Pre Christmas Blessings

There is always a measure of unease when we visit a new church.  And there is always a feeling of not wanting to be a burden.  So when we booked our stay with this church after picking up our van I was a little unsure of what to expect.  If you have read my previous posts you know that the folks here have made up feel extremely welcome here!

Yesterday we were privileged to spend the Sunday services here.  The bus kids had a special program in the morning service and it was so neat to see that our children had been included into the program.  Though our kids didn't know most of the songs they had costumes and looked adorable.

Simeon was a riot!  He had a look of fear and uncertainty on his face yet at the same time was trying to smile and be cheerful.  He would make eye contact with us and he would beam then he would look at the rest of the church and that expression would set in. 

Isabel just stood there with her arms crossed and a pleasant look on her face.  Nehemiah was a wise man.  Adeline and Bethany were angels.

After the service we enjoyed a Chili luncheon.  Brandon jumped right in as a waiter/server.  And I was able to help get some of the bus kids their food.

One of the best parts has been the fellowship...for all of us.  Our older kids recruited some of the teens here into making a new Confused Entertainment production.  From the little clips I've seen I think it will be very good.  I was able to answer lots of questions about Uruguay for Pastor Kaighens daughter who feels called to a Spanish speaking country.

We trust this time that we have been a blessing to the people here in some small measure.  And we are so thankful for more prayer warriors for us and our beloved country of Uruguay.

Poor thing.

Saturday afternoon found us looking for a place to take a screaming Isabel.  She was downstairs in the church playing when she came back up to the prophets chamber crying from pain.  We decided a week of waiting was enough and we needed to get her seen by a doctor.  Of course it couldn't happen on a weekday.

Pastor Kaighen directed us to the children's hospital in Kansas City while another man directed us to a walk in clinic at Wal Greens Pharmacy.  Since the pharmacy was halfway to the hospital we decided to stop there first.  The wait was an hour and a half so we headed to the hospital.  Because she was presenting with severe abdominal pain they worked her up towards the top of the lost and we were back in a room in 20 minutes.

After an exam and x-rays we discovered that Isabel was extremely constipated.  She's on Miralax which should help relieve that problem.  We're supposed to increase the dose until we see the desired results.  We are going on day 3 of treatment though and we're not sure we see a difference in frequency of her bathroom visits.  Right now she's not complaining about the abdominal pain so I hope that means things are improving. 

We start traveling out west this Wednesday morning so it would be good to have her regular before then so we don't end up with emergencies.

First Christmas Party

Last night I was able to go to a ladies Christmas party!  When I found out they were having this party while we are here I seriously considered crashing it.  Thankfully someone extended an invitation to me so when Kaitlin and Scott headed to Wal Mart they picked up a small gift and this really cute bag.

There were LOTS of yummy goodies - things with marshmallows and peanut butter and cream cheese.

Best of all was the fellowship with all the ladies.  It's wonderful to sit down with 19 other women and feel at home with them though I had just met them this week.  We had a gift exchange where we could "steal" someone else's gift, then they could steal a gift too or choose one from under the tree.  We had one round where there were 6 or 7 "thefts".  I got a really pretty candy dish and pack of M & M's.   

After that we played 2 rounds of Catch Phrase.  It was a riot to watch the different women to try get their team to guess their word.  A couple of times I wanted to use Spanish...but that would have been cheating.

The Weather Outside is Frightful

Though it's not quite a winter wonderland outside it is definitely a cold blustery day.  The weather reported the temperature at 7 degrees F but it feels like -7.  BRRRR!  Thankfully the church we are staying at has a game room with carpet ball, foosball, ping-pong and a Wii in their youth room or we would be dealing with some very bored kiddos. 

The kids have loved the time to play all these games together but it sure is cold in the church with the heat turned down.  We took a thermometer into the youth room and it was 48 degrees in there.  It's hard to believe we survived cold like that throughout the winter time in Uruguay.

Last night was our first American service as a family and it was wonderful!  Pastor Kaighen here at Grace Baptist gave Scott the opportunity to share our ministry and even had a Q & A time, then he took up a love offering for us!  We still don't have a presentation but had it been done we would have been able to share that as well.  Keep in mind we are just here to pick up our rental van, we did not have a meeting set up.

It was so nice to sing in English, here the preaching in English without an interpretor and not on my iPod.  Later I bowed my head in prayer with two other ladies with no fear of mispronunciations.  And no need to think about how I would conjugate a verb or choose the correct word.  The people in this church have been so welcoming to our family.  They have provided food and meals for us.  The teens have included our teens.  The children have made friends.  And the nursery workers were patient with little Silas' Spanish and English even though his mommy (aka Me) forgot to tell them that he usually asks for things in Spanish.

It is clear to me that the Lord desires to encourage us.  He is reminding us of those years of Bible College when things were tight financially.  Our dependence upon God was strengthened during those years of not having a job while attending college.  As we prayed over everything we put into our shopping cart we learned that God had things in mind for us.  If we didn't pray and bought something on a whim we usually had a duplicate waiting for us in an anonymous bag of groceries left for us in our van.  (Although I'm sure in this case our kids would gladly accept duplicates of the things we need and the things we would like.)

I will admit it is very hard to wait on the Lord right now.  We have some definite needs and I know He will provide as He always has.  But I find myself wondering how can we do well what must be done at, what seems to me to be, the last minute.  Ah, yes, God is once again working in the 11th hour and no doubt in a way much unlike what I have planned.  And I need to trust that His will is best and His timing too!  And I need to trust that He is at work in the hearts of those who are also expecting us to do our best and that they will be understanding of our current limitations.

VAMOSH!

Today we took the whole family to WalMart!  It was an educational trip!  Really!  Who knew that you could buy all those electronics for so cheap.  For example a Wii for $200.00 is $600.00 in Uruguay.  Food, clothing and diapers are cheaper. 

The store is as big as we remeber them to be but it was hard to get the size across to the kids.  Silas' little mouth was hanging open and his expression was stunned.  After about an hour he had enough and began saying, "Vamosh!"  We tried really hard to look normal (as normal as you can look with 8 kids tailing behind you) and Silas is speaking Spanish.  Too funny!  That got more looks than the size of our family.

It definitely has been fun to eat all those things we haven't had in 3 years.  If we don't get fat we'll have stomach aches. 

Speaking of stomach aches...Isabel complained a lot on the flights about her stomach hurting but she was referring to her abdomen.  The last flight she was absolutely miserable.  Scott was at the back of the plane with some of the kids while I was a few seats forward.  I finally took her back to him because I thought she was going to be sick.  The flight attendant said it was probably gas.  But the last two days she's still complaining.  So i any has ever dealt with this before you advice would be appreciated. 

I also have another prayer request that I would like to keep as a partial unspoken.  There is a very specific need we have but do not have the means to meet it at this point in time.  Please be in prayer that we would see God provide for this need.

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. :-)