Fun at the Park

My date with God's Girl

I discovered a charming little ice-cream shop/tea-room/restuarant close to my house. It looks very "disney" ish. God's girl and I sat under a gazeebo in the center of the restaurant. Everything about our experience was darling. The pictues speak for themselves. And did I mention, CHEAP?

Que Rico! (how delicious)

No television, no phone, hardly any internet, a broken toe - what's a girl to do? Tonight I made Spaghetti, WonTon soup and my first ever batch of Chocolate Chip cookies from scratch (hey, I was raised by my dad and the other women in my life use pre-made cookies). I must say they have to be the "BEST" from scratch I have ever tasted. To bad it wasn't my recipe! I found this highly recommended recipe on allrecipes.com and it only cost us $8 a bag per bag of chocolate chips and we used 2 bags. OUCH!! Had to share. Let me know how your recipe turns out!

CLICK HERE FOR THE RECIPE


P.S. Today when we were out 3 people commented on our family in a positive way. This is THE first time in 2 weeks that anything like this has happened to us. We got some ooh's and aah's and smiles! Praise God, your prayers are being answered.

A new day, A new start

I should not blog when I am sleep-deprived and frustrated. I apologize for the negativity in yesterday's blog. I went to bed very bothered and anxious about life here. John went to sleep WAY before me so he did not know my internal struggles. This morning when I woke up at 7:30 a.m. to find him taking care of the kids and breakfast to let me sleep, the Holy Spirit had spoken to him about me during his quiet time. John had prayed and prayed for me before I even arose. This morning, when I shared the struggles I am having, he said, "I know, I already prayed for you about "that" this morning." WOW! He is such a good sensor. I was just praising the Lord because I knew the spirit had spoken to John to give him discernment for me.

We decided not to do home school for a few days because it is just too much on top of what (I) we are trying to process and adjust to. I just felt a sensory overload. I feel like we just need to get our bearings down and establish some sort of normalcy and really get to know the culture a little bit first.

Nonetheless, I took 3 children with me to a local store today to pick up a few little things for the house (think Wal-mart). I just decided to talk to the taxi driver no matter what. We had a GREAT conversation and at the end he said it was "a pleasure." Really? How cool! And on the way home I had the nicest driver that I could understand ALMOST completely. He was super friendly. In fact, he even gave me his phone number if I "need" anything. Okay, so he probably was making a pass at me, but honestly, whatever! I had just prayed and prayed that God would give me positive experiences today. In the store when I couldn't find something (2 times) I decided to not be afraid and just asked. No one laughed at me as I asked my questions and both ladies helped me find what I needed.

I am finding that this culture is extremely different than in Costa Rica and you have to be very frank and direct. I don't like this AT ALL, although it is in my personality to do so. So I am trying to find a balance between giving and receiving directness and moving away from the ever-friendly, non-confrontational culture that I became so accustomed to in Costa Rica, while trying to find a Christ-like balance. Make sense?

Anyway, Praise God for John's prayers for me and his sensing what I need (like extra sleep). Tonight I am taking God's girl on a date to the cutest little place. I can't wait to take pictures to show you.

Also, we found out about a church that is 10 blocks from here (Missionary Alliance Church) that we are going to try out this Sunday. And someone told me she knows the Sunday School director if I would like to call her because I have an interest in teaching Sunday School to little children. Hey, I need to start somewhere.

Thanks for hanging with me on the good and bad days. God is always working in my mind and heart. Sometimes it is painful, but sometimes it incredibly beautiful. Just depends on the day! :)

no title today

Nothing exciting to report today unless you want a homeschooling report run down. BORING! Although, we are going to dissect a cow's eye-ball as soon as I can find one. Anyway, I think I need to get out of the apartment more, but I'd be lying if I said it wasn't comfortable or safe here. I am definitely feeling a little shell shocked (but not in a bad way, but maybe shell shocked can't actually be in a good way), just in a I want to stay in my safe, English speaking apartment where no one laughs at me when I try to speak Spanish kind of way (yes, folks, seriously this has happened to me 2 times in 2 days). I do venture to the local grocery story, but it's really so posh and upscale I don't even feel like I can write about it because you might be disappointed I'm not the poor suffering misisonary I once was. Or I could write about my tales at the gym, but that would consist of me hobbling around, EVERYONE staring at me because I'm a blonde headed gringo and the only ONE in the building or on the block, me not being able to follow instructions in a Tae Bo class and EVERYONE staring at me again and did I mention the laughing and staring. Well, that is about it, really. God is teaching me the following things:
1. Pray more often and be specific.
2. Don't be overruled by my fear and trust Him instead of being fearful.
3. Just because a city is modern doesn't mean the people know Christ. I have been wondering how such a modern place can be so lost. And then I remember America!
4. I need to walk confidently with Him and not be distracted by anything (this would include being snickered at and stared at). I need to be confident in my standing with Christ and let my light shine.
5. I need to smile and be friendly even when people are not to me. I found myself getting snippy and short and I decided I am just going to smile, smile, smile and be extra kind. And if nothing else, maybe they'll want to know why! :)

Pictures

Safe to say the toe is broken. Here's what it looks like today. I have had a lot of pain this afternoon, but the morning time was great. Thanks for the confirmation and advice Jeanne and Amy.

Little Avery was posing for something. I have no idea what, but she is too cute. I just wish her belly wasn't showing. Had to post it anyway. Priceless!

Last night we unpacked the last bag (except daddy's office). In celebration, we made a cake and ate it! Here is everyone waving hello to you.

Today we started some "mild" homeschooling on attentiveness. I won't make this a homeschooling blog, however, I had very minimal expectations and was surprisingly pleased at the level of response and their eagerness to learn. We explored two different composer's music and the differences, blah, blah, blah. One of the guys name is Pachelbel and Jaxson was calling him Paco Bell! :) What a riot! We still don't have any friends or a church or language partners - just each other. It has been a sweet time of fellowship within the Phamily.

TODAY

This is why I am probably not running the Nike 10K nex week. Pinky toe!



The back part of my toe. Funny thing, because the can fell on the top part of it, but yet most of the bruising is on the bottom. I haven't tried to get it in a shoe yet. I guess the gym and running club will have to wait.

Two of my men working on putting a shelf together!
Taking a break to pose for the camera.
Last night John and I were putting this storage shelf together and look what I did to the leg on accident. I installed it backwards. We were laughing so hard. There is no proof that I actually did it. It could've been him, but since he's the "mechanical" engineer I get to be the fall guy. :)

!

Update

We took the Sabbath day off and did NO housework or anything related to unpacking! We went to church this morning, spoke Spanish to each other all day (Avery speaks just as much Spanish as English), took a great nap and then headed off to the beach park and to an outside mall on the beach. I had a starbuck's frapuccino (caramel in case you care - without caffeine) and it was AWESOME!! We ate at a chicken place and had 5 plates of beef with salads, fries and drinks for $30. WOW!!!! We have a ton of leftovers. The kids played in the park and then we took them to this little place in the center of the strip where they could ride little kiddie rides (think Chuckie cheese). They each rode 2 rides, were given balloons at the restaurant and won lollipops from a machine. They said this was just a wonderful day! We really needed this and so did they.

Some randome highlights:

The lady at the local grocery store and starbucks both told me I speak Spanish very well. WOW!!!! I was shocked. It seems like most people don't give compliments very often here and others just can't understand me, so it was quite a blessing to hear that - even if it might not be completely true.

A big, full can of hairspray fell from a shelve and the bottom of it landed directly on my little toe. It hurt so bad that I thought I was going to throw up. The toe turned pink and blue and swelled VERY quickly. I cannot walk on it or bend it so we are assuming it's broken. I'm not sure if I will be running the 10K next week. I was going to go to the running club tomorrow for the first time, but now I can't. I just keep thinking God is keeping me away from running for some kind of protection.

On that note, I cut my finger 2 days ago on a brand new pineapple slicer that I bought. I probably needed 2 or 3 stitches, but I bandaged it up myself only for it to split open 2 more times. But I think it's under control. So funny. I have always been super clumsy so it's not surprsing that I have hurt myself two times since I got here. But I am NOT going to the doctor and I am fine. But I REALLY want to run that 5k.

We are ready to be completely settled to move on with life and ministry, but our to-do list is like 3 pages long. However, my language coordinator helped move us in and when she saw an empty apartment, 21 pieces of luggage and 4 kids running around like wild bats and no vehicle yet, she pulled me aside and said I could have another month to get settled in before I started my next language project. Praise God! That is such a huge relief, because it was supposed to be due very soon.

And on the homeschooling front, the kids are BEGGING to start homeschooling. I haven't even unpacked my clothes yet (10 more suitcases to go) and they want to do school. Ally has cried twice now because she is six and is not reading yet. She was even in school for a year and can't read. I told her I will have her reading in less than a month (she knows her phonics sounds VERY well). So I feel the pressure to get on with school as well.

Well, thank you for you prayers and friendship. I can't answer e-mails write now because of the internet connection, but I can get on long enough to write an update. MIss you all! PLEASE COME AND VISIT US!!!! PLEASE!

Checking in

We've been told by our fellow missionaries on our team that we set a record for the fastest apartment find and move in yet. We arrived last Friday and moved in yesterday - exactly 1 week. I told the lady on my team that it was because I had been praying for over a year about where we will live. God answered my prayers very quickly and we are trying to settle in. It's overwhelming to start completely from scratch with only clothes and bare necessities and having to furnish an ENTIRE apartment without the wedding that brings in the gifts. :) I told John I NEVER want to do this again. But if God says to, I will. :)

I'm bumming someone's wireless signal to write this, so I better get going. We are safe and happy and healthy, EXHAUSTED and all is well. We will have our own internet in about a week. The kids are adjusting MUCH better now that they have their own rooms and beds. What a difference that makes.

Another Incredible blessing

John came home with a cell phone! pre-paid! WOOHOOOO!

I found the running club online that meets by my house at the beach. Please hear the excitement in my voice as I share this with you. If you know how much I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE to run and how important my running club was to me in St. Cloud then you will know how giddy with joy I am. 80% of my saddness from leaving my hometown and friends was because of having to say goodbye to this joy in my life.

I can't express enough that everything that I loved and left God is restoring to me, but yet it's even better than before. I just can't fathom this although it should come as no surprise.

The running club meets each day (yes, EVERYDAY) at 5:50 a.m. and on Saturday at 6:15 a.m. From the looks of the picture there are at least 30 people in the group. I sure hope they like gringos! I am so excited that my head is spinning. And....I am going to go to the Gold's gym tomrrow to see if I can afford a membership. I have no idea how much it will cost, but since we are not having an empleada, John said he will budget this in for me no matter what. But I'm sure if I come back and say it's like $80 a month he will say no, so let's hope not.

When John was out with Parker and Ally tonight, a lady stopped him and gave him a card because she would like Parker to be a model. How interesting. He is gorgeous, but the least photogenic of all of my children. And then she saw Ally and was wowed. Probably don't have time for this, but it was thoughtful, at least!

So excited about running....wooohooooo!

Pictures

I just want you to feel like you are here with us. Here are more detailed pictures of the apartment, and also of an awesome park about 2 miles from our new place. I would have to take a taxi there with the kids. Sorry, I forgot to rotate them before I spent the time to put them on slide.com. Enjoy!!

More life stuff

The contract is signed on the apartment and we are scheduled to move in on Friday morning at 10 a.m. John has orderd the mattresses, couch, dining room table, refrigerator, washer/dryer, and stove. And now we are broke! UGH!!!! Okay, not totally, but we will be very shortly as we continue to furnish the apartment. Fortunately, the prices here are reasonable, unlike Costa Rica. Everything is like an average America price and not jacked up to double.

Things of interest:
I ran 5 miles along the beach. It was incredible. I want to write a blog about this experience and God's blessing. I didn't want to let go of St. Cloud because of the 4 mile running path along the lake. You get the point!

I can't understand anyone and they can't understand me. Did I really spend a year in language school?

The driving here is much milder than in C.R.

The people aren't nearly as friendly as C.R.

You have to negotiate a taxi price before you get in the taxi. Can we saw AKWARD?

There is a running club that meets by the beach at 6 a.m. on Sunday mornings for a jog. I don't know where and don't have a contact yet, but I'm going to find out. Fun, fun!

I am signed up for the Nike 10K in a week and a half. Can you believe it? I'm going to run my first road race in almost 2 years and it's in Lima, Peru!! I just want to finish! NO time goal! Of course, under an hour would be nice. I found that I can run 1-2 minutes faster per mile than when I was in C.R. with the same amount of effort. Just goes to show that the altitude was horrid for me.

It is winter here and everyday it is between 45-65 and very chilly. It doesn't really rain, but at times feels very misty. Right now it is 59. Usually you can't see the sun, but I did catch a glimpse of it yesterday and I soaked it up as much as I could. This Florida girl LOVES sun!

Prayer requests:
I have been quite a grump in the morning. Please pray this will seize.

Opportunities to speak Spanish with people who are patient and willing to listen. I am losing more and more Spanish everyday.

For our kids adjustment. As of yet, they have no friends, except each other and are just bored, antsy, roudy, and ready to be settled.

For the sleeping situation to improve - 6 people in one room and 7 year old that wakes up at 6 a.m. everyday. Enough said!

That we will find the church God has for us quickly.

Once again, for my emotions. I am so happy to be here, but I thrive off of friends, routine, deep conversations, family and ministry. Right now I have none of those and am feeling antsy like the children and a little bit sad.

For me to learn to parent again. This past year I was so hand's off while they were in language school I am finding I need to start from square one and I kind of feel lost and helpless. I am praying this will get better with a permanent place to live and a routine. I also feel like I don't know my children very well. I have seen things about them this week (good and bad) that I was clueless about.

Thanks for praying, as always.

I will post more apartment pictures later.

Pros and Cons

We found a brand new apartment that is simple, small, but yet PERFECT for us. It has 3 bedrooms, 3 1/2 bathrooms (1,200 square feet - we had less than 700 in Costa Rica), a maid's quarters that we will use as an office, a kitchen with a door that actually closes it off from the rest of the house if we want (how cool is that?), awesome closets and storage spaces and beautifully tiled bathrooms. It is on the 6 floor of a brand-new building and there are only 3 apartments on our floor. Please note that when you find a place you like, you have to snatch it up ASAP. We already lost one yesterday on this same steet that we liked. So there is no time to shop and compare if we want this one in this area.

Here are some pros:
BRAND NEW
The walls are already painted a light beige and NOT white. We can paint the walls if we like.
Each bathroom is very beautifully tiled.
It is totally quiet on the 6th floor.
The apartment is equipped with lighting in the house and we don't have to buy any (sometimes you do).
It is also equipped with nice, modern, but simple curtains. Some times you have to buy them.
The floors are wood.
The apartment is 6 blocks from the beach, 4 blocks from a Gold's gym, and 6ish blocks from a downtown area. It's so much like downtown Orlando in the really nice areas near Lake Eola, but more crowded, obviously.
The kids can ride their bikes all day long alone the beach.
I can run all day long along the beach for miles and miles. What a HUGE blessing! This Florida girls LOVES the beach (even though I can't swim in it).
The beach area is filled with really cool parks along the running/riding track for the kids to play in.
I am 6 blocks from a STARBUCKS! God really loves me!
There is a fruit stand on the corner of our street and also a little stand that sells basic stuff.
A private parking garage that will fit our mini-van.
A 24 hour security guard that mans the building.
John will have a very tiny, but very private office from the rest of the house while we are homeschooling.
The steets are lined with beautiful trees.
Did I mention 3.5 bathrooms.
The kitchen will hold a full size refrigerator and we did not have this in C.R.
Our street is not crazy busy with congestion. It is small and only one way.
WE LOVE THE AREA! We recognize it is busy and NOT for everyone, but this is the kind of area John and I have always loved. When we came here a few years ago, we had hoped we could live in Miraflores. However, we didn't realize it was so close to the ocean and so artsy and trendy. Anyway, God has blessed us abundantly and beyond my dreams. Isn't he so good at that?

Cons:
1,200 square feet (but we decided we would sacrifice quantity over quality).
The view is okay, but not AWESOME!
Small master bedroom!
It's not a neighborhood with a yard, but we weren't looking for that and that is almost impossible to come by anyway.
No Bathtub!
John will have a 45 minute drive to his area of ministry. But we had planned on that before we even got here. We wanted the kids and I to have a place that was easily accesible and fun that we could reach by foot since John will be gone with the van a lot of the time.

We are hoping to sign a contract tomorrow. The mission's attorney is going to call the realtor in the morning. The apartment is available ASAP! Please pray. Here are some pictures:

Our first few days!

When we came to Lima 2 years ago, I thought it was dirty, over-crowded, gloomy and not a very great place. After living in Costa Rica for a year and having had a HUGE change of perspective from my American way of living, I have only one thing to say:
I LOVE LIMA!!!!

I love this city. I love the culture, the ambiance, the busyness, the life, the people. EVERYTHING! I love everything about it. Costa Rica was just a stepping stone to prepare me for "real" city life and I must say I am hooked. I am so thankful for that opportunity to adjust to Latin America because now I can fully enjoy Lima, Peru! I can't wait to start our new life here.

We have been looking at apartments in different areas and found an area about 5-7 blocks from the beach called Miraflores. It has a feel of downtown Manhattan or Chicago with lots of high rise apartments, very trendy/artsy stores, a beautiful park and a very urban "greenwich village meets Soho meets Winter Park" feeling. It is incredible. We are hoping to live in this area as we have found a few apartments on the 9th or 10th floors within our price and size range, not to mention a gorgeous view. And.....there is EVEN a Gold's Gym that I can easily run to in the morning, a GIGANTIC beautifully manicured park for the kids to play nearby, and a bike path along the beach for the kids to ride bikes (3 things I have been praying for). We are going to scope out the area some more today to see what the kids think of it and see if we can find any apartments that catch our eye. I am so excited about living there I can't see straight. I'll take some pictures so you can get the feel of it.

Things we've done so far:
Church in a movie theatre from a church plant in Florida. Different, but interesting!
A welcome party with at least 50 other missionaries that serve in Lima.
Supper at Chili's.
Getting our Peruvian Identification and all the fun paperwork that goes with that.
An orientation on the processes of Lima and how are mission does things.
Apartment Hunting.
Trying to get the kids feeling a little more settled and grounded.

I am so happy to be here I can't see straight. It might be tough pulling me back to Florida. And it will be even better when we start ministry and homeschooling.

Graduations Videos

Two Videos from our graduation:
Our Graduation Slide Show! Keep looking and you will see us randomly. This will give you a good view of our last year and all of our friends.


A funny video with my class mate and friend, John McLamb set to the tune of "I can only imagine" by Mercy Me! ENJOY!

We are HERE!!!

All of our bags, plus another families and journeygirl's luggage! Can you believe we had to hall all of this around today! Not to mention the 7 blessings we had with us! Whom, by the way, were ALL perfect.

Our "life's belongings" all in one pile at the Taca desk!
Saying goodbye to our neighbor and friend, Estrella. Her name means "star" in Spanish and she is truly a shining light for the Lord. The kids adored her and we very sad to leave her.

Avery saying good-bye to her VERY best friend (and we hope future husband) in the ENTIRE world - Ezra. I have never seen 2 2 year olds love each other as much as these little ones do. It was very sad to pull them apart.
The graduates! The sun was in our eyes.
The graduates with the Peruvian Flag!

TODAY:

2 years ago this month we came to Peru on a vision trip to see if this is where God was calling us. And today....
we arrived safely in Lima around 3:30ish this afternoon (an hour behind Florida time) to start our new life as missionaries. It would be an understatement to say that God's hand was on us ALL day long as we traveled. Things could not have gone any smoother or better. And, to our surprise, ALL 50 pieces of luggage came in without one piece missing. CAN WE SAY MIRACLE????? We traveled with the McLambs who are our Mcfriends and with our new adopted journeyman Jessica. The kids have already started calling her Sissy. She will be in Peru with us for 2 years.

Also, while we were on the airplane, John surprised me and bought me a bottle of my very favorite perfume "duty-free." It's not called duty free, it was dute free. I ran out about 9 months ago and he saw it in the magazine and the airline sells it while we are in the air. Who knew? So he surprised me as we were about to land. It was such a nice thought! I love gifts and I love him! And now I will smell nice in this very polluted city.

I digress!

We arrived in Lima only to be greeted by at least 10 of our team members here in Lima, Peru. Everyone grabbed a luggage cart and a kid and took us to a little micro-bus they had rented to get us back to the mission house. We road home in style and oowed and awwed over every restaurant and store that we saw. LOOK OUT STARBUCKS!! To be greeted by such a big group of people who were so happy to see us and help us get settled was WONDERFUL! I just wanted to keep hugging them and tell them how happy I was to see them and I didn't even know some of them. Our kids had no problem getting to know their new "aunts" and "uncles." Even Avery was happy to be passed around as we were trying to bring our mountain of bags in the house.

A group of us went to McDonalds for supper and it was fun and yummy. We came back to the mission house to get settled in to our little furnished aparment. It's probably about 500ish or less square feet and we are all sleeping in one room. Honestly, I am so happy to have a place to lay my head that I feel like I could stay here awhile. All day, I have just felt that as long as "we" (my family) are together, then I can do anything or live anywhere. I just need them with me.

We still don't have a car and won't have one for a few days, but because we are in Latin America, John and I have learned not to be in a hurry for ANYTHING. Plus, once you know it will take a long time to get something, then you are not disappointed if it comes early.

God's presence and hand completely sustained me these past few days. Saying goodbye to Costa Rica and our friends and life there was certainly harder than I anticipated. I felt a gut-wrenching pain that I didn't feel when I left the states, but only because I know that most of these people I will never see again. UGH!! But so many moments I certainly knew that God was giving me strength to handle the wrenching pain in my heart.

We'll see what tomorrow holds. More then!

Sweetest Savior Who Cares

LOOK! LOOK! Our blog ticker says CONGRATULATIONS! How cool is that? That means today is graduation days and zero more days until Lima! Well, 1 if you count today, but I never count the day I'm living.

This video is our hearts cry and the reason we have left our homeland to pursue spreading the saving grace of Jesus Christ. "Will you be there?" By Cindy Morgan



Also, I wanted to share the lyrics of another song with you by the same artist that sang the above song. I couldn't find it on you tube. It is just gorgeous song that has brought me such comfort and encouragement in these days. God has put it on my heart for the past few days which is strange because I haven't heard it in such a long time. These words are beautiful and reassuring.

"You'll Be There" by Cindy Morgan
You were there when the lightning fell,
Crashing down in the blue night,
You came in like a raging wind all around,
What a sweet light.
And in the darkness You were there,
And in the good times You were there,
So let me say, with a prayer,
Sweetest Savior who cares,
Angels dance in the air,
And tell us You'll be there.
In the days when the dark and haze gather round,
You're the refuge,
You breathe again and the sun shines in through the clouds,

How we need You,
To be near and to be sovereign,
Giving hope to each tomorrow,
So we say with a prayer,
Sweetest Savior who cares,
Angels dance in the air,
And tell us You'll be there.
Shadow the lightening,
When we are frightened,
Heavenly light keep shining on me,
Shining on me,
Everywhere,
Sweetest Savior who cares,
Angels dance in the air,
And tell us You'll be there.

The joy and pain of a new beginning

I can't possibly return all the e-mails in my inbox today, but thank you for EVERYTHING!

I feel happy and sad and overwhelmed all in one. The thing that has struck me the most is the immense love that we feel from so many people here. I seriously just NEVER expected that we would be so loved or would be able to love so deeply in only 1 year. Today, my neighbor and language partner got very weepy and told me that she loved me as if I were her own daughter. My heart is so touched and blessed and broken all at the same time. And don't even get me started on my friend Ana or my teacher Eugenia! UGH!!!

The kids are excited as can be. However, we keep having to throw stuff away or give it away because we are just out of room. And finally tonight, Ally had a break down and started crying, "Please stop throwing my stuff away. I have nothing left. Please stop!" She is definitely not materialistic by this world's standards. She has very little and wants to keep what she has - like the box that holds her watch. Getting settled will be a good thing for these little ones.

I asked the kids tonight to think if there is anyone they need to make things "right" with. If there is anyone they might have hurt or offended or if there is something between them and someone else. Within 3 minutes of asking this question, they each came back to me with the names of people they want to right their wrongs, seek forgiveness and leave things on a good note. I am so proud of them. And I am praying the same thing tonight! I am praying God will show me if I need to seek forgiveness or patch things up with someone before I head off. At the top of my head, I can't think of anyone, but God is great at bringing up hidden sin in the heart. And I will joyful obey if He brings someone to my mind.

This chapter is closed and the next chapter begins.

Pictures

My FABULOUS TUTOR and GREAT FRIEND - ANNA! I will miss her dearly!
Me and my friend, Heather! What a sweety. She is going to Chile!
The graduating class of 2008 - group #2 of this year (there are 3 groups each year)!!! All of us are heading out to 17 different countries (including the U.S. and Africa) in Central and South America to share the gospel of Christ. "How beautiful are the feet that bring Good News!"

This picture almost brings me to tears! I am not in this picture because I was the one taking it!

Transition and calling us

I forgot how well I do NOT do in transition. John and I haven't had an arguement yet, which is much improved over last time. But I think we are both feeling yuck inside, not because we don't want to leave, but just because it's well....different when you are living out of 21 bags with 4 little kids and leaving your home and friends. But nonetheless God's grace and strength prevails. The olympics have really been a great stress reliever.

John and I have been overwhelmed to see how much people have come to love us and our family in only 1 year - and vice versa. It is amazing how we have been able to connect with nationals that love us with all of their hearts in such a short time. I surely never expected that, but it is such a promise of what is to come in our permanent home in Lima, Peru.

Tomorrow is our last day of classes. We are going to restaurants with our teachers and Thursday is graduation. We fly out at 10:30 a.m. Friday morning. We are COMPLETELY packed and ready to go. We will have some last minute touches on Thursday, but we are all packed up. I will post a picture soon so you can see all of our worldly possessions widdled down to a few bags.

We will not have internet or phone starting Thursday a.m. We would love to talk with you before we take off. Please feel free to call us on our American line at 321-766-4043. It could be 4-8 weeks before we have a phone again. We will have internet in Peru at our temporary location, but will not have a phone. Please feel free to call. We miss you all. Once again, your prayers sustain us!

Today and prayer

Okay, so the Pham Family might be a little obsessed with the Olympics. What are we going to do once we get to Peru and can't watch them? Let's hope we find friends like the first day we are there and they invite us over to watch them like every night. God is in the business of miracles, right?

We are 3 full days out. Please continue to pray for our family. Ally has come home sick 1 day a week for the past week and there is nothing wrong with her. She obviously is just needing more attention. We had a very bad incident tonight with the boys hitting on Ally and me not responding to it in the way that I should've. It is just very upsetting to think of my boys not protecting their sister in the way God has designed them. I know they are still little, but this incident made me angry. We are all feeling so stressed and ready to move on. It is only 8:53 p.m. and Avery has already woken up 2 times crying. She just wants to be held. She knows things are changing. I am just coveting your prayers.

John said the preaching went well and it was the best he has done yet. He prepared a lot and was really excited about the opportunity. I had planned to go, but couldn't make it, but he told me to rest assured because I would have many opportunities to hear it! :) Can't wait!

Well, back to the olympics!

WOW and our week!

So who was NOT stoked about our Men's Relay team beating those smart-mouthed french last night? I was so excited and proud that I seriously tossed and turned all night as I thought about that victory. Call me passionate or obsessed! Or maybe loyal! Last night I just felt a HUGE sense of pride for America. I know there are like 10 million things wrong with our country, but seriously I was so proud to be an American. I said to John, "We are from the BEST country in the whole world. What are we doing trying to move away? Honey, I want to go back to America!" I wasn't totally serious because I know this is God's calling on our life, but definitely feeling extremely proud to be in America and wishing I could be "in" America enjoying our country's successes in the Olympics. Nonetheless, last night ROCKED and I was thrilled to see such a cool victory.

Here's a look at our week:
Monday - skip school to pack and sleep in, watch olympics, mentoring meeting, excercise at school, watch John preach his LAST sermon at the house of restoration today, watch olympics.
Tuesday - A special chapel at school for seniors (a chance for them to say goodbye and such), pack, watch olympics.
Wednesday - A meeting with the director of the school, graduation rehearsal, pack, olympics, last day of classes.
Thursday - graduation, a special lunch with our friends, pack, olympics, say good-bye to our national friends, cry, load-up truck, cry, watch our last olympics.
Friday - Leave our house at 7 a.m. Rejoice, Cry, Rejoice, Cry and look to the future. Land in Peru around 3:30ish.

WOW! What a week! We can't believe the 2nd phase is starting. Seriously, it seems like a dream.

Culture

3 cultural "observations" I noticed this week:

1. As I was walking to the grocery store that is only a 1/2 mile from my house, I passed three young men who were sitting on the side of the road rolling a joint and smoking it for all the world to see. Hmmmmm.....interesting. I was less than a foot away from them. I was hoping they would ask me to join them. I kid, I kid......never tried it, never will.

2. As I was sitting in my friend, Ruth's house, I saw, from her window, a car pull over on the other side of the street. The man got out and pee'd against the wall of a house and then he drove off. He didn't know I could see him, but he probably didn't care.

3. When we were leaving the movie theater tonight, there was a woman who works for Glade passing out "glade" coupons and informational stuff about their products. She was dressed in heals and had all of her glade candles burning and her glade stuff set out. It just seemed like an odd place to be hawking "glade" products - especially at 9 p.m. on a Friday night.

AND THE OLYMPICS ARE RUNNING FULL SPEED IN ENGLISH. We had our television on ALL day watching them. It's like the only time we can have it on non-stop and I don't feel guilty. The kids are really enjoying them. :) We have to get our fix until Friday night.

Olympics in Costa Rica????

Today consisted of:

Selling more of our belongings, yet again, at a student garage sale (can you hint the disdain in my voice from having to do this one more time).

We had dinner tonight at my tutor and friend, Anna's house. We had a great time and all of the kids played wonderfully together. I will post a picture later.

In all honesty, I am just really bummed out tonight. John and I LOVE the olympics so much. In fact, 2 years ago during the winter olympics we bought cable just for 2 weeks so we could watch the olympics - seriously. We do not receive NBC here. We can find a channel that shows an event or two here, but it is entirely in Spanish and obviously without a focus on Americans or all the wonderful back-stories we are so accustomed too. I know it's not the end of the world, but I'm seriously bumming about having to miss the majority of the olympics. Once we get to Peru next Friday, we won't even have a television in the mission house. Oh well, I must look at the positive side....we are healthy and taken care of. But UGH!!!! I WANT MY OLYMPICS!!!

oh wait, just as I wrote this, john found some channel that has some English and it sounds like a very familiar voice. It's that guy who does all the announcing. Oh, I pray this can be our resource. My mourning has turned to joy in 3 sentences. WOOHOOOO!!!!!! Yeh, that's definitely that guy from NBC (channel 69 for those of you in C.R. reading this), but it's not NBC. We shall see. I will keep you updated. At least now there is hope - at least until we leave, anyway.

P.S. I ate the cow tongue because apparently it is a common dish and S. and C. America and our teacher was kind of enough to cook it for us. She was really excited and I wanted to honor her hard work. So I ate it and smiled.

UPDATE!! THERE IS A CHANNEL (69) THAT IS TELECASTING THE OLYMPICS FROM NBC HERE IN COSTA RICA. I AM SOOOO HAPPY! SO PRETTY MUCH YOU CAN DISREGARD MY WHINING!

Cow Tongue and God's Angels

The below picture is a picture of a cow's tongue. The skin falls off (kind of) during the cooking process. The meat is very tender and has a good flavor. However, I could not get use to the texture or the idea that I was eating a cow's tongue. I could still see some of the skin on the tongue and it totally gave me the willies. Seriously, I was sick to my stomache for 6 hours after eating this. Thank goodness some Pizza helped settle my belly.

Please continue to pray for our safety - especially since we are moving to a city that is even more dangerous than San Jose, Costa Rica. This morning my friend and I met at 5:15 a.m. at a Pharmacy one block from my house for our morning jog. As we started to walk across the street (we had taken two steps) a motorcycle came right towards us. He veered WAY out of his way to make sure he was directly in our line as we crossed. I wish I could draw you a picture so you could see how obvious it was that he wasn't just going about his merry own way. The roads were empty, it was barely light outside, and he headed STRAIGHT towards us. I said, "hey, hey...to my friend" and she caught on. I started to run away from him and she veered to the left (an extreme left) and ran as well. He took off as fast as he could as he saw that we weren't about to let him get near us. The entire incident lasted about 5 seconds. It seemed as if his original intent was that he wanted to corner us against the building because we were still in front of the pharmacy. We don't know how long he had been watching us as we were standing there for 2-3 minutes talking before we started to walk. We only made it a few steps before he came towards us. And what did he want? It was obvious we had to no money. My teacher has her theory, but I'd rather not publish it. Needless to say, we were scared and we ran straight to the local, safe, track for our morning run.

When I got home this morning I told John about the incident and I said, " I think he decided to flee when he got close enough to see the legions of Angels that were protecting me."

Please Pray! Pray! Pray!

Speaking of prayer...please continue to pray for our children during this time of intense transition. We are already starting to notice some changes in them (especially our oldest, Preacher boy). We desperately cover your prayers as Satan likes to get busy during these days.

Look what I ate for lunch?

Can you guess what this is? First person to respond and guess correctly wins a half- expenses paid trip to Peru? You fly yourself to Peru and then you can stay with me for free and I'll make sure to serve up this delicatesan for you. Sounds great! Let me know what you think this is!

The sweetest THANK YOU ever

WOW! Long story, time to go to sleep. I will elaborate more tomorrow. But tonight John and I were preparing for bed when the doorbell rang over and over. Then we heard some music playing. We were scared at first, but then we turned on the light and cautiously went outside. Only to be greeted by....

A group from the Houses of Restoration. They came to say "thank you" and sing to us. There was a mariachi band that sang 5 songs and the ban was composed of current men from the men's house. It was super cool! John and I were both overcome with emotion and as we saw their gratitude for the time we spent teaching them the Word. We never in a million years expected this. They also gave us a bag of goodies for the kids and a very special cost-rican coffe maker. I'll have to take a picture of it. It's made of wood and is very old-style but makes delicious coffee.

Anyway, God is so good to lavish his goodness upon us. We never expected such an amazing thank you. Just being able to go there was a great thank you in and of itself. Que bendicion!

Pride, cheap sushi and a great personal testimony

Yesterday I had my first "real" translating experience. I had to translate for a new student who wants to hire my maid. I was so concerned with what the student was going to think about my language that I found myself preoccupied and stuttering. Her opinion of me was way too important. That darn pride ALWAYS gets in the way.

So tonight I took my language teacher, Eugenia and her daughter (the same age as my God's girl, out to eat Sushi. Sushi is her absolute favorite, but it is not something she can regularly afford. We were together almost 3 hours and it was wonderful. I never thought I would say speaking Spanish for 3 hours would be wonderful. Well, her company was pleasant, not necessarily the Spanish. We talked, and talked and laughed and shared stories. I just adore her. I wish I could take her with me to Peru. The whole meal (with drinks, appetizer’s and 48 pieces of Sushi cost $32. Not very expensive given that we were eating sushi, there were 4 of us and we were STUFFED. I even brought home 8 pieces for John. Anyway, she commented on how expensive it was and how she could never afford to eat like this. On the way home, she just said that this was one of her best gifts ever. She said the whole night was like a dream. I think it is very hard to live with less, but then I see the thankfulness that people who have less actually have and it is almost indescribable how thankful they are. I was blown away by her words and her gratitude. Something that is no big deal in my life is like a "dream" in her life. How humbling! I want to continue to live a more simplified life and be thankful for all of the small blessings that God gives me.

And today, in our grammar class, our teacher shared her personal testimony with us. She spoke for almost an hour and we were hanging on every single word she said. She shared of the hardships that God allowed her to go through to draw her into a relationship with him. Before the hard times and before coming to work at this school with missionaries, she was just "religious" and knew of God. But God worked some miracles in her marriage, work-life and personal life to bring her to His feet. It was truly a beautiful story. She has a huge scar on her arm, from an answer to pray believe it or not, and she said that it reminds her of what God did in her life and how He answered her prayers. I was extremely blessed by her testimony and I wish I had more words in Spanish to express this to her. Our testimonies of God's work in our lives are very powerful. I am going to share mine more often. How about you?

JOHN'S OPI RESULTS!!!!

I am proud to announce, on behalf of my hubby, that he received (not to be outdone by his super intelligent wife ;) ), an Advanced Medium Strong. So we are both Advanced mediums, while he is tipping the scales on the Strong side and I am tipping them on the "basic" side." I am so proud of him and he is quite pleased with his results.

It's so funny to hear the two of us talk. We both have different strengths (and weaknesses por supuesto). His vocabulary is MASSIVE while my fluidity is well, more fluid. God even uses us to compliment each other when we are speaking Spanish.

Once again, we only made it through this year by the sheer grace of God. :)

Onward to Peru......

Language advice and cute bathing suits

Today I was given the opportunity to share about language learning with the new group of IMB missionaries that arrived last week. I was asked to share because I came in speaking zero Spanish and have 4 children, and God has been very generous in helping me learn. Here are some tips I gave to the new families:

1. Don't sacrifice your marriage or children during this process.
2. Set a limit for your Spanish learning each day. For me it was 2 hours a day of homework and talking. If I didn't set a limit I would've spent 6 hours a day and definitely would've sacrificed something precious to me.
3. Using small, pocket-sized note cards to write new, daily vocabulary you learn in the class. And then to memorize it that night.
4. To not depend on the dictionary except for homework. Depend on people describing things to you and work around words you do not know (like I did today with my below mentioned experience).
5. Talk more than you study. Put talking to nationals as a priority instead of homework.
6. Pray for opportunities! Pray for language partners and ministry opportunities.
7. Don't be afraid to look stupid - because you will.
8. Practice everyday speaking what you know. If you only know 2 sentences, say those 2 things over and over until you perfect them. TALK! TALK! TALK!
9. Relax! Relax! Relax! (Which I didn't). Spanish will come!

On another note, Ally and I went to a special bathing suit store that we were told would make our own bathing suits. I have never heard of anything like this in America. I drew a picture of what I wanted, they sized us and we picked out the colors and patterns. I think you could call it more of a tennis dress than a bathing suit. They were really surprised at how I wanted it, but I think it is going to be adorable. We will have the same suit with different patterns. I will show you a picture when we get them. I was all confident in my Spanish until I got there and realized I know ZERO vocabulary about bathing suits, patterns and colors. The women were very helpful and somehow I made it out of there alive. It was very humbling, but somewhat rewarding. The suits should be done by next week and as of yet, I have no idea of the price. I can't wait to show you.

I received my second ECHO report from the school and it was EXACTLY IDENTICAL (right down to the part that said basic) to the score that I received from our mission (see Saturday's post). I was surprised because I thought I did so poorly, but yet happy that the answer is definitive.

Our phone line is broken. Our phone line runs in the air and across the street, hooked up to a pole. Who knew? A big truck came through and cut the line right from air. I will have to take a picture of the 100's of lines that are on our block. I guess I never really noticed it until I saw I big wire hanging in our front patio and halfway in the road. It looks so funny. I think the lines in America are hidden. I can't remember.

John received his language results from the school, but he has not looked at it yet. He has his language evaluation with our mission tomorrow, so he said he will look at his school results AFTER that. He is practicing right now with my tutor. He asks for your prayers. His test will be at 10:15 a.m. (12:15 a.m. Florida time).

On that note, we finished our grammar book in school today. Am I fluent? NO WAY! Do I really know the whole book? NO WAY! Am I happy to be done! Words cannot describe...

I am floating on air!

Change of Vision

I am changing this blog. From here on out I will focus on sharing only pictures, prayer requests, cultural happenings and ways the Lord is working in the ministry that He has called us to in Peru. Thank you for reading and for your prayers and comments.

Goodbye

Today we are meeting with all of the great folks from our mission for a huge good-bye party. There will be 4 families and a single-girl who are leaving here. The single girl will actually be coming to Peru with us and her name is Jessica. She will be with us for 2 years so we are super excited about this.

The other 4 families have been here for 1 year. We started in Orientation together and now it is time to depart from one another. Although we still have 11 more days, the goodbyes and being sent off by prayer will start today. I anticipate many, many tears as we have come to love so many of our fellow IMBer's like family. In fact, they have been our family. One thing is for sure, you certainly don't get use to saying goodbye to those you love. In fact, the pain feels just as intense as last year. But yet, God's grace is just as real and just as comforting.

Thank you for thinking of all of us and saying prayers as we gather at 2:30 p.m. (4:30 p.m. Florida time) to say our farewells.

My mission test result is in....drum roll please.......

I received my oral proficiency results today.

I obtained an Advanced Medium Basic level.

I am in shock; complete and utter shock.

I was expecting an advanced low, which is what the IMB requires for us to leave here to move forward to Lima, Peru.

I am truly humbled by my score and I can honestly say it is just a gift from the Lord. The other times, I felt like I had worked hard and deserved the score I received, but this time, I just know that it was God's grace and Him moving my tongue and giving me an ability to communicate beyond my own ability. I praise Him for exceeding my expectations once again and I praise Him for the wonderful gifts He gives His children. I love Him and am so grateful!

no more catheter

Hi all! I'm home. I'm fine. I'm going to bed to get some much needed sleep. I was quite the grump last night and was a bit agitated about the catheter and I didn't rest well until they gave me some sleepy medicine to shut me up.

My friend Pam stayed the night with me and she was so wonderful, sweet and kind (like always). When I told her I was going to pull the catheter out (this was around 11 p.m.) she gave me a very stern talking to. It was cute and motherly. We called the nurse and finally we got some sleep.

Yeseterday when I woke up from the surgery, apparently I was talking A LOT! I was talking non-stop. Which isn't so unsual for me, but it was ALL in Spanish. John said he was talking to me in English and I refused to speak with him in English. I only responded in Spanish. And then, when the doctor came into to talk to me (keep in mind I don't remember ANY of this and I wasn't in my right mind), I told him that I don't speak English. I only speak Spanish. How funny is that? I can't believe that my tongue was speaking Spanish and my mind didn't realize it. I have to say that so far that experience yesterday has been the highlight of my language learning. I do remember me talking lots and lots in Spanish upon waking up, but I don't remember what I said or to whom I said it.

More stories to come.

I am feeling great! Just some irritation, but I'm hoping to make a yummy supper tonight and not stay in bed all day.