Thursday, February 12, 2009

Learning to Listen

These last couple of days have been flying by! I never seem to stop moving or going to meetings or sitting in class. On Tuesday night we had a special Valentines Day service at the Church that my sister was helping to put on, so I went at 5:30 to help her set up and get everything ready. We cut out paper hearts, put red balloons in the hallway, set out candles in the front and passed out roses to everyone that came. It was a really neat project that they are trying to do for the youth in the Church. They are helping them to see God and put their focus on Him during this season when many young people seek love and affection from other people. After the service we cleaned up and got back around midnight, everyone was so tired, including me!

Yesterday I had my first exposure to the ministry S.O.S. It is a ministry that they have at the Church that is targeted towards those people who have addictions and are looking for a way out. It is for those that have addictions to drugs or alcohol, but also those that have an addiction to abusive relationships or an unhealthy way of living. It was really interesting seeing the way that the leaders of this ministry came along side these people and formed lasting relationships. They are helping them deal with their issues by living life alongside of them, encouraging them, and praying consistently for them. I am interested in learning more about this ministry, and finding ways to really serve the people that are seeking something new in their lives. One of the most exciting parts about last night was that after the pastor talked and was praying, there were three people who wanted to know Christ more and take the step of bringing Him into their lives. It was really powerful seeing these adults take the step out of addiction, and recognize that they can do it through Christ who is now living in them!

Also yesterday, I had a really fun day with my brother and sister here. Everyday I have a huge list of vocab words that I have to learn by the next morning, so I have this huge stack of notecards that I was trying to learn for today. Then my brother and sister came into my room and we were talking and they saw the list of vocab words, so my brother was quizzing me and separating out the ones I knew and didn’t know. When He went through all of them he counted how many I had right and how many I had wrong. Then He did the same thing to my sister, but from Spanish and she had to come up with the English word. Then, we had a competition to see who could guess them the fastest when He would act out the word and we had to guess what he was doing. But, I had to guess in Spanish and she had to guess in English. It was really funny, and some of the words that my brother had to act out were really funny to watch. Anyway, I was really thankful for that time. The more time that we spend together and laugh together, the more comfortable I get and the more fun we have!

Everyday I seem to be learning so much and getting much better at interacting with others. Tonight I have a meeting with the another ministry at the Church, and tomorrow I have a full day of Church administration. I am really interested in seeing what tomorrow looks like. I think we are going to have the opportunity to see more of how the Church is run. As I seek to learn more about the Church and continue my Spanish studies, please pray…

1. That I will seek God first in all of my decisions, and glorify Him with all that I do here.
2. That I will continue to improve with my Spanish and become more comfortable as I interact with others.
3. That Christ will be evident in my life and that the people that I work with will see Him clearly in all that I do.
And 4. Please pray that in the meetings tomorrow we will have clarity and have an open mind to all that we hear.

1 comment:

  1. Sounds like you had a fun Valentines Day! Consider this a digital Take 5 Bar, just for you! Love you and miss you! Blessings! Amy W

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