Nicaragua Day 2

On our second day in Nicaragua, we piled into the bus and headed into the city to visit one of the schools that the Sirker's started. When we arrived, I was surprised to see the school. There is a common area with small class rooms around it. There are walls and a roof, but there is about a 2 foot gap between the roof and the wall. The windows and doors are open because there is no air conditioning. So basically, if it rains and you are standing close to one of the walls or windows, you get wet.
First, we sat and watched as the students performed some songs and dances for us. I was so impressed that they had learned a couple of the songs in English, so that we would understand them. After they were done, our worship team (the musicians from Living Hope) led us all in song and worship. They also did some songs in Spanish and some in English. It was so cool to look around and see people worshiping God in different languages together.
Next, we broke off into groups. Some of the women from my group taught some parenting classes. Things like how to get more involved in your child's education, the importance of teaching your daughters modesty, etc. The youth group separated the students into groups. In one class, they did a puppet show for the kids, in another they would play games and in another they would do crafts then they would switch the kids out so that they would all get a chance to do each thing. Before we left Memphis, our children's minister (Ms. Anita) had the kids from church write "Jesus loves you" in Spanish and tape them onto Airhead candies. So while we were at the school, Bailey and Caroline were able to pass the candy out to the students. I was so proud of Bailey. Normally, she stays right beside me where ever we go. She is a major mommy's girl. But on that day, she went and watched the puppet show with the kids and jumped right in to help.
Besides being one of the trip photographers, one of my responsibilities was to teach a sewing class to some of the students. I was under the impression that they had some experience with a sewing machine already and that there would be maybe 10-15 girls. I was going to teach them how to sew a tote bag. I was already nervous because I am terrified of speaking in front of people. When it was time to start the class, I walked in and there was about 50 kids sitting there. On top of that, I learned that none of them had ANY experience with sewing. At first my fear took over. I was stumbling over my words, I couldn't get the sewing machine to cooperate...it was horrible. I turned to Jo and asked her to take over for me and I walked outside for a minute. I started praying and asked God to please not let my fears get into the way of what He wanted me to do, to give me the right words to say and to help me through this class. Jo said when I walked back in, she was amazed at the change in me. She said it was like I walked out one person and walked in another. God is so awesome and faithful! I could never have done any of those things on my own. It makes me wonder why we try to do things on our own when it is so much easier to just lean on Him. The kids had a blast picking out their fabric and cutting out their patterns. Seeing the smiles on their faces was such an awesome feeling. God taught me some huge lessons that day!
When we left the school we went back to the guesthouse and arrived just in time for dinner. We had rice w/corn and peas, shredded cabbage and tomato salad and rolls. After dinner, the ladies in our group talked about our day and how we felt God's presence in different ways. Then we all went and had cold showers and went to bed. I was so exhausted from the day, that I had no trouble falling asleep!

Nicaragua Day 1

As soon as we stepped of the plane in Nicaragua I knew we were in a whole different world. These skinny little boys would try to grab our luggage and help us with them. We were warned not to give them any money because we would be swarmed by other children wanting handouts. It was so hard not to give them anything! We were told that they probably wouldn't keep the money for themselves anyway. A lot of times adults send them out to beg and then the kids have to bring the money back to them.

We all piled into a yellow school bus and headed for the guesthouse where we would be staying. We were told that we would be stopping at a restaurant on the way for lunch. Boy was I surprised when the driver pulled into an abandoned gas station. We all just kind of sat there for a minute thinking maybe he was lost. Then he told us that this was the place. It ended up having a little fast food restaurant attached to the other side. The food was actually really good. It was kind of like a KFC.

After that the driver, Victor, took us to the Samaritano Fundacion. It is a property run by an awesome couple, Carolyn and Noor. Since they moved to Nicaragua, they have opened several schools and hospitals. Noor is a doctor and he has an office and operating room on the property where we stayed. Most of our group stayed at the guesthouse on the property. There are 4 large rooms filled with bunk beds, a living area, kitchen, and screened patio. Bailey and I ended up staying at "la casita" which is a little house behind the guesthouse. We stayed with Jo, Lily, Tara and Caroline. (All moms and daughters.) Luckily we all brought little fans because it was really hot and their is no air conditioning anywhere in the guesthouses. When we used the toilets we had to throw our tp in the trash and if we forgot, they had latex gloves on the back of the toilet so that we could fish the tp back out of the toilet. And yes, most of us had to go "fishing" once or twice. The shower trickled only cold water and you usually are joined by a handful of bugs. I had the pleasure of sharing a shower with a gecko one night. I was not pleased.

Our meals were prepared by two local women who work on the property. For breakfast, we would have things like pancakes and rice and beans or eggs and rice and beans. For dinner, we would have tacos and rice and beans or chicken and rice and beans. Yep, there was rice and beans for every meal. We would drink things like cantaloupe juice, pineapple juice or passion fruit juice, all of them made fresh by Anna Lucia or Teresa.

Every night before I got into bed I had to "dust" the bugs off of my bed. We slept with the windows open. It took some getting used to because of all the different creature noises. The first night Tara and I were convinced that one noise we heard was either a bird or monkey. We found out later it was the geckos. I couldn't believe how loud they were. And for some reason they chose me to torture! They were always over my bed. Ick!

I have to admit when I sat down on my bed that first night I thought, what was I thinking?! I miss my babies, I'm hot, the creatures are freaking me out. I prayed for a long time before I went to sleep, asking God to relieve my worries, to help me come out of my shell and be able to build relationships there, to open my eyes and my heart for what he wanted me to experience there, to give me peace. After praying for a VERY long time, I lay down on my stomach and hid my face in my arm (so that I wouldn't get any bugs in my mouth while I was sleeping) and actually slept extremely well.

Where ever He leads, I'll go...

I want to share my experiences in Nicaragua and I will try to do that in the next few posts. I think before I do that though, I should probably write about how I came to the decision of taking the trip in the first place...
When I first heard about the She Community's trip to Nicaragua I got so excited, but then I remembered my financial situation and became discouraged. I really felt like God was pushing me to go, so I began praying. Eventually, I realized that if God wanted me to go, then He would provide a way. And He did.
I also felt like Bailey should go with me. Her whole world was turned upside down when
Bry lost his job. She had to leave the school and friends that she had known since Kindergarten. She went from having a house with her own room, to sharing a room with her 2 siblings. She also lost a pet that she adored. Her attitude has been amazing through this but I wanted her to see that there are people in the world with a lot less than us and who are happy to just be alive and to have Jesus in their hearts. I also wanted to give her the chance to help people who are less fortunate than her.
Besides praying for the means to go on the trip, I also talked to God a lot about my fears. I was diagnosed with agoraphobia a few years ago. There were times when I would barely leave my house. I was so broken and afraid that my only option was to turn to God and hand Him my fears. I have gradually become less afraid, but going to another country, taking my child with me and leaving my husband and two children here was a HUGE step! One that I believe was possible because of the peace that only God can give.
I tried to come up with so many reasons why this trip was not a good idea. But God kept knocking down my excuses and paving the way for us to go.
As crazy as it may sound, I feel like the loss of Bry's job has been a blessing in many ways. It has taught us what is really important in life. We've been forced to see how money was really interfering with our spiritual life and our family life. Helping others around us is something that has become very important to us. And living in community has become an essential part of our lives. This trip brought home so many things that we were already starting to realize. I can't wait to see where God sends me next!

Who does that??

O.k. so I haven't blogged in a while. I thought, what better way to start back off than a blog about poop. Yes, poop. For some reason Presley took a ridiculous amount of time to be totally potty trained. Not that she didn't know how to go to the potty. She just didn't feel like it. Knock on wood, I think she's finally got it.
That being said, she has picked up a strange new habit. A habit that she will be breaking very soon! She better anyway!!
Be warned...you will see poop in these videos. So, if that kind of thing grosses you out... you may not want to watch. But if you can stomach it, they are pretty stinkin' funny.
The first incident...

The second and hopefully the last incident...

The final countdown

That's right. The final countdown has begun. In 5 days we will be moving into my brother's house. I can't even name all of the emotions that I have felt since all of this began. When we moved into this house, I felt like we had found our dream home. I just knew this would be the house that our kids would grow up in and then come back to visit us here. I heard someone say something the other day and it is SO true! They said "We plan. God laughs. Well, I have definitely learned a lot of lessons from this time in our lives. One of the most important ones have been that we need to seek His guidance in all things. I never realized how little I did that. And now I don't want to be anywhere unless God wants me there. I've also learned that time with my family is more important than any amount of money that we can make. That home is not a place, home is wherever my family is. I've learned that I have the best family and extended family in the world. They have come through for me in MAJOR ways. I've also learned major lessons in humility. I've learned that I belong to the best church family that I have ever known or imagined.
There are also a few other things that I have learned about myself...
*I detest packing. I would say that this is the last time I am ever moving but I won't. First, because it may give my brother and Jo a heart attack. And second, because as I mentioned before, I plan on doing what God wants me to do from now on and He may just want me to move 100 more times. I really hope not though!
*I keep WAY too much crap. Do I really need every note and card I've EVER received? It's ridiculous!
*When I get stressed, I get REALLY sleepy. I have to drag myself out of the bed most days. And sometimes, I have to do it 2 or 3 times because I somehow find myself back in bed after I've already dressed and fixed everyone breakfast.
*I am way stronger than I ever realized. When Bry first lost his job I thought it just might break me. But I am surprised every single day by the strength and comfort that God has given me. I just know that we are going to be o.k. no matter where we end up. It's such an awesome feeling. Not to say that I don't get stressed out because I do, it's just easier to deal with when I turn to Him.
I've also learned that I made one of the best decisions when I married Bryan. He makes me so proud every single day. A lot of men would be doing a lot of whining if they had to go from a cushy VP job to driving a truck. Not my hubby. He gets up at 3:30 every day. 3:30 in the morning people! And he works his butt off until dinner time every night. Then he comes home and takes over with the kids so that I can have some down time. And then he stays up after we've all gone to bed searching the Internet for jobs and sending out his resume. He is so dedicated to taking care of his family no matter what he has to do. I really don't know what I would do without him.
So, that's where we are...on the final countdown. I'm sure there will be plenty of interesting and funny stories to come once we move. How could there not be with that many people living in one house. Heaven help us!

Blogging Blahs

I've come down with a serious case of the blogging blahs. With all of the changes coming up for us I guess my brain has been on overload. It's not that I lack material. There is still lots going on around here. Plenty of achievements, funny stories and everyday nonsense. But for some reason there is a block in my brain that has been keeping me from writing about them. I really hate that. I kept a journal for the first five years of Bailey's life. Not so much with Luke and Presley. Blogging has been my way of doing that for them. I love that we can go back and look at what was going on with us a month ago, or a year ago.

Anyway, I am going to add a few of my favorite pictures from the past month. Maybe that will help ease me back into blogging and also catch up on what I have left out since I have been in this funk. So, here we go...

We celebrated Luke and Presley's birthday at Build A Bear Workshop. They had so much fun with all of their friends! They LOVE that place!

This was Presley's "party outfit". I thought she looked SO cute! (She thought so too!)

The students at Bailey's school were asked to write a short answer to this question "We have freedom because...". Bailey's essay was given first place in her grade. The top 3 in each grade will go on to compete with the rest of the county.

I had to include this picture and the next one. They crack me up! They posed themselves for these by the way! Goofballs!

The subject of Bailey's science project was "Can people taste the difference between whole fat and nonfat foods?" She did a great job! So proud of my girl!

The kids (and the big kid) had so much fun in the snow! They had a snowball fight and worked together to make a cute little snowman. I contributed by making some yummy sno-creme. I don't do cold weather well. I'm more of a sand girl than a snow girl. Luckily, their Daddy loves to play in it with them. :)

A whole Hand!!

At 6:30 this morning I was groggily eating my cereal when Luke comes running in the room. He screams "MOMMY!! I'M FIVE YEARS OLD TODAY!!!" It was so....Luke! And so cute!

Bailey was 5 years old when I found out I was pregnant with Luke. It is so hard to believe that it has been five whole years since my little man came screaming into my world. I knew I was in love with him the instant I saw him. He has taught me so much in his short life. My sweet Luke is so tender-hearted and such a gentleman. He adores his sisters! He is so incredibly smart that it scares me sometimes. He gives the best hugs in the whole world. He is extremely outgoing and funny. He's also very intense and passionate and is not afraid to let you know when he's angry. He is so generous, loving and CHARMING. He's definitely a ladies man! I am just so proud of him.

Happy Birthday sweet Luke! No matter how big you get, you will always be my little man!