SUMMER PART 1

From May 11 to June 22, I will be living in Bangalore, India and Vasco de Gama, Goa, working for an organization called RR to serve and empower victims of sex-trafficking. During the six weeks, I will be teaching baking classes as well as administering lessons on health and nutrition, hoping to provide a loving space for learning, healing, and preparation for these women and their futures.

SUMMER PART 2

From June 30 to July 19, I will be serving at a mission hospital in Kapsowar, Kenya,with my family. For the three weeks we are there, I will be spending most of my time working in the hospital, but also making several visits to Kapchesewes orphanage to spend time with the 35 children who live there.

The Hydrangea

The Hydrangea
The hydrangea flower is a symbol of friendship, devotion, and understanding...and some say it represents all heartfelt and sincere emotions. My hope is to authentically love and sincerely serve the women in Bangalore, that friendships grounded in comfort and consolation would flourish over the six weeks. My hope is that the women I am serving in India would be filled with an abundance of hope...that despite the pain and brokenness and suffering of their past, that each one would know that they are absolutely beautiful and pure in God's sight, that they have worth and value that is beyond their wildest dreams, that they have the power to live new lives and be freed from the horror of their pasts. My heart longs to serve these women in a way that will empower them to bloom from roots of compassion and stems of courage, flourishing with hope for their futures.

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Quotes by Mother Theresa

"Do not think that love, in order to be genuine, has to be extraordinary. What we need is to love without getting tired."

"Everytime you smile at someone, it is an action of love, a gift to that person, a beautiful thing. "

"If we want a love message to be heard, it has got to be sent out. To keep a lamp burning, we have to keep putting oil in it."

"Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got, but they need your hearts to love them. So, spread your love everywhere you go."

This one is my favorite: "In this life we cannot do great things. We can only do small things with great love. "

Today has been a roller coaster--lots and lots of ups and downs, some unexpected struggles and frustrations in terms of getting ready for my trip, and more and more I am aware of my shortcomings...I am made of dust, and only alive because the Creator of the Universe has breathed into my body. I am exhausted and drained, and I feel as though i am being worn down...but it is a beautiful process and transformation... I fell as though the more tired I am, the more I let go...the more torn up I am, the more I open up... the more fearful my heart is, the more I surrender control and turn to Him. I am so thankful for His perfect grace and mercy that is enough... I am so thankful that I am not here on this earth the do amazing or extraordinary things, I am not here to be sucessful or well-known, I am not here to be rich, I am not here to seek my own glory. I am here to love--to pour myself into the people around me---the old, the young, the rich, the poor, the sick, the healthy, the strong, the weak, the depressed, the joyful--to spread joy and hope and light.

I want to disappear...to put on an invisibility cloak of compassion, so that all who look at me-in Nashville, in Atlanta, in India- do not see Emily Woods, but they see love and grace and hope and light.

ELW
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1 comment:

  1. SALLY WOODSApril 30, 2010 at 5:28 PM

    DEAREST EMILY, EVER SINCE YOU WERE A LITTLE GIRL WE HAVE OBSERVED GOD'S SPECIAL HAND UPON YOU AND HIS LOVE AND GRACE EXHIBITED IN YOUR LIFE THROUGH YOUR SERVANT'S HEART. WE ARE SO HAPPY YOUR FATHER GAVE US THIS LINK TO YOUR BLOG SO WE CAN SHARE YOUR THOUGHTS, PRAYERS AND PREPARATIONS TO MINISTER IN INDIA. KNOW THAT WE WILL BE SURROUNDING YOU WITH OUR PRAYERS FOR SAFE TRAVEL, GOOD HEALTH AND STAMINA - AND ESPECIALLY FOR OUR LORD JESUS TO USE YOU IN MIGHTY WAYS TO BRING HIS LOVE AND GRACE TO THE INDIAN WOMEN. WE SHALL LOOK FORWARD TO READING YOUR THOUGHTS EACH DAY AND TO SPEAKING WITH YOU WHEN YOU RETURN.
    LOVE ALWAYS, G'MA SALLY & POP-POP :-)

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