Posted in South Africa by Carrie Miranda on 5/6/2011
So, this is my last month. We're in Penang, Malaysia.
This month there are two main ministries we are involved with. One is a homeless feeding program and outreach called Kawan (Friendship) Center. They do feedings, church services and street outreach. The other is fundraising for the children's heart surgery fund at an Adventist Hospital.
But that isn't what this blog is about...
If you've been reading my blogs regularly you might remember that in South Africa we were involved with a ministry called Higher Ground, a camp for blind adults. Well, the other day I received an email from Higher Ground and I just can't help but pass it along.
A Campers Experience - My first Higher Ground camp!
The week of the 15th to the 21st of January 2011 I went to my first Higher Ground camp.
It was an amazing week jam-packed with activities, games and all sorts of fun stuff. I never had a week like this before, and I will never forget it.
I met a lot of new people. There wasn't one person I have met before. Some were familiar on the email mailing lists etc. but, others I have never heard of.
A group of blind people chatting to each other, in small groups, sharing experiences, and doing fun stuff together blind people won't usually do on normal camps. On a camp for seeing eyes, I would probably have said, no thank you, if they should ask me if i would like to go kayaking with them.
But at this camp all the blind campers took off their blindfolds of fear and uncertainty, and just: DID IT.
The sighted volunteers, Kerneels and Emma, Elaine, Bronwill and Morris, and 6 Christian Missionaries from America "Sarah, Blake, Will, Carrie, Alexandra and Heidi", served us with their love, patience, willingness, and also with delicious food. We felt like kings and queens.
They prompted us to do extreme things, which I would probably not do on my own, like for instance, swim in the cold cold freezing water at Wortelgat's beach, and, jump off a 2-3 meter sand dune on the beach.
We did all kinds of activities, like:
- Hiking, fast or slow, through the lovely bushveld;
- Kayaking on the lagoon next to the mountain, a blind person with a sighted volunteer. We had lots of fun, and I expected to fall off the kayak into the water, but I didn't hear of one person falling off by accident. We had lots of fun, bumping into each other on purpose, racing, and accidentally, run right into the reeds, and blaming each other for it;
- Archery: We had to try and shoot three balloons on the target. Well, I got at least one, the other arrows were quite near. Each person had a try, and the volunteers helped us aim in the "general" direction, and shoot. It was exciting;
- Voyage on the Catamaran on the Klein River: Some sat on the groundfloor, watching the captain do his job supervising him where to turn, and some actually had a chance of feeling how he steered the big boat through the raging waters of the river. Some sat on top, on the deck above, gazing out on the gardens with roses, the mountains, stretching up to the clouds, and the valleys, down below, where cows and horses could be seen, happily grazing. We stopped at a spot in the lagoon where we jumped off the boat, into the water, and swam there, with no limitation of the sides of a pool at home, and nothing beneath our feet but water;
- Horseriding on a bush trail that winds through veld and up the mountain, past vineyards. Some were scared at first, but some, like me, enjoyed it immensely.
- Team challenges: We had all sorts of games like puzzles and clues the team had to figure out, or musical questions we had to answer, live Cluedo (in the states we just call this CLUE) we played, and some drama we performed, radio shows, the cool talent show, where every person showed the rest what he or she could do the best.
And when we had time off, the whole group split up in small groups, playing 30 Seconds, Chess, Dominos, card games, or just chilled. We also had two of the volunteers reading a book for us, and they sounded like two people which any blind person would like to hear reading a book on their computer, on CD, or on tape or MP3 Player.
But, as i'm finishing up, there was one thing that stood up the most, through all the activities, and fun things we did: It was the 6 volunteers from the US, who, each day, brought a message out of the Bible, which the Lord gave to them, which were really edifying and uplifting, which formed the foundation of that day, and of the whole camp.
So, I was very reluctant and sad to say goodbye to everybody at camp, and going back to life. Because it really felt like dreaming.
-- By Dewald van Dewenter, Higher Ground camp for adults with a visual impairment, January 2011 in the Western Cape
More to come on this month's ministry SOON...stay tuned!
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Posted in Thailand by Carrie Miranda on 4/30/2011
In the darkness of Patong, where women dance in glass boxes or cages, on bars and poles, I have seen clearly what the gates of hell look like. (In the photo, each circular sign is another bar. There are literally hundreds.) 
A woman gives herself an English name: "Toy," advertising from the very start of any conversation that she is available to be used as a play thing. Men negotiate prices for sex...no 500 baht for an hour is too much (which in reality means you're not worth $15), I'll pay 250???
I've seen Russian girls, in all probability trafficked here as sex slaves, walk the streets with empty eyes, tortured faces and drugged appearances. I've heard a woman say she feels ashamed to walk out of a bar with an old ugly customer, but when she has a young handsome man she wants to parade him up and down the streets.
And this is only a glimpse. To walk the streets, day or night, you can feel the darkness, the oppression. When you see it with spiritual eyes you cannot escape the knowledge that these are the gates of hell.
From my first day on the streets of Patong I have envisioned those gates. I have known exactly where I am, I am standing at Satan's doorstep. And yet, from that first day, I have known that this battle is won. It was won 2 centuries ago, on Easter when Christ rose from the dead in victory.
Matthew 16:18-19
And I tell you, you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven, and whatever you bind on earth shall be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven.
 As the church WE can stand agains the gates of hell. I can walk up to those gates and laugh. I can stand at those gates with the JOY of the Lord as my strength and dance, DANCE upon the chains of injustice.
Should I take it lightly? No. We have prepared abundantly with prayer and worship. And I have gone out to those gates and experienced joy, I have felt my spirit dance at those gates and laugh at the enemy because I know the strength of Elyon (the God most high) and I hold the hand of my Elohim (creator) knowing that He is also Jehovah-sabaoth (the Lord of hosts, commander of angel armies). WE hold the keys to the kingdom of heaven. Question is...what do you do with a key?? You OPEN the door, let the love, grace and mercy pour out.
Its been an amazing month, I've met women (even family of one), I've prayed like I've never prayed before, I've found JOY and FREEDOM at the gates of hell, I've felt hopeless and tired and ready to go home, I've been up to my knees in mud, I've laughed and danced and cried. I'm not quite ready to leave, but I'm happy with God's plans for my future (whatever they are??).
Keep this place and these women in your prayers.
LAST STOP: Malaysia!
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Posted in Thailand by Carrie Miranda on 4/21/2011
This month we're in Thailand. For reasons that will become clear as you continue reading, my team has been split up this month, the men doing ministry in a different location than the women. My women and I are in Phuket. The red-light district is called Patong and we are spending this month ministering to bar girls there.
Bar girls are women of all ages employed by the bars to entertain the customers. Sometimes that means flirting, playing games, promoting the more expensive drinks. Sometimes it is more.
Essentially, each woman there is for sale and there are hundreds of them. These women are not paid a regular salary. They may get commission on drinks and they can accept tips. But their main income is from "customers," the casual name given to the men that pay them for sex. They can be bought for an hour for 200 Baht, about $7, or for days or even weeks at a time.
For obvious reasons, this ministry is women reaching out to women. Every other night we go out to the bars from 9 to around midnight. Usually the bars are just opening and not flooded with customers, so the women can sit and talk with us. On the nights that we are not going out to the bars we stay back and intercede for other teams who are out ministering.
We are partnered with SHE (Self-Help and Empowerment) Ministries (check them out here: http://shethailand.org). They offer English classes, training in hotel and service industries and jewelry making in a Christ centered environment. They are also in the process of expanding their ministry to include education about farming, as many of the women in the bars are from rural farming communities and return to that when they get out of the bars. (What that means for us is manual labor on their land: creating a fish pond, clearing the field of weeds and rocks...)
We spend much of our time in prayer and worship, strengthening ourselves through God's spirit, preparing ourselves to walk into the battlefield. During daylight hours we prayer walk through the streets where the bars are located. The darkness is blatant, many of the bars have names like The Devil's Playground and Demon's Peace. While often the lies of the enemy are subtle whispers, here he is at liberty to scream and parade around boldly.
God has spent much time preparing us for this particular ministry and we have come out strong, knowing the battle is already won, but feel free to send extra prayers our way this month.
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Posted in Closed Country by Carrie Miranda on 4/21/2011
Okay, so its been a really LONG time since I wrote a blog. Last month was an amazing month spent in C#!^@. I'm not trying to be cryptic and I assume most of you know where I was and that it is a closed country. I hear its been in the news recently, people detained for public prayer. We weren't allowed internet access, so that is partially responsible for my long absence.
It was an amazing month. My team worked with disabled orphans. To summarize the month is impossible, but let's just say if I had $20,000 to adopt and a way to support a child I would have started the process already.
We worked with an amazing Christian family from the states. It was great to have worship at their home and fellowship with them. They don't have many other Christians nearby to support and encourage them.
One of my favorite things we got to do was take the kids on outings. One day we took 2 kids out to the park, I will call them Jane and Ella. Jane, the older girl, has epilepsy and some behavioral problems. Ella, the younger girl, has Apert syndrome, a congenital disorder characterized by malformations of the skull, face, hands and feet.
At the park we watched the many people flying kites, we ran and played. Jane wanted pineapple on a stick, but Ella cannot eat solid foods. Jane has a very sweet nature and I smiled over and over as she would pick very small pieces off her pineapple and feed them to Ella. To see her caring for Ella so gently and to see Ella smile with delight each time was a treat. It was an opportunity for our girls to be regular kids for a while, to share, to love, to be carefree.
I miss those little ones and the family we were privileged to serve along side.
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Posted in Philippines by Carrie Miranda on 2/13/2011
love is the only thing worth living and dying for, the thing that the world is missing. the american dream is just that, a dream, an unobtainable lie that steals away the life we should be living. Jesus tells us not to store up treasure on earth where thieves can steal, where moths and rust can destroy. so what do we do instead?
well, as for me i will serve the LORD. i will follow Jesus. not the Jesus most of america thinks they know, the one hanging on a cross in all the church buildings. if all you know of Jesus is his death then you are missing something great, his LIFE.
yes, Jesus died on a cross to redeem the world. we can share that with everyone we meet, but if we ignore Jesus' LIFE, His LOVE, then we only know half the story. for me, Jesus' LIFE is what i will chase after, His LOVE.
see the part about dying to give me eternal life, while its important, leaves out the part about how i'm supposed to live my life. in america everyone seems to know the death part, whether or not we believe. everyone knows about heaven and hell. but Jesus didn't ask people to believe in Him just so they can go to heaven. Jesus lived a life that He asked others to FOLLOW.
what do you know of His LIFE?
the Son of God could have the whole world, all of creation at His fingertips, feasts, gold, every desire under the sun. Jesus was homeless. Jesus lived a life of service. Jesus prayed and even fasted. Jesus LIVED and He LOVED.
He LOVED prostitutes, He LOVED beggars and thieves, not only His family and friends, those whom it is easy to love. Jesus LOVED those that the rest of the world somehow believes are unloveable. and He LOVED outrageously.
Jesus turned the world upside down. Jesus LOVED so greatly that it cost Him His life. Jesus wasn't beaten and hung on a cross just because it was what would redeem the world. Jesus' death was a result of His LIFE. Jesus shook society at its core with His teachings and people were pissed. the first shall be last and the last shall be first. the servants, the meek, the poor, the hungry, the merciful, those who thirst for righteousness, these are the blessed.
do you hunger and thirst for righteousness? is there something within you crying out, groaning under the pressure of an unjust world? do you see the world as it could be if only we could LOVE?
Jesus prays "Our Father in heaven, your kingdom COME, your will be done, on EARTH as it is in heaven..."
what if we all LIVED like Jesus? what if we all LOVED like Jesus?
i will not believe in a Jesus who saves just so i can go to heaven. i will not wait for heaven. i will chase after the LIFE of Jesus. i will laugh, i will CRY, i will FAIL, i will dance, i will FALL, i will be BROKEN and restored. i will LIVE and LOVE.
it won't look the way you might expect and you may think i've lost my mind. but do you know Jesus? do you know His LIFE and His death, how the world mocked Him?
do you know His LOVE?
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Posted in Philippines by Carrie Miranda on 2/3/2011
This month we are serving at New Faith Children's Home in the Philippines. It is an orphanage with 24 kids, age 9 months to 13 years. We are also able to do outreach to a prison, team up with the local college ministry and do a number of random labor projects around the site, including building a church and painting a mural in the kids home.
However, our primary ministry is caring for the children, who are so precious and loving (except for the 1 that still screams every time he sees us, but I always love a challenge). Yesterday I spent time with the social worker here, helping her edit her files. All their social histories and adoption forms are in English, not her native language. She really wants the paperwork to reflect well on the children's home, as it can be audited at any time and could also be read by potential adoptive parents.
As I sat, reading their stories, I thanked God that I can be a part of this, of caring for children otherwise forgotten, abandoned, abused, born to mentally ill or drug abusing mothers, even born to families that just can't afford another child. We live in a broken world, one where being a parent biologically does not always translate into being a good MOM or DAD. As humans we fail and often the ones to be hurt by our failures are children, unable to defend themselves and reliant on others for their needs. Sometimes the parents that are supposed to protect them can't or won't.
I asked God why, as I always do. There are a hundred thousand answers, but really only one. We have turned away from His love. It is not God who is to blame for the problems that infect our world.
So this month I will LOVE, knowing I can never replace a mom, but that I can and will LOVE with all my heart because that is what Jesus would do.
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Posted in South Africa by Carrie Miranda on 1/25/2011
Having returned from Higher Ground we had a weekend off in Cape Town. Sunday, after church, my team and I went to the mall to buy a few things. I really only needed shampoo and deodorant (basic necessities that make my teammates love me just a little more because I don't smell).
In the mall I was assaulted by stuff! There was all kinds of face wash, cute journals, running shoes and about a hundred adorable dresses that were just begging me to take them home.
I managed to leave, having only purchased the things I needed, but I walked away feeling empty and unfulfilled. My mood was significantly altered; I felt unsettled. I spent a few hours having lunch with my teammates at the Green Room (an amazing little restaurant that I highly recommend if you're ever in the area), but I was moody.
We left lunch and William and I  decided to hike Chapman's Peak, the mountain just behind the place we're staying. About halfway up the mountain I realized I was joyful.
I thought about the mall with all it junk; its allure, the promise of happiness at the cost of just a few Rand, something to fit every price range. Seeing with real eyes I realized that there was not a single thing that I needed to be happy, that I had been tricked into believing happiness could come from some object displayed behind glass windows with spotlights and price tags.
In reality, all I need is God's creation spread out before me, surrounding me, wrapping me in beauty. Calmness and peace that cannot be bought or sold filled my soul and God's whispers could be heard in the wind, the rocks and the flowers.
*************** Interestingly, at church on Sunday the pastor mentioned this:
In 1890 a sociologist took a study and asked Americans what they thought were the basic needs of life, the bare minimum necessities in order to survive. In 1890 the study revealed that Americans thought there was 16 basic things every one needed in order to survive. The survey was taken less than 100 years later. Now Americans think they have to have 98 things in order to survive.
What are my needs?
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Posted in South Africa by Carrie Miranda on 1/25/2011
(Blog written about a week ago)
Higher Ground has been our ministry this past week. What is Higher Ground?
Well, its a Christian adventure camp. As part of ministry we have gone kayaking, hiking, horseback riding, had campfires and s'mores, done archery...all the usual camp activities. It just so happens we are doing all this with 16 blind or partially sighted campers. And it has been amazing. 
I fell in love from the moment we arrived and met Emma and Kerneels, the couple that runs the camp. We arrived at night and they greeted us as we got out of the van. Kerneels offered to help us with our bags and lead us inside. I noticed a few clues that let me know he was blind, but at least one teammate I spoke with later didn't notice until halfway through dinner.
As the week has progressed I have fallen deeper and deeper in love. Where do I start? I've fallen for Ella, Kerneels and Emma's 4 month old baby girl, who loves people and whose smile could melt the heart of any man, woman or child.
I'm head over heels for Sarah and Tina (Christina),  the two sisters who, as I wrote this, were singing Old Rugged Cross while they did their laundry by hand in the bathroom sink. They are little pint sized women, 74 and 76 (or ageless as they say). You can find them playing dominoes until 11pm after a full day at camp, kayaking (for the first time ever), or trekking 30 minutes to the archery range to shoot a bow and arrow with timid smiles on their faces. We haven't found an activity they aren't keen to try, from learning to play Monopoly to going for a boat cruise up the river.
I am in love, love, love with Rieta, Dewald, Rose, Trevor, Marinda, Daleen, Princess, Arne, Lin, Ilana, Desiree, Veronica, Andre and Nadia. I love their energy and enthusiasm, their joyful smiles and courage. I love that they are willing and ready to try new activities and that they don't let being blind be an insurmountable obstacle, but merely a speed bump on the road of life.
I have found such joy in being the eyes of these campers for the past week. I've gotten to play and sing and laugh and love. As the camp draws to an end I sit back as I write this and thank God for this opportunity. This is my life, I am so blessed.
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Posted in Fundraising!! by Carrie Miranda on 1/9/2011
Happy New Year to my wonderful friends, family, and supporters! I hope you had an amazing Christmas and New Year back home! Spending this holiday season in Africa has been wonderful in many ways, and I thank you all for helping me get here! However, I still need help to continue on this journey. My final deadline for funding is coming up very soon!! I only have six days left, until January 15.
Right now, I am in need of $700 to be fully funded. I have several monthly supporters and this amount is the remaining balance after accounting for their continued donations. Please join me in praying for this financial need. If you would like to support me, please click on the "Support Me" link to the left. You can give a one time donation or chose to join my monthly supporters. (If you chose monthly, please just shoot me an email to let me know the amount so I can calculate when accounting for my total support.) Thank you all so much for the support you have already provided. It has been AMAZING to see everyone rally behind me in the States while I've been serving the Lord across the nations. I can't thank you enough!! Love, Carrie
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Posted in Malawi Month 2 by Carrie Miranda on 12/16/2010
After being on the race for 5.5 months (HAPPY HALFWAY DAY!!) God decided some changes were in order.
Two days into our work here the missionary couple we are serving with this month called a halt to all our projects. After observing our teams living and working together, God showed them that there were some issues that needed to be addressed. So, lead by God, they took 2 days to teach and disciple us.
We spent those days examining God's word and our lives. God's heart is for his children to be humble, to serve others in love without grumbling or complaining, to consider others more highly than ourselves, for individuals to come together and function as one body. The example he gives us is his Son.
As God held up a mirror, I found myself broken and humbled before Him. A light was illuminated in my heart and all the crap that is there was suddenly, glaringly obvious. Do I serve with a happy heart? Do I think the best of my brothers and sisters at all times? Do I strive to work with my team in unity? Do I think more highly of myself than I ought to? Am I willing to be open, honest, vulnerable; even in my weakness?
As I reflect on all that I've learned (or more aptly RElearned) I am so thankful that God desires growth; that he loves us enough to break us down in order to rebuild us anew.
We have resumed our ministry. Today, although I'm part of the boat crew, we planted a garden and did yard work. The boat crew has not, in fact, worked on the boat at all. We're waiting for the guy that is going to reseal the boat before we can start painting, rebuilding the cabin and getting the motor working. This is Africa (T.I.A.) where things happen slowly, if at all, and that is okay. We just say T.I.A. and wait patiently.
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