Philippines Update Number two!

Philippines Update Number Two!
Today is Monday & we are free to wander until 4pm when we will break into groups to go to several slum areas to pray for people. It's been great to have a slow morning to stop & breathe and be amazed at all that God has done in the last few days!Yesterday, Sunday we were in two services that were full to capacity & very noisy & crazy with kids wandering around & the shopping mall noise in the background. (Joe & Primroses' church meets in a large room in a shopping center.) Every once in a while I would see a woman leave & come back with her store purchases! Wow, a great combo of worship & shopping!! Before the message all the little kids came up & did an adorable song with hand motions, they are all so beautiful & quite taken with the PH students!Jon Tulio preached a wonderful message in the morning service. He spoke about being a Phil-Am, Philippine-American & moved into a beautiful message of heritage & inheritance. Jon & Marcia are going to make a real difference here, it's been fun to see the respect they already have with these people.After the message Bill had the PH students come up to the front with physical words of knowledge for healing. We got to see blind eyes opened, ears opened, limbs brought back to health & much more! I watched an old man in blue cover his whole face when instructed to put their hands over the place that hurts. After being prayed for he & his daughter walked to the front & said that he could not see clearly but now he could! Bill & Mark held up fingers for him to count & he did so, which brought crazy, loud cheers from everyone. Arms, legs, back problems, headaches, epilepsy, wristpain, all were healed in that meeting!Following the service I saw people all over the place bending, stretching, flexing arms & legs, twisting their necks....it looked like a gym except that everyone had huge smiles on their faces!!We returned at 2:30 the same day for another meeting with people who came from the mountains & other long distances. Again we saw beautiful healings & much laughter as Bill & Joe became something of a comedy team as they spoke together. (Joe was translating for Bill.) Our students along with the Philippine School of Supernatural & the team from Australia have done a great job of working together on the streets & in the services.On Saturday, sorry this is backwards, we divided up into groups & went out into the streets & the local mall to pray for people as we felt God direct. It was agreat experience & we had reports of spasms healed, arms, legs & backs healed. Some of the groups ended up with lines of people waiting to be prayed for! Many of the students have been gathering up street children & taking them to breakfast each morning.We are so proud of all the teams. Our students have given of themselves & been refreshed in return during our own worship times. Please continue to pray for us. The tiredness is beginning to show & we appreciate the sense of Gods presence that renews & gives strength to end our time here in a strong way with no regrets that we backed down in any way.Thanks for your prayers!

I'm In The Philippines!

Hi Friends!
We arrived safe, tired & excited in the Philippines after 24 hours of travel! It is hot & humid like Fiji, also like Fiji the people are totally welcoming & warm to all of us. The smiles just melt me every time.
Last night our group of 22 students (Yay, Roz is here too!) & 7 leaders were welcomed with a huge feast as we got to meet the 12 Australians who are here as the third cord of the much anticipated joining of three nations to bless the Philippines. Tonight we will meet the Philippine School of the Supernatural & with all three groups together we are convinced that it will be explosive!
This morning one of the Aussies described a picture she had just seen while we worshiped. She saw it raining on this area & the people running out into it instead of running for cover. It was God-rain, His presence & His pleasure. As she shared the vision it was hard to imagine because it is so very hot here....but as I sit & type this blog to you it is now thundering & pouring so hard that it is almost frightening! I am picturing our students who are out having a free day of sightseeing; are they running for cover or are they dancing in the rain?? I know them well enough to look forward to some crazy dancing stories tonight!!
This week is going to be a time of tranformation for us as individuals & this beautiful nation. Dave said that he has longed to see the time when a nation could be changed in just a day & he belives that this is the time & this is the place. What we do here in the next few days will not end in the next few days. It will bring a permanent upgrade to the wonderful church here that Joe & Primrose are leading. Each one of us here also has the opportunity to step into brand new territory & never go back to the old.
I know that all of the students at Potter's House would want me to say thank you to all of you who were so instrumental in bringing them here. Thank you also for your continued prayer as we try to hear The Father & obey.

School Marm to Motorcycle Mama!

School Marm to Motorcycle Mama!

One year ago this month my husband bought a motorcycle on EBay. Sight unseen! I am still in shock about that in itself. This is the same man who stands in one spot of the grocery store meditating on a can of soup for 10 minutes while I run around collecting 6 other items to throw in the cart! A big truck arrived at our house & out came a beautiful black & chrome Honda Shadow Spirit 1100. I admit that it was really pretty to look at but the first time he revved it up in our garage, I had to duck back into the house because I was so freaked!

But I did not stay in the house very long. I refuse to allow fear to make my decisions any more. I have a long history of disappearing whenever something even slightly risky is put before me. It has taken years for me to be comfortable just being on a freeway in a car! I used to choose going through 50 city stoplights rather than take the quicker, but riskier freeway! So here is this huge roaring thing in my garage, and it has no doors or roof or seatbelts! I decided to let Curt (my husband) ride it for a few weeks without me so he could get “used to it” before I joined him for a ride. (That was pretty clever wasn’t it?) Meanwhile I’m praying, “Oh God, oh God, oh God!”

About a month later I knew it was time to be the supportive wife & trust my hubby to keep me alive even though we had no seatbelts whatsoever. I had a shiny new red helmet from eBay that looked pretty cute. But the dilemma of what to wear was an obstacle for me. Think about this, ladies. You cannot carry a purse on the back of a motorcycle, at least not this one!
It just would not look right at all! I am not used to leaving the house without my purse full of life’s necessities; my comb (helmet hair!), lipstick, wallet, gum, camera, keys, make-up, paper & pen, cell phone etc. What if we get somewhere & I need my stuff? Even my more casual favorite bag would not really look right. After a few trips with my pockets & Curts’ pockets stuffed, I now quickly grab just my camera, phone, gum & gloss & I am good to go!

Flip-flops do not work on a bike & a regular jacket just looks silly so I found a really cute black leather jacket at the Goodwill store that I love & I wear some lace up boots that help me keep my footing on the foot pegs. Oh, didn’t that sound like I know what I am talking about? Foot pegs! Hey, I know a lot about stuff that I never knew would be so interesting; extended forks, chrome exhaust pipes, sissy bars, buying a new gas tank (with red flames!), baffling, ape hangers, cable clamps & air cleaners. Actually it is not all that interesting but I am hearing a lot about these things lately anyway! Oh, and tripping over lots of these now too!

The first motorcycle ride with my husband was tough. I was dressed correctly, but my heart was jumping around as if I had decided to take a flying leap off a mountain ledge. I got behind Curt & grabbed his waist with all my strength & off we went around the neighborhood. I was literally facing a huge fear & not backing down. I had the option of listening to the voice in my head that was telling me that this was extremely unsafe & foolish. I was very familiar with that voice; it had been with me all my life.
"Don’t approach that person, they won’t like you. Don’t sign up for that class, you will fail. Say that you are unavailable for that mission’s trip, it’s too far away. "

It was time for that special prayer again, “Oh God, oh God, oh God!” It was not an eloquent or carefully crafted prayer, but it was entirely & deeply sincere! And God heard it. I think He was proud of me & tired of the silly little fears that had handicapped so much of my life. I can honestly say that those fears have melted away to a great extent. The motorcycle freak-outs are definitely gone. (I still do not like the freeway on the bike though!)

I absolutely love riding the bike for hours & hours with my husband. We go out in the country & up to Lake Berryessa & will eventually try some more distant rides. We’ve ridden through Napa & Yountville & I have been snapping lots of amazing photos from the back of our Shadow! Did you read that? I am taking pictures while flying along at 50 – 60 miles an hour, not holding on to my husbands’ waist! I am smiling the whole time!

There is something unexplainably peaceful about roaring along the countryside, even though we are scaring the cows & sheep everywhere we go!
The beautiful flowers & hills & various aromas are captivating. The temperatures change by the minute according to where you are. If you are passing an orchard it gets wonderfully cool & refreshing. When we are crossing the many country roads that are being tilled & dug up it gets hot & dry. I wear a visor because it helps me breath easier & I’m just not okay with bugs hitting my face! Another peaceful thing about our rides is that we cannot talk so we don’t have to & even if the laundry is not done, I cannot do it when I’m out flying around the countryside!! I stop my mind from dwelling on problems while riding, but sometimes a solution just randomly pops up without any provocation from me! I love that!

What if I had chosen to keep my fear? I love my quiet times at home alone when Curt goes on a ride by himself, but I would have missed the total joy of being out there with him & God enjoying creation & each other. I would have given in to the old habit of fear & been held captive by it until I was too old try anything new at all. I am free & the only thing that holds me captive now is the love of my God who hears desperate prayers!

My Glasses Are Foggy!

Okay, it is embarrassing enough that I continually change colors in front of people for no apparent reason due to my fun internal heat thermostate being a bit wacky lately. But one day last week my glasses actually fogged up due to a menopausal hot flash!

In my daily life I really try hard not to let the fact that I am burning up from the inside out be an obvious attention getter. I remember seeing older women sweating & pulling at their collars as if they were suffocating & just being so grossed out about it. I do not want to be that gross older woman. Want to see why?

Here are a few of the people I spend my days with:

These lovely ladies are a few of my twenty-something age students that look to me for answers about life & I am a living example of their futures. Do I want them staring at my neck as it changes from white, to pink to red? Do I want them to know that I have gone through two winters without once putting on my nice big fluffly sweaters? Just looking at my collection of turtle necks gets me claustraphobic ! Next to my bed I have 3 different pajama sets because I never know if it's going to be a "hot" night or a cold night. Sox on....sox off....sox on...sox off!

I am not against being honest with my students but I refuse to allow complaining & grumbling about my body to be a normal example of living beyond 40. I am 53 & most of them are between 18 & 30. They have perfect bodies, glossy hair & tend to wear about 40 layers of t-shirts every day!

I want them to look forward to each day & each birthday. To feel good about themselves as they age & "change" . I can honestly say that I would not trade places with them for anything. I absolutely love being 53, well, except for the personal "summers" that I get to enjoy without even getting a pretty tan out of it! So I am going to age gracefully in front of them, whatever that means. I am not going to go on & on about my personal ailments & doctor visits. That's why I am putting this on here & not on the site that they read. Am I contradicting myself? Not sure. I might be....but isn't that one of the menopausal side afffects?? Ha!