April 2007 Update
Hello All,
Happy Spring!
Things are gearing up for Easter here. This Thursday (wow--tomorrow!), a bunch of us from Oasis Madrid are heading to the mountains for our second annual Easter Retreat. (That's fun to type--second annual Easter Retreat. Second annual anything for that matter) I love that we are able to spend the whole weekend really digging into the meaning of Easter. We've got lots of stuff planned for the retreat: a Maundy Thursday service, lots of worship time, time to really dig into the story of Christ's death and resurrection through scripture, fun kids' times, a passover supper, a prayer room, and of course, lots of time for hiking, games, and getting to know each other better. We'll cap of the weekend with a baptism service on Easter Sunday. Needless to say, the past couple weeks have been busy with preparations, but this year has been easier than last since we know what to expect a little more. Everyone who is coming to the retreat is super excited!
Here are some specific things you can pray about for the retreat:
1--Pray for safety in getting there.
2--Pray that God will be preparing people's hearts--that people will really dig into the meaning of each of the different elements of the weekend.
3--Pray for heath--it's spring and all the colds and stuff are going around, and we'll all be close together and possibly cold and wet. Pray that we stay healthy!
4--Speaking of cold and wet, pray for decent weather! We've had lots of rain this spring, and I can't complain because we really needed it. But I am praying that it will let up for this weekend so we can enjoy the mountains!
5--Pray for good times of community building--that people would develop new friendships within the church. Some people who are new to the church are coming along, so pray that they are able to join in quickly and not feel left out!
6--Praise God for Shani's baptism on Sunday! We have to do this outdoors, so again, pray that it's not too cold!
7--Pray for two of our members--Phill and Lydia. They were planning to come to the retreat, but Lydia's father passed away and they're back in The Netherlands this week with family.
Here are a few other things (not related to the retreat) that you can pray about as well:
1--Tonight (Wednesday), Victoria and Jonathan--2 members of our church--are hosting a "God night" at their university. They got permission to use a classroom and are offering pizza (the international language of university students). They're hoping to develop a regular meeting out of this night--discussing questions people have about God and faith, and building friendships with the students. Pray that the people who have committed will come tonight, and that they'll be able to discuss and think openly about Jesus.
2--Kelly and April Crull, some friends who lived in Madrid when I first moved here, are back in Madrid--they found an apartment right across the street from me! Kelly is on staff with our team, and April will be doing volunteer work in Madrid. Pray that they are able to adjust to being back in Madrid (and being new parents to boot!) quickly.
3--I'm preparing to come back to the U.S. for financial support raising in August, but I'm trying to get a head start from here now since my support level has fallen in the past year. Pray for God's provision for immediate needs (like taxes!), and for new contacts with churches and individuals that would be interested in financially partnering with me. As you pray, if any names of contacts come to mind, let me know!
4--Lunch on Friday isn't a big deal to us, but I have a feeling it's a bigger deal to the people that we take sandwiches to on Friday. Since we'll be out of town this weekend, pray that God provides a good meal on Friday to the people on our "sandwich route."
5--Pray for my roommate / teammate Amy Swacina. She's in the U.S. working on getting her resident visa and support raising. Pray that she'll have a great time in the States and be able to come back energized and with her visa. (And those of you who know my lack of organizational skills, pray that our apartment doesn't fall apart while she's gone!)
I hope that you have a great Easter weekend and are able to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection to the fullest. Thanks for all your love, encouragement, and support. I thank God for you.
Happy Spring!
Things are gearing up for Easter here. This Thursday (wow--tomorrow!), a bunch of us from Oasis Madrid are heading to the mountains for our second annual Easter Retreat. (That's fun to type--second annual Easter Retreat. Second annual anything for that matter) I love that we are able to spend the whole weekend really digging into the meaning of Easter. We've got lots of stuff planned for the retreat: a Maundy Thursday service, lots of worship time, time to really dig into the story of Christ's death and resurrection through scripture, fun kids' times, a passover supper, a prayer room, and of course, lots of time for hiking, games, and getting to know each other better. We'll cap of the weekend with a baptism service on Easter Sunday. Needless to say, the past couple weeks have been busy with preparations, but this year has been easier than last since we know what to expect a little more. Everyone who is coming to the retreat is super excited!
Here are some specific things you can pray about for the retreat:
1--Pray for safety in getting there.
2--Pray that God will be preparing people's hearts--that people will really dig into the meaning of each of the different elements of the weekend.
3--Pray for heath--it's spring and all the colds and stuff are going around, and we'll all be close together and possibly cold and wet. Pray that we stay healthy!
4--Speaking of cold and wet, pray for decent weather! We've had lots of rain this spring, and I can't complain because we really needed it. But I am praying that it will let up for this weekend so we can enjoy the mountains!
5--Pray for good times of community building--that people would develop new friendships within the church. Some people who are new to the church are coming along, so pray that they are able to join in quickly and not feel left out!
6--Praise God for Shani's baptism on Sunday! We have to do this outdoors, so again, pray that it's not too cold!
7--Pray for two of our members--Phill and Lydia. They were planning to come to the retreat, but Lydia's father passed away and they're back in The Netherlands this week with family.
Here are a few other things (not related to the retreat) that you can pray about as well:
1--Tonight (Wednesday), Victoria and Jonathan--2 members of our church--are hosting a "God night" at their university. They got permission to use a classroom and are offering pizza (the international language of university students). They're hoping to develop a regular meeting out of this night--discussing questions people have about God and faith, and building friendships with the students. Pray that the people who have committed will come tonight, and that they'll be able to discuss and think openly about Jesus.
2--Kelly and April Crull, some friends who lived in Madrid when I first moved here, are back in Madrid--they found an apartment right across the street from me! Kelly is on staff with our team, and April will be doing volunteer work in Madrid. Pray that they are able to adjust to being back in Madrid (and being new parents to boot!) quickly.
3--I'm preparing to come back to the U.S. for financial support raising in August, but I'm trying to get a head start from here now since my support level has fallen in the past year. Pray for God's provision for immediate needs (like taxes!), and for new contacts with churches and individuals that would be interested in financially partnering with me. As you pray, if any names of contacts come to mind, let me know!
4--Lunch on Friday isn't a big deal to us, but I have a feeling it's a bigger deal to the people that we take sandwiches to on Friday. Since we'll be out of town this weekend, pray that God provides a good meal on Friday to the people on our "sandwich route."
5--Pray for my roommate / teammate Amy Swacina. She's in the U.S. working on getting her resident visa and support raising. Pray that she'll have a great time in the States and be able to come back energized and with her visa. (And those of you who know my lack of organizational skills, pray that our apartment doesn't fall apart while she's gone!)
I hope that you have a great Easter weekend and are able to celebrate Christ's death and resurrection to the fullest. Thanks for all your love, encouragement, and support. I thank God for you.
posted by kelly_w at 8:56 AM
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