Courage...

...is fear that has prayed."
Waking up this morning my eyes fell on this quote by Corrie ten Boom. It seems so right these times. There are many things to do - as always - and besides of all I am heading off for Nepal again on Sunday. This time on my own. Just me and Jesus. And all the people praying. That makes quite a handful of courage!

short powerful video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D-Bdn7Flk04&feature=player_embedded
Looking so forward to be there again in about a month!

Names

Monday, kids group from school in the afternoon. We are talking about names and their meanings. What their names mean. If they like it. If their parents had given them their name with a purpose. Some of the names have more than one meaning. I ask them if they know what the name "Jesus" mean. They shake their heads. So I tell them, that it also has a variety of meanings, reading "God saves" or "the divine saviour".
One kid, no Christian parents, brings it to the point. "Wow", he says, "that fits."

Winter Sleep

Those two last weeks I felt like a squirrel having its winter sleep. Just getting up once in a while to get the necessary things. Missed this feeling for years, so it is time for waking up. Next week :-)

read a thousand times...

I really didn't think that the famous "armor of God"-part in Ephesians would have anything new for me. So I do love it! But it was in my devotions this morning and I started to read.
What you have to know: I use these days "between the years" how we say in Germany to relax, to think, to get prepared for another exciting year, to just be still. And these days I use to get the first preparations going for another trip to Nepal in April. It will include arranging medical help again, but mainly it will be a time where I want to listen carefully what are God's plans for the "Mendok Project". To enlarge our efforts there in a more spiritual way. And it for sure is a country with lots of things going on in the spiritual realm!
So this morning I read Ephesians 6:13. I will translate it literally here from my German translation:
"When time comes, then you will be able to resist the evil and you will still stand firm when you have won the fight after all."
It is not if, it is not about maybe losing, it is about winning the fight and whether to win it in an upright position. That's what I want. So let's put the armor on once more and stand firm and win the fight...

Little is Much

This is the same post like on the Projekt Mendok website, but it really touched my heart:
I had promised the fifth graders that I would show them pictures from Nepal, if they would work really good these last weeks and we would get through with our topics. They had been just great and so today it was the day: stories and pictures from Ms Ehring in Nepal. Peter* kept asking for the story I had told while overseeing those put in detention (at the end they all planed to forget their homework to be put in detention...).
Besides all the adventure pics and adventure story I wanted them to know why we are doing what we are doing. That God loves each and every single human being so much, that He does everything, to show this one human being His love. And that this is the reason for me to save money and try to get as often to Nepal as I can. To give this love further to the people there.
When class was finished, Miriam* stood up. She is a small, tiny girl where you can't be sure if she always gets what you're saying. But today she was very attentive and asked many questions. There she was standing in front of me, looking at me with big eyes behind thick glasses, stretching out her hand towards me. "You got something for me?" I asked her and she nodded and put what she held in her hand into mine. "Oh", I said, "is this for Nepal?" And Miriam just nodded. I would have loved to hug her, but something like that she doesn't like so much. Can you imagine, that this girl gave me all the change she had with her in school for the people in Nepal?! That blew my mind. I put the 3x 50 cent in my Nepal box and I can't help it, I have to think the whole day about 5 loaves of bread and 2 fishes... it was enough for all and they even had leftovers...
God bless little Miriam!

*names changed

Someone loves the Girl's Club

I was just leaving to the girl's club yesterday - the weather unusually beautiful for December afternoon - turning the ligths of my car on. The sun was shining brightliy and it was more a routine thing to do because the last few afternoons had been rainiy and dark. Good thing I did it - just when I did turn them on, they went out. No headlights. And 10 more minutes for my lively girl's club with just two of us. After that, at 7 pm, it would be dead dark.
So I called my brother-in-law who lives close by. But he was on his way to a concert he gave. But another good friend (my car doctor) came. Because both of the headlights had died I thought of a fuse to be the reason. Like last Friday, when my central locking died. Also just shortly before the girl's club.
The girls were great again. We read a short story about a birthday party where everybody was having fun except the birthday kid. It is ones girls birthday today and so the story really fit. Then I read a "Happy Birthday" letter to Jesus and all of a sudden we had a conversation if God really talks to us and how we could understand Him.

By the way: both of the light bulbs had died. Both of the headlights at the same time. Seems as someone doesn't like the girl's club these times. Bad luck. There is someone much stronger, higher, and bigger who loves it very much!