I am challenged.

We had a missionary couple over for lunch today. They told us they would come early, but we weren't expecting 8am, and I was in my pajamas with a messy house when they called at the entrance to our neighborhood. Um...I got ready pretty quick and things were ordered enough 3 minutes later when they arrived. It was such a blessing to have them here. They have been missionaries here for 57 years. Geez!(This is a photo of the Ekstroms: the couple mentioned above)

Anyway, I have been really challenged over the last month as to what kind of ministry the Lord has for me here. I of course am going to be ministering to my family and children. I wanted to write a bit about some ideas that I have.

1 - I want to get some sort of ministry going with the children in our neighborhood. Most (if not all) of them are Catholic and so we may begin a weekly craft and Bible story hour in our home with them. I will need to talk with their parents first, and I don't even know them all yet.
2 - I want to have a movie night over at our house once or twice a month with some university students. We only know a couple right now, but they have friends, and they might come to watch a movie (we have ton with Spanish sub-titles) and free snacks.
3 - A friend of mine attends a very small church in her community and has asked me to help with a children's program on Sunday mornings. We can't do that, because we want to get involved in a church closer to home on Sunday mornings, but I do want to maybe get some people together and maybe do some kind of training with them so that they can do some of the things that I would do. (I have a million craft ideas, etc)
4 - I met with a Guatemalan couple who live in a little town near us and they are working with CAM churches in the area, especially with young people. We are going to try to get together with them soon to get more information from them on the current needs among these churches. (I want to write more about this later, but I have to go give the kids a bath!)

We have quite a bit more language learning to do before I will start anything that will take up too much of my time, but there are plenty of things that we can do to get more involved in the community without interfering with our language learning.

Please pray for us that we could begin to get involved and have appropriate boundaries, and that the Lord would continue to challenge us!

An abandoned little girl

Well - We were waiting to find out more before we make it totally public. Right now it is looking 95% sure that we will have a new baby girl in our home for a time.

Exactly one week ago a newborn baby girl was abandoned here in Xela. A microbus found her at 5am with hypothermia, ants in her umbilical cord, an infection in her umbilical cord, and her cord had been torn, not cut (so the mother probably birthed alone). After some prayer and some thought, we have decided to be foster parents for this little girl.

When I read about her in the newspaper, I literally cried at the thought of a tiny baby being so alone and scared and sick. My friend was with me and we went to the hospital to get some more information about her. The social work office was closed so we had to go back the next Monday (This last Monday) They directed us to the child services judge and that office directed us to health and human services, but ultimately we found out that she will go to an orphanage. Our hearts can't handle that. We are the only people who have asked about her! After one week, not one person has inquired about taking care of this baby. It has been in the papers almost everyday and still no one is interested!

I am going on Monday to take a copy of my residence status to the office and after that I think we will become foster parents. Now, it still may be several weeks before we actually take her home from the hospital. I am going to try to nurse her, and if she can't latch on then I will pump as much as I can so that she can have breast milk.

there are so many things going through my mind right now. 1st is when am I going to sleep? I am already a little tired most days. 2nd is am I going to be able to make enough milk for both babies? 3rd, we have many things to get before welcoming another baby in our home: clothes, another car seat, maybe a nanny to help me deal with 2 babies...who knows? 4th What happens if we take care of her for a very long time and then some other family adopts her? Can I deal with that loss? 5th Can we travel to and from the states with her? 6th What things might be wrong with her...fetal alcohol syndrome, any number of things that can go wrong with poor prenatal care? 7th WHAT ARE WE GOING TO CALL HER? She doesn't have a name right now.

So many of these things are unknown, but none of the unknowns mean that we can let this little girl go to an orphanage with so many other children and so few laborers. It is not very often in ones life that they get to do something that has such a significance. How blessed we will be to get to sacrifice for the life of a baby.

Please pray for us. Please pray that the Lord leads us as we try to figure out the best things to do. The Lord knows where this baby belongs. We will keep everyone updated.

A little look at Guatemala

Well, we are home. This is my first morning at our house without my mom here. I miss her incredibly. There are still so many things to get done, as everything here takes longer.

I am sitting here drinking my instant decaf with international delights hazelnut creamer, with the cable TV on in the living room on wireless Internet. Doesn't really sound like Guatemala, does it? (We need Internet for Brandon's work, and cable and Internet only comes packaged together in our neighborhood...you can't just have Internet!) I honestly enjoy life here better without the cable, and I guess if I really wanted to, I could just unplug the cable. sigh.

Today, we are going to take the dog to get groomed (any idea how often you should wash a lab, I have heard everything from once a week to only twice a year?) I have mountains of laundry to wash and hang on the line before the rains begin (around 1pm). We have a layer of dust that collects on everything that must be cleaned off, and sometime this week we have to find someone to work for us here in the house.

This whole post started because I wanted to share something that I saw in Guatemala City yesterday. There was a motorcycle with 4 people on it. A man driving, a toddler behind him, and behind them, a woman holding a baby in her arms. And the only one wearing a helmet was the woman on the back. That is not an uncommon site here in Guatemala. One of my friends here has a baby the same age as Madeline and has a car but no car seat. And one of her good friends just lost her 8 month old son and father in a car wreck because her baby was in her arms. In her case, it's not because she can't afford it (although I know that that is often the case) . I can only pray that the Lord protects the little ones here. The little ones that don't have basic hygiene, car seats, helmets, health care, vaccines, clean water, or even 2 parents.

Anyway, I guess I better get started on the laundry. God bless!

We have met some dear friends here at CIT. So dear that we let them throw our son around. They guy on the left is Paul, an engineer going to serve in Kazakhstan and Brian is going with his wife to Peru. Actually, they are like Big Brothers to him (actually changed a nasty diaper) and helped him do boy things like find caterpillars and beetles. Grandmothers - don't get upset. Everyone is fine.

A cute laugh.

This is our sweet Madeline being so cute! This is her second time to laugh. It is amazing what parents will do to get their babies laughing! Maybe you will think this is as cute as we do. (Notice she gets poked in the eye at the end!)

Fun at Grammy's

This is the kind of thing that goes on at Grammy's. Deacon had as much fun with Madeline riding it at he did while he was riding!

For those of you that remember the walker on the incline at the guest house in Guatemala will be glad to know that Brandon never took his hands off of Madeline the entire time.

Man, are we thrill seekers or what?

What a Beauty!

This is a little slide show of our Beautiful Madeline. We are really enjoying her! Let us know what you think! If you want to see them individually, just click on "View All Images" and it will redirect you. We're a little proud.

Oh, They are So Different!

The one on the top is Madeline, and the one on the bottom is Deacon. Now, in these pictures it is not as evident as in others, but these two babies look alike! I mean, she doesn't look like Deacon does now, but she looks like Deacon did when he was a couple of days old! It is strange. Deacon was 24% larger at birth than Madeline, and his head was MUCH larger, so that is a major difference, and Deacon was broad chested while Madeline isn't. They just look so much alike to me.

But they are nothing alike. I have been amazed at how different these two kids are, even in the 6 days that I've known Madeline. Let me list the differences that I have noticed so far:

1) Deacon was huge, Madeline is small
2) Deacon would only sleep and wake in 45 min. bursts, while Madeline sleeps 6 hours, is awake for 2....waking to eat of course.
3) Deacon would burp after eating, only to then projectile spit up. Every time he would eat, he would spit up copious amounts of milk large distances. Madeline hardly ever spits up, and when she does, it just sort of dribbles down her cheek.
4) at 2 days old, Deacon would stand up in you lap (his legs were ridiculously strong) and lift his head for short bursts. Madeline only picks her head up for milliseconds.
5) Deacon HATED being on his tummy. Madeline would sleep on her tummy if we let her.
6) Deacon was a spaz....he was constantly in motion unless he was swaddled. Madeline will just sit and stare without moving her limbs for minutes at a time
7) Deacon had to be swaddled...very tight....to sleep. Madeline gets upset if she's swaddled and wants her arms free.
8) Deacon was fussy...he had reflux and so cried and boy-hydee it was loud. Madeline hardly ever cries and is generally pretty quiet...as far as babies go that is.
9) Deacon had (has) very fat, thick feet, while Madeline has skinny, narrow feet.

It is really amazing. She was calmer in the womb, and she is calmer out. I am sure some of it is boy/girl stuff, and some is just personality.

I can't wait to get to know her better. I can't wait for all of you to get to know her. Praise God for individuality. It is interesting how much I had assumed about her based on my experience with Deacon. I never thought about what life would be like with a little, calm, easy baby girl. How fun! I'm going to go to sleep pretty soon. Madeline is in an awake time now. Thanks Brandon for entertaining our baby for a few minutes so I could sacrifice some sleep to blog a bit.

Guess what happened

This time yesterday....


at 9:56 am

January 6 2007

7 lb 3oz Madeline Lea came into our world. Welcome, little one.




Everyone is doing fine. We're a little tired. Or a lot. Everyone is healthy and good. And Deacon is excited about his baby sister. Like she's a puppy. Jenny's water broke at 12:45 am, Sunday and things moved along normally. Thank you for all your prayers.

Here's a few more pics:

Too much cake? NEVER!

I felt this same way, I think.


There are so many things that I want to blog about. I wanted to blog on my son's birthday about him. I wanted to blog on my birthday about life. I wanted to blog about Christmas. I wanted to blog about the New Year and all that jazz. I wanted to blog about my incredible husband on our anniversary. I wanted to blog about passing my due date and still carrying this baby (as of now I am still pregnant). I just don't get much time on the computer!

So for now, this will have to do, until I can get caught up. I am going to try to blog tomorrow about at least a few of those things previously mentioned. I am also going to catch up on reading everyone's blogs. I just get updated from Brandon, but that just isn't the same.

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.

Stateside

I am not sure how it feels to be here in the good old US of A. I mean I am glad to be here for the holidays, and I am SO enjoying my family and the very cold weather. I like the food and the ease of living (like microwave noodle dishes) as well as flushing my toilet paper.

I miss Spanish. I miss my friends there. I miss the mountains and the walks to the bread store and well...I miss Guatemala.

Really, I don't want to take any steps back in terms of our adjustment to the language and the culture. Everyone said that we would, and I really don't want to.

So, for the moment, I will enjoy where I am. I will enjoy my family and the fellowship and the Holiday season.
And then, I will enjoy going home after the holidays.

Please tell me where you are, and tell me why you enjoy it! I look forward to hearing about it!

Merry Chrismass!

holding down the fort!

This post was written yesterday: Saturday

Ok, so we don't actually have a fort. It's more like a hideout, but I'm holding it down as best as I can.

Brandon and the Coreanos left yesterday morning to go to Comi to do some work with some sister churches and to have some meetings. Honestly, at first I didn't want to go because if I did, then either Marissa or Deacon would have to go with out a car seat (not room). I struggled and struggled with whether or not I should go. I asked the Lord for clear direction, I sought wise council...but still I struggled with the decision.

Well, the day before they had to leave, I woke up with this incredible sense of clarity! There was no way I could go, because we are leaving for the US on Monday, and that would only leave me Thursday (Brandon and I are both in school that day) and Sunday to get ready to leave the country. There just wasn't time for me to go. (Brandon ended up skipping school that afternoon and we went on a date - need to write about that soon - it was fantastic!)

Anyway, I am still no clearer about the car seat thing. A wise old man (wink) told me that car seats are a false sense of security. Do I trust in the car seat, or in my God to take care of His children? I struggle with this point...why isn't the car seat God's provision for safety, and it is foolish to not use one unless absolutely necessary? This wasn't a necessary trip. Anyway....I would love your thoughts on that. I am not sure if I am just lacking faith in this area or not.

That was really a side bar. I am here alone in the guest house (last night there was not another person here) and the power goes out. I had just put Deacon to bed and I was standing in the bathroom (PITCH BLACK) when I remembered my brilliant husband had put a candle and matches in there just in case. Yeah! I was saved. The power came on and off many times, and finally stayed off for a couple of hours until I went to bed.

Then, Deacon woke me up at 7 with throw up all over his sheets, his blankets, his stuffed toy, his hair and his pajamas. Le-sigh.

The only other person here was still asleep, and Deacon needed his sheet washed (I only have one) and a bath. Then...the power goes out again.

We're all O.K. now, and God provided the help I needed with Eloisa (the woman who owns the guest house)

Deacon is feeling better since the Advil took the fever away, the sheets are washed, Deacon got a bath, and Brandon is coming home tonight! Yeah! I even got a tad bit of laundry done! (and obviously time to blog)

These days keep me dependent. I would take them any time. For the moment, I am holding down the fort, thanking God that I have a husband who is alive and well and a part of our lives and who will be home soon.

P.S. For all of the single mom's out there, my heart goes out to you, I pray for you, and I am proud of you.

"Evangelicals scare the _____ out of me"

Ok, talk about grace...

Why is it that I, being a redeemed child of the light, with the Living God dwelling in me, sin so often. And yet, I can be so critical of the unregenerate person living in darkness who sins?

All it takes is some time around judged people who are scared of you when you say you are a Christian to get you out of your "splinter in other person's eye" state of mind.

I was chatting with a girl at the language school who in all honesty didn't really look much like a girl (I had already made some judgments about her based on that). I was trying to get to know her because I am the "good missionary." She seemed closed off and timid around me. She had already heard that I was a missionary.

Then she asks why I am here, to which I tell her that I work with evangelical churches in the US and here in Guatemala, to which she says "so, tell me about your religion".

WHAT? HAS ANY PAGAN EVER ASKED YOU THAT QUESTION?? What a great question. That gave me an opportunity to tell her the entire gospel...not the legalistic get your life "good" to be acceptable to God crap of her past, but the true gospel of freedom and life and blessing in the fold of God.

She told me that evangelicals scared the F*** out of her (sorry for the language, that is what she said) because they are the ones who abuse her and protest her very existence. That is when her lesbian friend joined her and chimed in with a hearty agreement. My heart broke.

Their problem is NOT their attraction to other females. It isn't any promiscuity that they exhibit or the blatent sexual undertones to their daily lives.

Their problem is that they don't know Jesus the Savior and Redeemer. They don't know the freedom that they can have from themselves in a life of submission to Christ. Geez!

Well, I told them truth. The Spirit of God spoke to their hearts (and I don't say that lightly) and they opened up to me. They lost the fear of me when they knew that I wasn't there to bring condemnation, but good news.

They did not repent of their unbelief or their homosexuality, but they now know at least one evangelical Christian that is not protesting them, but loving them.

Grace at it's core is letting people be. Not being the world's personal Holy Spirit and letting God do the convicting and us the loving.

reading

I am inept at HTML so I can't figure out how to put the Thanksgiving picture in the correct place.

Ok, there are two new blogs to read, so make sure to look at both. This first video is of my precious baby reading. Books are his toy of choice right now, and sometimes if he is playing by himself we will "catch" him with a book open, pointing to the pictures and blah-dah-ing. It is sooo cute!

I also wanted to tell you guys about our Thanksgiving here. It was really fun and really strange. It did make me feel a real sense of longing for my family and friends in the states. Like, we had to explain what cranberry sauce is for because they don't eat it!

It was fun though because we got to explain to a bunch of Guatemalans the reasons we celebrate Thanksgiving, and got to basically share the gospel with people over turkey and black beans.
It just really makes one appreciate things.

Ok, I shared the gospel of Jesus with two lesbians the other day and with one 45 year old bachelor non practicing catholic (in English). All in one day! I will write all about that (hopefully) tomorrow or the next day. That was very cool.

The Market

The second video is of the second largest market in Central America in a town called San Fransisco. That may have been the strangest thing I have ever seen. So many things made me so sad, like the this particular part of the market. They were selling live animals, and this may sound strange, but the animals just looked sad. Even my teacher who was with me said so.

Anyway, it was cool, and I rode a "chicken bus" which is basically a school bus with a BUNCH of people, some chickens (listen carefully in the video and you can hear them), and a pig on the roof.

The best part was that I didn't get car sick because God is good and spared me. It is the only explanation.

Mission Work

This is Deacon and Marissa at the Guest House where we live. My mom said she wants an adult version. The kids love it! You can see that it is pretty cold here.

We have not officially started Sister Church work with our mission agency because we are in language training, but boy do we feel like missionaries. Most of the teachers at our language school are Catholics and may or may not be believers. There is a dutch girl who lives in the guest house as well, and she is a self proclaimed "non religious person". There are lost people all around us.

Brandon had the brilliant idea of reading the Bible with his Spanish teacher in order to practice Bible vocabulary words and such. They are going to read for 10 min. every day. I am going to steal his idea.

I feel like I never have before the burden to evangelize and serve in the name of Christ.

I find myself looking for ways to make life better and easier for the people I know here so that they will know more about the character of the True and Living God.

Why did it take me coming here to get that. What a shame that so much time was wasted in the states where I had neighbors who spoke the same language.

Please let that be an exhortation to you. Don't waste the time that you have in the spheres of influence that you are in.

This is not our home...it is easier to be a missionary on the mission field, but the reality is that we are all missionaries.

We love you.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is strange to be in a place where they don't celebrate Thanksgiving. We sort of forgot that it was coming because there was no paper turkey's in the windows, no plastic pilgrim centerpieces or bags of colorful gourds in the store. (they have all kinds of gourds and melons in the market but not packaged for fall decorative purposes)

But, boy I am thankful. Really, really thankful.

I mean we are here in Guatemala in maybe the most beautiful country in the world and we have been provided with everything that we could need and most of what we could want. Like today, I had Deacon by myself while Brandon was in school. I was in my sock feet and was holding Deacon as I walked from one room to the other on tile floors. I slipped and fell pretty hard, but the way I was holding Deacon, he was perfectly OK. I mean, he fussed because it scared him, but it could have been a disaster, but the Lord was with me, and kept Deacon from harm. Will God always keep him from harm? Most likely no, but today He did, and I am thankful.

We are actually going to have a full fledged international Thanksgiving Dinner with the inhabitants and guests of the guest house where we live. I am cooking the turkey (for the first time in my life, so I will let you know how it turns out) and the dressing (if we can find the ingredients at the market here) and I am so excited. We will have dutch food as well as the obvious Guatemalan food.

It is a little surreal, but we can't wait. I know this is probably tradition in all of your homes, but since we are not with the rest of our family I would like to do it here...let us know what you are thankful for. I want to hear how God has provided for you!

Land of Contrast

Ok...it's been a while but I'm still here. Things are actually great! Language school is so fantastic. It is 5 hours of one on one language study and there is absolutely no English! I mean, I guess I can look up words in a dictionary that has English in it, but no speaking English. I am amazed at how little and how much I know. I am picking up the vocabulary pretty well, but I still can only talk in present tense with regular verbs. None of that future subjunctive cr*p, whatever that is.

Anyway I want to talk a bit about this amazing country. It is certainly a land of contrast! (see picture) Like...you can get free high-speed internet at the McDonald's, but you can't find pasturized milk!

The water is basically poison, but you can buy bleach at the Hiper (Wal-mart) a few miles away.

You can't flush the scented toilet paper, but at least it smells pretty (the TP that is.)

A bag of chips is like 7 cents, but pepto costs a fortune!

at 9 a.m. you need a sweatshirt and hat, at 1 p.m. you are sweating in a t-shirt, and at 4 pm you need your winter hat again.

You can get prescription drugs at the pharmacy with out a prescription but you can't buy baking soda or corn meal at the grocery store. (no sage that I can find, either...and I need it for Thanksgiving dinner!)

We bathe deacon in bottled water so that he won't die from parasites (possibly an overstatement, but maybe not)

He-He... All that to say, every day is an adventure. We like it here. We are making it our home. Deacon is making friends "Que LINDO!" (literally "it's nice" but it loses something in the translation because it means..."he is so cute!")

Noticing

We went for a walk today around Comi. This is a Mayan town. The signs around town read in both Spanish and Mam. (TXAQ TE K'OK' SBI'L: "spices" in Mam)

It was only a 20 minute walk, but it was so cool to see this world in such a different way. I have walked through Parker Square and looked in windows and walked around the block where we lived in Flower Mound, and never really noticed what I was looking at.

It is easier to notice when you are a foreigner. Here, everyone stares at us and some smile expectantly and some shrink back timidly and some beg you with their eyes.

We watched a soccer game and bought a bag of cheese puffs for cinquenta centavos (like $0.07 US) and tried not to get lost.

I can't help but wonder if we will always get those looks. Maybe someday these people with know us and love us and share their lives with us. I hope so.

But at the same time, I don't think I ever want to stop noticing.

Seriously...go to www.skype.com and download skype! We can talk or video phone for free! Then send us your skype name.

What is REALLY going on.

I have blogged some now about our trip and the events that we have encountered. I wanted to write a bit about what is going on in my heart.

I am more conflicted now than I have ever been. I get these glimpses of the beauty and need of this country and I desire to stay and work and love and give. And then there are the times that I just feel alone, and out of place, and sort of like a baby sister that gets taken around because the parents say it must be so.

My pride is swollen and injured here where I can't do really anything for myself and am at the mercy of everyone else. I know exactly what the problem is. I am self centered and self indulgent and prideful. I don't want to need others. Boy, am I the picture of the holy missionary or what?

Now to the good news.

I know that the Lord brought our little family here for His purpose. I expected this to be difficult, but I have been surprised in that I wasn't expecting it to be difficult in the areas that it has been.

Spiritually I find myself struggling to stay dependent. Is that happening in your life in the states? (I almost said your life at home, but that isn't home anymore...this is)

We are here for the long hall, and I am excited about that as well as aprehensive, and I know that I have barely scratched the surface. Praise God for the Coreanos that they are here to be our friends and our helpers and His provision for us. Their difficulty has made it possible for us to avoid them. Please pray God's blessings on them as they have served us here in the past 6 months by paving the way.

Sick and Tired.

Goodness. Today has been an adventure! We were supposed to drive from Guatemala City through Xela (shayla) where we will eventually settle for a while, and on to Comitancillo (Comi) to a mission house (the Casa) where we will be for 3 days while a short term sister church team visits their sister church. That would have been a 4 hour drive to Xela and then another 2 to Comi.

Well...all that to say that we are sitting here at the guest house in Xela boiling water for Deacon's bath and typing on our blog.

I forgot to take Dramamine until we were already on the road and so I started feeling very sick very soon. Apparently Deacon also gets car sick because He threw up about 15 minutes outside Guatemala City...all over his car seat...strawberry yogurt...so nasty.

After we got him and the car seat sort of cleaned up, (Thanks Chrissie and Enrique) we started back on the road. I started feeling more than puny. I was worried that I had a bug. I threw up in some town 1 1/2 hour outside of Xela. At least I didn't eat strawberry yogurt. The next 1 and one half hours were the longest that I can remember. Labor was shorter I think!

We decided not to drive the next two hours to Comi today, and will attempt it again in the morning. The rest of the team went on and Chrissie and Marissa (their one year old) stayed here with us.

The good news is that we got to see the apartment...you read that right...the apartment that we will be living in as soon as it is finished. Oh,my gosh, it is cool. More on that another day.

I actually started feeling much better once I was out of the vehicle for 30 minutes or so, and Deacon never got sick again, Praise Yahweh!

All is well. We are blessed to be here in this GORGEOUS town (we are right now sitting on a screened in porch in 55 degree weather drinking tea) and able to rest.

I am looking forward to making this our home. I love you and miss you.

We're Here: a Summary

Ok. I just blogged about 2 pages about our trip so far, and then I screwed it all up and lost it some how. That is just fitting.

Sigh. I don't have the energy to retype the whole thing. Here's a summary

We had to pay for 2 extra bags that we shouldn't have had to pay for.
We got here safe.
We have eaten at a chili's, an Italian food restaurant, and McDonald's a few times, as well as one incredibly amazing steak placed "Hacienda Real" if you ever come. So yummy!
Deacon has the runs.
We leave for a little town called Comitancillo (or Comi) in the morning.
We will either have internet access there, or not until next Sunday.
I miss you desperately.
Deacon is sleeping through the night.
They don't have baby food here that isn't loaded with sugar.
We're tired and Deacon still doesn't nap.
We REALLY need to learn Spanish.
God is so good and I love Him more now, but please pray that I would live dependently on Him.

Can't wait to blog more. Please drop us a line (a blog comment that is or an e-mail) as we feel very isolated here.

Download Skype on your computers from Skype.com and send us your skype name and we will try to skype you!

We love you all so much.