He is good.

I found out today that I have a little over 100% of my one-time outgoing costs (visa, plane tickets, etc.)! Praise Him, for He has done this! 

I am still praying for monthly supporters. After this point, if I receive one time gifts, they will go into my monthly support and be divided by 12 (or 9) months.

Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it. Psalm 37:5

Interesting quote...

A statement from one Lebanese Muslim child to another:

"In the name of the prophet Muhammad, Jesus Christ did rise from the dead!"

Updates!

Does anyone else feel like the time is flying by? I can't believe it is mid March! I would love to share with you what our Great God has done over the past month. 

 

It seems like life is going 100mph sometimes.  I really enjoy my time at seminary and feel that my classes and the material I am learning is really applicable. The amount of reading required to keep up in each class is a challenge though. Much of my time over this past month has been spent investing in discipleship relationships. The Lord is gracious to let me spend time with and love on some amazing girls! 

 

Spain updates: 

In order to depart for the field, I must have 100% of my support. There are two types of financial needs that must be met. The first is outgoing cost and the goal is to raise $3,000. This includes my visa costs, plane fare, etc. Due to the Lord's provision in people's lives, and their desire to give back to Him, I am now around 90% of outgoing cost. Thank you! The second type of support needed, is monthly. Please pray with me for the Lord to provide 25 people who would want to be a part of what He is doing in Spain by giving between $50-$150 a month. 

 

Visa update; I will be applying for a Religious Worker's Visa that will allow me to stay in the country for at least a year. I won't have to worry about going in and out of the country every 90 days. 

 

My departure date is tentative.  If I am at 100% of my support by May 1st, then I will depart Saturday, May 17th. However, if I am not at 100%, then I will be in Denton for the summer and hopefully be able to leave in August. Praise God that His timing is perfect! 

 

Prayer: Praises & Requests

• Please pray that I would be able to obtain a visa. 
• Praise Him for providing supporters.
• Please pray with me for more partnerships. It is not so much about people supporting me so that I can go, it is more about us working together for the sake of the Name! 
• Please pray for the jovenes (youth) in the church in Úbeda, that they would live out their faith to the culture around them. 
  
• Praise God for bringing more jovenes to the church in Úbeda! 
  

 

If you would like to prayerfully consider joining in, in what God is doing in Spain, you can either contact me for more information (arista.young@gmail.com) or give directly to CAM International. I would love to talk with people that are interested! 

 

CAM International

8625 La Prada Drive

Dallas, TX 75228

Account #090725

Politics

I have an update on the visa situation, and I also have a meeting with CAM this Tuesday to talk more about support raising, the status of my support, communication, visa applications, my departure date, etc. I would love to give details on all of these things after Tuesday. 

There is something more important that I would like to share for now. You might alrady know, but last Friday, March 7th, a Spanish councilman named Isaias Carrasco was killed in the north-eastern city of Mondragon. He is thought to have been killed by ETA, (Euskadi Ta Askatasuna) the Basque separatist organization. This man was a member of the ruling socialist party but it doesn't really seem clear as to why he was killed. 

Spain has an election every 4 years and the last one was in 2004. You might remember the Madrid train bombing that killed 191 people a few days before the 2004 election. I am often reminded that there are "politics" in any organization, which is sad, but that politics exist because someone/some people want their agenda accomplished. Here is a good article summarizing what has happened in Spain and the effects.

If you would like more information on Spanish government/politics I have researched and summarized some here...

Spain is a parliamentary monarchy, which means they have a king, (Juan Carlos I) but they also have a prime minister who is elected by popular vote. The current PM is José Luis Zapatero, and he represents the Spanish Worker's Socialist Party (PSOE) or in Spanish, Partido Socialista Obrero Españo. 

This election has had a pretty bitter campaign between the two candidates and this murder came at a very hard time, just two days before the elections. The election was held today, and Zapatero won the majority of the seats in parliament, claiming 169 out of 350. Here is a New York Times article reporting on the election. 

"The Spanish parliament is called Las Cortes Generales and is a bicameral parliament consisting of the Congress of Deputies (El Congreso de Diputados), the Upper and Lower Houses (La Cámara Alta and La Cámara Baja respectively) and the Senate (El Senado). Government and members of the Spanish parliament are chosen by general elections held every four years. The Spanish Prime Minister (el Presidente del Gobierno) responsible to the Cortes is elected by Spanish parliament." 

taken from:http://www.spanish-talk.co.uk/about-spain/spanish-politics/

Luke 18:1-8

Now He was telling them a parable to show that at all times they ought to pray and not to lost heart, saying, “In a certain city there was a judge who did not fear God and did not respect man. There was a widow in that city, and she kept coming to him, saying, “Give me legal protection from my opponent.” For a while he was unwilling; but afterward he said to himself, “Even though I do not fear God or respect man, yet because this widow bothers me, I will give her legal protection, otherwise by continually coming she will wear me out.” And the Lord said, “Hear what the unrighteous judge said; now, will not God bring about justice for His elect who cry out to Him day and night, and will He delay long over them? I tell you that He will bring about justice for them quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?”

First, if you are reading this, please know that I would rather have a conversation with you about these things than just postulate these things and throw my thoughts out there. In writing this, I see (and feel) the downside of a blog, it is entirely one-sided communication. I really really dislike that. However, sometimes it is not possible for you or me, to have a latté, sit down on a cozy couch, and talk (I would love that). One of my favorite things is listening to other people's thoughts and it saddens me that I am unable to hear more of what you think--so if you do want to talk more--let me know! 

To me, this parable is Christ's own encouragement to pray continually in faith. I see things of myself within the widow! She is helpless and in need of someone to act on her behalf. I am unable to breathe on my own (Genesis 2:7), let alone raise support or be a missionary. Within my inability, He is incredibly able. Recently, I was writing and I am even more convinced of this sentence's validity, "For the rest of my life, I want to be a part of trusting God to do what only He can do." To me, that is everything from breathing, to raising support for this stint! (Note: I am not comparing God to the judge, it seems like, if anything, Jesus is teaching by contrast.)

I am praying, here is an official invitation to join with me in prayer. Some specifics:

• Praising God; for His act of grace by moving toward humanity for His glory and their salvation 
• Asking God; for grace. It is encouraging to me to remember that (one way) I express my faith to God is by requesting His grace. 
• Please pray with me against wrong motives "You ask and do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your pleasures." James 4:3

What can I pray for you about? Sometimes I think I talk in circles, and say things that I need to hear. 

World Travellers

On my way into class this morning, I was walking in at the same time as one of my professors. We talked on the way up the stairs and as we came to the top, he yelled at an elderly gentleman sitting in the window sill and continued on to class. The old man looked a little familiar, but I was surprised to see Dr. Young yell at someone. The old man waved him off and shouted something at him in Spanish with a smile on his face. 

As we walked on to class, I asked Dr. Young if that man happened to be Dr. Oscar López, and it was! I understand that you think I got excited about nothing but, if you knew this man's story you would think differently. I have wanted to meet him for a while, but he now teaches at the seminary's extension campus in Houston. So being ridiculous, I put my things down once I got to class and went back to talk to him. We conversed in spanish for a while and then I had to get back to class. 

Click here to listen to a 30 minute chapel (Consider Yourself A Servant of Christ) by Dr. López, you won't be sorry you did! 

Also, something that one of my professors mentioned as a prayer request was his trip to Beirut, Lebanon this Friday. He will be in Lebanon for the next 2 weeks. He is going to meet with some missionaries and NGO's to discuss the opening of a school for children with special needs. After his visit to Beirut, he will be traveling south into the Hezbollah region. However, he does not have permission yet so he asked that we could be in prayer for passage into the area and for progress with the plans of the school. I really enjoy getting to hear about (specific) global prayer requests!