Miracles do happen + Video+ Christmas Lights +Thanksgiving

Just a quick update on Chet, he is doing so much better.  This past weekend was really hard on my family, they took him off of the ventilator, and were expecting the worse; however, yesterday he started breathing on his own, he woke up and was asking for a strawberry milkshake.  So, I was really happy to hear that this morning, but please continue to be praying for him and for my family.

Also, Hebert made a video of our trips this summer with the church, check it out if you want.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qqIYB3B3DK4


Happy Thanksgiving to all of you!!!  Please enjoy some cranberry sauce for me....and to my family enjoy the pumpkin roll!  I always miss my family on Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Those are the hardest days to be away and I'm sure I will cry at least once if not more on those days.  However, I will be having a fun Thanksgiving this year.  Tomorrow, I will be cooking a small Thanksgiving dinner for Hebert and I.  I've already decided to make roasted chicken w/ gravy, creamed corn, a potato and broccoli casserole, and pumpkin pie. On Saturday, all of Hebert's family is getting together to celebrate Thanksgiving by having a potluck dinner. 

  
So, last night Hebert and I went to go see the Christmas lights in downtown Maracaibo.  There's a famous street that is lit up with lights and Christmas decorations all leading to the finale, which is a giant lighted statue of their patron saint, La Chinita, you can walk underneath and take pictures and there's a bridge beside it where you can go up and take more pictures.  My mom would love this; however, I could care less for the La Chinita lights.  My favorite part of the Christmas lights was called the north pole where they had the penguins from Madagascar, polar bears (my favorite), and snowmen.  They also had a part dedicated to Toy story 3, and to Gaita very popular music from Zulia, the state where Maracaibo is in.  It was a lot of fun to get out of the house, test out the crutches, and get into the Christmas spirit. 

Pictures speak louder than words

Since I have missed about three months on my blog...I thought pictures would be the best way to catch y'all up.

These pictures were taken by Hebert for Bread of Hope.  These pictures are from the communities near the city dump.  Communities where Bread of Hope donates bags of groceries.  This boy probably works to haul trash to the dump, or to bring goods from the dump back home to sell or use.

Hebert told me that this boy was so excited when he opened up his bag and found oatmeal.  He shouted and threw it up in the air.  

This little guy was so excited to have milk.  Milk is very precious here.  Some mothers use pasta water instead of formula or milk to feed their babies.  

Here the Bread of Hope team is praying for this household.  Prayer is a very important part of our donation.  We always ask family members for prayer requests and let them know that this a gift from the Lord above all.

This is a picture from inside a "rancho", or small houses made out of scraps.  

This is the outside of their house.

The picture below was taken during a community concert where bread of hope also donated food to families.

This is Po, he rides on the top of his wheel, because he thinks he is a special hamster.  

 Hebert and I on our first year anniversary. August 8th

 We went to eat shawarmas, which is arabic fast food in Venezuela.  Its like a gyro wrapped in a large flour tortilla.  Its really good it has a mixture of shredded meat, vegetables, tabuoli, hummus, and falafel. 

Thanks to Sarah and David for the loan of the Jack Bauer poster while they are in Peru, we are able to take serious pictures with Jack Bauer.  

 Somebody's always on their phone in the show.

 There's Po!!!  Always getting into trouble.

 Hebert and I in rio frio, or cold river, Yes it was actually really cold. 

 The following are some pictures from our mission trips this summer.

 I helped to teach Sunday school one day at a church we were visiting and this kid was literally climbing the walls. 

 This was taken at a youth retreat our church had.  That weekend was one of my favorites from this summer.  God really touched a lot of hearts. 

 The Cold River, was a true blessing and a break from the Maracaibo heat!!!  YAY!!! 

 This is a picture with Allys, Wilmer's wife, Milagros, her daughter, and Dafre.  They were the cooks on the youth retreat, well they are the cooks at church and the most awesome women you will meet.  After my operation Allys would always visit me and make my favorite Venezuelan dessert, quesillo.  And Dafre speaks English, she is from Grenada and she is hilarious!

 So, at the youth retreat we found the cacao tree, the fruit/or nut or whatever it is that we get chocolate from.  Hebert was really excited about his discovery. 

 This is a picture of Hebert and I preaching at the youth retreat. 

Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.

So its been awhile since my last blog, but there are good reasons why it has taken me so long to post.  Last time I posted I talked about our last trip for the summer to Guayana.  It was there that I had an accident.  I fell down some stairs and broke my ankle.  The first doctor I saw told me that I needed an operation, and that I had to go back to Maracaibo to get it done.  Guayana is about 24 hours driving from Maracaibo, so thank God that we were able to get plane tickets, and I had the surgery a couple of weeks later.  The surgery/hospital stay in Venezuela was an experience…I’ll just leave it at that.   This was my first stay ever at a hospital in my life, and of course it had to be in a foreign country.  If you ever want to hear some funny stories just ask me about it in person.  

The hardest part about this whole process has been recovery.  It takes so long to recover from a broken ankle.  I’m still unable to walk.  Its been three months.  Two of the three months I had to be on bed rest, because of an infection I acquired during the operation.  Now, that my ankle is healing well, I’m waiting another operation, possibly in December, to take out all of the metal, so that I will be able to walk.  I’ve learned so much through this experience, even though its not over yet.  I’ve learned that I have an amazing family in Venezuela.  Hebert and his family have treated me like a queen since the accident.  Our church family is always keeping in touch with us, dropping by to visit, sending prayers, and sending food.   They’ve really been a blessing.  

The most valuable lessons I have learned are the ones that God has taught me about my character.  Going through this hardship has clearly shown me my character flaws and the idols that I cling to.  That’s why we go through times of pain and suffering.  It teaches us about ourselves.  I found that even though I say that my goal in life is to be like Christ…I fight against it whenever its put into action.  I don’t like to humbled.  I’m a prideful person, and even though I’ve rejected a lot of my comforts I still expect them.  There’s a verse that helps remind me to not fight the humbling process, but to welcome it…to let go of seeking comfort and trust that God is enough…and to not focus on the past, but the present.  That verse is Philippians 2: 5-8:  Think of yourselves the way Christ Jesus thought of himself.  He had equal status with God but didn’t think so much of himself that he had to cling to the advantages of that status no matter what.  Not at all.  When the time came, he set aside the privileges of deity and took on the status of a slave, became human!  Having become human, he stayed human.  It was an incredibly humbling process.  He didn’t claim special privileges.  Instead, he lived a selfless, obedient life and then died a selfless, obedient death --- and the worst kind of death at that: a crucifixion. (MES)  

This verse shows me what a stark contrast Christ’s values are compared with the world’s.  Our culture values power, independence, prestige, and wealth.  Humility is often not valued.  It is seen as a weakness.  But the world has got it wrong, and all that it offers is just a lie.  True love, power, and freedom are experienced through humility.  Through submitting oneself to Christ and allowing him to be Lord over their life.  You’ll find that He is enough and all of the world’s riches, its comfort, its security --- mean nothing compared to knowing Him.  

Please be praying for my family in the US.  A close family member of ours has cancer, his name is Chet, and in the past couple of days has not been doing well.  It looks like these are his final days.  Please be praying for his family, and especially for his wife, Kay.