Freedom

I was skimming my journal and came across this entry from about a year and a half ago. When I spend time with the Lord, I often go back to the times when I have felt closest to Him, enjoying his creation........

The rocks cry out for glory! There is freedom in the mountain, there is freedom in the climb. Something says, "push on." "Hit the ridge and keep on going." The path is sometimes difficult and the load is sometimes heavy but I must push on. I feel a burn in my legs and exhaustion creeps in. There is freedom in every step. The peak comes into view and begins to draw me like a magnet. Every step is a gift, essential but taken for granted. My breathing is heavy and my muscles burn but my mind stays focused, one step at a time. The climb is steep and the path sometimes unclear but there is a constant whisper that says, "follow me." There is freedom in the path, there is freedom in the whisper. The peak is deceiving, its tricks me and beats me down but I know the distance, I know the truth, my maps don't lie. The heavy breathing dissipates and the load becomes light. With summit under foot, I look up to hear His voice gently say,

"I AM," followed by the cry of creation that says, "all glory and praise to my maker."I am free when I am close to you.

Out of Order

So I was sick for 3 weeks here on the island which was no fun. I went to the doctor twice, each visit took over 4 hours, they put me on malaria medication which I took for 5 days and didn't get better and after many calls from my mom, my dad, and Kendall who love me and care for me so well, I got a plane ticket home to go to a doctor in the States. Turns out I have Mono which blows but its better than something serious, so I am counting my blessings. I have been doing my best to lay low and rest but that is probably the hardest thing in the world for me to do. I have been able to look at the positive in all of this as well though, right before I went home I had been struggling for about 2 weeks emotionally spiritually and obviously physically so I take the trip home as a gift from the Lord. Kendall is no longer here on the island so it was so good to be refreshed by my family and the woman I love. I have been back here now for about 4 days and I feel mentally and spiritually refreshed, I am trying to finish the year strong or at least as strong as I can. I felt great the past two days and pushed it pretty hard taking 8 kids from French Harbour to play a soccer game VS. the local orphanage, going to school, building a few things, and catching up with people then this afternoon I hit a wall and fell asleep for 3 1/2 hours, it was so good. I still feel pretty good and I think I am on the tail end of this sickness so if you think about it please keep me in your prayers, I have a lot on my mind and heart to do before I leave and I only have 1.5 weeks.

On another note, I am super excited for my wedding and am learning so much about Kendall, myself and the Lord through this engagement process. Its amazing how much you can learn about the Lord through a relationship with another person. Much love.

Life and Truth

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?"

Romans 10:14

The Gospel can be told using the most basic words and still manage to cut to the very root of a person. It is the most beautiful and life changing message on earth! I have had the opportunity to share the gospel a few times this week and remembered how simple words can bring Life! One of my friends shared his conviction with me after church on Sunday. He was convicted of the sin in his life and didn't know how to express it. Gus looked at me after church and said, "I feel sad." Later that day I took him out to follow through on a promise I had made him to teach him how to drive stick shift and I asked him what he meant in church. This it what he said, "I feel bad when I go to church because I sometimes fight people and do other bad things that I know I shouldn't do. And I just wonder, when am I going to change?" In that moment I was able to share the Gospel of grace with Gus. I simply told him that we will always mess up but God loves us and the beauty of what Jesus did 2000 years ago is that God forgives us of everything we have done and He will continue to forgive us for the rest of our lives. All we have to do is believe that and Love Him. A part of loving Him is doing what you know you should do, so even though God forgives us, we can't do as we please. We must try our best to honor God and do what He wants us to do. Gus is a soft spoken 18 year old guy who I have been building a relationship with for about a year now. He spends a lot of time thinking and is very careful with his words so when he says things like that, it is not taken lightly. The Lord is after his heart and I believe Gus is a lot closer to redemption that he realizes. Please pray for Gus! Keep your eyes open throughout your day for opportunities to share the love of Christ through words and actions. We must open our mouths and share the truth! This is our call.

Red, yellow and sometimes white

Martha hands Alejandro a hot dog at mentoring last week and says "do you want ketchup and Mustard"

Alejandro - What?

Martha - Do you want Ketchup and Mustard?

Alejandro - What?

Martha - C'mon man

Alejandro - You mean the red and the yellow

Martha - yea, the red and the yellow

Alejandro - I want red.....

Martha - ok, got it

Alejandro - No I want red and yellow............. you ain't got no white?

Limited vocabulary, we are working on improving that.

Living up to the name!

Yesterday was my first time taking some of our boys climbing. It was awesome to see these teenagers get so excited about climbing! They have never done anything like this so it was awesome to get them out of their boxes and get a little uncomfortable. These kids walk the streets everyday and pretty much fear nothing, but when they got about 15 feet off the ground, I thought they were going to pee in their pants. I chose three kids who have shown some leadership qualities in our mentoring program but who still need a lot of guidance. We were able to relate trusting in the rope to trusting in God and having to let go of our problems sometimes trusting God to take care of us. It was Gus' birthday, so we all went out for pizza after climbing with one of the other teachers and replenished our bodies with grease and soda. It was the perfect day!