Esin

Bolivia...in 6 days..

Well dear friends and faithful readers..I leave the country in six days. A lot of you have asked if I'll be able to communicate or update while I'm gone and, to be honest, I have no idea. I know I'll have access to internet cafes but I have no idea how frequently. My plan at this point is to post identical blogs here and on facebook. As time permits, I'll answer personal emails and such. As for snail mail/postcards, I've been told the mail system in Bolivia is pretty unreliable so I probably won't be writing any real mail (or receiving any). If I can post pictures, I will but I imagine it will be easier to post them on facebook than here so if you're not my friend, get an account and add me before next Tuesday.

I crave your prayers as I head into this last week home and begin my two months abroad. I have no idea what to expect but I just desperately want the Lord to teach me and change me as he needs to.

If any of you want more details (such as my flight itinerary), email me at gwen1025ATgmailDOTcom. (would rather not post that on the internet but several of you have asked so I'd be happy to email it to you).

I'm sure I'll blog again before I leave as nervous energy overcomes me in the middle of the night and I have nothing better to do ;-).

Send a toy to Bolivia!

I leave in less than 3 weeks!

One of the things we've been asked to do is bring toys or other items that can be given to kids or used while we're in Bolivia. I went out today and bought a bunch of random fun stuff: bouncy balls, stuffed animals, little cars and bubbles. An idea hit me as I was wandering the aisles of the dollar store and wal-mart...several of you have told me that you wanted to support me financially but didn't have the means to do so (which I totally understand, having been in that position myself many times). Most of us usually have a dollar or two lying around though so if any of you want to still do something tangible in support of my trip, how about donating a dollar to send a toy to Bolivia?
I wouldn't be making any sort of profit...any contributions would just serve to cover the cost of the toys and would give you the joy of knowing that some little kid in South America has something entertaining to play with.

If you're interested, just find me in person or stick a dollar in an envelope and mail it to me (email me at gwen1025ATgmailDOTcom for my address)

week in review

It's been pretty busy but I'm finally getting around to updating this blog (I'm afraid it kind of gets neglected for facebook these days...)

It's been a good week...started out pretty rough but has ended up being nice (my time is all off..by "week", I'm referring more to about last Wed.-now)

As you saw by my previous two posts, I had a rather upsetting situation that has been dealt with and resolved for the most part. I'm feeling so much better about it and life and the Lord has been wonderful to me. I now have a lot of peace about the issue and I have been blessed by countless emails from my amazingly godly friends that have been hugely encouraging.

Unfortunately, right on the heels of that incident, I came down with a stomach bug and spent last Friday throwing up all day. It took me about 3 days before I could get real food down but thankfully I'm completely back to normal now.

Gabe and Mandy got here from Colorado on Wednesday so they could see Mom graduate last night. She just received her Associates in Health Information Management from Greenville Tech and we're all really proud of her. She's ridiculously smart. We had a cookout at home last night before heading to the BiLo center for her graduation. Here's the kids and mom all decked out in her bling.

Today we've just been hanging out. Dad's had to work but we met him for lunch at Trio downtown then Mom and the 3 of us kids went back downtown and got ice cream and hung out in the park. It's been a gorgeous day!

Gabe and Mandy fly back to Colorado tomorrow so please pray for their safety.

Then it's back to normal life for the rest of us. And I leave the country in about 27 days so there's quite a bit to get done before then.

bebo

God, my God, I cry out
Your beloved needs You now
God, be near, calm my fear
And take my doubt

Your kindness is what pulls me up
Your love is all that draws me in

I will lift my eyes to the Maker
Of the mountains I can’t climb
I will lift my eyes to the Calmer
Of the oceans raging wild
I will lift my eyes to the Healer
Of the hurt I hold inside
I will lift my eyes, lift my eyes to You

God, my God, let Mercy sing
Her melody over me
God, right here all I bring
Is all of me

‘Cause You are and You were and You will be forever
The Lover I need to save me
‘Cause You fashioned the earth and You hold it together, God
So hold me now

***

today is better.