A Sight for Sore Eyes

Two days ago right around lunch time we heard a knock on the door.  One of the kids ran to open the door knowing that I was just a few steps behind them.  A FedEx delivery man was standing there holding a large box that looked really heavy.  The kids started saying, “It’s Meme’s box!”  My mother told us last week that she mailed a care package to us and had put some surprises in it.  Everyone was standing around the box waiting for me to tear it open.

I want to interject something here that I have learned over the last year and a half of living overseas as a missionary.  Do not underestimate the power of sending care packages to missionaries.  Most missionaries live on a very limited budget and don’t splurge on unnecessary items very often.  Comforts from home mean more than you can imagine.  We have to limit our Mexican food meals because the ingredients here are so expensive.  One single can of black beans, IF you can find them, is 5 Euros ($6.50 USD).  Corn tortillas only come in packages of eight and cost 3 Euros ($4 USD). And forget about Pace picante sauce. You can’t find that anywhere. We have been making our own salsa, even though you have to search really hard in the grocery store to find a few pre-packaged jalapenos. Care packages mean more than just what’s inside. A lot of time, energy, and money is spent in sending one. That is what brings tears to my eyes when I see everyone enjoying the contents of a newly-arrived box. It’s the thought and love behind it.  Ok…now back to my story….

I peeled back the flaps of the box and immediately heard squeals of delight. At the top of the box were Hostess Twinkies and cupcakes, taco shells, corn tortillas, Twizzlers, several boxes of fruit snacks, and a baggie full of flavored lipsticks for the girls.

It would take too long to list everything in the box, but everyone in the family benefited….even the new Vandy baby who is still in mommy’s tummy.  As I watched the kids laughing and jumping up and down while going through the items in the box, my eyes brimmed with tears of gratefulness. They are missing their homes, their friends, their church, and also their favorite restaurants.  The small familiar items in this box made them smile and feel more at home.  This was fun!

Coloring books and sticker books that have kept them busy for hours! (Notice the HUGE container of Pace salsa)

Even fun stuff for the grown-ups!

The little boys loved their trucks and coloring books!

This box truly blessed us, and I want to thank my mom (their Meme) for sending it.  She just had a birthday yesterday, so I want to tell her happy birthday!  We love her! (more…)

On the Banks of the Meuse

This week we celebrated our thirtieth wedding anniversary, and I must say, my husband knows how to make it romantic! He started it off with presenting me with a video that he made that makes me cry EVERY time I watch it! Then he took me to an amazing restaurant outside of Namur, a small city sixty kilometers southeast of Brussels.  Pictures definitely don’t do it justice, but here goes:

Our view from the restaurant

Another view from the restaurant

After an unbelievably amazing dinner we strolled along the banks of the river:

This doorway was just standing in the middle of a big open space. The year carved above the door says “1676″.

What beauty. What a gift. This was only forty-five minutes from our house. We are blessed.  Thank you, Lord, for thirty amazing years.

The Women in the Windows…

When I left the house this morning, I had no idea how life-changing this day would be for me.  It sounds simple. I was going to help six ladies (ages 19 to 50) hand out plastic, chocolate-filled Easter eggs to the women in the windows in the red light district of a large city in Belgium. (I’m not posting the name of the city until I clear it with the leader. I don’t want to do anything to jeopardize the safety of the girls in the windows.)  Not too difficult, huh?! Pretty tame mission, right?! Wow. Was I wrong. (more…)

What a Gift!!!

Gary just sent me this picture on his iPhone as he was closing the door to our apartment in Israel for the last time.

I have to admit that I cried when I saw it. This last year has been such a gift from Abba God, and I mean that with all my heart. I have no feelings of pain or regret at having to leave Israel. On the contrary, my heart is filled with such gratitude for having spent a whole year there, that I all can do is thank Him for that very special gift.  There are many memories attached to this apartment.  Great memories. The laughter, the friends we made, the friends from Texas who stayed with us, the meals served, the movies watched on laptops, the games played at the table, the worship at the keyboard and guitar, the hours of Bible study and meditation looking out over the Judean mountains.  Ahhh…..great memories!

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