Trust and Obey

One more blog, I couldn't help myself ... This morning, Daryl and I enjoyed a peaceful cup of coffee with Jesus.  As we poured put our hearts to Him, this song was Daryl's prayer ... We are trusting and obeying for there is simply no other way!

Weisers Donuts for breakfast

When we walk with the Lord in the light of His Word,
What a glory He sheds on our way!
While we do His good will, He abides with us still,
And with all who will trust and obey.

    Trust and obey, for there’s no other way
    To be happy in Jesus, but to trust and obey.

Not a shadow can rise, not a cloud in the skies,
But His smile quickly drives it away;
Not a doubt or a fear, not a sigh or a tear,
Can abide while we trust and obey.

Not a burden we bear, not a sorrow we share,

15 pieces, 6 backpacks, 3 carry-on's & a purse!

But our toil He doth richly repay;
Not a grief or a loss, not a frown or a cross,
But is blessed if we trust and obey.

But we never can prove the delights of His love
Until all on the altar we lay;
For the favor He shows, for the joy He bestows,
Are for them who will trust and obey.

Then in fellowship sweet we will sit at His feet,
Or we’ll walk by His side in the way;
What He says we will do, where He sends we will go;
Never fear, only trust and obey.

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Healing Hands

Monday, November 28, 2:15 pm … the packing and boxing will come to a halt.  What could possibly cause one to halt this process in the middle of a perfectly good packing day? … A one hour surprise massage from my hubby!  No, he is not the one providing the services.  However, after verifying with me that this was indeed the perfect surprise, he scheduled it, worked out the details and requested to eat out for supper!  Anticipating this gift of healing hands working out my tense muscles, has made me ponder the multitude of “Healing Hands” we’ve experienced over these precious last days in Akron.  The gentle touch of each of these hands is a sweet reminder of how much Jesus loves us and cares about the details of our lives.

Hands holding us as we pray, hands that rub my tense shoulders, hands to wipe the tears away, hands that hold me as my eyes adjust to daylight, hands that mix the special ingredient in the 20 pounds of Thanksgiving potatoes, hands that hold me a little longer as we cry, hands that skillfully turn the wheel of a Big Rig completing the boys bucket list, hands that shared a cup of coffee and early morning girl time, hands that washed our windows and curtains, scrubbed our ceiling fans, washed our dishes, moved our furniture and cleaned our walls, hands that shared warm Stroopies and Ice cream on a cold blustery day, a Doctors skillful hands that are also hands of a friend, hands that offered their vehicle to use since ours are sold, hands that organized and made our drop-in extra special, hands that send an encouraging word and stop by for a brief visit, loving hands that tremble with age, newborn hands that grip my finger as we celebrate her birth, all the hands that extracted a tooth, hands that prepared delicious meals for us, hands that touch up our paint, hands that hug the boys a bit longer than they desire, hands that skillfully instruct the boys in gun safety, hands that capture the memories behind the camera,  … “Mom, why are you crying?” … “I’m thinking about all the hands that hug me as we say good bye."

Praises
-Our host family situation changed, we will live at the Vida220 base … God always provides
-We will have less than 18 pieces of luggage
-Multiple Thanksgiving celebrations and lots of delicious turkey
-Next blog post will be in Costa Rica

Prayers
-Daryl’s hip pain
-Areas of Costa Rica affected by Hurricane Otto
-That everything finds a home in a box … a.k.a that we don’t forget anything!
-Healing for Adam’s fever and cold
-That our heart, soul & mind can ... Be still and know that He is God
-WE FLY DECEMBER 1st at 8:50a.m.

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Tale of Three Boxes

Photo booth at our "See Ya Later" drop in

Since the spring we have had 3 boxes or piles in every room in our house. They have not always been physical boxes, however the mental boxes in each room have been present 24x7!  The size of our house coupled with the flurry of activity from the boys has caused these boxes to feel like elephants crowding into a VW Bug!  The boxes consist of … Box #1 Pack for Costa Rica; Box #2 Store for 3 years; Box #3 Goodwill, Re-Uzit or Re-gift.  These mental boxes keep reorganizing in our minds and each night we go to sleep thinking “I need to remember to put ‘that’ in ‘that’ box.  By God’s grace these boxes are becoming organized and weighed for our December 1st departure date to Costa Rica!

Often I’ve referred to my life as organized in boxes … As I start a new phase in my life, the memories from the earlier phase seem to be put in a mental box of sort.  I can open these boxes and revisit these memories or leave them tucked away on a shelf.  As we box things up to store, pack and give away, I lift my eyes to the hills, where does my help come from? My help comes from the Lord, the maker of Heaven and earth.  As we close the box of life here on 106 S 6th St, Akron, I can truly say, God has done more than I could have asked or imagined, to God be the glory!

Hemmed in by God … or in regards to this blog …. Boxed in by God
 July 3rd, we started our church sharing with Groffdale Mennonite Church. It seemed fitting for us as Pastor Tom shared on Ephesians 3:20 “Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever, Amen.” This past Sunday as we closed the box of churches to share with, Pastor John from Strasburg Mennonite closed the service with this benediction ... Ephesians 3:20 … coincidence? No way!  His timing is always perfect, His promises always true, His word speaks life and peace, especially in the midst of boxes.  He continues to do more than we can ask or imagine!

Bucket List
Franklin Institute – robot exhibit and virtual reality exploration, awesome!

Field trips
Air plane ride, thanks Dr. B for a beautiful little jaunt over Lancaster Co.
Exploring the Helipad at Hershey

He wanted Starbucks Pepp. Mocha for his B'day

Praise
-Celebrating Micah's 14th birthday a month early!
-Plane tickets purchased for December 1st
-We sold our trailblazer
-We sold our car
-We are unemployed

Prayers
-Health
-Pray for our Family as we say good bye
-Traveling mercies and opening new boxes
-Working out all the details of these last 10 days
-Allow our minds rest and take time for people
-Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow

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Please Fasten Your Seatbelt

There is no other way to start this post … We are 100% funded for our 3-year term of service with VidaNet in Costa Rica!  Last evening, we received an email from a church partner indicating their gift amount and suddenly we realized, the “when God” has become “now my child”!  In many ways, I feel like this picture … We are perched on top of this steep mountain, full of anticipation and excitement, a bit fearful with a racing heart, we want to race down the mountain side but don’t quite know how we’ll land … deep breath … Be still and know that I am God … I have blessed peace with my Lord so near, leaning on The Everlasting Arms … please fasten your seatbelt and prepare for take-off!

Lessons from Daniel
Three different times, 3 different locations, the last 3 days, God has taken me to the book of Daniel!  Speak Lord, I am listening …
Daniel chose obedience to the voice of God.  “God, help me see myself as You see me, quiet my heart to hear your voice.”
Daniel, in a foreign land, surrounded by foreign gods, maintained his integrity.  How? He prayed to God, gave thanks and asked for help.
Daniel trusted, committed and waited on God.
“Father, at this moment I turn to You for strength in my weakness, energy for my weariness, and faith in my doubt.”

Praise
100% funded … approx. 230 partners!  Thanking God for each of you!
We will be living with a host family the first 2 months
Dear friends willing to travel with us and help us settle in
Employers releasing us with blessing
God moments with friends at work
God’s perfect timing

Prayer
William and Laura, our host family, as we take the energy of our 4 mighty men into their household!
Freedom to shed tears as we say “See Ya Later”
Health and tense shoulders
Packing, moving and cleaning completed by November 30th
Fly to Costa Rica, December 1st

"See Ya Later" Drop-in
Saturday November 19, 2016
10:00 a.m. – noon
Carpenter Community Church
378 Glenbrook Road
Talmage PA, 17580

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Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden

 We walked about 15 minutes through the city to the Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden this morning. We went from being surrounded by tall building and busy streets filled with people walking to work to this sanctuary of beauty. Once inside, the only part of the city that could be seen was the clock tower. We walked the trails and took in one of the most beautiful places we have ever seen. I was truly overwhelmed by the beauty surrounding us and the bitty boy sleeping in my arms and felt the most incredible thankfulness for it all.   God is so very good.

All through out the park there were small children there as a class with their teachers. All of them were wearing hats all alike... like this little line of yellow hats. (: The children were all so very cute!

 We left the park and walked through the city. There are giant buildings, stores upon stores and busy streets... and then you can turn and find yourself in a small alleyway where cars don't drive and there are these hole in the wall restaurants and shops. We decided to be adventurous and eat at one of them. They didn't know a single word of English but we managed to get the best meal yet!!

We left here and somehow navigated the subway system... I think we only took the wrong train once and felt lost only half of the time. (o: But we got to the Embassy and back! We have everything we need now in order to come home with Rhett!!! We have one more full day here... and will use it to meet his birth mother and grandmother. 
 

 

We are having a wonderful time while we are here and it is truly a gift to be able to spend this time to get to know Rhett and see his birth country,  but man, oh man do I miss our chickens!!  We have face-timed as much as we can and it kills me not to be able to hug and kiss them. Very soon we will all be a family... I am seriously worried that my heart just might bust when we are together. 

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Day two - Emabassy

Several days of knowing this sweet boy and we have finally chosen what his name should be, 

Rhett Kenta Lekberg. 

Today we met our guide at 8am ready for a jam packed day. We went first to get Rhett's medical exam. We got there before our appointment at 9 and waited a long time. We saw a doctor that spoke perfect English (which is always nice!) We were very pleased that we did not have to complete any vaccines for him here. They are okay with us doing all of that at home.

 

Normally families can leave the medical visit with the forms they need for the Embassy but unfortunately, the report we needed to have from the doctor wasn't ready in time for us. That means that we have to return to the Embassy a second time tomorrow. 

We were able to get the interview done at the Embassy (where we raised our right hand and swore to always love and protect this bitty boy.) They gave us approval for our I-600 (which means that we will be able to legally adopted him once we are in the states).

We will return tomorrow with his medical information and will receive his visa.

This bitty boy is just incredible in every way. Incredible to hold, and stare at all day too. 💕💕💕 He has the sweetest disposition- he hardly makes a peep during the day. We had appointments the whole day, 9am until 4pm, and where we were completely exhausted, he carried on peaceful and perfect.

 

Apparently, Halloween is big here too! The area right outside our hotel has these trees lit up and as we walked through the city we saw a lot of people in costumes, out having fun with friends. A lot of store fronts are decorated... and in a very fun and pleasant way, not a creepy way.

This is what the baby formula looks like here. They are in large cubes that you place in the bottle and add hot water too. It has made it very easy to take with us and mess free... He takes 3 cubes to make 120ml or 4 ounces.

I know I've posted our view from our room already, but I just can not get over it! See that area in the middle with all of the trees? It is a park that is only a few minutes to walk to... we plan to visit it tomorrow!

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