Several things to mention today…
First off, thank you so much for your prayers and comments, they keep me going.
PRAISE HIM! My fingers are doing very well I have not even thought of biting except like twice and I resisted the urge those times. Also, although I had a moment of intense grief, it has for the most part passed and I am fully focused on my job here instead of what I left behind. God has really been communicating “love” to me this week. Family love, friend love, boy love, idol love, His love, sharing that love, and receiving that love. I have discovered that I have the gift of love. I truly love and enjoy people god has put in my life. However I struggle to receive love. I do not accept compliments well, I refuse to trust and be vulnerable, and after forgiving and letting go 8 million times, I begin to hold a grudge. So thank you god for showing me more about myself and what to work on. I have been praying out loud, which some of you know is very hard for me. The home we are currently staying in also has unlimited internet so we will not have to keep paying and it is pretty fast connection so apparently we will be able to skype!
CONFUSION. There are many things about the culture I do not understand, Also today we went prayer walking through Kauma to see some of the families in the adziwa program. one woman had 5 children to care and she was a widow. The youngest, 6 years old, had malaria plus had been in a coma, and now has suffered a stroke. He could not walk or talk, he just laid in bed all day every day. His hand was stuck as well. She brought him out of the house and Karen began to pray. The whole time she prayed I just repeated “by faith you are healed” but nothing happened. I believed it could happen, and I knew he needed healing, I prayed. I declared truth. And nothing happened. I don’t understand.
We taught the kids to play baseball today with sugar cane and a rag ball. It was awesome. We have been going to homes this week to clean and today, there were a million trillion cockroaches in this one house!!!! I could not handle it. At all.
I went to blessings house tonight and we made homemade mashed potatoes and they tasted just like moms except they were lumpy because we had to handmashed them ha. It made me miss my mommy. I love you
ANNA GRACE>>>> you are finally a teenager. I could not be more proud to call you my sister. You are so humble and innocent and pure(I hope being a teenager does not ruin that!) and you care so much about others. You love god more than you love yourself and everyone loves you because your light shines and its infectious. You have always been the cutest estes but now you’re the most beautiful estes… and that is saying something cause we are a FABULOUS looking family :] I love you more than I could ever express and I am so sos os sososososo happy you are coming with dad to see me. It means more than youll ever know. Im counting down the days honey… HAPPY BIRTHDAY ps we can never again say you are still developing:]
so as for the culture pray for wisdom and understanding. As for God, rember his response to JOB...and Read Isaiah 55: 8-11...You are called to follow HIM...LOVE them...pRAY CONTINUOUSLY AND leave it with God....HE IS FAITHFUL....I love you...MOMMY
ReplyDeleteWell, this is the second time I'm typing this so hopefully this time works... But I don't think you ever hold a grudge. After forgiving 70x7x49812465... You don't have to go back to being how things were and trusting them, and that's not holding a grudge that's just being smart.
ReplyDeleteThat note to Anna is so sweet. You're doing amazing things and really impacting people's lives so keep it up!!! Miss and love you homie.
Hey Ellie,
ReplyDeleteKeep doing what you are doing!!! your job is to pray and proclaim the truth of the Gospel - forgiveness, healing and deliverance. Then Jesus will come and back up your message with power. READ MARK 16:14-20. This is exactly what it talks about. Keep believing, keep praying, keep proclaiming. God is faithful and He will back up your message!! You don't know what happened in the spirit realm when you prayed - maybe the next wall was broken that may be keeping that family bound. Bless you!!!! We love you!!!
Hey Ellie - forgot to sign my name above! Love you...Amy
ReplyDeleteEllie,
ReplyDeleteSo proud of you! Continue to pray, to wonder, to ask questions! He will answer you in many different ways, using many different venues, people and situations! Remember, he is walking beside you, and loving you with each step that you take in that beautiful land! Love you and supporting you in prayer!
Miss Janet
Ellie,
ReplyDeleteI understand the confusion. There's many things I don't understand also. Even the disciples battled confusion and doubt while in the very presence of Jesus after the resurrection(Luke 24:41). Jesus understood their doubts and knew what they needed to keep moving forward was a fresh encounter with Him; which He gave them in the following verses(Luke 24:42-53). When you are dealing with doubts or confusion, ask Jesus to give you a fresh word and encounter and He will.
Keep proclaiming the gospel of the Kingdom(forgiveness, healing, deliverance from all the works of the devil- Matthew 10:7,8: 1 John 3:8; Acts 10:34-38). Ask God to give you boldness(Acts 4:29-34; Acts 28:30,31; Ephesians 6:18-20) to proclaim the whole message of the gospel(Acts 5:19,20). It's your responsibility to proclaim and God's to back the message up(Acts 4:29-34; Mark 16:15-20; Acts 14:3). Keep proclaiming and you'll see Him do what only He can do. I absolutely believe that.
We miss and love you.
Brett
❤❤❤
ReplyDeleteYou know Bill Johnson prays for people with cancer and they get healed, yet his own dad died of cancer. He prays for deaf ears to hear and they do, yet his own son is deaf. I don't understand that, but I do know that he doesn't let it keep him from continuing to pray and continuing to see results. I guess that's part of the mystery and sovereignty of God. We can't let the few times He says no keep us from believing He will say yes! We just continue to pray expectantly, believing that even if we don't see immediate results, He is STILL Who He says He is...He can't be something different than WHO HE is! He is GOOD, He is FAITHFUL, He is HEALER, He is always the answer!
ReplyDeleteMary and I were talking about this the other night. Sometimes we just give up too easily. We live in an instant society and are used to getting immediate results, but sometimes it takes perseverance in prayer to see the breakthrough. I remember Charlotte Tinius teaching on this one time and she used the illustration of a brick wall you want to come down. You chip away at it brick by brick until it starts to crack in strategic places. It is often a time-consuming process and just when it seems you can't swing that sledge hammer one more time, suddenly you hit it at just the right spot and the wall comes down.
Don't give up, Ellie. God has you right where He wants you and He has BIG plans for you. Keep your eyes on HIM, not on the circumstances. Believe that He is Who He says He is. Press on. Breakthrough WILL come!
Can't wait to hear the stories of when it happens!
Love,
"Miss Jill"