Proof of Beauty

 

 

The season we are in right now is a little (maybe a lot?) challenging.   The month of September was full of change and adjustments as I got used to having 3 kids in school.  We were well into October when I realized that I had hardly taken any photo’s. Normally my camera is practically attached to me, so the lack of photo’s was evidence of how busy things had gotten!  I think I got so caught up in my stress that I forgot to take the time to see the beauty in the every day normal stuff.   The beauty is always there, we just need to take the time to stop and see it.  I’m doing that a lot more now!  I am so glad that I have proof of beauty, especially when the days are often long and hard!

Real Poverty

My life has been forever changed by seeing poverty firsthand.

It will always sadden me to see barefoot children wearing worn mismatched clothing, with messy unkept hair.

I will never get used to seeing shacks made out of cardboard  and plastic with dirt floors and one small bed for a large family.

I will always hurt for the people I meet with rotten teeth, lice filled hair, and malnourished bodies.

Poverty.

It is a horrible reality.

But there is worse than what you see on the outside.  The poor that is seen is only the beginning.

True poverty does not come from just a lack of “stuff”

Poverty is a lack of hope, a life with out Jesus.

The places where I visit, are darkened with much more than dirt and lack of electricity.

Real poverty is…

fatherless homes

13 year olds with babies born out of rape

children being beaten with rocks and sticks by their parents

16-year-old mothers being the norm

children left alone all day while parents work

young girls sold into marriage

alcoholism

children forced to provide for their families

the sick cycle of neglect and abuse in almost every family

children getting high to escape their pain

grandparents raising unwanted grandchildren

Poverty is the hopelessness of living with the consequences of sin, believing there is no hope for the future.

It would sound nice to say that love is the solution to poverty, but it is not.

Love shown through actions such as giving new shoes, clothing and homes is not enough.  They are temporary fixes for a much bigger problem.

Only Jesus can transform broken lives and make them whole.

Only through His love can marriages be healed, cycles broken, and families restored.

Helping people in need is important, especially when it opens the door to sharing with people what they need most.

Jesus

He is the one and only solutions to poverty.

Sunday’s As they Should Be

When we lived in Canada, Sunday was always my favorite day of the week.  After church we would go home where we would do nothing more than relax.  We would often take naps, watch movies and just rest together.  When we moved here, some how Sunday became just like any other day.  Sure Saul was home, but other than that Sunday became just another day to get things done, work on the never ending lost of house projects, run errands and visit people or have them over.  Their was nothing restful about it.  A few weeks ago when Moi was visiting, and all of us (6) were together ,we ended up having a nice long breakfast and played games all morning.  We spent the rest of the day in our pyjama’s until we went to church in the evening (our main service is in the evening).  It was so wonderful.  We decided to once again spend every Sunday the way God intended them to be spent.  Resting.

So now we don’t go anywhere.  We sleep in.  Have breakfast together.  We take our ime.  Hang out in our pyjama’s and just enjoy being together as a family.  NO errands, no big projects, no major cleaning and no laundry.  Just hanging out in the house. It is such a great way too start the week!   Sunday’s are my favorite again.

Love Him

Me:  Kayden do you want to come on a trip to me on the States tomorrow?

Kayden:  Yes!  Can we go to Disneyland?

Me:  Sorry, buddy, not this time.

Kayden:  How about McDonald’s?

Me:  Deal

Kayden:  Thanks Mom

I love him.

We’re going to pick up some visitors.  So glad McDonald’s qualifies as a replacement for Disneyland.

 

Project Hope: Plaster

Saul spent a good part of last week plastering the walls, inside and out.   It’s a lot of work covering all the walls with the thick pasty cement mixture.  He is thankful to have more help this week so that he can move a long quickly.  He hopes to be very close to finished by the end of the week. Tomorrow he will start putting up the drywall.  A couple of friends came along with me to see the house too.  We where quickly surrounded by the kids who live nearby…

4

Confession:  My son did not know that it was his birthday yesterday.  Don’t judge.  I’m not sure if it makes us good or bad parents but we decided to take advantage of the fact that he has no sense of time and can wait to have his birthday when his daddy comes home.  I have to admit I feel slightly guilty about it and a little embarrassed to tell people.  So yesterday I celebrated his birthday secretly (sure you can have chocolate flavored cereal, rent Mickey Mouse Clubhouse, stay up late, etc…)

My little boy is 4.  I can’t  believe how fast it’s gone by.  When I look at him I fell so honored and delighted to be  his Mom.  He has brought me so much joy!  I am so proud of him.  Kayden is an awesome big brother.  He adores his little sister and is always making her laugh and watching out for her.  He brings so much fun and laughter into our home.  I am so  excited to see how God uses my boy!

Back to Normal?

So we are back at home now. Together.  Finally!  It feels great to get back to something normal, if you can call our life that.  It feels good for me to finally off of living in what I call “survival mode” when I am alone with my 2 kids, trying to just make it through the long days of single parenting.  We took this week to just rest as a family, visit friends, clean and try to bring some order into out house.  The future is still fuzzy fro us on so many ways, as we wait for God to show us the next steps to take.  In the mean time we are enjoying have kids from the orphanage over, connecting with friends, planning for the future house building project, and spending time with family.  Saul has been offered some construction work to keep him busy, so we are thankful for that.   We had a wonderful week in Ensenada and I will soon post more about that.  Here are a few photo’s from our week there….

Christmas

Hope you all had a wonderful Christmas!  We were so thankful to just be together.  On Christmas Eve we took some special gifts to 2 families, stopped at the orphanage for a little visit, and then went to Saul’s grandma’s where the entire family gathers to spend Christmas together.  On Christmas day we got Moi and Gloria from the orphanage and spent the day together.  We played wii, ate too much, opened gifts, decorated a gingerbread house and more than anything laughed  a lot!  We finished with a birthday cake for Jesus and watched a veggie tales Christmas movie.  It was a great Christmas for all of us!  We will be gone for the next week, to Ensenada joining friends of ours on a missions trip!  Hope you all enjoy the rest of your holidays!

Decor

Yoy may or may not know that I really love to “make” things. I have debated for a long time whether I should post something like this.  You see, some of my most favorite blogs to read are ones that involve lots of crafts, decorating and do it yourself (diy) projects.  I have thought  a lot about starting a separate blog so I could post some of my own projects and ideas.  But lets face it, I hardly have the time to run one blog, let alone 2!  I decided that just for fun, every once in awhile I will post some of the crafts and decorating projects that I have done.  I love to create and make things beautiful, especially when it’s on a budget.  These are some pictures of a little Chirstmas display I made.  I found the vintage fabric at Value Village for $1.50, the wreath here at globos (the market here) for 10 pesos (80 cents CAN) and everything else I had already bought.

For the wreath I basically ripped off a piece of fabric then wrapped it around the wreath, securing it with some hot glue.  Then I added a little lacey ribbon and some fake glittery roses, that I bought after halloween for $1.50.

I ripped another long piece of fabric and wrapped it around the lamp shade, so it would watch.  Probably not safe to actaully use, but it looks nice.

I made a scrapbook page to fit behind this frame.

Paper doilles+lacey table runner+ pine cone+ candles = cute center piece

Noche En Belen

I just wanted to say thank you for those of you that offered encouragement, and the rest of you that listened.  Even though is was so hard for me to publish my thoughts. fears, and doubts, it was also very freeing and I felt so much peace.  On the lighter side I have some posts to share about some christmas activities.  Last weekend we went to a christmas play put on by the mission.  The outreach center puts on a production called Noche en Belen (Night in Bethlehem), and many people who work at the orphanage participate in it.  They do it Thursday, Friday, and Saturday and it is free to any one who wants to come.  People are bussed in from work camps that are far away, and many people from all over the valley come to see this production every year.  It is a wonderful  reenactment of the birth of Christ, followed by the gospel message of hope.  As every one exits, people are invited to enter prayer tents to receive prayer for any need they have, and everyone is given hot chocolate and bread, and the kids receive a candy bag.  It brought back some memories for me, as 9 years ago Saul and I met for the very time when we took part in the same type of production.  I was an angel, and he was helping with sound.  The next year we got to be Mary and Joseph together.   It is special activity that I look forward to every year,  reminding me of what Christmas is really about!