Monday, November 26, 2007
Thoughts from Spain
We are safely back home and want to thank you for all of your prayers for us while at the All Western European ABWE Conference in Almunecar, Spain. We are still trying to digest everything from the week, so sorry in advance if my thoughts are not so cohesive. We had an overwhelming sense of God's people praying for us. The buffet food didn't seem to affect Jonathan in any way in regards to his gallstones and he was feeling the best physically that he has in a few weeks. We all managed to escape the 24-hour flu bug being passed around the hotel. I would say 2/3rds of our group got sick. I think Jonathan may be coming down with something as I write but we'll see (hopefully not!)
We were spiritually refreshed and encouraged. The first couple of days were extremely hard for me to vocally participate in the worship time as tears choked me with every song. For the first time in 2 1/2 years we were singing in English with a large group of fellow brothers and sisters. I can't even begin to explain how much that meant to us nor would you ever be able to understand unless having walked in the shoes of cross cultural living. It was an enormous blessing!
All the speakers were wonderful in giving valuable information on church planting tactics, a study from the book of Daniel and also 2 Corinthians. Again for me to be able to sit in on each session and to hear God's word in my mother tongue was such a huge blessing. The ministry team from PA did a fantastic job with the kids despite the flu sweeping through their ranks. Samuel was able for the first time to participate in a VBS type of program each morning and evening--he has never had a Sunday School experience with other kids so this was a wonderful thing for him. Emma and Luca flip-flopped from the infant/toddlers to the older kids for story time and puppets. Emma finally made some girl-friends and really bonded and played well with them. Several times she had to be yanked from my neck but adjusted as soon as I left the room and had a wonderful experience each time. At the end of the conference all the kids were each given a big bag of gifts--the time, thought, preparation, money and love they invested in our kids was amazing!
Jonathan and I were able to get away on a couple of sightseeing dates withOUT the kids. Again, people went above and beyond to make our time special and meaningful, especially for those of us with small children who rarely see a date. We went to Granada and visited the Ahlambra and then to the Nerja Caves (Samuel joined us & did fantastic on this short visit). It was so wonderful to connect with other young couples from various fields. It's just nice to know you are not alone in the discouragements and struggles of missionary life--and yes, of course to be of mutual encouragement as well. Too much to write about but I must stop for now.
I will post some pics from our week and hope you enjoy them!
We were spiritually refreshed and encouraged. The first couple of days were extremely hard for me to vocally participate in the worship time as tears choked me with every song. For the first time in 2 1/2 years we were singing in English with a large group of fellow brothers and sisters. I can't even begin to explain how much that meant to us nor would you ever be able to understand unless having walked in the shoes of cross cultural living. It was an enormous blessing!
All the speakers were wonderful in giving valuable information on church planting tactics, a study from the book of Daniel and also 2 Corinthians. Again for me to be able to sit in on each session and to hear God's word in my mother tongue was such a huge blessing. The ministry team from PA did a fantastic job with the kids despite the flu sweeping through their ranks. Samuel was able for the first time to participate in a VBS type of program each morning and evening--he has never had a Sunday School experience with other kids so this was a wonderful thing for him. Emma and Luca flip-flopped from the infant/toddlers to the older kids for story time and puppets. Emma finally made some girl-friends and really bonded and played well with them. Several times she had to be yanked from my neck but adjusted as soon as I left the room and had a wonderful experience each time. At the end of the conference all the kids were each given a big bag of gifts--the time, thought, preparation, money and love they invested in our kids was amazing!
Jonathan and I were able to get away on a couple of sightseeing dates withOUT the kids. Again, people went above and beyond to make our time special and meaningful, especially for those of us with small children who rarely see a date. We went to Granada and visited the Ahlambra and then to the Nerja Caves (Samuel joined us & did fantastic on this short visit). It was so wonderful to connect with other young couples from various fields. It's just nice to know you are not alone in the discouragements and struggles of missionary life--and yes, of course to be of mutual encouragement as well. Too much to write about but I must stop for now.
I will post some pics from our week and hope you enjoy them!
Friday, November 9, 2007
Not Something You Want to Post
We were reminded this week of how fallen and depraved we are as humans and how desperate we are in need of a Savior. Whenever we see headline news coming out of Perugia our attention is immediately caught. Having lived there for nearly two years and with many friends that remain there our hearts remain burdened for the work and people in Umbria.
A week ago there was a British exchange student that attended the University for Foreigners that was murdered. When we saw the house where she lived we quickly recognized it as being a place we passed on our daily walks to school, just down the road from where we lived. We were saddened to hear the news but devasted when we heard this week that the suspect in the murder was a man we knew. Patrick was a very close friend of several GBU (Intervarsity) students and thus we met him through them. Our nanny, Renee, was even a guest singer in one of his band concerts. He was recently married after his girlfriend became pregnant and their son was born the same day as Luca in the same hospital. Although we were not close friends we would always stop to talk whenever we saw him. Patrick, an American girl and her Italian boyfriend are all being held as suspects in the murder. You can find more details on the BBC Europe site.
Our prayer is that Patrick will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and truly know the love and forgiveness that can only come through Him. Pray for his wife and child, we can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. Pray for our believing university friends that they might be able to have more opportunities to speak of the hope we have in Christ and how this is a realization of our utter depravity and the result of a life without Christ. Our hearts are heavy for all involved. Thanks for praying!
A week ago there was a British exchange student that attended the University for Foreigners that was murdered. When we saw the house where she lived we quickly recognized it as being a place we passed on our daily walks to school, just down the road from where we lived. We were saddened to hear the news but devasted when we heard this week that the suspect in the murder was a man we knew. Patrick was a very close friend of several GBU (Intervarsity) students and thus we met him through them. Our nanny, Renee, was even a guest singer in one of his band concerts. He was recently married after his girlfriend became pregnant and their son was born the same day as Luca in the same hospital. Although we were not close friends we would always stop to talk whenever we saw him. Patrick, an American girl and her Italian boyfriend are all being held as suspects in the murder. You can find more details on the BBC Europe site.
Our prayer is that Patrick will come to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ and truly know the love and forgiveness that can only come through Him. Pray for his wife and child, we can't even begin to imagine what they are going through. Pray for our believing university friends that they might be able to have more opportunities to speak of the hope we have in Christ and how this is a realization of our utter depravity and the result of a life without Christ. Our hearts are heavy for all involved. Thanks for praying!
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Bug Party
Emma has a contageous and enormous smile. She is a complete girl and attempts to change outfits several times a day. She was thrilled to receive SO many clothes for her birthday! She isn't much for sweets but at least she did eat the ladybug wings and lots of cookies. Emma is a very joyous little girl and we love her so much!! She is a great cuddle bug as she can curl up in the tiniest little ball and fit in the smallest spots. She will forever be our little girl!! Here are some pics from the party...wish you could have all been here to celebrate!
Samuel & Simone (4 mos. difference in age)
Mamma & the birthday girl
(I think she was okay with not having a "tomato frog" cake)
Samuel was just as excited for the party!
Emma enjoying her new "fish" book
Danilo, Marco, Davide & Fili
The ladybug cupcakes
Everyone was amazed by the ALL the color...no frosting dyes here!
Carol, Emma & Catherine (co-workers)
Samuel & Simone (4 mos. difference in age)
Antoinetta & Emma
Handmade butterfly pillow from Grandma
Don't anyone try to take her with you as a carry-on eventhough she would fit in a backpack!
Mamma & the birthday girl(I think she was okay with not having a "tomato frog" cake)
Samuel was just as excited for the party!
Gift time...thank you everyone for all the beautiful & fun presents!
Emma enjoying her new "fish" book
Danilo, Marco, Davide & Fili
The ladybug cupcakes
Everyone was amazed by the ALL the color...no frosting dyes here!
Carol, Emma & Catherine (co-workers)
David, Brad & Beth (co-workers)
Thank you everyone for all the birthday wishes!
Saturday, November 3, 2007
Happy Birthday Emma!
Tomorrow is Emma's 3rd birthday!
Can anyone tell me where the time has gone? We are so blessed to have our little girl and all the joy, tenderness and enthusiasm she brings to our family. Someone asked her the other day what she wants for her birthday and she said: a monster truck. She also wants a tomato frog birthday cake. Can you tell she is surrounded by brothers?! Maybe one of these days she will be a baby doll loving girl. We'll see.
Emma loves bugs so we of course are having a bug themed party for her tomorrow. We have the ladybug cupcakes, butterfly cake, butterfly cookies, bugs stamped on napkins...to be honest I'm going a little buggy!!
We'll post pics of the big birthday bash later this week, but I knew I would not be able to post a thing tomorrow and just wanted to say:
Can anyone tell me where the time has gone? We are so blessed to have our little girl and all the joy, tenderness and enthusiasm she brings to our family. Someone asked her the other day what she wants for her birthday and she said: a monster truck. She also wants a tomato frog birthday cake. Can you tell she is surrounded by brothers?! Maybe one of these days she will be a baby doll loving girl. We'll see.
Emma loves bugs so we of course are having a bug themed party for her tomorrow. We have the ladybug cupcakes, butterfly cake, butterfly cookies, bugs stamped on napkins...to be honest I'm going a little buggy!!
We'll post pics of the big birthday bash later this week, but I knew I would not be able to post a thing tomorrow and just wanted to say:
HAPPY BIRTHDAY EMMA!
Thursday, November 1, 2007
Random...
Okay, so this is completely random and so stupid, but I was SO excited yesterday when I found this 5K (10+ lbs) bag of flour. Usually I have to buy 3 or 4 small bags (1K) at a time which is very annoying. Groceries are about half the size than what you would find in the states with the same price tag so you can understand my excitement of seeing BIG! A great find for all the holiday baking I have planned. Oh, and we have also been graced with OREOs on the grocery shelves this past month. We need to stock up because you never know how long they will last!
Like I said...random...and completely useless information. Maybe I was just a little too excited about the "pick me up" after the Questura visit.
Half a Victory
We had hoped to report to you that yesterday was a great success in our visit to the Questura. However here is our story:
We kept Samuel home from school yesterday so that we could make a family visit to pick up our permessi. Everyone must be present in order to receive these documents. We went two months ago to pick them up only to find that they printed Samuel's birth date wrong, thus unable to obtain my permesso or the kids'. Jonathan had to get his fingerprints redone for the second time and two months later his was also ready. OR so we were informed.
Our last visit and this visit were assisted by one of our coworker's neighbors who works in the Questura. Thankfully we did not have to stand in line and obtain a number. We were able to talk to our inside contact who then took us to the front of the line, probably disgruntling a few people in the process. Jonathan's permesso was completed properly and he was able to obtain his. Praise the Lord!!
However, when they asked us to look over the kids' cards for accuracy, we were a little shocked to see that Samuel had Emma's ID photo and Luca had Samuel's photo and Emma had Luca's photo. What on earth?!! All we needed was Samuel's card reprinted with the correct birth date which it now had but with the wrong photo. Unbelievable!! So that means I once again was not able to get my permesso.
What does this mean? Another two months of waiting, if the holidays don't slow down the processing. The cards will be sent back to Rome where they are printed and so we need to pray they'll get it right on 3rd try and we can get them before furlough. Thankfully our permessi are good for 2 years this time around, so there is hope I will have the card in hand for at least one year before we reapply for renewal.
We had to laugh once again!! We continue to marvel at the lack of quality control in this country and the lack of desire to perform one's job to the fullest. 10 seconds of a cross-check to make sure the card matched the computer would have saved us 2 months of more waiting and them more work and money. But hey, this is Italy...and so very typical!
Points of praise are that Jonathan at least got his permesso and can now formally enroll in the driving school and take his driving exam before we leave for furlough. Secondly, we praise the Lord we only had to spend 45 minutes of our time at the Questura instead of 5 or 6 hours to receive the above news.
Point of prayer would be obviously for mine and the kids' permesso to be completed properly in the next few months.
So that's our saga.
We kept Samuel home from school yesterday so that we could make a family visit to pick up our permessi. Everyone must be present in order to receive these documents. We went two months ago to pick them up only to find that they printed Samuel's birth date wrong, thus unable to obtain my permesso or the kids'. Jonathan had to get his fingerprints redone for the second time and two months later his was also ready. OR so we were informed.
Our last visit and this visit were assisted by one of our coworker's neighbors who works in the Questura. Thankfully we did not have to stand in line and obtain a number. We were able to talk to our inside contact who then took us to the front of the line, probably disgruntling a few people in the process. Jonathan's permesso was completed properly and he was able to obtain his. Praise the Lord!!
However, when they asked us to look over the kids' cards for accuracy, we were a little shocked to see that Samuel had Emma's ID photo and Luca had Samuel's photo and Emma had Luca's photo. What on earth?!! All we needed was Samuel's card reprinted with the correct birth date which it now had but with the wrong photo. Unbelievable!! So that means I once again was not able to get my permesso.
What does this mean? Another two months of waiting, if the holidays don't slow down the processing. The cards will be sent back to Rome where they are printed and so we need to pray they'll get it right on 3rd try and we can get them before furlough. Thankfully our permessi are good for 2 years this time around, so there is hope I will have the card in hand for at least one year before we reapply for renewal.
We had to laugh once again!! We continue to marvel at the lack of quality control in this country and the lack of desire to perform one's job to the fullest. 10 seconds of a cross-check to make sure the card matched the computer would have saved us 2 months of more waiting and them more work and money. But hey, this is Italy...and so very typical!
Points of praise are that Jonathan at least got his permesso and can now formally enroll in the driving school and take his driving exam before we leave for furlough. Secondly, we praise the Lord we only had to spend 45 minutes of our time at the Questura instead of 5 or 6 hours to receive the above news.
Point of prayer would be obviously for mine and the kids' permesso to be completed properly in the next few months.
So that's our saga.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)