Good morning friends...the house is quiet and the coffee is good. The sink is full of dirty dishes and the floor needs to be swept. The stacks of bills and paperwork call my name and a million other tasks I could be and should be doing. I am straining to type in silence so as not to waken any of the children less my precious moments of peace slip away and the chaos begins for yet another day. We have a saying in our house that we live by..."NEVER WAKE A SLEEPING ELLIE"! If I had even a small portion of the energy that pint-sized pirhana, I would certainly change the world and would never have to learn the discipline of patience and waiting on the Lord. That girl just makes things happen! Just to give you an idea.....
This past Monday, she tagged along with us to a British/Brazilian soccer camp for Drew. She will be starting league soccer in the fall but she wanted to watch her brother. By the time we left on Monday night at 9:00...she had spoken in Portuguese to the two Brazilian coaches and secured them room and board at our house for the week (with our approval of course), earned a place in the advanced soccer skills camp for the rest of the week (free of charge), received promise of a new Brazilian soccer ball and shirt (which she has received), and again reminded the rest of us how GOD WILL USE US AND BLESS US WHEN WE MAKE OURSELVES AVAILABLE!
That being said, our house and our hearts are full. We have also had a friend of Jack's here nearly night and day as his parents work through a divorce and he finds some comfort and joy in this loud and crazy place with too many people and never quite enough food! :) So although our mission and goal here in Texas is set on spending more of our time and resources serving in Brazil, God continues to show up in our day to day lives, calling us to be available for the people we are to influence, help and serve in the here and now. WILLING HEARTS AND AVAILABLE LIVES. We press on toward this.....with Ellie's help of course...:)
In other developements, we are excited that Shelby has gotten a job at Marble Slab Creamery, an ice cream shop here in Frisco. She is loving it and really enjoying getting out and about more. Also, she will be attending Cornerstone Christian Academy in McKinney (the town right next to us) this fall for school. This is going to be a great place for her to finish out her high school education and experience. We are grateful to God for this opportunity for her.
The rest of the kids will be starting at the public schools on August 27. The principals and staff at the schools have been unbelievably encouraging of our work in Brazil and we will be able to take the kids out of school and do their work while we are away. We again are amazed by God's provision and answer to prayer in this.
BRAZIL! We are so excited to be returning as family to Brazil from August 6-23. We have direct flights from Dallas to Sao Paulo which will be a huge difference from our last trip which for those of you who don't know went as follows: Dickinson, Fargo, Chicago, New York, Miami, Rio de Janeiro, Porto Alegre. Ever been stressed travelling and making connections? This is definitely a better way! We are grateful that we have this period of time to go and minister and serve the kids and houseparents at Chain of Love. While we are there, we hope to get a more clear idea of when and how long our next stay will be and how it will look for us as a family. Please pray that our time there would be fruitful and that we will have clear answers for our ministry and place there in the upcoming months.
God is at work in our family. There have been challenges...hard days, tears shed, fear, and often times just not understanding how this is all going to work. But we have also seen amazing growth, increased faith, and joy in just seeking him with all of our hearts. Thank you for your continued prayers....we are an extension of our brothers and sisters in Christ who diligently intercede on our behalf for God's help and strength. And we receive it generously from Him.
2 Corinthians 4:8 "We are pressured in every way but not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair, we are persecuted but not abandoned; we are struck down but not destroyed."
Pressing on with WILLING HEARTS,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
Friday, July 27, 2012
Sunday, July 15, 2012
1300 miles, 4 fried pies, and a broken arm
Just in case you've been wondering what we are up to.......
My apologies blog followers for the long delay in updating you on what's happening in the busy life of the Hanstad family. We just returned from a 10-day car trip to North Dakota and back. I will give you a glimpse of what we have been up to for the past few weeks....
Vacation Bible School~We had our first experience with VBS at our home church here in Texas...Crosspoint Church. Molly, Ellie, and Drew had a great time and I even volunteered a few days helping out in crafts and with the preschoolers. We all made a few new friends and learned that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS...TRUST GOD!
World Series~Jack's team, the Texas Stallions, played their final tournament of the spring season and despite a couple of bad games, did really well and finished their season up with success. We are looking forward to getting going with fall baseball soon and apparently some Texas middle school football is on the horizon too.
Sweet 16~On July 3, Shelby celebrated her 16th birthday. What a joy to watch her grow into a beautiful young woman, inside and out. She is still looking for a job and will get her Texas driver's license very soon.
North Dakota~We drove 1300 miles back to North Dakota on the 4th of July for the wedding of our nephew John and his bride Mallory. Ellie looked beautiful as their flower girl and Jack was an usher. Shelby and Molly also helped out with the wedding. We had good times with the family and were able to see some of you as well. Our sweet Molly ended up with a broken arm while we were there but she has weathered it well and hopefully she will heal quickly as she wants to play soccer this fall. We were happy to say that when we finally reached Frisco after many, many, many hours in the car....it felt like HOME.
Brazil~We will be traveling as a family to Brazil from August 6-23. Although we were hoping to be there for at least a month, these are the dates that have worked out. We are grateful for the opportunity to go together and serve the children and houseparents at Chain of Love through help and encouragement. Turning 40 in Brazil will be the best birthday present ever.
Brad continues to pursue business opportunities here in Texas and we are excited at how God is moving and providing the way for us. Please continue to pray that details will be set into place for this that will allow us great flexibility and provision for spending more time in Brazil.
The kids (except Shelby) will be going to public school this fall with the intention of homeschooling while we are in Brazil only. This will take much planning and organization to maintain their academics in this way but we are confident that God will provide all we need to accomplish this. Please pray for us in this and also that the kids would be a great light in and among the other students and in their classrooms.
We continue to have good days and tough days. We have seen so clearly God's hand in our lives and in this move and change. Even though at times the way seems cloudy and we feel overwhelmed and discouraged, God continues to light each step of this path. He continues to speak into our hearts that the only part we have in this is to be AVAILABLE to do his will and to bring with that a WILLING HEART. The rest is for HIM to handle. So, we will continue to work at trusting in that knowing that he has a great plan and purpose for us.
Thank you for your prayers, love, and encouragement.
Oh yeah.....4 fried pies? Our great new find in Oklahoma....talk about a treat! We have always said that you really can deep fry anything.....and it's true.
Blessings,
The Hanstads
My apologies blog followers for the long delay in updating you on what's happening in the busy life of the Hanstad family. We just returned from a 10-day car trip to North Dakota and back. I will give you a glimpse of what we have been up to for the past few weeks....
Vacation Bible School~We had our first experience with VBS at our home church here in Texas...Crosspoint Church. Molly, Ellie, and Drew had a great time and I even volunteered a few days helping out in crafts and with the preschoolers. We all made a few new friends and learned that NO MATTER WHAT HAPPENS...TRUST GOD!
World Series~Jack's team, the Texas Stallions, played their final tournament of the spring season and despite a couple of bad games, did really well and finished their season up with success. We are looking forward to getting going with fall baseball soon and apparently some Texas middle school football is on the horizon too.
Sweet 16~On July 3, Shelby celebrated her 16th birthday. What a joy to watch her grow into a beautiful young woman, inside and out. She is still looking for a job and will get her Texas driver's license very soon.
North Dakota~We drove 1300 miles back to North Dakota on the 4th of July for the wedding of our nephew John and his bride Mallory. Ellie looked beautiful as their flower girl and Jack was an usher. Shelby and Molly also helped out with the wedding. We had good times with the family and were able to see some of you as well. Our sweet Molly ended up with a broken arm while we were there but she has weathered it well and hopefully she will heal quickly as she wants to play soccer this fall. We were happy to say that when we finally reached Frisco after many, many, many hours in the car....it felt like HOME.
Brazil~We will be traveling as a family to Brazil from August 6-23. Although we were hoping to be there for at least a month, these are the dates that have worked out. We are grateful for the opportunity to go together and serve the children and houseparents at Chain of Love through help and encouragement. Turning 40 in Brazil will be the best birthday present ever.
Brad continues to pursue business opportunities here in Texas and we are excited at how God is moving and providing the way for us. Please continue to pray that details will be set into place for this that will allow us great flexibility and provision for spending more time in Brazil.
The kids (except Shelby) will be going to public school this fall with the intention of homeschooling while we are in Brazil only. This will take much planning and organization to maintain their academics in this way but we are confident that God will provide all we need to accomplish this. Please pray for us in this and also that the kids would be a great light in and among the other students and in their classrooms.
We continue to have good days and tough days. We have seen so clearly God's hand in our lives and in this move and change. Even though at times the way seems cloudy and we feel overwhelmed and discouraged, God continues to light each step of this path. He continues to speak into our hearts that the only part we have in this is to be AVAILABLE to do his will and to bring with that a WILLING HEART. The rest is for HIM to handle. So, we will continue to work at trusting in that knowing that he has a great plan and purpose for us.
Thank you for your prayers, love, and encouragement.
Oh yeah.....4 fried pies? Our great new find in Oklahoma....talk about a treat! We have always said that you really can deep fry anything.....and it's true.
Blessings,
The Hanstads
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)