Healing.

Jen had experienced pain and hearing loss in both ears, but especially her right ear, since her ear drums ruptured at the age of nine. She had several sets of tubes throughout her life, but nothing really fixed the problem- she's now 21.

On her plane ride to the island to join our DTS in early January, her right ear worsened and she and her husband ended up at the ER after landing. After a couple weeks in and out of doctor offices and emergency rooms, she had surgery here in Kona. Still in much pain, and not given any drugs, her hearing was muffled and she'd missed most of the lectures and prayer room times with our class. In fact, we were all wondering where they had been- because when we did see her she never complained, and was very quiet. Finally, after hearing of the terrible constant pain she was in, our class came around her and prayed with all the faith we could muster, and God came through! We simply prayed over her, "Be healed, in Jesus' name." Aside from the birth of my children, this was the first miracle I've ever seen. She was healed. Right before my eyes. Her face lit up and she shouted in utter shock! The pain was gone in an instant, and she was able to stand right by the speakers and sing without any pain! It was the first time she could hear clearly in many many years, and all of her pain was completely gone. She was undone- we all were!

My prior reaction to hearing stories like this one, were that there must have been some other reason for the healing, like a coincidence. But, as I write this I am convinced in my gut because I saw with my own two eyes: God healed this woman. Years and years of pain, vanished in an instant. And not to return! It's now been several weeks, and she's still absolutely pain-free.

Our faith the size of a mustard seed was all the Lord required to come and show His love for my new friend. Amen.

Happy Valentine's Day~

Raegan woke up to a bag full of treats Monday morning- "Mommy, who is this present for?" You should have seen her face when she found out it was for her. Every little thing she pulled out was a treasure in her eyes, "Thank you! Thank you. Thank you!" It was a level of thankfulness I haven't yet seen in her. Maybe this simple life isn't such a bad thing after all.

We all wore pink to celebrate the day:

We had a special dinner date to McDonald's! And Raegan fed Anabelle her first tastes of ice cream cone...

(she liked it.)

Later that evening we went to a special event on campus. As you may know, we had to say goodbye to Hannah as she headed home to finish her degree, but the good news there is that we got to meet this wonderful young lady- Rachel! The Hawaiin dancer on the right is the girls' new nanny. She's got a tender heart and a sweet smile on her face! They've warmed right up to her, and we are so blessed by her energy and love.

On another note:

Unfortunately, Raegan woke up Tuesday morning with the stomach flu, and has spent the entire week in bed. Literally. "Lethargic" is a word I've never had the chance to use in describing my lovely lioness. But this week, it's at the top of the list. She's watched so many movies- thank God for the library on campus. We may have checked out every Veggie Tales movie they own! We are currently praying for her appetite to return so she can fuel that little body with some good energy. The throwing up has ceased, and the color is returning to her face, but she's just exhausted and feels crummy. I've been enjoying lots of snuggle time and reading books together. (Also praying that I don't get it!) Anabelle has been spending most of her waking hours with Rachel and Jordan outside of the room, and so far she has managed to stay healthy as well. Lot's of laundry, lots of cleaning, lots of loving.

Can you say Clorox Disinfectant Wipes?

Happy Birthday!

Happy 80th Birthday to my Grandma Grace!

We think it's pretty amazing that our girls have a relationship with their GREAT Grandparents.

We love you, and are thinking of you today!

6 years!

February 5th we celebrated being married for SIX YEARS! Jordan planned a night away at a nearby hotel, and our dearest Hannah spent the night at our "house" with the kiddos! Yes, you heard me right- A NIGHT AWAY! It was glorious. The next morning our friends brought the girls over and we enjoyed the sunshine poolside all day long. Raegan is a little fish! And Anabelle really enjoys the water too. It was a perfect celebration of six years together.

As usual, I was behind the camera in all of these shots. I promise, I was there. Just picture me with a pink nose and a big smile :)

January in photos!

I can't even begin to write about all the incredible things we're learning and the experiences we're having in our class and the prayer room here. Literally, I have no idea where to start. If I had to bare it down to one sentence, I would say this: Simply, God loves me. Deep down in my gut I know this, and that's where everything stems from. I realize this sounds extremely elementary, but what if we lived from this revelation daily? We are loved by God. We are able to love because He first loved us. The call to GO is born out of this perfect love. That's a poor attempt to brush the surface of our time here.

Aside from the classroom, we are totally living it up here in Kona! Here's a months worth of photos to prove it...

Big Waves!

There were super duper high waves in January. We stayed out of the water for the most part, but really enjoyed watching them crash on the rocks!

Arc Park!

Raegan loves the park outside our door- her feet (and often her face and the rest of her body) are filthy every night. I don't just mean dirty. I mean FILTHY! Caked on dirt. Black. Thank goodness for our "mini baths!" Below, Jordan was timing some of the neighbor kids while they ran as fast as they could across the grass at the park.

Cool Pool!

I love me a cute kid in a swimming suit!

We've been taking advantage of the small pool on base. The weather is still "mild," but there have been several unbearable days when I've come home after class and declared it a POOL DAY!

Joy in our home!

Happy sisters around the house...

Hawaii Tour Day!

One Saturday we found ourselves, along with every other DTS student on campus right now, riding on charter buses around the island. We saw the early churches on the island and learned some history. I'm not a huge fan of bus rides, but at the end of the day we ended up in a cooler area of the island with some massive avacado trees... and I am a fan of those!

Playing Dress Up!

... and wearing our princess dresses to "skate night" on campus.

The girls have come to love Tuesday nights, because the campus opens up the huge Ohana Court for local kids to come and skate! There is music, gatorade, kids juggling, loud music, and my girls love to dance with their new friends on the big stage.

Some of our fun Kona friends:

Dodgeball!

This was a base-wide competiton, and one of the most entertaining events I've seen in a while. Jordan played on the "Tacoma Team" and these guys were serious competition!

Sometimes I can't believe it's been over a month since we arrived, and sometimes it feels like we just got here. Either way, Jordan and I are in week 5 of our lecture phase and so enjoying sitting next to each other each morning soaking in everything we can!