Special blessings!

After a time of ministry at the end of the Pastors' Conference, we were able to be a part of blessing several of the pastors. The coaches received a small bag, and several of the tribal pastors were given bicycles which will increase the effectiveness of their ministry in their areas. Where they were able to reach 40 villages on foot, they will now be ministering in up to 200 villages.

A whole new world!!!

Sharing the road with goats, cows and water buffalo takes some getting used to! But I am LOVING every minute of it!!!! We started the Pastors' Conference today which was really great. There are close to 100 pastors attending from all around the region. Some have traveled 6-8 hours to be here! Their passion and devotion to the Lord is inspiring!!!

Welcome to India

Arrival at our final destination!!! After 43 hours of traveling, we were greeted by the children upon our arrival at the children's home. It was really great to finally arrive. It's going to be a great trip!!!

Brother of mine

My brother, Brian, is getting married!!! On June 1 of last year he met LizBeth and 3 months later they were engaged. Now you have to understand, Brian is 2 1/2 years younger than me - it seems to me he should have the decency to wait until I've met and married Mr. Wonderful before he gets hitched, but selfish as he is, he is getting married on Sunday, March 1, 2009 - only 9 months after meeting the perfect girl! But I find hope in this - now that the search is over for himself, maybe he will finally get serious about doing his duty as a brother and find Mr. Right for me!!! Sorry, Amy, I take priority as the elder sister!!!

SO...how long before I can count on becoming an aunt?!?!?! Should I plan on a Christmas/New Year's baby?

Seriously though, I am really excited for Brian and Liz as they embark on this new leg of their journey with God together!!! I look forward to all that lays ahead of them as they begin a new season of life!!!

God still heals

Almost 9 years ago, I suffered from a debillitating headache that doctors could not clearly explain or effectively treat. During that time, I experienced severe pain in the joints of my legs which revealed the bone in my hips had died. After surgery on both hips, a blood clot that hit my lungs and threatened my life, and 4 lengthy hospital stays, God healed my head 9 1/2 months after the pain began!


I dealt with hip pain off and on for 4 years before I developed the same condition in both shoulders. The pain started in August of 2005, and by November, I'd had surgery on both shoulders with no relief. I was unable to drive, do my laundry, or open doors. Simply doing my hair was incredibly painful and difficult! By March of 2006, with the pain in both hips and both shoulders, I was forced to take a medical leave of absence from work. In June, when the pain in my hips made a wheelchair necessary to get around, I lost my job and became pretty much homebound! A year after the pain had started, I found myself on the way to the Mayo Clinic in Arizona desperately hoping for some answers and relief. I left several weeks later without either!!!


Discouraged by the medical community's inability to help in any way, I was determined to start "living again" as best I could, despite the pain, and wait on God. By the end of November 2006, I stopped using the wheelchair though the pain in my hips was intense, but in February 2007, God healed my hips which have been pain free for almost 2 years! Still limited by severe shoulder pain, I followed God's call to be a part of a mission team going to Honduras in March! Despite the pain, it was an incredible trip and I was amazed at how God strengthened me throughout the week. I returned for 2 weeks in the summer and also went on a 10 day trip to Haiti in December of last year. Each trip was wonderful, and though I had not yet experienced healing in my shoulders, I encountered God in powerful ways.


At the beginning of 2008, I began dealing with God on several heart issues that I was desperate to work through. After a time of fasting, I went to a Bill Johnson conference where God's power was at work. On the last night, for the first time in over 2 years, the pain in my right shoulder was gone!!! The pain in my left shoulder was still there, but significantly less than what it had been. I woke up the next day with the pain the lowest it had been since it had begun. By the next afternoon, I was completely pain free!!! It's been almost a year now and the pain has not returned! I am still so amazed, and forever thankful for God's goodness and mercy!!!

Safety in God

Fear has played such a major role in my life that the issue seems to invade everything. For a while now, I've been trying to not let fear control me & to let what I do be based on what God says! Through this, God has shown me that the idea of safety is key. Everything created fear & I often based my decisions on what seemed/felt more safe or what I feared less. I realized I needed a new definition from God since safety obviously doesn't mean you won't get hurt! As I prayed for God to show me what it meant to be safe with Him, He used my cousins adopted son to answer me!!! This little boy came to our family frightened, bruised & broken. As he was surrounded with love & properly cared for, he began to grow into a fun-loving little boy. I often said he "thrived in a safe environment." Realizing I didn't mean he would never be hurt or scared again, I took a closer look at what I meant by "safe" to see if this was the definition I'd been praying for. God showed me it was the fact that he was cared for by loving parents that would do everything in their power to do what is best for him that I considered him safe! He showed me that safety isn't defined by what happens to you, but the character of the One caring for you! I realized I can only find true safety in who He is, can trust that I am safe no matter what the circumstances based on His character! He had me compare the biological parents that caused so much pain and fear to my cousins. He told me the biological parents represent the kind of "father" that Satan is and that He is even more opposite of Satan than the adoptive parents are from the biologicals. However, I often treat Him as if He's the same!!! Just as the baby had to learn to live in a new environment with different parents, so Christians must learn to live in the safety of their new Father's character! But it's a process that one must go through as relationship is developed!!!

Adoption final

It's been an exciting week as the little ones were legally added to our family last Friday, July 25!!! My cousin and her husband took in a little 8 month old boy about 15 months ago when he was removed from his home due to severe abuse and joyfully welcomed his sister 4 months later as soon as she was born. After fighting a constant battle to retain custody, the children are finally theirs forever! Now they are preparing to expand their family yet again as they may soon be welcoming the kids' baby sister to their home!!!