San Juan De Atacuari, Columbia

So today I began to really miss Columbia and being with the Amazonas. A lady at work just got back from Bolivia, and it just reminded me so much of when I was in Columbia. I went on a medical mission trip the summer of 2007. The village was right off the Amazon river. I basically played with the kids and then helped out in the pharmacy. It was awesome! Except that one photo...don't think that baby was too happy, ha. We also had several services where the whole village came and people accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior...very powerful stuff. It was especially powerful because I was praying in english for these people as they were praying in Spanish, but yet we still understood each other. So cool. The picture of the blue and yellow boat..that is the boat we traveled on. We had an EIGHT hour boat ride down the amazon river!! shoot...that tiny thing with like twenty people and our luggage. I almost went crazy and I had sea legs afterwards, ha or more like "river" legs. We saw pink dolphins in the river. They are the only freshwater dolphins. Also, they had to keep reminding us not to stick our hands in the water because of piranhas :)  we did go piranha fishing at one point. We didn't realize that would be our dinner, ha. That was my first piranha and fish head meal. I didn't really eat it. The children were wonderful! We helped so many people because we brought a doctor and a dentist. We were even there just in time as a lady went into labor! It was very interesting because some of these families traveled days on the river just to come to us, and this one girl about 15 lost her baby while they were on the river coming. It was sooo sad. We prayed with her, but then it was that afternoon when the other lady went into labor. We saw God give and take away. I want to go back someday. I hope they are all doing well, I really do. 

My Life Goal has changed.It is now...

 To Someday Hug a Panda. 

Scripture for the Month

Psalm 103


"... bless the Lord O my soul and forget not all his benefits, 
who forgives all your iniquity, 
who heals all your diseases, 
who redeems your life from the pit, 
who crowns you with steadfast Love and mercy, 
who satisfies you with good..."


gonna try to memorize it so it shall be on my lips and mind this whole month. 

"If he (Satan) can deceive you into believing that he has more power and authority than you do, you will live as if he does. You have been given authority over the kingdom of darkness, but if you don't believe it and exercise it, it's as if you didn't have it (Bondage, p. 61)."

The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, the education, the money, than circumstances, than failure, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company... a church... a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past... we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% of how I react to it. And so it is with you... we are in charge of our Attitudes.

Thoughts from the drive home:

 1. First of all, driving in a snow storm is not fun, but it was entertaining at some points. I was like the only one on the road so I made lots of noises and sounds and pretended I was in a movie. I really couldn’t see where I was on the road!! I couldn’t see two feet in front of me..shoot dang. I saw sooo many accidents! There was one car that slid off the road and I should have stopped to help, but I was already passed it by the time I saw it. In all the 17 years I’ve lived in arkansas I’ve never seen snow like this, even Louisiana and Mississippi got snow! 

2. “Sometimes you put walls up not to keep people out, but to see who cares enough to break them     down.”  

 ”In the end we will not remember the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends”

3.  Leaving Greenville never gets easier. 

4.  Being Christ minded is SOO hard sometimes. We struggle SO much between what we think we should do and what we want to do. We think, “i really want to say this/do this but i know thats probably not the right thing.”  as well as “would christ really do this? would he really say this?”  why does it have to be so hard. I do believe though that if you genuinely desire to do God’s will and seeking out Him. He will NOT let you do anything other than the right thing…which is sometimes easier said than done. We just have to be obedient and faithful, and TRUST that He will hold up his end. I mean, come on, its God we’re talking about…of course He will hold up his end and move within us to do the right thing. 

5.  sometimes I think I push people away because I try so hard to be their friend. I give them my all from the beginning, I don’t hold anything back, because I found someone that think is awesome and a blessing from God and I don’t want to lose them. Sometimes I feel like I suffocate them. I don’t mean too. I just am terrified of losing them. 

6.  I’m afraid. I’m terrified. I’m scared about the future. I’m fearful of disappointing others as well as myself.  Why can’t I ever be the person I try so hard to be? 

7. Isn’t it awesome that there is enough Grace for the entire human race!! 

Redeemed!

This lovely group of young ladies above have been redeemed! These are the child brides that have been rescued by our organization during the month of december! whoa. God is doing great things. These girls are now free to go to school and get an education as well as work at the bakery shop we have opened so they can earn a living. Each one is a precious jewel. I've never met them, but I love them. I hope to meet them this year sometime!! Remember to pray for these girls in Kenya.