Day By Day I Walk By Faith

Good days.

Bad days.

Hard days.

Long days.

Fun days.

Dull days

Right days.

Wrong days.

Up days.

Down days.

Short days.

Blah days.

Days of serving.

Days of dreaming.

Days of learning.

Days of giving.

Days to laugh.

Days to cry.

Days to jump….

[breathe in and breathe out]

Days to sigh.

People often ask me  

How are your days?  

The truth is --

they are 

days…

days… 

days…

Trying to love those whom He's put in my way.

Trying to live for Him … living at a time…

 just one day.

Knowing that my only purpose here on this Earth

is to love those around me and share His good Word

So, my days are like your days maybe just in a hotter place

loving and laughing and crying and sighing

needing and giving and learning and serving

Praying that in my life His light can shine

and when I mess up -- oh, that flesh of mine

I can get up again and by faith keep walking

walking, running, trusting, ...walking…

Yep, that's what I do, 

each day anew

I fix my eyes on God 

and just like that, I walk!

It's been really neat to see how God puts various people in my life.  Over the last couple of weeks I have had to say goodbye to some after they have been here for months of service, and because of a wedding, some have come back to spend time as well.  I praise Him for all of the people that He puts in my life who two years ago I didn't know or who live in the States and I don't see every day or those new ones who I see from time to time here.  Thanks for everyone who prays, encourages, and sends love my way!  It really helps me keep day to day.

Here's a glance of what God has been up to over the past two weeks in my life!

SUNDAY, MAY 31.  I served alongside Crosspoint Church from Trussville, Alabama for four days helping the oldest kids at Emanuel House learn about team work and unity and relating that to the Bible and giving them real life application.  It was fun to get to know each other better and build unity by passing marshmallows, throwing beach balls, not letting people fall off of the "boat," and building spider webs!  A prayer walk around the community and a special youth event for neighborhood teenagers was part of their week as well.  Praising God for seeds planted and for Pastor Miguel who has plans to plant a church in the area of these youth. Crosspoint, the teachers already continued with some team building activities in class these past two weeks.  Your visit is already making a difference!  [Below is a picture of us at the beach on their last day here since the group took very few pictures during their time with the neighborhood kids.]

  WEDNESDAY, JUNE 3. I visited Monte Cristi, a nearby village, to get the history and pictures for a nursing home that serves many Haitians and dominicans who have nowhere else to go.  These sweet elderly people are so loving and very cared for by a pastor and his staff.  Hope to have a pamphlet with more info soon!   

THURSDAY, JUNE 4. Today was a busy day off from school… but although it was busy, it was my kind of day.  I had more time in the Word and had the opportunity to spend time with people in the community (my love language). 

Mirqueya and I have been trying to teach the girls the importance of time with God in the morning.  And, when we wake up struggling, a little Jesus always helps.  Praying that these little lessons will make a long-term impact in their lives, as their time with us is most likely temporary.

Much of my quiet time was spent reading in a book, The Story, which captures the various stories of the Bible in one continues story and reads like a novel.  This morning I had a chance to read the story of Joseph.  He was lied about, sold into slavery by his jealous brothers, and given a great leadership role.  Then he was accused of sexual sin by Potifer's wife and thrown into prison.  While there he was protected and loved by God, and found out that he had a great gift to interpret dreams.  Daniel used his gift in whatever circumstance even though life had to be incredibly hard away from his family, his people, and in prison.  And in the midst of his struggle, he was able to see God's hand.  He was able to forgive. One of my take aways that I needed this morning: God is the father of redemption and salvation and He has a plan even when we cannot see, and He is present in every situation!  Just keep walking!

I spent much of the late morning and early afternoon visiting a local village called La Paloma where one of the Special Needs teachers, Isa, is from. Her mother does not know Christ as her personal Savior.  The Lord opened the door to share with her about God's holiness, our separation from Him because of sin, the sacrifice that Jesus made on the cross, God's free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ, and God's great love for us all.  Praying that the seed was planted not only in her life but in others' as well who were able to hear the gospel.



Even though there were no classes, some kids missed the memo, so I decided to give two sweet Emanuel House kids a ride back home when we ran into them walking back in their EH uniforms.  We grabbed some lunch and headed to their house to share a meal with their family who often doesn't have food to eat.  Their grandparents raise 7 kids mostly on their own.  Praising God for letting us run into them right around lunch time and for being able to share a meal together.











FRIDAY, JUNE 5. I picked up an intern, Natalie, from the airport. She will be spending 3 weeks at Emanuel House working with the deaf ministry and helping the teachers with sign language.  I also dropped off Kelsey, another intern who spent a few days with us helping wherever needed and working with my 1st grade class doing some basic physical therapy exercises.

SATURDAY, JUNE 6. We spent the morning doing monthly Kids' club.  We learned about Daniel and His obedience to God even though the king wanted Daniel to pray to him.  I'm reminded that no matter what anyone else says, we are to be obedient to God!

MEMORY VERSE:

But I will offer sacrifices to you with songs of praise,

    and I will fulfill all my vows.    For my salvation comes from the Lord alone.

Jonah 2:9

MONDAY, JUNE 8.  Woke up and during my quiet time was reminded that God has a plan for all of us, that God is kind and that He loves us!  Thanking God for such a simple truth that sometimes maybe I forget.  I guess I need to remember that He is present and sees and always wants the best for His people.  Know someone in your life who needs that truth?  A child or an adult?  Like children's books?  Read It Will Be Okay by Lysa TerKeurst. It is a book about trusting God!

You can imagine after these two full weeks I am beat!   I am blogging now from my place of rest.  After having visitors, hosting a team, the normal day to day, and teaching 2 days of class this week, I am swamped.  I am hoping that God will renew my mind and rest my body!

PRAYER REQUESTS:
For unity and team work among the ladies in my Bible Study group, teachers at Emanuel House and the team of Kids Club leaders.  That they would feel empowered!

For continued rest, renewal, perseverance and good time in the Word especially over the next few days.

For the twins, that they would know the Lord and more and more know His truths, His character, and His love for them!  They are not believers yet but have heard the Gospel many times.  May God soften their hearts and seeds be planted for them to accept Him in His timing!  May His love surpass all spiritual warfare surrounding them!

God keeps teaching, stretching and molding me.  Praying that He continues to help me walk by faith one day at a time!  Praying that I will rely on His power and strength and not my own.  Praying that He will continue to teach, stretch and mold me so that I can continue to do His work well, love those around me well, and use the gifts He's given me!

A few rocks, a slingshot, and a whole lotta God!

David.

He beat Goliath with one stone, a slingshot, and a whole lotta God!
Little scrawny David beat a 9 feet tall, taunting, Philistine champion.
David...
the youngest in his family.
David...
the kid who loved the Lord.
David...
the soon to be king of Israel.

And even though he was going to be king.  He still had the same need that we all have, God.  I mean, we all know that he won the fight.  But he won because of one reason.

He beat that giant because God was on his side and God was the One fighting.
David overcame his circumstances because in the end God always wins!

The odds were against David.
David shouldn't have won.
Everyone looked and saw that David would lose.
But God fought … and God won!

(Haven't read about David in a while?  Look back at the true story.)

The story of David and Goliath is one that is so familiar and seemingly so fantasy, right?  I mean a nine feet tall giant? Even though we know that the Word of God is true.  It is hard to imagine it...A little boy who fought against a giant and beat him with a slingshot.  Every kid who has ever gone to church has learned the story over and over again.  Yet, this time when I heard the story in church, I was moved to share it.  

The story of David and Goliath does not teach us that because I love the Lord in all of my circumstances I will win as I believe I should.  

The story does not even teach that the "giant" will always fall.  

The truth is that God has a will.  This day is a part of a much bigger plan!  His plan.  He can choose to allow me to lose, win or tie.  He can say yes, no or wait.  And, even though I may not understand it,  the outcome is fair.  

But there are some good lessons from this story!

God, not our opposition, should be our biggest worry.  God is the most important thing!  God is the most important thing, not our opposition, not our problem, not that "thing" that is hard or standing in the way.  (1 Samuel 17:4-7, 1 Samuel 17:47)

The obstacles that we confront today will prepare us for the even bigger ones that we'll confront tomorrow.  (1 Samuel 17:34-37)

And yes, I did directly steal these from the pastor's sermon.  I needed those words and I feel like someone reading this needs them too.  His sermon truly summed up some of what God is teaching me in my life right now as I am coming out of a long time of not feeling like "me."  I guess you could say, I've been facing some giants (excuse the pun).  This story, along with some other scripture, have really encouraged me over the past month. I hope that God will speak to you through His words as well.

Since I live with two orphaned teenage girls and work every day with kids who come from difficult home lives, I have the opportunity to help re-shape beliefs, habits, and norms.   Even though it's very hard and even though I mostly have no clue what I am doing, I am grateful that I get to participate in their lives in this way.

The girls we care for currently were exposed to a dark spiritual world up until the time that they came to live with us.  To my knowledge their only real Christian influence in their lives has been through their participation in Emanuel House and as you can imagine family roots run deep.

Through my experiences with them, God is teaching me that this life has hard times and there are battles.  Many of those battles are spiritual -- things we cannot see but that we can sense.  He is teaching me that the battle is the Lord's.  It's not mine!  (1 Samuel 17:47; Psalm 34:7).

God is teaching me that I can use His inspired Word in a way that I never have before.  I have been confronted with things that I have no clue about.  The only person that I can turn to is the Lord.  I understand like never before that  all Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instructing in the right way! (2 Timothy 3:16)

God is teaching me that it is SO important to raise kids in a Christian home.  I have always said that, but God is teaching it to me more and more.  I am learning first hand both in my teaching class and in my "raising" these girls how hard it is to undo non-Christlike teachings and habits.

God is teaching me that teaching and demonstrating forgiveness and asking for forgiveness are healthy and necessary for growth and are great lessons for what Jesus did for us.  I mean after all He died for us while we were still sinners.  His mercy towards us is just that, underserved! (In the Bible there is a story about a prideful man, Naaman, and the little slave girl who forgave him even though he killed her family!  Read the kids' version here from the Jesus Storybook Bible.  This was the story we read in my 1st grade class this week.  It's found in 2 Kings 5 and talks about forgiveness.)

Overall, God is teaching me that perseverance pays off and when life gets hard, I will come out more mature because of the hardship I went through.  He is teaching me to be joyful in the midst of it too! (James 1:2-3; Psalm 33)

PRAYER REQUESTS:
For the many people who are coming to visit in the next two weeks!  I am so excited.  Most are people who I have met since moving here who God has put into my life, and I am so grateful that we will do life together for a bit.  Also, a Wesleyan alumnus, Lauren, is bringing a youth group from her church in Alabama this week, and there will be a new intern staying at Emanuel House for three weeks beginning in June.  Please pray that God works through me, that I can lead them well, and that I can balance the Mary and Martha in me!

For continued rest in the midst of being mom, teacher, and everything else.  Life has been a lot better balanced over the last few weeks and I feel good.  Please continue praying for balance and time to refuel.

For obedience over sacrifice, for more God and less Adrienne, and that God's will would continue to be the most important thing.

That like David I will be confident not in who I am, but in who the God that I serve is.  And, that every day, anchored in His joy and with faith in who He is, I will wear His armor, even though sometimes I feel like I just have some rocks and a slingshot.

Here are some pics from the past three weeks:

[Reading Matters] Many don't get read to at home so reading is so important!  Along with Bible
stories, we try to read books from the library.  This is one of the kids' favorite times of the day.

 

  [Tasting fruits of spring] Each day I receive fruit as gifts. The kids pick them  from the trees found in or around their yards.  This day, I received mamón, a new fruit for me.  So, we tried the sweet fruit together and also had some mango!

[T de Tarta] Practicing the letter of the week "t".

[Bless This Home] Praying with an Emanuel House mom and member of my Bible Study
with this group of family, friends and community as she moved into her new home.

Thinking. Walking. Praying. Praising. Loving.

So, a few weeks ago, a friend sent me this picture.

Yep!  This is my brain in a nutshell …

My brain is all over the place.
My thoughts are everywhere.

If you've ever talked to me, this image explains why sometimes when I'm talking it may take me a while to get to the point…

It explains why it may take me a while to publish a new blog or why ideas may seem jumbled or why when talking if I haven't planned what I'm going to say, I may just end my thought mid sentence (and yes, that did happen once in a devotion that I was giving and happens all the time in prayers!)

There is just so much going on in my brain that I often have a hard time articulating everything that I am seeing, hearing and thinking.  And yet, I smile -- understanding that God made me that way.  I know that I am not the only one like that and someone who is reading this relates to me.  But for those of you who don't, this is my brain!!!  Seriously… and like 20 times more like this since I've moved here...

So, over the past month, in some ways it seems like so much has been going through my mind and it is hard sometimes to write it all down.  In other ways, it seems like life is just passing by, and while I am walking day after day through life, trying to live intentionally serving the Lord, I feel like I don't have anything "good" to write about.

Anyhow, I figured that for this blog, I would write random thoughts or happenings … things that have been on my mind or that have happened over the past few weeks… things that God has told me through His Word and events of my every day life.  They are connected in that God has allowed them to happen in my life, but at the same time, not connected at all.  I hope that you enjoy them and maybe can see that God is working… in small and big things.

Collecting kids stories and pictures for child sponsorship, translating, and sending letters to sponsors.

 

Working with my team which is composed of an Emanuel House teacher, the twins and some other teenagers to share the Bible with neighborhood kids once a month.  Sharing the Easter story and why we celebrate Holy Week.  The girls acted out the story while I read, we enjoyed an activity, and we watched a movie with popcorn!  Praising God for helpers and the ability to teach others to lead as well!

 

Enjoying something a little different… visitors from Florida, the capital, and from Washington DC came to spend time with the kids doing art and singing all for God's glory.  Recognizing that God gave us outlets like art and music to get out frustration and sadness and joy.  Appreciating Him for providing space to enjoy our artistic abilities in the last month!

 

Teaching my kids….  

Calendar time…
Day 15 of counting popsicle sticks...
The letter L...
Counting backwards and forwards from 30...
Sitting in a circle for the first time…
Picking out numbers that they recognize and putting them in a bucket...

Little Arlenis getting out of her seat, walking over to me wherever I am in the classroom, and putting a star stickers on my arm over and over again throughout the morning…. This sweet little gesture makes me appreciate 6 year olds.  Thinking about the book by Max Lucado You Are Special.

Spending a full day at the zoo with 6 kids whose sponsors sent birthday money for them to enjoy and spending it with a close friend and his family.  Seeing kids enjoy their first trip to the zoo while experiencing God's creation up close.  Realizing that snakes and monkeys and alligators and ponies and and flamencos are all real, that chimps do beg for food, and that hippos like to be in the water and out of the water.  It was a first going to eat at Burger King before the zoo and getting to shop for a gift themselves after the zoo.  And, something I'll never forget… car sickness.  I've never had kids, but I think car sickness is pretty normal.  Every time that we have gone on a trip in the Dominican with kids (who rarely travel by car or bus), every single time… (minus one) there has been vomit. And this trip to the zoo was no exception!  I don't know if I'll ever get used to it.  Plastic bags are a must!

Saying goodbye to GAP students who have been here for 8 months, three of whom who have been working at Emanuel House by working with kids who are really behind academically, helping with Child Sponsorship behind the scenes, and leading PE.  Hoping that they have seen God's light shine through me somehow, praying that their spiritual walk was strengthened, and praising Him for what He has in store for their futures!

Reminded of Romans 12:1-2… the verse that helped me know that loving the Lord is not just being saved from Hell, but that loving the Lord is something that we do with all of ourselves.  Reminded today that in sacrificing ourselves, surrendering our bodies and our strength and our mind each day to Him, he will reveal His will to us.  Thankful for that reminder.

Confirmed in my love for and giftedness in relationships with teenagers and kids.  Wondering what God has in store for me longterm in that!

Raising kids is not easy.  Working with twins 24/7 is not easy.  Disciplining isn't easy either.  Yet, I really like the "mom-ish" duties.  I'm enjoying making dinner, speaking to, and spending time with Josefa and Josefina who've come to live with us.

Having to cut off all of the damaged hair into a "boy cut" caused lots of tears and defiance. One was obedient, one not so much.  God provided opportunity to share about how we are all His creation and how we are beautiful hair or no hair or little hair.  Hair is not what gives us identity nor what makes us girls.  So, having confidence in Him and not in what others say to us is important.  Praying for identity in Christ today.

Fighting.

Disobeying.

Not forgiving.

One of the twins has a disobedient streak it seems.

Anger.  Sadness.  An unrepentant heart.

Talking with her often about the need to forgive and to have a good attitude.  Encouraging her and teaching the importance of being in the Word, memorizing scripture, and applying it to life while trying to do those same things in my life.

Spending time with the girls watching movies (Akeelah and the Bee / Anne of Green Gables), going to church, cooking and eating together, visiting their brother in a nearby orphanage.   Doing life.  They love going to Bible Study with me and going to church with Mirqueya and Niña, the Emanuel House cook!

Reminded of Job today who God allowed to go through hard times in health among many other things.  The devil thought that Job would be angry at the Lord for it.  But, Job praised Him anyhow.  Encouraged by Job to keep going even though I don't feel great every day.

Retreating for 3 days on the northern part of the island at a beautiful house with other missionaries.  It was a wonderful getaway…. having good conversations, painting, walking on the beach, and enjoy seeing mountains!  One of my favorite parts was teaching the missionaries a Wesleyan favorite game -- pterodactyl. So much laughter! And, while we were gone, the girls behaved so well that we got to take them to the pool on Sunday for an afternoon of pure enjoyment and laughter.

 

Reading about Joseph and his brothers and how even though his brothers were not nice to him and he  became a slave… and even though he got thrown into jail… he remained faithful to God.  Reading about how he still used the gifts that God had given him even while in jail even in hard times.  And how in remaining faithful to the Lord, God lifted him out of hard times and eventually he became an advisor for the king -- which eventually led him back to His family. Reading about Joseph's forgiving heart and desire to truly please the Lord and the use of His gifts is an encouragement to me to keep on walking!

Encouraged by God's work in spite of me.  Encouraged by how He has equipped another teacher alongside me, Natalí.  She's learned so much and gained so much confidence as a teacher this year.

Encouraged by the kids who are learning!  Today in class, one of my kids (not the smartest) spelled out the words, licuadora (she spelled it liqadora), lapiz (she spelled it lapis), loco, luna, lampara (yep! She got those right!).  They are learning!  Even though I still have little Jhojancel who cannot spell his name (I mean it is hard!) and others who struggle still with numbers 1-10, they are learning.  And for that I give ALL the glory to God!  Focusing on the small improvements!

Praying for God's continued direction, guidance and clarity.  Praying for His will and not my own.  Praying for continued depth of community, support and love.  Praying for all those who support and love me back in the States.  Praying for good health.  Praying for obedience in His call for my life.  Praying for a pure heart, deepened faith, and more of Him every day!