Sleep In Heavenly Peace...

And so my blog must come to an end... but wait.... "We don't want to spoil all the surprises... and Treasure Attic" Whoops, I mean this blog has been so much fun to keep. Wow! It's been one whole year that I've kept up this blog. Really, it's been more like fun sharing and posting for you all, or at least myself, heh. I love writing and firmly believe in the power of the pen - Paper Power. So, you just might all be hearing from me in China. And maybe this won't really be the end of all my tales, 'cause I'll have plenty more to tell any time I get out and have the liberty to share.
I love you all. It's been great fun knowing you that I know and getting to know the one's I didn't (and met on here). You're each dear to my hearts and special to Jesus most of all. Keep being faithful to Him and let's march on into this Revolution for Jesus - Amen? ... On to the Offensive! Let's win this world for Jesus!

To My Wonderful Home Mates and Loved Ones

It's hard to believe I'll be leaving in just a few short hours. I have such fond memories of my times with you. I grew up with you, learned, changed and grew with you. When I came here I was just a young girl... how time has flown.
I will always cherish these times as the little taste of Heaven you each were in my life. I admire and love you. You have a special place there that I will never forget. Each one of you have shown me so much love and I know I would not have made it without you. Thank you for being there for me when I needed you most.
Living here with you all has taught me so much, the power of love, how when we are united and one in body, heart and spirit we can bear so much fruit for Jesus and have tons of fun at the same time. My life will never have been the same without you. I love you!

Packing....

Packing, packing and more packing. Gosh I have a lot of stuff. Time to reread "Trash your trinkets and head for the hills".

Countdown Time

The countdown has begun.... actually, it started several days ago. Now there're only 5 days left before I sign out of blogger world.
Wish me well. It's been great knowing you. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1..... the blast off has begun.
You can leave me a comment to let me know just how much I'll be missed (or unmissed, heh.)
Love you!

Huggie

The Hugger and the Huggie... which are you?

To Jesus

I love You! You have become more than life to me. My wants, wishes and dreams are fulfilled in You. All I want for this New Year is to be wholly and completely dedicated to You, one in Your arms, and given over so completely to You that nothing else matters. I know there's going to be lots of change up ahead and I want to fully embrace each change You bring me with vigour and joy - eager to see all that You will do with and for me. I want to dedicate myself to You once again. All that I have is Yours. I want to hold back nothing from You in my heart or life that would take me away from loving You.

Happy New Year

"More than all my things"

I don't usually link over to "Comptetitors" in the blogging world, lol, but this true story and account of what are truly the most important things in life was so convicting and beautiful that I just had to share it with you.
I often have to sit back and take a look at what I'm placing all my importance and priorities on. Is it my "things" or is it love in the people around me, that sweet smile from one of the kids, a hug, a little moment to sit back and relax and enjoy another's fellowship?
Sometimes I get so carried away with what I think I need and all of my todo lists that I pass up those moments to show how much I care for, love and appreciate them.
So... for the record... I love you more than my new laptop, more than all the provisioning calls I need to make, more than getting out the door so we can have a good day, more than getting some extra sleep in, more than what I've always wanted.... and yes, I love you more than that "thing" you just broke and got me fuming about... I love you... not my "things".

And One More Post

And just when we thought the niceties had been over and we'd been filled with good things and had all the fun we'd hadden.. our children wowed us once again.
Paloma had directed some of the kids in a short play performance, with poems told and songs resung. Each of them had a little part to tell and then Esperanza with her strong, clear voice rang out with "He's No Stranger" and all the children chorused in... so cute and a wonderful end to a wonderful day!





Now... who says I don't blog? That's three posts in a matter of hours.

For All You Food Lovers

The Feast.
God bless the cooki's.
Lamb chops - licking good.
The little Tykes.
Mushrooms... just delicious, savor every bite.
Mmm.... Baklava... my favorite, once again.
Don't you just want to have a bite?
Happy Birthday, Jesus.

Christmas Day...

The Girlsies.
The beautiful Faithy.
The Munchkins.
Boys... lots of them.
The Darling Fabio and Nathalie.
Wooo... what a dancer.
Lots of fun.
Uhh... Boys! This way.
Little Rapphy... naughty, naughty.
... HAPPY CHRISTMAS!!!

Stop... and Take Time with Jesus

"Never let Christmas go by without reserving a time of quiet intimacy with Me. For example, curl up in bed with a warm drink, sing carols to Me, or have a quiet dinner with just the two of us. It's My birthday, and I want and need your love and affection."
I think I need to remember that... Jesus, I want this time to be a special time between you and I, where I can show You just how much I need and want You.

Dead

Well, I really would post, but I'm too dead and totally tired to do anything but drag myself up the stairs and into my bed. These days of Christmas... heck... some people even call them Christmas Vacation, vacation from what? I sure as heck am not feeling any of those "vacation vibes". Oh well, at least we're helping others to feel the true warmth and meaning of Christmas. Love to all and more posts to arrive later. - X.

Fellow Cancer

I love you so much Nathalie! I really do! You're so much fun. You're always cheery, impartial in your love and I love all the fun you've brought to our home. I'm really gonna miss you when I leave... keep writing those songs... they're going to be Hits some day. Smooches and Hugs.
(And I love your pretty smile... all of those things.)

A Little Memorandum for You

Steve, we’ve lived together for years and years. In fact, somehow we’ve always managed to meet up again, in Uruguay, Argentina and now… here.
You’re a great guy. I know we tease you an awful lot, but it’s only ‘cause you’re SO much fun! You have a fun and easy going nature about you. You stick your foot in your mouth, say the funniest things, and crack us up when you read at Devotions. You wow us with your “moves” and dazzle us with your strong singing voice, but most of all I admire your love for Jesus, how you’ve been super on the ball to follow up on the sheep and get others rolling with that vision. You’re dedicated, willing to make sacrifices, work real hard and if it wasn’t for you our toes would freeze off in the winter. Yes, we certainly do appreciate those hours you put in chopping logs with my Dad and bringing in the wood to keep us cozy and warm.
Have a Happy Birthday! (Gasp… I said it… NO, my blog is a NOT a birthday blog, but I just had to put in some advertising.)
Enjoy your 23rd year and may the Lord fill it with lots of wild, sexy women for the Lord!

Crazy/Busy

The Lord told me the other day, that even though things are so crazy/busy right now and it only gets more crazy and hectic by the day, that I should devote a half hour to an hour in the mornings for Word, prayer time, praise time, and meditation, special time with just me and Him. That means get up a little earlier than everybody else to get it.
There, now that I've told you it'll force me to do it... since more people know about my resolutions than just me.
And then we read about it this morning at devotions. Our Word time, lead by dear Marianne and Steven, all about First Place and putting Jesus first, - NO MATTER HOW BUSY WE ARE... !!!

Here's the quote that stuck out to me the most. It's from the MOP:

"To neglect your fellowship with the King of kings because you're so busy with the affairs of the kingdom can be disastrous to your spiritual life and communion with the Lord!"

My Red Suitcase

Guess I didn't tell you... Jesus is so good to us. - And He's done all kinds of miracles of supply for me, in getting me to the field.
The other day I went and visited a luggage store that I'd set up an appointment for in order to present my need for a suitcase to travel overseas. Litte did I know what I would come up against. I went in and began to talk to the owner, a suave talking Jewish salesman and his lovely, buxom agnostic employee.
Needless to say they were quite skeptical about our work. They fired all kinds of questions and quips and little sarcastic remarks at me. I wasn't quite prepared for this, ha. But then at one point the girl asked me, "Why do you do this?" And then for about 5 minutes they just got really quiet and listened. It must've been the Lord 'cause they didn't leave me alone before or after that, lol.
I shot up a prayer and the Lord led me to talk about why we have so much sadness, depression, soaring suicide rates, deep sadness and loneliness in spite of being one of the wealthiest nations around. It is because people have no love. Love is the answer and I have found that love in Jesus.
It was amazing to me to see their change of heart, at least the girl. When I first started out she didn't seem too into this "Jesus" stuff and told me quite frankly that she had given up on Christianity a long time ago. At the end of our meeting together she told me, "We need more people like you in this world."
He gave me a big bright red suitcase. I'll surely stand out in China, heh. Oh well, he was very nice to give it and it's brand new too. I'll have to show you a picture sometime.

Snow

Had our first real taste of winter today.
On our drive in we were greeted by a herd of deer drinking water in the brook along the path. Was a magical moment... wish I'd had the camera on me.
There is a beauty about this weather - it covers everything in a shimmering blanket of beauty.

Times Gone By

Tonight we had an ice storm. One of those nights where you're crawling along 30 miles an hours, skiing on the snow banks and messed up tracks along the highway, it's hard to see the lines on the road, praying at a rapid pace and feeling very enervated and tensed, your usual time commuting home stretching from 1 to 3 hours, praying to God to keep you safe as you pass by the 10th accident-roll-over-vehicle on the roadways.
Once we finally got home, dried our bones and exhaled a breath of relief at arriving safe and in one piece our electricity goes out along with our phone. TTL, it was pretty short, but it started a little dinner conversation.
Life was so much simpler back in the day, before cell phones, before internet, before electricity. You used to sleep when the sun would set and rise at dawn's first light.
In the cold, northern regions you actually got enough rest because there wasn't anything else to take your attention. If you had other "projects going" they came to a stand still once the "lights went out". But now life isn't like that. It's more complicated. Some of us would consider it funner, yes, but I think it's also more stressful. We enjoy each other less. We take less time to relax, rest and take it easy. There are always a million thoughts running through our heads. I mean, I think I'm always tired... and yet, I come home, want to check my mail, do this, do the other, have projects to work on, things to do, etcetera, etcetera.
I am kind of glad to have been born in the 21st century, but wouldn't it be cool to be able to go back in time for just a bit and experience that life? I think once we got off the initial shock and "withdrawals" from internet, web, movies, telephones... we'd actually enjoy it and value the peace and serenity they held. They certainly lived longer.

Merry Christmas

Since I don't know just how soon I'll be leaving I'll wish you well now and many Happy Christmases to come with this lovely picture of our children's singing group. Someone donated a portrait sitting of all of them.


Aren't they lovely?
And their voices match the splendour of their beautiful smiles.

I will miss these kids.

On the Road Again

Heading out for a short followup/roadtrip. Pray we have a fun and fulfilling time and win lots of souls and disciples. We have tons of people who've invited us over so it's bound to be a busy time.
Love you all and will try and call/email you when I get back. xox!

What a Feast

Someone's eager to eat it all!

Well, Mag, it's not the best photo, but I'll bet you ours was better than yours, hands down.

Mmmm... look at all that good wine - the best of the best - which our dear friend brought over, but my total top, hit favorite was the Baklava.
If you haven't tasted it you don't know what Heaven is like.... full of Baklava, ha.

Thanksgiving Day

Our first snow of the year.

(If you look real hard you just might be able to zoom in on a deer standing there in our backyard.)

Weekend

We were up in Canada this weekend with our great Toronto Family. They're all such sweet guys and let us stay with them for some fun witnessing and fellowship in spite of being so busy and in the middle of their Christmas push.
Wish I'd taken more pictures.
We had a fun fellowship/party/hangout with some great people. Thanks to Steve, Abi, Laila, and Mike... good dancing and fun.
The Woodbridge home is one "Happening" place and we got to watch people preparing for their travels, girl's practicing their C'mas dances, kids running around, witnessing teams heading out the door, big soccer game, and more. Saw lots of familiar and new faces... Yay!

One of the only pictures I got... my sweetest, dearest friend, Chantal.

Note from Aurora: We luv you, Mr. Bubbles!

Circus!!!

The Lord did a super miracle and donated the best of the best... not only tickets to one of the most famous Circuses in the world, but we got a Suite for all of the kids and parents.
Isn't He wonderful?
At first it seemed like a closed door and they said they wouldn't be able to donate, but then someone donated their own suite so the kids can go after all… in STYLE.
I've been hearing of different ones recently who are taking over the job of provisioning in their homes or just getting started and it made me think of when I was first starting to learn how to provision. I had never done it, but the job was dropped in my lap and I had to learn. It took a lot of perseverance, struggling in the beginning, stumbling over my words and there were times were I would just burst out in tears ‘cause I didn’t think I could do it. But I can say that there’s no job like provisioning to stretch your faith muscles and watch the Lord do miracles. If any one wants help and is just starting out in this new ministry email me and I’d love to help and mentor you. I believe there is a lot of potential for this ministry and it seems to be a real need in so many Family homes.

I'll post some pictures once they're taken.

Con Salsa

Salsa's the all-new craze around here.
Been learning how from Steven - one great "Dancer in the Kitchen" - and trying to learn some of the steps.
It's loads of fun and very invigorating.

Going's On

Busy time of year... getting things ready for the Christmas season... weather's getting colder... have to chop that firewood... strains of Christmas songs ringing in my ears... getting ready to herald in the season with some cheer.

Pray for all my paper work as I get ready to depart. Love you!

Seth Francis

Congratulations Justin and Rossi.
He's so adorable and you make a beautiful Mother!

Tribal Fright

Lord, protect us from our persecutors!

The Lives of Others

I have a good friend, from Flint, that decided to go and live amongst the poorest of the poor of Central America and truly feel what they live and experience day in and day out and the struggles they must mete up against.
I really admire C.D. for his will to do this against all odds - from well meaning family and friends, to the more physical struggles of putting up with a lifestyle that is not easy and one would never choose for one's self. - Truly Admirable!
Go here:
The Lives of Others
to get a peek into their difficult lives of struggle, along with the invisible thread that is wrought over their existence by the spoiled, ignorant, and opulated masses of the Whorish System.

Here's the conclusion, my favorite part:
"I hope that what I have shown you from two days of visits scratches the surface of the two-way mirror that connects our economies but shields us from each other, letting in enough light to show that there is a very deep experience for a very many people that remains obscured behind the view presented by the few paragraphs in press articles. These are not alien people in a foreign place, but are as comfortable around rich North Americans as anybody else. I visited the poorest of the poor and all they did was give, and asked for nothing in return. I did not give the pepenadores at the dump one cent, and they never once asked for anything. I hope that this light inspires you to consider the lives of others you might think has nothing to do with yours. Keep staring at them through that mirror, eventually you may see yourself through the reflection, refracted, but recognizable. Will you ignore yourself, close up, look in, and then look forward alone to your life ahead of you? Or can we open our eyes, our ears, our heart, so we can feel for them (in spanish the phrase for sorry is lo siento, "I feel it"), then look forward together to our lives ahead of us, for the poor will always be with us."

Fatherhood Anyone...

Wouldn't he make the cutest Father?