Things have really started to pick up! Thank you all for your prayers for two weekends ago. We had a lot of events that were going on over the weekend which kept us very busy but they had great turn outs! We had a Christian band, called Liz and the Lions, that came and did an open air concert in the parking lot. Many people came and many more people stopped and stayed instead of continuing to walk past. God really provided and we pray that some of those people will come back to the events that we have in the future. Seth and I had a great time getting to know the band as they ended up staying at our place. It was an encouragement to have them here and be able to share about what God has called us to. And we got to hear where God was calling them as well.

I have been meeting with a youth girl one-on-one for a few weeks and it has been awesome to see how God has been opening doors. It is neat to see how God can use a relationship when we are being open and vulnerable and following His calling. Not only have I been able to challenge, help processes, and hold her accountable but she has been doing many of the same things for me as well. Please be praying for this relationship and that God will continue to use it to help spur us on closer to Him.

This last weekend we had Matt arrive from the states and he will be staying here for 3 weeks. He will be making promotional videos for everything: After school Tutoring, Lighthouse, Friday Nights, English Camps and then one for our team as well to show our supporters more about our life here. We are very excited to share that with you all once it is finished! Matt’s mom was also here over the weekend since they had just finished visiting family here in Europe. She stayed with us over the weekend. It was really a pleasure to get to know her as well as an encouragement. She reminded me a lot of my mom, including how she enjoyed playing Dutch Blitz. It was a blessing to have her here for the weekend and have her show us love in so many ways even though we had just met.

The countdown has begun and we will be leaving for English Camps in exactly two weeks! Things are coming together well but at times it still seems overwhelming. Please be praying! We still need 1 more guy cabin leader as well as at least 1 more cook. We are doing the shopping tomorrow for all the supplies that we need, I think it will set in a lot more after that. Which reminds me…we need to go buy a printer. Please be praying for Seth and I, this is our first time being a part of the Program Staff at a camp. We will have a lot more responsibility. I am also going to be in charge of training the cabin leaders how to do the English lessons as well as taking care of the budget and finances. Both things that I know I will enjoy but also new territory for me.

This weekend Seth and Matt were a part of a 3-on-3 basketball tournament. They played on a team along with some people that Seth had met while playing.  It was a lot of fun to watch them play. Seth did great! They were only a part of the fun league but they won that division!

Also this weekend (we had a busy weekend) we were able to go to Hall (a town 10 minutes away by train) and have lunch with some people from current and previous German classes. It was fun to all be together as well as to try some Iranian dishes.

I know this post is already long but briefly I want to ask for some prayer with things that will be going on this week. Tomorrow, I will be a part of the girls youth group bible study as we talk about relationships. Thursday, Jen and I organized a Volleyball game mostly consisted of youth girls so be praying that enough people come and it will be a good bonding experience. Also the weather is beautiful and Seth wants to go out and play basketball a few different times. This weekend Seth might be taking a couple of the youth guys camping Friday night be praying for guidance with that. And then Sunday we have Elise coming to visit us from our home church in Seward, we are excited to have her and her friend stay with us for a couple of days and pray that God will keep them safe through all their travels. Also on Sunday Cathrin’s cousin will be coming and staying with us for 3 weeks…we however will only be here for one but pray that all goes smoothly especially as we will be very busy with preparing for camp. And then finally, in the two days after camp we need to be moving to our next apartment. So since we have such little time we are going to try and pack everything up before we leave for camp. This leads to a lot of things, right before we go so please be praying that we will use our time wisely and that God will bring everything together. Thanks so much for all your prayers!

Alyssa