Flesh vs. Spirit

Matthew 26:41 says "Keep watch and pray, so that you will not give in to temptation. For the spirit is willing, but the body is weak!" The word of God always speaks truth and it's screaming loud and clear in my life. There's been a knock down, all out battle going on inside me for a few weeks now. The flesh and the spirit have started WW III in my heart and the score seems to be tied. I've started a new job at a place where God is moving in huge ways and He's using me to be a part of it....and Satan hates it! And the worst part is the enemy knows my weaknesses, sometimes I feel better than I do. And he hasn't been holding anything back. But I know I have victory because God is on my side fighting for me. Although my heart is deceitful, wicked, and beyond cure, (Jeremiah 17:9) God can see the true depth of my heart, knows my every thought, my every heart's desire, and continues to love me unconditionally. HE can't love me anymore or any less, His love is PERFECT! So until my flesh starts waving the white flag of surrender or Jesus comes back, I'll continue to fight the good fight of faith, and take hold of eternal life to which I was called. (1 Timothy 6:12) And I'll continue to keep watch and pray, for my spirit is willing but my body is weak.

CONGRATS ANDREA!!!

My cousin Andrea got married this weekend to her new hubby Doug! It was such a beautiful, simple, small town wedding. Absolutely perfect for her. And the church was beautiful!

The actually wedding was in Lincoln, but then the reception was in a small town just north of town called Davey. I think it might have maybe 300 people in it :-)

Since I've been in the Philippines most of the last two years I haven't seen much of my extended family. So it was a great time to reunite and catch up! Family truly is an amazing blessing from the Lord!

Here's some of those blessings...

My big bro Kevin


My beautiful mama


My fav cuz Steven, his wife Jacey, and their new son Owen


My little bro Nick


My pops!


Aunt Debbie the mother of....

The beautiful bride Andrea!


Great Uncle Richard who is always givin me pinchy kisses!!! haha

And I just love this picture so I wanted to put it on here. Which I can cause it's my blog! He's such a proud daddy!

O-TOWN LIVIN

I've been living in Omaha now for a couple weeks. It gets pretty interesting at times, but I'm really loving it. Here's a pic of my roomies.... Alyssa, Me, Sharlay, Misty.


I've been playing a lot....let me rephrase that.... AAAALLLLLOOOOOTTTT of basketball. I started off extremely rusty, broke shot, slower than molasses in the dead of winter, hackin-crazy, and blister filled feet. But slowly my skills have been coming back. My new J's helped and I've been hitting the occasional three pointer, droppin dimes, and playing tenatious D! We've been runnin full court games so its an awesome way to get in shape. And it's also fun to humble the guys when I blow past em. My body is still adjusting to playing so much. I still get aches, pains, sore and stiffness. But I've realized my body isn't exactly 19 anymore and ibuprofen is a necessity.

One thing I've had to get used to living here is hearing the sirens at all hours of the day and knowing we're sort of in the middle of the hot zone. It's been getting worse with the nicer weather. I woke up last night at 4am and heard some quick pop, pop, pop, pop, pop. I'll let you guess what it was, but don't worry it was pretty far in the distance. I know that this is where God has Misty (my sister) buying a house, and me living right now. I trust that nothing will happen that God doesn't allow. I trust the hands of the Savior my life is resting in.

Living here also opens a huge door for ministry opportunities. My sister Misty works at an after-school program called the Hope Center about six blocks from our house. I've been volunteering there (where we usually play ball) and we're constantly giving kids rides, having them over, and feeding them. It's a great way to give them something to do and get them off the streets. God has created a lot of opportunities to talk about Him and how He's changed my life. I've been seeing Him use my past in huge ways to relate to them and open conversations about His love, forgiveness, and grace.

Yesterday,we had about 20 of the kids over for a Memorial Day grill out. We grilled burgers, bratts, had chips, baked beans, fruit salad, and iced tea. We set up the volleyball net and also had football and frisbee going. It was such a beautiful day. And God held off the rain until long after the kids had gone home. (which was about midnight!) It was awesome to be able to serve and love them for the Lord.

a short video of the boys so called "victory dance" even though we absolutely killed them!



some pics of the day...

Thank God I'm A Country Girl

Well I left the big city of Manila and came back to the good ol' country... and I've loved it! In fact, this afternoon I'm moving to go live with my sister in Omaha so I'm sad to be leaving the country. I'm just praying one day God will have me settle in the country again.... (with an awesome husband and lots of little ones running around :-) But until then I'll keep sneaking in country time whenever I can get it. Since I've been home I've been staying at my parents house which is about 30 miles from a decent size city, and their nearest neighbor is one mile away, who just happens to be my Grandpa! It's been so wonderful to sit outside in fresh air, no noise, wildlife running around, and just breathe in Gods beauty. I truly love the country. Here are some of the moments that make me love it....

Riding horses.....


Climbing windmills...


The view...


Turker hunting...


With dad...

GRADUATION

We had another awesome Pregnancy Class graduation. These women are so much fun. They are so quick to always have a smile and laugh. Their hearts are so big and challenge me to not be so worried about life, but to choose joy.

Upon arriving, we found that Bilma had FINALLY had her baby...only about a week overdue. The poor girl, she was looking more uncomfortable every time we saw her. This is her with her daughter, and new baby boy.


We started off the celebration by singing praise and worship songs led by Charmain and Marites, two awesome girls who have become close fiends of mine.



Then came competition time. The first game we split up the women in two different teams. After balancing the calamansi on a spoon in their mouth, each contestant had to race as fast as possible around a chair and then return to their line where they passed the calamansi to the next in line. (with no hands)





Because Val is also pregnant and we were short one player, she was game enough to join in.



Each member of the winning team got to pick out an outfit from the basket. All the outfits that weren't given out during games were given to the women at the end of the day. Many of these clothes and the money for the graduation celebration was donated from supporters back home. Thank you supporters!!!!!!!!!


The next game was a contest of three women at a time. Each woman was blindfolded and they had to race to see who could diaper a Cabbage Patch Doll the fastest. Each winner got to take another pick from the clothes basket.

After the games Charmain, the church pastora, shared the gospel of salvation with the graduates, their families, and even some visitors outside the church.

Charmain has become a very close friend of mine who has an absolutely beautiful heart for the Lord. She has been such a blessing in my life and will continue to be a blessing to those in Tanza. Many of the women have started coming to church. We don't know how many hearts have received Christ because of this program, but one day when we're in heaven we'll find out.

Next on the program was the turning of the tassles....oh wait we didn't have caps and gowns. But we did hand out certificates, bibles, daily devotionals, pictures frame with class pictures, and gifts including outfits, cloth diapers, thermometers, diaper pins, blankets, etc. The women were so grateful. It was a joy to be able to give these gifts to them.



After all was over, we took time to take maraming (lots) pictures, and say many many sad goodbyes. There were lots of hugs and lots of tears. But even though goodbyes were said, memories and friendships will last a lifetime.

BABY NO NAME YET

When we showed up to class this week Marjorie was there with her new baby daughter!!!! She is soooo beautiful!


When I asked her name, Marjorie said she didn't have one yet. Don't be alarmed, this is actually pretty common here. And since most women give birth in their own homes, they typically don't even get a birth certificate until quite a while after the child is born. She is Marjorie's fourth child, but her first girl. "Baby No Name Yet" was born last Wednesday, March 26. I of course suggested she name her Lisa. :-) I don't think she went for it :-(


Bilma hasn't had her baby yet. Her actual due date is April 5, so maybe by our next class we'll have another new baby! I just love it! And of course Bilma looks as beautiful as ever!!!!!


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We've been visiting Jerilyn and her family atleast once a week taking formula and such. Jerilyn is really putting on weight. Its so great to see her flourishing and growing!


This is Jerlyns older sister Jeserie. We had a movie night at the church a couple weeks ago and Jesrie slept on my lap through most of it. We've been friends ever since. ;-)


Here's Rosie with her other daughters Jeserie who is two, and Jenrose who is three years old.


I just thought this was a funny picture and that you might enjoy seeing it.

CONGRATULATIONS MARITES & HELLO GIL

This weekend my friend Marites graduated from college. Marites interned with First Love this year and through which became a good friend of mine. She helped us out by translating, leading worship, doing kids bible studies, and so so much more. Marites graduated from Evangelical Theological College of the Philippines with a degree in Theology. After receiving her diploma and turning her tassel, her supervisor and friend Dave Clinton prayed for her.


It was great to be able to celebrate this moment with her. I'm so proud of her!


One of my good friends from last year, Gil Wong, came back to the Philippines for a visit. She's one of the sweetest girls I know. And being from the UK she has one of the sweetest accents I've ever heard! Our time together was short, but it was so great to spend time with her again. And maybe the next time we're together it will be in Liverpool.

STRENGTHS

While I was home for Christmas, I got a book called "Living Your Strengths". It's a book about discovering your God-Given talents and then using them to inspire your community and bring glory to God. When you buy the book, it comes with a web adddress and code to take a strengths-finder test. The test involves eighty-some questions, and you are allowed 20 seconds for each question so that you can't over-analyze the questions. Your answer needs to be your initial response. Three doctors came up with the test and the results. So the questions and answers are very well researched and educated. So here's my top five strengths in order. I would say the full description of each strength has me town to a tee.

1. COMPETITION

2. ADAPTABILITY

3. WOO

4. BELIEF

5. ACHIEVER

BUNTIS BA KAYO?

We are about in the middle of another awesome pregnancy program in Tanza. These women are so much fun. One of my favorite parts of the class is when we do some strectching/exercise/game/dancing in the beginning. It usually involves a lot of laughing. We had odd number so I got to jump in....even though I didnt really know the words or moves! They are beautiful women already, but when they smile they could light up the world. I still can't believe God has allowed me to be a part of it. (sorry for the sideways movie) And if by some odd chance you cant figure out which one I am, I'm the tall white girl in back :-)




In the beginning of each class we take a little time to sing praise and worship songs. It's awesome to hear the women singing praises to God.



One of my best friends and fellow missionaires, Val, does the actual teaching part. She has two kids of her own, and one on the way. So needless to say she has a little bit more experience than I do at the whole pregnancy thing :-) She really does an awesome job. We're so blessed to have her helping us this session. Even if she is a little too old to be playing with dolls. ;-)



In this country there are a lot of superstitions handed down from one generation to the next. So these women are so eager to learn truth about pregnancy and parenthood. It's information and knowledge that they otherwise may not have have known.




Two of the mamas, Bilma and Marjorie, are due any day. In fact on our way to the class I was wondering if we were going to get there and find out that they already had them. But not yet. I'm excited that maybe at our next class I'll have two new babies to hold!!!!! Chelle and I were trying to listen to see if they could maybe tell us when they were going to be born.



Our class:

"PINOY IDOL"

Because of Ramiele Malubay, the Filipina contestant on American Idol, this country is Idol crazy. So this week at youth group we hosted "Pinoy Idol". Oh my word, it was soooo adorable and so much fun! The kids could choose between four different categories: singing, acting, dancing, or drawing. The kids were so excited to show off their skills. And of course, what is Pinoy Idol without judges? So Charmain, Chelle and I were the lovely judges.

But thank goodness we didn't have to give feedback, just choose the winners. I would have pulled the Paula and told everyone they were lovely, beautiful, talented, full of colors, and then proceed to clap like a walrus :-)

We started with singing where the kids praised God with their voices singing worship songs.




Next were the actors. We only had one group, but they were extremely entertaining. If I watched Pinoy soap operas....I think they may look a little somethin like this. (It's in Tagalog)


After that were the dancers. We had a couple groups but Noime, Veronica, and Rozel stole the show dancin for the Lord.


The drawing competition was a little different. While all of the groups were preparing their performances, the artists were given a piece of scripture where they had to interpret in their own hearts, and then artistically display their interpretations. It was really neat to see their hearts for scripture on paper.


So, the lovely judges had to choose one winner from each category. And the winner is.......(left to right) dancing: Ludy, acting: Christine, singer: Kate, and artist: May Ann. The prize: a pack of Oreo's :-)


We brought some hats and wigs with us, just for fun. It was hilarious watching the kids try them on.


I just love going to the youth group and hanging out with them.

HOME

YAY!!! PRAISE GOD! Today Jerilyn got discharged from the hospital. After a month in the hospital she has gained enough weight and is well enough to go home. Rosie was so excited to be able to go home and see her other kids again. Her husband Jeri met Rosie and Jerilyn at the hospital in the morning to help bring them home. They were so cute carrying and protecting Jerilyn on the way home.... I just absolutely LOVE them and their family.


Jerilyn is such a great baby. Traveling by taxi, train, and car, she never cried. She was very content to lay in her mama's arms.


Now that Jerilyn and Rosie are home it will actually be quicker and easier to visit them than when they were in the hospital. Now they are only a short 5 minute car ride from where we do ministry at five days a week. So they'll be getting a lot of drop-in visits. We will still be supplying Jerilyn with formula, monitoring the amount she is fed, weighing her to make sure she's gaining weight, and transporting them to and from doctors check-ups every two weeks or so.

God I thank you so much for the life of Jerilyn. Thank you that you have already ordained all the days of her life. Thank you for allowing me to be a part of it. You are so good all the time!

YOUTH GROUP & LADIES NIGHT

The youth group at Tanza are preparing to set up worship teams and dance worship teams. In order to assess their strengths, and then have them try out in appropriate divisions. A guy named Jomel from a sister church in Antipolo came to give the kids an exam to determine their strengths. In the next couple of weeks the church will be hosting tryouts for the worship teams, and we will also be having a "Pinoy" Idol. It should be a lot of fun!



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First you take six women, mix in some chocolate, sugar, caffeine, laughter, American Idol, talking, and games. Add many side dishes for taste. Serve and enjoy. Thats usually the recipe for an awesome girls night. God has given me some incredible women as friends here. Friday night Val, Michelle, Nat, Susan, Chelle and I had such a fun night. We all came bearing gifts of chocolate, sugar, and caffeinated drinks. Chelle made her yummy fruit pizza.


Yes, I know it looks like a lot of food for six women, but we did a pretty darn good job eating it!


After an hour of the typical chit chat, we proceeded to watch American Idol where screams of rage were directed towards the TV after one of our favorites, Asia'h, got voted off. We'll miss you Asia'h.


We then started what ended up to be a long game of Cranium. Val had been given the newer version for Christmas complete with accessories for the game pieces. It's real cute. The teams were Val and Michelle vs. Chelle, Nat and I. After Nat was done yelling out the answers to the other team (for reasons still unknown), we had a heated game going on. After a couple more hours of competition and of course eating, Val and Michelle rose victorious....ugh darn. Here's a short video of their victory celebration, Chelles half hearted effort to be happy for them, and my face of disgust. :-)

LIFE TO THE FULL

I can't help but praising God. We made another trip to visit Jerilyn and Rosie. Every time we go I am blown away by how awesome she looks and how she has improved since the first time we saw her when her mom brought her to the medical mission. Her cheeks get pudgier (if thats a word), instead of hanging skin she's got little rolls on her legs and her color looks so great. She has currently gained 3-4 lbs. Ahhh it's just so awesome to see her growing. I absolutely love being able to be a part of her and her families life. Rosie has even started saying things to Jerilyn like "Say hi to nanay Lisa and nanay Michelle." which means mama Lisa and Michelle. It warms my heart every time I hear it.

Through this, God has shown me how as believers we are a lot like Jerilyn. When we first come to Christ we are helpless, broken, and in need of someone to save our life. We're unable to save ourselves. We're too weak. We can't do it on our own strength. We are in need of a savior to come in and rescue us. In John 10:10 Jesus says, "I come that they may have life, and have it to the full." Jesus came to give us life, and life to the fullest. Not only life here on earth but eternal life with Him in heaven. I now have a little bit better understanding of how much Jesus desires for us to have life through Him. I want so badly for Jerilyn to grow, mature, strive, and have an abundant life. So badly that I ache inside. And God wants that for me....times about a billion jillion....yes a lot :-) It gives me such joy to see Jerilyn growing, striving, maturing, and smiling. It made me realize that God gets pleasure out of seeing me grow, strive, mature, and to place my life in His hands. Just as I yearn for Jerilyn to do that, God is yearning for me as well. Thank you Jesus, I love you so much.

Here's some pictures that I'm sure will touch your heart as Jerilyn has touched mine.









and a little video....

ITS A BIRD.....A PLANE...NO IT'S SUPERMAN!!!!

Well, it may not be Superman but help is on the way. Jerilyn has been in the hospital 10 days now and is already improving significantly. For the first few days she had to be in her own room because the open sores on her head were contagious as was her pneumonia and they didn't want her infecting the other babies in the Malward. (malnutrition ward)

Last Monday we paid the bill (you have to pay first before anything can be done here), packed up all their belongings (which you would be surprised how much they can accumulate in such a short time) and transferred her through the maze of a hospital to the room she will be stayingin for the next month or so. As of right now there are four children including Jerilyn who are being treated. The ward can treat up to six at one time. Praise God they had space for Jerilyn.

Jerilyn has been doing such a wonderful job of eating since she's been in the hospital. Her source of food has been a combination of formula and breast milk that has been donated from a good friend of ours, and also from a pediatric doctor who's heart has been touched by Jerilyn. The doctors have reported that she has gained weight, although they aren't able to determine exactly how much weight. But she is gaining and thats awesome. The doctor who is in charge of the Malward this month (the doctors rotate each month because it is a volunteer ward) wanted to put Jerilyn on a feeding tube so that they can regulate and control how much milk she is getting. So Rosie had to learn to feed her using the feeding tube but is doing such a wonderful job!


We also found out yesterday that Jerilyn is anemic so the doctors have been treating her for that as well. Please continue to pray that Gods will would be to heal her and continue to make her stronger every day. Also pray for Rosie. Her heart is being transformed by the Lord. God is so faithful and so good.


Friday we had our feeding program at Tanza. Once we were done for the day we took a little trip to visit Rosie and Jerilyns family. They knew we were coming and they were so excited. But I have to admit I doubt as excited as I was to see them. We took them some food and just sat and visited for a while. It was neat being able to meet them and to put faces with the family Rosie has talked about. God has really connected my heart to this famiily.

I'm also praying that Acts 16:31 would hold true for Rosie's family. "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household." Although we didn't get to meet all 18 living in the house, the ones we met were more than welcoming. Rosie and her husband Jeri's kids include JonMichael 7, JonIverson 5, JenRose 3, Jesire 2, and Jerilyn 4months.
I praise God for using me to be a part of delivering His love to this family. Almost daily I wonder why He chose me....but I so humbled and thankful that He has.

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We've also started our next session of teaching for pregnant mama's. We had 16 beautiful women show up this past week. Val Manthe, a fellow friend and missionary, is joining us this time around.

It's such a huge blessing and help to have her on board. She's had two children of her own with one on the way, so she is pretty experienced when it comes to the whole pregnancy and motherhood thing. Maybe just a little more than me :-) She is doing such a wonderful job teaching. This week the topic was "Nutrition". Next week will be "3 Trimesters; When to worry, when not to worry". I'm excited to get to be a part of these womens lives!


I can't hardly forget to mention quite possibly my favorite mama (I know I say that about most of them) Claire FINALLY had her baby! She has two of the most handsome boys in the world. I'm often tempted to kidnap them and bring them home with me :-) This is Claire pre-baby with her youngest son Kedrick.


And this is me with the all handsome, all ornery Kenneth.


All during her pregnancy she didn't know what she was having, but secretly I was hoping for a girl. Claire is soooo beautiful and I knew she would have a gorgeous little girl. And guess what......she did!!!! Yay!!!! this is a picture of her when she was only eight hours old. She doesn't have a name yet but of course I suggested Lisa :-) Can my job get any better?

BLOWN AWAY

I can't even begin to explain how blown away I am by God right now. If I were to just sit back and look over the past couple months and all that He has done it brings tears to my eyes and makes my hair stand on end. I can't help but praise God. When I came back from Christmas, my feet moved one in front of the other, but my heart lagged far behind. And the worst part of it was I had no way to explain the reason for the feelings in my heart. But Gods word says the heart is deceitful and beyond cure, who can understand it? Jeremiah 17:9 God didn't give me understanding of my own heart, but He gave me something far better; His peace, the peace that surpasses all understanding. And that, is enough for me. God is daily changing my heart and showing me so many reasons why here is where He has my heart for this time. I'm so glad He knows my heart better than I do.

Last week we had a group of doctors and dentists from a church in Seattle, Washington that came to Tanza to pull teeth, check rashes, do minor surgeries, hand out antibiotics, and so many other things. And one of the best parts of the whole thing was I got to do it with one of my best friends Chelle. It was so awesome to see how God orchestrated all of it. In two days time nearly 500 people were seen for aches and pains ranging from a cough, to a rotten tooth, to a 5 year cyst that needed removed. In one day alone, one of the dentists pulled 36 teeth. One of the doctors commented that Tanza was one of the poorest most diseased areas they had been to.
I'm so thankful God allowed so many people to get medical attention, I only wish we could have seen them all. While the people were waiting the gospel was shared and invitations to accept Christ were given. Only in heaven one day will we know the number of hearts and lives transformed from those two days. But God was glorified!


One of the greatest miracles of the two days was in the life of a little girl named Jerilyn. Her mom Rosie came walking onto the basketball court holding a little bundle wrapped in a blanket. At first glance I have to admit three things that happened: I realized the bundle was a little tiny baby, my heart dropped to my stomach, and I thought the little girl had died in the mothers arms on the walk over. Jerilyn was grey in color, had sunken cheeks, only skin hanging from her arms and legs, little hair falling out, open sores on her head, and a little chest that was barely rising and falling. Rosie informed us that Jerilyn was 3 1/2 months old and weighing only 4 lbs. She was 6 lbs when we was born, and has had pneumonia since she was about two weeks old. I couldn't stop the lump in my throat and the tears in my eyest. One of our Dr's examined her and decided she needed to be admitted to a hospital asap. They said her heart was strong but her lungs were failing.


A couple of us missionaries took her to a hospital where they have a special ward for the rehabilitation of severely malnourished babies and children. The doctor who first treated her said she was in critical condition. It has been so awesome to see God take care of this little girl since then. She was admitted last Thursday, and from formula we've provided and breastmilk from a good friend of ours, Jerilyn is showing signs of improvement. She is smiling at us, has better color, is crying (its a good thing), and the sores on her head have healed.

Jerilyn's dad Jeri works six days a week, ten hours a day, and is making 250 pesos per week; which is roughly 7 US dollars. Jeri and Rosie have four kids older than Jerilyn. There are three families living in their home consisting of 11 children and 7 adults. Please pray for the health and salvation of all of them.

Because Gods word commands us to help the poor and to have compassion for one another, we've committed to helping Jerilyn's family by paying the medical bills for whatever care she needs. And when you look at this beautiful little girl you can't help but want to do whatever you can to help her. Another example of God is that most of the doctors that have attended to Jerilyn have waved their medical fees because they are thankful for our help. It's such a huge testimony for us to share why we are doing this.....it's all about God, and He gets all the glory. I just can't believe He has allowed me to be a part of it.


Since the second I laid eyes on Jerilyn, I haven't gone hardly an hour without praying for her and her family. Not only for the health of Jerilyn and for God to spare her life, but for her salvation and the salvation of her entire family. God has already starting answering those prayers. The first night in the hospital, Jerilyn's mother Rosie accepted Jesus as her Savior... I have tears just thinking about it and how amazing God is. Had it not been for the medical mission and Gods perfect timing, we probably wouldn't have ever found Jerilyn. And I wouldn't have gotten the chance to see her beautiful little smile. God is so good. His grace still amazes me.

Needless to say by the end of the week with driving, directing foot traffic, me having walking pneumonia andsinus infection, Chelle with bronchitus, broken down vehicles, getting stuck in traffic, getting lost, early mornings, late nights, etc....Chelle and I were wiped out....but would do it again tomorrow in a heartbeat.