Change? Do I have a choice?

Are you like me?  I really despise change.  It makes me uncomfortable and sometimes, to be honest, fearful.  I find it rather curious that the Lord chose me to be a missionary.  I never doubt that He has a plan, and I never doubt that this is where I am supposed to be... but it doesn't make it easy.  Reality is: I am weak here.  I never feel like I am at my best here. But I have learned that I have so much more eternal impact when I'm living in... or walking through...  my weakness, allowing HIS power to make me strong.  It certainly feels better... safer,  living in our comfort zone, doesn't it? ... but it's definitely more powerful when we learn to walk through our weaknesses, allowing His power to be seen.  II Cor. 12:9 is a verse I cling to: "My grace is sufficient for you, my power is made perfect in weakness."  I see this daily in my life... and so, daily, I'm reminded that I serve a God who is alive and active.  Moment by moment, He is touching my life.  THAT makes me stand in awe of Him. :)

Wes and I were talking last month, and we began to count how many different places we have lived.  As we went through them, we realized that we have moved 10 times in 10 years.  Yikes... change?  Nope, not what I prefer!... but definitely what I live. :) 

So here are pics of the latest change in our lives:   ;)  Just days after school got out, the movers showed up to make the change final. :)  Thankfully, my parents came to help us with the transition, so it wasn't as overwhelming as it could have been... and it was super fun to see them!!

Re-enforcements have arrived!!! :)

The day after Weston's graduation, karate tournaments, and ballet recitals, my parents arrived in Valencia!  In the midst of all the chaos, they were a source of stability for all of us: a definite gift from the Lord!

It was Father's Day when they arrived; so before we got to work, we celebrated two of the BEST Dad's in the world!




The next day, the work began...

This is a small 'grúa'.  They used it to get all of the stuff out of the upstairs of our townhouse.

 

This is where the kids and Papa hung out most of the time.  They were out of the way, and the patio was saved for last.

Trying to stay out of the way... :)

It was quite a change for us... to move from a townhouse to an 8th floor apartment.  For the townhouse, we only needed a small grúa.  For the apartment, we needed the biggest one they had! :) The kids (and I have to admit... the adults!) were so intrigued by the grúa.  It was like nothing we had ever seen before.  It was a major set up on the ground.

This is a video of the platform coming from the ground up to the balcony edge.

 They brought everything up on that lift... just one open, flat panel.  Everything got put on top and lifted to our balcony.  They took the sliding glass doors off and brought everything in through there.

We had so much stuff, we could hardly walk around!  Thankfully, we had everything planned exactly where it should go, so we were able to unpack some boxes immediately (like those blue boxes and the black and white ones in the pic below), so we could have some more space.  It was pretty crazy that first night!... it wasn't like we had a garage or a back yard (or even a patio!) where we could put any overflow. :)

Our first sunset from our new place

This is the nighttime view from our balcony.  It's SO different from where we lived before!

 Thankfully, we got all the beds put together, and we had our "First Night" box all set with all our sheets, pillows and towels. :)

Mom and Dad helped from morning to night.  We all worked without stopping... and we got almost completely unpacked in a matter of a week and a half.  It was incredible.  I'm talking every single box unpacked.  Curtains hung.  Mirrors put in place.  Pictures on the wall... everything!

Having fun deciding where to put pictures...

We have almost no storage/closet space in this apartment, so Wes and Dad built this entire closet during that week and a half!

Every night, we collapsed on the couches close to midnight or after, and we got into the routine of enjoying Wes' frappuccinos.  They were SO good... and we decided that deserved them!!!! ;)

Within a week, we had the living room/dining room looking like this... it's a work in progress... :)

We also found some time to celebrate the 4th of July during that time.  I had thought we would just keep working, but the kids were SO adamant about the 4th!  Apparently they LOVE the traditions we have started. :) 

Jonathan and Carolina making the fruit flag

It was a crazy busy time, but we had lots of fun!  We were so thankful for my parent's help.  The day before they left, two churches from the States arrived for a short term mission trip.  We knew the rest of the summer would fly by with all we had going on.  We knew we had to get settled during these two weeks, or it wouldn't happen!  Praise the Lord, we got it all done!  Thanks, Mom and Dad for your help!