Mission: Love God Love People

~~~Love God Love People~~~
I think that best sums up what our mission is as believers on this planet.

Every time I go to Casa Alelujah in Guatemala:
I am reminded that this Christian walk is not as hard as we sometimes make it. God simply wants us to love Him with our whole heart and to love our neighbor as ourself.

I am reminded that needs and wants are very different.

I am reminded that "touch" is vitally important to those who have been abandoned, rejected, and left without comfort and guidance.

I am reminded that true religion is about giving to those who can not always give back.

I am reminded that I need reminders.

I get so busy sometimes "working" to build God's kingdom and I forget that God's kingdom doesn't always function the way a business would. God's kingdom is built in love.....

In playing.

In running.

In laughing.

In hugs.

In patience.

In rest.

In leading.

In sharing your time.

In feeding those who cannot feed themselves.

In sharing your bread together.

In coming together in unity for His purpose.

The Marcells Are On the Road Again

The Marcells are going "on the road again". Yeah! Monday morning we leave for Guatemala. We are taking another XMC team to Guatemala, but this time all my kids are coming with me too. It is the first time we have been on the foreign mission field all together since we moved back from Romania.

It's strange when I think about it. We lived about half of Josiah's life in another country, in another culture.

Today we sat a table and figured out that this will be the fifth country he has been to since he was born. He's traveled more in his short life than most people travel their whole lives.

I feel very blessed to be able to "go into all the world and preach the Gospel", but I feel especially blessed that I have children who also embrace this challenge and "go" with me.

Thanks Duggar Family

We recently have been blessed with a new addition to our family...Deanna.

We are so happy to have her join our family. It's a joy to have another young woman of God in the Marcell household. (And I am thankful that God keeps on expanding our household without me actually physically expanding....haha.)

Now...one thing that also continues to grow within our family is the number of loads of clothes we do a day. Seriously, it's ridiculous. We must wash three or four loads a day. That's just the regular day to day clothes. It's not counting the bed sheets when we change them or the cleaning towels when we scrub the house. So when you add up the dollars.... it's a crazy amount we were spending on laundry detergent and fabric softener. Notice...I said "WERE spending".

Because thanks to the Duggar Family, you know the family with like 18 kids and one on the way, I now have homemade laundry detergent and fabric softener that works great and is CHEAP!!!. I used their recipe on line with a few modifications and now I will spend in six months what I spent in about 2 weeks. Amazing!!!!

I also tried a recipe on their website...Tater Tot Casserole....and it was YUM! It's like a Shepherd's Pie on steroids. It's so good. My family loved it. (All but Jojo anyway.)

YAAHH Duggars!

Simple Faith

This weekend I was preparing for a teaching for our first year students. As I was studying "faith" I was jotting down a note that said that faith was believing that God is who He says He is and that He will do what He says He will do. That His intent is good toward me and that He will answer me.

Linzee walks in and says "Mom, look what I found. I don't remember writing this. Do you remember me writing this? I felt like I should give this to you."

The paper (which is backwards on the photo because I don't have a scanner at my house) says:

"Words can make a big difference in peoples live. God loves you. God will help me."

That's faith. Simple faith.

Believe in God's Words- they'll make a difference in your life.
God loves you-His intent toward you is good.
God will help you-He will answer!

The Negotiator

Josiah and I have a deal. He gets paid $.10 a minute to brush my hair. That's like $6.00 an hour. Well tonight he decided that this was not sufficient pay. He decided we wanted $.20 a minute. Which is like double the price. So we went back and forth, back and forth. As we were doing this, I noticed.......this kid got skills. He was suddenly adding (which he does know how to do), but then he was multiplying and dividing.
Where did he learn this?

A Last First Tooth

Not one but two teeth in one night! Well, this is our last "first tooth" to pull out of the mouth of one of our kids. Happiness and sadness all at the same time! They grow so fast!

Guatemala Spring 2009

Last week I spent the week in Guatemala City, Guatemala at Casa Para Ninos Aleluya. I led a team of 9 people. It was simply amazing. This was my second time going and I can't wait to go back. 

There are so many thoughts still going through my head. I'm still processing in my heart and spirit all that God showed me and spoke to me. But here are some of my thoughts for now:

One thing that stands out the most about this place is that you get to see what happens when the BODY of Christ (without doctrinal boundaries) comes together to minister. There is no way one person could build this place. This ministry is definately built by God through His people. Everyone that passes through seems to contribute a part of what happens there. A little work here, a little work there, hugs here, hugs there. ....it's a very cool place. It causes you to dream bigger. 

Last year this little boy  just rocked and banged his head against a wall while we were there. He wouldn't really connect with anyone on our team. But this year he was running, laughing, and playing. It was so awesome to see the transition. 

The little boy we sponsor, Gabriel, didn't seem to have any emotion last year. This year, he too, was laughing, playing..and even throwing a temper tantrum. It was cool. 

I met a 15 year old boy this past week whose story moved my life. I was talking to him and asked him how old he was...he said he was 15. (He spoke broken english.)..Then I asked him how long he had been living at Casa. He said 15.  I thought he misunderstood me. So I explained my question. He said he understood, but that he came to Casa when he was a small baby and had been there 15 years.

Wow.

This huge ministry suddenly became small to me. Autumn, my first child, is 15 years old. So in that moment I realized that this boy spent HIS entire life here. Autumn's entire life. I can't even imagine that. Now don't get me wrong...he is cared for tremendously compared to what his life could have been. But wow.....15 years. ...15 years....

I'm hoping to go back in November, God willing.