Change In Plans

You know how you set off to do something only to find yourself in the middle of it doing something completely different than what you thought it would be? Well, thats what has happened to me. God has taken a hold of my plans and changed them. I am so excited to share with you the amazing things He has been doing in my life over the past 2 months to bring me to this change. Back in May I began to pray whether or not God might be leading me to serve for another year after my year of ministry in Costa Rica. After praying for a while I decided to seek some counsel for a potential possibility and the two people came back to me suggesting the same idea, coincidence? So I thought I would test the waters and look into the opportunity all the while praying to make sure this was the right thing for me. The opportunity, which is still in the works and not official, opened my eyes and heart the potential for longer term ministry in Latin America. As I began to talk with my director at EBM it was clear that the Holy Spirit was tugging at my heart to commit to a longer and more full time ministry. After discussions with family, friends, pastors and the missionaries I am and was going to work with here in Costa Rica, I have decided to reapply to EBM as a 2 year missionary, with the possibility of making it a career choice at the end of those 2 years. I will not be returning to Costa Rica after I leave next month, but will pursue a long term position through EBM. It will be hard to say goodbye to the many friends that I have made here, especially at Roca Viva church. They have been a wonderful family to worship and grow alongside for the last year and I will miss them so dearly. Its a big step out into the faithfulness of God, but I am excited to see where it will lead. When I return to the States in September I will be finishing the process of applying as a missionary with EBM, finalizing a ministry location and be interviewed for confirmation sometime in the beginning of November. Once all that is done, I will begin my support raising with the goal of being on the field in early 2011. I know its absolutely crazy, but I know its the right thing for me to pursue and grow through. I hope that you will pray with me as I follow God's leading as to where I will serve and its my prayer that you will be encouraged to step out there into His faithfulness.

Today was the day

Today was the day that I have been working for since embarking on my spanish learning adventure. My Goal in learning spanish was to gain the ability to teach and preach in spanish. Though I am no where near fluency, I taught a 15 minute lesson on the beginning of the church from the book of Acts. I will continue the series on the History of the Church, for the next few weeks. It was extremely nerve racking, but the people were encouraging and very gracious. I had all my notes prepared and ready to go, but the questions was wether the spanish would come out. It did and pretty good as reported to me from members of the church and the missionary families. For me, it was such a humbling experience to be so very dependent on the few things that God has given me in spanish to communicate really important principles. It was a lesson on trust, that if I did my small part, the Holy Spirit would take it the goal. It was such an exciting experience for me and I wanted to share it with all of you. Plus, after all these world cup matches, my spanish announcer voice is getting really good, just thought I would throw that in there.