American Missionaries in Europe

As the dollar continues to fall against the euro, and our buying power diminishes greatly, I keep wondering how much longer American missionaries can afford to stay in Europe. When does it become "too expensive" to keep us here? Is this something we just have to "ride out" or is this part of His plan to cause the Church in Europe to begin taking more responsibility for it's future? Could God be wanting to raise up more missionaries from within Europe to do the job? I don't have the answers. And for those of you who might be tempted to think my faith is faltering, it's not. But I can't help wondering how much longer we should stay here under these circumstances.

Pray for those of us who are serving in Europe, that we might have wisdom to know God's will in this matter.

Adolescent Depression

Last night, as Kathy and I were with our Wednesday evening English conversation group, one of the women shared that her son is dealing with depression right now. This happens to be the member of our group that attends our church. This is the third teenager/young adult at our church, in the last six months, that we have heard is dealing with depression. Is this something new? Or has it been happening for a long time and I just haven't heard about it? Maybe it's just because I'm not working with young people any more and I'm "out of the loop." But it's a little disturbing to me.

One of the members of our Wednesday night group is a doctor. Kathy asked her last night what she thought the reason was for the apparent increase in adolescent depression. Her opinion was that young people are spending too much time inside, in front of computer screens, and not enough time with their friends. One of the other young men in our church, that is still recovering from a serious episode last summer, said that his doctor told him he needs to get outside in the fresh air and exercise more. So part of his new daily regime is at least 30 minutes of walking outdoors.

It could be one more reason for us to encourage the young people in our lives to get away from their video screens (whether they be computers or television) and develop spiritual community among their Christian friends.

February Update

Moving?
I have the opportunity to move into a larger apartment in L’Ametlla (the town where the FIEIDE office is and where Jon & Kathy live). The rent would be about $100 per month less. The problem is that my contract on my current apartment runs through May and my rent has been pre-paid until then. We are in negotiations to see if we can work out an agreement that will allow me to obtain the new apartment with a minimum of financial outlay.

I hope to sell some furniture and appliances that I won’t need as the apartment has all the appliances and built-in closets that I didn’t have here, but I will probably still need to raise about $800. We are meeting again on Sunday afternoon (Feb. 3). Please be in prayer that we can come to a fair agreement and that God will provide the additional funding needed.

Health Issue
Almost from the moment I returned from my visit to the States for Christmas, I have been experiencing dizziness. I tried taking some antihistamines (something my doctor had prescribed when I had a similar experience several years ago) but it didn’t seem to help. Kathy took me to the doctor last week and he prescribed a different medicine and has scheduled an x-ray of my neck this week in an effort to find the cause. (It is apparently not an inner ear infection.) Please pray that God will give the doctor wisdom and bring healing.

This month’s quote:
“Isn’t it the greatest possible disaster, when you are wrestling with God, not to be beaten?” asked Simone Weil. To put it another way, what feels like a defeat at the time may emerge as an enduring victory. Jacob the cheat walked cockily on two good legs; Israel limped into history as the father of nations. The real value of persistent prayer is not so much that we get what we want as that we become the person we should be.

Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

Prayer Requests:

1. Pray for God’s intervention in the negotiations regarding the new apartment.
2. Pray that God will bring healing in regard to the dizziness I have been experiencing.
3. Continue to pray for the relationships we are making with our Wednesday evening English conversation group.
4. Pray for new or increased giving to meet my monthly support need.

To Sing or Not to Sing...

I came across this article yesterday regarding the Spanish national anthem. Apparently, the Spanish Olympic Committee wanted their athletes to be able to sing when the Spanish national anthem was played so they held a contest to find new words to the song and created quite a stir. I'll let you read the article to learn all the details regarding why there have been no words since 1978 and who objected to the new words.

January Update

Back to Work
My time in the States was very fulfilling and I enjoyed spending lots of time with my children. We spent Christmas Day with some very good friends and had a great day. It was definitely a “White Christmas.” I arrived back in Spain on Wednesday, Jan. 9, and will be back at work on Monday. We have a lot to accomplish in the next several months and I would appreciate your prayers as I try to balance my time between the FIEIDE office and my “office” at the Haleys’ house.

This month’s quote: A rabbi taught that experiences of God can never be planned or achieved. “They are spontaneous moments of grace, almost accidental.” His student asked, “Rabbi, if God-realization is just accidental, why do we work so hard doing all these spiritual practices?’” The rabbi replied, “To be as accident-prone as possible.”

Philip Yancey, Prayer: Does It Make Any Difference?

Praises & Prayer Requests:

• I had a great time celebrating the holidays in the States with my children and friends. The time went by very quickly and my days were very full. I’m grateful for good health and safety as I traveled.
• As we begin 2008, we have identified several projects we would like to accomplish this year, many before summer. Most of them are related to our online school, although some are for the FIEIDE (the organization of Spanish churches we work with). Pray that we will stay focused on our goals and accomplish much to strengthen the church here in Spain.
• Continue to pray for the relationships that Kathy and I are making through our English conversation group. Pray that the Holy Spirit will draw them to Christ.
• Continue to pray for needed financial support and an improvement in the value of the dollar here in Europe. I am thankful for some special year-end gifts that have helped “fill in the gaps.” God is faithful!