Christmas Play and Parties

Last week the girls' last day of school before break consisted of a Christmas Program. Evie was a shepherd and Mylee was an angel. I thought the program was very well put together and each child was given adequate spotlight time. In the picture below are videos of each of the girls'! It was so wonderful that throughout the program parts of the Christmas Story were told by some of the children.

Also included in the group of pictures are pics of our team Christmas party, a group picture of our cell group and pics of the biggest 3 year old birthday party we have ever been to!

We wish you and your family a very Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.

Christmas Program

Catholic Baptism

Part of getting to know people here in Puebla is you kind of become part of their family. We have noticed that they are quick to invite you to many things to include you into their culture. One of the things we were invited to was a baptism of two brothers, ages 4 and 5, at a local Catholic church in our neighborhood. This is a family that we have been getting to know that lives 2 doors down from us. They are a very nice family that we are looking forward to getting to know better in the future. Below are some pictures from the baptism, plus some other pictures that we took of the girls and other interesting finds.

Baptism

Virtual Prayer Walking

The past several months we have discovered the joy of taking a stroll and praying for people in our neighborhood and other parts of Puebla. We have encountered people during these walks that we have been able to pray with and share the Gospel. These times have been some of the most enjoyable for us. We have seen God transform us through ministering to others. We would like to give you the same opportunity as well. We have posted a link from Google Maps that shows our house with our blue van in front. You can virtually walk our streets and pray for us and our friends in our neighborhood. You can also catch a glimpse of what our area looks like. We hope you enjoy, and God bless you.


View Larger Map

Also, below is a link to pictures of when we went on a tour of historic Puebla:

City Tour

Field Trip

A week ago we were able to accompany the girls on their first school field trip to Parque Loro (Parrot Park). If this sounds familiar it is because we visited this park with friends about 3 months ago. However this time was with teachers, parents and kiddos from the girl's classes. We had beautiful weather and a wonderful time getting to know some of the other parents in their classes. From this outing Gabrielle was invited to attend breakfast with about 6 of the other mothers on a different day. We are thankful for the many opportunities that God has given us for language acquisition. Thank you for the many prayers that are prayed on a regular basis for the city of Puebla.

Field Trip

New Work

The last couple of months we have been meeting regularly as a team. The Bennetts, some Mexicans and us have been talking about and implementing various projects to reach the city of Puebla. Prayer walking is the base that we have decided to work from in our team ministry. We have been prayer walking in Los Heroes, a neighborhood of 15,000 homes that look all the same! If you took the average number of 4 in each home and multiplied it by 15,000 homes it would equal 60,000 people living in this area; most of whom are lost! As we prayer walk up and down the streets we see many idols of Mary in front of some of the houses. This has broken our hearts, realizing that Jesus is the only mediator between us and God (1 Tim 2:5). We hope that God spurs up a passion in you as well for the great amount of lostness in our city. For that reason we have a few pictures of the area in the link following this post. As you look at these pictures please take a moment to pick out a house and pray for that family. We can call this a "virtual" prayer walk!

We have also been prayer walking in our neighborhood (colonia), which is called La Colonia Vicente Guerrero. Please pray for a "person of peace" that we will encounter. This is a person whom Jesus in Luke 10 commands his disciples to find who will open their home up as a place for the disciple to stay, while having the intention of sharing God's Word in that community. In regard to that, this week Gabrielle decided to open our garage door and sit outside with an empty chair hoping to develop relationships with people of our colonia. She held small conversations with 4-5 different women who were on their way to the market, and was able to witness to a couple ladies as well. Gabrielle is hoping to do this a couple times a week so that God will open doors to minister to women in our neighborhood.

Another team effort that is very exciting for us is the work that God is doing in the church that we have been involved with since we have lived in Puebla. The church is called Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva (New Life Baptist Church). The pastor of this church is moving to another State in Mexico, and the Bennetts and us have been talking with a local church to help us in transitioning Vida Nueva to a cell church. Pastor Eustorgio, from Iglesia Bautista Hananeel, will be helping in this transition by providing leaders and allowing Vida Nueva to attend his church for celebration and fellowship. Please pray that God would bless our efforts of establishing a cell church model for Puebla and our future team ministry.

Much of our vision for cell church occurred when Aaron and the Bennetts went to Tijuana to observe a cell church that the Larner family planted. During his time in Tijuana he ended up in the hospital. He was diagnosed with an obstructed intestine, which caused him extreme pain. We now see that God used this time to bring him closer in his dependence on the Lord. Staying in the hospital gave him time to reflect on what God is doing through cell groups in Tijuana and to talk with Tommy Larner, cell church founder in Tijuana. We also saw God's amazing provision in that when Aaron returned to Puebla we were able to find an excellent doctor who prescribed meds to treat his parasites and infection. He was healed in 2 days. We found out that the obstruction had been caused by the infection. God is definitely our Provider, and we believe that He will minister to our every need; in health and ministry.

Finally, we have also been keeping up with our language and cultural training through the Kaleidoscope program. One of the assignments was to attend a theater performance. We went as a family to see Dora La Exploradora, and the girls loved it! We were even able to find and enjoy some Cotton Candy! Find these pictures and many more in the link below. Have a great day in the Lord!

Prayer Walking

A New School

Well the summer was finished up with one more VBS that we attended. I say "we" because while the girls were in their VBS class I attended a woman's cooking class that they had for the mothers. I was able to taste all different kinds of Mexican foods. Some looked pretty normal like one day we had a Mediterranean Salad with lettuce, raisins, different fruit and a sweet vinaigrette dressing. Another day we had seasoned chicken tortillas which was very good. Then we had a Cactus tamale which was a little harder to eat but the winner of the week of the strangest new food that I ate was the boiled chicken feet. Not chicken legs but the actual chicken foot. I am so sad that I didn't get a picture for you. But it was pretty funny to the Mexicans when I was trying to eat them. They had a great time teaching me how. The way you eat them is pretty much just pop the little toe in your mouth then eat off all the skin and meat then spit the bone back out. It actually didn't taste bad but it was the thought of what you were eating that made it "different". It reminds me of when Jesus sent out seventy of His followers, in Luke 10:8, when He said to them "whatever city you enter and they receive you, eat what is set before you." However when asked if I would like more I very nicely replied that it was sufficient.

A week later the girls started their first day of school. They are attending Alfred Binet, a bilingual school. They have Spanish 3 hours a day and then English 2 hours of day for a total of a 5 hour school day. They both really like their teachers and look forward to going everyday. The biggest difference we have seen was their definition of "lunch". They told us to pack them a lunch. So we did: sandwich, chips, fruit, dessert and drink; only to be told that it is too much. But they were eating it all so we were very confused. So when we went to the Open house we learned that their "lunch" is a snack. The Mexican custom is that the biggest meal of the day is eaten at 2-3pm in the afternoon. So the teachers are expecting the children to eat when they get home with their families. Little by little we learn all these cultural differences that when we embrace them we begin to fit in a little better each day. Below is the link to the pictures of the VBS and their new school.

New School

Our First Prayer Retreat

A few weeks ago we attended our first prayer retreat for the missionaries of Mexico's urban centers. It was held at La Muralla in Queretero, Mexico, which is about 5 hours from Puebla. It started with dinner on Thursday and ended Monday after lunch. This was a wonderful time of praisin', prayin', and preachin'! It was also a very valuable trip for us because we were able to sit and talk with missionaries who have been on the field for 15-20 years with a lot more field experience than we have. We gained many valuable ministry tools. Another thing that we were able to experience was the compassion, love, and support from the other missionaries here in Mexico. They have all experienced a first term on the field and know what it is like to miss friends and family in the States. They know what it is like to worship in a different language and not be spiritually fed in a church service, and what it's like to learn to live in a whole new country. Why are we telling you all of this? Not because we are complaining or saying we don't like it here, but because this gives you a glimpse at how difficult it can be and helps you know better how to pray for us. It truly is your prayers and encouraging emails that help lift us up while here in Puebla. Would it be much easier to throw in the towel and head home? Yes it would, but there would still be people out there searching for hope and love that only Jesus can give them. If we are not here who will tell them? In Luke 10 Jesus commands His disciples to beseech the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers. Since being here we have recognized tremendous lostness. Please be praying with us that national believers (new and old) would join us in bringing in the harvest, and that Satan would have no hold on us or this city of Puebla. His lies are so appealing...we know and have been refuting them. With daily prayer we know who will always win!!! Thank you so much for joining us in the battle.

Click on the link below to see some fun pics and videos from the retreat! See you next time.

Prayer Retreat

What a week!

Last week was a very busy week! We started it off by attending church at a church in our area, Hananeel Baptist Church. We attended this church because a volunteer mission team was in town preparing to do Vacation Bible Schools at about 8 different sites all over the city of Puebla. Monday night we were asked to speak at a dinner the mission team attended about our call and the work in Puebla that we are involved in. From that night they asked us to come and visit one of the sites the next day where they would be having the VBS. So the girls and I went along. Aaron was already involved in another VBS with another local church here in Puebla. So he went there and we went with the mission team. What a wonderful day we had! I ended up translating a game for the team which was very different and a little difficult. This was my first experience translating. The girls had the chance to be involved in the crafts, Bible story, and games. After we left this site we went back to the church for lunch and then the girls headed back out with the team to a different site while I stayed behind to learn about a new ministry that the mission team brought with them. It is called a Prayer Shawl Ministry. The main idea is where we all make Crocheted shawls and then pray over them for the person who will receive them whether we know or not who will receive each one. The ladies at the church decided they wanted to continue to meet and Crochet twice a week every other week. I am very excited about this time that God has blessed me with to make some new friends and hopefully develop my Spanish a bit by having conversations in Spanish. Please be in prayer for this ministry that people will be blessed not only with a shawl but the name of Jesus possibly spoken to them for the first time.

Click on the link below for pictures from the VBS and the first Prayer Shawl meeting. Stay tuned for pictures taken at our Prayer Retreat this past weekend.

VBS

Mexican Baptist National Convention

Last week we returned from our trip to the Mexican Baptist National Convention in Guadalajara. All in all the trip went well with only a few mishaps that God led us through every step of the way. We planned to leave Puebla at 7:30am in the morning to arrive to Guadalajara no later than 3pm. However between Puebla and Mexico City one of our tires blew out. I guess we had had too many curb checks in Puebla. Aaron got out to change it, but when they pulled out the spare they found that it was flat also. So we had to call our supervisor who lives in Mexico City to come and help us out. We drove around with him while Aaron stayed at the van. We finally found a repair shop where the spare could be patched since the other tire was beyond repair. We returned to the van, they put it on and off we went through Mexico City to find some new tires. We found a Sam's and figured they had a tire center. Nope they only sell the tires. So we found a Goodyear, to find out they only put the tires on. So we then found a Costco who had the tires and put them on but remembered that we had left the other tire at Goodyear. So we bought the tires, found our way back to the Goodyear just before they closed. We were set to head out of Mexico City by 5:30pm which put us arriving in Guadalajara at 11:30pm. Wow that was exhausting typing that I think it was worse living it! But we were safe the whole time and saw God's hand (and his funny side) throughout the day.

The Convention was very interesting. They started the week with an evening service where a band made up of police men played the national anthem, while some others carried the flag in. It was a very respectful presentation. The following day the meetings started which were pretty heated while discussing some of the topics to be voted on. By Wednesday morning they found themselves voting on each board member whether to keep them or let them go. One of the members read his letter of resignation before this happened. They voted to dismiss the Comisario (Commissioner/Superintendent) and the Executive Director. The next session they nominated two new members and continued on with business in a whole new atmosphere. It really was a great experience, and we feel blessed to have been a part of it. We were able to meet several Mexican pastors and missionaries, and many people got to see that we were interested in Mexican Baptists. Lord willing we will return next year because of the relationships that were started this time. We made contacts with folks from different parts of Mexico, which told us to stop by if we should pass through their area. We saw many doors being opened.

We ended our trip by almost running out of gas. On the toll roads there are very few places to stop and we got caught in the longest stretch. Our gas light came on and the GPS was saying 20 miles until the next gas station. We then started praying and made it just in time. It was a definite test of faith. Thank you for praying us through. Click on the picture below to see some pics of the trip. Have a great week!

Trip to Guadalajara

Exploring our country

One of the other assignments we have is to explore our area in Mexico. So a couple Saturdays ago we were taken by another missionary family to a favorite trout fishing spot that a lot of people visit on the weekends. It was about 30 minutes outside of Puebla, but the drive was breath taking with all the hills, mountains and volcanoes we saw on the way there. Once we arrived we felt like we were back at home in Missouri because there were a lot of trees and a babbling spring fed brook. There was a little playground for the girls and plenty of places for them to run and play. We all were able to catch one fish a piece. Yes even Evie hooked a pretty good sized one. Of course I (Gabrielle) reeled them in and took them off the hook, but they had to hook them first. We had a great time spending time as a family and teaching the girls a little bit about fishing, which is one of my (Gabrielle) favorite past times with my Dad!
We have experienced quite a few hail storms here in Puebla and the latest one covered our back yard. The girls played in it like it was snow. But with hail is usually rain and a lot of it. We have found the drainage here is lacking and have found quite a few detours around flooded streets. So I figured if that is the closest we get to snow I can handle it. But the majority of the time we have beautiful weather!

This next week we will be driving to Guadalajara for the Mexican Baptist Convention. We are hoping to attend some meetings and begin relationships that will soon turn into partnerships in reaching the city of Puebla for Jesus. Please pray for traveling mercies as we will be gone from July 4-15. See you in a couple weeks.

Below is the link to the fishing pictures and a few more.

Fishing Trip

Parque Loro

One of the requirements for our orientation is to visit a nature tourist attraction. So we went to Parque Loro for a day with the girls. This is a park/zoo with a lot of different animals but mostly monkeys. I just absolutely love this because I could sit and watch monkeys all day. But we had a great day as a family. We also had another missionary family with us. It was a beautiful day for being outside in God's beautiful earth. Below is the link for this day along with a couple videos of some animals at the end. If you have kiddos around they will love some of these pics. Have a great week in the Lord.

Parque Loro

Funny Story

When I returned home last November for my Grandfather's funeral, I noticed my Grandmother had some crochet projects started with enough yarn to get a good head start on a blanket. So I asked her if I could take it back with me and finish it. I had figured out that I learn better while doing something with my hands which makes me a tactile learner. So in some of my language school classes I would sit and crochet, and this would help me to concentrate so much better. I was able to finish it before we left Costa Rica.

So here is the funny part. Before we left we sent some of the girls school work back to the states because we wanted to keep it but not necessarily travel with it. So Aaron took it and mailed them the day we moved out of our house. The next day we were visiting the Dewetts in their new house which was our old house and a guy on a moto rode up and asked for Aaron Woods and said the postmaster needed to talk with him about his package. Come to find out he had given Aaron the wrong price for the postage and the way they found us is because Aaron had put our Costa Rican address as the return address. So after he paid this I started thinking about something. About 2 weeks before I had mailed this blanket back to my Grandmother in one box and in another one my Dad's jeans and a duffle bag that belonged to my parents. We paid more to send the jeans than we did for the blanket because they weighed more. So now I am worried that my Grandmother was not going to receive the box because there was not enough postage. So I started praying. My dad received his jeans and the duffle bag but still my Grandmother waited. When we arrived in Mexico City I called my parents to let them know we were safe and my dad said "I need to tell you something." He proceeded to tell me that my Grandmother's box had arrived at their house in Independence, MO instead of Springfield, MO because I had put my parents address as the return address. And stamped all over the box was "Return to Sender. Insufficient postage." Doesn't God have a great sense of humor!!! Hope this brightened your day as it did mine that day a few weeks ago. The pattern in the blanket is an 'L' which stands for my Grandfather's name "Leroy" who passed away at the end of October. I love you Grandpa and Grandma Day!

Don't forget to read the post below if you haven't already!

A Mexican Funeral

Part of our job here in Pubela in the beginning is completing a series of assignments in order for us to get to know our city better. One of the assignments is attending a funeral. So we heard about one that was taking place in a small town near by. It took place in a town where there are chickens, horses, goats, and dogs randomly walking about. A town where mexican music was blaring from big speakers and no noise ordanance to stop it. A town where everyone knows your name if you live there. A town where the simplicity of life gets it's name. A town where you walk in and you instantly feel like family. The day started off by waiting until we get the word that it was time to start. We walked down the street from the church were there was a huge tent with about 100 people sitting and eating together. There was also a Christian Mariachi Band playing songs and reading scripture. We were served a watermelon juice with flavored rice, tortillas and a very spicy shrimp, potato and tomato based soup with a very "different" taste. The girls and I ate the rice and Aaron ate the soup. I did taste it but that was all I could do. It was way too spicy for me. Next thing we know people are getting up as four men pick up the casket and start the procession to the burial site. We walked for about a mile in the hot sun and finally we see on the hill the cemetary surrounded by a brick wall. And then we watched it pass by as we continued on up the mountain side to another cemetary in the process of being built. The worst part was Sherry and I had worn shoes with heels. So the rugged mountain side wasn't so kind to us. No wonder people were looking at us so weird. We finally arrived and stood as the preacher said a few words and prayed. Then the men slowly lowered the casket into the ground and other men began filling the hole back in with the dirt. The put rocks around the loose dirt and then put the flowers in buckets of water on top. All of the supplies were carried up by different people. The whole process took about 2 hours. In the mean time the girls played in the dirt, sat next to other kids and asked lots of questions. Mylee had the most because this was the first time she has been to a funeral. In one of the videos loaded with the pictures you hear her say "this is so sad." All in all our experience was a good one and we were able to learn quite a few cultural lessons like don't wear heels to a mountain side burial. After we walked back down we were invited to the Pastor's house of the Rose of Sharon Baptist Church. They served us Coca cola, while the girls were out playing with the other kids. Mylee even caught a little chick and held it for awhile. We were able to start new relationships and know we would be welcomed with open arms when we return. Below is the link to these pictures and more. Have a great week.

Mexican Funeral

New House, Regional Baptist Convention & New Church Organization

Here are some pictures of our new house and some recent meetings that Aaron went to.

Happy Birthday to Evie

Evie's 3rd Birthday

We arrived in Puebla May 14, 2009 and Evie turned 3 May 15, 2009. I wasn't about to gip her again from having a birthday celebrated in a proper way. So we arrived in Puebla and quickly began to pull things together. We met some other missionaries on the 14th and invited them over and then we invited the 3 children that live next door to the guest house. It was really a spur-of-the-moment party but I think it turned out really well. I even made a cake for it and Sherry made homemade ice cream to go with it. We had a lot of fun that night!

I was telling my parents how different the Walmart experience is here. And they said take some pictures and show us. So I did. I was telling them you park underneath in a parking garage and then take escalators up to the store. The coolest thing however is how the basket wheels have a groove in them to where it sticks to the escalator and won't roll until the end of it. So inventive! Also pretty much everywhere you go you will also see parking attendants that like to help you back out of your parking spot for a peso tip. So that has been pretty hard getting used to. We now keep lots of small change on hand. I should've taken a pic of this, but one day Sherry and I were running errands and were sitting at a stop light in a line of traffic. There are guys who walk up and down the traffic with cleaning fluid to clean your windshield for a tip. So we were sitting there and Sherry was teaching me how to make the NO signal with your finger which is the pointer finger being waved back and forth. Well one of these guys came up and I told him no and he decided I wasn't telling the truth and I really did want it washed. So he started squirting my window and I told him no again. Then he hopped up onto my bumper to reach the rest of the window because our van sits pretty high. Keep in mind Sherry and I both are now telling him no and he is continuing. Then the light turned green and we were still sitting there because I couldn't drive with a guy standing on my bumper. Then of course the honking from other cars started. Finally he jumped down and even if I did want to give him a tip there was no time. Sometimes it could be helpful if you have a dirty windshield but this time it was just plain annoying. Oh well you have to give the guy credit for trying to make a living. Enjoy the pics!

The First Days in Mexico

Our first few days in Mexico were soooooo busy! We arrived in Mexico City (MC) and sat in traffic for about 2 hours and then finally made it to the guest house where we were staying. We unloaded our bags and then I (Gabrielle) couldn't decide if I was more hungry or tired. So I figured I would feel better after we ate. So we chose to go to Chili's! It was the best meal we have had in a long time. It was so good and tasted just like the states. After we ate I regained enough energy to attend a birthday party that night for another missionary family with another association. The girls had a really good time and we were able to have some cake and ice cream. The next morning was when we were scheduled to go to the immigration office to have our FM3s checked. We were so blessed to have a lawyer with us to guide our every step. Otherwise we would've been lost! That night we took it easy and rested a bit. The next morning we left at 5:15am to drive the hour and a half to Puebla from Mexico City. It was dark most of the way but by the time we made it to Puebla we were greeted with snow capped volcanos. Sorry I couldn't get any pics for you, but it was really pretty. We arrived in Puebla around 7:30am and later in the day looked at our first house which is the one we are currently trying to get a contract on as I type. Pics to come later! Below are our pics from Mexico City and a few from the city of Puebla. Next blog will be Happy Birthday to Evie! Have a great weekend!

First days in Mexico

The Final Days in Costa Rica

Last days in Costa Rica

Above is the link to the last few pictures that were taken on the final day we were in Costa Rica. We stayed in a Hampton Inn Hotel with a swimming pool the night before our flight because our flight was so early the next morning. So it was very helpful that this hotel was only 1 mile from the airport and they had a shuttle service to take us there. Which allowed us to get a few more Z's that morning! Stay tuned for the "First Days in Mexico" posted later this week!

Another Blessing

If there was an answer to the the question "Why did we have to wait to leave, God?", I think God would answer with "to give you the desires of your heart." One of the things we were heart broken over is the fact that we were going to leave before Ted and Kerri Dewett made it here with their precious twin girls,Taylor and Kameron, that we prayed so many prayers over a year ago when they were born at 25 weeks gestation. But God knew we really wanted to love on those girls so he delayed us here in Costa Rica to be here for their arrival. We were also able to take part in their 1 year birthday party that they had here in Costa Rica. It has been so wonderful to reconnect the friendship we had with Ted and Kerri back at Orientation in Virginia. Below are some pictures that were taken from their Birthday party that will allow you to see how God answered all of your prayers in their lives. I will let you be the judge! At the end of these pictures are a few I took yesterday and today of the girls and of Mylee and I's pedicures we went and had done along with haircuts. We had a really good time and Mylee loved her first pedicure.

Twins' First Birthday

A little break at the Beach

Last week, when we found out we were going to be delayed for a bit, we weren't sure what was going to occupy our time. As we were relaying our dilema to some other missionaries, they looked at us and said "why don't you just come to the beach with us?" So that is what we did. We went to The Doubletree Resort at Puntarenas. It is an all inclusive resort to where we didn't have to go find our food or pay extra at a restaurant. It was all included in the price of the room. So this was great for us since we didn't have anything to begin with since other missionaries moved into the home we were living. We decided to go on this trip Sunday and was headed there Tuesday afternoon. Nothing like being spontaneos. This hotel is on the beach but the girls had no interest in the beach just 2 of the 5 pools they had. Since Aaron and I just celebrated April 20, 7 years of marriage this was a great gift to each other. We even traded babysitting with the other couple we went with, 2 out of the 3 nights. Aaron and I were able to eat dinner at a nicer restaurant on the resort, walk on the beach, and then swing in a hammock while we talked about life. It was one of the best dates we have had in a really long time. So I guess Aaron redeemed himself from the Taco Bell dinner we had on our actual anniversary=). It was a wonderful week of relaxation, playtime and family time. We feel so blessed to be able to have taken advantage of the time God had given us to revive before we hit the ground running in Mexico. Enjoy the pics!

Puntarenas Beach

We Graduated!

Well we did it! We made it through one year of language school in Costa Rica. What a great year it was that we were able to do it as a family. We just loved it so much that we just decided to stay a little longer...NOT! We are currently delayed from heading to Mexico until the Swine flu settles down a bit. We don't have a travel date at this time and will be sure to let you know when we do have one. But for now we will keep working on our spanish, hang out with friends one last time and get this blog updated with new pictures. So below are pictures that were taking at our Graduation ceremony that we were able to be a part of because of our delay. This was actually a strong desire of mine that I layed to rest when we were told we would need to fly out on April 22. But God knew the desire was still there and blessed us with this closing of our school year. What a GREAT God we serve! Have a great week.

Graduation

We are leaving CR...We are not leaving CR...

I wanted to update you on how we ended our year here in Costa Rica. Aaron and I both tested at Advanced Low which is one level higher than what we were needing to be for Mexico. So we were both very happy with this score and really saw how God helped us obtain this level of language this year.

What a crazy week this has been! We are currently in Costa Rica awaiting our flight to Mexico this next Monday, May 4. We were delayed because of the swine flu epidemic currently still spreading in Mexico City. Please pray they will be able to get this under control before it gets worse. So because our house is being filled by a new Missionary family tonight we had to move out. Another IMB apartment will be available tomorrow for us to stay in throughout our remaining days here. So for tonight we are in a mission team house with a lot of bunkbeds! However, we were invited to go to the beach one last time by another IMB family. So we decided we would enjoy one more place in Costa Rica that we have yet to see. We will be gone Tuesday through Friday. Then we will come back and probably repack for the 3rd time! Sorry there are no pictures attached to this one but will get some others up real soon for you. We will keep you updated on our upcoming travel plans. Have a great week!

Easter in Costa Rica

I can't believe Easter has already come and gone!! How fast it went by. We had a small break from school, Wednesday through Easter Sunday. This break came at just the right moment as we are packing and cleaning the house for the next family to move in. Good Friday morning the Catholic Church had a Crucifixion parade. They start about a 2 miles from their church and walk back and reinact the walk Jesus made to Galgatha. Overall it was very interesting to watch. I could see that this was a very important part of the Catholic church here in San Jose. Saturday afternoon we had a small Easter "egg" hunt at our house with our friends The Burtons. However instead of eggs we just had wrapped candy to hide. So each child could find 1 each of the 4 types of sweets we had for them. I think they had a really good time with this. Easter morning the girls woke up and went to find their Easter "baskets". I am getting really good at improvising! They loved finding their surprises. We went to church Easter morning and was excited that we were arriving on time for once. We walked in to find that the 8am service started at 6am and the 10:30am service started at 9am. We didn't know that the services were changed for Easter Sunday. Oh well, we'll just say we were REALLY early for the 9am service. So we waited and were able to have a good conversation with the Pastor. We really had a great Easter and were able to relax with a little down time in order to reflex on the great sacrifice Jesus did for us. I really feel that with the parade it really helped me to picture myself there on that walk to Galgatha. It brought tears to my eyes. In the picture link below are pictures of everything mentioned above along with a short video of the parade. Try to picture yourself there 2000 years ago as a bystander watching the procession. Hope you and your family took time out this year to give thanks for the sacrifice that took place 2000 years ago for you! May God bless your week.

Prayer bug: Pray for our visa process that it will be completed soon and we can move on to what God has for us in Puebla.

Easter

Secret Sisters

Below is kind of a schmorgasborg of pictures. But here is a run down. Mylee and I went to a Surprise Baby Shower for Cohen and Amie Ezelle, other students, that we have been in school with since our First Trimester. Because they are getting ready to leave also, we took up a collection and purchased a Visa giftcard for when they return to the states to have the baby. They will be traveling next Monday and she is about 8 months pregnant. Please pray that the baby waits!!

Also included are photos of a Secret Sister Fellowship. At the beginning of this Timester, ladies signed up to have a secret sister throughout the 4 months that they can pray for and encourage through notes and little gifts if they desired. So this past Monday was the "Revealing" fellowship. Our time started off with a little activity, then we had snacks that were made by me and a few of my friends (Thanks ladies). While they ate their snacks, I had a little devotional time with them. After that was the "revealing" part. This was the most fun! Nobody knew who they had. Everyone had kept it a secret! I had no clue who mine was. Her name happened to be Connie Andy. She thought I knew who mine was since I had put it all together. But my good friend Christina and I made it to where I could have fun with it also. It was a great time together and hope another lady will carry on Secret Sisters.

There are other random pictures of the girls that are pretty cute(I might be biased)! There is also a small video of how our yard is cut. I will leave it up to you if the art should be adopted in the US=). Have a great Easter and please be on your knees for our visas to come, in order to purchase our tickets to Mexico!

Baby Shower/SS Fellowship

Cultural Day

Below is the pictures from our cultural day at school. Aaron and I took a Latin dance class and then Latin children's game class. It was a great day but we were exhausted by the time bed time came around. But it was a great day to learn more about Latin culture. At the end of the end of the pictures there is a picture of Mylee and I but I have my new specs (glasses) on. Aaron thinks they make me look a little smarter. I guess whatever works, huh! Thanks for visiting.

Cultural Day

Disconnected- Cut off

Yes we are currently not connected to the internet. Yes we are currently bumming off any friend that will allow us to use their internet. We had asked for our internet to be turned off April 24th. March 24th showed up and we found our internet connection disconnected. Imagine that. So when trying to have it reconnected, we found it was going to take a 5 step process including more money and a house call and found it not to be worth it for only 28 days left. So I guess that leaves time for other stuff now, like packing!!! This blog entry will have no pictures and I might try to get some up this week but I can't promise anything. As of this point we still do not have visa papers to allow us to head to Mexico. Therefore we still do not have airline tickets either. We will keep you posted but we still have 3 weeks to go. So plenty of time! Thanks for checking in and keep checking periodically as I am not sure when pictures will be posted! Have a great week!

Toothless Grin

This past week was a milestone in Mylee's life. For the past 3 weeks or so, Mylee has been saying she has a loose tooth and once I even felt it and it didn't move. So I figured her friends at school were loosing teeth and saying this so she was too. Then on Tuesday she told me again and then showed me and sure enough she was telling the truth. Wednesday came around and I asked to touch it and when I did I thought it was going to fall out right then because it was sooooooo loose. So I asked her if I could go ahead and pull it, persuading her with the "surprise" that would be under her pillow in the morning if she puts her tooth under there. So she said okay. So with some toilet paper it came right out. It took me a couple tries in order to get the correct grip but it only bled a little bit. So now we have a toothless grin everytime she smiles. Pretty cute. The Toothfairy left her 1000 colones which is about 2 dollars. I guess with inflation and all, kids are getting a little more these days=). Or the tooth fairy wanted to give her some paper money, instead of a coin because she gets coins all the time. So she wanted it to be extra special and the 1000 colones is the smallest Costa Rica has in bills. Oh well. Below is the link to take you to the toothless grin! See you next week.

Toothless Grin

Costa Rican Mountains

Last Sunday we had the privilege of accompanying our Costa Rican friends, Ronald and Marcela and their two children, on a visit to their home in the mountains they are building little by little. So far they have the living room, kitchen, bathroom and a wrap around porch. Underneath there are 3 bedrooms and 1 more bathroom in the making. We left at 8am and drove for about an hour to get there. The last 30 minutes were on a dirt gravel road. But the view was breath taking when we arrived.

The day started off with a little hike up the dirt road to a SMALL town near by. We met a friend of theirs in the town. At one point on his land you could look out and see the ocean that is about a two hour drive to get there, past the mountains. It was incredible. After we walked back, it was time to get lunch going and the kids wanted to play in the water. The whole time we were there the wind was SO strong. However in the sun it was pretty warm. But the kids didn't care one bit that the wind was a bit cold. They had a blast.

For lunch we had chicken and steak on the grill with potato salad, chips and salsa and bean dip. It was all very tasty. After lunch the boys took a hike down the mountain to see a spring fed river. Aaron thoroughly enjoyed this. Meanwhile Marcela and I chatted at the cabin. We were a little nervous that we were going to be speaking in Spanish the whole day but we did it! The time finally came that we had to pack up and head home. We had an excellent day with new friends; one that will not be forgotten in our thoughts and memories. Below is the link to the pictures we took from that day! See you next week!

Costa Rican Mountains

Ladies Retreat #2

This past weekend I was able to attend a Ladies Retreat like the last one I attended last June when we first arrived here. I found this one to be a lot more meaningful for me. I realized how important it is to woship and be fed spiritually in your heart language. During the first session I was just eating up all her words and worshipping with all my heart. I love to worship in Spanish but it is harder when you don't understand some of the words. But as the spanish language becomes easier for us it will be easier to worship.

The theme for the weekend was Forgiveness and Repentance. I was in charge of getting together Dramas for each session. We (my friends and I) prepared one Human video to Chris Tomlin's song Amazing Grace, My Chains are Gone. The other two were skits I just made up and one was even more improv. It was really fun. There were 4of us in a room together. We had thought two of us were going to have to share a bed but we got there and saw we had 4 beds in the room. So we thanked God for that blessing. But we had lots of chocolate given to us that we said thanks for also!

I think the best thing that came from the weekend was me asking God how I can become a more submissive wife and what exactly it means to be just that. And since then on three different occasions I have been given information on how to be a submissive wife. I guess God thinks this is really important to learn so I am going to try my best to learn it. Below is the link for some pictures from the weekend. I didn't take any pics of the pool because I did that last time. You can find those pics in the archives from June of 2008. Check back early next week for our pics from our time in the mountains with our friends. Ya'll come back now, ya hear! =)

Ladies Retreat

Manuel Antonio

This past weekend we went to the final place that we wanted to visit before leaving Costa Rica. We went to a place called Manuel Antonio which is a group of beaches. This is also the place of the Manuel Antonio National Park which has the prettiest beaches inside the park. At first we thought we were not going to be able to go into the park because of contaminated water but it was open so we swam on faith! The weekend all together was very fun. It was about a 5 hour bus ride including breaks. We were a little nervous about Evie because this was her first trip being potty trained but we had no accidents. We got a little nervous at the end of the trip when we were sitting in traffic after driving for an hour and a half and still had about an hour to go so we put a diaper on her just in case but it was dry when we got home. So we were so proud of her. I think our most memorable time we had at the beach was when we sat down on Saturday to have lunch in the National Park. One of the features of the park is all the wildlife they have inside of it. Well during lunch we were able to see first hand the wild life with 3 raccoons that were very bold and came within about 2 feet of our food. The girls were a little nervous about this. So I had to get up and kick sand at them to scare them away. One of the park guides even helped me once. I did this about 4-5 times before they realized that this woman is getting more violent every time. So they finally gave up. But then a little monkey showed up but he didn't want our food so he posed for a few pics! Below is the link to see some of the pictures of the weekend. Other people said they were going to be sending me some so we'll get those up at a later time!

Please pray for us this week as we will be celebrating our son Daeton's birthday (born before Mylee but is in the arms of Jesus) on Wednesday, the 4th of February. It was 6 years ago but still fresh on our minds.

I will also be attending a Woman's Retreat this coming weekend that I have written dramas for. Please pray for the women, that their lives will be changed through the dramas and the message of forgiveness.

Manuel Antonio

Day of Rest

Sundays have become our new day of rest. Since our bible study worship has been changed to Saturdays, by the time Sundays come around we are just ready for a day to stay around the house and not have to walk anywhere. So I decided to take some pictures of our Day of Rest. Below is the link to take you to those pictures.

Day of Rest

Unfortunately I forgot to take pictures, but we had the priviledge of having Ticos in our home last night. This was a family that we have gotten to know through church and our school. They have a son in Mylee's class and a 9 year old daughter. After last night we were regretting we had not invited them over sooner but we didn't feel comfortable with our spanish before now. We grilled hamburgers and I made some guacamole and had a wonderful time together. We were also invited to go with them in a couple of weeks to their house they have up in the mountains. So we are very excited about having that interaction with them. And I will definetly take pictures of that day. But that isn't until the 8th of March.
Next weekend we will be taking our last little trip here in Costa Rica. We have signed up to go to Manuel Antonio beach. So stay tuned for those pics next week. We only have 8 weeks of school to go counting a couple breaks we have. Please pray we stay strong to the end. We have not received any word yet on our visas but we'll let you know the minute we do. Thank you to my cousins Andy and Christie and Nathan for the package that was sent to us this past week. Praise the Lord it made it here! Have a great week.

A Calm Week

Evie trying on a Princess hat Mylee made at another Princess Party!

Mylee couldn't smile very big because she had a big piece of candy in her mouth.

Silly Evie with her swimming goggles on!


After last week, this was a much needed calmer week. We made it through, however. We think Wednesday night Mylee ate some bad ham and got sick two times in the middle of the night. So we were ALL up changing sheets and getting her cleaned up. That was a pretty hard night. But in the morning Evie slept til 7am, which she hasn't done that since...well I can't remember the last time she did that. Why couldn't it have been on a Saturday? Oh well.
Aaron and I went out last night for Valentine's Day. We didn't do much, however, because we were so tired from the week. So we decided to go watch the Pink Panther 2. It was a great therapy movie because we laughed quite a bit through it. Then we went and found Mylee and Evie a Valentine's present. We bought each of them some chocalates and a little doggy in a purse. Aaron and I very carefully selected a different one for each of them that we thought they would like. Well they found them without us this morning and ended up picking the opposite of what we had picked for each of them. Oh well I guess we still have a lot to learn! But the important thing is they didn't fight over which one to have.





Looking ahead: Please be praying that our visa papers for Mexico will be processed quickly. We have 10 weeks to go and the business manager will not buy our plane tickets out of here until we have a fax saying they are processed. Also a couple weeks ago we reserved a mission house in Lee's Summit for our stateside assignment in 3 years (talk about looking ahead-2012). However, our first option has become a possibility for us again as Missionaries in Residence at Midwestern Baptist Seminary. This would be the best option for us as Aaron will be completing his Masters there and I will be completing my Bachelors at UMKC. This would save us on gas expenses and travel time to allow us to have more time as a family. Please be praying for our acceptance by the president of the Seminary. Have a great week!

Happy Birthday to Mylee

Mylee's Birthday

What a fun week we have had celebrating Mylee's 5th birthday. We started off the week with Mylee's birthday party at McDonald's Play Place. We had about 22 kiddos show up (including all the little ones with the families) and about 15 parents or so. The kids were able to play in the play area, as well as games and a pinata. All the kids received a Happy Meal and the adults received a small fry and a small coke. Mylee also chose to have a Hello Kitty cake and all were served a piece of that. One of the new customs we have learned is that the Birthday girl (or boy) gets to have the first bite. So they are supposed to just dig right in with a big mouthful of the cake. Well, Mylee was just fine with a finger full. It was pretty funny. The other funny thing that happened was the night before, I went to fill the goodie bags and opened up the package that was supposed to have 12 units turned out to only be 6 units. Rememeber I had about 17 bags that I needed to prepare. So I ended up taking some freezer bags and filling those for the boys. Oh well you live and learn. The other common thing here is to not open the birthday presents at the party in front of everyone. So we brought the gifts home and opened all the gifts. I would have to admit I like this way alot better. It wasn't craziness with tons of kids around and I wasn't standing back hoping Mylee was going to be nice and polite as each gift was opened. So while Aaron went and watched the Superbowl up at the school the girls and my friend and her two daughters came back to the house with us for the gift opening. It was a very fun day!

At the party, when they served the cake they cut around the middle first and left the picture with Feliz Cumpleanos Mylee, written on it for us to take home. So for her real birthday we sent that to school with her to share with her friends. It was so thoughtful. She was also given about 4 more gifts for her real birthday from us!

Below is the link of the pictures from the birthday party and when we went back to the Children's Museum on our day off, Friday. We had a lot of fun as a family. We all also received hair cuts this weekend and those pictures are included also. We took pictures because I think this was Evie's first hair cut. I wasn't going to cut her hair but she wanted to be like her sister, so we cut all her beautiful little baby curls off. It was so sad but I knew I was going to have to cut them at some point. You can see her long hair in the early pictures. Thank you for praying for Mylee this past week and look forward to seeing you back here next week. Have a blessed one!

Vacation Bible School

What a week we had at Vacation Bible School. It was such a different experience. I signed up to help so that I could get a glimpse into a Latin VBS. I have to say it was pretty much the same as the US. We rotated to 4 stations: crafts, snacks, missions and a teaching time. I helped with the 7-8 year olds. There was one little boy that would not stop running all over the place. We would be having the bible story time and randomly he would get up and run out the door to go to the "bathroom" or just get up to be moving. He would not follow many directions or sit long enough to get any. But on the 4th day I found out he lived in a home for children who have no parents. So that explained a whole lot. On Wednesday I experienced a little bit of the Latin culture when the teacher of the class I was in left to go to the bank with out telling me she was leaving. So after 20 minutes I realized what had happened and didn't have a clue of what to do. Didn't have the schedule given to me before she left. I could feel the stress creeping up my upper back and into my neck. So I tried to keep some order with my broken spanish and one word commands. I ended up just letting them run some energy out in the back lot you will see in the pictures below. By Friday we were all tired. I gave the choice to Mylee if she wanted to go or not and she said she just wanted to go home. So I didn't force her and I also didn't complain because I was pretty tired also. I did start feeling sad we didn't go but at the same time don't know if I would've had the energy or patience to do it. In the end I was very glad we went for the spanish practice and being one step closer to becoming one with the culture.

There are also some pictures of the ballerina princess pajama party we went to of one of the Missionary kids here with us in Costa Rica. The girls had a great time. Speaking of parties we have a big one today for Mylee's 5th birthday. You definetly know you are out of the the US when you plan a Birthday Party on Superbowl Sunday from 4-6pm. OOOOPS! Didn't even realize it until it was booked and the invites were out. We are having a McDonald's playplace birthday. So check back next week for pictures of the big party. Her birthday isn't until Wednesday, February 4th. Please send up a birthday prayer for her this week. See you next week.

VBS

POTTY TRAINING!

Well what a fun week we have had perfecting the art of potty training. Evie is doing really well and is getting the hang of things. We have mainly been working on the day time and will tackle the night time at a later date. She just sleeps so hard that we can't wake her up to go. So after 2 nights of changing sheets we just decided to do diapers at night for now. The pictures above were taken when Aaron was trying to teach Evie how to get #2 out. It was pretty funny. Otherwise there really isn't much else that went on this week, just studying hard! We do have a praise of a contract on Aaron's grandmother's house. We are hoping to have everything said and done within a month. Please pray that it all goes through. Have a great week.

Happy Birthday

I celebrated my 28th birthday this past Thursday. Since it was a school day we didn't do much that day. I did have a small party in my language class where the other 3 ladies and my teacher brought Gallo Pinto (breakfast rice and beans), fruit, scrambled eggs, and bread. Thank you ladies! One of my friends also made me a cake and brought it to school for us to have during our 2 hour break. That night I finished my homework early and sat and watched a movie before I went to bed. It was relaxing! Friday night Aaron planned a date for us. He even secured a babysitter! He took me to a restaurant in the mountains that looks over the city of San Jose. It was absolutely beautiful. We were so high there were small clouds that were sailing right by the window we were sitting by. However, because we were so high the temp was a little cooler. It was about 50 degrees and we were freezing! Aaron told me I could order whatever I wanted so I ordered Filet Mignon. It was a very good steak. I have not had one since we have been here in Costa Rica. We were getting ready to order dessert and next thing I know our waiter was putting a piece of cheesecake in front of me and then there were about 5 other waiters ready to sing Happy Birthday to me. I don't get embarrased often but I was at that point. I just wasn't expecting it at all because the environment is one of romance. But I couldn't be mad at Aaron for telling them, but our friend Fernando who made the reservations. Oh well, we had a good time anyhow. Saturday night our friends threw me a birthday pizza party. I even received some presents.

Joe and Heidi gave me some Yarn for more Crocheting.
Dwyndl and Lori gave me a little Happy birthday bear.
Ryan and Emily Buttes gave me some cookie sticks, Banana Bread, and Cookies.
Dee Jay and Christy Burton gave me a hand mixer.

Thank you to all my friends who helped make my 28th Birthday memorable. I am excited to see what adventures God will bless me with this next year!

We made it through our first week of school! We both love our Teachers and classes. Thank you for praying us through the first one. Only 14 weeks left to go!

Below is the link to the pictures from Christmas and Birthday. There are a few that were taken with our camera when Mom and Dad were here also. At the end of the pictures is a video of the girls opening presents from their other Grandma (Aaron's Mom) Grammy Candy! It is pretty cute.

Christmas and Birthday

The Last Two Weeks

What an wonderful two weeks we have had with my Parents here visiting us in Costa Rica. We played games almost every night they were here! In the two weeks they experienced a Costa Rican New Year's, trips to the market, rides in public buses and taxis, zip lining through a rainforest, Costa Rican down pours, a Costa Rican birthday party, a Central American amusement park, and an earthquake. We were able to tour a Coffee plantation and see the whole process of how a coffee bean goes from the ground to the ground brown stuff you buy at the store. All very interesting. We took a couple days and drove to a hotel right next to the active volcano, Arenal. However it was cloudy and rainy almost the whole time. I guess that is what you get when you visit a rainforest! While at Arenal we all did a Canopy Tour which is zip lining in the canopy of the tree tops. Some of them about 800 feet in the air. But probably one of the most memorable moments we will all remember was the 6.2 earthquake we all made it through the day before Mom and Dad left. It was unlike anything we have ever experienced. Praise the Lord we were here with Mom and Dad and the girls because we have been prepared for this where Mom and Dad really didn't know what to do with it. The girls did very well and didn't seem to be the least bit frightened. Wow, as I typed what all we did made myself feel very tired. We sure were busy but had a great time experiencing it all together. We were all very sad to see them leave and I know they were sad to leave us, but we still have SKYPE and our memories until we see one another again face to face!

There are a lot of pictures, because my dad was a little snap happy with the camera. But out of 1600 photos I was able to narrow it down to about 370 or so. Some you can flip through quickly but you might have to see them in two settings. Sorry about that. I guess this will make up for all the weeks I didn't have very many photos, huh. Click on the picture below to view them.

Upcoming important dates and prayer opportunities:
We start our 3rd Trimester on Monday, January 12th, Gabrielle will celebrate her 28th birthday on Thursday, January 15th and then Mylee her 5th birthday on February 4th.

Grandparents visit