Midterms are done, there was a lot of homework to do and catch up on everything and before we knew it, Thursday came and we're leaving for a 10-day outreach tomorrow!!! Crazy! :)
We're leaving at 8am which is pretty solid (people who're going to Ukraine are leaving at 5am..). We're gonna take a bus and spend all day tomorrow sharing our testimonies to each other and the team of missionaries in Pecs.. we're gonna do some felowship and praying and prepare ourselves for our first day, Saturday.
We have no idea about the schedule but we do know we're gonna go to the old folks home, to girl's university, to the prison, we're gonna have a free garage sale, we're gonna help to feed the homeless people, have a youth night, hang out with high schools in the park.. it's gonna be awesome.
Our team is really big, there's 15 people including a family with 2 small girls. It's gonna be challenging and stretching :)
I'm excited to see what's gonna happen and how the Lord will work through us + in us! We're gonna need a lot of patience and wisdom.
For the last couple of days we've been all feeling a LOT of spiritual attacks and.. it's crazy. My left arm's been hurting for 4 days now without a reason and it sometimes hurts so much that I just want to cry. My whole body started hurting today, it's just sore. I'm not the only one feeling like that but it's so great to know that even though the devil is trying to attack us, he has no power over Jesus. You know.. even if I get sick during tonight, that's not gonna stop me from going. :)
My life is different and stretchy and hard but there are a lot of joyful moments when God speaks to my heart and reveals Himself in the most beautiful and usually unexpected way. I've been starting to get to know Him better, I'm trusting Him more and more every day. He's becoming a really good friend. I really hope He'll become my best friend soon.
I don't think there's any doubt :)
Please pray for safety on our way to Pecs and back (btw, Pecs is pronounced Paige), for safety from all the spiritual attacks, for health and unity in the team, for God's amazing work and for wisdom.. we're gonna be doing some street evangelism as well and I've never done it before. It's gonna be pretty much challenging and different but please just pray for boldness and courage and for Him to have a hand on the whole outreach.
This is gonna be awesome!! :)
Thursday, October 21, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
God's call
I had a really bad day on Saturday. I had to submitt the first Midterm on Monday, the words weren't coming out of me, I felt stressed out and not able to do it.. my day was blah. I got to my room in the evening and started crying. I talked to 2 of my roommates and just said that I give up, I want to go home and that it's just too hard.
We talked for about 2 hours, Esther (my Korean roommie) tried a lot of different clothes and just walked around and was really funny.. and I went to bed in a better mood.
Sunday way better. I got to finish my Midterm in an hour, worked on another one.. it was ok. In the evening I was listening to Chuck Smith's sermon and he was talking about God's call. In that moment, I felt a really strong feeling - I don't even know how to describe it.. it was like if someting would take control over my thoughts and my body and would put my focus on only that voice/thought.. anyway, I heard a voice, saying: "You're coming back next semester and you're gonna sign for missions training program". It was such a strong feeling that even in my head I couldn't think of a word "no".
So.. I guess I'm coming back next semester. At first I wasn't really excited about it but I am now. It means God has something more for me and He showed me the next little piece of the puzzle of my life. That's all I have to know right now, He'll reveal more when the time will be right for me to know.
Ah, I'm so excited! :)
We talked for about 2 hours, Esther (my Korean roommie) tried a lot of different clothes and just walked around and was really funny.. and I went to bed in a better mood.
Sunday way better. I got to finish my Midterm in an hour, worked on another one.. it was ok. In the evening I was listening to Chuck Smith's sermon and he was talking about God's call. In that moment, I felt a really strong feeling - I don't even know how to describe it.. it was like if someting would take control over my thoughts and my body and would put my focus on only that voice/thought.. anyway, I heard a voice, saying: "You're coming back next semester and you're gonna sign for missions training program". It was such a strong feeling that even in my head I couldn't think of a word "no".
So.. I guess I'm coming back next semester. At first I wasn't really excited about it but I am now. It means God has something more for me and He showed me the next little piece of the puzzle of my life. That's all I have to know right now, He'll reveal more when the time will be right for me to know.
Ah, I'm so excited! :)
Monday, October 11, 2010
Update on Finland outreach
We made an announcment this morning and 7 people signed up; 2 girls and 5 guys. We're in a process of buying our plane tickets and arranging how to get to the airport and back.
Please, pray for God's guidance, strenght and courage as we prepare for this outreach. It's a scary place for me to be at right now especially because we're in the middle of Midterms and right before the 10-day outreaches.
I know He's with me/us and He has a plan for all of us. It's just hard not to know what that plan is :)
Please, pray for God's guidance, strenght and courage as we prepare for this outreach. It's a scary place for me to be at right now especially because we're in the middle of Midterms and right before the 10-day outreaches.
I know He's with me/us and He has a plan for all of us. It's just hard not to know what that plan is :)
Friday, October 08, 2010
Outreach to Finland!
It's official, we're going to Turku, Finland for a 4-day outreach! :)
It was really hard for us to decide which date would be the best and everything but it's decided that we go on Nov 19th and come back on Nov 22nd. Since that's from Friday to Monday, we're gonna miss some classes but that's ok because they tape every class and we can just listen to it and do our homeworks.
I'm not sure what we're gonna do there, I'll get those answers tomorrow. I'm so excited!! So far I know 4 or 5 girls are going, including me + if there's not gonna be any interns or leaders with us, I'm gonna lead the outreach! It's really scary because I've never done it before but it's also exciting and new and I'm going to learn so many new things!
Please pray for me and the team.. pray that God will have things in His hands and that He'll have control over the whole outreach. Please pray for directions and protection over spiritual attacks + for encouragement and strenght!
Thank you!
It was really hard for us to decide which date would be the best and everything but it's decided that we go on Nov 19th and come back on Nov 22nd. Since that's from Friday to Monday, we're gonna miss some classes but that's ok because they tape every class and we can just listen to it and do our homeworks.
I'm not sure what we're gonna do there, I'll get those answers tomorrow. I'm so excited!! So far I know 4 or 5 girls are going, including me + if there's not gonna be any interns or leaders with us, I'm gonna lead the outreach! It's really scary because I've never done it before but it's also exciting and new and I'm going to learn so many new things!
Please pray for me and the team.. pray that God will have things in His hands and that He'll have control over the whole outreach. Please pray for directions and protection over spiritual attacks + for encouragement and strenght!
Thank you!
Friday, October 01, 2010
Lost souls
I talked to my sister and my mom yesterday. It was actually my mom's birthday. I'm so sad for not being there with her. This is the second year in a row that I'm not there for any of my family's birthdays.
I asked my mom what she got for her birthday and she said she got a perfume. Every year's the same. I know she is happy that she got something but she was kind of dissapointed because in a way, she doesn't think my dad cares a lot about her birthday. I'm not sure what I think about it but it really seems like he didn't put a lot of tought in it.
I talked to my sister after that and told her about my conversation with my mom and she said that situation at home hasn't changed; fights, stress, fear, no peace, no love.. I feel so sorry for my family. Right now I feel sorry mostly for my mom since it was her birthday and.. you know what? She deserves so much better!
It's so sad that they're refusing God's love. I can't believe that I've been refusing God's love for long 7 years and even before that.
When I think back, I remember all the people who prayed for me and even with me. I remember how those people fought against Satan and shared the gospel with me for so many years. Right before I left Slovenia for Bible College, I shared some words with people from our church and Josh was up there with me. He said that after 6 years, they kind of gave up. They didn't think I would accept Christ into my heart. But I did. And I really believe that my family can accept Him and I believe He is pursuing them all the time.
My heart is crying out to the Lord for all of those lost souls who are wandering around with no goal, with no clue what meaning of their lives is.
I pray that someone would share the gospel with them and I pray their hearts would be open to receive God's love and peace into their hearts.
We had church service yesterday and Paul, the director of the school, talked about Romans 5:1-2; »Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained acces by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of glory of God.«
He talked about a lot of things and gave a lot of examples but one of the things really stood out for me.
He told us a piece of his wife's testimony. I'm not sure when she got saved but when she wasn't a believer yet, she moved to the States (she's originally from Sweden) and went to Calvary Chapel. She didn't have peace in her heart and she had no idea what's the meaning of her life. She didn't know what she lives for and everything seemed to be worthless.
She went to church one day and prayed with someone. She didn't really mean what she prayed for but when she said »amen«, she felt that feeling of acceptance for the first time. She felt at peace.
That's what I've been experiencing since I became a Christian and it's one of the best feelings ever.
I really wish my parents and my sister could feel at peace, too.
Please, pray for them. I know God is working in their lives and I know He'll never stop giving them chances to turn themselves to Him and accept Him into their hearts. But please pray that until they do that, He'll be their comforter and the one who takes care of them.
I asked my mom what she got for her birthday and she said she got a perfume. Every year's the same. I know she is happy that she got something but she was kind of dissapointed because in a way, she doesn't think my dad cares a lot about her birthday. I'm not sure what I think about it but it really seems like he didn't put a lot of tought in it.
I talked to my sister after that and told her about my conversation with my mom and she said that situation at home hasn't changed; fights, stress, fear, no peace, no love.. I feel so sorry for my family. Right now I feel sorry mostly for my mom since it was her birthday and.. you know what? She deserves so much better!
It's so sad that they're refusing God's love. I can't believe that I've been refusing God's love for long 7 years and even before that.
When I think back, I remember all the people who prayed for me and even with me. I remember how those people fought against Satan and shared the gospel with me for so many years. Right before I left Slovenia for Bible College, I shared some words with people from our church and Josh was up there with me. He said that after 6 years, they kind of gave up. They didn't think I would accept Christ into my heart. But I did. And I really believe that my family can accept Him and I believe He is pursuing them all the time.
My heart is crying out to the Lord for all of those lost souls who are wandering around with no goal, with no clue what meaning of their lives is.
I pray that someone would share the gospel with them and I pray their hearts would be open to receive God's love and peace into their hearts.
We had church service yesterday and Paul, the director of the school, talked about Romans 5:1-2; »Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained acces by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we rejoice in the hope of glory of God.«
He talked about a lot of things and gave a lot of examples but one of the things really stood out for me.
He told us a piece of his wife's testimony. I'm not sure when she got saved but when she wasn't a believer yet, she moved to the States (she's originally from Sweden) and went to Calvary Chapel. She didn't have peace in her heart and she had no idea what's the meaning of her life. She didn't know what she lives for and everything seemed to be worthless.
She went to church one day and prayed with someone. She didn't really mean what she prayed for but when she said »amen«, she felt that feeling of acceptance for the first time. She felt at peace.
That's what I've been experiencing since I became a Christian and it's one of the best feelings ever.
I really wish my parents and my sister could feel at peace, too.
Please, pray for them. I know God is working in their lives and I know He'll never stop giving them chances to turn themselves to Him and accept Him into their hearts. But please pray that until they do that, He'll be their comforter and the one who takes care of them.
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
An update
Nothing much's going on right now but we are super busy with preparations for Midterms and 10-day outreaches. This weekend is going to be super busy but I'm kind of excited. I need someone to help me explain what exactly the teachers want from me for the Midterms but from what I've seen/read, it's not gonna be hard, it's just gonna take a lot of time.
For Inductive Bible Study we're gonna have to dig into the first half of Psalm 119, so into 11 paragraphs. We're gonna have to look for verbs, write down certain definitions of words, explain some things.. a page and a half for one paragraph.
For Gospel of Mark we're gonna have to do a bit of Bible study on it and dig into first half of the gospel, so 8 chapters. We'll observe them and then write a letter to someone from our family, a friend.. who's not a believer and we're gonna have to apply what we've observed in the letter. We're not gonna have to send the letter but it's awesome because we can practice sharing the gospel to someone we know in a way they'll get it + Caleb, our teacher, will see if we got the application part.
For Acts Midterm, Shaun, the teacher, gave us an option to choose between some titles and I chose the Holy Spirit. I'm gonna have to read through the book of Acts, observe + write down how vital was the H.S. to the apostles and I'm gonna have to write down how I can apply that to my life. It's gonna take me awhile but I have time :)
I have to memorize a verse from Mark by tomorrow - Mark 9:35 --> "And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all." and tell it to Lynn (because it's a part of our servanthood and she's my supervisor). I'm excited to start learning verses; I'm not gonna do it if I don't have to and it's great that they kinda "make us" memorize it :)
There's another thing going on but NOTHING is official yet. Since Finland is not one of the options for the 10-day outreach and I really feel I have to go there, I told that to Lisa who's in charge of missions. She thought that'a a great idea and now she kinda wants me to lead a 4-day outreach to Finland :) I sent an email to the pastor and a former student of CCBCE who's there now, and asked if we can come. I'm waiting for their answer right now.
I feel so scared because I've only been here for a month and people who usually lead outreaches, are interns. I've never done it before but I have all of these wonderful people helping me, directing me + most importantly, I have God directing me and I know He's holding my hand. I'm not alone :) (btw, LOVE the feeling of not being alone :) ).
I'm not really sure why He wants me to do this but I trust Him. Well, we might not go, it depends if they need us but people said finnish people are always excited about students coming for an outreach to their church.
We'll see how that works out. I'll sure keep you updated :)
I love being here because I'm growing in my faith, in my trust in Him and I'm getting to know how amazingly wonderful He is. It's really hard but it's SOOOOO worth it! He's worth it :)
For Inductive Bible Study we're gonna have to dig into the first half of Psalm 119, so into 11 paragraphs. We're gonna have to look for verbs, write down certain definitions of words, explain some things.. a page and a half for one paragraph.
For Gospel of Mark we're gonna have to do a bit of Bible study on it and dig into first half of the gospel, so 8 chapters. We'll observe them and then write a letter to someone from our family, a friend.. who's not a believer and we're gonna have to apply what we've observed in the letter. We're not gonna have to send the letter but it's awesome because we can practice sharing the gospel to someone we know in a way they'll get it + Caleb, our teacher, will see if we got the application part.
For Acts Midterm, Shaun, the teacher, gave us an option to choose between some titles and I chose the Holy Spirit. I'm gonna have to read through the book of Acts, observe + write down how vital was the H.S. to the apostles and I'm gonna have to write down how I can apply that to my life. It's gonna take me awhile but I have time :)
I have to memorize a verse from Mark by tomorrow - Mark 9:35 --> "And he sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all, and servant of all." and tell it to Lynn (because it's a part of our servanthood and she's my supervisor). I'm excited to start learning verses; I'm not gonna do it if I don't have to and it's great that they kinda "make us" memorize it :)
There's another thing going on but NOTHING is official yet. Since Finland is not one of the options for the 10-day outreach and I really feel I have to go there, I told that to Lisa who's in charge of missions. She thought that'a a great idea and now she kinda wants me to lead a 4-day outreach to Finland :) I sent an email to the pastor and a former student of CCBCE who's there now, and asked if we can come. I'm waiting for their answer right now.
I feel so scared because I've only been here for a month and people who usually lead outreaches, are interns. I've never done it before but I have all of these wonderful people helping me, directing me + most importantly, I have God directing me and I know He's holding my hand. I'm not alone :) (btw, LOVE the feeling of not being alone :) ).
I'm not really sure why He wants me to do this but I trust Him. Well, we might not go, it depends if they need us but people said finnish people are always excited about students coming for an outreach to their church.
We'll see how that works out. I'll sure keep you updated :)
I love being here because I'm growing in my faith, in my trust in Him and I'm getting to know how amazingly wonderful He is. It's really hard but it's SOOOOO worth it! He's worth it :)
Monday, September 27, 2010
Budapest
I took a weekend off and went to Budapest with some of my roommates and other students. It was really great to get away from homework for a couple of days and just enjoy the exploring and experiencing other culture, tasting different food, seeing things we've never seen before.. It was also kinda hard because I'm a person who plans everything in ahead and other people weren't so we had no idea where we're going for the entire weekend but this lesson kinda helped me learn how to be more patient and how to lean on God more. It was all a part of His plan.. :)
(I can't upload any pics on my blog because my access is denied but you can check them out on facebook).
We've also decided where we're gonna go for our 10 day outreaches and I decided to go to Pecg, which is a beautiful Hungarian town around 2 hours away from Vajta. We're gonna do some street evangelism, we're gonna go to Universities, to men's and women's prison, we're gonna prepare a concert for them.. it's gonna be awesome!
+ I think I'm gonna go to Finland for my weekend outreach (plain ticket costs only 50€ for both ways!!) on the Thanksgiving weekend (we have 4 days free).. I'm really looking forward to it and am excited what God will do and how He'll use me.
I'd really like to ask you to pray for spiritual attacks (I keep being reminded of my past life and it's really discouraging) and for my trust towards God. Even though I'm in a Christian bubble right here, that doesn't mean the enemy can't get to me and to other people. Please, just pray that I'll always recognize his lies and turn to God and the Truth.
(I can't upload any pics on my blog because my access is denied but you can check them out on facebook).
We've also decided where we're gonna go for our 10 day outreaches and I decided to go to Pecg, which is a beautiful Hungarian town around 2 hours away from Vajta. We're gonna do some street evangelism, we're gonna go to Universities, to men's and women's prison, we're gonna prepare a concert for them.. it's gonna be awesome!
+ I think I'm gonna go to Finland for my weekend outreach (plain ticket costs only 50€ for both ways!!) on the Thanksgiving weekend (we have 4 days free).. I'm really looking forward to it and am excited what God will do and how He'll use me.
I'd really like to ask you to pray for spiritual attacks (I keep being reminded of my past life and it's really discouraging) and for my trust towards God. Even though I'm in a Christian bubble right here, that doesn't mean the enemy can't get to me and to other people. Please, just pray that I'll always recognize his lies and turn to God and the Truth.
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