Dear KidsQuest child

Dear KidsQuest child.

You may be a child I see every sunday, once in while, at special gatherings or we may not even have met yet but here is my prayer for you.

In Jesus' name, I pray first and foremost for your parents. I pray for them wherever they may be in their walk with Jesus. May their hearts overflow with His love. May He bring them comfort when needed in times of worry and strength when they may feel at a loss. May His peace overwhelm them when they feel overwhelmed.
May they be reminded of His great love for them when they gaze into your eyes. For a child's pure unconditional love for their parent is the closest thing we will ever know to God's love - which is a million times grander.
I pray that they pass this all onto you. May they share Jesus with you. May He be engrained in your household, your conversations, questions and family memories.

I pray for your KQ mentors. May their sundays be guided by the spirit. May they be an example to you and may they grow to be mentors, confidants and friends as the years go by. May the lessons they teach reflect the great wonder of God and may you carry that with you thru the week. I pray you see God in the simplest things. May you see Him in the butterflies and the rainbows. May you see Him in the clouds and hear Him in the clapping of leaves.

Thank you dear child for the joy you bring to our church. I pray wholeheartedly that the lessons you learn today take root in your heart and set a foundation for the person you will become. God has a plan for your life. I hope to be able to see all of the amazing things you will do with Him by your side. (He will always be by your side). And I, hope to always be a source of mentorship and trust for you. But even if, we are only to cross paths for a short time, I am eternally grateful to have had a chance to share Jesus with you and to share the joy found in Him.

I pray that God bless you dear KidsQuest child. He loves you soooo much. Always.

Love
Cindy

For you

My biggest prayer for you is not that you find yourself, that you find happiness, that you succeed. All of these I do wish for you but what I pray is this.

I pray that in the moments you feel all alone, that you feel God's presence and that this void bring you closer to Him.

That in your moments of reflection upon your life and where it has taken you, that you see how God has been faithful through the most difficult times. That ever big decision you have made has been covered in the prayers of others. That a community of people have and are still praying for you.
As you run further and further, I pray that you will one day fall to your knees at the feet of the cross.

I pray that one day..you surrender your life to Jesus Christ. I pray that you be overwhelmed with how much He loves you. I pray that you no longer be blinded and that you no longer be binded. I pray for healing of hurts you don't even acknowledge

My heart cries for you. It is broken for you. I have prayed often to see you as God sees you. I believe I am now at that place. He sees you with hopeful eyes yet at the same times weeps that you have not turned to Him when so often He has given out His hand. He loves you deeply and has not forgotten you.



I pray for salvation. It is not too late. It is not impossible.

Love you in Christ.

Cindy.

Facing difficult questions...

 Do you trust me enough to go to the rock bottom in order for my name to be glorified. Do you trust that I will still be there with you? In the fire pit? In the lion's den? Are you willing to lose your life, your comfort for my work to be done?

#prayforvenezuela

I am so saddened by the situation in Venezuela these days. Horrifying stories and images on social media are being shared to give us an idea of what is going on there and of what they are fighting for. Another set of images that are being propelled onto the web are of Venezuelans burning the Cuban flag. Because of this our facebook feed is filled with Cuban acquaintances posting more and more pictures of Venezuelans insulting Cubans and adding their own insults back to the people of Venezuela.

In no way do I condone the burning of the Cuban flag. This was an ignorant act in my opinion. Cubans are a proud people and they hold a very strong sentimental attachment to their history, culture and flag. This misdirected act has caused strife where I believe should instead be solidarity.

I am saddened that ignorance of some has caused insult to a people as a whole. They are fighting for their rights against a government and not against the people. I am saddened that some Cubans have taken this so much to heart, that they have forgotten what these people are fighting for.

They are fighting for freedom. Something that the Cuban people can definitely relate to. Out of everyone, the Cubans are the most likely to understand what it is to be stripped of your human rights and should be the most capable to empathize with the plight of this country. 

For the moment, they stand on either side throwing insults at each other. I am deeply saddened to see this..since in the end, their prayers are the same.

#prayforvenezuela

God is interested in developing your character. At times He lets you proceed, but He will never let you go too far without discipline to bring you back. In your relationship with God, He may let you make a wrong decision. Then the Spirit of God causes you to recognize that it is not God's will. He guides you back to the right path.
-Henry Blackaby

Stay and Wait - Hillsong United LIVE (Cover)

Santiago de Cuba- A roof over their head.

Joel, the babies and I headed down to Cuba once again this past march. Before leaving we collected funds in order to help rebuild his uncle's home after hurricane Sandy. We were overwhelmed with the generosity and genuine concern of our church community, family and friends. In a matter of days, we raised over $2000!

We really didn't know what to expect when we began thinking of fundraising for his uncle's house. As always, God came through and exceeded every expectation!! 

We stayed in his uncle's town of Santiago de Cuba for only 2 nights before we took a long 17h drive 'home' to Habana. Santiago is a beautiful town which sadly was torn apart by hurricane Sandy. By the time of our trip though, rebuilding was already underway... After months, the streets were finally cleared of all debris.

As all repairs, restorations and rebuild in Cuba...it will be a long time before all is back to the way it was. The government has not provided much aid and whatever donations of materials received by other provinces and countries are being sold at exorbitant prices. Our pastor in Habana was even telling us how the church collected a truckload of clothing for the Sandy victims. Unfortunately, the truck was intercepted by the police and everything was confiscated and never made it to Santiago.

Joel's uncle is still searching for the steel rods needed to continue the roof. For the moment, thankfully, the excess of funds we received have been used to build temporary tin roofing. Tin roofing makes the home feel like a furnace but at least protects them from the wind and rain. They have completely rebuilt the front wall and the side entrance has been cleaned out of debris and repaired. 

We cannot begin to express how grateful Joel's family is as well as how your generosity has blessed them and encouraged us. We are so thankful to all of you. Above all, we are thankful to God, to whom all glory is given! 

Here are a few pictures of before and during our trip.... and a few recent renovation pictures sent to us from his uncle. I will post updates as soon as I receive more news from family. :)

Debris from Sandy

Joel and his uncle Luis walking the boys down his street

The streets of Santiago - finally cleaned of all debris

Roof before

Roof before

Temporary tin roofing :)

The front wall completely torn down and house exposed.

Front wall - Rebuilt :)

Side entrance -wall and window gone, filled with debris

Side entrance rebuilt :)

Luis, Luis jr, Karelia, Joel & I

God knows....

Before I even begin, I know this blog is going to be a difficult one to write. I'm just so overwhelmed with emotion.

God you are so good.

You have blessed us so greatly.

I feel unworthy and am so humbled by your love.


(found in my drafts. Written march 29th 2010)

Emmanuel

My sweet Emmanuel...

I can't believe it has been a year since my last post! So much has transpired since last september and I will really have to set some time aside to write my thoughts, journey and all I have and still am learning. God has blessed us with another beautiful boy that has, just as his brother has, captured my heart. I am now on maternity leave enjoying my time with both of my boys.

I was worried before Manny's arrival about how we would manage with two children. As always, God has provided for us in so many ways. I will definitely have to blog specifically about how he has immensely provided for us soon.

But for now, I just wanted to thank God for bringing Emmanuel into our lives. For blessing me once again with the responsibility of being his mama. Thank you Jesus!!!!

Aleandro's dedication

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Dearest Aleandro,


Today September 11th 2011 was your dedication day and what a beautiful day it was. Mama and Papa, Westside, friends and family all declared, promised, that we will all lead you along this wonderful life ahead constantly pointing and guiding you towards Jesus. Know, my love, that you have a community of people around you that truly care for you. Authentic love does exist.

It is my deepest desire to have you live your life knowing that God loves you. It is my biggest prayer that you be able to turn to Jesus in any situation and that you trust that He will always be there for you.

I pray that you be filled by His spirit, that you be so in love with God and that you follow Him with all of your heart. You cannot even begin to imagine what God can do when you obey and follow Him.
Beleive, my son, that this life means nothing without God in it. Nothing else will ever fulfill you nor complete you.

I cannot force you to follow Jesus, but I will teach you all I know, I will share my heart with you, I will lead you by example and I will pray and pray and pray.
We will continue to live out Proverbs 22:6 for you and I will continue to pray for you all the days of my life.

I love you so much. SO MUCH. I love you infinitely. Jesus loves you even MORE.

Love,
Mama