Monday, November 30, 2009

Looking up to see those around us.


This is a story from my devotional book “Voices of the Faithful” with Beth Moore. I was so touched by this womans courage. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.


Looking up to see those around us
“Behold, I say to you, lift up your eyes and look on the fields, that they are white for harvest.” John 4:35

Throughout the Gospels are accounts of Jesus weeping and being moved to compassion as He saw the multitudes. He also encouraged His disciples to lift up their eyes and see. I know why now.

It was a hot summer afternoon at a Mexico beach and we were celebrating the 10th birthday of one of our daughters. We had been missionaries for only six months when the unthinkable happened. My husband, oldest daughter, and two young summer missionaries were caught in a strong undertow and drowned.

As I knelt beside the bodies, my mind was filled with a thousand thoughts. How would I tell our families about this tragedy? What would become of our ministry in Mexico? How would I raise my other children without my husband? As my head was bowed, I was occupied with real concerns.

Then I lifted my eyes. Many people had gathered around us. I knew that my loss was great, but I knew that the loss of these around me was even greater. Mine was temporary; theirs was eternal.

I said, “This is my husband, daughter, and friends. They are now in the presences of their Lord and Savior. What if you were the ones of the sand? Do you know where your soul would be?”

In the town Playa Linda there was not a church, but there is now. It is filled with many who were on the beach that day. If we only take the time to lift up our eyes and see, the outcome of a trial could have miraculous results!
-Gloria, Middle America and the Caribbean

Father, Thank you for eternal life. Thank you for peace that you give in the midst of difficulties. May I never take my eyes off You. Help me to see the needs of the lost today. Amen.

How many times have you taken a walk and the whole time been looking down at your dirty old tennis shoes? And then all of the sudden you realize that you have been looking down and you raise your head to see the most beautiful sunset, or a pond covered with blooming lily pads. It’s like you were seeing the world around you and black and white and now you are seeing it in all its’ glorious color.

Let’s not miss out on the opportunity to help someone find eternal life. Or miss out of see this beautiful world our God created for us! Let’s look up and see that the harvest is white and ready!

Lifting my eyes up,
Brittany

Sunday, November 15, 2009

Photos on my facebook...

Here is a link where anyone can go and see the pictures of the beach we made.
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=121236&id=512117367&l=487024dc14

Some times you just need a day at the beach...

When life get's to be more than we can handle what do most of us do? We re-treat to a place were we find peace and comfort, for some of you this may not be the beach but, for my roommate Melissa this is were she feels most at home.

So this week Melissa experienced culture shock at its finest, or should I say at it's worst. Melissa has been here for me when I was going through cultural shock and missing home the most. She always found a way to pull me out of my pit and help me to find joy in the little things. So, I wanted to return the favor. Oh did I mention that Melissa moved here from Hawaii, I guess that would be why she loves the beach so much ;)!

So how do you turn your back yard in peru into a beach? First, you need friend who is willing to help you with your crazy idea. I have some amazing friends here, one of my friends is Laura. I could not have pulled this little stunt of without Laura's help! Okay so the beach doesn't exists without the ocean, right? We decided that a baby pool was the best we were going to find, so we made our list and headed to Walmart (aka Plaza Vea). We managed to find a pool, snorkel mask and snorkel and a few other little things.

When we arrived back at the house and told our family what we were going to do, they loved the idea and wanted to help in anyway. So we set up our beach, complete with an ocean, big umbrella, colorful towel, sunglasses, good book and a few snacks. Now, the real task, getting Melissa to come home. My Mom (here that is) said "just call her and tell her I'm sick and she needs to come home now". So, of course I did as my mom said and called her. When Melissa arrived home she had big tears in her eyes, but when we reassured her that our Mom was fine and showed her the beach, her tears of sadness turned to tears of joy!

Melissa, Laura and I spent the evening laying on the beach talking about life! What a perfect evening, well almost it would have been perfect if we had Smores' ;).

I'm grateful for the many friends and families God has given to me. May you also find joy this week in being with your friends and family......were ever you may be! Live, Laugh and most of all Love!!

Monday, November 9, 2009

15 Minutes of Fame....

Last Tuesday I had to speak in class for 10-15 minutes about my family, sadly there wasn't enought time to talk about my whole family. So this is as far as I got, hope you all enjoy reading Spanish ;)

Tengo 3 hermanos, 1 hermano y 2 hermanas. Mi hermano y hermana primeros son medios hermanos y lo que son mucho mayores que yo. Mi hermano está casado y vive en Kansas. Tiene 3 hijos, su primogénito es Alexis. Ella tiene los ojos azules más hermosos y el pelo rubio y rizado. Ella tendra 4 anos en diciembre. Su segunda hija es Emma Jean. Emma tiene el mismo segundo nombre que mi mamá, lo que hace a mi madre muy orgullosa. Emma cumplió 3 años en agosto. Emma siempre se mete en problemas, ella es en realidad parecida a mí. Y luego está Brant, el único hijo de mi hermano. Brant nació en mayo, así que no tiene ni siquiera 1 año de edad todavía. No tiene pelo en este momento, pero tiene la mas bella sonrisa.

Mi hermana mayor también está casado y vive en Kansas. Ella tiene 3 hijos. Mi sobrino mayor tiene 6 años de edad y nació 2 días antes de mi cumpleaños 13. Su nombre es Joshua. Tiene el pelo castaño y grandes ojos marrones. Me encanta y lo extraño mucho. Nos encanta jugar al fútbol americano e ir a la piscina en verano. Él está aprendiendo Karate y, a veces iba a tratar de enseñar me, pero yo estaba muy mal. Olivia tendra 4 en diciembre, que es sólo 6 días más que Alexis. Olivia tiene el pelo rubio y ojos azules. Le encantar cantar y bailar, ella también es una reina del drama mayor. Y luego está Molly, tiene el pelo rizado de color marrón con ojos azules. Molly tendra 1 ano en diciembre. Ella está aprendiendo a caminar, y su hermano y hermana tratan de ayudarla.

Mi hermana Tanya es no cosada, pero ella vive en Kansas tambien. Tanya es mi mejor amigo en el mundo entero. Ella está a sólo 2 años más y luego yo. Ella está en la universidad estudiando para ser ingeniero. Ella puede cantar y tocar el piano maravillosamente. Creo que ella ha estado tocando desde que tenía 7 años de edad.Tanya y yo la gustan ir al cine e ir de compras al centro comercial. Yo extrano de menos los tiempos en que se reía tan fuerte nuestro lado haría daño.

In English: I have 3 siblings, 1 brother and 2 sisters. My brother and first sister are half siblings and so they are much older than me. My brother is married and lives in Kansas. He has 3 children, his first born is Alexis. She has the most beautiful blue eyes and blond curly hair. She will be 4 in December. His second is Emma Jean. Emma has the same middle name as my mom, which makes my mom very proud. Emma turned 3 in August. Emma is always getting in trouble, she is actually a lot like me. And then there is Brant, my brother's only son. Brant was born in May, so he isn't even 1 year old yet. He has no hair right now, but he has the cutest smile.

My oldest sister is also married and lives in Kansas. She has 3 kids. My oldest nepew is 6 years old and was born 2 days before my 13th birthday. His name is Joshua. He has brown hair and big brown eyes. I love and miss him so much. We love to play football and go to the swimming pool in the summer. He is learning Karate and sometimes he would try to teach me, but I was really bad. Olivia will be 4 in December, she is only 6 days older than Alexis. Olivia has blonde hair and blue eyes. She loves to sing and dance, she is also a major drama queen. And then there is Molly, she has brown curly hair with bright blue eyes. Molly will be turning 1 in december. She is just learning to walk, and her brother and sister love to try and help her.

My sister Tanya is not marriend, but does live in Kansas also. Tanya is my best friend in the whole world. She is only 2 years older then me. She is in college studying to be an engineer. She can sing and play the piano beautifully. I think she has been playing since she was 7 years old. Tanya and I enjoy going to movies and shopping at the mall. I miss the times when we would laugh so hard our sides would hurt.

I hope all is going well with each of you and that you too are learning new things......even its not Spanish ;). Love and Thanks!!! In His Service, Bre (my new Spanish name)