Heaven Bound

A Light at the End of the Tunnel

2011-11-14T05:06:00.001-08:00

Wow, our time is almost done here and when we first begun we thought that it would take forever. Let me take you back to the last post and fill you in on our time for the past few months.
I wrote last when I was on leave from work for my surgery. I ended up having to take a total of 4 weeks off from work. I am so glad I did it, I feel so much better. The hot flashes were crazy and irritating. I couldn't sleep, so I did get a low dose of hormone therapy. No problems as long as I remember to take them. I give praise to God for the success.

We finished up the spring with Austen playing soccer. It was a great experience and he had a greatsoccer coach that was patient and easy going. They ended in 4^th place. The kids went to Boys Ranch to see their grandparents during springbreak. I had to work and Shane worked on school. It was nice because Shane andI could be alone for a little bit.

In June, we traveled to Killeen, TX. for Shane’s cousins’wedding. I had my first experience to seeing the bad fires. As we drove, the fires were just burning onthe side of the road and in the fields. Everything was charred. It wasover 100 degrees and the wedding was outside. It was still beautiful and thenwe went inside for the reception. We alsocelebrated Austen’s birthday. We invitedhis friend Colton and we all went to Six Flags for the day. We got there rightwhen it opened and stayed until closing. Austen’s favorite ride is the Titan.

My dad went ill and had edema in his leg, my step mom hadeye surgery and my little brother Brian had blood clots in one of hislegs. This happened all at once and Ihad an overwhelming desire to go help them. So we all packed up and headed toGeorgia. We spent a week there. Icleaned house and cooked, Shane fixed and repaired things in the house. Dad and I went and had pedicures, Brian wasable to get out of the hospital but was not out of the clear for another coupleof weeks. My dad went to the doctor and found out his leg had a cyst thatrupture in his leg causing blood to pool behind his knee. It was very painful. My step mom, Gail, had a hole in part of hereye causing her to have depth perception problems and cloudiness. She had eye surgery and had to sit, lay and walkwith her head staying face down 24/7 for several weeks. But as our time therewas ending, she was able to sit up for short periods. She is back to work anddoing much better. While we were there we did take a day to have some fun andwe went to the Coke-cola Museum. Thatwas very cool! We tried all the sodas made all over the country, watched a 4-Dmovie and bought a few souvenirs.

Even though Shane had to continue school for the summer, Heand the kids did come to my work to swim. They also went bowling several timesand Austen likes going to Books-a-Million to sit and read for hours.

Of course August westarted school again. Shane did what’s called practicum. This is where he worksin a intern setting as a student to get hands on experience while gettingcredit hours. This week, he will finish up two jobs. One is for the VOW doingpremarital education. The other is for the East Texas Medical Center for thebehavioral and mental center working in group sessions. He has really enjoyedboth areas of work and has learned a lot. Austen is still doing online home school and doing well. He has manyportfolios to do and he continues to progress faster than the teacherslike. He also has live lessons onFridays where he can virtually see his teacher and other students in his class.He is taking sign language which I’m excited about. Gabrielle was officially tested and diagnosedwith dyslexia. She is pulled out of regular class every day and has severalteachers that work with her. Herteachers have made accommodations and she is doing very well. Her readingcontinues to get easier for her and her math skills are coming alonggreat. When she started school, everyonehad a timed test and she only made it through half the test which gave her afailing grade. After the 2^nd six weeks she not only completed thetest but she only missed three, giving her a 97. We are so proud of her!

My work has been steady and I was pleased to get a goodevaluation with a nice raise. I havebeen working really hard to reach a goal of High Achievers. I have been close acouple of times. We have had some bigresident activities this year. My favorite that I launch each year is our TexasAgainst Crime event in October. This year we decided to have a volleyballtournament. I was able to promote three teams. I had shirts made for a Policeteam, Fire team, and Regency Park team. I also went around to businesses and got door prizes donated and got vendors we work with to donate money for the winning team. It ended up being a great success! The StateRepresentative showed up, we had a fire truck come and several police officersand fireman. Many of the residents cameand the Regency Park team won the game!

Now that it is November, our time is very close to the endhere in Longview, TX. We have startedpacking and looking for jobs and planning our move to Bradenton, FL. I have two brothers, Victor and Eric thatlive there. Shane wants to do his masterprogram at Argosy University. We areplanning Shane’s graduation which is December 10^th, go to grandmaand grandpa Nation Christmas on December 11^th, then get the moving truckon Dec 15^th. We will pack everything and then Shane, the kids and mymom will head to Pensacola, Fl on the 16^th. My mom is going to stay with Carolyn Bush, afamily/ friend until we can find a house to buy. However, they will drop off furniture andstuff there and mom will carry on to Bradenton with Shane and kids until afterChristmas. I will stay in Longview andcontinue working until Shane has found a job. That way we have a steady incomeduring the transition. This of course is plan B, our prayer is that somethingwill come up for me and Shane before the move so we don’t have to be separated.

My mom has stayed relatively healthy, we were able to gether a large flat screen TV for her birthday, and she is very happy to havepurchased a lift chair. She also wasable to attend the annual Encore retreat with all her church friends.

I am writing thiswhile we are traveling back from spending Thanksgiving with Shane’s siblings(and families) and parents. Everyone was there except Jill and Joel and kidswho are still in Africa. Mom and herfriend Karen came along and we all had fun playing games, hiking, and takinglots of pictures.

March 2011

2011-03-18T13:04:00.000-07:00

Well, thinking back on our life since last October. I really thought I had updated before now. Last thanksgiving and Christmas was enjoyed at home. Since we had so much fun traveling during the summer, I didn't have any more vacation time to go any where for the holidays. It was still a nice family time. We decorated the house and opened presents. Austen asked for money and was saving up for the 3D-ds handheld gaming item. However, we went to a local pet store and he fell in love with the ferrets. We then asked our landlord if we could have a caged animal. He approved with no deposit. We are now owners of a white ferret named "wink". Our nice neighbor had connections, so Austen only had to pay for the used caged and buy food. These critters are quite expensive to get set up, but Crystal our neighbor was kind enough to find us one they had for awhile. Wink is not out first choice by no means for a pet. He is funny to watch and doesn't take too much to take care of. Of course the cleaning of the cage is the most challenging for the kids. Even my mom enjoys watching scurry around the house during his free time. We have to keep him bathed quite often or is name changes to "stinky winky".

We spent new years with our friends Matt and Rebecah Simcox. Played games and ate. The kids were introduced to konnex, an interactive game that can recognize by a sensor where you are and then move the characters on the screen. It is fun to be able to go have fun with friends and the kids are old enough to come along and stay up late with out any consequences the next day.

January 2011. A time to reflect and plan. Shane and I had already planned that I would have a hysterectomy this year and the date was set. Our tax return was going to be used to make sure that everything was paid and we wouldn't have to stress over the bills. We paid off some debt and got a nice new leather sofa/couch and a few other small things we needed like new glasses for Shane and Austen, contacts for me.

I was also going to work on my high achievers at work. My coworkers and I went to our kick off party in Frisco,TX at the Dave and Busters restaurant. It was fun. I've really have learned to appreciate the company I work for and would recommend anyone to work for Venterra Realty. They have great values, make good business decisions. At our Apartment Assoc Christmas party, I was awarded Assistant Manager of the Year. I know how it came about but it looks good on my resume. Working for Venterra has been challenging but also a very good learning experience. I have been challenged with working with many people as a team to get the same thing accomplished. Building relationships with those forced into my world with different lifestyles, beliefs and personalities. God has certainly stretched me and taught me to love, respect, and have humility. Now that I am thinking of moving and will have to look into other companies. I want a company as good as this one. I have a feeling that God will place me in another situation for me to continue to grow and keep learning.

Austen started soccer. He loves it, surprisingly. We are very happy and thrilled and we don't have to fight him to go. Every game he gets better as does the team. They have won one game so far. I also agreed to let him and Shane get a game called Rift. Its an online game that they can play together. Austen is about three weeks ahead of the rest of his class. His homeschooling is going well. It is still challenging but that's good. That is what we wanted.

Gabrielle has been in girl scouts. She meets every other week. We sold cookies and have had a bunch of fun. I have been struggling with whether we should continue. She has fun and its a different set a friends that she can interact with. Her leader is nice, but they aren't really learning anything, so it ends up just being something we do together. I am still wanting to have her try gymnastics. Gabrielle's school wants to officially tested her for dyslexia. I know she has it, its like seeing me as a girl struggling. I can't stand that she got my handicap.

Shane and I celebrated our birthdays. It was so nice. I got valentine flowers and birthday flowers. Then we went to Red Lobster and had dinner. The kids and Shane got me jewelry and perfume. Then for Shane's birthday, we went to Karen's house for a cookout and I surprised Shane with golf clubs.

I continue to help at church in missions committee, club 456, awana, and now I greet newcomers and drive the bus for students once a quarter. Our missions conference was great this year. I really enjoyed the fellowship with the missionaries. This will be my last year in club 456 as Austen will head onto jr high next year. I will eventually phase out of each ministry as we get closer to moving.

Shane is still the married student chaplain at the University. His classes have been quite challenging this semester. He's been studying child counseling and has a class project that includes visiting a children's hospital in Shreveport,La. He has also been taking some management classes including accounting and human resources. So his mind has been stretched but he is still holding onto a good GPA.

My surgery was march 15th. It went well and I was able to go home the next day. I have two weeks off of work and pray the doctor will release me back then. We are blessed with a good church family and they have brought food and sent flowers. The kids have spent the week with Mamaw and Papa (Shane's parents) and Shane went to meet them half way to pick them up today, Mar 18th. All is well in Longview TX.

Falling

2010-10-22T04:32:00.000-07:00

I don't really remember September, of course school started and we had some challenges. Austen is alone quite a bit and I don't think He thought about that. He is quite clingy on the days Shane is at school and he's done his homework by noon. Math has been his biggest struggle but he is pulling his grade up from failing to a B. I'm so proud of him. Shane has had classes on Tuesdays, Thursdays this semester so that has been a blessing to have him around more. Gabrielle does seem to have Dyslexia but the school has a great program and she is keeping up and continues to do well. She actually brought home straights A's her first six weeks. I'm so proud of her.

Work is going well. The Lord has been working on me and my attitude. My reviews keep getting better and praise God I got a raise. Its amazing how long it takes to build relationships with those that you are forced to be with for 8 hours a day or more. But I think in my personal situation I'm seeing and feeling a difference. There have been many changes but the crew I work with is great.

Some things I've been learning is that I am valuable to God no matter where I am. I don't have to be a missionary in a far off place for God to use me. Of course I've known that in my head but my heart kept telling me that I need to do more-I'm not worthy-I need to sacrifice more. The verse, " the heart is deceitful of above all things, who can understand it." is a perfect verse for this situation. Over the summer, I worked on a bible study with Austen called Shepherding a Child's Heart. We studied several different topics like trusting God when bad things happen,negative behavior, the connection between our heart and mind. Recently, I've been doing a Beth Moore Bible study on Believing God. Believing that God is who He says He is, God Does what He says He will do, That I am who God says I am, That I can do all things through Christ, and that God's word is alive and active in me. Sometimes its hard to accept these truths, however, its takes a daily effort believe.

October was busy. First off, we celebrated Gabrielle's birthday. Some dear friends at church had us all over to ride horses. Shane and my mom just watched. Gabrielle had a friend over that went with us to ride and then we ate and Gabrielle opened her presents at our favorite pizza place. We then, celebrated our 15th anniversary by going to the Galord Texan in Grapevine, Tx. A beautiful resort. Thoroughly enjoyed the Medieval Dinner Theater. All I can say is Very Cool! Visited the Texas State Fair- ate a fried cheesecake-yummy! And of course the whole reason we went to Dallas is for me to run a 5K run in the Susan G Koman-Race for the Cure. I really didn't think I would do well but I did. God put someone in front of me that was going a good speed and I was able to finish the race in 32minutes 55 seconds. Lastly, We carved pumpkins with the married students at the university, I was in a dunking booth at my work fall festival and raised $174.00 for SGK, went the school carnival and worked in the Farm Fair at church.

Some things that Shane and I are praying about. 1: That we can find out whether we need to stay in Texas for Shane's master program. 2: If we do stay, do we move from this house to somewhere that we can have pets or that the owners will change their mind. 3. I have to have surgery in the spring, that it will resolve all my pain issues.

Memories Made

2010-09-23T04:58:00.000-07:00

I didn't mention in my last posting that in June we went to see my father and step-mom. It was a great time. My dad gave testimony of true salvation and him and Gail have been attending church regularly. It joys my heart that prayers are heard and answered. Shane was able to help aroung the house. And I got to see Patrick and Brian, two of my brothers, and celebrate Patricks's and Austen's birthdays. We went to the community pool almost everyday, went to the Chattanooga Aquarium, and a small museum. Another nice thing was Shane and I went on a date. We decided to try a japanese steak house. Of course, you sit with strangers at your table and we got to talking with four guys that owned their own business. By the time it was time to go and pay the bill, one of the four guys had paid our bill. It was such a blessing. We later sent a thank you card.

In August, we headed up to Carl Farley's Boys Ranch for Shane's baby sister's wedding. It was so beautiful. All the nieces and nephews were in the wedding. I will add pictures later. We then, all twenty of us, headed to Surfside, Tx and spent the week at the beach. I wasn't at all that impressed with the beach but I loved the company and the fun we all had. We flew kites, collected shells, went crabbing(and cooked them). I was the only one that liked it enough to eat all the legs-they had a strong fishy taste. We didn't quite prepair them the way we were suppose to. Trying to keep them alive was our biggest challenge. Of course cooking them on a coleman stove outside didn't help. I think somebody went to the store and bought a different water raft or toy everyday. Aaron work very hard at skim boarding and actually stayed on at least a few times. We all tried it but I thought it was too difficult. I was more afraid of falling- the same fear like when your on a skateboard and have no talent. Dad and Michael and Shane fished. They caught a small shark and some other small fish. We played games at night. We even had mom playing mario cart on the wii. One of my favorite times was we were playing mexican train, it was late, and we got to laughing about all kinds of things and then it turned into laughing because we couldn't stop laughing. I thought Jill and dad were going to stop breathing. I also got up early every morning and ran on the beach.

Yes, I am still training for the 5k run. Just a few weeks away and Iwill be running by myself.(nobody I know anyways, there will hundreds of thousands there) This has been a journey in of itself. I decided to run because a friend asked me if I wanted to make the challange. Training has been difficult as well. I've come a long way with time and speed. During the summer I was able to run everyday at the local school track, but now, it stays dark and I don't feel safe running in the dark. I have gone to my work and ran the treadmill but I've noticed that it was much easier than running the track. I then went to some bike trails and ran on the weekends and that was quite a bit more challanging. So, now I do the elipticle every morning for 30 minutes and run on the weekends.

Summer 2010

2010-07-12T05:19:00.000-07:00

I really think our hottest time was back in April and May. July and we have been in the mid 90's but it just doesn't seem that hot to me. I've been running and doing Jullian Michael's 30-day shred and alternating with the eliptical for months now. I can definately tell I'm stronger, and thinner but it doesn't take much to go off the healthly diet and feel really crummy. I ran a mile and a half this morning, trying to work up to three miles. I want to run the 5k this October with a friend for Susan G Koman-race for the cure. I noticed this morning that I'm really slow, but I am pacing and not losing my breath or my body seems to go numb after a while. Not sure if thats good or if it matters. Its really a funny kind of feeling because at the same time my body is screaming STOP.

Shane and I have been talking a lot about our future and what God's will would be. We continue to pray for direction. We are both pretty ancious about finishing school and moving. We at this point have settled on moving to Florida. I really feel strongly to be closer to my family. Many reasons , one is that my mom is of course getting older and I think she would enjoy seeing my brothers more often. Second, I heard a series of messages from our pastor that gave a whole new perspective on how to love and build our families and honoring God through obedience. So,
on another note, I have made contact with two other brothers that I haven't talked to for several years and hope that my relationships with my family will become strong.

Almost May

2010-04-30T04:39:00.000-07:00

Now that I am getting up at %:30am every morning to exercise, I have more time to keep this blog updated. I also wanted to mention that with our tax return we were able to buy a few things we needed and buy this cute little netbook computer for me to use. Our home computer has kicked the bucket and we lost many of our pictures and files. I guess it is still wise to back-up the files on a disc. We also were able to pay off some more debt. We are working on getting our credit good enough for us to buy a house the next time we move. We are thinking close to the beach somewhere.

The kids have had several field trips at school. They have been to the zoo, movies, and Austen is going fishing today. I can't remember if I mentioned that the kids and Shane went to Shane's parents for spring break.

Four Months

2010-04-15T19:44:00.000-07:00

You wouldn't think that in four months time so much could happen that you felt like you already forgotten most everything. However, I'm racking my brain to remember all that happened. I really don't know why I wait so long to write.

Since my last post.... Christmas was spent at Boy's Ranch. Roasting marshmallows in the fireplace. Hiking. Shane and I went on a date shopping and to the movies. I rested quite a bit and read a book. Whoah! and finished it too! The time was good and so was the fellowship with family. My mom went with us. It snowed while we were there and the gifts were special. The kids have thoroughly enjoyed their beanbags that they got from Mamaw and Papa.

January was a month of reflection and what we could do to make resolution of for the year. School started back for Shane and the kids. I decided to start reading something new and got myself into several books. Purpose Driven Life by Rick Warren, The Leader in You by Dale Carnegie. And something on the lighter side that at this moment I can't remember the title to but it was a very good story. I also decided that it was time to get back into shape. I started waking up at 5:30am and exercising. As of this post, I've lost 16lbs. and a total of 9inches.

Shane and I went through the Biggest Loser Contest for Longview, TX. Weighed in each week and took part in the Isagenix program with protein shakes and cleansing drinks. I also have been going to the Chiropractor each week. Boy, does that feel good. I feel stronger, healthier, and I feel like I can handle the stresses of life better.

In February, my focus was with the mission conference we hold every year at Fellowship Bible Church. I was in charge of the Saturday night banquet. I recruited a lovely couple that lived in the Apartment complex that I work to give us an authentic Mexican dinner. It was a great success! Many people participated in the WOW weekend and it is a great time to connect with the missionaries.

Austen has struggled again this year in school giving his best to his teachers and keeping himself occupied. Austen continues to excel in his academics and just not getting what he needs in this school setting. We finally found a home school program that we have enrolled him into for next year. Please pray that this will be a success. It is actually a State run, virtual, online school called Connections Academy. It looks like it will provide the advancement Austen needs as well as He will be able to participate in electives that the local schools cannot offer. It fits our budget and they provide all the books and curriculum for all required work.

Gabrielle is doing much better in her reading. She will probably have to work hard for good grades. She keeps us laughing and both the kids have enjoyed the warm weather now that it is Spring.

My mom's brother Jim past away after battling cancer in February. With the help of family, she was able to go to California to spend time with her other brother Terry his wife and Jim's wife Cheryl. I wished I could go but Cheryl didn't want a big to-do. They had a very nice time visiting.

This spring we have helped some good friends named Mr. and Mrs. Coleman with a vegetable garden. I was so excited because I had never done that before. Every couple of weeks we have gone to their house and planted something. We've done cabbage, lettuce, broccoli, beans, corn, tomatoes and peppers. Not a big garden but just enough to share Mr.Coleman says. We harvested our broccoli and lettuce and it was so good! I've learned a lot and the kids have had a blast. After each planting the kids go into the chicken coop and gather eggs. It has been such a great experience for us. I hope to take pictures next time we go.

I also started a bible study series called the Truth Project with the residents at where I work. Only a few came but my mom came as well. I found out through talked with one of the residents who goes to a Baptist Church that he lead groups at his church, so I asked him if he would help me do the videos in our clubhouse. We had a total of 5 that came. I even enjoyed seeing the videos again. Just good information and stirs your heart.

Catch up

2009-12-17T18:40:00.000-08:00

I know it has been a very long time since we wrote. We did send out a newsletter with a Christmas card/family picture. So that will be coming soon, but we only could afford 50 so I wanted to also put it up here.

Shane immediately started to prepare for his mission trip to Brazil once school led out in may. I know that he has talked a little about it. We appreciate the support that you all given both financially and prayerfully. Once he came home the kids were out of school and they started enjoying the summertime freedom. Shane also could join out meetins with the mission committee during the summer. We took part in another spiritual gifts test with personality test. Shane and I pulled out all the others we have taken before and we studied how similar that test results were. This really had Shane thinking and before he started his fall semester, he changed his major to aviation mechanics. We saw that the money wasn't coming for him to fly and we really didn't want to go into too much school debt for something that God may not be guiding. Then we met with some missionaries, had lunch with them and asked a lot of questions. We got to talking about how Shane really wouldn't want to be a mechanic for a living and he really didn't have the desire to work on engines all day everyday. He wants to serve people. So, before his fall semester was over he got with all his advisers, and changed his major again. A Bachleor of Science of interdisciplinary studies with concentrations in Psychology, cross cultural studies and aviation maintenance. Shane is more at peace and is looking forward to his new classes for next semester. Please pray for him as he changes his focus in classes, listens for continued direction from the Lord and manages his time. Please pray as well as Shane really wants to get a part time job on campus to help with monthly expenses( gas for the vehicles in particular)

I, Valerie, have moved up to Director in TNT 5th & 6th graders in Awana. I have really enjoyed getting to know the girls and they have challenged me to work in memorizing verses. So now I'm working on my own book. I also do the music and help in council time which is fun too! While Shane was in Brazil, the kids went to school during the day, my mom was home when they got off the bus and I was able to get off work early each day to be with them in the evening. We decided that we would go on vacation this year, so we contacted my brothers in Florida. Planned to meet them in Pensacola, but the only way we could afford it was to be creative in coming up with the money. So, I had a garage sale and sold our pop-up camper. I have also had several challenges working with the other ladies in my office at work. God has showed how I need to change and grow in strength in Him. Work is quite stressful and tires me out. I am very aware of it and have learned I don't like to be as busy as I used to be. I am enjoying spending more quality time with my family.

Austen took swimming lesson at the beginning of the year. We were hoping that if he liked it he would want to compete and be part of the swim club. He is much like his father in the regard that once he learned all the swim strokes he lost interest. He is a great swimmer now and enjoyed the deep end of the pool this summer. For his birthday, this summer we gave him the choice to have a party or gifts. He decided to invite one friend and we went to Crater Diamonds. AR. We went bike riding on a regular basis, we have tried three different bike trails in the area. Austen has taken more responsibility with chores around the house. He is helping with the dishes, cleaning the bathrooms and yard work. We had to buy a new lawnmower and Austen has the priviledge of mowing. He actually likes it.(mostly because that is the one he gets paid for.) Once school started again he was accepted into the gifted and talented program at his school. Austen has mature a lot this year. Please pray that he grow in Christ and grasp His love.

Gabrielle loves to play with her neighborhood friends Jule and Khyzer. She has picked up reading. Even thoughit is more difficult for her than Austen, we are proud of her. She has lost most of her baby teeth and we are looking into braces for her in the spring. She has a really small mouth and her teeth does not have enough room to come in. She still is sucking her thumb and continue to pray that she will stop on her own very soon. She had her birthday at the local skating rink. Then she had her tonsils out. Amazing she hasn't been sick since! Gabrielle does help around the house as well. She helps in vacuuming, and emptying the dishwasher. I really like that she can take a shower without help now.

Katharine spent her whole summer in Pensacola, Fla with a longtime friend Carolyn Bush. We then picked her up in August and stayed a week on the beach with my brothers Victor( his wife and kids) and Eric, my dad and step-mom and younger brother Brian. We all had our own townhouse. We had so much fun! We brought home lots of shells and great pictures. Katharine has started driving again. This has given her much freedom to take herself to the doctor and go to church functions however it has also given her much frustrating adventures as she still gets lost easily. But she calls is and we help her find her way back home. She went on a retreat with her "encore"(senior) group. She has enjoyed becoming friends with one particular friend named Karen that calls her up on a whim and they do fun stuff together.

We can really praise God. His promises to never fail us is so true. Every time we have been in a bind, He always gets us out. Every month has been quite a challenge to make ends meet, however, we are not hungry, we have clothes to wear and we are not homeless. Thank you Father!

Even though our focus is not aviation, we still have a passion for it and we hope that one day Shane will be able to be a part of mission aviation. We are still looking at a host or guest house that would provide encouragement and relief to the missionaries we can serve. We have started to make contact with Wycliffe to begin lookling into organizations that do such work.

Daily Grind

2009-09-16T19:58:00.000-07:00

Now that I'm back in the routine of work and the kids and Shane are back in school, it seems were busier than ever. There is not much time for social life. I really gained some fresh ideas on how to minister at work. I've had a hard time fitting in and well not feeling useful for the Lord. That always makes me feel unsettled. As I continued to pray and ask God to help I would keep my eyes open to see where I could share my faith or encourage others. I have exercised my passion to serve the Lord at church with Awana and in the mission committee and, Lo and Behold, things just starting happening at work. I love how God works.
We have had many people relocate to the Longview area. From Iowa, Houston, Dallas, Mississippi, California even. So I would get a feel from our new residents and then invite them to church. Last Sunday, a whole crowd showed up and we took a whole row in the service. It was hard to talk to them at once and make them feel welcome. I have seen them at work this week and they all said they really enjoyed it. Whew!
I went to an Awana Conference and totally enjoyed myself. I learned so much and of course have so much resources to home as well as great speakers. I really got a confirmation that God wants me there and I have such a passion the the kids and training them to serve Him.
Gabrielle had her first six week grade for 1st grade. She is above the requirement for reading! YEAH! I am so proud of her, my sweet girl! She is growing like a weed, were way past due for new school clothes. Were getting ready for her birthday-October 1st. She really wanted to go to the skate rink but they closed down, so we are going horseback riding and maybe the zoo or something.
Austen is in the GT program at school and loves it. This special class will give the opportunity to write his own book about sharks, learn about aviation(go figure)take a trip to a avaition museum in Tyler, Tx. Plus many more things. He has to change classes this year and now he has Social Studies included. He seems to be liking it so far.
Shane has a heavier load this semester. Because of certain circumstances, he decided to change his major to flight mechanic and added a minor in phsycology. I know it doesn't seem to fit together but we talked about somes things over the summer. He truely is gifted in counseling and encouraging, so with a little encouragement of mine and a whole lot of praying... he wasn't going to change directions completely out of flight, so one of his acedemic advisors told him if he wanted to do a minor in phsycology then if he later wanted to get his masters he could easlily. Shane really likes all his classes. He is at school for long days and has more homework than he would like.
Mom was able to get a C-Pap(sp?) machine that helps you breathe while you sleep. She got it right before she left for vacation. It has helped her so much! She is getting up in the mornings rested and isn't taking naps. She is so much more active which is a huge praise. Her diabetes is still maintaining, plus she continues to lose weight.

August travels

2009-09-07T10:59:00.000-07:00

I have been working for a year at my job now and have accumulated enough vacation time to take a weeks a vacation. We were going to go all the way down to my brothers house in Bradenton. Fl but we couldn't find a house to rent. So my mom looked in Pensacola and found three condos. We had so much fun. I got up early and stay up late. So my brother victor and his family, my dad and his family, and then our family with mom. We played games, shared the cooking, we collected bunches of shells, boats rides with tubing. We went out once to get fresh seafood. We had such a lovely time.

We then came home a day early so I could rest up before work. I ended up sleeping the entire day, but ended up with a fever blister. Started work again was pretty hard. but I've gotten into my routine again. Then, an old friend from Lubbock showed up at my apartment looking for an apartment. I was so surprised. Daniel was someone that Shane discipled while at Melrose Park. Shane finally convinced him to go back home to Alabama. Then he shows up here. Daniel forgot we had moved here. It is so nice to have him and his family here.

Fourth of July 2009

2009-07-19T15:37:00.000-07:00

We really enjoyed ourselves for the holiday. I got a paid holiday for July 3rd. I still had to come in for 2 hours each day of the weekend to collect money being that I'm the only one responsible for that at my job. Then we had some friends over for a cook-out. We grilled hamburgers and hot dogs for Carrie and Jonathan Vaughan and Carrie made homemade potato salad. We had pineapple, watermelon, corn on the cob, and poppers too! Then on the 4th, we gathered with more friends at out church gathering. It is at some one's house in the country and they rent a train, a blow-up slide, lots of bubbles, Frisbees, etc. for all the kids. Music, and great fellowship with friends. They pass around water bottles and ice cream sandwiches. We all bring desserts to share. Then when it gets dark enough, the fireworks starts, just as good as any other I've seen over the years. It's hot and sticky but you just don't think about it when your having that much fun!

Brazil trip -- part 1

2009-07-15T19:49:00.000-07:00

Ok, I am finally going to get the stories of my trip to Brazil down on here. Valerie has been after me to write about it and I have been avoiding it.

The purpose of my trip was to be used as a vision trip to make sure that mission aviation was where I felt that the Lord was still leading. Before I took too many classes in school toward that goal and decide that I did not want or could not handle being a missionary.

So Valerie and I traveled to Arlington, Texas on the night of May 3rd. We spent the night with Joel and Jill to that we could get me to the airport by 5:15 am. I said my goodbyes to Valerie and was off to Miami for my first of two 12 hour layovers. That flight was good and easy. I sat next to a man and his 2 year old daughter on their way to Cuba to visit his grandparents. I tried not to talk to much and the little girl did awesome for that early in the morning and being so young. Arriving there I decide to find me a place to relax. I had my laptop and 3 books to keep me busy. I tried to get on the internet, but they want you to pay for it. So I was not willing to do that. Ok Miami is cool and all, but the airport got really old after about 3 hours. So 9 hours after that I could board the plane for Rio de Janiero.

Now I must insert a couple of details here. 1. I have not traveled internationally by myself.......ever. So I am a little nervous, but more excited. 2. I bought the plane tickets 3 weeks earlier. A week before I am to leave and too late for any changes to be made the travel website emailed me that I was going to have to change airports for my flight leaving Rio. I emailed back and said that was not what I was willing to do and what were my options. They emailed back and said I could change airports or I could have a refund for that part of my trip. Did I already say I was nervous to travel alone? God knew this and allowed the circumstances to be such that I had to rely on his courage to make the change of airport.

I flew all night to Rio sitting next to a lady that spoke no English. (I thought I was not to leave English behind until I got further into Brazil, but ok.) She did not speak much Spanish either. So much for being a witness, but the Lord knew I was not wanting to talk alot so the choice of seat mates was good. I did not sleep well.

Flying into Rio was amazing. It is a HUGE city. There and about 7 million within the city and almost 15 million right outside of it. So much for Dallas looking big. We were over the city about 18 minutes before we landed.
Amazingly big.

Part 2 coming soon

Summer News

2009-06-30T21:23:00.000-07:00

I have tried to get Shane to blog about his trip, maybe soon He will share his experience with everyone. He can talk for hours about it all but trying to sit down and put it into words is difficult for him. Shane got back from his trip to Brazil, school let out for the kids. In June we celebrated my mother's birthday and Austen's birthday. I decided to get my mom a subscription to the Birds and Blooms magazine. We grilled out and had Strawberry shortcake. For Austen's birthday, he decided he wanted to go to Crater Diamonds in Arkansas. So we took one of his friends and dug in hard crusty dirt for two hours and found a whole bunch of rocks. As fun as that sounds I really did enjoy water sifting. Afterwards, we went to the water park next door to cool off. I got sun burned really bad and paid for it the next few days. We then went to a touristy shop where I thought the kids would like to buy a neat crystal or pretty rock that would be a great souvenir but instead Austen bought a fossil of a fish. Yes, he still wants to be a paleontologist.

We went to say our goodbyes to Joel, Jill,Dara and Dade Skinner, who were heading to Africa with AIM. Shane then drove my mom to Pensacola, Fl to visit her friend for the summer, then Shane went on to His brother's house in GA to deliver a minivan to his family. Shane and his brother have quite a story to tell about their adventures together. To make a long story short, they drove an OLD Cadillac from Aaron's house to our house. It should have only taken 12 hours...it took 19 hours and it broke down somewhere in AL. It makes for a funny story when you hear the whole thing. They then decided that the rest of the trip would go better if we took our car and meet their sister Robin half way and she would take Aaron the rest of the way to their parents house. Shane is done traveling for awhile.

Where does the Time Go?

2009-05-20T19:17:00.000-07:00

Time flies whether your having fun or not. Shane will be home on Sunday and I am very glad of that. Even though we have been able to communicate through Skype, email and facebook, I very much miss him and can't wait for him to be home. Shane will be able to share about his time in Brazil soon.

During Shane's time away, I have had meetings, and doctor's appts. and work parties. Our church finished up AWANAS for the year. I have accepted the position of director for the 5th & 6th grade girls for next year. I am continueing to meet with the 456 club through the summer, and we are trying to plan some short term mission trips in the mission committee. So I am trying to stay involved.

Austen had an eye appointment last week and we pick up his first pair of glasses tomorrow. He is very excited. He says it will comfirm his nerd status at school ...and he is happy about this.:) We have not been able to get him to swim lessons this month but he was able to show me his techniques he is learning at our office pool party. What a fun time! We made it a luau, so I dressed in a grass skirt and handed out lei's and had the pool fill with beach balls. Everyone had a good time with the hoola hoop and cannonball contests.

With all this it has been difficult to keep up the house work. The grass has grown so high that the lawn mower boggs down and over heats- its new too! I've worked on it for two days now and hopefully I can finish tomorrow. A friend from work gave me some elephant ears to plant under our oak tree in the front yard as well as some voilets. If they live, they will look really nice I think.

A blessing and a praise. Even though the economy doesn't seem to look great, I had my quarterly review and got a raise. This is helpful in many ways. I continue to pray for open opportunities for ministry at work and definitely need prayer for strength to be Christ in my workplace. It hasn't been easy working with other people(especially other women) when I'm used to working with one person(my husband) for the last 13 years. God is teaching how to be something I'm not. Patience, understanding, and when to speak and how to speak(that I think is the hardest). It is in these hard times that I want to quit because it's really not where I want to be, but I know from the past that God puts me in these situation to make me grow. Like 2 Peter 1 -making one's calling. My favorite scripture, a reminder of what God wants from me.

Angels watching over me!

2009-05-07T19:05:00.000-07:00

I have to share as often as I can when God protects! We often forget when an instant happens when you know that God protected you and we don't testify about it. So I want to praise God for protecting me yesterday! I was sitting at a traffic light waiting for the light, dabbling in my purse, when I felt the urge to look in my rear view mirror. I thought I heard something. I saw a HUGE Dr Pepper truck stopped right at my bumper crooked and partly on the curb! If the angels hadn't stop it I would have been squashed like a bug! As I kept looking the passenger guy in the truck opened the door to look to see if they had actually hit me, but I knew he didn't. The light turned green and I was on my merry way praising and thanking God!

2009-04-26T13:52:00.000-07:00

Shane and I have recently got caught up in Facebook and I haven't taken the time to update you all by blog. Shane and the kids had a fabulous time seeing family and friends. Shane surprised Kevin and Sharon by coming unannounced to the funeral. They were very happy to see him and the kids. Austen got to see his school friend, Reed. They all got to see snow, and play in the river all in the same weekend.

The recession has not really affected Longview, We have had many layoffs and plants close, but for an average the Forbes Magazine listed Longview, Texas as one of the top cities for employment and the city continues to grow. Housing is still high and people are still buying and selling. This has helped my job because even with people moving out it seems that many are just shifting from houses to apartments or the other way around.

Shane is leaving May 3rd for Brazil on a mission trip. He will be gone for three weeks. He is a little nervous about traveling alone, but excited too. We both have such a desire to live in South America. He will be spending his time with missionaries, Mike and Jodi Bunn. They work with Brazil Air and YWAM. Shane has also decided to change his degree plan. Funds have not been able to come in for him to get his flight training now, so he will graduate with a aeronautical science/computer science degree. Hopefully after school he will land a job that will pay for the flight he needs to get the pilot license.

The kids are doing great. We are looking into homeschool for Austen for next year. He still is moving very quickly in school and gets bored easily. He has moved from the top reader in the entire school to second because we won't let him read Harry Potter books or any other books that have magic in them. Unfortunately, these are the books that have the most points in them for Accelerated Reading. We really are praying that we could find someone that wouldn't mind adding Austen to their schooling their own kids. Austen has been swimming three times a week with the Longview Swim Club. He has a test soon to see if he will move up.

Gabrielle is doing so much better at reading, She can't wait to start swimming for the summer. She keeps asking me when the pool opens at my work. She also wants to go to a water park this summer. She still wants be a mermaid when she grows up. I would love to get her into swimming with Austen but its just not the time.

My mom is doing ok. She seems to have days when she spends most her time in bed. I have noticed that she is having a hard time formulating her words. I think it might be from one... she doesn't interact with people on a regular basis and two..I'm afraid that she might be having mini strokes. I did talk about it with her and we have made an appointment with her doctor.

My mom and I went to a ladies retreat a few weeks back, it was so beautiful! Our cabins were right in front of a huge lake. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, it was great! We met new people and played games, and had an awesome time with my Heavenly Father.

Spring is on its way!

2009-03-13T08:39:00.000-07:00

I have off today from work. Just a time of rest because work has been quite crazy this month, also I worked last Saturday. We got very sad news on Monday that a close friend from Lubbock, TX had lost their daughter Hailey by suicide. It was a big shock. Shane and the kids left this morning to go to the funeral. I wanted to go but it just didn't work out with work and the timing. After the funeral Shane and the kids will head up to Shane's parents house to visit for spring break. Mom and I will enjoy the time by ourselves. It is cold and rainy in Longview, but the flowers have bloomed and allergy season is full force in our house. We finally are on facebook too! Shane is keeping up with it, but I look on when I get a chance. We have more pictures of the family on facebook.

Birthday news!

2009-02-22T12:35:00.000-08:00

I had my birthday. On 2/20 I turned 35yrs old and I really don't ever feel any older. But then I want to do something with the kids and I feel my age. I decided to have my friends, Matthew and Rebecca (little Audry)Simcox over at the house to play games and eat taco salads and strawberry shortcake.YUM!! We also had Shane's school buddy Matt with to celebrate. I got some great phone calls and presents. My brother Eric sent me a beautiful earring, necklace and ring set. Then Saturday morning we left to go to Arlington, TX to see Shane's sister Jill and family. They leave with AIM(African Inland Missions) in June to head for Tanzania, Africa. They are doing a presentation at their church, so we came down to support them. We also met with Grandma and Grandpa Nation for their 62nd wedding anniversary and Grandpa's birthday. It has been great to worship with other believers and their pastor was so dynamic speaker, then realized that he was a missionary for 15 years in Africa. Papa (Shane's dad) took the kids to the park and the cousins can spend time together.

what's happening now

2009-02-10T04:31:00.000-08:00

Shane finally told me to at least start writing about what's happening now, then I can add past events as I think of them. It is February 10th, and I wanted to send out our winter newsletter way before now. We wanted to do mail-outs with a family picture/ prayer card but the weather hasn't helped. the children were not cooperative, then I couldn't find every one's mailing address. It really feel like winter now in Longview. No ice storms or snow just very cold, today rainy.
Austen really seems to like swimming, it takes more gas for Shane to travel back and forth to school right now, that's where Austen does his lessons. Austen is still struggling with many things, we can tell if he has had too much sweets or is very tired. HE actually wasn't sleeping very well for several months. Staying up very late reading or paying his gameboy. We took everything away but then he said he would wake up and stay awake for several hours then be very tired by the time I would wake him for school. Now that he is swimming he seems to be sleeping better. My evaluation is that he wasn't burning enough energy to be tired. Austen doesn't eat well either, not that he eats a lot of sweets ( too much in my opinion) but i can't seem to control everything in his life. Please pray for him, for all these things and he seems to gravitate to books with ghosts and wizard/witchcraft in them, I'm very concerned about it.

New Found Marriage

2009-01-07T17:37:00.000-08:00

Most people have experienced some marriage battles. If you haven't, you must not be from this planet. I(Valerie) have also noticed that many have struggled as we have in our marriage. Although, the typical struggles are money and sex, we also had against us the pains of childhood. I came from a single parent home, being molested by a relative. Eventually became promiscuous and rebellious. Shane came from a pretty large loving family, but exposed to pornography as a young teen and later became entangled in a mess of legal issues and was on probation for 5 years. This setting just about gave Satan the win of the century, but God had other plans. At the beginning, just learning that Shane and I were opposite in personalities was a struggle. I liked mornings, he didn't. I needed to be around somebody all the time, he like being alone most of the time. We married in debt to the IRS, and after a couple of years, I thought I had given all the sex I could give and I was done with it. That did not make Shane very happy. And for the rest of our personal relationship, it was going down hill steadily. I was also having physical female problems and Shane was picking up bad habits that just added to the problems. We stuck with it, didn't really think any nasty thoughts of leaving each other yet...We moved, the money got better, we had actually taken crown ministries and got debt free....Until we thought we needed "stuff", you know the bigger car, electronics, fancy bed, blah...blah...we then were convinced by a "big timer" that we could make our own money being a financial planner. We left our job and moved into a house we rented for a while and we would try selling life insurance, and investments. After awhile, we can't stand each other because I was complaining about everything....everything. And Shane was withdrawing worse and worse. We weren't making any money, I applied for food stamps, and rent was not being paid. After six months, we got rid of most everything, the memoirs of my grandmother, my collections of nick knacks, the kids toys, our pets. We packed as much as we could in Shane's parents horse trailer and our car and headed for Reynosa, Mexico. I was in hate mode by this time, we were barely talking. to Jump forward, we moved again to Lubbock and the fights, snide remarks, blaming, bringing up the past. I was ready to leave but I new it would be a waste of money, I really didn't want to be with anyone else and I new how much it hurt me to have my parents not together, so I told him that it was time we finally got help. In Lubbock, I had this talent of looking through the yellow pages and God would direct me straight to who I needed to call. This time it was Family Coaching. We met with a coach to help us communicate with each other, we had to write letters to God and to each other. We then took a separation time of five weeks of fasting. Fasting from each other, fasting of food and did a deep reflection of our personal relationship with Christ. We stayed in the same house but we did not touch or sleep together. We then started dating and basically learn how to respect each other again. And at the end of six months, I could say again that we loved each other again. We had just had our 10th anniversary and felt that it was time to rededicate our marriage. That was very significant, although, it was not over yet. I was still struggling with the sex thing and could not understand what was so important. Sex was nothing to me, all innocence was taken from me at age 8 and it was not fun, romantic, exciting, or feel good. Shane sat me down after a REALLY big fight and talked to me about how God intended sex to be. And like a slap in the face, I saw that I was wrong; that I needed to be reprogrammed. So my cleansing and reprogramming started with reading Song of Songs in the Bible. Then books that taught a new way of thinking like "Sheet Music", "The Lady, Her Lover, and Her Lord". I prayed and asked God to show me and teach me. Later, before we moved to Longview, we had a good friend test each of us with Myers Briggs personality test. Amazing material to help us understand each other. I recommend that people do this before you get married. Again I definitely know that God brought us together for a reason and we are figuring this as we live. Now, God is in the center of our marriage more than ever. We have cut the cords from several ghosts from our pasts. Healing takes a lifetime for certain things, however, I believe, that we are a work in progress, until our Lord Jesus returns.

God brought us together

2008-11-06T14:50:00.000-08:00

There really is no place to begin except the beginning. Shane and I met when we were 12 and 13 yrs old. His grandparents went to our church. Arlington Alliance Church in ...Arlington, TX. Shane would attend occasionally with his grandparents. When summer came, my mom sent me to church camp at Pine Crest Bible Camp near Pine Crest, Arkansas. There I met Shane and his best friend Curt Ford. Two years in a row and in between times we wrote and saw each other at church when he could visit. My family moved back to Pensacola, Fla starting my 9th grade year. Shane and I stopped communicating and we lost track of each other. Shane and his family moved to Georgia. In 1994, Shane contacted his grandparents to find a current address and phone number for me. The only phone number they could find was my grandfather's. Shane calls, he get my mom's number and has to leave a message. I was living in Mobile, AL at the time working in the airport. My mother tells me of the message, but I do not return the call because I was dating someone at the time. One year later, Shane calls again, but this time I had moved back in with my mother and was on a business trip. My relationship with my significant other was not going well, so when I got home from my trip I called Shane back. This phone call lasted 3 hours. We talked once that week, three times the next week, and then every day after that. I broke up with the other guy(that was another drama that I wish to forget). We wrote letters, sent audio tapes, and exchanged pictures. This was in February. By the time April came, we decided that it was time to meet up because we had not seen each other yet. I was a travel agent and could get cheap airline tickets, so I flew up to Atlanta, GA for Easter weekend. I met his immediate family and stayed with them. We had talked about just about every thing I thought. I was in la la land, floating on cloud 15, I had won the heart of a cowboy, my dream guy. I would live in the country, and life was going to have that fairy tale life all little girls dream about. On that weekend, we had our first serious talk. Shane shared that he was falling in love with me. I told him that I had fallen in love with him too and we would face the future together. He then asked me to marry him and well.....here we are 13 years later!

The Trials

2008-10-23T19:05:00.000-07:00

Satan seems to attack in the most personal ways. Our time in Lubbock seemed to be filled with going to the doctor. Austen got braces, was allergy tested, and started shots weekly. He seemed to have other health problem that Shane and I could not understand or get control of. I won't get into details to protect Austen's self esteem (which is also another issue). It seems that he was on so much medicine and not much of it was helping. Austen also had anger issues that we didn't know how to deal with either. We really felt like the Lord was telling us that it was all a spiritual attack. We had our small group praying with us for wisdom and then we had several body of believers pray over Austen, several times. We then stopped all of the medications and put our trust in God to show the way. Austen's health started to improve and since we have moved, there has been some situations, but over all we feel that the Lord delivered Austen.

Shane came to me one evening said he wasn't feeling very good, by eleven o'clock he could not stand up and was almost having black outs. I finally convinced him that I could not carry him to the car and that I needed him (with my help) walk to the car so I could take to the ER. My mom stayed with the kids. His heart was racing. We stayed in the ER for hours, but they would release him because he could not stand up with blacking out. His heart was in an erratic rhythm, so they tried medication to try to stabilize him, but that didn't work. They finally admitted him into the hospital and I went home to sleep. The next day, they decide that Shane would need to have the defibrillators used to get his heart back into normal rhythm, but they would schedule it for the following day. Again, I went to our prayer partners all over the U.S, and asked God to Heal Shane. During this time, I had also asked God to show me a true miracle, you know the kind you hear about but never witness. I wanted to see God do a miracle. But really what I wanted was for God to Heal me... That night, I had a dream 2am and awoke gasping for air and shot straight up like someone had wakened me suddenly, I sensed a presence but immediately thought of Shane. Not knowing what was going on at the hospital, I settled down and fell back asleep. The next day I needed to be at the hospital at 8am for the procedure, so I was hurrying getting the kids where they needed to go and talk to Brent Cox( our small group leader). Shane's Dad calls me and asked if I had talked to Shane yet, very confused because he sounded like he knew something I didn't, I thought something was wrong. He just said that I needed to talk to him. I called Shane and he said he was ready to leave the hospital, that he didn't need the procedure. I was mad at first, I guess the emotional part of getting ready for a serious medical procedure, then all of the sudden he just gets to go home. I hung up on him. When I got to the hospital, he told me that around 2am he felt different, then at 6am when the doctor came to do a EKG before the procedure, his heart was in normal rhythm, and the doctor couldn't explain it but that he was fine. So we left, went to lunch and Shane's heart has been fine since. So God DOES still do miracles! And even though I wanted him to heal me, I am so glad I could witness my husband's healing. I also learned how precious Shane is to me... you see Satan was also attacking our marriage. That is a story for next time....

Other things we did in Lubbock

2008-10-20T18:24:00.000-07:00

As well as managing a small apartment complex, we also experienced "A Walk To Emmaus". An awesome way to know Christ's love. Each month we met and had communion, worship, and prayed for others as they also had the experience. I really can't tell you much but if you want to know more, I will give a link.
We also, got a scholarship to attend a study on "The Perspective on World Missions". Amazing study that will take you on a ride through the Bible, the history of Christianity, and where you belong in missions. I believe our purpose on earth is to spread the gospel. The truth, according to the scriptures, so that everyone has the opportunity to the precious gift, our Saviour, Jesus Christ. Christ's return is contingent on this very thing-this mission. What are we doing to be part of that mission? Right now, I am teaching my children and other children in AWANAS, being a testimony at my work and praying. What are you doing? Would you like to know more about "Perspectives"?
Another thing I loved doing, was be part of a mission that was started by a wonderful friend, Judy Cooper. Mission Lubbock has served hundreds of families by having a food pantry, clothing, and various household items for the less fortunate. Judy and I worked together to reach families in need and provide resources in many different areas. Judy was also involved in a house church. We would invite and provide transportation to the meetings each week. A month before we left Lubbock, we joined services so that Heaven Bound Church members would have a new place to worship.

Learning by Trial

2008-10-10T06:54:00.000-07:00

As the months went by, we learned that the people could not hear if their stomachs were growling. So, we asked our "mother" church to help with expenses and we provided a meal before each meeting. Within one year we had grown in attendance to averaging 40 people. Half of them were children of the ages infant to 12 years. We also saw the need for help in the children area. I was doing it all by myself and there wasn't much order because of the age differences and so many of them. We went back to our "mother" church Indiana Avenue Baptist Church and asked the singles group if they would be interested in volunteering. The next week four people showed up. We divided the children up into two groups, preschool and school age. We would take the kids outside so they could have the space run and do games. This also allowed the adults to be separated from the kids while they learned. Thanks to the volunteers, they did a terrific job and stayed for a year to help. Shane taught the adults very basic teaching, how to use the Bible through reading and understanding. He answered questions, made it interactive, and challenged them each week with some kind of action required and then respond the next week. For instance, one week they were to go to Walmart and make effort to say "Hello" to the greeter. Then come back the next week and tell how they felt about it and how the greeter responded. Another week, they had to show an act of kindness to a person they did not know... Another...Read a whole chapter in the bible(particularly what they were studying). Each week we would see changes in their faces, their walk, and their talk. Eventually they started participating in preparing the food for dinner, set-up and break down, tithing, ending the meeting with prayer, and singing the worship songs. Every summer we would do a back yard VBS in the courtyard of the apartment complex. We would invited everyone in the neighborhood to come. Activities included simple games, crafts, music, story telling, and of course food. We would do it for three days, and on the average have 50-80 people coming not including all the volunteers from the church helping.
We saw though that like most people, their lives weren't changing outside of church. It made them feel good, someone was paying attention to them and we loved them in spite of what was going on outside of our weekly meetings. Living on the property caused us to be more involved in their lives than just on Tuesdays when we met for Bible study. I really felt like I was already on the mission field (my childlike vision of what it was supposed to be like on the mission field). Submerged in a culture that was not normal to me(mostly Hispanic). Lived, breathed, and ate with the people. None of them went to church before we came. Our friends outside the complex, we hardly ever saw. I felt alone and discouraged because I didn't see dramatic change in the people, I was tired because we were working full-time managing the apartment complex as well as ministering to the people 24-7. But, every time Satan would beat me down, God would lift me up. God would use His people, our prayer warriors and Christian comrades, to send us on several weekend trips away, brought gifts to us for Christmas and birthdays, and prayer walk the community. Every time we had a personal need, God ALWAYS has been there to meet it.

When God

2008-09-01T17:40:00.000-07:00

History of Heaven Bound.....
Heaven Bound started in Lubbock, Texas. Shane and I saw that in the apartment complex we managed were poor, broken spirits, with no hope of a future. As we got to know the people we started to understand that even in the US there were people who didn't know who Jesus was and most of them felt forgotten. Our love for the people grew as we started to meet the personal needs of the community. We picked up at least one full bag of trash every day, we planted plants and flowers. I started pulling my resources from churches, friends from our Sunday School Class to gather furniture, bedding, and food to give out as needed. Then we called the police station and started a Neighborhood Watch program. The residents immediately responded and as we kicked out the drug dealers and prostitues from our apartment complex, we saw others helping in keeping the commintuy clean and picked up. Their attitudes changed and we became very close to many of the residents. After six months, it was christmas and we started planning achristmas party. Through word of mouth, many of the residents were adopted by the body of Christ and gave gifts to the residents. One particular morning, a young lady came running into our office and asked us to protect her from her boyfriend. The man came in, very angry the girl ran around to a corner behind our desk and I went with her to keep her seperated from the man. By the powers of God the man never saw me, he kept trying to hit over me to reach the girl but never once tried to strike at me. I was yelling at the man and pushing on his chest, but he never looked at me or touched me. Shane then came around to where we were and touched the man as he told him to leave. Shane had already called the police. The man turned around and started assualting shane, punching him in the face and on his chest and Got shane right in the temple and as shane fell to his knees, the man continued to punch his chest. The whole time he was hitting shane, I was hitting the man and yelling at him to leave and to stop. He abruptly stopped and walked out. The girl ran through our apartment and escaped. I chased her down telling her we could not protect her if she left. But she didn't stop running. The man came back and I was able to lock the front door with the deadbolt and he broke the door but he didn't get in. The man ran off. Shane went to the ER in an abulance while I stayed in the office. I called some church friends that found someone who could come and replace the door. ( this was a business and we couldn't leave it with a broken door). The kids were at school that day so they didn't see anything happen. I finally picked up Shane from the hospital with a concussion and bruising. He asked me if I wanted to leave, i said "NO WAY! Satan will have to fight harder than that to get rid of us!" The Battle was on! The next day the girl came to the office to say sorry that she got us involved. She had let the guy back in her apartment and I was Livid! As I was telling her off and giving her a peice of my mind, God soften my heart and instantly my words changed to love. She asked me why I cared, so I shared the love of Christ with her and prayed for her right there in my office. We cried together and she said she just didn't understand. She said she was sorry again and walked out. I just sat there, really didn't know what just had happened. I knew that God had used me, Spoke through me, loved her through me. It was AWESOME!
There were many attacks in the next four years. Many were personal to our family and I'll share them later. God is Good!