Christmas

Here are a few pictures from our little pre-Christmas gathering. My family members are José (father), Elkin (brother), Omayra (mother), and Mayra (sister). The second picture is of us North Americans singing some of our Christmas songs for everyone.

Our God is an Awesome God!

In my opinion, one sign from God is pretty cool, two signs are
amazing, and anything more than that is nothing short of a miracle. I
am convinced that I have been blessed this week with more miracles
than I can count and I can't thank God enough!

Last Thursday I received an email from the orchestra director at
Morningside College. When I visited as a potential student last year I
was very excited about the string program and faculty there, and made
the decision to attend Morningside after my year with RAD. However,
the email said that the entire string faculty transferred this year to
another university and that since the string program was in bad shape
now, I may do well to consider another institution! What a blow. I
chose Morningside for the faculty there, and now they are all gone.

All day Thursday I worried about what to do next and how I was going
to find a college from so far away. However, that evening we went on a
camping trip/retreat, and God calmed my fears. The message that
evening was about how God calls us and how we have to listen to what
He is saying to discern our paths in life. Perfect, right? It was
during this message that I remembered that only the night before I had
confessed to God that I had not consulted Him enough before joining
RAD. I realized that God was giving me another chance to make a big
decision with His help this time! God continued to speak to my heart
when the pastor read a verse that he said was a promise that God would
help us through hard times. He read Isaiah 41:10, my favorite verse in
the Bible! I was completely in awe at how God had just promised that
if I listen and trust in Him, all would be well.

After our retreat I was journaling all of these events, and in a
prayer I asked God that he would use me to be His messenger just like
He had used the pastor to speak to me. In yet another miracle from
God, this prayer was answered too! Melina told me Saturday that she
had felt disconnected from God and asked for some proof that He was
still out there. This was communicated for her through God speaking in
my life! I truly believe that all the trouble with my college
situation is worth it if it brought her closer to God.

So now I am working on where to spend the next chapter of my life. I
have a few options still but it will be difficult to audition for
scholarships and communicate from so far away. Your prayers cannot be
appreciated more. I know I will be spending a lot of time in prayer,
and I am more aware now than ever of just how powerful prayer can be.

Memories

This first month and a half in Colombia has taught me something: the relationships we have with those who love us are worth more than just about anything.

I think I took it for granted that my family and friends were there and present all those years and now it's hitting me: mom's not here to take care of me anymore. While she's always going to be there for me when she can, the time has passed for me to rely on her. That sacred milestone that we call high school graduation has come and gone and I'm on my own now. The Monday nights spent with my friends may continue in the summers, but they'll never be the same. Likewise high school concerts, lunch conversations, classes, and inside jokes with my classmates are history.

But the thing that surprises me is how much I remember. Certain facial expressions, the color of a friend's favorite shirt, the taste of a favorite meal, the layout and random details of my house... So many seemingly insignificant things are embedded in my mind as if I saw them yesterday. I've found that they keep me sane in this country where everything is new and exotic. When I feel like a stranger in a foreign land all I have to do is remember that I'm not so quiet when surrounded by my own language, or that where I come from blonde hair and t-shirts are fairly common. It's not that I feel superior or that I have to justify and defend every difference, it's just that standing out everywhere one goes is grating on a person. We all want to be accepted and loved for who we are, which brings me back to my first sentence: the relationships we have with people who love us unconditionally are worth more than just about anything. (Anything, that is, besides our relationship with God, but that, you'll note, is a relationship as well!)

So while they last, I urge you to enjoy the moments you have with those who love you. Treasure the shared mealtimes and the long walks on crisp fall evenings. Guard these memories and store them in your heart, for they go a long way in preserving your soul when times get tough and you're a stranger in a foreign land.