Angels at the Airport

Many thanks to our friends in Atlanta who gave over 1,200 toys for poor children in Peru! We were no sooner "out of the gate" when our first divine experience happened......

Flying from Atlanta to Lima, we had an 8 hour layover in Miami. When we got into Miami, we forgot our bag claim tickets on the airplane, (This is what happpens when you get 2 hours of sleep and then have to pack up 5 children at 3:45 am for an international flight). So I set out to get some kind of proof that we had checked in 12 bags. When I was getting the printout, the man looked puzzled. He asked me why our bags were checked to Maui, Hawaii. I explained they were supposed to go to Lima, Peru. He said they were checked to Hawaii but I still had time to go to the baggage area to get them changed. And we did, and all 12 bags made it to Lima. You can see, they had to search for our bags and then hand change the tickets!

I love how God works, here we were, thinking that losing our bag tags was a problem and then seeing God use that problem to fix a much bigger problem. We love to see God work in these situations. Thank You Lord.

Looking back on Atlanta.....

Busy, busy, busy....This sums up our Atlanta experience. Such a busy city!! We were encouraged by some wonderful believers both at the Hedge (our homeschool group) and at Dayspring Church. Our time in Atlanta was mostly spent schooling the boys. We averaged 6 hours a day which is a lot but we will do less per day now in Peru. We also took advantage of any opportunity the Lord would give us to share His love. Many were touched by our family as we would take time in the hustle and bustle to listen and pray for folks. We ministered to dozens, usually one on one. "You'll never t know how much that ment" was a comment we heard often. So I encourage all reading this to take time to stop, look, and listen.

1) Stop. Give the Lord 5-10 minutes to use you.

2) Look. Find someone who "catches your eye" or who you feel the spirt is drawing you to.

3) Listen. Spend a moment of quiet and ask the Father for a word for that person, (something to encourage, offer to pray, or even a simple compliment can open a wonderful opportunity to share)

I have to brag on the boys a little to. They have opened the door to several awesome ministry opportunities. One night at a restaurante, the waitress commented on how well behaved and nice mannered the boys were. It wasn't 3 minutes later, this same woman was crying as Jennie prayed for her! She need the love of Jesus and hope. She thanked and thanked and thanked.....Now frankly, if our kids were disruptive, sloppy, and rude, this wonderful experience would have never had taken place. I explained to the boys later, how the Lord actually used them in a mighty way, just by being obedient and well mannered. A word of encouragement for the parents out there: it pays off!!!!! The more good things you pour into your children, the more comes out!

Another hightlight of our time in Atlanta was when I took my spanish class to the streets and ministered to a group of mexicans looking for work. The men were touched that anyone would care for them like this. We gave them sodas and spent time praying for them. 6 or 7 even prayed for a new life in Christ and opened their hearts and lives to Jesus.