Shell to Alaska and back again!

Edison enjoying his outing!

We finished the semester with giving the kids tests to see their comprehension and my kids all passed! We also had a Christmas party with all the kids and also got to draw names and take a kid out for a special day. I got to take Edison who is an 11-year old who is deaf. We went to the pool and went and got pizza and ice cream then played games at the house.  It was cool being able to connect even though we couldn’t understand each other half the time. We both had a blast!

Celebrating Christmas with my family in Girdwood, Alaska!

Cross-country skiing with my parents!

Going home for Christmas was such a huge blessing! It was great being able to go home and spend time with family and friends and enjoy the snowy outdoor recreation that Alaska has to offer! Some of my favorite time home was going crosscountry skiing with my parents in -8 degree weather.

My Agape tribe (discipleship group) from Alaska
came to the airport, giving me the
best welcome home ever!

After a fabulous time spent at home with family and friends for the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ, I returned to Ecuador and was able to spend New Years with the kids at Casa de Fe, making Pizza and having a huge bonfire where we burned the "old man", which is an Ecuadorian tradition for New Years. All the kids had so much fun!

My beautiful Greis is dearly missed.

One of my second grade students, Greis, returned to the jungle to live with her father. Even though we all miss her a lot, I am happy that she has a father who loves her and is able to take care of her. The nurse, Alaina, who was my roommate for the last 5 months also left this week to go work in the States. They both are definitely  leaving a hole here at CDF.

Spending a Sunday afternoon at the pool with
Maria and Wilson from CDF!

Last roommate picture before Alaina went back to the USA 

We are back to the grind of school and all the kids are performing well! Between school and being back on my training schedule for a marathon, life is so busy, but I am loving it!

What God is teaching me:

I am learning to recognize that there is a world in desperate need to hear the gospel. We must not forget the power the gospel has to change peoples lives and the calling on our lives to take it to the nations. Jesus says, “feed my sheep”.

The day is going to come when God asks us to go and do things that we don’t want to do, but we must go and do!

What God wants of us is what we want in our lives.. whatever cost He expects of us we will pay that price, in His time, not ours.  It’s His ministry, not ours. It’s the need out there, not ours, it is His purpose, not ours!

In our fallenness, we are in the prison of our thinking but when Christ comes, He frees us from this prison. He takes our weaknesses and uses them to show His power.

He asked Peter to go places where he didn’t want to go, I know that God will ask me to go places I don’t want to go, but I will go with Him because it is the place of perfect peace.. His time is perfect and His will is marvelous. We must marvel at God’s promise and His claim upon us!