Travels and New Beginning

I arrived at Potter’s Field Ranch yesterday late evening after driving almost 2500 miles!  The drive took four days and three nights rest.  I have never driven that long and I was only able to do it with the Lord’s help.  I felt His company and guidance every step of the way.  I listened to music and teachings, I also was able to skype or talk on the phone with a few people too.  Thanks for keeping me company!

The first day (July 4) I drove through Michigan and I had lunch with my Uncle Doug and Aunt Chris in Port Huron and then went on to spend the night outside of Chicago.  The traffic through Chicago was very mild and I was very thankful.  It was fun to see the city.

The morning of the second day on the road, I met a young girl that had traveled to the same hotel I was in, in the outskirts of Chicago, for a funeral of her friend that day.  I was able to sit with her at breakfast and listen to her story and I promised to pray for her.  

I was able to take some pictures along the way, which I posted on Facebook.  The second day, I was able to see the Mississippi. On the third day, I took a detour to see Mt. Rushmore.  After that, that day was a bit of a harder drive.  Entering Montana, the route was very desolate.  The third night I was able to spend the night with John and Michelle Merkovsky and their kids in Bozeman, MT.  The final day’s drive was very beautiful as I came further into the mountains.

Once I arrived at the Ranch, there have been a lot of introductions and new friends to meet and get along.  I share a room with 3 other girls.  One of them is the first international student.  She is from Kenya and will be returning to oversee the site there after the program here.  Another one of my roommates has been to the El Salvador site that I went to in 2008.  I will try to get pictures later.

My Bed :)

This morning, we had a church service and a group of 70 young guys from a nearby youth wrestling camp joined us.  Two of them received Christ as their Lord and Savior!!

I am still sick, although with the medicine, vitamins and treatments, I am able to go through the day.  I normally have a hard time sleeping in new places.  I have been taking a night-time cold meds that have knocked me out, which has been a blessing in disguise in that I have been able to sleep and rest well in 4 different beds 4 nights in a row.

View from back porch of the house I am staying in

The program officially starts tomorrow.  We have orientation at 9:00am.  I am sure I will be very busy starting then. Today was low key.  Most went to town to buy a couple of things and I took advantage of it to take more meds and take a long nap.  It's 8:35pm and I am already feeling sleepy, so it seems to have been very needed.

The cell reception here is terrible as we are in the mountains.  I am able to receive texts in at least two known locations (one that I just discovered) and I am able to call from one.   There is WIFI here, but my laptop doesn't seem to want to connect to the internet, even though it connects to the wireless router.  My iPad does, but I can't do all my blog on it.  In any case, tomorrow we start a “Media Fast” where we won’t be connected to technology to keep us undestracted, so I won’t be accessible for a while, I think a week, maybe two.  Please keep praying and I will be in touch as time and schedule permits.  Please write and I will respond as I am able to.

For the few photos that I have been able to upload, see:

https://plus.google.com/photos/112312472328362037852/albums/5763009685074502401?authkey=CKjbt8OupOjN1wE

New Direction or Redirection?

These past two weeks have been a complete whirlwind!!!  If anyone would have told me this would happen, I would have been hard pressed to believe it.

Two weeks ago today at church, we had a beautiful presentation of Jeremiah 18:1-6 by Mike and Pam Rozell.  You can see a little description video here:
http://www.pottersfield.org/10477/content/content_id/193800/About_the_Touring_Ministry

I had seen this presentation before and I knew it would be good, but little did I know how the Lord would use it in my life.  During the presentation, some of the things Mike and Pam said touched me deeply.  The photos of the kids in El Salvador reminded me of when I went there to work along side this ministry, but I didn't seem to receive a dramatic revelation at the moment.

At the end of the presentation, I went up to the table thinking that I would ask about possible ministry opportunities after I would complete the plans that I already had in motion, somewhere in the January timeframe, as I didn't really have plans then.  During the conversation, it didn't seem like there was a really good fit, particularly for that timing, so I saw it as a closed door and moved on.  The next day, Pastor Ray texted me and asked if I had considered going with them.  Although I shared my impressions and proceeded with my plans, he contacted Pastor Mike to explore if there were any options where I would be a good fit.  As they talked, the doors just flung open.  Later that day, I spoke with Pastor Mike and the options just opened up wide for changing my plans entirely, which completely turned my world upside down!!!

Potter's Field Ministries has been serving the Lord for many years.  In addition to the presentations that they do, they have orphanages in Central America, Africa and South East Asia.  Along with the orphanages, they have community outreaches and church planting working together to minister to the surrounding areas.  Various churches partner with them and send teams for short term trips.  They also have an internship program for young adults (18-29 year olds) where they dedicate a year to the Lord, go through training and serve at one of their mission bases.  More details are here: http://www.pottersfield.org/10477/content/content_id/251896/What-is-IGNITE

PFM also has other service opportunities/needs that they don't announce, but rather seek the Lord and wait for direction from the Lord for connections.  As Ray and Mike talked, it was evident that I fit into a discipleship/overseer role that they have need for, particularly with my Spanish translation skills.  There are two sites that seem to be a good fit for me and I would potentially be sent to either.  The sites are in Costa Rica, where the current couple that is there would be coming out later this year, and Guatemala, where a new work is being established.  Either one of these locations would be very exciting and the opportunities are also long term.  In order to be part of the ministry, I would need to go through the initial 3-month training at Montana with the interns, beginning July 9!!

After this conversation, I sent some short messages to some of you asking for prayer as I found myself needing to make a decision very quickly about a dramatic change and I desperately needed direction from the Lord.  I found myself needing to pray hard and hear from the Lord, since I had many questions that needed answers.  My mind was spinning and my heart was racing!  To those of you who heard and prayed, I am very grateful!!!  The Lord met me in that desperate moment and reassured me that this new direction was from Him.  I very much struggled with making this change and I also needed to know that it wasn't in my flesh that I had been making the other plans up to this point.  What about my travel to China?  What about the people that I was going to meet there?  What about my friend in Bulgaria, who I miss and would love to see as her baby is born?  As I spent time with the Lord, He brought me to Abraham and Isaac on Mt. Moriah.

And He said, “Do not lay your hand on the lad, or do anything to him; for now I know that you fear God, since you have not withheld your son, your only son, from Me.” - Gen. 22:12

Of course, this is a popular passage and it can be interpreted many ways for our lives.  The Lord pointed me to my desire to serve with a ministry organization and spoke to my heart that before allowing that, He wanted to know and wanted me to know that I would be willing to go anywhere with Him alone, that I wouldn't depend on anyone or any organization backing me up ... that it wasn't until I bought my ticket to China, that I fully surrendered and was willing.

I felt a lot of peace and I had confidence that I had heard from the Lord, but a lot of plans needed to change, some added and some removed and others even to undo current plans, particularly last minute (as it was 4 weeks until my departure to China).  I also had a lot of conversations that needed to take place.  In addition to the direction from the Lord to my heart, there are a number of factors that make this opportunity uniquely special and evidently the Lord.  Yes, here is a list of the top 10:

1. I have already worked with this ministry in El Salvador and I have seen what a mission base looks like and how it operates with a short term team, along with part of the role that I am needed for. 
2. The Lord directed multiple people to different places and multiple conversations to line up just at the exact time to open these doors. Of course, a huge evidence is that the pastors and ministry leaders of PFM have extended this invitation to me!!  This is a role that no one off the street can apply for!!!
3. It is a year commitment that begins July 9 ... the EXACT day my leave of absence begins and matches it perfectly!!!  The date selection was done way before and for completely different reasons, yet the Lord had them match exactly!  The timing couldn't be better!
4. The opportunity has potential for long term service, should the Lord direct that way, once the year completes.  Although an amazing experience in the Lord, after going to China and Bulgaria, I still wouldn't necessarily have a long term vision for service, so this is unique.
5. It will be great to have my language skills be an asset to the ministry, rather than a hindrance.
6. The training at the Ranch in Montana will be a great foundation for the future work the Lord would take me to, where great pastors and teachers, such as Don McClure will be teaching!
7. The Spirit has bore witness of the new direction through spiritual mentors, such as my pastor, pastor's wife and other leaders, friends, in addition to my family, Mom and Grandfather that this is not a decision made on a whim.
8. A dear friend shared with me:
   Colossians 3:15 from the Amplified Bible (AMP)
   15 And let the peace (soul harmony which comes) from Christ rule (act as umpire continually) in your hearts [deciding and settling with finality all questions that arise in your minds, in that peaceful state] to which as [members of Christ’s] one body you were also called [to live]. And be thankful (appreciative), [giving praise to God always].
   Also, Is. 30:21 And your ears will hear a word behind you, saying, This is the way; walk in it, when you turn to the right hand and when you turn to the left.
9. Other than my initial location in China and my friend in Bulgaria, those plans were starting to enounter a difficulty to line up.
10. Before this happened and without telling me, my dear friend Marina and even her mother in law in Bulgaria had started praying that if the Lord had something different for me than visiting them in Bulgaria, that He would re-direct my plans.  She saw the Lord's hand in the change and generously released me from my plans to come see her, even through we both would like for me to visit during this time.  We both still hope the Lord will open the door in the future. 
11. I spoke with Pastor Ted, and although a slightly more difficult conversation, given the gap that I am leaving with this change, he also was able to see the hand of the Lord in this.

As I adjust my plans, and since this time, I have been extremely busy (not that I wasn't before).  I would like to ask that you please keep me in prayer for:

1. My preparations and travels - I still have a lot to prepare and will be driving cross-country from Rochester to Montana July 4 - July 7 (or July 8 if the days become too long).  Yes!  I leave in 2 weeks from today!!!!!!!
2. My heart is still burdened for the people I would have visited in my travels that are now being canceled.  They still need someone to take my place and fill the gap left by my change of plans.  Please pray the Lord provides and directs Ted to fill this gap!
3. That I would learn the Lord's heart during the training months in Montana and that the training would join my heart to the ministry teams already in place and the interns.  That the time would be the preparation I need for what is ahead of me.
4. That the Lord would direct the selection of the mission base I will go to at the end of the 3 month training.
5. That the Lord would be confirming and directing if this is His plan for me long term.
6. For provision financially and understanding what it means to raise financial support, particularly if the Lord calls me to this long term and full time.
7. That I would be able to go to Mexico for a short visit for Chelsea's wedding in November :)

Thank you all for your prayers, support and kind words!  They mean so much to me!!!  God bless you all!!

The Countdown has Begun!!!

I have a clock app on my iPad that allows me to countdown from now until a specific date/time in days, hours, minutes and seconds.  It's really cool to see it go down as the time passes and the set date/time gets closer.  The funny thing about countdowns is that you kind of need to have a set goal before you can count down. 

Webster's Dictionary defines Countdown as "an audible backward counting in fixed units (as seconds) from an arbitrary starting number to mark the time remaining before an event; also: preparations carried on during such a count"

OK, so it doesn't have to be audible ... the rest of the definition is great!

“And now, Lord, what do I wait for? My hope is in You.
- Psalm 39:7

What are we counting down to?  I am sure there are many things we are waiting for, but I am sure that we can't actually count down to all of them.  For some, we just wait without being able to count how long it will be, simply because we don't know.  Also, once that countdown is complete, there will be yet something else to wait for after that. The cycle will repeat itself as we wait for many things, until the Lord returns.  We do not know when the Lord is returning, but we wait, while the Lord knows and He counts down.  In the meantime, we can still be carrying out the required preparations ... actually, we must.  After all, don't we want to be found like the 5 wise virgins from Matthew 25?  This is the ultimate countdown.

My current coundown is to my departure for China.  I can actually count down because I purchased my first two one-way tickets!!!  I leave for China Thursday, July 12, 2012!!!!  I say "my first two" because they take me to Beijing and then Fenyang, and I will be purchasing many one-way tickets before I make it back to Rochester again in October.

What?  Is that right?  I will leave Rochester July 12 and I won't be back until October!?!?!?!?  Yup!  Actually, I will likely be going to Missouri and Mexico shortly after I get back too ... but those plans are still a bit far.

My itinerary (dates beyond 7/24 are tentative) is:

Travel from Rochester to Beijing                              7/12
Travel from Beijing to Taiyuan                                  7/13
Youth Camp                                                               7/13 - 7/18
Beijing Touring                                                           7/19 - 7/23
Additional In-China Travel                                        7/24 - 8/28
Travel to Bulgaria                                                    8/28
Travel to Italy                                                          10/2
Travel to Rochester                                                 10/9
Travel to Missouri                                                   10/18 - 10/19
Travel to Mexico                                                     10/25 - 10/27

At the Youth Camp, I will be sharing with a group of 15-year olds from Jmes.  I will also be bringing my travel guitar and playing some songs in English. I understand the area is not westernized, so the culture change will be quite noticeable.

I ask that you please pray during this time for:

1. That I would be able to complete all the preparations needed before the start of the trip.
2. Please pray for safe travels and provision, along with enduring and sleeping on the long flight (first 12 hr plane for me)
3. For organizers for the camp and the youth coming to the camp that their hearts would be ready
4. For leading and direction for the plans after 7/24.  For where I will go, who I will meet and what to do.
5. For wisdom on my return location (if I should visit Italy before returning to Rochester), as I need to finalize that part of my plans very shortly for insurance purposes.
6. That the Lord will lead my words at the youth camp and their hearts will be touched
7. That I would be able to handle the culture differences with grace as the Lord would have me.
8. For a team that might come to China 8/16 or so and if I should be meeting up with them.

Please feel free to print out these dates and prayer requests if you so choose.  I will also be putting together some bookmarks with prayer requests and the most up to date itinerary to help with how to best pray for me during this time.

So ... my coundown to my trip to China and the beginning of travels around the world is at 35 days, 16 hrs and 30 minutes ... (when I am writing this, but less when you read this)

Next Steps and Guiding

Whew! What intense, but God filled, several weeks following my last blog!!! And what crazy intense weeks since then too!!  Thank you all for praying during my most recent ordeal! I would like to share with you a bit of what the Lord has been doing. Some are aware of all that has happened, while others may not know all that has happened. There is a lot to share, so I will try to share as much as I can as clearly and succinctly as possible.

Last I wrote, I was heading to PR for my friend's funeral. The trip was sweet, memorable and in some ways also difficult, as is understandable. I was very blessed to spend the week with Luan, Edan and Diego. What dear friends and what fun we had! It was bitter-sweet to recall with joy many memories of my friend Edwin and share about how much we loved him and things he would say or do if he was with us.  I still pray regularly for them and I am in somewhat regular contact with them even as I am back.  Please continue praying for them.

On the day before I was to leave PR and go to FL, I spent 1 hr at the beach at what was the hottest time of the day.  I enjoyed the beach and went back to the house with Luan for a fun afternoon with the boys.  It was fun, but oh, did I fry!  I looked like a lobster!!!  That night, I got up in the middle of the night and ended up fainting and falling on the bathroom floor.  I woke up in a pool of blood and called Luan to help me.  I had a couple of ambulance rides and spent about 36 hrs hospitalized.  After many exams, all of them yielding normal results, I was released from the hospital.  It was good to know that all serious matters (such as heart attack, stroke and seizure) had been ruled out, which effectively only left either heatstroke/dehydration or blood sugar as the possible reasons.  Because my blood sugar was normal when I woke up from the fainting spell, it is most likely to have been dehydration.  After all the ordeal, my flight to Florida was delayed by two days and I was scheduled to arrive the night before the missions conference.

With little sleep and still dazed, I drove to Merritt Island the next day and was super blessed at the conference.  The whirlwid was worth it!!  At the moment, there were several blessed instances where I felt the Lord confirming things to my heart and blessing me with direction and encouragement, although I would need to pray and dwell on them more to be certain.  I was also blessed to make connections and new friends that are like-minded.  I was even hosted by a wonderful missionary family that had been in Belize previously and will be moving to Italy in the summer. We were able to share experiences and fellowship sweetly during the time we had.  I so look forward to meeting with them again. 

So a bit of time has gone by as I have been praying and planning and seeking ... and the direction that I thought I was going in is changing, yet again!  It definitely seems to be the story of my life right now.  I am confident that the Lord is guiding me, although a lot of questions seem to take over more than answers.  Every time I take a step of faith, some clarity comes, which is very encouraging.  That clarity is sometimes in the form of a closed door and other times it is in the form of an open door, new opportunity and new connections.  I am thankful the direction isn't just in circumstances, but also in prayer and through the Word.

¹⁷ that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, ¹⁸ the eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that you may know what is the hope of His calling, what are the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints,
Ephesians 1:17-18

These verses really ministered to me in the beautiful progression that they show.  This progression is not coincidental, it is sequential.  The first thing we need is the spirit of wisdom and revelation, but the knowledge that we need is of Him and not of things.  As we have knowledge of Him, our eyes our enlightened and we are able to know and understand His calling.  I love that it is described as the "hope of His calling".  It is something to hope for, to aspire, to long for.  Finally, we are able to know what will be our inheritance, His inheritance described as riches of glory!!!  I am comforted that the Lord Jesus is granting me knowledge of Him and He will cause me to understand His calling!!!  Isn't that an awesome promise to us?!?!?!  Does that excite you as much as it excites me!?!?!  It should! :)  His plans and calling for each one of us are unique, but they are perfectly designed for each of us, they are "tailor made" by our Heavenly Father.  Don't you want to learn and fulfill His purpose for you?  I certainly do!

On the Sunday that I was in PR, I went with my friend to a ladies retreat. I had never met the lady that was ministering there. After the teaching, during a time of prayer, she came to me and spoke to my heart a very specific Word from the Lord that she had no way of knowing other than through the Spirit. The message was prophetic and included comfort and also direction. She shared that doors had been closed, but that I could be comforted that the enemy wasn't closing the doors, but He had closed the doors and He was opening a door to me to Asia.  At that time, Asia was a far thought in my mind.  I do have contacts there. I know dear friends in China that are like-minded and dear to me.  I also had met Pastor Ted, a dear friend of my pastor Ray, who is a point of contact with my friends, and at a previous time had visited my home church in CC Webster.  In spite of knowing them, I didn't really feel like that was a place where I would go to soon.  When I heard this, I set it in my heart and waited for further clarity from the Lord and to see how the matter would turn out.  I was not ready to just jump at a prophesy without the Lord continuing to confirm that He was calling me directly.

When I was in Florida at the conference, the Lord established some dear connections and provided further direction. I was able to meet up with Ted and establish connections and talk about possible future opportunities for joint service.  We left matters as we would continue to pray over the options and seek the will of the Lord.

During my remaining time in Florida, I was able to visit with Margie, Beka and her kids, play a lot of Angry Birds, hang out at the pool and recuperate from my hospital ordeal.  What fun time too!!

Before going on the trips, the Lord has made clear to my heart through many scriptures, emails, doors and conversations that my plans to go to Mexico in the summer is encountering a closed door for that time.  Since I have been back from the trips, it has become evident that another door is being opened to go to China during that time instead. In my mind, going to China would be something I would do only after having more "experience" under my belt as a missionary, yet, the Lord is seeing fit to orchestrate that as the first trip on my leave of absence. How exciting and how terrifying at the same time!!  What this all means is yet to be discovered and I am open to the Lord's direction and further adjusting, should this not be the time, although I believe it is.  Stay tuned for the upcoming plans!!! :D

Three months ago today, I read this as part of my devotions:
Woe be to the soul who tries to put his foot in any other direction when once that call has come to him. This College exists for you, and you – to see whether God has a man or woman here who cares about proclaiming His Gospel; to see whether God grips you. And beware of competitors when God does grip you.
-Oswald Chambers, from Utmost Feb 2

I know I am not attending the same college that Oswald was at when he spoke those words, but it still rings true of the circumstances that we are in.  We are to explore whether God is gripping our heart to proclaim His Gospel, to share the good news of salvation that Christ died for our sins and rose again!!!  And we must beware of anything or anyone competing with Him!

Blessed Hope

For I am persuaded that neither death nor life, nor angels nor principalities nor powers, nor things present nor things to come, nor height nor depth, nor any other created thing, shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:38, 39 NKJV)

What do these verses convey?  What do we think of when we read this? I can't say that I have dwelt on the meaning and richness of these verses in a long time if truly ever. Have I read them or heard them taught or even quoted them? Of course! But the richness and depth of them becomes so real ...

I have a very dear friend,  Edwin Rivera, younger than I by a year.  We have shared so many experiences and wonderful memories. We went to college together for 4 years. He is one of my closest friends that became my closest friend in that experience and years. We pulled all-nighters studying together more times than is healthy!  We would look out for each other as brother and sister with care and pranks, especially those college years, but also since then.  Our home towns were close, so going home from college for the weekend didn't mean much distance and we got to hang out a lot. We would later share a common faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. The Lord brought him to a point where he would accept my invitation to come to youth group and he received the Lord that very night!  Once he came to the Lord, he was radically saved!  We would share a church and close circle of friends, brothers & sisters in Christ.  He grew in the Lord amazingly fast with great discernment and love of the Lord, which I later had to witness at a distance as I moved to Rochester about 7 months after he got saved.  He married Luan Negron, my best friend from church (and close circle of friends) and I was privileged to return to PR to be the maid of honor at their wedding. On every trip to my home land, I was sure to see them, even when bringing with me other friends that were also blessed to meet him.  I shared meeting both their boys, Edan and Diego, as the Lord added to their family.  I got to see how the Lord raised him up as a youth pastor of the church. I also got to visit with him at the hospital several years ago when I was visiting Puerto Rico and he was sick, although always joyful.  What great times of fellowship! How we laughed together and cried together over the  years! The work of the Lord through him and his ministry in the church has grown amazingly and how the Lord has used him blesses me more than words can express.

Edwin, Luan, Edan and I at the church in Arecibo Dec 2010

Now, I am in flight to PR again, but this time going to share with my friend at his funeral. At his young age, Edwin had a disease, which affected his liver among other things and although we didn't think he would be departing with the Lord so soon, he has been called to be in His presence.  These verses take on new meaning when suddenly I face death, when a dear friend has beat me to Glory. Oh, how I rejoice that he IS in Glory with the Lord!

Edwin, Luan, Edan and Diego Feb 2011

when I came to PR to go to Haiti

The verses above were the ones that a friend shared with me as I texted and shared with some of my brothers and sisters to be praying for my friend and about his subsequent passing to glory just yesterday.  Death cannot separate us from the love of God. A life with this loss cannot separate us from the love of God. The sorrow cannot separate us from the love of God. God loves us always, He is ever present, always loving, always good. Death in this body further unites us with God. It has lost its sting. Death cannot separate us from the love of God. God is good and His love endures!

I hadn't talked with my friends in a while. We didn't talk daily or even weekly like we used to. What had happened? Why not? Did we care any less for each other? No. Life happened. There are only so many hours in the day. I was busy, they were busy. Life goes on and the days go on faster than we would think. Life might separate us from earthly friends, but life cannot separate us from the love of God. How constant! How dependable! How strong!

We endure spiritual warfare. The enemy is like a roaring lion seeking whom he can devour, yet he can do nothing to separate us from the love of God.  The business, joys, sorrows, problems, hurts, pains, fears, nor anything that we are going through is big enough to separate us from the love of God. There is nothing we will go through that can separate us from the love of God! Nothing or no one can separate us from His love.

As I type this, I am listening to Mighty to Save.  Yes, He is! He is mighty to have saved my friend! Mighty to have saved me! Mighty to have saved many through his ministry.  My friend is gone from this present suffering, but God is mighty to save and we shall see each other again!! God is mighty to save his wife from the pain of missing him, mighty to save his boys from any need they may experience as part of living the rest of their life without their earthly father by supplying all their need according to His riches in glory. He will always be their Heavenly Father, Everlasting Father! Mighty to save his mom as she endures the sorrow of losing her only child, her son. Please join me in prayer for them as the Lord works on their behalf as I trust He will.

Tonight, they had a worship service at the funeral home, which unfortunately I was unable to make as I arrive too late, but I am confident that the church body was worshipping the Lord with my friend's family and ministering to them. Tomorrow will be the funeral and I am thankful I will be able to make it for that at least. I will be staying with Luan, my dear friend, & her boys for several days and I look forward to catch up with her and celebrate Edwin's life in Jesus, rejoicing in the fruit of the love of the Lord in and through his life.

But I do not want you to be ignorant, brethren, concerning those who have fallen asleep, lest you sorrow as others who have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so God will bring with Him those who sleep in Jesus. (1 Thessalonians 4:13, 14 NKJV)

Have I cried with this news? Definitely! Even as I write these thoughts, too. Praise the Lord that the lights in the plane are off!  Will I cry some more? Guaranteed! Jesus wept, even knowing He would resurrect Lazarus. I will see my friend again. I believe it. I know it.  I have that hope. I will introduce him to new friends I met since I moved away from PR, that I could not have the chance to introduce to him before. We shall rejoice together in the presence of Jesus. I have this hope in a Mighty Savior God!

It is Finished!!!

The house is sold and I have moved out!!!!
A lot has happened, and I have been extremely busy, since the last time that I wrote.  Sorry for the lack of updates.  I hope I can summarize the Lord's work over the past month and a half.

I made some great memories through the holidays.  I spent Thanksgiving with great friends and spiritual family.  My Mom and Grandpa came to visit me around Christmas and we celebrated Christmas and spent the New Year together.  I even learned about their New Year's Eve traditions of grilled cheese sandwiches and Egg Nog!!!  It was the first time my Grandpa had visited my home in NY.  My Mom helped me get organized and get rid of a lot of things, while I was able to give her some clothes to take too!  We made several trips to Good Will and cleaned out the garage and basement!!  We did get to make some time to do a couple of fun things including going to Niagara Falls, getting our hair done and they got to see snow in the midst of a very wet and not very snowy winter!  It was amazing to see my Grandpa go in his wheeled walker over snow and ice down the icy Charlotte Beach Pier that I was apprehensive walking on!

Mom and Grandpa at Niagara Falls with little snow, right before it really started to come down!!!

Once they left, the Lord provided help from different people to help me in many ways.  It was so special to see the care of the Lord, and how He was providing through many brothers and sisters that would offer their help, lovingly and willingly in preparation for my house sale, clearing out possessions and even repairs for Moses (my Jeep), in preparation of the first journey.  I have truly been simplifying.  It is amazing how many things we think we can't live without, yet, they are really unnecessary.  I sold lots of things, gave away many things, threw away a lot of things and packed a lot less than I thought, although still a lot!  It was a blessing to see others being blessed by what they received or bought!

Another huge blessing was the storage location.  The Lord opened up a storage room at church where all the things that I don't need right this week are organized, safe and available to me.

January 21, the day of the move, was a whirlwind!!!  So many brothers and sisters came!  I rented a truck and so many came that everything was happening amazingly fast!  It was almost like the whole spinning motion carried me along (I know it was the Lord).  Many people moved things, wrapped things, organized things and cleaned.  Thank you all for everything you have done!  Words cannot express how overwhelmingly blessed and loved I have felt!!

I am now staying with Pastor Ray and Margie, who have adopted me into their home and are truly a blessing.  To keep in tradition with the first time I moved to Rochester, I moved into their home when they were out of town.  How amazingly trusting of them!!  I am adjusting to the new location and serving the Lord as He allows right where I am.  A friend needed to move her possessions in storage from Ithaca the weekend after I moved.  It was a blessing to be free from my own house responsibilities to be able to help her, especially after how much she had helped me too!

The big chapter of owning a house is now closed and finished. I don't know if it will be a chapter the Lord would have in the future again, but it certainly is not now.  Further preparation awaits me. Just as the Lord has helped and provided up to this point, He too will continue doing as He leads. I am excited as I seek Him for what is next and await His direction, while I continue being faithful where He has me, which right now, still includes my job at Xerox.

My first morning at Ray & Margie's was a Sunday morning and I read the following in my devotional (Tozer on Christian Leadership for 1/22):

"The Lord liveth, and blessed be my rock, and exalted be the God of the rock of my salvation."
- 2 Samuel 22:47

Oh God, be Thou exalted over my possessions. Nothing of earth's treasures shall seem dear unto me if only Thou art glorified in my life.  Be Thou exalted over my friendships. I am determined that Thou shalt be above all, though I must stand deserted and alone in the midst of the earth. Be Thou exalted above my comforts. Though it mean the loss of bodily comforts and the carrying of heavy crosses, I shall keep my vow made this day before Thee.  Be Thou exalted over my reputation. Make me ambitious to please Thee even if as a result I must sink into obscurity and my name be forgotten as a dream. Rise, O Lord, into Thy proper place of honor, above my ambitions, above my likes and dislikes, above my family, my health and even my life itself. Let me sink that Thou mayest rise above. Ride forth upon me as Thou didst ride into Jerusalem mounted upon the humble little beast, a colt, the foal of an ass, and let me hear the children cry to Thee, "Hosanna in the highest." 

Be Thou exalted in my life. Amen.

Glory in Infirmities?????

There is really something about that phrase that completely has me thinking ...

There are four instances of "infirmities" in 2 Corinthians 11-12 ... the word really jumps out at me because I have been very sick for almost 4 weeks up until the beginning of last week, but particularly more the two weeks before.  Being sick and reading this word repeatedly has a way of signaling that the Lord wants to speak to me!

And He said to me, "My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness."  Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.  Therefore, I take pleasure in infirmities...For when I am weak, then I am strong.
-2 Cor. 12:9-10

About a day or two after reading this, dear friends that are serving the Lord in Mexico also shared this verse in their update!

My allergies, allergy-induced asthma, sinus pressure, coughing, ear pressure, chest pain, throat pain and headache were driving me nuts.  I had been going to the doctor and taking all kinds of medication in hopes of getting better.  I have also been doing Vicks, humidifier and many other alternatives, with no success.  I do know that a lot of people have been sick for weeks and pneumonia or bronchitis have been going around.  I was so frustrated that I couldn't get better and couldn't breathe that I ended up going on Prednisone, which I normally refuse, if at all possible.

I had been reading a devotional that really grabbed a hold of me.  The title for the reading was "Preparation".  The couple of lines that ministered to me were:
"What is in your hand? Would you attempt to do a work with a broken instrument? ... Preparation is your own responsibility.  Certainly I will help you in it, but I am not glorified through a vessel that is careless concerning its condition."

I have been spending so much time and effort into material preparations, yet I need to prepare myself.  One of the first scriptures that the Lord had given me was about preparations.  I need to prepare myself emotionally, spiritually and also physically.

The Lord has opened doors for me to go to a homeopathic medicine doctor.  I am exploring other alternatives to getting better physically with natural means after having been so medicated.  I am hopeful, but not yet certain.  I believe this is part of my responsibility and duty to be prepared.  We shall see what the Lord does through this.

So, while I look into preparing my body and trying to get better naturally, it is then that I came to 2 Corinthians 11-12.  Infirmities have a way to induce in me many feelings ... desire to "glory" or "boas" is not one of them.  I get frustrated, angry, agitated, depressed, lonely, impatient, etc.  As I am sick, I have the choice to draw closer to the Lord, find in the infirmity the reason for rejoicing and glorying, or to allow all the natural emotions to take over.  I can rejoice that when I am weak, then I am strong!  I can become the vessel where the Lord pours out His power!!!  I can take hold of His strength in my life when I am weak.  I can embrace my weakness and glory in my infirmity!

I am finally starting to feel better, so I hope that I have learned what He was trying to teach me. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like being sick, but it is a sweet reminder to embrace what He allows in my life.  Even when I don't like it, I can glory in it!