Let Me Splain...No, There is too Much. Let Me Sum Up

10 points to whoever gets the title reference first.

Anyway.  So I had a few minutes today to sit down and answer some of the thousands of questions I know you all have.  Thanks for your patience.  We have been doing well, but we are asleep most nights by about 9:30!  And everything just takes longer around here, you know, when you are walking everywhere and trying to communicate with what little language we have and sign language.

Let's see.  Where to start?  Boy this is going to be a long post.  Feel free to look for the questions you are interested in.

Ok, first,  

Someone asked how the boys are adjusting.
Very well, as best we can tell. They love the new fenced in backyard they can play with their trucks in and the constant warm weather.  Forrest has been asking what the Spanish word for things is.  He even tried to talk to the Taxi driver the other night.  Elliot has been loving all the bugs and dirt and flowers.  Today they both gave flowers that had fallen on the ground to two little girls in their class.  And they are sleeping very well at night.

They have enjoyed Kinder (not Kindergarten...it's actually preschool.) the last two days.  I asked them what sort of snack they wanted to take the last two days and they have chosen hard boil eggs and bananas.  Seriously, they came up with that on their own!  Which is great, because I can get eggs and bananas easily here.  If they were asking for something like granola bars that would be a bit more difficult to find.  Right now they are in the same room, because this is Orientation, but I feel like that is good for this first week.  Starting next Wednesday they will be in different rooms.

How is your house?
Amazing!  Like more amazing than we could have imagined!  It was like it was built and decorated just for us.  It's our colors, our style, everything.  And it has a washer and a dryer(not typical), a hot water heater (not typical) and ceiling fans in every room (not typical)!  God just put it in our laps and we are so very thankful and overwhemled by how amazing it is.  Oh, and did I mention the beds?  Amazing!  Better mattresses than we had in the states.  Seriously!

Bit by bit we are getting things situated and it's starting to feel like home.  I'll have photos once we get things settled.

How did the trip go getting to Costa Rica?
Well, after our initial hiccup in Baltimore, very well.  And really, that hiccup was even good!  But Tuesday we got back to the airport, all of our bags got on our plane.  We just had our day packs to carry through the airport because they checked everything else for us.  And the plane was about half full from Baltimore to Miami.  Which mean we had a whole row for our family with an extra seat.  That made for an easier flight with the boys.

In Miami, someone from the MSO (Miami Service Office, aka LAM) picked us up and helped us navigate through checking our bags for our international flight.  Oh, and all our bags did make it to Miami!  The whole process of checking the bags took about 2 hours, but God did some amazing things!  We had been praying all week that the scales would be off balance in our favore, and sure enough the scale that was used was zeroed out at -1.  Yeah.  -1.  And about a month ago, American Airlines decieded to change the checked bag policy to Central America.  That meant that we were planing on paying for 6 extra checked bags.  Well, somehow, things got confused, and we were only charged for 2 extras!

After we got our bags situated, we went to the MSO for lunch and a couple of super quick meetings.  And the best part of the hour and half that we were there was that everyone who was in the office came in and prayed for us!  What a great send off! 

We got wisked through security in Miami because we have this bahimath stroller and there is no doubt that we are family that needs a lot of help!  And then we settled in for the wait and the flight to Costa Rica.  While our carryons didn't all get gate checked, we still managed very well.  We were the last ones off the plane, sorta on purpose (yes Susanne and Katrina, we learned that from your family!) 

We were then whisked through customs because again, there is not doubt that we are a family.  This meant we bypassed a line probably 35 or 40 minutes long!  And then we collected all our luggage...and it was all there!  The only thing that happened was some of my spices spilled over the contents of one bag, but that was even minimal.  We didn't have a single issue at customs with our bags, the boys fell asleep for the ride to our house and we came home to sheets on the beds and food in the cupboard for the morning!

What have your days been like?
 Well, we haven't really had a "normal" day yet.  Yesterday was the first day of Orientation. Classes offically start next Wednesday.  We had an oral and written evaluation yesterday and learned what we already knew.  Noah has been structure to his Spanish and can form sentences better than I can, and I can hear and understand a native speaker better than him, but my grammar is atrocious.  Which means we will be in different classes, but again, we knew that. 

We have done some shopping.  Our big brother and sister ( a family that has been here for 8 months) helped us get some basics and showed us where to go for things like stationary and other things.  Today we figure out how to get to the copy shop and get our passports copied into an ID card size and laminated. 

Really, a lot of what we do is walk (it's a good half hour to our house by foot and man, there are hills!) to and from school, sleep, and figure out what to eat!  I keep reminding myself we have just been here since Tuesday night late. 

Is there a time change?
 Yep.  We are two hours behind Michigan time.  Which means that the boys have been waking up at 5:30 or 6 every monrning.  But it's been ok, because that feels like about 8 am to us and the sun is up at about 5:30 anyway.  And we need to be up that early to get to school on time.  That also means we are going to bed at about 9 or 9:30.  But again, it's dark here around 6:30, and that really feels like 11 Michigan time.  So it's working out well.

Is there a way to talk with you?
Yep!  We have a US number, and we are on Skype.  You can call our US number and you might get our voice mail, but we'll work to get back with you!

Alright, that's all for right now. Thank you so much for all your prayers and sweet notes!  I wish I had time right now to write you all back, but things like cooking and walking are talking up a lot of our time!  See you in a few days!

Public Service Annoucment

Due to winging our way to Costa Rica, your regularly scheduled blog posts will be on hold for the next week.  Thank you for your patience while we figure out life in a new country, going to school full time, and how to communicate basic needs in another language. 

We'll be back.  I promise!

Not What We Were Expecting!

So remember that whole post about "this is what is going to happened today...blah, blah, blah, blah"?  Yeah well, that short stop in Baltimore isn't so very short anymore.

See, this morning, things were on track.  All our luggage was right at the weight limit, we got all our carryons checked for free, the boys were doing better than they were when we got them up at 3 AM.  And while we were in the last two rows of the airplane (which meant no window view because the engine is right there) we were feeling good about what was going on.  In fact there was a bit of a bonus with the engine seats because the boys could be a bit louder and you still couldn't hear them. 

And then we sat.  And sat.  And sat some more on the runway in Grand Rapids.  And then the captain came on and said,  "something about an oxygen tank, something something, needed to be checked with the mechanics, something something, certified, something, going back to the terminal."  Um, what?  While we didn't get off the plane, we did get the joy of sitting there for an hour and a half.  And as any parent of small kids will know, that is a long time to keep them busy.  Pretty much we used up all our tricks before the flight got off the ground.

And then, because we sat for an hour and a half, we missed our connecting flight to Miami.  And guess what?  Yep, there isn't another one until tomorrow morning at 8:30.  Oh, and did I mention that we have ten fifty pound footlocker/bags with us?  Oh, and 3 backpacks, one hiking pack, and 4 carryon roller bags?  Yeah.

But God has been gracious.  Our airline is putting us up in a fantastic hotel tonight, they gave us $40 in food vouchers for the airport (that goes a long way at McDonald's!), they gave us $100 in coupons for our next flight with them, and they also are giving us 4 free round trip tickets!  Which might just mean that we can come home for a visit sometime during our time in Costa Rica!  I was blown away when I realized that!

Oh, and remember all that baggage?  Yeah, well, they are keeping most of that at the airport tonight for us.  I calmly explained that "I have two preschoolers, we have been up since 3 am, we don't have room in the hotel room for 15 bags, a double jogging stroller, and 4 people." and they agreed!  Everyone has gone out of their way to help, which has been what we have needed.

The only thing is, this really jams up some meetings that we are suppose to have with the LAM before we leave tomorrow evening.  But things are in the works for getting that ironed out.  And I keep remembering last "night" (you know from 11 pm to 2 am when I fell asleep to wake up at 3 am) I kept praying, "Lord, you know what is best for our family. If that means the back of the plane, that's what that means."  So, He is the one in control, He gave us a free trip back to the states, and He is going to get us and all our 500 plus pounds of luggage to our new home in Costa Rica.

Thanks for praying all!  We have felt it today for sure!  And if I can bother you with one more little thing...the last time Noah and I went to Costa Rica, we were diverted overnight to Panama City, Panama...I really don't want to do that again with all the above mentioned luggage, children etc...

Today's Schedule

So, just to get this out of the way, yes, I wrote this last week.  Yes, I schedule it to post today.  Didn't think I would have much time to tell you about our comings and goings.

But just so you all know, we are flying out of Grand Rapids this morning at 6 am.  We will be making a short stop in Baltimore and then be on our way to Miami.  We have some meetings with our Mission and we will be staying the night there.

And then tomorrow, around 6:30 pm (EST) we will be boarding a plane headed for San Jose, Costa Rica.  We should be getting in to San Jose around 7:10 their time which is in the Central Time Zone, but they don't observe Daylight Savings Time.  Anyway, you can check out the new clock on the side bar if this is too confusing for you as it is for me.

As you think about us today and tomorrow would you pray for these things?

• Safe flights today and tomorrow
• No issues with checking luggage in Grand Rapids or Miami
• That if bags are overweight, the attendants wouldn't see it
• No issues with security in Grand Rapids or tomorrow when we fly out of Miami
• Health for the whole family
• Easy flights for the boys
• Smooth customs experience in Costa Rica 
• Smooth transition to our new home on Tuesday night
• Wisdom to deal with anything that might come up!

Thanks!  We really appreciate it!

Hallelujah!

“You are worthy to take the scroll
   and to open its seals,
because you were slain,
   and with your blood you purchased for God
   persons from every tribe and language and people and nation.
You have made them to be a kingdom and priests to serve our God,
   and they will reign on the earth.”

“Worthy is the Lamb, who was slain,
   to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength
   and honor and glory and praise!”

 Revelation 5:9-10, 12

Cool Shelf

This is so fun!  I may have to pack an antique teal mason jar in the "Going to Honduras" tub!

Because I Need to See Green

from Life on the Balcony

Oh My!  This is so very lovely!  I love every green leaf of this!  And on this day that is so full of snow and ear infections and grey, this perked me right up!  Do you think I can get my hand on a pallet in Honduras?  Or maybe all I need is some boards and landscaping fabric...do they sell landscaping fabric in Honduras?  Oh the questions!

Anyway, love it, and now it's logged in my "notebook of ideas". 

Sick And Snow

Well, last night made the "Possibly the Worst Night Ever" list.  Both boys were up about every hour, and of course they didn't coordinate their efforts.  I was pretty certain Forrest had an ear infection.  He's pretty good about telling us now that his ear hurts.  And poor kid, all night he would ask to go to the doctor.  Breaks your heart!  This is what they did as soon as they got up this morning.  Both were whimpering the whole time.

Elliot has had a fever for a couple of days now, and snot has been pouring out of the kid.  I figured it was a virus, nothing the doctor could do for him, but with our moving date a week away, I thought we might as well bring him in this morning too.  And good thing!  Both boys have really bad ear infections. 

So we now have 4 bottles of antibiotics in our fridge and a couple of new DVDs in our possession. 

I am just so very thankful this happened this weekend instead of next!  I have no idea what we would have done then!  Thank you LORD!

And to just add to the crumminess of today, this snow is so ridiculous!  Forrest said to me on the way to the doctor, "I want to go back to Florida!"  Remember our vacation?  I asked him why, and his response was, "It doesn't snow there!"  Yep!

So the rest of today is watching Curious George and Sid the Science Kid and getting everyone feeling better and rested!

Zip Codes

So, I never expected this to be a problem.  I don't know why I didn't.  Really, it does make sense if you think about it.  But I don't really have a zip code.  Which poses awkward moments.

Like when you go to the doctor's office and they want to know your address.  Right.  Not really sure what to tell you folks.  Do you want where I am living for the next seven days?  How about where my mail goes?  If you want my mailing address to where I will be for the next year, well they don't use zip codes in Costa Rica.  And all I know about my physical address for Costa Rica is that it's in the San Francisco neighborhood of San Jose.  Pretty sure the receptionist doesn't want that whole speal. 

And here is a question, why do stores need your zip code?  I was shopping with a friend of mine two weeks ago at a bigger mall, looking for dresses, and at every store they asked for my zip code.  I just would stare at them, and not know what to do. It was three days after I had moved to where we are currently living.  And of course, they would stare right back at me like, "you a grown woman, why don't you know your own zip code?"  My dear friend stepped right in and gave hers instead.

I even managed to lock the keys in the van in Grayling of all places because I was looking for a zip code.  We needed our "permanent address", which is really just where our mail is getting sent to in the states, so we could close our bank account.  The lady asked us if there was anything they could do to keep our business and we just laughed.  This credit union is in 6 places in northeastern lower Michigan.  Nope, sorry, unless you open a branch office in San Jose.  Anyway, I was too busy worrying about the address and totally shut the door with the keys laying on the ground.  Lovely.  All because of a zip code.

A Morning with Buela

 

Yesterday my mom took the boys to the Fish Ladder in Grand Rapids.  But there weren't any fish.  We tried to coax them out with day old bread and crackers, but it just didn't work.  Although Elliot had a lot of fun throwing the bread in the water.

 And then we found these guys.  And they were even more fun to throw bread at.

It seems as if Spring is here to stay!  And we are very glad of that!

Our Weekend

What a fun couple of days!  On Saturday we drove up to Traverse City for the weekend.  Noah's brother and sister in law threw us a going away party at their church and it was great to be able to see some of relatives and supporters in the area.  The boys loved the warmer weather and sun, and had a great time playing with cousins in the church nursery.

On Sunday we got to spend some time with the fun folks at Long Rapids Congregational.  This was a church that sent a group to Barakel for a winter retreat and got very excited about what God is doing in Honduras and our part in that.  They gave us the opportunity to share more about that in their service.  And then we enjoyed a fantastic meal with them.  We had to skip out on the softball game, but we heard it was quite fun too.

Sunday night we were back in Traverse City, and we decided the boys were old enough to be introduced to the joy of pizza and movie night.  It was a hoot!  We watched Milo and Otis, and really, they only watched about 20 minutes of it before they got up and started playing, but we kept it on and Noah and I laughed through the rest of it.  Every once in a while, one of the boys would come back over, declare with full gusto what animal was on the TV and then wander off again.

Monday we met our landlady for our Costa Rican house, because she lives in Noah's home town!  What a funny world!  She and her son met us for breakfast, and we were able to ask questions and she drew us pictures of the neighborhood, told us all the neighbors names, told us where to get fruit and how to take our trash out!  It got us so excited!
 

Hard to believe we are down to 13 days!  Just 13 days and we will be on a plane south!  And God keeps moving with support.  We are at 83% now.  That means just $435 more a month and we will be at 90%, what we need to be at for Language School.  Keep praying with us!

Bits and Pieces

Well.  Do you feel neglected?  I feel like I am neglecting you.  And really, I don't have a whole lot of time today either.  So I am sorry, but you are going to get bits and pieces today.

I never thought we would be so very busy when we got to Grand Rapids.  And my, we are!  It's been a good busy.  Seeing people, sharing meals, going to places we never dreamed of, you know like the zoo that is just 5 minutes from our apartment, or the Children's Museum which is 3 minutes.  And all of those fun things I have forgotten to get photos of! Good Grief!  I think I have eaten out every day this week!  What on earth!? 

The boys have fallen in love with playing at the park, using sidewalk chalk and having their days programed.  In fact, a bit too much.  They can't seem to remember how to play by themselves. We're having to tell them, "nope, now it's time to play by yourself."  Funny.

It's been a good transition from Barakel to Costa Rica I think.  In Costa Rica, we will be living in San Jose which is the capital city and 1/3 of the country's population lives in the metro area.  So getting used to cars and cement is a good idea.  Forrest is a bit confused on some points of the move.  He asked me yesterday if it snows in this country, meaning Grand Rapids.  Ha!

We are now at 82%.  Just 16 days until we fly out!  We keep praying that God will bring us to 90% by then!  We are speaking at a church on Sunday and have a couple more events between now and then.  Will you pray with us about this? Thanks!

April Update

So Faithful

Step by step He has led us and it is finally here. At the end of this month we will be deployed to language school in Costa Rica for up to a year.  We fully believe God has called us to step out in faith to follow where He is leading us in April and that God will provide the $1,150 more a month we need to be at 100% because we are totally dependent on Him and He is FAITHFUL.

He is so faithful, let's count the ways: 

He has provided an amazing house for us to rent in San Jose

He has provided a buyer for our van

He has answered a prayer and has given us an opportunity to purchase the perfect truck in Honduras for ourselves and for camp.

He has provided for our airline tickets

He has provided a rent free place for us to stay while here in Grand Rapids for the month

He has set up multiple churches and individuals to meet with who He is calling to partner with us. Contacts that pursued us!

And that's the just beginning!  God is faithful as we continue to seek His will for our lives and as we submit our plans to Him. He is paving the way before us, making the way straight and smooth.  It hasn’t been easy, this transition has been filled with emotions, goodbyes, and piles of decisions.  But He is Faithful!

So in this letter we want to say thank you Lord! Thank you for Your faithfulness, Your calling of our family to something greater then ourselves. Thank you God that we are loved and that we get to love others with that same Love! Thank you that you have brought us to a place where we are totally dependent of you bringing in the rest of the support we have to have in the next 20 days.

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Forrest is Four

Yesterday Forrest turned 4!  The day was full of birthday shirts, special phone calls, blue and green and orange hippo cupcakes, trains, dragons, knights, and a hug or two.  Never in a million years did I think four years ago that we would be living in the city he was born in, just a few miles from the hospital!  Crazy what happens in four years.  Love you Forrest!