Leaving the Country!

Well, Sunday is the day that I will be leaving the country, and this is my last blog post before I go. I have been so swamped with everything that I have not been able to even check my email let alone blog. Anyhow, tomorrow I leave to meet my team members for the trip, and am very excited, anxious, and, to be honest, a little nervous. I can't believe that in a matter of 3 days I will be half way around the world during the busiest, family oriented holiday of the year. When I decided to go on this trip, I knew it would be hard, but very rewarding to my spirit. I have known this was approaching all year, but it has come upon me soooo fast! I am not quite sure what all we will be doing in India, but I know that I will get to play with a bunch of children who I will probably want to bring home with me. I appreciate all the prayers that have been said for myself and team, and appreciate the prayers that will be going out while I am gone. The power of prayer I Thessalonians 5:17 tells us to "Pray Continually." James 5:16 "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous man is powerful and effective." Phillipians 4:6-7 "Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present you requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." I remind you of all these verses to encourage you to continually pray, not only just for my team and myself, but for the Kingdom. There are many great things done through prayer.......we often forget to pray on a daily basis, I am most at fault for that one. I know that where I will be for the next 2 weeks is very much attacked by Satan in ways that are much different then here in America, and I might see things and experience spiritual warfare that I have never seen or experienced before......that is why I write this post. To remind my brothers and sisters to pray and continually. I love all of you, and will be praying for you while I am away as I always do. That God will keep you all close to His heart, and that He will guard yours from Satan's many attacks. Have a beautiful Christmas and fun New Years with your family and friends. I will see all of you next year!

With all of my love and missing you,

Melody

A weekend in the Mountains!

This past weekend was simply amazing! This picture is just one of the many taken, and you can see the rest at my shutterbook. Anyhow, there were 11 of us all together, some of us knew each other better than others, but by the end of the weekend, we were one big happy group of friends having a great weekend together. It is amazing on how the mountains make you forget about everything you have going on around you, and refocuses what is important in life. This certain picture was taken on Saturday morning as the sun rose! It reminded me of how awesome and BIG God is, and how blessed I am to be able to view such an amazing creation He has made for us.

On Saturday night, we all gathered around one table to eat together. It was like having a very mixed family, which is exactly what it was.......my church family. We were able to share, encourage, and shed tears with each other. That was the best part of the whole weekend. God really showed me how blessed I am to have such great friends and sisters and brothers in Christ. I couldn't ask for any more. Although, sickness was evident throughout the house, it didn't hold us back from having a good time. A great big thank you goes out to Sandy Gibbes family for allowing us to have their cabin for the weekend, and to make lots of memories to remember and share along our life journeys!