Yummy Brownies (by Amanda)

it's been a hard couple of days for me. i fluctuate between desiring to take in the moments that we have here, treasure our time and enjoy it all and just wanting to go home where things are more comfortable, i know what's going on, i speak the language well and have many friends around that know me well. i find myself living in this constant state of frustration with myself....never doing enough, or trying to do it all and feeling like a failure at everything. and then i get frustrated with myself for being this way! why can't i just go with the flow, relax, be thankful? often i find i need a bit of perspective and pictures of hope to pull me away from being consumed with my own world. i need to see things outside myself. i need my heart to be softened to care for those around me more than i care for my own comfort. i need to see my own heart and repent and be moved to action and to love out of the love i have been given. please work in my heart Lord.
i was able to see some pictures of hope today. it was a hard day for me with zara, she needed a lot and i felt like i didn't have a lot to give. but i was also able to step outside myself and it was life-giving. we met with an organization today called Hope for the Nations. they have opened a home where young girls who are single moms can live. these girls all come from desperate circumstances....being disowned for being pregnant, being forced to drink poison to kill their baby unless they ran away, being shunned by their communities, being at risk for being sold into prostitution....etc.....The couple who runs this home have a heart to see these girls become whole and to begin to break the cycle of poverty in their own lives. They are given a safe place to stay and they live in community with one another as they learn about Christ, learn how to take care of their babies, and learn to handle the responsibilites of finances and jobs. the goal is to open small businesses and to train the girls in different fields that they are interested in so that they will have means to provide for their children. the first venture is to start a bakery that will sell baked goods to local hotels and cafes. so today we had the privledge of spending time baking with the girls. they are just practicing and learning the basics and we had so much fun just being able to do this activity together. we made brownies, cookies and coffeecake....it was really fun to have a taste of home and some of the sweets we have missed!


i felt hopeful as i was with these girls and as i looked at their babies....lives that could have been destroyed but are in the process of being redeemed. it showed me once again what a little bit of love and security can do to dignify someone and cause them to see the beauty and value in themselves. and it reminded me that while i often feel i have little to give, i can look into somone's eyes and smile and listen and let them know they are worthwhile and for that moment, that may be enough.