{25 Days of Christmas} - Day 4 & 5

As I say every year, that this year I am going to be better about blogging everyday during the 25 days of Christmas. I guess that didn't happen...how about every other day? 

We have been crazy busy, with 20 people in town for the last week and a half. Today most of them are gone. It's 9am, I'm still in my PJ's, I have a candle, Christmas music, open bible, a stack of important documents ready to go to immigration,  laundry going, and a peppermint mocha in hand (see below)! It's a good day. A day to catch up. A day to stop, to listen, to be renewed. I was just talking with Liz (her husband Steve is our city team leader, they live in Brazil), how I sometimes feel guilty...that I feel like a bad missionary, because on weeks like this, I don't have time to read my bible for an hour a day...this week, I hardly cracked it...and I am so hungry for his word (now you know, missionaries struggle just like you!). 

In years past, I can't remember focusing on the advent. I can't remember specifically trying to focus my heart on the preparation of Christmas. I am so enjoying my study! 

"Mary had grown up in the same village as Joseph who was several years older than she was. Perhaps they had admired one another from a distance...perhaps Joseph had just been waiting for the darling Mary to grow up!

Mary was in the house one afternoon, maybe working on her wedding attire, or sewing towels for her new home when she sensed someone in the room with her. Conceivably, Mary looked around to see if anyone had joined her. 'And coming in, Gabriel said to her, Greetings, favored one! The Lord is with you.'

Christmas, for Mary, was the challenge of understanding what the favor of God is truly all about. Mary was about to learn that being highly favored by God does not mean a life of unbroken happiness nor does it promise that all of your dreams will come true. There is a tremendous price to be paid by those who are highly favored by God; favor means, simply, that God is willing to use you. 

God is willing to use the young, the uneducated and the inexperienced in His grand plan for humanity. Just as the favor of God targeted the womb of Mary, I believe that the favor of God is targeting everyone and anyone who is willing to be part of God's strategy at this historical juncture. 

Christmas, for Mary, was about discovering the intimacy of the Lord's presence as never before. Mary was about to be confronted with the reality that favor happens when God places a piece of Himself into an earthly life. No longer was God a mere concept or a Divine Being who never engaged Himself in the affairs of everyday life. Because of Gabriel's message, the presence of God Himself had invaded the life of this young girl who, prior to this moment, had nothing but Joseph on her mind. 

Experiencing the favor of God in new ways is one of the best parts of Christmas! To think that God would desire to use me at this time in history is a gift that I never imagined I would find under the tree of life. 

Discovering a fresh lifestyle of intimacy in the presence of Jesus is God's life-changing Christmas gift to you this year. 

Christmas is proclaiming to your world, 'The Lord is with me...and with you! What a wonderful Surprise!'

- Taken From Joy! to You World on YouVersion App

As I said earlier, I have a peppermint mocha in hand! How might you ask?? I made it from home! Here is how!

First - Start with 2 York Peppermint Candies 

Haiti Peeps - I found them at Caribbean Grocery Store

Put them in the bottom of your coffee mug!

Pour over your coffee or if you have a Keurig, brew your coffee over it. 

Stir...Stir well, or your flavoring will be stuck to the bottom!

Have a great day!!!

{25 Days of Christmas} - Day 2 & 3

This morning, as usual, we attended Christianville Church. I was surprised when we started singing that we were singing some Christmas Carols....Angels We Have Heard On High!

What gives you awe? What makes you speechless? The night Christ was born was the most monumental and awe-inspiring even that has ever occurred in human history as God sent His one and only Son to earth so that we could have eternal life.

There has not been an event in history before or after Christ's birth that resulted in such celebration that the angels themselves made their physical presence known and their voices hear in song. Can you imagine how the shepherds' jaw must have dropped at the site and sound of the angels?

It seems like people tend to have fewer experiences these days of complete awe. Most of us have fewer awe-inspiring moments with God like we should. Our relationship with Him often becomes too comfortable and even ordinary.

This Christmas, make an attempt to regain those awe-inspiring moments with God. Strive to make your relationship with Him something so inspiring that is causes you to rejoice like the angels did. Don't let your relationship with Him be ordinary, but rather make it extraordinary.
-from Carols: A Christmas Devotional from YouVersion App.

{25 Days of Christmas} - Day 1

I love Christmas! I love the smells, the food, the decorations, the celebrations, time spent with family...during the next 25 days I will share with you some of those things. However, this year I am also planning on sharing from an advent devotional that I am using...to help me keep focus on the real reason that we celebrate Christmas.

Luke 1:1-7 starts the journey to Bethlehem, all the way in Nazareth...with an elderly couple, Elizabeth and Zacharias. They had been married for many years and yet still had no children. While I have not struggled through this, I cannot imagine the heartache...yet, the bible talks about out blameless their relationship with the Lord was. Even though Elizabeth and Zacharias had dashed hopes, and yet they continued to serve God wholeheartedly. Elizabeth believed the promises of God long after the others would have given up frustration.

The first lesson we can learn this Christ is to be patient with God. Trust God even when your circumstances are challenging. Continue to live a righteous life through days of disappointment. Pray fervently and believe that God is listening to your prayers. Continue to embrace a positive heart attitude when you don't get your way. True believers walk by faith and not by sight.
- From Joy to the World Devotional on YouVersion App.

I decorated a while ago, but this week, Denise brought me some new decorations, so I went hunting for some sticks. I'm pretty sure our Haitian Staff thought I was crazy when I dragged it inside the house, but I love the way it looks!

Last week, my parents visited. They were given a donation to purchase some Christmas Presents for new Horizons. So we picked Friday to shop. Little did we know, that we would have Black Friday shopping in Haiti! We were blessed to purchase a lot of toys, 3 bikes, and a hot wheels! So excited to deliver to the kids when it gets closer to Christmas. 

I hope you have a blessed day!!

{Friday Favorites} - November 16

How did it happen that we are already in the middle of November? That next week is Thanksgiving? That in 14 days I will start my traditional 25 Days of Christmas on the Blog! This is crazy! On another note, we are very excited to have my parents visiting us during this Thanksgiving Holiday!!! They come Sunday!!

I have always been honest on my blog, and if I'm honest with you, this week I had "White Person Syndrome." I didn't want to be here, I wanted to be able to go some place by myself, I wanted to shop, I wanted "good" food, I wanted to have the comforts of a house...this is what I refer to as WPS. There was nothing that set it off, not any situations that were more difficult than any other week...good news, I'm over it!

1. Date Day - On Sunday, Claudy took me to our favorite restaurant in town, Pizza Garden. We didn't have pizza, but had a delicious meal and a great time. I even got to where high heels!!

 2. New Horizons: We started this project back in July. We are finally finishing! We repaired New Horizons house from the earthquake damage. Here's a couple pictures of the repair. They actually finished yesterday, but I haven't had an opportunity to go and take pictures of it being totally finished!

 3. Pumpkin Gingerbread Cookies - These were the hit of the week! Seriously, I think Claudy had at least 15. :) I will have to say they were delicious! Here is the recipe!!

4. The pictures is bad, but its of the boys playing some bball at a local court. I ran around the soccer field while they played! It was a great night!!

Apparently White girls can't play :)












5. Bible Study - This week at bible study we made masks! We are focusing our study on who we are in Christ and our identity. Please be in prayer for Sara and I, pray that we develop relationships with the girls and speak into their lives!! They are a fun and wild bunch!!

I hope you have a great day and a VERY Happy Thanksgiving!!

{Friday Favorites} - November 9

1. Last week, HHM had a group of doctors and dentists in town. Sandy asked if I would take them to one of our partnering orphanages. So, while they worked, I played and held baby Jeff!! I love these kids!!

2. Monette - Is one of the kids that lives in the neighborhood by New Horizons. I love this girl. She is full of energy and spunk. She loved the medical gloves that blow up into balloons! :)

3. Everything breaks in Haiti...which is not my favorite. My favorite is that I have a husband, who will spend time helping me and trying to fix all of the things that break! He is so patient! I'm so thankful for him and his many gifts!

 4. November 1st means Christmas Season begins for me. No, I don't skip Thanksgiving, I just love Christmas so much that I want it to last longer. This week I put up the only two Christmas Decorations I have and started listening to Christmas music. It helps me so much to get into the spirit here, when we don't have the weather to help us!

5. Girl's Bible Study - We had our first study yesterday! We have 18 girls from 10-15 years! For a first day, it went really good. Please pray for Sara and I, that we can have an impact on these precious lives! Please pray for our language skills. We are trying to do it all in Creole with out a translator. It went pretty good for the first week, but we don't want a translator or our language skills to be a hindrance. I'm so excited about these girls!








6. Teacher Seminar: I didn't get a picture of this :( We had our first seminar of the year and it went great! We talked a lot about the future of their school for the year. They invited me to have a seminar every other week, instead of just once a month. They also invited me to come watch their classes! While groups are great, I'm thankful for a break, so that I can spend time ministering to these lovey teachers!!

{Friday Favorites} - October 26

It is a rainy Friday...well, a rainy week. Hurricane Sandy is past, but we are still getting rain. We are safe. It has rained so much we haven't been able to much checking on people. We are hoping to get out a little bit today and tomorrow and help see if we are needed and what we can do! I'm not sure about our direct area, but I know many in Haiti have lost their homes this week. Please pray for them and those that are in danger if the rains don't stop!

Besides the storm, we had a great week. We are coming off the end of two teams visiting us! We were able to do quite a bit of work, prayer walking, and ministering to those in our circle of influence. 

 1. School is back in session. Last week, we brought our team up to the school! It was so great to be back. In November, we don't have any teams, so I am looking forward to spending a lot of time at the school!

2. Garden - I know many of you read about it on one of my previous posts. However, we have a new garden!! Praying that with all of this rain it isn't drowned! We are so excited about it and the possibilities it brings :)

3. A new running partner: I have a new running partner!! My husband doesn't like me running alone and for my sanity, I need to run at least a couple of days a week. I told him that he needed to run with me, but he had another idea :)

This sounds crazy, but in so many ways Claudy reminds me of my dad! I had to take a picture of this, because it felt like it did 10 years ago, when my dad would wake me early to ride his bike along side of my...to push me and make me a better runner! I'm so thankful for those days! Claudy is a little different, he doesn't yell and ride 5 feet in front of my so that i will run faster...instead he rides 20 feet behind me and the Haitians make fun of me because I have security!!

 4. PUMPKIN!!! Thanks to Donna and the Midland group, we have pumpkin!!! I have been craving fall! Facebook is great for some many things, but it also makes me miss so of the things I love a lot in the States.

I will admit, that I don't always like to bake. I would prefer cooking. However, we have a cook (I know, woe is me), so I have tried some backing. Here are so of the things I have tried below.

 Pumpkin Spiced Lattes:

1. Make Coffee: However you want, a little stronger than normal is better.

2. Make Pumpkin Milk:
1 c. Mil
1/4 c. pumpkin puree
2 tsp pumpkin pie spice
1 tsp cinnamon
1 tsp vanilla
sweetener to taste
optional: other warming spices

Combine all ingredients in a small bowl and whisk well..He on the stove top until almost boiling.

3. Pour 1 c. of coffee and add pumpkin milk to taste (I use about half)
Top with whipped cream!!

 Pumpkin Angel Food Cake: My pictures don't do this justice, Claudy wanted a taste and I didn't have my camera..Also we had no powered sugar to make the frosting, but it was SOOO good!

1 c. Canned Pumpkin
1 tsp Vanilla
1/2 tsp cinnamon
1/2 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp ginger (optional)
1 pkg one step angel food cake mix.

Combine first 6 ingredients. Prepare Cake mix per package instructions.

Fold in 1/4 of the batter into the pumpkin mixture. Gently fold in remaining batter. Gently spoon into an ungreased 10 inch tube pan. Bake on lowest oven rack at 350 for 38 to 45 min, until golden brown and cake

springs back. Immediately invert pan onto a wire rack; cool completely for 1 hour. Top with whipped cream and cinnamon or frosting!!


I also made banana bars this week :) So good!!

5. Rain Boots: My dad gave these to me for Christmas last year. I am so glad I had them!!! Notice I am wearing pants...I also had on long sleeves.. this weather has been crazy!!

 I hope you all have a great week!!

{Life on the Field} - Teams

After 6 weeks with no teams, we have had teams the last two week. Which, usually means, I run from site to site, get supplies, manage the staff, etc.. 

Today...I have to brag on our Haitian staff. Yesterday it rained...it rained this morning and our schedule needed to shift. Our group was wanting to help with construction, but also develop relationships in the community and work with orphanages. It's nearing the end of their week so they wanted to split up today, to do different things. I will admit...in the past this would freak me out, because going in 3 directions, would mean I would need to go in 3 directions...

TODAY....I stayed at our house and hung out with our cooks. We had our construction boss, Alex, lead 2 with the construction...Billy & Zicot, lead 2 with the prayer walk...and Donna & Miguel, took the other two to the orphanage. 

I am so proud of our staff.. So proud and thankful to work with a great team....

God is big, I am small!!!