Almost Home

Wow, gone 3 months and now 3 days till I go home. Very excited about seeing my family and sharing all that God has done in these past months. When I left the States I truly believed God was calling me away to spend time in His Presence. He did not disappoint. Learning His intentions for the children of the world has been a revelation of His goodness. Working on the Crisis Care International material has opened my eyes to the traumatized lives of millions of children. Women and children all over the world are in crisis. The enemy of our souls is prowling around seeking whom he can devour, and he is devouring our children. War is not only devastating our present it is destroying the future potential of a generation of children. Who will answer the call to restore a hope and a future for these children. I will. Join me as I am trained to bring hope to the hopeless and a voice to the voiceless. Pray with me, work with me, find out how you can change the life of a child who has lost all hope for their future. Together we can stop this destruction one life at a time, with the guidance of the Holy Spirit and our willingness to follow Jesus.

Milly's info

Her legal name is Mileyda Ibarra. Remember you cannot put her name on a check at all. It will make the check void. Your donation is tax deductible. Because of so many missionaries working in restricted situations there are no online donations unless you decide you want to donate to her monthly, which would be awesome, but if it's a one time donation for her insurance, these are your choices.
1. You can call in a donation to Emily Sinke, who is the person who handles donations.
# 903 509-5307
 Remember they charge for credit cards, 3.5% and that is deducted from the donation so an extra 4% would keep Milly from paying that fee.

2. You can mail a check made out to YWAM Tyler
  Address:
   YWAM Tyler
    PO Box 3000
    Tyler, Texas 75771-3000
Please put a sticky note that gives Mileyda's full name, Mileyda Ibarra,
She is in Italy but the donation site is in Texas, and that is how you are able to receive a tax deductible donation.
God bless you for your willingness to help Milly with her insurance.
Cheryll

Celebrating Children Workshop, Romania

The workshop in Romania was informative and just plain fun. Janna Moats and her team from Loom in Portland, did such a good job of giving valuable information and combining it with creative activities. The days went quickly and every day I kept thinking of how many people could benefit from this important information. Although, the workshop is intended for cross-cultural workers, I could see many applications for parents and caregivers in my small community. I look forward to going home and sharing with people in the community who are active in making Barstow a better place to live.

I began my next training program, Crisis Care International Training. This pilot program is being delivered online for the first time and I'm excited to be part of it. Our team consists of a woman from Northern California, myself, a lady running a children's home in Sri Lanka, and a gentleman from Uganda, that had his computer stolen so don't know if he will get a new computer in time to continue the class. I'm sitting in the airport in Dublin so I'm missing the second class...bummer. I will rejoin the class next weekend. Too zombified to continue with this post..been up for 24hrs except for 2 hours of sleep slumped over in a chair at the airport...ugh.
Ciao

Lost in Translation

FYI, if you decide to travel with your Kindle and use it for email and Facebook, it actually works for those two tasks. If you want to post on your blog, forget it, it doesn't work. Found out the hard way. Romania was amazing and the people hosting the conference were kind and generous. I loved it at the Constanta base. I told myself I wasn't going to mention this because it's sort of tacky, but I find the inner comedian cannot resist telling everyone, ok the two readers I have, about the crap. Apparently, the word for the fish carp, is spelled "crap" in Romanian. The first time I went into a grocery store I was completely baffled by all the "crap" for sale. Crap salad, crap by the pound, grilled crap, and of course, the ever popular, crap eggs. Needless to say I could barely control myself. I did not bother to ask the guy I was with because I guessed the humor of the situation would get lost in translation and he would wonder what kind of terrible person I must be. Two days later, a Romanian friend and I went to a fancy restaurant, and sure enough, you guessed it, there was "crap" on the menu.

"Lumi, I have to ask," pointing to the menu. "What is with the crap?"
She said, It"s a fish."
I immediately realized it was carp, and went on to explain the meaning in English for the word crap. She did think it humorous but again something was definitely lost in translation.
Sorry it still makes me smile. I won't even bother to talk about the workshop I attended. It was life changing...I'll save that for the next blog on a more serious note.
Ciao

Leaving for Romania

Creationism versus Science

Someone on Facebook is trying to debate the argument for creationism versus science. My friend believes that creationist are undermining science education in schools. In my experience students are deficient in science because they can't read and write but that is a whole other discussion. That's not even the real debate. What he's really debating is geological time, 4 billion years, versus the literal translation of the Bible. For me the debate is a non-issue.

Don't get crazy on me, my dear brothers and sister in Christ: here's my logic.
The Bible is not primarily about creation, if it was the chapter would have been longer. The purpose of the Bible, in my opinion, is to teach us how to know God, how to be part of His family through His son Jesus, and how to share that with others. If you haven't read it, I encourage you to find out for yourself.

The discussion I am willing to enter, is how God has changed my life. A life once filled with brokenness and loss was transformed by purpose and love. I'll have that discussion any day. I would tell you that as I study the Bible it reveals who Jesus was, the purpose for His death on the cross, and how He's alive in the world and in my life. I've learned to know God and hear his voice through reading His word.  For those without an understanding of God these words might be met with unbelief or even disdain. How can she be so naïve, so gullible?

Here's How:
I once was lost and now I'm found. My life was crap and now it's abundant, rich in experiences and relationships. I once was blind but now I see...see what? I see that God is true and real and that He is just and powerful. And get this: this powerful God wants to have a relationship with me, and you. The debate isn't about 7 days or 4 billion years. The debate is will you surrender to the God of the Universe, through His son Jesus. That's the debate that's been going on for over 2,000 years, and it's a far more meaningful discussion.
Ciao

 

Ruth from Hawaii, you made my day.

I now have two readers...wahoooo. God has used my son to pay for many of my expenses associated with this training. I'm blessed beyond measure. Even before this whole drama, I knew God was on my side. Psalm 118: 6-7  The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me? The Lord is with me : He is my helper. I will look in triumph on my enemies."
 I'm learning that despite the bumps in the road, God is renewing our mind, teaching us what it means to lean on Him always, and showing us the abundant life, He wants to give us great joy and all that we need to partner with Him in bringing the Kingdom of Heaven to Earth. We just need to surrender, it's that simple. When we forget that lesson and strive with our own strength, we inevitably discover we are not equipped for the task, whatever that may be. Gal. 3:3
    "Are you so foolish? After beginning with the Holy Spirit, are you now trying to attain you goal by human effort? Yes, actually I do that frequently. But I'm getting better, and learning daily that I can't do this in my own effort. I need God every day, every hour, every minute.
Ciao

Is Anybody Out There?

Ok, so I've had one reader, my daughter Rhonda. Or maybe, people read and don't respond. No, that would show up somewhere, I think. When anyone starts a blog, some place in the back of their mind, they believe many people will be entertained and shocked with their views on life. Reality check, no one is listening. I'm a stubborn person who does not quit easily and so I will continue to write, and if Rhonda is my audience, so be it. I love that girl a lot, so she counts enormously. So Rhonda, how is your life?

After the Robbery
Life continues thank God, and so the plastic arrived today via Fed Ex. I have a small amount of cash in my pocket and a credit card...ahhhh, life is almost normal. I also have tremendous faith that God has got my back and that this will all be fine in the end, and if it's not fine, then it's not the end. I'm getting the tattoo soon...just kidding.

Short Term Missions
Don't let my robbery discourage you from joining a short term mission trip. STMs are the only way to truly spend time in the missionaries' world- to experience first-hand what the needs and vision is for the ministry. Now you can pray with understanding. You'll make friendships and see the hands and feet of Jesus played out in the lives of people who work day-in-and-day-out, to spread the gospel and change lives. Hopefully, you'll go home and start to send money back to the ministry knowing how many needs go unmet for lack of money. And yes, you might get robbed, but not likely. Ciao

Welcome to Italy

My ride was confused about my arrival and thought it was 10pm instead of am. I got tired of waiting and after 2 hours went in to get a sandwich and a coffee. That snack cost me about $1600--very expensive snack. I must confess by time I arrived in the office of the Polizcia, I cried like a baby. Thank God for technology. I spoke with my daughters over Skype and phone calls were made, credit cards cancelled and peace restored, at least in my mind. God bless those daughters of mine who jumped into action immediately. At first, I entertained the idea of going home, but after some prayer I felt so strongly that I should press on and do what I came to do. God has me on a journey to be trained in a protocol for caregivers. Training that will equip the caregiver to care for traumatized children more efficiently. The training also helps them learn ways to self-care. There is enormous need to bring restoration not only to the children but to restore the caregivers as well. Working with these children is heartbreaking work that would tax anyone. They need every tool at their disposal. I hope to be part of that equipping process.
Cioa

 

Tonight is my last night in Ireland. I tried to post some pictures I took and to my disappointment my camera's storage program makes it difficult to save the pictures to any other location. It wouldn't even  let me name the file, said I needed administrative access, huh?? That's what I get for buying a camera out of the country. When I get to Italy I'm hoping to find someone who is smarting than me about this "stuff." That could actually be almost anyone, including small children. The weather has been terrible even for Ireland. High winds and loads of rain made picture taking almost impossible. Good thing I came to visit people and not to go sightseeing. Tomorrow I'm off to Italy and the work begins. Looks my time there will be shorter than expected. I'm doing a training program in Romania first of March. Nice little surprise, my sister will be joining me the last week in Feb. She's working in Berlin, Germany the week before. Globe trotting runs in the family.

Did I have a Guinness while in Ireland? Of course I did. It's almost against the law not to stop in a pub..lol. I'll try to post a pic of the cutest little Irish pub if I can get the blasted program to cough it up. Ah hah, apparently you can teach an old dog new tricks. Behold the picture of the pub.

 

Tah tah for now

When you think of Ireland do you envision trees blowing sideways and sleet pounding your car, no neither do I. But, there you have it. Terrible weather but lots of friendly warm people. Hot coffee and an Irish version of fruitcake made the thoughts of bad weather go away. This fruitcake was soaked in good Irish whiskey which made it even better. Went to two churches today and the day went by quickly. We made arroz con pollo in a crockpot. FYI, it doesn't work. Should have been baked in the oven. Very mushy and a little disgusting but edible. Let me back up. Before the main event, Nicole had brought snails from France. Tasty little critters. One more week in the Green.
 

Here in Ireland with the Cammacks and enjoying this beautiful country. People are friendly and it green and cold, with lots of hot coffee and the best scones on the planet. I visited the Dunbrody, a ship that was used to transport immigrants to Canada and America during the potato famine. I crawled into the area under the ship where the steerage passengers spent 50 some days journeying to their new homes. It was miserable and damp and imagining the hardships of the starving desperate people left me feeling sad for their short lives.

Tonight we went to the new home of Rachel and Ben Miller, the Cammack's daughter and her husband. Noel and Heather showed up with baby Jewel. We ate tacos made from the corn tortillas I brought from California. Great food and great fun.

Leaving for Italy Feb. 2. and I'm already somewhat concerned about finances. Turns out for every dollar I spend I only get 60cents in the exchange, ouch. Still have lots of training and lots of work to do but trusting that it will all work out because God's on my side. :) Very excited about the training both in Italy and Romania.

Today was perhaps one of theeee craziest days of my life. I leave in less than 24 hours to begin my trip. Everything should have been finished by today but of course, it was not. Tax appointment today--didn't have all my W2s, signed blank papers and checks--I trust my CPA. Plus I don't have enough money to actually make stealing profitable. Visitors and lots of phone calls that I was actually glad happened but I began to feel like my head wasn't connected to my body. Packed my bags full of art supplies and goodies, only to discover I had left out most of my clothes out of the bag...oops. Repack in the morning because I couldn't possible manage it tonight. Clothes first, and then art supplies second, no make that third, my training materials are second. My suitcases are small so I will need to work harder at reducing bulk and extras. I could take larger suitcases but they difficult to manage and if I need to take the bus to the base, I have to be able to man-handle those bags myself.
See you at the airport.
Ciao

There have been a few epic failures, as with all travel plans, but guessing these will sort themselves out along the way. Drove all the way to LAX to get my new passport retagged for Global Entry, only to discover their computers were down. Drats!!

Tomorrow my good friend Darles is driving  from San Diego to "hang out" and say good-bye. I got an e-mail from my new friends at CCTI hoping to talk and pray tomorrow as well. It's also the day to do my taxes before leaving town. The excitement never ends.

I have to say the last 2 weeks has been exhausting but soon I'll be sitting on a plane with nothing to do but relax, read, and write--heavenly. I had hoped to get some prayers cards out to friends and family but don't know if that will still happen. For those that have a prayer list, I appreciate your prayers and thoughts.

Next post will probably be from an airport. Until then, ciao