On the "road" again!

A view from Pastor Mario's home in Magdalena Milpas Altas.

I am so excited - a month from today I will be back in Guatemala!!! I certainly did not expect this opportunity.  His Hands Support Ministries has been given the go ahead to start a sponsorship program in a small village outside Magdalena Milpas Alas.  I can't wait to go back and see the people we met in August.

It will be a short trip as we need to process only 25 children who will be starting school for the first time.

Pastor Merari with some of the children from El Membrillal.

A dear lady we met in El Membrillal.

A grandmother and grandchild.

One of the many roadside markets.

 I saw a quote today that I really like.

from a friend currently in Haiti & her devotion of the day: If we aren't serving , we are just existing. Rick Warren stated," Life is meant for ministry." God wants us to love and serve others unselfishly.

 

Blessings to you.

Election Day

Choose this day whom YOU will serve - as for me, I will serve the LORD. (paraphrased from Joshua 24:15) Today is our chance to stand on the Word of God and what is right in His eyes. Remember - we are to strive to be holy (separated from the sin of the world) because God is Holy. (1 Peter 1:15, 16 & 2 Corinthians 7:1) 

 

Today we have to vote on whether homosexual marriage should be legal.  It has been quite a battle for our state.  Earlier this year, our legislature voted that it should be legal.  Some voters took offense and brought it to the point of putting it on the ballot.

Today, I voted for God and His unchanging Word.  I pray there are more who beleive marriage is for man and woman than those who think it's OK because "after all, God is love."  They ignore that He is also a God of righteousness. A holy God.  God who will judge.

May He be glorified today.

trick or treating

My pet peeve(s) on halloween night.

Who is trick or treating for anyway??? To keep things "safe", our town does a halloween walk for the kids of our town.  They close off a main street for all the pedestrians and they give people along the route bags of candy to give out.

Who comes out?

Children, of course - alone or with parents, teenagers dressed in gorey costumes, and parents with babies or children under 2 who can't walk or even say trick or treat.  Who's doing the asking and holding out the bags for them?  The parents!  Who is the candy for?? I don't think it's the babies who will be eating it!

And to top it off, according to a local police officer, people from a bunch of other towns are here too and there is not enough candy for the local children.

Bah humbug.  I don't do halloween, but was out at my neighbors on the main street for awhile and observed the happenings.  My feeling is there ought to be an age limit and it should be kept local and let the other local towns put on their own "walk".

Inactivity

I find that lately I have not been blogging becasue most of my computer time has been spent on Face Book - little notes here and there - nothing substantial....  plus, I have been dealing with the dreaded "D".  Depression.  I don't get it. How can one go from being happy and feeling great for weeks and then suddenly wake up one day and all is changed??? I was flying high from my trip to Guatemala and then - BAM! I was in a such a low.  No outward reason that I know of.... then began a month of headaches and an incident of loss of balance, double vision, loss of short term memory and many tests, which have shown nothing!

I hate not having the joy I was feeling - oh, I still have joy in my salvation and the peace of God, but something is missing.  It's a struggle to get up in the morning or to do anything productive.  I do have to work part time, but I don't even have the joy in that which I did.  All I want to do is sleep or play mindless computer games.  What a waste....

I'm not looking for sympathy or anything.... I just wanted to "vent" and explain my absence.

May God bless you~


Myspace Graphics, God Graphics at WishAFriend.com

Guatemala, part 2

I have been home form Guatemala for a couple of
weeks now and the time has flown. I am still processing the whole event in my mind but just want to say that it was a wonderful trip with unexpected twists and turns that began before we even left. God changed our plans totally from going to start a sponsorship program to waiting on Him.

We had a wonderful place to stay in San Lucas, called My Father's House. The hospitality, food, and place of rest was so welcome.



We did meet a lot of families in El Membrillal and Magdalena Mipas Altas, and also helped work on a school in Zapote. We also had a children's day in Magdalena which was a lot of fun.

The days were full of work and new experiences. We saw volcanoes, crossed rivers with the vehicles, met many children, had time to go shopping in Antigua, laughed and joked with our new friends, and witness 2 people accepts God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ.

Our hearts were blessed over and over.



Guatemala is a beautiful country and the people are so warm and welcoming. The scenery is incredible and the flowers so beautiful. The mixture of colors and textures in textiles and nature are a feast for the eyes!

I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to go and pray I might be able to return again soon.

I hope you enjoy these few photos.... I will be posting more on Face Book and soon at http://guatemalangrace.shutterfly.com/

Volcan de Fuego - still active. It was fascinating to watch the smoke come out. We drove by this each day that we went to work in Zapote.

Guatemala!

Last Feb. when I returned from Haiti, I wanted so much to return in the fall. I wasn't feeling at peace about it in June or so, and then God closed the door. That was OK. I figured maybe next year I could go. Well.... little did I know what God had in store! He was arranging a trip to Guatemala. He has opened the door for His Hands Support Ministries to possibly begin a child sponsorship program there in a small Mayan village. Three us us will be going with this ministry and will be joining another team that had planned to go to Mexico. God changed their plans too! So, now we will all travel together and work on a couple different projects outside of Guatemala City.

I have been looking for a key verse for this trip. The one that keeps coming back to me is Psalm 37:4,5 "Delight yourself also in the Lord, And He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, And He shall bring it to pass."

I have never had a desire to go to Central America until God put that desire in my heart. Now, I am anxious to go, meet brothers & sisters in the Lord, be part of a new ministry, see a different part of God's creation, and learn about a new culture. I am looking forward to what He plans to teach me, too. I also can't wait to see the colors of the materials and things the woman make. I've seen photos and they are beautiful! I'll share photos when I get back. The following photo was taken in Antiqua. We do plan to be there for a day.
Yea!!

Welcome to My Yard

Good Morning.

Another day of rain in the Northeast...but that has been the norm the past month - and to think I thought last year couldn't be repeated!!! Ha!

It's OK, no flooding and my plants are still growing and blooming.

I have tried to take a lot of plant photos this year.

This one is of the front steps to my house and I thought the colors were pretty. It's hard to see, but I do have a large poinsettia still in bloom in the front
window.

So, although the sky is gray, and the garden is over run with weeds, I am thankful for the color God gives. From the tiniest blossom of (?) that I have seen growing on the lawn to larger blossoms of my perennials.

Here are some photos of plants that are in bloom right now in my yard.
If you like what you see, please visit me at http://naturespeaking.shutterfly.com/ to see more of my photos.

The mallow and cone flowers are just starting to blossom. I haven't taken pictures of them yet.
May you be blessed with a day full of color!

Happy Independence Day!

Here's our new "neighbor"! He has a hole near our back steps.









He's very patriotic!!!!















And he likes to raid the bird feeder for sunflower seeds! He's fun to watch.

We had one around a couple years ago that I named Hoover..... he sucked up seeds like a vacuum cleaner!






Isn't he cute?? My hubby and I have had fun watching him and taking photos.

Musing over friendship

I've been thinking about "best friends" since working on a Bible study this am. Do you have a best friend?

I know, Jesus should be our best friend, but I'm thinking one with "skin on," a human best friend. What I really want is a kindred spirit... Someone who shares my faith, who encourages me, who challenges me, who listens to me, who prays with me, who understands me, who has similar interests and someone whom I would do the same for.

Often I wonder why I don't have this type of relationship with anyone, or even a "best" friend.

When I was in high school, I had a best girl friend, but as things usually go, we went our different paths. Also, most of my really good friends were guys. Even in college, I can only think of one girl whom I would have called my "best friend. Again, we went different paths. In my adult years I had someone I considered a kindred spirit, but I wasn't good enough for her I guess, as she just stopped seeing me; yet she never told me what was wrong even when I asked, and I asked for forgiveness if I had offended her.

I have a few good friends, and I value them, but no one that is like what I see some others have. The getting together for the fun of it, dropping by, doing projects together, etc. My friends and I share a Bible study together, and sometimes we do other things together. Perhaps I am envisioning something that is too "ideal".

I know passages of life can hinder relationships. Now, I am at the stage of empty nest and between active caregiving for parents.

I do tend to be a loner. Perhaps that is it. Or is there something wrong with me? I consider myself loyal and honest. Aren't those good traits to have in a friend? Have I put up walls? Afraid to trust? That could be true.

I yearn for a kindred spirit nearby. The one person I consider a kindred spirit lives over 1500 miles away. I am thankful for internet, but it sure is hard to sit down for coffee and chat!

Am I having a pity party? Maybe, but seriously, I'm not looking for pity or sympathy. I'm just thinking out loud. Thoughts that I have from time to time. The fact is, I do get lonely sometimes. My husband is busy and out a lot. Men don't seem to have the same need for friendships as women do.

I know God has a lesson for me in all this. It's a lesson he's been trying to teach me for a few years now. I guess I am just a slow learner!

I just found an interesting article on womens' friendships.

Friendships are a good thing!

I know I am not alone. I have made many good friends through the internet and email lists. I do cherish those. I know there are many among those people who desire the same thing - a real close friend who lives nearby ~ someone they can share the ups and downs of daily life with.

So, tell me. What about you? Are you blessed with a special friendship? How did it happen? Or, are you like me? Are you feeling a little lonely at times and wishing for that special bond with another woman, someone you can call a best friend?

Do you think those in "leadership" positions have a harder time of making a close friend?

Spring florals

Good afternoon! Although it is rainy here today, again....I am drawn to the beauty of spring.

I love spring time and all the new flower blossoms. The only problem is that most of the flowers don't last long enough for me.

I am reminded of Isaiah 40:7,8.

"The grass withers, and the flowers fade beneath the breath of the LORD. And so it is with people. The grass withers, and the flowers fade, but the word of our God stands forever."

My life is like a flower ~ here for a time, then gone from this earth, but I know I will live again. My eternal home is in heaven.

The other promise is that God's Word will last forever! No matter how we may be persecuted, or how our freedoms may be removed, God promises that He will safeguard His word.

Still, I do wish the blossoms would last longer. They are so pretty and make me forget about everyday stresses. To hold on to the memories longer, I take photos. I have posted many at

http://naturespeaking.shutterfly.com/

I hope you will visit me there, too, and leave a comment.

Spring time!

I promise to write more later.... I have been focusing on getting through illnesses and the school year for the past two and a half months.... Health is much better and only 1 more day of school. Yippee! I have been busy taking some photos of the flowers in my gardens and hope to post those soon.

After a week of rain and cool weather, it's a glorious warm, sunny day here today and I am going to go finish planting my garden.

Home from Haiti

I have so many thoughts and memories - it's hard to put into words, so I will share some of the 900 photos I took. LOL!!
We visited Terrier Rouge, Ouvray, Danda, Juchereau, Roche Platte, Paulette, and Phaeton.


daily life in Terrier Rouge


beautiful scenery


I just love this little guy and hope to sponsor him.


road near Danda


measuring students - one part of our job there - to update their records for sponsors


a cobbler we met a couple times


some of the school children we worked with


having fun blowing bubbles


on the road to Ouvray (the truck broke down)


loving on the kids - they are both sound asleep!


the Saturday feeding program - many hungry children. 150 were fed one Sat. and 162 the next.


meeting my mom's sponsored girl


they are so cute!


singing with the girls

so content - both of us!

Winter to Summer!

Before heading to a land of sun and heat tomorrow, I thought I would share some photos of some ice sculptures we saw in Bethel, ME. It was fun. I'd never seen any before. It was fascinating to see all the details!












Hope you enjoyed them! I'll be back in touch in a couple of weeks.
J-ME