Our Safe Place

   Psalm 46:1-3 "God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present

help in trouble. Therefore we will not fear, though the earth give way

and the mountains fall into the heart of the sea,

though it's waters roar and foam

 and the mountains quake with their surging."

This was my devotion passage this morning. I just love the way It's written. "Even if the earth gives way and the mountains fall into the sea, we will NOT fear!" That is so comforting if you really think about it. God wants us to be assured that he is always there for us, that he is our 'safe' place. The place of no fear. The place we can go when there is no where else, and no one else. He is always there patiently waiting for us to open the door and invite him in. There is no 'handle' on his side of the door, it's up to us to open it. Have you opened the door to him lately?



Just a thought...

* Andrea *

He is at Work

     What a great weekend we had! I was lucky to have my husband home on Friday for the day. So we were able to get some things done around the house and yard.
On Saturday, we had 'work day' at church. That was a lot of fun. It's nice to get together with other members of the church in a more casual setting and get to know them better. It's also nice to see what kinds of things the church needs to have done in order to keep it in good physical shape. I really enjoyed the morning that we spent helping.
On Sunday, it was Mother's day (of course, you all know). But more importantly, it was baptism day at our church. We had 5 young men profess their faith and get baptised, as well as 3 young ladies become members. It was so awesome to me to see 8 young adults on stage proclaiming their love for God. Their testimonies were very inspirational, how they shared what God has taken them from and how he is shaping and changing them. It is awesome that these young people are strong enough in their faith to recognize God at work in their lives. My prayer for them is that they will continue to seek him and continue to strengthen their faith and relationship with him. I am so excited to see how God is working in our church and how he is molding and shaping our body of believers.
  How about you? Are you constantly amazed at how God is working in your life? in your church? in other areas? I'd love to hear about it!


Have a great day!!

* Andrea *

My Baseball Girl

   What a week it's been! It's been really good but really busy. Wednesday Arielle had her first "Learn to play" baseball practice.

They had to have it in the arena because it had been raining off and on all day, and was supposed to rain some more. They had cancelled Monday's practice due to weather so I'm really glad that they didn't cancel Wednesday's. It was so cute watching all those little kids running back and forth! Those little minds were hanging onto every word the coach said. So eager to learn! They also had so much energy!!
But of course, nothing is ever complete without a meltdown by one of the kids! Well, this time it was mine! Everything seemed fine and then all of a sudden she turns and looks at me and there are tears streaming down her face. So, of course I go to her and this is what she says "that ball was mine!" Apparently some kid took the ball that she had thrown (they all look the same, so I'm not sure how she could tell), and she was not impressed. This boy gave her the ball back and she was still upset. She finally cheered up after daddy talked to her. Then all was good again. I don't know what he said, but it worked! She had a really great time and is looking forward to her next 'practice'.
    Today, the sun is shining and it is beautiful outside. So I'm not gonna sit here and write any longer. I'm off to enjoy God's gift to us today!

Have a great day!!

* Andrea *

Oh Happy Day!!!

    After a lot of waiting and God given patience, it finally arrived!!! My very first letter from one of my boys!!! You cannot imagine (OK, so you probably can) the excitement and joy I felt when I opened my mail box yesterday and saw this:

Oh I was so excited! I could hardly wait to get home so I could find out who it was from and read what he had to say. I was so convinced that it was from Alejandro because we sponsored him first, but much to my surprise, it was from Niyomugabo. 



This is what he said: "Dear Andrea & Timothy Sawatzky, Niyomugabo Gakwavu greets you in Jesus name. Gakwavu and his family are fine and sending their greetings. They are all happy for you agreed to sponsor him (I'm doing everything but the financial part, so I guess this is right), that they will be praying for you, and may God bless you abundantly. Gakwavu enjoys to play football (I think that means soccer) and he is studying very well. He is asking "What do you like?", "What do you do?". He is kindly asking you to reply and he will send you a photo of him and his family (Yay! I can hardly wait to get it). He is wishing you peace through this year 2011."

This was a very exciting letter for me to get because now it feels a lot more like I'm writing to someone. The wait has been a long one, but it has been worth it! I'm really hoping that I will get the letters from my other 2 boys soon. Maybe this week??? That would be such a blessing to get letters from all 3 boys the same week. It would be like Christmas for me!!!

That was a really nice start to my week. Now hopefully the rest of my week will go just as nicely.

Have you received a letter from your sponsor child lately? I would love to hear about it!!

Have a Wonderful Day!!!

* Andrea *

Why do you...?

   I've had a lot of things going on in my head lately. Sometimes it's so 'LOUD' in there that it's hard to stay focused (is that a problem for you too?). One big thought lately has been, why do we sponsor children? I mean what is your reason? Mine is to make a difference in someones life, and that is one way that I can. I used to think that we couldn't afford to, but yet once we worked out our finances, we were able to tithe to the church. So then I got to thinking, we give to God every payday but do we have to give all the money to church? If we sponsor a child, we are still giving to God but just in a different way.
So that was the thought that started our decision to sponsor. I started to read different blog posts written by Compassion Advocates and learnt a lot about how very important it is to write to your child/ren. It was through reading these posts that I decided to become a compassion correspondent and write to more children. Imagine my surprise when I was given two 18 year old boys to write to! What do I say to them? I am a stay-at-home-mom of a 4 year old and a 1 year old! I have nothing exciting to say to an 18 year old! But God knew (like always), and he has given me a wealth of loving words to write to these young men. It has amazed me how many words it takes to describe something that's so ordinary for us. Take hockey for example, I assumed that they knew nothing about hockey so I wrote it out in detail. It almost took up half a page! Single spaced! So anyone can write to their sponsor child. If your drawing a blank, remember that their world is very different than ours. Talk about ordinary everyday things to us like, gardening, knitting, sports, things that you are familiar with but they probably are not.
A really big reason for us to sponsor (and correspond) is to help someone. I love knowing that Alejandro and his family all benefit from our financial sponsorship. Not only does he get food, and medical check-ups, he also gets a solid teaching about Christ. His family also gets taught as well. His parents learn how to better provide for their children and how to raise them in a Christ centered home. So now, with his physical needs being met, it's up to me to help with his emotional needs. I'm (in a sense) another mom for him. So I take that responsibility very seriously, and send him my love and encouragement as often as possible. I feel that way about all of my 'boys'. I love them so much, and I want them to feel loved, so that's why I write them so often. I can't see them every day, nor can I phone them, so I write.
Maybe you haven't written to your child in a while, today is a good day for writing. Everyday is a good day for writing. You don't even need paper, just go to the website of the organization that you sponsor through (most of them have email), and send your letter of love. It does not need to be long, just send some love!


If you've sent a letter to your child recently and you want to share, I'd love to hear about it!

* Andrea *

Spring Snow...

  Remember the nice weather we had last week? This is what it looks outside my window today...

Anything can happen on the prairies!!



* Andrea *

One Step At A Time...

    This week has been a bit busier for me. I babysit everyday except tomorrow and then my kids and I will be helping a friend all day (which I'm looking forward to!).  So yea, it's been busy. But it hasn't been without it's rewards and joys. I have been doing more things with Arielle, even though I have extra kids in my house! I'm very amazed that I've been able to find the extra time. It' s good for me and her to strengthen our relationship. One of my many faults as a mother is that I often tell her "I'm busy, we'll do it later", and that's not right. Now when she's young is when I need to build a strong bond with her so that when she's older, she will want to talk with me and share her feelings. 'I' also need to enjoy her childhood as much as she needs to. It is so much fun to just sit with her and not think about my chores. It's great to talk with her and walk with her and teach her as much as I can. I love listening to her talk, whether it's about Jesus or something else that she has learned from me or Sunday school or something she's curious about (which is almost everything!). I love reading my Bible to her too. I know she's too young to understand some of the words, but at least she's hearing the message.

We've also had a beautiful week where weather is concerned. It's been warm and not too windy most days. So, we've been outside a lot.

Gabriel had a great time in the cooler! He spent a lot of time in there!!

            Arielle has a blast rolling on the grass!










So this week has been a really good one. Except for the fact that my son and my niece are both teething and have not been sleeping as good as their mommies (and daddies) want them too!! But this too shall pass. I'm very thankful for things that come in stages, especially short ones!!

I hope you have a great day!
May God continue to bless you!

* Andrea *