"Compared to what?"

This is a little girl in our village. She doesn't look very happy, and in my eyes I saw her as very poor. But... compared to Milienne who is pictured next, she has a good life. She may be hungry but she isn't starving and her parents may not have much, but her parents are alive. She may have clothes that don't fit very well, but she has clothes.

This is Milienne, she is 4 years old and lives in HAITI. She is 4 years old and weighs ONLY 14 pounds. She needs your prayers! If you would like to follow the ministry who is caring for her you can do so by clicking on this link, http://haitirescuecenter.wordpress.com/

Hello everyone,

I am at a loss for words, really. I have had Milienne's image in my mind since I saw it. The thing that has been going through my mind is something I heard at our annual meeting this summer. It went something like this, " I am so poor." Response, "Compared to what?" "I am so hungry." Response, "Compared to what?" If we look at our lives and our complaints and try to see our situation as cup half full instead of half empty, maybe our problems wouldn't seem so bad. I have been listening to the news a lot and it can get quite depressing. However, then I read how things are in Haiti and I think, we are all a bunch of spoiled brats! Me included! At our bible study last night I shared with our group how things were in Haiti. How this sweet 4 year old girl only weighs 14 pounds. 14 pounds. It is hard to wrap your mind around that. Our group who would probably be considered poor in the eyes of the world, cried out to the Lord to help those in Haiti. They prayed that God would bless those in Haiti and save them from their starvation. They said to us, " We have food and water, we have a shelter over our heads, we aren't poor." So, when I think I am living in a "poor" area, I have to ask myself the question, "Compared to what?" When Annie had her accident, it was made very clear to me that our situation can ALWAYS be worse. We need to praise HIM for all of our blessings. I hope I haven't sounded too "preachy" I just want you all to pray for this little girl and all of the ones like her in Haiti. They need a lot of prayer!

He's 40!

"40! Good grief, I thought I was turning 30, of course, I can't remember much anymore!"




"No way! My dad's a dinosaur!"






"Your kidding, right? That is really OLD!!"






This is Annie saying, " I still love him!"

Alcohol

Hi everyone, our days seem to be getting shorter and our work seems to be getting bigger. That means I am always tired! I woke up this morning and the first words out of my mouth were, "We don't have enough time" Greg said, " For what?" I said, " Everything!" That is how I feel, that no matter how early we start or how late we go, there just isn't enough time to see everyone, encourage them, and disciple them.

The above picture is of Salvador and Angelica. They were our first friends here. Salvador is an alcoholic. He has been fighting this battle for a very long time. However, now that his mom is dying, he blames God for everything and has given up on his faith. He has been drunk for the past 3 days and is causing his poor family a lot of grief. He needs a lot of prayer! Poor Angelica is trying her best to run the household, run her business, take care of her dying mother in law and deal with a nasty drunk. Please pray that God would make himself known to them all! Please also pray for Greg and I as we are running full speed ahead and still don't have enough time for everything. Love you all!

Always needing prayer!

Hello everyone! I haven't posted in a few days. We have had a very busy week. We had 2 visitors come see how our bible storying process was going. It was a good few days with a lot of work! We got some good feedback on how to make or stories better and felt good about the progress we are making in our storying project. Please pray that over the next 5 months we can complete our project.

We have been busy with our Monday and Friday night meetings. We have been so pleased with the turnout we have seen. Each night it is fun to see who will come. We are very encouraged at the interest we have seen and at the peace that Barbara and Icho have about having these meetings in their home. So far they have not received much criticism. We are praising God for that!

Greg will be turning 40 this Thursday. It would be awesome if some of you who know him could email him a special Birthday greeting. Thanks for all of your prayers! We really need them! Love, Missy

I HATE mice!

A little venting! Ya know, before we left the United States, we went through some training. During this training we were taught that during our time on the field we would experience some difficult times. They told us not to be surprised when the things that would bother us the most would be little things. Well, I understand that soooo well now! It isn't eating different animals, or even eating parts of animals that bothers me. It isn't the fact that our village has no running water, or that my house is always cold. None of that bothers me! However, little creatures pooping all in my kitchen, that.... BOTHERS ME!!! We have discovered little mice in our kitchen on several occassions. They have left their little markings everywhere. I am so tired of cleaning out every drawer, shelf, plate, and cup that I am ready to scream! I tried to look at it in a positive way, thinking this is God's way of getting me to do some really deep cleaning. That didn't help either! Annie is the only one who can make me laugh about it! She said, " Well Mama, I guess it's Noah's fault! He shouldn't have put 2 on the ark!" I had to laugh! Hope you are too!

Grandma needing more prayer!

Dear friends,

I sometimes don't want to post 2 things right in a row for fear you won't read them both. I know I am stupid! ;o} Anyway, Greg took Salvador, Angelica and "Grandma" to a hospital that is about 2 hours away, today. That is where she had been receiving her chemo. They were hoping that the Dr. would say the reason she had gotten worse was just a side effect of the stronger chemo. However, Greg just called and said the Dr. told them the chemo had not helped her any at all. He told them to get pain medicine, keep her pain-free and wait. This will be very difficult for Salvador to accept. He is not a strong man and struggles in all areas of his life. Please pray that Grandma could have a quick and pain-free passing and that Salvador would not return to his old self, drinking heavily. Thank you all for your continued prayers! We really love you!!

God continues to move!

This is Moises and Francisca, they are new and PRECIOUS!! They have been coming every chance they have. They are very hungry for God's word and are excited for the opportunity to grow in their knowledge of the Bible. Please pray for them as we can see God doing great things with them!

This was our first Monday night in our new building. We are feeling as if God is moving in ways that only He can move! After our meeting Friday night on marriage, the leaders asked Greg if he would share the same study with the entire group. So he decided that was a good idea and that is what we did. The topic of marriage is very interesting to them and they all really wanted to know how God felt a marriage was supposed to work. We had a great discussion and everyone was pleased with how it all went.

Jerod and Alex have really been working hard to find things to keep all of the kids occupied. Sometimes they are with the kids for a good hour or more and they have really done a great job! Do you know people who always brag on their kids and you get sooo tired of hearing it? Well..... I am sorry, I just HAVE to brag on them! They have tried so hard to find things that will keep 13 kids interested and will teach them something about God. Please pray for them as they continue to be a light to these children.

I mentioned that the priest has been waking me up each morning at 6 am, he is still doing that! :o} However the other day he made an announcement after he played the music. He said, "All of San Lorenzo needs to come to Mass now. If you do not come, that means you are a protestant and we don't want any of those in our village." Ya know, I am no Bible scholar, but I am pretty sure that isn't what Jesus would do! ;o) Please pray for this man. He could really cause us a lot of problems. Everyone knows we are protestants and if he convinces them that we are "bad" we could very easily get kicked out of here. I don't think that will happen, but.... anything is possible. So, please pray that God would have His way!

Friday night lights!

I think that is a show in the states, right? Well, here it means that we now have lights in our new building and we can meet on Friday nights. ;o) We had our first meeting last night and we really enjoyed ourselves. I know it's not all about numbers, but it gives you more of a visual. We had 12 adults and 10 kids. 10 of the adults were couples we thought would come and then a mother and her daughter-in-law came. They have only attended our Monday night study once, so that was a pleasant suprise! Jerod is still doing the craft and Bible lesson with the kids. It didn't go so well his first night, but I think once they get used to the new setting, things will calm down. We studied what the Bible says about marriage. We had a lot of discussion about what it means to be a submissive wife and what it means to love your wife like Christ loved the church. That was a very interesting and entertaining conversation! You guys just don't know what you are missing! Do you know how many times I wish you were with me. I am always thinking, I can't wait to share this with my friends on the blog!

Anyway, things are going well. Virginia, who I mentioned in the last post, is still doing about the same. I fear she may linger here for awhile before He takes her home. A PRAISE is that the music at 6 am took a break on Thursday morning and then today it didn't start playing until 8:30 am so, I have gotten a few days of "sleeping in!"

I have a prayer request for some other missionary friends who are with another organization. They live in a village with an indigenous group also. They have done a great job entering into this village and making relationships among the people. This is a group of people who are very closed to having foreigners live among them, however, they have embraced this family. Until recently everything was going well and they had started a small study in the house of some believers in the village. People were coming to know Jesus as their Savior and you could see the hand of God moving in this village. However, a few people have seemed to be bothered by God's movement and have made threats that they are going to be brought in front of the local government in the village. Some are saying they want to have them thrown out of the village. (This has happened to foreigners who have lived there in the past) This family has peace that God has everything under control, but we would like to ask you to pray that His will is done! We are praying that they can continue to work among these people and that this village will soon see a movement of God's hand like never before! Thanks for praying!

Another Grandma needing prayer!

This is "Grandma" her real name is Virginia. About 6 months ago they discovered she had cancer. The Drs. felt she had probably had this cancer for about 4 years. It was spreading. Her son, Salvador, ( who we have mentioned many times before is a recovering alcoholic) was determined to use all of their money to fight this cancer. So for the past 6 months she has been recieving chemo. A few weeks ago they decided to give her 4 times as much chemo as before. They felt this was because she was getting better, however Greg and I thought it was their last effort to help her. Last night we went to see her and pray over her and she was the worst we have seen her. Her lungs have filled up with fluid and she couldn't breath very easily. We feel her time is near the end and are asking you to pray for her family. (She is comfortable and in no pain!) She accepted the Lord as her one and only Savior about 5 months ago and we feel sure she is ready to meet her maker. However, some of her family don't understand this and are all very concerned about her future. Please pray she will not linger here on earth in a state of unconciousness for long and her family will feel the peace of God during this time. We thank you for your prayers!

GOOD MORNING ..........!!!

Do any of you remember the movie, Good Morning Vietnam? Well.... I think I am secretly being filmed for it's sequel. Each year our village gets a new priest. This year is no different and the new priest has started off the year with a bang! Our village has big speakers above the houses and you can pay to have someone make an announcement that you are selling bread or meat or whatever you want to say. You can even just have them announce that you are very happy you have a new grandchild. Whatever. So, we are very used to announcements being made at all hours of the day, usually from 7am-11:30pm. Well, the new priest has this tradition of playing about 6 songs on the loud speaker to let everyone know it is time for Mass. No problem. EXCEPT he does this EVERY day at 6am. Yes EVERY day at 6am. I am not a morning person, and this is NOT fun for me! It is kinda becoming comical because no one is happy about this and we are all trying to figure out how to sleep through the LOUD music which lasts 30 minutes. He then begins his sermon over the loud speaker by saying,"Good morning San Lorenzo!!" So, when you are asleep on Saturday or Sunday or Monday or whatever day, you can think of me lying in my bed, with cotton sticking out of my ears and a pillow over my head trying to shut out the noise and thanking God for this precious man! ;o) Just had to share!

51!

This was in our new place of worship, you can't see
them all, but they are all there!



Last night couldn't have gone any better! No kidding,we were absolutely floored with how God worked! We started out at our home and we didn't have enough room. (or chairs) Which was huge because it made them better understand the need to move locations. Greg shared with them that a church isn't a building but a body of believers and we were that body. He then told them we would all go over to Barbara's home and finish our study there. So, ALL 41 walked across the street a bit and entered into our new place of worship. Not 5 minutes later 10 more NEW faces entered into our group. We couldn't have been happier! I was crying with JOY! Our group had purchased chairs and it was made clear last night that they will need to buy more! Please continue to pray for us as we continue on this journey! God bless you!

God's plan

Icho and Barbara, happy about what God is doing!


Now you know why my legs and arms hurt!






I was trying to show these Purepecha women
that I AM NOT some weak American that can't
do manual labor. Of course I was thinking, "I
will pay tomorrow!" And I am! ;o)



Moving some roof covering off the floor and
onto the roof.



Job done!

Hi everyone, I write to you all with a very happy heart, sore legs and arms and a very big smile! Yesterday we had a work day at Barbara's home. ( home of our new meeting place) I know it was Sunday, but it was the only day it could be done, so I think God understood! It was a great day and in a matter of a few hours we had the room looking like a Purepecha church! Windows and doors are being made and chairs have been purchased.

Only about half of our group know of this decision to change locations. After the leaders of our group talked yesterday, they all decided we would start meeting there as soon as possible. So... tonight, (Monday) we will all start our meeting at our house and then we will take everyone over to Barbara's home to show them what God has had planned for many years. We are wondering how everyone will take this, and hoping they will all be excited about the new place of worship! Please pray that everyone will feel God's presence and that they will all know this is what God has planned for them. After we were done and we were admiring our work, Barbara said, " I think God has had this planned for many years. I always wanted to use this room for a tv room or something and never did. I never knew why until now." She went on to say, " I know that the criticism is coming, but that is okay, I am strong and ready." PLEASE pray for them. We know that the people, Barbara's family included, will be very critical of them. We are praying that God's blessings on their lives will far out number the amount of criticism they will receive. My smile has turned to tears now as I write, I am thinking of this sweet, precious woman who is truly willing to lay down EVERYTHING for Christ. I don't understand why, when people change for the good and want to follow Christ, that is when they are criticized most. I guess some things haven't changed that much since the days of Christ.

Alexis and Annie

These two pictures I just had to share! The first is of Barbara's son Alexis, he is the dirtiest little boy I have ever seen! He looks like this ALL the time. The funny part is that he likes it! Please pray for him. He is somewhat in the way most nights at my house. Now that the meetings will be at his house I fear he could become a huge distraction. He loves to play in the middle of our group. Please pray that he will not be a distraction and that His word would be heard clearly over all the distractions that we are faced with! (there are a lot!)

Annie has found that playing in the dirt is one of her favorite things! It is so funny because although she is all girl, she likes to play with the boys. She can even manage (and I don't know how) to keep her white sweater, white! Please continue to pray for her. I don't ask that much anymore but, she still scratches herself raw some nights. Her booboo is just that, a booboo. However, when she starts to itch, it can get really bad! Please also pray for her sweet hand. I know warts sound kinda simple, but they aren't really simple when they cover most of 3 fingers. The banana trick the Dr. suggested isn't working very well. Please pray they will fall off soon! Thank you!

Meeting went well!

Our meeting went very well! The first picture is of Greg showing them the room we will meet in. The second one is Barbara and I fixing steak tacos that were delicious! We all ate and then we told them why we had called this "meeting." We explained how God had revealed to Barbara and us that He wanted to use her building to meet another day. We all agreed on Friday nights at 6 pm. They were all excited about the idea of getting together twice a week! Greg shared with them some words from the Bible and asked them to pray for some of Barbara's neighbors. They will be invited and they will either come or criticize her family for having this group meet in her house. Thanks for praying for us! Missy

Pray!

Please pray for us tomorrow night. ( Thursday) We are having a meeting with all of the leaders in our group. We will be meeting at the "new site" to talk over the future plans for our group. We will be deciding which day would be best for our second meeting each week. We will also talk about the needed improvements on the building in which we want to meet. Barbara is so excited about what God is doing she just wants to celebrate each decision that is being made about our group. So... she will be making us all a celebration dinner! (Tacos! Hooray!) Please pray for Barbara and Icho as they are opening themselves up to a lot of criticism from family members and friends. This is a very bold thing they are doing and we just hope and pray that God will bless them for this act of obedience! Please pray for Greg and I as well, as this is all new to us and we want to do this in the manner in which God wants it done! Give yourselves each a hug from us, we love you!

Our new church building!

Back to school!

Hello everyone! I guess all good vacations must come to an end, huh? We had a wonderful vacation with our friends and with our family! Greg's mom and Clay left on Saturday and returned home safely. We enjoyed showing them a Mexican Christmas and a Purepecha New Year's Eve!
On the way home from the airport, Greg and I had a good 3 and a half hours to talk. He shared with me that he felt God urging us to meet with our group 2 days a week instead of just our one on Monday. The problem is that we want to do this in someone elses home.

We had some idea of where we thought we could do this before the holidays, however the holidays brought some temptation into some of the homes of our believers. There were a few who started drinking heavily during the holidays. Please pray they can start this new year off on a better note than they ended it.

So, that closed the door on some homes. I told Greg I thought a great place would be a Barbara's home. He said, you are right, but Icho (Barbara's husband) has never come to our meetings before. Icho gave his heart to the Lord about a year ago, but has never wanted to come to a "formal gathering." We decided to pray about this and see what God wanted. We returned home and Barbara comes over about 30 minutes later and asks us to dinner. She always does this after we have been traveling. I told her, no, but thank you, we were just too tired. She then said, "I wanted to tell you, God has been speaking to my heart about having our meetings in my home. I want the "brothers" to feel at home in my house for worship. " My thought was, hmmm.....note to self... God is answering prayer quickly in 2009! ;o) So I told her I would talk this over with Greg and we would get back with her about this. I know I am long winded today, but hang in there, I am almost done! We met with Barbara and Icho yesterday for about 3 hours, discussing everything that this would mean. Inconvenience, people would criticize them, it would disturb their restaurant hours, etc..... None of these mattered to them. Icho was on board and seemed excited about it. His comment was, " We don't want studying the Bible to end when you leave for the US." WOW!!! So, I will download a picture of what we think will be our new church building! We are very excited! Please pray God will continue to guide us in this process! We love you! Missy and family

New church building!

I guess we will probably eat the meat hanging from the string before we actually meet formally in this room! ;o)

Eating the meat! Greg was hungry!

As we were looking at different things in this building, Greg kept hitting his head on something, he finally realized it was the stomach of the lamb we ate! You gotta love it!

Grandma eating lamb!

Annie says, "Happy New Year Eveybody!"

Mexican heater

Dinner

Happy New Year!

This is a picture of Jerod, Alex and Clay as they celebrated New Year's Eve in the village.

I hope this finds everyone doing well! I hope you all have a wonderful year! As I look back on the past year, I can definitely say it was one of the hardest in my life. The hardest and yet, one of the best! We hated what happened to our little Annie and although it was horrible, many of the good things about the year happened as a result of her accident. So we are very thankful for good times and bad times and especially that we serve a God who is good during both times!

We had a wonderful New Year's Eve! We celebrated with friends and ate lamb/sheep. It was a cultural experience to say the least! We had a great night and finally made it to bed at about 2am. The tradition here is for the kids to make pinatas and then fill them and around midnight they start whacking the pinatas. It is a very fun tradition and we will probably keep it as a family tradition no matter where we are! My mother-in-law and nephew were real troopers and they stayed up throughout the festivities. They have had a great time and we have enjoyed them being here! They will be leaving on Saturday. Please pray they will have safe travels.

Speaking of prayer, please also pray for our new believers. This is a very difficult time of year for someone who is trying to stop drinking and change their ways. There is a lot of pressure to drink here and many of our believers are falling into temptation. When someone here drinks, it is usually for one reason, to get drunk. Satan is having fun trying to destroy the lives of many of our friends. Please pray they can find the strength to turn away from their customs and traditions and follow Christ.

Thank you to each one of you who pray for us!