Thinking it's the flu

The high fevers and aches continue; some of them were running between 103.5 and 104. I carried several to use the potty today as they felt too weak or hurt too badly to walk on their own.
Currently, the very sick ones are Rebekah, Benjamin, Abigail, Nehemiah, and Eliseo. Moderately sick- Timothy, Isaiah, Josiah, Noah, Susannah and Samuel.
Just a bit tired with a cough- our "immunity" boy, Elijah.
Daniel, Uncle Samuel and Carlos are still doing fine and while I am having continual fevers, I still think it's related to the kidney infection as I have no other flu symptoms.
I woke up feeling quite awful as well, but knowing that Saturday is a very busy day for Daniel, I took some tylanol, had Elijah fix some breakfast for anyone who wanted to eat, and I stayed in bed under several blankets until Daniel had to leave for soul winning. Thankfully, by then, the tylanol had begun to work and my fever began to go down.
Little Nehemiah (picture up top) hardly took his head off my lap all day. When I had to tend to the other children or do some laundry, he would cry until I came back.
He has a little mattress in our room which sits on top of a coffee table making his bed. I was finally able to move him over to it without waking him (we'll see how long that lasts :) ). No one has an appetite, but we've been keeping everyone's bottles full of cold water, gatorade or juice. Some of the "not so sick" ones had about a half cup of smoothie tonight (frozen bananas, yogurt, ice, juice, bit of vanilla and bit of honey).
I then went child to child having them change into some fresh pj's, helping the ones who needed it, and trying to coax the girls to let me comb their hair a bit and braid it. Abi let me...she has a tough head anyways. But tender headed Beka who has fine hair that accumulates great tangles (just like mommy's) wasn't at all interested. I understand; one of my favorite things is for Daniel to brush my hair out which he happens to also love to do :), but the past several days, the fever has made me so "picky" that the brushing hurts and I can't take the brush touching my back (normally that's one of my favorite parts...back stratch! :) ).
Everyone just slept all day. A few read some but overall, no one moved much. Lots of moans, groans, prayers, cuddles, and holding.
Elijah was wonderful with helping me keep bottles full, changing cool wash clothes for heads, washing medicine cups, changing diapers (the 2 youngest are still battling in "that" area), and since there really wasn't any housework to do, he helped me strip, wash and change all the bedding. Nothing makes me feel better than fresh, clean sheets when I'm sick.
I don't think anyone will be going to church tomorrow. We have known the N1H1 is here in our town and as we work with people, I was thinking it might happen.
We appreciate your prayers. Pray especially for little Samuel. So far he's doing better than I thought he would; naturally I worry extra for him. Remember, you are always welcome in our home here...mi casa es su casa...but you might want to wait a week or two. :)
And thank you for all the sweet emails and comments on our last post. The Lord is so good and we are so thankful he allows us to serve Him here.

Hurt, Broken, and Healed

This may be a somewhat lengthy post. I often think during the week of things to share with you all. I don't know who all reads here but only want to bring glory to our wonderful Lord.
This week, many of the children have been sick. We have 2 different "bugs" going around...a flu like illness (high fever, head ache, cough, body ache) and a stomach bug. I love all the extra snuggles/cuddles I get when they children feel so weak. They just look so sweet and needy. Of course, those that have had the stomach bug have often covered my clothes or bed with what I'm sure you can imagine. It was so strange and quiet only having 7 of us at the table for breakfast the other day.
Little Samuel woke up sick today. Our almost 8 month old baby has officially outgrown most of his 0-3 month clothes and is weighing in at 12 1/2 lbs! He's over tripled his birth weight!

I'm still battling with a kidney infection. Tuesday I hurt so bad it was difficult to walk as every step sent a stabbing pain to the lower right side of my back. Wednesday and Thursday were better, but last night, I was shivering and aching so badly that I couldn't sleep. Daniel got me some cold water and tylanol and once it "kicked in" I slept great and woke up feeling better.
Although my body has been hurting, the past few months I've had a hurting heart too. But yesterday and today, I've just wanted to sing for yesterday the Lord gave me so much peace, joy and a blessed assurance over something that I had been battling with for weeks.
Since coming to the mission field, we have learned what it is to give up all for the sake of Jesus Christ. Thankfully, the Lord has not asked us to give up everything at once. As the old saying goes, I am learning to hold all I have with an open hand rather than a closed fist as it hurts much less when the Lord wants to take it from me.
When I first got to the field, I had so many "romantic" ideas of missionary life. Even though I had read many missionary biographies, I truly did not understand. I have re-read many of those same books now and how many of their words could be my own.
I know I haven't blogged as much this year as I have in the past. In part, we've had a busy year, and I try to carefully guard the time I spend at the computer. But the other part is that I blog about what the Lord is doing in our life and ministry here and this year has has been filled with many tears, doubts, fears, and struggles.
I have had so many days feeling so very broken. Something very dear to me had been taken from me and I felt so misjugded, misunderstood, and hurt.
God is not the author of confusion (I Cor. 14:33) but of peace but I was so confused and had no peace. My pillow was wet with tears and so many hours of the nights were spent praying to the Lord to answer.
How I wanted Him to answer and help! It seemed to take so long. But know God does not ignore our cries; He does not want us to suffer. He allowed my heart to sorrow for He had so much to teach me still.
On the field we have learned to give up houses, lands, possessions and know the Lord would take care of us. We have understood lonliness and gone through many trials. And again, God was teaching me more...lovingly allowing me to suffer rejection and learn forgiveness and brokenness.
In trying to work things out in following the Lord and my husband, verses were given me by others to convice me that what I was doing was wrong.
Satan knows God's Word. He used it when he tempt Eve; He used it to tempt Christ. But He never uses it correctly. How important it is for us as women to be under our husbands!
I had a battle inside me. Will I give up what I want? Will I rest in knowing that I am accepted in Christ and be pleased to be counted worthy of Him no matter what others may think?
Faith is not by sight. We don't always understand and often the way just doesn't seem possible, but the peace that comes from trusting God and His Word knowing He never fails!
The longer I am here, the more I long to be used by the Lord. And the more I see how I'm only able to be used as much as I am empty of self. I want to be able to share Christ with the hurting, broken, lost around me and not just give them the "right answer" but to KNOW the One who heals...to know what it is like to have a broken heart and have the Great Physician heal it!
And the harder the road gets, the more we have seen the Lord work. The more I submit to my husband and trust him as the Lord desires, the more He is used! May I never be a hinderance to the Lord using Daniel.
Tuesday, out in the village, the men got angry. Carlos said he thought that they were going to get stoned. One of the men said he could not understand why Daniel had not been run out yet. He's been going out there for over a year and not one has believed. But two are so close. Please pray!
Our church here offers one thing...to know and be reconciled to God through His Word, the Lord Jesus Christ. We are simple, preach the simple wonderful gospel, sing simple hymns of praise, and have simple classes for the children. So many are coming that we often have no room to put them. So many needs, so many hurts, and so many coming to know the One who heals and satisfies all.
How good is our Lord! How much He cares. The longer we've been here, the harder it has been, the more I know God and His great love. He's taught me so much and the more I learn, the more I see how very little I know and the more I am amazed at how much He loves me and how good He is.
Thank you for praying for us; may the Lord Jesus Christ be known!

Follow me

( No, I am not taking about that button where you can "follow" a blog :) )
Daniel just took...hmm...let me subtract...five of the children with him to see if they can get some parts needed to fix the children's bikes. Elijah and Benjamin are across the street working for our neighbor, the four youngest are napping, and Isaiah is sick resting on the couch.
I haven't updated here near as much as I would like; quiet moments like these are rare :-). Although the house has seemed strangly quiet since Uncle Joel, Aunt Deborah and the cousins left...we had a wonderful time, are so thankful for their willingness to come visit, and miss them already.
I've been feeling sick again this week with what appears to be another bladder/kidney infection. The fevers make the 90+ degree weather feel pleasant :)
The Lord has used this past year to teach me so much. How thankful I am for His love, patience, mercy and faithfulness!
One of the things He has taught me is simple trust and faithfulness. I remember when Daniel was so sick last year and the doctors told us he had cancer. I remember how the Lord was so gracious in carrying me through those trying days. How I had to lean completely on Him; and how wonderfully and sweetly He poured out His comfort, grace, and strength!
I remember writing in my journal a couple weeks after Daniel got home about how discouraged I was. Here I felt that I had gone through such a big trial and now on the other side of it, I was struggling with so many "little things".
And again the last few months I have felt very much the same way. How many "big" trials we have passed through, yet how often it is the "little" things Satan uses to bring doubts, fears, discouragement, or discontentment.
It is natural to cling to the Lord as we are going through times of great uncertainty. It is natural when your world seems to be falling all around you to constantly be in communion with the God who is sovereign over all. It is natural to want to seek Him through prayer, His Word, and how tender our hearts become. The Psalmist said, "It is good for me to have been afflicted that I might learn thy statutes" (Ps. 119:71)
But during the "calms" it is equally important...vital...to be in constant communion with our Lord. How He has shown me that this year!
How He has shown me how very weak I am. Satan loves to take that thought there and use it to scare me. I would look at my precious children and feel so overwhelmed at the task at hand! And no matter how much I planned, prepared, worked, and prayed, often times things seemed to be spirling down hill faster than I could possibly keep up. The home schooling, training, attitudes, their tender hearts, the work of the home, our dear brothers and sisters in Christ in our church...I felt I could not possibly care for all the needs there were!
I know the Lord makes no mistakes and I knew that He had chosen to make me the mommy of our children and place me here in Mexico to be a help meet to my husband. And slowly I began to realize how much I was relying on myself. Even in my times of prayer, I wasn't truly trusting the Lord as I needed to. And you know, with just that realization, the Lord began to change my heart.
Daniel was preaching on Revelation Wednesday night at church. What a glorious book! During the message he read a verse in John. I actually don't even remember what the point was he was making with this verse because as soon as he read it, the Lord spoke to my heart.
John 21:22- "Jesus saith unto him, If I will that he tarry till I come, what is that to thee? follow thou me."
Over the past several weeks, I had let my mind think about how things would be so much easier if only I was in "such and such a place" or if I had "this or that" or if "this happened" or this person was "this way". When I opened my Bible to this verse and read it, the Lord spoke to me.
"Follow me Jaynee." How I want to know the Lord more! How often I fall! But I know that no matter how much of a mess I make of things, the Lord is always loving me, always there, always ready to forgive, and I can instantly trust and follow Him.
This week has been so wonderful! Has He changed? NO! But He has changed me! :-)
Day by day, He leads. Day by day, I want to follow. I want my children to know how very real, loving, and faithful our God is! Jesus Christ has shed His blood and paid the penalty for my sins. I want them to know His peace that only He can give! Do you know Him? Does He know you? He is so good!

Christmas Box for a Mexican Child

Slide show from Christmas Box Distribution 2009

Many of you have written in the past month asking about the Christmas Box Ministry this year. For those of you who are interested in sending a box this year, this post is for you! :)
For two Christmases now, we have been able to bless a number of children in our town with a special gift from many of you. What a joy it has been to not only give these children a shoe box or bag filled with wonderful treats, but to see many of these children faithfully come to church each week to learn more about the One who gave us the greatest gift of all! A poor family of 5 children began faithfully attending our services after receiving their Christmas boxes last year. One of the little girls came up to Daniel a couple months ago and said, "Hno. Daniel, I still have the stuffed animal that you gave me last Christmas." :)
This Christmas, we would again like to reach out to the families of our town by giving their children a shoebox full of special treats. Our hope is that these gifts will not only bring happiness to each one that receives them, but that they will give us an opportunity to share with them where true joy come from...knowing the Savior Jesus Christ!
Each time we have done this, it has been a tremendous blessing to the people as we've been able to give out over 200 boxes/bags each year.
I remember, as a child, putting together a shoebox to send to children for Christmas in another country as it was a ministry through our local church. What fun we all had saving our money and then going to the store to pick out the perfect treats. We always prayed for the child who would be receiving our box, and only eternity will tell how those small gifts may have been used to soften a child’s heart towards Christ.
So this year again, we would like to do this for the children of our town. We will pass out whatever boxes we receive and the more the better! And we would love to have your help! It is truly more blessed to give than receive! If this is something in which you would like to have a part, here are some guidelines:


*Boxes should be shoebox size (you could either send a real shoebox or send a plastic container with a lid that is approximately the same size; the advantage of the plastic container is that the child/family can use it for something later)
*For Shipping Purposes, some people prefer to send a bag. Last year we handed out backpacks, paper gift bags (which were protected by being wrapped in plastic wrap so they wouldn't break open in shipping), and cloth hand bags as well. When we were up north, our girls were given some cloth hand bags for their birthdays that were purchased at the dollar store.
*Last year we had some people send a large quantity of an item to be handed out with or in addition to the boxes (we received Spanish New Testaments, Spanish Christmas Coloring Books, Stuffed Animals, Blankets/quilts, hats). If you are interested in sending something like that, just email us and let us know! :)
*Boxes should be sent to Daniel and Jaynee Lockwood at the field address on the bottom right side bar of this blog; please write “Christmas Shoebox” on the box somewhere as well
*We would like to have all the boxes ready to give out by the beginning of December. Since it takes at least 2 weeks for mail to arrive here, we ask that all boxes be mailed no later than November 23rd.
*To make it easier in the distribution, we ask that the boxes contain items that can be used by either a boy or a girl (for example, no pink hair ribbons as a boy would not use those :) ).

Now for the fun part! Ideas of what to include in the boxes:

*Toys: a small stuffed animal, a ball, a yo-yo, whistle, picture book, a puzzle, a game, play dough, coloring book

*School Supplies: pencils, pencil box, crayons, felt markers, stickers, notebook, erasers, pencil sharpener

*Other: American Candy, scarf, a personal letter* or picture drawn for the child, comb or brush, toothbrush

Here are things to NOT include:
*Chocolate or any other food that could melt, make a mess or spoil
*Medicine
*Items that could easily break
*Books or music (other than a note book or coloring book)
*Anything liquid that could spill (bubbles, shampoo, ect...)
*Anything that could be dangerous for a small child (marbles, sharp items ect...)
*Clothing other than maybe a scarf or hat as you don’t know what size the child is that will receive your box

If you have any further questions, feel free to email us (email address at the very bottom of the right side bar). Of course, we plan on taking lots of pictures of the children opening their boxes and will post some on the blog. Wouldn’t it be fun to see a picture of a child opening the box that YOU sent? :)

*Spanish phrases that you could include in a personal note if you would like:

Dios le bendiga– God Bless you
Jesus te ama– Jesus loves you
Feliz Navidad– Merry Christmas
Dios te ama– God love you
Estoy orando por ti– I am praying for you
Con amor de - With love from

Sweeter by the dozen

Family Fun....

...in the sun.

Psalm 104:24-25 "O Lord, how manifold are thy works! In wisdom has thou made them all: the earth is full of thy riches. So is this great and wide sea, wherein are things creeping unnumerable, both small and great beasts."

What do you feed 24 people for breakfast?

Cousins Isaiah and Ian (both 7 years old)

(Breakfast yesterday morning)

That is the question asked on the last comment of our last post. The answer is simple... the same thing I make for 14 people :)

It has been such a blessing to have Daniel's brother and sister in law and their children here with us these past couple of weeks. We're sure going to miss them as they head back home on Monday. And for as much fun and fellowship we have had, we've had equally as much work to keep us very, very busy.
Meal preparation has been an adventure.

We're making the same things we always make, but just a lot of it! Eggs, beans and tortillas; oatmeal; french toast and eggs; eggs and potatos; and pancakes. :) So thankful to the Lord for His provision. He is so good!

This coming week, I'll be posting about the upcoming Christmas Shoeboxes. What a blessing they have been to so many children in our town. Sunday we had the most children we have ever had in Sunday School...98. We are having a "good" problem these days...we are outgrowing the building we are renting. I'll end with a couple of photos of the children's class this past Sunday morning and a couple of videos as well.
Pray the Lord will continue to work in the hearts of the people here.

He gives rest

Quick supper before bed :)
How thankful we are to have Brother Carlos here as well as Daniel's brother Samuel as they labor along with us.
Breakfast for 24 people...18 children and 6 adults. Wonderful!

Oh taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man that trusteth in Him.
How good our Lord is! Sometimes it is quite the battle to truly thank Him for the trials through which He allows us to pass. But last night and then again this morning I was overcome with how many blessings the Lord gives us. As I thought through some of our recent trials, how thankful I truly was for them, for how they have made me appreciate all the more the countless blessings the Lord gives to us each day.

This week, Daniel's brother, my sweet sister in law and 6 little Lockwood cousins are here. How those times of deep lonliness have made me treasure the fellowship we have had this week.

The weather these past couple of days has been so beautiful. Seventy degrees to us brings on hot coffee or chocolate, soups, hot breads, and even a blanket at night are such wonderful things to enjoy. I wouldn't most likely feel that way if it weren't for the months we sweated through 100 degree humid weather.

Samuel is growing so well and is just so sweet and happy. I've never appreciated my little one's health and happiness like I do now.

I was thinking of how my many failures the Lord has used to show me how very weak I am and how I need Him. And oh, what a privilege it is to be able to go to my loving Lord at any time to give my every burden to Him...concerns for my children, those sins that so easily beset me, every uncertainty, every doubt, and every fear. And just to have His precious Word to renew my mind with His truth.

Daniel left for the villages this morning. Last week, he heard a very sad story. A man whom he had gone to twice to share the gospel with was run over by a car. Sadly, this man mocked at every word Daniel spoke. Another lady out there began to weep as she has so many hurts and just doesn't know the truth...she just doesn't understand. I was teaching Abi and Isaiah their verse this week...Proverbs 3:5..."Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding." Our ways and thoughts lead to confusion, sadness, and destruction. But when we trust in the Lord, believe Him, follow Him, and let His Word guide our thoughts and ways, our feet are sure and oh the sweet joy and blessed assurance He gives!

Quick Update

Joel and Deborah and their 6 little ones arrived safely yesterday afternoon. They had quite an adventurous last hour crossing flooded roads. We thank the Lord for keeping them safe.
The streets here are flooded and with the running water and mud, it is difficult for many people to even walk out. We had to cancel services this morning but Lord willing will be able to hold a service this evening. More rain is predicted for this afternoon, so we'll wait and see. We have a lady wanting to get baptized tonight.
Thank you for your prayers. Uncle Samuel is finally feeling better...not 100% yet, but better than he's felt in days. Uncle Joel is sick now and we appreciate your prayers for him.

Another Storm

Tropical Depression Olaf is upon us bringing much rain. The town is flooding and the rain is predicted to continue through tomorrow. Daniel and Brother Carlos just went out to help get people out of their houses and take them to the shelters. There are still many people who do not have their roofs repaired from the hurricane. Please pray for safety for our town, especially for our brothers and sisters in Christ here. Pray also for Joel and Deborah and their family as we believe they are within a few hours north of here traveling. Often during these storms portions of the highway become uncrossable. Pray for wisdom and safety for their family.
Pray also for Uncle Samuel (Daniel's brother who is here working with us). He's been sick with a fever and stomach pain for 3 days now. Thank you.
Psalm 27:5 For in the time of trouble he shall hide me in his pavilion: in the secret of his tabernacle shall he hide me; he shall set me up upon a rock.