Halo!
(That, my friends, is the German word for hello...very difficuly i know. =b)
The rest of my extensive vocabulary that i picked up in Germany would be...Danke- Thank you. Guten Morgen- Good Morning. and Choos- See ya. Oh, and Ausfahrt...but I have no idea what that means...it just sounds really cool to say.lol.
I am happy to say that the trip to Germany was a
complete success! Lara, Mary and I made it all the way to Oldenburg, after spending an entire day on planes, trains, and buses... and about every other form of transportation known to man. We were exhausted, and didn't get much sleep all week, but the conference was SO amazing. It was the first Mission.Net conference ever in Europe, and there were about 3,000 youth from all over Europe that attended. It was just amazing to me to hear all of the different languages being spoking in the same place, and yet everyone somehow understood everyone else. I got to meet so many amazing kids..and adults from all over the world. It really puts your own life into focus when you get to hear other people's stories...especially those who have been persecuted for their faith. The entire conference was all about Missions, and I got to hear some great speakers, among them, the famous "Bible smuggler" Brother Andrew. It was an eye opening week for me as I realized how little I have actually sacrificed for my faith. I realized how easy we have it in America, and I was definitely challenged to step out of my comfort zone. The worship was AH-mazing. And I have to say, that, although I was a little skeptical of having a conference over Easter week, it was actually a really cool thing. To have so many people together celebrating Christ's death and resurrection was pretty overwhelming.
AMG also had an exhibit at the conference that Lara, Mary and I were in charge of "manning" =). The goal was to get AMG's name out there, and make some contacts for
short-term teams, and possible future missionaries. We were excited to make several very promising contacts, and are praying that God would work in the hearts of students that we talked to over the week. We would ask your prayer especially for a group of new Christians in Bulgaria that we met. They were very interested in becoming involved with AMG, and we are looking at possible sending teams to Bulgaria, as well as bringing their teams into our other ministries. It's an exciting thing to get to see God working in the lives of others as well as our own!OOkay..soo...the next thing on the list...lol...would be my upcoming trip to M_. I leave on Monday morning early, and will be gone until Friday. Please pray for safety for Rafael, Lara, myself, and a visiting missionary couple, as we take important items to our friends across the border. God is good, and He is in control. =) And I'm sure that I will have some very interesting stories when we get back. I'm also excited about getting to see yet another country and culture!
The week after we get back, we have the privilege of being involved in another exhibition in Torre Vieja. We are the ONLY church who is allowed to have an exhibit at this particular show, which is a huge privilege, and we are praying that God would use it to bring us into contact with people who need a church family. It should be a great outreach for ICA, and I can't wait to see how God uses it.
The time is still flying by. =) We have almost reached the half-way mark of our six months here, and I feel like we just started. I am SO excited to begin the month of May...a little selfishly excited.lol... because on May 18, my family and Kyler are COMING TO SEE ME!!! I can't wait to see them and to get to show them what we've been doing here!
I hope all of you are doing well, and that God's doing great things in your lives. If there is one thing that I could challenge you to do it would be to not take your Christianity for granted. It's not as easy for some people as it is for us...and yet, the harder it is..the more people value it. I was floored by some of the stories I heard last week. And humbled. My prayer is that God would give me the strength to step out in faith, and do everything I can to further His kingdom without thinking of the consequences.
Love and Miss you All!! =)
