Although I have experienced a few frustrations this past while it is encouraging to me to see that God is working despite the fact the doubts seem to be streaming at me full force! I recieved a letter this week from one of the girls at the orphanage whom I got really close to. Her name is Mirella and her words brought such joy to my heart,

"Hello Kim, This is Mirella. How are you? I hope fine. I hope you didn`t forgot about me and you tell your parents about me and how we spend the summer. I know you pray for me, I will try to pray for you, too. We spend beautiful moments in the summer...things are ugly without you. I cry when I remember you. I love you and everything about you. I believe you won't forget about me. Thank God for bringing you here to us. I love you but I love God more. Please forgive me for saying that, but God is great and is more important!"

How exciting!! It is so amazing to see how God is working in her life. To acknowledge that God is most important to her is huge!! I remember having a conversation with her in the summer about how she felt that God wasn't a big priority in her life. To hear that she is learning and growing is so exciting for me! She also went on to tell me how she had quit smoking which had been a big addiction for her the past few years. I wish that I could be there right now to witness the change and to be there to answer questions and be alongside her as she grows however I know that God is working there and His plan for her is more than I could imagine! This week has brought some discouragment which always seems to foster doubt in my life yet He always brings a reminder, whether big or small, that He is always in control!

Romania again?

Romania has been on my mind a lot these days, my heart keeps tugging in that direction. Decisions aren't an easy thing for me, sometimes I think too logically and ignore my heart. Yet other times I feel that I act too quickly without thinking through the consequences. There are a number of things that seem to be holding me back on my decision and I don't know if they are valid concerns or if I should just trust that this is really where God wants me. I got an exciting package in the mail yesterday, it was a dvd that one of the girls on my team made of our trip. As I watched that, my heart ached to be back there loving those girls! This morning in church someone came and told me that she was going to start raising money through her piano students for me to go back to Romania! That is so huge and it amazes me how supportive the community around me is! I am getting pretty excited about it and I would appreciate your prayers as I wrestle with this decision. The sermon this morning also got me thinking, the focus was about being light and salt to those around us. The question came to mind, am I too concerned about where God wants me and neglecting to be a light where I am right now? Am I living that light in everything I do? Definatly not to the extent that God intended for us. It's one thing to be on a missions trip, where you are delibaratly trying to show Gods love, most often to people that you will never see again. Yet it seems more difficult to reach the people that we work with or come in contact with on a continual basis. I think for me it is probably the fear of rejection or fear of coming across with a "holier than thou" attitude. I often blame it on the excuse that there is lack of opportunity, however I think that it's me that lacks to take action on the opportunities. Hopefully this is something that I will be more deliberate in, I wanna let my light shine! Whether that be here or in Romania, or anywhere else around the world, how exciting that God uses us to be His light for His glory!

Blizzard!!!

So, as you can see, we are being blown away by some incrediable weather patterns. That's right folks, it's the blizzard of 2007. It all started when I woke up this morning and looked out the window and almost fell off my bed. Actually it started long before that but I slept in. People are getting stuck everywhere and travelling anywhere inside the city or out is extremely trecherous. Jo called and told me she locked her keys in her car at work, that was a God thing because she tells me she would've gotten stuck and balled like a baby if she would've drove herself. Her area of the city is basically blocked off so she got a ride here and we are partying like its 1997!! Actually, truth be told, we are a little worried about friends and family that are out in this weather. It's pretty bad out there, can't even see the other side of the street! It's kind of exciting to be involved in an adventure such as this. So keep safe out there!

Life and all its possiblities!

One of my friends and I were talking the other day about how when we are frustrated with circumstances or have some heavy decisions to make we roll our eyes and sigh..."oh life". This of course is suggesting that we have to accept the situations that we find ourselves in yet are none too pleased, a feeling of hoplessness seems to escape. Yet being a woman of wisdom, she expressed something a little more optimistic; "Oh the possibilities of life!" Yes, life has its curveballs and sometimes we seem to be overwhelmed with the circumstances that life throws at us. However God is so much bigger than life and His plan for us should bring hope and even excitement in the possibilities. This week I have been thinking a lot about what my future looks like, this is a time when I am forced to think about what needs to happen for the year to come. Right now it all seems so unclear, I know that Romania is somewhere in my future however beyond that all plans seem like a blur. It starts to scare me because I feel that I should have some sort of life plan, like I should have a bigger goal set before me. Should I be going back to school? If so to do what? Should I be satisfied in the job that I have or should I be striving for something better? I always seem to find myself wanting more. I was thinking the other day how ridiculous it really is to be constantly asking God to give me this or that, to let this happen or not. Why would I desire something other than what God's will for my life is? Why do I think that these things will fulfill me? The only true and perfect things come from Him. He knows far more than I do what I need, His plan for me is far greater than even I could imagine? So why do I worry? Why do I feel like I have to have control over future plans? Human nature I guess. I guess my new years resolution could be to put that in the hands of the Father and instead of getting frustrated and overwhelmed, to get excited in what God has in store for me, to be content in saying "Oh the possibilites of life!!"