One month mark

Today marks the end of our first month here. Where has the month gone? I want to let you know how we are doing and share some insights we have learned.

How are the kids doing? They are mostly doing great. We have a few moments of "I don't know anyone and there's no school for months!" There were also moments of "This is so hard, all we do is work, work, work!" but these are resolving themselves as we have settled in and called a moratorium to painting until my sister and mom arrive! Paul has started taking one of the kids with him on the day the plane leaves. They get up super early, have breakfast together and arrive at Agape in time to see the plane take off and make sure everything is in order. Last night we even all went to the hanger to help load the plane. We finished quickly with 2 families doing the work! Anyway, whoever goes with Dad then hangs out until I come get him when we have coffee/breakfast fellowship. Holden took 2 naps on the floor of Paul's office last week, but Riley hung in there today helping out around the hanger as he was needed. You may be asking yourself why in the world these kids want to get up before the crack of dawn to go into work with their dad. The answer is the way they get to work...on the motorcycle!! They think that is the coolest thing to ride with him across town to work and they are willing to sacrifice sleep for it!They are loving the pool and beach. Paul has been wanting to get in on some beach action but we had rain all day Saturday. We ended up going for several hours on Sunday in spite of strong winds and clouds. We had a great time playing in the waves and making a sandcastle (see new video!). We discovered we do not have the right tools for a masterpiece, but made due with what we had. It was great to work together as a family. We inspired another father and son to build one near ours and we had a small competition (maybe in my mind only!!) that we Prachars easily won!!

Here we are just getting started on the Great Wall part and brainstorming details.

Here the moat is coming together with the bridge over it.

Carving steps up to the bridge

The finished project...just in time as the tide started rising and water came up and all the way through the moat. Probably wasn't long before it was all washed away! We couldn't bear to stay and watch the destruction, however the kids longed to smash it themselves!

We also took time to celebrate our one month mark by going to a (free!) movie at the theater in town (Alvin and the Chipmunks) and also got in line for free face and body painting! The kids thought it was great! We headed over to Agape to show Dad which was the first picture on this post.

This week has already seen God's work in providing for our "problems". Last week after the run to the island, the plane needed work and would most likely miss this week's route. On Friday, a man called and wanted to volunteer to take all the cargo for this week when he flew down to see a family member in the Dominican Republic!! That is why we loaded the plane on Monday night and it left Tuesday morning. Secondly, when we moved, we did not move our old stand mixer with us, instead actually were able to sell it at our garage sale (truly God's handiwork!!), and our hand mixer had quit months ago. I figured I would replace it after we moved. However, this has not been high on the priority list and we have borrowed our neighbors twice when we realized we were half way through a recipe that required a mixer. Yesterday, the neighbor brought over an extra mixer she had on hand because there was a great sale. I totally heard God say, "See Travis, I knew you were going to live across the street from her and I told her to buy that mixer because you would need it, and I want you to know that I even care about those little details!"

I want to leave you with an object lesson God has been teaching us this week that he fleshed out in front of my eyes. Everyone but me was in the pool. I just happened to go to the slider to look out at them and I could see Alayna floating on the innertube. She has been swimming since we got here and can swim all the way across the pool, so I wasn't alarmed that she was floating in the deep end. She was trying to get her hair out of her eyes and tipped her head back and leaned back to get the top of her head in the water and slipped off the innertube. No big deal, she was right by the side, but instead of swimming for the side, she kept trying to grab onto the innertube from the inside of it. Her hands kept slipping and she never could get hold of the innertube. I was opening the door to get someone's attention when Riley noticed her and jumped in and pushed the innertube away from her and pulled her to the side. Wow, how much like Alayna are we??? What are we clinging to (or trying to cling to) that in the end won't save us and only makes us miss true salvation?? How much do we need a Savior to jump into our situation and push away what we are clinging to and show us the way to true Salvation!!! I only had a little time to think on the object lesson God gave me before we got busy again, but in church on Sunday, the sermon was about forgiveness. The point especially driven home was walking in forgiveness and the necessity of it for salvation. FOR SALVATION!! Matthew 6:14-15 says: "If you forgive those who sin against you, your heavenly Father will forgive you. But if you refuse to forgive others, your Father will not forgive your sins." If your sins are not covered by the blood of Jesus and forgiven you do not receive salvation...you don't receive forgiveness if you don't also freely offer it!! Are you clinging to unforgiveness like Alayna trying to cling to the innertube? I pray you will allow God to search your heart and show you what you are clinging to as I have this week!!