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
This was a cute blog. Ellie Jane..what a little person! Her unique character is so fascinating. Love the blogs. Keep them up. Robbyn you are so eloquent..you could seriously do this for a living~
ReplyDeleteI think that the future slogan for Ellie will be: "Ellie for President!" You can't help but love that girl! Remember that where ever you are, God has a purpose for you.
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