One Thing You Can't do in Heaven:

Right before we came here Matt got a book from my cousin Lawrence. It is called "The one thing you can't do in Heaven" by Mark Cahill. The other day Matt started to read it. He had been excited to start it but hadn't found the time. It was awesome because it was a rainy day and all we felt like doing was reading and drinking tea. Matt began to share some of the contents of the book, and I was truly blessed by it. In the book he says,
" You can worship God in Heaven. You can praise God in Heaven. You can sing songs to God in Heaven. You can learn from God's Word in Heaven. But the one thing you cannot do in Heaven is share your faith with a non-believer.
This hit us both quite hard. How amazing! This thought touched us both because it has been a hard thought to actually step out and share just who Jesus Christ is. The people here speak very good "conversational" english, however to get into a serious conversation with someone about God would be a bit difficult. Thinking about witnessing as the one thing we can only do here on earth that we cannot do in Heaven was amazing to us. It changed the way we looked at things. In the paragraph prior to that quote, Cahill says;
"What a humbling thought that the God of this universe would use fallen mankind to plant seeds in the hearts of the lost!"
This was a humbling thought. We really pray that God will use us in mighty ways while we are here. We are simply here, willing to be used, and expecting great things to happen. As Matt was reading this book, I was reading through Proverbs. I was in beginning the 16th chapter. I have read these words a hundred times, but they rang in my head as truth for right now.
Proverbs 16:1 " To man belong the plans of the heart, but from the LORD comes the reply of the tongue.
16:9 "In his heart a man plans his course, but the LORD determines his steps."

Even in our two weeks of being here, we have felt the Lord confirming in many ways that this is exactly where he wants us. At least for this time. It has been amazing to simply be available to be used. I want God to use us in whatever capacity. He is using skills that i never really thought would ever be used. Figure skating and volleyball were two things that I never even thought twice about doing again. It has been such a blessing to be able to be a part of these things. Matt has started to form great friendships with some of the guys on the team. We know that in time God will provide ways for us to be able to share our faith and do the "One thing we can't do in Heaven." .... share our faith. Please continue to pray for us as. We KNOW that your prayers are being heard and we are so thankful for every one.

We tried to take some pictures today... however our camera ran out of batteries. HOPEFULLY there will be another sunny day soon, so we can post some new pictures up of us. Last night I attended two birthday parties. One with Matt, and one for girls only. It was so much fun getting to know new people and I actually am starting to feel more confidence being alone.. i think it is because i don't ever really feel alone. I know that the Lord really is determining my steps!
Matt has an away game this Tuesday, and a home game on Friday. He is excited to play again. Things are still going so great. We love our house, the people here, and we are feeling so blessed to be here. I am really missing Ricky though (our puppy). It is hard getting used to being alone without a friend around all of the time haha. It is so nice to know he is being taken care of. It is crazy to think that January is almost done. Time is just flying here. We are really trying to make the most out of every day.
Thanks again for all of your support. We miss and love you guys so much! Thanks for caring about what is going on with us. We try really hard to keep you updated on what is going on here. Love you all!

Jess and Matt