Nine Years.....

Nine years ago today, on March 23, 2002, at 5:00 in the evening, I became the wife of my beloved Andrew. We were married in the church here, and my brother, Philip, officiated the ceremony.

My sister, Elizabeth, doing my hair...


A kiss for the bride from my beautiful Mother

My sister, Sarah, was the maid of honor; and my bridesmaids were my sister Elizabeth and a dear friend, Anita. My sweet sister-in-law, Jolene, played the piano, and my brother, David, was the Best Man…Andrew’s best friend since they were teenagers. We requested that Philip preach a salvation message, as we knew there would be many unsaved friends who would be attending.

My maid of honor, Sarah....

...and my beautiful bridesmaids, Elizabeth.....

...and Anita

My sweet little flower girl, Esther....

(who, by the way, has grown into a lovely young lady

and is now faithful and active in our church here)

Dad and Mom and the happy bride!

The handsome groom with his parents

Andrew with his best man, David

Jolene at the piano

As the bridesmaids and groomsmen walked down the aisle,

she played a beautiful arrangement to

"To God Be The Glory"

As Andrew and I lit the unity candle....

...Sarah and Andrew's nephew, Joel, sang a song I wrote....

..."Whither Thou Goest, I Will Go"....

Just Married!

Our reception was held on the beautiful lawn of a dear friend, just around the corner from the church. He told me he prepared that lawn in hopes that his only daughter would be married there. However, she suddenly died a year before we were married. Through tears, he told us, “I would be honored if you would hold your reception here.”

Coming into the reception

It was the most beautiful wedding and reception. I will forever hold dear the memories of that day, nine years ago….

Singing at our reception

A trio from another Baptist church in town sang during our reception

As we were getting ready to leave the reception,

Andrew picked me up in his arms and carried me to the car.

I suspect Philip was in on this...see him in the background?

We spent our honeymoon in Cozumel

My wonderful husband has shown me his deep love for me through his faithfulness, his deepest devotion and most tender care throughout the last nine years. I have watched with admiration as he has faithfully honored the Holy Spirit’s guidance through His Holy Word.

Andrew and me in the village of San Antonio. 2002

One of my favorite pictures of my husband and our baby son....

At Agua Azul, 2004

The Lord has blessed us far beyond what we deserve, much more than we would have ever dreamed. He has given us the opportunity and privilege to serve Him in different areas in the ministry; He has allowed us to live together through some exciting adventures, mostly in the Indian villages; He has given us two beautiful children, whom we desire to train up for His honor and glory; He has been very close to us…providing in times of need, protecting us in times of danger, giving us joy and laughter, leading us with his ever-loving hand in the valley and on the mountaintop; He has continually loved us even in our imperfections, and shown us His never-failing care when we have needed it the most. His Almighty power has been demonstrated to us time after time, giving us the strength to continue on…together.

My most sincere desire is that I can be the helpmeet that my Beloved needs, and that he most assuredly deserves. It has been my joy to walk beside him for the past nine years, and it is my earnest desire that God would give me many, many more years as his wife….lover and helpmeet… strengthening and encouraging him through my prayers and through my faithfulness, obedience, and submission to him.

Happy Birthday, Pastor Philip!

Friday, March 4th, was Philip’s 37th birthday. Philip and Liz are in the States for a couple of weeks, so we invited the church people to come last night so we could call Phil via the Skype video phone….

Many people showed up…I counted about 38. They crowded into the living room, expectantly waiting to see our beloved and missed Pastor.

When we got Phil on the phone, the “rondalla” (young boys’ singing group) sang 3 birthday songs, while everyone sang with them. As I looked around the room, watching everyone sing from their heart to our pastor, I couldn’t help but be overwhelmed with emotion at the love these people obviously have for our pastor. He has earned their respect and their trust and their love, as he’s been with them through all kinds of heartaches: deaths of young children, rebellious teens, divorce, and rejection of family because of their faith in Christ….as he has rejoiced with them through the return of a stray son, the reconciliation of family members, the birth of precious babies, and the salvation of loved ones.

As I looked around the room, I thought, “Each of these could give testimony of how their pastor has been with them, weeping as they go through the valley and rejoicing with them as they have been on the mountain top.” Sweat and tears; laughter and joy have been woven into the fabric of the lives of these people as our pastor walks with us, patiently, faithfully leading us on…on to victory in our Christian lives.

“Thank You, Lord, for the Pastor which You have placed here. Thank You for upholding him in Your strength, giving him the strength he needs to lead us.”

And THANK YOU, Philip! We love you…as a brother and friend, but also as a pastor!!!

And We Miss You!

Shortwave Memories

Soon after Dad died, a dear friend of our family told us about the online Rejoice Radio (rejoiceradio.org). I “tuned in” and have not “tuned out” since. It is such an uplifting radio station, and it helps keep my thoughts on the Lord and His goodness and care over us.

One night, about one month after I returned from Dad’s funeral, the Back To The Bible program (J.Vernon McGee) came on. Andrew and I got in on the last part of the program, and as we heard the song, “Jesus Paid It All” at the end of the program, Andrew said, “I wish we had discovered this before Dad died. What fun he would have had sitting in his rocking chair in the living room, listening to his beloved J. Vernon McGee!"

I still listen to it every day. What a blessing to have uplifting Christian programming coming over the internet!

This morning, I remembered something I wrote to my Mom and sisters in May, 2004, and I wanted to share this with you. What kind of memories are we creating for our children?

Psalm 34:11 says, "Come, ye children, hearken unto me: I will teach you the fear of the Lord."

I was preparing my devotional for Norma's Baby Shower yesterday, and I came across this verse. I have been thinking about the following thoughts.

Remember when on Saturday mornings when we would all go into Dad's room (sleepy-eyed and in our pajamas and gowns) and climb into his bed (sometimes, Mom was still in bed...Dad lying there, still in his t-shirt) and listen on the short-wave radio to Odyssey, then to Children's Bible Hour? When I think back to those days, such a warm and comfy feeling comes over me. A whole hour of kids’ fun. We didn't care that it was so early. I remember going to sleep on Friday nights and thinking, "Tomorrow we get to listen to Odyssey and to Uncle Charlie!" Oh, and the mornings when we would sleep late and MISS those programs! It was awful!

Truly, the short-wave radios that Dad has had throughout the years have really been a wonderful thing. Not only getting to listen to programs in English, but Christian, English programs! Remember? Family Radio...HCJB...J.Vernon McGee? Voices of the past, we could say.What wonderful memories. Thank the Lord for such sweet memories to look back on. Those care-free childhood days!

Well, now to the present. Guess what. Andrew has a little short-wave radio that he bought several years ago at a little stand at the market. I think he said it cost him $140 pesos. It is no bigger than your hand. But it is a GREAT BIG thing when you are back in San Antonio. You click on a switch, and you can hear programming from the United States, from Chile, from Spain...France, Germany...all OVER the world! But our favorite is Family Radio. In the evenings, after Andrew's patients have gone home, and we come in from our showers (we have to go to another place to shower), Andrew brings out his handy little short-wave and pulls out the antenna and (M A G I C!)...the Scriptures are being read. Our favorite program is Open Forum (Foro Abierto), where people call in with Bible questions, and Hna. Olimpia reads the questions and Hno. Otto answers them. And we always learn. Hno. Otto is such a smart man when it comes to the Bible!

We are making new short-wave memories. This warm and comfy and sweet feeling comes over me, as I now remember our times in our little (nice) house in San Antonio. It's dark outside, because everyone has gone to bed. (And it is only 8:00!) No music is being played, no children are playing outside our house...just me and Andrew and our short-wave, because even Baby Andrew is sleeping. Sometimes we play Rummikub while we listen. Sometimes on Wednesday evenings, that will be our "church" time. And when Baby Andrew grows up, I hope that he, too, will have short-wave radio memories.

P.S. Just thought I'd post these pictures that I took of the kiddies while they were playing yesterday.

Cheethe, Pleathe!

Deborah Jolene

“Mommy, can I pleathe have thome cheethe?”

Ever since Debbie could talk, she has talked with a “lisp,” not being able to pronounce her “sssss” correctly. (By the way, I did the same thing, too.)

Well, she came into the kitchen last Sunday night as I was preparing quesadillas for our supper and she said, “Mommy, listen. Can I pleassssse have sssome cheessse?” She just smiled at me.

I put down my spatula I was using to turn the quesadillas and, pretending to cry, I hugged her and said, “Oh, no!! My baby’s growing up!” She just smiled and said, “I can talk like Thammy now. No, wait…I can talk like Sammy now.”

Andrew walked in at that moment and just smiled knowingly at me. I felt like that is the last “baby” thing she still does, and I don’t think I’m ready for her to out-grow that!

Every now and then she lets it slip, but she has nearly left that part of her “baby-hood.”

Do all mothers feel this way about their “baby”? Why do we want to hold on to their infancy? Maybe it is the need to still feel needed!

We don’t want them to become independent, as we know they will!

But for now, I’ll hold on to every word she says…and I’ll enjoy every new thing she discovers. She’s growing up too fast! Isn’t that what happens, though?