My First Ministry in Spanish

Good morning to all! How is everyone doing? Our family is doing well. Sherry and I are excited to be done with our first semester of language school. We have two more semesters left, and then we are off to Paraguay! We cannot wait, but we know that it is important for our ministry to stay here in Costa Rica and to learn Spanish, well. We had a good first semester, and we are looking forward to learning more in the next eight months.

We would love to hear from you as you read our blog. Please let us know what you think, how you feel, what is going on in your lives, and what is going on in the U.S. (new restaurants, movies, games, news, weather, what is happening in your church, etc.). We would love to hear from you all as well. It helps us to not miss home so much. So, please, when you have the time, drop us an email or post a comment to a blog! We would absolutely love it!

This blog is about my first opportunity to minister, completely in Spanish. I wrote about the taxi system in San Jose not too long ago. So, I won't go back over that, but my first opportunity to really minister came in a taxi. On Tuesday, April 17th, I jumped in a taxi to go to the kids' school for soccer practice. As we began our short trip, I noticed a picture of a woman at the bottom of the dashboard. The driver had made a small shrine around this picture, and I asked him if it was his wife. He said, "Yes." I thought. As the conversation progressed, I noticed he was using a verb tense that I have not learned, yet.

Finally, I understood. He has said that it WAS his wife. So, I promptly told him that I was sorry for his loss, and I asked how he was doing. He said he was doing fine while he worked during the day, but when he went home at night, he was lonely and would cry a lot. He said that she had died a year ago, and they had been married for 18 years and have three children. I asked how the children were doing, and he said okay. They have moments of rough times as well. He went on to talk about how much they miss her.

As we neared the school, I asked him if I could pray for him. I told him that I didn't know Spanish, well, but I would pray a little in Spanish and the rest in English. He said I could. As I prayed, I looked over and noticed that this man was crying. I put my hand on his shoulder and asked God to please be with him. After I had finished, he looked me in the eyes, thanked me, and smiled. Then, he asked, "How many years have you been here in Costa Rica studying Spanish?" I told him, only three months. He gave me a huge compliment! He told me that I spoke very well and had good grammar. I told him, "Gracias a Dios y Lizbet (my phonetics teacher)!"

Now, I did not think I had enough Spanish to be able to minister to anyone. I thought I did not know enough words to say in Spanish to allow God to use me in any way, verbally. I think one of the biggest hindrances to sharing the love of Jesus with those around us, is our brain. We think we do not know enough words or scriptures to be able to share Jesus with someone. Well, if I can do it in another language, any of you can do it in English!

For about a month now, Sherry and I have been praying the Prayer of Jabez before we go to sleep at night. It is a powerful prayer! If you do not want to be used by God to change someones life, then do not pray the Prayer of Jabez. I promise you that opportunities to minister will come your way if you pray this prayer. The way I pray it is this, "Lord, bless me greatly! Expand my ministry to even include other languages! Keep your presences around me and protect me from my sinful desires! Be with me, Lord! Help me to be your light to the world! I want your desires to be my desire that I might always be available to be used by You!"

This prayer is not exactly the Jabez prayer; however, it is what I have been praying for over a month. As a direct result of this prayer, I was able to speak in Spanish with a taxi driver for over 20 minutes. Not only speak, I was also able to minister to him and to pray for him. Let God use you to change the world around you, one person at a time.

My family prays for blessings to be upon all of you as you read our blog,

Charley

Easter

Greetings to all from Costa Rica. I thought I would write a little about Easter here in Latin America. It is very intersting to watch and learn about. We had an entire week off of school prior to Easter. It is called Semana Santa, or Holy Week. This is the same week that we went to the volcano, Arenal. I wrote about that a little while back.

Today's blog is about Easter Sunday and the three days leading up to it. On Thursday, the entire city of San Jose is completely shut down. Almost every business is closed, and people begin to get in a really somber mood. They seem very sad and are in mourning. It seems like they are expecting something bad to happen. In fact, most of the people act like Jesus is going to be crucified again. It is huge! All day Friday, they parade or walk around all of the Catholic churches making a lot of noise and mourning the eminent death of Jesus.

We were able to rent a vehicle for Semana Santa, and on Friday night, we wanted to get something to eat. So, we went for a drive to try and find something open. As we passed the Catholic church in Zapote (the area of San Jose we live in), there were a lot of people in the street marching around the church with noisemakers and crying and yelling. It was a lot different sight than we normally see in the United States. Well, we drove around for awhile, and we finally found a KFC open. So, that's where we had dinner that night.

Then, on Easter Sunday, we had a service at the school. All the missionaries in Costa Rica came, and we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus together. San Jose was almost like a ghost town. It was so quiet. Our service was nice. We had a service for the adults, and our friend, Monica Peercy (Missionary Associate to Mexico-she will be the children's pastor at a church in Mazatlan) held a children's service for all the kids, we all ate lunch together, and then, we had a traditional Easter egg hunt for the little kids. The picture above is Abigail Shrader. Isn't she cute? She's a missionary to Peru.

We had a good time, but I couldn't stop wondering about how the celebrate the death of Jesus and not the resurrection. The Latino people seem to build up all week to Jesus' death, and then on Saturday, it is all over. You know what? I didn't see any hope on any of the faces of the people marching around the churches! I wanted to scream out, "HE'S ALIVE! YOU DON'T HAVE TO WORRY AND MOURN BECAUSE THE MAN YOU ARE LOOKING FOR IS NO LONGER IN THE GRAVE! HE IS RISEN, AND HE WILL RETURN IN THE SAME MANNER AS WHICH HE LEFT!"

All people need to hear that the reason for Easter is the death and RESURRECTION of Jesus Christ. He is our hope! He is our salvation! He is our peace! He is love, mercy, justice, and grace! He is our all in all! He is everything we need and more! Please put your trust in him. Allow Him to come into your heart and just see what He can and will do for you.

The pictures above include Monica teaching the missionary kids sign language to a song, Chaz doing Easter eggs, and the girls just got back from their MK retreat (they are exhausted).

Love to all,

Charley

A BIG THANK YOU

Today is a very special blog. In our mailbox today, I saw a package for our family. It was from some very special people at First Assembly in Barstow, California. The missionette group, Prims, sent us letters and chocolate. WOW! We are truly blessed by some young ladies today.

After we read the letters, cried, and became homesick, we consoled ourselves with Hershey's Kissables and mini chocolate bars. Here in Costa Rica, there is chocolate. In fact, Costa Ricans love chocolate. However, it just does not taste the same as Hershey's chocolate. It was really nice to have a taste of home today. We are very thankful and excited to hear from home and eat good chocolate.

The leader of this fine group of girls is a wonderful lady, Michelle Lanzer. She is a hard worker and sweet lady. We know her well, and we are thankful for her friendship. The Prims that we received letters from are: Aaliyah, Esmerelda, Ariana, Hanna, Rachael, Dannie, nameless one (we had a blue card with lots of stickers, but the young lady forgot to sign her name, and of course, Miss Michelle.

Now, I will attempt to answer all their questions. We are sending them letters from us, but they raised some good questions. So, I will answer them here, as well.

Hanna,
Chariti, Kaylee, & Chaz are all doing fine. They are growing and learning a lot of Spanish (and other stuff as well). They like their school as well as they liked school in the United States (which is to say they would rather be home playing). Yes, it is pretty warm down here. Yes, they do have to eat (some of the foods are good, some are not). Yes, they ride a school bus. Sometimes it is a van, and other times, it is a bigger bus. Their school is pretty hard. They have to learn everything you are learning in school, and they also have to learn Spanish. Yes, they all say they like it here. They all miss you, too.

Ariana,
It is usually hot here. They like most of the food. I think you asked the kids if there are monkeys here. Yes, in fact, hopefully you can see one that we saw in one of the pictures above. The school is hard, but they are working hard. They go to school in a bus, and sometimes they come home in a taxi, especially after soccer practice.

Esmerelda (I sure hope I spelled your name right),
Yes, they have been in school pretty every day since we have been here. They are working hard, making new friends, learning Spanish, and also learning how to play soccer really good. I think they could beat their dad at soccer now.

Aaliyah,
We are doing fine and learning a lot. The food is really good in Costa Rica. Gallo Pinto is Chariti, Kaylee, and Chaz' dad's favorite. It is rice, beans, and special sauce. YUMMY! School is hard, but they are all doing well. Sometimes, it is hard living here. Imagine that you had to walk to Von's or Wal-Mart anytime you needed milk, eggs, or bread. That's what we have to do. Also, imagine not being able to understand the people at the store, restaurants, or on the telephone. It would make it hard to order pizza from Dominoe's or Pizza Hut, huh? It really is a lot of fun here. It is different than back home where you are. There is no Disneyland, but there is a jungle, monkeys, snakes, coati's, lizards, ocelots, rats, and many birds. We haven't found any lions or tigers, though.

Thank you to all the Prims who wrote letters and asked questions. We would be happy to receive any letters (chocolate, candy, etc.). It is fun getting mail from the States. If you would like to write a letter or send a package, please email us and we will tell you the best way to do this. It is pretty easy to receive mail from home. Email is charley.mattix@agmd.org or just click on the email, and you will ego to our website where you can email anyone in the family.

Blessings to all,

Charley, Sherry, Chariti, Kaylee, & Chaz

Arenal

Hello to all from Costa Rica. The Mattix family is doing well. Right now, Chariti and Kaylee are up on the mountain north of San Ramon at the Latin America/Caribbean Missionary Kid's retreat. They are having a good time. It has rained on them almost the entire time they have been there, and they have pretty much either been wet or muddy. Now, you may be asking how do I know this?

This past week was Semana Santa, Holy week in Latin America and around the world. We did not have school this week. So, we took advantage of this and went on a paseo, or trip. Sherry, Chaz, and I went to the volcano Arenal, along with three friends of ours. The picture you see is of the volcano itself. We were there for three days, and we only saw the top of the volcano once, for about 5 minutes. We were told that at night you can see it erupting. We never saw this, but we did here it a lot. It really was an amazing experience. In fact, Sherry and our friend began singing "God of Wonders" when we saw the volcano for the first time.

We saw a lot of interesting things. We kept wishing everyone was here to share this experience with us. God's creation truly is unique and amazing. As we drove around the volcano we saw coatis, monkeys, lots of birds, flowers, and many other animals. We were able to go on a Hanging Bridge tour. This was an amazing walk through the jungle. The tour lasted about 2 hours, and we walked over several bridges. We were literally in the jungle at the base of the volcano. It was awesome and breathtaking. We saw several monkeys, birds, butterflies, leaf-cutter ants, and an eye-lash viper. There will be pictures of these on our website. Be sure and take a look at some of what we were able to see this past week.

As Sherry and our friend, Monica (MA to Mexico) began singing "God of Wonders," I began to think how truly amazing God is. I thought how did God think of all these things? How did he come up with a coati or eye-lash viper? How did he make such a variety of landscapes, rivers, waterfalls, mountains, people, animals, etc. It is truly a miracle and a wonder. "God of wonders beyond our galaxy. You are holy, holy! THE UNIVERSE DECLARES YOUR MAJESTY! You are holy, holy!"

If you ever wonder whether or not there is a God, then all you have to do is go outside (not in the city) and take a walk around. Notice all the details in nature and in animals, it is truly a wonder that anyone would not believe that God exists. Yet, I often wonder if He thinks of me. This week, in the quietness of the jungle (it's not really that quiet), He met us there and He showed us a little of Himself in the nature around us. We had such a relaxing week.

Even though we never got to see the lava flowing at night, we knew that it was there. Even though we have never seen God, we know that He is always there. I can feel His presence in my life and in the world around me. No matter what happens, He is with us! He will be with us, and He will go with us wherever we are. God loves all of you, and He will be there for you! All you need to do is to believe in Jesus Christ, ask Him into your heart, and continue to develop your relationship each day. He will lead you, guide you, and go with you!

Blessings to all,

Charley

Taxi System in Costa Rica

For this post, I thought I would share some of our daily life. One of the most important things to learn is the taxi system. This picture shows a taxi here in Costa Rica. This is the normal color of a taxi, and it is very important that the taxi has the yellow triangle you see on the side of this one. That triangle means it is a "legal" taxi.

The most interesting part of the taxi ride is explaining where to go. THERE ARE NO ADDRESSES IN SAN JOSE. If there are no addresses, how do we get where we are going? Let me give you an example. Let's say that I need to get to the kid's school for soccer practice. The first thing I do is call the taxi company and attempt to speak Spanish. I need to tell them my telephone number in espanol, "dos-veinticuatro-veintiseis-sesenta y uno." Then, after the taxi driver arrives, I need to go through the normal greetings, "Hola! Buenos dias! (tardes, noches), Como esta usted?" Then comes the fun part! I need to know what part of town the school is in and the name of where you are going. If the taxista (taxi driver) does not know where you are going, then you need to know some landmark or building that the taxista would know. It is quite interesting sometimes. Here is what I usually say to get to the kid's school, "?Podria llevarme a San Francisco de Dos Rios?" Then, the taxista usually asks where I need to go exactly. So, I would say, "al instituto de lenguas espanol." Most of the taxistas know where it is from there.

Sometimes, there are taxistas that either do not understand me or do not know where I need to go. Improvising and knowing how to say straight, right, or left are very important to everyday life here. I enjoy, sometimes, riding in a taxi because it allows me an opportunity to think on my feet and to try to communicate in Spanish. A lot of taxista's do not speak clearly, and they use a lot of slang and shortened words. So, it really helps to hear different people speak Spanish.

I hope you understand just a part of our daily lives here in Costa Rica. If you have any questions of comments, please click on the comments link at the end of this post. You can also go to our website at: www.mattixfamilynews.com. On our website, you can look at some more photos, email us, and keep checking on our process as we continue to learn Spanish in preparation for moving to Paraguay.

Blessings to you all,

Charley

Men's Retreat

Greetings from Costa Rica. I had a very interesting weekend this past weekend. All the men from the language school went on a Men's Retreat. We went to the International Royal Rangers Campground (the same camp where we had the Campamento for the Royal Rangers). We had no idea what we were going to be doing. The leaders kept us all in the dark. So, we were kind of nervous before we got there.

It is about a 2 hour drive to the campground. After we got there, we went on a tour of the campground, and the leaders kept saying that we need to pay attention to what we see. It would be important later that night. Then, we had a class about surviving an emergency. There has been a lot of missionaries who either had an accident or were stranded somewhere. It is necessary to have an idea of how to survive a crisis. Sometimes, even here in Costa Rica, if you travel across the mountains there are mudslides, and you might be trapped on the mountain for a day or two. Jeff Cooper, an A/G missionary here, taught us how to be prepared in case of emergency. It was an eye-opening experience. Then, we had a lesson on spiritual survival. In the physical survival, we learned what we need to put in our survival kits and backpacks. In spiritual survival, we talked about what we do not need to put in our spiritual backpacks, what we need to take with us, and how we need to prepare for a spiritual crisis.

After a lunch of awesome french fries and hamburgers, we had a lesson on knot-tying and how to build a shelter. Then, we were given two hours to find a place for our shelter and to build it using a knife and some string. We were assigned a partner, and then we got to work. My partner, Bob Perez, and I built a pretty nice shelter using bamboo and several different types of small trees, palm fronds, and other leaves. After we were done, it was time for dinner. We had chili for dinner. It tasted awesome. Then, we went on a walk in the jungle. For some of it, we had to turn off our flashlights. There was moonlight, but man is it dark in the jungle at night! It was nice to be able to have other people around talking and walking together. I cannot imagine being lost in the jungle at night and alone. It would be really difficult. I remember the most important thing Jeff Cooper taught us. He said the most important thing was to NOT PANIC, just remain as calm as possible. I thought, yeah right, like I wouldn't be panicking if I was lost in the jungle. After this weekend, I think I might be able to survive and to get my family out of a crisis situation.

After we got back from the hike, Jay Dickerson, our director at Cincel and the other leader of the retreat, asked us where our accountability partners were. During the hike, they were told they would be going on another trail then us; however, they were tricked and they were captured by the enemy. You can fill in the blanks on the spiritual meaning of this. Then, we were told that they were being held captive in the "stable" near the ampitheater of the campgrounds. There were several guards with spotlights, flashlights, water balloons (filled with paint), and paintball guns. We were give 3 chances to go in, find a key, open a lock, and get our parntner out. We could not be "killed" with paint from the paintball guns or "water" balloons. We were given almost two hours and no "rules" except one. We only had 3 lives, and we must not allow our partner to get hit. After we found the key, we must lead our partner out of the prison. We must be willing to take the "hit" for them. So, we had to stand between him and the paintball guns.

It was a fun night. It was a man's weekend. We got dirty, we worked hard, we played hard, we prayed hard, and we got to know each other better. I cannot share everything that happend, but it was a lot of fun.

After that, we had a snack. We went back to the ampitheater, and what campout would be complete without a bonfire, praise & worship, and a time to share what God is doing in our lives. It was amazing! Men were men, and we shared our hearts with each other.

Then, we went to out shelter to try and sleep out in the jungle overnight. Bob and I did sleep on the ground in our shelter until it started pouring rain. I think it was about 4 or 4:30 in the morning when it just began to rain, hard! So, we left our shelter and jumped into one of the permanent shelters at the campsight. The picture above is a picture of our shelter. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep. It rained all morning long. In fact, it rained all the way back to San Jose. We made it back safe, but really tired. I am still tired tonight, but it was worth it. One more thing, on the night we had to rescue our accountability partner, I did it. They never even touched me with a paintball. (Be sure and check our website for more pictures: www.mattixfamilynews.com)

Good night and God bless,

Charley

Home

Here is a picture of the front of out apartment. In this entire house, there is 5 apartments/houses. Our door is the brown, wooden door on the bottom right. There is a white gate to help protect us. The white wall to the left of the door is actually an automatic garage door with a driveway through it to the house in the back. Another missionary couple (the Cooper') couple lives in an apartment on the other side (to the left) from our apartment. Below us (in the middle of the house) is another apartment. Then, behind the Cooper's apartment is another house. It has an entrance similar to the the white wall (garage door) house behind ours.

Our apartment is nice, and it has all tile floors. The window on the right (second floor) is the window for mine and Sherry's bedroom. The window on the left, with a small balcony and door, is Chariti & Kaylee's bedroom. We have a small dining room, living room, and a tiny kitchen. There is a small utility room with our own washer and dryer. Then, Chaz has a bedroom with a bathroom, and there is another room in the back. It is fully furnished, including kitchen supplies. It is about a five minute walk from Cincel, the language school Sherry and I are attending. On an earlier blog, I talked about how the kids got to school on the van/bus. They have about a 15-20 minute "bus" ride to school every day.

The house is in a nice neighborhood. We only know of a few robberies that occur each week. We have nice security guards that are here 24/7. I do not know how well they watch the houses, though. Because Freddie Cooper had his license plates stolen right off of his car. Anyway, we feel pretty safe, but we do not take chances. For example, Sherry does not walk anywhere by herself, we do not go out late at night, and we keep an eye out when we are going anywhere. It's all about being attentive to the people around you. Also, we have one advantage that a lot of people in Costa Rica do not have. We have the Holy Spirit protecting us. That's why we are here.

What? You thought we were here just to learn Spanish? No, we are also here to spread love, spread love, spread love (that was for all who remember some old Christian comedy). Seriously, we are here to tell people about Jesus and share what He has done in our lives with all we can. Now, for Sherry and I this is very difficult because we cannot communicate very well. So, what can we do until we can speak the language better? We show people that we care about them. We learn about their culture, and the more we understand the better we can non-verbally communicate. For Sherry and I, we try to show people how much we care about them by treating them nice, by treating them the way we would like to be treated, and by treating the way Jesus would treat them.

It is really nice to see people's reactions when you treat them with kindness. We have quickly learned the excuse me, pardon me, and I'm sorry phrases for when, not if, we make mistakes. It is amazing what a few kind words, a simple apology, or an excuse me can do. Next time you feel someone is getting angry, try an apology or an excuse me. Just take a chance and see what happens.

Good night all,

Charley

Just Another Monday

It's just another rainy Monday! I think that is in some song or something, isn't it? Anyway, we had a weird Monday. The kids didn't have school. I don't know why, but their school canceled today. So, we had a strange start to the day. I had forgotten about it until around 7 this morning, and the kids didn't get on the bus and go to school. So, it was not a routine day. They all went to school with us. Chaz hung out with David Figueroa, and the girls hung out with Priscilla Perez (two other MKs here). {They also had supervision, I just don't know how to spell their names.}

Then, throughout the entire day, it was rough. It just felt off. I couldn't speak correctly in English, so you can imagine what my Spanish was like. It was pretty interesting. I did learn some new concepts, but I felt like I couldn't say anything correctly.

My mom told me there would be days like this! Another song? Anyway, I know there will be days like this. How do I handle this? What do I do? A couple of posts ago, I talked about trials. So, I should probably do what I talked about, huh? Keep on keeping on.

When we finally got home about 5 p.m. (it was a long day), things started to turn around. I understood my homework and got it done pretty quickly. I practiced phonetics, grammar, and interaction. We had a good night at home, and we spent some quality time playing games together. The kids were all happy, and we had a friend come over and visit (her name is Monica, and she is a MA to Mexico). She has become a close family friend. The kids all call her sister.

God is good. In the midst of struggles, He gives you peace. He lets you know that He is there, and He will take care of you. Please let the Author of Peace enter your life, love you, and give you peace.

Blessings to all who read this,

Charley

Update

Hey everyone, how's it going? We are doing pretty good right now. God is good, and he is really helping us with Spanish. The kids have finally adjusted to school, and they are making a lot of new friends. Today, at church, I understood the sermon (YES)! That is an amazing breakthrough for me. The first Sunday we were here, I thought there was no way that I would ever understand the pastor. Now, I can almost understand 50% of his sermons.

Sherry is doing awesome. All of the teachers keep telling her that before we leave here, she will be speaking like a Tica (Costa Rican). She is doing amazing in her classes. She even got a 100% on her test once. Now, she just needs to get out and speak. She's like me, nervous to speak to the locals when you don't know every word to say.

The kids are doing well. No illnesses or injuries to report. Chaz is making friends with pretty much everyone. You know him, there isn't a person in the world that he doesn't like. Kaylee is doing good. She's coming out of her shell and doing a bunch of things. Her Spanish is coming along, and she is beginning to make good grades in school. Chariti is her usual self, except for one thing. She is not so shy anymore. She is really getting bold about speaking out and to people. It's awesome to see how God is working in each of their lives. They are thriving on the mission field.

We have made many new friends here. There are about 40 missionaries here at Cincel. This number includes all the children as well. They are all family, and we knew most of them before we ever came here. We have also made some Tico friends. The picture above is Pacifica. She is a neat lady who Sherry has become close to. Everyone in the family has made new friends. It is awesome to know there are people all over this world who care for us and pray for us.

It is all because of your prayers that this is happening. Please keep praying for our family. We need your prayers, and we are thankful to you for them.

Blessings to you all,

Charley

Trials

One thing I have noticed is that lately a lot of people are going through major trials in their lives. Here, at language school, some of us are going through the fire. There has been physical illnesses, family members dying, and many financial needs. We have one missionary friend of ours tell us that his nephew was seriously wounded in Iraq, and he may never walk again. Others have told us of major family problems back home. It is hard for them to keep focused on their studies when they are thinking about what is happening in their lives.

As a family, we have already been through many things, as well. Strep throat, fevers, stress, financial struggles, allergies, broken toe, every time something happens, it takes our focus away from learning Spanish. It is hard to learn a new language when you are hurting physically or emotionally. As a missionary in Latin America, it is crucial to learn Spanish well. We need to learn the language for everyday living, but more importantly, we need to learn the language well in order to communicate the gospel much more effectively. So, we have to try and keep our focus on learning the language well and ministering whenever and wherever possible.

James 1:2-4 says, "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish it work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything." (NIV) I keep going back to this verse whenever we are going through something we think we cannot face. It is hard to "consider it pure joy" when we have lost a loved one, we have been hurt deeply, we are ill, or when we have been diagnosed with a life-threatening illness. It's hard to "consider it pure joy" when mosquitos will not stop biting you, even in the middle of the night.

I was reading a commentary on James, and it said this, "Regard it as a thing to rejoice in; a matter which should afford you happiness. You are not to consider it as a punishment, a curse, or a calamity, but as a fit subject of felicitation." (Barnes) James wrote this during a major, but necessary, struggle for the early Christian church. They were being scattered all over the world because of harsh persecution. It was necessary because they were not obeying Jesus and taking His message to the uttermost parts of the world. Trials, persecution, hardships, and struggles all help us to grow. They help us to learn patience and endurance. We need both of these to do what God has called us to do. We need patience and endurance to keep on going whenever the going gets tough. The reason we should "consider it pure joy" is that we know that God is going to work through the trial to help us grow. It is this testing of faith that helps us to learn to persevere in everything.

God has developed patience in our lives. We probably would be really struggling right now if we had not been through some of the trials in our lives. We know, because of what God has brought us through, that we can make it through language school. We know we can learn Spanish because God is helping us to learn it. We know we can go to Paraguay and tell people about Jesus because He is with us all the time.

If you are going through a major trial in your life, "regard it as a thing to rejoice in." Rejoice in the Lord, and He will give you strength. Even when it seems like the world is crashing around you, rejoice, praise the Lord, worship His holy name, and allow the Prince of Peace, the author of Peace, to bring peace into your life.

Blessings and peace to all,

Charley Mattix