Unveiled

“I never said it would be easy. I said it would be worth it.” (A reminder from Jesus talking about our ministry.) These words have become so evident, so true. so tangible, and so real to me in my heart.
The story and current state of my family’s salvation has been known, and all of you know how precious they are to me. Being here in my third semester of Bible College the Lord has renewed me with excitement and joy of Himself. His words “Remember Me….” Have become apart of my daily dose of “Jesus”. The incredible thing is that there is so so much to “remember” about Him, and what is even greater is remembering that He is that same God today as He was when He first beautifully invaded my life. Just as powerful. Just as alive. And just as loving as He was then, He still remains.
In being the wonderful stress case that I am, I have almost perfected the art of asking “well, what next Lord? Im going to live my life for you, and I do not want to be out of your will, so please Lord, please guide me to do Your will. What should I do next semester?” … This is all fine and dandy, but how frustrating and consuming it becomes. Praise the Lord that He is so faithful to reveal Himself in such ways that our feeble minds can actually focus and listen to Him, Praise the Lord when He grabs a hold of us and captures our thoughts and options and “other” peoples opinions that plague our mind, and allows us to sit at His feet and JUST LISTEN.
Today in class, the Lord seized my heart in a way that words cannot dictate. As the Lord spoke through the speaker… His gentle voice filled my ears, while His hand wiped my tears, and He Himself began to unveil the burden of my heart.

As the Lord was doing that work in my heart, the message that was being spoken was lovingly convicting my brothers and sisters and myself. And a few things remained on the forefront of my heart and mind from class:

The Lord cares.

How quickly do we forget this? Or maybe its not a question of forgetfulness, maybe it is a question of do you truly know what this means? Yes the Lord cares. But about what? About Who? And do you care about the same things?
The world is going crazy right now, especially in America it seems. People are for this and people are for that. Everyone is still fighting for freedom in the land of the free and all the while, us Believers sit and aspire that everyone would know and have the security that we have, right? … that is life… well, my life at least. Now my only question (to myself) is: WHAT ARE YOU DOING WITH YOUR LIFE?

The only way you won’t waste your life is if you do what the Lord wants you to do. DON’T WASTE IT. For me, it’s obvious that the Lord has called me to be in Bible College. I need to not waste this unique time I have to set all aside and grow in the Lord. But I do. How? By constantly wondering what is next? When should I start “real” school? Blah blah blah. Who cares!? Its not here yet. Right now I need to BE HERE. Wherever you are in life right now, whether it is in ministry, career, family or all of the above… BE THERE. Bloom where you are planted. How much of our thought life is plagued with our fears, doubts, worries, self-praises, and our own plans and desires and goals?
IF YOUR FULFILLMENT CANNOT BE COMPLETELY FOUND IN CHRIST, WHAT MAKES YOU THINK IT CAN BE FOUND IN ANYTHING ELSE? (a guy, a girl, your spouse, your kids, your Sunday school message, your career).
We truly need to “Seek FIRST the Kingdom of God and Hid righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you.” Matthew 6:33.

Tozar once said “100% of us die. The percentage cannot be increased.” We only have one life, and it will soon pass; only the things of Christ will last. So, we are to REDEEM THE TIME, because you can’t get it back. (Ephesians 5:15-16). Following Jesus is about sacrificing. Picking up your cross and following, THIS is your reasonable service to Him. We are to Keep a loose grip on the things of this world. Be faithful to the Lord. How many times has He ever let you down? How many times has He provided for you with the air in your lungs and the smile of your family members?
God cares about faithfulness and obedience. (Hebrews 12) Its about laying aside weights (it doesn’t have to be a sin, its just something that is holding you back from giving your all to Him). Running with endurance, and ultimately looking unto Jesus (this is HUGE. Stop taking your eyes off of Him. Our goal is to be more like Him. How can we do this if we aren’t even looking His way? The Lord cries out “ Stop taking your eyes off of Me, even when you can’t see me.” Have you ever had a blurry vision? It never focuses on its own right? You have to keep your eyes open and they will see clearly. How often do you use your vision? Most of us would agree on a daily basis right? ☺ So, if Jesus is to be the center of our vision… He should be a daily part of your life… well, is He?
This life is so hard. Tiring. Draining. Comfortable. So how do we NOT waste our lives? Philippians 1:20-21 That Christ may be magnified in your body, whether by life or death. The un-wasted life is one that IN EVERYTHING YOU DO, you do it FOR Christ. God is most glorified when we are satisfied IN Him.
Family and friends: It is when our death becomes gain… that you will see Christ, the man who died for you, glorified… and THAT reason alone will give you assurance that your life was never wasted on this earth.

Coming to Bible College has been quite an adventure. It has had its approvals and disapprovals from friends, family members and all the people I love. The term “wasting you time” has emerged in this area of my life, and many times I would take those words and grip them, which would create doubt and fears of my own walk with the Lord and in general what I am doing with my life.
It is now almost the end of my THIRD semester of Bible College. Oh the irony. haha! Through the ups and down and doubts and confirmations I have never been more sure of my plan in this life. MY PLAN IS HIS PLAN. To seek first His kingdom and to love one another until it hurts, and the love some more. That is Our plan ☺. I desire from the Lord to BREAK MY HEART FOR WHAT BREAKS YOURS . And with that, the Lord has been sp faithful to show me what is breaking in His heart, and that is what has now become my burden, my mission, my love…. My family’s salvation.
Its pretty plain and simple, its HOPE. This is what I want my family to have. The same Hope that I have. Before the Lord my hope was much like all the cookie cutter plans and dreams of this world. I aspired to succeed, to please, to live a fun, quiet, overall good life. I knew of Jesus and I didn’t have a problem with him. I thought he was a good guy and I thought religion was good on Sundays. How tiring and stressful this life becomes.
But oh how the love of the Lord has stolen my heart. After I was saved and my relationship with Christ began I had an entire different reason for living and entire different thought process, and entire different trust, and an entire different hope. My hope now is HIM. This hope gives me rest. Satisfaction in knowing that everything I do is for Him and imperishable, it is finally worth it. I get to spend eternity with HIM. The ONE BEING that has not only saved me, sanctified me, redeemed me, guided me, guarded me, forgave me everyday I sin, answered me, and completely loved me through every moment of my life, my first love, my best friend. The one that made my heart come alive and gave me peace. That is my HOPE and it is He. His name is Jesus.
Hell is not just a lake of fire for those who chose sin. It is much more scarier that that. It is an eternity without Christ. I cannot live one day without needing Christ, let alone an entire eternity. I need Him. I have Him. I have the eternal Hope. And THAT is my desire. That my family would not come to church, or completely drop their habits or friends or opinions …. But instead, that they would soon experience EVEN ONE of the things that I have in my relationship with Christ. That they would feel what it is like to for the first time find that rest, or that peace, or finally be satisfied and know what it is like to be invaded with His Love. My desire is that they will feel His love and have no other option but to want more of Him, and that they too would have this eternal Hope.
What is so awesome is that I know it is possible. My God is mighty to save.

So… all this is encourage those who may not know exactly what their burden is. We all have one. I encourage you to redeem this time,; He is worth it. His love for us is beyond comprehension, but it doesn’t make it any less true.

My prayer for myself is that I would perfect the art of losing myself in bringing Him praise.

I love you all who are reading this so much. You are all my family and im so blessed by your prayers. Please if you can pray for my grandmother and her kidney situation still. ☺ God is so good.
I can’t wait to see all of yall; it’s coming so soon! Happy Thanksgiving!

At His feet,
Anna

the color of friendship... literally haha

9 Two are better than one,
because they have a good return for their work:

10 If one falls down,
his friend can help him up.
But pity the man who falls
and has no one to help him up!

11 Also, if two lie down together, they will keep warm.
But how can one keep warm alone?

12 Though one may be overpowered,
two can defend themselves.
A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.

Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

serving the Lord... and a little free time...

(Feliz) Halloween!!

mandy the supermandy
and
anna the wild jungle woman / christmas tree gone mad

haha

funnies...

the retreat!!!!!

so in a nutshell... every semester here we take a trip to the other side of the island to have some mad crazy fellowship with the student body and staff. we drive for two hours and hike fo like an hour and a half to this house that has NO ELECTRICITY!! this isnt so bad.. until i realized that mandy signed us up for camping.. this also isnt bad.. but you see, one of the biggest storms in mallorca hit this weekend.!! so as you would guess. on night two amndy and i woke up in our army onesies to the rain seeping under our tent and inside our sleeping bags and footies!!! so from one in the morning to six in the morning we slept in our damp little pjs and our mini tent. God is good :) haha... actually, He is pretty funny. needless to say the next day we slept inthe kitchen pretty much and left two days later. but overall it was a great time to hang out and eat food and listen to the Word and worship together! :)

ah man...

so as ive been here in spain its been amazing!! i cant complain too much... seriously though... the weather... amazing... the scenery... spectacular... the people... incredible... the whole experience has been sweet. but i still miss america... i didnt think i really would miss america.. but i do.. i miss the culture and the excitement of the holidays... it has recently hit me that there will not be a halloween this year... nor will there be a true thanksgiving with turkey...
this week i was thinking about pumpkins.. pumpkin pie, pumpkin spices, pumpkin patches!!! if you have gone, or going to the pumpkin patch... take pictures!!! and please send them... i wanna see the joy living in your lives since i cant... :( but i really do want to see all the cute faces!!! please send them... manfree136@yahoo.com
mandy

days in spain....

here are a few pictures of mine.. some of the girls and i went to palma last week and it poured, like, POURED rain. so, we decided to make it a photo opportunity :)
oh, and my roomie melissa and i were tackling the shower in dorm cleaning together.. haha wit till you see pictures of how small my fridge is.... :)

love you guys!

Thorn

Spiritual Clinic: The Purpose of Suffering

The Thorn.

The world and all whom are in it seem to be at a constant antithesis amongst each other. Whether the world disagrees on statistics, politics, morals, fashion, or example, the world does not share many mutual commonalities. Though, is it undeniable that we all do share trials and great adversities from time to time.
Being here in Spain for a second time would seem to everyone as a “great opportunity” or “such a blessing” or even “oh! You are so lucky, that’s something that I would love to do, if I was still single”. But in a harsh reality, the first few weeks here has been everything BUT. What is so amazing is that even though these words come off so negative and ungrateful, they, like many rough beginnings, end with the sweet realization of the love of the Lord.
There are many who know my story and how the Lord has beautifully and completely redirected my path and desires. Though I was completely untrusting at points, the Lord always continued to be so faithful, patient, and loving. As I gave the Lord one semester of bible college, He led me to my second, and left me with a “peace” to continue my third back out here in Mallorca. As the summer came to an end, so did my peace. The week before my departure, my feelings, emotions, and comfort was a wreck. I loved the ministry I had at home, the relationship I had with my family, and the fellowship I had with my friends. I had such a great ministry and environment at home, why should I go 9,000 miles across the world to find “another” ministry? Why can’t I stay at home, and watch “my” family bible study continue to grow? Why can’t I just stay at home and finally start “my” schooling for medicine? Why cant I stay and make sure “my” grandma and her kidney gets prayed for? … All these questions intruded my mind and hardened my heart… and when the time came, I uneasily boarded the plane.
These past three weeks have gone by, and I have prayed night and day that I was in the Lord’s will. I prayed so fervently that the Lord would pick up my heart and mind at home, and reunite it with my body in Mallorca. My desire was spoken, that I would truly seek His will here, and that I would enjoy and utilize this blessing that He had given me. I wanted to bring reality to the things that all the people back at home “thought” Bible College was. I truly did desire that my desire would be parallel to His. I even cried in women’s discipleship class last week! … Hoping that maybe, just maybe, it was the Lord that was breaking me and reminding me that this is where he wants me. And prayer after prayer, the Lord stayed quiet, until now.
The third chapter of the book “A Spiritual Clinic” is titled “THE PURPOSE OF SUFFERING”…. Okay, so yes, it sounds a bit dramatic, but wait until you see how the Lord may use it for you too…
Because these last three weeks I have felt like I have been living in a complete “chick flick” movie… going out and eating ice cream when I miss home, or calling the people that I miss so much every chance I get, or listening to every depressing slow song that come onto my computer, I have also had the privilege of reading every scripture that has to do with dying, suffering, doubting, hating, stressing, and you know, all the horrible ones. Haha! …. Anyways, today I came across the definition of the word “Thorn”. A thorn is a synonym for the word splinter, stake, painful idea, migraine, malaria, epilepsy, and a bunch of other painful diseases and stuff… okay, so I realize that I’m not dying of malaria and I’m not being stoned to death out here, but it truly spoke to me…
So Paul the Apostle, I’m thinking, probably earned the right to say that he “suffered in the name of Christ”, well up until today I thought that I earned that right too. In many ways I felt like Paul. As he began to pray impulsively and persistently for the removal of pain that he felt, he began to inquire to the Lord why He wasn’t removing it right away. Most believers so easily get it into their minds that God would never refuse to answer a prayer for the removal of something morally or spiritually evil. So every time something painful happens to us, we usually take the time to, now, pray real hard, right? We use our big words and all of a sudden throw out all of the Lord’s titles “Father who art in Heaven, Who created the Heavens and the Earth, and the Sea too, and Who Knows all the hairs on all the peoples heads in here, and Who … please help me right now!” Though all these things of the Lord are indeed true, it is also here where we need to realize that there is no such thing as purposeless pain to God’s children. God’s “unanswered” prayer to heal us, is probably the best thing that will ever happen to you in your relationship with Christ. We must be reminded that we are made weak, so that we might obey. Our personal thorn will vary between a physical limitation, a temporal weakness, a deformity, or a physical loss (homesick)… whatever it may be just know that the thorn had never lost any of its sharpness, nor ever became less severe; but it is by the grace of God that makes the pain so loving .The Lord is there and is not going to take it away, but He will be there to watch you grow. So we can either choose to accept the pain and have the Lord, or not have the Lord and just have the pain. [What can’t be cured, can be enjoyed], So I have come to the conclusion that though ice cream is good, and depressing country songs are quite catchy, I would rather trade that time in for spending it with the Lord, and finally appreciating what He has given me. Coming to the realization that the Lord doesn’t need me back at home. Knowing that the ministry is still continuing, and in some ways continuing even better than when I was there, and knowing that my prayers are the same here as they were there, and knowing that He has me here because He loves me; that knowledge alone, is worth getting on that plane and being here, writing this encouragement to you all.

I love the Lord. I am so excited to know that He has “home” under his wings, and I am forever thankful for this “home” I have here in Mallorca.

… Oh yea, and about the whole “peace” thing. Turns out the peace I “had”, never left. I just had to let go of “my” definition of it as being this fluffy, pillow of a feeling and realize that it can be simply, movement without friction… in other words, even if times are sucky but you can still move forward for the Lord, you are going in the right direction, sooo keep on truckin’ !

Man, God is good.

-Adrianna

yup...still in spain

Acts 18
AFTER these things Paul departed from Athens and went to Corinth.
come from Italy with his wife Priscilla (because Claudius had commanded all the Jews to depart from Rome); and he came to them.
by occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. When Silas and Timothy had come from Macedonia, Paul was compelled by the Spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus is the Christ. But when they opposed him and blasphemed, he shook his garments and said to them, "Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean. From now on I will go to the Gentiles."
And he departed from there and entered the house of a certain man named Justus, one who worshiped God, whose house was next door to the synagogue.
Then Crispus, the ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his household. And many of the Corinthians, hearing, believed and were baptized.
Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, "Do not be afraid, but speak, and do not keep silent; "for I am with you, and no one will attack you to hurt you; for I have many people in this city."


In verse 3, Paul says he found some friends and they happened to build tents, just like him so he stayed close to them. it mentions him goin to the synagogue next, but first he earned a living. He built tents. nothing special, nothing profound. but he did it to the lord. i believe no matter where u "work" it is important to "work". we often say..."oh, my job is my ministry" but god has called us to work and he will bless us. its HIS ministry anyways so just work and work hard.
next, when he actually reasoned with the jews and greeks, he did not loose hope, nor did he give up, but he preached the gospel. especially in america, we tend to separate those two. i encourage you to not be discouraged in work with the world but work for the LORD.
from this passage i also was encouraged when Paul was very open with the gospel with the jews, but when they did not recieve it, he was willing to go reach to others. he was not discouraged but open to sharing with all. i often get discouraged but paul is one who is there to reach the masses...
at the end God speaks to paul and ensures him that he is his protection. I get so scared of this world and what could happen... i concentrate on the ifs and forget that god will protect his flock. i have been praying for peace lately. Peace that i am doin his will and peace that everything will work out in His timing. I was reading this book today and the author had a new definition that i had never thought of before...."peace is movement without friction" i had been praying for this... and never realizing that he had givin me this the entire time! god is sooo good... once my heart is open i feel like i learn soooo much....
its gonna be a good semester but hard as always....

heres some more pictures to laugh at... we do actually do a lot of work... i know alot of you think we dont... you should see how much homework i have to do!!!! craziness....


our address is....
Calle Huguet de Mata Plana 22a

07180 Santa Ponsa Mallorca Spain


we are welcoming: hot chettos, peanut butter, tortillas, enchilada sauce, almonds, cranberries, oatmeal, brown sugar, chocolate chips... and anything else you can think we would enjoy.... like.... letters, pictures, underware (just kiding), sparkling cider, and early christmas presents...

love you and miss you all!
mandy

spain

This last week has been full of craziness... i have finally found time to sit down... It has been a fairly busy schedule with many stories already.
Since our arrival we have experienced our first Kebab (a shreaded chicken sandwhich on peta bread with cabbage and other stuff type of thing) soooo amazing!!
Our flates are in the same building separated by 7 sotries. Pretty close huh? :) it is about a 3.75 minute walk to the church and internet (which is regualted!! crazy) Everything is with in walking distance like everywhere in Europe. Both of our apartments face the Mediterranean Sea. My bed is literally in an inclosed balcony. The sun beats in around 11, so no sleeping in or I will be sunburnt!!
We had church on Sunday with a very pleasant BBQ at this German couple's house. They are loaded!! Their house feels like Egypt with riches. there was even a statue of Cleopatra.
there was a medival market where the tourists get ripped off... hookah is hudge here as it is in Israel...
right off the balcony of the church is a stage where there are different performers each night... its always amusing and entertaining!!
We have always picked our classes...
Mandy:
Lessons in Ministry
Church History
Community Service
Missions
Romans
1 & 2 Peter
1 Corinthians
Genesis
Plus all of the required credits including, chuck tracks and m199, devos and other lectures. This all adds up to 26 credits!! CRAZY!!!
Adrianna has to take:
1 & 2 Thessalonians
Genesis
Romans
Church History
1 Corinthians
1& 2 Peter
She will be having 24 credits
this semester is going to be full of JESUS!!

they are not ready for us .. nope

oooooookay....
so we have landed n this country they call spain. with unpromising thoughts and uneasy hearts, we boarded the plane. joining us were about 80 kajillion students in white shirts, meaning we could not sit next to eachother on this 11 hour flight to london. no biggie right? .. WRONG! haha this meant we had to go back and forth and "visit" eachother ... in this, we were able to see a woman fall down the isle (haha!!) .. not funny. and we also saw this skini black male run down the isle to make it to the toilet :) haha!! ... the flight kept going and going and going. we got to london... then to madrid.. then finally to mallorca. we arrived at like 9pm local time... after great delay, we got our luggage and then jimmy picked us up.... we drove like 45 min to our apartments. Mandy and i both live in Cesars... which is pretty much like a resort. we are in seperate apartments like 7 levels apart.. but nothing that a smelly elevator wont fix.. hiiii five! :)

we all woke up like noon... got ready and wen to get kebabs for lunch. we also went grocery shopping. and took a nap and now we are here at the church hanging out. we have orientation tomorrow .. we will up date with more details sooooon but for now just know that we love and miss all of you guys more than you will ever know. seriously. this semester is already a tough one, but God is so good and He is always with us. Amen.

pray that our hearts and minds are here for the remainder of the semester, and that we stay faithful to HIm as He is so fithful to us.

adios.....


anna and mandy

3.40

PLEASE PRAY!!!

nuber one for adrianna's health... she isn't feelinf well at all!! i cant have the seat next to me full of puke!! i hate satan! he jus needs to leave our stomachs alone!
number 2 the plane... that we BOTH get on...
number 3 that spain wouldn't be amazing... but that we would learn and do what ever it takes to be in HIS will.
pray god know and i know He knows just pray!!

our plane takes off at 3.40 pm today septemeber 3... wow... thats today!

many lessons learned

Matthew 26: eleven
For you have the poor with you always, but Me you do not have always.

This is one of verses the Lord has given to me that has kept me in Bible College. I know I sound really dumb to even think of not finishing or "dropping out" but I have. It has actualy crossed my mind every semester. The same reasons come in to my head. God is so faithful to stick with me. Every four months I want to quit and start my own life somewhere else. But He always reminds me of scene in His life where He reminds Judas the same lesson. In John twelve Mary uses the most precious item she could ever own on the feet of Jesus and Judas as the audacity to stand and require her to give the fragrance to the poor.
In my life I want to be in ministry and help out everywhere (literally). But these years of Bible Collgeg are few and one day I will HAVE to "grow up" but right now He has given me a chance to soak it in. To gain and learn from great christian men and women. Now Judas's real intentions were to steal from the church. I was reminded this last week that there is absolutely no difference between Judas and I. CHemically we are made the same. This means that I am capable of doing such an evil thing. Many times we over look Judas and think "oh i will never be THAT bad" or "oh i could never do THAT" but we can. And its only by giving our life, mind, heart, and soul to Jesus everyday that stops us from commit these sins.
He is faithful to show us this and also reminding us of the grace given and mercy we receive. Romans eight:1 (there is) therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
We must be walking in the Spirit. This could be uncomfortable many times. I have found in the church the Spirit wants to move and we often quinch the Spirit by stricktly just "doing things" I want to encourage you to fall back on the Holy Spirit. He is here. He is real. And the best part is that He wants to be here. For me walking in His Spirit means every four months (for now) I pray pray pray and wait until He reveals my next destination. I have fought many times. But the key is He KNOWS. Why don't we trust Him more? Why would we think we have it all figured out?
John 14: 16-17
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever-- the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
Please pray as Adrianna and I head off to Spain for our third semester. Pray that our eyes will be open and our hearts ready and wiling to recieve. ANd pray for His will in both of our lives as we finish next year...only He knows what is to come

mandy