Lyrics.

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

I really should write. I need to write. I enjoy expressing my thoughts through written word. And I like being able to look back at this thing called my blog and see what has happened in my life. Looking back and remembering. Tis grand. But I have been busy and gone from internet access and just do not know where to start up again. So much has happened that I just do not know where to begin. I suppose I will just dive in see where I end up. That's what I normally do anyways. It may not all make sense, but since when do I make perfect sense?

I had the opportunity to stay up in the mountains for a couple of weeks. And I jumped on it. I live in the valley that supports the mountains surrounding it. The missionaries here go up into the mountains six days a week to work with the people there. But some the the places take two or three hours to get to, so sometimes they stay up in the mountains for a week or two to work more closely with the people there. These past few weeks was on the those times. And oh how I enjoyed it. Spending time with these people is always a great joy, but to be with them day in and day out was wonderful....knowing them, learning about their lives, praying and working together. Yes, the language is a barrier, especially because many of them do not speak Spanish, and while my Spanish is progressing, it is far from flawless. It reminded me again how grateful I am for the work of Christ on the cross.....not only is salvation available to all, but the work of the cross breaks through and liberates from any language or cultural barrier.

So I am learning, growing, and loving my Lord. Not always an easy process, but who got us started on thinking "The easier the better"? No, no, no. The blessed the best.

And that's all I got to say folks.

Nerf Wars.

Sarah. Andrew. Caroline. Who do you think won?

Words

There are some words in Spanish that once I have found out what they literally mean, I love them or at least find them intriguing. For example:
Esperar: The verb "to wait" but also the verb "to hope"....to hope is to wait and to wait is to hope.
De nada: How you say "you're welcome" in Spanish, but literally means "of nothing". Like "Don;;t worry about it. It was nothing."
Hacer: The verb for "to do" and also the verb for "to make".... This one I only find interesting. Not sure why.
Lo siento: How you would say "I am sorry" but it literally means "I feel it". Like, "I feel what you are going through. Your pain. It is not just something that you have to deal with alone, I feel it too." It is kinda cheesy, but a common joke here is when someone says that their head hurts, and you say "I feel it" that they respond with, "Yes, but I feel it much more".

There are more, but these are the ones that I could think of off the top of my head.

A view from....

.....a little forgotten corner of the world called Tlazicuapa. I love it.

Missin'

Two years ago I took a raod trip with my lovely sister Ashlyn to Sanit Louis for a Rise Up conference. This year the conference is in Dearborn, MI. My whole family is there is time. While there are certian aspects of the conference that I will surely not miss, I DO miss being there with my family. Have fun y'all!

A Bunch of Nothing

I want to say something. I really do. Just not sure what to say or even how to say it. I want to make something with my hands. I have no idea why, it is just the mood that I am in. So here it is to typing and seeing what comes out.
* Some folks from Georgia come to the church here in Rio Blanco yesterday. They brought jeans from my mom. Oh happy day. It may seem shallow, but hey, all my pants are falling apart and the only jeans you can buy here are covered in glitter and rhinestones, of which I am not a fan. I mean, really? Do I need something that says "I am a thigh! Look at me!"? I think not. I will pass. So it was a joy to receive the jeans.
[thanks mom]
*Another thrill from last week was that I road a donkey. Side saddle and bareback. Wearing a floor length skirt. We have been presenting the story of the birth of Christ as told by Luke. I am Mary. We have done the play upwards of 20 times. We have very basic props. Mostly just costumes. But the village we went to Christmas night made sure we had more than that. Thus, the donkey. It was interesting. I had a blast. And obviously I survived. Fun times. The sheep they brought up where pretty sweet too. Oh! One of the men there made a manger too. That was my favorite of all.
* One morning last week I sat down to breakfast and bowed my head to say a silent prayer of thanks. In the middle of it, I realized I was praying in Spanish. That means I was thinking in Spanish! Mentally translating all the time is tiring. I hope that I will be finished with mental translation in a couple of months. I know it is probably pretty insignificant to your life, but if you happen to be interested in my Spanish progress, its cool. Never fear, I am sure I will make horrible (meaning downright funny) mistakes with my Spanish for many years to come.
* I was given a backpack today. It is a bit used and has the name "Jessica" written in permanent marker on the front. I love it. I had been praying for one, and this one was handed directly to me. I would not want anything else. Thank you Lord.
* I am going to a place tomorrow that has snow. SNOW! Should be fun and freezing. I'm excited.
* Ever step back and think, "Um, wow. This is my life? These are the stories that I will be telling my kids and grandkids!" Crazy to think about. What is happening to me now is the story that I will be telling later. I know, I am strange to even think of such things.
* Now I do believe I am going to stop writing. I had no idea where this post was going to go when I started, and now I see it has gone nowhere.

Adios.

....

Time moves on and people change.
This is my 22nd Christmas.
But my first not being with my family.
But my 22nd year of being able to thank the Lord for His wonderful gift.
This was my facebook status this morning:
"...is thankful that the joy of Christmas is not in gifts, traditions, or even people you are with, because those things change, but it is about an eternal relationship with the God of the universe....something that never changes."