"To every thing there is a season..."

Goodbyes....

I am saying goodbye to this URL. I believe that there are several who may have links to this site and I would like to refer you to the updated "blogspots" for current updates, photos, etc. Our Family/Ministry blog My Personal blog I appreciate the ones who drop by to check on us {ok, maybe using the plural tense was too much}, but you will have to stick your head in the door over at the other sites instead. Just consider yourself a "back door" friend & come on over! See you there!

sunny days are here again!

After what seemed to be the longest night in history, we were wakened by bright sunshine and a great deal of humidity. The last news we heard had said that the worst was still to come, but later we found out that the worst had already hit our area & the eye would hit about 2-3 hours north of us. Which was a relief of sorts, but I cringed to think of just how bad the "worst" could be after what blew through our neck of the woods earlier in the day.

We currently still do not have power; the electric company has been working non-stop all day to repair the many lines that were pulled down by fallen trees. The destruction of the high winds left trees and rubble everywhere. The camp workers have been working very hard today cleaning up the campsite for new campers this afternoon & our kids even got in on the action by picking some trash from around the dorms. Jonah thought that was so fun...only a 5 year old would think picking trash is fun for sure.

Since the whole city is without power, church services were cut shorter due to the heat. It was nice of them to think of the members that way, but in the process we missed out on much congregational singing and any special music. The music service seems to be the highlight of most services when the understanding of the preaching is little, so I really missed that today. But as always, it is good to fellowship with other believers and the scripture references gave way for personal reflection, so everything was good. We found out that VBS will start tomorrow for the kids, so they are looking forward to that and maybe there will be a few areas we can manage to get our hands dirty with as well....I could handle a little serving.

I am so grateful that we have the little things, we heard a story of someone's family member losing the roof off their house last night. Since they live very close to the water, so they were in more danger. I thank God that He cooled us in the night so that we could rest. I am so impressed and thankful for the hard working crew that works at the camp...they have gone above and beyond the call of duty today. They are amazing.

I am mostly thankful for the contentment that comes from being right where God wants you. I couldn't imagine being anywhere else right now...

sorry sir, the rat ate your generator...

Slowly but surely, as the day progressed, the storm has worsened. The forecast now is that this typhoon could quite possibly be the largest that the area has seen since 1998. My faith has been tested in a way. The newly known storm severity has brought with it new fears in unknown spaces and I have found myself needing to go back and read my own words...God is in control and can bring peace in the midst of the storm. Say it with me now..."God is in control"! Thank you I needed that!

Mid-afternoon we lost our power; to no surprise really. I was more surprised that it took till so late in the day before it was gone. No problem I thought, we have been blessed with a generator, so we'll be ok. Well...not so much...tried to start it, no go. Added gas, no go. Beckoned for the camp electrician to come take a look at it...sure enough, his words were "the rat...he ate through the wires". Nice! I wasn't even aware we had a rat lurking lately, but evidently we do and it seems that he likes the chewy plastic coating of electric wires...how fortunate! I guess I can be glad that he's not in the pantry eating the food, right? Little splice here, little tape there, 3 men working in the driveway...viola, back in working order. Sort of. It's working, but not at full power. We have enough to keep the fridge cold and provide us with a little light here & there, but overall, still blessed to even have that much. The kids have been good for the most part. Yes, there was boredom...much boredom, but they did pretty well all things considered. For a while, you could walk through the house & see piles of toys resting in the light of the windows and that was sweet. Can someone tell me why it is that when they have beautiful skies to play beneath that they choose to play inside, but on the stormy days when they have to be inside they want to run and play and scream outside????

If I were to sum up our day in a few words, it might sound like this: Crazy wind, scooters, candles, boredom, barbies, legos, horizontal rain, brown outs, hungry rat, left overs, banana pie, reading, branches...lots and lots of branches, fear, peace, good night prayers, quiet spirit, God in control...all is well!

On another thought, my mind cannot shake the vision of the little neap-hut homes that grace the roadside not a mile from here...are they safe? do they still have a roof? do they still have a house for that matter? The same God who sees me in this place, sees them also and cares for them just the same. I am not special. If He cares for me, He also cares for them and will watch over them as well. God is so good!

"Lord, be with those who live in simple homes...watch over them and cover them with your hands tonight as the worst is yet to come. Lord, that they might come to know you and your glory through this....open my eyes and make me/keep me aware. Thank you for loving us and caring for us like you do. Thank you for the simple pleasures of clean running water and electricity. You are so gracious."

I think I suffer from "tropical depression"

As I type, the sound of high winds howling and trees whipping are serenading their love song at my window. I am holding out hope that my connection will last long enough to allow me to post this little "ditty" in order to give a little chuckle to the "tropical depression" they say is knocking at our door. One report says typhoon and the other says tropical depression...What I know is that the winds are crazy and I am surprised that there is not any flooding after the rains we've had in the past 24 hours...not sure which category that belongs to, but that's how I see it. I also know I am NOT going out in it!

It is also funny to see the change that has been made in our family. The kids are running around in the garage laughing & playing, I sit here without panic...and that in it's self is truly amazing! I am watching Karissa at this time & she is just where I was at the beginning of rainy typhoon season last year, a little worried {not much} & wondering if we are supposed to be taking cover at all {she also grew up around tornado alley}. I think it is incredible how experience with God's protection can change our point of view...how it can change our lives. Trusting Him makes all the difference in the world. And, it also makes an effect on the people around us!

As I finish, I would ask help in praying for the safety of the campers who are loading up for their 6 hour ride back to Manila...for the strength of the camp workers who have been cutting weak limbs and cleaning up messes all day...for rest tonight to all who are in the path of this storm. I also want to thank our God for keeping us safe and for bringing the peace into our lives that only He can bring.

Here's the chuckle: I'm not real sure what the correct label for the weather should be...typhoon/tropical depression, but I do know that staying inside with 4 energetic children all day is enough to give someone tropical depression!

Sunday~Day of rejoicing!

The first sunday of our trip would be spent with Ptr. Tom Raguirag at his 10th anniversary in Guiuan, Samar. What a glorious day! The chapel was full as well as the awning covered driveway out the back door of the chapel. Their choir was so sweet as were the children who accompanied them. Paul would speak the first hour, dad would speak the second and lunch would be served on site and Ptr Tabanda would speak in the afternoon. Each did a wonderful job as always and we poked at dad for using more Tagalog than we are used to hearing from him. Heaven shouted as 39 gave their hearts to Christ at the end of that first hour! Nothing is sweeter and more tender; I don't believe I could ever grow tired of watching others turn to Jesus and lay their lives at His feet.

Lunch was special: lechon baboy! I took a few pictures so that you could imagine being their with us. I love how this little boy is looking up into the mouth with curiosity:

The children absolutely loved Karissa and who couldn't blame them; she's just so cute:

After the evening services we were each presented with gifts of gratitude from the Precious Ladies class of the church. One of the ladies makes hand-made crafts from shells & our gifts were made from her very hands. The gifts were incredible and we were honored to take them home as a membrance. As the night continued, we had the opportunity to sit around and talk with a few of the members. It is always the highlight of our visit to come away knowing the people in a deeper way.

At the end of the long day, we would be sent to bed with the excitement of waking Monday morning and going on a boat ride to Pearl Island. Wow...what would that hold in store for us? All I can say right now is that Monday would be a day to remember forever!

Word for the day? *No jokes here, just resting in God's grace and rejoicing in a good day in the Lord's house! God is great and greatly to be praised!!!

it's just me and my memories...

I could just cry! In the midst of my insatiable need to organize my folders, etc, about a week ago, on my sad little computer, I managed to accidentally delete my entire photos folder from the years 2007 and 2008 {so far}!!!!!!!!! My stomach is just sick thinking about it. Here's what makes it worse: at the beginning of 2008 I said to myself, "I need to make sure I load my 2007 folder onto the external hard drive 'just in case' something might ever happen to my computer". Oh yeah, something happened all right, but not a HD crash like I expected~only I happened!

Today we drove Karissa into some areas for her first time and also spent some time at the market taking some photos before her time is finished with us here. I found myself more than once starting to say "oh, when we get home, I'll show you that picture"...UGH!!!!!

As time passes I am starting to be able to laugh a little about it, but honestly, I have felt so sad that all our first memories from this place were gone. I am learning to accept the fact that I will have new chances to document the same memories while also holding the the "firsts" so dear in my mind. At this moment, I see a greater purpose for God giving me the love for blogging, He knew that poor file didn't stand a chance!

"Thank you Lord for knowing me and for taking care of me the way you do! The sights I have seen and the experiences we have had are not really lost, You give them back to us daily and I love you for that..."

Saturday and full of adventure

Saturday morning welcomed us with cloudy skies and rain soon to follow. We had planned for a good tour down to the beach front so we waited out the rain through breakfast and mid-morning the clouds broke to what would be a very sunny day. Since this was our first trip south together, the pastor was kind to show us all that he could. First stop would be a meditation center nested up into the side of a mountain. From the view there you can see the entire shore line of the "long islands". Peaceful. Beautiful. Nothing is better than experiencing God's glory with the people you love. We laugh here because the pastor had told us before that we would be climbing 100 steps up the mountain...that was partially true! There were, in fact, 100 steps after we had walked quite a way in the forest to the steps. I actually almost titled this post "plus plus" because we say that we went 100 steps "plus, plus".

We comfy-ed ourselves back into the car and he drove us out to a little chapel. This particular chapel has deep meaning because this is where the people will come from miles away to light a candle...burning as a desperate prayer...prayer that a loved one would be able to enter into heaven from purgatory. There were little sari-sari stores surrounding selling candles for such occasion. The grim atmosphere made me sad and gave me a heavy heart. Desperately seeking hope without being able to find it...The low flicker of the candles would eventually burn out and then so does their faith...the process will start over again. {Lord, send a preacher to that people so that they may hear the truth of you.}

The beach would be the next to welcome us. We originally had heard of the waves' reputation for bringing surfers from far and wide, but today, we would see them for ourselves. This was not a good swimming beach, no white sands, only a hard coral-like surface for our tippie-toes...good thing we went ahead and purchased some water socks! So many shells to collect; we even took a few live ones home by accident, but I promise we let them go safely. As the waves rolled in, their sound could be heard before one could see them...First time I have ever seen waves like that~truly amazing! I have never had the desire to surf, but looking into the funnel of the waves, I can certainly understand the temptation.

After lunch we got ambitious to say the least. Paul, Karissa, and myself joined May, Daniel, and Joey for a walk to look over into the area where the rocky edge darts out into the path of the waves. The waves come in and crash against the edge which causes water to spray up into the air several meters. We could see a little of the action from where we had set up our camp for the day, so we walked to get a better look. Here's where we temporarily lost our minds; we decided that instead of just looking over the edge, maybe we should climb down and walk along the 2nd plateau to get a little closer. Oh my word....it was incredible, but I have never seen so many sea urchins in one place before! Ok, let's be honest, I had not ever seen a sea urchin until earlier that day, and now, there was new meaning to the phrase "watch your step"! We ended up walking further and further away just looking for a better place to climb back up...this took us right into the path of the crashing waves. We were no longer viewing them, we were part of them! No danger, just total awesomeness! {Photos to follow soon} We had a wonderful time...we were sore {I think we walked more than a mile out, or at least it felt like it!} and VERY sunburned, but it was worth every bit...definately one of those "once in a lifetime" moments. So glad Karissa was able to enjoy it with us.

Sleep would come without struggle...so grateful for that! No aloe, just Vasoline...oh, so greasy! Sunday would be a new day...God was already working on the souls who would meet Him for the first time...more on that later!

Ain't nothing like the South!

DAY ONE: Friday morning April 25 we boarded our flight along with Ptr. Primo Tabanda, his wife and grandson; and Ptr. Tom Raguirag and his wife. They are all such fun people to be around so right away we knew that we would be in for a good time. By the time we made it onto the airplane there were many times we had heard Karissa say "I have never seen that before"...that was a trend that was set for the entire trip which would bring much laughter. I must also add here that there were many things that even the 30-year veteren missionary had never experienced so in a way that brought some comfort.

Our flight was a relaxing 1 hour and 15 mins. The highlight of the flight was a toss up between walking the tarmac in the rain with a "complimentary" umbrella or the "in-air games" that the crew led. I think we were so busy laughing at that idea that we couldn't even hear what was happening with the game much. Hospitality at it's finest {I guess}.

After Karissa picked up her confiscated weapons, we were taken to grab a little lunch and then we were off to visit the MacArthur Memorial while we were still in Leyte. The memorial is placed at the exact spot where General Douglas MacArthur returned to the Philippines in 1944. It was quite overcast and the heavens opened up to pour down on us as we were leaving, but it was a wonderful site to see and we were all very excited to have the opportunity.

Day one ended with travel by car from the island of Leyte to the island of Samar. The four hour drive delivered us to Ptr. Raguirag's house for dinner and then off to the hotel for the remainder of the night. As with any roadtrip we would come away with laughter that cannot be explained to anyone absent and memories to last a life time.

Award for the best one-liner of the day: ".....For a bear!"

~~Coming in at 2nd place: "The more you hate, the more you love"

Bear with me, there is much to share. I will be posting the events of the trip according to days so hopefully day 2 will be processed this evening. Until then....

Bored?

The other day was a bit of a boring one at the start, so Karissa and I brainstormed a little about what we could be doing other than just sitting staring at each other. This is what we came up with: Make Sarah a shirt out of a piece of material I have held onto for about 5 years now! I just fell in love with it & I really thought we did a great job considering we had no official pattern to follow. There were only scraps left over from the material also, but I just hated to throw them out, so another idea blossomed...make a matching head band! Don't have pics of that one just yet, but the first time she wears them both together, maybe I can get one then.

Upcoming trip:

We are so excited this week because we are preparing to go on a "missions" trip of sorts. Some of you may remember when we travelled to Sorsagon last year to help canvas the area for a new church plant. We have been invited back this year for their 1 year anniversary but in addition to our visit there, we have also been invited to come and celebrate with Pastor Tom Raguirag in Guiuan, Samar in his anniversary as well, and will be taking a tour of 2 other works in Samar that were started by the same pastor. Pastor Raguirag holds a special place in Paul's life as it was a trip with Ptr. Tom that God used to call Paul back to the Philippines. One of the churches we will visit is the one where Paul helped move him and his family to start the work there back in high school.

Last year we took a ride with a group of members from San Juaquin and made the 14 hr drive to Sorsagon. This year, we will have the opportunity of flying into Leyte and driving through Samar and then we will take a bus ride and ferry over into Sorsagon before we fly home from there. What a difference flying makes...we will be in the air for only 1 hour! Praise the Lord for His deliverance! I have included a map to indicate the amount of travel that lies in wait for us. In addition to the many experiences with the churches we will have the opportunity of veiwing the Macarthur Memorial there in Leyte.

We would like for you to be in prayer for us as we make this trip. Paul, his dad, Karissa, and I will be making this trip as well as many others from San Juaquin, however, Paul's mom and the kids will remain here in Iba during that time. Thursday we will hold the BBS graduation in Manila and our flight will leave Friday morning....the trip will total 10 days. We are praying that God would supply all the needs of those who are here at home, that God would protect us in the travel, and that many will be reached with the gospel during our meetings there. This trip is an incredible opportunity and I have to admit that satan is already beginning to start the struggles with fear and doubt...I know that God will do an amazing work and that we will experience life-changing events, so I am also adding to the prayer list that satan would be bound and that God's work would not be hindering in any way....even in the way of attitudes, etc. Thank you for the prayers in advance.

*Updates will follow upon our return as we will not have internet access during our time away*

Introducing.....

I would like to introduce my son, Jared, to the blogworld out there. He is 12 years old and has decided that he would like to start his own blog; a way to portray "life in the Philippines" from his point of view. You can read his first couple of writings here. Also, make sure you add him to your subscription list, I'm sure you wouldn't want to miss anything! {shameless advertising at it's best!}

Thank you for your support!

Family Camp 2008

Each year, just before Easter, the fellowship of churches founded under Paul's dear parents, come together for family camp. It is a real blow-out event. Entire families travel many hours in order to make this annual happening.

The focus this year was "What Matters Most in the Christian Family?" Teachers prepared topical lessons, Choirs and soloists alike present their best specials, Musicians play their hearts out, Preachers preach God's Word with power, Sports teams bring their uniforms for "official" play, Bible school students prepare their thesis presentation, Children come for a week of VBS fun, Trophys are purchased, Hearts are challenged, Souls are saved, Lives are surrendered...God moves in the midst of His people! It is a wonderful experience and we were even more grateful to play a part this year than the last.

This year our special guest speaker would be Pastor Steve Brown and his wife Cathy from 1st Baptist Church of Meadowview. What a hoot! Ptr. Steve was in no lack of excitement and interest from the get go. Oh, we had so much fun watching him with these other pastors. He had developed a plan to surprise the crowd each night as he arrived to preach. He rode in on a motorcycle, he was delivered in a tricycle, he was carried in on a stretcher, then the final night he intended to ride in on a karabou, but the crazy thing ran away on us, so the pastors pulled him in on the work cart instead....like I said, what a hoot! Let's not forget that he challenged dad and, the MC for the week, Ptr. Garcia to go down the mudslide with him on Friday afternoon. And I am happy to say, that yes, they went! I have the pictures to prove it! There was definately not a dull moment.

Aside from his silliness, his messages were wonderfully prepared and God spoke directly through him to the hearts of the people. After each service, there was no lack of bent knees at the altar...what a beautiful sight to behold. 26 became new believers while over 20 surrendered to fulltime service {there were a couple of men ready to start preaching had they been given the chance}! We also witnessed the baptism of 5 on Friday afternoon. Praise the Lord!

I didn't even mention Mrs. Cathy yet....Let me tell you, that lady was a wonderful encouragement to me personally, but from the sounds of our ladies, she blessed their hearts just the same. She brought 3 beautiful lessons to the pastor's wives and graced us with her singing each service. We didn't get her down the mudslide, but it wasn't because we didn't try! She was an overall blessing; we were all so grateful that she was able to accompany Ptr. Steve on his visit.

Photos are in the posting process, so be sure to check back for the mudslide chronicles. Available now are albums for the following {just click on the photo}:

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}}