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