Happy Birthday, Aunty Marie!

Our first full day was Saturday, April 2nd, which was also Aunty Marie's birthday.  Aunty Marie has a special place in our hearts.  When Tiffany and I visited last May, she was caring for the babies in the baby room through the night.  In a tiny room, with 2 cribs and a foam mattress on the floor, she cared for the twins we sponsor, Kadija and Kevin.  She has a perfect personality for working with young children and she loves them with all her heart.   Currently though, she cooks and takes care of laundry at the guest house, so we got to see her a lot on this trip.

We were excited to know before we traveled, that we would be there to celebrate her birthday.  We purchased a few things for her before we left and planned to take her out for dinner to celebrate that evening.   I explained to her that at my house, a girl gets what she wants for dinner on her birthday - so it was going to be her choice.  She didn't quite know what to say, but eventually said she really liked to eat pizza.
 
The plan was to meet her at Mamba Point, a nice restaurant nearby, with a variety of choices on the menu.  Later, we learned that she has only been to that restaurant one other time and she was a little unsure of whether or not she could even get in if she came in by herself. 

We arrived before she did and set her gift basket at the head of the table, where she would be sitting.  She was shocked to see that not only was she getting to eat dinner in a restaurant, but we had brought along gifts, as well.  She could hardly speak!  It was such a blessing to us to be able to pamper her for the evening and give her a birthday celebration that she has likely never had before. 

We brought her a gift basket with all sorts of kitchen supplies....sponges, towels, washcloths, scrapers, cutting mats, a colander, hot pads, etc.  The biggest surprise was an electric hand mixer! 

We ordered pizza for everyone and even had a couple of sushi rolls!  The Philadelphia roll is just as good in Africa as it is here! :)  She had never tried sushi and it was a treat to watch her experience it for the first time.  She preferred to separate the contents and eat them by themselves rather than all at once....and she LOVED the ginger. 

Even though it was a celebration in her honor, she sat with her plate full in front of her and only picked at her food until we were finished eating.  When we finished, she ate with enthusiasm and enjoyed her meal.  I assumed that she must not have liked it, but rather, she was selflessly waiting for us to have all we wanted....she waited for the leftovers.

Later in the week, we got to help her prepare a meal for our day at the beach.  She had to make a special trip to the market to buy food, and then worked hard to prepare a special meal for everyone who would be there.  As Tiffany and I were helping her in the kitchen, she explained how joloffa rice was a meal they enjoyed only occasionally, usually at important holiday meals.  And, because the kids all love chicken, she prepared one piece for each of us. 

Marie with Kevin strapped on her back..bent over chopping veggies for our lunch

Tiffany stirring the beef stew for the rice on beach day.

This oversized mortar and pestal is what she used to mix the onion, pepper, tomato paste and spices for the stew.

Joloffa rice...cooked with tomato paste, onion, garlic, and pepper

Aunty Marie worked tirelessly all week long taking care of us at the guest house.  She has the heart of a true servant, and I'm honored to have had the priviledge to get to know her. 

Day 1

These are just a few shots from today.  We spent the majority of the day just hanging out with the kids at the center.  It was a great time!  We were welcomed with a sweet ceremony, lots of music and the most precious prayers you've ever heard! 

By Air, Land and Sea!

Well, we got here safe & sound and had a great time all along the way.  We left home about 11:30 a.m. on Thursday morning.  Jackson was at school, but Carter & Harrison were at our house with my sister.  Carter was sad when we left, but there were no tears.  I was thankful for that, although when we got in car and I looked to my left, Doug was the one about ready to turn the teary faucet on.  Thankfully, the drive to the airport what a short one.

After a stop in Chicago, we were headed to Washington.  I was concerned for Doug on the overseas flight, but we were SO blessed!  We lucked out and got seats in the first row, so we all had extra leg room and a fairly comfortable place to sleep for the night on the plane.  10 hours and 45 minutes later, we landed in Accra, Ghana.   None of us had been in the Accra airport before, and we were pleasantly surprised at how nice it was.  There was a wonderful airport employee who took great care of us, got our boarding passes for our next flight and made sure we were taken care of.  By the time we got to Accra, Tiffany and I were nearly jumping for joy and counting down the minutes until touchdown in Freetown.   :)

We came in contact with a very interesting group of  Chinese people in Accra.  There were about 15 men in suits wearing NEON pink, blue and yellow baseball caps.  It was a hilarious sight to see! They provided us great entertainment. lol

After a smooth flight into Freetown, we had an experience with a ferry boat that I truly cannot describe well enough with words.  The water was rough and we had to board a water taxi by walking across the flimsiest dock I've ever seen.  The wooden slats seemed to be just a few inches on top of the water and were riding the good-sized waves in a way that made it hard to stand up and walk.   We could only walk across one at a time and had to hold on for dear life to the man who was escorting us.  Poor Rich nearly lost it and ended up in the water. 

The real site was the Chinese men with the "colorful caps". LOL  They were COMPLETELY overwhelmed with the water taxi.  The walk on the dock must've caused a couple of them to be motion sick, because they just got sat down when they pulled out their barf bags and started using them.  The four American on the boat (us) were busting a gut laughing at the entire situation.  It was absoluetly hilarious!

When we arrived at the other side of the bay, yet another Chinese guy bit the dust.  We were sitting at an oudoor waiting area, when to locals came carrying the poor Chinese dude up the ramp.  He instructed them to lay him down on a table where he proceeded to flail around and looked like he could hyperventilate at any moment.  There were five locals rubbing his hands, feet, head and one lady standing on the table top fanning him and pooring cold water all over him.  It was quite a sight. 

Eventually, we made our way to the guest house and met the single moms and their kiddos.  Marie stayed late to make sure we had a good meal to eat  before we went to bed....spaghetti, chicken, french fries and chocolate cake!  It was yummy!  We were thankful to be off the plane, off the boat and on dry land. :) 

Just One More

We have just one more day at home before we leave tomorrow afternoon for Sierra Leone.  We are SO very excited to be going!  I can't wait to see the kids again, and to see Doug's reaction to all the Lord has to show him through this trip.

However, we could really use your prayers.  Here's a list of a few specific things you can be praying for over the next 10 days or so.

1. Safe travels.  It is harder to leave the boys this time, because Doug & I are both going.  Please pray that we arrive and return safe and sound.  
2. Peace of mind.  The kids are starting to get nervous and worried.  Pray that God would bless them with peace and a give them a measure of happiness while we are away.  I've had a lot of discussion with Carter about how God will take care of him even when I am not here, so please pray that God shows him in a way that would be clear and comforting to him. 
3. Clear "way" & open hearts.  Please pray that we would have clear opportunities to minister and share the Gospel while we are there, and that those individuals would have an open mind and heart toward us.  Specifically, we will be spending some time at the Children's Hospital praying with families and giving gift bags.  They will have some bread & peanut butter, along with the REAL "bread of life", a new Bible.   
4. Wisdom & guidance.  Please pray for Doug and I.  We feel very strongly that the Lord is leading us further in our walk with Him and into something new for our lives.  Through this trip, we are expecting to see some revelation about what that is.  Pray that we would be open and willing to do WHATEVER He calls us to.

Thanks SO much for joining me on this journey!!  Your thoughts and prayers are appreciated much more than you'll ever know.  I'm expecting to be able to post fairly frequently about what we're doing.  Lots of pictures to come...so stay tuned!

Countdown to Sierra Leone: 7 Days!

Well, we are down to only a week until our departure and we are just SO excited! 

Our flights have been rerouted, which has been a huge blessing.  With the airline change, we have one more flight change, which I'm actually happy about since it will give us time to walk around again before we head across the Atlantic.  We also get to take more luggage with us, which is just great!  We were having a problem with the weight of the peanut butter and getting the other supplies in the bags that we needed to take.  Praise God that He knew and took care of those details for us!

This past week has been busy.  We left home last weekend to see Doug's parents and I decided to stay at my sister's house with kids.  Doug is coming back to get us tomorrow.  We've still got some packing and organizing to do before we go.

We are very excited to be going, but Doug and I have never left the boys like this before.  Please pray for all of us.  Harrison seems to be getting sick, which is not a good thing.  He will struggle the most while we are gone.  If he is sick, mommy being away will make it even worse - for him and for my sister.  You can also pray for Kate, my sister.  She is going to be staying with the boys and her hands will be full with my three and AnnaJo, too.  Pray that God will give us all the peace we need to relax and enjoy this time, even though we will be separated. 

Thanks so much to those of you who have helped provide peanut butter and prayed with us to this point.  I appreciate your encouragement and prayers more than you know.  You are such a blessing!

Made To Crave

I have to tell you that I am not trying to lose weight this time without a little (a lot of) help.  About a month ago, I decided to join a Bible study at my church.  I'm new at the church and decided it would be a good way for me to get to know some ladies, mostly.  The name of the study is Made To Crave by Lysa Terkeurst.  I honestly didn't give the topic much thought.  I've done Bible studies about weight loss before.  I have tried EVERYTHING to lose weight and keep it off..I'm not even exaggerating.  Well, everything except surgery, I guess. 

At any rate, the study has been the reason I am giving this weight loss thing another try.  And...I have to say that my perspective is completely different now.  So, as I share what is happening on this part of my "journey to life", I'm sure I'll be referencing this book along the way.  We are about 4 weeks into the study, and the last week or so has really changed my thinking.

Made To Crave isn't a weight loss plan.  In fact, it really doesn't cover a food plan or way of eating at all.  What it does do is make you think about what scripture has to say about food and allowing God to have control over everything in your life...including your diet and health.  This is an excerpt that helped to think differently about my struggle.

But, what if this battle with food isn't the curse we've always thought it to be?  What if it's actually the very thing, if brought under control, that can lead us to a better understanding of God?  What if we could actually get to the place where we thanked God for letting us face this battle because of the rich treasures we discovered on the battlefield?
My friend E. Titus sums up with I am discovering as well:
When I get all caught up in how unfair it is that my friend is skinny and doesn't have to work at it, how she can eat what she wants when she wants, and how much it stinks that I can't be like her, I remind myself that God didn't make me to be her.  You see, He knew even before I was born that I could easily allow food to be an idol in my life, that I would go to food, instead of to Him, to fulfill my needs.  And in His great wisdom, He created my body so that it would experience the consequences of such a choice, so that I would continually be drawn back into his arms.  He wants me to come to Him for fulfillment, emotional healing, comfort - and if I could go to food for that and never gain an ounce, well then, what would I need God for?

Hmm...God knew me before I was born.  He knew what my struggles would be.  He created me.  He created me imperfect with issues, because He wanted me to learn to turn to Him.  That includes my issues with food.  He knew before I gained this weight that my true struggle isn't weight, it's trusting and leaning on Him instead of my own devices.  My own devices, food in this case, are harmful to my size and my health.  And, now I realize that He knows I can't do this on my own.  And I realize that I can't.  My own willpower isn't enough, and it's not supposed to be. 

A New Discovery & Confession

I've been pondering this post for a week or two now and I'm still not sure exactly where to begin.  So, I'm going to just jump in and let my brain unravel a bit.

I've blogged so much about Sierra Leone and our new found passion or orphans and mission work, that it's easy for me just to write about SL or things related to a trip, fundraising or whatever.  However, my intent when I started the blog was to just share my heart and the journey our family is on with the the LORD.  We've definately realized that a true willingness to let God have everything in our lives is hard, but the most joyful experience we could've imagined.  

In a lot of ways, we've come a long way in a couple of years.  We've sold lots of our stuff, given as much or more away, reached out to the poor and needy both here and in Africa.  We've sacrificed financially to make these mission trips possible.  So...we are making progress.  We're not "there" yet, but we are growing.

However, one of the areas of my life that I STILL struggle with and haven't truly been able to move myself out of is my weight.  It's been a life-long issue that I am just plain ol' tired of battling and had just given up.  As long as I can remember, I've felt fat.  It began when I was in elementary school and continues on to this day.  When I look back at pictures of myself in high school, I can't believe how great I looked.  I was athletic and healthy and looked fabulous.  The problem was, I didn't feel that way.  I wasn't a size 4 and I wasn't happy.  

Rollercoasters are not something I enjoy, even at an amusement park, but I've been on this dieting ride as long as I can remember.  Confession:  Today, I am heavier than I have ever been in my life.  More than when I delivered my babies, even.  Ugh.  I decided a while back that I just didn't care anymore and it really didn't matter.  I rationalized that as long as I was happy with myself, everything was just fine.  After all, being happy with myself was always the issue.  No matter what my size - I was never happy.  So, why go through the hassle of losing the weight again when the weight loss really wasn't going to solve to make me happy?  At least, I've learned that lesson.  Weight loss does NOT equal happiness.  I'm tired of feeling guilty, deprived, restricted, and like a failure...so why even try?  That's where my head has been over the last year and a half or so.

The problem with that line of thinking is that it just didn't reconcile with my heart for God and wanting to *really* live out my faith in a real and tangible way.  I tried for a while to just push it out of my head and ignore those small whispers of the Holy Spirit, but that just isn't working anymore.

I know that God's best for me isn't to be this size.  It's not all about size.  In fact...the size is only the result of the bigger problem.  The true issue is health, fitness, and prevention.  God's best for me is NOT heart problems or diabetes.  And, in fact, if those health issues crop up (and likely, they will) I won't be able to be the wife, the mom or the missionary he's called me to be.  

This battle really isn't about me at all anymore, actually.  It's about surrendering an area of my life to Christ that I've never been able to give up before.  An area that my enemy has won in the past, and used to keep me from fulfilling all the things I was created to do.

This week a shift in my thinking has happened and I pray that God continues to reveal Himself and His plan for me.  Please help me pray that I will have the courage and strength to grow even closer to Christ as I seek to give Him everything, including my issues with food.

Because this is truly another part of Our Journey To Life and living out Matthew 10:39, I'm going to start blogging about it.  I hope that the accountability to the blog will help me muster up some strength.  And, I hope that if any of you who might be reading struggle with these same issues, that I might be an encouragement to you, too.