garlic, chameleons & the unknown

Several months ago, when we were still in the greenhouse, I woke up to the unmistakable smell of... garlic?  Derek was no where to be found but the smell was undeniably potent!  Finally I located my husband and he explained his latest experiment.  Apparently, he had dreamt about creating a concoction to spray on the coffee cherries in hopes of killing the CBB (coffee berry borer).  Upon awakening, he immediately tried out a few different combinations, one even included his favorite hot sauce, Cholula!  But the one he felt had the most potential was the garlic.  

Fast forward to this last week when we were selling coffee cherries at the mill.  I noticed a paper stapled on the wall and went over to check it out.  Turns out, the University of Hilo has been doing some testing on new solutions for the CBB and their latest recommendation is the brand new 'Garlic Barrier' spray!  Needless to say, I freaked out a little!  And Derek is now under strict orders to patent his next great invention before anyone else thinks of it :)

Our week was non-stop.  The pickers we were hoping for were otherwise detained.  But we got a lot done and we're staying positive!  I'm thankful for humorous moments throughout the day to keep things light.  Hearing Derek yelp is a fairly rare occurrence, but he had bona fide reason after grabbing what he thought was a branch only to find a rather large chameleon in his hand!  He flung the colorful critter and let out quite the shout!  What really tickled my funny bone, though, was after the fact when Derek felt bad for Mr. Chameleon, picked him up again and reinstated him on his perch!  

Another highlight of the week was finding Blue Bunny ice cream on SALE at the local grocery store.  We're talking $4.50 instead of $9.50!  Chocolate chunk goes a long way in rejuvenating a weary, coffee picker.  But what goes even farther than a bowl of sweet, creamy dessert is the incredibly, tangible presence of Jesus!!  This last week brought a new development to our unfolding 'next step'.  Because of happenings at our church in the new year, Derek and I will be moving out of the apartment at the end of December.  We are so grateful for the time we've been able to spend here, this door literally opened at the perfect time!  And we are very excited to see where God takes us next!  His plans always surpass anything we could ever manufacture on our own.  

Our prayers range from "Please lead us to an apartment that our coffee farming budget can afford!" to "Are we even supposed to stay in Hawaii next year??" to "Please give us strength and prepare us mentally in case we need to take up residence in the greenhouse again for awhile!"  We're very thankful to have the next month and a half to seek God's will and formulate a plan.  And although neither of us feels too worried about the unknown it was definitely on our minds throughout the weekend.  That's where God's amazing presence comes in.  We're going through Acts in our Sunday morning Bible Study and I'll admit, Derek and I don't always get to the lesson in advance like we're supposed to.  This week was about Paul's sea voyage and shipwreck and I was actually able to skim through a bit of the text that morning.  The part that grabbed me was a little blurb that said, 'sometimes the surprise is not in what happens, but in what it turns out to mean.'  A few minutes later, as Derek perused the lesson, he exclaimed 'This is talking to us!' and I knew exactly which part he meant! Bible Study was awesome; a HUGE reminder of the way God uses and even orchestrates events in our lives that may seem overwhelming, scary or shipwreck-like for His glory and purpose and to show us His awesome power!  This was confirmation for us, that we need not stress and worry but TRUST, obey and watch expectantly as God reveals His plan and leads the way!  

Heading into church that morning we were encouraged and hopeful.  Then came a time of prayer and worship that blew our minds!  Words can not do justice to experiences like that, the joy bubbling up inside of you, the desire to sing as loud as you can and at the same time just soak in His presence.  With tears in my eyes, a smile on my face and hands lifted towards heaven, I knew that I knew that God is at work and He is faithful!  'God is my refuge and strength, an ever-present help in time of trouble.' Psalm 46:1

So, bring on another week... bring on the cherries that need picking and decisions that need making.  Sore muscles, yes.  Feeling like I could sleep for a week, absolutely.  Unknowns, number crunching and a few more bowls of that chocolate chunk!?  This is life.  If I had all the answers, I'd die of boredom.  If there weren't any surprises I would never learn to trust.  And I don't even want to consider what life would look like if everything actually worked out the way I thought it should.