May is gone already!?!

Is it really June already??? May seemed to fly by. It probably helped that my sister and her family were here. We sure enjoyed getting to know my niece. She turned 1 year old while she was here. The poor thing got smothered by all of us wanting to hug and kiss her!
May 26th was Mother's Day here. On the Friday night before, the men put on a Mother/Daughter banquet for us. They did a really good job. On the way home that night it was me, Joy, my girls, her daughter and my sister. There were lots of police out (they have upped the patrols due to more violence) and as we passed through a road block they stopped us. They looked in the van and said "oh, a van full of beautiful women. You must not be Dominican, you are too pretty." then they let us go. :)  We were glad not to have nay problems.
It has been raining a lot here the past couple of weeks, which has been nice! After it rains here a bunch of flying ants come out. We don't notice them as much when we are at home because we have screens, but at the church they can be a bother! One Wednesday night it had rained quite a bit and as Josh started preaching the flying ants started coming out. As they would fly under a ceiling fan it would push them down onto the people. There were so many of them that we were being swarmed with them. People started swinging and swatting, waving and picking them out of other peoples hair. It was very distracting! Then one flew into my sisters mouth and she started gagging. At that point, Stu was chuckling and I was having a hard time holding it together but I was doing ok. Then one flew into Josh's eye and we all lost it. The whole church was laughing. After Josh saying it was a good thing they were ants and not roaches we got back to business. After the services there were so many dead ants all over the floor, you could tell it had been bad.
We have had a special evangelistic campaign going on since Thursday. The devil has really been fighting, there have been so many complications. On Thursday morning we were informed we could not use the building that we had secured several months in advance because the Catholics were going to use it. We ended up having the meeting outside on a basketball court. In the middle of the service, between the two preachers, while they were singing, it started pouring! Everyone started running. Joy spread herself over the keyboard until someone came to help her, she was drenched by then! Then last night in the kids service, Stu was about to pass out a few prizes to some of the kids who had won and a riot broke out. As soon as the first kid held up their prize everyone rushed forward. They broke the sound system, trampled people and then started throwing rocks and eggs. Because the sound system wouldn't work, they had a hard time getting it back under control. Needless to say, some of them were nervous about what would happen tonight! I do know they have had a good attendance and at least 18 saved so far.
Seth and Jesse are done with school for the year (YAY!) and the girls are getting close. We are working extra hard to try to finish on time. We are looking forward to summer break this year, especially me! So, if you don't hear from me this summer it will be because I am laying out back in the pool trying to stay cool and enjoying my break. :) Not really! I am going to be taking two Spanish classes a week through the summer. I am nervous and excited all at once. Please pray that my Spanish will improve greatly during this time.

Fighter?

When I came home yesterday Seth looked like he had been in a fight! Him and Jesse had been in the pool and while Seth was looking down into the water and Jesse came up out of the water right into Seth's eye.  He immediately had a huge knot. Today it was black and swollen. When I told him he looked like a fighter, he said, "I don't want to be a fighter". That makes me happy! :)

Didn't have to visit the jail!

Praise the Lord all went well today. I know it was due to your prayers! We got there this morning and as we suspected the other guy didn't show up. You would think that would be a good thing for me, but the other accidents where one party didn't show up, had to go back next week and try again. After we heard the people in front of us saying that, we were thinking that we would be taking another trip down there next week. Well, when it was my turn, the lady asked about the other guy and we explained that he wasn't there and we couldn't reach him on the phone. She tried to call him and couldn't get through so she said well, I guess I'll give you your license and documents back and you can go. What a surprise, but a huge blessing!  Now we get to start the insurance process of trying to get the jeep fixed. That could take a while. Thanks for all of your prayers!

My first trip to the police station.

Well, I had to make my first trip to the police station today! It all started with a quiet afternoon. The girls were gone with friends and Stu had taken the boys out. After working on my to do list for a bit, I decided to run a quick errand that was just a couple of blocks away. As I was leaving the entrance of our neighborhood, I had to cross traffic to turn left. I waited until it was clear except for a motorcycle that was quite a ways down the road and I headed toward the center to wait for one car to pass the other way. Instead of passing he stopped right in front of me and I couldn't move. The next thing I know I heard screeching tires and saw the motorcycle fishtailing his way towards me. He smacked right into my car right at my side view mirror. He busted my front windshield, broke off my mirror, dented the front side panel and knocked my bumper loose. I think I just sat there staring at him, I couldn't believe he hit me. He had plenty of room to go around behind me, which is the lane that he had been in. He picked his bike up and I backed back into the entrance of my neighborhood. There is a police compound across from our entrance and a couple of them had been pulling out, so they came right over. They were very nice and agreed that it was not my fault and that I shouldn't be upset, but I was very upset. After realizing that I did not have any minutes on my cell phone, one of the police used his phone to call Joy for me. She called Stu (who was out with Josh and the boys) and then she walked up to the entrance to help me out. We ended up having to go to the police station to file a report. When we got there the guy suddenly gave a whole different story than mine. We also found out he didn't have a license, but they didn't do anything about it! So, because he was hurt (he only had a couple of scratches on his stomach from my mirror) they kept my license. And, because our stories didn't match up, we have to go back Thursday morning at 8am (I think for some kind of a hearing to sort it out).  It is so frustrating dealing with the way they do things here. Please pray that we won't have any problems Thursday and that I will get my license back. I will try to update you afterwards. Thanks!

Just so I can end this on a good note, I am adding a photo of my handsome men on their way to the driving range.

Another side of our ministry.

I just want to share a few things from our ministry that have been on my mind a lot lately.

We have a group of women and children that we pick up from a very poor area. Some of them have been coming faithfully for a while now. One family is the mother and three children that we took a Christmas box to this year, some of you may have seen the photos on my Facebook page. She is always bringing visitors with her. Many of the ones she brings are mothers with babies. Because they are so poor, many of them don't get to eat three meals a day like we do. In fact, on Sunday mornings in our Jr. Church, I have started serving a snack because so many of them haven't had breakfast. They seem to pay attention a bit better when they have food in their tummies! One of the girls that had been coming, named Francesca (who is not saved yet), was pregnant, we found out recently that she is only 16. I don't know a lot about her, but I do know she is living with a grandpa or grandma, not sure which. Anyways, she had been coming regularly and then we didn't see her for a month. When she came back a few weeks ago, she had her new, month old baby with her. Over the last two weeks, we found out some of the things that have happened with her in the last month. We found out that she almost died while giving birth (some of you may remember my story about the deaf lady from our church who had given birth and how bad the clinics are here). It is a very common thing here for girls that age to die while giving birth. They had to give her two units of blood afterwards and the first one poured right out her nose and mouth. While she was fighting for her life in the clinic they had to give her baby formula. The reason that is a bad thing is because now that she is home, (because she is so poor) she can't buy formula for her baby or food for herself. We found out that she has begged a little food here and there from her neighbors. We also found out that she is giving her baby carrot juice, because that is all she can get. We were able to get her a box of food and a bit of formula. We are currently in the process of trying to talk to a company here that makes formula, to see if we can get some donated for these ladies that we are working with (she isn't the only one in this situation). After hearing about this, one of my family members gave some money to get her some formula. The Bible gives us many verses about feeding the poor so I believe it is something we should take seriously.

Deuteronomy 15:11 - For the poor shall never cease out of the land: therefore I command thee, saying, Thou shalt open thine hand wide unto thy brother, to thy poor, and to thy needy, in thy land.

Proverbs 19:17 - He that hath pity upon the poor lendeth unto the LORD; and that which he hath given will he pay him again.

Proverbs 28:27 - He that giveth unto the poor shall not lack: but he that hideth his eyes shall have many a curse.

Proverbs 14:31 - He that oppresseth the poor reproacheth his Maker: but he that honoureth him hath mercy on the poor.

Matthew 25:35-40

³⁵ For I was an hungred, and ye gave me meat: I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink: I was a stranger, and ye took me in:

³⁶ Naked, and ye clothed me: I was sick, and ye visited me: I was in prison, and ye came unto me.

³⁷ Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

³⁸ When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

³⁹ Or when saw we thee sick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

⁴⁰ And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

 It's hard sometimes to remember that when we are constantly bombarded with people begging. It's easy to become calloused to it. I noticed Wednesday night that one of the little boys who comes was having problems getting his shoes on. When I bent down to help him I discovered that his shoes were too tight and were cutting into the back of his foot. I traced his foot on a piece of paper and when I got home I searched through my boys shoes and was able to find a pair of sandals that I think will fit him, it's not tennis shoes (which is what he was wearing, pink ones at that) but it will work.
I love giving to others. I love putting a smile on someone's face by taking them a little treat! And I also love to receive gifts but I have such a hard time receiving gifts from people who hardly have anything! There are two people, who are among the poorest in our church, that have been bringing me "gifts". One is an older lady from a very poor area and she has been bringing me a little bag of veggies every Sunday. I feel so guilty taking it from her but I can't hurt her feeling either! The other is a blind and deaf man in our church. He started giving me little bags of flavored peanuts and then the other day gave me a bag full of them. I feel so humbled when they do that! There is so much that we could learn from them.  They have so little but have such a giving spirit! If only we were all so willing to give of what we had. I pray that God will bless them richly!
Why did I tell you all of this? Is it because I am hoping to bring tears to your eyes? Is it because I want you to consider helping us with donations? Is it because I want you to see how good you have it? No, none of this. I just wanted to share what been on my heart lately. To share a bit more of our ministry with you. To show you how you can pray for our ministry. Maybe to personalize our ministry a little more. Thank you for your interest in our ministry.

David, the one who needs shoes.

German, deaf and blind, loves to bring me peanuts.

Don't let those chubby cheeks fool ya! She is very skinny!

Antonia, the one who brings me veggies.

Church or Art?

As many of you know Delayna has been taking art classes for a few years now. I posted some pictures of her paintings recently that she is trying to sell to raise money for a trip to go to Camp YES in Canada this summer. She normally has class on Friday afternoons from 2:30-6:30, but sometimes she has to leave a little early for a church activity. This past week, due to Semana Santa,  they had class on Wednesday since Friday was a holiday.  When she arrived to class, she informed her teacher that she would have to leave early because of church that night. Her teacher then told her, "you need to choose between art and church!" At first Delayna thought she was kidding with her, but after a minute she realized that she was serious.  At that point all kinds of things were going through Delayna's mind. One of which was that maybe she could stay a little later to please her teacher and still have enough time to get ready for church. Then she made her decision. She paid her teacher for the past month, packed up her stuff and walked out! We are so proud of her for taking that stand! But then, I believe, God blessed her for that decision. She was well on her way home and her teacher came running after her and told her, "if your faith means that much to you, you can come back". That night at church during our prayer meeting, Delayna requested prayer for her salvation.
Sometimes we wonder about kids that are raised in church and don't have a choice about going. What will they do when they are tested? When they have to make a choice without us, what will it be? It was such a blessing to see her make the right choice when faced with a test like that.

At church

Her paintings

Birthdays and Girlfriends?

We had Pastor Ken Shaver and his wife here with us the beginning of March. He preached a family conference for us and our church's 6th anniversary. We had 225 on Sunday morning and a couple saved. We really enjoyed having them stay with us. They sure spoiled us rotten. They brought a suitcase full of goodies for us and the Wessons. My kids immediately adopted them as grandparents. :) We were sad to see them leave.
On March 7th Jesse turned 6 years old.  He was so excited for March to get here because he knew he was going to get a box of presents from his Nanny, one to open each day of the month. He had watched Seth do it in January and he was ready for his turn. He has loved it. He lays it out each night before he goes to bed so he can pick it up on his way downstairs in the morning.
One Saturday, Stu was out passing out flyers for the family conference. He had given one to a lady that was in her yard and when he was done telling her about it she asked him if he wanted a girlfriend. He told her no, he was happily married but she acted like, so what, do you want a girlfriend?! I'm glad he said no. :) It is very common in this Country for the men to have both a wife and a girlfriend and they both know about each other. We've had to deal with those situations a few times.
We live on a cul d sac and the kids love going out on "the circle" to play. Most evening our kids and the Wesson's kids are all out there playing along with some neighbor kids. The other night Seth came in  from playing and said "Mom, I need to tell you something bad that I did.". I asked what it was and he told me that he had pulled a branch off of one of the trees. The neighbors like to keep the circle looking nice, so there are a couple of trees the kids can climb and the rest they are to leave alone. I told him that he knew he wasn't suppose to touch them. He said, "but it wasn't me, Ashlyn (Wesson)  forced me to." I told him that she couldn't force him to do anything, that it was his choice to obey or disobey. He then said, "but mom, she looked at me with that face and I had to do it!". It took all I had to keep from busting out laughing.