Please pray for everyone in the path of the hurricane and know that we are praying for all of you.
Kate called me out on something and she was completely right. I need to learn to listen. Ministry here will be completely ineffective and remaining in touch with friends and family in Texas and Maine and Ohio and various other places is impossible unless I learn to listen. God and I had a long time this morning going over this. I finally asked Him to bind my tongue unless He was speaking and to help me to learn to listen. Please be patient with me. I am not going to be a wise sage with years of listening experience overnight, but maybe... just maybe He can teach me to hear the cries of hearts and the message of words without my own butting in and messing up the communication.
Praying for you all. I love you.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Friday, September 12, 2008
Time for an update. Things are going well at the moment. I have had the opportunity to talk to one particular guy a couple of times now and carefully steering the conversation away from me and toward Christ. (He was slightly more interested in the first topic at first but later warmed up to talking more about Christ.)I got to learn a lot of cool things about him; which helped to open doors to communicate even more about Christ.
We have also had another guy come by and speak to us several times while we have been out on campus this week and we ran into him again last night. Pray that God will continue to cause him to be intrigued by us and desire to talk. Pray that he has the boldness to come into the cafe.
The general rule of thumb is that we don't bring anything up about faith at the cafe. It is up to the customers, which surprisingly enough, usually does not take long. Most people if they are brave enough to come into the cafe are also willing to discuss their faith and beliefs and to ask questions.
There has been a new "campaign" that we started for club rush (somewhat like LU's STOMP on the mall) where all of the clubs have a booth and info about their clubs and sign up sheets. Well for our table, we had a sign that Gareth painted that said "Questions ROK" - with a double meaning going on since ROK can mean "are ok" and can also spell out "ROK" for "Rock" - Solid Rock... we gave out free coupons for either 50cents off a food or drink item or a free small italian creme soda. On the back of each coupon I put questions that asked people to think about what they believe about life and God. Very cool. There have been a TON of new people coming in this week because of that, so we were pretty excited.
Also pray for one girl who has hung out with us quite a bit. She is amazing. :)
God is doing some great stuff with the people. I find myself not getting quite as homesick as long as I have people to talk to about Him. It is when I am alone at night at bedtime or those really slow times during the day that I hurt because I miss all of you so much. I never realized that moving away from my best friend and "TX family" would be so hard. Well, maybe I did expect it but I didn't realize how much it would hurt.
Anyway, work is going alright and I should be able to have something solid for subbing as of next week. Monday we are going to drop off my application and have my background test completed and then I already have two different teachers who are vying for my help. That is pretty exciting! Walmart is interesting. Ask me about the belt buckle that I saw yesterday. ;)
OHH... I almost forgot: LINDSAY UPDATE: Praise God for all of your prayers because He has been so amazingly faithful for her healing. So much so that she is getting out of the hospital today and headed to the Ronald McDonald House still there in NY and will be headed back to Maine "HOPEFULLY" by next Tuesday. She will be out of school for about 12 weeks and has to have physical therapy twice a week for six weeks. She will probably have a tutor to help her stay caught up in her classes so she can graduate on time this spring. Thank you sooooo much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for her and my family. So very very needed. Continue to check out the website that I linked previously and to sign her guestbook if you can. She reads those messages twice a day and from what she has said, they really really help with encouragement. Leave lots of verses. Once again, the link is: Lindsay's Website
Dios Te Bendiga.
We have also had another guy come by and speak to us several times while we have been out on campus this week and we ran into him again last night. Pray that God will continue to cause him to be intrigued by us and desire to talk. Pray that he has the boldness to come into the cafe.
The general rule of thumb is that we don't bring anything up about faith at the cafe. It is up to the customers, which surprisingly enough, usually does not take long. Most people if they are brave enough to come into the cafe are also willing to discuss their faith and beliefs and to ask questions.
There has been a new "campaign" that we started for club rush (somewhat like LU's STOMP on the mall) where all of the clubs have a booth and info about their clubs and sign up sheets. Well for our table, we had a sign that Gareth painted that said "Questions ROK" - with a double meaning going on since ROK can mean "are ok" and can also spell out "ROK" for "Rock" - Solid Rock... we gave out free coupons for either 50cents off a food or drink item or a free small italian creme soda. On the back of each coupon I put questions that asked people to think about what they believe about life and God. Very cool. There have been a TON of new people coming in this week because of that, so we were pretty excited.
Also pray for one girl who has hung out with us quite a bit. She is amazing. :)
God is doing some great stuff with the people. I find myself not getting quite as homesick as long as I have people to talk to about Him. It is when I am alone at night at bedtime or those really slow times during the day that I hurt because I miss all of you so much. I never realized that moving away from my best friend and "TX family" would be so hard. Well, maybe I did expect it but I didn't realize how much it would hurt.
Anyway, work is going alright and I should be able to have something solid for subbing as of next week. Monday we are going to drop off my application and have my background test completed and then I already have two different teachers who are vying for my help. That is pretty exciting! Walmart is interesting. Ask me about the belt buckle that I saw yesterday. ;)
OHH... I almost forgot: LINDSAY UPDATE: Praise God for all of your prayers because He has been so amazingly faithful for her healing. So much so that she is getting out of the hospital today and headed to the Ronald McDonald House still there in NY and will be headed back to Maine "HOPEFULLY" by next Tuesday. She will be out of school for about 12 weeks and has to have physical therapy twice a week for six weeks. She will probably have a tutor to help her stay caught up in her classes so she can graduate on time this spring. Thank you sooooo much for your prayers. Please continue to pray for her and my family. So very very needed. Continue to check out the website that I linked previously and to sign her guestbook if you can. She reads those messages twice a day and from what she has said, they really really help with encouragement. Leave lots of verses. Once again, the link is: Lindsay's Website
Dios Te Bendiga.
Monday, September 8, 2008
Good news! The surgery went well and Lindsay is in recovery. Dad said that she is semi-concious. If you would like to send her a card, email me and I'll give you the address. My parents are staying at the Ronald McDonald house there in town where the hospital is so that they can be close by. All mail would go to the RDH and then from there mis padres will take it to Linds. Thank you so much for your prayers. Please continue to pray, she still needs it. (felizalba@gmail.com)
As for things here, they are going alright. I am LOVING my bedroom. (pictures to come eventually) :) And church was pretty cool yesterday. I will have to give you an abbreviated version of my notes from the sermon. I started working at the local Walmart and found a couple of Christians - I was VERY excited about that. Spent a lot of time working in the coffee shop and around the college house. We had the board of directors from the ministry here this past weekend so that was pretty exciting. I got a lot of cafe (coffee shop) hours in while everyone else was busy preparing - so I covered their shifts. Very cool.
I haven't really had much opportunity yet to talk to anyone but I am not worried - I am here for the long-haul, no matter how homesick for Tecsas I get/am. There will be plenty of time to talk.
Keep praying!!!!!! If you would like more detailed updates then email me and I will try to put together a specific prayer/support email to send out monthly or maybe bimonthly for you to check out. There are some things that I won't be able to talk about in the blog posts just because it is a public communication, but I can send a letter/email with more detail that is a bit more private. And for the record, more often than not, unless it is a member of the ministry here or someone that would be known to most of my readers, I will use fake names just to keep it safer for everyone. (felizalba@gmail.com)
As for things here, they are going alright. I am LOVING my bedroom. (pictures to come eventually) :) And church was pretty cool yesterday. I will have to give you an abbreviated version of my notes from the sermon. I started working at the local Walmart and found a couple of Christians - I was VERY excited about that. Spent a lot of time working in the coffee shop and around the college house. We had the board of directors from the ministry here this past weekend so that was pretty exciting. I got a lot of cafe (coffee shop) hours in while everyone else was busy preparing - so I covered their shifts. Very cool.
I haven't really had much opportunity yet to talk to anyone but I am not worried - I am here for the long-haul, no matter how homesick for Tecsas I get/am. There will be plenty of time to talk.
Keep praying!!!!!! If you would like more detailed updates then email me and I will try to put together a specific prayer/support email to send out monthly or maybe bimonthly for you to check out. There are some things that I won't be able to talk about in the blog posts just because it is a public communication, but I can send a letter/email with more detail that is a bit more private. And for the record, more often than not, unless it is a member of the ministry here or someone that would be known to most of my readers, I will use fake names just to keep it safer for everyone. (felizalba@gmail.com)
Tuesday, September 2, 2008
I am sitting in the coffee shop in Ephraim drinking my coffee with creamer and watching Travis look at pictures of hairless dogs. Why on earth anyone would want one is beyond me because the things are hideous, but that's besides the point. Anyway, I got here safely.
Nealy and I had a few adventures and played in Salt Lake for awhile and then met up with Chip and Jamie at the mall last night. After a 2 hour car ride, I finally got here and was able to put my stuff in my new bedroom. As soon as I can find a computer that will allow me to upload pictures, I will show you what it looks like. I am a fan. Very small but nice.
(For those of you who have seen the girl's apartments up above the garage before, let me give you a mental image. Remember that MASSIVE living room? Well it is now chopped in half with a half wall and a full length wall which make up my bedroom framing it in by the outside wall and the back bedroom wall (that bedroom beside the kitchen). My door is almost immediately after the door through which you enter the apartment. The walls are beige with a beautiful lamp on the upper section of one side, a bed, and a desk, and a pretty nice sized closet. I love all of the closet space here... some of you remember how much I love closets.)
Today I slept in and just rested for awhile then made a run to Walmart to get some essentials, including a bedside lamp, blow dryer (for those FREEZING winter mornings when I will not want to go out with wet hair), and a few other items. I am excited to make it look like my own space.
I have spent the day hanging out with Kim and Jamie and Travis. Most of the others are either off at work or classes. There is a group that has not made it back from their retreat yet because they were traveling in a vehicle that broke down about half way back from Wyoming. Opps. Gareth is with them and will fix it. They will be back sometime in the next couple of days dependent on how long it takes to fix. Bearings or something. I never got the full story. Anyway, Kim and her husband Shane- (one of those who is stuck with the broken vehicle)are going to be moving here soon to be full time assistant directors of the ministry TriGrace. They will be living nearby and working here in the cafe and around the college house. I have spent some time with Kim today talking and I already adore the lady.
Jamie as always is amazing. :) Gotta love that woman.
We'll see what kind of excitement starts when the rest of the crew finally are all back and around. For now, I am going to go enjoy my coffee and talk to Kate again on the phone. Keep calling me people! I want to hear from you. Text message, call, email, comment on the blog or facebook... anything. I will and do respond.
God is so faithful.
Nealy and I had a few adventures and played in Salt Lake for awhile and then met up with Chip and Jamie at the mall last night. After a 2 hour car ride, I finally got here and was able to put my stuff in my new bedroom. As soon as I can find a computer that will allow me to upload pictures, I will show you what it looks like. I am a fan. Very small but nice.
(For those of you who have seen the girl's apartments up above the garage before, let me give you a mental image. Remember that MASSIVE living room? Well it is now chopped in half with a half wall and a full length wall which make up my bedroom framing it in by the outside wall and the back bedroom wall (that bedroom beside the kitchen). My door is almost immediately after the door through which you enter the apartment. The walls are beige with a beautiful lamp on the upper section of one side, a bed, and a desk, and a pretty nice sized closet. I love all of the closet space here... some of you remember how much I love closets.)
Today I slept in and just rested for awhile then made a run to Walmart to get some essentials, including a bedside lamp, blow dryer (for those FREEZING winter mornings when I will not want to go out with wet hair), and a few other items. I am excited to make it look like my own space.
I have spent the day hanging out with Kim and Jamie and Travis. Most of the others are either off at work or classes. There is a group that has not made it back from their retreat yet because they were traveling in a vehicle that broke down about half way back from Wyoming. Opps. Gareth is with them and will fix it. They will be back sometime in the next couple of days dependent on how long it takes to fix. Bearings or something. I never got the full story. Anyway, Kim and her husband Shane- (one of those who is stuck with the broken vehicle)are going to be moving here soon to be full time assistant directors of the ministry TriGrace. They will be living nearby and working here in the cafe and around the college house. I have spent some time with Kim today talking and I already adore the lady.
Jamie as always is amazing. :) Gotta love that woman.
We'll see what kind of excitement starts when the rest of the crew finally are all back and around. For now, I am going to go enjoy my coffee and talk to Kate again on the phone. Keep calling me people! I want to hear from you. Text message, call, email, comment on the blog or facebook... anything. I will and do respond.
God is so faithful.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Safe in Utah finally. :) It was a pretty eventful send off. We were pretty good at keeping it light and not many tears. Nealy picked me up at the airport and we proceeded to have adventures almost immediately. We went for a walk in Memory Grove Park when it started to pour rain and hail. So we ran from tree cover to tree cover and then from building overhang to overhang. We ended up at Starbucks where I got Kate's favorite boring drink in her honor. ;) Then a quick Walmart run to replace the face wash that the airline took from me and then off to find some dinner. We picked up a couple of movies and curled up with blankets and some good food. Tomorrow more adventures await; not sure what, though.
Still trying to get ahold of Chip and Jamie to find out when exactly I am headed to the college house.
Still trying to get ahold of Chip and Jamie to find out when exactly I am headed to the college house.
