Getting Ready

Thanksgiving

Such a cozy and happy Thanksgiving Day...

 

 

Listening to Johnathan read his turkey book and Naomi read her pilgrim poem,

 

Lots and lots of yummy food,

A cute new butterball to play with,

 

And lots of snuggling.  So thankful to our Heavenly Father who places us in families, both in the hard times and the sweet times.

Six Months Old

Abby is now six months old.  She weighed 16 1/2 pounds at her checkup, loves to roll, babble, stick out her tongue, play in her bouncer, and have lots of attention.  She likes eating her cereal now, and green beans are another favorite!  While she used to sleep at least a 6 hour stretch at night, she has recently decided that she'd rather eat and snuggle twice at night.  We're working on convincing her otherwise.  Her original hair is almost gone now, and a new set of lighter stuff is coming in.  She's a cute little character!

Rolling

Abby's new form of transport - rolling!  She rolled herself right into this hamper and couldn't figure out how to extricate herself.

Just Silly

 

Abby loves to stick out her tongue.  So everyone decided to join her!

Johnny Football Day

The Saturday before Thanksgiving, we got up at the crack of dawn, because this day was packed!  Here was our to-do list:

 

Deliver two Thanksgiving boxes provided by the Rotary Club to families in need

 

Watch our little Johnny Football play his last flag football game for the year

 

Watch the Hornets get their awards

Deliver two more Thanksgiving boxes

 

Pick up Johnathan from a birthday party

 

And then Kevin and Johnathan got to watch A&M's Johnny Football!  Johnathan loved the game.

Seeds of Hope Dominican Republic

Kevin's post about his trip to the Dominican Republic:

This November I had the opportunity to travel with three men from my church down to the Dominican Republic.  The trip was designed for us to connect with local churches and build relationships for a possible future partnership in ministry.  Our vision at our church is to link, when possible, with local churches and build a relationship with them overtime.  We feel this would be more fruitful than simply going in on a short term trip and not truly connecting with the locals.  A pastor friend of mine from Dallas and his church have been working with these churches for over 7 years and he invited us to see what God is doing in the DR.

The   first part of our trip was in the capital city of Santo Domingo where we connected with the local church in a barrio called Simon Bolivar.  At first glance this city seemed hustling and bustling like any metro area, but as we got further into the heart of the town and outside of the town the true poverty of the area was unveiled.  The poverty in DR is pronounced, but nowhere near the overall condition of Haiti which is on the same island.  The average person strives to make $1000 a year in a city where most goods and products cost the same as they would in the United States.  As a result we saw that everybody tried to sell or barter something from their home or a cart in order to get what they needed.  The water in Simon Bolivar and most of country is available through cisterns or wells and is not drinkable.  People buy water off of trucks or boil it if they are able. 

The church in Simon Bolivar is a humble 20x40 room, but it is the people that make it so special.  We were able to meet with many of the elders, the pastor, and their wives on Saturday as they shared their hopes and vision for God’s work.  They desire to have a building that would have a water purification system so they could provide this resource cheaper while providing income for the church work.  Our partner church is wise in how they work with the locals trying to help without hurting them.  It would be easy to spend money and get something done but as they shared that a wiser path would be to invest in local workers allowing the local church to take the lead in their own neighborhood.  

 

The Simon Bolivar church also partners with Compassion in helping get children sponsored in the area.  On Saturday we hosted over 200 kids for a Gospel presentation and we gave them hacky sacks purchased from our VBS offering.  Saturday night I was able to give a marriage conference to over 180 people.  On Sunday morning we preached at the service from John 15.  In the congregation that day happened to be two of the “worst” men in the neighborhood who were known for their crime and time in prison.  To God’s glory after years of prayer these men came to know Jesus.  One of the men David is striving to make his living legally so we are working with a local to purchase him materials so he can build his own boat and become a fisher.   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We traveled next to the coastal town of Barahona.  This was a truly Dominican experience away from any tourism we got a true local feel.  The church in Barahona hosted an evening concert where the Gospel was shared and we held another marriage conference.  The conference was special for the couples who really don’t “date or go out” like we do in the United States.  I tried my best that evening to give my whole testimony in Spanish.  They were very gracious.  We even had one newlywed couple come into the conference so we invited them to stay.  We also spent some time giving out Gospel tracts in the streets and to motorcyclist.  This was new for us because the people all took them and read them over!  When they were done they kept the tract.  It truly was sowing seeds of the Gospel.  We miss that responsiveness here in our culture. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Perhaps the most touching parts of our visit to Barahona was our time at the Haitian Village and at Smiling faces.  The Haitian Village was a humbling time as we walked the dirt streets sharing the Gospel and seeing first-hand the faces of poverty and need.   I was able to stop and play some basketball with some local kids which was a special memory for me.  Smiling Faces is a school for special needs children.  What is amazing about this is that the government provides no services for these children.  Most parents hide a child with Down syndrome, cerebral palsy, mental retardation, or other disabilities.  The local pastor Julio and his wife Maritsa had a vision for this school.  Maritsa left her job and walked by faith as God provide just what they needed each step of the way.  The school now has over 130 students and recently graduated some students to join back in the public school system.  The students were so excited that they wanted us to take pictures with them.  Not many people ever offered to take their picture so it made them feel special and loved. 

 

These stories are just part of the story because for me the highlights were the moments spent conversing with the local believers, hearing their testimonies, and encouraging one another in our faith.  I was humbled as I understood how many things I take for granted in my daily life, yet I was reminded that the power of the Gospel is about transformed lives.  The Gospel is not about getting more stuff or being affluent it is about pure joy in the midst of any circumstance because we are eternally rich through Jesus.  The joy of the believers in DR struck me as it was based fully on what Jesus has done for them.  May we all find this true joy and then share it with everyone we know. 

Grandma Stata to the Rescue!

When we found out Kevin would be able to take a small team to the Dominican Republic for a short-term missions trip, one of the first orders of business, after applying for passport renewal, was to call Grandma and see if she wanted to come for a little visit while he was gone!  Thankfully, she was able to come, and the rest of us had a fun 10 days while Daddy was out of the country.

 

Even though her birthday was back in September, we'll take any excuse to celebrate in person!

 

We voted!  Or, as Johnathan told our friends, "I voted two times with Mommy" (once for real, and once in the kid's poll at the Community Homeschool Center - no voter fraud here!).

We kept busy going swimming, to the library, out to eat, to ballet and therapeutic riding lessons, a football game, and taking care of two flat tires.  I was especially glad Grandma could watch part of the crew while I spent multiple hours at the tire shop!

 

Thank you, Grandma!