The Special One: Part 2

This is part 2 to read part 1 click here

As I mentioned yesterday Our Pastor had 2 people for us to talk to. The second person our pastor told us to talk to was someone from our home church named Tracey. She had the exact same specialty as the woman I had been holding back on calling. The funny thing is my friend had been telling me for over a year I needed to meet Tracey but it just never happened in my short trips to the states. Aside from that we had dinner with a couple from our home church on Saturday night. We didn't really know them but they invited us over so we went :) as we were talking we shared about Timothy and that we were spending a little extra time to get him some help. The wife told us that she had been a special ed teacher for years (and only recently left that to become a vice principal) she told us we should talk to this woman from church named Tracey. I told her you are the 3rd person to say that. Can you help me find her at church? I don't know what she looks like but I want to meet her! She promised to call her and make sure we connected.

The next day at church our pastor instructed everyone to find a partner and pray for each other. Jose and I were about to pray for each other when this woman walked up to us and said "Hi, I'm Tracey. I hear we need to talk to each other." We prayed together and she gave me a sheet of paper with her phone number and said "Tomorrow is my day off. Lets get together and talk about Timothy"  By the time I got to restaurant where we ate lunch I had 2 Facebook notifications. A friend request and a message both from Tracey. She had cleared it with the clinic she works at to do all our work with her at the clinic pro-bono. She wanted us to meet her there instead so we could go ahead and get started. We made plans to be there first thing the next morning. We went to see my friend who had suggested I talk to Tracey a year before and she mentioned that she had emailed Tracey about talking to me. Tracey responded "lol, you are the third person who has contacted me about that. I'm getting together with them Tomorrow" It was so clear that God was putting everything together in the background I was on a happy high.

Monday morning we went to the clinic where Tracey worked. I sat in the waiting room and nervously looked at all the other parents and children waiting. I had no idea what to expect and Timothy was having a rough day so far. It usually takes a little over a week for him to hit his stride when we travel to the states and that was still a few days away. Tracey came out with a big smile hugged us and met Timothy for the first time. We went back into a room and watched her play with Timothy and ask him questions. It was so hard to just watch and not help him so many times when she asked him to do something and he didn't understand or couldn't do it. I kept telling myself "just watch, let him do it, she needs to see Timothy without help" He had difficulty with so many things. At the end of the evaluation she said we needed to get a hearing/speech evaluation as well. She wasn't sure he was understanding everything she said to him which effects the test results a lot. That evaluation would be someone else so we would need to see if/when she could fit us in and that would be kind of expensive (but still less than the other specialist we had talked to initially) She managed to get us an appointment that day. Jose called his aunt and explained the situation and she completely covered the cost. At the end of the day Tracey said she wanted to work with Timothy every day while we were there so she could help us come up with a home therapy plan. Every time I received a text or message from Tracey I would find myself crying and thanking God for his goodness.    

Timothy trying to make his hands and feet work together to grab the frogs and knock something down with them

swinging one of the things Timothy could do all day long

Spinning or earthquake on this board was another favorite 

Timothy has many challenges but he has a lot going for him too. His challenges have names like Sensory Processing Disorder, ADHD, and Aspergers/High Functioning Autism. But Tracey said something to us that blessed me so much and has been brought to my mind over and over. All of those things are names and every name must bow at the feet of Jesus. I learned about my son this past month and a lot of it was painful but some of it was sweet and inspiring. Timothy is very cognitively bright and super smart. So when you ask him to do something he can't like stand on one foot he will start clowning and fall in a cartoonish way. He has a million little coping mechanisms for a lot of the problem areas he faces. He figured those out himself. As I've read about kids like him they need those things and usually need help finding them but he's pretty great at problem solving in some areas. 

I'm only a couple weeks in from really knowing what we are dealing with. I'm still processing and I randomly think of things that make me sad or worry. But I was/am so blessed to have had this experience. So many people have stepped up and been so supportive of all of us. I never wanted Timothy to be branded as "special needs" but now I see it differently. He really is so special and no name or label being given or not given changes that.

The special one Part 1

As I mentioned yesterday this trip to the states was really special. One of the things that I really wanted to happen (and have wanted for years) happened this trip. It was nothing like I expected, it was way better. For years I have been working with Tim on a lot of stuff all the while not knowing what was going on exactly. When I talked to dr.'s they said "he's just a little slower with some things. Not all kids walk/talk/etc at the same time." Then later in life they said "oh, he's just spoiled. You need to be more firm with him." But in my heart I knew there was something more. I figured out on my own that he has sensory processing disorder. Once I read about it I knew to an extent that Timothy has difficulty with many forms of sensory input. So I kept doing everything I could to help him on my own, praying for him and asking God to help us do the best we could. Last year he started doing some things that made me think he might be on the autism spectrum. But, honestly? I didn't really want to admit that. It's so common now I didn't want it to seem like I was jumping on a bandwagon. Plus I didn't want to label my kid for life.  Sensory issues can be worked through. Autism? That's a lifelong thing. 

Timothy and I just chillin' on the floor as one does

Reading pastors book

He wanted his face painted "like a lego mini figure" this is his mini figure pose

As we wrapped up the school year last year I had become so overwhelmed that we were talking about sending the boys to school instead of homeschooling.  All I could think about was "what will they do with Timothy. He just barely manages Sunday School and that is less than an hour. School is hours and they don't have special education here, plus nobody really has listened to my calls for help. What if they don't believe me and treat him badly because they think he is spoiled?" I decided we needed to get a diagnosis. Whatever that meant. I had read an article about sensory processing disorder, adhd and autism and at the end it had a link that said "if you need help getting your child diagnosed find a specialist here" I followed the link and found a list of people in Houston and 2 people in Peru. I made a few phone calls and found someone that was extremely flexible and said to give her 2 weeks notice before we went to the states and she would work us in. I started to relax, the only thing bugging me was the cost. An initial examination would be $500 and any follow ups would be $350. That may not sound like much to you but that's a pretty big chunk of our monthly budget and we didn't have any extra money to set aside. Jose's aunt had previously offered to help us pay for speech therapy because if anything that is what people recognize as an issue and she wanted to help. We talked to her about the specialist and she said she would help us. Everything was coming together. We scheduled our trip and worked out all the details but there was something keeping me from contacting the specialist. I didn't know why but I just didn't feel peace about it. Jose had the same feeling so we held off. Our first week in Houston we had the mens conference then spent a few days with family and our pastors. I really poured my heart out to our pastors. I told them all the things I had been holding back about Timothy. Immediately our Pastor had 2 names of people he wanted us to talk to. He talked to both people and scheduled a meeting with one of them. The first person was a mother of a 7 year old boy with autism. She met Timothy and said she saw a lot of similarity between our boys. We talked for about 30 minutes but she just shared her journey with us and gave us a lot of good information. I cried all the way through it. I kept apologizing and she just laughed and said she knew exactly what I was feeling. At the end we hugged and I felt a little more confident about our next step.

(Come back tomorrow for part 2)

9 years!

Nine years ago today I married this guy. 

Since then life has been crazy, hectic, happy, sad, adventurous and beautiful.

Being married to him has taught me so much about love. 

Saying "I love you" is wonderful, but acting out "I love you" is 100 times better.

Love is a verb. It's taking care of the kids when I'm not feeling well. Or choosing to see the romantic comedy because the movie we watch is not what matters its who he's watching the movie with that matters. 

Love can be seen in the easy times but when life gets hard love makes it easier to walk through.

Love is full of surprises.

Love is fun but sometimes it's hard.

Dr Cole says that Marriage can be the closest thing to heaven or hell in this life. 

I got heaven 

Jose you are

the pickles to my ice cream

the milky to my way

the peanut butter to my jelly

the cheese to my macaroni

the flip to my flop

the blue to my sky

the cherry to my sundae

the han solo to my princess leia

my best friend 

and the love of my life

I love you

April showers

Its amazing how much time and energy one little body added to the family can take.

Zoe is officially 8 weeks old and I'm finally starting to get a rhythm down. That does involve me spending hours in bed nursing her. (I'm really hoping to get a chair in my room soon so I don't feel so lazy nursing her all day) But I do manage to shower almost everyday so I'm feeling pretty good about my ability to function with a newborn.

Shes still a bit confused about night and day but every few days she sleeps for a few hours in a row *pure bliss* I tell you. She is deliciously chubby and happy as long as somebody is close by.

But if she realizes she has been left alone we get this face

I prefer these so I spend a lot of time with her

I love April because it is the month 2 of my favorite people were born. 

Jose's birthday was April 19th. I'm so proud of him for being the man of God that he is. I can't begin to explain how difficult the last year has been for our family. But you would never know from the outside that Jose has had any difficulties he bears the brunt of every hit we've taken and keeps moving forward. He is definitely a soldier, nothing can deter him from accomplishing his mission. 

If I was going to choose a husband based entirely on what kind of dad he would be there would have been no other competitors even close to Jose. He comes home from a long day of slaying dragons and putting out fires and everything else a missionary/church planter/american living in a foreign country has to do and he takes whatever child responsibilities I need him to and is happy to do it. I almost never change diapers when he is home because he does them all.

Oh and the dishes too he does the dishes every night (and we don't own a dishwasher) I have a certain way I like them washed and he does them my way and doesn't act like I'm crazy for thinking its important
I thank God every day for giving me such an awesome husband. But I especially thank him on April 19th the day that Mr Incredible was born. <3

April 27th is another special day in Lopez history. The day our first child was born. 

Logan was our first little miracle baby and we have been in love with him since day one

He has the most sensitive heart and loves his brothers and sister. He led Timothy to Lord a few weeks ago and always wants to help me with anything he can related to Zoe. He loves to hold her and is trying to get her first word to be Logan or Mama 

He is really into Super heroes now...like a lot. Ask me anything you want to know about the avengers, super hero squad or Logans own invention the "super duper troopers" and I probably know because that is 90% of what I hear about from Logan everyday. But if you really want to know ask him. The child is a facts sponge. He's even invented his own super hero "Thunderbolt" complete with powers and a costume he designed (only drew pictures he didn't actually make the costume though it wouldn't surprise me at all if he did) 

 He is generous and caring. Loves to give gifts to other people. Prays for more kids to come to church and wants to be a pastor, dad and superhero when he grows up (just like his dad)

I am so proud of my 8 year old super hero boy. I can't wait to see what this year holds for him. 

Happy Birthday Jose and Logan 

and happy day to you 

Home

I love that word. Home. It's like a warm blanket and cozy fire on a snowy day. None of those things are actually things I need when I'm home so I'm not sure why I chose that particular metaphor but hey, just go with it.

We chose to have the baby in the US knowing that logistically it would be difficult but in my heart I knew I needed to do it that way. I needed a birth experience that would be completely different from Caleb's just to help me get through it. I will post more about Zoe's birth in another blog post. I'm still writing out the story. I want to remember everything about it.

There have been many times that I have looked around me while I've been in Peru and thought. "I miss my home." At those times I thought I would never get used to living here and I would always miss the states. But this trip made me realize something. I realized that Peru is my real home. I missed it so much while I was away. Of course there are still things I don't like. Of course there are things I miss about the states. I think I will now live in a constant state of missing one place or the other. But that's ok. Peru is where I'm planting my roots. Here I have experienced great joy and great tragedy. Here my family has embarked on a huge adventure. Here is where I intend to grow old and watch my children grow up.

When we arrived in Lima, I walked out of the airport and I was so happy I wanted to cry. When I left in February nothing was certain. I knew that I would be in the states until the baby was born and we had her papers to travel. (yes Newborns need passports. Somehow that surprises everyone lol) I knew that my "due date" was April 7th and I was going to have scheduled c-section but I had no idea when that would happen. I knew that Jose was coming March 10th and would be leaving mid April but we didn't know when. There were so many variables.

About 2 weeks before Jose came to the states it became clear that we needed to move out of our church location and find a bigger more permanent situation. He found a place and about the same time got appendicitis. So he ended up getting an emergency appendectomy and not being able to do anything about moving the church. He ended up having to leave the whole thing in other peoples hands. Our timeline was to move this week. (April 21st will be our first Sunday in the new location.) The new building is rough. It needs a few modifications like a roof and bathrooms. But its ours. When we realized we needed to move this week Jose decided to return to Peru April 10th. He knew that would keep him in the states until Zoe was born but would also get him back here to oversee the most important part of the move. He was planning to bring the boys with him if I couldn't make it with the baby.

But God moved in every way possible. Zoe was born perfectly healthy 4 days after Jose got to the states. She was able to leave the hospital with me. (she is the only one of our kids who was released with me) When I filled out her paperwork they told me it would take 6 weeks to get her social security card (which we needed for her passport) but it actually came in that next week. We went to the courthouse to try to get her birth certificate a week earlier than it was supposed to be ready and it was ready. We went to get her a passport and even on the website it says expedited passports take 2 weeks. Hers was ready in 2 days. God was moving behind the scenes in every way and we were able to all travel back home together 4 weeks after she was born.

I'm typing this on my own bed, in my own room. I have my beautiful healthy baby girl laying on my chest, I hear my boys playing in the other room, and all I can think about is how happy I am to be home.

The plan

Several years ago, when Jose and I were still pretty much newlyweds one of us was usually working for our church (first me then him) and we were involved in several ministries. Back then I used to think we spent so much time at the church we practically lived there....fast forward to our 8th year of marriage and we do live in the church, literally in the church. If you have read this blog or known us for very long you probably know this already.

Originally our plan was to live in the house we live in and once the church outgrew it we would move the church and continue living here. That was until things changed. We found a way to grow in the house and extend the use for the church but we need to move out. So for the last 3 months or so we have been looking for a house with the goal to be moved out by August 1st...but we didn't find anything. A part of being missionaries is we are completely dependent on God, and the people who give into the mission being faithful to give every month. Sometimes for one reason or another that doesn't happen. So in an effort to use wisdom we had to set a pretty low price point for the amount we can pay in a country where houses rent for about the same as the US. Realtors thought we were crazy or lying about our financial position because after all I am obviously a gringa. In a lot of peoples minds here white skin=lots of money. Jose actually started looking at houses by himself and verifying the cost of the house because some people even raised the rent price once they saw me. So we kept praying and finally a member of the church noticed one of the houses on her street was empty. She did some checking for us and we were able to rent it! We are going to move hopefully this weekend or possibly next week depending on when the repairs are finished.

We are so excited that God brought this house to us. Honestly I was starting to get discouraged about the whole thing. I knew that we needed to move and that God would take care of us. But sometimes...ok most of the time. I want to control the situation. I want to tell God "OK, I need this thing in my hands by 8 am Monday ok?" As if I could actually be in charge and give God a deadline. But he always comes through. Always.

It isn't without stretching though. A part of our August deadline was because we knew the month of September would be crazy and we need to be out before our conference which is September 18-20.
Jose has been having meetings all throughout the day every day for the past month and since this is our first conference he is only getting busier. So we are going to be moving in the middle of the busiest time of our lives. S--t--r--e--t--c--h. While I'm in the first trimester of this pregnancy. S--t--r--e--t--c--h. Oh, and we are hosting a group from our home church during the conference. yeah that too. Thankfully we have several church members who have stepped up and offered to let some of our visitors stay with them. Plus we don't have that much stuff so hopefully moving will be smooth, quick and easy.


Please pray for us
~that God would continue to work out all of the details of our upcoming Save the Family conference. He has already done some amazing things and we are so excited about it!

~Our move to be seamless and easy

~ the first trimester blahs would go away so that I can be a better helper for Jose and mom for the kids.

~extra funds/support as we continue to grow and expand the ministry here in Piura and as our family expands

If you are interested in supporting us monthly and have questions or even would like to make a one time donation. Please send me a message at jkmission2peru @ Gmail.com
We also have 2 different links to donate on the right hand side of the blog. One is through paypal and the other is a tax deductible donation through our home church

A Rainbow

February 2nd was one of the hardest days of our lives. We lost our sweet baby boy Caleb when he was only 2 days old. While we know he is in Heaven and that gives some comfort it doesn’t completely take away the pain of what happened and the fact that we miss him.  

But God is faithful and has sent a rainbow in the midst of our storm.

"Rainbow Babies" is the understanding that the beauty of a rainbow does not negate the ravages of the storm. When a rainbow appears, it doesn't mean the storm never happened or that the family is not still dealing with its aftermath. What it means is that something beautiful and full of light has appeared in the midst of the darkness and clouds. Storm clouds may still hover but the rainbow provides a counterbalance of color, energy and hope.

~Courtney

This week we discovered we are expecting another baby he or she is due April 7th 2013. Please pray for us that this would be a boring and happy pregnancy. It was a surprise but we are thrilled beyond words.  

To Timothy

6 years ago today I went to my drs appointment not expecting to meet you for another 4 weeks. 

Little did I know you would be born about 2 hours later. 

Ever since then life has been an adventure and full of surprises.

You and I have a very special connection. 

I'm fairly certain it's because of all the hours I've spent praying about you. 

You have always danced to the beat of your own soundtrack and you often sing it to us.

Nobody else knows the words but that's ok, it's your song.

You are great at cheering me up and getting me to laugh when you are in trouble.

You love spending time with your family.

I love it that no matter what we are doing you want to be in the room with us.

You are just like your daddy. 

I love this picture because it shows how much you look alike. 

Sometimes you give me a glimpse of what he was like when he was your age.

I know that you will follow in his footsteps and be a great man one day. 

Timothy means Servant of God and Joseah means Fire of God.

You are already so full of faith that whenever you want something you pray for it until it happens.

You never doubt that God will do what you ask him to.

This year we lost your baby brother Caleb. 

You were really looking forward to having him here.

When we talked about it you asked if they have a bed for him in heaven.

You are so sweet and straightforward about everything. 

I love that you aren't shy about talking about Caleb. 

Logan is your best friend. You love him so much.
I love watching you follow him around and trying to be like him. Most of the time you guys go together like peanut butter and jelly. Other times...not so much. But I know you will always be there for each other.








One of your favorite things in the world right now
is movie credits. When we watch a movie you
always want to watch until the music is over and
the screen goes black on it's own. This is just one
of the ways you are uniquely you. Daddy and I
joke that one day you will be the guy who designs
movie credits. You already play at it with your
Jengas.
Some other things you really love are
Snoopy and Charlie Brown.
Happy Monsters
Pirates &
Chocolate.

Happy Birthday Timothy

You brighten up our lives in ways you can't imagine.

We love you!

Mommy & Daddy

Healing Rain

I love rain...
When I was 14 I heard a girl speaking about falling in love with the Lord. She was talking about the desire girls have to feel loved and looking for that love to come from God instead of boys. She mentioned that one thing she loved was purple flowers and God would often give her purple flowers. She told us to have a special thing that could only come from God. Mine was rain. There is just a peacefulness about it that can't be matched. I held onto it for a little while and then I just sort of forgot about it. I still loved the rain but I forgot about my special attachment to it.

We live in a desert area. There is usually a rainy season but we are told it hadn't rained here for the last couple years. That is until February 1st. It rained here the day that Caleb was born. I was in my hospital room trying not to worry and just pray for my baby when I heard the sweet sound of rain drops on the roof and window. The next night as I was trying to sleep after my son went to be with the Lord it happened again. And the next night and the next and the next. For 4 weeks it rained every single night. Even if just a little it still happened. Theres not a great irrigation system here so the streets flooded. The once dry riverbed near our house filled and anything left on the clothesline to dry overnight needed to be rewashed. It was beautiful. Evenings were the hardest for me at the beginning and that is when it always rained.

After about 3 weeks Jose and I were going somewhere and trying to navigate around flooded streets and it was lightly sprinkling and I thought "mmm, I know it's making things difficult but I love this rain" Then it hit me, I remembered the thing about love letters from God and I just broke down. He was there. He knew what I was going through and what I needed most at that time. A reminder of His love for me. God is always there you just have to pay attention.

what we have been up to

So yesterday I had this blog all written out. I had even published it and announced it to facebook and twitter. Then because I am amazing, I deleted it never to be seen again, in a way that is both frustrating and entirely too complicated to explain. So I'm back with a new and completely different blog post. Because once I write something down it's out of my head never to return, unless I read it. Aren't you glad you know that now? I feel better just having written it down. ;)

The last 2 weeks have been a whirlwind of packing, moving things, sleeping on the bus, getting to our new town and home, trying to figure out exactly what the most important things to buy are with our limited resources, buying 4 mattresses and strapping them to the top of a car roughly the size of a prius. Going to the car shipping place every day for several days in hopes that ours had arrived. Going to Starbucks more times in one week than I ever have in a year just so we can check our internet stuff, putting the kids to bed and going out with Jose for a hot chocolate just so we can breath and flirt with each other. Practically living at the mall where all the things we need are sold so we can check and check and check the prices of the stuff we need. Watching our boys exult in the joys of having a yard after a year of living in an apartment and almost 3 years of living places where we had no yard. (We have decided to call Timothy dirty harry, because his hair is all over the place and he has developed a dust cloud similar to charlie browns pal, pigpen.)

You can add into the list Jose working with a printer so we can get flyer's made up for inviting people to church, a Dr's appointment, and all the other things I'm forgetting that Jose will remember and that is what our last 2 weeks have been. Just typing that makes me tired. I think I need a nap now. ;)

God has blessed us tremendously and we have been able to get quite a few of the things we needed. We now have a table and chairs, mattresses, a fridge, and washing machine. We also got a double burner to cook on until we can manage to get an oven. For the curious, the things we are still praying for are as follows.

*bed frames
*a living room set
*an oven
*a bigger bed for me and Jose
*rugs
*chairs for our church services
*a lectern or podium of some sort for Jose to preach from
*a set of pots and pans
*a trampoline for the boys and the kids that come to church

Obviously there are more things that we need or could use but these are our priorities over the next few months. It's really amazing how much stuff you need to make a house a home. But with or without "stuff" we are blessed to be where we are. This house is exactly what we prayed for. Everyday I walk around and thank God for everything he has done for us and blessing us with the amazing people that pray for us and support us financially. You are all a blessing to us and we really do think of you as a part of our family. Thank you so much!

Moving, changing, growing

he bites the inside of his lip. Jose and I both do this so it's hard to make him stop 

One of the wonderful and sometimes annoying things about living in Peru is the pace of life.

                                                                                                                       If you try to go to the store before 9am or after 9pm you will be disappointed. There are no midnight ice cream runs here. Not that, we've needed one or anything.

At least a couple times a month there is some national holiday that is celebrated mostly by the entire city shutting down and going to our neighbors house for a party. 

Those are the kind of days we really love. On a day like that you have no choice but to spend time as a family and relax. 

We have this awesome park we like to go to

It has this huge tube slide that is built on a hill. We call it the huge slide park.

a real smile!

When we go there I make the boys pose for pictures at first because I have this great plan that I'm going to make a photo book for each year of their life. They are 5 and 6 and I just had this idea. So I guess they will just have to try to imagine what their lives were like before

phony smile

Throwing sand and loving it!

He likes to pose and comes up with a bunch of his own 

I love just spending time with our little family of 4 since in 6 months we will have another member

This picture was taken last week when I was 13 weeks pregnant. I should really take a new one... 

For anyone that wonders. I'm doing great while experiencing normal pregnancy symptoms. The main one being that I would be perfectly happy to stay in bed all the time. I'm that tired. Morning sickness comes and goes and usually comes back just when I think I'm over it. 

We are all really excited about the baby. Logan wants it to sleep in his room. Even though he doesn't like sharing a room with Timothy. Obviously he's not spent a lot of time around babies ;)

A couple things we would love ya'll to pray for us about. Next week we will all be travelling to Piura to look for a house. This house will be our home and the base for our church until we reach about 100 members. Because of that we need something with a big living room for church services and somewhat of a separation from the sleeping areas so we can still have a little privacy if we need it. I have a very specific list of what I would love to have in a home and we are praying we find the perfect place for next to nothing
Also since this is our last month in Lima and we are leaving right after La Casa Del Padre's conference, we have a lot going on this month. So we could really use your prayers for wisdom and efficiency this month. We need to get everything done and all still like each other at the end.
Thank you so much for praying!

2 Corinthians 1:11
And you are helping us by praying for us. Then many people will give thanks because God has graciously answered so many prayers for us. 

How Much is Enough

This morning I have been meditating in the word and saw something that really spoke to me. 1timothy 6:9-10 But those who desire to be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and harmful lusts which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil, for which some have strayed from the faith in their greediness, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows. Wow, how much is enough and where does it end? Do we give God Glory with everything that we own or do we say this is for God and this is for me and my selfishness. Please understand that God does give us possessions for our enjoyment and to spread his kingdom. Do you desire to be rich? Well then this is what you should expect. 1)temptations--not that we don't already have temptations, but the ones that get you in debt, distracted, and are selfish. 2) a snare--simply a trap. We fill our houses with things to make us feel great or buy things to impress others or think we need, but it's all a trap because in the end none of these things work. 3)foolish and harmful lusts--what we see and think we need, the latest this, that or the other. Foolish, the word in proverbs refers many times acting like a child and in all the cases they do not enter the presence of God. 4) to drown in destruction and perdition-- think about it, if you desire to be rich you will be drowned in destruction and perdition. Your destiny is not heaven it is torment and everlasting hell. Jesus told his men, It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” (Mark 10:25 NKJV) 5) the love of money has strayed them from the faith and pierced themselves with many sorrows. Do you desire to be rich then expect the piercings of being filled with grief. It comes down to greediness. The question again is, how much is enough? How many cars are enough, how many houses are enough, how many shoes are enough, how many dogs are enough, how many tv's are enough, how much jewelry is enough, how many guns are enough, how many games are enough, how much ______ (fill in the blank) is enough? Please let me help you to understand that it's not that God will not provide for you. It is not that wealth means you are evil or even having money makes you evil. Listen to this verse. Mark 10:29-30 NKJV So Jesus answered and said, “Assuredly, I say to you, there is no one who has left house or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or lands, for My sake and the gospel’s, who shall not receive a hundredfold now in this time—houses and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and lands, with persecutions—and in the age to come, eternal life. But the key is this. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. (Matthew 6:33 NKJV) Please listen to what I'm about to say and examine yourself. I have to daily because I have been blessed to have lived in a great country where we have a buffet of liberty and choices and selection of commerce and opportunity to live the American dream. If you make more than $2 a day you are richer than 1/3 of the world. That sounds crazy. You may step outside of your house and maybe not believe it, but you are. I am not saying giving your money to the poor is your ticket into heaven, works can't do it for you; only Christ, his blood and him crucified. If you think about it and look around your house you are probably like most of us and see you got more junk and stuff you don't use and probably pay storage fees for things you will not go through again. God has blessed us to be a blessing to others. Show that today. What can you do with what you already have to change this world and to bring the gospel to the at least 4.5 billion of people who don't know Christ. That is 4,500,000,000 people! It is our responsibility to do it.

JOSE

Deeper!

This year has been such an amazing year for us. I can't believe it's only half over! I feel like we have all grown and learned so much just from experiencing God. I could go on about this for awhile but there is so much else for me to talk about that I'll save it for another post. ;)

One of the biggest blessings for us was something that just happened! Jose and I planned our trip to the states in March so we could be a part of the Intense mens conference/father son campout. The only downside, we couldn't stay long enough to be a part of our 15th anniversary conference. So we enjoyed our time there. Only told a few people what we had faith for and PRAYED. So 2 weeks before the conference Jose gets an email that the tickets have gone down to half the normal price (the only time we have seen that happen) so we got blessed with the tickets to go to Houston! We surprised our Pastors and most of our church and had a great weekend of spiritual refreshing! I can't even begin to describe all the ways we got blessed last week while we were there. I will just summarize by saying that God is always, always faithful! He provided for every need we have and used some amazing and often surprising ways to do it. :) 

Some highlights from the conference

*We burned the note! Our building is paid off and Jordan Ranch is more than halfway there! I can't express how exciting this is for us!

*Jose turned 10! He got saved 10 years ago at the 5th anniversary conference. I will always be grateful to God for bringing Pastor Watkins to Katy Tx 15 years ago. Without him my husband would not be the man he is today. We will never forget where we came from!

*The teaching from the other covenant pastors. So awesome to hear the word from brothers in the faith!

*Seeing 57 men, women, and youth get commissioned!

*Visiting with Pastor Carven and Juanita Izaks from Namibia, South Africa. A brother and sister in the Lord and we love having them as a part of our family :) 

*The look on Pastor GF's face when he saw us walk into the sanctuary!

* Seeing so many people we love! We didn't have enough time to spend with most of you and we really wish we could have. But it was encouraging as always to see you and hear what God is doing in your lives!

There is too much stuff to list on one post!

   

One of the things we got blessed with was THE camera I've been praying for. I took over 300 pics and narrowed it down to about 90 favorites. So here are some of the best of the best. Or at least some of my favorites :)

We also got to say hi to some of our family. My niece is cuter than ever and likes Jose more than me. It's really not fair ;) Also my brother looks like an adult now. Which is so weird because when I think about him he is still in his 15 year old body. Why do they have to grow up (I admit he is almost 24 so I should probably adjust his age in my mind) 

For Nothing is impossible with God ~ Luke 1:37

5 Years

Wednesday (June 15th) our baby will be 5.
This will be a bittersweet celebration because he won't be the baby anymore.
Next year there will be another little Lopez taking that title, so the celebration is way more sweet than bitter. :)

Timothy is my shadow.
He loves to sit in the room with me and play while I do whatever I'm doing.
I can always count on him to keep me company.
I can also count on him to always make me laugh.
I never want to forget the way he started memorizing words (including the spelling) this year.
Words like Walt Disney Pictures Presents, restroom, all of our names, cake, exit, men, and monsters inc.
He loves to spell them out. For example if he needs to use the restroom he says "I need to go restroom, r-e-s-t-r-o-o-m-m-e-n"   And before he figured out what that spelled he would say
"I need to go potty m-e-n"
He also thought e-x-i-t spelled "get out of here" so when he was ready to go he would say
"let's e-x-i-t, get out'ta here"

He will always be my baby. Even though he tells me "No, not baby. I Timothy!" 

whenever I call him baby.

Timothy Joseah, thank you for allowing me the privilege of raising you. 

You are a sweet, funny, caring little boy with a mind that is totally your own. 

I thank God that you are who you are. I wouldn't change you, or trade you for anything in the world.

You are awesome. Don't you ever forget it!

Love, 

M-o-m-m-y Mommy

You've stolen my heart, yes you have

Sometimes you just need to worship in your own language.
When you are trying to learn a language mostly by immersion it's easy to think of everything (even church service) as a language study course. At least that's how it is for me. During worship I find myself mentally translating the song instead of just singing it to God. I'll be thinking "does that mean worthy or glory? wait, what is this song talking about?"
I try not to but I eventually slip back into it and then my spirit starts getting very, very thirsty. Have you ever had a thirsty spirit? It's kind of like the feeling you get when you have been working outside in the heat and you go inside for a drink only to find the water has been turned off and you have nothing to drink in the fridge. So I have been listening to english worship music online. It's been working ok, but I was still missing that live worship experience. It was an important little thing that I told God about. I didn't even really pray about it. All I said is "God I want some english worship." Then I moved on and mostly forgot about it. I didn't even mention it to Jose.  

Last week Jose was was on Facebook and said "Hey, Leeland is in Lima. You want to go see them?" I said sure. Now don't stone me but I'm not that into Leeland in general. Jose loves them and I like some of their songs but I probably wouldn't have even noticed they were here. I thought I was going for Jose.

They were singing at a church nearby as part of the evening service. When we got there a Man from Mississippi was preaching in English. I thought it was cool to get to just listen and not have to interpret or wait for Jose to explain why everyone was laughing (even when I get most of the message the jokes are hard to understand) After that the church worship team sang and it was nice. Then Leeland went up and sang "Yes you have". I just started worshipping. One of maybe 20 people singing in a room of at least 1000. At first I noticed but then I didn't and I just started crying. I felt Gods' presence right at the place where they say "this is all for you" In that moment the King of the world brought everything together so I could worship Him in english with other believers. He did it because I mentioned it to him in passing. Like a long drink of cold water. My God loves me so much!

He's stolen my heart. Yes he has!

And now the winner of the giveaway is.....


PAMELA WHITEHEAD
Congratulations! Email me (jkmission2peru@gmail.com) your mailing address and I'll get it to you asap

I love birthdays and a giveaway!

I love birthdays. Like really, really, love them. There have been times I tried to pretend like I didn't really care because I thought that was the grown up thing to do. But now that I'm a grown up I realize it doesn't really matter what other people think. I think birthdays are awesome! 

So this is my last birthday in my 20's I am turning 29 on Thursday. 

I like getting older...there I said it. ha Every year older I get I get a deeper knowledge of God and my life seems to get richer. So next year if I freak out about turning 30 just gently point me back to this post. ;) 

This year has been beautiful. Old friendships have been rekindled. New trails have been blazed in my world. I have become more confident and sure of what I want. What I want is closer to what God wants for me than it ever has been and it is beautiful.

My life is not charmed and I don't have a lot of money or even more than I need. 

I live far away from a lot of people I love and sometimes I get lonely for them.

I'm still not good enough at speaking spanish to have a decent conversation. 

But life is good. 

I have these three guys wherever I go to make me smile.

And God knows all the desires of my heart and has been 

granting even some of the silliest ones to me. 

Because that is how God is. He loves to bless those who delight in Him. 

29 is going to be a good year. I can feel it!

I also love gifts! 

So this year for my birthday (and because this is my 100th blog post) I'm giving away a present. 

 I love butterflies and think these are just gorgeous! They are native to Peru and the picture doesn't do it justice. Depending on how you look at it you see purple, dark blue or this teal color.

So lovely

fyi that is victor's thumb...mine is much girly-er. ha  

(girlyer is a word, even though spell check doesn't believe me)

My camera finally decided to bite the dust so Victor is the designated photographer now. 

He's good at it isn't he?

This is actually a window sticker. It's backwards because you put it inside your window and it looks right from the outside. I just thought it was funny because that is a llama jumping over the u so it's like the puma logo only with a llama. haha 

It's ok if you don't think it's funny. I still laughed. 

I might even add a box of my favorite tea in if I don't forget.

All you have to do to be entered in the giveaway is leave a comment. 

(If you comment anonymously please put your name so I know who you are)  

If you want an extra entry you can tell me your favorite birthday or year or something that makes you happy.

Honestly this couldn't be easier :) I will announce the winner in my next blog