Aligning Our Plans To God’s Plans

Hello from Spain!

Life continues to be ever changing from what was considered normal a year ago. A huge blessing and ministry addition is the uploading of sermon and study videos on our YouTube channel! We had the desire last Fall to add that into life but did not have all the logistics of it figured out. Covid gave us the time and made it necessary. Since getting to have services again, we have gotten into a routine of recording the current study (the book of Revelation) on Wednesdays and recording the sermon for Sunday on Saturday afternoons.  The Revelation study has had many views, more than we expected! We have also added in a video series of a daily journey through Proverbs which has challenged the viewers to seek wisdom and live it out practically in our lives. 

We had hoped to open for English classes again this fall, but after prayer, consideration of the details, and then getting sick myself, we have decided that for the best interest of all involved is to wait until January to pursue it. The issues involved were:
* The “church” has one entrance and exit as it is a storefront on the main street strip. So, we needed to stagger class times to not have clusters of people congregating there. 
* There isn’t a way to open the windows in the upstairs area so ventilation isn’t possible. 
* While we did come up with class groups that would keep school groups together, we have students from many different schools. If one of us or one of the students tested positive with Covid, we would have to shut down and then so many students and families would be affected. As would the church group. 

I was sick with a virus that really set me back for a week. During that time, I stayed quarantined until my Covid test came back negative. We are so careful here with wearing masks outside of the home (even to carry out the trash or walk the dog!) and using hand sanitizing stations in grocery stores and at church. Sometimes you just get sick. With that and realizing how many we are in contact with, we felt it best to wait for English classes. The response from families was complete understanding and thanking us. 
 
For prayer requests, there are many in our church group out of work and in need. We are using our resources to help with food each month. For the family, this is Ashton’s senior year and he is looking to go to university in the states. Prayer for wisdom and clarity and the logistics of it. Also, on the family front, please be in prayer about some health concerns with family in the States. 
 
Last fall, we studied our identity in Christ, we covered a variety of topics during the lockdown time. Then we started a study on the book of Revelation. Part way through, God put on my heart to make a change and post the study on the channel and on Sundays talk about having hope when we can’t see it. It has been an encouragement to me and the group. Currently, we are looking at what it means to be the body of Christ lived out in practical ways.  
 
On an exciting personal note, Ashton (17 years old) is now a published author!  He has written a devotional type book based on a portion of Psalms called “The Song of My Soul- Becoming the game changing Christian you were designed to be” and it is available on Amazon!  We continue to be amazed at all God is doing in the lives of the kids as they continue to grow.

Thank you for your prayers for us and for Spain,
Dan and Sharon Leatherwood