"Shout it from the rooftops, I am YOURS"

Friday night, we attended a Preschool Graduation.  Wow, they really get dressed up here!!   Then, we went and crashed Tori and her group at Ketchup.  Tori and her group meet every Friday night to go through "True Love Waits," by Rebecca St. James. They write a journal to their future husband.  I just love that she has an amazing group of girls to meet with like this.



Somehow, this got out of order, but this is Tori hiding her face from her Paparazzi camera pointing mom:)

at Ketchup...we gave her a recipe book with pictures to look at:)

Don't laugh...we were looking at old National Geographics...which were quite interesting.  Realizing I haven't looked at a magazine in over 18 months!!!

my honey of almost 20 years...hard to believe...

  There is a Kim Walker song, about shouting it from the rooftops.  Today, we did nine baptisms in a pool on the rooftop of a house.  So cool.  That was after we once again had a packed out a room of 121 people.  Please agree in prayer with us for a bigger meeting place.  And more van drivers.  And more children's church workers.  Because the harvest is definitely ripe.

We were blessed by a very kind Taiwanese family who own a business here and their beautiful home is part of the business.  They have a pool on the roof, and allowed us to use it for our baptisms today.  They were so warm and hospitable to our church family.  They even made Iced Tea for the families to enjoy:)

gathering all the baptisers and baptisees

cute baby, what can i say??? I love this little girl:)

my daughter enjoying the rooftop playground

she wants to spend every moment with Josh lately...she loves her big brother so much

praying as a church body

Baptised first, then baptising her younger cousin....

What a blessing to baptise Shelly...have taken her through the Life Manual...she has become a good friend.

Our last baptism, I baptised Yanzi...and now, she baptised two girls that she is pouring into.  This was very special for me to watch.  So proud of her.

Paul, one of the men from Maya Mopan

Pedro is a Ketche Mayan Indian who attends NetGroup every week in Maya Mopan with his family.  He only speaks Ketche, so we had a translator on the side of the pool.



All our shoes, we took off before coming upstairs!!!

Hot, Hot, Hot

This morning, I visited one of my friends who is also a missionary.  She has two little ones that have been running fever, so I just went to check on her.  The baby's fever had broke, but she was just hot!

We are both fixin' to go to the states in a few weeks and were talking about what it will be like...with AC:)  

It is so hot and humid these past days.  It totally affects how you live your life.  I typically take 3-4 showers a day right now.  For real.  It is just sweaty.  No, we are not in the 100's like those of you in Texas.  But we also do not live in AC homes.  I think that is the biggest difference.  Today is a little cooler and it is 92 in my house right now.  I have a fan blowing directly on me...and it is still hot.  We do not get relief until the middle of the night.  And then it is hard to get up in the morning...but you must get up and get some things done, because by about 11, I start making lunch, then need to rest after lunch because of the heat.  We typically use these afternoons to make quick trips outside and bring the laundry in, and watch movies.  I feel that my productivity goes way down when it is so hot.  

So, yes, I know Texas is hotter...but I am looking forward to enjoying some AC for a few weeks.  And if 92-95 doesn't sound too hot, I challenge you to turn off your AC and let your house get that hot:)  All around me are sweaty people, sweaty babies...yet, we still must do life.  We still must hang our laundry, clean our houses, make meals...  And I think...we probably have more fans than most people...and the fans are a tremendous blessing.

Oh, and our avocado tree produced.  So exciting.  Here are a few pics of my monkey climbing WAY up in the tree to get 'em...

I think she was telling me something...she was the picker upper...she did a great job dodging the dropping avacadoes...

That night, we had some ladies and younger girls over for LLT.  They decorated my avacadoes for me:)

My lime tree has only produced a few so far...but I think once we get some more rain, we will get more.  But this morning, I got limes 8/$1 bz and was thrilled.  The new thing I have been making is frozen watermelon, frozen pineapple slices, two limes squeezed over, 1 cup of water and some sugar and blend it all together.  It is so refreshing and the kids are getting so much fresh fruit this way.  We also have been making lots of guacomole lately.  MMMM.  Love feeding my family healthy stuff.  Tomatoes are getting scarce now...so we will have to learn not to have those, but other things are coming in.  We truly eat by the season here:)

Monday, we are taking a family day somewhere I have wanted to go for a while...with two other families.  I am really looking forward to it.  I want rain, but praying we get our "fun day" in first.  Oh, and Sunday, we are baptizing 9 people in a pool on someone's roof.  That should be cool and I will certainly blog about that.

Rearranged Rooms and Ladies NetGroup

So this is what has been happening around here.  Erika got her own room.  She loves her desk and will do as much "homework" as I can come with for her each day.  I love that it is a more kid friendly room.  We went to A and R and got some educational posters...and she wanted the Rock Star theme over her reading area.  She is begging for a real pink guitar that the Christian book store is selling.  Maybe for her bday?

And we have discovered that she is a neat freak.  Not one thing is out of place.  She keeps it so neat, her bed made, and things put away when she is not using them.

And Tori finally got her own room too.  She is loving it.  Loving that she is allowed to have a more grown up room.  She loves having quotes in frames and on her wall.  The one below is from her favorite movie, "We bought a zoo."

Last night, I went and taught the Women's NetGroup on parenting.  Tori helped make these adorable little bookmarks about Motherhood for me to pass out.   She is a creative girl.

A few weeks ago, the leader had mentioned that their group was full of babies and young mothers and that she would love for someone to teach on parenting, since she is not a parent yet herself.  I knew the Lord was tugging at my heart and He began to give me so much to share.  It truly was a blessing to share my experiences and things I have learned along the way with the ladies last night.  I actually had too much and did not get to share everything.  But I feel I shared what I was supposed to.  This is a great NetGroup and I was so impressed with their deep intimacy and community with each other.  And of course, these ladies and their babies are all so precious to me...

this beautiful lady in orange is due with her first baby, a boy, in six weeks...well, it is about time because LifeNet has so many baby girls!!!

Sweet Zoe.  We will go to her preschool graduation on Friday night.  This is one precious little girl...just like her mama...

This is baby Kya, born on Josh's bday.  It has been such a blessing to watch her mama growing in the Lord, by leaps and bounds.  She has an older daughter, Tori's age, that will come and hang out with Tori more when school is over.  It is a joy to pour into families like these that are so hungry for the Lord.

Finding that time with Jesus

Sometimes I feel like it can be real challenging to find that quiet time with Jesus...our world, wherever we are...can just be so busy.  Too busy.  Especially when you are in the years of raising a family.  It is no longer just about you, but also the constant demands of having children.  


This week has been so exhausting for me.  There has also been a lot of deep ministry that has gone on this week.  And that takes a toll.  We went and prayed over someone's home and family last night.  I was going to then come home and cook...and my husband, knowing I was spent, ordered a pizza.  Yes, a tremendous blessing.  I think it was about 7:30 when we ate.  Then, settling Erika to bed.  I was so tired.  I suggested the older kids, Lee and I watch a movie.  Well, at 8:30, I was sound asleep.  That is what happens when they turn out all the lights and I finally sit down:)


So, then I woke up around 9:30.  They were still watching the movie and I just felt this longing to spend some time with Jesus. I needed to be refilled of all that I had given this week.  I love WORSHIP music...love it.  It is how I hear from God, quite often.  So, I began to search Itunes for the latest stuff.  I wanted something fresh, new...to speak to me.  Well, by now, of course, Lee and the kids were heading to bed...so I was like, "I just feel I need some time..." and went out to the living room.  It was perfect for just sitting at Jesus' feet and worshipping.


Here, I rarely have time alone.  I do not spend a lot of time in the car like I did in Katy.  I never am in the house alone.  I always have kids with me.  It can be a challenge to find that time to sit at Jesus' feet.  Last night, I feel I got it.  I was so refreshed and renewed.  I wish I could get across to people how real His Presence is...how healing it is.  You just have to find that quiet time of just you and Him.  Wherever you are, He will meet you there.  It is my life.  It is where I find my peace.  Where I am able to refocus and let Him confirm what He is doing in my life.


I journalled as I spent this time with the Lord.  Reading over it just now was cool...how my prayers turned from worship and surrendering to His will, to pray for His touch on my life, to interceding for others.


Okay, so maybe this was more information than you wanted.  But, just want to challenge you:  There is a way to find time with Jesus.  No matter what.  You just have to figure it out.


Finally at 12:30,  I crawled back into bed, totally pumped and I could not sleep.  Jesus just really revived my spirit.  I woke up this morning, happy, and ready for the day.  It works.  We need Him.  We cannot do it without Him.


Oh, and I loved the all the new worship.  But the song that I think really broke my heart was Hungry...such an old song...but the words are so powerful.


Hungry YouTube if you want to hear:)

just a few thoughts

i sit here, almost 17 months into a journey like none other in my life

i drive around belmopan...very familiar...then i have this thought...wow, i totally live in a third world country

i go to market, the bakery, the grocery store...all, once overwhelming...now just part of my everyday life

i hang my laundry to dry...cause that is how it is here

i wipe the sweat off my brow, as i organize erikas room...turning the fan on myself to try to get some relief...what i would have griped about in the past...is now just the way it is

i hear thunder and the gentle pit pat of rain and find I am more thankful for positive weather patterns than i ever was when i lived in a controlled climate environment all those years

i think, often, what it will be like to live in ac for a month, to shop in nice, stores, where i dont have to dust the products off first, where i have unlimited choices...

i think about three girls that i started discipling last night and am reminded why i am here

i think about the lady at the airport who knew my husband because he was on national television

i think how God can use our family to impact this little nation, more greatly than we could impact the large nation we were born in

i am anxious to revive, restock, and relax a little with my old friends and family...but find that God has given me new friends and "family" here

i think about how many contacts i have with people during one day...how many people i saw at market just today...how many children we know who stopped by our gate to say "hello" on their way home from school, just today...how much one little family can impact one little city in one little country for JESUS

and what a privilege that HE trusted us to send us out

So much accomplished, so much more to do

Wow, it is 3:42.  Erika is watching Dora and I am sitting down for the first time today.  The last few days have been SOOO busy and exhausting.  Today, I woke up at 8, feeling like I had been hit by a truck.  I had lots to do, so quickly showered and headed on my errands with my hair still wet.  After all, I've been sweating so much lately due to the high humidity, why waste time drying it:)

Tuesday, we went out for a very special lunch.  Our last special meal with Wini.  We were all stuffed.  And it was a lunch full of laughs...

The girls and I had gotten up early on Tuesday, going to market, coming home and cleaning, and preparing all the food.  It was a lot of work...and so lunch out was a nice treat:)

We set up a little area for people to write in a journal for Wini to take with her.  I put out my little box of Scriptures and Promises from God for people to look up things to add to their own thoughts:)  The journal was very special to Wini, so I am glad we thought of it.

The bakery did an amazing job on the cake...

The punch was a hit too... I think I refilled it 6 times:)

Never a dull moment...we had a combination of Wini's friends from school and from LifeNet...some were both.  I was so happy we had such a good turnout.

We played a couple of games and then went into a time of just telling Wini how much she meant.  It was a blessing to hear all the kids tell her how much they love her and will miss her.

And then we all laid hands and prayed for her.  What a way to send her off...

Wednesday, Wini made a quick trip to the school, then we helped her do her last minute packing...which was a little crazy.  Hard to leave with just two suitcases.  Then spent the rest of the day off to the airport and back...and home for dinner and LLT.  What a busy day.

It seems with school being finished, I thought I would now have all this free time…but how quickly my time is filled up.  There are preparations to be made while we are gone, constant new ministry oppurtunities…that take time.  For example, I am teaching on Parenting in the women’s cell next Monday.  It takes time to prepare for things like that.  And preparing childrens church is already a full-time job, but preparing for when we are in the states adds a lot  But it is okay.  I also met for the first time with a girl just a little older than Tori who has a baby.  I am hoping this was just the beginning of being able to pour into this young lady’s life.

Last night, we had many new kids at our Thursday night Net Group…and they loved it.  Jesse was the facilitator and did this multimedia presentation along with his talking.  He did great and the kids were so captivated.  

After Net Group, we had two girls out front waiting on a ride while Lee and Josh were taking kids home…when we got a blackout.  And it was dark…and a little scary, to be honest.  It was PITCH BLACK.  The girls made their way in with the light from their phones, while I tried finding candles.  I think it was out for 3 hours…from like 9:30-12:30.  And that is a long time when you are already incredibly hot…and then have not even a fan.  Finally at midnight, I took a cold shower and somehow fell asleep.  I was so thankful when the fan finally came on.

This week, we also got the curriculum for next year and got that all sorted and put up.  The girls switched around rooms.  With Wini leaving, it allowed Tori to finally, after four years, have her own room again.  I have tried to make it special for Erika as well.  I will put some pics up eventually.  I am looking forward to getting some curtains and small rug for each of their rooms when we come to the states.  But we still found a few things here in Belize to decorate with.  I made one half of Erika’s room a School Room…with her little desk.  We have been organizing her room all day and putting sight words around.  She loves it.  And Tori’s room is beautiful and grown up…she is so thankful to be able to express her personality a little now.  She has had a friend over all afternoon…in her own room.  What joy

Lee and I have a ministry time tonight...then home to make dinner.  Looking very forward to sleeping in tomorrow morning:)