Hi Friends! I'm home from surgery. It was last night and was quick and easy and so far the pain is limited. Of course, I am not walking or putting pressure on it. I will be in bed until Sunday or Monday. I can feel the effects of all of the prayers b/c this was a more invasive surgery than the last one, but yet my knee is much less swollen and so far it doesn't hurt as bad. The anesthesia was very mild so I am surprisingly alert.
I'll write details about my interesting cross-cultural experience later. A quick thought - surgery at 6 p.m. in Costa Rica means everyone arrives at 6 p.m. not that the surgery starts at that time.
I have some quick prayer requests:
Parker's schooling. We are meeting with his teacher on Wednesday to see if he is in the proper grade. (he's in first, but might need to be in second). We'll see what she says.
Our Empleada situation (a very long story) and that God will provide a new helper by Monday or Tuesday.
School starts on Tuesday so please pray I will be surprisingly functionable. I have full confidence in this.
For language school in general - that we will have awesome attitudes, alert minds and the time to do our homework and do it well.
Protection from spiritual warfare - we are definitely seeing it.
Thank you friends. I love and appreciate you all.
One more thing...if you would like to call me I would LOVE it since I am just laying around until Monday. It is like you are calling St. Cloud so it is not an international call and totally free if you are in St. Cloud 321-766-4043. CALL ME!
Friday, August 31, 2007
Tuesday, August 28, 2007
Homeschooling Ramblings
Tomorrow is Ally's first day of kindergarten and Parker's first day of first grade. They have never been in school before outside of the Pham household. I am excited for them and about all that they will be learning. I am saddened for them because of all that they will be missing. I believe what they really need to is to be home with their family learning from their parents and siblings and watching us live out our faith. They need to be loving on their brothers and sisters and cultivating a heart for the family, not developing their own "private" life at school. Obviously, I have strong feelings on why we have chosen to homeschool our children. You might not know this, but it took us almost 2.5 years to get here because of this issue of sending our children to school.
Before I go on, please know that I don't think it is wrong AT ALL for parents to send their children to school. It is just not best for our family. Seven years ago, God gave us a vision of what our family would look like and public school was not part of the picture. You see, we don't feel it is possible for our vision or family expectations to be met if someone else is raising our children. We believe that if they are in the world 8 hours a day and with us a few hours a day then they will choose the world because it has the greater influence over them. We believe that these four little ones are the greatest gifts God could give us and the most precious gifts He will ever give us. We don't want to miss a moment of anything. Everything that Parker has learned thus far I have taught him - how to write, read, math, swim, the Bible, his manners and his ability to discern right from wrong. Although I think there are amazing teachers and schools in the world, I believe no one is going to invest in him like I will. No one is as motivated to see him succeed academically, spiritually or emotionally as I am. How can they possibly be? I am his mom!
This situation is only for a year and I have surrendered it to the Lord many, many, many times. Because it is so closely connected to my heart I have to keep laying it down at the altar.
Tomorrow, I will drop them off knowing that this time next year we will be starting school together as a family in Peru and it will be wonderful and we will have over a decade of togetherness. God revealed to me last December that if I would give Him the vision that He has given us that He would restore it to something even better. Sometimes a vision has to die. We have to completely give it over to God and then He gives it back as something completely unrecognizable, but oh so perfect! I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family. I know that tomorrow is just another day of obedience and I rejoice in the calling God has placed on our lives. I rejoice in the people who will be loving on my babies this year. But most importantly, I rejoice in the fact that this is only temporary! :)
P.S. I met Parker's teacher today and she is an IMB missionary. One word to describe her - WONDERFUL.
Before I go on, please know that I don't think it is wrong AT ALL for parents to send their children to school. It is just not best for our family. Seven years ago, God gave us a vision of what our family would look like and public school was not part of the picture. You see, we don't feel it is possible for our vision or family expectations to be met if someone else is raising our children. We believe that if they are in the world 8 hours a day and with us a few hours a day then they will choose the world because it has the greater influence over them. We believe that these four little ones are the greatest gifts God could give us and the most precious gifts He will ever give us. We don't want to miss a moment of anything. Everything that Parker has learned thus far I have taught him - how to write, read, math, swim, the Bible, his manners and his ability to discern right from wrong. Although I think there are amazing teachers and schools in the world, I believe no one is going to invest in him like I will. No one is as motivated to see him succeed academically, spiritually or emotionally as I am. How can they possibly be? I am his mom!
This situation is only for a year and I have surrendered it to the Lord many, many, many times. Because it is so closely connected to my heart I have to keep laying it down at the altar.
Tomorrow, I will drop them off knowing that this time next year we will be starting school together as a family in Peru and it will be wonderful and we will have over a decade of togetherness. God revealed to me last December that if I would give Him the vision that He has given us that He would restore it to something even better. Sometimes a vision has to die. We have to completely give it over to God and then He gives it back as something completely unrecognizable, but oh so perfect! I can't wait to see what God has in store for our family. I know that tomorrow is just another day of obedience and I rejoice in the calling God has placed on our lives. I rejoice in the people who will be loving on my babies this year. But most importantly, I rejoice in the fact that this is only temporary! :)
P.S. I met Parker's teacher today and she is an IMB missionary. One word to describe her - WONDERFUL.
Knee Stuff
Don't forget to read the Model, Assist, Watch and Leave blog before you read this one. It is much more important and I had hoped it would show up first.
*******************************************************
John and I met with the surgeon and my patient advocate doctor today for about 45 minutes. I am much more at peace with the surgery now that I have more information. All 3 of the doctors here feel this is definitely the best route for me. The surgeon said if I don't have this done the problem will not correct itself (or it would've improved already with conservative treatments)and I might possibly run one day but he doesn't want to say either way just in case I can't. This is not a common surgery, but they felt that if it needed to be done I am definitely the candidate for it.
The surgery will be like this: the doctor will cut open about 2 inches of my leg along the lateral right side. He will then cut my Illiotibial band that runs from my hip to my knee about 60%. This will help the band to release, thus relieving the pressure it is constantly putting on my knee and hip joints. In a few weeks time, as the band heals, it will reattach itself through the help of scar tissue and blood-cells back to my joint. But when it reattaches, it will be much loser and without the inflammation and pain - Lord willing.
The doctor said he has done this surgery about 20-25 times and all of his patients have responded well. He said that in general, 80% of patients are pain-free after recovery, but then there are a percentage that still have the same problems. Please pray I am not in that category.
Recovery will look like this:
7 days on crutches
A taxi to and from school
Stitches out at 10 days
Therapy to begin after stitches
Therapy for 3-4 weeks for 2 times a week
Thank you for all of your prayers and concerns. I'm sure it will all go very well! Love to you all.
*******************************************************
John and I met with the surgeon and my patient advocate doctor today for about 45 minutes. I am much more at peace with the surgery now that I have more information. All 3 of the doctors here feel this is definitely the best route for me. The surgeon said if I don't have this done the problem will not correct itself (or it would've improved already with conservative treatments)and I might possibly run one day but he doesn't want to say either way just in case I can't. This is not a common surgery, but they felt that if it needed to be done I am definitely the candidate for it.
The surgery will be like this: the doctor will cut open about 2 inches of my leg along the lateral right side. He will then cut my Illiotibial band that runs from my hip to my knee about 60%. This will help the band to release, thus relieving the pressure it is constantly putting on my knee and hip joints. In a few weeks time, as the band heals, it will reattach itself through the help of scar tissue and blood-cells back to my joint. But when it reattaches, it will be much loser and without the inflammation and pain - Lord willing.
The doctor said he has done this surgery about 20-25 times and all of his patients have responded well. He said that in general, 80% of patients are pain-free after recovery, but then there are a percentage that still have the same problems. Please pray I am not in that category.
Recovery will look like this:
7 days on crutches
A taxi to and from school
Stitches out at 10 days
Therapy to begin after stitches
Therapy for 3-4 weeks for 2 times a week
Thank you for all of your prayers and concerns. I'm sure it will all go very well! Love to you all.
Monday, August 27, 2007
Love - Model, Assist, Watch and Leave
This morning my quiet time was in Corinthians. Very often I have to go back and read what love is because I am very adept at forgetting that love is not about ME! As I meditated on the verses of what love is....patient, kind, not self-seeking....and if I don't have it I am only a clanging symbol, I was convicted. How annoying is a clanging symbol? It is loud and serves no purpose. I'm ALWAYS convicted when I read these verses. I prayed and asked the Lord to help me to love others better; my family, my friends, my neighbors, the people of Costa Rica - everyone. I asked him to turn my eyes from myself and onto others. I prayed, "Please show me what your love looks like in my life."
The kids and I started the morning while I offered to let John sleep. At breakfast I found myself easily irritated with the kids for several different reasons - none of which I can actually remember right now. I had already had to discipline them a few times and it wasn't even 7:30 a.m. yet. Anyway, as I was speaking to them in a very irritated, but not quite yelling voice...I think barking might better describe it, I was suddenly convicted. "Jessica, you asked me to show you how to love others. Start by being patient with your children." Ouch...I took this conviction to heart and immediately looked at my babies and said, "Kids, I am so sorry. I was just reading in the Bible this morning about being loving and the first verse about love says that it is patient. I am not being patient right now and I am sorry. Will you please forgive me?" That's it! That is all I said.
I hadn't even paused from my sentence when Parker looked at me and said, "Mom, will you please forgive me for not cleaning my room like you asked me to?"
Then immediately Ally said, "Mom, will you forgive me for fighting with Parker?"
And then Jaxson said, "Mom, will you forgive me for climbing in Avery's crib?"
It was like three little birdies singing a beautiful song. Truly enchanting. One right after another.
I smiled and said, "Of course I do. I love you all so much. I forgive you and I hope you forgive me, too." They did - just like they always do. I modeled the example and then they followed after me.
During missionary training we learned about being the kind of missionary that model's Christ to others, assists others in a relationship with Him, watches them grow and then leaves them to stand on their own two feet. It is called: Model, Assist, Watch and Leave. I discovered today that this is also the exact proto-type for parenting. Model! Assist! Watch! Leave!
God showed me this morning to stay in His word and to follow Him. Model a life of love for my children, assist them in their journey, watch them and then they will leave to follow Him. I hope that my life will not be a clanging symbol, but one rooted in the foundation of true love. A love that has nothing to do with what I want or think I deserve, but ALL about how I respond.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
The kids and I started the morning while I offered to let John sleep. At breakfast I found myself easily irritated with the kids for several different reasons - none of which I can actually remember right now. I had already had to discipline them a few times and it wasn't even 7:30 a.m. yet. Anyway, as I was speaking to them in a very irritated, but not quite yelling voice...I think barking might better describe it, I was suddenly convicted. "Jessica, you asked me to show you how to love others. Start by being patient with your children." Ouch...I took this conviction to heart and immediately looked at my babies and said, "Kids, I am so sorry. I was just reading in the Bible this morning about being loving and the first verse about love says that it is patient. I am not being patient right now and I am sorry. Will you please forgive me?" That's it! That is all I said.
I hadn't even paused from my sentence when Parker looked at me and said, "Mom, will you please forgive me for not cleaning my room like you asked me to?"
Then immediately Ally said, "Mom, will you forgive me for fighting with Parker?"
And then Jaxson said, "Mom, will you forgive me for climbing in Avery's crib?"
It was like three little birdies singing a beautiful song. Truly enchanting. One right after another.
I smiled and said, "Of course I do. I love you all so much. I forgive you and I hope you forgive me, too." They did - just like they always do. I modeled the example and then they followed after me.
During missionary training we learned about being the kind of missionary that model's Christ to others, assists others in a relationship with Him, watches them grow and then leaves them to stand on their own two feet. It is called: Model, Assist, Watch and Leave. I discovered today that this is also the exact proto-type for parenting. Model! Assist! Watch! Leave!
God showed me this morning to stay in His word and to follow Him. Model a life of love for my children, assist them in their journey, watch them and then they will leave to follow Him. I hope that my life will not be a clanging symbol, but one rooted in the foundation of true love. A love that has nothing to do with what I want or think I deserve, but ALL about how I respond.
"If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and surrender my body to the flames, but have not love, I gain nothing. Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres." 1 Corinthians 13:1-7
Sunday, August 26, 2007
Blog This!!
Yesterday the kids got in the cutest pose and said, "Mom, mom....get the camera so you can put this on your blog." I happily obliged and here is the result..... (Avery didn't want any part of this):
CUTIES!!!!!
Also, just trying out a video......
JUST MONKEYING AROUND
Banana Splits and Kisses
Yesterday afternoon we rounded up the troops and headed to the local mall for some play-doh. Yes, you heard me right.....play-doh. There are some things in life that are a must have and play-doh is one of them for the Pham family.
I'll spare you all the details, but there are two things I want to share about some observances we made while we were out. The first one being......I saw a woman feeding her 3 month old baby, or less, a banana split. I'm seriously NOT joking! The baby was cradled in her arms with his limp head and arms while she tried to scoop banana deliciousness into his mouth. My heart was saddened to see this. Not that these things don't happen in the states because they do. In fact, my Mema told me she use to feed my dad coke out of a bottle at like 8 weeks old. So at least this situation reminded me of my Mema, but I still couldn't help staring and feeling so sad for this little guy. I remember reading once in a No Greater Joy magazine that we wouldn't feed our animals toxic food, so why we would we do that to our precious babies and kids? I highly doubt this little guy's digestive system can handle such "junk" in his body.
We quickly settled in for the world's cheapest dinner. We fed our whole family for $6 as we stuffed them on toxic burgers, fries and juice. Hey, at least their bodies can handle it once in a while. Not like we eat like this very often. Anyway, in the middle of dinner Parker has to go to the bathroom. So I walk him over there only to have to stand behind him and cover his eyes from the two people who are HEAVILY making out in the food court. They didn't come up for air for at least 5 minutes and when they did it was only for like 20 seconds. I'm not sure if they even knew they were in public. I tried to protect Parker from seeing this outrageous display and I think I was successful. This is the third time I have seen people kissing like this in public. It makes me super uncomfortable and if we were in America I would definitely say something, but it's TOTALLY not my place here. I did try to see if anyone else was as appalled as I was, but that didn't seem to be the case. I was the only loser who was staring. We just scurried on as I tried to get that yucky image out of my mind.
We did manage to get some play-doh and it didn't cost our whole month's salary like we thought it would. The evening consisted of kisses and banana splits, but not the kind you were thinking of. :) It was an interesting night nonetheless.
I'll spare you all the details, but there are two things I want to share about some observances we made while we were out. The first one being......I saw a woman feeding her 3 month old baby, or less, a banana split. I'm seriously NOT joking! The baby was cradled in her arms with his limp head and arms while she tried to scoop banana deliciousness into his mouth. My heart was saddened to see this. Not that these things don't happen in the states because they do. In fact, my Mema told me she use to feed my dad coke out of a bottle at like 8 weeks old. So at least this situation reminded me of my Mema, but I still couldn't help staring and feeling so sad for this little guy. I remember reading once in a No Greater Joy magazine that we wouldn't feed our animals toxic food, so why we would we do that to our precious babies and kids? I highly doubt this little guy's digestive system can handle such "junk" in his body.
We quickly settled in for the world's cheapest dinner. We fed our whole family for $6 as we stuffed them on toxic burgers, fries and juice. Hey, at least their bodies can handle it once in a while. Not like we eat like this very often. Anyway, in the middle of dinner Parker has to go to the bathroom. So I walk him over there only to have to stand behind him and cover his eyes from the two people who are HEAVILY making out in the food court. They didn't come up for air for at least 5 minutes and when they did it was only for like 20 seconds. I'm not sure if they even knew they were in public. I tried to protect Parker from seeing this outrageous display and I think I was successful. This is the third time I have seen people kissing like this in public. It makes me super uncomfortable and if we were in America I would definitely say something, but it's TOTALLY not my place here. I did try to see if anyone else was as appalled as I was, but that didn't seem to be the case. I was the only loser who was staring. We just scurried on as I tried to get that yucky image out of my mind.
We did manage to get some play-doh and it didn't cost our whole month's salary like we thought it would. The evening consisted of kisses and banana splits, but not the kind you were thinking of. :) It was an interesting night nonetheless.
Just Because We're Bored
One Word Answers
From my friend Heather at texasaggieinfl.blogspot.com
You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. Answers.
Jessica Pham:
1. Yourself: determined
2. Your significant other: analytical
3. Your hair: highlighted
4. Your mother: dunno
5. Your Father: muscles
6. Your step father/mother: organized
7. Your dream last night: running
8. Your Favorite drink: gatorade
9. Your Dream Car: H2
10. The room you are in: small
11. Your Ex: lonely
12. Your fears: cancer
13. What do you want to be in 10 years: triathlete
14. Who you hung out with last night: Hubby
15. What You're Not: mathematician
16. Muffins: Carrotcake
17: One of Your Wish List Items: Bloggety-makeover
18: Time: Evening
19. The Last Thing You Did: stuff
20. What You Are Wearing: P.J's
21. Your Favorite Weather: Breezy
22. Your Favorite Book: Grisham
23. The last thing you ate: Peanuts
24. Your Life: adventurous
25. Your Mood: HAPPY
26. Your Friends: loyal
27. What are you thinking about right now?: running
29. What are you doing at the moment?: blogging
30. Your summer: COSTA RICA
31. Your relationship status: committed
32. What is on your tv?: nada
33. When is the last time you laughed?: earlier
34. Last time you cried?: Wednesday
35. School?: UCF
John Pham:
1. Yourself: systematic
2. Your significant other: Hot
3. Your hair: dark
4. Your mother: wise
5. Your Father: kind
6. Your step father/mother: none
7. Your dream last night: forgettable
8. Your Favorite drink: gatorade
9. Your Dream Car: porsche
10. The room you are in: dark
11. Your Ex: missionary
12. Your fears: failure
13. What do you want to be in 10 years: missionary
14. Who you hung out with last night: Jess
15. What You're Not: creative
16. Muffins: banana
17: One of Your Wish List Items: MAC
18: Time: short
19. The Last Thing You Did: confidential
20. What You Are Wearing: gators
21. Your Favorite Weather: wintery
22. Your Favorite Book: read?
23. The last thing you ate: doritos
24. Your Life: perfect
25. Your Mood: tired
26. Your Friends: distant
27. What are you thinking about right now?: ice-cream
29. What are you doing at the moment?: resting
30. Your summer: Virginia
31. Your relationship status: married
32. What is on your tv?: nothing
33. When is the last time you laughed?: today
34. Last time you cried?: orientation
35. School?: Gators
See what one word answers you can come up with and let us know. :)
From my friend Heather at texasaggieinfl.blogspot.com
You. Can. Only. Type. One. Word. Answers.
Jessica Pham:
1. Yourself: determined
2. Your significant other: analytical
3. Your hair: highlighted
4. Your mother: dunno
5. Your Father: muscles
6. Your step father/mother: organized
7. Your dream last night: running
8. Your Favorite drink: gatorade
9. Your Dream Car: H2
10. The room you are in: small
11. Your Ex: lonely
12. Your fears: cancer
13. What do you want to be in 10 years: triathlete
14. Who you hung out with last night: Hubby
15. What You're Not: mathematician
16. Muffins: Carrotcake
17: One of Your Wish List Items: Bloggety-makeover
18: Time: Evening
19. The Last Thing You Did: stuff
20. What You Are Wearing: P.J's
21. Your Favorite Weather: Breezy
22. Your Favorite Book: Grisham
23. The last thing you ate: Peanuts
24. Your Life: adventurous
25. Your Mood: HAPPY
26. Your Friends: loyal
27. What are you thinking about right now?: running
29. What are you doing at the moment?: blogging
30. Your summer: COSTA RICA
31. Your relationship status: committed
32. What is on your tv?: nada
33. When is the last time you laughed?: earlier
34. Last time you cried?: Wednesday
35. School?: UCF
John Pham:
1. Yourself: systematic
2. Your significant other: Hot
3. Your hair: dark
4. Your mother: wise
5. Your Father: kind
6. Your step father/mother: none
7. Your dream last night: forgettable
8. Your Favorite drink: gatorade
9. Your Dream Car: porsche
10. The room you are in: dark
11. Your Ex: missionary
12. Your fears: failure
13. What do you want to be in 10 years: missionary
14. Who you hung out with last night: Jess
15. What You're Not: creative
16. Muffins: banana
17: One of Your Wish List Items: MAC
18: Time: short
19. The Last Thing You Did: confidential
20. What You Are Wearing: gators
21. Your Favorite Weather: wintery
22. Your Favorite Book: read?
23. The last thing you ate: doritos
24. Your Life: perfect
25. Your Mood: tired
26. Your Friends: distant
27. What are you thinking about right now?: ice-cream
29. What are you doing at the moment?: resting
30. Your summer: Virginia
31. Your relationship status: married
32. What is on your tv?: nothing
33. When is the last time you laughed?: today
34. Last time you cried?: orientation
35. School?: Gators
See what one word answers you can come up with and let us know. :)
Thursday, August 23, 2007
Fun in the Sun
The kids had a blast in our make-do splash-pad today. :)
The cute blonde is Jaxson's best-bud, Caleb. They are 2 pea's in a pod.
Also, Avery has a hard time in the shower so we decided sink baths are best.
The cute blonde is Jaxson's best-bud, Caleb. They are 2 pea's in a pod.
Also, Avery has a hard time in the shower so we decided sink baths are best.
We had a great day in the yard!
Help is on the Way - Part 2
If you just read my previous blog then you can imagine that yesterday was an emotional day for me . I had blogged yesterday morning about our house helper coming to "help" with the house.
When she saw my tears yesterday she held me close and started praying for me in Spanish. God gave me, for a moment, the ability to understand everything she was saying.
She said, "You are in God's hands. He is the center of your life and your family. He is the king and he will not let you go."
She then got on her hands and knees and prayed for me on her knees. She put her hands on my leg. No one has done this before for me.
I wept and wept.
Here I thought we were coming overseas to bring something special to these people and she is ministering to me on her knees. I was humbled.
God's faithfulness astounds me. This is a very precious woman and her help in our family far exceeds anything she can "do" in the home. She is a prayer warrior, a lover of Christ and most importantly a friend.
When she saw my tears yesterday she held me close and started praying for me in Spanish. God gave me, for a moment, the ability to understand everything she was saying.
She said, "You are in God's hands. He is the center of your life and your family. He is the king and he will not let you go."
She then got on her hands and knees and prayed for me on her knees. She put her hands on my leg. No one has done this before for me.
I wept and wept.
Here I thought we were coming overseas to bring something special to these people and she is ministering to me on her knees. I was humbled.
God's faithfulness astounds me. This is a very precious woman and her help in our family far exceeds anything she can "do" in the home. She is a prayer warrior, a lover of Christ and most importantly a friend.
Knee Update
I went to the rheumatologist yesterday who said my knee was "disorganized." He looked at it through an ultrasound and proceeded to show me how different it looks from my normal knee. After reviewing my previous MRIand all of my medical records, he sent me on the same day to the orthopaedic surgeon on his floor. The surgeon has scheduled surgery for next Thursday. He will cut the lateral part of my knee about 3 inches and then inside my leg he will partially cut my Illiotibial Band (the band the runs from the hip to the knee) to release it. This surgery may or may not help the problem, but it will allow the doctor to also see the extent of the damage in my knee. He said that it is possible I tore my IT band which takes YEARS to heal or sometimes it never heals. He also thought I might have torn a ligament based on where some of the pain is, but he will know exactly what is going on once he is in there. I asked about Arthroscopic surgery which is much less invasive, but he said that he needs to fully see the entire area and he cannot do that with a scope. UGH!!! There is an 80% chance of success in pain reduction, but it is my best option since for 9 months conservative efforts have failed to bring me to a normal functioning/pain level.
The rheumatologist told me I might not ever run again and if I do it will be very limited. Of course, I cried my eyes out upon this news, but am accepting it more and more. The Orthopaedic surgeon said I should remove running from my mind - at least for now. The goal now needs to be able to sit and walk with much less pain. He did tell me that the good news is that I am not in danger. This leg injury is not "dangerous" to my overall life. I had to smile at this reminder, because it is VERY true.
As for school, I will only miss 2 days of orientation. I will be on crutches for a week and will have to take a taxi to and from school, but I should be okay to sit with my leg up and listen and learn. It is only for 4 hours a day. I will then need to be in physical therapy for about 4-6 weeks.
Anyway, I am very, very nervous. Please pray for the details to work out. God is reminding me daily that I am in His hands.
The rheumatologist told me I might not ever run again and if I do it will be very limited. Of course, I cried my eyes out upon this news, but am accepting it more and more. The Orthopaedic surgeon said I should remove running from my mind - at least for now. The goal now needs to be able to sit and walk with much less pain. He did tell me that the good news is that I am not in danger. This leg injury is not "dangerous" to my overall life. I had to smile at this reminder, because it is VERY true.
As for school, I will only miss 2 days of orientation. I will be on crutches for a week and will have to take a taxi to and from school, but I should be okay to sit with my leg up and listen and learn. It is only for 4 hours a day. I will then need to be in physical therapy for about 4-6 weeks.
Anyway, I am very, very nervous. Please pray for the details to work out. God is reminding me daily that I am in His hands.
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
Help is on the way
Life here, although it is spectacular so far, is a lot of work. I have heard other missionaries say that it just takes longer to do everything and I was sure that would not be the case for us. Alas, it is true. I find myself constantly cooking, grocery shopping, cleaning, laundry, etc... I don't remember working so hard in Florida. Of course, I was also home full-time.
Yesterday help arrived. Our "empleada" started. Empleada means helper. Let me tell you all that this woman did in one day. And don't forget, she also had the daunting task of trying to communicate with me through my Spanglish. Thank God for dictionaries. I did, by the way, learn A LOT yesterday and had huge breakthroughs in my speaking. I can understand more than I can say which is frustrating. But just yesterday I conquered the words, to clean, to buy, dirty, trash, refrigerator and floor. :) It really helped to build my confidence.
I digress. The house helper went shopping, did the laundry, made dinner, cleaned the kitchen up like 4 times, cleaned the microwave, made the beds, etc.... I was working out at one point (upper-body, of course) and it was almost miraculous to see my house get so clean while I was exercising. I was beeboppin' all day long. We even had friends over for dinner last night to enjoy the scrumptious chicken and potatoes she made. Glorious!!!
I will post a picture of our empleada, Etel. She is very kind and has the sweetest spirit. She is a hard, hard working woman and a Christian. That was very important to us since she will be watching our kids sometimes. :) One of Etel's children is getting ready to head off to be a missionary in Africa. We just love her and she is a great addition to our family. I will post a picture of her later today. She is going to be here M,W,F from 7-3 each day.
I must scoot because she'll be here soon. Praise God, "Help is on the way."
Yesterday help arrived. Our "empleada" started. Empleada means helper. Let me tell you all that this woman did in one day. And don't forget, she also had the daunting task of trying to communicate with me through my Spanglish. Thank God for dictionaries. I did, by the way, learn A LOT yesterday and had huge breakthroughs in my speaking. I can understand more than I can say which is frustrating. But just yesterday I conquered the words, to clean, to buy, dirty, trash, refrigerator and floor. :) It really helped to build my confidence.
I digress. The house helper went shopping, did the laundry, made dinner, cleaned the kitchen up like 4 times, cleaned the microwave, made the beds, etc.... I was working out at one point (upper-body, of course) and it was almost miraculous to see my house get so clean while I was exercising. I was beeboppin' all day long. We even had friends over for dinner last night to enjoy the scrumptious chicken and potatoes she made. Glorious!!!
I will post a picture of our empleada, Etel. She is very kind and has the sweetest spirit. She is a hard, hard working woman and a Christian. That was very important to us since she will be watching our kids sometimes. :) One of Etel's children is getting ready to head off to be a missionary in Africa. We just love her and she is a great addition to our family. I will post a picture of her later today. She is going to be here M,W,F from 7-3 each day.
I must scoot because she'll be here soon. Praise God, "Help is on the way."
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
Photo Album
Before you look at the album, please don't forget to see the previous 2 blogs about our trip. :)
We went, we enjoyed, we're burnt like toast. What a blast!!!
Thank you, Lord!
We went, we enjoyed, we're burnt like toast. What a blast!!!
Thank you, Lord!
Cool things
The first day we arrived at Punta Leona I noticed that the room had a candle in it. I thought, "how romantic." Hotels don't do this in the States. I'm gonna have to send a letter back home so we can get with it in the U.S.
3 days later when the electricity went out for 5 hours because of a torrential downpour, and we were stuck in the rain forest in an itty-bitty room with 4 children, we then realized what the candles were for. Anyway, we played eye-spy, what rhymes with bored....?, had a rock-paper-scissors-tournament, and what's your favorite? Jaxson's favorite is hot-dog pizza, by the way. Does that even exist?
**********
I was laying by the pool in my one-piece as I noticed that I was the ONLY person in the entire place that wasn't in a bikini. No matter the size or shape. EVERYONE wears a bikini. Very interesting.
Anyway, as I was sunbathing in my one-piece, the girl next to me, also in a bikini says "Oh, I am soooo hot," in perfect English. I think she meant her body temperature, not her state of being to males around her. :) Well, we struck up a conversation. She is 13 by the way. Guess where she is from? No, not Costa Rica. Well, originally. But she lives in St. Cloud, Florida. GET OUT!!!! I'm in the middle of no where in the Costa Rican rain forest and I meet a girl from St. Cloud who goes to Neptune Middle School. I spent many hours running that hill - the only hill in the entire town I might add, and she goes to the school next to the hill in my HOMETOWN. It was wild and I just kept thanking the Lord for bringing a piece of home to me right there in the middle of nowhere.
3 days later when the electricity went out for 5 hours because of a torrential downpour, and we were stuck in the rain forest in an itty-bitty room with 4 children, we then realized what the candles were for. Anyway, we played eye-spy, what rhymes with bored....?, had a rock-paper-scissors-tournament, and what's your favorite? Jaxson's favorite is hot-dog pizza, by the way. Does that even exist?
**********
I was laying by the pool in my one-piece as I noticed that I was the ONLY person in the entire place that wasn't in a bikini. No matter the size or shape. EVERYONE wears a bikini. Very interesting.
Anyway, as I was sunbathing in my one-piece, the girl next to me, also in a bikini says "Oh, I am soooo hot," in perfect English. I think she meant her body temperature, not her state of being to males around her. :) Well, we struck up a conversation. She is 13 by the way. Guess where she is from? No, not Costa Rica. Well, originally. But she lives in St. Cloud, Florida. GET OUT!!!! I'm in the middle of no where in the Costa Rican rain forest and I meet a girl from St. Cloud who goes to Neptune Middle School. I spent many hours running that hill - the only hill in the entire town I might add, and she goes to the school next to the hill in my HOMETOWN. It was wild and I just kept thanking the Lord for bringing a piece of home to me right there in the middle of nowhere.
OUR TRIP IN PICTURES
We visited the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica for 5 days.
We are ready to go:
Here is the view on the way to the beach:
These are the crocodiles we saw as we crossed over a bridge on our way. This was a highlight for us: 
We are ready to go:
Here is the view on the way to the beach:
These are the crocodiles we saw as we crossed over a bridge on our way. This was a highlight for us: 
Here is paradise:
This is the little, or shall I say big, guy who greeted us upon arrival to our room. No, he is not a pet.
These critters physically dug into our beach bag and pulled out our bag of snacks and took it into the bushes to eat it. They look like a cross between a monkey and a racoon:
Fun in the sun:
The beautiful pool by the beach:
Monday, August 20, 2007
You Couldn't Resist
Home Sweet Home
After 5 wonderful and relaxing days in the Costa Rican rainforest/beach we are back home. :)
Lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. We took a ton of pictures so you can feel like you came with us (we'll send you the bill). :) They will ALL have to wait until tomorrow. Too much sun makes the mind weary.
Each time something cool or interesting happened, we said, "Now that's a blog..." Stay tuned.
One quick thing...tonight we were telling daddy "thank you for taking us on such a nice vacation." I chimmed in, "thank you for working so hard everyday." I totally forgot he doesn't "go" anywhere, anymore to bust his hump for "the man." We started laughing at God's goodness as we realized John hasn't had to really "work, work" (not like he use to, anyway, since February). But don't you worry, the hard work starts in 2 weeks as we become language slaves and then some more as we get down to the nitty-gritty TRUTH in Lima. At any rate, we changed it to "thank you, God, for providing us with such a nice vacation."
And thanks, John, for obeying the Lord and bringing us here! :)
Lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. We took a ton of pictures so you can feel like you came with us (we'll send you the bill). :) They will ALL have to wait until tomorrow. Too much sun makes the mind weary.
Each time something cool or interesting happened, we said, "Now that's a blog..." Stay tuned.
One quick thing...tonight we were telling daddy "thank you for taking us on such a nice vacation." I chimmed in, "thank you for working so hard everyday." I totally forgot he doesn't "go" anywhere, anymore to bust his hump for "the man." We started laughing at God's goodness as we realized John hasn't had to really "work, work" (not like he use to, anyway, since February). But don't you worry, the hard work starts in 2 weeks as we become language slaves and then some more as we get down to the nitty-gritty TRUTH in Lima. At any rate, we changed it to "thank you, God, for providing us with such a nice vacation."
And thanks, John, for obeying the Lord and bringing us here! :)
Wednesday, August 15, 2007
Earthquake in Lima - UPDATE
If you have a television you probably saw or heard of the strong earthquake that hit Lima, Peru today. Here is an e-mail from our missionary friends, Jeff and Judy, who live in Lima. John and I didn't even know Peru had earthquakes. Please be praying for this city where God has called us to share His glory. Please pray that the current Lima missionaries will be able to use this unfortunate devastation to have a huge platform to present the Gospel with. I believe, so far, all of the IMB missionaries are okay. Here is the Hughes' update:
"We wanted to write and let you know that we are OK. You might have heard that there was a pretty strong earthquake here in Lima this evening. We were at a meeting at our church and everything started shaking. We went outside to the park across the street and everything continued to shake. We have small earthquakes pretty frequently here, but we've never experienced anything like this before. Many people in the area came out of their houses afraid. Here's a website that gives information about earthquakes around the world: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
We came home so we could call our family to let them know we're OK and Jeff's Mom called on our internet phone before we could call her! She heard about the earthquake on the radio in her car going home from Wednesday night prayer service.
We have heard from some of the other missionaries by email, but our phone is out in the house and the cellphone system is overloaded and we haven't been able to make or receive local calls.
Please pray for peace and calm. Many people are really scared! As we were walking home from church, many people were running around and the traffic was terrible! Our neighbor upstairs came home a little bit ago and she was crying. We have been watching local TV broadcasts and people were crying also. They are reporting some damage in Lima. We have already felt one aftershock and imagine that there will be more over the next few hours. Many people here live without the hope that we have in Jesus Christ and this is terrifying to them. Pray that we will have more opportunities to share The Gospel and the Eternal Hope that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ."
Thanks for your continued prayers.
"We wanted to write and let you know that we are OK. You might have heard that there was a pretty strong earthquake here in Lima this evening. We were at a meeting at our church and everything started shaking. We went outside to the park across the street and everything continued to shake. We have small earthquakes pretty frequently here, but we've never experienced anything like this before. Many people in the area came out of their houses afraid. Here's a website that gives information about earthquakes around the world: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/
We came home so we could call our family to let them know we're OK and Jeff's Mom called on our internet phone before we could call her! She heard about the earthquake on the radio in her car going home from Wednesday night prayer service.
We have heard from some of the other missionaries by email, but our phone is out in the house and the cellphone system is overloaded and we haven't been able to make or receive local calls.
Please pray for peace and calm. Many people are really scared! As we were walking home from church, many people were running around and the traffic was terrible! Our neighbor upstairs came home a little bit ago and she was crying. We have been watching local TV broadcasts and people were crying also. They are reporting some damage in Lima. We have already felt one aftershock and imagine that there will be more over the next few hours. Many people here live without the hope that we have in Jesus Christ and this is terrifying to them. Pray that we will have more opportunities to share The Gospel and the Eternal Hope that comes through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ."
Thanks for your continued prayers.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Highlights
No...I'm not talking about my hair. Of course, I did find a place to get blonde highlights in my hair for $40. And, she speaks English.
Anyway, here are some quick highlights from today:
Today was our last day of barefooting. We now have 2 weeks of vacation and are leaving Thursday morning for a 5 day/4 night adventure at the beach. They have A/C there, but no bathtub. Lots of pictures to come.
Parker did a presentation at school today and he was sooo cute. We forgot the camera. I can't believe my little baby was up there dancing and singing and miming. Wasn't he just born? Oh, I am so proud of him. He didn't suck his thumb one time on stage (a huge feat if you know Parker) and he didn't act like he had ADHD or anything of the sort. Not that he does, but sometimes you might wonder as many have. Anyway, he is really maturing. I wish you could've seen him.
Avery was diagnosed with a double ear infection. You might be saying, but wait, didn't she just have one like 2 weeks ago? Yes! This is her 4th infection since mid-May. Two more infections and we are going to the ENT to see about tubes. Hopefully, it will not come to that.
Ally fell out of her bed yesterday morning and landed on the hard tile floor. Her arm was swollen and slightly bruised. The clinic doctor at the school suggested an x-ray. So, I had my first experience at the hospital with my friend, Candy, as translator. She started Spanish school in January and the doctor told her she spoke very well. The hospital is where you go to see the doctor. Strange, huh? It was smooth and easy. Ally's arm is just bruised and she is fine. I just smiled at the doctor as he talked and I realized I couldn't understand a SINGLE word he was saying. In perfect English he managed to tell me I will speak great Spanish by the end of the school year. I sure hope so.
John has had NO migraines since Friday. WOOHOOO! He is doing great picking up Spanish and is thriving here.
We will take lots of pictures of our first Costa Rica beach trip. Wish you could come with us. Miss our friends all over the world, but so glad we are here doing what the Lord has called us to do. And going to the beach is like a bonus.
That's it for today!!!!
Anyway, here are some quick highlights from today:
Today was our last day of barefooting. We now have 2 weeks of vacation and are leaving Thursday morning for a 5 day/4 night adventure at the beach. They have A/C there, but no bathtub. Lots of pictures to come.
Parker did a presentation at school today and he was sooo cute. We forgot the camera. I can't believe my little baby was up there dancing and singing and miming. Wasn't he just born? Oh, I am so proud of him. He didn't suck his thumb one time on stage (a huge feat if you know Parker) and he didn't act like he had ADHD or anything of the sort. Not that he does, but sometimes you might wonder as many have. Anyway, he is really maturing. I wish you could've seen him.
Avery was diagnosed with a double ear infection. You might be saying, but wait, didn't she just have one like 2 weeks ago? Yes! This is her 4th infection since mid-May. Two more infections and we are going to the ENT to see about tubes. Hopefully, it will not come to that.
Ally fell out of her bed yesterday morning and landed on the hard tile floor. Her arm was swollen and slightly bruised. The clinic doctor at the school suggested an x-ray. So, I had my first experience at the hospital with my friend, Candy, as translator. She started Spanish school in January and the doctor told her she spoke very well. The hospital is where you go to see the doctor. Strange, huh? It was smooth and easy. Ally's arm is just bruised and she is fine. I just smiled at the doctor as he talked and I realized I couldn't understand a SINGLE word he was saying. In perfect English he managed to tell me I will speak great Spanish by the end of the school year. I sure hope so.
John has had NO migraines since Friday. WOOHOOO! He is doing great picking up Spanish and is thriving here.
We will take lots of pictures of our first Costa Rica beach trip. Wish you could come with us. Miss our friends all over the world, but so glad we are here doing what the Lord has called us to do. And going to the beach is like a bonus.
That's it for today!!!!
Monday, August 13, 2007
Calling in sick
Today was great! Two of my kids were still sick so I had the absolute pleasure of staying home with them....Avery and Parker.
I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being home with my children more than ANYTHING in the entire world. This was such a blessed, sweet day to be able to be with them ALL Day long. If Parker would've been feeling better we would've done some homeschooling just for old times' sake. Nonetheless, we enjoyed each other and it made me remember why I was so sad to give it up for language school. We had a paper airplane competition and let me tell you I am no good. Parker makes a sweet paper airplane.
Anyway, school starts in about 2 weeks and then I have 1 solid year of NOT being a full-time, stay at home mom. Truly, this hurts my heart as I know this is what God created me to do...to nurture and guide my babies as they are learning about life and God. God has also called me to be a missionary, so I am embracing this in obedience. It will be a long year, but then I will be back home permanently with my precious ones!!! For now, though, we'll always have sick days. :)
I'll spare you the details, but I will say that I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE being home with my children more than ANYTHING in the entire world. This was such a blessed, sweet day to be able to be with them ALL Day long. If Parker would've been feeling better we would've done some homeschooling just for old times' sake. Nonetheless, we enjoyed each other and it made me remember why I was so sad to give it up for language school. We had a paper airplane competition and let me tell you I am no good. Parker makes a sweet paper airplane.
Anyway, school starts in about 2 weeks and then I have 1 solid year of NOT being a full-time, stay at home mom. Truly, this hurts my heart as I know this is what God created me to do...to nurture and guide my babies as they are learning about life and God. God has also called me to be a missionary, so I am embracing this in obedience. It will be a long year, but then I will be back home permanently with my precious ones!!! For now, though, we'll always have sick days. :)
Saturday, August 11, 2007
More Facts and More Picts.
Check out our slide show of C.R. life!
Here are some more C.R. facts I found interesting today as I was reading a handout from the school:
We DO NOT have air conditioning. The windows are open 24/7 and the average temp is around 75. :)
We DO NOT have to have a prescription to get RX drugs - unless it is a narcotic! This helps a lot!
Church: The form of the service depends on the church but some cultural differences do exist. For example, the service may begin late. In addition, if a member of the church brings a non-Christian friend to the service, many times he will introduce him as a friend who is not a believer and who needs prayer
EXPRESSIONS AND MANNERS
Expressions: In Latin America, you will hear certain expressions, which you may initially find offensive, but which constitute terms of endearment to the speaker. These may include:
gordo(a) / gordito(a) (little) fatty
negro(a) / negrito(a) (little) blackie
macho(a) / machito(a) (little) blondie
flaco(a) / flaquito(a) (little) skinny
Whereas the term "fatty" in English may be an insult in reference to one's weight, in Spanish, "gordito (a)" is simply an endearing nickname which may have no relevance to one's size.
Children and Discipline: It is uncommon for Latin Americans to discipline their children in public. Therefore, the children may run free and scream a lot. The supervision of children is more relaxed than in North America. It is very common for children to be present with their parents in a church service whereas, often, North Americans take their children to a nursery or class.
Time and Money: In Latin America there is no hurry except in Cars. One should keep a positive and patient attitude, whether learning a language or waiting for a bus. The North American is punctual. The Latin American is punctual for work but is more flexible with time. Take a magazine or book if you are going to the doctor, a bank, or anything to do with the government.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Costa Rica Facts
In case you read my previous blog.....I got the kids down, the laundry is 3/4 done, the dishes are clean and the floor is mopped. Praise God! It's amazing how much I can do in a short amount of time, but it seems overwhelming in my mind. And then I do it and realize it wasn't such a big deal. You understand, don't you?
Anyway, a few facts about C.R. I think you will find interesting:
Their dialect of Spanish rarely uses "tu." It is the formal "usted."
Also, "ll" is pronounced with a "j." So it would be llama sounding like jama. Totally not how we are taught in the states so we are trying to break that habit.
The streets do not really have names and there are NO street signs with names on them anywhere.
The houses do not have an address number on them. Giving directions is like impossible. "Can you take me to my house by the park?" This is usually how it goes.
There is NO area code in Costa Rica - 7 digit dialing.
There is NO zip code.
People will tell you directions, but then point in a different direction. Always go where they are pointing and not by what they are saying.
A doctor in C.R. makes abotu $800 a month. A specialist about $1,200-$1,500.
A Tico (Costa Rican) will be decked out in expensive clothes, I-pod, cell phone and be on the bus. Or they will have a great car and clothes, but not a great house. Image is everything.
The average Tico takes a cold shower and they usually only take showers in the morning unless they have a job that gets them dirty. The hot water heater is not a big tank like EVERYONE in the U.S. has. That is reserved only for the wealthy. Their water is heated by a little box in the shower that heats the water as it flows. And the water is either hot or cold. You can't really regulate it. We have something very similar. Our kids cannot take showers alone b/c the water is constantly changing.
Baths are reserved for the extremely wealthy. It costs too much to fill the tub. We don't have a tub either. Boy, I am dreaming about the day I get to take a bath again.
A lot of families do not have washers and dryers. They hang their clothes to dry. Once again, this is too expensive for the electric bill. We do have a washer and a dryer and the option to hang our clothes as well.
The average Tico makes $300 a month. Most of the country is considered middle class. This is a middle class salary.
Ticos are about the friendliest bunch of people I have met. They just talk really fast. :) Many people offer for us to practice our Spanish with them. :)
Hope you enjoy these interesting tidbits. If I learn more I'll let you know!
P.S. We will have a house helper who starts in a week and a half. She will come into our home to help us while we are in language school. She will do all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry and some other miscellaneous stuff. She will also help us learn Spanish and will love on our little ones and we will love on her. She will be with us for the year. We cannot wait! Can you imagine, no laundry for a year? Can you imagine, I have to be able to speak at an intermediate high level in a year?
Anyway, a few facts about C.R. I think you will find interesting:
Their dialect of Spanish rarely uses "tu." It is the formal "usted."
Also, "ll" is pronounced with a "j." So it would be llama sounding like jama. Totally not how we are taught in the states so we are trying to break that habit.
The streets do not really have names and there are NO street signs with names on them anywhere.
The houses do not have an address number on them. Giving directions is like impossible. "Can you take me to my house by the park?" This is usually how it goes.
There is NO area code in Costa Rica - 7 digit dialing.
There is NO zip code.
People will tell you directions, but then point in a different direction. Always go where they are pointing and not by what they are saying.
A doctor in C.R. makes abotu $800 a month. A specialist about $1,200-$1,500.
A Tico (Costa Rican) will be decked out in expensive clothes, I-pod, cell phone and be on the bus. Or they will have a great car and clothes, but not a great house. Image is everything.
The average Tico takes a cold shower and they usually only take showers in the morning unless they have a job that gets them dirty. The hot water heater is not a big tank like EVERYONE in the U.S. has. That is reserved only for the wealthy. Their water is heated by a little box in the shower that heats the water as it flows. And the water is either hot or cold. You can't really regulate it. We have something very similar. Our kids cannot take showers alone b/c the water is constantly changing.
Baths are reserved for the extremely wealthy. It costs too much to fill the tub. We don't have a tub either. Boy, I am dreaming about the day I get to take a bath again.
A lot of families do not have washers and dryers. They hang their clothes to dry. Once again, this is too expensive for the electric bill. We do have a washer and a dryer and the option to hang our clothes as well.
The average Tico makes $300 a month. Most of the country is considered middle class. This is a middle class salary.
Ticos are about the friendliest bunch of people I have met. They just talk really fast. :) Many people offer for us to practice our Spanish with them. :)
Hope you enjoy these interesting tidbits. If I learn more I'll let you know!
P.S. We will have a house helper who starts in a week and a half. She will come into our home to help us while we are in language school. She will do all of the cooking, cleaning, laundry and some other miscellaneous stuff. She will also help us learn Spanish and will love on our little ones and we will love on her. She will be with us for the year. We cannot wait! Can you imagine, no laundry for a year? Can you imagine, I have to be able to speak at an intermediate high level in a year?
Real Life
In case anyone in the world cares.....
John is in bed with his 3rd migraine in 4 days. Ouch!!
Jaxson has major diarrhea (from now on I will call it BIG D or little d). BIG D being major and little d being minor. He has BIG D! We're hoping it's not a parasite from the orange juice we bought him from a local street vendor the other day. You don't need to e-mail me telling me how dumb that was. We know, we know!!!
Avery started the little d a few hours ago. She sipped some of Jaxson's O.J. Hey, it was good O.J.
Mommy, that would be me, has a crazy upper respiratory infection that started in my lungs. I've had 3 very restless nights of sleep from so much coughing. I'm trying so hard not to be grumpy as all I wanna do is go to bed, but daddy, Jaxson and Avery need me. I keep praying to have grace and not to be selfish. It's hard....yes, even for a missionary.
4 loads of laundry are waiting, a sink full of dinner dishes and a floor that hasn't been mopped in 3 weeks and 4 little kiddos needing me. No time to write, but thanks for dropping in in case anyone in cyber space cares. :)
John is in bed with his 3rd migraine in 4 days. Ouch!!
Jaxson has major diarrhea (from now on I will call it BIG D or little d). BIG D being major and little d being minor. He has BIG D! We're hoping it's not a parasite from the orange juice we bought him from a local street vendor the other day. You don't need to e-mail me telling me how dumb that was. We know, we know!!!
Avery started the little d a few hours ago. She sipped some of Jaxson's O.J. Hey, it was good O.J.
Mommy, that would be me, has a crazy upper respiratory infection that started in my lungs. I've had 3 very restless nights of sleep from so much coughing. I'm trying so hard not to be grumpy as all I wanna do is go to bed, but daddy, Jaxson and Avery need me. I keep praying to have grace and not to be selfish. It's hard....yes, even for a missionary.
4 loads of laundry are waiting, a sink full of dinner dishes and a floor that hasn't been mopped in 3 weeks and 4 little kiddos needing me. No time to write, but thanks for dropping in in case anyone in cyber space cares. :)
Wednesday, August 8, 2007
I Miss You
Dad and Charlann, December can't get here fast enough. I miss you! I love you!
Kitty, you are one of a kind and I appreciate your role in my life. I miss you!
Zoey, you are the ultimate homemaker. I can't wait to see you in 3 years. I miss you!
Heidi K., life is not the same without our chats. You are a kindred spirit. I miss you!
Heather C., you are a hillarious dear and I love keeping up with you. I miss you!
Heidi E., your wonderful hospitality and deep conversations brightened my day. I miss you!
Aunt Kim, Saturdays were so much fun. You are a mom to me. I miss you!
Kathryn E., so many years ago God connected our hearts together. You are special. I miss you!
Helen Adams, I want to be like you when I grow up. I miss you!
Amy Buzbee, get back from Chicago soon so we can talk again. I miss you!
Pastor Steve and Shannon, our biggest supporters and awesome friends. I miss you!
Jeanne Bostick, my personal encouraging machine. God bless you! I miss you!
Mema, I need to hear your sweet voice and have some yummy brownies. I miss you!
Janey Neibor, whose going to disciple me now? You are such a truth speaker. I miss you!
Jennifer Thornton, Typhoon Lagoon and lazy Saturday afternoons and lots of running. I miss you!
Running Club, ugh.....Tuesdays and Thursdays are just not the same without you guys.
And to all of you that I didn't mention, I am thinking about you, too! Life is good here, but remember that we are here because of YOU and your role in our lives. Okay, and also because God called us here.
But I miss you all, with every beat that my heart takes I miss you. I love you!
If this were paper you would see my tears in the ink.
Kitty, you are one of a kind and I appreciate your role in my life. I miss you!
Zoey, you are the ultimate homemaker. I can't wait to see you in 3 years. I miss you!
Heidi K., life is not the same without our chats. You are a kindred spirit. I miss you!
Heather C., you are a hillarious dear and I love keeping up with you. I miss you!
Heidi E., your wonderful hospitality and deep conversations brightened my day. I miss you!
Aunt Kim, Saturdays were so much fun. You are a mom to me. I miss you!
Kathryn E., so many years ago God connected our hearts together. You are special. I miss you!
Helen Adams, I want to be like you when I grow up. I miss you!
Amy Buzbee, get back from Chicago soon so we can talk again. I miss you!
Pastor Steve and Shannon, our biggest supporters and awesome friends. I miss you!
Jeanne Bostick, my personal encouraging machine. God bless you! I miss you!
Mema, I need to hear your sweet voice and have some yummy brownies. I miss you!
Janey Neibor, whose going to disciple me now? You are such a truth speaker. I miss you!
Jennifer Thornton, Typhoon Lagoon and lazy Saturday afternoons and lots of running. I miss you!
Running Club, ugh.....Tuesdays and Thursdays are just not the same without you guys.
And to all of you that I didn't mention, I am thinking about you, too! Life is good here, but remember that we are here because of YOU and your role in our lives. Okay, and also because God called us here.
But I miss you all, with every beat that my heart takes I miss you. I love you!
If this were paper you would see my tears in the ink.
Wacky Wednesday....
And I'm not talkin' about Hungry Howie's Pizza.
Today we wanted to do something American.
We shall take the kids to see a wholesome "G" rated movie. Jaxson has never been to the movies and Ally and Parker maybe once or twice. This was a VERY special treat. We picked them up from school an hour early only to find out that the movie was only in Spanish. DUH!!!
Okay, back up plan. We'll take the kids to McDonald's for Happy Meals (this is very American) and to play on the gigantic indoor playground. You know, the toys in the Happy Meals are what it's all about. And to have a play area that doesn't actually get 10 inches of rain in one afternoon just makes us giddie!
Got to Mickey D's and they were out of toys. No biggie. They scrounged up three, but they were not for boys. I have 2 boys in case you forgot. And the little girl toy, as Ally explained it, "Has a sour face and a bad attitude."
Okay, next plan! We'll eat quickly and go play. I hope you are hearing screeching tires in your head right about now. The ENTIRE playground area was reserved for a birthday party. Was it really necessary to shut down the entire area? FOR 3 HOURS!!!
Sweet spirited Parker looked at me with a sad kind-of smiley face and said, "It's okay Momma, I'm still thankful to be here." Awwwww....melt my heart, but open the darn playground already.
It was just one of those days where the culture dictated our plans.
As the Ticos say, "Pura Vida." Pure Life!
Today we wanted to do something American.
We shall take the kids to see a wholesome "G" rated movie. Jaxson has never been to the movies and Ally and Parker maybe once or twice. This was a VERY special treat. We picked them up from school an hour early only to find out that the movie was only in Spanish. DUH!!!
Okay, back up plan. We'll take the kids to McDonald's for Happy Meals (this is very American) and to play on the gigantic indoor playground. You know, the toys in the Happy Meals are what it's all about. And to have a play area that doesn't actually get 10 inches of rain in one afternoon just makes us giddie!
Got to Mickey D's and they were out of toys. No biggie. They scrounged up three, but they were not for boys. I have 2 boys in case you forgot. And the little girl toy, as Ally explained it, "Has a sour face and a bad attitude."
Okay, next plan! We'll eat quickly and go play. I hope you are hearing screeching tires in your head right about now. The ENTIRE playground area was reserved for a birthday party. Was it really necessary to shut down the entire area? FOR 3 HOURS!!!
Sweet spirited Parker looked at me with a sad kind-of smiley face and said, "It's okay Momma, I'm still thankful to be here." Awwwww....melt my heart, but open the darn playground already.
It was just one of those days where the culture dictated our plans.
As the Ticos say, "Pura Vida." Pure Life!
Tuesday, August 7, 2007
Robbers and Muggers
Not to dwell too much on safety issues here in Latin America, but they are VERY real. Too real! Everyday we remind ourselves that we trust in the Lord and not in the razor wires that blanket the entrance into our courtyard. And we certainly don't trust in the three dead bolted doors any thief would have to pick to ransack our house or the barred windows that would keep even the fire department out. And we don't trust in the mace we constantly carry with us or even in the sensible "street smarts" we think we are developing. Last week a guy was held up at gun-point at 5 p.m. in the park we walk through, twice a day, to go to and from school. He was unharmed, but his cell phone was stolen and the gun was fired several times - probably to scare him. A house on that same street was also robbed last week. On Sunday, we got a "prayer" e-mail about our Supervisor in Lima, Peru. His house was broken into and ransacked. He arrived to find his computers and electronic stuff swiped, a front door that needs to be replaced and a roughed up house. It could've been much worse. Or, it could've not happened at all. Praise God he was not home and his wife and daughter were in the states. This brother was out sharing Christ while this happened in broad daylight - as is common in Latin America. Most people just want your stuff (for money to eat or for their addictions) and usually don't want to hurt you. After we found out about this occurrence, we didn't sleep so well on Sunday evening. It's amazing how many strange sounds you hear when you're living in fear. On Monday, coincidentally, the topic for the day in barefooting class was "security." We spent the better part of today covering it, too. We were told that we probably should get to the place where we accept that we will get robbed at some point - as most everyone we have talked to here has been at one time or another in their life (some people multiple times - either on the street or their house burglarized). Can you imagine just accepting that this is going to happen to you? We also need to get to the point of total, utter trust in the Lord and the fact that His word says "He is our provider, protector and shelter and He will rescue us from our enemies." His word doesn't say this so we have something warm and fuzzy to read every now and then; it says this to comfort us in our time of need. Our time of need is now and we lift up our eyes knowing that our help comes from the Lord, maker of Heaven and Earth. Our safety is in His hands, not in the mace that has found a permanent home in our pockets. It is very easy to trust in the man-made protection we see all around, but God has gently reminded us to trust in what we cannot see as this is true faith and true protection.
Sunday, August 5, 2007
Saturday, August 4, 2007
Food glorious food
We rose early this morning to head out to the Ferria (produce market) to get our weekly supply of fruits and veggies. A few blogs ago I complained about the price of food, so I think I will take the liberty to brag about the cheap prices at the market. It is winter so the prices will go down even lower in the summertime (Decemberish, I think). We bought about 25 bananas for .50 cents and a pineapple for .30 cents. Everything else was super cheap as well, but those particular items were a ridiculous bargain. Needless to say, we have been eating a lot of bananas and pineapples. We are spending about $10-$15 a week in produce which would cost us $30-$40 in St. Cloud.
We found a store down the street that the nationals do their shopping at. If we try to eat like locals and not like Americans, our grocery budget will be totally reasonable. Did I mention there is a place across the street that sells roasted chickens? They pull it right out of the fire-roasted rotisserie. It is double the size of a wal-mart chicken for about $4.50. So yummy! We are eating loads of chicken...chicken and rice, chicken quesadillas, chicken salad and roasted chicken.
The bakery across the street makes awesome donuts. They are very cheap, too. Here is a picture of one of the donuts we had for breakfast. It was so delicious I just had to post it. We'll take you to get one if you'll come visit us.
I am also attaching some pictures of our trip to the grocery store. Since we have to walk we have a little cart that holds all of our groceries. We were quite the spectacle trying to maneuver it up the hill today. It's not a bother, but VERY different than our posh life in the U.S. Avery slept through most of our trip. As you can see, her new favorite place is on daddy's back.
We have been here 2 weeks and 1 day and feel very much like this is home. On Monday I will take some pictures of our bare footing class so you can meet the other missionaries we are spending our time with. We have been with them since Virginia and we are all between the ages of 30-34. They have been a huge blessing and make us laugh A LOT. And, we love to eat together.
Friday, August 3, 2007
Follow-up to Homeboy Gospel
Please read this AFTER you read our initial post called Homeboy Gospel.
Okay, now that you have read our first post, we will share what we found out tonight. As we were sharing our story with the career missionary here in Costa Rica, she immediately asked, "Was his name Ronnie?" He has been around for years giving the same lines to all Americans that he meets. In fact, he has hit up all of the career missionary's family at one time or another. Another career missionary also chimed in that Ronnie had threatened to kill her one time before because she had told other people not to give him money because he is a scammer.
Of course, John and I knew that he was a scammer and this is no surpise to us. We told the missionaries what we shared with him. And someone chimed in, "it won't do any good. He's never gone change."
I quickly replied, "God can change anyone."
At first I felt discouraged that we shared with such a crook with seemingly no hope!
But if we aren't sharing with those who are in the deepest of pits....like drunks, scam artists and sex addicts, then what are we here for? And if we don't have hope that God is going to change people from the inside out, then what are we sharing? The Gospel is truth and it has the power to transform people radically. Only the Lord can turn the worst of addicts into the holiest of worshippers. Only the Lord can pull a has-been off the street and use him to bring His glory to the nations. God is in the business of restoration and if we aren't living it or believing in it then we might as well just go home.
We are going to pray for a mighty working in this man's life and we have every intention of making our way back to dowtown San Jose' very soon to meet up with our old friend, Ronnie, again.
Okay, now that you have read our first post, we will share what we found out tonight. As we were sharing our story with the career missionary here in Costa Rica, she immediately asked, "Was his name Ronnie?" He has been around for years giving the same lines to all Americans that he meets. In fact, he has hit up all of the career missionary's family at one time or another. Another career missionary also chimed in that Ronnie had threatened to kill her one time before because she had told other people not to give him money because he is a scammer.
Of course, John and I knew that he was a scammer and this is no surpise to us. We told the missionaries what we shared with him. And someone chimed in, "it won't do any good. He's never gone change."
I quickly replied, "God can change anyone."
At first I felt discouraged that we shared with such a crook with seemingly no hope!
But if we aren't sharing with those who are in the deepest of pits....like drunks, scam artists and sex addicts, then what are we here for? And if we don't have hope that God is going to change people from the inside out, then what are we sharing? The Gospel is truth and it has the power to transform people radically. Only the Lord can turn the worst of addicts into the holiest of worshippers. Only the Lord can pull a has-been off the street and use him to bring His glory to the nations. God is in the business of restoration and if we aren't living it or believing in it then we might as well just go home.
We are going to pray for a mighty working in this man's life and we have every intention of making our way back to dowtown San Jose' very soon to meet up with our old friend, Ronnie, again.
It's Not Working
This morning as we were walking and talking on the way to school, I asked the children what it takes to be a Christian.
Parker quickly said, "Laying down your life and asking Jesus to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life."
Perfecto!!!
Ally looked up and said, "I've been wanting to talk to you about that."
"Do you remember when I asked Jesus in my heart? (She did this a few months ago). I don't think I did it right. It's not working because I am still making bad choices. I've had a hard time lately. I'm just not really getting it. I think I should be getting better and better and better."
Oh honey!!
"This is a big word for you, but it's called sancitification." I broke it down into pre-school verbage and explained that this is the process that God uses to change us and often times it is little by little and step by step. Each day we have to make the choice to follow Him and throughout her short life God is going to keep changing her to be more like Him.
Her brown eyes looked up at me and said, "That's really good news."
I think she was expecting to be perfect. "God's way does work," I assured her! :)
Parker quickly said, "Laying down your life and asking Jesus to come into your heart and be the Lord of your life."
Perfecto!!!
Ally looked up and said, "I've been wanting to talk to you about that."
"Do you remember when I asked Jesus in my heart? (She did this a few months ago). I don't think I did it right. It's not working because I am still making bad choices. I've had a hard time lately. I'm just not really getting it. I think I should be getting better and better and better."
Oh honey!!
"This is a big word for you, but it's called sancitification." I broke it down into pre-school verbage and explained that this is the process that God uses to change us and often times it is little by little and step by step. Each day we have to make the choice to follow Him and throughout her short life God is going to keep changing her to be more like Him.
Her brown eyes looked up at me and said, "That's really good news."
I think she was expecting to be perfect. "God's way does work," I assured her! :)
Homeboy Gospel
God was not slow in answering your prayers.
I asked you to please pray that John and I would have opportunities to share Christ now - even without knowing Spanish. We have been expectant as we were waiting for the Lord to give us a divine appointment. He did – today!
For our bare footing class we had to take the local metro bus into the city of San Jose. It reminded me a lot of NYC and I totally loved being there. Anyway, we had some assignments to do while we were there. No, our children were not with us. As we were looking for a specific location and talking about where it might be, a guy came up to us and said, "Do you speak English?" At first, we were both thinking that we didn't have time to be bothered because we had to complete our assignment. Gently, God reminded us that our purpose in life is people, not homework, and this is the assignment that God had for us right then. We set our homework aside and the conversation began......
It was almost a jolt to our systems to hear someone speak our mother tongue. We have gotten so use to people talking to us and we don't understand what they are saying that when this guy spoke and we did understand, we just stood there looking at him. After 5 seconds of shock and silence were over, we exchanged greetings with him. In his California valley girl kind of way, he asked us if we could take him to a restaurant and buy him some food. "I'll eat it right in front of you. I swear to God." Likely story, buddy!
He told us, and none of this story is probably true by the way, that he was from LA and his father is a Costa Rican and lives about 4 hours away. He said he has been in San Jose for 2 1/2 weeks. He came into the city and was robbed by some women (likely story, huh?) and he needs just $10 to get back to his dad's house. He said his dad lives in Gwanacasta (spelling?). John and I just learned last week that Gwanacasta is such a rich area that Mel Gibson has a home there. It's unlikely that this poor beggar on the street has a dad who lives there. So, he wanted to know if we would take him to get a bite to eat. It only cost 1,300 colones (about $2.75). He must've been around the age 30 or so. It's hard to tell because he has had a hard life and the effects of his living have overtaken his face.
We felt a rush to finish our homework so John gave him 1,000 colones and said that it wasn't necessary for us to watch him eat. I felt like it was necessary and I wanted to take him to the restaurant and physically sit there with him while he scarfed down a meal. I did not want to be a party to his drug addiction. By that point though, he had the 1,000 colones in his hands. After the money exchange, I asked him how I could pray for him. "Are you guys Christians? My mom is a Christian," he asked. Not sure if this is true either, but from his question to us (thank you God), John and I were able to share what I call a "homeboy Gospel." Keep in mind that every other word that came out of this guys mouth started with an "f."
At first I didn't know what to say and then I started praying once I knew God wanted us to use this opportunity to speak to this man's heart. After he said that he knew about Christianity and stuff, but wasn't ready to stop doing what he was doing, I asked him if he felt like a hamster in a wheel running in circles. He confided in us that he smokes marijuana, occasionally cocaine, drinks and lots of sex. He then said, "Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, but not so much rock-n-roll." At this point, rock-n-roll would have been the saintly of the three. He also answered “yes” to my question. We shared with him the plan that God has for his life and that if he gave his life to Christ he could see the purpose God has for him. I call it a homeboy Gospel because we made sure to be very down to earth, not preachy, and to share in a way that would appeal to him. We also knew he was about to go smoke weed and probably rip off some other Americans so we shared with him that his next joint would only leave him craving another one, but God's love is enough. Only Jesus will leave him satisfied. He agreed, but said he just couldn't change.
Of course he can't! Only God can change him. All he needs to do is lay down his life and watch the Lord work.
He kept thanking us for talking to him. John shared Christ and Him crucified as well as some key verses. This guy, his name is Ronnie by the way, said he just isn't ready to give up his life, but said that he is exhausted and worn out by the way he is living. He then asked us for 300 more colones. I told him we would be happy to give him 300 colones if he would come and sit-down to talk with us over lunch. He had every excuse in the book as to why he couldn't so obviously he wasn't THAT hungry. He kept asking for the money and I said, "Yes, if you will eat with us." He declined again. If I was going to give this brother some money, then the least he could do was listen to the plan God has for him in detail.
At the close of our encounter, I told him we were going to be praying for him everyday for the next 2 weeks and that he should be prepared for God to shake up his life. I said, "You should be prepared because as we pray for you, God is going to pursue you and you will not be able to escape Him." We really believe that God is going to do something powerful in Ronnie's life. He said he would be watching and waiting.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to see what God does, but we rest assured that the Lord is going to hound him until he pounds down the gates of heaven. Please join us in praying for this man, Ronnie. It will be awesome if we can see him in heaven one day.
John and I walked away from the situation praising God for using us right here and right now! He didn't wait for us to speak Spanish to share His word. Hopefully this is just the first of many opportunities. It was breathtaking to be in the streets of San Jose, with my awesome husband, sharing Christ and doing what God has made us for. Glory to God!
I asked you to please pray that John and I would have opportunities to share Christ now - even without knowing Spanish. We have been expectant as we were waiting for the Lord to give us a divine appointment. He did – today!
For our bare footing class we had to take the local metro bus into the city of San Jose. It reminded me a lot of NYC and I totally loved being there. Anyway, we had some assignments to do while we were there. No, our children were not with us. As we were looking for a specific location and talking about where it might be, a guy came up to us and said, "Do you speak English?" At first, we were both thinking that we didn't have time to be bothered because we had to complete our assignment. Gently, God reminded us that our purpose in life is people, not homework, and this is the assignment that God had for us right then. We set our homework aside and the conversation began......
It was almost a jolt to our systems to hear someone speak our mother tongue. We have gotten so use to people talking to us and we don't understand what they are saying that when this guy spoke and we did understand, we just stood there looking at him. After 5 seconds of shock and silence were over, we exchanged greetings with him. In his California valley girl kind of way, he asked us if we could take him to a restaurant and buy him some food. "I'll eat it right in front of you. I swear to God." Likely story, buddy!
He told us, and none of this story is probably true by the way, that he was from LA and his father is a Costa Rican and lives about 4 hours away. He said he has been in San Jose for 2 1/2 weeks. He came into the city and was robbed by some women (likely story, huh?) and he needs just $10 to get back to his dad's house. He said his dad lives in Gwanacasta (spelling?). John and I just learned last week that Gwanacasta is such a rich area that Mel Gibson has a home there. It's unlikely that this poor beggar on the street has a dad who lives there. So, he wanted to know if we would take him to get a bite to eat. It only cost 1,300 colones (about $2.75). He must've been around the age 30 or so. It's hard to tell because he has had a hard life and the effects of his living have overtaken his face.
We felt a rush to finish our homework so John gave him 1,000 colones and said that it wasn't necessary for us to watch him eat. I felt like it was necessary and I wanted to take him to the restaurant and physically sit there with him while he scarfed down a meal. I did not want to be a party to his drug addiction. By that point though, he had the 1,000 colones in his hands. After the money exchange, I asked him how I could pray for him. "Are you guys Christians? My mom is a Christian," he asked. Not sure if this is true either, but from his question to us (thank you God), John and I were able to share what I call a "homeboy Gospel." Keep in mind that every other word that came out of this guys mouth started with an "f."
At first I didn't know what to say and then I started praying once I knew God wanted us to use this opportunity to speak to this man's heart. After he said that he knew about Christianity and stuff, but wasn't ready to stop doing what he was doing, I asked him if he felt like a hamster in a wheel running in circles. He confided in us that he smokes marijuana, occasionally cocaine, drinks and lots of sex. He then said, "Sex, drugs and rock-n-roll, but not so much rock-n-roll." At this point, rock-n-roll would have been the saintly of the three. He also answered “yes” to my question. We shared with him the plan that God has for his life and that if he gave his life to Christ he could see the purpose God has for him. I call it a homeboy Gospel because we made sure to be very down to earth, not preachy, and to share in a way that would appeal to him. We also knew he was about to go smoke weed and probably rip off some other Americans so we shared with him that his next joint would only leave him craving another one, but God's love is enough. Only Jesus will leave him satisfied. He agreed, but said he just couldn't change.
Of course he can't! Only God can change him. All he needs to do is lay down his life and watch the Lord work.
He kept thanking us for talking to him. John shared Christ and Him crucified as well as some key verses. This guy, his name is Ronnie by the way, said he just isn't ready to give up his life, but said that he is exhausted and worn out by the way he is living. He then asked us for 300 more colones. I told him we would be happy to give him 300 colones if he would come and sit-down to talk with us over lunch. He had every excuse in the book as to why he couldn't so obviously he wasn't THAT hungry. He kept asking for the money and I said, "Yes, if you will eat with us." He declined again. If I was going to give this brother some money, then the least he could do was listen to the plan God has for him in detail.
At the close of our encounter, I told him we were going to be praying for him everyday for the next 2 weeks and that he should be prepared for God to shake up his life. I said, "You should be prepared because as we pray for you, God is going to pursue you and you will not be able to escape Him." We really believe that God is going to do something powerful in Ronnie's life. He said he would be watching and waiting.
Unfortunately, we won't be able to see what God does, but we rest assured that the Lord is going to hound him until he pounds down the gates of heaven. Please join us in praying for this man, Ronnie. It will be awesome if we can see him in heaven one day.
John and I walked away from the situation praising God for using us right here and right now! He didn't wait for us to speak Spanish to share His word. Hopefully this is just the first of many opportunities. It was breathtaking to be in the streets of San Jose, with my awesome husband, sharing Christ and doing what God has made us for. Glory to God!
Wednesday, August 1, 2007
Random
Our internet is up and running again! Awesome.
I started another post earlier and it got wiped out. I'm too pooped to write much, but just thought I would say we are up and running again.
This morning I found a picture of my dad and step-mom. When I pulled it out of its jacket b/c I wasn't sure what it was, I started crying. I had that same feeling of not being able to breathe that I had the day I said good-bye to him at the airport. I really miss them a lot. God is more than able to provide the comfort I need. I'm sure I will feel renewed in the morning.
Please pray for opportunities to share Christ. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult to truly make a difference. I was able to ask a taxi driver in broken Spanish if he believed in Jesus Christ. He said yes! At least I tried. A couple of times I have wanted to go deeper in conversation, but my vocabulary wouldn't let me. Oh, to speak in tongues would be great about now. Too bad I'm a Baptist!
Chill....it's a joke. :)
I'm serious about the praying for the opportunities though. If you could also pray for us to continue to learn the language that would be great. Tengo ir dormir! Or is it, tengo que dormir? Who knows if that even makes sense, but it's suppose to say I have to go to sleep. 3 verbs in a row - ouch!
I started another post earlier and it got wiped out. I'm too pooped to write much, but just thought I would say we are up and running again.
This morning I found a picture of my dad and step-mom. When I pulled it out of its jacket b/c I wasn't sure what it was, I started crying. I had that same feeling of not being able to breathe that I had the day I said good-bye to him at the airport. I really miss them a lot. God is more than able to provide the comfort I need. I'm sure I will feel renewed in the morning.
Please pray for opportunities to share Christ. The language barrier makes it extremely difficult to truly make a difference. I was able to ask a taxi driver in broken Spanish if he believed in Jesus Christ. He said yes! At least I tried. A couple of times I have wanted to go deeper in conversation, but my vocabulary wouldn't let me. Oh, to speak in tongues would be great about now. Too bad I'm a Baptist!
Chill....it's a joke. :)
I'm serious about the praying for the opportunities though. If you could also pray for us to continue to learn the language that would be great. Tengo ir dormir! Or is it, tengo que dormir? Who knows if that even makes sense, but it's suppose to say I have to go to sleep. 3 verbs in a row - ouch!
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