Does love have to be like a battle field?

I pretty much had a battle with God the other day about learning to retrain my thinking to not worrying about what other people think. I used to be like that — carefree, unworried, I do what I do who cares what people think — but somewhere along the line of the last couple of years that has changed. Its painful to admit. But I do get concerned about what people think and I hate that about myself. I wish I was bolder, more confident in who I am in Christ like I used to be. I’m trying to get back to that place, but once you’ve left its a difficult return — difficult to retrain your thinking to be that carefree.

A New Year — again — with many memories behind

Ringing in the upcoming year with a group of dear friends warms the heart and feeds the soul ... and does nothing short than allow for a good time!

Realizing 2009 holds many surprised and plans for my life, I press on toward the mark as Paul would say. I anxiously await all that God puts in my path as the newest year of my life continues to progress.

I've heard it said that we plan our steps but God directs our course. I see much truth in this. Though I pray that in 2009 I will be able to put aside my stubbornness and even allow my steps to be planned by the Father.
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Christmas was a jolly time as well as I visited with family and friends. My sister-in-law, Bridget, is with child and Launa Kate continues to be filled with life inside of her. I received a photo just yesterday of a 4-D ultrasound. It is amazing the features that are revealed of that sweet baby while still inside her mother's tummy. I cannot wait until her arrival here. She will be just beautiful.

I was also reminded, especially this year, of Mary for we celebrate this season in honor of her baby's birth — the birth of Christ. Watching Eric and Bridget anticipate the coming of Launa Kate, talking to her, cherishing the moment when she will arrive easily paralleled for me the birth of Christ and the emotions that must have run deep through Joseph and Mary. Nonetheless, Mary sought to "hold these things in her heart." For in this principle, I fall short. Nonetheless, this principle I seek. To grow as Mary grew (obviously not in a physical way). To anticipate as Mary anticipated. And to cherish things in my heart and in my spirit until the day Christ is ready for them to be birthed through me.

Holiday Bliss

Bustles of the holidays continue to buzz around me. I am constantly reminded of more gifts, food and Christmas accessories that need to be bought. And somehow in the midst of the dozens of oops-forgot-to-buys is the twinkling thought of "Yup, this is Christmas."

But lest we forget, "For unto us a child is born, for unto us a son is given. And the government shall be upon His shoulder and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace."

This truly is the hope of the Christmas message, is it not? For this, truly, is Christmas — the birth of the Christ child, born with the purpose of becoming the sacrificial lamb to take on the sins of the world that through His death and resurrection all might have the gift of eternal life.

Let us boast in Christ this Christmas season, our Hope, our Salvation, our Lord.

Adjusting as a twentysomething

I've decided that making adjustments in life is hard, no matter where you are. Life leading up to and after my college graduation was nothing like I anticipated it would be. Surprises have presented themselves around every corner I've ventured. I began dating a guy in the spring (something I vowed I'd never do so close to graduation); lost 80 percent of my earthly belongings in a tornado that destroyed my university's campus; moved into an apartment causing my three college suitemates and me to be separated; struggled through my remaining weeks of classes; graduated at the top of my major; took a job at a newspaper in Alabama; moved into an apartment with two of sorority sisters; acquired more bills than I thought possible; left my boyfriend four hours behind; and began, as I now know it, "big girl life."
Each of these items came as a surprise in my life and, in no way, aligned with the plan I had laid out for myself. Nonetheless, God provided.
I am now living in Birmingham struggling to figure out how to fit in. I have never in my life had problems making friends, but I am daily realizing I don't really know how to make friends in a young professionals environment. No one ever prepared me for that. I studied public relations and marketing and being a boss and compling to a boss. No one ever gave me a course on "How to be an adult" or "How to meet new people when you're the only new person." I had no idea this was a game I would be thrust into without choice, as if placed in the arena with the late 1980s Rock'em Sock'em Robots waiting for the springs attaching my head and neck to expand.
So this is it. My time to, well, shine?
Sure, go to church - make friends there. Isn't that the easiest answer? But that requires finding a small group, and finding a church, and visiting dozens of local churches trying to determine which ones hold your values, your beliefs, preaches Holy Scripture, has a style of worship you're comfortable in and offers ministries for not only the young and old but, dare I say it, the young professional!? For this, I have come to realize, is something found far and few between at local churches.
For some reason we have become the neglected generation - the group the church fears. We're out of youth group, which is heavily promoted as establishing faith during the teen years. And if you're lucky enough to attend a college in what is considered a "college town" then you will more than likely find numerous churches branching out the that age bracket providing an abundance of involvement opportunities. But after that college age, the church gets confused. "They're not 'students' any more ... they must be adults. They'll fit fine there," church leaders conclude. And so we're left to fend for ourselves in the most defining stage of our lives.
Nevermind the idea that we may need guidance on how to become an adult, on where the best restaurants in town are. The thing is, our generation is not like it was 20 years ago, surprise surprise! We're not living in the same town we grew up where we know everyone. We're not going back home to live with mommy and daddy while we figure this "adult" thing out.
We're branching out - traveling, experiencing new territories - alone. No one to hold our hand, no one to guide us, no one to be our friends. Just us. This is the prime time for the church to engage! Agreed, the church's job is not to continue to bottle feed its believers. We should be able to stand on our own, hunt for our own spiritual food, etc. etc. etc. But what about the community of faith that encompasses believers? What about an accountability group to help meet the harvest? What about those older than us to invest, lead and guide us in our new decision-making process.
I'm pretty sure this is just as important as an active children's ministry, an effective youth ministry and a thriving senior adult ministry.
We need a place, a community of believers, friends. Something and someone with which we can be involved and engaged and take an active role of participation.
(...to be cotinued)

Another Day... Another Life to Love

As always, your thoughts, prayers and words of encouragement are continual blessings to me. Although I have twelve days left, it seems as though my time at Orphanage Emmanuel is quickly coming to close. I pray that my time here thus far has been a blessing to those around me, and that I can continue to shine the light of Christ for the remainder of my stay.

God has allowed me to spend time investing in one girl particularly. Her name is Lesbia and she is 13 years old. I got to sit with her and talk about things of the Lord for nearly an hour Saturday night. Although my Spanish is not fluent, I praise God that he allowed me to fluently communicate with her for that time. I pray I was and am a spiritual encouragement to her.

Upon arriving at Emmanuel, my prayer – as I have shared with you – was to be a blessing to the children here. I prayed I would not just enjoy the fun times with the kids, but that they could see Christ’s love through my life and come to a better understanding of who He is. That is my continual prayer even now. Another prayer I have had was that I would not be afraid to use the Spanish I do have and that the Lord would bless those efforts and increase that ability. I praise Him that He continues to provide opportunities for that.

There is a currently a team of 46 people here. They are doing some work on the farm, some painting, some art classes, some medical work and dental work. Thus, I have had the privilege of working with some of them in the dental clinic. My job is to be with the children in order to keep them calm (since I know them) and also to translate for the dentists. What a responsibility, eh? There are definitely certain things you don’t want to mix up, like “spit’ and “swallow.” Ha-ha. But I thank God that things have gone smoothly.

I actually put myself in the chair yesterday to have my mouth numbed. A few of the girls were extremely nervous about having a needle put in their mouths for the first time. They said if I would do and let them watch, then they would do it. After thirty minutes of begging them to stop crying and open their mouths – a person would do almost anything. So I did. It was an interesting experience to say the least. I mean, I’ve never had my mouth numbed just for fun before. But the girls followed as promised and the dentists were grateful for the sacrifice. Now that’s what I call love.

I continue to enjoy every moment I get to spend with the children – even when they are out of hand at times. It is an enjoyment to be with them, play with them and get dirty with them. There are specific ones that I will certainly miss the most and would bring home in a matter of seconds; unfortunately, we all know that isn’t the wisest decision. So for now, I will have to continue to visit them at Emmanuel.

In case you are interested, I wanted to let you know that Emmanuel does have a Web site. It is http://www.orphanageemmanuel.com You can visit there to view a few pictures of the children as well as learn more about our history and such. There are also opportunities to sponsor children. It is only $35 per month and you have the option to write the child, send birthday and Christmas gifts, as well as visit – which I certainly recommend! I would love to answer more questions for you if you have them.

Thank you again for you continued prayers for me and the children during my stay here. Know that they have not gone in vain. I will continue to send a few more updates as time allows. May you be blessed in all things as you strive to be a blessing to others.

In Christ,

Brittany

Dirt, Rice and Sun Tan Lines

I've now been at Emmanuel for nearly two weeks. It is amazing at how the time has passed so quickly.

It is such an amazing experience to minister to these children day after day. On a regular basis, my daily activities consist of morning circle time at 5:30am – this is a time in which the children gather in small groups and have a time of worship and teaching. Following circle, I go to breakfast in the middle boys’ kitchen (this is where I eat all my meals). On weekdays, the children go to school following breakfast (school starts at 8am); therefore, I head to the yard to play with the special needs children from 7:30am – 12pm.

After school lets out, we head up to lunch and then back to the yard to play with the kids who are now out of school. Many of the older boys and girls go to work at this time, whether on the farm, construction, laundry, cooking or sewing, etc. Dinner is usually about 3:30pm. After dinner, if the kids go to the yard, I go play there; but if they go to their houses then I usually head to the girls’ houses to hang out before bedtime, or I go to the toddlers’ house to help bathe them and put them to bed. It is great fun to play with them.

On weekends, we take out groups of children or families who don’t get to see each other often. We go to the casita (craft house), the gym, the farm, the lower (new) yard, or take them to the store. Sometimes we even have parties for them and make cakes, pancakes, cookies, etc. They usually love this time.

I love spending time with the kids. Once or twice per week I have to work in the Internet café. This makes me so sad because it takes away time I could be spending with the children. I desire to make great use of my limited time here. I continue to realize there is that much more to learn.

My Spanish is improving, but I still have a long way to go. The children are patient most of the time though and are eager to help. It has been a blessed trip thus far. I find that my days are spending fast. Continue to be in prayer for the children here that they will be open to learning that which the Lord has for them.

You may view photos via my facebook account. Three albums are currently active: Dirt, Rice and Sun Tan Lines, Beautiful People, and My Heart... His Home.

A New Home

I arrived in Tegucigalpa about noon yesterday. Honduras has beautiful countryside, lots of rolling hills and enormous mountains. It is currently their rainy season as well so everything is particularly green this time of year. It was a hot, windy, long and beautiful bus ride to the orphanage. Once we arrived, it was time for church (5pm) so we changed into our skirts and headed down the hill. At service, the pastor talked about the necessity of counting your blessings rather than complaining about circumstances. Wow! Don’t we all need to hear more about that. It was beautiful to hear the children singing praises to the Lord in both English and Spanish. It just amazes me time and again at how big our God truly is!
Orphanage Emmanuel does such a great job. The Lord has certainly blessed their efforts. The orphanage, however, is currently under government inspection and they are afraid they may lose it. I do not know the whole situation. Mr. David (poppi) discussed “trials” tonight and Kelly told me that is why. He is concerned about the orphanage, but has tremendous faith that the Lord will do as He sees fit – His ways are not our ways, nor his thoughts our thoughts. The Lord gives and the Lord takes away. Mr. David and Mrs. Lydia (momi) are resting on his promises. What tremendous people of faith they are!
This morning I awoke for circle time about 5am and joined in with the little girls. We had breakfast with the girls as well, a bowl of chicken-flavored rice and potatoes baked with eggs. It was pretty good. I gave my extras to one of the girls. I got to play with some of the kids at the toddler house. They are so precious! It will definitely be one of the highlights of my days. My desire during my time here is not only to love the children but to minister to them. I have realized that just because they are at a Christian orphanage receiving Biblical teaching does not mean all the children at Christians. There are many kids here who need personal investment time in order to come to a better understanding of the love and peace offered to them through our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ. I pray I can help with that. I am learning lots about the orphanage: how it works, what goes on. I am learning lots about the orphanage: how it works and what goes on. I also learned that many of the children that are here are not actually orphans. Many of them have families with multiple brothers and sisters. Some of the children are from a family of 4 or 5 kids. That child was sent here while his brothers and sisters remain at home. Some children come from abusive situations, parents in jail, or parents who could not afford to properly care for the children. Many of these kids’ parents visit them on Saturdays.
One child I met today was Sandra. She is eleven years old. She has two sisters at Emmanuel. Her father died, but her mother currently lives in Tegucigalpa. I do not know her whole story; nevertheless, I am sure her mother does not visit frequently if ever due to the long drive to Guiamaca and the expense it incurs. Overall, my trip (although short) has been tremendous thus far. I love the nights here. The weather is great. They air is peaceful – random birds fly by my window throughout the night echoing seemingly new noises. It is a great time to think upon the things of the Lord and invest time in prayer for this place. I know God has done great things here throughout the last 20 years. I pray his sovereign hand will continue to guide this ministry through government investigation and all. I know God’s will ultimately will abound!

Thanks for your many prayers! Pictures are soon to come.