Iglesia Bautista Fundamental Tabernaculo

I just found my church's website today and enjoyed looking through the pictures and the missionary list. I am so thankful that the Lord directed me to this church for my last 2 years in Greenville. I learned so much under Pastor Fernandez's preaching. The music is conservative, and the congregational singing is very enthusiastic, which is not always easy to find. The people sing with all their hearts and it is a blessing just to listen. I also made many friends, learned Spanish, and grew spiritually in the weekly youth group meetings. If you're ever in Greenville and looking for a Spanish speaking church, I highly recommend Tabernaculo. (This post really isn't as random as it may seem-I was in Greenville a week ago and was able to be at my church 5 times)

All that to say, I miss my church!

www.iglesiatabernaculo.org

How I got here (part 1)

Well, since I finally have a little bit of time, I'm going to attempt the story of how I ended up here. It's a rather long one, so I'll probably break it down into a few chunks. I guess it all started back sometime in elementary school. I was saved when I was 4 1/2, not long before my family moved to Texas. I remember as far back as first and second grade being fascinated with missionary presentations and not being able to shake the feeling that maybe God wanted me to be a missionary. I remember sometime around fourth grade a man coming to church and anouncing a missions trip and I was so upset because I was not old enough to go. I decided right then and there that if the opportunity ever arose for me to go on a missions trip, I would do it. While we lived in Texas, my parents were in charge of our church's bus ministry. That meant that on Saturdays we spent almost all day visiting the families of the kids we picked up on Sundays. Much of the time I hated going, because we were gone for a long time, and it was always so hot, especially during the summer. Looking back, I can see God's direction in my life starting even in the visitation that I didn't like. Many of our families were Hispanic, and when we visited on Saturdays, we would invariably be invited into their homes. My extremely "spiritual" (ha) memories of the visits were the times that these families would prepare food for us, usually from their native country. They were so hospitable, and the homemade flour tortillas and other things they made for us were so delicious. The Lord was using this time in my life to plant a love and burden for Spanish speaking people in my heart. I don't doubt God's sovereignty in leading my dad to an area so heavily populated with Hispanics. I did, however, doubt his wisdom when my dad informed us that we would be moving to Georgia the summer after my 6th grade year. There were many things I knew I would miss about Texas, the top of the list being my friends. I did not look forward to starting jr high with a group of kids I didn't know. I was also upset that I would not get to study Texas history. Weird, I know, but when we studied it in 4th grade, I became so fascinated that I could hardly wait to get to 8th grade when we could spend the whole year studying it. Of course, Mr Russell made almost every school subject fascinating, but history just topped it all, and I just couldn't wait. And now that I was so close to 8th grade and Texas history, my dad was saying we were going to move! I was not very happy at all about the whole idea, but I really didn't have a choice. Actually, I had the choice in how I reacted: I cried the entire trip to Dallas, which was 2-2 and 1/2 hours.

Help!!

I'm going nuts! Actually, I'm ok, it's just that this week has been and will continue to be a little crazy. I'm leaving for Greenville Saturday afternoon, and I have not had an evening at home to clean, get things done and pack since Saturday, and I won't have one between now and when I leave. All for a good cause, though. Monday night is normally visitation, but since I didn't have a scheduled visit, I went with the group that normally goes to Walmart or Kmart to pass out tracts. We have to be careful that we only give them to people who are exiting the store. I hear that in the past there has been danger or threat of arrest, so when a policeman approached one of the college guys, he was naturally a little nervous. Jose told us that the policeman was asking him questions, and he just felt prompted to basically preach to the guy. After talking for a while, the policeman trusted Christ as his Savior. It was a blessing to see Jose's excitement, and a blessing to hear how the Lord turned a potentially scary situation into a witnessing opportunity.
Last night I had a scheduled visit to the home of a second grade student. His parents are solid Christians and the kind of parents any teacher would love to deal with. Their home was in the mountains, so there was land and quite that I thoroughly enjoyed, since I live in the city and don't see much of it.
Tonight is church, sign language class, and choir practice afterwards for chapel tomorrow.
Thursday night is college choir practice, and practice with the men's quartet for Easter.
Friday is soccer game (the last before playoffs) and after the game a concert at the fine arts center. If I remember correctly, it's the Emerson string quartet. Not quite sure what they're playing, but it should be nice.
After all that fun, I'll be leaving for the airport around noon on Saturday.
Somewhere in the middle of all this, I have to figure out my taxes, and figure out how to deal with Puerto Rican taxes as well as US and state taxes.