Come Before Winter

I thought I would give a little more information about my experience that first week in June, in Bosnia. I had the chance to participate for the second time in “Come Before Winter.”

Come Before Winter is an amazing program; it gave me the chance to spend a week focusing on one section of scripture in a variety of different ways. This time we looked at Psalm 103 from three different angles: structurally, theologically and prayerfully. I knew I wanted to meet with these ladies again, because I had learned so much from my first “Come Before Winter.” To be honest I was also very nervous because I knew that at the end of the week I was going to have to give a Bible lesson on what I had learned. I have given many lessons and I do not know why I was nervous, but I think it was because I respect the group of ladies so much. I did not want to make a mistake.

My first experience with this program was in 2002. I was a recent college graduate who had some short-term mission’s experience, but not a whole lot; I had been in Albania for only three months. I was as green as I could be and ended up being the second to youngest participant there in Florence. It was a challenging but good week. I have grown a lot since then. With three years of bible teaching under my belt and two more years of life experience, I did not feel as young as I did my first time although I was still the youngest participant in Bosnia. I really enjoyed myself and I learned so much. One of the words we focused on this last time was “hessed.” Hessed is a wonderful word. It can be translated as more than one word in English. One translation is steadfast. In Psalm 103 God’s love is steadfast. He is always with us and He is constant and consistent. He does not treat us as we deserve. I spent a lot of time dwelling on the character and “bigness” of God. A God than can is willing to separate our sins from us and not treat us as we deserve. This week was a great reminder to me that I am God’s child and that He is a great father and to trust Him. One of the nicest parts of the week was scheduled reflection time. Life in Albania is rarely quiet, so it was nice to have time to be quiet, pray, and think without any interruptions. Another encouraging part of the time was knowing so many of the ladies there. I had the chance to see many women who I never get to see including ones who work in Albania. Kevin and I live over three hours from any other American missionaries. I knew more that 10 of the 40 ladies. It was so fun to spend time with them worshipping studying, learning, and talking. When it came time to share my thoughts with the group I was still nervous. However, it went well and I had so much I wanted to say, because I had learned so much.