On my way

to biblestudy.
However I just wanted to stop by and say hello real quick.
Plus I wanted to let ya'll know that yesterday went well. Yesterday was my first afternoon with my English students; Livier, Yuvitza, and Litzeth. Their lessons went well and were very fun. To top it all off they came to biblestudy with me afterwards. We're in the book of Romans on Tuesday night right now so the study was obviously about salvation and our guilt. They didn't really have any comments but they seemed to enjoy it. They mentioned coming again. I really hope that they do! I may go Saturday to hang out with them for a little while!

Today is ladies study in Mocuzari and then off to San Antonio and Huazahuari. In Huazahuari the kids and I will be making crowns and then talking about heaven. :) Definately one of my favorite subjects :) :) :)
I'm going to need the Lord to feed me bunches of energy today. My batteries didn't recharge very well last night....... Ok, love ya all!!!!!!!!!

Peanut M&M's are a gift from God

They really are, I swear it to be true. Roshon brought me back a bag from her trip to the states. Unfortunately the container is left than half empty at this point. I wish Jesus would do a little water and wine trick. I put pebbles in the container and night and wake up to M&M's. That would sure be nice. I also probably wouldn't be quite so skinny. LOL

Moving on to more serious matters, 1st Peter really rocks. Obviously the whole bible rocks but the Lord has really been speaking to me through Peter lately. Here's a couple of verses:

"Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, who by God's power are being guarded through faith for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time."
Ok, so let me reiterate this. We have a LIVING HOPE. What is a living hope? A living hope is a hope that can't die. It goes on, and on, and on, and on. So when we wake up in the morning and say, "I can't go on, I can't do it today" we're lying to ourselves. Our hope, which is Jesus Christ, doesn't fail and never ends. Our living hope is imperishable, undefiled, and unfading. Can you find one thing in this world that fits that description? I sure can't. Our living hope is greater than this world. He can't be destroyed(imperishable), He's perfect (undefiled), and He's never-ending (unfading). Yes my friends, our God is an awesome God.
"In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested geniuneness of your faith- more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire- may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ."
So our our trials, are for a little while. And not only that, they are to result in praise, glory, and honor for our Jesus Christ. So I ask, "Is it not all worth it?". Is our suffering not worth it if it glorifies, honors, and praises our Father. In my case I would definately say that it worth it. I would go through this life and it's trials over and over again if it would continue to glorify Him. After all is that not why we were created? We were created for a purpose, to glorify our Father. We were created so that in our weakness we could bask in His greatness. But are we? Are we focused on ourselves? Or are we standing in awe and wonder at the omnipotence(I'm sure I spelled that wrong) of our God.
This is our choice. We choose every day of our lives what we are going to represent, what we are going to glorify. Him or ourselves?
"Therefore, preparing your minds for action, and being sober-minded, set your hope fully on the grace that will be brought to you at the revelation of Jesus Christ. As obedient children, do not be conformed to the passions of your former ignorance, bt as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your conduct, since it is written, "You shall be holy, for I am holy".
I repeat, we were created, in His image, for a purpose. To be holy as He is holy. Let us desire that. Let that be our passion, our purpose, our joy. So that our joy may be full................

In the Morning

I'm waiting for the coffee to finish brewing.

For some reason this time of day, early morning, I miss home the most.

I imagine myself opening up my eyes to see the crazy green walls in my room. My eyes run over all my pictures and colages, over my cross colllection hanging by the door. Then I throw the covers off and find that Lily Rose spent the night. She's like a heater. She openes her sleepy eyes and lets out a big yawn. Off to the kitchen I go. I can smell the coffee already. I hear the birds outside the living room window as I walk by. I hear music from upstairs, Gabe must be up. Jonny left for work hours ago. In the kitchen I pick one of my many mugs; maybe the chicken cup, the starbucks cup, or the giant heart mug. I swirl the coffee around in the pot, and then into my cup it goes. The steam rises. I look over into the dining room. Dad's at the table studying. "Good morning, Dad", he doesn't hear me because his headphones are on. He's probably listening to one of his 'thru the bible' cd's. I kiss him on top of the head as I walk by. Then I peak in my parents' bedroom. There's Mom with her bible open on the bed. She looks up, with reading glasses on the end of her nose, "Hey, Sweety". Just then the sliding door opens and out meanders my beautiful little sister. Clad in her horse shirt, walking like a zombie, she bumps into the wall. "Oops", she says and her nose crinkles up as she giggles. She hops up on Mom's bed to say good morning. I follow suite. We laugh and giggle, screams start to pierce the quiet as I start tickling her. Here comes Lily, oh, Gabe too. As Gabe does a bellyflop on top of us we all groan, even Lily. "OK", I say, time for me to go do devotions. I grab that cup of coffee which isn't steaming anymore, but miraculously didn't spill, and head back through the house. Back past my dad with his headphones on, back through the kitchen past the coffee pot. Back into the room with the wild green walls. "Good morning, Jesus".

This is why I miss 1727 Hillcrest Dr. the most in the morning.

Carmina's baby shower

Here are some pics of Carmina's baby shower!!!!!!!

After our ladies biblestudy in Osobompo we cut the cake and shared child rearing advice. Obviously I didn't have alot of experience to speak from but I sure learned alot from what all the ladies had to say. Since these pics were taken a beautiful baby boy named Angel Antonio has been born! Weighing a little over 3 kilos, around 7 lbs. I haven't seen him yet but am hoping to have that pleasure tomorrow.

Babies are such a beautiful thing. I thank Jesus that this one came into the world safe and sound.

Ps. I'm not in the group pic because I was taking it.................. You probably guessed that :)

This last week Roshon, Marilu, and Lolita were all off galavanting across the world. So, it was pretty quiet around here without them. I had to fill in for their worship and child care duties. Let's just say they were sorely missed!!!!!!!

Paul, Mark, and Rogelio are installing a swamp cooler into my room today!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I'm SOOOOOOOOO excited! This means sleeping without sweating at night, hopefully.

Please keep Pastor Fidel in your prayers. Fidel is Rancho Maranatha's assistent pastor. He has been struggling with some health issues lately. They've prevented him from working and really stressed him out. We're praying that the Lord will heal him and provide for his families needs, both spiritual and physical.

The mango trees in the orchard are heavy with fruit. We're just waiting for them to get ripe :) :) :) :)

Last week I had a little bit of a scare. I woke up Wednesday really sick. I couldn't keep any food or drink in my stomach all day. I was afraid that I had the stumach flu that has been around. But thanks to Jesus I woke up Thursday morning almost completely better! I am so very thankful about that!

Tomorrow I start giving English lessons. Three girls in Navojoa, ages 18, 17, and 13. Please pray. These girls are not saved and their family is not christian either. I'm hoping that through this open door I can share Christ with them. I went and met them for the first time last week. They're very sweet girls and their English is conversational,however they need Jesus. I'm not an English major and never have been so it should be interesting. Help me Jesus!

OK everyone, peace out! and God Bless!

pic

Roshon took this picture of Aileya, Obed, and I a couple of weeks ago. I really, really love it!

Psalm 65

"Praise is due to you, O God, in Zion,
and to you shall vows be performed.
O you who hear prayer,
to you shall all flesh come.
When inquities prevail against me,
you atone for our transgressions.
Blessed is the one you choose and bring near,
to dwell in your courts!
We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house,
the holiness of your temple!
By awesome deeds you answer us with righteousness.
O God of our salvation,
the hope of all the ends of the earth
and of the farthest seas;
the one who by his strength established the mountains,
being girded with might;
who stills the roaring of the seas, the roaring of their waves,
the tumult of the peoples,
so that those who dwell at the ends of the earth are in awe at your signs.
You make the going out of the morning and the evening to shout for joy.
You visit the earth and water it;
you greatly enrich it;
the river of God is full of water;
you provide their grain,
for so you have prepared it.
You water its furrows abundantly,
settling its ridges,
softening it with showers,
and blessing its growth.
You crown the year with your bounty;
your wagon tracks overflow with abundance.
The pastures of the wilderness overflow, the hills gird themselves with joy,
the meadows clothe themselves with flocks,
the valleys deck themselves with grain,
they shout and sing together for joy. "

This is our God. He is mighty, He is all powerful. It says above that He answers us with righteousness by His awesome deeds. Are you ready to see those awesome deeds in your life? Are you ready for the God who's strength established the mountains to answer you????
Don't forget that He is good, always and forever. He rains down on us. It says in this psalm that his river is FULL of water. I don't know that one truly appreciates water until they've lived in the desert. Water is a powerful thing. When it rains here it's like everything comes alive. Every tree, every bush, sometimes it seems like even the rocks themselves come to life. Everything smells fresh and new. The birds sing like never before. The trees, which before seemed dead and bare, instantly bloom flowers of the most exotic colors. It's a miracle. It's a miracle that our Father in heaven performs over and over again, hundreds of times a day around the world. He brings life, refreshing water, to the big and the small, the ugly and the pretty, the insignificant and the mighty. He doesn't overlook or forget. No plant is too small to miss a raindrop.

On a completely diferent note, I got to talk to my family last night!!! Well I talked with my siblings anyway. It was so awesome! I miss them terribly. I can't believe how much they're changing.It's only been 3 months but both Gabe and Sonora sound so big and grown up. I have to admit that I've been struggling a bit with that. I don't want to miss a moment of their childhood. I don't want ot miss their growing pains or their 'firsts'. I want to be there for them whenever and however they need me. But the Lord has diferent plans. I know that He is sovereign and faithful. I'm so thankful that I can put them in His hands and know there is no better place. Praise Him for that.
I also got to skype with my dearest Cati Gerwitz as well. That was a super blessing. :)

Ok everyone, have a splendid day, I'm off to make pancakes!

Huazahuari

Hey Everybody!

Yesterday I had a class with the kids of Huazahuari. Last year when I was doing a class with these same kids but hadn't returned since. They've all grown so much. I was blessed to know that most of them remembered me!!!!!! We made some pretty awesome witness bracelets. I will admit it's hard to keep the attention of 10 kids between the ages of 5 and 12 for an extended period of time. I must not make enough funny faces. Either way though, we had fun. I intend to go every Wednesday from now on.

This (to the left) is our classroom!

After the lesson we played soccer. Definately house rules :)

Here's the list, I think I got most of the kids:

Abraham- 11 yrs

Lizeth - 5 yrs

Carmen -1o yrs

Reuben - 5 yrs

Joel Leonardo -7 yrs

Diana - 5 yrs

Carlos - 7 yrs

These are their proper names but each and everyone has several nicknames. So, it's hard to keep them all straight.