Set Apart Girl

I just discovered that the latest issue of Set Apart Girl magazine has been posted on the web. You can check it out here! Once again, it is packed full of inspirational articles. I especially enjoyed the ones on Time Wasters, The Art of Hospitality, Purpose of Place, and Sisters of the Common Life. And of course, Annie does such an amazing job with graphic design and photography that the magazine is a feast for the eyes as well as a delight for the soul!

Happy Anniversary Katelin and Nathan!

It's hard to believe today marks the one-year anniversary of my sister and brother-in-law! My, how the time flies! To celebrate this milestone, they have posted a summary of pictures from their wedding here in case you want to relive the memories with us. :-)

Love stories written by God are so beautiful!

And the Choir Sings!

I thought it would be fun to give you a sample of my church, Iglesia Bautista Betania, by posting a video of the choir singing. These Latinos sure love to sing with gusto!

Fishing In the Streets

It has been such a blessing to meet fellow Christians here in the missionary language school who have a passion for evangelism!

Last week, a group of us went out on a Friday evening to do some street preaching and witnessing in historic downtown McAllen. However, when we pulled up, we realized that small towns close shop much earlier than we had anticipated; the streets were practically deserted. Our leader got up on his box anyway and shared his testimony in Spanish to the few people who trickled by. We were also able to pass out a handful of tracts. One team member even got into a one-on-one conversation with a group of people during which time he was able to share the Gospel (see above picture).

Since the little town was empty, we decided to move on to a bigger fishing hole and camped out at the nearby mall for the next 45 minutes. What a zoo it was in comparison! It was exciting to spread out, pass out tracts, and look for folks with whom we could share the Gospel...this time in English! Each of us was able to have a one-on-one conversation with at least one person that night.

Today, we tried the streets again, figuring that a Saturday around lunch time would be a better chance to catch a crowd. This time, the streets were packed with cars and we had a hard time finding a parking space! George set up his box and courageously proclaimed the truths of the Lord to those passing by while the rest of us formed a crowd or passed out tracts.

This time, we also had the blessing of one of the bilingual Bible Institute students being with us. Seeing a pair of young women sitting on an adjacent bench, he nudged me and said, "Hey, let's go talk to those girls." So we walked over to where they sat and he asked them if they spoke English or Spanish. When they said Spanish, he started up a conversation with them about eternity. I was so glad he could speak their language! While he talked, I prayed. The girls had to leave before he could finish sharing, but we pray the seeds planted will cause them to hunger after truth.

Next, we approached a pair of men who had been listening to the street preaching each time George jumped up on his box. Noel again was able to converse with the men in their language. However, it wasn't long before the squirms started and all of a sudden they had to go! They at least left with some tracts, a phone number to call with questions, and food for thought.

The rest of the team was able to pass out a number of Gospel tracts to those passing by. One of the kids on our team handed out candy and Halloween tracts too, which were gladly received by parents and children alike!

I am so excited to have found likeminded believers with whom to join forces as we seek to obey the Lord and share about Him with others! Please pray with us that the seeds planted today will be watered and bring forth fruit that remains!

The Love of God - O Amor de Dios

Last week was Bible Conference here at RGBI for the students in the Bible Institute. Those of us in the missionary language school were able to attend the evening conference sessions. Even though they were in Spanish, I was able to understand quite a bit and enjoyed the experience!

On the last night of the conference, I was on the schedule to play the piano and provide special music. I asked my friend, Lorena, to sing soprano with me for a duet of "The Love of God" in both English and Spanish. We both got nervous and so our special didn't turn out quite as well as we had practiced, but we prayed that God would use it to be a blessing anyway!

Here is a video of the song:

Children's Bell Choir

Recently, the children of staff and students here at RGBI played a bell choir special for our morning chapel service. It was such a blessing to hear beautiful music being created by little ones! I loved the idea of teaching children to play the bells using a color coding technique. I'm hoping to take this idea and use it on the mission field one day...

In the meanwhile, here is a video of the song for your enjoyment.

Promoting Courageous

I'm sure most of you reading this blog are aware that Sherwood Pictures is launching another world-changing film next year entitled Courageous. For months now, I have been following the movie-making process via their website and praying for this timely film that has the potential to impact thousands of lives.

If you have not taken the time to learn about this film and its message, I encourage you to click this link and watch the video posted. I hope it will be an encouragement and inspiration!