She's Gone Again and Another's About To Fly

Natalie is in Nicaragua yet again. I am so proud of her! She's gone down this time to help another ministry in Managua, the big city. She is thankful that it's not as hot as she was afraid it was going to be and she's super excited that they have heated showers. :) It's funny how little things like that make such a big difference in our world. We definitely take heated shower water for granted here in the States.

Courtney is moving out in one week and one day. I'm proud of her too! She got hired on at a Chick-fil-A in Longview with higher pay, promise of 40 hour work-weeks, and promises of promotion quickly. She will be living with her grandparents until she can save up for an apartment, which she's hoping to accomplish within a couple of months. She's still looking for someone to foster her dog, Benny, but if she is facing putting him in a shelter, we'll let him stay here until she or we find someone to take him as a foster. He is a good dog, just big. And inside. I'm glad he's housebroken. :) Anyone local want to babysit for a month? It would be like a little visit from a sweet, loving dog. :) May resort to bribery.... ;)

Nicaragua News

Natalie's Newsletter can now be viewed! We're praying for you, Natalie!!

So Exciting!!

Well, in 2 days Natalie will be headed to Nicaragua. I'm so excited for her. A little more apprehensive now, just because she's my baby and I'm concerned for her. However, I know God is with her 100% and know He will take care of her. :) She has been fundraising and I'm happy to say that she has received $1,000 in her ChipIn account!! The generosity of people never ceases to amaze me. I am so thankful for their giving hearts.

God speed my daughter.

Our Week in Review

It has been an eventful week. To start with, Natalie is in East Texas and will be visiting her aunt's church tomorrow to give her presentation from her Nicaragua mission trip this past July. This church took up a donation to help fund her recent trip and so now she is following up with them and is looking forward to sharing how much God blessed her and tell them of what He has called her to do. I'm so excited for her. She loves sharing about Christ and she will be in her element tomorrow for sure. :)She'll also get to go visit with my mom who I know is looking forward to spending time with her second granddaughter. :)

Also this week we welcomed a new member to our family. A friend and co-worker of one of my kid's moved in with us. She's a very sweet girl that needs some time to sort things out in her life and we're blessed to be able to help guide her. Please pray for her as she has lots of decisions to make and that we are an encouragement to her.

On Thursday, my sixteen year old son along with me & Tom, met with a young lady and her parents for a time of interviewing. :) He was questioned by the girl's dad because my son asked permission to date her. It was great. I loved watching my son's emotions. He was all smiles. :) Plus a bit nervous. ;) Oh, the dad gave permission. Also, we don't "date", we do a modified courtship. Should be a fun season. :)

I went school supply shopping today. Looks like Walgreens will have lots of goodies on sale tomorrow. I'm looking forward to visiting a store or two after church tomorrow. Is it crazy to love shopping for school supplies? :)

Tom has been working on Courtney's car all day today. Hopefully he'll be happy with the results by bedtime. :) I think that's all the updates for this week. Thanks for following. :)

Please remember to pray for Natalie. If you feel led, please consider donating to her Nicaragua Mission Fund. You can find the Chipin link in my sidebar. Every little bit helps. :)

Chipin for Natalie

After looking at the Chipin account for Natalie's Nicaragua fund, I noticed that regardless of how people are sending the money, Paypal is keeping a portion of it. It looks like it's the standard .30 plus 2.9%. SO, maybe we should rethink this. I hate that the money she needs is being taken by a third party. What do you think we should do? I know it's convenient, but is it worth it?

The Difference In A Day

Oh wow. The difference one day can make. Well, yesterday, July 22, was my husband's birthday. Happy Birthday, Tom! It was also Sam's & Zoey's birthday. Now, I know you don't know Sam & Zoey, and I haven't met them either, but that will all change today. :) See, my neighbors, sweet friends of ours, delivered twins yesterday. They were a few weeks early but are doing well. So now, Shannan & Derek are parents. They have their hands full and I am so blessed to be so close that I will be able to help. I'm sure my kiddos will be glad to help as well. On a different note, it looks like Natalie has Nicaragua fever. She is so ready to go back!! She's already cancelled her college classes and is looking for plane tickets for September. I am pretty sure she'll be back on the field around the first part of September. Having a definite leave time will help me help her get the things done that need to be done: doctor for physical and shots, CPR and First Aid class, spreading the word, fundraising, putting unusable items in boxes then storage, purchasing tickets, and finally, moving. Am I missing anything? In the midst of all of this flurry, I still have to prepare for our co-op classes and our homeschool. I am SOOO glad I don't have to teach this semester. I don't think I will be worth a hill of beans as a teacher this year. Thankfully I can teach my kids at home easily. :) No pressure there. :) We're using Sonlight, so lots of reading. I can do this. :) Well, I'm off to get ready to go see those babies. I do hope this gives my oldest daughter and son-in-law baby fever...would love to have another grandbaby. ;)

How Exciting!!

I have created a ChipIn account to help spread the word to raise funds for Natalie's mission trip. I'm helping her with a newsletter and encouraging her to start a blog. Everything is happening so quickly, she may be out of the country by December. She has two churches lined up to hear about her calling and to learn more about Nicaragua. Please continue to pray for her. :)

What's Going On...

We're waiting on news from Last Frontier Agency to see if they will take Natalie on as their missionary while she's in Nicaragua working with Planted Ministries. Since all three of us (LFA, PM, and our family) are all new to this, we are trying to cover all of our bases to ensure all our i's are dotted and t's are crossed. Don't want any government problems down the line. :)

In the meantime, we have set up a fund at our church to accept donations for Natalie's flights and living expenses for the next two years. (We hope to have a Paypal link soon. Until that happens, the church address is on the home page if you feel led to send a donation.) Since she plans to be in Nicaragua by mid January, we have a little time to get the word out about her calling and raise support. She definitely will need prayer warriors as well as financial contributors.

We also want to get her a blog and newsletter set up so you can keep up with her as well. If you'd like more info on how you can help, please message me. :)

The Decision...

So, the other day I wrote about  my daughter, Natalie, her trip to Nicaragua, and some decisions that needed to be made. You can read the story here. Now that a few days have passed, I can tell you what decisions have been made. She will be going back to Nicaragua as soon as possible as God has called her to be a missionary. She will teach English and help out wherever she can. She will help out at a new orphanage starting up. I, of course, want to protect her as much as I can but I know that even without me, she will be fine because she's protected by God. He has a plan for her life and it is so amazing watching it open in front of my eyes. How amazing to see His heart showing forth from my child. (Yes, technically she is His child, but you know what I mean.)

Did you know that Nicaragua is a fairly poor country? I read the other day that it's the 2nd poorest, only after Haiti, but that could be old info. However, having someone from my family actually visit there, I know the people there are poor money wise, but rich in spirit. Oh the amazing life my daughter is about to embark on. I'm so excited for her. Knowing peoples lives are going to change is an incredible feeling. We can't help but praise God for His goodness.

Lamentations 3: 22-25