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The year before that was full of activities with my hospital projects–securing sponsorships, getting the kids’ (with cancer) needs met, etc. Lots of production work there, as well as a lot of instability at home–which contributed to the balance, ha.

My “years” seem to start somewhere near the end of the actual year date, if that makes any sense–like, September, October. That’s when everything seems to kick in. So, as this cycle turned, it became apparent how the Lord was leading me and my not so little family.

We went through so many ups and downs, oh wow. I could write so much on that…but I think, for the sake of this blog, we’ll leave out the negative. Then the Lord did some miraculous things which could have only happened thru complete, Divine Intervention. These were changes of heart, of lifestyle, of the dedication of individuals and requiring me to yield even when it seemed impossible to my nature. And although we’re not nearly in the “perfect” spiritual state, we’ve come a long way in a year, and you can tell by the happiness we’re experiencing as a family.

The latest exciting thing is that the Lord has opened up the doors for a brand new prison ministry. This has been a dream of mine–not so much the prison itself as the actual work we are doing, through art. Going back to the topic of years in a life, it seemed that in each one of mine, the Lord was trying to say to me that destinies had a lot to do with the experiences and choices one made. And the way He is in constant control (for our own happiness) of our lives and surrounds us with people whom He knows will play important roles in our future, giving us experiences that will take us even further than we have dreamed before–that is so interesting.

The current Prison ministry is detailed and very challenging. But, exciting as life for the Lord always is. More and more, I see the intense Spiritual Warfare, the necessity of staying close to the Lord and following His guidance, the wisdom of His Love, and the Power of Prayer. I know this all sounds a bit vague at the moment, but I’ve been so delinquent on this blog that there’s too much to tell. I will though, as thinking back what’s ensued only puts my mind more at ease. So many stories!!!

…His Plan is perfect, and there certainly is “A Time For Every Purpose under Heaven”.

Upon checking in, the flight attendants told me there were no front seats. I had requested a front seat so I could have more leg space plus it makes it easier when nursing etc, and I had also requested to be seated next to a lady…………..you can imagine why.

Believe it or not I was seated next to a dignified looking lady from Spain of all places. (Which is also where I am from). She was such an angel of a lady, and we began a conversation right away. I was able to give her an Activated mag and find out more about her and her family. She told me that every time she flies she gets terrible earaches that are quite unbearable for her, especially during the landing. Since we had just been talking about God and how much He wants to be a part of our lives, I offered to pray for her just before we started landing. Her ears had already started hurting, but we prayed together in full faith and then carried on our conversation. As we got off the plane, we exchanged addresses and she then told me that the pain in her ears had completely disappeared and she had felt no pain from then onwards. I felt encouraged that day – seeing two answers to prayer.. One, having met ‘that special person’, and two, the answer to prayer for her ears! I love putting God to the test, because more and more I realize that He never fails to answer in the way that is best for us.

Penelope invited me to an event at the French embassy to schmooze and see if we could meet people who would be interested in sponsoring our work. I’m not good at talking to snooty French strangers, but I wanted to be supportive so I went along. Towards the end of the event I was standing alone off to a side and this man approached me and we started chatting. I got his card and gave him my number before heading on home. Honestly though, I didn’t want to call him back because he had been flirting with me and I didn’t want to come across as accepting his advances. What was I going to say, “Hi, I’m that half-your-age girl you met and I have something I want to tell you”? Don’t laugh. Obviously I had absolutely no experience in Follow Up.

Well, Penelope definitely had the faith to call him so we ended up meeting him together at his office. It wasn’t nearly as awkward as I expected it to be, and when the subject of her life-long dream of visiting Cuba, he knew just the person to make it happen… and it did!! Several times now! So I learned the lesson to have the guts to call any and everyone because you never know which one is the Lord’s sheep and what He can do through/ with them.

Right now we are understaffed by 5 people; Dani, Sunshine, David, Laura, and Phoebe who have all gone up to a hillstation to attend a 3 week training camp. They all left with stars in their eyes and high spirits – they were especially excited to be meeting up with many other young people from all over India and even some from other countries. At this camp they will get training in both the spiritual and vocational aspects of our work. Speaking of training programs, I am doing a similar one which requires that you complete a four month online course first and then you get to attend the 3 week training seminar. This program covers topics such as; leadership, PR, worth ethic, etc. I have found it very helpful so far, except I am a bit behind………due to having a little break at the hospital with the baby and then at home. Well, I hope to finish it in time – keep your fingers crossed for me.

My husband and I are in Monterrey en route to Mar de Plata, Argentina. He’s helping out with the graphics for some local Activated products that had been backlogged for a few months and I have been able to enjoy this transition time to just focus on my baby. I’m totally spoiled!!

For the first time EVER there’s a camp for my age happening in my country! There is a ton of reading material that is a pre-requisite for attending, so if I haven’t been posting much it’s because I have been READING. And reading and reading some more. The articles are all so great that I want to go back and re-read them, but there’s so much to read if I go too slow I’ll fall behind. It’s such a cool feeling to be overwhelmed by good stuff instead of stress. Thank you Lord!

Completely crippled. Which can either be depressing or an excuse to find other things in life to do. Like gardening, exercising, and immersing myself in spending quality time with people. –Going out, dancing again…cleaning house…it’s really quite refreshing.

Most of all, I’ve benefitted from being able to spend more time with the Love of My life …and He’s put me at ease about a lot of concerns I had with not making my deadlines, getting to my work, or operating on the highs that I get from accomplishments, etc. It’s hard to switch gears and realize that when physical work isn’t getting done at the speed you’d like, then spiritual things like prayer and a positive attitude can actually bring faster results.

But they can, and they do, so I’ve learned in these last couple of weeks. Living life isn’t about meeting deadlines and making the salary cut. It’s about laughter, love, and the warmth that comes from a thankful heart…it’s about waking up every morning and being grateful for the ability to breathe.

So…I’m thankful that it was just my computer that died.

So the passion dulled after the doctor had to break the water bag to speed up the labor and I was in the throes of real, heavy, labor kind of stuff. I had to go on a drip too, but lest this sounds like a real horror story let me tell you all the wonderful things about it too.

1) The doctor and Esther (my breathing coach) were both there for my delivery. Had the baby come one day later, that wouldn’t have been possible. An answer to prayer!

2) The labor was considerably shorter than the last – another answer to prayer that was, ahem..very dear to my heart.

3) Vin, Esther, Joy, and Laura all attended the birth – another miracle as here they don’t usually let people into the delivery room, and if they do it’s maybe one person.

4) I had beautiful music playing throughout the labor and was even able to sleep inbetween contractions and hear a joke or two from my companions.

5) I had a beautiful healthy 4.1kg baby, which is the most important miracle!

Here are some photos. Whaddayall think about the name ‘Alonso’. (someone told me that there is a famous car racer with the same name and it kind of ruined it for me….yes, so I am a little behind the times when it comes to car racers etc.)