Thank you God for Bananas

I love when God gives us concrete in your face, undeniable moments to see he cares about the details in our life.  One of my favorites is when God gave us a hat for Bob.  Last week he gave us a bundle of bananas

We do our grocery shopping on a weekly basis.  This weeks shopping trip ended up happening on monday with all three kids in tow, and it was raining.  It was a trip I was regretting making and knew would be difficult from the moment we pulled into the parking lot.  It was a 5 minute drive from home.  But we were out of bread and milk and eggs so it had to be done.  Usually we start at Aldi
and then go to Publix for the items we couldn't get at Aldi.  While we were shopping the rain got worse and became a downpour.  One of my kids is terrified of being in the rain.  I got my shopping done while trying to keep the running down the aisles and vocal levels reasonable.  We usually pass over the bananas at Aldi because they are very green and don't ripen well we have found.  We bought other fruit.   We purchased our food and bagged it up and started to wait out the rain.  My patience was running thin and another stop was not in the cards especially with the extra work of unloading and loading the car in the rain.  We went home and did without the missing items on the list that didn't get picked up at stop #2.  No big deal, we will get them next week.

That was monday, Wednesday night we were at church for mid week classes.  As the night was wrapping up we spent a few rare moments talking with our Pastor about some upcoming events we are involved in, when the person closing the Cafe suddenly asked if we eat bananas.  Startled we said yes and remarked how we do but not at the moment we were out and didn't get any this week.  "Here you go God knew and here have these."  OUr kids had been running around and as kids always do told us they were hungry.  So we broke a banana off the bunch and told them what had just happened and we all celebrated that God gave us bananas.

God really does care about the little things.  

Caleb's Education miracle

Last fall (2013) I took Caleb through all the steps to look for early intervention help.  Starting at age 3 this help is through the local school district.  Caleb was accessed and evaluated, and the resulting conclusions were that he (didn't qualify for any services at this time), I translated that based on the exact test results to mean, because he is a bright child and knows more than he should for a 3 year old, we don't see that his quirks/disabilities are impeding him educationally.  "Educationally necessary" being the basis for services starting at age 3.  We look this paperwork and moved on, knowing that it didn't describe our child.  He wasn't being tested in a way that showed his weaknesses.  

As we began to sort out his education options for Pre-Kindergarden we began to hit a brick wall.  He wasn't potty training, and we had paperwork that said he wasn't in need of special services.  Although the diagnosis that make our boy special would explain the lack of traditional potty training.  So we started to fight again.  

We could not find an special preK program that would accept him because we didn't have the paperwork in fact the paperwork we did have said the opposite of what we needed.  And every program we inquired with, required fully potty training.  The staff were not authorize to assist the student in the event of an accident.  We were stuck.  

With a helpful visit from grandma for moral support we "boot camp" potty trained so he could attend one of the public school programs, and began looking for more solutions.  At this point we have 3 medical diagnosis including the Autism Spectrum, he is receiving 4 hours of week of therapies.  But according to one piece of paper he doesn't need special help to succeed in the classroom.  

We started the process for the second time to be evaluated by the school system.  This time we had 2 people observe him in his classroom as well as a clinical observation.  The reports continued to not show the full picture of what we know to be our Caleb.  It did give us some markers to indeed confirm he is gifted and some of his scores were the highest the evaluator had seen.  One new area of data was collected this time and it ended up being key, Pragmatics.  

As I received the reports from the evaluators, I began to worry if he would be recognized for what he needed.  We had 2 experts helping us through the process and interpret the results.  They weren't offering anything encouraging either based on the reports.  We continued to pray and share where we were.  

Due to circumstances I had to attend the final meeting by myself.  We had originally planned for Bob and a friend/expert to attend with me assist in the process.  I was nervous about the weight the meeting held but I had that strange Godly peace.  I reviewed my notes and concerns before the meeting ready to stand up for my son and what we felt his needs were.  

Soon after the meeting started I snuck a glance at the staffing specialist's notes and saw the favorable mark that said "he qualifies for services" at this point I relaxed and held my breath for what that meant and what services they were going to find he needed.  

The way we saw it he had 3 choices for services.  

1.  No services like he has been found in the past.  This was not preferable and this time we were prepared but not excited about fighting if this was the result.  

2.  "A 504 plan" this recognizes he needs assistance and adaptations are made within a traditional classroom.  He can walk around extra, extra time for tests, social seating, etc.  We had begun to put a few things in place since the first week of school with mixed results, some of his triggers could not be   altered.  

3.  An "IEP" Individual Education Plan.  This would require him to be moved to a classroom with accommodations to meet his needs.  The staff would be trained to specifically help him.  He would have therapy and assistance available to him all the time to complete his tasks.  This paperwork is the standard we were missing to qualify for any specialized education opportunities.  

Our first choice was #3 where he could receive the greatest amount of intervention and assistance so he will continue to thrive and as he gets older hopefully need less or no services.  Early Intervention is key.  Th feedback we got was that this was a dream and he wasn't really needing this much help at this time.  We were even told "he may qualify for a 504 in a couple of years," meaning that he wouldn't test special for a few years.  He needed to fail more first before they would help him.  

We settled on an open mind and hoping for at least #2 with #1 not being an option as we saw how it hurt his options moving forwards.  Ultimately we had no idea how it was going to work out and what the recommendations would be.  We also knew our rights as parents of a child with disabilities, we could refuse to accept their suggestions and take it further.  

When all was said an done.  They did find Caleb qualifying for services, and his goals and objectives were exactly what us as his parents felt he needed.  TO sum it up one of our expert helpers summed it up this way, "WOW!  I have to say I am shocked and happy!!  That is really great."  When an expert in special needs who has helped many families through this process is shocked, you know you did something right!

All we can say is Praise God and its answered prayers for our extra special, out of box boy.  To be recognized by the school district that he will not fit into the mold they have given him.  Disability may be an umbrella term that he falls under but his wired differently not less by any means.  

Lydia's Healing Miracle

Our kids are teaching us everyday and challenging our faith   Lydia got her first scrapped knee a few weeks ago when riding her bike.  It wasn't too bad of a fall but it led to a rather large scab on her knee. When she complained about it hurting we would reminder she could pray for God to make it feel better.  What we didn't expect was her reaction as the scab started falling off.  She started getting excited and telling us

"God's hand came down during the night,

and healed it just like I prayed!"

The refreshing faith of a child, if only we had enough faith to trust the same explanation.   

Lost and Found

Saturday, Bob was out and had his phone and his Nook. Somehow, (we aren't sure how) the Nook didn't make it home.  Yet Bob remembers having it when he was picked up.  We spent the afternoon looking around the house and searching the car for it, to no avail, and we went to bed assuming we would find it the next day in the house somewhere.

Sunday morning before we left for church he got an email from someone who found it, asking to meet up to return it.  We hadn't thought it was gone yet to even pray for its safe return.

Monday night he met the person at the bus station they found it at to get it back.  And we are in awe of God's goodness.  First, it was not found even in the area of town where Bob lost it, but much closer to our house.   Someone seems to have picked it up, rode a bus into town, and then themselves lost it at a bus stop further down the route. Or maybe whoever found it first didn't like the book selections on it and dumped it somewhere else.   Second, of all the people in Orlando to find it and email us, it was someone we knew from church! What a surprise to meet them at the bus stop!

Bob has his Nook back safe and sound and we are in awe.  

God is Good!



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10 God Moments in 1 month

2 weeks ago I shared how God gave us a bed for Lydia before I said a word to anyone about it, that was only one of the God Moments/Miracles we have had as we transition out of support-raising missionary life to a more settled life in Orlando.  Lets review the last month:  

1. Bob's Job- By some God miracle Bob is able to go back to a very similar job to the one he had a year ago. He loved his job and can't wait to start this week. He had called his supervisor in January when our plans started changing and she didn't know of any openings, and a few weeks later called to let us know someone was going to be leaving after all. 

2.  Medication for me- We changed our plans to move overseas based on the realization that the hard time I was having adjusting was not just a difficult transition but something bigger, post-partum depression from Caleb's birth. Before we left Southern Illinois we were able to find a doctor (on the second try) who would work with us and was able to find a good medication that is helping me right now. I thank God that the first medication we tried, had a very positive effect.

3.  Finding a place to live- We decided to move back to Orlando where we feel most at home but also where a large number of homes are in foreclosure, we were able to find a great place to rent in our old neighborhood through a missionary network, and we seem to have a great landlord. 

4.  Helping driving South- Having family help us move wasn't working out and would delay our return to Orlando. Soon after Bob got the job offer I was talking with a family friend and discovered that they vacation in Florida. We also learned his work is pretty seasonal and hadn't picked up yet for the spring. He and his wife & son graciously drove our moving truck to Orlando for us. They enjoyed a day at the beach before returning home.

5.  Something to Leave Behind- When Bob left his job at Wycliffe last year I got him a cake to celebrate our leap of faith. The small group we were a part of the last 3 months we were in Illinois, surprised us with a identical size cake at our last meeting. They had no idea about the first cake, and that special group of people made leaving Illinois that much harder. 

6. Help loading the truck- We loaded our truck on Friday morning, we had a hard time finding people who were available to help us. We had 2 special families come help us in addition to Bob's family. Everyone who helped came at just the right time so we had plenty of help and were done in record time before the severe weather hit our area that day. 

7.  Weather while Traveling- We rushed to load our truck before a major storm hit our area and succeeded. The storm hit right at lunch time so we didn't waste anytime on the weather. After the storm passed it was immediately clear blue skies and we had good weather the other 2 days of the trip south!

8.  A Place to Call Home- The way timing worked out we were a little risky in not seeing our house before we moved in. I was sad because we knew it didn't have a screened porch. When we arrived, however, we were pleasantly surprised to discover it had built-in entertainment center, bookshelves, and desk and there was treehouse and swings for the kids in the backyard!

9.  Reinforcements- We arrived on a Sunday night at the same time our church has started having evening service so many of our church friends were unavailable to help us out. We knew one of Bob's co-workers was planning to come and when he arrived he brought reinforcements, his 2 teenage sons and 2 of their friends. They were a great team and we were done quickly. 

10.  A Washer & Dryer- 10 months ago when we left Orlando we sold the majority of our furniture and stuff because we had every intention of not returning before we moved overseas. We needed a washer and dryer for our new place and had no budget for one. We started looking and prayed. We mentioned it to our landlord and he remembered he had an old set in his storage garage and if we could repair the washer they were ours. One short service call later we had a working set!

And One more just for kicks:

Friday night we met one of our neighbors as they were setting up a garage sale for saturday morning.  They had a couch and a set of nightstands we were interested in.  We talked it over and planned to return on saturday to give them our answer, again not sure about the finance side of the purchase.  We didn't "need" either one and were content with our choice.  We left for the day and had some great family time.  When we returned the sale was over.  Later the neighbors came over and told us they had a successful sale, better than they expected and the 2 items we were interested in didn't sell so they wanted to give them to us, free of charge! Praise God!

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Prayers for a Bed

We are moving this weekend back to Orlando and want to share one of the ways God has provided for us as we transition again.

Since May Lydia has been sleeping in a borrowed bed from the grandparents.  Now that our plans have changed to exclude moving overseas, Lydia having her own bed was an issue.  I began praying and hadn't even discussed it with Bob.

After we sent our January Newsletter out some friends in the area contacted us and said they were planning to sell a set of bunk-beds in their garage sale this spring but would give them to us if we could use them. 

YES Please!

Last week Bob drove to their house and picked up a set of red bunk-beds that will be for Lydia when we get to Orlando, we just have to get mattresses.  Caleb is still sleeping in the crib and we will decide later if they will share a room or separate the beds.  

Thank You Lord for answering our silent prayers!

Faith to walk on water, Again

When Peter got out of the boat to walk on water with Jesus it was his faith that let him experience his own miracle.  This miracle occurred immediately after Jesus fed the 5000 and the disciples watched him multiply a modest lunch for one person to feed thousands with leftovers.  The first experience grew Peter's faith to make the second one possible.  In 2010 we grew in faith as we obediently followed God's call to ministry with Wycliffe Bible Translators.  In April Bob quit his job so we could focus full time on preparing to go to Nigeria.  We saw God do amazing things and we experienced how he met our needs.  We have the faith now to trust God as we change course and leave full time ministry.  God was faithful then and he is doing it again.

We have been working on our new course for a few weeks now and God is showing up.  When Bob started looking for a new job, he called his previous supervisor to see if there was any chance of coming back or openings in the department, there weren't any.  He searched online and found a dozen jobs and applied.  One of the jobs has called him back and he is almost through the 5-part interview process.  It looks promising and we should know within a week or two.  A few days ago, Bob's previous supervisor tracked him down again and let him know that someone is leaving and the position is one Bob previously held.  What a God we serve, that in this economy God is preparing a place for us.  

Halfway There!

Last week we received pledge commitments that pushed us to the 50% mark!  We are very excited to hit this benchmark as we prepare to serve in Nigeria.  Hitting this mark allows us to sign up for ICC* in January, our last training requirement for our assignment.  The only thing after this training for us to do is continue to develop the team of partners who will support us financially.

If you are interested in partnering with us financially and haven't yet, you can by clicking on the "Give Now" button with the green Bible on the Right sidebar of our blog.  This will take you directly to our giving page on Wycliffe's website, where you can let us know of your commitment and give online,


*Intercultural Communications Course, hosted by JAARS in Waxhaw NC

Testify: A hat

When I (Bob) visited Nigeria in June, at one of the translation projects where Bob Bates and I installed a satellite internet system, we were each given a suit in thanks for us installing it for them. It was very generous of them, and I was very pleased with it. It came home with us, and I've worn it a couple times since then. However, it didn't come with a hat, and Nigerian clothing is usually worn with a particular type of hat, which is sort of like a beret (at least more than anything else I can think to compare it to).

On the day of our presentation in Carbondale, Cynthia and I were in our Nigerian garb and were getting ready for our presentation. A student named Victor, who was from Nigeria, saw us and said he liked my suit, and I told him that it was too bad I didn't have a matching hat to make it really authentic. He told me he might have something for me and that he'd bike home and be back before our presentation. He returned about a half hour later, with a hat that perfectly matched the color of the suit, and fit me great. He explained to me that he had bought it in the airport just before leaving Nigeria several years before, and hadn't worn it since, and hadn't been sure even why he had bought it. It seems now that God had him buy it so he could bless me with it on the day of our presentation. Praise God for the ways he watches out for us in little things every day, and praise Him for the generosity of the people He has brought into our lives.

Linking up with Tell Me A Story

Testify: A Couch

So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him. Matthew 7:11 NLT

I have been praying for a month or so for an additional couch for our home.  We had a pair of wonderfully comfortable couches that we were given in Florida that we had to leave behind when we moved.  Bob and I both like to curl up on the couch with a good book as well as we enjoy sitting together to eat ice cream after the kids are in bed.  We are sharing our house right now with Bob's brother so we don't have a private space to relax together besides our bed, and that gets old and uncomfortable for work.   

We received an email from our church, that they were giving away 2 couches and to let them know if you wanted them.  I knew it was an answer to our prayer.  We now have a couch in our bedroom that I have been enjoying during my devotional time and when I need to get away to get some work done.

God is good!

Testify: Winter Clothes

We are realizing how much we have become Floridans as we adjust to the crisp fall weather.  We are also realizing how inadequate our wardrobes are for the cooler temps.  Since we are living by faith and have no guarantee of the size of our paycheck, planning a shopping spree was going to be difficult.

I began praying for warm clothes for the kids a few weeks ago, and God has shown up.

• We received our monthly check from Wycliffe of the gifts that had been given to us during the previous month and were able to budget money for each of us to buy the clothes we need for the cold weather ahead.  
• the next day, when we dropped the kids of a daycare recently the woman was preparing for a garage sale and had all her kids clothes laid out, she has a son and daughter both bigger than our kids.  She let us go through the piles free of charge.  We came home with 2 bag of clothes for the kids.  
• About a week later there was a 3 day consignment sale in the area, and I was able to pick up the rest of what the kids needed at very reduced prices.  

Testify: A Microwave

God gave us a microwave last week. The one we had been using we discovered had some rust developing on the inside and also would occasionally spark. Now it wasn't all the time but still not good but something we were cautiously living with. I had begun to pray because it began to make me uneasy and I no longer felt I could leave something unattended when it was cooking just in case.

I was visiting a friend who was in the middle of moving and she asked if I knew anyone who needed a microwave, if not she was going to give it to a new international student who needed one. When I shred with her our need she was excited to be able to be the answer to my prayers.

I was meeting with her to start planning a fundraising dinner we are having next month but because she was moving, it didn't work out for us to meet that day and we rescheduled for later, but God knew I needed a microwave so it was not wasted time.

How did we get here?

 Photo Credits: Lisa Rajan

Friday night we did a presentation to a very special group of people. We presented to the college ministry we were a part of as students. It was a special night because a dear friend was also speaking on time management.

As exciting has it was to share with them, it was felt awkward to be the alumni speaking. As college students we regularly heard from missionaries who were passing through or who were supported by the church. It doesn't seem that long ago that we left. (4 years) Here we were on the other side of the microphone, being given the opportunity to share with the next generation of how we are using our ordinary college degrees to serve God.

Bob and I received our degrees in IT and video productions. When we began pursuing full time ministry we did not go to Bible college to get extra credentials to preach we just used the skill and gifts we have. We are supporting the frontline Bible Translators so they can do their job efficiently and be more effective. We are a vital part of world missions by fixing computers and making movies.  

Prayer Request: Visiting Nigeria

A couple months ago we found out that Wycliffe Associates (a Wycliffe partner organization) is sending a team of volunteers to Nigeria to do some IT work in June, so I asked if I could be included, and a few weeks ago I was able to confirm that I will be able to.

On June 4th I will be traveling to Nigeria with 10 other volunteers, and we will spend a week installing satellite internet systems in remote locations around the country for translators to use. JAARS (yet another Wycliffe partner organization) has a self-contained box that creates a satellite connection specifically tailored for translation and collaboration traffic. It's locked down so it can't be used for regular internet browsing or other things; the connection is too expensive to use for anything except translation and backup purposes.

I'll get a chance to travel around the country quite a bit to install several of these systems. I'll also be getting an initial look at them, in case I have to help with one of them later. Additionally, I'll be able to meet some of the people I'll be working with in the Jos office and also see a couple of the housing options waiting for us in Jos. It's going to be a great opportunity, so I'm excited to be going over soon.

We do have to cover the cost of my plane ticket over and back, so if any of you feel led to give anything toward that we'd appreciate it. Please also keep me in prayer June 4-13 that logistics work out well, that everything goes smoothly in-country, and that I learn what I need to while I'm there.

Seeing Fruit

"Let us not become weary in doing what is good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we don t give up." Galatians 6:9 NIV

We were very encouraged last week. Several things happened that remind us that our work is not in vain. And people are partnering with us.

• On Wednesday we sent out our latest newsletter. If you are not on our mailing list you can find it HERE. You can email us at bob-cynthia_heren@wycliffe.org to be added to our mailing list. That afternoon we received 2 responses from people asking to share with their church and friends.

  
  
• On Thursday we reconnected with a friend we hadn't seen or heard from in over 3 years. She will be doing her medical residency here in Orlando and was in town looking for a place to rent. She is from Nigeria and was able to answer lots of questions for us.

  
  
• On Friday, on our way to a picnic we got a phone call from a Pastor who a friend had connected us with about speaking. They invited us to share while we are traveling to IL next month.

  
  
• On Saturday we received that last of our 4 passports. This is crucial to beginning the visa process that can take as long as 6 months. We also received a giving statement from our church which included several new partners. If you would like to join our team of partners you can by clicking the “Join our Team” button on the Right side.

  
  
• On Sunday we shared with the Middle School sunday school class about what we will be doing and the need to have the scriptures in a person's own language. We also got on the schedule to share with the youth group at our church in Orlando.    

Steps of Faith

In the next 2 months we are going to be stepping out on faith that we will make it to Nigeria. Currently we have received pledges for 15% of our needed budget for Nigeria. Bob has scheduled April 8^th as his last day of work in the Wycliffe USA office. He will be home with the rest of us as we prepare to move our home base to Illinois in preparation for leaving the country in the fall. We have our move scheduled for May 8^th, Mother's day. We are planning to be in Dekalb, IL on May 14 to watch Cynthia's brother graduate from Northern Illinois University. We will be calling Carbondale, Illinois home for the summer months but also expect to do a lot of traveling as we share how God is leading us to Nigeria and assist the Bible translation work there. We would love to share with your group so let us know if that's a possibility. Our last planned stop will be attending ICC (Inter-Cultural Communication) in Waxhaw, NC for a month in August, which is our last required training with Wycliffe. We plan to head for Nigeria, Lord willing, soon after ICC is over in early September. Please pray with us that our partnership team is completed by then so that this plan becomes reality.

Testify: Cynthia's Core Prayer Team

Prayer is an important part of our support team. It is a valuable hidden asset that we need as missionaries. The recent adjustment has been difficult on me (Cynthia). I have struggled to balance my new responsibilities with meeting the endless needs of our children, and not get worn out in the process. Bob had been praying that I have a special group of ladies that I could be transparent with and who would encourage and pray for me.

Within the week I received an email on behalf of 3 of my friends from college asking if they could pray for me specifically. That if I could send them requests they would conference call once a week and agree in prayer for me. Matthew 18:19 says "Again, I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by my Father in heaven.” So for them to pray together was a powerful thing for me.

As the mom its easy for me to overlook my own needs for those of my family and there are a lot of needs in the family right now. But it is wonderful to know that we have a God who looks out for us and takes care of us.  

Testify: A New Vehicle

In our February Newsletter we expressed a prayer request and need for a larger vehicle. Our current sedan just doesn’t have enough room for the stuff that we need when we travel and we will be doing a lot of traveling in the coming months. A new vehicle was stressing me out because

A) We don't have a lot of money.

B) We don't need the vehicle for very long.

C) Above all, we need something that is reliable.

I was praying for a creative solution because I didn't know how it would happen; but if we needed it, God would work it out and give us a solution. In our weekly PD meeting with our Coach he suggested looking in to Righteous Rides, a ministry whose founder used to be a Wycliffe airplane mechanic. It's located in St. Louis, MO, and it rents cars to missionaries during their furlough. To support the ministry, they also sell cars that are donated to them. So 3 weeks ago we started looking in to it. Their rental fleet is all booked into 2012, but they did have some vehicles for sale. Long story short, this past weekend Bob flew to St. Louis, stayed with some friends, and picked up our new car, a 2000 Rodeo in great condition and with very low mileage. We are praising God for a creative answer to our prayers.

Testify: A diaper bag

THE bag, different color

Have you ever thought about something and wanted it but couldn't have it and didn't tell anyone? You wished that somehow someone would know and buy it for you just because. James 1:17 says “Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.”

I received a very special gift recently, a new diaper bag from a friend who was cleaning out and thought I might like it along with some miscellaneous boy clothes she had for Caleb. She told me 3 things when she called to let me know she had them for me. It was from Eddie Bauer, it was big, and it was Khaki in color.

What she didn't know was in July when I was finishing preparing for Caleb's arrival a new larger diaper bag was on my list of wants. I went to the store and browsed and picked one out, but was waiting for the right time when I could use coupons to purchase the bag. When the coupons were usable I went back and second guessed my previous choice and spent another hour in the store looking and choosing. I settled on a different bag than I had originally chosen. The bag I bought was black with green trim and lined with vinyl. It was long and narrow and hung on the stroller well. It was a grat bag until we took it to the beach and I couldn't get all the sand out of it, because it was sticking to the vinyl. I got out what I could but was annoyed. Then I got this phone call about another bag that she had for me.

It was the exact bag I had wanted the first time! And now it is mine. It has 6 pockets on the outside for keeping things handy, and both a shoulder strap and shorter handles, it has lots of pockets inside (I like to keep things organized). The only downside is that being canvas it is a heavier bag. But it is very special and makes me smile when I see it and how God gave me the bag I wanted.