Thursday, July 24, 2014

Any Updates?

Hi everyone!
I just wanted to send an update before we leave in just over a week!!  First I wanted to say thank you to everyone who has supported me or any member of the team whether it be through prayer, encouragement, advise, or finances.  God never intends for His work to be done in isolation and I’m so glad that He doesn’t!  It means so much to us to see the sending team God is shaping.
A lot has happened since I sent the first letter (in the mail) so I wanted to catch you up.  First thing is that I won’t be going to Mexico right after Uganda.  There are many reasons for this, part is lack of communication between myself and the organization I was planning on working with, part of it is a lack of adequate time to plan the trip out, and part of it is finances.  I had a tall order financially to make this summer/fall workout and God has not yet opened the doors to fulfill that order.  As of today (7/23/14) I’m about $1,250 shy of being fully funded for Uganda and I have had very little come in specifically for Mexico.  My God is a great God I know He can take care of what I need for Uganda and I know that He may be closing the door to Mexico at this time for whatever reason but even though thing aren’t where I thought they’d be by now God is still at work.  In that He is still working, if you haven’t already done so would you consider being part of the sending team for either the team as a whole or myself?  I can’t help but think of Paul whenever I’m sent out and how he shares the joy of ministry with all his supporting churches, I’d love to be able to share that with you!  
Tonight we had our last meeting as a team before meeting to head out on the 4th.  At the meeting we spent some time alone praying and thinking.  There were two main things, other then praying, that we were asked to do with that time.  First was ask God what He would have us (individually and as a team) learn, see, do etc. through this trip.  The second was to not only write down what we think or expect God to do, but also what we personally desired from the trip.  After the time apart we came together and shared our top one or two things and I thought I’d share with you also as you are part of the team!  What follows is what I entitled “Hopes for Uganda”
1.  I’m so excited and deep desire to truly see God at work in a place I’ve never been.  God is God no matter where or when you are but God is a personal God who reaches individuals, cultures, and eras in different ways, much as you and I talk to the various people in our lives in customized ways.  We use different vocabulary and body language, there’s a different leave of intimacy, and we spend time with each one differently.  I believe God works in our lives similarly; He reaches us in a way that makes sense in our relationship why still fully maintaining His consistent nature.  I’m excited to hopefully see God working in ways I’ve never seen before!
2.  I’m super excited to support and encourage the staff.  I’ve realized recently that my heart is in ministry, when I’m not building into others lives and when I feel like I can’t spend time with someone because my break is over, or I have to run to the next thing, or whatever I don’t feel like I’ve accomplished much, if anything.  I end up drained when what I was doing wasn't that “hard”.  Because of that I’m so looking forward to our aim on this trip being to love-on the staff and build into their lives.
3.  Along with that I’m really excited to get an opportunity to refocus on service.  I’ve, for many reasons, seen myself slipping from the other focus to the me focus and I don’t like that.  I’m anticipating that this trip will help remind me of why I love serving and get my head back in the game, so to speak. 
4.  Our theme for the trip is “Portraits of Grace.”  Grace is something that I can see God writing all over my life right now especially and I’m excited to have this opportunity to dive into the topic and intentionally focus on it.  I hope to see God teach me how to both give and receive true grace. 
5. Lastly, at least lastly from the short list I wrote down during the meeting, I hoping that God will use this trip, the team, me, to light a fire under the behinds of those who are staying home.  Not everyone is called to cross-cultural missions BUT everyone is called to missions.  I’m hoping that through this trip people will start to think about missions and their role in the work and then get up and do what God is calling them to do.  We as Christians are called to have our citizenship in heaven and our focus in eternity, is that your focus?  Do you live each day like Jesus is returning tomorrow?  If not I hope this trip encourages, convicts, convinces, teaches you (and me) to make changes. 
So there you have it, my current short list of hopes for this trip.  There you also have an update so you know best how to support and send.  Hopefully you realize just how important you are as part of this team.  I want you to know how important it is to those who are sent that they be sent well, knowing that there is a team staying behind that will support them however God calls them to support.  Thank you for being part of God’s work!

Following His Leading,
~Heather
S.D.G

P.S.  If God so moves in your heart to support us financially please consider donating online on gofundme at http://www.gofundme.com/89wbm8 specifying whether your donation goes to an individual or the team as a whole, or if you’d rather send a check please make it out to Village Bible Church and put “Uganda” and the name of the person/people you’d like the support to go to in the memo field.  Address to the church is 12671 Buaro St Garden Grove, CA 92840.  If you’d like specific prayer requests please ask!

Thursday, November 22, 2012

Wait! There's a holiday before Black Friday?!?!?!?


So as you may or may not know I work in retail, which means Black Friday is not a long night of lines, finding that much sought after amazing deal, and crazed post-turkey dinner madness.  What it means is that I have a long, all-night shift tonight and it has been weeks of preparation, planning, and stuffing the store full of the items people will be breaking the door down to get.  The responsibility of which has fallen more so then before on my shoulders since I’m one of three people responsible for product receiving and placement and that I’m the one in charge of the women’s department, which is a one of our key departments.  Let’s just say there’s a lot of new stuff to learn and a lot of running around.  So as today has been rapidly approaching I’ve been more focused on tomorrow then today.  Sadly at times I’d forget that there was even a holiday.  I was convicted of this last Sunday at church as a friend asked me if I was free anytime in the afternoons to catch-up.  She was talking in general but I thought of the week ahead (this week) and said, “Yes normally I am, but not this week because it’s Black Friday week.”  She responded, “Oh yeah, not this week because of Thanksgiving, I meant maybe after.”  Oddly this response made my heart sink.  I started thinking about what I had said.  I had TOTALLY forgotten about Thanksgiving, awesome K  I started realizing how often I said “Black Friday” instead of “Thanksgiving.”  The ratio was not proportionate; in fact it was very much lopsided in favor of the wrong side.  So I decided to actively get myself into the spirit of the holiday.  I started thinking about things I’m thankful for, I started trying to focus on the days of the week in order, which meant Thursday before Friday, and started listening to Winter/Christmas/Holiday music.  Now I know that listening to Christmas music before Thanksgiving may seem like I was skipping Thanksgiving and not giving it it’s “own space.”  Well that’s not how it works for me.  Christmas music for me focuses on God, family, friends, joy, and truly living the reason we celebrate.  Even though some of the songs specifically focus on Christmas a lot of them simply focus on all the things I mentioned before.  This has helped me get my priorities in order, at least most of the time; Rome wasn’t built in a day after-all.  Anyways, it’s been nice to get rid of the stuff in the way and take back Thanksgiving, even if I am still having to think about Black Friday.  I have always wanted to do the 30 days of thanks giving thing that a lot of people do on Facebook but never have.  I remembered that I wanted to do those far to far into November so I wouldn’t be able to catch-up in time without bombarding my status’ and everyone’s news feeds with my massive posts.  So I decided instead to blog them J  So here goes my catching up on 30 days of thanks giving (P.S. these are in no particular order) (P.P.S. I’m going to have keep these things short since there will be 22 of them… I could write forever about each one, gonna keep it short and sweet):
1.     Salvation:  I’m thankful that God has given me the gift of salvation.  I’m thankful that everything in my life led me to accept the gift He offered and that to this day He is working in my life to continue to prefect my very imperfect life.  Ephesians 2:8-9 For by Grace you have been save through faith, this is not of yourself it is a gift of God, not of works so that no one can boast.
2.     My parents:  God gave me the perfect parents to train me into the women He wants me to be.  Like any relationships, ours isn’t perfect but I know they love me, pray for me daily, and would do anything for me.  I love them and know I will continue to learn from them.
3.     My siblings: Four siblings is a lot at times, but like my parents I know that God gave me each of my siblings for a reason.  I’ve loved growing up with all of them and have a lot of great memories with them, individually and all together.
4.     My pets: Past and present!  Animals make the world a better place and pets make my life a lot less stressful (most of the time).  They may make a mess but their unconditional love sure makes up for it!
5.     My house: I lived on the BEST street growing up and continue to live in a great neighborhood.  Our house is such a blessing and I know it came directly from God.
6.     My schooling:  From being home-schooled, to S.T.AR., to Cypress College, to UCR, all of them were exactly what I needed and where I needed to be.  I’m so appreciative for the things I learned, the opportunities I had, the people I met, the hard work of my teachers, and the abilities to be educated in general. 
7.     Hope:  Hope is a powerful thing.  I have hope because I know the promises of the God who loves me.  There are a lot of things I hope for, some silly and some heart wrenching but they are all things that keep me moving forward.  Maybe someday I write a blog about some of my hopes… I think that’s something I’d like to write about!   
8.     My country:  The good ole U.S. of A.  God was gracious enough to have me be born in the States and I’m grateful for it.  Now I don’t agree with everything that my country has done or is doing and I LOVE quite a few other countries, but overall the U.S. is a great nation that has done and is doing a lot of good.  I pray that God continues to bless us and that we will continue to be a tool in His hand.
9.     The Bible:  People have died for having a piece of the Bible and in the very room I sit in I have at least six… that’s just my bedroom.  God out of love for us gave us His amazing book to draw us closer to Him, give us Hope, and teach us things that are beyond man’s capabilities to teach.  What a gift to have one in my own language and to live in a country where I can read it without fear. Without the Bible I’d be lost.  
10.  My time abroad:  I have been to Mexico, Canada, Guatemala, Spain, Portugal, and Italy and I’ve loved each and every one of places I’ve visited.  Whether it be for school, missions trip, or fun, each adventure is a life experience I’ll never forget.  I wouldn’t be who I am or where I am without these opportunities.  I am grateful not only for the time there and the things I got to do and see but also for the people who helped make these trips a reality and the amazing people I met along the way!
11.  Work:  I may not always appreciate my jobs but I’m so grateful to have work to be able to pay of loans, bills, and to have fun.  In this economy so may people are out of work, I’m luck to still have more than one job. 
12.  My friends:  Past and present, new and old, they are all amazing!  God truly uses you all to shape me into a better person.  I love the memories I have with each of them and for the deeper relationships I have made with them as we have grown up.    
13.  Aunts and Uncles:  I’m grateful for the time I have had with each of my aunts and uncles.  Some I’ve had LOTS of time with and some I sadly have not.  I’ll never forget all the fun times and all the things they all have taught me.  I’m grateful that God gave me each of them. 
14.  Cousins:  Some of my longest friends are my cousins.  We have been through a lot together, both good and bad, and that means a lot.  I’m thankful for each one and the uniqueness of each of our relationships.  I have to say that God picked some pretty awesome cousins for me! 
15.  Grandma Max:  I love her and miss.  I’m so thankful for the time I had with her and for all that she taught me.  To this day I accredit my love of games and skill at a lot of games to her.  She was one of my first card buddies!  She loved her grandkids and “adopted” grandkids with all that she had and did everything to make our little dreams come true!   
16.  Church Family:  Village Bible Church is my second home.  I’ve spent a good portion of my life in that building and with my church family.  I’m thankful that we landed at VBC so many years ago and that God continues to use it to grow me into a godly woman.  I have SO many good memories with my church family and miss them so much when I’m away.  A great community of faith is of importance in a Christian’s life and I’m blessed to have found just that.  
17.  AWANA:  I’m SO grateful that I grew up going to AWANA programs!  They were fun and exciting but more importantly taught me discipline and SOOOO many Bible verses.  I may not be able to spout all of them perfectly at the drop of a hat today but it built a foundation and to this day all of the verse are familiar and common to mind often, even if I can’t remember the darn references!  I’m also thankful to be able to be a leader in AWANA now, what a joy every Wednesday night!!
18.  BYT:  While I may never have been the star of the show, but Biola Youth Theater was amazingly fun and helped me come out of my shell.  I overcame fears, learned so much about the ins and outs of theater, met a lot of great people, and just loved doing it!  So thankful for the 2 ½ years I had there J
19.  Passion:  I thankful that God has given me passion for certain things.  Languages and volunteering being two big ones.  I’m grateful for all the opportunities I’ve had to pursue and satisfy my passion and I’m SOOO looking forward to a job that allows me to use those passions every day!  
20.  Creation:  I LOVE the outdoors, I love all the different types of plants, weather events (minus heat waves!), landscapes, stars, and animals.  I’m thankful that God carefully crafted this world to be perfect for sustaining life and that all creation points back to Him!
21.  Nieces and Nephews:  Some of the dearest things in my life!  God has blessed me with some pretty amazing nieces and nephews and I wouldn’t trade them for anything.  I’m thankful for their little hearts, for the chance to see them grow, for the chance to be a good role model for them, for all their questions, for their AMAZING laughter, and so much more!  Love those kids!!
22.  My medicine:  I know this is an odd one… but my life before figuring out I have a thyroid problem was harder.  I’m thankful that God led me to amazing doctors and surgeons to help figure it out and find solutions.  I’ve seen what happens after not having medicine for a day or two and it’s not pretty so I’m very thankful that I live in a day and age were people much smarter than I know how to make medicine and that I live in a place were I can easily get it!

Well there you have it, sorry that was long… as you can see I have a lot to be thankful for!  So, I hope that this will bless you in some way, maybe it will convict your heart, maybe it will just be a nice break from all the junk around us, maybe it will teach you something new.  Maybe it won’t do any of those things, but it was on my heart and I wanted to share.  When things get in the way of what’s truly important take a second to refocus and then enjoy!  Happy Thanksgiving and remember who we truly have to thank for everything we have!

James 1:17

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

~Heather

S.D.G 

Thursday, September 20, 2012

Has it really been a year already?


Yep one year ago today, the 20th of September 2011, I left Portugal and yet I can remember that day, especially the last hour like it was yesterday.  After a little over 3 months living life in Portugal I was boarding a bus headed for Spain.  One of my most vibe memories is saying good-bye to my friend Carolina the night before and not crying, which is shocking because I ALWAYS cry, I don’t like good-byes, in fact I hate them.  Anyways, I didn’t cry when we said good-bye the night before, but as I was standing in the station with Mario, Lancy, and Burna waiting for my bus to leave, already with tears in my eyes, I looked up and saw Carolina running across the station towards me.  I cried.  It was like the kind of things you see in a movie; at the last minute right before ________ (fill in your favorite character) boards the bus/train/plane/taxi his/her friend/love interest/relationship strained family member comes running in!  They embrace, they cry, they smile, they share some sentimental words, and they part.  I’m not kidding it was EXACTLY like that.  It was awesome.  It was a testament of my time there.  In only three months I had built friendships and family.  We had served together, served separately, and served each other.  While I was there I had learned culture, learned things about myself, and I actually learned Portuguese.  More importantly I learned about God.  I was reminded that He is faithful, I was reminded of the power of His Word, and I was reminded of the strength He gives.  I think I saw for the first time in my life Him clearly directing my path.  I saw people in my life be His hands and feet to me.  I was blessed to have my time there.  I was blessed meet everyone in Miratejo and at Word of Life Camp.  Something that I’ve been thinking about is whether or not what I learned a year ago is still affecting my life today.  Have I grown?  Or did I walk away and not let it change me.  Am I like a man who looks at himself in the mirror, walks away, and immediately forgets what he looks like?  A lot of what I learned in Portugal has stuck with me, but a lot has also become memories and/or just head knowledge.  My pray is that as I reminisces about Portugal, as I miss my friends and family there, as I wonder where God is leading me right now, I would be doing so with the purpose of moving forward, taking where I was and using it to propel myself forward in my walk with Him and in the mundane parts of my life.  So what about you?  When was a time that you clearly saw God working?  When was a time that you had a time when you felt closer to God and at peace with your life?  Now, have you grown from that moment or have you stayed there?  Or perhaps you have fallen back.  As a Christian, as a person in general, we are to be constantly moving forward.  God allows circumstances in our lives to cause growth in our lives.  But sometimes we stand in the way, or we don’t let it truly change us.  My challenge to myself and to you is to find ways to allow lasting change.  Find ways to use what God has done in the past to build you up in every aspect of your life, because we know “…that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.” Phil. 1:6. 

~Heather Plotz
S.D.G.

P.S. A tudo os meus amigos e família em Portugal, tenho muito saudades de vocês.  Muito obrigada para os três meses que eu estava com vocês em Portugal.  Muito obrigada a vocês para sendo os mãos e pés de Deus em minha vida.  Muito obrigada para ainda sendo um parte de me vida agora.  Espero que um dia vou ver vocês de novo em Portugal, ou talvez cá em os Estados Unidos ;) 

Monday, June 18, 2012

From Jerusalem to Babylon

So, last week I was read through some stuff in my Bible and the verse that this blog is titled after popped into my head.  For your reference here's the verse: Jeremiah 29:11 "11 For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."  As I thought about the verse it occurred to me that there were at least 10 other verse in that chapter... and I had no idea what they had to say!  So I decided to read chapter 29 of Jeremiah.  Since at that point my computer was closer than my Bible I opened it up and went to the handy-dandy site called Biblegateway.com (an AWESOME resource!).  I came to find out that Jeremiah 29 had not 10 other verse but 31!  So I read them.  And as it turns out they had a lot to say about my life as it is right now... funny how that works out!  The 29th chapter of Jeremiah is a letter from the prophet Jeremiah in Jerusalem sent to the Israelites who had been carried into exile in Babylon.  


At this point you may be wondering what this has to do with my life... well I'll tell you.  A huge part of me feels like I'm in Babylon right now.  I'm not where I want to be, where I think I should be, or where I feel like I am supposed to be.  I'm not necessarily talking geographically... although maybe that is part of it.  On October 19th last year (2011) I arrived back in the U.S. after an amazing summer abroad.  Amazing because I was stretched, pruned, and grown and I was using skills that I had spent my college years and a lot of my life acquiring.  I knew I was where I was supposed to be last summer.  But as my time overseas grew to an end I knew that home, back in the U.S., was where I was meant to be.  There were some callings in my life that I knew God wanted me to accomplish.  Some of those things I've completed and some I'm still working on.  But most of those things were/are extra curricular activities so to speak, they don't pay the bills and the don't take up all my time... in fact they leave me A LOT of free time.  So I've spent the past seven months looking for a job that meets my physical, as well as personal needs.  Now don't get me wrong, I'm not starving, homeless, or unclothed but I know that things can't always stay as they are now, I can't always lean on others, I do need to contribute my share and pay off my debt (because the government might not be as lenient or gracious as my family...).  I also know that God has put certain passions in my life and equipped me with certain gifts and skills for a reason, so finding that reason is something I'm striving towards.  Anyways, all that to say that things aren't as I had pictured them.  I feel like I was were I was supposed to be, and now I've been taken from it and can't get back.  So as I was reading the beginning of the chapter I connected a lot with the Israelites.  Even though I'm sure my situation is not nearly as bad as theirs.  Eventually I got to verse 10 "10 This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfill my gracious promise to bring you back to this place."  SEVENTY YEARS!  Holy smokes!  Ugh... makes my seven months pale in comparison... But the second half of the verse reminded me that God does not ever go back on His word and He will never leave us, He will never leave you, He will never leave me.  My perspective can very easily be WAY off, but that doesn't mean I'm lost.  It was a huge encouragement to see God's faithfulness, and knowing the end of the story I know that the Israelites eventually returned back to Jerusalem.


That doesn't make the 70 years easy though.  I'm sure there were times that they forgot the promise again, and I'm sure there were times when they wondered why they were in this rut, and where God and His plan was then.  I'm sure because I forget the promise, and I'm wondering why I'm in this rut, and I'd love a sneak peek into God's plan and fast forward to my return to Jerusalem, my return to doing something and being somewhere that I knew was what I've been waiting and searching for.  But I left out some stuff in the middle:
"4 This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from     
Jerusalem to Babylon:“Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. 6            Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also, seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile. Pray to the Lord for it, because if it prospers, you too will prosper.” Yes, this is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says: “Do not let the prophets and diviners among you deceive you. Do not listen to the dreams you encourage them to have. They are prophesying lies to you in my name. I have not sent them,” declares the Lord."  
While I'm in the Babylon so to speak, I'm not to not live.  I need to settle in, to live life.  That's not saying that I no longer have the dream, or that I've forgotten that something immensely better is waiting around the corner.  But I can't decrease, I most increase in faith, in skills, in training, in everything.  I've been living the past seven months waiting for my return to Jerusalem and I've neglected in some areas living in Babylon.  I am where I am for a reason and for a season, and I need to be were I've been placed, however long or short that placement is.  And who knows what good may come of it!  I also need to be careful not to listen to the lies being placed in my life.  I need to make sure that the only one I'm following and listening to is God.  The rest of the chapter talks about those aren't where they are supposed to be and others who are deceiving people... Man do I want to steer clear of that!  Both listening to the lies in my life and not being willing to move when I'm told to move.  Mario Pina last summer talked about living under God's grace and blessing or God's mercy.  I pray that I live a life worth of His grace and blessings.   





~Heather 
S.D.G.




P.S.  Please don't take this as mean saying that life is terrible right now and there is nothing good about were I am at, that's not what I'm saying at all.  I'm not talking specifically about any person or place, I'm just talking about the feeling that I could be doing so much more, or that there is something that fulfills passions and desires to their fullest extent.


Back in the Saddle!

So... sorry for kind of falling off the face of the planet... there were/are some technical difficulties with the blog and it all kind of snowballed into I just stopped posting.  Which stinks because I had some REALLY good posts that I was going to post... maybe I'll post them sometime in the future under "lost posts" or something... maybe not... we'll see.  Anyways I'm going to try to get back in the saddle and post more regularly.  Sorry there probably won't be any pictures from far of lands for a while :/  I'll try to keep them interesting though!

P.S.  I just used the word "post" like a billion times in this... post... ugh... if this was a college essay I'd TOTALLY get an F!  (Which if you know me an F could quit easily equal an B+... I HATE B+... I'd almost rather have an F! Seriously...they stink...)

~Heather
S.D.G.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

An extra week at camp?

So like I said in my post about the second week of camp I was invited by one of the missionaries at camp, Núbia, to stay an extra week with her at her house. After talking with Lancy and Mário I decided to stay. I really had no idea what we were going to do or how the week was going to look but I thought it would be fun to see life outside of camp for these missionaries. It ended up a week not being filled with anything extreme, but it was filled with fun and new experiences. We started off the week just getting rested after the craziness of the schedule we had had for four weeks during camp. But I found that I didn't like resting so I helped out a little on the construction project next door at the pastors house... I'm not sure I was tons of help but it was fun and a good way to get to know people better! After a day or two of resting Núbia started working again as secretary and I found out that she is a huge help for the other missionaries just by simply watching their kids when they need someone to watch them for some time. A little girl named Sophia spent a lot of time with us and ate with us a few times, she was a lot of fun to have around. She’s a very cute little girl full of energy and opinions! For the longest time she called me “menina” which means “girl” because she couldn’t remember my name, finally after some work Núbia and I got her to say my name. During the week we spent a lot of time at the other missionaries houses eating and spending time together, and it was all REALLY good! We had pizza one night and then another night we used this thingy to make chicken cheese veggie trays (see pics below to see what I mean by the very technical word “thingy”)! Núbia also made this really good lunch that consisted of bread, cheese, ham, corn, and some sort of white sauce… it was really good!!! I should definitely ask her how she made it! In doing all this I had the opportunity to really get to know the missionaries and a few other friends. They all (minus the director) live in a row of pretty little apartments on the side of a cliff overlooking the valley and cities surrounding camp. They are within walking distance of camp and there are a lot of little trails around that lead to beautiful overlooks, grape vineyards and even a different view of the valley which includes the ocean to the west, which means you can have amazing ocean view sunsets within just a few minutes! They have definitely been blessed with their surroundings! Towards the end of the week everyone started asking me when I was coming back and I kept telling them “when God wills it.” And really that’s what this blog is all about, seeing and finding the will of God and sharing what I figure out. But it’s never as easy as one day you hear the voice of God saying “Heather! I want you to…” and then you know what you are to do from there on out. I know that a times it came be as clear as that but I think at least for me He lets me in on His will for certain times in my life, but often it’s just parts of the plan. I think it’s part of growing my faith… something that is definitely not a gift of mine. I like to know that I have at least some sort of control over what’s going on… But I know that with God that’s not what it’s about. The song “I surrender all” is so entitled because it’s about not surrendering some but all. And at times things happen and we don’t know the reason until much later, kind of like college for me. When people find out what I studied in college they always ask the same question “What? What made you study those languages?” My response is always the same “… um… I don’t know… it’s just what happened…” but as I’m sitting here in Portugal I realize that me quickly learning Portuguese my last year in college so that I could graduate wasn’t the only reason I learned Portuguese. It seems all too obvious that, God wanted me here this summer. Yes they needed me here but I also needed to be here. I have learned things about myself, my faith, my struggles, and God’s successes and I am also starting to see a little more clearly where and what God might be calling me to. I have had no sudden and life changing epiphanies, but my will and God’s will are starting to align more and more. And that’s a pretty awesome thing to realize.

~Heather

S.D.G.


Where have you been?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?

Hey all!!! I’m SO sorry this is the first time I’ve posted over the past few weeks! Things got kinda crazy and I haven’t really had time to sit down and write! Anyways I’m finishing up another post right now and then hopefully I’ll be able to post more in the next few days J The following questions are some titles for my next few posts so they are teasers for what y’all have to look forward to! (p.s. if you haven’t noticed all my blog posts are entitled according to questions I've/ I could’ve received based on the subject matter addressed in the post… just in case these and my other titles make no sense J)

What is E.B.F.? Madrid? I thought you were in Portugal… What do you get when you have around 50 Portuguese women, a bunch of flowers and butterflies EVERYWHERE? Whatcha do your last week in Portugal? How was leaving Portugal? Where in the world is Carmen San Diego? So… since you didn’t come home like planned, how’s it going and whatcha doin’?

Anyways I hope this will suffice until I have more time to post! Can’t wait to see you all soon!

~Heather

S.D.G.