Recently Jared had a conversation with one of the neighbor boys that made us smile. The boy loves spending time with us and adores Isaac. 'Sir I have a question' he stated, and then asked his question. 'Could you and Miss adopt me?' What a silly question, yet loaded with hope, hurt, and a heart that longed to be loved and cared for. Jared told him that he has a mother that he lives with. Without thinking he added a line onto the question, 'if she dies?' Jared reminded him that he has a father as well, even if he doesn't see him that often. But the boy was ready, 'and if he dies?' Jared concluded that if those two things happened then we would think about it. That was the end of the conversation and the boy was content with that answer. We still smile as we think of it but I am sure that the reason the boy asked is because he has a longing in his heart that is not being met. The home he comes from is shared by an extended family, several siblings live in the same house. The sisters go to work during the day to earn a pay check and the men around the house waste their time on drugs. The fathers of the children live else ware and are not interested in their children's lives. The chaos of the home leaves the young children eating ramen noodles, spending all their spare time on their tablets, and asking to be adopted. This pulls at our heartstrings and we long to take these children in and teach them what a Godly home should look like.
We had a good week of encouragement, even though it was very busy and full of late nights. Rick Rhodes and his wife Renita as well as 6 boys came for a week of crusades. The big green tent was set up in the Laborie pasture, the rough crusade benches were sanded down, and the sound equipment was set up. Monday evening started off the week of crusades, calling Laborie to repentance. Jared and I particularly enjoyed the last evenings as they were geared toward the church or those who are already saved.
We had a batch of sickness, that was just the cold as everyone around us was getting. I got it first, then Isaac and then Jared. It was a very harsh sickness and really got me down for a few days. As Isaac struggle through the misery, Jared remembered a covid test we had left over from travel. It was expired by one month so we decided that in our state of cleaning out we would likely throw it away anyhow. The decision as made to test Isaac, even though we were sure it would be negative. But we were wrong and so at 7 months old, Isaac battled his first round of Covid! Thankfully time brought healing and we are all in good health again after 2 weeks of feeling down.
June and the beginning of July was full of many good days. Busy days at school finishing up all the loose ends and preparing for the graduation day. We felt sadness as we dropped most of the children off at their houses on our way home from beach day. Thankfully it was mostly a quick and hurried goodbye as cars blew horns and on lookers had no time to wait. That helped from making things to painful or serious. But when we stopped to think about the fact that this could be the last time we ever see some of these children, there was a deep ache. But time brings change and we know that these hard goodbyes are part of it. A few days after school ended we found ourselves saying goodbye to the three girl teachers as we dropped them off at the airport. This time the goodbyes were not as quick and some tears were shed. But time brings change and yet again saying goodbye is part of this season. Leonard and Jen have been back for a trip as well, leaving us here alone in Laborie. Life has been a bit slower and we have soaked it in!
Isaac continues to grow and is turning into such a big boy! He is still very fussy at times and is just not a very content little guy! Every single day I thank Jared for encouraging me and not letting me give up. But trust me, the feelings are there! I try hard to remind myself of the positives and realize how blessed I am to have a living baby, even is he pushes me further than I think I can go! Every day I go to bed thinking that tomorrow might be better and I wake up hopeful, but until the end of the day I'm back to thinking that hopefully tomorrow is better! Jared reminds me that this same little boy will have the dishes washed and the laundry hung out before 8am someday!
By now Isaac is 8 months old and he is just learning to crawl. It is still a slow and painful process but he is getting it. The progress is so slow and when I spend every day with him I can hardly see it. But when I look back on a video of a few days ago I can tell that there has been progress! He has really only been getting around for a week and a half and I can already tell much improvement. I'm anxious to see where he will be at in two weeks when we are ready to move. Our house will certainly need some baby proofing before we do too many other things! He is at the stage where he loves to taste everything he can get his hands on. I sure notice how dirty the floors are by how dirty the boy is! Recently he was playing by himself, I was washing dishes and not paying very close attention to him. He was quiet and I was just taking in each quiet minute I could. Next I gave him a bath and got him ready for bed and as I was getting him dressed I noticed the top of him mouth was all white. It took my one second to realize while he was so quiet he had found a paper book and decided to eat it. I called Jared and he got a large hunk of packed paper out from the roof of Isaacs mouth. Every day we pray for protection and we see it lived out more often then we would like!
Recently our days have been filled with emptying the refrigerator and freezer and pantry. For a while it was fun but by now we are scraping to get by! Which is exactly how we want it but also frustrating at times. We have been going through drawers and cupboards. I've been giving away some of the home decor items I brought to others living in Grenada. Our house is starting to feel very bare and not like our home. Most of our clothing is so old and stained after 4 years of hard use so we are giving that to those around us that can get a bit more use out of it. We are still waiting on God to provide a home for Ginger! We tried hard to figure out a way to take her back with us but in the end we just didn't feel right about spending several thousand dollars on our free dog. So we are still waiting for that answer to prayer!
Many of you have reached out and reminded us that you are praying for us. We appreciate that so much! We move back to the states on August 7th, which is less then two weeks away. Part of us is very excited for the next step and looking forward to the change. But then part of us is so sad to leave this home and overwhelmed by all the changes that are ahead. Some of the feelings are hard to explain or put into words. I'm so thankful to have a steady husband. I'm excited to have family waiting to help with our little son. And I'm very blessed to have many friends praying for us and encouraging us as we journey in life!
Some specific prayer requests we have right now are, peace as we say goodbye and close this chapter of life. A smooth flight and calmness for our energetic little Isaac! A good home for Ginger. Grace through the changes of settling into Lancaster county. We are also praising God that a pastor replacement has been found for Jared's church responsibilities here in Grenada. They will move sometime this fall, Lord willing. God bless you and keep you this week!
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