Mother Teresa

We had the opportunity to visit the birthplace of Mother Teresa when we were in SE Europe.

I apologize for not blogging last week. Wednesday we were on our way to Nebraska and then Iowa for a family reunion. I didn't have Internet access while I was there. While on the road I had the opportunity to do some reading. One book that I read was called "Mother Teresa No Greater Love. The Most Accessible and Inspirational Collection of Her Teachings Ever Published." It is basically as the title states. I have always admired Mother Teresa, her zeal for the poor, her humble lifestyle and her devotion to following the teachings of Jesus. I would like to share with you some of my favorite parts of the book that were inspiring, convicting, and ideas I could relate to. It is honestly hard for me not to quote the whole book, but I will try to share with you only parts. :)

The poor do not need our compassion or our pity they need our help. What they give to us is more than what we give to them.

We know what poverty means, first of all to be hungry for bread, to need clothing, and to not have a home. But there is a far greater kind of poverty. It means being unwanted, unloved, and neglected. It means having not one to call your own.

Riches, both material and spiritual, can choke you if you do not use them fairly. For not even God can put anything in a heart that is already full. One day there springs up the desire for money and for all that money can provide-the superfluous, luxury in eating, luxury in dressing, trifles. Needs increase because one thing calls for another. The result is uncontrollable dissatisfaction. Let us remain as empty as possible so that God can fill us up.

There are many medicines and cures for all kinds of sicknesses. But unless kind hands are given in service and generous hearts are given in love, I do not think there can ever be a cure for the terrible sickness of feeling unloved.

I think the world today is upside-down. It is suffering so much because there is so little love in the home and in the family. We have no time for our children. We have no time for each other. There is not time to enjoy each other, and the lack of love cause so much suffering and unhappiness in the world. Everybody today seems to be in such a terrible rush, anxious for greater development and greater riches.

Hope you enjoyed them as much as I did. Of course there is a whole book of these types of teachings. I would encourage you to go to your local library and check it out. It is a really quick read and you can get through the book in about 2 hours.

UPDATE:
Our team arrived to Kotido safely after a rather eventful trip.(remember they stayed in Kampala the capital for a while first). They had to take it easy on the roads because of the rainy season and Kristi being pregnant. It took them 3 days rather than 2 but they were thankful for all of God's provision on their trip (too long of a story to go into detail but their many stories are amazing). Thanks for your prayers for them. They are adjusting to life as a team and without luxuries. They spend a lot of their time just learning new things such as how to do laundry by hand, keeping mosquitoes out of the house, cooking on a propane stove, etc. Please continue to pray for them as they adjust, and also for their health. Lots of bugs your body has to adjust to when you move to a foreign country and many of the team members have been quite sick (nothing major).
It has been somewhat (I still wish I could be with them...but looking at the blessings God has given to us) nice having our team go before us because they have already been giving us all kinds of great tips. After praying for quite some time about plane tickets we don't feel a sense of urgency to buy plane tickets. We are getting the sense that their is some unfinished business that needs to be done before we leave. Not sure what this is, but we will continue to live each day for His glory. Oh and hooray....Joshua's SS card application was denied, meaning we could apply again, and with a passport this time. It went through and we should have a card in two weeks and a SS# hopefully today meaning we can complete our taxes!
Thanks for your prayers and faithfulness!
Michaela