Return from Romania!


Dumnezeu bless tu! România is un amazing tara plin de cultura , nou program si inima!
(God bless you! Romania is an amazing country full of culture, new progress and heart!)

I have just returned from spending 5 weeks in Romania with Heart 2 Heart International Ministries. If I could condense my experience in Romania into three words, they would be: freedom, teamwork and healing.

FREEDOM: In one of my first emails, I mentioned how Romania used to run by a Communist dictator named Nicolae Ceausescu. He was extremely controlling, and he was oppressive in many ways. He believed in block apartment housing, so the government could be in control of people’s water, electricity and phone lines. In addition, Ceausescu dictated that women should have more than 5 children and so families were extremely large. The country struggled economically, and so people in Romania didn’t realize how many abandoned babies were starting to fill up orphanages at the time. Lastly, Ceausescu ruthlessly and cruelly persecuted Christian believers like Richard Wurmbrand, who is the founder of Voice of the Martyrs (a ministry that intercedes for the persecuted church). You can read about Pastor Wurmbrand’s story at this website: http://www.persecution.com/about/index.cfm?action=WurmbrandStory


TEAMWORK: I was placed on a team of eight beautiful women and we ministered together at the Alexandria orphanage, an hour and a half from the country’s capital. A typical day was:

Morning Bible Study and Craft for small children (K-6th grade)
Afternoon Bible Study and Craft for the older children (7-12th grade… and older)
Early Evening Group Games (until 6pm)
Prayer / Debrief / Prep for next day
Bedtime (11pm or 12 am)

It became clear that God used each person in a unique and powerful way, and I could see how God blessed our plans and activities when we valued each member of the team and worked closely with one another. As for me, I learned to listen more and speak less. I tend to be very verbal and quick to discuss my ideas, but I was learning that sometimes it was best to be quiet. This would allow more opportunities for my teammates, the ones who were more quiet or needed more time, to be able to speak up in our group time together.

HEALING: What was special for me was to be able to spend time hugging, playing and encouraging the orphans at Alexandria. I think over time I observed how a "healing process" took place in the lives of these kids. An influential passage in the Bible that motivated me to come on this trip and pour my lives into these kids was Isaiah 61:1-3, "The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives... to comfort all who mourn... to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes"

How these kids crave love and affection:
These orphans crave love and affection because they don't get a lot of attention. They are outcasts in Romanian society for a number of reasons. First, the orphans cut their hair and dress like boys, and it was sometimes hard not to refer to a little girl as "he" or "him." (The kids do it because it makes them look tougher, which was sometimes necessary in an orphanage where there are many bullies). Second, a lot of them came from gypsy families and this is not a favorable ethnic group in Romania. Lastly, we worked in a special education orphanage and so these girls were secluded from normal day Romanian culture. One girl who had some mental retardation, but she found a very special place in my heart, was Stella. From the moment I came, she came up to me and wanted a hug. She called me "mama" and has a very special place in my heart.

Although my teammates and myself enjoyed spending time with the kids, we had to make a few adjustments. These orphans were very dirty at times, and they usually did not take care of themselves in regards to proper hygeine (fleas and lice). In addition, some of the orphans were very violent with one another and used a lot of terrible words towards each other. (Fortunately I didn’t hear them because I didn’t know the language).

How we ministered to these kids:
Our team planned many games, crafts and bible studies so we could teach the kids about God’s love. We had 3 staff members who knew Romanian, and the rest of us did our best transcending language through hand games, songs, and simply hugging a child with love. As a team, we decided to give incentives for good behavior because we noticed that some of the kids were very violent with one another. In addition, I had the opportunity to share my testimony about how my relationship with Jesus radically changed my life.

I didn’t know what kind of impact that we would make on these kids, but near the end of our time, we discovered that the kids would sing the songs and go over memory verses when we would leave at night (like Sorina and Nutsi… you can see this picture). In our final days, we wanted the kids to know that although we might have to leave them, God will never leave them. So we brought a lot of kids to church with us, with the hope that these kids would continue to attend and get plugged into the local church fellowship even after we would have to leave.

How I personally saw God touch the lives of these kids: There are so many things that I could share with you, but let me share one story. I have posted a few pictures of some of the children with whom I grew very close, but let me share with you about Steliana. She taught me so many beautiful songs and I felt unconditionally loved by her. I learned that she was one of two girls kidnapped a few years ago by a stranger off the street. After some time, the girls were safely returned to the orphanage but the staff didn’t know exactly what was done to them. It made my heart brake to hear this story, and so I took special joy spending time with Steliana. She was encouraged by our songs and games, but most of all, she enjoyed the hugs that my teammates and myself lavished on her. I shall continue to keep in touch with her and pray for her during this next year.

If you are interested in being involved in this ministry, please talk with me. They always need people to serve on two week, five week or long term missions. One great need is for more male volunteers. If you can't go there personally, H2H is always looking for donation of supplies or money so these things would enable them to minister to the needs of the kids in the orphanages. Feel free to ask me further questions if this is on your heart. (For instance, giving 25 dollars can allow a H2H staff member to throw an ice cream party for 75 kids! )


Thank you for all your prayers and words of encouragement. It was evident people were praying for our safe travel and blessed time with the kids.

Yeah! June High School Summer Camp in the Julian Mountains!


Wow! God blessed me tremendously through this camp. This is now my third year returning to Camp Alandale, and I love to see how God uses this time to teach us about Him. This camp is a Christian camp that ministers to foster care kids who have been abused. I was the counselor for a young lady named Victoria. It was wonderful to sing songs with her, play in the pool together, and then study the Bible together. Since she was more comfortable reading in Spanish, we used her Spanish Bible for our studies. I must admit that my Spanish pronounciation skills are a bit rusty, but Victoria didn’t mind at all!

Victoria shared with me how she longs to be with her dad in New York, but she doesn’t know if he will take her after she turns 18. Also, she felt very comfortable in a Spanish church but now she must attend an English speaking church because the other one is too far away. This is part of the reason she has run away a few times from her foster homes. I encouraged her to trust God and be obedient to her foster care mom, even if it means that she can’t go to the Spanish church for now. I prayed with her that God would direct her to a Spanish church if it was His will, and that God would help guide her in regards to living with her dad. If you read this, could you take a moment and pray for Victoria as well. Thank you!!

To all of my family members and friends... thank you for your love and support!

Highlights:

1) May 21 - June 6 My parents returned safely from their Safari in Tanzania, Africa

2) June 17-August 2 I shall be gone this summer so I can attend the high school camp at Camp Alandale in the moutains of Julian (www.campalandale.org). Then, I shall go to Romania to work in an orphanage with Heart 2 Heart International Ministries for 5 weeks (www.h2hint.org).

3) April-June 17 My cousin David graduated as a sniper at Camp Pendleton after 12 grueling weeks of training. He has been visiting my family on the weekends for the last 3 months, and he is returning to Japan now, and then he'll start his first tour to Iraq. Some of my favorite times with him were our visits to Barnes & Noble, our walks on local trails, and our times together at my church.

This is a picture of my parents and my brothers and myself taken inside Jared's restaurant. He is the manager of a restaurant next to a newly renovated track in Boise, Idaho. It was a special time for me to see my brothers since we all live in different states now.

Also, it was a wonderful time for me to get to know Laura, Jared's amazing girlfriend. She is studying at Cal State San Marcos to be an elementary teacher. He even said the "L" word to Laura a few weeks ago, so I am happy that he has found someone very special -smile

Here is a picture of my 11th grade English class. It was an honor and privilege to teach them this year. I am thankful to God that He helped sustain me with energy, passion, patience, discernment and care for my students.

Next year, I shall be teaching College Prep 11th grade, SEI 11 grade (sheltered for outgoing ELD students), and ELD 2 (a class for students learning English). It shall be a challenge to have the entire range of leveled English courses at the same time, but I am thankful to my fellow staff members who are a great aid and support.

I went to go visit my Indian family in May, and I am so thankful that they have helped mentor me in my Christian walk. Also, they are a lot of fun too! They were teaching me a new video game called "Guitar Hero." I must give Tosh the prize of the "Best Guitar Face."

Here's Tosh and Ohio rockin' out...

I hope to update this blog after I return from Romania with pictures about my experience. I will be very limited in access to email, so forgive me if I am very slow to respond until I return on August 2nd.

Here is a verse that shall be my theme for this summer:

"The Lord is close to the brokenhearted and saves those who are crushed in spirit"

Psalm 34:18

Happy Easter!!!

In Acts 26:22-23, Paul states,
"I am saying nothing beyond what the prophets and Moses said would happen - that the Christ would suffer, and as the first to rise from the dead, would proclaim light to his own people and to the Gentiles."


Praise the Lord that Jesus has risen! What a wonderful day to celebrate His triumph over death and the devil! May God bless you richly and abundantly, especially on such a day as this one!

Unrest at Public Schools and Blessing of "International Month"

For the last three weeks, there has been unrest at many of the high school campuses in California. Since I teach ELD students, quite a few of them are concerned about the current political decisions about illegal immigration that are being discussed in the Senate. I was impressed with how my administration and fellow staff members took the opportunity to genuinely listen to the students, and help channel their concerns and emotions to protest on a Saturday. In comparison, other schools have had a lot of walk-outs, but a lot of students have not necessarily had the best reasons to leave school. When I talk to my students, they confess that some of their friends simply want to "ditch class" and do not have a clear or informed account of the current events. It was the first time that my high school had to cancel classes on a Friday due to all the tension on campus, and coming from the community as well.

What is ironic is that my Learning International Language Club (LIL Club) has been preparing to celebrate "International Month" in the month of April. So we gathered all of the different cultural clubs on campus and created a day of celebration of the diversity on campus. We set up tables of different countries, and students needed to pick up a "passport" and go to the different tables to get stamps. By saying something in another language or learning something new, students would earn a stamp and then travel around the whole world to end up at the "Finish" table to get a prize. I wore a German "dirndl" and stood next to another student who was from the German Club.




We had students of all races and nationalities there, and we had over 200 students visit our tables that day! I pray God continues to use the students during the course of this month to continue to promote peace and understanding.







Nationals Karate Tournament in New Mexico

Thank you for your prayers and encouragement for my karate tournament. I was very sick by the time I had to fly out to New Mexico, but with the Lord’s strength, I competed and did my best. It was also a tremendous blessing to fly out with the Slivnik family because I think everyone helped one another during the course of the trip.

I did not place in sparring or weapons, but I did receive first place in kata (self-defense). I was quite shocked at first, and also humbled since I was against stiff competition. You can see this in my face in the picture above.


It was an honor to receive 1st place because I didn't think I would win. I know that I could have poured a lot more time in training, but I am very careful to give my time to other important priorities in my life, such as family, school, friends and church. So, I am thankful to God for such a prize.
"Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 3:14).

This coming Saturday is my dojo's karate tournament in Carlsbad, so I will be preparing for this tournament as well.




New York City

Oh, how I thank God for brothers! I loved visiting Joel in New York. He lives in Manhattan, which is a key location for New York. (I never realized that New York was divided into 5 boroughs). Central Park is close to his house, and it was so easy to travel everywhere by foot, subway or bus. I was able to explore New York with Joel on Saturday and Sunday. The first picture is the both of us in front of a ice rink in Central Park.

On Monday, I had the wonderful opportunity to go dogwalking with Joel. This is a new job for Joel, and I didn’t realize how strenuous it actually could be! Walking the dogs was the easy part, but climbing all of the stairs to all the apartments and brownstone houses within a specified certain time period was a challenge. By the end of the day, I was exhausted and my feet hurt. Here is a picture of Joel with one of his favorite dogs named Oscar. He is a Brussels-Griffon puppy. I loved the chance to walk with Joel, but I couldn’t keep up on the following day!


Later that night on Monday, I took Joel and his beautiful girlfriend named Francesca to a famous restaurant named "Serendipity." It was made famous by a movie with the same name. It is known for its large and scrumptuous desserts. People wait two hours in general to eat there.

Passover

After returning home from New York, I was excited to learn that I wouldn’t miss the annual Passover meal that my Aunt Jane and Uncle Den host at their house. Since my father is Jewish, this holiday has always had special meaning for me. This meal celebrates the Jews and how they escaped from their slavery from Egypt. There is so much symbolism that fortells about Christ that I am always blessed to take part of the ceremony. My aunt is an incredible cook, so I took a picture of the table and all of its delectible food. My seat is empty, and to the left sits my aunt. My uncle is sitting at the far end, putting bunnie ears on his daughter-in-law.

My favorite part of this ceremony has always been when the children need to find the "hidden matzah." Matzah is unleavened bread, so it looks like a thin flat bread. During the middle of the ceremony, my uncle directs attention to three matzahs on the table, and pulls out the half of the middle matzah. He then hides it somewhere in the house, and the children need to find it in order to finish the ceremony. I can remember when I would compete against my brothers to find that matzah, and get rewarded with some money if I found it. Since I am older, I appreciate this middle matzah because it is also called the "afikoman" which symbolizes the Messiah who will come to restore all things. This has special significance for me since I know Jesus is the Messiah and this piece of bread represents Him!

When I returned home, I had a lot of questions about this holiday and how Christians could appreciate it as well. Here is a wonderful website that explains the ceremony in detail: www.cresourcei.org/seder.html

Santa Barbara

For the last part of my Spring Break, I was able to visit my beautiful friend Lori and her husband Jeremiah in Santa Barbara. Lori had her baby 4 weeks ago, and so it was a pleasure and privilege to spend time with her new baby, Isaiah. Here he sits on Lori’s chest and you must admit, he’s adorable!!!

"Like arrows in the hands of a warrior are sons born in one's youth. Blessed is the man whose quiver is full of them." (Psalm 127:4-5a).

I learned how precious it can be to have a newborn, and also how it takes a lot of work! Every two hours, Lori must nurse, berp, and change diapers for her little one. He wakes up a few times in the night, so she must tend to him during this time as well. Wow! I have a new respect for mothers of newborns now! I am thankful for Lori and Jeremiah's hospitality, in addition to Lori's great "car chase" after my train. (Since I accidentally mixed up times for the departure of the train, I had missed the train by a few minutes. Lori had to drive me fast to see if we could catch the train at the next stop. She almost got me there but the train took off again when I stepped out of the car. Fortunately, I was able to catch another train a few hours later, but we both laughed about the event afterwards.)

Cousins Dave and Jon

Here is a picture of my cousin David. He is a marine and he is stationed at Camp Pendleton for the next two months. He is from Louisiana, but has been stationed in Japan for the last few years so I haven’t had a chance to spend time with him for a few years. Since he is training to be a sniper, he has to make his own camoflauge outfit. So here are two pictures of us so we could model his new creation!

In addition, I am close to his older brother Jon. Here is a picture of Jon and his wonderful girlfriend named Sarah. They live in Louisiana, and so I shall look forward to the next time I can meet up with him.

New Trips

1) May: I visit my other brother Jared in Boise, Idaho!

2) This Summer: Camp Alandale and Romania

I shall be serving as a camp counselor for Camp Alandale this summer. I will work at the first camp which is for high school students. I look forward to seeing old campers that I have gotten to know in the past, and I pray God can use me to help build them up in their faith. You can check out about this ministry at: www.campalandale.org

In addition, I am taking a step of faith and going to serve in Romania for 5 weeks in late June and all of July. I shall be working at a Christian orphanage in Romania. From reading God’s Word and learning more about world events, it has been a growing desire to serve abroad in another country. The leader of my Bible Study suggested this mission trip for me since her son is the one in charge. There seems to be a real need for workers since many of the government run orphanages do not have enough people to show love to so many orphans. As I learn more, I shall email you and send you letters, asking for specific ways you can pray for me. If you are interested for more information, look at this website: www.h2hint.org

3) Continue to pray for Uganda

I had sent an email about the atrocities occurring in Uganda in regards to the "Invisible Children" and their plight. If you are interested in getting involved, here are two places you can start. First of all, Samaritan’s Purse is active in the refugee camps in Uganda. Second, I encourage you to watch a screening of the documentary: "Invisible Children." I am trying to find an opportunity to watch it myself, and I will try to watch it at my high school since it will be showing a screening soon. This documentary is about the children who are being beaten and forced to leave their families so they can fight in the Lord’s Resistance Army. There is a "Global Commute" movement in which you can get personally involved. People shall be gathering in San Diego (and among many other cities) to get the attention of our government. Once I learn more information, I shall email you about it, but for now, check out this website: http://www.invisiblechildren.com/

God bless you all!

Happy Birthday, Bevy! (She's my cousin!)


Praise God! I am thankful that He is willing to direct me step by step.
"Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek first His will in all you do, and He will direct your paths" (Proverbs 3:5-6).

This has been a lesson I have been learning recently. I share it because I seem to doubt that the Almighty Creator and King can guide me to the best decisions. I am thankful that He is always beside me, no matter how alone or discouraged or hopeless I may feel on certain occasions. It is true that "My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (Psalm 73:26).

Here are some stories of people that have put their trust in God, despite difficult circumstances.
This is my Women’s Bible Study that meets Sunday mornings at my church. We range in ages, ethnicity, marital status, and personalities, but I have been tremendously blessed by this group. One woman in particular has encouraged me and her name is Gloria. A few months ago, she learned that she may not have long to live unless she gets a stem cell match. Right now, she is encouraging others and showing Christ’s love in the midst of all the medical examinations, blood transfusions and chemo treatments. Please take a moment to pray for healing for Gloria because I think she would greatly appreciate it.

Another group of people that have put their hope in Jesus, despite hardships in their lives, are some of the campers at Camp Alandale. I was a counselor at the Junior High camp, and I had two girls who were such treasures! I had opporunities to sing worship songs with them, play outside with them, spend one-on-one time talking, and also studying God’s Word together too.

One camper, Evette (I changed her name in view of confidentiality), had become a Christian in the summer. It was a difficult decision for her because she had been abused, and recently lost her mother and grandmother so she felt "trapped" in the foster care system. I admired how she wanted to keep on attending her youth group at home, even though she felt as if she was losing some of her other friends in the process. Some of her closest friends are starting to ditch school or take drugs, and she has chosen to avoid following down the same path. It is a scary thing to do, so I feel blessed to have the opportunity to encourage her to continue to follow God with all of her heart. I shall be keeping in touch through letters, and I am hoping to see her again this summer at another camp.

Thank you for all of your prayers during my time at camp. I can see how God used them to open the minds and hearts of these campers to God’s Word and His powerful, life-changing love. (Note: Since the identities of thes children should remain confidential, I have shown pictures of the counselors singing together. It is such a fun and outrageous time for all the kids and the counselors to let loose and praise the Lord with cheers of joy and laughter!)

In regards to teaching, I recently had an opportunity to take 8 girls on a field trip to Balboa Park. I am an advisor for the LIL club (Learning International Languages Club). We stopped on the way at a Korean and Japanese market, and you can see us in the first picture. I think I was holding a dried fish, and we all had fun posing in the market. Then we watched a film about Africa, and then enjoyed a mulitcultural buffet of food in the middle of the park. (We all brought food from different countries, and we ate in the International Cottages area). By the way, when you see us doing something strange with our hands, we are trying to spell out "LIL" with our fingers. It’s cute, don’t you think?

By the way, a lot of people have been asking about my Indian family lately. I wanted to show a few pictures so you could see them personally. I am thankful to Sanjay (Josh) that he was willing to challenge me in college to follow God with all of my heart, and he was willing to share his family with me too! I consider them family, and I praise God to see what He is doing in all of their lives. In the first picture, you can see me with Josh and another "gabeg."

The second picture is with Santosh, who is the age of my brothers.

The next picture shows the girls of Josh’s family (Delfa, Grandma, Shoba’s cousin, Geeta and Shoba). The last picture is Shoba and Jaipaul (Josh’s sister and father). I remember many long talks with Jaipaul, and I am excited to see how God shall use him mightily in the future.

Here is also a picture of friends that I took when we went to Big Bear together. I thank God for each of these godly women!

Thank you again for all of your prayers. I have six weeks until I go to the Nationals Karate tournament, so I am trying to "slow down" a little in order to make more time for it. As one friend told me jokingly, that’s impossible for me. Oh well, praise God that He truly is my strength!

I call myself blessed because of all my family and friends.

Thank you for taking the time to read some of my reflections. Lately, I am taking more joy in the simple things rather than getting involved in too many things. Although I have a few commitments on my plate, I am thankful that God has taught me to value and take joy in such simple pleasures.

Outdoors:
I enjoyed going to the "Bridge of Nowhere" on December 17. Dawn was our ringleader, and she invited a group of people to go bungee jump in honor of Marcus’s birthday. The reason for the name of this bridge is due to the fact that the government abandoned its effort to build a road using this bridge. So now it lies 5 miles deep in the Angeles National Forest. Dawn had discovered a group called "Bungee America" and this is the company that helps stage stunts for Fear Factor and other television shows. This was a reliable company, and if you are interested in more information, please take a look at their website: http://www.bungeeamerica.com/nowhr.htm I had a great time jumping off the bridge, and I hope to post some pictures on this blog soon.

Karate:
I am training more consistently in order to prepare for the Nationals Karate Tournament that will be held this year in Alberqueque, New Mexico. I shall be gone March 30-April 2. I shall be competing in three areas: forms (kata/self defense), sparring (kumite/point fight matches), and weapons. I thank God for the opportunity to train. It will probably take me the next two years, if I am dedicated to the task, to earn my black belt. I hope to use this knowledge of self-defense to help teach others in the future. My style is called "Keichu Do" and I train under the Crothers family. The official website for our dojo is: http://spaces.msn.com/members/keichuvista/
Also, if you are interested to see a picture from my tournament in November, you can look at the following website: http://martibass2.blogspot.com/

Family:
I enjoyed Christmas because I was able to see both of my brothers. My brother Joel flew out from New York, and it was great to have all of us together again. My brother Jared is leaving for Idaho on this Sunday, so I also won’t have him around either. We have family friends that have bought a race track in Boise, Idaho, so they asked my brother if he was interested to start a restaurant that would serve the customers. Jared realizes that he will be busy, but he is excited by the new venture. Also, both of my brothers are seriously dating two beautiful and wonderful women, and I enjoy getting to know both of them.




We opened gifts on Christmas morning. Joel is wearing his "New York" hat that he now owns.







This is Jared's girlfriend named Laura. She wants to become an elementary teacher, enjoys cooking and likes to spend time outdoors. There is a natural grace and love that radiates from her. I think she complements Jared well.

This is Joel's girlfriend named Francesca. She graduated from Boston University with a Computer Graphics degree, and she works a few jobs in order to live in New York City. They explore New York together, and she is incredibly kind and a good listener. I plan to visit them during my Spring Break in April.

Camp Alandale:
During the first weekend of February, I shall be serving again as a counselor at Camp Alandale, located near the town of Julian. This is the junior high camp, and I am excited to see the kids again from the summer. I shall be sending out an email asking for prayer support in the next two weeks. I thank God for the opportunity to be involved in this ministry because it is powerful to see how God’s Word can bring healing to these kids’ lives. In addition to God’s Word, I have learned how important it is to develop genuinely loving relationships with these kids, so they feel God’s love in a real and meaningful way. (My account of the high school winter camp is on the website: http://martibass2.blogspot.com/

Christmas and New Year’s Eve:
Again, God blessed me tremendously through visits to family members and friends. The following are some pictures of who I visited, and I love you all so dearly.

This is my beloved aunt, uncle and cousin Nick at our family's Christmas party. My Aunt Mary inspires me to sew, but of course, not to eat hummus.

These are my loving grandparents whom I adore. I had the opportunity to hear them sing at their church on Christmas Eve, and it was so beautiful for me to listen.

I am with my beloved friend Lori. She is pregnant and expected to give birth around March 17 (it's coming up quick!). She has moved from South Dakota to work at UC Santa Barbara with the staff of Campus Crusade for Christ.

Okay, probably not a good picture of me, but at least baby Madison looks cute! Baby Madison is truly a God's send and miracle, and I enjoyed spending time with Carin, who is her aunt. Actually, they accompanied me to the mall where I had my ears pierced for the first time!

Right Picture: These are my good friends, Tracy and Brooke, who I known since high school. They amaze me with their gifts and talents.

Left Picture: This is my Dad and my aunt. I celebrated New Year's Eve with her. I helped her cook all day, so we could serve a Carribbean meal to everyone that night. We both share a common love: cooking ethnic food!

God’s Word:
As there have been many blessings, there have been times of sadness for me. God has brought me a lot of comfort through His word, and I can understand now why King David had wrote, "How sweet are your promises to my taste, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103). In another pslam, David cries out, "My soul will be satisfied as with the richest of foods; with singing lips my mouth will praise you!"

There are two passages that God has used to strengthen me. First off, a wise woman in my Bible Study shared with me about Psalm 73. In this psalm, the author shares how he was angry and jealous about how evil people seemed to prosper, and yet the author himself felt he was suffering incredibly and God didn’t seem to be helping him. I was touched how the author was expressing genuine pain and doubts, and I was deeply moved when I noticed how God gave comfort to this man. The author realizes the destiny of these evil people (verse 17) and then concludes, "Yet I am always with you; you hold me by my right hand. You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will take me into glory. Whom have I in heaven but you? And being with you, I desire nothing on earth. My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever" (verses 23-26). As this man was consoled, I felt God telling me to give all my concerns and doubts over to Him because He is my loving Father.

The second passage that is currently on my mind is James 5:10-11. James tries to encourage the other Christians to be patient in their suffering. He states, "Brothers, as an example of patience in the face of sufferin, take the prophets who spoke in the name of the Lord. As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered. You have heard of Job’s perseverance and have seen what the Lord finally brought about. The Lord is FULL OF COMPASSION AND MERCY." !Que maravilloso! I must confess that I lack faith in God’s incredible character, and how He has the best in store for those who love him (Romans 8:28). Please pray for me that I shall persevere and continue to trust in the Lord Jesus Christ.

The following is a picture of my beautiful cousins. Oh, I thank God for them!

I enjoyed seeing them during the holidays. The following blog is a special time for with my 'girl' cousins and myself to "goof off" together online. (That's not to say I don't absolutely adore my boy cousins! Hey, Jon, Dave and Tim, you guys are amazing!)

Hello! I'm at my grandparents house with some of my gorgeous and extremely fantabulous (yes, that's a word!) cousins. We had a good time playing "Mafia", "Spoons" (and hanging spoons on our noses, except for me because my nose is flat and short), and "Gotcha." Now, here is a discussion about my cousin Jennifer's future career.

Alisa: Jennifer will be the next Britney Speares
Melinda: She will be an award winning singing prison guard in Alcatraz.
Rachel: she will be an undefeatable Fear Factor champion
Shannon: Jen will be a professional whittler of oars for Venetian gondolas.
Marti: After visiting Italy with her sister Shannon, Jen will be the official person who holds up the Leaning Tower of Pisa.
Kim: Coming soon
Jen: I will be.... I will be... I will be... the future wife of the Prince of Italy (of course he doesn't exist, but we are all praying really hard right now that God will change this situation) who I met in Boboli Gardens while taking a picture of a flying dead squirrel eating fried zucchinni. After our encounter, we were married in front of a famous fountain eating chocolate gelato.

Her parents say................................????