I apologize for waiting so long to up-date my blog...I guess I have a mixture of excuses...lack of time, still struggling with getting settled, working on my classes, etc. However, I imagine the real reason is that when one is still going through culture shock (as I have been) there are days when it's hard to know what to share. Part of culture shock for me is just a difficulty in the transition...missing family and friends from home, being uncertain of the plans God has for me here, and many times a general feeling of loneliness. The good side is that it isn't constant...it tends to come and go like a roller coaster! Frequently when I'm feeling low, God provides little glimmers of light that seem to make the world a brighter place and give me a great deal of encouragement! For those things I am extremely grateful!
One of those glimmers of light that God provided occurred last Sunday. One Sunday each month, my church has been doing some type of evangelistic event in order to reach out to the people in the surrounding neighborhood. The plan for November's evangelistic event, was to go door to door, passing out tracts and sharing the gospel as well as giving fliers with the times of the church's services. I debated whether or not I wanted to go...I'm never very comfortable going door to door plus my stomach had been a little upset and in general I was busy having a pity party. However, I sort of felt like I should go...so I went! We met at the church to pray and divide up into groups. There was a large number of people who came for a church our size...I think about 20-30 people came. Before I go much further let me explain that many of the churches that SAM works with minister to the lower-class people. Mine is not an exception to that, although, interestingly enough there are also several people that would fit into a middle-class category. They own their own car, rent/own nice houses, have enough food to eat, etc. Typically there wouldn't be much interaction between these two groups so I am always thankful that it isn't a source of division within our congregation. Anyway, for this particular event most of the regular attendees came and even a few children which was neat to see. Then, another woman came in late, while we were praying. She is one of the poorest members of our congregation. Often our church has aided in providing food and meeting medical needs for her and her children. She also is a real talker! The kind of person that you sometimes want to run from if you see coming, because you know that if you start talking to her, it'll be next to impossible to get away from! Many times it is very difficult to understand her which makes the conversation even more of a challenge. After the prayer had finished, I realized that she had come and I will admit I was quite surprised, yet pleased that she was there! Then I began to look around the room...she was sitting right next to me...and in a few minutes we were going to be dividing up into groups of two to go around the neighborhood. I didn't think this was how it was supposed to go, I didn't know if I wanted to do that...mostly because I was afraid of being left alone with her! However, God had other plans! There was a younger woman there so we decided to form a group of three. That seemed like a better option to me! Then we started out for our designated part of the neighborhood. It didn't take long for me to understand how God intended for us to work together and to use each of us for our individual gifts. I turned out to be good at the social skills (greeting people as they came to the door), because of her fluency in Spanish, the younger woman who joined us was great at sharing the gospel and the tracts that we took with us, and the older woman was a much needed part of our team due to her boldness. Both the younger woman and I are a bit more shy, introverts. Yet this woman was on fire for the Lord and wanted to make sure everyone in the neighborhood heard His Word. She banged on the door until they'd come talk to us (since some people needed a little encouragement to stop what they were doing and come). She also pulled us over to people walking by in the street regardless of whether or not another group may have already talked to them. It was exciting to see that even through our differences and our faults, God could use us to get His message out! I loved every minute of it! In all, there were probably 7-10 groups and we passed out 10-15 tracts! Praise the Lord! Continue to pray that through those seeds that were planted...more will come to know Him!
I have one other short blessing that God provided for me this week! A new addition to my family...a one year old Rottweiler puppy named Juan. His owners are friends of mine, but they needed to travel for awhile and asked me to take care of him. They aren't sure how long they will be gone, but I'm enjoying his presence at the house! So far, Chiquito isn't too sure that Juan should be here...but we're making progress. I have been able to take them both for a few walks without any fighting...that is progress as opposed to the first day he came to live with us! He stays outside and Chiquito stays inside so little by little, they're getting used to it. He is a sweet dog, a big baby really! I love having him here!
Well, I guess that's it for now! My pie is about to finish baking and then I'm going to have Thanksgiving dinner with friends! Only a year ago, I was watching Wesley (my nephew) try his first spoonful of sweet potato casserole and enjoying visiting with my Grandfather at my parent's house (before he fell, broke his hip, and moved to a nursing care facility in Ohio). A lot has happened this year...more than can be mentioned in this paragraph! Many things for which I am so very thankful! Blessings to you all!
