¡Feliz cumpleaños!

Monday after school we had a birthday party for Connor and Kayleigh. All our friends from school came and some new friends we have just met here in CR as well. The kids had a wonderful time hitting the piñatas, eating cake, and opening presents. The pictures really tell more than I can, so enjoy them. We will be moving to our house on Friday, so we hope to do some blogging with a few pictures of our new digs this weekend. For Kayleigh's birthday we had some new skate shoes we brought from the U.S. for her. I love the picture of "big brother" helping her learn how to use them. She had a great time rolling around the AMCA house!

¡Viva la diferencia!

Some of you have asked me about some of the differences we have found here in CR (Costa Rica). Here is only a partial list of some of our observations:

-Almost all liquids here come in bags (ie. ketchup, jelly, sour cream, washing detergent, etc...)

- The largest denomination of money is 10,000 colones, which is around $20 US dollars.

-There are beautiful hummingbirds and flowers (birds of paradise, hibiscus, etc...) everywhere that are not easily found in the US. There are no pine trees, robins, oak trees, or nut trees here in CR. (Nuts are very expensive here...please bring me some pecans at Christmas, Mom!)

-No one writes checks here. They only use credit cards, debit cards, or cash. If you pay cash at some small stores you can get a discount for using cash (about 7%). There is also no sales tax here as well.

-People do not put their toilet paper in the toilet bowl. They put it in the trash cans next to the toilet. The nurse in me finds this practice VERY disturbing.

-It rains really hard here. The fist time we saw the rain come down here I was reminded of that line from Forrest Gump: http://www.gotwavs.com/php/sounds/?id=gog&media=WAVS&type=Movies&movie=Forrest_Gump&quote=raining.txt&file=raining.wav

-Almost all mayonnaise here is flavored with lime. I Love it!!!!

-Houses are locked up like Fort Knox. There is a front gate with sharp spikes protruding from the top, an iron gate in front of most doors, and then the doors themselves. Most yards are surrounded by big walls with concertina wire on top to prevent climbing.

-There is no air conditioning here. Most of the time it is not really necessary anyway, but I am sure my friends from the OR (i.e. Dr. Wolfley) would probably die of heat stroke at night trying to sleep. Due to the constant moisture we have found lotion unnecessary, but cologne/perfume absolutely essential.

-Driving laws are optional, but horn honking is mandatory.

-Pedestrians=speed bumps (See above)

-Everything here takes more time. Going to the grocery store can take more than 2 hours just for a few items. First we have to decide, will we walk, catch a bus, or a taxi? If it is raining we don't want to walk or wait 20 minutes for a bus, so we usually call a taxi. If it is during rush hour we pray the taxi actually shows up since they never acknowledge on the phone that they are actually coming to get you after you give them the directions. On entering the store you must turn over any bags (except for purses) to prevent anyone from easily shoplifting any items. Once you arrive at the store you find yourself wandering aimlessly looking for items you recognize. One lady from our group here bought baking powder instead of salt because she couldn't read the label yet. There are many choices here in CR, but not all of them are good. For instance, women in the store dressed in regular clothing stand there and try to pedal their product to you when you are trying to look at say, lunch meat. Even though I know what they are trying to do I find myself playing the stupid gringa and telling them in English that "I don't really need any help, thank you." If you are buying any produce you have to get the man at the scale in the produce aisle to weigh it for you and put a sticker on it before you go to the checkout counter. God forbid you get to the checkout and don't have all your produce labeled with the proper stickers. That's a major no-no! And at last there is paying at the checkout. In rapid Spanish you hear a lady say"Setentaseismilochocientosnoventaidos colones," SAY WHAT??? Now comes the fun of trying to flag down one of those elusive taxis at the front of the store. By the time you get home you are thoroughly exhausted and realize of course that you forgot the milk which was the whole reason you even went to the store in the first place.

-There are no street names or numbers, but I am told they are trying to place some street signs and numbers on some areas in downtown San Jose. Most believe this is a fruitless endeavor as the signs are made of metal and all the junkies like to sell any scrap metal they can get their hands on.

-Some streets have their own security guards that are there 24/7 with a day guard and a night guard. We (the residents) pay these men to watch out for potential robbers. Although they have no real weapons to speak of I have heard they will chase someone down and beat them senseless if they steal or mug someone when they are around. Usually these guys are from Nicaragua. Which leads us to the next thing...

Things that are the same:

-The people here tend to treat Nicaraguans the same as Americans treat people from Mexico. They allow them to take the jobs they do not want, like landscaping, construction labor, and guard duty. Many of the jokes are also about what they refer to as "Nicas." The Ticos (Costa Ricans) seem to feel that although the Nicas are doing this so they can better their lives, they should go back and better their country instead.

-Most Ticos are very friendly. It is kind of like being in a large city in the South. Busy, but the people will take time to talk to you if you ask them a question and they appreciate our attempts at learning their language.

-These people here love their roasted chicken (kind of like Southerners love fried chicken).

-Ticos enjoy a good party and love a weekend at the beach.

-Ticos love their kids. This is evidenced by all the parks they have and the fact parents are frequently seen there with them playing and spending time as a family. We were glad to keep this tradition here in Central America. We have become park connoisseurs and enjoy the opportunity to meet Tico families and make new friends. They truly are a wonderful people.

So, with all this in mind and the many other things not yet named we say "¡Viva la diferencia!"

The grass is always greener

This first week has been a tremendous week for adjustment and patience. We have seen the best and the worst of our area in all the miles we have taken on foot around here. Some of the things we have found ourselves grumbling about like the temporary commune living in the AMCA house with new faces coming and going every night (usually arriving around 1-2 am) has been both a curse and blessing for us. The kids always seem to take it all in stride and enjoy meeting the new people. They have even given some command performances of break dancing and air guitars for their captive audience. For Ken and I the lack of privacy, especially the lack of a bathroom close to our room we can use, and the fact we are all in one room in bunk beds as a family, has been a challenge for sure. I guess we can't all serve in Portugal (inside joke).

This all being said I have been very aware of the massive amount of poverty here in Central America. We no doubt have it very good down here compared to many of those around us. Ken was speaking with a homeless man the other day that told him he was going to try and find work in a neighboring city because he was unable to find work here. The man did not ask for a handout, but merely said he needed to find work so he could better his condition.

This morning I got up early and went to the local farmer's market to purchase our vegetables and fruit for the week. Along the way I saw many people putting their garbage in the street for pick up and also many people going through those same garbage bags looking for aluminum cans to sell, food to eat, etc... It is hard for me to really feel justified in my complaints about our cramped lifestyle for the next two weeks when I see teenagers having to scrounge around through the trash for food.

As I took the children to one of the many local parks in the area I was humbled by the knowledge that God has really provided for all of our needs. We have learned the first few verses of Psalm 23 in Spanish "Jehovà es mi pastor, nada me faltarà ." which translates, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want." How true that simple message has become for each of us.

Thank you everyone for your continued prayers. God is really pruning us right now, but that is exactly what we have needed. It is not always easy for us to find these places in us opened and bared to the world, but through these moments I know that God will grow us into the beautiful creation He has designed. God bless you all, or, as they say down here...¡Diós Te Bendìga!

¡Que guapo!

Well, yesterday was day 2 of our barefoot experience here in San Jose. We had a simple assignment to take a bus to a local mall and engage some of the locals (see Ticos) in a little practice session of our newly aquired skills. Ken and I were told that it is wise when you introduce yourselves to someone else that a little compliment will go a long way. Women were instructed to say another lady's name was pretty (bonita); men were to shake hands and show their machismo (masculinity). So, we went and looked for a jogging stroller here because our little umbrella stroller will not cut it on the rough San Jose streets. The streets and sidewalks here are full of pot holes, cracks, and assorted gringo traps (dog poop, man holes without the covers, etc...)

We decided to try our newly aquired skills at several stores that sold coches para bebes (baby carriages). Apparently nobody here jogs with their baby because when I asked for a jogging stroller in Spanish they looked at me like I was crazy. Like, why would a gringa want to run with her baby? Sure enough, when I do go running in the morning, I don't see ANY women jogging, just men. So, it was pretty much a fruitless endeavor on that part, but we did manage to speak a little to the locals, and I'm sure make several of them snicker.

When we went to the food court to get our lunch I decided to go to a Japanese place after Ken went and got some Italian. Ken came back and said, "The lady behind the counter said I spoke very good Spanish." Not to be outdone I went to the Japanese place where a man was making some sushi rolls. I asked him in Spanish what kind they were, how much, etc... I selected a few and decided to ask his name. "¿Como se llama?" I said. He said his name was Mark....and a few more words I could not really understand. Of course I felt the need to compliment him on his name, but not really knowing how to do that I just said, "¡Que guapo!" He had a huge smile and then proceeded to give me an extra sushi roll for my compliment. I realized my error a little too late, so I tried to make it clear to him I was here with mi esposo (husband) and was just learning Spanish. Yeah, I think that next time I may stick to something like, "what a nice name" instead of "How handsome".

Putting the cart under the horse??!!???

Well, we have arrived here safe and sound in Costa Rica. We passed through customs at 11:30 pm CR time (That is 12:30 am central) and arrived at the AMCA guest house at 1:00am CR time. The flight was a bit delayed out of Atlanta due to TSA wanting to go through the bags. It might have been due in part to the fact that many of us had those black footlocker trunks that look the same.

The kids were real troopers throughout the journey. Poor Connor got motion sickness when we were landing, but he managed to use the bag this time instead of his clothing to catch his dinner. Customs was not too hard, and we were outside the airport, all 20 of us with over 75 bags in no time. Imagine our surprise when we saw a flatbed truck awaiting us to put our luggage on. As they dropped two pieces of our luggage off the top while stacking them up about 6 feet off the bed, I turned to Ken and said, "What were we thinking??!!??" Yes, sometimes you just have to be a little bit crazy to follow God's call in your life. Ken said, "It's just stuff." Connor, a little more concerned said, "I think we need to pray for the luggage!" Well, we arrived safe at the house and the bags did too.

Thank you everyone for all your prayers and encouraging emails. We really do feel that is what is sustaining us during those mule in the air moments!

Saying Goodbye is Never Easy

Why does it take a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye? Today is our last day here in the US for the next 3 1/2 years. These last few weeks have been a series of bittersweet moments saying goodbye to friends and family as we prepare to go on the journey God has set before us. I wanted to take a few moments and just say thank you to all of you who have shown us your love and support. Thank you for your prayers most especially. Although we have very heavy hearts leaving all of you, we know that there is something truly wonderful God has in store for us as we share His love with others far away. I believe George Eliot said it best when he said,"Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love." Thank you everyone for showing us the depths of love.

The Nelsons,

Ken, Kirsten, Connor, Kayleigh & Cade

In our natural habitat!

This last week was very interesting for Ken and the kids. I had to go up to Richmond for a medical conference on Tuesday. The conference was to last until Sunday. I knew with it being so close to us leaving the country it would be a real challenge for Ken to get anything done and still provide fun for the kids. I want to thank all those (Amy & Trent, Beth, and Ann & Harry) for all their help with the kids and giving them some wonderful memories to leave with.

I knew that the kids would enjoy a trip to the Zoo, so I told Ken to take them there one last time. He took them to a new kangaroo exhibit that he said the kids really enjoyed. Usually the kids use the sprinklers there in the summer, so they all had their bathing suits on and were prepared to romp in the summertime fun. Unfortunately Kayleigh slipped and fell just going into the water. As Ken tried to care for her, Cade took his turn taking a fall as well and reopened a cut on his arm, so with two injured children and our oldest saying he was really now too old for the sprinklers, poor Ken was forced to call the fun time to an end. I hate that I missed that....

¿Còmo se dice...? (How do you say...?)

On Sunday we had the privilege to speak to Dawson Memorial's Spanish congregation, Congregacion Hispana. Byron Mosquera, the pastor, was so kind to allow us some time to share with the church how they can partner with us in missions. I gave them a short speech in...(gulp)...Spanish, and Ken introduced an amazing video in Spanish that really shows the heart of missions in South America. It was such a wonderful service and a great opportunity to meet some people from Birmingham's Hispanic community that have a heart to pray for missions and be a part of leading people from their homelands to the Lord. Here is their website if you would like to see it:

http://www.dawsonchurch.org/index.php/ministries/international/hispanic_congregation/congregacion_hispana

Now, we were prepared for the whole occasion by several people. Our dear friends from orientation, the Marlins, helped translate the speech from English to Castilian Spanish. This was then translated to Latin American Spanish by Byron, and then Saturday night was practiced with two great families from where we will be serving.

Glenda and Carlos were so gracious to invite us and my mother to their house Saturday night for dinner with them. Glenda and her sister-in-law even taught me how to make arepas. We brought some gazpacho, and they gave us some wonderful carne mechada (shredded beef slow cooked with spices, peppers, onions, etc...) It was muy delicioso! They taught us how to put the cheese and meat in the arepas to make a little sandwich...a taste of heaven! I do not believe it will be too big of an adjustment for us to learn to love the local cuisine. If anything I believe we may have to restrain ourselves a little!

We spent most of the evening learning all about foods, customs, and the people we will be serving. It was so wonderful to hear about how friendly the people are, how warm and hospitable they are. It was even better to experience this first hand from these two sweet families. We will always treasure that night as our first real taste of our new home.

We are now preparing for our final week here in the states for the next 3 years and have been going around town having that "last meal" at our favorite spots. I see it as a good excuse not to cook and Ken just sees it as a great excuse to eat! Either way we are both happy with the end result, except that extra few pounds we need to lose. Remember, IMB is BMI spelled backwards! Yes, I see a trip to Full Moon BBQ on the horizon, or Luna's as we affectionately call it.

Goodbye Garfield

Yesterday we said goodbye to our good friend Garfield. Garfield has been very faithful to us over the last year. My children after last summer had another nickname for Garfield, the deer slayer. Now I am sure many of you are wondering who is Garfield? Garfield was our little PT Cruiser. It was the last really big piece of America that we had not either crated or prepared to stick in a suitcase to follow us to Costa Rica.

Several years ago when I first saw a purple PT Cruiser, I told Ken that it was the car for me! Last summer we had to get rid of my big Tahoe so we could prepare to downsize and we found a great deal in this little used PT Cruiser. God had provided one of my desires and needs at the same time. Less than a week later I hit a deer in it going through Wedowee to work a locum nursing job out of town. Although I was shaken, and the deer did not make it, the little car got me to town before the radiator said enough. It was fixed up and remained a faithful vehicle for us until the end.

Now some of you may be wondering why I am waxing poetic about a car. You see, I believe that God knows our needs and provides them, but He also knows our desires. Years ago I never thought I would spend over a year without a vehicle and be excited about it. A few years ago I would never have been happy about selling a car I had wanted since I first saw one. But you see that is the beauty of the way God works inside of us. He gives us the desires of our heart when those are His desires as well, and when we can release these things to Him he also gives us joy in the loss knowing that He has something even better in store for us ahead.

Anyone that really knows me also knows I am looking forward to "walking" all around Costa Rica. A little known fact about me is that I am a little crazy about exercising (see obsessive compulsive disorder). I also love to prayerwalk, so for me this is the best of both worlds. Even better I get to do this with my family in one of the most beautiful places on earth. So, I am truly happy to say goodbye to Garfield. He has been a faithful car for us from an even more faithful God!

See no evil, hear no evil, speak no evil

Well, we are in the dog days of summer now. The kids are loving going to the park every day, eating Popsicles, and visiting with friends in town. Ken and I spend a great deal of our time on the phone trying to prepare for leaving the country. This has left us both a little frazzled as we find ourselves leaving multiple messages, staying on hold for hours on end, and spending several minutes explaining our situation to one person only to be told that this person is not qualified and we need to be transferred to someone else. Yep....it would try the patience of a saint. I actually momentarily thought, "Hey, why do we really need insurance on our stuff for? We sold most of it anyway." and "Do we really need a life insurance policy? Wouldn't that just encourage us to drive recklessly in South America? Ken certainly doesn't need any more encouragement in that area. And why do insurance companies have so many problems with insuring property going to third world countries?" Just something to ponder I guess.

One thing we are very thankful for is this great mission house here at Dawson. It even has it's own prayer room! The people here at the church are so nice. We look forward to getting to know some of them over the next couple of weeks. We were excited to find out the house would be available in January of 2012 when we will be back for stateside assignment (STAS). The children's schools are within walking distance along with 3 parks and a playground just a couple of blocks away. Best of all, the Edgewood Creamery is only 1 block away and has an awesome assortment of homemade ice creams!!!!! Yeah, God must be preparing us for some major inconveniences in the near future, because this place has every convenience. Thank you everyone for all your prayers and encouragement. It has made these last few weeks in the states so precious to us.

God Bless the USA

Today was a bittersweet time for us as we watched what may be our last "Thunder on the Mountain" here in Birmingham. It is a family tradition for the last 8 years that we have gone to Red Mountain, where the Vulcan statue resides, to watch the fireworks. This year we are blessed enough to be staying in Homewood which is a 4 block walk to the park where we can watch the fireworks. We packed up the kids, the stroller, and took Nana and Papaw with us to the neighborhood park by the church where we are staying.

It was so nice to watch the fire works and listen to the music dedicated to the servicemen, the country and Birmingham. We really thought about all the freedom we have come to expect here in America. Many people think we are so crazy to leave that freedom behind to go somewhere that they do not have those same freedoms that we take for granted here. All I know is that my freedom goes with me everywhere I go. This freedom was bought at a great price, but it was not because a soldier fought on foreign soil, or that some one had to leave their loved ones behind to fight a battle in defense of their land. This freedom was bought through the shed blood of my Savior, Jesus. It does not matter what land I am in, free or otherwise. The freedom I have in Christ is one that I will have for all eternity and as Lee Greenwood says, "and they can't take that away!"

It is this that compels us to go and tell others of the freedom that they too can have in Christ. A freedom that can only come through the author of Liberty:

Our fathers' God to Thee,

Author of Liberty,

To thee we sing,

Long may our land be bright

With Freedom's holy light,

Protect us by thy might

Great God, our King.

Samuel F. Smith (America...My Country 'Tis of Thee)

"That's a Wrap!"

This last week was our final wrap up at FPO. We were commissioned on Thursday with everyone from our group. Ken drove that evening towards Birmingham and arrived a few hours before us in time to pick us up at the airport the next day.

A few comments about FPO:

All the kid's teachers were awesome!!! Each child really came into their own by the end and I feel each will really be a part of this ministry God has called us to. With Miss Dawna's help Connor has been much more open to praying out loud in front of others and he really enjoys the storying from the Bible. He also has a greater appreciation for different cultures now and he can't wait to be a part of our new culture.

Kayleigh has really taken to learning scripture for memory. She loves to quote scripture to others. A few weeks ago she was talking to some of the singles (journeymen) and they were being silly and telling her little funny rhymes, teasing her a little like her big brother does. She proceeded to say, "Let no unwholesome talk come from your mouths, but only that which is good for building others up according to their needs that it may benefit those who listen. Ephesians 4:29." The girls in the group were saying, "Go Kayleigh! Tell them another one!" Kayleigh's last day of class was so hard for her as she cried and said goodbye to Miss Becky. Becky really connected to Kayleigh in such a special way and I thank God that he placed her in Kayleigh's life during this time to show her that He would always provide for her people that love her along the way.

Cade towards the end finally really seemed to enjoy his time at school and with friends. I was most concerned with his adjustment since he had never been at a daycare on a regular basis before. Miss Marlene was so sweet with him and patient. Whenever I would bring him in in the mornings she would stop what she was doing and immediately distract him with the bubble machine. By the end of FPO he was having fun playing peekaboo with her during one of the services.

I can not express enough gratitude to the people of ILC and all the love and attention they gave to our children, but most of all the way they helped them to grow spiritually while we were there. I am also thankful to all the other men and women there with us that made such a great impact on our kids by showing them that wherever we go we will always have an extended family with us of "aunts" and "uncles". Now I pray with this foundation we will be able to continue this growth in their lives and to help them make an impact for God's kingdom.

We also learned so much and made so many life long friendships. This time together as a family of like minded believers was just a small taste to me of what heaven will be like one day. Now we are ready like little birds leaving the nest to spread our wings and see what an amazing flight God has in store for us as we travel this journey together!

Let's Go Crazy

This last week was a great week as we finally have gotten into a routine with the kids and our schedule. With all this improved adjustment also came a sense of giddiness as we found ourselves tickled about every little funny moment. We were really getting into the role playing during our T4T (training for trainers) small group. This picture shows our fearless leader, Brett, and his wife Nicole as they helped us to focus on the task at hand.

Of course these moments spilled over onto our children's lives as well. Connor begged me when it was time to get his haircut, "Can I pleeeeease have a Mohawk?" Ken said, "Absolutely not!" I said, "Sure!" Talk about role reversals. We told him he could keep it until commissioning service. He has loved it!

There is a beautiful fountain here at ILC. The kids love to run around it while we adults place bets on who will fall in first. It has been so hot here the week before last (Highs of 103) that when it was only in the 90s this week we spent a lot of our time outdoors. On Father's day we recorded a message for Papaw by the fountain.



Later I got a chance to play some soccer in the tournament. I was more than just a little intimidated by one of the opposing team members who is over 6'3". I learned to just move out of the way when he came towards me with the ball. Now, I will say in my defense that I did scrap it up pretty well with the girls. The South American team did end up winning the tournament with cheers of "OLE, OLE, OLE" resounding on and around the field! Ken had an opportunity to go fishing this week with Anthony. I call this picture "Fisher of Men" since they didn't catch any fish that day.

This last weekend I had the privilege of teaching a CPR class to some of the people here. We had mannequins and a DVD to use for practice. It was a great class and Doug was so nice to help me out in teaching since he has several years of EMT experience. Something important I had to convey to the students...if you are trying to reach emergency services in another country check and see what the official number is for that country. 911 in one country I found out was the number you call to get a pizza.

Last week we completed our contingency training. Basically this training teaches you what to do if you are ever held hostage. Although it was only 3 days of training, it was pretty stressful for some people as they do real life role play with people randomly selected in the group. I had a little training in the military, but it was not nearly as intense as what the people selected for role play went through. Connor decided to have his own scenerio on the playground with some of the other TCKs (Third Culture Kids). They determined that they would use tickling as their form of punishment. Eventually the hostages escaped and made their captor the recipient of some merciless tickling.

Here are a few pictures from these last two weeks:

Connor and Kayleigh show off their new pillows with Miss Bobbie.

These strawberries are "HUGE" Mama!

"Uncle Mark" reminds us to pray for the mentally challenged of Italy.

Our last cultural worship we had Arabic Underground House Church. It really gave me an appreciation for the freedoms we have here in America to worship the Lord without fear of being persecuted. It also reminded me to pray for those that do not have that freedom.

Worship As One

Cultural Worship is every Sunday evening at 6:00 here on the "compound" ( and Jacque, no, they haven't given us any Kool-Aide to drink yet). It gives us a chance to experience what "church" will be like in other cultures.
Two weeks ago we had Latin American night. Yours truly had the honor of playing the keyboard for the service. We had 3 guitars, drums, a bass guitar, shakers, and I even got to play bongos for one song! The entire service was presented in Spanish. We had thought we would be using an overhead projector to give them the words to the songs so they could follow along, but at the last minute we were told that there would be no dependence on audio/visual equipment as a crutch for our worship time. I was reminded of the words our Minister of Missions, Jeremy, used to say to us..."You can't just be flexible...that is too rigid. Be FLUID!!!" So, it was an eye-opening experience for people who had never been in a Spanish only environment. No doubt Ken was thinking, "I better really pick up the Spanish quick in Costa Rica." Another interesting "non-Western" idea is that childcare is NOT provided in most other cultures during church services. This proved to be very interesting as well during the Latin American night as I looked up while playing bongos to see my 2-year-old running down the aisle toward the stage saying "Me play! Me play!"

Last Sunday we had African worship night. We went outside and sat on the hill by the gazebo with the lake as the backdrop to the setting. The women wore long dresses or skirts like the African women would wear, and even some of the men who had been to Africa wore skirts like the natives would, or at least the ones really comfortable with their masculinity. So the men sat on one side and the women and children on the other side. At this point I am thinking Ken considers it payback for having to watch Cade by himself the week before. It went well though.

The music was so cool, and the sermon was great because he would speak for about 5 minutes in Swahili and then sum it up in about 3-4 sentences in English. As he was coming to the conclusion of the sermon he was talking about how we should not fear things that come our way and right about that time a strong wind started to blow as dark clouds rolled in. We just wrapped things up in time to run to our Quad and watch the rain come pouring down. As the storm blew over and the sun returned everyone went outside to see a beautiful double rainbow! When I thought of the contrast afterwards between the Latin service, the African service, and even our own Western style worship I recalled what it says in Revelations 7:9-10:

After this I looked and there before me was a great multitude that no one could count, from every nation, tribe, people and language, standing before the throne and in front of the Lamb. They were wearing white robes and were holding palm branches in their hands. And they cried out in a loud voice: "Salvation belongs to our God, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb."

How amazing to know that when we get to heaven we will not lose our language, culture, and personality; but we will all worship the Lord as one!

Coming Up for Air

Well, we have been here at orientation now for 2 weeks and I am finally able to do some blogging for the first time since we arrived. It has been a very busy time here with most of our days spent in class and most of our evenings spent trying to spend time with the kids and get our assignments completed before the next day. Although we are very excited to be here and learning all the important information, we do look forward to the weekends!

Some of you have asked what our accomodations look like. The Quads are 4 separate apartments that are combined by one large common area. We have a small kitchen, bathroom and 3 bedrooms in our apartment. It is small, but comfortable, and we spend our weekend evenings talking with other families, playing games, and working on puzzles in the common areas.

The kids are starting to adjust to life here in Rockville. They have school every day M-F. Connor has already been on one field trip to the main Richmond offices and out for Chinese for lunch. Kayleigh has made so many friends. I often see her holding hands with one of her play friends and whispering secrets back and forth. Cade is a constant bundle of energy. Most of my evenings are spent chasing him around the cafeteria, playgrounds, quad, etc...Although he still has not quite adjusted to the new routine as far as sleep goes, he does seem to love his class and enjoys his new friends as well.

There are 3 large playgrounds here, a river, a lake stocked with catfish, bass and crappy (Ken and Connor have already been fishing), some great walking/running trails, and lots of pasture and cows around. I guess it would be considered a great place to vacation if we didn't have so much work to do :)

One thing that has been emphasized here more than anything else I can say is to really increase our quiet times reading the Word and praying to the Lord. For me it has always been a challenge with three small children to do that, but now it is to be my top priority and it has been such a blessing to have that time with just God and me. Towards the end of the first week Ken and I were so tired and frazzled with the work, kids, and general adjustment. We just prayed together for God to help us to really focus on what was important. The next day they decided to send us all off with a box lunch to find a quiet place to be alone with the Lord. It was such a beautiful day. I remember writing in the journal our Sunday school class had given us Psalm 9:9-10

The Lord is a refuge for the oppressed, a stonghold in times of trouble.

Those who know your name will trust in you, for you, Lord, have never

forsaken those who seek you.

I thank the Lord that He will never forsake us. He is indeed our refuge and fortress!