Quito

We wanted to share our exciting news with everyone. We are going to Quito, Ecuador! After a long 5 weeks of praying and fasting we were glad to hear the news that a new place of service has been found for us until the doors open up for us in VZ. I have placed a slide show of a few of the photos from Quito on the right hand side of the blog. Some interesting facts about Ecuador: The city of Quito is home to about 2.5 million people and lies 20 miles south of the equator. The currency of Ecuador is the US dollar. There are over 40 different indigenous nations with over 40% of the population being indigenous. Ecuador is also home—despite its small size (it is a little smaller than Colorado) —to a great variety of species, many of them endemic, like those of the Galapagos islands (located 600 miles west of the coast of Ecuador). This species diversity makes Ecuador one of the top eighteen megadiverse countries in the world. The geography is varied with the snow capped Andes mountains, beautiful white beaches, Amazon rainforest, and the region encompassing the Galápagos Islands. Cuy (guinea pig) is a popular dish among the people in the mountains. It is served roasted and I'm told tastes like chicken.

We are excited about our upcoming move and rejoice in all the Lord has planned for us as we seek to serve Him in Quito.

RIP Nacho

It is always hard to have a pet die, but I believe perhaps even harder when you watch your pet die. We have had little Nacho now for a little less than a year. The kids knew they were going to have to say goodbye to our little furry friend when we left, but we always assumed some friends of ours would give him a good home and we would say goodbye in a bittersweet way knowing he was still swinging around his cage like a monkey and entertaining somebody else just like he always did us.

Thursday morning when I got back from my run I found him trapped in the window of his little house that is in his cage. He had 1 paw and his head stuck out and his color was really dusky. I got Ken and we got him unstuck, but you could tell he was struggling to breath and very flaccid. I had the kids hold him for a little while knowing that when we came home from school he would probably be gone. Sure enough when we came home Nacho had passed on and so we decided to have a funeral for him. The children decorated a box for him to be buried in. Connor played "Amazing Grace" on the guitar and Kayleigh read the 23rd Psalm. Afterwards we had a hard time explaining to Cade that we couldn't dig him back up and put him in his cage. We have said goodbye to 3 pets now in the last 1 1/2 years and this one I believe was hardest on the kids just because they knew the little guy suffered. The kids wanted to know if they would see their little "luchador" in heaven and I told them that if the lion was going to lay down with the lamb in heaven that surely there would be room for a little hamster named Nacho Libre.

"Glory"

I made this video for an upcoming praise and worship time we are having at school for our last chapel. Most of the photos are from people and places of Central and South America. The message of the words are so powerful. "Glory" by Selah and Nichole Nordeman

Walking the Desert

Have you ever had a time in your life when you felt you were walking in the desert? When it was so dry in your life that you could almost taste the sand and feel the heat? That was how I felt about 2 weeks ago when we were waiting to hear about where we would be going. I was struggling with wondering if we were really where God wanted us, because if we were, why were there so many obstacles now? Why did I feel like we were out here in the Sahara alone? Does anyone know what I am talking about? You try to remember where you must have turned left when you should have turned right. You find yourself looking back at the signals and wondering if you imagined all the signs as if they were an oasis that was only a mirage.

This is where I found myself when ironically we had our Spiritual Emphasis Week at school, but it wasn't really ironic at all. I feel that it was God's answer to my spiritual thirst. During the morning sessions with Iva May and just the ladies I heard Iva talk about the need to not just go through the motions in our daily quiet times (as I had been doing lately), but to really reflect on what God was saying to us through His Word and our prayer time. She encouraged us to start a Bible journal that helps us to see the lessons God is showing us each day during our quiet time. Although I have often had prayer journals, I never even thought of having a Bible journal. How wonderful it is to reflect on what is truly important.

The part for me most of all that hit home was when her husband, Stan, in the evening session talked to us about the Israelites being in the desert. He read the passage in Numbers 9 that talked of the Lord using a cloud by day and fire by night to guide the Israelites. That when the cloud/fire lifted from the temple, day or night, a day, month or year, they were to follow it. They were never forewarned of where they were going or even when they were going. They were to merely be obedient in the call. He pointed out how difficult that must have been after a long day of traveling when they were tired and had finally eaten and put the children to bed and then the pillar of fire moves beckoning them to follow. I am sure they probably wanted to say no way, but they realized that without the great I AM, they were nothing. Without Him guiding them, they would be lost in the desert. But what truly grabbed me in this lesson was when we read the passage in Joshua 10 where the Israelites marched all day and night with Joshua. Then they proceeded to fight all of the next day, and when Joshua asked God to stop the sun they continued fighting through the "night" into the next day. How could they do that? Because God had conditioned them in the desert for 40 years, following the cloud by day and the pillar by night. It was not for nothing, this intense training. God had a purpose.

And so I know God has a purpose for us when we go through those tough times in our lives of trials and tribulations. God is not just testing our faith or showing us how much we need to depend on Him. He is preparing us for what lies ahead. And as the Lord showed Hagar in the desert when she cried out for mercy, the Oasis is right in front of us if we will only open our eyes and see. His Word is that Oasis and our prayers are that cry. So with each of these moments in the desert I pray that God draws me ever closer to Him knowing that He is the eternal spring in a barren and thirsty land.

Freedom is Never Free

I was sitting here and looking at all the posts on Facebook of 4th of July activities and comments of thanks about our country's founding fathers. I was reminded of the price paid for that freedom, a price many other country's citizens are unable or unwilling to pay. Below is a poem that reminds us of the cost of freedom. As we celebrate this important holiday and our heritage as US citizens I hope that all will give thanks to God for our freedom and pray for the soldiers that continue to pay the price to keep our freedom. God bless all of you and God bless America.

FREEDOM’S PRICE (Tribute to Declaration of Independence)

"In God we trust," on our money appears

Showing our faith down through the years.

Behind the flag we call "Old Glory"

Lies a valiant and courageous story.

________________

The Declaration, as Jefferson penned it,

Called for British rule to be ended.

Unalienable rights of freedom were told

When John Hancock etched his signature bold.

________________

Fifty-six strong and courageous men

Took in hand a goose-quill pen.

Knowing the risk, and holding life dear,

They signed the charter, ignoring the fear.

________________

Five endured torture which took their lives,

Never returning to their wives.

Twelve homes were looted, plundered, or burned,

And nine men died in a war they had spurned.

________________

Four sons were captured or otherwise lost,

Of these brave men who counted the cost.

Their gallant echoes of the past

Speak of a heritage rich and vast.

_________________

Now, we cherish this land of ours

And give praise to higher powers.

God has smiled on its fruited plains

And blessed its wealth of golden grains.

__________________

The Star-Spangled Banner proudly waves high

Over these brave men, and we know why--

Independence won by master design;

Freedom gained through Providence Divine.

617729

There are many times in my life when I have heard others talk about how they reacted in a crisis and I have said, “Well I wouldn’t have done that, I would have…” I have discovered that in the midst of a crisis reactions can be so fast that you never truly realize the danger until it has passed.

Today a kid walked up to me on the street while I was walking from the school at 9:20 in the morning and said, “¡Deme todo!” (Give me everything!) He literally bumped into me when I tried to walk past him and I replied, “¿Qué?” (What?), because I did not realize that he was really robbing me. I was not scared. He was just a 20-something punk kid, but then he showed me his “pistola” saying in Spanish he had a gun and I needed to hand everything over to him. For those of you that don’t know, I was in the military, and I immediately looked at the gun and thought it could be a fake. Then again, I thought about the fact that he was bold enough in broad daylight to rob me, so it might just be real. I handed him my book bag and he asked me for my money. I told him I didn’t have any and then I started yelling, “¡Ayúdame! ¡Él me robó!” As he ran off, I chased him around the corner. He jumped into his waiting car and sped off as I memorized the tag number 617729 and the type of car (a gray Nissan sedan).  I turned to see who had witnessed this and found a man in a white van willing to help me as I wanted to write down the tag number. A lady nearby had seen the car speed off and she too remembered the last 4 numbers of the tag, and saw where the car had turned up the street. The kind man in the white van, José, called the police with the information. The nearest small police station was actually ¼ mile down the street and we waited about 3 minutes for them to show up. When they never did, José drove me the couple of blocks to the station. The police were there and after giving them the information again (they received it the first time, but I guess had not planned to leave yet to catch the man) they left in a motorcycle and police car. I will give the lady cop credit in that she found a large assault rifle, grabbed extra clips, loaded it, and got into the patrol car like she meant business. The two guys looked really “tranquilo”, but she was loaded for bear. Atta girl!

  Anyway, I am told that the police need me to go downtown and fill out a report to be able to do anything, and even then they believe the car and tags are stolen. I can say a friend was robbed about two weeks ago by a guy in a similar gray car and matching this kid’s description, and a couple just a week before that all within two blocks of the school. If all this happened so that he can finally be caught I am happy to forfeit my books, backpack, Franklin translator, and tape recorder, but I will say that losing my favorite little red Celtic HCSB Bible hurt some. There was also in my backpack a Bible study in Spanish called Vida Abundante with a simple study on the gospel of John. Most of all I pray he reads that. That alone would make it worth it all to me. I pray he comes to know the Savior that can heal and forgive. I thank God that my children were not with me, and I ask all of you to pray for this man and for the safety of the people at our language school. God is sovereign and I know that no one is beyond His power to save.