Homeschooling

Homeschooling has provided us the ability to give a quality education while serving the Lord full time. We have had the flexibility to drop everything at times and serve.  This year Ruth Hornbrook and I are teaching the Hornbrook Gang.  I teach the girls, Ruth teaches the boys and together on Tuesday and Thursdays we teach Bible, World History and Science.  It has been interesting at times.  Yesterday while teaching we had an emergency fireman run.  My dear husband went and saved a kitten that had fallen down a drain pipe in an empty house behind us.  The poor kitten had been crying for over a day. We finally figured out what had happened to the little thing.  After sawing, drilling and chipping away...the kitten was freed!  This was all going on while we were trying to have class.  It was a circus. But we were able to accomplish the lesson for the day.  Ruth and I have been working hard to make science and history come alive.  This past month we've been studying the Oceania continent.  We spent most of our time in Australia.  The kids were all to research a recipe from Australia and bring the prepared dish to class. We enjoyed a Banana Malt, Banana Passion Fruit Pavlova (dessert!) and an Aussie Steak Sandwich.  The kids were required to help prepare the food.  It was wonderful!  In science the children made a model of an animal cell out of play dough.  We even included the younger children in this activity.  In Bible we have been learning about being a Peacemaker instead of a Troublemaker.  We have all been working on getting to the issues of our hearts that cause us to sin rather than to love others.  Here are some pics of some of our activities!

Aussie Steak Sandwich with Banana Malt

Banana Passion Fruit Pavlova

Becky H. getting in on the learning!

The animal cell.

Contrasts

Some will read this blog and see me as possibly a hypocrite.  Sometimes God allows us to experience contrasts in our life.  The Bible is full of contrasts.  Good vs. Evil,  Sin vs. Holy, Eternal Separation vs. Eternal Unity, etc...  Christ's life is a contrast to our lives.  Sometimes we get to experience luxury.  For example, Mt. Dew!  This is a luxury I miss from the States.  Family is a luxury.  You all know that I miss my kids and my family.  This past weekend we got to experience both luxury and simple life styles.  This post is the other half; luxury.  We planned this trip down to Poza Rica with the thought of enjoying a day and night in a nice hotel.  We don't get away very often so we were going to splurge a bit.  Of course we were thinking it would be sunny and warm so that we could take in the pool.  Sometimes God allows things to get stirred up a bit.  We first went to the pueblo and finca or farm.  I really had a wonderful time enjoying the simple life.  I told Idalia's family that I want a cabin and her clay stove.  Nicole was of course wanting to get to the hotel and get in the pool.  A detail you need to know is that it was drizzling and 69 degrees.  I was thinking that swimming isn't an option and there is no hurry to leave the pueblo.  Of course my 12 year old wasn't thinking like me.  She was thinking that it possibly wasn't raining in Poza Rica.  She didn't know that we were just 30 minutes from the hotel and it was raining there also.  I couldn't get Nicole let go of her agenda and enjoy the moment we were in.  I often find myself in this same frame of mind.  I'm not getting what I want and I can't see all the wonderful blessings around me.

To make this short, the rain didn't let up and the girls didn't swim that first afternoon or evening.  We did however get to enjoy a wonderful service at church during the special meetings celebrating the 41st Anniversary of Emanuel Baptist Church that my in-laws have worked in the past 14 years. Our fellow missionaries, the Pinkstons, planted this church 41 years ago.  We had the privilege of working together with them when we arrived to Mexico City nearly 22 years ago.  It was a goose bumpy weekend!  Seeing all that God has done and is doing gives me goose bumps!

We got up Sunday morning early and let the girls swim one hour in the pool before we checked out and headed to church.  We got to enjoy an out of this world breakfast buffet!  The cost of a meal like this would be close to $20 a person here in the City and it was included with the price of our room!  You know what we were thinking when we saw, breakfast included--cereal, hard donuts, etc.

I'm so thankful for this past weekend.  The sun didn't come out 'til we were in the middle of church but the Son was shinning the whole time.  We all, rich, poor or in between, have a life of luxury.  We all, if having accepted Christ as our Savior, are extremely blessed and will spend Eternity with God. We will be with God where there will be no sin, no sorrow and no suffering!

Here are a few pics of our rainy stay!

Hot Air Balloon we saw on the way!

La Quinta Hotel in Poza Rica, Ver.

Infinity pool!

Sometimes we need contrasts in order to see differences and possibly learn better.

One of the best adventure's in my life!

This past weekend we had the privilege of going to Poza Rica, Veracruz.  We were just there the week before last to visit Sam's dad.  It was a wonderful time of visiting.  We went back down to celebrate Emanuel Baptist Church's  40th Anniversary.  What a fantastic time of worship--- Giving glory to God for all that he has done these past 40 years!  Dad Hornbrook is still serving faithfully in this church.  He has taken on training many of the lay folk in Biblical Counseling.  He also is doing a lot of counseling.  The church presented him with an honor this weekend as well.  This year Sam is celebrating 50 years of service with Baptist Mid-Missions.  Wow!  The turnover of missionaries here in Mexico is very big.  To think of a couple serving this long is mind blowing.  My in-laws have had such an impact on so many folks, me included! I have posted pics of this celebration on Facebook. The pics below go with the paragraph below.  (Not sure what happened)

Two City Girls chill in' on the porch!

My good friend Idalia!  Gotcha!

Drying coffee beans on the porch.

Heating up some blue tortillas on the comal.

This makes my mouth water!

Idalia with her parents.  

Me, trying to make you all jealous!

We also took one of my good church friends and her son with us to Veracruz.  Idalia is from a pueblo that is just outside of Poza Rica.  We got to go to her parents house!  It is something I will never forget.  I got to experience tortillas right off the comal.  This is something that is PRICELESS!  I also got to have fresh roasted coffee from their own coffee trees!  Did I mention that the masa that was used to make the tortillas was freshly made from their own corn that they grind themselves?  Just ten years ago this pueblo got electricity.  Think about that for a minute...  My friends go bed when the sun sets and get up when the sun rises.  They are the hardest working folks.  They grow food so that they can live life.  I have been so spoiled.  I think I can't live without my internet and I about have a fit when we lose power.  The joy I experienced standing and sitting around the clay stove is something I hope I never forget.  Life is about pleasing God in everything, even if there aren't many things in your life.  Idalia hadn't seen her parents in over a year.  It was so fun to bring her and her son to see her mom and dad.  We came back to the City with oranges that were picked yesterday!  I have my stash of truly freshly roasted coffee.  I also got some mole that we plan to eat today.  In route to the ranch we encountered a true "cattle crossing".  The cows were on the roads and weren't budging.  Sam had to weave in and around them.  We enjoyed seeing the rolling hills of God's Creation!  What a privilege we have to serve our God here!  Thanking God today for allowing me to have the best life ever!

God is so good!

A lot has been going on here since we've returned back to the Big City!  One of the highlights has been our recent baptisms.  It is always encouraging to hear the testimonies of new believers.  One in particular is very close to our hearts and to our family.  You never know how and where God choses to work.  This in and of itself causes urgency when telling others of the gospel.  Reaching out to our neighbors has been a priority of ours through the years.  It has become a family burden as well as a family endeavor.  Our kids have been involved in sharing the good news with our neighbors throughout the years.  Our son Nathaniel had a huge impact on a neighbor boy named Carlos.  Carlos and his family did a fantastic job of reaching out to us when we moved here nearly 15 years ago.  Carlos and Nathaniel did a lot of playing together when they were younger.  The boys went separate paths  through the years but touched base again in 2010.  Nathaniel had graduated from Purdue and came and spent time with us here before beginning Seminary.  Carlos, his girlfriend, and her family began attending our church. ( Carlos had attended through the years nearly all the English classes we offered in the summers when groups came.)  Carlos had heard the gospel before but he didn't see his need for a Savior.  God began working on his heart.

To make a long story short, Carlos, now nearly 24, got saved and this past month he was baptized.  Our two older children in the States would have loved to have been here to hear in person Carlos' testimony.  Now Carlos is leading up the youth program at our church.  Carlos' girlfriend and her parents also received Christ and were baptized before we left for our furlough.  The groups that have come over the years have impacted so many folks in our church.  We have had folks come to Christ and get saved as a result of having attended an English class in the summer.  They saw the impact of the Love of Christ on others and wanted the peace that they have seen in our visitors.  We are strong believers in groups going to Mission Fields.  Carlos rubbed shoulders with two groups right before he got saved.  We had a group from Faith Christian School that came and served and then a Men's group from our supporting church in Livonia, Michigan. Both of these groups came when we as a family had a crisis.  Sam's mother was admitted into the hospital when Faith Christian was here and she went home to glory before the other group arrived.  Our church folk had to help in a big way in hosting and entertaining these groups.  Our son Nathaniel flew in for the funeral for his grandmother and Carlos got to tell him in person that he was now a follower of Christ!  You can imagine the joy that our son experienced.

Mothers, you never know how arranged play dates will turn out.  We still believe that the most effect tool to bringing folks to Christ is friendship.  Pray with us that we will continue to reach our neighbors for Christ.  May we continue to work hard at reaching out and being friendly.

Mari, Norma, Sam, Eric, Laura and Carlos

Carlos sharing his testimony