I desire to live my life for the One who Died for Me, where He leads me I want to follow with a surrendered and willing heart. This is my life changing journey of volunteering in Ecuador, the special miracle of Adoption, and my study abroad experience in Costa Rica.
Wow, I can't believe its already the very end of 2013. It has been one of the best and hardest years of my life. It has presented some of the biggest challenges but I have seen some of the greatest miracles. I think as every year draws to a close I have the tenancy to think.... this was the best year! Because no matter what happens in that year I can always see God's faithfulness and goodness. I realize that all the steps I take each and everyday contributes to the person I will be tomorrow, so no matter how easy or hard the step may be, God has a purpose and He is working in my heart and life and continues to draw me and change me and I don't ever want to go back... Time is short, life is fleeting. In many ways my life looks like its only beginning but then I know that tomorrow is promised to no man, so make today count. It could be your last. Will you be ready to meet your Maker if you die tonight? Are you ready to stand before God? Jesus Christ came to give us life, eternal life. He gave His life for us, so the very least we can do is spend our life for Him!? In a day where technology and social life bombards us on every side I so often stop and realize that I'm not being purposeful about making my life count for eternity. This life shall soon pass, only what is done for Christ shall last. God is so good and I'm so thankful for His faithfulness to me as I walk from day to day, I have had some pretty big things happen this year.... My first trip out of the the country, meeting some really amazing people and developing some amazing friendships, embarking on an adoption journey with my family, starting my first year of college and last but not least.... flipping my car... In each instance I can see Gods hand leading and guiding....He has a purpose, He has a plan. He changed my heart and life in Ecuador, He gave my friends and acquaintances that share my passions and desires, He has proven over and over again that He is the God of the impossible, He has changed my family and many others forever, He has proven that He ways and timing are perfect, He will provide the means and strength for His will to be accomplished and more often than not in ways I would have never believed possible! He certainly has kept me safe and well through it all and I hope and pray that my life will be testimony of His goodness and faithfulness.
I'm so humbled and deeply grateful that God would choose me to walk the path that He has placed me on, its so much more than I deserve. He has taken a sinful wretch and blessed me beyond compare. I'm thankful for each person that has touched my life this year, I know that so many have prayed for me and my family and I can never thank you enough because God has and is answering those prayers. I'm looking forward to 2014 and everything that God has in store. May the end of another year be a reminder to all of us that our time is shorter, life is a gift, use it wisely.
I have so enjoyed reading the year end emails and videos from different ministry's. I need the reminder that there is still more work to be done, I need to remember how blessed I am and how much for thankful I aught to be, I need to be reminded that God is working, souls are being saved, lives are being changed! As I have been challenged and blessed by these video updates I wanted to share a few videos with you...
Many of you will probably remember this orphanage that Natasha and I visited in the jungle...
I'm not sure why, but when I look at it, I just laugh and think....Yep!
I'm not sure if its the hair...the lack of sleep...trying not to blink...or wondering if my sister will stop making me pose...but whatever it is...it pretty well sums me up...this is me!
Its so amazing to see how God unfolds His plan. My family and I thought we would be in Ecuador right now with our new sister...but its not Gods time yet and we are still waiting..... Its been a very hard wait, especially as our hearts breaks for the little girl who continues to wait in an orphanage.
But...
God has a plan and I'm not sure what it is but for some reason He has given us this time and we have to see the blessings in it or we will find anger and bitterness an easy alternative at everyone and everything that stands in our way.
There have been many blessing and we have seen God working and moving in this extra time He has given us but the truth is if I dwell on it too long, my heart gives way to hurt and I just can't understand why this would be Gods will....I want to go now! I want to be done with the waiting, hurting and longing....but we are not, not yet and that means we as a family have to face a Christmas without our added blessing and she has to face another Christmas with all of her closest friends adopted, without knowing that she has a family....
But we know that all things work together for good to them that love God...
They that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint....
So Thank you God, that your ways are not my ways, I know You have this in the palm of your hand.
In the mean time,
I want to share with you an extra special gift that was bestowed on us just recently...
Dear friends gave my parents and I tickets for Steven Curtis Chapman's, Glorious Unfolding Tour!! It was truly an honor as we have been greatly blessed by Show Hope and knew it would be a blessing to hear about about the Chapman's adoptions and more about the organization that has helped us!
I know the pictures and videos are typical concert ones....the lighting is horrible and sound quality is bad, but I wanted to remember this night as another blessing from God.
Laura Story and Jason Grey
Steven Curtis Chapman and Jason Grey
My favorite!!! :) Laura Story!!!
I never imagined I would actually get to see Laura Story, and then she sang "Blessings" which I have to say has been a huge blessing in my life!
I loved hearing about the stories and struggles behind the songs, they are real people that God is working in and through and we get to experience just a little bit of it!
The adoption part was the highlight of the night for us as so many of our hearts cry's and struggles were expressed, and once again the beauty of the Gospel in Adoption was shown forth. I am beginning to see a pattern here...it seems that God starts many adoption stories by planting seeds in the heart of the daughters. So beware, if your daughter ever mentions adoption..... it might just be the voice of God.
This is the adoption song, "When Love Takes You In" and the video that I watched with tears streaming down my face... Adoption is a great need but we serve a great God and He has used this family mightily! Through Show Hope they have been able to help so many families with the financial burden of adoption.
It was so neat to hear some familiar songs LIVE!! Like "Cinderella" and "I will be Here" and the stories behind them.
Our lives truly are a Glorious Unfolding in the hands of God as He crafts each and every story, our story has taken many twists and turns in the past year, but I know that we will never be the same because our lives have been touched by Adoption.
So I'm a college student...
I spend all of my "extra" time studying, I type up papers, and I do research....but the blessing of a Christian Education is my classes are from a Christian perspective and I am challenged Spiritually. It is such a blessing to have everything I learn applied to a Christian Worldview and to have teachers and classmates who encourage me in the Word of God. I have the blessing of researching scripture for papers! But part of being challenged is being humbled....and the message in this short video is quite humbling when I realize how much my life is lacking....
So God,
Thank you for the blessing of a Christian education...
Thank you for the challenges you give me....
But God keep changing me....
Keep working on me....
Search me, O God, and know my heart, try me, and know my thoughts.
Psalm 139:23
I know I'm a sinner, I'm only a sinner....but I have been saved by grace, and this is my Hope. God will continue to work in me and change me. I want my life to be broken and spilled out for the one who saved my soul, it is a daily task that doesn't seem to get any easier. There is still a whole lot of me that I need to get rid of...
This is a recent blog post I posted in my family's adoption blog. I thought you might enjoy reading it if you have not seen it on there. It is kind of an update on our adoption and the needs we still have.
How do we face unanswered prayer?
We deal with it daily...we struggle with it hourly....
no matter the cause....
no matter where we are....
if we pray....
we will have unanswered prayer.....
One year ago....I was planning and praying for the biggest adventure of my life!
I never imagined that just one short year later my family would be preparing and praying for the biggest blessing of our lives!
I say blessing, because a child is not an adventure, we are not just trying this out....this is for real and this is for keeps!
As I was preparing for all the expenses and things that needed to be set in place...
I never imagined that my family would spend the year fundraising and doing paperwork!
As I was praying that God would let me impact just one person while I was there....
I never imagined that I would be able to be part of changing a very special girls life in a very real way!
As I found myself being spun around by one of the most amazing little girls I had ever seen....
I never imagined that I would see my family laugh and cry over the little girl that has changed their lives without even meeting her!
I never imagined how one simple prayer saying..."I will go" would have such a profound impact on my life and my family.
A year later I hear my family saying "here we are" and friends and family surrounding us saying, "we will".
Somewhere over the ocean a little girl celebrated her 9th birthday....still never knowing what its like to have a family.....here I'm crying for this little girl....and all the while God is preparing a way for this little girl.
Everything can change in a year....last year we were a complete family and this year we are missing a vital part of our family, grieving the loss of not having her with us, knowing her sorrow of still being familyless.
It makes me wonder where I will be a year from now! Probably somewhere I could never imagine! But thankful I just have to say, "Here am I, send me".
You may remember the race up the mountain that Natasha and I did in Ecuador. I have continued to receive updates and pray for this ministry to girls that have been trafficked. Here is an article that has been written about them and the climb.
“Do you see that volcano up there?” Boris Salinas points to a snowy mountain top overseeing Ecuador’s capital Quito. “It might be the target for a second Freedom Climb in Ecuador.”
Boris, a young Colombian married to Ecuadorian Fernanda, doesn’t stop talking about his plans and dreams to awaken the people of Ecuador for a revolution against human trafficking. Boris himself experienced what the intervention of God through people in someone’s life can do. After having lived on the streets for three years as a teenager, his life changed radically when an American Christian couple in Quito adopted him.
Click on the title to read the whole article. Its so amazing to see Gods love for them poured out through these people.
To read my original blog post on the climb click here.
Here is their recent newsletter if you would like to learn more about this ministry.
As you know, we are in our search for churches, organizations, universities or schools where we can show our ministry, and explain more about sex trafficking, domestic abuse, labor trafficking and rape. We want people to start worrying about these issues and show what this ministry has done over the last 4 years. We also want to show them some of the work the girls have done in our workshops and invite them to visit our ministry and our country.
WE NEED YOUR HELP!!
We want to let you know that we're saving money so we can buy a car for our ministry. Up to now we've saved an amount of 3000 $. We thank everyone who has helped us raise that amount of money so we can accomplish our goal. Now we need your help one more time! We need 4000 $so we can complete the amount required to buy our car. This car will help us as a tool for our ministry.
ZOE'S FIRST DAY
Great blessing! We want to thank you all for your support. Our daughter Zoe has started her first year, kindergarten; it's name is PLAY HOUSE and Zoe its thrill and excited! She wakes up everyday and ask us when is she going back to her school. She is very playful, has a lot of friends and has showed us some of the work she's done over the week. We are very happy to share these news with you guys, since you've been here since day one.
OCTOBER!!!
Here are some new of this month.
Dear friend, We send you lots of love from Ecuador, and we want to thank you all for your everyday support. For us it's a great blessing being able to let everyone know what God has done with us and what He keeps up doing with our ministry. Love, Boris, Fernanda and Zoe.
NEWS, NEWS, NEWS!!!
Be a part of!!
We get our sewing on!
New Girls
We need your help!
Zoe's first day!
The sewing workshop
We are starting a new project of home made articles exclusively for this New Years Eve. The girls are enjoying so much this workshop, they put to test their skills and creativity. We are looking for people who are interested in helping our ministry so we are able to buy a sewing machine. The total amount we need to raise is 600 $ or if you own a sewing machine and you're not using it anymore, you could get in touch with us, we'll give it a good use to that machine! If you want to participate in this project by praying, donating money or just being part of this idea, send us an e-mail, write us a letter or search for our address to send any donation. The girls and our ministry will be thankful.
PRAY FOR:
- So we can continue our project, finding a new sewing machine and help the girls develop new skills. - Our economic support, we have 35% of it complete, we search for new and interested people to help us as a family. - Pray for the new girls that are coming, so that God would allow us to show His love to them and that they get to know Him. - Pray for the finances of the foundation to be covered completely, so we can reach and help more girls.
NEW GIRLS!!!
This month we'll be expecting 8 new girls who have been victims of traffic labor by being sent to other countries to do forced labor, also we're receiving girls who have been victims of sex traffic on our frontiers. Their board of directors are very interested in them, so they are able to find new tools that will help them in their lives. For us this is a great opportunity to share God's Gospel with them because they've never heard of the love of God. PRAY FOR US!
PRAY FOR:
- More volunteers, committed and enlightened to help the girls. - Pray so more groups, churches and universities open their doors so we can introduce our ministry and, at the same time, sell some jewelry the girls have done. This is their only support while they're on the ministry. - Pray for our family, so we can stand still and firm. Believing in all the promises God has made to us.
