The Reunion

I hurried back inside the temple and they were already praying so I stood, bowed my head and prayed, a few minutes later my phone began to vibrate. It was time to go. As soon as the prayer ended, little papers were handed out where we were to write down specific sins we wanted to repent of or prayer request I never really got to hear what they were for, I walked toward my chair picked up my purse and scurried out, the phone vibrated again. I walked downstairs toward the parking lot where he was waiting. I hopped on the car and off we went to the reunion.
We arrived at MacDonald's and her car was there, we parked and walked toward the door, went it and finally saw them sitting on a table by the window. My heart leaped with joy. With her back towards us was a blond, bluish eyed bubbly young woman with a cheerful spirit talking with a passion about her ministry to women in a place called Boca Chica. I sat next to her, finally, I thought, my prayer has been answered and it is taking form!
Our hearts rejoiced as we heard her stories of how she came to this country, of her vision about the minivan and the women, of her first sheep, the man who was reading John the night before, the gifts, the prayers.

But how will they give worship to him in whom they have no faith? and how will they have faith in him of whom they have not had news? and how will they have news without a preacher?
And how will there be preachers if they are not sent? As it is said, How beautiful are the feet of those who give the glad news of good things.
Romans 10:14-15

We ended our reunion with a set date, Friday the 27th when we would finally begin what we had been praying for , we prayed to end our reunion and left rejoicing and praising God for His providence, His guidance and His blessings. It is an evangelism ministry, it is to a group of women and all I can say is pray for us and for them. Thank You!

The Very End

For the past month and a half every 5 days for 24 hours I've had to share my emergency room at Billini with the most unfriendly creatures that have ever existed on the earth since the beginning of time. Yes I have had to share my space, my lunch time, my snacks and even my patients with them. But as of tomorrow they will cease to exist. At least for the next 3 months according to the instructions.
Ah goodbye my dear friends, it is the end, the very end of you. God willing.

Fallen Humanity

Something happened a few days ago, two satellites crashed and it just made me think and chucke for a little bit how we are soooo stubborn/fallen/sinful. Millions of dollars are spent looking out into the universe and we are so dense that we have missed the obvious. We are taught how far the planets are from each other and from the moon, the size of our planet and the size of the sun and moons, we are taught how the earth orbits in an elliptical rotation around the sun and how all planets in our solar system orbit the sun in that way. We are taught all about constellations, stars, gravity, supernovas and all about the universe and how it ticks. But we have missed the obvious, seeing we did not see, and hearing we did not understand. The universe works in perfect motion like a clock, we orbit around the sun with other 7 (8 if you still view pluto as a planet) other planets, moons orbit around each planet, there is a belt of asteroids not far from us with asteroids orbiting around our sun and some orbiting around us and in 10,000 years of recorded history that we know of none of the planets have crashed with each other or the sun, no dangerous asteroid has crashed and destroyed our earth, our moon hasn't fallen off of orbit.
We have an amazing God who claims that in Him all things hold together (Col 1:17) and the evidence to prove it, and here come these fallen human beings create objects and send them out into space that they may orbit our earth, and a century has yet to pass and already two satellites have crashed with one another, now endangering a lot of the very expensive satellites that are out there orbiting our planet, even one with people in it.
The saddest part of all is that millions of people have placed their trust in these fallen human beings.

⁵Thus says the LORD:"Cursed is the man who trusts in man
and makes flesh his strength,
whose heart turns away from the LORD.
Jeremiah 17:5

Providence

Providence

From Calvin's Institues:

That this distinction may be the more manifest, we must consider that the providence of God, as taught in Scripture, is opposed to fortune and fortuitous causes. By an erroneous opinion prevailing in all ages, an opinion almost universally prevailing in our own day, i.e., that all things happen fortuitously, the true doctrine of providence has not only been obscured, but almost buried. If one falls among robbers, or ravenous beats; if a sudden gust of wind at sea causes shipwreck; if one is struck down by the fall of a house or a tree; if another, when wandering through desert paths, meets with deliverance; or, after being tossed by the waves, arrives in port and makes some wondrous hair-breadth escape from death -- all these occurrences, prosperous as well as adverse, carnal sense will attribute to fortune. But whoso has learned from the mouth of Christ that all the hairs of his head are numbered (Matt. 10:30), will look farther for the cause, and hold that all events whatsoever are governed by the secret counsel of God.

I saw this on someone's Blog and just had to steal it! All I can say is AMEN!

Busy, Busy

I haven't posted much this year, that's because I'm currently on my last internship rotation of medicine, Surgery and Psychiatry(although this one begins in April), and it hasn't been easy. There has been a lot of studying being done, my schedule is crazy! and my shifts are every 5 days, 24 hour shifts mind you. When I'm finally home my brain is too fried to write anything, but soon this will all be over and I'll have more time to do all the good stuff I've had to stop doing this semester. Heck I even have a list of books I've been wanting to read but haven't been able to. Ah well I'll keep everyone updated. Prayers are always needed and Thanks!
Keep on Keeping on! and Looking always to Him who is the Author and Perfecter of our Faith!

God bless!
Rita M.

Edit:

Oh but I promise there is lots to tell! while a busy year this has been an amazing year! Okay, okay is just the beginning of February but still what better way to begin the year with an answer to a year and half long prayer? and then having that answer confirmed and re-confirmed by God's providence? Seriously if I could name this year something, It'd be: the Lord answers my prayers...maybe I'm just getting way ahead of myself right? ah anywho..I'll write it all down once my brain recovers.

Grace Gems: I would fly away, and be at rest!

I would fly away, and be at rest!

(Arthur Pink

, "The Rest of Christ")

"Come unto Me all you who labor and are heavy laden--and I will give you rest." Matthew 11:28

There is also a FUTURE rest beyond any that can be experienced here, though our best conceptions are most inadequate of the glory awaiting the people of God.

In Heaven, there shall be a perfect resting from all of our sins--for nothing shall ever enter there, which could either defile or disturb our peace. The Christian yearns to be done with sin forever--that there may never again be anything in his heart or life dishonoring unto the One who has redeemed him at such infinite cost. He pants for perfect conformity to the image of Christ, and for unbroken fellowship with Him.

What it will mean to be delivered from indwelling corruptions--no mortal tongue can tell. The plague of their hearts is a constant occasion of grief to the saints--as long as they are left in this wilderness of sin. It is a burden under which they groan, and from which they long to be delivered. The closer a believer's walk with the Lord, and the more intimate his communion with Him--the more bitterly he bewails that sin within him, which is ever fighting against his endeavors after holiness. Therefore it was, that the Apostle cried out, "O wretched man that I am! Who shall deliver me from this body of death!" (Romans 7:24) But blessed be God, we shall not carry this burden beyond the grave--the hour of death will free us from all indwelling evil.

In Heaven, there will be perpetual rest from all our afflictions. Though afflictions are needful for us in this present scene, and when sanctified to us are also profitable; nevertheless they are grievous to bear. But a day is coming when such tribulations will no longer be necessary, for all the dross shall have been purged from the gold. The storms of life will all be behind, and an unbroken calm shall be the believer's portion forever and ever!

Where there shall be no more sin--there shall be no more sorrow! "God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes! And there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain. For the old world and its evils are gone forever!" Revelation 21:4

"Oh that I had wings like a dove! for then I would fly away, and be at rest!" Psalm 55:6

Is This All That There is To Life?

I was reading at CJ Mahaney's blog today about the whole Michael Phelps ordeal, Mahaney was wondering what Phelps was searching for in the bong pipe he was caught with, "What emptiness in his soul was he trying to satisfy?" Then recalls another sports champion, Tom Brady who came to a profound realization:

"Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what is.” I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, “God, it’s got to be more than this.” I mean this isn’t, this can’t be, what it’s all cracked up to be."

It really caught my attention because these very question were ones I myself wondered about that year I was saved. I remember so well sitting with my friend Jenny at the University talking as usual about who knows what, and I wondered out of the blue: "This can't be it, is this what life is all about? we're born, we go to school grow up graduate, go to college/university, get a job, get married have children and raise them to do the same thing we did and then grow old and die? that's it!? that can't be it" I saw no point to it all, my friend Jenny said "yes thats it!" I told her slightly devastated "That can't be it!", she replied "Then my friend you are missing something". I too like CJ was "a sinner (of greater degree), held captive by sin, pursuing the fleeting pleasures of this world. And sadly, in my case, pursuing sin with passion." But found no point to it all, I began to fear death like I had never feared it before, I would wake up in panic thinking about the "nothingness" the blackness after death.
CJ ends his post with a quote by Augustine:

"It was Augustine who said that the soul is restless until it finds its rest in God. So true. Only God can satisfy the soul. Only the gospel of Jesus Christ provides forgiveness of sin, and therefore it is here in this gospel that we find rest for our restless souls."

Excerpt, read the rest here:

"The photograph of Phelps reminds me of myself prior to conversion, a competitive swimmer (of slightly lesser skill), a sinner (of greater degree), held captive by sin, pursuing the fleeting pleasures of this world. And sadly, in my case, pursuing sin with passion.

So what was Phelps searching for in that bong pipe?

Once again we are reminded that athletic gifting, championship trophies, gold medals, and million dollar endorsement deals cannot satisfy the soul.

Last year, in the wake of his third Super Bowl championship, disillusioned Patriots quarterback Tom Brady admitted on 60 Minutes,

Why do I have three Super Bowl rings and still think there’s something greater out there for me? I mean, maybe a lot of people would say, “Hey man, this is what is.” I reached my goal, my dream, my life. I think, “God, it’s got to be more than this.” I mean this isn’t, this can’t be, what it’s all cracked up to be.

I commend Brady for his honesty.

And no doubt some Pittsburg Steelers players are beginning to have similar thoughts.

But in Phelps’s case, if you listen to the media (with the exception of my man Michael Wilbon of the Washington Post) you hear a common chorus of excuses like “Give Phelps a break, nothing he did was anything worse than happens in an average weekend at a typical college campus.”

But we are not talking about a typical American college student. Phelps is a rich superstar.

This is what I find so striking: A man whose chest has been covered with gold medals, has achieved international fame, showered with awards, and blessed with an incomprehensible amount of money, still feels compelled to press his face to a bong."