The whole way home today, I couldn't stop rejoicing! Today was the last day of the first week of my Spanish class. And no, I wasn't so happy JUST for the weekend :) I'll start this one from the beginning...
On the first day of class, during our cafe break, one girl was making conversation with me. I found out she (Ezechielle) is from the Congo, but no lives in Brussels. She found out I am from the States, and her first reaction was to ask me if I am a Christian. This was very strange because in Europe people rarely open up about, or want to discuss spirituality. Of course I told her yes, and waited for her reaction. Her response surprised me. "Oh, you know who Benni Hen is?!" I actually let a little chuckle out loud.
-yes, I know who he is.
-Do you like him?
-Um, not really.
-Why not, he is a Christian, no?
To keep it light hearted but truthful, I said "Yes, I've seen him on TV. He is showbiz".
Later that week as we were learning descriptive adverbs and phrases, we played a game where we wrote about ourselves, and as our profesora read them we had to guess who they were describing. Ezechielle wrote about herself saying that in her spare time she likes to read the Word of God. It was apparent that she herself, is a Believer. Next we played a game in which each person had the name of someone famous on their forheads and we all had to describe, or ask questions so that we could guess who it was. On Ezechielle's forhead was written "JesuCristo". As she asked questions she came to one that sparked some disagreement among the group. "Is he real?" she asked. There was some "No" and "uh..." and a single "yes came from me. Our profesora then clarified, "No, he is not real". I looked at Ezechielle and said, "he is real, and he is real to you". "Jesus Christ" she said, and a very sad look came on her face. After class I caught up with her and explained that I am a Believer and I am here as a missionary to share Him with others. The joy that came from her is something I wish I could see more of among other Followers, and myself. "That is wonderful! Jesus, my Love! Praise God!". Ezechielle is 20 now, and was told about Christ from her cousin when she was 16. With no one to ever disciple her or show her what is expected of a Christian she told me "You know that reading the Bible and praying to God everyday is so important. Everyday you must read and pray. You are doing a good work for the Lord. You know, in class today I cried when they said that He is not real. After what he has done for them!" As our hearts broke for them, she and I mourned over the lost, but then rejoiced for the fellowship we had found in another sister.
Today Ezechielle took me aside during or break and told me she needed to talk to me. "I just want to talk to you about my love, Jesus". She was so hungry to have fellowship and someone else to rejoice with! She leaves tomorrow to go back home for school, with no other Believers around to ever be an encourager, or to just talk to and have someone understand her.
What an encouragement and example to me! The kind of strength it takes to walk so closely with the Lord is something I have taken for granted because it has always come so easly to me with a family that believes and supports, and having always grown up knowing who he is, and what he has done.
Please praise the Lord with me today for Ezechielle and her faith. Pray for her unbelieving family, and for a fellowship of believers that can be near her.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Tuesday, January 19, 2010
Getting aquainted with "home"
I'm finally in Madrid! It has been a few days of traveling.... which really sets off my body clock. But I'm so excited to be here! Yesterday afternoon I arrived in Portugal where my supervisors (Nolen and Sheilah) picked me up, and we started on our way home. Last night we stayed in a hotel that was once a convent (there are many of those around here).
It's a quaint place.
But the best part was the badet. Note the soap next to it. It's labeled "toilet soap". Needless to say, I didn't use this. Mostly because I don't know how and it scares me a little bit.
Five hours later, after driving throught the thick smog we arrived at my new home! I was greeted by my sweet roommates. One, Meredith, I already knew from training and we were so excited to see each other once again! Janette is my other roomie, and she has been here for a year now teaching ESL to children.
This is where the 3 of us sit and gab as we play on our computer. I suppose I'll also be doing quite a bit of studying in here.
This is our kitchenet and breakfast area. So I hear Meredith is great cook and Janette is a great baker :) I came to the right place!
This is my room. I've been spending quite a bit of time in here today cleaning and sleeping! Luckily I have a nice closet.
I saved the best for last. We have our own badet!
It's a quaint place.
But the best part was the badet. Note the soap next to it. It's labeled "toilet soap". Needless to say, I didn't use this. Mostly because I don't know how and it scares me a little bit.
Five hours later, after driving throught the thick smog we arrived at my new home! I was greeted by my sweet roommates. One, Meredith, I already knew from training and we were so excited to see each other once again! Janette is my other roomie, and she has been here for a year now teaching ESL to children.
This is where the 3 of us sit and gab as we play on our computer. I suppose I'll also be doing quite a bit of studying in here.
This is our kitchenet and breakfast area. So I hear Meredith is great cook and Janette is a great baker :) I came to the right place!
This is my room. I've been spending quite a bit of time in here today cleaning and sleeping! Luckily I have a nice closet.
I saved the best for last. We have our own badet!
Saturday, January 9, 2010
It Always Rises
I’m sitting in the DFW airport right now, waiting on my connecting flight to Houston. Soon I’ll turn in my documents there for a visa application. (Yes, they finally arrived!) As we were departing the Little Rock airport and ascending, the clouds were thick and the sky was dark. Above the clouds you could see the light of the sun on the horizon while the sky was still dimly lit in the early morning. I never knew the sun rose so quickly, but it did. It was a sudden light. It made me smile. In light of all that has gone on in the past few months, everything seems to remind me of how faithful and unchanging God is.
Is he not like the sun? He’s always there, and never changes his character and qualities. We may not always recognize the sun because of the cloud cover, but above all that, if we rise above it, we’ll see that it rises every morning and sets every night.
The landing was a little scary. The wind was blowing hard and causing the plane to sway side to side, but seconds before we landed we straightened out, and made a smooth touch down. I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t send out a little prayer to the Lord haha. Our circumstances may change in life. You could be in a life threatening crash, or have someone close to you pass, or just have your plans inconveniently interrupted. But our God is constant. I find a great deal of comfort in that.
I met a man on my connecting flight, and he also was on my return flight later that day! this is ironic because we were on a flight that was cancelled, so we deplaned, and then got on another flight, which we were both on. I then changed my return flights to a later time than scheduled and he was on that! What was interesing about this man and our conversation is how open he was with me. He had been dealing with a great deal of pain since 5 years earlier when his 23 year old son was in a car crash that caused his death. Mr. Billy was a believing man who was struggling with the question "why?". I could smell the whiskey on his breath as he asked me questions like, "What do you think my son will look like in heaven? Will I recognize him when I see him? What about infants that die (are they grown up in heaven?)". I of course didn't have answers to these questions, but I could tell him with certainty that it will be better than we could ever imagine.
"Man's knowledge is the foolishness of God". He wouldn't be God, if he were someone who's ways and character we could comprehend. Praise God for that. It would be something awful to have a God who thought and reasoned the way we do. We have a chance to have a relationship with God who offers love, and wisdom. He was also kind enough to give us each other, so that as a church body we could support each other in the best and worst times!
I hope this has encouraged you to see the goodness in our Father, as it applies to your own life. Thank you for praying, and for your encouraging notes. I love getting them!
Blessings and Peace
Is he not like the sun? He’s always there, and never changes his character and qualities. We may not always recognize the sun because of the cloud cover, but above all that, if we rise above it, we’ll see that it rises every morning and sets every night.
The landing was a little scary. The wind was blowing hard and causing the plane to sway side to side, but seconds before we landed we straightened out, and made a smooth touch down. I’m not going to pretend that I didn’t send out a little prayer to the Lord haha. Our circumstances may change in life. You could be in a life threatening crash, or have someone close to you pass, or just have your plans inconveniently interrupted. But our God is constant. I find a great deal of comfort in that.
I met a man on my connecting flight, and he also was on my return flight later that day! this is ironic because we were on a flight that was cancelled, so we deplaned, and then got on another flight, which we were both on. I then changed my return flights to a later time than scheduled and he was on that! What was interesing about this man and our conversation is how open he was with me. He had been dealing with a great deal of pain since 5 years earlier when his 23 year old son was in a car crash that caused his death. Mr. Billy was a believing man who was struggling with the question "why?". I could smell the whiskey on his breath as he asked me questions like, "What do you think my son will look like in heaven? Will I recognize him when I see him? What about infants that die (are they grown up in heaven?)". I of course didn't have answers to these questions, but I could tell him with certainty that it will be better than we could ever imagine.
"Man's knowledge is the foolishness of God". He wouldn't be God, if he were someone who's ways and character we could comprehend. Praise God for that. It would be something awful to have a God who thought and reasoned the way we do. We have a chance to have a relationship with God who offers love, and wisdom. He was also kind enough to give us each other, so that as a church body we could support each other in the best and worst times!
I hope this has encouraged you to see the goodness in our Father, as it applies to your own life. Thank you for praying, and for your encouraging notes. I love getting them!
Blessings and Peace
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