Weekend in the Mountains

The only thing more perfect than spending a long October weekend in the North Carolina Mountains is spending it with life-long dear friends!

Mom's birthday on the Great Smoky Mountains Railway!  Celebrating the big 7-0!

Mom and Carole, her BFF from way back!

Picnic lunch along the Nantahala River.

Perfect Fall weather!

Visiting my BFF and her family in TN! 

April and I go back all the way to Kindergarten.

Seeing another of my childhood buddies who now lives in Asheville

Ginger just opened her new business, Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn in Asheville so we went to check it out!  Super yum!!

BFF's are the Best!

Today, Mom and I got to have lunch with Christa and Barbara, my sweet BFF from high school and her mom.  What a treat to get to visit and catch up with old friends who love and support you unconditionally!  

Leaving Colombia

As most of you know by now, Jorge and I are taking a sabbatical year during 2014.  We actually left a bit early so that we could participate in our nieces' Quinceañera (15th birthday) Party which is a very big deal, especially for most Mexican families.  But I'll share about our sabbatical and the party in a later post.

Leaving Colombia wasn't easy...in more ways than one. 

First of all it was just a lot of work in the physical and practical sense of packing up our house and trying to tie up loose ends with personal and ministry belongings and responsibilities.  Second of all, dealing on an emotional level with knowing we were going to be leaving our friends, staff and the new baby.   Add to that equation the fact that we unwisely (in retrospect) got our dog spayed just a few days before we left.  If she would have healed normally everything would have been fine.  But she didn't!  Let's just say that I was a real cry baby for the last 2 weeks before we left!!  My emotions were all over the map!  Uuuggghhhh...it was heart wrenching!


Our last group photo together...first one with Moises!

Our trip leaving Colombia went great!  Until it didn't!  But really, it did! 

On October 12, the beginning of our trip was sweet... saying our airport goodbyes with our closest friends and getting in those last few squeezes with baby Moises, while sad, were also comforting and helped us to say goodbye to Cartagena on a high note.  Arriving to Bogota we had the joy of meeting up with Alexandra (former staff member/dear friend) who came to the airport with her mom and niece to see us off!  That was also a sweet time that we really appreciated!

Alexandra with her mom and niece at the Bogota airport.

Everything went great checking into our flight..no problems with luggage or anything!  We had plenty of time and were browsing through one of the airport gift shops before we headed towards immigration and security.  As I was looking around a funny thing happened to me. 

A video came to my mind that some friends had posted on Facebook.  It was a cute little video of their almost 3 year old little girl belting out a worship song at the top of her lungs.  She was singing with all her heart and soul, "Tu eres Todo Poderoso, Eres Grande y Majestuoso! Eres Fuerte! Invencible!  Y no hay Nadie como TUUUUUUUU!!!!"  The song declares how our God is All Powerful, Grand, Majestic, Strong and Invincible and there is NO ONE LIKE HIM!!!  Well, this video and the song were just totally stuck in my head and I could not resist the urge to sing... out loud!!  I don't normally do that in public, especially in the tight quarters of an airport gift shop but I really did not care one bit if anyone looked at me strangely... I just sang!!  And smiled!!

We mosied through the airport making our way to the international departure area and into the Immigration line.  I just kept singing the whole way.  I remember when I walked through the doors to Immigration I was struck at that moment at how tangible I felt God's Presence with me.  It was one of those special, goose bump moments where out-of-the-blue, I just became very aware of His Presence!  As I waited in line I pondered this in my heart and just enjoyed the moment.

Seconds later it was our turn to get our passports checked.  Jorge and I didn't have a care in the world.  The officer stamped Jorge's passport and then looked and looked through mine.  He kept flipping the pages and going back and forth.  I wasn't even really paying attention...I was still singing (in my head, anyway).  The officer asked me if I had another passport.  I explained that I had some expired passports at home but I didn't have any of them with me.  I was clueless.  Then he asked me if I had a more recent passport.  I was still without a clue and just looked at him strangely and said no.  Then he finally spelled it out for me... "Ma'am, your passport expired 5 1/2 months ago.  I can't let you leave the country."

My mind went totally blank!  I couldn't think straight.  I couldn't, wouldn't believe him until I saw it with my own eyes!  How did this happen????  I was frozen and just couldn't believe this was happening to me.  They passed us to another immigration officer and he tried to help.  "Do you have a Mexican passport?"  "No."  "How about a Colombian passport?"  "No."  "Well if you were traveling to the USA I'd let you leave because they won't deny entry to their own citizen, but you are going to Mexico.  They won't let you in.  I'm sorry ma'am but I can't let you leave the country."

So literally in a matter of minutes we had to make some major decisions.  What were we going to do?  Would Jorge stay with me and we'd find a place to stay until I could get a new passport?  Should I just buy a ticket to the USA so I could leave then and there...but that would be crazy expensive!  Or should Jorge just leave as scheduled and I would stay behind by myself in Bogota?  The last option was the one that made the most sense.  There was no point in loosing two tickets.  My mind was swirling and I was feeling overwhelmed and emotional, choking back tears, trying to stay calm but feeling very anxious. 

And then as I stood there crying out to God to help me, He reminded me of something.  "Weren't you, just seconds ago, singing about how great and powerful and majestic and invincible I AM?!  Didn't you just FEEL My Presence WITH YOU?!"  In an instant I was able to take a very deep breath and let it all go!  "Yes, Lord, I KNOW You are with me and YOU will help me!!  I am not alone and I have nothing to fear!!" "None of this is a surprise to you."  "Thank you, Jesus!!"  "Everything is going to be just fine!!!"  And His Peace just flooded over me and all my anxiety was gone!!!  I even felt a sense of expectation to see what He was going to do... how He was going to work this all out.

So from there Jorge and I went back to the airline counter and explained the problem.  Jorge went off to try to make some phone calls.  We no longer had our cell phones or any of our phone numbers with us because we had left all of that in Bocachica.  So we had to play an interesting game of phone tag... he called so & so and asked her to call so & so, so that he could call so & so, our friends in Bogota, to ask them if they could pick me up at the airport and give me refuge for a few days. Everything was up in the air but Jorge had to leave so he gave me all the coins he had left in his pocket so I could use the pay phone and I urged him to leave so he wouldn't miss his flight.  Then I was there all "alone" but with God by my side!! 

In order to cancel my flight I had to re-book my departure before my original flight left so basically I had about one hour to decide what day I wanted to travel.  It was a Saturday and Monday was a holiday so the offices wouldn't be open again until Tuesday.  I had no idea how long it took to get issued a passport at the local embassy. But I had to make a guess.  I booked my flight for Wednesday and paid around $200 dollars for the fine and the difference in the tickets.  Once I had that settled I headed to look for the pay phones and was able to get in touch with Samy in Bocachica who told me he had already spoken to our friend Pedro in Bogota and he was on his way to the airport to pick me up! 

It took a couple of hours to get my luggage back (which we had already checked on the plane) and for Pedro to come but as I waited I felt God's presence with me and I was very grateful to Him for the way He was taking care of me! 

Our friends Pedro & Elsa welcomed me into their home!

In the end it turned out that I had a great weekend in Bogota.  I got to go to church with my friends and visit some other good friends who just happen to live a few blocks away.  I felt totally welcome and at home and couldn't have asked for a more enjoyable and  refreshing time. It turned out to be a blessing to be able to transition from the hectic and emotional time of leaving Colombia so that I could arrive to Mexico a with my batteries recharged and ready to start out the next chapter.  See photos here.



Our friends, Jairo and Vilma, spoiled me for a day and totally blessed me!

I was within walking distance (a good long walk but walking distance nevertheless!)  of the U.S. Embassy so I was able to go back and forth really easily which is a huge blessing when you are in a city of 7 million!  I was able to get an emergency passport issued all in the same day so I was ready to travel again by Wednesday morning!  Perfect timing to get my flight to Mexico.  Thank you, Jesus!

 

 

Unless You Change And Become Like a Child...

  On May 25th our friends, Archie and Jessica Edenfield, from our Mercy Ships days, had to say goodbye to their 4 year old little boy, Silas, who went home to be with Jesus after fighting a cancer battle for about a year and half.  Silas was diagnosed with stage IV Hepatoblastoma, a rare liver cancer that affects about 1 in a million children in the United States each year.  You can learn more about Silas' story on his Facebook page: Praying for Silas .

Archie and Jessica asked their friends to share their own personal stories of how Silas' life touched them and what they may have learned in the process.  So, I've decided to share mine.  The following is from a journal entry I wrote on April 19th of this year:

Thinking about little Silas, on the brink of meeting Jesus face-to-face and my first thought is: "How fortunate and lucky (I don't really believe in "luck", it's just a word that comes in handy sometimes)  Silas is to get to meet Jesus while he's still little and innocent and clean in heart and mind and spirit!"  He gets to run wildly with open arms and his head held high to embrace Him and receive His embrace.  He's not worried about the years he lived here on earth and how he failed Jesus; disappointed with himself because of his sin and mistakes.  He's not plagued by thoughts of all that he could have done but didn't do for Jesus.  He's not hung-up on his unworthiness.  He's only 4 years old.  He's just thankful to get his new body and ready to be with Jesus! 

I was feeling a bit envious and a little sorry for myself and the fact that I do have all those disappointments and regrets and hang-ups.  Why can't we all run to Jesus with our arms opened wide and our heads held high?  I want that too!  But then Jesus reminded me of what He said in Matthew 18:3:  "Truly I tell you, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven."  And all of the sudden, thinking of Silas, I understood what He meant and I realized that I have definitely NOT been doing that! 

Silas is an innocent little boy but he's also a sinner, unworthy of God's love - we all are.  We are born that way.  But Silas is so young and innocent that He's not over-analyzing God's promises of love and forgiveness and giving us His Righteousness.  He doesn't try to figure it all out and prove it or disprove it in his mind.  He doesn't fret about whether he's going to pass or fail.  He just accepts it as a fact and receives it with excitement and thankfulness.  

With that image in my mind, of Silas running into Jesus' arms, I realize that is how Jesus wants ME to come running to Him as well!  He doesn't want me to come with my head bowed down, in shame and regret; hesitant about approaching Him; hung up on all my regrets about how I lived my life here on earth.  He wants me to be like a child.  While yet a sinner - still innocent and wide-eyed, excited, grateful, accepting and believing in HIM and His promise of love and forgiveness and clothing me with His Righteousness; making all things new and innocent again!  

His incredible grace and mercy is such a HUGE, UNFATHOMABLE GIFT that we find it hard to understand and grasp.  That He can or is willing and desires to take all our sin and failures and mistakes and regrets and make us clean of them all and free us from that bondage and the weight of regret and guilt and give us HIS Righteousness as a gift!  A gift we don't deserve and could never earn - it's just His love-gift to us.  So when God looks at us He doesn't see our unrighteousness; He sees Jesus' Righteousness that covers over our multitude of sin.  That's why He can receive us into His Holy Presence - because we've been forgiven and set free.  

But oh, when will I learn that I don't have to wait until Heaven - while that hope sustains and strengthens me - I have this gift here and now on earth, in my every day life.  I have accepted His gift of salvation and grace and forgiveness and freedom!  So, I don't have to over-analyze and fear and regret because that would be to throw away this precious Gift that Jesus gave me.  That would be like if someone gifted me with the finest meal at the finest restaurant on earth and I just decided to go to McDonald's instead.  

It's completely my choice.  God has already given me the gift.  The ball is in my court.  Do I really believe Him?  Do I accept His Gift - not just in word but in deed?  Do I come to Him like a child - all dizzy-happy in my innocence - that sweet innocence that He gave me - with my arms opened wide and my head held high; running into His arms; loving Him freely and boldly; receiving His love, receiving His forgiveness - His grace and mercy...His Gift of Freedom?  

Do I receive it and LIVE IT... or do I choose to stay in bondage and regret and worry and anxiety and disappointment?  

It's my choice...

...and only I can choose.

The Rest of the Story

You may have seen my "status update" a few days ago on Facebook where I mentioned having a great start to my day by walking down to the ocean with friends for an early morning swim before breakfast.  Well, let me tell you the whole story:

A week ago a few of our staff girls (aka: my friends) and I decided that we would get up really early on Friday morning to go for a walk down to the ocean before our 7 am breakfast at the mission.  We were undecided about leaving at 5 or  5:15, wanting to sleep as long as possible but also have time to walk for an hour or so and then get back and shower before we had to be at breakfast.  I was thinking that 5:15 would be better because hey, 15 extra minutes of sleep at that time of the morning seemed pretty important.  In the end it was decided that we'd leave at 5 am since one of the girls who wanted to go had breakfast duty the next morning and needed to get back as quick as she could.  So, I gulped and set my alarm for 4:45 am.

The next morning, for some reason, I woke up at 4:15.  I could hear thunder and see lightening in the distance out my window.  I wondered to myself if the other girls would come downstairs and if we would actually be able to go out for the walk.  Part of me wanted to stay curled up in bed and I tried my best to ease back into dreamland.  But it was of no use.  By 4:45 I had finished my routine... dressed, tennis shoes on, teeth brushed, face washed, hair put into a pony tail and ready to go.  Still no sign of life from the other girls, I laid in bed and listened to a podcast message by Wendy Treat on Guarding Your Heart, to pass the time.

By 5 am two of the three other girls were ready.  We looked up to the missing girl's window and all was quiet and motionless, so we slipped out into the still-dark morning to make our way towards the beach.  The sky was stormy but showed promise of clearing so we set off on our trek.  Bocachica is silent at that time of the morning and we felt quite conspicuous as the dogs camped out at each house all along the way would break into aggressive song until we moved out of sight.

The farther we walked the lighter it got and the more people we started to see along the way.  Bocachicans are generally early risers.  It's been raining a lot lately so we were concerned about the path we had to walk on and thought we might have to change our route if it got too muddy.

At one point there was a bit of a curve or a dip in the path ahead, I couldn't tell what it was but it was REALLY, REALLY dark and at that point us girls were kind of isolated on the outskirts of the pueblo.  I'm always very cautious about putting myself in possibly dangerous situations so I was thinking very seriously about turning around and not continuing forward.  I was going to say something to the other girls but they didn't seem to be bothered by it at all and their confidence nudged me to keep going without saying a word.  We kept walking and the strangest thing happened.  When we got to that REALLY, REALLY dark spot that I had seen from a distance, it actually wasn't dark at all!  It was a little dip in the path that once you got to it, was actually full of light!  And just around the bend the path opened up to a spectacular view of the Caribbean Sea!

Isn't it funny how God speaks to you through the smallest and seemingly insignificant details of your life?!  This may seem strange but God speaks to me through crazy things like my animals, nature, even Facebook!  And that day, He spoke to me through that REALLY, REALLY dark spot on the path that turned out to be REALLY, REALLY full of light and beauty!  How often do we fret and worry about the seemingly dark spots that we see lying ahead on our paths of life?!  How much energy and time do we waste by fearing and dreading instead of walking forward with confidence knowing that at that time God will be there with us?!  I mean, honestly, don't we realize that GOD is WITH US?!  That He LOVES us and has our BEST INTEREST at heart?!  That He promises to guide us and teach us and care for us?!  And while I know from my own experiences here on earth that no one is exempt from pain and tragedy, I also know from my own experiences that those times of pain and tragedy are when I have felt Him and experienced Him MOST!!

This is something that I'm learning to put into practice in my daily life; consciously giving Him my worries and concerns and letting them go, refusing to let the enemy torture me with them, disarming them, rendering them powerless against me.  I remind myself that my life is in God's hands.  And I know from my personal experience that I can trust Him and rest in Him.  And he always, eventually turns the dark spots into light and beauty!

So, back to my story... we finally made it to our destination, the Mamon Beach, named for the Mamon Tree that overlooks it.  We stopped at the Mamon tree to soak in the beauty of the scene before us, stretch our muscles a bit and catch our breath before turning around to head back to the mission.  Almost ready to start the trek back, one of the girls starts taking off her tennis shoes and announces that she's going to take a swim!  Before we knew what had happened she was joyfully frolicking in the peaceful early-morning waves.  The two of us left on the shore decided to sit there and wait for her to finish.  The thought of getting all sandy and wet and yucky didn't appeal to us initially.  But seconds later, we looked at our friend in the ocean and then at each other as if to say, "What are we doing?!  Let's join her!"  So off with the tennis-shoes and socks and there we were, all three of us, in our exercise clothes, laughing, jumping, floating and soaking in that wonderful, joyous moment of spontaneously enjoying God's unexpected gifts of beauty and freedom and peace!  It was one of those moments where I felt God hugging me sweetly and just reminding me in the small details that He loves me so much more than I can even imagine! 

And that was the more-than-great start to my Friday last week!  And the reason it was so special and great wasn't because of my sweet friends who accompanied me, or because of the beauty that our eyes beheld, or even because of the free-spirited joy we experienced.  Each of those things played a part in the whole scene, but the reason it was so special was because GOD was there; speaking to my heart, helping me understand His Truths and showing me his love!!

And isn't He always!

Lord, help me not to forget to look for You in the small details of all my days.

Simone and Jaldert

Our friends, Simone and Jaldert, were visiting this past week from Amsterdam!  Simone is from Germany and she worked on staff with us for a few months about 10 years ago and she also went to Mexico with us on vacation with Jorge's family.  Since then she got married to Dutchman, Jaldert, and it was so great to see them and get to meet her new hubby.  Their last night we spent some time together in the old city and got some nice shots of them together!

Esthela's Story

Our friends, Eddie and Tammy Villavicencio are YWAMers in Ensenada, Mexico and I'd like to share thier story with you. Please take a few minutes to watch!

The Rains Family

Another totally awesome (yes, I´m an 80´s girl) thing that happened last month was that my friends, the Rains Family, got to come to Cartagena for a whole month! Kevin, Tracy and I went to college together at Cedarville College in Ohio and Kevin is the one who first got me hooked up with YWAM . Kevin and Tracy are pastors at Vineyard Central in Norwood, Ohio and we hadn´t seen each other in like 16 years! Since then they got married, had two great kids, Izaac and Zoe, and became pastors with the Vineyard...so we had a lot to catch up on! They were in Colombia finalizing the adoption process for the cutest and sweetest little Colombiana named Treisy! It was truely a joy and an honor to be a part of that whole process with them and to witness first hand how the Lord knitted them together!!!



Here are a few of my favorite shots but you can see more photos of our time together here!

The Rains Family at the San Felipe fort in Cartagena, with the Colombian flag flying behind. Treisy adapted so well with her new family, it was amazing for all to watch! From the first day she called them Mamá, Papá, Hermano and Hermana...it was so cute and sweet to see. At the orphanage in Bogotá where she grew up they said that she has talked for years about how one day her ¨Papá Gringo¨ would come and get her and take her to the United States to live in a big house with siblings, and uncles and aunts and Grandparents. It´s really neat because that is exactly what happened. It´s as if the Lord was preparing her for what was to come!

Treisy, Izaac and Zoe at the beach.

Me and Treisy! The truth is that this little girl stole our hearts! She is such a charmer! She is such a talker, smart, funny, inquisitive, etc... it was a real joy to have met her!

With Treisy and Zoe on the wall of the old city. Zoe is a sweetie too...she is a little homemaker and was always keeping watch over Treisy!

4th of July with the Minnesota Team

The last 10 days we have been hosting the second annual team from North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills, Minnesota. Yesterday we had a great day celebrating the 4th of July (although in all honesty is was just a coincidence that our fun day happened to fall on the 4th). The team invited all of our staff to go on a day trip to the Cocoliso resort in the Rosario Islands National Park. Here are some photos of our day...but don't get the wrong idea. The last days have not been all beach and palm trees for these guys. They have been working SO HARD...doing latrines and floors for families in the community and making cement bricks for our clinic construction as well as other things such as ministering with the elderly, youth and kids. One of their biggest challenges was bringing a load of 1 ton of fresh sand from Cartagena. This is extremely hard work and they did it with awesome attitudes! What a blessing they have been. They were a great group of young adults and they clicked so well with our staff!

Erika and Josefina on the boat heading out to the island.

Robin and Werling.

Conny and Enke.
Marley and Samy.

My friends visiting from Cincinnati, the Rains Family, were able to join us for the day!

Ben, the team leader with Robin.

Enke and Daniel.

Guillermo tackling someone...he is very mischievous. :)

Fun in the pool.

Nap time for Conny and Katherin.

Jon taking advantage of the free time and the hammocks!

Robin taking a nap while listening to his famous little radio.

Erika and Josefina in the ocean.

Goofing off.

Guillermo tackling someone else...again...see, I told you he is mischievous.

Some of the group did a hilarious synchronized swimming routine that had everyone around the pool clapping and cheering them on (and cracking up laughing) but I was in the water at the time so I didn't get a photo of that...I am hoping that one of these days the video will surface on Facebook! :)

Trip to ¨Eje Cafetero¨

We just got back from a great week traveling with my brother, Kurt and my sister-in-law, Lucha. We were in the Eje Cafetero which is the Coffee Region of Colombia which includes the states of Quindío, Risaraldas and Caldas. We also spent a few days in Medellin. There are more photos that I hope to add in the near future. But for now check these out and to see the complete album CLICK HERE!

We got our photos taken dressed up as Colombian coffee farmers at the National Coffee Park.

Beautiful countryside views as we travel through the mountains.

Lucha and Kurt with our friend, Jorge Colmenares, on the Metro Cable in Medellin.

With our friend, Elizabeth, in Santa Rosa de Cabal, where the hot springs are located.


Lucha, her mom, Esther, me and Elizabeth in the park in Santa Rosa de Cabal.

Very, very sad news!!

As you may remember from my earlier post, we have been excited about the new baby girl named Tamar arriving to our Bocachica neighbors, Marlaine and Antonio. On Sunday, Nov. 30, it turns out that Marlaine´s baby was delivered still-born. I don´t have all the details but it turns out that there was a doctor´s error in calculating the due-date and they didn´t send her soon enough to induce her labor (she never went into labor) and their baby girl died. A normal pregnancy lasts approximately 40 weeks and they calculate that Tamar was 44 weeks along! As you can imagine Marlaine and Antonio and the whole family are heartbroken and having a really hard time right now. PLEASE remember them in your prayers!!

Special visitors!

Some of our friends from Bocachica came over to spend the day with us on Saturday. Loida and her husband, Felipe, and Yolaida (her husband couldn´t make it). Loida and Yolaida have been with us since we first arrived to Bocachica , over 11 years ago! They are a HUGE support to us in the community and bless us in so many ways! Their husbands are also a big help as well, especially with the clinic construction! I don´t know what we would do without them!!

In this shot you can see our new windows that we got installed earlier this month, thanks to a generous offering by some very special friends! We still need to paint the walls and the window gaurds though.

Christmas is just around the corner!

We decorated our Christmas tree tonight with our friends, Astrid and Juliana. Astrid was on staff with us for 3 years and is now working with a Canadian foundation in Cartagena and is living with us in the meantime. Juliana is our new friend who we met through the Bienestar adoption process. She is one of the Psychologists who is processing our file. She is only working temporarily with Bienestar, until the end of December when she returns home to Bogotá. We invited her to come and stay with us for the next month so she is moving in this weekend. The girls will be house-sitting for us while we go on vacation to Mexico to spend the Holidays with Jorge´s family.

Lights first...

The finished product.

We didn´t have anything to go on the top of our tree so we got out some cardboard, paper, scissors and glue and made our own star! :)