Easter in the Middle East

"Now get up and stand on your feet. I have appeared to you to appoint you as a servant and as a witness of what you have seen of me and what I will show you...I am sending you to them to open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may receive forgiveness of sins and a place among those who are sanctified by faith in me."
- Acts 26:16-18

Wow! What an amazing opportunity to spend Easter in the Middle East with my friends who are working on the field there! God trully blessed! After taking the train to the metro to the metro to the bus to the plane to the taxi to the boat and then walking to their apt, I was so thankful that God had allowed me to be there. It was a sweet time of fellowship and encouragement as I spent time learning about their work there and as I look towards the future of possibly being on the field in the Middle East full time. The Lord allowed me to feel the sense of darkness and oppression as we walked throughout the cities, listened to the call to prayer, and visited one of the mosks there. These people are being held in bondage by the stronghold of the great deceiver and their perspective of foreigners, especially Americans, often presents a very difficult challenge as they quickly judge our motives and character in light of our origin. It requires a heart that is willing to have an attitude of patience, humility, and longevity as we pray that God will reveal His Son to these precious people through the consistent, faithful testimony of a life living in His glory. Please continue to lift up this region to our loving Father. Ask that God would flood the field with His workers and bring hope to this place of oppression and fear. While there, the most signifigant thing that happened was the peace that God gave me that He really is drwing my heart to live in the Middle East and serve Him there. It's a knowing that I have been having, but this was the first time that I really felt my heart stirred with a true realization that this is where I am being called. When, for how long and in what capacity I am unsure of...but I know that He will reveal that to me in His timing. And I am so at peace with that!

I also covet your prayers as I look ahead to my 10 day outreach to Ternopil, Ukraine in April. We will be working alongside the Calvary Chapel there, as well as YWAM, to reach out to the college students in the community and the orphanages. Please pray for unity among the six members of our team and the 19 hours of travel into Ukraine and then returning to Hungary.

You can check out our team blog at: http://www.teamukraineccbce.blogspot.com/

Love you all so much!