Cardboard Houses

We all were extremely exhausted after a total of 33.5 hours of traveling yesterday.  It is fun to say that we traveled in planes, trains, and buses.  And here we are in our home country and loving every minute of it, so far.  It was hard to believe, though, that we were back in the USA while we were in Miami.  Literally every one of the airport workers we came across spoke Spanish.  And when they spoke to each other they spoke Spanish...it was kind of fun to have the ability to eavesdrop when they think we don't. 

As we drove the hour from the airport in Kansas City to the church that is housing us here in Missiouri we were enthralled by the possibilities of all the stores and restaurants.  Mexican food was screaming our name.  So when one of the families asked Scott what we would like for dinner we asked for Taco Bell.  And we get to go there for lunch today!!!

 

Another family did some grocery shopping for us.  A tremendous blessing from the Lord!!!  They felt bad for buying us so much cereal for breakfast.  They were quickly reassured that the cereal and Pop Tarts are a welcome treat!  The kids can't get over the size and type of the milk containers.  I can't forget the square cheese!  And Egg Nog!!!

The sound of the central heat kicking in through the night will take a little getting used to.  Silas had a look of shock on his face to hear it the first few times it started up.  Nehemiah still thinks it's the sound of rain.  But it sure is nice to have every room of the house nice and warm especially since it's close to freezing here.  We're expecting snow tomorrow!!!

This morning while I was in the shower Simeon knocked on the wall.  And it, of course, had a hollow knocking sound.  He looked at Scott and said, "Daddy, this house is cardboard."

The kids discovered the dish washer.  You can imagine their joy to know their chore, at least while we're here is limited to rinsing and placing the dirty dishes into the machine.  The funny thing about this is that the younger kids thought that once the dishes go in they automatically come out clean.  Simeon was thirsty and pulled a dirty cup out and was shocked that it was still dirty.

And for some reason the kids are lined up to take baths in the real bathtub. :-)  Believe me I'll be taking advantage of every bathtub I come across in these great United States! 

I'm sure the longer we are back in the states the unfamilair will become familair (again).  And these blogs will change.  I hope you are enjoying our blessings, experiences, and funnies, of furlough as much as we are. 

Back in the States

Shortly after 5 this morning we touched down in Miami.  The trip so far has been pretty good.  Very long but uneventful. 
The flight over the Andes was absolutely spectacular!  And the kids all enjoyed the individual screens with games during the flight from Chile to the USA, until they all passed out from exhaustion.  I actually got some sleep too!

Now we are waiting for the next connection to Atlanta and from there we head to Kansas City.  While we are waiting we decided to have some Pizza for breakfast.  And it was fantastic!

Some culture shock has already hit - self flushing toilets, being able to speak English in public, Spanish spoken by all the airport workers, our favorite sodas and candies are available, books are sold in English, and favorite restaurants. 

The connection here in the airport is very slow I've tried to upload pictures but can't.  I have a lot of them.  Several people met us at the bus terminal to say goodbye.  Then we crossed paths with others in the terminal in Montevideo and at the airport. 

I would write more too but after 24 hours of travel I'm just too tired.  I keep having to delete things because I'm hitting all the wrong keys. 

Vamos. Go.

Silas, was running around the house this morning saying screaming "VAMOS.  GO."  Poor guy must think we're going to leave without him.  He's calmed down now that everyone is sitting around.  The anxiety is clear in the whines of the littlest of our children.  And on the other hand the excitement is evident as everyone talks about seeing family, shopping at WalMart, eating Taco Bell. :-) 

So that pretty much sums up our last morning here before beginning furlough.  We have a ton of bags ready and we are all ready; each of us are wearing our Uruguay tourist shirts.  This is so we can quickly identify any lost children...or grown-ups. ha.  It is also so we can have our beloved Uruguay close to our hearts. 

Without question we'll miss Uruguay this next year!  This is our home and we love it and the people!!!  Our prayer is that God will use us during our time of furlough for the cause of Christ here in Uruguay.  We also pray He will use us on our trip back to the States. 

With 31+ hours of travel ahead of us (we are all already exhausted) your prayers for travel mercies during our flights and layovers are coveted.    Plus, I woke up this morning with a headache and twitching, tingling and numbness in my left hand and it still has not gone away.  I assume it is nothing more than I slept wrong last night.


Well, I need to close now as people are beginning to arrive to say goodbye to us.  We'll see you in a few days.

With the Lord!

Little Andrew Smith went home to be with the Lord early this morning.  Please be in prayer for his parents, Shawn and Sandy, and siblings Steven and Charis Joy, extended family, church family and friends, as they grieve the loss of this wonderful little boy. 

Desperate for a Rest.

So I'm taking one!  I have been packing, doing laundry, packing, laundry, packing, cleaning, laundry, cleaning, packing...all day and I'm done in.  And I want some ice-cream.  Silly, isn't it? 

I'm am happy to declare that all the boys and Isabel are pretty much completely packed.  And by completely I mean all the stuff in their rooms too.  I had a mountain of laundry, literally, to get through and the last load is now in the washer.  I got all the "we're not keeping this" stuff put in a place out of the way until it can be dealt with.

I'm really hoping that tomorrow things will be much lighter as far as the packing and cleaning.  I'm also hoping the stress level will be much lighter. 

Several young people have stopped by today to visit and that has been a great diversion for our oldest kids.  And they were a big help too.  I'm so thankful for these teens who desire to be a blessing and serve the Lord through helping to clean and pack. 

Since I'm pretty much brain dead right now and have no idea what all I'm really saying (will this make any sense when I'm not so tired?) I better close this update and get myself some ice-cream.  Here's hoping Scott will read this post in the next few minutes. :-)

Andrew Smith Update.

 Below you will find an update on Andrew Smith.  The news is not what we had hoped for and we ask that you keep Andrew and his parents Shawn and Sandy, and siblings Steven and Charis Joy in your prayers!

On Sunday, November 15th, we arrived at the National Institutes of Health where Andrew was happy to be back under the care of his beloved Dr. Warren.  When we met with Dr. Warren on the afternoon of Tuesday, November 17th, she told us that the scans confirmed what we had suspected—that the tumor had progressed.  In fact the entire brainstem and much of the cerebellum are tumor.  There is also involvement of the thalamus, the hypothalamus and the temporal lobe.  It was surprising to see the scans and know that Andrew was awake, interactive, and free of pain.  In spite of the scans, Andrew qualified for the temozolomide/ABT-888 study, and we signed the papers in preparation to begin the protocol.

Over the next couple days Andrew made it clear both to us and to Dr. Warren that he no longer wanted to participate in the study.  Knowing that it was amazing that he was awake, eating small amounts of a wide variety of foods, and enjoying teasing Dr. Warren about the Celtics, we felt that as parents we could ask no more of him.

For over 25 months Andrew has been living in spite of diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma.  God has been good to us along the way.  We have been overwhelmed by the outpouring of support from family, loved ones and strangers.  We have been blessed beyond measure with a caring medical team both at the NIH and in Lansing.

We are home at Sparrow and Andrew has been enjoying visits with some of the people he loves most in the world.  He has been spending time in the playroom, eating ice cream for breakfast, and enjoying the Christmas decorations that have magically appeared in his room.  (Thank you to the Michigan State Volleyball team and to the Michigan State Police!)

We have noticed subtle changes since the trip home on November 21st, but it has been clear to us since early Wednesday morning that Andrew is declining physically.  His time with us on earth may be measured in hours or days rather than in months or years.  We continue to rest in God’s loving care, to be thankful for the blessings in our lives, and to be grateful for the gift of Andrew. 

Phew! This is hard.

Today Scott and I stopped by the hogar (home) of Abuela Paulina and Juana to say our farewells.  It was hard to see her sad to see us leave.  She's been such a blessing to us we will miss her greatly.  But we are thankful to have her as our prayer warrior. 

Tonight was our last official service here in Colonia del Sacramento, UY.  I did great through the night.  Really.  It wasn't that I wasn't thinking of leaving because I was asked to say goodbye to the kids in Niños del Rey. 

As we were waiting for the prayer meeting to end Sebastian said his farewell to me, since I did great through that I thought, "Phew, this is going better than I thought it would." 

Then I entered the main building and finished passing out pictures to the ladies from the despedida.  It finally hit me when Silvia stood at the back of the church called out my name and with tears in her eyes, waved and promptly left. 

Just after that the mom of one of Kaitlin's friends who normally doesn't come to church came tonight to say goodbye.  As she was saying her farewell she gave me the biggest hug and I just lost it.  It brings tears to my eyes all over again to recall it.

Friday night's baby shower will probably be very hard to get through.  And I can't even begin to think about Saturday!

Farewell Weekend

Here we are already at the middle of the week time is in warp now.  I know I should be doing other things to prep for furlough but at the same time the need to blog a history of our last few days here before furlough can't be resisted. 

Now that much of the house is boxed up for storage we're able to focus on packing suitcases.  Not an easy task for a family of 10 but added to that is trying to figure out what to bring.  The need to bring clothes that are in decent shape but ones we can leave behind in the states after they are replaced by newer clothes is also a consideration. 

I'm beginning to run out of steam.  I never sleep well before a trip.  Even though I have lists I fret that I'll forget something....something important.

This past weekend was a good diversion for me to not fret about packing.  We had 4 farewell parties.  The one for me was on Friday night (you can read Mi Depedida post for that). 

We didn't have church on Sunday morning because of the run off elections so Saturday night we had a sleepover for Kaitlin with 11 girls.  They started off the night at the beach.  Before they left to swim the girls presented Kaitlin with a signed poster and a picture of all of them.  Then they spent the night awake - laughing and having a good time together.  I made coffee cake for them for breakfast and then they all stayed for lunch.

Sunday night was much different....we had a house full of teen guys.  And, well, we knew it by the guy odor and the exhibition of testosterone.  HA!  Not too mention they are much louder.  And they break things.  The guys played spoons and soccer and whatever else guys do.  Scott fixed them two sauce spaghetti which they all ate ravenously.  Then they broke a window with a baseball and left scared after I called out, "BRANDON SCOT".  Poor guy it wasn't even him. 

Though the broken window was an unwanted extra task Scott was once again able to make contact with the glass man.  We've said all this time, "The glass man needs to be saved."  And we've kept that guy in business for the 3 years we've lived here!  And we continue to pray for his salvation.

Monday night the couples in the church had an asado (BBQ) in our honor.  The meat was great but even better was the time of fellowship.  Things got really silly after the meal was over.  We're so thankful for people that we can laugh and have fun with!  God has blessed us richly to be able to wet our feet, so to speak, with people who have been so understanding of who we are - imperfect sinners saved by grace, learning to live in another country who make all the mistakes of those learning a new culture and learning to do the work of the ministry on the foreign field - and still loving us at the end of it all! 


 

5 days, REALLY???

WOW, only 5 more days until we are loaded up on the first airplane of 4 in our trip back to the USA.  My emotions run a muck right now.  I'm sad to be leaving but thrilled to be going back home!  (NOTE: The saying of "Home is Where Your Heart is." is true for me - only my heart is in two places Uruguay and America.) 

The last few months since we decided to take furlough have passed quickly and we're thankful for that because these last few weeks we all have felt very homesick.  I guess the knowledge that we will soon be with family is a trigger.  In the same instance we are feeling homesick for our friends here - in other words we will miss them terribly! 

Last night was our final Sunday night in this ministry.  And there is really nothing remarkable to note about it.  In all ways it was like every other Sunday service, except for the brief time before the bus left to say some goodbyes.  Several people reminded me that they love us and have undertaken to pray for us during our furlough and also for where God wants us to plant our first church upon our return to Uruguay!  Each day that passes I am more and more thankful for these dear believers whom God has allowed us to minister to, and them to us.

Scott finished out the focus on missions by preaching on 1 Corinthians 3:5-8.  He encouraged people here to see that they must follow after Christ not after man!  He reminded us that some plant, some water but God is the One that gives the increase!  He will give the increase in souls, in ability, in faith, in finances, in everything! 

Our desire for ministry has been, and is, for believers to know that they are solely instruments for His use.  Teaching them and training them (discipleship at its core) to do the work of the ministry themselves so that they can carry on without us.  It is important for them to know that we are not God!  Just as we must trust God to provide for their needs so must they!  God who has no shadow of turning is able to provide for believers throughout world - NOT just in, or through, the USA!  He will support His work through His people - nationality is of no importance - their faith is!  And so, it was thrilling to have a conversation with a Uruguayan who believes that support can be gained from Uruguayan churches!!!!  PRAISE GOD and GLORY to Him, this is the concept of indigenous!!!!  God is Jehovah Jireh, not America.  Pray this Uruguayan believer's faith will not deviate but will grow and that others will understand the principal of indigenous missions.

But I digress...sort of....there is a lot to get done and I probably should get off this computer and take care of the seemingly millions of things to do, like a couple dozen suitcases that need to be packed.  Thank you all for praying for us these last few days of our first term!   

Mi Despedida

I cannot believe that we are only a week away from heading back to the USA!  As we begin these last few days here in Colonia we are reminded how blessed we are to have had the opportunity to minister here.  A few weeks ago one of the ladies asked if she could organize a despedida for me. 

I had no idea what to expect but I was really excited that she would think of me and desire to do something special for me.  And the night was one of the most special times I've had in my life.  I left feeling so blessed and loved!  There have been times where the enemy has wanted me to believe I haven't had any impact here and that no one would miss me.  To listen to the testimonies last night one would have to conclude that the enemy could never have been more wrong! 

Valeria organized and hostessed my farewell party.  She is one of the ladies that I discipled as a pastor's wife.  I'm really looking forward to seeing what the Lord will do in her life as she ministers alongside her husband.

This is Silvia, our adopted Uruguayan Mom.  She has been so sweet to our family!  And such an encouragement!  The Lord has used her countless times to lift our hearts.  She's also known as the Candy lady and is always ready with a bag of candy for Simeon.  Poor thing spent most of the night crying.  Everytime I looked at her I started up again.

Abuela Paulina has been so wonderful for our family.  Our children really needed someone to think of as a great grandma and the Lord gave them Abuela Paulina.  She can't always make it to church but she is faithful to pray.  There is so much I've learned about faithfulness through this dear lady. 

Amparo arrived here to Colonia with her husband and children just a few months after we did.  In spite of the language and obvious lack of ability to communicate well we became fast friends.  God has knit our hearts together in a way I never could have imagined.  I'm so thankful for a dear friend in the ministry who can understand all that I go through, who encourages me, and who loves me in spite of my flaws.

The ladies all gave sacrificially to buy me something as a going away present.  Here I am with all three of them: a daily planner, a special memory book filled with notes from the ladies here, and a watch.

 

At the end of the night these two partners in crime devised a scheme that went something like this:  "Debbie, come here.  Can we have a favor?  Just one little bitty favor?  Can we pick you up for a picture"  They didn't leave me enough time to answer and before I knew it.... 

I was up in the air but I'll spare myself the embarrassment by not posting the picture of my look of surprise when they, literally, began hefting me in the air.

The teen young ladies who came to be a blessing to me.  During the testimony time Yeny, to my right, thanked me for my example and for SIGMA.

The group shot of all the ladies who came.  Minus a couple ladies who had to leave before we could take the picture.

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The silly foto...I love these ladies and their fantastic sense of humor.