Starting Over

First of all, I want to thank everyone who is praying.  The last two days I have been feeling better.  I am slowly regaining my energy..and my legs are not feeling so flulike now.

We finally got our dryer installed.  I still will be line drying most things, but will have it for sheets and towels, which take up the most room on my clothesline, and for those rainy days, which we have had a few lately.  Or when I just get behind or need a break....the list could go on and on.

We also got the air conditioners installed in the kids' rooms and burgular bars on all our windows.  We already had one in our room.  We have not used it yet, but it is there when we need it.  We really want to try to go without it, because once you turn it on, it is hard to go without it.  The weather has been very nice, but it is supposed to get hot this weekend.

Here is a video of Lee biking with Erika...he had to move the seat back and was trying it out for me. She loves it.

This morning, we met with our family (with Winnie) and two other families.  Worship is a little hard because they do not know our songs, and we need live worship.  But I was sitting there thinking...here we go, starting over.  It was a surreal moment.  We are beginning now what God sent us here to do.  New beginnings are refreshing, but they are new.  As I was getting ready, picking up the house, preparing worship, etc, this morning, my heart was filled with excitement.  A year ago next Sunday, we shared with Life Church that we felt God calling us to Belize.  And since then, everything changed.  We began transitioning the church to the new pastors, began selling all our things, moving...and moving...and moving, then traveling to new churches every Sunday.  This morning my heart was filled with anticipation, as our new friends, our new church family would soon be here.  These two families are who we will look back and say, they helped us start this church.  Two Belizean families, one American family.  New beginnings...a little scary, a little uncertain, a fresh start for all.

Tori took the 4 children outside, read them a Bible story, colored with them, sang with them, gave them a snack.  She is a little me...working with the children.  We will eventually do a rotation for the spiritual pouring in, and hire someone for the physical needs of the children.  But I so appreciate Tori's heart to bless the parents by caring for the children, one being her sister.  She spends time preparing the lesson, getting everything all perfect and picking out the perfect snack at the grocery store.  I am very proud of her.  Josh helps as well, when crowd control is needed:)

The kids have a new pet...

Lee has named it "Supper", the girls have named it "Noli"...  Winnie's older sister, Vivian, bought it at the science fair on Friday and they can't keep it where she lives, so she came to visit, and did not take it with her...  I am not sure how this is going to work out, with Promise roaming around outside, but they are having fun with their pet for now.

Last week was a week full of having people over.  That is our heart's desire.  Just to begin building relationships here with the people of Belize.  I find myself saying home...referring to the US and to Belize.  It is a unique place for me...feeling I have two homes now.  I am getting used to my home, and it is feeling like home.   Friday, Erika and I walked something to a friend's home and then walked back home, and we went for a bike ride and this is feeling like home to me when we pull in.  A home where I pray others can come to find Jesus, find peace, find real believers, that are just real people, who love a real Jesus.

My next thing is just starting the process of  helping my kids get integrated into the community, to help them begin making friends.  I have not began driving yet, but am starting to feel maybe I can take little journeys.  It is kind of too late for the girls to do ballet this school year, but there are camps during the summer we may let them do.  And I need to get Tori started in Piano Lessons.  There is a group of youth that pray at the YWAM dance studio.  Winnie went this week, but we may see if Josh wants to start doing that to get to know some youth who are on fire for the Lord.  There is also a homeschool group that we just need to connect with.  It is such a process to get into a new community, but also a new country...