Hold Me

Here is a beautiful song for your inspiration. Thanks Julie Greeneyes!

Memories - part 1

Here is a disjointed myriad of pix - some of the things I'm thankful for and that I'll always remember :)

The camaraderie and fun at home activities are memories not easily forgotten. I can't forget to mention that in this pic the swiss chocolates were SALACIOUS and the pocketknives - precious.

Following is a pic from an Aries celebration.

Here are two of the sweetest munchkins in the world. They encourage me and keep me in stitches, so I'm forced to return the love with some extra 'tickle therapy' (off they run, squealing 'it's the tickle monster!' as they go).

The other day one of them heard that Sara, who helped raise him, was going to move. After the tears he dried his eyes and said, 'where's A. Maria, cause she always comforts us when we are sad.' Sniff. That was his good deed for the week and it succeeded in meltingmy already extra-mushy heart. Ha!

Then there was the time I snipped my hair off at a whim (if you know me, that doesn't happen often)

Organizing special dinners for the home. This time my pupils and I prepared a steak and pasta dish. Turns out that our decorator decided to make a low, japanese-style table. So I guess it was 'east meats west' ish.

Our beautiful green property and fun united GOs as a Home - soccer, capture the flag, cops and robbers, water fights, water polo, baseball, American football, etc.

You have endured! You have overcome! You are a winner!!!!!

Finding every opportunity to kidnap the poor unsuspecting mic, snicker snicker (National Retreats, FDTP, club house, YA activities, show for Iraque refugees, C-mas singing in Chile, busking, etc.) Then there are the fun witnessing times with the dahoots, here Caryn and I are witnessing at the nicest airport restaurant, to some potential customers (emphasis on POTENTIAL)

I'll have to add a part two to this, but I can't leave without mentioning the many programs we organized for the kids, and how they now are up to 7 years older and still come to say thanks. They each have a special place in my heart, and so does everyone who worked with me. I'd better stop too before I get weepitive. In the last pic I'm giving one of my students their certificate and medal for completing a 'Jesus In-Depth' course. Catcha' in part 2.

New Poll

A big thank you to all who voted on the first poll. I'm encouraged that most of you found it interesting or even inspiring - it's only Jesus! And for the few who deemed it boring - hey! You are still here! Heh.

This blog will most likely close in a month or two, so I put up another poll requesting your input on what kind of posts you would like to see more of so I can make the most of this period. You can also comment here if you have any personal preferences that aren't listed, or any other comments.

Blogging has been a fun way for me to share all that the Lord is and has done for me - plus it's given me a writing outlet - but if the blog is enjoyable for you as well, that's a great plus and it makes me happy! :)

I love you all tons! Don't forget to vote! xxx

Quotes

Here are a few inspirational quotes from various sources:

(Jesus) "Having all the time in the world doesn't bring out the best in you, but pressure can and will, if you take it the right way." (The Ride of Your Life:45b)

(Jesus) "I'm not going to disadvantage your kids so that the Offensive can succeed. Your kids are going to succeed BECAUSE of the Offensive!" (The Ride of Your Life:27a)

"I wasn't God's first choice for what I've done for China…I don't know who it was…It must have been a man…a well-educated man. I don't know what happened. Perhaps he died. Perhaps he wasn't willing…and God looked down…and saw Gladys Aylward…And God said - "Well, she's willing." - Gladys Aylward (the picture on the right is beleived to be her only photograph, her life story is dramatized in the film 'The Inn of the Six Happiness')

"Obedience is the blood of a missionary heart, and love is what keeps it pumping." (Love for the Lost -text box)

(Jesus:) "Take Me at My word! That's all there is to it! Then there will be no loss, only gain, as you pave the way for the glorious future through your solid faith and belief in Me and what I promise to do for you and yours."(The Ride of Your Life!:44b)

HAPPY VALENTINES DAY - with a thought or two

Happy Valentines Day! I hope you are all enjoying this special day with our True Love. Here's a cute poem I found that encapsulates my wishes for you all - and I dedicate it to all of you in my extended Family ;) (just imagine that it's from one person - me - though the idea of the poem being from two people makes it all the more special and unique)

Be with us in the circle of our love,

Even if by chance you are alone.

Our greetings we have hope your heart will move,

Uniting our good wishes with your own.

Remember there are those who think of you,

Vested in the will to be a friend.

As distant hills give depth to what we view,

Let these words some grace to your day lend.

Each life is lived behind a sheltering veil,

Not lifted but for love. Yet when we will,

There is a wind that shifts the rampart frail,

Invading with sweet scent the spirit still.

Now may we all enjoy this fragrance fine,

Each each other's secret Valentine.

And here's another for all of us who have lived in love and who will continue to do so till He comes:

Very little love is lost in living.

A star can fill a universe with light,

Lasting not one second less for giving

Each of us the gift of its delight.

Nor do we love ourselves the less for loving,

Taking others' pleasures for our own.

In love there is an ecstasy unmoving,

Neither more engaged nor less alone,

Eternal in its house of flesh and bone.

I love you! Have a wonderful Valentine's Day with Him!

HAPPY BIRTHDAY ESTHER!!

Here's to my rain or shine friend. We've been through thick and thin, close and far, happy and sad, taken and not - and yet she's still one of my bestest friends. :) Have a good one, Stirfry, and don't forget to keep smiling. I'm praying that this year can be a culmination of all your blood, sweat and tears of the last years - reaping the returns of everything you have given for Him - times one hundred - as you serve Jesus and be happy ;). If anyone would like to leave a comment for my dear friend's birthday, now is your chance! Later may be ... not her birthday anymore ;)

BACKTRACKING 4 - Milton Keynes, England

Ok, here are a bunch of photos from the time spent in Milton Keynes, England. After arriving, Ivan, Julz and I went for a walk at a lake. Ivan and Sam (who walked us halfway) insisted on going through an spooky old Church cemetery on the way (so as to spook us out - check out my face as I stand by one of the graves) but we survived and made it to the lake - the way back was another story.True to England, the day was a bit grey and drizzly, so we picked up some umbrellas at another home on the way. It was a nice walk and we took some pix as I got the brief of English culture with both Ivan and Julz as my guides. It's beautiful and all the houses are red brick houses with big front windows that look like display windows, except that you should not look in - Ivan was still learning that art.Also I learned that they show their status by the dog they have, ha!That night Ivan and Julz took us to a typical pub and we had some delicious beer called a lime-lager (thanks anonymous) - delicious! It's a bit sweet and has a lime twist. Thanks Ivan! These pint glasses are so cool - wish they served pints here in Brazil, ha!The next day we visited the longest mall in the world. We didn't stay long, but there was a good deal for panties (thanks Julz!) so it was worth checking, heh.That night there was a fun new years party, but silly me didn't take any pix, sniff. It was nice, well planned, and great for fellowship. The homes around there have so many great people and the Paris home was visiting too. We had a blast!The next day the guys (along with Julz and Lisa) went to play basketball, and Benedict, Agnes (Metanoia twins) and I decided to explore the surrounding area. We did pretty well the first time (or so we thought), and found the basketball court again. Then, after our success, we thought, 'why not walk home!' That didn't work out as well as we hoped, but after almost an hour of losing ourselves we found the house (it was supposed to have been a 5 minute walk, ha!). It was fun and adventurous, nonetheless.Last are pix of Mich (of Anthony) and one of Ang's sister, Michelle (of Dan) and her adorable little munchkin. Sorry the pic is blurry - my fault.

BACKTRACKING 3 - Revelations

Have you ever studied the book of Revelations? It might help you to understand my blog, ha! Yes, I've been doing the flash back, flash middle, flash forward thing that is oh so typically Revelations style - but I hope I don't lose you in the meantime, ha!Now we'll go a bit further into the trip, back to Iceland and to the beautiful Blue Lagoon. Imagine ... 2 degrees below zero in the land of fire and ice ... mystical vapor everywhere ... a hot water reservoir bursting from within the earth already mingled with white silica mud and blue algae (each coveted for their cosmetic qualities) thus adding a fluorescent blue hue to this surreal atmosphere . No germs survive these extremes, so there is no need for caution - it's just about the closest thing to paradise. The water is warm, though very hot in certain parts. I choose the area that is about 40-42 degrees. My face automatically receives a natural steam bath and I apply some of the white silica to my face as a mud mask. My skin begins to feel very silky and just plain nice. Volcanic rock formations form a rippling skyline while patches of clear sky and storm (and other) clouds contrast the rocks' apparent steadfastness. The sky is churning - a snow, rain or hail storm fast approaches (here you never know which, but this time it was snow). Yet, here I am, floating in the mineral filled liquid that can just carry your relaxed frame into a still and peaceful state with only the sound of the water gurgles in your ear (wow, now I sound poetic). Talk about a good place for meditating and just listening! - And that's what I did. I named this post 'revelations' for more reasons than one. There I for the first time experienced the spiritual activity so predominant in Iceland. It was a beautiful time with the Lord and a myriad of awesome helpers. I did so as night approached. By the time we left it was evening, but it was a beautiful time of felowship not only with my mom (the photographer - I appreciate you having frozen your toes for me), Sarah I. (thanks for provisioning the tickets! ILY), and Finnur (one of the AMs from Iceland - a real on-fire cool guy), but also with some cool spiritual entities I understood more about later. The Lord is awesome and His nature portrays it so beautifully! Anyone looking for a new field? Iceland needs top disciples and witnessers to reach it's harvest of sheepy and very spiritual people. Could that disciple be you?

BACKTRACKING 2 - Check out the Black Sea and Bosphorus Straight from the ruins of a Roman fort

Watch my sis and I after climbing to the top of the fort over this stone stairway that seemed to have a hole blown into the middle (in pic). You'll love the view though. It was snowing a tad too, though you can't really tell.

BACKTRACKING 1 - Christmas for Iraque Refugees

Ok, now for a little backtracking (prepare for a few of these, heh). First I'll add a few pix from the practice and Christmas show for 200 Iraq refugee children. FIrst is one from the practice (with Michael Piano coaching us all, yey!) Next is one of us performing Feliz Navidad for them. Then there is one of them teaching me some belly dancing while Mike P and the band play an Arabic song they all knew. Then there is the best part of all - when Lily (with the help of a translator) prayed with them to receive the Lord after Mike P sang Peace in the Midst of Storm in Arabic, it brought tears to my eyes. We ended with more dancing and many of the kids came up on stage to sing the Christmas songs they knew along with us. Many of the kids stayed after for pix and hugs and didn't want to leave. It was a touching sight that really made Christmas special. Come to think of it, what is Christmas without giving Him to others? I'm honored to have enjoyed the opportunity to bring the Joy-Giver to these children who have seen so much sadness. I hope you enjoyed a little peak into this one of His Christmas gifts to me :)

Guilty as charged

Yep, my grand hopes of keeping a faithful journal of my trip have been shattered due to the reality of traveling. I did post a few pix, but not nearly enough. So I officially give up. I will post a few from Iceland though, since my time here does afford me the rare commodity of internet access. I hope you enjoy these. The first is me in front of a little church, behind which is Reykjavik and further behind are the snowy mountains. The wind is so cold here!Then there is the one of Lisa, Consuelo and I at a local club with our pint glasses (tx Lisa!)

Hi Everyone! This is just a short note to let you know that we arrived safely to Holland from Istanbul. I'll post more on Istanbul shortly, but I have to share this part of the adventure while it is still fresh. The plane delayed from the morning to the night, then it delayed another hour! So, we missed the night train to Gouda (where my aunt lives) and had to wait until 4 AM for the next trains. The first is a pic of me all wrapped up on the second train with my luggage (my mom fell asleep, so I was intently looking and listening so we wouldn't miss the stop - though my eyes were playing tricks on my and kept trying to close.When we arrived there was no one in sight. For the first time in the trip I felt a bit abandoned, ha! The Lord, the sweetie that He always is, cheered me up in a simple and special way. When we arrived up the stairs (yes, carrying up our heavy suitcase) there was some beautiful English Christmas songs ringing in the air - reminding us that He was there. We didn't find a cab and didn't know how to contact one and the last we had heard, my aunt's husband was out early with the car. So we walked for 45 minutes or so at 6 AM (the sun rises at 8:30) in weather 5 degrees below zero through the city of Gouda trying to follow the scribbled written instructions we had for getting to my aunt's house (taking turns to run to street corners to see if we have the right street before lugging the suitcases in that direction). I have never felt so cold and I imagined how Scott must have felt on his way to the south pole, ha! My nose was completely numb and for a second I thought I had frostbite. But it was fun and quite the adventure - though without the suitcases would have been best, ha! Everyone is skating and sliding around the ice out the window, and there are little kids too- it's so cool! Here is a pic of the view out the window right nowand then one of my mom and I standing on the frozen cannal by a frosty bush (don't worry, we weren't out in those clothes, we had already arrived and jumped out for a pic). And last there is another of the rose hips covered with frost.Tomorrow is the shortest day of winter, and we're going to try to go ice skating too! We're at my aunt's right now and tomorrow we will go to our other Aunt's.

Thanks for keeping us in your prayers - I'll post more soon. Lots of love.

First outing in Istanbul

Our first day in Turkey was great, we woke up late and took the day to explore the village near the house. We walked down the hill for half an hour and arrived to the village of Sariyer. Our first stop was to eat some delicious Doner, of typical sandwitch where they slice the chicken or meat off this huge pile that is close to the fire and fill a piece of turkish bread with that and salad. On the side we drank Ayran, a mixture of yogurt, water and salt. It's actually quite delicious! I'll add the pix of the man preparing it as well as us eating the final product. Ok, then we went to the Wednesday market where we got a taste of bargaining as my sister did so for any little thing we buy. It's hillarious actually, as they always give you a first price that is twice the real price and you are expected to bid and bargain it down every time - and my sis is downright good, though after every bargain the salesmen had gone through his life and my sisters in great detail in the course of the conversation at bargaining intervals that are carefully planned by the bargainers. Anyway, there were cheap panties and sports bras, and it was a fun experience. Here is a pic of the market too. Last, but not least, here is a pic of a couple guys in the home before they went out to a show. The guy in the back is Martin, but he's taken. The guy in the front is Shawn - he's quite funny, but mostly foolish - and he's single. So girls... I'll catch you all again soon. xxx