Making Flour Tortillas

Yesterday, we completed our first 9 weeks of homeschool.  That was a reason to celebrate for all of us.  So we went to Morencos.  We are a quarter of the way through the year and I think that is pretty cool.

Doesn't this kindergartener look so big drinking her watermelon juice?

This morning, the girls and I got up and did a little grocery shopping and then Jesse brought by all his siblings (except one).

Melody taught us how to make flour tortillas...

Now, let me tell you, this is no easy task...

Just rolling these balls is hard work!!!

Lee acting like he did this... 

Meanwhile, Tori, Erika and Amenta were in the back making beautiful jewelry.

Yeah, Jesse, I see you trying hard not to laugh at your pastor:)

Voila!!!  Our first tortilla...

Melody said Erika was the best at making the tortillas...she was so proud.

Jesse flipping tortillas on the comal.

Melody, shaking her head...Lee was making us all laugh. 

But boy did he enjoy the fruits of his labor...mmmmm.

And then we made some fryjacks too.

What a fun day, then we had to hurry and get ready for a party tonight.  It was a perfect end to a fun day.  We roasted marshmallows, etc.

Good Night.

Children's Home

Today, we visited the children's home for the first time.  There are actually a couple in town, but my heart has been drawn to this one.   It was not a planned visit...and I have lots of emotions that I will try to articulate:)

It is a rainy day today, which we love.  But it also makes me sleepy.  That and I think my busy week just finally caught up with me.  You can only run on adrenaline so long.

Last night, I had the Privelege of praying with a young girl, her first time to our group, to accept Jesus.  It was a precious time and I was to begin discipling her and the friend who brought her today.  But she is in a battle...please pray for her.  She did not come today but her friend did.  Her friend has been attending our church and youth cell for a little while now.  We agreed today to pray for her friend to come again...

When we were finished with the Life Manual, I asked if she wanted me to drive her home, and she said that would be great, but could I take her to the children's home, where her mom is the housemother.  I have been wanting to visit this home, and it seemed the right time.  I was not "mentally" prepared and had no agenda except to go in with her and meet her mother and see the home real quick.

I was overwhelmed with love for the children I met.  They were all well cared for and loved by the housemom.  That was apparent.  The home was clean and well taken care of.  We met a couple teen girls and a few smaller children (toddlers-preschool).

I do not know where this visit today fits into our ministry here.  I was flooded with tears when I returned to the car.  Oh, and it was just Erika and Tori with me.  Tori had a little boy that came right to her to hold and Erika loved all the children as well.  I just don't want us to get too attached and then have to let go again...but can I lay aside my own worries about that and just love???

Please pray for me to have discernment and direction.  Those who know me, know I love children so much.  My heart breaks for these children, even though they are well cared for, they still want a mom and dad.  I do not feel that we are supposed to adopt any more children.  My life is very full and busy.  BUT...there is always a little more we can do or give.

One need that they have is for parents to take the children for holidays and weekends.  This is what I am praying about.  Holidays are very different here for us.  Our family is not here...  In fact, the subject just came up this week.  So, the question is, do we turn our own lack of family situation into an oppurtunity to bless a child?  Christmas is right around the bend...are we supposed to take a child and pour into her/him during that time?

I will keep you posted as we began to build a relationship with this children's home.  The housemom said that just this morning, she brought Lee and I up to her board of directors because of the impact we are making in her teenage children...that maybe we would minister to the teens at the home as well.

We don't ever want to limit God.  Or put in a box the ministry He has called us to.  We just want to take His love to this nation.

We watched FURIOUS LOVE last night with our young people.  If you have not seen it, you need to watch it.  It will give you some perspective.  I cried through the movie because I watched it in the states before we moved here.  I watched it differently last night.  Not that we did nothing as pastors in the states...just here...it is just different.  We had 23 people squished in our living room watching this movie...and they were moved.  Or they related.  So much pain.  So much pain.  The Lord constantly gives me discernment about what these kids are going through.  I'm just glad they want to come and be discipled!!!

Next week, Lee will be at a conference, so I will be here with the kids.  I won't be picking them up, so we will probably have a smaller crowd.  But God is good.  And He is keeping us busy.  And giving us exactly what we need to do what He wants us to do.  He is constantly stretching me.

I am learning not to make a plan...just let Him guide our days...

And trying to remember to look at people through His eyes...it changes your perspective.

Cooking from Scratch

I have been married for almost 20 years...and almost every night, it is up to me what we will be having for dinner.  I did not marry a guy who likes to cook.  In fact, he does not even know where most things are in the kitchen...true story.  My mother in law is an amazing cook, but not of that got passed down.

So, now, we have moved to Belize and homeschool our kids, so I make for sure two meals, and sometimes three meals a day.  But mostly for breakfast they are on their own now.  I still have a sinkful of dishes each morning though.

This afternoon, as I was mulling around in my head, what to have for dinner tonight...I got up and began to wash the red onion and green pepper, put the beef in the microwave to thaw, and started chopping.  We are having tacoes...a staple in this house...everyone likes some variation of the meal and it makes great leftovers if we have any.  Anyway, as I was chopping, I thought, this is kind of therapeutic.  It has been a crazy busy day, like most, and we have a meeting to go to tonight.  So dinner needs an early start tonight.  There have been fighting kids and frustrated students and teachers:), unplanned interuptions in our day, daily chores that still must get done...  BUT the simple act of washing veggies and chopping them, preparing even a simple meal, from scratch...feels so right, so good.  Feeding my family.  A very simple thing, yet, it is what I do.  In the States, I cooked, of course, but we ate out a lot too.  And there were a lot of shortcuts to cook things there.  And we could always pick up frozen food, etc.  Those things are not options here.  To buy a pizza, you are looking at least $40 US to feed our family.  Not a cheap meal here.  So, I cook.  And I cook often.  We do go out to eat about once a week.  Those are nice breaks for me.  But I have learned to make so many things from scratch.  You can buy cake mixes here, but they are usually old and expensive.  So I make cakes from scratch.  Cookies?  Yep, from scratch.  Chili?  No canned stuff here...or its way too expensive.  I'd rather cook up a big ole pot and have leftovers.

But every night (or 99 percent of nights), we gather around the dinner table.  Wini has come home from school, the kids are done with their schoolwork, I am usually done with my chores and Lee is usually done with work for the day...  It is a time where we gather and eat together and talk about life or our day.  It is a time to be a family.  An imporant time.

When Lee and I first got married, we did not have a table, just barstools, so we ate our meals at TV trays on the couch.  Then, 3 1/2 years later, we had Josh.  And something changed.  We did not want to eat in front of the TV anymore.  Because now we had a family.  And in all the moves, all the transitions, all the chaos even of our process of coming here, that is one thing for sure.  We usually eat dinner as a family around the table.  Even if it is takeout...even if we are in a hurry.  It is not an option.  We always tried to limit our kids extra activities outside of church activities...and I am thankful for the structure that is there.  Just like praying as a family before bed.  Every night...no matter how exhausted we are...Lee or I pray with all the kids.  Every night.  They pray too.  You know why?  Because kids need to know how to pray too...so they can.  So they know they can go to Jesus...by themselves.

Well, enough of that.  I have some chopping of lettuce, tomatoes, and onions to do.  And thankfully, my kids will all help.  Tori will fry the corn tortillas, Josh will grate the cheese, Erika will set the table...

And we will enjoy our dinner as a family before rushing off to a meeting.



An Invitation to Lunch

Last Sunday, remember, we did three baptisms?

Well, one of our ladies celebrated her birthday this Friday.  And invited the whole church over for lunch today:)

Freddie and Lydia live in a little village about 15 minutes outside Belmopan.  They have two very shy little boys, two and four years old.  Today, we were able to get to know the boys a little better, being in their own home.  They live with their grandparents, uncle and family too.  Lydia turned 23.  She got married at 18 just like me.  Freddie was in a wheelchair when he was 12 yrs old and God miraculously healed him.  They are a precious family who serves the Lord.

kids always love the candles!!!

i was so proud of Erika today...she was the oldest of the little kids and was just so well behaved:)

they were so cute playing soccer right outside the house and they loved when I showed them the pictures I took.

Freddie and Lydia have come to our church out of a hunger to be discipled.  Freddie works here in Belmopan and rides a bus back and forth and attends our Leadership training on Wednesday nights.  God sent us here for families like this.  A couple other families from our church came with us as well, but I didn't really get any pictures of them.

What a blessing for this precious family to cook a dinner and invite over the church.  It was a blessing to be in their home and pray over them.

Also, I wanted to mention that Lydia has something wrong with her eyes from birth ( a nerve problem).  We are praying for her and also believe the Lord can use doctors.  We have a man who comes down (lives across the street from us) specifically to help people get medical help.  Currently, he is working on seeing how he can get her help.  We are so happy how the Lord sends all sorts of people to Belize for all sorts of reasons and can't wait for Lydia to have healing either supernaturally or with the help of doctors.

Women's Retreat

A few weeks ago, a fellow missionary, and new lady in our church, told me about an upcoming women's retreat.  It was totally out of my comfort zone to go somewhere that I basicly knew NOONE, but decided I did need a little retreat.  But when I found out I would have to share a room with several people, I decided not to spend the night.  As it turns out, I probably wouldn't have had to.  Another lady who attends my church did spend the night and ended up having the room to herself.

So, Lee agreed to drive me back and forth to the meetings at the Baptist Encampment.  We have heard about it several times...but it is a beautiful place.  Very tranquil and peaceful.  I totally had wished I had decided ahead of time to spend one night.  Next time I will.  I told Lee we should check into it for the Life Advance.

It was put on by the Calvary Chapel church plants here in Belize.  I was able to meet a lot of really awesome ladies, many, missionaries like myself.  It was truly refreshing to worship and be encouraged by messages that were right on.

Last night when Lee picked me up, he said Erika had been an angel, as he had taken the kids to the community wide night of worship.  She had danced her heart out.  She was kind of clingy, but went to bed good.

She woke up screaming in the middle of the night though.  Her ear hurt so bad.  It broke my heart.  Tonight I am suffering from not enough sleep last night!!!

Anyway, Lee took her to the doctor this morning and yes, her ear was infected.  He prescribed an antibiotic and drops.  When he weighed her, he told Lee she was underweight for her age.  Then Lee began to share her story of being 3 lbs at birth and having surgery to put her intestines back inside when she was born.  The doctor said babies born like that in Belize die.  They have only had ONE survive.  We were once again reminded of the miracle that Erika's life is.  When Lee relayed this story to me over the phone, I cried.  The doctor was blessed as well to witness the miracle of her life.

So, tonight the big kids and Lee are at a group bday party for several of our kids from church.  And Erika and I are painting nails and watching Cinderella...and hopefully going to sleep early...

Feeling really thankful for this little miracle child tonight:)

Tonight

Sometimes, I look around the room, very full, very crowded, lots of teenagers...and think...God, you really have me in a place I never imagined.  We minister to all ages, but I look around this room full of teens who want to come, who text us to please pick them up, or get dropped off by their parents.  And they are FAITHFUL.  Most are here every week and hate to miss.  It is not at all how I saw my life as an almost 38 yr. old woman.  I have ministered to babies and children for years.  But teens have always kind of scared me.

Tonight, I looked around and thought How neat is God?  That He is always outside the box.  And if you want to be where He is...He is not contained in the traditions of yesteryear...meaning, what He had you do at one  point is not what you will be doing at another.  Don't get me wrong...I am still crazy about those babies...but He has given me this deep love for these teens too.  To be able to help pour into them in a time of deep life changing decisions in their lives.

But, also, let me explain.  We are not having youth group here.  That is not what it is at all.  It is equipping young people.  Discipling.  Sometimes Discipleship is hard, painful, saying tough things to people.  It is not a job for the faint of heart to speak truth into situations.  But what is so cool is when you see these people, fully surrendered to Jesus, and seeking the hard answers because they want to be everything Jesus wants them to be.

It is so cool.  And it is so cool that He lets us in on it:)

Tonight was an awesome night.  We celebrated two of the kids birthdays with cake, but first we all spoke affirming words and prayed individually over them.  It was moving, emotional...and awesome.  God is so real.  And these other kids spoke of the Jesus they see in the two who were being honored.  But you know what is so cool?  The two being honored were both so humble...and in doing so, gave all the honor to God.

Don't ever say...I will do anything EXCEPT...because that may be the one or two things you find yourself doing...I am a prime example.  But there is such joy and contentment of sitting in your living room...a very expensive plane ticket away from your family and friends...knowing that you were obedient...and others are blessed because of your obedience.

"God, I Look to You"

Just downloaded the above song by Jenn Johnson.

Thanks guys for Itunes cards...please keep them coming...they really help keep me connected...and help us expose our church to fresh worship.

If you want to listen..

God I Look To You lyrics
God I Look to You
Jenn Johnson/Ian Mcintosh Bethel Music Publishing 2010

God I look to You, I won’t be overwhelmed
Give me vision to see things like You do
God I look to You, You’re where my help comes from
Give me wisdom; You know just what to do

I will love You Lord my strength
I will love You Lord my shield
I will love You Lord my rock forever
All my days I will love You God

Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns
Hallelujah our God reigns forever
All my days Hallelujah

Needed this song right now...today..sometimes ministry and people and stuff and problems and garbage....can be overwhelming.  Even for a "seasoned" pastor's family.

Sometimes, all we can do is to "look to Him", and trust in Him and be obedient to Him, no matter what others think...can't worry about what others think...just our Father God.  He is the One who sent us here...and we just have to walk closely to hear his heartbeat and what He is saying.

I am going to a women's retreat tomorrow and Saturday.  I am excited to get away from the constant to-do lists and just to sit at Jesus' feet...   Just me and my Daddy God.

So thankful Lee is allowing me the time away and driving me back and forth.   He's a pretty great husband:)