Thirteen Years

July sixth is always a big deal at our house. I cannot imagine worrying that Tim would ever forget our anniversary; I would be more likely to forget than he would! Whenever feasible, we have taken a day or two off to spend time by ourselves. Our celebrations have ranged from the Poconos Mountains to a cabin in West Virginia; from a family camp out at Shawnee Park to a return trip to our honeymoon cabin in Stowe, Vermont. This year we really, really wanted to go to the Bay Islands, one beautiful part of Honduras that we have never visited. But we are at that awkward stage in life where our children are too many to just dump on someone else for a few days, and too young to leave by themselves! With the political situation being unstable as it is, we're thankful we did not have any travel plans this week; I especially don't care to venture far out of my comfort zone. But a trip to San Pedro was necessary today; our Troyer relatives flew in late last night and we weren't able to go pick them up them because of a curfew. (They found a friend in the city who risked spending a night in jail and talked his way through several police checkpoints in order to rescue them from spending the night in the airport!) ...So this morning Tim and I left our (many) children with our great friend Bertha and went to the city by ourselves. And our anniversary was celebrated by going to the Immigration office, picking up our Troyer cousins and their mounds of luggage, lingering long over baleadas at "Baleadas Express", enjoying a slice of !CHEESECAKE! (compliments of Uncle Junior) and buying two new bicycles for a couple fast approaching middle age and in need of some fun exercise! It was a truly beautiful day ~filled with "simple" pleasures~ and tonight I am thanking God for every moment Tim and I have shared together! Mission life has a way of testing a marriage and exposing all sorts of strange and uncomfortable things about your relationship that you never knew were there... It seems to take so much more commitment and effort to maintain complete oneness, and sometimes it simply feels like war- not with each other, thank God!- but against the enemy who seems to have an intense hatred for godly homes here in this country. But those concentrated efforts of preserving our marriage bring some marvelous rewards! It is the storms of life that deepen and strengthen our love, and I am so grateful that God's choice for us has far surpassed the tame and comfortable existence of our little house in King!

Words of Affirmation

Mama: "Derek, how about I tell you a story about when I was a little girl... Did you know I was a little girl once?"

Derek, surprised: "No."

Mama: "Well, what did you think I was???"

Derek, carelessly: "A piece of dirt!"

A Girl and Her Car

It was the typical morning confusion at our house- breakfast and devotions were over and I was overseeing chores and trying to get the older children into gear. Derek and Mandie, who need no prompting to get in gear, headed outdoors as usual and pulled out their riding toys. I heard the cycle leave and knew Tim and Derek were going to the Roses to check on their new fish tanks. Some five minutes or more elapsed when we heard a strange call from the gate. "He-e-e-y!" This is not a typical Honduran greeting, so I ignored it at first. After all, it was probably someone who wanted Tim, and he wasn't home. The caller continued persistently so I finally went to the front door and peered toward the gate. A man on a bicycle waved frantically at me. Pointing up the road, he shouted, "La niña! Un carro le va a matar!" ("The child! A car will kill her!") I was down the steps and at the gate in a flash. A glance up the road confirmed his words, for there in the middle of the road went my independant little girl on her green car, heading for El Eden! I took off at a gallop, barely taking time to holler "Muchisimas gracias" to the hero. As I sprinted toward her, she glanced over her shoulder with a huge satisfied grin and then resumed her journey uphill. At first she looked like a mere speck on the far horizon, but in reality she had gone as far as the neighbor's gate, which is a good distance away, considering that there is a large orchard between our house and theirs. I scooped her up and held her close, much too shaken even to scold. She chattered happily as I carried her and the car back home and then sank weakly into the nearest chair. How many people passed her during that time is a question that cannot be answered, but I do know at least one vehicle went by just as I had arrived at the door. The children of course wondered whether she would have gone to Jeremiah's house or to the church, had she reached El Eden. I just shuddered and declared we certainly would have missed her before she would have gotten that far! Needless to say, everyone is now on high alert that the gate must always be LATCHED, not merely closed.

How could a mother not believe in angels?

Dinner Table Conversation

Derek: "There ARE deer in Honduras! I saw one in the woods by the banana field!"

(Expressions of unbelief from siblings)

Derek: "Well, I saw brown, and I saw antlers- and that means deer!"

(Giggles and more protests from siblings)

Derek: (chuckles) "Ok, maybe it was just a fake deer, because it just stood there for a lo-o-o-ng time!"

The Man

I love celebrating my man! Not only is he God's gift to me, but he is God's love to me in so many ways. While I don't write my love letters to him on our blog, I think he deserves some public recognition on his birthday!


This little girl adores her Daddy and loves nothing better than spending time with him outdoors.

Here Tim gets to enjoy the fruit of his aquaponic labors with our first fish fry! We fixed it the traditional Honduran way- the fish fried whole with the head on, served with sliced fried green bananas and cabbage salad. Yum!

There are so many answered prayers in this picture... I love it!

Richly blessed... In love... Best Friends... Thanking God for each other... Amen.

Joy!

Setting: Family devotions in the Brechbill living room

Tim: (smiling broadly) "Josh, would you like to tell everyone what happened to you last night?"

Josh: (very softly) "I got saved."

Derek: (curiously) "Did God save him???"

Amen, Derek!

Earthquake!

I rolled over in bed and squinted at the alarm clock on the stand next to me. "Two o'clock," I sighed. "And I was awake at midnight too... wonder why I keep waking up?" Wearily I turned onto my back and willed myself to relax. Suddenly I was jerked wide awake by a violent heaving of our bed- first an up and down jolt and then ending in a sideways swaying motion. I bolted upright and tried to catch my breath as the walls creaked and groaned around us. A deafening clatter from the bathroom added to the confusion as Tim leaped from the bed and braced himself in the doorway. "An earthquake!" I gasped, and dashed to the children's bedrooms. The ground now steadied beneath me as I checked on the girls, who both appeared to be sound asleep. Wails greeted me from the boys' bedroom, and all three boys were crawling out of their beds. "Nobody was by my bed, but it wouldn't stop wiggling!" Derek whimpered. "It's an earthquake!" I explained as I herded them to the living room and opened the front door where Willie the dog was yapping excitedly. Meanwhile Tim dashed outside to check on the chickens who were screeching in panic. He found the entire flock in a frenzy, wildly seeking an escape from their enclosure. Amazingly, the electricity didn't go off, although the street lights dimmed briefly. I walked carefully through the house looking for broken items but found nothing more than a few bottles toppled over and pictures hanging crookedly on the walls. The clatter that sounded like dishes breaking turned out to have been only a metal rod falling onto the tile floor!

The phone then began to ring as friends and neighbors checked in and shared their fright. "I was dreaming about the coming of Jesus," Ricardo chuckled, "And then I woke up in the middle of the earthquake!" "Is everyone okay at your house?" This time from Lucas. "We're a little frightened, but everyone is fine," I assured him. "Same here!" he exclaimed. Sleep forgotten, we rehearsed the events of the night and discussed the possibility of aftershocks.

Finally there was nothing else to do but go to bed. The boys were soon fast asleep and I too eventually drifted off to restless dreams but Tim got up and watched for news breaking online. An hour after our shocking arousal, the New York Times posted the first announcement of a magnitude 7.1 earthquake about eighty miles north of the coastal town of La Ceiba.

Today's inspections revealed a few cracks in the walls of our house and evidence of water having splashed out of the fish tanks, but no serious damage was found here on this property. We have not heard of any homes crumbling in this area, although some families had their possessions broken, or, in at least one case, burned when the quake caused a lighted candle to fall. Our friends tell us that Peña Blanca was in complete chaos as everyone fled to the streets in panic. What a wonderful opportunity for us to proclaim tidings of peace!

We are so grateful for God's protection last night, as well as for the confidence that even tonight we can go to bed in peace knowing we are in His hands!

Quote of the Night by Derek: "This is a purty bad night!" -minutes after the initial shock when all of us were dashing about in a state of confusion.