A blog from Bec…
So we have had a busy few months with some ups and downs, pretty much the life of any family!
Ben seriously burnt his feet, but now four weeks later, he can do everything he did before, but he will not go without socks and shoes, the new skin is still very tender and crumbs and debris on the floor seem to hurt. But he is wonderful and brings joy wherever he goes.
Em has been going through a rough patch. For some reason whenever she would wear trousers or shorts she would just be so uncomfortable to the point of sheer frustration. Her toes touching would be so uncomfortable, that she would be in tears asking us why God was doing this and not helping. It is such an oddity to Dave and I, so we have been praying and really just asking God for wisdom. We have also had to change our parenting, it’s sort of humbling when you have to re-evaluate because what you are doing is not working. But we have seen that in Emma, that her drive to be ‘perfect’ and to please was too overwhelming, she would feel guilty to the point of condemnation and feel worthless. This is no way to live. So we have talked with her about the truth of who God says she is, the truth that we all mess up daily but we walk in forgiveness and that God see’s us as perfect through Christ. I think she is getting it, and I have seen a big difference the past few weeks. I think the ‘toe’ thing bought all this to light. Better a month or so of oddities, than a life of never feeling good enough. She is amazing, she is beyond smart and constantly writes songs, poems, and has a new business venture weekly. We have stamped on Satan and his lies and she is starting to realize the truth of who she is.
Gabriella is still our artistic one, the irony being that she has become the “easy child!”….she never stops asking questions, and cannot be fobbed off with nonsense. She is still my right hand when it comes to Ben. She bought her first chapter book this week and read it….so it was a big proud moment for her.
The school is doing really well. We have nine interns this semester, five of them graduate in a month, and so have had to “make a plan and say “amen” … our married couple are going to go and plant a church in Georgia, one is starting a college campus community, another is going to start a ministry to teenage girls and show real relationships and godly lifestyles. We have others going to teach in Eastern Europe with a desire to bring life and light to the atrocity of genocide,……This is a group that will enact change and refuse to let the status quo take control. The momentum is growing and we continue to be amazed at the caliber of young adults wanting to come to the leadership academy.
The visiting teachers, Ted Hanson, John Marsden, and Hermann Haan….have made the interns heads spin and spirits soar. It is fantastic, anointed, academic, it is about seeing the offices of “pastor” “teacher” “prophet”…..it is about letting them see it all and watching as a switch in them is turned on.
We have had a few visitors too, who seem not to notice the plumbing issues ( still can’t flush toilet paper!) etc etc, but they see ‘church’, they see a bunch of people, just having fun and living life to the full and living to encourage each other and to worship God.
If you want to visit you are more than welcome!
But back to my title…it’s the little things….. We walk to to the town square on a regular basis, and there always seem to be boys about Bens age on cool scooter/motorbikes. Ben just points and looks longingly. It is so heart-wrenching. The scooters in the stores are about $60 and up….so we decided to go to the flea market and before we left I ask the Lord for the exact same scooter Ben sees in the square………..(see below!)
So after years of being told that “God cares” I am finally beginning to believe that He truly does…He cares about the big and the small. I am finally believing that He does want us to be blessed and happy…..( That is my next blog….”destiny, happiness, and guilt”). Whether it’s healing feet, touching body parts or finding plastic toys, God is a big God who desires to show love in so many ways.
So that is to catch you all up a bit, and hopefully you are getting the blogs we post on facebook, and our adventures in missions page. If not let us know. Thanks for everything! LIFE IS GREAT :o)