God Opens Doors

Random Thoughts

Tonight the ladies at the church in Castro are having an all night prayer meeting.  It begins at 11:30 p.m. and ends around 6:00 a.m.  I will be participating with them and ministering to the ladies at 5:00 a.m.  Oh, joy!  The Lord knows when I'll be at my weakest - how thankful I am He will be my strength. 

Garrett is practicing with the kid's at church for the Christmas program.  They will sing a few songs and present a drama.  Garrett is playing the rich man in the story of Lazarus.  Last Sunday morning, he gave the devotional before practice began.  I was in awe.  Sometimes he really amazes me - not just because he is my kid, but watching the Lord mature him and begin using him is a fulfillment every parent longs to see. 

Randy broke the glass last night on our wood heater.  It was one of those times that the boys and I were rejoicing that we didn't do it!  Thankfully, it can be replaced.  We sure need it as the cold weather is still here.  Today it was rainy and cold and right now I am dressed in full fleece.

Tyler is still playing guitar at the church.  He leads the music on Thursday nights.  We were discussing our upcoming furlough the other night with him.  He realized we would not be staying in the States for a year and he was miffed.  We are still wondering where he got the idea.  It is hard to be fifteen.  It is equally hard being the parent of a teenager.  I am very thankful for Randy as he has become passionate and loving to both boys.  When they are showing out, he pours on the love.  Believe me, this is opposite of who Randy used to be.  Sure, the boys need a firm hand, but if it is without love - it's nothing.  It is amazing how love will cover a multitude of sins.

 

Rodger, Noemi, and Cristina.  (I forgot to take a picture today.  Meagan is not in this photo.)  They are missionaries with YWAM (Youth with a Mission).

Happy Thanksgiving

At my ladies conference last year, my roommate, Pam, shared with me how important it is to continue celebrating traditions from your home country. She and her husband moved to Chile when her boys were about the same age as ours. One of the things they did not practice was their American traditions such as Thanksgiving. This was a big regret for Pam and her husband as their boys found little significance in celebrating Thanksgiving when they returned to the States as young men. We try to take advice from people who have gone before us, so we celebrated Thanksgiving with you today in Chile.

Last Thanksgiving, we observed it alone, just the four of us. It was probably best as we bought a cooked turkey from a local supermarket and we all got sick! This Thanksgiving, another family joined us. Rodger, is from Maryland, and his wife, Noemi, is from Argentina. They came with their daughters, Meagan and Cristina. We had a great time and although several ingredients were substituted for traditional foods; we were all filled!

We pray His blessings for you and your family.

Resting

When we began talking seriously about relocating shortly before our Arica trip, a dumpster appeared to the right of our front gate. The sign on the side of it said it was for bulk type trash items. We were like, wow! It is amazing what one can build up in their house in such a short time. This made it very convenient for us to get rid of bulky stuff, practically at our front door.

Interestingly, the dumpster has remained outside the gate for almost a month. Sunday evening, we passed by after church and noticed empty, sturdy boxes had been dumped in it! Now, the dumpster is deep so we had to be creative. We retrieved a couple of brooms from the house and we fished out about ten boxes. Nothing like a dumpster which takes and gives.

It is amazing to watch the Lord work in the smallest of details. As we continue to pack and prepare to move, we have no idea how we're going. We just know we are going. Our desire is to rest in the call and allow Him to take care of the details.

Missionary Mishaps

We have some crazy things happen on the mission field. I think I will begin sharing these from time to time. This was a good one!

We always travel outside of the island with our passports and our Chilean identification cards. To lose your passport, for us, would be one of the worst things we could imagine. We would have to travel to the U.S. Embassy in Santiago in order get news ones and then there is the issue with someone else having your identity! Randy normally carries a pouch around his neck with important documents such as our passports and I.D. cards. For some reason, I had the pouch in my small backpack at the beginning of this trip. As we got off the bus, the bus driver called out to Randy and he held up - THE POUCH. I can't describe the sinking feeling I had at that moment. And I can't describe the look on Randy's face when he looked at me. In response to his look, I said, "You want me to hold the pouch?" With a smile of course. He politely grinned back and said, "No!"

Arica

Well, I mentioned in a previous post there was good news about Arica.  Those of you who get our newsletter should be receiving it any day.  If you do not receive the newsletter, you can read it on the left sidebar. 

A few months ago, we began feeling unsettled here on the island.  Our goal in coming here was to help Ms. Ellie in the bookstore, become more fluent in Spanish, understand the culture better, and help a local church.  We felt our homework here was completed.  However, our question to the Lord was, if not here - then where?

As the time approached for our trip to Arica, the Lord began confirming a relocation there.   Long story short, He is still confirming the move.  In missionary work, the Lord does not always give you a vision for the place you are going until you get there.  So, our hope is the same as before - we are going to help the church and hoping to make disciples.  We still plan to make trips outside of Chile according to Acts 1:8 .  However, in 2009, we have plans to travel to Tacna, Peru and to the United States in November for our first furlough in almost three years.   

We are hoping to move at the end of January or February.  The boys have a camp in January and we are also commited to helping with a VBS.  Please pray as Arica is three days by bus from here.  Dokey is a problem because he can't go by bus.  The airlines here are very strict about carrying animals and we don't want to go through the headache it would take to travel with him by air.  We find ourselves waiting on the Lord to make a way.  Which - He always does. 

We ask for you to pray as we get ready to move - again.  Please pray for our wisdom on how we will relocate, where we will live, and what to take and what to leave.  The Lord has stripped us of our desire for things over the years.  Our biggest items to move is our mountain of homeschool books.  Garrett uses the same homeschool material as Tyler, so it has to all be moved! 

Thank you for your prayers.  You are welcome to comment and we will respond to you! 

A New Album

I decided to do a photo album for our Arica, Chile trip. Just click on the Arica, Chile title on the left side of the page.

Breaking the Silence

It is not on purpose that I have not blogged in almost 13 days. We have been running since we got back from Arica. Randy told me today I needed to break the silence and post something.

Randy recovered from his food poisoning, praise the Lord. He has learned a lesson about eating fish which looks raw. If it looks raw, it probably is and it is best not to eat it. The blessing was that we never got sick in Arica. One has to be super careful there. We can't drink the water or drink out of glasses in public places or eat food prepared and/or sold on the side of the road. We have some great news in regards to Arica and advise you to stay tuned - more information is coming.

Our papers for our permanent visa are on their way to Santiago, Chile. We have been busy making hundreds of copies and having pictures made. Now we wait on a piece of paper which says we are in the process of asking for a visa. This allows us to roam freely over the next 6-8 months. It is also a piece of peace for us as this paper would signify that they have accepted our application and a confirmation that we did send in all the requested information! Please remember this in your prayers.

I am getting some photos ready from our trip to Arica which I will post soon.

Back in Castro

We arrived in Castro Saturday afternoon. I'll be sharing soon about our trip to Arica as we process the trip. Please pray for Randy. He ate something in the airport which did not agree with him. He has been suffering bi-directionally if you know what I mean. I have been praying him through nausea spells and the Lord is helping him.

Thank you for your prayers and we will update you in a couple of days.