A Heart Full of Gratitude!

Last week while the team from NJ was here, Joanna led a devotion on gratefulness and challenged us to stop and be thankful to God for every little gift He has given us. And I couldn't stop thinking about how much time I have spent in prayer asking God for certain things just over the past couple months, and how He has answered so many of those prayers. Yet I have only said "thank you" to Him maybe once or twice... So today, I just wanted to take time to thank God for all He has done for us and to challenge you to ask yourself, "Have I spent as much time thanking God as I have spent asking Him for my needs?"

The most recent thing that we are thankful for is the team that just came from NJ (pictured right). They were just so awesome & such an incredible blessing to us & our friends here in Uganda! And it was so amazing for John to have time with one of his dearest friends, mentors, & also his pastor when he was young, John DiGiamberardino (pictured below). And as if their presence wasn't a blessing enough to us, they also brought a very generous gift from an anonymous member of the church who just wanted to bless us! So since we can't thank that person properly, as we don't know who they are, we would like to use this blog to say THANK YOU!!! We hope you read our blog! (The team left on Wednesday and got home safely by the way.)

God has also answered our many prayers for the funding of the new engine for our vehicle! It is almost fully paid for! Many of you have given so generously, and we are SO incredibly grateful! Thank you, thank you, thank you!

And some of you may remember the entry I wrote last year about a little girl named Alice. (It's in the May 2007 archives to the right if you want to check it out) Alice holds a very special place in my heart. Since the first time I met her, I felt a bond with her. She was the saddest little girl I have ever seen when I first met her. Some people said it was because her parents abused or neglected her, some said it was because she was sick, and some said it was because she didn't receive enough love from home. I still don't know why she used to be so sad, but I took a special interest in this little angel over the past year~ taking her to the doctor when she was sick and just holding her & loving on her every chance I got. And if you could only see Alice today~ she has gone from a completely unresponsive child (pictured above in May, 2007) to a little girl who smiles, laughs, sings, plays & responds to people who show her love (pictured right last week with her little sister)! I'm not saying that I am the one who made a difference in her life... I know it had to be Jesus. And I am so thankful for the new life that He is able to give even to a 3 year old little girl!

And finally, we are just SO incredibly thankful for the little life I'm carrying right now! We prayed over the decision of when to start trying to have a family for months before we actually tried, and we truly feel that this is God's perfect timing. And He has confirmed that through so many of you & your encouraging emails! Thank you all for being so excited with us & so supportive of us! We are so grateful for each & every one of your friendships! Today, we are thankful for every one of you who is reading this blog!