My Favorite Bible Story

Once again....I have something on my heart so heavy that I want to blog & I realize that it has been over a year since I blogged!!!  I HAVE GOT TO GET BETTER AT THIS!!

By now most of you know that our family is moving to Haiti!! We have prayed about this for several years now....you can even go back in this blog & see how God has been drawing us to Haiti, how he has given us a love for the Haitian people, & even how he has spoken to my daughter about these very things in the past!  We are so very excited that God has opened the door for us to move to Haiti & work along side Pastor Andy, and Karen & Ron Cockerham at Hope Vision Ministries.  God placed a burden on our hearts for the children of Haiti several years ago.  We are not surprised at all that this is what he has asked us to do.  We are also so thankful that God has given us great friendships in so many missionaries already in Haiti.  Some of them are now going to be our children's teachers!!  God works all things out!! Our children are going to be able to attend Sonlight Academy in Port-de-Paix. The school we have visited 3 times, & think is so awesome! PRAISE THE LORD  ............I hope to blog more when we move in August so that you can keep up with what is going on in our lives.... for now, I want to share something that has been on my heart for a few weeks now!


One of my favorite stories in the bible since I was a teen is the story about 3 young men, Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego.  (You can find the entire story in Daniel Chapter 3)
I've told my children of the story many times.  I have always thought it was awesome....the King (Nebuchadnezzar) made an image of gold.  We are talking a HUGE idol...the bible said it was 90 feet high & 9 feet wide....he must have been really proud of that thing.  Then he commanded that Everyone "nations & men of every language" must fall down & worship this image made of gold.  He then proclaimed that whoever does not fall down & worship will be thrown into a blazing furnace." - Long story short....a few guys came along & threw them under the bus!  They told the king that we know some guys that refuse to bow down.  The king  was furious & summoned the 3 men.  King Nebuchadnezzar asked "is it true you refuse to serve my gods or worship the image?" - The king said "WHAT GOD will be able to rescue you  from my hand?" - The 3 men replied.."we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter. If we are thrown into the furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue from your hand, O king.  But even IF he does not, we want you to know O King, we will not worship the image of gold."  The king was furious with them....he ordered the furnace be heated 7 times hotter than usual and commanded that the 3 men be tied up & thrown into the furnace.  - The bible says that the kings command was so urgent and the fire so hot that the flames of the fire killed the soldiers who bound them & threw them into the pit.  But the king was amazed when he looked into the fire....he even asked "weren't there 3 men when we tied them up & threw them in the fire?"  - you see when the king looked in HE SAW 4 MEN - one of which looked like the son of God."!!!  How AWESOME is that....the story goes on to say that not even a hair on their heads was singed, they didn't even smell of smoke!
You see I find this story so awesome because Shadrach, Meshach, & Abednego didn't know for sure that God would spare there lives! THEY KNEW HE COULD....but they did not know if he would....they knew it was a win win situation....He saves us & all know our God is real...or we die & go be with our savior...but God always knows BEST! We can not see what is Always in store for our lives BUT if we chose to follow him He will protect us until it is time to be with him.  Whenever that is......I have thought about this A LOT lately, God has brought one of my favorite stories to mind & given me A COMPARISON I HAVE NEVER EVER THOUGHT OF. -----------> Now that we have announced we are leaving for the mission field, that we are following what God has asked us to do So many people that I dearly LOVE do not understand it.  Even a few great Christian friends.  A lot of people do not know anything about Haiti, have never been there, or may not have ever left this country.  I can honestly say that I would not have understood it had it been someone else many years ago & God hadn't revealed things to me like he has over the past 4 years.

Now, This is Totally how I view it.  God is sending our family.  There is NO DOUBT AT ALL THAT THIS IS HIS WILL NOT ANGIE & GORDON'S .....yes this is what I WANT NOW....because God has given me this vision.  I DO NOT KNOW that Nothing bad will ever happen to Me, or anyone in my family BUT I DO KNOW that I would rather be There doing the WILL OF MY CREATOR, MY HEAVENLY FATHER than here living for Angie doing something else.  I mean bad stuff happens here everyday too.  I Know that God Can protect us, I know he can heal the sick, I know he is the great physician, but I do not know what my/our future holds.....But God does.  I KNOW I want to live a life more abundantly, I want to live a life serving others, I want to truly be the hands & feet of Jesus not just talk about it.  I do not want to live a life of fear.  I want to rely on my Creator not myself daily....I want to be as close to God as I possibly can, I WANT TO DO WHAT HE HAS CALLED ME TO DO....WHAT HE CREATED ME FOR. HE SHAPED ME & FORMED ME, HE KNOWS EVERY HAIR ON MY HEAD, HE KNOWS MY BIGGEST SECRETS & MY FAILURES IN LIFE. HE LOVES ME ANYWAY.....HE HAS FORGIVEN ME, HE HAS GIVEN HIS SON JESUS TO DIE FOR ME, I WANT TO SERVE HIM....Not just a little ....but I WANT TO TRULY SERVE HIM! I & my family will always be safest in God's will no matter where in the "World" we are.....America, Haiti, Africa, Europe, South America.  I always say, people think I am crazy or a little nuts....a sweet friend of mine that I can Always count on to pray for me & lift me up once said....IT'S OK TO BE A NUTTY.....NUTS ARE SALTY......WE ARE SUPPOSED TO BE THE SALT & LIGHT OF THE WORLD.... YOU MUST BE A NUT TO BE SALTY!!!  (sorry if you don't get that, or if I miss quoted it a bit...ha.......I Love it!!)
I Love when God takes a story in the Bible, especially one of my favorites & shows me how to apply it to my life.  I hope this helps you understand WHY we are taking our children to Haiti.
LOVE TO ALL -- ANGIE

BEAUTY IN HAITI

     I have been thinking of blogging for a while now but just have not taken the time out to do it.  WOW....June 4th, 2011 was my last entry! OOPS!!! Summer ended all to quickly, school began and with that came Football games, cheerleading practice, shorter days, cooler weather, Thanksgiving, & then Christmas.  That about wraps it up.  A family this size always has lots of places to go & things to do!! We have been Blessed with a great year & lots of fun. 

     I wanted to share with everyone a few of my favorite pictures & experiences from our recent trip back to Haiti.  Gordon & I were blessed to return to Sonlight Academy in Port-de-Paix last week.  I absolutely LOVE it there. (See earlier post to learn ALL about Sonlight) Now......about Haiti... when you hear most people talk about Haiti you hear ALL the "bad" or "dirty" things (for lack of better words).  YES, I am aware that Haiti is the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere.  It is painfully obvious that many or most people do not have much, or they are homeless, Fatherless, or Orphaned!!  Many Haitians are without food or adequate nutrition. Many are without clothing or shoes, and most do not get the opportunity to get an education. They DO NOT have a garbage truck that runs once a week to take away the trash they have collected,  NO SEWAGE SYSTEM, Not to Mention they do not have the opportunity to walk to the kitchen sink, flip on the faucet & get a CLEAN glass of water.  With all of that said HAITI IS SUCH A BEAUTIFUL PLACE!!!! Most Haitians themselves are Beautiful, Wonderful people!! If you could have just been at church with me last Sunday morning to hear how they sang so beautifully & Praised the Lord.  I did not understand their language BUT I DIDN'T HAVE TOO!!! You could feel the presence of the Lord, our Heavenly Father, the one who Created us ALL in HIS Image!! I stood there in the breeze, tears streaming down my face & thought "IT DOESN'T GET ANY BETTER THAN THIS!!"   I think it would shock most people to realize that they are Very happy & yes several of them told me how Blessed they feel.  After church we were blessed once again to walk across the road & watch the pastor Baptize a man in the Ocean.  It was one of those moments that made you think of Jesus & John the Baptist...(at least it did me).

Another HUGE Highlight of the week - Gordon & I were able to meet our Haitian childrens Grandmother!!  Last year we found out about her through another friend in Haiti, so this year we had made her a picture book of the children.  Most of you know that our children's birth mother died while giving life to the twins.  We are so thankful for the life she gave them & where so EXCITED to meet her mother.  When she saw their pictures she began to PRAISE THE LORD & kept telling us THANK YOU THANK YOU....THANK YOU FOR SAVING THEIR LIVES!!! I cried, she cried, Gordon cried, their Aunt cried......ok,ok Not a dry eye in the Place!!!! Absolutely AN AMAZING MOMENT IN LIFE! (will post a pic, sadly most Haitian's dont CHEESE it up for pics as we do. She has a stern look on her face & you can't see the PURE JOY of the moment)

                                    (Grandmother, Aunt (birth mother's older sister), Mom & Dad) The week was FULL of AWESOMENESS as I call it!! Most of the week I worked in the Pre-school with 28 of the most Adorable children on the Planet and their teacher Miss Cady!! I was so impressed with all of them.  In Haiti everyone speaks Creole which is what they all learn from birth.  Haiti is actually a "French" country so they teach them French...and did I mention that Sonlight is actually an English Immersion Christian school so EVERYTHING is taught in  English also!!!  All these little 4 year olds speak Creole, learn all day in English, & take French class!!! WOW...........TOTALLY IMPRESSED!!

Our Family sponsors a little girl in this classroom.  Her name is Love Naika & she is A HOT MESS!!! =D
We Loved getting to meet her & I actually had the priviledge of going to her home one day after school. She lives in a 1 room little house a bit into town. Very small and well kept with a bed, a little table & a shelf for dishes. Her mother had it all ready for Miss Cady & I with a floral arrangement on the table & an old frammed picture of Love Naica as a toddler.  WE HAD A GREAT VISIT!!!

Taxi ride to Love Naika's

Love Naika with her mom & dad

I made several new friends and was very happy to see old friends. We were happy to finally meet the Hammond family. We Love Love them.... (Brad & Susan moved with their 4 kids this year to teach at Sonlight)  You can check them out at Hammondsinhaiti.com 

We went on a nice hike, Visited an Orphanage, visited House of Hope Childrens Hospital and much much more.  We had wonderful Haitian food as well as all the Awesome food prepared at Mrs.Norma Alexanders house.   I could go on & on about all the GREAT things going on at Sonlight & the amazing time spent working with all the amazing people & kids this week but I guess I will stop here & just post some of my Favorite pictures I took this week.  God Bless you all....I hope one day you to will have the chance to visit Haiti!!

On a hill Overlooking part of the City ....Beautiful view

  

Riley Hammond (new Missionary Kid) Loving on the babies at the House of Hope

Haitian Fishing Boats



Double Rainbow in Port-de-Paix



Woody....Such an OLD SOUL...Stole my Heart!

View from our room



Beautiful Children from the House of Hope



On the school wall .....and AMEN is what I have to say about that!!!



Summer is Here

I am so EXCITED Summer is here & in Full Swing in South Alabama.  Temps are already in the high 90's & the humidity is High, the Low's are in the mid to upper 70's......Sorry folks but I am Loving every minute of it.  My kids are out of school which means they get to be with me!!!!!  I love this saying I stole from 1 of my good friends FB statuses.....
Goodbye backpacks, lunch $, snacks, uniforms, homework, tests and report cards. Hello Sun, sand, beach, pool, naps, sleepovers, vacations, fishing, but most of all HELLOOOO FREEDOM :D  I LOVE SUMMER!!

We kicked Summer off right this year with a Memorial Day Cookout at Beth & Sam's house. (Sister & Brother-in-law) :D We had a BLAST! Everyone swam, rode the go-cart, ate lots of great food, played some ball, & at one point I'm pretty sure I heard SWEET HOME ALABAMA playing on the radio!! I hope this is how it will be ALL Summer long......

I am looking forward to many more Fun filled Family days of Ice Cream, Watermelon, Trips to the Beach, lounging by the pool & reading a few good books!!! I hope you all enjoy it as much as I do! This time of year Always makes me think of one of my Absolute All time Favorite Songs. Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVG80vqVfSA&feature=youtube_gdata_player