"For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being ROOTED and grounded in LOVE, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the LOVE of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God. Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen."

~Ephesians 3:14-21

Saturday, March 7, 2015

Final Days With The Icard Team - Thank You For Serving Along Side ALMA

THANK YOU NORTH CAROLINA VOLUNTEERS FOR SERVING ALONG SIDE THE ALMA MINISTRY IN CURAHAUSI, PERU. PLEASE CONTINUE TO PRAY FOR THE NEW CHILDREN'S HOME & ALL OF THE ALMA MINISTRIES! WE LOOK FORWARD TO SEEING YOU AGAIN REALLY SOON!

May God Bless You & Your Families!
~THE ALMA TEAM


SNAPSHOTS OF OUR FINAL DAYS TOGETHER IN PERU

New Tool Box For The ALMA Team 
Bunk Beds All Completed For The Volunteer Bunkhouse
Adding More Space With New Walls & Doors
Thank You, Glenda, For Our New Curtains
Thank You NC Team For All The Donations
Allen & Ben Working On The New Tool Chest
Organizing The New Tools
Lunch Break @ Lyndal's Home
(the heath kids LOVED the homemade donuts)
Visiting Another Family In Need Of Food & LOVE
The Lord Provides Every Need
"And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus."
~Philippians 4:19
Serving Our Brothers & Sisters In Christ Here In Peru
View of Their Bathroom & Shower Area
The Precious Grandmother of the Family
FULL OF JOY & SMILES
THANK YOU LORD FOR ALL THE FOOD
Please Pray For This Family Struggling Day By Day
Inside The Kitchen Area Is Lots & Lots of Guinea Pigs
Amazing Story of the Lady Who Lives Here...
She Has So Little (Worldly Standards) - Yet She Continues To Open Up Her 

Home & Heart For Other Families Who Are In Great Need 
& Have No Where Else To Live
~So Eternally Rich & Blessed~
Amazing & So Thoughtful
90+ Years Old Grandfather
View of the Bedroom Where Many Sleep
Peru Has Some of the Coolest Looking Animals
Sweet Peruvian Couple Together For Many Years
Carnival Celebration In Peru

*The Andean highland ritual of the "yunza," known as "umisha" in the jungle and "cortamonte" in the coastal region, is an important aspect of Carnival. Those in charge of the festivities artificially plant a tree loaded with gifts and decorations. When all of the guests have arrived, everyone begins dancing around the tree. After a while, couples begin to chop at the tree with an ax or a machete. The tradition continues the following year, when the couple who makes the final swing that brings down the tree make all the arrangements for that year's yunza.

*http://traveltips.usatoday.com/traditions-carnivals-peru-105082.html


EARLY SUNDAY MORNING 
CHURCH SERVICE WITH THE TEAM

The Baby Bump Is Growing
We Cannot Wait To Meet This Baby Boy In June
Ben & Sean 
Studying Scripture & God's Word
Thankful For The Hearts Worshipping Together In This Small Church In Peru
Please Pray For All The Believers & For The Church Members
As They Are Seeking A Pastor To Lead Their Church Family
So Blessed To See Our Brother In Christ
~The Amazing Grandfather~  
Coming To Worship Our Lord & Savior
& Other Members Of The Family That The Team Visited This Week
Sweet Little Girls Capture Our Hearts
& SHE LOVED HER ICE-CREAM AND LOOKING AT THE TEAM MEMBERS
ICARD, NORTH CAROLINA TEAM 2015
(We Are Really Going To Miss This Team)


TOURING THE MARKET

Our New Favorite Place To Shop For Our
FRESH CHICKEN & BEEF
A View From The Street
Lots of Fruits, Vegetables & Animals For Sale

AFTER CHURCH PICNIC 
ON EUCALYPTUS MESA

Hiking To Find The Perfect Spot For Lunch
Amazing View Overlooking Curahuasi 
Enjoying Our Last Day Of Rest Together
After Lunch...
We All Decided To Take It Off-Roading Again
Incredible Views
Amazing Snow-Capped Mountain Views
Finding New Villages
Sailor Just Hours Away From His 10th Birthday 
Finding A Mountain Treasure
A LOCALLY OWNED TROUT FARM & RESTAURANT 
Beautiful Fresh Trout Farm Located Outside of Curahuasi
PRAY FOR THE PEOPLE ON THIS BEAUTIFUL FARM

~AFTER 12 DAYS SERVING IN CURAHUASI~
THE NC TEAM MAKES IT SAFELY
 BACK TO THE BEAUTIFUL 
CITY OF CUSCO

Enjoying Some of the Local Markets & 
Meeting Many of the Locals
Walking Through The Beautiful Cobble Stone Streets Of Cusco
A Taste From Home
EATING AT CHILIS BEFORE THE LONG FLIGHT

“For you were called to freedom, brothers. 
Only do not use your freedom as 
an opportunity for the flesh, 
but through LOVE serve one another.” 
~Galatians 5:13

Thank you, Lord, for this team, their hearts, and for their safe arrival back to their families in 
North Carolina!

Thursday, March 5, 2015

NC Volunteer Team Helping Many In Peru

For twelve days, volunteers from Icard, North Carolina worked hard each day to help many here in Curahausi, Peru. Early in the morning, the team began each day with a morning prayer and devotion, asking the Good Lord to guide them and lead them during the day's activities. Our hearts were heavy for the Lord to interrupt our days, interrupt our busy schedules, and even stop the construction, if it meant Him using our lives in a manner that would bring others closer to knowing Him as their personal Lord and Savior. 

Lord, keep our minds and hearts focused on You. We know how easy it is, Lord, to become so busy with the daily task and overlook the most important thing- sharing the LOVE of Christ to many in need of a Savior. 

We thank God for the hearts within this team and for the AMAZING LOVE that they gave to the Peruvian people. Lord, please continue to lead this ministry each and every day! Thank you for sending your one and only Son to be the Savior of the world.  

“For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should no perish but have eternal life."
~John 3:16

VISITING A FAMILY IN NEED
NC Team Helping To Provide Them Food

Visiting The Family In Their Home
The Boys Were Excited To Show Us Their Baby Brother Sleeping 
Their Mother Soon To Deliver A New Baby Boy
(Sadly, Only Two Small Beds For The Soon To Be Six People In This Home)
Kitchen View With The Guinea Pigs Roaming
Small Kitchen Area With Very Little Food
Struggling Each Day For Food- Leaving The Boys To Beg On The Streets
Sweet Little One Finally Awakes From His Nap
The Older Boys All Excited About Helping To Carry In The Food
The Oldest Brother Helping Daily To Care For His Younger Siblings 
Thank You NC Volunteers For Helping
To Provide Them With Nutritious Food
"And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did 
it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’"
~Matthew 25:40
Thank You, Lord, For All That You Have Provided 
Please Pray For This Family- Pray That One Day They
Will Know Jesus Christ As Their Personal Lord & Savior 
Lord, Please Look After Your Children 
"Father of the fatherless and protector of widows 
is God in his holy habitation."
-Psalm 68:5

GOOD TIMES IN PERU


Another Power Outage - Cooking Dinner Over The Open Candles
Amazing Views Of The Snow Capped Mountains



The Bunk Beds Looking Good!

Team Work

New Walls Being Added
Lots of Bed Frames
Thankful For All The Dry Wood That Has Finally Arrived
Bill Working Hard
Glenda Sewing More Towels For The New Children's Home
Another Dinner Night With No Power
Ben Always Making Sure We Have Some Light
Thankful For Our Gas Stove That Helps Us Cook Our Meals
~When We Have No Electricity~
Thank You, Glenda, For Teaching Me How To Prepare New Meals
& For Helping To Organize Recipes For The Teams
Helping To Organize The ALMA Scholarship School Supplies
Thankful For All The Donations & School Supplies Given To The ALMA Ministry
That Helps Give Hundreds Of Children An Opportunity To Attend School
The New Backpacks Have Arrived

ONE SPECIAL EVENING
Celebrating Sean's Birthday 
With Friends From Home

Too Many Candles To Count
(so we just put a few:)
Autumn Giving Lots of Hugs For Her Daddy
Happy Birthday, Dad!
We LOVE You, Sean!
~Crissy, River, Lake, Sailor & Autumn

Special Gift From Autumn 


Wednesday, March 4, 2015

Praying For Baby September...

Please pray for Baby September and for this process of fostering her. Pray that all the paperwork will continue to be approved - we are so waiting for the day that we can bring her home! We love you, September! 
(She turned 9 months old on March 1st) 

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your 
heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" 
~Psalm 27:14


Monday, March 2, 2015

First Day of School For The Heath Kids In Peru

The Heath Kids Survived (and.really.enjoyed) Their First Day EVER of Attending A Peruvian School! We are thankful for all our friends who helped us prepare for the first day of the new school year ~ and we are praying in time our kids will fully understand their ALL SPANISH SPEAKING classes & classmates.