I have a blog? I have a blog!

How many times have you written the words "It's been a long time since I last wrote" in your diary as a kid or in your journal?  

As I was going through a storage shed we have at my in-laws a while back when visiting the US, my husband and I found ourselves in our corners of the shed with piles of boxes, reminiscing through the years; childhood, homecomings, old letters, pictures, toys and all kinds of incredible treasures that are literally falling to sheds in our hands, but the memories they contain are worthless!  Among the many treasures that only hold value to me, were many journals.  Some written only a few pages, some full to the brim, other even haven pages torn out. 

 Possibly having the feeling that even the little lock I had on it, really wasn't safe enough to guard everything safely inside the little pink diary with horses on it. Could those be the super duper secret things that I didn't want my mom to find out??  Ha! Come on, don't even act like you never did that! What really hits home to me is the fact that I would even write it down in the first place, if I still had intentions to not leave it there.  

Write it down!

Over the years, I've become much more intentional in journaling.  Not only do I feel a sense of accomplishment when I write that final sentence in that final page but it's so much more, it's therapeutical.  There is something about writing it down on paper, even if it doesn't stay there, it's getting the thought from up here in my mind to down here on paper.  There is a process that takes place when we write our thoughts on paper, it's slower than just speaking, it's taking one word at a time, allowing our letters to catch up to our thoughts and that's when we get into the world of thought, putting our whole being into the process; from mind to paper, using our brain, our eyes, our body, our posture, our surroundings to formulate the words that are so deep inside.  

Isaiah 8:16 "Write down all these things I am going to do, says the Lord, and seal them up for the future.  Entrust them to some godly man to pass on down to godly men of future generations."

Yes, it's therapeutical, it's a great hobby, it can even be fun, but how incredible it is to know that maybe, perhaps what we write today, might serve to help someone in the future!  The Lord told many to write it down, it's incredible to know that we have the very words of God today because men took time to WRITE them down! Some of the most valued pieces of treasure I have today are things written down from my grandparents, notes from parents, love letters from my husband, handwritten letters from my children for different occasions. 

I've become very proficient on keeping personal journals and I've found that it's in the days I don't want to write that I need to write, because it's what get's my thought onto paper, it's a way of digging deep and even seeing what the Lord is dealing with me about. However, as far as this blog is concerned, well.... Here I am, remembering that I even have a blog, ha!

So here's to all of us beginning again, let the words of the Lord ring clear in our thoughts as we pick up that pen... Write them down!

-Leah

Big shoes to fill

One of the reasons I fell in love with Joil was his love for adventure and his ability to go on a whim!  Our early days consisted of hiking the 14,000 ft Andes mountains near our home when we had downtime and traveling on canoes and trecking through the Amazon when we were working. 

Adventure is part of our DNA but it is also part of our passion.  I love the way adventure plays into the call, into missions, and into life when we allow it. 

In January, after spending a week in the Andes mountains for a ministry event, we had the opportunity to do some hiking in our beloved BIG mountains, it was like taking the family to an amusement park, but better, mountains and rivers, and adventure at every turn! 

On the way home, after having hiked up to Cotopaxi base camp (a 19,347-foot active volcano) we were talking about how grateful we were for the opportunity to live and be able to explore such a beautiful country.  The conversation grew to name all the blessings in our lives and how amazing God truly is! 

It wasn't long after that conversation that our kids starting talking about what they could do for missions and talking about how they could help others reach the hard places for the gospel. 

Drew, our oldest son mentioned right away that he felt that God was telling him to climb these mountains for Speed The Light. If he could get people to support his vision and raise money for STL, then he would do it!

Six months later, one mountain turned into five and well, he has raised a lot of money for STL! 

After relentless training, praying and preparing, along with his dad, have summited the first two of the five volcanoes.  Pasochoa at 13,779 feet and Rumiñahi at 15,488 feet.  Tomorrow, they take on Corazon 15,715 feet (this one wasn't planned, but why not one more, right?).  Then next week, the two "Big Daddies" Ilinizas at 17,218 and Cotopaxi at 19,347 ft! 

Be careful what you ask for.

It's amazing how comfortable you can become in your craziness, you know what I mean?! Like most busy moms out there, I too find my days full to the brim.  Between homeschooling our four children, (1st, 3rd, 7th and 8th grade) taking care of household duties, finances, cooking, not to count 'outside the home' duties as director of a girls home to over 40 young girls, Pastor's wife, ministry team, etc... there isn't much more time in the day!

However, for the last year, something has been pulling at my heart strings... I want to do more! 

Have you ever had a hunger for something but just can't get the satisfaction from anything you eat?  If you have ever been pregnant you might know very well what I am talking about but I have to admit, it happens sometimes even when I am not!  You grab the leftover cake, eat half of it and then realize what you really want is something salty, so you grab the first salty bag of chips, eat the whole bag just to realize you want fruit but then you are too full to eat anything else and just get frustrated that you wasted all those calories and you still aren't satisfied.  

I think that pretty much sums up some of the feelings we can get when we aren't allowing God to use us to our fullest potential.
John 13:7 Jesus replied, "You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand."

Sometimes we just don't understand what God is doing, why do we feel this way, what is the reason?  Sometimes we just need to trust Him when we say "God, use me."

This has been my prayer this year, "God, use me."  But that comes with a big fear factor. You've heard it before, be careful what you ask for!  The easy part is saying "God, use me."  The hard part comes when he does!

And that is just what he has done.

Growing up, my dad used to tell me the best way to overcome my fears were to face them.  I remember that became my motto and I probably did way to many dangerous things with that in mind.  Like diving off cliffs into lakes where my stomach literally brushed the tops of the trees, bungie jumping, skydiving, repelling, all in the name of facing my fear.  I wanted to overcome my fear of heights and so I tested it to the limits. (However, I still get some butterflies when I am too close to a window on the 10th floor of a building).

I believe when you trust God completely with your life, it is a lot like facing your fears, because let's be honest, the only reason most of us don't trust God 100% is because we are afraid. Afraid of what it will cost us, how it will make us feel, afraid of becoming something we aren't so sure we will be comfortable being, etc...

What is it you need to be asking God for?  What is it you are afraid of?  Are you being used to your fullest for Him?

This past year has been so much fun (and fearful at times) to see the doors the Lord has opened in my personal life as well as in our ministry.  I've been able to do some pretty amazing things like take several trips into the deep jungle to minister, become part of the leadership team for the youth at our church to help meet a need (not something I went to school for, ha!) do baptisms, baby dedications, funerals, and many other things that honestly I would have never of done, if it wasn't for three little words that I have been praying this year... God, use me!

it's funny the way the Lord works, the word says in 2 Cor 8:12 "For if the willingness is there, the gift is acceptable according to what one has, not according to what one does not have."

God is looking for a willing heart to pour into.

So what about you?  What are your heart strings being pulled at?  It's a pretty amazing journey to be used by God, but I warn you, be careful what you ask for!

Love what you do...Do what you love!

Two trips in two weeks, it's gotta be love!

 Just a couple weeks ago, I took a trip with three other ladies to three villages.  This week was down a different river, another group of ladies and a whole new place.  Susana Gomez is a missionary from Argentina that has been working with us for six years now and has been doing a wonderful job!  She started working in the village of Achuntza several years ago and just recently finished their church building.  Eleven of us went out on this mission this week and it was a jammed packed adventure!

Day one was a bus ride to the end of the road and to the port where we waited on three canoes to get us down river, several hours later and we were in the village of Achuntza where we were welcomed by this wonderful village! After a service, dinner and fellowship that evening we set up hammocks every which way we could get them hung in the church and fell fast asleep!
Day two was amazing, 6:00am service with the church, kids program at the school, volleyball with the women of the village (they killed us, lol), leadership workshop, several home visits including a baby dedication, First Aid workshop with the women in the church, church service and dinner!  That night we were settling in for another rainy night.
Day three woke us with flash flooding, the rivers were extremely high and chances of getting out were slim.  After several hours we were given a small clearing and were able to pack into two canoes and head back up river to port.  We even got to see a river dolphin on that very crazy rainy canoe ride!

It was a quick trip, lots a sweat, mud, rain and more rain but what I can't get away from is the fact that the people in the villages are so desperate for someone to show up, the harvest is plentiful but the workers are few.  If we don't go, who will?

Here are some of the sights and sounds I brought back with me from this trip, hope you enjoy!

Watch Video Here

"The spirit of Christ is the spirit of missions.  The nearer we get to Him, the more intensely missionary we become." - H Martyn

When your heart leads.

I just returned for a trip into the "Jungle".  Although we live in the jungle, when we say we are going on a trip to the jungle, that means deep.  Past the end of the road, past the grocery stores, the comforts of running water and chocolate (yeah, I'm kind of chocolate junkie)!
I have to say that for me, the night before any trip to the jungle is like the night before Christmas for a child.  The expectancy, the joy, the hope, all wrapped up in a butterfly in my stomach!

What made this trip so different and exciting (and now that I'm back I'll confess... a little nervous as well) was the fact that it was the first time I would be taking a trip with just ladies.  We were a team of four, two of my heroes, Bertha and Amanda who are leaders in our national missions team, my sister in law Katie McDonald and myself.  We were quite the team and we were pumped!
It was going to be a quick trip, only three days but we were on a mission!  Our main goal was to support our local missions team in their evangelistic outreaches, visit our church plants and visit some new ones as well!  We were able to spend our days visiting with the beautiful people, pray for the sick,  encourage the weak, teach and preach.  We ate more grub worms than you'd care to know, drank chicha, enjoyed some fresh coconut juice and boiled peanuts from the jungle earth!
The dug out canoe was hard, the mosquitos mean, the rain fierce but I wouldn't trade it for the world.

When your heart leads, you follow!  And when your heart beats to the rhythm of missions, you go, no matter the cost!

In His Hands,
-Leah


To watch a little video recap of our trip, click link below:
VIDEO: TAKE ME WHERE MY HEART LEADS