Some of you know John and I have been going through some major spiritual warfare, with our health and the kid's health. It really has been one thing after another including John needing a mini eye surgery to remove some metal that got in there while working, Charlotte having a parasite/ameba and the list goes on. Last Thursday night, something happened that shook me to my inner core. It has been really hard to talk about or even think about but I feel like I need to share.
It was a normal evening, I had just returned from teaching a music theory class and John was with the girls. It was a flurry of getting dinner ready, bathing the kids and getting them into bed. We were leaving the next day for Cancun so I was also in and out of the girls' room where Charlotte was already sleeping in her crib, trying to pack and get things ready to go. I read books with Evangeline and Naomi out on the couch and then and I said... "ok kids let's go to bed". On their way into the room I quickly stopped them and steered them into the bathroom, remembering they had not brushed their teeth yet. I went into their room to put away the pile of toys on their bed so they could get in. Standing in front of their bed I turned towards the toy box to put some toys in it and a dark figure on the floor caught my eye. Was it one of the girl's necklaces? I looked closer. It frightened me.. it was dark and I couldn't tell what it was but I thought it might be a snake.. I called John in, who quickly came in with his shoe thinking it might have been a scorpion I saw... He bent over to kind of nudge it, thinking i was only seeing a necklace... and it took OFF! A snake... John hit that thing so hard several times and killed it. OH MY GOD!!! In Belize, they call it a tommygaph snake... a poisonous deadly snake.
We were quickly able to get rid of it and get the girls to bed without them even knowing... wow and wow. HOW did a snake get in our house? and WHY was it in the girl's room, with my sleeping baby 2 feet away?? I don't know the answer to those questions.. but I DO know that God sent me into that room to find that snake. I do know that somehow Charlotte was asleep early so the girls didn't go into the room until it was bedtime. I was in and out of that room... I must have been walking all around it. God was taking care of our family.
We do realize we live IN the jungle, we are in Belmopan, but the surrounding areas have only a few houses and BUSH. We have seen snakes in our yard before, maybe 3 or 4 since moving in 2 years ago and we have scorpions in our house regularly, but we have NEVER had a snake in our house.. let alone in our children's bedroom. We are positive the enemy is not happy with what we are doing... he is doing what he can to make us pack up and leave, which I have to admit, was in the forefront of mind that night. I HAVE to get out of here.. my kids are not safe... it is too hard and too scary. God has been speaking to me since that night. Perfect love casts out fear, He showed us His great love for us and protected us. He is more than able to protect my children, more than I am, I trust Him. This doesn't mean everything is a bed of roses, but in it all, God is in control, fighting on our behalf.
The past couple weeks we have had people telling us that they are praying for us, more than usual. John's powerful prayer warrior mother, woke up praying for us to have DOMINION. One wonderful lady, a 90 yr old missionary from Canada was woken up in the middle of the night to pray for Charlotte. God bless that woman. Now we know why. We were featured in the ACOP Prayer Update for September. There are so many praying!! The Lord had been bringing the verse to my mind about a week before.
1 Peter 5:8 8 Be alert and of sober mind. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour.
We would be foolish to think the enemy is not looking for somebody to destroy.. it sounds awful and scary but it is TRUE! The good news is that we have already won and have the victory! Let's be alert, keeping our hearts sharp and in tune with Him.. let the enemy find no place to rest.. search your homes, clean them up.. forgive... ask Him to guide you... be ALERT.
I can't describe what has risen up in me since that night, maybe it's a mama bear syndrome, maybe it's the holy spirit and righteous anger, but... all I know is the enemy will NOT win. He has to go, has to leave, we are under the blood and I will not back down. Get away from our children. Thank you to those who stand and pray with us. It is MOST valuable to us.
We have been over and over this, trying to figure out how the snake got in. The truth is our house is not completely sealed. When we moved in, it was unfinished and had a lot of work left, but it was liveable and we have been trying to do what we can little by little. Our ceiling is not closed in, just zinc on the rafters, it needs sheet rock on the inside... and our eaves outside we have been done about 90% of the sealing up. This situation, yes, spiritual we believe, but we also feel we need to push to do what we can to make our house more safe for our family. This is why we are asking if you would like to give towards the project of finishing sealing up our house. Every little bit would help. Please consider giving even $20 or $50, it all adds up. Our goal is $3000CAN. If you would like to help, please email me at influencenations@gmail.com and I will get the information to you on how to do that.
Thanks again to all of you who give and pray for our family, we are eternally grateful!! I promise I will be posting again an update on the exciting ministry happening school ministry, Legacy.. dance ministry!
God Bless
Patti
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