Praying Hands

Yay, we finally have internet at the house! Hopefully this means I will be able to blog a lot more. I have to get some homework done but wanted to share this little story from yesterday.

Yesterday sometime in the morning, I was in a hurry to get the garbage out before the garbage men came. It had just rained so the dirt incline to the road was a little slick. I really didn't think anything of it. I put my flip flops (slippers as they are called here) on, grabbed the trash and went to put the trash in it's place. On the way back down, I slipped on a very muddy spot, bent in an awkward position and heard my back crack. My back has been hurting for a week, so my initial reaction was hopeful that the pop I had heard was going to make my back feel better. I came inside, sat down to work with Ty on his homework, and the pain just started rippling through my body. So much for making things better.

Angie gave me some anti-inflammatory cream and I took some ibuprofen which I believe both helped but definitely didn't get rid of the pain. When we got to class yesterday after devotions, Pastor Mike asked Renae (a wonderful woman of the Lord who is with us for just a few more days) if she would pray for my back. She agreed and when the time came, she walked over to me and layed her hands on me and started praying. Here is my favorite part... one I don't recall has ever happened yet. As Renae was praying, Tyler came up beside me. Usually he will talk in my ear or ask for something... sometimes a distraction. Well yesterday, he walked over to me and placed his hands on me and I could hear him very quietly praying asking God to heal my back. I can't put into words how beautiful that was to me.

I am happy to say that though my back is not 100%, it does feel soooo much better and I know this is only because of prayer!!

NEW!

I would just like to say that I really wish I could do this more often but so far it just hasn't worked out. Now it has been a while since I have posted a new blog so where do I begin?

Ty got invited to a birthday party this past Saturday which was an answer to my prayers. I was a little worried about him communicating but I knew he needed some kid time. He came back completely excited about stories of the kids. Bouncy houses are big here so there was one of those to play on. He insists that everyone speaks Spanish even though I tell him over and over that he is really hearing English. So one of his stories was of all the kids at the top of the bouncy house getting ready to go on the slide. Quite a few of the kids were at the top ready to go down and apparently a girl budged in front of Tyler. He said they were all telling him to let her go down, but the hardest part for him was that they were all speaking Spanish. Oh this makes me laugh every time I think of him telling me. Even the lady we live with, he insists while he is talking to her that she is speaking Spanish. Thankfully she always seems to enjoy her conversations with him.

Angie also seems to enjoy buying new foods when she goes out. She has come home several times with something new for Brandi and I to try. The other day for breakfast she made us roti and bodi. There are a fe different forms of Roti. This one was like a pita bread. Bodi is a very long green bean. She cut the bodi up and put in onions and potatos and a few other things I'm sure. Most everything has a little curry powder in it. I really liked it, but when I sat down to eat it I started filling the pita with bodi. I watched Angie eat for a minute and then picked up my pita stuffed with bodi. I had to ask... She and I were eating this breakfast differently so I asked, "Am I eating this like a typical American would?" She smiled and said yes. Most of the time when there is a tortilla or pita bread, it is used in place of a spoon. You pinch what you will eat inside the tortilla.

A few days ago, for our Sunday morning service we went to Bayshore. Bayshore is a squater community made up of... I'm not sure what to call them... huts. Very small homes serving very basic needs. Most of the people in this village are Rastafareans. Many do not have jobs. It's a very poor area and the church that has been established at Bayshore is doing and will continue to do amazing things there. The couple that got married had been together for 16 years and had 5 children. After coming to know the Lord they felt led to get married. This is huge for that community. Hopefully they will be an example to many who live with and are not married to their signifant other. Brandi and I will get to be a part of tutoring some kids there and this is something that I am really looking forward to.

Yesterday we had a beach day, we went to Maracas which is on the north shore of the island. This area is a little more touristy so beaches are nice... Just lots of touristy things there. I ate a shark sandwich from bake and shark. It was pouring on our way to Maracas so we were wondering if we would be able to swim or not. After driving and debating we decided to swim with a little rain. I bought a small innertube for Ty so I could take him to deeper parts of the water. He loved that and I loved taking him out there. The waves were good size and strong enough to knock us over near the shore. I LOVE the water so to me it was sooo fun! It was an amazing day of laughing and being carefree. Definitely need that with new experiences.

Ok, I could go on and on but would like to email my daddy right now... or upload more pictures.

First Few Days

I have attempted to get another post up before this one, but either didn't feel like writing or didn't feel I could share at the time what I was feeling.

We went to a few grocery stores on Tuesday and did some exploring of the island. The two main stores we went to were identical to Sam's Club and Walgreens. I am surprised to find that most things are just a little more expensive here than in the US except for gasoline. Since this is a major gas producing hub... or maybe oil drilling area, gas is around 80 cents per gallon. If you're looking for a restroom you won't find one... Seek a washroom. With Tyler this is crucial information, because I am always asking where the washroom is.

Wednesday was our church picnic. I was extremely anxious about this simply because I always get freaked out when I know I am going to meet a bunch of new people. I just felt really stressed out. I hadn't even looked at Tyler's homeschool books yet. I am extremely protective of my child and I have just been very concerned about him here. He stands out in a crowd. During our morning devotion time, it hit me that what I was struggling with was control. Control with my child. In the states, it is so easy to say yes Lord, I surrender my child to you. I trust in you to take care of him. I feel like I was going through the motions. Here, I feel like I don't have a choice but to completely surrender my child to my Lord. We could encounter dangerous situations here and I may not be able to do anything about it, but no matter where we are, in asking and praying I know God will keep Tyler much safer than I could ever dream.

So the picnic wasn't too bad. Right after we got there, I had to find the washroom for Ty. :) And when we came back Mike, Pam and Brandi had disappeared... saying hello to everyone. I know we were in a group of amazing Christians, but this was almost overwhelming for me. Ask my mother... I'd still be glued to her hip at social events at the age of 26! We spotted our little group and joined them to view our lunch options. I don't have my little lunch option card thingy that we were given so I don't remember what all the options were. I do remember one was bbq chicken, french fries, salad, and a drink which is what everyone but Pastor Mike and I got. We had paratha (sp?) and curried goat or chicken. I had chicken and Mike had goat. It comes with a big roll of something like tortilla and there was also pumpkin and mango, both seasoned. You use pieces of tortilla to pick up the other parts of the food. Oh I forgot, there was also a potato mixture... All very good. The curried chicken and mango were slightly spicy but very good! Tyler ate french fries. The boy he was sitting with had a Nintendo DS so I am lucky he even ate fries. There was also a bounce house that he spotted the minute we arrived, so eating for him was last priority. I don't know if he has ever had barbequed chicken. I pulled the leg from the thigh for him and when I licked my hands it tasted delicious but he wasn't too sure about it.

Thursday was beach day. We drove to the north west end of the island which is a couple hours drive. We had KFC for lunch which is very popular here. We met up with a family Pastor (can't remember his name!!) and his wife Sandra and their two boys Christian and Timothy. They were all so nice. It was very fun hearing their stories of their visit to the states. On our way to the beach, we were in bumper to bumper stop and go traffic... so slow!!! Then we came around a corner to see that there had been a mudslide on the opposite side of the road and they were using that lane to clean up and repair the damages, so it was one lane through there. I know that can happen in different parts of the states but not in IOWA! Haha! There were a ton of stairs to get down to the beach but it was postcard beautiful. It was so nice to just float in the water and check out the surroundings.

Yesterday, we spent a great deal of time in the car. We went and picked out bunk beds, bought sheets, towels, trash cans... everything one might need one moving to a new place. What a long day! But very fun too. It is so much fun being out and looking at all the different things. After many hours of shopping, we came home, made dinner and then played a few games. It's not hard to get Tyler to sleep these days... or myself for that matter.

Well, off to wake up my sleeping little man so we can get the day started. I hope to keep everyone updated even if it ends up being about once a week!

Blessings!!