words :-)

Some teenagers were hanging out at my apartment late this evening and they were hungry (shocking, right?).  So we went to evaluate the fridge.  I pulled out rice and a dish that I just explained as "plantains and beans" (the one I learned in Costa Rica and wrote about).  B was all for it, his brother was not impressed and this conversation followed:

Plantains?  No thanks.  I don't like bananas.

They're not bananas.

I don't eat that stuff.  

Platanos?!?!  Dude, why didn't you say it in spanish in the first place?  Yeah, I'll have some.  Wait, you cook hispanic food???

(he cleaned out his bowl)

I can sympathize though, it took me a couple weeks after I got back to remember the word in English.

a wild ride!

As I was catching up with a couple of old friends and they found out I was still here, they naturally asked how it was going.  What an interesting question to answer!  My life seems like it has been more extreme since I returned from Costa Rica - there haven't been many "average" days and weeks.  It's been tough.  There have been many things that left me feeling like I'd been knocked off my feet, but just as many, if not more, super good things.  It's also amazing to see how many of them have come close together so that at the end of a heartbreaking day I couldn't say it had been a bad day because of something else that was so great.

Have you ever had a child in your care that just wore on your last nerve and left you completely drained?  I have a list!  There have been several over the years that were extremely challenging for me.  There have been days when one of them did not show up for Kids Club and I felt guilty relief.  I have another list.  In this community people are constantly moving in and out.  Saying goodbye is a frequent occurance (if you get to and they didn't vanish in the middle of the night!), however there are some goodbyes that are more heartbreaking than others.  Those are the kids who took a chunk of my heart with them when they left and still hold it.  Here's the interesting part: if I were to write out those 2 lists for you, you would see many of the same names on the 2 lists.  It still amazes me how God softens my heart and gives me a love for people I once would have rather avoided.  I sensed it starting to happen again yesterday...  I am grateful that He doesn't give up, but keeps softening and molding my heart inspite of my stubbornness.

We started a family Bible study (en español) last night.  2 of the people came without being reminded!  We are studying the book of Matthew together.  I am so thankful for the way the Lord has brought a team together for the ministry and excited to see how He will continue to work.

In a few minutes we will have our final Homework Help for this school year.  I doubt there will be much homework to complete, so we will celebrate!

answered prayer

Tuesday morning before school I met with 4 youth to pray together.  We made a list of people we know who need to know Jesus.  The list was mostly members of youth night, some family members, and one youth from our community, "C" who has never attended Youth Night.  (Other youth have invited him and he seemed kind of interested, but never came.)  Next we talked about specific things we could pray for to help them believe.  Our list included:

• For them to have still time to think about God
• For them to know who Jesus is
• Christians they know would share with them
• They would realize they've sinned and want to be forgiven
• Jesus would reveal Himself to them
  

I led in prayer and asked them to say aloud the names we had mentioned.  When it was time, they went around until each person had been lifted up once, except for "C" I noticed that all 4 youth lifted up his name.

When we finished praying a man who had been watching us (we went out for coffee) came over to encourage us because he was happy to see young people praying.

However, my greatest encouragement came tonight when "C" came to Youth Night for the first time, along with his younger brother and cousin (who were also there for the first time)!!!  C has a difficult time with English.  Please pray that the Holy Spirit will draw him and the language will not be a barrier.

growth

I met with a small group of youth in my home tonight.  We looked at Jesus' early life on earth in the Scriptures.  The last thing we read about was Jesus calling the 12 and sending them out to preach and then I asked if there was a time in their lives when they felt like God was calling them to follow Him.  3 hands shot up, eager to answer the question!  The first shared about what she feels God is calling her to do now; changing her attitude and behavior to be pleasing to Him and praying for her family because "I want them to know God like I do!"  The next 2 shared their personal experiences of when they believed in Jesus and accepted Him.  I did not realize the second had made the decision to trust Christ and was very excited to hear her story.  The third I knew had accepted Christ some time ago, but had not heard his story fully.  I talked more with these 3 later and we agreed to start meeting one morning a week before school to pray together.

I cannot tell you how excited I am to see how the Holy Spirit is working in their lives!  Pray for us as we grow in Christ!

I've had a nasty head cold this past week.  While I was lying around miserable and unable to sleep because I couldn't breathe, I picked up a novel that I've had sitting on my shelf for years (literally).  I was looking for a distraction and was quickly sucked into the story.  It was an entertaining read, and much more.  The story is set during the first century while the Apostle John was still living and followed the lives of 2 people who were captured when Rome destroyed their homelands and sold as slaves, one of them a Believer.  The author depicts Christians living in Rome and Ephesus during the time when the Epistles were first circulating and the cost of being a Christian was to be thrown to the lions in the arena or crucified.  Imagining the people to whom those words of Paul and others were first written made the letters come alive to me even more.  Thinking of those who lived by faith when the only Scriptures they had were a couple of letters, or only what they had heard from others and memorized, gave me a new appreciation for the Bibles I own.  Most of the characters in the story are Gentiles who were raised in a completely pagan culture without knowledge of the Law or any concept of one God, yet they placed their faith in Jesus Christ and set out trying to live for Him.  It is a story of many trials and failures, each answered with Scripture.  The author packed her "fictional story" full of Spiritual Truths and practical application for the life of a follower of Christ.  I found the distraction I was seeking in a well-written novel, AND I was taught, encouraged, and challenged in the Faith.

"Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess,

for he who promised is faithful.

And let us consider how we may spur one another on

toward love and good deeds."  Hebrews 10:23-24

"All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for teaching,

rebuking, correcting and training in righteousness,

so that the man of God may be thoroughly equipped

for every good work" 2 Timothy 3:16-17

David said about him:
   " 'I saw the Lord always before me.
      Because he is at my right hand,
      I will not be shaken.
Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices;
      my body also will live in hope,
 because you will not abandon me to the grave,
      nor will you let your Holy One see decay.
  Acts 2:25-27

estoy contento

I will praise you, O LORD, with all my heart;
I will tell of all your wonders.

I will be glad and rejoice in you;
I will sing praise to your name, O Most High.

Psalm 9:1-2

My friends joined me for worship today. It was the first time the whole family came. What a blessing! I am thankful for a pastor who is sensitive to the needs of his flock and feeds them the truth they need boldly and with love.

Later, my friends called me to come over for dinner. I did not realize it was an extended family dinner until I got there and realized we were celebrating a "cousin's" birthday. As we sat down to eat, S suddenly said, "WAIT! Don't eat. We're going to pray." Then she sat down and said, "Pray Miss Amy - en español." So of course I obeyed. Then we enjoyed a good meal and lots of laughter and conversation while playing a game. We talked of Heaven and Hell and life - with a needed reminder that the Holy Spirit is the only one who can change hearts, not us. After a comment about listening to different music, S said, "I really am changing and I don't know why." I said, "I do! It's the Holy Spirit working in you!"

Dios es fiel

What a week!  It breaks my heart to say good-bye to youth I have come to love dearly.  (Although it is not nearly so bad as hearing, "Oh, they moved yesterday."  I am very thankful for the little notice I've had!)  It's so much harder when several move at one time.  There is nothing I can do to prevent that, so I've been doing the only thing I know to do; make the most of the time we have left, continue to pray for the ones that have gone, and keep on pouring myself into those that are here.  The Lord has blessed with tons of quality time this week.  When I walked away from one door last night with tears in my eyes from saying goodbye, I was able to go directly into another to visit and make plans for dinner together the next day.  In the midst of this week of unexpected announcements and sad farewells, have been equally unexpected joys!  Through crisis and need, the Lord has opened doors to connect with people that I had not been able to previously.  One family of friends joined me for church for the first time and accepted an invitation for dinner with another family from church.  That was such a sweet time!  The Lord worked the evening out as only He could!  When I returned home tonight, I was greeted in the parking lot by 3 youth who moved away over a year ago (2 of whom I had not seen since last summer)!  I drove them home and hung out for a while.  During this discouraging time the Lord has surrounded me with people I love, constant reminders of what He has called me to, and affirmation that it is not in vain.

The tears are still very close to the surface and I'm very excited and thankful for the blessings of this week. 
That's a difficult mix for a girl who isn't accustomed to a lot of emotion.