Six Weeks Home

We have officially been back home longer than our time away in Haiti.  It's been good to be home, strange to be home, definitely missing the  places and people we spent life with in Haiti, and strange to think we even did what we did!  Even now, I sometimes fuzz out of reality and just look around wondering where I am and what happened?  It is interesting the effect a mission trip, though very short overall, can have on you.  Maybe more strange is that so called reverse culture shock.  You think you are good when you first get home, everything is familiar enough, but it creeps up on you rather unexpectedly.  Then you think you have worked through it, and randomly there it is again.  Sneaky.  The past couple days, I've inadvertently driven "like a Haitian."  That helps.  Not sure how the motorists around me feel about it...

Yep.

 

Four weeks ago, I started my new position as a fourth grade teacher at a nearby university model school.  It's been great so far, and it is nice to be amongst an age group that can usually get my humor.  My last position as a kindergarten teacher did not offer that so much.  I teach in class Monday and Wednesday, then usually help with "home days" for our boys, as they go there now too.  This curriculum and method of education is packed with lots of work!  More work than the boys, or us, were previously use to as full time homeschoolers.  But it is good and we already see the boys adapting and learning much just in a month.  Veronica usually works the same days I am teaching so we have the same days off and can really do the family thing together.  This is a big piece to the ums model- time with family.  Even so, we are still just very busy.  On most days, too busy.  Truth be told, sometimes our trip this summer, and future possibilities, are not on our mind.  The Lord has a way of not letting us forget though.  Among many events since we returned, I had a birthday, and just a couple weeks ago this little guy turned seven!  That is something.  It also means our other son will soon be nine.  Wow.

7th 'Lego' Birthday.

We were blessed to have a couple friends from Haiti come to central Texas for a week.  They stayed with us a few nights, as well as a couple other friends from church.  They got a good taste of Texas in food, culture, and landscape.  For us, their time here was a terrific reminder of those future possibilities and permanent connections to Haiti.  A reminder that the world is not so big anymore, and Haiti is not that far.  Haiti is waiting. 


Stevens and Erisias leading an evening of worship at our church.  Awesome. 

The other big news, which I'm sure has spread just about everywhere by now, is we are expecting again!  This one is another, and yes somewhat unexpected blessing from Haiti.   Maybe even a stowaway you might say...  We are thrilled though.  We found out the last week we were in Haiti and had to keep quiet all this time, except for a few choice people who needed to know.  Baby will be here around March 27 give or take.  How will they change our future possibilities?  Maybe they are a part of the plan in an unseen way and things are just as they should be.  I tend to think so.  

The newest Hughes!



So as for the future possibilities, let's say there is a chance to be a part of an orphanage Christmas party in Port au Prince this December.  There is a chance of continued short term work next summer similar to this summer's work.  And there's a chance of a twenty-one month timeline to get to Haiti in a fulltime capacity.  These are things we have been thinking about.  These are the possibilities that seem right and have a peace about them.  We will see what happens and what the Lord has in store for us!  Thank you for your continued prayer as we seek Him out and what He is invited us too!
  

      "Eden Haiti" Granbouchi, Haiti.  2014?  2015?

 

Blessings,

Joshua 

Another Friend for You to Meet

So it turns out when you spend 5 weeks in Haiti it is very difficult to find the right words to share with people all that happened. Yes it was fantastic and hard and wonderful and challenging and eye opening and exhausting and awesome. Unfortunatly those words don't tell you very much. My hope is to tell you about some of the people we met and through sharing about them, you might understand a little about our time in Haiti. You already met Herwine (now I know how to spell her name correctly :)

Today I want to tell you about Keni. He is a 6 year old little boy who lives in Cabaret, Haiti just north of Port au Prince. Many things about this little boy touched my heart including the difinitive way he said "yes", like he had been raised speaking English and was about 18 instead of 6. His family attends church with Pastor Jackey who is also just amazing. I will tell you about him soon. Something that little Keni did one day just spoke volumes about how he had been raised. There is a hill/cliff type thing behind the church that you have to go down to get to the soccer field at Pastor Jackey's. Of course the little Haitian kids go up and down it like it is nothing. We had to be a little more cautious. One afternoon Ben decided he was done with all the kids messing with him and he wanted to go back up the hill for a little down time. Keni saw me heading up with Ben and he came too. He got in front of us and put out his little hand and helped my little boy all the way up the hill. Every once in a while he would get a little far ahead but he would turn around to check on us and run back to help. The fact that a little boy, the same age as mine, was so conscientious of others, just blew my mind. He knew that others are important. When they got to the top of the hill the boys raced their soda bottle cars up and down the floor of the church while the other moms, construction workers and I laughed, smiled and cheered them on.

People Are Important

Hi Friends!

Between shady internet access and no computer, it has been hard to do a blog post here in Haiti.  If you haven't been following us on Facebook or Instagram this is to let you know that we are alive and well!  We have had such an adventure and God has been so gracious to us and we aren't even at the half way point yet.  We have been a part of 2 different trips so far and we start our next trip tomorrow around lunch time.  The boys are having a blast.  Josh and I are trying to pick up some Haitian Creole.  This has been so good for our family.

Tonight I wanted to share about a young lady we met at the orphanage.  Her name Harwin, although I think I am spelling that wrong.  We met her on our first trip to Haiti 2 years ago.  We were only there a couple days for only a few hours, but she remembered us.  She was instantly drawn to Benjamin and asked if she could keep him.  She is one of just a few girls at Good Shepherd Orphanage.  Every morning she ran up to Benjamin and gave him a big hug.

On Wednesday Ben came down with a stomach bug.  He and I stayed back at the church.  Josh said all the children asked where Ben was.  Harwin made him a bracelet as a get well present.

That evening Ben had a fever and was feeling pretty bad.  Harwin had Sister Mona, the wonderful lady that runs Good Shepherd, bring her up to see him.

She sat with Ben and played and talked.  She rubbed his feet and sang to him and hugged him some more.  That young lady loved on my little boy like he was her own.  My little boy she had only met a few times.  Oh that I would be able to love like that. 

  

Here in Haiti relationships are important.  I love them for that.  They love with abandon and I sometimes feel like the Grinch with my heart two sizes too small in comparison.  

Imagine that- going to the poorest nation in the western hemisphere and learning to love more.  It begs the question- Who is really poor?

Love you all with this growing heart of mine!

Veronica

1 Week and Counting

Hey Friends,
Well we are 1 week 2hours and some change away from this little trip that has become a reality these last few months.   People keep asking how I am feeling.  "Are you excited, nervous, stressed, ready,....?"  The answer is well, - Yes! 

We have done our very best to plan out all the "to do's" over the last weeks to help with the stress/crazy level and that has helped a lot.  We have scheduled in date nights(thank you Kathy Russell!) and family/friend time and watched the Spurs totally run over the Heat!! which has helped us relax amidst the busyness of it all.  But what I have felt more in the last week is that we are being carried by the grace of God and the prayers of others.  It is almost a tangible thing.  I have lost count of how many people who have told us they are praying for us and thinking about us.  I want to tell them "I know!"  I shouldn't be as together as I am right now, so someone MUST be praying for us!  Keep it up!

Among all the emotions that I am feeling at any one time, is one that I didn't really expect.  I have felt so humbled.  Something about working with and among the people of Haiti seems like something sacred.  Almost like Moses and the burning bush.  Who am I to go do this work for you Lord?  I have felt similarly when taking care of the dying.  God is just there in a palpable way and you wonder why you have the privilege of being a small part of it.  The other humbling thing is the outpouring of love and support we have received.  It is something to have so many people in your corner.  We could not have made this trip without the financial and prayer support of so many, helping in ways we didn't know we needed, reminding us of things we didn't even realize.  It has been pretty amazing. 

So yes we are busy and a little crazy at times, but most of all we are beyond blessed and totally grateful.         

-Veronica

A Month Away...

As I begin to type this, according to our newly added Haiti Countdown clock, we are 26 days and some hours and minutes away from boarding a plane in Austin and, then the next day, arriving in Port au Prince.  Wow.  It's hard to put words to what you feel right about now before doing something like this.  Excitement.  Angst.  Surreal.  Yes, I am doing this...  Haiti is a real place, with real people, real needs that can be met, real friends from past trips live there, God is moving in big ways there and has invited me to join Him.  It's surreal I guess because the day to day stuff here, at least on the surface, seems so far apart from all of that. 

We've been busy working opposite shifts, and I've even worked "some" seven days a week.  Something I don't usually like to do (I really dig the whole Sabbath thing).  Homeschooling wrapped up and the boys have been "summering" already, and the Perspectives course came to a close with a big integrated project.  In the midst of all that, we have been preparing for Haiti in various ways.  Adding to the pile of supplies, visiting travel doctors, researching trip insurance, emailing with key people about various things that are part of this mission and so on.  But it seems like one day we will be here doing this, and the next we will be there doing that.  I'm not sure how a transition should look anyhow.  Even though these busy things now seem unrelated to Haiti, I think that's not entirely true.  Managing multiple things at once, making time for rest and seeking Him, worshiping in all you do, "working" with your family right there with you are things we will encounter in Haiti as well.  The enemy is sublte in his ways sometimes.  Business is inevitable but it doesn't have to keep us distracted (but it has some).  Finding our times of quiet and prayer are no longer a daily habit but almost need to be scheduled in, or if we aren't careful, they won't happen.  The interesting thing is, when a time of spiritual sustanence like that is missed, I feel it big time.  It's something like missing a meal.  I figure two things from that:  One, you can walk as close to the Lord as you desire.  Two, man how I need Him!   That's the weird thing, the closer you walk with Him, the more you need Him, or maybe it's the more of Him you want... 

This song was on the radio recently and has played through my head more than a few times the past couple weeks. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LuvfMDhTyMA

Yep.

The boys are official pelicans...  They've got the shirt now!  Recently a good friend helped resize these adult shirts to fit, and I think the boys really liked that.  They've worn them everyday since then.  It's been like 5 days. 

I realized today, that exactly one year ago marked my last day of my first year teaching fulltime.  After much soul searching and ado to find who I was career wise, admittedly the first year was a difficult one and ended not as many of us would have thought.  Definitely not how I thought.  I was left wondering, and with little confidence left in my ability as a teacher.  And it took me most of the following summer to break free of the stress that was that year, and process all that happened.  What a change a year more can bring!  Now, we're 4 weeks away from another fantastic trip to Haiti, in which this time, the whole family is a part of, I've regained my confidence as a teacher having homeschooled the boys and seeing the leaps and bounds they made in 9 months, and the future is bright for us.  We aren't clear what it will be exactly, but that does not matter.  We know He is with us.  Difficult things are inevitable, but now it's been my experience that in them you really see that God is there.   Recently, we were in Minnesota for some training for our work with PPM.  The Haitian pastor was there too and shared a personal story of when the earthquake hit and the events that followed for him, including his struggle to grasp the tragedy and answer the question of "what's next, what do we do?"  (As it turns out, PPM's parternship with Haiti came at this time.)  He related it to Job 42, and specifically verse 5: “I have heard of You by the hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You."  Yes.

Have you seen the fundraising thermometer?  Yep, that's 79% of our goal and that is AWESOME!  We cannot thank you enough for helping us make this trip financially, and backing us with your prayer.  One other request though for the next trip, come with us!  

Join us in praying for:

• The teams from all over the US, about 1500 individuals, who will be serving in Haiti this summer (and those elsewhere through PPM)
• Safe travels and time in country for all involved
• Unity of the teams as they serve
• Seeking God, to glorify Him and be a part of His plan for Haiti and elsewhere
• Everyone's future involvement in missions- for those going this summer to go again, and those who have not yet gone, but will, to Haiti or wherever the Lord leads them

God's busy in Haiti, and He is busy in all the world.  He wants it to Himself, knowing there is no better place for us than in communion with Him.  Jesus has called us as the plan to reach those who don't know, and there is no plan B.  And He is worthy. 

Blessings,

Joshua

The Countdown Begins!

ONLINE COUNTDOWN

The End is the Beginning

Quick post sharing a link to another website that is dedicated to one of the projects our church has been fortunate to be a part of in the past.  We will be there again for part of our trip this summer.  The completion is finally in sight, and that is awesome! 

http://www.marianiproject.org/


-Joshua

Minnesota Training and the start of summer

Can you see us there on the front row?  We had a blast at the PPM leadership training a few weeks ago up in Minnesota. It is such a privilege to be included in such a diverse, amazing and devoted group of believers.  We didn't meet one person that we weren't impressed and encouraged by.  There were delegations from not only Haiti but Belize, Jamaica, Dominican Republic, South Africa and various teams that will be working state side.  We got to hear from the president of PPM and what he saw as the purpose and future of this ministry and we are excited to be a part of it.  We received not only spiritual but practical preparation. They even let me attend the emergency preparedness lecture because I told them that I really needed to have that well established in my brain because that is just who I am.  I quite enjoyed it!  The best part was we finally got to meet our teams we will be working with in Haiti and got a list of which groups we will be leading and what we will be doing each week.  It is so fun to see everything coming together.  A shout out to my amazing sister Rebecca who watched the boys while we were gone.  We appreciate you!!

A few days after we got back Caleb got a sinus infection and the van died on the side of the road.  You almost expect this sort of thing when you step out to do something good, but it was still a bummer.  I am glad to report that Caleb is all better and that the van has been brought back from the dead and is still making it's way noisily down the street.

In other great news, we found someone to watch the house for us!  This is a great weight off our shoulders.  We were starting to get a little nervous.  Turns out this person really needed a place to stay during the period while we were gone, so it works out well for all of us! 

 

The boys are playing sports again this spring.  Caleb is playing baseball and is quite the slugger and Ben is part of the dynamic duo with his friend Spencer on the soccer field.  They are so fun to watch.  The night before their first games they slept in their uniforms because they were so excited. 

Our last day of homeschool was last week.  We were done almost a month ahead of schedule!  I was never terribly great at sticking to the plan and Joshua was amazingly great at not only following the plan but getting ahead.  The boys have learned so much from Joshua this year and I am so proud of all of them.  Caleb got comfortable with reading (and actually likes it), learned cursive and multiplication and how to work more independently.  Ben is reading, adding and writing his letters amazingly well for a left handed little boy.  We are sad to close this homeschooling chapter but excited to be a part of Fortis Academy next year.  Josh will be teaching forth grade and the boys will attend Monday and Wednesday and work from home Tuesday and Thursday.  It will be a change, but a very good change. 

We are at 77% of our fundraising goal and we have so many wonderful people to thank.  We appreciate each one that has contributed.  We know that we do not go alone and are so blessed to know we have so much support. We also purchased our tickets last week.  Such a big moment!

Full speed ahead into the next 6 weeks!  Only 41 more days to Haiti!

Much love,

Veronica (and Joshua, Caleb and Ben)

   

Camping and Field Trips and Rockets and Haiti Update!

Hi All!
Isn't that a great picture!  This is at Storms in Burnet on our way to a camping trip over Spring Break.  We went with some friends of ours and had a great time, although there were a few times we thought we might blow away.  Camping in 30 mph winds was a new one to us! 

We went camping on the south shore of Lake Buchanan.  It was a stark reminder that we are still very much in a drought.  It was quite a hike from where the water level should be and where is actually is.  The kids did manage to get totally muddy and soaking wet however, so I would say we can count it as a successful lake trip :)

We took the family on a field trip to the Capitol for "Space Day".  The Johnson Space Center had all kinds of activities and games for the kids and they had a great time.  We also got to talk about Texas history and government, oh, and play with the cannon :)  Caleb is launching a rocket he made...

Speaking of rockets, Caleb suprised Josh last week with a model rocket that he bought with his own money.  He and Josh had been looking at them for quite some time and Caleb decided he would buy one for them to set off together.  He is such a sweet kid.  We met some friends at the park and had a great time trying out different engines and seeing how high they would go.  I thought is was funny watching the adults run with the kids across the field to chase them down.
And last but certainly not least, the latest on our Haiti preparations!  We sent our fundraising letters out a few weeks ago and have had a great response!  We are now at 52% of our goal!  It has been such a blessing to have people give so generously to our mission.  Our next big purchase is tickets to Haiti.  We will hopefully be able to get them after our training at the end of April when all the details about dates are hammered out.    

Can you believe it is April already?!  No fooling here!   Summer will be here before we know it! 

Blessings,

Veronica (and the guys)

   

Spring Break and HE Goes Before Us!

It is 7AM and pitch black outside.  Ah, spring forward!  It does mean we get more daylight during the "waking hours," which is good for me as I have a small mountain of mulch in my front yard.  This mountain will be moved one wheel barrow at a time to the garden plot in the back over the course of spring break.  I hope to have it done and planted by 3/15, the typical sowing date for our area (according to some though if you ask me, I wish I had sown about 2 or 3 weeks ago with this lack of winter).  Hopefully "BacktoEden" will work here in central Texas...  

Here's a picture of the mulch mound.  Fortunately, mulch is weigh (get it?) lighter than soil, something I moved one wheel barrow at a time 5 years ago. 

As it turns out, I did get the job at the local UMS school, which I can now share is Fortis Academy!  I will start for the fall semester of 2013 as a 4th or 3rd grade teacher.  Pretty excited about this as I believe the UMS model to be one of the best ways of education and I get to be a part of it.  The boys will go too, and they seem pretty happy about becoming "Falcons," and having Fridays off.  It is likely we will be getting back from Haiti this summer on a Friday and I will be due in for the 2 week teacher pre-prep time come Monday.  Yikes!  It is very cool though, that within one week's time, Veronica and I were accepted to join Praying Pelican this summer, and then I am offered a teaching role for fall.  The Lord is going before us!  

And man we have been getting help lately!  The Lord and His people have been blessing us right and left, and not just the above obvious items.  Every step of the process to make this mission happen has been almost electric with the feel of "what is He going to do next?!"  In the last week, we have had some tremendous help from friends as we created our support letter for the trip.  We had great guidance and help on the how to's, picture taking and envelope stuffing.  As if that were not enough, we received significant help on the plane tickets to Minnesota for the PPM training in April- our first and most pressing financial to do... And it is now done!  I cannot show my gratitude enough to these giving people and to God Himself Who has "prepared these good works beforehand." 

Speaking of, lately I have camped in the book of Ephesians.  It has so much richness to it, and so much I just can't seem to grasp.  I've read and reread trying to get it to soak in my being.

"And you He made alive, who were dead in trespasses and sins... But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us,  even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved),  and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus...   For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God...  For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them." 

And chapter 3 speaks of the mystery of the Gentiles sharing in the inheritance.  That's us!  What GOOD NEWS.  What a good future God has prepared for us to walk in beforehand.  And He is working on us, building His church and making His Kingdom run out the counterfeit.  Awesome.

Keep an eye on your mailbox.  The letters are on their way!  Your continued prayers and financial support are making the Haiti trip a reality!  We are so very thankful.  Please call, email, snag us at church or pull a "I was in the neighborhood" and ask us about the trip this summer.  We would love to share more about what we will be a part of and share even more stories from our past two trips (just not enough space in the letter!).  Enjoy the family picture that "almost" made the cut...

-Joshua

We are going to Haiti!

The big news is after a recent phone interview with PPM, we are officially on the Praying Pelican Missions staff for Haiti this summer as assistant trip leaders! We are very excited! Our plan is to leave June 20th and stay until July 26th. Five whole weeks! We have stayed for a week at a time before, so this is quite a jump.

Also the other biggie is the boys are coming with us! When we started to search out mission opportunities we were set on the family going together, and we are grateful to Praying Pelican for accommodating our request. We know the boys are going to do great and it is exciting to introduce them to missions and another culture. We will help lead the High Point team during their trip in the Carrefour area, as well as helping lead 3 or 4 other churches from the states during our 5 week stay. There is one week that we have "off" and will spend it traveling to a couple new locations in Haiti that are in need of full time missionary work. A possibility for us in the future? God knows, and says one step at a time. :) Interesting possibilities for sure. We are just happy the Lord invited us back to Haiti to continue to help, and be a catalyst to other American Christians as they find Kingdom needs in Haiti and all over the world.

Our next big step in the summer mission process is fund raising. We are currently working on a support letter seeking help for the trip both financially and spiritually through prayer. We hope to send that out this weekend at the latest, so check your mailboxes next week. We are working with a total budget of $6,200 that covers all aspects of our trip for the four of us. Even before making fundraising official, we have raised $1,025! How awesome is that?! God is faithful. That being said our first and biggest fundraising goal from the above total is for airline tickets. PPM will reimburse us for the adult tickets to Haiti, but the boys flights will need covered. In addition, we have a training weekend at the end of April in beautiful Minnesota that we will need to raise flight money for as well. Anyone have some frequent flyer miles to donate? If you are interested in sending financial support our way now, you can do so by sending a check to our home church at:

HighPoint Fellowship
600 W New Hope Dr
Cedar Park, TX 78613

Please make payable to "HighPoint Fellowship" while indicating "PPM-ATL" in the memo line. Or, if you are a HighPoint member, you can give online and select the "missions" drop down, and indicate "PPM-ATL" in the notes box. These checks and online donations are tax deductible. If you make a check out directly to us, which are certainly welcome as well, they will not be tax deductible. And of course, we seek your prayers even now as well. God is on the move in Haiti, and we are thrilled to be a part of it. God is certainly on the move in our lives and we are listening. Thank you for your prayer covering.

Please make comments on our blog, facebook us, email us, call us... stay in touch and we will too! Let us know if you want to get together and talk about these big things. Let us know how we can be praying for you and what God is doing in your lives!

Till next time, blessings...

Home Improvements

Hey there!

Wanted to give everyone the latest about what is happening in Hughes-ville.  Look at our new counters!  They were a sort of beige something before, so trust me that this is an improvement.  It was quite a project for Joshua and I am so happy how they turned out!  Good Job Honey! 

Also a couple of weeks ago we had a group of very amazing friends come to help us paint the inside of our house.  We started at 9am and were mostly finished by lunch!  It was surprising how fast it went and how many of our friends who really hate painting came anyway.  And only one unplanned trip to Home Depot was made!  All and all very successful.  It was nice to put all the furniture back the same day we painted.  This color is called "Sea Star" and I love it! 

Joshua had his second interview with the local UMS (university model school) last week, and it went great.  We are waiting to hear back on their decision.  The way it works is that the kids go to school 2 days a week, say Tuesday/Thursday and then the parents teach them at home on the other days.  We have looked at this as a possibility for the boys in the past so we are pretty interested/excited about this opportunity.  Josh is also working on a new garden technique for this year's spring garden.  If you haven't heard of it, check out http://backtoedenfilm.com/.  Very interesting methods and ties to Scripture.  Anything to help in this arid Texas weather!  Aren't the baby plants so cute! 

Spring break is next week!  Can you believe it is March already?  We don't have any big plans since I am working most of the week, but it will be nice to have a week off from the typical schedule.  Happy almost Spring!

 

The Ball is Starting to Roll

Last Saturday, we had a garage sale and it did quite well!  We started with $30 withdrawn from our "missions savings," as change for shoppers, and by the end of the day it turned into a plus $550.  Wow!  That was an unexpected blessing and hopefully an indicator that we are stepping in the right direction.  Our boys even set up shop with a lemonade/kool aid/tea/cookies/cinnabons stand, and did quite well also.  Thank you to those who prayed for us, bought from us, donated things to sell, and/or otherwise made donations to the cause! 

The cause: we are currently talking to Praying Pelican Missions about becoming Assistant Trip Leaders for about 5 weeks this summer in Haiti.  More details as they develop, but we are hoping to include the boys on this trip.  We have sent in our applications and references, and are awaiting the next step.  The total costs will become clearer over time, but for right now, I added a fundraising thermometer to our page that reflects a support raising goal of about half of what we think the trip will cost.  "Half" may be a good measure of the support we need to raise for something like this.  It may be more, or may be less.  At least for now, the thermometer gives a good visual aid.

I am in week 6 of the Perspectives course.  It is all about Church history and specifically missions history.  It has been incredible to see the movement of the Gospel throughout time starting with the Church in Acts up through the 2000's.  So many major points along the road had very much to do with God and His kingdom becoming more present on Earth.  It is very interesting to see how Christians either voluntarily (or involuntarily) went out, or unreached peoples voluntarily (or involuntarily) came to them for the sake of ultimately hearing the message of the Gospel.  And more so, to learn about how different cultures through time expressed their individual Christianity is very cool.  History in school was never like this (and so much makes more sense now)!  If you want to draw closer to the Father's heart and His plan for the world, Perspectives is highly recommended!  They have classes locally during spring and fall, and online year round. 

This next Saturday is our painting party.  The living room, front entry, hall, and dining rooms are long overdue.  With the garage sale, we have freed a lot of space and that should make for simpler painting.  We feel like this is a bit of spiritual thing in that we are being good stewards to what we have been given.  Being faithful in the "little things" now, and more will be given later, even if it's just painting our home.  This should be the last major improvement to the house apart from the boys' room being painted.  We figure we will wait till either it is time to sell or they move out, to paint it.  Pick your battles comes to mind regarding their walls...

I recently had an impromptu and pseudo interview with a local university model school.  It is an interesting prospect for this next fall that may suit our family well on many levels.  We are praying the Lord's will be done, and grateful for the seemingly random opportunity that presented itself.  The university model is a neat concept where school age kids go to "class" 2 or 3 days a week and spend the remaining days at home, studying and homeschooling with parents.  It follows a university model of classroom vs. study time, and is very much college prep oriented.  They usually follow the classical method of education as well.  It's great because kids still get a lot of time at home with parents, and parents who otherwise feel inadequate to home school, can. 

That is about it for now.  Hoping to have some pictures up of the finished product of the house painting.  

John 17:6-26

-Joshua

February Help

http://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0848AEA92CAB9-helping

Here is a signup list for those interested in helping us paint and sale off some thing.

Decisions... Decisions...

This is Joshua checking in.  It's been awhile, and apparently I am no longer an official "writer" for the blog.  I think user error is to blame as I inadvertantly deleted myself and can not figure out how to be added in.  Ah well, on to the important stuff.  I'll sort it some time.

I spent this weekend in a wilderness survival lecture.  It was great to spend some time in some other things that are of interest to me.  I got a great overview of many topics that I look forward to trying in the safety and confines of our next camping trip.  Now I'm gathering my thoughts to share on what's been going on with us.  It's long overdue.  About 2 years over due.  There has been so much going on in our world lately, it's hard to know where to start, or even which parts to share.  Even those of you around us in person, are only getting snippits of it all!  We've been making a lot of decisions in the last several months.  Big ones, small ones, and yes even changing our minds on things we thought were set.  This is all in an effort to align ourselves with the Lord's will for our family's future and calling.  Lately, just when I think we have something settled, He closes the door, and sometimes quite evidently.  We are becoming familiar with the characteristics of "closed doors" and at a lesser rate, the characteristics of "open doors."  There is forward progression, and I would say with all the closings, the Lord is funneling us into something specific.  It is exciting!

We thought we were going to join YWAM Tyler this year in June, or at the latest January of 2014.  Our lives revolved around getting us there, including house preparations, prayer, and planning what should happen each month that gets us more ready for June physically, spiritually, mentally and so on.  It's definitely a process.  You do not just go into full time missions "next week."  A lot of preparation is involved and much of that is preparation of the heart.  We are talking about leaving the American dream and lifestyle, all we have known and doing something completely different in everyway.  It is diving into where God is and what He is doing worldwide.  It means FULLY relying on Him, and ridding those little inklings of "well I have this savings account or that medical insurance" and so on.  This dramatic of a change is still our vision and hope for the future.  Our route there seems to be changing a bit. 

We are no longer considering YWAM Tyler for June or even January at this point.  It has nothing to do with YWAM the organization; I hope we will join them in the future according to the Lord's will.  It is a fantastic ministry!  Veronica and I came to realize that missions on your own is one thing, missions as a married couple is another, and missions as a family with children is yet another.  One size does not fit all here, and each person is in a different place readiness wise.  For now, we are slowing down our jump into full time missions.  While Veronica and I feel completely ready to leap, the Lord says there's a few things to work on.  We've only had 2 weeks abroad on missions, and that was without our boys.  We realize we could benefit from more experience with longer durations on the field that also include them.  We are considering such a thing with the ministry we've previously worked with in Haiti, except now we would be on the leading side of it as we host other American churches on their short term trip there for 1-2 weeks.  Our total time there could be up to 10 weeks, serving multiple teams from the US over the course of this summer.  It's a neat opportunity that will grow us immensely and our missions experience while continuing to help the Haitian Church flourish and reach their own, as well as get the word out to American Christians the necessity for short and long term missions not only in Haiti, but all over the world.  God is on the move, and is inviting His people to join Him!

We will keep you posted on this opportunity as it develops.  For now, the plans remain to work toward full time missions.  Our house still needs work, including interior painting which we hope to check off the list with a painting party in late February.  We also have a bunch of stuff that needs new homes and we will have garage sales.  Fundraising is still needed for the future mission, as well as a possible 10 week trip (that is 10 weeks of no income although life continues back home afterwards).  And of course, the heart preparation continues.  That is to be part of the Christian life anyway! 

We are seeking the Lord on this new opportunity and hope that after this experience, our next step will be clearer including open doors.  Everything is in His timing, not ours, and we're excited to see Him move.  Again, this post seems only to describe a glimpse of all the Lord is doing in our family, but it is at least the gist of it!  Please continue to pray for all this, but more importantly for the hearts of those we will reach at different times and places.  God is to be known in all lands, and glorified by all peoples!  This is why we go. 

Love to all family and friends!

Joshua

Revival of the Blog

Hi friends and family,
It is finally time to revive the poor neglected blog.  With the arrival of Facebook, blogging hasn't seemed as much of a priority but I realize that not everyone is on Facebook nor do they want to be and a blog is a nice compromise. 

Since my last update on here we are into our 3rd year of homeschooling and doing great.  The extra time with the boys is such a blessing and you can't beat the flexibility it offers a family.  Josh is the main teacher and I substitute and am on the planning, ciriculum and field trip/social committee.  As you can see we are very serious about what we do.  Caleb is in second grade and trying to master multiplication and writing his own sentances.  Ben is in Kindergarden and learning to read and add.  They are both so smart and really do a great job. 

I am still working in the emergency room at Seton Medical Center.  I really love the people I work with and the teamwork across the board.  I learn new stuff all the time and have had the privledge of orienting new nurses more this year.  It is a new challenge and it is fun to help people gain more confidence.

As I mentioned above, Josh has been the primary teacher for homeschool this year.  It is pretty awesome that the boys get their own certified teacher!  He really is great with them and they have learned so much.  He also has been doing so many projects around the house!  He has finished painting the exterior, painted the kitchen cabinits, fixed leaks, put in a new fence and is currently taking a college course called Perspectives in World Missions.  It is a great course, but there is a ton of reading.  He has also managed to grow a pretty impressive beard and long hair.

In other news, we are considering/praying about/planning for quite a big change for our family.  We have felt the call to missions for a few years now and it seems lately that everything is falling into place.  We are hoping to join a Youth With a Mission training program called Crossroads Discipleship Training School in the very near future.  Maybe as soon as June of this year!  It is a 5 month program broken into a classroom time followed by an outreach time.  Current classes are doing their outreach in India.  You can check it out at  www.ywamtyler.org.

We were able to visit the campus in Tyler, TX on our way to visit family in Oklahoma for Thanksgiving. 

Isn't it beautiful!  The people we met were amazing and we are very excited about this possible new venture.  As you can imagine there is so much to be done to get from here to there.  We are in the process of getting our house ready to sell and have a garage sale and painting party scheduled for February. 

Please keep us in your thoughts and prayers and thanks for reading!

Veronica (and Josh, Caleb and Benjamin)