Faith. Hope. Love--HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY

HAPPY MOTHER'S DAY! Yes, I am aware I am a whole day late. My computer would not cooperate at all yesterday, so I am having to post today! Sorry. I have recently realized that almost every life lesson I have learned, all goes back to my time in the Philippines. God especially showed me many things this past winter during my time at Uncle Dick's Home. One of those things being just how much I take my momma for granted. Don't get me all wrong, I thank God everyday for her, and the love she has shown me throughout my life. However, I think we all sometimes take for granted those little things our mothers do for us. The sweet, and sometimes funny, text messages randomly throughout the day.  The cookies she bakes. The hours of waiting to pick up her children. The prayers. The "I love yous." The fashion advice (although we may sometimes disagree ;) ). The laughs. The many cries. The love advice. The many times she tells us the other kids are just jealous, only to make us feel better. The "No matter what they may say, YOU are the most beautiful."  The front porch talks. The shopping trips. And so on... Mom's are truly a gift from God.  "Her children rise up, and call her blessed; her husband also, and he praiseth her." -- Proverbs 31:28



This picture was taken Mother's Day 2010 at church.



One of the things I am most grateful for, is having a mother who is always in church. A lot of people aren't that blessed.



Faith. Hope. Love. --our "tattoos" from the beach last year :)



Mom,

Throughout my life you have already taught me more about having faith, hope, and love than most people ever know. You have shown me what it means to have true faith in the One who provides, and brings us through the storms in life. During troubled times, you aren't one to stop praying, to stop going to church...you keep on. You press forward. What has amazed me most has been your remarkable faith the past four years.  I specifically remember the day I found out about the first Philippine trip. I knew in my heart it was God answering my prayers.  I remember your reaction. You had a look in your eyes that told me you knew it was God answering my prayers too, but you were so afraid.  Your little girl was about to leave the country to go to the other side of the world.  A place that was so unknown to you. So far away. What you showed me that year was that you had faith that God knew what He was doing. You had faith that I knew it was the right thing for me.  You really believed in me, and I will never forget that.  Now, look at us. I'm soon approaching my fifth trip. I know it hasn't been easy. The nights have been long while I'm away. And while I know that it saddens your heart to see me walk off to board a plane to travel thousands of miles away from you, I also know that your heart is leaping with joy for the mission I always have ahead of me.  Without you I would not be the person I am today. You have taught me to love people unconditionally. To have compassion for people. You have shown me a great love that I want to share with the rest of the world. You truly are my best friend. I love having long talks with you. Your opinion on things means the world to me. When my heart breaks, yours breaks. When I have joy, you have joy. I can only pray that I can be the mother you have been to me one day. I love you so very much! More than any Hallmark card could ever say :) Enjoy your little shopping trip! You deserve it...and so much more!!

Love you always,
Em


I couldn't have made it without you :)


** I wanted to add more pictures, but you know how ridiculous my computer is. I'm lucky to have gotten this many! LOVE YOU!





"Sit and smile...Even smile with your liver!"

Due to a  crappy computer, I haven't been able to blog in quite sometime. I have missed sharing things with all of you, even if there is only a couple of you who actually read it ;) Before I begin my ramblings, let me warn you...the "y" on my keyboard doesn't work very well. In order for it to work I have to put a lot of pressure on it, and I might just not do that every single time. So, when the "y" is missing in a word, please just ignore it. And now I will begin...

Things for me since returning home from the Philippines have been a bit weird. All of my life, all I have known has been busy, busy, busy. It has been a constant full schedule of tests, ballgames, projects, church activities, social events, etc. I have known no rest. However, as many of you are aware of, my plans of online classes this semester didn't work out. It wasn't the Lord's plan for me, and though it was disappointing to me, I know the Lord's dreams and plans for me are much greater than the ones I have for myself. Knowing that, I am content with my current place in life; however, I am ready for the next chapter.  Many believe I should have come home from the Philippines, and got a job. But, let's be real...who is going to hire someone who is only home for a couple of months before leaving again? No one. So that has left me with being a....stay at home daughter. Don't hear that title too often do you? Many have told me things such as, "You have it made." or "I wish I were you." Do you really? I mean yes it is nice to sleep in just because I want. It's nice to have the TV all to myself all day, to eat whenever I please, and to take long baths because no one else is home to save the warm water for.  Before you get too envious of me, let me just tell you...After a while, sleeping in is a drag, TV has nothing interesting on, and eating whenever = weight gain.  I feel like I am going stir crazy. I am not a fan of routine (even though I do enjoy my coffee dates with Dr. Phil & Oprah every morning). I like to change things up. Thankfully, I have a very dear friend, who just so happens to also be my pastor, who has been very good about keeping me busy lately.

With the summer Philippine trip coming up in just a couple of months, we have had many fundraisers going on lately. We have been selling Mothers Day roses (which I highly recommend for any of you trying to raise money), we sold hamburgers at a fishing tournament, and we have been selling plate lunches once a month at church. We still have a couple more plate lunches to go, and we are trying to come up with a t-shirt to sell. I will get you details on the t-shirt as soon as I can. If you have any ideas of more fundraisers I would love for you to share.  Okay, back to what has recently kept me busy...Along with the fundraisers has been little things I have been drafted to do for church, and my church family. I have enjoyed it.

After Sir Bob's meeting with the Filipino pastors in April, the final details for our summer trip have been made. The Mississippi team, aka "the rope people," will be made up of eight Americans. Four men, four women. We will be located in Southern Leyte. In 2009, our team of Mississippians was located in Northern Samar. We had such a wonderful team, and made comments of how we wished that we could have that exact group of pastors back with us once again. We also knew that the possibility of that was slim. However, God answered our prayers, and the pastors who we will be serving alongside us this year will be exactly the same as 2009, with the exception of one pastor who will not be there. The Filipino pastors who will be our translators, encouragers, and most importantly, our friends, will be Steve (a very dear friend to me), Ruel (our own personal shopper), Felipe (the pregnant man with a great laugh), and Primo (who loves to feed us flowers). I am very excited about this team. I ask that you would please begin to lift us up in your prayers. Pray that God would begin to work in the hearts of those who we will share the gospel with July 16-July 30.



In green- Southern Leyte

 


Left to right: Primo,myself, Steve
Ruel, Felipe, Ruel(who will not be joining us)

 


Molly eating one of the flowers Primo got for us...she will greatly be missed this year :(
"Eat 24 a day, and you have all of the nutrients you need"- Primo

Steve..he's such a good friend, even on the other side of the world

 


Left to right: Angela, Lane, Ruel, Me
Anytime us girls decided we wanted to hit up the market, Ruel was our guy!

Angela, me, Ruel after a trip to the market..one of my fav pics :)
Angela won't be joining us this year for the trip. She is the best roomie ever. I will miss her tons!

Felipe...he has the best laugh!



It has been two months since I have been away from my loves at Uncle Dick's Home. Although, I never believed it would happen, the hurt of not being with them has gotten better. My homecoming was very sweet. I was so very happy to see my family and friends; however, it was very bittersweet. While it was great to see my biological family, I missed my sweet Filipino family greatly. I never really let it be known, but it was an adjustment for me. For over a month I was surrounded by these precious kids, who literally became my family, and then all of the sudden, I'm back in my home, my family is at work and school, and I am at home....alone. I was lonely. I hadn't had time all alone to myself in over six weeks. It was very strange. I would look at the clock, and my mind immediately went to what the orphans were doing. I think it was a normal process. I learned to take my free time and use it to reflect on the things the Lord had done for me, and taught me during my stay at Uncle Dicks Home. My free time has become my quiet time. My time to spend with my Father.  Now, I think about my babies often, but I know that whatever they are doing they are very happy and loved.  And in those moments when I want nothing more than to have a great UDH hug, I ask the Lord to let them know I am thinking about them. I have great peace now, and find joy in reflecting on the time I got to spend with those precious people, rather than the sadness of going months without seeing them.



I believe I have blogged enough tonight to make up for the weeks I have been silent. I promise to try and be better about sharing. Oh, and if you're wondering about the title...go watch "Eat, Pray, Love!"

With love,

Emily