Hola! We are having a wonderful time in Nieva, truly experiencing God's grace, and are enjoying being with Heidy and Andres very, very much! The culture and the people here are beautiful. They have servant hearts and a sparkle in their eyes. I remember a song I heard years ago by Sandy Patti...."Love in every language....Straight from the heart....pulls us all together...." Oh if only I could sing it to you!
So... aside from losing my my phone yesterday... all is well. Heidy and Andres were taking pictures in a park... like the picture above. Heidy handed me back the phone, we got into a taxi, we went to the office to make reservations for Pete to come home...Heidy asked for the phone while we were there... uh-oh...no phone.
I am reading a book... Life Interrupted by Pricillla Shirer. It gives me perspective on losing my phone... an interruption we would of liked to avoid. I think the way Pete and I handled this stress was/is a testament to Heidy and Andres. It is ok... not preferred, but nothing to get mad about, or blame... or shame. Somehow they thought it was their fault the phone was gone. We got to assure them they were not responsible... I was, and even if they were... no big deal in the grand scheme of things. Pete's take... grace, grace, grace to me... My take... I didn't lose our passports so all is well!
Yesterday we got to see downtown Neiva. Our interpreter spent the day with us. She is a gift. We went to the adoption office to make plans for Pete to come home, to the airline office to make reservations, lost my phone, got in yet another taxi and retraced our steps, went shopping for Heidy and Andres... clothes, shoes.... etc... fun! And then... a delightful evening... That was all the stuff one could see...
But this morning I am reminded...
Life is much more about the unseen!
In the unseen God was/is preparing a place for us...
(And you too in your journey...literally and figuratively!)
We made a call yesterday morning to a Dr. ( Connie) here in Neiva..
Our interpreter talked to Connie on the phone and told her that our friend, of a freind, of a friend... of Missys "introduced" us to Missy back in May. Missy encouraged us to call her..
Back in May -
My friend Diane
Introduced me to Connie
Who "introduced" us to her friend
Who "introduced" us to Missy
Who introduced us to Connie!!!
God's people are everywhere! And here is where the miracle continues....
Our interpreter made a call to Connie and said something in spanish like....
I am an interpretor for Debbie and Peter... they are friends, of friends etc... of Missy's. Missy encouraged us to call you!"
( Have I mentioned that we have never met Missy? !)
Connie was laughing so much last night. She said on her end she received a call from a number she did not know... and the person on the other end was talking about friends of freinds etc... and she was not sure where this was going until she heard Missy's name! Then it all clicked for her....!
As only the Lord can orchestrate... Connie travels all over Colombia for the God is Love ministry clinics. She has been in Neiva only a few days on this visit, and last night was her last night here...
Connie and her friend came to pick us up last night. They treated us and our interpreter to a wonderful dinner and wonderful sharing. It was amazing because I got to tell her that months and months ago... I was crying with Diane... ( My 1st friend of friends noted above...) I was telling Diane God was calling us to adopt Heidy and Andres, but we had NO idea how we could possibly afford this call.
I remember a very poignant moment when it seemed as if God was speaking through Diane... she said that He would provide and we were called to move forward! And here we were... with Connie... a friend, of a friend of a friend of Diane's...!!! I hope that makes sense... for us... it is amazing testament of the unseen plans that God is making on our ( and yours too...) behalf...
Today is our last full day in Neiva. Heidy and Andres are excited to go go Bogta, but a bit sad too. I am sure I will never totally grasp the emotions they must be feeling as they transition out of the only life they have ever known... into a hope and a future prepared for them by the Lord.
Where will we stay in Bogota?
Missy invited us back in May to stay in a missionaly house in Tenjo, about an hour or so out of Bogota.
I had e-mailed Missy 2 weeks ago when we found out we were coming to Colombia, but she had never received our e-mails. Missy actually lives in Texas , but her father is the founder of the ministrty CDA...
in Spanish that stands for ... God is Love! She has been in contact with the staff at Tenjo and is telling us there a driver will meet us at the airport tomorrow.
A few days ago I was feeling... gosh .... I think almost ashamed because I thought I was "presuming" that God would meet our needs. I sure don't want to take His provisions for granted.
Today... I am feeling... gosh... I think ashamed again...because I was thought I was presuming and not trusting. I am learning these are 2 very different things. I don't quite have words for it yet... but I am thinking there is deep heart lesson in this for me and our family.
We have long wondered and hoped that this journey of faith would be a blessing to others.
As it turns out, our interpreter ( Sarani) was sharing a medical need with Connie last night. Connie is stepping in to help Sarani. Sarani needs a last exam and then surgery as soon as possible. It is not life threatening... I don't think... but very painful and very expensive. We are THRILLED that God led us to Connie and Connie to Sarani... God's people are everywhere!!
After dinner last night we got to Skype!! We got to Skype the boys and Olivia, Pete's parents and his sister and her family!!!! The children were SO excited to see each other. Olivia was crying... I though she was crying because she missed Pete and me... But noooo.... she was crying because she was so happy to see Andres and Heidy!!
We are longing to Skype Rachel and Emily...
We are in contact with them briefly on text and e-mail.... and we maybe able to Skype Rachel this evening!
Lastly, as we shared our journey with Connie last night, she said God's story for our family is giving her hope for His provision for a clinic CDA ( The God is Love ministry) is being called to start in Neiva.
The current clinic is very, very small. There are many people in Neiva who need medical care. The new clinic will serve 25,000 people. The need is great. She was tender as she shared her heart for the people in Neiva, and her hope and trust for God's provision.
Today...
Hmmmm.... I don't know...
Maybe find my phone? We are praying!
Some legal stuff....
Then...
Back to the store for a bathing suit for Heidy, and a sweatshirt for Andres.
Maybe some last day things Heidy and Andres want to do...
( They say there isn't really anything special they want to do... I think they are beginning to transition and are ready to move forward...)
Definitely ice cream!!!
No comments:
Post a Comment