Rancho 3M

Hello everyone, this summer, for about a week, my sister Alexandra and I are planning on going to the Rancho 3M orphanage in Guadalupe, Mexico with the group from our church. While there we will be doing various projects around the "ranch" that are needed for its upkeep and improvement. Past projects have included painting, bathroom renovation, fencing, and much more. We also like to spend time with the children giving them some much needed attention and showing them the love of Jesus. This is a Christian run orphanage and school, and our church has a good relationship with them, and has gone on many of these trips. The ranch relies a lot on short term missions trips (such as ours) for getting these projects done as well as ministering to these kids (as much as the staff adores them, there are many kids and only so many staff members so the time we are able to spend with the kids is very valuable).

 Please, please, please be praying for Alexandra, me, and the rest of the people on the team. Please be praying that whoever the Lord wants on the trip will be there, and that He will keep us all safe from harm. Please also be praying for Rancho 3M and the children and staff who are there. I will probably be creating a "group" that you can join if you would like to keep you updated on the trip details as well as posting some specific prayer requests

In addition, while the trip is not as expensive as some missions trips can be, it will be somewhat costly. The costs, including airfare, will be a total of $750 per person due in various increments at various dates. The first payment of $200 each is due on April 15, $300 each on June 3, and the rest on June 24. There also could be some miscellaneous costs such as luggage fees. If you would like to help us financially it would be greatly appreciated. You may hand it to me in person or send me a message and I will give you my address. If you would like your donation to be tax deductible either make a check out to Sovereign Grace Church with "Mission Fund" on the memo line or include the adult donor's name with cash if you choose to use that form.

Whether you donate financially or not, please continue to support us and the rest of the team in prayers both before and during our trip. If you like to learn more about Rancho 3M their website is http://www.rancho3m.com/ and they also have a facebook page which they update pretty regularly.
Thanks for reading and for your prayers!

Psalm 25

"To You O LORD, I lift up my soul.

O my God, in You I trust;

let me not be put to shame;

let not my enemies exult for me.

Indeed, none who wait for You shall be put to shame;

they shall be ashamed who are wantonly treacherous

Make me to know Your ways, O LORD;

teach me Your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

for You are the God of my salvation;

for You I wait all the day long.

Remember Your mercy, O LORD, and Your steadfast love,

for they have been from of old.

Remember not the sins of my youth or my transgressions;

according to Your steadfast love remember me,

for the sake of Your goodness, O LORD!

Good and upright is the LORD;

therefore He instructs sinners in the way.

He leads the humble in what is right,

and teaches the humble His way.

All the paths of the LORD are steadfast love and faithfulness,

for those who keep His covenant and His testimonies.

For Your name's sake, O LORD,

pardon my guilt, for it is great.

Who is the man who fears the LORD?

Him will He instruct in the way that he should choose.

His soul shall abide in well-being,

and His offspring shall inherit the land.
The friendship of the LORD is for those who fear Him, 

and He makes known to them His covenant.

My eyes are ever toward the LORD,

for He will pluck my feet out of the net

Turn to me and be gracious to me,

for I am lonely and afflicted.

The troubles of my heart are enlarged;

bring me out of my distresses.

Consider my affliction and my trouble,

and forgive all my sins

Consider how many are my foes, 

and with what violent hatred they hate me.

Oh guard my soul, and deliver me!

Let me not be put to shame, for I take refuge in You

May integrity and uprightness preserve me,

for I wait for You.

Redeem Israel, O God,

out of all his troubles"

Great Moments

One of my classes this semester includes a practicum. I have to complete 75 hours in a public school and 75 hours in the Child Study Center at ODU. My ODU teacher requires that we give out at least one "Great Moment" certificate (simple half-sheets of paper with "Great Moment" on it underneath which it says "_____ had a great moment today" and space to write about what it was the student did that was great. Last week or so I gave one to this one girl in the 4th grade classroom I am in. A few minutes later she handed me a folded piece of paper that, on the outside, said "To: Miss Morrison From: her (I'm not going to share her name for privacy reasons). On the inside was this....

Friend of God

I was singing "You are Holy" the other day. I love the chorus, and one particular thing stuck out to me this time. Here is what it says (this is the woman's part):

"You are Lord of Lords

You are King of Kings

You are mighty God

Lord of everything

You're Emmanuel

You're the Great I Am

You're the Prince of Peace

Who is the Lamb

You're the living God

You're my saving grace

You will reign forever

You are ancient of days

You are Alpha, Omega, beginning and end

You're my Savior, Messiah, Redeemer, and friend"

Isn't it amazing how with all the things that are true about God (Lord of Lords, King of Kings, mighty God, Lord of everything, Great I Am, beginning and end, etc) that one of the descriptions of Him is FRIEND! He is so vastly greater then us, and yet He is willing to call us friends!

In John 15:15 Jesus says, "No longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all that I have heard from my Father I have made known to you"

Bald Eagle Sighting

The other day I was leaving Cafe Moka after having had coffee with my friend Laura. As I was waiting to pull out onto the main road, I saw a big bird flying around, and I noticed that it had a white tail. I couldn't see his head, but I wondered if it was a bald eagle. Then he (or she) landed on a telephone pole, and I saw that it WAS a Bald Eagle! It was a really neat experience. I took some pictures from the car; they did not come out very well, but here are some if you would like to see.