Into the New Year, Into Costa Rica...

Happy almost 2008! Have big plans for celebrating? I am absolutely beside myself. I'm all packed up and ready to go. Looking to your right, you may see that I have darkened my hair in light of my move. Well, it turned out a little darker than expected but I'm counting on it to fade...I hope! :) I've put together this 2-minute goodbye clip for you to watch. Please don't be scared of some of the pictures, no humans were hurt during the filming of this montage. Enjoy, Happy New Year, and I'll post another entry once I'm settled in Costa Rica this week!

Pictures from Christmas Day. Enjoy!

Christmas is knocking at our door.

Christmas 2007, could it really be here already? The Christmas lights, Holiday music, and gifts under the tree tell us that it has arrived. Since I'm little miss planner, I've had all of my Christmas shopping finished for several weeks now. Heehee, I wonder whose side of the family I get that from? We'll be having a family Christmas in Atlanta this year and I'm feeling quite sentimental as it is possibly my last Christmas in the States for a while. I am focusing on my blessings this year and remembering what all the Lord has done for me to get to this place.

The following is from a journal entry this past week:
...I've been learning that all of this is simply not about me. First, its about God. Second, its about His plans for the people of Colombia that I may come in contact with. And third, well, there is no third. And there is no "Zoe." Sure I will do more growing and learning than I can imagine. And I pray that I will be used to the fullest. But my goal is not some search for self-fulfillment and an attempt to feed my hunger for adventure. No, its not about me. We are truly a team! This team is made up of all the people who read my blog and emails, all who remember me in prayer, all who support me financially, and all who believe that we can be used of the Lord to make a difference in Colombia! So I would say to my team, let's run the race and not grow weary in doing good!

Remember this Christmas that the Lord is using you. As you read this entry and as you open your gifts, the Lord is blessing somebody in Colombia as a direct result of your prayers and generosity. Merry Christmas dear friends. You are someone's gift this year.

Below are the pictures from the Colombian moms' Christmas party. WE provided those baskets of goodies for them!

Heart wrenching stories!

Dear friends, I know that often times we get wrapped up in our world...especially with Christmas around the corner. I know that I have been busying myself with last-minute plans. I often stress about the little things: "Do I have everything for Costa Rica?", "How much more support do I need?", "What should I get Dad for Christmas?" There just aren't enough hours in the day!

Well, the other night I received an email from a dear friend in Colombia. Her name is Lucy and she is the pastor's wife of the church that I will be attending in Bogota. For more than a year now I have been supporting their church monetarily. They have a ministry for single moms and I try to help provide them with some extra resources to better serve the women that need some help. Sometimes its frustrating to log on to the internet and send money every month. I often have bills that could more easily be met if I hadn't committed to sending them money every month. Sometimes I even forget and I have to play catch-up the following month. But then I get an email. Something that hits my heart like a brick, brings out the tears, and reminds me of why I was led to ever give and to stay committed.

I am including some excerpts from her email because it directly effects you. This is one of the ministries that I will work hand-in -hand with once I'm there. I hope that it ministers to you the way that it did to me. This is the reality of thousands of Colombian women. I was very discouraged at first. Full of questions-"how can I have so much, and they suffer so tremendously?" But the Lord has turned it into encouragement. The road is clearly in front of me, I will do all that I can to alleviate some of the burdens, and trust God to do the rest! I end with this: (please note that they call me Danielle since they cannot pronounce Zoe)

From Lucy Sativa
Bogota, Colombia
November 30, 2007
I want to share with you that this Sunday we will give out invitations for 35 head-of-household women and their children. We will prepare a typical Christmas dinner for them and their children and we will hand out baskets containing wine, cookies, tuna, chocolate, canned sausages, packs of filled candy, cheese, jello, a box of buñuelo mix (fried buns), a box of natilla(custard) mix, fruit cake, sardines, etc. etc. and with a cute little Christmas card, made by the women leaders, and at the end, it will say your name.....Danielle.
I also want you to know that from the "Zoe" fund, every Sunday, we give 20,000 pesos to the family or the mother of the young man who died in the car accident (the ones that you prayed for that day). We give them to her like this because it is what she needs every week for her business now- selling arepas con chorizo (arepas with sausage).
and to another girl, whose husband is in jail, and who is being sought in ORDER TO BE KILLED BECAUSE SHE WITNESSED THE DEATH OF HER BROTHER, we gave $150.000 pesos to help her out with her rent, she had to move to another neighborhood. We have also helped her out with groceries.
Well, thank you, because this is how we have been able to help other women, a little bit at a time. Like the 2 young widows who were helped with groceries.
LUCY