No Quiero ... I Do Not Want

A tree to climb and ...
they made a rope swing!
This morning as our alarm beckoned me from dreamland, I found myself feeling like a defiant toddler!  I didn't want to wake up, didn't want to get out of bed, didn't want to take a shower, I didn't want to go to church and I didn't want to put forth any effort today! ... Regardless of how I was feeling, I am a 45 year old Mama and therefore chose to deny my 'wants' and prepare myself for the day! As I snuggled up to my 'bed warmer' for a few more seconds I attempted to redirect my thoughts to that of thankfulness to The Creator of the Universe and The Lover of me.  Fast forward 2 hours ...

I found myself in a position where there were no words, no effort needed ...  As we sang, "Holy, Holy, Holy" ... I stood speechless, unable to contain my emotions (imagine that!), in awe and with no effort of my own.  Standing in the presence of a Holy God, my spirit bowing in reverence to the lover of my soul.  I was overwhelmed with the simple fact that ... He loves me and He beckons my spirit from it's selfish wants to rise up and worship ... sometimes without effort of my own! "So I'll stand with arms high and heart abandoned, In awe of the One who gave it all, I'll stand My soul Lord to You surrendered, All I am is Yours!"

Today I felt justified in my selfish desires of not wanting to put forth any effort after a week of going in circles and dodging potholes! Our skeleton crew staff hosted a group of 63 "Earth Movers, Room Changers and Face Lifters" while the rest of our staff hosted two VM teams in Honduras.  In CR, these youth put a huge dent in the pile of dirt as they carried buckets loads of wet dirt from one place to the other ... isn't that what mission trips are all about? : ) ... They covered dirty blue walls with a lovely shade of white ... Gave a face lift to a local church ... And blessed the families of La Cuenca with fresh color on their walls!

Dodging pot holes ... Denying my selfish desires ... Greater is He that lives in me ...
My soul must stand!

Praise
Team is back safely from Honduras, reunited!
Jeanessa joining our family
Strength for today, hope for tomorrow
My soul soars in His presence
Another year of life and birthday surprises
Hazelnut coffee creamer
Herbert and Laura, mechanics who care for us

Prayers
Group of 120+ coming this week
My relationship with Rosario our cook
Health ... many are battling colds
Vans for VidaNet  ... FB Post from Delynn Hoover:
         VidaNet is receiving 120 youth on Thursday and due to two recent calamities with the older fleet of vehicles, we are desperately in need of purchasing a new vehicle. This vehicle meets our requirements perfectly. The owner has said that he would hold it for us. We have raised $11,620 towards it's $18,000 purchase price. Would you be willing to help us reach our goal? Message me (Delynn Hoover) if you would be interested. We only have $6,380 to raise. We would like to have this vehicle for the 120 arriving on Thursday ... #directinvestmentinthekingdomofgod

Life on The Mountain ... 
Bob, this one's for you! ... new toilet plungers
... cheap new toy!

Face Lifters at a local church

Picnic with a buddy ... food always tastes better!

Isn't this how it's done? ... One works while 2 supervise! 

He can't keep his hands off them!

"Micah, I do it myself!"

"Move that dirt"... 5 more loads coming!

Packing lunches ... left over chicken ...
 love these two

"Room Changer Crew"

Gettin' some baby love ...
Jeanessa and Genesis

Kids club ... Jose lovin' my attention 

Craft time at La Cuenca with El Nido Mamas

Kids craft ... Funny Faces

Little boys and a pile of dirt ... Heaven on earth!

Face paint isn't just for your face ... I missed the whole picture ...
legs and arms covered in black oil based paint!

Burning rubbish ... Hot dogs for lunch ...
too hot for marshmallows 

Up over the mountain of dirt ...
to the fire he goes

Of course you need a Machete to make bamboo hot dog sticks 
No, they are not twins ... who has the biggest hair?!


Thanking God for Preston ...
sharing God's love with Jedidiah

Celebrating my 45th ...
Snickers ice cream cake from D.Q.!!
loving the life Father has given ...
"Sharing" Mati's bike ... Love the blessings of this house!


Pondering Joseph

The pestilence that stalks by day ...
the size of a small cat!
Allow me once again to ponder our purpose for moving to CR ... This week I reminisced of chasing cows around in the barnyard at Uncle Johns as I herded 6 of them out of our property.  Although these memories of tromping through the pasture with my sweet cousins brought me much joy, my purpose here is not herding cows or that of a farmer.  Today, as 1/2 of us sought their purpose of the day at the Base, the other 1/2 of us valiantly eliminated our home of pests ... However, my purpose in this circus was NOT eliminator of pests but rather "screamer of directions"!
Our purpose continues to call us to step out in faith, not an easy task ... Auto mechanic, sermon translator, taxi driver, bus driver, joke teller, Mom's GPS, missionary nanny, hug giver, friend to all, faithful family supporter, dog walker, menu planner and food buyer, Mr. Fix-it, task organizer ... For such a time as this, these were some of our purposes this week.  I can confidently say, God had His hand in each of these events as He does everyday in our lives here ... Today, I was enlightened that our purpose in CR is not only for our benefit but also for your benefit.  Our hearts desire (purpose) has been the advancement of God's Kingdom, "that all may know"... Father continues to birth and raise obedience in our character while we seek our daily purpose here.

Pondering Joseph ... When God provided a way for Joseph to "move to Egypt" it was multifaceted as well.  Gods intention was to advance His Kingdom through Joseph.  In spite of the circumstances, God defined, solidified and established Joseph's character by moving him to Egypt.  AND ... unbeknownst to all, God sent Joseph to Egypt to ensure his family did not die off due to famine. Wednesday is our day to pray for our supporters and as I pondered the love and support we have felt I wondered ... "What is God doing in your lives due to moving us to CR" ... Joseph did not know the moment he was sold into slavery all that God had planned for his life. However, he continued to live seeking God's purpose for him.  The result, the lives of his people were changed forever.  What purpose has God put in your heart? He has called and chosen you, will you heed that call, how will your obedience change someone else's life?

He has called ... YOU are chosen ... Steps of faith ... Lives are changed

Praises
Jeanessa (our niece) arrived safely, love her!!
Understanding more Spanish and ability to translate
Visit and hugs from Bonnie and Jerry
Beautiful full moon and magnificent lightening show
Laughter through the trials
Friends to laugh and cry with us
Team of 62 arrived safely at the Base
Whoopie pies and Peanut butter pretzels
"Tomorrow" finally came bringing with it a backhoe!

Prayers
Vehicles ... we are feeling a serious attack on our transportation, please intercede 
Healing on colds, sore throats, runny noses
Safety for teams working here and Honduras
Encouragement for Daryl
Strength for each new day - to walk victoriously 

Life on the Mountain ... 
"Micah, I do myself!" ...
Train em' while they're young!

I don't know what it was, but it was 2 inches BIG

Hidden treasures ... thanks Nick and Sarai!


The aftermath of the extermination ...
 It was big ... we didn't kill it ... I screamed a lot!

Shopping for 75 people ...
need more carts ... crossed off the list!

Time to play and learn ... Abuelita Gloria ...
love these little buddies

YEAH, our nanny arrived! ... love this sweet girl ...
Jeanessa's heart of gold ... blessing our family

opps ... not our vehicle problem

Whoopie pies ...
and we thought there were shoes in this box...
thank you Jennie!

Vintage jammies ... arrived with Jeanessa ...
 4th son to wear them ... thanks Uncle Jeeg

What mama does while the boys watch the game ...
yup, I used them all!

Adam's birthday gift from LAST year ...
arrived safely with Jeanessa!

Our tables are full ... feeling the love of Father
... blessed!

Never to big to sleep in Mama's arms ...
the day was too long!


Traffic light entertainment!

Bringer of gifts ... blessed to call friends ...
 Gods arms of love ... hugs from PA



The Simplicity of Light

His light shining upon us!
And then, there was light!  Things in life I take for granted ... light!  It was 1:30 in the afternoon, there was no storm, no loud crash, no reason for the event that just happened ... all of a sudden, my world was silent.  The constant hum of 'life' in our house had stopped. My mind was a buzz with questions as we soon realized we were not alone in our world of silence. Not alone indeed, we were keeping company with all of Costa Rica, parts of Panama, Nicaragua, Guatemala, and Mexico.  Finding ourselves in the midst of a major power outage throughout many parts of Central America questions raced through my mind "what will we do about ...?"  The battery life on our phones, kindles and computers would run out soon enough and with no wifi, we found ourselves unable to connect with much of the outside world.  The feelings of anxiety soon gave way to the glorious sense of peace with the realization that we may need to play games by candle light tonight!

My thoughts turned to the simplicity of a lifestyle without electricity and the feelings it evoked within me felt much like Jonah in the depths of the belly of a whale... dark, quiet, time to think, silence! Except for the fact that I have 4 mighty men in this "belly" with me, "Uh, God, what do I do now?" As I mixed up Stromboli dough and set it to rise I thanked God we have a gas stove and not an electric one.  As the silence ensued I started a mental list of "The simple things in life to thank God for".

The simplicity of His love - Peace ... Felt in the recesses of my soul - Faith ... I am my Beloved's and He is mine - Pure Love 

My thoughts of today on the simple things of life seeped into this past week and thus birthed ...
Life on the Mountain ... Keeping it simple! It's all about the little things that have kept our eyes locked on the one who made Heaven and earth ... "Where can I go from your presence ... even "there" your hand will guide me, your right hand will keep me safe!" ... A light above my sink seemed simple in my mind ... not so in my "fix-it" hubby's
He knows my heart ... 
mind.  However, Father took care of it for us, of course He knew just what I wanted! ... Meeting Andrea at the park and receiving valuable information:  the name of the kids futbol coordinator and where the local Zumba class was held! ... Laughing with Sonya, our neighbor, about the fact her dog Tara must be bilingual because she responds to her in Spanish and Adam in English! ... Diego's blossoming friendship, he is our local bread stores owner and loves to share all God is doing in his church ... Laura, our mechanic's daughter, sweet, encouraging, understanding and full of God's love ... Feeling ready for the long trip to renew our visas in Nicaragua, with the comfort of Liz's hand drawn map! ... Delicious Milkshake treat to break up the long drive home ... Micah's gift of companionship traveling with dad through the hills and valleys of CR ... an hour of quiet time for this Mama while the boys worked at the base with dad ... Micah getting his shoes green by mowing the lawn ... a yard full of plants, trees, flowers for me to enjoy ... Angels working overtime, protecting the students from harm when they were involved in an accident that totaled our van ...

Prayers
2 vans in good working order
Decisions for school
Vida Missions team in Honduras and CR
Samuel and Dylan as they return to the base and make a decision on "what next"
Unity, make every effort to do what leads to peace and to mutual edification

Praises
Electricity returned after 4 hours instead of the projected 24 hours
Health
Neighbors and a community to interact with
He knows our every need and provides His best for us



And, for those who prefer viewing instead of reading ... my list of simple things continues in photo form ...
Adam's birthday gift from Rosaria

He painted the expanse of the sky for little ol' me ...

A boy and his swing ... such a gift

Completed pantry shelves ...
thank you Gabo!

Candle light dinner ... home made stromboli ...
Herr's chips on sale for $1.25 ... the lights came back on

wrapped in the warmth of a blanket fresh out of the dryer

the refreshing gift of dew ... Mt Dew

Milkshakes shared with a T-Rex ...
their eyes were sparkling with excitement

eggs for breakfast anyone?

ummmm, what can I say?

his energy relinquished ... he stopped moving ...
snuggles from a sweet little kitty

The simplicity of a child's perspective ...
the sweetness of making our house a home!