Lots of exciting changes ahead!

It's crazy to look back on this great adventure. Little did I know this time last year all that was in store. Life is Knoxville was (and is) great! Great job and great friends! Blessed beyond measure. It has been a seasons of just sitting back and watching the Lord work.  Then, enters this wonderful man who loves me and loves the Lord. Not someone I would have ever seen myself with but it totally works. We got engaged in July (which is quite and interesting story) and are getting married this coming June. As cliche as it sounds, once I stopped looking and trusted God is when it happened.

My time in Knoxville is quickly finishing up. Again, it has been such a wonderful season. It will be hard to leave. However, my future husband is a Guatemalan living in Costa Rica. Thus, I'll be moving to Costa Rica. I'm excited and nervous all in one. I know this is what He's called me to. I always felt that I wouldn't move back overseas until I was married. Not exactly the way I pictured, but God's plan is always better. I'm prayerfully considering a few different schools. Several of them are schools to a more well off population. The other (which is really pulling at my heart strings) is run by missionaries. We'll see :)

Now to finish up the school year strong, to plan a wedding, to prepare to move, and to complete premarital counseling. But first, let me survive snow day #7! God is good!

"...For where you go I will go, and where you lodge I will lodge. Your people shall be my people, and your God my God." Ruth 1:16 ESV

Long time coming...

5 years! I can't believe it's been that long since I've written. Again, so much can happen. God is still good! When I first started this blog 9 years ago, I knew that God had called me to the nations and missions. Little did I know how He would continue to carry out that purpose in my life.

I struggled through my year teaching kindergarten....During that time I was thankful to continue to get to know the folks who worked with a local missions agency and even worked with them in between teaching jobs. It provided a great time of learning to really trust the Lord.

After completing a master's degree in ESL and hoping to move out of the states, again, the Lord gave me a job working at an international language school with college students and adults in another town in TN. I had a great year in Cookeville. I was blessed to teach people from all over the world. I settled in to a great church family.  Then, at the beginning of last year, I was offered a job teaching ESL at a primary school (something I said I'd never do after having a rough kindergarten teaching experience- of course it was that experience that propelled me to get my masters...funny how He works). It's neat to see how other life experiences all are being used in this position. (i.e. I have lots of students from Mexico, etc). Keep in mind this is the shortened version of the story!

Now, here I sit, in Knoxville, of all places. I think of the sweet faces of my students (past and present) from all over the world, of various ages and background  and I'm reminded of my call to missions. I may not have visited all of their home countries, but my prayer is that in someway, my life will speak Christ to them.

In my 30's, I fully expected to me married with my family on the mission field. Technically, I am neither of these. BUT His grace is sufficient. My job is my mission field. I have wonderful community. God's plans sometimes aren't what we expected, but they are better than what we could ever plan!

Times they are a changing...

Wow...it's been way too long! Life has defiantly turned out not exactly how I expected it. After finishing my J3 term, I moved to Monteagle, TN to live with my aging grandmother. Not exactly my idea of fun, but I really felt like she didn't need to be living alone (although, I'm sure she'd argue differently). I was super nervous. I have visited here on and off since I was a little girl. I never liked it (it's still not my ideal place to live but it has grown on me...I still prefer the city!). I was worried that I wouldn't find anyone who understood me and the whole love of the Latin culture thing, that there would be no "normal" (i.e. not country, backwoods folk) people, that there would be no decent people my age to be friends with, that I wouldn't find a good church home, and that I would be stuck here. However, I can praise God that most of those fear have been taken away! He has provided me with some wonderful friends, who just so happen to work with a mission organization that sends people to Latin America. Who knew?!?! A mission organization on the mountain! These friends I met through my church. I have so much to be thankful for!!! I still struggle with the whole "being single" thing especially since I live here and while I am so thankful for my friends, the majority of them are married with young kids. I know God will provide in His timing, as He always does!

When I moved up here, it was in the middle of the school year and little to no open jobs. At first, I subbed some, but I had severance pay and insurance until March. The Lord provided a job just in time! Not my ideal teaching job, but a job. 10th grade English. Then the school year ended and I was jobless again. I searched around for teaching jobs but nobody could really tell me anything. I went on a mission trip to Ohio (that's another story within itself) and came back. I met with a principal, but didn't think it seemed hopeful. I went to Nicaragua. Still very worried. The very last night, we had some prayer time and the leader asked us to lay down some things that were hindering us at the moment. I let go of my worries. I got back to the states and had a phone call from that principal. I had a job teaching kindergarten! The Lord has given me a job. I constantly forget that the Lord's timing isn't mine. I want thing worked out right in front of me in and instant. He says wait. I can't help but go back tot he old hymn, "Trust and obey, for there's no other way, to be happy in Jesus but to trust and obey".

The Waiting Place

I remember my senior year in college and that dreaded question "So, what are you going to do with your life?" and here I am 4 years later being faced with that exact question, again. I have been blessed with an amazing opportunity this year. I have learned somethings about myself (even some not so good things) and I have been challenged in many ways. I also have to remember that this year isn't over yet and there is a task in front of me, but that question never seems to go away. So, my answer to that question this time around is this: "God knows what He has next and I am still waiting on Him to tell me exactly what that is" and until then, I am actively waiting, pursuing after Him and doing the things that I have been called to do for this season of my life. I press on knowing that His timing is best and I will have the answer when the time is right. "Andale!"

(Happy Birthday, MOM!!)


Isaiah 55

Missing Mexico

Just a little under 2 months until I get to go back and help at the Passion Conference and hopefully see the majority of my friends/mission family.

So, here are some things that I'm missing right now and can't wait for in October:

• My friends, my mission family, people at IME, my roomates, my church
• Vitamin T :) (tacos, tamales, tortillas, tortas, etc) and to be honest any REAL Mexican food for that matter
• using public transportation
• the climate (Mexico City weather is very temperate and not too hot).
• Mexican time (aka arriving late and it being acceptable)
• speaking in Spanish the majority of the time

Uruguay

SO much is going on inside my head and my heart.

Anyways, Uruguay was wonderful and cold. It has a much more European feel and bides are a common thing in the bathroom. I was blessed to be on a wonderful team which worked at a nursing home “attempting” to do construction and loving on the residents. They were so precious. It’s amazing what happens when you just invest a small amount of time with someone. We even had a party and danced. Ahh, to see a twinkle of happiness and hope in the eyes someone who typically feels other wise. We also had a lady nearly die on us to but after much prayer she came back around. We also passed out gospels of John and prayer walked. The strategy was called “GAP” and is very similar to what I helped do last summer in Mexico. 2of the most encouraging things for me were
Watching the Mks. What wonderful students who love Uruguay. It kind of made me miss my job (and I think I talked about Mexico way too much- what can I say, I’m still processing through things…) and
Working along side Uruguayos (not only were they working along side of us, they were still very much in recovery after a friend/family member unexpectedly went to be with the Lord). Having them work along side us really challenged be to ask the Lord to continue to burden my heart for Memphis. We, with all the church groups, held a coffee house. We had people from ALL walks of life. I gave a homeless guy my socks. They were bright pink and green. Too funny!!! 2 people accepted Christ!! Woo hoo!!! Go Jesus!!!

On a more personal note, I couldn’t understand much of anything. I had to ask 5 million questions just to figure out what flavor of ice cream I wanted to order. It was frustrating. I went from being in Guatemala having to help the majority of people out to almost feeling like I had gone back to my first months in Mexico. I think the Lord was just reminding me that I can do nothing on my own, that I am not to boast in anything except Him, and that the foolishness of God is wiser than any wisdom we think we have.

18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate."
20Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe. 22Jews demand miraculous signs and Greeks look for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those whom God has called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25For the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than man's strength.
26Brothers, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. 27But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. 28He chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, 29so that no one may boast before him. 30It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. 31Therefore, as it is written: "Let him who boasts boast in the Lord."

This is how we roll...

I have just recently gotten back from Guatemala. Man, how I have missed living in Latin America. It definitely has my heart and hopefully, Lord willing, I will be living there in the near future ;). I think one of the things I miss about living in Latin America is just the simplicity of life. You can get along with much less. One of my biggest fears has been that the USA culture of needing to have things would invade my life. I struggled with buying a car. The majority of my friends in Mexico don’t have cars and if they do, it’s one that is shared by all the adults in the household that drive…I didn’t want to loose this mindset. Now, at moments I can see materialism creeping in, so this trip was a good reminder that nothing I have is mine and that at any moment or time, if He calls me to give it up, I should willingly do so. It was also weird for me to not experience culture shock. Guatemala is very similar to Mexico in many ways, but it is also different. (And on an exciting note, I got to eat some REAL TACOS!!! Although, not quite as good as the ones I ate every week, but it made me super excited!). I am also reminded that God goes before us and He is there when we leave. At this point I’m not sure where I will end up living but I do know that Guatemala now holds a small piece of my heart. I want to be burdened for Memphis, just as I am for Latin America. “May the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing in your sight, oh Lord, my Rock and my Redeemer” Psalm 19:14

It’s also neat to see how when God calls us to something and we walk in that, He will use it. This trip was the first time I had ever really translated for others (i.e. there weren’t really any other missionaries around to help me out). I know there were several occasions that God gave me words to say because I don’t really feel like I know that much Spanish. But, all that to say, had I not been faithful to live in Mexico and learn Spanish, I would not be living and working where I am today and would not have had the opportunity to go to Guatemala. I love how the Lord directs our steps!!!! I love that He is faithful, always!! To Him be glory, after all it’s His anyway. I’ll eventually put some pics up of Guatemala and life here in Memphis.

Los quiero mucho