December 2010

Casting all your cares upon HIM, for HE cares for you!! 1 Peter 5:7

I would like to give glory to God for HIS awesome provision and for placing each one of you in my life. Without your love and support I could not be serving Him here in Belize.

First of all, a big thank you for all those who prayed for our fourth annual ladies retreat held this past September. Our theme this year was 'A Heart of Prayer'. What a special time we had drawing closer to our Lord and Savior! It was a special blessing to have my sister Helen from Canada here to help with teaching and answering the ladies'many questions. Cory and I had a lot of fun showing Helen around Belize and the ladies I minister to also enjoyed an evening get together with her.

It is always a blessing for me when friends and family come and meet the people we minister to. In November, our friends Wally and Kathy Chopee, also from Canada, joined us for two and a half weeks. They did a lot of jobs that I did not know how to do or have time to do including some fixing around the house, planting trees at our property and the list goes on. We were blessed with an invitation from missionary friends Jim and Anna Mensie in Seine Bight to join them for their Thanksgiving potluck. Wally and Kathy had not really seen much of Belize and thoroughly enjoyed the incredible beauty of this country as we drove down to the coast. It was an unexpected blessing for them to have time enjoying the sand and the waters of the Caribbean Sea!

For some time now, it had been on my heart to take Cory to meet his birth Mom, Nicole with whom he spent the first three years of his life. I had never met Nicole but understood that she lived in the village of Independence which is in the general area of Seine Bight where we spent Thanksgiving. Leaving Wally and Kathy to enjoy some quiet time by the sea Jim, Anna, Cory and I ventured out to Independence. We had no set plan of action but just prayed trusting that if this was the Lord's will for Cory, we would somehow make the connection- and we did. Coming out of a little store we 'bumped' into Cory’s 14 year old cousin who immediately recognized him! We not only met Nicole but also two of Cory’s brothers whom he had never seen before. We are praying about bringing a food hamper out to them during the holidays. This is a three hour drive for us so need to pray for the Lord's timing in this.

As most of you know in August the Social Worker brought us beautiful Shaleni who is now 19 months old. This past week Friday they called to see if I would consider taking in a young baby who was in the hospital suffering from asthma. Then on Monday they called to say three month old 'Tyrell' was on his way to my house- not asking if I had decided to take him or not! I had already decided that my plate was full and was going to tell them to find someone else however seeing as he was on his way I thought this might be what God wants me to do and He would give me the strength to do it. Tyrell is on several different medications and really needs prayer for healing of multiple health issues. I must say he is a content baby and falls asleep at this last feeding which is 9-10 PM and last night slept till five.

Progress continues out at the property. The foundation (ie the 9 foot piles and beams for the floor) have been poured . We are waiting for the building materials to be shipped from California and are praying for the group as they prepare everything to come down for this house build. We have a bathroom built on top of the septic and a small room off to the side of it. The electricity has been hooked up and now we are waiting for the town to connect us to water. If we do not get the water then we will have to consider building a cistern to collect rain water. It will be interesting to see what the Lord has in store for this property- I believe He has specific plans in mind to somehow use it to minister to the needs of the Belizean people. More on that in a future newsletter!

Life is very busy, but God is faithful. He takes care of our needs in so many different ways. Just the other day we received the news that the Chopee's will be coming back to lend a hand from February 4th to April 4th.

Prayer Requests:

-- God’s will in Shaleni and Tyrell’s lives

-- Healing for both of these children, Shaleni still seems to be bothered with a yeast problem even after a few rounds of treatment. Tyrell with his breathing multiple health issues.

-- For the team that is planning to come down after the New Year to build our home- timing/ provision etc.

-- Help with the children as it is very difficult to get much else done with active toddler, a sick baby, homeschooling Cory etc.

-- God’s guidance concerning our role in Nicole’s life (Cory’s birth mom)

-- For good health for Cory and myself; for wisdom and discernment to clearly hear the Lord in every area of our lives

Update 2010

We are coming up to the end of the year once again. As I reflect on how God has carried us through this past year, I find it is so AMAZING!!! My heart is filled with praises and joy to Him, Who is the giver of life.

As the New Year began I prayed and told God I wanted to see what He desired for me this year. I had this excitement that as I made Him my number one He was going to show me His best for us. When the social worker called in January that they had a two month old baby boy for me to care for I thought, “YES! This is a wonderful thing I can do for the Lord.” A few days later they told me he would go up for adoption. I asked if I could make a suggestion where he goes and they said yes. I was so blessed that in two weeks I was able to pass our little bundle of joy over to our good friends Joel and Denise. Yes we did miss him and Cory was upset that I did not ask for permission to adopt him but I did feel peace about how it all went.

Then in June we got our next bundle of joy. This little one was born premature and weighed 3 lbs. 9oz. I have never taken care of such a little one before. It was a blessing to have her in our home for the 48 hours; then she went to a foster to adopt home. When the social worker came to pick up this one (we never did get a name for her) Cory suggested he let our dog lose so the social worker would be too scared to take the baby. He was hoping we could take her on our trip north. I must admit it would have been fun to do that.

In March we secured legal title of the three lots that God provided for us to buy. We had four Cahoon trees removed which is no easy task. By end of June we had a fence built surrounding our new property. Then we were to the point of not being able to do anything more seeing the finances were not there to build. We were at a standstill. God surprised us by placing the desire on someone’s heart in California to come down and build us a home. They are working out the details of wanting to have Lowe’s hardware store in the states put all the supplies into a container for the house (kind of like a house in a box!) then ship it down here. After it gets here they want to come down and build our three bedroom home. If it all works according to their plans, we will be in our new home by the end of this year. Praise God! He keeps His promises ALL the time!!! He has provided for me and my children and been the Father to the fatherless.

Our trip north was a blessing to both Cory and me. The first three weeks we spent in Manitoba with family and friends. We had a huge family reunion of around 300 people. It was a blessing to hear all the stories of my grandparents who passed away some years ago. Another blessing was to get to know each other better during that weekend. This reunion caused many of us to really look forward to the day we all are in heaven and have this huge family reunion with all believers together. Our three week trip went by fast visiting family and friends.

Next we had two weeks in California where we spent a few days in Chico, Alta and finally Sacramento with Brian’s family. We have so many friends in all the different towns that it is hard to know where to begin to account for all the blessings that were bestowed upon us. Cory was able to go fishing, house boating, camping, partake in VBS, and one of his high lights were to see Pastor Sam Allen teaching. Cory made many new friends on this trip and also reconnected with his cousin Connor, who is one day younger.

We arrived back in Belize the beginning of August. A week later the social services department brought us a beautiful one year old girl, Shaleni. The first month was a real challenge; she would be happy enough during the day but crying, kicking and screaming in her sleep at night. When I held her she would continue this behavior. Whenever Cory and I sat down to pray, she would scream. I decided to give her something to eat when we prayed at the table. This helped. We continued prayer at meal times, and now she folds her hands to pray before she eats anything. God is doing His work in her. It has been almost three months since she came to us. She is now a part of our family. With God’s help her transition has occurred quickly. It amazes me! We love her dearly and pray for God’s will in her life.

Hurricane Richard came to Belize the 24th of October. It did a lot of damage on the coast as well as some inland. I heard two different reports as to how fast the wind blew. One reported the wind at its strongest was 75 mph and the other 90 mph but both are strong enough to do damage. I praise God for His protection upon us. There was no damage done to our home. Only three trees came down in our yard. Many homes were destroyed while some others had their roofs’ blown off.

We always look forward to getting mail and I know I have not been very good at getting letters in the mail myself. That is why I decided this year to do a year end up date. God bless you. We look forward to hearing how it is going in your end of the world.

Thank you for your prayers, love and support.

Love, Margaret, Cory and Shaleni

June 2010 our little premature baby girl.

June 2010

The past few months have been busy but also very exciting. In March we were able to obtain title for our property that the Lord has provided for us to buy. This place is still in this same area 1-2 miles from where we live right now. In May we found a Christian contractor to build a fence around this property. Last week Cory spent a few days with these guys helping with cement work and putting up the chain link fence. I was blessed to have these guys take an interest in showing Cory what he can do to help and teaching him how to mix cement. I will be posting pictures on my blog.

We were blessed with another baby the first week of June. She was a premature baby and weighing three pounds nine ounces. This is the first time for me to hold and care for a tiny one like this. I thought Ellie was super tiny when she came to us with one ounce under six pounds. This little one was not registered so did not have a name. She was placed in a foster to adopt home and when the social worker came to pick her up she wanted to know once I come back from my trip this summer if I would continue helping them with foster children. I did assure her I would be back and look forward to taking care of more babies for them.
Thanks to everyone for praying that Cory would get his visas to travel this summer. We are excited to tell you that he was granted a ten year visa to the states and four year visa to Canada. The first weekend of July we have our big family reunion and look forward to seeing as many family and friends as possible. If you want to get in touch with me please feel free to email (which I will check hopefully every few days) or call me at my parents 204 385-2096
We are leaving Belize on the 29th of June and spending three weeks in Manitoba, Canada. Then on the 20th of July we will be flying to Sacramento and spending two weeks in the Sacramento, Chico, and Alta area. We will be in Chico from the 21st to the 24th and we also have plans to be at my niece’s wedding reception on the 31st in Sacramento. If you would like to get in touch with us while we are there you could call us at Barry & Judi’s 530 894-2722. We are looking forward to going to Calvary Chapel Chico on the 21st. You have no idea how excited Cory is to listen to Pastor Sam live in church.

Once again I want to thank you all for your love, support and most of all your friendship. We are so very blessed to call you our friends!! We are in awe of how God has truly taken care of us and for His provision for each and every need that came up.
Looking forward to seeing as many of you as we can.

March 2010

The Joy of our heart is ceased; our dance is turned into mourning. Lam. 5:15 I am writing this at the urging of my good friend, Parthenia, who has often encouraged me to share what the Lord has been teaching me about grieving since Brian's death. Parthenia has been a blessing and an inspiration to me so many ways. I am sending this out to you in the hopes that it will in turn somehow be a blessing and inspiration in your lives.To start off with I want to let you know the Lord has given me true joy and peace as this year (2010) began. My heart is full of thanksgiving for how He has shown Himself to me and taken care of me and my children over these past 2 years. He never fails and always reveals what we need to learn at exactly the right time. I am looking forward to seeing what He has for us this year!!Over the years as I have gone to numerous funerals, I have observed various aspects of grieving. A mother sharing the sadness and grief of losing her grown son; a mother grieving the loss of her small baby; a wife losing her husband or a husband losing his wife. I have been in awe when I see others rise up and continue their walk with the Lord when they have lost a loved one. Of course I never realized what they were going through until it happened to me.
Two months before Brian passed away a good friend came to help us with some construction on the church. We talked about many things, and one of the statements he challenged us with was that it is our choice if we are offended or not in any given situation. He said that no matter what anyone says or what kinds of insults get thrown at us it is always our choice how we react. This idea rolled over and over in my head for the next month and gradually the Lord confirmed to me that yes, it is my choice if I choose to be offended or hurt. It is my choice if I choose to forgive or not! No matter what is said or done against us, there is such freedom when we choose not to be offended or when we choose to forgive. Then Brian died and I quickly came to realize how true our friend's statement had been. There were many opportunities for the enemy to cause those around me to be offended with me for various reasons, and I had equal opportunity to be offended with them. Fortunately I was able to let stuff go remembering that, in any situation, being offended is always a choice.
Understandably, my initial reaction to Brian's death was shock at losing my husband and denial that he was really gone. The intense pain I felt throughout my body was hard to describe. I had difficulty making decisions or remembering conversations I had with people and know that I did not always make the best choices or react the right way. Sometime later, a number of people told me that they no longer visited because they were offended by something I had said to them, or felt that I had misunderstood something that they had said to me. Either way they did not understand the state I was in where normal thinking and communication was extremely difficult.
Some friends suggested that I should move out of Belize, or move to another area. But again, I was not in the place to be making major decisions such as these and more importantly God had not shown me this is what He wanted me to do.
Other well-meaning friends tried to keep me busy doing children's ministry and other things thinking if I kept busy ministering to others that would keep me motivated to live. But I was in no place to minister to others- I was just going through the motions of life itself! What I needed at that time was time to grieve and someone to cry with, someone who would listen with unconditional love and understanding.
Sometimes in their attempt to comfort us, well- meaning friends and family sometimes say things that hurt us. For example, knowing that you will see your loved one again because of their faith in the Lord Jesus is a truly a comfort- but it does not stop the pain of missing them. The shock of realizing that your loved one will no longer walk or talk on this earth is at times almost impossible bear. Whether you've lost a mom or dad, husband or wife, child or friend, the pain of not being able to share with them the joys and trials of your life anymore can be overwhelming at times. Trying to reassure us that our loved one isn't suffering anymore is not a comfort in the beginning of the grieving process. Of course, deep down inside we know they are not suffering, and we know they are in a much better place but the desire to jump in and wish they would take us with them is very strong! When a mother is grieving the loss of her babies, being told that "at least the babies don't need to experience the evils of this world" does not bring comfort. Again, these comments are not intended to hurt us- but they do and so it is important for those who mourn to recognize that they too have the choice whether to be offended or not.
God has shown me that we need to show each other mercy at all times. Even though we may not know what the other person is going through, we can at all times extend grace and mercy to one another and pray so our Father in Heaven will be glorified. "They will know we are Christians by the love we show one another." Life is way to short to hold a grudge, or to not reconcile. We need to remember that we do not need to be up in age in order to be taken from this earth. Tomorrow might never come for us. We might not have another opportunity to talk to the person we are offended with. It is a sobering truth that "Our heavenly Father will forgive us as we forgive others".
Another thing that the Lord has shown me is how important it is to take time to grieve. In the scriptures we read many times how people would put on sack cloth and ashes as a sign of the grief and sorrow. Isaiah 61:3 To appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the LORD, that He might be glorified. The Lord had deep compassion for us as He died on the cross and desired for us to live. He wept and understands the grief we go through. In John 11:35 Jesus wept. His tears here were not generated out of mourning, since He was to raise Lazarus, but out of grief for a fallen world entangled in sin-caused sorrow and death. He was a "Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief."
In my last update I told you about a family in our church who had lost their 34 year old son. When we went to visit the parents, his wife and children and other relatives were there as well. To hear a nephew cry out "why did you leave us"; or the mother "my son my son", was very heartbreaking. I spent days crying out to the Lord to give this family peace and for Him to wrap His arms around them as He is the only true peace. I prayed for a mother who lost her twin girls and even though it is over a year ago, her arms still long to hold and cuddle those babies that she will never train up. Even though we do not understand, as Christians we believe that God is in control and He does know best. Even though we know it was best for Denisha to be pain free we still miss her!
We need to allow ourselves to feel the pain, to grieve and not feel guilty doing so. God desires to draw us closer to Him and be our strength during these hard times. He molds us into the person He desires for us to be even though it takes time for us to go through each step. Psalm 55:22 Cast your burden on the Lord, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.
James 4:9-10 Lament and mourn and weep! Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves in the sight of the Lordand He will lift you up.
As I've watched Cory go through the grieving process I've realized that how a child reacts to, and deals with, the death of a loved one, is quite different then the process we adults go through. After Brian's death, Cory made the occasional comment about how it was better for Brian now that he was in heaven, obviously trying to understand why it was good that his Dad had passed away. He also voiced the wish that he (Cory) had never come to our home. After reassuring him about how much I loved him and always would, I said that if he really felt that way I could talk to the social worker about placing him in better home. I think this was part of him was testing me and also trying to get his own way while not understanding the pain he was experiencing. Happily, he changed his mind and never mentioned it again. Then he went through a stage in which he felt that since his Dad was no longer here, he would never have fun anymore. This would be despite that fact that he might have spent the past few hours swimming or doing some other activity he enjoyed! When times were tough, only his Dad had really understood him! And of course, he has had to deal with the fear of something bad happening to me.
We tend to think that children get over change and death a lot quicker then adults do but, like us, they have to work through each stage of grieving in their own way. Now after two years I see a whole new stage in which Cory is able to talk about all the happy memories he had with his dad and actually open up about how much he misses him. And although there are still times when he shows anxiety about losing me, it's not nearly as strong as it was two years ago.
We both still have the pain of losing Brian- some days more than others even though we are going on with life and seeking what God desires from us. I am asking God to show me how I can provide a secure home for Cory, and more importantly teach him to put his total trust in God and not fear the unknown. Thanks so much for being there for us and for all your prayers

March 2010

Behold I am the Lord; the God of all flesh is anything too difficult for Me?
Jeremiah 32:27

So much has happened since my last update in November after Denisha passed away. It took awhile to adjust to the changes in our home but God our Creator is so very faithful and has helped us through once again.
Christmas day we had Marisol and her children over to celebrate together with eating and playing games. That afternoon we received a call telling us of the death of a dear friend. This young man was only in his early twenties and died of AIDS. He had received Jesus as his personal Savior and was looking forward to his heavenly home. On a recent visit he had shared that he could picture Brian extending his hand to welcome him in and would also talk about looking forward to seeing Denisha walking and no longer crippled. We joined the family for the wake Christmas night and the funeral the next day.
On December 27th we all felt blessed that Jim and Anna, missionaries from Placencia, who came out to Spanish Lookout joining some friends there to do an outreach concert. Jim and Anna are our friends who faithfully made the three hour trip every Sunday night to minister to Cory and I as well as the rest of the body at our church for the first six months after Brian passed away. They have been busy with their church in their area now, so we do feel very blessed when we get to see them.
In early January the Social Worker called to see if I would be available to take care of a two month old baby boy who had been removed from his home. We had this bundle of joy for two weeks. I was very blessed that the Social Worker took my advice and placed him with Joel and Denise who are missionaries in Belize City. They are fostering him while they work through the adoption process. His name is Isaiah Timothy. Please pray all goes smoothly and that they can get the paper work done as quickly as possible.
At the end of January a couple in our church lost their 34 year old son who died suddenly while traveling in the states. This young man had previously been diagnosed with an aneurysm and the family knew there was always the possibility that it could rupture at any time. The week before he left for his trip he told his Dad that he was ready to meet God as he had God living in his heart. Despite this, the suddenness of his death has been very hard on the family. My heart goes out to his common-in-law wife- what a blessing to see her in church after praying for her.
As you read this you might be wondering about all the death and sadness in our lives. Through all we have experienced the Lord has taught me much about grieving and supporting those who grieve. I praise Him for His mercy and grace during difficult times. He has truly blessed us! My friend Parthenia has encouraged me to write down what God has shown me. I hope to be able to share that with you in a future update. On a happier note, we had our annual missionary get-together at Caye Caulker in February. It was a real blessing to listen to what others are going through and how God is working in their lives. There were five or six families represented there and what a blessing each one was to both Cory and I. Cory was able to go fishing and he caught three fish. We both got a little too much sun. Next time we will remember to put the sunscreen on!
Tuesday morning several ladies come to my home to read and study the books of first and second Peter. Then every first and third Thursday of the month the ladies from the Baptist church get together to work through the book by Kay Arthur “Lord, Teach Me to Pray in 28 Days.” I am so blessed to be around ladies who truly have a heart to pray and to spread the gospel.
Thanks again for your prayers, for your love and support. We love each one of you and always love to hear from you. The LORD bless you and keep you; The LORD make His face shine upon you and be gracious to you; The LORD lift up His countenance upon you, and give you peace. ~ Numbers 6:24-26