Seasons of Change

Thank you for your prayers! My back and neck are doing much better. Your health is so important! It is amazing how much I feel like doing when I’m feeling better. Although, after hearing from my friend Cecilia who is spending some time in India, I thanked God for his protection over my health. She wrote me and told me about stomach pains that send her to her knees, lice and other health issues. Her friends are praying over her for restoration of health. I realized how difficult access to clean water and safe food is where she is. It was good to hear from her- we have been encouraging one another during our time away from our family and friends.

We continue to meet with Loli (Equatorial Guinea-Spanish colony) on Friday mornings to study the Bible. She has a special attachment to Anita and was so worried about her when she was sick last week. This week she brought names of people that she knew who did know Jesus personally. We prayed that God would give her opportunities to share the Gospel with them throughout her week. Loli asked Anita when she would come to her country to teach the young people how to study the Bible. Perhaps Loli will return to her country and teach them what we have taught her… Until then, does anyone want to go to Equatorial Guinea and teach the people about Jesus?

After Loli left, we had Gerson (pronounced Hair-sone), the Lawyer who helps the people at the mission with their immigration papers and Emilio, the director of the Mission, over for lunch. It was interesting to hear about the difficulties that the immigrants go through when they come to Spain. Lying is such a huge part of getting anything done with the Spanish government. It is extremely frustrating when we are trying to teach the people to follow God’s commands and tell the Truth. Today the new Spanish President Mariano Rajoy Brey takes his office. Pray that God will direct this man to reverse the corruption that the former government has brought in.

Yesterday was a tough day for Mission Urbana. We found out that the Mission will be closed for the next two weeks and that the Casa de Acogida will be closing at the first of the year. It seems that the economic crisis in Spain has extended itself to yet another part of the Mission. I had heard that they were out of money for awhile but I wasn’t expecting them to close down the Piso (apartment/house). This is currently where our friend Marek is staying and where many other potential disciples come to live until they find jobs and obtain residency papers to stay in the country. Thankfully, Marek told us a few weeks ago that the Lord had provided a job for him in a town a few hours away. God is so good to provide for us at just the right moment! He truly does know each of our needs before we have need of them.

Later that night we went to the language exchange with Rebecca (fellow missionary here in Spain for 20 years) and her parents who recently moved to Valencia from Phoenix, AZ. Paul and Diane are so sweet and we are thrilled that they have decided to come to Spain to preach the Gospel—did I mention they are in their mid-70’s?? Truly, Amazing! They have shown me that it is never too late to follow the Lord is obedience and that our entire lives are meant to be an offering to the Lord- not just the days of our youth. Please pray for them as they look for an apartment and adjust to life in Spain.

The language exchange wasn’t as busy as it normally is and for that I was thankful. It is difficult to have meaningful conversations with people when there are so many people trying to practice their English. Last night there were about 5 or 6 men who sat at my table. They usually range in age from early 20’s to mid-50’s. I try to choose a topic or theme for them to talk about because it makes it easier for them to practice their English. Carlos, a usual speaker, enjoys controversial conversations so I like to encourage topics involving things I know he feels passionately about. We talked about bull fighting in Spain and differences in socialized and private healthcare (he works for an insurance company) and politics… so after we finished these topics I decided we had covered the usual controversial subjects except Religion. Throughout the evening I can usually tell those who believe in God and those who don’t before we begin talking about these things. Tonight there were 3 at my table who didn’t believe in God. I don’t like to press the topic but rather let it flow and see how the people respond to it. Surprisingly, when we would drift into another subject, Carlos (atheist) was the one who directed the conversation back to religion and God. However, tonight Alfredo, a believer and Spaniard, was sitting at my table. We talked about the differences between religion and a true relationship with God. Then, Alfredo began to speak about how he became a Christian. I had never heard his testimony so it was a pleasant surprise to hear him speak. I was so thankful that he was there because the men who claimed to be Atheists really connected with him. He told us that he had not grown up as a Christian and that his parents were not Christians either (this is rare in Spain because usually most of the true believers are only believers because their parents come from generations of “rebellious” Protestants). He was tired of religion and the Church but said that one day he thought that although religious institutions in Spain were corrupt, maybe God was not. He began researching different religions, read the Qur’an and the New Testament, and the Lord began to speak to him. It is interesting to note that he found a relationship with God because he read the Word of God. This is the only thing that changes us. When we allow the Word of God to speak to us instead of man, then our lives are changed. I know that those men will go away thinking about what he said. Pray that Alfredo’s words would sift through every corner of their hearts and minds so that they might find Eternal Life in Jesus Christ.

I want to take a moment to talk to those of you who are reading from Russia, France, Bulgaria, and any other countries that may be reading this. I pray that these words would change your hearts as well. If you want to talk more about a relationship with Jesus Christ rather than a life of religion that you may have always known- please do not hesitate to e-mail me. A relationship with Jesus is free. Jesus paid for our sins once for all when he died on the cross. He is our great high priest and if you ask him to cleanse you from your sins and come to live in your heart- He will! He wants you to experience his forgiveness and love so that you can begin to live abundantly with him. Truly, there is no greater love and no greater freedom that you will ever experience.

Waking the Dead

I can´t believe it´s already December! Christmas is coming! Christmas is coming!

This weekend, Anita and I went to Barcelona (thank God we did not get pick-pocketed!) to visit the city before I visited our director in Santa Coloma, Spain. We toured the city and enjoyed some cooler weather as we walked through the street markets. There were Christmas trees, nativities, holiday gifts and decorations. The architecture was amazing as well. We saw the famous Sagrada Familia, a cathedral designed by Gaudi to depict the life of Christ through his birth, life, death, and resurrection. The cathedral has been under construction for over 100 years! How sad to invest so much time, money, and work in something that means absolutely nothing. The peoples hearts remain unmoved and untouched by this man´s brief life here on earth. I couldn´t help but think about my own life and all of the fruitless endeavors I labor tirelessly to complete. How much of what I am investing my time in means anything at all with eternity in view?

While visiting the famous cathedral, we stopped to see some artwork from an artist selling paintings of scenes in Barcelona. They were beautiful and reasonably priced so I bought some. He was very kind and allowed us to talk to him about a relationship with Jesus. He even allowed us to take a picture to remember him by. He nodded vigorously that he understood that a relationship with Jesus was not the same as being a good, religious person but as always, it is difficult to know for sure.

After our stay in Barcelona, I took the train further north to visit Lauren and Terri (directors of Spain at GEM and ministering in Santa Coloma, Spain). It was nice to see countryside and houses again. On Saturday we all went to France for the day to have some lunch and visit the little town across the boarder. Can you imagine being able to say,¨"Let´s go to France for lunch today"? I think I could do that. The food was delicious and the people were very friendly. We walked around, stopping in some of the shops and enjoying the beautiful day.

Sunday, we visited with their friends David and Raquel who grew up as Protestants in Catalonia. It was interesting talking to them and hearing their opinions of the hearts of the people and their openness to the Gospel. To be quite honest it was probably the most depressing, frightening thing I've ever heard. He explained that religion has been such a part of Spanish history that the peoples hearts have become calloused. Many of the people are so tired of religion because those who profess to be Christians only live a lie. Those representing the believers of the church have only continually used religion as a means of achieving power, money and political gain. I must admit that if my country were like that then maybe I wouldn't want anything to do with God either. I suppose there are many instances where this is true in American culture but I don't think I ever saw it in this way before.

Maybe it frustrated me the most because it presented me with a challenge that I deemed impossible to conquer- I hate those! But I suppose this is the best recipe for God to truly get the glory. I have found that it is when I am left with nothing else that I seem to truly find the Lord. When I have nothing left to reach for- I can reach for him. Sadly, it is in my nature to reach for everything else first and then when I have found nothing to hold onto- I reach for him. Isn't that pathetic? I know it would be easy to say that we all do that but it doesn't make it any more of an excuse or any less pathetic. Do you ever just get tired of living? Don't get me wrong- I love life but sometimes it just gets old. This world is so disappointing, so fruitless, and so full of death. As humans we live trapped inside these fleshly bodies that constantly war against us and yet have no means of truly escaping until death. I realize it isn't popular to talk about subjects so depressing but I don't really think that people think enough about the depraved state of mankind. Because if we truly thought about where we really were...we might begin to understand what a gift our salvation really is. If there is no depravity, no desperation, no hopelessness or loss- then the blood of Jesus is no longer something precious but something of a mockery. But it isn't a mockery at all...it is so sweet. It's the nicest thing that anyone has ever done for me...All that being said I didn't realize all of this until I saw it through someone elses life. It's funny how when your perspective changes, you see things much more clearly.

Anita and Chris were sick this week so it was an opportunity to rest and relax. This week there were two holidays in Spain. Tuesday was the Constitution day and Thursday was the Assumption of Mary. I cannot begin to express the differences between Catholicism in America and Catholicism in Europe. I wish that all believers could visit this continent so that they could understand why so many people want nothing to do with God or any religious institution. Last week, when I was at the language exchange, I talked with Carlos about the existence of God. Remember that Carlos does not believe in God or in his existence. He wondered how God could allow humans to make mistakes or be tempted. So I presented an analogy to him. "Pretend that there is a girl that you love and want to marry. She is commanded or made to love you. Now, do you want to marry her?" He replied that he did not want to marry her and when asked why he said that if she was made to love him then it would not really be love. How interesting... God feels the same way. Why would he want to create something that was made to love him? If we had the choice to choose to obey him to convey that we loved him then he would know that we truly loved him. Unfortunately, Carlos argued that it wasn't the same...how sad. I wish people could see how real the Lord is and how much we truly are a reflection of who he is. Please continue to pray that this young man's eyes would be opened to a life he has never known before...a life set ablaze with freedom and passion for the Lord Jesus Christ.

Today, we celebrated Anita's, Hank's, and my birthday. Since we all have birthday so close together we decided to celebrate together. It was a wonderful gift and I loved spending with people I love so dearly. Anita made a carrot cake for all of us- candles and all! Unfortunately, I cannot post picture of Hank and his family who were there with us for their protection. This is a picture of Anita and I with our cake and the blue roses I bought her- she loves blue. I wish you all could have been there but somehow I don't think it would have meant as much to you as it did to me. It really is the simple things in life that bring so much joy. Thank you, Lord for the beauty of friendship and fellowship that can only be truly known and experienced when we share the gift of your son.

Cae Lluvia...The Rain Falls

This week has been a little hectic. I am scheduled to leave during the first week in October so September is crunch time. So much to do and so little time! All support has to be in ASAP so that I can book my flight. Thankfully, all of the flight information looks promising and everything is falling into place. I am still not to 100% support so I have had to cut the duration of the trip down to three months so that I can leave in time to submit my final paperwork to my internship adviser at Liberty. Although this time frame is not set in stone, it is nice to have some kind of idea about my time limitations prior to departure rather than not knowing until mid-trip. Let's just say that I am a recovering control freak...still trying to maintain control...with absolutely none! Ha- but at least I can admit it and laugh about it.

I do want to share something amazing that happened to me today. I was driving home from picking up a support check and I thought about how easily the Lord had brought this check to my fingertips. I thought about the events that surrounded its arrival and the goodness of the One who saw fit to give it to me. Of course, I was grateful to the person who decided to give. But I was so in awe of the One to whom it truly belonged. Tears welled in my eyes as I thought about the careful thoughts that my Father must have had towards me to bring this about. I had trusted his heart months and weeks and days before I could trust the evidence of his hand but I was dumbfounded. I was overwhelmed...A song played in the background of my thoughts describing the strength it takes to wait for Him to act.

-----I wrote the above last week - below are some updates-----

I found out last week that I will only be able to go for 3 months. Last minute surprises are always part of the adventure. I was, however, able to book my plane ticket! So that is excellent news :-)
GEM crunched some numbers for me with the new dates and after a few support cards clear the system, I will only need $900.00.

I have to look at the calendar to think about the day that I asked the Lord how he wanted to send me...August 15. He specifically answered with a Word...August 26.

Even on August 26th it looked pretty hopeless. I had about 19K that needed to come in in less than a month. There are no words. There are no words. Did I mention, there are NO WORDS that describe how that has changed. I went from 19K to 900 in a few weeks. More than anything else I wanted what I said about His character- he provides- to be mirrored in my life. I wanted my life to agree with what I was saying about him. He is more than capable of giving weight to his name: Jehovah Jireh.
It's overwhelming.

Thursday evening I was getting together with some friends from church to share about what the Lord has been doing in my life during my college years. I wasn't feeling very well before I went but I didn't want to cancel. We spent hours talking, when I finally came face to face with the reality that I had food poisoning. So here I am...with food poisoning...and all that comes with having food poisoning...trying to talk. It's funny now but it wasn't then. Thankfully, I was able to finished my story. Before I left, they handed me a card with mention of a small gift they had wanted to give to me for Spain. I was so sick when I got home that I went straight to bed and left everything in my car. Finally, I was cleaning out my car yesterday and opened the card. When they said a, "small gift" I was thinking a "small gift," right? Wrong! My jaw hit the floor. Not one word left my mouth except what God had put in my heart to do for the people of Valencia and the Lord had kept his promise. If I would tell the story of his work in my life- he would take care of the rest. Spiritual rain fell on me in that moment. I felt so cherished and cared for. So loved.

If you are reading this and you have not experienced the kind of love I am speaking of, you can. I am not any different than you. I am a sinner. I've made mistakes. But God made a way for all men to erase their mistakes through the death of his son Jesus. Jesus' death satisfied the payment necessary for our sins...FOREVER. If you know that you are a sinner and want to be right with God, tell him. Agree with God that you have sinned against him and that you cannot please him on your own. Tell him that you want to accept that Jesus' death as the only thing that can save you from your sins.
This is a decision I know you will never regret. I would rather be a slave forever in the House of God than a slave for a day to sin and it's master, Satan.

Please feel free to e-mail me if you have any questions about my time in Valencia or want to share what He is doing in your life- I would love to hear about it.