God

Who was the first person to talk to you about God? What effect did this have on you?

Knowing my mom, I heard about God while she was pregnant with me! With both of my parents being ordained ministers I heard about God all my life! We lived on campus of a Bible School that my dad was the director of. We had maids in our home who were students in the Bible School, and very much a part of our lives. There was chapel every day that we often attended. We had family devotions daily. There we all (four other siblings) had different versions of the Bible, including Spanish! You can imagine the discussions about God that came with reading all these different versions! Who was the first person...I am sure my parents, but I would count all these others and all my Sunday School teachers and children's church teachers, and all the students on campus as an integral part of teaching me about God!

About My Grandparents

Share a memory of your grandparents or an older person you loved.

My grandparents on my dad's side of the family passed away before I was born. I did not get to know my grandparents on my mom's side of the family well when I was small because we lived on the mission field. However, I did live with my grandparents when I moved to the US at the age of 14. I lived with them for two years. My grandmother was quite a prayer warrior and was still teaching an adult Sunday School in her 70's. She was an outstanding cook. We did the dishes together each evening. We had to do the "she" things first and then the "he" things. To her the pots and pans were the "he" things! Grandpa spent a lot of time pulling up weeds in the yard. He was adamant about having no weeds in his yard. Both of them loved to do crossword puzzles and would daily run to get the paper. Whoever got it first got to do that day's crossword puzzle. They played Scrabble and Anagrams a lot.

As young children we adopted a missionary couple as our grandparents. Robert and Pearl Ingram chose not to have their own children so that they could invest more time with the people of Guatemala. They would have made wonderful parents. We loved them dearly! Mr. Ingram was the one who taught me how to fill a lettuce leaf full of sugar and eat it like a bag full of sugar! Yikes! No wonder I still love sugary things!

Important Life Lessons

Recall some of the most important lessons you have learned in life.

This may have to have more added in the future!

• God has a plan in my life...I must be willing to wait for the next step even though the current one might not make sense.
• Always allow your loved ones to be aware of how much you love them! After losing a son I have a deeper appreciation for my family.
• No matter how deeply someone hurts me, I must remember that my choice to remain bitter only distances me from my Heavenly Father. Nothing is worth that!
• There is nothing more exciting than Kingdom Business!
• My availability gives God the opportunity to do a miracle through me. Therefore I must consider every encounter a divine appointment!

Siblings

List one special memory about each of your brothers and sisters.

Ken * Hardest head scrubber you ever met!

Always came to my defense!

Moved to the US when he was 16, I missed him so much!

Whenever he came back home he seemed like the kindest guy ever!

Marilyn * "The big black bear ate a big black bug" She always screamed this into her pillow!

Was always memorizing scriptures. Helped me learn John 1:1-12

Hooked up with David too much to pick on me! :?)

Made wonderful desserts when we were kids.

Left for college when I was in 6th grade. I missed her alot but loved having my own room!

Mark * Slingshots! Always gone off to the mountains! Loved horses! Hated school!

I remember when a neighbor in San Antonio came out screaming at me when my ball accidentally went over the fence into her yard. Mark tore into her and left me with my mouth gaping open since we tended to fight most of the time!

I was so proud of him when he came to El Salvador in his soldier outfit.

David * Sort of my twin. You never heard one of our names but what you heard the other.

Loved his red sweater! Grew attached to people and things. We fought a lot but loved each other

Grandparent's Houses

Describe your grandparent's houses. Did you visit them often? Why or why not?

My Dad's parents died before I was born so I never was in their home. My mother's parents lived in Dayton, OH. I was there when I was 3 years old and again when I was 9. I remember it being a big house. We lived on the mission field for 5 years at a time and came to the US for one year.

When I was 14 I actually moved in with my grandparents. My grandparents lived in Florida by that time. They moved while I lived with them. Both of their houses in Fl had what is called a Florida Room...sort of like a sun room...but nicer.

My Home

Where was your childhood home located? Did you enjoy living there?

I lived in Coban, Guatemala. My Dad and Mom were directors of a Bible School there. This place was a perfect place for a child to grow up in. We had a banana plantation, a corn field, a huge strawberry patch, lime, tangerine, orange, avocado, guava, jocote, misperos and others. There was a basketball court, an area for volleyball. Activities went on all the time. Youth camp happened on our property! This was the best place to grow up in!

Bedtime Prayer

What kind of prayer did you say before you went to sleep? Who taught you how to pray it?

It? I don't recall any "it" kind of prayer. We learned that prayer was a conversation with our God! We had family devotions at night. Different ones of us prayed at family devotions. Both of my parents were/are prayer warriors. I learned to pray by hearing them. I recall my dad being so grateful after a meal that we did another prayer after eating! This happened several times.

Living Room

Describe what the family living room looked like when you were a child.

We had a rather large living room. It had a hard wood floor but we had rugs here and there. There was a built in bookshelf on one side by the dining room and we had the piano on the other side. There was a large window at the front that looked out to two small mountains. We could often stand and watch the rain head across the pasture and over the banana plantation we had in front of your living room.

Mother's Activities

How did your mother spend her day? Did she have a job or do volunteer work outside the home?

Pretty much all the answers I gave for my dad apply to my mom. She did pursue her doctorate in ministry and got that when she was 64 years old. She was called on to teach in seminaries in Latin America into her mid eighties!
At the time of this writing she is 89. She is sharp and still enthused about theology. She is an intercessor. I know I can count on her to pray for anything I share with her.

Father's Employment

Where did your father go to work everyday and what did he do?

My dad's title was missionary. However, what he did everyday depended on where we lived. In Coban he helped build the Bible School, taught gardening, and caring for livestock. He also taught ministry courses. In the US he traveled telling about his work on the mission field except when he taught at the Seminary in San Antonio and pastored the Cuban church in Miami.

In El Salvador he and my mom started the Church of the Nazarene. They pastored a couple of churches and in time my dad became the district superintendent.

We did get to have my dad at home for meals three times a day a good portion of the time!

First Time to Church

When did you first go to church? What are your earliest memories of church?

Church was our life! That is why Mom and Dad went to the mission field. They went to teach others about life in Christ. Once you receive Christ into your life you join a community to learn and encourage one another in the walk with Christ!

Some of my earliest memories of church are that I usually walked to church with my mom and some students. My dad usually went earlier. We walked on cobbled stone roads. Often we had to share the road with pigs or cows.

In children's church we had the boys on one side and the girls on the other. We ran about 100 kids in there. My brother, David, and I competed to see who could sing the loudest. With that many kids we had to sing loud! That is why we have such strong lungs now. :?)

Things we had to deal with at church that would not be something most of my readers have ever dealt with. We had to deal with dogs, cats and drunks coming through the church during our service!

Baptism

Were you baptized or dedicated as an infant? If so, where and by whom?

This is a very interesting question. I would assume I was but I actually do not recall ever hearing anyone talk about it. I have pictures of my kid's dedications but I do not recall ever seeing one of mine! Being a missionary kid I am sure I was and it would have had happen in the Coban church.

The Bedroom

Describe your childhood bedroom. What was the view from your window?

I moved a lot as a child but the earliest room I remember was at Caracol in Coban, Guatemala. I shared the room and bed with my sister. We had two windows at the corner of the room. On one side we could see the girls dorm with a flower garden in front of it. Flowers were picked from this garden to decorate the church on Sunday morning. In front of the garden, closer to our house was a tall swing we would swing on as well as the girls in the dorm. Even closer yet to our house was a clothesline. My poor mom had clothes on there a lot. With five kids at home and rain literally every day she would have to hang, bring in , hang again all the time!

The other window allowed us to see several peach trees on our side of the fence and a coffee plantation on the other side of the fence.

My Name

Who gave you your name and why? Did you have a family nickname? How did you get it?

My parents gave me my name. I don't know that I ever heard the why, but after this question I may ask them about that. My mother did have fun with my name and I still love my name because it had/has meaning. My name was Joyce Carol Bryant. Bryant means strong and Joyce means joyful and Carol means song. My mom called me a strong joyful song. I do tend to be on the joyful side and I tend to have a very strong singing voice!!!!!!

Because I was such a good reactor my siblings gave me lots of nicknames. Freckle Face, Tamale Feet, Echo Cavern....are a few of the ones I remember! I was the fourth out of five kids. My oldest brother, Ken, never chimed in on those nick names.

Chidhood Pastimes

What was your favorite pastime as a child? Did you prefer doing it alone or with someone else?

I loved going around on the campus we lived on and checking out everyplace. There was the kitchen workers. The boys dorm, the girls dorm, the family housing, the barn, the music classes, the game room. There was always something going on! It was a daily habit of mine to go all around and see everyone. I was usually alone.

Favorites

• Flower * Hydrangea
• Perfume * Fowerey or Sweet
• Hymn * O, How I Love Him
• Book * The Bible
• Author * That constantly changes
• Bible verse * "Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice"
• Dessert * Macaroons
• Vacation Spot * Copper Canyon
• Type of food * I can't say I have one favorite. I like all kinds of ethnic
• Sport * Walking :?)
• Leisure Activity * Umm, blogging and hanging out in the arbor