Vacation Photos

Coast of Israel and Mediterranean from the plane

Dead Sea!

Floating in the Dead Sea

Camel Riding

Jordan River

Other side of Jordan Riever- Israel

Traditional Baptism site of Christ

Baby Camels on the side of the road

Mt Nebo where Moses looked out on the Promised Land

Streets of Jerusalem Old City

Looking out on Mount of Olives

Dome of the Rock

Wailing/Western Wall- men on the left and women on the right

Looking in at those praying at the wall

Church of the Holy Sepulchre

Slab where Christ may have been placed (look at above mosaic)

Outside the church

Spices!

Thought to be Golgotha- place of the skull... you see the skull face in the rocks?

Tomb of Christ! He's not there!

Inside the tomb

March Update

Jesus' tomb in Jerusalem!

Gone Fishin'

Some of Christ’s disciples were fishermen. Actually Jesus finds them fishing and calls them to follow him. They end up leaving their nets and boats behind, and he tells them that they will continue fishing. But this time they’ll be fishers of men.

Fishing takes a lot of patience. A lot of patience that I really don’t have. One of the pastimes my dad enjoys is fishing. I’ve been with him before, but it doesn’t take long before I’m ready for some action if things are too calm. I don’t want to just sit! I want to see some fish! My poor dad knows I’m not the best fishing companion because of this! Also when it comes to knowing what kind of bait you need and some of the best places to fish, I’m not so great at that either. But with practice and learning my dad does have a knowledge of those things.

As fishers of men, we can run into the very same problems I do with fishing. Impatience. Lack of knowledge of where to go. Lack of knowing how to engaged people into spiritual conversations. Then sometimes we just want to quit because the entire process takes too long, or we feel discouraged when we don’t get immediate results.

I was talking with Pablo and Carmen after Bible study this past Friday, and they asked for prayers. Prayers for wisdom in counseling the people they meet. Pablo said that they prayed for fish, and God sent them many fish who were biting at the bait, desperate for hope. Pablo said many times we pray for fish, but we forget how bad they smell once they’re in the boat!

Our sin and problems pile up and before you know it you are surrounded by the stench of the fish. The stench of sinners. All too quickly I forget that I once smelled quite fishy, but I am now redeemed.

So we are here! Praying for fish and praying that after they are in the boat with their awful smells that the Lord continues to work and open their hearts. Purifying them. Replacing the stench of their sin with the fragrance and beauty of salvation through Christ.

I have one fish I need you praying for. She’s my neighbor. She’s older and always has been single. She insults the USA almost every time I talk to her. She says she’s Catholic but the other day asked me to pray for her, telling me she didn’t care if I prayed to the sun or the moon or whatever else. When I told her I’d pray for her but only to Christ and God, she insisted I “open my mind” to other things. She’s overbearing, but she needs to be loved. Pray that I will do this. I’ve set a goal to at least go visit with her once a week. Pray I will remain faithful and loving of her.

The Beginning of a Beautiful Friendship

Recently I have been so blessed to meet a student living here in Spain. She is a believer and has such a passion for the lost around her. One night as I was going to a student Christian gathering with a friend, I prayed that I’d meet someone to build a friendship with. Someone to encourage and someone who could help me meet other people.

That night I met my new friend. We exchanged numbers, and after I got back from vacation we’ve been able to get together each week. She has been such a blessing and a really good friend to give insight to Spaniards here and dynamics on college campuses. She shared some struggles of knowing how to hang out with her Spanish friends while not placing herself in unhealthy situations. The dilemma for believers here is difficult and among campuses there are students who specifically do things to interrupt Christian gatherings at the schools.

My new friend said she had been praying for a year to meet someone who she could practice her English with and a friend who she could encourage and who could encourage her! Pray for this friendship. That more friends will be made. That truth will be shared. That this friend will be encouraged.

It’s difficult for believers here who want to see change. Students want to not only see change but do something about it. I encouraged my friend that major missions movements in the States were all on college campuses. She smiled with hope in her eyes. May the Lord raise up the students here to reach Spain and the world!

Prayer Request
Legs to heal-specifically my hamstring on my left leg– going to the doctor this Wednesday
For more relationships with Latino students
For my friend in another country-she finally has left her home country for awhile

Praises!
Continued therapy for my legs
Continued relationship building
Good vacation time-hoping to post pictures soon as well as a video of me riding a camel!

Abrazos!
Taryn

Tienes Un Novio?

I didn't know that my question of "tienes un novio/ do you have a boyfriend?" would bring to light so much that was right under the surface. I'm the girl that will ask you just about anything until I get the red light from you. If you seem open, I do my best to gage how far you'll let me in. It's really because I care about people, and I want to know about your life. I want to tell people about the hope I have and that they too can have it.

Sometimes I don't realize how a simple question will actually be a gateway to deeper things, but this question was. While lowering her voice, she answered my question with a yes. After this I understood what direction we were going. I knew I didn't like the way he tugged on her hair or touched her right before Christmas. That was the last time we saw her before she left for a few months to go to her home country. I knew that the unrest in my spirit when he was around wasn't made up. Or the way in which she seemed nervous or uncomfortable around him wasn't just in my head.

She has come back to the bondage in which she left for only a few months. She's my age. Beautiful girl who desires good things out of life. But he's holding the keys. He pays for everything for her. Clothes. Car. Big apartment. Gives her work. As she explains who her boyfriend is, I try to not let my jaw drop. Not that I'm all that surprised. Brook and I suspected that this man, who is older than her father and her boss, was taking advantage of her. We just didn't know to what extent.

"Are you happy? Content?" I asked. She responded with an "Yes. I have everything I need." As if that fooled me into thinking that she really was happy. She stopped making eye contact with us and stared at herself in the mirror behind us, fixing her hair. Things very much looked together on the outside. She didn't know that I could see right to her heart. It wasn't so much that she was lying to us as she was trying to convince herself that she really was okay with this kind of life. She listed off those same things over and over again, as though she was convincing herself that it was a good justification for being with this man.

Brook and I both tried to share things with her. Explaining that no man can give her peace, true love, and joy. That these things only come from the Lord. She agreed, but I knew that her agreeing was just to appease us so we wouldn't pry anymore. At one point she even teared up but seemingly found a way to dismiss and hide her tears. What worried us even more was that when we shared some things about relationships with her, she asked if ex-boyfriends had hit us before. Red flag.

Needless to say, we are both concerned. We are both treading very carefully, because we don't want this man to know too much about us. But we do want to pour into our friend. We do want her to see a way out of this relationship that's she's been in for 3 years. She's looking for answers and the only one who can give them to her is Christ. Pray for this friend. Pray that she sees a way out of this relationship and isn't overly concerned with the materialistic side of things. Pray for wisdom for Brook and me. That we speak boldly in love to this girl who is in a situation I can't even imagine being in. This world is certainly in need of a Savior. Good thing he has come. Pray that the world hears and responds.

In Him,
Taryn

Proceed with Caution. This May Burn

This may end up being a long blog post, so I'm warning you in advance. It also may end up being a post where I speak very harshly, so I'm warning you in advance. There are some things that lay heavily on my heart and that spur me on to these thoughts and these claims.

As I recently went on vacation, I had a lot of time to contemplate things. A lot of time to talk to God. Mostly about the direction for where he wants me to go in the future. As I was face down in a prayer room in Jerusalem sobbing, I kept asking him what he wanted from me. Does he really want me to go to the places where people haven't heard the truth? How much will this cost THIS time? Haven't I given it all to him? Haven't I followed him despite the circumstances of this past year and the difficulty this experience has brought? Haven't I in the past walked away from things to show my love is greater for him than for anything else? As I reminded God of these things, as if he didn't already know, all I got was a simple response. A response that humbled my sinful heart. He asked me if He was worth it. He asked me if people hearing his word was worth it. I weighed the sacrifice in my head, but my heart immediately responded. But of course my Father is worth it. Christ is not speaking light heartily to us when he tells us to pick up our cross and follow him. So I am choosing to pick it up, even if I drag it and fall along the way.

As we count the cost of following him, I can't but help to ask some things. What are you doing for his kingdom? How are you seeking out our Father? I'm not talking about nodding your head to him every once in awhile because you write "God is good" on your facebook status. And I'm certainly not talking about you wearing a t-shirt that says "Jesus is my homeboy" because he is not your homeboy. He is your Lord. (I just really dislike those shirts, sorry) Have we forgotten the honor is it to be loved by him and forgiven by him?

Are we living our lives in such a way that we run away from sin? Or do we dance on the line, getting as close as we can. Paul cautions about even the APPEARANCE of evil. Not that you are actually doing something wrong, but that if it appears you are, you should walk away. How do you handle substances? What does your relationship with your boyfriend or girlfriend look like? Let us NOT live in sin while every once in awhile pretending like we are in perfect communion with God, when in all actuality we are stumbling every day over our sin in these different areas (and so many more that are not mentioned).

Why are we compromising? Why do these things have such a hold on us that we are willing to walk away from our first love? I have seen it so many times. I pray, and please pray with me, that my first love is always Christ. That I do not let the world get in the way of what he has called me to do. What he REQUIRES of us all. I have seen it in people I know who so badly want to get married. And they get married to a man or woman or does not passionately seek our God. Then they are stuck in a marriage that is mediocre and lacks vision and drive. These are some of the people who I know were called to missions. Called to life abroad for our Lord. I pray that this will still happen, but there is so much more to overcome. I can go back in my short life and remember conversations with those throughout my teenage years and college years who were on fire for God. That fire has slowly gone out and they are not serving him like they once desired to. Rise up! Go out! It's not too late! Do not let Satan fool you into thinking that you've missed the boat! The Lord will still use you in mighty ways! A fear of not doing what he has asked of me rests on my mind as I recall individuals who have come up to me and tell me they were once called to serve, and they didn't respond. May my heart be soft and ready to answer always!

Men... we need you! Rise up! You were made to lead. You were made to cast the vision and to show people how to fulfill it for the sake of my Lord. We need godly male leaders. With an unmatched character, with hearts willing to lay down their pride for the sake of putting the Lord first. There are so many great single women who you can choose to serve alongside you. Rise up! The harvest is plentiful and we need our men. Do not let apathy overtake you. Do not let responsibility take precedence over doing what God has told you to do. Will he not take care of you? The things he has placed in your heart and mind are there for a reason. Step out and lead. Step out in faith. I see the frustrations of so many women who are having to take on roles that they weren't intended to have because there are men who refused to answer the call. Answer our Lord. Go out.

Women... do not let marriage be the determining factor of whether or not you go out and serve. Follow our Lord. Let him be your first love. I understand the struggle of this. I see wonderful women into their 30's, 40's, 50's, and so on who were never married. But I can tell you that they never denied their first love. And how much more important is that? Why are we letting Satan use this to put a fear in us to the point where we compromise the type of person we marry or we sit around waiting for some guy to come along? I will say this much, if he can't keep up with you when you are serving the Lord wholeheartedly, then you do not need to be with him. The best illustration I've heard for this is that you should be running full force towards our Father. If you look over and someone is running alongside you, then maybe that's someone the Lord has for you. If you are looking BACK and slowing down for a man to catch up, I would encourage you to start running even faster. Let us not slow down because there is work to be done and we do not want these things to keep us from accomplishing what the Lord has before us. In the words of Lottie Moon (a worker among the Chinese at the ends of the 1800's and early 1900's) when asked if she had ever been in love:

“Yes, but God had first claim on my life, and since the two conflicted, there could be no question about the results.”

Oh that I could be so in love with my God that I would say the same even if it means remaining single like Lottie!

Church... We need to start acting like the church! We are His bride. We have been chosen to be his workers. We have been commanded to take care of the widowed and the orphaned. Instead of following the commands of my Lord, we have given this responsibility to the government, and the government is doing an awful job. There are babies and children who need dads and moms. There are widows who need the physical, emotional, spiritual, and mental support of the church. Let's rise to the occasion. We were made for this!

Some of you right now have already decided to stop reading, but for those of you who still are please consider this. You may not be called to serve overseas. And I can live with that. But you BETTER be called to stay and serve at home. You BETTER know what that means. And if you don't, ask for that direction of the Lord. If you aren't serving him at home I would tell you to pack up your stuff and go overseas. Or get plugged in real fast. If Jesus talked about the kingdom of God being near in his time, how much closer is it now? I wonder who is not hearing the truth because I am not always being obedient or listening to the Spirit's leading. I think that is all my heart can handle for now. If you made it this far in the blog thanks for hearing me out.

In Him,
Taryn