Satan, You're a Heifer

Tonight, at the kitchen table, David, Stella, and I were talking about the day's events. David and I got on the topic of how we had felt like Satan was just really trying to seek victory in several areas of our ministry. There is so much hurt and need, children's behavior is often overwhelming, and our journey to raise financial support seems like a black hole (to say it politely). At times, it just seems like too much.

After feeling sorry for ourselves for a short time, we decided the best thing to do was to yell at Satan. I pointed to the ceiling and yelled, "SATAN, YOU'RE A HEIFER"! (It was the best I could think of at the time). "You're not going to win!" Just as I had finished yelling, Stella joined in. She pointed her finger and with a big grin, yelled with all her might, "Sanan, Yur a heefer! Sanan, Yur a heefer!" We laughed and yelled together. Satan is not going to win.

1. Satan will not get the souls of these kids. I feel like we have been in battle with Satan over the lives of children in Keller Park. Sin is knocking at their door and everything appears hopeless. The battle may seem bleak to some, but we're gonna fight to the death on this one. He will not win. Daily, we are reminded that:

Ephesians 6:12
For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

He will not win.

2. Satan will not steal our joy or hope. I have found that Satan is pretty tricky in this area. He gains a foothold in our lives by stealing our joy and ultimately our belief that things will get better. People become disenchanted with life and before you know it they have lost the joy of being a parent, loving a spouse, going to church, seeing the best in others, or serving the Lord. When our joy departs, our hope soon follows. No, Satan, you cannot have our joy and there is no way you're getting my hope.

3. Finally, Satan is not going to keep us from ministering in Keller Park. The last week has been a blur of activity as it pertains to our support raising. Nothing seems to be working out as we had planned or hoped and we are no where near where we thought we would be at this time (as it pertains to financial support). I've heard it said that God is seldom early, but never late, but He is sure cutting it close. At times this week the situation seemed hopeless...UNTIL we realized that it was only hopeless if we let Satan win. He had done a pretty good job of keeping us distracted by the lack of funds that we were missing out on the adventure of trusting in our Lord. Satan will not win. If we have to eat Ramen noodles and work at McDonalds....we'll do it. God has called us to the neighborhood of Keller Park and there is no way Satan is going to take us from it. He will not win.

In conclusion, and in the words of my sweet little sugarbee, "Sanan, yur a heefer!" My God is going to dog walk you (the teens tell me that "dog walk" means "beat up"). Satan will not win. The End. Game Over.

Highlights

So much has happened since we first moved into the Keller Park neighborhood. Each day is a new adventure that comes with both victories and battles. It's extremely fulfilling to watch children finish their homework or expereince something new. There is a great deal of laughter. Below are some highlights of the last two weeks:

One of our first mornings here, Ali and I walked down to meet the kids at the bus stop before they left for school. I felt such joy as they waved from the window of the bus.

Sunday after church, David and I took Stella and three neighborhood girls to see Winnie the Pooh. We had a blast! It was so fun to see each of them down the aisle, holding their popcorn and enjoying the movie. After the movie we took a trip to Target to pick up a few school supplies.

We have hosted lots of meals and formed many new friendships.

Beautiful Chaos

Tomorrow marks two weeks of us being in the neighborhood. It has been such a rush of "firsts" (I'll blog about that later). Each morning, I am excited about the day ahead. There is no doubt in my mind that we are exactly where we are suppose to be.

Six months ago, when I was dreaming about what life here would be like, I was most excited about the possibilty of having lots of children in our home at dinner time. Tonight, we invited four children over to share dinner with us. I was excited about being able to see this dream fulfilled. The children were to arrive at 6:00p for a Mexican fiesta. At 5:45p, seven children arrived... at 5:50p, 4 more knocked on the door...6:00p came around and so did three more kids. Counting David and me, there were sixteen people in our little house all ready for dinner. It was chaos.

Boys cheering and yelling at 2K11 on the Xbox.
Girls running to and from Stella's bedroom, always sporting a new princess dress.
David processing quickly to break up a fight.
Fingers secretly grabbing pieces of watermelon off of the table.
NOISE, oh the noise!
It was chaos. Beautiful Chaos.

While I was making dinner, I was startled by the boys yelling, "STOP!" I couldn't figure out what they were yelling at until Stella came around the corner holding her spray water bottle. She had drenched the group!

Five pounds of ground beef. 50 soft shell tortillas. 1 large can of nacho cheese. 2 bags of tortilla chips. 1 watermelon and 1 cantalope. Lots of hot sauce. Dinner is served.

After dinner, we headed out to the court to shoot some hoops.

Stella joined in on the fun!

Tonight was a beautiful night. My heart is full.