Study Abroad and Missions

Resting on God

Charlie — Mon, 05 Dec 2011 19:16:52 +0000

O God, most high, most glorious, the thought of Thine infinite serenity cheers me, for I am toiling and moiling, troubled and distressed, but Thou art for ever at perfect peace. Thy designs cause thee no fear or care of unfulfilment, they stand fast as the eternal hills. Thy power knows no bond, Thy goodness no stint. Thou bringest order out of confusion, and my defeats are Thy victories: The Lord God omnipotent reigneth.

I come to Thee as a sinner with cares and sorrows, to leave every concern entirely to Thee, every sin calling for Christ’s precious blood; revive deep spirituality in my heart; let me live near to the great Shepherd, hear His voice, know its tones, follow its calls. Keep me from deception by causing me to abide in the truth, from harm by helping me to walk in the power of the Spirit. Give me intenser faith in the eternal verities, burning into me by experience the things I know; Let me never be ashamed of the truth of the gospel, that I may bear its reproach, vindicate it, see Jesus as its essence, know in it the power of the Spirit.

Lord, help me, for I am often lukewarm and chill; unbelief mars my confidence, sin makes me forget Thee. Let the weeds that grow in my soul be cut at their roots; grant me to know that I truly live only when I live to Thee, that all else is trifling. Thy presence alone can make me holy, devout, strong and happy. Abide in me, gracious God.

Taken from “The Valley of Vision: a Collection of Puritan Prayers and Devotions”

Unimaginable

Charlie — Mon, 14 Nov 2011 19:32:36 +0000

I came to this semester wanting to be challenged and stretched. So far, I’ve gotten what I came for, in more ways than I imagined! God is transforming how I see missions, the church, non-believers, and myself. The structure for most of these changes is taking place in the church history class. For the first time, I feel like I’m truly beginning to grasp what was going on in the struggle between the Catholic Church and the reformers and why it was significant. Being in this city, where so much of church history has unfolded throughout the ages, gives a vividness to what I’m learning that I have never experienced before. Last Tuesday for class, we went to the Holy Steps and saw what caused Luther to start questioning the Catholic Church: people trying to work their way to heaven, one step and one recited prayer at a time. It’s something that simply can’t be taught in a classroom or read in a textbook. It brings a vividness not only to the historical reality, but to the present reality of the millions of people who still don’t know that salvation is by grace alone through faith alone.

Barriers?

Charlie — Fri, 30 Sep 2011 17:42:19 +0000

My clumsy fingers fumbled over the Braille cells as I simultaneously attempted to translate my teacher’s instructions, given in Spanish. My eyes squinted in discomfort and effort behind the blindfold that covered my eyes. The blindfold represented the only barrier that existed as I crossed every cultural barrier that had ever defined my life. Moments like this characterized my six months as a foreigner living, studying, and working in Chile and Peru. During my time, I learned to be comfortable with the uncomfortable as I developed a sense of adaptability. This adaptability became my most valuable asset as I constantly confronted and transcended language and cultural barriers during my six-month pilgrimage in South America. My ability to acculturate enabled me to communicate with the young girls at the orphanage where I served in Chile. It also moved me to compassion for the disabled individuals with whom I connected during my involvement in a ministry center to the differently enabled in Chile. And it cultivated within me a deep love for the children at the orphanage in Peru with whom I worked for the summer, in the months following my semester abroad in Chile.

Ariana, Spring 2011

Welcome to Rome!

Charlie — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 18:08:46 +0000

I had a great time with Leonardo DeChirico and his family yesterday! They invited me over for lunch, and when I said my roommate, Carol, wanted to come to church with me, they invited her to lunch as well. It was wonderful to hear their testimony, how the Lord prepared them for each other and for the work they are doing now. They told God that they wanted to give Him everything, and He took them up on it. What an amazing family! They are a living example of how God blesses those who are willing to trust Him fully.

At church Carol and I met people in all sorts of different ministries. The hardest part is going to be deciding which ministry we want to get involved with in our short time here! The Evangelical church in Italy may be small, but it is alive and vibrant with people who are serving God faithfully in the face of many challenges — small numbers, limited financial resources, and hard work with little visible payoff. But the joy in their faces clearly testifies to a faith that seeks to please God, not men. It is both convicting and encouraging.

Laurel Kuntz, Trinity International University

Top Reasons to Study Abroad with Veritas

Charlie — Tue, 23 Aug 2011 19:29:38 +0000

10. Travel with Veritas on excursions all over your host country.

9. Experience a new culture and learn about your own.

8. It’s a great way to learn a new language.

7. It looks good on your resume.

6. Your faith will be stretched.

5. Make new friends from the US and abroad.

4. Serving others for the glory of God in another culture is awesome.

3. You will experience life in ways you never could at home.

2. You could discover a new life mission.

1. W.W.J.D.?

Ministry in Sevilla

Charlie — Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:42:21 +0000

This is Chanelle and David Acton and our bible study that we have been meeting with once a week! Chanelle and her family are missionaries here in Sevilla and she has been so sweet to meet with a group of us weekly for bible study. We went to their church where David preaches and have been able to get involved in a few of their other ministries. One of the biggest blessings of this trip by far! We helped out at their church one day with a day camp to teach kids english and afterwards went to the Acton’s house where Chanelle made us a full blown American meal. You would have thought we hadn’t eaten in a week if you had seen our reaction.

Sharing Lives In Sevilla

Charlie — Wed, 15 Jun 2011 18:08:21 +0000

Tonight Sarah Beth and I just finished dinner with our familia (Ada and Ana). We learned that Ana was adopted from Russia when she was 10 years old. I asked Ada why she wanted to adopt. She answered that she wanted to do something for other people and take the focus off herself. She said it was necessary to serve others. It was really cool to go a little bit deeper with them despite the huge language barrier. SB and I both came back to our room filled with happiness knowing that God can do anything. He can overcome language barriers. We can really see our relationships with them growing already. A few days ago, I read this verse and really soaked it up…

“We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God, but our lives as well because you had become dear to us.” 1 Thessalonians 2:8

It has just hit me lately that to share Christ with others is to share life with them as well. We can show God through our own lives by building relationships with others. God can do amazing things with us if we let Him. He wants us to be in community with others while He is at the center of it all. God is so good. I just feel so blessed to be here.

I know it’s not much, but this is what has just been on my heart recently.

Much love from Sevilla. (Catherine, Sevilla Summer 2011

More fun in Sevilla!

Amanda — Fri, 10 Jun 2011 20:26:10 +0000

On our way to and from Cordoba and Granada, we passed through a site that I will never forget. Fields upon fields of sunflowers. Absolutely incredible. Being from Texas, I have seen my share of sunflowers, but only here and there on the side of the road or highway. Nothing like this though. The sunflowers looked as if they stretched on for miles and miles. What a perfect image of God’s beauty! We were in awe of His creation. It was so gorgeous and an amazing sight to see. We tried to capture some photos but none did it justice of its beauty, so you will just have to trust our judgement.

The other night, we participated in an “intercambios”, which is pretty much where we meet locals and they show us the hotspots of Sevilla. Like where all the good restaurants and hang outs are. This was right after class for us, so we had to walk around all night with our backpacks on. We already look like we are 13, so the backpacks did not help much for our maturity. We went to restaurants and local spots where cool Spaniards were hanging out with our backpacks on. They tried to persuade us to go dancing, but that would just be plain awkward and a huge obstacle on the dance floor. ~Cathrine (Sevilla)

Lost in Translation

Charlie — Wed, 08 Jun 2011 21:20:55 +0000

When I first decided to come to Spain, I had all these ideas and dreams of what spreading the gospel would look like and what work I could do for the Lord here. There was just one small detail I didn’t think about…the communication barrier! Now even though I am halfway through my Communications degree at A&M, my Spanish 101 class can’t really solve all my issues with this one. Yesterday it was like the Lord was speaking so clearly just saying, “Sarah Beth…why have you ever thought that it would be your WORDS that can change someone’s heart? I don’t need you for anything but I want to use you, just not in the ways you originally thought. The Holy Spirit exists for this very reason.” Ok, hello God! How cool is that?! Pumps me up just thinking about it…in fact I just started typing faster because it gets me so excited. (Sarah Beth, Seville)

definitely in a foreign country

Charlie — Fri, 03 Jun 2011 17:04:59 +0000

In the brief time I’ve been here so far, I have quickly noticed the strange and unusual customs they have here. Well at least to me. If you or anyone you know is going to Spain, here are a few things you should know before you just show up.

Napkins in restaurants are some sort of softer plastic. Absorbing is not one of their strong suits.
People don’t smile back at you if you smile at them. Apparently you have to be their friend or something.
If you don’t want to sit for 3 extra hours, you have to ask for the check at a restaurant or they will never give it to you.
Euro’s are deceiving. Thanks for giving me false hope every time I think I’m getting a deal!
Most bathrooms never have paper towels and only have hand dryers as well as motion censored lights. Catherine has a pretty funny story about that one.
Hotels make you insert your room key into a reader inside of the room if you want any of the electricity to work. (We sadly called the front desk the first hotel we were in and told them the electricity was out…que annoyed front desk person.)
Feet on any kind of furniture is a no-no. Bummer…
Most families don’t walk around barefoot in their house ever. Thats another rough one.
Yogurt is a dessert with dinner
Meat and carbs are mainly all you eat.
Breakfast is only like an apple or piece of toast at 9. Lunch is from 2-4 and dinner is 9-11. Whaaattt??
Colorful solid skinny jeans are in. Sorry I’m wearing jean shorts…stop looking at me weird.
I have heard more American music in restaurants or stores than Spanish.
Sevilla has its own accent and they don’t complete many of their words and talk 100x faster. This makes learning spanish mas dificil.
All dogs are small here and never have to be on leashes
Failure to popular belief, Mexicans and Spaniards are not the same thing.
Eating and walking is also another thing they do not do. Catherine and I one day were exploring and were eating sandwiches as we walked around and got strange looks and had no idea why. Glad we know now!

Congratulations if you made it all the way to the end of this post! You win……..knowledge of Spain!

We are getting ready to have dinner (at 9:45) and then are meeting up with some amigas for ice cream.

Peas and blessings,

Sarah Beth