Today has been such a wonderful day for us! It sort of started last night when TJ was whiny and having a hard time again. Carol cried a bit in desperation and asked God to please help TJ to be more “himself”. He is usually such a pleasant sweet boy, but he’s been pretty unhappy while we’re here (unless we’re at the beach with him), especially if we go out to eat. It’s been hard to watch him in this adjustment. Anyhow, shortly after that prayer, it was like a switch had been flipped in him. He has been so pleasant for the last 24 hours and back to his normal self…running, playful, happy and so appreciative-always saying thank you for little things you do for him. It has been such an absolute blessing for us to see him so happy last night and today. We even went out to breakfast this morning and stil he was very pleasant (and out-ate all of us). That was quite a milestone for our family…out to eat with no children having a meltdown or fit! We were thrilled! And we had some of the best banana pancakes we’ve ever had…and coffee, of course. 
We went out to breakfast at a place called “Veronica’s Soda” (since we were out of eggs/milk/bread, etc). Along with being delicious, we had a great conversation with several of the people who work there and the owner. Turns out the lady who runs it (out of her home it seems…the dining area is on her patio…it’s pretty cool, actually) is the wife of the lady who Barrett & Amy have bought their property from, and he also runs a taxi service here and runs the mission teams around when they’re here in Puerto, so we had the opportunity to meet him last week. Anyhow, his wife was so kind and gracious to us and our children. She complimented us on having a “grande familia” (big family). She said it was “muy bien” (very good). It seems that if you have 3 or more children here, then you’re considered to have a big family. She said she has watched us ride by on our bikes with our kids and said we have a “nice family”. It was then that we realized (again) that we are being watched pretty much at all times. We certainly stand out here with our 3 youngins.
Then we headed out to the beach for some fun family time. It was great to hang out together and let the kids run & play (something that is hard for them to do at the apartment since there is no yard for them to play in). We all had such a great time together playing in the water and relaxing. The girls even made a Spanish friend…we think her name was “Charro” (hard to understand her thick Spanish accent). They had so much fun playing with her (and moving the snails from their original homes to a new home in the water :-) Then TJ picked up a big stick and started walking around with it, humming…we finally realized he was using it as a “weedeater”. He mowed the lawn at the beach most of the morning. :-) A funny thing is that here they do not have lawnmowers; they weedeat their lawns or use a machete to cut the grass/bushes. So Timothy has picked up on this, but he still misses mowing the lawn with the tractor and his Peepaw.
Although we had a great time at the beach, it was not lost on us that we could have been being watched and just the simple act of playing together as a family could have an impact on the community here. A while back, one of the local guys told Barrett how he really liked what Barrett & Amy had (their marriage) and that’s what he wants. This is such a big deal, because marriage is not looked upon in a good way here by most of the men. To most of the men, it is a complete burden to be tied down to one woman. So even in our fun days together, we are constantly reminded to keep on guard and make the most of every opportunity in the way we act toward each other, along with the unbelievers.
Thank you for all of you who have been praying for the kids’ adjustment to this new environment (especially TJ’s). Please continue praying for just that and know that God is answering those prayers and we have had such a blessed day together because of your prayers.
We wanted to also let all of you know, who are praying for our safety, that God is greatly answering your prayers in that area also. For the 2nd time in a week, we had a huge tree fall very near us the other day. The first time was at Barrett & Amy’s new property where we and the mission team were helping to clear the land. A huge tree came crashing down on the bed of Barrett’s truck (just shortly after we had all finished eating lunch on or next to it). We were all so thankful for God’s intervention in moving all of us (the team and the families here) before the tree came down. Turns out, there was no damage done to Barrett’s truck either. Praise the Lord! Check out his blog for the pictures @ www.4cruces.blogspot.com. Now back to the story of the tree falling the other day. It was on Tuesday and Allen had gone to Limon with Ronnie, the other missionary that works here with Alternative Missions. It was around Noon and TJ & Carol were napping in the front bedroom, while Hope napped in the back bedroom. Beka was playing quietly in the living room. The power had gone out & come back on a few times, then all of a sudden, we heard a loud crashing noise. Carol instantly recognized the sound and jumped up to ‘gather her hens’ and make sure the kids were safe. Then she surveyed the damage…a huge tree had fallen on the house behind us and crushed in the roof. We were so thankful for the angle at which it fell, because if it would have gone straight, it probably would have come through our window. My (Carol’s) legs felt like jello and my whole body felt a bit like it has before after a bad car accident, but I tried to remain calm for the kids and tell them everything was okay (which it was). After it was all done, it was fun to look out our window and see a huge tree laying over and watch the guys cut it down & clean it up. We were so anxious for Allen to get home to see the damage done and share how God had watched over us once again.
Thank you so much for all of your prayers. We are continually grateful for them and please know that God is watching over us and caring for us everywhere we go and throughout each day (even during times when we don’t feel 100% safe…we know He’s there). We are excited to be continually used by God in this area where sin is so prevalent and “in your face”. Please continue to pray for our safety and our effectiveness (pray Colossians 4:2-6 for us please). We love you all and appreciate you tremendously!