So it has been many days since I have updated this website. Some things of importance that you might want to know:
The past semester was very hectic and the next one will be just as loaded. Oh, well... whatever it takes to graduate on time.
Being back in the land of the 967 has been very beneficial for me. I have had the opportunity to spend time with friends and almost all of my extended family (minus a cousin from NYC and a military cousin that moved to Alaska). Since I'm one of the oldest of my generation, I was very glad that many of the children are starting to mature and need less supervision.
Our annual New Years get-together was down to 35 people, which is not as much as our usual 50+ people. It was good that the house was not as crowded as usual and it gave me opportunity to have fellowship with people from church, but it just didn't seem as such an enthusiastic atmosphere as it has been in the past. I finished the night with a tough all-nighter competition with my second cousin Kyle Sokeland. I really hope we have another celebration next year, but we will just have to see.
I attended the year Bible study in New Salisbury, and we finished up the book of Isaiah. I have 9 pages of notes typed on the last 31 chapters, but I am afraid I have lost the previous 35 chapters because my computer crashed last winter. I am planning on listening to the recordings all over again, but I might have the written copy up in Muncie. I was graced with the presence of many old friends, some new ones. I encourage everyone to try to come next year or go to the Whitsitt website (I guess you could call it a Whitsite) for the recordings.
The Bible studies going on up at Ball State have been great! We've gotten halfway through the book of Daniel for the college students and Hebrews for adults, and just now finishing the book of 2 Samuel with the High School/College class. Matt and I had the opportunity to have a handful of bible studies with some Latter Day Saints, which after talking with them for a couple of months, we decided that the word had been planted and if God willed, the seed will grow. I am aiming to have share the word with more people this next year.
I am super excited right now spiritually and I hope to post more often about how life has been treating me. I hope to hear from all of you soon.
Love y'all, can't wait to see you all the next time the Lord wills,
hey souder powder! just sayin hey from the freezing cold windy land of illernoise!! hows life treatin ya? from your post i'd say youre doing just fine. me and matthew are doing great. gonna get some movies tonight and go enjoy my day off tomorrow. dont know if i told you yet but i work at a bank now. its much better than subway. i like it pretty good.
Hey there boys and girls, I am finally back home, sitting in the recliner in good ol' Pekin, Indiana. Yesterday was a very long day because I woke up at 7:10 Spain time and got back into Louisville at 11:45 pm which is 5:45 am in Spain. The trip was a lot of fun, but I am also very happy to be in my casa (I still have a little bit of Spanish in my system so please forgive me, or otherwise just look up the words).
I have to admit, I have enough experiences from this one month to last at least one or two sermons, if not overflowing into dozens of devotionals and Wednesday night talks. Not only did I learn a lot academically, I also learned a lot about myself and about God too. I'm going to wait until later to compile a list of all the things I learned on this trip, but it could all be summed up by saying that God truly watched over me and the other students, and that many prayers were answered. Speaking of which, thank you all for your thoughts, prayers, and kind words during my trip. I am looking forward to seeing you all soon and telling you about my trip. But until then...
"Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen."
-1 Timothy 1:17
Love you all with the love of Christ,
Micah W. Souder
Yeah, it was great talking with you! It's always great to meet other Christians around my age, I find it so encouraging. Are you going to Beckhams to play volleyball this Saturday?
Thanks:) And I will let you know when the next one is, but they are always the third Saturday of the month. There will be one is September and one in October and that should be it for this year.
Pues, tengo un semana más en España y entonces regresaré a Indiana. Hoy no teníamos clase, y muchos de los estudiantes fueron a otras ciudades, pero yo no. Mañana quiero irme a La Granja y entonces Alcázar. Y el lunes iré a Eroski (la versión española de Wal-Mart) y entonces el cine (ya he visto Kung Fu Panda en español, quiero ver algo diferente).
Tengo muchas ganas de volver porque he tenido muchas experiencias en España que quiero compartir con vosotros. Es un buen dicho que lo que no te mata te hará más fuerte, y por cierto siento más fuerte después de este mes, mas entiendo que todavía me busca Satán para ver si voy a fallar.
El otro día una amiga mía me dijo que no entendía religión. Recentemente se murió su mejor amigo, y casi perdió otra amiga en las calles de Segovia durante la noche. Ella, como cada uno de nosotros de vez en cuando, estaba preguntando por qué pasan cosas malas a personas buenas. Cuando estaba en España la primera vez se murió mi abuela, y pensé sobre la misma pregunta. Y por fin entendí que yo no tengo control en este mundo, solo Dios. Y es verdad que cosas malas y buenas pasan para cada persona. Pues, como dije, cosas así son para que Dios pueda ver si somos fieles a Él. Es fácil tener fe en el Señor durante días buenos, ?por qué no podemos tener fe en Él durante los días malos también? Espero que todos vosotros seáis fieles cada día.
"Y escribe al ángel de la iglesia en Esmirna: El primero y el postrero, el que estuvo muerto y vivió, dice esto: Yo conozco tus obras, y tu tribulación, y tu pobreza (pero tú eres rico), y la blasfemia de los que se dicen ser judíos, y no lo son, sino sinagoga de Satanás. No temas en nada lo que vas a padecer. He aquí, el diablo echará a algunos de vosotros en la cárcel, para que seáis probados, y tendréis tribulación por diez días. Sé fiel hasta la muerte, y yo te daré la corona de la vida. El que tiene oído, oiga lo que el Espíritu dice a las iglesias. El que venciere, no sufrirá daño de la segunda muerte.
-Apocalipsis 2:8-11
Hmm, esa canción suena familiar a mí, pero estoy de acuerdo; no creo que la hayamos cantado. El título suena bueno. Ojalá que puedo mirarla antes. ¿Está en el libro grande o en el cuaderno?
Y me gustaría escuchar más de tu tiempo en España. Pero creo que tendrás que decirlo en inglés si hablamos en la casa Whitsitt y querrías que otras te entiendas. ¡Qué lástima! ;) Cuídate en tu viaja a EE.UU.
En Lisboa, había muchas personas en las calles que trataban de vender cosas: juguetes, gafas de sol, collares, y ¡marijuana! Me la ofrecieron los vendedores unas doce veces. Pues, después de la décima vez, yo pensé a mi mismo: Me alegre de que no estoy malo como estos vendedores. ¡Qué malo! El primer pensamiento que entró en mi cabeza fue que yo era un mejor hombre que ellos. Fue como el fariseo y publicano (Lucas 18). Pues entonces, yo pensaba en esto y por fin, cambié mi oración a: Gracias al Señor porque el me ha dado tantas bendiciones, como una familia amable, mis amigos, y especialmente su misericordia. Entonces, adviso que pienséis sobre lo que ha hecho Dios para vosotros.
¿Y por qué miras la paja que está en el ojo de tu hermano, y no echas de ver la viga que está en tu propio ojo? ¿O cómo dirás a tu hermano: Déjame sacar la paja de tu ojo, y he aquí la viga en el ojo tuyo? ¡Hipócrita! saca primero la viga de tu propio ojo, y entonces verás bien para sacar la paja del ojo de tu hermano.
-Mateo 7:3-5
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Take a guess as to who did a foolish thing yesterday in Lisbon... (note to those who worship with me: this may be used a long way down the road in a Wed. talk)
O how glorious, full of wonder
Is thy name o'er all the earth;
Thou who wrought creation's splendor,
Bringing suns and stars to birth!
Rapt in reverence we adore thee,
Marveling at thy mystic ways.
Humbly now we bow before thee,
Lifting up our hearts in praise.
Ok, well for the quasi-bad news... My camera is broken. I went to the beach yesterday and just as we were about to move to another spot due to the rising tide, a tide came up soaked it, getting sand in all of the crevasses. What else, the memory card is now stuck (which is part of my won doing I guess). But anyway, it was the first time in almost forever that I sat down on the beach and enjoyed the scenery. I spent a lot of my time there just meditating about the greatness and might in our Creator. Just knowing that I was on the other side of the Atlantic ocean, and yet there was no end in side of that water, and when I went into the water and was met by waves that would push me backwards (some waves were bigger than I, and I can't swim), I was just in awe. (I was going to post pictures, but you already know that story).
When we see thy lights of heaven,
Moon and stars, thy power displayed,
What is man that thou shouldst love him,
Creature that thy hand hath made?
Child of earth, yet full of yearning,
Mixture strange of good and ill,
From thy ways so often turning,
Yet thy love doth seek him still.
What I also did (or at least attempted to do) was build a SAND CASTLE. I had neither shovel nor pail, just my bare, rugged hands, so you can imagine how primitive it looked. I built it a couple of yards away from the rocks, just at the border of where the water was coming, so about every other minute a tide would come in and take out a chunk. And it was at this time that I thought of two amazing analogies (I'm sure you all could figure them out too).
Thou hast given man dominion
O'er the wonders of thy hand,
Made him fly with eagle pinion,
Master over sea and land.
SOARING SPIRE AND RUINED CITY,
THESE OUR HOPES AND FAILURES SHOW.
Teach us more of human pity,
That we in thine image grow.
A MIGHTY FORTRESS IS OUR GOD A BULWARK NEVER FAILING;
OUR HELPER HE, AMID THE FLOOD OF MORTAL ILLS PREVAILING:
For still our ancient foe doth seek to work us woe;
His craft and power are great, and, armed with cruel hate,
On earth is not his equal.
Today instead of focussing on how hard it is to be a Christian in a foreign land, I decided to focus on how wonderful God is in comparison to all other things. What can we do but worship HIM!!
In God our Father, and therefore in Love,
Micah Bill
