Who needs power when you have homemade pizza...

Mondays are our grocery shopping day.  Melissa and I team up and ride to the grocery store(s) together to use this time to hang out and have mom time while running our errands.  Trey usually drops Anna at school then I use the morning to home school Wiley and Parker before we leave around lunch time.  Trey normally keeps Wiley and the baby while I take Parker with us.  The baby takes her nap and Wiley usually plays outside or watches a movie while she is sleeping.

This morning, however we had to change up our routine a little, which is not too uncommon here on the island.  Jeremy had a meeting with a family this afternoon and Melissa needed to be back before he could leave.  This family has a story that began yesterday at church.  About 15 or so friends and family brought a young man to church that is actually dying.  He is only 16 years old and his kidneys have failed, they no longer respond to dialysis and the doctors say he is terminal.  This young man may have a week or so until he passes and hopes to attend church with us next Sunday too.  Part of the people that brought him to church had helped fulfill his last wish, to swim in a real swimming pool.  The other thing that was pressing for him was to attend church and meet with the pastor.  So goes one of the many tough meetings that pastors must have.  I cannot imagine what either Jeremy or the young man were feeling or thinking during this spiritual meeting.  I also cannot imagine what my last wish might be if I were in the same situation as this young man.  Jeremy is actually looking into starting an outreach where the church could fulfill such last wishes for locals.  What an amazing opportunity to share those last days or weeks with someone and to help God fill their heart with joy through an act of kindness.

This evening, Anna asked to have a friend over, little did we know that the power would go off, for four hours....no big deal, they swam, did their nails, played on the computer, almost sounds pretty normal?  Well, when the sun goes down around here (at around 5:30 or so), it gets REALLY dark and REALLY hot if there is no wind.  We are fortunate enough to have a backup battery generator of some sort, however we haven't charged it in a couple of weeks and it was quite low on juice.  So, we had one light on and only a couple of fans while sweating to death making homemade pizza in the hot, hot kitchen.  Good thing Trey can actually cook.  That was the best pizza ever! 

We are actually having some more water issues right now too, not hot and no pressure, it trickles...trust me, it could be WAY worse, so I am trying not to complain.  We have mastered how to conserve water in ways we never knew possible.  Did you know that you can turn on the ice cold water and drench yourself, turn it off and lather up head to toe, then turn the ice cold water back on and rinse and get in and out of the shower in under 5 minutes?  Had no idea; I mean we used to take 30 minute steaming hot showers back in the states.  I feel a little guilty.  Just a little though.

Well, we got everyone sprinkled with water and soap and into bed, just in time for the power to come back on!  We were all thanking Jesus for the power!  It was funny to hoot and holler over power.  There is nothing like sleeping with the roar of the fans to get you and most importantly, the babies to sleep after an interesting night.

Take care and God bless,
Connie

Birthdays, Scooters and Bees...Oh My!

In the middle of our crazy few weeks, Trey and I decided to have our birthdays of all things; on Valentine's Day we celebrated with a surprise birthday cake and a ton of homemade birthday cards.  Melissa made me my favorite cake of all, homemade carrott cake with real cream cheese frosting and even put candles on top for Trey and I to blow out!  The cards that all the kids made were just darling and filled with tons of love.  This will be a birthday that we will never forget, friends taking the time to make us feel super special in a foreign place and making sure that the kids got to participate in the surprise.  Thank you Lissa and Jeremy!

Trey and Jeremy took the ferry (a two hour ride) over to the main land, San Pedro Sula and bought us a set of wheels, a scooter!  The kids are so pumped, they fight over who gets to run to the store or take the trash to the top of the hill on the scooter with dad.  I haven't ventured out on it yet, it has been pretty rainy and there really hasn't been an opportunity for me to wipe out oh so gracefully in private.  It is very economical and easy to park in a place with very few real parking spaces.

We have had some sweet new guests this week.  Very sweet indeed, honey bees!  I left to go grocery shopping and only saw a few around our front door.  Then, on my way home Trey called to say there was a huge swarm of bees in a giant ball as big as the house and that I may not be able to get in.  So, I did what any other mom would do, I panicked and then called Jeremy who referred me to someone very unexpected, Brion James.  Apprently he has a love of rescuing and relocating honey bees.  Who would have thought that the singer/songwriter/producer was a bee whisperer too?  He brought over a bee box and a couple of friends to assist in pulling back the cement board to remove the bees.  It was quite the process and he ended up with all but a few of them.  Thank God, only a couple of bee stings were had, one of which by Trey.  The back of his leg is still pretty swollen and numb.  We hope they stay in their new home for a while.

Take Care and God Bless,

Connie

My how time flies!

So, it has been one month today that we arrived in beautiful Roatan, Honduras.  It has not been the easiest few weeks but we are all still accounted for!

I have actually struggled with writing the blog, haven't felt interested or moved to do so.  Not sure why since I absolutely love to write and communicate with others that are interested in our story...however, I think I became so wrapped up in trying to be this mom that could withstand any all circumstances and bounce right back, that I got a little side tracked and quite frankly was feeling like a failure.  So sad the pressure that moms put on themselves.  Anyway, after coming to terms with myself and giving it over to God, I have realized that it is okay to make alterations to our everyday life and that we do not exist  because of a schedule instead we exist to fulfill that purpose that HE put in our hearts, to love our husband and kids!

After much discussion and my feeling like a failure, we decided to put Anna in bilingual school.  She had a bit of time dealing with yet another change but she is amazing and doing really well and enjoying herself.  She sang in the talent show with a new friend, Marianna.  She ended up spending the night with us and setting up church and going with us on Sunday.  So fun to expose kids to what life can be like with a loving group of Christian friends/family. 

Anna is thinking about playing on the baseball team.  They have a co-ed team and no softball, just baseball.  We will see after she attends a practice if she sticks to it.  She is also thinking about doing some TaeKwanDo with her friend, Marianna.  They don't have anything sports related for Wiley's age group, so he is thinking about taking some Steel Pan drum classes.  Hopefully the futbol (soccer) league that Trey is working on will happen soon; my kids are all dying to play soccer again, for sure.  

We are getting ready for the first outreach opportunity that Trey and I have organized for the rChurch.  We will be painting some classrooms at the school that Anna attends as well as the colorful fence that surrounds the school.  Definitely hoping to get the kids involved and use this as an opportunity to have a positive impact on kids that we wouldn't otherwise get the chance to do so with.  We will be doing monthly or every other month community outreach projects and alternating with fellowship programs.  So excited to start to see some of the fruits!

Trey is working weekly with Living Water for Roatan and helping Henry prepare for the first short team mission team to arrive the next week or so.  They will be finishing up a storage building and some other construction related items as well as doing some discipleship within the colonia.  The second week of March, the universities that are spearheading the water treatment facility in the colonia will be in for a couple of weeks to meet with locals and get the ball rolling.  Trey will play a big role in those meetings.  He is very excited to see that all the meetings in the past are now coming to a point in which we will now see something begin to take more shape.

That is all for now, btw our internet connection is awful, so I usually always end up having to wait until the evening when not as many people are online...which means I am soooo tired at that point.  Please pray for plenty of energy for me to get through each day and evening after being awoken several times each night by a different child.  I know that one day I will miss the pitter patter of feet in the night. 

Take Care and God Bless,

Connie and Trey