Go to the highways and byways...

For months now, every week Daniel has gone out to preach in the village of Jesus Maria.

Before we went north for Samuel's birth, Daniel would go to the village, sit under the patio of one of the houses there and preach to all who would come.

For the past month, Daniel's gone every week on Tuesday. He leaves after breakfast, I pack him a lunch, and he gets home late at night. It takes over an hour alone to get to the village. It's way off the main road back into the desert.

Beyond the village there are more houses...20, 30, 45 minutes apart from each other way out in the middle of nowhere. Down dry creek beds or dusty paths you can travel for hours.

Daniel goes from house to house bringing the gospel to any who will listen.

Daniel's brother took some pictures last Tuesday that I wanted to share with you.

All the houses are made of adobe with palm roofs.

They hiked down and found a group of men working on a fake corral (a temporary corral they use when they need to round up their cattle to take to town to sell).

Hiking down the creek to where the men were working

This is Antonio...he and his wife and their 7 year old boy live right before Jesus Maria. His wife told Daniel a couple weeks ago that she believes in Jesus as her Savior and would like to come to church if we can figure out a way to get her there. Daniel's been preaching to Antonio for months...he hasn't believed but continues to listen.

Daniel met this man Tuesday and he asked Daniel to come back next week and go to his house.

Daniel said they just sat there for over 2 hours listening to Daniel share the gospel and asking him questions

If you look at that tree next to them you can see a bunch of debri in it...that was brought in by the flood last year...it shows you how high the water ran!

My children loved this last picture...the skull of a puma. :)

Daniel will continue to go and preach. Please pray that the Holy Spirit will convict these men of their sin and need for a Savior.

Children are fun :)

Daniel got home a bit ago from preaching out in the villages again. He was out late tonight and while I try not to worry, I always do. :) But that just urges me to pray all the more. It was almost dark when he finally drove in. And then the joy of sitting around listening to him tell everything that happened during the day. His brother took some pictures of the area where they went and as soon as I get a hold of his camera, I'll post them :)

So I spent the day at home with the children. We had lots of work to do and work we did! After everything was done, I had them all take their showers and as it had finally cooled off to a pleasant 92 degrees we headed outside to play, ate cereal for supper (we can do that when Daddy's not here :) ), had smoothies, and played games until family devotions.

I walked around snapping pictures and just feeling so happy and blessed~ I just love being with my children...they are so fun!

I finished 3 sewing projects this month...2 pairs of culottes for the girls (they wore them for swimming at family camp) and a summer nightgown for Beka. Just 20-30 minutes here and there added up to all that this month :)

Here's couple of pictures from Sunday. We had a full house Sunday night and enjoyed a fellowship dinner afterwards. Here's a picture of Pablito showing off his Sunday School craft...he's the son of Juan and Leticia who just got baptized at camp.

Getting ready to take people back home

We gave away a bunch of donated clothing to the people this past week. The girls found these dresses in one of the bags and claimed they are triplets :)



Susannah's rag curls from the left over material scraps from Beka's nightgown



Samuel is getting so big! He just started sucking his fingers...I've had 2 others who sucked those same fingers and 1 thumb sucker and 1 pinkie sucker :)



Abigail working on a craft tonight

Nehemiah says "Say cheese!"

I was putting some clean laundry into the girl's room the other day and on my way out their door, I saw this: :)

Isaiah swinging...early evenings are so much fun

Benjamin swinging...he'd just washed his hair so you can really see his cowlick :)

We got a new pet...a rabbit....last week

Elijah doing what Elijah has done since he was 2 1/2...reading encyclopedias :)
Timothy went to the store to get our special supper :) I labeled the store in the background...that's where we get our "daily bread" :)
Area the children and I are getting ready to garden :)

14 years

About 27 years ago, I met the boy who would someday be the man I would call my husband. And 14 years ago today I became Mrs. Daniel Lockwood. I still remember the excitement I had the first time I went to the grocery store and wrote a check where I now bore my husband's name. I just stared at it smiling; I'm not sure what the clerk thought :). Those were the days where our grocery bill was $25-$30 a week. So much has changed since then; not just the amount of food I cook or clothes I wash, or the fact that our home has grown by "24 feet" :), but the amount of love and respect I have for my man has multiplied more than anything else.

I want to share a bit about how Daniel and I met, got married, and how the Lord worked in my heart these past years in regard to my relationship with my husband. When I think about how patient yet lovingly firm Daniel (and the Lord) has been with me, I usually get teary eyed and my heart swells with gratitude and joy.

I met Daniel when we were both 9 years old. His family had moved to our town (Redding, CA) and began attending our church. I remember the "buzz" around church was there was a new family who had more children than the Smiths did (we were the Smiths and there were 5 of us).
The following year, the Lockwood family began attending the Christian school where we attended as well. Daniel and I were in the same class...there was a Lockwood in every one of my brother's/sisters' classes as well.
Our families were involved in many of the same activities throughout the years. Daniel and I became friends in high school. Like all girls that age, I would sometimes wonder about marriage...if, when, who ect... I never imagined I would marry Daniel. Of course, he was a head shorter than me until he turned 17 :)
The years after highschool, our relationship grew. And on July 22, 1995 at the age of 22, I married my best friend.

We had a rough first couple of years but an even harder time once we got to the mission field (surprised?...How Satan loves to attack the family). We had vowed "to death do us part" and meant it; but how many blessings and simple joy is lost each day through conflict in the home. We both had many areas in which the Lord really had to work. Most people probably thought Daniel had more "rough spots" than I did, but while my rough spots...sins...may not have been as obvious, they were so much worse.
Pride, selfishness, anger, unkind words, cold or indifferent spirit, complaining...these were all, sadly, attitudes of my heart...the true me...that I could so easily overlook or "justify" in the light that I was "doing" everything right.
How miserable I was! And all I could do was see how many problems my husband had. How true is the verse in Matthew 7:3 "And why beholdest thou the mote that is in thy brother's eye, but considerest not the beam that is in thine own eye?"
Sadly, many people were "worried" about me too for all the "rough spots" that they thought Daniel had. I began to doubt more and more the wonderful man God had placed over me. Their words only fed my miserable condition as I sought to "stand up for what was right" in our marriage. It saddens me so much to think of how wrong I have been at times and how many days, weeks, months were wasted on thinking about myself rather than being filled with the joy and blessings of following God and my husband.

But admist all the times I have wallowed in the mire and muck of sin, I have truly hated it and cried to the Lord to help. I did not always cry with a cry of wanting Him to change/work in me...but how grateful I am for the God of mercy who by His abundant grace continues to work in my heart, bring conviction of those sins, and so readily forgive and set my feet back on sure ground!

You know, many people who really know Daniel and I would even be surprised to hear this. Satan is the master deciever and as I was simply doing his bidding I was able to make everything look fine and dandy.

How the Lord has patiently worked in our lives. Sometimes I feel so badly as we get the comments we do here as really, there is nothing good in us...it is all Jesus Christ. We appreciate the encouragement, but don't want anyone to think anything about us. We are just so blessed so underservedly as we desire to serve the Lord. Like the Apostle Paul, I often feel like I am the chief of sinners or close to it. And it is for that reason that I love sharing the forgiveness, love and mercy of God so freely given through Jesus Christ. There is nothing greater than seeing a once hurting, broken, sinful heart full of peace, joy, and love. And then to see that one so excited for what they have recieved that they want to share it with others as well.

Well, if you are still with me, I want to end by telling you a few reasons I love my husband so much. A few times, I have shared some of these things with others and they have said things such as, "Oh, I wish my husband would be or do such and such...". What a dangerous place to be! But I understand...I have been there.
Daniel is not perfect (although I find he is right like 99.9% of the time :) ), but some of the reasons I love him the most are some of the very reasons that I used to complain and get angry about. How amazing the grace of the Lord is as it changes the hardest of hearts!

I love Daniel because:

*He is quick to tell me when I am wrong and call me to repentence.
*He loves God and His Word more than anything.
*I know that when I go to him with any problem, he won't tell me what will make me feel better but what is right. He takes me straight to God's Word.
*He prays for me (probably a lot...I need it! :) )
*He tells me everyday that he loves me.
*He is so honest (something I was never very good at...am getting better :) ); he is quick to ask for forgiveness and doesn't hide his sins.
*He has continually washed me with the Word and how much more I know and love the Lord than I ever have as Daniel has taught me by word and deed
*He is so couragous (as the Lord has given him a true spirit of courage) as he preaches taking no thought to what others may think of or do to him on account of the message.
*He is faithful in all things little or big
*He loves to talk...and I love to listen to him. :) The sweetest lost sleep I have ever had in my life is due to either talking to my hubby or holding/feeding my children.
*He is a hard worker...sleeps little and works much.
*He loves to spend time with the children and I...he has never had outside hobbies...his free time is being with us.
*He loves children. When Daddy gets home, oh the joy! Yesterday he was out preaching in the middle of the hot desert for 5 hours. I know he was tired, hot, dirty and sweaty...and about 11 little ones were all over him. He hugs and smiles and plays and they know how important they are to Daddy.
*He is so strong and I love the way the Lord made a man to protect, provide and care for his family
*He is so patient, quick to forgive, and doesn't hold grudges (truly forgives)
*He has been an example of Christ to me; I look up to and admire him so much yet I know he would tell you in a second that it is not him but the Lord.
*He is my favorite preacher; I have learned so much from him; And I get to see some of what nobody else does...the hours he spends praying and studying so he can be used to meet the spiritual needs of each person who hears the message
*And oh he's so handsome ;)

Happy Anniversary Daniel...I love you so much!

The Lord will work!

This has been a year of trials. And with those trials came many tears and hours spent examining our hearts and running again and again to the Lord as He strengthened our hearts as we by faith held fast to what we knew to be true from His Word.

Daniel has been so faithful and strong and the first to encourage me in the Lord. He has reminded me over and over how the Lord is at work here and how much Satan doesn't like it. He reminds me that when the trials come, there is a blessing just on the other side. We have begun to see the Lord work like never before in this town; and how much joy that brings!

Last Thursday, we woke up early to get ready to pick up the people to leave for our church family camp. I was having a rough morning and nothing seemed to be going right. I even contemplated staying home with the little ones, but Daniel wanted us to all go, so we pressed on, got everything loaded and left to pick everyone else up.

We stopped at the gas station on the way out of town to fill up; but when Daniel went to start up the bus, it died. We couldn't get it to run and with 36 people plus all their luggage aboard, we weren't sure what other vehicle(s) we could take that would fit us all. We prayed and then Daniel left with Hno. Juan to try one last thing; they brought back the battery from Juan's car and praise the Lord it worked!

We drove for about 2 hours and then pulled over to stop for a bathroom break. Again, the bus would not start; the fuel pump had stopped pumping. Samuel, Daniel's brother, crawled under the bus and began to work on it while Daniel worked on the top end of the engine. We prayed, and praise the Lord, about a half hour later, we were on the road again.

We had a wonderful time at camp! Sweet fellowship, lots of food and fun, and most importantly, we were spiritually fed through the preaching/teaching throughout the day.

The last evening there, the best thing of all happened. Brother Juan and his wife Leticia as well as their niece Cecilia asked Daniel is they could get baptized. Leticia had been faithfully coming to our church for about a year with her 3 young children. Her husband Juan wanted nothing to do with God and didn't want to listen to Daniel as he'd visit their home to share the gospel with him. In fact, he once told Daniel to never come back to his house again.
But he allowed his wife and children to go to church and liked what he saw in their lives. Leticia came to know the Savior a few months ago. A few weeks ago, Juan too asked Jesus Christ to be His Savior. His mother and sister who also go to our church could not believe the change in his life. All he wants to do is read his Bible and serve the God who saved him. He told Daniel that he himself is even surprised at how much the Lord has changed him.

It was so precious to see him take his wife by the hand Friday night after they had both stood up and had given a testimony of their salvation to everyone and walk into the water to follow the Lord in baptism. Their niece had trusted Christ as well and wanted to get baptized along with them.

The Lord was so good to keep us all safe there at camp through the weekend and then bring us home safely as well In fact, we had what could have been a very serious thing happen about an hour south of home. One of the front tires on the bus blew out. But the Lord enabled Daniel to keep the bus on the road and pull off in a safe place. We were in the middle of the desert with not a lot of water; it was very hot. Daniel was able to hitch hike a ride within just 3 minutes and within an hour, he was back with a tire man who happened to have a bus tire already on a rim ready to mount. We all dug in our pockets/purses to put our money together and had just enough to pay the man for his time and the tire.

The children and I started our garden today. As we began to break up and turn over the hard dirt and take out the rocks, we talked about how that is just like what Daddy is doing. Breaking up the fallow ground is a lot of very hard work and it's not a lot of fun, but it must be done before the seed can take root and grow and bring forth fruit. We came to a place where the hearts were so very hard. There has been a lot of breaking up ground to do. It has been hard and sometimes a bit discouraging as this stage of the labor doesn't have much to show for it. But we continue on and we are seeing seeds sprout as the Lord will have a church here in Cd. Insurgentes, BCS.

How thankful and humbled we continually are that He would use us to do His work! What joy there is in serving our King!

Family Camp 2009- Iglesia Bautista de Insugentes

In the bus and ready to go

Bus broken down at the gas station; waiting for Daniel to bring back another battery

Arrived safely at camp in time for lunch

With the 100+ degree weather, the pool was so refreshing and I enjoyed helping to teach many of the children to swim

The men/boys braved the heat and played ball

The highlight of each morning/afternoon/evening was the time we'd meet together to sing hymns and listen to Daniel or Brother Juan share a message from God's Word.

Sweet little Samuel and Susannah relaxing back in our cabin. Keep praying for our little guy...he's still battling with fevers but so far doing well enough to stay home :)

These next pictures are my favorites. Here is Juan giving testimony to how the Lord saved him.

Juan helping his wife into the water where they both were baptized.

Evening sings around the camp fire

Group picture the final day of camp

Our newest brother and sister in Christ

Blown out tire!

How the Lord is so good to send help and protect us!

Home sweet home...unpacked, laundry sorted, and very blessed, contented hearts!

A real post :)

I only have a minute before we leave for church, but for those of you who saw a new post either last night or earlier today, no you were not seeing things :) I had started a post late last night while I was waiting for Daniel to get home, but after typing the first sentence or so, Daniel got in, so I thought I hit the button to save it to draft, but must have somehow hit the button to post it. :) No, we are not expecting again (as far as we know). I know publishing an unfinished post that contains only a sentence might be something I'd do if I had my "pregnancy brain" :), I'll attribute it to a wonderful but long weekend of family camp with little sleep!
Time for evening services...I have lots to share about the weekend/camp and will publish a real post here soon :)

Getting ready for Family Camp

Samuel and Mommy on a hot summer day...do we look alike? :)
First, we are so happy to report that Samuel is doing about the best he's done in weeks. No fevers, eating like a true Lockwood :), alert, breathing so much better, and just as cute and sweet as could be. He still has a cough and is continuing with his antibiotics and nebulization treatments, but overall, he's not acting "sick" anymore. Last week at the hospital, he weighed in at 10 lbs 8 oz! He's getting so big and much stronger for which we are so thankful. How we thank the Lord for giving us Samuel and continuing to strengthen his little body.


This week, Thursday through Saturday, is our 2nd Annual Church Family Camp. Everyone is so excited! About 2 years ago, we had to sell our church bus as we were unable to financially maintain it. The man who purchased it told Daniel that our church could still use it whenever we needed it as long as it was available. What a blessing that has been! So yesterday, Daniel picked up the bus and brought it home to check it over and clean it up.

Lots of eager helpers

Ivan and Alan came over to help us get the bus ready for camp

Sweeping and washing...LOTS of dust!!

Nehemiah dressed himself...can you tell? :) He was pretty proud! I tell you, when it is 107 degrees inside and out, running around in just a diaper and a vest was probably a good choice for a 2 year old.

Get those tires clean Susannah!

We'll leave Thursday morning to head down to La Paz where we will be renting a campground with another Independent Fundamental Baptist Church there (the church of Brother Juan). We ask you to pray for a safe trip there and back and that we'd all grow closer to the Lord and each other during our time there.

Daniel left a while ago to go out to the village of Jesus Maria. We prayed together as a family this morning for the Lord to keep Daniel (and Isaiah who went with Daddy) safe and that the people's heart would soften and they would be able to see the truth and their need to trust Jesus alone for their salvation.
After their time there, Daniel and Isaiah will be going to the airport in Loreto to pick up Uncle Samuel (Daniel's brother) who is coming to work with us for the remainder of the summer. We are so looking forward to having him here with us! There is so much work to do and for Daniel, having another man to help out is a real blessing.
Uncle Samuel was our ring bearer in our wedding 14 years ago (July 22, 1995). I see him now, taller than Daniel or I and all grown up....and am reminded how quickly time passes. Will my children grow up that quickly???? I know they will...how thankful I am for each day I have to love, train, work with, talk with, and hold each of my children.

Hospitalized again... (UPDATED)

UPDATE: Samuel was well enough to come back home this afternoon and continue his antibiotics and other treatments here. His condition is delicate and he may need to return to the hospital again, but we are so thankful for each day we are able to all be home together. We got the whooping cough test results back also today and they were negative. So we will continue to keep a close eye on (well...26 eyes are basically on him most of the day :) ) this little boy and give him lots of TLC and continue to lift him up before the Great Physician. Thank you for praying...it's so good to have "Little Brother" home :)


Pictures taken this evening from Samuel's room.

Empty Crib tonight :(

Loading up the things for Samuel's room

When I told Daniel this morning that I'd update the blog tonight, I never thought I'd be saying that Samuel is in the hospital again. We have enjoyed 10 wonderful days with our sweet little boy here at home. It still amazes me how incomplete our family feels with just his little self not here. While it's been a lot of work and time caring for him, lost sleep is sweet when he's in my arms. I had to make a chart when he came home to keep track of all his treatments he needed around the clock. Between feedings, nebulizations, and medications, we had to take care of him in some way almost every hour. Either my alarm or his little cry woke me up all night long and the children got use to bringing whatever we were doing (schoolwork, sewing, reading, ect...) to the bedroom each hour to help take care of our baby. Last night we completed the last of the treatments and I was so glad to finally file my charts away and set my alarm for a time closer to when the sun rises :) Samuel had a follow-up visit scheduled with the pediatrician this morning. I was a bit concerned about the reoccuring fevers he'd been having the past few days. Daniel was home and had just finished preparing for the service tonight, so he offered to take him into town to see the doctor while I continued home schooling. Samuel was running another low grade fever this morning, and his heart rate was running about 200-220 (due to the fever). The doctor ordered another chest x-ray and blood test and then admitted him as he has another case of pneumonia.
About 4 weeks ago, when Samuel was first admitted into the hospital here, they tested him for whopping cough. Our family had unknowingly at the time been exposed to it up in the states before Samuel was old enough to get his vaccination for it.
While we still have not heard the test results, it appears that is what Samuel has which is the underlying reason for all his complications. A 2 month old baby here had just died from whooping cough the week before Samuel was admitted back in June. The hospital here sees about 1 case a month and we are so thankful for the knowledge the Lord has given the doctors here in caring for Samuel.
Whooping cough can last 3 months or more, so we may still have a long road to travel. There is no "cure" for it, but you treat the complications from it as they arise.
We are continually blessed and encouraged as we read the comments from so many of you who continue to uphold us in prayer. "Count it all joy, my brethren, when ye fall into divers temptations, knowing that the trying of your faith worketh patience." You know, between it being 97 degrees in the house each night, being over tired from caring for a sick little one, and having an awful "chest cold" for the past month (I may have whooping cough too...did you know you can get it as an adult even if you were fully vaccinated as a child?...I didn't! ), I have been tempted to complain on more than one occasion...and sometimes I just do complain and grumble and then not only am I unhappy, but I make everyone else unhappy around me. The Lord will work patience in me yet!
Just rising early, no matter how much I've been up at night, to have a bit of time alone with my Lord before I start the day, has carried me through and brought so much peace and joy to my heart. He is faithful and sure; He tells me to count each trial for joy and you know, when by His grace I choose to do that, He in turn gives me joy...no matter how hard it is and even if there is no end in sight, I know He is lovingly leading us and at times carrying us along and what a comfort to rest in Him.
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Well, I know this post is already long, but I had a few other things that I wanted to write about tonight seeing as how I didn't plan on writing about Samuel being in the hospital :)

Since Samuel came home 10 days ago, we've started full time in our new schedule and been able to work out most of the kinks now. I know many of you have asked to see it and I'd love to share it with you...when I first started scheduling, seeing examples of others schedules, especially ones who had many young children, was a great help in getting ours put together. But, we had a computer crash last week (part of the reason for the long time between posts here...that and the 12 children and 1 hubby who live here and require a bit of my time ;) ). I'm hoping my computer savy brother will be able to help his less than computer savy sister recover some of our documents, but if not, I'll have to type the schedule up again on the children's home school computer. I'm thankful that I printed up a couple of copies already. I'll let you all know when I have it ready.

My morning wake up time is 5:30 am as the children get up at 6:30 am and I love meeting the Lord there in our living room while it's still quiet. Monday, Samuel woke up early (4:30 am) and was hungry. After I fed him, I was wide awake and figured there wasn't really enough time for me to fall back asleep before the alarm went off, so I used the extra minutes to decorate our school room; Daniel let me go to the Dollar Tree while we were in the states and they have such a good size, fun school section! :) I tell you, what a few charts and pictures will do...the room looks so cheery and the children were so eager to study...that's a well spent $12! :)



Oh, I wanted to ask you all a favor. As you can see, I have a few pictures there in our kitchen.


Some of them have been sent to us by you! How exciting it has been to put a face to the name of those who we've been blessed to know through here. I have another large bulliten board waiting to be hung in our family room and I'd love to fill it with pictures from you all. So if you have a picture you could send us, we'd love to display it! Be sure to tell us who you are and where you are from and anything else you'd like to say. You can find our mailing address on the bottom of the right hand side bar.
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Daniel went out to the village of Jesus Maria yesterday for the first time since we've been back. Sadly, the men seemed harder than ever toward the gospel. They told Daniel he could come back another time but they didn't want to talk about the Bible anymore. Daniel said he'd return this coming week; there are several other villages in the "area" and he's planning on heading out early Tuesday morning and seeing how many villages he can preach in before dark.
Next week, Thursday through Saturday, we are having our 2nd annual Church Family Camp. With Samuel being sick, I'll probably have to stay home with the younger children, but the oldest 8 are counting down the days. I sewed Beka a new pair of culottes for swimming as she's grown several inches since last summer. We are praying that it will not only be a time of fun and fellowship, but that the Lord will work in the hearts of all who attend through the preaching.
We were encouraged last week to have 6 more come to trust Jesus Christ alone for their salvation...a man and his wife, an older man, a 20 year old lady, an 8 year old girl, and another lady who lives out on the way to the village. Five of them want to get baptized this month. How we rejoiced and praised the Lord all week long for bringing more souls to Himself! On the days when we just want to cry or give up, we remember how much the Lord suffered for us; how much we want the people here to know Him and His great love. Thank you Lord!
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And one last thing to share...
Timothy wanted me to video tape him doing what he calls a "Lazy Boy Backflip". When I first saw him do it, my heart about stopped, but now even Noah (age 4) can do one (though not quite as high as Timothy) and it's turned out to be quite a hit with my children and the neighborhood children too. :)