This was a verse that we received from our taxi driver:
Psalm 16
"Perserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the Lord, 'You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.' As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. the sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips. The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance. I bless the Lord who gives me counsel in the night also my heart instructs me. I have set the Lord always before me; because He is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices my flesh also dwells secure. For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore."
A few things have happened here since the last time I blogged and I am so excited to share them with you guys! I just wanted to start out by saying the God that we serve is so good and he is so sovereign!! Amen! The last saturday was a great day! In the morning Chels and I had a great opportunity! I got the chance to speak a short message on John chapter 3:30. "He must become greater and I must become less" This was kinda tough with the language barrier! Chelsea sang a beautiful hymn in spanish! (She did such a great job!) We were truly blessed to receive such a great opportunity. After the service the ninos invited us to play games with them in the park at night time! We of course took them up on this! We have been waiting to play soccer down here! It was a blast! Except for the fact that I had no idea who was on my team.. this made it kinda difficult! ha It was still so much fun! After one of the families from the park invited us over their house
the next day to celebrate their son's birthday (Samuel).
When we went to the family's house on sunday for Samuel's birthday! This was such a humbling experience. This family are some of the most beautiful people I have ever met. They have four children ranging from 1 year old to 12 years old. The father works 2 jobs to support his family. In the previous blog Chelsea did a great job explaining our experience there. I got to talk with the mom a lot about what was going on in her heart. She shared with me that one of her sons was actually her nephew. When Daniel was 6 months old his mom brought him to her sister to take care of because she no longer "wanted" him. Although this family couldn't afford to take care of another child, they trusted in the Lord to provide for them. He totally has. One of the things I loved most about this house was that they had a mini farm in their "backyard." They had a rooster, a hen, and probably 30 chickens that they raise and then they eat! They cooked us traditional
mexican "mole" with pollo and arroz (rice and chicken). It was so good! One of the most amazing things about this family is the joyful spirit that the Lord gives them. In the midst of poverty, suffering, worry and all the things of this world, these people alone rely on Jesus Cristo, their Saviour. So blessed to have gotten this opportunity to spend time with this family! Praise God!
Yesterday (Monday), the family had to work and so we decided to spend the day and walk to starbucks and listen to some messages and pray... Well its funny how God works because He always has special plans for us! We are totally excited about this! "Coincidentally" we met one of only 2 americans that we have met here the whole time we have been here. We got the opportunity to witness to him for like an hour! It was awesome! We are so thankful to be used by our King in that moment.
I think one of the craziest experiences here happened to us today! We wanted to go say goodbye to some of our dearest friends here who live right next to the hospital. The family here had a lot of work to do in the morning so we decided to venture out for the first time on our own in a taxi! The family had their concerns about us taking a taxi because of some of the danger but we went with the white ones which are supposed to be safe. We had no doubt that the Lord would protect us.. Well lets just say.. He did way more than that. Not only right at the time we walked out to call a taxi, a white one comes who was unoccupied, we got in... started talking to him and we told him we were christian missionaries. Turns out.. he is a fellow hermano en Cristo. We didn't get to chat much because the drive was short so we asked him if he could come back to pick us up because we felt safe with him. He agreed to! It was really sad to say goodbye to our friends. We
love them so much! Our taxi driver came back to pick us up. We got into the car and immediately started talking about how amazing Jesus is. He shared his heart felt testimony with us. It was rad because we actually forgot something at the house so we had to go back, perfect because it gave us more time to chat with him! This man totally has been radically changed by Jesus. He was a drug addict and alcoholic who was choosen by Jesus and radically changed! So cool! His wife recently passed away 2 years ago from Lupus but this man is still praising Jesus for always being so good. He kept saying "Gloria a Dios" after everything. He as well as we were really encouraged by getting the opportunity to talk with him.
It's just crazy how the Lord works. When you choose to be in the Spirit daily, He chooses to cover you with His presence, guidance, and protection. As I have said before, there is no such thing as coincidence. We are learning that everyday as we see God's sovereign and good hand all over everything we do and see.
I have had such a blessed opportunity to spend the last 4 weeks with one of my best friends Chelsea. I could not have asked for a better friend to spend this time with. We have challenged each other in many ways. I seriously have learned so much from her! I thank God to have such a good friend as her. When I was weak, she was strong and vice versa. We are a team now! I am so excited to see how the Lord is going to use each of individually and together. Thank you and I love you Chels!
I am so thankful to have been able to spend the last 4 weeks with the Serrano family. They are so sweet! Each and every single one of them has taught me so much since I have been here. They truly show God's love through the gift of service. Every day they give thanks to the Lord for everything that they have. I am so so grateful for them and can't wait to spend time with them again.
Well I am sure that there will be more afterthought after I return home. Thank you guys so much for following this blog and continuing to pray for us! We are flying home tomorrow morning very early!! We are so excited to return home and share our stories with you all!
Praise God!
Dios te bendiga!
Laurie
Tuesday, September 1, 2009
Sunday, August 30, 2009
Poor in the world, RICH IN FAITH!
James 2:5
“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”
Saturday was a big day! We were invited to the communities church on Saturday to preach and sing a song. Laurie did a very very heartfelt speech on John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease”. She had to write a sermon in English and of course translate it into Spanish (with the help of our lovely friends here!) and praise God it went really well!! The Lord spoke through Lo, there were many “Amens!” from our Mexican brothers and sisters! : ) I sang one of my favorite hymns, “I Surrender All” in Spanish! It was fun, its awesome to have an opportunity to sit in the front and listen to the voices of the people sing to our awesome God! Although it makes the heart jump a beat being in front of people, ultimately its all for His glory and that’s hopefully what the people will remember….not the song or the singer. Love that church, after many of the people gave hugs and kisses…many “Bienvenidos” and “Dios le Bendiga’s”….I’m pretty sure I was more encouraged than an encouragement, they have such beautiful hearts.
Later in the evening we met up with the young people from that community church at the park to hang out. We FINALLY got to play soccer!!! It was sooo fun! It was tough because it was dark, so it was difficult to not only see the ball but also the people! Haha A few times Laurie, being the amazing aggressive soccer player she is, accidentally stole the ball from someone on our own team….haha….like I said it was difficult to see faces, and we had juussst met most of them. They were very nice and encouraging new amigos! Also, another very special thing happened this night, we were invited to join in celebrating Samuel’s birthday at his house (Samuel one of our students from last week, and the photographer of most of my pictures haha).
We were welcomed into the house with lots of hugs, kisses (from little Daniel, such a doll!!) and a delicious bowl of mole with pollo y arroz (chicken and rice). Their house was half dirt, half concrete with a couple rugs to cover the dirt part. They had a one room house with two twin beds squished together for their four kids and a double bed for the parents, a microwave, an oven, a small spot in the back for their chickens, rooster and hens, and blankets hung up to separate their house from the neighbors (this actually came in handy!). The next door neighbors kept playing pop/rap music, and little Daniel was dancing for us…he started flashin’ some Michael Jackson moves, sooo cute! (ask me to see the video I took of him, its priceless). And of course, Samuel took my camera and took lots of pictures and videos. Such a beautiful family, they interacted with each other so lovingly, and joked around a lot. In recognizing their situation, it was very generous of them to invite us over for a meal, I am so grateful! Like the verse above expresses, although this family is poor in the world they are definitely rich in their faith. When we came back, I was so sweaty and dirty, I showered immediately and realized what a privilege it was just to be able to shower. I have been praying that the reality of poverty and the humble hearts of these parents we hung out with today never fades with the lifestyle I have back in California.
I’m so thankful for the Serrano family too! They are so sweet, one of my favorite things (if I haven’t mentioned this before) is how they are always giving God the glory. Whenever we thank Tia Betty for a meal, she always replies, “Gracias a Dios”. Fabby is always smiling and so encouraging! Tio Miguel went on a trip for the last couple of days and came back with coffee for Laurie and I to take home! Sweetheart! I’m so blessed! Gloria a Dios!
With Love and Gratitude-
Chels
“Listen, my beloved brothers, has not God chosen those who are poor in the world to be rich in faith and heirs of the kingdom, which he has promised to those who love him?”
Saturday was a big day! We were invited to the communities church on Saturday to preach and sing a song. Laurie did a very very heartfelt speech on John 3:30 “He must increase, but I must decrease”. She had to write a sermon in English and of course translate it into Spanish (with the help of our lovely friends here!) and praise God it went really well!! The Lord spoke through Lo, there were many “Amens!” from our Mexican brothers and sisters! : ) I sang one of my favorite hymns, “I Surrender All” in Spanish! It was fun, its awesome to have an opportunity to sit in the front and listen to the voices of the people sing to our awesome God! Although it makes the heart jump a beat being in front of people, ultimately its all for His glory and that’s hopefully what the people will remember….not the song or the singer. Love that church, after many of the people gave hugs and kisses…many “Bienvenidos” and “Dios le Bendiga’s”….I’m pretty sure I was more encouraged than an encouragement, they have such beautiful hearts.
Later in the evening we met up with the young people from that community church at the park to hang out. We FINALLY got to play soccer!!! It was sooo fun! It was tough because it was dark, so it was difficult to not only see the ball but also the people! Haha A few times Laurie, being the amazing aggressive soccer player she is, accidentally stole the ball from someone on our own team….haha….like I said it was difficult to see faces, and we had juussst met most of them. They were very nice and encouraging new amigos! Also, another very special thing happened this night, we were invited to join in celebrating Samuel’s birthday at his house (Samuel one of our students from last week, and the photographer of most of my pictures haha).
We were welcomed into the house with lots of hugs, kisses (from little Daniel, such a doll!!) and a delicious bowl of mole with pollo y arroz (chicken and rice). Their house was half dirt, half concrete with a couple rugs to cover the dirt part. They had a one room house with two twin beds squished together for their four kids and a double bed for the parents, a microwave, an oven, a small spot in the back for their chickens, rooster and hens, and blankets hung up to separate their house from the neighbors (this actually came in handy!). The next door neighbors kept playing pop/rap music, and little Daniel was dancing for us…he started flashin’ some Michael Jackson moves, sooo cute! (ask me to see the video I took of him, its priceless). And of course, Samuel took my camera and took lots of pictures and videos. Such a beautiful family, they interacted with each other so lovingly, and joked around a lot. In recognizing their situation, it was very generous of them to invite us over for a meal, I am so grateful! Like the verse above expresses, although this family is poor in the world they are definitely rich in their faith. When we came back, I was so sweaty and dirty, I showered immediately and realized what a privilege it was just to be able to shower. I have been praying that the reality of poverty and the humble hearts of these parents we hung out with today never fades with the lifestyle I have back in California.
I’m so thankful for the Serrano family too! They are so sweet, one of my favorite things (if I haven’t mentioned this before) is how they are always giving God the glory. Whenever we thank Tia Betty for a meal, she always replies, “Gracias a Dios”. Fabby is always smiling and so encouraging! Tio Miguel went on a trip for the last couple of days and came back with coffee for Laurie and I to take home! Sweetheart! I’m so blessed! Gloria a Dios!
With Love and Gratitude-
Chels
Friday, August 28, 2009
Life in the Spirit
Galatians 5: 25
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I love this verse! In fact I just love all of Galatians chapter 5. It is all about the freedom we have in Christ! Wow what an encouragement and such a great reminder. Galatians chapter 5:16-26 discusses the life we receive in the Spirit. This is such a great promise that we have.. by living by the Spirit we are no longer slaves to the law or to gratify the sinful nature. Sinful nature and the Spirit are in a constant battle! But (vs. 18) if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the law! Praise Jesus!
Things of the Holy Spirit have been on my mind recently because throughout this trip I have seen first hand the work of the Spirit. Yesterday we spent the first part of our day in the optometry clinic with our American friends. They had a good amount of help with translating but we were still a huge help to them as we helped pass out prescription glasses. I was really thirsty and decided to go into the kitchen to get a drink. In the kitchen was a woman dressed in long sleeve, pants, and an apron washing the dishes. I felt so bad for her cause it was so hot in there I just thought well the best I can do is chat with her a little bit. I started talking to her and of course she was curious why I was in the states, where I was from, etc. I told her I am from California and I am with my friend on a mission trip here. She asked what religion. I told her I am a Christian... (I'm still learning as God shows me that coincidences don't happen in the kingdom... that it is truly divine). She told me she was a Christian as well. She proceeded to tell me many things that the Lord has blessed her with in her life. I asked her if there was anything I could be praying for in her life. She told me her health. I figured we have been praying a lot of healing for people on this trip.. maybe she is ill. I asked her are you sick? She said no but I used to be. I asked her what she used to be sick with. She told me that the Lord had healed her from Diabetes! Praise Jesus! She no longer has diabetes!
Honestly, I truly know this was divine appointment. This was such a huge encouragement to hear this woman's testimony. Chels and I have prayed a lot of healing on this trip... we have not seen any miraculous signs but God is moving big time! I know it! I went on to pray for this woman. I did my same routine where I ask if it is okay if I pray in English because my Spanish is not too great. She of course said yes. I started praying.. and this was very interesting but I was praying in Spanish! Random words in english but random words in spanish. I recognized after that the words I spoke in spanish were important for her to hear to understand. I truly felt that the Spirit was speaking through me to her. After the prayer we shared some words, she was choked up and so excited to tell me that is going to be praying for me and Chels on this trip. This was a woman I wont ever forget and I thank God that set up such a divine appointment.
After the optometry clinic, we went into the community to teach the little ninos. After we were done teaching the kids, one of the moms wanted to take us on a tour of the community. We went to see her house and the rest of the community. In the midst of poverty is where we truly find joy. This seems like such a cliche statement. When we have a lot of "stuff" we will be happy right? Well, maybe.. But let me just say I saw more joy in the hearts and souls of the parents and kids of this community with no "stuff" than I have seen in a long time. I truly believe and as the Bible indicates, the Lord's heart breaks for the poor. God is amongst us all yes of course, I could just see His blatant fingerprints and sensed His presence all over that place. The joy that He places in the hearts of the ninos is so contagious. All I can say is Praise Him!
Laurie
"Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit."
I love this verse! In fact I just love all of Galatians chapter 5. It is all about the freedom we have in Christ! Wow what an encouragement and such a great reminder. Galatians chapter 5:16-26 discusses the life we receive in the Spirit. This is such a great promise that we have.. by living by the Spirit we are no longer slaves to the law or to gratify the sinful nature. Sinful nature and the Spirit are in a constant battle! But (vs. 18) if we are led by the Spirit, we are no longer under the law! Praise Jesus!
Things of the Holy Spirit have been on my mind recently because throughout this trip I have seen first hand the work of the Spirit. Yesterday we spent the first part of our day in the optometry clinic with our American friends. They had a good amount of help with translating but we were still a huge help to them as we helped pass out prescription glasses. I was really thirsty and decided to go into the kitchen to get a drink. In the kitchen was a woman dressed in long sleeve, pants, and an apron washing the dishes. I felt so bad for her cause it was so hot in there I just thought well the best I can do is chat with her a little bit. I started talking to her and of course she was curious why I was in the states, where I was from, etc. I told her I am from California and I am with my friend on a mission trip here. She asked what religion. I told her I am a Christian... (I'm still learning as God shows me that coincidences don't happen in the kingdom... that it is truly divine). She told me she was a Christian as well. She proceeded to tell me many things that the Lord has blessed her with in her life. I asked her if there was anything I could be praying for in her life. She told me her health. I figured we have been praying a lot of healing for people on this trip.. maybe she is ill. I asked her are you sick? She said no but I used to be. I asked her what she used to be sick with. She told me that the Lord had healed her from Diabetes! Praise Jesus! She no longer has diabetes!
Honestly, I truly know this was divine appointment. This was such a huge encouragement to hear this woman's testimony. Chels and I have prayed a lot of healing on this trip... we have not seen any miraculous signs but God is moving big time! I know it! I went on to pray for this woman. I did my same routine where I ask if it is okay if I pray in English because my Spanish is not too great. She of course said yes. I started praying.. and this was very interesting but I was praying in Spanish! Random words in english but random words in spanish. I recognized after that the words I spoke in spanish were important for her to hear to understand. I truly felt that the Spirit was speaking through me to her. After the prayer we shared some words, she was choked up and so excited to tell me that is going to be praying for me and Chels on this trip. This was a woman I wont ever forget and I thank God that set up such a divine appointment.
After the optometry clinic, we went into the community to teach the little ninos. After we were done teaching the kids, one of the moms wanted to take us on a tour of the community. We went to see her house and the rest of the community. In the midst of poverty is where we truly find joy. This seems like such a cliche statement. When we have a lot of "stuff" we will be happy right? Well, maybe.. But let me just say I saw more joy in the hearts and souls of the parents and kids of this community with no "stuff" than I have seen in a long time. I truly believe and as the Bible indicates, the Lord's heart breaks for the poor. God is amongst us all yes of course, I could just see His blatant fingerprints and sensed His presence all over that place. The joy that He places in the hearts of the ninos is so contagious. All I can say is Praise Him!
Laurie
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Love love love!
"Trust in the LORD with all your heart
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight"
Proverbs 3:5-6
(This is the verse we had the kids memorized today!...in espanol of course!)
Wow, I didnt realize how long it has been since I last blogged!! Sorry, I guess I've got a lot to catch you up on hermanos y hermanas!!
Well since I last blogged I saw another c-section at the hospital!! Soo awesome!! And this week I was in the "Cunera" (nursery, I think is the translation) or "Cuna" for short! There were two babies in the cuna, both days old!! awww so cute huh? Like I mentioned before how there are some big differences between US hospitals and the ones here....well walking into a hospital room in the US we almost always wear gloves. Here, I never ever wear gloves! In fact, I did a TOTAL bath on a baby, wearing no gloves...total bath my friends....sin guantes! Thats a big no-no in the states! haha The babies are sooo precious, its simply unbelievable and definitely a miracle!!
Over the weekend, we attended church in the poorer community! (The same community I left my heart in!) We made plans to come back during the week. So today was our first day there, we will be there tomorrow and friday hopefully! It was such a blast/blessing, God is so good!! We had a class of about 8 kids who were very enthusiastic about learning the alphabet, months of the year, and a couple phrases in english. We also played a fun game they taught us, and hung out for a while. They kept asking what their names were in english and would laugh hysterically when I said it. There was this adorable and super energetic (reminds me of my cute bro....miss my Carson!) little boy, Daniel. He came storming in after our english class, ran up and gave me a huge beso(kiss) on the cheek and kept runnin around the church (wrestling with the other boys, sliding down the aisle, acting like superman...typical little boy action!). We got him to slow down enough for a second to give Laurie a kiss too! ;) And when we held him up to take a picture, he went back and forth between kissing my cheek, then Lauries, mine, Lauries...haha The older girls are so sweet, and all the kids caught on really fast to the english we taught them! But Laurie and I are really nervous, please pray, because they asked us to do special stuff at their service saturday (Lo's giving a message and Im doin a song....scary!!!)I cant wait till tomorrow to share with you more stories!
Also, we went to this clinic people from the US are running to get glasses for Abuelita. While there, they asked if we would come back and help translate. Not sure how much of a help I really am, but its fun anyways...a good healthy challenge! Its so awesome to see first hand how the Lord provides opportunities and opens doors! Laurie knows a lot of Spanish and is an awesome translator! I'm so grateful we are together! Im so encouraged by these wonderful people who are here doing there best to serve the mexican community! The thing I love about all the Mexicans I've met is they pretty much all immediately make you feel welcome, like family! At lunch they of course force-fed us some good grub. AAannndd serenaded us with some fun songs! (a girl cant complain, let me tell you!) Oh! Also, today we got delicious crepas (crapes), Laurie and I were gonna share but they gave us each one. When we asked why they said it was to welcome us, Mexican tradition? Love that tradition! And apparently when someone invites you somewhere they pay for you...if thats the case I think I'm in trouble!
As always, thanks for your prayers hermano's y hermana's!! Im so grateful! God is faithful! :)
Love-
Chels
and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him,
and he will make your paths straight"
Proverbs 3:5-6
(This is the verse we had the kids memorized today!...in espanol of course!)
Wow, I didnt realize how long it has been since I last blogged!! Sorry, I guess I've got a lot to catch you up on hermanos y hermanas!!
Well since I last blogged I saw another c-section at the hospital!! Soo awesome!! And this week I was in the "Cunera" (nursery, I think is the translation) or "Cuna" for short! There were two babies in the cuna, both days old!! awww so cute huh? Like I mentioned before how there are some big differences between US hospitals and the ones here....well walking into a hospital room in the US we almost always wear gloves. Here, I never ever wear gloves! In fact, I did a TOTAL bath on a baby, wearing no gloves...total bath my friends....sin guantes! Thats a big no-no in the states! haha The babies are sooo precious, its simply unbelievable and definitely a miracle!!
Over the weekend, we attended church in the poorer community! (The same community I left my heart in!) We made plans to come back during the week. So today was our first day there, we will be there tomorrow and friday hopefully! It was such a blast/blessing, God is so good!! We had a class of about 8 kids who were very enthusiastic about learning the alphabet, months of the year, and a couple phrases in english. We also played a fun game they taught us, and hung out for a while. They kept asking what their names were in english and would laugh hysterically when I said it. There was this adorable and super energetic (reminds me of my cute bro....miss my Carson!) little boy, Daniel. He came storming in after our english class, ran up and gave me a huge beso(kiss) on the cheek and kept runnin around the church (wrestling with the other boys, sliding down the aisle, acting like superman...typical little boy action!). We got him to slow down enough for a second to give Laurie a kiss too! ;) And when we held him up to take a picture, he went back and forth between kissing my cheek, then Lauries, mine, Lauries...haha The older girls are so sweet, and all the kids caught on really fast to the english we taught them! But Laurie and I are really nervous, please pray, because they asked us to do special stuff at their service saturday (Lo's giving a message and Im doin a song....scary!!!)I cant wait till tomorrow to share with you more stories!
Also, we went to this clinic people from the US are running to get glasses for Abuelita. While there, they asked if we would come back and help translate. Not sure how much of a help I really am, but its fun anyways...a good healthy challenge! Its so awesome to see first hand how the Lord provides opportunities and opens doors! Laurie knows a lot of Spanish and is an awesome translator! I'm so grateful we are together! Im so encouraged by these wonderful people who are here doing there best to serve the mexican community! The thing I love about all the Mexicans I've met is they pretty much all immediately make you feel welcome, like family! At lunch they of course force-fed us some good grub. AAannndd serenaded us with some fun songs! (a girl cant complain, let me tell you!) Oh! Also, today we got delicious crepas (crapes), Laurie and I were gonna share but they gave us each one. When we asked why they said it was to welcome us, Mexican tradition? Love that tradition! And apparently when someone invites you somewhere they pay for you...if thats the case I think I'm in trouble!
As always, thanks for your prayers hermano's y hermana's!! Im so grateful! God is faithful! :)
Love-
Chels
Gracias a Dios!
1 Timothy 1:!2
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to HIS service."
As the end of our trip draws near (one week left!) , the Lord remains faithful to His work! We started out our day by joining our fellow American friends who are running an optometry clinic in town to do our best to help translate for them!! This was a really good learning opportunity for us and helped us practice a lot of our spanish! They are definitely doing some great work over there providing glasses and eye exams to people who can't afford them at regular price. They are also providing sunglasses for the residents here. Because of how strong the sun is, much of the community has problems with their vision. This was a very fun experience for us!
After we finished at the clinic, we came home and prepared our stuff to go into the community today! We were both so excited to get to the community and smother the little ninos with love! Of course I want to sneak one home in my suitcase :) I mean that shouldn't be a problem ... right? ? We taught basic english and played games with them! They love to practice their english, it is really sweet! My heart truly breaks for the community of people living there. My prayer is that the Lord reveals His love to each and every one of them. It really humbles my heart to see their joy and I realize how much I truly have been blessed with in this life. I pray that the Lord continues to humble my heart even as I return to the states.
The Lord is continuing to answer our prayers left and right! Praise Him!
Short Blog tonight! It has just been such a blessing to be here in Mexico with such a sister in Christ as Chelsea :) love her!!!
Thanks for prayers as always. Continue to pray for us as we will be in the community tomorrow and friday we believe!
Dios te Bendiga!
Laurie
"I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me faithful, appointing me to HIS service."
As the end of our trip draws near (one week left!) , the Lord remains faithful to His work! We started out our day by joining our fellow American friends who are running an optometry clinic in town to do our best to help translate for them!! This was a really good learning opportunity for us and helped us practice a lot of our spanish! They are definitely doing some great work over there providing glasses and eye exams to people who can't afford them at regular price. They are also providing sunglasses for the residents here. Because of how strong the sun is, much of the community has problems with their vision. This was a very fun experience for us!
After we finished at the clinic, we came home and prepared our stuff to go into the community today! We were both so excited to get to the community and smother the little ninos with love! Of course I want to sneak one home in my suitcase :) I mean that shouldn't be a problem ... right? ? We taught basic english and played games with them! They love to practice their english, it is really sweet! My heart truly breaks for the community of people living there. My prayer is that the Lord reveals His love to each and every one of them. It really humbles my heart to see their joy and I realize how much I truly have been blessed with in this life. I pray that the Lord continues to humble my heart even as I return to the states.
The Lord is continuing to answer our prayers left and right! Praise Him!
Short Blog tonight! It has just been such a blessing to be here in Mexico with such a sister in Christ as Chelsea :) love her!!!
Thanks for prayers as always. Continue to pray for us as we will be in the community tomorrow and friday we believe!
Dios te Bendiga!
Laurie
Monday, August 24, 2009
John 3:30
"He must become greater, I must become less"
This verse is so great because it is so simple yet so complex. This is a constant reminder of the goal to which we strive daily as well as on the mission field. We are reminded that through everything we do our goal must be and will always be: He must become greater, WE must become less. Amen!
Hola Amigos!! Time for another blog to catch up on what we have been doing recently! All last week we spent working in the hospital each day. I really have been enjoying this opportunity! God has been so good and provided so many opportunities for us to show His love. Chels and I have been having a great time with our nurse friends (Eunese & Marisol), we love joking around with them and having them help us with our spanish! Over the weekend we were able to attend the church in the poor community nearby. This was great because we got to talk with the pastor at the church and set up days this week when we are going to come to the church to teach english, teach basic healthcare (how to brush teeth, wash hands, etc) and play futbol with the ninos! We are going to start that this wednesday in the afternoon! We both feel very called to this area and cant wait to see what the Lord has prepared for us there.
After church on saturday we went to Starbucks to read and cool off from the heat. As we were waiting to be picked up from Starbucks, we met an American friend! Her name is Tamara and she just moved here from the states with her husband because of his job. She is a fellow hermana en Cristo! Praise God! It was great to meet her because she doesn't speak very much spanish and was feeling a little bit homesick. Not only were we an encouragement to her but she was a definite encouragement to us! Praise God for His perfect timing and the way that He appropriately places people in the right place at exactly the right time! We have gotten to spend time with Tamara and be there with her as her husband works during the day. Her heart is in ministry and we are excited that she is going to join us this week in the poor community! I am definitely beginning to see how things really are not coincidental but part of the divine planning of our King!
Today on our way home from the hospital we dropped abuelita off to get her eye glasses adjusted and totally random but we went inside with her and turns out there was a group of Americans at this gym working with the Lyons Club here giving free eye glasses and eye exams to the public. It turns out that they are having a really hard time with translating and speaking spanish to the community and starting wednesday in the mornings Chels and I are going to go over and (attempt to) help them out! I am just amazed daily by the way that our amazing Creator operates and sets up our work for His Kingdom!
Thanks for your prayers! Please keep the poor community in your prayers this week as we prepare to go out there! We pray that the Lord will open the hearts and ears of the children and adults of this community.
Laurie
"He must become greater, I must become less"
This verse is so great because it is so simple yet so complex. This is a constant reminder of the goal to which we strive daily as well as on the mission field. We are reminded that through everything we do our goal must be and will always be: He must become greater, WE must become less. Amen!
Hola Amigos!! Time for another blog to catch up on what we have been doing recently! All last week we spent working in the hospital each day. I really have been enjoying this opportunity! God has been so good and provided so many opportunities for us to show His love. Chels and I have been having a great time with our nurse friends (Eunese & Marisol), we love joking around with them and having them help us with our spanish! Over the weekend we were able to attend the church in the poor community nearby. This was great because we got to talk with the pastor at the church and set up days this week when we are going to come to the church to teach english, teach basic healthcare (how to brush teeth, wash hands, etc) and play futbol with the ninos! We are going to start that this wednesday in the afternoon! We both feel very called to this area and cant wait to see what the Lord has prepared for us there.
After church on saturday we went to Starbucks to read and cool off from the heat. As we were waiting to be picked up from Starbucks, we met an American friend! Her name is Tamara and she just moved here from the states with her husband because of his job. She is a fellow hermana en Cristo! Praise God! It was great to meet her because she doesn't speak very much spanish and was feeling a little bit homesick. Not only were we an encouragement to her but she was a definite encouragement to us! Praise God for His perfect timing and the way that He appropriately places people in the right place at exactly the right time! We have gotten to spend time with Tamara and be there with her as her husband works during the day. Her heart is in ministry and we are excited that she is going to join us this week in the poor community! I am definitely beginning to see how things really are not coincidental but part of the divine planning of our King!
Today on our way home from the hospital we dropped abuelita off to get her eye glasses adjusted and totally random but we went inside with her and turns out there was a group of Americans at this gym working with the Lyons Club here giving free eye glasses and eye exams to the public. It turns out that they are having a really hard time with translating and speaking spanish to the community and starting wednesday in the mornings Chels and I are going to go over and (attempt to) help them out! I am just amazed daily by the way that our amazing Creator operates and sets up our work for His Kingdom!
Thanks for your prayers! Please keep the poor community in your prayers this week as we prepare to go out there! We pray that the Lord will open the hearts and ears of the children and adults of this community.
Laurie
Wednesday, August 19, 2009
Gozo!! (Joy!)
Psalm 16:11
" You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more!"
How do I even begin to describe such an amazing day as today?! Praise Him!! We started out our day at the hospital around 9:30 am. Today we got the amazing opportunity to go to each of the patient's rooms and pray healing for them individually. Coincidentally (or not because God is amazing) the hospital we are working for is missing a chaplain at this time !! So rad to see how God works. We started out just going room to room praying for the patients, we were both filled with Joy as we prayed for them. They all seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the words of encouragement and prayers received. After praying for a certain amount of time we were both kinda feeling heavy on our hearts that our prayers would be sincere and not just words from our mouth of repetition.. We lifted up our prayers for each of our hearts at that time and continued with faith. Seriously about 5 minutes after we prayed.. the last patient that we went to pray for (Elisabeth) was truly a blessing. We walked in to see a lady in her late 60s maybe, bald, and very weak appearance with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Elisabeth has cancer and has already undergone chemotherapy, she is still very sick and has to undergo blood transfusions each month. This woman had more gozo (joy) on her face than I have seen in a very long time. We explained to her like we did all the rooms that we are nursing students from the US and we are here to pray with the patients today. After saying this.. her face and the face of her friend visiting lit up so bright with so much excitement! Chels and I were so encouraged. We talked with her for a while about her family.. She kept telling us that we were a "regalito" (a small gift) because her daughter had just left her and she said that I looked like her daughter! The friend of Elisabeth who was there was also excited because she said that she wasn't planning on visiting until later in the day but something just made her get in the car and come to the hospital. She as well as we truly believe in such a divine appointment! We proceeded to pray for these ladies who were so beautiful and filled with joy even in the midst of so much pain and suffering. They were filled with even more joy and encouragement and we were just so excited to see how powerful the power of prayer and a little love can bring someone.
After this we were finished praying we went to our favorite place to eat (in the garage of a family across the street from the hospital) its called Antojitos Melina! The sweetest most beautiful family lives at this house and runs this restaurant. We ended up talking to our friend Amanda for a while about the difference between religiosity and relationship with Jesus. Interesting that we had this conversation because this has been heavy on my heart for a lot of this trip! After lunch, we still had some time left to work in the hospital. We made our way down to the operating room to help clean utensils and offer our help to the nurses there. When we got down there they told us that they were going to do a C-Section surgery in an hour! We were both so excited because they said we can watch and help with the post op baby care!! (have not even come close to an opportunity such as this in the states!)
The day kept getting better and better! We helped our nurse Eunese get everything ready for the baby in the nursery and then went down stairs to start the surgery! We were able to be inches away from the whole surgery! It was such a beautiful experience!! How amazing truly is the MIRACLE of life.. Sad to say this baby that was born.. was born with downs syndrome and the doctors did not know this before delivery. In the midst of the sadness, we continue to Praise Jesus anyways for the safe delivery because he is a son of the most High!
Thank you all again for continuing to pray... We got the opportunity to visit a very poor community (where we left about half of our hearts) about 5 minutes from the house a few days ago, we are praying and trying to make some plans to start afternoon work after the hospital in this community working with a church over there. Please keep that in your prayers that it would work out and for protection! Thank you!!! Love you guys!
Laurie
" You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forever more!"
How do I even begin to describe such an amazing day as today?! Praise Him!! We started out our day at the hospital around 9:30 am. Today we got the amazing opportunity to go to each of the patient's rooms and pray healing for them individually. Coincidentally (or not because God is amazing) the hospital we are working for is missing a chaplain at this time !! So rad to see how God works. We started out just going room to room praying for the patients, we were both filled with Joy as we prayed for them. They all seemed to really enjoy and appreciate the words of encouragement and prayers received. After praying for a certain amount of time we were both kinda feeling heavy on our hearts that our prayers would be sincere and not just words from our mouth of repetition.. We lifted up our prayers for each of our hearts at that time and continued with faith. Seriously about 5 minutes after we prayed.. the last patient that we went to pray for (Elisabeth) was truly a blessing. We walked in to see a lady in her late 60s maybe, bald, and very weak appearance with a smile that stretched from ear to ear. Elisabeth has cancer and has already undergone chemotherapy, she is still very sick and has to undergo blood transfusions each month. This woman had more gozo (joy) on her face than I have seen in a very long time. We explained to her like we did all the rooms that we are nursing students from the US and we are here to pray with the patients today. After saying this.. her face and the face of her friend visiting lit up so bright with so much excitement! Chels and I were so encouraged. We talked with her for a while about her family.. She kept telling us that we were a "regalito" (a small gift) because her daughter had just left her and she said that I looked like her daughter! The friend of Elisabeth who was there was also excited because she said that she wasn't planning on visiting until later in the day but something just made her get in the car and come to the hospital. She as well as we truly believe in such a divine appointment! We proceeded to pray for these ladies who were so beautiful and filled with joy even in the midst of so much pain and suffering. They were filled with even more joy and encouragement and we were just so excited to see how powerful the power of prayer and a little love can bring someone.
After this we were finished praying we went to our favorite place to eat (in the garage of a family across the street from the hospital) its called Antojitos Melina! The sweetest most beautiful family lives at this house and runs this restaurant. We ended up talking to our friend Amanda for a while about the difference between religiosity and relationship with Jesus. Interesting that we had this conversation because this has been heavy on my heart for a lot of this trip! After lunch, we still had some time left to work in the hospital. We made our way down to the operating room to help clean utensils and offer our help to the nurses there. When we got down there they told us that they were going to do a C-Section surgery in an hour! We were both so excited because they said we can watch and help with the post op baby care!! (have not even come close to an opportunity such as this in the states!)
The day kept getting better and better! We helped our nurse Eunese get everything ready for the baby in the nursery and then went down stairs to start the surgery! We were able to be inches away from the whole surgery! It was such a beautiful experience!! How amazing truly is the MIRACLE of life.. Sad to say this baby that was born.. was born with downs syndrome and the doctors did not know this before delivery. In the midst of the sadness, we continue to Praise Jesus anyways for the safe delivery because he is a son of the most High!
Thank you all again for continuing to pray... We got the opportunity to visit a very poor community (where we left about half of our hearts) about 5 minutes from the house a few days ago, we are praying and trying to make some plans to start afternoon work after the hospital in this community working with a church over there. Please keep that in your prayers that it would work out and for protection! Thank you!!! Love you guys!
Laurie
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