ANNUAL MISSIONARY TRAINING

December 15-18, 2012

Each year we have our SIM team in-service training.  This year we all gathered in Asuncion to learn more about Paraguayan culture from a native.  It was interesting.             

I have said it over and over again, I love our SIM mission family.   It is always wonderful to get together and fellowship.

The 5 big boys (ages 9-14) are excited because this is the first year they have been able to have their own room.  Every now and then as I pass by, a wave of stench hits my nostrils.  BOYS!  But they are happy and that makes mama happy.  The bigger kids also got to go to see The Hobbit.  They loved it and came back talking non-stop about the film.

Our team is very family oriented so there are always lots of kids running around.

 

 

And, as tradition, we had our Christmas party together.

Good food - BBQ

carolling

Games 

Candles

 

 

HAPPY BIRTHDAY PARTY, RYAN!

December 16, 2012

It is always fascinating to me the differences between boys and girls and nothing shows it more clearly than the themes my kids chose for their birthday parties.  Sunday night we had a Little House on the Prairie themed party for Ginny and her friend, Cora.  Monday we had a firecracker themed party for Ryan (who will be 13 December 31^st) and his friend, Camden.  For those who don’t know, Jeff LOVES firecrackers and blowing fruit and other things up.  He has passed that passion onto Ryan. 

Anticipation!!!!

Here's what was on the "to be blown up" list 

HAPPY 11th BIRTHDAY, GINNY!

December 13^th (Ginny’s birth day), we celebrated as a family at home.  She requested chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast, Ramen noodles for lunch and grilled pork for dinner. I made snowman cupcakes.

Ginny is such a beautiful girl – inside and out.  She is responsible, helpful, tender-hearted, and creative. 

 

 

December 15^th Ginny had a co-party with one of her best missionary kid friends, Cora, in Asuncion (since all our mission family was in for our team training).  We celebrated to the theme of Little House on the Prairie.  We ate fried chicken, mashed potatoes and gravy, and coleslaw and of course, cake.   

A team mate made all the girls bonnets.

 

 

Make a wish!

23 weeks pregnant.  i feel good!

CAR TROUBLES

December 14, 2012

A MONTH AGO our car was towed from our place in Jataity to Asuncion (5 hours away). 

WEDNESDAY Jeff and Ryan took a 4:30AM bus to Asuncion to get the car. 

THURSDAY at 2:00 they arrived back in Jataity.

FRIDAY we all packed up and headed into Asuncion for medical/dental appointments, to Christmas shop and run various errands and to attend our annual mission training.  It was raining and muddy from the night before and we slipped and slid for 1 ½ hours till we hit pavement.  It was then that we realized that the transmission was not working!  We limped our way to the next “big” town and called a tow truck.  Once it arrived, we all piled in the car which sat on the tow truck.  Sound safe?  Well, the driver assured us that most of his clients ride that way.  We figured it might actually be safer (and cooler) than a bus (which Jeff wasn’t too keen on taking since he had just ridden on a bus a couple days ago and nearly tossed his cookies).  It was a scary feeling being so high up on the platform, weaving through traffic and going around corners and being so not in control.  But we survived.  We made it into Asuncion 8 hours after starting.

                Now we are in the city - carless and with a pared down to-do list.  Mission training begins Monday.

Doesn't our car scream "wash me!"?
This is while waiting for the tow truck.

UPDATE: a few days later we got our car back, praise God.  I went out to shop with a friend and after our 2^nd stop the gear shift wouldn’t allow me to put it in park.  Praise God, another missionary family was just around the block and came to the rescue. He called the mechanic for me and within 30 minutes the mechanic arrived.  After looking under the hood, under the dash and under the car, he finally figured out the problem.  It was a simple fix.

A few days later we headed out of Asuncion and we cruising along until we hit the muddy road.  Immediately we started to loose traction.  Jeff went to put the car in 4x4 but it wouldn’t work!  We slid and slid and finally ended up in a ditch waiting for a tractor to come along and pull us out.  As we waited, we saw about 5 other people also being sucked into the bank, needed to be pulled out as well.  We made it home without a hitch after that.    

Jeff checking out the owner's mannuel while stuck in the mud.

 

I'm so glad that our kids are good travellers because we travel a lot.

 

December beginnings

December 1

My neighbor came and repaired my garden.

A friend from San Francisco (Paraguay) came and helped me clean and hoe the garden.

The kids helped me plant all kinds of veggies.

A green thumb is on my Christmas list this year!

 

December 5: We said good-bye to interns Samuel and Kate (or as Micah called her “Cake”).  They were fun to have around and will be missed by all.

IT'S BEGINNING TO LOOK a little bit LIKE CHRISTMAS

We haven’t put up any Christmas decorations yet because they are all in Asuncion and we are stuck 5 hours away carless.  However, we’re trying to get into the spirit by:

Baking Christmas cookies and goodies for neighbors

Singing Christmas carols with the family

Making Christmas crafts

Reading our advent story

Watching Christmas movies

And all the while:

We have iced coffee close at hand to beat the heat and humidity

The plastic pool is filled to the brim and always with child or five

We’re winding down school the year definitely ready for a break

There’s always a watermelon in the refrig

We’re sweating up a storm

We’re sleeping on top of the sheets and under fans on the highest speed

Winter/the Christmas season/November-February in the Southern hemisphere

MERRY CHRISTMAS!

PUMPKINS!!!

Pumpkins from our garden.....Pumpkins given by neighbors and patients....we have so many pumpkins!

Here's a few things we've made.

Pumpkin bread.  Pumpkin pie. Pumpkin white hot chocolate. Pumpkin and Beef stew. Pumpkin cobbler.  Pumpkin crescent rolls.  Pumpkin cinnamon rolls.  Pumpkin and butter side dish.  Pumpkin Chocolate swirl cake.  Pumpkin French toast bake.  Baked pumpkin seeds.  Pumpkin chocolate muffins.  Pumpkin smoothies.

 

The COW TAKETH

I made this banner.  It got wet in the rain and I hung it on our fence to dry in the next day’s sun.  In the afternoon, I looked out my kitchen widows just in time to see a cow munching on the fabric.  Before I could get out and stop him, he had eaten the ANKS. 

Now my banner reads GIVETH.

ENUENTRO SUNDAY

November 25, 2012

What a wonderful Sunday we had!  Each month the church in San Francisco holds a bigger meeting (an encuentro) where we serve lunch, have communion, and baptisms.  This month, the elders asked if they could hold the encuentro at our place in Jataity.

Yesterday about 80 people from San Francisco, Maria Auxiliadora, Santa Ursula and Jataity gathered on our lawn and under our porch for worship, Bible stories, terere, fellowship, and lunch.  We were thrilled to see some our neighbors here and blessed that one gave her life to the Lord for the first time!

 Welcoming our guests.

Food preperation

 Worship.  Bible story telling.  Group discussion. Prayer.  Lord's supper.

 Terere time = building relationships

 

Lunch time

Soccer time

We are very thankful for our neighbor who was willing to bus everyone in from surrounding towns.

Please continue to pray for the new community we are in (we’ve been here 3 months already!), for relationships and the spreading of the gospel.  Pray also for our weekly Bible study gathering which, praise God has been growing.   

THE BIG REVEAL (IT'S A...)

Ok.  Call us goofy.

Earlier this week we had our interns do an ultrasound on me to determine the sex of the baby.  Did they tell me what they saw?  No. 

Instead they called our team mate and told her. 

For a time, the three of them were the only ones who knew if I was having a boy or a girl!

Yesterday during Thanksgiving my friend made us laugh till we cried as she and her hubby (plus back up dancing girls all with balloons under their shirts) performed “Ice Ice Baby” with new (and improved) lyrics. At the end they popped a balloon and blue confetti poured out. 

 

 

It’s a boy!

We are thrilled.

What a wonderful Thanksgiving!

PS There is a vido that you must watch (click here)...you won't be disappointed!