Prayer

January 28th, 2008

This is a post I found today on Tom Davis' blog.

January 28, 2008
The Suffering Jesus
Today, I saw Jesus suffering in the eyes of an orphan named Nothando living in extreme poverty. She's also malnourished, uneducated, and has little hope of a future. Then, I saw the face of Christ in a man who is dying of AIDS. He cannot get up and lives in a 4 foot by 4 foot shack with nothing to eat - just waiting to die. It broke my heart.
Our other team was in the Low Veld today getting their hearts wrecked. I just got off of the phone with them and they told me they visited eight orphans living all alone, no food, water, and little hope. Two of these orphans are crippled and sit in the dirt all day. The widow who was taking care of them just passed away two weeks ago, now it's just the children.
The needs of Swaziland are so many. The pastor who preached on Sunday morning entitled his sermon, "We are dying like flies." They are. It would be hard for me to believe if I wasn't here and seeing it with my own eyes.
The hope here comes in the form of the faith you see in the people. The pastors, like Pastor Walter and Pastor Sam, who are being Christ to these orphans and widows. They are planting churches in places everyone else refuses to go. They take food to the hungry, everyday and as church they do home visitations to the dying as a congregation on Sunday mornings before service begins. Amazing people who are our brothers and sisters in Christ.
Please pray for us. The ministry here is heart breaking, but our presence here is important and needed. God is doing great things in the midst of the poor in this country. Thanks for your love and prayers. Internet is bad here, but I'm updating when I can.

God has been putting Prayer on my mind lately--just a recurring theme that keeps popping in my head. I had to miss church b/c Haley was sick, and since Vince is doing St. Augustine's Confessions, I really wanted him to go. It is basically a long prayer that we've been reading together. Then, I guess church was incredible...Dan Rudman spoke on Nehemiah and it was about prayer, which in the end, had Vince in tears! Two good girlfriends of mine gave him heck, which made me laugh. You can download the sermon on http://www.gepc.org/. I don't know if its up yet or not, but I can't wait to listen to it. When Vince told me what it was about we were both in tears. Honestly, prayer has been very hard for me since Brandon died. Two long years of drought it seems like. About a month or two ago, my friend had a crisis going on and we got together and prayed...prayed like I haven't prayed in a long time...tears all over prayer! And that night, maybe right as we were praying...that prayer was getting answered. And it was a HUGE prayer! To see God's work in it was and is amazing to me today. I don't know why it should be amazing, but I guess sometimes, when God doesn't answer prayer the way you think He should, you sometimes give up hope or try to take matters into your own hands. Anyways, I really hadn't dwelled on God's faithfulness to answer my prayer, but I finally got around to it yesterday. Just seems like God has been beating the subject of PRAYER into all areas of my life recently.

" In the same was the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words; and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God." Romans 8:27-27

Our Trip to Eureka Springs

We went to Eureka Springs on Jan. 12 to visit Jodie, our good neighbor and Alex's employer. We had a good time staying in a castle, complete with a beautiful tiara for princess Haley to wear. We went walking all over and shopped and saw the sights. Besides a slashed tire, 2 hours in an Arkansas Wal-Mart, a missed highway, and a 9 hour trip that should've taken 5, we had a great time! It gave Vince more time to listen to me talk! The girls played Wii and Vince and I went on a long overdue date. Very nice! Here are some pictures. Hope all is going well!

The Avila's

The Penn Castle

January 23, 2008

We went to Eureka Springs to visit our special neighbor Jodie. She works at the Crescent Hotel and rents the Penn Castle, while her house is on the market in Lawrence. It was so cool! Built in 1886, by a military Baptist Minister (I think), it came with a chapel, beautiful stain glass (one of Mr. Penn praying) and a room "The Prophet's Chamber" complete with that written in stain glass. Probably a little full of himself, but hey...its interesting! Here are some pics of the stain glass, and various others. There are more pics on realtor.com if interested.

Adoption Update

January 10, 2008

Several months ago I applied for a Shaohannah's Hope grant and with many missed emails back and forth between the two, and weeks going by, we finally received word that we will be considered by the board the next time they meet. We should hear back by the latest in March. Not huge news, but I would appreciate your prayers. You can check out their site at http://www.shaohannahshope.org/. It is founded by Steven Curtis Chapman and his wife. Their adoption story is really cool--sends chills down your spine of how God worked that one out! We are also hoping to schedule our I-600 in February. We are waiting for money to come in (reimbursement from Vince's last MBA class from Westar) and that should take care of it. We are so excited and with every step that goes by, we are that much closer to getting Titus home. I really just want to know who he is....it's exciting not knowing, but I am ready to put a face with my prayers. We are off to visit our great neighbor Jodie, who now lives in Eureka Springs. We can't wait! That was where Vince and I went on our honeymoon and our 1 year anniversary. Such a beautiful town and where Jodie is staying is at Penn Castle. We will stay there and see all the terrific stain glass. I guess it was built by a preacher back in the late 1800's. I'll post pics later. Hope you all are doing great. Also, BIG NEWS: HALEY CAN RIDE HER BIKE WITHOUT TRAINING WHEELS. More pictures to come of that too. Our girls are growing up! Here are some old pictures for your viewing entertainment. Lila is spittin' image of Julie when she was her age.
The Avila's

Winter Fun

January 8, 2008

The snow is long gone, but here are some pics from when Vince took the girls sledding. While mom is sick, the kids will play. They went sledding at least 4 times throughout the week. The snow was such a blessing! We had TLC today and Haley is learning all about Kansas and Alex is learning about birds. Lila is in nursery with mommy this month, learning all about sharing and being nice to "our friends". Long ways to go, but she was so sweet tonight when she cried and begged me not to leave for a couple hours. She has been giving me lots of kisses and Haley has been just hugging me out of the blue for no reason. So sweet! Vince and I are listening to music (Oldies Soul) while we work and I found his perfect song..."Love Machine" by The Miracles. "I'm just a love machine, won't work on nobody but you...".

The Avila's

Homeschool Pics

December 5, 2007

Here are some pics over the holidays, including a pic from Alex's choir concert. The one of Haley and Lila are from our TLC Christmas party. The top one is of Alex and Isaiah doing nature journaling. We are getting into the routine again at home and it feels good. I am know married to an addict---a Super Mario Galaxy addict. I never get any time with him--sometimes good, sometimes bad. He's such a boy at heart.

The Avila's

2 years

January 3, 2008

Happy New Year! Hope you all had a good time bringing in 2008. Vince and I played wii, wii, wii all the night long! Today marks the two year anniversary of Brandon's passing. Brandon was our best friend who died from Non-Hodgkin's Lymphoma. It is the hardest, deepest pain Vince and I have ever experienced, but we are so thankful that we were blessed with B's presence and friendship. He became a Christ-follower about 4 months prior to being diagnosed and it was amazing to see his faith grow. He was authentic, never afraid to be real, always forgiving and understanding, and I never knew him to look down on others. I am doing this purity study with Alex and just happened to start today. We looked up scripture and came upon Romans 8:28 "And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose." The study asked us when we ever doubted God's love or ever doubted God's plan for you. Gosh, I know seeing B suffer and having to let him go, really tested my faith, and being vulnerable to Him was/is hard. It was neat to get to talk these things over with Alex and to know that I am God's daughter and that God does work all things out for good, if you do love God and live for God's purpose and not your own. So what does good look like? Great food, no sickness, long life, beauty, new cars and big houses, success in career? No, rejoicing in our suffering, because in suffering, this produces perseverance, proven character, and hope--this is what 'good' is. Suffering draws me to Christ which is good. Sometimes this really stinks, and I want to get away from spending time with God, but He is always there for me and will never leave nor forsake me. Brandon lived his last years by faith in Christ, "the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen." We miss him so much but KNOW that God has restored Brandon and glorified him through His Son. Here are some pics of B and of our friend Dave who passed away this past Sept. It would be great if you all could pray for these families. I pray that you all would be assured/know of the hope we have through Christ alone.