Come

There are some phrases that we hear over and over again. "Please." "Thank you." "How are you doing?" Recently, in the past few months there is a new phrase that I do not go a day without hearing. "Come Didi." I hear this statement first thing in the morning, during every break between classes, during playtime and study time, before dinner, after dinner, and the small time in between. These beautiful children are always longing for my presence. I will admit that I'm not the only one. They are also very big fans of Season Didi and Donnabelle Didi, but being the resident "Didi" I hear it a little more often. It feels like their need for attention and love is never satisfied.
God loves me so much that He made sure He sent me to a village that has a coffee shop. I frequent there whenever I get a chance. EVERY time I am there I am greeted by the same young lady who is in her early twenties. She loves to talk with me even though she speaks very little English. When I am sitting reading a book, she will just come near sitting, smiling, saying a few words - always appearing delicate and fragile. Even when I am with someone, she makes sure to become a part of the conversation with a smile and nod. Going to the coffee shop to be alone is out of the question. She is there. She told me recently that I am her very best friend. I am very independent person. I have never been a huge fan of the clingy type. She recently told me, "I have life problem. I have one friend. So lonely. Can you help me? Tell me. What is my life problem?" What a shame it would have been if I had been too busy for her, to give her answers.
Incontestably, I am not the Son of God, but during His three years of ministry He too could rarely be found alone. People were always flocking to Him in hoards. People who needed answers, acknowledgment, and affirmation. Why? He was the living presence of God on this earth. In His company these things were found. When Jesus left He told them that it was best that He left because the Comforter, the Holy Spirit would come. We need not be distraught when people cling to us. We need not turn them away because they may inconvenience us. They are trying to cling to His presence living in you. The world is hungry for Him. My job as His ambassador is to constantly be holding a traffic sign pointing up to Him when people come looking for something only He can provide. We should not be discouraged or even annoyed by the need of those surrounding us. Do we grow tired and weary? Undoubtedly - that is why He promises that His strength is sufficient.

Eventful

To say that the last few weeks has been eventful, is the understatement of the century. There is an old saying, "When it rains, it pours." How true it is. How true it is. I will not begin to regurgitate the trials and tribulations that have been encountered over the last few weeks. Instead, I will tell you of His wonderful, glorious grace and power. For, my dear readers, when the trials rain down so does His provision and mercy. There is not a single battle or a solitary war that He is ill equipped to win. I have seen the Lord heal the wounded. One of our parents was given a 40% survival rate while undergoing an emergency operation to deliver her baby 6 weeks early. She was suffering from a pancreatic condition that was life threatening and could only be treated if she delivered her child. Her little girl was born weighing 4.4 lbs while being six weeks premature! God was preparing this child for early delivery in the womb! Both are home and smiling today (just two weeks later). Some may account this to the wonders of medical science. I attribute it to a God who can work even through a donkey, our God who is intimate with the inner workings of man, He who has the power to heal any ailment. I have seen the Lord restore what was lost. Something very dear to me escaped my grasp this week, but the Lord returned it in perfect condition. The Lord gives strength and wisdom when we have none. I beheld this first hand. While our parents were away, I was blessed with the daunting task of caring for eleven children. For almost eight years, this has been done daily in a classroom - but, to be a parent, a teacher, a nurse, and a playmate..... I commend every parent on the face of the planet who cares, protects, and loves their children as parents should. Your assignment is rigorous, but full of the sweet pleasures that only a caretaker can know. I have seen Him use His people to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. Through His church I have witnessed His hands going forth to war for and provide a beautiful life for those who cannot care for themselves. That God chooses to move through us is indeed prodigious, staggering. The list goes on and on, but I want to take a moment to thank each individual who has been praying for me and for the work that God is doing in India. Intercessory prayer works. I know that my life has been spared, that my heart and body has been able to endure, that my mind can find peace, and that mountains have been moved because of your prayers. THANK YOU! Remember fellow warriors, everything you need - He is.

And the prayer of faith shall save the sick, and the Lord shall raise him up; and if he have committed sins, they shall be forgiven him. Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much. Elias was a man subject to like passions as we are, and he prayed earnestly that it might not rain: and it rained not on the earth by the space of three years and six months.

James 5: 15-17