2 Precious Children

I took Vengee and James to the Long Beach Aquarium and we had such a blast! I was a little nervous to take both of them by myself but they were so good! They were so funny when they saw all of the fish and the divers. Vengee fell in love with one of them. When we left to go home she told me that she missed him. The kids had a blast touching the sharks and the sting rays. Vengee was a little hesitant at first but she touched them with 2 fingers with my help. As James would say the sharks are slippy. I love these kids so much and I can't even imagine my life without them! They are such a blessing and yet they have no concept of the impact they have on others. Here are some pictures from our fun-filled day!

The Big Question

What am I going to do with my life? I have been trying to figure that out for a while, even more after I returned from Liberia. My heart and my mind have been torn. My heart has always wanted to start a non profit that is focused on the basic Public Health needs (water, hygiene, sanitation, etc.). But then my mind comes in and I know that it’s going to be a lot of work and I am not business minded. I have been job searching for a couple months because I want to use my education and I want to make a difference in the lives of people who are overlooked…but nothing has fallen into place. The urge to start a non profit has been on my mind more now than ever. You're probably thinking what’s holding me back? To be totally honest I’m afraid of failing and also starting something like this will be overwhelming to start on my own. But then I think to myself if I tried it I can never look back and think what if. Please pray for guidance and direction as this is something that I have always wanted to do, but I want to make sure that this is what the Lord wants me to do.

Reflection of 2008

Things that impacted me:

- Going to Africa by myself for 5 weeks and coming back a changed person
- Having James and Vengee in our family
- Working full time and going through Grad school at the same time
- While I was in Liberia realizing that every decision you make whether it be a good decision or bad decision it affects other people.

Happiest moments:

- Being in Africa
- Experience the “firsts” with the kids
- Spending time with loved ones

Biggest regrets:

- Being too busy to enjoy my life
- Not letting my guard down
- Not protecting my heart

Surprises:

- Finishing school early
- The additions to our family (James, Vengee and Bryson)
- Going skydiving
- Deciding to coach high school softball

Blessings from God:

- Fulfilling a dream of going to Africa
- The friendships that blossomed from my trip
- A change of heart towards those who are less fortunate

Hopes for 2009:

- Continue to grow as a woman of God
- Start the non-profit
- Inspire someone to step out of their comfort zone
- Trust God with every aspect of my life

Peace

Lately I have been thinking a lot about 2 children that stole my heart while I was in Liberia. Patience the little girl who lived in the village where the project was and Charles (one of James' best friend) who lived at Old Road. They have been on my mind and I find myself wondering how they are doing. When Maria was here I told her how I want to adopt Charles so she better keep him until I come to get him. I worry about Patience living where she does with the disease and malnutrition. My heart is broken for these children and I don't know what to do about it.
I often wonder why my heart was allowed to be connected to these two children. They are no different than the other thousands of children that were in Liberia...but for some reason I think about them constantly. I hope and pray that some way, some how God will give me peace about these two precious children.

How Big is God?

God is doing some pretty awesome things in Liberia. The Crusade is still on for March 26, 27 & 28th. If you are interested in sponsoring a Liberian to be able to go to the Crusade the seats are $10 and you can buy them on Ebay - http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MESELX:IT&item=150317409367.

Below is a video about the Crusade. Please be praying for those who are traveling over to Liberia and for the people of Liberia. If you have any questions email or call me.




Check out the Crusade's webpage http://www.howbigisgod.org

She Understood What I Said...

I wanted to post an email that I received from Andrea. This email literally brought me to tears:

Bre,
I just had to share with you that Josie and I were looking through some pictures last night and we seen the one of you and her together. I asked her if she remembered when you came to the Children's home and she said yes and smiled. I asked her if she remembered anything that you told her and she said yes the you told her that her mommy was coming to get her and that her mommy and her would be together and go to America. I asked her if it made her happy and she said yes. I just thought that I would share that she remembered you and that she remembered what you said. Thank you, you may not have known it at the time, but you gave a little girl some hope at a time that may have seemed pretty hopeless to her.

As I read this I remembered back to when Andrea and I would talk over IM and before the end of our conversations she would always ask me to do three things for her - to pray over Josephine, to give Josephine hugs for Andrea and tell Josephine how much her mommy, daddy and brothers love her and they are coming to get her and take her back to America. So when I would go to the Children's home I would do just what Andrea asked me to do. During the time Josephine and I spent together one on one when I would talk to her I never was quite sure if she understood what I was saying or even if she was listening. The only time she would talk is when we were playing with the other children but when it was just us two she never spoke a word. When I heard from Andrea that she understood what I told her I knew that this very well could have been one of the reasons the Lord sent me to Liberia, to be the messenger to two adoptive mom's who were waiting to hear about their children. I may never really know the exact reason I was chosen to go over to Liberia and experience what I did but I thank God everyday that he allowed me to experience what I did.

Maria is coming to Orange County!

Maria will be visiting Orange County from November 10-12th. She will be speaking at Calvery at Capo and she will also be in Orange on Wednesday night. If you are interested please email me and I can give you more information! You don't want to miss this!