Costa Rica prep

Last night after church we had a great meeting for the youth going to Costa Rica.
we packed hygiene items--soap, toothpaste, toothbrushes, etc.... into bags to pass out in CR.

Then Reid taught us how to make balloon animals. The kids in CR will love this!!

Please be in prayer for us as we prepare to go on Friday--the devil loves to mess with people the week of a trip!! Pray for safety and good health while we are traveling and in CR. Especially be in prayer for any of the CR kids that we will be ministering to. Let God be dealing with their hearts and have them ready to receive the gospel. Pray that our kids will be bold and willing to seek out opportunites to be Jesus' hands and feet...... from the minute we leave till we get back. Some of the most random airplane conversations can lead to sharing the gospel.

Finally please pray for Matt--who will be babysitting this weekend, Ben and Jacob who will be spending Easter and Spring break away from us for the first time EVER and for my mama and David's mama as they take care of Ben and Jacob from Monday-Thursday.

Final thoughts on Nica trip

One of the days we were in Nicaragua during our early morning chapel service,
we sang one of my favorite hymns--Great is Thy Faithfulness....that could be my theme song for the trip.

The trip started as a November trip but did not work out due to scheduling problems
with the crusades. During this time we were wondering if we would get to go because of finances. This is a pretty expensive trip and with 5 boys--2 in college i was praying and wondering if maybe we were not suppsoed to go. I talked with Dan about this during the fall...he said "if it is God's will then it is God's bill"...and so i prayed again and left in the hands of God.

When we got our financial sheet from CLF we had more than enough money for the trip David and I took in November for the vitamin program and for the medical trip we just took. We are not supported by the southern baptists, any church just by private donations to our ministry. Therefore we are missionaries living by faith that God will provide. and HE DID!!!! We are soo grateful and stand in awe for the wonderful prayer and financial support that we are given each month by our donors.


God was faithful with finances :)

Then NOBODY from Thomasville went with us on this trip. I love the comfort provided by people you know and love. Will Cooper, Bruce Allen, Clark Connell are wonderful docs and they are like my brothers. I depend on them well maybe too much......so God took me way out of my comfort zone this time by putting me with a bunch of
folks that i did not know before. God used our unique talents and personalities and blended them beautifully. The clinics went off without problems--we saw about 700 + peopleand shared the gospel with each one----we had water the entire time we were there, the food was wonderful. We worked together and prayed together and fellowshipped together like we had known each other forever. But such is the family of God.

God was faithful with our team members......

The first time David and I went to Nica we fell in love with the people, the courntry and the mission of Sonny Holland. We also fell in love with a little girl named Escarleth "Scarla"....if we could have gotten her out of Nica we would have. i cried for days when we got back. But God had other plans.......and looking back now God has provided for her and her family. If we had taken her home would that have been the end of our ministry?? That is not what God had in mind for us. Scarla is a beautiful girl and lives with her Abuela and some uncles. While that is a questionable situation i know that God has big plans for her. She and some of the other girls from the neighborhood at La Finca are discipled by Antonieta and Amos, who are the pastor and his wife that live at SHEO. I praise God for their ministry and love of the kids.

God is faithful to provide for the kids around La Finca.....


God was faithful for safe travels, for keeping my children safe, for putting special people in their pathways to take care of them.......

Thank you Jesus for being faithful and that your mercies are new every morning.


Finally i read what someone wrote on Twitter last week ----Being a missionary is not so much a calling as a commandment. Matthew 28:19-20 is for all of us to follow.
Anything less is a poor excuse. I do not want to give Jesus any excuses.....what about you????

Abba Father thank you so much for the beautiful weather, sunshine, and spring....there is nothing more awesome than the beautiful flowers that are blooming and the sound of the birds singing praises.

Clinic day 3

Both days 2 and 3 were started with chapel.
On day 3 I was awe struck at the song that
Monty, Jessica sang. Family harmony is
truly a gift from God!

Clinic days 2 and 3 were really busy. We saw so many people.
Jeremy Pruitt, Jack Cummings, Marvin Mefford and others
preached the gospel and many were saved.

It is such a blessing to be God's hands and feet---we are truly
the blessed ones.

Tomorrow we feed the children at Sheo--it is one of my favorite days of the trip.

Please continue to pray for us and our boys back home.

clinic day 1---400 people

What an amazing day!!

We started out early--chapel with a devotion by Kirk--what a testimony!!
Sonny prayed over us and for the clinic.

Breakfast was delicious pancakes :)

Then off to the clinic. We saw about 400 people---50 were saved--hallelujah!!
i took about 200 vital signs and never moved off the stool the whole day
except to stretch my legs.

It was soo awesome. God really blessed at this clinic! We all did our jobs
and really bonded as a team.

The children of course are precious and beautiful!

Please pray for rest and strength and that God will be glorified.

Hug the boys when you see them :)

BACK IN NICARAGUA

We are here and safe--it is like being back at home only our boys are
missing.

Thank you so much for all the prayers on the flights over here--we had a couple of
bumpy moments but it was a great day overall.

Today we spent the day at La Finca--the farm. Day 1 is preparation....first we made twice as many bags of beans, rice, sugar and flour than we ever did---we really worked hard! It makes the different churches come together and work as a team.
It helped us get to know each other.

Next we packaged meds to give out at the 3 clinics we will do the next 3 days!
We counted out tons of pills and put them in little baggies to hand out.

Sonny Holland, Jerry Spencer and Jack Cummings are the preachers and missionaries
that we have come to know and love. We have been here several times with them.

It is awesome to see the kids in the neighborhood. They stand at the gate and wait for us---they call for DAVID and GRINGO LOCO!!

Our team consists of the two of us, people from Tenn, KY, and TX. What a great group! It is always awesome to travel with a great group of Christians ready to
share Jesus.

The next three days will be long and hard days---clinics in the day and crusades at night. And it is really hot!!! I have been whining about the cold and the rain
so God gave me HOT!!! Sweat dripping down your back hot :)

Continue to pray and hug my boys when you see them.

Another trip to Nicaragua--the journey continues

Tomorrow begins another journey with God.....to Nicaragua.

This last week has been a real battle---a nasty respiratory virus hit our
house --first Josh, then Jacob and Matt and finally me......Jacob and I are
still coughing! Please pray that we would both feel better in the morning...

We leave out of Tally (thanks John Pike for taking us and saving the parking
charge) through Tampa to Houston and then Managua........we insisted on going
out of Tally.......

tomorrow night we will be at SHEO---at the gate with the kids there...sharing
Jesus!

Leaving the boys this time has been extremely difficult. We are being obedient
to God's calling on our lives. Please pray for the boys and for us........

I hope to post from the airport tomorrow--when we meet up with Jack Cummings and
Jerry Spencer. Please pray for safe travel and for on time flights....

Another rainy Tuesday

After a magnificent Monday--sunshine 70s!! then i walk to my car in rain this morning :(

I am praying this morning for Tina--surgery to restore the nerve in her leg!
I am praying for miraculous healing for her. Praying for strength and peace
for her and Noah and Tim and the girls.

A week from today we will be heading to Tallahassee to fly to Nicaragua. I know
God has a plan for us there. I love ministering to the sweet people who are so appreciative of the care they are given. That being said....It is soo hard to
leave my boys for a week. Our schedules are full and their gmas will be busy keeping up with them. I have already been in tears numerous times just thinking
about leaving them.....

I ask for special prayer for us--for me and David as we leave and head to Nicaragua
for all 5 boys as they are here in school and baseball and BUSY!!!

Thank you Lord for the honor and privilege of being called
to Nicaragua. Grant me peace and strength to leave my boys and
serve you there :)