La Pasión que Arde en mi Corazón

"Courage is not the absence of fear, it is walking in spite of fear."  (Mark Twain) "These are the leaders of David’s mighty warriors. Together with all Israel, they decided to make David their king, just as the Lord had promised concerning Israel.... ... The Israelite army fled, but Eleazar and David held their ground in the middle of the field and beat back the Philistines. So the Lord saved them by giving them a great victory ... They were expert with both shield and spear, as fierce as lions and as swift as deer on the mountains .. they were all brave and able warriors who became commanders in his army. Day after day more men joined David until he had a great army, like the army of God " (1 Chronicles 11 and 12) When I read chapters 11 and 12 of First Chronicles, I felt great admiration for the brave warriors who had the honor of being mentioned in the Bible. I thought that I would never be like them, they risked their lives until death, they...

La valentía no es la ausencia de miedo, es caminar a pesar del miedo.  (Mark Twain) "Estos son los líderes de los guerreros valientes de David. Junto con todo Israel, ellos decidieron hacer rey a David, tal como el Señor lo había prometido con relación a Israel... ...El ejército israelita huyó, pero Eleazar y David no cedieron terreno en medio del campo e hicieron retroceder a los filisteos. Así que el Señor los salvó dándoles una gran victoria. .. Eran tan expertos tanto con el escudo como con la lanza, tan fieros como leones y veloces como ciervos en la montaña... eran guerreros valientes y capaces y llegaron a ser comandantes de su ejército. Día tras día más hombres se unían a David hasta que llegó a tener un gran ejército, como el ejército de Dios ... " (1 Crónicas 11 y 12) Cuando leí los capítulos 11 y 12 de Primera de Crónicas, sentí mucha admiración por los guerreros valientes que tuvieron el honor de ser mencionados en la Biblia. Pensé que jamás ...

A God-sized dream is worth every penny, every second, every pinch of energy.   (Chase The Lion, Mark Batterson)  When my grandfather Juan died, I asked God to give me the faith and the spiritual stubbornness that he had. In my heart there was a giant dream that I could not reach by my own means, I dreamed of traveling to Africa to work as a volunteer nurse in the largest hospital ship in the world. I started to pray and I made risky decisions such as quitting my job, leaving my family, leaving the comfort I lived in, leaving my church and my friends.  And God fulfilled that dream.  God brought me to Africa, and He did it through the help of more than 100 people from different countries, their prayers and donations made a dream come true.  This not only makes me happy, but has been part of Mercy Ships' dream, to bring hope and healing to countries that do not have safe surgical services for millions of people who need them. In the 6 months that the sh...

Un sueño del tamaño de Dios vale la pena cada centavo, cada segundo, cada pizca de energía.  (Persigue tu león, Mark Batterson) Cuando murió mi abuelito Juan, le pedí a Dios que me diera la fe y la terquedad espiritual que él tuvo. En mi corazón había un sueño gigante que no podía alcanzar por mis propios medios, soñaba con viajar a África para trabajar como enfermera voluntaria en el barco hospital más grande del mundo. Comencé a orar y asumí decisiones arriesgadas como renunciar a mi trabajo, dejar de ver a mi familia, dejar la comodidad en la que vivía, dejar mi iglesia y mis amigos.  Y Dios cumplió ese sueño. Dios me trajo a África, y lo hizo a través de la ayuda de más de 100 personas de diferentes países, sus oraciones y sus donaciones hicieron realidad un sueño que no sólo me hace feliz a mí, sino que ha sido parte del sueño de Mercy Ships de traer esperanza y sanidad a países que no tienen servicios de cirugía seguros para millones de personas que los...

"And now, may all the glory be for God, who can achieve much more than we could ask for or even imagine by his great power acting in us."  (Ephesians 3:20 NLT)                                Can you imagine a hospital full of people with deformities in different parts of their body, poor, abandoned and rejected, even labeled as "cursed"?  Can you imagine them smiling and dancing?  Can you imagine a hospital where everyone who works there does not receive a salary?  Can you imagine a hospital where part of the "job" is dancing, singing, playing and hugging patients and their caregivers?  Can you imagine a hospital where you have to do 1 or 2 translations to be able to communicate with patients and their families?  Can you imagine a hospital where each change of shift and each surgery includes prayer?  Can you imagine 80 hospital beds, an intensive care...

"Y ahora, que toda la gloria sea para Dios, quien puede lograr mucho más de lo que pudiéramos pedir o incluso imaginar mediante su gran poder que actúa en nosotros."  (Efesios 3:20 NTV)                                ¿Se imaginan un hospital lleno de personas con deformidades en diferentes partes de su cuerpo, pobres, abandonadas y rechazadas, incluso etiquetados como "malditas"? ¿Se las imaginan sonriendo y bailando?   ¿Se imaginan un hospital donde todos los que trabajan allí no reciben sueldo?  ¿Se imaginan un hospital donde parte del "trabajo" es bailar, cantar, jugar y abrazar a los pacientes y sus familiares?  ¿Se imaginan un hospital donde hay que hacer 1 o 2 traducciones para poder comunicarse con los pacientes y sus familiares?  ¿Se imaginan un hospital donde cada cambio de turno y cada cirugía incluye oración y alabanzas a Dios? ¿Se imaginan un hospita...

WHAT WE DO ON THE AFRICA MERCY In this post I want to tell you what the volunteers do here, to encourage you to participate too! You can watch this video on YouTube to understand a little more of what I am going to tell you here. ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aA7i2xZxJpg&t=158s ) I live and work on a ship with 8 decks, with approximately 400 people, from 40 different countries. Some come to serve 2 weeks, some months like me, 1 or 2 years, and there are people  that have a long term commitment with 5, 15 and even 30 years serving here!  We are all here as volunteers, no one receives a salary, we all receive contributions from many people around the world and through this support and God's blessing we offer free surgeries to people who do not have access to them, with illnesses that have generated shame and pain for few or many years and that can even be risky for their lives if they are not treated.  The ship works with 4 giant engines, has a s...