Nicaragua ~ March 17-24, 2012

Warning:  This post is super picture heavy!  And my camera was even stolen… imagine if I had all my pics ;)

What a week!  God blessed this trip from beginning to end and our whole team was/is extremely blessed.  It was the smoothest mission trip that I have ever been on, and that is a huge credit to Mike & Sherry Hulsey and Vickie Cline at Voice of Hope Ministries.

We left bright and early on Saturday, March 17 and took two flights before arriving in Managua, Nicaragua.  Vickie was there to meet us and we quickly left the airport, heading to Leon.  While a man was helping put our luggage on the top of our van a bird flew into him, so that was funny.  We stopped by Tip Top Chicken to have dinner and drove the rest of the way to the mission house.

On Sunday, we visited the Rose of Sharon Church and Nate got to preach.  I am always so proud of my handsome husband and in Nicaragua it was no different.  He did great!

We went to a different church that night and then the rest of the week was full of awesome ministry where we boldly said the name of Jesus Christ to a ton of people.

We went through the streets of different villages telling people to meet us for a fiesta.  After a few minutes people would start showing up and we would sing and play some games before we shared the gospel two times.  We would do the “sin box” skit for everyone before splitting up into boys, girls, and adults and sharing the gospel again.

While half of the group did the skit, the others went door to door witnessing to people along the way.  One of my favorite parts was working with our wonderful translators.  I got the opportunity to go with Juan a few times and he was an absolute joy and help to me.  I explained how encouraged I was by his boldness.  I told him that in the United States we never just go up to a stranger and ask if they are going to Heaven or hell, and that I so appreciated how he was able to do that with his fellow Nicaraguans.

Here are a few pics of the fiestas!  Hollie and I were very convincing and funny drunks…

 

 

And street evangelism…

 

On Thursday I got the opportunity to go help cook at one of the feeding centers.  It was a great morning with 4 other precious ladies.  Margaret and I didn’t end up cooking very much, but we sure did entertain about 40 kids without an interpreter for almost 2 hours. ha

We also got to go see the Pacific Ocean and it was beautiful.  I have never seen waves as big as they were there, and the sand was black.

On our fun day… we had the greatest time.  We went to a great restaurant and ate the best steaks we have ever had.  Then on to zipline through the Nicaraguan forest (didn’t see any monkeys).  Next we went to see an active volcano… which was a little stinky but skinkin awesome!  Then after some shopping and some pizza hut we were back at the mission house to pack and get ready to leave.

 

 

 

It was also great to see some old friends from Rogers.  Everyone is growing up and it was awesome to work side by side, sharing the love of Jesus.

And, it is always great to be around one of my favorite people in the world for a whole week.  We kept each other positive and she kept everything under control so I could just relax ;)

Lots of wonderful memories were made and I think we are all thinking about when the next time we can go will be.  Maybe next year?  Who knows?

By the way… this post is purely for the pictures. Look forward to others about what I learned throughout the week in Nicaragua.

HE Will Sustain You

We leave the day after tomorrow for Leon, Nicaragua!  I am really looking forward to this trip and can’t wait to see how God works in the lives of the people we will meet, in our team, and in me.  There is something so special and wonderful about going to share the love of Christ!

I have been waiting to go to Nicaragua for some time now.  Ever since the first team went from Rogers… probably in 2008 somewhere.  I feel blessed and extremely excited to finally witness some of the things I have heard so much about first hand!

God has already been working in this trip and that is very evident in the almost $12,000 we raised.  Our church has been very giving and supportive, and when they hear about this trip I pray that more adults will be willing to go next time.

Nate told us last night that we need to be ready to give a short version of our testimony or a testimony about something God is doing in your life.  Here is mine:

“Cast your cares on the Lord, and He will sustain you.  He will never let the righteous fall.”

Psalm 55:22

I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home where my mom took me to church every time the doors were open.  It was very easy for me to come to know Christ and for that I am eternally grateful.

Like a lot of kids, I was always too scared to talk to anyone about anything, but when our church had a revival in November 1995 I could ignore the pulling on my heart.  I asked Jesus into my heart one night before bed and talked with my mom and pastor about my decision.

Since then, I haven’t looked back.  I always felt drawn to the local church and have been very involved my whole life.  Throughout my school days, with the help of my youth pastor and his wife, God was shaping and molding me into who I am today. 

I have a business degree and have had several secular jobs, but nothing fulfills my life’s calling like working along side my wonderful husband at church.  People I went to high school with would surely laugh if they knew I was the church secretary, but I don’t mind because I feel I am in God’s will…and happy and at peace.

The exciting part of my testimony is seeing how God has worked in my life lately.  He continues to teach me new things every time I study His Word.  Recently, I have been through some trying times where I was simply waiting on the Lord.  I found great peace in Psalm 55:22, which simply means that God will bare the weight of our worries.  Therefore, there is no reason to stress or cry.  He will sustain you. 

So, please know that God loves you very much.  That He sent His son Jesus to this earth, to live a perfect life and die a sacrificial death so you and I could be cleared of our sin.  His blood covers me, and I pray it covers you too.  And also please know, that if you are waiting on God to come through for you…. He will!  He will always come through, even after 2 1/2 years He will come through, and He will sustain you in the mean time.

A Cleanse and Some Tacos

Nate and I made it through our seven day cleanse!  You are supposedly guaranteed to lose 10-17 lbs, but we only lost 6 lbs each.  I am totally happy with that though, because during my weight watcher days I only lost 1-2 lbs/week.  It was a great jump start to our new healthy eating plan…. and I really did feel cleansed.

We did the GM Diet March 5-11.

The GM Diet was originally created by GM and only for the employees and families. Somehow GM (biggest company in the world at the time) got a grant from the FDA and the Department of Agriculture to create this. Johns Hopkins was involved and the diet was approved and launched in 1985.

The GM Diet is designed to flush your system of impurities and give you a feeling of well being.

Here is the plan… (For a longer, more in depth version click HERE)

Day One All fruits except bananas. Your first day will consist of all the fruits you want.

Day Two All vegetables. You are encouraged to eat until you are stuffed with all the raw or cooked vegetables of your choice. There is no limit on the amount or type.

Day Three A mixture of fruits and vegetables of your choice. Any amount, any quantity.

Day Four Bananas and milk.

Day Five Today is feast day. You will eat beef and tomatoes.

Day Six Beef and vegetables. Today you may eat an unlimited amount of beef and vegetables. Eat to your hearts content.

Day Seven Today your food intake will consist of brown rice, fruit juices and all the vegetables you care to consume.

It was pretty hard to get through the first three days, but we made it.  I taught myself to like veggies and fruits that I thought I hated, and I even tried a banana (maybe for the first time in my life).  When day five got here, we had never been so excited to see some meat on our plate.

I learned that I like to cover my food in sauces and eat crunchy things.  It is something that needs to change, but it is also something that I missed terribly during the cleanse week.  It doesn’t matter what I’m eating I like a nice condiment for dipping.  Whether it’s ketchup, ranch, gravy, or chick-fil-a sauce, I am the dipping queen.  And who knew that apples aren’t crunchy enough for my weird mouth.

Anyway, we were super proud of ourselves for making it through the whole week.  We even had to go to a restaurant and order “the veggie platter” on the last day.

To celebrate our conquering food week, I made a taco feast!  It was so delish… making tacos even more my favorite food (or at least at the top tied with pizza).

Food For a Month

I have been a planner my entire life.  I can remember in middle school how excited I was to get the “agenda” they passed out at the beginning of every year.  It was the OCD planner’s dream… where I wrote everything I did everyday, took notes of funny things I wanted to remember, and kept track of all the homework scheduled and done.  There is just something glorious about checking off a list.  Isn’t there?

Anyway… I have been thinking about trying to plan a menu for an entire month since we got married back in 2005.  For some reason it always seemed like an impossible task to me.  Nate and I would usually spend every Friday in Wal-Mart buying some kind of food.

It was just as great as I thought it would be to have everything planned out and to not step foot in Wal-Mart for a while.  Don’t get me wrong, I love “WM” and have started putting that in my check book register instead of spelling it out, just because we go there so much.  It is, in fact, the one stop shop for everything.  It was just great to not be running there every day.

We did our massive shopping trip on January 12 and didn’t go back for food until around February 24.  It was great!  The crock pot became my really good friend and Nate enjoyed all the home cooked meals.

Here are some of our favorite recipes we enjoyed:

Cheesy Chicken-N-Rice

• 4 boneless skinless chicken breasts
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 8 oz. box Zataran’s Yellow Rice Mix, cooked according to directions
• 1-2 cups cheddar cheese
• 1 can cream of chicken soup
• 1 can whole kernal corn, drained

Place chicken in bottom of slow cooker.  Scatter chopped onions over top.  Spoon cream of chicken soup over top of that.  Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours, or on high 3-4 hours.  A few minutes before serving, add in cooked rice, corn, and cheese.  Stir to combine.  Serve hot.

 

Chicken Salad

• 1 lb cooked chicken breasts, cut into cubes or shredded
• 1 cup mayo
• 1 cup halved purple grapes
• 1/2 cup sliced almonds, toasted
• 1 tsp finely chopped parsley
• 1/2 cup whipped cream
• salt and pepper to taste

Ranch Pork Chops

• 6 pork chops
• 1 pkt. dry ranch mix
• 1 can cream of chicken soup

Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 6 hours.  Serve over rice.

 

Applesauce Pork Chops

• 6-8 pork chops
• 1/2 cup brown sugar
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon
• 16 oz. can tomato sauce
• 1/2 cup applesauce
• 1/4 – 1/2 cup vinegar

Salt and pepper chops and place in bottom of crock pot.  Pour the rest of the ingredients on top.  Cook on high for 6-8 hours.  Serve over rice or on hamburger bun with bar-b-q sauce.

 

Pork Chops and Corn Stuffing

• 1 tbsp. oil
• 6 boneless pork chops
• 1 1/2 tsp. dried pork seasoning
• 4 cups cornbread stuffing mix
• 1/4 cup chopped onion
• 1 can chicken broth
• 1 can whole kernal corn with red and green peppers, drained
• 1 egg beaten

1.  Heat oil in large skillet over medium heat, brown pork chops on both sides.  Drain.  Sprinkle with pork seasoning.

2.  Combine all remaining ingredients, mix well.

3.  Spray insided of crock pot with nonstick cooking spray.  Spoon stuffing mixture in the bottom.  Arrange pork chops in 2 layers over stuffing.

4.  Cover and cook on low for 5 to 6 hours or until pork is no longer pink in the center.

(a mix of 1/4 tsp each of seasoned salt, garlic powder, thyme leaves and black pepper can be used if pork seasoning is not available)

No Sweets? No Sweat.

Hello.  My name is Whitney and I am a sweet-a-holic.  That is probably not a word, but you get what I’m saying.  I didn’t used to be so bad… or maybe it never affected my body as much.  I did always enjoy the candy bars at my mom and dad’s station.  To this day, when I go in there I feel like I have to get something sweet to eat.  Then when Nate and I got married, I just ate when he ate.  And Nate likes a little bite of something sweet after every meal.  Then when we moved and I went through a year of depression and ate everything in sight… that wasn’t too good either.

My weight has been up and down and this year I am ready to make a major change and stick with it.  I don’t need to be super skinny, but I need to fill good about myself.  So… I have taken a few steps, and have a few more in mind to get to my goal.

Step One:  Since our house in Rogers is finally out of our hands, we can really focus on living here and being here.  It is like my mind has been in two different places for 2 1/2 years, so having it gone will completely change my life here.  And the number on my bathroom scale :)

Step Two:  My friend is going through a book called “The Fasting of the Sevens” by Jen Hatmaker.  Every month there is something to focus on and fast from… showing us how much we live in excess.  Last month Hollie decided to go without sweets.  I took the challenge with her.  We did it for completely different reasons, but were there to keep each other accountable.  Man, is it sooo much easier to do any kind of diet with someone doing it with you. 

It was definitely hard for me.  Especially when Nate would leave an open pack of gummy worms out on the counter, or when we got two boxes of Russell Stover’s chocolates for Valentine’s Day… but I did it!  And I didn’t die!  This was a great accomplishment for me and I proved to myself that it is possible to live without a bite of chocolate everyday.

Of course when March 1 got here I went crazy at Sam’s and bought a double-layered cookie cake (I dreamed about it, okay).  And Hollie and I met up at Freddy’s for some much deserved custard to celebrate… Notice mine is the chocolatiest one I could get (I know another made up word).

Step Three: Do a seven day cleanse.  I have tried some “Jillian Michael” cleansing pills before and nothing happened to me.  So this time, I am going to start my healthy eating life with the seven day GM diet.  It is pretty extreme, but it will be a great jump start to shred some lb’s.  I am currently on day two and it’s looking good.  Nate is doing it with me, so that is a huge support.  Yesterday we ate nothing but fruit.  Today we are eating nothing but veggies.  I’ll keep you updated on how the rest of the week goes.  Nate will probably lose like 20 lbs. and I’ll lose 5, but that’s ok.  I’m keeping my eyes on the end prize… which may not be here until November (or later).

Step Four:  Run a 5K.  I am signed up… even paid good money to go run this race.  The date is April 21 so after we get back from Nicaragua, I will be a training machine.  This is another thing that I never in a million years thought I would be doing… So I can just imagine how it’s going to feel when I really do it next month.

Step Five:  Go back to weight watchers and exercise regularly until I get to my goal weight.

That’s it… I am on step three.  We will see what happens from here.  Wish me luck!

“The Day a Weight was Lifted”

I strongly believe that one of the reasons God allows “storms” in our life is so we can help others that go through the same thing.  So we can learn about ourselves, and have a lasting testimony of our Lord and Saviors providential timing and see how He sustains us.

Last night in Nate’s talk to the youth he said that God wants to show His greatness to others through your storm.  The point of pain in our lives isn’t to suck it up or walk it off… It’s to show the beauty and grace of our Savior.

I have found that I am a becoming a writer.  I have kept journals since I can remember, but lately it has gone to a whole different level… I have to write to get things off my chest.  I have to write to vent my feelings.  I just have to write.

This is what I wrote in my journal yesterday…

Ah!  Sweet relief!  After being in Yukon and having our house in Rogers for sale for 2 1/2 years… It finally sold today!  Closing was at 2pm and we got a call around 3:30 with the good news.  That was 1,080 days of waiting on the Lord.  This was the 4th or 5th offer we got and I was so scared that they were going to back out too.  Praise the Lord they didn’t. 

Getting our papers signed and sending them off!

I feel like a different person without this over my head.  Many times I have felt sorry for myself… calling this “storm” in my life a nightmare.  Things couldn’t have gone worse.  At least that’s how I felt.  Nate and I were on our knees about this situation everyday.  Our minds, hearts, and money has been in two different towns.  We would go through “what if?” situations, like:  What if our first realtor would have priced it right back in October 2009?  What if our second realtor would have done a better job with the rent-to-own option?  What if we wouldn’t have let a bum live there for 10 months?

Now, being finished with the whole ordeal, I am saying “what if?” in a different way… What if we didn’t have the love and provision of our Almighty God to put all our hope and faith in?  What if our families didn’t support us and continually offer help and support?  What if I didn’t have such wonderful friends that prayed everyday for me when I couldn’t?  What if our church family didn’t love and support us?  What if God hadn’t provided the money we needed to live or places to live (like my brother’s barn or our church’s mission house)?  Seriously, what if?

I am blessed beyond what I can even believe.  There is no reason that I deserve so much.  There is no explanation as to why Nate and I are not in debt up to our eyeballs, in foreclosure, or homeless and hungry… Besides the wonderful provision of our awesome Lord and Savior, and the faithful prayers of His children.  I am so thankful for so much right now in this moment.

Celebratory Italian nachos!

I always say that we learn a lot from these “unforeseen storms” of life, and Nate and I aren’t to sure if we learned anything of great importance BUT I do know of some things.  We learned patience… with God, others, each other and money.  We learned that God will provide!  And that we are horrible landlords and should never own another rental property.  We learned how to look for a good realtor.  And what depression feels like.  We learned what it was like to face a huge crisis, and how to support each other in the midst of it.  We learned about short sales.  I learned I was a really good letter writer (there was no way they were saying no).  I learned the feeling of genuine community and dependence on the two best friends that I’ve ever had in my life.  I learned that Nate and I have a deep, un-shattering love for each other… even deeper than I thought.

Celebratory dinner with friends!

I’m sure more gratefulness and more things I learned will come to me in the following days, but today I will just relish the love of my Heavenly Father, my wonderful husband, my best friends, my family, and my church.  This leap year 2012 will forever be a memory in my life.  “The day a weight was lifted” I like to say.  A day that will live in infamy… just joking ;)

It is good to feel more like myself and hear Nate genuinely laugh.  It’s been a while and we are ready to make this whole “owning one house instead of two” thing the new normal.  Oh, what a life we get to lead.

So, if you are in the midst of a storm, and need some encouragment… know that this storm is not the end of your story.  Know that it will end some day.  Don’t allow it to take you over.  Allow it to shape you into a more faithful follower of Christ.

Goodbye darling house.  We will always love and cherish our time with you!

August 2005 – November 2009

3600 West Beechwood Drive. Rogers, AR 72756