I'm Back From Another Round

It is hard to believe that 3 1/2 months have already gone by! I am back in Florida now and with the Nomad teams for 4 more days. After that our 4 Nomads for this semester go home and I head to Washington D.C. I am going with 2 other woman to help train a team that is going on a mission trip this summer. After that....I'm coming home!!!!

Since that last time I wrote I went to the Dominican Republic for a week and then to Colombia for almost 2 weeks. In Colombia we were able to go into schools and talk to the kids about how important they are and we handed out the Book of Hope. I also made some really close friends who by the end of it had become my family. We are already in talks about me coming back to Colombia with my chubby cheeked children and my husband....obviously we plan on being friends for many, many, many years :) I had a 16 year old Colombian translator who amazingly enough scratches his nose the same way that I do!!!! Don't believe me? I have it on tape! And I would love to show you and share with you my Colombian brother.

I learned a lot this trip about loving people you don't like and living sacrificially. Living for other people a lot of the time doesn't go the way that you would like it to....that's the sacrificial part. The same way that David didn't want to sacrifice offerings to God that didn't cost him anything (2 Samuel 24:24) at times what it "costs" us to serve and love people for Jesus is our pride--sometimes people are "right" even when they are wrong; our physical comfort--picking up the slack when others are lacking; and our ability to forgive--even before it is asked of us. But the beautiful part is that Jesus is the example in every situation on how to act and what to say. I have not mastered it by any means, and really with every passing day I see how much further from perfection I am. Then I see how much more I need Jesus and my love and appreciate for Him grows.

Thank you for all of your love, prayers and support. We are in this thing together! I threw some pictures on for your enjoyment...see you in a couple of weeks!



This is Christine, my team leader, "knocking me out" in Colombia....:)





This is me with a bunch of young ladies at a school. My Spanish even after 2 months in language school is pretty lacking so our conversation mostly centered on how to say different colors in English :p





Me and my Spanish translator friend, Oscar...he was great!