PTL!

I've been reading A Praying Life: Connecting With God in a Distracting World, and it's been making me think about our culture's skepticism toward answered prayers, and more specifically my skepticism. My bent toward science and logic constantly leave me hesitant to believe that whatever good thing happened in my life wouldn't have happened just the same without prayer. I'm glad that the good things happen, but because of my cause-and-effect mentality I don't give God all the glory He deserves. So today, I wanted to share some of the really cool things God has been doing in my life recently. Whether there was science behind them or they were flat out miracles, God was the cause of each of these praises.

Yesterday, we hung out with our girls at Cristo Viene Girls' Home once again to vaccinate their chickens, this time against Viruela, and build them some roosts. A little over a year ago, the home started praying for a chicken coop, and now it's been as much a blessing to our ministry, VetRed, to come together and build it and now see the results, as it has been to the home and the girls.We've been waiting on God to bring us the perfect coordinator to guide VetRed as I'm on my way out and Bill Janecke will be leaving on furlough for six months about the same time. One of our concerns was that if there was no one using the great new office that the university's gifted us, they might find another use for it, while we're waiting for our next two CVM vets to get down to Bolivia to serve. But a few days ago, I found this brand new sign outside our office, reassuring us that the university has no plans to replace us, and that God has much more to do through VetRed.

In A Praying Life it talks a lot about various opinions on praying for the little things like parking spaces and lost objects, and how some people are opposed to such menial petitions, but the author is not. I would have to agree with him, and say that I even see God's intervention more clearly in the seemingly unimportant things than the big things sometimes. This week for instance, God healed my new camera. The story's too long and convoluted to bore you with now. Suffice it to say, I waited weeks for a new camera, after trying to get mine repaired here, and then suffered so much talking to Panasonic's automated helpline because the camera didn't work well, that I was actually looking forward to my root canal scheduled for later that morning. But either my standards have really plummeted or both the camera and the tooth are doing much better now, praise the Lord!

Our church was praying for a new place to meet late last year as our lease was running out on our last building, when God directed us to Mark 14:15, "And he himself will show you a large upper room furnished and ready; prepare for us there." Now, we've been meeting comfortably in a large upper room, in a perfect location for our community, for the past two months, and this Sunday we had an awesome crowd with lots of visitors.

I'm not sure who the prayer warriors are that have been lifting up Angie and me, but I imagine there's quite an army, and for that I thank you. And I thank God for the excellent past couple weeks we've had after a rough couple months. I like to think it's not just the stabilization after a time of excitement and transition in December and January. I like to think we've matured, and are learning how to treat each other better. But really, it was all God and to Him go all the credit and the glory.

Many of you are curious about our plans for the future; will we return to Bolivia as a family, move to another country to serve, or stay in Kentucky? Jon and I are similarly curious, and we're seeking God to see what He has for us. Last week, we were feeling the pressure to know our plans sooner than later. The same day I was praying about it, God took the pressure off in a tangible way and we're both breathing easier, now able to focus on finishing well in Bolivia and starting our family well in the US, before we figure out exactly what's next. There will be plenty of time for that after July 21st...

What answers to your prayers are you failing to see God's divine hand in today?

Carnaval in the Campo

This morning, as I drove through the aftermath of the paintball fight of all paintball fights, otherwise known as Carnaval in downtown Santa Cruz, I was especially grateful for our lovely little trip out of the city and away from the chaos. Angie, Ruby and I spent a day with some of our favorite Bolivian gringos; Adreana, Bill, and Heidi, visiting some of our favorite semi-gringos; Misty, Marco, and Ciprian at their farm a couple hours out of town.

Marco was busy palpating hundreds of cows, but not too busy to show us the ropes of the ranch. Ruby is totally a country girl at heart, and loves nothing more than pretending she can herd cattle, chasing chickens and turkeys, barking at wild ostriches, and carelessly getting way to close to the horses.Angie, who might not survive very long in the country without video games, was definitely not complaining as she's ecstatic when given any opportunity to drive or ride anything bigger than her bike. So, a horse and this little 4X4 golf cart, were enough to make her forget about her computer for at least a few hours.

We were spoiled rotten by our wonderful hosts, as Misty and her in-laws prepared homemade bread and great meals, while we relaxed in the hammocks and caught up on rest and conversation. In the spirit of Carnaval, the kids drenched each other with water balloons, water guns, and spray foam.

Overall, it was a perfect escape from the city. Just long enough to slow down and enjoy the view, but not so long that I went into Skype withdraw. (I don't think it's any mystery where Angie gets her computer addiction, mine's just of a different nature, and will likely subside in three months when Jon and I can see each other without the aid of a webcam.)

Revisiting our Feathery Friends

When we arrived at Cristo Viene Girls' Home on Monday, some of the chicas were proudly showing off their freshly collected eggs while others plucked and prepared the rooster they'd sacrificed for our special lunch.

After picking up our aviary expert, Dr. Juan Carlos, my two students ready to get involved in VetRed at a new level, some Newcastle and Bronchitis vaccines, replacement vitamins, and a couple tools, we were ready to spend the morning with the Cristo Viene girls and their feathery friends. It's still summer vacation here technically, but chickens are no respecters of university schedules, and these were due for some vaccines.

Heavy rain gave us a chance to test out the curtains we’d made firsthand and fix any leaks, plus add a tarp curtain to the screen door. We decided the chickens had reached a more than ideal plumpness so we modified their daily feed quantity and taught the girls how to do it themselves in the future.

We fixed up their nests, refreshed and disinfected their bedding, planned to add to some roosts, answered all the girls’ questions, harvested 26 eggs from under the ladies, and to top it all off shared a great lunch the home had prepared just for our visit; a rooster from the coop who had been giving some of the hens a hard time, yummy!

It was really great to get to see the project in action; providing eggs, providing meat, and providing a skill for the kids who live in the home. This is really what VetRed’s all about: serving the poor through our God-given veterinary skills, reaching out to vets like Juan Carlos, training the students while loving them toward Christ, and getting out of the office and the classroom sometimes to get our hands dirty!

Gabriela and Raissa (pictured above right) were excited to see the chicken coop project they'd heard so much about last semester, but never had the chance to visit. And they were thrilled to vaccinate chickens for the first time in their veterinary careers. I love how serving meets the needs of so many more than just those being "served," and I can't wait to plug these two sweet girls into this year's VetRed group as we study the video series H20.

Baby Shower for your Anniversary, why not?!

My Altoids warn me that they're not for the faint of tongue, blowing up 500 balloons to make two balloon arches and three balloon pineapples should have a similar warning. But like with Altoids, totally worth it of course. Today, we threw a baby shower for six babies; an unusual party, but we're not in the habit of doing many things the usual way here.

Judah Quy, the home of the precious little ones, just completed its first year of life and to celebrate we invited 200 of its closest friends over to honor the workers and eat some cake!

Turns out you can have piñatas personalized for special events such as this, Paul is holding up the evidence below.

Also, turns out piñatas personalized for baby showers come filled with baby powder. I would recommend asking them to leave out that little surprise if you're going to order one for your next special occasion.

Kristin, ever humble and unassuming, was afraid it might be presumptuous to put out a baby's crib to hold the baby shower gifts, as someone recommended. But the generosity of all the guests, in the form of diapers, formula, batteries, vitamins, clothes and the like, filled the crib to overflowing and our hearts with gratitude.

Here's a video of the babies growing up very loved their first year at Judah Quy, the pictures tell the story much better than my words can. Thank you for all your support, prayers, and generosity. If you're interested in sponsoring one of the precious little ones, or a "mom" that works at the home, please let me know.

God said, "I will protect the orphans who remain among you." -Jeremiah 49:11

My Pleasure

Do you ever have people thank you so profusely that it almost makes you feel bad? Especially cause it wasn't a chore for you in the first place, it was a delight. But sometimes the response "my pleasure," doesn't convince them, I suppose it's just become another version of "you're welcome."

Last night, I was picking Angie up from one of her new classmate's birthday party with no pressing schedule to follow the fiesta, when Kristin our pastor's wife called and said they were having some car trouble. There were ten of them stranded in their van that wouldn't start, but the good news was they were just around the corner. So, we headed over to the pizza place where their car had serendipitously given up and tried to charge their battery, while chatting with Paul and Kristin, playing with the six kiddos, and catching up with Kristin's visiting parents. Did I mention there was pizza with "real" pepperonis?! So, when they thanked me repeatedly, like I'd donated one of them a kidney instead of just driving them home, it was kind of hard to accept all that gratitude. "You can pay me in pizza anytime!" was the best I could come up with when "My pleasure" fell short.

Today, it happened again! My good friend Adreana wanted to take the Cristo Viene girls and boys who'd made the "honor roll" at school to "Playland," an "amusement park" just outside of the city. (The abundance of quotation marks in that last sentence is because the honor roll is based on a grade level Adreana decided on herself and "Playland" only had three rides open so it may be a stretch to call it an amusement park, however we were amused.) So, Angie and I picked up the eight star students this morning with some fresh baked chocolate chip cookies, picnic lunch and not nearly enough sunblock and headed to the park. It turns out eight hours of fun in the sun may require more than two applications of 30 SPF. But it was well worth it!

Next time anyone needs to ask us a favor involving a "log flume" or pepperonis, pleeeease don't think twice about calling us, even if it's mostly our ginormous car you're looking for and not really our amazing company; although we'll throw in the company for a slice of pizza.

¿Qué Novedades Hay?

Literally, this common Spanish greeting translates to, "What new developments are there?" or "What news is there?" Since I never read or watch the news, and lead a pretty normal life, I don't usually have much to say to this question, well at least not since a year ago when I randomly adopted a small child as an unmarried foreigner. But I digress. Generally the answer to this salutation is similar to our English version, "What's up?" or "What's new?" Answer: "Nothing."

This week, as I start back at the university teaching summer classes, which I love by the way, the professors, students and staff are emerging from their holiday break back onto campus, with "¡Felicidades!" Which is kind of "Happy New Year!" and sometimes "¿Qué novedades hay?" And for the first time in awhile, it would just be dishonest to respond "nada." Since I last saw all of these friends and co-workers a lot has changed, and I sure do have news.

I never thought I'd be that girl that waves her hand in the air showing off her ring, but it must be some kind of female instinct when sharing the news that you've just gotten engaged. The excitement just gets the better of me.

Angie's gonna have a daddy!

(Most adorable side note ever: Every prayer she's prayed over the past year that she's been with me has automatically started with, "Thank you God for this nice day." Every day, that is, until the day Jon left to return to the US when she instead opened with only, "Thank you God for this day" in not just one, but two of her prayers)

Ruby's gonna have another playmate, master, and pushover to get table scraps out of.

And I'm gonna be a wife. Woah. But before that wife role kicks in, there's this whole necessary (debatable) wedding thing to do first. Have you ever tried to plan a wedding from 4,000 miles away? Well, it's actually possibly easier than attempting the same feat from ground zero, or at least I seem to be enjoying the details more than Jon and this was mostly his idea in the first place.

Ah, but I skipped the when and where. On July 21st, 2012 at the Caldwell Chapel in Louisville, KY, we'll be officially growing our little family again.

Now, amongst the wedding planning fun we get to try pre-marital counseling from different countries. Skype, podcasts, books, and semi-bilingual couples small group should be a good start, but if you have any advice we're all ears.

If you haven't met Jon yet, you're missing out and you're gonna love him. I'm still trying to figure out what I can bring to this relationship as he cooks better than me, keeps a cleaner house than I do, fixes things, sews, and rarely lets me carry anything. Maybe I'll just cheer him on while he lays down the new hard wood floors and changes the oil. I think I'll count Angie and Ruby as my contributions as well, that's fair right?

Another first day at a new school

Does anyone else feel like the movie "Splash" may have given us false expectations for second language acquisition?? Even though I had my own personal years of struggling with learning Spanish as a second language, I still fell back on the lessons I learned from Madison (was that her name?) about learning English by watching TV for a few days in a television store. I was under the impression that Angie's young sponge-like mind would absorb English in a few months if not hours, just by being around it, listening to some Switchfoot, and watching movies with subtitles. Uh, no. Anyone want to join me in a class action suit against "Splash" for pain and suffering due to false expectations?

Today, Angie started her third of four new schools in as many years. She might as well be a military brat. We've worked our tails off trying to get her English to where it needs to be, and then homeschooling her the first semester of third grade in three weeks, but it paid off. As a huge answer to prayer, she was able to start at the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center today, popping into the middle of their third grade school year. It's gonna be a difficult transition for her, as it's an English school and her English still leaves something to be desired, but we think a necessary transition for her to make now instead of later.

To add to the nervous jitters of starting yet another new school, in a new language, we found out she needed to be vaccinated. A reasonable enough request I suppose, but we have absolutely no records of any vaccines for her, she remembers getting them, but has no proof. So, we went to the doctor last night and asked them to start from scratch. She nervously giggled the whole way through, what a trooper.

Leaving school this afternoon she was smiling from ear to ear, laughing with her new friend, and bubbling over with stories like how her teacher went to help her with an assignment on the verb "to be", but she had already finished it. Thanks for all your prayers and support in this journey, keep the prayers coming, I doubt she'll have computers and P.E. everyday to keep things so light and fun.