June 27, 2007

Mission team week....


My brother Andrew said tonight as we gathered to debrief as a team after dinner "I feel like God sent us here to Antigua Guatemala to speak on His behalf and His word is "I have not forgotten" So today at Hermano Pedro ministering as a team really was a celebration of Who He is and that His compassion never fail and His faithfulness is great towards each one of the children in Hermano Pedro and towards each one of us who know and have had out lives changed by His love!



"For the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake, But My lovingkindness will not be removed from you, and my covenant of peace will not be shaken" says the Lord who has compassion on you"



June 24, 2007

A little taste of home....





We are telling ourselves that this is our "staff conference" in preparation for the mission team flying into Guatemala City tomorrow, but in all honesty, plain and simple...it is family reunion time and we are having such a complete and total blast! I haven't see my baby for the last 24 hours as she was engulfed with family the second they arrived at my apartment and she is certain she is "Queen Bee" now as if she ever doubted it before!! More family and the team fly in tomorrow and we will hit the ground running at Hermano Pedro....thanks for all your prayers and for all of you who e-mailed me saying you would have loved to come on this trip, "next time" for sure and we will miss you!!!




June 22, 2007

Freedom

"Behold the Lord's hand is not so short, that it cannot save...neither is His ear dull that He cannot hear...." "For you were called to freedom"







My friends and part of the ministry staff of The Shepherd's Crook Ministries, Daryl and Wanda Fulp spent some time with Steve and Shryel at Amor Del Nino and also at Hermano Pedro here in Antigua during their less than a week stay in Guatemala to visit their little boy they are in process to adopt.The time flew, it was like a shot in the arm encouragement wise and such a blessing to have them here!!! A foretaste of what is to come as Andrew, Hannah and Virginia arrive tomorrow to help over the weekend in getting everything ready for our mission team coming on Monday!!
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"Alex" I called his name, sick to see that Alex once again had his feeding tube removed. Why do they keep removing the feeding tube of the 9 year little guy who has severe Cerebral Palsy and my guess weighs about 20 pounds. "Alex" I called again..."Sweetie, how are you today"...no response, from Alex who was staring listlessly at the ceiling. I think I kinda use Alex's response to my calling his name as a gage for how he is holding up day to day. Usually if you call his name, he doesn't even have to see your face and he will break into his beautiful trademark smile, but not today. So I reached over to pull the heavy metal crib side down so I could pick him up...the metal bed clicked loudly and down it came, and there it was...that smile, that beautiful smile and it lit Alex's little face! It must have been a very internal, sub conscious sigh of relief when Alex heard his crib side, it wasn't like he was going to be able to jump down and run and play, how long had it been since he heard that click...all day? His little body is so stiff and brittle I know it must hurt for him to be moved or changed, bottle time for this nine year old is far from enjoyable as he can barely swallow, so most of the "meal" drips down the side of his face...what was it that brought Alex from his listless staring at the ceiling, not responding to his own name, to the joy shown all of his face now....the sound of freedom, something we all long for, pray towards and dream of, in whatever area of our lives and hearts...Freedom... I dream of the day Alex can taste it, feel it, experience and know it...one day instead of the clicking of his cage symbolizing freedom, it will be the sounds of "Holy Holy Holy...is the Lord God Almighty" and he won't just be smiling, he will be dancing...dancing at the feet of Jesus....

June 17, 2007

Happy Father's Day....


..."He has told you, oh man, what is good...to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God"

....this verse exemplifies my dad's life...a man who walks humbly with his God! I love standing behind my dad in church, because my little brother, Matthew ( 26 years younger than me) who is 4 years old has severe Cerebral Palsy and is the light of my dad's life and trust me it goes both ways.... well, they are church buddies....my dad wheels Matthew into church with his wheelchair and they pretty much stick together, you know, like guys do....I love to see my dad worship, hands in the air, he is the example of someone who doesn't hide behind an imagine, doesn't pretend to be something other than is...a simple man, a humble man, who has been saved by grace, that's his claim and right beside him, in his wheelchair, smile on his face, my little brother Matthew, also has his hands in the air, just like his daddy...the essence and purity of a heart united in worship. That's my heritage......

Happy Father's Day, Daddy....I love you

June 16, 2007

Who cares........





...I am not asking that at all sarcastically, I am asking that of myself, in the depths of heart and perhaps asking it for the children, the children who really don't have anyone to care...can you imagine, what life would feel like, knowing that no one cares about you...I mean really, no one cares...no one to care if you cry alone in your urine soaked bed, or if you have flies buzzing around your mouth, but can't swat them away, or if your brain can't make the muscles in your mouth and throat cooperate so you can do something as simple as swallow, or if you have a sad day, a lonely day, you think something is funny, if you are scared...I can't even go there mentally I have no idea what that would even feel like and nothing to compare it to and know that it is worse than I could possibly imagine as most of us have never NOT known love and security....even worse, imagining that life for any of our children. Well there is a country of children here in Guatemala who know that kind of suffering...take a peek at the video of Sam on Dick's site, just one of the many children in Hermano Pedro (hospital/orphanage) here in Antigua http://dickrutgers.com




One of my friends this week, e-mailed me just sharing her heart full to the brim, thinking of her husband who had flown here to Guatemala to bring home their 11 year daughter, who has had a lifetime of no one caring and not "just" no one caring, but also experienced hatred and abuse in a horrific form "But God being rich in mercy, because of His great love, with which He has loved us" The enemy just thought he had this little girl pushed far enough to the side that love would never touch her life...but once again, he was wrong, oh so wrong and I can tell you that the same little girl who I met months ago, with her beautiful smile that in no way hid the pain in her eyes, is now the radiant daughter of my friends.....so in my friend's e-mail to me she said, that she loved imagining, her little girl's face, when her new daddy walked in the doors of that orphanage, and said "Get your things,'cause we are out of here" and the Spirit of God resonated in my heart, that I have heard those words before too "Just as He chose us in Him, before the foundations of the world...."

We have a mission team coming from our church in good 'ole Lindale Texas :-) in a little over a week, that my brother Andrew and sister in law, Hannah will be leading...we plan to focus on Hermano Pedro and Amor Del Nino and seriously need your prayers that the Lord would move and work and most of all would be worshipped during our time together! I have 7 family members who will be apart of that team ( jumping up and down excited) and Andrew,Hannah and Virginia will stay a week later and Caleb will stay a couple more weeks later, to be followed by my sister, Mary who is coming for 10 days AND my friend Alison who is coming for two weeks...so, we are gearing up and looking forward to a month and a half of company, which is one of the many beauties of being apart of a huge family, there is always someone my family can ship to me...no shortage on sibs or company!!! :-)