Samuel; heard God

As I read 1 Samuel 3: 1-21 this morning I was encouraged how
Samuel was able to hear the Lord when he was resting.

Samuel hears a voice in his dreams. He does not yet know the Lord.
He did not recongize who was calling him, so he went to Eli.
Three times he eagerly gets up and says to Eli here I am, you called?!
Eli tells Samuel after the third time when he hears the voice to respond with
"Speak Lord for your servant hears"

Many times I feel like I hear the Lord calling.
I get up and go. Eager to serve. Ready to do. Available for anything.
Yet no direction.
There comes a point where I need to stop 'going'.
I need to go back to my resting place and when I hear the Lord
I must say,
"Speak Lord for your servant is listening"

Don't get me wrong answering the call, being ready,
and available is the first step, and an important one.
However, it is just the beginning!

The Lord wants to speak. He wants to guide us.
He wants to direct our footsteps.
Therefore, we must be in a place to listen.

I believe that the Lord has called us each by name to be in Honduras.
Now, He wants to direct us, refine us, show us, lead us, take us...

My prayer is that my spiritual ears would hear and be ready.
May we as a team be ready for high victories and
prepared for deep failures.
May we have a teachable spirit,
vulnerable hearts, and mold able characters.
Let us not be afraid to hear the voice of reproach,
to face persecutions, let us not give up,
let us not loose heart.
Let us not forget the Lord is with us!

Blessed to be serving with you all!

Mishu Smetanin

This is Mishu-Pishu. He is an orphan from Moldova.
Loves Basketball. Serving the Lord.
He enjoys making other people smile.
He looks at life from a positive perspective.
Mishu loves all Xtreme Sports.
I met him in 2004 on my very first mission trip.
I have been abundantly blessed by his friendship.
Unfortunately, the Lord called him Home on December 27th, 2010
Because of Mishu, I have a much greater desire
to serve on the mission field.

Here I am, Send Me!

morning coffee

enjoying my cup of morning coffee.

i heard a good sermon the other day about

putting things into perspective.

having the opportunity to drink this coffee in the

comforts and sweet blessings of home

forces me to think about how

other people around the world drink their coffee in the morning.

maybe they do not drink it...

they harvest coffee beans every dawn.

for me coffee is a commodity, for others coffee is economics.

brings things into perspective while sipping on my

morning. coffee.

Clothing Drive - Honduras

One of my favorite things about going on mission trips is being able to give.

Year round I try to spread the word to friends and family about donating clothes for children to take to Honduras and/or Moldova. Right before the trip is when I start collecting and organizing everything. At times I do admit it can be very stressful. The over load of sorting through the clothes and packing each items, labeling them, and more organizing has caused me to want to give up at times...however it is ALL worth it in the end. I cannot put into exact words what happens during the distribution...it is chaotic, priceless, rushed, yet joyful and rewarding.

I stop and think as each kid is receiving something...

..I think about the person who gave their specific shirt, shoes, pants,

..I remember selecting and sorting through the clothes and putting them into individual ziplock bags and marking them Girl Age 5-7....I always wondered "who will get this?"

..I stop and say a prayer for the shy child who with their arms full carries away their new belongings,

..I praise the Lord for giving me an opportunity to bless others by giving of what I am so richly blessed with

....the first time I organized a Clothing Drive I sent all the clothes to Moldova. I worked so hard in shipping and transporting the clothes over. It was a lot of hard work but when I saw all the kids receiving clothes and shoes I said "if all I did for the rest of my life was collect and distribute clothes I would do it in a heart beat." It is the best feeling to know how much it means to these people is unforgettable.

The picture of the little girl above reminded me of just how precious the kids can be. I love her facial expression as she is looking at the toothpaste.

[if you would like to donate clothes please contact me email soar_in_glory@yahoo.com . children clothing excepted only.]

Plantains

is a crop.
originated in North America.
looks similar to a banana.
treated in the same way as a potato.
eaten usually fried and salty.

we tried making fried plantains in Honduras.
and ate them all week long.
so when i saw a bunch of them at the super market today
I had to share with everyone that


I MISS HONDURAS!!!

Here is a recipe that we tried in Honduras, recommended to us by Anthony.
which I surprisingly found a simplar recipe on the food network website.

Fried Plantains with Sweet Heat Sauce

Ingredients

• 2 fresh limes
• 2 tablespoons sweet chili sauce
• 1 tablespoon sweet hot mustard
• 1 teaspoon horseradish, prepared
• 1 tablespoon rice vinegar, natural
• Canola oil, for frying
• 3 green plantains
• 1/4 cup garlic, minced
• Salt and fresh cracked black pepper
• 1/8 teaspoon red pepper flakes
• Dash cayenne pepper

Directions

In a bowl, combine the juice of 1/2 of lime, sweet chili sauce, mustard, horseradish and vinegar. Set aside.

Heat 1/2-inch of oil in 12-inch heavy pan.

Cut plantain on diagonal into 1-inch thick pieces, remove peel.

When oil is hot, add the plantains and fry both sides until golden.

Drain on paper bag, and sprinkle with salt, and minced garlic. With a flat bottomed, heat proof, glass bowl, smash plantains evenly flat, embedding garlic into them. Return to hot oil and fry until dark golden brown. Remove, drain again on a paper bag, adding more coarse salt, to taste, the red pepper flakes, the cayenne pepper and a squeeze of lime.

Serve while hot with sweet heat sauce.

-i think i will try making this appetizer-