hawks' view

Santa Baby

2011-12-21T19:48:00.003-05:00

All the Santa hype has sure been fun this Christmas. We realized early in the season that it is really getting fun with Ellis being three now. Don't worry with all the magic of Santa we are doing our best to bring it back to Jesus...we are by no means leaving him out of Christmas. We have made a tradition of reading by the Christmas tree almost every night this December. It has been sweet at times and other times we wonder why we are trying to read to a crazy one year old and an energetic three year old...but still we are fighting to keep the tradition going. Marmee (Judy) give us a Christmas book each year so we have a reason to read....otherwise what a waste.We made a visit to good ol' Peachtree Mall to see Santa...the four of us along with Ra Ra (Robin) along to see the cuteness. Cuteness did in fact occur:) Ellis had mentioned that Santa can be a little scary mainly because of his beard. However he was a champ, he got right up and talked with Santa. He told him he wanted, "a truck with a dog in the back" to which William and I are a little nervous....I have debated taking everything back and getting this random request several several times. Thad crawled/walked around viewing Santa from a distance...he stayed happy that way so we didn't force him to sit on his lap.Love it.....Christmas is getting better and better thanks to these two boys!

Indoors During the Fall?

2011-09-24T12:00:00.006-04:00

I never realized how much taking a walk, playing at the park, riding bikes, and going on a hike was an awesome source of family entertainment until William had his surgery. We are being forced to slow down and stop doing activities that require walking:) Here are some indoor projects we have come up with...

We have made play-dough with cornstarch and salt.

We now go to the library and we recently checked out this wonderful book.
After we read the book, we made our own version of Octopus Soup

We also built a big fort...before and after shots!

We have made shrinky dinks...so fun!I made a necklace....mom jewelry-anniversary and birthdays...So those are some of the things we have been doing to make the most of this challenging season of life. Six weeks in a cast and six weeks in a boot is a long time, but we are trying to stay positive and stay busy....I have decided that when William can walk again we will just have to bundle up and tough through the cold this winter.

OH MY!

2011-09-09T22:04:00.004-04:00

Today I was working on two emails...the house was calm, but active...William was a napping (in pain from his recent surgery), Ellis was playing, and Thad was playing in his crib i.e. safe and contained!
The first email was an email about CrossPointe's playgroup... completed it, then ran to check on the boys...all was well.
Second email...an email to a new teacher in Kids' Church, she had lots of questions so I was going through answering them when it hit me...the low rumble in my house went to silence.

Anyone who has a toddler knows that quiet is awesome...a gift from God, but too quiet is very bad. Well it was too quiet.

I called out, "Ellis what are you doing?" I got up, turned around and heard him say as he ran out of their room, "I paintin Thad!"

This is what I discovered-
(I took pictures before I allowed myself to freak out because I knew I would want to remember this "funny" act....it is not funny today though...one day I am sure it will be a "cute toddler" memory....but today the repeated baths, wiping down most of the house, and calling poison control is still too fresh. Oh and Thad was happy with it...it was after the scrubbing he became very unhappy)

Oh What A Summer!

2011-08-08T01:08:00.010-04:00

We have had a blessed summer this year. Here are the highlights...
William completed his first seminary class(complete with an A+ and a fun time in Atl)Picking Blueberries
Thad's First Hair Cut (too soon, too soon...he was only 8 months)Picking Up Aunt Emily and Jon Petter from the Airport (lots of airplane spotting..along with Aunt Emily)Braves Game (complete with running the bases in the kid section)Beach Vacation (never a bad idea)Callaway Trip (circus, picnic,sweat,farmers market,and a run through the sprinklers in the garden)Fourth of July (thanks Fort Benning the free fun and fireworks were awesome)Spending Sweet Time with the Crazy Aunts(look mom, oh wait it is better if you look away)

Happy Da Da Day

2011-06-19T12:05:00.004-04:00

Here are some reasons we love our Da Da...

He takes his walk with the Lord seriously.
He gets out of bed to get us water, tissue, medicine, etc. every night...multiple times.
He brings intensity and excitement to EVERYTHING he does. Whether it is tying shoes, cutting tiny fingernails, sword fighting.....pretty much anything.
He is a wonderful preacher. True to scripture, doesn't negate the Holy Spirit, and our favorite:not boring!
We love that he hangs out with teenagers and will reply to late night texts so selflessly.
He changes diapers, cooks, and does laundry regularly. In other words he is not afraid of going beyond cutting the grass.
He is the ultimate handy man...he can fix almost anything.
He knows tons of action heroes and what their claim to fame is, he also knows about dinosaurs and space.
He apologizes.
He can pack a car amazingly....how does he fit it all?
He is not afraid of sweat, dirt, or germs. Exactly what little boys need to counteract their Momma.
He is funny and smart.
He works hard, makes us money, and then is smart with that money.
He is a techie...in ways that count....example: he got Toy Story on Mom's phone.
He recognizes his weaknesses....he is humble about them as well as tries to improve them.
He makes cool noises...noises that only men can make....helicopter, kung fu, race car, spider webs shooting from your wrist, etc.

Hawks at the Zoo

2011-05-10T17:04:00.004-04:00

The Hawks have been enjoying the warm weather lately. We have been playing in the sprinkler, gardening, William has been playing church softball, eating on our porch, and swinging in the hammock.

This past Saturday we went to the Zoo. It was a great trip....pretty weather, excited toddler, happy baby, good food at a new restaurant, a new book that William and I read on the way up and the way back, in general a day out of the house is always a fun break in routine.

Here are some pictures....Enjoy!Seriously, William could not even finish loading the car before he fell asleep!

Good People Go To Hell

2011-01-28T10:30:00.004-05:00

For sometime now I have had this urge to simply post on Facebook the following words:

Good People Go To Hell.

I am not sure why can't shake this urge. Today while in the shower I came up with an alternative to writing such a stark post on Facebook...my blog.

So Blog...

Good People Go To Hell.

Good, sweet as a peach, generous, loving, smiling people go to Hell. Men that open doors, women that volunteer at clothing banks, teenagers who make good grades....Hell is open to them as well. Even church goers go to Hell.

The more I learn about the Bible the more I believe that if you are not completely 100% souled out for Christ on a DAILY basis, then you are not saved. If you are not truely saved, then you will go to Hell.

I am thinking I have not been able to get this off my brain because of this...

I am so so sad for these good people...in my eyes they deserve Heaven. However the Bible says they are missing the admission ticket...salvation. I know a bunch of people that seem like they are Heaven bound...but I know better. I know you can't argue with biblical truth.

I am not a spiritual giant. (I had to ask my husband where the verse below is located in the Bible.) I just can not stop thinking about people who think Heaven is a sure thing.

“Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. ²² Many will say to me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name and in your name drive out demons and in your name perform many miracles?’ Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!’

Matthew 7:21-23

I have a lot more spiritual truths that bug me. Truths that people are not aware of or ignore, but I will start will that fairly popular phrase "Good People Go To Hell." and maybe I can ignore all other urges to comment on other truths that can be mean, offensive, or harsh to say. I feel better now that I have posted this on the world wide web:)

Here is a "cute kids" picture to lighten things up...

Holly and Jolly for Sure

2010-12-14T12:23:00.003-05:00

This Christmas season has been a blast so far. We have had fun going to parties and spending extra time together as a family. The best part is that we have someone new to celebrate with. Mr. Thad!

We celebrated our fifth wedding anniversary. November 26th, 1999 God started something really special, a love that has grown into a family of four. We all went to the Melting Pot in Atlanta to celebrate what God has done in our lives.

Ellis has been into spotting Santa and is looking forward to sitting in his lap and saying, "Cheese!" Lately his favorite things to do are hide, "talk", and he has discovered that stools can allow him many more opportunities. He carries a stool around from room to room to see what he can get in to and climb on. He is a cutie...both of them are! We are working on realizing that not all gifts are for him and that he can't open just any gift. There are so many temptations under our tree (and everyone's tree for that matter)!

So far this season has been full of us just realizing how blessed we are. Thankful for our Savior Jesus Christ most of all...

Thad is Here

2010-11-17T21:35:00.002-05:00

Thaddeus Richard Hawk
November 1st, 2010
7lbs. 14 oz.
9:06 am

We are in love!

Days Away

2010-10-28T01:10:00.005-04:00

We are days away from being a family of four! We know that this phase will be challenging and blessed at the same time. We have had time to enjoy some fall activities with Ellis, which were wonderful! Hayrides, Halloween party, pumpkin patch, etc. We are blessed to have such a cool almost two year old on our hands. Monday morning November 1st we will be meeting the next boy that will surely rock our worlds! Yay for Thad:)

Beloved Braves

2010-08-28T17:00:00.005-04:00

Ellis LOVES the Braves. He loves them on TV and in person. We have been to two games this summer and have one more on the calendar this fall. He starts freaking out in the parking lot and continues to be on a "Braves high" the entire night. We only go to Friday night games because he thinks that all baseball games end with a firework show. Wouldn't want to break his heart, so we have to go when there are fireworks.:) He will gladly tell you what the Braves say, "OhhhhOhohhhhOhOhOhhhh", just ask!

He is precious to watch and having two boys and no bows is not looking so bad these days!

25 weeks out of 40...oh my!

Cotton Candy...he loved it! Thad did too:)

Watching fireworks after bedtime.

Hanging on the steering wheel, while Dad rearranged all of our Ikea purchases on the roof of the car.

Simply Summer

2010-08-06T02:14:00.007-04:00

It has been a busy summer for the Hawk family. We started with finishing William's softball season and Shaw (Karan Anne's brother) graduating from high school. William turned 28 and Karan Anne turned 26. Ellis has become Mr. Talkitive, although we rarely know what he is blabbing about. We found out we were having another boy! We have been on two beach trips...one with our family and one with our friends. Both trips were amazing and worth every bit of energy, planning, and money it took to get us there. We have been blueberry picking as well as attending a Braves game. Even though it is hot outside we went to feed the ducks at the park, however chasing the ducks was way more fun (for Ellis).We got to see Emily (William's sister who lives in Norway) for a couple of weeks, which was a surprise and a treat. We have even officially named our second son: Thaddeus Richard Hawk. Ellis has progressed in swimming, jumping off of furniture, climbing on furniture, and "playing "potty...that is right....he just pretends to go. He also has become quite the cell phone talker, so you may get a call one day. Another huge thing that has occupied our summer is getting our new church building ready. There has been a ton of decorating, planning, ordering, trips to Ikea, and PAINTING going on. Even though we have been super busy, it has all been great. We have a lot to be thankful for!

For more picture's go to http://www.facebook.com/photos.php?id=50506502

Duggar Day

2010-06-09T21:15:00.009-04:00

I had a great day today spending time in Atlanta at the Chick-fil-a Headquaters with a family I adore..The Duggars. Thanks to my super sweet cousins Alan and his wife Danielle I got the "celebrity " hook up. I got an invitation from Alan to go up to Atlanta to help with his special guests. I got to help them make their plates at lunch and then got to hang out with them all afternoon while we toured the headquarters. It was a huge blessing to meet this family and the whole day I was freaking out on the inside that they were right in front of me and that they were a sweet christian family just like I see on their show.

Some highlights from my day included...

Passing out name tags and saying over and over, "It is nice to meet you in person and not on my TV".
Helping Jackson get all the food he wanted for lunch, so cute and sweet!
Getting Jennifer and Jordyn their food and drinks.
Eating lunch and talking to Jinger and Jason...both were so polite and fun to talk to.
Having Anna try to talk me in to natural child birth, she is an expert after having her baby at home at the last minute...she told me one of the producers ran to Wal-Mart to buy a scale to weigh the baby with.
Listening to all the children sing a beautiful song on a short bus ride.
Playing with Jordyn and making sure she didn't hurt herself...she is a runner not a walker!
Talking with Joy Anna and noticing she still had a lot of little girl in her, precious!

Overall this family was a joy to meet and I am thankful for a rare opportunity to spend time with them and to be blessed by them in person!

Baby Hawk....Boy or Girl?

2010-06-03T21:42:00.013-04:00

This time around baby is a .....

BOY!!!

The first picture shows off his man parts and his curled up leg. The second picture is another man part picture and the third is his little back; he is curled up facing moms back. Now that we know the sex we are working hard to figure out a name for this little fellow, nothing final yet! Looks like Ellis has a new best friend!!!

Warmer Weather=Outdoor Fun

2010-05-07T17:58:00.005-04:00

Today Ellis' awesome Dad took him outside to play in the sprinkler for the first time ever. It went very well! I can't even explain the level of cute. Maybe these will help paint the picture some.

Why I Would Be Ok With All Boys

2010-04-12T06:42:00.002-04:00

I have always wanted a little girl or two, but I am starting to see the beauty of little boys!

For more spring pictures:
http://www.facebook.com/album.php?id=50506502&aid=2078218&s=20&hash=92ece52c943bd8a8f692e302bd88fc46#!/album.php?id=50506502&aid=2078218&s=0&hash=25cf272e5b608de0a9c780e85e1a2ca8

One Smart Momma

2010-03-24T20:02:00.004-04:00

I thought I would take this blog as an opportunity to share that even though I am a first time mom, I am learning quickly! I am constantly thinking of ways to make life with a toddler better. For example...The way Ellis goes to bed every nap and every night is by cuddling with me. Since I can not lay down in a crib with Ellis, he lays with me in my bed...not anymore! I finally made the decision to get a bed for him that I can lay down in. That way he can sleep in his bed and we do not have to move him after he falls asleep. So for about three weeks now Ellis has been a sleeping in a big boy bed! Some would say moving him to a bed this early is crazy, but it is working for us. Here is proof...

Another smart Mom move I made was last week when we had spaghetti for dinner. William and I brought stools and sat them by the sink...Ellis went in the sink in just a diaper. He had a blast eating his spaghetti and he even got some good practice time using his spork! Afterward we just hosed him off and all the mess went down the drain...no big deal!

I'll have to be honest, I am still learning...I am not sure how smart this move was:)

Serenbe Get-a-way

2010-03-12T11:53:00.007-05:00

Last week Will, Ellis, and myself went up to the Atlanta area for a mini vacation. We had a wonderful time. It was a great mix of romance and peace for the adults and fun and learning for Ellis. It was beautiful and a great big blessing for all three of us. Here are a few pictures (more on facebook)!

Chicken Coop Progress

2010-02-24T17:20:00.004-05:00

William worked all day Saturday and here is what he got accomplished...Cute, huh? Little glass windows and all...

This picture is a little blurry, but the box in the back is where we will get the eggs from. Still a lot of work to do before they can move in, but defiantly not as much as there was...over half way there....Hippie lifestyle here we come:) Will would prefer: Farmer lifestyle here we come!

Hawks dig Chicks

2010-02-18T12:53:00.006-05:00

Last night before we went to bed William and I set up the container for the baby chicks because we knew they would be here tomorrow. William and I got in bed and started watching The Winter Olympics. We stay up really late, but for some reason we kept watching really late last night. At 2:00 my phone rang and I ran to get it thinking something was wrong. It was the Post Office...our chicks had arrived. So William drove to get them right away. As you can see from the picture above they were looking pitiful when they first arrived...I was worried.

When they warmed up they became happy chicks and are really cute to watch. They are days old and are not smelly yet. We are having fun with them so far.

Chicks and Hockey

2010-02-15T13:06:00.007-05:00

Last week we got free tickets to go to a Columbus Hockey Game. We had amazing seats and they were safe enough for me not to freak out that a puck was going to hit Ellis. Ellis was in shock 90% of the time. Everything was a new experience for him. Will also had a freak out moment when every player on the ice started fighting. In the end there was only a bunch of gear laying there on the ice. It was a fun first game for Ellis and I left thinking I could handle all boys and no little girls. I had a blast watching Ellis and

Will!

I watched a movie recently called Food, Inc. It made me think...that is for sure! After thinking I decided that if we had a small chicken coop that it would put a small dent in the chicken industry that was so horrible to watch in the movie. So when Will got home I told him that I wanted to get chickens...within an hour...no lie...he was building!

Since then all of his free time has been preparing for our little chicks. We are getting three or four which is plenty for our small city house and city yard. This is the inside so far...

While Da Da works, Ellis spends most of his time watching from our bedroom window. Even though we live in the south it has been too cold to go outside. We are looking forward to the arrival of our chicks, but it will be even more exciting when I don't have to buy eggs at the store. Will wants to eat some of them....maybe...well see! We are also thrilled that Ellis will get to watch chicks grow and have a chore of going to get the eggs. Hope it all works out!!!

Viewer Discretion Is Advised

2010-01-27T17:58:00.002-05:00

Ear Infections Do Not Slow Me Down

2010-01-27T17:46:00.000-05:00

January has been a lovely month, busy as usual. Skiing and hiking have been fun. Hair cuts, not so much! We have gone on our first official bike ride as a family...and we all loved it! It has been my goal to be a biking family for a long time, so when we finally got the gear I was so nervous I would not like it...but I did. Thank God, because William is not a fan of spending money on stuff and never using it:). We have only gone once though, because lately the days that are not rainy are windy and cold. Hopefully we can go again soon. My cute little boy has had a runny nose, cough and ear infection for the majority of the month. He is feeling a little better and since ear infections are not contagious I have been able to still have somewhat of a life. Please do not picture a "sick in bed" Ellis! This Ellis still gets around...his favorite thing to do is stick his head out the dog door. His second favorite thing to do is walk around with two lighters (the kind that bend). We have put a stop to this habit because he is getting smarter and we don't want a fire in the Hawks' Nest! Lastly Ellis is way in to throwing things down the toilet. Toilet paper rolls, balls, magazines, and toilet paper just to give you an idea. My days are full of timing how long I have to get something done before I have to go check on Ellis. He is not one to sit and play with toys...he is always into something other than what we have provided for him. For example why play with a toy hammer that lights up, when there are electrical outlets all over the house. Why play IN the gigantic tent set up in my room when I can play IN the trash. Why watch cartoons when I can throw decorations off of shelves. Why push a toy lawn mower, when I can clean out the pantry! WHY? While typing this I am sure he is getting a lot accomplish...he already brought me toilet paper....it was streaming across the house. Life with a child is blessed.....all these crazy events and we still want more....I think William and I are geared for parenting (so far at least).

Crazy Christmas

2009-12-16T22:32:00.014-05:00

Christmas has been super crazy in the Hawk house.

Starting with...Decorating our tree twice. I tried to trim up some limbs and cut a wire too! Here is the finished product, but I have to say I thought the first time around was prettier.Here are some more decorations. It does my heart good to see 3 stockings...what a blessing adding Ellis to our family has been. I prayed for a long time to get to have three stockings. Now I am praying for 4!!! Oh and I can explain the black angels, just ask!

Then I lost my wallet....boooo! I have been replacing everything slowly, but surely. I got a new camera and got right to work, I had been missing shots like these...

Then my best friend had her baby at 26 weeks....Meet the very tiny and very amazing Mckinley Faith Jones...and don't just meet her; pray for her too! Steaks came in the mail for a Christmas gift. Believe it or not the dry ice was the boys favorite part!

Then we went to Fantasy In Lights...it blew Ellis away! Ellis was in a mini heaven...it was cold outside, but he loved hanging out the window (and he didn't see the value in keeping on his hat and gloves....shame on him and shame on his momma)!
Last but not least, we visited Santa....he was a big fan....until we made him sit in his lap!
Overall, we have a lot to be thankful for despite the craziness...
Merry Christmas---Love~~~ The Hawks

Fall Has Been Wonderful!

2009-11-13T07:21:00.002-05:00

William and Ellis riding on the Four Wheeler...that's right were Parents' of the Year:)

Karan Anne and Ellis watching for fish!

The Boys and their big catch of the night.

At the Pumpkin Patch in October. Ellis was looking at the tractor, he is all boy already!

The Big 10 Months!

2009-10-06T23:31:00.003-04:00

Ahhh Ellis is already 10 months old!

Some highlights...

cruising from one piece of furniture to the next
rolling out and occasionally eating toilet paper
baby proofing
eating regular food 98% of the time
deciding that vacuum cleaners are scary
baths everyday now...sometimes twice
playing catch with dad
discovering the toilet
clapping, banging, and dancing
learning what no means
sharing food with dad or mom
watching to see if the parents will say no
crawling fast, really fast
enjoying books more, though occasionally still trying to eat them
going up stairs
drinking out of sippy cups
and of course saying hey...over and over again!

We LOVE every minute!

Moral of the Story

2009-08-01T15:37:00.004-04:00

Yesterday Ellis had two baths. The first bath was for his photo shoot. We wanted him to look picture perfect! The second was for fun....baths are a great way to kill some time in a baby's world. I have a great tub that I take to the grandparents' houses when they babysit, not because I want them to bath Ellis, but because it is fun for him.

Today Ellis had another bath...this was not needed, nor was it for fun...this bath was an emergency! Ellis was playing and having a great time while I was checking my email. As most of his independent play times end, he started his normal fusing. I waited a bit longer until the partial whining became crying and then picked him up and took him to the changing table. He had that certain smell so I knew that I was changing a dirty diaper...it is just that normally when you change a dirty diaper you expect to just wipe a butt. When I saw poop up to his shoulders I switched from the changing table to the sink....we needed an emergency bath!

Moral of the Story: Try not to let your baby poop in a jumper...with each jump comes new heights!

Gardening Gone GOOD

2009-06-22T17:16:00.003-04:00

William and I are still gardening...well mainly just Will. He does all the hard stuff I just pick the vegetables when I need a side dish for dinner.

We have had some bug problems, but not too bad. Will just recently installed a sprinkler so he doesn't have to stand there and water everyday. He has enjoyed working hard and then getting results. We have some left over plants if anyone would like some.

Even though it takes up a lot of his free time, this is one hobby his wife supports!

Things I Have Learned After Having A Baby===A.K.A. I need to vent!

2009-05-24T20:59:00.004-04:00

These are some things that have been on my mind lately...after having Ellis for over 6 months now! Wow I have a 6 month old!

~People should not tell women your going to be loosing your baby weight...Example...when I was ring shopping the lady suggested I not get a bigger size because I am going to lose weight....I had already lost it. Another example...your clothes are going to be fitting better....again I had already lost the baby weight. Instead, just say...wow you look great....no matter where on the scale you think the lady falls.

~As a pregnant woman I did a lot of assuming...
-I thought I would never let my baby hang out in just a diaper, I do!
-I thought I would never let my baby in bed with me, I do every night. It is easy to nurse laying down going in and out of sleep.
-My goal was to wait a month before giving my breastfed baby a paci, I lasted four days.
-I thought it was gross when babies had crusty stuff on their face, my baby can frequently be found with dried rice cereal or sweet potatoes on his face. Maybe even a little booger.
- I thought I wouldn't talk baby talk and look like a fool, but I am a sucker for his smile and will do whatever it takes to see it.

~Earlier on in Ellis' life I told my sister-in-law that I would never give bibs to an expecting lady. This was because I had an insane amount, I should not have spoken so soon...you see at that point Ellis did not really need bibs. Now I get it-bibs are great...lots of bibs are great...unless you do laundry all the time.
-Other things I said in that conversation I would not recommend giving a pregnant lady are blankets, outfits for early on (3 months or younger), little shoes (they fall off), and of course things that are not on the registry!
-My favorite gift was practical things you know I will use...although it does not look pretty when you open it, not having to buy diapers has saved me a lot of money. I have enough shampoo to last Ellis until he is a toddler.

~People should not give new moms advice if they do not have children or have not had a baby in a while. Even if a non parent gives great advice...it is just annoying. If they have children but it has been a while then my advice would be to hold off on sharing advice, simply because times change...research is constantly taking place!

~Two Hours goes by so fast...I had no idea babies eat that often...this makes movies or TV shows, like Lost, very unrealistic.

~I lived in Mexico for a while I was pregnant, then I came home to register for baby items...lets just say seeing how babies survive in Mexico greatly affected what I thought I needed. I also talked to a lot of new moms and asked what could they live without. I have not regretted my decision to skip on some "must have" baby items.
-Things like: wipe warmers, playpens, sanitizers, food warmers,diaper genies (Wal-mart bags and an on top of it husband are cheaper), teething gels (I read it doesn't work), expensive paci clips, smock outfits, bottle warmers, and lots of other gizmos in Babies R Us.

~Ear thermometers do not work...just take the babies temperature the good ol' fashioned way...under the armpit. Sad fact to learn because someone gave me one, I used it, it didn't work, and then the doctor said yeah...they don't work.

~EVERY PARENT IS DIFFERENT AND EVERY BABY IS DIFFERENT...therefore no advice or comment is valid...even what I have just said might change or won't apply for someone else.

Trendy Hawks are Going Green

2009-05-06T16:19:00.003-04:00

Will's latest hobby has been gardening. He has been working for a couple months on preparing the land and starting the seeds. He has spent most of his free time outside enjoying the Spring weather and putting energy in to his new little area. First he started beds inside and then he has been slowly moving the plants outside. Hopefully sometime soon we will have lots of fruits and veggies to eat!

Ahhh Solid Foods

2009-04-01T11:56:00.005-04:00

Last night we added one more thing to our nightly routine..."solid foods".

It was a fun experience, Ellis was a trip...he had to warm up to it lets just say.

Enjoy the pics!

Almost A Big 4 Months!

2009-03-18T01:09:00.005-04:00

I was walking with my mother in law today and she asked me about professional pictures...I told her I was going to wait until 4 months...she pointed out that 4 months is next week!

Four months next week-wow!

This month has flown by. Ellis is now a supported sitter and I have been reading about adding rice cereal to his diet. He smiles and laughs all the time. Everyone makes making Ellis smile a goal when they are near him. We enjoy reading and playing with new toys everyday. He is still a little guy as far as weight goes...pray that he gains weight and that all is well in his little body. He sleeps for five or six hours at night and we all love every minute of that trend. I had a proud mom moment when I framed several pictures of Ellis and displayed them around our house.

Today we had a big "Praise God" moment... I tripped and fell with Ellis in my hands on tile floor. It was horrible but Ellis was ok. I have bruised knees, but I can live with that. We are so thankful Ellis is alright.

Three Months with Ellis

2009-02-23T09:37:00.003-05:00

Well Ellis is three months old now.
We have loved all three months.
He can now smile and has even laughed!
He sleeps until about 4 or 6 o'clock in the morning, which is lovely.
The doctor wants him to gain more weight, so he is taking some medicine everyday and we go in to check on the 26th of February...well see how much weight he has gained over the past month.
Life is much richer with a baby!

Like Father Like Son

2008-12-11T23:31:00.005-05:00

How precious is this scene?!?
Will has always slept with his arms up like this and now we have noticed Ellis doing it a lot too.

I learned from Judy (Ellis' Grandmother) that more family from the Hawk side sleep like this as well.

Ellis is about 2 weeks in these pictures:)

Road Kill

2008-12-11T23:19:00.005-05:00

This is one cute reindeer.....maybe too cute!

The outfit is a little big, but very cuddly....Ellis loves it...he sleeps better when he wears it and mom loves that!

Last Night

2008-12-02T14:02:00.003-05:00

Last night I was admiring Ellis while he was up to nothing....he was just cute looking so I recorded for a second.

A few Pics

2008-11-23T23:39:00.004-05:00

Still Waiting---38 Weeks

2008-11-13T15:37:00.003-05:00

Just in case you were wondering...no baby yet! I go back to the doctor on Monday to hopefully receive great news...but at this point I am beginning to think he will be right on time!

The Waiting Game

2008-10-29T09:22:00.002-04:00

Will and I are currently playing the waiting game. We were told we were having a turkey baby originally....but now it looks like we will be having it much sooner....maybe even perhaps a Halloween baby. Last Monday the doctor said we would not have to wait until Thanksgiving. In fact he said that it could be any day now but no more than 3 weeks (by now that means less than 2). I have an appointment today so I will post more information when I know more. Until then Will and I are using every spare second to try to prepare for the new addition!

Home Sweet Home

2008-08-05T11:49:00.003-04:00

Just wanted everyone to know that we are officially home.

We left Friday morning at 5:45, crossed the border smoothly (dogs and all), and were on our way. We had a flat tire in the middle of Texas...it took us 3 hours to get fixed and then we were back on the road.

On the way down, Will and I took three days....we broke up the long hours of driving and spent some quality time together. We were so ready to get home this trip that we just kept driving. We ended up getting back at 3:30 Saturday morning.

It was a long day of travel and swollen feet, but when we got home we couldn't just crawl in bed. We spent about an hour walking around our house and yard (which is looking really good thanks to my sweet dad).

Both Will and I said that we would do it all again. It was an incredible summer...it was tough, but well worth it!

Thank God for America, we are beyond blessed to live here and to have the kind of lifestyles we have. Walking through Babies 'R' Us just isn't the same after living in Mexico and seeing how they live.

We are BLESSED!

When Scorpions Attack

2008-07-31T01:05:00.000-04:00

So the count is at 12. Hoping to make a bakers dozen before we head for home. Most recently I accidentally bare-handed one while I was cleaning dishes. I have kind of been hoping to get stung to see what it feels like but I haven’t gotten to the point of just allowing it to sting me.

Tuesday was great. It’s getting hard knowing how many goodbye’s are on the way, but at the same time we’re ecstatic to be heading home. I’m going to miss a number of our staff and translators. But most of all I think I’m going to miss Pastor Vazquez. We have built a very close relationship considering the language barrier and our 3 week time together. The group this week is interesting. I enjoy the leadership opportunities that are presented, especially the difficulties which I’ve begun to appreciate as they lead to so much growth. Indeed, we have had a large number of hurdles to overcome. There is only 1 church this week. They brought 120 people from their 700 member youth group – crazy! It makes me sad though to see leaders working beside kids whose names they don’t even know. We’ve started packing.

Wednesday was of course carnival day. And seeing as the big tent was taken down for the hurricane and not replaced we were going to have to make adjustments. I couldn’t have been happier with the outcome. We had over 60 Mexican’s join us, which is huge and the carnival ran quite smoothly. I spent time with Gabrielle (a translator who is Eliezar’s brother) cooking chicken for almost 200 on a grill built out of an old propane canister (it’s huge). I was able to have a 5 minute convo with a Mexican over dinner tonight without a translator! It’s amazing how much language God has blessed me to learn in this short time. In addition, Luc and her two children and another prostitute were able to come tonight for the carnival and cookout. While this may be a little much I think it is important to share that the ministry to the prostitutes is continuing to grow and bless. (I will try to be sensitive) Tonight Luc’s boss did not require us to pay him for the time she spent at the carnival, which is basically unheard of. Please continue praying for this ministry.
KA went to the States today on her 2nd day off of the summer with some friends as well as the market and Soriana (Like Walmart) and had a blast. We are packing, planning, and praying. Oh, and 1 more thing Ellis is on the move. I have been able to “hang” with him tonight as he responded to my voice and gave KA some tummy kicks.

Will

A Blessed Life

2008-07-29T01:01:00.007-04:00

Me and Juan Jose at Living Water....I am a master at filling up cups now.

I got to hear two amazing testimonies today….one from the Pastor at the church we work at and one from a translator we work with. The Pastor’s was more of a story about how the Lord healed his two boys and Gilbert’s, the translator, was more about his entire life and how he ended up where he is today. It blessed me to hear amazing stories about God’s glory.

My feet reached a new low today, looking fatter than ever. It is gross looking, but it is worth it. Thought you might enjoy a picture...the strap lines are from crocs (you know the shoes that are lose, lightweight, and comfortable)

I asked one of our youth leaders this week if he packed bug spray, he said yes but that it normally takes ten days after rain for mosquitoes to come out…..HA! I didn’t say anything, but in my head I was sooo thinking…you are in for a rude awakening. Sure enough tonight they were out in full force. I’m talking swarms right when we stepped out of the house. We park our car as closely to the door and then run to wherever we are going. It is bad again, but we have a finish line this time.

At Living Water I taught a little boy (8 yrs. old) name Juan to throw away his trash. He kept coming back to me wanting more water. I told him that I saw him and his friends throwing the cups down in the park and it upset me. He brought back one of the cups and I refilled it. Then I had a mini lesson with him about making the park beautiful and not trashing it, etc. The next time he came up to me he had trash in his hands and he wanted to show me that he was collecting it and throwing it away. He did this several times and each time I praised him and gave him a high five. He also helped me fill water cups and was really receptive to my English praises. I showed him the book in the Bible named Juan (it was a Spanish Bible) and we read Juan 3:16 together….fun times! Pray for him if you think about it, his friends picked on him for doing the right thing.

The scorpion count is now at 11, by the way. This one was large and it was in our pantry. Will knocked it out and we took a picture of it.

When the groups were loading up on the bus today, Pastor Vazquez and his wife asked to speak with Will and myself. We had a translator and they said they wanted to bless us on our last day at the church with them, we of course told them that they were already a huge blessing and that was not necessary. They said they wanted to and that God put it on their hearts. So Thursday at snack time they are going to bless us with a special surprise. I think it involves food for Will, me, and the group. I am excited to see what it is:)

I had some free time this morning and I started packing, it is surreal that the summer is coming to a close.

We asked Gilbert, the amazing, godly translator, to make us a piñata for a coming home party Will and I have decided to throw ourselves. I won’t tell you what it is, but it is very representative of Mexico. By the way Gilbert makes piñatas for a living; AIM helped him start his own shop, so now everyone who wants a piñata goes to him. Oh and he can make a mean piñata, I’m talking the size of a six year old.

Almost 50 people got sick last night. We think it had something to do with the food. It was not a fun morning for Will, being the head PF of a lot of sick people…he had a lot of fires to put out.

Will misses his friends tremendously and I am growing bitter about Mexico and the youth leaders/group. So if you could please for us in that department….we want to be tools for the kingdom until the very last second we are here.

Rei Girl Lives On

2008-07-27T23:27:00.000-04:00

We started today with a quick breakfast and then we were off to the Market. This was our LAST trip to the Market for the summer. This time however we had one unexpected passenger, Rei. She rode along so we could take her to the vet. The vet was a few blocks down from Garcia’s (the place we hang out at the market). We asked a translator to go with us, which was a great idea…trust me! When we got there the vet said it was going to be $100.00 because it was an emergency, he opened up just for us, we told him we could not afford that. He went down to $25.00 plus medicine…we said deal! He is normally $15.00 a visit. Rei has a bladder infection more than likely and she got a shot today and medicine to take every morning and night. He also said that he thinks she was born with some sorta condition that makes sand like substances form in her bladder, so he said we need to buy fancy food for her to change the ph level in her diet. It was sad to see her sick, but I am so thankful for that doctor. The rest of day was great and it was fun and sad saying all day… “this is the last time we will…” Thanks for your prayers, keep praying please….I have to go because the room I am typing in has no AC and Will is concerned for me. It is like 90 degrees plus…it is like Hell…well it is what I picture it being.

See For Yourself

2008-07-27T00:16:00.007-04:00

Hurricane force winds

Me in the Hurricane

Our Casa / Lakehouse after the storm

Backyard

A little help in the driveway

Cleverly Called Update

2008-07-27T00:12:00.002-04:00

My thoughts are scattered right now, so this update probably will be too—sorry!

~Last week, we had a really cool group…..an amazing group…they were fun and on top of it. Their youth leader guy, the wacky crazy game maker upper type was named Steve. Steve was a gifted financial planner and the Vice President of a big nation wide company. He sat down with Will and me and gave us bundles of information…..really good stuff…..Will can not wait to get home and start on all of his advice. So Jon, if you need help, we are pretty much experts now. The best thing about it was that he gave us a missionary/young couple discount…free! Praise God for such a random and wonderful blessing.

~Damage from the hurricane is pretty darn horrible. Not necessarily here, but definitely in Matamoros and in Texas. We took some pictures of the water here and will try to post them, when the internet allows. The worst part here so far is the water has sewage in it. Grosso! The water smells really bad and is no fun to be around…I am trying so hard to avoid it because I’m preggo. The houses around here are flooded pretty badly still. Will and I got stuck coming down our driveway a total of two times, not that bad overall….and our boss came to the rescue both times.

~We picked up our car from the states yesterday, only one little bit of damage. I rock flew up and hit the wind shield…we already knew about that, because it happened while Will was driving through the hurricane to park our car in the states. So Praise God.

~We got power in our house on Thursday night, so things started smelling better and feeling better late Thursday. Praise God for AC, and pray for people that have wet houses with no fresh air.

~South Texas still does not have power, so pray for them please….that is a long time for spoiled Americans to not have power. Wal-Mart opened back up yesterday; Will and I did a late night run for some groceries.

~Today, several of our staff members did Living Water in the states to the hurricane victims. Will and I did not go because Will was in charge of getting 140 people in to Mexico….wow what a day.

~Saturday: We left a little early to go to the states to get some cash and what not and then met the group and crossed them over. Every drop off day and pick up day never run smoothly….there is something about getting lots of people in Mexico out and in that never goes just right….we are used to it now, but it is still a little stressful.

~My birthday was fun….it was a long day and poor Judy caught me at the very end of the day right before we reached the border, where we did not have enough change to cross over….he let us go. Anyways it was a good day, just long and hurricane things make life stressful and annoying. We started the day by crossing over our group at 6:30 in the morning and ended up taking them to another city because of airports being closed and power not being on, etc. Then we went to Chick-Fil-A and ate….drum roll please….a chicken biscuit…it was a great birthday gift. We met up with our staff and did our debrief activity for the summer and took a boat ride. It was fun, relaxing, and a nice final debrief for the summer. Then we went to our bosses’ house in Texas had a brief meeting, got gas, went to Wal-Mart and came home! Needless to say: I am a happy 24 year old. Tired and pregnant, but happy.

~Rei is peeing blood, and we (being insane dog lovers) are sorta freaking out. I think we will be going to a vet here in Matamoros as soon as possible---please pray for that situation, if you think it is silly to pray for a dog, then pray for us or the vet…thanks.

~Ellis is still a movin’ and a shakin’….I am still in awe of this!

~We leave in LESS THAN A WEEK---wow---it is crazy to think…we are sad it is over and happy it is over if you know what I mean.

~Thanks for the Birthday cards and messages on facebook, etc.

~Pray for Will please: he is Head PF this week, so it should be pretty intense.

~I am going to have to take off my ring soon, I took off my big engagement ring earlier this summer, just because I felt a little in your face American with it on, but now my fat fingers do not like even the band…maybe after I leave Mexico they will go back down.

~Yay God---William feels like God has totally answered his prayer as far as getting him ready to go back in to ministry. He is sad to leave Mexico and his job description/ministry here, but at the same time, he is pumped about getting started at CrossPointe.

Final Note: This blog and the posting of this blog (it took like a thousand tries to get internet...i hate clicking on that refresh button) are dedicated to Jon.

Have a Holly Jolly Dolly

2008-07-24T16:03:00.003-04:00

I have almost completed the necessary steps toward creating an ark. The gopher would was a bit hard to find so I did the best I could. We are currently at approximately 1.5 ft. of rainwater which is great on keeping the heat low [70’s or 80’s], but not so great on driving, running, walking, or humidity. We had water coming in through the door of the house during the storm. The streets look like rivers and we make a wake as we drive. In the event that the ark doesn’t hold up… I’m currently working on a new device "Rocket Cleats” I call them. With these shoes I will be able to travel in this muggy environment without “tracking in” or turning my car into a pig pen.

Blueprints to follow, but the copyrights mine!

~Will

From K.A.~

So Will can now say he has lived on a lake….a big lake, bigger than Beaver Run. He can say that his wife, himself, and his two dogs lived on a lake; or should I say lived in a lake.

Ellis can now say he survived a hurricane in Mexico.

I can now say I was pregnant in Mexico during hurricane Dolly.

Her name is cute, but take it from me, she wasn’t pretty at all. Will and I spent most of the day in the closet and came out for breakfast and dinner. One hard part about the storm was that I was in charge of 40 or so participates. The youth leaders looked to me for guidance and on how bad it actually was going to be. It was hard to lead and to not know. I was worried for myself and Ellis, but also needed to give the groups attention. The other PFs and I met together and came up with an indoor schedule for everyone yesterday. We had a talent show, a movie (thanks Harrison’s-we used Facing the Giants), prayer time, etc. Will drove our car to the states, because we do not have coverage in Mexico. We should hear how his car is soon (say a prayer). We ended up parking a big school bus in front of the dining hall to block the wind from hitting the doors and windows. It lasted from about five in the morning to at least until Will and I went to bed, which was about 1:00/1:30 am. So it was a long day.

Today we woke up to a lot of what we expected, maybe worse. Still no power (cold showers/muggy fill to the house/dark/etc.), on the way to our staff meeting, we got stuck in our own driveway. It looks like a lake, just one big lake. Our house had a little flooding, but all day yesterday, all night, and most of the morning today Will has continually been sweeping it out….so it is drying up now and we have the windows cracked. Our groups today are cleaning up the property (replacing doors, nailing back down roofs, putting things back where they go, cutting up fallen trees, etc.) They are also helping local people in our ejido….sadly they are in bad shape….we can’t help a lot because the water level is still too high…there is no where is sweep the water and we can’t stand back up houses or outhouses because it is still too wet….so we are doing what we can. Will is sorta on the brink of going nuts…..he lives with three girls…one is pregnant, who started the day by slipping and almost falling to the ground, one is on her period and is not being bashful about it, and the other (Rei) is sick….so he has his hands full! We might need to take Rei to the doctor tomorrow. One more interesting thing, the water that is surrounding our house is not guaranteed poop free. When it rains this much the septic tank overflows and mixes with the rain water.....this makes it challenging for a pregnant lady!

Pray for us please….it is almost Friday…we can have a short break and then another group!

A Target On My Head

2008-07-22T01:16:00.000-04:00

Had a great weekend---Friday night instead of going to a karaoke place we went and saw the new Batman movie. Which if you know Will and I, we love going to the movies….so needles to say…it was super. Saturday, basic Saturday….we did airport runs and crossed people over all day. I did go to Starbucks to hang out for 30 minutes, which was fun and American and I drank a chocolate drink:) Sunday, Will and I both went to market with our group and actually shopped since we realized our market time was ending. So that was fun to be touristy. The church service was amazing and God was present. We love our new pastor and enjoy working along side him each week.

Monday---Awesome day! We started by leading the Concert of Prayer, Will taught and I did a prayer activity. Later on, I did living water (my favorite thing to do these days). I talked with a Muslim man from India, who spoke Spanish and has probably read more of the bible than I have. He was well read and knew a lot about religion, so I helped my group go more of a testimony route in the conversation, than a “no Jesus is the true Son of God, not Muhammad”. Also three people got saved, which is funny…this is why: When I was reviewing with my group things about Living Water, I jokingly and sarcastically said, oh and last time I was here 1 person got saved, no pressure….they jokingly replied….oh yeah well our groups the best group ever so we’re gonna save 3 people …..they did…well God did:) Cool Stuff! VBS was good, but please pray more people show up, our numbers dropped from 40 last week, to 15 this week.

So yeah, a bird pooped on my head today….you would be proud I responded in a very non-debutante way and a very mission trip leader way. I just calmly asked a girl to pour some water on my head. The weird thing was that at my earliest break I came home and got a shower, but then on the way home…in the car…I felt a very powerful sting, I reached up and smack my head….I killed a mosquito and then pulled it’s nasty/bloody dead body out of my hair….needless to say I had Will rinse my hair again when I got home.

Praise God: Will got to feel Ellis today, we were in the middle of our staff meeting and I just knew Will could probably feel it on the outside, so I put his hand on my belly and then he got to feel him move twice….I have wanted that for him for a while now, and he has really wanted to also….so it was a joyous occasion!

Thanks K.A.-----keep praying, God is in no way wrapping things up for us!

A Note from Will –

I cannot begin to tell you what a blessing our notes and packages are. I have never felt more encouraged in my life. I have been reading a lot of Paul’s letters it seems and in them he describes the way his church (family, loved ones) is treating him. 2 Corinthians 9 mainly. They refused to take care of him, refused to support or even recognize his ministry and yet he kept going. He sacrificed all that a few, even one would come to know the Lord. What a blessing it is to be in the exact opposite position. Family, friends, our church, and other loved ones have supported us more than we could ever have hoped for or imagined. And you may not realize how paramount your support is…it is crucial to the ministry here. You are indeed co-ministers to the participants from all over the country and especially the people of Matamoros. Thank you for being the Church of God living and active amidst a culture of complacency.

Vera, no longer just a girl

2008-07-18T12:14:00.003-04:00

Review from the week:

Tuesday: I did living water and met two very cool guys, the first Will wrote about in the blog called “Javier Loves Jesus”. The second, was another man who I sat next to for a while and had a good convo. He spoke some English and I spoke some Spanish so it was a decent convo. He was not a practicing Christian, so I was able to give him a bible, etc.

Wednesday: One of our groups had the desire to see “extreme poverty” so we as a staff worked it out to take them to some houses by the dump. If you came to Mexico last year, you know how it was “hell on earth” probably comes to mind. So I went with a group of about 35 folks to the dump. I sent them off to do living water, home visits, sports evangelism, and prayer walking. I decided to just stay on the bus…for several reasons really: 1. You can not lock a bus (poverty has a correlation with robbery), 2. The closer you get to the dump the more flies and the stronger the toxic waste smell, both of which I didn’t think were the ideal environment for a pregnant lady to be in (on the bus was bad, but I knew walking through it would be worse), 3. I am trying harder to take it easy these days (Will is stressing about my health, and I promised him I would be fine, so I didn’t want to push it)…..Anyways, so I sat on the bus for an hour and half….but I was not alone. I couldn’t sleep…it was too dangerous and the flies were too bad….so I was just sitting there. About five minutes in a little girl appeared and she wanted to talk. About two minutes later her older brother appeared. It was so unique, three people….a 23 year old English speaking American, an 8 year old girl who lived in a dump in Mexico, and her 12 year old brother who also lived in a dump. God blessed me with an amazing time. We struggled through conversations and we sang and we had a big English/Spanish lesson. I gave the girl, Alma, a necklace and the boy a bracelet. They knew about Jesus and how he died on the cross for them, they knew he lived in heaven. We sat for a long time with my notebook and a pen….I would draw a picture and they would tell me or write for me the name of it in Spanish….then I would write it in English. They enjoyed this and we did it for a while. I wish I would have saved 1 sheet to remember the special time with those kids, but I gave them to her. There were moments when we didn’t talk, but it wasn’t awkward, just peaceful. I saw beauty come from the dump Wednesday. What broke my heart the most was when Alma described how bad it stunk in her house; she lived right on the outside of the dump. Wednesday ended with another wonderful carnival, thanks to God and Will. We went and got a bus full of kids and the bus got stuck (still muddy from the rain), but a friend named Jose Deer (John Deer) came to our rescue.

Thursday: Pretty average day….we went out and worked in the colonia. We have had a great time at our new church so far and we love the Pastor and his family. They are super folks with some amazing testimonies of God’s healing power. Did I already write that when Will talked to him the first day, he said he had never talked with an American before? How cool is that? He is very energetic and loves to preach.

Friday (today): Will had a run at 7:30 and then again at 10:30. I am here at the house now and I am about to take a group as well. I am hoping to swing by and get an American meal while out, but not so sure about that one. Tonight we are going to a karaoke restaurant here in Matamoros and then come home and prepare for next week.

Upcoming week: I am the PF and Will is the PM for a group from North Carolina and Delaware. It should be great, but still pray!

Thanks for reading, praying, and being our friends---Karan Anne

ONE LAST ANNOUNCEMENT: VERA IS OFFICIALLY A WOMAN! SHE IS HAVING SOME MILD PMS, BUT NOTHING TOO BAD:) NOW WE JUST HOPE TO KEEP HER AWAY FROM ANY CONDITIONS SIMILAR TO HER MOTHER. WE ARE NOT LOOKING TO BRING HOME THAT KIND OF SOUVENIR.

Javier Loves Jesus

2008-07-17T10:05:00.002-04:00

Recently Karan Anne ran into a very interesting man while out on a Living water ministry block. Living water is a ministry in which we give out purified water to those around us (supermarket, open air market, bus stop, etc.) and while doing so share life with them and ask if we can pray for them. While she was out she met a man named Javier. He came up to Karan Anne and began speaking to her in Spanish while pointing and gesturing toward her tummy. Finally, after trying to understand for a bit, KA took him to a translator and found out that he was speaking prophesy over our son. He would speak and then pray...speak and then pray. He basically said that he loves God and then told her that the son she is waiting to have will be a great blessing to her and that he would be in the ministry. Of course KA hadn't even told him she was having a son at the time. Pretty amazing stuff when God works in such cool ways. Oh, and he gave KA a banana and a popsicle. Thought you'd love that story. ~Will

P.S. from K.A.: We talked for a while about other stuff too, this prophesy part just happened to be right off the bat....You can pray for this....He was sad that his family did not believe in the Lord/have a relationship with Lord like he did.....I gave him some encouragement and then I prayed for him and his family. One more thing---how cute is his hat?

Manic Monday

2008-07-15T11:35:00.000-04:00

Well hello all my blog people out there. Today is Tuesday, which is kind of our half way day....so that is good. There are a lot of folks here and a lot of bugs to go with them.

Yesterday was our first big ministry day at our new church. It went pretty good, Will and I had a few kinks with translators, transportation, a dead phone, forgetting the bibles, etc....but looking at the big picture it was a pretty successful day. On our first day of VBS, 40 kids showed up, so that was cool:) The group did an awesome job at VBS, so it was a good start...in other words they were good enough to make the kids want to come back. During the first and second ministry block Will went with a living water group, it was a God led time...they handed out water to folks working out in the sun, emergency room folks, bus stop folks (even the bus drivers), and people in the colonia. I hung around the church with a spanish speaking family (I am getting better at handling conversations by myself...I can talk pretty good) the first block and when folks came back to refill on water I served as an encourager, etc. During the second block I helped guide the VBS group.

Last night Will and I went to the Wal-Mart in Matamoros and then we crossed over to the states and went to that Wal-Mart and then to Target.......looking for....bug spray...three groups wanted some really badly so we went on a hunt. Everywhere was sold out completely, except Target, and now they are in case you are wondering. On a side note, going to Target was incredible and made me want to be home real bad.....Even after living in this culture and seeing what I see on a daily basis, I still have American shopping habits, which I am not proud of....maybe God will change me....maybe I am changed, but I just still have the urge to buy a purse that I don't need....I don't know! Anyways, we got the bug spray, along with some groceries and what not and then came back for our meeting.

Praises:
1. The staff we work with are still awesome, we love them and have become a family.
2. I got new ice cream last night:) It is fat free and I like it!
3. Will bought new shoes....his others (2 pair) were literally rotting and mildew fungusy ish.
4. We have 2 and half more weeks here and then we can see everyone in Columbus. This is the longest we have ever been away.
5. Ellis is alive and moving!
6. William has had great opportunities to lead, to teach, and to be still, which has prepared him to re-enter into a ministerial type of position back home. This was a big prayer request of his.
7. The dogs are happy campers....Vera is currently black because she swims so much and rolls in the mud.
8. Our group has had further contact with Luc (the prostitute) and we are trying to work it out that she can come to our ejido for dinner and that her kids could come here all day and hang out.

2 Corinthians 4

2008-07-13T20:12:00.003-04:00

This chapter is special to me and has recently been a blessing. I wanted to share it with the blog readers because it is a pretty good description of my thinking these days. Hope it is a blessing to you!

1 Therefore, since God in his mercy has given us this new way, we never give up. 2 We reject all shameful deeds and underhanded methods. We don’t try to trick anyone or distort the word of God. We tell the truth before God, and all who are honest know this.

3 If the Good News we preach is hidden behind a veil, it is hidden only from people who are perishing. 4 Satan, who is the god of this world, has blinded the minds of those who don’t believe. They are unable to see the glorious light of the Good News. They don’t understand this message about the glory of Christ, who is the exact likeness of God.

5 You see, we don’t go around preaching about ourselves. We preach that Jesus Christ is Lord, and we ourselves are your servants for Jesus’ sake. 6 For God, who said, “Let there be light in the darkness,” has made this light shine in our hearts so we could know the glory of God that is seen in the face of Jesus Christ.

7 We now have this light shining in our hearts, but we ourselves are like fragile clay jars containing this great treasure. This makes it clear that our great power is from God, not from ourselves.

8 We are pressed on every side by troubles, but we are not crushed. We are perplexed, but not driven to despair. 9 We are hunted down, but never abandoned by God. We get knocked down, but we are not destroyed. 10 Through suffering, our bodies continue to share in the death of Jesus so that the life of Jesus may also be seen in our bodies.

11 Yes, we live under constant danger of death because we serve Jesus, so that the life of Jesus will be evident in our dying bodies. 12 So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you.

13 But we continue to preach because we have the same kind of faith the psalmist had when he said, “I believed in God, so I spoke.”14 We know that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 15 All of this is for your benefit. And as God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.

16 That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 17 For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!

18 So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

Today, Sunday, was great. We went to our new church with our huge group. Will took them to the market this morning and then to church. I left at noon with the food. The church service was great....very passionate and it included the pastor's testimony....on a side not anyone who dare comment on the tempature of the sancuary (or auditorium for all the CrossPointe folks) should come to Mexico for one church service....that'll shut you up:) Will had a very good conversation with the pastor and he was greatly blessed by his story. The pastor told Will that he had never had a conversation with an American before, that tripped Will out ofcourse...me too.....it is weird to think we are representing America to this man, his family and his church....but we will try to do our best! We came back and trained them on the upcoming week, ate dinner, and now Will is leading them in an additional training.....then we will have a staff meeting and be done for the day. Will wants to watch a boot leg copy of Iron Man later on tonight so he is looking forward to that.

If you are the praying type: Please pray for the masquitoes to die, I can't describe how bad they are here at the Gateway....just to try to paint the picture...we sleep with a fan on full blast, not because we are hot, but because we feel like they will not land on us, when we step outside of our house...we step in to hundreds of them.....it is like a cartoon they are swarming all around us...they are fat and slow, so they are easier to kill, but gross because blood goes everywhere.... Do you get the picture.....So please pray, that would be great!

Highlights

2008-07-12T12:15:00.003-04:00

So here are some highlights from last week:

~We got really good mail, getting comments on the blog is very exciting and getting emails is too. We also adore opening up the envelope from our friends each week and reading a kind or funny note from all of them....but the good ol' fashion snail mail was a sweet and unexpected blessing this week. We got banana bread, we got baby clothes, we got cute letters from all of our favorite girls,etc. It was a fun blessing to receive:)

~I shaved my legs with new shaving cream from the Hawks.....the little things go a long way here.

~We ate at Olive Garden yesterday, then our boss cooked a yummy dinner for the staff last night (Will and I taught them the elephant game and we played that for a while--fun), and this morning (Sat.) we met at 8:30 and had a nice time of prayer and then he cooked for us again......sadly food is really important to me. I'll blame it on the pregnancy while I can!

~Will found a new video game that he really likes and had time to play it last night and maybe some more time today.

~I felt Ellis move everyday:)

~We got a great report at the doctor's office and God answered our prayers and let us know the sex of our baby.

~We got rain....maybe too much of it, but it was good.

Some rather interesting things from this past week:

~I have come to the conclusion that Rei and Mexico make a rather unique pair.....Things like...Rei has way more eye buggers here.

~A couple of nights ago Will and I were leaving to go do something and Will shouted from outside "Karan Anne do not come outside!" There was a snake right in front of our door....It got away though....yikes!

~The water that has made a small pond in our front yard and in the soccer field has smelled horrible....then we found out that it is probably because some of the sewage is mixed in with it......gross huh?

~Our group was from Ohio, they were interesting and fascinating....I learned that in Ohio they take off their shoes in their house, or they bring slippers to friend's houses to wear inside. They also don't have bag boys at grocery stores. One lady raised alpacas for a living and had a stuffed cat:). She was fun to talk to and learn from. Needless to say the part of me that loves to meet new people and learn about their lives is being satisfied:)

~Sleeping for me is becoming more and more not fun....I get "charlie horses", I dream way more, I toss and turn, and of course I get up and go to the bathroom a lot. Jan Gaines (who is incredible at being pregnant) gave me pillow advice, so that has helped, but man.....my sleep qualifies for me to talk about under interesting things this week.

~I have gained 10 pounds....yikes!

~Will and I can now drive a 15 passenger van like it is nothing...parking it....driving it through huge mud puddles or lakes in the middle of a road: no problem. It trips me out that I drive that size van every week.

~Last but defiantly not least.....The Mosquitoes Are Here!!! I mean big time.....in full force....we are slapping ourselves left and right....I am about to bath in bug spray on a daily basis....it is going to be a bite filled week.....fun fun:)

Love you all....sorry for the way long blog...Karan Anne

The Wait is Over

2008-07-11T16:59:00.006-04:00

It's...
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A
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Boy!

Meet William Ellison Hawk

Little Ellis:)

Well, we have a lot to be thankful for! We have had an amazing week full of blessings, a great group, great Mexican friends, lots of ministry, awesome surprises came in the mail, and now the best blessing: a great check-up! Ellis is happy and a little feisty. He was wrestling with the ultrasound technician as she attempted to take his pictures. He did however give us quite a "money shot". Needless to say we are EXTREMELY excited. I (Will) could barely eat before hand. Ellis is truly an answer to so many prayers. KA is also very excited even though she may have her hands more full with a mini-Will rather than a mini-KA. God is so good!

We Love You All,
Will & KA

I Can See Clearly Now The Rain Has Gone

2008-07-09T20:04:00.002-04:00

Not really clear though, because it is now insanely hot!

Today (Wednesday) has been good. It is our normal day to stay in the ejido and help it out, so we once again worked here today. It was good though, this group has had the opportunity to work on The Gateway and that is helping future missionaries, so who can say that is a waste.

During the first ministry block, I took it easy and I just sent out groups to work. All the girls in my group were painting a school across the street, and I didn't want my baby to get high off of paint....so I just went to the office and added up receipts for Katherine (my boss....she does all the budgeting,etc.). Then in second block my group and I went to an ejido down the street (the roads were shady, but I'm a hardcore driver-Mexico style). We did prayer walking, living water, and home visits. It was good stuff.

Yesterday I found out my group gave out water to prostitutes while we were at the laundry mat....I was wondering why they were so scantly clad. The cool thing about that is that some of the staff members, not me...don't worry dad...have started to go down to the "red light district" to minister to prostitutes....they met one lady in particular that we have all been praying for...they pay for her time and take her out to eat...her name is Luc....she is a mother of 4 and moved to Matamoros to make more money----but anyway the group went back last night and she said she was given some water by some Americans earlier that day....it was fun to discover that we had blessed her without even knowing it....I had no idea I had stumbled in to the red light district when I was looking for a laundry mat to wash all of our kitchen laundry. Interesting and crazy at the same time.

Will once again worked on the carnival...which was good, not a lot of kids because of the rain....we can not travel on the roads because of the possibility that we would get stuck...we normally go pick up vans full of kids.

Life is good.....and hot, very hot!

Karan Anne

P.S.- The scorpion count is at 8 now.

Pray For:
~Next Week:we have a huge group, this week we have 50 total participates (I am in charge of 16), next week we have close to 300 (Will is in charge of 57)....So Pray!
~Luc, the prostitute, she has 4 small children and works two different shifts downtown.....she was grateful that our group did not "pound the Bible" on her, and just loved her.....pray for her and for our group to have more opportunities to share love.
~Me, it is hot and I am trying to take it easy,but life is so busy here.
~Selfishly....I really want to find out the sex of the baby Friday.....if you don't mind pray for the appointment, that all is well, and that our baby would not be modest.

Rain Rain On My Face...

2008-07-08T09:51:00.003-04:00

Hasn't Stopped Raining For Days!

Oh my word....the rain has been incredible. Matamoros needed rain so badly, but the city can not handle it at all. Sorry that we have not blogged for a while, the Internet has been horrible....I'm thinking because everything is flooded. It has rained non stop for about three days now. We went out to our colonia on Sunday, but did not feel it was safe for yesterday nor today. So we as leaders have had to come up with a Plan B. The responsibility of entertaining a group of missionaries in a third world country has been interesting. For example, today groups are building bunk beds (for our large group next week), going to the laundry mat (to wash laundry for the staff and all the kitchen laundry...because we line dry stuff here), we are painting and patching some inside stuff, etc. It has been hard to come up with jobs, but at the same time very exciting for me, because I am pretty good at thinking creatively and organizing large groups of people (thanks Teen Advisors). I am a PF (Project Facilitator) this week, so it has been fun to lead people during such a crazy week.....Praise God, for equipping me with Plan B thinking.

Despite all the rain, life is still wonderful here....as far as working for the Lord, and getting to lead people in mission work. I will admit that with all this rain it has had Will and I wishing we were in Columbus, cuddling in our bed or going to see a movie (we miss movies the most...or at least the time and energy to watch them). Will even threw out eating at Jason's Deli before we went and saw an afternoon movie....and that is when I had to cut him off...and say I am thankful I am here...I am thankful I am here.

Sunday's church service went well and we had a great time fellowshiping with the church members. We have a nice group this week and they said in a meeting they like me....so that is nice. Today is Will's day off, so he is still sleeping and I am about to take him breakfast in bed...it might be wet from rain, but I think he will still enjoy it.

Thanks for reading, commenting, and praying....Karan Anne

P.S.- We are up to 7 scorpions and one stung Vera...she is ok! Also, y'all are not going to believe this, but our new camera stopped working yesterday...what is God trying to show me?!?

Reason’s Why Pastor Salvador Is So Cool

2008-07-06T01:04:00.001-04:00

The pastor we worked with last week, was amazing….I thought I would take some time to share why.

He spoke English, which was refreshing and helpful. He used to live in Georgia, but the Lord told him to go back to Mexico. He has been asked to translate for other pastors and missionaries before, and that has brought some really cool opportunities his way. When the Lord told him to come to Mexico, it meant giving up American life…where we have nice things…he had a car, running (drinkable) water, his children were getting a good education…….but because the Lord told him….he followed….on a side note the Lord had to step in when it came to getting his wife to come back to Mexico….we wives can be stubborn and really get in the way of the Lord’s work, if we are not careful. Anyways back to why he is cool: He has met President George Bush, yes that’s right….he spoke at the Mexican prayer breakfast two days after 9/11. He also got asked to be a part of this huge prayer convention thing…..he went in 2002….but the next year when they asked him…he declined, because the Lord told him not to go….stay in Mexico…..that meant giving up a lot…. $5,000….a chance to hang out with people like Billy Graham, a stay in America, etc. I got the chance to take Pastor Salvador to the Soriana (like a Super Wal-Mart) to pick up some caulk stuff to patch up leaks in the church roof. I told him that I had twenty dollars and that I would like to bless him with it, so he could buy a treat or something for his wife or himself. He asked if I meant groceries or what….I told him it could be peanut butter or shoes or anything he wanted---it was his $20.00. He bought necessity items…things to survive. In the middle of the meat department he stopped me and had a heart to heart conversation. He told me that a few days before Will and I came, his wife was starting to get really upset and lose trust in the Lord. He told me that some people do not have food because they are too lazy to cook, but that his wife and himself had only water in the fridge (literally)….he told his wife to trust in the Lord and that the Lord promises to provide for his people. He was about to go out of town for a few days to translate, there he would have 3 meals a day and a place to stay, etc. So his wife was basically upset that he was going and leaving her with no money and no food and he was going to have food, etc. I am trying to be brief! He told her again that the Lord would provide and he asked her to please not make him feel guilty about going to translate for the revival. Well anyway the happy part is, that day we brought with us $300.00 for construction on the church, he got paid $200.00 for translating later that day (so he left that money with his wife and they went and bought groceries), and then the offering the Sunday that we were there came to about $160.00 (we had a very generous group), and then he told me, “and now you are here giving us more grocery money”. He said, “The Lord does provide; more than we could ask!”….he said he had enough to pay his bills and eat.

There are many more things I could mention about him; those are literally just a few reasons out of a lot of reasons why he is so cool!

Thanks for reading , Karan Anne

God Bless America

2008-07-05T23:26:00.003-04:00

Sorry we have not written in a while. The Internet/power is less than perfect here in good ol' Mexico.

So anyways, a little behind....but In honor of the 4th of July...we wanted to write why we love America so much.

After living out of the country for a while here is our list:
1. English:)
2. Reliable power.
3. Fast Internet.
4. You can flush the toilet paper!
5. The roads are better.
6. We don't usually break out in a riot when our presidential elections take place.
7. The water is way better....you can drink right from the faucet.
8. Air conditioning is a regular.
9. We have governmental help...I know it is far from perfect....but our government offers systems that help people that need help.
10. Restaurant regulations.

Etc. Etc. Etc.----America really is a fortunate country! We are truly blessed to be born in America.

I'll write again soon, well I can't promise that (read the list above).

4th of July Frog

2008-07-05T01:41:00.003-04:00

Nothing super patriotic...unless the framers of our constitution enjoyed a nice plate of frog legs. Err toad legs.

Turn up the sound when playing the video and you can hear him "chirp".

God Is Good

2008-07-03T09:10:00.002-04:00

Why God Is Good:
1. Wednesday went so well.
2. The carnival was really a success, Americans did great leading all the games and the Mexicans loved all the activities. Most of all the leader of it all---Mr. Will Hawk---did an amazing job. All those years at St. Stephens paid off in Mexico.
3. We met a really nice family yesterady during living water....I gave them a ride back to our ejido and they hung out, enjoyed the carnival, ate dinner with us, and loved the service afterwards.
4. That family really impacted the Americans, it is great to see life change.....we took them home at the end of the night and on the way back all of us had a great time of prayer for the family. Some of them cried and talked to the Lord in a very real way....some of them were strangers, but they all loved this family so it was really special because they were bonded over this family who had so much joy, but had sooo little .
5. It rained and it is raining right now (Thursday morning).
6. Will bought me some pillows at the Soriana (it is like a Wal-Mart) and I slept a little better last night.
7. Despite being tired, a little sick, pregnant and uncomfortable...I love it here.......I am greedy....I get to do so much work for God in a direct in your face kind of way and it is awesome....I depend on Him to get me through each moment of the day and push through hard times........It is an amazing life.
8. This little boy saw me flipping a box of uno cards in my hands yesterday and he came up to me and started saying something....I ask a participate to help me translate and it turns out he wanted to play uno. I asked the participate if he wanted to play with him, he said yes and so they played cards together for a long time....at the end of the night the American came up to me and said he had a lot of fun, I could tell he had had a moment with the boy---it was nice to do my job.

Prayer Request for the family above:
Fernando (dad) has back trouble and makes charcoal for a living (provide wood for coal).
Anna (mom) has kidney stones.
Daughter (around 2 yrs. old) can not sleep at night, they believe she has demons and it is very stressful on the family.
Anna has a garden (three buckets) she grows food, but also some flowers....it brings them a lot of joy (continued success in gardening).

My Life Has Meaning Again

2008-07-02T00:28:00.003-04:00

Today was a great day! I went out on the sites and it felt great to be "doing" something with my life. Yes resting was extremely important, but today I felt like I had more of a purpose.

I LOVE the colonia we are working in this week. Pastor Salvador is a great man and he is really cool to work a long side with. He is so thankful to be fixing up his church. Will got to use his skills today (no not num-chuck skills) his electrical skills....he wired the church and put power to the two fans he got permission to buy and mount.....he also added an outlet for some speakers at the front. The other men poured concrete all day and finished the floor. When the pastor's wife peeked in to see the progress, she started crying. I went on Home Visits with a group today....it was cloudy so it was not too hot for me to be walking around....we had a awesome time and met some awesome people...I french-braided a little girls hair.

During VBS, the group did not need much guidance...they are a really cool group....I just hung out with the pastor's family....I got to hold a 21 day old baby.....so cute! Picture Below! I tried not to breath on him the whole time....my mom's voice was in my head.....germs! I would feel horrible if I got that baby sick. Another sweet/humbling part of my day...Pastor Salvador bought all the men Cokes and Joyas and he bought me a pack of M&Ms........looking at his house, his clothes, his church....he does not need to be buying me anything....I need to be buying him everything, but he choose to be a blessing with the little that he has. It is a good lesson in giving....give what you can, no matter how small it seems!

Got to sleep....Wednesdays are always very draining!

Pray For:
1-Will has put a lot of personal effort in to making our carnival much better than it has been, tomorrow is the first big day where it is hopefully all going to come together....pray that God blesses Will's efforts to "do something well if you are going to do it".
2-I am still not 100%...Praise God for progress though
3-The baby---duh:)

P.S.- Speaking of the baby...I felt him move some today, one special time was when we were singing "Jesus Loves Me" in espanol at VBS....awesome!

All Better, Or Should I Say On My Way

2008-07-01T00:52:00.003-04:00

My Morning Pills---Yes It's Ok To Cry

Just wanted everyone to know that I am feeling better, Dr. William Richard Hawk let me go out and play tonight....A.K.A. eat dinner with everyone and attend the staff meeting. It was nice to see everyone's faces and get some fresh Mexican air. I am planning on participating tomorrow , but on a very low level....I am recognizing that I need to act less hard core and more pregnant ladyish.
Thanks for the prayers....don't stop quite yet:)

Crrepy Crawly News Bulletin

2008-07-01T00:32:00.003-04:00

Weighing in at a approx. a half dozen scorpions, sporting the stylish fashions of the gecko, and releasing a flurry of innumerable winged bugs our casa proves to be one of the most ominous niches of mankind.

NEWS ALERT!

A super-scary millipede was sighted crawling through the lavatory following a quick shower. (pictured below) KA in brave response ushered a cry for help from an adjacent quarter. Upon hearing the distress cry our hero entered. Flashing photos and then removing the creature from the premises ultimately saving all those in peril. No creatures were harmed in the telling of this story. However prior to the telling of this story "said bug" had an unexpected encounter and perished do to blunt force trauma. The trauma was caused by an unknown assailant.

My right flip-flop is nicknamed, "unknown assailant"

May peace be upon you all.

So You Can SEE

2008-06-30T14:58:00.005-04:00

This is the Inside of the Church We Are Working With This Week: Pastor Salvador'sThe Outside of the Church

This is the Bapitism Will Mentioned It was extremly sweet!

Karan Anne Leading A Group in Prayer Walking/Home Visits....I thought you guys would like this one because it shows my tummy...please look how annoyingly bright our staff shirts are...we have a different shirt everyday.

Karan Anne and A Mexican Clown....this is his ministry...he is a member of the church we worked at last week....how cool is he? He has been a clown for as long as I have been a live. He entertains folks and then shares Jesus with them.

Blah

2008-06-28T21:53:00.003-04:00

Well today was uneventful. All I have done is stay sick....I followed the doctor's orders and only got out of bed to go to the bathroom----I had no idea I would feel bad enough to actually want to follow those directions. We called the doctor again today because I started running a low (very low---don't panic) fever and I am cramping in my belly. She didn't seem too worried, so we are trying to stay calm and wait until the morning, which we are hoping I will feel much better.

Will went to the states for a little but and bought a air conditioner for our bigger room, he is very happy about this and I am happy for him.

Our group this week had some problems with their flight and are not coming in until 10:00 on Sunday, so God provided Will with less responsibilities so he can take care of me, which is nice since I am high maintenance these days.

Right now Will is at the staff meeting and I am doing the same ol' same ol'.

Love you all and I would defiantly appreciate your prayers.

This Bed Is Going To Get Old

2008-06-27T23:19:00.002-04:00

Just wanted you sweet readers to know that we called the doctor and they said to come on in. So Will and I got ready as fast as we could and went across to go to my doctor. Turns out she thinks I might have strep throat...and whenever there is that possibility I have always been treated for it because of my heart problem.

So I am taking lots of medicine now and she ordered me to stay in bed for three days. I am in a lot of pain right now (my throat hurts and other things are bothering me---like my ears, nose, belly, sleeping with my belly,etc.), but we have prayed and I am about to eat some soup....so hopefully I will get better soon.

Love you all and thanks for the prayers!

What a week

2008-06-27T12:00:00.002-04:00

This was by far both the most rewarding and most difficult week yet! KA and I had more go on in these few days than in the others combined (or so it feels). For example…

The kids at the Colonia we worked with were extremely difficult. While some were open to the message and to our presence many were not. The spiritual depravity and the lack of love and discipline these children have been exposed to is heartbreaking. On one occasion, while leaving for the day, some of the kids tried to steal things out of our vans, then put large rocks under our tires so we couldn’t leave and while I and a participant removed the rocks we were cussed-out. Then they threw mud at the vans as we left. And yet, if you can get these kids alone and away from the negative peer pressure of their friends they are amazing and open. I taught 1 child how to spike down trees and rewarded his work with cookies; there was a complete transformation in his attitude when he realized he was valued.

KA wanted me to mention this special moment for her…Watching Will get all the kids to sit down and learn about how wonderful and valuable God’s creation is. They had been catching lizards and brutally killing them so when the caught another one we got it and taught them to praise God for all his creatures. They were instructed to bring the animals to us when they caught one and we would praise God together. They did! There were a number of times that day when a kid would catch an animal and bring it to us so we could say “Glori a Dios” together and tell them that just as God loves and values his creatures, He loves and values them too.

I took a group and tore down and burned a house. We wrapped rope around it and pulled it with a truck. AWESOME!

There was a city wide power outage in which we were included which meant no AC. Fortunately, it was only stifling outside and we slept in a sauna of our own sweat. One of our AC’s is still down.

KA is sick, and according to her the worst yet of her pregnancy. She has a very soar throat and a raspy voice. Please, Please pray for her. She is going to get to rest for about 48 hours thankfully. We’re calling the doctor as well.

I was asked to perform a baptismal service with Eliezar (a translator) for 2 girls on work crew. One of them told me that the Lord put me one her heart as the one to baptize her. It was beautiful: small pond, sunset, worship in the background.

KA is 5 months pregnant as of this past Wednesday. We can tell because her tummy is bigger , sleeping is tougher, and her belly button is almost flat. El Grosso!

We have been using fabric softener not detergent until a few days ago. It was in Spanish.

KA got to have her picture taken with a Mexican clown who came to minister to the kids at our site. It was very cool and he shared with them about Christ.

Got a camera enjoy the pictures.

Please keep us in prayer, We love you all dearly.

Will

Some Pictures For Your Viewing Pleasure

2008-06-25T16:11:00.008-04:00

What Happens When You Forget To Do The Laundry

Karan Anne Hard At Work In Her "Office"

Close Up Of The Mean Lizard Thing

Will, Jonathan, and Mean Lizard Thing

Will and Vera Cooling Off

William, Broun and A Fat Frog

2008-06-25T00:03:00.002-04:00

Dos Babies...can you tell which one is American?

VBS Goes South

2008-06-24T00:59:00.001-04:00

Why Things Are Great:

~I felt the baby move more today. It was very subtle, but felt distinctly like life inside me. It is neat and we are trying to remain calm on the outside, but really Will and I are freaking out with excitement.

~I won a sweepstakes today. A man called me and said I won $100.00 a month to the Melting Pot. I get a gift card each month for a year…..pretty sweet, especially since Will and I LOVE the Melting Pot. Side note, they do tax us on it, so Will will have to look in to it more before we accept it.

~Our camera came in today…yippy! It is being fooled with right now by William. I will hold on to this one with two hands this time. Now I can put pictures up….what do you guys want to see?

~Will and I are doing a pretty good job leading our group this week, so far so good. We like our job! Praise God! Glory a Dios!

~This is horrible, but we did get a good laugh at our staff meeting tonight, today some Mexicans ( kids from the street/the hood…please pray for them) drew male body parts on the back of their VBS craft and stuck it to the American’s backs….it was horrible in the sense that the Americans were trying to minister to those kids and they received it by doing that….but it was funny in the sense that I am used to our guy friends making light hearted immature jokes about this kind of stuff. So I included this story…not for mature people who get offended by topics like this, but for the immature folks who laugh at this topic. Sorry if you fell in to the offended category!

~Living Water at the Emergency Room went great again today---we met a family that had been living outside the Emergency Room waiting on their aunt/sister to be healed….The whole family was in a car accident and the aunt has a fractured skull and blood in her brain…..the family said it could be another month. It was shocking.

~Last night Will had a great time at church. He was honored for being a FATHER. Last week the church had a revival, so this week they celebrated Father’s Day. Will, along with all the other fathers, were called to the front of the church. Then ladies in a somewhat provocative manner danced and sung a song to them. It was so sweet and yet so Mexican. He also got a soccer ball craft pin to wear….and a piece of cake! He was so happy.

Going to sleep (Will is going to watch an episode of the Office and eat Mac and Cheese)-K.A.

P.S.- Dad will bought bottled water today

ICE Ice ICE BaBy

2008-06-22T14:54:00.002-04:00

So Friday we went to the water park here in Mexico....this was very interesting. It was fun and different. Will cooked big turkey legs for everyone on the grill and I helped grill big slices of zucchini. It was the kind of meat you get at a Renaissance Fair. Everyone enjoyed them and Will felt manly---thanks Rick for his good grill genes. After that we came home and got pretty...or at least a little better than normal===I wore a cute top and jeans and put on some eye make up:) We all went to eat at Olive Garden---really nice to get away and have ice in our cup, etc.

Saturday we slept late and cleaned house. Cleaning house here is every woman's dream....it is like one room---that's it.....I love small houses:). Saturday evening, one of our groups had some last minute problems so Will went and picked them up in Laferria, Texas. Then about an hour later another group called and said they were rejected at the boarder, so I had to go pick them up. It was a confusing little evening (I left at 6:15 and got back at 9:30) but everyone is here now.

Will is the Project Facilitator this week and I am the Project Manager. We are both excited about this and are happy our roles have stepped it up a notch.

This morning we had trainings with the new participates and then Will and other PF's took their group to the market. I am hanging back to get the food loaded on the van and then go with the other PM's to all the sites to drop off the food. Every Sunday after the service we serve the church dinner and eat with them as well.

Right now I am sitting here in my AC room enjoying a cranberry drink with ICE in my cup. I brought back ice trays from our trip back to Columbus for the wedding (I love ice, so I am super happy about this). So needless to say it has been a great couple of days.

love you all-k.a.

Hey Hey Whata Ya Say:It's Just Another Mexican Day!

2008-06-20T00:05:00.003-04:00

Things We Love:
~The staff, they are still our favorite people---we are not annoyed with them
~The participates, even the annoying middle schoolers that don't lift a finger on a MISSION trip
~Opening letters from our friends each week, this is for sure a highlight...Emily did great thing by asking folks to write us
~Will and I are leading a group next week (the youth pastor didn't want a woman to lead him...so they are sending in the manliest man they know---my husband (mi esposso)
~Our half day of tomorrow---we are going to a Mexican Water Park (prego will not be participating, don't worry....she's just there for the fellowship)
~Money-we bought a new camera last night and we should get it late next week...yay
~The fact that folks are praying for us back home
~God
~The fact that our Sister/ Sis-In-Law is in Africa serving the Lord---how neato
~My day consisted of buying $40.00 worth of pads for female prisoners....they don't have anything for that time of the month....let's just say it is a huge issue for them...so we went and bought some for them---oh and also painting Juan 3:16 (John 3:16) on a youth room wall at our church
~The breeze
~Thomi (our crazy boss...in a good way)'s adoption went through---he is adopting a son from Kenya---he expects another 8 weeks and then he will be home
~Candy---I crave a lot of it
~Brandon, Will loved getting your letter (and your letter to me was really sweet this week too---thanks)
~Wet Wipes----total lifesavers
~AND DAD THIS ONE IS FOR YOU~~~Our AC got fixed today, as well as our bathroom sink...happy birthday los hawks.....we just had to talk to the right guy...praise God for this sweet little Mexican man...who can fix things like my grandfathers can

Things We Could Live Without:
~Throwing away toilet paper instead of flushing it---this still stinks
~The heat----it is so hot (I know...your not surprised)
~The scorpion count....five and growing:)
~Vera getting muddy and really wet in the pond and then jumping in the driver's seat as well as our bed (laundry)
~Swallowing Prenatal Vitamins....que horrible

love you all---promise we do---will and ka

It Wasn't Gas This Time:)

2008-06-18T21:57:00.003-04:00

Big News--Not last night, but the night before I felt the baby move. It was 4:30 in the morning and I felt it suddenly. I woke up Will right away so we could share in the excitement.

I am 17 weeks pregnant now, yay:)! I am one week away from being five months which I can't wait for. My feet are still the size of small melons, but I am beginning to grow fond of the little chubbies. It is a reminder and an assurance that I am still pregnant....so thank you Lord for my continued fat feet.

Yesterday, I went to our regular site and worked at the church we have been working on. I did living water with a group (Juan Jose was our translator...for those of you who know him....great man) at the emergency room. One lady was in labor....I felt for her! Then in the afternoon I worked with the group doing VBS. My favorite part of that was that I got to hold a baby for like two hours. These two sisters came...one was 16 and one was 18...the 18 year old was pregnant with her 2nd child and her sister the 16 year old had the 4 months old baby that I got to hold.

Will went to a different site to help out there.

Today Will burned a patch of land and had a blast. He worked with a team of men and loved every minute of fire and manliness. He also caught a opossum and impressed several folks with his skills.

I did a ministry cleverly called watering trees....we watered the trees here. This is important because we never get rain and it is their vision to provide food for the local ejidos. So it is a big deal to keep the trees alive. Next I did living water...in which I drove down fields and fields of grain and then finally (like after 25 minutes of nothing) found a little neighborhood. We delivered cold glasses of water and it was great.

We ended today with a cook out for the community and a small service at one of the local churches. Will got to preach....that was great!

Prayer request:
Our second camera broke...it is just a little sad because so many cool things happen everyday that I want to remember....when we were walking back tonight our neighbor came out and showed us a snake she killed....it was long...a translator was near by so we asked questions.

Will and I have been arguing for the past few days...just to be honest...it is something we don't have the time or energy to deal with. We agree that Satan is out to get us, because duh....look at our marriage...we are in Mexico ministering in the greatest capacity we have ever done before...we are expecting our first child, etc. So it would be nice if you lifted that up....we want to be better, but it is hard (like in all marriages). Thanks for letting me be real with you (whoever happens to read).

Pray for a little girl named Hannah...she has had a fever of a 100 degrees the past few days....her family lives here year round and they are full time missionaries....they are a super cool family....they took her to the hospital today and the doctor predicts she will have to get her tonsils taken out. He said that in Spanish, Hannah who is getting better at speaking Spanish immediately started to cry....so she is nervous about that and getting operated on is not in a missionaries budget...so pray for her and her sweet family.

Peace---William and Karan Anne

can't wait to sleep:)

Casa Sweet Casa

2008-06-17T00:16:00.002-04:00

HOLA Friends and Family!

We are back and we are so thankful to be back….yes it was hard to turn off my American shower Sunday morning, and yes it was hard to leave my sweet dad and Robin standing firmly in the airport until we were out of site….BUT IT IS TOO AMAZING NOT TO COME BACK.

Today’s highlights….lets see…sadly the first thing that came to my mind was the fact that I had a big portion of brownies at tonight’s dinner…..I probably had the best meal since I got here tonight…yum yum---corn, mashed potatoes, chicken and gravy…and brownies. It was nice to fill my belly and fill it with something that was familiar (not like Rick and Judy, but I’ll take it).

The ministry was awesome today…I did prayer walking first with a great group from blank (I can’t remember---it took 14 hours to drive here for them) and then I got to do Vacation Bible School….which I am starting to fall in love with the kids and even though I can not speak their language…love really is universal. William started with doing home visits and a man came to know the Lord. The second ministry block had no group scheduled for construction…but the first ministry block had left the job unfinished----not on purpose, they just had a big job to do. So in efforts not to leave a big hole on the side of their house, Will and Logan (the construction coordinator) finished it up. Will loves fixing things, so this was really fun for him to do.

In all five people came to know the Lord today---this is not our goal, but if the Lord leads us to pray with someone we do---our goal is simply to love and share life. Many people we talk to are fellow believers, so we learn from them…..Americans are normally shocked to see the joy the Mexicans have.

We are so grateful to have people praying for us back home…..it wouldn’t kill me if no one read this blog, but it is super exciting to know people are reading it….It is also like getting a sweet letter in the mail to read the comments from past blogs….so once again thank you tons.

Yes, yes I know I said slits instead of stilts….you can make fun of me….I will go to sleep confidently knowing I teach the gifted…just kidding….I can not spell under normal circumstances….so I am not surprised to know I am making mistakes…late at night…pregnant…in Mexico.

For the dog lovers: Rei and Vera did great while we were away....Vera gets a bath from the staff here all the time....it they keep it up I might not leave...Rei has a limp so we are not sure what we are going to do about that...waiting it out.

Sorry my blogs are long!

PS- The scorpion count is up to 4! Big Girl Panties are a must have!

It's never "Just another Day"

2008-06-12T00:23:00.003-04:00

Today we stayed in the local community rather than going into inner Matamoros. This was a great experiment as AIM has never sought to build relationships with those, "right in their own backyard". Well the short of it is ministry works... BIG SURPRISE! Actually it does blow me away how simple it is here. There are needs to be met and we try to meet those needs above our own desires. While simple the thought is completely revolutionary.

I'll give some particulars before I get to ideological...

> KA ministered to a woman who had been stabbed 7 times by an angry ex-husband. She came to dinner here tonight.

> I got a group stuck in atono (actual word) mud. Worked out as we simply sat in a field and sang praises and prayed until we got pulled out. Imagine that not a single complaint just praise.

> I'm going to be "re-working" the worship stage setup with Ben (another Project Leader). It was driving us both crazy. I'm also looking to learn arc welding within the month.

> Ka was given hugs and kisses and was sung a song by a cute 4 year old. Upon hearing about this I popped him right in the mouth. That'll teach em'. Nah, actually she fell in love with this little guy.

> We had a high schooler who was skipping school accept Christ today!

Pray for...
> The little boy's (mentioned above) grandmother she went blind.
> Pray for us as we get ready for our flight.

K guys that's about it. Ryne & Laura I'm praying for you and looking forward to the wedding. We love you all.

Will

No News Is Good News...Sorta!

2008-06-11T00:00:00.003-04:00

This will have to be short, because I am exhausted! On Monday Will and I went for our doctor's visit and everything was pretty good. I had a lot of questions because of my new life style and she was so nice to answer and discuss everything. She, by the way, did not think it was horrible that my feet constantly look like balloons (globos in Spanish---I'm Learning!), she just gave me advice. So now every time I sit down I try to put my feet up and of course I drink a ton of water. Two big things happened: 1)It took a long time to find the baby's heartbeat....a scary long time...several minutes....we were all getting really nervous and Will and I just stared at each other like ok, what now. She did eventually find the heartbeat and it was great....150 to be exact (anything between 120 and 180 is good). 2) We did NOT find out the sex of the baby....we were so upset but after finding the heartbeat and knowing that the baby was ok, we felt a little more forgiving. The doctor said at her practice she likes to make accurate calls on the sex of the baby, not guesses. I would have gladly taken a guess, but I didn't want to argue...she has my baby's life in her hands. So we were bummed and everyone here at the Gateway was too, but what can you do...life goes on.

Other than that, we are working hard....busy busy busy! A lady got saved today at the colonia. She was a sweet lady who had a lot of anger towards her children. She lost her temper with them often and one time even threw a rock at one of them and hurt his head. She was repentant of that and wanted to accept Jesus as her personal savior. Another cool part of that story is that the lady who prayed with her had been praying that she would get to lead an adult to salvation one day for ten years...she works a lot with children and not adults.

Some random Mexico things:
1-Will killed the biggest roach he has ever seen tonight...in our house....those of you who remotely know me know that working for the Lord just got a lot harder....no joke...I teared up when he told me about it.
2- We saw a man in slits with a full spider man costume on at a light trying to earn money by juggling...oh and his pregnant wife who was also doing tricks in a full costume as well(she was not on slits though).
3-Rei tried to kill some of Nina 's (our neighbor) livelihood aka a chicken, but she just made it bald in one spot.
4- Vera goes swimming everyday now to cool off and we hear she is no longer a virgin....but don't expect puppies (her boy toy is fixed).
5-We are starting to drive a little less freak-out-ish and learn our way around Matamoros.
6-I have bruises on both arms from where the mean nurse thought she was good at taking blood. I told her I was a hard stick, but she just laughed and said she could do it----she was horrible...I have never had that bad of an experience.
7-The church we work at has pit bulls (and of course puppies) to guard it (told you it was nice...well nice for the poor)
8-I talked with a man named Jose for a long time today---he was 43 and loved to joke---he wanted to talk politics with me (he didn't agree with Bush)---he also wanted to teach me about baseball and how Mexican men love women....he joked and said he would take an American too. He also asked if I would help him get papers to cross the boarder:). I said I have no idea how to do that and why does he want to cross...he said porque (why) don't you know how......we joked! He had a relationship with the Lord, but thought the church was full of hypocrites....I told him he is right...we all are guilty!:) He was fun, pray he will come to church again....we give them a free meal on Sunday, so that attracts a lot of new church goers.
9-In the Wal-Mart here they tag your bags before you can shop.
10-There was another scorpion in our house, this time he was really close to me in the shower when discovered him...Will just killed it and I got out and put on my big girl panties.

Flying out on Friday to be a part of wedding bliss---be back on Sunday:)

p.s. the baby is 16 weeks now:)

Saturday: Yay for today!

2008-06-07T14:41:00.002-04:00

I have a lot to be thankful for as I write this:
~It has rained some today, and although it is horrible for the laundry I finally did (all clothes are line dried here) and it is bad because around 100 people are arriving today, and it is never fun to unload and load vans wet---it is great for the plants here at the Gateway.
~Folks are arriving today...yay....we get to start doing what we came to do. Right now will is on an airport run to pick up a couple of groups, he has to go back later again today.
~I have a long break today (from like 1-7:00). It is wonderful to have free time, I can not wait to nap.
~I am eating sour patch kids right now:)
~In two days we might get to find out the sex of the baby!
~ We are constantly surrounded by a wonderful group of staff, getting devotionals, having worship times...it is nice to live in a Christ filled environment.

Other news:
~Will is no longer leading the first week, we have a doctor's appt. on Monday and fly out early Friday, he also finally decided to put his foot down and ask to be with me on the project sites...he feels more comfortable with me and baby right by his side. All staff rotate the jobs of Project Manager, Project Facilitator, and Support Staff...so for the next two weeks Will and I are just support staff...there is less pressure when you do not have to run the projects.
~There was a scorpion in our room the other night...wow!
~The showers are a little better.
~I dropped our new camera and it is broken...yep no pictures can be taken or seen....I am not sure what we are going to do yet, but it is super sad.
~Still no bathroom sink or AC in the living area....not complaining just updating:).

Yesterday (just in case you want to know):
~We went on a scavenger hunt around Matamoros....this was to help us become more familiar with the town. It was fun...my team lost and Will's team won!
~We went to South Padre Island...and hung out on the beach...it was fun but it was a long day, we grilled out and got back around 10:30 or 11:00.

Love everyone....keep praying please...we miss you...and if you are reading this...you are really cool...sorry they are so long...hopefully they will get shorter.

*If you leave a comment, it might work best if you say that it is anonymous, and just write your name somewhere on the actual comment.

Still feeling adventurous?

2008-06-05T18:13:00.003-04:00

A lot has been going on at El Portal...the Gateway....the AIM Mexico base where we are staying and working. Yesterday all of the summer staff had to practice driving the vans and driving in Mexico. Things are definitely different in Me-he-co. Will and I both did ok with the whole driving thing....you have to use extreme caution on the main roads and go very slowly in the colonias ( a colonia is like a large neighborhood/community....we will be working in 10 different churches this summer all part of a colonia). You also pass very weirdly in Mexico and that was interesting while I was driving yesterday. Also you if you get in a wreck you go to jail....scary!

We got to visit the three colonia's yesterday....they are really cool and the pastors we will be ministering to are awesome....the team really enjoyed getting out and actually being amongst the people of Mexico. At one church (Will's church and KA's church for now) we are building some bathrooms for them....pretty cool.....at another church we are moving the entire church building to the end of the street on a larger property....and at the last church we are going to start construction stuff in the colonia...the first on the agenda....fixing up a man's house who picks up scrap metal for a living....he said he had the choice to work on his house or fill his belly and he has been choosing to fill his belly....so we are going to help him. Things are awesome basically.

Last night Will and I crossed over and went to Wal-Mart to buy some things for the casa and what not. We bought things like pop ice, late night snacks, thing to hold your toilet paper, etc.

Today we have been continuing our trainings and team building stuff. It has been wonderful....even though Will and I are both rather sleepy today because of our trip to Wal-Mart last night.

Updates:
1. Feet still swollen, although putting them up and laying down during breaks has helped a lot.
2. Sink still not fixed, in fact our bathroom smells really bad....like hold your breath grab something and come out kind of bad.
3. We are trying to solve the hot water rotten egg smell, by running it for periods of 15 minutes to try to help with the sulfur in the pipes....so far, as you can tell by #2 it is only making things worse....but we have hope:)
4. AC not fixed, but our bedroom is nice and cool--so that is great!
5. Dogs destroyed the quilt Will made me and put my ring in to when he proposed....very sad!

Prayer Request:
1. Pray for translators...we are having trouble getting all we need
2. Pray for Will...he is going first on leading the whole project.
3. Pray for me....shower time makes me want to cry and whine....last night I sang praise songs to the Lord the whole time and it made it a little better.
4. Our sink gets fixed.
5. That we would be amazing and faithful servants of God and remember our responsibilities (there are sooooo many).

Praises:
1. Groceries....Wal-Mart can make Will and I happy in any country.
2. We LOVE the people we work with.
3. It has been shady and breezy today.
4. Will was struggling with me being on a team that is in a different colonia than him and finally he just told our boss.....I want to be with her....it is at least a closure to a prayer request earlier this week.
5. Dogs love it here, although they are hot as a moe.

Day 2 - The night of the fat foot

2008-06-04T00:16:00.004-04:00

Well children gather round for a story told only once each century. Few have heard this tale for few can stomach it. It was a hot day...perhaps too hot. While children played games upon a field and others spoke of the days of old...a terror lurked. None could be prepared for its sudden yet obvious appearance. In an almost ominous way it lured children and adults alike to its presence and without warning caused the sickening of stomachs and the vile viciousness of very vindictive vomit. It was...the bloated foot of the pregnant missionary. Few could escape its grasp.

There are only 12 of us left now...we hope this terror will rest for the night though there will be none for us...we fear as should you for our LIVES!

Today:
1. KA's feet swelled-up like water balloons (slight embellishment)
2. The plumbing fell out of our sink
3. We met awesome folks and grew in relationship
4. Have had awesome prayer and teaching times
5. Played Ultimate in 100+ degree weather (owned lol)

This is truly MISSION work!

2008-06-02T23:57:00.006-04:00

this is our backyard--will is happy with it

WE ARE HERE!
So far so so crazy (in a wild, but good way), when we crossed the boarder Thomi (the base director) was in front of us, he went right on through...then it was our turn, the Mexican man in uniform, motioned for us to stop, I rolled down the window....he said something for a while and I replied...Hola....I quickly wished I would have brushed up like I said I would. He spoke to us for a while, and we were being as friendly as possible...Will and I were freaking out slightly at what was going on...but then he met Vera...who politely licked his hand and I said dos peros...then said amigos. He finally smiled and let us through.

So we love it, I mean it is defiantly missionary type living, but we love it. We have met a lot of staff people and had training tonight...it has been nice. We are still in a state of what will happen next, and what will it be like.

Some things that make it true to Mission life:
1. One of our two air conditioners is broken, so we spend most of our time in our little bedroom, where the AC does try its hardest...which we are so thankful for:)
2. One girl saw a snake tonight during a quiet prayer time we had.
3. The hot water smells of rotten eggs...big time....el grosso!
4. The cold water is very cold (oddly enough) and showers are turn it on...turn it off...wash a little, rinse. Interesting, Will says the hot water should smell better after running it a while.
5. Can't really use water anyway....we have a cooler full of purified water though.
6. It is realllllllly hot!

Praises:
1. No bugs to report on so far....great news for me!
2. We actually get one tiny little bar of internet in our house...in just the right spot in the corner of our bedroom- so we have the internet in our room, although it doesn't work all the time, and is slow...we do get it some.---Huge praise for a third world country, don't you think?
3. Safety:)

Two More Things:
1. Brandon our neighbor is Nena (for those of you who don't know Nena's is a hamburger place...we can get ice cream and a coke everyday). She is right in front of us and so are her chickens:)
2. Emily (Hawk) you would be disappointed...I packed way too much I think....shoes galore...I am bringing some back when we come back for the wedding.

Love everyone and please please continue to pray!

We are getting closer!

2008-06-02T10:07:00.003-04:00

Don't have a lot of time...just wanted everyone to know we are almost there. We could tell this because of the temperature, the locals (still 5 hours away mind you), and the amount of cars in tow.

Love you all...pray that today goes better....we had a rough driving day yesterday...everything that could go wrong did...ok not everything...but seriously most things were frustrating.

So Far So Good:)

2008-06-01T09:44:00.003-04:00

Well, we are still traveling...but everything is going pretty good. We have found gas for $3.77...WOW and we are not absolutely hating the car (so far).

These pictures explain why we did not fly!

The Lord Is Preparing The Way

2008-05-27T19:54:00.003-04:00

Will and I are finishing up all of our To Do's and Packing List; and the Lord has definitely been leading every step of the way. Leaving a house, family, and friends for two and half months is crazy and stressful.....but God has blessed us so much. Things have been smooth and each day we are able to cross off something big from our list. Sweet Sweet people have paid for our gas going down and our gas coming home.....The Lord Is Great!

Basically I just wanted to let anyone who actually reads this know that God is already blowing our minds and we haven't even left! So Praise God:)

Our Tentative Schedule For Mexico

2008-05-20T12:52:00.004-04:00

This is the sch. for the youth groups going on the trips...I sorta edited it some to for what Will and I will actually be doing....but anyways....it is a general outline of what we will be doing every week.

When the sch. says Ministry Blocks....this means things like: VBS, Living Water (passing out purified water in hopes of a good chit chat), Prayer Walks, Construction, Sports (soccer, soccer, and more soccer), and other needs that the local churches need us to help with.

Saturday

Basically we are picking the groups up and crossing the boarder with them (if they want us to help) around mid-day.

1:00 - Teams begin arriving at the Gateway and settling in.

7:00 - Dinner at the Gateway

7:45 - Gateway orientation and worship

8:45 pm - Project Facilitators check in with youth pastors! Let the little chickies run free (but no running in the parking lot!), go to Nena's (for hamburguesas and joya), etc.

Done around 10:30

Sunday

8 am - Breakfast

8:45 am - Participants and leaders spend time alone with Jesus (Devotionals)

9:15 am - AIM training, ministry orientation, learn how to use a translator, cultural do's and don'ts, etc.

11:00 am - Break to get ready for the market and evening church services

11:45 - Lunch at the Gateway: sandwich, apple, chips, and cookies

12:30 - Leave for the market

1:00 - Allow groups (and maybe even us) to shop a little bit in the local markets in Mexico....it is play before work!

3:30 - Leave the market and head to the ministry sites

4:00 - Meet your pastor and prayer walk his colonia. Invite the community to the service.

5:30 - Worship with the church in your colonia

7:00 - Share a meal with the congregation. We bring the food. The American groups will serve the church and then eat and fellowship with them.

7:45 - Depart to head back to the Gateway

8:30 pm - Project Facilitators check in with youth pastors, showers, team time if desired, etc.

Done around 10:30

Monday, Tuesday, Thursday

8 am - Breakfast

8:30 am - Silence and Time to be alone with God

9:00 am - Concert of Prayer

10:00 am - Leaders Meeting/Free Time for Groups

10:30 am - Ministry Prep (team time to get ready for the day: practice VBS, gather supplies, fill up water bottles, put on sunscreen, etc.)

Project Facilitators check in with Youth Pastors and allow them to exhaust every question and concern!

11:15 am - Lunch at the Gateway (sandwich, apple, chips, and cookies)

11:45 am - Leave for the colonias in Matamoros or other ministry sites

12:30 pm - First ministry block

3:00 pm - Break and snacks

3:30 pm - Switch to second ministry block

6:00 pm - Leave the ministry sites

7:00 pm - Leaders Meeting

7:30 pm- Dinner at the Gateway (warm and filling meal). Then we will probably get clean:)

8:30 pm - Evening Debrief (Brief corporate worship time and then around 9:00 pm groups will break off with their team to debrief the day)

9:30 pm - Project Facilitators check in with youth pastors! Done around 11:00....A.K.A.:Karan Anne will probably be sleeping by 11:00.

Wednesday

~~~Wednesdays are different!~~~

8 am - Breakfast

8:30 am - Silence/Time to get alone with God

9:00 am - Concert of Prayer

10:00 am - Instructions for Day

10:30 am - Service Ministry Block in Ejido Buenos Aires (neighborhood where the Gateway is located).

12:30 pm - Lunch

1:30 pm - Second Ministry Block/VBS

3:30 pm - Break and snacks

4:00 pm - Sports/Carnival

6:00 pm - Cook Out

7:00 pm - Community Worship, Band

9:00 pm - Team Debrief

11:00 pm - Lights Out

Friday

We will take groups back over the boarder around 10:00 am and say Good Bye!

Then Will and I will have some time off hopefully until the next group arrives!

It's Official: I Am Blogger!

2008-04-17T12:38:00.002-04:00

It looks like my efforts to remain out of the technology scene are failing....I am now blogging. So welcome to my new page. Hopefully I can use this as a communication tool and update it often.

You too can Blog...it's easy to step up!