what a week..

this was quite the week for me...i had opportunities in the early part of the week to make some new friends and hear stories of God answering prayers that included a healing, and bringing a new spiritual friendship that one so desperately was praying for, as well as have a Pastor in my community pray for a double-portion of disciples of what existed within his congregation...

...then later in the week i received a call from a neighbor asking me to go with her to visit her friend's husband's goddaughter...got that...who is 14 and dying of cancer...Mandy and I went and walked into a hospital room filled with friends and family as the only 2 whites in a room of Latinos...i was amazed at the privilege of being with a family in those moments.  I went back the next day and just sat in the room for a while with the family as they all talked to another in spanish...so i just prayed, i don't think i've prayed so much in my life, prayers for healing, for comfort, for peace, for freedom from pain...being there again today (saturday) and listening as the mother and step-father had to make decisions on medications that could help with one thing, but be a detriment to another, while their child lay unresponsive was about as heart-breaking as anything...made me think of my Aunt, I miss you Judy...I thank God for God's presence with me over these 3 days...I hadn't met the family before Thursday night, but when I walked in today to see them one more time, a woman with Child services said they had been asking for something but she wasn't sure what it was, when I asked the mom, she said she was asking for someone to get a hold of me...wow...today was a very rough day for Adriana, very labored breathing, and she seemed to be slipping by the moment, i found myself recalling the stories of MIRACULOUS healing earlier in the week of broken bones and i found myself beggin God to reach down and bring a miracle to this 14 yr. old...I'm still beggin...

...tonight we went over to another Hispanic families' home, our friends Eric and Monica's...Eric had his whole family over as we cheered Oscar De La Hoya to no avail as Manny Pacquiao laid the smack-down...we laughed, ate some amazing tostadas, and had a discussion about whether there was such a thing as non-alcoholic beer...as we left, Eric looked at me and said, Nick, every time I have my family over from now on...I'm inviting you...

...Mandy and i talked as we walked home that my days were spent so much with people from the Hispanic culture, when that is so much of her passion, and how blessed I am to have been treated in those ways, i'm sure i made some cultural fo-pahs, and I pray for forgiveness for them, but I am thankful for those times...

yesterday i also had a chance to meet Nashon, one of the 2 boys that I'll be spending time with at Rosa Parks Elementary...he's by far the tallest in his class and extremely brilliant...he was sure to show me his last spelling test A, and brag about how he doesn't even have to study :) , i was that kid at his age (how times have changed)...i also got to watch him try and push little boundaries to see what he could get away with, I look forward to spending time with him and I pray that I could be someone he could look up to...

God gave me a week this week that assured me that the Holy Spirit was with me, and was placing me in positions to be exactly what God intended for me to be.  So often as I spent time with the hospital, I could hear God say...you are My presence in that room, you are my hands and feet sitting with them...you are being the church...

...i don't deserve such an honor, Praise God from whom all blessings flow...