PURE JOY!!!!

MA MOTOUNDO!!

My new Congolese Name that these Beautiful Seniors Gave Me!!

It Means: One who is Thankful!!!

This was an incredibly, AWESOME couple of hours spent in the Congo!!!

This was at the Senior Center........Many walk here everyday to have some fun while there families are away at work.....Some families drop them off for the day......All I know is that I was so fortunate to have the opportunity to spend time with them!........

My new Every Other Wednesday Plan......SENIOR CENTER!!

 Top:  Ma singing us a song she wrote sharing her Thankfulness for Mercy Ships!

Bottom: Ma sharing some WISDOM on how to raise children!

STORY TIME

LOADS OF FUN!!

When Andrea told us this was the plan.....I thought she was CRAZY.....I did not believe they would be able to do!!!.........I was amazed at how good they were at this!!!!

Oh my Gosh....These MEN were so FUNNY!!!!

WOW!!!!!

It is all about Singing and Dancing in the Congo!!!!

"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope" Romans 15:13

Please pray for my brother Ronnie, his kidneys haves failed and he is requiring Dialysis. I am on my way home to be with him and pray that Our Lord will surround him and give him comfort and healing. 

God has said,

Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you 

(Heb 13:56)

"He tends his flock like a shepherd: He gathers the lambs in his arms and carriers them close to His heart". (Isa 40:11)

"For I am the Lord, your God, who takes hold of your right hand and says to you, Do not fear: I will help you." (Isa 41:13)

"The Lord your God is with you, he is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, he will quiet you with his love, he will rejoice over you with singing." (Zeph 3:17)

(Thank you Bianca for reminding me of these beautiful promises from God!! )

So I sit here in a hotel room in Ethiopia.....with 2 new Mercy Ship friends.....we missed our connecting flights and landed at the Beshale Hotel for 24 hours!......Stacy has graciously mapped out  day of touring the city with plans to visit some cathedrals and a Mosque!!

A YEAR OF DIFFERENT

2014........The year to fall in love with my own life! My destiny!

The year of DIFFERENT.....it is all good.....just different.....it took a tremendous amount of courage and faith to step out and try life from a new perspective.

So what do I do now.....

Watch what God does and do it! I found that mostly what God does is love us! So, I choose for 2014.....to learn how God loved and do the same! 

He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of himself to us! I want to love like that!!

Goals: 

Learning compassion

understanding Love, 

and experiencing Joy. 

This life of love is only possible by getting in touch with the one who truly loves us. The closer I get to God’s heart, the more I want to love others. I long to love because I have been so deeply loved!

:).........New Year's Word's of Wisdom to my Congolese Son!!!

Our souls are created for love, but this love can’t exist without God, or it will be selfish and demanding. We must exchange our own way for God’s way. 

Christmas Eve...........We woke in the morning with our shoes filled with LOVE!!!!

Amazing Full Course Dinner at Mama Odette's! It is amazing the wonderful food that can be prepared with no running water or kitchen appliances!

With every great adventure that God sets before us.......he turns it into an Amazing One!!

Love all the places that I have gone and all the places I will go! Love the lessons I have learned and the way that I have learned them. 

From Hospital to Home...............

A little different than what we are used to.............Yet well loved when he got home!!

“Do not conform any longer to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what is God’s will - his good, pleasing and perfect will”
Romans 12:12

“For I know the plans for you, declared the Lord - plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future” Jeremiah 29:11

Christmas Party at the Kids Orphanage

To feel compassion without judging we have to go through difficult times ourselves
Understanding love took many lessons....then to find out...the key to love was our heart!

Christmas Party at the Hope Center

Let the journey unfold

Let it be magical

The way has been prepared

People will be expecting you

Yes, you are being led

Take along some humility and the lessons of the past........Toss in some curiosity and excitement and let the journey unfold!

God has been AMAZING in my life!……….Scripture shares that God wants to give us a life of abundance……I was not sure what that meant in the past…now I reflect and learn what that abundance has been recently…

From my youth I struggled with being accepted, wanting to have friends, feeling loved……..50 years goes by and I still struggled……I lacked feeling loved, lacked feeling accepted, I had many self-worth issues that limited me from being the woman that God truly set out for me and all women to be……..I prayed about it often and believe that God opened the doors and brought me here, he knew just what I needed………LOVE, ACCEPTANCE, CONNECTION, FRIENDSHIPS…………and now……………I have been given this in ABUNDANCE!!!!……..I am amazed! I now have friends from all over the world, I've established so many deep connections with people and learned the LOVE of God! 

I finally have a sense of peace and contentment and not "needing" people to meet my needs……..I get that from my faith in God and now I can go out and just enjoy people for who they are. 

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

In working or in waiting, another year with Thee.

Another year of progress, another year of praise,

Another year of proving Thy presence all the days.

Another year of mercies, of faithfulness and grace,

Another year of gladness in the shining of Thy face;

Another year of leaning upon Thy loving breast;

Another year of trusting, of quiet, happy rest.

Another year of service, of witness for Thy love,

Another year of training for holier work above.

Another year is dawning, dear Father, let it be

On earth, or else in heaven, another year for Thee."

-- Frances Havergal (1874)