oops.. but not really

Wrong power?

I have no idea why, but last night I couldn't get my photos to load.  We don't have the fastest internet, but it is usually just take 1 or two minutes.

Because I was "stuck" online, a dear friend was asking some hard questions and I was able to point out some faulty thinking and encourage her with words that I just heard from my Beth Moore Bible study.  I love how God works.

I actually was on someone else's wireless server because my daughter unplugged ours.  I am thankful for a God who is supreme and in-control.

Today, we have power.

Remember Christ, Remember Bronwyn, Remember....

Crazy but good week.

Tuesday through Friday, my children (Hannah/Max) had standardized testing.  That means nothing is normal.  Bronwyn has school but, not as much.  They could be finished at 11 or at 4 pm.  So, we had our Bible reading in the morning (some) and then off to the Alaska State Fair (testing site).  

Bronwyn and I went and volunteered at the animal shelter twice.  Hannah, Bronwyn and I got to volunteer at a local charity shop (very fun).  

Good Friday in USA is not a public holiday, so we remember His death in a somber evening service.  It was followed up by another type of remembering-time with the short-term missionaries that went to Guatemala.  Wow.  It was a perfect blend of the cost of Christ and the joy and surrendering of self for Christ. I was so PUMPED at how Christ is making a difference in relationships, friendships, and getting full control.  Bye Pride, Anxiety, Selfishness, Covetousness, Materialism. Hello, JOY, peace, Fun, Freedom, Strength. Oh Yeah!

Still on a journey 

Waking up to go and share the Good News at a Easter Egg Brunch for the Journey (young adults & kids) group, I had no idea what was in store.  We usually have a nice group 20 to 40 people. We only had 15 RSVP's, so when the lobby and rooms started filling up I was convinced that someone put an advertisement in the local newspaper.  So, I started asking some of the unfamiliar faces.  Wow, it was a huge blessing to hear the personal invitations from people from Lazy Mt. Bible Church.  The food was enough and thanks to hard work, (Tait/Chad) it was good.  Over 120 people enjoyed the day.  I asked Amber to pray as I used the "Resurrection Eggs" to tell the good news to the children.  The favorite kid quote of the day was when I asked,"Where did Jesus go to pray?"  a quick response, "Olive Garden". 

Thanks to Hannah and Moyers and many others who made it run smoothly.

Chuck-E-Cheese is well known around the missionary kids life as the best place ever to visit when you are in USA. However, now that we live in the USA we limit to birthdays.  And now that we just went, I am issuing the every-other year rule. Wow. It was a crazy mad place with zombie like greedy children playing for 1 cent tickets. CRAZY but Bronwyn wanted to go. Hannah says I have to pay her to drive Max and Bronwyn to go the next time.  What?  I think she means she is too old for that place.

Now, we wake up and it is EASTER & BRONWYN'S birthday and a good few inches of SNOW.  TRIPLE  EXCITEMENT.  We have a great Church, dinner with the family and an American Girl Doll Party with some friends.

EASTER MORNING 

Purple Tongue

Eating sugar was causing my mouth pain.  I then noticed I had a cut on my tongue.  Ugh, now a white tongue.  I was thinking I just bit the side of my mouth.  After asking a nurse friend of mine-thrush.  So, the otc worker gave me a great thing to kill the infection but, it makes my tongue PURPLE.  Rainbow Bright and me have more in common than ever before.

Now, for the time being, I need to rid my body of sugar, pasta, dairy, processed foods & starches.  As James puts it, I can eat nothing (not true) But, it is also a good time to practice self-control and the danger of gluttony.  I want to be healthy and live long in the Land the Lord has given me.  

Please pray for self control and a dependence on Christ.  

Love Missions? Love a Missionary

Well, I did it.  I invited a total stranger to my home last night.  When Bill Harris left, he was no longer a stranger working in some strange place.  Please consider opening your home to servants of the Lord.

INVITE A MISSIONARY FOR A MEAL

One of our personal highlights as a family while being in missions for about 10 years is the variety of dinners we had around various tables throughout the USA.  We would see the children and expose our strengths and weaknesses with other followers of Christ.  Often it was those personal conversations that imbedded people in our hearts and prayers for the next time we would come around.

and if you don't cook you can always invite them out to Moose's Tooth!

I remember laughing at the breakfast table at the Liefelds when they exposed their cereal box size bowls and 44 oz coffee mug.  America was SUPER SIZED to us!

But now, we are on the other end.  No longer serving cross culturally, we are called to encourage, pray and promote missions.  Our church supports many missionaries.  However, when the opportunity to have a visiting missionary for a meal I said YES.

We had such a refreshing evening.  Our children asked questions (I had them think of them prior to the meal).  Good questions that they were interested in.  Then we talked and dreamed what it would take to be more outreach orientated here in the Mat-Su Valley.  I loved the idea of having a small group try out the various spiritual gifts to see which one fits.  I learned about the hard time of caring for aging parents.  

We all were better equipped to pray for one another.  So, like I yelled, if you like missions or want to serve overseas, love on a missionary and get to know them better.

Why I love MK's.

A MK is an abbreviation of the term Missionary Kid.  When we went to South Africa as missionaries, we were closer in age to the MK's than the other missionaries.

We read lots of books, articles about raising MK's as now we were having three.  I loved how easily they can see the world in a new an interesting way without the culture baggage of just one culture, but seeing the beauty or the pain in other cultures.


MK's are generally over-achievers and passionate about Jesus.  Some of the best times in South Africa was with the other MK's at a FREE Tree63 concert on the beach or a scrap-booking weekend when the other MK's came over and we laughed.

When we went to Guatemala guess what...I fell in love with another MK.  Her name is Haven.  She loved my sparkly shoes and wondered why I didn't wear them at the construction site. In the village, it took about 10 minutes, and she had gang of little girls playing games and smiling with them. It reminded me how easy it is for children to connect with others.  I remember my little Hannah wanting to be Indian with the long black hair.  (She still wants to have a black hair to this day).  Back with Haven at her home, we spent time laying on the concrete and guessing the name of the stars.  I told her that God knows their name.  She asked why? He is very smart, I declared.

Well, the reasons why I am posting this is for prayer.  One of the biggest challenge that MK's face is identity.  Would you take time today to pray for the Missionary Kids that you know would firmly know their identity in Christ.  That they don't have to live on a bridge between two cultures but to be firmly established in the ROCK that never changes.  That the tension they feel is because we long for our perfect heavenly home where there is not goodbyes at both airports.

Thank you Lord for letting me love little Haven.

An Audience of One

Today we (the team of 30 people) were able to share what happened in Guatemala.  It was encouraging to the core of my heart.

1) see the photos:  I know that they are just a glimpse of what took place, but it was a journey back to what God did.

2) hear the testimony of the trip: The students again brought their hearts to the stage and exposed their lack of faith and getting true joy and peace from the Lord.

3) it continues:  In the end, the students are called to be faithful and passionate about Christ here.  Most likely many will purse ministry full time, but my prayer is that they will enjoy using the skills of prayer and being obedient to the Holy Spirit leading with joy and faithfulness in their school work, activities, and families.

Now, my home will become another host for the Beth Moore study called "Stepping Up" a journey through the Psalms of Assent.  It is Monday night and my children participate by doing their bedtime routines without me.  James is gone with the College age group.  I so look forward to getting to know the ladies better and encourage one-another through prayer and the Word.

Pray with me that we will perform to an Audience of ONE!

What in the world?

Okay, I can't believe it is already Thursday.  It has almost been one week since I got back, and boy was it a week.

However, I did see God work in the little country of Guatemala about the size of Tennessee in a unique short-term missions trip.  I went with a group of 24 teens and 6 leaders from Lazy Mountain Bible Church.  I hadn't met the majority of my team and definitely didn't know all their names.  However, after a special week full of prayer, service, worship, and the Word, these teammates are woven into my heart and prayers.

teaching songs!


At First!

Flashback.  The cars, the city, the weather, the dryness, the altitude, the shrubs, the bars on the windows, the smiles, the tuck shops etc,  everything was so similar to areas in South Africa, I couldn't stop making the connection. Even the poorest of the poor having CELL PHONES, just like Africa.  Crazy.  It was the first time since we left that I had anything to point others to about my experiences in Africa.  It was so refreshing!  Thank you Lord.

The first village was a community of recently displaced people who lived like at Joe Slovo in shacks.  They were removed from a sugarcane plantation where they used to be employed.  Now, with no land, they are surviving somehow.  Boy, did I love them.

What happened?
Sent to the front lines of cross-cultural ministry again was rewarding.  I was right there when people were hearing the Gospel for the first time, getting medicine to kill the nasty parasites.  I pray for missionaries all over the world doing these things, and it was a joy to be there.

The amazing power of the Good News of Jesus Christ coming to earth to redeem the people for all eternity showed up!  He is always there, but often our selfishness, sin, or busyness mask what He is doing.  Giving food & medicine while meeting other physical needs, Paradise Bound ministries lovingly points them to the Word of God that feeds the soul, and the cleansing power of the blood of Jesus that is enough to make people who were enemies of God into the children of God!

People watched the Jesus Film set up on a sheet hanging from a building, heard our praise songs, and then listened to many testimonies from the team (through translation of course).  Then our Guatemalan pastor brought God's Word and an invitation to follow Jesus.

Lessons Learned
Answered prayers, prayer, and power.  I love to share the hope I have in the Lord, however, I was now in a place where everyone spoke Spanish and my best charades couldn't cut cheese. However, I could PRAY.  Never had I spent so long praying for others.  It was a huge blessing.  My prayer for the trip is that I would be encouraging to the workers/missionaries that lived there.  God answered that as well.  They all were encouraged.  I also had a unique experience of knowing the protection from the Lord.  He is powerful.

However, that is NOT ALL!
I was glad to come back to Alaska.  God has called me here to be his witness.  And so, with prayer and power the children and I went and invited people to a parenting workshop on Saturday.  I was able to connect with someone right down my street.  Yeah!  I loved the quote from Oswald chambers (I think) that goes, "you can never be effective where you are not."  Thank you Lord for Palmer!