One year. It has been one year TODAY since arrived in Ecuador.
I woke up today thinking... Wow! How crazy to think that it has been a whole year since we have been here. Time flies and rests for no one.
I promptly greeted my husband with a "happy anniversary!" and the response I got? "And we still have no water!"
I want to write a blog post about how amazing this year has been, how so many things have happened, progress made, memories that will never be forgotten and relationships formed. And while all these things are true, it is not what we feel today or even lately.
As a "missionary" we feel like we have to report and present only what is good and encouraging. But, I am going to be honest with y'all in this post.
It has been hard. We are exhausted. We are stressed out to the max. We are frustrated...everyday...several times a day. And I feel like these words aren't nearly strong enough to portray our feelings.
Sometimes it is little things, like the city turning off the water supply so our cistern is low. Which means we(our personal house and the school) either have no water or we go into drought mode and conserve everything. And yes, I consider no water as a "little thing".
Or medium things, like the fact that we purchased a lemon of a car (a 26K lemon, because cars do no depreciate in value here) and can't get it out of the shop. We (Twickenham) have/has spent thousands of dollars in repairing it just so we can get it to a point of being able to sell it. The best part about this is the fact that it was finally to a "good enough" point this last week but I got into a fender-bender that put it back into the shop. That in itself was a frustrating experience! The other guy came to a complete stop in the middle of the highway, after going 90km/h, because of a dog crossing the road. And lemme point out, that here in Ecuador, there is ALWAY a dog crossing the road. So, now we get to pay for our car repair plus his.
Then there are the big issues. Issues with school budget and school affairs.
Things like not having the monies to hire more teachers but going on faith and doing it anyway because we know we need to be legal and to provide our kids with the best education we can.
Things like being rejected by the Ministry of Education for a tuition raise (since they dictate what we can change for monthly tuition) for reasons that could have been avoided had we known.
Things like knowing we are still not completely legal on some school items and that there will always be a threat of shutting us down until we are.
...
As you read this, I don't want you to be discouraged about the work happening here in Ecuador. I wrote this so that you could get an partially understanding of the things we go through and the honest state we are currently in.
I think we all go through these times where it feels like we are just barely able to tread water. I remember seasons of our married life where it felt like the waves just kept washing over us. We would get pounded over and over by different struggles and problems and it was hard to keep our heads up. When I think back on those times, I think about how God was there with me. He wasn't the Coast Guard who came in and swept me up from the water. He allowed me to stay in but was my floatation device. And I endured and came out, better for it. Because the funny thing about struggles are, like water, they polish and refine you.
Isaiah 43:2, NIV: "Do not fear, for I have redeemed you; I have summoned you by name; you are mine. When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and when you pass through the rivers they will not sweep over you. When you walk through the fire, you will not be burned; he flames will not set you ablaze. For I am the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel, your Savior.
So, it is our one year Ecuador anniversary and we are a bit down. But we will not lose heart, for we know our God in Heaven is with us. We know He called called us here, is with us and will use these experiences to polish us and for His glory.
2 Corinthians 4:17, NIV: "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."
Pray for us.
Also being thinking about financially support the work here.
We are now at a point where our personal needs are fully funded, but as the next school year is upon us and with much needed changes occurring, we are realizing the need in our school budget. In the near future you may be seeing some opportunities where you can help further the work in Ecuador, whether by direct support of our school budget, student scholarships or technology funding, so please be prayerful and mindful of that.
Tuesday, July 29, 2014
Sunday, July 20, 2014
1-8
Has it really been a month since we have returned from our trip to the States?!?
I was going to type "words cannot describe how busy we have been this month"... but I think that words could describe just how busy we have been. And I will attempt to do just that.
1.) When we got home from our "vacation" we had a few days of unpacking and getting our house put back together after our cats (Chancho and Pata) destroyed it.
2.) Then we welcomed our White House, TN/Orange, TX group.
The group, made of 7 teachers and 4 other professionals, worked and loved on our school kids. They read children's books, Bible stories, and did English activities. Some of the group members also painted the once stark white classroom walls. We also were able to take our older students on a service project to visit some poorer families in the community. The groups were able to help in some homes, delivered food and clothes, sing some songs and pray over the families. It was a great time of encouragement for us and hopefully a good opportunity to learn for our students.
3.) After the White House/Orange group left, we greeted our friend Diana Foster from our home congregation for a week. Diana visited us to check out the school and see what all the commotion is down here in Ecuador.
4.) We had Kindergarten graduation. The kiddos were super cute!
5.) We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July with all the gringos. The Campbells had us over their house to grill food and shoot off fireworks. It was a grand time being with fellow Americans and celebrating our freedoms.
6.) On the 12th we had a wedding on our lawn for a new couple at church. They recently got baptized at church and decided to get married also. It was a beautiful wedding that we (the ladies at church) had the privilege of putting together. We made flower arrangements, bouquets, and a 5-tiered fondant covered cake.
6 & 1/2.) We had a couple girls, Delaney and Danielle, stay the night at our place. They are both doing LST in Quito and wanted to spend some time in Tabacundo, learning more about the school and Hacienda.
7.) On the 13th we said good-bye to some good friends, Wayler and Mariana Frances, who moved back to Costa Rica. Wayler was one of the local evangelists and Mariana was the Hacienda and school accountant. We had to send them off in style, of course, with a special class time at church. We gave them a plaque, a book filled with memories and prayers, and of course had cake.
8.) The next day we had three ladies come in from Florida and the First City Church to help with our first ever high school graduation. We are so proud of our students. All 6 graduating seniors have all been accepted to university. We are also so thankful for Lisa, Michelle and Denise for helping us and hanging out with us. And thankfully, I didn't have to bake the cake!
So in a nutshell, those were our big events. In between and even during those times we had curriculum writing, budget working, schedule making and even some time spend with our Hacienda kids.
It has been crazy this month.
I think Jake and I will take the next month off of hosting people and doing big events.
Starting in August we will get busy again with teachers coming back for training and Jake's mom coming down. Karen, Jake's mom, will be here for almost 3 months to set up our Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade English program.
This next school year is coming upon us soon...almost too soon! I am not nearly done putting together our new English curriculum. Keep us in your prayers!
I was going to type "words cannot describe how busy we have been this month"... but I think that words could describe just how busy we have been. And I will attempt to do just that.
1.) When we got home from our "vacation" we had a few days of unpacking and getting our house put back together after our cats (Chancho and Pata) destroyed it.
2.) Then we welcomed our White House, TN/Orange, TX group.
The group, made of 7 teachers and 4 other professionals, worked and loved on our school kids. They read children's books, Bible stories, and did English activities. Some of the group members also painted the once stark white classroom walls. We also were able to take our older students on a service project to visit some poorer families in the community. The groups were able to help in some homes, delivered food and clothes, sing some songs and pray over the families. It was a great time of encouragement for us and hopefully a good opportunity to learn for our students.
4.) We had Kindergarten graduation. The kiddos were super cute!
5.) We had a great time celebrating the 4th of July with all the gringos. The Campbells had us over their house to grill food and shoot off fireworks. It was a grand time being with fellow Americans and celebrating our freedoms.
6.) On the 12th we had a wedding on our lawn for a new couple at church. They recently got baptized at church and decided to get married also. It was a beautiful wedding that we (the ladies at church) had the privilege of putting together. We made flower arrangements, bouquets, and a 5-tiered fondant covered cake.
6 & 1/2.) We had a couple girls, Delaney and Danielle, stay the night at our place. They are both doing LST in Quito and wanted to spend some time in Tabacundo, learning more about the school and Hacienda.
7.) On the 13th we said good-bye to some good friends, Wayler and Mariana Frances, who moved back to Costa Rica. Wayler was one of the local evangelists and Mariana was the Hacienda and school accountant. We had to send them off in style, of course, with a special class time at church. We gave them a plaque, a book filled with memories and prayers, and of course had cake.
8.) The next day we had three ladies come in from Florida and the First City Church to help with our first ever high school graduation. We are so proud of our students. All 6 graduating seniors have all been accepted to university. We are also so thankful for Lisa, Michelle and Denise for helping us and hanging out with us. And thankfully, I didn't have to bake the cake!
So in a nutshell, those were our big events. In between and even during those times we had curriculum writing, budget working, schedule making and even some time spend with our Hacienda kids.
Making S'mores with the Hacienda kids and ASHLEY MOORE (Shoutout!)
Eating Aladdin's shwarma while Leonela is getting her hair relaxed. (Look ASHLEY MOORE...another shoutout!)
It has been crazy this month.
I think Jake and I will take the next month off of hosting people and doing big events.
Starting in August we will get busy again with teachers coming back for training and Jake's mom coming down. Karen, Jake's mom, will be here for almost 3 months to set up our Kinder, 1st and 2nd grade English program.
This next school year is coming upon us soon...almost too soon! I am not nearly done putting together our new English curriculum. Keep us in your prayers!
Tuesday, June 17, 2014
Thank you!
We just returned from our non-vacation vacation in the United States.
It was very good seeing friends and family, eating foods we missed, and soaking up the warm weather, but Jake and I are ready for another break! It was very exhausting talking, meeting and driving all over the place.
We would like to say thank you. Thank you for listening to us and getting excited with us about the work in Ecuador. Thank you for your financial support and prayers. Thank you to everyone who put us up in their homes, lent us their car, took us out for dinner, cooked for us, bought groceries and things for us to take back, donated school supplies, slipped an extra $20 in our hands...etc. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We cannot express our appreciation enough.
Jake and I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of y'all about things going on in our lives and in the school, we also shared some stories about students and the changes we are going through. However, not everyone had the opportunity to hear some of our specific stories. So I wanted to take this chance to share.
I first of all wanted to share this story because it answers a lot of questions: How are things going for you...really? Has it been difficult? How is God using you? What is something we can be praying for you about?
Second, because this is a very personal story for us but is so very powerful. I hope that it encourages you as much as it has encouraged us. I also hope that it helps you see the beautiful and amazing things God is doing in Ecuador.
I want to preface the story with saying that it sounds so silly to say this out loud, or at least online. Looking back I realize how much we (humans) try to be in control of our lives and plan everything out according to our schedule. We plan our life to our timing- disregarding God's timing for our lives.
My story begins by giving you a little background on Jake and I. We have been married for almost 8 years (8 in July!). We both try very hard to be organized and to plan ahead. Part of that planning has been regarding starting a family. So Jake and I planned out our future regarding children. We waited until we were ready: financially, personally, and ready in our marriage.
Well the time came, a couple years ago, where we decided we were ready to start a family. After a year of trying we had no results. With our impeding moving to Ecuador and the scare of so many friends battling infertility, we got tested. The results showed issues with the both of us. It was difficult hearing this news but we still tried staying positive.
We continue trying for a baby and to remember to put our faith in God- in his timing for our lives. It isn't always easy but He is good and shows us his love often. My story is about one of those times.
I first want to say that I have had the privilege of getting close to some of our Hacienda children. Because of the fact that I am in the classroom, I get to develop relationships with my students. One of those students is Dayana, a Hacienda kid. She is a sweet and silly 12 year old girl.
Dayana has been asking to sit with me at church recently. Of course I love having her with me. Well, Sunday, May 28th came around and was like any other Sunday were Dayana asked to sit with me. Except the fact that it was Mother's Day.
I tried holding it together while Jake and Dayana sat next to me but my emotions became too overwhelming. I got up and left worship to be by myself. I found a room, locked myself in and cried. I cried out to God and asked why. Why couldn't I have a child to love, to hold and teach. I didn't understand and I was angry. I prayed and sought solace in His Word.
After about 20 minutes I felt better, or at least enough to return since church had already ended. I walked outside and saw Dayana looking for me. It was time for her to go home. She ran up to me, gave me a hug and handed me a piece of paper. She had told me not to read it in front of her and ran away. I looked at the paper, it was a card that said "Happy Mother's Day". So before I broke down to an ugly cry, I retreated to our car to read the card.
Inside she wrote:
"Happy Mother's Day.
I say this because you are like my Mother.
I love you like a Mother.
I hope you can pass a good day."
I completely lost it.
That day God answered my question and pleas. He reminded me that I have 18 Hacienda kids and 170 students at school who are my children. They are here, needing my love. They need me to hold them. They need me to teach them about God. He reminded me that He has called us here to Ecuador for a purpose.
Yes, we still are sad and hurt because we want a child of our own, but we have so much joy and peace because we know we are were God wants us to be. He is using us (despite ourselves) to the best of our abilities. So even though we endure hardships, sometimes it feels like SO many, we remember that God never promised us a life without hardships. And despite the fact that running the school, living in a different culture, not completely knowing the language, and having personal issues has been hard, we live in peace and joy knowing we live in God's will.
We love being in Ecuador and doing what we do. While we get frustrated at things and we miss the comforts of the U.S, our friends and family, our church... this has become our home. At this point, we couldn't imagine our life anywhere else.
So THANK YOU. For all your love, support and prayers. Because God is using you to help us be here.
It was very good seeing friends and family, eating foods we missed, and soaking up the warm weather, but Jake and I are ready for another break! It was very exhausting talking, meeting and driving all over the place.
We would like to say thank you. Thank you for listening to us and getting excited with us about the work in Ecuador. Thank you for your financial support and prayers. Thank you to everyone who put us up in their homes, lent us their car, took us out for dinner, cooked for us, bought groceries and things for us to take back, donated school supplies, slipped an extra $20 in our hands...etc. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU! We cannot express our appreciation enough.
Jake and I had the opportunity to talk with a lot of y'all about things going on in our lives and in the school, we also shared some stories about students and the changes we are going through. However, not everyone had the opportunity to hear some of our specific stories. So I wanted to take this chance to share.
I first of all wanted to share this story because it answers a lot of questions: How are things going for you...really? Has it been difficult? How is God using you? What is something we can be praying for you about?
Second, because this is a very personal story for us but is so very powerful. I hope that it encourages you as much as it has encouraged us. I also hope that it helps you see the beautiful and amazing things God is doing in Ecuador.
I want to preface the story with saying that it sounds so silly to say this out loud, or at least online. Looking back I realize how much we (humans) try to be in control of our lives and plan everything out according to our schedule. We plan our life to our timing- disregarding God's timing for our lives.
My story begins by giving you a little background on Jake and I. We have been married for almost 8 years (8 in July!). We both try very hard to be organized and to plan ahead. Part of that planning has been regarding starting a family. So Jake and I planned out our future regarding children. We waited until we were ready: financially, personally, and ready in our marriage.
Well the time came, a couple years ago, where we decided we were ready to start a family. After a year of trying we had no results. With our impeding moving to Ecuador and the scare of so many friends battling infertility, we got tested. The results showed issues with the both of us. It was difficult hearing this news but we still tried staying positive.
We continue trying for a baby and to remember to put our faith in God- in his timing for our lives. It isn't always easy but He is good and shows us his love often. My story is about one of those times.
I first want to say that I have had the privilege of getting close to some of our Hacienda children. Because of the fact that I am in the classroom, I get to develop relationships with my students. One of those students is Dayana, a Hacienda kid. She is a sweet and silly 12 year old girl.
Dayana has been asking to sit with me at church recently. Of course I love having her with me. Well, Sunday, May 28th came around and was like any other Sunday were Dayana asked to sit with me. Except the fact that it was Mother's Day.
I tried holding it together while Jake and Dayana sat next to me but my emotions became too overwhelming. I got up and left worship to be by myself. I found a room, locked myself in and cried. I cried out to God and asked why. Why couldn't I have a child to love, to hold and teach. I didn't understand and I was angry. I prayed and sought solace in His Word.
After about 20 minutes I felt better, or at least enough to return since church had already ended. I walked outside and saw Dayana looking for me. It was time for her to go home. She ran up to me, gave me a hug and handed me a piece of paper. She had told me not to read it in front of her and ran away. I looked at the paper, it was a card that said "Happy Mother's Day". So before I broke down to an ugly cry, I retreated to our car to read the card.
Inside she wrote:
"Happy Mother's Day.
I say this because you are like my Mother.
I love you like a Mother.
I hope you can pass a good day."
I completely lost it.
That day God answered my question and pleas. He reminded me that I have 18 Hacienda kids and 170 students at school who are my children. They are here, needing my love. They need me to hold them. They need me to teach them about God. He reminded me that He has called us here to Ecuador for a purpose.
Yes, we still are sad and hurt because we want a child of our own, but we have so much joy and peace because we know we are were God wants us to be. He is using us (despite ourselves) to the best of our abilities. So even though we endure hardships, sometimes it feels like SO many, we remember that God never promised us a life without hardships. And despite the fact that running the school, living in a different culture, not completely knowing the language, and having personal issues has been hard, we live in peace and joy knowing we live in God's will.
We love being in Ecuador and doing what we do. While we get frustrated at things and we miss the comforts of the U.S, our friends and family, our church... this has become our home. At this point, we couldn't imagine our life anywhere else.
So THANK YOU. For all your love, support and prayers. Because God is using you to help us be here.
Dayana, Maria S., and Me
Thursday, May 22, 2014
Well what can I say?
Well what can I say? Other than.... I know it has been two whole months since we blogged!
Last time we typed was Spring Break when all the groups were down.
After the last blog, we did have one more group come down. Madison Academy from Huntsville, AL visited us with 25 people total. The group worked on finishing a playground at the Hacienda and also did all of the schools P.E. Classes that week.
And because I know how much y'all love pictures...here is a link to one of the Madison Academy student's website. She, Wanda, took some AMAZING pictures while she was here. You should check it out!
http://www.madisonacademy.phanfare.com/6471903
Since March we have calmed down with hosting groups and have gotten busy at school....surprise surprise.
Jake did have surgery on Easter weekend. Since then, he has been recuperating. Oh who am I kidding? He took several days off work and then was right back at it in no time! It would take something life threatening to keep that man away from his job! He is however, doing really well. I can say this because I am his personal physical therapist. We stretch and excercise his leg twice a day. He says he is looking forward to climbing Mt. Mojanda (the site of his injury) next March. Get ready Harding group!
We have also started winding down our school year and are preparing for next year. We have some major changes happening that we are excited about:
Our first change is our start time. We are starting school at 7:30am instead of 7am. Only half an hour....but that is a precious half hour of sleep! We also will let out at 2:45pm instead of 3pm. Jake has been diligently working on making our schedule more effective so that we have the same hours of classes but spend less time at school. Amen to that!
Our second change is that we have updated our school logo. The previous logo was very involved and seemed a bit infantile. So when Glen Laid was down with the Madison Academy group in March, we created a new school logo. We also decided to change up our school colors a little. They are now blue and green.
What do you think?
Another change is our uniforms. We currently have very formal uniforms, that include ties. We wanted to simplify a bit and make things easier on kids and parents. We also wanted to give the students a bit more choice and go to a dress code as opposed to a set uniform everyday. We aren't quite set on the exact colors and thing just yet as we are getting feedback from parents.
The biggest change we are making is to our English curriculum. We have currently been using a program called ACE (Accelerated Christian Education). In this program the students sit in cubicles, called offices, and work individually on workbooks. It is a mainly self motivated, self paced program. It was worked wonders for some of our students. However, as some of you teachers out there know, it is difficult to learn solely through text, copying and memorizing...and doing it while not talking and sitting in a cubical! So we are wanting to gear our curriculum towards something more hands-on, interactive and where the kids are actually practicing their English.
We are super excited about this change, even though it is a little scary for us. I will be working all summer long looking for and creating this new ESL curriculum. So, if there are any teachers out there that are wanting a change of pace...smaller classroom size, less politics, and a bunch of GREAT students... Think about coming down and teaching for us! I also would love some help on curriculum development…
Another part of changing our English curriculum is that we want to create a dual language program in our lower grades (K-2). Our plan, if we can get enough teachers, is to have math and science taught in English, by a native English speaker, and all other subjects in Spanish by their traditional Ecuadorian teacher. This way, the students are more exposed to English and learn it quicker. Hopefully in the future we can have this same set up in all grades.
Those are the major changes so far. Here are some of our exciting events, past and future:
Easter week we had themed chapel.
Two weeks ago we had a talent show. We were super impressed at the amount of student who wanted to participate... Including several students (3rd graders!) who sang solos.
June 1st: is Day of the Child (we have just about any Day of the.... You can think of...mother, teacher, worker, water, pudding cup... Just kidding about that one). We are having a half day May 30 to have a day of playing games, different activities, and just plain old fun to celebrate the children.
June 19-21: HOH Christian Academy along with Emma Graciela, in Tabacundo, are putting on a show...High School Musical. Auditions went underway Tuesday and parts have already been doled out! Practice begins Thursday.
July 16th: Last but definitely not least, our first set of graduating seniors will get their diplomas.
So while we have all these exciting things going on, Jake and I have one more exciting thing for us personally. On the 23rd we will be fly out for a three week trip to the States. WOOHOO!
We will be staying in Huntsville, Alabama for the first week and talking business with our employers and some our bigger supporters at Twickenham. We will also make a short trip to Whitehouse, TN to visit our first supporting congregation. After that, we make the trek to Arlington, TX, where we will spend the majority of our time with friends, family and home congregation. There will be two side trips to OKC and to Canyon, TX for more church meetings and fellowship. Boy do we feel popular!
It will be great to see so many people, but by no means will this be vacation time! Vacation? What's that?!? There are always so many things to do and contacts to make, especially since we are still technically fundraising....hint hint hint. We are however, looking forward to it greatly and it will be nice to take a step back from school (of course Jake will still be calling them everyday....boundaries I say!)
I believe that is all...until the next blog update...which hopefully isn't two months from now.
Last time we typed was Spring Break when all the groups were down.
After the last blog, we did have one more group come down. Madison Academy from Huntsville, AL visited us with 25 people total. The group worked on finishing a playground at the Hacienda and also did all of the schools P.E. Classes that week.
Flag Football...
Our Cheerleaders...
http://www.madisonacademy.phanfare.com/6471903
Since March we have calmed down with hosting groups and have gotten busy at school....surprise surprise.
Jake did have surgery on Easter weekend. Since then, he has been recuperating. Oh who am I kidding? He took several days off work and then was right back at it in no time! It would take something life threatening to keep that man away from his job! He is however, doing really well. I can say this because I am his personal physical therapist. We stretch and excercise his leg twice a day. He says he is looking forward to climbing Mt. Mojanda (the site of his injury) next March. Get ready Harding group!
Our first change is our start time. We are starting school at 7:30am instead of 7am. Only half an hour....but that is a precious half hour of sleep! We also will let out at 2:45pm instead of 3pm. Jake has been diligently working on making our schedule more effective so that we have the same hours of classes but spend less time at school. Amen to that!
Our second change is that we have updated our school logo. The previous logo was very involved and seemed a bit infantile. So when Glen Laid was down with the Madison Academy group in March, we created a new school logo. We also decided to change up our school colors a little. They are now blue and green.
What do you think?
Another change is our uniforms. We currently have very formal uniforms, that include ties. We wanted to simplify a bit and make things easier on kids and parents. We also wanted to give the students a bit more choice and go to a dress code as opposed to a set uniform everyday. We aren't quite set on the exact colors and thing just yet as we are getting feedback from parents.
The biggest change we are making is to our English curriculum. We have currently been using a program called ACE (Accelerated Christian Education). In this program the students sit in cubicles, called offices, and work individually on workbooks. It is a mainly self motivated, self paced program. It was worked wonders for some of our students. However, as some of you teachers out there know, it is difficult to learn solely through text, copying and memorizing...and doing it while not talking and sitting in a cubical! So we are wanting to gear our curriculum towards something more hands-on, interactive and where the kids are actually practicing their English.
High School Learning Center break time
Mother's Day activity with middle school
Another part of changing our English curriculum is that we want to create a dual language program in our lower grades (K-2). Our plan, if we can get enough teachers, is to have math and science taught in English, by a native English speaker, and all other subjects in Spanish by their traditional Ecuadorian teacher. This way, the students are more exposed to English and learn it quicker. Hopefully in the future we can have this same set up in all grades.
English practice with Kindergarten… Dr. Seuss and Cat in the Hat.
Those are the major changes so far. Here are some of our exciting events, past and future:
Easter week we had themed chapel.
Two weeks ago we had a talent show. We were super impressed at the amount of student who wanted to participate... Including several students (3rd graders!) who sang solos.
June 19-21: HOH Christian Academy along with Emma Graciela, in Tabacundo, are putting on a show...High School Musical. Auditions went underway Tuesday and parts have already been doled out! Practice begins Thursday.
July 16th: Last but definitely not least, our first set of graduating seniors will get their diplomas.
So while we have all these exciting things going on, Jake and I have one more exciting thing for us personally. On the 23rd we will be fly out for a three week trip to the States. WOOHOO!
We will be staying in Huntsville, Alabama for the first week and talking business with our employers and some our bigger supporters at Twickenham. We will also make a short trip to Whitehouse, TN to visit our first supporting congregation. After that, we make the trek to Arlington, TX, where we will spend the majority of our time with friends, family and home congregation. There will be two side trips to OKC and to Canyon, TX for more church meetings and fellowship. Boy do we feel popular!
It will be great to see so many people, but by no means will this be vacation time! Vacation? What's that?!? There are always so many things to do and contacts to make, especially since we are still technically fundraising....hint hint hint. We are however, looking forward to it greatly and it will be nice to take a step back from school (of course Jake will still be calling them everyday....boundaries I say!)
I believe that is all...until the next blog update...which hopefully isn't two months from now.
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