Onward

My contract with the clinical research organization wasn't renewed, so my job ended December 30. This was a bit of a surprise, since both the client and my company were expecting to renew the contract until June. But as one friend texted me the other day, God must have something better in mind for me. I admit that I'll miss a well-paying job complete with my own cubicle, but the two-hour commute each way starting to wear on me. I'm thankful for time to rest and seek God's will. I've applied for a few things and am exploring my options in Philadelphia. I'm also grateful for a good church and great small group on Wednesday nights. I'm in a Bible study with other folks in similar life situations. But I like being in the Tenth congregation and feeling like I'm a part of something more.
Please pray for me as I job hunt, keeping in mind my long-term goal to return to Spain. Pray that I wouldn't be distracted from that goal; that I would seek the best thing instead of just good things. And finally, pray for Spain and the work going on there. If you don't get the SEND Spain newsletter, sign up for it. You'll be blessed by the encouraging news.

Transition

I've been on radio silence (or blog silence) for a while due to some slight detours in my trek. About a month and a half ago I got the news that my father died. I hadn't spoken with him in two years for various reasons, and his death wasn't a total shock, but it wasn't expected at the time either. I'm in the midst of sorting through his affairs.


One positive thing Dad instilled in me was an interest in global missions. When I was young, he'd often read books about evangelism and the persecuted church on Sunday afternoons.
Dad and I never talked about Spain or the other projects I worked on. But I can appreciate that at this moment he is whole, free and has comprehension of that and so much more.


I'm still working steadily toward getting back to Spain. I have a gigantic Spanish flag tacked to my cubicle, along with World Cup newspaper clippings from El Hispano. Every day is a day closer.

What do you want to do?

"Well, what do you want to do?" The blond atheist's eyes dared me to waver. It was miserably hot on the train platform, and the massive afternoon storm had uprooted trees, played cat's cradle with power lines, and rendered SEPTA's regional rail system useless. I was tired, cranky about train cancellations and hungry. But something told me to talk to the wannabe singer/IT consultant, who was also waiting for the long-delayed train. So I answered that although I was working for a clinical research company now, I wanted to go back to Spain to work for a church. "The Church or a church?" he replied. I explained about wanting to work with the evangelistas in Spain, and an inexplicable smile coursed across his face. "A lot of my friends - most are atheists too - would laugh at you," he said, "But I was raised strict Catholic, so I can respect your work." We talked about God for a while, then his train came and he shook my hand and melted into the crowd. "Thanks for talking with me," he said. In that instant, I knew why God put me on that platform two and a half hours later than normal. I could ignore my croaking stomach for a minute and thank Him for the opportunity to chat with this man about God.

The last month in Philadelphia has taught me a lot about the difference between my and God's priorities. I like my life on a schedule, but the Lord often diverts me from the linear. When I first started working at my new job, I was a bit frustrated that I didn't absorb information as quickly as I wanted. (That's the perfectionist side coming out.) But I was reminded - sometimes through co-workers - that I wasn't expected to know everything, and that was okay. My boss even told me it would take about three months for me to get fully settled in the job! Letting go of one more facet of perfectionism is translating to my spiritual life recently, as well. I'm not supposed to have every twist figured out beforehand. God's in the driver's seat, and I'm supposed to follow His lead in obedience and with a peaceful spirit.

The exciting part is that God has shown His faithfulness, and I'm one more step toward Spain. In completing a month at the new job, I've learned a lot. My aim is to keep my eye on the prize, as my spiritual mentors keep telling me, and keep seeking the Lord's direction in paying off my student loans and seeking to serve in Spain. Please continue to pray for the ministries in Spain, the workers there, and for me as I keep inching toward the goal of getting back there. It's for His glory alone.

Waiting For What's Best

Waiting for my plane from Madrid to Philadelphia, July 26, 2009.

My friend, Erin, and I were praying briefly this morning and her words resonated with me, "God, we know that when we wait for You, we wait for what's best for us."
Yesterday I received a call from a company in the Philadelphia area offering me a job, and today I got the letter in the mail. I start in two weeks.
This comes shortly before I hit the six month mark of unemployment, and exactly at the right time. I'll be working as a document management assistant, which means I get to scan, file and organize to my heart's content. It's a great job in a great place, and I'd love to talk more about it off the interwebs.
I'm also incredibly blessed because I already have a place to live (with family friends) and a church; a place where my spiritual foundation was built.
This is the next step in my path back to Spain. It's bittersweet, since I'll be leaving a lot of dear friends in western Pennsylvania who have become family, but I'm excited for this new phase.
Please pray for me as I make a lot of decisions in the next two weeks, move across the state and say goodbye to some of my brothers and sisters in Christ. Pray that I serve the Lord well in this new job and mission post.

Russia and Rushing

As promised, some more pictures from the Russia experience.
From the top: some team members practice for the English Camp skits.
Kasha, a traditional porridge, greeted us every morning at the camp. Its taste is somewhere between cream of wheat and oatmeal.
For the talent show, my students decided to sing the Beatles' hit, "Yesterday," as a group.
One of my students, Saymon, added levity to the class. My translator, Anya, and I became friends during the week.
And last but not least, this sign flashed up on the screen in a dark subway in Frankfurt, Germany.

God is gracious!

The rushing part of this post is the fact that while I was in Philadelphia, I was called in for two interviews. Today when I returned to Indiana, I got a letter in the mail requesting I interview in Philadelphia for yet another position. Pray for wisdom and peace as I navigate this time, and as I prepare for the road ahead in getting back to Spain.

Russia in two lenses

The Pennsylvania team leaves for St. Petersburg

The two weeks in Russia held enormous significance. Two themes God revealed to me were my mission then and the mission for the future.
In terms of my mission then, I had the awesome opportunity to share the Gospel not only with my students, but with two groups of girls when we did street evangelism in St. Petersburg after English Camp. And we believe that 11 people came to know Christ in those two weeks. How great is our God!
But in regard to my mission for the future, the entire time I was in Russia, I was bombarded by Spain. From Spanish tourists at the table next to me in restaurants, to Spanish pop music that played the instant I walked into stores, to Russians coming up to me and telling me that God was trying to tell me I should return to Spain as a worker, I was overwhelmed. And convicted. But conviction without action isn't of any merit, so I've been in contact with SEND, seeking counsel in how I should proceed.
I'll post more about this process when I know more. In the meantime, I hope to give you a window into my experience in St. Petersburg.

We had some pretty wild games at English camp: this one was Siamese Simon Says.


I talked God with Nika, one of my students at English Camp. I taught the 13-year-olds with John, one of the permanent workers.

One of the highlights of the Das Vedanya (Goodbye) party was the Gospel skit.


The entire Student Venture team, Ohio, Florida and Pennsylvania, with a few of our translators.

More photos coming soon!

Answer to Prayer

This just in: we got our passports back from the Russian embassy today, and we all were approved for visas. Now that our papers are in order, we're ready to go!
Praise the Lord!

A week out

We have our final Russia team meeting in Indiana tomorrow! I'm excited for tomorrow because we'll get to discuss the nuts and bolts of international travel, and be talking about culture shock. I'm so grateful for how the Lord has equipped me for missions through SEND, and that I'll be able to share some of these skills with our Indiana part of the team.

God has blessed our planning meetings for the last month and a half, so with one week remaining until we start our adventure to Russia, I'd like to update you on a few prayer requests:

Please pray for the spiritual development in each of us on the team. Pray that Christ would be the center of everything we do, and that we would focus on Him alone.

Please continue to pray for us as we await the last of our support. Deb and I still have to raise a little more than $1,000 each, and one of our high school students, Maria, still has to raise nearly 2/3 of her support . Please pray for us to trust the Lord as He graciously provides.

Pray for us as we make last-minute logistical preparations and meet the rest of our team next Saturday in Chicago. Pray that our orientation would be profitable and make us a more united team.

Pray for preparations in Russia for English camp. The full-time workers in Russia have been working hard to make the camp a fruitful time for the Russian students.

Please pray for our travels, from Pittsburgh to Chicago, Chicago to Frankfurt, Frankfurt to St. Petersburg and back again. (The photo above is of Frankfurt -- we'll be flying on a similar plane from there!)

God is so gracious, and has blessed us so much. Praise Him for what He is doing, and will do in Russia!

Я пoнимаю? ...Почти

(Do I understand? ...Almost.)
In the last few weeks I've been trying to absorb as much Russian I can. It's definitely been a slow process for me, but I've been excited to start learning new grammar structures and pronunciations (and they're so different than Spanish!). What can I say? I'm still a word nerd.
Please continue to pray for our preparations. We sent in our visa applications last week, and are waiting for responses from Student Venture and the Russian Federation. We're also waiting for responses from supporters, as well. Please pray that the administrative and logistic process would be as smooth as possible, leaving us with more time to prepare spiritually.
Please pray for the full-time workers already in place in Russia. Pray for their encouragement and spiritual growth.

And finally, pray for Spain.

Prayers for Russia

As we prepare to serve the Lord in St. Petersburg, here are a few prayer requests for the trip:
1. Pray for our three high schoolers: Chelsea, Rachel and Maria. All three go to school nearby. As far as I know, none have ever been overseas. Pray for ease of transition and dealing with culture shock.
2. Pray for Deb and I as we coordinate efforts with Student Venture headquarters and the people in Russia, as well as encouraging our students in their support raising. It can seem a little intimidating writing support letters for the first time!
3. Pray for our Russian students, some of whom already know we are coming. Pray for open hearts and a hunger for the Gospel.
4. Pray for me as I attempt to learn some Russian before I go. One of the students in my International Bible study, Lana -- from Russia, offered to tutor me. Pray that I would be a good witness to her as we meet each week.

Thank you for all your prayers. If you'd also like to be a financial supporter, you can visit my Campus Crusade donation portal here. Praise the Lord for how He is putting this mission together step by step and piece by piece.

Здравствулте (Hello), Russia

I arrived back in Indiana on Saturday to a strange FedEx package on my desk. Ripping it open, I found a letter from Student Venture and the official mission handbook. Student Venture accepted me for the Russia trip!The dates for the trip are March 20-April 4. I couldn't be more excited about what God's going to accomplish through this ministry.

Please pray as I prepare mentally and spiritually for the mission. Please pray for the four high school students I will accompany. Pray for our leader, Deb. Pray for us as we seek prayer and financial partners. And finally, pray for the Russians we will teach -- that their hearts would be open to the Gospel and they would hunger for Christ.

Challenges

Historically, I'm a planner. I like to know what's going on - yesterday. Sometimes this is a good trait, but sometimes I plan God out of things, trying to accomplish tasks using only my own strength. So you can imagine how God might seek to break me of this. In the past few days there have been a few challenges. There was a glitch in the mission application that was recently caught, which has tightened the already snug deadline for raising support for the Russia trip. The fleshly part of me is skeptical that I'll raise enough in time, but I know in my heart that if the Lord wants me to go, He will provide. He is faithful. Obstacles are nothing to Him.
Let's praise our amazing God for who He is and what He is doing -- in the U.S., in Russia and in Spain. Praise the Lord!