Catching Up

This morning I walked to worship at La Vid in the bright sunshine and blue skies of this country that’s now home.  Oh, how I love singing praise to God with my Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ!  Two of the songs we sang were Spanish versions of English ones I sang at First Pres in Harrisonburg.  It was such an awesome reminder of how God is the same, regardless of the tongue, tribe, nation or language.

One of my goals for the new year is to find a small group of women to meet with.  Today at La Vid I met a new couple who has moved here from Grand Rapids, Michigan, and another gal from Raleigh, NC.  They live in the same neighborhood, as me, as do several others working with different mission organizations.  Hmmm…. I’m not sure if they are even interested in a group, but I praise God for new possibilities – and new friends!

So… to try and catch you all up on some of what’s going on with my work:

Planning and Dreaming – I absolutely love being able to do this with Daisy!  As we talked this week, it was obvious that the Holy Spirit was with us, as our vague ideas began to take shape with His presence.  We know that all the things we would like to see happen in the women, teens and girls, will only be possible in His power. 

We’ve planned out the first few weeks, and outlined far past that.  Of course, it’s all ‘si Dios quiere’ (the Lord willing) and we want to always be open to His changing our plans!

Daisy – Daisy has been struggling with some medical issues for a very long time.  Nothing life-threatening, but definitely impacting her quality of life due to pain and discomfort.  I’m thankful that she has been able to schedule surgery for February.  Having experienced a few years back some of what she’s going through, I’m excited to think of how much better she’ll feel once it’s all done. 

Deep breath – with Daisy needing surgery, I’ll be by myself for several week, including the second week of the outreach team.  On the one hand, I’m pretty nervous about this, as it’s going to be a huge challenge.  The team will be four students aged 19-21, and then there are all the women, teens and girls of El Callejon.  My Spanish is passable one-on-one, but in group settings, I still have a really hard time understanding what’s being said.  Breathing getting fast and shallow... 

En la otra – on the other hand, this is going to mean really stretching out past myself.  It’s going to be an opportunity to go visiting on my own, not depending on Daisy to do the talking.  It’s going to mean depending on the Holy Spirit even more.  It’s going to mean lots of time in prayer.  It will give me a chance to try out new things, and see what works – and, what doesn’t!

Documentary – in February a Regent senior and her small film crew is planning to come for a week to film a documentary about El Callejon.  Thankfully, one of her crew is bilingual.  We are excited by this opportunity to tell more of the story of the people living in El Callejon.

Teams, teams, teams – in March we’re going to have four teams back-to-back.  It’s going to be challenging, especially since Daisy may not be back to full strength then.  One of the teams is from JMU and includes a sweet ‘little sister’ in Christ, and another team has one of the wonderful women from my first outreach in October.  I'm excited to be able to minister with them again!!

New Site – a present, we’re still looking at our new building being completed in March/April, with our moving in planned for April.  We’re excited about it, but know that there is still plenty of ministry through the Holy Spirit in our current little building. 

As you can see, my next weeks are on the full side.  Please pray for me and with me, that I will continue to take time to be refreshed in Christ.  That I will remember to stay firmly attached to the True Vine – and not attached to all my notions of how everything needs to go!  May all I am, and all I do, be for God’s glory alone!!