Beach day!

We had an awesome time at the beach today. 28 friends, family and children boarded two different vehicles and headed to Playa de Pochomil. It's about a 45 minute ride from El Crucero driven by our friend and pastor Moses. (Thank you Moses!)Yes, we left two hours later than expected but it was well worth it. The kids had a great time in the water.

The beach was peaceful and beautiful and with the extra eyes, ears and hands of 3 other wonderful missionary woman, we were able to keep an eye on all of the children. 

We stayed out on the beach long enough to watch the sun set.

Thank goodness Tony decided to start the grill just before the kids decided that they would starve to death and we had our fill of hot dogs...Yummy... I haven't had a hot dog in over 3 months. 

As we were boarding the van to head back home a young boy of about 5 came up to us. He stood around and smiled at us all. I was so happy to watch Kyle, a fellow missionary here and brother in Christ befriend him with simple questions like What's your name? How old are you and How many brothers do you have?

Just before we left Kyle asked him if he knew that Jesus Christ loved him. The young boy shook his head no. "Well, He does love you and so do I" He gave him a hug and the boys face lit up. After Kyle fished in the van for something to give him, we waved at the smiling young man as he held on to his mango...smiling. 

I love to see the love of Christ shine through!

More to come...

Ayiti Cheri

Ok, I have been writing a novel for a while now. (Ayiti Cheri... I may or may not keep that as the title). I get excited, write for a few weeks, get discouraged  and move on to something else. I wish that I were not that way, but alas.
I am in my excited moment again and have begun reading, revising, re-reading and writing. I have decided to put a few paragraphs on the blog in hopes of getting some feedback on it.
Who knows, if I can get about 2 hours of uninterrupted quite per day maybe I'll - oh who am I kidding?!?
: )
To give you a little bit of the background, the main character is "Dahlia." She is a young girl who has the misfortune of being in the thick of the Haiti earthquake. She has a mom and a little sister who are in two different locations of Port au Prince during the catastrophe.

Chapter III

I could die in this store. Full of pastries and cakes, cookies and drinks. I wanted it all but didn't have a gourde to my name. The walls are bright and clean and the windows don't have a single smudge on them. There are pictures of the countryside along the walls and plants lined the shelving. It's cool in here and the drinks in the refrigerators are very inviting. In one corner stand tall stalks of sugar cane that could keep you company for hours. We walk around the store admiring and craving, the owner does not look pleased to have us walking around his store. I look down at my watch and it is 4:50pm, almost time to pick up Colette. “Marie, I have to go.” I say. “Not yet, come and look at this wedding cake” A three layer master piece. Roses made of sugar circled each tier. Red, yellow and white. Little silver beads sitting on the petals. “I want a cake just like that.” I say out loud not knowing Roudmy is right behind me. He let out a laugh and buckles over saying “And, Who is going to marry you Dahlia?”

I roll my eyes and begin walking towards the front of the store when suddenly I feel a sharp jolt that dropped me to the ground. Before I knew what was happening the shelves, coolers, paintings and ceiling are falling all around me. I can't move, I am terrified. I scream but the noise around me is overpowering. The tiles on the floor seem to jump up and down as the ground shakes violently. I could hear screaming but it seemed to be coming from all around me. It's  suddenly dark and I am aware that I was unable to move my left leg. I can't understand what is going on. Are the walls coming down around me? I am on my face praying for the shaking to stop. And then, just as quickly as it began it stopped. Coughing, crying... I can't stop. I am so afraid. My head feels heavy and the screams seem to echo around me. The sounds are muffled, like I am under water. My head aches. “Manma” I whisper in between coughs. She is not here, but I want her to be. I can't see, but something above me sounds like it is falling, slowly...creaking, then darkness.

I was on my fathers lap the day before he died. He was tired but allowed me to read to him pages from my favorite book. “Are you listening?” I asked. “Yes, dear continue” His eyes were closed but he opened them every time I stopped reading. “Ok, Dahlia. Enough” My mother said as she ushered me to bed. He reached out and grabbed her hand “OK?” He asked her. “OK” she replied and kissed my father on the forehead. Mom wasn't feeling too well lately and slept a lot. Dad said that she might have a surprise for me. Huh? They seem to speak in code about things they knew I didn't understand. They seem to enjoy this very much because they did it often. The next morning we had mais mouline (corn meal) for breakfast. My mother would not eat one bite. She frowned when I offered some to her which tickled my father. He left for work that day and never returned. I cried for weeks.

(3am)

How long? How long have I been asleep? How long have I been lying here? I opened my swollen eyes slowly, hoping that I would see something different. I can't quite move my arms, they hurt. 

Crying. I could hear crying and it sounded like Roudmy. Oh my God, we are in the pastry store. I can't see around me, but I remember. “Roudmy!” I don't think I was loud enough. He is still crying and did not answer. I begin to cry again. What has happened. Maybe a bomb has gone off and now we are all going to die. I think of Colette, she must be so frightened. Are we trapped here? Who will know that we are here? Where is Marie? Oh my God! “Jesus” I cry. I begin to recite psalm 23 to myself. “The Lord is my Shepard, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures...” I am comforted after saying this psalm and think of my mother. She would be sick with worry. I can't get out. I can't see.

(10:15am)

I'm not sure how much time has gone by, but I decide that I've done enough crying. “There is no point to all this crying” manman always says. I can hear others weeping, screaming. I'm not sure where they all are. There are things on top of me and I'm covered in dirt. My head feels heavy. I have to lift it. I want to move but I'm afraid. The skin on my face stings, its scratched. My lips and gums are bleeding and but I don't suck the blood off because they are also thick with dirt. I have to get up, I have got to get out of here. I struggle for a while, only to get a few heavy pieces of the ceiling off of me. I reach up and can feel some space between me and the two large pieces of wall forming a triangle above me. What if it falls?!? The thought terrifies me and I lie back down. I stayed there for what seemed like forever. I sang all the songs I knew. I talked to God and asked him to help me survive. The pressure on my leg makes it ache. I ask God to help my mom and Colette. I pray until I fall asleep.

Easter week happenings...

What a great Easter vacation we had here. I did fold and end up going to the swimming hole with the family, but I have to say that I rather enjoyed watching them splash around in the water for a few hours while I read in the shade.

The next day I finally had the pleasure of meeting Selah Grace for the first time. What a precious child of God! 

As I held her tiny body in my arms, I thought of the first time I met Jocelyin in Waspam. I didn't know what the outcome of her pregnancy would be or if I would even be here to see it for myself. But I am so very grateful that the Lord's hand was on this little one and I am believing that her life will be a testimony of God's love. 

Jocelyin by the way is doing great. She is healing up very well from her c-section and blending in with the other girls in the house nicely. (She is a character.)

On Good Friday our Pastor decided that we would do some street ministry. The plan was to pick a spot, bring a ton of plastic chairs and a movie screen and show the Passion of the Christ. What an awesome way to reach the average person walking down the street! Everyone got matching t-shirts and were very excited to get going. 

 I stayed behind to watch over five two year olds including Catiana, Ruby the 13 y/o and 7 y/o Louviana who is almost completely blind (she doesn't realize this of course and couldn't believe that she wasn't able to go).

From what I heard, it was a great success. The children as well as the adults were very touched by the movie and bible tracts and bibles were passed out. 

Easter morning was a bit different here for us as there were no sunrise services that I heard of. No New Easter dresses and suits for the kids. No Easter baskets or decorations to be found. But as I explained to my children begging for their ritualistic Easter candy, the day is all about Jesus. Not that there is anything wrong with the way we have celebrated it in the past, but if that is what they were looking forward to instead of the cross, then we have missed the mark. 

We did do one thing that we do every year. We had a wonderful dinner that Tony prepared for us all . (Lauren,the children at the orphanage and the Pastor and his family). I am always surprised that the food stretches to accommodate all 36 of us. Everyone said that his dinner was delicious!

 After dinner I braided hair for some of the girls as they wanted to get as cute as possible for school the following day. I think this week alone, I spent over 30 hours braiding, which I find ironic that I have voiced many times in the past that I do not like to do hair nor will I sit around doing it. I have not only had to do my girls hair, over and over again. But I have done many other young girls hair. Straight hair, curly hair, wavy hair, kinky hair, long hair and short hair. Even have braided boys hair! I just have one thing to say about that... Do not, I repeat, Do not tell  God what you will or will not be doing!

More to come...

A bit reserved...

Just a few days ago, I was having a conversation with Tony about the changes that God has done in our lives since we have been here in Central America. We recounted all of the things that God has shown us about ourselves here.
If you know me, even a little bit, you could say that I am a bit reserved when it comes to relationships. Tony and I did a great job of keeping to ourselves. My kids would often call me a crab, because I didn't do the weekly get together, the after church lunches or the play dates with the other moms.  With embarrassment I can tell you that I have often ducked away in the grocery store to avoid a lengthy conversation with an acquaintance. If you asked me, I think we shied away from those relationships because it meant being open to things that we were not willing to be open to.
I have always carried around this thought in my head, that the closer two people are the more likely it is that one day, someone will get hurt emotionally. If I had it my way, I would of kept everyone at an arms distance so that I would not hurt or be hurt.
Now, I now that that is not what the Lord wanted for me, but never the less its the wall of protection that I had created for myself.
So, How did I find myself in a ministry surrounded by people 24 hours a day?
Where I must interact, talk, share and pray with... everyday?  God is not in the business of letting you sit happily in your comfort zone!

Being here makes it almost impossible to keep to yourself. I have this daily desire to leave the home that we rent every morning, head over the the orphanage to wipe noses, change diapers and hug children. During these small chores I chat and share with friends. God is slowly but surely chipping away at the wall, don't get me wrong, it feels pretty yucky to me. (smile) But I am willing to bet that God knows what He is doing.

I have succefully, by the grace of God potty trained 2 of the little ones. I am now on my third...Emily.

She just turned 2. She is a feisty one, but bewteen my stubborness and hers, I think we will get this potty thing down  : )

This week is Holy week and the kids are out of school. I asked a couple of friends what Nicaraguans did for Easter. Well, for starters there are no Easter egg hunts, colored eggs or fluffly white Easter bunnies in the picture. Families usually head off to the beach for the week and relax by the water. Being the crab that I am, that didn't sound like fun to me so I have opted to stay home and read while Tony and the kids head off for some swim time this week. : )
Hopefully I can convince Tony to put on a nice Sunday dinner next weekend for all of us... 30 plus, Ha!

More to come...

Can't out give God...

On Thursday morning Jocelyin, the precious 15 year old, gave birth to a healthy baby girl. What a blessing that was. Lauren the house mom, was there with her the whole time and was able to stay with her during the c-section. God has truly answered our prayers and both her and baby are doing fine.

Selah Grace

 The night after her operation I spent the night at the orphanage to help out with the children as it was also the night off for the nanny in charge of the babies and Lauren was due at the hospital till the following morning. After dinner, devotions and countless questions about if they could watch a movie, have coffee or just play...they were off the bed. The next morning we were up at about 5:30am and I helped with babies and breakfast while I waited on the daily help to arrive. The workers were there by about 7am and I was out by 8am. 

This was no ordinary day for me as I was on my way to a women's retreat in Playa Montelimar Nicaragua. 

I was so excited and was to meet Lauren and 4 other woman at the Christian English school in Managua as we would all carpool there. Tony and the kids also had a treat as Friday was also the day for a field trip at the school. Tony was able to go as a chaperon and he brought along Catia and Kevin with the help of our helper...Gloria! They really enjoyed themselves at the zoo, the lake, downtown, a museum and a famous market. What a full day with 300 plus children...LOL! So glad I was not there! 

I on the other hand was enjoying the most relaxing time ever! This place was just amazing!

(Looks like stock photos, I know but this is where I spent 3 awesome days!)

This resort was unbelievably beautiful and full of things to do and eat! What a wonderful idea it was years ago for these woman to come up with a yearly conference for missionary women living in Nicaragua. We were surrounded by like-minded sisters in Christ who were just open and so excited to hear from each other and learn about what the Lord was doing in all of our lives. The theme of the conference was "Women of Grace" The speaker brought with her 5 friends who lavished us with free haircuts, manicures, professional photographs and encouragement.

Over and over again I heard from the speakers and the missionary woman that no matter how much they tried to do because of the love they have for Christ, the more the Lord blessed them. I certainly felt blessed being there at that conference and God reminded me once again that I can not out give Him. No matter how hard I try to give my all to my Lord, He blesses me with more than I can imagine.

More to come...