Hopping Around the Internet Today

So, I'm kind of doing a fun and new thing today...well new to me anyway.  Some of my missionary blogger friends around the world are doing a "Round Robin" hosted by Baptist Mission Women.  So be sure and click the link on the bottom of the page to go to the next blog and discover a whole new mission field and missionary family.



As part of the "Round Robin", I am sharing 5 interesting (hopefully interesting anyway) things about myself.

Five Interesting Things About Me:

1.) I am an outgoing introvert...it's complicated...be patient with me when I do not answer your call.

2.) I have ridden in an ambulance in a foreign country.  {click here}

3.) I have jumped out of a military airplane...five times.  Sorry I do not have any pictures, but I do have the wings to prove it.  Here is a picture of one of my boys, who is now big enough to wear my old uniform. 

4.)  I have swam in the Pacific Ocean, but never been to California.  {click here}  And I can not completely confirm, but we may have been invited over to a pastor's house to eat iguana while living on the coast of Oaxaca, Mexico.  

5.)  One time we built a sun oven from stuff we got at the thrift store and baked bread using only the energy from the sun.  {click here}


So I asked my kids to list some interesting things about me.  This was the best I could get:

1.) You have a very ominous oder in the morning.  I think hope he was joking.  :)  But you kind of have to be proud of the creative use of the word ominous.

2.) You wax your legs instead of shaving.

3.) You can come up with games and activities at a moments notice.

4)  You can grow a garden anywhere.

5.)  You have six kids that are oozing with awesomeness who do the dishes.

6.)  You take great pictures.

Thanks for reading today!  Now {click here} to visit Johvi, Estonia where Rachel writes Rachel's Reflections: My life as wife, mom and missionary.

Thankful Thursday

I'll be straight with you.  I've been hurt very badly during this missionary journey...by people in "the ministry".  Much worse than I ever thought imaginable.  I have spoken of it to very, very few people.  Healing has been slow and painful.  Today someone posted a post by Women Living Well Ministries.  

She very concisely pens some things that I have journaled or thought in my journey to heal that is far from over.  One thing she said that I had never quite been able to put into words was "Moving on is not...Trust or reconciliation.  It takes two to reconcile.  When no acknowledgement of the pain they have caused you comes, this leaves an open wound that only Christ can fill."  

This struck me in two ways.  First, I am not the only one this has happened to, I am not crazy, I have been deeply wounded.  And secondly, for the moment, healing means a daily battle to turn my pain over to Christ and let him fill my open wound.  

Elizabeth Elliot, who knows great pain and great healing and forgiveness, adamantly and Biblically argues in her book A Pathway Through Suffering, that this was no surprise to God and He is in control, even in allowing this hurt. 

So, how am I working towards healing.  I'm doing lots of things.  I cry sometimes.  I journal.  I read my Bible and try to sit still at Jesus's feet.  I pray.  I pray blessings on those that wounded me (more on that later).  

One of my life lines during this time has been thankfulness.  I try to be actively thankful.  All. The. Time.  Not only is this Biblical, it is now being back up by research.  Don't believe me?  Check out this TedTalk by Shawn Achor, the founder of GoodThink. 

So, today, today I am thankful for my washing machine and water for my washing machine.  When we moved here, a Mexican lady gave us a washing machine.  It was in very bad shape and I tend to work my washing machine to death anyway (there are eight of us).  But it was a great sacrifice for her and a great blessing to us.  However, by the time it was put out to pasture, I don't think it really cleaned the clothes, I just put them in and pretended it did.  When we were in the U.S. for visa paperwork at the end of 2013 one of the families that supports us, bought us a brand new washing machine!  Hand wash a few loads of clothes and you will see why I am extremely thankful for my washing machine. 

So, thank you Lord:

• For my washing machine.
• For the new little person in our house that is making more laundry.
• And for a pump, so we can wash clothes, even when there is no city water.

What are you thankful for today?

Tostada Tuesday

Almost every Tuesday, and especially since the kids started school, we have tostadas.  For the most part we have also adopted Comida.  The tradition of eating your large meal in the early afternoon.  This works out great since 1.) Sam works a lot of evenings and dinner is over and cleaned up well before he needs to leave  2.) The kids come home hungry and waiting until dinner just makes them more hungry.  We have actually had left overs eating on this schedule.  That's pretty much a miracle with two teen boys.  3.)  Dinner is over and cleaned up and you have the rest of the evening free to do other things.  We usually have a lighter meal in the evening, something easy to fix and easy to clean up...like cereal, a sandwich, or left overs.

Tostadas are perfect for this schedule, especially on Tuesdays and Thursday.  On these days the kids workout hard the last hour of school and I try to go workout also.  When we get home everybody helps get toppings out while the beans reheat and dinner is ready!  One of our friends told me tostadas are comida floja...or lazy food.  Lazy or not, it is defiantly easy.  It is really that fast when you have refried beans that you took out of the freezer in morning.  Once upon a time, I blogged my bean recipe, but that blog platform isn't even available anymore.  I'll try to repost the recipe soon.  

Toppings always include beans, cabbage, and salsa.  Other options are sour cream, cheese, tomatoes, avocado, and chilis.  Everybody makes their own, which is even better.  

What is your favorite "comida floja"?

Ministry Monday: Small recaps of the going-ons around here

We have a lot going on ministry wise.  The church hosted a Christmas movie night right before Christmas.  The movie had a clear presentation of the gospel and afterwards, one of the men of the church gave a short gospel centered sermon.  Almost everybody brought visitors.  I love seeing the church reach out.

That same week a church in Oaxaca city had a mission conference, so some of our church went a few nights.  The first night, Sam got a call from the pastor shortly after they had arrived at the church.  The conversation went something like this:

Pastor:  Brother Sam where are you?  (This is very odd, because culturally you always begin with a friendly greeting and then ask how the person is doing.)

Sam:  I'm here.

Pastor:  At the church?

Sam:  Yes.

Pastor:  Come up to my office!

When Sam arrives at the pastors office, the pastor informs him the speaker has not arrived and is having car problems.  You have to remember, a lot of planning has gone into this meeting, the church is packed and people from other churches have travelled to be here.  The pastor asked Sam to preach the first sermon, because "your a missionary".  So, Sam stands up and preaches in Spanish with almost no notice.  I stayed home with the baby that night, because he was still quite small, but I heard it was great!

We are also trying to minister to the family I spoke about in a previous post.  You can read about it by (clicking here).  Grandfather became very sick and was in the hospital and as soon as he was out grandmother fell and broke her wrist and is currently in the hospital.  There 18 year old granddaughter has been staying with her baby at what looks like a refugee camp just outside the hospital, leaving only grandfather to care for the children.  The church is taking meals this week and we have spoken with a Christian Children's Home here in the area that is ready to help.  This would allow Lupita to focus on her own baby knowing her brothers and sisters are taken care of and hopefully the church can continue ministering to her and her grandparents.  Please pray God's hand continues to guide us, as he already has.

Looking Ahead

As 2014 draws to a close and 2015 is brand new, it is very exciting to be making plans for a medical clinic to the island region.  You can read about our first trip to this area by clicking here.  This will be a collaborative effort of the missionaries currently church planting on the island, our church here in Huayapam, and a local group of doctors that often do mountain medical clinics as part of their ministry.  You can also read our latest prayer letter by clicking here.

Church Planters!

We had the privilege of being a part of something very similar in March of 2014, that you can read about by clicking here.  The trip will help the missionaries and their church on the island reach out to their community.  “We are the bait that the fisherman use,” as one of the doctors likes to put it. It will be exciting for the church members here having the opportunity to be a part missions, we are praying they catch a vision and passion for missions and reaching the state of Oaxaca.  There is much planning, coordinating, and prayer that needs to go into this trip.  We invite you to begin praying with us on this.  

Translators!

How about you, what mission trips or Global Adventures ,as my BIL likes to call them, are you planning on going on this year?