Memories of the Expo in Spanish Lookout

These are just a few of the photos I took at the Expo.  They had 4000 show up the first day and expected about 10,000 on the day we were there.  We are looking forward to the next one!

thought for today...

2 Corinthians 13:11

May I share something with you?

To be honest, this young man is not aiming for the type of perfection this verse calls for.  He is actually aiming at a boat full of people that is passing by.  But, he is focused, determined and his aim appears true. 

I don't want to be like this kid and look good in the small picture but not in the grand scheme of life.  

I desire a life of integrity where my actions and values line up with His.  There are days when I fall short of His perfection.  Time after time, I have to get back up, dust myself off, and take aim again.  Do you have days like that?  Or is it just me?

May we each hear the appeal He is laying on our hearts.  

May we learn to live with oneness of mind.

And may the God of love and peace truly dwell among us.

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Winsome Wednesday

Tasty Tuesday...

Mexican Green Rice Salad 

Ingredients

3 cups cooked rice

1 – 9 oz package fresh spinach

1 small bunch fresh cilantro

the juice of one lime

3 tablespoons olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 jalapeno, diced very fine (optional)

Method
1. Take fresh spinach, in batches, and pulse in food processor until finely chopped. Add cilantro to food processor and pulse until finely chopped also.
2. Add cooked riced, chopped spinach and cilantro, lime juice, olive oil and diced onion to a large bowl. Add jalapeno if using. Toss to combine. Serve room temperature or chilled.


I have this recipe pinned on Pinterest and if I can find spinach and cilantro at the market today this will be part of the menu for tonight's dinner!

counting the gifts...

One of the best things about final exams is the feasting that we do when class is over.  We all pulled together for a pot luck of chicken, mashed potatoes, homemade rolls, veggies and dip, cookies, and cake.   It was a chance to make jokes and bond as a class.  And finally breathe a collective sigh of relief because we all made it through another semester together!

 After class was over I got a call from Spencer.  He was helping out with a fund raiser at the Expo for a student who wants to attend the upcoming Discipleship Training School at the YWAM.  

Flat Stanley even joined in to help with the fundraising!

526.  fellowship with the students in the counseling class.

527.  yummy feasts!

528.  being able to drive the kids from YWAM back to the base.

529.  our time at the Expo

530.  seeing familiar faces among the crowd at the Expo.

531.  beauty at the park where the Expo was held.

532.  a relaxing Sunday

533.  a great time of worship at church.

534.  enjoying the Oscars.

535.  finding the joy that comes from gratitude.

 joining in with the gratitude community:

Just another day in the office...

A 10 year old refugee hung out in the building today. 

He was thrilled to find the play therapy toys in our office and overjoyed to be allowed the chance to play.

He wrote good to go with the happy face he drew...

and bad to go with this face...

He even treated us to a puppet show!

and he packed it all up and put it away begrudgingly when his mother came for him.

We don't know if we will see him again...but he reminded us of the scope and magnitude of the problems in some of the countries that neighbor Belize.  We have heard stories of children being raped and killed and stories of mothers escaping countries like El Salvador and Guatemala with their only remaining child.  

We pray that they will hear God speak comfort to their hearts with words like these:

I will not abandon you as orphans-- I will come to you.

John 14:18

And we pray for all of the individuals and families here seeking refugee status due to violence in their home country.  We pray that all of the shelters here will be a haven of safety.  And that all of the refugee children in Belize get a chance to play with as much abandon and freedom as this child did today. 

Flat Stanley in Belize...

Flat Stanley came to visit us from California a few weeks ago. 

 Flat Stanley checking out the plantains in our front yard.

Here he is helping Tom teach at Belize Bible Center.

And of course he wanted to post with the sign so you all would know he was really there!

We haven't had much of a chance to take him out to see more of the sites here in Belize.  He has had to hang out around the house or go to work with us.  This Saturday is our last class for this semester so we will get a chance to take a drive next weekend and take Stanley out to see some of the beauty of Belize before he heads back to school.

thought for today...

Psalm 30:5

Patricia was stillborn on this day back in 1985.  Cameron's stillbirth followed in December of the same year.

Yesterday was a hard day and today is not much easier.   

I know that how I feel is not just about Patricia and Cameron.  It's also about having to leave Russia... and losing all of our belongings. So many mementos from the past 30 years of family life were lost.   Each time I remember something that was in one of those boxes it still causes me to weep a bit.  There are some days when we laugh about it all. And other days when it seems like it's all just a bad dream.

Today I am comforting myself with Psalm 30:5.  

I am trusting this night of grieving will not last forever...believing that joy will indeed come...in the morning.

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Tasty Tuesday...chayote

Chayote (cho cho)

I found cho cho (chayote) at the market a few weeks back and asked the girl there what it was and how to prepare it.  She suggested using it in a soup.  But I chose to dice it up along with eggplant, zucchini, and.tomatoes.  Then I saute them together in olive oil, added some seasonings, and served it over spaghetti.  It was very tasty and I am sure I will try it again.  

We keep trying new things when we see them in the market and it is always exciting to find something that we really like.  We decided that the cho cho is a definitely a winner!

P.S. I have a guest post over at Adventures of Team Pancakes for a series she is doing on Living Our Vows.  If you want to check it out you can see it here: Living Our Vows

Happy Tuesday!

counting the gifts...

Gratitude.  

That is what is on my mind and in my heart right now.  Yesterday was a bittersweet day.  More sweet than bitter I should say.  You see on February 19, 1985 I went in for a routine pregnancy check up and the doctor could not find the heartbeat of the baby I was carrying.  I was sent for an ultrasound to check on the baby's well being.  The technician said not a word about the results... I was told to come back for the doctor to interpret them for me.  Tom and I went to the movies, ate some lunch, and went back to the doctor's office.  When we finally sat down with the doctor we were given the news that our baby was no longer alive.  

We were devastated. 

 It was truly one of the worst days of my life.  I thought I would never be happy again. Never.  The doctor went on to explain that he wanted me to go into labor on my own if possible.  And he also shared that not only had my baby died that day...but his best friend died as well.  He left to attend the funeral and be with his friend's family in a neighboring state for a few days.  I waited from the 19th to the 22nd to see if I would go into labor on my own.  When he returned, on the 22nd, I went back in to his office and he scheduled an appointment at the hospital to induce labor.

Our first child and only daughter was stillborn that night.

It amazes me that we have two sons.  I have been pregnant five times.  Two stillbirths just ten months apart in 1985...then Nathan was born in 1987.  Two years later I had a miscarriage...and nine months after that miscarriage Spencer was born in 1990.  So here we are twenty-seven years after Patricia Kaye was stillborn.  I am so grateful to be able to say that I am the mother of two living children.

Two incredible young men, Nathan, 24, and Spencer, 21, are alive and well.  

2006 Family photo in Krasnodar, Russia

2008 Spencer and Nathan in Dana Point, California,USA

2010 Spencer and I in Istanbul, Turkey

2011 Nathan's visit to Belize

Nathan and Spencer are two of the greatest gifts in my life.  I am so fortunate, so blessed, and so grateful to God for bringing them into being.  My heart is glad.  I am overwhelmed with joy as I realize how far we have come as a family.  Nathan's birth brought us hope and restored our faith.  Spencer's birth was cause for rejoicing and celebration...as our family was now made complete.

So this week I may have times of sadness as I remember and reflect on the days spent waiting for Patricia's stillbirth to occur.  But, I also know that I will spend these next few days rejoicing and giving thanks for the sons that filled our hearts and our home with love and laughter.  

    521.  the gift of Nathan.

    522.  the gift of Spencer.  

    523.  the precious gift of life.

    524.  the beautiful gift of family. 

    525.  the restoration of joy.                                                                                                      

 joining in with the gratitude community: