Closing Ceremonies

Well its official! Blu and Ruger both passed! Congratulations to Eddie, Blu-Mark Watson & Ruger-Billy Hablinski! Well deserved, awesome dogs! Sure to be back next year. California here we come! Mark it on your calendar for 10-10-10. Come and join us.
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Ruger Series 4

As usual Ruger did awesome! He went right to the short bird. He did have a small hunt on the flyer, but nothing to worry about. He started off great on the long bird. He had a straight line getting right in the water. He faded to the left and was going to get out of the water early so Eddie stopped him and got him back on line to swim the whole way. This he did and got out on the bank just right of the bird. He took a left turn and Eddie handled him over to it. He had a very nice 3 whistle blind. He looks set to earn his title unless they decide to squeeze in another series tomorrow. Way to go Ruger!
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Blu Series 4

Blu started off really nice. Pickup up the short bird no problem. He went right out to the flyer where his bird proceed to fly back to the bird station. He made a big loop them went over and caught it! He started off for the long bird just like Pete. Eddie was quick to stop him and try to correct the situation before it got out of hand. With some big verbal casts he was finally able to coax him to the bird. He was invited to run the blind, but the judges said they would have to discuss it. He had a 6 or 7 whistle blind. Not impressive, but not too bad.
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Pete Series 4

Pete started off like a pro. He easily picked up the go bird and the flyer. Then he lined up for the long bird. He looked right out at it. Eddie sent him and he headed straight for the bird, then he abruptly hooked right, around some trees. Eddie tried feverishly to get him back on track. Running way off line to see him and handle him over. Unfortunately, he was unable to get Pete into the water and back in the test. Sadly Eddie called him in and that was quite possibility his last test.
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Master National Series 4 Test

Saturday, October 31st 2009

The forth series test is a land/water triple with an honor. It has a wipe out go bird at 53 yds that splashes. The first bird lands in the corner of the pond on the dam. The flyer is shot to the outside left of the test. After the three marks are picked up, on the return of the final mark, a diversion shot is fired. Upon return a "by invitation only" blind is run behind the flyer station.
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Ruger Series 3

Ruger did awesome! What a talented dog! He had virtually no hunt on the left and middle bird and just a short hunt on the flyer. Not the best job I have seen on this test, but close. Third series and still no handle!
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Blu Series 3

Blu had 2 no birds in a row! Wow! But as they say, third times a charm! Blue did awesome, just awesome! A tiny hunt on the flyer was all he had. Go Blu!
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Pete Series 3

Pete started off great picking up the go bird. Then lined up nice for the flyer. His initial line was awful. He was in the middle of a large hunt when they realized the bird had walked off. So Pete got a lucky break and got a redo. One his second time around he did much better. He ran out for the go bird like a 2yr old. He put up a pretty good hunt for the flyer, but pulled it out in the end. The middle bird was no problem. Another series without a handle. Good job Pete!
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Master National Hunt Test Series 3 Test

Friday, October 30th 2009

The third series is a tripple land/water mark. Shot around the horn right to left starting with the flyer. The flyer is shot across a long gully about 120yds, but is very inconsistent with lots of no birds. The middle mark is about 85yds clipping the left quarter of a small round pond. The left , go bird, is about 45 degrees from the flyer at about 65yds. The birds are all pheasants adding a little difficulty to it. The flyer seems to be the biggest issue. Causing lots of dogs to have to handle.
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Pete Series 2

Thursday October 29th

This morning was warm and humid. Luckily it was not raining when Pete ran. He did really well. His flyer was a little long, but he went right to it. He came back and focused right on the left hand bird. Eddie sent him easy and he hooked right into it. When he came back he looked right at the long bird. Eddie sent him hard to get through all the drag back sent and he got in the water pushed right over the end of the point and swam straight to the bird. He didn't have a hunt on any of the marks. When he came back from the last bird the blinds were already down. Eddie lined him up for the short land blind and he one whistled it. After that he lined him up for the water blind. He started off with a quick whistle for line correction. Then he lined into the water over the peninsula and back into the water then started up the hill. He faded a little to the left and Eddie gave him a correction. He scalloped to the left and after a step cast he pushed back and found the blind. Now on to the third series.
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Ruger Series 2

He started off with a no bird, but it didn't affect him whatsoever. I don't even need to tell you about Rugers marks. They were perfect! His blinds were excellent too, just not as crisp as his marks. His land blind started out fading a little to the right. Eddie stopped him and corrected him back to the line. One quick cast at the end and the first blind was done. He took a good initial line on the water blind into the water then he faded to the right a bit. Eddie whistled and got him back on line. Then he carried the line over the next piece of land into the water. Finally, a right hand whistle and he picked up the bird.
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Blu Series 2

Blue did awesome! Smacked the flyer! He started out a little right of the left bird but promptly corrected and picked it up. Eddie sent him a little right of the middle bird. He took the water perfect and came out and went down the bank about 15ft to pick up the final mark. The left land blind was no challenge for Blu. One whistle to correct his initial line and he was on his way. Straight to it! The water blind was a little more challenging for him. His initial line was too far to the right. Eddie corrected and he went too far to the left. Another correction and he was back on line. After that he faded to the right, but one final correction and he had the bird. Good job Blu!
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Master National Series 2 Test

Wow! Yesterday (Monday) was a mess! It rained off and mostly on all day! They had to move one of the birds in the first series test because it was under water! Luckily we had run all our dogs Sunday and were able to spend the day playing. We went to Brenham to the Blue Bell Creamery and took the tour and had a little ice cream. Then we went to La Grange and sampled some wine at Rosemary's Winery. A cute little winery that in my opinion produces some very nice wine.

Today is beautiful! Sunny, warm and breezy. Just beautiful! Still extremely muddy though. There were a few dogs to run this morning to finish up the first test, but we are moved now. Gun shots in the background must mean that the test dog is running. Eddie runs #5 this morning with Blu. Then #13 with Ruger. Pete won't run till nearly last. Probably tomorrow.

Series 2 Test

This test is a walk-up water triple with a double blind. Its shot around the horn left to right with the flyer as the go bird shot to the far right outside of the test. Nearly 180 degrees to the right of the first bird landing about 60yds from the line. The lines to the memory birds are multiple water entries. The left mark was about 50yds and the middle mark was about 70yds. Once you pick up the marks the blinds are by invitation. The first is a land blind to the left of the marks about 70yds. Pretty straight forward. Through a little dip up a hill. The water blind had two entries. It stretch up a hill about 100yds going between the left and middle marks.
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Ruger Series 1

Dog #169 - Ruger

Ruger did exceptionally well. Despite his no bird that didn't get called. He started by picking up the short bird, no problem. The left bird gave him a little problem, but after a reasonable hunt he got it. The flyer came out of the station and headed straight behind it. It hit the ground and they shot it again. It really should have been a no bird, but it all happened so fast that no one called it. Ruger headed out just fine, but wouldn't hook the gun station and started to hunt. Once it was apparent he was not going to get it Eddie began to handle him. The flyer station was positioned at the left end of some thorny cover, so when he cast him over he could no longer see him and he was on his own to find the bird. He was a good dog and found it quickly as we all held our breaths. The judges said they would not count it as a handle since the bird landed where it did.
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Blu Series 1

Dog #160 - Blu

Blu had a very nice test. He was very ancy to get started. He picked up the short bird no problem. He made a short hunt on the left bird, but came out with it. The flyer through him off a little, along with a whistle from the other test, but he pulled through and beat the test. Over all a very nice test.
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Shelby Series 1

Dog #150 - Shelby

Well, Shelby didn't do so well. She picked up the short bird no problem. Then she went for the "hard" left bird and that's when it all fell apart. Its not all Shels fault though. Her bird came out and landed in the right spot, then rolled back into the trees. She went right out to where it landed, but couldn't push back into the trees. It took Eddie some effort to handle her back to it because she had already gone to where it should have been twice. The flyer was just as bad as she stopped to hunt it short and did not cast well to it. Looks like the end for poor Shel.
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Pete Series 1

Dog #135 - Pete

Pete went and got the short bird no problem. Then it was time for the second bird, the "hard" bird. At 7 years old Pete is a veteran retriever, and he showed it. He pushed through both ditches and landed just to the right of the bird. He turned and picked it right up. The flyer was a different story. Pete is not as fast as he used to be. Actually, he is a little slow now. He strolled by the flyer about 10ft down wind and then proceeded right on past. The goober kept going and hooked the trees. Then he got out of sight and Eddie had to handle him back to the bird. Where he missed the bird again. Another tweet and he finally picked it up.
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Master National Series 1 Test

Sunday October, 25 2009

Its a cool breezy mostly sunny morning. The test is a tripple shot around the horn from left to right with pheasants at each station.

Bird 1
Bird one is shot right to left in the shadows against a tree line. Across a ditch about 80 yards.

Bird 2 - Flyer
Shot right to left at about 110 yards.

Bird 3
Shot right to left at about 40 yards landing behind a ditch.

The position of the sun and the clouds makes the first bird the most challenging. Pete is the first to run. The starting number was 122. Pete is 135 making him #13 to run. Most of the dogs to run so far have had to handle on the first bird. All in all its a fair test.
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Dia Sies

Hola missions team!

Lunch time again. I am so glad! I am starving! I only had one little roll for breakfast. This morning has been busy, but has gone fast. I can't believe its the last day. My body is ready to go home, but my spirit is not. I know God will continue to provide for these people once we are gone.

The afternoon will be crazy I think. We are closing the clinic early to pack up and spend some time with everyone who has made this possible. This will not give us much time after lunch to see people.

Well, its 5:00 and the vision clinic is officially packed up. The pharmacy and the lens dispensing are still packing. My heart is heavy with the people we were unable to see. It is glad many times over for the people we did see! Thank you Father for all!

Its now 10:05. The bus was supposed to be here at 10:00. Welcome to Peru! We managed to get out of the church. The people surrounded us. It was so bitter sweet. We came back to the hotel, packed and showered. No more showers for at least 42 hours.

At 8:00 we left the hotel to go to dinner. We had Chinese again, which at first sounded bad, but ended up being good. After dinner a few of us went around the corner to our favorite little dessert shop. They were out of coconut ice cream, so I had the chocolate coconut pie. So very yummy!

God was very evident today. We were out of any prescription over +2.75. This is not very strong for older people who have had very little eye care all their lives. So when I would go from the 2.50 to the 3.00 I would say "this one is gonna be it". So many times they would pick the weaker strength. It was such a God thing.

There have been so many awesome stories this week. If you have never been involved in a mission trip before, think seriously about it.

We are on the bus and moving! The bus was supposed to leave at 10:15. Its only 30 minutes late. Not too bad. I'm about to take my sleeping pill and hopefully not open my eyes again for at least 8 hours. Good night!

Hasta Luego,

Heather
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Dia Cinco

Hola missions team!

Its lunch time again! I don't know what's on the menu. I have a real good guess though :). I just finished working on todays devotional. Sitting on the sidewalk in front of the pastors house in the sun listening to Casting Crowns. This is refreshing break.

We had a busy morning. I don't have numbers yet, but I suspect they will be bigger than yesterday. Well, the second bus is here so its time to eat. Later!

Well, lunch is over. The first bus is full so I will wait here in the sun for the second one. Our group is so big that we have to make two trips. Lunch was good. Not quite as good as yesterday, but better than the day before. My hands are still a little sticky from the two oranges I ate. They were amazing!

Here is the devotional I did for today.

-I so often feel unworthy of doing Gods work. I feel like the blessing I am receiving is much bigger than the one I am giving. Being here draws a clear picture of Gods love, grace and mercy. There is a song by Reliant K that expresses best how I feel. The man in the song is dying and Jesus comes to speak to him.

-He says: see one night in your life when you turned out the light. You asked and prayed for my forgiveness. You cried wolf. The tears they soaked your fur. The blood dripped from your fangs. You said what have I done. You loved that lamb. With every sinful bone. And there you wept alone. You said Jesus please forgive me of my pride. And sanctify this withered heart of mine. Stay with me until my life is through. And on that day please take me home with you.

I am constantly sticking my fangs back into that lamb. Every day I fail and ask God why he continues to put up with me. It was my sins that took that perfect white lamb to slaughter. Yet, here I am. In his service. So unworthy. But blessed beyond measure. We came together from all over: Texas, Oklahoma, California, Georgia, to help these people. If this is not a picture of Gods mercy, I don't know what is.

Erin has been praying for each patient all day. I pressured her into it by telling her that Tina had been praying for everyone. There was this one lady we were praying for today. She was praying as we prayed and continued to pray for us after we had finished. Not until she prayed for us did I realize how much it meant for us to pray for her. I had absolutely no idea what she was saying, but it refreshed my spirit.

I thank God every day for allowing me to be in his service. I am so glad I serve a God whose plans are bigger than my downfalls. That the success of what we do here does not depend on my righteousness but on his. I want to finish today by saying; What a privilege we have to serve him! -

So, right now I'm sitting on my bed waiting for dinner at seven. The afternoon was a bit stressful for some. I faired pretty well. My ankles are already swollen, but I think I will live. We are having dinner tonight at the hotel. The OM team is going to a christian concert here in Chiclayo. I dare not speculate what's for dinner, but it smells a little bit like chicken. I'll let you know later.

Dinner was great. No chicken. Not that it really matters much since I don't eat meat, but it was good for everyone else. It was like beef stew, rice and french fries. I use the term french fry loosely. They are not skinny and crispy like fast food, they are thicker and not crispy, but very good.

After dinner we went to the grocery store. This may seem a little boring for Peru, but its actually quite exciting. Simply avoiding being run over on the way there is a rush. Once there you stock up on all the goodies you have grown to love since you arrived. This is my shopping list. Coconut cookies, several varieties of tea, flan, toffee, vanilla extract, banana chips, sweet potato chips, chocolate covered soda crackers and coffee. Yumflan!

On the upper level of the grocery store was a little cafe with desserts. I had a piece of lemon pie and orange juice. The pie was not as good as the coconut pie, but still very yummy. The orange juice here is almost like fresh squeezed. It is very refreshing.

After that we all came back to the hotel. I waited a few minutes for the computer in the lobby to check my email and Facebook. While I was there the OM team showed up from the concert. They had a good time. And that was pretty much the end of the day.

Here are our numbers for the day.

Medical - 168
Vision - 170
Salvations - ?

Please pray for energy to get us through the last day of clinic and for safety as we return home. See y'all soon!

Hasta Luego,
Heather
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Dios Cuatro

Hola missions team!

Our God is the greatest! I am so blessed to be part of the work here in Peru! I am so unworthy of being used in such a mighty way!

I want to start with some totals.

Medical Clinic: Sunday - 170
Monday - 171
Tuesday - 164

Vision Clinic: Sunday - 148
Monday - 152
Tuesday - 138

Salvations: Sunday - ?
Monday - 50
Tuesday - 28

Only our Father could take a group of 22 people, many of whom don't know each other, and throw them together in a foreign country with 13 Peruvians and make something so good! Many people are doing things they have never done before. Things that aren't like anything they have done before. And some people use skills they have been preparing all their lives. Either way it all comes together.

Sheer exhaustion it beginning to set in at this point. I had to drag out of bed this morning. If it weren't for the sugar rush from the giant piece of amazingly great chocolate coconut pie I had for dinner I would be passed out right now. I have been told it is because today was our "hump" day and everything from this point will be down hill. I certainly hope so!

The vision clinic was great today. I felt good, which helps immensely. Tina Moore was my translator today. She did an awesome job of translating and praying for the people! We had one lady today that had her son with her. He was being a little fussy and he was sitting in Tina's chair. So, when she was done, Tina started to lead her to the next station. She stopped and started talking rapidly. It took a while to figure out what she wanted, but she just wanted us to pray for her. She had seen us pray for others, and she wanted us to pray for her too. Needless to say, we didn't try to skip praying for anybody else after that.

I was able to give away the pair of glasses I had from Steve Stidham today. For those of you who don't know him he was Eddie's mentor who died early this year. It was very bittersweet. It felt like giving away a memory. But at the same time you were creating a new one. A happier one. I will be forever touched by both of these men.

Lunch was awesome! I had potatoes, tomatoes, cucumbers, rice, a banana and a sweet lemon. The sweet lemon was exactly like an orange in size and shape, it however, had no flavor. We assumed they were not ripe. Dinner was great as well. I had an amazing salad and french fries.

We will have clinic tomorrow and Thursday. We will get on the bus around 10pm Thursday night and drive to Lima. We will arrive in Lima around 9am Friday morning. Then they have some tourista stuff planned for us.

I am constantly amazed by Gods grace and love in this place. If you have never been on a foreign mission, start praying about it today. It is a life altering experience. I must warn you though it can be addicting.

I pray that you all are well. Thank you so much for your love and support!

Hasta Manana,

Heather
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Dia Tres

Monday October 12th, 2009

I am presently sitting at the table at the pastors house. It is very noisy with all the conversations. I would love 30 minutes of alone time.

This morning started off just as yesterday. We actually saw the same amount of patients as yesterday. It is physically and mentally exhausting. The ground is rocky and uneven and it hurts your feet. Not to mention that there is no air flow. Actually, I may have mentioned that yesterday.

My sister, whom many of you know wears glasses. She has since she was very small. My mother had saved all of her glasses. She found them recently while cleaning and had the brilliant idea to send them with me. So, I have been able to take glasses my sister has not worn in years and give them to people who would otherwise have none. It really adds a nice personal touch.
*
Lunch is over. We had chicken, rice and veggies. surprise. I'm sitting out on the sidewalk in the sun. It feels amazing. There is a persistant ocean breeze and its just cool enough that the warm sun feels great.
*
The first patient I had after lunch was Desi. She is one of the OM team. She is also rooming with Marium, Amanda and me. I was able to give her a pair of my sisters glasses. That meant a lot to her. I have given out about 5 pair of her glasses so far. I only have 4 pair left, but they are small and will have to go to the right person.
*
It is now 9:45pm. I am exausted. I felt a little feverish after lunch and took some meds and felt mostly better. But waiting on dinner I started feeling bad again. I took some more meds, but still feel a little down. Please pray for strength no matter what. That even if I still feel bad in the morning that I will press on.

We had pizza for dinner. It was sort of like a frozen pizza from the states. Not as good as it sounded, but still a welcome change from chicken and rice. After dinner we came back to the hotel for our nightly meeting/debreifing.

During this time we are encouraged to share stories from our day. The most interesting story was of a woman with leprosy. I saw her waiting to see the doctor. She had no fingers and it was obvious even with shoes on her feet must have problems as well. She had several open sores on her hands. She was nearly blind from the disease. The doctors she had gone to told her she had a fungus. She was 12 when she first started having symptoms and she is currently 35. She has spent the last 23 years of her life suffering with a horribly dilapidating disease because of a missed diagnosis. They said she was the happiest person they had met. Even with all the suffering she still had her joy. What a lesson to us all!

Another lady was being checked out in triage when the nurse noticed she was having a heart attack. Needless to say, they thought it best to take her to the hospital. On her way out the door she stopped them to tell her she had also needed to have her eyes checked!

She came back later and was doing much better. She did get her glasses too. Any, one of the OM leaders asked her where she would have gone if she had died today. She responded that her husband was a christian. Any told her that didn't matter, that it was about her relationship with Jesus. She then made a profession of faith! Who knew a heart attack could save your life!

The last story I want to tell is about the pastors daughter. She has a baby around 8 months old. Totally cute, but her eyes move around rapidly. She has no control of them. The daughter was in Laura's room, along with her mother and the baby talking, for about the fourth time, about the baby's eyes. There is nothing to do, but Laura was patient to talk with her. The mother took the baby out of the room giving Laura and the daughter time to talk.

Once the mother left she really opened up. She is 18 and not married. So had obviously made some bad choices in life. She told Laura that she had lived with a man and that her sin was unforgivable. She also expressed that this was why the babies eyes were messed up. She thought God was punishing her! Laura was able to talk and pray with her and give her better understanding about forgiveness of sin. She said you could tell a giant weight had been lifted off her shoulder.

How amazing is our God! I am so thankful that he even allows me to be part of such important work! Other prayer needs are for health and strength and energy for the team. Also, we are running low or are out of certain lens prescriptions. Please pray we will have what we need to help people. I pray that God blesses you all abundantly for supporting me!

Hasta Manana,

Heather
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Request

I have only one small request. I love getting your replies, but please do not just hit the reply button. Start a new email. I have to pay per kb so the smaller the better. Also, I receive text messages for free. About to start day two. Love you guys!

Heather
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Dia Dos

Hello team! I did not forget about you today, today was just busy. It started at 7am. No, that's not early, I just get ready fast. I went down stairs (I guess now would be a good time to mention that my room is on the second floor) to the cafe to find out that breakfast is served on the fifth floor. So, I go back up stairs on to the fifth floor.

Most of the team was already there. The table was set up with toast, rolls and jelly. There was coffee, tea and juice also. A typical Peruvian breakfast. I caught the first bus to the church which left at 7:45.

Today was awesome! I don't have all the numbers, but ill give you what I do have. We stopped at 1:00 for lunch and by that point we had seen 85 eye patients and 120 medical patients. We started back from lunch around 2:30 and worked until 5:00. I will let you know tomorrow the first day totals.

I have Erin Moore as a translator. She is the daughter of our doctor and the niece of Randy and Tina Moore whom most of you know. Erin is not fluent in Spanish. She is way better than me, but there is a lot she can't communicate. She tells the patient there will be two lenses and to pick which one is better. All they have to do is pick one or two, but there is a lot of confusion nonetheless. One lady we saw was particularly difficult. I had to test her several times because she kept changing her mind about what was better. Finally after several tries I got to the same conclusion twice, so I wrote her a prescription for it and sent her on her way. She was not satisfied though and told Erin she wanted to see the doctor and pointed at Randy! I found this extremely comical, but Erin was mad. The woman obviously felt like Randy had more authority since he was a man. I sent her to sit in his waiting chair.

For lunch we went to the pastors house again. And we ate the same thing again. Dinner was a different story fortunately. We walked about 6 blocks to a Chinese restaurant. The food was real yummy. And different!

That was a crude summary of today, but seeing as I have fallen asleep already at least 6 times since I am giving up and going to sleep! I will try to do a better job of keeping you informed tomorrow.

Connect,

Heather
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Dia uno.

Well, we are finally here! We left DFW at noon yesterday and arrived here today at noon! I got a lot of sleep on the bus, but I'm sure I will crash hard later. We are meeting at 1, to eat -yay- and to go to the church to get set up.

We had lunch at the pastors house. Chicken, rice, potatoes, peas, green beans and little melons about the size and shape of tomatoes. They tasted like a cross between honey dew and cucumber.



Presently we are at the church getting things set up for tomorrow. The church is one open room aside from the bathroom on the right side. They have "rooms" sectioned off with white plastic. The floor is partially concrete and partially dirt. Very humbling.

There are presently 4 rooms set up for doctors. One will probably not be used and will most likely become part of the vision clinic. Vision will use one open space. There will be 3 people, including myself, performing eye exams. In another open area there are three tables set up for triage. The pharmacy is in a room at the front of the church, next to where the glasses will be dispensed.

We did not see any patients today since it was so late when we finished setting everything up. We will be arriving at the church between 8 and 8:15 in the morning to get to work. I am very excited to see how God works tomorrow!



We walked about 8 blocks to a restaurant to have dinner. They served us roasted chicken, french fries and salad. The salad is of course off limits, but being hard headed, and since I don't eat chicken, I went for it. I will let you know tomorrow how it turns out.

After dinner we walked back to the hotel for a short meeting. Then, two ladies and I walked 7 blocks to get some ice cream. Not something I usually eat, I know, but the ice cream here is just so good.

Well, that's about it for tonight. I'm going to bed. I want to be sure I catch up sleep from all of the traveling. And I know the morning will come too soon! Tomorrow should be a more exciting story.

Hasta Manana,

Heather
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Back In The Great State Of Texas!

Friday July, 10 2009

We are back in Texas! WAHOO! Unfortunately though we will not be home until tomorrow evening. We are at the church in McAllen for the night. You may be thinking you missed an email, but you didn't. I was too tired last night to write. With that said, let me tell you why.

We got up yesterday morning and left for the church as usual. We had the eye clinic until about 10:30 and then we started packing up. We had a few more people slip in as we were packing up, so we took care of them too. We got everything packed and then loaded up in 3 vans to head for the beach. We arrived at the beach around 12:30 and ate sandwiches that the ladies of the church had made before we left.

The water last year was nasty and no one got in it, so we expected the same this year. Wow! It was quite the opposite. The water was clear and amazing! I couldn't resist getting in, so I did! In my clothes, just the way I was. And it was so worth it! We played in the waves for about an hour, it was so great I can't express it.

Somewhere in the middle of all the fun, we held baptism. What an amazing sight! Its always great to see people being baptize, but on a beautiful sunny day at the ocean its fairly impressive. The baptismal in the church is created by mans hands, but the oceans in all their glory were fashioned directly by Gods hands. It is not something that I will soon forget!

Saturday July, 11 2009

To continue the story from yesterday, since I fell asleep writing it. After we left the beach we returned to the hotel to clean up and change and go shopping. We arrived at a local market in Tampico around 7. We spent about 2 hours walking around, shopping and eating food. I didn't see or find anything too spectacular but enjoyed the sights and sounds very much. On the square they had a band playing Spanish music. People were dancing around with each other. It was beautiful!

We woke up Friday morning and met for breakfast at a local restaurant. They had the most amazing pancakes I have ever had! After breakfast we loaded up in the van for the long trek home. The ride home was mostly uneventful. We stopped in Victoria to let brother Sammy out. He had left his truck there on the way down. His wife was coming to meet him and they were going on another mission trip.

We got a little lost, no, let's just say we took the 30 minute scenic route detour to the border. We did make it to the border though and had no problems aside from a very cute German shepherd finding some drugs in our trailer. Fortunately they had been planted by the police for training purposes. It did make things slightly more exciting though.

We went to the church in McAllen to unload our overnight luggage then excitedly drove to Golden Corral! I'm a huge Golden Corral fan to begin with, but after a week of eating beans and tortillas I was very excited. Salad and baked potato was exactly what I needed. We did a little shopping at Walmart before we headed back to the church for the night.

We left the church around 7:30 this morning and should be back in the big B around 6:00. I am very sad for the week to be over. At the same time I am very glad to be going home. I miss Eddie and my sweet fur babies.

I experienced some really amazing things this week. I saw our Lord work through the young and the old, through our team and the people of Mata Redonda. The one thing I think that touched me the most on this trip was the girl we almost left behind, Kristy. It was decided not to wait any longer for her the morning we left, but her parents ended up bringing her to meet us in McKinney. It was quite obvious she was uncomfortable and did not want to be here. She had recently accepted Jesus as her savior. Her parents are catholic, so this was all very new to her. A mission trip is exhausting and stressful for a "seasoned" Christian, but it really seemed like too much for her. You may remember that the first day of the eye clinic she was my translator. We really clicked and worked well together. Randy stole her the next day and I never got her back. Randy was examining the children and she really liked working with them. As the week went on you could see her open up. She ended up being baptized in the ocean with the Mexican people. After we left the beach we went back to the church to get the trailer and say our goodbyes. Kristy was crying, this is the moment I knew she would never be the same. Watching God transform this beautiful girl all week was worth all the work and money that went into this trip.

The events of this week bring me back to thinking about living the life of your dreams. it reminds me of a Switchfoot song. The lyrics say "Don't close your eyes. This is your life are you who you wanna be? This is your life is it everything you dreamed that it would be? When the world was younger and you had everything to loose". We have so many excuses to put off living the life of our dreams. When we are young we think we should wait till we are older, when you are established and have more money. When you get older you have a family, job, mortgage, obviously not a good time. Then you get even older and use the excuse that you have missed your time. You are never too young or too old to follow Gods calling. Nor are you ever too rich or too poor. When we are called to do something we are only expected to be obedient. It is not necessary to have all the details. When do dreams come? When you are completely surrendered to sleep. It doesn't require knowledge, hard work, planning, money or any special talents. All you have to do is let go. Can you let go and surrender, completely, to the God that gave you life? To the God that dreams for you?

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Dia Tres en Mexico

Wednesday July, 8th 2009

Wow, our last full day at the church. Tomorrow we will be leaving at 11:00 to go to the beach and have baptism and do some shopping and relaxing. When you look at what has been done here four days is an insignificant amount of time out of your life to invest in these precious people.

Right now I am in the church sanctuary where all the children have gathered to watch a puppet show. There are about 150 kids here at VBS today. Our kids would not attend such a primitive VBS. They would complain and refuse to return the next day, but these children light up! They are so excited just to get cut out paper hearts for name tags. They participate in whatever you do without question. They are certainly not perfect little angels, but much more grateful for what they get. I think everyone should consider raising their children in a poor country. How much more grateful they would be of their tremendous blessings in America.

The vision clinic was again breathtaking. We saw 211 people! That's more than twice the people we saw the first day. God has a mighty way of doing math, multiplication! He used it many times in the bible, and he still uses it today!

We are running out of so many of the higher strengths of glasses. Most of these will go for people to be able to see to read their bibles. Please pray that we will have the prescriptions we need to finish up tomorrow. If He can multiply the people He can surely multiply some eye glasses! You probably remember Kristy from the first day. She was my faithful translator whom was well trained in getting the info I needed before and during the exam. At some point yesterday she went to Randy Moores station to help him. She never returned. Randy is testing all the children and she liked working with them. So, now I'm trying to break in Leonardo. He's ok, but I miss Kristy. Thanks Randy!

In about 30 minutes VBS will be over for the week. All these precious children will go back to their homes where some of their families will not be Christians. Please pray they will be able to stay connected in some way to the church and be able to continue learning about our God. Jesus said to bring the little children to me. I am so thankful our church has been faithful in that call.

I am attaching a photo of the kitchen in the parsonage . The whole parsonage is about the size of the living room and kitchen of the Holly home. They are so proud and thankful to have it though. The cabinets and paint are new additions on this trip. As you know the kitchen is often the hub of the whole house and here that is even more so.

The sermon tonight is about being ready. Are you ready for Jesus return? The overwhelming message in this sermon is of course salvation. Are you spiritually prepared? Being on mission brings another meaning to my mind. I mentioned earlier in this email the insignificant amount of time it takes from your life to go on missions and yesterday I talked about living your dreams. You see, some day, maybe soon, Jesus is coming back. In this moment life as we have known it will end. Literally, time will stand still and all eyes will turn to Jesus. Soon after this we will stand before our Father and give an account of our life. Will you gladly give an account of the time you were given? Or will you stand in shame, remembering the dreams you never lived?

I look so forward to the day Jesus comes back. I can't wait to live in the glory of the Lord forever. Leaving behind the worries and pains of this world. I pray for that day to come soon, but at the same time, I have unfinished dreams. I have many things to account to my Father. Yet, I don't feel like I have lived my full purpose.

As I look around at the people of the church, my heart is gladened. So many of the people are wearing glasses in service tonight. They may be able to read their bible in church for the first time in years. What an amazing work I have been allowed to be a part of. Thank you Father for allowing me to be part of your dream for this church and these precious people! Do you ever get the feeling you were meant to do something? Do it! Make it happen! Joy is found in your purpose! Sacrifices will be made. Some greater than others. Some so small they may go unnoticed. All will be worth it. When you are standing in the middle of a moment and you realize your are in the middle of your dreams, you will be unable to control the joy you will feel. You will become addicted. Your life will never be the same. You will wonder why it took you so long to get there. But you knot it won't be the last time, you will do whatever it takes to be there again.

I always wanted to be a part of foreign missions. I never thought it would be a reality though. I look back now and realize that it was always part of my purpose in life to be involved with missions. It just took me a long time to believe it and live it. Now, I'm not calling everyone to be a missionary. Although I think everyone should experience it at least once in their lifetime. What I am calling you to do is to:
- Realize your purpose
- Live your dreams.
- Follow our Father wherever he leads you.

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Dia Dos en Mexico

Tuesday, July 7th 2009

Well, we have made it through our second day of vision clinic. Today of course was a little different than yesterday. We started this morning at 8:30 and worked until around 12:30. We saw around 160 people today! Amazing!

Things went much smoother today. We all had gained a rhythm yesterday and found it again easily. We began running out of some of our prescription strengths today. Unfortunately we ran out of some that were needed. In those cases, we would give them the highest power we had and if it helped we would let them have them. Twice today I had someone that I could not help at all. Their eyes were too bad. Its heartbreaking to turn people away, but we knew that would happen when we came. On the other hand, its wonderfully rewarding to see them suddenly see. Most importantly a lot of people have come to see spiritually. I don't have any exact numbers, but they are significant.

All of the things we are doing this week started as a dream. Whose dream you may ask? Gods dream. Now to whom specific he revealed it to I don't know. The original dream to be involved with this church began a couple of years ago. Two trips have been made since then and now we are on the third installment of that dream. It has taken many different dreams by many different people to get us to where we are today, but the dreams all came from the same place. Or rather the same person.

It is always so beautiful to me to see people working together to make dreams possible. People just rally together to help. They learn new things if needed. They give of their time and/or money. Sacrifice is not often associated with dreams, but few dreams are brought to reality without some degree of sacrifice. One of the greatest dreams ever, required the sacrifice of a fathers only son. The dream was that all people my have the opportunity to have eternal life.

We were created by a creative God who gave us the power to also be creative. Dreaming is a powerful way God allows us to be creative. All of your dreams put together can never come close to Gods dreams. Think of your most beautiful amazing dreams, now think what it might be like for God to dream. We are talking about the God that created the heavens and the earth out of nothing! Nothing! Often our creations are based on things we have seen, but God created from nothing! The bible says God has dreams for us. His dreams, not our dreams. How exciting! The creator of the universe has dreams for us!

When people choose to follow those dreams, something beautiful happens. What started as only a mere image in someones head has impacted an immeasurable amount of people. Both physically and spiritually. Jesus himself, during his missionary career met not only the spiritual but also the physical needs of people. In fact, it was brought to my attention this week that Jesus met the physical needs of people before he focused on their spiritual needs.

We should not try to limit our dreams to what we think is possible. Rather, our possibilities should be limited by our dreams. It has been a year since our first trip to the church here in Mata Redonde. It is so amazing to see how God has been able to take what we did and multiply it. If we are only willing to do what we are asked, he will do the rest. We can build, fix, hold VBS, pastors clinics and vision clinics, but only our Father can change their hearts. He could do it all without us, but he allows us to be a part of his dreams.

The service tonight was great. Brother Lyn conveyed the story of the prodigal son, or more importantly the loving father. It is so easy to focus on the son in this story. We focus on what he did and how he realized his mistakes and asked for forgiveness. But if you focus on how the father acts in this story you will discover the true nature of our heavenly father. He grants us the freedom to choose how we want to live. Unfortunately he does not shield us from the consequences of our actions. He does however wait patiently for us to return to him and then opens his arms and welcomes us back. He never asks us where we have been or why we strayed, he simply rejoices in our return. The saddest thing about this story is all the fellowship the son missed while he was gone. All the time he spent squandering his earthly wealth could have been invested in a relationship with his father. Precious time that can't be made up. What dreams are we missing out on by doing our own thing? Is it time to run back into his arms? How else will we be able to live the life of our dreams? Or more importantly, his dreams?

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Day Uno

We started today down by the lake, which I found out is indeed a lake and not the ocean. We had a brief meeting at 7:20 then we loaded up to go to the church.

Today was exciting. Simply put exciting. Its always exciting to do something new. Yet at the same time it can be terrifying. Ever since the opportunity of being part of the vision clinic in Mexico became a reality I have dreamed about it and looked forward to it. At the same time, this is new territory. Uncharted waters. I attended the vision clinic training, but let's face it, surgeons practice on dead people before removing their first spleen. Now, with that said, eye glasses are not life or death, but can be useless to their new owners if incorrect.

We had three examination stations set up. My interpreter was Kristy whom I had only met at the start of this trip. She was as scared and lost as I was and was of no comfort to me except for the knowledge that she wouldn't be able to tell if I was doing it wrong. Your interpreter basically administers the exam, you just change the power of the "flippers" back and forth until the person can see most clearly.

It started off kind of rough and slow. Its hard to explain to someone that both choices will probably be blurry, but one will be better and we need to know which one that is. That was Kristys battle. My battle was doing basic algebra in my head while being completely unsure of what I was doing. The basic principal I had grasped, but still lacked experience. If you don't believe God can use you effectively in anything he calls you to do, your wrong! By the time we were finished she could easily convey the instructions and I had dramatically sped up the "flipper" process.

For those of you who are completely unfamiliar with what we are doing, her is a rough explanation of the "flipper" method of eye examination. It begins with a basic eye exam with a flashlight to check for abnormalities and cataracts. Then you have these sticks or "flippers" with four lenses on the end. Each side has two lenses, a plus side and a minus side. Each flipper is a different power, 0.50, 2.00, 3.00 and 4.25. This is where the basic algebra comes into play. You use the positive and negative powers to create a whole range of positive and negative numbers. For example, you begin with the 4.25 and the 3.00. Put these together and you get either a plus or minus 1.25. From there you add the 0.50 to get a plus or minus 1.75. If this confuses you ill send you a club membership card. Not to mention the fact that it only gets more complicated from there.

The whole process as a whole is brilliant. Designed by an optometrist so that any idiot, including me, can perform an invaluable service for people who desperately need it. Created when he saw a need and realized finding doctors to fill that need was unlikely. This was a man of vision and passion. A man who saw a need and filled it.

After the vision clinic we had lunch, then a few of us came back to the hotel. That is where I am writing you from. I am sitting outside the hotel on a bench enjoying the sights and sounds of Mexico. I love to watch these people in their daily tasks. We have so many luxuries and conveniences in America, yet we are unable to simply enjoy life like they do. They gather as family and friends every day. Enjoying what they have.

The VBS group will be arriving soon. We will leave back out for the church around 6 for dinner and the nightly service. Talk about people dedicated to gathering to worship the Lord. They walk to church in the heat then cram into a small room with sweat rolling off of them and worship like they mean it. There may be a lot of sad things to see in this country, but one sweaty church service and you will know our God is here and that he reigns!

The day is now at an end. Dinner is eaten, service has been attended and showers are done. I'm renewed and ready for tomorrow. I have a room full of crazy girls being silly and rowdy. Sleep is coming soon though. Goodnight and God Bless!

For His Purpose,

Heather

Pictures- the lake by the hotel and an avocado tree outside the hotel.
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Travel Day 2 & Arrival

Well, as the day comes quickly to an end, I lay in bed ready for some real rest. Free of hard floors or bouncy vans. But, before the last few minutes of the day fades away let us turn back to the beginning.

The morning started around 5:45. We were to meet for breakfast at 6:30 and leave at 7. I got everything packed up, my teeth brushed and headed down for breakfast. But, let me spare you all the boring travel details.

We stopped to exchange money, then drove to the border. Had a few minor problems, but made it through. Thank you Father! Then we drove. And drove. And stopped to get gas and potty. Then we drove. And drove. And stopp.... You get the idea.

We arrived at the church around 5:20. It looked great! The roof they put on the education building in March was amazing! So many things were different, but still the same. Like we had only been gone a few weeks. Its amazing how quickly you can build a bond with a people and a place.

We ate dinner, beans, tortillas, and eggs of course, then headed in for the evening service. The church was packed and hot! It was great! Lots of decisions were made this evening.

Our hotel is great! Big and clean! A block off the water. I don't know if its the ocean or a lake, but it was really beautiful in the moonlight. I went for a short run with Lyndsay and Lacy Holly. Much needed after all the riding!

Morning will come quickly I am sure. We are to meet at the water at 7:20 for our morning meeting. After that we will head to the church for breakfast. The eye clinic begins at 9 and goes to 12:30. I don't want to tell you any more than that as details seem to change quickly around here. Hopefully there will be something slightly more interesting to share tomorrow. Until then.

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Travel Day Uno

I arrived at the church this morning at 6:30. We were told to be there at 6:30 so we could leave at 7. One reason I wanted to be there promptly at 6:30 was so I could choose my seat on the van. I chose the 4th row window seat, same as last year. Its not the very back, but its close. After loading my travel items on the chosen seat I took my suite case and bed roll and loaded them in the trailer.

We left the church around 7:20 headed for McAllen, Texas. One of the girls from the Spanish church was not there when we left and was unreachable on the phone. The decision was made to go without her. We were meeting up with brother Sammy at the Super Target in McKinney. At some point the girl contacted us and her parents brought her to meet is in McKinney.

So, we had a little time to hang out there. We went to the Starbucks in Target and got yummy treats, then we walked the parking lot for a little exercise. Christina arrived and we loaded back up and headed out.

The rest of the trip was long and uneventful. We stopped every 2 to 3 hours to refuel or use the restroom. We arrived in McAllen around 7:20. We went to El Casa Del Taco for dinner. Yes, Mexican food right before we go to Mexico? Doesn't make sense to me either, oh well! While we were eating, a man selling roses came around the table. Lyn bought one for Lissa then he left. Later another man came by and they were trying to get Tillman to buy one for Jewel, he said he didn't need to buy one because he hadn't done anything wrong! Ha ha!

We are at the church now. Waiting to have a meeting so I can go to bed!

Meeting is over. As usual, everything has changed and thrown us for a loop. Much prayer is needed as we are trying to rearrange all our plans now. We had originally planned to do the vision clinic in the morning, then the pastors conference, then VBS, as the kids were still in school. Now, we just found out that school suddenly let out and the best time to do VBS is in the morning. So, things are changing, but we know that the harder Satan attacks the greater the work God has in store!

We are meeting at 6:30 in the morning for breakfast, then loading up on the van at 7:00 to go exchange money and head for the border. Our travels have been good so far, please pray tomorrow goes the same. Pray also again for a vision. Adapting is always difficult, but impossible without a clear vision.

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Tampico Prep

What does it mean when your lying awake in bed at 5:45am and can't go back to sleep? Well, for me it means I stayed up until midnight packing for the Tampico, Mexico trip and still have some to do before 8:00 this morning. Yes, I do know the consequences of last minute packing, yet I still usually choose to do it that way.

The prep and packing for the Mexico trip is more difficult than the Peru trip. That may sound strange, but packing for Peru means you take the bare minimum you need to survive for a week and cram it into one carry on suite case. The 6 hour flight is the longest span of time that you have to entertain yourself and you get served dinner and a movie during that time. Mexico however means packing the bare minimum to survive into one suite case, then a bed roll for a stay over in McAllen, and most importantly entertainment for two twelve hour days of traveling. This is the hard part, because space is limited. I also have a travel rule that states that I should be able to carry all my things at one time. Many lessons were learned on last years trip and will be put into practice this time.

First of all, food. When being held captive by a van, boredom causes you to think about your stomach. This can be a really bad thing. Riding for 2 days and consuming junk food will make you feel less than good. Only take things that consumed in large quantities will make you feel refreshed. My travel food bag this trip consists of apples, oranges, whole wheat crackers, prunes, grapes, blueberries, peanut butter, oat bread, spinach, asparagus, and sugar free candy. These are things I can eat without feeling bad about later.

Second, media. An MP3 player is a must! Personal time on a van is hard to find, but necessary for sanity. The DVD player worked out well last year and will be utilized again this year. I was hoping to just watch movies on the MP3, but a lack of preparation thwarted those plans.

Third, comfort. Traveling clothes must be comfortable. This has never been a problem, but fashion is not even considered here. Stretchy shorts and a T-shirt are the best options. Pillows are vital if you plan to do any snoozing without waking up feeling like you have been run over. A large firm pillow works best as the road will be bumpy and a thin pillow will cause you to bump your head. Blanket, chances are the van will be too warm or too cool. Too warm and you have extra pillow material, too cool and you can cuddle up and be comfortable.

Lastly, drugs. Yes, drugs. Benadryl is your friend. It is the safest drug you can take and has many benefits. Not only will it make you sleepy, usually without making you delusional like a lot of other meds, its also helps protect you from anything new you come in contact with that may cause you to sneeze, itch, swell or break out into a rash. I did not intend to be doped up on benadryl last year, but after a bee sting on the first day that left my arm swollen and feverish for 2 days I learned a valuable lesson. Additionally, you want to pack your favorite pain medication. Everyone uses something different, so if one product works better for you, pack it.

Travel wisdom is acquired quite quickly, you learn what you don't need and what you wish you did have. Take notes and keep them in your suite case to make packing easier. And this way you won't forget something critical like your eye mask and ear plugs that you don't think about in between trips.

We pack the van at the church this morning at 9:00 with VBS, vision clinic, construction and pastors conference supplies and our main suite cases. My main suite case holds clothes to give the ladies there and food for the week and trip back. Our bed rolls and "overnight bags" will go in the trailer Saturday morning when we leave. I say "overnight bag" because mine has everything in it for all week. You learn to pack a lot into a little when you have an aversion to checking luggage at the airport.

I am getting excited, but am also sad about leaving my cats. Ha ha! Seriously, I will miss Eddie so much. He is necessary for my sanity at times. I will try to update every night with the days happenings. If you don't receive one, its very possible they are working us too hard! Please be praying for safety, health, patience, open hearts, willingness to adapt, quick travels and a vision. I listed vision last, because I wanted you to remember it. Mission work is futile without vision. Without a single vision we will all be working for different things. Although we may be doing different things we should all be working toward the same thing. Please pray that our Father will give us this vision.

For His Purpose,

Heather
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Big D Hunting Retriever Club Hunt Test, March 27-29, 2009

Friday March 27, 2009

Well, we have made it to the Big D Hunting Retriever Club test in Fairfield at the May Sel Ranch. The trip down to this point has been completely uneventful! Praise the Lord! We left Bonham around 4pm Thursday and after several stops we made it to our super Super 8 motel around 9pm. Yeah! Relax time!

We are currently sitting at the Master B where Watermark's Pistolpack'n Sagon (Pete) will be running today. Hopefully soon. Hunt tests don't usually start on Friday, but this is a double Master. Pete is the only dog running in the Master. He will be running in both Masters on Friday and Saturday. He needs to pass just one of the tests to get his Master title. If he passes both he will be only one pass short of qualifying for the Master National. All the other tests start tomorrow and then again on Sunday. We have 7 dogs besides Pete running this weekend.

• Pete – Owned by Gary and Linda Noga (aka. Mom & Pops)
• Pete is a 6 ½ year old chocolate male Labrador retriever. He didn't start his Hunt Test career until last spring where he ran 3 Masters and passed all 3, then 3 in the fall where he passed 2 and failed 1. He will be running in the Master today and on Saturday.
• Bin – Owned by Larry & Kathy Kimble
• Bin is a 2 ½ year old male yellow Labrador retriever. He will be running in the Senior on Saturday and Sunday. He already has his Junior Hunter title. This will be his first Senior Hunt Test.
• Biscuit – Owned by Tom Webb
• Biscuit is a 2 ½ year old chocolate female Labrador retriever. She will be running in the Senior on Saturday and Sunday. She already has her Junior Hunter Title. This will be her 1^st Senior.
• Gunner – Owned by Derek O'Rear
• Gunner is a 1yr old black male Labrador retriever. He will be running in the Junior on Saturday and Sunday. This will be his first Junior Hunt Test.
• Scout – Owned by Joel and Aileen Durrett
• Scout (aka. Scouty Pants, Scouty Bear & hey guys Scout needs to see the vet again) is a 1 ½ year old male yellow Labrador retriever. He will be running in the Junior on Saturday and Sunday. He ran in one Junior Test last fall and passed! He needs 3 more to get his title.
• Lu – Owned by Jim & Amy Cadena
• Lu is a 1 year old female yellow Labrador retriever. She will be running in the Junior on Saturday and Sunday. This will be her first Junior Hunt Test.
• Slinger – Owned by Woody Jackson
• Slinger is a 1 year old black male Labrador retriever. He will be running in the Junior on Saturday and Sunday. This will be his first Junior Hunt Test.
• King – Owned by Eric Smith
• King is a 15 month old black male Labrador retriever. He will be running in the Junior on Saturday and Sunday. He ran in 2 Juniors last fall and got 2 passes! He will earn his title this weekend if he passes both tests.

So, back to the here and now. Pete is running #12 today. They are on dog #7. The test is an inverted walkup triple with the flyer shot first up the middle, followed by the left hand mark thrown to the outside of the test with the final third mark converging with the flyer. The long bird is approximately 80 yards. Once you pick up the triple you have a blind deep into the left of the middle flyer at about 100 yards.

Pete went to the line the first time and the honor dog broke so he had to come off the line and move 2 dogs back to run again. When he came to the line the second time all went well. The birds fell into place and he marked them well. He picked up the first mark without a hunt, then the second he ran around the blind to get the bird with a minimal hunt, and then he literally stepped on the flyer bird. He had a 3 whistle blind that was just great!

We are headed back to the hotel now. Pete was number 12 to run out of 50 dogs. He just got finished and it is already 10:30. We will probably head back around 3:00.

OK, so we left the hotel at 3:00 to come check the progression of the test. When we pulled up they had moved but were still setting the test up (!), so we drove down the road and let the dogs air for about an hour. When we came back they had run 8 dogs. It was around 5:30 by now and there were still about 30 dogs to run before it was Pete's turn so we decided it wasn't going to happen today and went back to the motel.

Saturday March 28, 2009

We left the motel this morning at around 7:15 and went to air the dogs. We arrived at the Master around 8:30 and they were getting ready to start. There were not many people there so Pete got to run 2^nd. The first dog had a "no" bird (they had a problem with the test) so it went back to the truck and will get to try again later. Pete lined up to run the blind, he started out, they threw the "poison" bird (a bird that's thrown while the dog is running to trick him up, they pick it up later) Eddie whistled to stop him, gave him a "back" cast and whistled to stop him again when the "mark" station got confused and threw their bird. So, Pete had a botched up run in the second series as well, but Eddie decided to go ahead and run him again instead of taking a break.

This test started off with a blind and an in route poison bird, after you pick up the blind they shoot a double. You pick up the double then the poison bird. After that you have one more blind and you're done. Pete had a squirrely blind but then picked up all the birds and the second blind beautifully. Still one leg to go.

After that we moved on to the Senior to run Bin & Biscuit. Bin was up first. This test was an out of order double (Short bird is thrown first followed by the long "Go Bird") with a flyer followed by a blind. Fairly straight forward and simple, so we thought. Bin picked up the marks like a champ, then Eddie lined him up for the blind and he "no-go-ed" him (he just sat there when Eddie called him to go get the bird), so Eddie took him off the line and that was the end of Bin's first Senior.

Biscuit lined up for the marks, the first bird came out just fine , then they threw the flyer and it went up about 1ft then straight to the ground. Eddie too her back and let 1 dog run then he went up again. She picked up the flyer bird great then had to handle to the second bird. He lined her up for the blind and sent her. She would not take a cast well and after several attempts to get her to the bird he pulled her and that was the end of her second attempted Senior.

Now on to the Junior. The Junior was set on a large flat piece of land bordered with trees and some water scattered around. There were 2 single marks. One to the right first at about 100 yards then one to the left at about 90 yards landing just over the back side of a little ridge. Gunner was the first up. He ran out and flew past the bird on the up wind side. He went way deep of the bird and hunted there for what seemed like forever. Finally with a little help he picked up the bird and that was it for him.

Scout was the second to run. He lined up, sprinted to the bird, did a small loop and picked it up. He lined up for the second bird; it came out of the blind and fell just short of the base of the tree. Now, there is about a 20mph cross wind, so if you don't go down wind of the bird your in trouble. He came off the starting line in true Scout form, fought the wind, kept a perfect line and ran right past it up wind. Well, it gets ugly after that, he hunted deep of the bird for a while before finally getting down wind of the bird and picking it up. That was the end of Scouts first Junior.

Slinger was the 3^rd dog to run and boy did he show up the dogs that ran before him and save our name. He smacked both birds with a "hey, I've been doing this all my life" attitude. Go Slinger!

Lu was next to the line. Jim & Amy where here to watch her run her first Junior. She was typical Lu all the way to the line. Give me a bird, where's the bird? Jumping around like a rabid deer but still under control. Her marks were beautiful and graceful (gazelle like) like only Lu (aka. Sweet Lu or Skinny Lu) can do.

King, the seasoned Hunt Tester (2 Junior passes last fall) was next up to bat. He was much more composed than the others and did just great on his marks. No doubt he will be advancing to Senior soon.

After the Junior we searched the countryside for our Saturday Master Test (Master C). The sign was placed right before a gate entrance. Shortly after you entered the gate the road split and went in totally opposite directions. Unfortunately we took the wrong road and drove way out of the way to find that out. Eventually we did find the test.

We got out to see what was going on and were told they had not started the test for lack of bird throwers and dogs to run. My husband (God love him.) offered the services of the Cadena's and I. So, we went out and worked for 7 dogs until more help arrived. This was a nice test with one minor problem. They had to run a blind through a ditch filled with thorns and the result was some minor injuries. It started with the flyer being shot as the long bird which you had to "No" them off of and run 2 blinds. The first to the left and deep of the flyer, then another through a ditch with thorns, over a road and to the right of the whole test. After you picked up the blinds two marks were thrown. The first, coming out of a blind at the base of the hill that landed angled back at the end of a row trees in the ditch directly under where the flier landed (only separated by a mere 30 yards) and the second, was shot to the outside of the test over the line to the blind that you have already picked up. After picking up the double you then picked up the flyer.

I was in the field working the second "mark" station when Pete ran, but this is what I saw. He nearly lined the first blind. Eddie stopped him right before it to make sure he was on track. He had a bit more trouble with the second blind but managed to work through it without too much fuss. He picked up the first mark no problem but ran behind the gunner on the second mark. He ran past the flyer and had a bit of a hunt but worked it out and picked it up.

After we were relieved of bird duty we went to find Master B (from Friday). They had moved to the third and final series. This was a straight up triple in some running water with one bird being only 10 yards from the line. Pete went to the line and in true Pete form he got a "no" bird. Eddie pulled him off the line while they fixed the winger then he went right back to the line. Pete went right to the first mark; it was short and splashed in the water. Eddie lined him up right to the second mark. The third mark he went a little right and a quick cast got him back on track. That was the only handle Pete had in this Master. He should have passed and that will give him his Master title! Go Pete!

Next we went back to finish the Junior. When we got there they were waiting for dogs so we got to run them one after another. Lu went first this time. The test was very simple singles on flat land with a channel of water to cross. Lu took off for the first bird and jumped the channel! She picked up the bird then came back and jumped the channel again! The next bird was just the same. Everyone was amazed at her jumping abilities. She should have passed and earned her first leg of her Junior Title.

Slinger ran next and did just as well. His second bird went into the woods, but he went right in and got it. He should have passed and earned his first leg of his Junior as well. Plus, he has a little gazelle in him too!

King was the last dog of the day to run. He was solid as expected and we are proud of him.

We are headed to have dinner with the Cadena's at Gilbertos Mexican Restaurant. Then we will air the dogs one final time before we return to the motel for much needed rest. The wind was blowing 90-to-nothing all day and it really wore us all out. Not to mention all the dirt I have in my eyes, nose and hair. It was fairly cold most of the day but warmed up nicely when the sun was out. Tomorrow the weather is supposed to be perfect. And hopefully the dogs that failed today will do better tomorrow.

Sunday March 29, 2009

Today started out with a minor mishap, flat tire on the trailer. After airing the dogs we drove to Mexia to the Wal-Mart tire center and they said it couldn't be fixed, so we had them put on the spare. Then we headed back to Fairfield for the Hunt Test.

Now, this may sound very trivial to have to put on a spare, but before Thursday we didn't have a spare. The last one mysteriously disappeared when the bolt that holds it on top of the trailer snapped. It has been missing for around 6 months. You see God didn't prevent us from getting a flat tire, but he provided us with a spare!

When we finally arrived we went straight to the Senior. Bin was first again today, and had just as many problems. The test was a diversion pop blind followed by a double. The marks were to the right of the blind, out of order, with the "go" bird landing across a small channel. Bin never got to experience the marks, because he refused to leave the line again. So disappointing!

Biscuit was next and she had a nice blind! She picked up the first mark then let the out-of-order-ness mess her up on the second mark. Eddie handled her to it, but it was not pretty.. Hopefully she will get called back, but won't be too surprised if she doesn't. After that we left to go to the Junior.

When we arrived at the Junior Lu was the first to run. The test was two singles up a hill with the first bird being the short bird on the left and the second bird being the long bird on the right. Lu went out and picked up the first bird, then went out and hunted a little on the second bird (I think she secretly knew where the bird was the whole time, she just wanted to stretch her legs).

Scout was the next to go. He went out and picked up the birds no problemo! See you next series.

King ran 3^rd and made it look like he had done it 100 times before. He was a little disappointed it was over so quickly!

Gunner ran after King and made it look just as easy. Great come back from yesterday!

Slinger got the first bird just fine, but he got a little confused on the second and headed back to the first mark. So sad! Poor Slinger! Better luck next time buddy.

At the moment we are waiting at the Master to run Pete.. This is a great test! It's set at the end of a pond surrounded by trees and it actually looks like it would have ducks. It's a triple with the first two birds converging into the water with the third bird going on land up a hill across the water through the trees to the right of the first marks. After the marks are picked up a blind is planted just to the right of the second bird.

Pete, oh Pete. What can I say? If you have something that works, stick to it.. He lined up for the marks, boom, bird, boom………………..no bird. Yes, again! So Pete took a little break, let another dog run and then came back. This time he lined up and had no problems with the birds. He picked up the first one no problem, the second one no problem (although he could have taken a bit more water) the third one was a bit ugly. He took off ok then too a sudden left and ran through the woods instead of taking the water. The blind wasn't top notch either. He started off by leaving the line on his own, way off track, but handled well from there and got the bird without too much fuss.

So, back to the Junior for the final test. Wow, what a mess! They had the line on a peninsula with the first mark coming out and landing on land at about 8:30 if the line is at noon. The dog had every opportunity to run around the water and pick up the bird. Oh, and trust me they did! The second bird came up and landed at about 2:30, but it at least splashed in the water. The judges said the dog had to get wet, but if they didn't they would "talk about it"!? Not at all a fair Junior test.

Lu was the first on to attempt this debacle. She did great! She started off by popping-a-wheelie and flying into the water. She could care less about running around. Just don't get between her and the bird.

Scout went next and ran as quickly as he could all the way around the water. But, he did get the bird, and picked up the next one no problem.

King ran 3^rd again and showed us again why he deserves to be here. He should have earned his Junior title!

Gunner was the last dog on our truck subjected to mass unfairness. He must have talked to Scout and found out it was easier to run around than swim, because he did the same thing. He did actually get in the water and splash around before picking up the bird though. Hope that counts! The last bird was a breeze for him, of course.

Well, it's now 4:40 and we are back at the Master for our final series and the last dog of the day. We just found out Biscuit failed this morning and won't be able to run the second series. They just moved the final Master test and are setting it up. Hopefully that won't take long and we will be able to run Pete soon and head for the big B.

Yeah! Pete is # 3 to run. This is water double with a poison bird shot coming in from the first mark. Pete was amazing! He so deserves to be a Master Hunter! He picked up all the birds with careful precision.

All in all it was a great weekend. Boring at times, ridiculous at times, but also exciting and relaxing at times. It is always nice to get away from the house and the everyday routine. The next hunt test is DFW Retriever Club April 18 & 19 in Ravenna . It is super close to home and I will be taking pictures there, but I will try to keep up with all the dogs and give a report.

My Defining Moment

This ticket was given to me by a great friend Shannon Head. Shannon and I met on the bus in kindergarten about 24 years ago. She is so much more than just a friend to me.

Let me turn back time about 5 years to start this story. Eddie and I were planned to be married about 2 months from the date of this ticket. We had been dating for nearly 5 years. The only time I can remember us going to church up to this point was his grandmothers funeral. We talked about God and Jesus and church and even prayed on occasion. We were both Christians and knew if we died we would go to heaven. Shannon often invited us to church, but there was no time for that. We were busy like everyone else and used Sunday to relax. Besides, you don't have to go to church to go to heaven.

Now, let me turn back time about 12 more years. At this point in my life in 1992 I was 12. My family and I had attended Boyd Baptist Church for as long as I could remember. Church was just a way of life for us. We attended lots of functions and I really enjoyed going. One morning Pastor Chris Cowen was preaching and when it came time for the invitation I realised I was a sinner and needed Jesus in my life. Occasionally someone will ask you to explain what your life was like before you accepted Jesus. I was a typical 12 year old, so things didn't really change much except for in my thinking. I remember spiritual things started to make more sense.

OK, fast forward 12 years to a week before the event advertised on the ticket. Shannon told us there was going to be a big event at the high school football stadium in Bonham. She said they would be serving free food. Wait a minute, if you know Eddie and I very well at all you know if there is going to be FREE food we will be there. Now, to top it off this was going to be free steak! We could fit time in our schedule for a night of food and entertainment with our friend. She said she would meet us there with the tickets. We got there and had our free meal. Free food always tastes better. Then we found seats in the stands. There was a very engaging worship service. I have a passion for music and God often speaks to me through it. I don't remember exactly how I felt at this point, but I'm sure he was already working on my heart by this time. Ronnie Hill was the speaker that night. I can't even tell you now what he talked about, but I remember the awful heavy burden on me. I knew I was not living right despite trying very hard to convince myself I was. I kept thinking about what I would do when it was time for the invitation. I kept hoping it would not come. I was a christian, I was saved, why did I feel this way? Ronnie started to pray, he said if anyone needed prayer to raise their hand. By this time God had completely broken me down. I couldn't stop crying, but I didn't know why I was crying in the first place. After he had prayed he said if you had raised your hand to make your way to the tents beside to stands and someone would pray with you. I reluctantly took Eddie by the hand and asked him to come with me. When we got down there we met some amazing missionaries Bill and Kim Little who prayed with us and encouraged us. They helped us get on the path that lead us to where we are today. Now, I need to point out that no one had to be there that night. They could have been doing their normal church stuff somewhere else. They didn't have to spend their time cooking steak for however many people where there. They had spent the days leading up to this knocking on doors all over Fannin County spreading the word of Jesus. They were so faithful to do what God was leading them to do that I had a life changing defining moment. There is no telling how many other people were touched that week. I can't express enough gratitude to all the people involved that night. And especially to Shannon for inviting me. This brings us to the inspiration of this blog and what brought me to realize this was my defining moment. I was listening to music on my MP3 player a few days ago when the song Defining Moment by NewSong came on. I speaks of the moment of salvation, but I think for me it speaks of this moment in my life. You see, you can be saved, truly believe in Jesus, go to church and still miss the point. It was on this day I realised I was missing the point. This link will allow you to listen to the song. Defining Moment Defining Moment - Newsong Lyrics There comes a time in every heart a time of real decision When we reach the point of choosing how we will live our lives All our hopes, all our dreams will rise up from that moment The moment we surrender and choose to follow Christ He's been waiting all our lives to hear us say I am yours, Lord, take my hand and lead the way Chorus: When you believe he's all you need That will be your defining moment As you live your life walking in his Light trusting him completely That will be, that will be your defining moment All I have, all I am is resting in his promise The promise that he'll make me everything that I should be I will live, I will die, for the cause he's set before me To take this love inside my heart for all the world to see All of heaven celebrates when they hear someone say I am yours, Lord, take my hand and lead the way Repeat Chorus Bridge:His amazing grace is such a mystery, How in an instant it can make your life complete Chorus(x2)