Asking God to Open Our Eyes

This past week was an exciting, yet very busy week. Jon and I both had several tests and several other activities that we needed to do. On Wednesday I started my ESL class. It was a wonderful time of getting to know the students and trying to access how much English they knew. I was impressed by how well several of them spoke. We spent the beginning of the class introducing ourselves. I am very thankful that my group was talkative. Apparently, in the past that has not always been the case.

During the break, we were able to visit more, share some refreshments, and listen to a short Bible lesson. The directors of the program teach an English song and then give a short devotional. Teaching English is only the means by which we use to get people to the classes. Our real heart is to be able to share the love of Christ with them. I was deeply encouraged by my time with the students. They were so appreciative and thankful for my time and the help I was willing to give. During the second half of the class, I handed out pictures from a magazine and asked them to describe as many things as they could while focusing on the use of adjectives. It is going to be a challenge for me to plan lessons, but I enjoyed being able to teach again. When we concluded our first session, several of the women gave me hugs when they left and assured me they would be back next week. One of the men wanted me to meet his daughter, who was in the beginner's class, to practice her English. I started to speak in Spanish and he stopped me and said, "No. No, in English." I complied, but I was hoping to practice my Spanish on her.

Jon and I both have gotten tutors to give us extra speaking time. This has been a good time for us to work on those things that are giving us some trouble. We always have to keep in mind that we are not doing this not just so we can speak Spanish, but that we might be able to proclaim the gospel to those who have never heard...in Spanish. Language is also a means by which we can really start to understand the culture of the people who God has called us to. We are thankful for all you who have prayed and given to financially...God has used you to be a tremendous blessing in our lives.

On a personal note: God has again reminded me of His provision in our lives. All that we have is from Him. As we were shopping for food yesterday at Hipermas ("Wal-mart"), I realized that many people had mainly rice and beans in their carts. Don't get me wrong, I like rice and beans, but eating it every day does get a little old. I was convicted by my own selfish heart as I saw families with little in their carts but that. We are so blessed to be provided for in all that we have--especially being able to eat a variety of foods. This small realization may be a simple thing, but it was one more way that God prodded my heart and reminded me that life's not about me.

Prayer Requests:
1. May our eyes be open to what the Lord would teach us here.
2. Prayer that we would not be prideful of our abilities, but rather trust in Him to accomplish in us what He wants.
3. Pray for continued safety and good health. It is hard to miss classes.
4. Pray for clear minds to concentrate on school and retain information. We have new information coming at us each day.

Praise:
1. This week is "Spiritual Emphasis Week" at school. This gives us the opportunity to take a little break from homework and listen to the Word of God.

Quick Update

This has been an interesting week for our home. Amanda has been sick the entire week with a high fever and sore throat. We took here to the school doctor who diagnosed here with strep throat. It's never good when momma is sick. Daddy is alright for the most part, but there is no replacing mommy. Sick momma is still more capable then a healthy daddy :). We are praying that she'll be up and about and ready for school on Monday.

We didn't have class today, so I took the kids with some other couples to the children's museum. This was also our first ride on the public bus. The Parkman squeeled with glee while riding around. I felt like a kid again on the bus. Good times. The museum was a lot of fun and there was a lot of things for them to do. It is interesting the differences in the cultures. There were a lot of things that you'd never seen in a museum in the States. I'm thinking about bringing our kids back when they're older so we can do the "birds and the bees" talk. I'm sure all the really graphic pictures and diagrams will help. Thankfully they're still too little to "get" all that there was, so no awkward questions were asked during the tour. Plus, momma wasn't around so I could say, "Ask mommy". I would post some of the pictures of the stuff, but I think Amanda would hit me.

Anyway, here's a couple of the PG rated pictures for all to enjoy.

Kendall looking for gold in the dirt pile. We are exploring alternate methods of raising support. This one might not work out to well.

Parker sitting in the airplane. He likes the planes and helicopters.

God's Overflowing Grace and Other Random Happenings

This week at chapel we heard a wonderful message about God's amazing and overflowing grace. The speaker, another student at the school, used the illustration of Jesus's first miracle of turning the water into wine. The speaker helped us realize how Jesus in fact made too much wine for the wedding feast. Did Jesus not know that it was the end of the party? Did Jesus not calculate correctly? No, that wasn't it at all. Jesus took the opportunity to show how he was the ultimate provider and that he had enough "grace" to go around. You can never be reminded too many times of how God's grace is sufficient for you. If Jesus is your Savior, there is never anything that we can do that falls outside of his grace for us. We are certainly in need of God's grace right now as we fumble through conjugating verbs and try to form questions and responses with people we meet.

We were all finally able to go to church together this week. The worship time was wonderful and the kids did ok. It is a little stressful to have Kendall and Parker in with us during the 40 minutes of singing. We had to entertain them with crackers, juice, cars, and drawing.

It was neat to hear familiar worship songs, even though they were in Spanish. Because we knew the tunes, it was easier to sing the words. I could actually recognize a lot of the words. Yeah! The church we went to is fairly close to our house and several other students from the school also have been going there. Two other boys from Kendall's class were there. It was nice to have some familiarity for her since she is still trying to transition into being here.

Jon starts with his tutor this week and he's really excited to get the extra practice. I still may get one too because I have already missed several days because of the kids being sick and I am now sick. This Wednesday I will be starting my ESL (English as a second language) classes. The AMCA House, where I will be teaching, offers relatively free classes to anyone who wants to learn English. I will be paired up with another student from school and we will work together to build relationships and prayerfully use the classes as a way to communicate the gospel. I will have two classes with a break in between. During the break, there will be coffee and a short devotional (in Spanish). I'm super excited about this opportunity.

Praises:
-Kendall and Parker are both feeling better.
-Several people have increased or given new support to us over the last month. This is a tremondous blessing because we still need about 13% more to reach our 100% support goal.
-We all were able to go to church this weekend.

Prayer Requests:
-Kendall seems to be having a hard time adjusting to being gone all day and she is acting out at home. Although this is totally normal, especially for a 3 year old, Jon and I want to be good parents and we are asking the Lord for wisdom in how to best deal with her.
-Pray that I would be able to catch up on my school work since I have missed two days this week due to sickness.
-Pray that I would be well enough to start my first week of ESL classes on Wednesday.

Thank you for your prayers.