The end is very near.

I only have 3 days left at the orphanage. I can't believe that my summer is almost over. This week has been spent going to refugee camps and sharing the gospel each afternoon. My nights have been spent sitting in the girls bedroom talking with some of the older girls. They are all begging me to stay here. But, I must return home. There would be many unhappy folks if I stayed!
I will be flying to another island for debrief on Sunday. It is really difficult for me to think that I have been in another country, away from my loved ones for almost two months. WOW GOD! It has been an amazing experience. I am looking forward to going home though. But, my work in this place is not done until I get onto the plane to fly home. It has been tough to keep focus on the tasks at hand with the smell of home so close!
I have really enjoyed my summer and the team that I was put with. I hope that our lives will keep in touch. We are all going different directions when we go home, but this summer will forever keep us together in our minds. I hope that all the other people serving out there finish well! Phil. 3:10-14! God Bless.

Wonderful Blessings

This week has been wonderful. We have been in the orphanage all week. We haven't had much to do, because to our surpise the only children there are the middle schoolers. The other children won't be coming back until the 21st. We weren't expecting that, but it has been nice to have some time to relax and just hang out.
I have really enjoyed this week. I feel like I have truly built relationships with the people in the orphanage. It brightens my day to sit with them. It doesn't matter that I can't speak their language. I can show His love through my presence. Isn't that AWESOME! I am not looking forward to the end of my time here. I am ready to see America, but it is going to be tough to leave my new friends. Please pray that God will give me a strength to depart.
For the past two nights, I along with my Indonesian dictionary, have been sitting on the back porch with the most precious girl, Amena. We have talked about as much as we can, and it has been in Indonesian. I am so thankful that God made her patient, because I have to tell her to wait after every few words. Then, I proceed to look up their meaning in my dictionary. I love every minute of it though. I want to impact this girl's life. I want her to know that she can grow up and live for Christ. It is my prayer that she will see Christ in my team and myself. Please pray for her!
We traveled to the refugee camps at the beginning of the week. We told the story of Christ's death and resurection. I don't know if any of the children made a profession of faith, but we planted those seeds into their hearts. God can take care of the rest!
All of the children will be coming back this weekend. I am pretty excited to see them. My days here are almost to the single digits! WOW! Where has the time gone?! I want to finish out my time here with the utter most happiness. Please pray that I will remain focused on the task at hand, and not on returning home.
***To all my friends out there serving--Continue with your task. Know that I am praying for you! I know that you are doing mighty things- greater than you realize! Love you all! God Bless.

A week in the Village

I just spent a wonderful week in the village by the ocean. God has been so good to me this week. It is truely amazing the way He provides my needs over and over. The children are all so wonderful. We stayed there for 7 days. During those 7 days, I bonded with a beautiful little girl named Nona. I am going to miss her very much. The village was tough at times, but I believe that God put me there to show me just how strong He is in my life. I have really seen how much I have taken for granted in America. I can't even begin to describe the conditions of the village. It was a lot better than I expected, but at the same time it was so lacking in what I have become acustomed to back home. I enjoyed being in the village because life is more important than things. It was more important to have a conversation with someone than anything else. I love that.
I got to be a nurse to about 10 children. These little boys and girls have sores on their legs. I believe that the sores probably start as a cut or something small. But, because of the dirt and lack of medical supplies, the sore has become infected. I saw a sore on Nona's leg and cleaned it and bandaged it. It wasn't long before she must have told her friends and word spread. A lot of the children would go and get friends and bring them to me. It was the best feeling in the world. Some of the children had cuts that were already healed but they wanted a band-aid. You better believe that I gave them one too! I can only imagine what that small band-aid means to those precious children.
I am so thankful for all that I have been blessed with. We taught the children bible stories each day. I want them to know who Jesus is but more importantly I want to know that Jesus loves them. My goal for this summer was and still is to constantly give the love that Christ would. I pray that those little boys and girls felt the love of Jesus through me.
We are back in the orphanage for the remainder of the summer. It's only about 2 weeks. I can hardly believe that I have been here for over a month. God has taught me so much in such a short time. I have learned some life lessons this summer. I have seen things that I will never forget. I am so grateful for this opportunity. I hope that I can share my story and encourage others to "Go to the ends of the World" and share Jesus's love!
I hope that you all have a wonderful week. Share His Love Daily! God Bless!