Post Monday Belize

I will do some post to try to put words to our mission trip but in the meantime read here for the baptism update:

http://westwoodbelizemission.blogspot.com/

Mission trip blues.
I expected it this time but as I wake up this Monday morning to get back to the grind I cringe.

Husband and I talked last night of all the things on our calendar that just doesn't matter. Softball, baseball, meetings ...
Every time I go I get this spiritual high of wanting to do more.
It bothers me. I lose sleep, but I believe it’s God-given. I even daydream of ideas of life changes that might make a difference instead of just talking about them, but it is hard.

So hard.

Images race through my mind of every little thing we saw, we did, and as every emotion we felt come racing through my heart. I mean, there are many places here that might be very similar to the Belize but… but…

For my husband and I, we have to start here in our home. Loving the 2 children God gave us. Loving more. Hugging more. Learning to be better parents. We fail miserably on our own. In Belize, many children miss that parental love. In my home is where I start.

This morning in my daily bible reading this verse spoke loud to me "Now therefore fear the Lord and serve him in sincerity and in faithfulness. Put away the gods that your fathers served beyond the River and in Egypt, and serve the Lord. (Joshua 24:14 ESV)

I don't want to feel closer to God in Belize.
I don't want the loud gods of this world to consume me or stop me from serving daily.

“We learned that orphans are easier to ignore before you know their names. They are easier to ignore before you see their faces. It is easier to pretend they’re not real before you hold them in your arms. But once you do, everything changes.” – Radical by David Platt.

Broken Ride

In the morning my little family of four will grow, stretch and live out a call made some 2000 years ago. Depending on Internet and time I will update either here or the church mission blog.

The link for the blog is here: Westwood Belize Blog

Special thanks
For prayers
For pancakes
For yard sales
For cards
For hugs
For painted toes
For donations
For tears
For playground prayers
For journals


I can't wait to take you all on this journey with us again.
We are broken vessels.
There is no good in us apart from Him.

For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. (Romans 7:18 ESV)






So join us on this broken ride.


All my love

Heart is Gone

I have not officially left.
I am still on the couch.
The list is long.
My mind is here, my heart is gone.
One more Saturday.
My own kids will be baptized in a river by the school probably Monday (3/18) before the school let's out.
My husband will be baptizing our children.
Our dearest friend Todd will share some words since the husband and I will be rendered speechless.
Others will be in the river that day.
Others will profess with their mouth that Jesus is Lord.
Cultures will combine.
Languages will unite.
And the one true God will be glorified.
I Can Not Wait.
I squeal periodically with excitement.
There are missionary friends I want to hug.
There are teachers I long to see.
There are kids I want to squeeze.
A Jesus I want to serve.
A hand I want to hold.
A song I want to sing.
A bible story I want to tell.
A book I want to read.
A Jesus I want to share.

(For geography purposes I posted maps of where we will stay. The school is inland. )

Jacob

I was digging through last year Belize pictures and found a picture of me at my heaviest weight. I don't need to list my excuses but it started with an ankle. Four surgeries over the course of two years and three years of inactivity will pack on pounds. Poor diet + Little movement = weight gain.

So what did I do?
Like Al Roker, I got ... Just kidding.
Mine is a different story.
It won't make People magazine list of who lost half of their body weight.
Mine is a story of healing of a different kind.
My ability to move and exercise is because the healing power of Jesus Christ. There is a story in the Old Testament about Jacob wrestling with God. He walks away from his time with God with a limp and his name changed. I remember reading that story after my ankle injury and relating to Jacob. That time of recovery and brokenness was a tender time in my life. I can see a different me before the injury and after the injury. I am not the same girl who fell down the stairs. I was changed. I was healed.

That being said, it is nothing I have done to lose weight. It is through His power and grace that anything happens with this 35 year old body. I did start the Weight Watchers eating plan. I did start doing what exercises I could. My husband and mother got me a stationary bike. I also have an elliptical.
My ankle has lost 70 % mobility.
It will never be able to run.
It will be able to tell a story of healing and a changed life.
It will be able to walk the jungle roads of Belize in 13 days.
It will work for His glory and His purpose.