A Jumbled Mess

My mind is a jumbled mess as I try to sort out what I want you to experience through my words. I have so many things I want to share. God brings countless experiences into our lives; I just wish you were here to share them with us. But then, I am reminded that you are experiencing your own encounters with God in your own corners of the world. Won't heaven be a blast as we all gather to experience our God together??!!

As I sort out my jumbled mess, the common denominator in all of it is PEOPLE. I want you to experience the wonderful friends that God is placing in our lives. Our paths continue to pass through the paths of some amazing people. (Try to say that real fast three times!)

Our hearts are aching as we manage an empty spot in them. Our team mates, Tammy and Malcolm Pointon have had to make a difficult decision to return to the States for an undetermined amount of time. It was a decision they have put off until the last possible moment, hoping that their situation would change; however, due to the economic crises, people simply are not investing in beachfront properties in Mexico at this time. Because Malcolm's company supports his family, as well as several others here in Mexico, he and Tammy have deemed it necessary to return to the States so that they can work and fulfill their monetary responsibilities to themselves and to the others they support. We miss them terribly and pray that land sales will pick up or construction contracts will be won so that we can welcome them back with open arms to complete the work they have begun in the Kingdom. Not only are we missing them, but we must adjust to not having their son, Jordan, with us. We are pleased to say that he has decided to join the 2010-2011 Adventures in Missions class in Lubbock, Texas. We are extremely proud of Jordan in his decision; but we will miss him terribly.

I've written about my mother's legacy living on here at Playa Mirmar through "Memaw's Manor", our beach cottage that is dedicated to hosting Kingdom workers for rest, relaxation and re-creation. We use our cottage most week-ends for our family re-creation, but we often dedicate the Saturday or Sunday to inviting others to re-create with us. What a blessings these times have been. We love watching our friends enjoy the beauty around them in the surf and the sand. We eat together, play together, and get to know each other in ways that just don't happen in our times together in the city.

We saw Sara, an emotionally disturbed young woman, laugh and play for the first time since we've known her. Her mind is tormented by conflicting "voices". After much convincing, she joined in a game of pool tag and had the time of her life! I began to wonder if she had ever "played" before. I pray she will have more times to join us for more play time!

Gina, our new sister in Christ, carries a huge burden of single-handedly caring for a rebellious fifteen year old and a high-energy four year old. Her eyes give away her deep concerns and weariness. It gave me great pleasure to see her nap in the hammock as the rest of us cared for Naomi. She woke up refreshed; we were blessed to watch Naomi discover all the wonders of the sea. On another occasion, Kelvin, Gina's son, who refuses to have anything to do with "those church people" had a great time body-surfing with Bern and Logan. It was a wonderful day of bonding as friends.

Miramar is a great place to get to know new people. Olga and Hector walked into La Comunidad de Cristo one Sunday because our preacher, Ivan, and his wife, Stefanie, love sushi. On one of their many visits to the sushi restaurant, Olga, the restaurant owner, noticed something "different" about Ivan and Stefanie and asked them if they were Christians. Several months later Olga and Hector are an important part of our family. We had the privilege of inviting them to Miramar. It was a lovely day of building our friendship. That friendship led to their confidence in us to help them through some family difficulties. So often I feel terribly inadequate to be doing what God has called us to do, but as with the case of Olga and Hector, He gives us the opportunities and the words to speak into the lives of those He brings to us.

Miramar also offers us a place to gather for some fun and fellowship with our various Bible Study groups. Socorro, my gregarious, people-gatherer friend, suggested our Wednesday night group enjoy a Sunday afternoon at the beach. We immediately replied, "Let's go to Miramar!" In one afternoon our study group grew from the usual 6-8 people to almost 30!!! Bernard and I just couldn't believe it when Socorro showed up with a few of her "closest friends and relatives" (about 20) in the back of a borrowed pick-up truck!! Oh, how I love Mexicans! We had a great day getting to know new friends!

Miramar is a great retreat place just to spend time with those we love. My dearest friend and sister, Rosy, loves to get away with us to Memaw's Manor. We stole her away from her normal family duties just to spend time with her and her son, Jared. Logan has had a pretty sad heart as we're getting adjusted to not having the Pointons with us. Logan's loss is huge because Miss Tammy was his walking buddy. Logan spent more time at Tammy's house than at the Manor. His love runs long and deep for his dear friend. Mr. Malcolm was his fireworks buddy. Logan knows how to get Mr. Malcolm wound up for a good round of evening fireworks. Jordan was his four-wheeler buddy. Logan loved it when Jordan stopped by to pick him up for a ride down to the lagoon hoping to get a peek at the crocodile. These losses are great, but perhaps the greatest loss of all was knowing that Tammy and Malcolm took Isa and Pumba, the family dogs with them. Logan hardly knows what to do with himself now that all his Miramar buddies are gone. So, we invited Jared and Rosy to help fill that gap for Logan. Even though Jared is much older than Logan, they bonded from the first time they were together. (I think it was to pillow fight up in Jared's room that was the cement to that bond!) Our day together provided hours of chatting under the palapa and walking on the beach while Jared, Logan and Dad did some serious swimming and boogie boarding. It was a great way to spend the day.

I never fail to feel the love of my mother as we gather with friends, or simply enjoy time together as a family at Memaw's Manor. Thank you, God, for the treasure of a wonderful mother. Thank you, God, for the gift of family. Thank you, God, for bringing into our paths many amazing people who touch our lives with theirs, and change us forever. We are, indeed, blessed people!


Thanks, Bern and Loggie for my birthday present-the first of many birdhouses to decorate the surroundings of Memaw's Manor--a definite reminder of Memaw!