Frustrated & Fired Up

The question I asked myself this morning was, "Has my personality changed recently?" My initial response was, "No, of course not." However, after more thought, I had to acknowledge the following: Lately, my first reaction to pretty much any semi-difficult situation is to get frustrated and upset.

When did my norm go from being a happy, ecstatic, carefree person, to someone who is on defense? Now, if you're reading this correctly, you would notice that I'm not saying I've become a generally mean person. I'm simply saying that my main response has changed.

To those of you who know me well, I obviously don't want to be this way. I have spent a lot of time in prayer lately, seeking God's help to change me. The desire of my heart is to glorify Him, and I know that by becoming an easily irritated person, I am doing exactly what I don't want to do. It is like what Paul wrote in Romans 7:15-25. He doesn't know what he is doing because he does what he doesn't want to do, and he doesn't do what he wants to do. There is a war waging inside of him, his evil, sin nature is making it difficult for him to do the good that he desires to do. This whole passage relates well to what I am experiencing, especially the final 2 verses, 24 & 25. For Paul writes, "24What a wretched man I am! who will rescue me from this body of death? 25Thanks be to God -- through Jesus Christ our Lord!"

Even though I fail, God will lift me up & use my broken, sinful self to bring glory to Himself. This was exactly the case in preschool this past week. God showed Himself through me, even when I was not "feeling" it. I saw myself make mistake after mistake. By the middle of the week, I was begging God to remind me of this question when I came against a tough situation, "What would bring the most glory to Him?" It really stood out to me that day. I took a moment to assess each situation that arose before making my move. It was a great feeling, & I knew that God was there helping me. Then, today, I failed again, in somewhat of a big way.

As I sit here writing, I'm shaking my head at the fact that I can't stop falling down, and falling hard. It's almost as if I can here my parents saying, "When are you going to learn?" I realize I am a sinner, and that I will never be without sin. It took Christ's death on the cross to grant me forgiveness of my sins. I can & will become more like Christ. As I seek Him, He will fill me up, & my attitude will go from frustrated & fired up to overflowing with the love of Christ. Now this makes me smile & renews my soul with a hope for the future :)

Building a Foundation

When Freedom bought land back in November, we were prepared to start building. However, we didn't realize all that would happen over the next 5 months.  

December came & went quickly, with little progress. The men (Jason, Josh, Kurt, & Scott) all worked on small repairs on the guardhouse, and put in a cistern. 

Then came January, and the big move. Our watchman, Pica Pica, and his family moved into the house on the land. They have running water, an actual toilet, and lots of space to roam. It was quite the change for their family, but you could tell they were all excited! 

February arrived with a letter of approval & a groundbreaking ceremony. Freedom received the "go ahead" to use the land for a school building right before our big groundbreaking ceremony. On that day, we had several officials & important people show up to support Freedom. It was there that so many parents of our students realized Freedom is going to be here for a long time :)

March came in a hurry bringing with it a huge group of construction workers from North Carolina.  There were a total of 20 men from all ages who worked hard at building a storage unit. They accomplished so much in only 1 week!

Now we're into April, & we have gotten so far. The school building has been excavated, the storage building is almost done, the guardhouse has received a much needed facelift, and we're starting to put up an 8 foot high fence.

Although so much has been accomplished over the last 5 months, there is still much to do. Right now, we're at a standstill with the construction of our school because we're at the end of our available funds. At the beginning of April, Freedom was offered a Matching Gift for $10,000. This opportunity ends April 30th, and we NEED your help!! If you're interested in investing, please visit our website at www.itisforfreedom.com. Click on Our Team/Donate to begin the process. Make sure you designate your gift to the Building Fund & write "Match It!" in the comments box. 

Thanks to everyone who has helped this project succeed! Let's keep on building that foundation :)

 

Missed March

I thought for sure I'd be better at writing each month, but no such luck :) I missed the month of March, and it was exciting too! 

My parents came to visit for the first time! We had a blast just being together. The first several days were filled with ministry work. We went to preschool, helped with a VBS, and worked on the land (well, at least Kurt & my dad did). Later in the week, we went to the capital & visited some caves. We also went to church on Sunday & spent some relaxing time at the beach. Overall, it was an awesome week. I feel like they left with a personal understanding of the ministry & a better feel for our work here. I enjoyed watching them take ownership in the vision of Freedom :) It's amazing what a trip here can do! *hint, hint*