We had a wonderful annual Spiritual Life Conference.  We always look forward to being together for 5 days as a team.  SIM pastors came to encourage us through the word and a group of 6 from the US came to provide childcare VBS style for our children. 

 

While playing freeze tag, someone announced, “Everyone who’s a McKissick is “it””.  Another voice said, “That’s not fair.  Almost every kid here is a McKissick!”

 

Leading worship as a family is always a fun experience.

 

Ryan and his MK buddies lead us in worship one session.

The weather for our annual July (winter) retreat can vary greatly.  Last year we were freezing.  This year the weather was beautiful and the kids got to swim every day.  Julia carried her water guns around in her bathing suit.

A TIME TO RETREAT

When I get overwhelmed, I want to retreat.  Last night was definitely a night to retreat.

I was supposed to be at a girls’ night with teammates sipping coffee and eating cheesecake, far from the cares of bedtimes and children who push those bedtime limits.  The first girls’ night date was cancelled when Jeff found himself stuck in mud up to the car’s door.  And now, the second date was cancelled due to rain. 

It wasn’t a normal rainstorm.  It was a torrential storm that dumped buckets and buckets of water for hours and wind that came from all directions at once.  It poured and poured and poured. 

            In our new addition, rain rushed in from the 2 windows and from under the door until standing water covered the floor.  We had 4 buckets collecting water from the kitchen roof.  Due to construction, the kitchen cabinets were off the wall and all its contents were piled high on the kitchen table.  Everything had to be shifted numerous times to avoid the drips.  The brick wall connecting the new addition to our house began oozing cement onto the floor leaving holes in the wall which allowed rain to pour in.  The 2 south facing bedroom windows allowed copious water to enter.  Water flooded our front yard, overflowed onto our porch and threatened to push its way into the house.

It was a mess.  It was a disaster.  It was definitely time to retreat.  After getting buckets and towels in place, I locked myself in my bedroom and Jeff and I watched a chick-flick. 

  

 

HIGH HUMIDITY

It is so humid in our house that Tyler’s paper mache science fair project hasn’t been able to dry even with a hair dryer on it for hours.  On day #2 it was moldy.

 

It is so humid in our house that all the doors and door frames in our house are warped and won’t close or lock without major effort.

 

It is so humid in our house that I can write my name in the dew on the table as I eat my cereal in the morning.

 

It is so humid in our house that I’ve changed the baby thinking he had wet through his clothes, only to discover a completely dry diaper.  The outer layer was just wet due to moisture in the air.    

 

It’s been so humid in our house that just after a week of putting on the roof to the new addition, the ceiling was growing mold (so thankful for my husband who spent an entire day scrubbing, bleaching, lysoling and varnishing the ceiling - again).

 

It is so humid in our house that our cement floors throughout the house glisten with dew all day long causing many a kid to slip and slide across the slick floors.

 

JUNE INTERNS

We’ve had two interns here for the month.  They shadowed Jeff in the clinic, completed reading assignments for class discussion, went on visits with me, pulled mandioca, milked cows, chased chickens for dinner, delivered a baby, stayed with Paraguayan families, learned some Guarani, went to church and Bible studies, heard many missionary testimonies, prayed with patients, gave injections, started IVs, traveled to Brazil to see the waterfalls, and had a fantastic summer internship! 

4th of JULY

We celebrated the 4^th in Asuncion with our 2 interns.  We had a great BBQ and loud fireworks (both compliments of Jeff).

 Dinner

The goods

 

 The anticipation was almst too much for Micah to handle!

 watching from a "safe" distance

The louder the firecrackers, the better

 

 Josiah was happy to listen to the fireworks in the safety of his mother's arms inside the room

 The interns brought s'more fixings...yum!

 

DOORS...WHO NEEDS THEM?

In the new room there is a door to the outside.  The guy who installed the door accidentally took the key with him back to Asuncion, so it is temporarily locked.  We haven’t been able to get the key delivered via bus because of all the rain.  That means the construction workers have had to traipse through my kitchen 100 times a day carrying buckets of water and cement, loads of bricks and tiles, plumbing supplies and tools, not to mention mud from their boots.  2 weeks later, we finally were able to get the key.  Our joy was short lived as we realized that cement had fallen into the lock and the key would not go in. 

Due to the high humidity inside and out this time of year, all our door and door frames are wrapping making life a bit more frustrating.  Cabinet doors swing open, bathroom doors won’t lock, and bedroom doors won’t close.  Our front door required 2 people to unlock it each morning and lock it back at night – one on the outside pulling and one on the inside pushing.  Yesterday Jeff was resolved to fix it, but he only managed to get the key stuck in the lock.

Thankfully we have a third door leading to the outside located in our bedroom.  So this week the construction workers, the interns, our family and our Paraguayan guest will be trekking through my bedroom and then through Ginny’s bedroom to get to the rest of the house.

JOSIAH is ALREADY 3 MONTHS!

June 21, 2013

The past three months have flown by!  Josiah has grown so much.  He has an adorable smile.  He laughs at us and talks to us, stares at his hands in wonder and chews on his thumb.  He reaches for toys with such concentration and loves to stick his tongue out.

 

 

Another milestone reached in June was Ryan mowing the grass for the first time.

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY!

It was a wonderful Sunday.  We had two other missionary families over for a BBQ lunch.

This is the shirt and tie cake that Ginny, Joshua and Tyler helped to make.

Josiah's first Father's Day

 

Jeff and his crew.

THE GIRLS' NIGHT THAT NEVER WAS

June 19, 2013

 

I just wanted to get out of the house and to do something different.  I get cabin fever quite easily living in rural Paraguay.  Our town doesn’t boast much entertainment.  No restaurants or coffee shops.  No movie theaters or parks.  No malls or shops of any kind.  And on top of that, there’s no one in town to hang out with.  There’s a 10 mile stretch of dark, bumpy, muddy road connecting me to closest team mate, Sarah.

The roads are not safe to drive alone at night, but if our 2 female interns went with me, we could make girls’ night a reality.  Plans were made and set into motion for us to leave after Bible study Monday night.  Since we finished a bit early and the weather was chilly, Jeff decided to take 2 girls home who had walked 3 miles to come.  The interns and I waited for Jeff’s return.  We waited and waited and just when I was about to call Jeff, he called to say that he was stuck in mud up to the car door and our 4x4 wasn’t working.  His efforts at digging out had been futile.  He was going to be awhile.  Girls’ night was cancelled.

 

Tuesday evening, try #2 for girls’ night was looking hopeful until huge storm clouds rolled in at 6.  At 7:00 the sky split open and a torrential rain poured buckets and buckets on the land.  Not wanting a repeat of Jeff’s experience the night before, girls’ night was again cancelled.  With mid-week Bible study commitments and the roads not likely to be dry any day soon, I am “stuck” in town. Good things cabin fever is a passing ailment.

 

With a few of my (missionary) girlfriends