Nothing says Easter Like a Machine Gun

Going to the Falls

Easter Bunny in El Obisbo

THE FALLS

Nothing says EASTER like a submachine gun sitting on the hood of a camouflage colored humvee.

Ben is in the States for a much needed rest 

After I had dropped off the Robertsons on the day before EASTER, I had expected the military to be out in high profile, but usually they are the support for the Red Cross units set up every so many miles down the main stretch of the Central AMERICA highway. Because it is the country´s busiest time of year, and because so many drive in the back of trucks and it is the most traveled week, they have support areas everywhere along the highway in case of wrecks and stranded motorist.    It was kind of a shock, to see that they may have expected some problems in the area I drove through. 

Friday before Easter in Yamaranguila

As I crawled down the highway in my car trying to get  back to the farm, the traffic was so heavy that I had plenty of time to think about the week.  I was thinking about all the activities that we had been doing with our staff and girls teams for the last weeks.

Kimberly was trying to help

We had three teams in March almost back to back, from Texas, Penn. and GA.  With those teams we ministered to schools, had a quincenera with about 100 folks invited, moved adobe for the construction of a farm house, crafts projects and meeting some wonderful folks who had all come to bless our girls and community.  

Bean picking time

All that lead up to picking up the Robertson family who had come to do some pretty special paperwork.  They brought Natalie's best friend as a surprise.   The Robertsons' called me and ask me if it was okay if they brought Natalie's best friend ¨CANDY¨ with them.  I am thinking Easter candy, that is where my mind was.   I know that Natalie loves candy and I thought to myself "yeah bring it on".  Well Natalie and I were sitting in the airport to receive this family from the airport and their son walks by and he sees us and can't speak, he makes a circle and points at us and then he points at his parents, rubs his head and he can't talk to them either, so he sprints over to his folks and points to us, and Anna vaults out of her chair and scoops up the two little ones we brought with us and Natalie and I are just part of the crowd.  It was such a blessing to watch what God puts together, that nobody else really matters.  Michael stays with the stuff and watches from across the way but is very much in the process of hugs and kisses even though he isn't physically standing there.  It is amazing to watch how God can move love across a crowded airport station and saturate someone on the other side of the huge crowd with a dose of love.  I was standing watching all of this play out.  It was really kind of neat to watch how His Spirit moves.

The added blessing was that Natalie did the same thing when she saw her friend "Andy"  not CANDY, who she didn't know was coming to visit and apparently neither did I.   It was her Easter surprise.  She looked at her and couldn't speak, and then she cocked her head side ways and was like "I know her", "what is she doing here?"  It was a fun day at the airport.

Prior to all this…. I had taken a few days off.  I knew we were having teams come every week and in May we will be dropping off a team and picking one up until August.   I knew there was much to do, but I was sensing to come away.  Every book I picked up was saying the same thing.  My devotions were sharing the same thing about spending one on one with God, and so I said "Okay", I am going to do it. I am going to work on my book and get some rest and I will pray, about all the teams coming.    

So I did what any normal woman does, I wrote my friend and asked what she was doing those days.  I was dropping a team off and picking the Robertson's up and so I decided that would be perfect and I could hang out with my special missionary friend, who has been in the country as long as I have.  She is a director over a large ministry with her husband.  Well, she had a team and didn't get back with me, and meantime, God was kind of saying to me "What is the deal? I ask you to come away and you invite a guests?"  WEll I started telling the Lord that I couldn't travel alone or spend the night off in a foreign country by myself because it is not prudent.  Have you been telling God something and realize that He is just patiently waiting for you to get to the point as He rolls his eyes towards the heavens and tapping His celestial fingers , because He already knew all my arguments.  I felt like a nut.   Then I realize when He called me to do this I had put my friend, my work in first place and then I was going to pray.  I love how God whittles down to the meat of everything and exposes where He really stands in your life and you feel bad and exposed but you feel He loves you anyway, even though you picked Him last….again. 

WEll I didn't hear back from my friend, Sandy, and so I am planning and praying about my trip, and my fear of going by myself and I am getting confident that this is exactly what God wants me to do.  Then my friend writes two days before I leave and says she can spend one day.  Then I am in a pickle.  I want to be with my friend, and I invited her but I was in" post- conviction land" and I was going to have to un-invite her.  Which I did, because I knew I was going to have to put God on a time table to show up and speak to me before my friend got there.  She of course, was great about it, and so off I went.

WE took a private bus to the airport to drop our GA team off.  Then I got a ticket from another bus line at the airport to get to my destination.  It was a very secure bus line, and I felt good about  my journey. The bus drivers wear a white shirt and a black tie and black pants, very professional.  I said goodbye to the team and headed out.  I spent my free days seeking the Lord and just resting.  I did work some, but thankfully in my room the internet didn't work, which I didn't see as a blessing at first, but later I was thankful. 

So after my jolly little holiday, I get in a cab that the hotel called on my behalf and he drops me on a main road next to a broken down looking bus.  I asked the cab driver if this was a direct bus.  I had huge faith when I left the hotel.  I was so excited that I forgot that I was traveling with my travel money for the team, and my lap top.  I get on the rackety looking bus and I am thinking, it is the beginning of EASTER WEEK and I am traveling with expensive items and monies, and people on this bus look sketchy and all my faith was trying to hemmorage out of my new sandals.  The bus cranked up and it was like being on a fair ride.  It had no shocks whatsoever and so as I bounced up and down, listening to the bus that kept making sounds like the motor was going to be in Bus Heaven really soon.

I finally got peace and called Natalie.  Natalie was bringing two girls from our farm on the private nice bus with air conditioning.  We even had one of our birthday girls in the group.  Well, I didn't know where my bus was going to stop for sure, but I was hoping it would "T" into Natalie's bus route.  I finally talked so much to the little bus assistant about how I needed to make this connection and he kept telling me that they don't stop there because it is a direct bus, but because of my insistence and maybe because he wanted to get me off the bus, they let me off at the stop I wanted to make which was in front of the Pizza Hut.  They dropped me off with all my gear, and then I went inside with all my luggage and asked for a lemonade and a large pepperoni pizza. It was so incredibly hot that on the bus and  just walking across the street to get inside  to the pizza place.  The pizza came out of the oven. The little server put it in the box and helped me get out of their restaurant with all my awkward luggage and Natalie and the Big Blue private bus drove up, I greeted everybody with hot pizza and we swept away to the airport in air-conditioned wonderfulness.

The Botkins will be stateside for 3 weeks pray they get blessed in every way we will miss them like crazy.

Robertson FAMILY

We had a great EASTER HOLY WEEK and celebrated with some activity everyday.  We invited the ministry up the road to bring their kids, and they hunted eggs and we cooked a goat for the occasion.  But through all the fun we came upon a friend who broke into our festivities.  Do you know how many days a 24 hr. virus can last when you have more than 40 people on the farm.  It even made return visits.  I finally carried a girl in the worst condition  as an example patient.  We did tests, but miraculously she didn't have many samples to give, so we found out nothing. The doctors were telling me I needed samples from all the girls.  I asked him did he know that I had to get the samples to him in one hour.  He said, "that is correct".  I said it is 45 minutes on a good day, which only gives me a 15 minute window, for gathering a labeling samples.  Or I could bring 40 people in a bus to wait for their samples to be produced in town or on the way.  He said, "Well, you have good reasoning".  I returned to the farm, and everybody seemed okay.

Even with everything happening with the teams and the girls, with sickness and all, we still celebrated Easter in a mighty way.  I love this country that it celebrates for an entire week what Jesus did for us on the Cross.  They look at me crazy when I tell them we only have one day in the US to celebrate EASTER.  We went to the water falls, and had a community field day, which included a 6 ft rabbit, one of the Robertson´s in a bunny outfit, and we had the 2nd annual PTC Olympics.  This year before and after each activity we thank Jesus for giving himself and all of His love to us.  

 I know we should celebrate His gift of love everyday and not just one day or a week.  If we could just give all of our love out for each day we live, I think that would be a great way to celebrate Easter.  I don't know what that would look like for you.  Around here it is pretty easy.  I love my staff everyday, I love these kids even when after a huge pancake/fruit/milk breakfast, they put the rice meant for the dogs in the pocket of their dresses as they went to church for a snack later.  Well, love didn't pour out at that point, but I want it too during those types of moments.  Be blessed everyday with all the love God is pouring over your way. Blessings, The Love on, Loved over, Love seeking, Honduran MOM  

Be praying for Natalie and ME we have the farm to ourselves for a while.  It is a grand adventure serving Christ.