Welcome! Nuestra Casa Es Su Casa ...Our house is your house

A glimpse into the life of Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood and their 12 precious blessings. Thank you for visiting; we pray that what we share here may always bring glory to our wonderful God and Saviour. May you praise the Lord with us for the great things He has done and continues to do as we serve Him sharing the gospel here in the little town of Cuidad Insurgentes, BCS Mexico. He alone is good and faithful!

Tuesday, November 18, 2008

No, we don't eat these



Have I mentioned how absolutely afraid I was of crickets? I still remember the very first time we drove into this town 6 years ago. Daniel was surveying the area as He felt the Lord leading him to work somewhere in this state. We pulled into a gas station late one night; there was a pay phone there and Daniel needed to make a call. I had been waiting to stop for the past couple hours as I was pregnant with Josiah and needing to use the restroom.

I remember driving up to the payphone and not being able to see the sidewalk. It was covered with crickets. Daniel got out and pointed over the the restroom; I checked to make sure all the windows were closed tight and stayed right in my seat. I remember Daniel holding his collar closed as he talked so the crickets that were jumping all over him wouldn't go down his shirt.

We were pulling our travel trailer at the time and found a place to park for the night. The childrn and I were inside getting ready for bed and Daniel was outside working on something, when a cricket...just 1 cricket...jumped into the trailer. I jumped just about as quickly onto the bed and begged Timothy to get it outside!

That night I told Daniel I didn't care where we ended up as long as we didn't end up in THIS town. I would NEVER be able to live here!

___________________

So here we are...while I cannot say I have any fondness for the hundreds of black, jumping creatures that cover my walls and floors, make themselves cozy in my drawers and cupboards, are the first ones to greet me every morning in the shower, and cause me to shake out EVERYTHING first...from my clothes, towels, shoes to even my Bible, I also no longer panic if one jumps near me. In fact, they daily jump ON me. I still shudder at times and rapidly brush them off...and I tell the children that whenever anything is crawling on my back and they see it, they most certainly may quickly remove it, but to PLEASE not tell me what it is or what they are doing until AFTER they are done! :)

But as these insects arrive and multiply by the thousands after the rains each year, they serve to remind me of how the Lord has given me the grace I need in whatever and whereever he has called me...in big things and little things too.
While I have wanted to go to the mission field ever since I was 7 years old, I sort of had a romantic idea of how it would be. I imagined myself sleeping under a grass hut, holding and feeding sweet, dark skinned, skinny children while telling them how much Jesus loved them and seeing them smile as they came to know the Savior...and everyone lived happily ever after.
I never thought about bugs, sickness, lonliness, hard hearts, being exhausted, and I certainly did not think one bit about crickets.
The mission field has not been at all really what I imagined it to be. I never imagined how the Lord would break me, how my faith would be tried and found so lacking, how hard it would be, how once I got here, for a time, I just wanted to go back home.
Nor did I imagine how He would take my weak, broken self and give me so much grace; how as I cast myself again and again on Him and seek Him like I never had before, He would be known like I'd never known him (Deut. 4:29); how He would increase my faith; how He would take my deepest sorrows and give me peace and joy.
And while we so far haven't seen hundreds come to the Savior, we have seen a little church spring up here in Cd. Insurgentes. We've seen these new believers grow and even teach me things!
As I go to bed each night listening to the chirps of many, many crickets, I am truly reminded of just how much God loves me.

19 comments:

  1. What a beautiful perspective! Thank you for sharing!

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  2. Oh!!!!! Jaynee, just looking at the pics gives me the shivers....I am so skiddesh of crunchy crawly things and slimmy smooth things. It has to be grace because I would be screaming and squealing sooo much!!! What a blessed opp. you have as you serve together as a family and what a day it will be when one day you see the fruit from your labors in eternity. I know He is using your whole family, your children as they honor and obey you both, He is using your tender heart as others watch you inter act with your husband and children and Daniel as he works and shares each day....May the Lord continue to grow you and use you for His kingdom!
    Cindy

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  3. gives me the chills! But jaynee thanks so much for sharing so honestly...God has done so much for me too since we came here over 4 years ago...it has not been what I expected but He has done so much FOR me and IN me...and I love hearing your testimony. You always encourage me!

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  4. What a wonderful post Jaynee! HOW I admire you! I don't know that I could do it. Actually, I don't know that my HUSBAND could do it either!! haha (he hates little creepy crawlers just as much as me!). Isn't God awesome that He never gives us MORE than we can handle?? You are an inspiration! Give your kids a hug for me! :)

    love jess

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  5. I continue to pray that God will give you His amazing strength to get through each and every day.

    I've been on many missions trips and even lived in Belgium for about 18 months, but I've never had to deal with anything close to what you've dealt with on a daily basis. In Africa we did have to deal with huge Gecko monsters, huge spiders, screaming animals in the middle of the night, but I never felt completely unsafe. Just goes to show you that you truly "Can do all things, through Christ who strengthens you".

    I don't live with the challenges that you do on a daily basis, but I do have huge challenges of my own with a severely handicapped child. That's why my motto truly is as mentioned above, "I can do . . ."

    Love in Christ,
    Suzi Searles

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  6. Thank you, again, for your honesty and for reminding me of our precious Savior's love.

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  7. That is a beautiful testimony, Jaymee. I'm sure that my faith would be found lacking in that situation, too. I'm so thankful that God only requires a "little" faith. I respect you so much; your sacrifice is touching many besides those in your little church.

    Thank you for your kind comment on my blog. I am humbled to be an inspiration to you and to call you a friend.

    Love, Amy

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  8. Oops! Forgot to ask - you don't have to post this if you don't want to, but I would love to know the other blogs that you visit daily. If you like them, I'm sure I would, too!

    You can email me at csenecal@rochester.rr.com
    or just leave a comment on my blog.

    Thanks so much!

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  9. Thank you for sharing this and your honesty.
    80)
    Mary Beth

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  10. I love how He meets every need, giving us courage, patience, whatever we lack. I remember a missionary speaker at church telling about sleeping on a mat in a thatch hut that she had watched rats go into all day long with her children. She could hear them scurrying in the night and imagined that they might be crawling over their covers. She wanted to put her hand out and make sure none were crawling over her babies covers, but could not bring herself to do it, just prayed for all of them. He is so faithful. Blessings to you and your beautiful family as you continue to love and serve Him.

    Shelley

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  11. This comment has been removed by a blog administrator.

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  12. I don't know how you manage.

    Reminds me of a time when I had a pet fish that liked crickets so I bought a bunch at the store and brought them home.

    Well some of them escaped, and I was freaking out.

    I think my fish would have liked living with you guys.

    By the way, can you round up a lizard or two and keep them as pets to maybe cut down on the number of crickets?

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  13. Debbie~ I didn't get your email, but I'll email you at the email address you posted here

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  14. Debbie~ I didn't get your email, but I'll email you at the email address you posted here

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  15. Hi Jaynee!!
    I saw you on Nate's blog! Can you believe the good news! We know WHO is responsible!
    I started a blog..a corny one, but it is fun!
    Glad you are all well! How is Daniel doing?

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  16. You are planting seeds that will have eternal effects. You may not be able to see as much fruit as you would like to right now, but those planted seeds will multiply and reach even more people because of your family's ministry through the Lord. I love your blog and reading about your family and ministry. God bless you all!

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  17. Oh! My Goodness! I would not be able to stand the crickets....we have some kind that shows up in our house every so often...I call them mutant ninga crickets because they are a light brown and gross me out completely!!! And they're big, too!! Still have not figured out where they are coming from and how they get in to our house!

    (Found you through Nate's blog...enjoyed yours immensely and blessings on y'all as you serve God in Cd. Insurgentes!)

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  18. Got your email and replied. Just in case you dont get this one its a wonderful idea. Please email me the address asap. Thank you so much, this will really help.
    debbieo

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  19. Jaynee, you don't like crickets and neither do I because of DAD! Remember when we were coming back from vacation one year (I think you were with us, or in Mexico) and we ate at that Arby's and there was a cricket under the table and dad stepped on it and we could literally hear it's head pop! That was sooooooooooooo disgusting and I've been grossed out by them ever since. Do you remember that???

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