Visa update

12/5/2009

I just realized that I never posted about our visas! I sent out a newsletter, and I forgot to post anything about it in here. I thought I'd just put a portion of the letter in here, so that you could have the update about where we are in the visa process.

11/20/2009

The original plan was for us to head to Spain on Dec. 28^th; but at this point, we are not sure if that will actually happen. We have been working on the paperwork we needed to gather in order to apply for our Visas at the Spanish consulate in D.C. We thought we would be ready to make the trip to D.C. about a month ago, but we ran into problems getting our documents “authenticated” from the state of CA. Yesterday evening, we received the documents we have been waiting for (praise the Lord!!) We spent hours last night, putting together everything we needed; and we left at 6am this morning to go to D.C. This is such an answer to prayer, because the consulate is closed tomorrow, and next week would have been difficult because it’s Thanksgiving. So, we set out this morning and drove through rush hour traffic. We arrived 15 minutes before the consulate opened and found a parking space! It took them a while to go through all the paperwork to make sure we had everything they needed, but they were so kind and courteous. We had everything in place, and she said she would send it off to Spain for approval right away.

At this point, we’ve been told it will take from 1-6 months to get our Visa’s back. This is the one thing we would specifically ask you all to pray for right now. If we are delayed in going, the kids may have to start school in the middle of the semester. Wes and I could also miss the date to enroll in our language school, and we would have to wait until the next semester in order to begin learning the language. We recognize that God is in control, and His timing is perfect! It is our prayer that the papers would be expedited and that we would still be able to leave on Dec. 28^th as planned. Will you join us in prayer for this? Please pray that our Visa’s come back in RECORD time!... please pray specifically that we will get our visas back within one month. We do recognize that this is unusual, but nothing is impossible with our Lord! This is our most urgent prayer request at the moment. Thank you for standing with us in prayer! It is so encouraging to see how the Lord has provided so abundantly, even in the little things… like a parking space!

We finished!!!!

Ahhh... praise the Lord! We finished FPO! If you read any of the other entries, you know that it was rough... but we did learn alot. We finished out our last week, had our commissioning on Thursday, and left right after the ceremony. We were ready to be finished. It sure was sad to say goodbye to many of our friends. That was definitely the high-light of FPO for us. God blessed us with some amazing friendships... for Wes and I as well as for our children.

So, now we must hurry up and wait. At this point, we are waiting for our Visa's to come in. We applied a month ago, and we have just called and emailed to see if we could get an update. So far, we have heard nothing. As we told you before, they told us it would be from 1-6 months, which means it could be MAY before we leave?!? How crazy is that? It just makes it hard to plan. If we are not leaving until May, we really need to find a place for our family of 6! :) If it's just going to be another month or so, I think maybe my parents can put up with us for that long. :) Anyway, please pray for wisdom for us. It also affects schooling for the boys. If we are going to be here until May, maybe we need to enroll them in school?? We are still praying through all of that. So, do keep us in your prayers.

Right now, we have plans through the holidays. You can check the calendar at the bottom of our blog to see where we are going to be when. We have some appointments for Nathan in Raleigh just before Christmas, so we'll be down in NC the weekend before. Wes's family is coming up right after Christmas, so we'll be BACK in Raleigh for the week of New Year's. After that... we don't know. We'd love to make another trip up to upstate NY and see all of my family, and visit Emmanuel Baptist again. If we still have no word after the new year, we will probably do that. In the mean time, we are trying to get all of Nathan's doctor's appointments lined up.

We have had some issues come up with Nathan while we were at FPO. The teachers there were concerned about his fine motor skills and his retention. We had planned to do an Occupational Therapy evaluation after FPO was over (even before the teachers had mentioned anything), but they recommended we do it asap. So, we called our PT in Raleigh (she's amazing!!!), and she got us an appointment with her friend in the same practice. Nathan and I made a quick trip to Raleigh one rainy Monday morning for the appointment. Kim (from Abilitations) is the one who worked with Nathan, and she was wonderful. She basically said that Nathan has weakness in his hands and arms from not being exposed to school (Nathan never really did much pre-school). She felt like we could get him caught up on that, though, and she gave us some recommendations.

The doctors at FPO also felt like it might be important for Nathan to be seen by a neurologist. The teacher said that Nathan would zone out sometimes when she was reading a story, and they wondered if Nathan was having seizures. Now, I HIGHLY doubt Nathan is having seizures. The dr. said they were a possiblity in CP, but that if they don't show up by 3, they usually never occur. So, my guess is Nathan was bored, or maybe we do have some attention issues we have to work on. But, we requested that we get him in to the physiatrist who diagnosed Nathan with CP. I'm not entirely sure what the difference is with a neurologist and a physiatrist, but Wes and I had talked about having Nathan seen again before we left, just so we could get a re-evaluation on where he is at. A physiatrst will have some knowledge that a neurologist would have, but I guess he is more focused on the movement part of things? I'm not entirely sure. But, praise the Lord, we were able to get Nathan an appointment just before Christmas. We were thankful that it is a dr. who already knows Nathan, and the IMB doctors felt like he would have the knowledge needed to know if there was anything goin on with Nathan.

Also, during the OT evaluation, Kim noticed Nathan having trouble seeing the dots he was supposed to be connecting. She said he would move his head in all different directions, and then he'd try to put his pencil on the dot and he would miss it. It was like his depth perception was off. We decided to try without his glasses, and he seemed to do much better. So, we do need to find out what kind of issues we are having with his eyes. These type of issues will also affect Nathan in school!! Kim's evaluation also stated that he doesn't use the lower right quadrant of his eyes and that he has trouble tracking things. We have made another appointment with his pediatric ophthalmologist in Raleigh, as well. Please do pray for all of this. We just want to do the best we can for Nathan, so we'd like to know all we possibly can before we go to Spain. I'm so thankful for how God has worked all these appointments out!

We know, even though we are ready to get on the plane and head to Spain, that God has His perfect timing for us. He has a plan... who knows, maybe we will need all the extra time in order to get all of Nathan's appointments squared away. God knows! We will trust Him as we wait. Thanks for all of your prayers! We will be able to update a little better now that we have our internet back!!!!!! Yay!

Laughable Moments

Ok, there is nothing news-worthy in this entry. And I have to fore-warn you that if you are not already a parent, you may not want to read this... it may make you think twice. BUT, for those moms out there, it may give you a moment of comic relief to laugh at my life, instead of stressing about yours. :) Ok! You've been warned!

I call these laughable moments. They are moments where you just have to laugh, or you will end up crying. :)


For some reason, Carolina has gotten into a routine of going #2 during our dinner hour. (Yes, I did warn you!) I'm not sure if it's because she's so fair-skinned, but all around her eyes goes bright red when she goes to the bathroom. One night at dinner, I could tell she was going; but we were in the cafeteria, and I figured she'd just have to wait until we got home. It's pretty crazy managing all the kids in the cafeteria with both Wes and I there, so if one of us leaves... it's insane. So, I just decided she'd be fine until we got home.

I knew she had gone; I just didn't realize how bad it was. I picked her up from her high chair and was putting the chair away, when I realized my hand was wet. Yes, lovely. I looked over her shoulder, and she had poop all over her back... all over her pants and her shirt... and yes, all over MY coat and MY hands. Now, it's one thing when this happens in your own home. It does happen... and you just throw the clothes away (just kidding...mostly...) and you put the kid in the bathtub. But we were in the cafeteria! People were eating all around us! Plus, we still had to go OUTSIDE in the freezing rain and cold before we could put the kid in the bathtub!


I looked at Wes, who was putting the trays and dishes away across the room. He could tell by my face that something was up. He came over with a look of dread, and I just turned so he could see the mess. I wish I could've captured his look (and probably mine, too!) on camera. I asked him what we were going to do... we have a sit and stand stroller with a plastic cover to keep the kids dry in the rain. There was no way we could even put Carolina's coat on without getting it all nasty... let alone put her in the stroller! So, Wes decided he was just going to carry her face down, like she's lying on her tummy, out in front of him so he wouldn't get poop all over him.

So, Wes went flying out the doors holding Carolina way out in front of him, and he ran all the way to the Quad (the poor girl had no coat on... nothing to keep her warm... but at least nothing else got dirty! lol) I got the rest of the kids all bundled, and we ran back to the quad so that I could help. By the time I got there, Wes had stripped her down and just had her sitting naked in a dry tub... poop everywhere. Wes and I work together to get her all cleaned up and then sanitized the tub before actually giving her the bath. It's amazing the girl wasn't screaming. She loves her bath, so once we started the water running, she was good! I still had all her clothes to clean, but we thought we'd conquered!

Right around then, someone knocked on the door. I remembered right at that moment that a friend of ours had asked to borrow a cookie sheet. I still hadn't been able to clean my hands, but I walked out to the kitchen and told him we'd just had an emergency with Carolina. :) I pointed (but couldn't touch anything...) to the oven where the cookie sheet was. He laughed and asked if they could help in any way. No, no... we had it under control. So, he left, and I went back into the bathroom where I had left Carolina's dirty clothes. Wes was in there helping Jonathan with something.

I walked over to the bath tub to grab Carolina's poopy clothes, and I notice something floating in the bathtub out of the corner of my eye. NO! I couldn't believe it! I screamed, "Wes!" and could do nothing but point. Wes looked and just said, " How in the world!?!?" Of course, I was giving him a hard time for not noticing it before, but there was MORE POOP floating all around Carolina in the tub! Yes, oh so lovely. She must've been curious as to what it was, because it was all over her hands and in her finger nails. She just sat there, smiling... and all I could think was, "Gross!"

We went flying into action AGAIN. We drained the tub; I picked Carolina up, and Wes got all the floating "logs" out of the tub and into the toilet. I was holding a wet Carolina... at arms length, of course... and Wes sanitized the tub AGAIN. I tried to get Carolina's hands and finger nails clean and sanitized to at least an acceptable level without getting myself soaked or poopy in the process. I cleaned Carolina's bottom AGAIN. Wes filled the tub AGAIN, and we washed her up AGAIN. What kind of craziness is this!?!? I don't think either of us were laughing at the moment... but it sure is funny now!... but it doesn't end there.

So, the NEXT night, Carolina goes again at dinner. You'd think I'd have learned, but I didn't think something as catastrophic as that could happen AGAIN. So, I do what is logical, and figure she can wait until we get home. I should just cut and paste this section from the top... lol... no, it wasn't that bad... yet. I picked her up, and CHECKED the diaper this time. It was full and yucky, and about to come up her back. We thought we were being smart this time and catching it before it made a disaster.

We do the same thing all over again. Wes runs out the door with Carolina at arms length, and I get all the boys bundled. We all RUN in the rain, and dash into the quad. I thought I was quicker this time, but still not quick enough. Once I got in the door, I find Wes kneeling beside Carolina, taking her coat off. I'm horrified! "WES! You sat her DOWN?" He couldn't figure out how else to get her coat off (yes, we actually did put her coat on her this time!) I walk slowly over, expecting to find poop all up her back again, but as I lifted up her shirt, it was fine! I was so relieved. I couldn't imagine another night like the night before. But then... as I was standing there, sighing with relief, my eyes began to focus on this large, round, brown ball on the floor beside Carolina. Realization hit me, and I could only stutter... "Wes, is... is... that... poop?!?!" I begin looking around, and it's in her stroller, on the floor... little balls everywhere! I'm thinking, "how in the world??" I picked Carolina up at arms length again (I had already had to wash poop off my wool coat the night before, and I didn't want to have to do it again...) As I'm holding her at arms length and pull up her shirt to see if I had missed anything, she begins to shake her legs... hanging in mid air, she's doing this little dance. I'm thinking, "What is she doing?" Then it dawns on me, so I lift one pant leg. Nothing. But she's still kicking those legs, so I go for the other pant leg. As I lift the other pant leg, poop falls out. Her leg was covered... or rather, smothered in poop, and her adorable pink shoe is no longer pink. It's green, and there's poop even in the velcro!!!!!!!! Now, aren't you glad it was ME, and not YOU? :)














How can such a cute, sweet little thing have so much yucky JUNK come out of her!!!!??!? She will hate these stories when she grows up, I'm sure. :)... but, for now, they are definitely laughable moments.

Crazy, but good...

12/1/2009

I can't believe it's almost been a month since I've written in here! It seems like yesterday. We have gone through so much in the past month. We survived "contingency training" where they train us how to respond in a hostage situation, a car-jacking, etc. It was QUITE a stressful week for us. We were grateful for the training, but we were also thankful when it was finished. :)

We are now in our last full week of training, and we are meeting specifically with our affinity group... European Peoples. We've really enjoyed the practical teaching, specific to our area. It's very different going to Europe than many other places; many of the techniques they have taught us as a large group won't necessarily apply to the highly educated people we will be encountering in Europe. It was wonderful to get a clear grasp of how to make a strategy for our people.










We celebrated Thanksgiving with my family in Williamsburg, and SO enjoyed our time with family. We really didn't want to leave once the evening was through. :) But, we had to get the kids to bed at a decent hour, b/c we were scheduled to go to D.C. on Friday. It was a group assignment, and the goal was to interact with internationals in D.C.


We formed a group with 2 amazing journey girls who are also headed to Spain. Unfortunately, they were in a car accident just before Thanksgiving, and neither of them could go with us. (Please do keep them both in your prayers. They are recovering, but one of the girls will have 3-4 months of rehab before she will even be able to walk again. They have amazing testimonies to share about how they were able to witness to nurses and dr.s... even in the midst of their pain and suffering.) So, we ventured an entire day in D.C. (well, it wasn't really an option. :) ) on our own. We had to ride the Metro as part of our assignment; and that was interesting, herding all the kids on before the door closed. :) I think the most challenging thing was navigating the escalators. They do have elevators, but often it was MUCH MUCH more walking to get to them, so Wes figured out a system on the escalators. Carolina was scared out of her mind every time Daddy tipped the stroller high into the air so we could ride the escalator. It rained (actually it was sleet!), but thankfully we were having lunch in a Spanish restaurant at the time. :) We tried some authentic Spanish food... even Nathan ventured out to try some "Spanish meatballs." He loved them. :) After 10 trips up and down a tiny spiral staircase for the restrooms, we headed on our way to meet internationals! Before we left, Wes was able to witness a little bit to our waiter, who came from Barcelona.


All in all, our day was pretty good. We hung out at some of the museums, so we could interact with internationals. We realized pretty quickly that we needed to have a strategy, b/c it pretty much took the two of us just to keep an eye on the kids, let alone try to start a conversation with people! :) So, Wes took the boys to look at some of the exhibits, and I just sat on an empty bench... in the middle... with Carolina sleeping in the stroller. She gave me a great excuse to be sitting. :) People would come and sit beside me to rest, and it gave me an opportunity to begin conversations. They were never very long, but I was able to speak to people from 4 different countries. It was great! It was actually my first time in D.C., so I was amazed at all the sites! It is a beautiful place.

It was a BLUSTERY day, and fairly cold; so we stopped in for a cultural experience at Dunkin Donuts. Wes said it qualified as a cultural experience, because the sign was in Chinese... since we were in Chinatown. :) We all got something warm to drink, and some doughnut-holes, of course. Carolina tried her first doughnut that day! Amazingly, we made it back to the buses in time to get all the kids settled and ready for the trip home. It was a good day... crazy, but good.

Our Schedule

11/05/2009

I’ve had some time to catch up on our blog, since I’ve been home with Carolina. I wanted to give y’all a look at what our basic day consists of, since some of you were wondering.

5:30am- I am getting up, showering, quiet time… then getting everyone else ready (often I will set the boys clothes out the night before, and Wes will get them all dressed! But, it’s an “event” just to get us all out the door with everything that we need!)

7am- breakfast starts (It usually takes a full hour for our whole family to eat at the cafeteria!)

8am- small group in our quad with all the kids. (We usually go over a chapter in Acts or; right now, we are learning about sharing Christ through ‘storying’, so that’s what we are practicing now.)

8:40am- we leave to take the kids to school. (We have three kids in one building on one side of campus, and Weston is in the other building on the OTHER side of campus… it takes us a LONG time to drop-off/pick-up kids!)

9:00-12:00pm- Wes and I have class (Thankfully, they do always have coffee available during every session! ☺ )

12:00-1:00pm- lunch. (Most of the time we have “working lunches” where we have meetings while we eat our lunch… I think every lunch this week was a working lunch.)

1:00-3:00pm- Wes and I have more classes! (and more coffee!)

3:00-5:00pm- The kids have to be picked up from school by 3:15, and on some days, there are still sessions going on for the adults. So, Wes and I trade on and off who stays in class, and who picks up al the kids. It can be pretty exhausting… either one. (Most days there is a session that goes on during this time. Sometimes it’s an optional workshop, but usually it’s a mandatory class.)

5:00-6:00pm- dinner (yes, it takes the WHOLE hour for us to eat! We are usually the first ones to arrive and the last ones to leave.)

6:00-7:00pm- sometimes, if it’s nice out, we let the kids play on the playground for a couple minutes. But, this is bath-time, homework time, and general “get ready for tomorrow” time. Occasionally, they have a meeting scheduled here for us, so one of us has to go to the meeting and one has to stay with the kids.

7:30-10:00pm- It depends on the night. I work in the library on Tuesdays and Thursdays, so I’ll be there during those times. We are also required to exercise 3x a week, so I walk three nights a week with some of the ladies… usually around 7:30pm. Once I get back, Wes heads out for basketball 8:30-9:30pm. We also have homework… papers to write, projects to complete, research to be done, books to read. It generally leaves very little time for Wes and I. We are usually trading places coming home and staying with the kids so the other can go out and do what needs to be done. So… you can see why it’s hard to get on the internet! ☺

The Weekends are usually good family time. They do have some Sat. scheduled with workshops, but Wes and I opted not to do the ones these past couple Sat. I think our family would just fall apart!

Sunday mornings we have “house church” together at 9:30am. We meet together in our quad and do what “church” might look like when we are in Spain. Our kids are with us, and we sing and look at God’s Word together.

Sunday afternoons, Wes goes off campus with the Evangelism team, so he’s often gone the whole afternoon. Sunday night, after dinner, we do the Cultural Worship Service with everyone all together… and then our week starts all over.

Are you tired yet? ☺

Speeding Downhill

11/5/2009

Wow, is life speeding along! If you can picture sitting in a vehicle with no brakes, and coasting at break-neck speed down a hill full of pot holes and cliffs to avoid… that’s how I feel. Lol. I have a tiny little bit of control in that I can steer, but there’s nothing I can do about the speed. All I can do is hang on for the ride, trying to avoid the pot-holes and trying not to drive off a cliff. Lol. ☺

I think I shared a couple entries ago that Nathan had had a low-grade fever. Well, after Nathan was sick, Jonathan came down with something... I am wondering if Jonathan’s illness is stress related. Jonathan has had stomach issues off and on over the past week and a half. He was out of school last Friday, but was better by Monday. He seems to be doing better, but he never had a fever, and he seemed to acting just fine. I know that one way that culture shock can show itself is through stomach aches, and I do believe Jonathan has been experiencing culture shock here at FPO. Poor thing. He talks a ton, but I don’t think he can quite understand what’s going inside of him enough to be able to communicate it. But, the stomach issues have passed, and he’s been at school this week. I’m thinking we’ll be just about finished here by the time he adjusts to being here!! ☺

Of course, once Jonathan got better, it was Carolina’s turn. Yes, I guess that’s just the way it goes. I picked her up from school this past Monday, and she seemed to have a fever. It was low-grade, so I thought it might be teething. She didn’t have a cold or anything, so I was HOPING it was teething. No such luck. When Wes checked her just before we went to bed, he told me that her eyes were open, and she was just looking at him when he tucked her in. There was something in my spirit that told me that something wasn’t quite right. Carolina is such a people person, and so expressive that it just didn’t sound right. I went in, and she was just staring. I could tell she had a high fever, so I scooped her up and brought her into our bedroom. It scared me once we turned our light on, b/c her lips were bright redish/purple… almost looked like they were about to blister. It was really odd. She was also wheezing. I took her temp, and it registered at 102.5 under the arm… so it was pretty high. Her wheezing also made me a little nervous. I began to think that maybe her lips were purple b/c she wasn’t getting enough oxygen.

Normally, we would’ve jumped on the internet to see symptoms and to check if it were serious. Since we have no internet, I called my mom. ☺ She googled it for us, and it basically said that taking 60 or more breaths per minute was working too hard for a 1 year old. She was taking 60 (or just under) when we counted, so we knew it was somewhat serious. We took her clothes off, gave her Tylenol and started her on fluids to try to get her fever down. Then, we wrapped her loosely in a blanket and when outside to get her to breathe in the cold air. We’ve been through croup enough with Nathan to know the steps we needed to take from home.

Her breathing improved a little bit with the cold, so then we took her into the bathroom and ran the shower to get her to breathe in the steam. She seemed to improve quite a bit, and the purple color seemed to be gone from her lips. I told Wes we were probably crazy not to have rushed her to the ER at the first sign of purple lips, but I just wasn’t sure. B/c her breathing had improved so much, we decided to see if we could make it through the night. We pulled her crib into our room, and we put her back to sleep. She was really ready to go down, so that was comforting to me. She seemed to drift off to sleep pretty quickly. Her fever had come down a little bit, but I just didn’t sleep much that night. I was up every half hour or so checking her fever and her breathing.

We made it through the night! So, as soon as the Pediatrician opened, I called and asked if she could be seen. (There is a local pediatrician that works with all the kids here at FPO if there is anything needed. We had already found them with Nathan, so we were familiar with how they worked and they had us on file!) They said to bring Carolina in ASAP, b/c of her breathing and fever. I know they were concerned about H1N1, but she tested negative for it!... I was grateful. She has croup, which we knew. The dr. said 60 breaths per minute is high for her age, so she prescribed some steroids for Carolina. She said the steroids should keep us out of the ER. ☺

We just have lovely timing when it comes to children being sick. This same day was the first “shot clinic” here on campus. (They have found that they save thousands by doing vaccinations “in-house” rather than contracting out.) They have an entire system down, and they can do over 90 shots per hour… kinda crazy. Anyway it has to run like a well-oiled machine in order for everyone to get his or her vaccinations. We are encouraged to ask the questions we need to before hand… find out the vaccinations our family is scheduled for and talk to the nurse BEFORE hand so we don’t slow down the process. I had done all of that, and we were fine until Carolina came down with a 102.5 fever. I was so nervous all day that they were going to make her get her vaccinations anyway. I had called and spoken to the receptionist and she had implied that Carolina would still get them. I wasn’t comfortable with that, but she said I could talk to the nurse once I got in there… since we were the last ones on the list. What a blessing to be a WHITE on this particular day!! ☺

It was quite an interesting undertaking. Wes and I both needed shots, as well as ALL the kids. Wes did speak to the nurse as soon as we got in there, and they did let Carolina sit this one out until she gets better. I was thankful for that. The boys all did pretty well. I don’t think either of the older boys even cried (which is a HUGE improvement over the past several, where Wes literally had to hold them down!) These nurses were so great at putting the kids at ease. Jonathan was crying at the end still, and one of the “Children’s ministry” volunteers came over and started juggling for him! It was the perfect distraction… then, the boys went outside for face-painting and fishing for candy. ☺ I think they’re looking forward to the NEXT clinic!! ☺

As I mentioned previously with Nathan, we have a ‘quarantine’ rule here on campus, so Carolina and I have been stuck inside for three days now. ☺ She seemed much better this morning. Yesterday, she was still struggling with her breathing a little bit. Today, her fever is gone and her breathing is much better. In fact, she has seemed restless to get out and see people. As her brothers left for school this morning, she lunged out of my arms, crying to go with them. She is such a people person! Thankfully, our quad is situated so that our front bay window looks out onto the most traveled part of the campus. She got to stand at the window and wave as her Daddy and brothers walked to school… as well as to everyone else who went by. She was all smiles and waving, saying “Bye! Bye!” It was too cute. Needless to say, I think she is doing much better. I’m convinced she will be back in school tomorrow!

Precious Memories

11/01/2009

Here are some random little memories that have beautifully colored our time here at FPO:

One thing we are really getting used to is taking our kids everywhere with us. Typically, we won’t have childcare for most things overseas, so they have tried to get us used to that here, so it’s not as difficult when we get there. I’d have to say that most of us parents haven’t appreciated it yet. Lol. No, it actually has been nice at times… although very stressful at other times. :) Tonight, Carolina, Jonathan and I went to our first “Cross-cultural” church service. Every Sunday night, they have a different culture represented. We sing the songs in a different language; the teaching and testimonies are given in another language, as well. Sometimes they are translated and sometimes they are not. It is helpful for the adults as well as the children to get used to the different styles. Jonathan we sick last Sunday, so I stayed home with the two youngest children. This week, we ALL went together.

I never thought about the fact that Carolina had never been a part of a worship service before. I guess she has always been in nursery… but her TRUE colors came out tonight!!! :) I just had to laugh out loud! I’m wondering if we are heading to the wrong culture. :) Tonight was an African style of worship. They started off in Swahili, and since Wes and I have been to Kenya several times, I was quite amazed at how “at home” I felt. It was encouraging to me! I even recognized enough words in the songs to know what I was singing. Anyway, once the singing started, Carolina was absolutely mesmerized. She was screeching and clapping. You know, in Africa, there is almost always dancing with worship; so they ladies that were leading this service were all up front, teaching us the motions. Carolina followed along, lifting her hands, jumping up and down (well, as much as her stroller would allow, anyway) and clapping. It was just adorable. She was singing in her little sing-songy voice. It brought such joy to my heart!!

I think I am seeing more and more how much of people-person my little girl is. Yesterday was holloween, and one of the quads on campus decided to host a “harvest party.” So after dinner, we headed over to quad 25. People were just beginning to arrive, but there were lots of games and music. Once we walked in, I realized that Carolina had a stinky diaper, so I started to walk back out of the quad to go to our quad and change her. She cried like her heart was broken. She looked longingly over my shoulder at the loud, lit-up party going on, and just cried and cried as we walked away. It wasn’t a temper cry; it truly was like she was sad. I kept telling her we were coming back, but I guess she didn’t understand me. :) Well, we got the deed done quickly, and we started heading back. As soon as she could see the people and hear the music, she began twirling her hands in the air and screeching. All I can say is, she MUST be her daddy’s daughter! The whole night, she sat on my lap and just WATCHED everyone and everything. Everyone kept commenting on how happy she looked just to be there. It was too funny.

Our sweet Carolina has hit some of her milestones here at FPO. She took her first couple steps last week. We haven’t really been able to get her to take more than two, and then she face-plants into whoever’s arms are catching her. She is so funny. She has been cruising… well, we don’t really have furniture for her to cruise, but the bay window in our kitchen has a ledge, and she has been cruising those ledges. She likes to look out and wave at everyone. She also likes to look for squirrels, which she barks at… b/c every animal must bark like a dog!

The boys are all in a room together. One set of bunk beds, one single bed, and three identical dressers make up their room. Weston got the top bunk, of course; and Nathan wanted the bottom one, leaving Jonathan with the single bed. Well, as time went on, Nathan kept waking up and banging his head on the bunk above him. He decided he wanted the single bed, so he convinced Jonathan to trade with him. Jonathan is just small enough that his head doesn’t hit the top when he sits up… but, the bottom bunk is higher off the ground than the single bed was. Jonathan fell out several times before realized we really needed to do something about that. One side was against the wall, but the other was wide open. One night we heard a thud and heard him screaming. We just scooped him up and brought him into our bed for the remainder of the night. It was dark, and we didn’t even realize he had actually injured himself. The next morning, we woke up and found his nose bloodied and scabbed. The tip of his nose had been scraped, as well as just under his nose. That was one major fall!... so, that day, we asked if they had bed rails. It turns out they do!... I’m not sure why we didn’t ask about that in the beginning!!!!! His nose is STILL healing, but at least he hasn’t fallen out of bed again! :)

Speaking of our beds here… Wes and I have two twin beds put together to make a King. We usually sleep in a queen, and I’ve never liked having a bed as big as a King until we came here. It seems like almost every night, one of our children ends up in bed with us. I’m not sure if you’ve ever slept in a “make-shift” King before, but there is a definite CRACK in the middle. It’s just temporary, so it’s not a big deal… but, one night this past week, Jonathan had ended up in bed with us. He really is having a bit of a rough time with the transition, so we’ve let him stay in our bed (we normally have a no-kids-in-our-bed policy). We all woke up the other morning to a WET bed!! Yes, lovely. Just what you want to find when you get up at 5:30am to get your family of 6 to breakfast by 7am. Well, I guess that CRACK came in handy this particular time, b/c Jonathan apparently doesn’t like sleeping on the crack, so he had moved over just enough that it was DADDY’S side of the mattress that was wet! Lol. I ended up doing lots of laundry that day, but I managed to get it done before we needed to get to bed that night.

The next day, we were all exhausted, so we had Jonathan lay down with us for a quick nap. I’m not sure why we didn’t learn. Only 1.5 hours later, we had another WET BED! This time, it was only our comforters that were soaked… when you have two twin comforters to fit a King size bed, the only way to make them fit is to overlap them in the middle. Thankfully, Jonathan was sleeping on the overlapped part, and I only had to wash both comforters! It was thick enough that it didn’t go through to the blankets or the sheets. Yes, we call this “making memories.”

Well, one of the last things I crated (since we had the extra space) was my sewing machine. I have no idea if it’s too strong a motor to run over there, but I’m going to try. My mom and I decided that it was better blown up in use than sitting in a storage unit NOT being used. We’ll see if I still agree with that after I see it blow up or melt right in front of my eyes.

My mom gave me my sewing machine for Christmas about 4 years ago… right before we moved to CA. Once we moved, I had no one to teach me how to sew, so I never quite learned. I think I’d really enjoy it, if I ever did learn!... so I decided to take it with me and, if nothing else, learn over in Spain! My grandmother is an amazing seamstress, and my cousin has picked it up over the past year… so, I’m hoping that maybe it’s in my blood.

Here at FPO, they have something called the “quilting quad” available to those who would like to learn to sew or quilt. They offer classes on Monday nights, and they also provide all the fabric free of charge. Once the sign-up sheets went up, they filled up SO fast, I only got into ONE class… Personalized Pillow Cases. But, I haven’t really done anything before, so I thought it would be fun. I picked out fabric, and I made a pillow case that night for Carolina. It was so fun! Since then, I’ve begun several more simple projects that I will give a Christmas time. I’m praying that my desire to learn to sew may be an in-road to build a relationship with a Spanish woman who may be willing to teach me how to sew! Who knows?!?!

Clarifying Truth

10/29/2009

I am so grateful for all that we are learning and experiencing here at FPO. It is really hard at times, but really great too. Our 2nd week here, we had the opportunity to learn from the current President of the IMB. Jerry Rankin has held the position for a long time, but is about ready to retire at the end of this year. I was thankful to have some time to hear his heart before he steps down. I have such a new respect for him! He isn’t one who just states how things should be; he LIVES it. He hasn’t asked any one of us to do something that he himself hasn’t done or wouldn’t be willing to do. I so much appreciated his heart for our Lord. It makes me appreciate and trust our leadership that much more.

He took a week to teach on Spiritual Warfare. It’s not a subject that is taught too often, and it can often be a difficult subject to teach. I was so impressed with the balance and truth that he portrayed. He took us through the WORD, and it was so good! Not that I’m trying to promote sales for him or anything, but he does have a book out about Spiritual Warfare. He GAVE each one of us a copy (which I was thankful to have!), but it’s a great resource of truth, if that’s a subject that you’ve been curious about. Spiritual warfare is real, and Satan has some major strongholds overseas (and here in the US, too, I’m sure). Dr. Rankin had some vivid stories to share. It was such good preparation! He taught from Scripture of course, and he had a different take on some of the passages that we’ve heard forever. It was a great challenge to both Wes and I… Dr. Rankin’s teachings prompted many discussions over the new perspective he shared. It was good!

I have been so impressed with the teaching from our “campus pastor” as well… ok, he’s really not given that title, but that what he feels like to most of us, I think. Elbert has opened every session for the past several weeks with an intense look at a different chapter in Acts. He only takes a couple minutes to talk though it, and his point is to teach us basic things that we will need to be teaching new believers. Elbert is definitely gifted at “unpacking” the Word of God.

One concept that he has taught us, which is so elementary that it hit me like a brick, is that we need to teach new believers to study and understand the Word themselves. If we feed them every little bit, we are causing them to become dependant on US for their spiritual growth. Our entire training here is basically teaching us how to work ourselves out of a job. We are not intending to go overseas and become the pastor of a church and reach unbelievers that way. We are going to teach THEM to reach their friends and to teach THEM to share Christ and disciple new believers. It is just so right and good… so Biblical! Paul didn’t go reach every believer himself. He led a few to Christ and expected them to immediately follow the teachings of Christ. Each believer, in turn, went out to share the truth himself… so we see the idea of multiplication.

We have been studying Acts and how the original churches started in the very beginning. Elbert takes everything back to the Word of God. He doesn’t make himself the final authority; he makes Scripture. I would have said, “of course Scripture is the final authority!” But to see how Elbert literally never gives his opinion first; he takes us back to what the Word says, whenever we have a question. I’ve realized that thinking that Scripture is the final authority and LIVING it as the final authority is different. I mean, I pattern my life after it, so in that way, I do believe I am living it as the final authority… but when I teach, do I live it as the final authority? … meaning, do I take people back to what the WORD says, or do I speak what I know to be truth. If I don’t literally share WHERE that truth comes from… it really makes it seem like MY OWN wisdom. It’s really made me re-think how I disciple. It’s been amazing.

I love that they take things back to the very basics here. I have grown up in a culture that is very influenced by Christianity, but some of these missionaries are heading to places where they’ve never heard of Jesus or the Bible. Elbert challenged us one morning, “what passage would you go to, to teach that lying is wrong.” There are so many moral issues that I hold to, but I have to know WHY it’s wrong… not just because my society says it’s wrong, but b/c the Bible says in [whatever passage]… that it is wrong. Ok, maybe he started off easy on us (most of us might know where to turn to teach lying is wrong), but why do we go to church? What passage … not just that it says somewhere in the Bible… but, where specifically, would I go to in order to teach ‘church’? Where would I go to teach prayer and a daily time with the Lord. I can’t just state that a new believer needs to do this and this and this… it puts me as their authority, and not the Word of God.

It makes me hunger that much more for His Word. It truly gives one a new respect for His Word, as well. Everything I need is found there… it’s just whether I know where to find it. Do I read the Bible and walk away, or am I reading it as though it’s life?!?! The Word is coming alive to me again in a way that it hasn’t since college, when I was in specific Bible classes. The difference is, at that point, someone else was teaching me. This time, I am pulling it out myself… or I’m learning to more and more. No Bible professor, no Beth Moore or Kay Arthur Bible study (not that there’s anything wrong with those!) … but just God’s word and me. Most places overseas don’t have access to the Bible studies we may have over here. So, how do they grow? I have been studying God’s word for a long time, and I don’t normally use a Bible study for my own quiet time. But this is different. I’m learning how, where, why to teach the very basics of following Christ. It’s life-giving in and of itself.

I also love how they have focused on the real, core truth of what “church” is. It is easy to allow our concept of church to be molded by our traditions as a society. It’s so refreshing and freeing not to have to hold to those “churchy” things. Lol. I guess that sounds bad, but it’s true that each society is different. Jesus transcends all cultures, so what church looks like in a village in Africa may be very different than what it looks like in Western Europe. It’s exciting! We are not to go and impose our ideas of traditions onto a culture. We teach the truth of what the Bible defines “church” and let each culture set the tone for what that may look like, practically.

I guess I can’t really share all the little things that I’ve been learning… it would take forever! … but that was such a basic truth that hit me so hard. I had to share. I would like to ask you, though, where would you go in Scripture to teach that lying is wrong. Do you know?

Settling In

Ok, I am running behind on being able to get on the internet and get these posted, so the dates are not going to line up with when I post them. I am going to begin adding the date to my entries here at FPO, since it’s hard to get internet.

10/24/2009

We have finished week 2 of FPO, and we begin week 3 tomorrow! This past week has been so good for all of us… especially Jonathan! He actually didn’t even cry when he went to school on Friday!!! :) I’m sure we’ll have to start all over on Monday, but Friday was a blessing to my aching heart. All the others kids have settled in very well. In fact, all day Saturday, Weston kept asking if he could go to school. I’m so grateful that my older two have had such a wonderful experience. It makes them look forward to school in Spain, even though they won’t understand the language. :) Even Carolina has settled in, and hardly cries any more when we drop her off.

We have settled into a routine, and it’s been quite helpful for all of us… we all tend to feel most comfortable on a schedule. The leadership here has a real heart to teach husbands to be a covering for their wives; so Tuesday through Friday, the husbands keep the kids in the morning and drop them off at school so that the wives can have some time for “personal discipleship.”… or, what I would call my quiet time. :) It’s been so wonderful for me. Wes really is amazing, and he’s always been so good to do that for me, but the consistency has been a blessing to me. It is a bit crazy for Wes… but I sure am grateful!!! :) lol.

Although we have settled into a routine, it really is a BUSY routine. During this week, Wes and I hit our 10 year anniversary of when we got engaged. We’d been talking about it all week; but when the day hit, we literally didn’t have 10 minutes to talk to each other! One thing that I treasure about our marriage is that we are each other’s best friend. We talk about everything… all the time. So, I’ve been struggling with not having that time during the past two weeks. Thankfully, one of the journeygirls here offered to watch the kids, so Wes and I could have a date. I was SOOO thrilled.

Of course, when the day arrived, Nathan came down with a 100.4 fever. He has made a good friend here (who’s name is Nate :) ), and he had spent the night at Nate’s house… his first time every spending the night with a friend… and he had a blast. He was just up to all hours, b/c he was so excited. I think he was over tired, and that was why he was running a fever. He was acting just fine… totally normal, but because we all live in such close proximity, they have a “quarantine” rule. Anyone with a fever of 100.0 or more needs to stay in his quad for 24 hours AFTER the fever is gone. I was so bummed. Nathan kept saying, “Mom, I’m fine! You can go on your date!” It was too cute.

Since he was acting so normal, and his fever wasn’t really that bad, we decided to put them all to bed, and THEN go on our date. It minimized the time and closeness that Tessa had with him. It was great!! Wes and I went and got desert at the Cheesecake Factory!!... and just talked and talked. It was SO what I needed! It was a wonderful night. When we got home, the kids had hardly even stirred, so I was thankful for that.

Tessa has been such a blessing to our family. Many of you may know Tessa! She was in our youth group at Bay Leaf when she was in 7^th grade. It’s crazy, and it makes Wes and I feel old. :) How incredible that we ended up at the same FPO! Tessa’s parents were missionaries, so she was in our youth group just for the year they were there on Stateside Assignment in Raleigh. When we arrived here, this beautiful blond girl strode purposefully up to me and started speaking to me. It took me a second to realize that this was Tessa all grown up!!!!!!! It was amazing. She has grown into a precious young lady with a heart and passion for the Lord. She is heading back onto the mission field, following in her parents footsteps. It’s exciting to see!

This past week, another young lady walked up to me, and I realized it was another one of our youth from Bay Leaf!!!! It’s been such a blessing for us to see these girls, years later, with such a passion for our Lord. Megan was here for Candidate Conference, so our paths crossed a couple times during the couple days she was here. We enjoyed one late night catching up with her.

Well, that is a quick update on what’s going on on our end. I didn’t really have a chance to tell you all that we are learning, but will do that the next time. God’s been so gracious to meet us where we are at, and challenge our hearts. Last Friday, just after I wrote that last entry “Transitions” they gave us a 3-hour block just to spend time with the Lord and seek His face. Wow. What a NEEDED time… what a refreshing time… it was exactly what I needed in order to get grounded and filled up again. Obviously, I was running on fumes, and I was so reminded that I can’t do it in my own strength. They’ve been so good at challenging us to truly WALK with the Lord… not to just do our token quiet time, but to truly listen and talk with Him, as well as digesting His Word. It’s been since college since I’ve been able to be this focused on my own intimacy with the Lord. I am loving it.

Transitions...

I have to be honest and tell you that the past several days have been difficult for me. We have made it to Richmond, and we are here at “Field Personnel Training” (FPO). It feels like we have done SO much to get here. We had assignments to complete before we got here (reading, writing papers) not to mention crating and packing… it felt like a mad dash to the finish line… except that we had to keep running once we got here.

It has been wonderful to actually get settled in one place for 8 wks straight. We are living in “Quads” so there are four different apartments on each corner of the building. We each have our own little kitchen… well, really “kitchenette”, bathroom and washer and dryer, but we share a “great room” in the middle. The quads are designed to be able close or open different doors in order to accommodate different size families. We have the largest family at FPO… the only ones with 4 children… and we have three bedrooms. We almost take up one whole side of the quad! There is a married couple who have one bedroom on our side of the quad. I feel bad for them, having to “quad” with us. We try hard to keep the boys quiet, but there’s only so much you can do with 3 boys 4,5,&6. Our children are the only ones in our Quad… I guess God was being gracious to the rest of our Quad mates. The White kids are enough for anyone to have to handle. Most of the quads have several families with small children. It’s been fun, in that aspect. We have two girls in our Quad who are going to be “journeymen”… or, rather, “journeygirls” is what we call them. They are precious, and have been a big help to our family.

We eat every meal at the cafeteria, which was wonderful fun in college… but a total different story with 4 young children. Those of you who are parents will fully understand this… I feel like we are eating “out” at every meal. We haven’t quite figured out the routine we need to have in order to have a peaceful meal for all of us. I think I am a person who likes to be in control, and that situation does NOT lend to parental control. LOL. It IS wonderful food, and they supply baby food and soy milk for my dairy allergy children. It really is such a blessing, but it can be stressful for both Wes and I.

I think life has just been so crazy, and I’ve been “hanging on” so long that my nerves are having trouble handling anything extra. Don’t get me wrong. I’m doing ok, but the reality is the last couple days have been a little rough.

I think the hardest thing for me (and many of the stay at home moms who are here) is that we have to leave our children every morning while we go to class. The first day was a struggle... the second day was even harder. Carolina and Jonathan have never really been apart from me. They paged me 2x for Carolina that day, but once we got her “doggie” and “blankie”, she was fine. What I didn’t realize was that Jonathan was not doing well.

When I went to pick him up, he was sobbing. His eyes were purple from having cried so much all day. I also found out that the hadn’t eaten anything all day. I was so sad for him. Once we got home, all he wanted to do was hold me. The next morning, he cried all morning saying he didn’t want to go to school. Dropping him off was a heartbreaking time for me, although, we did finally get him to stay in the classroom. I think I cried all morning, my heart breaking for my sad little boy.

Many of the moms could relate, and I had lots of people offering hugs and praying for us. The teachers had promised to page me this time, if he was having another hard day. I resisted the temptation to go and check on him, but every time a mom I knew was paged to go check her child, she would give me a report on Jonathan. He did much better the second day. We even had pictures of him in a Batman costume when we picked him up! Our third day dropping him off was much better. He clung to Daddy a little bit, but he was much more at home this time.

As hard as it is, I’m grateful for this transition. When we go to Spain all the boys will go into a national school. They begin school at the age of 3 over there, so this is a very good transition for Jonathan (and Momma). At least here he understands the language!

The older boys are LOVING school. Weston and Nathan look forward to it everyday, and can hardly wait to get there. We had a parent teacher meeting with Weston’s teacher, and she shared several of the things they will be covering. She was a missionary, so she knows the difficulties the kids will face as they start in a national school. She actually teaches a whole session in Taiwanese, so the children get used to hearing a different language. She teaches them to learn with their eyes first… she tells them to find a child in the class that the teacher is please with and who is making “good choices”, and you follow what they do. It was so neat to hear the strategy!... and it so put my heart at ease to realize that we are not the only ones who will go through this… or who have gone through this. She tells them that their ears will eventually learn, but their eyes learn more quickly at first. Miss Becky has such a kind and loving heart, and I’m so grateful she is helping to prepare Weston for this new journey!

Everything that is done here is done with a purpose, and that is encouraging. You know how you used to have to do “busy work” in school?... we don’t have that here. So, even through it’s busy… crazy busy, actually… I can find rest in the fact that it is necessary.

We do not have internet in our ‘quads’, so it’s a bit harder for us to get on here and give updates. Wes or I have to stay home while the other goes to one of the buildings that has wi-fi. Despite all the transition, we really are excited about what we are learning here! I can’t wait to be able to update you on all of that. Please do continue to pray for our family as we go through yet another transition… and certainly not our last!

Crating... the story :)

We finished crating!! We were supposed to be able to all of our crating in one day (FRIDAY, the 9^th), but that didn’t happen. I guess that’s part of life, and we’d best get used to it. The key word in our lives is “FLEXIBILIBY.” J We are all learning to go with the flow. J

We had a wonderful company help us with crating. Heflebower packing and moving. They are a family owned business that’s been in business for 3 generations. They were SO great. Not too many people can say that about the company they crated with. We know one family whose story is just a nightmare, so I’m grateful that ours was fairly simple.

We had the majority of our stuff in storage, but we did have several big items in the house where we have been living. We were going to rent a U-haul to get our big couches over to storage so that everything was in one place, but Hefelbower graciously told us they would take care of that for us, with no extra charge. It was SUCH a blessing to us! God has placed so many people around us who have blessed us like this over these past several months, and we are so grateful for His provision.

So, the morning of packing, we had everything ready to go. We thought that they would pick up the stuff that we had at the house and just go over to storage and crate everything there. That’s not what happened. They decided to crate everything that we had at the house (which included 5 bikes, a bike trailer, and a “tag-a-long” bike). It just took much longer than we had anticipated. They actually wrapped EVERYTHING. I was so impressed with how careful they were. I had sever big plastic tubs, and they actually wrapped those! Raymond was our “master packer” and he was so good. He was careful with the things that were important to me, and was excellent at fitting all the pieces together so that we used as little space as possible. We were so impressed with them.

We were given the dimensions of what the crates were, and when we measured our couch, it wouldn’t fit. So, we requested a special crate to be made to fit our couch. Hefelbower was aware of it, but did not send that special crate. I’m not sure if they wanted to see the couch first, or what, but they ended up packing two of our crates and then taking the rest of our stuff with them to put in with our couch. Somehow, in the commotion of leaving, they forgot our hanging clothes… we all forgot about them. At the time, it was so stressful and frustrating to me, especially b/c it was a Friday and we would have to wait the weekend before we could finish it up. But, as the weekend went on, I was so grateful that the Lord has allowed it to happen that way. All weekend, I kept finding things that I had meant to crate, or that we decided to crate at the last minute. It was nice to have those couple days to put all those odds and ends together! J

So, on Monday, we packed our Suburban with all our “crate stuff” and headed for Richmond, which is where the crating company was located. I was so please that the same guys, Henry and Raymond were packing this crate, too. They had just done such a great job, and I trusted them to do it well. When we (I went into the warehouse while Wes and ALL the kids stayed in the truck) arrived, they had already wrapped the couch and had all our stuff lined up to pack up. We brought in the extra stuff, and they got started. They had planned to start by measuring the couch and figuring out exactly what size crate they needed to build… but, as they were looking at it, they decided just to put our couch in the crate and see how much needed to be added. It turned out that the couch FIT!! I guess when they wrapped it, it squished the cushions enough that it actually fit in the regular crate! It was great! It meant less work for the guys, and less money for the mission board… and for us, less time to have to be there. J

The guys did an awesome job, and we used less crate space than we thought, so that was wonderful! When it was finally time to go, we buckled all the kids back in their seats…. And the truck wouldn’t start. I guess we should’ve expected as much. So, while Wes went to see if Henry or Raymond could give us a jump, Weston prayed that the truck would start. J We got the jump, and it started right off. Weston was so excited to see such a quick answer to prayer. J

Well, after that we headed BACK to Williamsburg to get all of our stuff that we had packed for “Field Personnel Orientation.” (FPO) We couldn’t fit it all in our truck with the crate stuff, so we just decided to drive back and forth. We got back to Williamsburg and literally packed the kids into the truck. They couldn’t get out without us unloading fans and such. It was quite an adventure. Wes wassn’t sure everything was going to fit, but had just gotten lots of practice packing every nook and cranny with the crate… so, we were good. J lol.

It took a little bit, but we got it ALL loaded up, and we set out on our way BACK to Richmond! What a crazy day! I was so relieved to have it all finished, though. I just didn’t realize that our race wasn’t finished….

Catch up... :)

We crate in TWO days! Wow! I cannot believe how quickly all this has come up. We have been diligently working on our Visa paperwork, and the Lord has allowed most of it to be quick. Wes did get his birth certificate back from the State department of NC, telling him that they cannot validate his birth certificate, b/c it's too old. LOL! What in the world? I think if we hadn't been so stressed over the timing of this VISA stuff, we would have been rolling on the floor. The concept is just funny. What it they actually meant was that he had to order another birth certificate that was more recently printed. The good thing is that it's an easy fix. The bad thing is that it takes MORE TIME!

We found out that we had to send MY birth certificate to the county clerks office to be validated before the State would even look at it, so we are still waiting for that to go through. We do know it reached the county clerks office, so that's good. We are still waiting on getting a new copy of Wes' birth certificate, and then we will mail that to the dep. of state AGAIN. We've just received our VA docutments, so we are still waiting for the police records and Carolina's birth cert. from CA. So, that's where we are with all that. Most of it has been quicker than we expected, so please do keep praying!

We are in the midst of packing up everything we've been living with for the past 4 months, and deciding what clothes we will carry in our suitcases (well, dufflebags, is more accurate... they don't weigh as much as suitcases, so we can pack more in them.), and what clothes we will crate. It's been a MAJOR process, but we are getting closer! :) I could tell you so much about all that, but I want to go back and tell you about the last couple weeks of September. We missed those updates, b/c I didn't have much access to the internet.

First, appointment week was incredible. I think it was refreshing and relaxing to be with other like-minded friends. I don't think I can even put into words the blessing these friends have been to us. The Lord has knit our hearts together in amazing ways. When we went to Candidate Conference back in May, it seemed like most of the people there were either much younger or much older than us... but, by the end of the week, we had found a small group of our "30-something" crowd. We had just barely gotten to know each other before it was time to go. This time, we had the whole week to bond and fellowship. Wow. What a blessing the Lord has provided in these friends. There were 3 other couples that we somehow just gravitated toward all the way through the week. There were several nights where you could just find us sitting around tables in the lounge, or on the couches under the stars by the pool, just sharing our hearts... "ok, how are you guys REALLY doing?" It was so good.

I was scared to death the night of "appointment." Most of you know that I VERY MUCH dislike speaking in front of people, and we had to share a "testi-bite" (so nick-named, b/c it's actually much shorter than a "testimony"... we only had 90 words... literally.) So, I had to walk across the stage with my face on these huge video screens and speak into a microphone with spot-light on me... NOT my comfort zone. :) But, it really was amazing. I didn't trip, fall, or forget my lines. :) I think one of the highlights was worshiping with our friends... singing "These are the Days of Elijah" with hands lifted high and hearts overflowing with the power and majesty of our Savior. It was beyond words.

After such an amazing night, we came home to all our babies having the stomach flu. I won't dwell on that too much... it was interesting having all 10 people in one house sick one right after another. We made it through, but it didn't leave us a whole lot of time left (healthy) with Wes' family. We were bummed about that, but we did have Carolina's first birthday party together! She had her first cupcake, and Nanna decorated the kitchen with streamers and balloons. It was too cute.

On our way back to VA, we stopped in NC again. We were able to visit a church plant, Revolution, on Sat. night. It's located in downtown Raleigh, right across the street from NC State. It was an amazing service. We loved how down-to-earth, yet how professional they were! It's an amazing atmosphere, and the people were so loving and gracious... and we got to visit with Mike (who is the pastor there) and Ginny Penry and their girls for a little bit. Mike and Ginny were friends of ours from before we were married, so that was wonderful fun. Wes had the opportunity to share a little bit and you can it check out at: www.revolutionraleigh.com. If you go onto their website and find the teaching titled "Uno" from 9/26/2009, you can hear Wes's testimony.

Then, the next morning, we went back to the Creek Church in Apex, NC. My parents drove in and we were able to dedicate Carolina Joy. :) It was so special. My sister Trisha and her husband Todd dedicated their youngest, Keira Starr McDuffee, as well. Matt Rice did such an excellent, personal time of dedication. It was a blessing for us. I think our hearts are fast feeling at home at this little church plant. It was wonderful to be among them again, and to feel their love and encouragement. Matt and Wes share such a similar passion, and they've made plans to sit down and map out a partnership over the next several decades.... yes, I said decades. This church has a VISION! It's exciting to be a part of that. They have really taken us under their wing and made us feel covered in prayer and loved. We are looking forward to seeing how God uses this partnership.

So, we are back in VA again. We are speaking in two small groups this week (well one down and one more tonight!), as well as finishing up all our crating! I will be so thankful when this is all finished. We've barely even had time to take a breath! :) It is exciting times, though. Thank you all for your continued prayers.

The unending Visa process...

Two weeks... that's all we have to finish packing up the rest of our lives. :) The past several days have been a flurry of filling out paperwork for our Visas. It's crazy all that has to be done. If I could give you the list, it would make you tired just listening to it! The crazy thing is that we have lived in several states in the past 5 years, so we have to get paperwork from each state... a criminal check, for example... and then send that to the Secretary of state in each state to verify that the notary from each state is valid. Could it be more confusing?!? :) It's taking so much longer than we could have imagined!

We also needed to get a letter certifying that none of us have infections diseases or any drug addictions, and that has been quite a hassle. Our dr. in CA wouldn't fill it out for us, b/c he says we need to establish with a new dr. here. So, I was stressing over how we were going to get that done... it takes a long time to get an appointment for a well-visit and it's expensive for SIX people! But, the Lord made a way and has provided a dr. who knows us well who will write the letter for all of us. I was so thankful for that burden being lifted!

Now, we have to send all of our birth certificates out to the secretary of state to EACH state where we were born (NY, NC, and CA) to validate that each is a valid certificate. So, as you are reading all these crazy details, will you pray that all this paper work goes very quickly? I'm not sure how long it's going to take at each state's secretary of state's office. My guess is it could take weeks.... which we really don't have! Please pray for miraculous timing in getting all the paperwork returned quickly.

I wish we had known earlier what we would need to do, b/c once we get all these papers filled out and appropriately authorized, we ALL have to drive up to the consulate in D.C. and hand in our applications in person. Once they are handed in, it takes 14 weeks to get our visas. We barely have the 14 weeks right now, and we still are waiting to get the documents back! I know God has His perfect timing, and we trust Him in that. If you would please pray for everything to go quickly and smoothly, and that we don't miss anything as we are filling everything out!

God really has been so gracious in all things. The appointment service in Jacksonville was moving beyond words. We loved being reunited with our friends, and we are looking forward to the 8 weeks we will all have together at FPO (Field Personnel Training) before we head in different directions all over the world. We know that we are not the only ones going through this craziness!! :) For some reason, that's comforting. :) I'm not the only one losing my mind... :)

Well, sorry nothing profound in this entry, but I wanted to update you on what's going on in lives at this point. We have had internet only sporadically throughout the last month or so, so I've not been able to update much. I do have more to write about, and will hopefully have time tomorrow!! Thank you for all of you who are keeping up with us and praying for us. We so need those prayers. Please also pray for peace and wisdom for us. I find myself getting so anxious about all that needs to be done in the next two weeks. I know it will all get done, and I know the Lord is in control! Thank you all for praying!

Who am I, O Sovereign Lord?

It seems as though we have been anticipating this day for a very long time! We are here! We are being appointed as IMB missionaries this week in Jacksonville, FL! A 10 year dream, finally fulfilled. :) (Actually, for Wes it's probably been longer, but for us as a couple, 10 is accurate!)

At this moment, I am sitting in a beautiful hotel room, on a borrowed computer, my heart filled to overflowing. I think I'm scared, thrilled, and hopeful all at the same time. There is so much to be done, but we serve the most amazing God who is SOVEREIGN over everything. My life is upside-down, and I haven't had my own "home" in 5 months now, but God is my rock and my fortress. He has called our family to great things, and He will be faithful to prepare and strengthen us for all that is ahead. The task seems overwhelming, but we serve a big God!! Wes always loves a "God-sized task!" :)

We arrived in FL a the beginning of September and we have spent a week with Wes's family. It has been wonderful and refreshing... and Carolina is in LOVE with their dogs! She screeches and her body actually shakes with excitement when she sees one of them. :) We have enjoyed lots of Legos, ice-cream, and card games that last until midnight! :) It's been lots of fun.

We wanted to make sure we had some time with Wes's family before we headed out for "appointment week," but our time went so fast! We kissed our babies goodbye on Friday and headed out for the 1/2 hour drive to Jacksonville. It was a little hard for me to leave the kids this time, and I think (besides the fact that Weston was clinging to Wes' neck, crying and asking him not to go...) it's harder b/c we are all in transition and just a little "off" in life. Everything is up in the air, and everything keeps changing. So, I think we all had a bit harder time this time (so pray for us all right now, if you think about it. :) )

We made it to Jacksonville with only a few wrong turns :), and checked into the hotel early enough to give us some time to settle in and get up-packed. It was nice and relaxing, and over the next several hours, our friends arrived. Around 6pm, we all walked down-town to a Steak and Seafood restaurant... I don't think we left until after 11pm. It was so amazing to be reconnected with these friends. We laughed together and cried together that night. One would tell a story, and another would say, "Oh, I'm so glad I'm not the only one going through that!" It was just refreshing.

We are going through all our classes and info meetings during these next couple days. We have all been assigned "host churches" in the area, so tomorrow, we get to go to a local church! The amazing thing is, Wes's parent's church is our "host church"! We are so thrilled to be able to partner with them, and thankful for their sweet support... AND we get to see our children tomorrow!!!!!! :) (I am missing my sweet Carolina's wet kisses. :) )

Well, I must return this computer (thanks, Kathryn!), but I wanted to just quickly share the verse that has been running through my head today: "Who am I, O Sovereign Lord, and what is my family that You have brought us this far?" II Sam. 8:17. I am truly in awe that God could use ME to accomplish anything for Him. I feel so inadequate... but, HE is the one who has brought us "THIS FAR." I continue to trust Him!

Below are some pictures of our family and friends from appointment week.