Just a few more days

We only have a few days left...our time here has flown by! Today we have two sick little ones, Haynes has a stomach virus and Ella has an ear infection. Cathleen got Ella some antibiotic today and we are thankful to have something to blame a few crazy fits on:-) Haynes has a pretty high temperature, acts okay, but will complain about his stomach a lot:-( We are believing for complete restoration for our little family!

This morning I took Port on a breakfast date to Starbucks and then to our morning prayer meeting. Our prayer meeting was so fun today because we are so excited for all the amazing things God has already done here in Beirut but we are believing for even more over these next few days. We spent some time just celebrating and thanking God for all the amazing things He has done...Port LOVED it!

This afternoon we took the kids to play soccer on AUB's campus just to get some energy out of them. Port had a great time until we got kicked off the field, Haynes tried to play as much as he could until his tummy hurt too much. (that's a sign he doesn't feel great when he won't play soccer) We are taking some early naps because we are having a team dinner downtown tonight! Brian went to visit the neighborhoods around here during our naptime...can't wait to hear his stories.

Here are a few stories to report from the group that went to the Corneish...One group was praying for a little girl that was deaf. So many people started to gather that they had a crowd of people wanting them to preach after they finished praying...still believing for her ears to be open! Another group were ministering to some women. The women were so excited that they went and got the husband. He was so touched that he said he wanted them to come start reading the bible with his whole family (it was amazing that women were ministering to him and that the head of the household was being transformed!). Some girls went to a woman's home to follow up. They prayed for her to be healed and the woman told Melanie that she didn't need to translate the prayer she felt God heal her! We have made over 50 contacts for our long-term team to follow up with as they move to Lebanon.

Women's Beach and more...

Sunday we went to the Women's beach. We headed out pretty early because there are so many people that go, we wanted to be able to get chairs. We got to the beach about 9:00 am and it was already packed. The kids had a great time, but got tired pretty quickly. It was so crowded I really had to keep my eyes on the kids between the pools and ocean. Ella LOVED the dancing with all the girls. I had one sweet interaction with a few girls that adored Ella. They only spoke arabic and finally told Mary that she needed to just teach me arabic so we could talk with out a translator. We had gone back and forth about bringing Ella to Lebanon, but we have seen her open doors that no one could.

The kids are definitely getting a little tired from our busy pace we are keeping here. They have been amazing troupers! We have been getting to our room around 10-11pm each night and they seem to wake up with the sun around 5:45-6am. Yesterday naps lasted 3 hours and we had to wake everyone up!!! Haynes little legs are pretty worn out from walking so much, so he and Ella usually battle it out for the stroller. We are super thankful for Cathleen being our neighbor...Ella has a little fluid in her ear and we are believing it will be gone before our flight on Sunday! As rough as it might sound they are doing AWESOME!

One of my most favorite things on this trip has been our fun time with the LeBeau's. We live across the hall from each other so they have got to join us for the good, the bad, and the ugly. After bedtime we get to have hangout time where I haven't laughed that hard in a long time. We are trying to convince them to be our real neighbors in Norman:-) Another favorite is this morning I got to have a 2 hour breakfast with all the long-term "mommies." It was so fun talking babies, schedules, evangelism, marriage, etc. Oh man it was AWESOME!

Last night we went back to the Corniche and Brian met with some guys again. The kids played and handed out bubbles. I got to pray for a woman from Iraq that is here seeing a doctor because she is struggling having a baby. It was super sweet releasing testimony and praying over her, we can't wait to celebrate when she gets pregnant.

Cedars and Bekka Valley

Yesterday we rented a bus and all went to see the Cedars and Bekka Valley. We are so thankful we decided to bring Ella's car seat because I trip was great! We drove to the Cedars (a different area than we have been to before) and hiked/walked around for about 1.5 hours. Haynes has turned into quite the climber...part mountain goat would be a better description of him! The drive is quite intense because of little roads and lots of curves, thankfully Ella fell asleep on two of the three long rides. My mom sent little goodies for the kids to open each day and they have come in perfect each day-thanks mom! Next we went to a winery in the Bekka Valley and the kids LOVED all the open space. We took a few adventures through their grape fields, played frisbee, and played with baby Claire. It was a great day and change of pace!

I had a super sweet encounter at the winery. A couple stopped me and were loving on Ella. They asked where I was from and couldn't believe and American would come to the middle east for vacation. I explained that we were visiting friends and that we love Jesus. I told them that we had seen God do amazing things here in Lebanon and asked if there was anything I could pray for them about. The husband immediately grabbed the wife's hand and she got teary. She explained that they would love to have a baby, but have not had any luck. I was able to share testimony of my friends/family that have experienced this problem and how faithful God has been to them. Then I was able to share a piece of my story and how we lost the baby in January and that even this week God has revealed that our desire for more kids is His promise to us. So I was able to pray for them and just release God's peace over them as they wait.

Just an update on Brian's encounter from the other night: Brian and Jason are going to meet his family and hopefully read scripture together. They were able to share some parables and their testimonies with him the other night. Then the other guy Drew and some other guys talked with while Brian was busy. One of his friends got his shoulder healed and was break dancing to show off! They have a follow up meeting planned too. God is so good! We were discussing that we have over 7 pages of testimonies so far!

Oh yeah!?! We went into AUB the other night and let the kids walk around. We've been telling the kids that we are going to walk on campus here like we do at OU. We haven't encountered many cats (there are usually cats EVERYWHERE) until AUB! Ella LOVED them...gross! I think we offended people more than loved them that night. Ella kept wanting to touch them and we wouldn't let her. At one point she was waving, blowing kisses, and saying "love you kitty!" Then we finally got away from the cats and ran races on their track-the kids loved it!

FaMiLy DaY!

Today we took a family day! We started our morning with breakfast at Starbucks. Last night the guys all went to dinner together and found the new Starbucks had opened and claimed "It is the NICEST Starbucks they've EVER been to!" So we all had to check it out...and it was:-) We came back, got dressed to go swim, and Brian found us a pool we could pay to go swim in...since our hotel doesn't have a pool. We spent the afternoon at the pool, had lunch, and just enjoyed some sweet family time together. The funniest part is I haven't been giving the kids any fruit, because there's a pretty good chance you would get sick. My kids LOVE fruit! I felt pretty safe ordering some fruit from the hotel and you would have thought they had never eaten fruit before! They all had fruit juice dripping down their chins and eating it before I could cut it. Port said it was the best treat! (I guess we are pretty easy to please around here)

Last night we went back to the Corneish to meet people. Brian immediately encountered a guy and had a great conversation. They were meeting tonight to talk more about Jesus! We decided to try a family treasure hunt where we each came up with a clue and tried to find all clues in one person. Our clues were male, red shirt, and ball. We found a dad playing soccer with his kids while wearing a red shirt! We went and talked to him, asked if he wanted prayer, and he thought we were a little crazy and declined prayer. Then he invited us over for coffee, the kids played soccer, and they gave Ella food! The kids had the best time playing soccer. Haynes was an all-star playing with the big kids and then would go and hold hands with the sweetest little girl. It was a great night!

We were super tired from our fun family day so I brought the kids home and everyone is in bed before 10! Brian had two different guys to follow up with tonight, we are expectant for amazing things! We are loving Lebanon and our team is absolutely amazing!

*I haven't posted pictures because it won't let me...we are taking tons of pictures to add when we get home! Thanks for all the fun comments!

*I am not even touching on all the fun stories that are going on around here, but here's a really fun one. Mary encountered a woman at the park today. They got to pray with her and then the woman asked them over for lunch this week. Mary asked if she would be interested in eating, reading the bible, and praying together when they meet. They woman was so excited she said that she would have to bring her sisters and other family members along too! Isn't God so fun!?!

Update!

We have team meetings every morning to recap, share testimonies, worship and pray before we go out. The kids have enjoyed watching quiet time videos, coloring, journaling, painting, and worshipping with us...plus a few snacks:-) Yesterday Clint, leads an Antioch team in South Beirut, joined us for our meeting. It was super fun getting to see him again and pray over him!

Yesterday we went to a mall that had an amazing kids area. We paid $3 and the kids played in a playtube, climbing wall, slide area for an hour. Brian and I took turns "treasure hunting" the mall with friends.

Last night Brian and I got to go to dinner with the LeBeau's and Caldwell's while Ryan and Clint watched the kids for us. It was super fun getting to enjoy a nice meal together...I think someone said it was one of Blake's favorite restaurants?!?

We went downtown last night and were there until about 10:30pm, so today has been a little challenging for our tired kids. One fun story from last night...The night before I brought the kids home and Brian stayed out with some guys. They encountered 3 Kuwait National Soccer players that had just had surgery on their knees. Their doctor was the translator and would not let Brian and Drew pray for them. Brian and Drew were so excited to pray for them because the doctor was setting them up so well, we've already seen knees healed on this trip, and he was telling them there was no way God would heal them. A little later another group of guys tried to talk to them again (we've had multiple encounters that initially were denied but when a second group came around they were more peaceful)...but again denied! So last night I was taking the kids to get gelato (which we get every night...I'm sure you are surprised). I was asking them who God was telling them we should pray for tonight. Port said, "A guy in shorts and a blue shirt." I had to stop myself from saying, "Port, men don't ever wear shorts here!" Then I quickly thought well if we see it then we will know for sure...About 10:15 pm I look up and see a man in kaki shorts, blue shirt, and a walking stick passing by us! I show Port and he grabs Brian, Ryan, and Clint and they chase him down. Guess what...he was one of the soccer players from the night before!!! He said no again, but we were super encouraged that God really wants to do something with this guy. Hopefully we'll see him again tonight!

Team Testimonies:

sent a team to the hospitals and morgues yesterday (Ha!)

encountered drug addicts hungry for Jesus

prayed for tons of people

following up with lots of people today

Team Testimonies

We are 3 days into our adventure here in Beirut and here are a few testimonies from our group.

-We've seen shoulders and knees healed!

-We've seen a stroke victim regain feeling and experience the power of God.

-Encounters many peaceful people with follow-ups to come!

-Met a peaceful woman with a deaf daughter, super excited for us to pray for her! (Before we had been told that God was going to open ears on this trip!)

-Prayed for tons of people!

We are excited for what He has done and will continue to do!

Today we went to the beach (brian went to the public beach and we went to the women's beach). Let me just begin by saying that I have a new level of respect for these families living here. Every day life is just dramatically more difficult around here, man do I take advantage of my quick drive to JuJu's or Lolli's pool! We left about 11:30 for the beach and two cab rides later we were on the beach a little after 1! Thanks to super friends and great kids we made it:-) The kids LOVED the beach, the pools, the play ground in the pools, and all their new friends! Ella didn't leave until every person had kissed, squeezed, and/or taken pictures of her.

Day 2

Last night we all grabbed dinner and brought it up to our suite. We have an amazing view and plenty of room for everyone. Our team is so large that every day we break into smaller groups, so it's a little more manageable to go out into the city. We went to 'treasure hunt' the Kornesh(spelling is obviously wrong) with the Caldwell's and Tyler. After waiting on the Lord in our room we left with a few different clues. As we got to the bottom of our hotel, Drew stopped Brian and I and told us that Port had grabbed Tyler and said, "Let's go pray for people!" Then he went and found a group of men on the corner of our street. Tyler went with him and asked if they could pray for them. They went and got another man and then let Port pray for them. When they were done they were super impacted!

As we got to the Kornesh we started looking for clues. Haynes all day had been looking for a blue shirt. We see a man in blue shorts and shirt, so Haynes took Brian with him to pray for the man. Brian and Drew start talking to him (Haynes is irritated that the rest of us have continued walking) After a few minutes of somewhat awkward conversation Haynes walks straight up to the man and grabs his hand. Haynes immediantely starts praying for him starting with 'Jesus..." The atmosphere completely changed and the man was super soft towards them. The fun part is that before we left Brooke felt like the Lord said our kids would break down walls by just declaring the name Jesus!

Mary and I got to pray for a believer who felt lonely and needed encouragement. Best of all we ended the night with yummy gelato! This might have been why we didn't sleep much...Boys were much more entertained by the cars honking last night:-) Ella just wanted to be up all night, so we are believing for more sleep for tomorrow because our kids need it!