I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. –John 14:18-19

Pure and undefiled religion is to love the orphans and the widow in their distress and keep ourselves from being tarnished by the ways of THIS WORLD. –James 1:27

Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these. –Matthew 19:14

Today marks halfway. Mexico is different than anything I have ever experienced. Yesterday we spend the morning and afternoon at Ms. Karen’s orphanage. WOW! These kids are the cutest, happiest children. They greeted us at the gate, arms open wide, anticipating hugs from everyone! We were able to cook some lunch and play with them all day! Later in the evening we went to a church service and passed out toys and purses to the local body of believers. Smiles that fill me up as I continue to pour out the love that Christ has given. Although I felt as though I were in a foreign country, today we spent the day in the States. Heartbreaking. We were able to pass out gifts and prayerwalk some of the communities.

Sometimes working in a foreign country makes me feel like I am emptying the ocean with an eye-dropper. And just when I have about half a cup full of water, it rains: the orphanage gets a little more full, more abandoned babies are found, more people are infected with aids. it is enough to discourage even the most enthusiastic and passionate person. And yet the discouragement lasts only a moment and God tells me to keep going. That He loves me. That he loves these people. That He will never leave or forsake any of us, not one. That my work IS important, to Him.

I am positive that our God is powerful. And that He is faithful. And that the Gospel is truth. His word will not return void. Please continue to pray for us. Language barriers are thick. Our God is stronger. We are learning to love boldly, fervently, and wholly. We are also learning the power of prayer. Please join us in praying for these people. “Where there is no vision of eternity, there is no prayer for the perishing.”

4:30 a.m. on Saturday will get here fast, and I will leave for Mexico!
I am so excited! I've got 2 days to finish learning as much Spanish as possible! I can currently say hello, goodbye, and where is the bathroom! I figured those were a good start!

If you've heard any recent news about Nuevo Laredo, you may have heard the city described as 'general mayhem'. I am expecting that the kids that will be at Ms. Karen's orphanage will be no exception. All of these kids are considered 'street kids', meaning they survived on the streets by either begging, prostitution, or stealing. I am extremely excited about spending time hanging out with these kids and showing them His love!! For some of them.. maybe the first real picture of love they've ever seen!

Here's what I'm learning:
Love is a sacrifice. A pouring out of oneself. And we can only pour out when we have been filled up. These past few years, as I have begun to more deeply understand my own failures, I have needed to drink more deeply of His mercy and grace. It was either drink or wither. For a while, my pride took over, and I chose withering over accepting the cup that was offered to me. But grace won (thank you, Jesus!), and I find that in drinking from that cup, I am filled with more than I can fathom! I am filled with His love. And when I choose to let that spill out of me, transformation occurs. Transformation not only in my own heart, but in those who taste His love for the first time. I am transformed because I look a little more like the One I follow each and every time I choose patience over impatience, mercy over fairness, forgiveness over begrudging, tolerance over anger, LOVE over HATE. Love. Oh, how I cannot wait to let this love overflow into the lives of children in Mexico.In countless ways I have seen that the message of love- taught not through our words, but through our ACTIONS- communicates the gospel more loudly and vibrantly than we could possibly imagine.

The Gospel- shared in kind words, patience, a smile, fairness, integrity. Africa has taught me that it is the only message I need to share. Words aren't required to communicate it, and when it is experienced, it opens doors to answer questions about its source. As my friend, Christy Nockels says: "they will know us by our love."

If I could speak all the languages of earth and of angels, but didn’t love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy, and if I understood all of God’s secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains, but didn’t love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body, I could boast about it; but if I didn’t love others, I would have gained nothing.
1 Corinthians 13:1-4

*stay tuned: I am fortunate enough to be able to update my blog while i am gone! Check back Sunday or Monday for an update from Mexico and hopefully some pictures! :)

Christmas time!

So since I posted the 2009 Christmas card picture on the last post, I decided to go back in time for a minute and post some old Christmas card pictures! Hope you enjoy them as much as I do! (sorry they're a little blurry, we're taking this back to film days!)

The art of procrastination

• I think I am a professional procrastinator.
• If procrastination were a major, I would have my ph.d.
• I am so excited! Only one more week until I'm sitting in an orphanage in Mexico, holding some sweet, sweet kiddos! I think my heart may explode!
• But first, 2 more finals to take! (and study for! AH!)
• More updating after finals :)

And here it is...

Christmas card photo 2009!