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Commissioning
Today I felt a lot of love. The mission team from the Arabic Baptist Church was commissioned at the evening service tonight. I am so excited about this team. I can’t believe I am going to SPAIN! This is unreal because in my life there are times when I wonder: Am I living the right way? There is an expectation that a “good young man” should work up the success ladder and make more money to buy better things. The opposite has happened to me since college. I have earn less and less money every year. Despite that I have traveled more and more places. God has taken me to places I have never imagined of going. I got to go to Paraguay two years ago and lead a youth retreat and help out at a Christian school for a month. I have biked from Virginia to Oregon on a bicycle. I am not saying this to brag, but to tell you that God is so much better than we can imagine.

At the service tonight I felt so supported. There was a group from the Little Lights. That was so encouraging. My family was there (my blood family and my future in-laws). Then the church was so encouraging. Then I get to see my fiancée on Tuesday. I feel like I am loved.

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Spain
Last night my family and I went to Phillip’s Seafood to celebrate my brother’s birthday. It was so great. We had a blast. The food was delicious.

I leave for Spain tomorrow.
I miss the Camp Heaven kids already.
The last day that I was there was special. Traqi the boy that I take for walks around the church refused to come into the church until I came out to greet him and take him on our exploring trip. Tariq asked me what the moles on my face were? I told him they were chocolate chips. Then he cracked me up. He started to chew on my shoulder and cheeks saying he was going to eat me up. That day seemed so fast. JP rocked it out with a powerful message. He accused all of us (kids, highschoolers, teens, mothers, young adults) that we are selfish. He said we all demand what we want. We take that into the church. We bring in our selfish desires and destroy what the Church was meant to be. It was meant to be a house of prayer. He challenged us to move from: Me, Me, Me, Me, Me Mentality; to a Me, Me, Me, Me, You God; to Me, Me, You; to a Me, Me, You; to a Me, YOu, Me, YOu, Me YOu; to US.

I have been washing clothes, packing and preparing for the trip to Spain. Eddie, Ellen, Miriam, Sara, and Vana and I will join Lisa in Alegeciras, Spain for a mission trip. We will be sharing the Gospel with anyone who will listen. I am excited to see Lisa again. We have been on the phone, writing letters, emailing to keep in contact. I am looking forward to serving together in Spain. I am also very excited to go to Spain with Eddie. Eddie and I have been friends almost six years. I knew him as a young teenager and now it is amazing to watch him grow up.

Today I came to the realization that I am so proud that I could not afford a huge diamond ring for Lisa when I proposed. There are more valuable things in life that I have invested my life in and I believe that has made me who I am. It is a process of healing that I am learning to be proud of how I have spent my life. I can’t believe I will be in Spain soon. God is so good to me. I feel like I myself do not have too much but in God I feel so rich.