In honor of halloween (and because I haven't posted in FOREVER), I thought that I'd share this little video (courtesy of my brother-in-law) in case anybody is looking for any last minute costume ideas for this years festivities...enjoy, and happy halloween!

"How you treat the creation reflects how you feel about the Creator."

First off, let me just explain that I am a huge discovery channel junkie. And secondly, I love this video because I think that the world that God created really is awesome...and that we need to do a better job at appreciating His creation. I based the message that I spoke to our students this past week off of this AWESOME little video. I hope that you enjoy it as much they did.

"Worse than being blind would be to be able to see but not have any vision."

This is a video that's created quite a buzz over the past couple of weeks, and I swear, watching it put the biggest smile on my face...when you see it you'll understand why. If Joyce and I had it to do all over again, I'd be awful tempted to mix it up after witnessing this (and believe me, we had the people in our wedding party to pull it off). Kudos to this couple for having so much fun and making their special day truly a day to remember. Enjoy.

I read this passage of scripture this morning and felt compelled to share it with you. Read it and be encouraged today...and also be reminded that you are always on His mind no matter where you're at or what you're going through. But at the same time, realize that He has given us a very specific task as His people. The task to be unified...the task to be one...the task to begin to operate with one heart and one mind. Let's stop just going to church and let's start being the church and acting like the people of God that He's called us to be...not exclusive but inclusive...not comfortable but uncomfortable...not numb but open and aware to the people and the needs that surround us.

John 17:20-23,26 (The Message)

20-23 I'm praying not only for them
But also for those who will believe in me
Because of them and their witness about me.
The goal is for all of them to become one heart and mind—
Just as you, Father, are in me and I in you,
So they might be one heart and mind with us.
Then the world might believe that you, in fact, sent me.
The same glory you gave me, I gave them,
So they'll be as unified and together as we are—
I in them and you in me.
Then they'll be mature in this oneness,
And give the godless world evidence
That you've sent me and loved them
In the same way you've loved me.
--------------------------------------------
26 I have made your very being known to them—
Who you are and what you do—
And continue to make it known,
So that your love for me
Might be in them
Exactly as I am in them.

AMEN.

I want to introduce you to the newest addition to our family, her name is Vanesa. She is a beautiful 7 year old little girl who lives at the Casa Hogar Orphanage in Poza Rica, Mexico. We met her this past week when we visited the orphanage. Both she and her brother Angel have been living at there since February of this year without any sponsorship or monthly support. They come from extreme poverty, and the reason that they're at Casa Hogar is due to the fact that they interfered with lifestyle that their mother chose to live. In short, they were an extreme burden to their mother and found it difficult to get along with the different men that she shares a relationship with...at home they faced neglect from their mother and abuse from her partners. As I'm sure you can imagine, Vanesa is having a difficult time coping with the fact that her mom doesn't want her and that she has abandoned her and her brother. She is living in extreme denial and thinks that her mom is going to just come and pick her up at any time and take her back home...in fact, she told us that she may not be there by the time our group left.