Blessed Are the Poor in Spirit

Then He said to His disciples, "The Harvest truly is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest."

Matthew 9:36-38

I'm posting today for Eli, because things have been so crazy busy for him! Today he starts his journey to Pemba Mozambique, Africa for 7 months. It's bittersweet but mostly exciting. The Lord has provided in unimaginable ways these past months. So, even as a bystander I feel like my anticipation has been building for this fateful day! Eli is going to have the opportunity to do many amazing things, learn from others, give to the poor, love the poor and father some boys.. but what is super exciting and why I am writing this post is that he is going to carry flour & oil to Pemba! 

Even though we're apart, this blog will continue, our treats will keep giving, now to even more people. There are limited supplies/ ingredients where he will be, but that has not squashed our spirit. The other day I made a little book with many different recipes for Eli using the ingredients that would be available to him. How I wish I could see each person's face as they are blessed with a little something sweet to brighten their day. It's an honor and a privilege and I'm so excited to see future blog posts from Eli. More than ever I can testify to the faithfulness and thoughtfulness of God. He is so good. 

A Reason to Celebrate!

 This past week was jam-packed and incredibly fun. Why? We got to celebrate Elijah! 

Eli's birthday was on Tuesday, so on the Sunday before, we threw him a surprise party with some of his favorite foods - wings, mac & cheese, cheesecake, cheeto puffs, gummi bears, watermelon and cheerwine. He was surprised and it was wonderful. The weather was a scorcher! Then late Monday night I assembled and decorated a cake for him!! The pressure was on because everyone knows Eli has perfect cake skills. Either way, he loved it. I've always loved birthdays, I think it's because my family always made each person's birthday so special. Since being at school, I am always genuinely excited for others to celebrate their day of birth. It is an important day..and who doesn't need a reason to celebrate? This week of celebrations was especially dear to me. Eli has been my best friend throughout college, so it was the best to see him happy, surprised and enjoying the festivities. At the end of the week he got to see one of his favorite friends, but I will let him post about that! After all of the fun it's nice to sit back and acknowledge all of the good things we have in life. We have found some of the greatest friendships here in Charlotte, that in itself is a reason to throw a party :)