Hey everyone,
I would like to confess to you all that it hasn't been too easy for me to be alone in Chile once again without Cy, but I am making it along alright. We are down to 6 more books of the Bible and we're done. I'm so excited. I have just two more exams and I'm finished. Please pray that all goes well on the last stretch of a looooooonnnnnngggggg school.
Well, I just wanted to encourage all of you to keep going strong on the things you have before you. Everyone has plans and ideas that we are gunning for. But nothing comes easy in life. We have to push forward, even when it seems hopeless. If it's God will, then He will come through.
Guys, I just want to remind you that Cy and I are having a hard time being separated and that we would appreciate your prayers in this area. We have 4 weeks left and we want to make the best of it. Also pray that Cy finds all the right things for the wedding as she makes preparations.
We love you all and hope to be able to visit the most possible before heading out to Thailand for the long haul.
Sunday, October 29, 2006
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Thanks [Cy]
The moment to say goodbye to Chile has come. Looking back I can see the hand of God over mi life the whole time I was in Chile. It was a time of growth and of knowing God in ways that I had never imagined, like it says in Ephesians 3:20. I want to thank all the Chileans for the space in this earth that they gave me to get to know God. I also want to thank all of those who were at my side during this time of growth and healing in my life. Thanks to Walter, Claudia, Lucas, and Pablito. You are a beautiful family. Thanks for your love and support in my crazy ideas. Also por opening a place in your family for me in this time. You are so special to me. Thanks Pedro and Francisca for your help, your love, and your support. Thank you Mitch and Juliet. I believe that you are in part authors of the things that I lived and by your faith YWAM Pichilemu exists. Andresito, thanks for your friendship. Our friendship showed me the character of God as a friend. Thank to my family: Marcelo, Joyce y Moi, I love you a lot. You guys were a great support for Rob and I. Thanks for your prayers and your spiritual covering over our lives. Thanks to all of you in the SBS, to my co-workers and the students for loving me and for blessing my life. Thanks to all in YWAM Pichilemu, fellow soldiers, I love you all and I already miss you all so much. 
I’m already in Venezuela. It was wonderful to see my parents again alter 4 years without seeing each other. It was an explosive moment of hugs and kisses. I thank God for this opportunity to share this time of wedding preparations with them. I also thank God for the opportunity to be in my country after such a long time outside of it. What I love the most is that it’s hot here. I am enjoying it to the max!!!
This is a new time in life that I am enjoying thoroughly where I am sure that I will get to know God more.
I’m already in Venezuela. It was wonderful to see my parents again alter 4 years without seeing each other. It was an explosive moment of hugs and kisses. I thank God for this opportunity to share this time of wedding preparations with them. I also thank God for the opportunity to be in my country after such a long time outside of it. What I love the most is that it’s hot here. I am enjoying it to the max!!!
This is a new time in life that I am enjoying thoroughly where I am sure that I will get to know God more.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Change of plans
Hello everyone,
Once again we have been very busy. We have some announcements to make to all of you. We have decided on some changes due to many reasons. Let's start with the big change. After prayer and advice, we have decided to move the wedding date up. We were thinking about it and thought that it would be a lot more peaceful and less stressful to spend our three months in Venezuela as a married couple and not as two engaged people running around trying to plan a wedding. We also wanted to use the time to spend with Cy's family and her church and just have a time as a couple in her culture. Anyways, we are now getting married on the 6th of December 2006. With that decision made there are other changes. For example, Cy will be leaving this next week to go and make the plans for the wedding. Another one is that I will be spending the next 5-6 weeks without her by my side. Yeah, two things that are going to be rather tough. But in the end, we know that God is guiding us to do this. And if it's God's will, then it has to be the best thing for us.
So Cy is leaving on the next possible flight out of here, which looks to be Tuesday. Please pray that she can get that flight. She has applied for the visa to come to Canada and so we are waiting for that answer on Monday. Please pray that she will be able to get that visa. Cy will be there in Venezuela until I get there. We are planning on spending our time there until about March 2007 spending time with family and raising financial support before our big journey to Thailand where we will be investing our lives. Who knows when we will be able go back to Venezuela?
Anyways, so these are the new plans. We're both excited and sad, excited that Cy gets to go back to her home country after 4 years without seeing her mother and sad because we will be separated for 5 weeks. Please pray along these lines for us. Also, I want to finish this school well and receive the greatest amount of revelation possible.
Thanks for supporting us with your prayers and encouragement. We need it as well. We will keep you all up-to-date with our crazy lives. We love you all!
Once again we have been very busy. We have some announcements to make to all of you. We have decided on some changes due to many reasons. Let's start with the big change. After prayer and advice, we have decided to move the wedding date up. We were thinking about it and thought that it would be a lot more peaceful and less stressful to spend our three months in Venezuela as a married couple and not as two engaged people running around trying to plan a wedding. We also wanted to use the time to spend with Cy's family and her church and just have a time as a couple in her culture. Anyways, we are now getting married on the 6th of December 2006. With that decision made there are other changes. For example, Cy will be leaving this next week to go and make the plans for the wedding. Another one is that I will be spending the next 5-6 weeks without her by my side. Yeah, two things that are going to be rather tough. But in the end, we know that God is guiding us to do this. And if it's God's will, then it has to be the best thing for us.
So Cy is leaving on the next possible flight out of here, which looks to be Tuesday. Please pray that she can get that flight. She has applied for the visa to come to Canada and so we are waiting for that answer on Monday. Please pray that she will be able to get that visa. Cy will be there in Venezuela until I get there. We are planning on spending our time there until about March 2007 spending time with family and raising financial support before our big journey to Thailand where we will be investing our lives. Who knows when we will be able go back to Venezuela?
Anyways, so these are the new plans. We're both excited and sad, excited that Cy gets to go back to her home country after 4 years without seeing her mother and sad because we will be separated for 5 weeks. Please pray along these lines for us. Also, I want to finish this school well and receive the greatest amount of revelation possible.
Thanks for supporting us with your prayers and encouragement. We need it as well. We will keep you all up-to-date with our crazy lives. We love you all!
Thursday, October 12, 2006
We're back! [Rob]
Greetings once again,
Sorry about the lack of writing. We have been rather busy the last few days. Cy turned 25 on the 7th of October and so we had a weekend of birthdays. Her brother was able to come out from a nearby city with his family. Having her sister here in the base with us allowed us to have a wonderful weekend as a family. I got to know my future brother- and sister-in-law. We shared a bbq with too much meat and had a lot of laughs.
So after such a wonderous "break" from 24 hour studying, I'm back at the books again. We are finishing up rather quickly. We only have 6 more weeks left. We're going to finish strong. I have been able (miraculously) to keep my notes up.
Well, please pray for our strength. The school is long and hard. The school in itself is difficult and also trying to balance a relationship in the mix, it all adds up to a whole lot of pressure. So please pray for strength and patience. We love you all, talk to you guys later.
Monday, October 02, 2006
A vision [Rob]
Hello friends and family,
I wanted to use this opportunity to encourage you with something that God showed me. I was praying this morning and I began to see a vision:
I walked into the throne room of God Almighty. I stood before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I was wearing dirty, ripped clothing. I was filthy and poor. I had nothing to offer God. I was a nobody, wretched and without hope. As I looked at myself I turned to God and said, "Well, there is no reason to hide it from you. This is who I am. Please, have mercy on me. I need new clothing, but have no money to buy some. I need a bath, but there is no water to wash myself with. I am at your mercy, Lord. Please, according to your infinite mercy, cleanse me." And God raised his hands and angels came to clean me. I was washed and given new clothing. I began to shine like polished gold. Joy began to fill my heart. I turned to God and gave him a word of thanks. I turned to walk out when I realized that I was wrong. I turned back and walked up to the Father and gave Him a big hug. I leaned on his shoulder and began to whisper words of love into His ear. That is when the vision ended.
I believe that many of us use God like I did. We go to Him for forgiveness and cleansing from our sins and then we leave. That is not what God had intended from the beginning. I was battling over the meanings of mercy and grace. Mercy is to NOT RECEIVE WHAT WE DESERVE. Grace is to RECEIVE WHAT WE DON'T DESERVE. I think that many times we live in mercy, but we don't live in grace. We often confuse the two, but they are very different. Forgiveness is not grace, it's mercy because we don't receive what we deserve through forgiveness. But what do we receive that we don't deserve? A relationship with God. God does not cleanse us of sin so that we can go and try to live by the law again. He cleanses us so that there is nothing that would hurt our relationship with Him. It's all about our relationship with God. He wants our love. Just like you desire to be loved, God desires to be loved. You want to hear words of love, He wants to hear words of love. You want to spend time with loved ones, God wants to spend time with you.
I want to encourage you today to think about your relationship with Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, it isn't as it should be. If there is any sin in your life, don't worry, there is forgiveness. Just remember that forgiveness leads to relationship. Spend time with God, He's been waiting for you with expectations of love.
I wanted to use this opportunity to encourage you with something that God showed me. I was praying this morning and I began to see a vision:
I walked into the throne room of God Almighty. I stood before the King of kings and the Lord of lords. I was wearing dirty, ripped clothing. I was filthy and poor. I had nothing to offer God. I was a nobody, wretched and without hope. As I looked at myself I turned to God and said, "Well, there is no reason to hide it from you. This is who I am. Please, have mercy on me. I need new clothing, but have no money to buy some. I need a bath, but there is no water to wash myself with. I am at your mercy, Lord. Please, according to your infinite mercy, cleanse me." And God raised his hands and angels came to clean me. I was washed and given new clothing. I began to shine like polished gold. Joy began to fill my heart. I turned to God and gave him a word of thanks. I turned to walk out when I realized that I was wrong. I turned back and walked up to the Father and gave Him a big hug. I leaned on his shoulder and began to whisper words of love into His ear. That is when the vision ended.
I believe that many of us use God like I did. We go to Him for forgiveness and cleansing from our sins and then we leave. That is not what God had intended from the beginning. I was battling over the meanings of mercy and grace. Mercy is to NOT RECEIVE WHAT WE DESERVE. Grace is to RECEIVE WHAT WE DON'T DESERVE. I think that many times we live in mercy, but we don't live in grace. We often confuse the two, but they are very different. Forgiveness is not grace, it's mercy because we don't receive what we deserve through forgiveness. But what do we receive that we don't deserve? A relationship with God. God does not cleanse us of sin so that we can go and try to live by the law again. He cleanses us so that there is nothing that would hurt our relationship with Him. It's all about our relationship with God. He wants our love. Just like you desire to be loved, God desires to be loved. You want to hear words of love, He wants to hear words of love. You want to spend time with loved ones, God wants to spend time with you.
I want to encourage you today to think about your relationship with Jesus. Maybe, just maybe, it isn't as it should be. If there is any sin in your life, don't worry, there is forgiveness. Just remember that forgiveness leads to relationship. Spend time with God, He's been waiting for you with expectations of love.
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