We had some big news last week and I am sorry that it has taken this long to get it posted. Several of you already know this, but for those who do not, last week, Blake had asked Jesus into his heart.
Over the last month or so, Blake had been asking a few questions here and there about heaven, God, Jesus, sin, etc. Jaime and I had been answering them the best that we could and talking to him about Jesus and heaven. We had been wondering if he really understood the reason for accepting Christ as his Saviour. One night last week, Blake told Jaime and I at dinner that he wanted to ask Jesus into his heart. Later that night, after Hallie went to bed and while I was putting Andrew and Daniel to bed, Jaime and Blake had a long talk about everything from sin, to God's love, to Jesus, to the cross, to family members in heaven, and what it means to be a Christian. When the twins finally went to sleep, we talked with Blake some more about accepting Christ. Then we prayed with Blake. He said his own prayer to ask Jesus into his heart and after hearing it, there was no doubt in either mine or Jaime's mind that Blake fully understood what he had done. It was obvious that God was at work. After we all prayed, we hugged and kissed him and told him how glad we were that he would spend eternity in heaven with us.
Both Jaime and I are so proud and extremely happy for Blake. He has told lots of people and is excited each time that he does. Already, he is sharing Christ with others by telling them his news. Congratulations Blake! We love you so much!
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Blake versus Chad
A few nights back, we were sitting around and Hallie began to make up a game. This all-around competition was going to take place between myself and Blake. For round one, it was a two question trivia face-off. Hallie asked me, "How many homeruns did Babe Ruth hit?" I answered correct with 714. She then asked Blake, "Do you like ice cream?" Blake answered correct with yes. For my second question, Hallie asked, "How many homeruns did Hank Aaron hit?" I answered correct again with 755. She the asked Blake his second question which was "Do you like me?" Blake said yes and was told that was the correct answer. Round one ended in a tie. Blake-1 / Chad-1
For round two, it was to be a catching contest. Blake and I were to throw a ball back and forth. Every time you caught it, you got a point. First person to ten wins. Blake started throwing the ball hard over my head and won this round. Blake-2 / Chad-1
For round three, Hallie informed us that we were to have a juggling contest. Since Blake cannot juggle more than one ball at a time, I easily won this one. Blake-2 / Chad-2
For the final contest, Hallie announced that it would be a reading contest and pulled the book to be read from Blake's school backpack. It was How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Being a bit cocky after my juggling win, I guess, I told Blake that he was going down. As if that wasn't enough, I say that I can read this book with my eyes closed. I open the book, close my eyes, and begin. I got out the first couple lines, said "The End" and closed the book. After hearing my trash talk, Blake was not going to take it lightly. He started talking smack back to me by saying that he could read the book without the book. He then recites 7-10 pages from the book, word for word. He started with "The Whos down in Whoville . . ." and went to the point in the story where the Grinch ties a horn to his dog's head. It was incredible and completely unexpected. When he stopped, I declared him the winner. Hallie wanted to keep playing, but there was no way that I was going to play any further. I couldn't stand for any other humiliation and took my beating and left. Blake won 3 to 2.
After that, I asked him how he had memorized all of that. He just said that it was his favorite book and that he reads it all of the time. I knew that it was his favorite book, but I had no idea that he had memorized. That was a good one. The next time Blake and I compete it will be a contest that I know I can win. Maybe something like which one of us is taller.
For round two, it was to be a catching contest. Blake and I were to throw a ball back and forth. Every time you caught it, you got a point. First person to ten wins. Blake started throwing the ball hard over my head and won this round. Blake-2 / Chad-1
For round three, Hallie informed us that we were to have a juggling contest. Since Blake cannot juggle more than one ball at a time, I easily won this one. Blake-2 / Chad-2
For the final contest, Hallie announced that it would be a reading contest and pulled the book to be read from Blake's school backpack. It was How the Grinch Stole Christmas. Being a bit cocky after my juggling win, I guess, I told Blake that he was going down. As if that wasn't enough, I say that I can read this book with my eyes closed. I open the book, close my eyes, and begin. I got out the first couple lines, said "The End" and closed the book. After hearing my trash talk, Blake was not going to take it lightly. He started talking smack back to me by saying that he could read the book without the book. He then recites 7-10 pages from the book, word for word. He started with "The Whos down in Whoville . . ." and went to the point in the story where the Grinch ties a horn to his dog's head. It was incredible and completely unexpected. When he stopped, I declared him the winner. Hallie wanted to keep playing, but there was no way that I was going to play any further. I couldn't stand for any other humiliation and took my beating and left. Blake won 3 to 2.
After that, I asked him how he had memorized all of that. He just said that it was his favorite book and that he reads it all of the time. I knew that it was his favorite book, but I had no idea that he had memorized. That was a good one. The next time Blake and I compete it will be a contest that I know I can win. Maybe something like which one of us is taller.
Thursday, March 6, 2008
Blake's autobiography
The other night we were sitting around the table and while making conversation, Jaime asked Blake about his day at school. He told us that his class was writing their autobiographies. With great interest, we asked Blake what he had written in his autobiography. He then started with the normal stuff. He said that he had written his name, his age, and his birthday. Upon further questioning, he said that he had written that he had a sister and two twin brothers. Next his story took a different turn.
Blake begin to tell us that he had written about the time that he fell asleep on the school bus and didn't get off at his stop. When that happened, Jaime called me in a panic because we had no idea where he was. Blake was found a couple of bus stops later and driven back home.
Next, he told us that he had written about a day at after-school care when his class went inside and he was left on the playground and got locked out of the building. He said that he had to wait a long time for someone to come back and let him in.
After that, he told us that he had written about a time at pool party with some of Jaime's sorority sisters when he stepped in a drain on the side of the swimming pool and his foot got stuck. He told of how much it hurt and of how his foot was scratched up for days.
With us thinking that there had to be a happy story somewhere, we asked again if there was anything else that he had written about. He said yes. He said that he had also written about another time when he got sick on the school bus and mommy had to come and get him. (He had actually had a seizure that day.) He said that he doesn't really remember it all, but does remember that the bus was stopped on the road and the firemen and paramedics had to come. He said he remembers mommy carrying him off of the bus.
Now, I know what you are thinking. With an autobiography like that, we should have named him Lemony Snicket instead of Blake Echols. After all, judging by his autobiography, his life does appear to be a series of unfortunate events.
Blake begin to tell us that he had written about the time that he fell asleep on the school bus and didn't get off at his stop. When that happened, Jaime called me in a panic because we had no idea where he was. Blake was found a couple of bus stops later and driven back home.
Next, he told us that he had written about a day at after-school care when his class went inside and he was left on the playground and got locked out of the building. He said that he had to wait a long time for someone to come back and let him in.
After that, he told us that he had written about a time at pool party with some of Jaime's sorority sisters when he stepped in a drain on the side of the swimming pool and his foot got stuck. He told of how much it hurt and of how his foot was scratched up for days.
With us thinking that there had to be a happy story somewhere, we asked again if there was anything else that he had written about. He said yes. He said that he had also written about another time when he got sick on the school bus and mommy had to come and get him. (He had actually had a seizure that day.) He said that he doesn't really remember it all, but does remember that the bus was stopped on the road and the firemen and paramedics had to come. He said he remembers mommy carrying him off of the bus.
Now, I know what you are thinking. With an autobiography like that, we should have named him Lemony Snicket instead of Blake Echols. After all, judging by his autobiography, his life does appear to be a series of unfortunate events.
Friday, February 8, 2008
Pinewood Derby
This past weekend, Blake participated, once again, in the Cub Scout Pinewood Derby. For those who are not familiar with what the pinewood derby is, I will tell you. Each cub scout builds a car out of a block of wood and then they all race them down a track to see which car is the fastest. The scout gets to design their car however they want.
Last year, Blake, of course had to design his like the General Lee. (Was there any other choice?) This year, he changed his mind about designing Sheriff Roscoe's police car and deciding on having his car look like a Nintendo Wii controller. After we were finished, it looked great, if I must say so myself and I must.
When it came time to run the race, the Wii car got a lot of attention from the other scouts, who thought it looked cool. Blake didn't have the fastest car in the cub scout pack, but did manage to win one of his heats. He was really excited.
The car has been retired to his "box of special things" as he puts it, but may still manage to make it out every now and then to roll across the floor. Who knows, eventually it may end up doubling as a dummy controller so that the twins don't throw the real ones across the room while trying to play the Wii.
Monday, February 4, 2008
Honduras
I know over the last few months, we have blogged rarely, at best, but I have found it hard to get motivated to write. I want to write all of this down about Honduras so I can share with you about my experience. I have had a hard time communicating my experience verbally, I don't know if I'll do any better by writing it, but bear with me. It will probably be a brain dump.
It is hard to describe my experience, I have tried to sum it up in one word and I can't think of one word that is awesome enough to describe what I heard, saw, felt, thought, etc. We got to Honduras on Saturday night and went straight to the boys who live at the shelter VBS program. Most of it was in Spanish, but it was so much fun to see the boys express what they had learned in VBS, they sang, quoted bible verses and had a whole lot of fun. That night I began to get to know the boys, they are so loveable, they all want attention and love, but are also very patient.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church, it was all in Spanish and it was great to hear all of the songs we sing in Church sung in Spanish, while we sang along in English, this was our first opportunity to meet the older boys who live on the Farm. The boys from 5 - 12 live in the Shelter in Tegucigapa and the boys over 12 live at the farm in a town called Monte Redondo. After church we went to lunch at the farm and then headed back to Tegucigapa to go to a soccer game between two national Honduran soccer teams. It was a chance of a lifetime for the boys and they had a great time. It was fun for me to see as well, I'm not so much into soccer, but to watch the boys was lots of fun.
We slept every night at the shelter where the little boys live, so we had lots more time with them and also had the 45 minute bus ride every morning to get to know them better. The language was a barrier some, but we had great translators who helped us communicate. Monday morning, we got up and headed to the farm, but on the way we got our first experience with the Food Ministry. We would stop the bus on the side of the road and bring food to families that Stan (the director) has visited before. Most of these people are squatters who live on the side of the road in what I will describe as shacks at best. They almost all have dirt floors, with whatever they can find to make walls and a roof. There is no running water, no bathrooms, just a one room shack where the entire family lives. Most of the familes consist of a mother with 5 or more kids living together, lots of times there are 3 or 4 generations living in one little house. As little as they had, they always invited us into their homes, we talked with them, we played with the kids and gave the kids candy. Usually the food we brought was rice, beans, canned milk, cereal, flour, corn meal, etc. They were all very kind people who were very grateful for a group of North Americans that come and bring them food, smiles and hugs. Here are a couple of pictures of some special families I met during the food ministry.
We did the food ministry Monday, Tuesday and Wendesday morning. Every afternoon, we went to the farm, ate lunch, and while the men worked building a fence, the women did arts and crafts and played with the boys. One afternoon we tie dyed t shirts, we did paper mache, made books, necklaces and yo yos. We also played lots and lots of games. We taught them Duck, Duck, Goose, which in Spanish is Bato, Bato, Gonzo. We played red light, green light and lots and lots of soccer.
That is also a great time to bond with the boys. On Monday, I saw a little boy named Moises walking with Stan (the director in Honduras). He was only 5 years old and the youngest boy in the shelter. I went up to them and asked if Moises would come sit in my lap, he agreed and the picture below is right when he sat down with me.
Here is a picture at all of the boys at the shelter.
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=dff883ba2d52715c97bb
It is hard to describe my experience, I have tried to sum it up in one word and I can't think of one word that is awesome enough to describe what I heard, saw, felt, thought, etc. We got to Honduras on Saturday night and went straight to the boys who live at the shelter VBS program. Most of it was in Spanish, but it was so much fun to see the boys express what they had learned in VBS, they sang, quoted bible verses and had a whole lot of fun. That night I began to get to know the boys, they are so loveable, they all want attention and love, but are also very patient.
Sunday morning we got up and went to church, it was all in Spanish and it was great to hear all of the songs we sing in Church sung in Spanish, while we sang along in English, this was our first opportunity to meet the older boys who live on the Farm. The boys from 5 - 12 live in the Shelter in Tegucigapa and the boys over 12 live at the farm in a town called Monte Redondo. After church we went to lunch at the farm and then headed back to Tegucigapa to go to a soccer game between two national Honduran soccer teams. It was a chance of a lifetime for the boys and they had a great time. It was fun for me to see as well, I'm not so much into soccer, but to watch the boys was lots of fun.
We slept every night at the shelter where the little boys live, so we had lots more time with them and also had the 45 minute bus ride every morning to get to know them better. The language was a barrier some, but we had great translators who helped us communicate. Monday morning, we got up and headed to the farm, but on the way we got our first experience with the Food Ministry. We would stop the bus on the side of the road and bring food to families that Stan (the director) has visited before. Most of these people are squatters who live on the side of the road in what I will describe as shacks at best. They almost all have dirt floors, with whatever they can find to make walls and a roof. There is no running water, no bathrooms, just a one room shack where the entire family lives. Most of the familes consist of a mother with 5 or more kids living together, lots of times there are 3 or 4 generations living in one little house. As little as they had, they always invited us into their homes, we talked with them, we played with the kids and gave the kids candy. Usually the food we brought was rice, beans, canned milk, cereal, flour, corn meal, etc. They were all very kind people who were very grateful for a group of North Americans that come and bring them food, smiles and hugs. Here are a couple of pictures of some special families I met during the food ministry.
We did the food ministry Monday, Tuesday and Wendesday morning. Every afternoon, we went to the farm, ate lunch, and while the men worked building a fence, the women did arts and crafts and played with the boys. One afternoon we tie dyed t shirts, we did paper mache, made books, necklaces and yo yos. We also played lots and lots of games. We taught them Duck, Duck, Goose, which in Spanish is Bato, Bato, Gonzo. We played red light, green light and lots and lots of soccer.
That is also a great time to bond with the boys. On Monday, I saw a little boy named Moises walking with Stan (the director in Honduras). He was only 5 years old and the youngest boy in the shelter. I went up to them and asked if Moises would come sit in my lap, he agreed and the picture below is right when he sat down with me.
After that, I wanted to be with him all the time. We walked together and held hands, we could not really communicate verbally because of our language barrier, but we communicated anyway. He would sit with me on the bus, during meals, and we played together for a lot of the trip. On Tuesday, we got a coke bottle, cut the top off, and threw rocks in it for about an hour and a half. We had the best time.
On Wendesday, we played all afternoon together. I helped him climb almost every tree on the farm, he would climb and pick every berry or nut off of the tree and threw them to me to hold. He then would jump from as high as could, looking very pretend scared, and crying "Jaime, Jaime, Jaime" until he jumped into my arms. We played for hours.
That night on the way to church, he fell asleep in my arms on the bus, and we sat very close during the whole church service. He did not fall asleep on the way back from church, but he laid in my lap and we talked about the stars "estraillas" the whole way home.
On Thursday, we left the kids at the orphange to do their chores, they hand wash their own clothes, hang them to dry, wash their own dishes and each have nightly chores to keep the orphange looking nice. The adults headed to Denali, a town about 2 hours away. Lots of the boys who live in the shelter and at the farm are from Denali and we were going there to see if we could get any more boys off of the streets and into the shelter. It was a beautiful day and as we sat in the park and sang songs in Spanish, several street kids came and we were able to talk to them. There were sisters and brothers and uncles of some of the boys in the shelter. We showed them pictures from our camera and they could see and hear they were doing well. We did not bring any boys back with us, but there are several Stan will go back and talk to at a different time and try to get them to come back with him.
On Friday, I had to say goodbye to all of the boys and come home. I was so ready to come home to my family, but I felt as if I was leaving some family behind as well. It was very hard to leave all the boys, but especially Moises. We had become the very best of friends, and my heart aches right now thinking of him. His mother gave him to the orphange to protect him and his brothers from an abusive father, so I know she was doing the very best she could from him. But, my heart breaks that he does not have a mother to put him to bed at night, to clean his hands and face after he eats, take care of all of his bumps and bruises. His story is so much better then the majority of the boys, they have seen and experienced much worse than him. But, the shelter is a wonderful place and they people who run it provide so much love and security for these boys that would never have it. Still, my heart aches that he will never have a normal home, with a mom and a dad and brothers and sisters. I did not know how I could love someone so much, after just knowing them a week, but I now know. I can't wait to see him again, and hopefully next year I will get to back and visit.
Here is a picture at all of the boys at the shelter.
There are so many more things I want to say, but I don't know how to put them in words. It was a wonderful, fantastic, emotional week for me. I saw God work in so many ways through everyone who went on the trip and everyone we met while we were there. Things are very clear in Honduras, I seem to muddy things up here in the United States. Every meal time another child says the prayer and they are such sweet sincere prayers. They always pray for each other, for the kids on the street, their moms, the leadership at the shelter and the people who are there to help them. They always share their food. These kids have fought their whole lives for every scrap of bread and yet if one of them is still hungry after their food is gone, they always share. They fight, like all boys, but for most of the time, they take very good care of each other.
Every morning and every night we would have devotion and share time and Stan always would get out his guitar and we would sing. The below link is some of the kids from the shelter singing with Stan. This is just one of the several songs that are on GodTube where you can see them sing. Click on the below link or search on FCM (Forgotten Children Ministries) on Godtube.com
http://www.godtube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=dff883ba2d52715c97bb
I have watched these many times since I have been home. I hope you enjoy it as much as I do. I probably will post again with more pictures and stories.
Wednesday, January 23, 2008
Snow Day!?!?!?
Yes, we live in Alabama and yes, we got some snow. It was just a little dusting, but it did coat the ground enough to have some fun. This was the first time that Hallie had seen snow in her life.
The night that it was supposed to start, I didn't sleep at all and was probably more excited than the kids. At about 4:00 on Saturday morning, I woke up and never really got back to sleep because I was waiting on little feet to come running in my room screaming, "Daddy, Daddy, there is snow on the ground". I probably could have looked out the window on my own, but I wanted to have the excitement of the kids telling me about it. About 6:30 that morning, I heard them coming down the stairs. They came into my room and announced, "Daddy, can we have some breakfast?" I thought, forget about breakfast, I need to know if there is snow on the ground. Well it turns out that there was no snow, but it did start later that morning.
As soon as we seen it, we bundled up like a bunch of eskimos and went running out to play in the yard because snow was falling from the sky. We caught some flakes on our tongue and found a little patch of ice to play with and then went back inside. Later, once the snow had accumulated a little, we went out for some real snow fun. We threw snowballs, Blake made a snow angel, we ate some snow, and we built a snowman. He was only about a foot tall, but it was still a snowman. After about an hour of playtime, we scooped some snow in a bowl and took it inside to do one of my favorite things to do when it snows and that was make snow ice cream. It probably wasn't like mother used to make, but it still hit the spot.
The snow was gone about half an hour after we went inside, but we did get to enjoy it for a while. Maybe sometime in the next five years, we will get some more.
Wednesday, January 16, 2008
Things they say
Hi everyone, it's Chad. We are all doing well despite our lack of posting stories. I thought I would take a moment, since I had the time, and share some of the goofy things that my kids say and ask.
The kids got the 2nd Disney Scene It game for Christmas. While I was at home with Blake one day, we were playing. To begin the game we selected the characters that would be our pawns to move around the board. He chose Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars and I chose Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Blake asked, "Dad, are you using her because you think she is hot?" I said no and that it was because I was Nemo the last time and I wanted to be someone different.
A week or so later, Jaime had made some cookies. It was late and Blake was on his way up to bed. He asked if he could have a cookie and Jaime said no. He then asked, "Why? Is it because they are poisoned?" As I laughed, Jaime told Blake that she has never ever put poison in her cookies.
A few nights later, Jaime and I were watching T.V. in the living room. We heard a loud "Bang!" from upstairs. It sounded like someone was beating a metal shelf with an aluminum baseball bat. I went running upstairs and just as I got to the top, I looked towards Hallie's room just in time to see Daniel's feet jump up on Hallie's bed. As I entered the room, looking around for anything that was out of place or broken, I noticed that all four kids were sitting on the bed. I asked what the noise was. Blake said, "I don't know" and Andrew repeated him. Then Hallie said, "It was nothing" and Daniel repeated her. I asked if they heard the loud noises and Hallie asked, "Did it sound like a clatter?" (She had recently read the Night Before Christmas.) I said that it sounded like a very big clatter. Blake then said, "I don't know. Maybe it was a tornado." I said that it was not a tornado, it was 4 kids who were doing something that they should not have been and if it happens again, all of them will be in trouble. They said that they would let me know if they hear anything. With no evidence, I left the room and let them keep playing.
Who knows what they will say next?
The kids got the 2nd Disney Scene It game for Christmas. While I was at home with Blake one day, we were playing. To begin the game we selected the characters that would be our pawns to move around the board. He chose Lightning McQueen from the movie Cars and I chose Ariel, the Little Mermaid. Blake asked, "Dad, are you using her because you think she is hot?" I said no and that it was because I was Nemo the last time and I wanted to be someone different.
A week or so later, Jaime had made some cookies. It was late and Blake was on his way up to bed. He asked if he could have a cookie and Jaime said no. He then asked, "Why? Is it because they are poisoned?" As I laughed, Jaime told Blake that she has never ever put poison in her cookies.
A few nights later, Jaime and I were watching T.V. in the living room. We heard a loud "Bang!" from upstairs. It sounded like someone was beating a metal shelf with an aluminum baseball bat. I went running upstairs and just as I got to the top, I looked towards Hallie's room just in time to see Daniel's feet jump up on Hallie's bed. As I entered the room, looking around for anything that was out of place or broken, I noticed that all four kids were sitting on the bed. I asked what the noise was. Blake said, "I don't know" and Andrew repeated him. Then Hallie said, "It was nothing" and Daniel repeated her. I asked if they heard the loud noises and Hallie asked, "Did it sound like a clatter?" (She had recently read the Night Before Christmas.) I said that it sounded like a very big clatter. Blake then said, "I don't know. Maybe it was a tornado." I said that it was not a tornado, it was 4 kids who were doing something that they should not have been and if it happens again, all of them will be in trouble. They said that they would let me know if they hear anything. With no evidence, I left the room and let them keep playing.
Who knows what they will say next?
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