What do missionaries really eat?

Good Job Nehemiah...you rake that dirt level!

Don't worry Mommy, Daddy and I got things under control.
Timothy's birthday breakfast..omelets and toast
Timothy's birthday dinner...he's got a funny face there :) Nehemiah's in the background saying "Where's mine?"
Timothy opening his gifts
Daddy handing him his BB gun! :)
Watch out rabbits, rattlesnakes, and reptiles!

Daniel just got back from visiting all of the members in our church. Government vehicles have been going around town announcing where the shelters are and basically letting the people know that they can't save them if they get into trouble so it is best to come to the shelter early.

Daniel told all the families in our church who don't have transportation to give us a call anytime, day or night, if they would like to be taken to the shelters. We wish we could offer the church building to stay in as well, but it is one of the first places to flood in bad storms.

Daniel said that as long as he can get out and get to a shelter during the storm, he would love to go there and witness. The government provides them with a cot, 3 meals a day, and some toiletries, and the rest of the day, they just sit around and visit. So maybe Daniel will have an opportunity to share the gospel there this weekend.

The storm is still on course to hit here tomorrow. They've now issued a hurricane warning for the other side of the peninsula as well as the storm hasn't weakened yet as they expected. We are so glad that we have a "shelter in the time of storm" who holds us in His hands!

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In other news....today, we celebrated Timothy's 12th birthday!! Yesterday, our first little baby turned 12 years old. We had his birthday breakfast and were planning on having his party that night, but we were so busy preparing for the storm that it got late and then it took Daniel quite a while to find the special gift that he wanted to get Timothy, so we postponed the party for today.

We celebrated with....are you ready for this....bbq filet mignon, potatoes, and corn on the cob :) Timothy really wanted a steak for his birthday because it is something that he never gets to eat (as he says :) ). So Daniel said he'd pick up a steak (or two...Daddy wouldn't want Timothy to have to suffer alone) and I thawed some chicken and had some hot dogs we could use.

Well, Daniel came home from the store with 2 kilos (over 4 lbs) of filet mignon. He said it was only $5 a kilo, and he asked them to slice it really thin, so for $10, we got about 40 slices of filet! So everyone got to try it and I have enough left over to make another meal or two! It was really so tender that you could cut it with your fork. I was laughing with Daniel how here were "missionaries" eating filet mignon. He said, "Don't worry, we can go back to beans and rice tomorrow" :)

So Timothy got a "real man" meal! :) We were all covered in dirt from working outside all day, but there wasn't enough water in our water tank for showers yet, so we just ate outside. After dinner, Timothy opened his gifts...lots of special treats from his little brothers and sisters, homemade cards, Elijah bought him a hammer for his tool box, some games sent from his Grandparents, and then Daddy gave him his very own BB gun :) And I got to hear all night about how I won't need to shop so much now because Timothy will be bringing home rabbits each week and we can make soup and stuff. :) So maybe we won't have to go back to beans and rice afterall :)

We all went around blessing Timothy each one telling him what they really love and appreciate about their oldest brother/son :) Timothy is a very hard worker, loves to play with his siblings, is very sharing, loves to reach out to anyone that needs a friend, and is just a super oldest brother to have! He lets Noah, his little buddy, sleep in his bed with him almost every night. The other day, I heard one of the other children say, "Timothy, you shouldn't let Noah sleep there so much. Sometimes he wets the bed and then your bed will get stinky." And Timothy said, "Oh, it's okay. He likes to be with me a lot and if he wets, Mommy will wash it and if it does get stinky, we can just all move to his bed" :) I thought that was cute.