Cristo eres tú

We have been encouraged to listen to Spanish music in order to learn the language, culture, and heart of Latin America.  I was recently listening to this song by Marcela Gandara and was challenged by the cost of being a disciple of Jesus, denying myself and taking up my cross daily to follow him (Luke 9:23).  

The song continues to say, "I am ready to give You everything, and here remain.  Today I will fix my eyes on You, and will guard my heart in Truth.  Do not stop guiding me for a single moment, for only in You I will put my trust."

This is the cry of my heart as we continue to adjust and learn a culture and language and beg God to bless our hands in Cusco for His glory.  Living in another country has made me very aware of my shortcomings and weaknesses apart from Christ, and has turned my eyes to Him for refuge and confidence. It is when I have surrendered to Him my fears, weaknesses and sin struggles that I have found rest and His perfect peace.

This simple, yet precious song continues to confess that Christ is the way in whom we find beautiful peace.  Life has not always been peaceful for me here, in fact, I've had angry outbursts, spoken destructive words, doubted the beauty around me, experienced times of physical, emotional, and spiritual fatigue.  But... my heart has been stirred:

To seek Jesus in His Word.  

To speak Truth to my heart.

To fix my eyes on Him.

To deny myself.

To pick up my cross.

To follow Jesus.

To find beautiful peace in the midst of the crazy thing called life here in Cusco. 

Oh, how thankful I am that I have been given all this and more through Jesus Christ, my Lord and Savior.

Cristo eres tú

Tomando cada día mi cruz
Cada paso que tu des yo daré
Dispuesto estoy a dártelo todo
Y así permanecer

Mis ojos hoy en ti fijaré
En verdad mi corazón guardaré
No dejes ni un momento de guiarme
Solo en ti confiaré

Cristo eres tú, la verdad que me llevó a libertar
El camino que me lleva a encontrar tu hermosa paz

Tomando cada día mi cruz
Cada paso que tu des yo daré
No dejes ni un momento de guiarme
Solo en ti confiaré

Cristo eres tú, la verdad que me llevó a libertad
El camino que me lleva a encontrar tu hermosa paz

Tomando cada día mi cruz
Cada paso que tu des yo daré

Eliza is 3!

Eliza is such a joy to us!  She is always making us laugh and smile with her sweet sayings, funny faces and entertaining mannerisms.  We are so thankful for her life and the joy she brings into the lives of so many others.  One of the most beautiful things about Eliza is her generous, loving heart- she always is the first to volunteer to share her things or speak words of encouragement.  Eliza also shows a godly concern for others at such a tender age of 3 (which I have often been encouraged and challenged by!)
So, on this 10th of October, we celebrate the precious gift of Elizabeth McCallay Daniel.  Thank you, Lord, for such a beautiful, precious daughter!

The Story

So... the carbon monoxide story.
We had been in our apartment a week, and Ike & Joanne Holton were staying with us until their apartment was ready.  We had been in Cusco long enough to have less altitude symptoms (like headache/shortness of breath...)
That morning, we were in the kitchen eating breakfast while the Holton's took showers.  I also had started our washing machine (which is also connected to our hot water heater).  David and I had both woken up feeling really well.  During breakfast, we both started to get a headache.  Caleb begin to get really fussy, walked over to me, and laid down on the floor.  I scooped him up and put him in his crib for a nap- (He had also been teething and had a cold).
After breakfast, we went into our living room for family worship.  During our time together, Eliza begin to get very emotional and fussy and she was sent to her room until she could join us again with self control.  On the way to her room, she stumbled (which we assumed was due to her crying and emotional outburst).  After family worship, Anna Grace was walking to her room, stumbled, and fell down.  I immediately told David that we needed to go to a hospital because something was obviously not right with our children.
We called Nathan Wilson (pediatrician) and he quickly came over and evaluated Anna Grace in our living room.  Meanwhile, I was sitting in the girls' room, holding Caleb and begging God for wisdom and protection. Soon, I heard someone say, "Open the windows, it is carbon monoxide." We rushed to the windows and breathed in fresh air- and I must say, I've never been so thankful for air.  It truly felt so good to fill my lungs with life-giving oxygen.
Our dear friends and team members helped carry the children down to a car and we drove down the mountain to a nearby hospital (which happened to not be open- actually, permanently closed and for sale). So, next we were taken to a hospital downtown.  Thankfully, all the children were starting to perk up (we had been out of the apartment for at least an hour at this point).  In the hospital, we were quickly taken and evaluated.  Then, shown to a room in which they brought oxygen tanks for the children (they could only gather 3 oxygen tanks in the hospital- so we ended up treating the children first, and then shared their masks.)  After several hours in the hospital, we were discharged and on our way home.
The doctor said he thought for sure the carbon monoxide was due to our hot water heater, and that it is a fairly common occurrence in Cusco.

The water heater

It was surreal walking back into the apartment that could have killed our family.  Amazingly, and only through the grace of God, we saw the experience as a blessing.  How thankful that we were with our children when it happened, and that we had help from the Holtons and Nathan Wilson.  What a blessing that God answered our cry for wisdom and protection by giving Nathan the diagnosis of carbon monoxide.  Even greater, all of this happened in the morning, while we were awake and alert enough to be warned of the poison and seek help early in the process.
We have moved the hot water heater outside (which is where it should have been in the first place), and are thankful that we are all fine and healthy; there have been no long term effects, and our children were completely unfazed by it all.  I asked the girls that night what they thought about our day, and Anna Grace said, "It was a good day."  I asked, "Was it hard at all?" in which they both replied, "No." almost as if questioning me, why would I even ask that?

Carbon Monoxide Generator Removed!

So, that's the story. God, as he always has been and will continue to be, was faithful as our protector and provider.  We are aware of the enemy's schemes to discourage and try to make us live in fear, but in and through Jesus, we are able to overcome that fear.  Psalm 34 has been such a comfort to me over the past few weeks, and I have claimed many of the promises found within (which I am sure to share in a later post.)
Thanks for reading, rejoicing with us in God's protection, and for your prayers!

Happy Breakfast Eaters! 

Happy Eater, Too.