No Smoking

Be thankful for what is in front of you, rather than constantly hoping for what you don't have. I have found myself saying that to our kids a lot lately.  It is actually ironic because I have been hoping for a four burner stove with an oven for a long time.  The entire time we were in America I was looking forward to getting the stove on our way back into Catel.  When we came back, we decided it wasn't wise for us to get the stove on our way back to the village, so we decided to wait for our first trip into Ziguinchor.  During our first trip into Ziguinchor we decided to wait until the next trip.  We thought for sure next time we would buy the stove. Buying the stove would be easier for me to cook for our family and I would have a wider variety of options with the oven. The next week we went into Sao Domingo for market day and on our way home we passed by the gas station where we buy our gas from, the gas station was no more.  A large rock truck sparked a fire, or the man's cigarette, at the gas pump and everything burned up, the truck included.  Now, we have lost our ability to buy gas (propane) for cooking.  About a week later we ran out of propane and Michael bought me a little propane tank (it's maybe 18 inches tall) with a burner on top for cooking.  It has made cooking so much more challenging.  The gas is difficult to regulate and where the pot sits is far away from the actual burner making everything take so much longer to cook.  This has been a challenge in front of us, but I am thankful for this little burner.  No longer am I hoping for a stove with an oven.  I am thankful I still have a means to cook for my family inside and I do not have to go out with the women to get firewood to cook over outside.  

This is what happens when you smoke at a gas pump.

Up close and personal with the burned truck.

On the floor is my new cooking source.  Behind on the counter is my old stove, which is now unusable. You can kind of see the large gas tank underneath the stove behind the washcloths.  The red bins hold our veggies. 

Being thankful for what we have can seem impossible with a world of wants in front of us.  When things are taken away we realize what we had and therefore realize we need to be thankful for what we still have.  

It's Different This Time

When we first came to Guinea Bissau in August of 2013 our children were wide eyed, curious and everything was new to them.  This time, they knew what to expect, everything from driving to the airport to arriving in our village.  When we got off the plane in Dakar, Senegal the children weren’t wide eyed with adrenaline, but rather tired and ready to find a bed.  They gained their energy once we met up with a fellow missionary, Beryl, then once we were in the car going to the guesthouse, they fell asleep.  Last time they were wide eyed looking at everything taking it all in.  I remember sitting there thinking, our children’s world view just got blown open, this time I thought they are quite accustomed to life in West Africa.  Once we arrived at the guesthouse, our children regained their energy with excitement to go and play with everything they had missed.  They ran to the tire swing and pushed each other with laughter flowing from their mouths.  They ran in search of a ball to play basketball and then onto our apartment where we would sleep for the day.  Our children wanted to experience everything that had become so familiar.  Michael left to take our bags to the ferry and I only wanted to sleep.  My eyes were heavy from lack of sleep on the plane and it was only 1:00 am for us even though the sun was telling us differently.  Eventually the children calmed down and they all lay down and slept for almost the whole day.  We woke up around 2:00 pm (Senegal time) and began preparing for the ferry, our next leg of the trip. We were happy to meet up with another missionary family that was also taking the ferry down to Ziguinchor, therefore making our ferry ride more fun than usual. 

Once we arrived in Ziguinchor, we said goodbye to our friends and began the wait for our bags to be unloaded from the ferry.  Michael stayed with our kids and I left, with our fellow missionary, Delores, to get our supplies for in the village.  On our way out Delores and I saw two men standing across the street waving with huge smiles on their faces.  It was Djibi and Adramane who had come up to meet us. We went over to meet them and were embraced with huge hugs as they were so happy to see us.  We then left them to buy our supplies and then to return to meet up with the rest of our group to then began the third and last leg of our trip. 

After a long time of loading 20 suitcases and nine backpacks onto the car, Michael worked to get a good price for our car eventually agreeing on a price that was too high, but we were all tired and ready to go home.  The car was loaded on the top and inside and we began the trek to Catel. The driver began honking to announce our arrival in the village and we began waving to the faces we had grown to call our friends.  Children ran after our van and a stream of people began arriving to our house as we disembarked from the van.  We were greeted with smiles, hugs and dancing.  We were so happy to be back and I believe from our greeting from the people here, they were so happy to have us back.    

This time for our arrival in Catel, we could understand what people were saying to us.  Our children also could instantly talk to their friends and play.  We all knew what to expect and knowing what to expect makes your experience entirely different.  

Flying on an Airplane

We have been singing a song from Barney for the past couple days.  If you have children, and your children liked Barney, then you may know the song, but for those of you that don't know, here's a YouTube video of the song so you can get it stuck in your head the same way it is stuck in mine.  

After being back in the states for 4 1/2 months, being in limbo not knowing when we would get to return to Guinea Bissau, we have tickets! We will be returning to Guinea Bissau in February! When we told our children a cheer erupted.  For our children to be so happy was yet another affirmation from God. They are ready to see their friends again. As one of them said, "I am ready to go home." Home is where your heart is.

God answered prayers with Michael's knee as well.  He is able to put off surgery and return with a knee brace.  We praise God for this answered prayer.

We are excited to return to Guinea Bissau, but at the same time we know we will face homesickness and long to be back in our home culture.  We are blessed to have been able to spend this time home.  We have been able to see so many people that we love and have prayed over us, we got to spend time with our family, and be here for births, birthdays and holidays.  These memories will help to get us through when the homesickness sets in.

Our home church has been amazing and we are blessed to be a part of it.  Most recently, the children's ministry has put together a 'store' for children to purchase items needed for our preschool in our village.

It has been amazing to see the love poured out for a preschool so far away.  Each child that placed something in the suitcases have blessed another child across the world.  We are all called to be servants of Christ and that is just what these kids were doing.  I also believe that the excitement for this 'store' gave our kids an excitement to return to GB.  Not only did the children (ages 3-11) at our church bless a preschool, they also blessed our kids.

We realize that we are always saying thank you, but we cannot say thank you enough.  Thank you to all of you that have prayed for us, been friends to us, fed us, clothed us, housed us, help provide for our physical needs, encouraged us, laughed with us, cried with us, the list goes on, but in the end we continue to say, "Thank you!".  We can never pay you back, but our Lord will bless you.  

Well, that's just humbling...

Ever have one of those moments when you think, "Well, that's just humbling."? That is what happened to us this morning.  Since Michael hurt his knee he has procrastinated calling our friends in the village. We were planning on returning to GB this month and they knew this.  They have been anticipating our return to GB.  With this injury our return is unknown.  How are we to explain this to the people that are anticipating our return with such excitement? We had a missionary friend that serves nearby explain to our church what happened so they could know, but we hadn't called them to speak with them. Our missionary friend, Beryl, emailed us and told us that Djibi wanted us to call him very badly.  Our hearts sank. We didn't want to have to tell him that our return may be delayed.  

Our procrastination has ended and with the ending of procrastination came some humble pie.  Michael called Djibi and was received with much happiness and encouragement.  Djibi wanted Michael to call him because he was so concerned with Michael's health.  When they heard about Michael's knee they began praying and fasting all day and night.  The church that we came to teach and help to grow, was praying and fasting for us. 

We were concerned with disappointing them, but in reality, their faith is so big that they didn't doubt one bit that this will keep us from returning.  In fact, Djibi told us how they were planning our return and how they would carry Michael through the village. They said they would meet us with their bicycles and carry Michael home. 

We were humbled by this because their faith in God is so big that they immediately turned to prayer and fasting for healing.  We didn't want to call them, but they were waiting for our call so they could encourage us and let us know they have been praying and fasting.  

...For truly, I say to you, if you have faith like a grain of mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there' and it will move and nothing will be impossible for you.  Matthew 17:20
  

Coffee!!

Coffee is one of our favorite things. I love waking up before my kids and drinking a cup of coffee while I read the Word and journal.  I also love journals.  Oh, journals can be so much fun and therefore writing in them is so much more fun.  The thing I love most about waking up before my kids though is spending that time with God.  When I wake up in the morning I creep out to the kitchen, start my coffee brewing (sometimes I am smart and make it the night before and push that really great button called 'delay brew') get my bible, my journal and my favorite pen and I just dive into my time with God.

Check out that journal! It is made from Elephant poo.  No, seriously it really is. It is called Mr. Ellie Pooh's Elephant Dung Paper.  I love it.  The best part...it doesn't even smell like poo! It is made in Sri Lanka and is clean odorless, and eco-friendly. My amazing husband got that for me.   

When I don't start my day off with God everything is just off.  I don't feel right.  I could drink five cups of coffee and it still won't be right.  It's not the coffee that makes my day great, it's God.  I am thankful God created coffee, but I am even more thankful for our relationship with him.

Over this past year waking up before my family was so important to me.  In a world of chaos and interruptions, I needed those 30 minutes (sometimes longer and sometimes a lot shorter) to talk to and hear God.  The coffee was a bonus.  We were so blessed this past year to always have yummy American coffee.  In almost every package we received was a package of coffee and when people came to visit, guess what they brought...coffee!! Just in case anyone is thinking, hey I didn't think they had power, how did they brew their coffee, no worries friends, we had a french press.

Every year during the Christmas season our missionary support team (MST) sells coffee as a fundraiser for our work in Guinea Bissau.  We are excited to be selling coffee this year as well. There are all kinds of flavors and they come in a K-cup. This makes a great Christmas gift and if you want to order some, leave a comment, send us an email or message us on Facebook and we will make sure you get it. The coffee is being sold in 12 ounce packages and are $11.00 a bag and $10.00 for the K-cup. 
It even comes with our picture on the bag!

This is another way to support our family serving in Guinea Bissau. Thank you to all of you that are buying or have bought coffee from us!  

If you can read this, it's a description of all the flavors they sell.  It also comes in normal roasts if you aren't a flavor kinda person.

Thanks for reading our blog.  I hope you enjoyed it and maybe even read it while drinking a cup of coffee.  I wrote it while drinking a cup.  In all the coffee you drink, I pray that you remember to make God your priority rather than your morning coffee.   Blessings to all of you!!

Just Resting

We have really struggled with being home and have experienced an incredibly wide range of emotions.  We are thankful for the break and the chance to relax and get re-energized for our return to Guinea Bissau.  We recently spoke at one of our supporting churches and we were just so blessed.  We had many people encouraging us and letting us know they are praying for us.  We know that people pray for us, but when someone tells you they are praying it is such a joy to be able to put a face to that person.

After church we were invited to someone's house for dinner.  That again, was a great time of encouragement and relaxing.  During one part of the conversation I had said we were just floating, and our friend said, "No, you are just resting." That was pretty great.  I believe God put those words in her mouth because it was exactly what we needed to hear and it's exactly what we have been doing.

Here are some photos of us "just resting":

Zesto is an ice cream shop that is famous in Michael's hometown.  The kids enjoyed their ice cream tremendously. Ice cream, another delicious food we missed, continues to be a special treat for us. 

(photo props to my father-in-law)

We enjoyed visiting a children's zoo with Grandma and Papa.  The kids had fun in the African journey looking for animals we might have seen in Guinea Bissau. We found some, mostly birds.

We walked through the African part at the zoo and of course we had to have a drumming circle and some dancing on the way out of course.  People probably thought we were so weird. 

At the Indianapolis Children's Museum they have this huge water clock.  It is so fascinating to watch as the time goes by.  If you are ever in the area I highly recommend the Children's Museum, it's good for all ages, but focused on children. 

While we were visiting family, I visited my old place of employment where my cousin works now.  We met him and his daughter for a fun morning on all the equipment. 

We took the kids to hike at a local state park with waterfalls.  It was a beautiful day and the falls were gorgeous as usual.  The kids had a blast and we got to see who was the most adventurous  it was definitely the one closest to the camera.  We were forever telling him to get out of the water.  

Michael has gone to this pumpkin farm since he was a baby, so of course we carried on the tradition. We went with family which makes it even better!

Grandma took us to this really cool restaurant that also has trains, like real life trains.  AND!!....it had model trains going above you the entire time you ate.  It was such a cute restaurant and wonderful for the kids.  There was even a gift shop for getting all your must have train items.  

On our visit to family we stopped at my aunt and uncle's house.  It was absolutely wonderful to get to see these great people.  This is also the guy that started this crazy life of mine as he married Michael and I. They were brave souls and watched our kids while Michael and I got a night away at a hotel. Ooh la la!

When we first came out to PA for an interview we stopped at the PA welcome center.  It was then that we started a tradition that we have been doing for six years now.  There is this bear that was hit by a car and every year we take a family picture with the bear. 

The first day at our new house the kids raked leaves and played in them. They were so excited to be able to play in leaves. Isaiah didn't remember fall leaves or jumping in them, but he soon join in on the fun and had a blast.  

We have realized that we often would forget to stop and smell the roses. This just resting time has allowed us to pause and focus on what is in front us.  While this has been a hard few months, we are quite thankful that it is what God put in front of us.  

How are you doing?

So, how are you doing? That is a question that is repeatedly asked to us.  It is a good question and is asked with sincerity and concern. We appreciate that people care enough to ask. However, it is hard because it brings us back to the reality of our emotions.  Often times we know to give the answer "good", and that isn't just the correct answer, but a true answer.  We are doing good.  It could be so much worse. We could be trapped in quarantine for 21 days, we could've been exposed to Ebola, we could've gotten Ebola and worse than all that, Ebola could've been in Guinea Bissau and our friends could've been exposed. Praise God that none of that has happened and we keep praying against it entering Guinea Bissau. It is a blessing to be in God's care and in His arms and to know that our life is in His will.  With that being said, it is still difficult.  This is not what we planned, not what we expected and not at all what we want...but isn't that what our christian life should be, nothing that we planned, expected or wanted?

Recently I met with a friend that pointed me toward Psalm 16.  This morning I wanted to read the entire chapter (it's incredibly short with only 11 verses), but I only made it through the first two verses.  

Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, "You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you."   Psalm 16:1-2

When I read the first verse, I was thinking, "Yep, in God only do I take my refuge, mhmm that's true.", but then I read the commentary.  My ESV Study Bible commentary says, "The Lord is the only one on whom the psalmist relies for well-being". Is the Lord really the only one on whom I rely on for my well-being? I think yes, but then the second verse got me.  "You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you." There is nothing in me that is good without God. That is a truth, but do we believe that wholeheartedly? 

This entire experience of being evacuated out of our serving country to be in America until it is God's timing for us to return has been an emotional roller coaster. Our faith is strong, our love for God is strong, but we have been wondering what in the world is God doing?  We know that God will reveal it to us when His timing is perfect, but waiting is hard. We have many questions that we know God will answer one day, and some he may never answer. 

Our faith is what keeps us answering all those questions from caring and loving people with "We are doing good.", because when you have God, EVERYTHING is good.  We want to thank you for asking us "How are you doing?" and please keep asking.  If God has put it on your tongue to ask us, then He wants you to ask. We have felt loved and prayed over through this whole process. Our God is a big God and He cares for all of us so much.  We have an amazing support around us and we praise God daily for all of you.