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| Maryuri--one of the girls from church who calls me Mami--and I after she was baptized |
Hello All,
It's been a long hiatus. I can assure you that blogging has been on my to-do list for months, but for lack of time and lack of inspiration, I kept silent. It’d be impossible to catch you up on all the things that have happened over the past several months, so I think I’ll just focus on where we are now.
I’ve been back from the States for a month and a half, and it’s been a process to put into practice what I learned while I was in the States. More than anything, God was able to show me my need to guard my heart, my time, and my needs. I am such a 100% or nothing kind of person. When I have a cause to work for, it consumes me. I love doing things well and whole-heartedly, but in the process, I often wear myself out or allow others to cross that sacred boundary of my time of intimacy with the Father. As a result, I get tired, and the oil in my lamp goes out.
While I was in the States, I attended the Iris Ministries Go Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. To be honest with you, that’s the biggest reason I returned to the States this year—because I was burnt-out and needed life and His presence so desperately. Being a missionary, you really can’t have a “spoon-feed-me” mentality as we as Christians often fall into in the routine of going to church, activities, etc. So many people depend on you to be the one feeding and discipling them. I am often surrounded by new, immature Christians, which, at times, makes it easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Going to that conference gave me so many answers that I had been waiting for. God healed wounds in my heart from letting myself get disconnected from the Vine of His presence, and He gave me a new mission and direction.
Many people ask me what a typical day in my life is like, and honestly, there is no typical day, and no day is that glamorous or exotic. I spend entire days doing loads of laundry by hand. I am a mom in every sense of the word even if it is to adopted, former street kid, teenage boys. I spend my days cleaning up after my children and furiously stewing because Marvin lazily tossed the silverware in the serving spoon drawer again and re-washing dishes that still have food stuck to them even after my children supposedly washed them. My grocery bills are outrageous because I have growing, teenage boys. And, most of my time is spent cleaning, cooking, and running errands. It’s “Mom! Pick me up at 2 for dance team practice,” and “Mom! I need a $100 dictionary for Bible class” and “Mom! My tool broke again! Can you go a third time this week to get it fixed?” My life is, “Mom! When are you going to the store again? We don’t have any apples” (when I went to the store and bought apples yesterday) and “Mom! Do I have to sweep today? I’ll do it tomorrow” (that’s what he said yesterday) and “Mom! Why did you make this for lunch instead of that” (after I spent my entire morning cooking). I’m 25, and I did not have the infant, toddler, kid, learning curve, and I cannot lie to you—there are days when Raúl comes to visit me, and all I can do is cry and let him hug me because I feel like I have no value other than what people can suck out of me. I am the bank. I am the chauffeur. I am the cook. I am the maid. I’m Mami.
And, if I have recognized nothing else about myself through all of this, it’s that I’m still a selfish person, and I still need a lot of grace. Ministry is not so much in what we do. It’s in presence and heart condition and attitude. It’s that question of, “Am I cursing Marvin again for lazily throwing the silverware in the wrong drawer and causing more work for me or am I delighted by the fact that God is using me to change my son’s life one day at a time even if it’s in the small things like cleaning up after him?” Regretfully, I’m still working on that attitude and heart condition part. The novelty of being a missionary has worn off. The novelty of Honduras and its culture has disappeared. The novelty of being a mom has dissipated after nearly two years. And, my attitude springs from that place of intimacy with Jesus or lack thereof. When I get tired, I get defensive and angry. When I get tired, I lose sight of the long-term vision and forget how far we’ve come. When I get tired, I lose hope and feel like I’m going to be fighting the same demons with my kids forever. And, it’s that same intimacy they have with God that determines much of how they relate to me. Are they selfish? Are they ungrateful? Are they struggling with how they view or talk about women? Are they angry? Are they judgmental? Are they demanding? Then they’re disconnected from the Vine, and THAT is my primary concern—not the symptoms. A common phrase in our house is, “I know you by your fruit,” which lets my kids know that their suffering relationship with God is showing through in their treatment of me.
That heart connection firstly with Jesus and secondly with each other is what really matters. My kids can get an education and eat well and sleep safely and learn a trade and get jobs, but if they lose sight of Jesus and His love for them, I have missed the vision. Ministry, even in family, is all about Jesus and intimacy with Jesus. It’s not enough to take them to church. It’s not enough to say, “Well, the pastor preached what they needed to hear.” What about my example? Am I showing them what life is really about—that it’s about intimacy with Jesus and listening to the Holy Spirit? I have seen changes in my kids according to my changes of dedicating more time to God and passing the tests of saying no to distractions or situations that want to steal that sacred, secret place. The atmosphere in my house is different with my kids when I set the tone of placing His presence first. My heart overflows with joy whenever I hear Josuan washing the dishes and praying in tongues, or I walk out of my bedroom to see Marvin kneeled at his bedside praying in the morning because they’ve seen me seek God first thing in the morning and heard me sing in tongues and put that emphasis on keeping my spirit connected to His.
And, I’m learning to place boundaries with my kids and others. To say no to that third trip to get that tool fixed when I’m already tired and frustrated. To say no to going to that second small group meeting for today so that I can rest at home. It’s not easy because people often react with demands and guilt trips. But, I am the only one who controls me, and they are the only ones who control how they choose to react to my boundaries. Even Jesus did not heal every sick person He saw. He only did what the Father led Him to do. And, often, He got away from the crowds to spend time with the Father.
Anyway, that’s what I’m in the process of learning. God’s always in the process of making heart changes within our family dynamic, so I’ll give you a little update on our family:
Raúl and I have been together as a couple since July. I won’t say that it’s been smooth sailing because we’re both broken people who have needed healing, but even when we have our big conflicts and breaking points, when we run to God for that healing, we have found that He brings us back together with new patience and compassion instead of pulling us apart. We’re both learning to love like Jesus and let Him be the one making our lives and vision and ministry mesh in unity without humanly forcing anything. God has worked absolute miracles in Raúl’s heart, to be honest with you. My sweetheart had such a broken heart protected by walls of stone, and he was determined for so long to not let anyone in. But, for this cause, and those kinds of hurt people, I am called. My entire family is full of broken, rescued people who have cost me tears and pain and cultivated a patience and endurance in me that I never knew I was capable of. They have brought me into deeper intimacy with Jesus because without Him, I couldn’t have held on. Just yesterday, Raúl was staring off into space, and I asked, “What are you thinking about?” And he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I was this broken, damaged person who had separated myself from God’s presence and His love. But He sent this person to come alongside me and speak life and suffer patiently at my side, loving me like Jesus when I was so unlovable. And I will never forget that person. I will carry that person in my heart forever. And that was you.”
The dynamic between Raúl and my kids has been nothing short of a God-given miracle. When Marvin first came to live with me, Raúl and Marvin hated each other and had no problem stating how they felt about the other. Now, Marvin works at Raúl’s business, and when Marvin had a motor bike accident, the first person he called wasn’t me—it was Raúl. They laugh together. They joke together. Marvin gets up extra early to be the first person to help Raúl open the business, and Raúl will go out of his way to take care of Marvin (example being when he took him to the hospital after the accident…he’s fine by the way). I always knew that they’d eventually get along because they’re so alike—hyperactive, extroverted, attention-calling, hard workers. Josuan is always going to be more of a mama’s boy, but he also is learning how to relate better to Raúl even though their personalities are so different. He was just telling me yesterday how he was able to calm Raúl down when he was angry. My being away for a month in the States opened the door for those relationships to be cultivated more. Now, Raúl is part of our family, and I have someone to lean on. We face the conflicts together and consult each other about the business and the kids.
I look back at who Estefanny was when I first met her, and I don’t recognize the person that she is today. She still struggles, but she has so learned to run to Jesus. I am so grateful that my baby girl, after spending so much time with no friends and having to learn to stand alone with Jesus, has finally found a circle of Christian friends within the church. That has been a prayer of several months answered. She dances with confidence and jokes and laughs and serves in the church—not even a shadow of the hurt and confused little one she was before. We’re not sure what’s going to happen with Fefi (as we affectionately call her). Her family has to move from their house in a couple days. She’ll be living in the same neighborhood in a rented house for a while, but her family is building a house on a property they’re buying, and that house will be far away from us. We’re not sure how that’s going to affect her involvement in church and in our family, but we trust that God is in control and knows best.
I continue to visit Jorge and Elvis. Currently, the idea is to try to get a court order so that they could leave the orphanage to spend Christmas with us, but that will depend on the directors, the social worker, and the court system.
Jonathan has been in Teen Challenge for eight months now, and while I can’t say I know him well enough to know what’s going on in his heart, I can say that God has His hand on him. Jonathan is the only one left of all of his room of four guys who did not escape from Teen Challenge. He had ample opportunity to leave with them, but he chose to stay and it’s for a reason.
Erick will finish his second year in Teen Challenge in February. He is doing incredibly well in school and may receive scholarships as a result. I had been thinking for quite some time about what was going to happen once he leaves Teen Challenge, and to be honest, I was worried. There is a part of his heart that does want to change, but he’s had several issues when he’s been on leave. The more I examined the situation, the more I recognized that placing him in his same environment from before he went to Teen Challenge would be setting him up for failure. But, I didn’t think I had an answer because I didn’t think I could handle another son living with me after so many extreme battles with Marvin and Josuan. But, Erick and his mom approached me about his living here whenever he gets out, and I would’ve immediately said no had it been six months ago. But, I recognize that a soul is at stake here. All of his friends from before have gotten out of jail and have been showing up to his house looking for him. If his mom is working, and he’s home alone, it’ll only be a matter of time before it’s too much pressure for him to withstand. He’s just as scared about falling into his old lifestyle and losing what he’s learned the past two years as his mom is. And, I recognize that if I don’t take him fresh out of Teen Challenge, it’s likely his mom will be calling me a month later wanting help because she’s lost him, which will be a much more difficult circumstance to come out of. So, I’m praying about it even though I already feel like I know the answer. “If you know the good you ought to do and don’t do it, that to you is sin.” I am mildly terrified about having another son living in the house just because I feel so unprepared. That was not my plan. But, I wasn’t fully prepared for Marvin, nor for Josuan, yet here we are, moving forward in God’s grace. I don’t think we’re ever fully prepared for God’s plans because they’re supernatural. We won’t feel perfectly assured of our preparation because that’s the purpose of intimacy; it’s not about us; it’s about Him.
There are more elements of this situation that I’m praying about, but I may share those later. For the moment, the current project is gathering a team to go to the streets on a weekly basis. The primary purpose is to bring light to the darkness through worship. Worship is the first priority followed by evangelism and bringing food to the needy. God has made it clear to me that wherever we worship, He’ll give us that spiritual territory and the souls within. He’s been teaching me that in ministry we often make the mistake of placing the souls as more important than the Soul Saver, and for that reason, we lead people to us and not to Him and see no lasting fruit or change. Often, we tell people on the streets, “seek God,” but how will they know how to seek God if we don’t show them? How will they meet the Holy Spirit if we don’t carry His presence to where they are? This is my current passion, and I am biting at the bit to get started, but there are doors that we need God to open. Raúl has been in the process of buying a van for the past six months, but the owner has hardened his heart and has been very unfair. We won’t all fit in my little car. I’m waiting to talk to the pastor of our church to see if he’d be open to some of his church members participating with us even if the work is not under the covering of his church. And there are also the finances of developing a feasible budget of gas and food to go on a weekly basis. But, it’s God’s vision, so He’ll birth it in His time.
On that note, I’ll leave you with some encouraging words from what I’m reading from Heidi Baker’s Birthing the Miraculous:
Some of you may have carried prophetic words for years, and yet have never stepped out into them because they seem too costly, too foolish, or too impossible. Maybe you do not feel you are prepared enough, or maybe you are afraid for anyone to know what you feel God said to you, be held responsible for acting on His words. Perhaps His promises come with such serious social stigma that you aren’t sure you really want to carry them. There may be a steep price for what God has placed inside you, but if you want Him, you will choose to pay it. You may have a whole bag of promises, but what are you going to do with them? Will you bear the possible reproach and carry to full term that which God put inside of you? It is easy to hear a great prophetic word but often costly and challenging to bring it to birth. God has predestined every single one of us for fruitfulness. . . . We need to be familiar with a place of divine intimacy in which we are so consumed by the Holy Spirit that we will nurture and protect the seed He places in us. We need to fearlessly step out and activate His promises. It is intimacy that gives us the grace and strength we need to push through suffering, pain, and inconvenience (16).
Here is a look at some of our pictures from the past several months:
It's been a long hiatus. I can assure you that blogging has been on my to-do list for months, but for lack of time and lack of inspiration, I kept silent. It’d be impossible to catch you up on all the things that have happened over the past several months, so I think I’ll just focus on where we are now.
I’ve been back from the States for a month and a half, and it’s been a process to put into practice what I learned while I was in the States. More than anything, God was able to show me my need to guard my heart, my time, and my needs. I am such a 100% or nothing kind of person. When I have a cause to work for, it consumes me. I love doing things well and whole-heartedly, but in the process, I often wear myself out or allow others to cross that sacred boundary of my time of intimacy with the Father. As a result, I get tired, and the oil in my lamp goes out.
While I was in the States, I attended the Iris Ministries Go Conference in Nashville, Tennessee. To be honest with you, that’s the biggest reason I returned to the States this year—because I was burnt-out and needed life and His presence so desperately. Being a missionary, you really can’t have a “spoon-feed-me” mentality as we as Christians often fall into in the routine of going to church, activities, etc. So many people depend on you to be the one feeding and discipling them. I am often surrounded by new, immature Christians, which, at times, makes it easy to lose sight of the bigger picture. Going to that conference gave me so many answers that I had been waiting for. God healed wounds in my heart from letting myself get disconnected from the Vine of His presence, and He gave me a new mission and direction.
Many people ask me what a typical day in my life is like, and honestly, there is no typical day, and no day is that glamorous or exotic. I spend entire days doing loads of laundry by hand. I am a mom in every sense of the word even if it is to adopted, former street kid, teenage boys. I spend my days cleaning up after my children and furiously stewing because Marvin lazily tossed the silverware in the serving spoon drawer again and re-washing dishes that still have food stuck to them even after my children supposedly washed them. My grocery bills are outrageous because I have growing, teenage boys. And, most of my time is spent cleaning, cooking, and running errands. It’s “Mom! Pick me up at 2 for dance team practice,” and “Mom! I need a $100 dictionary for Bible class” and “Mom! My tool broke again! Can you go a third time this week to get it fixed?” My life is, “Mom! When are you going to the store again? We don’t have any apples” (when I went to the store and bought apples yesterday) and “Mom! Do I have to sweep today? I’ll do it tomorrow” (that’s what he said yesterday) and “Mom! Why did you make this for lunch instead of that” (after I spent my entire morning cooking). I’m 25, and I did not have the infant, toddler, kid, learning curve, and I cannot lie to you—there are days when Raúl comes to visit me, and all I can do is cry and let him hug me because I feel like I have no value other than what people can suck out of me. I am the bank. I am the chauffeur. I am the cook. I am the maid. I’m Mami.
And, if I have recognized nothing else about myself through all of this, it’s that I’m still a selfish person, and I still need a lot of grace. Ministry is not so much in what we do. It’s in presence and heart condition and attitude. It’s that question of, “Am I cursing Marvin again for lazily throwing the silverware in the wrong drawer and causing more work for me or am I delighted by the fact that God is using me to change my son’s life one day at a time even if it’s in the small things like cleaning up after him?” Regretfully, I’m still working on that attitude and heart condition part. The novelty of being a missionary has worn off. The novelty of Honduras and its culture has disappeared. The novelty of being a mom has dissipated after nearly two years. And, my attitude springs from that place of intimacy with Jesus or lack thereof. When I get tired, I get defensive and angry. When I get tired, I lose sight of the long-term vision and forget how far we’ve come. When I get tired, I lose hope and feel like I’m going to be fighting the same demons with my kids forever. And, it’s that same intimacy they have with God that determines much of how they relate to me. Are they selfish? Are they ungrateful? Are they struggling with how they view or talk about women? Are they angry? Are they judgmental? Are they demanding? Then they’re disconnected from the Vine, and THAT is my primary concern—not the symptoms. A common phrase in our house is, “I know you by your fruit,” which lets my kids know that their suffering relationship with God is showing through in their treatment of me.
That heart connection firstly with Jesus and secondly with each other is what really matters. My kids can get an education and eat well and sleep safely and learn a trade and get jobs, but if they lose sight of Jesus and His love for them, I have missed the vision. Ministry, even in family, is all about Jesus and intimacy with Jesus. It’s not enough to take them to church. It’s not enough to say, “Well, the pastor preached what they needed to hear.” What about my example? Am I showing them what life is really about—that it’s about intimacy with Jesus and listening to the Holy Spirit? I have seen changes in my kids according to my changes of dedicating more time to God and passing the tests of saying no to distractions or situations that want to steal that sacred, secret place. The atmosphere in my house is different with my kids when I set the tone of placing His presence first. My heart overflows with joy whenever I hear Josuan washing the dishes and praying in tongues, or I walk out of my bedroom to see Marvin kneeled at his bedside praying in the morning because they’ve seen me seek God first thing in the morning and heard me sing in tongues and put that emphasis on keeping my spirit connected to His.
And, I’m learning to place boundaries with my kids and others. To say no to that third trip to get that tool fixed when I’m already tired and frustrated. To say no to going to that second small group meeting for today so that I can rest at home. It’s not easy because people often react with demands and guilt trips. But, I am the only one who controls me, and they are the only ones who control how they choose to react to my boundaries. Even Jesus did not heal every sick person He saw. He only did what the Father led Him to do. And, often, He got away from the crowds to spend time with the Father.
Anyway, that’s what I’m in the process of learning. God’s always in the process of making heart changes within our family dynamic, so I’ll give you a little update on our family:
Raúl and I have been together as a couple since July. I won’t say that it’s been smooth sailing because we’re both broken people who have needed healing, but even when we have our big conflicts and breaking points, when we run to God for that healing, we have found that He brings us back together with new patience and compassion instead of pulling us apart. We’re both learning to love like Jesus and let Him be the one making our lives and vision and ministry mesh in unity without humanly forcing anything. God has worked absolute miracles in Raúl’s heart, to be honest with you. My sweetheart had such a broken heart protected by walls of stone, and he was determined for so long to not let anyone in. But, for this cause, and those kinds of hurt people, I am called. My entire family is full of broken, rescued people who have cost me tears and pain and cultivated a patience and endurance in me that I never knew I was capable of. They have brought me into deeper intimacy with Jesus because without Him, I couldn’t have held on. Just yesterday, Raúl was staring off into space, and I asked, “What are you thinking about?” And he looked at me with tears in his eyes and said, “I was this broken, damaged person who had separated myself from God’s presence and His love. But He sent this person to come alongside me and speak life and suffer patiently at my side, loving me like Jesus when I was so unlovable. And I will never forget that person. I will carry that person in my heart forever. And that was you.”
The dynamic between Raúl and my kids has been nothing short of a God-given miracle. When Marvin first came to live with me, Raúl and Marvin hated each other and had no problem stating how they felt about the other. Now, Marvin works at Raúl’s business, and when Marvin had a motor bike accident, the first person he called wasn’t me—it was Raúl. They laugh together. They joke together. Marvin gets up extra early to be the first person to help Raúl open the business, and Raúl will go out of his way to take care of Marvin (example being when he took him to the hospital after the accident…he’s fine by the way). I always knew that they’d eventually get along because they’re so alike—hyperactive, extroverted, attention-calling, hard workers. Josuan is always going to be more of a mama’s boy, but he also is learning how to relate better to Raúl even though their personalities are so different. He was just telling me yesterday how he was able to calm Raúl down when he was angry. My being away for a month in the States opened the door for those relationships to be cultivated more. Now, Raúl is part of our family, and I have someone to lean on. We face the conflicts together and consult each other about the business and the kids.
I look back at who Estefanny was when I first met her, and I don’t recognize the person that she is today. She still struggles, but she has so learned to run to Jesus. I am so grateful that my baby girl, after spending so much time with no friends and having to learn to stand alone with Jesus, has finally found a circle of Christian friends within the church. That has been a prayer of several months answered. She dances with confidence and jokes and laughs and serves in the church—not even a shadow of the hurt and confused little one she was before. We’re not sure what’s going to happen with Fefi (as we affectionately call her). Her family has to move from their house in a couple days. She’ll be living in the same neighborhood in a rented house for a while, but her family is building a house on a property they’re buying, and that house will be far away from us. We’re not sure how that’s going to affect her involvement in church and in our family, but we trust that God is in control and knows best.
I continue to visit Jorge and Elvis. Currently, the idea is to try to get a court order so that they could leave the orphanage to spend Christmas with us, but that will depend on the directors, the social worker, and the court system.
Jonathan has been in Teen Challenge for eight months now, and while I can’t say I know him well enough to know what’s going on in his heart, I can say that God has His hand on him. Jonathan is the only one left of all of his room of four guys who did not escape from Teen Challenge. He had ample opportunity to leave with them, but he chose to stay and it’s for a reason.
Erick will finish his second year in Teen Challenge in February. He is doing incredibly well in school and may receive scholarships as a result. I had been thinking for quite some time about what was going to happen once he leaves Teen Challenge, and to be honest, I was worried. There is a part of his heart that does want to change, but he’s had several issues when he’s been on leave. The more I examined the situation, the more I recognized that placing him in his same environment from before he went to Teen Challenge would be setting him up for failure. But, I didn’t think I had an answer because I didn’t think I could handle another son living with me after so many extreme battles with Marvin and Josuan. But, Erick and his mom approached me about his living here whenever he gets out, and I would’ve immediately said no had it been six months ago. But, I recognize that a soul is at stake here. All of his friends from before have gotten out of jail and have been showing up to his house looking for him. If his mom is working, and he’s home alone, it’ll only be a matter of time before it’s too much pressure for him to withstand. He’s just as scared about falling into his old lifestyle and losing what he’s learned the past two years as his mom is. And, I recognize that if I don’t take him fresh out of Teen Challenge, it’s likely his mom will be calling me a month later wanting help because she’s lost him, which will be a much more difficult circumstance to come out of. So, I’m praying about it even though I already feel like I know the answer. “If you know the good you ought to do and don’t do it, that to you is sin.” I am mildly terrified about having another son living in the house just because I feel so unprepared. That was not my plan. But, I wasn’t fully prepared for Marvin, nor for Josuan, yet here we are, moving forward in God’s grace. I don’t think we’re ever fully prepared for God’s plans because they’re supernatural. We won’t feel perfectly assured of our preparation because that’s the purpose of intimacy; it’s not about us; it’s about Him.
There are more elements of this situation that I’m praying about, but I may share those later. For the moment, the current project is gathering a team to go to the streets on a weekly basis. The primary purpose is to bring light to the darkness through worship. Worship is the first priority followed by evangelism and bringing food to the needy. God has made it clear to me that wherever we worship, He’ll give us that spiritual territory and the souls within. He’s been teaching me that in ministry we often make the mistake of placing the souls as more important than the Soul Saver, and for that reason, we lead people to us and not to Him and see no lasting fruit or change. Often, we tell people on the streets, “seek God,” but how will they know how to seek God if we don’t show them? How will they meet the Holy Spirit if we don’t carry His presence to where they are? This is my current passion, and I am biting at the bit to get started, but there are doors that we need God to open. Raúl has been in the process of buying a van for the past six months, but the owner has hardened his heart and has been very unfair. We won’t all fit in my little car. I’m waiting to talk to the pastor of our church to see if he’d be open to some of his church members participating with us even if the work is not under the covering of his church. And there are also the finances of developing a feasible budget of gas and food to go on a weekly basis. But, it’s God’s vision, so He’ll birth it in His time.
On that note, I’ll leave you with some encouraging words from what I’m reading from Heidi Baker’s Birthing the Miraculous:
Some of you may have carried prophetic words for years, and yet have never stepped out into them because they seem too costly, too foolish, or too impossible. Maybe you do not feel you are prepared enough, or maybe you are afraid for anyone to know what you feel God said to you, be held responsible for acting on His words. Perhaps His promises come with such serious social stigma that you aren’t sure you really want to carry them. There may be a steep price for what God has placed inside you, but if you want Him, you will choose to pay it. You may have a whole bag of promises, but what are you going to do with them? Will you bear the possible reproach and carry to full term that which God put inside of you? It is easy to hear a great prophetic word but often costly and challenging to bring it to birth. God has predestined every single one of us for fruitfulness. . . . We need to be familiar with a place of divine intimacy in which we are so consumed by the Holy Spirit that we will nurture and protect the seed He places in us. We need to fearlessly step out and activate His promises. It is intimacy that gives us the grace and strength we need to push through suffering, pain, and inconvenience (16).
Here is a look at some of our pictures from the past several months:
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| One of Josuan's works to sell after buying him his own tools |
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| Estefanny being baptized |
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| Marvin on a trip to Oropoli to visit Josuan's grandparents
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| A group of women with whom I had the privilege of ministering at a women's conference
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