When the cold weather comes...
my sock drawer isn't full for long.
my storage trunk is filled with capri's rather than sweaters.
my bed has 3 comforters and flannel sheets to keep us warm at night.
clean undershirts are hard to find because they've all been used recently.
my front hallway closet is covered with coats on the coat rack.
our towels don't dry without help from the dryer due to the humidity.
my cupboard is stocked with hot chocolate.
my morning tea is no longer an option.
any drop of Sunshine is a blessing rather than a nuisance (sp??).
my flannel jammies and warm cozy slippers are ready at the drop of a hat.
the falling leaves remind me of the new life that will come in just a few short months.
Wednesday, April 28, 2010
Monday, April 5, 2010
An AMAZING VIDEO!!
Please take the 4 1/2 minutes to watch this video. I share this because at times we feel alone down here. Doug shared with me that only $5000 has come in to ABWE for Chile relief. That saddens me. I know things are rough all over the world, but there are people who still have no water. We still have needs to meet. We still have Christ´s promises to share. Please continue to pray for Chile and for our brethren in the South!
Saturday, April 3, 2010
Different
So, one of the ladies at church approached our pastor about how she believed that something had changed with me. That I was different with her. Nothing with her has changed, but there are some people here that if you don´t greet them personally then they are offended. Can you imagine having to greet EVERY person BEFORE and AFTER the service! When I see her tomorrow, I will clear things up with her.
However, that got me to thinking, am I different? The last month has been trying at best. Since the earthquake, we´ve been shaken again and again. Normalcy has not returned to our lives here, but will it ever? Since the earthquake, Doug made a trip South to share the gospel with many ravaged by the earthquake. We´ve all been battling with a SEVERE cold/respiratory illness that continues to hang on with cough and some minor congestion after 3 weeks. Doug´s grandfather at the age of 94 is loosing his battle with so many illnesses. We are just waiting for the call to say that he´s past on to heaven.
To top off all of this, Doug has found out that he has cancer of the skin AGAIN!! He´ll be having surgery soon. He plans to run the SANTIAGO MARATHON on the 11th and then he´ll go in for the surgery.
I do feel different! I feel more subdued. I feel more, more caught up in my family. I feel more concerned about my ministry in our home. I wish I could go ¨home¨ to visit with Doug´s family during this difficult time of waiting for Grandpa to pass. I feel like a stranger here sometimes, and I miss worshipping GOD in my own heart language. I feel excited to be here. I feel blessed to have the church family that we do. I feel blessed to be used of God to share His example to not only my children but to those around me here in Chile.
So, yeah, I guess I feel different. I feel conflicted and then I think....
As I mature and grow in life and my relationship with Christ, I do hope there is a difference! I hope and pray that that difference makes an impact in others´ lives. I hope that by being different, God receives the glory!
However, that got me to thinking, am I different? The last month has been trying at best. Since the earthquake, we´ve been shaken again and again. Normalcy has not returned to our lives here, but will it ever? Since the earthquake, Doug made a trip South to share the gospel with many ravaged by the earthquake. We´ve all been battling with a SEVERE cold/respiratory illness that continues to hang on with cough and some minor congestion after 3 weeks. Doug´s grandfather at the age of 94 is loosing his battle with so many illnesses. We are just waiting for the call to say that he´s past on to heaven.
To top off all of this, Doug has found out that he has cancer of the skin AGAIN!! He´ll be having surgery soon. He plans to run the SANTIAGO MARATHON on the 11th and then he´ll go in for the surgery.
I do feel different! I feel more subdued. I feel more, more caught up in my family. I feel more concerned about my ministry in our home. I wish I could go ¨home¨ to visit with Doug´s family during this difficult time of waiting for Grandpa to pass. I feel like a stranger here sometimes, and I miss worshipping GOD in my own heart language. I feel excited to be here. I feel blessed to have the church family that we do. I feel blessed to be used of God to share His example to not only my children but to those around me here in Chile.
So, yeah, I guess I feel different. I feel conflicted and then I think....
As I mature and grow in life and my relationship with Christ, I do hope there is a difference! I hope and pray that that difference makes an impact in others´ lives. I hope that by being different, God receives the glory!
Saturday, March 27, 2010
One month ago today...
One month ago today, we experienced on of the 5 largest earthquakes in the history of earthquake recordings. As I read Proverbs 27 (ESV), this morning I was struck by many of the sayings that are evident in our life here in Chile.
Verse one says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring."
That has held true for many here in Chile following the earthquake! How interesting that it comes in chapter 27 and the earthquake fell on the 27th of the month. (For those of you Bible scholars - Yes, I know that when God wrote the Bible, there were no chapters or verses!)
Verse 6 "Faithful are the wounds of a friend;" I have been so blessed to have my close friend, convict me of my need to continually rely on Christ and not on this earth that only shakes below us, like sinking sand. This friend I mention is in the US, and we talk on a regular basis. However, God has brought a new family with another mission to Chile, and she has been a real encouragement to me and I hope I to her.
Verse 10 "Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend." The friend that I mentioned in the US, has AMAZING parents. They actually went to WalMart and purchased various things that we needed. This verse is a reminder that my "friends" may not always be within the direct circle I think they are.
Verse 10b "Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away." Although I miss my siblings, they couldn't have helped me during the earthquake. My neighbors have been such a blessing, even though none of them have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We hope to be the kind of neighbors to them that are "better...near, than a brother"/relative.
Verse 14 "Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning will be counted as cursing." Living so close to our neighbors this is something we are teaching our children. Living in a city of almost 7 million, certainly changes one's perspective.
Verse 17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." This verse reminds me to continually seek out Christian friendships to encourage me and so that I can encourage others.
None of these applications are necessarily biblical, but they are things that struck me this morning and I just thought I would share and hopefully "sharpen" some of you!
God bless!
Heather
Verse one says, "Do not boast about tomorrow, for you do not know what a day may bring."
That has held true for many here in Chile following the earthquake! How interesting that it comes in chapter 27 and the earthquake fell on the 27th of the month. (For those of you Bible scholars - Yes, I know that when God wrote the Bible, there were no chapters or verses!)
Verse 6 "Faithful are the wounds of a friend;" I have been so blessed to have my close friend, convict me of my need to continually rely on Christ and not on this earth that only shakes below us, like sinking sand. This friend I mention is in the US, and we talk on a regular basis. However, God has brought a new family with another mission to Chile, and she has been a real encouragement to me and I hope I to her.
Verse 10 "Do not forsake your friend and your father's friend." The friend that I mentioned in the US, has AMAZING parents. They actually went to WalMart and purchased various things that we needed. This verse is a reminder that my "friends" may not always be within the direct circle I think they are.
Verse 10b "Better is a neighbor who is near than a brother who is far away." Although I miss my siblings, they couldn't have helped me during the earthquake. My neighbors have been such a blessing, even though none of them have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We hope to be the kind of neighbors to them that are "better...near, than a brother"/relative.
Verse 14 "Whoever blesses his neighbor with a loud voice, rising early in the morning will be counted as cursing." Living so close to our neighbors this is something we are teaching our children. Living in a city of almost 7 million, certainly changes one's perspective.
Verse 17 "Iron sharpens iron, and one man sharpens another." This verse reminds me to continually seek out Christian friendships to encourage me and so that I can encourage others.
None of these applications are necessarily biblical, but they are things that struck me this morning and I just thought I would share and hopefully "sharpen" some of you!
God bless!
Heather
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Trip to Talca
This is a short letter sent out to our team by Mark Rubin, after he, Doug, Jon Spink, Alejandro Armijo, (All ABWE) and John Niemeyer (BMM), finished up the weekend distributing Shelter Boxes donated to our national mission agency to distribute.
For pictures, because I can't post over 200 of them here, go to our ministry photo website through Shutterfly at http://amundsonanthem.shutterfly.com/ . The password is the country that we live and serve in and it IS case sensitive!
To sum up the trip, we left Saturday morning, stopped by the Talagante
church to pick up things to take down, then made a convoy down to
Talca. Got there and went to our place of base operations, then went
to a storage shed on a vineyard to unload the Shelter Boxes. We had
225 to unload that had come in. Then that night they instructed us on
the distribution of the things in the boxes: 2 tents, 3 sleeping bags,
2 collapsable water jugs, water purifcation tablets, kitchen utensils/place
settings, a small wood cookstove, and a few other items. In addition,
we were able to pass out tracts and verbally share the gospel with the
people that we would distribute the boxes to.On Sunday we went to Pencahue, just west of Talca. There the team
Doug Amundson, Jon Niemeyer and I were on delivered all 12 boxes with the
rest of our team. Then on Monday we went to the small town of Villa
Pratt, just northwest of Talca. There due to several other
complicating factors, our team only delivered 8 boxes. Mind you the
delivery also includes the pitching the 2 tents and explaining the necessary
items, and sometimes clearing a good site for the tents.
For pictures, because I can't post over 200 of them here, go to our ministry photo website through Shutterfly at http://amundsonanthem.shutterfly.com/ . The password is the country that we live and serve in and it IS case sensitive!
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Doug's HOME
PRAISE GOD!!! Doug and Caleb drove onto our street about 30 minutes after the 7.2 hit just South of here. They didn't even really feel it, probably because the car bounces right along.
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