This Painting was painted by a group from YWAM that were sharing a house with us. These girls were in the original earthquake and told us how things changed around them. After spending a couple of days with them, they moved to India, so we shared encouragement and sympathies of sharing each others previous countries. I wanted to share this picture, to show you their hearts and what they experienced! Please pray for YWAM Las Vegas, as they are in India now loving on sweet orphans!
Before I returned to the race, a friend of mine from home gave me a devotional called Streams in the Dessert by L. B. Cowman, I mentioned it in the last blog! This devotional hits home to right where my heart and spirit is in and either encourages me or whips me into shape in a quick 5 minute read! In leaving India and moving to Nepal, there were many great hesitation, some great excitement, and some inconclusive thoughts of what to even expect on entering this country. One morning, I was sitting in a worship time, as we preparing our hearts, as a squad, along with our Nepali brothers and sisters, to go out and serve those who were affected by the earthquake. I was listening to the worship songs sung by my squad and reading through the May 8th devotion and felt it to be quite accurate to my heart and to what I had been feeling. The part I am going to share is a poem and I don’t know who to give credit to, so I am hoping it is the writing of Cowman, so I am giving someone the credit!
“The road is too rough,” I said;
“It is uphill all the way;
No flowers, but thorns instead;
And the skies overhead are gray.”
But One took my hand at the entrance dim,
And sweet is the road that I walk with Him.
“The cross is too great,” I cried-
“More than the back can bear,
So rough and heavy and wide,
And nobody near to care.”
And One stooped softly and touched my hand ;
“I know. I care. And I understand.”
Then why do we fret and cry;
Cross-bearers all we go:
But the road ends by and by
In the dearest place we know,
And every step in the journey we
May take in the Lord’s own company.
Early in the devotional of that day, it talked about Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego, being thrown into the fire with a great heat, produced specifically to kill them, and it did not stop them…. They were walking around in the furnace…WALKING AROUND!
“ The comfort we have from Christ’s revealed truth is not that it teaches us Freedom from Sorrow but that it teaches us Freedom through Sorrow!
Many speak of how P-Squad has been given much to carry on this World Race, But this is really just LIFE, not super far from the pains I knew before the race! The greatest difference is when I look up through the tears I don’t have my home community nor the comforts of my normal to hide away from, but I do have a new hand picked by God community for this season and that gives me a great hope. Some days none of this makes sense and some days I am so full of joy I want to savor every second of that moment like a sweet truffle from Wiseman House.
From the start of returning back to the race the Lord has called me to keep my eye steady on him when the waves begin to crash in. I am also, realizing the waves that Peter walked through toward Jesus, can look very different each day in our lives. And in Daniel 3:25, they were walking around in the FIRE, a fire thats heat was increased to the point it killed the guards preparing it!! I feel pretty safe, that for our squad the heat has increased and the waves have grown this distract and to dismay us. So, I sit here listening to worship, songs as I write this that tells me All my days, Jesus, I am yours! I know in the Fire and in the Waves HE is walking with me asking me to keep my eyes on HIM!
As I was preparing to post this, my sweet sister and squad mate Stacie Wilson sent out this scripture on our FB page and I think it goes with this well!
John 14:27
” Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
This is my pre-second earthquake blog… I need to process a few more things and I let you in on my feeling of that day and what God is showing me! Please keep praying for us and for the people of Nepal!
Love y’all SO much!
