Tuesday, December 13, 2011

My Guatemalan Family.

Last night I had another meeting for my Guatemala trip.  We went over the itenerary, packing list & other last minute details.  We found out a little bit about the family we will be building a house for.  It is a family of four.  The dad, Rosalio is 23 years old and his wife, Maria, is 25.  They have two kids, Carlos, who is 4 and Silvia, who is 2.  They are of Mayan descent, like the majority of the people in San Raimundo.  Rosalio is the family's main source of income.  He makes 425 Quetzal per week which is about $55 per week ($2,800/yr).

It just is mind blowing how they live off of an income like that.  They are living off about $7/day for a family of four.  I can't imagine my family living off that much a day.  We would probably only get one or two meals a day.  I just think about how they were born into that level of poverty.  I think about how I was born into a middle/upper class family.  I have always gotten everything I needed and much more.  It doesn't seem fair that we are born into our social class.

I am looking forward to how God will use me to serve this family and the things I will learn while I am there.  I would like to thank everyone who gave financial support towards my trip.  As a whole, our team of 17 raised the amount of money we needed and more!  We are using the extra money we have raised to buy household things for the family's new house.  I think that this is a great idea.  Thank you all so much!

"And whoever wants to be first must be slave of all.  For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give his life as ransom for many."
~Mark 10:44

Friday, October 7, 2011

His Word is Flawless

Living for God in a deceitful world can be very difficult and lonely.  So many people are liars and deceivers.  Sincerity and truth are extremely valuable because they are so rare.  We have to have HOPE in God's word.  His word is as pure and flawless as refined silver!

"And the words of the LORD are flawless, like silver refined in a furnace of clay, purified seven times."

~PSALM 12:6

On my iPod today:
How Great is Our God - Chris Tomlin

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Recycled Cans

Decided to help out my kitchen windows and recycle some old cans into art.  I saved up some cans from cooking, gathered up some scrapbook paper, some glue & fake flowers that I bought at Goodwill's 50% off sale!

I cut my 12x12" scrapbook paper into 4" strips.  I then took a strip and glued one end to the can and wrapped it around and glued the other end down.  I covered 6 cans with 3 different scrapbook papers.


Now my windows have some love! 

Friday, September 30, 2011

A Vision


"For whoever wants to save 
his life will lose it, 
but whoever loses his life 
for me will find it."
MATTHEW 16:25

Real discipleship implies real
commitment - pledging our whole
existence to his service.
If we try to save our physical life from death,
pain or discomfort, we may risk
losing our true eternal life.  If we
protect ourselves from
pain, we begin to die spiritually and
emotionally.  Our lives turn inward,
and we lose our intended
purpose.  When we give our
lives in service to Christ,
however, we discover the real 
purpose of living.

This winter break I will be
traveling to San Raimundo, Guatemala.
I am going with my church
at Purdue which is
Purdue Christian Campus House.
I will be going with a team
of 17 people.  We
will be building a house for
a famiy in one of the
villages of San Raimundo.
The mission we are working
with is called Casas por Cristo.
I am looking forward
to seeing how God changes
me and how I can change
the lives of the people
of Guatemala.



Wednesday, September 28, 2011

Never Forsaken

Today I read from chapter 9 of Psalms.  It talked about how God sees and remembers all the good that we do, even if others put us down for it.  It is up to God to decide the timing of our rewards.  Praise God.  If we trust him, we can experience God's peace and be free from the worry of how others perceive us and treat us.

"Those who know your name will trust in you,
for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you."
~Psalm 9:10

God will NEVER forwake those who seek him.  He will NEVER leave us no matter what we face.  When you call to God for help, consider your motive.  Is it to save yourself from pain and embarassment? Or to bring God glory and honor?  It is comforting knowing that God is by our side no matter what.  Pray to bring God the glory.

Monday, September 26, 2011

Childlike Faith

"From the lips of children and infants 
you have ordained praise
because of your enemies,
to silence the foe and the avenger."
~Psalm 8:2

Children are able to trust and praise God without any doubts or reservations.  They are too young to have large responsibilities and worry about things.  As we get older, we find this more and more difficult to do.  We have to make bigger decisions that come with bigger consequences.  I remember going to church when I was younger and it was a lot of fun.  We had Bible stories and played Bible games.  Why do we have to outgrow that phase of our life?  You can still be on fire for God and worship him.  Ask God to give you childlike faith, removing any barriers to have a closer walk with him.  

Over the summer I had childlike faith quite a bit.  I was surrounded by younger children every week.  Every Wednesday we had Wednesday Night Live at camp.  It was the one night of the week where the campers could dress up in crazy outfits.  It was so much fun to do something so simple and act crazy with the campers.  We would sing songs of worship and watch funny skits that the staff put on.  I miss these nights.  Remember that you can still have childlike faith even if you are not 
under the age of 12!



Wednesday, September 14, 2011

Happiness is temporary

I have recently been reading through the book of Psalms.  I came across this verse which struck me hard:  "You have filled my heart with greater joy than when their grain and new wine abound" (Psalm 4:7).  This verse is saying that inward joy comes from knowing and trusting God and happiness comes as a result of pleasant circumstances.  Inward joy is steady as long as we are trusting God.  Happiness is unpredictable.  Inward joy defeats discouragement; happiness covers it up.  I struggle a lot with finding happiness in the things of this world.  I just have to remember that inward joy is lasting, happiness is temporary.

Monday, September 12, 2011

More than just camp.

This past summer I had the privilege of working at SpringHill Camps down in Seymour, IN.  It was probably the best summer of my entire life.  It was more than just a camp.  It was moving.  It was peaceful.  I loved the people.  I looked forward to waking up for "work".  People were interested in who you were.  They wanted to get to know you.  I could not have asked for more than what God gave me this summer.  A camp focused on him beneath the stars, surrounded by his creation.

Over the summer I spent more time getting to know people, reading God's word and being outside than I probably had any other summer.  I spent less time on the computer or Facebook for that matter.  I got to spend a majority of my time surrounded by God's creation and just feeling him breath into my life.  It was amazing.  The people at camp were dedicated to their work and devoting their life to Christ.  They worked completely and solely for Him.

My job consisted of answering the phone and running the front desk in the morning.  Then in the afternoon I woud run into Seymour to pick up random things the camp needed.  I would get anything from ice pops to horse feed!  It was so much fun.  I loved the 20 minute drive from camp to town.  I would blast the radio and sing praises to God.  I had never really listened to Christian music on a regular basis.  But over the summer I got hooked on K-Love radio station.  It is such a great radio station with positive and uplifting music.

I enjoyed every minute of my time at camp.  I have already gone back two weekends to volunteer.  Everytime I go back to camp I feel the peace of God with me.  It is so joyful to feel.  I love serving God's people and doing it with an open heart.  Hopefully you enjoy reading my blog posts.  I will post more stories that happened over the summer and how God worked through me.