The Relentless Pursuit…

We are in the hot season here in Thailand and boy is it hot!  Today it is 99 and feels like 105!  So…. here are the girls two favorite ways to cool off….

For a whole month we have mostly been eating rice and chicken.  I was soooo hungry for a good hamburger - my mom makes the best hamburgers on the grill.  You know that there is something wrong when you pass a McDonalds and get so excited for a hamburger!!!!  In America - that is the last place I want to get a hamburger, but when we passed it the other day I begged Rick to stop and let me get a burger!!!  It was sooo good!  I really need to find out where to buy good beef here!!! :)  The cows in the pasture across from  our house look a little scarry and I am a little nervous about that!

Rick just turned 29 on Tuesday!  I wasn’t feeling well, so we didn’t get to do anything fun and adventurous!  But the girls and I tried to make it special anyway!!!  We made a Birthday banner for Daddy and when he came home from the office the girls stood outside with their microphones and sang happy birthday!  I attempted to make some brownies, but they turned out pretty mushy!!!  It is all a learning process over here!!!  Also I included a picture of Maddy’s birthday card to Daddy - complete with Daddy’s fo-hawk!!!  Too adorable!!!

Sorry, I have a little catching up to do!  I have all these posts I need to write, but it is hard to find the time to do it!!!

Easter Sunday we visited Emma’s church!  For those of you who don’t know, Emma is Madison and Gracie’s best friend.  She is so sweet and we are so thankful that God has blessed us with knowing Emma - she is a true joy!!!  God is so Good!  (There is also a previous post about Emma - be sure to check that out if you haven’t read it already!)  The girls were so excited to attend a church that had Sunday school in English!!! 

We all had a wonderful time!  The girls participated in a Easter egg hunt, then we had a wonderful breakfast and a great service! 

You see a sign like this…

What does this mean to you?

Gracie

Gracie

It was a lot of fun to celebrate Grace’s 2nd Birthday on April 9th.  She’s 2 going on 20!  Everything Maddy does, she wants to do….and every once in a while she’ll ask for help. :)  We bought a cake from DQ and I don’t think we’ll do that again.  It looks much better than it tastes. (not enough chocolate

Later,

Rick

This little girl is named Emma.  She is 5 years old and lives in the same neighborhood as us.  Her mother died when she was young and she is now in the process of being adopted by an American family who lives here in Chiang Mai.  The only catch to the whole story is that her mother died of HIV, therefore Emma also has HIV.  Now, when I here things like this, impossible stories, all I can think of is when Jesus said “with men it is impossible, BUT with God, all things are possible!” 

There are many different opinions when it comes to the issue of healing, but I cannot deny that my bible says that God is Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals.  By the stripes of Jesus we were healed, and that we can lay hands on the sick and they will recover.  I could go on and on about what the bible says concerning sickness and disease.  If you struggle with this issue, just read your bible and not listen to everyone’s opinion. J 

Now, I will say this…. I wholeheartedly believe in the power of God to heal any disease, and even to bring people back to life…yet I’ve also seen a lot of failure in my prayer life when I’ve prayed for healing.  In fact, I’ve seen much more failure than I have success.  I’ve prayed for the fever to leave my child, and it did not, I’ve prayed for various different things and did not see the manifestation…does that mean I give up???  Does that mean it doesn’t work??  OH NO!!!!!  That is not the case!!  God is forever faithful, and will always back up His word.  So, the problem does not lie with him, but in me.  So my solution is to change me, and become more like Him so when I come into contact with sickness and disease, it does not see “Rick” but it only sees Jesus.  That’s when HIV leaves because Jesus has come on the scene.  As John the Baptist said, “I must decrease, so He can increase.” 

Like I said earlier, when I hear of impossible situations, or battles that people are going through concerning sickness, it makes me what to fight the Devil more and become a person that can DO something about it, and not just talk about it!!  So I ask you to stand with me as we trust the Lord to eradicate this HIV from Emma’s body so she may live a miracle life as a testimony for God, the Lord that Heals!

We went to church for the first time this last Sunday. It was quite the experience!!! Rick said the adult service was great! I went with the girls to Children’s Church and the whole service was in Thai!!! They did have a lady come sit with us and translate, but with all the kids it was very hard to hear. It was fun to watch though and I told Maddy that one day she will understand everything they are saying!!!

Click on this link to watch the video that goes along with this blog. Maddy’s Bike

For all of you parents out there; you understand there are those moments in time when you see your child growing up right before your eyes. Whether it’s the next size in clothing, or their vocabulary, or as in this video when they begin to ride a bike with ease, you know they’re growing up. I’m still working on how to freeze them in time at the age I want so they can’t grow anymore, but I’ve not yet succeeded in that. Anyhow, everyone who has older children tells you that your day is coming when they will be “all-growed up”, and sometimes it seems like everyday it happens, but I guess it really does??
Later,

Rick