Wow! Here I am once again...back to Sunny Southern California! And of course it was only fitting that the first face I should see (that I knew) would be that of my dear sister Sunny who came to pick me up at the airport! :-) She was also coming to pick up a couple people flying in for Curtis and Janine's wedding weekend....so by the time we all got together and loaded up, half the day was already gone and we were hungry. So we went out to a Thai restaurant to eat before being dropped off at our respective locations.

Since Sabbath was fast approaching, and I am starting another Travel Nurse position on Monday, I had lots to accomplish. Alisha had also been in touch with me and begging to come spend this first weekend back in California with me....so I was scrambling to get everything done and together before I drove up to Apple Valley to pick her up. While she's been continuing to struggle and go through lots of ups and downs....she was escatic to see me and bubbling over with things to tell me! (Some things very disturbing....yet I am thankful she feels that she can trust me and still wants to come be with me, although it is obvious she is still fighting against the voice of the Holy spirit in her life! I keep praying that the Lord will break her heart and help her be willing to "yield" to Him!)

When we got home, we cleaned up for Sabbath and Alisha fell into my soft queen bed exhausted and laughing. (I had blown up an air mattress for myself to use and was putting on the sheets.) I just looked at Alisha with questioning..."What is sooo funny?" She just giggled all the more. "You can't imagine how wonderful it feels to be in a real bed after sleeping in cars for the last week! I feel like a queen!" I had to smile to myself. I can't imagine sleeping in a car for a night...well, I guess I have before....on a trip I took with my Grandfather to Mexico...and if I remember correctly, it wasn't comfortable! Yes, how forgranted my daily blessings so easily become!

[Insert 8/17/07 - As I was having my devotions this morning, I thought about the incredible goodness and love with which God treats us. We may be dirty from sin, smelly from digging in the trash pits of the world for fulfillment, and emotionally spent from lack of rest...yet when we turn our faces to Him, He bathes us and cleanses our hearts with His sweet spirit, and wraps us in new robes (as the Prodigal) and says, "Here....come into my house and rest! My bed it is yours! All the food on the table, it is yours! Eat and enjoy!" How He longs to have us with Him always and to fill our hearts and minds with His love and grace.

I don't claim to be like God to Alisha...No...I'm only a instrument in His hands, seeking to do His bidding! Yet, when people like Alisha come into my life, it helps give me a greater glimpse of the love God has and what He wants to do in an even more full way in my own heart. It also helps me realize to what extent God is willing to go for one poor forlorn soul...that yet so often seems ungrateful and content with the smelly trash of the world. And that soul is me...]

But back to my thoughts and the events of last Friday night!

While usually I have to tug and pull and coax Alisha to go to bed at night...this night was no problem. In fact, she was out before I even crawled under my own blankets. You could tell she was sleep deprived! (While she's not living with me anymore...it felt good to be able to provide her with at least a few hours of sweet peace and sleep!)

I was exhausted myself, but before I went to bed that night, I checked my e-mail, and there was a note from my old friend Martha (who I worked with as a fellow student missionary in Guyana with David Gates back in 2001). This wouldn't be such an exciting thing, except that she wrote to tell me that she was in the States (She's from Bolivia) visiting her sister in Loma Linda and she wondered where I was and what I was up to these days! I was like, "In Loma Linda!!!!!! WOW!!!" I was sooo excited as we haven't seen each other since we worked together in Guyana, and so I sent her an e-mail inviting her to Advent Hope. Then the next morning I called and woke her and her sister up! (I felt bad about that...but of course, they couldn't sleep in too much on such an exciting day!)

Sure enough they came to church on Sabbath and we were once again reunited! After 6 years that actually only seems like a few days! She's hoping to move out here to Southern California more permanently, so I look forward to many more good times in the future.

So....like I said, I never know what exciting adventure or surprise God has for me around the next corner! And this was truly a special Sabbath!!

~Below you will see a picture of Martha and I back when we were in Guyana....she was just recovering from Malaria in this first photo and I practically had to carry her outside for a photo shoot before we parted at the end of the summer. Then, I have the photo of us together at Advent Hope this Sabbath! We even matched....white and green and country style!! ;-) It was sooo cool to see her again!