Waterboarding

1 Peter 1 has a lot to say, and is worth reading in it's entirety.  But there is a specific part that comes to mind tonight....verses 6-7:

In this you greatly rejoice, though now for a little while you may have had to suffer grief in all kinds of trials.  These have come so that your faith - of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by fire - may be proved genuine and may result in praise, glory and honor when Yeshua (Jesus), the Messiah is revealed. 

We just completed the celebration of Rosh Hashana, or Yom Teruah - the feast of trumpets.  It is exciting to think about all that will happen at the sound of the trumpets.  But in the meantime, we are here, and here is not always a fun place to be.

Al and I have a petty addiction - it's a show called "Heroes."  Since we were not home yesterday when it came on, we recorded it to watch tonight.  There is one particular part that stood out to me.  One character who has the power to create fire from their own hands was teaching another indestructible character a lesson about a form of torture called waterboarding.  Even though the character could not die by burning, the more she sweat and lost oxygen, the more she felt as though she were suffocating - similar to drowning - losing control and feeling trapped, panicked and helpless.

To be quite honest, Al and I have been through a little struggling lately with this and that.  We definitely feel as though we are being "refined by fire."  I always thought about going through "the fire" as an awesome test of what type of warriors we are.  But now, I see it is much more intense than that.  I can see how the trials we go through can bring us to the point of wanting to give up - they make us feel trapped, panicked and helpless.  It's like our oxygen is being taken away.  It is almost an opposite idea than that of the courageous warrior.

But scripture gives us a hope...there is a reason for this suffering.  And that reason is not necessarily to have our needs and wants provided miraculously (although, that many times is the case), but ultimately to glorify our LORD and Savior.  The more our trials seem to trap and control us, we remember the the end:

verses 8-9: 

Though you have not seen Him, you love Him; and even though you do not see Him now, you believe in Him and are filled with an inexpressible and glorious joy, for you are receiving the goal of your faith, the salvation of your souls.

This isn't the first time (nor, am I sure, will it be the last) that we will be bombarded with difficulties.  In fact, as I write these words, many of my dear friends are urgently dependent on prayer to heal a loved one, bring a baby into the world or save a dying marriage.  We are thankful to not be going through those kinds of "torture."  But ours is one that the LORD has allowed and we must endure for His Name's sake.

The prophets spoke of the grace to come through Yeshua (although it existed long before He became flesh), and the sufferings He would endure and the "glories that would follow."  The idea that "even the angels long to look into these things" is just refreshing to me.  That we should participate in suffering, to become more like Him and to experience glory - well, that is glory to me.

At this very moment, we do feel somewhat trapped and as if we are suffocating, but in the midst of it all, there is an overwhelming peace that assures our hearts that this moment is not in vain.  My hope is that we have learned or are learning our lesson(s).

We would appreciate your prayers - not that we would just "get what we want," but that the "peace that passes all understanding" would prevail and reign in our lives, our households and our communities of faith.  May we be indestructible in the midst of our refining.

verse 23:

For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of G-D.

Please pray for us...

As you know, we raise our own support to be able to do what we do as well as take care of our daily needs.  Our Heavenly Father has been so gracious to us since we returned from Brazil.  Although we had nothing we when returned, all of our needs have been met this past month, but once again, we are presenting our requests to Him for our daily needs.  Please help us lift up these requests to Him:

- to be able to pay our bills and buy food

- to be able to invest in Al's English learning and seminary

- for Rachel to be able to get more voice students

- to be able to raise funds for our next mission trip

thank you and may HE be forever praised!

OH YEAH!

Thank you to those of us who remembered us on our anniversary.  It was a very sweet, peaceful day and we thank the LORD for helping us complete our 6th year together!

Everything is big in Texas.  This is a SINGLE "tooth" of garlic out of a head of about 4!  I couldn't believe my eyes when I opened it.  (And my hand is pretty huge for a girl's hand.)  Our needs are great here, but our blessings seem to be the same size.  I guess this piece of garlic is really what I needed to see.  Sometimes we assume our need is not going to be met because logically, there is "no way."  But somehow, G-D creates a G-D-sized miracle to sustain us.  And even then, it is nothing compared to His hand.  We literally had no way to even buy groceries when we came back from our trip to Brazil, but we have been here now for 3 weeks and have not lacked one single thing.  Right when we got back, our AC went bye-bye (can you tell I've been spending too much time with a toddler?).  But even so, our heavenly Father has blessed north Texas with a VERY MILD September.  We have been able to open the windows, and sleep with fans.  We are thankful for our Father's provision.  Not to say that tomorrow is already taken care of, but we are learning to take it day by day and see how G-D is going to bless.  Tomorrow, I guess I'll peel back another piece of garlic and see what's inside.  :o)
I know the picture is dark, but here is Hava in her "big girl" bed.  (We just took one of the sides off the crib and put pillows on the floor.  She's been sleeping like this for a couple of weeks now and only fell out once (that we know of).  And even then, she didn't cry - she actually laughed.  :o)

The potty-training is at a halt now, since she has gotten un-excited about the whole thing.  So, in order not to burn her out on it, we are laying low for a while.  She has been very busy learning lots of new words.  Usually, it take one time of us saying it, and she'll repeat it.  No real phrases yet, but we'll get there.  She does seem a bit out of place when we go different place...I think she's still not sure where she is and what language is actually spoken here.

Today, she danced around the living room with me as we praised the LORD and sang:

"Bless the LORD, oh my soul

And all that is within me,

Bless His holy name.

Bless the LORD, oh my soul

Forget not all His goodness,

Bless His holy name...

...He crowns me with compassion,

He fills me with his love,

He blesses me with good things

From His storehouse up above!"

Derived from Psalm 103

PTL - Our nephew and his fiancee were not hurt when the car was stolen at gunpoint.  The police were able to retrieve the car in a city about 30 miles away.  It is quite damaged and all of the documents and paperwork (it's a brazilian thing) are gone, which means there will be a lot of work to be done in order for the car to be legalized and in good condition again.  But, thankfully, the car is still driveable and no lives were lost.

C0ntinue to pray with us for our family - as we know, the LORD allows things to happen so that He might be glorified and people might come to the knowledge and acceptance of the Salvation He offers.  When all of this happened tonight, our family called us asking US to pray for them.  It was a "once-in-a-blue-moon" opportunity and we THANK THE LORD for it!

Please pray for our nephew and all of Al's family.  His nephew's car was stolen at gunpoint today while he and his fiancée were in it.  The entire family is quite upset.  We have already prayed over the internet/phone with some of them.  If and when we receive more information, we will post it here. 

Our presentation has been rescheduled because of this weekend's weather.  We'll keep you posted to when it is.

Tomorrow (Saturday) at about 2:30, we will be making a presentation about our trip to Brazil this summer.  If you can, come join us at Eitz Chaim Congregation - 650 West Campbell - Richardson, TX (just east of UTD on Campbell).  If you are unable to join us, please pray for us at that time.  Thanks!!!

This might be a little too much information, but we are kinda excited:

Hava used the potty on her first day of potty training!!!

Big Girl

So, after finding out about Hava's buddy Josef (who is a month older than she) is sleeping in a big boy bed, we decided to take off one of the railings of Hava's crib/bed starting yesterday.  She took to it SPENDIDLY!  This is the second night she is sleeping soundly in her bed.  We took it off during the day yesterday to give her time to play getting in and out of it on her own and just getting used to it.  She was SO EXCITED when we took off the side.  

Last night, we put her down as normal and turned the monitor on.  All was well and quiet, until we heard the monitor go fuzzy (which usually means it was turned off on the other end).  So, I went into her room, and Hava had:

-played with her dirty clothes in the dirty clothes hamper

-played with some toys from the toy box

-played with a book on her dresser

and I found her in the floor playing with the monitor.  It was pretty funny.  So, she went back to bed, cried a bit and then quickly went to sleep.  The past few times she has woken up there, she has not gotten out of the bed, but just waits for us to come get her as usual.  We have pillows on the floor in case she falls out, but we're praying it won't happen.  She has also started wanting to sleep with a pillow and blanket, and although she usually moves around a lot, she now seems to stay in place with her head on the pillow and blanket nearby.  I have a picture of her first night, but haven't been able to upload it yet.  As soon as I get it, you can take a look at our BIG GIRL!

Can't really give details, but pray this week for a friend coming by.  This will most definitely be a spiritual encounter, so pray as the LORD opens hearts and minds.

Sleep is such a wonderful thing!

So, good news, Hava has slept soundly the past 2 nights in a row - 13 hours each night!!! Which means we too have been able to get some much needed rest.  Al is still a little sick, so please pray for his quick recovery since this has gone on for well over a week now.

Some of Hava's various sleeping environments over the past 3 monthsin the car...
in a hammock with someone else...
in a different hammock...
yet another hammock during the day (notice her sweaty head)...
under a mosquito net...
in someone else's bed...yes, more mosquito bites...
on the bus...
another hammock...
on the boat...
in a different crib...
in the car...
on the plane...

among many, MANY others.

SCHEDULES

As any of you who have or have had young children know, the schedule is everything.  Hava has always been our "little clock" since she was born. And I knew that no matter how I tried to keep her on schedule, this trip was gonna be a little wacky for her.  The first half was not so bad, but the second half really took a toll on her.  Besides having to sleep with a mosquito net every night, the heat was unbearable as much for us as it was for her.  I also had to lay down beside her crib EVERY NIGHT during the second half of the trip to get her to fall asleep.  I'm not sure if it was just the different environment or if it really was spiritual, but she screamed bloody murder if I left her side before she was sleeping.  Then she would only sleep about 9-10 hrs a night versus her 11-12 hrs here.  Her naps dropped down from 2 1.5-2 hr naps, to only one 1.5-2 hrs.  It was completely understandable as the heat during the day was worse than at night.  In fact, she slept in a hammock during naptimes just in order to be able to sleep.

Of course the sleeping affects the eating, which affects the moods and so on.  Considering everything, Hava was a trooper and really held up pretty well.  That is until we flew back.  The 6 hours of sleep she got in my arms in the airport on the 25th barely held her over till we finally got in the plane the next afternoon.  She didn't sleep at all on the plane.  When we arrived in Miami at 7 pm the next day, she had to get back in her carseat (which she had gotten unaccustomed to while in Brazil, since it is not mandatory there).  That was a fight...she screamed for about an hour until she conked out.  Then we arrived at our friends house where she went to sleep pretty quickly that night (26th).  

For the week we were in Florida and traveling home, she did better in the car seat and took plenty of naps.  I think the lack of sleep was catching up with her.  There were still tough times though as none of our stomachs were back to normal.  But we really wanted to get home and try our best to get her in her own bed and sleeping and eating on a schedule again.  The first couple of naps and night, there was a bit of screaming and during the first night, she woke up in a terror - I think because she still wasn't sure where she was and we were in the other room.  But last night was a blessing - she went down at 8:30 (regular time) without a fight, went right to sleep and didn't wake up till 9 am this morning!!!  (At 7:30, I went in to check on her since it was so strange that we hadn't heard a thing and she was completely out.)  

Anyway, she is eating well and although we have been dealing with some behavioral issues since we got back (and we're not far from the 2s), she seems to be calming down and obeying more consistently.  We just wanted to really thank all of you who specifically pray for Hava.   She is and has been such a special blessing to us and especially on this trip.  There were people she would go up to and just hug for no reason - people seemed to be moved by her presence.  Her family just fell in love with her and she with them.  Neighborhood kids would come up to the house where we stayed asking for Hava.  And now, she is a blessing to us.  While we could be frustrated and stressed with our current unpredictable situation, she keeps us laughing and happy.  Pray that Hava continues to be this blessed part of this ministry as long as the LORD allows her to be with us.

(click picture to enlarge and see Hava's expression)
Home, Sweet, Home

Almost exactly 3 months later, and we are finally back at the house.  We're trying to unpack and get back to normal after our mission trip to the Amazon basin of Brazil.  Al is still a bit sick, but at least now we can rest in our own bed.

At the same time that it is so good to be back, it is sad at the same time.  For those of us who have lives in more than one place, it is always hard to leave one place for the other.  Our hearts are constantly aching.  Technology, though, has made it so much easier.  I remember the days when there was no internet on the Amazon and calling home was $2 a minute.  I used to write letters to my friends and hope and pray they would get them.  I would anxiously await the arrival of their response which usually took anywhere from 3 weeks to 3 months.

Now that we can maintain contact in both places, we feel much more connected to each other.  We long for the salvation of our family and friends and do not intend to rest until each and every one has surrendered their lives to the One True and Living G-d through His Son, the Messiah.  We know that we have clearly presented the gospel to them all, and now we wait anxiously, as a mother in labor, for their rebirths.  In the meantime, we are continuing bible studies via the internet with friends and family who have asked us in Brazil and we maintain our family, friends and supporters updated with our lives and ministry progress through this blog.  We are also more than happy to report that at least 3 people professed their acceptance of the Savior in our presence while we were in Brazil.  We were also blessed to make and maintain contact with some Jewish families in the region.

We would like to ask a very special prayer request.  Please pray for us as we try to raise funds to continue our family ministry.  We have dedicated ourselves to full-time ministry which requires us to raise support for our everyday needs as well as ministry needs.  The LORD has once again proven Himself faithful as He laid this burden on the hearts of those who supported us to go to Brazil for these past two months as well as the support that maintained our bills here paid.  However, we are once more at the point where we need to ask for support in order to continue.  Our plans now include Al's continued studies (both in English and in theology) here, continued support to the Amazon as well as trips in the making for Kenya, Egypt and Italy.  If you feel led to give to our ministry, email us at leitefam@yahoo.com.

Last, but MOST DEFINITELY NOT LEAST, we would like to thank all of those who supported us on this trip both financially, through prayer and through special needs.  We would like to especially thank those who so kindly housed us on our way to and from Florida as we made our way in and out of Brazil: Chip & Alicia, Michael & Karrie, Bobby & Joanna, Marcos & Viviane, Julio & Ana, and Ben & Bonnie.  Our time with all of you and your families was so special to us and we hold you in our hearts.  May you be doubly blessed for blessing us!!!

We will continue to update this blog, but you are also invited to send your email address to leitefam@yahoo.com for email updates on our ministry.