more speaking, more friends!

Monday we went out with our good friends Doug and Julie (Doug and Matt below), Tuesday we gave a presentation with our good friend Charlie from Kansas, Wednesday we spoke 3 times at Franklinville UMC for their VBS program, and TODAY Matt, Lily and I hung out just as a family, and it was all wonderful!

We went to Zahav's ("gold" in Hebrew) with Doug and Julie, and the Israeli food was FANTASTIC...the cheeses, the salads, the pita, the hummus...everything, except for Doug's veal tongue, which I absolutely did not try. Afterwards, we walked around Philly, and saw this fantastic moon-rise...

Matt also had some fun using his Hebrew, which was (I must admit) quite impressive :)

Sunday, Lily got to swim at Uncle Don's house (and torment their kittens) after our rib-feast.

Doug and Julie's son Tom is working on threatening Tiger's game, and is working meanwhile at the golf course...He spent a week with us in Haiti and became a good friend!

Grammy bought Lily a new "duck" suit and some sparkle shoes....that's what Grandma's are for!

taking a break without breaks!

Mmmm...what a lovely weekend! Saturday we spent Ayars Family Day at the beach and at home, with weather rivaling Haitian Hotness, and today, it was our joy to be "at home" at Sharptown UMC. This is the church of Matt's youth, the pastor that married us and sent us to OMS, and the church that sent us off to Haiti and one that continues to "hold our ropes".

Matt and Pastor Doug preached together in a really neat "teach-preach" style, and after the services, we spent the afternoon with Uncle Don and his family and many friends, enjoying all the foods and the cool water that we had talked so frequently about over suppers in sweltering Haiti! He and Brenda had shrimp for Matt and ribs for me...MMMM, so good. I ate until someone finally said "Weren't you a vegetarian, like, for YEARS???" :)

We're so blessed by these dear friendships, and it was such a joy today to just be "one of the gang", to be ourselves and to enjoy simple pleasures like blueberries and swimming and laughter without some of the constant struggles of life that we face in Haiti.

It cannot be forgotten that such a huge majority of the world live in abject poverty. So many of His children suffer so greatly...we have to remember that EVERY day, have to remember and do what we can (and then MORE) to help our brothers and sisters, have to remember the many that suffer for the Gospel and the many who have yet to hear It and do all we can to share It EVERY where we are.

Our brothers and sisters and their situations and struggles and faith and joys are firmly planted in our hearts, along with our dear friends serving in Muslim countries, dear friends serving underground and in situations of severe persecution with other national believers. We cannot allow the realities of His world and His children and His Message and a lost and dying world to "move" us and touch us but not radically change our day-to-day living!

We are so thankful for this "break" from ministry in Haiti, and at the same time are so aware that there IS no break from the ministry He has called us each to as Christians!

...to die to each other and to our enemies, to tell all the world about His salvation (even the very-often most-difficult world we live in daily), and to live as redeemed people (NOT blending in people but SORE THUMB people) who bring joy and restoration wherever we go in the midst of this dark world!

NO BREAKS, Family!

It is a joy to walk alongside of so many of you! Thank you for your prayers and the encouragement so many of you have given us over these past days at New Bedford, Seeds of Greatness, Cornerstone and Sharptown!

Seeds of Greatness and Family

What an awesome evening we spent with our SOG Ministries family! We were able to present Emmaus Biblical Seminary here on Wednesday night, able to catch up with some good friends, like Pastor Jerome and Lisa, and were (as always) so encouraged by the Spirit in this dear body of believers. We are grateful to be a part what God is doing through them around the globe!

Lily even had the chance to hang out with another Lily, which she loved...staying up for a record bedtime at 9:45!

Twenty years ago Jerome baptized Matt...only the Lord knew that so many years later, they would both be in such different places, aligned again for His glory! We continue to be so touched by how the Lord works (praise the Lord, so differently than man does) and by His perfect timing and plans.
Yesterday we spent the day on the shore where Matt's grandparent's live. MomMom and PopPop are so special to us both, and it was great to spend the day with family and to be with them and for Lily and Niko to be together. Lily is LOVING this playground thing! The only problem is that everywhere we go, if she sees a private family playground, she cannot understand why she can't play on it...we have chased her through many a yard!

family day at the aquarium

Matt's Mom and Dad, brother Casey and sister-in-law Laura and our nephew Nico (or "Geek-o" as Lily has been calling him :) spent the day with us at the Camden A quarium! We had a REALLY good day, and the kids loved the fish (though Lily loved climbing on things, more!) and the sharks. It was nice to do something "normal" and to have the day with the Ayars!

Today we are visiting with Matt's grandmom, mulching, and preparing to speak tonight at Seeds of Greatness. Please continue to pray for Haiti as things continue to be a bit unstable.

Cornerstone!

We had a WONDERFUL weekend at Cornerstone church! After 5 services, Lily was OUT :)
It was so good to catch up with Pastor Paul (remember him from his two weeks in Haiti in May??) and to catch up with many good friends that we have made at Cornerstone throughout the years!

Lily REALLY wanted to swim in the "pool".

Emmaus Biblical Seminary and Matt and I are SO THANKFUL for the prayers, support, partnership, encouragement and love of our Cornerstone family!

Next up, Seeds of Greatness Bible Church, Wednesday night! Can't Wait!

pray for Haiti and time in Delaware

Yesterday, 10 of our students, along with several missionaries and a medical team, had planned to leave for Port-au-Prince for a missions trip. We heard from the team leader yesterday, and due to several area kidnappings in the last few days, the trip has been cancelled. A lot of people had a LOT riding on the World Cup games, and Brazil's loss has put a lot of people in some very desperate situations, hence the escalation in kidnappings.

Our OMS Haiti team is sticking to the compound for a few days until things calm down, but please be praying for our international and Haitian brothers and sisters during these uncertain days! We were so burdened to hear that this much anticipated, desired, planned for and needed trip had to be cancelled...Please be praying for 1st year student Junior Cineas who continues to work in Port alone (they had planned to help him and for one of the students to stay with him for a month) and for the people of Diquini.

With our hearts and prayers very much so with Haiti, we have safely arrived to Matt's home-state of Delaware! We had a wonderful day Thursday/Friday with our dear friends, the Johnson family,(and fellow missionaries in Burkina Faso) and enjoyed catching up on life, spending time with the kids, and sharing similar heartaches and joys from our last three years on the foreign mission field.

Dale, Joel, Flo and Caleb (Lily was asleep in the car).

We arrived safely to Matt's family house, and Lily and her only cousin Nico finally met, and Lily was thrilled with "Baby". They are both right at 22 pounds, but Lily is 7 months ahead. For some reason, I was thinking these two would look like cousins, but they barely even look like strangers! :) Nico is fantastic, and we are so glad to have finally met him!

Tonight and tomorrow we'll be with Cornerstone Church, and can't wait to catch up with friends there and share a bit of our lives and the lives of our Haitian family with them!

family fun

Lily LOVES the playground! Man, she had an AWESOME time today playing on the slides with Aunt Lisa!

Yesterday at Kennywood she was not quite as confident...Scared of all the kiddie rides, she spent the day watching the boats and riding the merry-go-round. Her favorite part, of course, was riding around in the wagon.

It was SO good spending more time with our future brother-in-law, and having some precious and rare time with Aunt Patty! THANK YOU Patty!!!

Meanwhile, Lily and Daddy are trying to get in some much needed napping, and Matt is working in between on his master's work.

Meanwhile, tomorrow we head for Mechanicsburg to hang out with some DEAR friends we met while studying French in Canada. They've been on the mission field of Burkina Faso for 3 years now, and we can't wait to catch up and spend time with their boys!

Ayars Tour 2010

The Ayars Family summer tour has officially begun! Saturday evening we arrived at Aunt Lori's house late, and then spent Sunday with New Bedford Church. What a blessed group of joyful and encouraging family! This church joined one of our students our first year in Haiti, and has supported and prayed for and been in correspondence with Petit Sauvelt and his family ever since. It was wonderful to catch both groups up with each other, and to be with this precious family of ours!

Aunt Lori and Granny Smith shared their love, sweet corn, swimming pool and hospitality for the day!

Then we headed for Connelsville PA, where Lily re-met her great grandpa and Aunt Debby and Grandma Gladys and just had a wonderful time.

Maybe this is where she got some of that spirit from!

Then this afternoon we travelled to Somerset, PA, where we have the evening with my mom's parents, and will be joined tonight by Aunt Lisa and soon-to-be Uncle Adam...Tomorrow we are off to Kennywood with Aunt Patty!

The wagon Grandma and Grandpa got Lily is a hit! Poor Adam got to wheel Lily around the yard about 12 times tonight with Dad chasing behind...

Found this picture at grandma's house of my mom and I when I was Lily's age...Anybody else think this looks JUST like Lily???

Whew! So grateful for some much-longed-for time with family!