Thursday, January 7, 2010
New Blog
As of yesterday, I have created a new blog called Live Out Loud so I will be putting this blog to a close. Thank you all again for your support. To keep updated on my future endeavors and see what God is doing in my life, go to http://cdavis2010.blogspot.com/ or click on my profile picture and go to Live Out Loud under my blogs.
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Newsletters
Newsletters should be out within a week so hopefully you will all be receiving them soon. Thank you again for all of your prayers and support. I will continue to use this blog to keep you updated on my future plans and my life at college.
Currently, I am filling out my reapplication form to continue to work with Team Expansion. I am hoping by next August/September to be in Costa Rica learning Spanish. I have a passion for children but I also have a deep passion for Latin America and Latin American Immigrants in the USA. I want to continue preparing myself for the mission field so please pray for me as I take the first steps into going into full-time mission work.
Currently, I am filling out my reapplication form to continue to work with Team Expansion. I am hoping by next August/September to be in Costa Rica learning Spanish. I have a passion for children but I also have a deep passion for Latin America and Latin American Immigrants in the USA. I want to continue preparing myself for the mission field so please pray for me as I take the first steps into going into full-time mission work.
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Kentucky
I am back in Kentucky now! I start debreifing today and continue debriefing until tomorrow. I will fly back into Chicago on Friday! Well, I am sorry this is so short but it is time for lunch, Adios.
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Starting to Reflect
Below I am going to tell you about some of my struggles and share with you some of my reflections on my time here in Spain. These are my answers to some of my debriefing questions:
What were you most challenged in this summer?
I was most challenged in self-control. I had to learn how to control how I felt in certain situations and try to see things from God's perspective, while continuing to show love to those around me.
Culture Shock In...
Murcia: language class, connecting with Spaniards, a lot of language difficulties, the time differences (eating, the lack of schedules, etc.), never knowing what was coming next, and street evangelism.
Granada: not having a lot to do around the Irwin's house, talking with strangers in another language (sometimes rejection), having to learn how to adjust to different people's learning styles, and trying to fit into a new culture with a new 3rd culture missionary family.
Madrid: having to learn how to present my faith in a very skeptical and searching environment, plus having to learn how to go about speaking English or Spanish in a very bilingual environment (where English is sometimes look down upon).
Before ( B ) and After ( A )
Tastes
B: I liked to try new things and have new experiences.
A: I have realized I really like Horchata. Also, I have realized I will never like olives.
Lifestyles
B: I was growing strong spiritually through some difficult trials and learning more about who I am created in Christ.
A: Throughout this year and this experience, I feel stronger in who God has made me as a person and I feel very firm in my foundation in Christ. I also feel more peace in uncertainty.
Job
B: I quit my job before I came and was uncertain about what to do next.
A: My future is still uncertain but I feel more comfort and peace in letting God direct my ways. God has helped me realize I need more training before I go onto the mission field, whether that is in the states or overseas I am not sure.
Interests
B: I love to learn new things, meet new people, read, and travel to new places.
A: My interests are the same but my desire to learn Spanish is stronger.
Hobbies
B: Reading, playing with kids, and working with at-risk kids
A: My hobbies stayed the same but I do want to try walking more places, it is a lot more fun :-)
4 Phrases that apply to me (picked these out of a list)
My world has been expanded
My heart has been broken for lost people
My mind has been instructed
My spirit has been set on fire and is running free.
3 New commitments or changes
Perspectives:
I have realized the importance of being well trained and learned ministry can take place no matter where you are. My commitment is to doing more training before I head out into full time cross-cultural ministry.
Loyalties:
My commitment is to being more intentional in relationships (Christian and non-Christian) and be more committed to my own personal devotion time.
Priorities:
God always comes first.
Well that is just a bit of my debriefing sessions. God has stretched me in many different ways this summer and though it was not always easy I love it. I will miss this team and place deeply, but I am so excited to get back and continue on the journey I feel God putting before me. Thank you so much for all of your prayers and continued support!
Please keep in your prayers my family, we lost a close family friend, Gina, to cancer yesterday. My mom is very upset and it is hard for me to be away from them during this time. Also, please pray for Gina's family: Bill, Leah, and Brian as they have just lost their loving wife and mother. Please continue praying for the team as we are all starting to become restless and ready to leave. Pray that we would continue to rejoice and enjoy the short time we have left here and have a safe travel back home.
I will try to write one more time before I leave :-)
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Coming Back But Not The Same
I have traveled a lot this summer so the trip back to Granada was a breeze, but this time I got to ride on a high speed train which was fun and very smooth. Now that I am back in Granada the team and I are going to be getting ready to debrief our time here in Spain. All I can say is wow!
My last few days at English Camp were amazing! My boys in my group were a hand full like always but like I said before I just loved on them and we had a lot of fun. My host family took me to two villages: an old Roman village and a village in the mountains. It was very neat to get the chance to visit this old villages with so much history and life. My host family and I were able to bond a lot in my last week and they invited me to come back any time I want. The father, Mick, said, "We got lucky when we got you!" That was really sweet of him we all enjoyed one another and were able to get along great. I felt very comfortable living with them in Tres Cantos.
It is from my time in Madrid, in Tres Cantos, that I have learned that I could work if God wanted me to in Spain. In Madrid, I found a ministry in which I was able to use the gifts God has given me and work with children, which I love.
I can't really sum up my whole summer but I will try to write what is on my heart and a little of what I have learned. God has shown me through this summer that all though I am growing and I have matured a lot through out this year I still need to do some more training before I go on the mission field. I am not sure what that entails but that much has been made clear to me. I have also learned a lot about the importance of working well with others and the importance of communication. I have learned that there are times when I need stand out as a leader and there are times when I need to just sit back and be an encourager to allow others to grow. I have learned that my quiet and devotional time is a must in order for me to be the person God has created me to be. Pray in all circumstances. I learned not to take for granted random acts of kindness done by strangers sometimes it is God reminding me to keep my head up and lean on Him. God has shown me a lot and hopefully I will be able to tell you more later, but for now this will do. This summer has been amazing, thanks be to God! Oh how I will miss it here but I am so excited to see what the future holds, for now I will live in the moments and take in my last 9 days in Spain.
My last few days at English Camp were amazing! My boys in my group were a hand full like always but like I said before I just loved on them and we had a lot of fun. My host family took me to two villages: an old Roman village and a village in the mountains. It was very neat to get the chance to visit this old villages with so much history and life. My host family and I were able to bond a lot in my last week and they invited me to come back any time I want. The father, Mick, said, "We got lucky when we got you!" That was really sweet of him we all enjoyed one another and were able to get along great. I felt very comfortable living with them in Tres Cantos.
It is from my time in Madrid, in Tres Cantos, that I have learned that I could work if God wanted me to in Spain. In Madrid, I found a ministry in which I was able to use the gifts God has given me and work with children, which I love.
I can't really sum up my whole summer but I will try to write what is on my heart and a little of what I have learned. God has shown me through this summer that all though I am growing and I have matured a lot through out this year I still need to do some more training before I go on the mission field. I am not sure what that entails but that much has been made clear to me. I have also learned a lot about the importance of working well with others and the importance of communication. I have learned that there are times when I need stand out as a leader and there are times when I need to just sit back and be an encourager to allow others to grow. I have learned that my quiet and devotional time is a must in order for me to be the person God has created me to be. Pray in all circumstances. I learned not to take for granted random acts of kindness done by strangers sometimes it is God reminding me to keep my head up and lean on Him. God has shown me a lot and hopefully I will be able to tell you more later, but for now this will do. This summer has been amazing, thanks be to God! Oh how I will miss it here but I am so excited to see what the future holds, for now I will live in the moments and take in my last 9 days in Spain.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Getting Ready to Pick Up and Go
My time here in Madrid has been short but wonderful! I have enjoyed my time here working in the English Camp and my host family has been great. I have had a busy two weeks with camp but it feels good to come home to a nice family at night and swim in the pool with their two kids. The two boys in my house have had a lot of fun with me and have kept me very entertained, it has been fun! Plus I have been able to have some good conversations with Mick and Susanna (the dad and mom). We have all become good friends and I am sad to be leaving them on Saturday to head back to Granada for 9 days.
The English camp has been a blast! The camp is through Global Ventures but Tim, the director, is a Christian and lives his faith "out loud" through his kind actions. Tres Cantos, the area I am working in, is very skeptical of religions and Christianity, but most of the people here hold the English camp and Tim in high respect and seek his advice for things. It has been great just living my faith through my actions and sharing vocally what I believe about Christ when I get the chance. Some questions about Christianity have come up and I have tried to answer them according to the Word and my faith in Christ. The main thing I have tried to do is just share my love and love for God with others through my actions and daily life, this alone has been amazing for some of the people here to see. Like one man from Tres Cantos said, "Yeah people are suppose to live according to their faith but very few actually do". Well, through my time here I hope that they have been able to see Christ working through me.
The boys that I work with at camp are rowdy and hardly listen at all, but it has been great to just love on them. The boys I have been working closely with are the ones that most people consider to be the trouble makers of the groups, but I love just playing with them and talking with them. All I can do is show these boys through my actions my love for them. It has been trying at times but the times that I get to break through the bad attitudes and see the boys laughing and smiling are the best! I can't believe in already four days I will be leaving them.
Thank you all for your prayers and thank you for your words of encouragement! Steph, my coach, is doing well and her leg has healed just fine. A couple people in my group have been sick but they are all well now. Please pray for our English camp graduation to go smoothly! (I have been working with the little ones by teaching them a dance to The Lion Sleeps Tonight, it is adorable!) Also, please pray for a safe trip back to Granada.
The English camp has been a blast! The camp is through Global Ventures but Tim, the director, is a Christian and lives his faith "out loud" through his kind actions. Tres Cantos, the area I am working in, is very skeptical of religions and Christianity, but most of the people here hold the English camp and Tim in high respect and seek his advice for things. It has been great just living my faith through my actions and sharing vocally what I believe about Christ when I get the chance. Some questions about Christianity have come up and I have tried to answer them according to the Word and my faith in Christ. The main thing I have tried to do is just share my love and love for God with others through my actions and daily life, this alone has been amazing for some of the people here to see. Like one man from Tres Cantos said, "Yeah people are suppose to live according to their faith but very few actually do". Well, through my time here I hope that they have been able to see Christ working through me.
The boys that I work with at camp are rowdy and hardly listen at all, but it has been great to just love on them. The boys I have been working closely with are the ones that most people consider to be the trouble makers of the groups, but I love just playing with them and talking with them. All I can do is show these boys through my actions my love for them. It has been trying at times but the times that I get to break through the bad attitudes and see the boys laughing and smiling are the best! I can't believe in already four days I will be leaving them.
Thank you all for your prayers and thank you for your words of encouragement! Steph, my coach, is doing well and her leg has healed just fine. A couple people in my group have been sick but they are all well now. Please pray for our English camp graduation to go smoothly! (I have been working with the little ones by teaching them a dance to The Lion Sleeps Tonight, it is adorable!) Also, please pray for a safe trip back to Granada.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009
Living out Loud
Wow, I can't believe I last wrote only four days ago! Each day feels so long because I learn and do so much in one day, but then looking back it goes by really fast. (I am not sure if that makes sense :-)
Well, I left Granada and I am now in Madrid. Just when I thought I had seen it all God throws another experience my way. Madrid is completely different then Granada and Murcia, but I love it! I am working with children, 1st through 6th grade, everyday in an English camp and it is a lot of fun! I laugh now because I can't speak Spanish to the children and often catch myself getting ready to respond to their questions in Spanish. The children are not suppose to know that we can understand and speak some Spanish because the children are to be completely surrounded by English. The camp reminds me of a VBS but with a language learning twist. We sing songs, dance, eat snacks, and have a lesson. The lessons are very basic and involve learning how to greet, get dressed, and express emotions using the English language. The three boys in my group are all in 6th grade and are a blast to teach!
My host family is wonderful! My team and all the camp workers are divided among different host families so there are 50 students living in 50 different houses. My family I have told you about before are so nice and they are also very hospitable. It has been great to be able to live with them and talk about life and the cultural differences (between the USA, Spain, and Australia).
Although my housing situation is good, one of my team members is having a hard time being alone and has been put in a difficult housing arrangement so please pray for Jessica. Pray that God would give her strength and that God would open the hearts of her host family so that Jess may better communicate with them. Pray for Stephanie, my coach, she went to the doctor today to have a lump on her ankle looked at. Also please pray for Rebecca, my teammate, her mother has had a miscarriage (twins) recently and Becca is taking it pretty hard so please pray for her and her family to have peace. Thank you.
Well, I left Granada and I am now in Madrid. Just when I thought I had seen it all God throws another experience my way. Madrid is completely different then Granada and Murcia, but I love it! I am working with children, 1st through 6th grade, everyday in an English camp and it is a lot of fun! I laugh now because I can't speak Spanish to the children and often catch myself getting ready to respond to their questions in Spanish. The children are not suppose to know that we can understand and speak some Spanish because the children are to be completely surrounded by English. The camp reminds me of a VBS but with a language learning twist. We sing songs, dance, eat snacks, and have a lesson. The lessons are very basic and involve learning how to greet, get dressed, and express emotions using the English language. The three boys in my group are all in 6th grade and are a blast to teach!
My host family is wonderful! My team and all the camp workers are divided among different host families so there are 50 students living in 50 different houses. My family I have told you about before are so nice and they are also very hospitable. It has been great to be able to live with them and talk about life and the cultural differences (between the USA, Spain, and Australia).
Although my housing situation is good, one of my team members is having a hard time being alone and has been put in a difficult housing arrangement so please pray for Jessica. Pray that God would give her strength and that God would open the hearts of her host family so that Jess may better communicate with them. Pray for Stephanie, my coach, she went to the doctor today to have a lump on her ankle looked at. Also please pray for Rebecca, my teammate, her mother has had a miscarriage (twins) recently and Becca is taking it pretty hard so please pray for her and her family to have peace. Thank you.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)