Visiting Kings Childrens Home

Its been a busy day, but around the house.

Woke up and made banana muffins.  Thought that would be a nice change of snack for nursery tomorrow.  Something special.

Then Tori and I worked on finalizing our plans for tomorrow's lesson.  Gonna be a fun one.

Started cleaning up, making lunch, and then a friend stopped by.

We made cards for Gladys and Tiffany, the girls who were hit crossing the road last week.  Gladys just came home from the hospital yesterday.  Tori and Lee had gone to see her.

Erika prays for "my friend, Gladys" every night, with passion.  She told me the other night that she would never drink beer when she grows up, because that is why Gladys got hurt.  You have to remember that Erika has never met Gladys, only seen a picture of her on Facebook.  But she is so compassionate for this girl.  Oh, and she wanted to stop by the store and buy the girls chocolate.

so happy about the cards we are about to take

happy to meet the girl she has been praying for

this sweet 4 yr old boy was hanging in the room with Gladys and walked us out...he asked for Lee's Belize bracelet:)

Once again, we were faced with the reality of children without parents.  It hits me that Erika could be one of them...and I am rushed with thankfulness that the Lord gave her to us.  There are so many precious children.  I dont even know if they are up for adoption...but it is still heartbreaking to find any children in a children's home.  But I know I can't save them all...

Just glad we had to oppurtunity to love on Gladys...and maybe we can again...

This Is Real Life Folks...

Jesus Washes the Disciples’ Feet 

John 13

¹ Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come that He should depart from this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end.
² And supper being ended,^[a] the devil having already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray Him, ³ Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, ⁴ rose from supper and laid aside His garments, took a towel and girded Himself. ⁵ After that, He poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. ⁶ Then He came to Simon Peter. And Peter said to Him, “Lord, are You washing my feet?”
⁷ Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but you will know after this.”
⁸ Peter said to Him, “You shall never wash my feet!”
Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part with Me.”
⁹ Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head!”
¹⁰ Jesus said to him, “He who is bathed needs only to wash his feet, but is completely clean; and you are clean, but not all of you.” ¹¹ For He knew who would betray Him; therefore He said, “You are not all clean.”
¹² So when He had washed their feet, taken His garments, and sat down again, He said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? ¹³ You call Me Teacher and Lord, and you say well, for so I am. ¹⁴ If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you. ¹⁶ Most assuredly, I say to you, a servant is not greater than his master; nor is he who is sent greater than he who sent him. ¹⁷ If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them.

Last night on a little old street, right off the ring road in Belmopan, Belize, there were two parties going on.  One was a bunch of drug addicts, drinking and carrying on for the Devil, while a few houses down, the Holy Spirit was moving amidst a home full of young people who were being stretched in a process of becoming leaders for Jesus...that are going to turn this little nation upside down!!!

Yes, it is 2 am, but I was awoken with this real life visual from last night.  This is not an exaggeration, but a very clear picture of the reality of the spirit realm last night that displayed itself in very real, very true fashion.

Lee has told the kids for weeks that at some point we would do a "foot washing".  The kids have scoffed and not wanted any part of it.  ( although maybe a little curious, they were nervous about the vulnerability that foot washing brings)

For a week, Lee has built up the momentum on our group page on Facebook.  The kids did not know what, just that something special would happen last night.  We heard "rumors" that many were not going to come...because they did not want to do the foot washing...embarassment, etc.

And I honestly thought they would not come...but last night, we had our largest group ever, 30 people under 25 (excluding Lee and I:)), here to grow in Servanthood to one another.

It was crazy getting everyone here last night.  One girl was not ready when Lee went with the van pickup, so Erika and I ran back out to get her, not wanting her to miss this awesome night.  As I went, there was quite a party...in the street, yes, a few doors down from us.  They were drinking heavily and carrying on.  Unfortunately this is common, but not usually on a week night.  The devil is quite active right now...  I will need to write sometime more, but it is really heartbreaking the men who come to this house...and sit around all day using drugs and drinking.  Sad too that my children have to see it.  But they are learning real life lessons.

But anyway, we got back and then another girl was coming, lost, walking around our neighborhood trying to find the house.  She just gave her heart to Christ about 3 weeks ago.  So, I grabbed her friend and we walked down to meet her because I didn't want her to have to walk through all those men alone.  Seriously, the kids have to grow up so much tougher here.

Kids continued to trickle in.  Lee taught on the above scripture.  The kids listened attentively.  There was this "nervousness" in the room.  The kids were nervous.  Lee and I were nervous that they would be serious...and that the Holy Spirit would show up.  Of course, we had prayed and covered this night...

Then, we turned on some worship quietly and Lee began to wash the first person's feet...and Jesus was there.  We had three buckets going, having everyone washing the feet of the person next to them and praying over them.  There were tears, there were things BROKEN in Jesus' name in these kids lives...there were BROKEN relationships mended in the name of Jesus.  We were just in awe at the presence of God.

This is a weekend that the enemy runs rampant...but this is a weekend that has been started where 30 young people were ushered into the presence of a Holy God and He is changing them...and they cannot deny this power.

Three young people accepted the Lord last night after the washing.

God is amazing.  We are not special or magic or have any special powers.  We just listened when He told us to come to this little nation you can barely find on a map.  And we are priveleged to get to serve Him.

I love, how at 4 years old, Erika had such understanding of what was going on.  She wanted to wash others feet as well.  And it was most touching when she washed Tori's feet...and prayed over her.  It was an amazing night of God's presence even for Erika.

Becoming Home

Today, during service, there was this surreal moment, of "this is our new home."  "This is our new church family."  We are teaching on the baptism of the holy spirit, spiritual gifts and discerning of spirits.  As we were squished into the too small for 46 people room, it felt like when we started Life Church in Katy.  Our worship is still very simple, we do not have a sound system yet, and there is only a guitar.  But in its simplicity, the people are starting to sing.  And when we prayed over those with needs, it just felt like family, but also that there is such spiritual growth going on.  That we are moving to the next level.  I don't really feel like a "missionary" but simply a pastor's wife.  Doing the pastor's wife ministry that I have done for almost 20 years.  Just in a different country.

Lee had two overcrowded busfulls of people to take home after church today.  We had many new visitors, but many of them were just regulars, as well.  As we squished into the van for the second run, the van was full of life and joy...  We actually went just yesterday to look for a small church bus.  It is hard for me to believe that we are already at this point.  We have ministry friends that we have just really started to get to know that had a bus for sale, so yesterday we took a beautiful drive out to the Baptist Camp.  The bus was awesome, beautiful, in good condition, but too big.  We would not have anywhere to store something so large at this point.  But we ended up staying so our kids could play with their kids on the most awesome playground.  It was a beautiful day and a joy to get to know this family, also missionaries here in Belize.  God is bringing special people into our lives.  And that also makes it feel like home.  Our kids had a blast and they welcomed us to come anytime.  And I think we probably will be visiting them every so often.

Back to this morning, the part about feeling like home, like this is our family.  That is how I feel about so many of the people God is bringing into our lives.  As we picked up our set-up crew, we had several laughs, and as we waited to go home, there were several laughs as well.  That is when I feel like family...when you make me laugh and I can just be myself.  One of the young guys was making fun of something I said and was like "there is my facebook status".  It reminded me so much of our friend, Elizabeth, from Life.

I am so thankful to be feeling this way.  I am sure the weather is making me happy too, but it is just such a blessing to feel settled, somewhat.

After taking a couple of girls through the Life Manual this afternoon, I took them home and came home to this.  Tori's quote, "well, this is one advantage of having a brother who loves to make fires:)"



Whats going on....

Every Thursday night, we have a time of pouring into, discipling, raising up of leaders who are young people.  This is NOT a youth group.  This is a LifeNet, with the purpose of equipping so that these kids can go out and win the lost around them and DISCIPLE them.  Two of these young people have started a Christian club in the high school by our house, the largest high school in Belmopan and maybe Belize.  This past week, 5 people at this school, gave their hearts to Christ.  This is the church, not the future church.  This is what our church is made up of...young people.

Every chair in the house and we ran out...still more came in after this photo...we ended up having 24 people total...and this is the norm now.

Everyone has stickers on their face...Kimberly brought them:)

Yes, they have their phones, are cool, and normal teenage kids, but they are bringing their friends...the word is spreading.  God is meeting us here...

And excitement is growing for the Brockinton kids...as we prepare for a new pet.

Prepping for our newest addition...All Tori wants for her bday is a bunny rabbit, so we have hired someone to convert the chicken coop out back into a rabbit hutch...he is doing a great job and Tori cannot wait to have a bunny living out there:)

I have this little addiction...

I am very thankful that the Lord put us in a home with a blossoming lime tree in the backyard...

cause I have this little addiction...

and my family seems to be getting pulled in as well.

just a few limes I pulled off the tree on this beautiful fall day

this juicer is getting a workout lately...even the oranges are tasty again...




And this one?  she has her own little addiction going on...

How much play make-up and chapstick and lipgloss can a girl possibly put on????

Okay, gonna go enjoy some refreshing lime juice with my family...



Wow...where did this week go?

I can't believe it is already Thursday...my weeks are flying by!!!  School starting and church growing all at the same time means busy, busy...

Saturday night, we ended the evening eating out once more...a nice break to not cook at all on my bday...well, i did cook for Sunday's lunch...but that was just to make Sunday smoother:)

We went to this little place owned by a young man...it is a real neat environment and you get free homemade ice cream with each meal...and the food is amazing.  Anyway, two of our friends (families) came in as well, so it was like one big reunion with the kids...they all were running around and acting crazy...but fun, fun...and all the kids love TORI!!!!

Sunday, we had our biggest attendance ever at church...48 of us were squeezed in that conference room like sardines.  But that is a good problem, right?  It is an exciting problem too...so now we are in the process of moving to a bigger room upstairs.  It will cost much more so we are trusting God to put on people's hearts to begin tithing to pay for it...

Remember that amazingly delicious cake we got...well, it was way too big, so in true Belizean fashion, we had people stop by and chat all Sunday afternoon to enjoy the cake with us...we had people here from about 2 -9.  Lee and I were exhausted from all the visiting and slept well...




Also, Sunday, one of the girls that I am real close to (who had a bday on my dad's bday last Saturday) made me a delicious cheesecake with real cherries...my absolute favorite fruit...It was soooo good and I had to try to keep Josh out of it...Thank you Ree:)

On Monday, we watched one of our new members' baby, so they could enjoy a quiet relaxing lunch for their second anniversary...  When they dropped her off, she was so tired, and crying and looking for them.  But not to fear, Tori, the baby whisperer was here...and got that baby to sleep in no time.  She asked if it could count as home-ec that day?  even though that is not a class she is taking.  I will need to see if that is something we can do for next year???




Tuesday was full of errands, market, school, etc.


Then Wednesday, Lee and I got to attend a meeting of bringing the Belmopan missionaries together.  I did not know what to expect, but was so thankful we went.  It was a time of just finding out what everyone else is doing...and who  has what to offer to each other, etc.  It was really a neat time of bonding...after all, we were all called here by the same God...even though our exact missions might be different, we all share a similar story...  We took Erika because it was all day and felt she may too much for the older kids.  She loved it.  We met at a Christian retreat center that was absolutely beautiful.  It was a nice refreshing, although also exhausting day...but we look forward to the next meeting.  Oh, and even the US Ambassadors wife was there.  I guess to see what the US missionaries are doing here:)

This is the building we met in...

Jaguar Creek

Erika loving looking at the creek and falls below...dont worry, Lee is close by...

That night, I had to rush home, clean the house, Tori made banana muffins, get dinner and then we had our Leadership meeting here at the house.  It is so neat to watch our leaders growing.  I always enjoy these meetings and seeing God speaking to our people.  And rotating house to house is neat as well...just the beginings of what is to come.

Last night, as Lee was picking up some people, right outside our neighborhood, he came up to an accident.  Two UB students, who live in Kings Childrens Home, had been hit by a drunken police officer as they were on the crosswalk.  It was very disturbing to Lee, as many were looking at her lying on the ground, covered in blood, but noone was talking to her.  He thought she may be dead.  But he went and prayed and saw her move.  As the director of the home came, they took her in the back of a police pick up because no ambulance was available.  Lee went and prayed with the house mom.  He was so sad about the situation.  Then of course, came and led the leadership meeting and then went back to the hospital.  The one girl has been sent to Belize City and I do not know her current state.  She definitely had internal injuries.  Also, one of the girls was pregnant.  It is heartbreaking as things like this happen all the time here.

Some more pics of the fun part of our day...

This is the room where we ate.  The lady in red is the US Ambassador's wife.  The Tawainese-American beside Lee runs this ministry center...  He is very kind and attends the church that meets in the same bldg as us.

Erika in the midst of the beautiful butterfly gardens...have never seen so many beautiful butterflies before...

Well, I have a moment of rest before another busy night and then taking a young lady and her friend through the Life Manual tomorrow.  We are truly seeing our vision of people in our home being fulfilled.  It was hard to picture what exactly that would look like in the beginning, but here we are.  Typically a 13 yr old girl comes over every Friday afternoon as well to spend time with Tori.  So there are always people here, our table is always full.  We have 8 spots at our table, 6 people who live in our home, but the table is almost always full...and visiting from Houston will be begin in November...and keep us busier still...

And how could I forget to mention the absolutely amazing cooler weather we are having...I must say it is making Belize a dream...after all the sweating for the past 9 months that I have done, it is nice to have a little relief...and just enjoy...enjoy being sweat free:)

My Birthday in Pics

Erika was the first one up this morning...she put on her "too small" jeans for the first time since February...and asked to listen to my Itouch...so cute.

Then we all got ready to go out to lunch at Caladium, one of my favorites.  They, seriously, have the BEST salad I have had in Belize.

Love these kiddoes.

And this beauty blessed me by "picniking" all these photos for me, making me a beautiful bookmark, and making me a Coupon book full of things she will do to serve me...and she is the biggest servant of all already in our home.  Thank you Victoria...

Oh, and Lee got the MOST DELICIOUS chocolate cake I have ever had from the bakery...just wish we could have shared it with our family.  Thank you sweetie for supplying me with some yummy chocolate and allowing me a full day off in the kitchen.

And I want to thank my Heavenly Father for the most, nice cool day to have a birthday.  I wore jeans as well, today for the first time since February.  And thank you Father for giving me a beautiful, wonderful family who loves me...and a beautiful home to live in and for taking care of all my needs...and for giving me 38 wonderful years so far.

It has been a nice afternoon of just relaxing.  It has been so nice.

Its my Birthday:)

It has been a long, very busy week.  We had our largest crowd ever Thursday night when Lee and Josh were gone to Belize City.  We had a very loud, and lightning filled storm while the kids were here.  What a blessing that so many turned out.  In spite of the rain, in spite of Lee being gone, and in spite of us not providing any transportation.

Last night, Lee and Josh got home before dinner.  And I was so thankful to see them.  The house is just not right when we are not all here.  So quiet.  I did enjoy the time with my girls and a friend that came and stayed.  But it was nice last night for everyone to be back home.

Thursday, I ran to the bakery, a biweekly trip for me.  And a girl that I have been reaching out to, came up and greeted me.  Anyway, she said, I saw your husband this week.  In my mind, I thought, that's weird, why would Lee come to the bakery?  DUH!!!  Well, when I was telling Lee about it last night, he said he ordered a cake.  It was so funny, because I could tell he was scared she had told me...and somehow, I was totally clueless...so I must admit, I am totally looking forward to the chocolate cake coming my way later.  You see, things like that are more of a treat here...and when it is from the bakery, MMMM.  Wish my family was here to enjoy it with me.

I woke up this morning to rain.  It is supposed to rain til Monday and has been raining since Thursday night.  AND I AM SO THANKFUL.  The rain is so beautiful and so relaxing and so cooling.  I have slept so well the past two nights.  And Erika just got dressed and put on jeans...a first since February.  It is nice and delightful and the best gift Jesus could give me.

I also woke up and made LimeAde.  My Favorite.  Last night, Tori and her friend picked the limes off our tree, so they were there waiting for me when I woke up.  I love making LimeAde and love the way it is so fresh and yummy...and that the limes come right from our yard.  I loved limes in the states and then God gave me a home with a constant supply.  NICE.

I am sure I will have pictures to post later of our day...but just enjoying a nice quiet start to my 38th birthday.  And yes, unfortunately, I do have the gray hairs to prove it.

Today was our day off...

Life has for sure gotten busy around here lately...just look at my toenails:(  That just means...I have not had time to paint them in a while...

Anyway.  This weekend, Jesse, our neighbor and a church member was "babysitting" his siblings while his parents were gone at a conference...so they hung out here a lot too.  His youngest sister is Tori's age and brother, Josh's age.  It has been a nice weekend of getting to know them better.  And Josh enjoyed having a nerf war with so many kids:)

So, yesterday, Jesse was like...i have Monday off and you guys always do fun stuff on Mondays while Im working...so we should do something.

We set up to go to this resort and swim...and put it on facebook for anyone else who wanted to join us.  But could never get through on the phone to the resort til this morning...They were going to charge $50 US per person to swim and eat...Um, sorry, but that is almost a ticket to Disney world.  So, we were back to square one and trying to decide what to do...

We ended up heading to Banana Bank.  We went there about a month ago but it rained the whole time.  Today, on the other hand was beautiful.  Sunny and hot.  A perfect day to swim away and enjoy...

Another young couple that has just started attending the church, and newbies to Belize, joined us.  It was nice to get to know them a little.

The first three pictures I got from Victoria...isnt she an amazing photographer?

this baby pig just runs loose on the resort..so cute and stinky:(

new family that just moved here...and another baby on the way in February...

Tori enjoyed holding Nava...with mom close by

Jesse and Lee just "chillaxin"...

erika loves her Wini:)

enjoy this picture please...it took them FOREVER to all get on!!!!

Yesterday was our largest attendance so far at LifeNet...45 people.  Thursday night we had 23 people squished into our living room to watch Furious Love.  God is growing the people that are coming.  People are bringing their family and friends.  God is good.  Sometimes it just seems unbelievable that we are really here and really mininstering in Belize.

So Today was a great day to rest and recharge our batteries before another long week ahead.

God is amazing and doing a great work here in Belmopan...