Ahoj! thanks for giving me the opportunity to share with you this special moment in my life. One year!!! Can you believe it ? The time goes by so quickly.
Ahoj 2018!
I am so grateful to God for allowing me to come to Slovakia and also because he has given me a wonderful new spiritual family. It is a blessing. I am so thankful for the Slovak people for their hospitality, they opened their homes and their hearts to me. Also, I want to say thanks for Despacito (the song of the year) because that song gave me fully funny moments and an open door for ministry.
Last year was incredible for me. It was an amazing ride full of blessings and a lot of learning. I had brand new experiences, I met lovely people from all around the world, visited pretty places besides Slovakia, I am learning to speak Slovak. I got a bunch of new friends (on facebook too!) But also I left my family, my church, and my closest friends. I left behind many things but not my desire to honor God and serve him. That is the most important thing to me.
Very briefly, in the last year I:
went back to school
I attended two missions conferences
Had 2 Pijama Parties
Attended 7 youth camps, five of them in Berea centrum
I had the privilege to lead one soul to Jesus Christ and added many new names to my prayers for salvation.
I taught Spanish for the first time.
and I had to dance Despacito several times !
I want to share with you now what God has shown me, and what I´ve learned from this time living here as a missionary, as a “stranger and foreigner in this land” and how I made it….so far!
There are 4 things that touched my heart, I made an acronym, an easy way to remember for me, AHOJ !
*Ahoj is an informal greeting here in Slovakia the people welcome you saying Ahoj and used as farewell as well
Available to the Vision.
Two years ago God told me that this place, Slovakia, would be the promised land for my calling.So I came! My pastor in Mexico and my church sent me. The only people I met before I got here were Peter, then Zorka and Jurko, the leaders of the church in Nove Mesto Nad Vahom where I live now. God showed me to trust him, in his word. He has a vision for this church, this country, and great blessing, I just needed to say I am here, send me. Because when you have the vision from God, your passion to please God is growing, you need to stay focused and available in your heart for anything he requires from you. Like Abraham did when God asked him to leave his land. So He went and God blessed him.
1The Lord had said to Abram, “Go from your country, your people and your father’s household to the land I will show you.4.’So Abram went, as the Lord had told him; and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he set out from Harran. ‘Genesis 12:1,4
Humble in the mission.
Working in a new place with a new team can be a little stressful, especially when you don’t know the people, the language or culture. At the beginning it seems very easy, because you have some experience from the past, and for me besides, God called me here. So I thought it will be a piece of cake. With my background as a missionary, having many activities on my resume and a lot of knowledge working in the ministry area it seemed very simple to me. But it wasn’t. I had to leave behind all the knowledge that I had and to start learning from this new experience. It doesn’t matter what have you done before, God cares who you are today, it is an important testimony of your love and submission to the Lord. Once I told Peter, please let me help here in the church, doing anything church needs. I am going to be sincere here! I must tell you that there is one thing that I really don’t like to do….and that is cleaning the kitchen, washing the dishes. Well guess what my first task was here at the church? You guessed it! Cleaning the kitchen and dishes! But I didn´t mind, you know because I wanted to serve, be useful and give honor God.
“Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love.”Ephesians 4:2 NIV
Open to a new culture.
If you ask me… Do you miss Mexico? I´ll say yes, everything here is different! The food, the weather, the economy, everything except God. He is the same! People need to know Jesus in this country the same as in Mexico, the necessity for hope is the same. I know I need to be open to new ways of reaching out to people. I’ve learned to be respectful of the culture, following the example of the Apostle Paul in 1 Corinthians 9 he said “I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some” he also said he was brave when the gospel had to be preached. So, I’ve learned that when the time comes to share the gospel, I need to be bold and brave.
Well among many other things, I´ve learned to take my shoes off when I come inside, to love *halusky and *kaputnica. And ice skating…that is my new hobby!
I have become all things to all people so that by all possible means I might save some. 23 I do all this for the sake of the gospel, that I may share in its blessings.1 Corinthias 9.22
Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong. Do everything in love. ‘1 Corinthians 16:13–14
Joyful in the field.
The whole year was wonderful not only for the good moments but also for the times when the only thing that I could do was cry and pray and read my bible. There were moments of sorrow and feeling lonely. I mean is normal having those moments, Jesus wept too. But I knew this: God is greater, he has a plan for me, he is in control, he loves me. He gave me a promise and I know he is still working in me. He is faithful. One of the things that gives me joy is knowing that people are getting closer to Jesus, and for me that is the best and it is worth it.
There is a famous quote on pinterest: “Joy is not the absence of sorrow, it is the presence of Jesus Christ in your life”. That quote is so true!
“The Lord is my strength and my shield; my heart trusts in him, and he helps me. My heart leaps for joy, and with my song I praise him.”Psalm 28:7 NIV
I really feel so happy and blessed being here. I am looking forward to seeing what God has prepared for me and for this ministry this new year. The number 8 in the Bible represents “ a new beginning”. This year I want to start something new. I have many projects in mind. I am praying, I need you be praying for me and with me too. My desire is to be reaching people for Jesus, developing leaders and true followers of Christ who give honor and glory to God all over the world, because that is the Great Comission.
*Halušky typical slovak dish made with potato dumplings, bacon and bryndza cheese.
*Kapustnica . Typical slovak soup is a cabbage soup with sausage, paprika and chopped ham.
