THANK YOU! AND A Miracle!!

I want to shout a HUGE THANK YOU to all of the people who run our Friend Homes and Friend Ministries. They are wonderful, amazing, loving people, and I admire them so, so much. I could go on and on (and on) about what incredible people they are. I am so, so blessed to know them and have the opportunity to speak with them. SUCH a blessing! Aside from that, these people have sacrificed something very special for ME! Daily, hourly...every SECOND they are sacrificing themselves for God and to serve His children. But, on top of that, they did something that really blows my mind, and I am over the top thankful for them. To some of you, and maybe even to them, it seems ridiculous that I am SO thankful for what they gave me. But trust me...I REALLY AM "that" thankful. These sweet people allowed me to use their pictures. A picture is priceless and irreplaceable. A picture captures a moment, a memory, a feeling. A picture preserves for us something to which our weak, human minds cannot cling tightly enough. Time robs it from our memories, but the picture holds it for us to keep. Letting someone "use" a picture can often feel frightening. It is like sharing something so private and personal with someone. You know that when you hand this memory over to someone, it is not a memory to them...it is now a story. They will never feel the way you did in that moment picture was taken. Of course, a good photograph attempts to express that feeling, but, in reality, what happens for the photographer is that the picture reminds him of the memory and feeling he already had. When you give someone a picture, you run the risk that the picture did not adequately capture the moment to portray the feeling, but only conjures the feeling for the photographer, who, of course, is only remembering the feeling the real-life situation already produced. (Wow, was that confusing? I am so sorry!) What I am trying to say (and probably really failing at...so sorry!) is that I KNOW that letting someone "use" a picture is, really, an enormous sacrifice. Several people have entrusted me with their memories, their stories, and allowed me to use their pictures on the Sixteen Small Stones blog, website AND facebook. I deeply appreciate them letting me use these pictures, and I wanted to publicly express my gratitude at being offered something so precious and dear. THANK YOU to everyone who has offered for Sixteen Small Stones to use your pictures! THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!!! ***** I know the little munchkins in these pictures, and in all of the others we post, are SO cute you want to gobble them up and maybe share their pictures on YOUR blog, but PLEASE RESPECT THE PRIVACY OF THESE CHILDREN AND DO NOT REPOST THESE PICTURES OR USE THEM FOR ANYTHING WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THEIR OWNERS. THANK YOU!!***** Okay, are you ready for some good news? Ready to see the HANDS AND FEET of Christ at work? Ready see how God preforms miracles through His servants? Ready to see with your eyes the LOVE of God? Well, get ready to SHOUT praises, too, because this is going to knock your socks off! Remember little Sarah? Renee's sweet angel who helped us get the word out about our first project with Serving His Children in Uganda? Well, some sweet young ladies went to visit Renee and the healing home of Serving His Children. While they were there, they took videos of the work Serving His Children is doing. If you watch the videos that show the babies, you will see shots of Sarah. You ready to witness a miracle? Whoever claims miracles cease to exist...be prepared to have your theory seriously debunked. http://livinghislove.blogspot.com/2010/05/videos-from-serving-his-children.html (By the way... It is NEVER too late to donate Fuzzi Bunz diapers!!!!! Notice all these little baby-bums in these videos wearing disposable diapers? Let's work together to get these little tykes into some Fuzzi Bunz! Donations of money can still be sent via paypal from this very page, or can be mailed to the address above. Donated new and GENTLY used Fuzzi Bunz can also be mailed to that same address.)