So in keeping everyone updated about my summer, I feel like I need to give some background on how I have seen God move over the past few months preparing me for these trips.
On Nov. 4 of this past year I wrote in my prayer journal that I desired for God to give me the ability and the confidence to speak in Spanish and over the past few months he has granted this by giving me an amazing teacher and a wonderful class where I felt comfortable. It floored me at the Peru Yard Sale when I would start speaking to someone in Spanish and it would surprise them and when they would ask if I speak spanish I could say yes.
I also started praying around the same time that the Lord would grant me community and spiritual companionship in Spain, even if it was just one person in a different town. I just wanted someone there to talk with and grow with. And he more than blessed this request: he has given me several believers in my town and other towns in addition to contacts to missionaries and churches in Cadiz and Madrid.
Then, this past week he answer my prayers about Peru. Because I am using my savings to fund Spain I needed to raise all or the majority of the money for the mission trip to Peru. I was worrying and praying for weeks about this because I was not raising money as fast as I was needed. One day I was in my ADPR class messing around on my computer because I was bored and I opened an e-mail from one of our trip leaders that said that Andy (the youth pastor) found a deal on tickets that would reduce the price of each person’s plane ticket by $700! What?! This kind of thing never happens, even if an airline does have a discount on a ticket it is not by that much. Needless to say I was floored and it is a good thing class was ending about the time I read it because I threw my stuff in my bag and ran out of the door of the slc laughing and crying with joy. I called my mom to tell her and she could barely understand what I was saying because I was laughing and choked up at the same time. I am sure the people that walked by me thought I must be crazy because of how I was acting and I know I got some looks.
I have again and again been reminded over these past few weeks how the Lord provides in ways we expect and majorly in ways we don’t think about. I have dramatically seen how prayers can be answered in small ways and in large but each time, no matter the size, it is still a wonderful blessing.
If you want to read Andy’s account of the airline deal here is something he wrote about it:
http://www.facebook.com/home.php?#!/anelson1050?v=app_2347471856&ref=ts
