Overnight Trip to Covington, LA

After Cruz's ballgame on Saturday morning we headed out on a little overnight trip to Covington, LA.   We had plans to do a speaking engagement on Sunday morning.  I know I post a lot of pics of my boys sleeping in the car but if you ever saw them in person then you'd understand what a peaceful sight this is to me.   We always enjoy those few moments of being still and quiet when we travel. 

my tired boys

Once arriving in Covington our first stop was for coffee.  We googled the nearest Starbucks and got us a little "pick me up".  We were tired too but our boys had refueled on the way down and us getting any rest was out of the question. 

coffee- that's what keeps these tired 'ol parents going, ha

I've mentioned before how much our boys love staying at hotels.  They think it's the funnest thing.  The church put us up in a really nice room.  We all had a fun time there.

They also LOVE riding and playing on the luggage racks.

 

Later that afternoon (when our nerves couldn't take being trapped in the hotel with our two little rowdy ones any longer) we headed out to Chick-Fil-A for a snack.  We were hungry but the main reason we went there was because they have an indoor playland.  Their playlands are enclosed in a glass area separate from the restaurant.  We can put the boys inside and then sit at a nearby table and watch them but not necessarily hear them.  We sat, talked, ate, and just took a few moments to chill.  It was very nice!

Cruz snapped this picture of us enjoying our one-on-one time

playing

 

We then headed to the Saturday evening service at First Baptist Church, Covingon.  When we worked with the Kekchi we had a partnership with this church and they sent down a few teams each year to help us.  Since moving to the Chorti area we have not hosted any teams and we've missed the fellowship with our friends from this church (and others).  We hope to one day be able to work with them again.  We loved sitting in on their service and being a part of the worship and Bible study.  It was great!

First Baptist Church, Covington, LA

 

For the first few months we were home Ben cried every single time we went to church.  He did not want us to leave him in the nursery.  That made it very hard on us to leave him.  He has since gotten over the hump and now joins his brother and they run into church together.  Cruz hops out of the car asking "where is my class?".  They love going to church and playing.  That is a blessing to us.

here they are running down the hall looking for their room

What a blessing church nurseries have been to us while in the States!  It frees us up to worship and share.

After the service we stopped by Johnny's Pizza House for a late supper.  YUM!

My boys love eating the Parmesan cheese at pizza places.  Ben would lick his hands and I would sprinkle some on for him to eat. 

It didn't take long before he was covered in cheese, ha.

my Saints waffle- isn't that cute!

We ate breakfast at the hotel on Sunday morning before checking out and heading to our next church visit.

Me and my boys eating breakfast on Sunday morning.  They looked thrilled, huh.

 

We then headed to New Zion Baptist Church, Covington.  Our former pastor, Bro. Clark Stewart, is now pastoring there.  We worked seven years on staff with him at Harmony Baptist in Crystal Springs, MS (our home church).   He and Mrs. Pam had a great part in mentoring us and pouring into our lives over the years.  We were happy to see they are doing well and their church is alive and growing.  We miss them and often think back to the days when we were all serving together.

 

Here we are this past Sunday.  Their oldest son Matt was there too and we loved getting to see him also.  David preached in both of their morning services and we both spoke during the Sunday School hour about Guatemala.  It was a great morning!  They had their "March for Missions" that morning for the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering.  That fund supports Southern Baptist missionaries who serve with the North American Mission Board here in the United States and Canada.  Even though we are foreign missionaries with the International Mission Board it was still good to be there and challenge the congregation to give.  Both organizations are doing a wonderful work and both need the support of our Baptist churches.

After lunch we drove back home to Brookhaven.  We had a little layover time at home before we headed out again to be a part of a commissioning service at Heucks Retreat Baptist Church outside of town.  That church has been independently going to Guatemala for the past 6 years working in the Chimaltenango area.  A group of 29 of them left again this past Monday on another trip there.  When they heard we were in town the pastor invited us to be a part of the commissioning service and let David give the charge to the team during that time.  It was good to meet them and learn a little about what they do on their trips.  Would you pray for them as they are there this week loving on those precious Guatemalan people?  I'll have to admit that I was a little jealous that they were all getting to go, ha. 

 

During the service their children's choir sang.  It completely blessed our hearts!  The song they sang was one of my favorites lately but hearing it come out of the mouths of children made it extra special.  I should have recorded them but I didn't think about it until it was too late.  They did an awesome job.  Here's a video of the song they sang.  What a joy for those kids to have this song in their hearts.

David, Ben, and Bro. Ken Parvin, the church pastor

 

We joined in on the ice cream fellowship before calling it a night.  It had been a busy weekend and our boys were reaching their limit.  We had been in four services in 24 hours (with David preaching in three of those).  We were tired but feeling very blessed.   Promoting missions is actually a lot of fun!!!