update 3...

I received an e-mail from Brandon on Tuesday morning stating that they were getting a lot accomplished.They were going to be putting in the electrical, plumbing and cabinets. In all his "free time" he was building a treasure chest for little boy with cerebral palsey. Last time he was there he struck up a really neat friendship with Samuel. He truly has a heart for those people and their country. They still have not heard anything about the airstrip and are waiting word to see if it will be long enough for them to work with. The government is being pretty picky about the length but they will not be flying jets in and out just bush planes. Pray the government will approve the length.
His father is feeling better. Seems to have been a bout of upset stomach.
Well, we have two weeks down and one more to go. I am glad. We are ready for Daddy to be home. Three weeks is a very long time. We really miss him but are excited about what he is getting to do there. Every night we have been tearing our chains off to see how many more days we have till daddy comes home... finally only 7. Aleeza woke up this morning and I said guess who comes home in one week, she sat up and just yelled, "daddy". The girls have been really good the past two weeks. They both have runny noses but are hanging in there.
Again, I can't say enough how much of a blessing it is to have Marrissa and Kendrea (Brandon's cousins) staying with me. I could not have survived these three weeks without them... highly doubtly that any of us could do anything against a robber is someone broke in...:) but just knowing they are here at night helps me sleep. The Lord is gracious and good. He most importantly has calmed my nerves and helped me to sleep at night. As many of you know I have no problem going to bed early and the girls can contest to that... Come 8 o'clock I am in neverland... So wearing myself out throughout the day really helps me to sleep well. I am thankful to my dear aunt Colleen for letting them stay with me also. It has been such a great help...:) I don't think the girls know how much it means to me to have them here.
Over and over the past few weeks the Lord has just continued to provide our needs. It is amazing!
Well, that is the update for now. I am hoping for one more e-mail before he heads out but we shall see. It is very hard for them to communicate with us from over there. He will be leaving the bush on April 1 which is Monday for us, March 31. They will have about a 3 day trip ahead of them to get home. Please pray for their safety, to connect to all their flights on time and to stay healthy!

update number 2

Well, we made it through our first week and that was only by the grace of God. This past week was so overwhelming for me. I wasn't overwhelmed at what needed to be done but at how the Lord worked every little detail out of everything. The Lord was so good to us and I am truly excited at how he is going to work things out for the next two weeks.

I heard from Brandon this past Thursday morning and that was the last time. It was a very short e-mail but I have read it and reread it over and over again and I cherish it like it is a piece of gold. It was all I needed to let me know that he was safe where he needed to be and working hard. We are hoping for another one soon, but communicating back and forth from over there is very difficult.

I hope everyone had a good Easter. We were able to spend Easter lunch with our good friends the Stines. They were so kind to invite the girls and I over and along with my paretns and the Evans. We had a wonderful time. The girls enjoyed exploring all over the house. Here is Livvy with her Uncle Claude.. yes this is all the pictures I have of the girls on Easter.. sad yes.. daddy has the camera and Nana was going to take some but we have to do it next Sunday.. :)

An update...

The men are officially in PNG... right now they are 14 hours ahead of us so if you think about it pray for them. Brandon was able to call me last night and we spoke for about 10 minutes. I have been keeping a journal everyday of things that happen around the house, the girls, the buisness and mostly of my special "jewels" that happen while he is gone. That was jewel 14 for me last night. The Lord has been so good to us so far and has granted me a peace that is very special and unique to me right now. I can't explain the way the Lord has just calmed me and worked in my heart. I am very thankful for that.

Melanie who lives in Singapore with her husband Ping was able to send me some pictures of the men. The men were able to stay in their church over night and go sight seeing the next day around Singapore. Thanks again for this!!! Brandon has the camera as you can see it is laying between his feet, (side note...hopefully he didn't lose the camera like he did his cell phone in Hong Kong somewhere, we can only smile and laugh...) but it is amazing how we can use the technology we have now days to our advantage... so this might be the only picture I get of them while they are gone but here they are.. Matt Walker, Brandon and Gary Abbott ( Brandon's dad).

Please do remember Brandon's dad, seems he is might be sick from the short phone call I had with Brandon.

Brandon is off...

well, today was the big day. Brandon left of Papua New Guinea for three full weeks. He will be returning on April 5. Yes I am without a camera now, so you will see no pictures for three weeks. I will post some of his trip when he returns. We are very excited about this opportunity the Lord has given him to go. His amazing skill and knowledge of building houses should come in handy over there while they are trying to get the Crain house up and running for them. He left with another man this morning who is the brother in law of the man they are going to build the house for and met his father in Chicago. He was able to call me right before they boarded their flight to Singapore. It was a hard day for me, but the girls and I stayed busy. That is the best thing for me right now. Tonight during our devotions Aleeza asked prayer for her grandpa, daddy and the other kids daddy( as she calls him ) that went to PNG. Her heart is so tender. My main goal is not to cry in front of them while he is gone. I teared up ( ok did more than tear up) tonight while we were praying and she stuck her little hand up on my face and wiped the tear away and said, " mommy it will be ok, don't be sad. " I told her they were tears of joy and that I am happy, just missing daddy. She is already asking for him which will be hard to keep explaining to her for the next three weeks that he will be home soon. This is clearly why the Lord did not allow my desire all my life to marry a military man to come to light. Brandon was one day shy of joing the Marines but I dont' know that I could handle that. I am thankful that he is around most of the time. Please keep us in your prayers!