Wednesday, December 31, 2008

The end and the beginning...

I'm not going to get all deep about the ending of 2008 and the beginning of 2009 mostly because, I don't have to this book of mine does it so much better and in less words than anything I would write! These were words that greeted me today and they sent my mind to that deep place whereas my heart tagged along too. So I want to share them here, just in case it touches one of you the way it touches me...

Take a Good Look

If you've never studied astronomy, you could look at the stars all night long and never know anything about them. However, if you were to get a star chart and a telescope, those little points of light would take on more meaning and significance. It's the same with the places where God is working in your life. If you don't make an effort to know God, you'll miss out on the amazing things God is doing right now and wants to do in your future.

May grace and peace be yours from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ. ~ Galatians 1:3

Wow, how these words sum up my current state of mind just perfectly and I love this scripture to end one magnificent year growing, learning, serving and loving Christ!

Monday, December 29, 2008

Christmas through new eyes

This year I made a promise to my heart; to take my eyes of "santa" and focus them solely on Jesus and the true purpose of Christmas. I wanted a living Jesus to be my greatest gift this year. And He was!! ~ no doubt in that! He came packaged in many different faces, many different voices, many different souls yet His eyes always remained the same so I could not mistake each gift that I received. The most precious sights for me was how I seen Jesus in my husband, I seen Him in my two sons and this brought tears to my eyes that only God could send, tears of joy and tears of love...a love so grand there's no way to measure it...a love so deep it could only be classified as holiness touching my heart.

What I didn't plan on, what I didn't expect was the gift of receiving Jesus through the eyes of my beloved Best Family. My children I can not hold, my children whose eyes I can not see, my children who have no parents to love on them and no santa to bring them gifts, but alas...they have much more, they have the living Jesus inside their hearts to celebrate, a gift far greater than anything wrapped in paper! It was my honor to learn yet another lesson by having the privilege of the Best Family Children sharing with me the true gift of Christmas through new eyes, their eyes. Here's the email we received on Christmas Eve from Jean Claude:

Hello Maria, Donny and Boston+Zachary!
I wish you Merry CHRISTMAS! This is a special day in our Life and in our Hearts.
Because MARIA(think about your meaning in Name) is going to beget a Highest Child, in whom we shall be saved. And we will never go in Heaven without pass through this SON who is annointed.


As Best Family children we are very excited to this Child who was born in bad Place, in poor Family, without Support, without any thing. But after He became a special one, and all people alike Rich and Poor, Tall and Short, White and Black, Big and Thin, Intelligents and Less Intelligents, and so on must be saved in his name, to go in heaven they must pass before him!

That is our Trust as Best Family, we are no Value now, but we each will become the Special one, because our Father called GOD and our Mother called MARIA(halleluya jesus christ for our own mary, mother).

To day afternoon we start together to think about GOD's LOVE. love to us which grand to give us his beloved Son. and we pass all night long in Prayers and Thanking him till tomorrow morning, where all your children celebrate new family.


Maria Mery Christmas too. And we must joint with you in mind or on hearts..

~BEST FAMILY CHILDREN


I've said it before and I'll say it again...God truly knows how to love His beloved, because I have never felt more loved and more grateful for the true gift of Christmas than I did this year! The Lord showed me in ways beyond my comprehension the gift of His love and it was my greatest Christmas present EVER!

Tuesday, December 16, 2008

My latest Best Family letter

Here is a letter from Jean Claude sent in response to an envelope I sent from our Sunday school children. Inside the 9x12" envelope were some colored pictures from children ages 5-9yrs old and a written letter by the 5th & 6th graders explaining what autumn is like in Minnesota, also they were gracious enough to include all the ways they pray for the children of the Best Family to be blessed. 2 months later, the package finally arrived (makes me wonder how long it will be till the Christmas packages arrive since we only mailed them out last week!!). Anyway, I just had to share how tremendously humbling it is to receive all this gratitude simply from some colored sheets of construction paper and a one page letter ~ what greater gifts are these words to my heart...

Hello mum!

How are you mum? How is Dad? How are my brothers? They are very fine as I always wish and want. I'm writing this e-mail with full happiness because of my Family in USA. those Children of 9 to 10 years have made us very happy yesterday for their wonderful and exciting Drawings. Best family USA sent good pictures to their other Best Family Rwanda, and they know to draw so much in beauty. You will also show them what their brothers and sisters designed or painted soon. And we thank them for a wonderful Letter they wrote to us, which consist of the best words concerning their prayers to us and wishes for the gift of Life to us. We make sure that we will live in better life in the name of Jesus our lord and we trust all things in GOD. And we have known blessings from God that we have the wonderful relatives(brothers and sister) who loves us so much and always think about us and pray for us in all their times. God bless them so much and their families. And God bless you Maria and Donny for your best intermediary between your two families(Rwanda family and USA family). My children are very very happy about the children from your church, and they shall write back soon. And they are very very proud about their mum and dad in USA(maria and donny). They are telling me in these days that they are no longer Orphans now, because they have the Parents who always look after them. This is the confidence of life you have given to my children. I'm very happy about that. God has blessed me by this.

Our parents, Be blessed so much.

Our Relatives at church, be blessed so much.

Stay with GOD in all times.

~ Best Family Rwanda.

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Someone stole...

The thoughts from my soul and the beats from my heart with this video...



I promise to get back to the mission trip stories as soon as I find a moment TO BREATHE! Till then "gasp"....

Wednesday, December 3, 2008

Sorry!

I'm still alive and have not purposely been neglecting my blogging duties. The Lord has me running on over time and I'm loving it...but it leaves little or not time for blogging and OH SO MUCH to say! I was just thinking the other day, I'm not sure if I'll ever finish blogging about our trip, especially since God is doing SOOO MUCH in the present, that I wanna share all that too! But then I remembered I haven't shared some of the most amazing "Donny" stories about our trip so I have, have, have to continue....so I plan to blog about our final day in Rwanda next up...stay tuned! Until then, check out this lil video I found which sends shivers up my spine! Makes me think endlessly about all the beautiful babes I held at A-Hope and how much God taught me from that blessing.