Raising children is never easy. Raising them in the ways of the Lord so that they will not stray, even harder. But the mercies of the Lord are great and He can do what we can’t.

We had the privilege to talk to both Jeremy and Joshua in the last week. This was our first time talking with Joshua since he went to Mexico and it seems like it has been a year (yet it has only been about two months.) He was still excited about being there and serving. Then speaking to Jeremy who was visiting the Mission for a week was also able to tell us how God was working in his life and in Joshua’s life.

To be able to hear from your children that they are following the Lord, giving their life to the Lord and trying to only make decisions with the Lord can fill a parents heart with joy!

I pray that all my children will one day fill my heart with that same joy as they serve the Lord.

So children, bless your parents and serve the LORD. Seek Him with all your heart, mind and soul.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Check out our friend’s music and website. Radhames plays across the country of the Dominican Republic and other latin American countries. God has gifted him with music and preaching.

Radhames Reynoso

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Well, it is a new year and many things are in the works. At the end of the month we will be working with our first team that is headed by Island Light Ministries. This team consists of an optometrist, dentists, RN’s and a few others to work in two different locations for 4 days with those specialties. Our family is excited to work with this group.

Also, coming soon to our house is our son Jeremy Oliveria and Sam Smith, they will be here in the country for about 6 weeks! This also coincides with us moving to a 2-bedroom house for about 9 days (Thanks to New Missions.) We should be moving into a house on the 1st at a lower rent rate – PRAISE GOD!

Last night we had the Cooper family over for dinner, Josh and Heather can actually speak Spanish better than I thought, I wish they would help me more than just laugh at my obvious error?!?!? I am constantly using the wrong verb form, usually I catch myself, but it makes for messy sentences.

Continue to pray for us as we learn more Spanish, we are going to try a friend in the village tonight to help Jessica and I with the language, he is fluent in English and has been helping Jim by interpreting the services.

An update about Josh – Later. Ha!

God Bless!

P.S. I need to repair my blog, it isn’t posting the photos I tried.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Yes, Samuel has broken an arm, not serious – gracias a Dios.

Here are copies of the bills:

Bill for Hospital and X-rays

Doctor's Bill

Two more dents into our already dented wallet. $2,527 for the hospital and d$1,500 for the doctor! Boy am I glad this wasn’t in US Dollars, which would probably what you would spend for the emergency room, doctor and x-rays in the states. Overall this was about $110 USD, which is way cheaper than any part of a visit in the U.S.

The crack is in the upper portion of the humerus, yet he didn’t find it very funny. It isn’t all the way across the bone, so it should heal quickly.

Here is the happy boy now:

Samuel broke his arm

Thank you for the continued prayers for our family!

God bless – Dios te bendiga!

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Well, this isn’t our normal post, but one that is sort of commercial in nature. We have owned www.NorthwestGifts.com for around 12 years now, but no longer is it a direct source of income. However, our friend Daniel Szczesniak is now running that and our other website www.UrnsNW.com

So, if you are looking for Christmas gifts, Golf gifts, floral wreaths or a number of gift ideas please check out what is offered at Northwest Gifts. Sales will benefit our family as well as Daniel’s.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Making the move to a 3rd world country and not having health insurance (even beforehand) and not even sure how skilled or what kind of care you can get is interesting to say the least. We have already had to go to the pharmacy a couple of times, first for Heather’s eyes which had something like pink eye and then Silas scratched mosquito bites with dirty fingers and it got infected and now Jessica to the hospital.

First off we believe things are fine (to put you at ease, especially Bonnie) But for Jessica to find a lump at the age of 38 which was the age her grandmother passed away from breast cancer, was a bit nerve racking. The thought of fighting that kind of battle here was not something high on my list.  We have already heard enough about cancer deaths here, but I know that we have a great God that can heal and restore all things.

The costs so far for this: $1050 for doctor, $1100 for mamogram, $858 for ultrasound. (Oh, did I forget to mention this is $RD – pesos to dollar is about 37 to 1.)

Doctor appointment in a foreign country: $30
Mamogram in a new facility: $30
Ultrasound in a 3rd world country: $23
Knowing you serve a great and awesome God and having family and friends praying: Priceless.

Beat that MasterCard!

After writing the above we returned to the doctor to get more information. They don’t believe it looks like cancer and they recommend it to be removed and studied. We are praying about this, but for now we are able to relax and praise God for mercies.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

A little off-beat, but something to share. I am sure all the ladies would love friends like these:

Our pets

Heather was in the pool by herself and called for me to show me one, then a few minutes later the larger one.

Some of the locals say they can kill you, yet even the local exterminator agrees with what I have read. They can bite, but are basically harmless. Still creepy if you ask me.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Here we are in a hotel in Cape Girardeau, Missouri having jumped in the pool at 10 PM and ready for some rest. This was a short 7 hour drive (with stops) from our last stop with Shane and Kami who blessed us with their hospitality and the privilege of doing a presentation at their church and Jeremy did some music. As usual, the Lord moved and people were blessed and touched. It is so cool to witness God using the music to reach deep in the hearts of His people.

Back to the title of this post – Revival – I believe that God has us on this trip across the states to be part of an ushering in of a revival. The same themes are at each church so far, from Medford Oregon to Missouri. The Holy Spirit has been moving and just seeing what God is doing in the three young men with us has been inspiring. Jeremy, Sam and Matt have all been great to be with on this trip and I know God has great plans for them. Please keep them in your prayers. We are asking for safe travels and for God to continue to use them mightily.

If you haven’t been experiencing God in a deeper way lately, start asking for Him to draw you closer. God wants all of His children close to Him, asking Him for all things, and dependant on Him. Allow the Holy Spirit to enter in you fully and flow out of you, touching others and connecting His people together.

Also, keep my brother Garth in your prayers, I am not sure how He is at the moment, the last I heard was he fell about 15 feet off a ladder and was unconscious for a minute and may have some broken bones.

God bless!!!

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

Most of our friends and family have seen (or should I say heard) the gift of music Jeremy has. We, as parents, have known for years that this gift was meant for God’s glory and knew that God had a plan in it. However, Jeremy struggled growing up to be in the rock music scene and wanted nothing to do with “Christian music” or anything close.

Over the last 3 years he went through many struggles and was our prodigal son. One that brought us to our knees in prayer constantly, knowing we could do nothing and fearing the worst. This struggle within our family drew us to the Lord in a powerful way, we have learned to be dependant on Him (wish I wouldn’t forget this almost every day.) The Lord has shown Himself faithful as usual and has brought Jeremy back and with a walk that any father could be proud of. He desires to serve the Lord and to bless the Lord with music.

Jeremy Oliveria Prodigal Psalms

Now Jeremy is on the verge of releasing his first album – Prodigal Psalms (Jeremy Oliveria) as a solo artist. These songs are inspired by the spirit and Jeremy hopes that pride does not get in the way of God’s message.  Pray for Jeremy and the music, that he will touch many lives – especially those prodigals out there. So many young men and women who know who God is and who were raised with the Word spoken are out there in the pig mud of the world desiring something better.

One of the songs is up Today – Friday the 25th on the the myspace page at: http://myspace.com/jeremyoliveriamusic

Also follow his FaceBook page (address will be added later.)

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory

As a parent we automatically protect our children and keep them from harm… usually. I know there are those who have harmed their children and some even to the point of death. But for most of us, it is natural to protect.  We will do whatever is in our power to protect them physically from harm, from hurt feelings, from their own foolishness…

However, how effective are we at protecting them spiritually?

We can’t protect them in the physical from the spiritual, that we can only do within the spiritual realm. Some of you, like me, have warn ourselves out fighting the spiritual enemy in the physical realm. This has resulted in failure and frustration. Only when we truly submit to Our Father in heaven and began praying for our children daily can we truly see victory in these spiritual battles.

We as Christians have probably all heard the verse:  Ephesians 6:12 (NAS) “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places.”  But do we understand and put that into our daily practice?

We must be praying for our children everyday. The Lord is the only one who can keep them, not you or I. I know many of us have wanted to lock them in cages for a time, but that wouldn’t even solve the problem anyways. Our children need us to be praying especially when they don’t think they do or want us to.

As the father and Biblical leader of the home I state Joshua 24:15 – “As for me and my house we will serve the Lord!” It is my job to cover my children until they no longer need it, and to continue to cover them in prayers long after.

Lord help me to do just that and to never forget the awesome privilege of raising our children under your wings.

To See The Glory - Our walk with the Lord and our desire To See the Glory