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? ☺
Friday, November 6, 2009
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!
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?!?!
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?
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 7th 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.
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