Living the life

Missionary kids. MK'S. Kids growing up in a foreign land, with no familiar faces. Kids who stand out from all other kids their age. They are a different color, speak different...look different. And how do these children cope? What do they do for fun? How do they adjust to another culture? I've had mothers ask me, "Aren't you afraid for your children? I mean they will grow up outside
of America?" Here is my answer...



Here is Joey, creative king of our house. He gathered some palm leaves and set them up (somehow) then borrowed a couple of clothes pins off of the line, hung up a blanket...and here he is, in his space ship heading for another adventure.

The safest place for anyone is in the center of God's will. I am not afraid for my children. Yes, there are scary things that happen here. There are murders, drug trafficing, corrupt police, child abuse, just like any other country, including America.


My children belong to God. They are missionary kids second to being Gods kids. I've read a poem before entitled "Children live what they learn". My children have lived and learned creativity!



When we were in Jamiaca for 4 months we didn't have many toys for their age. On the trip down we had to load the suitcases with school books along with clothing for the entire family. Each child had one backpack for some toys, books and crayons. While we were there, I began showing them how to make things out of cereal boxes, toilet paper rolls, and cardboard of any kind. Soon we had piles of homemade gadgets and gizmos all over the house. I finally had to say, "Ok boys, no more for a while, we have too much!" Where we live here, there is a huge woodpile and the children are allowed to use any of the wood that has been discarded. Here, Joey has made a monitor for his computer. The keyboard is just a piece of cardboard...and away he goes!!



Missionary kids don't have it rough. They have a great life. Yes, they live in another culture, but they see firsthand the power of an almighty God. The power of a changed life. They also grow up making their own fun. What a life!! They chase lizards, rescue birds, watch eggs hatch in the bushes outside of our house...make forts out of palm leaves, guns out of wood pieces, they are living life! Wow! How awesome is THAT?!!




Unfortunately all good things must end, and so it goes for the spaceship. The boys went inside after a rain, and when they moved the blanket back, a tarantula crawled out! It was bigger than my hand. The boys decided it would no longer be ok to play in a tarantula hide out, so they tore the fort apart. They now have relocated the fort to another place.

Missionary kids...it doesn't get any better than this! WHAT A LIFE!

Under the Palms

I remember while in the States on deputation, traveling here and there, meeting new people every day. It seemed I made many friends, many acquaintances...but they were quick friendship. There wasn't much time to get close to someone, because so soon, it was time to go again. In Belize though, it is different.

I have now been here for nearly seven months and already I feel my heart stretching. I'm getting to know some of the people, and my heart longs to love them more. I pray and ask God to love them through me. I ache for them to know the love of God almighty. I think of these people throughout my week, and I wonder to myself, "Do they even contain God in their thoughts? Do they realize how much God loves them and wants to know them?"

I wanted you to meet some of our people....

This is a picture of my Sunday School class. I teach 4-6 year olds. We ran out of chairs so we decided to sit on the mats on the floor. Today I taught them the story of Moses and the children of Israel complaining about manna. I passed out crackers several times and taught about the importance of being thankful for all that God gives us. What a joy it is to serve God by teaching these little ones.





This is Anita. Right now I believe her house is flooding. She lives in a small house with 7 other people (at least) and when we picked her up today, the water from the rain was just flooding through her yard. She tends to be quiet and sometimes a little mischievous, but there are those rare moments, (like in the photo) where she seems to soak up every word you are saying, and I wonder..."Lord, what is it that You had in mind when you created her?" I believe He has an awesome plan!

Meet Marvin
Meet Marvin. Marvin is 13 and the 4th child in a family of 12 people. His parents are still together, and they all live in a shack smaller than most of your living rooms...no kidding. They have a stove, and "borrowed" electricity. No refrigerator, no indoor plumbing. Marvin is a self-appointed visitation expert. He knows everyone in the village, and everyone knows him. He loves to go around and help invite others to church. Although he is the 4th child, and his dad's name is George, everyone calls their family's house, "Marvin's house" because he is so well known and liked. When Kevin asked Marvin several weeks back, "Why do you come to church Marvin?" He simply said, "To honor God."





We are currently meeting under this thatch roofed building. We have no walls, no screens, sometimes we have electricity, sometimes not. The spirit is sweet and the people are growing. I am excited about what the Lord is doing here and the people He has sent our way. Serving God is not always easy, and there are difficult days with trials. Tonight we were swarmed with flood flies, the people were laughing and smacking flies left and right. Pastor Mike had to stop preaching and wait for Kevin to go get the bus, then we all loaded up and he finished his sermon on a bus, with all of the windows up. It was HOT! A few weeks back someone stole the electrical box that was to serve the property with electricity. We've had chairs stolen. Now for EACH SERVICE...all of the equipment has to be loaded from the Leonard's home into a trailer, taken to the church property, unloaded and set up. Chairs, pulpit, table for water, water jug, cups, song books, keyboard, bibles....anything that we need for the service. EVERY SERVICE. It is a lot of work. The Bible says, "Thou therefore endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ, no man that warreth entangleth himself with the affairs of this life, that he may please him who hath chosen him to be a soldier."



Thus the Lord is bringing me to the place where I can love more. It's not about whether or not we are in an enclosed building, or whether we are swarmed by flies...or even if we are flooded, this is all about loving people for God. We endure hardness to be allowed the honor of being a "good soldier of Jesus Christ" If we faint in the day of adversity, our strength is small. The boils, the ants, the delays, the weather, the stealing, it all pales in comparison to the privilege of being able to watch God move. Under these palms, I have found joy in serving the Lord and I have grown to love people once more.

Watering the bed

There are some things you do on a regular basis on the mission field that you never dreamed of doing. Last night before Elliana went to bed, I had to water her bed. Yep! I had to water her bed.

When we first moved down to Belize, it was the end of rainy season, and the beginning of a dry season and the bugs were plenteous. The poor little child had bug bites all over her. I would spray her down with "OFF!" right before bed, (which really is not a pleasant smell or feeling to sleep with). All the ants, mosquitos and flying things (with pinchers) just loved her fat little legs. In the morning I would check her out, put tea tree oil on all the bites, and change her bedding...AGAIN. Before nap time, I would check her bed again, put her down and after nap it was another routine of checking for bites, applying something to them...changing bedding or shaking it out...not fun, but necessary.

One of the Belizeans told me I should put the legs of the bed in bowls of water, so no bugs can get to her bed. Hmmmm....never thought about it before, but it should work! So I found some yogurt bowls and butter bowls, lifted up the crib and set it down into the bowls. Then I added water. It was interesting to see the next day what TRIED to get into her bed, but was drowned by the water instead.

So now, each day I check the water level, to see if more water is needed to keep the crawling bugs away. Last night I filled a pitcher and went to Ellie's room to water her bed.

The older I get the more I realize how every situation in my life usually has some spiritual application. Our trials are to make us stronger so there must be something to learn from them.

There is a verse in Ephesians that speaks of "washing of water by the word". The verse is referring to Christ and the church...but I think it might apply to my "watering the bed".

Without the "Water of the Word" in our lives, so many "bugs" just creep in. We may not even see them coming, but still they are there. They take over our hearts desires, and bite and devour our usefulness for God. Before we know it, we're covered with scars due to our lack of using the "Water of the Word" to protect us. Yet, if each day we water our souls with the Word of God, and we live in His will...we can live victorious over temptation and avoid the scars of sin. We can rest peacefully knowing that although the "bugs" are there, they cannot reach us.

Each day as I check the water in those little butter bowls...I also need to ask myself if there are things creeping into my life, that need to be washed away. How much water have I added to my soul?

Chosen

I was reading in John 15 this week and the verse that says, "You have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you." seemed to jump out at me. I have thought on this verse many times this week. When I was a new Christian, I used to think that I chose Christ. I chose the path I would follow. I chose whether I would stay with my old friends or find new Christian friends. I used to think it was all my doing. Sure, Christ saved me...but I chose Him, and I chose the path I would follow. Here I am 17 years later, and my thinking has really changed.

It was God who chose me.

I began to think "Well, I wonder when He chose me?" Was it when I was a girl, and scared and alone? Did God see a girl riding a bus to Sunday School and decide then, "I choose HER"? Did He choose me when I would pray to Him; not even knowing who He was, but believing He was there?

No. He chose me before the foundation of the world. He wanted me all along. What a difference this makes in all of my thinking!

He orchestrated my life to give me an opportunity somehow, someway...to meet Him. He led my life down through valleys and up on the mountains, so I would see Him. He is in love with me, and will never leave me nor forsake me. What an awesome God!

I am amazed at how good He was to lead us here to Belize. To a needy people. A people uneducated on the ways of God. I have met Christians, who also have beliefs in the ways of witchcraft! Such confusion boggles the mind.

I am amazed that He led us here to work with the Leonard Family. It is so nice to be able to have friends to labor with. It is such a blessing to be able to invite friends over for pizza, or to go shopping together. The Lord sent the disciples out two by two, yet so many times missionaries go out alone. I am so thankful God led us to come here, to labor with someone. It seems when frustrating times come, that just being able to carry the load together, makes it so much lighter.

If God chose me, long ago...and He has led my life thus far, why would He stop now? I have often told my husband that after nearly 13 years of marriage, knowing what I know now...if I had to do it all over again, I would still choose him. I think that's how God feels about me. He has not given up on me, nor will He ever. He chose me. If he had to do it all over, knowing now what he knows...He would still choose me.

Just a bag of chips

This week, as always, I was faced with a load of guilt. The guilt weighed down my spirit and left me confused with no answers to the problem that plagued my soul. Each week...I face this guilt. So unlike any guilt I've ever known...it is unrelenting in it's accusations. This guilt takes fragments of truth, and shouts them at me over and over and over again. I recognize the voice of guilt as that of the devil, seeking to discourage me and keep me from walking close to my Lord. Yet, never has the confusion been so great as what the devil is using now.

I was grocery shopping for our family. There are eight of us now, two still in diapers. Our grocery budget is the same each week, and I keep within the limits. I buy all household items with this money. I had my small cart loaded to nearly overflowing...my list was nearly all scratched out. Cleaning supplies, treats for Sunday School kids, diapers, shampoo, produce...it was all there. I began unloading my cart and looked up behind me to see three ladies standing there counting change. They had a couple of bags of flour, salt, cornmeal...just a few items. I turned back to the task at hand, unloading my cart. I couldn't help but notice their stares as I put ALL my stuff on the counter. And then came the guilt. Why? I had 4 bags of chips...2 bags were for our lunches this week...2 bags were tortilla chips for a dinner of nachos. I thought of the cost of just the chips. I could buy what the ladies were carrying 4 times over...if I didn't buy the chips. Did we really need chips? Then came the voice of guilt, "HA...sure you're a Christian...follower of Christ...with all of your expensive food, while these ladies are counting shillings to buy flour! Who do you think YOU ARE AMY? Serving God on the mission field...if you really cared about these people..." And on and on the voice spoke. I continued unloading my cart, but every time I glanced back I saw the faces of the ladies, staring at my groceries.

The verse crossed my mind..."And all that believed were together, and had all things common; and sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved."

We are need fillers, that is why we are here. People need the Lord, yet sometimes they need food as well. Obviously we cannot feed every hungry belly...so difficult choices must sometimes be made. Do you help only those who come to church...because you cannot help everyone? What about the children whose parents do not come to church...yet they are hungry too? How do you know who to help, and who to not help? The only answer is to listen to the Holy Spirit, and follow His promptings. God is capable of saying to me, "Amy...help them" and He does.

All of these thoughts flooded through my mind while I was checking out. Then I heard the Lord..."Just buy their groceries Amy..." I looked at the cashier and said, "Go ahead and ring theirs up too...I'll pay for them." I couldn't talk to the ladies as they only spoke spanish. I don't think they even knew what was happening, because as the lady checked them out, they began counting their change again. I paid the cashier and quickly walked out.

I never thought I would feel guilt over buying food for my family, yet I do. Why was I born in America? I didn't choose where I would be born any more than these people here did...so why are they hungry, while I buy chips without a second thought. The ladies food cost me less than $8 (US)...while my chips cost around $20. Once again I am humbled. I think from now on I will always see the ladies faces each time I buy a bag of chips.

Quarantined!

For those who have not heard the latest hurdle we are facing, it is boils. A few weeks back Ellie had one, and so did two members of the Leonard family. We went to the lab and had them analyzed and it was determined to be MRSA staph boils. Poor Michelle has been fighting them forever, I think she has had seven. Ellie has had three now, and Kevin and I have had one. They are quite painful, sometimes bringing nausea along with all of the swelling and pressure. Kevin has one the size of a lemon.

Michelle found a pharmacy here that has the right kind of antibiotic to fight MRSA, so we are all on it right now. She has taught me the ways of vigorous hand washing with special hand cleaner. We have to rid ourselves of this, it will not just go away on its own.

Pastor Mike told us today that our familly is officially quarantined! He made an executive decision for our own good. Today we got our antibiotics to begin. They last for six days.

I woke this morning with great plans of disinfecting every inch of our house. I contemplated making the kids soak in bleach water, (just kidding). However, early this morning I woke to my backdoor and entire living room floor covered in ants. On Tuesday I found a whole nest of them in my laundry. 126 made it through the washing machine. I know, because I counted them as I pulled them off the clothes I was hanging on the line. Here we go again, sigh. Our spray ran out a couple of days ago, so I had no ant killer. I have been killing ants all day, literally. Since we were out of spray I decided I would just vacuum them. They were coming in faster than I could get them up. It was crazy.

Now remember, everything in Belize bites. Letting them just come on in and getting comfortable was not an option. I poured salt across the stoop where they were coming in, (someone told me that might work), they crawled right over top of the salt. Then Ellie spilled something as I was vacuuming ants out of the kitchen (where they had decided to visit)...now I had ants, salt, and salt water to clean up. It wasn't even 8am. I knew then this was going to be a long day.

I finally decided to try hot sauce. So I poured hot sauce on the stoop...they didn't cross it. They did however come through the door frame, where the wood had separated from the concrete. Great. So I found the caulking gun. Couldn't be too hard to use right? Well, I figured it out, and I have globs of white stuff all around my door to prove my efforts. I'm hoping it will really "dry clear" like it says on the outside of the tube. I know this is hard to imagine, but I was vacuuming non-stop and it wasn't enough. I would stop long enough to take out the bagless container and have the boys run and empty it way in the back by the trash cans.

We went to town at one point to get the medicine for the boils, when we got home, the ants were all over again. Now though, I had to make dinner. Sigh. I never did get anything disinfected. No germ free house. No clean door knobs and MRSA free light switches. There were germs still lurking all around me, and ants as well!!

Michelle had told me earlier in the day of a visit her and Pastor Mike had made in a village. The woman had to walk 3 miles to get to the bus station to ride to work. She had no running water, no electric, but she was happy. Michelle told me her home was so peaceful. This lady cooked over a fire, and invited Michelle to come up so she could show her how to cook over a fire too. Michelle told me seeing her really put things into perspective for her.

I realized, she probably deals with ants too. I wonder what she does? I'm sure she sprays them, so did we and they just come back. I'm sure she doesn't have a vacuum with no electricity. So does she sweep them all the time? I was not joyful today killing ants all day long. I was annoyed that I couldn't get them to stay out. How come this woman had more joy than I did? We are probably in the same situation with the little invaders, and I have more power to rid my home of the nuisance than she does...yet my attitude was short, I was annoyed and frustrated, greatly lacking in any type of joy whatsoever. Perhaps God sent me the ants to show me how rotten my attitude really was, and how thankful I should be.

Send the Rain

Yesterday as I began my routine, we received word of an amazing answer to prayer. Some business group in California contacted my husband and told him they would be depositing money into our work account for a personal vehicle and a church vehicle. Up until this point we have been maxed out each Sunday with seating in the vehicles, sometimes making 3 trips to get everyone to the church. Everyone here uses public transportation, very few have vehicles. It seems each week there has been some issue with the bus as well. We all keep going forward, even if it means bringing 80 people to church by shuttling them all in a 12 passenger van. This was just huge to all of us here...WOW!! The most incredible thing to me was...we have no idea who these business people are.

Have you ever noticed when God does something "huge"...little nuisances that would normally steal our joy, or quickly frustrate us...well, they just don't have much power anymore. All day long I thought of how awesome my God is. I was very much in awe of His working in our lives, of His provision, and also His ways. They really are much much higher than our ways. Well, let me tell you about my day on Wednesday when we received the news.

About 9am our power went off. Now this does not happen often, but when it does you never know how long it will be off, and you are rarely prepared. I was about to start a load of wash, do the dishes, and start a cartoon for the kids. None of which happened. Then I got the call from Kevin saying, "You are not going to believe this e-mail I just opened!"

From that point on...
It didn't matter to me that I couldn't wash the clothes as I had planned because....
God was so real to me, there was no room to be frustrated.
I was not frustrated that things were not going according to my plan because....
God was so real to me, there was no room for frustration.

Then a couple of hours later, the water was shut off. It was only supposed to be for a couple of hours to repair a pipe, but ended up taking all day. So in order to wash the dishes and clean the kitchen I had to go to the rain barrel and fill up a bucket and haul it into the house. I then heated it up on the stove, poured it into the sink, then went to get some more water for rinsing.
Again...
God was so real to me, there was no room for frustration. I was so amazed that God had led a complete stranger to send us money for vehicles, I knew that He was in control! The God of the universe...HE WAS IN CONTROL!

Wasn't He always though? Really.

I thought of our rain barrel. God sent the rain long ago, and it has been there all along. Each day I see it, I pass it...I know it's there and I know it has water in it and yet I don't use it. I don't depend on it. After all, I have other sources for water...the rain barrel is only there if all other water sources fail.

God is always in control. Always. Period. No question. We know that. We hear it. We tell others...yet do we believe it ourselves? Do we trust that He is in control, do we depend on the unfailing truth, that God is in control? Or do we trust our other "sources" until they all fail...then we walk with head hung low to our rain barrel, just wondering and hoping that the rain is in the barrel. Do we go through life defeated and wondering if God is real. Is God really interested in our lives? Is He really there for us?

Yes He is. He's been there all along, He never left. Just like that rain barrel though, He's there, we just never stop to take the time to use Him, to trust Him, to believe that He is God.

I was thanking God yesterday that He sent the rain several weeks ago, knowing all along that the water He had sent would be used to wash my dishes when the pipes were being repaired. He sent the rain long ago. My friend, God is there for you. He knew long ago that you would need a Saviour, a Friend, a Provider, a Lover of your soul. He sent Jesus for you before you even knew you had a need. And there He is just waiting for you to finally need Him, to call upon Him, to trust Him.

Our God is so real, so mighty, so awesome...oh may we love and trust Him more.

Reality...

I've wondered many times in the past several weeks, "If I COULD get online and blog...WHAT would I write and share?"

I've always thought of myself as a realist. I've never thought of myself as a pessimist, yet when I think of things to share, it tends to be what most would think of as negative. I always want to share what life is really like. What I am really thinking and struggling with. Areas that I desperately need to grow in. I want to share my weaknesses, my tainted thinking...my sin. Why? I'm not sure.

Perhaps because I tire of reading things written in our age so full of fluff and flowery words, yet lacking in the realities of everyday grit and grime of life that we all live in. Do we not all need to know that we all struggle with ourselves? None of us have arrived or become "Mrs Beaver"...she doesn't exist.

I love it here in Belize. I am amazed everyday that we are here, and that God has placed us in this area of service. I love birds and nature...and I see beautiful plant life all around me, I discover new birds everyday. How wonderful that God, knowing what I enjoy, placed me here.

And yet...I struggle.

I struggle with not being annoyed...with my children being infested with lice twice in 3 weeks. It is a lot of work to do all of that wash and wash all of their heads, then pull out the nits and the eggs in a 24 hour period. Only to hear a mother explain to me that she knows when children have lice because when it gets hot..."the lice just fall out of their heads and you see them on their shoulders." (that is dandruff...lice do not just "fall out") Can I still love and hold these children unconditionally....knowing all the work that is ahead if we get lice another time? I am poorly lacking in my Christlikeness.

I love my house, I love where we live. It is a peaceful place with a large yard, beautiful scenery and it is quiet.

And yet I struggle.

I struggle with wanting my peaceful home to myself. When the neighbor kids come screaming and playing in our backyard, do I smile to myself that these children love playing with my children in our yard, or do I get frustrated that my peace has been interrupted? When they walk into my house to say hello, and play with our children's toys...am I accepting and loving or upset because they didn't even knock...they just walked right in?

Our church is growing...God is blessing this ministry each and every week. Many adults are coming, and the children love church too. Even though we have services in a tractor barn, completely opened and exposed to bugs, ants, flies, mosquito's etc...the people don't seem to even mind, so why should I? The spirit is great, the people are excited and so am I. The bugs really don't bother me much anymore...and yet I struggle.

Each week there is a new dilema. Sometimes the bus won't run. The brakes go out. The van window was shattered. Stealing was last week, when someone went to the barn and stole some chairs. Before it was a water container...there has also been diesel stolen from the bus. And yet God is blessing, so it is He that gives us joy to continue.

We've dealt with ant nests in our house. Scorpions and tarantulas. Lice. Ellie now has a staph boil. They are very contagious, and there isn't much in the way of medicine down here to treat them. Again, I am amazed at the goodness of my God to lead me here to be with another family, who just happens to have some medicine for staph boils. I really see that as God providing and loving us.

To me, I am excited to see God working each day. The way that God chooses to work each day in my life is up to Him. I am excited to just see that He IS working. If He chooses to show Himself to me by providing medicine for a boil, that I never even knew would come, well Praise the Lord...His hand is here. He may choose to show Himself by allowing a teenager to come to church...when her Dad said she couldn't for 3 months. It is an amazing thing to know that God is with you "right now" (Belizean saying).

And my struggles? They are real, and I am faced each day with disciplining my mind to think right. To love others. To be Christlike, and to please HIM with my life. Isn't that what we all struggle with?

Home sweet home

Where to start???

We are in our home and settled finally. Our container did arrive on the 17th of December...just a couple of weeks later than we expected. Christmas seemed a little rushed, but we did have all of our decorations up and most of our things unpacked. It is nice to feel like we are home.

So many details rush to my mind that I want to share...petty unimportant things, as well as wonderful blessings! I will start with the petty.

Ant nests, I found 4 of them in my house, 2 of which were in my clothes drawers. One was in my kitchen cabinet. I opened the cabinet and they were EVERYWHERE! I was disgusted, and weak-kneed! I called Kevin to tell him, I saw dozens crawling out of the spout of a ceramic teapot, so I put the aerosol can of ant killer into the spout and sprayed away. I told him I couldn't stand the sight of all of those ants, so I would not be cleaning the teapot out, I would leave that for him! When I got of the phone I thought to myself, "Some missionary wife YOU ARE! Calling your husband crying over an ant nest!" (by the way they were bigger than carpenter ants, and had pinchers!) I just couldn't bring myself to even take the teapot out of the cabinet! So after a good scolding to myself, I brought the pot out of the cabinet, peeked inside, and almost threw up! They were ants in every stage of development in there, even the larvae! PUKE! After seeing them, I just accepted that I would not be cleaning out that teapot, and it was waiting for Kevin when he came home!

The ladies at church told me that even though the ants are scary, and they do bite, they are a blessing when they come to your house, because they march right through in scores, and hundreds, killing any insect in its path. Then they move on. They even eat scorpions.

Oh, I had one of those in my house to. A big black one called an Emperor Scorpion...about 3 inches long. Yep, that was quite a scream too!

Then you have to remember that I have boys. Lots of jungle trees to climb. FUN FUN FUN!! Right? Well, you forgot that little boys do not have developed brains until they are 25!!

Derek tells me he was climbing this tree, and he saw a tail sticking out of a hole! It was a mean looking lizard, but because the lizard wasn't moving, the boys decided he must be dead and started PULLING ON HIS TAIL!! Fortunately for them, the lizard did not attack them, just stayed in his nice hole. Crazy boys!

The water here is also nasty, you cannot drink it or brush your teeth with it. There are many parasites and germs that can make you very sick. Ellie was taking a bath the other night, and I went to check on her, she had taken the head off of a doll and was drinking water out of the head! So we have be trying to help her through a lot of dirty diapers and a small fever.

Because of the water...when I get home from market, I immediately put all of my produce into a sink filled with bleach water, and let them soak for a few minutes and air dry before putting them away.

I have learned to make homemade tortillas and homemade salsa. Yummy.

It has been wonderful to be a part of the church here. We are meeting in a tractor barn, and the people just keep coming! When it is hot, there are mosquitos and gnats that bite. One man even stepped in a bunch of ants during church, and was in the back lifting his pants legs, smacking and hitting them. We have a dirt floor too, that the kids love to run around and kick the dirt up in the air. Matt Leonard found a 6 ft snake right near the church a few weeks back...it was poisonous too.

Each day I wake up to the thought of how wonderful it is to be here...how good of God to lead us to this place of service. I look forward to seeing all that He has planned for us and the Leonard's.

Thank you all for praying for us as we made this move, please continue to pray!