The end of long month!

Ola me Amigos!     
 

         

I have come to the end of my stay in the States and to the end of a long month without my loving husband. In a few hours I will be reunited with him!
 

As I look back on the month I know that God has been faithful and that it has been a blessed month. I got to spend time with dear friends in the States; I was privileged to lead an awesome team of students from BIOLA (Bible Institute of Los Angeles) on a trip to the Dominican Republic; I had my friend Carol with me to support me and co-lead the trip, and I have been experiencing God at a new level.

Throughout this month I experienced God time after time telling me, “Keep your eyes on Me and trust Me.” And while being in the Dominican Republic I was continually seeking God. I knew I couldn’t make it in my own strength. I couldn’t lead a trip without God and I couldn’t be away from Jumbo for this long. I couldn’t be paralyzed by my emotions and by my longing for my husband. God kept saying,” Keep your eyes on Me.” And that is what I tried to do. I tried to fill my thoughts with God and keep my focus on Him. I was in the DR and God wanted me there. I wanted to be obedient to Him and I wanted to be ready to be used by Him.

God’s reason for me being in the DR wasn’t always obvious. The language spoken there is Spanish and I can speak NO Spanish. But as we daily walked through town to the poor neighborhood where we where ministering through VBS (vacation Bible school), sports evangelism, door to door and prayer walk, I made friends with sellers along the way and learned some Spanish. A lot of our ministry was relational and led by the Spirit. So a lot of time was spent visiting with the local people, sharing about God’s love, praying and interceding and playing dominoes. We also did a lot of children’s ministry and played a lot of hours with the children. The children were hungry for love and attention.
  
 

This is what one of the girls on the team wrote on her evaluation as her best memory:

“The thing that will stick in my mind most on this trip was when some little boys were fighting, as they often did, and one of them got punched in the face. I pulled the 2 apart and picked up the one who was hit and crying, and instead of protesting or trying to get away from me, he just let me hold him and didn’t let go the rest of the day. He just wanted to be loved.”
       

(Thanks Erica)

I think the hardest part of the trip for the team was saying goodbye to the children. Their hearts were touched by the children and they went home with broken hearts. It was rewarding to see how God was working in the team’s lives and how He was changing them.

My last weekend here in the States was spent with a South African friend and his wife and on Sunday we went to church. As we were singing a song I’ve sung a thousand times before, this words hit me as if it was the first time ever singing them: “Seeking you as a precious jewel, Lord to give up I’d be a fool.” I don’t want to give up on seeking God daily! I don’t want to be a fool!

Next time you here from me I’ll be back with Jumbo and we will be in Swaziland. Things are really starting to happen in Swaziland and I am excited to get back!