Home... and good report

Well, we are back home, and how sweet it is! We have spent the past 2 days relaxing with family. We will spend this week taking care of business and doing some more relaxing. Hopefully we will know something about a job early this week so we can make some plans for the next few months. We will visit the rest of my family in Texas pretty soon... can't wait so hug our new nephew Carter! (We got to love on our new niece Ruth today)!

1 hour after we got off the plane Friday we met with Aidan's eye specialist. He examined his eyes once again and gave us some very good news! About 8 months ago we were told by him that Aidan would need laser surgery to correct a muscle problem in his right eye. The plan was to schedule the operation and get it done soon once we got home... Well every night we prayed over his eyes and asked God "to heal his eyes and help Aidan not to have to wear a patch, his glasses or to have surgery." We believe he did just that! Although his vision worsened a bit and that he has to still wear glasses and a patch (6 hrs/day), his specialist told us that his muscle problem was now so small that he would not recommend surgery at this time!!! YAY! Praise and thank you God!

I'll let you know asap when we know where we will be next!

Saying goodbye and Heading home

This week has been exhausting to put it mildly. We have said goodbye to so many wonderful people, and we are just drained. As Shakespeare put it, "parting is such sweet sorrow", and it truly is. We are looking forward to seeing some familiar faces and hugging many necks very soon.

Tomorrow we start our journey home. We are going to spend a few days in central-western Belize where we will travel into Guatemala to visit the great Mayan ruins of Tikal. On Wednesday we will travel to the Belize Zoo and then onto Belize City on Thursday where we will fly to Houston, TX. We get the privilege of spending the night in my state of birth, magnificent Texas, and then fly into Jackson, MS early the next morning (Friday). Pray that all of this journey is safe and uneventful. USA, here we come!

The heat is on...

Man is it HOT! It has rained very little in the past 5 days which is the only thing that knocks down the heat to a survivable level... Of course the outside temperature is not the only "heat" we are experiencing. We will return to the states in less than 2 weeks and we still do not have any concrete job or plans as of today... I sure like it when God leads by opening lots of doors and let's me choose which one best suits us, but God does not quite work that way. Lately he has been shutting doors, which I do not like. BUT, regardless of what I like or dislike, we are determined to let God lead and not become desperate. A new buddy of mine just tonight said that "people in a famine grasp at anything to eat, even if it is bad for them". This is totally true and while we are far from being in a physical famine, we are experiencing some serious hunger pangs for God's voice, and I don't want to grasp and do something or go somewhere just because I am hungry to do something without knowing it is from God. So while we wait (which is easier said than done), please continue to pray for God's direction because I know what God will provide is just what we need!

One year in Belize

Today marks exactly one year since we came here to Belize... hard to believe, but as they say here, "you better Belize it". It has been an incredible journey, affecting every aspect of who we are. We have changed, and we have found areas that need change. We feel very confident that God wanted us here and also that He wants us to return to the states for a season. As I've said before, we have not and will not comprehend all what we have gleaned from this experience until some later time.

Regardless, we are a stronger family, we trust in our provider God more than ever before, we have seen awesome wonders and sights, met so many awesome people from all over the world, most importantly helped meet the physical and spiritual needs of many in the name of Jesus, and last but not least, sweated more than we have in the past 10 years combined!

Ham and cheese sandwiches

Things have been absolutely crazy busy! Dan and Maria are catching on to the job here, which is a good thing since next week is our last on the job! We have been doing all of the clinic work and home visits to get them familiar with their duties which has made for a very busy last 2 weeks! Hard to believe we are almost done! We definitely have some mixed up feelings about leaving. We are so very excited about seeing family and friends, all the while feeling a bit anxious about all the "unknowns" we are facing.

But despite the "unknowns" life is looking good. Lily helped me to re-realize this along with appreciating the small things in life the other day. She did this by eating lunch... Lily LOVES ham and cheese sandwiches, I mean LOVES them. We have not been able to find ham around here so needless to say she has not had a "ham-N-cheese" in quite a while. Well I found a pack of ham the other day and I surprised her with her favorite lunch. You would have thought I gave her a diamond ring! She was SO excited and thanked me several times and was very happy.

There are so many things in our lives that are much better than "ham-N-cheese" that if we slow down, we will realize that life is good, really good. We'll let you know what our plans are when we know them! Thanks for the prayers... keep them up!

Blades in the Hospital

Please remember Blades in your prayers! We hospitalized him yesterday for an infection from a wound on his left hip. Today he is doing a bit better. Pray for his quick recovery and protection from complications.