Keep Your Head Up, I Know It's Hard...

Hello my readers :) I am so excited to tell you what God has been doing lately!            First of all, we started the institute! I can’t believe it! The first week, I was like “this is great! I am understanding things and I am so happy!” Week 2, “I can’t pay attention for more than 30 minutes straight! Being bilingual is hard!” Week 3, “Oh my word, we have a week till exams in total Spanish! I AM FREAKING OUT!”  Over each month, we have two classes that are for three weeks, and a week of testing.  Our first two classes were Evangelism and Christian Life I.  They were AMAZING! Definitely encouraged me to get out there to reach people!  For Christian Life, we had to read a whole book (in 3 weeks) and memorize 14 verses, but had the option of doing so in English or in Spanish.  In my mind, of course it will be harder in Spanish, but more importantly, it’s going to hurt me if I don’t continue to practice these things in Spanish.  I was so blessed by choosing to do all in Spanish!  First, I read Gates of Splendor by Elizabeth Elliot (Jim Elliot’s wife), which tells the story in the best way, straight from the diaries of the men, their wives, and just all the inner details that we miss by the movies and word of mouth.  The whole time, it was really encouraging me to be all for Christ! Be all there! Be ready to do whatever He calls us to do and do it with EVERYTHING!  In the last chapter, she noted a quote from Jim Elliot that will ring in my heart for the rest of my life.  Translating it to English, it said, “When you arrive to the time to die, make sure that all you have left to do is die.”  How profound is that?? What this means to me is that I need to always be walking in His will and not waste ANY time so that when He does call me to go home, that I don’t look back and say “oh..I wish I could have done more!”  Relating to me now, I must think that in my time left here.  I don’t want to get on that plane the 9^th of July and leave saying “hmmm. I wish I could have given more.”  I am so happy to say that this past Saturday, I was able to go evangelizing in Buenos Aires, and I got to see the fruit of all the things that God has been doing these past 7 months!  I talked with a women who did not believe that there was a heaven or hell.  In Spanish, I was able to use things that I JUST learned in my classes with her, and God was speaking RIGHT through me! It was INCREDIBLE! She did not receive Christ, but we definitely planted a seed in her heart, and only God may know what happens after that.  I am so happy with that! I really didn’t even want to go yesterday because I wanted to sleep in after our exams and not doing anything, but at 5:00 that afternoon, I was hit in face by God saying “Alright Maggie, see what I wanted you to get up this morning? I had Kristina for you! Thank you for doing this for me! Love you! Keep working! I’m here with you!”  I just love God and all the strange but beautiful ways that He works!

I don’t have much more to say than I have only 2 months left, I can’t believe I am almost done here, but I know that this is just the beginning of what God has for me! :)

One important thing that I want to be completely real with and so also you could pray for something I struggle with day to day.  Coming here, I knew I had to surrender how I look (as in weight), because we don’t have really an option of what to eat, it is just what food is provided.  Missionary life! I knew that coming in, and now that it has happened, I hate it!  If you could pray that I don’t focus so much on that and just enjoy the time I have left because Satan uses that so much to knock me off my feet and makes me want to go home now!  I have to remind myself that I have learned a language in 9 months, I am closer to God than I have ever been in my life, I have survived living in Argentina for 9 months, and I am fulfilling the will of God! Why am I so worried about what I look like??  So please! Pray! I am excited to get home and start living healthily because I am just not feeling well in general (health wise)! :/

Prayer Requests:

1)   Focusing on the 2 months left!

2)   My Spanish, to continue to increase!

3)   My mind of weight and that life is so much more than appearance!

4)   I am helping out with Sunday School and next week, I teach the lesson! Pray for the kiddos and for me to speak with my whole heart!

5)   My parents are traveling here for graduation, (July 4^th, they will be traveling) pray for traveling mercies!