Overwhelmed

It's amazing how easily I loose my eternal perspective and forget to trust God.  How many times has He proven to me His unfailing love?   And how many times has He made it perfectly clear that He desires for all of us to be in heaven one day?  That is the point.  How do I forget?  This week, God has really renewed an urgency to share my faith with people He allows in my life, and to minister through sharing God's love with my Christian friends and family.

"Remember, then, what you received and heard.  Keep it, and repent."

Revelation 3:3

We are commanded to remember our eternal perspective and goal on this Earth.  We are commanded to take it to heart, and to allow His word and the Holy Spirit to change us, molding us into the image of Christ.  And, as we wait for God to move, it is our choice to work for our sanctification, to work out our salvation, to allow God to change us to become more like Him.

"Therefore, beloved, since you are waiting for these, be diligent to be found by Him without spot or blemish, and at peace.  And count the patience of our Lord as salvation."

2 Peter 3:14

So, I have been worrying about friends and family at home.  I have been overwhelmed with news from home, and I have learned all over again that our great God is in control.  Anyone who is reading please put my college roommate, Erin Scott Prielozny, on your prayer list.  She has been diagnosed with squamos cell carcinoma, and is traveling to Birmingham as I type this for treatment at UAB.  I do not know tons of details, but she is going to have to have part of her tongue removed, and may not be able to speak for a while.  She will begin radiation, and possibly chemo after surgery.  I feel  certain that she would appreciate an encouraging email from anyone erinprielozny@yahoo.com      

"For Thus says the Lord, 'Behold, I will extend peace to her like a river'" 

Isaiah 66:12        

I have been overwhelmed this week with the outpour of love and support from my college group of friends, for all of our different prayer requests.  And I have been overwhelmed by the love and support given by my Birmingham friends.  I am finding it very difficult to be so far away right now - but I am learning so much about trusting God and learning so much about how the body of Christ should be.  It is such an encouragement to me to see us lifting each other up in prayer.

We were able to go to the orphanage today, and I attempted my first "art" project.  And it was a disaster.  The orphans do not listen to anything that we ask of them.  Maybe they were just too excited at the thought of paint.  We let them make hand prints with paint for butterfly wings, and we talked about becoming a new creation in Christ - and I promise we had it ALL planned out.  All the people at the orphanage could say is that we should be more firm and yell at them.  I CAN NOT go to the orphanage to love on these kids and then yell at them.  No way.  So, next time, my plan is to take a few away from the group and do a project with just a few of them inside the school room.  Please pray for guidance.

Last night, Christina (the most amazing cook ever) made fufu for dinner.  As I have said earlier, fufu is not delicious.  Hers was not bad though.  It was in delicious peanut soup, but you are not suppose to taste the fufu, you are suppose to just swallow it - like a pill.  So, I don't understand the point of eating it, it you aren't suppose to taste it? Anyways - this is how they make the fufu - they pound it with a stick. Looks delicious, right?!

Saturday night was almost a normal night! We went out to eat Chinese, and it was delicious, but it was still in Africa!  So fun to be in a large city, so that I can experience all the other cultures here!