Hot and dry!

100+ degrees really isn't that bad...outside. But when it's that hot in the house...there are lots of opportunities for us to practice patience and endurance ;)

For ease of clean-up, the children will usually eat lunch at the counter. We've been slowly getting bar stools and brought back 2 more this past trip. We now have a total of 9 which fits all the children except for Nehemiah and Eliseo who can't sit there yet anyways. Daniel was home for lunch today and so I was sitting at the table eating with him when I looked up and just saw the children all sitting there. It was the first time I've seen them all sit there together :)

Nehemiah and Eliseo were trying to escape some of the summer heat by taking a siesta under the fan in our bedroom.

Monday, Daniel again headed out to the village of Maria Jesus. He wanted the family to stay here so he could see how he would be recieved as he was going simply to preach this time. He took Brother Macario along with him. He got about half way there when he came upon a group of about 15 men from the village standing in the middle of the road. They were waiting for the police...they had been working out in the desert and found the body of a man who had died of thirst. Daniel was able to wait with them, get to know them, and share the gospel. The situation at hand had put the men in a very thoughtful and more serious mind and what an opportunity to open God's Word right there! He asked them if he could come back to there village to share more next Monday and they said yes! Please pray that the Lord will soften their hearts even now and they'd hear and believe the gospel, and accept the Savior!

Going to a new village

Daniel has always had a burden to reach out to the many villages that surround our town. While working here in our town keeps him busy, we will almost weekly come across some one who has come into town to shop from a village. We always enjoy asking them about their life there and are so sad to know that there is no church...no gospel at all where they live.
This weekend, we loaded up the van with some New Testaments, tracts, and some bags of clothing that had been given to us while up in the states, and headed to a small village called Maria Jesus. We drove down the main highway about 30 minutes and then turned off onto a dirt road that went east off into the desert. About 30 minutes later, we found the village.
We stopped by several homes to introduce ourselves, let them choose the clothes they could use, give the older children and adults a Bible and tract and give the younger children a coloring book.
The first home we went to, we met a lady who had a little 6 year old boy. She was very grateful for the clothing and we gave her a Bible and tract. She said her husband was a drunk. He earned about $30 a week and would drink it all away. She and her son never hardly ever leave their little house.
The next lady we went to had 3 children. We were able to open the Bible and share the gospel with her and 2 of her children. She was born in the village and had lived there all her life (42 years).
We came to the main part of the village where there were about 7 homes. While the ladies sorted through the clothing, Daniel went over to where the men were and was able to share the gospel. They seemed very receptive and the door seems to be open for Daniel to go out there once a week to preach.
Satan does not like it when the gospel comes into his territory. Please pray for Daniel as he preaches, pray for our family as some of us or all of us accompany him each time, and pray for the people of Villa Maria Jesus.

One of the homes in the village. You can see the adobe bricks and the palm leaf roofs.

Here are some of the ladies and children going through the clothing. Afterwards, I was able to give them their first Bibles.

This picture is a bit blurry, but I laughed so hard when I saw it. Look closely at Timothy...can you see what he is holding? Those are Nehemiah's shoes which are on his feet which are connected to his legs. I'm not sure what Timothy is doing or why he has Nehemiah upside down...I just thought it was very cute :)

Home!

Yes, we finally made it home! We left our hometown on Sunday afternoon (the 20th) and arrived home Wednesday evening (the 23rd). Thank you so much for praying for us as we travled! We had a truly blessed time and go back and forth between thinking of the wonderful memories and time we spent with our loved ones up north to those twinges of homesickness as we miss them so.
Thank you also those of you who left comments or sent notes letting us know you were thinking of and praying for us as we hadn't updated here in a while. I knew we wouldn't be able to update while we were traveling, and when we got home, the internet was down almost all week.
Daniel spent almost all day Thursday and Friday at the immigration office (about 1 hour drive from here) working on renewing our visas. Normally we all go together, but since 1) I had lots of unpacking, laundry ect... to do and 2) we'd just spent about 36 hours together in the van, Daddy went himself while the children took turns playing and helping Mommy. :)
I have more to share, but it is late and Daniel just got home so I'll write more later. Here are some pics of our trip home:

Stopping for lunch at a taco shop. This is a great spot for us because they always have a special...3 tacos for 10 pesos (about $1).


The children got out to run around while Daddy took a quick nap.

Josiah turned 5 on Thursday! He told me to take a picture of him so I "could remember what he looked like when he was 4 1/2" :)

Isaiah and Noah excited to get out of the van and play together :)

Family Fun

While our final days here in the USA are coming to an end, we have just thanked the Lord for a wonderful time and His loving hand in directing us in so many ways. Monday, Tuesday, and part of Wednesday were very special days. They involved some very sweet family members and friends watching our 10 oldest children, the loan of a small gas efficient car, and some time alone for Daniel and I (and little Eliseo got to come along too :) ).
Today, we left early in the morning to head back up the mountain to Burney, CA to be a part of Grace Community Bible Church's VBS. The pastor and his wife had us over for lunch and we enjoyed a blessed time of fellowship while the children had so much fun riding bikes, scooters, and just playing together.
After lunch, we took the children to Burney Falls...not only a beautiful waterfall, but the place where my very handsome man asked me to be his wife. :) As we walked along the trails, I felt so humbled and amazed for all the joy the Lord's given me these past 13 years.
The girls and I sang songs as we hiked along behind the boys and talked about our wonderful Creator and Lord!

Hiking up to the top of the falls

The children looking at the falls on their way down to the bottom of them.

Daniel proposed to me here on December 26, 1994~ and we celebrate 13 years as husband and wife on July 22!

Daddy and the children at the bottom of the falls

Stolen and recovered

This afternoon was the memorial service for my Grandma H. What a sweet service as the entire focus was on Grandma's love for the Lord, love for her family, and her and Grandpa's desire to spend their lives leading others to know our Savior.
After the service, we had a surprise birthday party for my mom. Almost all of my siblings were in town, and Dad wanted to take us all to pizza for supper. My sisters picked up a cake, everyone brought a gift and my children spent the morning painting pictures/cards for Grandma. My mom lived in Hawaii for 5 years during her childhood and when we were young, she would pull out her ukalele and play and sing for us...until one day somebody accidently stepped on it. We were at the music store the other day getting some supplies and we saw a beautiful ukalele for sale. Daniel wanted to buy it for mom for her birthday...we were all so surprised as she picked it right up, tuned it, and began to play just like she did when we were young :)
Shortly before we finished eating cake, a lady asked Daniel Lockwood to come to the front counter. A man had found some items behind the dumpster in the parking lot...one of which was Daniel's briefcase. They had got it from our van, smashed it to open it, but thankfully, I don't think they found anything they wanted. This briefcase contains all of our passports, the children's birth or born abroad certificates, deed to our property, our visas, ect.... How we thanked the Lord as I dug through all the papers and found 13 passports still there! The man also found 2 of our cd holders...one has the entire Bible on CD and the other has the entire Bible in Spanish on CD. There were some other items that were stolen from another car as well. The lady is hoping that their cameras picked up the robbery and the police will be investigating it. But we are just so thankful that nothing seems to be lost. Daniel will go through everything thoroughly tonight to make sure.
Tomorrow, Daniel will be preaching up in the mountains of Burney in the morning and then back down the hill to preach at his Uncle's church in the evening. I just love listening to Daniel preach...in English or Spanish! I'm so thankful for a husband who loves the Lord so much, desires more than anything for the lost to come to know Christ, and loves to share with others how the Lord has worked in our lives.
Pray for Daniel as he continues to preach and share while we are here. Pray for my parents and the others who have been evacuated from their homes. Pray for little Eliseo...he started running a bit of a fever this afternoon and seems to be starting a cough. Thank you so much for praying! The Lord hears and loves to answer. What a wonderful, loving God!

The smashed, stolen, recovered briefcase :)

My mom...60 years old on July 17th! What a wonderful, godly, loving example she has always been to me!

Family and Friends

I can hardly believe our first week here is already over! Only 10 more days and we head back home.
Sunday, Daniel preached in Burney, CA...a town up in the mountains about a hour from where we are staying. We enjoyed a meal with the church family there after service, and then our we spent a good part of the afternoon with the assistant pastor's family at their home. While we visited, the children jumped on the trampoline, rode bicycles, and even milked their goats. We all enjoyed a cold glass of chocolate goat's milk. :)
This week, we've enjoyed visiting with family and friends and though we've been up way to late at night, we've enjoyed every minute of it! The 110-115 degree heat makes it feel like home.
The fires are raging here in northern California. My parents were given mandatory evacuation last night. Please pray for those who's homes are threatened, and for those brave and yet so tired fire fighters who are working around the clock.
I've took lots of pictures and was excited about posting some here, but when I uploaded them from the camera to our computer, I lost them. :( I'll try to post within the next couple of days with pics.
Tonight, Daniel and I are going on a double date with his brother and wife! :) Aunt Leah is coming over to stay with our children who will hopefully be asleep by then.
My grandmother's memorial service is on Saturday, and then Sunday, Daniel will be preaching again up in Burney, CA in the morning and at his Uncle's church in the evening.
Thank you for your prayers!

"Home" in America :)

July 4th at 1:30 am we pulled into our hometown! We prayed and thanked the Lord for bringing us through so many miles safely and without any problems with the van. We also thanked Him for taking away my fever~ Thursday morning, I woke up feeling 100% better! Thank you so much for all who have prayed for us as we've been traveling.
Thursday night, we stopped in Sacramento (about 3 hours south of our hometown) and were able to visit/meet the Burnetts, a homeschooling family of 10 who are from Oklahoma, but were in Californina for a ATI conference. What a sweet family! It was a wonderful break from the llloooonnnngggg drive to fellowship in their hotel room and the children had fun playing with their older ones.
Yesterday, we spent the day with GRANDMA and GRANDPA! :) We started the day at their church for a time of games, food, and fellowship. Then we went back home for an hour so our little ones and tired hubby could take a nap. The older ones helped me unpack, do laundry, clean out the van ect... and then we all headed over to Grandma/pa's house to swim. And then, Grandpa treated everyone to pizza! What a fun day! We got home close to 10 pm, sang some songs, Daddy shared from the Bible, we prayed and then "hugs, kisses, and to bed!" It's almost 8 am and everyone...even Eliseo...is still asleep this morning :)
Tomorrow Daniel preaches up at a church in the mountains (Burney, CA). We are looking forward to seeing more of our family and friends and sharing together about the wonderful things the Lord has done! Blessed be His precious name!

Nehemiah with Daddy

Elijah showing the ribbons he won during the games. He actually won 2 more...a 1st and 2nd place one....but he gave them to some of his siblings that hadn't won anything and told them they could be winners too :)

First 4th of July for our little Mexican/American Eliseo! :)

Still sick

Having a high fever as an adult seems to be a lot harder than I remember it being as a child. I'm trying not to complain and even be thankful, but I didn't do too good today. The Lord's mercies are new every morning...and I'm so thankful for His loving forgiveness and that of my family too! Thank you for your prayers. I'm hoping that after a good nights rest tonight, I'll feel better. The past nights I've let the fever run its course to see if it would kill the bug, but I've just been tossing and turning all night, so tonight....Tylanol!! I've already slept for an hour while Daniel took the children to supper....In and Out Burgers...what a great treat for them! American Hamburgers!!! I wish I felt good enough to have joined them, but I'm thankful for sweet hubby letting me get some rest and bravely suggesting to take the whole crew himself.
They just got back to the hotel with big smiles and their In and Out hats :)

Daniel was able to get a 60 day temporary license...PTL. He still needs to get a physical to get his permanent one, and will do that once we get up north.

Timothy took this picture after I washed my hair and was heading to bed :)

The children when they got back from supper. Benjamin looks like a soldier and Noah covered his face...they are just so fun! :)

Traveling Days :)

Praise the Lord for He has brought us safely across the border! We crossed late this afternoon without even having to go through secondary inspection (to which we are often sent due to the amount of children we have and the fact that we have to pull a trailer for our luggage).
We picked up Little Ceasar $5 pizzas :) and took the children to a park with GRASS!!! for supper and play time. After being in the car for over 18 hours the past couple of days, everyone had so much fun getting out and running around.
Tomorrow, Daniel will spend the morning at the DMV and hopefully get his Drivers License renewed (it expired a couple of months ago :) ). I'm hoping to get a couple of loads of laundry washed here at the hotel...when we go on a trip like this, it helps so much if I can wash a load to two here and there so it doesn't all pile up too badly.

Eliseo is doing great now...no fever! Thank you for praying. I've been pretty sick the past couple days. I got a fever on Sunday too, but figured it would go away. Monday, it was worse and as long as I kept taking medicine, I didn't feel horrid. Last night, I decided to let the fever run it's course and see if it would kill the bug. After tossing and turning for hours, I got up at 4 am and my fever had reached 104. I haven't had a fever that high in ages. So I took some more medicine and was able to sleep well for a couple more hours. Tonight I'm going to try again. I thank the Lord for giving me those hours of good rest in the morning and another short nap before we crossed the border.

Here are some pictures from our travels that past couple of days:

Stopping for lunch in San Ignacio...about 6 hours into our trip. By the time we were finished, we'd gathered quite a crowd...the children truly give us many opportunites to witness! Eliseo got passed around quite a bit :)

Breakfast this morning outside of our motel room in El Rosario (about 6 hours south of the US border). Yogurt, bananas, and rolls :)

Josiah and Noah in the motel this morning...their shirts are all wet because they "combed their hair" :)

Crossing the border this afternoon....Tijuana, BC, Mexico....Thank you Lord for bringing us this far safely!