Happy Birthday Mom!

This Sunday (Nov 27) is my mom's birthday. In honor of my mom I wanted to post my Mother's Day message that I wrote on my "Facebook Notes" this past Mother's Day, May 2011.
This time last year I was home visiting my mom. She was recovering from knee replacement surgery, but she was quite a trooper...even the surgeon was pleased with her progress.
I love my mom and thank the Lord for her love and support.
So here's to my mom!!! Hip Hip Hooray and Happy Birthday Mom...love you so much!!!

I am in Tanzania for another Mother's Day and this evening I will attempt to call my mom to tell her that I love her...if the phone network here in TZ allows me to get through.

So this morning I was thinking about my mom and growing up and life and learning. When I was growing up I didn't appreciate my mom the way I do today. It seems the older I get the more I understand and appreciate so many things in my life.

I thought I'd list of few of the things that I just love about my mom:

1. Thanks mom for being such a strong woman! The strength she carries in her continues to amaze me even as a grown adult! I love it...love, love, love it! I was home last Oct/Nov and watched my mom recover from knee replacement surgery...she battled hard! She inspires me!

2. Growing up all my friends would tell me, "Your mom is so fun." She is a ton of fun! She is waaaaaay more competitive than I am and when we have "game night" at my Aunt Josie's house she is INTENSE about to winning! But she loves to have fun and I love that about her. I am much more serious than she is so I really have come to appreciate her fun personality!!!

3. The woman loves to pray! My mom accepted the Lord in her heart more than 20 years ago and her fervor for God's Word and prayer have only grown. She will pray for someone in need as long as it takes to see the breakthrough in their lives. This is the woman I've got in my corner praying for me daily! Yep! I'm blessed!!!

4. There is only one road for my mom and that is the road of faith! One of my favorite things about my mom is her faith in God. She doesn't let outward circumstances sway her from what God's Word says. She holds to His Word and prays it over each and every situation. People of faith move mountains! Oh yeh...she's moving mountains for the kingdom of God from her prayer room!

5. Her heart of compassion amazes me. When I was a teenager I would get stomach flu quite often and it would result with me vomiting and lying in bed with a fever for days. My memories of those days is my mom making her mint tea (she grew the mint leaves) and standing over me crying and praying and speaking words of love and encouragement...still stirs my heart today when I think about those days.

But my mom's heart of compassion goes way beyond just that. I can remember growing up and having people from the convalescent home over to our house for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner. I remember going to the convalescent home and delivering pizzas. Stopping the car and giving homeless people food. Going over to the house of an elderly person and bringing them some food and praying for them.

Growing up we had all sorts of injured animals at our house that she would nurse back to life. Even now my mom feeds all kinds of stray animals that will let her touch them but no one else.

When Anjela died (Anjela was one of our Treasures at Treasures of Africa Children's Home) in January 2010 my mom called me and we grieved together over the loss of that sweet girl. My mom never met Anjela but she mourned the loss of Anjela with me as if she had lost one of her own grandchildren. That meant the world to me!

6. My mom understands me and all my quirkiness. My mom just stands there or waits in the car patiently for me time and time again when I run back in the house four times because I forgot my sweater, left my sandwich on the counter, need to use the restroom one more time, have to finish a phone call and all that nonsense that I do EVERY time we are together (from the time I can remember up to now). I remember one time about 10 years ago telling my mom, "I'm sorry for being so frustrating." Her response to me was, "You are not frustrating. You’re my Lydia D." She knows me! I am odd in so many ways but that doesn't seem to phase her one bit!!! :)


This is just a small list of wonderful things about my mom. It warms my heart to think of her and I look forward to seeing her when I come home for visits. She comes to the airport to pick me up with a homemade burrito in her hand!!! Anyone who knows my mom knows her burritos!!! YUM!

All the way from Tanzania I'm thinking about you mom!!!

My Thankful Post

I have noticed people have been posting things they are thankful for (one thing for each day) this month of November. I have enjoyed reading them. It got me thinking about being thankful. Since it is too late for me to write one thing for each day this month that I am thankful for, I have decided to list 30 things all at once.
Here I go:
1. So thankful for God’s Word and salvation through Jesus Christ my Lord. Words cannot express the joy I have in Him!
2. Thankful for that day when I was nine years old and a patient in San Fernando Hospital and the girl (Janet) in the room across from mine came over to my room in the middle of the night because I was coughing non-stop and she prayed for me. Then she shared with me God’s plan of salvation through His Son Jesus. I prayed to receive Jesus as my Savior that night…the best decision I have ever made!
3. My heart is always filled with thanks for the blessing of being a part of the lives of the children here at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home.
4. Since my dad’s birthday is November 4th I will mention him on #4. What can a girl say about the best dad ever? Even when he was alive I thanked God everyday for him because I knew he was such a special man! I continue to thank the Lord for my dad.
5.and 6.and 7. My siblings Al, Red, H.A. Always thankful for my brothers and my sister. The last time I was in CA visiting we were all together…first time in a long time. I am the youngest and Al and Loretta have always done the older sibling thing and I have sweet memories of them “looking after me.” H.A. and I, being two years apart hung out when we were young like siblings do. We are all grown up and each of them has a special place in my heart.
8. This might sound odd but I am thankful for camping. So many memories with so many family members! All my aunts, uncles, cousins and friends together and playing, singing, swimming, eating, laughing…going with my parents growing up and then even as an adult.
9. My heart has a smile when I remember the old youth group days! My cousins and those crazy Cabrera boys and oh so many memories! When I go home on visits my cousin Chrissy and I love to reminisce. Street witnessing, all night prayer, youth group, etc. So thankful for those days!
10. The blessing to be able to attend college. My parents sacrificed a lot so I could get a degree.
11. I love teaching. I was an elementary school teacher for 17 years before moving to Tanzania. I LOVED it. What a blessing to love something so much and get paid for it! 
12. Blessed and thankful to be a member of faith-filled church. At every stage in my spiritual walk I have been blessed to not only attend but to be involved with churches where trusting God for the impossible was always the way to live!
13. So thankful for my friend Freya. She has taught me more through our friendship then she’ll ever know. I am a better person because of the blessing of having her as a friend.
14. So many cousins…not enough numbers to list them or room to write all that I am thankful for!!!
15. The grace to drive in a foreign country…seriously! I can flow with a lot of the nonsense here and I KNOW it is God’s grace!
16. Mr. Washington my 4th grade teacher.
17. Dr. Baldwin at Vanguard always made me feel like I was meant to do great things in this life…loved that man!
18. The way mom keeps sending me boxes one after another with all my favorite things! A person doesn’t get tired of that!
19. Skyping with Freya…she always makes time…even at dark-thirty in the morning!
20. Praying with friends. Those times make my heart thankful everyday!
21. Kathleen Curto…Was blessed to work for her for just two short years. She was amazing in so many ways and she doesn’t even know it!
22. My dog Puppy. We had lots of animals growing up but Puppy (I wasn’t so creative naming him) was my very own dog. He was a good dog and I loved him. I spent lots of time playing with him when I was growing up.
23. Eli, the assistant director here at Treasures of Africa Children’s Home. He is grace defined and he has shown more grace to me than I deserve…my heart is so thankful.
24. Pastor Kioko has a gift for listening, encouraging and blessing.
25. Cooking with Jodie…it is part of our therapy…only Jodie fully understands what I mean here!!! But I am seriously thankful.
26. Pastor Ella spoke some words of wisdom to me that I treasured in my heart and to this day I am so thankful.
27. I only waited for #27 to mention my mom because her birthday is November 27. I wrote a “note” about my mom on Mother’s Day on my Facebook “notes” that I think I will post on my blog on her birthday. She is an amazing woman and I love her dearly.
28. and 29. I have so many wonderful family members. I am so thankful for my Aunt Josie and my Aunt Lily. Aunt Josie, so fun and always a joy to be around…great stories (like my mom) from growing up! Aunt Lily, a woman who loves the Lord and inspires me! I love going home for a visit and spending time with her and Chrissy!!!
30. Thankful for the love that God has for me. He loves unconditionally and without measure.