Our Family Circus

As a little girl, no one is stronger than your Daddy! My parents were very affectionate toward us growing up and still are. They hugged tight- none of those framed armed hugs. My dad's arms could squeeze me like a snake with his prey and I loved it! The feel of his tight hug became a part of me. As I worked with children with special needs I realized I had my own occupational therapy need. I need deep pressure at times, the deep pressure my parents offered when they hugged me. My dad's hugs were especially special. After I went to college, met My Dear and married I could still receive my dad's tight hugs but My Dear's hugs were needed as well. My dad is a much bigger man than My Dear so their hugs are different. When I self diagnosed my need for deep pressure, My Dear quickly learned the Boa Constrictor Squeeze and since he was far more accessible to me, those hugs worked. My Dear knows that when I flop toward him like a wet noodle that is when I need the tightest...

Our AWANA ministry has grown into more of an outreach then a ministry within the church. A couple of weeks ago, it occurred to me that the children from the bus ministry would not be going anywhere for Spring Break! Our church family would visit family and vacation but those kids would have zero plans. In fact, their being home would be a financial hardship on most families. They would have to feed the children 3 meals a day instead of just one. I mentioned an idea to a couple of ladies and as always they responded, "Let's Do IT" and more! A grocery list was established and we asked for volunteers within the church to fill them. We requested foods that the children could prepare for themselves knowing that many of them would be home alone. Bread, PBJ , fresh fruits and veggies along with cereal and milk were presented to families! A few of us meet to pray and go deliver. As I was driving a church van, I looked at my co-pilot Janet. I asked her if she remembered where we...

Christmas Day I got a sweet phone call from a lady I met in Vnam ! We chatted and teased and then Amy asked if I would be home the following weekend. I told her yes. She said she had a gift for me, assured me it was not carrot juice (which she had me drink for tummy troubles in Vnam -yuck!) and that I would like it! I watched the mail for an arrival. I got a phone call from another lady I met on the trip a week later. She is the missionary wife here in the states. I found it odd that she would call. I shared with her that My Dear's family were coming to visit. She wanted to meet up with me to give me Amy's gift and that weekend...when the fam was here. Then the phone rang again-it was Amy! How odd is that!? I get to talk with both of them right after one another.....well, because they were together! Our sweet Amy who lived on the west coast was in our state!!! She wanted to surprise us but was getting no where. I asked permission from My Dear's family to leave that evenin...

The trigger of interest for me to go on the mission trip to Vnam was the orphans. I have followed many blogs of families that have adopted and have been on the praying end of those as well as friends from college and now high school who are adopting! I am an adoption blog junky!! My Dear and I are watching for God to tell us when we are to join the ranks of these parents. I wondered if Vnam might be where He would lead us. In my readings, I have established a few rules for adoption....this is where families who have adopted laugh! We have 1 son and 2 daughters so naturally, our child would be a boy. Our child would also fall within the birth order meaning that he would be 2-3 years younger than B. keeping with the pattern of the ages. Yeah, I know, only God would smile at my arrogance with a "bless her heart" on His lips! Let me just say, the little boy above broke the mold! He came into the orphanage later in the afternoon because he goes to a deaf school off campus. I attem...

Since our trip to Vnam, I am seeing ministry differently. I did not realize that I was looking at it through, "it's all about me" glasses. You would think I would already know how this works. I held ministry positions since college and even worked at a Missions camp. I was called to ministry and then called to be a minister's wife....I should have gotten it! But it was clouded through those "it's all about me" glasses. Many times when My Dear wanted to hang out with the fellas or have teenage boys laying around our living room with game controllers, soda, burping, or the RISK game board-I wondered why he did not want to spend time with me. I resented his being gone every Friday night for football games and through the week for practices in a position he volunteered for. Tonight, after a service mission project and then a game of Capture the Flag-we had My Dear to ourselves again. After dinner, we hopped on our bikes and rode to the park. We LOVE...

My bed has been stripped of it's linens (thank you Billy) and lays naked under clean laundry waiting to be folded and put away. But I need to talk to ya'll! My Dear just asked if we had mushrooms and peppers on the pizza we had for dinner-apparently, I did not clean up after B. very well. Cool story-our local "Papa's Pizza Hut" as B. calls it agreed to put a flier about a new study at church on their pizza box lids. Because of that, the people of our church bombarded them with orders to thank them. So much so that they just laughed when I told them why I was ordering. He said, "we have talked to all of you tonight!" What a witness to those folks! My Dear has lost 17lbs so pizza is a no-n0. We ordered when he would not be home but he contributed the funds to pay for it. I pulled the wagon for a walk afterwards. Praying that God will see our goal and evaporate the extra calories! He is a mighty God!! As you can see, I have some stuff to take care of...

Some days I get so fed up with the STUFF in my life and the culture we live in that I want to put our belongings in the front yard with a for sale on it and pack the family up and move to a 3rd world country. I heard God tell me before our trip to Vnam to prepare to move. Finally, He is going to do it! He is going to send us to Vnam!!! I told My Dear and he did his preacher laugh. Have you noticed the preacher laugh? It is the laugh to celebrate what God had done. Billy told me about the laugh when he called My Dear (in the car with 2 preachers) to tell him that he had accepted Christ. I asked Billy what the fellas said and he said, "they laughed!" Hence-the preacher laugh. So when I asked if My Dear was ready to move-he laughed. As I sat with all of those folks in the insanely hot room I waited to hear God tell me to go to Vnam. I understood our leader's love for the country and it was easy to love the people. The fields are so ripe with folks hungry to know! Surely they...

Just when I think my body is back to normal, I lay awake in bed. I am aware that the happenings of the trip have invited some spiritual warfare so please continue to pray for those you read about. So here is what has been on my heart to share with you. Each time we left the hotel, we would pray together. When we got to Vung Tau we had enough room to stand in a circle holding hands right outside of the hotel. The hotel manager asked our translator Grace why we did that. Grace told me about her posing the question, told me she spoke English and prompted me to go to talk to her. Grace was our eyes and ears! She invited us to join in where God was working. I walked into the lobby to check on Grace while the rest of the group waited for their dinner. I saw the young woman and went to talk with her. Because both of us had a strong dialect, I had to strain to understand what she was saying and I am SURE she had to do the same. I told her what I believed and then went back to our table to get...

I am up 2 hours early this morning. So, maybe I am off still a little bit on time or maybe it was the chocolate that Nana left when she went home. Either way, I am up. I awoke with prayers of those who accepted Christ as their Lord and Savior in Vnam-the hands I held and the necks I hugged. Prayed for them today as well as the ministers and wives that blessed me. With My Dear working outside of our home and my being at home full time, the children miss their daddy. On Wednesdays, he kisses them good-bye in the morning and gets home to kiss them good night. In fact, he comes straight through the door to get to their bedrooms before they are too groggy to know he was there. If there is an event or camp, I try to busy them so they do not miss him. But then it happens, a break down. My Dear and I have diagnosed the problem as "QT." One little person gets QT and can not contain themselves. They need Quality Time with daddy! Daddy sweeps in to cuddle, talk, read, and sometimes lay ...

We are now home but I have a heart full of blog posts and I can include pictures this go around. Our last hotel was not blogger friendly. The government attempted a block on Facebook and Satan stepped in to stop the blogging. I truly believe it was warfare with our church checking up and praying on us from our blog posts. While in Vnam, we took a modern day ricksaw ride. When talking about going, I called it a "rick a saw." Not until it was brought to my attention, did I realize I had added the syllable. The team got a kick that I could make even a "rick-a-saw" a little bit Kentucky. I was sure to point out to them that Vnam people even have KY plastered across the United States on the map so there is no need to downplay the effects of Kentucky on the planet! We were a parade of about 9 folks on the ricksaw ride. We got quite a bit of attention. People stared to see the line of white folks going down the street. I would wave as if it were a parade and the...

Our team member Sam, has a story she tells of a family she knows. Their grandmother was in the hospital and the family gathered. Sam describes them as being dramatic in that if it is good-it is very good and if it is bad-it is tragic! Grandmother was about to have an operation and the family members were mourning and weeping in the waiting area sure that Grandmother would die. When Grandmother was fine, there was loud rejoicing! The daughter went into her mother's room and began loudly praising God, much to the alarm of the hospital staff. When the staff asked for the "preacher woman" to leave she turned to them and said, "It has long been my prayer that God would restore that which the locust had eaten!" (found it in Joel 2:25) We have to be careful in using scripture in context but over the last couple of days with my stomach ruling my actions and diet I now feel as if my prayer is "for God to restore that which the locust have eaten!"

The last post I mentioned the 2 temperatures of water in Vnam . I shared my observation with our group. The ladies all laughed and the men looked at me funny. They informed us that hot water was provided with a flip of a switch, the switch we had all played with but did not know what it did. We are in a new hotel now but last night we ladies enjoyed our first HOT shower! Before heading to Vnam , God began to deal with me on some baggage in my past. I asked Him again and again why are you asking me to deal with that now? I was hoping He would instead choose to prepare me for this trip. I knew He was speaking to my heart but did not know what He wanted me to do with the baggage. I was certain God would show me after I returned home from Vnam . We were to go to the training center to meet with the pastors and their wives again. I was truly looking forward to it this time unlike the day before. These women were so heavy on my heart for what they faced each day for the gospel of Christ. I w...

It is 4:30 am here and I lay awake in my bed. My head is too full to sleep. Waking and praying is part of the sleep routine here. My heart is heavy for the pastor's wives. I am looking forward to spending time with them today and pray that I will be less hesitant to attempt to communicate with them. My heart is there, but the ME gets in the way. One young wife, is small, has darker skin, is a tribal minister's wife, and her husband was an orphan. She is heavy on my heart. I hope to give her a gift today as a promise that I will be praying for her. She is one of those I wish to bring home and lavish her with love and the wealth of the states. I noticed her searching through her Bible and tried to help her. I then realized she can not read. I have multiple Bibles-my study Bible, a Bible in our children's classroom and I even have a bathroom Bible! Those are only my Bibles not the other family membes. How often I take for the granted the gift I have to read them. Yesterday, we...

God's calling for me to come on this trip was through children! I wanted to spend everyday at the orphanages. Today was the day to go to the one I wanted to visit most. My training is in special education. I was eager to play - therapeutically - with some dark skinned, dark eyed darlins '! My "preschool whisper" friend Fay was also armed and ready! We brought balloons, beach balls and bubbles! Oh, yeah we brought rag dolls, blankies , and stuffed cars that a lady of our church made and toothbrushes and paste that another sent. I took a picture of my suitcase filled with goodies but did not bring my computer so pictures will have to wait until the states. Most folks are unsure in such a setting. The kids look different and their medical needs can be intimidating . I was eager to get on the floor and play! Some of them had shaved heads probably due to lice. The center was very clean, the workers were kind and loving and seemed very dedicated to their jobs. T...

Yesterday was Sunday. We visited a "House Church." The directions to the church included, "turn off the paved road." We drove to another providence about 2 and 1/2 hours away to attend this church. Our group of 12 took up a great deal of space in the church. We left home with 11 and ended up with 12, when Amy, a member of a church in Washington knew we were here. She is visiting family here and has joined us everyday. She is such a joy and a blessing. She helps us with our money and communication. She ordered lunch for us yesterday since known of us could read the menu. She obviously, has become part of our team and our jokes. Amy joined us at the house church as well. We unloaded our bus to look for a place to use the restroom-tissue and " han -a- tizer " (as Dolly calls it) in hand. We walked to the back and were lead to a little building. It has tile floor and was wet. There was no toilet-which I expected-but there was no hole either. We learned it was ...

After approximately 28 hours of flying....THE EAGLE HAS LANDED!! We were welcomed to Vnam by 2 pastors and Grace our interpreter and a bundle of beautiful flowers. Folks were gathered outside the airport as if waiting for a celebrity. Apparently, there is no waiting inside the airport. No, they were not waiting for us but it still felt like a red carpet event-minus the cheers and photographers. First lesson I learned in Vnam: Laughter and Hallelujah are universal! We were warned that sharing our faith and praying aloud may not be welcome. We pulled our luggage aside to get in the taxi. The taxi is a mini bus that plays Happy Birthday when it backs up. Not just this one, but many of them. Returning to the original thought....we gathered together to pray. Pastor "Smiley" raised his hands and loudly prayed thanking God. I was surprised by his boldness but could not help but say "Amen" as he spoke even though I could not understand a single word. I did not g...

Our Dolly turned 6 today! It still seems like she is 4 and as the years go by, I forget more and more of what the children were like when they were younger. Seems sad, BUT I am SO thankful for healthy, thriving children. As part of the celebration, Dolly got her nails done. She got to pick out the color and they painted her fingers and toes. She even got to sit under the dryer. Our neighbor camped out at our house while B. napped so we could enjoy this event together. We are so blessed by our friends living right on our street. Not just this family but several. I think it should make the property value go up-just sayin '! Billy went with us. It really was not painful for him, silly boy! When I went to pay for Dolly's fancy nails, I realized I did not have any money. I was a bit panicked. The only collateral I have is the children and I was NOT leaving them! They allowed me to leave and come back since the amount was so small. I picked up B. and headed back out ...