August - mountain tops and valleys
MOUNTAIN TOP EXPERIENCES
Messiah came home to visit
Messiah finally got his passport renewed and was able to come home for a quick visit. We got to spend a little over 2 weeks with him and we are so grateful. We miss him bunches, but know God is growing him and developing him in preparation for all that God has for him. It was a hot month, so we hung out in the ac a lot...but just being together again was a blessing. Some extra things we were able to do while he was here was visit some friends that we haven't seen for a while that are serving on the east side of the island. We also got to see Messiah in his element, practicing with the worship team for Sunday morning service. We are so proud of our son and grateful that we had this special time together before he starts his 2nd year of college at Dallas Baptist University.
Tyler preached on the east side of the island
What a blessing it has been to see Tyler grow as a man of God and answer God's call on his life to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ. Tyler's first preaching every, I talked about last month when he preached at West End Baptist Church. This month he helped cover for a pastor on the east side of the island while that pastor was in the states. Tyler preached 2 Friday's for him and powerfully proclaimed the Word of God. I am so proud of him and love seeing him more and more surrendered to God! We have been through a lot together, but it has all been worth it. I am looking forward to all God is going to do through Tyler as he preaches the good news of Jesus Christ!
Shareen has a working bathroom
Praise Jesus that the floor was able to be sanded and sealed along with the countertop for the sink....and now Shareen has a fully functioning bathroom. Now all we have to do is finalize the little details and sand/seal the shower floor. The most important thing is that she has a fully functioning bathroom, praise Jesus! We'll keep up updated with the details as they come along.
Women's Retreat on the east side of the island
Words can't express how great this women's retreat was with R Church. Such good fellowship, time in the Word studying 2 Timothy and just an overall amazing time together as women in Christ. I'll let the pictures do the talking....
VALLEY EXPERIENCE (God saw us through this valley!)
*Mountain top experiences happen, but y'all know how we like to keep it real...valleys come as well, and sometimes those valleys can be real deep BUT GOD ALWAYS SEES US THROUGH!
Guenther ran away from home BUT GOD...
I know how shocked some of y'all are reading that heading, but its real and that is what happened to us Sunday August 28th. Most of y'all know that the boys went through a lot before coming to us (trauma in all forms) and that Guenther has been diagnosed with multiple mental health issues (genetics play a factor in this area). Some of y'all also know that Guenther is 15 years old, almost 16 years old. I say all of this to get you a base to understand what happened that scary night on August 28th. I say that Guenther has a lot going on: prior trauma, mental health struggles, and puberty. READ GUENTHER'S BLOG TO KNOW ABOUT THAT DAY...he shared very openly hoping to help other's feel like they're not alone. BUT GOD...got everyone on the island looking for our boy (such amazing people who love us dearly), kept my boy safe on the beach with the drunk man friend he made, didn't allow my boy to tie a knot when he wanted to lose all hope, and most of all Holy Spirit spoke gently to my boy's heart to come home. Praise God that Guenther listened, called me from a random person's phone and came home safely. As most of you know, Guenther has gained some weight recently and grown 5 inches (that's another God story). A friend/therapist here gave great advice for us to call his mental health doctor who was then able to up Guenther's mental health meds to help him accordingly with his new growth. He is doing so much better!!! Praise Jesus!
So this month may have ended in a valley, but God and all of our friends joined us in the valley (some physically searching while others crying out to God on our boy's behalf). God fought the battle for our boy and God won!