Bitter. Sweet. Bitter.

Wow..... Time here is flying by, and all of a sudden, we only have two weeks until the Hands-On leave Spain. I'm honestly not real sure how to handle this. But things have been really great here. Just a quick update:

Remember Claudia? Well, she accepted Christ just about three weeks ago!! We are praising the Lord for that, and joy is just bubbling up inside of me all over the place, that she's our sister and she'll be with us all in heaven someday. She's been talking with Natalie a lot about baptism and about finding a good church when she gets back to Montreal. So definitely, continue to keep her in your prayers.

Claudia's not the only new believer....!! Last week, Fernando accepted Christ as well. He had been saying that he really wanted that father-son relationship that made Christianity different from Catholicism. He had a really good conversation with our friend Martha, and with Paul and Arnulfo, and then he prayed to accept Christ!! He is going to be studying in Wales for this next year, so we are praying we will be able to connect him to some fellow IMBers that are there. Praise the Lord for Claudia and Fernando's decisions!!

Jorge and Jana (who recently got engaged!) and Fernando are a few weeks into a study on the book The Purpose-Driven Life with Paul, Timon, and Arnulfo. This last week there were a lot of things that distracted from the focus of the study, so please just pray these next few weeks especially that the devil would not have his way in interrupting their time together.

The last two weeks have been really busy. After our classes ended, we worked on getting a lot of activities going, even though most of the students are studying hard for their finals in June. Last week was full of frisbee and park parties and movie nights and Bible discussion group attempts and prayerwalking on campus. So it's been really great.

We made a new friend, Javier, who heard about our events of the week through a friend who saw the flier (isn't that from the Lord?), and figured out that he's neighbors with the boys- lives right across the street! So he came to movie night and then we all had coffee later... and have more plans for group dinner and a movie this week. Pray for Javier.

By July, the university team will have gone from seven down to two... Paul and Timon. Pray that these two can be stretched wide but not thin, and that they would have tons of energy and all the Spanish and connections they could handle.

This week and next week are going to be much of the same, so pray for energy and patience. Natalie and I are caring for the (four!) White kids' while they're on their tenth anniversary trip for the next few days, and we're going to try to squeeze in some girl nights with some friends. Pray that we can connect people. This weekend and next week I want to drink a LOT of coffee with people, especially the basketball girls, so pray that everybody can find just a little bit of time to connect before I go.

And please pray for our hearts. It's so bittersweet.

You're all wonderful. See you soon!!

Making Connections

God is at work! Sometimes we can see little bits of it, and sometimes we can't, but we know He is always working! I am so thankful for this, and for the times I can see little pieces of His plan coming together... what a blessing.

A week ago was my birthday, and so we invited a bunch of our friends to come hang out and play games. Josu and Dani came, which was so great, cause I hadn't seen them in awhile! We played games and talked and listened to music, and the guys started planning a pingpong tournament. Renzo and Paul and David like to play pingpong a lot, and Josu and Dani thought that sounded like fun... I was so happy that they got to meet some of the guys! We're gonna play volleyball soon, hopefully a bunch of us. Fernando came too, and he got to meet Luisi and our friend Silvia who is from Badajoz, which was really random, because so is Fernando, too! I don't think they knew each other before, but that's a really fun coincidence. I am always so pleased when friends meet friends, cause I just love to have big circles of friends that intertwine.

We have a lot of changes going on at the local where we have church. We are considering using it for a youth local instead, and having housechurch until we grow a larger group. Please pray about this with us, and that it will be very clear. It would be awesome if the local can be used for things like the pingpong tournament the boys are planning, and for World Cup parties this summer... anything to bring lots of young people together...!!

All of this combined, we have had some issues with the location we have been having our get togethers and Bible study, and we won't be able to hang out there anymore. I have been especially frustrated with this, because it was just becoming a common place of sorts. PLEASE pray for patience with this situation, and that we will learn that the Lord has a reason for these issues... perhaps it is to bring us back to the local. Whatever it is, please pray that it will be made very clear to us what is best to do next.

I have been praying especially that I may have some chances to have good conversations with some close friends, and God has been so good to answer my prayers... I had a really interesting conversation with Clara about Christianity and Christian Evangelical churches here in Caceres, and also a conversation with Angelica about the differences between what she believes as a Catholic verses Christianity verses what Catholics used to believe, etc. Both times the Lord worked it out so that I was one-on-one with these girls when before it was planned to be the whole basketball team. God is so good! Please pray for more opportunities to talk about spiritual things.

Natalie and our friend Claudia have been able to have some supercool conversations about the Lord, and they have begun going through the book of John together. Also, Fernando is going through the book of John with David and Arnulfo, as well. Please pray that they will all learn and grow in these studies.

And again, I feel as though the Lord is working in Pedro, so please pray for that relationship, that I would be able to connect him with one of the boys here.

We only have two months left here in Caceres... and I'm having trouble processing this fact. As we four Hands-On prepare to leave, please pray that we can close and connect relationships in God's way, and that the Lord would hold our hearts and minds as we adjust. Muchas gracias for all your prayers and petitionings... We are all so blessed!!

Besos!

Help Us Petition Our Amazing God

I KNOW, I know, I'm TERRIBLE about blogging. I apologize. My only excuse is that I'm busy. I hope that's acceptable. :)

Just a few quick prayer requests, one in particular:

Tonight we have having a small party to invite everybody we know. PLEASE pray that people will come and feel welcome, even if just a few come. We are having it at the same apartment where we have Bible discussions and dinners, etc., so hopefully they will feel comfortable enough to come back and hang out with us more often.

Please pray for unity among our team and our church. We have a lot of decisions to be making together as a group and we absolutely must communicate. Also, please pray that we would take these things to the Lord first and completely give them over to Him to take care of.

One guy, Pedro, and I have been friends for quite a while now, and he really seems to be searching for something. I'm hoping he will really connect with some of the guys from our team and open up to them. Please pray he will realize that his life needs Something more.

Finally... I REALLY beg of you to pray for a couple- Choni and JuanCarlos. They are having a lot of marital problems, plus, they are not Christians. They really seem to be searching, but JuanCarlos is struggling with addictions. Of course, this is affecting the whole family (they have two little girls), and Choni is at a loss. PLEASE lift up them and their marriage, and also that they would realize they MUST have the Lord to be rescued from the pit. Please pass on their names to anybody willing to pray for them daily- Let's really just petition the Lord for their salvations!

You all are soooo wonderful, and I never doubt that I have a whole wad of prayer warriors behind me and the rest of the team. Thank you all so much!! Much love!!

No hay nadie como Tú

Felice Año!!

Wow, wow, wow. I apologize for the lack of blogging. Let's see if I can fill in some gaps...

So in November I was approved to stay for another semester- until June. I was very excited about that. But some changes had to happen, also. So I moved out of the residencia and into a chalet with four Spanish girls! This was truly an answer to prayer, because I was having trouble finding options... and then, of course, as soon as I prayed about it and stopped trying to do it myself, I had like four options! And He really seemed to point me toward this one. And it has been really great. Turns out it was an answer to prayer for my roommate Kristiina, too, because she had been praying for another Christian roommate. All but one of the girls are Christians, so it is wonderful to have that support and friendship when I come home.

David and I have been able to reconnect with Josu and Dani, our friends from the very first, as the semester wound down and now during the break, too, so that is really an answer to prayer! Let's just continue to pray that they will feel comfortable continuing some spiritual conversations that we had.

I had also been praying that I would be able to connect with some of the basketball girls on a much more personal level, and not just be their estadounidense player, but rather a real friend. Soon after, a couple of the girls, Aida and Maria, started inviting me to hang out with them, just the two of them! I was very excited. It's fun to see how the Lord works, because they were two of the girls I would not have thought would be so open.

Also, our friend Rosa has really been coming around and wanting to hang out, practice her English and our Spanish, and we have had some fun conversations, so let's pray that she'll continue to feel comfortable around us, even when her friends won't come along with her.

David tore two or three tendons just a couple nights ago playing basketball, and has a cast and crutches for the next few weeks. PLEASE remember him in your prayers, to give David mental and physical strength, as he has to crutch all over Caceres.

Finally, one big change is about to happen: Chris and Cathie and their family are going to the states for an unknown amount of time for medical reasons. Please keep them in your prayers as Cathie has not been feeling well; also please pray that the doctors would know just what is causing her pain. Also, please pray that Chris would not feel stress or anxiety as the team leader, not being able to be here with the team, and that things would go very smoothly in his absence.

I'll be traveling home this Saturday to see my family for a week for "Christmas," and after I return, things will be in full swing with two new Hands-On students arriving, University students returning to Caceres, and Spanish and English classes starting up again. Prayers for peace of mind, boldness, and focused hearts are much appreciated.

You all are wonderful prayer warriors... I am so blessed. Love you all.

[Even though we know that it's bittersweet... I know it's right]

The Lord has shown me an open door!! I have been approved to stay in Spain for another semester! It's something that has been on my heart for several weeks, and now I know where the Lord is guiding me. I know it's right, because there were, once again, a million things that had to work out. In some ways, this is the easiest decision ever, because I am simply trusting the Lord… in other ways, it’s difficult only because it’s a little bit sad.

But everything that makes it a little bit sad is very selfish,… and if I can plant or water even just ONE seed for the Lord that eventually sprouts and grows, that’s SOOO worth it! I'm just trying my best to follow Him very purposefully. I know His plan is so much better than anything I could ever come up with, and He is ALWAYS unbelievably good. I’m striving to completely trust Him, and He’s continuing to hold me. A good friend recently said to me, “There’s not enough time in this world to be sad for things when you can be glad on the flip side.” I think that pretty much hits it on the head. :)

It's pretty cool, because as soon as I posted the last blog asking for prayers and talked to a few close prayer buddies, and really just petitioned the Lord for an answer, it was no time at all until I had one. :) Thank you all so much for all your prayers, support, and encouragement. God is soooo good. All the time.

Love!
Philippians 4:4-7

Praying for More Patience

Can we just pray that God will open the door and my eyes this week?
That it will become clear what He wants me to do, and that I will not let my emotions carry me?

I want to learn to have joy in Him every day.
Serving isn't about feeling, it's about obedience.
I need to work on this.

Thank you so much. Love you all.

I was talking with a friend yesterday, about how to tell what’s next for your life… how do you know?? If you’re truly following God, He will open and close doors… I’m just always nervous I’m not looking at the right doors. As it is, I feel like being open to doing ANYTHING He tells me to is the key. I want to completely surrender myself to Him. This is so hard, sometimes, when it hurts a little, when it hurts a lot, when it’s scary. But I’m learning that if I’m not in His will… that’s even more scary and hurtful. I would rather be so blessed by chasing Him, running hard for Him.

In the conversation, I told my friend sometimes I don’t really care if I’m at home in the States or not. It doesn’t bother me to be away. I asked if that was normal, and kind of laughed, but what he said really struck me. He basically said that he thought that it IS normal, and that if everybody would really step out of their comfort zones and really go for it in missions for the Lord, that they would realize that they feel “normal,” or rather, “at home,” away from home, doing the Lord’s ministry. The Lord has given me that peace, even when I do feel out of my comfort zone, and that’s one way that I can know I am in His will.

The whole concept is very relieving. I’m an excellent worrier. But I know that the Lord is caring for me always, and within that, I have realized that includes giving me His peace when I am striving first and foremost to let Him shine through me. It goes full circle… and suddenly I have nothing to worry about. Wow. :)

I just have been amazed, and I wanted to share, and to encourage everyone to really seek after the Lord’s will for your life in THIS moment; strive to be content, happy, joyful in Him, and as a result, feel His glorious grace and peace.

"whatever You're doing
inside of me
it feels like chaos
but i believe
You're up to something
bigger than me

... all i can do is surrender."
-Sanctus Real