Jumping from Moving Cars...

I've just been through a very rough patch here in the Women's House in Birmingham. I've been under the weather for the past month or so. Just can't seem to shake a cough and a few bouts of flu and cold symptoms. However, I am on the up-swing, praise the Lord! He has been faithful through every difficulty. I'm seeing it worked out before me just how to remain joyful and full of thanksgiving in every circumstance. I may fall, but my Lord always lifts me up and dusts me off.

For the lat two weeks, I had the profound privilege to serve a new girl in the house. She arrived, first, in the middle of the week. Fresh from Bermuda, she had several issues with the way our house functions. Rules, to her, are a bad thing. Her boisterous personality soon gave way to a temper. The leadership, once in a while, has to ask people to leave for the sake of the well being of those with whom the disruptive person has lived. One Friday, this woman was asked to leave. With an outraged fit, she packed her things and climbed into the car that would carry her to the airport. Half-way there, she screamed for the driver to slow down because she was jumping. This not five-foot Bermudan woman leaped from a moving car in the middle of rush-hour traffic. The car screeched to a halt and she, fairly unscathed, grabbed her bags from the now open trunk. Barely able to drag the heavy bags, she made it to the sidewalk and hurried away. Now, this lady is the mother of five children and from a very small island. To be lost in Birmingham (the second-largest city in England), at night, is a really bad thing. We had to call the police and have them put out an APB on her. We prayed and prayed for her safety. After three days, the police brought her back to our house. Betel had given her a second chance to make things right.

ROUND 2: She's now in my room and I am responsible for her. Over the course of two weeks, my other roommate and I are responsible to follow the "new girl" around and make sure she is alright, that she doesn't steal, that she's not using, that she's safe and comfortable. This is when we find out she has a hernia the size of an American football and has had it for several years! Though seemingly more agreeable at first, our young charge became more aggressive as the days passed. The spiritual warfare in our bedroom became increasingly intense and we could tell that something was about to break. Then, on Monday morning, she let it out. Her temper was such that everything made her increasingly angry. She began to ignore us when we would give her direction, and, instead, disobeyed deliberately. When she threatened to fight me, having already flung a threatening fist in my direction, that was it. We aren't equipped here to handle any sort of violent behavior, etc. She began to rant and then plunged into a deep, brooding silence. She left quietly the next day.

While the last two weeks have been the most trying since I arrived here, my heart is broken for my young friend. I pray that the Lord brings her to repentance. While she is out of Betel's and my reach now, she is by no means outside the reach of the Lord. I am thankful, as well, for the time I did have with her. I have learned more about the love of the Lord during the past tow weeks than I have before. I praise the Lord that when I was unlovable, He loved me. I pray that He would reveal that same love to my friend.

This is not a huge success story...but the story isn't over yet. And I felt it might be good for you to get a small taste of the battle we face over here. It is daunting and all-around hard. But the steadfast love of the Lord never ceases. His mercies are new every morning. I am so blessed to be right in the middle of His will and the strength of His love.

Please keep praying for us! God is moving among us in mighty ways. More on that soon!

Love to all,
Katelyn