Happy Baby Blessings

It almost felt like we were back in Nicaragua today...last night I was going to write a blog about what it's like to live with a Screamer who decides she doesn't want to sleep anymore, but after today I am going to write about the little blessings God gives us when things don't go as planned.

The past week has been miserable for us being up every night with a sick, screaming child. Then, last night comes around and at the wise advice of my brother and sister-in-law (yes, the ones with 6 kids, so we take their advice very seriously) we let Aletta "cry-it-out"...not that we hadn't done that before, but after such a week this was really letting her cry-it-out. A battle of the wills of sorts and we had to come out on top. Well, let's just say we came out on top. And really, so did Aletta. She was happier than a pig in, well, it's play pen, all day today. I know, I wasn't going to write about the screaming part of my little Screamer, but I kind of have to in order set the stage for God's little blessings.

So, this morning (I guess it was just after noon) we are heading to some friends' place for lunch. We come to a roll in a very busy intersection and Kevin puts the vehicle into first gear as the light turns green and the car doesn't go... anywhere...well, lucky for us it was still rolling enough that he was just able to creep through the intersection and pull into the far right lane so that we didn't block too much traffic and have to experience the Nicaraguan feeling traffic of horns blaring.

I remember when we first arrived in Nicaragua we filled our cell phones with every English speaking persons phone number that we could find in case of such an emergency. Now, its pouring rain, cold and windy, and we also have a baby in the back seat. So who do we call? CAA. Of course. The strange person who answers the phone on the other end that can send out a tow truck and bring your vehicle to your mechanic of choice, is a welcome voice that can solve all our problems. Sort of. We also have Aletta to think about....can't just stand in the cold, windy rain. We called up the friends we were going to visit and they came to pick up Aletta and I while Kevin went with the tow truck dude to the mechanic, then his dad picked him up there and brought him home so that he could grab our other car and come out one more time to our friend's place.

It all worked out! Beautiful. And you know what was even more beautiful? Aletta was so happy the whole time. Thinking about it just brings a smile to my face.

Anywho, you'd think the happy ending (minus the mechanic bill) would be the end of the story. Not today. We are heading home, stop at a hardware store to pick up paint for our newly renovated basement (baby steps), and our second car doesn't start up! The battery is dead. WHAT ARE THE CHANCES? Kevin even made some joke about that as we were leaving our friend's place. We just looked at each other and laughed and laughed. Really, come on...what are the chances?? Twice in the span of 5 hours with two different vehicles.

It was almost time to feed Aletta and we had no idea how long it would take to get the car boosted. This time, Kevin called up another friend to come and give the car a boost. So I grabbed Aletta, wrapped her up in a blanket and walked a couple blocks to a coffee shop to feed her. Still cold and windy, but not raining. And Aletta was happy the whole time making everyones day with her big, snotty-faced smile. With a child like her, how can I be cranky about the situation at hand? Not a chance. Well, about 30 minutes later Kevin comes flying around the corner with a re-energized car. The end to our eventful, Nicaraguan feeling day. Praise God for friends, family, CAA and most of all, happy babies!

Now Kevin is in the basement enjoying himself painting the bathroom a bright, rich purple colour. Ha.

Chronicles of a Screamer: The Beginning

The world turned on its head almost seven months ago when my sweet baby girl came into the world, screaming. And she hardly stoppped to take a breath for the first thirteen hours of her life. I just remember thinking "What on earth just happened?!", and every once in a while that same thought reoccurs to me. She has kept me on my toes and on my knees in prayer ever since that day.

Just earlier this week my dearest friend in the whole wide world, Tracy, came to visit me...her first encounter with the Screamer...and I now feel like I have an ally. She might not be living close by - God knows I wish she was - but she now knows just how busy my sweet little Screamer really is. OH, my husband sure knows. So do my parents from the short visits I have with them at their place, but now my dearest friend who has been there for me thirteen years, has seen the worst and best of me and still loves me, she understands my perils with this child. That is a feat in and of itself. Oh how I treasure her friendship. Anywho, at the encouragement of Tracy I am starting up my blog again, a whole year later since I blogged about the adventures in Nicaragua, as a bit of a coping mechanism for living with and raising my beautiful little Screamer, Aletta.

The name Aletta is from spanish and dutch origin (very fitting) and means "footloose", "verity", "truth", "small winged one". As much as she is a handful, that is the very reason I am excited to raise this little girl. My husband and I just can't do it on our own, we need our family, friends and more importantly God. Yes, we need God!

From My Spring Newsletter

Here is a post from my most recent newsletter...

I just love Spring. The new life that it brings, the beauty, the warmth. The seasonsone bigwhy I am glad to be back in Canada.My most recent return home was greeted by warm weather, which made me excited for hanging the clothes outside...not sure why I get excited about that, but pretty much every year that is something that I look forward to. Seeing as we`re talking about seasons, let me do a recap of what I have been up to the past winter months.

November 9-24, 2009

In November I spent 2.5 weeks in Nicaragua with Steve and Alma figuring out our anticipated moves for the Woman at the Well partnership teams that would be coming in the New Year.We planned schedules, brainstormed ideas and began developing learning designs. There are about five learning designs that work to bring each group through a process of diving deeper into the work of the Nehemiah Center, the Nicaraguan culture and how our worlds effect each other as we live our lives in this beautiful global world of God`s.The Woman at the Well partnerships came out of Christian Reformed World Missions in Nicaragua when they noticed that North American churches are sending down their teams, but there were no plans for continued relationship.

On my return home, over Christmas and into the New Year, I busily worked on the learning designs and on the cultural surveys which teams complete on their arrival and departure.

January 21-February 15, 2010

Whether I was prepared or not January 21 came quickly and I headed back to Nicaragua, this time for almost 4 weeks. The first couple weeks I didn’t feel too far from home because a few days after I arrived the team from my home church, Faith Burlington, arrived. They were excited to explore their partnership with the Nehemiah Center and about learning what partnering with a Nicaraguan church/community might look like and to hear stories of God at work. I enjoyed my time with them, although, it was also at this time that I was experiencing pretty bad morning sickness—pretty much whenever the heat hit me, I ate something not so settling or my body just plain wanted to feel sick. Just before I left for this trip Kevin and I found out that I was pregnant and I had to pretend the whole time that I was fine because none of our family back home knew yet!

Faith Burlington team after a very rewarding Incarnational Missions workshop.

After Faith left, a team from Bethel Edmonton arrived for a similar intense Vision Trip with the purpose of diving deeper into the culture and seeking to better understand how God is already at work in Nicaragua. While Faith is focusing on the city of Leon, Bethel is focusing on the city of Chinendega, and the churches that are part of the healthy church initiative there. It was an excellent time of learning and growth for them, but for me as well. God continues to open my eyes to how He is at work in the people of Nicaragua and how partnerships work across cultures. Partnerships take time and patience and a lot of willingness to invest in relationship. We have to give up of self and learn to be and see how and what God wants us to be and see. Relationships are messy, no matter what time zone you are in or what side of the earth you are on. Then throw into the mix different cultures, different perspectives, and so many other bits and pieces and you have yourself a perfect opportunity for two-way transformation.

March 6-22, 2010

My time back home in February went quickly and I soon found myself back at the Nehemiah Center preparing for another church group. Immanuel Hamilton was a multi-generational group and came for 10 days as part of a visioning trip for their church as well, but with the extra time we were able to integrate interactive activities into the mix, which made for a not as intense learning and growing opportunity for the whole group.

The team from Immanuel, Hamilton

Immanuel, along with their neighbours, Faith Burlington, are focusing on the city of Leon in their partnership with the Nehemiah Center. So again I went with them to listen to beautiful stories of how God is moving in Leon through the work of the Nehemiah Center. I spent every waking and sleeping moment with the team and really enjoyed my new found friends and the knowledge that they aren’t too far away from me even back home! Being a part of their discovery and learning of how they fit into God’s big global picture was so much fun to be a part of.

In addition to your prayers and care please consider to financially support my work and the work of CRWM in Nicaragua. Before my position comes to a close June 30, I need to still raise $7,000.

If you want to give you can donate online www.crwm.org/donate with the easy online form, or you can send your gift to CRWM with April Voorberg, WMLA-803689 on the memo line. Thank you and blessings!!