Twenty Six Days

It's been a while since I've posted...and it's not for lack of trying or lack of material to blog about, trust me...it's just crazy busy 'round these parts getting ready for the wedding...you guessed it ~ in twenty six days. We've kinda kept the details of our event under wraps, not to be secretive necessarily, but just private.  And we'll continue to do that.  Just because it's the way we want it, no big production, just RC and I exchanging vows and beginning our life together with some of our closest friends and immediate family.

Recently I shared a letter with RC that I wrote LAST November that began with "Okay, if I could just straight up talk to you without fear of rejection…this is what I would say"  I never planned to mail it or give it to him, just needed to get my thoughts out...In it I discussed how I felt that the Lord had a plan for us to cross paths and I that I was open to whatever He had in mind.  I also told him how much I enjoyed his company and was indeed interested in seeing what the Lord's plans were if RC was also interested.  Funny thing is...I never gave the letter to him, but the Lord prompted me to share almost the exact words I wrote a few months later when at a crossroads of sorts where I let RC know without question how I felt and left the next step up to him.  I hadn't remembered the wording of the letter, but upon rereading it later, I was amazed at the confirmation I felt that God's hand had been guiding me to that very point.  A couple of looooong months went by without much contact other than a dinner or two before RC came to the beach in July to talk and pray with me about us making the decision to be in a relationship.  He proposed to me two months later and we'll be married this month.  Really? I mean, seriously??  God is THAT big.  I am so in awe of the way He has transformed my heart and filled it to overflowing with love for RC...more than I even understand.  Ephesians 3:20-21 is a favorite verse of RC's and pretty much sums up how I feel about the blessings God has poured out on us as a couple.  I can't ever imagine feeling so unconditionally loved and cherished ever before in my life.  It's quite remarkable the freedom that comes with that feeling and I can't tell RC often enough how much I love him, even though those words themselves seem inadequate.  I know that's a seriously mushy statement that may make you wanna hurl, but it doesn't change the fact that it's how I feel.  And I want to shout it from the rooftops that my God has so richly blessed me beyond what I could even imagine...and that He loves YOU that much too.  Maybe He'll show it to you in a different form, I don't know...but I know that He will do great works in your life if you let Him, if you pray, if you trust in Him and serve Him...It really is an amazing feeling to feel the tangible works of God.

I am so very excited that in twenty six short days, I'll be married to the man of my dreams, be given a second opportunity to be a wife in my short life and begin a married life that is focused on Him first.  I am so very blessed and grateful for God's grace, love and mercy...I just can't thank Him enough.

Thank You...

This past Sunday I went to NRCC with RC and the pastor shared about being grateful, saying thank you and meaning it!  Click here and select "2 Words that Can Change Everything" to hear the sermon yourself.  You'll be blessed for sure!

From Arthur's sermon...5 Gratitude Observations:

1. True gratitude is seen and heard
2. Gratitude prolongs joy and blessing in your life
3. Gratitude begins where my sense of entitlement ends
4. Grateful people can find a blessing, enlarge a blessing or create a blessing in any situation
5. Gratitude will make you magnetic for the favor of God to follow your life.

I think the thing that stuck with me most was his statement that "Unexpressed gratitude is a lost opportunity to praise God"...It got me thinking about how many times have I missed that opportunity...not only missing a chance to praise the Lord, but also I could've blessed someone in my life in the process as well by taking time to share a heartfelt thank you.  I remember when I was younger, my dad used to drive me crazy saying "praise the Lord" for EVERYTHING.  Even when his car got stolen from his office...when he walked out the door and realized it was gone...he shouted..."praise the Lord, someone took my car"...Now it wasn't because he wanted the car stolen, of course, but rather we are instructed to praise God in ALL situations, in all phases of life, no matter the circumstance.  I always kinda thought he was nuts, but he made such an impact on those around him with that attitude that I still hear people telling me stories about him 15 years after his death. 

I have so much to be thankful for in my life.  and I don't want to be someone who can't find a blessing, has such a bad attitude I can't receive a blessing or can't reach out and bless someone...While my life has hardly gone as I would've thought it would, I have so many people in my life that are a regular blessing in my life and I am going to make sure I let them know that. 

I don't know who wanders by my blog on a regular basis and if you've stumbled here for the first time, welcome!  I thank each and every person who reads this blog...it is a great outlet for me to share the blessing in my life!

I leave you with this...Who do YOU need to thank for something they have done for you????  Take time to do that today!

I heard this song at NRCC this weekend as well...It's not necessarily related to this post, but I want to share it anyway, because it was a blessing to me and it just might be what you need to hear today!  Click the link below to hear it!!! Blessings to you! S

Give Me Faith

Peru - Post Five

This is my last post about my Peru trip.  But the prayers and thoughts for these precious people are still strong in my heart.  The top two set of pictures are just random shots from the Bellavista neighborhood. I am so blessed and fortunate and have taken so much for granted and this trip has truly been an eye opener. 

This group of precious folks made our work in Peru so much easier.  Each member of the church, each host, each translator helped us do God's work in our communities.  My experiences were greater and more of a blessing because God was able to use them!

This last group of pictures are just some random shots from the week from mine and Randy's groups and the areas we worked in.  I hope you have enjoyed looking through these posts...I have certainly enjoyed sharing these wonderful faces and places with you!



Peru - Part Four

Thank the Lord that RC is feeling better and is back to work as of yesterday!  We were able to share with my church on Sunday about our trip and it was such a blessing to hear him share his heart and love for the people of Peru!

We spent Wednesday and Thursday doing discipleship with some of the families and getting to know them better, praying for them and working through some of their questions as new believers.  This top picture are the families I have committed to pray for specific needs they shared and for their families and communities.  They are all so special to me and I am so blessed to have been able to spend time with them!

 This picture makes me want to sing Jesus loves the little children, all the children of the world, red, brown, yellow, black and white they are precious in His sight, Jesus loves the little children of the world...Each of these children represent a mom, dad, sister, brother, child of God who need our prayer and love...I hope you will join me in lifting them us as Children of OUR God!



Peru - Part Three

Before I type this post, I want to ask for prayer for RC...He has had a fever since Sunday and they are not quite sure what is going on with him.  He has been tested for strep and had some blood work done to determine if he picked up something while we were in Peru or just what may be going on.  His throat is very swollen and the doctors are very concerned about that...he will require a CT scan if it is not feeling better tomorrow after a shot, some antibiotics and steroids.  He's feeling pretty yucky and I'm feeling pretty helpless and can't be around him and I absolutely hate it!  Thanks for lifting him up! S <3

Monday was our first day at the mission site, Bellavista.  On our way into the neighborhood, we stopped alongside the road, got out of our mototaxis and shook hands with a group of men and were introduced by Pastor Farfan.  I didn't know until we got back into the mototaxi that they were the gang leaders who 'run' that neighborhood and we were stopping to ask their permission to be in 'their' neighborhood.  Whew...talk about culture shock!  Our God is SO big though that one of these men actually brought his kids on the last meeting night...how COOL is that?!?!?!

The first set of pictures are from the neighborhood where we started our campaign and then from Oscar's house, our chef and host for the week.  The top left picture is the bathroom at our host house - it was something else....It did have a commode in it, but it was just covering a hole in the ground, no running water in it and the shower was in there too, which was buckets of water to rinse with.  I just can't describe the smell.  So I won't...I'll just move on!  Oscar and his family share this home with his wife Esmerelda's sister and her family and their mother, but are building a very nice home that I'll show in a later post.  They 'have' a cat...it doesn't have a name, nor is it really like a pet...but it 'lives' at their house, according to Oscar. 

Lunchtime was a long event, since there is a meal and then a siesta time everyday...and as you can see, Omar took great advantage of that down time :)

Monday also brought our first nightly meeting for the people we had made contact with that day.  They could come to learn more about God, interact with other new believers and those from the church as well as bring their kids to learn and have some fun!  Hearing these precious children singing Jesus Loves Me in spanish and singing songs I didn't know that my translator Noemi taught them...oh my it just makes your heart melt!!  They were a great group of kids and we had a lot of fun coloring, singing and talking about the creation story!

Peru...Part Two

Sunday brought a wonderful day of baptism, church attending and fellowshipping with the nationals we would be working with throughout the week.  We took a looooong drive in a crowded taxi to the Chira River to do the baptism, however, I misunderstood that we weren't going to church that morning first and wore a knit dress that came to my ankles, not knowing I'd be wading out to waist deep in the river...yikes....not a good combination when a long knit dress gets wet and you have to walk along the river bank in the hottest sand I've ever set foot on....equatorial sun is no joke...I've never felt heat like that!!! 

The baptism was a joyous event...so exciting to watch these new believers be baptized, professing their faith publicly and rejoicing in the Lord together!  My team leader, Ivan, assisted Pastor Farfan with the baptism and we all prayed together in the middle of the river...not too many chances in life to experience such a moving moment!

This first set of pictures show the church members carry plastic chairs across the river for the service, and the pastor and Ivan haring before the group waded into the river.   This was my first time to speak to the group and I was very nervous, but just shared that I was so happy to be there and be able to share in this wonderful event with them.  I love the picture of the whole group praying before the baptisms began...just touches my heart!!!

After the baptism, we had a time of fellowship and enjoyed some Peruvian food, well the ones I could eat that is...two salads were offered that looked REALLY good, but I wasn't allowed to have fresh veggies because they are washed in the water we can't drink...I was SO happy to have salad and veggies when I got home.  Got to taste some purple corn juice that was interesting, similar to grape juice is the closest thing I can compare it to, but the flavor was just different...I don't really know how to describe it.  We also celebrated a birthday of one of the young mean by praying and singing for him and then having birthday cake...YUM!  Enjoyed some bubble blowing with some of the younger kids and even entertained a stray dog...lol.  It was a wonderful afternoon!  It was such a blessing to begin to get to know some of the sweet folks from the church and interact with their families!!!

Later in the day on Sunday we went to Pastor Farfan's church to have their church service and I was aked to help lead their praise and worship time with "How Great Thou Art" and "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus"...Thankfully I knew them both!  I sang with the Pastor and we alternated singing the verses in our native tongues and then singing the choruses together...it was an experience I'll never forget to look out into that congregation and see them worshipping the Lord no matter the language barrier!  I was so impressed with the keyboardist for the church and got to serve with him at the mission site later in the week...what a great man of faith he was!  I didn't know any of the other songs they sang, but hummed along and clapped the best I could...it was just amazing to be able to worship 3000 miles from home and feel the presence of the Lord!!!  We also had a baby dedication for two sweet babies...what a blessing to see these young parents promising to raise their children in a Christian home!

This last picture is taken from the middle of the Chira River, waist deep in water...just taking a moment to realize that God had placed me 3000 miles form home, in a river, taking pictures of a baptism of ten people I'd never met before, who speak a language I don't know and I was so humbled to be there, tears running down my face, in awe of God's creation and His faithfulness in my life...our God is SO big and knows just how to remind us that HE is in control and when we follow His prompting, we will be blessed...sometimes in simple ways, sometimes in big ways...but no matter what - God wants us to know that He is alive and working through His people...we just need to step out in faith and be willing to be used!

I will work on the next day soon...until then, blessings to you and your family!  S :)

Welcoming a New Pumpkin to the Patch

While I am working on my second post about Peru...I took a break and worked on some photos from a baby shower that my sister hosted this past weekend for a dear friend of ours, Deven.  I already care for her two other children, Peyton and Haila and we've know Deven for years.  I am so thankful for the Lord's hand in Deven's life, for the work He has done in beginning to restore her marriage and the blessing this new baby will be to all of us.  Little Kendyl Grace will be welcomed to the world in early December and I pray that God will continue to work in and through Deven and Erik to be wonderful parents to this child!  God can take the messiest of messes, the biggest bad decisions and the simply stupid things we do and use them for His purpose to do His will, and I am fully trusting that He will be able to do that in their lives!

My sister LOVES to host a party, to decorate and to cook yummy food...and this event was no exception.  Here's a sampling of the  decoration and food we had...

Here's a shot of the mom to be...looking great for only having a few weeks left!!!

Everyone had a great time, enjoyed the yummy food and wonderful fellowship!

My favorite gifts of the day included some personalized items that my sister got for little Kendyl and a super cute pair of bear slippers from Kendyl's grandmother....lots of cute clothes and some necessities too!