The Lord has been good

The Lord has been faithful

It seems as if I have given up on blogs entirely these last few months, and it’s true I have. So for that aspect, I open with an apology. I’d love to share with you a brief overview of these last few months and an eye opening look into what’s ahead!

Let’s go back to our time in Albania, my team and I had a rough time. We focused a lot on youth ministry and while that seems pretty simple it sure wasn’t. Most of the youth we hosted in our various youth camps / groups were only there for the food and a quick hang out. Most had openly rejected the testimonies, worship and games we were offering. Now, I don’t mind not seeing the fruits of my labor but man would I like to know I at least dug in the ground. It sure was a time where we were all reminded that perseverance is valuable in the kingdom, and that seeds could have been planted without us even taking notice. Along with our struggling ministry, we had a hard time living in community. It’s definitely expected when putting 30 young adults together in one building for two months, but it sure affected us on our bad days. Towards the end of our time in Albania, I had come to terms with the fact that my plan of how this was thought to have worked out was simply not as good as Gods. I had to give up my want to see the effects of our work there and just give it to God. It is well with my soul, not my will but His.

After those two months, we said long goodbyes to our host family as we left one early morning and headed to the airport. Our next destination was Italy.

Galatians 6:9 Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Italy.. woah was it a beautiful time. Yet, it was a season that would not have been possible without Albania.

We planned for two weeks of set ministry time in Italy and one week for debrief. During those first two weeks we were blessed with the opportunity to step into over 100 high school classrooms and speak our testimonies of Gods love to 2000 Italian students. Woah, what a change. If I wanted to write out all of the miracles and God moments I don’t think I would stop writing. Youth camps that my team and I started are still running as youth groups for young adults. High school students coming to Christ, many of our translators were among them. Revival was among us in Italy and we LOVED it. Communities were filled with the Spirit. Glory to God. Now again I say that would not have been possible without Albania. Albania gave us time to strengthen our testimonies, the Lord gave us words to speak. Albania gave us time to strengthen connection with each other, the Lord gave us fulfilling life to live out together.

Albania was hard, Italy was busy, both will ALWAYS be necessary to advance then kingdom. Both gave our teams equal blessings to carry with us, Glory to God.

After those two weeks of ministry in Italy, we took a rest period and settled down in Sorrento for a week. After that week, a decent chunk of our group headed to the airport to fly home for the holidays. Some not planning on coming back which made it bitter sweet.

Being home after being in foreign territory for 3 months was an odd feeling thats for sure. Seeing old friends and entering old schedules felt like new. Yet, I definitely enjoyed being home to love on family during the holidays. Though there were many shocks in the lack of familiarity, I did enjoy every last second of it in the long run. I was still very excited to get back on then field with the friends that I missed so dearly.

Now, I am sitting here in Chiapas Mexico, a few weeks into the spring semester. These last four months have made my worship even stronger. It made my heart run faster towards what was good and lovely. This new season has proven to be an amazing growth period for not only me but all of us here in Mexico. Stepping into the community here during training week was a breath of fresh air. Seeing familiar faces and some new ones was so exciting. After the first week here in Chiapas this group was back to feeling like a second home to me. I will admit, we have been SUPER busy with our new schedule, balancing ministry, school, and personal hobbies has sure been a learning curve. No matter the struggles, I am super glad to be here with these people. Glory to God, I can’t wait to see what He’s doing next.