Seasons
Dear Friends and Family,
As I sit here in this beautiful time of year I reflect on all that I have to be thankful for. I look out the window to see a beautiful landscape of bright yellows and reds and thank God for the beauty of His creation. Even though this season is just beginning we are coming to an end of our own personal season. On Tuesday my mother and father will return to Arizona after staying with me for a few months. And on the 15th Chello and I will head to the states! We are so excited and are counting down the days.
Over the past month we have a lot of things to praise God for, but I am especially excited to share about a particular ministry opportunity. My brother Noah really felt that we, the church should be serving our community in practical and meaningful ways. In his mind that meant caring for the widows and orphans. We already have established the outreach for orphans so we wanted to visit the retirement home here in Veľký Krtiš. The retirement home here works differently than America. All adults who cannot care for themselves and don’t have family to care for them go there. So there were elderly, young adults mentally handicapped and those who suffer from psychiatric illnesses. It really was a blessed time of singing worship songs (my first time singing in Slovak to an audience), playing BINGO and eating cakes! As we were packing up a woman and man came up to hug me and told me thank you over and over. My heart was breaking for these people as I realized that most of them are put there and just forgotten. Even as we were walking away one lady stood outside waving to us while holding a stuffed animal she had won in BINGO until we were out of sight. I was also humbled to realize that two hours of my time could mean so much to someone else and how much time I can easily waste. I think it is safe to say that I might have gotten more out of the experience than they did. We will be going back this weekend to visit them and I am very excited to see them again.
I am also very happy to report that I have started a ladies bible study! It only took 11 months to get someone interested, but praise the Lord for His planning and timing! So, as it turns out the two young ladies that were interested in having a bible study never showed up for a single one. So each week I was prepared and waiting only to be sitting alone when the study should be starting. I prayed a lot about it and also called a prayer meeting about it. At the end I felt like God was telling me to be ready and stay available. One day Chello and I were visiting his aunt and uncle (who are our age) and as we were walking home Chello asked “Why don’t you see if Danisa would like to have a bible study?” we have been trying to be a light in their lives for some time and are always inviting them to church. It just made sense. So about three weeks ago Denisa, Lucy (my sister in law), Niki and I started meeting to do a study on the fruit of the spirit! Denisa has never owned a bible until now let alone studied one, so we are really hitting the basics of Christian living. I am crazy excited that the Lord has given me this beautiful opportunity to serve Him in this way.
This is a busy time of year for us. Again we had our annual costume party at the teahouse. This is one of the best attended parties of the year because of All Saints Day most students are home visiting family over the holiday. We had a lot of crazy costumes show up and a ton of fun playing games all night. It is always fun to see how creative people can get with their costumes. Chello and I went as 50’s greasers and quickly realized that our costume choice was lost on our teenage audience. Even though we felt older than anyone would want, we still looked amazing.
We also did our outreach of serving hot coffee and tea at the cemetery. Almost everyone in the town follows the Catholic tradition of lighting candles and placing flowers on the graves of loved ones. So we had a table with free hot drinks for people as they walked by. Still most people were confused or skeptical about our presence there. Slovaks are not used to receiving something for free. I am convinced, however, that the more we go out and serve the people will become more accepting.
Prayer Requests
That the Lord will lead our steps and we will let Him.
Safe travels back to the states for my mother and father on the 8th also for Chello and I on the 15th.
That we will be able to tie-up any or all loose ends here before we head overseas. And for our upcoming fundraising and wedding to be blessed by God.
That God will continue to bless the ministries in Veľký Krtiš and help them grow.
Once again I humbly thank you for the rich blessing you have been to me. In this ministry, Chello and I would not be able to function if it were not for your faithful prayers and support. You truly are a blessing to us!
Comments