54% monthly for 2013

We have received a few more gifts here in January and are currently at 54% of our needed monthly support!  I am so thankful.  Please keep spreading the word!  Sometimes it is hard after the first push to keep getting the word out to find more supporters, but I know that God is going to provide.  I welcome your help and I am always happy to answer questions via email or telephone if someone is interested, just let me know!  THANKS! :)

Rest

I do not feel like I am currently in a time of rest.  Quite the opposite in fact.  I feel like my days are full and never quite long enough as I care for girls and babies and a ministry as a whole.  We are doing all the things for the store that come with a new year, paying taxes and getting books counted.  I am cleaning and organized and planning and settling my house for the start of my family.  I am planning a wedding.  And I am still trying to be part of my team and a friend and a daughter and and…

In the midst of all of that I read a friend’s blog this morning.  She is in a time of rest and it was just such a sweet reminder that God ordains every one of our days, every one of our seasons.  Whether it is a time of business or rest, it comes from the Lord and HE is going to use it for our good and to give glory to Him.  We simply need to trust…  and one day I will be in a time of rest and that is always harder for me than doing.  So hopefully I’ll be able to remember.

There is no music during a musical rest, but the rest is part of the making of the music. In the melody of our life, the music is separated here and there by rests. During those rests, we foolishly believe we have come to the end of the song. God sends us times of forced leisure by allowing sickness, disappointed plans, and frustrated efforts. He brings a sudden pause in the choral hymn of our lives, and we lament that our voices must be silent. We grieve that our part is missing in the music that continually rises to the ear of our Creator. Yet how does a musician read the rest? He counts the break with unwavering precision and plays his next note with confidence, as if no pause were ever there.

God does not write the music of our lives without a plan. Our part is to learn the tune and not be discouraged during the rests. They are not to be slurred over or omitted, nor used to destroy the melody or to change the key. If we will only look up, God Himself will count the time for us. With our eyes on Him, our next note will be full and clear. If we sorrowfully say to ourselves, “ There is no music in a rest,” let us not forget that the rest is part of the making of the music. The process is often slow and painful in this life, yet how patiently God works to teach us! And how long He waits for us to learn the lesson.  -John Ruskin, Streams in the Desert,  January 22

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My face is shining upon you, beaming out Peace that transcends understanding. You are surrounded by a sea of problems, but you are face to Face with Me, your Peace. As long as you focus on Me, you are safe. If you gaze too long at the myriad of problems around you, you will sink under the weight of your burdens. When you start to sink, simply call out, “Help me, Jesus!”  and I will lift you up. The closer you live to Me, the safer you are. Circumstances around you are undulating, and there are treacherous-looking waves in the distance. Fix your eyes on Me, the One who never changes. By the time those waves reach you, they will have shrunk to proportions of My design. I am always beside you, helping you face today’s waves. The future is a phantom, seeking to spook you, Laugh at the future! Stay close to Me! – Jesus Calling, January 15

Retreat

This past weekend Jennifer and I had the chance to go away for a night with Oneyda and Aurora, our two house moms.  They work hard and we are so thankful for them!  They treat this as far more than a job… they love the girls, point them to Jesus, invest in their lives in all areas, treat the babies as part of their own families, and know that the Lord has put them in this ministry for a great purpose.  And yet… it makes a person weary to be fighting with and for these girls every day.  Some days we see great strides in their hearts and sometimes it is little steps forward or even backwards.  It was good to have a few days to be reminded of the big picture and what the Lord is doing. 

Also.. I forgot to mention, but the 25th was PDE’s ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!  More to come on that later.  But it was good for us to reflect on the last year… the changes we have seen and the blessings that the Lord has given to us.  I really want to share some of those things, so we’ll have to do another blog post!

We started studying the book, “Shepherding a Child’s Heart”.  I am so sad that I have not been able to locate the video series in Spanish, I’m not even sure it exists.  But the material is so good.  We were able to talk a lot about idols of the heart and how the affect the girls, and babies, behavior.  For me it is just so good to see the deeper issues and try to remember to speak to them as we counsel and discipline.  But oh there are days that try our patience and it is easier to just aim for behavior management.  But it doesn’t help, or show a heart change, or help us remember to point them to Jesus.  We want them to love and worship Jesus and know Him in a very real way.

Sunday was also Oneyda’s birthday.  We wanted to celebrate so I had made her a cake.  Sadly this guy came out in the middle of the night and nibbled his way through it… However as Oneyda pointed out… it cost him his life when he came out to try to steal cake the next night and found himself in a trap!  Jennifer went to buy another cake afterwards on our way out of town so that we could celebrate together.  But cake was not to be… this one got dropped on the way out of the car!  Alas… we still ate cake at the beach and enjoyed a good time together :)

So thankful for these women and the way they love on our kids!

Life in January 2013

This will be a blog post to come back to, just to remember what my life was like at this point in time.  I feel like it is true to say that life ebbs and flows in times of rest and busyness.  Right now is a busy time for me.  I am getting married!  Also getting ready to be a mom, doing ministry, doing paperwork, managing finances, looking for a house, settling thing with my new car, taking the house moms on a retreat, looking for 2 new girls, thinking about visas, checking out schools for bilingual kindergarten, counseling girls, thinking through discipline, raising support, trying to get a store back on track, and then there is just the normal…eating, sleeping, etc.  And that is how I feel like life is these days, all mixed together.  Everything is a big pot of stew with one thing blending right into the next and the  blog is on the back burner in its own pot not getting touched at all! :)

But I would like to give a few updates for you and I will try to put them in sections so they make sense…

Getting married.  The wedding is 5 Saturdays from yesterday, what?!?  Where did time go?  But I’m very ready.  All of the big details are in place, but there seem to still be a thousand little things all the time.  Lesther is wonderful and continues to be so, although he did meet me at the airport with his new pet squirrel.  Have I mentioned that I hate pets?  But he promised me it wouldn’t ever live at our house and after laughing and crying at the same time because I was so tired I can be excited for the kids that they have this nasty little animal at grandma’s house to feed bananas to and enjoy.  He and I have been visiting schools for Nicolle and found a bilingual school that we love where we will enroll her next week.  Angel will continue in Spanish private school this year while we work on English at home.  We found a house!  It is in the neighborhood where we want to live and we love it.  It will be available in April, so we’ll stay in my current house for a month, which actually means less pressure to go out and buy things and nest right away.  But nesting, I’m already doing it, trying to figure out how to make the kids feel at home right away and transition us as a family.  We are praying a lot for our future, really enjoying pre-marriage counseling, and continue to grow as we get to know each other in light of the Gospel.

PDE is doing great.  Jennifer is such a blessing as she keeps my head on straight in ministry.  We leave this afternoon for a 24 hour retreat with the house moms for some rest and relaxation and also training time.  Pray for us please!  Y started with a psychologist this month and I think it is going to be really healthy for her.  It is expensive and time consuming, but all-together worth it.  She is still working at the salon as an intern there and learning how to be responsible to arrive on time, do her job well, follow instructions, and not take things too personally.  They love her, she is learning quickly the beauty skills that she needs, and she does great with the customers.  C just registered for her second semester of college and will start in February.  She is busy learning how to make hairbows and jewelry and anything else she can get her hands on.  This month she found her mom and saw her for the first time in 9 years!  Praise the Lord for forgiveness and reconciliation and continue to pray for them as they build a relationship.  The babies are growing and talking more and doing great!  We still don’t have any new girls for the home and I am learning to trust the Lord that He will provide in His time.

Support raising is kind of at a standstill at the moment.  I am in need of about $400/month personally to make up for lost supporters over the last 3 years and PDE needs about $1500/month to be fully funded.  If you would like to give, the account numbers are 13520 for me personally and 92413 is for PDE.  Thanks!

Family

I love that my family gets together when I’m home!  They all live close together, the furthest is my grandparents and they are 3 hours away and moving closer :)  I am pretty much the lone ranger here venturing outside of NC.  But selfishly I love it because it means that I can go visit one place and see all of the people that I love.  I told Lesther after this visit home, I can’t wait for him to come and meet my family, he has no idea :)  It is biological family, church family, psuedo-family… he is going to be overwhelmed, but I know that he will love finally meeting everyone!

Wedding Celebrations

Last week I was in NC for a bunch of different reasons, but one of the perks was that I got to have a shower at Peace Church with some of my favorite people!  Many thanks to those who planned and put together such a sweet time with friends and family.

While I was home I was struck with just how amazing it is that I have lived outside of the US for almost three years and yet I have this sweet community of people who I go back to every time I get to visit.  It is a church family, but more than that.  Many of these people don’t even go to the same church anymore, but they are still my roots and my church family.

I loved seeing all these girls from the youth group who most of them are now in college… what?!?  I’m so proud of them!

Thank you for making me feel so loved and cared for and blessed.  God used you all to be such an encouragement to me.  THANK YOU!

NEW CAR!

Its not like it had no purpose, after all the PIT brought Lesther and I together.  Without that mess of a car I would never have spent so much time with my mechanic, found out he loved Jesus, and ended up falling in love with him!  God certainly knows what He is doing.  But that car was also the source of stress, debt, stranded moments on the side of the road, and oh so much upkeep.  So it is with a happy heart that I said GOODBYE yesterday to the Red Ford Escape and hello to my new favorite car in the world.

Its a 2005 Pontiac Vibe that is all Toyota under the hood and only has 50,000 miles!  I don’t have to put water in the radiator every morning or listen to the squealing in the front right tire wondering when I will have the money to fix it.  And I’m the first driver in Honduras, which is great!  The very best part… they gave me money for my car too… and took it away!

Thank you to all who helped financially so that I could get a reliable car!!!  I am SO grateful :)

Still moving towards our goal… 52%

Thanks so much for your continued support!!!!!!! :)

Personalities

Last night I picked up the the girls and Dona Oneyda and we headed off for a quick evening gallivant on the beach.  It was so fun and so relaxing.  The weather was perfect, until it started raining, and the babies were being cute as ever.  They have changed so much, so I thought I’d take a minute to give an update on them.

J’s little personality is coming out all over the place.  She is stubborn to the maximum and knows at 2 1/2 that she can use the language thing to her advantage.  She pretends she doesn’t hear or understand, but as soon as the motivation is right, for example getting her baby doll back, she understands perfectly!  She is talking up a storm in Spanish and repeating everything we say in English.  She doesn’t do much independent talking in English yet except things like “here you go”, which apparently we say a lot.  She loves water, especially the ocean.  She stood in the waves squealing every time a new one came and I think she would have stayed there all night.  She is super loving and wants to be picked up and hugged and cuddled.  She gives kisses and says “I love you” when we leave.  It hurts her feelings when we leave the house and don’t take her, but I think it is just because she loves riding in the car so much.  She is obsessed with her mommy, talks about her all the time and screams like a banshee when she comes home in the evenings!  She is obsessed with her baby doll and being a mom.  She loves to sing and is just a little sponge soaking everything up.

W is still on the more serious side.  He claps for everything and everyone.  A good song isn’t over until you clap for it, maybe a product of latino church?  :)  He also loves to dance whether it is to music on the radio or in the aisles at church.  He likes books and reading and pounding on things.  He loves the  beach and the ocean, but more to see them then to actually touch the waves.  He is a cuddler and I love that!  He has started talking little by little and has a new hilarious habit.  When we are getting ready to leave he finds someone who is leaving, says up, and once he is being held starts waving goodbye to everyone else in the room.  He hates getting left behind and loves any chance to sit in the drivers seat of a car.  He is a climber and falls off things often :)  He is stubborn as well and knows exactly what he wants when he wants it.  He loves telephones and pretend talking on them.  And he still steals everyone’s heart.

Love love love these babies.

PDE Monthly Support at 45%

The faithfulness of God never ceases!  Thank you for your continued generosity!  We are 45% funded monthly for this year, 2013. 

We have $407 towards the  monthly food budget.  If you would like to give towards completing that category, please let me know!

40% monthly for 2013!

 

We are at 40% monthly!  Please keep praying about how you could support us!  Thanks :)

Feliz Año Nuevo!

Happy New Year faithful blog readers.  The past few weeks was a great time of family and friends and ministry and trying to rest and remember Jesus and the Lord’s goodness to us.  A few highlights include Christmas with the girls at our house, taking Y with me to Lesther’s house for New Years, and a New Year’s day trip to the river.  We had a great time and just were able to be and relax and enjoy the beauty of God’s creation.  The end of 2012 also brought some sad goodbyes as we said goodbye to a good friend going back to El Salvador and sent out our old pastor’s family to church plant in Dominical Republic.  I don’t handle goodbyes well, although I think I’m getting better.  But I am excited that God is sending out His people in all directions – from all kinds of places to all kinds of places- to do the work that HE has in mind.  Praise Him for that.  Another excitement to end 2012 was the pledging of $1000/month for this coming year in our ministry here in Puerta de Esperanza.  I was blown away by people’s generosity and God’s faithfulness.  We are a third of the way to our goal.

2013 is going to bring all kinds of change.  I am overwhelmed a little bit on a personal level… there is so much to do!  I am getting married in less than 2 months :)  So so excited about that!  But also feeling like I’m drowning a little bit in the details… I don’t think such thing as a simple wedding exists… I’m trying… but it doesn’t exist.  And I’m about to become mom to three of the greatest kids ever.  I loved getting to do holidays this year with Angel and Nicolle and I’m so ready to start family traditions with them.  But again… 0-3 kids is kind of a big jump in the year of 2013!  I’m doing a quick trip to the states in a few weeks to talk to my personal supporters and trying to get all the details straight as far as MTW stuff, name change, residency, sheesh.  So yeah, change.

Then for PDE things are changing as well.  Both of the girls are busy!  Y is doing a practicum at a salon and works lots of hours.  When she is home she is busy doing laundry and being a mom and trying to get in a little bit of rest.  C is working at the store, about to start back classes at the university, and is doing whatever project she can get her hands on from making bags to hairbows to dresses, whatever.  They are still in small group and doing Bible study and learning about Jesus.  But they are getting to be so much more independent and need me less and less.  That’s good and moving in the right direction… but also really burdens my heart to fill the home and bring in the new girls.

I interviewed 2 girls in December who I will follow up with this week.  I would love to see them both come.  They are really needy and seem ready.  The younger one, I think her mom is going to say no… so pray for that.  If God wants her here, that He changes her mom’s heart.  And if not these girls, that God brings the new girls that He wants to come, and brings them quickly!  I am ready to see this home full and ministering to its full potential!  But pray also that I follow the Lord and His timing.

The store is doing okay, but still not self-sufficient.  We are making some staffing changes to have to pay less people, which is a step in the right direction.  We are also desperately in need of kids summer clothes if anyone would like to send us some!

So there you go… the New year in a nutshell… lots of changes, God’s faithfulness, trying to learn to walk in faith and trust.  And soon to come, a fun update on our babies as they are growing up so fast, we love to see their little personalities coming out :)

Over 30% monthly!

Blessings after blessings.  Just yesterday I received word about a big one-time donation that we are able to split up monthly and then another couple of monthly donations.  Thank you!!!  For giving, for praying, for talking about us, for listening to the Spirit of God speaking to your heart…

Food is a big need, or course, so I put the extra $49/month towards food needs.  Please consider giving towards that category.

Ephesians for a new year

For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen. – Ephesians 3:14-21

This morning I was flipping through Ephesians actually not planning to stop in chapter 3, but I got stuck in these verses.  This is the prayer of my heart this morning, first and foremost for me, but also for those I love.  It is my prayer as I get married this year – that I would first and foremost seek Christ to dwell in my heart and teach me what it means to really love.  It is my prayer for my new family that we would start to understand and teach our kids about the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge.  It is my prayer for the ministry as I watch God changes lives by His Spirit and provide for us and do more than I could have thought to ask or think.  It is my prayer for my ministry team that we would be strengthened with power through his Spirit in what He has called us to do.  And for my family and friends at home to know Jesus and be filled with all the fullness of God.

Happy New Year… may you know more of Jesus this year.