MAGNIFICO...

Today was relaxing and wonderful.

Talked with my Mom this afternoon!

Tonight was awesome!!

Details will come tomorrow...must sleep now.

:) Ruth

July 21, 2010

Yesterday was a very relaxing day for us. We stayed in all day...no meetings, no reason to get ready for anything...just here at our sweet house. Bruce and the kids decided it would be a good idea to swim. We DID get rather warm after walking back from the store, uphill! Swimsuits were on and they were ready to jump in! The water was FREEZING cold (to me). After getting in, the kids decided to warm up by getting in the steam bath. They pretended to have a radio station in the steam bath. Josh was the DJ and Bella was Hannah Montana. He had his announcer voice out and Bella sang at the top of her lungs. Then they would open the door and all the steam would go out, which made a tropical rain forest for more adventures. Then to the pool to cool off. They laughed and laughed together. I loved it!

While at the pool, Bruce called his Mom on SKYPE and while the kids were talking to Grandma, Rocky (our dog who she is keeping for us) came trotting into the room. Bella's face was priceless when she saw Rocky! He was looking right into the camera and listening to the kids talk to him with excitement. Helen said he knew the kids were near, by their voices but not near enough. She is keeping a "Dog Journal" of Rocky's exciting moments while we're away. He's having a ball...staying inside, having soup added to his dog food, going on walks, making new friends and LOVING Grandma!!! We're so glad he's happy and well taken care of!

TONIGHT...a dear friend came to see us. His name is Andrew Stringer. He was adopted from the same orphanage as me but a few years later. We have been emailing each other for well over a year. When I heard his voice yesterday on the phone, it was as if we had known each other for years. He and his wife, Joanna and their two boys came by for a visit. It was such a great time of fellowship. I wanted so badly to connect with Andrew because we share the same "beginning." He told of his Christian upbringing here in Colombia by his American parents who were (and still are) here as missionaries. He told of his love for the Lord and his family. He's a pastor here in Medellin and helps with church plantings. He's so kind, personal, outgoing and all with a pastors heart. The most wonderful part of our conversation was when he began to talk about his birth mother. I loved hearing of how he met her, their meeting, his heart growing up with acceptance and not rejection, etc. It meant so much to me to talk with him about my own story after hearing his. He interpreted to his wife while I was talking. At some points, we were all crying...okay, Joanna and I were crying and Andrew was tearing up. I'm not going to try to explain how this meeting made me feel, deep inside of my heart, I can't put it into words. It was magnificent to me!

"Thank You Lord for the heart connection I shared with Andrew tonight. Thank You for allowing me to meet another person from Infant Paradise who has been rescued and knows he has been CHOSEN of You!"