Darkness is everywhere. Evil flies through the night sky like a swarm of bats. My soul is tormented with the deepest sorrow and I can’t escape the suffocating cloud of heartache. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Everywhere I look there’s violence. Some get up only to fall back down again, crying out as their deep wounds ooze and fester. Yet the pain only puts fuel on the fire. It makes them angrier, and strangely gives them the boost they need to fight harder to cause more pain to others. To make someone hurt more than they do. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Satan prances around stealing children from their mothers. He disguises his tactics as satisfaction and the answer to all problems. He howls with laughter as he pulls the wool
over another pair of eyes- as he ruins lives one by one. Deadly destruction is in his wake. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Just when it seems like we’ve done all we can, when it seems like all hope is lost and we’re losing the battle, a glowing light appears on the horizon. A light so bright that everyone is blinded and the darkness instantly disappears. As the light gets closer it grows bigger and brighter. Though now blinded, the leader of the army tries even harder to fight against us. The war
is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

The glowing light finally reaches us. He begins to fight along side us but not in the way we thought. And maybe he was there all along but I was so focused on fighting the battle alone
that I never noticed. His presence gives me strength. I feel a love surround me so sweetly like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. My world is filled with light- the purest of lights. The war is
raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Inspired by his nearness I speak truth into the face of the leader in the opposing army. Suddenly I feel something around my waist and I look down to see a glimmering belt, I look up
surprised and I see the being in front of me stumble. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Feeling a little more confident I fight harder to bring righteousness to this earth and look down to my chest as I feel a heaviness thud against me. A golden breastplate adorns my figure. The army facing me looks a little taken a back but continue to stand their ground. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Peace engulfed me and would have knocked me off my feet but they were now planted so firmly on the ground. I knew the strength could not be of my own. As I got stronger though still
intense, the battle seemed less scary and the idea of winning seemed almost possible. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Seeing the changes in myself I felt my faith growing stronger. Excitement bubbled within me as I trusted Him more. Continuing to fight back I watched as the leaders face darkened with
furious anger, unsure why, I quickly realized that his fiery arrows were being blocked and having no affect on me. Looking down I see that I’m now holding a shield made of the thickest strongest metal. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

Now seeing the leader’s anger turn to shaking fear, I smiled having confidence in my Light. My prayers spun around him like a tornado forcing him to retreat from his stance. Then, no
longer able to stand up against the one who strengthens me, he took off running without a second thought. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart.

I am strong when using the full armor of God and can stand up against all who come at me. On my own I have no power to ward off the enemy, I have no strength to stand on my own. But when
I am backed up by the King of Kings, those against me don’t stand a chance. The war is raging- this battle is not for the faint of heart. I am not the faint of heart because the Holy Spirit is
inside of me, Jesus is alive in me and God is my strength. When I put on the full armor of God darkness disappears, evil flees and satan trembles in fear. So I should not let the devil get the upper hand by believing a lie that it’s hopeless and we’ve been defeated. I should not get discouraged but continue trusting in my savior who has all circumstances in the palm of His hand. Dios es siempre victorioso.

My Heart Is Smiling

Wow. The past two days have been muy loco (very crazy). Yesterday, after a day of pricing out
supplies and appliances, Tony got an urgent phone call. Ronnie and some other guys at the rehab center had broken out of the window that morning. An intervention was to be had. Prayers, tears and conversations smothered in emotions finally brought Ronnies decision to stay in Los Pinos with his family rather than go back to the center. Ronnie had only been in rehab for 2 weeks.

2 weeks of freedom- 2 weeks of change- 2
weeks of joy amidst struggle- 2 weeks of future dreams- 2 weeks of being clean.

 Right now Ronnie is surrounded by temptation. As far as we know he hasn’t stumbled. Praise the
Lord. He is staying with his mom’s sister and will hopefully be able to go to a different village to live with his grandparents. Much prayer is needed.

The phone call surprised me because every time we’ve gone to visit Ronnie he’s been so joyful
and making so much progress. I understand that this is all just a part of life but seeing him sobbing and making the decision not to go back was hard. I feel sad for my friend but I believe in him. I especially believe in Jesus who can work miracles, change ANY heart, and can turn anything bad into good for those who love him. Right now we just need to leave Ronnie in God’s hands. I need to.

Tony made a good point this morning that we can’t let this get us down because that’s exactly
what satan wants. We need to focus on who God is giving us right now in this moment- which was perfect because today we did exactly that!

Today was beyond lovely. My face reflects my smiling heart.

We met Fernandoafter his first day back at school and took him out for lunch. He told Tony
that he loves school and wants to go everyday now. He said he didn’t even carethat he had so much homework! He is so precious J Afterwards we brought him back into Los Pinos where he lives. We drove down, bouncing on the bumpy dirt roads. When we pulled up to the stairway that climbs the mountainside there were a few people to greet us.Tony turned off the car and we just visited with everyone who came by. I have so much love for these people. My heart was filled with joy as I
got to see many of them that I got close with last time and hadn’t seen yet since being here. I got to see my Carlitos, Fanni, Jennifer… the list goes on. It was so exciting for me to introduce my sisters to them. I love introducing people I love to more people I love! I even got to meet a couple of the moms of the kids we spend time with so that was neat.

I love how the minute Tony pulls up in Los Pinos, parks, and opens his doors people young and
old just filter out of the wood work to greet him. Tony is like a magnet forthis community. They absolutely love him and want him to love them back. And he does, very much so.

While we were there Fanni took us up the mountain to her house. What a trek. I can’t imagine
climbing that multiple times in a day especially in the rain. It’s a miracle we made it down without landing on our bottoms atleast once! Fanni lives in a house with her abuela (grandma) and her hermano (brother) Luis. Two little open rooms and a small kitchen make up their house. Pictures of them with WR friends adorned the walls as well as stuffed animals. Although it was not much compared to North American standards it was quaint, homey and filled with love. What more could we want? Maybe I shouldn’t ask that question haha… We stayed for about an hour and by the time we had to leave there were even more people milling around than before, a few in the car not wanting us to leave or for us to take them with us!

Thus, today has been wonderful. God is good. His ways are perfect even though they don’t always make sense to my mind. I’m excited to see what the rest of the week has in store. As far as tomorrow morning goes, my sisters and I will have the whole house to ourselves! Woot! No boys. Keep in mind, we love boys but are unused to so many all the time as we are used to only live with girls… and my dad I know I can speak for all of us in that we are excited for some peace and quiet.

Ps. Thanks for your support and encouraging words! All are greatly appreciated!