Just to whet your appetite...

Care package.

No real details yet, but fun tidbits of info from another culture to read about! And pictures of Missionary Man (and other things).

Tuesday Clinic:

"Went to another clinic today. This was about a 45 min drive over very rough roads into the country. Off the power grid. There was a small 4 room building the kids are going to school in. They stopped class when we showed up. We saw over 100 plus people there today. The missionaries are still all about relationships. This community has a small church there and James met the pastor and the struck up a friend ship. This clinic is the first such out reach into this area. Just to let you know how off the grid this place is, let me tell you what happened today."



Must have a pharmacy pic.



"A church sent to the missionaries several boxes of care packages to be used for an outreach like this. Each care package consisted of a ziplock gallon bag containing the following to be given away: a small terry cloth towel, a bar of soap, a hair pick, tooth brush and tooth paste, and a big bottle of shampoo. Every one coming to the clinic was to receive one of these ziplock care packages. The people handing out the bags found out that they had to tell people what to use the shampoo for!!, some of the people thought it was a beverage to drink......."



Slide into the ocean.



Wednesday Clinic: 
"Had a clinic today further along the coast. Had to drive almost an hour up the mountain and around a few hills, across a few rivers (small ones) and over some very rough roads. The building is a church. It doubles as school... So, James and Rachel started going to church there off an on and started visiting once per month doing a clinic... the church people are used to having clinics. This is the site the next team in 2 weeks will be going to... today we just say church members... There is even radio advertisement for the next clinic. It will be huge. "

"[Today's clinic] only went till mid-afternoon.... Then we went to... a restaurant that sits next to the ocean. The pavilion sits on the rocks over looking the ocean. The boys would have loved it because it had a slide (didn't work) that you could walk out onto (again slide part not working) and jump about 15 to 20 feet into the ocean. The water was that Caribbean color teal green... We didn't stay there long - just long enough to say we swam in the ocean. And yes, I jumped off the slide twice....No I didn't break anything." [Yea, he knew what I'd think when I read that last sentence. ;o) ] 

 

Always a dog picture.



A Different Kind of Testimony

Some of you on Facebook may have heard about the neat testimony in Mexico this week. God never ceases to amaze me. This was a trip that we were concerned about getting medications into the country. The missionaries sent out a request for prayer coverage. The meds arrived safely, then an unusual thing happened. The missionaries were robbed that night! Read below.

From J.P.
Mexico: Mon. treated 250 patients, at least 50 responded to gospel. Someone broke into church & stole several things (amazing not med equip). Next day a man came to clinic asking for a Bible, spoke w/ missionary, broke down, started crying, & confessed to breaking into the church. Missionary told him he was forgiven, shared the gospel w/ him, & he asked Jesus into his heart. He brought everything back! PTL!

"He is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we can ask or imagine, according to His power that is working in us." Eph.3:20

As one of my kids would say... "Cool beans!" :o)

Jealous, Zealous and Suitcases

How can something make you so proud and so sad all in the same moment?
I walk in the bedroom to look at stacks of stuff meticulously packed to use every inch of space possible in the suitcase. All the excitement of getting things ready for another medical trip suddenly makes me realize.... "I'm going to miss that guy while he is gone!" The kids are already hovering around him many times a day and asking when he will get back. Hugs get longer... (Sigh).

It is a strange mix of emotions to say the least. We are extremely proud that MM does what he does. We just are, well... jealous for his time and attention. We long for fellowship with our dad/ husband/ friend/chief breakfast cook/ and dishwasher. (Gotta' love a man not afraid to do dishes.) We are vigilantly protective of our time with him.



Feeling a little guilty of my jealous feelings this morning, I was praying and contemplating that term. The scriptures that kept coming to my mind were the ones proclaiming God as "jealous.” So, I looked them up....

Exodus 34:14 "For thou shalt worship no other god: for the LORD, whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God:"

Exodus 20:5 (King James Version)
"Thou shalt not bow down thyself to them, nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God..."

Then being the researcher I am, I had to look up the definition of "jealous." One of the definitions of jealous says... that it is to be "vigilant in protecting something" and "intolerant of disloyalty." The word comes from the Latin word for "ZEAL!" Then it hit me....

Our God is so zealous for our love that He jealously protects it.
We are so zealous for our love for MM that we jealously protect and long for it.

OK... guilt trip over. I am still sending him on an airplane soon to share his talents in another country where people are hurting. However, I feel just fine now knowing that I shall be jealously waiting at the terminal when he gets back with four kids in tow ready to pounce on him with hugs and kisses.

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NOTE: several trips heading out in the next couple of weeks, pray for all the teams in the various countries. Check out the www.hopethatheals.org for more details on trips.

February 2011

Word for the day...

1 Corinthians 13:6-7 (New International Version, ©2010)

"6) Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7) It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres."

Well, in a nutshell.... life has been busy! My brain and heart are so full, I think one more thing and one or the other just might explode. God is moving in hearts folks! I have stood back and watched and been amazed at some things going on in the lives of people. I think the best time in history to live is right where God has us. Here we are feeling insignificant and overwhelmed with the business of life... and "WHAM-O!" stand back and be amazed at the move of God in a way we just never would have though of ourselves. (more later on this...)

Well, pray.... Missionary Man is at it again. He is getting ready to fly out again and we need prayer coverage. I am taking more classes this semester so that consumes more time than I would like.  The little chick-a-dees are... well, not so little anymore.  They eat... they sleep... they eat... they grow... they eat..... You get the picture. 

I am working on being a better blogger. (I would absolutely love for someone who is techno savvy to feel free to volunteer to help me update the site and work on some email stuff. So, if you feel lead... message me.)