On New Years weekend Wes’ parents arrived.  Ron stayed for a week and Kathleen was able to be here for a little bit longer.  We had a great time with them going to the zoo, going to Ica to hang out on some sand dunes, we went swimming and went to the beach, and Wes gave his parents the tour of downtown Lima.  We loved having them here and the boys were so happy to have some time with their Grammy and Papa!

Next week my brother Ben and his family will be here to stay a week with us, too.  We are so excited!  Having family here is like a breath of fresh air and such a blessing!

For more pictures, you can check Wes’ facebook page.

So I have had a couple of weeks to prepare my heart for this.  It took all day, but the sadness is setting in now.  Since I am not there, it seems so surreal.  I think I could easily let myself stay disconnected and be glad that I’m several countries away right now.  But I don’t want to do that.  I want to celebrate the life of this amazing, Godly woman right alongside everyone else.  I want to sing songs with her family and friends and hear the laughter when stories are told of Marilyn that will make you smile so long your face hurts.

I have been waiting to share these next thoughts.  Because I know there are so many out there who are, who have been, or who will be someday disappointed with God.  There are so many emotions that come when God doesn’t do what we wanted Him to do.  Sadness, anger, frustration, pain.  Just to name a few.  I think those emotions are normal, okay, and to be expected.  There comes a time, though, when we are called to take off the clothes of mourning and step into the light of the face that brings warmth and draws you close.

The heart that presses in harder to the chest of God so as to hear His heartbeat, instead of pushing Him away or holding Him off at a distance because you are not so sure about that anymore… the heart that shouts cries and beats the breast, but then just lets Him hold you is the kind of heart that I think can be described as “a man after God’s own heart,” like David in the Bible.  Ask “why?” all you want to.  Tell Him how it made you feel.  Pour it out like a rushing waterfall if you need to.  Then let Him come nearer.  Be not offended.  Just trust and believe He is Who He said He is.

Be not offended.  Maybe it was years ago when things didn’t go the way you wanted them to go and the pain from it has torn you to pieces inside.  But you keep waking up, day after day, and have figured out how to put one step in front of the other.  Life even looks pretty normal.  Back to usual.  But your heart has your hand up, saying, “No, no, not too close.  That is far enough.  I can’t handle anymore disappointment right now.  It’s not worth the risk.”  If this is you, then let me say with great care…you are called to a better place than that.

The time has come or it will come when God will restore you and redeem you back to that place of immeasurable faith.  The place where you aren’t afraid to ask Him to do things for you again.  A time when His blessings will so fill your heart with joy that you will dance and sing with laughter at His goodness and say, “Why, Lord?  Why would you do this for me?”  And you’ll just know the answer in your heart as He says to you, “Because I Am Who I Am and I love you because you are Mine.”

Lastly, I want to share with you my last letter to Marilyn that I sent her a couple of weeks ago after the prayer vigil.  I guess I want to share it, because so many of you have joined me, joined us, in praying.  In praying with great faith.  This relationship journey that we are on with Jesus Christ is one, wild ride!  It is indescribable.  I hope that you will continue on with me.  When He calls me to pray and to trust in the authority of the Holy Spirit inside of me, I will pray.  There will be times of disappointment.  But I’m pretty sure the victories and leaps of joy when He does something only His glory can contain…those will outweigh and outlast the moments of heartbreak.

Marilyn,

I am at a loss of words.  I think because I don’t want to say good-bye.  But I want to share with you how wonderful it has been to be on this journey of my faith and to have you be such a big part of it.  I love our God and how He speaks to us and moves in our hearts.

And I love that He put the same passage of scripture on mine and Kimberly’s heart this past weekend–Daniel 3.  I talked to her and then read her blog post.   I was able to do that Beth Moore Daniel study with her while we were living in New Braunfels, before moving to Lima.  That was a special time for me, a hard time of therapy and unknowns as I was getting treatment for depression.  God put Kim and I together during that time and it was perfect.  I needed her and she was and has always been such a good friend to me.  All of His plans are perfect aren’t they?

On Saturday morning of the prayer vigil I woke up with Daniel 3 in my heart.  Verses 17 and 18 running through my head:

17 If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to deliver us from it, and he will deliver us from Your Majesty’s hand. 18 But even if he does not, we want you to know, Your Majesty, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

I want to have that kind of faith.  I thought about how those three young men didn’t know the end of the story like we do.  But they said, “Our God is able to deliver us.”  And they also said, “And he will deliver us.”  Then, “But even if he doesn’t…”  God is still God and we still love Him and trust Him.

I want you to know that I believe with all my heart that God wants us to have the kind of faith that trusts in the authority we have been given by the Holy Spirit.  The authority and faith to believe and say–”Our God is able and HE WILL deliver us.  But even if He doesn’t, my love and trust in Him will not fail.”

Thank you, Marilyn.  Thank you for walking this journey of faith with me for so many years.  Thank you for being proud of me.  Thank you for praying for me and for my family, for praying with faith that pleases our God.  I will miss you so much.  But I am so happy for you that you get to be with Jesus face to face, surrounded by His light and His love.  I’m kind of jealous about it.  :)  I love you.   I’m so glad I got to hug your neck when I was there in July.  But I’ll see you again someday soon.  And when that day comes, I can’t wait to be singing with you again–glorious, unimaginable songs, praising the lover of our souls.

Thinking of you and your family whom I love so much,

Stacy

Marilyn, what you said is so true.  You’ll be smiling the next time I see you!

For me, and my family and friends, Camp Bandina is a place where the Word of God was preached and lived out.  It is a place where friendships formed and blossomed.  Stars.  Many nights on this hill gave me a love for basking in the bigness of God.  Laughter.  I can’t think about camp and not think about skit nights and the jokes that were played on friends.  And camp is a memory of tears, too.  Sad tears and happy tears.  You can’t go there and not remember, “It Is Well With My Soul.”  This is where so many of us learned more about what life is all about and how there is so much more to it when Christ is your reason for living.  Countless children, including myself, died to themselves there and made a statement for all to see–baptized in the name of Jesus, plunged below the water of that cold river, buried with Christ and raised to new life with a new beginning, a fresh start.

The memories of Camp Bandina go on and on, but the one that I want to share the most, is of Marilyn.  This particular summer at camp, as a teenage girl surrounded by a cabin of girls dreaming about their future, we had a Bible class teacher that was no ordinary teacher.  Marilyn brought the Word of God to life for us, for me.  Every hour of every morning of every class that week I was captivated by her stories, by her life, by the way she spoke with passion.  I’ll never forget her story of the bird in her garage that God used to tell her it was time to let go.  I was drawn in by her love for her Lord and motivated to live a life with that kind of legacy.  This is Marilyn.  A lover of Christ with an incredible legacy.

Me and Marilyn on July 28th of this year,

the last day of furlough before going back to Lima.

And this is Marilyn.  A woman with a gun who is not afraid to kill a chicken snake!

June of 2009 when our family went for a visit at “Tranquility Farm.”

And this is Marilyn.  A woman so full of joy and laughter that one of her highlights of living on a farm with her husband, Chuck Jobe, is having goats that faint.

Chuck and Marilyn with Jakob and Derek.  And the goats.

I wish I had a picture or a video of this, but I don’t, so you’ll just have to use your imagination.

On this particular visit to the farm Marilyn said, “Wes, scare the goats so we can watch them faint!”

Right away Wes jumps the fence with one leap to run after the goats and we all die in hysterical laughter as the goats fall over like dominoes!

I could also tell you about the time when I was in college and I went to visit Marilyn.  That visit with her saved me from a terrible sin (having a friendship with a married man over email), because I was young, ignorant and naive.  She practically knocked me upside the head to reveal that sin in my life!  I’m so thankful that now we can laugh about that moment, because through her, God corrected me and set me straight, preventing a lot of heartache and unforeseen dangers.

And Marilyn has three children, all grown and married with children of their own.  This family has a special place in my heart.  They are some of my best friends and they are each living out their own legacies of a Godly life.  When this family gets together you can be sure of three things–

1. The best kind of home-cooked meals that make you fat,
2. Hours of laughter, and
3. Songs, songs, and more songs!

If you have had the privilege of sitting in their living room around the piano, then consider yourself blessed!

SO HERE’S THE DEAL. I live in Lima, Peru.  Thousands of miles away from here my friend and mentor, Marilyn, is suffering from cancer.  About 5 months ago she was diagnosed with metastatic colon cancer.  I know that there are many out there who are losing hope or have lost hope.  I admit I have been tempted to also lose hope myself.  But the thing is, I have this God and this Holy Spirit that I am growing in intimacy with, and they keep telling me to believe and have faith.  So that’s what I’m doing.

People, this is a call for faith.  The kind of faith that believes.  Or the kind of faith that cries out like the desperate father of the boy in Mark 9, “I do believe, help me with my unbelief!”

I believe we have found ourselves in a situation like that in Mark 9.  Jesus has just come down from the mountain after having been transfigured with glory and encouraged by Moses and Elijah.  And the disciples who were left at the bottom of the mountain are caught up in the middle of an argument with some teachers of the Law about why they were not able to heal this particular boy who was tormented by an evil spirit.

14 When they came to the other disciples, they saw a large crowd around them and the teachers of the law arguing with them. 15 As soon as all the people saw Jesus, they were overwhelmed with wonder and ran to greet him.

16 “What are you arguing with them about?” he asked.

17 A man in the crowd answered, “Teacher, I brought you my son, who is possessed by a spirit that has robbed him of speech. 18 Whenever it seizes him, it throws him to the ground. He foams at the mouth, gnashes his teeth and becomes rigid. I asked your disciples to drive out the spirit, but they could not.”

19 “You unbelieving generation,” Jesus replied, “how long shall I stay with you? How long shall I put up with you? Bring the boy to me.”

20 So they brought him. When the spirit saw Jesus, it immediately threw the boy into a convulsion. He fell to the ground and rolled around, foaming at the mouth.

21 Jesus asked the boy’s father, “How long has he been like this?”

“From childhood,” he answered. 22 “It has often thrown him into fire or water to kill him. But if you can do anything, take pity on us and help us.”

23 “‘If you can’?” said Jesus. “Everything is possible for one who believes.”

24 Immediately the boy’s father exclaimed, “I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief!”

25 When Jesus saw that a crowd was running to the scene, he rebuked the impure spirit. “You deaf and mute spirit,” he said, “I command you, come out of him and never enter him again.”

26 The spirit shrieked, convulsed him violently and came out. The boy looked so much like a corpse that many said, “He’s dead.” 27 But Jesus took him by the hand and lifted him to his feet, and he stood up.

28 After Jesus had gone indoors, his disciples asked him privately, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

29 He replied, “This kind can come out only by prayer.”

I don’t know about you, but I’m ready to be overwhelmed with wonder as I run to Jesus.  And I am ready to stop arguing about whether or not Marilyn can be healed from cancer.  I’m ready to stop arguing with myself, with others, and with all the forces that are against us.  I am ready to be a part of a believing generation that is being transformed by their faith, because they believe that Heaven has invaded Earth!

I’m ready to be a person of prayer, a disciple of Jesus that wants more than anything to be just like my Rabbi, to have perfect intimacy with my God and His Holy Spirit.  To be a disciple who hangs on every word of Jesus and can’t get away from the four Gospels, because how can I know, really know my Jesus if I’m not hanging on His every word and action recorded in the first four books of the New Testament.  This is a call for all of you who want this, too.  This is a call for those of you who believe Jesus when he said to his disciples in John 14,

“Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.  If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. “

For those of you who believe that Jesus has been given all authority and has called you, yes you, to be his disciple and live a life as one who has intimacy with the Father, just as Jesus did.

For those of you who believe that Jesus has called you to do works like the kind of works Jesus did, and that because you have the Holy Spirit living in you, you will do even greater things than what the disciples of Jesus had seen while He was on Earth.

For those of you who believe that Jesus will do whatever you ask in his name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.

For those of you who love Jesus and keep his commands and want nothing else more than to be just like your Rabbi!

Prepare yourself. Prepare your heart.  Fast.  Pray.  Spend time with the Lord.  Ask to be filled with the Holy Spirit and feel His presence within you.

One week from today, November 12th, at 9:00 PM Eastern time, I am going to be praying out loud for God to heal Marilyn, and inviting those around me who are walking this life with me right now to join me in praying out loud in faith.  Gather together and pray out loud in the power of the Holy Spirit.  For those of you that can, gather around Marilyn and lay your hands on her and pray in the power of the Holy Spirit that she be filled with Him and that she be healed of this cancer.  Pray for the glory of God to be revealed through her by the power and love of His Son, Jesus.

Spread the word.  Put it on your blog, put it on Facebook.  Tell everyone who wants to be a part of God’s Kingdom on earth.  Tell everyone who has a story about Marilyn that they can share it and encourage others with it.  You can leave your stories in the comment spaces.  Get the word out everywhere!  How exciting it is to serve a God that bridges the oceans, the continents, the States, and all of our hearts.  We are united under ONE God Who cannot be contained or explained!  This is the kind of God we serve and love!

There is just one last thing I want to say.  This is the message and the good news of Jesus Christ, evidence of God’s Kingdom on earth, and I will not be ashamed of it!

I will not be ashamed.

“Mom, what vowels make the “g” say “juh” instead of “guh?”

So I was trying to think of some examples and thought of “genes” and “gigantic.”  Then I said,

“But not the kind of jeans that you wear, the kind of genes that make up your genetic code.”

Then I’m thinking, What am I getting myself into, trying to explain what genes are!? But I already started it, so then I said,

“Like the DNA code…”  And I looked at Jake and started to try and explain what DNA is.  But he stopped me, waved his little 5 year old hand in the air as if to motion me to stop and said,

“I know what DNA is, Mom.”

I said, “You do?”

He said, “Yeah.”

I said, “Okay, what is it?”

He said, “You know, they’re like the building blocks of life.”

I know this kid well, so I was only mildly surprised at his answer.  Mostly I was just glad that I wasn’t going to have to do any more explaining of a subject that I know nothing about, so I said, “Yeah, you’re right.”  Then he started thinking more about DNA and asked me,

“So is DNA alive?  Like a cell or a molecule?”  So at that point, I said the only thing I could say,

”I don’t know.  Let’s Google it and find out.”  He said,

“Google it?!  What’s Google?”

My little Jakob Hays Yoakum may be able to tell me what DNA is, but at least I get to teach him how to “Google” things!

So we Googled his question about DNA and then we Googled his other question from earlier that day, “Why is it called a “Jack-o-lantern?”

So in case you are wondering or have an emerging little gifted scientist on your hands like I do, here are the answers to his questions that we found…

DNA stands for Deoxyribonucleic Acid. DNA is not technically alive. However, it is contained in all living things. Even single celled organisms, bacteria, and viruses contain DNA. It contains genes that carry the information about a living creature. So, it carries the information that determines what a thing will look like, what diseases it may be more prone to, how the thing will function, and so on. It also is needed for an organism to create cells, proteins, and RNA. This is why DNA is often referred to as a blueprint. Though, as stated before it’s not technically alive.

AND

A jack-o’-lantern is typically a carved pumpkin. It is associated chiefly with the holiday of Halloween and was named after the phenomenon of strange light flickering over peat bogs, called ignis fatuus or jack-o’-lantern.

Sometime after writing that last post about chick flicks and mine and Wes’ anniversary I had some memories from my childhood resurface.  I am so thankful for my parents!  In many ways it is because of the values they instilled in me that I have a healthy perspective of marriage and relationships.

Here’s one of those memories from when I was about 14 or 15.  A value that my Mom shared with me and one that I would eagerly share with any girl in need of some encouragement when it comes to boys.

I think we were riding in the car somewhere and I was telling my Mom about my guy frustrations.  I was probably complaining about how I liked this boy but he didn’t like me, or how there was this other boy who liked me but I didn’t like him, and what is a girl supposed to do about that?!  I honestly don’t remember much about that conversation…except this one thing that my Mom said to me.  After listening to me worry about my future and how it was all going to work out, she spoke these words of wisdom to me and it felt like time stood still.  The world stopped revolving around me and for a moment all my problems were solved.  She said,

“Stacy, you don’t need to worry about finding that right guy.  What you need to be concerned about is being that right girl, for that right guy.”

And for some reason that only God knows, I not only believed her, but made that my mantra over the next several years.  I stopped worrying about boyfriends and going out on dates and started paying more attention to the kind of person I wanted to be.  Over time I began to dream about my future and trusted that God was preparing someone out there just for me.  Looking back I can see how I unconsciously decided that if I was going to work hard at being who God wanted me to be, then I wasn’t going to settle for anyone who wasn’t focusing on the same thing.

Thanks for that, Mom.

Another value my Mom help instill deep within me is, “I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.”  Psalm 139:14.  It was the first scripture I memorized, and I’ve known it since I was five years old.  Psalm 139 is still one of my favorite Psalms.  What girl doesn’t struggle with an identity crisis along the way?  Or lacks confidence and has moments of weakness when it’s hard not to believe lies of worthlessness.  I know that I can always go back to Psalm 139, the truth that tells me who I am and Who’s I am.

Thanks for that, Mom.

Approachable, Available, and a Listener.  In my teenage years, especially in high school, that is how I saw my Mom.  Maybe it was because she took me seriously and talked to me like I was mature (even though I wasn’t in so many ways).  I knew that I could talk to her about anything.  And I really appreciated that she let me do most of the talking.  She listened so well, with few things to say in response to me.  But when she did respond I could tell it was well thought out and reflecting wisdom from the Lord.

Thanks for that, Mom.

Bible Class Teacher.  Teaching God’s Word to little ones was always a priority for her when we were growing up.  I remember one time when I was in college and had gone home for a holiday or something and she and I went to a class at church where we were handed a Bible trivia questionnaire that was relevant to the lesson we were about to hear.  I think my Mom was the only one who knew all the right answers.  I remember her being surprised by that.  But when you have spent 20 plus years in the Word, teaching it, then of course it is going to be written on your heart!  Because of her example, I want to be the primary Bible teacher for my own kids.

Thanks for that, Mom.

Hospitality.  Another value instilled by my Mom.  Having people over was always a joyous thing.  The presentation and how nice everything looked wasn’t ever the focus when we would be getting ready for company.  I learned that it’s more important for your guests to be comfortable and feel like your home is a safe and welcoming place.  My Mom truly finds pleasure in cooking for guests in her home.  So much so, that I think it is a form of worship for her!  She taught me a lot in the kitchen when I was growing up.  It was like pulling teeth for me to be in there, though.  (Sorry about that, Mom!)  But now that I am 32 years old and have a family of my own, does it surprise you that I love to cook for people and desire for our house to be a place of peace?

Thanks for that, Mom.

Okay, one more thing.  This one is just for fun.  When I am my Mom’s age, I have hope that I will look as good as she does!  She taught me the importance of taking care of your skin!  Without even realizing her influence on me, I began to do the same thing in my early twenties and started taking skin care seriously.  You can be sure that when I am her age you’ll be hearing me say,

Thanks for that, Mom.

I love you.  Happy Birthday!

Mom and me with baby Jakob on my first Mother’s Day, 2006.

Mom and me.  June 2011, our first furlough trip back to Texas.

The wikipedia definition–Chick flick is a slang term for a film mainly dealing with love and romance designed to appeal to a female target audience.  Although many types of films may be directed toward the female gender, “chick flick” is typically used only in reference to films that are heavy with emotion or contain themes that are relationship-based.

Yes, it’s true.  I can almost always go for a good chick flick.  I saw one recently and it got me thinking.  What is it about these movies that draw us to them?  “Us,” being girls, typically, as the definition says.  Love, romance, relationship.  Words that either make you sigh and bat your eyelashes, or sigh and make you crinkle up your nose.

This particular film that I saw stuck with me for a couple of days, so I couldn’t help but ask why.  And I couldn’t help but write about it.

To me, this is one way a good chick flick can go:  Boy likes girl.  But girl initially rejects boy.  Their paths continue to cross and eventually the girl decides to be friends with the boy.  Despite her rejections and hardness of heart, the boy accepts the girl as she is, and he enjoys her company.  He decides she is worth pursuing even if she does put up a fight.  He believes in her, values her, adores her.  All the while she is blind to this, because it is too hard for her to accept him for who he is, and also too hard for her to accept that she is who he sees her to be.  She fights against his love for her.  She fights against the love she feels for him.  But the boy is patient, kind, forgiving.  He is up for the challenge and continues to give her grace that she doesn’t deserve, because he can’t deny his heart.  She is worth fighting for.  But he endures another rejection and has to let her go.  He knows she has to decide on her own that she is who he saw her to be all along.  He knows that she has to believe on her own that he is the one she loves and the one that she is meant to love forever.  When the veil is finally lifted from her heart then she goes to him and makes herself vulnerable like he had been with her all along.  He could say many things in response to her, but he says the truth he can’t deny… “I love you.  I never stopped loving you.”

Roll the credits.  I take a great sigh, bat my eyelashes and imagine how they live happily ever after.

Then it’s back to reality, right?  Well, I woke up the next morning after watching that movie and read my devotional thought for the day.  From Sarah Young’s, Jesus Calling:

Come to Me. Come to Me. Come to Me.  This is My continual invitation to you, proclaimed in holy whispers.  When your heart and mind are quiet, you can hear Me inviting you to draw near.  Coming close to Me requires no great effort on your part; it is more like ceasing to resist the magnetic pull of My Love.  Open yourself to My loving Presence, so that I may fill you with My fullness.  I want you to experience how wide and long and high and deep is My Love for you, so that you can know My Love that surpasses knowledge.  This vast ocean of Love cannot be measured or explained, but it can be experienced.  Rev. 22:17, John 6:37, Eph. 3:16-19.

Wow.  So this is why I love chick-flicks so much!   It’s true!  It is the reality of how God pursues a love relationship with mankind!  Girls, next time your man rolls his eyes at the mention of you wanting to go see another chick-flick, just reassure him that it’s the Godly thing to do!

Just kidding.  Sort of.

No, really, though.  The other reason why this particular chick-flick stuck with me is because it was all too familiar.  You can substitute “boy” in that description above with “Wes,” and “girl” with “Stacy.”

Wes and I are celebrating 9 years of marriage!  On August 24, 2002 I married the most amazing man.  I married my best friend.  I married the one I was waiting for–someone who would love God more than he would ever love me.  I married Wes, took a great sigh, batted my eyelashes, and dreamed of how we would live happily ever after.

The Lord knows the kinds of trials we have been through over these last 9 years.  And the kinds of trials that we went through before we even got married!   Who ever said being in a committed relationship was easy?  If you have been told that, then you have been straight up lied to.  Happily ever after doesn’t mean perfectly easy.  It means that even when times are tough you hold on tight to the promise that God will see you through that fire.  And then you rejoice together, because you endured the flames and came out stronger, together.  Closer, with a greater dependence on your Lord.

It was about 10 years ago when that veil was lifted from my eyes and I could finally see what was before me clearly.  I began to realize that Wes has taught me more about God’s grace and unconditional love than anyone I’ve ever known.  And since that day I am constantly given a picture, in the flesh, of what my relationship with God is like.  What it was like.  What it is supposed to be like.  What it can be like.  What it will be like with time.  Who ever said being in a committed relationship with God was easy?  If you have been told that, then you have been straight up lied to.

But maybe there is something you haven’t been told.  Here it is again.  What God says to you,

Coming close to Me requires no great effort on your part; it is more like ceasing to resist the magnetic pull of My Love.  Open yourself to My loving Presence, so that I may fill you with My fullness.  I want you to experience how wide and long and high and deep is My Love for you, so that you can know My Love that surpasses knowledge.  This vast ocean of Love cannot be measured or explained, but it can be experienced.

It’s true.  It can be experienced.  God desires intimacy with us.  A kind of intimacy that is even greater and stronger than the kind of intimacy between husband and wife.  It can’t be explained.  But it can be experienced.

Thank you, my Lord, and my God for pursing me even when I fight against the magnetic pull of Your love.  Thank you for not giving up on me.  And thank you, sweet Lord, for giving me Wes.  I don’t deserve him, as I don’t deserve You.  But I will praise You and thank You all the more!

Happy Anniversary, Wesley.  I love you more and more each day.  It is such a privilege to live this adventure with you.  Thank you for loving our God even more than you’ll ever love me.

When we walked out of the terminal after getting off the airplane in Houston we were asking, “Why is this hall space so BIG?  They are actually driving large carts around inside the airport!  There is SO MUCH space.”

“I can understand EVERYTHING that everyone around me is saying!  And I can read what ALL the signs say!” ~ Stacy

When Wes got back from setting up our temporary phones he said, “I am an English speaking SUPERSTAR!  I can do anything!”

At 8:30 PM (when our kids are normally in bed) it was still bright outside.

Again, there’s so much empty/extra space.  Wes said, “What’s that over there?  A park?”  I answered, “No, actually it’s just land not being used for anything.”

After eating a meal using those blue and red hard plastic plates and cups I saw everyone start to throw them away.  I thought, “What?!  Why are we throwing these away?  We can totally reuse these like at least 50 more times!” But I threw them away anyway, and strangely felt kind of guilty about it.

Derek was one year old when we arrived in Lima, so this was his first time in Texas where he was old enough to really differentiate his surroundings.  Our second day in we were sitting at little restaurant and I saw him turn around in his chair and look around the room pensively.  Then he said curiously, “Mommy.  Everybody in here is speakin‘  Engwish.”  It was really cute and I explained it was because we were in the U.S. and not Peru.

Everywhere we went seemed extra clean and extra fancy–the roads, the sides of the roads, the buildings, the houses, the insides of the houses, the stores, the restaurants, etc.  The wealth of our country was so “in your face” and obvious.

In Texas, if you have 4 or 5 blocks distance to get somewhere, then you drive there.  Walking there doesn’t even cross your mind.  And there are no taxis or buses.

Beef.  Lots and lots of yummy beef.  This was not a shock, but it was still so amazingly good.  At the end of our time there Wes said that he thinks Whataburger is still his first option if he wants a good burger (if you are on facebook, then you saw how that was his profile pic for most of our trip).

Hours and hours of driving on nearly perfectly paved and clean roads and highways.

Drivers that stay in their own lane, don’t honk all the time, stop at stop signs, and don’t turn left from the far right lane (or visa versa).

Rain!  Even though Texas has been in its worst drought in like 40 years, we still saw more rain there than we have in our 2 years here in Lima…combined!  We live in a desert region, people!  Dew, we know.  Mist we know.  But rain–not here.  The climate in Lima is like nothing you have ever experienced.

Mrs. Baird’s bread is soooooo soft.

Doing the dishes and cleaning the kitchen was a privilege.  Love those dishwashers!

Sun.  Sun, sun, and MORE sun! (It is cloudy and overcast in Lima for about 8 to 9 months out of the year.)

So, those were the things that stood out to us the most.  It is really interesting how we learn to adapt to the different cultures that we experience.  It has been such a wonderful, exhausting, fun, stressful, emotional, joyous, difficult, and amazing adventure that we have been on!  We have so many things to be thankful for and we are so often reminded of how important it is to have a loving friendship with our Jesus.  When everything around you is changing, Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever.

Since we drove into College Station from Levelland the day before the party (a mere 9 hour drive), Grammy was a lifesaver and made the cake ahead of time for me.  All I had to do was the most fun part and decorate the cake to be the Superman cake Derek has been dreaming of for the past four months!

The look on his face when we sang “Happy Birthday” was priceless.  He was so cute and proud of himself for turning 3!

We had pizza, cake and ice cream.  Then we played with his new presents for a while and to get a break from the 4th of July weekend heat, we went over to Grand Station to play glow in the dark mini golf and video games.  Fun times!  Such a special day for a special little boy!  We love you so much, Derek!

We were very intentional about trying to make our two month furlough during the Texas summer.  Here are the reasons why:

1. Wes and I have always enjoyed hot summer days that drench you in sweat.  We’d prefer that over shivering in the cold any day, so you did not hear us complain one bit about the 100 plus degree weather of Texas!
2. Summer time is when cousins and Gran are on their school vacation!
3. Now that Jake is in school, summer time furloughs work out great with his school schedule, too.  At ICSL the students get at least one month off for the Peruvian summer (January) and at least one month off for the American summer.

So here’s a quick overview of our time in Texas:

Our first three weeks were spent with our supporting church in Kaufman and we were SO blessed by this time with them.  We love our church family there and we are super excited about the new couple they just hired to work and serve in the role of Senior Minister–Doug and Lana Page!

While trekking across Texas, we were able to spend some time in Houston, College Station, Corpus Christi, Kaufman, Fort Worth, Levelland, San Antonio, New Braunfels, and Chapel Hill.  Great times with family and friends!  I know there are many of you that we didn’t get to touch base with, but know that we think of you often and appreciate you, and we would love to try and meet with you on our next trip down.  OR you always have a place here in Lima if you get a hunch to see the Peruvian sights!

We spent time with both of our families and were able to do almost everything you could possibly do in the summer time–went to the pool, went to the beach, went to the lake, went camping on the river, went to a water park, the Ft. Worth Zoo, and a Ranger baseball game!  The boys had a blast and so did we!  And thanks to some dear, sweet friends in Kaufman, we were also treated to the Dallas Museum of Nature and Science.  Thanks again, Sandra and Lisa!  The boys will cherish their time at the dinosaur exhibits, children’s museum, imax, and the planetarium (and so will we, because those are great memories)!

We also got to celebrate Derek’s 3rd birthday on July 4th weekend! (I’ll write a whole other post for that one).

Stay tuned.  My vacation is over, and I apparently have a lot to say, so many more updates to come.  (And eventually Wes will get pictures ready to go with this post and the ones to come.  He’s been busy being the “Intern Coordinator” for our team.  We got 4 new interns a week after we got back, so I’ll introduce you to them soon!)