Fiesta!

On Sunday afternoon, we were surrounded by over 60 people who joined us to celebrate all that God is doing in Antigua, Guatemala and in our own family. We worshipped together, ate, laughed, listened to a few stories, shared a few of our own, and watched as God moved in a fresh way in all of our lives once again.
So much to celebrate! Six people were recently baptized at our sister church in Guatemala (Iglesia del Camino), and we watched a short video that Pastor Mike had put together to celebrate that event (Click here - it's available on his online journal).

SO MANY people responded to our financial needs too! Due to the outpouring of God's people, we leaped to 70% of our monthly support!

Over $3000 of our moving expenses were provided, and in addition, another $1000 matching gift could bring this total to $5000 by the end of this month!

We are so grateful! Please continue your prayers that we will be prepared when God releases us to go.

Jessica in Antigua

Jessica had a GREAT opportunity to see Guatemala City, Tikal, and Antigua a delegation to meet with the president of Guatemala. Our team at IDC (Iglesia del Camino) received an award from the president for building the first computer lab in Pastores (a little town just NW outside of Antigua).

She also visited Tikal, an ancient Myan city ruin
with over 3000 known buildings. Check out the size of one of the ruins...














Yes, she really is hundreds of feet up in the air...with only a wood guard rail. The tiny box in the background over her left shoulder is another large ruin. Yes, it looks lower than Jessica because she is hundreds of feet above it (yikes!)...

We are the Body

It's amazing...the body is made up mostly of water. Without it, the body would be no more than a worthless, very small, pile of dust. Probably smelly too. Trillions of cells surge through the body at any given moment, billions are grabbing oxygen from the lungs and rushing it to the arms, billions more digest food, skin requires the work of billions more, and so on....

Interesting too is my experience this week as I contacted several dozen churches. So many different ways of doing things, so many sizes, so many phases of maturity, so many different priorities. Each hardly aware of what the other is doing, yet all directed by the same Holy Spirit to move in directions and with power that could never be duplicated or comprehended by individual parts of it.

The church in China is millions strong. Millions more are responding to the Gospel in Muslim countries. Missionary efforts are reaching millions more in other corners of the world. Even though we could never wrap our minds around the scope of the world movement of the Gospel, and certainly the daily concerns and heartaches of each individual believer, Jesus Christ can! He is the water that fills the entire body, giving it shape, flowing and encompassing every living cell in the entire body. Amazing!

TOO LOUD!!

So...the fourth of July. We all got together as a family, ate, and decided to set off our own fireworks before heading to the park for the "big show!" As you can see in the first photo, Shelby was not too enthralled with the resulting noises! She spent the entire, and I mean entire show with her hands over her ears. We kept telling her, "It's ok, they're far away, they won't hurt you. " But she did not believe it! We were so proud of her, though. By the finale, she kept saying, "Wow! Wow!" Her decision was that she would stay, not cry, and enjoy the brilliant colors, even though the sounds scared her. HMMMM.....How many times does God tell me, "Do not be afraid or discouraged, " and I stand with my hands over my ears, not listening, not believing. I can choose to run away and miss the big show He has for me, or, like Shelby, I can stay and push past my fears. I'm gonna stay. I don't want to miss the finale!!

Where did the last 8 years go??

I guess God's really trying to get the concept of TIMING through my head...I'm glad He hasn't given up on teaching me yet!

My way-too-big 8 (almost 9, he'd say) year-old boy went off to camp this week. The only reason I could send him off without crying was because his daddy was going as a counselor! Which, by the way, will be a great shock to the boys in Steve's cabin. Steve seems to think it's a chance to relive his Air Force survival training, and took off for camp with his actual survival hat and grand plans of waking the boys up to sit-ups, hunting for bugs to eat, and maybe even buzz haircuts!!

Anyway, I realized just how FAST the past 8 years have gone when Nate informed me that it was fine for dad to be a counselor as long as he didn't hug him in front of the other kids. What is that?! I already told him I would not be able to stick to that rule when the bus pulls back in on Friday. Then, he let me know: "Mom, I don't mean to hurt your feelings, but" (that's when I brace myself), "I may be having too much fun at camp to miss you. I might even forget to think about you." OK, no problem. Only the Holy Spirit kept me from reacting to that one with wails of, "I'm your mother, I gave birth to you, I'd die for you, " and so on and so on. I just nodded....

All this to say. Life is just a blip on the radar screen. God meant for my life to matter. I don't want to waste any more time worrying about the silly things. I mean, when I get to heaven, where I'll be spending a LOT more time than I ever spent on earth, it won't matter if my house was picture-perfect. In fact, my house will be gone. It won't matter if my clothes were cute...I'll have a whole new wardrobe!! (Is there an Old Navy in heaven?) It will matter how I treated my friends and family, my neighbors, and anyone else who might end up there too if I open up my mouth and tell them about Jesus. So, I can't wait to see you there, and if you want to look me up, I'll be at the Starbucks!

Time's a tickin

We're celebrating 13 years of marriage this month!

We are also 2 weeks into "full-time" work on our transition for Guatemala. Steve's last day of work was the beginning of an exciting part of this journey.

We found a little nugget of truth in patience from our 3 year old. He has just learned to stay in his room until 7am. When the digital clock says "7:00" we hear loud and clear from his room..."Moooooommmmmmmmyyyy, it's seven!". We were all excited! That is until we decided to teach him how to sleep in another 30 minutes so he'd get up with his siblings. We set the alarm for 7:30 and told him to stay in his room until his clock "sings". Easy, right? Well for the next 2 weeks we got the 7:00 wakeup call "Mooooommmmmy, it's seven!" and we would go to his room each day and tell him to wait until his clock sings. He's finally got it, and we are all so excited! We laughed about it the other day as we work towards leaving for Guatemala. If there's a change in plans or a delay, we get all flustered with God. "But why do we have to wait so long? Why can't we just pack up and move down there now?" is the typical below-the-surface grumblings. Thanks to our 3 year old, we can better realize that a little extra time is actually meant to help us prepare, not to frustrate us. So, now we are taking every opportunity, and are excited about the lessons ahead. :0)

On the Road...

Our family loaded up and went to Ft. Walton Beach, FL last weekend. What a time! This was where we had been stationed by the Air Force when we were first married, and the church there had been a family to us. So, it was like a reunion, and we felt so at home. I (Jessica) would rather have walked across glass on the hot motel parking lot barefoot than get up front and speak, but the Spirit wouldn't let me go, and guess what?? He gave me the power to do it! At first, I was so nervous to be standing at a pulpit, speaking to a crowd, but He totally filled my mouth and heart, and soon I was crackin' jokes and feeling right at home! Steve preached, too, and God gave him boldness and power, and many folks were touched. The church voted to take us on for support, and we are very thankful!
We also got to catch up with old friends and have a little down time on the beach. On the way home, we visited the Air Force Armament Museum, where these pictures were taken. But, it DID feel so great to pull into our home...and I would be thrilled not to see another french fry for about 3 months!!