Busy Days

This is the first night I am turning in closer to ten...and Lee is in San Antonio, so thought I would post a few pics of my days...so busy, they are...

After the Dentist on Tuesday morning, we gave the big kids to Jodie to head to Kemah for a big Christian concert and to enjoy the rides on the Boardwalk.  Lee, Erika and I enjoyed Schlotsky's...one of our favorite sandwich shops.  And Lee showed me his new Dr Pepper Tee...

Then we headed to go visit my parents.  Yep, Erika is in the chair I used to rock in when I was little...an antique for sure by now:)

After dinner with my parents, we headed back to Wayne and Jodie's to freshen up.  Lee was teaching the School of Ministry again...so I dropped Erika off to play with Amariah and went to listen.  When I came back, Erika wanted me to see her holding Amariah's new brother...so sweet.

Today was busy with Dr and Dentist appts for Erika and more shopping with the kids while Lee headed to San Antonio.  Erika and I went to Chickfila while the kids were at youth and were joined by lots of friends...it was nice.

This is my friend, Dagny, who the Lord definitely brought into my life.  She shared some exciting news with me tonight...and I love how the Lord is a restoration God.  I really love this lady:)  Just as we were releasing Life Church to the new pastors, I got the oppurtunity to disciple and baptize Dagny.  And we would meet at Chickfila every Wednesday night while Josh and Tori were at youth  and Erika would play the whole time.  So, it was like old times...we just had a lot more people there...

Erika had so much fun playing with her friends from church and this little girl from below was in preschool with her...one girl we didn't know and she just wanted to be in the picture...it was cute:)

Please pray for Erika...she is being affected by allergies.  She has not had allergies the whole time we have been in Belize...  I did get a prescription for her today, but she was pretty tired and not feeling good tonight.  She is a flower girl on Sunday night, so needs to be well:)

Reunion

I've posted pics on Facebook...and will repost a few here, but we are having a great time.

Our first days were full of shopping for new clothes and other much needed items, squeezing in tidbits of time with family, and just getting errands done.

Sunday was our first church to visit, but not just any church...the church we planted and spent about half of our marriage at.  The church body that walked through so many things with us, including carrying us through the foster-to adopt process of their church baby, Erika:)

We all enjoyed getting ready in AC at my brother and sister in laws house and putting on new outfits and headed to the church.  There were so many people to talk and to hug.  It was overwhelming, but nice too.  The weirdest part is to just be and have no responsibilities on a Sunday morning, normally our busiest day.  Well, Lee had LOTS of things going on..teaching the Life School of Ministry and sharing in Sunday morning and evening service.

Our whole family went on stage...it was so different than our church in Belmopan....

...and yes, it still made me nervous to go up there...

The church had an amazing lunch for us.  All our favorite foods...honestly, a little overwhelming to be the first in line, but we so enjoyed.  It was nice to walk around and visit...and to see my kids with their old friends.  Because the Life Church kids were and still are some of their closest friends.

And it got me a little teared up to meet a baby that I had prayed with the parents for.  Lee performed their wedding years ago and they yearned for a little one.  What a joy to hold answered prayer...and to see one of my favorite fellow staffers, Kelly... (Kelly also prayed with the mother for this baby.)

Lee and I were both touched when Lea came in while we were in worship...Lea spent almost a year living with us, while we were preparing to tell the church the Lord called us to Belize.  She had lots of hugs for us and it was a joy just to see her smile.

Lee and I are so overwhelmed by the goodness of the Lord.  We have felt such love ever since we stepped off the plane...Life Church was just the icing on the cake.  God has blessed us in unexpected ways, and although we are extremely busy, I feel in the midst of our busyness, that our spirits are resting and being refreshed.

Tonight we are heading to a dinner with the Houston area Foursquare pastors...such special friends all the years we lived in Katy.  One family even being the connection to us finding Erika.

I will try to blog when I can, but we are definitely running like crazy.  I need to do laundry soon...but not sure when I'll get the chance.  Such a different crazy busy life than that of Belmopan.  

Reverse Culture Shock

Okay, I have a million blogs in my head...but thought, while fresh, I would share my biggest reverse culture shock issues going from third world to first world...

1. Cars drive fast, roads are smooth, and stoplights are sooooo long.

2.  When you go out to eat, the food comes so fast...its crazy.

3. Shopping in AC and trying on clothes in AC is really NICE.

4. There is so much food.  Pantrys are full, potblesses are overflowing, restaurant portions are huge and there are free refills on your coke.  Gotta watch it...it is just so different...

5.  There is a lot of waste in America....could write a blog just on this subject.  Lots of waste.

6.  Back to AC...so funny what we once considered just obvious and a given, I now so appreciate.  Wish I could store it up and take it back...loving the AC, but actually have gotten a little chilled a few times.

7.  Forgot what it is like to be surrounded by family and such a big church that loves us so much.  

8.It takes FOREVER to get anywhere.  We have driven more in the last few days than I think I have driven in a month in Belmopan.  It is weird, but nice in the rental the church got us.:)

9. Americans are blessed...as much as we complain about things...this is a pretty nice place to live.

10.There are COPS everywhere...and people follow the street laws...

Okay, off to a busy day...

One more sleep

I remember an eve eighteen months ago.  We went to sleep at my in-laws house, bags packed, ready to set out on an adventure of a lifetime.  So many unknowns...our suitcases bulging with new clothes, snacks for those first days.  We ended up having to buy two extra suitcases to get it all here.

Now, I am once again on an eve of an exciting adventure.  So many thoughts race through my mind.  I have not left Belize for eighteen months.  That is a long time.  I have not gotten on an airplane...although I have been to and from the airport a million times, taking or picking up others.  I have not had a Starbucks or a Chickfila Sandwich in eighteen months. Well, lets get real...I have not been to Walmart or Target in eighteen months...once a biweekly trip.

Tonight, we will go to bed, suitcases packed and weighed (they will be fine...they are half empty).  I will probably have trouble getting to sleep, wondering if I packed this or that...but its different.  If I forgot something, I can just get it there.  So different than when we came here.  If we forgot something, we may not be able to get another.

The past few days have been full of getting all the last minute things done...the lawn done, the house cleaned, just a few groceries bought, clothes washed, sheets changed.  Not to mention all the details to keep LifeNet running smoothly.  So many things on Lee's plate that I cannot even help with...like filling the vans with gas before we go.

In a little while, I will have lunch with one of my friends in the church.  So awesome that as we leave, we are reminded of why we are here.  

Please pray for us, that there are no complications in the morning, as we head out bright and early.  That it will be an enjoyable, fun trip for our family.

Friday night we took the team to Destiny House, and several of our LifeNet kids showed up too.  We had a really good time, just hanging out and then watching a little bit of SWAG (the show that Earlyn and Jonathan are on).

I enjoyed chatting with the ladies.  I love how God brings me new friends through missions teams...I just loved every moment I had with these ladies.

Saturday was full of them hanging swings in another park and going door to door to pray for people.

Sunday, we once again had a full crowd.  And the worship was so amazing as some of the kids from the team also ministered.  God's presence was definitely there and we were so blessed by it.

This sweetie was so excited that his shirt matched "pastor lee's"...so I took their picture.  All the little kids love Lee, of course.

The team ministered in children's church and I got rave reviews from the kids...they had so much fun learning about Jesus.  And the boys acted out David and Goliath in such a fun way that I was captivated as well.

The team came to our house for lunch.  The ladies and I made sandwiches, watermelon, etc.  It was a lot of fun.  Then we rested for a little while...which was good, because the rest of our day was very exhausting...

We headed to Maya Mopan.  We broke up into three groups and walked to gather children...and the children came...so many of them...it was so awesome.

Little Maria showing me she can climb a tree.  She is one of our LifeNetters..always a big smile.  

We broke out facepaint, soccer balls and balloon animals and had quite a time with the kids...they were so patient as we tried to keep up.

Jesse gathered a crowd as he blew up the HUGE beach ball...the kids loved it so much, it finally went kaput after about 45 minutes....

I was so impressed with this team...the way they served and served, with a smile...

So many beautiful, happy children...at least 50, but I honestly think much more...

Then we gathered them all to do the story of David and Goliath again...it was so much fun.

Erika had a fun ride on the way out.

And this is such a happy post of what a great time we  had with the kids and at church this morning...but as we left, we were reminded once again...that for some of these kids...life is tough.  There were a few drunk men...one of them not being very nice to one of the little girls who had just been with us.  It broke our hearts...and I left thinking, here we had all this fun with these kids, her being one of them and then she has to go home to that...so what good was what we did?  But then following that thought, I thought about the families that we are impacting, the families that are changing their ways and being discipled.  I told one of the men at church this morning, who got saved right before our Life Advance, how proud I was of him...he is so faithful each week to church.  And his wife has to translate the whole service for him.  God is using us.  And though we still see so much sadness when we go back to the village, we also see a lot of happiness at what God is doing in these beginning families...and then they are reaching out to their village.