squeak, squeak!

Church yesterday was great. Once again we were blessed by one of our Nazarene churches.

So we decided at the last minute to invite our guard and his family to join us for church since Spencer was preaching. They all came so we piled into the cruiser. On the way to church we found the pastor and his wife walking so they got in as well. We were so full that the truck started squeaking. okay so it squeaks with less than 12 too. luke and abby love it. they love being with people.
church is always different. we really like this one in particular. there seems to be a good spirit among the people there.
okay so after they introduced us (again, we have been there several times) spencer preached. the sermon was preached in french and then translated into kinyarwanda. the funny thing about this time was the guy on the keyboard made this funny sound when spencer would say certain things. you know... that sound you would hear when a comedian would say something funny. the sound that was made from a drum and symbols. anyways the first time it happened I laughed really loud. i didn't mean to. so to disguise my laughter i started coughing to cover it up. i think it worked. i guess i will never know... there were several people who turned around. oops!

kathleen (our guards wife) held Silas during most of the service. I was glad that she wrapped a cloth (that she gave silas) around him so everyone wouldn't feel the need to touch his hands etc... i remember thinking in the states why do people feel the need to touch baby's hands. they put them in their mouth. anyways it may just be a status thing but people didn't ask or even take silas. i say status because it seems as if everyone is put into a status level. i guess maybe this is related to your job and family. don't know!

after church we took the crew out for lunch. we decided on Chinese food. i think Gatari (our guard) and his family had a great time. they have never had Chinese food before. their son (who has become like a brother to luke) was so funny. he had several bowls of soup and just laughed every time we gave him more food. i am sure they have never been to a restaurant like that before. we feel blessed to be able to do this. God is good.

finally! i have house help again. she will be coming monday - friday 8-3. this will help free up my days so i can focus on other things and take care of silas :) i know house help to most of you might seem crazy but living here where everything is harder it is a tremendous help. Gutrude helps with cooking lunch as well as cleaning so it is actually helping us financially in that area because she cooks the local food which is cheaper than what i would prepare. everyone seems to have staff work for them. this provides nationals with work. this girl in particular is from a village and was brought in to Kigali by a christian organization. she is taught to be responsible and then attends school at night. part of her pay goes directly to help cover her school costs. it's a good thing!

okay i better go i am getting a skype call.
please pray for us... spencer will be doing a lot of travel before we head home. i think he will be going to 6 different countries from now until then.

love all yall and remember....going to bed with wet hair... makes you wild and crazy in the morning.

april

intentional surrendering

today i am thinking about the word surrender. what am i surrendering to today or tomorrow. being intentional about surrendering is difficult. surrendering in ministry is often hard when you are forced to see the outcome before it happens. sometimes you can't see the outcome but when you think about what might happen surrendering doesn't look so good. my life as a missionary is not only surrendering the... what I call normalcy of life but surrendering my families as well. today i ask for the Lord to carry me through what i need to surrender today. to help me surrender our future and our lives to Him.

Lord I do surrender all.... but sometimes I need help doing it!

i love all yall and remember...... expired yeast is no fun.

feet

So I have decided to try to blog more often. I know at the beginning I wrote more of the things I was going through and this crazy journey the Lord is leading our family on. So... I think i need to begin again. Writing is good. It helps me recognize what I am feeling and helps other know how to pray for us ( or just laugh- what ever you choose).

So we are coming up on being in Africa 3 years. When we said yes to the call we never thought we would live in 3 different African countries and experience the things we have been able to experience. God has revealed himself to us in so many wonderful ways. I also never knew how much we would love changes. Kinda weird. spencer and i just had our 13 year anniversary. when we were dating (the whole 6 months of that) he said we will never be rich but we will always have our needs meet... or something like that. Yes our needs have always been met and then some. we have been so blessed over the past 13 years. i used to think that people who were married for over 5 years were old. i'm not old.... right? anyways...

The Lord has also been speaking to me for a while now. About something I have been putting him off with. :) Don't we do that too often. Well.... as soon as I can get a grip on life... if that is possible especially with just having another baby I will begin the course of study for ordination. I do not feel a call to preach but I do feel a call to a lifetime of ministry. So... I will take the deacon road. I am a little nervous and intimidated about it but.... I will do it. I think actually writing this down makes me more accountable to you. who ever you are and where ever in the world you are. it makes me think we are all called to a lifetime of ministry. i guess what that ministry is and how it plays out in your life is up to you. God has called all of us to something. so..... anyways

to change the subject i will talk about another great gift we have been given. Silas is precious. I know every child is precious but Silas is soooooo precious. we are so thankful we are blessed with another child to love and care for. spencer wants another baby. i think he is crazy. that is all i am gonna say about that. lol

i was just thinking about feet. weird huh? well to me it is a part of the body that can show our journey. how hard life has been or how easy. right now i need a pedicure.. hehee. but what i was thinking is this. where has my feet gone. what kind of things have my feet been through. have they been scared (SP?) from the rocky journey or are they polished with a pedicure that hides our past. i say rocky because life is not easy. especially if you feel persecuted for your faith. our feet represent where we have walked and where we are going. I am not sure if God cares about where we have walked but where our feet are headed. unless He is pleased with your past and unless our feet have been representing Him. representing a persecuted life. I think about the men and women who have died for their faith. we have many nazarenes who have died here in Africa because their feet have walked through it. through the life we are called to. so what do your feet look like? i am asking myself the same question. I am not saying we are called to a life that gets us martered (sp). i am just saying to live is Christ to die is gain (the bible) :) today i choose to die (not literary). to die to myself and to give God my all. to let Him guide my feet and to let Him take away the past that wasn't guided by Him. anyways...

i am not a professional writer and remember i do not spell check or correct grammer or proof read : )

i am just being me and you get what you get.
well i better go get the baby...

i love all yall and remember............. it is sometimes easier to go ahead and mix the powered cheese with the milk before you mix it with the pasta.

april