How Beautiful are the feet that bring good news...

Seasons

2011-11-03T03:54:00.004-07:00

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 15^th 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 8^th also for Chello and I on the 15^th.

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!

One Year Down

2011-10-14T03:35:00.008-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

Come and see what God has done, His awesome deeds for mankind!

Psalm 66:5

I sit here now in the beginning of a new season; outside the leaves are changing to bright yellows and reds and the mornings and evenings have grown beyond chilly to straight up cold. We have been busy preparing wood for heating, as soon we will need fires in order to carry on our ministries. This life has become almost 2^nd nature to me and I sometimes forget how easy I had it living in Scottsdale. I still can’t believe that on October 11^th I will have been living in Veľký Krtiš for one year. It has been an amazing time and every day I still feel blessed that God has allowed me to come here and be a part of this beautiful and unique ministry.

God is not unjust; He will not forget your work and the love you have shown Him as you have helped His people and continue to help them.

Hebrews 6:10

Even though Summer has officially ended, the ministry has stayed active and busy. In addition to our normal outreach in the Agape House Teahouse, we have also started visiting local orphanages. This ministry was started some time ago but has been on hold for a while. I am so happy that I could be here for the re-launch of this particular ministry. We visited two homes that have about 7 kids each. We had a time of sharing and getting to know each other. Then we had crafts and sports just to give the kids some fun time and to get to know them a little better. The kids were a little shy around me at first but by the time we left the houses I had my hands full of crafts that the kids made for me. My heart broke a little bit when I saw some of the kids crying as we drove away, but I am so grateful that I get to be a part of the Lord’s work , particularly in this ministry.

A great outreach tool that was extended to us was Van4Life. Basically it is a van used for ministry that has a bouncy house, trampoline, tables, chairs and sound equipment so you can put on a little carnival anywhere. It was a perfect opportunity to invite the Roma kids that we have been working with in Veľký Krtiš and also to get their parents involved. We had volunteers there doing hair, nails and crafts for free. Many of the children we have already been working with came and I also made some new friends. During the program my mother, Peggy, shared the gospel with the children and we also had some Roma worship songs and testimonies. This was a particularly special time for Chello and I as almost all of his family are not believers but were able to hear the gospel. Some of them even had questions for Chello after the program. Praise the Lord!

Also, I have been preparing for our ladies’ Bible study. For the past two weeks we have been trying to meet but something always comes up with the girls last minute to prevent us. Last week a few of us gathered to pray for the study and that God would provide the girls with freedom in their schedules to meet and also against the enemy having a hand in any future delays. I am really excited about this study and I’m not letting the setbacks discourage me. We are planning to spend a year on an inductive study of the fruits of the Spirit. I think it is going to be a blessed time for us and a huge step forward for the ministry, as there has never been a Bible study geared specifically for women in the history of the ministry in Veľký Krtiš.

After spending some time there, they were sent off by the believers with the blessing of peace to return to those who had sent them.

Acts 15:33

Arizona here we come! Chello and I have purchased our tickets to the States for November 15^th. We are crazy excited to see my family as Chello has never met most of them outside of Skype. During our stay he will also get to experience Thanksgiving and an American style Christmas. We are also looking forward to meeting with the teams that are planning to come out to VK during our summer outreach and to do some fundraising. Over the past year because of supporters not being able to continue giving and the euro increasing in worth I have been about 300.00euros ($400.00) short of my monthly amount needed. While God has blessed me with being able to live within the means He has provided, I will have some big expenses coming up after the first of the year regarding my visa. Though we will miss Veľký Krtiš and the ministry we hold so dear, we really do feel blessed to have this opportunity to visit Arizona and spend one of the most special and important days of our life there.

Remember me for this, my God, and do not blot out what I have so faithfully done for the house of my God and its services.

Nehemiah 13:14

Prayer Requests

That the Lord will lead our steps and we will let Him

Pray for the girls in Bible study that we will have time to meet

Financial support. That the Lord will continue to provide what I need and I will continue to live responsibly within my needs

That I will be able to get everything done here before I leave for Arizona that I won’t leave any gaps for others to fill

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful.

Colossians 3:15

I am so thankful to have the ability to share with all of you what the Lord has been doing in Chello and I and in Veľký Krtiš. Thank you so much for your prayers and support as we continue forward on the journey God has laid out for us and the ministry here. God bless you all!

After Summer, A New Season

2011-08-30T23:32:00.010-07:00

Dear Friends and Family,

You will eat the fruit of your labor; blessings and prosperity will be yours.

Psalm 128:2

Greetings from a well rested and rejuvenated girl! Officially summer camps have ended, vacations are done and slowly life is returning to normal. I recently returned from a beautiful vacation on the island of Korcula in Croatia. Chello, my dear friend Zuzi, my mother and I were all fortunate to have an opportunity to go and stay with our friend, Steven, at his house on the island. It was a beautiful time of swimming in crystal clear waters, sightseeing, playing games and fellowship. It was a rich blessing for me to see the beauty of God’s creation.

They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer.

Acts 2:42

Now that I am back from vacation, I have been diligently working on getting my ladies’Bible study going. At the moment I have two girls interested, Niki and Julia. We have not been able to set a weekly time yet as schedules are a little unpredictable, but I hope to have a regular time set within the next week. As kind of a kick off I had a ladies’ night at my apartment again;we had a wonderful time of chatting, making crafts and eating banana splits! I hope and pray that God will bless and grow this area of ministry for me as my heart goes out to these young women deeply.

And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity.

Colossians 3:14

I would like to start this section by saying thank you for all the beautiful words of encouragement and well wishes for Chello’s and my engagement. Since I have been home I have kept myself pretty busy with marriage planning. After a lot of prayer and talking with family, Chello and I decided to look into a winter wedding in Arizona. This will save us a lot of time and money on paper work as well as give my family and friends the chance to celebrate with us who could not come otherwise. Right now we are trying to get the proper paperwork done for Chello to travel to the states, as well as start our marriage prep class with our pastor Tomas.

And being a woman every free moment I have I am planning, planning, planning! Seeing as how we are VERY limited financially, I am doing my research to try and give us the best wedding I can for as little as possible.

He is the Rock, His works are perfect, and all His ways are just. A faithful God who does no wrong, upright and just is He.

Deuteronomy 32:4

Now we are in a little bit of an off season for the teahouse ministry. People are on vacation or just getting back from vacations, gearing up for the next school year and winding down from all the summer activities. Still Chello and I have been surprised by the numbers of students showing up and a lot of them are new faces from camps this year. I am excited to see how the dynamics of the teahouse will change this year and I pray that our new students will continue to come and spend time with us. Chello is particularly excited about his role as “big brother” in the ministry. As the students coming get younger we get older and he is now fitting more into the role of leader than follower. I must say it is a blessing for me to watch him interact with the students and finding the outsiders to get them involved.

I urge, then, first of all, that petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people.

1 Timothy 2:1

Prayer Request:

That the Lord will lead my steps and I will let Him

That we can nail down a time for our ladies’Bible study and start meeting

For the paperwork for Chello’s travel to the States to go smoothly and quickly

Wedding preparations. Pray that the Lord will send me solutions to some of the bigger financial issues surrounding the wedding.

I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers.

2 Timothy 1:3

Once again I must thank you all for your prayers and support. Your partnership in this ministry is so valuable to me and I know I could not do this without you. God bless you all!