Baby steps....

This past month has been filled with new possibilities and surprises. It looks like circumstances in Cusco have changed and I am now revisiting the possibility of serving there. The work I’d be involved in would be a bit different than I had previously expected, but there is still a great need for the gospel in this hard to reach people group in Cusco . There is also an opportunity for me to serve in another city in Peru and I am exploring it as a possible place that God might be calling me to.

My current plan is to attend language school in Arequipa, Peru to learn Spanish. I can make a decision about the final destination while I’m in school. Regardless of where I end up, I can rest in the fact that God will use me for His purposes wherever I go. I’m not exactly sure what my end destination is at this point, but I’m trusting that God will show me in His perfect timing. I’ll start with learning Spanish and we’ll see what the next step is.

My new departure date is March 22nd. I’m looking forward to what God has in store for me and where that might be. God has taught me so much this past month and in the end, I am thankful for His love and care for me as I go through this time of uncertainty. Thank you all for continuing to pray with me as I walk through this adventure.

21 days...

Change is the spice of life...

As I move closer to leaving for the mission field, God continues to teach me that I am totally dependent on Him. As of right now, it looks like God is leading me away from Cusco. I am currently in a month long training program with my mission organization, MTW, to prepare me for the field. When I left home three weeks ago, I thought I was on the home stretch to Cusco and was very excited!!! My plan was to move to Peru on March 4th to start language school, but God has other plans. The team in Cusco is experiencing some changes and complications including some team members departing from the field. These things would make it really difficult for me to join the team at this time. With that in mind, I am trusting that the Lord has something else in store for me.

I know that the Lord has a perfect plan. Proverbs 19:21 says, “Many are the plans of a man’s heart, but it is the Lord’s purpose that prevails.” I am finding this to be true. So….now I’m in the process of figuring out where God is calling me to serve.

I am now exploring options for other sites where I can serve on the field as a nurse. I have some options, so now I'm thinking and praying through all of this. Please pray for me as I walk through this process of discovering where God is calling me to go. You can pray for clarity, patience, and wisdom as I work through all this. It’s been a wild ride so far and God has already taught me so much.

I’m looking forward to discovering the exciting future God has in store for me. Thank you for your continued support. I’ll keep you all posted on God's amazing plan for my life.

For all the Baltimore people out there, I just want to let you know I'm so jealous. No snow in Belgium.... I'm Looking forward to coming home next week. See you all soon!!!

The rain in Spain falls mainly on the plain

It has been a good week in Zaventem, Belgium.

This week has been full of some great teaching during our time in the classroom. We have been looking at different methods of evangelism, contextualizing the gospel, conflict management, culture shock, and so much more…. The one thing that stuck out to me this week was the idea that we need to evangelize Christians and disciple non Christians. When did the disciples become Christians? They did drop everything and become followers of Christ, but when did Thomas finally believe? As Christians, we need to preach the Gospel to ourselves. I can be so much like a Pharisee sometimes and need to keep hearing the gospel of grace every day. As I go to the mission field and enter into people’s lives, it is good for me to remember that coming toward Christ can be a long process, not a onetime decision.

Between all of the classroom time and various other assignments I have been plenty busy. I had an opportunity to go to a prayer meeting at the house of one of the members of the Korean church my team is involved with this month. The women were so gracious to open their homes to us, share their lives, and serve us some AMAZING Korean food. It was one hot mess in some ways…..there were so many different languages flying around... (Korean, Thai, Flemish, and English). It was inevitable that something would get lost in translation. Needless to say, there was lots of laughing going on. One thing I learned that day was that the Korean church is a group of believers that prays. The church has numerous house churches, prayer groups, and times for prayer devoted to North Korea. It’s been a great encouragement to see God at work in this church.

I’ve had a little bit of time for travel to wild exotic places. This weekend a group of went to Brazil. It was great!! It was a nice change of pace and much warmer!! Actually, a group of us went to Brugge (Brussel’s capital for chocolate and lace). It was a nice time away even if it was cold and rainy. Back to the classroom tomorrow…. I’m looking forward to another intense and exciting week and look forward to what God has to teach me before I head off to my final destination.

40 days to go……

If I owned a grocery store...

….I’d call it Abba’s Butt. It's been a good week here in Belgium. I have enjoyed spending some time in Zaventem (the village I'm staying in) and in Brussels as well. My team and I are enjoying getting to know the public transportation system and the ins and outs of the city. It’s been nice to have some time to walk around the village and city. I’m starting to become better acquainted with the community I’m living in, so it’s nice to be able to make my way to bakeries and other nice establishments….

We've been spending mornings in the classroom and the rest of the time putting some of what we have learned into practice. My favorite day last week was when we went into Brussels for an insane team exercise in which we collected a boatload of information about the city with the end goal of making a presentation for a fictional team of short term missionaries coming to Brussels.. We spend a good part of the day gathering information from the city and people in the city as well. We did everything from locating and visiting museums, locating the stock exchange, and major architectural landmarks to eating some great waffles, asking 20 what their favorite beer is, and all kinds of other stuff. I think my favorite stop on this excursion was a visit to a café/pub where we talked with the owner for a while. The point of the trip was a lesson in teamwork, but we did have lots of fun too!!

Sunday worship at the Korean church was quite interesting. I’ve never seen so many Koreans so boisterous (there was plenty of clapping during church). It was a good time of worship and thankfully we had a translator for the service. I’m looking forward to getting to know people in the church and attending their house churches as well.

Just thought I’d end on a positive note…. I’m happy to share some great news with you all….I found out today that a. I’m an optimist (thought you’d appreciate that Meg) and b. I’m emotionally stable(kind of…) I’m excited for this time of training to learn and be equipped to be more effective in sharing the gospel, loving others, and ministering to the lost. My prayer is that I will be a good listener and wait expectantly for what God has to teach me during my time here. Time is flying right on by. Before I know it I’ll be in Peru.

44 days to go….

Finally here

After a fairly pain free flight over the Atlantic ocean, I have arrived in Brussels. Yay!!! With no complications or crazy moments so far..... I'm optimistic that it's going to be a great 4 weeks.

The conference center/dorm I'll be calling home for a little while is very quaint and tucked away in a cute little village. I had an opportunity to explore a little bit and am thankful that I didn't get lost this time around... It's a bit cold and drafty in the house, but I'm enjoying staying in a neat old house (thank you all who strongly suggested I bring lots of sweaters). I'll be living with two other women in a dorm room and will be sharing a shower with 10 other women(that should be interesting...). I guess it's good prep for me since I'll be living with a host family for six months while I'm in language school. It should be a nice place to stay for the next four weeks.

It looks like I'll be pretty busy while I'm here with plenty of time in the classroom, work in local churches, and homework too. Hopefully there will be time to sleep too!! I just found out today that I'll be working at a Korean church while I'm here. This is going to be a great adventure!!

I'm excited to meet people in the community and spend time in Brussels, but am also looking forward to listening to and learning what God is going to teach me during my time here. I'm sure it will be a fruitful time for me as I prepare to go to Peru (50 days to go...). Thank you all for continuing to pray for me and support me as I walk through the process of getting to the field.

Off to Brussels!!

The day has finally come....I head off to Belgium tomorrow afternoon. I'm pumped to make my way to the last bit of training with MTW before I'm on my way to Peru. I guess that isn't entirely true since I'll be in language school for 6 months.

I'm looking forward to spending the next month in Brussels. It should be a good time filled with plenty of challenges, learning, fellowship, and fun too. It will be great to see old friends and enjoy good beer and chocolate(yes Meg.....I will hook you up with the "good stuff" when I get back). On a more serious note, please pray for me as I travel to and from Brussels(and for the month I'm there as well). Please pray for Meg(she says she will actually miss me or something like that...)

Thank you all for your continued support as I move closer to the work God has called me to in Cusco.
A.Smith

53 days to go.....