My Heart is Full

God is so good to me and His Spirit is moving here in Casa Bernabe. One of His greatest blessings to me in the last few weeks here has been the morning prayer time we have every weekday at 7:30am. We come together to intercede for the children and teens here, to lift one another up to Jesus and to give glory and praise to God for all that He is doing. During these time of prayer and petition the Holy Spirit's presence with us has been so tangible, especially this morning. I felt Him stir my soul to praise Him and to fight for my boys who have been told so many lies. Every day they struggle with feelings of loneliness and a lack of self-worth; every day the devil tries to convince them that they are not worthy of love, that no one will ever really love them. The prayer of my heart today and for the rest of my time here is that the truth of God's love will shine through me into their lives, that when they look at me they wouldn't see the broken woman I am but only the presence of Jesus in my life. We serve an incredible God who is all-powerful, who is able and willing to fill the void in our hearts, to renew us and transform us into the image of His Son. Through the blood of the Son we can approach the throne of grace with confidence, that though we are broken and sinful, healing is truly possible in Jesus. I am so grateful for His invasion of my life, for His powerful reminder to me today that He truly is enough for me, no matter what the future brings. Whether or not I get into grad school, whether or not the things I've wanted for so long ever come to fruition, He is enough for me. More than enough. He is more than enough to heal the wounds on my heart and on the hearts of my boys. Please join me in interceding for them before the throne of God. May all the glory, honor and praise be to our God forever and ever.

God is Doing Big Things!

Last night we had a full staff meeting. Now, staff meetings by their nature are not always particularly arresting, usually full of details and notes to take. Well there were plenty of details and notes to take last night. But it was also incredibly challenging and encouraging, full of exhortation and testimony about the vision that God has placed in the hearts of the staff here for this place. This was partially spurred by a documentary we watched entitled "Reparando", directed by Scott Owen Moore, which takes a very honest look at poverty and crime in Guatemala, how this came to be, and how God is calling people here who have grown up in horrible situations and is using them to show His love and glory. If you have the opportunity to watch this documentary, I would encourage you to do so. Here is the trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vIkkxVZh3_o We watched the whole thing, causing our staff meeting to go a bit late, but we wanted to screen it before possibly showing it to some of the older kids here so we would be prepared to answer their questions and reactions. Some of the kids here understand what it's like to live on the streets, others who have grown up here since they were infants have less understanding of the world outside Casa Bernabe. We want all of them to understand what it is to be blessed; we want to understand this ourselves. We want them to recognize the power of God to change lives and hearts and how they can live joyfully in Christ without fear. We want to be a part of the process of God teaching them how to love. It doesn't matter how awesome our school is here and how much knowledge we give them if we aren't actively demonstrating the love of Christ to them. As always, there is a great deal of spiritual warfare going on here. Satan desires to prey on the insecurities and wounds of these children to make them believe that they are not worthy of God's love. Please, please pray that these lies would have no place here and that mighty victories would be achieved here through the love of Jesus.

To God be the Glory.

Emily

New Year, New Challenges, New Blessings

Hello!

I realize that it has been a long time since I have written here, and for that I am sorry. One of my New Year's resolutions is to write an entry for this blog every week. It may not always be long or beautifully written, but I think it's important for me to at least be posting prayer requests and praises about the goings-on here at Casa Bernabe. God is always doing so much here, and that deserves testimony. I just arrived back here at CB from spending the holidays with my family, which was really wonderful and relaxing. I also got to spend a lot of time with friends baking cookies, having dance parties, drinking coffee, bridesmaid dress hunting and a variety of other fantastic things. My last Sunday at church I was able to share a little bit of what God's been teaching me and what I did as a part of the ministry here at Casa Bernabe. Throughout this vacation I received so much encouragement - an incredible blessing! Now that I'm back I'm looking forward to settling in and figuring out a new routine here. The next 4 months that I will be here will be a bit different than the first 3. First of all, I'm moving into my new house this afternoon, Casa Nueva Esperanza, or House of New Hope which is home to boys ages 9-12. I will be working as the apoyo (support or helper) and as an English teacher in the school. While switching into this house will undoubtedly be a new challenge, I've already been really encouraged by the house parents, who have both been very welcoming and eager to communicate. Please pray that we continue to communicate well and that we will be able to build a successful partnership that brings glory to God and provides the boys with the most love and wisdom possible. Please pray also for wisdom and creativity as I talk with the school principal this week about how we are going to schedule my English classes and the form they will take. The overwhelming theme of my time serving here in Casa Bernabe has been the faithfulness of God in all situations. He is awesome and powerful and He has a purpose for this place and for me being here. Surely "it is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in man. It is better to take refuge in the Lord than to trust in princes" Psalm 118:8-9. Amen!

Trusting in His Love,

Emily