Sheer Madness!

I (Michelle) continually find myself praying for time to slow down! It's sheer madness over here at the Cains! What have we been up to, you ask? Well, thanks for asking and here's a run down:

1. Breakfast, lunch and dinner meetings! We have been super blessed by meeting with people, hearing what is going on in their lives, and sharing our vision! Our favorite part is learning how we can pray for everyone we meet with! Have a prayer request? Please email us! We are loving our time in prayer for you!

2. Writing thank you notes! We are excited about how the Lord is graciously providing our monthly as well as our one time support! We are anxious to see His work through us in Honduras unfold!

3. Taking care of two small boys! Asher is 6 months old today so he is changing and growing very quickly. His favorites are trying new foods, rolling over, and "talking" to his brother and anyone who will listen all day long. He also loves to give Mom big wet open mouth kisses on the cheek. Jacob is your typical 3 year old. He is curious about spelling and reading. He spends his mornings at the fridge utilizing the alphabet magnets and asking me, "Mom, how do you spell ___________?" His imagination leads him to fight many giants, flee from monsters, hunt crocodiles and monkeys, and fly multiple times a day to Honduras!

4. Eating well and working out! We recently refined our eating yet again and are feeling full of energy and ready to face each full day!

5. Michelle recently received her first solid "yes" to cloth diaper contributions towards Puerta de Esperanza ! The owner of the diaper shop was sooooo excited to donate continually and wants to be involved for years to come!

6. And of course, the purging of stuff continues. A bag here. A bag there. Slowly but surely. It's not really our focus yet but pairing down has been a relief and a blessing when we get to share with others!

So there you have it: Cains in a nutshell! What's going on in your nutshell?

Kids Conference

This past weekend, our church held it's annual missions conference. Adam and I (Michelle) had been asked if we would do a mini-conference for the kids while their parents were in seminars. We said yes and set to work to try and make it fun, interesting, and educational for the kids.

The first morning, we made passports, complete with digital pictures and "traveled" to 10 different countries. We started close to home and "flew" to Mexico, Honduras, Ecuador, and Columbia. We learned about the kids in those cultures, made some yarn art, and played pogs. (Our missionaries to Ecuador said pogs are a BIG THING with the kids there so we dug out Adam's pogs from middle school and they were a huge hit with the 8 year olds of America too!) They got 4 stamps in their passports for each of the countries we went to. We then said goodbye to Latin America.

Next, we went to Africa and Asia complete with visits to Morocco, Uganda, Thailand and Japan. We read letters from missionaries in those countries telling us about the children they encounter every day. We tried delicious snacks from these various countries and did some ancient rubbings . . . on some tilapia. The Japanese apparently don't take kindly to "fish stories" so they used to do rubbings after it was caught to prove how big it really was. The kids thought this was great. Surprisingly, the girls were more interested in the fish and painting it than the boys were. 4 more stamps for their passports.

Finally, we were off to Papua New Guinea and New Zealand. We learned about the kids there but our visits were cut short. So much to do, so little time. 2 more stamps. All in all, we made it to 5 different continents (errr, 5 decorated rooms) and learned a lot about our friends across the seas! The kids had a good time and parents said that their kids played with their passports all afternoon. We are just hoping some of them will get actual passports and come visit us in Honduras some day!

La Fe

Remember how we had shared how our friends, the Troxells, were missionaries in Honduras. They started their ministry in a super poor neighborhood called La Fe this past week. The "houses" are piecemeal-ed together with trash and scraps and there are limited to no latrines. They hosted their very first medical clinic and are assessing the needs of the community to serve the people the best they can. They clearly are lavishing God's grace and mercy on these Hondurans and we would ask you to join us in prayer for their ministry! We are SOOO excited for them.

Look What We Got!

We are sooo sooooo excited to have these in our possession! We are official now!

the front

the back

A prayer card for everyone!

(aka: what you are about to receive in the mail)

Book Review: Kisses from Katie

"This is the place where I am supposed to follow Jesus, obey Him, and make my best effort, with His gracious help, to treat people with dignity and care for them unconditionally. To say yes to each and every thing He asks of me, to each person He places in front of me." -Katie Davis

Let me start by saying, EVERYONE SHOULD READ THIS BOOK! I recently read Kisses from Katie in about 3 days flat.  Yes, with two children around.  I played my own version of Russian Roulette staying up way too late with my nose in this book, praying that the little one would sleep until morning.  I was totally engrossed in this book.

Katie Davis, a now 22 year old, from Nashville, Tennessee has a strong desire to follow the Lord.  Her desire to be obedient to His plan for her leads her to Uganda, where she loves on, feeds, and ministers to nearly everyone she meets.  She leaves behind a glamorous, comfortable life to do what she knows is right.  She leaves behind her parents' expectations for her life, her convertible, her boyfriend.  She plans on being in Uganda for a year and then returning to the States to honor her parents' desire for her to go to college (which she reluctantly does) .  Her year long hiatus from the United States helps her determine that the Lord is calling her to Uganda long term.  She has adopted 14 children and continually fosters children until they can be placed with someone to care for them.

Although I find the details to be overwhelming and somewhat extravagant in some cases, it is her heart that charms me.  Her heart to view every situation with the same lens of our Maker.  To see people and situations as the Lord sees them.  To be obedient when she doesn't think it's possible or practical.  To be obedient when she doesn't want to.  To be filled with the Spirit every day, every hour, every minute.  To not be complacent or comfortable but to be stretched beyond our imagination in living a life that serves the Lord.  That's what I want.  To be at the center of God's will for our life.  Want to be stretched, inspired, and encouraged?  Read this book!

Out of the Mouth of Babes

If you are my friend on Facebook, you have probably seen some of the funnier things my three year old says. He makes me laugh all day. It's because he talks ALLLLLL DAY! It may be partially my fault, seeing that I have a speech pathology background. This translates into monitoring when he was producing plosives, glides, and now sibilants alongside of single words, two word phrases, multi-word phrases, sentences, sentences with conjunctions and so on.

Needless to say, we have been having child-like discussions about moving to Honduras. He does say some funny things. He recently asked if he could have a camel when we move to Honduras. He also talks to Asher about being "missionary kids" and how they will "love on people and share with them about Jesus being their friend." My favorite conversation was recently when he asked me if he could see a picture of "Honduran kids."

This is what I showed him:

Jacob's response: "OH MOM! They look JUST like me! They look like kids!"

While I don't know what he was anticipating, his response blessed my heart. As a mom who worries about her children's culture shock and how these blonde haired, blue eyed children will be received by other children, I exhaled a sigh of relief. I prayed that we would all see each other as the Lord sees us. Because I am certain He looks at the heart while man looks at the outward appearance. (1 Samuel 16:7)

Throwback Thursday: Michelle's favorite song

My sweet friend, Ashley and her brother, Chris introduced me to Brooke Fraser about 5 years ago. Ashley told me I had to listen to this song, Albertine and I immediately fell in love. It was on the heels of our trip to Uganda and it summed up how I was feeling, "Now that I have seen, I am responsible. Faith without deeds is dead." I thought I would share it with you (because it's stuck in my head for the day now! And who can resist belting out a song with a beautiful alto voice?). Click the song title to see the video.
Albertine
I am sitting still, I think of AngeliqueHer mothers voice over meAnd the bullets in the wall where it fell silentAnd on a thousandth hill, I think of AlbertineThere in her eyes what I don’t see with my ownRwanda
Now that I have seen, I am responsibleFaith without deeds is deadNow that I have held you in my own armsI cannot let go till you are
And I am on a plane across a distant seaBut I carry you in meAnd then the dust on, the dust on, the dust onThe dust on, the dust on my feetRwanda
Now that I have seen, I am responsibleFaith without deeds is deadNow that I have held you in my own armsI cannot let go till you are
I will tell the world, I will tell them where I've beenI will keep my word, I will tell them, AlbertineRwanda
Now that I have seen, I am responsibleFaith without deeds is deadNow that I have held you in my own armsI cannot let go till you are
And I am on a stage, a thousand eyes on meI will tell them, AlbertineI will tell them, Albertine