Friday, February 25, 2011

Last Day





Today was spent touring Antigua, visiting Hermano Pedro (A special needs orphanage), and taking some boys from HP to lunch. Sorry for lack of details but I do have pictures. Thanks Sarah! cannot wait to give my boys a great BIG hug tomorrow night. Hopefully, they will want to stay up late and chat :)
Tonight I went to an amazing Lincoln Brewster concert at our church with our 'Home Group'. LOOOVVVED IT! What an awesome God we serve! The music was uplifting and loud and the message just filled me up!

Team Guatemala




Lots of photos uploaded thanks to Sarah! They had an amazing time yesterday distributing clothing and installing Onil Stoves. Onil Stoves vent the smoke outside of a home and require much less word to cook with. I cannot wait for them to return so I can grill them for all the details! Praying God is at work in their hearts and for the people of Guatemala!

Wednesday, February 23, 2011

A Phone Call



Yes! A phone call last night and...I just happened to be lucky enough to be in the car with Stephanie when Sean called so I was able to talk to Oliver. Here is the new information I was able to gather:
breakfast eaten by all
finishing touches on house are done, septic, roof, h2o filter, pila
house being dedicated today
The Team will be able to meet the family today (mom and her four children)
they had pizza for dinner last night
clothes are sorted for distribution tomorrow
tonight is dinner at Bethel Ministries
everyone is healthy
ok, so Oliver is just a bit more chatty than his dad :)

Tuesday, February 22, 2011

True to My Word...



Well, here is what we know:
they are safe...first text
the house is standing
small house, beautiful view
breezy and 80
200 yard hike up mountain with supplies to build house
neighbors watch with interest as they build and sweat :)
Yep, That's it...true to my word not a lot of details.

Sunday, February 20, 2011

And They're Off!




After spending the week packing 400 pounds of donations, 2 suitcases, and 2 HUGE backpacks Bill and Oliver left for Guatemala this morning at 3:00. They have arrived safely, this heard by text of another in their group and a short email from Bill, "We have arrived all is good." No description of the day, no description of landing in a beautiful city surrounded by volcanoes, no word of how Oliver is enjoying his first service trip so far. This is it...words spoken by a man of few words...the man I love. :) Hoping to post this week on the happenings there, if I know what is happening there. :)

Friday, February 18, 2011

Venturing out on a New Path

Well, I have finally done it! I have ventured into the blog world. No promises on the interest level and creativity, no promises on the amount of posts, and no promises this will last but I have done it and can now venture forward and cross 'create blog' off my list! (No where does it say on my list 'keep up with blog'.)
So welcome to "Paths of Joy", our family blog about the paths God has chosen for us.
Two years ago unemployment turned our lives upside right! Although it was a time of uncertainty, we became more focused on God than ever before, joined Bible Studies, learned the true meaning of family and friends, spent lots of time together as a couple, and realized that, yes, a family of six could survive on hotdogs and ramen noodles! But what we truly learned is that God is ever faithful even in times of trial. The JOYS we have had since being on this new path of life have been amazing! The joys of service trips to Guatemala, the joys of helping to support orphans in China, the joys of raising our children to be Godly, and the joys of knowing a little girl 'on the other side of the world' is ours! These are the Paths of Joy that have molded us and made us happy and content to be where we are and why we are excited to see what else is on our Path!