Officially Middle Aged!

Well, I think I hit it... middle age. That's when you start doing stuff you wouldn't normally do just to check it off the list of things to do while you're still able to do them. Skydiving was it for me! I told myself 3 years ago that when I turned the big 4-0, I was going to celebrate by jumping from a plane.

I went to Skydive Arizona over Thanksgiving vacation, crammed myself in a little plane with at least 20 other jumpers and did a tandem jump from 13,000 feet. It was awesome! At first there was a little panic until we got under control and then I was able to "rest" (as much as you can thousands of feet in the air!) on the wind and enjoy the free fall.

The guy that took me was Jay and he has jumped almost 4,000 times. I figured that one jump wasn't going to "kill" me. At least that was what I was hoping! Even if it did, the stack of papers signing my life away before I jumped, would never allow me to sue if I was hurt or my family to sue if I was dead. Thankfully we didn't have to deal with either one of those issues!

So off I went... soaring up to 13,000 feet and then plummeting back to earth at about 120mph. It was exhilerating and something I'm so glad I can add to the list of things that I can say "been there, done that, got the t-shirt (which I really did!)

Once again back on solid ground.... what a ride!

Made it home safely!

Our last day in Santiago, we had the opportunity to spend a little time at a girls home that one of our missionaries volunteers at. Many of these girls have been abandoned and come from pretty desperate situations but have ended up in this great home run by some very wonderful Christian people.

There are girls there from very young up to 18 years old. They have set up this home as a place of safety for these girls to live and as a school to teach them skills that they can use when they leave the home. I'm not sure how to describe this place except to share with you the phrase "the joy of the Lord" in describing how I felt there. These girls have come from situations not meant for little girls, but they know the Lord now and He is with them. His joy resides within the walls of this place... you can feel it the moment you walk through the gates. My heart will be forever touched by these little ones that so lovingly embraced me and shared their precious smiles with me.

From there, we left for the airport and soon found our way back home to Colorado. I was reflecting on some of the precious time I've had in Chile and found a note that one of our missionaries wrote to me. As sick as I've been this whole time, I treasure the words she wrote to me: "Thank you for leading us in worship! Your worship was truly from your heart to the heart of God and opened the way for us, as a group, to reach Heaven's throne!" Wow... I feel like I've lived and truly understand what it is now to know what Jesus means when He says: "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness." It was God in me that led those ladies in worship and I'm so incredibly grateful that I had the opportunity to be used by the Lord in Chile. Thanks for being on this journey with me!

Blessings.... Tracy