Mucho Diversión (Much Fun)!

Here's a glimpse into all of the fun things that have been going on the past couple of months!!

OLD SAN JUAN (touring on segways)

BEACHES (San Juan and Vieques for 1 year Anniversary!!!)

PARTIES!!

Surprise birthday party for Todd and Hung's mother cooked Vietnamese food for everyone!!

Personal Growth

Classes are keeping us busy. Here's some little nuggets we'd love to share with you from each of our classes:

Perspectives: (we suggest looking into taking one of these courses even if you don't think you'll live overseas at any point. It's taught us so much about Christianity past and present.) One big thing we've taken is the ability to impact the world anywhere we are. Internationals, esp. in the US are one of the most neglected people. Can you believe that most have never been in an American's home? Imagine the impact you could have if you opened your home and life to them, showed interest in their culture and shared the love of God with them. They would be best suited to go home and reach their family and friends in their country.

Life Calling: "Everyone ends up somewhere in life. A few people end up somewhere on purpose." Vision brings everything we do into focus. We'll gain passion, motivation, direction, and purpose. Each of us has been given a unique purpose from God. So what's God showing you and are you praying and preparing to take action when he says the time is right? We're still learning to identify our specific vision but it's been fun and is stretching our faith!

Foundations for Christian Living: We've been discussing healthy relationships. I highly suggest reading the book Peacemaker. It's about having a right relationship with God, understanding his grace and how that plays out into our relationships. It includes things like forgiveness. This has been very hard to apply. We've just realized how we don't fully understand God's love for us and how nothing we do can make us love us more or less. Of course this affects how we treat others too.

We had a "Living in Grace" seminar where a few speakers came and the whole team, including wives were able to come together for the weekend. The biggest thing we pulled from it is that right now and even after we leave God has us in a time of preparation. We are going to focus on learning more about the bible, growing in character and prayer, and practically learning how to do ministry wherever we are.

Relationships

I was blessed with my friend Melissa. We met in the cafeteria on campus. She speaks great English and is teaching me Spanish each week. It's been fun to get to know each other better and God has blessed us with the ability to be vulnerable with one another. Please pray that although we only have about a month and a half left that we would go deeper and that I would love her as Christ would and not hold back truth because I'd fear her rejection. And that God would soften her heart to the gospel.


Jason was able to go to the World Baseball Classic with Jonathon, a friend that he met in the gym in our neighborhood. They of course had a lot of fun at the game and Jason was even able to share about how he came to have a relationship with Christ. His father is a pastor and we will be going to church with him this Sunday. Please pray that he would take ownership for what he believes and not base it on what others tell him is true.


Our friend Andre left for boot camp two weeks ago so we had a farewell party. We had ice cream and brownies and played games. He's someone that has spent quite a bit of time with and developed close relationships with people from the team. He is still searching when it comes to spiritual things. We've grown to love him. Please pray that God would continue to pursue him and that he would no longer resist Him. Also that God would put people around him in the Navy that love God and would share that with him.