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
Tuesday, June 19, 2012
This and That
Good morning Hanstad blog followers! We know many of you are praying for us and for that we are thankful....keep it up...we need it. Brad's sister Karin and her husband Deon were here recently and we had a great time with them. The kids enjoyed some Aunt and Uncle time which was fun. Many fun moments were had and even a couple of trips to the Snowcone Lady. No matter how old you get, or how far from home you are, time spent with family is just good medicine.
On the home front--Jack, Molly, and Ellie finished up their seasons of league baseball and softball. Jack will now play only for the Texas Stallions select team. They will play their last tournament of the spring season this weekend and then have a little time off until they start fall baseball. He is doing strength and agility training every morning at his school. Molly decided not to play select softball and will be playing soccer this fall. Ellie was too young for the select soft team, the Texas Twist, but they asked her to practice with them. I am sure she will be voted team captain by the end of the first practice...haha. Drew will be forced to end his love affair with the concession stand and start to play soccer too this fall. I guess if our kids are going to be part Brazilian, they want to learn to play Futebol.... that is soccer in Portuguese for your Northerners. Even Jack talks about playing soccer for his school next spring. Does the thought of a North Dakota hockey player going against these southern boys scare anyone else??? Should we tell him that there is no penalty box?
I think our firstborn deserves her own paragraph...I know she would agree. What a beauty she is becoming! She is diligently working toward finishing two years of high school yet this year so that she can start her senior year in the fall. How hard it must be to see the little kids leave for the pool everyday while she sits on her computer. But she is determined and we are proud of her. She has applied for a job at a cupcake shop and for those of you who know her fondness of frosting, you will understand our concern. However, it has a happy little place and we hope that they will see what an asset she would be and hire her! She will turn 16 on July 3rd....but her heart is in Brazil.
Brad continues to work at his main job of providing for our family. He is working on a great business opportunity that we hope would give us great flexibility for being in Brazil. Our hope is to return to Brazil later this fall and stay awhile.
Please pray for the details of each step of this journey. At times the hurdles seem too many and too difficult to overcome. I keep recalling that part of the movie "League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. She wants to quit the team because she says "It just got too hard." Tom Hanks replies..."It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it."
And so we continue to trust that the task God has given us, even though it often feels too hard for us, is NOT TOO HARD FOR HIM.
James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perserverence must finish its work in order for you to become mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Perservering......always,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
On the home front--Jack, Molly, and Ellie finished up their seasons of league baseball and softball. Jack will now play only for the Texas Stallions select team. They will play their last tournament of the spring season this weekend and then have a little time off until they start fall baseball. He is doing strength and agility training every morning at his school. Molly decided not to play select softball and will be playing soccer this fall. Ellie was too young for the select soft team, the Texas Twist, but they asked her to practice with them. I am sure she will be voted team captain by the end of the first practice...haha. Drew will be forced to end his love affair with the concession stand and start to play soccer too this fall. I guess if our kids are going to be part Brazilian, they want to learn to play Futebol.... that is soccer in Portuguese for your Northerners. Even Jack talks about playing soccer for his school next spring. Does the thought of a North Dakota hockey player going against these southern boys scare anyone else??? Should we tell him that there is no penalty box?
I think our firstborn deserves her own paragraph...I know she would agree. What a beauty she is becoming! She is diligently working toward finishing two years of high school yet this year so that she can start her senior year in the fall. How hard it must be to see the little kids leave for the pool everyday while she sits on her computer. But she is determined and we are proud of her. She has applied for a job at a cupcake shop and for those of you who know her fondness of frosting, you will understand our concern. However, it has a happy little place and we hope that they will see what an asset she would be and hire her! She will turn 16 on July 3rd....but her heart is in Brazil.
Brad continues to work at his main job of providing for our family. He is working on a great business opportunity that we hope would give us great flexibility for being in Brazil. Our hope is to return to Brazil later this fall and stay awhile.
Please pray for the details of each step of this journey. At times the hurdles seem too many and too difficult to overcome. I keep recalling that part of the movie "League of Their Own" with Tom Hanks and Geena Davis. She wants to quit the team because she says "It just got too hard." Tom Hanks replies..."It's supposed to be hard. If it was easy, everyone would do it."
And so we continue to trust that the task God has given us, even though it often feels too hard for us, is NOT TOO HARD FOR HIM.
James 1:2-3 "Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perserverence must finish its work in order for you to become mature and complete, not lacking anything."
Perservering......always,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
Wednesday, June 6, 2012
Happy Anniversary
20...yes I said TWENTY....years together! Today we will celebrate our 20th Anniversary. Wow how our lives have changed since that day when we overcame the odds of young love and actually said "I do". And we meant it. We really meant it. Those of you closest to us know that our challenges began the next month as we packed up that moving truck and headed for California...just the two of us. I'll spare the details here on the blog but the truck barely made it there and we had to grow-up and overcome during those 1500 miles. God continued to increase our joy day by day along with allowing challenges to come our way. The ups and downs of marriage and just life in general can be wearing. And yet, as we look back, we see how God has used each and every heartache and test to prepare us for the task he has given us here in Texas and in Brazil. We see how God has grown our faith, matured us through some very unpleasant circumstances and trials, and shown us how HIS WORD IS TRUE and HE IS FAITHFUL. We are grateful for the five great kids he has given us. Even though the quantity can be a challenge, we recognize that each one has a specific purpose in his call on our lives as a family. I find it significant that God would give us an even 20 years to learn and grow and prepare us for service in Brazil. With a group like us....I guess I can see why it took so long! Actually, God's timing is perfect, and even though there are many days, most days in fact, when we feel completely inadequate to raise our own five kids, let alone take them to another country to help raise 85 more kids, we are COMPLETELY CONFIDENT that God will provide everything we need and equip us with all things for this task.
Now, time to curl the hair for the big day. We can all be thankful that my hair is not nearly as big as it was in 1992. I know Brad is.
Smiling, smiling, smiling,
Robbyn
Now, time to curl the hair for the big day. We can all be thankful that my hair is not nearly as big as it was in 1992. I know Brad is.
Smiling, smiling, smiling,
Robbyn
Friday, May 25, 2012
The Heat is on.....
Hello Blog family and friends,
It is heating up here in Texas but so far WE ARE ALL OK WITH THIS. Our new friends continue to warn us about the Texas heat coming this summer. I guess we'll see. Maybe us North Dakotans are tougher than they think!
This weekend both Jack and Molly play baseball and softball so we will be busy with that. We had three of the kids' friends sleep over last night. What fun to have a house full of Texas kids! We are spending lots of time at the pool. Ellie is learning to swim on her own...and Drew has an attitude about wearing the life jacket. I guess the other kids won't think it's cool. Now the baby of the family has to be cool too? SO MUCH PRESSURE!!!!
God continues to be faithful in all we could ask or imagine. We continue to learn that although we have grown and matured in many things, we still have so far to go. He continues to show up in situations that cause us to stand in awe of HIM. But, will we ever really learn to depend only on Him and not on ourselves? I hope so. If we know he is faithful, and he has proven himself to be faithful...OVER AND OVER AND OVER...why do we continue to fear? My prayer is that our faith will grow stronger and stronger and that the fear in us will get smaller and no longer keep us from believing in the power of our God. Pray this for us....for discipline to hear his word, and to put it into practice.
Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and IN HIS WORD, I put my hope."
We wait for the Lord and thank you for your prayers as we wait. We wait with great anticipation that the Lord will continue to lead and guide us toward our work in Brazil and in simple obedience every day as we serve him in each and every moment he has given us.
In great love and EVER-INCREASING faith,
Robbyn
It is heating up here in Texas but so far WE ARE ALL OK WITH THIS. Our new friends continue to warn us about the Texas heat coming this summer. I guess we'll see. Maybe us North Dakotans are tougher than they think!
This weekend both Jack and Molly play baseball and softball so we will be busy with that. We had three of the kids' friends sleep over last night. What fun to have a house full of Texas kids! We are spending lots of time at the pool. Ellie is learning to swim on her own...and Drew has an attitude about wearing the life jacket. I guess the other kids won't think it's cool. Now the baby of the family has to be cool too? SO MUCH PRESSURE!!!!
God continues to be faithful in all we could ask or imagine. We continue to learn that although we have grown and matured in many things, we still have so far to go. He continues to show up in situations that cause us to stand in awe of HIM. But, will we ever really learn to depend only on Him and not on ourselves? I hope so. If we know he is faithful, and he has proven himself to be faithful...OVER AND OVER AND OVER...why do we continue to fear? My prayer is that our faith will grow stronger and stronger and that the fear in us will get smaller and no longer keep us from believing in the power of our God. Pray this for us....for discipline to hear his word, and to put it into practice.
Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and IN HIS WORD, I put my hope."
We wait for the Lord and thank you for your prayers as we wait. We wait with great anticipation that the Lord will continue to lead and guide us toward our work in Brazil and in simple obedience every day as we serve him in each and every moment he has given us.
In great love and EVER-INCREASING faith,
Robbyn
Sunday, May 13, 2012
The Snowcone Lady!
Hello friends and family....things are slowly but surely returning to whatever normal might be for us since returning from Brazil. We are enjoying a short visit from my Sister Lezlie and her daughter Raegan. Showing them all the sights and fun places in Frisco and just some catching up time. Celebrating Mother's Day together was a blessing.
We are continuing to settle in to life here and look ahead to wrapping up with homeschooling soon while Jack will be in school until June 1....poor guy! The kids continue to stay busy with baseball and softball and now will be playing even more with having been chosen for select teams with more tournaments and higher competition.
We are continuing to seek God's plan for our return to Brazil. We visited a school this week that is a part school/part homeschool Christian school that would encourage our time in Brazil and be very flexible with the long absence. We are praying about this and would appreciate your prayers for this specifically. Also, regarding employment for Brad, we continue to seek the right opportunity and trust that God will show us how this will look as well.
Shelby and Jack are getting more involved in the youth at church and are really feeling welcomed and part of the group. Brad and I are in an adult fellowship that is full of very dedicated Christian people who are passionate as well about getting the gospel out here and around the world. We are grateful to God for these new relationships.
We continue to feel somewhat lop-sided in our hearts as part of us is always in Brazil. But God provides our comfort in this and we know that your prayers uphold us each day.
The Snowcone Lady! What a treasure we have found here in Frisco....a tiny little building with a gravel parking lot and any flavor snowcone you can imagine for $1.50! A great little treat for our family and I think our goal is try every flavor combination. It's the simple things, right?
I will close with a precious comment from our little brother Drew today. Riding in the car, he said, "Dad, why did we move here?" Brad replied, "so we could be in Brazil more." Good, because maybe then the kids won't cry so much when we leave like they did last time."
2 Thess. 2:8 "We loved you so much, that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."
In pursuit of HIM,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
We are continuing to settle in to life here and look ahead to wrapping up with homeschooling soon while Jack will be in school until June 1....poor guy! The kids continue to stay busy with baseball and softball and now will be playing even more with having been chosen for select teams with more tournaments and higher competition.
We are continuing to seek God's plan for our return to Brazil. We visited a school this week that is a part school/part homeschool Christian school that would encourage our time in Brazil and be very flexible with the long absence. We are praying about this and would appreciate your prayers for this specifically. Also, regarding employment for Brad, we continue to seek the right opportunity and trust that God will show us how this will look as well.
Shelby and Jack are getting more involved in the youth at church and are really feeling welcomed and part of the group. Brad and I are in an adult fellowship that is full of very dedicated Christian people who are passionate as well about getting the gospel out here and around the world. We are grateful to God for these new relationships.
We continue to feel somewhat lop-sided in our hearts as part of us is always in Brazil. But God provides our comfort in this and we know that your prayers uphold us each day.
The Snowcone Lady! What a treasure we have found here in Frisco....a tiny little building with a gravel parking lot and any flavor snowcone you can imagine for $1.50! A great little treat for our family and I think our goal is try every flavor combination. It's the simple things, right?
I will close with a precious comment from our little brother Drew today. Riding in the car, he said, "Dad, why did we move here?" Brad replied, "so we could be in Brazil more." Good, because maybe then the kids won't cry so much when we leave like they did last time."
2 Thess. 2:8 "We loved you so much, that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us."
In pursuit of HIM,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Home Again
But Brazil is home too....it's hard to have one's heart residing in two places. Shelby and I returned home on Tuesday at about noon. The goodbyes in Brazil were difficult, as always. But knowing we will be returning soon with everybody made it a bit easier. Our time in Brazil was good and fruitful....even had an invitation to teach Sunday school to the adolescent girls which was such a blessing. Spent lots of time helping with the new baby and enjoyed all the kids so much. Brad and the kids had a good time with Grandpa and Grandma. They got to see lots of ballgames and had fun hanging out in our new home and town. So thankful they could come and help!
Our next step will be planning our family trip to Brazil. Brad is working on an Optometry license here in Texas and we are figuring out the school plan for the kids this fall. We definitely covet your prayers for all of this. We trust that God has all of the answers and will seek Him with great faith. Pray for us that we will have wisdom in each decision.
Blessings,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
Our next step will be planning our family trip to Brazil. Brad is working on an Optometry license here in Texas and we are figuring out the school plan for the kids this fall. We definitely covet your prayers for all of this. We trust that God has all of the answers and will seek Him with great faith. Pray for us that we will have wisdom in each decision.
Blessings,
Robbyn for the Hanstads
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