Wednesday, March 22, 2017

Sittin in the dark

Some of the most precious times of meditation and study have been IN THE DARK!

In fact, as I type this I am squinting to see the keys on the laptop and praying that the battery doesn’t run out before I finish my blog! See… sweet times. Lol.

But seriously.

The quiet.

The stars.

A time to pause from the hustle and bustle of life.

I’m currently out on the porch and PEOPLE!!! It has just started to rain. AHHH! 

The. Perfect. Night.

Just the other evening, I had been sitting out on porch reading a book when the lights went out. It was PITCH BLACK! Immediately the entire street was in darkness. Not one house in our area has a generator, so you can imagine how bright the stars seem to shine!

I ran in to grab Luci (“This is the reality…” The famous solar powered lanterns that we have the opportunity of selling and providing for homes in need) and took my seat again and continued to read.

A few moments later I realized that the home directly in front of us with a young mother and several small children had continued in darkness! No candle in the window, no oil lantern… complete darkness.

Knowing the struggle of chasing ONE child around in pure daylight, my heart stirred and it wasn’t long before I was toddling down the stairs with a Luci in hand.

I opened our gate, strolled across the street… and I’m telling you… I almost tripped over the mother it was THAT dark!!! There she was sitting on the side walk nursing the youngest while the others sat close by.

I did a quick Luci demonstration and ran back up to the house. My heart was filled with joy watching the Luci light bounce around the house knowing her 2-year-old boy had gotten a hold of it, LOL!!! They were safe. There was light.

It’s funny how God reminds of these sweet times when He’s trying to teach us something.
This past week I have learned a variety of things in the midst of doing life. We met up with the Thain family, caught up with the Faith Christian team, played baseball, had meetings, taught, discipled, parented 😊 (not in that order, obviously) haha. It’s been busy! But while teaching at Lily House on Friday my heart was stirred again.

We have been sllllllllllllowly studying through the book of Esther, as I have been in San Jose as well. It is such a good study and I am learning so much! But this week we spoke of something I have had to put in to practice all week! Patience!

Patience is something I have always struggled with, but as I study the book of Esther it is a characteristic that I want so badly in my own life. Esther was young when she was taken to the palace. Then she and the others underwent a 12-month beauty regime before waiting for their night with the King. Each girl, following her rendezvous, would return to a house for the concubines and only returned to the King IF THE KING CALLED HER BY NAME! (My, oh my. So many messages to be preached at this point!!! But let’s stay on track…)

May I remind you. Esther did not have the book of Esther!!! She didn’t know what was to come. Days, weeks and months had passed since Esther had entered the Kingdom and she simply had to WAIT. She didn’t know that she was going to be Queen! She didn’t know what was to be for the rest of her life. She simply had to wait.

In the dark…

PITCH BLACK!

She had two choices. Be frustrated, write a status on Facebook to let the world know she was mad, and then sit and pout! Or allow God to do something amazing in her season of waiting.
I’m thankful she chose the latter. And I’m sure her people were thankful as well, since waiting on God’s perfect timing literally saved their lives!!!

If you have been called to wait…

For a spouse.

For a job.

For a child.

For the finances.

For an answer!

Don’t let your wait be in vain. Ask God what He can teach you in your season of waiting ❤
I was called to wait in several circumstances this week, and though I’d love to say I passed each test with flying colours, I can say I have learned a lot this week…

Waiting to serve.

Waiting to speak.

Waiting to meet.

Waiting to teach.


But as I sit here, my eyes now adjusted to typing by computer light, listening only to rain pouring down – I have come to find the beauty in the darkness. I pray I might find the same in my season of waiting too.
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(Enjoy some photos of youth group that was led by the GAP students this past Friday!)









Monday, March 6, 2017

STOP!!!

“Lord, PLEASE keep the electricity off today!”

To tell you the truth… I had never thought that I would EVER pray a prayer like this. I enjoy my days off and I feel confident that God has called me to stay in my pajamas and watch Netflix for HOURS while my husband plays his video games and my child causes a catastrophe with his toys – this is what Monday means to me (this is partly sarcastic... nonetheless)! Relaxation!

However, lately I’ve noticed how DISTRACTED I have been with everything around me.
Between preparing for visitors, planning for Youth Sunday, getting prepared for Bible studies/ discipleship for this week and trying to keep up with the day to day tasks, 
WE HAVE BEEN BUSY!!!

In addition, I have always been a NEAT FREAK. So having a 1 year old who gets in to most things, leaves me cleaning up behind him several times a day. Then of course there’s television, music, watsapp, messages and my nemesis… FACEBOOK.

Golly! I can have intentions to crawl in to bed but scrolling through the Newsfeed several times over keeps me up an hour later than intended. 

YOUR LIVES ARE SO INTERESTING!!!

But seriously.

It’s kind of nice to unplug every so often.

To be quiet.

To hear the breeze, the laughter of children on their way to school, the vehicles passing by, the chatter in Creole and Spanish from our neighbors, as well as the chatter among


 the goats… and the pigs… and the dogs… and the chickens. Well. You get the picture :)

Sometimes we don’t want to stop, because we’re scared of what we’ll hear. Or maybe we just don’t care that we’ll hear at all.

Today. I’m glad God answered my prayer.

Traffic jam on the way to teach in San Jose.
Josiah has been quite content playing with his toys and although I had plans to take him to the beach while Robersy gets some more work done on the truck, the cloudy skies and winds forced us to stick around here. I had over an hour to study while Josiah napped. And in the quiet, as I sprawled out on the only piece of carpet in our home, God spoke.

And I was finally in a position to LISTEN.

Friend, don’t be afraid to miss things so much that you end up missing the One who matters most.

I trust I will take the time, even when the electricity is on :)


In other news…

Practicing for Teen Sunday
As I mentioned before, we’ve been busy with our teens preparing for Youth Sunday. It’s THIS Sunday! EEK!!! It’s an opportunity for them to sing, share and minister to the congregation. We pray it will a time where GOD will be glorified and the church might be encouraged.

We’ll be welcoming our first visitors from Bermuda (other than family and those who came for our wedding). The Thain family will be here on Wednesday and we’re excited to share our life and ministry with them. Praying this might encourage others to come and see what is going on out here!

Continue praying for the studies and discipleship that Robersy and I have the privilege of being a part of. Pray that GOD might use us despite ourselves. With hearts ready and spirits willing, may God speak and may those we minister to be ready to listen!

Celebrating Kristin and Felix's baby. She will be here soon!
We’re excited to announce that our truck is BACK!!! HOWEVER. YES… HOWEVER!!! Please don’t let that stop you from praying that we can get a van as soon as possible. The safety of our family and those to whom we minister is of upmost importance. As there was some serious interior damage even the mechanic who worked on it recommends it’s not used for heavy loads… AKA our entire life and ministry!

One last note…


Every week I ask how we can be praying for you! Each Monday Robersy take time to pray for life, ministry and YOU! So please don’t be embarrassed to send us a FB message or email. We want to minister to you and one way we can do that, being so far away, is through prayer. Let us know!!!