A Month Away

In one month (give or take a couple of weeks) I will be having a baby! Yippee! I am feeling pretty good...just the normal pregnancy aches and pains and interrupted sleep complaints. Aside from that, all is going very well.
We are planning on having this baby at my mom's house. That is of course assuming that all continues to go well with the pregnancy. With one month to go, it is looking like we are doing all right, but we haven't stopped praying.
I have other things to blog about, but my sick baby (102.7 temperature) is now awake from his nap. Gotta go do some nurturing.

A Remembrance

Here is the Obituary for my daddy. Thank you Brandon for your wonderful words. Thank you daddy for being a Family Man. Thank you Lord for finally healing him.

Robert Ross Moore

Robert Ross Moore, 56, of Lubbock passed into glory and into true life Nov., 14, 2007 in Lubbock. He was born Feb., 1, 1951 to Burton Ross Moore and Wardine Clearman Moore in Seminole, Texas In 1974, he married his beautiful bride Debbie Hooker in Amarillo, Texas. Mr. Moore attended Texas Tech University, graduating in 1976 with a Bachelor's in Finance. He worked for Texas Instruments as a Corporate Credit Manager until his retirement in 2001. He was a member of Lakeridge United Methodist Church in Lubbock.

Those left to cherish his memory are his beloved wife; one son, Jason Moore and wife Denise of Lubbock; one daughter, Jennifer Moore Scott and her husband Brandon of Guatemala; his mother, Wardine; one brother, Richard Moore and wife Pam of Tyler, Texas; and three grandchildren, Avery, Garret, Deacon, and one on the way.

Robert fiercely loved his Lord, wife and children and no person knew a better friend. Our heavenly Father freed Robert from the pain of this world into His arms where Rob will soar with wings like eagles, run and not grow weary, walk and not be faint.

Until we see you face to face: peace love dove groovy baby. 1-4-3. Graveside services will be held at 9:30 a.m. Saturday, Nov. 17, 2007 at Resthaven Memorial Park. Memorial services will follow at 10:30 a.m., at the Lakeridge United Methodist Church with Reverend Bill Couch officiating.

Arrangements are under the personal care of White Funeral Home of Lubbock.

New House

I wanted to post a few pictures of the house because I said I would. I want to say that houses here are SO MUCH CHEAPER to rent than in the states. Buying a house is similar, but we are paying less here than we paid for a 1 bedroom apartment in Lewisville, TX! Praise God with us for His provision!

The photos are of the outside of the house (that photo is of across the street - the houses are duplexes - so that's not our house, but that's what our house looks like), the upstairs living area, and Deacon playing in his new room. When we ask him if he wants to go see the new house, he says "new house? Thank you." It is sooo cute!

We're moving!

This may be a surprise to some, but WE'RE MOVING! AGAIN! The new house is so cool. God's provision with it is so great and we are just ready to get in it. We found it by accident, and it turned out to be exactly what we have been looking for. We are hoping to be totally moved in in about a week, although we will be doing some unpacking for quite a while I imagine.

Not sure how much time we will have to blog over the next couple of days, but check back b/c I will be posting photos of the new house soon. (the camera is in the car and I am too lazy to walk into the garage right now to retrieve the pictures on in. Sad, huh. :)

Keep us in your prayers please at moving is always difficult, especially when you are 6 months pregnant and can't help lift hardly anything! More details soon.

And so it began.

I am doing a little personal study on how to be a suitable helper to my husband. It started in the beginning with Adam and Eve.

Gen 2:18 States that "it is not good for man to be alone. I will make a suitable helper for him."

Before this, God gave Adam instructions and responsibilities (not to eat from a certain tree for example). So what did Adam need help with? Reading on in verse 22 we find out that the Lord made Eve from the rib he took out of the man. She is made from a missing piece of him. It makes sense that this helper that God created for Adam is to help "fill in the gaps" so to speak. But at this point, Adam is without sin, and yet he still needed a helper. Boy if I could remember that. Adam just needed a helper to help him accomplish and to be all that God had planned for him to be! To help raise him up.

Ok...In Gen. 3:6 "When the woman saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye, and also desirable for gaining wisdom, she took some and ate it. She also gave some to her husband who was with her and he ate it. "

CRAP! Now where did Eve fail? What could she have done differently?
Who was the original instruction given to? Why did she not defer this decision to Adam?
She also introduced something to Adam that was essentially poison. (Spiritual poison) She ignored God (not asking what He thought about it) and trusted in her own logic and wisdom ("she saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for gaining wisdom") and then took the lead with it and then offered it to Adam!

How many times do I offer bits and pieces of poison to my husband: A little piece of gossip, a critical opinion, etc?

How many times do I rush to give my opinion on an issue that is facing our family, w/o first consulting the Creator of our family? Or even worse, I rush and just make decisions on behalf of my family with out deferring to my husband. I BECOME EVE!

I become the leader, and/or the hindrance instead of the helper. Do we know if it would have turned out differently if Eve had done the "right" thing? We have no idea. But I can learn from her mistakes:

To sum up what she "should" have done (and what I should do)
1. Deferred the decision to Adam in the first place. It was to him that God gave the instructions!
2. Ask God immediately for wisdom and for aid in facing the serpent.
3. Given Godly (not earthly) wisdom to Adam as his helper.

Easy as pie!
Sigh.

Walk a Mile or Two?

"If someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles." Matthew 5:41

Someone is trying to force us to go one mile. I am going to be speaking metaphorically for a while, so bear with me. Our situation isn't a perfect metaphor.

My first reaction to this mile forcer is "Wait, you have no right to force us to walk that mile. We are individuals with certain wants and needs, and you can not force us. It is not right."

Then my next reaction is " Wait, we just can't possibly walk that first mile (especially not the extra) because we have a family: a toddler, a baby on the way in Jan, and we are leaving the country in 6 weeks! We just don't logistically have the option of walking at all! There just isn't time. I personally just can not handle it." Then I wonder if I just don't have the faith to walk that mile or two and trust that God will handle the details.

Next comes "Jesus says to not only go that one mile, but go with him two. WHAT? Now that would be much easier, if we were really talking about walking miles, but we aren't, are we? We all know that Jesus was giving broader instructions than just feet to the pavement for 5,280 feet. So where does that leave us??"

Ok...I have gone back and forth between these three things over and over and over...and I have no conclusions. I also keep coming back to the question: Who is more important...us or him? And does that even really play into this? And the me or him question is easier to answer than the us or him when you bear responsibility for two children. I read this morning in Psalm 143:10 "Teach me to do your will, for you are my God; may your good Spirit lead me on level ground."

Here are the questions that I desire your responses to: 1. What would you do? Walk the mile or no...walk the two? How do you justify your answer?

2. How do you apply this verse in Matthew? Where is the line for you as to what is a reasonable time to say..."No. You can't force me to walk this mile, so I won't, or I just can't" if there ever is a reasonable time to say that.

3. I want to know your general feelings about what I have written. I am looking for clarity, and I am waiting for the Lord to teach me to do His will. Most likely it looks different than the World's answers to these same questions.

That Psalm is my prayer because I, in my limited vision can not see tomorrow. I can't undertsand other people's motives. I can't be the judge. I can't see what is best. And most of all, I don't know how to apply the Word of God here. I must be taught. I must trust Him to lead our family through Brandon. I must trust God in ways that I have not before. I must trust Him to solve a problem in the immediate that is to us, unsolvable. Please pray for us as you respond. And please respond.

Strange Country

Ok...I want to tell you about two things.

1st. I was walking our dog at like 6:20 this morning. There are always other dogs around. They don't really do animal control in the typical sense. If I go early enough, most of the dogs are on people's roofs. Houses here are concrete block (or adobe) with flat roofs. People keep their dogs on their roofs at night time. While I am walking Bella, there are always loud barks coming from up above me as dogs are going crazy on the roofs of the houses that I pass.

This particular morning, one of the puppies that was on a 2 story roof, leaped off and landed right next to me on the street. This poor puppy had to be like 6 months old, and was laying, yelping/crying in the street after a two story fall. Oh, my gosh! I had Bella so I had to steer pretty clear, but I rang the bell and knocked on the door to the owner's house for several minutes until I woke them up. I only hope that they take the poor dog to a vet to either be repaired or put to sleep. It was so tragic and weird at the same time.

2nd. Today is election day here in Guatemala. (there will be a run off in month or so) Basically, all of our Guatemalan friends as well as the US embassy has told us to stay indoors for the next couple of days. Really only to get out if it is necessary. Violence skyrockets over the next couple of days as parties are voted in and out. Rumor has it that if this one guy gets elected (he is in the lead right now) that it will be like the war all over again. Genocide will occur as he states that the way to get rid of crime is to imprison and kill the very poor (a.k.a. Mayan people), as they are the ones desperate enough to commit violent crimes. This is totally speculative but this is what the Guatemalans that we know are convinced will happen. So all that to say, please pray for this country. Especially over the next couple of days, that violence would be curbed and people would stay safe. Please pray that the Lord would intervene according to His will to protect the defenseless poor of Guatemala. The Lord sets up and removes kings according to Daniel, and so we are praying for His divine will to be done. And please pray for us as we might get a little stir crazy!

A Little Homesick

Saturdays here are no different than Saturdays in the states. We aren't "working" today , although we have a to-do list that we want to work on. We woke up late (7:20) and Deacon slept in a bit (7:45). We just finished breakfast at 9:15...a breakfast of waffles with fruit topping, sausage, and coffee. The weather here is gorgeous in the mornings...in the 60's and mostly sunny. In the afternoon we will have rain.

But there is a difference. I don't know what it is...maybe I'm just pregnant and hormonal and nostalgic, but...

For example, there are no Sat. morning cartoons (at least in English). There is no college football on TV. There are no noise restrictions here so there is a constant state of window rattling Spanish music playing on the street. We don't have a yard for Deacon to run around in. It still just doesn't "feel" right. I miss going to the mall on a Saturday and just walking around. (there is a mall here, but it is 85% shoe stores) I miss the Saturday environment of Home Depot runs and matinée movies, and...I don't know.

Right now it just feels like something is wrong here. I don't feel very at home today. At the same time, the thought of leaving our home here to go back to the states for possibly 5 months sounds terrible too. We really are between cultures, between homes, between, between, between.

The good news is that this is just my state of emotions right now. This will pass. Tomorrow or the next day.

Tell me about your Saturday. What did you do? I want to hear about what all is going on in America today.

Some cool news!

Well...we have some news!

WE ARE HAVING A GIRL!
(at least we are 90-95% sure we are having a girl according to the tech who read the sonogram)

Right now we are deciding on names. We are in between two favorites right now. If you want you can go to the kid's website at http://www.babyjellybeans.com/web/do/site/home?ID=49922
and vote on which name you like the best. (by the way, if you disable your pop-up blocker the website is cuter!)
Madeline Lea Scott (Baby Madi)
or
Macauley Ruth Scott (Baby Mac)

Watch the end

This is so cute. You have to watch Deacon until the very end of the clip. You may have to even watch it twice to see what happens. Oh, my gosh this cracks me up!

Some new friends

I have a few new friends living with me. I just don't feel like being hospitable. They are very greedy and are actually keeping me in the house. I am so tired just from dealing with them, but they just latch on and won't let go! They drain all of my energy and actually keep me up at night Seriously, it makes me want to vomit!!

He-He!! I've got a parasitic infection called giardia! YUCK! It basically is severe stomach cramps, diarrhea, nausea, and general fatigue. My fellow missionaries don't feel that bad for me because they have all had it multiple times. I was told "welcome to the club of people with stomach issues." I was always the one here with the iron stomach, that could eat the street food with out too much caution. I guess the lower immune system with pregnancy put me on a more normal playing field.

I will most likely start drug therapy today. Last night was crappy b/c Deacon was sick in the PM with some stomach flu and high fever, and I shared a sucker with him yesterday. I was up all night (b/c of my own nausea and b/c I wanted to hear if Deacon started learching) praying that I wouldn't get the vomitus maxumus so that I could help Brandon take care of Deacon.

Everything is better in the morning light, especially after Deacon and I both took hour-and-a-half-naps.

The worst of sinners

"Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners - and I am the worst of them! But here is why I was treated with mercy: so that in me as the worst, Christ Jesus could demonstrate his utmost patience, as an example for those who are going to believe in Him for eternal life. Now to the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever! Amen"
Words of Paul in 1 Timothy 1:15-17

I am both humbled and encouraged by this. Why do we ever become judgmental? Why do we ever get self-righteous or hide our sins from ourselves or others! The unending patience that Jesus shows me and the mercy to save me (the worst of sinners....have to be worst than Paul!) is a testimony...an example! Maybe one of the issues is how often we are not even around those who don't believe enough for us to be that example. Just a thought.

This makes me want to be bold in the mercy and grace of our Lord Jesus!

Be encouraged and urged on as I am.

Feeling Life

Gosh, it's been so long.

I am just getting to experience the COOLEST thing that I believe the Lord lets humans experience. I am growing a little baby inside of me.

When I was first pregnant, I was deathly ill. Then, the sickness went away, and I felt totally normal. I wasn't showing when I "should" have been (whatever that means), I didn't feel any different. In fact, I was thinner (thanks to the 1st 10 weeks or so), had more energy, and often times forgot that I was pregnant! Brandon would say, " you really shouldn't lift that much," or "make sure you are taking that vitamin" or something like that, and I would think..."Geez, that's right, I'm pregnant!"

Well, all of that is over now. I am growing rapidly now (can still wear most of my pants thanks to the initial weight loss) but it is very obvious that I am pregnant. To me and the rest of the world. The coolest thing is though, that I can actually feel this baby moving inside of me! I can feel it kick, roll, and push against one part of my belly. It is the strangest, coolest thing, and I don't think I will ever get used to it!

We went for a ultrasound a couple of days ago, and we were so pumped to find out the sex of the baby. Well, after 20 min. or so of looking at the heart, the bladder, the legs, the little arms and hands clenching and un-clenching around the face, they couldn't get a good look at the one place I really wanted to see! The really amazing thing is, is that I thought that I would be disappointed, but the pure joy of seeing that little one moving around inside of me, and that it was by all accounts healthy, far outweighed the disappointment of not knowing.

We may try again to check what we are going to have...so I will keep everyone posted. You know, I realize that so many women don't get the opportunity to actually feel their children in their womb. I must say, that as cool as it is, even that is overshadowed by holding that baby in your arms, and knowing that this is what the Lord has given you. This is His gift to steward. That is even better.

The Beginning of Work

Well, our first team of the season came on Monday night, and left for their sister church on Tuesday afternoon. We just fed them 3 meals. I have never worked so much or so hard in my life!

On Sunday, we worked ALL DAY hanging stuff up, making minor repairs, making curtains, setting up cots/tables/chairs, washing all of the 30 plates, bowls, mugs, cups, and silverware, as well as all of the pots and pans and plastic ware. Then we went grocery shopping for the all of the fresh food and food that couldn't be bought in bulk in the city. Then we unpacked the food. We went to bed about midnight that night.

On Monday, we worked ALL DAY cleaning vegetables (along with our 2 national staff) by scrubbing, rinsing, soaking in bleach, rinsing in filtered water, drying and putting them in plastic bags, re-cleaning the entire 3 story house, baking 2 loafs of bread, cooking vegetable soup for 16 people and assembling a garden salad, feeding the group, cleaning up after them, then putting up all of the bulk food items that were bought in Guatemala City. We went to bed about 11 that night. I woke up every time I moved because my body was aching all night.

On Tuesday, we worked only part of the day preparing breakfast, serving breakfast, cleaning up after, preparing lunch, preparing a snack for the group to take on the road, serving lunch, cleaning up after lunch, and spot cleaning the house after the group left. I went to bed at 8:30 last night.

All this with Deacon sick with an ear infection and spoiled from being held from the ear infection. Whew. My body is not prepared for this type of work/schedule! I keep thinking about the dozens of people that I know that work this hard day in and day out. They clean houses for a living, they mow lawns, they lay parking lots, they build houses, they run daycares! They work because they have to and they enjoy it. They get bored sitting at a computer to send/receive e-mails. And here I am, with 2 1/2 days of real physical, hard labor (hard for a pregnant lady) and I am achy and tired.

But the amazing thing is the kind of satisfaction after this kind of work. First of all b/c we got an amazing amount of things done in a relatively short time. Secondly, because everyone raved about the food and the team really enjoyed it! Finally, because we were getting to serve these missionaries who are coming to minister to a body of Guatemalan believers. They will be working in a village for almost 4 days and serving and loving and ministering.

Many times during the work, I would be complaining in my head. I would get frustrated at all of the work. Then the Holy Spirit would tell me that I was walking "in the flesh". I was assuming, even for those few moments, that this was all about me, my comfort, my desire to relax. The truth is, that it was a struggle to keep a servant's heart. An attitude of they are more important than me. And after all is said and done, I am getting to receive the peace and rest and getting to realize the value in having the attitude of Christ Jesus. God's way really is better. The team is coming back on Saturday for another 2 days, and I am getting excited to serve again. You can pray for me!

We're all ok!

(photo is not from here!) Well, we felt our first earthquake here in Guatemala. It isn't our first one, but it is the first one we've felt. We have had a couple of inquiries as to how we are doing so I wanted to fill you in on what happened.

It was a 6.8 earthquake off the pacific coast of Guatemala. At about 1:30 our time, we were getting lunch together when the gate at the foot of our stairs started rattling. Then all of a sudden a photo from the top of our TV fell down. It still didn't register what had happened. Then, when our hanging light fixtures started swaying Brandon said "This is an earthquake!" It was very cool b/c we could feel the house sort of swaying a little. Now don't get me wrong, it was extremely mild, and if we had been outside, we wouldn't have even noticed it. Deacon and I hung out under a support beam for next 15 seconds and then it was over! We have felt no aftershocks here or anything, and the picture that fell didn't even break.

So, all is well, and the Texas couple enjoyed the adventure.

An Exorcism By The Unemployed?

I hate it that it takes me so long to get to blog. When I have free time, it always seems to get taken up by something else!

I wanted to give an update. Thank you to all of you who prayed for my "morning" sickness. I am so much better now. I am still nauseated some days, and usually every morning and evening, but I am not laid out on the couch. I can take care of Deacon again, and take care of laundry. It is such a blessing to feel better. When you are so sick like that, you appreciate feeling well so much more! I know that there are so many people (like my dad)who feel bad all the time. I can't imagine.

I want to tell a quick story about a family that we went to visit. They live about 30 minutes away from our house and we were taking some food b/c they are very poor and the children are suffering. We just took some rice and beans, but they were very thankful. When we were there, we found out one of the reasons that this family was so poor. The father didn't work. He wouldn't. "if the Lord feeds the birds of the air, and clothes the lilies of field, how much more he loves us!" This is his response to why he doesn't work. He is a religious fanatic, that won't let his sick, hungry children have medicine.

Ok, while we are there, we are looking around their house and they of course have no appliance, or even a floor for that matter. They are cooking over fire inside of a building. We are standing in clouds of smoke as we talk to the father. There are two totally emaciated dogs with patches of fur missing roaming around our feet, and the barefoot children play with a broken plastic tea set in the dirt with a chicken or two. We listen to him recount a very interesting story:

He tells about a girl who came to visit him who was possessed with an evil spirit. He tells of the miracle of two of them praying over her and exercising the demon. He then takes us to the other room of their two room house and plays the audio tape of the exorcism. This room had two beds, one little side table, and an enormous loom. The beds had springs, but no mattresses, and just had blankets covering the springs. After a little while we turned the tape off and he told me how bad it was that I was wearing pants. He also was worried that we weren't saved and so he repeatedly gave us the gospel, telling us that bringing them food would not save us. When our Guatemalan friend told him that we were missionaries, he said that the Devil could get a hold of even missionaries.

Anyway, we finally left, and boy we felt bizarre! What a strange experience. The poor children are suffering because of their extreme father. The mother said that she doesn't want to have any more children b/c she doesn't want them to suffer like this. Anyway, you can pray for that family.

Oh, life in Guatemala

The other thing, is that we only understood about 1/2 of what the guy was saying, and so we totally missed the pants comment until our Guatemalan friend filled us in on the way home. She also said that the man called her daughter, who was wearing pants, a whore. Brandon thought the man had called ME a whore and turned around to go back but we found out he only thought I wasn't saved because I wore pants.

At least it's not boring.

And another makes 4!

Meet the newest member of our little family! Well, this is just a picture of a baby at 9 weeks, but...many of you know this already, but WE'RE PREGNANT!
My gosh we are so excited! The due date is either Dec 31st, or Jan 3rd, which really means absolutely nothing because it should really be a due fortnight or due month. If this baby comes in December, then...oh my gosh!
Dec. 18th - Deacon's birthday
Dec. 19th - my birthday
Dec. 25th - Christmas
Dec. 30th - anniversary

The other thing is that I am very sick. Way more sick than with Deacon. (maybe it means we're having a girl) Maybe that is silly. I would like some input on this. I am actually having to take meds for the nausea. I feel like I am on the verge of vomiting ALL THE TIME but can't. I can't get off the couch with out feeling the urge to rush to the bathroom. That is where the meds come in. Also, having lost 6+ lbs. in the last 2 weeks, it is time that I eat...even just a little. I am taking stuff that makes me so sleepy but that is better than so sick. So, that is the reason I haven't been blogging.

Now we just have to figure out the pre-natal thing. I wanted to have this baby at my mom's house with a midwife, and so we are trying to ask all the right questions. The Dr. that delivered Deacon says I have to be back no later than 5 months for him to take me. I may appeal that. I don't know. Luckily I have a couple of months to make any kind of decision.

This is a little random, because I am a little doped up, but well enough to type on the computer. So it's worth it. This part of pregnancy isn't as much fun because I don't look pregnant yet, only feeling it. Can't wait for that tiny little tummy pooch. (that is a pooch from the baby, not from...anyway)

Ok--talk to ya later.

ALERT THE ENVIRONMENTALIST!

Ok - Not really about the environmentalist, but I am curious as to their solution to this little situation.

There is a lady who works for us every afternoon doing "domestic" things. For a while now she had been asking for our plastic trash. I thought she was using the old containers to store things in, b/c she is poor, and tupperware is a bit pricey.

I was wrong.

She uses the plastics to suppliment the wood in her cooking, because wood is expensive and burns up too fast. SHE IS USING BURNING PLASTIC TO COOK OVER! Cancer anyone? She has a little girl that she is cooking for too.

Now here are the questions: Do I tell her how bad that is for her and her family? I really don't think she can afford to not use it, and is it better to be able to cook food now and possible get cancer later, or to avoid the plastic now? Will educating her on the subject just make her worry about something she can't change anyway?

To the Praise of His Glory

Ok...our stuff that we shipped from the US got here yesterday morning! I am just more than excited. The strange thing is, I was pretty settled with the simpleness of our lives. (very few decorations, crappy pots and pans, only a pack'n'play for Deacon, only a laptop) Now, we have so much stuff...documents, and CDs and boxes and boxes of books, and, and, and. I guess I just have this sense of uneasiness. Probably in part b/c we have so much to unpack and really not a lot of places to put stuff. It sort of sounds like I'm complaining. The other missionary couple here (the Coreanos) had their shipment lost - can you imagine, personal things that can't be replaced- and so I am soooo grateful to have all of these things to make this place more like "home". I just can't shake this feeling. Just sort of this tension...I guess it's just more "American" here now than it was before.

I read this thing on Joye Messerli's blog the other day about the difference between a humble and a proud person. I have to confess that I was shocked! I was amazed at how I had slowly slipped into a pattern of prideful behaviors! Prideful thinking! Of course no one says..."today I will begin a struggle with pride" but the enemy is so deft at gradual erosion. I guess it is one of those laws of physics...that everything, if left alone, eventually goes to disorder and death. Really that sums up my problem. I had left that area of my life alone. I wasn't vigilant to serve and pray for others and be humble. I mean, I have been reading my Bible, but even that was sort of about "me". Thanks Joye for that...the Lord used you to convict my spirit and in His mercy to repent. That being said...

In Ephesians it says that when we believed in Christ, we "were marked in Him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance" (1:13-14)

The question on my heart is: How is my LIFE marked? What evidence is there of this in my life? Maybe you think about that question a lot, but it's been a while for me. Physical tangible evidence that I have the seal of the Holy Spirit. Is it in how I love my family, serve my husband when I want him to serve me, invest in my baby when I want to put him in front of a cartoon so I can get something done? Is it in looking for ways (creative or otherwise) to lift up and encourage my fellow missionaries? Is it in serving the women that I hire to help in my house? Maybe it is in trusting God to allow my son to be a part of the culture when my "instincts" say it's not safe. I will be thinking about this question for a bit.

This question for me can be pretty self-deprecating until I finish reading that passage in Ephesians where it says that we are God's possession "to the praise of His glory" Again, even this is not about me. Praise God!

the Bus and the Puppy. (not realated)

Oh my gosh I don't even know where to start! It has been so long since I have actually sat down to type. I want to give everyone an update on what is going on here. I am still in language school each day for 4 hours (plus 1 hour in the bus - read on for a quick story about that!) We also have official jobs now. Mine is bookkeeper and I am "in charge" of the guest house. The reality is that my real responsibility is learning Spanish, but I know the direction that I will be going as my Spanish improves.

Oh, about the bus...I ride these minivans (micro-bus here) to school everyday. they hold 12 comfortably with everyone in a seat and the assistant standing, yelling out the window the destination to drum up business. Now this morning I got on the bus, and it had 17 people on it and I had to stand up. There are approximately 10 stops after mine before we get to my school, and I think we added people at every one of them! At one point, there was 25 people on that bus. That means I was standing as far back as possible with my rear end pressing against some ladies thigh (while some gentleman held my hot steaming coffee to keep it from scalding everyone at every lurch of the bus) and 5 more people standing, pressing against me. I really think one lady or maybe two were trying to sit in my lap, as I was bearing all of their weight with my little fingers frantically trying to grip the inside frame of the van, while white knuckled and perspiring. If you didn't know, I get very car sick.

Quite an adventure! Wanna come visit? :)

Ok...Now I will post photos of the precious puppy. Her name is Bella, and I think she is almost housebroken! Yeah! She has a tattoo of a number on the inside of her ear...something to do with registering her...does anyone know anything about that? Ok...be back soon.

Where's Jenny?

Hey everyone! I don't know if anyone reads this blog anymore...I haven't been on in a long time. I am getting ready to catch up on everyone's blogs. Not having internet has been really difficult! It is kind of odd how much we depend on internet in a third-world/developing country.
Well, I am fighting a monster sore throat, and missing my friends. All of the college girls, Jenny, Ruth, Constance....the entire playgroup. Ladies at CBC. Holly...man.
I am about to go to sleep b/c I get up every morning at 5:45 am to start the day. I just wanted to say "hi!" and I will be posting photos and videos of Deacon and our new puppy, Bella, soon. Let me know if you stop by.

Still here in Guatemala

I'm sorry that I have not been able to blog.

We were supposed to have internet at our house 6 weeks ago - welcome to Guatemala. I'll start blogging again when we get it - hopefully this week.

I have sop much I want to share with you all! I love you and miss keeping in touch with you all. Oh! My foot is better! almost....

We Miss Her

We found out Friday that Joan Floyd passed away.

I know if you knew her, you are missing her. If you knew her, you know how kind she was. How much of a servant she was to the women all around her. You know how she would laugh at all(or most) of her husband's silly jokes. You know that she loved her daughter and was so proud of the woman that she turned out to be. You know how strong and humble and selfless she was even when she was very, very sick. You know how the Lord used her and impacted a world of women that will have an eternal impact. You must also know already how the world is missing a piece of it's goodness now, a piece of it's faith, a piece of it's strength.

If you didn't know her, I am sorry for you. You missed out on an amazing work of God, and you should look forward to meeting her in Heaven.

To Paul and Stephanie - I wish that I knew how to heal your pain. You are grieving and we grieve with you. Your wife/mom made this world better. We love you in Guatemala.

INSIGNIFICANT FUTURE DETAILS

We are here in Guatemala City and have just purchased our new living room furniture at a Sears. A little surreal. Oh my goodness...Starting a house from scratch is such a fun challenge. I have my mom and my friends with some decorating know how (I am inept at it) looking out for some wooden furniture that we could have made here in Xela. So....if you see anything....let me know!

I want to let you in on my heart for a minute. Have you had a time in your life that was necessary and transitional? That is where we are. We are going to move in 2 months (we don't have much to pack) and we have to clean the new house and buy supplies, have furniture made, etc. At the same time, we are both in school for 5 hours a day meaning that one of us is gone for over 10 hours every day. We at this point don't really have much time to study the Spanish that we are learning in school, so language school is going slower than it otherwise would. I guess I am just feeling the culture stress thing. I don't want to be doing what I'm doing right now in terms of school. I just keep reminding myself that this is just a season. I just want it to go faster than it is going.

Right when we get started again on Spanish, we have to make a trip into the city for 4 days to get the topper put on the truck. We can't drive back to Xela on our own yet, so instead of leaving on Friday afternoon or even Saturday morning, we have to wait to follow another missionary back. This is for safety reasons. And when we are here, we have to stay at the Marriott (I am only half complaining about this one) because there is secure parking for the vehicles. It is like 3 times more expensive than staying at a hostel/bed and breakfast type room. I am enjoying the filtered water at the hotel though...I can brush my teeth with the water from the tap, and Deacon can't get a parasite from his bath! I am having a little pitty party here, and that is not my intention.

I know that the Lord is in front of us. I know that he is not surprised by our surprise trip to the city. I know that there are things that I must learn in His timing that I don't even know I need to know. In reality, it is hard to trust God when I am focused on me.

Please pray that for me: that I can turn my mind to things of God, and not get overwhelmed with the insignificant future details that God has already seen and dealt with. He is trustworthy. He is faithful.

Back Home?

Well, We are back in Guatemala. But we are in a town called Comitancillo (Comi) while we live in Xela! We were in our apartment for 5 nights before heading out to Comi to work for a week. We are having a good time though, and we are speaking Spanish a lot which is very good.

It has been so long since I last blogged because I hardly have any extra time with all of the travel. It's good to be back.

We have fantastic news! We have a house to rent! It is strange because we could never have a house like this in the states. We are sending a fantastic thank you to all of you who have prayed for us and supported us. God's provision is so complete! I want to tell you all about our house, and as you read it, please do a couple of things.


1: Please Thank God for it. Praise Him for it.

2: Please pray that God would help us to store up treasures only in Heaven, and that we would not become attached to the "things" that we have.







Ok. Our house is right next door to the Coreanos (the other missionary couple here with us with a 14 month old girl). This in itself is such an answer to prayer. It has a 2 car garage, which will fit our truck even with the topper on it. It is 3 stories with no yard. On the top floor is a divided balcony.










The first floor has the garage, a 1/2 bath, two living areas (later a homeschool room) and a large kitchen. The second floor has 3 bedrooms and 2 baths with built in closets in 2 of the rooms and the hallway. The third floor is the roof top patio with another bedroom and bathroom (designed for live in help). We will be putting movies of the house on youtube very soon and will post the links on my next blog.
















Anyway, this is more house than we know what to do with for $50 less per month than we are paying now for a 3 room guest house apartment with rat droppings! We are only going to pay the equivalent of $333.00 and there really is not another house that is this new and clean (even much, much smaller ones) for less. Praise God!

All that to say, we have plenty of room for you to come and visit! We start traditional language school next week, so we will each be in school for 5 hours a day as well as trying to look for and purchase some appliances and furniture for the new house. We are going to try and move into the house by the beginning of April. :)

Getting Better!

Well, I am home from the hospital after my surgery. I feel pretty much ok, so thank you all so much for your prayers! The really crummy thing is not being able to nurse Deacon for the day because of the anesthesia. At first, they were telling me that I couldn't nurse at all for 24 hours after the surgery...weaning Deacon in one 30 hour period is not ideal! I did some research and talked to the anesthesiologist once I was educated on the topic and I got the OK to pump and discard twice and then I could nurse. It was quite a battle with the doctors though! They just didn't want to take the time to do the research! It was just easier for them to say "no nursing!"

There is another thing that you could pray for. I am starting my 3rd day of only clear liquids and it is getting a little old. I won't complain because saints throughout history have fasted and prayed for various things. Now, I am in a forced fast, so I might as well make it spiritual! I want to use this time to pray and get refocused on the love and Christ and my purpose of serving Him.

A real rant

I will say upfront that I am sorry if this offends anyone.

I have a couple of pet peeves that I wanted to rant about.

The first is home births vs. hospital births. With Deacon, I had natural (meaning no medical intervention including drugs) childbirth in a hospital. It was wonderful. I had a blessed experience and would not have changed anything.
That was perfect for me. My issue is when other people have an issue with how people birth their babies. When I was pregnant, I experienced basically two kinds of women. Those who would say "you aren't going to get an epidural are you? You know that can hurt your baby!" and those who said "Natural child birth? What? Well I said that too with my first baby...ha...just wait! Would you go to the dentist and say 'don't want the anesthetic doc...i want this tooth pulled naturally'..." Now, those are the extremes and there were plenty of women who just kept their opinions to themselves, but when the opinion was given, it was like that person knew exactly what was best for me and Deacon.

What happened to grace? What happened to letting people be? Is not the important thing that babies are healthy and secondly that the parents have a good birth experience? I had several women tell me how awful hospitals were and how they would force things on me and how dangerous hospitals really are...Bologna! At least not at every hospital with every doctor. I was not forced into anything, and every one was wonderful and respected my wishes! I also had women tell me horror stories of friends who lost or almost lost their babies because they weren't in a hospital. Fine!

What ever happened to allowing a mom and dad to pray and ask the Lord for guidance and make choices that are right for their family with the applause from others for what ever decision they make. HOME OR HOSPITAL BIRTH IS NOT A MORAL OR BIBLICAL ISSUE...LET PEOPLE BE! augh. This has been building up for a while...and for the record, we will probably have our next baby at home.

The other issue is the home school/private /public school issue. Basically, it is the same as above. For some families and children, home school is the best option! It does not make them socially inept or "weirdos" unless they were already! It helps some children excel in ways that they would or could not otherwise! Think of the child prodigy at the violin, who gets to practice as much as they desire because math class only takes 1/2 hour because the teacher isn't having to pause to make sure every student understands. Or the person with learning disabilities who feels more stupid every day they are at school because they can't learn the way the other students do.

For other families, public or private school is better! There are single moms and other financial circumstances where it is just not possible for a mom to stay at home and school their children when public school is readily available. There are also children who thrive in a more public environment. I would have gone stir crazy in my house with my mom all day, and I can't imagine my life with out the high school choir that taught me so much about team work and discipline and friendship. If every Christian kid was home schooled, who would be the light in the classrooms!

All that to say...what do you care how Mr. and Mrs. Soandso decide to educate their children? Is not the important thing that they get an education to begin with? Let people trust God to lead them to what is best for their family, and let's all let the Holy Spirit be the Holt Spirit and stop trying to take over His job! By the way... we will most likely be homeschooling Deacon for a while at least.

Ok, bravo if you made it all the way through this. :) I needed to get that off my chest.

God Bless!
P.S. For all of you who have given me your opinions over the years concerning various things...please continue to give them. I will! And I know that beliefs of what is "best" stem from love and respect. My issue is more with criticism than with advice. Thin line I guess.

Plans Change

(Deacon and Pa-Pa in Lubbock)

Plans change. Well, we are staying in the states longer than we anticipated. I am having a minor outpatient surgery on Friday and so will stay in Lubbock for an extra week. Don't worry, everything is just fine, it is just a little thing that needs to get done...so we're doing it.

Any way, I still have mixed feelings. The longer that we are here, the more that I get "used" to American things that make life a little more comfortable. I don't want to get used to it. But, I am not going to complain about an extra week with my parents and other family. This will also give us some time to visit a few people while we are here.

Please pray for me. Please pray that I can be diligent to use this extra week to study spanish. Please pray that my little "procedure" goes well. Please pray that God will keep Guatemala "home" in our minds so that we can continue our transition there so that we don't start all over when we do return. 7 weeks in Guatemala...almost 4 in the states. WE NEED TO GET BACK. It will be a while before we come back again.