Ruined for the Ordinary

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. (Read on …)

Yesterday, we went to Precious Blessing Academy, and we LOVED IT!!  Sooo, here’s a huge SHOUT OUT to the hard-working, God-loving sisters and brothers of PBA!! May God bless you as He reveals His vision for your lives, and may you all have the courage to follow Him wherever and whenever He leads you!! Love to you! Paige, Stani, and Gaby

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!

This is my sweet dog, Windsor. He hates this little muzzle, but it is the only way I can get him to eat the right food. You see, my neighbor (the one who gives good gifts on sticks with Tesco bags) is always putting huge plates of milky pasta in our back yard for her cats to eat. And Windsor, when he compares his dog food to that pasta, ALWAYS prefers the pasta! So, if he can get to the pasta, he eats the whole plate and then comes back in the house and promptly throws up. Yeah, it’s a mess. He just doesn’t want the good food. And this is what I have been learning about in my own life… (Read on …)