For the party, I was really trying to hold off, hold off, hold offffff with postponing it..... to see if the rain would hold off!!
and wouldn't you know it - weather.com says the rain is due tomorrow, and not for Sunday anymore!
woo hoooooooo :)
Seriously - if you were doubting that I was the Sunshine Kid - please stop your doubting. You're embarrassing yourself.
hehehe just kiddin. God is gracious - and that's all there is to it.
I had the privilege of speaking twice this past week. Margaret asked me if I would take the VCCC ladies on a walk and then give a little talk about what "Well Worth the Walk" is all about! Sooooo fun! And it was so cool! Because another walk to celebrate the Heritage Trail (it was called Footsteps for Faith i believe) was scheduled that morning as well - and so someone woke up early and posted Scripture all along the way! So my ladies were blessed even though I didn't even think to do something like that! If you haven't seen God's hands all over this walk - you must be blind. But don't worry - He's been known to heal the blind! :)
So the Women's cafe walk went so well - it was just a great time of walking, talking, and ministering (both ways of course...) At one point, I started sharing statistics with them. I apologized because though I do have a love for numbers and sudoku (new readers, go read my previous sudoku blog LOL) sometimes, statistics just seem hmmmm overwhelming? I mean - the numbers are sometimes just numbers. and they're usually so large... its like the people tend to get lost in there somewhere. There are no faces, and tends to have a lack of emotion behind it. So I tend to stay away from statistical numbers. But in this case, I thought it was important.
I told the ladies how many children are dying each year just from drinking dirty water. I broke it down into hours, and then seconds - but it just felt strange. It felt like I was trying to use shock and awe to make an emotional impact on them. I wrapped up that part and continued on with my talk. (overall, it was an awesome time, there was just that one little awkward part, in my opinion)
Why do I share that... well, the Lord used little children to rock my statistics-hating heart. lol
I got to speak at AWANA on Monday night. I was part of the Missions month missionaries asked to speak. Can I just tell you??? I've gotten to do a LOT of really cool things in my life. That night was probably a highlight I will remember for a very long time.
You could hear a pin drop. They were so attentive and engaged. Their faces were completely focused on my own, and it looked like every word was making an impact on their little hearts. (When God uses me as a vessel - it never ceases to amaze me) As I was preparing for the talk, I thought about a way to make it clear to them just how many children were dying because of drinking, playing in, bathing in... dirty water.
As I shared the statistics with them, wow. I don't think I'll forget soon the looks on their faces. God just broke my heart. It does shock. It has an impact. but its the truth, and it needs to rock us.
3.575 million people die each year from water-related disease, guess how many of them are children 5 and under??? 1.8 million. That is more than half.
1.8 million!
I don't know why it took their faces to get that number to ricochet inside my brain. But it did
And now the cool news is - There will be a community that will have clean water by the end of this year :)
Bad news like that doesn't have to stay bad - it should motivate us to do something about it. Gospel for Asia has provided one way, and we get to be used in all of it!
We will all be His vessels through support, prayer, and sharing - and we get to sit back and be amazed!
So I hope to see you at Party 250 and if you can't be there - you can pray!!! (and look forward to Party 500!)
love you all!
(and now.... a whole BUNCH of pictures from the past week or so)
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| Getting my miles in, walking in the airport! |
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| Walking down by Pike Place, Seattle - so pretty! (no rain!!!) |
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| Getting 3 miles in walking around a beautiful lake (no rain!) |
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| Walking in the woods with my Puppy at the Conference |
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| Soft grass and pretty flowers -made possible by the rain.... but no rain today :) |
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| Love those rays!!! |
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| Walking while the sun... yes, the sun! sets :) |
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| Walking in woods by Mt. St. Helens - look at those trees! |
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| Coldwater Lake and an unwelcome visitor - Quick! Let's get back to the car!! |
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| Really cool ! Taken on our walk for the Women's Cafe |
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| Scripture posted on our walk! Me & my VCCC ladies :) |
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| The Duke & our littles |
