My precious and loving Granny (we all call her Cute Gran) is now in the arms of her Savior, Jesus after suffering a massive stoke earlier this month. Her faith was such an encouragement to me. I can remember many conversations we had together about what is meant to follow Jesus and the joy and hardships of serving Him. I know she was one of my biggest prayers warriors. God has been so wonderful with providing me with wonderful friends here in Colombia who have prayed with me and supported me in this difficult time when I feel so far away. Thank you to everyone who has called or sent words of encouragement. My faith has been uplifted by the body of Christ at a time when I so desperately needed it. I find comfort in knowing she is in the arms of Jesus, with no more pain and suffering. Can't wait to celebrate her life with my family and friends. We are still planning her funeral service in Chicago at the Orchard - Barrington, IL. Will let you know when that will be - as I would love to invite you all to join my family in celebrating a sweet, wonderful, godly woman :-)
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| Memories of watching the sunset on Clearwater Beach, FL |
There have been many ways I have seen the Lord wrap my Grandma in His arms:
- My sister, Kendra, had moved to Florida a year ago for her job. While I never pictured my sister being a "Florida Girl", I can see know that the Jesus was preparing my family to have someone in our family close by at this exact time. Kendra was able to be there within 3 hours of hearing about the stroke, as she drove right over to Tampa. My dad and his sisters flew from Chicago the next morning. What a blessing my sister was at this time!
- My Dad continued to read my grandma's devotional to her even though she was in a coma. This brought my aunts and uncles and sister together to pray for her, read God's word, and love her while she was in the hospital. I was able to join in one of their prayer times over the phone, which was a huge blessing to me. So thankful that the Lord used my Dad to surround her with prayer and her favorite scripture verses. Praying for my extended family that they would see the depth of my grandma's faith and be encouraged to follow in her daring footsteps.
- We are planning to sprinkle her ashes over a golf course where we spread my grandpa's ashes when I was little. For my grandpa, his grandchildren planted a tree next to the hole on his favorite golf course where he got a hole-in-one. This is a picture of my grandma and I on the 16th green - in front of my grandpa's tree. She will be incredibly happy to be with my grandpa once more :-)
The Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm 23
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and staff,
they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Student Quote from Bible Class - We were talking about God sending the flood and a bible verse we came across talks about that God was grieved he made us, his precious creation. One of my students began wrestling with how God could love and make us yet wipe us out based on our evilness. She said,"God is grieved, or sad, that he made us?? I've never heard that before!"
That is how holy God is and how much he hates the sin that is inside of us. He is grieved to see his precious creation be chained and bound by sin that entangles their lives. We were made for so much more than a life of sin, of just following our own wants and desires. We were made to glorify our Creator. God was so grieved by his creation, but he was also so passionate and merciful to come and redeem that same creation!
I love getting to talk to my students about these things :-) Another way God wraps his arms around his children - by reminding us of his unfailing love!
ECA Staff Retreat: We were able to spend a weekend together bonding as a new staff. I was challenged in ways that I am called by God to being responsible. It was amazing to talk in groups at ECA and really share areas that we feel we can improve on. Analyzing and looking at our own hearts was humbling but an eye-opening experience to me. We were also able to just have fun with one-another outside of school. Below are some pictures of that fun :-0
God even wrapped his arms around us as we traveled back from our weekend. It was supposed to be a 4 hour trip to get back to Bogota from Villavicencio. On our way back, we were caught in traffic on the side of the mountain due to a landslide!! We were in the front of the line of cars, only a kilometer away from the site of the landslide. Praise God that we were kept safe! After a few hours on the side of the road, we were on our way. Below are a few pics of us playing games on the side of the road as we waited :-)
Prayers/Praises:
Plans for the funeral for my grandma - getting everyone together is hard with the people who are out of town, plus having the church available as well. Please pray for these plans to come together soon, so that I can see if it is possible for me to fly in and be with my family and church family.
Construction on the 3rd floor is coming along and a few teachers were able to get a really quick tour...
That I would continue to trust God and draw close to Him. That I would be grateful for the friends the Lord has put in my life who have supported me through this :-) It is really hard to be away right now, but that my eyes and heart would stay focused on his wonderful purposes God has for me in Colombia.
Love,
Carrie
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