Hola, todos! Hello, everyone! Welcome to my blog! As most of you may know, last summer I sent email updates periodically; however, I decided that keeping a blog may give each of you a better glimpse into life in the Valley. Through this blog, you will receive updates more often and will also be able to see pics from our daily activities. I hope you enjoy it :D

First and foremost, I would like to thank all you for your love, prayers, and support throughout the many seasons of my life. God has shown me so much grace through each of you. I regard you as "men of whom the world [is] not worthy,” and I am so blessed to know you as well as privileged to live life with you. I would not be serving with UTRI this summer nor would I be who I am without you. Muchisimas gracias!

Today is Monday, June 7, which begins week #3 of the 12-week internship. I can hardly believe that two weeks have already passed – how time flies! So many things have happened, so I am going to do my best to give the run-down :)

I arrived at the UTRI headquarters in Alamo, TX, on Monday, June 24. Upon arriving, I was greeted by the staff and introduced the new interns: Allen Kittenger from Tennessee; Amanda Snyder from Missouri; Haley Parks from Tennessee; and Stephanie Stokes from Texas. They are wonderful individuals and hard workers, and each one of them brings a unique personality and complementary set of gifts to the table. I am so excited to get to know them more and to minister beside them in the weeks to come. Our team also includes three returning interns: Ryan Miller from Bartlesville, OK; Robert Broyles from Missouri; Carlos Hernandez from Alamo, TX; and Kristen Methvin from Tennessee. These guys are like brothers and sisters to me, so I look at our working together again as a family reunion. I am so thankful that God has provided me with such a close fellowship even though I am away from home. Praise Christ for providing us with community! (Sarah Malone, you'll appreciate this -- What a Body!) :D

The first week was trying but good. The UTRI staff always sets aside the first week of the summer for the team as a whole to get to know each other and to focus spiritually by submitting to the Word in order to deal with sin. We did this because unrepentant hearts hinder ministry. As a group we studied 1 Peter. With only one week to study the book corporately, we flew through the text; however, God convicted me daily of my sin. The contrast that Peter shows between Christ and man is amazing. We are so sinful, and Christ is so holy. Moreover, Peter shows the centrality of Christ in the life of the believer and the sufficiency of His example in daily life. If Christ is not who He claimed to be, and if He did not accomplish what He declared He would accomplish, we have no foundation for our lives as believers and no reason to live the way we do. Thanks be to God for our Lord Jesus Christ, who satisfied the wrath of the Father that we may live in His presence! :) I praise God for His mercy and grace to give us His Word and to yield it in such a way as to pierce bone and marrow, to separate soul and spirit, and to judge my thoughts and intentions. Good week!

Last week our first team came in. They were from the state of Tennessee's Baptist Collegiate Ministry (once upon a time, Baptist Student Union :) ). Students from several campuses in TN came as a group and accomplished a lot of work for Jonathon, one of the pastors with whom UTRI has worked for a long time. Jonathon not only pastors a church but also trains men to plant and pastor churches in colonias (basically communities) that have no church. The students from TN did a lot of repairs in Jonathon's church, as a rainy spring (which doesn't happen often in the Valley) did some major damage to the ceiling of the sanctuary. We worked with drywall, put mud on the ceiling, put tape over the mud, sanded the mud, and painted the ceiling and the walls. Part of the group put up a fence also. All of the students worked hard, and Jonathon was so thankful for their work. Getting to watch the team work and getting to know them was so much fun and was such a blessing to me. Many of them told us before they left that they were so glad they came, and that during their time in the Word and in their time serving God taught them a lot -- Praise Him! Pray that God would continue to grant these students a spirit of wisdom and of revelation in the knowledge of Him as they return home to work summer jobs and spend time with their families. Pray that they would be intentional to speak truth into the lives of those around them.

Well, that brings you all up to speed! We have no team this week, so we will do some prep work for the weeks to come and will have some study time/ classes. We have a team coming in next week from Missouri, so pray that God would prepare their hearts to hear from Him and to minister to others. Pray also that He would prepare us to serve the team and those in the Valley and Reynosa, MX, whom God will bring our way! Pray also for our staff, that they would be well-rested and that we interns would serve them well and submit to their leadership in all circumstances. Also, pray for Clay and Angie Anderson, directors of UTRI. Ang is pregnant and has been having some complications. Pray that God would keep lil' Anderson and Ang safe and that He would increase Clay and Ang's (and our) faith!

Thanks again to everyone! I will be updating with brief posts every few days, so take a peek whenever you wish! Feel free to ask questions or leave comments. Sorry if this post is unorganized or shallow. Let me know what you would like to see! This blog exists because of Jesus Christ and His Body (that's you :D)! Again, gracias por todo!

Cristo vive por siempre,

Jacq