Sunday, November 17, 2019

Basic Level ☑️

This week I received my first “diploma” from language school 😂 while I think it is kind of humorous this marks my first milestone as I study the language and I am proud to say I received a 98% on that exam! I passed the basic level Oct 21 and I have been studying intermediate since then. Basic level was pretty easy because I had taken a basic level class already...but moving up to intermediate has been a challenge! Spanish has a lot of rules that English does not so making room for them in my brain is hard 😬 but I am learning a ton and feel as though I am improving (you’ll have to ask my friends if that is true or not). I understand a lot more and I have decided I am going to speak even if I make mistakes while doing so, I mean that’s how we learn right?! Thank you so much if you have been praying for me and/or giving financially to make this happen! I truly would not be without everyone who is in this with me!

#persiguiendo13 #thankful

Wednesday, October 16, 2019

Unexpected Opportunities

I am about to complete my first month here in Nicaragua. As I reflect on the last month I can tell you that it has been full of a lot of emotions...fear, excitement, joy, anticipation, nervousness, happiness (lots), sadness...I'm sure many more things. In all of it God was/is with me. There is not a doubt in my mind that I am exactly where God wants me to be. I am resting in that on the hard days and finding the joy and peace he brings..I am happy here!

Since being here God has opened a couple doors for me and I want to share about one with you today. Let me first start by telling you about school. In my first week of class I had a young teacher and she was a good teacher, but I had to change the time of my class by half an hour and she could not make that work so the school assigned me a new teacher for the start of week two. By the end of the first day with my new teacher I was completely fried and felt like I was not going to be able to learn anything. I had just figured out the way the first teacher taught and we had found a rhythm and then everything changed. The next day I went back nervous but ready to get to know the new teacher. Her name is Grace and she has actually turned out to be a super great teacher, she very patient with me. I believe it was totally God moving these pieces around for me so that I would have a better learning experience but also open a door for me.



Grace asked me the first day we met why I wanted to learn Spanish. Easy! Because I want to be a missionary here in Nicaragua. Well little did I know that this conversation that I have had million times over would be the start of God doing something new. Over the last few weeks Grace and I have talked about our lives and the differences of growing up in different countries. Part of my classes are to have conversation and it is much easier to talk about real life than to make up stories. On Monday we began our class as usual with her asking me about the day before. I spend most of my day on Sunday in the church, the rest I usually spend at home with my family here. She then asked me what we are talking about in church...and well my friends this is where it gets interesting. Currently we are in a series talking about Revelation (have you read it?? Its not easy to understand in English..and I go to a spanish speaking church..duh)). I told her that and then she asked me if I could give her and overview of the book....I want to remind you here that we are speaking Spanish and NOT English. So I told her I would do my best but that it would probably be a bit rough!

As I began to explain how Revelation tells us how the end will be. That Christ will come for His church and there will be a lot of events that happen during this time. (I will not go into detail because I know there are many beliefs on how things will play out, but I told her as I believe). I ended by saying in the very end of all of this the Bible tells us that all those who have not accepted the free gift of salvation will be thrown into hell and suffer there for eternity. But all those who chose to accept that gift and be saved from their sin will go with Him to the New Heaven and New Earth (perfection) where we will spend our eternity. Well as I had been explaining all this I was just praying that I was not losing her and that God would make it make sense. Something I forgot to mention is that my teacher, Grace, is not saved and has never really attended church. Anyways...the next question that came out of her mouth scared me to my core. "So how do I get saved and not spend eternity in hell?" ummmmm...HEEEEELLLLPPPP!!! Where is the pastor who speaks spanish when I need him?! So I said a quick prayer silently and started to share with her about this free gift of salvation. We are all born as sinners and there is nothing that we can do to change that, no good works will change the fact that we deserve to pay for our sins. But God in his great love and grace sent his only son to earth to live a perfect life, free of sin and then sacrificed his life on the cross to pay the punishment for my sin...for your sin..for the sin of the entire world. But Christ did not stay dead, he resurrected and with his resurrection he brought new life to all who believe. So it is pretty simple, believe and receive because Christ did all the work. And the crazy thing is that He knows that even once we accept him we will continue to sin and he loves us and that will not take away our gift of salvation. Nothing in this life whether you chose to follow him or not will change the fact that he loves you. ((Okay breathe Kerri...God will use this it doesn't matter if you said everything perfect..he is planting seeds and watering.))

After that she kind of smiled and then asked me "what about the people who are the worst..like the murderers and thieves? Is there salvation for them too? "
Yes! Salvation is for everyone who believes! God has made no exclusions to who can come to him..the only thing he asks is that you would believe what he did for you and accept the gift of freedom he is offering. He wants a relationship with you, not for you to spend your life trying to be good enough to come to him. He wants you just as you are.

She told me that is incredible and very interesting. After that we moved on to something else but I know that God is working. He is working even when we least expect it! My prayer was that God would give me opportunities to serve him and I had no idea it would be by sharing his love with one of my teachers.

So that is the excitement from this week! haha.

Prayer:
Would you pray with me for Grace? For God to give me more opportunities to share his love with her and that she would have a tender heart to hear.
Pray for me as a begin my second book in class...this one looks a lot harder. Learning a new language is no joke my friends! It is dificil(difficult)!
Praise God for the opportunities and doors He is opening! It is scary and exciting at the same time!

Thank you so much my friends! I love you all and pray that God blesses you with an opportunity to share His love as well! Look for the opportunities...there are more than you think. And if I can do it in Spanish..you definitely can in English! Hasta luego :)

Tuesday, September 10, 2019

Exciting News!

Well...it sure has been a while since I sat down to write a blog post. Better later than never, right?

I am so excited to share some news with you! In just a few short days, I am heading back to Nicaragua to attend language school. I will be studying 4 hours a day 5 days a week...my brain is already tired just thinking about it. hahaha! This is something I have known I would need since I left in 2016 for my first extended trip to Nicaragua. To say that things have not gone the way I expected would be an extreme understatement...But looking back now, I wouldn't change a thing. God's plan is so SO much better than my own.

Let me share with you a little bit of what brought me here...

In 2016, I left for my very first 3 month stay in Nicaragua. While I was there, God confirmed for me that Nicaragua would someday be the place I called home. It felt like home. It still does. Honestly, when I left for that trip, I assumed that I would do the three months, go pretty much straight to language school, and then move there within the next year or so...Well, that was not God's plan for me. After I completed my few months serving there, I made my way back to Wisconsin not knowing when I would return to Nicaragua, but God knew. Over the last few years, I have gone back and forth between Wisconsin and Nicaragua, spending about 10 months altogether in Nicaragua. I could talk for days about what I have learned and what I had the opportunity to experience on this journey...but that is not the point today.


In February, God showed me that I was not allowing Him to really truly be in control. He revealed to me that I was using "waiting" as an excuse to not do anything. And even more than that I was using it as a wall to hide what was really going on.. I was afraid. Afraid of what might happen if I leave, afraid of trusting God with my whole life, afraid of failing, afraid to break free from comfort and do something different and new. To be honest, I didn't even know that was something I had brewing inside of me because I had told the story so many times that I started to believe it myself. "I am just waiting for God to say 'go' and then I will." While I told everyone that I was waiting on God, I knew there was more I could be doing...I just didn't want to. I didn't want to move forward because that meant I would have to let go of some of the fears I had grown so comfortable with. My fears had become normal and familiar enough that I stopped trying to fight them and just gave in. And let me tell you that is a dangerous place to be! A place where you are okay with being afraid, in a stagnant place, one that is full of lost opportunities and without growth.

When God showed me these pieces of myself on February 16th, I sat stunned for a while. How had I allowed myself to get here? It was in the daily decisions to not take my "little fear" to God and instead hiding it in shame. So it was there that I made the decision to stop allowing my fear to control my life. I was going to do what God asked of me no matter how scary it was or how stupid it sounded to anyone else. I knew that going to language school was my next step in this journey. With the help of God and my friends, I found a school in Nicaragua.  Next I contacted them about taking some classes. I am enrolled in a program that will be one on one with my teachers. It will be completely tailored to me and allow me to get the most out of my schooling.

I am also really excited about having the opportunity to speak and help lead worship at a women's retreat while I am there. The theme of the weekend is Fruit of the Spirit and I will be speaking on faith. It is Oct 4 & 5 in La Esmeralda. I will be having a translator for this one since it will be just two weeks after I start my classes.


If you have any questions please do not hesitate to ask! I would love to share more about what God is doing in this story. If you would like to partner with me financially you can do so at https://my.foxriverchristian.org/give click the "give now" button and then you can choose Kerri Roberts Missions Fund under "other accounts".  If you would like to partner with me in prayer I will be sharing on here some ways you can be praying for me.

Prayer Requests:
  • That I would be able to have a clear and focused mind as I go into my classes
  • To have boldness and not be afraid to make mistakes in conversations 
  • For ministry opportunities
  • As I prepare to speak at this women's retreat that I would be attentive to the Spirits voice and sensitive to His leading
  • For God to reveal to me my next step and to prepare my heart for whatever that might be
Thank you so much for reading and walking this journey with me. I am committing to be better at posting on here and sharing what God is doing in my life..will you keep me accountable? If I don't post for a while message me and ask what is going on!