Transition September 2009
It has been a joy to be back in California, reuniting with friends and family. It was a bit of an adjustment to some things like easy access to Starbucks, the beach and a cell phone
I had funny feelings coming home, going from an incredibly busy time of work and ministry, to a time of rest with my family in Minnesota. Then jumping into the job market in California, I became fully aware of the economic struggles I had heard about during my year abroad. While searching for a job, I found the Lord constantly reminding me to trust Him and not to allow fretfulness to take over (after lots of anxious moments). It’s so nice to have Him with us during hard times, not only is He faithful to provide daily necessities, but He provides HIMSELF! What more are we here for than to know Him more and more deeply and be prepared for His very soon return?
One of the most beautiful lessons I have been experiencing is the fulfillment of God’s promises. It’s so funny how we can wait for such a long time for things to happen and then suddenly everything just *plop* falls right into place. It’s so encouraging and exciting to have you praying for me because of the constant power the Lord brings to my spirit as I move forward, which I believe is in response to those prayers.
Praise the Lord for answered prayers:
• I got a job with my former employer in Irvine. This is such a nice, respectable establishment and the exact position I wanted. Best of all I get to start right away!
• He has provided me with good quality transportation, a great home with my dear Grandma, and sweet fellowship.
Praying for these little details:
• Endurance for the long-term (vision, patience, strength)
• Steadfastness in my faith/relationship with Jesus-no more doubting or anxious thoughts!
• Depth of application of the word
• Tuition for the school semesters in the French university
Thursday, October 1, 2009
Monday, September 7, 2009
Summer 2009 Update
Exodus 23:20 "Behold I send an Angel before you to keep you in the way and to bring you into the place which I have prepared."
What's next?
After two years in Vajta, Hungary I'm returning to California. There I'll be preparing for the move to Nice, France in late January. In Nice I will be helping those at Calvary Chapel in various other ministries. Along with serving at the church I will be studying the language at the University of Nice.
The past months in a nutshell:
Summer time at the Calvary Chapel Reaching Europe has been adventurous! Serving food to hundreds of Conference guests daily has been a huge blessing. What an awesome team we had:
Dropped off dear friends at their new apartment in Subotica, Serbia. It's so neat to see how God is raising up and sending out laborers to go to all parts of the World! This is "monkey park" remodeled. It's named for being a hang out spot for teen-agers.
My friend, Jennifer visited from California and we went to and helped out in Vese and Kaposvar. What a blessed time!
Nice at Night: Our "Wee" outreach team of 4 spent ten-days in Nice helping as much as possible and getting to know the people there.
This is where I will be going in January. We had a great taste of the ministry, the people in the city and the folks at the church.
Team: Gustavo, Jake, Caryn, Schylo
We helped with children's ministry crafts, yard work at a church member's home, and all sorts of fun stuff!
We had to say goodbye... but not for long...
OH! Jake patiently painted hundreds of popsicle sticks for one of the crafts.
Weekend outreach to Esztergom in February:
The Saturday night youth was group rapidly growing.
Here having a time of worship before the mesage.
December and January~Open doors to share the GOSPEL in PARIS! Wow, what an answer to prayer. A friend and I packed our bags and went on a mission! I was scouting the land of France to see what the Lord was already doing. When at CC Paris, we found out about an opportunity to work with Jews For Jesus in a Christmastime gospel Campaign! We spent two days working with them all over Paris before spending several weeks with a missionary family in St. Nazaire.
Caught a glimpse of God's grace in London as I visited dear friends, Lizzie and Mark.
What's next?
After two years in Vajta, Hungary I'm returning to California. There I'll be preparing for the move to Nice, France in late January. In Nice I will be helping those at Calvary Chapel in various other ministries. Along with serving at the church I will be studying the language at the University of Nice.
The past months in a nutshell:
Summer time at the Calvary Chapel Reaching Europe has been adventurous! Serving food to hundreds of Conference guests daily has been a huge blessing. What an awesome team we had:
Dropped off dear friends at their new apartment in Subotica, Serbia. It's so neat to see how God is raising up and sending out laborers to go to all parts of the World! This is "monkey park" remodeled. It's named for being a hang out spot for teen-agers.
My friend, Jennifer visited from California and we went to and helped out in Vese and Kaposvar. What a blessed time!
Nice at Night: Our "Wee" outreach team of 4 spent ten-days in Nice helping as much as possible and getting to know the people there.
This is where I will be going in January. We had a great taste of the ministry, the people in the city and the folks at the church.
Team: Gustavo, Jake, Caryn, Schylo
We helped with children's ministry crafts, yard work at a church member's home, and all sorts of fun stuff!
We had to say goodbye... but not for long...
OH! Jake patiently painted hundreds of popsicle sticks for one of the crafts.
Weekend outreach to Esztergom in February:
- Evangelism in the down town (we got to have some powerful converstaions with several people)
- Youth group night
- Sledding (what fun!)
- Sweet fellowship with the missionaries: the MacCartney family
The Saturday night youth was group rapidly growing.
Here having a time of worship before the mesage.
December and January~Open doors to share the GOSPEL in PARIS! Wow, what an answer to prayer. A friend and I packed our bags and went on a mission! I was scouting the land of France to see what the Lord was already doing. When at CC Paris, we found out about an opportunity to work with Jews For Jesus in a Christmastime gospel Campaign! We spent two days working with them all over Paris before spending several weeks with a missionary family in St. Nazaire.
Caught a glimpse of God's grace in London as I visited dear friends, Lizzie and Mark.
Thursday, October 30, 2008
Ten Day Outreach: Bradford, England
We had an amazing time serving in Bradford, England alongside The Church on the Way. Each day was packed with ministries and street evangelism. The team loved joining the youth groups (Jr. High/High School) and children's ministries most nights of the week. People from the team shared messages, led worship, and spent quality time with the young people.
With the Youth Group girls:
On our way to "Preacher's Corner" in the town center where we would share the gospel:
The team at Preacher's corner-ready to go share the gospel.
A Need:
In the city of Bradford there is a major heroin problem.
Agape House: Church on the Way has a drug rehabilitation home for men getting off drugs. We spent several hours with them. We shared testimonies and heard theirs, had coffee and scones, and prayed.
We got a good grasp on the struggle it takes to overcome this addiction. Many have failed, but keep trying. Their lives are ruined by this lifestyle and they know they are in bondage.
The key to find freedom is the power of Jesus’ blood shed for these men: “Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit says the Lord of Hosts,” and “the battle belongs to the Lord.” The problem is they need to plead for His aid! We took time to intercede and believe that as we seek the Lord He will bring freedom to the lives of these men.
Late Night: The next night we went to the streets to talk to homeless and prostitutes. We brought roses for the ladies-they loved them-and gave hot coffee to those who wanted some.
I got to share the gospel with a couple of women. One is prostituting and addicted to heroin, unable to get off (she’s tried many times). She shared some of her story and her troubles: 14 weeks pregnant and the day I met her she found out she was having a girl. She let me pray over her and her baby.
The other lady wanted help. She told us about her troubles and wanted us to pray for her too. She wanted a bible (we had an extra one). The stories and situations these people are in are desperate. They need the Lord so badly-please pray for them. We have the promise that the word of God will not return void.
One girl on the outreach team and I were praying about going out during the winter break to do more with them if the Lord opens the door.
Other Ministry/Events:
St Paul Road: A low-income neighborhood. After handing out scones to the neighbors, we went and cleaned the streets and did yard work.
The Hicks Family:
We visited this dear family in Kendall. They are missionaries serving at the church and the private school.
On our day off we visited the Calvary Chapel Bible College in York.
Neighborhood kids: Friday nights there is a "kids club" for the neighborhood kids (it's a pretty tough neighborhood). It's a great time to get the gospel to unreached young people.
The Kid's Club-loads of fun!
The girls teaching a song and dance moves to the kids:
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Vajta Update
"My grace is sufficient for you, for my strength is made perfect in weakness."
This grace has become real these past months! Vajta, Hungary is wonderful. It is a challenge to be aware of how much I don't know as the learning process goes on, but an opportunity for God's grace.
Bradford, England
We leave today! The team will meet "The Church on the Way" in Idle.
We'll serve at the church with the kids, youth, and the college age ministries.
During the week other ministries will be:
The Agape House (a drug rehab house supported by the church),
Practical neighborhood outreach (cleaning in homes, baking, etc...),
Sharing and doing sports ministry at the local Christian School,
Street evangelism,
Visiting Jeff and Mary Hicks in Kendall. This is a missionary couple who spend the last year in the Missions Training Program (www.ccmtp.com), here at CCBCE (ccbce.com).
To keep in Prayer:
FRANCE
There may be an open door for a team to serve in France next year. My heart is to serve there long-term~Lord willing!
Please keep these things in your prayers, praying for an open door for me to serve there when my time here has ended.
ten-day OUTREACH
Today we send out teams to Kosovo, Romania, INDIA, all over Hungary, Moldova, England... Please pray for open hearts and boldness, since we will be sharing the gospel (read Acts 4:29, 16:14).
Romans 1:16, 17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
Here are some pictures and some of the haps since last time:
A few of us were able to spend a weekend in Celje, Slovenia for Justin and Erin Gerry's wedding. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery too-I hope you enjoy these amazing pics!
After the wedding we went for a day hike in the
beautiful mountains of Slovenia~what a blessing!
This grace has become real these past months! Vajta, Hungary is wonderful. It is a challenge to be aware of how much I don't know as the learning process goes on, but an opportunity for God's grace.
Bradford, England
We leave today! The team will meet "The Church on the Way" in Idle.
We'll serve at the church with the kids, youth, and the college age ministries.
During the week other ministries will be:
The Agape House (a drug rehab house supported by the church),
Practical neighborhood outreach (cleaning in homes, baking, etc...),
Sharing and doing sports ministry at the local Christian School,
Street evangelism,
Visiting Jeff and Mary Hicks in Kendall. This is a missionary couple who spend the last year in the Missions Training Program (www.ccmtp.com), here at CCBCE (ccbce.com).
To keep in Prayer:
FRANCE
There may be an open door for a team to serve in France next year. My heart is to serve there long-term~Lord willing!
Please keep these things in your prayers, praying for an open door for me to serve there when my time here has ended.
ten-day OUTREACH
Today we send out teams to Kosovo, Romania, INDIA, all over Hungary, Moldova, England... Please pray for open hearts and boldness, since we will be sharing the gospel (read Acts 4:29, 16:14).
Romans 1:16, 17 I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes...
Here are some pictures and some of the haps since last time:
A few of us were able to spend a weekend in Celje, Slovenia for Justin and Erin Gerry's wedding. We enjoyed the beautiful scenery too-I hope you enjoy these amazing pics!
Scenery was amazing for the wedding!
After the wedding we went for a day hike in the
beautiful mountains of Slovenia~what a blessing!
Tuesday, August 19, 2008
Back to Vajta
Calvary Chapel Bible College, Europe
Last Friday I returned to Vajta, Hungary to begin a one-year internship at the Bible College that I graduated from. Spent the week finishing at work, packing and saying goodbyes. Summer was busy with lots of work and fun with friends and at church. It was so wonderful to be home again--almost hard to return to Hungary!
This week is a time of adjustment and preparing for the semester to come. Students return next week... Lots of
administration work to do and getting ready for all that will happen these next few months! We have been pretty busy with lots to learn as we train in our areas.
The past weekend several of us enjoyed visiting the festival here, in Vajta. It was a great way to return to this sweet village.
Praying for the outreach in a couple of months. There is a lot of
preparation that goes into that as well. Pretty sure I will be leading a group to the city of Bradford, England which is where I went during my first semester here. Lots of ministry opportunities there! Great memories and more to look forward to.
Can't wait to see all that God does this next semester...
Last Friday I returned to Vajta, Hungary to begin a one-year internship at the Bible College that I graduated from. Spent the week finishing at work, packing and saying goodbyes. Summer was busy with lots of work and fun with friends and at church. It was so wonderful to be home again--almost hard to return to Hungary!
This week is a time of adjustment and preparing for the semester to come. Students return next week... Lots of
administration work to do and getting ready for all that will happen these next few months! We have been pretty busy with lots to learn as we train in our areas.The past weekend several of us enjoyed visiting the festival here, in Vajta. It was a great way to return to this sweet village.
Praying for the outreach in a couple of months. There is a lot of
preparation that goes into that as well. Pretty sure I will be leading a group to the city of Bradford, England which is where I went during my first semester here. Lots of ministry opportunities there! Great memories and more to look forward to.Can't wait to see all that God does this next semester...
Saturday, July 26, 2008
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Heading Back
The time has come to return to Vajta! Three weeks and I will be
flying back for the 13 month internship. Summer has been great with lots of work to prepare for the year to come.
Looking forward to the opportunities to serve on the campus and in the village...
flying back for the 13 month internship. Summer has been great with lots of work to prepare for the year to come.Looking forward to the opportunities to serve on the campus and in the village...
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