Over the Ocean

“Oh come, let us sing to the LORD; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise! For the LORD is a great God, and a great King above all gods. In His hand are the depths of the earth; the heights of the mountains are his also. The sea is his for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land.  Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the LORD, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.”  Psalm 95:1-7

KOMPAS

God has been faithful in so, so many ways through these past 8 months. I wish I knew how to tell about everything that He has been doing, but I myself don’t even know all that He has been doing during this time!

I can however, give just a couple highlights from my last month here in Slovakia. 

Fusions are Multiplying

We started the year with 3 Fusions in Slovakia, and now as I leave at the beginning of October we have 4 up and running Fusions! They’re spread out from Bratislava (far west) all the way to Obišovce (far east). I’ve had the privilege to see work alongside with most of these Fusions through my time here. I started working with Fusion in Senec, after a lot of transitioning though, they have made their Fusion into a youth group. I’m excited to see the deep relationships that come from that youth group in the future. It has been great to see Fusion Rača and Obišovce start up all the way from trainings to their first camps. 

I got to visit Rača and Obišovce one more time before I left and reconnect with kids from camp and also to say goodbye. God is using these Fusions and these leaders to really impact these kids’ lives! It’s a joy to watch and take part in!

Leaders are Multiplying

Every year, JV holds a large fall training conference in Malenovice, Czech Republic for all the youth leaders in central and eastern Europe. Our Slovak team went together to the conference. This week had a very big impact on me because I realized just how much God has blessed me with incredible relationships within this team. During this week, it became clear that this team has become a family to me in the last couple years of being in and out of Slovakia.  I have been able to trust these people, learn from them, work with them, love them and respect them. They have hearts that seek integrity and God-honoring excellence in all they do. 

And not only was it just our team there at this conference, but there were other leaders from all over Slovakia… And then there were teams from all over central and eastern Europe. Teams from Latvia to Albania were present, all desiring to serve and worship the same God,  with the same mission. Honestly, it felt like a small version of the United Nations. How did I get so lucky to get into this crazy, awesome life?

The Kompas team praying for me as I left.

My Girls

In the last 6 weeks, me and two girls that I disciple decided to study a book called The Cure. This book changed my life about two years ago, and I felt that God was leading me to invite these girls to study it again with me. I hoped that they would walk away with a little more insight on who God says we really are… But what happened has been even more special. These girls dug into conversation, to answering tough questions, and to really trying to understand God’s design for our identities and destinies. I have been SO encouraged to see how God has used this book that had such an impact on my life, to latch on to their hearts as well. I can see these girls maturing, opening up and moving closer and closer to this idea of giving and receiving love and grace. 

A big part of me is really sad to leave these two, but I am even more filled with joy at what God is doing in me and in them. I know that what God is doing is far more powerful and beautiful than anything I could give to them, so I have peace knowing that they are in good hands. 

New Gifts and Blessings

Through all of these things that I’ve been a part of since February, I’ve seen how God has been using my musical talent and leadership for His good, but I’ve also seen Him developing new gifts. I’ve seen how He has taught me more and more about being someone who makes disciples of Jesus Christ, and I didn’t even know it was happening until this last week in Slovakia. When I realized how God has been working in Miriam, Kaja, and myself through this past year, I was in shock at how He has been maturing and growing me just as much as I’ve seen the two of them growing. 

Because of these things, I have been experiencing more joy than I have maybe ever. This year has truly been a year of joy. 

Through really hard challenges, through new friends, through unfortunate situations and through victories in Christ, I see how God’s hand was in everything at every moment. He’s never looked away for any reason. He’s never decided my sin’s too much for Him to handle or for him to be able to use me. He’s never thrown me into the lion’s den without protecting me as long as I trust Him. 

Our God is incredible and HUGE! I am in awe of how he has allowed me to have a part in this beautiful plan of His!