Hope

Chocolate makes everything better ...
a boy after his Mama's heart

Hope ... Seeing ones self standing victoriously on top of the ominous mountain that is darkening ones path ...  Steadily keeping ones gaze fixed on the One who is navigating through the rapids of change ... A deep sense of peace that passes all understanding, assuring ones soul that 'everything's gonna be all right' ... The spark of life hidden in the recesses of ones being even when walking through trials ... This my friends is simply, Hope: joyful, confident, expectation.  Without it, life would be despair.

1 Chronicles 28:20 David said to Solomon, “Be strong and courageous, and do the work. Do not be afraid or discouraged, for the Lord God, my God, is with you. He will not fail you or forsake you until all the work for the service of the temple of the Lord is finished."

When you face a seemingly unconquerable obstacle (a.k.a. building the Temple or learning to thrive in a new culture), in the face of doubt trying to rear it's ugly head, you cry a little, want to throw a tantrum and suddenly ... peace, you have a joyful, confident, expectation (hope) that God has the perfect house picked out for you ... He has plans and a purpose to prosper you, to give you a hope and a future.

Trust and obey ... Mountains thrown into the heart of the sea ... Eyes fixed on Him!

Praises
Feeling supported and surrounded by friends
Double date, laughter
Sweet heart connections
Funds for a vehicle
Hope is taking root

Prayers
Italicized in text above
Wisdom on summer plans
Parenting Jedidiah

Life in the city and on the Base ... a week full of hope

They moved the pile ... sweet reward

It's hard work being a watch dog ...
he makes friends wherever he goes

Daryl's area of inspiration ... it's not Benjamin Roberts
... this cubicle doesn't move!

Olaf ... he's a van and a pickup truck!

English Spelling Bee ... translating into English ...
BEE - utiful job!

El Nido's newest miracle ... Juliannet

Purple Guitar ... lift is good
... singing Happy Birthday

Andy Diener in more ways than one ...
Mom, just cut my hair!

Sunday guest ... sharing life in Lancaster Co. and CR ...
Old friends, new blessings!

Read More

Sabbath

Sabbath rest ... when we cease from pursuing our material goals for one day ...

Sabbath meal ... homemade Stromboli

a day of peace and solitude when one chooses to stop, rest and restore ones soul with life giving moments ... perspectives are brought back into order, ones mind is renewed to think clearly, 'favorites' are chosen and sleep is often a sweet reward. Sabbath is a day of being intentional to be unintentional about ones 'to do' list. I absolutely love these days ... it is truly my hearts desire to engage in this gift from Father.  However, I am not the best participant in these chosen days.  While the rest of the family enjoys their quiet time activity, I have a hard time not taking advantage of the opportunity to peacefully get things done. And then ... light bulb moment ... to retain my sanity, I put myself in a 'time out', close the bedroom door and call it Sabbath rest! How does one find rest in the midst of the chaos of raising 4 Mighty Men? 

I am a work in progress ... He tenderly calls me to come away and rest ... I am my Beloved's and He is mine. 

Sabbath Breakfast date

Saturday was to be a sort of Sabbath rest for our family after another busy work week.  7:30 wake up call from our youngest two was not how I wanted our Sabbath to start!  As I laid there silently beckoning my body to rise and dreaming of the moments when I could crawl back under the covers, I whispered ... "Dear, lets sneak out for a breakfast date before we walk to market!"  With renewed vision and the promise of precious alone time with my hubby, I was excited to wake up for our day of rest!  We left a note for Micah to make pancakes, planted our two early risers in front of the T.V., closed the door and walked out into the glorious sunshine! 

Father commands us to "aprovechar" (some things just sound better in Spanish) "take advantage of" these days of rest ... it's His desire for us, He gave us the example and He has plans and purposes to prosper us in these days of Sabbath! Psalm 84:10 Better is one day in your courts than a thousand elsewhere ... How do you spend your Sabbath? 

Praises

-We bought a vehicle!  A "small" 12 passenger van the boys tenderly named, "Olaf"

Meet Olaf ...

-Opportunity to reintroduce Jairo to Jesus

-Health

-Safety from Lightening strikes, working with power tools and driving through lots of rain

-"Larry, Moe and Curly" dedicated to restoring our Koinonia room ... the perfect place for community and fellowship with the Students!

Prayers

-A house closer to the new Base

-Determination and dedication for the boys to finish up the school year

-Inspirational family nights

-Obedience to Sabbath rest 

*How can we pray for you?*

Life at the Base ... 

Adam and Dylan ... stick in hand ...
countless hours of play!

One coat of sealer, 2 coats of stain, 2 coats of varnish ...
 150+ boards!

Power washing ... note to self,
don't shoot yourself in the foot at close range!

Can't keep his hands off the power tools!

Mama, Can I help you paint?

Father - son team securing the property

Larry, Moe and Curly ... a.k.a. Larry, Matt and Steve

I clearly don't have this missionary thing down yet ...
"Just buy a new door!"

Beautiful work boys ... What a gift!

Celebrating Friday night at Smash Burger!

Heredia 2017 Summer Champions!!!
Enjoying fun, food and fellowship in our finished Koinonia room!

Read More

Life, Death and Gloves

The beauty of God's handiwork ... 

Life ... the miracle of a baby's first breath, the sweet sound of that first cry, the sights, sounds and smells of newborn snuggles ... we cherish these treasures for a life time and often recall them as we watch our children grow.

Death ... I will never understand why the miracle of new life and the finality of death need ever be shared moments in ones life.

Gloves ... Served as a barrier between life and death. Worn by an expectant mother to protect her hands and prohibit the evil spirit of death from entering through them. She was dressed for winter in the sweltering heat of summer, attending the funeral of her relatives newborn babe ... her reason, to prevent the spirit of death from robbing the the life out of wee one in her womb.

Life at the Base ... we didn't spend much time in the City, our days were full of painting, cleaning, organizing, fellowship, and driving back and forth from the new Base.  Our week was full of life ... we welcomed our first work team at the new Base and our Vida 220 teams came 'home' from Outreach for a week of teaching and to work on the new Base ... we said good bye to a couple who volunteered a year of their life with VidaNet ... we visited La Cuenca and shared hope with some of the families there ... we played soccer in the rain ... we worshiped and dedicated the new Base ... we celebrated the end of a week of hard work by taking the work team to La Paz Waterfall Gardens ... Celebrated Mothers Day with Pollo a la Lena (Roasted chicken over the fire!) ... we shared life!  It was also week morning the death of one of our El Nido Babes http://elnidocr.blogspot.com/ ... Amy Danisha was born with complications unable to be fixed by human hands.  The Gloves ... I am forever grateful for the hope I have in Christ, I do not fear death!

We believe in God the Father, We believe in Jesus Christ, We believe in the Holy Spirit and He's given us new life, We believe in the crucifixion, We believe that He conquered death, We believe in the resurrection, And He's comin' back again, we believe!

Praises

Health, strength and a day of rest

Micah's insight into life, his GPS skills and dedication to work

Return of the twinkle in Joseph's eyes

Jedidiah's ability to make friends wherever he is

Adam's hugs, wink and sweet smile

Dedicated work teams getting the job done

Prayers

Vehicle, we found one, praying for favor with the owner

House, we found one, praying for favor with the owner

Jedidiah's heart as he says good bye to teams ... it's ok to be sad.

Unity and a clear mind for Delynn and Daryl as they prioritize what needs done

Wisdom and sensitivity to our physical bodies to know when to work and when to rest

Direction for school, do we utilize a home school assistant, do we send Jedidiah to school

Enjoy these pic's of the life we lived this week ...  

Cuco makin music with Adam

Big tools and the chance to use them
 ... a little boys dream world

Rain boots and watermelon ...
two necessities for his day

Treating, sanding, staining and varnishing the never ending stack of wood ...
thanks for your hard work Kidron Electric Team

A week of no naps finally caught up to him ...
7pm drive home

Using your ingenuity vs. common sense ...
this team knew how to support one another!

My heart is happy ... work day is done ... Futbol in the rain

Words this Mama never thought she'd say ...
 "Yes, you can get a tattoo."

Ice cream treat after a long work day ... 

Our first family meal in our new dining room

Serenading the gringos ... beautiful!

How can something so cute be so dangerous?

'The Beach' at the waterfall

Couldn't get these tiny creatures in motion ...
they move too fast! 

Ready to explore the Waterfall Gardens ... 

Yup, you can touch him, feed him and even kiss him!

I found my happy place ... The Butterfly house!

"Mom, I can actually see him drinking this juice!"

A few more wrinkles, a bit more gray ...
15+ years of growing more in love!

Butterfly Labor and Delivery ward ...
we experienced a few births!

"I see the work of His hand ..."

Perfect ending to our day ...
Happy Mama's Day treats at McDonalds Cafe'

Read More

The List ... Raising Obedience

Green Smoothies ...
Boys, not a word until you try it!

This week was full of daily to do lists that often morphed moment by moment, increased rather than decreased as the day went on and could possibly overwhelm even the most organized, disciplined person!

"Letting go of every single thing, I lay each one down at your feet, Mighty Warrior, King of the fight, no matter what I face You're by my side"

This week was all about being flexible, multitasking, letting go of the details one would like to complete, trying new things and ... shopping!

Our muscles were sore, our Spirits were weary, half of us didn't want to do 'one more thing', half of us wanted to complete the never ending list and all of us wanted to sleep in and do nothing all day! Thursday, Joseph said "I'm not going there again tomorrow!" I challenged him to ask God ... Should he help at the base or should he stay home to rest ... If God thinks he needed rest for the day, then he could certainly stay home. This in turn challenged my heart with the same concept ... If God was asking me to help at the base 'one more day' than ... "Lord, let the words of my mouth and the meditations of my heart be pleasing to YOU!"  Friday we pulled ourselves out of bed instead of pulling the covers over our heads ... We are choosing to raise obedience in our Spirits, right?  God summoned, we obeyed and at the end of the day ... Joseph (Yup, he knew in his Spirit that God was telling him to help at the base) proudly announced, "Mom, we crossed off the whole "Hoover Boys To Do List" today!" As Saturday morning dawned, we awoke peacefully with the knowledge that for today, the work was done.  We were ready to host our first team in our new base! And then ... we took an afternoon nap as the rain peacefully fell on our tin roof!

Life at the Base ...
7 a.m. breakfast - 7 p.m. supper ... Cutting and hauling wood ... painting and painting some more ... electrical work, figuring out what goes where and "then, there was light!"... 24 hours without rain so I could wash and line dry 18 loads of curtains and bed linens ... building beds and more beds ... cleaning ... making beds, hanging curtains ... plumbing ... building a kitchen ... securing the perimeters ... cutting down and building up ... building shelves and tables ... moving, reorganizing and finding a new place for everything ... answering everyone's beck and call with the tools in hand ... multiple van loads moving earthly possessions from old base to new base ... Mama finally drove the van, I think Micah was more excited for the adventure than Mama! ... shopping for necessities and a few wants, probably my highlight of the week ... little by little, day by day this property was being transformed right before our eyes! The satisfaction of hard work as we swept the last floor, turned off the last light, closed and locked the last door ... It was time to celebrate with pizza, fried chicken and cupcakes!

You're a good, good Father ... Every good and perfect gift comes from the Father of Lights ...

 You have shown us Your favor unending!

Lunch time for this crew 

And then, there was light ...
transforming the dining room.

Thanking Father for this creative boy ...
he created a fun way to carry heavy loads 

"Mama, this is heavy, can you help me?" 

The task at hand ...
Thanking Father for Joseph's sweet Spirit
and infections, positive attitude this day!

Future electrician ... becoming a jack of all trades ...
Thanking Father for Micah ...
responsible and dedicated to get the job done!

Load # 2 ... with Micah as my GPS!

Stacks of curtains and linens ...
the other 1/2 was drying on the line

No, you can't have a new pet ...
No, he doesn't live at the base ...
No, Mama didn't take this picture!

Still time for fun and games ... Look Ma, no hands!

New bed and SO happy to switch 'levels' ... 

Thumbs up for PA pretzels, fresh cheese and Tostones ... 

Stacked boards from the tree that fell on our gate ...
"When life hands you lemons, make lemonade!"

Uhhh guys, Heredia plays tomorrow night!
True fans!

And one more time because I laugh every time I look at this pic!
"I just can't drink anything with lettuce in it!"
Pineapple, coconut, lime smoothies ... blended with lettuce!  

Read More