Overjoyed!

This morning, after my time with the Lord, I felt that I was to visit my daughter's blog, KateRosen.blogspot.com. I was overwhelmed by her beauty and her love for her King. What greater joy could a mom have than to witness her daughter being conformed to the image of Christ? You see, I not only read her blog but I get to witness her behind the scenes. I get to experience the greatness of God as He changes hearts. I have the privilege of witnessing Kate's heart changing....I could list those changes but they are sacred. Just trust me. It's happening and oh God, I give you the glory! Her life is but a testimony to your faithfulness.

I remember when Kate was about 5 years old and I was standing in the kitchen praying to the Lord for a strategy in parenting...now I am seeing the fruit of His faithfulness. What a savior! Thank you Lord for her life and continue to draw her to your side. Fill her with your love and kindness. She is yours.

I love you Kate and treasure you.....and for those reading this post, I have 3 other wonderful children who have captivated my heart as well! I am a blessed woman!

Two Places at Once

I never knew it would be this hard to be away from a place you were at for only 5 weeks. Yet, that's exactly where I find myself.

Mexico came and went faster than I like to admit. Our experience there as a family was beyond words (as you can tell from my lack of blogging)....

So, here we are, at home in Colorado and yet so far from where my heart is. My thoughts take me back to a situation that happened in Vicente Guerrero.

Our family was going to bring a group of orphan children to the beach before leaving to head back to the States. These children were given instructions on what was expected and told that if they weren't cooperating that they would have to return to the orphanage. Steve was in route from being at Rancho de Cristo and hadn't arrived yet so I decided to take the boys to the market before getting Steve and going to the beach. About 30 minutes into our time together, one of the older boys (who I will refer to as Johnny) inflicted pain on one of the younger ones. While I didn't want to send him back to the orphanage, I knew that I had to keep my word for the sake of the other children. Otherwise, they would have all been given a license to be disobedient. So, we headed back to the orphanage but first stopped at our little Casa Blanca. I was buying time. I didn't want to send Johnny back but I felt obligated to keep my word. So, I picked up Steve and before we got in the van, I told him about the situation and said that I didn't want to go through with it but that I didn't know what else to do. He immediately said, "Don't do it". When he said that, I heard "Mercy". Steve began to pray and I knew instantly God was at work.

I asked Johnny to get out of the van. He fully expected to be walking down the path to the orphanage and he was very serious. His eyes were full of tears but his heart was hard. I told him I wanted to talk to him and I asked him if he knew what mercy was. He said "Pardon". I then asked him if he knew what a pardon was. He said "No". So I told him a story about a man who robbed a bank. I paused and asked him what should happen to the robber. I asked if he should go to prison or go free. He answered "prison". So I continued the story about how the robber was caught and brought before the bank owner. The bank owner looked at the robber and said 'You can go free'. I explained that this was mercy and that mercy is when you don't get what you deserve.

I told him that I wanted to give him the gift of mercy. I said that his actions warranted going back to the orphanage but that I wanted to love him by showing him mercy and having him spend the day with our family. He wouldn't look at me but the tears clung to his eyelids as he said "No". I was horrified. I began to plead with him to come and let him know that we loved him and desired to be with him. He was steadfast. Immoveable. He wasn't going to come. My heart raced within me because of the fear of further pain being caused to this child. Even though his actions warranted a form of discipline, I couldn't bear the thought of being the one to add another layer to his already hardened heart.

As I stood there trying to convince him to come, I reasoned that he wouldn't move and so I knew what I had to do. I handed the car keys to Steve and said, "You go on to the beach. If Johnny isn't going to come with us then I will go to his house with him. Johnny, I will sacrifice my day at the beach to be with you. I want to go to the beach but I want to be with you more." For the first time, his eyes met mine. He looked stunned as if this were a foreign concept. I said, "Please come with me. Please receive my mercy". The tears that had been waiting to fall now rolled down his cheeks as he threw his arms around me and began to sob. I stood there and wept aloud with him.

There were eleven faces pressed against the window of the van watching as this miracle unfolded. While my word needed to be honored, a greater glory needed to be seen. Mercy had to triumph over Justice. Love had to prevail. The obedience would follow if Love was experienced.

We spend the next four hours laughing and playing in the surf as one particular young man stayed near my side. Anytime anyone tried to push the boundaries of our agreement, Johnny would shout a word of encouragement to them and they would willingly comply. Harmony was the heartbeat of the afternoon.

Later, I took a picture with the boys that I had grown to love over our 5 weeks there but that day something was different. They had become mine. I had savored the full weight of the gospel in our lives and witnessed the power of Love.

As I sit here in the comfort of my home, I wonder what would happen if we would yield to the Spirit more. I wonder what would happen if we would let mercy work in our hearts more. I wonder if more sons would come to glory. I wonder if we would be more effective in our pursuit for the souls of men. I wonder why the miracle of Love has to be confined to Mexico. Could it be that Love can be two places at once?

Brussel Sprouts and Buckets!

So last Thursday night, we went out again to the migrant worker camps and shared the love of God with the people.

Now, before I tell you about this particular evening, I want to explain that there are a lot of migrant worker camps within an hour of this town and every week they go to 2 different migrant worker camps for adult evangelism. The next week they will target 2 other camps and the next week 2 more. The rotation begins over about every 5-6 weeks. Occasionally they will hit the same camp within a few weeks of the last visit but usually it's a fair rotation. Well, our first week here we went to a camp that's called ????? (I don't know how to say it or spell it so I'll call it North of Camalu). At this particular camp, there was a certain woman that I connected with and so I've been hoping to see her again but not expecting too. Also, Anna really hit it off with some of the children and cried all the way back to the orphanage at the end of the night because she had to leave them. The next outreach was at a place called San Francisco and again, Anna had a following!

Well, every week since we arrived, we've been either at one or the other of those two camps each time we've done adult evangelism. It's been crazy but amazing to have the opportunity to build relationships with these people through "sign" language, broken Spanish and love.

So, back to this week....we went back out to North of Camalu, and the woman that I had hoped to reconnect with wasn't there but this other woman was. Now she had watched me very carefully the first time we had gone there and even laughed at me a few times (I'm sure my Spanish is funny), and I was certainly making an impression...however, not a favorable one I was afraid. But this night when I saw her, she stared at me again and then started to watch me as I talked with other women but I was determined not to let her intimidate me. So after about an hour, I began to move her direction. Now this is the setting: there is an oversized lot full of rocks and trash and somewhat of a building that's about 20x20. There are multiple people sitting around the door, including this woman, with barefoot children running about. I began to make my way towards her and stopped about 10 feet away and said "Hola!". She nodded at me but didn't smile or respond with an answer. Then I asked in Spanish how she was doing? She nodded again. I smiled and just turned my body away from her towards the group but didn't leave. After a few minutes she got up, went inside and brought out a 5 gallon bucket, plopped it down on the ground and then backed up while motioning for me to sit down. I did and said "Gracias". A few minutes later she said something to her son, he went inside and came out with the biggest brussel spout I had ever seen. She held it and asked me if I liked them. I said yes and smiled real big (considering that's the first green vegetable I'd seen in a month!) and then she said something else to her son and he disappeared. We began to make small talk due to my limited Spanish vocabulary but had a nice conversation. I progressed slowly with it not wanting to overwhelm her with my type A personality and discovered that she wasn't as hard as I had originally thought. She was very soft under her rough exterior. A few minutes later her son emerged from their "house" with a plastic bag FULL of brussel sprouts and she handed them to me and insisted that I take them. The night continued to unfold, our group fed the migrant workers and then there was a time of ministry and we stayed near each other through the whole time, with me managing to visit with other women in the process. She occasionally gave me a nod of approval and a smile. A little while later she went back to her home and sat in her doorway again and periodically I'd look back her direction and she would nod at me. As the night came to a close, she approached me. She gave me another bag full of brussel sprouts. I tried to decline but she insisted. I learned from her broken English that she gleans these from the fields she works in all day. I was so honored to have received that gift from her. Before the night ended, this woman would end up sharing her food with me, giving me many smiles, a bucket to sit on (multiple times) and several hugs. The sweetest was when we stood side by side as the Gospel was presented.

I'll try to post a picture from that evening. Please keep this woman and her family in your prayers. As I looked into her home I was astounded at how much lack they have (no mattress, chairs, tables, only a pile of clothes and a few pots on a makeshift stove) and yet realized why they can't have anything. They move every few months and possessions are burdensome and yet, they need so much. It seems a contradiction. So her name is Reyna and she has 5 or 6 children, (I can't remember). Pray that the Lord will water the seeds of love that were sown into her heart and that even though her life is spent moving every few months, that she will find her lasting home in Christ.

I have tried to upload a few photos. There's one in there of Stephen and a little boy. Stephen gave this little boy his Crocs because he didn't have shoes. It turns out that this little boy is the son of the woman I spent time with that evening! God must have known that her family needed the extra attention.... God is good! Dios de bueno!

Wonderful Weekend!

Well, while Steve is busy constructing his post regarding Rancho de Christo, I'll post a short summary of our weekend.

It was amazing! First of all, Friday night was spent in the home of "local" Canadians who came here 7 years ago via a miraculous encounter with the Lord. Now they foster 11 children, who lovingly refer to them as "Momma and Poppa". So in addition to their own 3 children, their home is full of life to say the least! We were there for hours, visiting with them and their parents and all the children...

On Saturday, we began the day by doing laundry, which is my favorite pastime here....I know dryers are the next best thing to sliced bread, but I have to admit, I love air dried clothes!...especially the towels. It's like having a large loofa! :) Anyway, after doing laundry, we met up with Remy and Esther (staff at the orphanage) and their daughter Mimi for fish tacos. The big treat was going to their home and having Esther (who is a cook at the orphanage) cook the fish right there and then we all added the toppings and enjoyed a feast! Our time with them was so special. Mimi translated for us as the rest of us spoke with broken language and lots of hand gestures!

Sunday began with the English speaking service in Sala and then we came home and had brussel sprouts for lunch and then prepared snacks to take with us on our afternoon adventure. Remy and Esther met up with us and took us up the dry riverbed about 15 minutes into the mountains to their son-in-laws ranch where we spent the afternoon. We took a walk to the nearby ruins of Mission de Santo Domingo and then spent the rest of the afternoon hanging out underneath a large tree just visiting and enjoying the presence of the Lord.

As we were driving back down the dry riverbed towards Vicente Guerrero, Steve mentioned how beautiful Mexico was....he said he doesn't even see the dirt and the trash anymore. He was commenting on how amazing it is when you open your heart to the people how it changes everything. We were so blessed to have a beautiful weekend....thank you Lord for such a sweet time!

Keep checking back....pictures are to come.....I promise! :)

We can't see you!

Hello Everyone!

Just a quick note to let you know that we CANNOT view your comments from Mexico. There is some sort of a ban on our ability to look at our own blog. We can post but we cannot view! How weird is that? Anyway, we will be able to read your comments in a few weeks but for now, we can't. If you need to reach us please email us at rosenfamily6@yahoo.com and put something in the subject line that will let us know that you're not junk mail! Otherwise if I don't recognize your email address it might accidentally go into the trash! Blessings!

Check back soon....pics to come and a personal blog from Steve!

Update from Mexico!

Hola Amigos!

Well, it's been week since our last post and SO much has happened..... As you saw from our previous post, the schedule around here is crazy but it keeps us out of trouble! :)

We had to say goodbye last Saturday to our dear friends that met us down here for the first week. It was sad seeing them off but at the same time it made the mission field seem a bit more realistic. There are so many people all over the world who do not have the pleasure of seeing friends and family every day. It should be a reminder to keep them in our prayers!

I believe in our last post that Nathan had been sick but he is doing much better. Thank you for your prayers. The rest of us have been fighting off colds but our "larger" bodies seem to handle sickness better than his. Please continue to keep us in your prayers.

Speaking of "larger" bodies...we've all put on a few pounds. The food here is Mexican, of course. So, there's lots of tacos, burritos, rice, beans, etc. I met a woman who is the wife of one of the Bible school staff and she had me over to her house twice this week at 6:30am to teach me how to make homemade tortillas. Oh my! Paper thin and delicioso! I believe, at last count, our family has consumed 4 dozen. Like I said, "larger"!

Speaking of food, a huge need around here is for "fresh"~ salad a few times a week is the only thing fresh and so when you get it, it's an obvious contrast to all the carbs. Occasionally they receive donations of vegetables and it's wonderful when they do. The last big donation from nearby was a load of zucchini. It was wonderful! We had zucchini soup, zucchini casserole and zucchini salad. The big shocker was when they served zucchini casserole (zucchini and onions) with refried beans. Who knew it would be so delicious all wrapped up together in a fresh tortilla? Oh, goodness....I just realized that I haven't had breakfast....that must be why all the talk of food. Sorry.

Have we mentioned how much sand is here? Not just on the ground but in the air? Some days the sand is blowing around so hard you can hardly see the mountains which are only a couple of miles away. They call them brownouts! We've had sand in our nose, eyes, ears, teeth, between our toes, caked in our eyebrows and nicely spread all over the entire surface of our exposed skin. It's really wonderful to be able to save on exfoliants. Just go outside and then rub your face! :) You know it's bad when your boys start saying, "Oh, I can't wait to be clean" and "Doesn't it feel so good to be clean?". Remember, these are boys! Usually we have to fight to get them in the shower. Now they beg for one! We've come to appreciate water in a whole new way!
Now to the other stuff....we were received our "job" assignments this week and we're all excited about what we'll be doing when we're not in the community loving on people.

Kate is working in the Day Care that is on site for the children of migrant workers in the area. It's a ministry of the mission to people who leave their children every day at home alone all day while they go work in the fields for a few dollars. The bus leaves early in the morning and goes around to all of their "houses", picks them up, brings them back here, they are undressed, given a bath while their clothes are being washed, dressed in little clean uniforms, fed breakfast, taught basic things (alphabet, numbers, colors, beginners reading and math), fed lunch, playtime, more schooling, put back into their clothes from home that have been cleaned and then brought home at the end of the day. It's a beautiful program and such a blessing to the community. Kate works there and does whatever they need her to do. She's with the children sometimes, sometimes she's washing dishes, sometimes she's sweeping the floor and straightening up the rooms...however she can serve is what she's there for. She came home one day and talked about how hard the work is in just taking care of children all day! I laughed!

Anna is working in the Cuna (nursery) and is in heaven! This is actually one of the houses that the orphans live in except it's for all those who aren't potty trained. Most of them are 2 and younger. The one little girl that was 3, who's name is Diana, has stolen Anna's heart. She fell in love with her week 1, and just this week Diana was moved to another casa because her time at the Cuna was up! Anna cried. She had really taken to this little girl who's mother died just a few months ago, giving birth to her little brother. The situation is so sad and it's amazing to watch how these children have to transition from their lives before to the orphanage. While you know this is so much better for them physically, the sadness in the eyes of the those who arrive just breaks your heart. They would rather be with Mommy than in a soft bed with guaranteed meals 3 times a day. Home really is a powerful place.

Stephen and Nathan are sticking by their Daddy's side. It's actually a great spiritual lesson. Stephen will say every day, "What's my job today Dad?" Steve answers the same way every day "Stay by my side son, whatever I do, you do". It often reminds me of when Jesus said, "I only do what the Father is doing". So whatever Steve's work assignment is the boys are right there doing the work with him. For little boys who like to play hard they sure are working hard too. It's really beautiful to see. Stephen can fill a wheelbarrow full of sand and lava rock just as good as anyone else. "Thank you Lord for the opportunity to teach our children how to work hard to meet another's need. "

My job is in the upholstery shop. Connie, if you're reading this, I'm laughing with you! :) Actually, my job isn't just to work in the upholstery shop, my job is to run the upholstery shop! I know it doesn't seem very spiritual but a lot of Kingdom work isn't. When Jesus fed people it wasn't very spiritual but it always gave them a deeper look into who He was. Upholstery isn't very deep but when you think about what life in Christ is like, upholstering can be spiritual....when we come to Him we need a complete overhaul. He covers us in His blood and just like that...a new creation! When something in our heart rips, we bring it to Him and He repairs it.

So, when you look at it, I guess it's an important job....especially here in Mexico when you can't afford to go out and buy a new pillow or cushion or chair...you just have to cover it! My first job is to cover an oversized chair. It's amazing how fast you learn how to swim when you're thrown in the water! My only instructions were, "take it apart but pay close attention how you take it apart because that's how you'll put it back together and use the old fabric that you take off is your pattern for your new fabric." So, that's what I'm doing!

Steve has landed a construction job for part of the time here and the rest of it is spent at Rancho de Christo (RdC). He is going to blog about this in another blog but RdC is a powerful place. Just to give you a taste of it, the first time we went there he cried the entire time. His sunglasses had never been so needed!

This week Steve was asked to preach in church so today he ministered in the English speaking service. It's a small congregation as the bulk of the people here are Hispanic but he was happy to do it.

We have been here long enough to feel like we are a part of the FFHM family and it will be hard to say goodbye. We are enjoying every moment here and already looking forward to the next trip!

This post was a more of "what we're doing post"....there are posts about what God is doing here and in us that are forthcoming....pray we get a few minutes in the midst of our days to send the good news home! We'll update again soon and post pictures next time! God bless you all and thank you again for your prayers!

NOTICE!

Dear Friends and Family,

We finally were able to post on our blog but we are UNABLE to view what we have posted so please forgive us if there are any weird configurations or errors....

We've done our best now God's got the rest! :)

Also, if you want to reach us you may do so by commenting on the blog page or emailing us at rosenfamily6@yahoo.com

Check back soon for another post!

We're Here!

Greetings! This post was written days ago but our internet service is sketchy and we weren't able to post....here it is and another post will be coming soon (hopefully).

Hola Amigos!

Well, we made it to Mexico and hit the ground running! Our trip down was spectacular as we enjoyed every mile of God’s creation between Colorado and here.

Sunday morning the 22^nd, we met up with friends and the rest of the team that would be traveling down to Vicente Guerrero. The lead driver was a Godsend as this was his 15^th time to visit FFHM. The only problem we had driving in Mexico was keeping up with Bob!

It was wonderful watching the children’s faces as we drove further and further into the Baja. The scenery was beautiful but the reality of how poor the people here are was sobering. Our encounter with extreme poverty began minutes after crossing the border.

Finally, we arrived Sunday evening around 5:15pm and the first stop was Smoky’s, the taco stand. Oh my! That’s all any of us can say about it….it is by far the best taco any of us have ever had, bar none! Sunday evening service started at 6pm so we quickly licked our paper plates and headed down the long dirt road which would lead us to FFHM. Finally, we had arrived!

The church is like a massive pole barn with tile floor and about 1,000 members. We were given headsets before the service began in order to listen to the translation. It was wonderful worshipping with our Mexican brothers and sisters in Christ!

After service we checked in, had orientation and then made our way to our rooms where we promptly passed out! By the way, the rooms for visitors are dormitory style unless you are here longer than a couple of weeks and then you move to another location on the property. Our home for the next month will be Casa Blanca! It’s a two bedroom house that’s just a little bit bigger than the cabin we lived in. God was preparing us back then for the mission field!

Since arriving, we’ve had a tour of the 72 acres which includes an orphanage, a church, a bible school, a soup kitchen, a 2,800 macadamia nut orchard, a “nut house” where the nuts are packaged to sell, an auto shop, a printing shop, a fire/ambulance department, an upholstery shop, a clinic with a delivery/operating room, a dentist office, a bike shop where they take bike parts and make them into wheel chairs and then distribute freely to handicapped children/adults, a laundry mat, a day care for the community and a beautiful prayer garden laden with fruit trees.

The amazing thing about this place is that 100% of everything they do here at the mission is FREE to anyone in the community. The mission began with one woman having a vision of an orphanage and a bible school in this region of the Baja and then everything else was birthed from visitors coming here and saying “You know, it would be great if you had this…”. Then the founder, Charla Pereau, would say, “Then you should pray about coming here and starting up that ministry”. Today, 43 years later, Foundation For His Ministry is a tremendous blessing to a large portion of the Baja Peninsula.

A typical week day at FFHM looks like this:

Prayer

7:00 am Breakfast in the 300 seat cafeteria begins. You have 15 min. to eat.

7:15 am Clean up for those scheduled/free time for the rest

8:00am Sala begins (mission devotions). Everyone must attend.

9:00am Work duties begin. Everyone has a job everyday.

11:00am Half hour break at the snack shack

1:00pm Lunch break. You get 30 minutes for lunch!

1:30pm Clean up for those scheduled/free time for the rest

2:00pm Continue working/community child evangelism outreach for those scheduled

4:30pm Work day ends/clean up for dinner

5:00pm Dinner with 30 min. to eat

6:00pm Evangelism in the surrounding communities each night except for Wed. night church service

10:00pm Curfew

11:00pm Lights out

Fridays are half days to allow for a trip to town for visitors.

Weekends are free but Sunday am/pm services are mandatory.

After going through orientation on Sunday night;

Monday work was the whole family weeding the Lasagna Garden. It consists of 12 beds that are approximately 3x12 with the weeds 3 ft. high. Steve was very thankful for his gardening job last summer where he learned some weed removal tricks! We all pitched in and Tricks and all, it’s still backbreaking work!

Tuesday, Steve and the boys continued working in the garden. Anna worked in the soup kitchen and was deeply moved by the people in the community who came for natural food and received spiritual food as well. Kate and I worked in the Nut House making strawberry jam. Driscolls Strawberry plant which is 5 miles down the road donated tons of strawberries. In the evening, Steve took the three older children to the evangelism outreach and I stayed behind with Nathan (he’s sick). The outreach went into a migrant worker camp where the Oaxacan people live in cardboard houses and have no running water or electricity. They were there for 3 ½ hours just loving on the people, sharing a video in Spanish and then ministering to whomever. It really impacted Anna. She can’t stop talking about it. She wants to come here for her birthday next year and stay for a month and minister to the migrant workers.

Wednesday, Steve and the boys finished the Lasagna garden before lunch. Kate watched Nathan at home. Anna and I worked at the Nut House making more jam. In the afternoon, Steve took all of the children on the child evangelism outreach and I finished making strawberry jam.

Last nights church service was wonderful. The entire service was given to the bible college students and the theme was world missions. It was so beautiful. The message was given by a man who had grown up here at the orphanage. At the age of eleven, he gave his life to the Lord and felt the call to go to the world to preach the gospel. For eleven years he served with YWAM and ended up going to 10 different nations sharing the love of God. It was a very special evening.

We are very thankful to be here and have all adjusted to this new way of living. From the moment you wake up until you go to sleep you are serving someone. We learned yesterday that the only people around here that are paid for work are the Mexicans. The Americans or Canadians that work here are completely volunteer. When you find out how long most of these people have been here, that’s amazing!

Thank you all for your love and support. We would love to say that we miss you but to be honest, we haven’t had the time! We do think about how wonderful it would be if you all could be here with us enjoying the beautiful body of Christ from the Baja!

We wanted our first post to be an overview so we will follow up on another blog post with thoughts on ministry opportunities we’ve already had! Blessings to you all!

In Christ,

Steve and Kara Rosen

"The will of God is not something you add to your life. It's a course you choose." Elisabeth Elliot

The next month of blogs is going to chronicle for you our experiences on our first mission trip as a family. However, we're not there yet...we're in California waiting for the rest of our group to arrive so that we can cross over into Mexico together. So, before the "mission" actually begins, we want to share with you the journey up until this point.....

It's a very interesting thing to follow the Lord. Most of the time it makes no sense whatsoever....at least to the natural mind. 1 Cor. 1:27 "But God hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty".

Last year we began to sense that we needed to go on a family missions trip. So, the Lord began to stir our hearts where we were and we began going downtown Fort Collins, ministering to the poor. We've gone to Planned Parenthood to pray peacefully against the murder of the unborn. We've brought food to the hungry on the side of the freeway but the urge to go as a family somewhere never left. It seemed that the little things we were doing continued to miss the point. It's hard to get God's perspective on the poor and hungry when after you feed them you go out to a restaurant for dinner. So, the pull to immerse ourselves in an environment that would forever change us grew. We began to consider several places like Cambodia, Nairobi and Haiti. We had contacts in all of these places but none seemed to be the right place. Then in January, there was one particular day when praying about a missions trip and having God's heart when out of the blue Mexico came to mind. So we began to pray about it and it seemed as if this was the place. Why Mexico? We don't know but God does. Mexico has never been on our grid but it seems that it's on God's.

We had a friend who had been to a mission on the Baja Peninsula so we contacted her and found out more information about this place. It was Foundation For His Ministry (ffhm.org). We seemed to know this was the place we were supposed to go to. It wasn't too long before we realized that going for a week wasn't sufficient for us. We didn't want to just go for a few days, do some good, and then come back to our suburban life. We needed to live with these people. We needed to love them like God does. We needed to experience poverty, hunger and despair. We needed to look into the eyes of who we are spiritually apart from Jesus. So, the decision was made to stay for a month. Actually, that's what we felt God say to our hearts after we prayed about how long we should go for.

So, the adventure began. We submitted applications and waited. We waited for nearly 6 weeks for an answer. Finally, it came. We were going to Mexico! Then the battle began. One at a time, well meaning friends and family began to inform us of Mexico's current "climate"...you know, the activities around the drug lords.....Well, we would fend off the little attacks from Fear one at a time until the onslaught began to wear us down. Did we really hear from God? Is it horrible for us to bring our children to this place? What were we thinking? Couldn't someone else go and do the job and we could stay home and be safe? We didn't have to wait to go to Mexico to be in the middle of a war...it had begun in our own minds. Night after night the tormenting thoughts would come and day after day we would push them aside. Finally the days and nights ran together until God.....

She might be in her early twenties, maybe late teens, but regardless, she's a tall, elegant daughter of the King. She came to our garage sale and we began to talk. I had known her for a few months but today we went from being acquaintances to friends....the kind of friend that loves you with the Truth. She came just at the right time. The battle was raging in my mind although I continued selling items that I had owned for years for a quarter. We began to talk and eventually my struggles came to the surface. After listening for a while, she looked at me with an interesting expression and then spoke..."You know, that doesn't sound like God. I mean, it doesn't seem like God would be trying to warn you from going to Mexico in the form of fear. After all, the Word says He has not given us a spirit of fear". WHAT? My heart was taken back. Somewhere in all of this we had lost sight of the Word. The Word that sets you free. The Word that cleanses you. The Word that gives you Peace. How could we have forgotten the Word? Immediately the scriptures began to pour in...."Perfect love casts out all fear", "There is no fear in love", "Fear hath torment", "The Lord is my helper, I will not fear what man shall do unto me"....and on and on and on. What a washing! What a clearing! Instantly the war was over. God had won! The victory was His and His alone. All of our reasoning had left us empty but God's Word had filled our hearts with Peace. We were officially back in the game.

Then the heart of God appeared. "For God so loved the world that He gave...". This isn't about us. It never was. It's about others. It's about the poor, the little children, widows and migrant workers. It's about the weak and lonely. It's about the lost that are groping in darkness. We are not our own. Our children are not our own. We are His for Him to spend us as He chooses. What a comfort to know that we belong to the Lord and that nothing shall come near us except that God chooses it. Such freedom!

The next hurdle was coming up with the finances. As of 2 weeks before our trip was to take place, we didn't have a single dime towards it. With us being gone as long as we have planned, we needed quite a bit more than just the amount for the trip. For all 6 of us to go and be gone for 6 weeks, we needed about $9,500. We felt the Lord asked us not to send out letters for money but to ask for prayer instead. So, we trusted him and waited. Several days later it began! First, we received a phone call from a man we met once 3 months ago. He informed us that God had given him a dream and in that dream he was told that he was supposed to sow financial seed into our family! The first money for our trip began to come in...that was the first testimony. Then music work from everywhere began to pour in. All of it needing to be done in less than 2 weeks! There were so many miraculous moments! Then there were calls and letters and $100 bills falling from the visor of our car! By the time we left Colorado, we were only about $400 shy of our total amount and, for some reason (hmmm), we feel that it will come in while we are gone! God has been so faithful to make it clear to us that we are to go to Mexico. He has provided in miraculous ways!

So, we are now sitting in California counting down the hours until our departure. It seems that we're at 48.... Errands to run, meetings to be had, final touches being added and then we're off! Sunday, the 22nd, around noon (Pacific time) we will begin our journey across the border.

So back to the beginning, our family is headed into what the world says right now is "foolish" but we know that life awaits us there. Mexico has been given to us and God has made the way. From the first day Mexico came to our hearts, we've had a green light. It seemed at every turn the enemy of our souls was there to attack us but God saw us through every question, doubt and fear. It's amazing how the Word of God puts everything in perspective.

What is it that God is asking you to do? What is the cost? Have you counted it? Is He worth it? Are those you are being asked to be spent for worth it? He says they are. What do you say?

the perfect day

Yes, it was the perfect day! The mountains lit up the sky as the morning sun reflected off their snowcapped peaks. Soon after the colorful sunrise captured my heart, the smell of freshly baking bread in the oven lured me back into the house....After we shared a delightful lunch together, the children finished their schooling and then went outside where the sounds of innocence filled the air. My daughters were busy sweeping out the inside of their "home" while the boys were busy hanging the screens on their "fort". All in all, what once began as a weather worn playhouse this morning, became an object of manly duty and feminine responsibility. I listened through my open window, as I watched each of them escape further and further into a world of make believe!

I wonder if they realize how close they are to the real world...a world full of pain and sorrow, hunger and death, anger and numbness. While having some understanding of a suffering planet, their little lives have largely been protected from the hard reality that lies beyond the backyard gate. Try as I may, I fear that I will not be able to fully prepare them for what is before them. How will I go with them everywhere they venture so that I might explain or soften the blows of what they'll encounter? How will I be able to spread myself equally between each of them in order for their hearts to feel safe when they are going different directions? How will I be able to give them the reassuring look that everything is going to be ok when they are being pressed from every angle? How will I be able to encourage them that God will see to it that "all things work for good"? I know that I cannot. Nor, was I meant to. It is for me to treasure my role now and yet prepare them for the unknown and also for what every Christian knows they must be about....a life spent for others. How am I to do this? It's the simple solution: give them the One who will never leave or forsake them and Who can go with them wherever they go and keep them when no one else can...the One who will lead them in paths of righteousness for His name's sake.

If I can prepare them for the great adventure of life that awaits them, yes, the pain and the sorrow included in the grand discoveries, and yet tether their hearts to the Anchor of our souls, then I will have succeeded in my joy. Yes, I meant joy, not my job. You see, my joy is to love and nurture them now and pour into them as much Jesus as I can and then pray that the seed falls on good soil so that one day they will bear much fruit and then be spent for the sake of others. That world that they are so sheltered from now is their mission field. It will be the source of their pain and their joy as they give themselves away.

And as for me? What will become of my days that are spent so full of running hither and yon, baking and cleaning, homeschooling and church, loving and laughing (and crying)? Ah, there can be but one answer. Go with the God who is watching over the little ones that I am watching now. Follow Him as He leads me. Maybe into greener pastures? I doubt it. How could my fields be anymore fruitful than they are now? But, they will be green, I'm sure of it. He is my good Shepherd as He is my children's.

Lord, protect the ones that you have given us to love and care for. Keep them under the shadow of your wings. Guard their way that they may grow to bring glory to your name and bear your image on this earth as they encounter the darkness that lies just ahead. Let them know, even now, that while you were forming them in my womb, you had a plan for each of them and you will be faithful to complete that which you have started. Keep them, fill them, spend them for your kingdom's advancement in the earth so that your name may be praised. Thank you Lord. Amen.

5 dollars and 4 people

It was Saturday morning. My world was waking up and the sounds of life began to permeate the silence I had been in for some time. One by one as the children began to emerge from the comfort of their warm beds, the excitement began to build as we talked of the day that lie ahead and all the adventure that would be experienced on our trek in the mountains. Giggles and high fives were had by all and then Daddy walked in.

He was a bit more sober than the rest of us and then he announced that the plans for the day had been changed. He shared his desire for the day with us as we sat around the kitchen table. As he spoke, my thoughts trailed off to the time when I had prayed for a man who loved God more than I did and then my reflection was interrupted when that man's voice broke. He was caught up in the description of his morning with the Lord and composing himself, he laid out before us the new and improved family day.

There were 30, one dollar bills and we each received five. They were given to us to give away. Our mission was to ask the Lord to lead us to broken, hurting people who needed the love of Jesus. The idea was to sharpen our discernment skills, be led by the Spirit, go when you're asked too even if you don't know why or where and to teach our children how to respond when the Savior wants to pour Himself out over and over for the sake of others. With our water bottles in hand, a loaf of fresh, baked bread to share for lunch, we headed off to be used of the Master. Destination unknown.

After a while, we found ourselves driving around Ft. Collins and realized that we didn't do this often enough. We were rusty...usually when we are out and about, we are the reason. Our goal is to cross something off of our list, complete a task and feel like our day is productive. This was different. There was no list. We were just looking and listening.

There he was. Standing at the bus stop on a side street, wearing a backpack, his heart called out to us. We made the block and found a place to park. As we passed in front of him and slowed the car to a stop, we noticed that he didn't look so "needy". His clothes were clean and he appeared as one of us. Yes, we questioned if we had heard correctly and then concluded that we must be obedient and approach him. One by one we all bounded out of the car. With dollar bills in our pockets and smiles on our faces we met Daniel. He had just gotten out of prison from serving an 18 year sentence for growing certain kinds of plants. His countenance was radiant as he listened to the children introduce themselves and then our explanation of why we were there. He was overwhelmed and didn't want to accept the single dollar bill that was offered to him. Daniel needed money but he was content with receiving the love of Jesus that we had come to give. He shared his story and how he had found his Savior in prison but was so thankful to be reminded of God's love for him on that particular day. Then just like that, the bus pulled up and Daniel got on and rode away. I watched with tears in my eyes and marveled how at any given moment the King of Glory can break through our routine to interrupt life as we know it and remind us that there's a purpose, a calling, a Love that wishes to be shared, experienced and then given away.

There were more that day....Red, Jay and the Planned Parenthood worker. Each had their own unique response to God's love. All but one received it.

As we felt our day was coming to an end, we slipped our remaining dollars in our pockets to be used another day, and settled back into our car and began the drive on the long way home. There was a lot to process and we all knew that though we were going back to our familiar life, we were different. We had been used. It felt good. It felt right.

Each armed with 5 dollars. Four unsuspecting people. It had been a good day.

News! News! Read All About It!

Hello friends!

I have a new web address for my blog. It is no longer theoldyellowmailbox.blogspot.com but can now be found at simplifyandintensify.blogspot.com!

Thanks for following and have a wonderful day!

Blessings!

Baby Steps

Have you ever had a dream? Not the kind that you remember when you wake up in the morning, but the kind that is born in your heart and takes weeks, months and sometimes years to become reality? Steve and I have. Years ago, the dream of adopting was planted in our hearts. We didn't have this dream because we weren't able to conceive, quite the opposite, we were able to have children and did so, over and over...we were blessed with four beautiful children of our own. However, at the end of the day we found that our hearts were still longing for these children that wouldn't be born to us. Not only did that ache live in our hearts but in the hearts of our four biological children. Over the years it grew in them as they seemed to gravitate towards pictures of orphans, stories of orphans, ministries that helped support orphans.....

Then finally last year, the Lord spoke to us through the most unlikely source, our youngest child, Nathan. He came to us with his older sister, Anna, and with the two of them weeping, he said, "Mommy and Daddy, God spoke to me". Of course, Steve and I gave them both our undivided attention....it's not every day that your four year old comes to you and tells you that he's heard the voice of God....it's not every day that I hear the voice of God, so we were certainly interested in what He had to say.

He proceeded to say that as he was playing when God spoke to him and said "It is time to get the two babies (a boy and a girl)". Anna had been there and Nathan told her. Anna told us that when she heard it she "burst into tears" because she "knew it was the word of the Lord". As we sat there we began to cry as we realized that after all these years, the time of adoption was upon us and at the same time knew that we were helpless to do anything about it. Financially, things weren't the best for us but that did not diminish the hope and joy that began to stir in our hearts. We knew if God had put the dream in our hearts then He would provide for it.

It's been a year since that happened and while life has gone on, those words have remained in our hearts and on our tongues. We speak of that time often and have wondered when God was going to move, after all He said it was time.

This Wednesday we received a letter in the mail from friends of ours in Minnesota and when I opened it I began to cry as I read their letter. They spoke of God's faithfulness and our friendship and then shared how God had put it in their hearts to contribute to the "Rosen Babies Fund" and that they wanted to invest into the dream that was in our hearts. Their gift put us one fourth of the way towards what we need in order for the home study to happen. Then the process begins.

It's not like we will have our son and daughter any time soon (unless God does a miracle - which He CAN do) but it does mean that God has begun to move. Our children wept with delight and we watched as their faces conveyed the joy in their hearts and their awe of our faithful God.

As we added pennies and silver dollars to the fund, we rejoiced at the goodness of our God. "He who has begun a good work will be faithful to complete it"...

Heavenly Father, we praise you for your heart towards the orphan and for planting that love for them within us. Our desire is to become to them what you were to us...a loving Father that saw His children lost, starving, alone and dying and you found us and brought us into your Kingdom that we might forever enjoy a beautiful relationship with you. Where ever your children/our children are, please keep them from harm and watch over them and bring us safely together for your purposes. Thank you Lord. Thank you so much.

Well, we have a long way to go but this week we're not dwelling on that ... we are dwelling in Christ and His promises and are celebrating ~ baby steps.

I Don't Know If You Really Know

My morning began as every morning did last year, yet, something was different about today. It was a new year....a time for new beginnings. I always think it would be nice to begin a new year with a profound word from the Lord and then my course would be set. My year would be a journey in which God would take me on.... full of adventure and great discovery.

The word that He spoke to me this particular new year would be one that would undo me and bring me to my knees rather than fill my sails with air....

As always, God speaks to me through my mothering experiences and this was quite the experience. Once again, I found myself in a situation that was unfamiliar. I found myself holding one of my children after experiencing a time of frustration in parenting and I said to her with tears in my eyes, "I don't know if you really know how much I love you". As quickly as those words left my lips, I heard them in my heart, "I don't know if you really know how much I love you". They seemed to reverberate off the walls of my heart as if it were empty...."I don't know if you know how much I love you".... over and over and over again.

Later, after a beautiful time of intimacy with my daughter, I found myself pondering those words...."I don't know if you really know how much I love you". They lingered on. Is it true? Could it be? That after such a dramatic display of selflessness and mercy on the Cross, I could still not know the depths of the love of God towards me? My heart ached as I wept over the anguish that must be in God's heart because His children don't fully know His love for them...they've become caught up in life and oh, how difficult it is to resist this life and all that it demands. But there He is, watching and waiting and yes, grieving because He longs for the intimacy that comes when His love is realized.

Lord, I long to spend this year discovering the depths of your Love. Please give me the strength to turn away from the demands of motherhood and the distractions of this life and help me find a secret time and place to daily bask in your presence and receive all the Love that you have for me. I know that I cannot even show the love that is in my heart for my children to them, unless I have fully embraced your love for me. I will stumble and fall short every time unless you rescue me. Thank you for reminding me in the midst of my own cry for intimacy with my daughter that it is the same with you...you want me to know the depths of your Love for me. I desire it too. And, if I remember correctly, you said that you would give me the desires of my heart if I sought you first....so, today I seek you and ask that you would give me the eyes to see, the ears to hear and the heart to feel the depths of your great Love so that I might in turn be your Love to those around me. Amen.