fearless, and full of faith!

remember last week sometime when brandi and i went to see her friend who gave us a truckload of plants? well ever since that time i have wanted someone to come to our garden and give some ideas on how to make it look more like a garden instead of a jungle full of mishmash everywhere

yesterday, nabisha came over with her expertise and knowledge.  she was born and raised on the island and recently began to work as a landscaper.  now to be fair to carlos and myself, the place looks alot better then it did when we moved in a year ago but it still has a very wild and unpolished look to it.  now those of you who know me know that i usually like that style of gardening, more like an english garden type.  but in order for that type of garden to really work the beds need to be FULL! my garden has a few plants here and a few plants there.  i have worked hard to get carlos to plants in groups but still he loves to put one plant in and another one about a foot away and then another one a few feet away which gives it a rather scaggly look.

this was taken at lawson rock. i like it but i want more FLOWERS!

anyways, nabisha has some good ideas and we set carlos off to do some replanting.  one thing she mentioned was that the branches of the trees overhead could use a trimming in order to get better light.
so one time when i was up to get some water i noticed carlos up in the cashew tree, machete in hand just wacking away.   i decided to go outside and sit to watch this.  i find it incredible how they manage to climb so skillfully and easily up trees. in barefeet, of course!

do you think he got a little carried away??  hahaa.. anyways we will have more sunshine for the plants!
he kept saying.. mas sol!  (more sun)

the ascent begins

you can barely see him but he is there!

there he is leaning over to get the branches from a nearby tree

he wanted to get to the very end of that narrow branch and as he started to slow edge his way out i said carlos, cuidado!!  which in english mean be careful!  the last thing i wanted was for him to fall and i am not supposed to drive with this tendon tear.  so he looked at me, grinned and said, en el nombre de Dios!  which in english means 'in the name of God'   fearless!  full of faith!

i am going outside to take a photo of our new cashew sculpture.. no branches just a twisty trunk. oh well it will grow back and for now we will get a lot more sun in that bed below.  

there used to be a tree there.. as you can see from the photos above.  and as you can see there isn't much of anything growing there because it was too shady.  well no more!!

oh i wish my heel would hurry up and HEAL!  i would love to be out there transplanting and creating a new home for my plants.   i need patience.  yes i do.

please pray for this tendon to heal well and quickly (and of course for patience for me in the meantime) and pray that carlos will be safe as he works here.

have a great day!

after the storm

Hurricane Richard stayed out in the ocean on the north side instead of coming right over Roatan as predicted.  We experienced high winds and rain but it could have been worse.  We were left with broken trees, limbs scattered everywhere, and power lines down.  I am so grateful for Reco, our electric company for working hard all day to get the power restored to the island. .

 No power meant a quiet day for us:  reading, napping, playing games together.   At around 2:00 we heard traffic on the roads again so we ventured out where I was able to take some photos. We spent the evening with high powered flash lights and candles everywhere.  It looked really beautiful in the house.. like Christmas Eve!   When the power came on at around 9:30 pm we were so grateful as we were getting a little nervous about food spoiling in the fridge as we were without power for about 18 hours.

I talked with Carlos this morning and he said that their weren't any major problems in the Colonia.  He had a large tree near their house that was being ravaged by the wind (my words not his!) so several neighbors came over and they chopped it down before it fell on their house.   He is actually happy because now they will have more breeze coming through.

Today is going to be a major clean up day around the island!  But soon it will all be back to it's beautiful ways!   Thanks again for your prayers.   We are all safe and grateful! 

the wind took two our papaya tree and 4 banana trees

papaya anyone?

leaves were strewn everywhere!

power poles and lines were damaged.  grateful to reco for restoring power so quickly

saw this guy in coxen hole.. love his winter jacket!

for sale?   after a bit of clean up i'd say!

alot of the roads weren't passable but they worked hard to get things cleaned up quickly

buddy by candlelight

i picked this gardenia from the garden.. beautiful isn't it?

buddy was nervous but i kept him close to me.  that helped

light shines in darkness .. always.. grateful for His presence

 

 

hurricane richard

well it looks like richard is going to come to roatan!  we were hoping that he would come as a tropical storm but they have said that he is a category one hurricane.   he is barreling his way towards us and should be here in all his fury around 7 am sunday morning.   they are predicting 65 mph winds and about 6 - 8 inches of rain.   we are praying.. needless to say.

dark moody sky by barefoot cay

we went to french harbour this morning (i stayed in the car resting my achilles tendon, fear not) as we were driving home the skies got fiercely dark and moody and soon the rain was falling so heavy it was difficult to see while driving.

these boys were so happy to get a ride!

that was just a little taste of what is to come.    the rains have stopped, for now.  we are as ready as we can be.. extra water, food in the cupboards, lots of batteries, and candles, new tigo stick, phone cards are full, gutters are cleaned out (thanks to carlos!)  i am a tiny bit worried about my new little plants.. i hope they don't drown!

but my big concern is for the people who live up in the colonias.  it is very hilly up there and many people have built make shift houses.  with the threat of flash floods i pray they will be safe.  will you join me?   also all the people who live in dixon cove have alot of trouble with flooding.  last storm they were evacuated to the church in french harbour for the night.  please pray for them.

we handed out food and sheets to people in hopes that at least they will be fed and warmer.  bob went to hottest sparrow yesterday.  thanks to those of you who sent money for food.  we were able to get rice, beans, lard, flour, and sugar to give out to many families. i sent carlos home with extra food and a couple of old blankets from the house.  he was so grateful you'd think i had just got him a complete 'bed in the bag' instead of a bunch of old hand me downs.  they are so appreciative here.  makes giving easy.

 i saw this guy today riding around before the rains fell

such a good reminder...

"He was pierced for our transgressions"

Isaiah 53:5

no matter what we face

He has been through worse and will see us through!

so now we wait. 

and we pray.

  please join us in this.

  thanks for your ongoing support. it means so much to us!

we will keep you posted!  xo

Miracles at the shop

I love alot of things about Jesus but probably my favorite thing about Him is that He was a man of the street.  By that i mean He wasn't corporate, or super religious in the synagogue, or in a palace somewhere ... He with the people.

He was in markets, on the road, on the hillside, in a boat.  He was with His friends, with strangers, with sinners, with the sick. He was, as we say in canada, 'out and about'.

Well on Tuesday He was at the shop. 

Bob and I always pray before we go to the 'Made in Roatan' shop.   We realize the world is coming to roatan, and many of them see the sign on the shop, and meander in.   many of them need an invite from Bob as he stands in the hot sun all day and says:  everything here in made right here on the island, come on in and have a look.   and some people come in. it's wonderful.

the day started out slow, as usual, it always is.  i use it as a time to dry to take a layer of filthy street dust off all the carvings, my photos, the jewelry stands... everything has a gritty film to it!


but little by little people start to meander in.  and we share about our vision to help people on the island.  so many people are amazed that it isn't our business.  we aren't making money (except for my cards and bob makes some 'man jewelry'... yes that is a plug haha!).

i love telling stories about the people that we are selling for.  i make the artists tangible and real and when the people hear about their life they move from being 'shoppers' to 'helpers'  it is a small but huge difference.

 okay so here are few 'God showed up stories for you...':

one drawback to the shop is that we don't have a bathroom so when it isn't busy i run (yes literally) down a little road to zenola's place to use her bathroom.   i was hurrying past koke, the artist who sells next to us and he started jabbering in spanish, very fast and i could see he was upset.  now i understand fairly well but not fast spanish, so i asked him to speak slower (in spanish) he told me that a group of guys (muchachos!) were standing and talking right in front of where he sells his painting and no one was coming because they couldn't see his work.  he hadn't sold anything all day!!!!   of course as he is talking he is getting more upset and speaking faster.  i told him that i needed to go to the bathroom (mildy desperate at this point) and that i would be back in a minute and i would talk to the guys!

while i was in the bathroom i was moved to pray and ask the Lord to bring someone to buy his painting.  even if the guys moved what koke needed was a sale, right?  yes.  so i left with Him and started to walk down the narrow muddy road towards the shop.  as i was walking towards the guys a lady was walking towards koke paintings.  in my heart i knew she was going to buy!!  and guess what she did!!!   immediately that prayer was answered.   Jesus showed up.  the Gospels all have parallel stories but each |Gospel is a bit different. one thing i noticed once while reading the book of mark is the word 'immediately'.  mark said that alot.  that is because Jesus is able to do things faster and better then anyone i know!!

i told koke that i had prayed for him and he kept gracias debi.  and i kept no no no... gracias Jesus (in spanish it is pronounced hay-zeus.. which i love)   it wasn't about me 'fixing' the problem with the guys it was about 'asking'.  i think we often forget about asking.   Jesus said, 'until now, you have asked for nothing in My name, ask and you will receive so your joy will be made full'  (john 16:24)  now i am not advocating that we will get everything we ask for, like the name and claim whole mentality because it isn't up to us it is up to Him.  and for koke, and for no one else, Jesus showed up.

isn't that wonderful.  i think so.

another story is that a guy came in who works for cruise critic.  i have his card somewhere but i can't remember his name (sorry mr. cruise critic guy...)   we had a great time together!  he had lots of questions about the shop and wants to run a story about it.  which is fantastic.   so in the midst of all that chatting and laughing and fun when and how did He show up?    well the God moment for me in the midst of all of that was when a tiny sweet little yellow bird flew into the shop.  it was so incredible.   so beautiful. so unexpected.  so 'like Him'.  at first he just flew around, landing on things but soon he wanted to get out (of course) so i got a towel and tried to steer him towards the door.   i was praying that he'd find his way out when he went behind the door on a window ledge and i just reached back with the towel and gently laid it on him.  i took him in my hand and i held him.  as i looked at that bird i thought.. oh my goodness.. HE takes care of the birds.   i doubt if either the critic guy or even zenola had any sense of what was happening in my heart but i thought... why do i worry???  He takes care of the birds,  they do store in barns but He feeds them.   it brought such JOY to realize i don't need to worry nor do i need to take care of people here on the island. it is HIS JOB!

was beautiful.  for me.  i think He did that for me.. but then again maybe as you read this you will realize the same precious truth and then it can be for you too.


 a post note:  things we don't like also happen at the shop.  a couple of weeks ago i slipped and fell going down zenola's stairs and a couple of days ago i started to experience pain and numbness in my heel.  i went to the clinic today and it turns out that i have a slight tear in my achilles tendon.  not happy with the news but it is what it is so for the next few weeks i will be resting.

i appreciate all prayers for quick healing of this tendon.  thanks and Lord bless you  xo

a gift from above

 

okay do me a quick favor...

think of something that when you are out and about that you can not resist buying.

shoes?

chocolate?

tools?

art?

earrings?

books?

music?

well for me it is plants

i wrote earlier about being a potential plant thief actually

but yes i do buy them too

in canada my favorite thing to do was to go to nursery at the end of the season

i would buy tons and tons of plants half price and nurse them back to life

and in the spring i would have a colorful, messy, perennial flower bed.

yup flowers that is it for me

i am a complete sucker for anything that blooms and brings color into my world

so on monday when brandi called and asked if i wanted to go with her

to get some plants from her friend

of course i didn't hesitate one minute.

there are certain plants that are common on the island:

hibiscus, heliconia, gingers galore, bird of paradise

but when i walked into this ladies yard my jaw dropped

(not literally of course)

she had soo many different varieties

like this beautiful water hyacinth

oh my goodness.. isn't that remarkable!   she has it growing in a large basin in her yard!!

and look at this trumpet flower!!!!

   unfortunately you can't transplant it from a cutting and the seeds are 'bad' right now.  not sure what that means, but later i wandered back (yes in stealth mode) to check out the 'bad' seeds and sure enough when i opened the large walnut sized seed pod it was total mush inside.

so needless to say i am waiting for some "good" seeds to come my way!
i think there is too much rain so the seed pods are rather water logged!

anyways we meandered around her yard, she was armed with her machete and a shovel

and she began wacking away large pieces of the most exotic plants
amazing!

what a blessing!  what a gift!

we were totally overwhelmed!

i wish you could have seen our car.. it was literally loaded to the brim 

(bet you didn't know cars had brims!)

with flowers!!

i kept looking in my rear view mirror and grinned as i saw

so much green and red and burgundy!

there is brandi walking home with her bags of 'treasures!'

it is hard to tell from these photos...
but we got soaked!!!!
i mean literally soaked but it was soo worth it!

flip flop fiesta

laura, had a brainwave to have a 'she's crafty' night and so while she was in the states picked up

a bunch of pairs of flip flops as well as a plethora of accessories like beads, ribbons, sequins of various sizes, and little charms.  we had everything we needed to make the coolest, funkiest flip flops on the island!

let the fun begin!

the table in full swing..i call it messy creativity!

jenny hot gluing!

pauline being cute!

these were my favorites: chain link on the side, seeds, beads.. a very unique pair! way to go rita!

simple and under stated.

hamming it up!

the group shot!  feet only! mine are the 7th pair over.. christmasy!

fun! fun! fun!

laura, our beautiful hostess and lola, all dressed up! 

we had such a great evening together!  lots of laughs and fun. i was happy to meet some new girls on the island.  i knew some of them but not many.  it is always important to get together and just have FUN!

and .. we..DID!

thanks laura!

a trip to the market

 

yesterday bob and i went to the market to buy beans.  there is a shortage of beans right now due to wet weather.  AND the prices are  skyhigh! (by honduran standards) everyone is up in arms about it.  they are even talking about it on TV.  they have to pay over a dollar a pound!!   you may say that isn't much but to these people who eat it everyday and many of them aren't working or if they are, they are making less then 12.00 a day.   we were blessed the other day when a couple from canada sent us 200.00 for helping the needs here, and bob looked at me and said, BEANS!!!

so off we went to the market.  we bought a 100 lbs of beans!! that was a good day for that vendor!

i wish we had bought 20 lbs from various vendors at the market but we didn't think of that til later

so that one man received a huge blessing yesterday!

i know this is going to be such a blessing to many people. we will start to package it up early next week. we are waiting for a couple more things to come from the mainland. times are desperate on the island. really tough!

please pray with us that we will have the wisdom to know who to give extra help to at this time,

as i said, everyone is struggling financially, many without work, and so the needs are really great right now!

beautiful, bible in her lap, praying!  we have to keep praying!

as we left the market the rain began to fall!

we had planned on going to the bank to renew don and jeanette's registration on their car.  it is due soon and they had asked us to do that for them while they are away in the states til january.   so we agreed to meet the lady at the bank to get the registration renewed.  we had no idea we would be facing a torrential downpour.  oh how it rained!!  it was incredible!   within minutes the road in front of the bank began to flood!   we were grateful for two things:  an overhang by the bank so we could have dry shelter, and also that our friend ida was cooking a BBQ under that overhang so we could have lunch while we waited for the rain to stop!   

at one point, i was sitting down eating my lunch (BBQ pork, potato salad, refried beans, and tortillas.. YUM!) and this truck drove by soooo fast and literally drenched me from head to foot.  fortunately, i wasn't facing the road, and i jumped up before my food got soaked, but i looked like a drowned rat.  yes, you can laugh at this image.. it was quite funny.   the rain didn't let up for quite a while so we braved the elements under my umbrella and ran to the car.  by the time we got home i was so thankful for a hot shower, and a good cup of tea.

people outside the clinic trying to sweep the water away before it flooded the inside!!

this is a person wrapped in plastic trying to make it home dry!!

traffic heading towards the gas station

when it rains the red earth just flows down from the hills. it is dangerous because of the erosion!

just another typical day on the island.  i can't thank you enough  for your prayers and your support!!!

we are doing our part to help here on the island and we can't do it without you.

we also started a small group last week and it is wonderful!  we realize that we give and give alot and often our own needs get neglected so we are grateful for the people who gather in our livingroom weekly to worship, pray and provide support. it is wonderful!!!

a tribute to the miners

this reminded me of the capsule felix that brought them up

i have been watching the rescue of the chilean miners with baited breath and sincere prayers for their safety.  i have been moved by this situation when we first heard about it on tv in august.  many times i have been prompted to pray for them, and i was touched to see how the families moved to the middle of the desert and set up camp to be near to those they loved.  in fact i said to bob once that i wish i could go there.   it has been more then just another 'news story' for me.  i wonder if the reason i feel so connected and compassionate towards them is because we are living amongst the spanish culture here.

when i saw this i thought of the chile flag

i love the spanish culture and i can see so many similarities to the way they are handling things: the obvious friendship and comradry, the commitment of the families to camp out, their positive attitudes, their desire to NOT be inundated by the media, their obvious faith in the Lord, the letters written back and forth, the fact that they HUG the president!!  wow i don't know but i don't think a north american would go and hug their prime minister or president upon being rescued.   nor do i think our prime minister would stay up ALL night and the next day.  over and over i see that 'people matter!'     it is typically a trademark of the south american culture and one that i have grown to love and appreciate more and more as we live here.

when the second man was rescued i was moved to tears as i watched the reunion with his wife.. so touching!!  i love  that he  gave a bag of rocks from down below to the president and other workers.  such a giving attitude!!  and then he began to lead them in a chant CHILE!  the whole scene was so full of JOY!  in fact i never grew tired throughout the day of watching those reunions and hearing that chant.

i have been watching the coverage for most of the day in between doing laundry and washing the floors.  i am moved to see their public displays of faith:  dropping to their knees in prayer, giving God thanks and admitting that they were sustained by Him during the whole time.  it is interesting to note that when they were first discovered they sent word up to send down toothpaste and bibles!! haha.. love that!!  :-)



Sepulveda, the second miner extracted from the mine, has advice for those who take undue risks in their lives.
"I think I have learned a lot of wonderful lessons about taking the good path in life," he said. "For those of you able to call your wives or your husbands, do so."
During the time he was trapped inside the mine, Sepulveda said, he saw both good and evil.
"I was with God, and I was with the devil. They fought, and God won," he said. Sepulveda said he grabbed God's hand and never doubted that he would be rescued.  (taken from the CNN website)

i don't know if you noticed the tshirts that the miners were wearing the day of their rescue.  Jose Henriquez's brother got the tshirts printed and this was printed on the back:

To Him be the glory and honor. Because in his hands are the depths of the earth, and the heights of the mountains are His.”

taken from Psalm 95:4

on the sleeve bore the name JESUS~

as i walked throughout the yard i thought of seeing light for the first time.. wow! what a blessing to the miners!

this rescue is so remarkable truly because HE was down their in the depths with those men.  He sustained them, taught them, transformed many of them, and when they surfaced it was that joy that we saw in their eyes

we can learn from them can't we?  i don't know what you are facing.  but i know it is nothing compared to be trapped underground for 68 days.  but either way, i think we can learn from them and grab God's hand.

so hold on, grab His hand, keep believing, keep praying, don't lose heart... 

we can learn from the miners of Chile.

my heart and my flesh may fail but GOD is the strength of my heart and my portion forever

.

we need to continue to pray for them as they adjust to their new life.  one of the youngest miners wrote this to his family while underground:  "I'm fine. I'm still not nervous. I believe when I see everyone, nerves are going to attack me. But for now I'm happy and calm. I've always been in this spirit."   I believe what he said is very true that the 'nerves' and the reality of what they went through will hit them in the days and months ahead.  one news reporter late last night said that many of the men hadn't slept yet due to nerve, excitement and adrenalin.   please pray for them that they will not experience post traumatic stress.  pray that they will be able to rest and sleep.  that health will be restored.  that relationships will continue to be nourished and strengthened. pray that they will have wisdom to know how to deal with the "world" that wants to make them all stars.