into my life.
Each of the Arrows team members had an incredible impact on my life and a unique lesson to teach me. I learned how to truly use my dance as a tool of worship. I will never forget all of the ways God used our team to bring joy, hope, and healing into the lives of those in Costa Rica and Peru. Many people’s lives were changed throughout the course of this month and I believe that God is still at work in those countries. So much can happen by spending each day with each other, dancing in worship and praise towards the Lord.
One night in Peru after an outreach, we got to pray with a teenager whose family was struggling. Her parents were working through a separation and she wanted healing and forgiveness brought into her life. While we prayed together, she began weeping and I could feel God’s presence there with us. The next night, we did another outreach at a different location in Peru. Afterwards, we went out into the crowd to give prayer just as we did the night before and God led us to a woman standing off to the side. When we got closer, I noticed that her family was close by. Just as we greeted the woman I realized that her daughter was the same young lady we had prayed for the night before. I had a hard time understanding what the woman wanted prayer for, but from what I understand she wanted healing. As we prayed, I could feel the Lord’s presence around her family and I know that He’s got them in His embrace. This was just the first step of healing and restoration for that family, but it was a vital step in God’s plan. He will continue to give them guidance and use them to light the path for those around them.
Not only did God work in the lives of those we served, but in my own heart as well. A few days into the trip, I noticed the enemy trying get to me through my strongholds. Anxiety and fear started to flood my thoughts. I began to doubt myself and lose sight of the Lord’s purpose for my being on the trip. The other girls supported me through that and I realized that God is greater than any of those lies the enemy was putting into my head. I pushed through and praised God through my weakness. Even though my body and mind were tired, I spoke God’s truth into my life and the people around me. In the midst of my weakness, the Lord continued to provide and used me for His good.
I am going to join the Arrows International Levitical Trainee Program in the fall and I couldn’t be more excited to see what God has in store after spending the past month with them. I’ve been struggling with the thought of moving away from my family and the town I have lived in my whole life, but something changed in my spirit during my time with the summer team. God gave me a peace that this is what He has called me to do, and I learned that I need to give Him full control over my life. The path He has written for each of us is greater than anything we could ever imagine ourselves.
- Emma, from North Carolina (Summer Team Member: Costa Rica/Peru 2019)

















