Hosanna in the Highest!

So today (Feb 19th) Tati and I woke up in Belmopan (yes, again) and left Belize City (yes, again) yesterday, because we are on our way to PG. We woke up and had an awesome conversation about how when we are in the city and have all sorts of amenities, we just feel like we are in a fog, we don't get along as well, and we just don't feel as at peace or as in tune as we do when we are in other places; and so we were processing and just talking about how when we are in the states, the enemy uses all sorts of things to distract us, and employ the vices we have in our lives, but in third world countries you see more demonic things, and more physical manifestations because there aren't the same sort of strongholds and things going on. We have noticed that whenever we are on the internet, or have internet at the place we are staying, we just aren't as focused on what our work here is, and we both get distracted and just feel gross afterwards, and maybe that is part of why we love being in Belmopan, sleeping in the church where we literally have very few amenities. Anyway, we started talking about how the word "Comfortability" is an oxymoron in a spiritual sense. Comfort/ability, in a negative relationship way, the more comfort, the less spiritual ability, less flexibility, the less in tune we are, etc etc (I have ten minutes to write this post before we dont have internet for a week) . . . .



Okay, so basically at the end of our talk we were identifying ways that we tend to try and feed our flesh and get distracted and how we can seek things in the spirit. . . . things that are unseen and eternal, verses things that are seen and transient (cant remember the verse) . .. anyway, it was so awesome to talk about how all we want is the Lord. How when we focus on one thing we want, one thing we are working on internally or externally, how usually that is not the thing that the Lord does, and how He is always doing a new thing . . . but if we can just keep our hand out of the cookie jar, He will give us the biggest dessert buffet imaginable.

SO, we were so content and happy just going along with our day, and BAM! He totally took us for a wild ride. Shelbye is a girl from the states who is coming to Belize to work with Tati on Count Me In stuff, and she is sort of taking my place, but I won't be leaving until the end of March, so our time will overlap. A family in Texas pledged to pay $250 US ($500 BZ) dollars towards rent if we were to find a place to live, and Shelbye is raising money as well. SO today we went to see if there was a place in Belmopan to rent for cheap.

After multiple calls and leads, we ended up seeing a wonderful 2BR house, fully furnished, and the lady is so amazing, and her and her husband dropped the rent 2 different times to first accommodate, and then just to bless us!!! This house is AMAZING! It is a dream. Such a surprise. It is near the city (Belmopan) but it is off of a road that only has three houses on it, with lots of palm trees, it comes with a trampoline (!!!???) and a basketball hoop and cement court (!!!????) and has a front porch, awesome trees to set up a hammock . . . and while she was first renting out the house for over $1000 BZ a month without utilities, and by the end she lowered it $300 dollars! So now we are living in this BALLIN house (moving in on Sunday *Lol which means bringing out bags from the car haha) for only $350 US DOLLARS a month!!!!

Check out the pics. gg, internet cafe closing now but I will revise/update this asap if possible!


Also there are other random pictures of people, places, churches and memories

Me practicing being in charge and planning

The replacement shower curtain rings . . . somehow I pulled down the other ones and we've been using ZIP TIES!

yes. . . $10 can opener . . .s aving my life with vegetables

my guilty pleasure tourist item tank

after a run

nursery art

hahahaha

she got artsy with it

Vday, PBH & AC fixins!

So! In the past week so much has happened!! Basically Belmopan is between Belize City and PG (Punta Gorda) and San Ignacio. Tati and I came back from San Ignacio, stopped and stayed at our fav place in Belmopan (the Nazarene church, where even though we only have a table and two chairs, a coffee maker, a nursery we set up our air mattresses in, and a freezing cold shower, it is the place we have had SO much encountering with the Lord, from us worshipping together, having awesome revelations, and just feeling lots of peace and ability to think and process) anyway! We came back through, and on our way back, I realized that in our car we had this random loaf of bread we weren't going to use, and lots of peanut butter and honey . . . so . . . I was like, "Tati! We have ALL this sandwich stuff . . . all I know to do right now is MAKE PBH SANDWICHES!" and on top of that, my mom had packed me a box of 100 sandwich ziplock bags! hmmm x + y = z . . . :)  so luckily I had a big skirt on, that all the honey and crumbs DRIPPED and went all over me . . . and I know Tati was keeping quiet, wanting to kill me as I made these sandwiches and the biggest mess of my adult life - well anyway it was SO awesome! We gave them out to people as we drove and hopefully blessed people along the way who were hungry I hope!

I know I know I know . . . . not good

I know I'm in trouble with the driver

I was able to make like 13 sandwiches to give away!!

Something I forgot to mention is that on Valentine's day, I got my sweetheart a little card lol, and while we knew we were going to San Ignacio from Belmopan, we didn't know where we would be staying . . . we had an appointment with a Pastor Simpson, and hoped he would help us find a place. After meeting with him, he hooked us up with a lady named Alba, who was his x sister in law, and going through a very hard time, in the process of a divorce, and very heartbroken and hurting - and GUESS WHO WE GOT TO BE WITH ON VALENTINES DAY? lol it was so crazy that the Lord lead us to this woman who had a huge and gorgeous house, and though it was hard to connect at times due to a hard and hurt heart, before we fell asleep, we were laying in bed and looked up and there was a BOW on top of the doorframe! The same type of bow we put on our dash board to remind us to be present, to seek the Lord's presence, to see other's as a gift, to see ourselves as a gift to others, and to live out our spiritual gifts . . . it was so weird and unexpected, but we really felt like this bow was a little confirmation that the Lord brought us to this house!! Crazy!

This is the only picture of Alba we got lol  ;)

We did get a smile out of her. . . .and taught her how to play Farkle!

Also, when we got back to Belize City, guess what! We got the AC fixed in our car!!! Such a blessing. Even though we are running out of money . . . but trusting the Lord's provision (btw Count Me In added me as an intern, and there is a tax deductible giving tab up there ;) We were able to get our PapaBear Pastor Henry to get his mechanic son to bring us back a new AC condenser from the states, and finally our mechanic Bobby in BZE city put it in and now we are driving and able to breathe!!

No more of this!!! (even though this is after I was feeling SO STIR CRAZY and getting cabin fever from being in the car so long, I had to go out and run as far and long as I could *we were out in the country* and Tati trailed behind me in the car haha . . . . )

Praise the Lord!!










Also while we were in Belize City we decided to take a trip to the park and play our instruments for the city! Not much of a response haha, but it was good practice, a beautiful day, and it helped us in a time when we were just feeling a little lost and needing some vision and encouragement.

This was our main audience . . . Dallas . . . homeless yes. multipersonality . . . yes. Good audience . .. yes, if you like audiences that sharpen their spears as they listen and watch and say random things in random voices . . . 

Bitter root??  Hebrews 12:15 

What a bitter root can do to you (you be the only one left swinging in your own playground)

Rawr!

bathtub in the ocean!

we walked out on that pathway of tires and stone . .. you can almost see it

awesome day at the park for kite flying!

That same day, we were just sort of in the dumps, feeling like we don't have many people pouring into us spiritually, and just feeling like there wasn't as much to look forward to, and just needing to be re-excited and re-energized about everything - any luster in this trip was fading, and we are SO opposite as people, that in no way are we able to communicate well enough for us to comfort each other in fleshy ways - what I mean is that sometimes you just connect with someone really well, or you can be in a relationship with a person or friend where you are feeding your flesh in a way where they fill a need in your life . . . it could be that they give you attention, they fill your need of making you feel secure or protected, or whatever, or sometimes you may create a need where someone is there and fills YOUR need by YOU FILLING THEIR NEED, with your need being just to be needed. Sometimes you can unconsciously create a need, or have a relationship where someone is able to make you feel like you are playing a certain role yadda yadda yadda - ANYWAY Tati and I in no way feed off of each other, lol so we hit a lot of walls in communication . . . . !!! So this day we were like, God please just send us something, some sort of encouragement, and He totally did. We met with a guy named Eustace, and his wife, and we got to talk to them and it was SO GREAT! so encouraging. We both felt like we were in marriage counseling! ha

mennonite kid at a bookstore, where we met his father, an elder to invite him to the conference

Puppies!

I am not eating conch or Chinese for the REST OF THIS TRIP!

Another cute puppy! named Lion!

haha funny picture of lizard Tati