Touching base

I have not posted for a while on my blog. I must apologize for not being as diligent in sharing what the Lord has been doing in my life. I hope this log will not be long as I cannot do justice to the past three weeks.
I have been preparing for seminary now. This preparation is more mental than anything though. The challenge that it will be is in no way an illusion. As the days draw closer by I am starting to sense the seriousness of this step. I am trying not to get so distracted by the workload that awaits and the comments people make of how I will absolutely have no life and will die. To be honest, that is the last thing that I want to come true. I hope I will stall have some time to just enjoy the people around me and the ministries that I have grown to have a passion for. A lot of people have been really supportive through their prayers and encouraging comments and I am thankful to God for that.

My time at the College is now pretty much over. There shall be no more dorm life; no roommate moments on campus; no chapel on Monday, Wednesday, Friday; no familiar professors; no more working in the Library (which I had become accustomed to calling 'my Disney Land')...life does go on and moves on pretty fast. I do not feel sad though. Granted, I did enjoy my time there and am ever thankful for what I have learned, how I have grown in the Lord, the experiences that I have had, the professors and the amazing people the Lord put in my path during that time. But I tend to think the best years are still ahead of me and I look forward to enjoying them with a perspective that tries to always look forward to the pinnacle of all places and time, Heaven.

I have since moved in with my sister. We got an apartment in Santa Monica, which will be roughly a thirty minute commute to school. I am staring to get used to the area and looking for ministry opportunities. We live a few blocks from Third Street which is the hub and buzz of Santa Monica, well, at least on some level. I met a guy called Mike yesterday who has a stand doing handwriting reading. He calls himself the Sage Master. What he pretty much does is that he reads your handwriting and 'is able to tell you about your nature.' Naturally I was interested in the sign that hung above his head and struck up a conversation with him which lasted over two hours. Vadim (my friend from Germany) and I were able to share the gospel with him which he flatly refused to believe. At times he was so resistant to it that he was right in our faces and raising his voice. This experience got me really excited about the need for the gospel here. Please pray for Mike that the Lord would open his eyes to the truth and that he may be saved.

Dany got back from Israel on the 9th of December and we got to spend a few days together before she left for Germany to spend the holidays with her family. I am thankful for that time and how the Lord has been growing her. She comes back to the states in about three weeks.

The ministry at the rehab center has been going really well and I can see how God is working in those guy's lives. I had the opportunity to preach on the parable of the unjust steward (Luke 16) a couple of weeks ago. Everyone there got to hear the gospel message and I pray that the seeds that keep being planted there come to fruition through the grace of God. It's always amazing how we are called to be faithful servants in preaching the gospel and leaving everything up to the Lord. I have come to see a glimpse of what it means not to be discouraged by how people respond or deny the gospel but to be encouraged by the fact that all we are called to do is to be faithful and diligent even in continuing to sow those seeds. I look so forward to Heaven when I can get to see how God has been working in ways that I sometimes do not see.

The youth ministry in LA has also been such a blessing lately. Working with the youth there and listening to what they are going through and how the Lord is growing them has been an experience that I would not have wanted to pass out on. Please pray for them especially those who come from broken families and homes that are violent. I think my time there has been a platform in which the Lord has been teaching me what it means to serve behind the scenes. Simple tasks like vacuuming the carpet should be connected to serving the Lord and it's been such a blessing being able to think through that as I even lift up a chair to put it back in its place.

The concept of rewards has been occupying y mind lately, as in Heavenly rewards. I will probably write the next blog on this so I shall not dive into it lest I don't do it justice. This winter break I have decided to read the autobiography of George Muller. He is a man who lived in the 1800s and ran an orphanage entirely on faith and prayer and the Lord provided all the needs of the children and the orphanage. I am trying to focus more on prayer in my life and what it means to live by faith so I thought I might have him mentor me for the next month through his life.
I think this is pretty much the gist of what has been going on the past few weeks. I am always thankful of the times the Lord blesses us to look back, reflect, and see His grace in our lives. I usually say to people 'the Lord works miraculously in our lives. Sometimes we just have to stop and reflect on our day to see that.' May He be your light and guide you for His glory.