Death

These last two weeks it seems like death has been all around me.  I have had 2 patients that I visited die of AIDS.  My mothers good friend and a co-workers father also died. A fellow missionary was driving home and hit a young boy and he died later that day.  So as you can tell that is just a lot of deaths!  A couple of posts ago I wrote about Carrol being HIV positive and very sick.  She is one of the ones who died.  I think that when I got that news that was just the tip of the iceburg for me.  I could hardly stop crying.  Please pray for me because I’m so tired of seeing innocent people die. When I told Hannah about the woman dying and why I was crying, she said, “Well, Mama, do something about it. Don’t just cry!” Even though it makes me so sad every time I go out to visit patients and then later hearing that another one has died, I can’t stop going out. I feel compelled to keep going as hard as it is. They all deserve an opportunity to hear the gospel.

Prayer is so amazing! Like I said, when I got the news that Carrol died  it made me really upset.  I wasn't just crying because of this one woman but for the thousands in Africa who die everyday with AIDS and without hope. I texted Kevin about it and he told our friends he was with. When our house worker came in she could tell I was upset. I told her what happened and she took the time to listen to me. She hugged me, and spoke words of truth to me. As I cried, she stroked my hair. This was such a blessing to me and really ministered to me. A few min. later I got a text message from a friend at Kevin's meeting which said, "In my small group, I prayed that someone would listen and HUG you!" God is certainly amazing!

So that this post won't all be about death let me say something about two testimonies of life I heard this week.
1-Before Bible study as I was waiting on the women to come I had about 30 min. to chat with one of the caregivers.  She shared with me that she was a widow of 13 years.  Her husband had died of AIDS and left her and her children to take care of themselves.  He had gotten AIDS from being unfaithful to his wife.  His other partner had died about a year before he did.  She was heartbroken and knew that she probably had this disease too.  She figured she had about one more year to live and then she too would leave her children behind.  She went to the clinic and got tested and sure enough she was HIV positive.  They told her she could begin taking ARV's which she did.  She said she was very surprised when she didn't die the next  year.  She knew that God had saved her from dying and leaving her kids behind.  She decided to become a caregiver so she could encourage others to be tested and get on ARV's if they were positive.  She felt like once they heard her testimony that they would be encouraged to know that they can keep living for a long time if they take this medicine.  Now Mary's kids are grown and she is still doing well.

2-Only a couple of women were able to come to bible study so we decided to go and visit one of Mary's patients.  As we were on our way there Mary told us about this woman we were going to see.  She said she struggled with BP and that 2 1/2 weeks ago she fell and hit her head.  When she woke up she was in the hospital.  She couldn't move or talk.  This woman, Kristin, had just gotten home a couple of days before our visit.  So we were not expecting too much in way of a visit but felt like we should still go.  When we entered the house Kristin was sitting up on the couch.  She was able to talk a bit too!  She can move her arms now and her legs some but still not well enough to walk.  Mary was so surprised to see her doing so well.  Kristin just kept saying it was all God.  God had saved her from death for a reason.  We talked about that for a while and I encouraged her to do whatever it is that God had planned for her.  The three of us left very encouraged and praising Jesus too!
 

No more braces!

 Hannah got her braces off last week!

 

 18 months ago she started wearing braces.  It was tough to not be able to eat certain things but she made it!

 She is super excited to have them off now.  She has a retainer that she will probably have to wear for about 2 years and she also has a permanent retainer that will stay in as long as she wants to have it.

 She's so beautiful!

 

As soon as she got home she took out her retainer and got a piece of bubble gum to chew since she had not had any in 18 months!  It hurt her to chew it at first since she wasn't use to it anymore.

 enjoying!!

 preparing to blow that first bubble

There it is!!

Since that day she has enjoyed corn on the cob, ribs, gum, caramel, and an air head.

What kind of teacup are you?

I just started this book by Linda Dillow called Calm My Anxious Heart.  I am only on the second chapter but it is so good I wanted to write up a little excerpt from it to share with you.  If you are looking for a good book you should check it out.  If you look on Amazon it will give you a sample of the book from chapter 1.

Phil. 4:8  “Finally____(put your name)_____ whatever is untrue, whatever is noble, whatever is not right, whatever is impure, whatever is unlovely, whatever is not admirable-if there is anything that is not excellent or worthy of praise-think about such things.”  This translation of this verse is of someone with negative thinking.  If this is your vision about yourself you need to change and have an eternal perspective. 

According to Webster’s, the term “perspective” suggests “looking through; seeing clearly; the capacity to view things in their true relation of relative importance.”  I like to think of perspective as a way of seeing.  An eternal perspective, then  is God’s way of seeing.  When we have God’s perspective, we view our lives and evaluate what is important  from His viewpoint.  We need to fix our eyes on eternity.

“At all times, in all circumstances, Christ is able and willing to provide the strength we need to be content.  Contentment occurs when Christ’s strength is infused into my weak body, soul, and spirit.  To infuse means to pour, fill, soak, or extract.  Every morning when I dip my herbal tea bag into boiling water, I witness infusion. 

“How does God enable us to be content?  He infuses contentment into us through His Word.  As it seeps into our minds, it transforms us.  Just as a cup of tea gets stronger when we give it time to steep, so we become more content when we spend time in God’s Word and allow it to seep into our lives, transforming us to be like Him.”

Sometimes, we desire to trust God but because He seems to be slow in answering our requests we unconsciously decide to help God.  Like He needs our help!  

“God has lovingly assigned each of us to be a uniquely special teacup.  Perhaps we’re an antique cup, painted with dainty roses set in gold.  Maybe we see ourselves as an everyday cup-useful,, but a little chipped around the edges.  Or we could be a heavy-duty mug-rugged, unbreakable, and able to hold much. 

Then God fills our cup with our portion, what He determines best.  Our portion is our physical  and emotional being, our abilities, circumstances, roles, and relationships. 

Sometimes we don’t like what’s been poured into our cup.  Remember the Lord Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane?  When He saw the suffering He was about to endure, He pleaded, “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42).  Christ grasped the handle of His cup and lifted it to God and said, “I accept my portion.  Infuse me with Your strength that I may drink.”

Every cup-whether dainty china or rough-hewn pottery-has a handle.  God has placed our portion in our cup.  We either choose to grasp it by the handle and lift it to Him, saying, “I accept my portion; I accept this cup,” or we choose to smash our cup to pieces, saying, “God, I refuse my portion.  This cup is not the right size for me and I don’t like what You’ve put in it.  I’ll control my life myself.”

You fail to make God your trust by default.  Your life is out of control, so you give up.  It’s impossible to make sense of life, beyond impossible to be content, so you give up and give in.  Most of us either try too hard or we quit trying.  In both cases, we miss God.  We miss His infusion of strength that leads to contentment.”

Carrol

 Carrol is 40 years old, has no children, and lives with her Aunt. Her husband sent her to live with her Aunt because he works and can't take care of her. She is HIV positive and has TB. She says she has asked her aunt to bring her some kind of drink that will just make her die because she is so sick. Pray for Carrol to not give up on life.I shared my testimony and the gospel with her and she says she is a believer. Pray she was encouraged by the BGR bucket and blanket that was given to her. Pray for the many people all over Africa who are just like Carrol- Sick, afraid, and without hope!

Obedience

This week at the bible study with the caregivers I taught on the importance of Obedience.  We looked at several verses from the bible to see what it had to say on this subject.  It's one thing to just read the Word and it's another thing to put what we read into action.  In our own strength we are not able to obey God.  But God has promised to give us strength to help us. 
Eph. 6:10 says, "Finally, build up your strength in union with the Lord and by means of his mighty power."
1 Cor. 10:13 says, "Every test that you have experienced is the kind that normally comes to people.  But God keeps his promise, and he will not allow you to be tested beyond your power to remain firm; at the time you are put to test, he will give you the strength to endure it, and so provide you with a way out."
If we want to remain in harmony with God we must obey Him.  This does not mean obeying one or two times.  It is a lifelong process.  Choose to obey today!

Girl Time!

 Kevin has been traveling the last two weeks to Angola and South Africa.  While he was gone one of my friends whom I have known for probably 10 years came to stay with me and Hannah for a couple of days.We had so much fun together!  

One night we lit candles, played jazz music, did an avocado facial mask, soaked our feet, and had a orange creamsicle smoothie.(I'll put the recipes below)

 You apply the avocado facial mask and then relax for 15 min. or longer if you get busy talking!

 We also soaked our feet in a milk and water mixture.  Then Hannah rubbed our feet with sugar.  It was a great exfoliater.

One day for lunch we made salads.  I fixed a taco salad(left). Aretta made a salad with chicken and bacon on it(right).

 

 Aretta fixed our hair one day.  It was fun to be pampered!

 The finished products!

Carrot, Avocado and Cream Nourishing Mask

The combination of carrot(high in beta-carotene and anti-oxidant vitamins), heavy cream(high in calcium and protein) and avocado(a rich source of vitamin E) in this facial mask will improve skin texture, diminish age spots and rebuild skin collagen when used with regularity.

Recipe:

½ cup heavy cream

1 carrot, cooked and mashed

1 avocado, peeled, pitted and mashed

3 TBLsp honey

Combine ingredients in a bowl and spread over face and neck.  Relax for 15 min. Rinse with cool water.

The thicker the clay of the mask, the more intense the action on the skin.

An avocado pit makes a natural massage tool: rub it and roll it against your skin to sooth tired muscles.

Taken from Secrets of the spas by Catherine Bardey

Orange Creamsicle Smoothie

1 cup fresh orange juice

½ frozen sliced banana

½ cup nonfat vanilla frozen yogurt

½ cup chopped ice

Slice of orange for garnish

Place orange juice, banana, frozen yogurt and ice in a blender and blend until smooth.  Pour into a glass and garnish with a slice of orange.

Let the little children come to me.....

 Today when we went to the compound Hannah told the children this story. "People were bringing the little children to Jesus to have him touch them, but the disciples rebuked them.  When Jesus saw this, he was indignant.  He said to them, "Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of God belongs to such as these.  I tell you the truth, anyone who will not receive the kingdom of God like a little child will never enter it."  And he took the children in his arms, put his hands on them and blessed them."

 They sang songs

 

 and danced

 Then they went outside and had some races with these streamers that a friend gave to Hannah to use with the kids. 

 The kids had so much fun!

 It was so neat to see the smiles on their faces and hear them laughing.

 Jesus loves these little children so much!

 Will you  please pray for these children to hide God's Word in their hearts at a young age?

 Pray for Hannah to be a light for Jesus each week as she teaches them.

Pray for these children to come to know Jesus.

A Year of Time

A Year of Time. . . . . . . . . . . .  Steven B. Cloud

    …Though even thinking on the subject of time may prove discomforting, it is not a bad idea—especially at the beginning of a new year.
    As we look into 2013 we look at a block of time. We see 12 months, 52 weeks, 365 days, 8,760 hours, 525,600 minutes, 31,536,000 seconds. And all is a gift from God. We have done nothing to deserve it, earn it, or purchased it. Like the air we breathe, time comes to us as a part of life.
    The gift of time is not ours alone. It is given equally to each person. Rich and poor, educated and ignorant, strong and weak—every man, woman and child has the same twenty-four hours every day.
    Another important thing about time is that you cannot stop it. There is no way to slow it down, turn it off, or adjust it. Time marches on.
    And you cannot bring back time. Once it is gone, it is gone. Yesterday is lost forever. If yesterday is lost, tomorrow is uncertain. We may look ahead at a full year’s block of time, but we really have no guarantee that we will experience any of it.
    Obviously, time is one of our most precious possessions. We can waste it. We can worry over it. We can spend it on ourselves. Or, as good stewards, we can invest it in the kingdom of God.
    The new year is full of time. As the seconds tick away, will you be tossing time out the window, or will you make every minute count?