On the Road Again

Today we are hitting the road on our way to Chile.  It is quite a long trip, so we ask for your prayers that things would go smoothly with the children, luggage, buses, taxis, etc.  We have decided to go by bus, since it is considerably cheaper than flying.  It is a very long trip, however, so we have chosen to break it up a bit.   First we will take a bus to the Peruvian border city of Tacna.  We will spend a night there to recover from that 19 hour ride, before crossing into Chile and getting on another bus that will take us on the approximately 24 hour bus ride to Santiago.  From there we will catch a third bus that will take us to our final destination of Pichilemu.  So it should definitely be an adventure, and we just pray for patience and good health for everyone.  Our next post should be from Chile!  We are all excited to get there and find out what awaits us.  We don't really know much about the details of what these next few months will entail, so it should be interesting.  We'll be sure to keep you posted on what happens next.

A Bunch of Grapes

We have good news.  God has opened the doors for us to go to a Discipleship Training School in Chile.  We have been in contact with many YWAM bases in South America, and finally found one in Pichilemu, Chile, that has enough room for our family.  So we are very excited to report that in about 2 weeks we will be heading down there.  We have recently sent out a letter updating our friends on our situation.  If you did not receive a letter from us, it is probably because we don’t have your mailing address.  If you are interested in reading it, see the next post.  The main thing left to do before we begin our classes (besides finding tickets to get there) is to raise the remaining support that we need.  It is truly a humbling experience to be asking people to send you money, when so many people are in need all over the world.  We know, however, that God can work through any means he desires to provide for his children.  God recently reminded me in a simple way about his provision in our lives.  We went to the market to buy fruit, and as we finished making our purchases, the owner of the fruit stall gave us a large bunch of grapes.  She told us that since we were “servants of God” she wanted to give us those grapes.  I’m not sure why she chose to call us that.  We had mentioned in passing that we were Christians, but hadn’t said any more than that.  She didn’t know that we are preparing to go to a training school, or praying about working with YWAM.  She simply wanted to bless us with what she had.  It was just a small thing, but it really made an impact on me.  Her simple act of generosity reminded me that God can bless us in ways that we never even expected.   He knows our needs and he is looking out for us wherever we go. 

Besides the plans for YWAM, we have also been keeping busy in other activities.  Junior had the opportunity to preach at his dad’s church one Sunday.  That was a special time of sharing and feeling God’s presence among the people.  He has also been to a small church up in the mountains outside of Lima.  There is no pastor in that town, only an itinerate pastor that comes when he can.  So Junior went up with him one day to preach and spend time with the brothers and sister in the town of Culpe.   

Making frosting with a drill!



Diego recently celebrated his 8^th birthday.  Making his birthday cake here was a bit of an adventure since it isn’t my kitchen with the normal appliances, pans, ingredients, etc.   Junior's mom’s mixer had recently stopped working, so I wasn’t sure how I was going to make the frosting.  But my creative husband had the idea of using their electric drill to mix the frosting.  So he hooked one of the beaters to the drill and helped me whip up the butter and powdered sugar.  What a mess!  But the cake turned out pretty good despite it all, and Diego had an enjoyable birthday. 



Happy Birthday Diego!



Finally, Jonathan got his first haircut.   His hair was beginning to hang into his eyes and over his ears, so we cut off the baby curls. 



Before....



....After



In case you didn't get our prayer letter...

March, 2011

Dear Friends and Family,

Greetings from sunny Peru!  A lot has changed in our lives since we wrote you last, so we wanted to give everyone a quick update of where we are now.  In July we wrote asking for prayer as we were trying to sell our house.  Shortly after we sent out that letter, we received an offer on the house.  We praise the Lord that everything went smoothly and quickly throughout the whole process.  We truly count it as God’s work in our lives that we were able to sell our house during the current conditions.  We moved out at the end of November.  God is so good that He miraculously provided a house for us to stay in for the month of December as we transitioned out of our previous home and packed up for our trip to Peru.  It also gave us the opportunity to be able to stay in the US to spend Christmas with my family.  This house clearly was God’s provision in our lives, because the situation was so perfect for what we needed. The house was available for exactly the dates we would need it, nothing more and nothing less.  An added benefit is that the house was only about 6 blocks from my parents' house, so it was the perfect place to be for the holidays.  Praise the Lord because He knows what we need even better than we do ourselves.  This has served as a good reminder to us, that through it all, we need to trust him.  He has something better in mind for us, than even we are thinking of. 

The Lord opened the doors for us to leave the US on January 1, 2011.  The start of a new year seemed like a fitting time to begin this new journey in our lives as well.  We have spent the past 2 months visiting with Junior’s family, adjusting to life in Peru, preaching in several churches, and sharing the gospel with taxi drivers wherever we go.  We have also been waiting on the Lord to open the door for us to go to a YWAM training school.  The schools that we had thought were options, didn’t work out for various reasons, so we have been seeking another place to go. God has opened a door in Chile for a class that starts the 25th of March. So we are applying for that school, looking forward to the possibility of going there and praying that God will continue to lead us. It is a bit scary because we don’t really know what the living situation or childcare will be like. But as we look back at how God has taken care of us so far, we know that His plans are for our good.

Thank you so much for your prayers and your financial support.  It is humbling to see God working in our lives.  So far we have raised  1/4 of the total estimated cost of our room, board, tuition and transportation for all seven of us during the five month period.  We have already seen that God is faithful, and He gives us exactly what we need, when we need it.  So we are excitedly waiting to see how He will continue to provide for us as we step out in faith and obedience to Him.  Please keep praying with us for God’s provision, our time in Chile, and His guidance in our lives.

We would love to keep in touch with all of you. Since we will be moving around a lot in the next few months, e-mail is probably the best way to get in touch with us.  We will also be updating our blog as we are able.  We do have a permanent US address (my parent’s house) where we can receive mail as well as donations.  Also, please let us know how God is working in your lives and how we can be praying for each of you.

 

“Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid.
The Lord, the Lord, is my strength and my song; He has become my salvation.”  Isaiah 12:2

Trusting Him,

Junior, Kristen, Alexis, Diego, Lucas, Joshua and Jonathan