All of the above happened, I am happy to report. Mission accomplished.
It was so great to spend times with these girls. So fun to get to know them a little more.
I am already looking forward to doing this again...maybe Greek? :)
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Italiano
A group of girls arrived at my door on a cold Saturday afternoon. We were on a mission....make Italian food, watch a movie, talk, and laugh a lot! Good plan! :)
I'm alive
Guilty.
Of not really paying attention to how much time has passed since my last post.
Of not even really caring. Well, that's not true. I would check occasionally noting that the date of my last post kept being further away...I just did not do anything about it.
Hmm...maybe I really am not a blogger at heart. OK, scratch the maybe. I'll just move on.....
My summer in Romania truly was an amazing experience. One thing that really stands out to me when I look back is that no matter how many obstacles stand in the way, if God steps in, things move forward. He accomplishes what I may perceive as impossible.
~Students who heard the story of God
Ionut and Mihai were two students in my discussion group. Ionut is 14 and he is not a Christian. He does go to the orthodox church but has no relationship with God. He looked really bored the first night our discussion group met and talked through the story. Every night he seemed more and more into it, asking questions and coming up with some really good thoughts and ideas. On the last night he asked how his sins could be forgiven through Jesus...
Ionut and Mihai were two students in my discussion group. Ionut is 14 and he is not a Christian. He does go to the orthodox church but has no relationship with God. He looked really bored the first night our discussion group met and talked through the story. Every night he seemed more and more into it, asking questions and coming up with some really good thoughts and ideas. On the last night he asked how his sins could be forgiven through Jesus...
Mihai is in his twenties. He is a Christian. He also looked very bored on the first night. He thought it was stupid to do the story of God. He thought it was too simple, too boring, too much like a study for little kids. One of the greatest things that happened that week was to see him rediscover many new things about God, to fall in love with the stories again, and to get so excited about God. I was thinking about this a lot, and going back to how we always need to have the attitude of a “learner”. I am sure we all get to a point at times when we feel like we’ve heard it before, we know it all, and there’s nothing new that can surprise us. How cool to see that perspective shattered!! :)
Saiza is a 29-year old woman. We connected at camp even though she spoke no English :) She grew up in an orphanage. Saiza showed no emotion, she was tough. She asked me if I was a Christian and I got to share my story with her. I asked her the same thing. She said she used to make fun of Christians, used to mock them, thought they were stupid. “God changed that”, she said. She believes in God but does not have a personal relationship with Him. She was so uninterested at first, so detached. She realized many things at camp. She talked to people, asked questions, observed everything. It was so beautiful to watch God break her shell, and to see her “melt”. She wanted to become a Christian but was afraid to do that because of the people she lived with. We learned that in an orphanage being a Christian is considered a weakness and people get made fun of, beaten. Saiza has a very tender heart and I cannot help but wonder what God has for her. There are so many orphan NOT experiencing love. So many that grow up tough, just trying to survive.
So many more stories to tell....I cannot help but end this post with a picture of the famous dump truck bringing our students to the camp site :D OH this still makes me laugh so much.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Friday, July 3, 2009
Team Romania
Ready...set...JUMP!
oops...looks like Charis got the wrong memo and is playing charades, acting out "being terrified"??? Who knows...
oops...looks like Charis got the wrong memo and is playing charades, acting out "being terrified"??? Who knows...
Wednesday, July 1, 2009
Summer in Romania update # 2
Dear friends,
If I were to describe Romania to you, here are some of things I would probably talk about:
Hot and humid weather, smell of honeysuckle in the air, stray dogs everywhere, reckless drivers, good food, beautiful language, friendly and hospitable people, never on time :)
We, as a team, have been facing opposition and definitely have felt God’s protection on many levels! From sickness and injuries, to miscommunication, to a car accident....two car accidents actually. Both non-injury accidents!! Two weeks ago we were in Craiova for our first church visit, and our car got rear-ended. Everyone was ok but the car was totaled. To make matters worse, the guy that hit us had no insurance, and ended up getting it after the accident (how is that possible you may ask? I really have no answer for you). Tudor, a camp director here in Romania that travels with our team, was driving his car, and is now dealing with the insurance company to get money back. It has been a frustrating process. We are praying that God provides a car (or finances) for Tudor and his family.
Yesterday, we ended our third and last church visit in Seleus. The youth pastor from that church, Emi, was driving us to our next location, a city of Timisoara, where we will be for the next couple of days before heading to training and camp on Friday. We got rear-ended, again. We really praise God for no injuries, just sore necks and backs! After the accident, I called Mel, my boss, to tell him what had happened, and was told him and his wife Amy had prayed for safety for our team that morning. We also found out that Tudor’s daughter had woken her mom the night before and asked to pray for daddy because she thought he would be in a car accident again! Tudor’s wife told him this when he called home to tell them he was ok.
We have been here for one month now, experiencing the culture, meeting the people, and attempting to learn the language. I have to tell you that I am very proud of the team. They are doing a great job!! Plans change often, and usually we find out at the last minute, and have to adjust quickly, but it has not been a problem and everyone's been really flexible and gracious! Definitely a God thing I feel like!
Church visits – Craiova, Galati, Seleus
I definitely am seeing how God has paved the way, and been preparing things for us to enter into. All three of our church visits went so well and we had a chance to connect with the youth group and the team we will be working with. It is good to be on the same page and the visits have definitely accomplished that!
{Left: Advertising camp in a local park in Craiova, Right: Hanging out with the team from Craiova}
What do we do during a church visit?
Each visit was four to five days long, and we got to stay in the homes of the people from the church. We had multiple meetings discussing logistics of camps, meeting the teams, and setting things up for training before camp. We advertised camps in public places, and invited students to come. All the teams are really enthusiastic about the camp theme “Stories” as well as an opportunity to do an evangelistic camp. We shared at church services, and J got to preach at a church gathering in a Gypsy community on one Sunday. We feel very blessed to be here to share God’s love with people!
A couple of times we got to go and serve the poor. Poverty is all around here in Romania. We met a family of seven who lives in a small tent next to a cemetery, outside of the city of Craiova. Parents and their five little children live there because they have no jobs, no other place to go, nothing. We brought lunch to eat with them and got to play with the kids. The cool thing was to see the local church reach out to this family, to accept them, and to start helping them....trying to figure out the living situation, find a job, etc. We saw a very practical side of love and care from the church!
June 20th is World Refugee Day. The church in Galati has a large group of refugees from Congo attending their church. Together with the Romanian youth group, we got to celebrate with these Congolese men at a worship concert held in a local theater.
{Left: World Refugee Day worship concert, Right: Gypsy church in Galati}
Story time:
Dan Vieru is the youth pastor of the church in Craiova. While there, he shared his story with us. He and his wife Dana adopted a little girl about five years ago. It was awesome to hear their story of trying to have kids and how they couldn't, and then they finally decided to adopt and they now have a beautiful daughter, Brianna. A few days after we left for another church visit, we got a note from Dan saying that his wife went to a doctor and he told her she was pregnant! He kept saying how it was a miracle, and it truly is! After 11 years of not being able to have children, little Brianna will now have a sibling :D
We are leaving tomorrow to go back to Seleus. The American youth group that is coming to help us flies in tomorrow as well. Friday and Saturday are training days. On Sunday we will travel to camp location to start setting up to be ready to begin camp on Monday morning! Camp number 1 is here!!
Prayer requests for camp # 1 (3villages-Seleus, Ineu, Sebreus; July 3-14 including training days and follow up)
~That we will trust in the power of the gospel!
~Students who will hear the story of God
~For unity for all these different teams coming together – the intern team, US youth group team, Romanian teams from Seleus, Inea, and Sebreus, and a group of leaders from B.I.G., the national organization JV partners with
~For health
~Life after camp – that the church would continue to reach out to the community, and care for new believers
Thank you on behalf of our whole team :)
Love, Katka
If I were to describe Romania to you, here are some of things I would probably talk about:
Hot and humid weather, smell of honeysuckle in the air, stray dogs everywhere, reckless drivers, good food, beautiful language, friendly and hospitable people, never on time :)
We, as a team, have been facing opposition and definitely have felt God’s protection on many levels! From sickness and injuries, to miscommunication, to a car accident....two car accidents actually. Both non-injury accidents!! Two weeks ago we were in Craiova for our first church visit, and our car got rear-ended. Everyone was ok but the car was totaled. To make matters worse, the guy that hit us had no insurance, and ended up getting it after the accident (how is that possible you may ask? I really have no answer for you). Tudor, a camp director here in Romania that travels with our team, was driving his car, and is now dealing with the insurance company to get money back. It has been a frustrating process. We are praying that God provides a car (or finances) for Tudor and his family.
Yesterday, we ended our third and last church visit in Seleus. The youth pastor from that church, Emi, was driving us to our next location, a city of Timisoara, where we will be for the next couple of days before heading to training and camp on Friday. We got rear-ended, again. We really praise God for no injuries, just sore necks and backs! After the accident, I called Mel, my boss, to tell him what had happened, and was told him and his wife Amy had prayed for safety for our team that morning. We also found out that Tudor’s daughter had woken her mom the night before and asked to pray for daddy because she thought he would be in a car accident again! Tudor’s wife told him this when he called home to tell them he was ok.
We have been here for one month now, experiencing the culture, meeting the people, and attempting to learn the language. I have to tell you that I am very proud of the team. They are doing a great job!! Plans change often, and usually we find out at the last minute, and have to adjust quickly, but it has not been a problem and everyone's been really flexible and gracious! Definitely a God thing I feel like!
Church visits – Craiova, Galati, Seleus
I definitely am seeing how God has paved the way, and been preparing things for us to enter into. All three of our church visits went so well and we had a chance to connect with the youth group and the team we will be working with. It is good to be on the same page and the visits have definitely accomplished that!
{Left: Advertising camp in a local park in Craiova, Right: Hanging out with the team from Craiova}
What do we do during a church visit?
Each visit was four to five days long, and we got to stay in the homes of the people from the church. We had multiple meetings discussing logistics of camps, meeting the teams, and setting things up for training before camp. We advertised camps in public places, and invited students to come. All the teams are really enthusiastic about the camp theme “Stories” as well as an opportunity to do an evangelistic camp. We shared at church services, and J got to preach at a church gathering in a Gypsy community on one Sunday. We feel very blessed to be here to share God’s love with people!
A couple of times we got to go and serve the poor. Poverty is all around here in Romania. We met a family of seven who lives in a small tent next to a cemetery, outside of the city of Craiova. Parents and their five little children live there because they have no jobs, no other place to go, nothing. We brought lunch to eat with them and got to play with the kids. The cool thing was to see the local church reach out to this family, to accept them, and to start helping them....trying to figure out the living situation, find a job, etc. We saw a very practical side of love and care from the church!
June 20th is World Refugee Day. The church in Galati has a large group of refugees from Congo attending their church. Together with the Romanian youth group, we got to celebrate with these Congolese men at a worship concert held in a local theater.
{Left: World Refugee Day worship concert, Right: Gypsy church in Galati}
Story time:
Dan Vieru is the youth pastor of the church in Craiova. While there, he shared his story with us. He and his wife Dana adopted a little girl about five years ago. It was awesome to hear their story of trying to have kids and how they couldn't, and then they finally decided to adopt and they now have a beautiful daughter, Brianna. A few days after we left for another church visit, we got a note from Dan saying that his wife went to a doctor and he told her she was pregnant! He kept saying how it was a miracle, and it truly is! After 11 years of not being able to have children, little Brianna will now have a sibling :D
We are leaving tomorrow to go back to Seleus. The American youth group that is coming to help us flies in tomorrow as well. Friday and Saturday are training days. On Sunday we will travel to camp location to start setting up to be ready to begin camp on Monday morning! Camp number 1 is here!!
Prayer requests for camp # 1 (3villages-Seleus, Ineu, Sebreus; July 3-14 including training days and follow up)
~That we will trust in the power of the gospel!
~Students who will hear the story of God
~For unity for all these different teams coming together – the intern team, US youth group team, Romanian teams from Seleus, Inea, and Sebreus, and a group of leaders from B.I.G., the national organization JV partners with
~For health
~Life after camp – that the church would continue to reach out to the community, and care for new believers
Thank you on behalf of our whole team :)
Love, Katka
Tuesday, June 9, 2009
Romania
Hunched over a piece of paper, team Romania is trying to figure out what to do next. The text is in German, and none of us have a clue what it says.
May 27, 2009, Vienna, Austria, 14:00 Central European Time – JV interns fly in and the Amazing Race begins!
Sixteen teams competed over the next three days, finishing tasks in many different places like Vienna - Austria, Budapest - Hungary, Bratislava – Slovakia, and finally arriving in Malenovice for a week-long training. The purpose of the race is for the individual teams to bond, to discover people’s personalities, and to see how people react under stress. This is all very important and useful information given the teams will spend the almost three months together. Our team did well. We definitely bonded quickly and had fun running around [leisurely walking to be more accurate] to find clues, figuring out tasks, and riding trains!
{Compete: strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others who are trying to do the same}
I have to laugh when I read this definition. While we had a great time going through the race, there definitely were times during the race when we got too distracted [beautiful places, great conversations, laughter], and completely forgot we were racing. Fourth place in the race came as a shock and a pleasant surprise! :) We had a great time as a team, and it was an awesome start to serving together this summer.
Yep, four girls and one guy. [from L to R: Katka, James, Charis, Irina, Alina] James is from California, Charis is from Delaware, Irina and Alina are from Romania.
After a week of intense training and teaching in Malenovice, Czech Republic, we got on a train [five trains to be exact] and arrived in Arad, Romania on Friday night. We will be in Romania till mid August, working with local churches doing English Camps.
We walked around the city of Arad today, and learned more about the orthodox church. It was heartbreaking to hear about how most people are taught to believe that the way to God is through their deeds. No grace there.
Our desire and prayer is that God uses us to communicate love to people everywhere we go. We want to be tools used to spread His truth. We are here to love, to serve, and most of all to share the hope of Christ!
The month of June will be spent traveling around the country, visiting the churches we will be working with. We are working on our English lessons, preparing materials to train the youth groups, meeting people, learning about the country, attempting to learn the language [conquering it really] all the while praying that God uses all this for His glory!
Please, pray for:
boldness and humility as we talk with people, team unity, love among our team that would be a testimony of Him to people around us, health, communication with Romanian leaders, the churches we will be working with - Ineu, Pancota, Seleus, Craiova, Galati, the rest of the finances to come in for our Romanian interns
On a more personal note: This whole summer is full of challenges. I do not see myself as a leader and am praying that God shows me how to lead this team well this summer. While at training, God revealed some areas of insecurities I had to confess. I realized I sometimes give in to the lies and focus too much on who I am not rather than on how God can use who I am. I want to be a woman that God can use. Not a woman hiding behind her fears, defeated by lies and doubts!!
One thing that is always a (huge) step of faith is financial support. I realized that I would not have enough to cover my expenses for this summer and needed to raise additional $1,500. As I prayed, I really felt that God wanted me to raise this money in Czech. I talked to people and it was so encouraging to see their excitement, their desire to be a part of what God is doing in Romania! Eight hundred dollars were raised before our team left Czech. On Friday, sitting on a train somewhere in Hungary, I received a text message saying another $700 came in! God provided all the money and I really love the fact that the church in Czech is a part of this ministry down here in Romania, sending and supporting our team!
I am thankful for you. Thank you for lifting our team up in our prayers! It is so humbling and beautiful to be a part of God’s story and I cannot wait to share more with you as it unfolds... I am really humbled by all that God has done already!
Love,
Katka
May 27, 2009, Vienna, Austria, 14:00 Central European Time – JV interns fly in and the Amazing Race begins!
Sixteen teams competed over the next three days, finishing tasks in many different places like Vienna - Austria, Budapest - Hungary, Bratislava – Slovakia, and finally arriving in Malenovice for a week-long training. The purpose of the race is for the individual teams to bond, to discover people’s personalities, and to see how people react under stress. This is all very important and useful information given the teams will spend the almost three months together. Our team did well. We definitely bonded quickly and had fun running around [leisurely walking to be more accurate] to find clues, figuring out tasks, and riding trains!
{Compete: strive to gain or win something by defeating or establishing superiority over others who are trying to do the same}
I have to laugh when I read this definition. While we had a great time going through the race, there definitely were times during the race when we got too distracted [beautiful places, great conversations, laughter], and completely forgot we were racing. Fourth place in the race came as a shock and a pleasant surprise! :) We had a great time as a team, and it was an awesome start to serving together this summer.
Yep, four girls and one guy. [from L to R: Katka, James, Charis, Irina, Alina] James is from California, Charis is from Delaware, Irina and Alina are from Romania.
After a week of intense training and teaching in Malenovice, Czech Republic, we got on a train [five trains to be exact] and arrived in Arad, Romania on Friday night. We will be in Romania till mid August, working with local churches doing English Camps.
We walked around the city of Arad today, and learned more about the orthodox church. It was heartbreaking to hear about how most people are taught to believe that the way to God is through their deeds. No grace there.
Our desire and prayer is that God uses us to communicate love to people everywhere we go. We want to be tools used to spread His truth. We are here to love, to serve, and most of all to share the hope of Christ!
The month of June will be spent traveling around the country, visiting the churches we will be working with. We are working on our English lessons, preparing materials to train the youth groups, meeting people, learning about the country, attempting to learn the language [conquering it really] all the while praying that God uses all this for His glory!
Please, pray for:
boldness and humility as we talk with people, team unity, love among our team that would be a testimony of Him to people around us, health, communication with Romanian leaders, the churches we will be working with - Ineu, Pancota, Seleus, Craiova, Galati, the rest of the finances to come in for our Romanian interns
On a more personal note: This whole summer is full of challenges. I do not see myself as a leader and am praying that God shows me how to lead this team well this summer. While at training, God revealed some areas of insecurities I had to confess. I realized I sometimes give in to the lies and focus too much on who I am not rather than on how God can use who I am. I want to be a woman that God can use. Not a woman hiding behind her fears, defeated by lies and doubts!!
One thing that is always a (huge) step of faith is financial support. I realized that I would not have enough to cover my expenses for this summer and needed to raise additional $1,500. As I prayed, I really felt that God wanted me to raise this money in Czech. I talked to people and it was so encouraging to see their excitement, their desire to be a part of what God is doing in Romania! Eight hundred dollars were raised before our team left Czech. On Friday, sitting on a train somewhere in Hungary, I received a text message saying another $700 came in! God provided all the money and I really love the fact that the church in Czech is a part of this ministry down here in Romania, sending and supporting our team!
I am thankful for you. Thank you for lifting our team up in our prayers! It is so humbling and beautiful to be a part of God’s story and I cannot wait to share more with you as it unfolds... I am really humbled by all that God has done already!
Love,
Katka
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Editor's (not so serious) note
Dear blog readers,
it is always very disheartening when one expresses excitement over something (anything, really), in any form (long or short), and the first word out of the reader's mouth is Lame!....hmm, let's be happy for me, right?? So as much as I appreciate comments and am glad that someone is actually reading this, I would also love some support. Just saying...... :) And I do promise....more of the excitement story to follow soon!! You won't be disappointed, my faithful friends (a.k.a. Britt and LO) Love you!!
PS. If this comes across as serious, I apologize....sometimes expressing humor in written form is a lot harder than one (a.k.a. ME!) would think.
it is always very disheartening when one expresses excitement over something (anything, really), in any form (long or short), and the first word out of the reader's mouth is Lame!....hmm, let's be happy for me, right?? So as much as I appreciate comments and am glad that someone is actually reading this, I would also love some support. Just saying...... :) And I do promise....more of the excitement story to follow soon!! You won't be disappointed, my faithful friends (a.k.a. Britt and LO) Love you!!
PS. If this comes across as serious, I apologize....sometimes expressing humor in written form is a lot harder than one (a.k.a. ME!) would think.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Excitement
I am excited! Excited about Romania this summer. God has brought a great team together and I am so looking forward to our many adventures together! I'll write more later....for now, let's just enjoy a moment of pure excitement (well, it may be a little longer than just a moment till I post again but you know... :))
Monday, April 6, 2009
just living life :)
The date today is April 6, 2009 and I am happy to say the sun is up and shining again! Spring is here. This past weekend was gorgeous and I spent most of it outside enjoying the warmth. Aaaahhhhh! What a difference. Winter was long and cold. We got a lot of snow this winter, and it was fun for a while...but I think I am the person who enjoys it for a couple of weeks, and that's that. Let's move on.
I did not really travel anywhere the past four months. I got to be in Frydlant and do the routine thing. I actually enjoyed that for a change. Life has been busy. I have been spending every moment possible with the high school students. It has been great! we've been going ice skating almost every week, gone sledding a few times, and mostly just hung out and talked.
God has been giving me many opportunities to talk to them about different things. Lately, most conversations have been centered around relationships, dating, sexual purity, and all that. It has been great to discuss all of these issues with them. We went into the Bible to study what the Word says, and it was amazing. They told me that that was the first time they were hearing something different. Everyone (friends, teachers, even families) tell them it’s ok to be sexually active. With the country being mostly atheistic there is very little or nothing holding people back except maybe fear of pregnancy or diseases...but that's about it. What the Bible teaches is too radical for most people, and they think it’s not relevant. I pray that as we spend time in God’s Word, He opens their hearts to His truth and helps them understand! He's definitely been challenging them! And I pray that they respond to the challenge in a way that's glorifying Him!
Now that the weather is improving, I am getting ready to start going rollerblading with the students. Hopefully there are no injuries in my near future...definitely lots of space for improvement :)
Happy spring to you all!
I did not really travel anywhere the past four months. I got to be in Frydlant and do the routine thing. I actually enjoyed that for a change. Life has been busy. I have been spending every moment possible with the high school students. It has been great! we've been going ice skating almost every week, gone sledding a few times, and mostly just hung out and talked.
God has been giving me many opportunities to talk to them about different things. Lately, most conversations have been centered around relationships, dating, sexual purity, and all that. It has been great to discuss all of these issues with them. We went into the Bible to study what the Word says, and it was amazing. They told me that that was the first time they were hearing something different. Everyone (friends, teachers, even families) tell them it’s ok to be sexually active. With the country being mostly atheistic there is very little or nothing holding people back except maybe fear of pregnancy or diseases...but that's about it. What the Bible teaches is too radical for most people, and they think it’s not relevant. I pray that as we spend time in God’s Word, He opens their hearts to His truth and helps them understand! He's definitely been challenging them! And I pray that they respond to the challenge in a way that's glorifying Him!
Now that the weather is improving, I am getting ready to start going rollerblading with the students. Hopefully there are no injuries in my near future...definitely lots of space for improvement :)
Happy spring to you all!
Tuesday, January 6, 2009
Vision night song
This video played at all of the vision nights, and I never got tired of hearing it. I usually sat there and watched with tears in my eyes. In my previous post I mentioned how God pieced everything together, and here is one specific example...the story behind this song is pretty amazing. Here is what Lauree Austin (she put the video together) says about that:
"Well there are almost 10 different versions of the song on iTunes. I had picked one version by Joanna Martino because it was clear, it was a singular voice, it wasn’t overly produced, it was simple and beautiful. I needed to get Joanna Martino’s permission to use the song so I got on her website hopeful to find her management contact. She didn’t have any contact information. Bummed, I was poking around on her site and started to look through her photo album. I came across this picture that had the caption, “Me and my class after winning the Amazing Race in Slovenia.”
Weird, I thought. Josiah Venture does the Amazing Race with our English classes in Slovenia. I emailed the country director and found out that Joanna Martino, the American Idol finalist and singer that I had selected from the list on iTunes had come over to Slovenia two years before and served with Josiah Venture!!! I was totally stunned.
Well – I got the permission that I needed from her to use the song. But I also learned that she had recorded the song Mighty to Save because of her time in Slovenia working with the youth there! God had used it to show her his power and purpose there."*
God is good!
Mighty to Save - Joanna Martino from Josiah Venture | 2x3 Campaign on Vimeo.
*The whole story can be found here.
"Well there are almost 10 different versions of the song on iTunes. I had picked one version by Joanna Martino because it was clear, it was a singular voice, it wasn’t overly produced, it was simple and beautiful. I needed to get Joanna Martino’s permission to use the song so I got on her website hopeful to find her management contact. She didn’t have any contact information. Bummed, I was poking around on her site and started to look through her photo album. I came across this picture that had the caption, “Me and my class after winning the Amazing Race in Slovenia.”
Weird, I thought. Josiah Venture does the Amazing Race with our English classes in Slovenia. I emailed the country director and found out that Joanna Martino, the American Idol finalist and singer that I had selected from the list on iTunes had come over to Slovenia two years before and served with Josiah Venture!!! I was totally stunned.
Well – I got the permission that I needed from her to use the song. But I also learned that she had recorded the song Mighty to Save because of her time in Slovenia working with the youth there! God had used it to show her his power and purpose there."*
God is good!
Mighty to Save - Joanna Martino from Josiah Venture | 2x3 Campaign on Vimeo.
*The whole story can be found here.
JV vision tour
Four weeks, 11 cities, and 20 plane rides later, our vision tour was over. It was a crazy month, and I am still in awe of what God did.
It was, first of all, amazing to watch all the pieces come together. I have a big white board that's sitting in my office right next to my desk. And I have to smile every time I look at it. The board says this: 'Six Week Miracle' followed by a long list of things that needed to be done. This was written 6 weeks prior to the first vision night. It is so cool to see how God answered prayers, and took us through one step at a time.
There are many stories of God’s faithfulness. If you haven't already, you can read the blog from during the tour here.
Though busy and often lacking sleep, I walked away from each vision night refreshed, encouraged, and so excited about what God is doing! And as I think about the vision - to double our Kingdom fruit in the next three years - I get even more excited about what is to come!
One of the highlights for me were all the people I got to meet. God was so good to me to allow me to connect with some old friends, and at the same time, to give me the gift of new relationships. Here are just a few:
Charis drove to Peoria from Ohio, and it was so great to see her again! She was my intern last summer and has become a really good friend.
A team from Huntsville, AL came to our Atlanta vision night. What a fun reunion!
In Portland, I got to hang out with my friend Aubrey. We had a fabulous time!
I met this lady in Portland. Her name is Pamela Reeve, and she is an amazing woman of God. I got a signed copy of her book "Faith is..." in the Czech language. What a sweet connection!
It was, first of all, amazing to watch all the pieces come together. I have a big white board that's sitting in my office right next to my desk. And I have to smile every time I look at it. The board says this: 'Six Week Miracle' followed by a long list of things that needed to be done. This was written 6 weeks prior to the first vision night. It is so cool to see how God answered prayers, and took us through one step at a time.
There are many stories of God’s faithfulness. If you haven't already, you can read the blog from during the tour here.
Though busy and often lacking sleep, I walked away from each vision night refreshed, encouraged, and so excited about what God is doing! And as I think about the vision - to double our Kingdom fruit in the next three years - I get even more excited about what is to come!
One of the highlights for me were all the people I got to meet. God was so good to me to allow me to connect with some old friends, and at the same time, to give me the gift of new relationships. Here are just a few:
Charis drove to Peoria from Ohio, and it was so great to see her again! She was my intern last summer and has become a really good friend.
A team from Huntsville, AL came to our Atlanta vision night. What a fun reunion!
In Portland, I got to hang out with my friend Aubrey. We had a fabulous time!
I met this lady in Portland. Her name is Pamela Reeve, and she is an amazing woman of God. I got a signed copy of her book "Faith is..." in the Czech language. What a sweet connection!
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