This morning as I watched Isabelle walk over to me after waking up, she looked as if she'd grown inches just overnight! (It probably helped that she was wearing Audrey's pj's that were way too small for her. Yes, they have begun wearing each other's clothes already!)Anyway, here is how our conversation went:
Mommy: "Isabelle, you look so big today! Did you grow last night?"
Iz: "Well, yes, a little bit. God makes us grow a little bit every day, ya know?"
Mommy: "Well, I guess you are right. It just looks like you grew ALOT last night!"
Iz: "Ging-ging always tells me she hopes I stop growing, but I tell her I can't. God just keeps me growing!"
Mommy: "Well, sometimes I really want you to stop growing, too, because I just love you so much the way you are now...But I also can't wait to see how God grows you up, either."
Last night as I was putting Audrey to bed we had the following converstaion:
Audrey: "Momma, know what?"
Me: "What, baby?"
A: "Last night after you had shut all the lights off and you and Daddy and Sissy and Bubby were all in bed, it was dark in the livin' room. I opened my door and looked out and saw Alex sittin' on the couch. He didn't look at me. He wasn't watching tv or playin on his computer. He was just looking at something...I don't know what."
Me: "Oh, really?"
A: "For real, Momma! I saw him. He didn't look at me!"
Me: "Was he sleeping?"
A: "No, he was just sitting there. Looking at something. I went back in my room and closed the door and when I opened it again, he was gone."
Me: "Oh! Where did he go?"
A: "He just left the house! I don't know where he went. He just gone! For real Mommy! He was here!"
I guess she's missing Alex!
Yesterday, Ethan and I finished reading the biography of Nate Saint. We had been reading it as part of our curriculum study on South America. The curriculum includees several biographies of missionaries throughout the year. As of late, the story of Nate Saint and his life have been a regular topic in our household. We were into the last chapters of the book.
For those of you who do not know the story, Nate Saint was a missionary serving in Ecuador, who along with a group of four other men serving in the same area, was brutally killed at the hands of the very people who they were trying to take the message of the gospel to. Later, members of his family and even a wife of another of the men that were killed, went back to these very people, and shared Christ with them. Now the village and others around it are for the first time learning about Jesus and has been changed for the glory of Christ.
During these last chapters, the account of the men's death is told in a very respectable way. Ethan and I had already talked about what had happened to Nate Saint and the men. Matt and I also watched the movie, The End of the Spear, which portrays the story, with him together a few weeks ago.
Despite knowing the story, reading through the events of what happened were very difficult for him and admittedly for me, too. He began softly crying, but asked me to continue reading. He got pretty choked up as the author describes Steve Saint's, who is Nate Saint's young son, thoughts about not being able to share a specific moment with his dad. Also, when his young daughter realized it was her birthday the day she found out her daddy was never coming home again.
We made it through the book and later began discussing it at lunch with Lucia, who was with us yesterday. We enjoyed a wonderful discussion with her as she lovingly talked with Ethan about the sadness of the story, but what purpose God had in allowing it.
Later at dinner, Ethan said that he was pretty sure God wouldn't call him to the jungle of Ecuador because Nate Saint had died and now the Waodoni knew about Jesus. I said he was right about the Waodoni, however there were many areas in the world where people still live just like the Waodoni's and no one has ever went to share Jesus with them.
He said, "Well, God did call us to Tejarcillos and people get killed there, too. I guess it doesn't matter where God calls us, we just go and share Jesus no matter what!"
Thank you, Father, for my three beautiful children!
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