Life as a Servant

Present Insanity and Future Plans..!

2011-03-17T00:00:00.000-07:00

This past year has been a whirlwind in my life. God has taken me down a path I never would have expected. I am loving school but overwhelmed by it at the same time. This is definitely a time of learning for me and a time in which I have to prioritize what I do and how much time I spend doing it. I know I am way behind on so many things and I feel as if I’m neglecting my friends and for that I am sorry but I can only do so much with the little time I have available.

Part of my insanity came as a result of tripling up on my classes for awhile. One of the classes I took was on Marriage and Family which was very insightful in helping me prepare for my future (and interestingly enough was part of my schedule before I even knew I was getting married). One of my classes was on the Prophets of the Old Testament which was insightful and challenging at the same time. My other classes were Communication Concepts which was interesting and Christian Counseling which was a blast. The purpose behind taking so many classes was so I could have 5 weeks off in August after the wedding.

One thing I am super excited about besides the whole wedding thing… is the trip we are planning after the wedding… it’s not for the reasons most of you may be thinking right now..! In August I get the opportunity to take Matthew to Argentina with me and introduce him to my other world. Also, we are planning on doing an informal ceremony there so that I can celebrate my marriage with my friends and “family” in Argentina. We are combining our honey moon with this vision trip and spending a full month in Argentina.

Part of the process of Matthew being accepted as a Career missionary with Converge includes a trip to Argentina. This will allow us as a couple to seek God’s direction for our futures and allow Matthew to experience the culture and see the ministry I was doing in Catamarca for four years. This trip is a crucial first step. Please be praying for God’s guidance and that He will show us what ministry He has prepared for us. Also, pray for God’s timing in this whole process and wisdom in knowing what steps to take along the way.

The Proposal Story..!

2011-02-08T23:17:00.000-08:00

The story you have all been waiting for… some more patiently than others J

In order to share the details of how Matthew proposed to me I have to give you some background information. Matthew’s 31^st birthday was on January 31^st and he made me promise that I would not do anything to celebrate his birthday. He did not even want a cake let alone a party.

Towards the beginning of January my sister called me one day to tell me that I should plan a get together for Matthew around his birthday time as an excuse for the family to meet his mother. I was reluctant to ask Matthew since he was so adamant about not wanting to do anything. He agreed to just having the family come over for dinner as long as I would not make a cake. Of course I convinced him by promising to make him lasagna for dinner.

(Little did I know that Matthew in reality had talked to my sister and told her to plant the idea in my head. He wanted to propose and wanted to make it memorable for me… including lots of pictures..!)

So, here I am planning Matthew a party (that wasn’t for his birthday of course) and he started inviting some of his friends… he loved spending time with people that are important to him so he wanted those closest to him to be at the party. Of course at this point I decided that the party was indeed going to be a birthday party. I then went back and told my sister to bring desert… knowing that she loved to make cakes… after all.. I only promised not to make him a cake myself… not that my sister wouldn’t make him a cake.

The day of the party arrived, January 29^th, and I excited drove home from class in Portland. I was smart enough to make the lasagna ahead of time and was able to shower and relax before people started arriving. Before my sister showed up, Matthew came up to me and said that he got away with not having a cake for his birthday… little did he know Kim was bringing the cake..!

She arrived and first thing she did was show me his birthday cake which I told her to hide because he didn’t know about it. Unfortunately, he noticed the cake and came up to harass me about it afterward she went to hide it.

It was a lot of fun just sitting around and visiting people throughout dinner and watching our friends and family getting to know one another. Then came the time for the cake… my sister put the cake on the table and we all surrounded it like you normally would for a birthday party. I was standing next to Matthew and Shane and lifted the box from his birthday cake and was surprised to see a different cake under the box.

Matthew had my sister make a cake that said, “Will you Marry Me” on it… with camera’s flashing I turned and gave Matthew a hug. I saw Shane had a box in his hand but I was too focused on Matthew to stop and listen to what he had to say. Matthew of course got down on one knee and for the first time told me that he loved me (Side note: He told me that he wouldn’t tell me he loved me until the day he proposed) and wanted to spend the rest of his life with me… and asked if I would marry him..! Of course I said YES… and the rest is history… or better yet… still in the future.

Shane wanted to ask me to be his step-mother but had to wait patiently to do so as I was too focused on his father to pay much attention..! But aftewards he did ask me and of course I was honored to be asked..!

I am engaged to be married... who would have expected that to happen..?

It's a crazy good road that God has me on..!

Of course everyone wants to know if I expected it or not... and although I was surprised that night about all the details and planning that went into this special event... I was not surprised that he proposed... I knew that the only thing he would want for his birthday was me..! This is a birthday he will never forget... good thing it's his "Golden Birthday" and should be celebrated in a special way. I love you Matthew.. and I'm excited for the adventure God is going to bring us on in the years to come..!

Christmas with the Family..!

2011-01-08T22:46:00.000-08:00

Matthew and I spent the Holidays together visiting with friends and family. This was my first experience of having to go back and forth between houses celebrating with both families. We made it work and enjoyed every minute of our time together.

Matthew was a big hit among the children like always… I love the fact that my nieces and nephews love him to death and have accepted his son Shane into the family.

We wanted to make this Christmas extra special for Shane..!

Jimmy & Karen and the Family

Kim & Dan and the Girls

Matthew, Shane, and Me

Jeremy & Maria and the Family

All of the Children... There are 13 in all now..!

Matthew winning over the youngest of the family..!

God's Plans are Bigger and Better than my own..!

2011-01-07T22:35:00.000-08:00

When I made a decision to go into career missions I laid down my desire to get married down at the throne of Christ. I knew that taking this path would make it very hard to meet a guy and get married. My focus for the past 8 years has been on serving God completely with my life. I was content where God had me and looked forward to my future ministry in Argentina. My life was completely full watching my nieces, studying at Multnomah and doing building up a support team for my ministry in Argentina.

It was in the midst of this stage of my life that God brought a man into my life. I still am amazed at how He brought it all together. I was looking up people from my past on facebook one day and ran across Matthew’s brother. Who is Matthew you may be asking… well... he is a guy I dated in Junior High. I had tried to find Matthew multiple times throughout the years but his name never came up. But on this particular day I found him and sent him a message; soon after we started talking on facebook and decided to get together to catch up. Of course being as I was I invited him to come visit me while I was working. J I didn’t realize that this lunch date would change my life.

Matthew and I hit it off that very first day; so much so that my first reaction was to run in fear. Remember it had been over 8 years since I even thought about dating a guy and here was a guy that had many of the qualities I was looking for: a love for God, a servant’s heart, a desire for missions, a passion for people, a love for his family, complete honesty and so much more. The more time I spent with him the more I liked him and found myself drawn to him. From the very beginning he encouraged me in my desire to return to Argentina and often prayed for me whenever I had to speak in front of a group. By the time he asked permission to actively pursue me I was already a goner..!

Matthew, Shane and I on our first outting to Snoqualmie Falls

Matthew didn't realize my love for Snoqualmie Falls until later on... but this is the place I always go to spend time alone with God and get direction for my future... Crazy enough it is also where Matthew likes to go :)

All Dressed up for a wedding..!

Of course the road was not an easy one. Poor Matthew had to put up with my wavering emotions. My fears came up constantly as I tried to understand what God was doing in my life. I had finally came to terms that I was going to be a single missionary overseas and I didn’t know what to do with a husband and a son with those plans.

During this time of wavering emotions I went on two separate trips. My first trip was to Florida for training and a time of encouragement. I left for the trip thinking I would most likely come home and break things off with Matthew. But God had something else in store for me. Through conversations with various people, including my boss, I came home with a peace that I was right where God wanted me to be. God was in control of the future and He would work things out for me. I came home with the realization that even if God changed my plans in regards to missions in Argentina that is okay because God is God and I have to obey wherever He leads me. But I also came home with peace that I could have both Matthew and Argentina. I didn’t have to choose between the two but trust God and follow Him one step at a time.

The whole team of missionaries who came together for a week..!

I was able to go a little crazy as I worked through the changes God was bringing in my life... no one thought I would really run through the fountain but man was it fun.. I also got to see an aligator.. I was in heaven for a couple days..!

Of course I also tooks lots of time to pray and think as well as share my ministry at a local church. God was really speaking to me on this trip..!

My second trip was to Palm Springs where I spent three days completely alone with God. This trip came after a breakdown as I once again struggled with the changes in my life. I was overwhelmed with life in general; I had to make some decisions in regards to school, was losing my job, and fearful of the future. I suppose one thing I should mention is that because of my past I had a lot of difficulty trusting men. I went to Palm Springs seeking God’s direction for my future; especially in regards to my relationship with Matthew. This getaway was just what I needed… I was able to take a walk every morning enjoying the beauty of God’s creation and singing praise to God. I was able to spend the afternoon studying God’s Word outside; including the new Bible study I had just started on “Discerning the voice of God”. I spent the evenings relaxing inside the condo praying and seeking God.

One night in particular I remember praying out to God and asking Him if I could trust Matthew with my heart and my future. It was after that prayer that I opened my Bible to the book of Psalm and read Psalm 19-20. Wow, God spoke directly to my prayer request… here I crying out to God and asking Him to help me trust Matthew and I came away realizing that I had to put my trust in God. I serve a God who loves me and knows the plans He has for me. I serve a God who is worthy of my praise and trust. I came home from Palm Springs refreshed and ready to trust God and this new path He was leading me down.

Studying the Word outside by the pool..!

I felt like I was in Argentina in the midst of a valley..!

Of course by the end of the trip I was ready to come home..!

Lessons I am learning... and a Prayer Request..!

2010-10-25T11:29:00.000-07:00

A couple weeks ago I prayed that God would revive in me my passion for His Word… not that I didn’t study and didn’t love it but I wanted to wake up with the necessity to read His Word and to have that same passion last throughout the whole day. I wanted to truly live on the Word and have it be the only thing that helped me to survive the day. That was a pretty powerful prayer and God has definitely answered it in my life.

I’m amazed at what He has done in these past couple weeks to shake up my life. It gets easy to fall into the routine of daily life. It is easy to have a plan and be working towards it. My plan is to finish up school and get my support raised so that I can return to Argentina by next fall but what if God has so much more for me. What if my plans aren’t big enough? God has been at work in my life there is no doubt about that. I am still in shock over last weekend and the opportunity He gave me to speak at the annual meeting (read my next post for more details). But that is only the beginning of what God is doing in me.

These are the passages God is using to touch me during this time:

Josh 1:7-9 – “Be strong and very courageous. Be careful to obey all the law my servant Moses gave you; do not turn from it to the right or to the left, that you may be successful wherever you go. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go."

- God asks us to meditate on His Word and obey it. It is when we spend time in the Word that we become prosperous and successful. He will guide our steps and because of that we do not have to fear the future. This is a major lesson that God is trying to teach me. It was reinforces again at church as we studied about Spiritual health and one of the characteristics being peace (Phil 4:6-7). Lord, give me peace during this time as I seek Your Word and obey You..!

Josh 1:16 - "Whatever you have commanded us we will do, and wherever you send us we will go.

- This is my desire… to obey where God leads me and go where He sends me. I can’t imagine living my life doing anything other than serve Him.

Josh 3:5 - Joshua told the people, "Consecrate yourselves, for tomorrow the LORD will do amazing things among you."

- Have you consecrated yourself before God? Are you expecting amazing things from Him? One of Pastor John’s favorite quotes right now is, “Anticipate God”. Lord, open my eyes to the amazing things you are going to do among us..!

Josh 5:14 - Then Joshua fell facedown to the ground in reverence, and asked him, "What message does my Lord have for his servant?"

- My desire is to be able to do as Joshua did… to constantly humble myself before God and ask Him what He wants to teach me. What area in my life needs to be molded into His image? What areas do I need to change so I can display godly character traits? I know I am so far from perfect so daily I should be seeking His face and what He has for me.

On a side note, last night my Argentine father, Hector Canizo passed away from a heart attack in the middle of the church service. It shook my world and reminded me how short life is and how we need to be always be fulfilling our mission here on earth to preach the name of Christ wherever we go. He passed away doing what he loved, leading others to the throne of God in worship. Please be praying as I mourn his loss from so far away. Also, pray for his family in Argentina; his son Pablo and two daughters Vicky and Lucy. Lucy’s birthday is on Tuesday and for the past couple years she has not been walking with the Lord. I don’t know how she is going to deal with this but my prayer is that it draws her back to God. I so wish I could be there to support and encourage them and grieve with them. To be honest I think it is going to hit me hard when I return to Catamarca and he is not there. Right now I just want the peace that passes all understanding for everyone who loved Hector as much as I did..!

All Glory to God..!

2010-10-24T01:14:00.000-07:00

I was amazed at God’s goodness this weekend. He is so good to me and all I can do is praise Him..! You may be wondering what was so special about this particular weekend..! Let me tell you but first I need to back up a week ago. J

A week ago I introduced myself to Steve Welling through an email. He is the district executive minister of Converge Northwest. Basically he is the guy in “charge of” the conference churches here in the Northwest J I knew they were having an annual meeting and wanted to know if I could show up and maybe set up a table and meet some pastors or leaders to share my ministry in Argentina with.

On Tuesday I went out to Lake Retreat to meet him and was encouraged to hear that he wanted to support me in this process of raising up a team of supporters. Not only would I be able to set up a table, but he wanted me to speak in front of the group on Friday evening. For those of you who know me well..YES I WAS VERY NERVOUS..!

But what an incredible opportunity it was. God gave me the exact words I needed to share a little about my ministry in Catamarca. To share what God was doing in the lives of the youth and how I got to be a part of it. Steve encouraged the churches to support me so that I can be fully-funded through the churches here in the Northwest.

Do you know how amazing it is to have the support and encouragement of the leader? Even Jerry Sheveland mentioned me a couple of times in his message. It was humbling to have these men of God speak on my behalf. I give all the glory to God; not only for the opportunity I had to share at the annual meeting but especially for the ministry He has called me to.

I am excited to see what happens through the contacts I made this past weekend. I’m excited to have the support of the leadership. Most of all… I’m excited to serve God with my life. Please continue to pray on my behalf.

Watching God Provide..!

2010-10-04T13:32:00.000-07:00

This is a time of waiting upon the Lord and watching how He provides in amazing ways. I’m always surprised at who He touches to provide for the work in Argentina. Often times, I make my lists of people who I think will support this ministry but often times my own plans fall through. God uses the unexpected people and does so in His own timing.

This time of waiting can become discouraging but I am learning to trust in God and wait upon Him a little more each time I go through it. I started looking for God’s provision in the little things. One of the times I was discouraged, I received an envelope from 2005 when I was raising support. Someone after years of holding onto my support letter sent me $5. It was not the amount that mattered to me, but the fact that God was showing me that He was faithful and would provide for my every need; whether it be financially or the encouragement to be faithful to the calling He has placed on my life.

That is the most important part of this whole process. It is God’s ministry in Argentina, I am just the one He has called to participate in the work. And because it is His ministry, He will provide the way. As I take walks, often times I find a coin on the street. I pick it up and am reminded that it is “In God we Trust” and I need to trust God. In this time of waiting, I can trust in God’s faithfulness. That is the choice I am making.

I am so grateful for the friends and family that God has surrounded me with. I am grateful for family of believers who has supported me throughout the years through prayers, encouragement, financial gifts and even challenging me along the way.

Thank you to those who are continuing to support me. I’m excited to see that some have already returned their slips. Many more have told me they are praying about how much they are going to send in. Others have told me they are praying for my ministry. Each of you plays an important part in the work God is doing in Argentina. Thank you so much and may God continue to bless your lives and ministries here in the States!

Lessons from School..!

2010-09-18T00:12:00.000-07:00

So, I just realized that I’ve been in school 5 months and I have yet to write about what I am learning in school. I’ll just give a couple thoughts on my past 4 classes and what I learned through them:

1) Developing Christian Excellence –

“Do what you love and you’ll never work a day in your life..!” Isn’t this the truth? When we are doing something we love it doesn’t seem like work. That is how I feel about my ministry in Argentina. I absolutely love doing full-time ministry. This does not mean it isn’t difficult at times, but it doesn’t feel like work to me.

“Attitude makes a world of difference… it doesn’t matter what you are doing..!” There are a lot of things we can’t control, such as our circumstances, but we can control our attitude. We can choose to look at things positively; we can choose to love people regardless of what they do to us. Our attitude can resolve conflicts, change the future, it can work miracles.

2) Pentateuch –

I’m not sure I could summarize all I learned through studying the first 5 books of the Bible. Let me tell you it was the first time I have read them in order within such a short period of time and I absolutely loved it. God was the center of each of these books. He is the Creator, He is in control of all situations, He is to be worshiped and obeyed. Nothing was able to thwart His plan of redemption. Finally, so often we think about “The Law” as being something negative, keeping us from doing what we enjoy but in reality “The Law” is good. God doesn’t just want obedience to the letter of the Law, but He wants our hearts to conform to it and as we obey it we become more like Christ.

3) Bible Study Methods –

I could share the techniques I learned about how to study the Bible but in this class I learned more from actually using these techniques to study the Bible.

After studying Psalm 1 this is the application I came up with.

Who do I go to when I need wisdom? God’s word which is full of life-giving wisdom or what the world teaches as truth. Do I spend time meditating on the word of God allowing it to nourish me? Am I firmly rooted in my faith or easily persuaded by men’s teaching?

Being single in this day and age is quite the challenge. Especially when going onto the mission field. I am often faced with many questions such as; when are you getting married? Are you ever going to settle down? Don’t you want to get married? I have many people giving me advice on how to get a guy; flirt with them, dress in a way to catch their attention, approach them and ask them out. It appears that our identity is based on whether or not we are in a dating relationship or married. If I was to dwell on the comments and advice from others I would get discouraged. I could become like a friend of mine who wanted to get married so badly she got involved with the first guy who showed her some attention. She ended up in a marriage that failed, unhappy, lonely and wondering what went wrong. My other option is to look to God and allow Him to fill me up. Even the Apostle Paul speaks on this theme saying that it is better to remain single, if you are able to, because it allows to you have more time to serve God. I am not saying that I don’t ever want to get married or that I am called into singleness but I can trust in God and that He will provide for me in every area. I can obey Him and seek after His kingdom and serve Him being content with what I am doing. When I spend time in His Word I am greatly encouraged and the thoughts from others goes in one ear and out the other because I am holding onto God’s truth. God is good and He is enough for me.

4) Gospels –

There is so much one can find while reading the Gospels. I was amazed about how all four of them are about the life of Jesus yet John’s Gospel is completely different than the others. There was so much that Jesus did that each of them chose information that was most important for their audience.

Here are a few of my thoughts as we studied:

Ø Whatever the Religious Tradition you follow – if it interferes with actually keeping what God commands, it is unprofitable..!

- How often do we allow our traditions become more important than obeying God? We complain about changes going on within the church, changes that are based on tradition without realizing that our complaining is disobedience to God and causes a Spirit of disunity.

Ø I think one of the most important things as I study the Gospels was the confirmation I felt over and over that this was the path God has me on. People think it is easy to leave behind my family and go overseas but that is not true. It is not easy, but God promises blessings for those who put Him above their family.

What would you do if your tire blew out on the freeway?

2010-09-17T22:49:00.000-07:00

Once again on my drive down to Portland for class I had a tire blow out on me. As my sister so kindly pointed out, every tire that has blown out while I am driving occurs during my drive to Portland (except of course the one in Argentina which took place when I was going about 5 mph). Let me tell you it is a bit scary to be driving 60-70 mph and have the tire shred on you while driving in the left lane. It has now happened to me three times, two which have been in the past couple months.

I could focus on all of the negative aspects; the price of paying for two new tires (well four in the past couple months), the fear of having the car jerk on me, the stress that it caused me and neck pain I felt, having to drive less than 50 mph on the freeway, having to find a Les Schwab and go out of the way to get to it, being late to class and missing my advising appointment, and the list goes on.

But instead I choose to focus on the positive aspects; God protected me and I did not get into an accident (either time), I was able to pull over to the side of the road quickly and safely, God held off the rain as I changed the tire, just the fact that my father taught me how to change a tire years ago, the tire was on the passenger side so I didn’t have to worry about getting hit by a car as I put on the spare, God kept me safe as I changed the tire, I only got to class 15 minutes late, I was able to reschedule my advising appointment, Les Schwab was super fast at changing my tire and they had internet while I waited, I now have four brand new tires and don’t have to worry about blowouts along the way, did I mention that God kept me safe?

Some other blessings from the past couple days that I can focus on; an amazing service at Church on Sunday, Thursday morning Bible study at church started back up, fellowship and worship with some awesome women, class got out early last night and I was home by midnight, an awesome time of worship on the drive home, a basically kid free day at work (which is interesting since my job is to take care of children), I turned in my final paper and last homework assignments for the Gospels course, I sent out my support letters and am trusting in God to provide the funds, I had two weeks of vacation from homework, over all… life is good..!

God is Good... All the Time..!

2010-08-20T23:24:00.000-07:00

Thank you to those who have been praying faithfully for me… God is already answering some of my latest prayer request:

· Ideas finally started flowing for the video script. Pray that I can continue to get everything down and ready to go. I set up an appointment to put it together in November when I have to go back to Florida for some more training.

· I have not contacted churches yet, but God is giving me good conversation with friends and times of encouragement that He has it all in control. I also have been able to purchase materials to start putting packets together.

· God is also helping me stay about a week ahead on my homework which frees me up to start working on building up a contact list to send out letters. Now I need to get started on the actual letter that I want to send J Also, he has given me a GREAT idea as I prepare and send out these letters. I am going to be praying specifically for each family as I address the letter. I figure if people are going to be praying for me, I’d better be praying for them too..!

So… if you have any prayer requests… let me know… that way I’ll have specific ways to pray for you..!

Some new prayer request:

1) This past week was one in which I really missed my friends and ministry in Argentina. Pray that God will be all that I need and that I will depend on Him during these difficult times. It is always hard to be away from loved ones; whether here in the States or in Argentina.

2) Pray for my father, who is currently unemployed. God has been faithful in providing jobs for people during this time and I know that He has the perfect job for my father as well.

Prayer Requests..!

2010-08-14T18:24:00.001-07:00

It has been quite the challenge to stay on top of everything these days. I absolutely love my courses and am spending a lot of time just studying the Word of God. Work is going well and the girls and I are enjoying being outside as the weather is beautiful. But now I need to focus a bit more on building up a support team if I am ever to return to Argentina.

I have a couple specific prayer requests:

1) Pray that God would give me the words to say for the script I need to write up for my video. Also pray for guidance in choosing the right pictures.

2) Pray for wisdom in knowing which churches to contact. Also for courage in taking the necessary steps and making the phone calls.

3) Pray for wisdom in knowing how to best use my time and balance everything including times of rest.

My Year at a Glimpse..!

2010-07-11T22:08:00.000-07:00

It was last July that I made the decision to become a career missionary. After serving in Argentina for almost 4 years I came home thinking that I was done. But after months of praying and a time of fasting; God showed me that He was calling me back to Argentina long-term. I still remember the day as I was sitting at Snoqualmie Falls with a rainbow in the back ground knowing that God was promising to be with me every step of the way.

The day I was called into Career Missions... officially..!

So much has happened since that day… In September I went back to college. My first couple semesters I studied at Green River C.C working on electives then I transferred to Multnomah where I am working on a degree in Leadership and Ministry. During this time of studying I was also able to return to Catamarca for three months.

In February I had MAC (Missionary Assessment Center) in which I spent five days being observed by a team in Orlando. At the end of the week they approved me to continue on with the process of becoming a career missionary with Converge Worldwide (formerly known as BGC – Baptist General Conference).

Group I was with at MAC - Am amazing group..!

In April not only did I start commuting to Multnomah for school but I also returned to Orlando for my final interview by the Board of Overseers for Converge Worldwide. I was approved and voted in as a new missionary appointee. During this time I have had the privilege of meeting many people on staff with Converge. This has been an encouragement to me as going as a short-term missionary I never met anyone except through email.

Interviewing team praying for me afterwards..!

The other canditates that were interviewed on the same day..!

Meeting Jerry and Dee Sheveland, President and "first lady" of Converge.

At the end of June I went to Denver, Colorado for MPD training (Missionary Partner Development). This was an intensive time of training for the next phase in which I build up a team of churches and families that will support this ministry in Argentina.

I spent MANY hours in training with these people..!

Following the MPD training I attended the Converge Worldwide biennial meeting. This week was a time of encouragement as I spent time getting to know missionaries on the field as well as other appointees who are in process of going overseas. We ended the week by commissioning all of the missionaries that were appointed in the past two years.

Being commissioned in front of everyone... a certificate and everything!

All the missionaries that were commissioned... May God bless us all as we serve Him..!

Currently I am putting together information as I prepare to go out and recruit a team who will support my ministry in Argentina. Please be in prayer that God will direct me to the correct people. Also, pray that He will give you wisdom in whether or not you can play a part in this team. If you want information feel free to contact me!

Serve 2010... 15 years later..!

2010-07-10T12:30:00.000-07:00

As I pray for the youth entering Mexico today I am reminded of what God has done in my own life these past 15 years. Serve 95 was a life changing event for me. I never doubted that God was calling me into full-time ministry but I didn’t know how it would play out in my life. I knew missions would always be a part of my life but I didn’t know to what extent. Was I to be a sender and support missionaries financially? Was I to be in prayer for missionaries and God’s work throughout the world? Was I to be a mobilizer and lead youth on mission trips? Was I to open up my home to people in the States that need to know Jesus? Or was I to go out into the world and preach the gospel? To be honest, I was okay with any of these options except going. It took God 15 years to prepare me to go as a career missionary. He was faithful to not give up on me throughout the times of questioning. I have no doubt that He has a perfect plan for my life and now I know that this plan includes overseas missions as a career. What an awesome responsibility this is and yet I know I cannot do it on my own strength. My God who has been with me each step of the past 15 years will be with me each step of my life.

Serve 95 - The trip that changed my life..!

As I helped prepare this Serve 2010 team I looked at the youth who would be going and wondering what God would do in the lives of these youth. What a joy it would have been to go with them but God has other plans for my life right now which include preparing for my own trip to Argentina. I am excited to hear their stories when they return and the opportunity I have to pray for them while they are gone. May God make Himself known to them in a very real way. May they depend upon Him each day not only during these couple weeks but for the rest of their lives. May they come back from Mexico forever changed and more in love with their Savior. Please be praying for these alongside of me and check out their own blog at http://youthmark.com/faith_kent/

From Girlfriends to Root Canals...

2010-05-31T23:59:00.000-07:00

This weekend was definitely a much needed break for me. My past couple weeks have been insane with school and ministry opportunities. On top of my already busy week with studying , commuting, and working I had activities on the weekend.

May 21-23^rd, I had the privilege of going to the Women’s Retreat with Faith Baptist with my mother. We spend three days learning how important it is to have girlfriends who have our back. As I read through the book of Exodus this past week (I’m taking the Pentateuch which requires me to read the first five books of the Bible in 5 weeks) I got to the passage in Exodus 17 when the Israelites defeated the Amalekites. There is so much to learn from this especially in regards to the type of girlfriends that I want. To me when Moses lifted his arms up to God it was a way of showing that he was depending completely on God. Instead of focusing on the battle that was going on, a major trial for the Israelites, He was focusing on God and knew God would fight for him. Often times, I need to take my eyes off the difficult circumstances in my life and focus on God alone. The next thing I see is that Moses got tired but he surrounded himself by friends who lifted his arms up for him. Who do I have around me that is going to lift up my arms and encourage me when I am tired? I know that in the year ahead as I raise support for returning to Argentina that there are going to moments in which I get discouraged and need someone at my side lifting me up. But there are times in my life that I also have to be like one of his friends, lifting up and encouraging someone else in their work for the Lord. Lastly, it was God who got the credit for winning the battle. How can I give God the glory for all that He is doing in my life?

The following weekend I was able to serve the youth that are preparing to go down to Mexico this summer from my church. Although I am not able to go on the trip I am taking every opportunity I can to help prepare this team. One of the reasons I am excited to serve in this area is because this is the trip that first opened my eyes to the importance of missions. I cannot wait to see what God is going to teach these youth about His call on their lives. Even more exciting is to see them wanting to serve Him here in Kent. They are learning that missions is a lifestyle and not necessary a location. A couple days before leaving for this weekend of training and team building Pastor Aaron asked me to prepare a seminar on Spanish. So I got to spend half an hour teaching the basics of Spanish. It reminds me how flexible I need to be and willing to serve at a moment’s notice.

After going non-stop for weeks, you can understand why having a weekend to relax was so important to me. Of course part of my relaxing included hours of homework but I love to read the Bible so that portion of my homework was a lot of fun. What was not fun was the excruciating pain I was in half of the time. Before leaving for Argentina in 2004 for my first year long trip I had an emergency root canal. Come to find out this past week I had a chronic infection and needed to go back in for another root canal. I didn’t experience any pain before the root canal but the days following it have been unbearable. It reminds me of how sin affects us. At times we let it come into our lives slowly as did the infection. In fact it seeps in so slowly that you don’t even realize you have an infection because it is now normal. But unless you allow God to come in and remove the infection it will only get worse. The treatment may be painful as he has to completely dig it out. It may be costly as was my root canal (since I don’t have dental insurance). But the other option is even more painful and expensive (having to have the tooth pulled out if I let the infection continue on). So as I had to have a root canal and am dealing with the after affects I am reminded of what God is doing in my life in the area of sin. Through a study on spiritual revival I am taking a deep look at the sins in my life and asking God to remove these areas from my life. There are sinful attitudes that have become so normal to me that I don’t even realize the affect they have had. Please be praying that God will continue to reveal these areas to me and allow his purification process bring healing and revival into my life. Only then will I be able to serve Him completely and freely and find my joy in Christ.

Portland - Utah - Portland..!

2010-05-12T17:32:00.000-07:00

One of these days my life may slow down but not for another month or so. On April 29^th I had my first official class at Multnomah Bible School in Portland. I drove down for class, which I absolutely loved. It was a great time of getting to know my classmates whom I will be with for the next year or so until I return to Argentina. This first class I am taking is called Developing Christian Excellence and it is so refreshing to have a professor who has a passion for teaching and leading us into being excellent students and believers.

After class I stayed the night in Portland and then flew out to Utah to meet my newest nephew Israel. Let me tell you the week went by way to fast; though I had a blast playing with my nieces and nephews and visiting with Jeremy and Maria. Of course I did my bi-annual back throwing routine and spent a couple days in pain. I could not walk the first day but the following day I decided to bear the pain and walk up the “mountain” with Keila, Seth and Mayra. It was a bit painful but well worth it after I got to see the view and of course the children had a blast.

On Thursday I flew back to Portland in time for class and then drove home afterwards. I am still trying to decide whether or not to work five days a week in the future or cut my days down to four with school. I was able to drive home without falling asleep so that was a plus, but we shall see how my energy level continues as the weeks go by.

Daniel Israel Finnestad... number 12..!

Mayra Yesenia Princess... Cute

Playing on the indoor slide..!

It goes from the first floor to the basement..!

Keila is all grown up..!

Jadan is Mr. Independent... He helped himself to my mate..!

And of course Mayra enjoyed the Dulce de Leche...

I call Jadan "Little Jeremy" man the look alike..!

Enjoying the veiw with Israel...

Out on our walk... Seth is quite the big guy..!

My three adventure buddies...

It is hard to capture the beauty in a photo...

Who am I? A college student or career missionary... or BOTH..!

2010-04-24T22:10:00.000-07:00

The last week was the week I have been waiting for… On Sunday night after the Serve 2010 meeting I drove down to Portland, OR. I spent the night visiting with Caroline Watkins before heading to bed on her couch. On Monday morning I had a private orientation at Multnomah Bible School. I wasn’t going to be around for the regular orientation because of my trip to Florida. After getting all of my paperwork taken care of and receiving my books for the first class they took me on a tour of the campus. A couple hours later I was on my way home. This drive from Seattle to Portland and back will be a regular trip for me in the weeks to come as I will be commuting. Most of the weeks I will have class just on Thursday nights from 6:00-10:00 but will most likely stay the night so I don’t fall asleep on the drive home. If I’m lucky someone else might live up North and I’ll be able to carpool but that is to be determined in the next couple weeks. I am really excited to finally be going to Bible School. For those of you who don’t know I will be getting my BS in Leadership and Ministry which will come in handy in the years to come.

I drove home Monday afternoon and briefly checked over my workload while chatting with friends in Argentina. I then headed down to the base-ball fields to watch the guys from my church play ball. I went to de-stress since I was a bit nervous for my trip to Florida and overwhelmed with what my schedule will be like in the next couple weeks. The time on the field and drive did the trick for me. I was able to praise God in the car and just enjoy cheering on the team. I arrived home and FINALLY started packing.

My flight to Florida was early on Tuesday so I only got about 4 hours of sleep. Once again God blessed me on the trip down by bumping me up to First Class. That is one of the privileges of flying back and forth to Argentina. I was given Medallion status with lots of benefits…. Free baggage, priority boarding, seating, lines through security, and even free upgrades upon availability. Of course with the upgrade I was given lunch, which was a blessing. I arrived to the hotel just in time to meet the other candidates and eat dinner.

My roommate in Orlando was Krissy, who just happens to have grown up in Argentina as a missionary kid. Her father also happens to be over all the Latin American Missionaries, so I met both her parents a couple years back in Argentina. We spent a lot of time together during the couple days we were in Florida.

I woke up early once again on Wednesday for my final interview with the Board of Overseers from Converge. The interviews took place on the Wycliffe property where they are renting rooms until the new buildings are completed. I spend an hour and half drinking mate and visiting with the receptionist and anyone who entered the building.

Of course I was nervous as we walked down the hall to enter the room, but once I sat down and introductions were made I calmed right down. The first person I met just happened to be the associate Pastor from Our Saviors Church here in Washington. J After sharing my testimony and call into missions they each asked me a couple questions. I was then sent out of the room as the voted as a team. The five of them approved me as a missionary and were going to recommend me to the whole Board of Overseers. Of course before leaving they took time to pray for me and I was even able to get my first contact information for the support raising process. My first order of business was to inform my families that I had been approved to become a Career Missionary with Converge.

Since the interview was in the morning I had all day to relax and enjoy Florida. I had decided to not bring my homework and just ENJOY my time in the sun. I celebrated the good news by eating lunch out and then taking pictures in my Argentina jersey. Krissy and I then sat outside drinking mate and visiting in the afternoon. I ended the day taking a walk and enjoying the beauty of the area before spending time in the Word.

Celebrating my approval te be a Career Missionary..!

Mate with Krissy... and Biblestudy

Of course I also enjoyed desert..!

Thursday morning we headed back out to the Wycliffe site and were able to tour the campus and museum while we waited. We were then presented before the whole Board of Overseers where they took the official vote to appoint us as Missionaries. It was an encouraging time as they prayed for us and took time getting to know us during lunch. As a short-termer I never met anyone from the conference so it has been really nice finally meeting everyone including Jerry and Dee Sheveland, the President of Converge. I left Converge very encouraged and excited. To be honest I still find it unbelievable that I am officially a Career Missionary.

Before heading home I had a couple hours to play around at the airport with Krissy… of course we took pictures as if we had went to Disneyland. The trip home was uneventful and once again I got bumped up to first class.

So to make a LONG story short… this week I became a college student and career missionary. What an exciting adventure I am on..! May God be glorified in my life..!

Spring Break Outings..!

2010-04-17T19:03:00.000-07:00

During my spring break I was able to get out of the house a little more with the girls. First I took them to Northwest Trek. It was a beautiful sunny day but still a little chilly so I took a blanket for the girls. We had a blast exploring the animals and taking a tour of the park on the train.

On the tram with Amanda..!

Wow.. is it real..?

Looking for raccoons

One last shot with Elizabeth before we leave.

Our next outing was to the Tacoma’s Children Museum. Kim showed us how to use the Tacoma train and left us at the Museum. We even invited some of their friends to spend the day with us. The girls ran from one activity to the next while I tried to keep track of where they were. They had a blast, but I was ready to leave as more and more children arrived. We then met back up with Kim and took the girls out to dinner.

Elizabeth as cute as ever..!

Amanda busy at work...

Of course one of my favorite outings was going to visit Karen and children for a play date on my birthday. After our typical Thursday morning Bible Study we walked over to their house for the next couple hours. The girls were able to play and Karen and I had a great time catching up on life.

I then went up North to visit my friends the Shaffer’s. They have played a huge role on my Spiritual life and it is always a joy to spend time with them and their children. We had a relaxing day of just visiting and catching up on life.

My last outing was with Hillary and Heather Dial. We headed out of town to their cabin for the night. It was a much needed break away from the craziness of life. It gave me time to get away and just spend time with God in the peacefulness of His creation. What a blessing it was to be able to go with those girls and be encouraged by their own excitement for God.

Let the fun begin......

2010-03-18T22:02:00.000-07:00

For those of you who are wondering I have finished my final paper. It was a research a paper on Shakespeare tying in the theme of redemption. Man, it was a lot of fun writing, more so than I was expecting. I was able to apply my missions training to school work. J I mean one of the first things we are taught before going onto the field is to make the gospel relate to the person you want to reach out to. Since my professor loves Shakespeare and has been searching a lot lately, I used her passion and combined it with my passion – God’s love for us and sharing that with others.

Now I am officially on Spring Break… but that is not the most exciting part. I am now finished taking general classes at Green River Community College. I have a month off before starting at Multnomah Bible School. WooHoo..! I am super excited to start Bible School even though I know that life is going to get insanely busy. I will have classes on Thursday evenings which means lots of trips down to Portland coming up.

So, since I have a month off… I have lots of plans..! I am going to SLEEP… visit with friends… sleep… read books… sleep… watch movies… sleep… fill out more paper work for career missions… sleep… meet my new nephew in Utah… sleep… so, do you see a pattern here? This will be a time of rest and refreshment for me which I am looking forward to almost as much as Bible School..! Maybe I’ll even have more time to update my blog while I am at it.

The update everyone has been waiting for..!

2010-02-24T10:34:00.001-08:00

Wow… what a week. Most of you know that I spend the last week in Florida having my Missionary Assessment with Converge… or at least you knew the evaluation was coming up. ;) But for those who were not up to date… On Thursday I flew to Orlando a day early to try and get ahead on homework and be able to adjust my body somewhat to the time zone.

On Friday the whirlwind of events began in the evening and lasted until about 10:00pm. On Saturday and Sunday our days began around 6:00 or 6:30 in the morning as we ate and prepared to leave for the Wycliffe center for training and evaluation. (Of course due to exhaustion and my lack of love for the morning I did sleep through two alarms on Sunday and was awoken by my team with just enough time to change and jump on the ban…) Our days ended at Wycliffe around 9:30-10:00 pm… YES they were LONG days..! But they were not over yet as on some of the days I worked on homework and the other days we were working on our group presentation.

You may be wondering what we could have possibly done all day long and that is a good question. J We had various training sessions where experts in the field gave us information on particular areas of interest for new missionaries, such as culture shock and sharing the gospel. Prior to the trip we had to take various personality and cultural tests so we found out the results which helped us understand ourselves a little better. I was shocked to find out that I had one of the highest scores ever on the cultural test which evaluated our ability to adjust completely into another culture without losing our own cultural identity. We had to work on case studies of situations that might occur on the mission field and how we would respond to them. We each had a pysch evaluation and mission’s interview. And when we weren’t working on all of that we had to work as a team of 11 to fight out as much as we could about an unreached people group and a plan for us to evangelize them using our gifts and talents. Although it was a lot of work in such a short amount of time we did have a slight advantage; not only was this the people group I did my final exam on in Perspectives years ago, but it is also the group that my church has a lot of contact with (the Berbers in Northern Morocco)… what are the chances? To be honest we worked excellently as a team especially considering we just met one another and we constantly being pulled out of the group time to for our evaluations. But on Monday afternoon we gave our presentation and aced it. We then found out after I checked out of the hotel that one of the hosts at our hotel was from people group. Those who were going back to the hotel were hoping to talk to her a little more. What are the chances of that? Only God can set up those circumstances..!

We got to leave around 3:30pm on Monday to give the assessors time to evaluate each of us. They were taking notes the whole weekend on all that they saw us do and say. Before heading back to the hotel as a group we prayed over the assessors, that God would give them wisdom in the decisions that they were making. While they spend the rest of the day processing everything as a team we headed out for some free time. At first I was going to stay in the hotel and work in homework but I decided to get out and have a little fun instead. First we rested for about an hour since we were all pretty tired at this point. Then we headed to Down Town Disney for dinner and enjoyment. Of course the weather did not cooperate as the sun we had the whole time we were inside gave way to rain… by the time we got back to the hotel we were soaking wet but it was fun to just enjoy one another. I am amazed at how close we got after just 4 days together.

Tuesday was the day we were all waiting for. What was the answer going to be? There were four different responses they would have; 1) Recommended for missions 2) Recommended with Conditions 3) Recommended with strong conditions 4) Not recommended. The night before and many days leading up to the MAC I was praying that God would continue to guide me down the path he wants me to take. My verse has been Proverbs 16:9, ‘In his heart a man plans his course, but the Lord determines his steps’. I am happy to announce that I have been officially recommended for career missions. Of course this is not the end of the process. Now I have to fill out a LOT more paperwork and have an interview with the board of directors. Of course that is a bit scary but I know that God is in control of all things. I don’t have all the details yet of what is to come and the time line of it all… but please be praying with me as God takes me down this road, which is an adventure. Thank you for coming along with me on it in so many different ways..! I keep you posted on what is to come...

I don't have many pictures for the week yet, but here is one from Down Town Disney with KP... one of the other candidates..! We are already soaking wet but still had fun... look at the lego sea creature behind us... it's insane..!

Just a little update..!

2010-01-19T21:55:00.000-08:00

Life has definitely been a little busier since I started school. Many have asked me what classes I am taking so here goes; Writing for humanities, History of the movies and Business 101. These definitely aren’t the most exciting courses for me, in reality I am looking forward to starting Multnomah in the spring but this is a good transition back into the life of college and homework. Thankfully I am staying up to date on all my homework. In fact, in most of my classes I am about a week ahead on my homework. My hope is to stay ahead so that when I have my trip to Florida I don’t have to worry about school.

So, why am I going to Florida? In a little over four weeks I have my evaluation with the Baptist General Conference. I am not really sure what to expect but I’m looking forward to it. I have already turned in my reference list (thanks to all of you who have to fill out those LONG reference forms), purchased my airfare and filled out the very long application form. This week I started doing personality-like tests that are required. There is definitely a lot more to the process than going down on short-term trips. I will keep you posted on how things are going.

For now my prayer requests are the following:

Pray for the youth in Catamarca. January 28^th-February 1^st they are putting on a camp and inviting a lot of youth who are not believers. There are a lot of details for the camp, so they are a bit overwhelmed right now but are looking forward to what God is going to do.

Pray for me as I go through the process, which includes schooling and other preparations. At times I get overwhelmed but I know that God has it all under control.

Starting the New Year..!

2010-01-04T22:57:00.000-08:00

So, it is a New Year..! I cannot believe we are already in the year 2010. As I mentioned before, I have a somewhat tradition of spending New Years Eve home alone in God’s Word. I like to start the year off refocusing on what is important and seeking what God has in store for me. Some verses and quotes that God has been speaking to me in the past couple days are:

2 Samuel 7:18 – Who am I, O Lord God, and what is my house that You have brought me this far?
It is definitely an adventure that God has me on and I have no doubt that He is the one guiding me on this path. A quote from a book I am reading really spoke to me this night, “I do not possess a wealth of talent, I am not an educated theologian, and I do not even have the experience of most. I simply trust Christ and follow Him.” How true is that..! My desire is to follow Christ and obey Him no matter where He leads me. As Psalms 48:14, “For this God is our God forever and ever; he will be our guide even to the end.”

The path God has me on may not always be easy, but it is good. As I was thinking about a popular verse… that says God will not give us more than we can bear… my eyes were opened to the truth in this verse. God CAN’T give us something that we cannot bear… it is impossible and not just because He can’t lie… but because God is control of ALL things and we can bear EVERYTHING with Him.

Last night as I was laying in bed thinking about the next step in this adventure… COLLEGE..! I was a bit overwhelmed… but after spending time in the Bible once again I was reminded that, God already has it under control. All I need to do is take it one day at a time and enjoy the moment. So, that is my goal this year… to take things as they come and enjoy life..!

This picture was taken for my nephew James... He was shocked about the fact I was doing a 1000 piece puzzle. I figured I would do something fun before school started and life got hectic. I didn't sleep much but I did it in a little over a day..!

Home in time for...Christmas and New Years..!

2010-01-02T17:13:00.000-08:00

Now it’s time to catch up with what has been happening since I got home from Argentina just a couple weeks ago. I came home in time to celebrate Christmas with the family. Everyone came over to my parents place and we enjoyed watching the children open all their presents (and of course receiving presents ourselves). After eating everyone headed out… and I spent the rest of the night home alone. Of course, I took advantage of that and made phone calls to Argentina J...!

You may be wondering where my parents went on Christmas Day… well they travelled to Utah to visit my brother Jeremy and his family… especially the newest member of the family. Daniel Israel was born on December 21^st. Maria had the shortest labor yet (though she is usually in labor a LONG time) and Jeremy ended up delivering his son.

That makes 12 nieces and nephews in total… my family keeps on growing..! God has definitely blessed me with a wonderful family. I am truly blessed..!

New Years Eve I spent with the young adults from Church. We had a progressive dinner so of course we ate until stuffed and enjoyed one another’s company. I was home before midnight to follow my semi-regular tradition of starting the New Year reading the Bible. More to come on that later..!

With my parents..!

Jimmy and Karen with Abby, James, Josiah, Aliya and Jonathan

Dan, Kim, Amanda and Elizabeth

Showing off my gift... music for the road :)

Singing Happy Birthday to Jesus...

All Smiles..! What a fun day..!

And who wouldn't with this food???

Jadan and Daniel Israel.. the best gift of all..!

My Last Weeks in Argentina..!

2009-12-19T15:52:00.000-08:00

After the wedding things did not slow down… though I did take a day of rest J I’ll just show some pictures to explain what I did my last couple weeks in Argentina…

Julio and Magui had their baby girl, so of course I not only stopped by the hospital to meet her but also spent some time at their place visiting...

We started working full time on preparing Maxi and Sole’s new house.
There was a LOT of cleaning that needed to be done, as well as moving.

I also spent some time teaching Valentino to drive... he loved it..!

My last weekend, Maria had her graduation dinner and ceremony.

Norma and I were both able to enjoy the party...

She officially GRADUATED... How fast they grow up..!

Of course we had another 15th birthday party for a family member...

Just another excuse to dress up and go out... for free food..!

I spent every minute I could with Valentino... and the girls..!

On my last night we went out for dinner and stopped by important places...

Including the house where we lived together..!

Finally it was time to say goodbye... to the happy family..!

And the best of friends...

And since Laura was also leaving... quite the crowd showed up to say goodbye.

So ends my time in Argentina... but I continue to carry everyone in my heart.

Keep praying for the church in Catamarca..!

Weddings Galore..!

2009-12-08T12:58:00.000-08:00

In Argentina most people get married two times, once with the judge (to make it legal) and once in the church. This has definitely been a hectic time preparing for both of these weddings… as when I arrived in October, nothing was planned yet. So, in less than a month and a half (since I went to Jujuy for two weeks) we planned two separate weddings and all the errands that go with that. And I wonder why I am EXHAUSTED today..!

Sole and Maxi did things backwards and got married first in the church on November 28^th. They only invited a few friends, their family and the church members. Pastor Guillermo from a local church (and a friend of the family) did the ceremony and included how God forgives us of our sins and wipes the slate clean when we return to him. What a great testimony this is as both Maxi and Sole made the decision to make things right with God and have a pure relationship until their wedding day. Sole’s sister Maria and I were the bridesmaids, which meant that we both had to share something during the ceremony. I was the first to share and stopped short when both Maxi and Sole started crying (so I wouldn’t cry myself… haha). All in all the ceremony went really well and Maxi’s parents even attended. (Pray for Sole and Maxi in this area as Maxi’s family holds onto their Catholic beliefs very highly which may cause tension in the family. For example, today is the celebration of the Virgin in which they worship Mary… okay so I wrote this on December 8^th and never posted it) After the ceremony everyone stayed around for pizza and empanadas. At the end, I escaped with the newlyweds and we celebrated with ice cream.

Then on December 4^th they got married legally with the judge. During this time they invited all their friends and family and classmates (since they both studied Chemistry). After the short ceremony everyone celebrated all night long. The event started at 9:30 pm, ceremony started about 10:45 pm and the party started shortly after and ended around 7:30 am. I spent the majority of the time in the party taking care of various details for Sole and the end of the party with Valentino out in the car. He was pretty sick and couldn’t sleep with the loud music. Here are a few pictures to get an idea of what was like… I’ll post more pictures on facebook for those of you who have an account J

Arriving at the "Church" with Sole.. which also happens to be her house..!

Everytime I came to the house Maxi was pacing... and memorizing his lines.
Finally, he is ready and waiting with Valentino

Exchanging of the rings... and vows..!

Pastor praying over their lives and marriage...

The Happy Couple... Maxi and Sole Gomez

Both sets of parents...

Maria and I were the Bridesmaids..!

Celebrating afterwards...

The church was decorated by the youth of the church... Gorgeous, no?

Mauricio walked Sole in for the Civil Wedding...

Signing the official papers with the judge...

Now they are legally married and Maxi is hungry...

Once again celebrating...!

The picture of everyone at my table with the happy couple...
We were the life of the party..!

The First Dance...

Dancing with the groom..!

Enjoying the night with Valentino...

Gruduation Day... and the parties that followed..!

2009-12-08T06:48:00.000-08:00

In the midst of the craziness of planning the wedding… we took some time to celebrate that Both Maxi and Soledad graduated from the University with their degree in Chemistry. Maxi is already subbing as a science teacher and Soledad has a few courses to finish up her license and is contemplating taking a few more so that she could also work as a teacher. They have both fallen in love with teaching in the outskirts of Catamarca in schools that are hidden and almost deserted. Of course, in order to continue working in those areas they will have to buy a car soon, but God willing within a year they will have one.

We also had a couple bachelorette parties for Soledad; One with her classmates from the University and one with friends from the church. All I can say is that I enjoyed the one from church a lot more..!

A college graduate..!

The family... celebrating!

Just a few of the friends and family members that went to the graduation..!

I graduated too... or was put in charge of guarding the diplomas..!

Yes, they are laughing at me... because in reality I didn't help make empanadas.. I just posed for the pictures... I was EXHAUSTED this night and kept everyone entertained..!

On the way to the Bacholorette Party

We had to REMOVE the cell phone so Sole and Maxi didn't spend all night talking on the phone. The guys also removed Maxi's phone...!

Games with Laura...

Leandro and Carolina decorated the salon for the church wedding..!

A reason to give thanks..!

2009-12-06T06:31:00.000-08:00

Life continues at full speed so I thought I would take a moment to get caught up with my blog. Many of you may not know that during all my time in Argentina I never once gave a message in front of the whole congregation. I spent hours and hours working one on one with people or leading small groups, I even prepared sermons for others to present. But on this trip, I decided to go out of my comfort zone… the Sunday before Thanksgiving I gave a message on giving thanks to God and praising His name. It actually went really well and although it was a small group that week, they all seemed to understand the message. That week we gave a little extra thanks to God because after many months it FINALLY rained. (OK… so I wasn’t as thankful as the rest… I see rain all the time..!) Another reason to give thanks was the birth of Julio and Magui’s baby girl, Gracia Natania Olivera. She is absolutely precious and adored by many. As is Valentino.. it has been a joy to be able to get to know him during these last couple months.

Here I am giving the sermon..!

Jorge and Pablo a new member of the church and new believer..!

Sole enjoying the rain with her brothers..!

The first time Valentino saw rain...

(It reminded me of the first time it snows back home..!)

Magui and Gracia Natani Olivera

Isn't she precious... just one day old..!

Enjoying a new born baby..!

Valentino LOVES bathtime..!

I LOVE watching babies sleep so peacefully..!

Eating apples for the first time..!

Ready to explore the world..!

My trip to Jujuy... and returning to Catamarca..!

2009-12-01T12:22:00.000-08:00

Life continues to move much faster than I would like… but I wanted to post some more pictures..! In a little over two weeks I will be on my way back to Washington..!

At the beginning of November I went to Jujuy for two weeks to visit my friends up North. Of course I arrived just in time for Kike’s birthday which we celebrated by going out to eat. I enjoy spending time with Kike and Ivana and my “sobrinos” Juan and Keila whenever I go to Jujuy.

Of course my main reason for going to Jujuy is to visit Naty and Vicky. Even though Natalia is now married we still spent as much time together as possible. What a joy it was to be able to just relax with them and not have so many things to worry about.

This trip was also special because I got to meet my new “neice”. My friends Alejandra and Natalia (who went on a year long trip to India as missionaries) had a baby girl just a few short months ago. Angelina was absolutely adorable..!

During the weekend Vicky and I decided to escape to a local campground for a couple days… they also had rooms to rent so we splurged and spent the weekend in luxury with our own private pool. Of course while we were there friends came out to visit us various times throughout the weekend and Natalia even spent the last night with us. It was nice to just relax and enjoy the time together.

During the afternoon Vicky and I escaped and walked the grounds. We found trees that grow blackberries (which are so much easier to pick than the typical plants with thorns…) Of course we stained our fingers and tongue from eating so many. Afterwards, we sat by the lake and drank mate and talked about life in general.

Unfortunately on the trip I also had to spend time studying. My time in Jujuy fell right in the middle of the class I am taking at Green River, which meant I had to take my mid-term. The nice part about it, is I got to learn more about the Argentina culture and their music, as Vicky is a pro on the subject and we spent an afternoon researching famous singers from the past.

Of course before returning to Jujuy I spent a day walking around Jujuy and then played volleyball with Vicky for a couple hours… and ended up throwing out my back. I woke up in complete pain about 4 am and didn’t fall back asleep until around 7:30. Thankfully Naty’s husband Mirco is a Doctor and has many friends who specialize in back pain. Before meeting up with Mirco I took various pain pills that did not help, from there we went and saw a specialist who recommended I have an injection, and to top it off a physical therapist who adjusted my back with a few exercises. I then had to survive the 9 hour bus ride home, a couple days of rest for my back and more injections. Thankfully Leandro is studying to be a nurse and offered to put them in for me. J

Of course after my short break… life started back up at full speed… with the various activities at church, preparations for the wedding, visiting people, spending time with Valentino, and running errands with Sole and Maxi as they work on building their house before the wedding..!

Here are some of the kids from the neighborhood who have been coming to the children's program on Saturday afternoons..!

Pictures from Argentina...

2009-11-04T11:07:00.000-08:00

Okay... since I don´t have much time to blog I figured I would post some pictures and let you know what I have been up to this way.. of course with short descriptions... ENJOY..!

Here is a picture of Valentino sporting the clothes my sister and I bought him..!

Of course I am enjoying every minute I can with him..!

And Soledad... He is definately an easy going baby..!

Maxi, Soledad´s fiancee got a job as a substitute science teacher in a village near Catamarca. He absolutely loves it, though only has a dozen students or so in the three schools that he works at. This was his first day of work and on the way there he got all excited about bringing some of the other youth to come and do one of the evangelistic plays. Pray for Maxi as he is drawing closer to God and having to make important decisions in this area in regards to the culture that he was brought up in and what the Bible says is truth..! God is definately at work in him...
Here we are working on wedding preparations. I have been spending a lot of time with them as a couple and one on one with Soledad. Pray for their upcoming marriage... as they raise there children... and that God would continue to provide work for Maxi.

Of course I am enjoying spending time with Carolina as well.. who wouldn´t enjoy eating ice cream??? Especially after craving Lemon Pie Ice Cream for MONTHS..!

Enjoying some of the youth in the plaza...

Here is the worship band at the church... practicing in the middle of the afternoon when the weather is in the 100´s... but what joy they have..!

There is nothing that excites me as much as watching the youth serving God..!

Jorge preaching on Mother´s Day... He is one of the main reasons that the church is still afloat in Catamarca during this time. A month after I returned to Washington, Scott and Ruth also came back. Thankfully they will be returning a month after I go home again..! Keep Jorge in your prayers as he has lost a lot of weight due to health problems.. they are doing testing to figure out what the problem is. Also, pray for encouragement as he leads the church and for his studies in the University... he is studying to be a nurse..!

Here I am with Matias.. one of my guys. I love listening to him share what God has been teaching him during these past couple months... and the work that God is doing in the lives of his family members... slowly but surely they are coming to church..!

Matias with his mother.. she came to church on Mother´s Day and he dedicated a song to her... A couple days ago I had the opportunity to go to their house for lunch. I had only met her once before leaving Argentina last April and am excited to actually spend time with her now, as well as his younger sister..!

Here are some of the neighborhood girl´s who are new to the church. We are making it a habit to hang out with them in a local plaza after church..!

It has definately been an exciting couple of weeks.. times is FLYING by... and I still have lots of people I want to visit. I have no pictures to prove that I am studying.. but I did spend ALL DAY yesterday working on homework and completely my mid-term. I am halfway done with my class... and it is hard to find the time to study when I would rather be visiting friends. The only part that I am not enjoying is that they keep shutting off the water supply. The weather has been in the 100´s and yet we have no running water between 2 pm and 10 pm... well.. sometimes until 3am. Pray for rain in Catamarca.. as they are going through a time of drought.

Surprise... I'm in Catamarca..!

2009-10-15T12:26:00.000-07:00

Well… I have arrived safely in Catamarca and am finally getting settled in. After two full days of travelling, Laura picked me up at the bus station. She was the only one who knew that I was coming to Catamarca, which is the only reason I was able to surprise everyone. After a quick shower she drove me over to the house where my roommates for two years live with their family. I knocked on the door only to have their mother open it slightly and then shut the door in my face. It was actually pretty funny as I was outside listening to her try to convince Soledad to open the door. It was only 9:30 in the morning so no one was ready for the day and didn’t really want to open it, of course they didn’t realize it was me. Finally, Sole opened the door and the look on her face was priceless. From that moment on, I was able to go to various houses to surprise different families, as well as send text messages to those who I didn’t know where they would be. I spent about two days visiting people and not sleeping much and I still haven’t seen anyone. Of course at church on Sunday they announced my arrival and had me pray before the reunion. Since then I have been trying to catch up on sleep, continue to visit people, help Sole plan her upcoming wedding, visit my Valentino (my argentine nephew), and keep up on my homework for the college course I am taking. It feels like I have no free time what so ever… and I can’t believe it has already been a week. The time is going to fly by and before I know it I will be leaving again, so I want to enjoy every minute I have here.

Meeting Valentino Benjamin

Surprising Maria at school with Sole...

Spending time with Carolina...

Valentino with his new clothes..!

Surprising Carla..!

Celebrating Maxi's new job..! - Soledad, Maxi and Valentino

The video of my surprise arrival..!

Back in WA... for now..!

2009-10-02T00:45:00.001-07:00

Wow... it's been almost two weeks since we got home from California... the days seem to be speeding by. The first weekend back I got VERY little sleep and was super busy settling back in. Then on Monday, I officially became a college student again. I am currently taking an online course from GRCC called Music and World Culture... so far so good... but I have my first quiz this weekend so we'll see how it goes after that. Also, I was accepted at Multnomah Bible School. For those of you who haven't heard, I am starting an Adult Degree Completion program to get my Bachelor's degree in Leadership and Ministry with an emphasis on the Bible... I am SUPER stoked about that..! Of course classes don't start until April so until then I am getting a couple of my general ed classes out of the way. I already have the majority of them from before when I got my AAA in Early Childhood Education... but since it wasn't a general AA I'm missing a few of the basics.

What else is new? Well.. I have been busy doing various Bible Studies and LOVING it. I'm taking full advantage of the fact that I don't have to be the leader and can just learn once again. That an get encouragement from other believers.

This week I've been home bound a little more than normal... as my neices haven't been feeling well so I didn't want to take them out of the house and expose them to anyone.. and I've been feeling a bit tired myself, so it's a good excuse to lay around the house and do nothing... except for STUDY that is. :)

That's it for now... stay posted for future updates..!

Sea World - Day 8

2009-09-19T12:03:00.000-07:00

Tuesday was our last full day of activities… we started the morning off going to Sea World. I was surprised at how fun it was there… I enjoyed it even more than the zoo. When we first got there we checked out “show” times to plan our day. The first place we went was to see the penguins and then we headed over to the Wild Arctic to see polar bears. We were even able to squeeze in a visit to the sharks before the first show started. It was a presentation with Sea Lions and was very entertaining. From there we headed over to the Shamu show (with everyone else that was at the park for the day…) Wow doesn’t even describe it… though I’m glad we weren’t sitting up front where everyone got soaking wet. We went to one more show, a 4-D Sesame Street movie. Amanda didn’t like it too well so Dan had to take her out mid-show but Elizabeth really enjoyed the show. We then continued on our way seeing all the other animals and even taking pictures at the underwater Shamu viewing center. After eating lunch Kim went with me (though she didn’t really want to… haha) on the water ride where we ended up getting SOAKING wet. I of course dried a lot faster than she did. The last stop of the day was the kids play area where Amanda disappeared on the toys in absolute heaven. We convinced her to come with us only because Elmo and Zoe showed up for pictures. After a couple more rides we headed out for the day.

From there we went back to the hotel to get ready to see my Aunt Barbie but unfortunately she had to cancel on us so we collapsed on the beds for awhile. I then packed up my bags to get ready for the ride home. That evening we went over to my cousin David’s house to meet his new baby daughter who was born the day before. It was fun to be able to sit down and visit a little more with David and Lisa and of course hold baby Ali..! (Yes Karen I WAS excited to hold her … ;b) At the hotel I made a quick phone call to Argentina to wish one of my friends Happy Birthday (it was only 2 am in Argentina so I knew they would all be awake still). I then collapsed in bed once again exhausted.

It's a different world for the penguins...

I wouldn't want to be swimming in that tank...

Elizabeth was a bit afraid to be so close to sharks...

The bears were taking a mid-morning nap.

The best part of the day was watching the shows...

The Sea Lion showing off...

The whole show was quite comical..!

Shamu was definately the best show of all..!

Look at the SIZE of that creature..!

Amanda loved touching the starfish... she almost climbed in the water..!

Separated by a little glass..!

Elizabeth had a false sense of security in the stroller..!

Look it's ELMO..!

Zoe was a hit too... they were singing her song all day.

Last minute rides...

That's the end of our vacation... time to go home.

Meeting baby Ali...

Connor was still a baby when they moved back to California...

look how big he is now compared to his new baby sister..!

Proud Papa - My Cousin David

One last picture before we left...

San Diego Zoo - Day 7

2009-09-19T11:49:00.001-07:00

Monday started another busy day… I packed up my bags and Dawn took me to the San Diego Zoo where I met up with my friend Jen who moved down here a couple years ago and then we met up with Kim and Dan and the girls. We spent half the day at the zoo until we were all so tired we decided to leave… of course we saw most of the animals in this time period.

Afterwards I headed over Jen’s house to visit and drink mate for a couple hours. We then went out to dinner with her husband Blaine who I just met and one of his friends. It was a lot of fun to have a night out on the town and the food was delicious. After dinner Jen, Blaine and I went out for frozen yogurt and back to their place to visit some more. I returned to the hotel around midnight and had to wake up Kim to let me in as the key card didn’t work… of course I collapsed in bed right away.

Arriving at the zoo...

The girls waiting for me..!

As cute as a bug...

Right next to the Polar Bears...

Aren't they adorable? They gave us a little show - Fighting or Flirting?

Amanda played on all the animals that she could...

Elizabeth was a little more timid with the gorillas...

Riding the elephants...

Petting the real animals...

Visiting with Jen...

Enjoying the view from up above...

The Family..!

She is definately a little monkey...

Stylin in the stroller...

Look at the exhaustion on their faces...

OK... so they are REALLY tall..!

We've seen everything on the map.. time to GO HOME..!

A Day at the Beach - Day 6

2009-09-15T08:52:00.000-07:00

Once again I was able to sleep in a bit on Sunday… or at least didn’t wake up until about 8:30 which was WONDERFUL. After spending some time in the Word we packed up the car and headed out to the beach for the day. It was the PERFECT day to go to the beach… sunny yet not too hot and there was no one there so we pretty much had it to ourselves. Of course we camped out near the life guard tower just to be safe as the under current was pretty strong. We spent all afternoon hanging out, playing in the sand and walking the beach which was beautiful.

That evening I went back to Dawn and John’s to get cleaned up, eat dinner and a quick visit to David and Lisa’s house. (She is expecting a child so they were preparing to go to the hospital… we are anxiously awaiting the birth so that we can meet the new one before heading home..!) We then headed back to the house for desert and a movie.

Amanda had a blast standing on the board in foot deep water...

John and Dan had a good time visiting again..!

Dan building a sand castle with the girls..!

Parker enjoying lunch... on his board..!

Amanda feeding the birds who were surrounding us..!

Skye, Parker and Katie playing in the sand...

Visiting with my cousin Dawn...

Elizabeth enjoyed the sand... but not the water.

Family shot at the beach...

Elizabeth crashed out in the sand...

The trip up to San Diego - Day 5

2009-09-13T23:44:00.001-07:00

We slept in a bit on Saturday and barely got packed and on the road by the 11:00 check out. On the way to San Diego we stopped by the beach for lunch and to allow Dan and the girls to play for awhile. I had a slight headache so I didn’t do too much… but thankfully I was able to sleep it off on the rest of the drive to San Diego.

After checking into the hotel we headed over to my cousin Dawn’s for a barbeque with her family and my cousin David’s family. It was a lot of fun to catch up with them and the girls had a blast playing with their “cousins”. I ended up staying the night with Dawn and John which gave me time to relax and enjoy family.

Amanda and Dan loved playing in the water together...

Dan riding the waves...

Amanda running from the waves...

Elizabeth watching the water from afar..!

Building a wall... with lookout towers of course :)

Dawn trying Mate... Lisa also tried it..!

Enjoying the pool and the cousins...

Just a little cold afterwards...

Skye and Katie... how ADORABLE..!

We celebrated Vincent's birthday..!

David being attacked by Skye...

John and Parker... what a ham.

Amanda and Katie...

The boys... waiting for the cake of course..!

Disney Land - Day 4

2009-09-13T23:15:00.001-07:00

Friday was our last day at Disney Land… we got an early start so we could get into Toon Town an hour earlier than the majority of the people and get pictures with the various characters and tour their “houses.” The girls absolutely loved this area..!

Then we enjoyed a couple of the roller coasters one last time… I got soaking wet on Splash Mountain with Dan and then went on Indian Jones with Kim. The rest of the day was spent doing stuff with Amanda and Elizabeth.

We left the park at lunch town and went and found out to eat at In and Out. It was so good that we ended up eating their twice in one day… as we sent Dan back late that night while the girls were asleep.

After lunch we went to the hotel for a quick swim and then rest time so that Elizabeth (and Dan) could take a nap. We headed back to Disney Land in the evening and got great seats for the parade… but as it turns out they were only having fireworks… so we sent Dan and the girls on a couple rides before the show began. On the way back to the hotel both girls collapsed from exhaustion so we had plenty of time to pack up and eat.

The classic Mickey Mouse photo...

And of course in front of the Castle..!

Starting the day in Toon Town..!

Amanda was super excited to see Minnie's House...

They got pictures with Chip and Dale and toured their tree house...

Amanda was a bit scared of Goofy who was super tall..!

They both loved the Winnie the Pooh characters... and the ride for that matter..!

Right after Indian Jones... I got to "drive" the car!

Amanda must climbed on up to play the music more comfortably...

The LAST princess... Aladin was a bit left out!

A delicious lunch.. the girls both ate a full cheese burger.

They were sooo cute...

Waiting for the fire work... sitting on the benches..!

I had to pose with the ears as they matched my outfit :)

Amanda crashed as we left Disney Land and Elizabeth shortly after..!

Universal Studios - Day 3

2009-09-12T22:38:00.000-07:00

On Thursday we got in the car and headed to Hollywood… our destination for the day was Universal Studios. There wasn’t as much for the girls to enjoy but the adults had a good time. I spent most of the time with the girls visiting the various characters, though Amanda wasn’t too thrilled with half of them. We then took turns going on some of the rides and checking out the shows. We even toured the sets where they do most of the filming.

Before heading back to the hotel we made sure to feed the girls… as they ended up crashing on the drive home (about 7:00 pm) and slept through the night pretty much. Kim and I then went out and enjoyed dinner and ice cream while Dan stayed back with the sleeping girls. Of course once we got back he went to the pool with his brother. All in all it was another great day..!

There was so much to see even on the way to the park..!

Dan, Kim, Amanda and Elizabeth at the entrance...

Once again Elizabeth went to meet the characters without Amanda... she's wasn't even afraid of Shrek... and all the characters loved her and her excitement to see them.

Look... she found Sponge Bob in her signature book..!

Amanda did LOVE Curious George... could it have to do with the fact that she is very curious herself... and a little monkey who likes to climb on everything?

This is Amanda's "I'm afraid" pose.. she covers her ears..!

While everyone went on the dinosaur ride.. the girls played with dinosaur toys..!

It might have been Amanda's favorite part of the whole park..!

Of course they also enjoyed the escalator rides...

Amanda just had to pose for one last picture by these colorful stones..!

California Adventure - Day 2

2009-09-11T18:04:00.001-07:00

On Wednesday we decided to check out California Adventure. We lucked out and pretty much had no lines all day. Grandpa Terry and I spent time with the girls while the others enjoyed the roller coasters… I do have to say I prefer the kid activities anyways… except for the water rides which I made sure to go on.

In the evening all the girls went to the Princess dinner and the guys went out for Taco Bell… I think we had the better end of the deal as not only were Amanda and Elizabeth super excited to see the princesses but the food was delicious. We left as the park was closing and went back to the hotel for a quick swim before bedtime. I then made a quick (hour long) call to Argentina while relaxing in bed and watching the Elizabeth as the others stayed at the pool a little longer.

Enjoy some more pictures..!

Elizabeth is READY to start the day...

Once again Amanda wasn't so sure about getting too close...

I had to get a picture with Mickey Mouse...

The girls absolutely LOVED Minnie..!

Elizabeth and Grandpa taking a ride..!

Daddy and Amanda fleeing from the others...

Amanda and Elizabeth got to sit in their own car on this roller coaster...

This is me getting sick on the Toy Story Ride... someone lied to me and told me it didn't go around in circles... I did NOT enjoy the ride at all..!

Kim, Dan and Michael did a bunch of crazy rides...

I once again enjoyed the water ride..!

The Boys... Michael, Dan and his Father

The Happy Family... Amanda loved this play area and even escaped from the adult supervision a couple times... thankfully there was only ONE exit out...

The first Princess... Unfortunately Kim wasn't around for this one... she took a nice run back to the hotel to get the tickets for dinner. I stayed with the girls and was able to convince them to check us in so we wouldn't lose our spot... of course it was a bit hectic as I grabbed everything and a sleeping Elizabeth... but we all made it in and enjoyed the evening.

So excited to meet the girls... who spent quite a bit of time at each table..!

Neither one of them was scared... or shy for that matter.

Princess Amanda found her twin and was THRILLED..!

The girls learned how to pose like a Princess...

Finally time to eat... look at that yummy steak!

Gotta love this classic picture...

Do you think they will let me back in???

The girls ready to go swimming..!

Elizabeth is tired... but not too tired to swim a bit.

Disney Land - Day 1

2009-09-11T17:32:00.000-07:00

I finally have some down time to update my blog... the last few days have been SUPER busy and by the time we make it to the hotel all I want to do is read my Bible and go to bed... after checking my email of course :)

So, on Tuesday we went into Disney Land for the first time. Amanda and Elizabeth were super excited as were the rest of us. We did as much as we could until the girls were ready to crash. We then went out to eat at Bubba Gump that evening and back to the hotel for a quick swim before bed time.

Enjoy a few pictures of the day...

Amanda and Elizabeth were a bit scared of the big duck...

The longest wait we had was for Autotopia... so I had to drive alone to get the most out of my time in line... the wait was about 45 minutes... way tooo long for my liking ;)

Elizabeth enjoyed steering the car...

Elizabeth sure enjoyed spending time with her Uncle Michael... he came down with his parents to celebrate his 21st birthday with all of us for the week.

Kim, Eizabeth and me enjoying the Buzz Lightyear Ride..!

Dan was a bit scared on this ride...

Amanda and I on one of the rides ~ Pure joy..!

Unlike Daffy Duck the girls LOVED Tinkerbell and her friends..!

The sun has set and the girls are about to crash.. just look at Amanda!

Gotta have shrimp when you eat at Buppa Gump, right?

On our way to California...

2009-09-08T21:57:00.000-07:00

As most of you know I am on vacation with my sister Kim and her family in California. We left on Saturday morning and took three days to drive to Anaheim, California. I spent most of the time sitting in the back seat watching movies or sleeping (so I wouldn’t get carsick). The drive down went really well and the girls did GREAT for being in the car so long. Of course each of the days we did something fun on the way down. On Saturday night we drove straight to the hotel and had time to go swimming, which Amanda absolutely loved… Elizabeth was a little more hesitant about the water. On Sunday we drove through the Redwood Forest and even had a picnic in the woods. Of course we were also able to do a unexpected stop at the ocean to enjoy the beach. Amanda was in heaven until as she told us, “It was a bad ocean and it got her.” Or in other words, she got knocked down by the waves and got soaking wet, sand everywhere and salt water in the mouth… she wasn’t too thrilled with that, but it was fun watching. On Monday we toured San Francisco, including the Golden Gate Bridge, a boat ride under the bridge and next to Alcatraz, a tour of the Fisherman’s Warf, Clam Chowder for lunch and then we continued on our way. Here are some pictures for you to enjoy of our first three days… more to come later.

Here I am sitting in the back of the van watching a movie...

My view from the back...

Enjoying the pool before bed time...

Amanda loved the ocean...

Kim, Dan, Amanda, and Elizabeth

Enjoying the view...

A boat ride tour... and so much more

"The Rock"

Back to School...

2009-09-01T22:19:00.001-07:00

A LOT has happened since I last updated my blog. I mentioned that I was going to go back to Green River Community College to get my AA that could in the future transfer to a Bible school… well as it turns out the future is NOW..! God has definitely been taking me on adventure during this time and guiding in ways I never expected. One day out of the blue I decided to check out Multnomah Bible School in Portland and found out they have an Adult Degree Completion program. After looking into it a little more I decided it was just PERFECT for me. The program I have applied for is Leadership and Ministry (which is just perfect for my work in Argentina) with a background in Bible. I even had the opportunity to drive down to Portland and speak with an advisor last week. As it turns out there are still some general classes I need to take, which I expected. So, in the fall and winter I will continue with my original plan of taking courses at GRCC and then come April as long as I get accepted (which is a pretty sure thing) I will be starting classes at Multnomah. Thankfully I only have classes on Thursday nights from 6:00-10:00pm… so I can continue working for my sister and live here in Washington.

This upcoming year is going to be a very busy one as I complete one year of my BA at Multnomah and at the same time start the process to become a Career missionary, but I am trusting God as He leads me each step of the way. I will then continue with the program when I am home on furlough..! So, those are my plans while I am in the States… crazy but exciting and never in my wildest dreams would I have imagined my life taking this path. Please continue to be in prayer for me. Just to let you know this Saturday I leave for California with my sister and her family… I come home the weekend before class starts… so here ends my vacation time… and I will be returning back to school.

The Final Answer..!

2009-08-09T16:31:00.000-07:00

The question I have been asked a lot in the last four months is “So, what are you up to now?” After four months of being home I have finally figured this out. I have spent much time in prayer, in God’s word, even arguing with God and resisting Him. But I can no longer deny what He is asking of me… so I am currently in the process of returning to Argentina as a career missionary. I can see God’s hand at work all throughout my life and these past couple years to lead me to this decision and I am excited to see what He will continue to do as I obey Him.

So, what is the process you may wonder… Well, for starters in February I will be attending MAC or “Missionaries Assessment Center” where I will go through various assessments to see if I am qualified and capable to be a career missionary. Then there is a time in which I need to be officially approved and appointed as a missionary and will undergo further training and preparation. Throughout this process I will also be doing fundraising and whatnot… which is one of the areas I struggle with the most… although I know that GOD will provide for all my needs.

I have also decided to return to Green River Community College to continue with my studies. I currently have an AAA which is an applied AA in the field of Early Childhood Education. I am missing about 50 credits to get an AA which could be transferred to any university. I am completing this so that in the future I could continue my education at a Bible School.

So, what does the next year look like for me? I will continue to work for my sister as a Nanny, as I will need money for my current bills and living expenses. I will also be a full-time student at GRCC. Then you add fundraising and building up a support team for when I am on the field. And to top it off I will be spending as much time as possible with friends and family. So, this upcoming year will definitely be a busy one for me.

But I am excited to finally have an answer to everyone’s question and to have peace about where my life is heading. I am sure this news does not shock many of you who have been keeping up with my blogs these past couple months. I would love to answer any questions you may have..! Thank you all for praying for me and encouraging me along the way.

Deep Thoughts ~ Part Three..!

2009-08-07T00:54:00.000-07:00

So I finished my study on “Experiencing God.” Let me tell you this study came at the perfect time for me… I have experienced Him many times throughout this past month. As I conclude the study I looked over my prayer at the beginning (Lord, I desire that this study will renew my fire for you and give me direction in what the next step is for my life. Lord, help me to spend more time in Your presence. I dedicate myself during these weeks to listen to you and talk to you more.) WOW..! God has truly spoken to me and I guided me into what is next in my life… more to come later. For now… I hope you enjoy my favorite quotes and thoughts from the book..!

“When God encounters you, you face a crisis of belief that may require major adjustments in your life. You need to learn how to pray. Prayer will be exceedingly costly to you. You may need to let God wake you up in the middle of the night to pray (or give me insomnia so I don’t even sleep). Prayer will always be a part of the obedience. It is in a prayer relationship that God gives further direction.” -- Pretty amazing that as I was going through this study my Church started a serious on prayer..! Isn’t God good… my prayer life has somewhat gone back to what it was in Argentina… and I even took time to fast again..!

“When God calls you to an assignment, the obedience will be costly to you and to those around you. Whatever the cost, however, obedience to God is not an option. It is required of every servant. When you obey, go will accomplish what He purposed, and you will be overwhelmed with the experience of God’s power and presence. You and those around you will come to a greater knowledge of God through experience.” -- All so often my obedience to God is very costly to my family. I don’t think they realize how much I love them and wish that they didn’t have to suffer because of my decision to obey God no matter what the cost… as much as I love Argentina it is never an easy decision to leave them behind.

“God’s affirmation comes after we obey… God is love. Trust him and believe Him. Because you love Him, obey Him. Then you will so fellowship with Him that you will come to know Him intimately. He will work through you to accomplish God-sized assignments that will affirm His presence and work in your life… If you do not obey, you will miss out on some of the most exciting experiences of your life.”

Taking a Break from the Deep Thoughts..!

2009-08-02T22:07:00.000-07:00

So, I am going to take a break from my deep thoughts to share my experience on Friday. I spent most of the day Friday and Saturday in the Word and in prayer… after my original plans for the weekend were cancelled I decided to take the time to fast and pray and really just seek God’s direction. Friday after work I headed out to Snoqualmie Falls for a couple hours…

WoW… that is really all I can say. When I arrived there was a beautiful rainbow coming out of the falls… rainbows have been on my mind a lot lately so just seeing it was a sign that God was there with me. I spent over half an hour just in awe… going back and forth between the Word and just staring at the beauty before me..! What was so amazing is that when I stood and started walking back... I turned around one last time and the rainbow had just disappeared... Goes to show that it was FOR ME..!

Here is a poem that I wrote during that time…

You have given me so many promises
Yet my faith is still so weak
I need to trust upon You
Your face I need to seek

I know you have a perfect plan
Written so long ago
I may not know what it is
But as you lead I’ll follow

Step by step you guide me
A lesson I can always learn
Buy my only true desire is that
My love You will always burn

During the storms I’ll cry out to You
And find shelter in Your Word
Always seeking the rainbow that is to come
For You are my Faithful Lord

In the times of calmness I know
I can always rest in You
Enjoying your presence each moment
As You show me something new

So I give You every moment
To do with as you please
For I know that only as I obey
Will I experience Your peace

Deep Thoughts ~ Part Two..!

2009-07-31T10:33:00.000-07:00

So, I am back with more quotes from “Experiencing God” and thoughts that I have been having lately. I hope you enjoy them… it sure has been making me think and pray a lot.

“Absolute Surrender… God frequently requires adjustments in areas you have never considered in the past. You may have heard someone say something like this: “Don’t ever tell God something you will NOT do. That is what He will ask you to do.” God is not looking for ways to make you squirm… He does, however, want to be Lord of your life. Whenever you identify a place where you refuse to allow His Lordship that is a place He will go to work. He is interested in absolute surrender. God may or may not require you to do that very thing you identified, but He will keep working until you are willing for Him to be Lord of all.” --- What area of my life does God have to work on so that He is Lord of all? Actually in all honesty... in all honestly one of the things that I told God I didn’t want to do was go into career missions single… now I am having to figure out if that is where He is leading me, or if He just wants me to be willing to go..!

“You may think of waiting as a passive, inactive time. Waiting on the Lord is anything but inactive. While you wait on Him, you will be praying with a passion to know Him, His purposes, and His ways. You will be watching the circumstances and asking God to interpret them by revealing to you His perspective. You will be sharing with other believers to find out what God is saying to them. While waiting you will be very active in acting, seeking and knocking… Waiting on Him is always worth the wait. His timing and His ways are always right. You must depend on Him to guide you in His way and in His timing to accomplish His purpose.” --- What a great message for me during this time of waiting and trying to see where God is leading me. It has challenged me to take more time to seek Him in His Word and to pray. I am excited to be able to spend time this weekend doing just that as my previous plans were cancelled.

“Are there any types of suffering I will not endure to obey Jesus? Are there any limits to the costs I am willing to pay for obeying God?” --- Am I willing to never marry if that is the price I have to pay to obey God? Lord, help me to obey you no matter what the cost may be..!

Ok… I think that is good for now… more to come later..! And I wonder why I had some insomnia this week with so much on my mind. :b

Deep Thoughts ~ Part One..!

2009-07-28T00:06:00.000-07:00

The LORD is near to all who call on

him, to all who call on him in truth.

Psalm 145:18

So, I have been calling upon the Lord lately… and here are some of the things He has been teaching me as I finished up my study on Experiencing God. Some are “quotes I liked” other are personal thoughts… plus a poem that I wrote on January 1st, 2004 which expresses what I still feel today... enjoy..!

“Lord, whatever you direct me to do in relation to Your body, I will do. I am Your servant for Your purposes.” – That is so my hearts desire… to do WHATEVER He has for me..!

“When God invites you to join Him in His work, He presents a God-sized assignment for you to accomplish. You will realize that you cannot accomplish it on your own… You must decide what you believe about God. How you respond will determine whether you go on to be involved with something God-sized that only He can do or whether you will continue to go your own way and miss what God has purposed for your life.” – Wow… How am I going to respond???

“Don’t deny me the opportunity to sacrifice for my Lord.”

Lord, I give you this year
To do as you please
Please work in my life
And draw me to you

My desire is to leave
An example others can follow
To not only train believers
But also seek after the lost

I’ll need to live by faith
To hold constantly to you
And when things seem difficult
To you I want to cling

Many adventures lay ahead
With challenges along the way
But I want my ultimate goal to be
That to you I draw closer

Give me a heart for the lost
A burden for unbelievers
Knowledge of who they are
And a love that draws them in

Give me wisdom for the saved
An example to live before them
Knowledge of how to help
And a love that leads them on

Be with every single detail
As I life my eyes to you
Remind me your will is perfect
So from it I will not stray

Thank you for your love Lord
For listening to every cry
For leading me down this path
And for all that is to come.

Okay… so that is pretty indepth for tonight… we’ll see if I can fall asleep with all of that on my mind. More to come soon…!

Family Reunion...

2009-07-26T17:42:00.000-07:00

So, a couple weekends ago we had a family reunion at my Uncle Duff and Aunt Judy’s house in Spokane, Washington. Every year my Dad’s side of the family gets together for the weekend. Though we never have the WHOLE group there is still a very good turnout.

Aunt Judy... the hostess

I had a lot of fun visiting with my relatives… especially my Cousin’s and nieces and nephews. Jeremy and Maria were even able to make it over from Utah, which was one of many surprises for the weekend. Since I rarely see them and the kids it was fun to play with the children.

Kyla, Kari and Kelli

Maria and Me..!

Mayra and Me

Jonathan and Me..!

My Aunt Janice also decided to get married during the reunion… it’s a good thing my Dad’s Uncle is a Pastor … I was able to get to know her new husband Jack and his son Jon. I even got to be one of the witnesses of the wedding since I was standing so close to take pictures.

The wedding party... Isaac, Janice, Jack and Jon

All in all it was a good reunion… and one of the favorite activities was the slip and slide that they set up outside. It was enjoyed by the children… big and small..!

Kari using Adam as a surfboard... haha!

Lessons Learned...

2009-07-08T09:48:00.001-07:00

So.. I promised I would share what God taught me while I was away... the first part of the trip I had a lot of time to spend in the Word and to think and pray... the second half was a bit more hectic but I still took time every day to spend with God and throughout the day I was able to see Him at work... speaking to me..!

Here are the lessons I have been learning as I've been reading, "Experiencing God".

-- God will only move me into an assignment that He knows I'm ready for. I need to let God use the times of waiting to mold me and shape my character. Don't use human standards to measure the importance or value of an assignment or this time of waiting.

-- God is more interested in a love relationship with me than what I can do for Him... I need to follow His leadership one day at a time.. that way I will always know that I am in His will..!

-- If I want to experience God's mighty power at work in in me I must walk by faith, make major adjustments in my life, and obey whatever God tells me to do.

--If my love relationship is out of line, everything else related to knowing, doing, and experiencing God's will will be messed up too. If my prayer life has been slack then my love relationship has probably grown cold.

-- When God reveals His work to me, that is the exact moment I need to begin to adjust my life so I can obey Him in that work.

So.. all in all in this time of waiting I am going to allow God to continue to prepare me for whatever He has prepared... as I see Him working around me, my desire is to join Him in that work. While I wait upon Him , I want to know Him more and become more like Him...

As you can see... I don't have any new revelations on what I should be doing... or where He is leading me, but I have more peace during this time of waiting upon Him and the next step that He has for me. He has been faithful to lead me this far and He will continue to be faithful until the end.

My eyes are focused on God... whatever His plan may be for me..!

New York... all the way back to Maine..!

2009-07-04T20:58:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we left the big city and drove into Connecticut... though we didn't spend much time there... we quickly continued on into Rhode Island, the smallest state. We detoured off our "route" and decided to check out Newport... which was absolutely beautiful and worth the visit..!

A view from Newport at the harbor... the begining of the scenic route..!

The scenic drive was full of mansions, castles, and houses much bigger than I would ever own... actually I wouldn't want to own a house that big it would take forever to clean and cost a fortune to heat... but it was fun to look at them at least..~!

After the drive we decided to take a walk on the cliff walk... it had a gorgeous view of the water on one side and amazing houses on the other..!

We then continued our drive into Massachusetts... we stayed the night in Brockton, which was a small town on the way up to Boston... they had a fair going on that night so we got to see early fireworks... after eating dinner at Friendlys a very popular restaurant out here that has delicious ice cream... it then took us awhile to find an available hotel for the night...

We started the day off a little later than normal and headed into Boston. It was perfect timing to arrive today as we walked the Freedom Trail and were reminded of the freedom that we do have here in the United States...

This is where the Boston Massacre took place...

The "USS Constitution" is the oldest Navy Ship...

This is the site at Bunker Hill... the end of the trail.

Our next stop was dinner... we were starving and rather enjoyed the pizza place we found.

I decided to do some studying on this trip and figured this was as good a place as any...

What do you think? Shouldn't be too hard..!

Once again we continued our drive and crossed through New Hampshire to get back into Maine for the night... it is hard to believe that tomorrow the trip is officially over.

I guess I can't have a vacation without having at least one sunset picture... this was an amazing trip, a lot of fun, relaxing, a great time to visit with friends and my parents, an opportunity to enjoy God's creation, a refreshing time in the Word... all in all it was a good trip..!

Next Post... a few things God taught me during this time away..!

New York City - A night in the city..!

2009-07-02T21:18:00.000-07:00

Okay.. so dinner deserves a its very own post... my cousin Anny invited us to the Japanese Restaurant where she works for dinner. I didn't know what to expect but was willing to try whatever she served me... of course we let her put the menu together. On top of what she planned for us the chef made us a special plate as a surprise and two other items came to the table by accident so we ate a LOT of food. I would tell you what it all was but I have forgotten the names of most of it... so enjoy the pictures..!

This is the first of many servings to come... it had shrimp, crab, fish, salads, corn... the shrimp was a special type in which you eat everything including the shell... it was all very good.

We enjoyed a typical fruit juice as well.

I tried to eat the typical Japanese way but often either used my hand or a fork..!

Another courses included lobster, very tender meat, and I think it was a crab dish...

This is when we got a little more adventerous... we had sushi (my first time ever)... though the only raw meat we had was tuna on thin crackers... the rest were rolls that were cooked... (yep we cheated a little..) There were four different types... one was eel with avacado, another had the soft-shell shrimp, a crab one and another one... I wish I could remember it all..!

Here is my dad and Anny our waitress... and cousin of course..~!

After all that food we had to save room for desert... it was a fondue mixed with fruit and brownie/cookie type things. As well as a special dish made out of ricotta cheese (Anny's favorite)... to top it off we had wild berries. Shockingly we cleared the desert plate..!

After eating all the food we got to meet the chef and the guys who work at the sushi bar. It was so much fun to see Anny at work with her co-workers and how much she enjoys her job... I can't complain about the food either.. it was the fanciest meal I ever ate... I ate like a movie star... (literally speaking as many famous people eat there..)

Now that I am stuffed full... it is time for bed. Tomorrow the journey continues..!

Pennsylvania to New York City..!

2009-07-02T16:04:00.000-07:00

Yesterday morning we started our trip to the "Big City" of course we had to pass through New Jersey on the way to New York City..! I got my classic pictures by the signs and we continued on. You could tell we were entering the city as traffic got really bad. It was a nightmare going through the Lincoln Tunnel so we could find the apartment that we were going to stay at.

I was exhausted before the day started and definately on overload as we walked around the city. Within the fist couple hours we saw the Empire State Building, Time Square, and finally we ended up at Bryant Park to meet up with my cousin Anny.

We visited for awhile and then she gave us a tour of NYC (Rockefeller Center, Radio City Music Hall, Tiffany's, Trump Tower, etc. We finally arrived at Central Park where she left us and headed off to work. I enjoyed the park a lot and was ready for a break from the city life... I think I would spend most of my time here if I had to live in NYC..!

After getting a couple hours of rest back at the apartment we decided to check out the night life of New York... once again I prefered walking around at night to the day... not surprising, eh?

I thought this was a pretty funny police car..!

After getting almost 8 hours of sleep (FINALLY) we started the day off trying to figure out the Subway system in NYC... I of course figured it out pretty quickly so I was guiding my parents to where we needed to go. (Only because the map was too small for my dad to read.. haha)

The first stop was the Staten Island Ferry to get a good view of the Statue of Liberty... then again it was a bit cloudy so it wasn't a perfect view..!

We then walked through Battery Park and along the coastline where we had a great view up to the World Trade Center... they are still doing a lot of construction on the site so there wasn't much to see yet. But it was a bit of a humbling time remembering back to 9/11

The weather has been a bit crazy.. one moment it is sunny enough to go into the plaza and the next it is pouring down rain.. then sunny again..!

We enjoyed lunch and a treat with Anny... we even got to see her apartment building.. though it was a LONG 6 flights up the stairs..!

She recommended a few more places to visit before we headed back to the house for a rest..!

Can anyone guess what this building is??? Think of famous tv shows... of course I only got the bottom portion of the building to make it a little harder..!

I'll wait for some guesses before I give you the answer... for now I am off to dinner at a pretty fancy Japanese restaurant where Anny works... she is preparing a special menu for us.. YUMMY! Maybe we'll even see someone famous..!

Ohio to Pennsylvania... and a baby picture..!

2009-06-30T20:37:00.000-07:00

We spent most of the day driving through Ohio and Pennsylvania... we are close to the border and I am exhausted. :) I guess that what happens with all this driving. Tomorrow we head into New York City for a couple days...

When we weren't driving we were eating... we stopped at the Cracker Barrel for breakfast and dinner... of course we skipped lunch since it was so much food... if you've never tried the food at the Cracker Barrel you are definately missing out..!

I absolutely LOVE the clouds... this one reminds me of God shining His love down upon us. When I get home from the trip I will take some time to share what God has been teaching me throughout these couple weeks. For now... enjoy the beauty of His creation... I sure am..!

Here is a picture of my new Argentine nephew... still don't know what his name is (as it is still up for debate... tomorrow she will make the final decision) but I did have the opportunity to talk with Soledad for a couple minutes... she is still pretty swollen and in pain so pray for this recovery time... as well as the adjustment of being a mother..! I think he is absolutely adorable and can't wait to meet him... though I may be a bit biased as an aunt!

Niagra Falls to Ohio... plus a SURPRISE!!!

2009-06-29T21:17:00.000-07:00

Since it was sunny out today we decided to stay at Niagra Falls a little longer and go check out the US side... it was absolutely GORGEOUS... you may not have had a head on shot of all the falls but you were so much closer and got to experience the rivers up close... I think you have to experience both sides to actually enjoy the beauty of it all. God even gave us an extra treat of having a rainbow to remind us of HIS PROMISES..! All throughout this trip He has been making Himself known and speaking to me with little tiny reminders that He is God and has a perfect plan for me..!

We then continued on our drive through Ontario Canada through various rainstorms... of course we had perfect timing as it didn't start raining until we were safely in the car. I have been enjoying my mate along the way as well as all the good food we eat... especially doughnuts from Tim Horton's...

A couple hours later we arrived back to the United State at the border to Michigan... we didn't stay here long which is okay by me... since I spent a week here a couple years back visiting friends..! As you can see... it was underconstruction.

We are now in Ohio for the night... before coming back to the hotel we went out for dinner at Applebees which ended up being appetizers to share..!

Side note on one of God's miracles on the trip... when we got back to the hotel I decided to see if there was any wireless internet.. it just so happens I was able to connect just in time... to find out one of my best friends from Argentina (and roommate) Soledad had her baby. As I was chatting with her sister they got the phone call that the baby was born... they were wondering how they would contact me after she went to the hospital earlier that day.. but God worked out all the details... please be praying for Sole as it was an emergency c-section due to highblood pressure. The baby (boy) seems to be doing fine but they don't have word on Sole yet. I believe his name is Valentino but nothing is official until Sole wakes up..! I'm still amazed at how God set up all the details so I could be the first to know..!

Okay... I'm off to bed.. another long day tomorrow..!

Niagra Falls... One full day..!

2009-06-28T21:00:00.000-07:00

Today was our big day at Niagra Falls and although the weather was a bit drizzly we still had a lot of fun. The day was spent on the Canadian side of the Falls since most people had commented that it was the better side... We started the morning off walking down Clifton Hill "The street of fun at the falls"... it was full of shops, restaurants, and entertainment.

Think I can find a boyfriend here???

This look like a good choice... don't ya think?

The fun really began when we arrived at the falls... the ones to the left are the American one and to the right the Canadian falls... both are very pretty and completely different in size and form... both show the Glory of God and His Power..!

We decided to get the Discovery pack which included four different attractions plus the bus system for the day..! Here we are getting ready for the Maid of the Mist.... a boat that takes you into the falls... since we were going to get wet anyways it didn't really matter that it was raining already..!

The American Falls while aboard the Maid of the Mist...

We took the bus down to right next to the Canadian Falls for the next two events...

Niagra's Fury which was a short video on how the falls came to be... and then experience the falls in a 4-D adventure with rain and snow and a ride down the falls. Our next activity was the Journey behind the falls where we were able to walk up close to the Canadian horseshoe fall and feel the mist of it spraying back at us... and then head even further behind where you could hear and fell the power of the falls. I was just a little wet by this point..!

After a short break back at the hotel we continued on to the White Water Walk... which took you down the river to where they have class 6 rapids, the most dangerous you can ride down. I am amazed at how many people have attempted to do dangerous stunts here at the Falls..!

After we had some Indian food for dinner we rested a bit at the hotel and then fe finished the night off back at the Falls... we walked down with little hope of seeing the firework show because it was still raining a bit... but I still wanted to see the lights on the Falls... but the weather held up long enough for a spectacular fireworks show... the pictures do not do it justice.

All in all.. it was a great day..! Now I am exhausted so I am going to read my bible and try to get some sleep... who knows when I will have internet service again... maybe not until New York.. but I think you have enough to keep you busy for awhile..!

From Maine to Niagra Falls...

2009-06-28T09:13:00.000-07:00

I finally have internet so I can update my blog... here are LOTS of pictures from the past couple days. The time is flying by quickly but I am enjoying every moment of the trip. During the long drives we are listening to a book on tape which just makes the time go by even faster.

So... we made some changes to our itenerary and decided to head down south...

I was rather shocked to see a Welcome to Mexico sign in the middle of Maine and so made my Dad pull over so I could get a picture. He has been a GREAT sport about pulling over on a very regular basis as me and my mom get out to take pictures...! Some of the stops have been planned as I did a little research before the trip and others have been spur of the moment as I see a beautiful sight... a sign... or "tourist view" such as the one below. It is Rumford Falls and Damb which we just happened to notice as we drove by.

We left Maine and entered into New Hampshire where the first official stop was to be. I wanted to experience at least one important thing in each state and I have to say New Hampshire did not let me down...

We drove up Mount Washington, the tallest peak in the Northeast and I believe it is the oldest man-made attraction in the area. Here I am at the top of the peak... though we had some complications getting up... about 2 miles into the trip the gas light came on. We started the drive up with 1/4 of a tank but because of the steep roads it not only uses more gas but possitions it funny... we decided to head down and fill up just to be safe. Once we finally figured out how to open the gas tank and fill up we started our journety up again... it was well worth the drive up as it was absolutely breath-taking up here... how could people deny God's existence???

Finally I got pictures of my parents... which I believe is not going to happen too often on the trip as they are camera shy..!

Here are the other mountains in teh Presidential Range... Mt Clay, Mt Adams, Mt Jeferson, and Mt Madison... it goes from left to right... we of course are on Mt Washington..!

This is the Tip Top House.. the oldest structure on the mountain.. most of the other buildings were destroyed years ago. I am amazed this one is still standing with all the wind they get up here...

We got to tour around up top for about an hour before they closed up and we had to head back down... here I am on the way back to the parking lot. I was tempted to hike all the way DOWN the mountain as many others have done but decided not to since we didn't hae enough time.. haha!

We drove into Gorham for a quick view of the railroad station museum.. unfortunately it was closed so we took pictures outside. Did I mention they used to have a train that would climb up Mount Washington on a daily basis? Crazy..!

We then continued our trip and headed into Vermont where we stayed the night. After finding some Chinese food for dinner we headed back to the hotel where I spent some time in the Word and then crashed for the night..!

Before continuing on our drive Saturday morning we stopped by to take some pictures at the state capital which just so happens to be in Montepelier (in case you were interested.)

Early afternoon we entered in Quebec Canada which just so happens to be where my mother's Father is from. She enjoyed coming to a place she never thought she would ever come...

Montreal was a bit overwhelming with the amount of buildings and cars... but admist the chaos of the big city I did enjoy looking at some of the buildings from the old part of town..! The second piture down is the church where there were multiple weddings going on.

Before leaving Canada we had to drive into Ontario... then we headed into the northern part of New York and back into Ontario at Niagra Falls. Today is the day we get to tour Niagra Falls... so until then enjoy these pictures..!

Saying goodbye to Maine...

2009-06-25T20:59:00.000-07:00

My time in Maine is coming to a close quickly… and we finally finished off the last of the Monster Cookies. (Yes we did share a few of the 7 1/2 dozen cookies...) Anways... My parents are already are there way to pick me up at Kristin’s house which means I will have to say goodbye to them. Tomorrow morning my parents and I will start our adventure across almost a dozen states. A lot has happened since my last post so I’ll only post the highlights... with a ton of picture of course. I’m not sure how often I’ll have internet access or how much time I’ll have so stay tuned for more updates..!

Sunday just happened to be Father’s Day (which means I missed both my mother’s birthday and Father’s Day back home…). The day started VERY early at least for my west coast body… I had to be up by around 7:30 (Which was still 4:30 am to me…) to get ready for Father’s Day breakfast with the family. We headed over to Kristin’s father house and met up with the whole extended family and many friends for a DELICIOUS breakfast. From there we raced off to church and arrived just in time. The Sermon was on patience and to be honest I struggled with staying awake during it… my body just couldn’t function quite so early. After church we headed home for lunch and then an afternoon in doors as it was raining out all day long. It was a perfect day for Kristin to pull out the old photo albums and look at pictures from our high school days..!

Dave and Alden at the Father's Day Breakfast...

Monday morning I woke up to a house full of kids once again… Kristin was watching Tom and Luke her nephews for the day. We spent all morning playing inside as it rained off and on. I spent half my time doing my Bible study and the other half visiting with Kristin and the kids… especially Luke who has the cutest little smile. They got picked up just in time to eat a quick dinner and then get Joslyn off to Vacation Bible School. While Kristin got JoJo checked in and everything I took a walk around the little town and found the one school, the one store and the community center… pretty much all on the same corner. In the evenings I have more time to study out in the motorhome, watch movies, or call friends using skype.

Luke, Tom, Joslyn and Alden - My four little friends..!

Tuesday we decided to go on another outing for some sightseeing after lunch. We went to the Rockland Breakwater Lighthouse. In order to get to the lighthouse you have to walk across a bridge of flat rocks for almost a mile and then back again to get back to the car. Joslyn wanted to walk with me most of the time since she had to hold on because of all the cracks in the rocks. What an adventure it was with the children… especially as the waves kept coming up onto the rocks and trying to splash us. On the way back we ended up not only getting wet from the waves but it also started to rain… thankfully we were almost back to the car by then. On the way home we stopped at Tim Horton’s (a restaurant that also serves VERY GOOD doughnuts) for some hot chocolate and a donut. That evening while Joslyn went to VBS with Jason, Kristin and I took advantage of the time and watched a girlie movie… Pride and Prejudice.

Kristin and the kids from on top of the lighthouse...

We finally made it to the lighthouse...

Wednesday we went out for another day of sightseeing. We went to Fort Knows and the Penobscot Narrows Observatory but since we couldn’t go up and see from the observatory because it was closed for the day we decided to cross over the bridge and go to the other side where we got great pictures of the bridge and Fort Knox. We then headed over to Fort Pownall and the Fort Point Light lighthouse for some pictures before spending some time at the beach just relaxing. Once again we got home just in time for dinner… While Kristin took Joslyn to VBS I walked around in the woods near their house and explored until she got back, then we took a walk back to the camp while Jason went fishing. It was a nice relaxing evening in Maine..!

Fort Point Light

Kristin, Josyln and Alden with the bridge and the fort behind them...

Skipping rocks with Joslyn.

Enjoying God's creation...

Kristin and I at the beach...

Exploring the woods... what beautiful colors I found..!

The lake at Camp Fair Haven...

On Thursday the sun finally came out so after lunch we hiked up to the cross which is on camp property. It overlooks two different lakes and had the most amazing view. It was quite the adventure through the woods to get up there and back home. Then that evening Kristin and I took a walk by ourselves through the fields to another lookout point at camp where you could see another lake. The walk in was very pretty as the wildflowers went on forever. We spent some time with Dave, Daylene and Kaylene before heading home to finish laundry and prepare for tomorrow.

Kristin and I made it to the top... it was worth the hike up!

Joslyn and Alden enjoyed the hike up...

The cross and the lake...

What a beautiful place to be reminded of God's love for us...

The field of wildflowers... isn't it gorgeous?

One of Kristin's Favorite places here at the camp..!

Enjoying the walk through the fields...

We finally made it... What a view from the top!

Getting attacked by the mosquitos... check out my forehead... :)

The trip begins... in Maine..!

2009-06-20T19:26:00.000-07:00

So, people are already asking when I am going to start posting on my trip so here goes… I left Seattle at 7 am on Tuesday morning and spent all day travelling to Maine (at least it’s not quite as long as travelling to Argentina). My friend Kristin Stutheit picked me up at the airport in Portland and we stopped for dinner before the two hour drive to her home. That night I was able to see her husband Jason and son Alden before heading out to my home for the week… I am staying in the motor home out front which gives me privacy and a place to stay up at night and sleep in since I’m still on the West Coast time zone… not that I really need an excuse to sleep in.

Alden looking as cute as ever..!

The first day I did have to wake up a little earlier though not early enough for Joslyn her daughter who had been waiting for HOURS..! We met up with Allison, Tommy and Luke (Kristin’s sister nephew) and drove to Marshall Point for the day. We started the day with a picnic at the lighthouse (one of the big attractions in Maine are there many lighthouses). We then spent a couple hours at the beach playing in the sand with the kids. We packed up the children and headed home sometime mid-afternoon. That evening we walked around Fair Haven Camp… where Kristin worked in high school… it is also right by their house. It was a lot fun to get a tour of the place and hear all the stories from camp days.

In front of the lighthouse at Marshall Point

Kristin with Joslyn and Alden

Allison with Tommy and Luke

Enjoying the beauty of the Atlantic

Luke playing on the beach...

On Thursday I slept in a bit and then we headed into town to look around… it was a harbor town so there were lots of boats on the water. We walked on the footbridge and took a few pictures before going shopping.

Joslyn running accross the bridge...

Just a few of the boats getting ready for summer time...

Friday was pretty rainy so we spend all day at home. In the morning Kristin was watching the nephews so it was quite the house full, especially when some camp workers (which are friends and family) stopped by to visit. It was also Kristin and Jason’s anniversary so Kristin and I baked Monster Cookies and then we all watched a movie before I headed back to the motor home. Of course in the evenings while they are sleeping I have lots to time to study my Bible, chat online, call friends in Argentina on Skype or listen to a book on my MP3 player.

Joslyn had a blast helping us make the cookies...

Joslyn stirring the batter... while she still could.

Preparing the first tray... we only made 7 1/2 dozen cookies..!

Today I spent the morning studying my Bible and drinking mate before we walked back over to the camp, then stopped by to visit Kristin’s father Dave Sheldon and Mimi (Dave’s wife). That evening Kristin and I headed into town to shop for food for the Father’s Day breakfast tomorrow… later on Kaylene (Dave’s step daughter) stopped by to visit with a friend. We celebrated with Thai food that night and then another movie. So as you can see… I have been staying busy seeing Maine, visiting people and still getting lots of time to relax and get in the Word. I still have almost a week here in Maine before my parents arrive and we go on the big tour of the northern east coast states.

Take me out to the ball park...

2009-06-17T18:35:00.000-07:00

I came home just in time for softball season at Faith. Of course I wasn’t ready for playing as it has been about 4 years since I swung a bat. I didn’t even have time to practice before my first game… which ended up being late games. Since I was still on the Argentina time zone, I was playing ball at 12:30 am until about 3:00 in FREEZING cold weather. I was definitely ready to be at home in a warm bed by the time the night was over. My next week was a little better but with that said my batting average was still 000 after the first two weeks… haha..! Things improved greatly after that and “Coach” even commented that they are going to miss me at the next couple games. Of course I too am going t miss playing these last few games..!

When I wasn’t playing ball I also enjoyed watching the guys games. Each week I made it to at least a couple of the games, if not all of them. The first couple weeks I was only able to make it to the late games since I had BSF (Bible Study Fellowship)… nothing like showing up at the ball field at 9:30 pm. But these last couple week I spent all evening on Mondays cheering the guys on.

But sadly my season is over (at least with Faith). I am on my trip to the East Coast which means I miss out on all the rest of the games. Of course my last night in town was spent watching the Silver Team. Here are some pictures from that game… of course part of the fun of going is getting to visit with the other fans… Jen and the children showed up at this game to cheer daddy on..!

Life and Changes...!

2009-06-13T23:33:00.000-07:00

I am trying to get caught up on my blogging before I go on my big trip to the East Coast… which is on Tuesday so I only have a couple more days to go..! Yeah… I am actually on vacation NOW! When I got back from Argentina I pretty much jumped back into the business of life, especially since I started working within the first couple weeks. I think God had this tripped planned at the perfect timing because when I first got home I was not ready to take a break and relax after 2 ½ years on the mission field, nor was I emotionally stable enough to spend much time alone. So I am excited that I will have a week in Maine to not just visit with my long time friend Kristin, but also time to get into the Word and process everything. Then I get to spend two weeks travelling the northern states with my parents, which is my 30th birthday present and a trip we have been talking about doing for years. I will definitely have to post pictures of this trip and the beautiful scenery that we see along the way.

My job has been enjoyable in that I have been able to take the girls wherever I want which usually includes either going on walks out in nature, Thursday morning Bible study at church, or play dates with friends and family. Our most recent big outing was to Snoqualmie Falls… I decided to park at the bottom and see how far up the hill they were able to make it on their own. They did AMAZINGLY well and next time we go I’ll even leave the stroller in the car. They loved seeing the waterfall or “angel fall” as Amanda kept calling it. I enjoyed going to one of my favorite places and being paid to go there… and the girls had a blast.

The girls are just a little tired after hiking to the top..!

When I haven’t been working I have been busy catching up with people. Some I haven’t seen since last year when I snuck home for Christmas break… others I haven’t seen since before I went on my first trip to Argentina 6 years ago. It is amazing to think back over the changes in my life in these past six years. I can’t say that it was anything I ever would have planned, but I wouldn’t change it for anything. God has taught me so much and challenged me in ways I never expected. To be honest the transition “home” to the states is so much harder than the transition to Argentina. One would think it would be opposite since I grew up here and all my family is here, but God has given me a heart for the Argentines and their culture. I still don’t have any easy answers on what is next in my life. I know God could make things work either way but my main desire is to glorify Him wherever He has me. One of my highlights of being home is being able to get together with friends and family and see what God is doing in their lives as well. I have had the privilege of talking to many of the youth that I worked with at Faith Baptist for over 5 years and hear about their missions trips that they have taken or are in the process of taking. How exciting it is to see these girls have a passion for God and know that God has allowed me to be a part of their life and encourage them during their teen years. I’ve also been able to get together with many of my friends as their lives change drastically whether it is from getting married or having children. Many people question whether or not Facebook is a good site or a waste of time but for me it has helped me incredibly in this transitional time. God used it as a way for me to reconnect with so many friends from my past and keep in touch with those in Argentina… though Skype has been another lifesaver for keeping in touch too. (Too bad I didn’t figure out this skype thing until I returned HOME from the mission field…)

Spending time with friends I haven't seen in about 7 years...

my how they grow up... but they still love me...!

2 Weddings... 1 Day..!

2009-06-13T17:05:00.000-07:00

Last Saturday I ended up having two weddings. I have had many weddings to attend in my lifetime and many have been on the same day. But this was the first time that I actually went to two on the same day. Not only was it a lot of fun to catch up with people that I haven’t seen since I got home... it was also a lot of fun to watch these couples form and commit their lives to one another.

The first wedding was Katie and Tim… all I got to say is that I am so glad that I was able to return from Argentina in time to see Katie get married. She was one of my best friends in high school and it was so neat to see her stand up on the stage just glowing. The last couple weeks at BSF you could tell when Tim walked in the room because Katie’s face would just light up. Their wedding was very classy, which fits Katie’s personality and full of surprises, which fits Tim’s.

Finally married and escaping..!

The first “surprise” as husband and wife… the escape HELICOPTER..!

I left Katie’s wedding just in time to race over to Emily Jacobsen and Brian Williams wedding. Thankfully the churches were only a couple miles apart. I am excited to see what God is going to do in their lives as they devote themselves completely to His plan for them. The party ended up lasting until around 11:00 pm with dancing and everything. Of course that is the time most weddings in Argentina even begin… though I have to say that I was pretty tired after 8 hours of weddings and partying.

Brian and Emily… enjoying the cake.

I spent the day catching up with my girls… and other church members.

Posing with the Bride… as pretty as could be..!

Future couples at faith… starting young… Haha!

Snoqualmie Falls... Finally home!

2009-06-09T22:24:00.000-07:00

On May 30th I finally made it out to Snoqualmie Falls for the first time since I got home. This is the place where I go to get away from it all and be with God. There is something about listening to the waterfall that brings me peace. All in all, it was a great time to not just get a workout but to spend time reflecting on life. I decided to park at the bottom so I wouldn't have to carry my Bible up and down the hill... but I then ended up walking up two times to make it a real workout. I was shocked that I was not only able to climb it in 10 minutes but did it with very minimal effort.

After the second hike down I spent some time sitting on the rocks reading my Bible. The passage that really spoke to me was Psalm 143... you read it if you want to see what my cry to God was that day. I love the Psalms as many times it reflects my own thoughts and prayers to God.

During this time I also wrote a poem to express what I've been thinking.

In My Father's Arms

By Kristin Finnestad

In my Father's arms I want to be

I stand with my arms raised up

Waiting for Him to reach down

So I can see His face close-up

I want to lay my head to rest

As I'm cradled in His arms

So I can feel his loving heart beat

As my fears He alones disarms

I want to know I'm safe

From the enemies brutal attack

Knowing I'll be protected

Fot it is God who has my back

I want to see what He sees

As I'm raised up so high

So that to my own selfish desires

I can finally desire

I want to hear as He does

The prayer of the hurting souls

To learn not to judge others

So they can feel a love that flows

I want to gaze up Him

As everything else fades away

And in these loving arms

I always want to stay