The Past School Years Blessings

Today was the last day of our school year. We have watched as our students grew both academically and spiritually. Not only have our students grown taller but have also grown in their faith in Christ.

On the last Friday of the each month we had a Parents Night Out for our team members so that they would be able to have a date night. The children were able to fellowship with each other and have happy mommies and daddies when they were picked up.

 

One of the opportunities I had this year was putting together a mission orientation for our Mks. They learned about the culture and ways they could minister along side their parents. I was able to practice my Spanish, teaching a class  on a few Sundays to our young ones in our church family and Nolan and I shared our testimony with the Alpha and Omega group of young adults.

Blessed with friends who serve with us

And with making new friends

Blessed with laundry because it meant that the building we manage is ministering to people.

Thank you for your prayer and support for us during this past year. 

                                What is in Your Hand

Sunday our pastor shared about Moses. He shared that Moses had three life divisions in his life. 

The first forty were spent in a Palace. He was taught by great teachers. Learned how to rule a country and had everything he could wish for. He spent the next forty years learning humility in the desert as a shepherd taking care of sheep and raising a new family. He spent the last forty years leading the Israelites out of Egypt.  

As Nolan and I discussed the message while waiting for our pizza, I thought of my life. The first half were my childhood experiences, marriage, raising our family, leading a church, homeschooling, working in a local school with great mentors who taught me more than I would have learned in university. They were all preparation for my second half of life.

 Moses sometimes felt he was inadequate for the job God had for him. At the burning bush, God asked Moses, "What is in your  hand?" and Moses replied that he had a staff in it. (Exodus 4:2) With that staff Moses had beat back wolves as he shepherded sheep, but now he would do miraculous things with it. God used the staff in Moses' hand to lead the people out of Egypt. 

Looking back, I can see the tools that God has given me in my hand. When I feel inadequate in the work God has given me in my second division of life I need to remember God has given me the tools. He has prepared me for the work I do. 

What is in your hand? 

This is a blog post I shared over seven years ago. Heidi Dog gave so many people joy. Love you Heidi Dog. You taught me how to love and how to accept things I had not chosen.

This is a blog post I shared over seven years ago. Heidi Dog gave so many people joy. Love you Heidi Dog. You taught me how to love and how to accept things I had not chosen.

Does God speak thru dogs

Sounds like a weird question but today I was wondering about it. The last three or so weeks I have been asking why why why. Today as I was trying to get all the dog hairs off the couch I started thinking about how much I had detested heidi dog. When Becca had her I didn't like her. It wasn't just Heidi I have never been a dog person. They take up time, eat, poop and cost money. Kind of like kids huh!

I am not going there today, but as I got to thinking I remembered the day Becca and family dropped her off before leaving for Ecuador. I had been praying God would find Heidi another home. She licked everything. She is a huge tank and sheds, eats stuffed lambs, men's shoes, kitchen utensils and takes time to take care off. Having a dog was not on my agenda.

Picking up the dog hair it dawned on me. God brings dogs into our lives that we don't want, things that aren't on our agenda' Moving, responsibilities, job loss, sickness ect.

I had asked God to help me learn to love Heidi when she came. The day the kids packed into their car to leave back to Illinois I saw tears on Marcus face, a boy who normally didn't show much emotion for things, he had tears in his eyes because he was leaving his dog. How could I not love a dog that my grandson loved. At that moment God gave me a different feeling for her.

Heidi has helped me see God's creation every morning on our walks. Walks were something that weren't on my agenda. She greets me at the door when I come home. When I am sad she looks at me as if she knows how I am feeling and lays down at me feet as if to give comfort. She guards the bathroom door when I take a bath. Heidi has helped me lose the 2o pounds I didn't need.

Today Heidi showed me that God brings things into our lives that we don't want and that don't fit our agenda but they are good for us. God gives us what's best. Dear God help me to remember that what you bring into my life is going to be good even if I don't see the benefit of it in my life at the time. Change my heart. Help me to see and understand that you only want the best for me.

A Weekend in Gonzo

This last weekend Nolan and I had the opportunity to visit with a teammate in  Gonzanama which is a two hour bus ride from Loja. For the last several years I have wanted to visit a fellow believer that I had heard about from several others. Chandra took us out to the area that the family lived.We  traveled on a narrow  dirt road that was supposed to be two lanes. I think it was two lanes for two donkeys.

When we got out of the truck, we started the climb up to the house. Halfway up the path was a donkey that I was tempted to try to ride the rest of the way up the hill on.

 We were met by a sweet sister in Christ and her two grandsons. The boys were excited to see us and showed us their climbing skills and their chasing the pig skills while their grandmother cooked us a wonderful lunch of Repe soup and cecina. 

These little piggies needed some food so the boys were sent out to cut some grass for them. The boys showed us their machete skills. Cuys are a delicacy here in Ecuador. 

It was such a privilege to meet this dear sister and her family. Nolan lead in a short message after lunch and we headed back down the hill. 

Sunday morning we were able to worship with the Gonzanama Church. It was good to see new faces there. Thank you for praying for us as we minister here in Loja. Pray for the church in Gonzanama that it will become strong. 

A good Start

 Nolan and I had a great time visiting in the States. We visited with  family and friends in Arkansas, Illinois, Kansas and Pennsylvania. We attended two family reunions, survived a cave expedition and a dogfight with a raccoon.












We were able to watch the Total Eclipse together as a family which was totally awesome.As a family we played the Breakout game together in which the kids were all kidnapped and did not escape and the grownups all died in a volcano eruption.

It was a great time of visiting with churches to share our work. One of the churches stocked me up with M@ms. I will not need a supply for awhile.  One of the memorable experiences was when a pastor came to me and said, This has never happened before in my ministry." He handed me a envelope from one of the children in the church. I carry the envelope in my Bible.

When we returned we had a few days to organize our classroom and get started with the 2017-18 school year.

We are excited to be back home and with our students.

Nolan and I attended a missionary retreat sponsored by Dallas Bay Baptist Church in Tenn. We were treated like royalty. They ministered to us both physically and spiritually. It was good to be able to rest and relax before we head to the States. We will be on the road most of the month of July. 

It is the end of the school year. All the books are packed away. It is a sad time for many of us. Some of our students are going back to their home countries, but they consider Ecuador as their home now. They will be there for a year before returning. The transition can be difficult. Sometimes it is difficult for me and I am only in the States for a few months. 

Pray for them. Five of our students will be on home assignment next year and we will have five or six new students attending the next school year.

I have not posted much in the last few months but here are some photos of the work we have been doing. We worked with the kids of the OMS team during their retreat. Each month we did a Kids Club for the MKs. and a once a month Parents Night Out. 

Class of 2016-17

OMS Retreat

Kids Clubs

                                          School Field-trips

                                         After School Tutoring

This past summer Nolan and I took a short trip to the Gatlinburg area. While there we decided to go exploring. There are many footpaths in the Great Smokey Mountains National Forrest and we stopped at the side of the road to walk one of them. After a steep walk up a hill we found an old cemetery. As I am walking through it reading the names of the people I wondered what their stories were. These were stones from the 1800's to early 1900's most of the people are now forgotten just their names on headstones.

Many years ago a pastors wife said that she believed that one day I would be surrounded by children and that I would have an impact on many lives. I pray that when the time comes and my life story is forgotten and all that is left is my name on a headstone, the children I have touched with the love of Jesus will keep on passing that love to others.

Continue to pray for Nolan and I as we work with the MK children in Loja. Nolan is teaching four high school students. Pray for our new teacher Miss Jensen as she teaches the middle school and for me as I work with second grade and work with the children during Kids Club and Parents Night out. 

Nolan and I are preparing for our next year of teaching. We will be starting  our sixth year here in Ecuador. We are praising God for His answer to our prayers for a teacher this year, she  will be teaching the middle school kids. I will have second grade and Nolan four High School students. 

It seems that our visa saga is close to an end. As many of you know we were wanting to get a pension visa and had the paperwork done while in the States. All except the one really important document. The social security offices will not provide the needed documents. It looks like we have all the paperwork in hand for a Missionary resident visa. This will mean we won't have to apply for a visa every one or two years in Chicago with the chance of it being denied. It will also mean we can only be out of the country for 90 days out of the year for the first two years. That hopefully will not be a problem as we usually are only in the states for two months. 

The paperwork for Nolan and I to become SIM Ecuador associates is in and we are waiting on approval. Our supporting mission agency will still be http://www.gatewayglobaloutreach.org/index.html who will be handling our support but it also means we will be more closely affiliated with our mission team here in Loja. We will have more accountability. 

I will still be working on my Spanish during this next year as well as loving and caring for our Mks. We also will still be managing the LMC building and are hoping we will be able to take some time to support fellow teammates in Gonzanama and another small town near there.

Thank you again for the prayers and support that you give us. We feel those prayers many times. There are some extra financial needs because of the changes in our ministry. If you feel led to share in our ministry please contact us or go to Gateway Global site to find out how you can support us.

Nolan and I were able to enjoy a week with the King family on the coast. It was a much needed time of rest and fellowship. I had a taste of my first prawn a lobster like creature. We enjoyed fresh fish from the sea and plenty of sunshine and are now ready to start the beginning of our sixth year

Thoughts on Packing

Years ago when  I felt the call to missions I fought the call because of circumstances, fear and disobedience. As I pack I am thinking of  circumstances right now. This is a difficult time for us to go back. There are circumstances in our family that make it hard. We have had to make some tough decisions and there are some other decisions we have to just leave to God and know that he is in control. 

There is some fear about our ministry when we get back to Loja. It will change and be different. Fear about leaving loved ones. Fear about making the right decisions. I know from the past that fear can keep me from the wonderful plans God has for us. But I have to be truthful it lurks in every decision we are making this time. 

Sometimes we don't know exactly what the right thing is to do. God doesn't just tell us in his deep voice "Ok this is what you are supposed to do". Sometimes you don't want to hear His voice because you know what you want to do. During these times you just have to obey. 

Oh my goodness a Post

Oh my goodness it looks like I haven´t posted in a while. This last year Nolan and I have been busy studying Spanish. Our team wanted us to take this last year for language study. While studying Spanish we also have been managing the building and recently have been going out to a small town in the province to help two  missionaries on our team every other weekend. 

Nolan has been doing very well with his language studies. I am working on it. I have a problem with not using verbs. There have been times I wanted to put my head through the wall. 
   

 
There are times I feel like the walls are coming down around me

There are times when the walls really are coming down around me. The LMC is going through a little renovation. This is the bodega or closet in the building. Someday soon it will be part of a suite so when you come and visit you will have a nice room to stay in.

 I have also just started meeting with a girls club for the young girls on our team. The girls each take turns doing a devotional and we than do a project such as cooking, learning about childcare or a craft. It is a good time for the girls to be able to socialize with each other in English. 

Continue to pray for us as we will be going through some transitions. We will need to make decisions about our house in Hillsboro. We are becoming associates with SIM but also will still be with our sending organization, Gateway Global Outreach. Also while we are home for a few weeks we will need to get the needed paperwork done for getting residency here in Ecuador. Thank you for your support and prayers for us. 

What I really really want

Nolan and I are in the states for a few weeks. I have had one Reuben,  went to Sonic once and had three baths.Normally that would be two baths a day. I haven't been to the thrift store yet. All the things that I thought I missed, hasn't given me a lot of joy. Well except the Reuben it was really good. 

The bath didn't turn out well because somehow I managed to do something to my sternum and it made it really difficult to get out of the tub. We went to Sonic and I ordered fries, mozzarella sticks and a strawberry shake. The fries were not like the Belgium fries back in Loja. They were not even salted. The shake was warm and a bit like tasting cardboard. I got really sick and we had to leave and quickly return home after the meal. 

I am a few miles from the Thrift Store and my desire to shop shop shop isn't there. The three pair of pants and four shirts I bought seem to be working out well. Not counting the one that lost a snap because I went from a twelve to a 14. I had left some clothes here at Nae's last year so I am fine in the clothes department.

I have been able to download all my music cds that were lost in my last computer crash episode. I have saved  worms from drying up on the sidewalk. I don't like handling worms, but what can you do when your granddaughter is bound and determined to save all the worms on the hot sidewalk but she won't touch them. There are still lots of Peppermint Patties in the freezer. Only one has been eaten by me. 

We will be going to Illinois soon and spending a few days with Seth and Carrie and to travel up to Chicago to get our visas renewed. From there we will head to Kansas City to visit Nolan's Brother and his family for a few days then head down to Arkansas to see family. Hoping to go thru Elvis Country and visit some friends there also. 

One of the things I have really missed were my lambs. I have been able to share long walks, listen to them share what has been going on in their lives and watch my oldest granddaughter dance at her recital. I have missed so much in the last year and it hasn't been the Sonic floats, Dr. Peppers, Reubens, and thrift stores. It has been the time with family and friends that I can't get back. It is the relationships that have changed because of distance, people who have gone to be with the Lord that I wasn't able to say goodbye too.

Continue to pray for Terry (Nolan) and I as we travel and visit with family. Pray for us as we share what we are doing in Ecuador. We are needing 500.00 more in monthly support. Pray that we are able to find prayer and financial advocates who will hold the ropes for us. 

Leaving for the States

In twelve days Nolan and I will be heading out the door, loading a taxi to Catamayo to board a plane on our first leg of our trip home to the States. We will spend the day at the Quito airport until our late flight to Houston than Tampa. We will than spend a few days in Tampa with Nolan's parents and drive back to Ohio with them. We will be making a stop in Phenix Alabama to visit with friends there and speak in the morning service. 

From Ohio we will go to Illinois to visit with family and make a trip to Chicago to have our visas renewed. From Illinois to Tennessee to pick up paperwork for our visas from Mid America Seminary and than to Little Rock to visit family. The six weeks will go by quickly.

I am planning on eating some good Ruben sandwiches and loving on my grandchildren. Pray for us as we finish off the school year and hand off our building responsibilities. We are looking forward to sharing with friends and family about what God is doing here in Loja.
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The Runaway Missionary

Ever since I was a teenager I wondered what it would be like to run away.There have been times in my life that I tried but always chickened out and went back. My children have some good stories about that. I guess insecurity was a good thing for me . But hey you need to run off sometime in your life and if you are going to be 61 in a few days and you never have, you better go for it.

I was having an I REALLY NEED TO GETAWAY for a couple of days feeling a few weeks ago.Sometimes on the mission field you have those days. Well if you let it build up it turns into I REALLY THINK I WILL RUNAWAY. 

I told Nolan  I needed to leave. I think he was thinking I was going out to the store. When he saw I was a little crazy he tried to comfort me by saying" let's go out to lunch" nope I wanted no lunch. He asked a friend to ask me to go to lunch with her. Nope I didn't want lunch with her. I already had my backpack packed and I was going away.  Kissing my husband goodbye I walked out the door. As I shut the main building door I thought "what am I doing". I kept walking and the further I got the more empowered I felt. I made it across the big scary street and to where I thought the Ruta Taxis were. 

Some how I managed to miss the street that the Ruta Taxis were located. I thought, how am I going to do this when I can't even find the Ruta Taxi. Walking several blocks I found it and remembered I had not packed my passport and I didn't even know my phone number. What I am going to say when they ask me for my phone number and passport number? What am I going to do if there is a police check. I could be put in jail and no one will know because I don't know my phone number.  I did have my phone with me but I don't know how to use it. Now I was going to have to go back home for the passport and than I would change my mind about running away.I took a deep breath, walked into the the Ruta Taxi office, gave them my name and destination and I was on my way.

 I than remembered I had not even contacted the place I was heading too. What if they were full and than I would have to turn around and go back.  When I arrived I went on into the office and asked if they took walk-ins.

 I felt like such a big girl. I got my very own room key which I was able to lock into my room. They are keeping my keys at the front desk when I leave the room now. I found that I could climb into the window if I need to.

I met another lady who also decided to run away. She is a teacher in a town about five hours away from Loja. Together we headed out to find honeycomb. My Spanish skills are not good, hers were better. We hopped into a taxi with some guys name on a piece of paper and headed out to some little town to find honeycomb. We found the honeycomb location she purchased a bucket full to take back to Cuenca to make candles. 

Last night I was treated to a Madre Tierra Jamboree. Three guitars, an accordian and a plastic bucket. I Got to bed late and woke up late. I have eaten plates of wonderful fries and had the best batidos around. I had decided I was staying away for as long as my money lasted. I checked the front desk to see if  today was the day I had to go home.  

I will be home soon, just not today. 

It has been over three months since my last posting. I think life has become so normal that I think no one wants to hear my normal. At home in the states I didn't write about doing dishes, putting out the trash, going to work or writing about the dogs or birds we saw outside our window. I didn't write about what I saw in the market or what kind of treatment we got at the doctors. Well maybe I did write about that. I didn't write about the dumb things I said, or about going to church and the service that we sat through.

Here in Loja I didn't write about having to run to the bathroom to turn on the hot water in the sink in order to get hot water to come on in the kitchen. Nothing on not eating dinner until the trash man comes so we can run down and get our trash cans before someone claims it  as their own. It doesn't matter that the trash man will come anywhere from 6 to 9pm. I wrote nothing on the parrots that sometimes sit outside our window and the cows that can be seen eating on the hillsides or the neighbors roosters that try to out do all the other roosters in Loja.

 I didn't write about saying pescado instead of pecado. Everyone needs to have their fish forgiven. I still am not able to understand all the pastor is saying but than again there were times I didn't understand what the pastor was saying in the States. In the market chickens hanging up for purchase some with eggs still in them, pig heads staring at you and  all the innards  you would ever want to see just waiting for you to buy it and take it home to cook.

I forget that some of you would like to know what my normal is like so that you will know how to pray for us. I need to share so that you can see that there are other normals besides yours. They may seem exotic, strange and sometimes just plain crazy but they are our normals. I will try to do a better job at posting the normal things that are happening here in our ministry.

Missionary Mommy Wars and a Comforter

This school year is going to be a little different for me. God has sent two other teachers to work with the MKs at the school. Nolan will still be teaching the High School students. I will be taking on the ministry of helping to support the parents of our team's children and also working with the children who will be attending the national schools, but who need some tutoring to help them with reading.

Being a missionary mommy is a difficult journey and sometimes they need a comforter. My definition of comforter is : a warm cover that wraps around you when your really wanting to just stay in bed. I remember in my days as a young seminary wife with three little ones, wanting to stay under the covers and not ever come out. In fact I would have been happy to just have stayed under bed.

God sent three comforters to me and they wrapped themselves around me, sometimes dragging me out of bed, loved me, took care of my children, rescued me from my children and maybe even saved my children' s lives. These women shared their lives with me. 

Young missionary mothers need someone to come along beside them, someone who is real. They need someone that has bad days but still goes on, someone who is not perfect but they are letting Christ work in their lives. Pray that I can be a warm comforter to our missionary families.

 Roles change, sometimes changes are hard, but looking back you see that God has prepared you for that change. I will be tutoring, planning and doing Kids Clubs, parents night out, and being Marme to little ones. Please read the following link so that you will know how to pray for these mommy warriors on the field.

 Missionary Mommy Wars

Outlawed Grief, a Curse Disguised

Change is what happens on the mission field. Grief comes in many ways to us. Saying goodbye, a loved one dies at home and we can't be there. A child. hurts and we can't be there to help them heal. A grandchild dances in a recital and we can only watch on video. A parent becomes ill and we can't be there to hold their hand. Pray for your missionaries daily.

  Pray for us as we grieve for the loss of time. Time with our parents, children and grandchildren, friends and church family. This return has been a difficult one for me. I know God has wonderful plans for us but it still hurts. Again pray for your missionary families.I want to share a blog post from another missionary blogger. Read the following post so you can have an understanding of what your missionaries experience, and how to pray for them.

Outlawed Grief, a Curse Disguised

Not Realizing what I am Missing

You  don’t realize what your are missing until you don’t have it for a while. Sitting out on the back patio of my in-laws home I watched the wind blow the multicolored trees before a rain came thru, a mother bird was taking care of her eggs in a tree next to my chair. I glanced over at our house that is rented and noticed some things that I wanted to change. I wanted to go over and cut down some weeds and weed out the flower beds.

As I sit and read to my grandchildren I know that the next time I see them they will have changed, and they will be changes that I will not be a part of. I won’t be able to read to them or listen to their laughs or see their smiles except on Skype.

Walking barefoot in grass, watching the skies as a summer storm comes through and watching rabbits nibbling in the grass just feet from where your sitting are sensations that I don’t take for granted anymore.

As I eat a Reuben sandwich I relish it. It may be a year or two before I get to eat another one. Walking into the grocery store and seeing that a whole turkey is seventy-nine cents a pound and so many kinds of spices and cereals that my head spins.

There have been moments while here in the states that I say to myself that it would be nice to just stay here and be comfortable.

I know that when I return to Loja that I will be able to see and do things that most people only dream of doing. I will be able to look out my window and see noisy parrots greeting me in the morning. I can go around the corner and buy a dozen roses for four dollars. I can see the smiles and hear the laughter of missionary children that we teach each day and walk down to the tienda just doors from us and buy a empanada colombiana. I will be able to lose ten pounds without going on a diet plan.

 We will be able to enjoy a seventy-five dollar turkey with our missionary family at Thanksgiving and if I miss seeing wildlife I just have to go to the Loja zoo to see a squirrel in a cage.

We will live 7,000 feet up the mountains in the Andes, walk wherever we need to go and not have to have a car payment or car insurance to worry about.

Ok, I have talked myself into going back. Pray for us as we get ready to return to Loja. Pray for us as we prepare for the next school year. Pray for us as we deal with our emotions. 

A Year of School in four minutes.

God has blessed this school year. We are looking forward to what he is going to do this next school year. Thank you to all those who have prayed for us and those who have supported us financially. You are a part of the work that is being done here in Loja. We would not be able to be here if you were not holding the ropes for us. Nolan (Terry) and I are in the process of becoming part of SIM as associates. There is a lot of paperwork and medical work that needs to be done for this process. We will continue to be part of Gateway Global Outreach, but to better serve our team here in Loja we need to become part of the SIM family.

 We are in need of more prayer supporters  Also pray about supporting us financially. At this time the rent of our house has been our main support along with our home church. We will have more ministry needs this next coming year and we are also helping to support two national missionaries here. We would love to share with you what God is doing during the six weeks we will be in the States. There is a side link to Gateway Global Outreach that you can go to and give financially. 

Nothing better than a good book with Peaches

Sometimes missionaries have to go home and when they do they have to leave some beloved things behind. This last week I saw an ad in the Cuenca classifieds about a home-school family leaving for the states. They had books that needed a good home. I contacted them and found that they were a family that I had spoken to on facebook but had never met  in person. Rebecca, Janeen  and I headed out to Cuenca the next morning. After a four hours drive that was made shorter by good fellowship, we met up with the family. If you are a lover of books or an educator, you know how hard it is to leave your books behind. The next best thing is to find them a good, loving home. I don´t think the books could have found a better home than our MK school. What a blessing they are going to be.

Sometimes when you have to leave a country and go home your children leave behind memories, friends and pets. The memories you can keep but the friends and pets have to stay. Peaches the hamster was not going to be able to make the trip back to the states and needed some loving students to care for her and of course at the end of the school year you always need a class pet. We packed the books and other miscellaneous stuff into the car. It was packed to the roof. Peaches had to sit next to me and I fell for her. We stopped at McDonalds for some fries, a once a year thing sometimes. The fries were really bad but Peaches loved them.

She is now very happy at her new home at the Loja Study Center. The children read to her, play with her and sometimes let her sleep. Thank you Savage Family for blessing us with your books and for Peaches.