A fellow missionary here is currently helping Massiel with rice, beans and oatmeal each week to help alleviate some of the pressure from her. She is so appreciative of the small amount of food we bring her each week. Unfortunately, in two weeks the funding for this will be depleted. If you feel led to help Massiel out (anything you can give will go directly to this family) please contact us or email us at aheartforthenations [at] gmail [dot] com.

I thank God at least once a week for this wisdom.  Tonight, the disappointment with our ministry partners showed it’s ugly head. Through a series of miscommunications, a difficult conversation was had, without any real resolution other than an agreement to disagree.

Frank is the type, when dealing with conflict, to get things out and not hold grudges. I, however, tend to hold on to my hurts tightly with both hands. I let them fester and affect everything I do and say. I’m learning to open myself up to God, even when I’m hurting and let his love wash out those hurts.

Part of being an adult is sticking with situations, through times of unhappiness or anger, because you’ve made a commitment. We have made a covenant with God to be here for this time. I know this is a trial that will pass, and is part of the refining process that will make me pure gold to God. It’s also a sign of true community, when you get past the surface level with people and the ugliness that is in all of us comes out. I’m not sure why God chose imperfect humans to spread the word, but he did. So I trust his judgement in choosing this team for this specific purpose. And I wait for this trial to pass.

Let’s start with language:
I know more Spanish now than I ever have in my life. At first life here was a big game of charades but over the past couple of days things have really started to come together. One thing has been made very clear to me – language will be our biggest obstacle while we are here in Granada. To combat (or combatir) this we are currently taking 2 hours of language training per day. This coupled with immersion in the culture has been very effective so far.

Now on to ministry:
God did not waste any time – I have started a small group that meets weekly with 3 recovering addicts. In addition to a weekly meeting, I meet with each one individually during the week so we can go a bit deeper with our struggles and prayers. All three of the men speak very good English making it possible to talk without the need for a translator. The small group is a direct answer to prayer and I was amazed at how quickly it formed.

Finally, general life in Granada:
We are at the end of the hottest month so needless to say…it’s hot. But we have fans, a wonderful breeze in the shade and much cooler evenings. We are looking forward to November through January because we hear they are cooler with less humidity. Our roommates are wonderful – seriously, we could not have a better living situation. They are both very kind and have offered us all the help we have needed with no complaints (at least not any that we understood). We eat lunch together 5 days a week and the food is amazing. The city is beautiful and we are very excited to see what God has in store for the next year.

Prayer requests:
Please pray for the men that are in recovery here and also pray for their families. There are lots of AIM teams flying in and out over the next several months so please pray for them as they prepare to come and go. Pray for the city – there are a lot of needs here and God is showing them to us one by one.

If you’re interested in seeing the details of our every day life, including pictures, you can find those over on my website at http://www.theburders.com/rebekah.