Home for the Summer

It's so crazy to be home for the summer. I keep thinking I was on the other side of the world just a couple weeks ago. Jet lag has been a monster. That 12 hour time difference is difficult to overcome. Your days and nights are backwards! However, I have really enjoyed being home. I have gotten to see so many friends and family. It has been great to see blue skies and green grass. Spending time with friends is a joy that my heart just loves! It has been so refreshing to be home. 

I am using this time at home to be refreshed and refilled. God is so amazing! He provides exactly what we need. He provided time for me to rest and time for me to get acclimated to being in America again. He has provided me with time to bask in his presence. I love the Lord! He is so amazing! I have enjoyed going to church and hearing the grace message. It has been hard to follow all the time because everyone talks so fast :). But it has been refreshing nonetheless. 

God has also provided opportunities to share about what He is doing on the other side of the world. I love sharing about my other home, I think God knows that it makes me miss the people and my students. So I must be going back :). I love sharing about the doors God is opening and the hearts that are being prepared. I love being a part of God's plan. And that is made possible by my awesome team of supporters! I have really loved getting to spend time with them and share about what they are sowing into! 

Thank you to my amazing supporters! You are a part of these stories and the lives that are being changed. I am so glad I still have 4 more weeks to spend with everyone and enjoy the beautiful KY scenery!

Happy Summer!

Stomach bug... or worms

So the most of the team has been sick these past couple of months. It has sent a lot of teachers home early for stomach pains and or vomiting (sorry if too much). We are all confused as to why.  

My friend's husband got really sick with an amoeba and then found out that he also had worms and a bacteria. He has been sick for two months. We are all praying we don't have what he had. Everyday we would compare symptoms. Are the pains like needles? Just uncomfortable? Someone squeezing your insides? Everyday it was a different kind of pain. None of us has the same pain at the same time. 

We talked to a couple of friends that are nurses and they mentioned taking the deworming pills just to be safe. We all have symptoms of worms. Great! So we took one pill and nothing happened. Stomachs still hurt nothing new, just exhaustion. Then my roommate decided to go to the doctor. 

The doctor did some tests. He found that she didn't have an amoeba or a parasite. So what could it possibly be? Then we talked to our other friend who's family had worms. She said you have to take the medicine 3 times (on days 1, 2, and 10). Oh! Ok! That is where we messed up. Supposedly if you only take one you are taking precautions again worms but it does nothing if you already have worms.  

So we took the worm medicine on day 1 and 2. Wow! Such a difference. Still a little bit of discomfort every now and then but nothing like before. So I think we figured it out and of course our prayers are being answered. I am feeling better and I am continuing to pray that the whole team gets back to 100%.  

Day 10 is April 5. So we will take another pill then, and pray that we will be worm free and my stomach problems will be gone! :).  

What an experience! Life in Asia! 

Sky Paintings... Sunsets!

During some time of R&R the thing that refreshes my soul the most... sunsets! I love them! The colors, the reflections, the clouds, the beauty that graces the Earth everyday. I just can't get enough of it! I am just awestruck at the amazing artwork God does every day! 

God often uses nature to speak to me about beauty. The flowers and trees are all beautiful and unique. The landscape is different in each country but it is always beautiful. And these are things the Lord created. But these are not the things He calls His masterpiece. We (mankind) are His masterpiece (Ephesians 2:10). I find all the flowers and trees and landscapes beautiful, but to God nothing compares to the beauty He sees in us! Wow! How do we not recognize the beauty in ourselves but see it in things?

The sunset is a reminder of beauty. I find the sunset unbelievably beautiful! I stand in awe of such beauty. Something that looks different every night, but every night is just as beautiful as the last. Just as the sunset is different each person is different. We all have different eye colors, hair colors, body types, etc but everyone is beautiful. There isn't one feature that is better than another, every feature is unique and beautiful and reflects the image of God (Genesis 1:27). 

Every chance I get I watch the sunset. I want to see the artwork in the sky. I stand mesmerized by such beauty and I am reminded that the God of creation finds me even more beautiful. Wow! What amazing beauty I possess, and you possess. I am also reminded that the sunset is created every evening, I was created once. God doesn't need to make corrections on us. We are beautiful and handsome (for the guys out there ;)) and the Lord wouldn't change a hair on your head (He knows how many there are! Matthew 10:30). 

You are beautiful, don't forget it. And if you need a reminder just watch the sunset or sunrise or look at your favorite flower. Your beauty comes from above. Don't let earthly standard judge your beauty. You are a masterpiece! 

Sunset Day 1

Sunset Day 2

Sunset Day 3

Sunset Day 4

I had to take pictures of the beautiful sunsets and see how they are different! Everyone is different. Everyone is BEAUTIFUL!