Anywhere With Jesus

Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go,
Anywhere He leads me in this world below;
Anywhere without Him dearest joys would fade;
Anywhere with Jesus I am not afraid.

Anywhere, anywhere! Fear I cannot know;
Anywhere with Jesus I can safely go.

Anywhere with Jesus I am not alone;
Other friends may fail me, He is still my own;
Though His hand may lead me over drearest ways,
Anywhere with Jesus is a house of praise.

Anywhere with Jesus, over land and sea,
Telling souls in darkness of salvation free;
Ready as He summons me to go or stay,
Anywhere with Jesus when He points the way.

Anywhere with Jesus I can go to sleep,
When the darkening shadows round about me creep,
Knowing I shall waken nevermore to roam;
Anywhere with Jesus will be home, sweet home.

Thank you Lord for an incredible summer. For teaching me more about what it means to be the hands and feet of Christ. For showing me that I can truly go anywhere with You.

The Little Kids Club

The littlest kids in TJ and Holly's ministry have their own club called Club Chiquito which would be called "the little kids club" in English! They are mostly from the age of about 5-10. We meet with them most morning and we hear about a famous hero in the Bible, sing some of their favorite worship songs, make a craft about our new hero of the week and end the morning with Musical Chairs (which they call "The Little Chair") They are so fun and so full of love. I really look forward to the mornings I get to share with them. There's really not much that can warm my heart as much as when I hear them call my name which is typically a combination of Miqui or Mixie! I think I'm gonna miss being called that

As you can see, they are so fun and love running around town stirring up trouble with their friends. I wish I could be in Club Chiquito/ Little Kids Club!

Corazon

Jainy Maria is her name, but around town she is known by her nickname; Corazon. In Spanish, Corazon means Heart. This nickname couldn't be more true to her nature. Whether it's running around town with her best buds, confessing she ate a mango that she was supposed to give to someone else, giving me giant hugs and a kiss on the cheek, or trying to get all of the other kids in Club Chiquito to applaud when the good guys win in Enchanted, Jainy Maria embodies what it means to be a living, breathing Heart in the world.

But this Jainy Maria doesn't have the kind of family to encourage her Heart-felt characteristics. her father came to talk to TJ a few nights ago saying that she was very ill and needed medicine. As TJ took him to the Pharmacy to buy the medicine, he took off running and returned only to say that "a neighbor nurse came and Jainy Maria is better now". He was just full of lies. Full of lies to use his own daughter to his own drunken advantage. Lies to manipulate money out of the only people in this community who love on his daughter. It's absolutely beyond me what people are capable of. I don't understand how she can be such a jewel among so much filth, but she is.

Corazon has truly stolen my "corazon". Please say a prayer for this precious child of God today

Absolute Hysteria

Hysteria. Total and complete hysteria broke out on our Girl's Movie Night last week! The girls have been absolutely dying to see High School Musical and last Monday night, their dreams came true! The girls sat in amazement at the dance numbers and songs ( even though the songs were all in English, they didn't care!) They couldn't get enough of Zac Effron and his girlfriend ALMOST kissing on screen. When they finally did at the end, you would've thought the girls had won a million dollars by all of their screams! When the movie was over, the girls broke out into a pillow fight all over the Outreach Center with excitement! All except one girl, Elisabeth, who could nothing more than bury her head in her pillow and cry (note her laying down crying in the picture below. When Holly asked her what was wrong, all she could reply with was, " That movie! It just moved me SO much!" The girls have never seen anything like it. They enjoyed chocolate chip cookies while they sprawled out all over the Outreach Center for the big event. It was so fun! It could've been a mixture of the sleepover setting, the chocolate chip cookies and all the songs and dancing...but personally, I think it was Zac Effron. I guess he has that universal charm!

My Best Friend

Also, I think it is time for me to introduce my best friend for the summer!

We spend as much time together as we possibly can...

COME BACK!!!

COME BACK MOM AND DAD! It's a whole lot quieter around here now that mom and dad have gone back to Tulsa. We're ready for them to come back! We had a great time going to the beach, playing with kids and eating delicious food that mom and Holly made for us! The kids absolutely loved my parents and didn't seem to mind they just spoke English to them the whole time! The kids actually sat and listened to mom read an entire Curious George book in ENGLISH. Now that is the mark of a great teacher.

Come back would ya? And bring some more of those Cowboy cookies and Junior Mints. Thanks.

Something about those Abilene Skies...

There's just something about West Texas that even the Dominican Republic can't beat. The ocean has unmatchable beauty and the landscape of this country is breathtaking...but it's missing something...Abilene skies. And although I LOVE Abilene skies...maybe, if I am really honest it has less to do with the sky and more to do with what is in Abilene....my incredible friends.
I feel so blessed to be thousands of miles away from some of my favorite people, but still be showered with all kinds of encouraging messages and emails and presents from people I love so much. I think that one of the best parts about being here is the realization that I have SO much to look forward to in my future and such wonderful people to share it with.