Regretting the past and fearing the future...

I was regretting the past and fearing the future.
Suddenly, my Lord was speaking:
"My name is I am."

He paused.
I waited. He continued,
"When you live in the past
with its mistakes and regrets,
it is hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WAS.
When you live in the future,
with all it’s problems and fears,
it’s hard. I am not there.
My name is not I WILL BE.
When you live in this moment
it is not hard. I am here
my name is I AM."

(Helen Mallicoat)

Crashing back into reality...

That's how I feel. I got back from an amazing time in Lebanon just one week ago and I've already taken two final exams!! If that's not crashing back into the reality of school life I don't know what is! But it's all good because it went well :) I think this last year of medical school is going to fly by!

Anyways, that's all for now. Have a nice weekend!!!

Friends for life and eternity :)

Here are the greatest gifts God gave me this summer. Some very special friends!!!

Above: Ralph, Jovita and Esther

Below: Salem and I

Above: Ruta and Gerard

Below: Sarma, Baiba, Ralph and Salem

Wherever this group was there was tons of fun!

What a wonderful gift God gave me in these people! I can't stop thanking Him enough! This summer was such a blessing for me. It was like coming to an oasis in so many ways!

"Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for awhile and leave footprints on our hearts. And we are never, ever the same."-- Anonymous

"Remember, the greatest gift is not found in a store nor under a tree, but in the hearts of true friends." -- Cindy Lew

"Good friends are hard to find, harder to leave, and impossible to forget. "

Stop the World

The TV is talking
The telephone’s ringing
The lights are all on
And the radio’s screaming
A million distractions are stealing my heart from You
I’m tired and empty
This life is relentless
It weakens my knees
And breaks my defenses
It’s wearing me down and I’m desperate to hear from You

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me

I need to be still before I make a move
I need to be humble with nothing to prove
I need Your Word to show me the truth
And I need time, precious time

Stop the world I wanna get out
I need an escape away from this crowd
Just to hear You speak to me
Stop the world I’m ready to listen
Show me a sign, give me a vision of heaven
I can hold on to
Stop the world I need some time with You

Before I can find my voice
I need to hear Your voice
Above all the senseless noise

As I was studying this morning I listened to some music by Matthew West and this song caught my ear. I realized how often I feel exactly like that. The world has millions of distractions that seem to take my focus away from God. These distractions are colorful, loud and scream at me anywhere I go... there's no wonder that I feel like I can't hear God. Listening to the song reminded me of how important it is to remove myself from the distractions of this world to a quiet place to spend some time with my Creator so that I can really rest in Him and listen to what He has to say to me. I believe God speaks to us everyday. Often I think our problem is that we are listening for God in the loud things in our life while He might just be gently whispering, waiting for us to give Him our undivided attention.

The LORD said, "Go out and stand on the mountain in the presence of the LORD, for the LORD is about to pass by." Then a great and powerful wind tore the mountains apart and shattered the rocks before the LORD, but the LORD was not in the wind. After the wind there was an earthquake, but the LORD was not in the earthquake. After the earthquake came a fire, but the LORD was not in the fire. And after the fire came a gentle whisper. When Elijah heard it, he pulled his cloak over his face and went out and stood at the mouth of the cave. Then a voice said to him, "What are you doing here, Elijah?"

(1 Kings 19:11-13)

The LORD was not in the powerful wind, He was not in the earthquake, nor was He in the fire... He was in the gentle whisper...

Short update from Lebanon!

It's about time I wrote something here!!

Now I've been in Lebanon for almost a month! These past 4 weeks I spent doing a Children's Day Camp called "Health & Fun" and yes, it was a lot of fun! There were about 50 kids in the camp, divided into 4 groups depending on their age. They had different activities like sports, games, arts and crafts, music, dance, aerobics, health awareness sessions and different outings. This was a very rewarding time for me because I absolutely love working with kids. I've had trouble posting pictures, so unfortunately I will not be able to post any here yet.

During my time here I have met some wonderful people from all over the world that I know will be my friends for life. We had a ICMDA camp last weekend (ICMDA = International Christian Medical and Dental Association) which was a lot of fun as well as being very beneficial to all of us. People from different cultures and countries gathering together because they share the same vision of serving God in their medical profession :) Such a huge blessing for me to be able to participate in this.

Anyways, I think that'll have to do for now. I just wanted to let everyone know that I LOVE MY LIFE! and I am having a blast here in Lebanon. The people here are very hospitable and welcoming. In a lot of ways it feels like home because the culture here is a bit of a mix between what I experienced growing up in Ethiopia and the culture and luxuries of Europe... if that makes any sense...

So... Have a great weekend everyone! I know I will :) Lots of love from Lebanon!

Experiencing the miracle of life...

This morning I came home extatic after a wonderful night shift at the labor ward. The birth of a baby is truly one of the most wonderful miracles in life! It never ceases to amaze me. God is a wonderful Creator.

Last night I got to experience one of those "wow-moments"... I got to deliver my first baby! I've assisted many times, but this time I was playing the main part while the mid wife assisted me and guided me through the delivery. WOW, it was so... WOW! That was not all! What made this night even more special is that I got to assist in a very special delivery :) Friends of mine were having their first baby! Going through that experience with them was really special. I was honored to be there when their first-born entered this world. Tears of joy and happines and the sound of a newborn baby crying... It was just beautiful!

Congratulations to my friends! May God bless your beautiful baby!!!

Death isn't sad...

"Death isn't sad. The sad thing is: most people don't live at all."

Just a quote that really caught my ear from the movie "Peaceful Warrior". Have you ever given that a thought... are you really LIVING? Or is life just passing you by?

That movie had a lot of good points like that quote. It reminded me how easy it is to just let the moment pass me by instead of making the most of it... whatever it is, because "there is never nothing going on" and there is no ordinary moment, because in that moment, that's actually your life :) Living in the here and now is such a cliché, but it is what I know I need to do to really enjoy life. I tend to dwell on the past and worry about the future... and that can ruin "the NOW" and when you think about it "NOW" is my life...

Well, that was my philosophy for the day.... or maybe month... haha!

Anyways, have a great rest of the weekend! And don't forget to take in the moment and enjoy LIVING!