Everyone,
I would like to apologize again. I know that I have not been posting as often as I should. I guess being busy does that to a person, not that that is a good excuse. But let me tell you about my past weekend. Just a little backstory.
I was invited by my dear friend Cay to go to Malta to do some ministry. I responded with a quick yes. The first time I heard of Malta was from the Maltese Falcon, not very good exposure. Anyways, the second time I encountered Malta was at the Youth Conference in Greece this past summer. The Maltese youth were amazing at the conference. They had this liveliness about them that was contagious. Every time I saw them at the conference, I just wanted to hug each and every one of them. Kinda crazy huh? Well I did... I also made some good friends with several of them and I knew that I would see them again soon...
So when the opportunity came for me to venture out to Malta I had to say yes...
This is how the weekend went down:
I left Gaming on Thursday at 3:30pm... I took the train, which was piled with FUS students traveling to various parts of Europe. I arrived in Vienna at around 8:00pm. I had dinner with Pat Salibi and Sam Camerota at the KFC on Mariahelfestrasse. It was pretty bad, the chicken was minimal. There really is nothing like American fast food. After that dinner I went to the Santayana's and had a fantastic meal (Do you like that Tita Nel?). After my second dinner Cay and I tried to do more prep work for the Malta weekend. We ended up sleeping at around 2am.
I woke up at 5:30am and brushed my teeth. We drove to the airport and caught the 7:30am flight to Malta.
11:00am we arrived in Malta. Wow the weather was perfect! 75 degrees and sunny! We were greeted by Ana and David. They are a marvelous couple involved in the community down there. We drove to Ana's house were we got to spend some quality time with the Xuereb family. A beautiful family I must say.
After lunch and dinner and a relaxed afternoon we headed to the retreat site, which was actually a parish hall. We met the teens and begun the leadership weekend. We spoke to the teens of their calling to serve Christ and the community. Good stuff!
The next day we wrapped up the overnight retreat at around 1:30pm. We went back to the Xuereb house and had lunch. I took a nap, because the night before I slept in the small chapel which was hot and filled with mosquitoes. I hate those bugs. I woke from my nap in time for preparation for the night session with the singles group.
At 8:30pm we headed towards the singles group session which was held at a school. We met with the group and did some praise. I love praise. I think that everyone should praise. All the time. Amen. Ok, so the praise and worship lasted for about 20 minutes and then Cay and I did a teaching on what it means to live out a Christian life constantly, 24/7. It was a great teaching, because even though I was giving it, I was convicted to live out my calling even more.
The evening finished at around 11:00pm. After, we went to Sleima, which was quite beautiful. They say that Sleima is Malta’s Venice. It was very nice.
We finally got home at around 2:30am. We hit the sack, and I slept like a rock. I woke at around 11am. It felt so good to get a goodnight’s rest. Sleeping is my favorite hobby. Anyways, since I woke at around 11am, that means I had no time to prepare for the worship session I was to give after lunch. I was a little panicked, but regardless the session went well. It is funny how in times like that the Lord will come to your aid. It is in these times that I know it is not my work, but the Lord’s. I believe that lives were changed this past weekend, and it was not through my unprepared and sick self (I had a terrible ear infection, and Cay had a bad cold) that the work was accomplished, but through God’s Spirit moving the community and doing His thing. Praise you Lord, You are good like that.
After the ministry was all finished on Sunday at around 4:00pm, we went to Dingli cliffs with some of the community members. Great times! And the cliffs were beautiful. I would like to thank Francesca for covering my eyes and letting my breath be taken away J
After our little excursion, we went back to Xuereb to pack. We left for the airport a little more than an hour before our flight. Thank you David for your crazy driving skills. We barely made the check in with traffic. We took the 8:50pm flight to Vienna and after a relaxing flight we were greeted by the Santayanas at the gate. I felt like I was coming home.
So this trip was amazing… I think about it now and how blessed I am to be apart of such beautiful work. Lord, who am I that you would call me to do this? I am not worthy, but You have chosen me. You have chosen all of us to a certain capacity, and for that we thank You for allowing us a small part in bringing Your kingdom. Lord, give us the grace to always brings it. Your will be done! And may God be praised!
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