Box Day

Praise the Lord because our shipment has finally arrived.  The boat arrived on the 14th and it took ten days for the boxes to get unloaded, taken to the warehouse, and for us to do the necessary paperwork.  It was quite an ordeal, with Junior going down to the port everyday to work on paperwork.  But we praise the Lord that he helped us to get everything completed as quickly as possible without having to pay too much money.  The shipping companies try to charge you for every little thing.  There is a charge for lifting your load, opening it, printing your receipt or whatever else they can think of.  But it is all here now.  It was fun to open the boxes and see familiar stuff.  We had finished all the school work that we brought with us, and we had taken a week off.  But now it will be back to school for us since all of our school books are here in one place.



Boxes, boxes everywhere


So we thank the Lord for helping us with the shipment.  We also thank him for the possibility of a school that starts in Chile in about a month.  We have been contacting YWAM bases all over South America and finally found one open to receiving our family.  So we are in contact with them, and will see if God continues to open the doors for us to go next month.  Thanks for your prayers for God's guidance in our lives.

"Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful."  Col. 4:2

School Books!

That verse made me think that I should be watchful so that I can notice God's blessings in my life and thank him for them.  I read in my devotional book that, "a grateful heart protects you from negative thinking."  I must admit that I  fall victim to negative thinking and grumbling in my heart.  So for each day I want to seek things to be thankful for, purposefully watching for them, and then thank the Lord for them.  Being grateful for the arrival of the shipment is easy, but I also pray that I can have a grateful heart in situations that are difficult.


"Give thanks in ALL circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus."  I Thess. 5:18 

Quietness and Trust

Lucas has been helping me take some pictures of Jonathan to show how he is growing up.  He is now 10 months old and enjoys pulling himself up, trying to stand, scooting around in his walker, and playing in water.  His hair is getting long, and is a bit curly in this hot, humid weather.  Once we get his first haircut, however, I think all the curls will be cut off.  He is just learning to wave hello and loves it when people wave back at him.



We have also done the necessary paperwork (which in Peru can be tedious) to get the kids their peruvian citizenship.  This makes it possible for them to be able to live in Peru as long as they want without having to hassle with visas.  The kids all have dual citizenship.  



A lot of passports

This week we ask for prayer as we are doing more paperwork to get our shipment.  Since we homeschool, we had a lot of books that we wanted to bring down to Peru and they didn't all fit in our suitcases.  So we decided to send a shipment with a few boxes of books.  Well, the amount of things we decided to ship quickly grew once we started packing.  It was easy to think, "Oh, this won't take up much room."  But each little thing added up.  We delivered it to the warehouse just before we left for Peru and are excited to learn that our ship came in yesterday.  So now we have to go all over town getting papers stamped, signed, etc.  Then make our way to customs to complete all they paperwork for them.  As mentioned above, paperwork in Peru can get very tedious.  So we pray that things will go smoothly, and that we won't have to pay a lot of money for customs, taxes, fees, etc. 

We also ask for your prayers in the next step in our lives.  We continue looking for YWAM schools that would be able to accomodate our family.  It seems like every base we contact, however, has no room for us.  So we continue to look and wait.  We had a very encouraging visit with the director of one of the YWAM schools here in Peru.  Although their school is already full to capacity, it was good to get to know each other a bit and see that we share a common desire for ministry.  God will make connections and open doors at the right time.  We have a few possiblities still, and the most likely is that we will attend a school that doesn't start until July.  So we are praying for guidance as to what to do in the meantime.  The Lord has been speaking to both of us about waiting and trusting.  It is so hard to be still and feel like we aren't doing anything, but maybe that is just what we need to do so God can accomplish his work.  When we are still and quiet, his strength can show through.  So please continue to pray for us, that we would be still and rest in him.

"This is what the Sovereign Lord, the Holy One of Israel, says:  'In repentance and rest is your salvation, in quietness and trust is your strength, but you would have none of it.'"  Isaiah 30:15

"Be still before the Lord, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling."  Zech. 2:13 

Water!

I would just like to praise the Lord for his amazing creation of water.  About a week ago we were without water for almost 24 hours.  That occassionally happens here in Peru, so we did have a small barrel of water reserved.  None the less, it really is true that abscence makes the heart grow fonder.  You really get a new appreciation for something when you no longer have it, especially something as important as water.  In those 24 hours, there was no water to mop up spilled juice, take a shower (it was about 90 degrees in our room), wash your hands before meals, brush your teeth, etc, etc.  We sparingly used the water in the barrel to wash dishes, not knowing when the water would get turned back on.  Thankfully we had bottled water that we could drink.  When the water came back, I appreciated my shower so much more than on a normal day.  Water is an amazing thing, and so helpful in washing and cleaning.  If physical water is so useful, it makes me think how precious God's living water is.  "Jesus answered her, 'If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water."  John 4:10 Praise God for his gift of living water.  



Cooling off in a bath of refreshing water



Thankful for water!