Another (not so) Weekly Update

Hi Everyone!
Again, I'm not so great about posting actual weekly updates, but it has been a busy few weeks!

Jeremy and I are settled in our new temporary home thanks to some awesome friends!
We will be living here for the next few months until we head to Indiana for training in July. We are so very grateful for a place to stay and the great people God has put in our lives. God has continued to prove faithful in providing for all of our needs as we move forward towards His calling.

We just returned home from a quick trip to Washington D.C. on Tuesday. We celebrated my birthday and enjoyed time just to be together.

I may have also enjoyed a cupcake or two!

This weekend we are headed out again! This time up to headquarters with several Laurel University students for ONEWeekend, a retreat for those interested in missions. We will also be meeting with the head of Hope61 to discuss more details about how we will be involved in anti-human trafficking. We are excited to bring the desire to combat this evil to Spain.

Our support account is continuously growing. We are over half way to the amount we need in our account to depart. But, we are at 22% of our needed monthly pledges. We must have 100% of our monthly pledges in before we can depart for Spain in September. If we are not, then our goal date will have to be pushed back.

We continue to pray for God to show us the people who will join our team. We take every opportunity to share the need in Spain and how YOU can be a part of this calling. We thank God for each person who has supported us so far and those who will in the future.

We are thankful for your prayers and words of encouragement. We are thankful for your ears that listen as we share our calling and desire for the people of Spain to know Christ. Our responsibility is first to God to go as He has called us, but also to you as you will make our sending possible.

We do ask for you continued prayers. But, I will ask that you sincerely seek how God may lead you to reach the people of Spain as well.

Love and prayers,
Melissa

A Not So Weekly Update

I really did mean to post an update each week with just small happenings and events, but I haven't done that very well. We have been good at getting our newsletter out every month!

But here are a few things-
-Moving- Things are starting to clear out. Our apartment is still in the "disaster area"phase but we have sold a few more things. We are having a book sale at the school today to hopefully get rid of the massive number of books Jeremy and I have collected. I will at least start moving while Jeremy is in Florida next month.

- Yesterday we had three services at Crosslink EMC. Everyone was very receptive and encouraging. We received several new faith promises and one-time donations.

- I am finally getting started on my project for my internship. I'm hoping to have it completed by the end of February.

- In January's newsletter we proposed a 10/40 challenge- Ten people willing to commit $40/month. We still need a few people to step up to the plate! Would you consider accepting this challenge and becoming part of the ministry in Spain? If not $40/month, any monthly amount gets us closer to Spain!

-As of now, we are currently at 16% of our monthly pledges. We still have a ways to go, but God has been faithful and we know we will be fully funded in the perfect time.

-We are making calls to individuals and churches to set up appointments. Please, let us know if you have a church group that you would like us to visit. Or, if you personally would like to hear more about your part!

Update-Praises and Requests

This update is long overdue! But, the past few weeks have been a whirlwind. I returned from Spain nearly a month ago and since then we have visited three churches and will be at our fourth presentation tonight. At each service we have been blessed with the encouragement and support of everyone in attendance. Several people have made faith promises and become partners with us in this calling. 

We cannot say thank you enough to those who have already partnered with us. But, we do want to say that we have confidence that God will use your gifts to bless the work He is doing in Spain. This journey is just beginning for us but we know that God has already gone before us and prepared the way. We are trusting in His timing and provision for all of our needs. Now, we do pray that you may do the same.

This weekend we will be sharing with Salem Evangelical Methodist Church in Virginia and from there we will make the drive to headquarters for orientation. Because of the timing of our interview and acceptance, we missed the last orientation so we are going a little later in the process than most. Our good friend Mark will be joining us on the drive as he is going for his interview! 

Jeremy and I are nearing the end of school this semester! In a couple of weeks I will finish my final undergrad class leaving only one project and one CLEP test to cover my last credit hours. Jeremy is completing his master's degree with independent study classes in the next couple weeks as well. It is exciting to think about a time when neither of us will be in school!

We have all of this to thank God for but we also look to Him with some requests. Please pray for-

-Safe travels as we drive tonight and this weekend.
-The hearts of those we will share with to be open to God's leading.
-Us to trust in God's timing and sovereignty. 
-More opportunities to share with churches in group settings and also individuals.
-(as always) for the hearts of those in Spain to be softened and prepared for God's word.

We are a Patchwork.

Three weeks from today I will be in Madrid with a group of eleven other women. Together, with several others Spanish ladies, we will be doing a conference for many unchurched women at Peña de Horeb. The conference will use the pieces of a quilt to depict our relationship with God.

The front of the quilt displays the patchwork of our lives. The experiences and times that have made us who we are today. God uses these experiences, as chaotic and as unplanned as they may seem, to mold our hearts into what He needs them to be.

The batting of the quilt is what we fill our lives with. Do we seek God each day or do we fill our lives with junk? Do we desire things that will be good for us (keep us warm like the batting of a quilt) or bad things that in the end will do us no good (imagine if a quilt was filled with rocks or glass)?

The back of the quilt is Christ and our Christian fellowship. Christ gives us support, covers our sins and makes us complete. The Christian friends we surround ourselves with are the ones who will be there to hold us up and encourage us. They will help us grow and encourage us in our walk with Christ. The back of the quilt is important because without it, the batting would be exposed to the world and ultimately be destroyed.

Lastly, the binding of the quilt is the Holy Spirit working in our lives. He weaves all things together so that we can see how God has worked. Although the binding may be difficult to see, we know it's there because when a quilt is folded, unfolded, thrown around it remains in one piece. The Holy Spirit is the binding is our binding that is stronger than any wind or rain and will keep us together.

"And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28

"Where can I go from your Spirit?
    Where can I flee from your presence?" Psalm 139:7

"So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." 2 Corinthians 4:18

I am so excited to have the chance to get  a small taste of the work Jeremy and I will be a part of. As we prepare to begin fundraising (our class ends this week) the reality of our calling is becoming clearer and clearer. I have no doubt we are doing what we need to do and we are going where we need to go. 

I can clearly see the hand of God working in our lives as we look forward. 

I am setting my mind on good things. I am claiming Ephesians 3:14-21 as my prayer for Jeremy and I as well the team already working in Spain. 

"For this reason I kneel before the Father,  from whom his whole family in heaven and on earth derives its name.  I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love,  may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us,  to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen." 

Ephesians 3:14-21

I am learning to pray big. As we look at the next 9-12 months, we have a big task before us. But it is nothing bigger than anything that has already been done. I have faith that we will accomplish all that must be accomplished in the right timing. Our God is faithful and He is punctual. 

Please continue to pray for us. We are so thankful for all of the support and prayers we have already received.

Weekly Update #2- Funding Class Cont.

The past week of OMS training/prep in list form:

1) Week two of funding class. Everything is great!
2) We have officially received our assignment to Spain!
3) Our status has been changed from Extreme Walk missionaries to career missionaries.
4) Our profile is up on the OMS website.
5) I have had one meeting with the Spain team for the trip in October and have one this Friday.

Prayer Requests:

1) Time management as we balance work, school and OMS work.
2) That the preparation for October's trip continues to go well.

Weekly Update #1- Funding Class

Each week as we prepare for Spain I plan to post a quick update about where we are in the process and how things are going. Please check back to keep up with us! 

"And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that in all things at all times, having all that you need, you will abound in every good work" 
-2 Corinthians 9:8

Jeremy and I started our fundraising class today. This class will prepare us to reach out to potential supporters and be fully funded in (ideally) nine months. We are excited for this class because not only are we going to learn the best way to raise support but we will also be connected with one other missionary couple and three single missionaries. The seven of us will be journeying through our fundraising and preparation together.  

The class is three weeks long, meeting for an hour and half, four days a week. Additionally, there is reading and prep work to be done outside of our meeting times. We know that this class will be extremely beneficial but we also know that it will require many hours over the next few weeks. But this is only a taste of the busy times that are to come as we continue to prepare. 

We are already so thankful for the support of One Mission Society. We are so excited to connect with other new missionaries. We are so excited for the support we have already received from friends and family. We are so blessed to have friends and family who are as excited about our calling as we are. 

As I look ahead to what God holds for us I am not scared. I'm certain there will be days I am frustrated or even discouraged but I am declaring now that I will not let fear become an obstacle in our preparation. 

Prayer Requests-
That God will continue to guide our steps.
Time management as we work through this class as well as work and homework for school.