Counting Plants... and Blessings!

Today I am camped out in a room full of plants hiding out from the sub-zero (°F) temperatures coming into the house as a new fireplace and chimney liner are installed. I started counting plants and ended up laughing! Guess how many plants live on our main floor alone (answer below)!

Each plant feels like a smile and gift from our loving Heavenly Father! Each one showcases His creativity and imagination. Each green leaf is a testament to His life-sustaining power.

And I thrill to know that I, Hannah... sitting among all these plants, am an even greater example of God's creative power. But not only that. I am a testament to His love and grace!

And I keep seeing His blessings wherever I look:

From my mug of green tea,

To the sunshine on snow...

From the new fireplace,

To the big air-scrubber my creative Dad built for these years of dusty house projects...

What blessings are you counting today?

Mine include 47 plants in this room!

~ Hannah

How a Biography Sparked So Many Memories

If you've read many of the YWAM biographies in the Christian Heroes Then and Now series, you may have a guess as to which book our family recently finished when I explain that the photo above is of my sisters and me straddling the equator high in the mountains outside Quito, Ecuador back in 2006.

The book reminded us of the vast mountains and jungles...

...waterfalls and volcanoes...

And we were especially reminded of the people in this varied country who have been touched by the gospel through the ministry of HCJB and other mission organizations our family was privileged to come alongside for three weeks all those years ago.

That's right, it was the biography of HCJB's founder, Clarence Jones. 

But don't worry if you couldn't guess. I had actually never heard his name or story before - even though he was also connected with the Salvation Army, Moody Bible Church, and Awana Clubs. But I would highly recommend this book even if you have never stepped foot in South America. These pictures may just help bring it more to life...

The main reason we all packed up and flew down in 2006 was so that Dad could help with the telephone systems on the HCJB hospital compound and missionary school (run jointly with MAF) in Shell Mera. He had done a bit of this work the year before when traveling down to get my older sister settled into her semester of student teaching at the Nate Saint Memorial School, and there was much more to be done.

Meanwhile, the rest of us enjoyed getting to know Maren's "other home" and friends in Shell while helping get the school cleaned, organized, and set up for the school year. We also got to teach 2nd and 3rd graders the first day of school, "spring clean" for missionaries coming home from furlough, hold orphans, tour the Nate Saint house when it was crumbling under the relentless onslaught of termites, shop the local produce and bakeries almost daily, walk on a hot and smelly volcano 3 weeks after it erupted and wiped out whole villages,  and much more.

Elsa and I had the amazing experience of flying out into the jungle in a 6-seater MAF plane and visiting one of the Waorani villages. These remote people, formerly known as the Aucas, made international news in 1956 when they speared 5 missionaries to death on Palm Beach after spending some friendly days with them and even getting a ride in their little plane. (This story is powerfully told in the 2005 movie The End of the Spear as well as a 2002 documentary called Beyond the Gates of Splendor.) 

The most amazing part of our visit was meeting one of the men who did the spearing! He came out to meet every plane that landed on their grass strip and prayed for us (center man in photo below). His smile was beautiful as he radiated God's love! We also met his grandson who was studying to become a pastor, plus we saw the foundation for the new church they were building up on a hill.

These people who used to live in fear and hate now love to have fun! They painted our faces with the bright red juice of the achiote, made us headbands from nearby plants, sang traditional songs, and laughed with us as we tried to use a blow-gun to hit a banana!

On a more sober note, we were privileged to get in on some of the work of the HCJB hospital in Shell, helping to try feed a toddler every few hours day and night. Marlin had likely suffered from meningitis in his jungle home before his family called MAF to fly him out to the hospital. We saw first-hand the way the missionary doctors and nurses shone with God's love and compassion in hard situations.

And we also enjoyed meeting the Salasaka Kichwa (their current preferred spelling of "Quichua") up in the mountains where the air is so thin that we got headaches! 

And yes, that is the shortest I have ever had my hair cut! Between short, blonde hair and a foot or two more of height than most of the locals, I stood out like a sort thumb. (I am the tallest in the center of the photo below, if you can't tell. Those on the left are standing on a step and thus reached higher than my shoulders.)

How sweet to be reminded of all of this through an audiobook!

An Extra-Thankful Thanksgiving!

This is not your typical Thanksgiving photo, I know. But it sums up why our family is extra thankful this Thanksgiving!

Yesterday my parents were run into less than a mile from home. Mom was unscathed even though pens and a sturdy glasses case inside the purse at her feet were mysteriously broken during impact.

Dad came through all the ER tests and scans with no bones broken and no brain bleed or organ damage, which were huge answers to prayer! He is in a lot of pain from cuts, bruises, sprains, and deep contusions, and his face looks pretty awful. But we are so thankful to have him home and healing.

He was even able to join us in singing around the supper table last night, "Praise God from Whom all blessings flow...!"

Time to get ready for a quiet Thanksgiving supper with the 4 of us at home. (Dad is grateful that much of the meal is soft for his painful teeth and jaw!)

What are you grateful for today?!

~ Hannah

A New Wood Stove

Part of rebuilding our basement after emptying it three years ago for mold remediation was getting a new wood stove. We wanted one that did not require electricity (as did the corn stove) and which would also be more efficient than our old, worn out wood stove which now sits in the garden for hot-dog roasts.

First Dad burned off a lot of the smelly coating outdoors. Then he built temporary steps to protect the new maple stairs.

Good thing, because even with an electric stair-walking dolly and three guys, it was a challenge!

It is amazing to once again have live heat in the house!

Besides super-efficient heating, we will make good use of this spot for warming up this winter, drying laundry, and just relaxing!

Birthday Season Begins!

Mom has the first of five family birthdays before Christmas (three of which are in December), so we get to celebrate a lot these weeks!

For the first time in at least a decade, Elsa and I ate the birthday meal of lasagne as well as the same cake as the rest of the family! Still gluten free so far, but with many other ingredients we have avoided for our sensitivities and inflammation levels all these years. 

Thanks to God's gift of neuroplasticity, we are finally getting back to life with the help of brain rewiring!

Another night, another party!

How is he already five?!?

October 2024 Highlights

October 2024:

Finished apple harvest

Got on our annual drive to maple, birch, and oak country

I helped with a couple days of Dad's big wood-splitting project.

I finished canning cherry tomatoes.

Frances needs more porch or lap time as the seasons change since her buddy Gully is now gone.

Elsa and I pulled out Monopoly for the first time in decades!

August 2024 Highlight: Camping at the Lake

What is Brain Rewiring?

In my last post I mentioned how healing my limbic system (a part of the nervous system) is allowing me to slowly get back to parts of life I have been missing for a decade or more. But I realize many have not even heard of the limbic system... let alone the way it can be healed through the God-given gift of neuroplasticity.

The process of healing the limbic system is often called Brain Rewiring. So what is that?

Check out my latest newsletter at this link to learn more. 

Hannah's Brain Rewiring Newsletter

And if you find it interesting, feel free to sign up for future editions of my newsletter (only once every month or two) by clicking "Subscribe" at the top left corner of the newsletter screen or using the "Sign Up for this Newsletter" button near the end.

I keep seeing new wins as I continue to rewire and regulate my nervous system. For example: Last week I got to my 3rd restaurant in a decade!

~ Hannah

Exercise Wins!

Those who have lived with chronic illness know how nearly impossible it can become to exercise. When it takes all your strength just to sit up long enough to eat, there is nothing left for a walk.

But as I continue to heal my limbic system, I am getting back to exercise! Last Sunday afternoon I took an energetic walk down our gravel road and on Monday I attended my 4th weekly WholyFit session online. Throughout the weeks I am also reviewing WholyFit exercises whenever possible via the complementary video replays for those registered for class.

I mention this, because I want to invite you to join me (women only) for the next 6-week session of WholyFit classes available online beginning November 4th. These will be a great introduction to this Christ-centered stretching-based exercise system with 20-minute live sessions and a bonus of the video replays available for 11 weeks!

For more information or to sign up for emails about new class offerings, click HERE.

You can also email my certified WholyFit instructor, Elsa, at elsa.wholyfit@gmail.com

P.S. - Elsa happens to be my little sister who struggled with even deeper disabilities than I since an adrenal crisis and onset of complex chronic illness a decade ago. Now she is stronger than I and an amazing fitness teacher with special insights into women's physical needs through various seasons of life!