Remember this post? Nicole got to meet her Compassion International sponsored child, Jose Enrique.
But I'll let her tell you about that. Click here to read the beautiful story.
I jsut spoke with Nicole on the phone from Thailand and I told her how excited I was that God had answered our prayers. I also told her HAPPY BIRTHDAY--God did a special work 25 years ago today when He blessed us by creating such a wonderful servant of Christ.
Showing posts with label Dreams Come True. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Dreams Come True. Show all posts
Monday, December 14, 2009
Friday, November 6, 2009
Sponsoring Hope.
A couple of years ago, BFF Jami and I found ourselves staring at a table full of faces. We were working summer camp at Crossroads, who had a strong relationship with an organization called New Missions. I had approached Jami to consider sponsorship with me and for a week we prayed about it separately.
Isn't it funny that we had to pray about it? I mean, after all as Francis Chan says, "Did God tell you to watch TV last night?"
ahem.
So the Table. The Table full of little faces. Some smiling, some looking cute, some royally ticked off because they had to get a picture made. Some whose eyes felt like they were boring a hole through my soul.
As we scanned the Table, it became clear to me in a hurry which little one would be ours. It was a little girl with about fifty baby barrettes in her hair, and they were all neon colored. She had dark brown eyes and she was not smiling. In fact, maybe it was my imagination but she looked like she had a little attitude.
Come to mama!
Without saying a word, a moment later Jami picked up the photo of the little girl with the massive amounts of barrettes. She scanned her profile and said, "Her name is SARAH."
Jami knew that I love the name Sarah because it means Princess. I always call my nieces Princess and I had always wanted to name a daughter that, but it's so popular in the US that I didn't want her to be one of forty Sarahs in her school or something. So the fact that this little one's name was Sarah was complete confirmation!
Her full name is Sarah Prosper. She was four years old when we picked up that photo.
I have never once regretted that decision.
We started corresponding with Sarah and sending her pictures and other things. Our lives have never been the same.
About a year after we started sponsoring Sarah, I had the privilege of going to New Missions to see the ministry firsthand and to spend a week with the Haitian people. I was scheduled to meet Sarah and her mom on Thursday, but God had other plans. People had been fasting and praying for me daily on the trip, and the biggest blessing would come on Wednesday of that week.
My journal:
We came back and had an opportunity to purchase good from the local Haitians. This was partly frustrating because we could not give everyone business and some of them were pretty aggressive.
But then, the coolest part of the whole trip came. I walked toward one of the shops and almost ran into someone as I was looking down and walking (not a good plan) around to find Seth a nativity. I looked up at the man with whom I had collided and immediately began to apologize in the most broken form of Creole ever heard.
He looked at me for a minute.
Then he said, "You have child?"
People, I am a slightly rotund individual, but even I had not had that many bowls of beans and rice.
Trying not to become offended, I was thinking in my head, "Was that a Haitian fat joke?"
Finally I shook my head no. He then said,
"No. You have Haitian child. Sarah."
It took me a second for it all to come together.
"Yes!" I said. "How did you know?"
He responded, "Sarah is my sister. There she is, right over there."
Perched on the wall separating New Missions from the Village of Bord Mer was my little princess, wearing a bathing suit and nothing else. Her brother's name was Charles, and he had recognized me from the picture we sent. What are the odds?
But then again, why am I surprised?
I promised to take Sarah to the clinic later that day due to a skin problem she had (NM covers all healthcare procedures) and I kissed her and told her I would see her then.
So I thought!
We went to a church service and Scott (team leader) tapped me on the shoulder. "Is that Sarah?" He asked.
Sure enough, it was. So I got her and took her to sit with me. As we stood and sang Trading My Sorrows, and as Sarah clung to me like a koala and would not let me put her down, tears of joy rained down my face at God's amazing blessings and His extra grace to give me the chance to meet Sarah and spend extra time with her.
****************
Through my experiences with Sarah, I have learned how amazing it is to sponsor a child. So when my friend Nicole decided to go on the World Race for a year, I wanted to contribute to her mission trip. We were discussing how I could do that, and then I remembered Jose.
Nicole has been sponsoring a little boy from Nicaragua named Jose through Compassion International for a few years now. In our apartment, his picture hung and we spent time praying for our sponsored kids (although not nearly enough!). I saw his sweet face daily and I knew that as Nicole was working hard to raise funds so that she could meet the needs of people all over the world who are just like Jose, someone had to be this little boy's sponsor for a year to free up Nicole's finances. Just for this year, i get the honor of meeting Jose's needs.
Now Nicole is heading to Nicaragua tomorrow on a 17-hour bus ride. She will be spending a month there Would you join me in prayer that Nicole will have the same experience as I did? Please pray that somehow, God would work a miracle and she would get to meet Jose!
Also, I would like to ask you to consider getting involved with child sponsorship. For just a few dollars a day, you can have the blessing of reaching a child with the love of Jesus Christ. With a little sarificial giving, you can sponsor HOPE in a child's life. If you have children, it's a great project to help the understand God's love for the nations and to teach them about giving.
One more thing, some Compassion Bloggers are set to hit El Salvador in the next few days. They will be blogging their experiences and I encourage you to take time to read their stories.
For your comment consideration:
How are you reaching out?
If you're not, how are you going to?
What if we?
Isn't it funny that we had to pray about it? I mean, after all as Francis Chan says, "Did God tell you to watch TV last night?"
ahem.
So the Table. The Table full of little faces. Some smiling, some looking cute, some royally ticked off because they had to get a picture made. Some whose eyes felt like they were boring a hole through my soul.
As we scanned the Table, it became clear to me in a hurry which little one would be ours. It was a little girl with about fifty baby barrettes in her hair, and they were all neon colored. She had dark brown eyes and she was not smiling. In fact, maybe it was my imagination but she looked like she had a little attitude.
Come to mama!
Without saying a word, a moment later Jami picked up the photo of the little girl with the massive amounts of barrettes. She scanned her profile and said, "Her name is SARAH."
Jami knew that I love the name Sarah because it means Princess. I always call my nieces Princess and I had always wanted to name a daughter that, but it's so popular in the US that I didn't want her to be one of forty Sarahs in her school or something. So the fact that this little one's name was Sarah was complete confirmation!
Her full name is Sarah Prosper. She was four years old when we picked up that photo.
I have never once regretted that decision.
We started corresponding with Sarah and sending her pictures and other things. Our lives have never been the same.
About a year after we started sponsoring Sarah, I had the privilege of going to New Missions to see the ministry firsthand and to spend a week with the Haitian people. I was scheduled to meet Sarah and her mom on Thursday, but God had other plans. People had been fasting and praying for me daily on the trip, and the biggest blessing would come on Wednesday of that week.
My journal:
We came back and had an opportunity to purchase good from the local Haitians. This was partly frustrating because we could not give everyone business and some of them were pretty aggressive.
But then, the coolest part of the whole trip came. I walked toward one of the shops and almost ran into someone as I was looking down and walking (not a good plan) around to find Seth a nativity. I looked up at the man with whom I had collided and immediately began to apologize in the most broken form of Creole ever heard.
He looked at me for a minute.
Then he said, "You have child?"
People, I am a slightly rotund individual, but even I had not had that many bowls of beans and rice.
Trying not to become offended, I was thinking in my head, "Was that a Haitian fat joke?"
Finally I shook my head no. He then said,
"No. You have Haitian child. Sarah."
It took me a second for it all to come together.
"Yes!" I said. "How did you know?"
He responded, "Sarah is my sister. There she is, right over there."
Perched on the wall separating New Missions from the Village of Bord Mer was my little princess, wearing a bathing suit and nothing else. Her brother's name was Charles, and he had recognized me from the picture we sent. What are the odds?
But then again, why am I surprised?
I promised to take Sarah to the clinic later that day due to a skin problem she had (NM covers all healthcare procedures) and I kissed her and told her I would see her then.
So I thought!
We went to a church service and Scott (team leader) tapped me on the shoulder. "Is that Sarah?" He asked.
Sure enough, it was. So I got her and took her to sit with me. As we stood and sang Trading My Sorrows, and as Sarah clung to me like a koala and would not let me put her down, tears of joy rained down my face at God's amazing blessings and His extra grace to give me the chance to meet Sarah and spend extra time with her.
****************
Through my experiences with Sarah, I have learned how amazing it is to sponsor a child. So when my friend Nicole decided to go on the World Race for a year, I wanted to contribute to her mission trip. We were discussing how I could do that, and then I remembered Jose.
Nicole has been sponsoring a little boy from Nicaragua named Jose through Compassion International for a few years now. In our apartment, his picture hung and we spent time praying for our sponsored kids (although not nearly enough!). I saw his sweet face daily and I knew that as Nicole was working hard to raise funds so that she could meet the needs of people all over the world who are just like Jose, someone had to be this little boy's sponsor for a year to free up Nicole's finances. Just for this year, i get the honor of meeting Jose's needs.
Now Nicole is heading to Nicaragua tomorrow on a 17-hour bus ride. She will be spending a month there Would you join me in prayer that Nicole will have the same experience as I did? Please pray that somehow, God would work a miracle and she would get to meet Jose!
Also, I would like to ask you to consider getting involved with child sponsorship. For just a few dollars a day, you can have the blessing of reaching a child with the love of Jesus Christ. With a little sarificial giving, you can sponsor HOPE in a child's life. If you have children, it's a great project to help the understand God's love for the nations and to teach them about giving.
One more thing, some Compassion Bloggers are set to hit El Salvador in the next few days. They will be blogging their experiences and I encourage you to take time to read their stories.
For your comment consideration:
How are you reaching out?
If you're not, how are you going to?
What if we?
Monday, August 3, 2009
Happy Birthday From God
I will be twenty-four years old this coming Saturday, and I get so so so excited when my birthday comes! I have been like that since I was a little girl and generally was unable to sleep every year on the eve of my birthday party. People keep telling me I should quit that after I get so old, but I really hope not. I love to celebrate LIFE and the fact that God saw fit to give that gift to me, so I will hopefully always look forward to it, no matter what anyone says! I often start to feel guilty because I love birthdays so much...I don't want people to think it's all about me.
I just really enjoy celebrating with those I love, and being thankful to God for each day I wake up. I talked with Him about this just yesterday and I told Him I was sorry if I had made a rear out of myself at any time--'specially when I bug my dearest to NO END about my surprise that's coming. He has a mantra now: "NO HINTS! NO HINTS! NO HINTS!"
He's like Stonewall Jackson, I swear.
Anyway, today I was checking blogs and I got a huge surprise. A week or two ago, I began following a blog called Presh Web Design. I really liked the look of the designs that Crystal created and I have been trying to save money and prepare for a new Blog makeover.
I have also been praying about God expanding the impact for His Kingdom using this blog. I SO want to be a blessing to all of you and I want you to know that I pray for every single person that reads this blog--whether it's one time or every day.
After all, since I love each of you cutie patooties so very much that I feel like you deserve the most aesthetically pleasing blog possible! Anytime people use zebra print and bright pink, it makes me realize one thing:
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Turns out Crystal just started giving away one design a month for those following her blog.
Who would've have guessed that when I opened the window to read her blog entry, this is what I found....
I was so excited I started fanning my face like Miss America. I couldn't even speak real words for a couple of minutes. Finally when Candace turned around I got it out--"I won! I won! I never win anything and I WON!!"
Of course, the potential student and her mom in our office and the time looked at me strangely and laughed, but I didn't care. She'll learn after awhile...
I was just so happy and thankful and amazed at the goodness of our God to do something so cool for me! I want to give Him praise and glory today for blessing me like that this week and letting me know it's okay to enjoy celebrating life and being a part of His family.
Jesus I love you!
I just really enjoy celebrating with those I love, and being thankful to God for each day I wake up. I talked with Him about this just yesterday and I told Him I was sorry if I had made a rear out of myself at any time--'specially when I bug my dearest to NO END about my surprise that's coming. He has a mantra now: "NO HINTS! NO HINTS! NO HINTS!"
He's like Stonewall Jackson, I swear.
Anyway, today I was checking blogs and I got a huge surprise. A week or two ago, I began following a blog called Presh Web Design. I really liked the look of the designs that Crystal created and I have been trying to save money and prepare for a new Blog makeover.
I have also been praying about God expanding the impact for His Kingdom using this blog. I SO want to be a blessing to all of you and I want you to know that I pray for every single person that reads this blog--whether it's one time or every day.
After all, since I love each of you cutie patooties so very much that I feel like you deserve the most aesthetically pleasing blog possible! Anytime people use zebra print and bright pink, it makes me realize one thing:
I can tell that we are gonna be friends.
Turns out Crystal just started giving away one design a month for those following her blog.
Who would've have guessed that when I opened the window to read her blog entry, this is what I found....
I was so excited I started fanning my face like Miss America. I couldn't even speak real words for a couple of minutes. Finally when Candace turned around I got it out--"I won! I won! I never win anything and I WON!!"
Of course, the potential student and her mom in our office and the time looked at me strangely and laughed, but I didn't care. She'll learn after awhile...
I was just so happy and thankful and amazed at the goodness of our God to do something so cool for me! I want to give Him praise and glory today for blessing me like that this week and letting me know it's okay to enjoy celebrating life and being a part of His family.
Jesus I love you!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Friday, June 12, 2009
Natalie+Chris.
Tomorrow a sweet, dear friend will marry the love of her life. And I will be spoiled rotten--which I totally love! I met Natalie in 2004, when she attended a Journey (College version of Emmaus) that I worked. We met that weekend, but we had been attending the same university for a whole semester. We hit it off immediately and have been friends since.
Natalie is one of those people that is very intentional in her relationships. This is a trait I value so highly--her resepct and love for her community of friends. WE definitely share that passion and Natalie has challenged me so much in this area. She is always calling to see how I am, stopping by my office when she's around, and asking if we can have dinner to catch up. She makes me want to serve my friends more. She facebooks pictures like it's her full-time job, and she is pretty impressive--we will leave a gathering and get home to find all the photos up and tagged. It's impressive, since I am That Girl who still has not put all of her Haiti pictures up, and it's been a year this week.
We share a mutual love for talking, so no one gets a word in edgewise! It's cool because we always have lots to talk about and there's never a dull or awkward moment. We laughed and celebrated together, and cried over heartbreak and tragedy as well. It's so funny to hear outgoing Natalie describe Chris, who would rather be in the background quietly. Chris is super tall and likes to protect and take care of people, so I can't wait to see them continue to grow in Christ together.
It will be my honor to read one of my favorite scripture passages over Natalie and Chris tomorrow. I spoke with her on the phone this morning, and it's so preciously evident just how thoughtful she is: her family hired someone to do all of our nails today and our hair tomorrow. She invited me and I am not even a bridesmaid! She wants everyone to feel beautiful on her special day. What an incredibly thoughtful and wonderful person. I know she will be radiant tomorrow, especially because of her beautiful heart shining through.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Riddle! May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May He look on you with favor and give you His peace.
PS, I got a cute new dress and knowing Natalie's penchant for photos, she put a much more responsible person in charge of tagging them on Facebook, so hopefully I will have some pics to show you of my friends and our mad dance skills.
PPS, I promise not to read the scripture in my mock James Earl Jones reads the Bible voice. Only pray that I get rid of this cold so I don't sound like a junior-high boy tomorrow.
Natalie is one of those people that is very intentional in her relationships. This is a trait I value so highly--her resepct and love for her community of friends. WE definitely share that passion and Natalie has challenged me so much in this area. She is always calling to see how I am, stopping by my office when she's around, and asking if we can have dinner to catch up. She makes me want to serve my friends more. She facebooks pictures like it's her full-time job, and she is pretty impressive--we will leave a gathering and get home to find all the photos up and tagged. It's impressive, since I am That Girl who still has not put all of her Haiti pictures up, and it's been a year this week.
We share a mutual love for talking, so no one gets a word in edgewise! It's cool because we always have lots to talk about and there's never a dull or awkward moment. We laughed and celebrated together, and cried over heartbreak and tragedy as well. It's so funny to hear outgoing Natalie describe Chris, who would rather be in the background quietly. Chris is super tall and likes to protect and take care of people, so I can't wait to see them continue to grow in Christ together.
It will be my honor to read one of my favorite scripture passages over Natalie and Chris tomorrow. I spoke with her on the phone this morning, and it's so preciously evident just how thoughtful she is: her family hired someone to do all of our nails today and our hair tomorrow. She invited me and I am not even a bridesmaid! She wants everyone to feel beautiful on her special day. What an incredibly thoughtful and wonderful person. I know she will be radiant tomorrow, especially because of her beautiful heart shining through.
Congratulations Mr. and Mrs. Riddle! May the Lord bless you and keep you. May He make His face shine on you and be gracious to you. May He look on you with favor and give you His peace.
PS, I got a cute new dress and knowing Natalie's penchant for photos, she put a much more responsible person in charge of tagging them on Facebook, so hopefully I will have some pics to show you of my friends and our mad dance skills.
PPS, I promise not to read the scripture in my mock James Earl Jones reads the Bible voice. Only pray that I get rid of this cold so I don't sound like a junior-high boy tomorrow.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
The Snuggie has Landed.
Remember this post?
Well, since Seth's administrative assistant, Carla, does love to aggravate him in multiple ways, she definitely bought me a Burgundy Snuggie with a book light.
Which I may or may not have modeled at the church business meeting last night.
What? There was a motion and a second.
one small step for Snuggies, one giant leap for FBC Bicknell.
I bid you Snuggie wishes and Slanket dreams.
Well, since Seth's administrative assistant, Carla, does love to aggravate him in multiple ways, she definitely bought me a Burgundy Snuggie with a book light.
Which I may or may not have modeled at the church business meeting last night.
What? There was a motion and a second.
one small step for Snuggies, one giant leap for FBC Bicknell.
I bid you Snuggie wishes and Slanket dreams.
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