Praying for Life

I read the following articles on CNN World today:

12 Nepali Hostages Killed (Iraq)

9 People Killed in Suicide Bombings (Russia)

16 People Killed in Bus Explosions (Israel)

I counted the losses of those three incidents and found 37 people killed and 144 injured. It just makes me really sad for those people, both the ones who were killed, the ones who did the killing, and those left behind to deal with the repercussions. Please pray that these people would encounter the God who gives life, not the one who demands death.

As life rolls by

Well, another Monday has started another week. My weekend was a good experience, I think; I went to visit Lance, and he is doing well. Obviously, he is still healing and has a way to go, but he looked good, he was awake and coherent (mostly), and he even got up to walk around a couple of times. I saw him briefly Friday night and spent part of Saturday with him. Kirstin was kind enough to drive me to Ft. Worth and provide all my transportation to and from the hospital. (She got to see her boyfriend, so I think she didn't mind too much!) She and Nick (above-mentioned boyfriend) came with me Saturday to visit Lance and stayed for about an hour; Lance's mom went home for a while to shower and practice the organ for church, and Kirstin and Nick went to have lunch. I stayed with Lance till about 6 that evening. He slept most of the afternoon, which I'm sure was good for him, and I got to take a nap myself. My mom came by the hospital to see Lance and to say goodbye to me, since she's leaving for Malaysia tonight. (Tear...) Kirstin came to get me around 6:00, and we headed home. I probably won't see Lance for a while, so it was good to have that time with him as a friend. Please continue to pray for God's will in both of our lives...things are up in the air at the moment. But I know the Lord has good plans and is working out amazing things, if we could only see them. I am determined to trust, even when I can't understand.

Sunday was a great day; I got to lead worship for our Sunday school class on my guitar, which I love doing. I ate lunch with Christina and Cole, and we talked some afterwards. (Christina went on a very interesting date later that day; if you know her, you'll have to ask about it!) Several of us also went out to eat at (my favorite) Chicken Express, and that was a fun time. A friend of mine from Malaysia is actually going to a college here in town, and he came to eat with us; that was great, since I hadn't seen him in a couple of months.

And of course, today, Monday, was a good day, despite Mondays' reputations. I think the Lord's teaching me a lot about trust and about looking to the future with hope and excitment about his plans for me. He is definitely a faithful God; I would be so lost without him!! He is too good for words in all he's given me...and even in the things I don't understand yet, I know he is being good! So I eagerly and expectantly wait to see his good and hope-filled future for me...as life rolls by.

Wonderful news

The Lord gave such a blessing today: Lance received a kidney. He called me at noon today to let me know, and his surgery ended up being around 9:30 PM. I just got word that it is over and that all went well. He and I had talked about me coming up to see him this evening before his surgery, but when the surgery got moved up to earlier than expected, we decided I'd just come visit him this weekend. But it was a blessing to talk with him briefly on the phone before he went to the hospital. I have a friend who will go up with me tomorrow to see him, and I can stay with her; three other friends sat down with me this evening to pray for Lance specifically as he went into surgery, and that was a beautiful gift. I'm just so full of thanks to God in the amazing ways he is working out and revealing his plans for Lance, and for me. I pray he'll continue to guide us. Please pray for Lance as he heals, too; his journey isn't over yet! Thanks to all of you who have prayed. If you want to leave a word to encourage Lance, please feel free to in the comments section or to e-mail them to me; I will be happy to pass on any messages.

Thanks be to an amzing and faithful God!

The Other Side of Something

Well, today was my first day back in school! Actually, I really
enjoyed it. I had four classes today: a PE class that I only had to stay
ten minutes for, a choir class from 12-12:50, a computer class from 1-2:15, and a communications class from 6-8:45 (altho we got let out fifteen minutes early for this one!). So far my professors all seem great; my computer teacher is actually an MK who grew up in Asia, too! So that was neat to discover. I especially loved being back in my choir class; my director is great!

My room is also finally getting organized, and I'm having a blast
with my friends. But there are also a couple of things that are hard
to deal with right now, specifically a pretty drastic change in a relationship that was very special to me. I titled this "The Other Side of Something," after another the title of Sara Grove's newest album, and because it seemed very appropriate. There are a lot of new beginnings I will be making, some
good, some bad, some I don't understand yet. So, in a way, I'm on the
other side of "something." I'm not sure what, and I'm not sure exactly what this "other side" is yet. But as Sara Grove writes in her song "The
One Thing I Know:"

This is the one thing I know
You said You won't let me go; You said You
won't let me go
You've done a good work in me
And You won't quit till I'm free

...I can finally understand the way you work in me
But even if I didn't
You are still a Sovereign God
Who has a plan for me

It's good to know you'll work with hurt and broken souls...

Another beautiful song by Rachel Lampa called "The Art" says:

I may never know why I should just let go
But do I really want a God I can understand?
Still I close my eyes and try to reason why
But since when does my desire dominate the plan?

...I know there's an art to starting over again
And I know that God will never waste the pain
You can only try so hard to right a wrong...

And when the silence is deafening
Hold on tight, you're gonna cry
But there's always a reason why
It comes down to the art of living on.

And, of course, the best place to go for comfort or wisdom at the beginning of new things:

"I will come and do for you all the good things I have promised, and I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you," says the Lord. "They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope...If you look for me in earnest, you will find me..."
--Isaiah 29: 10a-11, 13

So as a new year begins, and I'm on the other side of "something," I'm going to hold on tight...for I know, I just know somehow, God has a beautiful plan on this other side.

Compelled

This is an awesome song I found on Sara Grove's new album; it's such a beautiful picture of a heart in love with God and who has a heart for his mission. There are so many of God's children who are dying all over the world without ever getting to know the hope we have. I pray we could all be like the person in this song:

Esther--By Sarah Groves

I have a picture of Esther and David
She is a young bride and he is a soldier
They didn't know then that David was dying
They couldn't have children

Alone with a life time, Africa called
She went for the first time; it grew in her heart
All of the children, so many children...

Now Esther has 2.4 million children
She writes and asks us to pray for them all

She's compelled, she's compelled, by what she's seen
And she tells us, she tells us to do anything we can
To help, oh please help, there's so much to do
And I'm just Esther

She visits her homeland, she fights with her words
She comes to the courts of the kings of the earth
Who don't understand their inherited power
To answer her question

Now Esther has 2.4 million children
She writes and asks us to pray for
them all

She's compelled, she's compelled, by what she's
seen
And she tells us, she tells us to do anything we can
To help, oh
please help, there's so much to do

Back to the dorm

It's so wonderful to be back on campus! That may be a rather odd statement, but I feel great being back at school. My dorm room is terrific, and it's wonderful having a room to myself; I think that will help a lot this year. I'm working on making the chaos into something cute! I've already seen several old friends, and it was so good to spend time with them again! God really has been so good in the friends he's blessed me with. I'm so thankful to be back.

That's about all there is to say now--besides the fact I'm extremely tired and will have to hit my bed pretty soon. Have a splendid day!

Lance's Update

Several of you probably got the more detailed e-mail I sent out just a few minutes earlier, but I wanted to update here as well. I didn't hear from Lance Sunday morning, so I assumed the surgery wasn't going to work out. When I called late that afternoon, I learned there had been a delay, and they were still waiting for news. I was able to go to Ft. Worth early evening to be with Lance and his family, and I hadn't been there an hour when Lance got a call from the hospital saying the kidney was a match and that he'd be having a transplant around 3 AM.

Lance, his mom, and I got to the hospital around 8:45 PM and began waiting. Lance did a lot of the registration and pre-op things, and as time went along, all three of his sisters showed up, as well as his dad and one of his brothers-in-law. By 2:30 AM, we had 8 people crammed into Lance's hospital room, all trying to sleep; Lance's dad had even taken a pillow to sleep in the bathtub of the connecting bathroom. His surgery had been moved to 5 AM, so they took him down to the OR around then. The rest of us went to the surgery waiting room and hadn't been there an hour when one of his surgeons came out and said Lance was going to pass on this kidney. The other surgeon who was supposed to perform the surgery was out of town, and because of Lance's complications, it was important that he be there since he was the urologist. The other doctor didn't feel comfortable attempting it alone. So Lance would not be getting a transplant that evening.

Though disappointed, we all dealt with it well; Lance probably dealt with it the best of us all. He is now at the top of the list for a kidney, and once the his surgeon gets back on Sunday, he could be called in any day. He'll probably have his transplant in the next couple of weeks, possibly during my first week of school, so please be praying for him. I will update as I get news.

As for me, I will be heading to move into my dorm shortly. My mom and I drive down tomorrow, and I can move in on Thursday. My school starts on Monday, and I am actually looking forward to it. I can't wait to see friends and be back in the campus life! I will also really enjoy having my own dorm room, so that will be great. I will update this once I get settled in my dorm and let you know how things go. Thanks for keeping up with me and for all your prayers. Much love to each of you!

Lance and me in Fall/Winter of '03 

Drivers licenses and kidney transplants

I'm sorry to have taken so long to post another notice; the last week has been hectic! And most of it has had to do with the two topics listed above.

Driving: Wednesday I had a two hour lesson with a Sears driving instructor; it went well, and he said I was ready to go for my driving test. I took it on Friday and finally got my license, and today my mom and I took a defensive driving course at Sears. It was informative, so that's good, and the 10% cut on insurance helps, too. Plus, there was a 24-year-old guy who sat next to me and hit on me the whole time; not only that, he gave me a piece of paper with his number on it as he left. It was almost amusing. So now I am a fully licensed driver! Woo-hoo!

Kidney transplants: on Tuesday, I went to visit Lance and spend the day with him. Towards the evening, how I was going to get home got messed up, but it turned out ok, because we ended up going to the hospital for Lance to get his blood tested. The hospital had called and said there was a kidney available, and that it would either go to Lance or the man above him on the list, depending on the match or any complications that might pop up. My mom let me stay the evening in Ft. Worth so I could be there to hear what happened; I stayed with Lance until 2 AM when they called, and it turned out the kidney would go to the other man on the list. Lance was ok with that, and so we finally all got to sleep. I had to get up next morning early to catch the DART train home, but it was worth it to be with Lance as he waited to hear if he would be getting a transplant.

The second part of the "kidney saga" just occurred a few minutes ago; Lance called and said there's another possibility of a kidney transplant. They have a kidney, and it will go to him or one of three people on the list above him. The other three have less of a chance of being a match for the kidney, so it looks like Lance might have the best chance of them all. He won't know till early tomorrow morning, so if you read this before Sunday morning, please be praying for him! I hope I will get to see him before the transplant, but I don't know. I will update when we hear more news.

That's about all I have at the moment; I will come back to give updates as I get them about Lance, and I'll write more about my upcoming plans for next week soon. Love to you all!!

Georgia On My Mind

Hey! I've just gotten back from my week's trip to Georgia with my mom. It was a fantastic trip and a really good time to be with family. We stayed with my mom's parents (thus, my grandparents) and so had a lot of time to spend with them. My uncle lives nearby and so we saw him on most days as well. It was a good time to really get to know my grandparents even more, since our lifestyle has made family-times scarcer than we might like. It's interesting, too, to relate to them as a young , not just a little grandkid running around the house. The trip was really a blessed time for me, in which I felt God taught me a lot by just having me sit back some. Life in the small town of Georgia where my grandparents live is very slow--the big event of the day is usually the Braves game on Turner South that evening. Needless to say, the world of missions and travel is a very different one; my life has been much broader and busier. I've come to see, though, that there is nothing necessarily "better" about my life than one lived in the same small town for years and years. I saw a different kind of lifestyle, a slower and simpler lifestyle. Yet they are not "slow" or "simple" people that live these lives; many are good, strong, solid people who quietly live their beliefs from day to day. I have come to realize that the life my uncle lives, taking care of my grandparents' needs day after day, have led to many many sacrifices that he has made willingly and lovingly for years. I see in him a greater example of the humility and self-sacrifice of Christ than I have in many missionaries who have left country and home to follow God's call. I do not at all belittle the sacrifices of missionaries--my family and I have made many of our own--but I saw in my uncle, though many might say he's never amounted to "much," a greatness I wish I might someday posess.

So yes, our time in Georgia was a blessed time, and one of much learning and observing in my own life. I am glad to be back in Texas, though, and to begin to settle out the last couple of weeks before school starts.

I have more I would like to say about a book I've just read for the first time that is one of the most beautiful and moving books I've ever read. But perhaps I'll save that for another post....