Poured Out

Two more.  That makes seven so far.

Just got number 5.  I bought more traps today, so this could be a bumper night . . .

If I had stuck to the schedule, I would be arriving home about now.  But I got home Thursday night at 11:30pm.  Bryan and I drove all day Monday, arriving at 4:30am local time.  Tuesday we helped dismantle furniture, remove cupboards from walls, fill holes, move things down to the garage, transport things over to a storage place from where they will be taken to Romania, etc.  Wednesday we loaded the van, and another one (and 4ft high on its roof rack), then drove over to the place where my parents will stay in future visits to Italy.  Thursday we loaded up the van and drove up through Mont Blanc, then France up to the channel.  We drove almost straight onto the ferry and got home 16 hours after we left Rivanazzano for the last time.  I drove over to Bristol on Friday to empty it into their garage there.

The flat that we emptied was my first home, the place of my earliest memories and the place of my summer vacation adventures for over a decade.  It was sad to leave it after all these years.  Since it is a place with so many memories, I ate more calories than I burned this week – living in Italy creates many culinary memories.  I will miss the sweet focaccia for breakfast, the local salami and true lasagna, not to mention the ice cream.  But since it is only 16 hours away, perhaps I’ll get an opportunity to head down there again.  Maybe when we go to Italy next year as a family we’ll swing through the old town for one or two culinary treats!

Peter arrived safely at his Mum and Dad’s flat in Italy at 3:30am last night (many miles away from the mice drama in this house!).  In the end he had a co-driver, Brian, from our church so I guess they were able to share the driving and get there a bit quicker.  He’ll be spending the next few days helping his Dad pack up their things (they have lived in this flat for 32 years) and then drive them in a rented van back to England.  He is also getting to meet up with a good friend tonight.  Pray for safety and a special time of interaction with his Dad.

Here on the homefront, things are going well.  Peter caught mouse #3 before he left on Monday morning (apparently it was a BIG one) and I caught #4 in the afternoon (apparently a tiny one) which one of Peter’s friends kindly came over and disposed of!  I keep setting the live trap and it keeps getting shut, but with no mouse in it.  Hmmm. I think they are bumping into it and the door swings shut before they crawl into it.  The traditional traps were not working for us, so thus the live trap. But now it’s not working either!  These mice are too smart for us!  To be honest, I am not trying too hard to catch any at the moment.  I’d rather catch them when Peter is here!

I woke up with a migraine this morning.  I didn’t feel like I could face the day, but I clung onto the verse, “The Lord is gracious and compassionate,” as I started the morning.  By mid-afternoon it had passed and the Lord really gave me the strength to get through the day with it.  I am really thankful.  It’s been a busy day – schoolwork with the children this morning and homeschool club this afternoon.  I just started attending this weekly group in a town about 30 min. from here.  There are 5 other Christian families who are a part of it.  So far, it has been a great blessing and a huge answer to prayer for me.  This evening I am preparing things for Open House tomorrow -our mother and toddler group.  I am in charge of the book table and of choosing and buying literature.  We have also started doing little gift giveaways to the mums, just to let them know they are special.  Keep praying for fruit from this group.  Pray specifically that people would take things off the book table (we have Randy Alcorn’s little booklet on Heaven on there at the moment) and for mums to come who are hungry for spiritual answers.

I’ll keep you posted on Peter – and the mice of course!

At the moment, we are dealing with a new intruder into our humble home – this time it’s mice!  We are now at war with the little creatures, not because we want to be, but they are causing havoc in several areas of the house.  So far, we’ve caught two and seen evidence that there were several more downstairs last night (peanut butter eaten off traps that didn’t close!).  I get to be the strong missionary wife over the next 10 days when Peter is gone and deal with the offending rodents as we catch them. Be strong, Mel, be strong.

On a more serious note, I received an email update today about the violence that has been happening in India against Christians.  It appears to be getting worse with no end in sight and no intervention from the government.  Our brothers and sisters there are desperate for our prayers.  From across the world, we can make a difference through prayer and writing to officials (made easy for you through the website below).  If you would like to read about it and participate in an advocacy campaign, here are the links for both England and the USA.

http://www.opendoorsuk.org/advocacy/orissa.asp

http://www.opendoorsusa.org/content/view/734

Reading about what’s going on in India and also other nations in the world, puts our battle with the mice in perspective.  There are things going on in the spiritual realm too, that we can only imagine.  “Be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power.  Put on the full armor of God so that you may be able to stand against the devil’s schemes.”

Peter has taken Hannah with him for the weekend.  He will teach 7 sessions on the book of Joel.  Please pray for him to speak clearly and for lives to be changed.  Pray for me to have God’s strength when I feel weak.  It’s when we are weak that God’s power can be seen in our lives . . . I know this, but pray that I would cling to this truth over the next 10 days without Peter here.

We haven’t written much family or ministry news for awhile.  First, the family . . . it’s been a good day.  Peter took Hannah on a date this afternoon to buy some shoes and then took Aliyah on a date to church and then to McDonalds.  The girls love their dates with Dad.  We completed our first week of homeschooling last week.  It was a good one, actually.  The girls are doing great with their work and seem very motivated and eager, which is wonderful.  I have been anticipating a few challenges with Joel being so much more mobile this year, but so far, he’s been going with the flow.  I would appreciate your prayers for good time management with teaching, providing good activities for the little ones, and juggling other responsibilities.  My main goal with the schooling is that the kids grow in their love of learning and over everything that they learn to love Jesus.

As of last night, all 4 of our kids have been to A & E (ER for you Americans)!  Joel fell off a bench at some friends’ house and cut his head, right next to his eye.  God was gracious and his eye was not damaged, although its a bit swollen and discolored at the moment.  He was such a trooper and lay perfectly still while the nurse glued his head back together!  They almost put one stitch in, but then decided that glue would do the trick.  It’s easy to take our health and safety for granted.  I am sure that our kids have extra angels assigned to them.  Hannah also shut her thumb in a door last night (she closed it with one hand not aware that her other thumb was in the gap on the hinge side – nasty!)  It could’ve been a lot worse but praise the Lord, it wasn’t.

Some honest sharing here . . . Peter and I are both feeling low at the moment.  We can’t really put our finger on what is wrong, but we are feeling a little bit disconnected from each other, lacking in motivation, and struggling to have good attitudes about even the minor difficulties in life.  Is this an attack from the enemy?  Is it just tiredness after months of travelling?  Discouragement over health issues (migraines for me, back issues for Peter)?  We aren’t sure.  We are praying for refreshment and for God to fill us with His Spirit.  We are also trying to be more deliberate about having quality time with each other.  Tomorrow afternoon we are going on a date, so pray for a good time of real connection for us.  Pray that we would be rested and refreshed over this next week and be prepared for the busy weeks ahead.  Pray for restored joy and passion for life and service for the Lord.

Just a quick note to let you know that the schedule page has been updated for September and October.  Appreciate your prayer support for any of these ministry opportunities.

Well, it took about a day and a half of work time, plus about five different softwares, but I finally cleared the three (maybe more) viruses that I got on the PC Monday night.  This was a frustrating experience, but I’m glad I was able to deal with it without needing to reformat my PC (or replace it) and then have to reload all my software.  I’m keeping an eye out for any tell-tale signs of lingering issues.  So thanks for praying about this.  I have just over a week until my weekend at Otford Manor – so I need to prepare well now for that (about six sessions on Joel).

My (Peter’s) PC is critical to me.  Tonight I got a virus or two.  So frustrating.  I’ve worked for four hours to scan, remove, etc.  I’ve done all that I can, and the virus seems to be gone.  Problem is that now the PC looks clear but is not working as it should.  I am out of ideas.  Please pray that when I start again tomorrow, I might be able to finish fixing it (or better, that it will be fixed when I turn it on again)!  Thanks.

I’ve had a frustrating couple of days. Nothing serious has happened . . . just a bunch of little annoying things that have gotten me down. Ever since we’ve returned from Europe, we’ve been really tired and a little low. Anyway, I had someone tell me yesterday, “Don’t let Satan steal your joy.” I have not been able to get that phrase out of my mind. In thinking about it, I have been very joyless lately. Just focused on the stuff that annoys me or even discourages me and forgetting all the millions of reasons I have for joy. I determined this morning that I want to try to cultivate more joy in my life and let the Lord teach me to be more joyful. The girls and I wrote out and decorated some verse cards for our dining room wall yesterday. One was Philippians 4:4 – Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Another was I Thessalonians 5:18 – Give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. Help me God to obey and so create more joy in our home.

So, tonight was actually a really joyful night for us. Peter and I were treated to a “show” from the girls. Very cute and very funny. Hard to really describe but imagine the girls all dressed up, Hannah leading the parade, Aliyah trying to follow as best she can with a shy grin and tongue halfway out in concentration. They did a play and dances set to chanting music. The first number was “We love scho-ool, scho-ool, scho-ool. We love scho-ool, yes we do!” It went on and on ending with Peter and I laughing til our sides hurt. Hannah remarked that the ending wasn’t supposed to be so giggly, but that it was OK. Phew, the audience wasn’t in too much trouble. The last part was them choosing wedding clothes for Aliyah who was the bride. The whole time Joel was floating in and out of the scenes, at one point with a flowery tiara on his head. With three sisters, it’s bound to happen!

A few funnies from Mariah at dinner time . . . we have been going through a book on manners with the kids and were talking about manners while riding in the car. I asked if any of them could think of any other good car manners. Mariah said, “I know one. Don’t hang your head out the window cause a lion might eat you up!” That sparked a discussion about how to act on safaris – Daddy, the experienced safari man, gave all the rules! Later on, Mariah came in with Peter’s Kenyan hat on and I remarked that she looked like a cowgirl. She said, “Joel is my favorite cowboy.” I asked why and she answered, “Because he wears a pineapple-colored shirt.” Huh? I love asking her questions about the things she says because you get such funny answers!

Peter and I are going to have a much needed evening together now. He came back this afternoon from being at a friend’s wedding in Bristol yesterday. He said he is really glad he’s not speaking tomorrow as he is feeling pretty rough with a bad cold. I guess God knew he’d need a break this weekend. It feels like November here with the heavy rain and winds we’ve been having. But we are grateful for a warm house to by cozy in. Pray with us for joy! If you have any things you like to do to stimulate joy in your life, I’d love to hear them.