Back at it!

Ah the joys of this blog. I am happy to announce that this upcoming summer there will be 4 of us headed to Alcoy! Two for two weeks and two for the month. Sometime later i will have each of them introduce themselves. 

Its weird for me this time because im the "team leader" since ive been there and i know what to sort od expect. Sometimes its hard though when we have meetings to come up with the agenda, i feel like im saying the same things over and over again. 

We had two fundraisers this weekend, one we will be doing later today. Yestsrday we had the auction and we made a little over 400 dollars so we all have our 100 dollar deposit to be handed in with the application. It was a fun day of bonding, and i feel a lot closer to Lexi, one of the team memebers so thats always a bonus. :) a huge thank you to everyone who donated items needed, you are all such a huge blessing! And also a big thank you to Sonya Valentino for helping us all day. You are also a huge blessing! 

After the auction we assembled our soup and hoagies for todays sale. We presold italian, turkey, and ham hoagies and also presold chicken corn noodle soup. Today they pay and pick it up. And we made extra so if you didnt order and want too, come on out! 

And here are some pictures! 

The last picture is from the hoagie/soup prep. 

USA...

I have officially been home a week. And what a week it has been. I got into Philly at 6:30pm on July 19th. From there we went through customs and got our bags and my mom was waiting outside the doors with a bunch of balloons. I said my last goodbye to Julianna and off my family went to get cheesesteaks. From the time I stepped off that plane I was in a bad mood, I was tired and not hungry and I just didn't want to be home. We get to Pat's and I think I was having a bit of culture shock and also I dealt with the situation I had been dreading so I was upset with that too. Let's just say I wasn't the easiest person to get along with. I got home and went straight to bed, and I woke up at 4am and ate my cheesesteak. This week I would go to bed at 5-530pm and wake up at 4am. Luckily I am finally back on American time, I'm glad it only took a week. 

I'm already missing Spain a great deal and I'm trying to not hate Fleetwood, but its hard because I just feel like I don't belong here. I'm not really sure why, I just don't. Plus I'm still hurt over the situation but I know God knows what He's doing. I haven't read my Bible all week, and I hate that but it's like now that I'm home I'm so busy when in reality I'm not. So why is it that I can't read it? Why am I not praying as much? What is it about Fleetwood that makes me not do that? Everytime I go somewhere and I get closer to God I come home and it goes away. I know I only have myself to blame and I know I just need to work harder but I just don't know why. I wish I could figure it out. 

But I guess this blog is done for now, until I go back to Spain next summer. 

Not goodbye, see you later

What a week it has been! VBS went great, except at times it was boring since I had no idea what they were saying. I saw some things I really liked with how they did it, and things I didn't. But hey you can't please everyone, all in all it was great though. I believe I mentioned I had the same age group as English Camp and that I had most of the same kids except a much smaller group. I honestly have never seen a VBS that small before. I hope the kids took a lot away from this week and will continue to grow in their walks with the Lord, or even accept Him as their Lord and Savior. Saying goodbye to them wasn't easy at all, and I had some parents come up and thank me and I thanked them for sharing their children with me. I will miss their smiles, laughs, and personalities. Each one of them has a special place in my heart. And I hope to be back next summer. I wish I would have taken more pictures but it is what it is. 

Conversation ended Wednesday night, and on Thursday night we had a party for them and they got certificates stating they completed four weeks of classes. What amazing progress they all made, I am so proud of each and every one. They are the sweetest people and last night to have people ask if I had face ook or want a picture with me, and tell me they wanted me to come back just made me feel so loved. I am glad that they liked me as much as I liked them. 

 

Today after VBS I said goodbye to all of the Spanish and the Americans, except Julianna, since we'll be flying to Philly together. The rest of the Americans are leaving early in the morning and my flight doesn't leave until 1pm so we get to go later. It was hard saying goodbye to them because I have formed bonds with lots of them, some I really only really connected with this week, and I regret not trying harder to get to know them, but hey you live and you learn. It was hard saying goodbye to some of the Spanish too. But alas its not goodbye, its just see you later. I hope to see yall next summer! And  I'll work on opening up more. :) 

Tomorrow I will be saying goodbye to my host family, which might be the hardest of  all. They have been so kind to me, and I wish I could repay them for all they have done. I pray they go to church and I pray they accept the Lord as their Savior. 

Where oh where do i belong?

Ever since last night when I couldn't sleep, I have had a lot on my mind, on my heart. I have basically 3 days left here in Spain, not counting saturday because that's when i begin my journey home. I am going home to certain situations I'd rather not face, I don't know the outcome of them and it terrifies me. The certain situation is hard because i care so deeply and I don't want to face tears and a broken heart. I do know God has a plan and I know His plan is better than my own but I don't do well with heartbreak. 

I also don't do well with opening up to people, why? Because I don't want to deal with the hurt it brings me, so instead I push people away. My time in Spain has been bittersweet, why? Because at first I couldn't let people in, I felt like I didn't fit and that made me push people away. I also had a lot I was dealing with from home and I didn't know how to manage that and being in a new country. Plus I don't sleep well, even at home, I never have, so I was exhausted. But as time went on I got to know a beautiful person, and that person helped me a lot. That same person has said they have seen a change in me, and I think that is somewhat true, I have talked to more people but I'm still very reserved. But I still don't know where I belong. 

I don't know where my heart is. Technically not true, a piece of my heart is in Mexico, another piece is in New York, another in Atlanta, yet another piece is in Jasper, Ga, some is in Indiana, and now I will be leaving another piece here in Spain. And a huge part of my heart is in Pennsylvania, with the people I love so dearly. I just want to feel like I belong somewhere, I have a degree in missions but I have no idea what I want to do with my life, where I want to go. I used to think I had it all figured out but all my plans have failed. I'm scared to see what the future brings. I'm scared of being hurt. If I could stay here in Spain and not go home and face things, I would. 

But a las every good thing comes to an end even if you aren't quite ready to say goodbye. I have learned so much about myself on this trip and I have started a relationship with the Lord again and I truly hope it continues when I'm home. For the next few days I'm going to live it up and do my best to show God's love. 

Third week complete, and beach weekend!

Seriously time is going way to fast, i'd love it if it felt like slowing down some. Last week was our final week of English camp for the kids and today we started VBS. Agency D3, which is funny because my home church is doing the same this week as well.

Last week one of the girls told me she loved me, and most of the girls on my team were hanging all over me. It's part of the reason why i love working with little kids. Plus having them come up to you and grab your hand melts my heart. It makes missing camp a little less. I have fallen in love with these kids and they are just so absolutely precious to me. We have some of them in VBS this week however most of the kids from English camp i won't see again unless I come back next summer. :) I feel that English camp went very well, and they all enjoyed themselves, well hopefully. They put on a show with each group singing and it was absolutely beautiful. I just love hearing there accents and how cute theu sound. Seriously i could listen to them talk forever. 

 

There were defintely some ups and downs this week but God is my strength and He got me through every trial that was thrown my way. The last day someone yelled at me, and while i did make a mistake that person shouldnt have been the one to yell at me. I had to forgive this person, and while it took awhile I finally did. After all God forgives us so we should forgive others. 

This past saturday was my 25th birthday! Now i'm not normally home for it but it was strange being older than my twin for a couple hours. My host family took me to the beach and when we went out to eat the whole resturant sang to me in spanish of course. It was beautiful though. The mediterranean sea is absolutely goregous. I have never seen such beautiful blue water. I was standing the the sea just being in awe of the beauty around me. God created that, He created everything. What an amazing God i serve. 

Adios for now! And remember the Lord loves you! :) 

God is my strength

Hola! We are in our third week of the trip and second week of English camp for the children. What an expierence it has been so far! 

This week I was feeling discouraged and satan had been attacking. See the thing is before this trip my life was not really where it needed to be, I wouldnt do my devotions or anything. After hanging out with a member of the team last week I promised I would have my quiet time with God. And I have been everyday! I have learned so much about myself on this trip. 

My laptop broke this week, and I was upset and then I realized I dont even use it that much, so its okay. It will be fixed eventually and for now i have my phone. And since i have a sim card again its good because I can talk with my family. 

I refuse to let satan get me down the rest of the time I´m here. I will keep clinging to God and His Word. He is my strength. 

second week!

I can not believe two weeks have gone by and yesterday we started week three. It is going by too fast, before I know it I'll be boarding a plane to come back to the states.
I don't get to write as often as I would like too, but I'm going to try, maybe during siesta time. :)
Last week was the first week with the kids English camp! Saul, Madison, and I have 16 beautiful 7 and 8 year olds. We have a schedule that we follow each day, it goes opening program, sports, snack, English class, music, art, and closing program. Our kids really love art, they have made some really fun projects, I'm excited to see what Sandi has in store for them this week. One of our girls is in a wheelchair and honestly she is the cutest thing, especially when she laughs while doing sports. I have a group of girls that love to sit by me or hold my hand, and they hug me and its just precious. It makes me miss Camp Grandview a little less, although that place will always hold a spot in my heart like none other. One of the teachers told me that she was impressed with how well I worked with the children, and how I could have fun with them, or something like that, and this was after the second day. It is most definitely encouraging to have people come and say that to me. My job is to love on the kids, and if I succeed than I have a happy heart. :)

I only got to do adult conversation once this week, because my other scheduled day I had gotten sick. Last week I hadn't been feeling the best but I think it might be because I'm dehydrated. I have a tendency to not drink enough, so I need to work on that. We had a fourth of July party for the adult classes. Complete with hamburgers, hotdogs, and baseball. It was a lot of fun to watch the Spanish play a sport I love so very much.

We also had a Spanish party and it was fun for the most part. I'm not really the type of person who enjoys dancing in front of people, but it was nice to watch others dance. And the food was absolutely delish. I'm really going to miss eating paella when I go home.

Last night I sang in the choir at church and I also did a mime with some of the other Americans. Mari Carmen my host mom was crying throughout the whole service and she was really touched by it all. After dinner last night we got to talk a little bit about God and it was just a God moment and it was amazing. If that is the only thing that happens while I'm in Spain, I'd be okay with that. Maybe I'm doing something right.

 

Please continue to pray for me and the team(American and Spanish) and please pray for all 16 of my kids, I would write their names but I don't know how to spell them all.

 

Until next time, adios!

First Week

What a week it has been! From no luggage, to a broken suitcase wheel, to a lost sim card, to just feeling so lonely and out of place. Satan has definitely been at work.
This week was basically a set up week for the kid's English camp next week. We have conversation with the adult classes, and that has been fun. Basically we play games with them for an hour or just talk about random stuff, in English of course. Sometimes it is hard to come up with stuff to talk about but I think its been going pretty well. So we have a morning conversation from 12-1 and then night conversations 630-730 and 745-845. We will get nights off but since there weren't enough people(Americans) this week we had to go every night, which wasn't bad.
I haven't really been able to go and see Alcoy, because we have a siesta from 3-5 and everything is closed and by the time it opens back up its time for me to walk to church, which takes half an hour. Then the stores close and its dinner and bed. I hope to get out soon and explore.
It is absolutely beautiful here! And there are so many differences from back home. I tell everyone Fleetwood only has two traffic lights and their eyes get big and are like your city is small, well yes because its not a city. :)
It has been fun getting to know my host family and today we went into Valencia, such a beautiful city. I cant wait to see more of Spain.  Tomorrow the kids come!

 

 

 

Espana welcomes you!

Spain welcomes me and two other team members with no luggage! But no worries, I know I  wasn't upset about it. Sure, I want my bag, but it'll get here in time. :)

The flight from Philly to Paris was quite an interesting one. I got to switch seats with someone which let Julianna and I sit next to each other, and since I was in the middle I also got to sit next to someone else, Phil.. He was nice, I felt bad for him because I keep moving around and asking him dumb questions, but he was pretty cool about it. I really didn't sleep on that flight because we could watch movies, and listen to music, it was super awesome!

We met up with three other team members in Paris and from there we had a flight to Valencia, that one I fell asleep on right away. Then Mark and Carla picked us up and we headed to Alcoy! Oh, and I didn't get my passport stamped because no one was at customs, I was a little sad about that.

From there I met my host family, Jose and Mari, they are so sweet! :) They showed me around their apartment, and then they showed me my bedroom. They had a poster and balloons! It was the nicest thing! I wish I would have gotten a picture of it before we took it down, but I have the memories of it!

We had dinner, at 9pm! Then we went for a walk around the city, the culture over here is really different. At home, you wouldn't see a ton of people outside walking around that late. There was also a band playing music, and people were dancing. So different from Fleetwood!

Today I slept until 3pm, Spain time. I had a little bit of trouble falling and staying asleep, but maybe once my pillow gets here it will be better! Or maybe as soon as I get used to Spain time. Jetlag is no joke. ;)

Today we have a meeting at the church, so its pretty much just a relax day..

That's all for now! Keep praying please!

What an amazing God i serve!

As of Thursday June 5th, I have all my funds needed for the Spain trip! I want to thank everyone who donated money, or helped in any other way. Without you and God this would not have been possible! I am truly blessed  by all the love and support yall have shown in various ways! I could not be more grateful to you. So again, THANK YOU!

Today I had a Skype meeting with the whole team, and I have to say I'm even more excited now than I was before. We just went over the little things, and we all introduced ourselves. :) Carla and Mark (this missionaries in Spain) even got to join us!

Last night I was given the host family I will be staying with and the parents names are Jose and Mari. They also have a daughter my age, but I'm not sure what her name is. The parents have been in Carla's English classes this past year so they know a little bit. So if I talk slowly they should be able to understand. Which is good, because I don't know that much Spanish.

Keep praying for myself, the team, the trip, and the people will we come in contact with!

How Faithful

I literally sit here and am so amazed at how much the Lord had provided for me. At the beginning of the month I didn't even have half of the money I needed and as of today (if all my math is right) I am down to 276! the Lord is faithful, that's for sure! but I never did doubt that I would get the money.
now its just the whole getting the money there before June 6th, but I need to let that go and trust God!

continue to keep myself and the rest of the team in your prayers!

28 days! :)

First a money update, I only need 480! And I have no doubt in my mind that God will provide that for me.

Since there are only 28 days until my plane takes off I thought I'd write something different than just an update on money. More of a my thoughts, feelings, the way God has provide, that sort of stuff!

First off, I'd like to say thank you to everyone who had donated money to me. And also a huge thank you to people who donated items to the auction. And an even bigger thank you to the person who gave me 567 of their extra funds. I don't know who you are but I am so blessed by your generosity!

At first I didn't think I was going to get the money I needed, why? Because it was going slow and it seemed like no one was donating money, then I found out I had needed the money for the plane ticket and I wasn't sure how that was going to work out. But God stepped in and said "Maggie, stop, I got this!". I cant say how he had it or what happened that made me KNOW I was supposed to be going to Spain, but trust me, He did and He made it known that I was making the right choice by going to Spain!

Many of you know that I have spent the last 3 summers in GA working at Camp Grandview as a counselor and I was torn with the choice I had to make. What you don't know is even after I made my choice to go to Spain I still applied to camp. However, I never heard back from them and that to me was God telling me, "Girl you made the right choice". As much as I'm going to miss all the campers and my friends, I know that Spain will be just as amazing and I look forward to seeing what God has planned.

I am so in awe of everything that has happened, and how God has provided every step of the way. Some people wonder why I'm not stressed about not having all the money yet or anything for that matter, and to put it simply, I know God's got it and I know Spain is where I'm supposed to be this summer.

I have never been overseas before and I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I have never been on a plane ride longer than 2 and half hours, and I know basic Spanish. It will definitely be different over there.

I know God has amazing things planned and I cant wait to be able to share with you. I'm also excited to experience a new culture and I know part of my heart will be left there, every place I have gone on a missions trip to a part of my heart was left. We need this culture link seminar at my church sometime last year and one of the activities in our small group was to draw something that meant something to you or something like that. Well I drew a cowgirl boot and I'm not sure what else, and then we were supposed to go around the table and tell the person what we thought the picture meant. When it was my turn I didn't want to do it because I really don't like being the center of attention and having people look at my work. Anyways this guy Matt had said that he could tell from my picture that I'm very passionate about where I go and that I have a heart for something(I cant remember!) and he also said that he could tell I leave a part of my heart every place I go, and some other stuff. But he's right, I do. I'm glad I was a missions major and I'm glad I keep getting opportunities to go places. However, I've been thinking about my major and things and how I don't know what I want to do with it, but I think I'm not supposed to just be a missionary in one place. I don't like being in one place for too long, I get antsy. But who knows. :)

Anyways this entry is pretty long and you're probably bored so I'll sign off! Keep praying for me and the rest of the team!
(the picture below is from my house auction last Saturday)

Money Update

I only need 553 more dollars! by June 6th.


Also a fun fact, my plane leaves a month from today! :)

house auction

Today I was a house auction in which I did the food for. We kept it simple and only had a few things, but I would like to thank my momma for helping with all of it(not so much the selling food itself cuz she was off bidding on stuff, ;)) and I would also like to thank Dawn Kurtz for donating eggs, bread, and cookies! Thank you both so much!

I made 110 dollars, which isn't bad for a house auction, so I think we did good for it. I also would like to thank the Spain team from last year who have given me 98 dollars from there Chick Fil A sales last year.

With those two things combined and of course donations from other people, I now have 1742. Which leaves a little over a thousand that I still need by June 6th.

Update

The auction went very well, I want to thank Sonya Valentino for helping out in the morning, and my very best friend Caitie Stitzer who helped me all day! And of course my momma, who helped with everything, yall are such a blessing to me and I appreciate everything you did! I made a little over 700 dollars, which brings my total to 1,418 dollars. Which leaves 1,382 still needed.

Yes, I am a little concerned that I don't have the money yet, but I have no doubt in my mind that God wants me in Spain this summer.

So with that said, I still have the Kornfiend's meat market fundraiser going until the end of June, and I have a new fundraiser with party lite candles. It is my goal to sell 200-300 candles, I know that's a big number but I have no doubt I can accomplish it. So be prepared to be asked to buy a candle!

Continue to pray for me, and the 7 other team members who are going. There is another girl from PA who I will be flying with, her name is Julianna, she also happens to be my Spain camp partner. :) There are 6 individuals from Indiana as well, I honestly can't remember all there names. But please keep them in your prayers too!

New Fundrasier....

Hey Yall!

Its almost May! And I have two months until I leave! I am so excited!

I just wanted to let you know that my support(money) for this trip is growing slowly but its going!

Don't forget about buying your meat from Kornfiends! and make sure to mention FBC's Spain trip! and don't forget to stop by George Miller's auction this Saturday May 3rd, and buy some food!

Onto new things... I have a new fundraiser that I will be doing. Party Lite which is candles has given me the chance to sell candles and they will give me half of the money I earn from the candles. it will be open for a month, so expect me to ask you to buy a candle or two!


Continue to keep me in your prayers!

PRAYERS

As of right now, Sandy will not be going to Spain.

Prayers would be much appreciated as to if this is the right choice, and if it is God's will for her to go that she will be able to find her passport soon!


Also pray for finances, as we were supposed to have 1800 in two weeks ago for the place tickets, however its not that big of a deal that we didn't. As of right now there is 200 dollars towards the 2800 that is needed per person..

Pray that more people will sign up to donate food for the auction on May 3rd..



ALSO GO BUY MEAT AT KORNFEINDS!!! tonight we have having some of their delish burgers!


Thank you all. :)

Fundraisers!

We have a couple fundraisers coming up to help with funding of our trip.

First, we have Kornfeind's market. From now until June all you have to do is go into the store and when you are checking out just mention you want to help FBC's Spain trip and they will give 10% of the bill to our trip! In case you aren't aware of what Kornfeinds is, I'll tell you! It is a meat market, they sell our sorts of different meats, and in my opinion they are super delicious! They have two locations one in Coplay, Pa and the other is in Blandon, PA. You can find it in the shopping center right in between Keystone Villa and Lord's and Ladies.

The second one is George Miller's Auction the first weekend of May. There will be sign ups coming soon of things we will need donated. In case you don't know about this either, we will be running the food stand, so the first Saturday of May come on out and buy some food! :)

We also plan to do something else too, we just aren't sure of what yet. There will be more details later!

Thank you for all your support and prayers.

Introductions :)

Welcome to our blog!
We are excited to share this amazing journey with you all!

Basically this blog will entail our preparations, while we are over there, and maybe some thoughts afterwards. It is our goal for you to read this blog and know what we're going and feel like you are with us on our journey.

There are two people going on this years Spain Missions Trip, so lets get to know them a little in case you don't know anything about them!

First we have Sandy Heller.
Sandy works at Brandywine Heights High School as a paraprofessional for Special needs students. She is married and has 3 grown children. She has two daughter in laws and a beautiful granddaughter. You may have seen her around FBC as she is the Cubbies secretary, the 4th grade Sunday School teacher, and involved in the world missions outreach team. Sandy has always been interested in missions and has been to many different places including North Dakota, New York, and Mexico. She is very excited to see what this trip will bring, and how she will minister to the people in Spain. 

Next we have Maggie Heller, and yes in case you didn't know I am Sandy's daughter. :)
I am the one who will most likely always be posting on this blog, so I wont talk about myself in third person. I graduated almost a year ago from Bethel College with a BA in intercultural studies which is a fancy way of saying missions. I also work as a paraprofessional at Brandywine Heights High School, never thought I'd be doing what my momma does, but I love it. I also help my momma as the Cubbies secretary, I am involved with Jewels and the world missions outreach team. I also have been on several missions trips which include Mexico, New York, and Atlanta. I am excited to be going on this trip, and cant wait to see what the Lord has in store!