So, I went out to the backyard late one night last week….probably around 11:30pm, and my neighbor, Margita, was there with her old dog, Doxi. (Margita is the same neighbor who lowered the Tesco bag filled with goodies down to our porch that time). It was obvious that something was wrong, and I began to talk with her …I found out quickly that Doxi was sick and Margita didn’t know what to do. Minutes later, we were in the car, headed out to find the emergency vet in Zilina that would be open late at night. I was so happy that I could do something for Margita. She has been such a sweet neighbor.

Unfortunately, Margita’s dog died the next day. I was just so sad for her because you all know that I love my dogs and can’t imagine what I’ll do when the time comes to say goodbye. I began trying to figure out what I could do for her. Should I go to the store for her? Should I bake her a cake? What would be a good thing?

And as I was trying to figure it out, I met Margita in the back yard. She gave me a handful of eggs (she raises chickens). Later in the day, Margita AGAIN lowered a tesco bag from her balcony to mine. This time, it was filled with fresh berries that she had picked from her garden. The next day…when I was still pondering what a good gesture of sympathy and kindness would be, I noticed something attached to the handle of my back door. It was the flowers and radishes in the attached picture.

I continue to be touched by Margita’s unselfish acts of kindness. I have much to learn from this lady.

Last week, in our team meeting, we started talking about a man who was caught in the undercurrent of a waterfall. The story is that he tried THREE TIMES to swim out to the calmer waters, but all three times, he was pulled back by the force of the waterfall. Eventually, he succumed to the power of the water, and he drowned.

His lifeless body was pulled down into the deep water at the base of the waterfall, and then later, it popped up in the pool of calm waters just outside the reaches of the undercurrent. We talked about how we live like this sometimes…how we find ourselves swimming against the current…fighting the forces that seem to want to take life from us. We swim, and we swim. We think if we can just get to that calm water…everything will be fine!

It’s a crazy thought that if we would just give up…stop swimming in the direction we THINK represents life…let ourselves be pulled in the direction that SEEMS like death to us…that we would pop up later in the calm waters.
How often do we swim so hard toward what we think we need and fight what seems like death? Maybe we should stop swimming…let the water carry us down…die…in order to resurface in better places.

I know this is a message we hear over and over again. But you know…as I sat in that meeting, I realized that I do it all the time. I swim so hard toward what I think I need. I don’t trust when I feel like I’m dying. I think I know what’s best.

Where is the life of surrender? Why is it so hard to trust and go with the current? Why don’t I believe that the current in my life is the spirit of God living in me and directing my ways? Why do I keep swimming?

“Deep calls to deep in the roar of your waterfalls, all your waves and breakers have swept over me. By day the Lord directs his love, at night his song is with me, a prayer to the God of my life.” Psalm 42: 7,8

So, this is the main group of girls that spent last week together during the conference. We’re missing Bekah in this picture…I’m not sure where she was when we took it. I tried to post more pictures, but none of them will load, so I guess this is the only picture I can send out for now. We had a great time….listening to Dave Patty (the president of Josiah Venture) speak about life rooted in Christ…cooking meals together…playing games… We brought another table into my house so that my kitchen table would be extended and able to fit 10-13 people around it. We sat around that table and folded brochures for the conference, ate meals, drank coffee, played cards, talked about funny and serious things…and I would have to say that last week represented what I MOST believe about how to share my faith.  I am not so excited about preaching or teaching (although I know there are times for that). I’m VERY excited about living life with people and through that, sharing the stories that come from walking closely with God. In the midst of games and meals, we talked about God in our lives. There were many times that I looked around the table and was just overwhelmed with how much I love all these girls and how much I want them to be totally filled with God’s love and with the hope that comes from being satisfied in Him. I pray every day that my own sinfulness won’t get in the way of what God wants to communicate through me while I am here. And I pray that I’ll have ears to hear what He wants to communicate to me through them. I know it is the greatest privilege to be invited into another person’s life…and I know I am on holy ground…not because of my geographic location, but because I’m with these girls, living life with them.

So, this is the new addition to the family!!! Her name is India and she is adorable! She’s a labradoodle and should grow to be anywhere between 25 and 50 pounds. I’m thinking she might be on the bigger side, though, because she’s only 11 weeks old, and she’s already 11 pounds and taller than Windsor! I wanted to put a picture of her and Windsor playing together, but for some reason that picture won’t upload.  For now, I’ll just tell you that they are getting along really well. Windsor is playing more than ever, which I hope will keep him younger for a longer time…and India is learning some boundaries from her older brother who growls at her when she gets too out of control! She’s already sitting and staying on command (unlike Windsor), but she’s in the biting phase of puppy-hood, so that’s a challenge.

Welcome to the family, India!

(Note to self: never go visit puppies unless I plan on bringing one home).

I went to Rome this week with the other women of Josiah Venture for our annual spring women’s conference. It was really amazing. I saw the Vatican, St. Peter’s Basilica, The Sistine Chapel, the ancient ruins of the Roman senate, the gardens and ruins of past palaces, and my favorite: the Coliseum. I walked among the reminders of what used to be, and I was overwhelmed with it all! I have studied ancient Rome and read about how great it was in its day, but to stand amidst the remnants and to almost be able to visualize it….was absolutely incredible.

I am captured by the thought that if Rome could fall…in all its greatness…anything…anyone…could fall. It’s funny how often I get caught up in the struggle to build something I can see and say to other people: “Look what I built!” And I’m not building ANYTHING like Rome! It was glorious!

As I walked among the ruins, I prayed that I would not put any hope in things I might build here on earth that do not have eternal value. I don’t want anyone to see the ruins of my life and say “it was a glorious thing at one time, but it’s gone now!” I want to spend my life focused on the eternal things…and I want to join the legacy of the faithful mentioned in Hebrews. I thought of this as I stood in the Coliseum…a place where thousands of people lost their lives because they wanted to build something of eternal value… And it struck me that the Coliseum, a place of torture, is the one ancient structure that still retains almost its complete form. Wow.

Still, God wanted to show me something more about my own heart as I stood in that place. Andrea, one of the JV ladies who lives in Czech, had invited us to have communion with her while we were in the Coliseum, and as I looked around the place, there were tourists everywhere! I mentioned to one of my teammates that I couldn’t imagine having communion there with people walking all around. The thought in my mind was that I didn’t want to be a “spectacle”. Eventually, I decided to join the group, and Andrea asked us to read from Hebrews 11 and Romans 4. After that, she served us communion, and the moment she started speaking, I began to cry. I suddenly realized that I was in a place where people had suffered for the message of Christ while thousands of people came for the “spectacle”…and there I was, wanting to make sure that I was not a “spectacle”. Whew. The selfishness of my own heart never ceases to amaze me.

I’m thankful for my time in Rome.

Today, we went to visit with the beautiful ladies of the THURSDAY CLUB. They meet once a month (on a Thursday, of course), and they were a total delight! We talked about fulfillment what it means to have an abundant life. They welcomed us with open arms and made us feel really special. Thanks, ladies!

So, today was the end of Passion07, and we stopped to give thanks to the Lord for the blessings He has poured on us. We met at the Woodall’s house, ate dinner, and then just sat around (sponsors and students) and shared. I’m completely overwhelmed by the way God has moved in our midst…by the way He loves us individually and corporately.

I’m also amazed by the way God stirred up the 23,000 college students who attended Passion to reach out and touch the world by committing prayers and finances toward 8 different ministries. I’ve copied the following stats from the Passion blog so you can know about these different pledges. I’m inspired by the faith and obedience of the Passion07 students!
Touch Atlanta
We wanted to Touch Atlanta by providing towels and socks to 15 area organizations assisting those in need. 13,000 towels and 31,000 pairs of socks were provided.

Help Stop Human Trafficking
Speaking up against the trade of precious people in the sex industry, 3000 signatures were gathered with Stop The Traffik to be presented to the UN with others from around the world.

Bibles To Unreached People
We wanted to send 3000 Bibles into East Asia, committing to pray for each recipient for one year. 4000 Bibles were sent. 4000 people are being prayed for!

Clean Water For Africa
We sought to sponsor the drilling of 11 wells (at a cost of 3K each) to bring clean water to African villages for life. 52 wells were sponsored + additional funds were collected for at least one more expensive well in Sudan.

Life-saving Surgeries For Kids
We hoped to sponsor 50 surgeries for children in Central/South America at a cost of $1,000 each. A donor agreed to match whatever was given at Passion 07. 124 surgeries were sponsored, bringing the total (with the matching grant) to 248 surgeries.

College For Promising Africans
20 young people were sponsored to attend college in Africa through Compassion’s Leadership Development Program. Additional Compassion children were sponsored.

A Community/Student Center on a Campus In Iraq
We sought to raise money for the Freedom Center in Kurdistan of Iraq.
Over 2400 bricks were purchases for $10. (Our goal was 500!)
17 groups have committed to raise $5,000. (Our goal was 10! An additional 20K was given at Passion 07). The numbers are still growing.
200 people have committed to pray about spending a year in Iraq teaching English at The Freedom Center.
1200 committed to pray for the Kurds for one year.

The Bible For The Dela People of Indonesia
Through us, God funded the translation of the New Testament for the Dela people of Indonesia. In addition, so many gifts/pledges were made we have funded additional translations for the Rikou and Lola people of Indonesia. But there’s more… we have funded the completion of three additional translations that were in mid-stream for people groups in Indonesia. We set our sights on one translation and have now completed six. Calls and requests are pouring into Oneverse with people/groups requesting additional translations to sponsor. Over $450,000 was given/pledged for translations of the New Testament!

Last week, at our Thanksgiving conference, Dave Patty talked about being a pilgrim. We looked at passages from when the nation of Israel was in their pilgrim years in the desert, and there is one particular concept that has stayed with me for the past few days. In Exodus 16:1-3, it says that the Israelites were in the desert for one and a half months before God gave them manna. They started to grumble about being hungry and talking about the pots of meat that they had when they were in bondage in Egypt. In Deuteronomy 8:3, it says that God MADE THEM HUNGRY…and THEN he fed them manna (food which they or their fathers had never known). I’ve been thinking about this. If God had not made them hungry first, they would not have been so thankful for that strange, new food that fell from heaven. They would have continued to look for the pots of meat that they were used to, and anything other than that would not have satisfied them. But GOD MADE THEM HUNGRY and THEN He gave them NEW FOOD.

I’m like this. I continue to reach for the same things to satisfy my physical, emotional, and spiritual hunger. Many times, those things are NOT the best things…they are the food of one who lives in bondage. But, they are the things I know. They are the things I’m accustomed to and the things that I habitually look for when I’m hungry. God has had to make me hungry on a number of occasions in order to introduce me to a new form of nourishment, and for me to see the goodness in it.

I think He did that in the process of moving me to Slovakia. I was eating the food of my personal Egypt. But God led me to a desert for a while…and I was so hungry. When He started giving me “manna”, that trail of sustenance led me to Slovakia. I’m sure that if I had not been hungry, I would not have ended up here. I never would have chosen to leave the world I knew and go to a world of so many unknowns. I am so thankful for that hunger now!

This process is continual. I’m amazed by how I fight off hunger. The very moment I feel it, I think I need to rush off and find something to take that pang of discomfort away. And of course, I usually reach for whatever is closest, most convenient, familiar…and even in the world of food, I know that it is not best to go that route. It takes time and effort to find the more healthy option. And for some reason, I don’t tend to think the healthier options are as tasty as the familiar food. Maybe I need to feel more hunger??

And when it comes to emotional soothing of whatever kind…it’s the same. I reach for the familiar, the most convenient. And I know that it does not lead to the most fulfilling comfort. At the end of a day, it’s so much easier to turn on the TV, reach for a book, or call a friend than it is to sit with my needs before an invisible God. Maybe I need to feel more hunger??

These are just my thoughts lately…and I’m reminded of what Jesus said in Mathew 5: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.” I pray that I would not fill myself so completely with the most convenient or the most accessible or the most habitual things in life…but rather I would learn to embrace hunger and let it lead me to God’s manna.