Wednesday, December 21, 2011

My Jesus, my life!

When a person decides to fully follow Jesus, to give Jesus his life, the whole hell will come against him.
Satan tempts, tries to stop that person by giving them sickness, doubts, Satan attacks that person spiritually... just so they would give up and be defeated.

What is that person's comfort? Jesus.

Jesus is the only way, the truth and the life.
Jesus is the living Son of God.
Jesus is the Lord. Our Lord.
Jesus is the Almighty one!
Jesus is our Savior!
Jesus is in control over everything!
Jesus is Sovereign!
Jesus is a jealous God!
Jesus loves us!
Jesus is our hope!
Jesus is our peace!
Jesus is the ultimate Healer!
Jesus is our Provider!
Jesus is the Holy of hosts!
Jesus is God!
Jesus is the bread of life!
In Jesus is the eternal life!
Jesus is our best friend!
Jesus is our everything!

Life can be very hard, with or without Jesus. But with Jesus there is hope, peace, comfort, and eternal life. Life with Jesus is so much better than any different kind of life.
Jesus is my life!

Wednesday, December 14, 2011

Home, sweet home

I've been home for 3 full days now and I must say it feels good. I love being somewhere I know the culture, the streets, where I have my own bed and almost my own room. Freedom! :)

It's also hard to be home. There's no Christian bubble and it's up to me how I spend my days. I love it that our college group here is reading through the Bible and that I was able to jump right in with them. We read approx. 2 books per week and then meet once a week to talk about them. I went on Tuesday for the first time and I loved it! God is taking care of me!

He's also doing something but I don't exactly know what it is. I've been thinking of maybe going to the States for a month or two since I have no obligations here yet (no school or job...) but I'm not sure that's what He has in mind. We'll see. I applied for a job in preschool today since it just happened that there were 2 open spots for preschool teachers. Is it God opening doors or just a coincidence? Will I even get the job? We'll see. My time here really is in His hands now and I'm open for whatever He has for me.

There's also a lot going on at home... and we'll see what will happen. I can see God working and allowing things that aren't necessarily good in our eyes but we can't see His plan. I trust He knows what He's doing and I pray He'll make all things work together for our good. Would you pray with me that I would continue completely trusting Him and having faith in Him, and that whatever happens, He will be glorified? Would you also pray for salvation of my family? They need Jesus, His hope and peace.

I thank you all for support and prayers in my transition. It really means a lot and it makes it all easier.

Saturday, December 10, 2011

It's not a "goodbye"; it's a "see you later".

Tomorrow is the last day before my journey of Bible College finishes.
I’ve been here for a year and a half and it’s basically been the beginning of my walk with the Lord; the summer before my first semester was a preparation for it.

I’ve experienced many tough, hard, sad and extreme moments here, and many many happy, joyful, exciting and blessed ones as well. I’ve met people that became some of my closest friends and went through a lot with me. I’ve learned lessons I wouldn’t learn at home.
God’s been such a good Teacher and He’s lead me gently and sometimes harshly; whatever He knew was best for me. But He never stopped loving me, no matter what. The way He revealed Himself to me in the past year and a half was unbelievable. I experienced God as my Father, my Teacher, my Best Friend and my Husband. He’s been faithful to me and He never let me go. The best thing about it is that this is only the beginning of my journey with my God; and it’s still the beginning of my walk with Him.
Going home is one of the hardest things right now; not because I wouldn’t want to go home – I can’t wait to be with my family and friends, to have my own bed again, to live in a city that I know – but Vajta has become my home and it’ll always be my home in a way. It’s just hard to move on but changes are necessary AND good. 

Sunday, November 20, 2011

Latest events


3 of my good friends from school and me decided to go to Slovenia for a weekend. All of them have been before; 2 on a 10.day outreach last semester, one was at Bled and around but never in Ljubljana. Well, none of them have ever been to the seaside.
We went to Piran! It's my favorite town in Slovenia and Jesus gave us beautiful weather! We thought of meeting with people on Sunday morning but we ended up spending time with my parents which was very good.

Some insights…

 Fitness on the road
 :)
 In Ljubljana, and playing Rummy Q with my mom
 My family invited us to eat dinner out with them
 Piran!
 We went up the tower - some enjoyed more than others... (I'm afraid of heights)
Enjoying the beautiful day
 Amazing sunset!
 Dinner in Piran and morning with my parents
 
_________________________


We just finished Speakers' week and we have 3 weeks of school before us. God's so faithful to speak and it's been amazing. Of course it's been – we're hearing 3 very good sermons per day and we have worship before each of them :)

I'm excited about December, going home, but it's also scary because I know I'm not returning to College, at least not now. It's been my spiritual home for a year and a half and it's going to be hard to leave this bubble and go into the real world. That's what I desire, though. To go out and be a light for Him, wherever He'll take me.

»Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.« ~ Mark 16:15

Saturday, October 29, 2011

A touch of home for a day

Nina came yesterday around noon and left an hour ago.
We had a very sweet time.

When she came, we went straight to the dinning room to eat lunch, and then to the store (it's 30min away by car) to buy some things - you don't often get a chance to go to the store by car :)
We stopped at a pottery man's house on our way back and bought a pottery pumpkin, and a real pumpkin. Gotta love October!
It's Nina's birthday tomorrow so I gave her a present, and then we were just hanging out. She saw how our everyday is and what we do, how we live. It's a lot different than home, that's for sure.
We watched My Girl in the evening and then went to bed.
This morning we had an amazing brunch and then she left for home.

It was hard to say goodbye, we really are attached to each other, but I'll probably see her in 2 weeks (me and my schoolmates may come to Slovenia for a weekend), and the semester ends in a month.
It's good we have a good relatinship but that makes it hard when you have to say goodbye.

There's more book reports and projects ahead of me (I'm so thankful it's only Saturday). I'm trying to get advanced because the next few weeks are going to be crazy!
Next week is one of the block weeks (there's only 1 class going on for the whole week; 3 sessions per day), we'll have a class of Biblical Missions. I'm super excited but it's going to be a lot of work. After that we have 1 normal week and then Speakers' week, which is intense as well.

Good stuff and God is speaking :)

Monday, October 24, 2011

Back home

We survived our 10-day and got back home safely!

I still didn't process everything but it was a lot different than what we expected. We weren't doing any physical work – we only talked to people and taught English. It was stretchy for most of our team since we’re mostly introverts; Serbians love to hug and kiss (on cheeks), and talking all day long really drained us out BUT we are able to see the fruit in the church, and we’re able to see how God used each of us, what we learned and what came out of everything.

Thank you for all your prayers!


 Sightseeing Subotica
 Left: Danny&Wendy, former students of CCBCE, now missionaries in Subotica
We also ate chestnuts :)
 Fast food palačinke :)
 The synagogue

 The cathedral
 The city hall
 A street in Subotica
___________________________________________________

It feels really good to be back at the castle even though I’m going to miss Subotica and people there.
We’re in our first block week (there’s Inductive Bible Study class going on for the whole week). I’m not taking this class since I took it my first semester so I have more time to work on other assignments.
I’ll also be praying a lot. God hasn’t been speaking about what’s the next step and while on outreach, I got a good advice – take a step, start researching + getting ready for where I would want to go, and if God closes those doors, it means I need to go somewhere else and do something else.
I’ll be praying and fasting this week, listening to His guidance. I have an idea what I would want to do next. I’m not sure if He’s giving me a choice and a free will to choose but I need to seek Him and have more fellowship with Him. Would you be praying with me? It’s hard because it’s a big decision and I don’t want to do something out of His will, I’m always scared of that. Thankfully He always convicts me if I’m doing something out of my own will :)

Also, my sister’s coming to visit me for 2 days!! She’s coming on Thursday night and will be staying until Saturday afternoon! I’m super excited and can’t wait for her to come! She’ll be able to see how I live here and she’ll taste a bit of the Bible College lifestyle. We’ll have lots of fun :) 






 Back in 2009... :)

Just a good month left and I’ll be heading home! It’s going super fast!

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

It finally came - 10 day outreach to Serbia

10-day outreaches are finally here!

I'm in a team of 6 (+ a 5-year old Gabby), and we're leaving for Serbia on Friday afternoon. God was so good to us that we going to drive with a family that's studying here (they have a big van), and we don't have to go with a bus or train. I'm excited + also a bit scared of the 10-day with a team I don't really know; I only know the leaders (which is the most important thing).

We don't have a lot on our agenda. We're arriving on Friday afternoon and all we're going to do that night is to get registered. That's required for anyone who comes to Serbia because they want to know who you are and how long you're going to stay there. They also give you a small card with that info and you have to have it in your passport on your way out of the country; if you don't, you're in trouble.

Saturday and Sunday are reserved for street evangelizing (we learned the Set me free skit), for promoting English camp (that's going to be during the week) and for sightseeing. It means we need to be flexible which I'm usually not. I'm a task oriented person, loving the rules, love having a plan. It's going to be stretchy and good, but that's definitely one of the areas you can pray for since I know it's not going to be easy.

From Monday to Friday we're going to be a part of an English Camp. It's a 2 week camp and we're joining the second week. There's 180 people that signed up for it, and a team from Bosnia is there already, running the camp and helping.
I'm not sure how the camp is going to look like. They told us we're going to be preparing English lessons each morning, and then have English Camp from 2-9pm. I guess we'll find out the details when we get there. 

We'll be returning back to Hungary on Saturday evening (Oct 22), a day before everyone else which will be a good time to use for some homework :)

I'm excited I understand a lot of Serbian, and that I'm learning Serbian now in order to communicate in any way. I also learned John 3:16 in Serbian; it's a lot similar to Slovene.
I don't feel as prepared as I did last semester but that was different because we were going to my home country.

Prayer requests:
- unity (people on the team by name: Gus, Shaunice, Gabby, Rachel, Clemens, Brittany, Mana)
- flexibility (dependance on the Holy Spirit, following His orders, being ready to do whatever)
- servant's hearts (we're going to serve, not to be served - "And whoever desires to be first among you, let him be your slave—just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many." - Matt 20:27-28)
- open hearts of people
- words from the Holy Spirit when we evangelize
- that any kind of fear would be replaced by peace that can only come from God
- that our hearts would be open to receive, and that God would speak

Thank you so much for your support and prayers! If I can, I'll update blog during the outreach; otherwise after I come back, including pictures!

"However, I consider my life worth nothing to me; my only aim is to finish the race and complete the task the Lord Jesus has given me—the task of testifying to the good news of God’s grace." - Acts 20:24

Saturday, October 08, 2011

He is faithful to speak

I’ve been dealing with a lot of personal things lately, and God answered my prayer and spoke to me one morning when I was having my devotions. I’ve been reading Proverbs, and that morning I read Proverbs 3. 
________________________________________
“Let love and faithfulness never leave you;
bind them around your neck,
write them on the tablet of your heart.
Then you will win favor and a good name
in the sight of God and man.”
- Proverbs 3:3-4

I’ve been thinking and asking God how do I please men and Him at the same time, and if that’s even possible. The verse from Galatians 1:10 kept coming up (“Am I now trying to win the approval of men, or of God? Or am I trying to please men? If I were still trying to please men, I would not be a servant of Christ.”) and I didn’t want to just please men; I actually wanted to please God first.
He was faithful to answer; if I have love and faithfulness (in other translations is mercy and truth), then I will win the favor of God and man!
________________________________________
“My son, do not despise the LORD’s discipline
and do not resent his rebuke,
because the LORD disciplines those he loves,
as a father and he punishes the son he delights in.”
- Proverbs 3:11-12

He’s been disciplining me, showing me what I’m doing wrong, correcting me, and it’s not easy! It hurts, especially because I know He’s right! BUT He let me know why He does it; because He loves me. It’s a parent/child relationship, and I’m thankful for it. But it’s certainly not easy.
________________________________________
When you lie down, you will not be afraid;
when you lie down, your sleep will be sweet.
Have no fear of sudden disaster
or of the ruin that overtakes the wicked,
for the LORD will be your confidence
and will keep your foot from being snared.”
- Proverbs 3:24-26

I wrote about my problem with bugs… they really do freak me out and it becomes a mental thing because I keep thinking and feeling like they’re on me and I’m getting bitten.
It was a great encouragement to get these verses in the morning because I found out later that day that we’re moving back into our room (after one day even though it says to stay away for longer), and I had really hard time dealing with it. God really spoke specifically, saying that when I lie down, I will not be afraid and my sleep will be sleep. It’s been 4 days since that day and I’m still having hard time sleeping. I’m having a bunch of nightmares or some kinds of dreams, and I memorized this verse so I keep repeating it to myself when I go to bed.
But He is faithful to speak and He takes care of me. I love it.
________________________________________
“Do not withhold good from those who deserve it,
when it is in your power to act.”
Do not accuse a man for no reason –
when he has done you no harm.”
- Proverbs 3:26, 30

It hurt me when I read this because God really showed me I was treating my roommates wrong. It’s always so hard to be convicted but it’s amazing because it humbles you completely because you know it’s directly from Him. You know what I mean? If my best friend would tell me that I’ve been doing that, I would get completely offended, hurt + pride and judgment would come out. When God spoke, respect and humility came. He even gave us all as a room to talk about things and it changed relationships in our room.
________________________________________
At the end, He spoke one more thing:

“He mocks proud mockers
but gives grace to the humble.”
- Proverbs 3:34

As long as I’ll be proud, He’ll mock me (and I don’t really know how to accept that). But if I hear His voice when He tells me I’m doing something wrong, as long as I obey and humble myself (not just to Him but to others as well), He’ll give me grace.

It sounds so easy but it’s much harder than we imagine.
I’m still grateful for each word He spoke and I’m always amazed when He speaks with such clarity, through written Scriptures, and very specifically!

What can I say?  
He is our God Most High, Blessed Redeemer, The Holy One, Almighty, my Lord, my Savior!

Thursday, October 06, 2011

Back To The Beginning

"Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken the love you had at first. Consider how far you have fallen! Repent and do the things you did at first. If you do not repent, I will come to you and remove your lampstand from its place."
- Revelation 2:4-5

Remember when you first came to faith in Jesus Christ? What a joy it was to pray. You never knew that you could talk to God, and you realized that you could call on Him wherever you were, no matter what you were facing. Prayer was a privilege, and you utilized it.

Then there was the Bible. Now you had the Book that told you how to live your life and, most importantly, told you how to get to heaven.

And church? You couldn't wait to get to church. You would go to a weekend service, a midweek service, and maybe even another service. You would listen to Bible teaching on the radio. You would read Christian books. You couldn't get enough in your life.

Sharing your faith was easy. It was the overflow of a Christ-filled life. You were always looking for opportunities to talk to someone about Jesus.

You still study the Bible now, but not as much as you once did. After all, you are not so sure you will read anything that you haven't read before. You will get to it if you find time in your busy schedule.

Prayer is not so much a time of talking with God as much as it is a quick prayer here and there. And sure, you still go to church. In fact, you sit in the same place every Sunday. But if the pastor goes over his allotted time, you are not happy.

You still share your faith—once in awhile. But now, rather than having a conversation about your faith, you feel as though people should simply look at your example as a follower of Jesus.

Have you left your first love? It can happen so easily. Go back and do the things you did at first.
By Greg Laurie

So convicting.

Tuesday, October 04, 2011

The surprises of a normal day

There's not much going on at school but God is doing things in our hearts.

Each semester is different, and so is this one.
The first 2 weeks were amazing for me; my relationship with Jesus was sweet, open and loving, and I spent most of my days with Him. The school work started and life got a bit more complicated, and that affected my relationship with Jesus.

God’s been showing me my pride a lot, and I’m almost disgusted to see how prideful I can get. We all are, I know that, but I’m glad He’s been showing me the dark side of my heart because now He can humble me enough to change it and make it pure, light and loving.
He’s also surprising me with some things I don’t exactly know what to think about.
I found some bug bites on my left thigh and thought it’s spider that’s biting me, so I checked behind + under my bed to kill it. I didn’t find a spider but I did find some kind of tiny bugs. I killed them but they kept coming, and I kept being bitten. I talked to some people at school and realized they’re probably fleas, even though I don’t know how we got them. I googled them (and I shouldn’t have done that because I found out too many things) and bought some stuff for it. Then I moved my mattress (and I’ve been sleeping in the sick room for a couple of days now), washed + dried all of my clothes, and I’ve been cleaning my bed and floor and carpet every day now. It takes me at least half an hour but I haven’t seen any bugs for 2 days now. Hopefully I got rid of them. I’m not sure how long I’m suppose to clean and spray it for. Do you know anything about fleas? Someone said they may be chiggers but I don’t even want to think about those (they go under your skin and bite you). Bugs are light brown and hard to see but I can still see them on the wall, they jump and there’s not a lot of them (I only found around 10 or 15 of them).
I’m not sure what lesson behind this trial is but fear came out even though I wasn’t scared of fleas before. Is God trying to strengthen my faith? I know He’s Almighty and He can get rid of the bugs in a split second… but why isn’t He? What would He like me to learn? What is this preparation for? Is He going to send me somewhere where there are a lot of bugs and I need to get rid of the fear now?

I’d love it if you would pray for Jesus to remove the bugs, for my fear of them and for His comfort and peace to dwell in my heart. I’ve also been having bad and disturbing dreams, connected to my past, and I’m not sleeping well. There’s a lot of discouragement present as well. We moved my whole room into another room, called “sick room” (for people who get sick) and 3 roommates have been sleeping at pastor’s house, one in another room, and only 2 of us in the sick room. It seems like the enemy is trying to bring division and he’s successful on some parts.

We leave for our 10-day outreaches next Friday, and I’m super excited! We’re in contact with people in Serbia, and they told us we’re going to be a part of an English camp during the week, and over 100 people applied! The church there is experiencing a lot of opposition and that’s a good sign – Satan doesn’t want things to happen because he knows the Light is shinning and drawing people out of the darkness!

I’d love to hear updates of your life as well – sometimes I feel like I live on the other side of the world when I’m only 4 hours away. Let me know how you’re doing, what God’s been doing in your heart and how I can pray for you!

I’ll be trying to update my blog soon again. Until then…

“So I think we should get as much out of life as we possibly can. There is nothing better than to enjoy our food and drink and to have a good time. Then we can make it through this troublesome life that God has given us here on earth.” – Ecclesiastes 8:15

“Work hard at whatever you do. You will soon go to the world of the dead, where no one works or thinks or reasons or knows anything.” – Ecclesiastes 9:10

Tuesday, September 20, 2011

Subotica, Čantavir, Bačka Topola --> Weekend outreach to Serbia

I went on a weekend outreach to Serbia this weekend, and it was A.M.A.Z.I.N.G!! We went to 3 different churches – CC Subotica, CC Čantavir and CC Bačka Topola. 

We had a lot of time on Friday afternoon so we practiced the dramas for a couple of hours and ate a delicious burek! (did you know you can get a cherry burek in Serbia? And not just that, they have a chicken/cheese one, a chicken/mushroom one… man, why don't we have them in Slovenia?!?) 

We went to Čantavir on Saturday. It's a gipsy village and we worked for practically the whole day. The church was experiencing some attacks from men from the village. They came and vandalized it so we cleaned that up + the church had a bunch of clothes for charity that needed to be folded and put in boxes so that took us quite a couple of hours.
We had some sweet fellowship in the evening. We had a fire and we made our own dinner – sausages and bacon on sticks! :) It was yum! 

Sunday wasn’t as good as Saturday – we all woke up really down and tired. We were at church service in Bačka Topola (where we slept as well), I was in kids’ ministry and it was fun, I was just feeling down, tired and without any energy.
After the church we cleaned up and went back to Čantavir where we had lunch and did some more cleaning. Our plan then was to go to a gipsy village to evangelize and do the skits, and after that to go to 3 different church services and then go back to Vajta BUT our van broke down. It didn’t want to work anymore. After an hour or so men managed to get it start but then realized the turbo wasn’t working as it should. A new plan came up – we left the van in Serbia, checked the trains and found out the first one was leaving at 1am which wasn’t an option. God was faithful and a pastor of CC Subotica and another believer volunteered to take us back to Vajta at 8pm (3h drive). I was in a car with Kris, the pastor, and it was 6 of us in the car. The car was registered for 7 but we had so much luggage that there was 4 girls sitting in the back (on 3 seats). Again, the Lord answered prayers and people on the border didn’t even notice there was 6 of us in a car for 5. Amazing, huh? :) 

Overall, the outreach was really amazing and I’m thankful I got to be a part of it. There was 16 of us who went and we got a lot closer which is why I LOVE outreaches! It’s not as much important where you are and what you do, what really matters is who you’re with; and I can apply that principle to this trip.

I heard there’s going to be a weekend outreach to Celje next weekend. I’d love to go (the price is only 50€) but I think God is saying no.
There’s a season for everything, right? :)

We folded all of those clothes and put them in boxes. Then they put them in + on the van and took them to the warehouse.

 Delicious food!!
 Left: pastor Tibor from Čantavir church
Right: Lisa, our outreach leader and missions lady
 The gipsy village where we went to evangelize

 <3
 This is where we were suppose to sleep but then, out of safety reasons, decided to sleep somewhere else.

 Yes; we were tired and some fell asleep on the stairs.
Most of our team

This is what my friend Callie wrote about the outreach.

This weekend I had the privileged of spending the weekend in Serbia with the MTP students. It was a weekend filled with challenges, frustrations, laughter, and covered in God's blessings. One of the churches we visited has been going through a really rough time. We where told that a girl, about 15 years old, had been in the church alone and someone came in and "hurt" her. The guilty man was caught and arrested. His friends, angry that he was being punished, decided to take action against the church. They broke in and vandalized the whole property, breaking windows, stealing things, and (the worst part) going to the bathroom everywhere. The pastor, Pastor Tibor, had to start sleeping at the church because they kept coming, causing more destruction if he wasn't there. We came and simply cleaned up. Most of the work had been done before we got there, but the attic still needed to be done. I'm not gonna lie, we did amazing work!

We packed everything up and filled the van, inside and out and took everything away! Later, we fit 10 people and all our luggage. It was a tight fit to say the least.
I still need to get more pictures from friends, but the whole weekend was amazing, but hard right down to the end. Our van broke down and we ended up getting rides home from some very amazing friends. In the car I was in, we had four ladies (all with big birthing hips) squeezed into three seats. It was a 3 hours drive, and typical of the weekend, uncomfortable but very blessed. We all shared testimonies, laughed and just enjoyed being united in Jesus.

I love the way she writes!

Friday, September 09, 2011

10-day outreach


We heard the possibilities for 10-day outreaches today, and I had no idea where to go. My name was put on the Salzburg list because I was considering it but I wasn’t sure that’s where God wants me to go.
After lunch I talked to one of my roommates about the possibilities and where I’m thinking of going. It doesn’t matter where, it doesn’t matter what kind of ministry; what it matters is who I’m going with (who’s leading it). The more I thought about it and the more I talked about it with my roommate, Serbia kept coming up. Since I’m going to Serbia next weekend for a 2 day outreach, I didn’t want to do both in the same country but Pam, my MTP teacher said “don’t close the door”.
And I didn’t.


This is a part of my email devotion today:

Sometimes God will say, "Yes," sometimes He will say, "No," and sometimes He will say, "Wait." But we can be assured that when we passionately cry out to God by faith, He hears us.

“You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”
- Jeremiah 29:13

At one point I started sharing with my roommate about our 5-day outreach to Leskovac last year and how Serbian gypsy people are so open and how much love is in them… and I have no idea how to explain it but I felt like I need to go to Serbia. I looked at Brianna and was shocked because I felt so good but I would never choose Serbia on my own!

There’s a lot more to the story but I just don’t know how to explain it. But the main point is, I’m going to Serbia twice this semester, and I’ll be learning Serbian language for my MTP studies. 
A bit weird and strange, isn’t it? :)

Wednesday, September 07, 2011

The adventures of life at Bible College.

We're in the 3. day school and our schedules are busy! We’re either in class, or we’re doing our servanthood class (mine s coffee shop this semester, yay!) or we’re in a meeting for something. We’re trying to get used to the routine of the semester and of the rhythm of this season, and it’s not easy.
Every MTP students needs to decide on a foreign language they’re going to study in the semester, and this semester I chose to study Serbian. Yes, it’s close to Slovene but not as much as we think. It’s one thing to talk or listen to someone talk in Serbian; it’s a whole different thing to read or write in Serbian, which is what I’ll be doing since I know the language pretty well. I’ll be reading theological books in Serbian and try to practice my talking skills with Arpi who’s our Hungarian pastor (he grew up in Subotica, Serbia).

10-day outreaches are going to be announced on Friday so anyone who’d like to lead or co-lead one needs to be prepared by Friday – where to go, how to get there, how many people can go, how much money it’ll cost…
2 people (2 families) asked me to co-lead an outreach with them. One of them is going to Subotica, Serbia, and another is going to Athens, Greece. I prayed about it and God spoke to me through Micah:
“My people, what have I done to you?
How have I burdened you? Answer me.
I brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery.
I sent Moses to lead you, also Aaron and Miriam.
My people, remember what Balak king of Moab counseled
and what Balaam son of Beor answered.  
Remember your journey from Shittim to Gilgal,
that you may know the righteous acts of the Lord.”

With what shall I come before the Lord
and bow down before the exalted God?
Shall I come before Him with burnt offerings,
with calves a year old?
Will the Lord be pleased with thousands of rams,
with ten thousand rivers of oil?
Shall I offer my firstborn for my transgression,
the fruit of my body for the sin of my soul?
He has showed you, o man, what is good.
And what does the Lord require of you?
To act justly and to love mercy
and to walk humbly with your God.

~ Micah 6:3-8
I was feeling burdened and stressed out because I had to decide with whom I was going to lead the outreach and where I’m going to go. It really was a burden!
And then He spoke to me through those verses… is it really a burden? He’s done everything for me! He saved me, changed me and my life, brought me to Bible College, provided for me in so many different ways, gave me internship during the summer… what didn’t He do for me?!? And yet, here I am, feeling burdened.
What can I offer to Him? Is anything I offer enough?
What does He require from me?
“To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with my God.”

I talked about it with a few people and it really seems like God has a different season for me. A season of rest. That doesn’t mean I’ll be doing nothing; I’ll still be in action but in a different form.
Summer’s been crazy. Good, but crazy. I learned a lot, I experienced a lot, I succeeded a lot and also failed a lot. God showed me I’m not ready for ministry yet, that’s why I’m back in my “hospital where Jesus is my medicine”. But I do admit I complained to Him a lot, and I asked for rest and peace. And He’s giving it to me.

I’m not leading or co-leading any outreaches. I resisted it for a day because I didn’t think I can say “no”, but once I accepted what God has for me, and God only has the best for me, peace that surpasses understanding came upon me and I don’t feel burdened anymore, I don’t feel stressed out anymore.
It's a funny feeling, knowing my role will be different this semester but it's also good knowing it'll be easier, in a way, especially when I see people running around like crazy, doing things, like I did last semester.
I'm excited for what God has for me. I just need to remember to go one day at a time and not rush into things I don't have to know about yet.

Saturday, September 03, 2011

A new season.


I've been back at school for 3 days now and I'm loving it. Everything seems to be a lot different, and a lot is! The system of a semester changed, girls' hallway is on the other side of the castle and there are 90 students who want to study the Bible!!

God put me in a position of a dorm steward and I’m pretty excited about it. Also a bit intimidated. I share my room with 4 Americans and a Croatian. It’s an interesting combination and I’m sure it’ll be interesting, in a good + in a bad way.

We have our orientation today where we sign up for classes, fill out the rest of the papers, take a picture, get our dorm keys… you know, formalities. We also find out what our M199 for the semester is (that’s the servanthood class, the practical side of Bible College). I have an idea what mine is and I’m super excited about it! 

I’m also super excited and thankful Miha is here with me. It’s not that I feel lost here but with him I have a sense a part of home is with me and it helps a lot. We haven’t seen each other a lot since we’re busy with different things but we sit together for a meal sometimes. I think he’s doing great adjusting to this world. It must be hard, I remember my first semester, but there’s a lot of guy students here and I’m sure he’ll be fine. 

We’re going on a class trip to Budapest tomorrow. It’s the 20th anniversary of Calvary Chapel in Hungary, and it’s a big deal! We’ll be helping with kids’ ministry and be a part of this huge event. Afterwards we’re going to a market where we’ll be able to buy some authentic Hungarian stuff, and later on we’ll go on Citadella hill, where you can see the whole Budapest from, and take pictures, do some worship, maybe even a skit… I’m not sure. We’ll be away for a whole day and it’s not going to be easy to get up the next morning and start classes.
This semester I’m thinking of taking Genesis, Women’s discipleship, Biblical missions (and all the other classes I need to take), and I’m still kind of torn apart for the language study. I’m thinking of taking either Russian or Serbian but I don’t know if that’s what God wants me to do. We’ll see.

It’s been great being back, I feel like I’m in a hospital, recovering, and Jesus is my medicine. I’ve been spending some really good time with Him, journaling and praying. He hasn’t been speaking to me directly lately, but He’s been leaving His footprints everywhere. I’m not really used to that but we learn something new everyday, right? 

My prayer request would be that I would remember why I'm here for, that I would really focus on my relationship with Him and that He would be able to teach me a lot. I have no idea what the semester is bringing but it'll be interesting. 

Monday, August 29, 2011

Today's thoughts.

Tomorrow's my last day at home before I leave for my final semester.

I'm excited to leave and focus on my relationship with Jesus. I'm excited for a new season and everything God has prepared for me. I'm excited to see my College family again and meet a lot of new people. I'm ready for God to reveal another step of His plan for me.
I'm feeling emotional leaving my parents and my sister because I have no idea what will happen in the next 4 months.

It's my dad's birthday today. 53. Not a big number, even though he thinks it is. My mom bought them a cruise on a boat for 8 days. Italy and Greece. I think they'll love it and I'm excited for them to spend some time on their own, away from home.
I gave my dad a book, The Shack. I heard it's not good to give it to people who aren't Christians because they might understand the picture of God in a wrong way. I kind of agree but I also think every case is different and I think The Shack might give my dad a perspective of God he needs right now. He'll read about a personal relationship with Him, about forgiveness, about judgement... When I wrote him a card with the book I wrote the book is fictional but there's a lot of truth in it. I wrote him that I was confused when I first read it but that I understand it better now and that he can always ask me questions about it - if there's anything that doesn't make sense.

I just watched Soul Surfer. A great movie! I didn't know the girl was a Christian!
I cried a bit, of course... but it made me think about what's important in my life. What if I would lose an arm right now? Or a leg? What if I would lose my sight?

I never think of these things but I should be SO grateful for all I have!



Saturday, August 27, 2011

Under stress? No worries!

I've been feeling a bit down in the past week... not being able to sleep, having physical problems, dragging myself everywhere, thinking about things I don't have control over... and whenever I'm under stress and feel overwhelmed, I bake. It relaxes me and makes me busy in a good way :)

What did I bake today?
Peanut butter cookies and oreo cheesecake.


Gotta love food! :)

Performing Arts Camp 2011