Week of Mother's Day

6 For this cause everyone who is godly shall pray to You 

In a time when You may be found; 

Surely in a flood of great waters 

They shall not come near him. 

7 You are my hiding place; 

You shall preserve me from trouble; 

You shall surround me with songs of deliverance. Selah

Psalm 32:6-7

    So many things have happened in only a week! The dance ministry has taken off and it was evident that Jesus was moving in each of us. I made a poster for the girls in the volleyball team that had little pockets with each girls' names on them to inspire the team spirit of encouraging one another other. Mother's Day was amazing. I made 30 or more gift bags for the ladies at Hope Mountain and also for the mothers at church. Thank God for always providing as there isn't a budget that the church or Hope Mountain had in doing all these ministries. 

    I'll share a few highlights. The first is definitely the dance ministry. It's a new ministry that God has given me through our Hope Mountain Church. We only practiced for a week, a total of five times for this dance. I would say it was a miracle and I thank the Lord for all the girls who were involved. There are three girls who have been challenging for us to get them more engaged in church, dance ministry and small groups. But I'm not giving up even though my time is coming to an end pretty soon. We are the 99 whom Jesus has called to go seek and help the ONE. Thinking about who God is to me personally and knowing how God has been so merciful to me help me to persevere! We danced for Mother's Day. A few of the mothers were in tears. Many people thought it was a huge success. Glory to God!

    The next highlight I think would be Mother's Day. The day was just so wholesome with all the boys and  girls from the dance chilling in the house. I made a card for my mom! Little Avila, the daughter of one of the house parents here, made a couple of cards for her mom as well. Another boy made something for Corenne and me. At the church service, a few of the boys came to me to hug me to express how I'm kind of like a mother or big sister to them as I spend quite a lot of time with them. It was really touching. Before Mother's Day, I wasn't feeling good. I think there was a combination of being a little homesick again and also still feeling sad about my grandma passing away. But Mother's Day was good for me personally. God lifted my soul as I worshipped Him with dancing. A great joy came over me as I danced for Him. And later in the day, just being around people instead of escaping and isolating myself, my whole spirit was lifted. 

    Thank you for all your prayers!!! You can see that God cares and listens to our prayers. 

Prayer requests would be:

1. God can comfort our family, especially my mom and her siblings, as we grieve for the lost of our grandma. 

2. We will be preparing the next dance. This time, we will do a small drama with the dance. Please pray that we can communicate clearly with each other and that we can have an open heart and allow the Holy Spirit to lead our conversations, actions and ideas. May our hearts be in the right place with God.

3. I'll be going to a church that's 18 hours away by bus to share at a church of a friend I was so honored to meet back in January. They want me to share more about missions with my experiences and testimony. Please pray that the Holy Spirit can guide me in every decision I make. 

4. I'll be going to Thailand, Cambodia, and Nepal from September to November. Please pray as I prepare to write a fundraising letter! The team will also be making some crafts to sell in order to raise the amount we need!

    May God continue to abide in you as you abide in His love that your joy may be fulfilled. Love you all.

6 因此，凡是敬虔的人，都當趁祢可尋找的時候，向祢禱告； 

大水氾濫的時候，必不能達到他那裡。 

7 祢是我藏身之處， 祢必保護我脫離患難， 

以得救的歡呼四面環繞我。

詩篇 32:6-7

    不敢相信這週有這麼多事情發生！其中，舞蹈事工開始了，從中能清楚看見耶穌在我們每個人裡面動工。感謝主！另外，我做了類似小卡牆給女子排球隊以及我們的舞蹈團，在巴西沒有小卡牆，很少人會寫卡片，但我們可以開始用這樣的方式分享神的愛及關心他們。排球隊的小卡牆主要目的是提升我們球隊精神，更凝聚大家。還有，母親節過得很棒！感謝神！我做了超過30個小禮物袋給這裡的同工以及教會的媽媽們。感謝神總是提供因為教會及Hope Mountain並沒有給預算讓我做這些服事。

    我想分享關於舞蹈事工。這是一個神所賜給我的新事工，我從來沒有做過，當時聽過我要領導這個事工時，既緊張又期待，但我心裡深處知道這是神要我做的事工。我們一個禮拜練了五次為了要這個特別的主日，就是母親節。我覺得是個奇蹟，我心裡充滿對神的感激也很開心我們幾個女生有參與。有三個女生沒有參與，對我們來說是個挑戰，但是我沒有打算放棄，雖然我即將要離開。我們就是那九十九隻綿羊耶穌呼招去尋找那一隻綿羊。每當我想起神對我的意義有多大以及祂如何赦免我、拯救我、施恩於我、持續的追尋我，讓我不會想要放棄追尋這些三位非常珍貴的生命。我們主日跳了舞，有幾位母親們感動到哭，許多其他人也很感動。我把所有的榮耀歸給神！唯有祂配得所有的榮耀與讚美。

    這次的母親節很特別，不只是因為舞蹈的關係，而是我的外婆上週被神接走，還有我自己又開始想家，所以情緒比較凝重、難過，但因為身邊圍繞著青少年們以及親朋好友，因此整個情緒好了很多。聚會結束後，幾個青少年給了我一個擁抱來表現我如何像個大姐、媽媽、阿姨一樣看顧、陪伴他們。這讓我很感動。我做了手工卡片給我媽，我也陪伴了其中一個小女孩，她是同工的女兒，一起做卡片、做手環。其中一個青少年做了卡片給我，讓我很開心！感謝神讓我在這次的母親節透過舞蹈敬拜及周圍的人讓我感受到安慰、平安、喜樂以及關愛。

    感謝所有的親朋好友的代禱，我真的能夠看見神聆聽且應允我們。

以下是幾個代禱事項：

1. 上帝能夠安慰我們的家庭，尤其是我媽以及舅舅們、阿姨，對他們來說打擊很大。

2. 舞蹈事工：我們正要開始準備下次的舞蹈，這次我們會融合一個戲劇，讓更多青少年可以參與。請為青少年及青少女的參與度禱告，以及我們能夠清楚又合一地與彼此溝通，能夠敞開心讓聖靈引領我們的對話及想法。

3. 我下週末要搭18個小時的遊覽車到另一個城市的其中一間教會分享關於宣教，求聖靈能引領我每個抉擇。

4. 我九月至十一月與青年使命團要去泰國、柬埔寨與尼泊爾宣教，我們會在那裡跟教會合作辦宣教營隊以及服事那裡的幾間教會，還有服事類似半途之家的事工。求神能夠幫助我，因為我要寫募款計畫、做些手工藝品，讓我以及其他三位同工去這些地方服事神。也請為我們即將去不同的教會分享禱告，讓一切可以順利，所有榮耀歸與神！

    願神持續地與你同在，願祂的愛迴繞你們每一個人使你們充滿喜樂。

This is our dance group!

這是跟我一起跳舞的弟兄姊妹。

These were for the women and mothers.

這些是給這裡的婦女同工們以及教會媽媽們的禮物。

We had a great week of practice! 

It was quite tiring but praise the Lord for all the hard work and joy we had.

我們這週練舞練得很勤，有了幾個挑戰但我們一起勝過了它們。

雖然練得蠻練的，但我為所有神所賜的喜樂及所有人的努力感謝神。

Yes! Can't forget to mention that it was Bella's birthday. It was super fun indeed!

無法忘記Bella的生日！我們每個人超級努力準備這次的生日派對，感謝神大家很快樂！