For the first two weeks of the month of July, i found myself furloughing in California. The time i spent there flew by! there were so many friends i wanted to meet up with but time and my horrible management of it did not permit. I'm very sorry...next time we'll make it happen :). It was, however, a great joy to see my family, many friends, and visit my home church Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa. I was very pleased to see that my nephew Aiden (whom i babysat all last year; from age 1 to 2), had not forgotten me! Words cannot express how much i love him. There's nothing that i wouldn't do for him. I also got to see my baby niece Alana who's not even a year old. She's so beautiful! I've never seen a baby smile so much. It was such a blessing to see my parents, sisters, and brother...they mean the world to me and i love them with all my heart!
I was also blessed with the opportunity to speak at a missionary school ran by "Go Ministries," which is a ministry of Calvary Chapel Norco. Go ministries is an unbelievable ministry that aide's missionaries by shouldering the burden of looking after their taxes...but what means even more to me is that they faithfully conduct weekly prayer meetings for "Go" missionaries. Pastor Louie, Pastor Brian, Linda, and the entire "Go" staff, thank you so much for all that you do!
Back to Spain...
There are many things in life that a person may look to and label as frustrating, learning a new language has got to be in the top 5. It's a challenge that i have begun to face. I'm determined to learn Spanish and for this reason i have hired a tutor who will meet with me twice a week. She is a sweet lady named Toni who does not know the Lord but has many questions. Pray for me!
A new semester is quickly approaching and there is a sense of excitement between us all on staff about what the Lord is going to do. I'm going to be teaching 1 & 2 Thessalonians, two missionary biographies, and some Men's Discipleship classes this semester. Raf (the Pastor) has also asked me to teach the Sunday service on August 24th. The Lord is opening up so many doors and it's my prayer that He drives me to faithfulness each day in all that i'm responsible for.
The month of July came to a close with a Youth re-treat to the other side of the Island. Three other leaders (Trevor, Carolyn, Eric) and i took 6 of the youth camping. We had an amazing time building relationships, sharing from the word, swimming, and playing our version of the Olympics :). It's our hearts desire that the Youth from our church and from the community begin to seek Christ with their whole hearts and begin living for Him.
What the Lord's been showing me...
"Jesus said to them all, if anyone desires to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross daily, and follow Me."
In some Christian circles "comfort" is said to be a bad thing, i disagree. If you're in a place for a good length of time, there is a certain level of comfort that comes with it. If you include the time i spent here in Mallorca to the time i've spent here as a missionary, it's been well over a year. That's not a long time, but nevertheless i'm comfortable here. I'm comfortable because i know its where the Lord wants me. While i was back in California i must confess, i thought on numerous occasions, "Man! I can get used to this again." Driving around in nice cars, live in a condo by the beach, going back to my old job and making good money. while there is nothing wrong with any of these things in and of themselves, it is wrong when they take priority over the Lord's calling on your life. You see, there is a great comfort for me in California as well, but it's the wrong comfort. It's a comfort in material things that, as sure as the sun will rise tomorrow, will perish and have no eternal value. Just because we may get a want or desire to do something doesn't mean it's what God desires for us. The Lord has amazing plans for you that you can only know if you step out and trust Him. the Apostle Peter never would have walked on water had he not gotten out of the boat. Get out of the boat and fix your eyes on Jesus.
God bless you all!
Prayer Requests:
1. August 24th- i'm teaching that Sunday. that the Lord will fill and anoint me.
2. New semester- That the Lord will help me be diligent in my studies, and that i would be taught by Him.
3. Language studies.
4. That my heart and mind would be renewed Daily.
1 comment:
Hi!
It's great to hear about your ministry. This is Linda, April's mom and we met at the taco place in Huntington. :)
We'll be praying for you and may God bless you this Sunday.
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