Thoughts from the kids...

I asked the kids to help me with a writing assignment. My voice is heard quite often, but I wanted to share something from them. I asked them to either write a story or a list of their thoughts on their first year in the Philippines.

Jared made a list of the things he has enjoyed about his new life so far:

*Made new friends

*Flew for the first time in an airplane

*Tried new foods

*Learned more Tagalog

*Learned how to drive a tricycle

*Got a great new house

*Learned a little bit about cooking

*Found out that life is not easy. Well, not as easy as it sounds.

*God is faithful

Sarah decided to make hers' more of a categorized list:

*Scary things-

*Filipinos staring at me all the time.

*Things I learned-

*God takes care of me whenever I have a need

*Answered Prayers-

*Friends

*For the kids in the school to not be mean to me anymore

Rachel wrote a short paragraph about her friends {because that is the best part about it all to her}:

I like my friends because they taught me how to speak Tagalog and they care for me and my teacher is nice and everyone is nice to me.

I sat down with Jonah to get his thoughts or ideas and he indicated to me that he is happy that he has his Thomas to play with...Priorities people...priorities!

I am so thrilled that the kids participated in this project...I love how you see the individuality in the way that God met each one of them, yet He also filled the universal need of relationship in all of them. Isn't that just like Him. He is so personal...I am so thankful that the kids are seeing that in their lives as well.

Year in Review

1 year…12 months…365 whole days!

The past year has been filled with:

*Days when the time seemed to just stand still and others that were gone in the blink of an eye. *Times when I have felt so secure that this is my home, yet other times when I have felt that I will never fit in. *Numerous tears {good and bad} *Too many adjustments made to be mentioned. *Face to the floor seeking God’s strength. *Face to the heavens praising my God for that very strength. *Much confusion in conversation. *Transparent facial expressions that give away my total confusion. *Laughter. *Celebrity-status attention while walking through the market. *Being overwhelmed by the expression of respect and gratitude of these dear people. *Lessons learned the hard way. *Smiles. *Comfort that comes in the least expected places. *Survival; though many strange critters have graced our home. *A few cold showers. *Many warm hellos. *Joy in witnessing the transformation of hearts. *Decreasing dollar. *Bargains. *Brown-outs. *New foods. *Good foods. *Amazing sunsets *Gifts from home. *Building new relationships. *Learning a new tongue. *Sickness. *Health restored. *Beaches. *Rainbows. *Much rain. *Much heat. *Growing deeper in faith. *Questioning. *Heartache. *Drawing closer together. *Fear. *Peace. *Learning of God’s mighty providence and provisions. *Discovering the meaning of daily devotion. *Fresh fruit stands on the highway. *Rice. *Interesting smells. *Witnessing true contentment. *Gaining a clearer vision. *Being convicted of great need-daily. *Feeling so helpless and small. *Trusting in a mighty God. *Blessings of modern technology. *Looking forward with excitement to the unknown future with a God who has a plan bigger and better than we could ever imagine!

My favorite verse remains: “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us.” {Eph 3:20}

“Lord God, You have been faithful to Your word…You have been amazing…You have done more this year than I could have ever imagined. I stand in awe at Your power and glory. There are times, Lord, when I feel so weak and useless, but I know that in those moments, You become stronger through me and it is then that Your power is made known as mine fades away in the back ground. I praise You Lord, for meeting our needs, for not leaving us alone in the place. Thank you for the good, but Lord, thank you also for the moments of trying and testing; You are still worth every bit of the journey. I ask that Your grace would continue to meet us daily as we look forward to the next year with You…I can’t wait to see what is ahead!”

Release Rest and Relaxtion

I am writing as an update that Paul has been released from the hospital! {And the angels sang glory!}. Platelettes are on the rise and everything else is looking well now. He is confined to the bed rest, but it is such a relief to have him in the midst of the family again. It is pretty funny, our bedroom has become somewhat of a "sick ward" in itself. There are 4 beds made...two on the couch, one on the floor, and one on the actual bed. Hopefully 1-by-1 we will move Jared, Sarah, and Jonah out of the ward and back into the world of "healthiness" very soon. Jared is already on the up-swing now, so that is promising.

Karissa and I keep talking to each other about how we are in denial over getting this virus; we are juicing ourselves full of vitamin C and praying that we will somehow be gaurded from contracting the illness that has consumed our household. The idea is that we picked up a virus from someone at the camp last week. My mind is reeling thinking of all the others that could be suffering right now just the same {Lord be with them even now}. We received word this morning that Ptr. Steve Brown has also come down with the virus and we are praying for God to be miraculous for him as they board for their flight home early in the morning. He just doesn't have enough time to recover without the Lord's help...please join with us in prayer for him also.

I will be updating about our Family Camp soon. Until then, we will be rejoicing in Paul's release, resting safely in the comfort of home, and relaxing to our heart's content. We praise the Lord for sending so many wonderful prayer warriors into our lives...the sweet words of encouragement and letters of those who have approached God's throne on our behalf leaves me speechless. Thank you! You have ministered deeply to us.

when it rains it pours...

I have so many wonderful blessings so share...our annual family camp was last week and I am so full over the week's events.  I will work on posting pictures and writing of God's mighty works very soon...for now, this is a call to prayer.

Saturday we settled in for much rest!  It was the day after a long week and a late night before, so the plan was to do NOTHING.  It is always so needed.  Paul seemed to be totally wiped out by the week's events which is not a surprise.  He spent most every day in the sun without much of a break.  I knew he would be tired, but Saturday morning, his weariness took a turn. He began running a high fever.  He developed chills and body aches.  This was no normal fatigue. Come Sunday morning, he attempted to get dressed for Easter worship, but 15 minutes into the routine, I found him curled up on the couch again, without strength to continue.  We left him alone for rest and medicated his fever throughout the day, and in the evening the kids had their graduation services.  When we returned, he was worse...high fever had returned, body aches had increased to the point that he was unable to move around, dizziness had set in and he sounded quite congested.  No question,  I immediately called the doctor here in town...he was quite gracious to meet with us after hours and even on Easter! {such a blessing!}  Upon arrival, he did not like the looks of things and began admitting him into the clinic for overnight stay to get fluids and antibiodics through IV.  By morning, he felt that all would be looking well enough to go home.

In the morning, they drew blood for testing.  Paul's white blood cell count was very low, as well as several other levels.  They began treating him for viral infection and have continued throughout the day with that treatment.  They decided to run another blood test this afternoon to see if his levels were up after the meds he had been given.  At this point, they want to keep him an additional night because the most recent test shows that his wbc is even lower than it was this morning...ugh!  

While at home getting lunch, I was sitting with the kids and Jared said he didn't feel well. Ends up, he has had a fever and headache along with a sick stomach, so we took him over to the clinic to get a check up while taking lunch to daddy.  He is currently being treated for a bacterial infection!  While sitting in Paul's room, Jonah climbed up in my lap and low and behold, he felt warm also.  Sure enough, the nurse's took his temp and he was running a fever also...at this point, I have to laugh...decide to praise God in all things.  

Proper words have no place, I am not certain what to do with it all.  Trust, that is all that can be done.  I would like to ask all to pray for our family.  I don't know what sickness has infiltrated our home, but it has several of us down.  Pray that Paul would regain his strength and that his body would respond to the meds, pray with me for the kids, it is just hard seeing them feel bad.  Pray for protection over the others.  Pray for peace and understanding.

I love this group of people...the whole hand full of those who chose to read of our lives...

thank you for your prayers, thank you for your friendship.  I love you...I will update on any results!

I'm not THAT old am I?

Ok, so today is my birthday. I have turned all of 36 years old, which is fine for me, I never really get bogged down with age and I am really enjoying this stage of life. It does, however, humble me sometimes to turn around and look back at the years past and realize just how far down the road of life I have come; while in the same thought I realize just how much road is still left in front of me {Lord willing}.

Having a young woman around everyday who is all of 19 years old has caused me to take a different and new perspective on age though. I have so enjoyed our time together and we are just too funny running around town and watching all the people stare...I feel more like a tourist now than before. Each place we go, every store we happen to be in, people want to talk to us and get a brief history of who we are and where we are from. I obviously must be the elder one of the two because most questioned are asked to me first, even if they are questions for Karissa. The most frequently asked question, that has been a bit irritating, is this: "Oh, mam, is this your daughter?" My daughter? Why can't she be my sister? Why does she have to be my daughter? Do I look old enough to have a 19 year old daughter? Good grief! Ok, so I haven't colored my hair in over a year and my grays are peeking through, but I do try to hid them in my side part! Could that be it? Or could it just be that the years are finally beginning to show a little? Ugh!

What do you think?

I concede; it is a battle I cannot win, I am aging...I hope to age gracefully...I hope to grow in grace and knowledge as I watch the years pass. So with 35 years behind me and an unknown number of years to come I pray that God would continue to humble me, use me, amaze me, and love me beyond my comprehension. It is a good life...I am 36 years grateful!

"we're all pieces"

Just the other night we were hanging out watching a movie as a family and Jonah had gotten up to get his bowl of popcorn and came back to have a seat on the couch with the rest of us. Paul was laying over on one end, Rachel in front of him laying with her feet out in front of me, Jared on the other end, Sarah at our feet, and Jonah made his place just next to me with his feet filling in the left over space beside Rachel's feet. After he had made his place all comfy, this was our conversation:

Mommy: "Do you fit, are you ok there?"

Jonah: "Yeah, we all fit. It's like a puzzle...{slight pause}...and we are all the pieces!"

What depth in that little statement; we are like pieces, we all work together!

"Lord God, thank you for the wisdom of my 5 year old. I praise you that your voice can be heard in the simplicity of his wonder. You have a way of capturing his heart and in turn, it blesses mine...you are wonderfully amazing!"

I get by with a little help from my friends:

Karissa is here! She made it wonderful...God totally blessed her on her trip over and He also calmed any worries and concerns that her parents and us felt during that time. As always, God is so good! She is starting a blog to chronicle her experience and would like to invite you to read about her journey here.

The planning was crazy, and we were praying that God would give us unique opportunities while she was here. This experience has definitely caused me to sit down and make a detailed list of information needed for visitors...very eye opening! I thank God for that.

I have to say that we have, in general, been so excited for Karissa's visit, but I don't think I was truly prepared for the blessing her presence would really be to me. As the days drew closer, I felt this giddy-ness overwhelm me...the thought of sharing my days with a close friend was just too much. I'm not sure that she was prepared to minister to my heart in this manner, but God has used her to bless my days in a bright new way....Thank you Jesus.

We are looking forward to the next couple of months. God answered our prayers for activity; we will hold our annual Family Camp just the week after next, so this week will be filled with preparations for that...we are also welcoming in Bro. Steve and Mrs. Cathy Brown as our special guests for that week...again, so excited for old friends! Shortly after, we plan to take the kids out to the city for about a week as their "summer vacation" time away from the camps. In mid April we will hold the 50th anniversary Jubilee for the Bible Baptist Seminary and at the end of April we will take a trip down to Sorsagon to re-visit the work that started there last year. There is much to see and do! Already, God is giving us opportunities to have our eyes opened to knew ideas and open doors to future ministries...we continue to pray for God's leadership.

I would ask that you would pray with us that Karissa's time with us would be filled with ministry, filled with amazing opportunities, and filled to the brim with God's grace. We desire that God would speak directly to the heart of this young seeker...and that He would bring to us a fresh new perspective to this land that we have already made our home.

^{Wherefore comfort yourselves together, and edify, even as also ye do. {1Thessalonians 5:11}}

^{But exhort daily while it is called Today; lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. {Hebrews 3:13}}

^{And let us consider to provoke unto love and to good works: {Hebrews 10:24}}

cobra~the other white meat

This is dedicated to our friend Blake at Bible Baptist...this one's for you buddy!

I cannot tell you how many times I have heard this phrase connected to strange foods: "Go ahead, try it, it takes like 'chicken'". I am here to tell you that there is only one thing that really tastes like chicken and that is chicken! *Mark it down*

Last week I get one of those calls from Paul...he's in the garage with, from what I can tell, a good sized group of workers laughing behind him telling me that they had found a cobra on the grounds and were cooking it for lunch...what was so funny about it is that they were trying to convince me that I needed to eat it with them. There are many things about this culture and people that I feel like I try to adapt to in order to feel more "one with them", but being "all things to all people" gets a little tougher when eating snake comes into the equation. On my way to grab Jonah from the school, I ran down to the garage to take a look and temporarily -completely- lost any sense of good judgment and agreed to eat it (I really thought I was stronger when it came to peer pressure, but obviously I need to make that a matter of prayer)! Fortunately for me it was hot off the fire, and I was able to walk away without so much as a little nibble; UNTIL I returned to the house with Jonah and Paul had my snack waiting for me there.

I tried it...I didn't care for it, but I didn't die, so that's a good thing. I cannot testify that it tasted like chicken; like I said before--chicken tastes like chicken ya'll! I did, however impress the people of whose land I dwell and for now feel a little more like I belong {never mind the white skin and Texas accent!}. Just another day in the life...gotta love it!