A Weekend of Thanksgiving...and Food...

So I have actually been wanting to write something again for a while, but I was unsure of what to write. I have been finding that a lot of things that have been happening are either very personal, or to hard to put into words. I have been finding that God is and has been moving drastically. He has a plan and there is nothing that we can do to stop it, so we might as well join it. We are participating in a reading plan called "Life Journaling". It is set up so that through the course of a year, you read the New Testament twice, and the Old Testament once. So this past week we read the book of Esther along with some other stuff. I would just like to point out the amazing plan and purpose of God. This book has been one that has caused a lot of discussion in the church, especially in the earlier periods in our history. Why? Because it does not mention God once during the entire thing. God is 'not' present; or so people think. I just see this as an amazing example of how we can be doing God's will, without even knowing it. In Isaiah 1:17 we, as God's chosen people, are called to, "learn to do good; seek justice, correct oppression; bring justice to the fatherless, plead the widow's cause" — basically what Esther was trying to, and did do. So was God not present in the book of Esther? or was He just not mentioned? The Jewish traditions (feasts) were set-up in a cyclical fashion so that they could not forget about God. It was their way of teaching their children what God had done for them, and what he was still promising to do. We had one session on the Jewish Feasts and it was an hour and a half full of mind blowing information. We are blessed to have an amazing guy named Dan as the grounds keeper for the Mark Center. He used to live in Jerusalem and has taken up the tradition of celebrating the feasts with his family and is very knowledgeable in the historical, messianic fulfillment, and spiritual application of all the feasts.

So after that random jumble of information, I think I would like to speak on this weekend. It has definitely been a very chill time spent watching movies, going for hikes, and sharing meals. This weekend has had a very busy kitchen as we prepare for a thanksgiving meal for tonight. Two cheesecakes have been made, a couple batches of cinnamon buns, a delicious brunch this morning and currently there is a turkey in the oven and someone is making a whip cream fruit salad. It will be interesting to see how it turns out, considering that I am currently the one cooking the turkey...and I have never done it before. So I might see if we can take some pictures tonight and then I will upload it on to here. Other than that, I was able to share a thanksgiving lunch with one of my teammates and his girlfriend's family. It was amazing how 'at home' I felt. They welcomed all of us with open arms and open hearts. It was a great time sharing a meal and spending time singing some hymns afterwards. They are a very musical family and love to sing praises to our Lord.

Other than that, I guess I will now fully introduce you to my team. Here is one of our pictures:

From left to right there is Adele, Anna, Myself, and Taylor — and we make up the team that is going to Central Asia. Please continue to pray for us as we work together to grow closer to God and be filled with the light of Christ. Pray for unity and for everything to continue to come together. Currently we have a couple of hurdles that we have to work through. One is finances. The majority of the team has raised everything, but their are some who still need a considerable chunk. For myself I know that I am still in need of around $4000.00. If you would like to contribute to all that is happening in Central Asia please contact me or click on this link --> https://secure.mbmission.org/donate/cdn/C7739

For the second major hurdle, we have an issue with a passport that has been in process for too long. One of the team members is still waiting for their passport to be returned to them. Please pray that this process will be quick and that the passport will arrive as soon as possible. Thanks for your prayers! If you guys have any questions, don't hesitate to ask!