What we can write about?

I got to share with you recently about how Angel's English is coming along, so I thought I'd take to minute to share about Nicolle.  She is doing awesome and just recently the other kids at her school started calling her "gringa" because of her English.  She cannot decide if that is a good or bad thing :)  But I'm proud of her!

There are still a thousand things she says every day that I will not be able to remember right now to write them down much less in 5 years when I want to tell her about them, so I'm going to do my best to record what I can...

The one that makes me laugh most consistently and also the only one I'm really trying to correct is that she doesn't invert any subjects and verbs when she asks questions...
"Mom, what we can eat for dinner?" "Mom, what time it is?" "Mom, what we can do now?"
Did I mention she says my name at least 300 times I day? :)  And recently has fluctuated between saying mom and mama.  I don't know where mama came from?  Does the princess say that in Frozen?  She has just started enjoying watching movies in English and quoting them.  She and Dixi can now sing all the Frozen songs in two languages... awesome.

She says the water makes the garage slidy and that anything hard or chewy is too strong.  "Mom, this bread is too strong for me to eat it."  She helps me cook, "Is it time to mexclit mom?"  The word mix escapes her.

She says "Oh my gosh" thanks to Ahnalies and "that's so fun!"

She is adorable and growing up way too fast.  Before I know it her Spanglish will all be gone and she'll be a full blown teenagers.  And goodness that is scary.

Learning to Hold Loosely

Confessions of a control freak...

There, I said it.  I'm a control freak.  If you know me, this comes as no surprise.  I used to joke around and tell people that I don't do things I'm not good at, and it was a joke, but I kind of meant it.  And then I got thrown into a world of things and language and culture where I couldn't be good, because I didn't even understand what was going on.  And then I had girls I was responsible for, and babies, and children, and a husband... and sometimes it feels like there are so many plates spinning that the only way to keep them from toppling over is to hold tighter and squeeze more and control, control, control.

But there are so many things outside of my ability to hold them together... sickness with a fever that makes it impossible to think about making lunch tomorrow because I can only focus on how much my body hurts, personalities of those that I love that at the same time charm me and drive me crazy, kids who continue to lose their school supplies and shoes and everything else even though they have been constantly reminded.

I mentioned to Lesther that really the only thing I actually miss from being single is the feeling that my life was in order.  If I put something down it would be in that same place when I came back for it.  If I felt like having spicy chicken for dinner, no one complained about not liking it because it was just me.  I never had to think about lice ruining a peaceful Saturday afternoon and giving me hours of work to do.

So I think the word for it really isn't order.  I think its selfishness.  I think what I miss is that I don't get to be selfish.  I try... believe me.  I give it a good hard go.  But God, in His goodness, gave me an awesome family and they don't let me be very selfish and they are awfully gracious and forgiving when I slip back into my old ways.

So I am trying to learn to hold loosely.  To not worry so much about bedtime being exactly on the dot, to let the cereal stay all day on the kitchen floor if it has to, to send lunch money on the days when lunch just didn't quite get packed (even if it means they spend that money on two bags of cheetos and a soda), and to trust that God has everything under control and it is just not my job to keep all the plates from tipping over.  I want to enjoy the time I have with my kids and it is so hard to do that when I want everything to be perfect.

So thanks sickness for being this week's reminder that I have an awesome husband who loves me and my kids well, that I have nothing to complain about, that selfishness is not worth it, and that God knows exactly what He is doing.

Questions

Friday's Bible study may be my favorite so far and it was mainly because the girls asked some great questions...

"Why didn't the creation stay perfect even after Adam and Eve sinned?"
"Was the garden the only perfect place that God made?"
"Why is it important that Jesus not only died but also was raised from the dead?"
"What happened in the three days while Jesus was dead?"

They care :)  And we studied Romans 5 which is just rich with the basics of the Gospel, a challenge to rejoice in sufferings, and just a sweet reminder that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.  Praise the Lord!

M has never really heard the Gospel before and all of this is brand new to her.  It is just exciting to see her learning for the first time and being honest about what she does and does not understand.  Continue to pray for real understanding for her and that she will know Jesus!!!

Semana Santa

The girls and babies came and stayed with us for Holy week, the week before Easter.  Its really kind of party week in Honduras and lots of people come to La Ceiba to go to the beach.  The girls stayed out in our neighborhood and we choose not to leave very much because of all the crowds.  Which led to...

Hammock time, Dance parties, yummy cookouts, and some swimming...

I'll be honest, I was a little nervous about how it would be to have them so closeby, but we loved it.  I loved it, my kids loved it, Lesther loved it.  It was such a sweet time of fellowship and feeling like a big family.  I think everyone felt like they were on vacation and got to have a nice break and spending so much time with them led to some great conversations.  I can honestly say that I know each of them better than I did two weeks ago!

There are problems, these girls are far from perfect.  And there are days that its hard to see that they are learning and growing.  There are days of temper tantrums, cuss words, fighting, and bad attitudes.  There are tears and hurt feelings.  But I am so thankful for the many glimpses that the Lord gives me of growth and change.  I love this picture...

It wasn't but a few months ago that these two were at each others throats constantly.  They fought and annoyed each other, they insulted one another and swore they would never be friends.  And then... this happened :)  God is awesome isn't He?!?

First paper

Angel wrote his first paper today for school.  It had to be a hundred words on why it is important to learn English.  I helped him some, but he did most of it himself.  We won't talk about how it took over an hour to write it :)  I'm just really proud of him and how much he's learning and I also want to keep this around to show him one day when his English is awesome!

Why it is Important to Speak English

It is important to speak English because to talk with everybody the family of mami.  They don’t speak Spanish.  In the future I live in the United States.  I want to understand the games and the movies that speak English.  I want to work in the United States.  I want to visit Papi Bruce.  I want to visit Beach of the United States.  I can work  with the people of the United States and help translate.  I can help the missionaries.  One day if I play soccer I can travel and talk to everybody.      

learning

When I haven't posted in awhile its so hard to know where to begin...

We're studying Romans right now with the girls at PDE.  Last week was all about how Abraham BELIEVED God when He promised him a son.  It didn't make any sense at all.  He was foolish in the world's eyes to believe such a crazy thing.  And yet... he believed.  And it says that Abraham believed God and it was credited to him as righteousness.

Where does our salvation come from?  It is a constant conversation that I have over and over again with these girls.  Good works are great, we were made to become more and more like our Heavenly Father, but they do NOT save us.  Our salvation is from grace, through faith.  And if we know God and we know that He is our Father, a good father who cannot tell a lie, then we know that we can trust Him.

I never give the girls Bible study homework, but this week I did.  Find five verses in the Bible where God gives us promises and then write down those promises and pray that God will give you the faith to believe them!!!

Friday was a hard day.  We had Bible study and then after that I had a conversation with K where she informed me that she was leaving.  She was disobedient and hadn't gotten all her signatures and it didn't matter to her, she would live on the streets if she had to, but she was done.  A very long conversation followed and it all came down to not being willing to submit to the rules of the house in regards to disciplining her son.  It is so ingrained in her to treat him badly when she is angry.  But she also wants to rebel against any discipline since she was treated so abusively in the name of discipline.  She is having a really hard time understanding the balance of what it means to love her son enough to correct and teach him without screaming at him and mistreating him when she is frustrated.  Its hard.  I'm a mom.  I get that.  I don't want to admit how many times I have lost my patience with my kids and how it has caused me to react to them.  Being a good mom is a fight, a hard one, and even harder when you don't have any Godly example from your own childhood.

In the end I asked her to reconsider, to take a day and to think it over.  I asked her to search out God's promises for parents in the Scripture and what He has to say about discipline and love.  In the end I don't know how much searching of Scripture she actually did... but when I went back to talk to her on Saturday she was a much more humble soul.  She is willing to recognize and admit that she has a lot to learn.  She is willing to commit to learning what it looks like to raise her child and not just feed and clothe him.  I say that is a victory!  And as she does that we will keep pointing her back to the promises of God and the example that we have in Him.  We can TRUST His promises to equip us and give us the wisdom that we need.  We can trust that ultimately our children are His.  We can see that His love for us is too great than to leave us in our sin and that he disciplines us as His children so that we can learn to be more like Jesus.

These girls have long roads to walk... thank you for loving them enough to pray for them.  We are so thankful.

Support update

Great news!  Look at how the Lord is providing for our financial needs.  Over the last few weeks we have received pledges of $600/month bringing our financial need to $3200/month.  

Thanks so much for your prayers and following up with our ministry.  If you would like to be part of our ministry by giving financially, please let me know.  Or you can go to the giving website at http://www.mtw.org/Pages/GIVE_FAQ.aspx.  You can give to account number #92413.

Introducing M

Monday and Tuesday we took a trip to Tegucigalpa to bring back the newest member of Puerta de Esperanza, M!  She comes with two little ones... Y, a little girl who is 2, and E, a little boy who is only 6 weeks old :)  It is safe to say that I could snuggle with him all day long!

Wednesday was a really full day as we did doctors appointments, tours, meeting the house moms, and talking with the lawyer and psychologist.  And in the end she wanted to stay and we want her too!  Today we went shopping and got clothes and shoes and we are just excited to see what God is going to do in her life.  For now she is with us for one month because there are documents that her mom has to get together for her to be able to stay long term.  Please pray that these will all come together...  

M has told us that she is not a believer and does not attend church.  The church she attended at times in her life sounds rather strict and she only has a concept that Christians "act" a certain way, she doesn't know anything about God's grace.  But she will :)  Isn't it amazing the way that the Lord changes lives?  He brought this young girl who knows nothing of His love and grace into a place where she will be saturated with teaching from His word.  Pray for God to soften her heart to His message that she will come to know Him!