A glimpse into my weekend, reasons to be thankful!

Let us start with Friday, shall we. :) Last Friday, we had an awesome night at Connected. We had probably the fewest amount of people but that doesn't matter. I believe everyone's heart was yearning for God and that is the important part. We played a few games which included, through only asking questions trying to figure out what name was taped on your back. I was Batman. And then a "minute to win it" game where I feel like I made a fool out of myself trying to knock a soda can off a table using only a ball with a string tied around my waste. Then we had some time to fellowship and do what Latvian's love best, drink tea and eat cookies. :D I can really see where God is building trust among relationships and some doors are opening for sharing truth in lives. It is a slow process but I am believing the end result will be worth it! Then we got in a circle and talked about worship. We discussed the story of Mary washing Jesus' feet with using the questions David gave us last week about how to study the bible. And of course, this led into extended worship and prayer time. One of my favorite moments was when I looked up and saw a few students with their face on the floor worshipping. I love to worship God and I love to see others surrender the "thoughts" of those around them to worship Him as well! It was really a blessed time! I felt rejuvinated and refreshed! Then I woke up early on Saturday to catch a bus to Riga. My plan was to sleep on this almost 3 hour bus trip since I had gotten so little sleep the night before but I was too joyful to sleep. :) So I took out my bible and started reading and journaling. It was an exceptionally great time with the Lord! I loved it! It was my strength for the day, it was my "breakfast", it was the energy I knew I would need to get through the day. When I arrived in Riga, I met one dear friend at the bus station, Lana. :) She has a singing voice that will lead you straight to the throne of God. I believe whenever she sings, God sits back in His throne and just listens to His daughter worship. Anyway, we met another favorite, Valters, and had breakfast together. Fried eggs and pankukas. It was delicious and our meal was filled with many laughs. It was so good to be in the company of dear friends. We decided we then needed to walk around for awhile to work off all the food we just ate. It seems that no matter what we are doing, it is always a fun and blessed time. Valters had to go to work and so Lana and I went into a few stores to find her a new outfit. I found a place to go shopping if I need new clothes. It was farely inexpensive and had much more variety that any shop in Kuldiga. Of course Kuldiga is much, much smaller. The next few hours were spent with Lana and her worship friends. I sat and watched them practice with each other. The greatest joy came from watching them interact with each other. It is very evident that they love Jesus, love serving with each other, they love each other, and they love to make music together. The room was full of joy and God's presence, you couldn't help but smile. Then they led worship for this conference and nothing was different. The same joy and love for each other and God was evident again. And even though I didn't know the words, they were singing in Russian, I was led to the throne of God and enojyed worshipping my God with my heart. The rest of the evening was spent with more of my Riga family. Kristaps, Kristaps, Lana, Ance and Tomass for awhile and I sat around the table, ate Lana's chili for dinner, laughed a lot, and then decided to watch Ice Age 4. I don't remember the last time I laughed so much and so hard. Maybe the movie wasn't really that funny but the company made it more enjoyable. But the movie still was funny, if you haven't seen it, you should. Sometimes I think, "how did I become so blessed to have such incredible friends here already?" They LOVE Jesus, they love giving their lives to Him, and they love each other. And so quickly they have accepted me into their group. What a blessing. Thank you Jesus. Sunday, I ventured to the train station on my own, (of course with directions from Lana) got on the correct train and met Edgars and one guy who would take us to Jurmala service. There we met up with our family. In was this moment that I felt it. The peace and affirmation of seeing my "family", I knew this had become my home. Matiss, Ilze, David, Edgars, Krista, Filips and so many more, they have become my family. We spent the day leading Jurmala and Riga services. It was a blessed day of fellowship, serving God together, laughing, praying, and growing in our relationships with each other. I couldn't ask for a better group of people to walk through life with! I am blessed! The day was capped off with an iced caramel macchiato from Coffee Inn made by Valters. It was the perfect ending to a perfect weekend! Now I tell you all this and one small refocus lesson I learned from this. Sometimes we, I, tend to look at the things we don't have. I wish I had this friend, what happened to this friendship, I wish I could sing better, I wish I had more money, I wish I was in a relationship. Whatever it is you think about, we all have something. But I was reminded to not look at what I don't have, what I am missing, but to look at what I do have and what blessings they are. I have a great church family supporting me, I have family that loves me-even if they don't understand what I am doing, I have people in Latvia who geninuely care about me and want to be a part of my life. And most importantly, I have a God who loves me, who provides for me, who wants the best for my life. I have a God who is with me all the time, even if I don't feel like it. I am blessed. :) If you are feeling today like you want something more, that you want something different, took a look at your life today and thank God for what you do have!! :)