Lydia Joy

December 7, 2017

Adoption is a long and hard process. Over the last 2+ years I have watched Zack and Hollie go through every step. There have been so many prayers and tears... A few big changes... And so much anticipation leading up to this night, when we finally got to see Zack and Hollie with Lydia in person. Such joy! She is just so precious!

Mollie picked out a sweet little toy to give Lydia, and late after church on this Wednesday night we loaded up the church van to go to the air port.  I held it together…. thankfully…. and we got to see Hope and Gage meet their sister for the first time.  I even got a couple hugs from my new little buddy!

I can't help but think of what a beautiful picture I've witnessed. Ephesians 1:5 (Msg) says "Long, long ago He decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!)"

Thinking about how much my friends went through to take this sweet girl home as their daughter will always bring a tear to my eye and give me such peace about how much THE Father wanted and planned for me, His daughter.  

Feeling such gratitude for answered prayers, the Fuller FIVE, and salvation through Jesus Christ!

Mission: Kansas City

July 18-22

This was a trip I won’t soon forget…. We decided to plan our own, closer to home, mission trip this year.  We made plans to stay in an elementary school, and when we got there found out there was no air conditioning.  It was the hottest trip ever.  Even hotter than Falls Creek because there was never a break in the hotness! 

Most of the great things we did, were a little overshadowed because of the sleeping in sweat…. But in the end we realized how many people we helped and it made it worth it.  Something else that was different was that we had Zack and Hollie’s new youth group with us too.  It was great to get some time with our friends that we miss so much!

I felt so bad for Nate… He never stopped.  When we would finish our jobs for the day he would have to work on something at the school where we were staying.  Did I mention the lights didn’t go off at night?  I was worried about him not taking breaks most of the time, but I was also super proud of the leader he is.  I couldn’t be more blessed to call him mine.

We went out for some bar-b-que… Helped sort through donations and moldy bread… Nate and the guys worked in an old church, new sound… Painted and did yard work for a Coffee Shop… Spread mulch for some schools… And made baskets for ladies coming out of human trafficking.  The verses that started to come to life for us through this trip were Matthew 25:34-40:

“Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.’

“Then the righteous will answer him, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?’

“The King will reply, ‘Truly I tell you, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me.’

Because in the end, that’s what we did.  We put others first and worked our tails off.  It was a learning experience for all of us.

And, of course, we went to a Royals game.  Kaufman ended up being one of Nate’s favorite stadiums.

We also took a night, and went downtown to their Union Station.  We have the best group we have ever had and it was so fun!  I love these girls so much!

Pumpkin Patch 2014

Always a good time.  Mollie was old enough to enjoy it this time!  We rode the merry-go-round, stopped for some pictures with pumpkins, played on the playground, and pet a baby bunny.

 

Then we headed to this slide… where she went down with Nate and by herself.  Then jumped on a big trampoline, and took a train ride!

 

Then it was on to the hay ride, where we picked out a pumpkin.

 

 

Nicaragua 2014

(This post is picture heavy.  Too many good ones.)

This trip challenged me in ways I didn’t know I could be challenged.  I knew from the beginning that I had to physically show God that I put my life, Nate’s life, and Mollie’s life in His hands.  It was a HUGE obstacle for me.  It sounds silly, because God is the one that gave us life, but for me handing all my worries and fears over to Him, in this way, was something new… Mostly because we have Mollie now.

I thought I had learned that lesson last year, when Nate went over there without me.  But with Mollie it was a whole new ballgame.  I had every irrational fear you could have…. the one about us dying on a plane and leaving Mollie without parents topped the list.

It was all totally insane, but God showed me how to fully rely on Him.  I knew I needed to go on this trip to teach myself a lesson.  Children are a gift from God and to not fully give them back to Him is selfish.  God even sacrificed His one and only Son for me, so what in the world was I doing?  When my friend Hollie was going to Nicaragua the first time, she was having a hard time leaving her son.  I remember telling her that if God and Jesus were in the same situation as humans here on earth, I thought God would totally leave Jesus with his grandparents so He could go share the good news.  It’s a funny thought, but it helped me to get over myself.

Anyways, back to our trip.

 

 We had a great group.  It was too much fun traveling and working with these wonderful peeps.

Nate preached at the first church we went to.  He always does a great time and makes me oh so proud to be his wife.  We didn’t go a day without face timing with Mollie and Grandma and Papa.  Thank goodness for technology these days.

 

When we went to churches, everyone was always so happy to see us.  The kids wanted to hug us and stare at us and definitely take pictures.  We also got to go into several schools.  It was amazing.  The teachers would happily invite us in and we would tell them all about Jesus.  In this class, at the first school we went to, all of the kids accepted Christ into their hearts.  There is nothing like hearing thirty second and third graders repeat the sinners prayer after you.  It was also a great experience for me to see our group go through something like this for the first time.  I love watching people experience overseas missions for the first time. 

These pictures are from one of our first fiestas.  Again at a school.  We played games and put on a funny skit.  Hollie and I reprised our rolls as the drunks and we were trying to get Lauren, aka Sinbox Sally, out of her sin.  Then we again shared the gospel and I got to take my picture with some of the girls.

 

Hollie, Me, Lauren and Emily….. ……………  ….Nate, Garrett, Zack, David, Kevin and Jerry.

Nate liked holding babies this year.  You could tell he was missing his little girl, but not as much as me.  I was having a super hard time being so far away from her.  If we were out and working, my mind was fixed on that.  But as soon as we were on the bus or back at the team house, I was a wreck inside.  But we all made it, and Nate also had a little too much fun being the Strong Man in the skit.

(Top Left) Nate and I with some kids at another school.  (Top Right)  Us with some of our fabulous translators.  (Bottom Center)  Hollie, Brandi, and I at one of the schools.  This moment was probably my favorite one of the trip.  Leading a whole class to Christ with two of my best friends!

 

We got to visit the ocean again.  So beautiful.  And Javi translated for me when I gave my testimony.  It was a little different this year because I shared about my struggle with fear.

(Above) More face timing with my girl.  And a little girl that held my hand for close to 30 minutes while we were inviting everyone to the fiestas.  She was sweet and would just look at me with the biggest smile.  I told her she was muy bonita and that she was my new amigo.

(Below) On our free day, we went ziplining.  That was super fun… and I saw a monkey!  We also ate some steak and went to the market (where there is a dormant volcano that looks like a huge lake).

    

March 16-21, 2014