Our Visit to Mississippi 2019

This will be a long post because I am trying to squeeze in three weeks worth of activities into one post.  We had a lot of fun on our recent trip home to Mississippi to see family and friends.  Here is an overview look at some of the things we did. 

We made weekly trips to the library to check out books.  We would go and spend half a morning there just browsing and hanging out.  It was one of my favorite things and something I miss greatly while away. 

One of the highlights for the boys was getting to go fishing.  They had been looking forward to it for a long time.  They got to go several times and made some wonderful memories.

my mom caught one too

They caught seven on this particular day.

My mom's sweet friend Mrs. Ann invited them over for this fishing day.  She has a lot of animals on her place that the boys got to see and pet.  It was a fun outing for them.  Mrs. Ann visited us in Guatemala several years ago with my mom.  She is a precious lady.

more fun at Mrs. Ann's house

petting her rabbit

They enjoyed getting to spend time with their cousin Ryder. 

the boys with my Aunt Diane

fishing with Ryder 

(notice he is holding a frog, ha)

Cruz celebrated his birthday while we were in the States.  I will share about that in another post.  Our families gave them combined parties.  They got a lot of money to spend.  This was our first of many trips to Walmart to pick out new toys.

Another thing they had been looking forward to for a while was visiting the Bass Pro Shop.  We spent over three hours there one day letting them walk around and see everything.  They loved it!

They especially loved getting to play this hunting game and competing against each other.

Bass Pro Shop

David's hometown of Crystal Springs has done a wonderful job of improving the downtown area.  They added a splash pad that we visited several times. 

We enjoyed ice cream at the Dairy Freeze. 

Watching the train pass through town while playing at the splash pad one evening.

a beautiful sunset over Crystal Springs as we walked home from the splash pad one evening

They got to attend two nights of VBS at our home church (Harmony Baptist).  They did not get to finish the week but will get to enjoy the theme "Life is Wild, God is Good" again later this month at a work meeting we have coming up.  A team from the States will be coming down to work with the kids and leading them in VBS activities during the week.  We are excited about that.

A special treat I had was getting to attend a Priscilla Shirer event at FBC Jackson with my friend Malinda.  She attends church there and got us VIP passes for a backstage meet and greet/ question and answer time with Priscilla and Anthony.  It was a lot of fun and the conference was amazing!  I am so thankful that I got to be there to hear her speak.  She has such a powerful message!

meeting Priscilla Shirer 

Their friend Sara Madalin had a birthday while we were home and we got to join them for a family supper at the Wynndale Steak House. 

We enjoyed a few good visits with David's dad and stepmom. 

 visiting my dad

Enjoying a girl's day out with my mom and Mrs. Ann.  We did a lot of shopping, eating, and laughing.

Visiting my Aunt Betty in the nursing home.  She is my late grandfather's sister.

Having lunch with some of David's family at Cock of the Walk in Pocahontas, MS. 

We had a fun night with the Sherwin family.  Bro. Jonathan is the pastor at our home church.  His whole family came down on our March team.  It was fun visiting with them again and enjoying a meal together.

We enjoyed getting to catch up with this sweet family from Central Baptist in Brookhaven.  During our last Stateside Assignment this church was a great blessing to us.  This family loved on us well and continues to be a great encouragement to us.  We enjoyed a meal with them before attending Wednesday night prayer meeting together.

You know I visited Porches.  No trip home would be complete without it.  We went several times but this particular day I got to enjoy it with just my mom.  It is one of our favorite things to do together.  

We had a few meals with the Johnson family.  These girls are precious and we got to meet their new little brother.  What a cutie!  Their parents were in our youth ministry years ago.  We always enjoy getting to catch up and spend time with "our big kids".  That is what we call all of our former students.

silly kids

having breakfast with the Browns at the donut shop on one of our last mornings in town

On our last Sunday we attended worship at our home church and then had lunch with the Sojourner family.  Here are the boys with Jett that day.  They miss him so much!

me and the boys in my hometown

David and the boys in his hometown

our family

We returned to Guatemala in early June.  Here are the boys at the airport ready to check in.  Our hearts were sad to leave, as always, but we were ready to get back home to life and ministry. 

Another Chick fil A meal at the Atlanta airport.

landing in Guatemala

We had many more meals with people that I failed to get pictures with (that makes me very sad).  But as you can see we had a full visit.  I do not think we had a single day without something planned.  We are thankful for everyone we got to see and every thing we got to experience.  It was fun-filled and the memories we made will last forever. I may never catch up on my rest but it was worth it.