Honduras!

DISCLAIMER - this post is long.....sorry! It was a 10 day trip that imprinted me greatly....hard to leave things out! 

In March our family had an awesome opportunity to travel to Honduras. Back in the September Steven spoke at a Hispanic retreat with another fellow named Mark. He and his wife had been missionaries in Spain and were both bilingual. Mark has taken two previous trips to Honduras to preach and over the weekend he encouraged Steven to do the same. He also, a little surprisingly, thought it was a good idea for the kids and I to go along. So, 4 new passports later, we did! 

Here we are at the airport, at 5am! All smiles....except the 3 year old. Kind of prophetic. 

The kids had never traveled by plane (except a couple as babies and Sadie as a toddler in my uncle's small plane) so the new experiences that flying brought with it were exciting enough. It helped calm my nerves a little to see their enthusiasm for everything on the flight- the tray table is what's lighting up Sadie's face in the next picture. 

Of course Mary Jo had to make sure her baby was buckled in right beside her. 

Never forget that first time you can see earth getting smaller and smaller! It was super early in the morning but they were happy and excited. No sleeping until I made Mary Jo ride in a baby carrier in the Atlanta airport. I looked down to ask her what she wanted to eat at McDonald's and she was passed out on my chest. 

Thankfully the next flight had complimentary earphones and a personal screen, since we had a medical emergency (someone had a seizure) and literally had to turn the plane around over the Gulf and land in Tampa to drop the passenger off. We were on that 2nd plane for 6 hours, like I said, thankful for screens! We arrived in Honduras and had a 2 hour trip to Tela, where we stayed most of the trip. One of the main assemblies there had an old folk's home and a vacant apartment (I think missionaries used to live there full time) so we were able to stay there. It was simple but very adequate and met all of our needs. Steven only had a few minutes once he arrived and he was off to preach his first meeting. The kids and I stayed back with Angie, Mark's wife, to get settled. She quickly became my best friend on the trip - so thankful to have her there! In every way encouraging to me. 

The next morning, bright and early, we were picked up by a brother in Christ who took us in his (wonderfully air-conditioned) car to a meeting about 2 hours away. I thought when we turned on the dirt road we had to be very close.....but, no, it was lots and lots of dirt road and bumpy travel before we arrived. There were several churches that joined this one for this special Saturday conference (they do this every month!), some traveled in a bus, a lot walked, and some came in the back of trucks. For 150 people there were only about a dozen cars. Not like the US! Above is a picture of my littlest kids right after they met the local children. 

They served 2 meals and snacks from this primitive outdoor kitchen and cool stove. 

Mary Jo was quite popular, she was often swarmed with children wanting to play with her or hold her. Here is one my favorite little girls from that first day - she is such a beauty! 

Here's my hot (literally, guys) hubby, in between preaching, eating his lunch on a cinder block. So many people they had run out of chairs! 

Hammocks are a way of life in Honduras. It goes hand in hand with the simplicity. 

My kids quickly jumped on Steven's habit of drinking a cold Coke whenever possible. I couldn't complain too much, I knew they were hot. 

The short walk from the little store back to the church. He had calmed down but earlier David had really scraped his hand, it was kind of deep and rugged. The sweet local ladies swarmed around him as he ran crying to find me and with the best of intentions scared him to death by rubbing coffee grounds in the wound then washing with (clean?) water. The nurse in me was chanting "Don't get some strange infection on the first day!!" but I stayed calm, trying to get him to stop screaming. When we got back to our apartment later that afternoon it was a good excuse to walk the 2 blocks to the ocean and dip his injured hand in the salty water. Thankfully the following day the daughter of one of the elders was a doctor and she had some stuff at her house to appropriately clean the wound. I didn't worry after that. :)

That night we went back to another, smaller church. Here's Steven with his interpreter. Our Spanish is not very good, although I did get better with basic communication. I got to where I fooled people just enough (and not intentionally) that I would greet him or her and they would immediately reply with way more Spanish than I knew. It's amazing how much you can communicate if you really try, though!

4 wheelers don't need interpretation. 

One of our sweet new friends. The Honduran kids were so good to mine, it was precious to see.

"Maria Jose, why you so grumpy?" One of my favorite quotes from our beloved Walter - the young man that most often drove us around and translated for us. He loved my kids but Mary Jo was not too quick to warm up!

On Sunday night (day 3) Steven spoke at this beautiful building, which we found out was the first service they had held in it! It was our third trip and church of the day so we were pooped. 

Mary Jo did warm up sweetly to this little girl. I looked over at them and they were playing patty-cake. So sweet. 

Steven tried hard to make friends with the young guys and talk soccer. When they pulled out their phones and found us on FB we felt like we'd bonded. :)

After a night of vomiting for poor Mary Jo, Monday was a much needed respite day. We had told our hosts that if we could find a swimming pool for the kids that they would really enjoy that. We weren't expecting anything this nice but Walter knew about this resort and took us...and we didn't complain! It was a little pricey but we stayed all day and swam, ate lunch, and just acted like we were on vacation. I felt guilty, but it was a nice day.

They had a swim up bar, which the kids don't really understand the true purpose of - for them it was just a cool place to swim up and get a free slushie. :)

(Gasp!) Our mode of transportation,...if traveling a short distance. 

Sweet Gabby. She is Walter's sister-in-law. She doesn't speak Spanish and is deaf (talk about hard to communicate with) but was so good to the kids and I. She and Sadie especially bonded and she braided Sadie's hair so cute!

This was the usual mode of transportation. We were all buckled in case any pediatricians or concerned grandparents are reading this. 

Steven walked down to the church on Tuesday night and witnessed this sweet scene  - it was just a ladies prayer meeting but yet another humbling reminder that these people just seem to be a little ahead of us in the godly department. They literally have 4 meetings a week (and this was an extra!)

Our bedroom in the apartment was the only one with a/c.....so needless to say we often ended up with a kid or two in bed with us!

Again, the hammocks were very entertaining!

The Honduran children loved it when I brought out the coloring books. They were so appreciative of anything, really. 

Preach it, baby!

The sweet congregation (that David just threw up in the middle of, mind you). I barely got him out of there before I saw in my peripheral vision some sweet saint walking back in with a mop to clean it up. Another lady literally pulled the headcovering off of her head for me to wipe his face with. Just remembering the gracious spirit of the people there makes me want to go back......

On Thursday morning we left early to travel a few hours south to Santa Cruz. There was another meeting there that was having a special youth conference. I had no idea where we were staying, had just been told it was a hotel. Well, it was adorable. And air conditioned! The owners spoke some English and were really sweet.

And there was a pool, praise the Lord! Pool = happy kids.

The following day we got to visit one of the elder's "Vacas" (cow) farms. I unwittingly dressed both my boys in red shirts and David got paranoid (I did too, truthfully, when the bull seemed to be staring David down). 

The landscape in that country is just beautiful!

The next day before leaving Santa Cruz Walter and a friend took us to the zoo. It was amazing!

She wasn't old enough for the horseback rides.

But these three were! $5/kid for a 15 minute ride (out of our sight!)

This zoo was like our old school books we used to read. Literally cages, and the animal is RIGHT there. Like this one, staring you down! I took a couple steps back, that wire was not very thick!

Love these littles. 

Sadie took this cool picture.

Before we left the zoo Steven wanted to see the lions again....and while there he and the boys got to witness an incredibly loud ROAR....from 5 feet away. I think they all jumped back several feet!

Another pic of the kitchens....I just couldn't believe they could feed 100+ people this way. So impressive. There would always be several ladies out of the meeting preparing food.....but no worries there was a (rudimentary, but loud) speaker for them to also hear the message. Unfortunately it only was the translated version so I couldn't understand it. 

Thankfully this "boy-friend" is thousands of miles away. :)

One of my favorite one liners from D "They just keep talking to me and I can't understand them!" 

They did understand how to play soccer together, though! 

Sweaty MJ, being grumpy. 

Saturday night we came back to the apartment and on Sunday went to a different local meeting in Tela. They have bus ministries at all the big churches and just bring in loads and loads of children. Sweet Angie had given my children "friendship gifts," a brilliant idea, of little cars, pencils, cute erasers, and pencil sharpeners. Sadie brought the bag nearly everywhere we went and gladly oversaw the giving away of the goods. By this last day we were down to just pencil sharpeners, and Sadie couldn't imagine just giving those away. I convinced her to do it anyways and I wish I could've captured the looks on their sweet faces as they proudly held their pencil sharpeners. (I guess I did!)  

A coke and a snack cross any line. 

Steven preached about 20 messages while we were there, at several different churches. Mark preached many more than that. Sometimes we traveled together, sometimes apart. It was so precious to me, on the last day, to read in my bible from Romans 15 (verse 6) "that you may with one mind and one mouth glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ." I sat there singing along the best I could in English (if I knew the tune) as they worshiped the same God in Spanish. Even though coming out of our mouths it sounded different, it's all a sweet smelling aroma to our Heavenly Father. What a privilege to hear the sincere prayers and feel the unity, despite the language barrier. 

The people treated our kids like mini-celebrities, but the cuteness of these children was overwhelming to me! I would've taken any of them home if I could. Unfortunately for me most of them had loving parents and homes. 

These guys are two young men, brothers, that translated for Steven - Jorge and Obed. 

And here's our driver for the trip back to the airport, a son of another elder there, named Hector. And on the right is our beloved Walter. I was sad when he left us at the airport. Life is just better with Walter in it!

Just so you know, the baby made it all the way to Honduras and safely back. I believe she and MJ are discussing their plans for when they get back to PG. 

It's seriously an obsession.....but a cute one! 

Sorry for the lengthy post, but it was a lot to write. I started this blog as a way to remember things in our lives and the details I shared here are ones I want to remember. I promise the next time I blog it will be refreshingly short! (if you made it this long, that is). 

Goodnight!

Merry Christmas 2015!

In the slim chance that there's anyone out there that reads my blog and is wondering where our Christmas card is this year, don't worry - we didn't cut you from the list.  Unfortunately I had to choose between keeping my sanity in December or doing Christmas cards, and I'm not really sure I did either one! Ha! But I like doing a letter, it kind of chronicles my year and one day I'll try to make sure I have them all saved. 2015 has flown by for us. The kids are 2,4,6 & 8 and I'm not buying diapers anymore! It kind of makes me sad. My mom says I'm in the "Golden Years," but I'm not really sure what that means, maybe I'll figure it out next year. 

David finally got to play his long-awaited soccer and he did great. His dreams were a little bigger than reality, as you can imagine, but it was adorable to watch nonetheless. He often wore his soccer clothes the day before, to school, just to make sure everyone knew he was playing that weekend. My little clothes horse is still very picky about what he wears. He still loves his shorts but will willingly wear his "cool pants" which are some twice patched slim jeans. I finally broke down and bought another pair this week - his other jeans are loose fitting and just won't do, apparently. His clothes now live in my closet, lots of tears have been cried, and it's just not worth the battle for me. David is in preschool 3 days a week and seems to really enjoy it. He even has a wife picked out in his class, a cute little red-head. 

I'm still homeschooling Sadie and Eli, and the year is going well. Sadie is my little procrastinator, she is just constantly plagued with one great idea after another of exciting activities (I don't think I've ever heard the child say she's bored), and she's slow to learn that if she just gets her work done she can have all the free time she wants. It is fun to do life with her, though, she's learning some things in the kitchen and helps me with projects and with her little sister. Eli is doing great with his school and still loves his sports. He continues to jump and climb things, often to the amazement (or nervousness) of strangers around us. I read an article this year about kids not getting to move enough these days and how it's causing motor, balance, and coordination issues. Eli might not be able to read as well as most 6 year olds his age but I have no doubt he excels at the gross motor area. 

And I can't forget our little caboose. Mary Jo is another little climber and once she learned how to climb out of her crib we decided to go ahead and put her in Sadie's room. They've done great sharing a room, other than occasionally I'll find them both in Mary Jo's bed, which is just cute. She also recently potty trained, and is quite proud of herself for that. She is definitely the baby, though, I find myself carrying her around way more than the other kids would've been carried at this age, and if I don't do something for her one of the other kids will. They really do all dote on her and she loves her big siblings.

Steven is working a lot, preaching a lot, but still manages to squeeze us in. We might not get quantity when it comes to his time but he makes sure we get quality. He took me on a cruise in September and put his phone away for 4 days - it was great! He's also started helping out with wrestling again when he can, his nephew is a Freshman and is quite the stud on the wrestling mat. 

I'm still working a little at the hospital, just enough to keep my skills up. I've started a new weekly bible study called CBS (Community Bible Study) which I love. The kids do AWANA and this year we started helping out with a ministry at Sadie's old elementary school. It's been fun and exciting to see the Lord working in these schools. We're still meeting at our little church in Randleman on Sunday nights, Steven is preaching at different places most Sunday mornings. We've recently gotten a bigger space for our church and have some new families so we're thrilled about that. As I recently saw on FB or somewhere lately, Jesus is not just the reason for the season but truly the reason for everything. There is no true life, no true joy, without Christ. May you find Him this holiday season if you don't already know Him. Love to you all and Merry Christmas!! 

Kids and Weddings

I had the privelege of going to a wedding a week ago of some dear friend's we have met through Steven's preaching. Unfortunately Steven had a prior speaking engagement and wasn't able to go with us, but I was determined not to miss it. The bride and groom made a point to tell us it was a kid friendly wedding, so I decided to take all 4. Thankfully my sweet Mom was willing to go with me and we made a fun weekend out of it. I had talked about my Virginia friends so much that she was excited to meet them and put faces to all the names. 

The day was beautiful, a little on the warm side, but exactly the kind of sky and day you pray for with an outside wedding. The setting was gorgeous, as well. Even though the kids are young I was excited for them to see what a wedding is like, other than Sadie being in a wedding as a not quite 2 year old none of them had ever attended one. It was pretty cute to see their responses. 

One of the musicians in the wedding got lost so the ceremony was a little late getting started. The wise planners had passed out water bottles and made the programs into fans to accomadate for the warm sunshine. 

The bride had 3 little sisters that were Jr. Bridesmaids and they came walking in arm and arm with the nephews of the groom. David, my 4 year old, asked me with an incredulous tone, "Are they getting married?" 

And Eli, oh Eli. Such a sweetheart, but still a 6 year old little boy. As we're watching the beautiful processional I knew he was playing with the string that ties in the back of my dress, but I wasn't paying great attention, I was mainly trying to keep Mary Jo quiet. As the beautiful bride walked in everyone rose to their feet.....except for me. I could only move about 6 inches and then realized with horror that Eli had TIED ME TO THE CHAIR! I calmly turned around and tried to untie the knot to no avail, so I had to sit there smiling, pretending that it was because I was holding my 2 year old that I wasn't standing. He did seem a little embarrased, at least....and maybe a little proud of himself. 

Mary Jo really did pretty well during the ceremony since she's just now starting her "church training" to sit still and quiet during meetings. I let her play in my purse and the diaper bag to keep her occupied and at one of the more sweet, poignant moments I looked down to see my feminine products laying in my lap. Once again a reality check that I had my kids with me!

Here is the beautiful bride and groom. Such a sweet, sweet young couple that truly love and honor the Lord with their lives. It was an honor to be there for their special day!!

At the reception the pressure of keeping them quiet and within social norms was off, the bride and her helpers had an awesome lay out for the kids - bubbles, games, a coloring tablecloth, candy, you name it. It was great to let them play so I could visit with everyone. The boys were happy to sit on the ground and eat their chips and salsa in the shade. 

It was a fun and interesting combination to bring the kids to the wedding. Usually weddings are places you dress up, try to look nice and put your best foot forward. You smile and greet everyone, use your silverware correctly, and practice your best manners. We actually took our kids to another wedding tonight, a very casual but sweet backyard wedding near here. Bringing kids made me realize that part of my job as a parent is to somehow teach them these societal norms. You don't stand in the middle of a party and cry "I want to go home!" or smear the cupcake frosting on your head on purpose (2 things David did tonight at the wedding we went to). It can be a humbling thing to raise these kids the Lord has blessed us with but it's fun, too. It helps me not take things so seriously and just laugh at the funny things they do. All too soon they'll be adults and I'll miss these embarrasing days!

16 years ago today

So we had a date night planned tonight because of a special showing of this movie I wanted to see - plus Steven wasn't working and his Mom was able to watch the kids (we are so blessed!), and I realized today that it was August 13th. Not only is it my dear niece's birthday (Happy 13th!) but it also is the day, 16 years ago, that Steven and I started dating. It's kind of a neat story, if you've heard it before I'm sorry, because here goes....

So we met when I was 15, almost 16, at a youth rally in Durham, NC. Steven claims he wanted to marry me the minute I turned around in the pew and said hello, and about 9 years later he did just that. We liked each other immediately, I wrote in my journal "I met a boy named Steven this weekend, he's really cute, he has dimples, and he winked at me." True story. But despite our chemistry the timing was just not right. By the time I saw him again at summer camp I had already started dating a boy from my church and dated him for the next 3 1/2 years (which did not stop Steven from calling me every 2 weeks or so, showing up unexpectedly at my dorm room, and convincing me to take a trip wtih him to Raleigh during our Freshmen year in college). High school boyfriend and I broke up right before Christmas our sophmore year, but it wasn't until the next summer that Steven and I started dating. We were 20 by this time and I had finallly starting figuring out this mysterious, cute guy that kept showing up in my life. I remember standing in a Bojangles parking lot in Boone one Spring day, telling him bye, and he looked me in the eye and said "I'm going to marry you Sallie Nash." At that point I couldn't really figure out what I wanted in life but had switched my major and transferred to Libery University after my sophmore year. Days before I was moving into my dorm room I was supposed to have LASIK (eye correction) surgery. Steven was in Charlotte, staying with his sister, but was planning on coming to see me that night after the surgery. I took the drugs but unfortunately the machine wasn't working so I had to go home disappointed and sleepy with bad eyes - not to return until after the semester was over. I took a nap and woke up to hang out with Steven, who literally made me sit on the kitchen counter to stay awake while he talked to me. He asked me if we could just date. I said yes, then handed him the book I'd been reading, "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." (I don't think he ever read it :)). He drove home in the wee hours of the morning and wrote me a sweet letter a few days later. Within a matter of weeks he had my heart, still does, and always will. 

Ironically, the movie we went to see tonight (called "Princess Cut" - buy the DVD in November when it comes out) was about a young girl in her early 20s hoping to find love. It was a sweet movie and in it she checks out the book from the library "I Kissed Dating Goodbye." I loved the story in the movie but I love our story even more because it's all ours. The good Lord is Sovereign in all He does and I love to look back and see how He was working in my life even when I was not living fully for Him, not trusting Him, and trying to go my own way. I'm so thankful for our marriage and that my husband loves the Lord and seeks to honor Him. What a blessing he is to me. 

Even though this hymn, "Immanuel's Land," is ultimately about our salvation and our blessed Savior, the words from the 2nd verse always make me think about my life thus far and feel so thankful. Here's the whole verse, I can't just share part of it.

"With mercy and with judgement, my web of time He wove, And aye the dews of sorrow, were lustered with His love. I'll bless the hand that guided, I'll bless the heart that planned, When throned where glory dwelleth, In Immanuel's land."

We have a camper!

Sadie has been going to Mountaintop Youth Camp since she was a baby. When she was 6 weeks old I started working as the nurse at Jr. Boy's Week, with Steven either speaking or counseling. But this year she turned 8 and was old enough to go stay in a cabin - a big deal!

I decided to ask the director of the week if they had the nurse spot filled.....and needless to say I got the job! My best friend from home, Julie, was also coming up to counsel (she had Sadie in her cabin) so it was a fun week to be there together with her girls and my crew. We have a lot of memories of camp together - she brought me to Jr. Teen Week when I was 13, the first of many fun weeks for me at Mountaintop. 

Sadie was thrilled to have a different agenda than Jr. Boys, which included crafts every day! Right up her alley.

The boys did little to no crafts - but thanks to a fabulous Kid's Club worker (one of the staff girls who's job is to do fun stuff with the worker's kids who aren't campers) they got to do exploration hikes, bible stories, cookie making, and swimming. Especially the day Julie's boys came up they had a blast. 

Eli absolutely loves Mountaintop - and I love it for him. He goes an entire week without looking at a screen and he is sooooo happy. He is outside 90% of his waking hours and pretty filthy the whole time. The last night I was reading to the boy's before bed and trying to talk myself out of it but I finally gave in and made them shower - they smelled awful.

David had his moments, as always, but he loves camp, too. And the "titty-tat", as Mary Jo loved to say. He pretty much followed Eli around all day and as long as they were together I was ok with that. He loved that freedom!

Mary Jo did what Mary Jo does everywhere - took care of her babies. Here she is in the hall of the staff cabin, where we stayed, and the campers came if they needed me. It was bedtime, I guess, for her babies.

She even shared her babies with napping staffers during their naps, in case they needed one. :)

She enjoyed the pool, although her motto at camp was "I only walk downhill," so coming up the mountain from the pool, carrying her and our towels, was a workout in and of itself (it's completely uphill, on the side of the mountain). 

She also loved the "driver," (golf cart) as she called it, even when it wasn't moving. 

She has some little plastic keys and tried her best to get those keys into the keyhole!

I was able to have some sweet time in the Word every day and once I looked down and realized she had tucked a baby in my arm. Sweet girl. 

Camp work is hard work.

It was very fun to watch Sadie as a camper. Thankfully I saw different clothes on her every day (a change from Jr. Boys!) and most of the time she was very happy. 

 

The last couple of days she had some tears, mostly just exhaustion, which she proved on the 1 hour drive home by falling asleep almost immediately. Camp is a wonderful place. Such a sweet time to spend with other believers, sharing the gospel with over 100 little girls, and watching them have fun. As the nurse I have had to learn some tricks. Working in the NICU the job is very different - my patients are usually very sick and they don't really need verbal compassion (their parents do, mind you). Every year the first few campers that come in with complaints like "My arm hurts" or "my toe feels funny" I just kind of look at them like "Ok....what do you want me to do about that?"  But after a while I've learned to show compassion and just treat them like I would my kids if they came in from outside with a complaint (probably treat them nicer than I'd treat mine). After careful observation I have found these things to be true. 

1. "My tummy hurts" = "I'm homesick"

2. Bandaids make kids feel better almost 100% of the time. 

3. Give them a bandaid, a vitamin, an ice pack, SOMETHING, so they feel their trip to the nurse's station was worthwhile. 

4. Having a toddler at your feet is a great distraction, for little girls especially.

Praise the Lord for Mountaintop, and the work He is doing up there. I'm so grateful for the weeks that I get to be involved in this ministry.   

The Possum

A few weeks ago we were first introduced to our possum, the kids and I call her "Shirley". The first couple of times she came around we found her in the trash can in the little bathroom right outside our bedroom- both times in the middle of the night. The first time I didn't see it and Steven didn't get a good look so we thought (hoped) it was just a mouse. The second time as it ran scared to death around Steven's legs, out of the bathroom, and towards a screaming me, we got a good look and it was definitely a baby possum. A couple of days later I went to Charlotte for a sweet week with my folks- taking the big three to VBS at my parent's church every morning and getting to spend some time with my BFF from growing up. While gone Steven hired a "possum guy" who came, set out traps (all we caught were squirrels), but assured us a couple weeks ago that nothing else could get in. All is well, so we thought.
Tonight, after the kids were asleep, we were watching tv in the den and while fast forwarding (gotta love DVR) we both heard a noise. I fully expected to maybe just see a little mouse so I bravely walked in the pantry and flipped the light on. This is where my bravery ends. I looked at a spice jar knocked over and then eye to eye with a possum. Steven has been trying to get me to stop the reactionary noises (gasping, etc) over minute things, such as realizing I forgot the sugar or anything minor in the car. Tonight was an exception- he holds no hard feelings toward my screaming. He very bravely took that possum on, what a man. I assisted by grabbing an empty trash can, throwing it at him, then jumping on top of the washing machine while yelling that he should call our neighbor Patrick. He actually shut the pantry door behind him, and it was a scuffle I tell you. Amazingly, he captured the thing in between a bucket and trash can and threw all three things out the back door. As the little creature was running away I actually yelled "and don't come back!" I'm sure she'll take that to heart. Previously, I didn't really think Steven's bravery was much greater than mine but my opinion has changed tonight. I think he can do anything, now! Hopefully our possum days are behind us, though.
It's funny, we just spent an amazing week at Skyland Bible Conference. We go every year, but this year the speakers just really challenged me to live unconditionally for Christ. I was struggling a bit with the fears that come along in this life- maybe the Lord is trying to start small with me to show me that by His grace I can face scary things. On a serious note, He truly does equip us with what we need, when we need it, be it facing a possum or a true trial in life, suffering or persecution. I know I serve a mighty God and He is faithful, praise His name!