Small Blessings

I woke up this morning not knowing what to expect. I was very tired from being up during the night with Makayla. She was very sick and I spent most of the night praying over her and asking God to heal her. Specifically I asked God to break her fever. Miraculously, everyone slept in later this morning....we all needed it! Praise God, when Makayla woke up this morning, she still had a headache and was really weak, but her fever had broken sometime during the night. I know that God doesn't always answer in that way, but He did last night and I am so grateful for it. She still spent most of the day on the couch sleeping, but I was able to get her to eat a boiled egg, a clementine, and a small bowl of cereal. Little by little during the day, she has regained her strength and tonight she is smiling and laughing (the first time in 3 days!) Thank you all for bathing our family in prayer over the past few days. I know that it is only because of your prayers that I have been able to handle being sick and taking care of two sick kids away from home. I know that for some it may not have even been an issue, but it was definitely taxing for me. I think that we are actually on the upswing and on our way to feeling normal :)

I took the opportunity (since I was here with Makayla all day again) to do so me laundry. We didn't plan on having a washer and dryer at the condo. We were planning on having a service do the laundry but when we arrived, there was a washer and dryer here and we were told that we could use them when we needed. Well, after Makayla threw up all over her and Bella's bed at 3am last night and we had to strip the bed and all of her clothes, it was such a blessing to have access to a washer and dryer this morning to get everything cleaned up (including pillows :) I told Joel that this washer and dryer work better than the pair we have at home :) I was able to do three loads in just a few hours! It's the little things that made me smile today :) I am so grateful that God knew we'd need to be able to wash all of the sheets and I so glad that He took care of this seemingly insignificant provision for us!

Joel and the boys got our rental car today and it was so nice to be able to drive to the grocery store, instead of walk. The grocery stores here are not air conditioned and it gets very hot so it was another small blessing to be able to get into an air conditioned car after shopping. They also went to the property and started working on repairing some of the surf boards that are there for the kids to use and rent. Most of them are in pretty bad condition. Fixing them up will allow the kids to be able to use them again. This past year Joel has had the opportunity to work with a shaper in Wilmington and he has learned a lot about shaping and repairing boards. It is amazing to see how God uses all of the everyday details of our lives to be able to used for His glory. I know that it has been a vision of Joel's to be able to teach the kids to be able to repair their own boards, as it can be very expensive. He and JD even got some surfing in today...the first real session they've had since we've been here :)

Joel and I also went to our Bible studies tonight. I had a wonderful time getting to know some of the other Christ followers here in Jaco :) They are a bunch of wonderful women and God knew that I needed some "girl time" tonight. I was so blessed by their company. Joel enjoyed his time with the men too...of course I had much more to say about my night than he did :) I

am going to a baby shower tomorrow afternoon for one of the girls here who is having a baby in two months. I will take the girls with me if Makayla is feeling up to it :) They are excited to be getting out...they love all things baby...just like their mom :)

Well, that's what we did today....not very exciting, but every day this place becomes a bit more familiar and not so challenging. Even this little condo doesn't seem as confining as it did when we first arrived. We are looking forward to being able to get out a bit more this week and see more of this place.

Here are some pictures of the boys and Joel working on the surf boards at the property. The other guys in the pictures are Paul & Brad. They are visiting from the States and are staying on the property for a few weeks.

A Dios sea la gloria!

Kelley (& Joel :)