Mid-year update 2024

Greetings friends and family! I originally had a really good title for this newsletter that I was so excited to use... it was going to be "April showers bring May flowers" but now it's July and I'm finally posting an update :) It has been a crazy and busy four months and I am so excited to share with you all what God has done and how He has been at work! I'll try my best not to make it too long :)

Beginning of April, we finished our time in North Africa and started our outreach, where we headed to Derby, England and stayed for three weeks. 

Derby

The first week in Derby we were a part of a ministry called FusionScape that focuses on at-risk kids and teens in high-crime neighborhoods. They had two ministries going, one focusing on arts and the other on sports. I was a part of the sports ministry and got to play basketball, train and work with the kids. It was such a fun time! We also made good connections with the other volunteers there, one being a family from Colombia that sought asylum in England the year prior, and got to minister to them and share God's love and care.

We also spent a lot of time at the YWAM base there in the kitchen cooking, among other ministries such as youth groups, afterschool care and church cleanup. One of the most eye-opening ministries was the Homeless ministry called "Manna" where we cooked and handed out food and goodies to the homeless at a local church. It was there that my eyes were opened and my heart broke for the young men and women suffering from drug abuse. I was also able to go to a women’s prison one Sunday, where we did worship, prayed over the women there, and had a little sermon/testimony time. Derby was so amazing and I am forever grateful for the ministries we were able to be a part of there!

After we finished our time in Derby, we took a day trip to London and then flew to Albania, where we stayed for another three weeks.

Shkodër

In Shkodër we worked alongside the small YWAM base there that was composed of five staff. We worked with their church and led youth groups, helped out with outings and we even got to do a "Kids in the park" program that the church helped out with! Alongside that, we also did a lot of street evangelism. Albania is over 70% muslim, but it came so natural and easy for us to share the gospel with the people. On one occasion, we came across this little Roma girl named Akleva. She was on the streets begging for money and approached us. Instead of giving her money we brought her to Burger King and she ended up ordering for her whole family. We walked with her back to her family where we were able to pray for them and bless them. We saw them a lot throughout our time there and were able to grow relationships with them!

We also were able to be a part of a new ministry that was at a Roma kids center that was led by a Christian woman. We shared stories, played games, danced and shared God's love with the kids. The base also had a soccer ministry with orphan kids that the boys on our team were able to be a part of.

Albania was definitely one of my favorite places. After spending two and a half weeks there, we headed back to Spain where we started the Camino de Santiago.

Spain

If you've read my earlier newsletters, I mentioned that the Camino de Santiago is a spiritual path that the Catholics took to bring the bones of Saint James to the north of Spain. There are hundreds and hundreds of miles of hiking trails, all leading to the city of Santiago de Compostela. We took the Portuguese route with the spiritual variant, and hiked 76 miles in seven days. Let me just say, it most definitely was not easy. I had so many blisters that I could barely walk it hurt so bad and I suffered from bed bugs at one of the hostels we stayed at, which made me so paranoid I couldn't sleep straight for a whole week after. All of that to say, I LOVED IT! The views were phenomenal, I walked and talked with people from all parts of the world, and I spent so much time in God's presence and really seeking His voice. After all the walking, we made it to the end in Santiago de Compostella and spent three days there relaxing.

From there we went back to Almuñecar and did one more week of outreach doing kids in the park and evangelism, and then a few days with reentry classes. On the 8th of June, our three DTS students graduated from the school and a few days later we said our goodbyes.

June/July

After the school ended me and two girls from the school spent a night in Paris together and explored the city and then I flew home to Minnesota where I surprised the whole family. No one knew I was coming so it was so fun to surprise everyone, catch up with people, and be there for Jonnae's grad party. I stayed in Minnesota for two weeks and then flew back to Spain.

Honestly, the last few weeks have been so hard and I initially wished I had stayed back in the states for the summer. It's hard to be alone, especially when you're so used to people being around you 24/7. It has been a struggle but also a season of growth and learning. I'm learning so much about myself, and about God and how he meets us in our solitude. We are never alone for He is always with us and it's in theses seasons of loneliness that we can lean on Him for comfort and peace. July is our month of rest and then in August, we start our weekly kids programs. We've started planning for a youth event that we are going to host mid-August that I am so excited for! It's our plan that once we start that, we can do more events like that monthly.

Well, thank you for reading this excessively long newsletter :) I'll get back to posting monthly updates asap. Also, I made a DTS video if you want to check out all the pictures and fun adventures we did!

Thank you for all your support and love,

Zetta

Prayer Requests:

• As a base we NEED a building of our own, especially if we want to do the ministries we desire in our hearts. Prayers for financial provision and for a place to open up for us here in the city center.

• Prayers for more people to desire to come and do a DTS with the adventure school we are doing February of next year.

• Prayers for the teams we are hosting and the outreaches we are leading in August. That we can reach the community and continue to make connections and build relationships.