Soccer Boys

This is Nolan's first time to play soccer. He was excited to finally be able to do what big brother does.

Big Brother was trying to give him some pointers before his first game.

Dad provides some encouraging words. 

Nolan is doing so good and he has been so fun to watch. He was super excited when he scored his first goal! Sometimes he gets a little confused and tries to tackle. So funny! Who knows, maybe he will be our little football player too!

Nathaniel has played soccer before but took last year off. I am so glad he is back at it again. He does really well. He says its his second favorite behind basketball. 

I love the picture above. He is always there for an encouraging high five or a chest bump for his teammates. 

He has earned 3 patches so far. The first one he got tough guy. (which he is) The other two were for scoring the most goals. He was so excited about ironing them on his shorts.

His coach does an amazing job!

Eight years ago I had no idea I would be spending so much time on ballfields.....BUT I LOVE WATCHING AND CHEERING FOR MY BOYS!!!!!

I can do everything through Him who gives me strength.     Phil. 4:13

I Have Been Waiting for This!

Pigtails!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

She went and found dad to show him all of her cuteness and it melted his heart.

This precious baby girl is so much fun!!!!!

Day 6 Nicarugua

Today we left the village. As we packed the trucks the children were dressed in uniform waiting for us to leave so they could start school. 

 We said our fair wells as many tears were shed. It is so hard to leave these precious faces when you know they have needs that are still unmet.

As we pulled out of the village on the buses they all waved goodbye and some stood at their homes yelling and clapping as we went by. 

A piece of my heart will always remain here because of sweet faces like these.

I became very attached!

There have been too many blessings this week to count.

If nothing else I hope the people here felt our compassion and saw our love for Jesus shining through our actions. 

These precious faces will forever be engraved in my mind. This has truly been a life changing experience and I pray my heart never goes numb to it all. 

I am not so sure you can only go once......

Day 5 Nicaragua

Today is our last full day in the village.

We started the morning off with stories of praise from the day before. We sang Amazing Grace and I am not sure there was one dry eye.  We were all so overwhelmed with God's grace and mercy.

Dr. Bryan, our dental team captain, led the devotion. It was about running to win the race and our prize is the Lord. We were all tired from the previous days but He would give us strength. This was our last day and we were going to give it our all!

I had been wanting to peek in on children's church so I made my way down to the tent. 

The children were all lined up ready to go!

I mean seriously.....they are all so cute! You can tell which ones are siblings because they hardly ever let go of each other. It was so precious! They usually lock arms but when they were told to walk in a line they held on to each others shoulders. 

And what about these twin boys!

All the children were so attentive soaking in every word.

This picture of them praying melts my heart!

We ran out of dental supplies for the second time. Once again God provided and were were able to continue.

One of the youngsters of our group decided he wanted to help in dental today. He didn't last very long. He almost passed out and had to sit down. I guess he will not be going into healthcare when he grows up!

Today, Dr. Mike and Dr. Bryan decided to take a rotation out of the clinic today. Dr. Mike went with the veterinarian team but he did take dental supplies in his backpack.  

Yep, you can even pull teeth at the creek!

Dr. Bryan went with the witnessing team and he pulled 58 teeth at their homes. 

We were running out of anesthetic so our goal was to only treat those in pain. Dr. Mike meant serious business and put on his backpack, went down to the entrance gate, and anyone with a dental card was questioned about pain. If they were in pain we would take them up and treat them. It was hard turning people away when you know they really needed help. 

Last patient and done!

The quality of the photo above is terrible but it is an awsome story! 

This lady who lives in the village asked if she could give her testimony tonight. She was amazing! It is very hard for someone to do this in a village of a lot of non believers. She told her experience of when God healed her hand. Doctors had told her she would no longer be able to use in her hand. She prayed to God and said she would give him 19 offerings for 19 days until her next appointment. God healed her hand and she weeps as she holds that hand up to show everyone. She said, "Some of you laugh at me about my God but I still love you."

We had not taken a shower in 3 days and Brooke was really wanting a shower. Beverly, who goes on these trips five times a year, said she would help us. First, Brooke had to be initiated and where Bev's MooMoo. Too funny! Beverly is the mission trip "Mcguiver." Seriously, she has everything. She had an electric kettle and heated us some water to put in a basin so we could take it with us to the shower. Thank God for Beverly!!!!!!!

Beverly even brought her own toilet and she set up a private area for us with shower curtains so we did not have to use the stinky scary ones. 

Yep, thats my feet! We love you Beverly!