Back in Michigan...

Well, after six long weeks, our family has landed back in our little blue house in Michigan. It was such a joy being able to spend time with family, let the cousins bond, and get to travel to Tenerife. I'm sure many of you are wondering how our time went. It's really hard to actually find words to describe the trip... but suffice it to say, it seems to be a really good fit- both culturally and ministerilly (is that a word?) It is so apparent that God is moving on that island and calling people to Himself. The soil appears fertile, and we feel that God is leading us there to be workers. As far as the timing is concerned, that is entirely in God's hands. At this point though, the doors seem to be opening for us to move in that direction.

For me, the trip was much different than all the other short-term trips I've been. Being a mom now, and also looking at it from the eyes of potentially living there long-term, it brought up a lot more emotions and wrestling matches with the Lord. God showed me how strong my pride and longing for comfort is, but I've been super challenged by 2 Corinthians 4 and 5 which have given me a desire to hope in the eternal and not in the temporal.

So, as always, we appreciate your prayers as we tentatively move forward and as we seek God to work out the details.

Here are some pictures of us on the island and with various people from the church there.

In Tenerife

Sorry for not being able to post since I arrived in Tenerife. Levi and I arrived 4 days ago, and we are finally feeling adjusted to the time difference. I don't have words to describe the beauty of this island. We read Psalm 104 the other day, and it had new meaning as we looked up at the great Teide volcano. We are encouraged by what we see God doing here in the hearts of the Tinerfenos that are coming to la Iglesia Cristiana Fuente de Paz y Esperanza (Fountain of Peace and Hope Christian Church). There were about 50 people at church Sunday (excluding all of the short-term team members). Many new people are coming and showing interest in learning about Christ.

This morning Nathan and I met with our pastor (Todd, who is here also), and the missionaries that are working here. We talked for a few hours about our fit/the need/etc of our possibly moving here. There is definintely a huge need for the gospel to go forth. There are perhaps 2000 people out of 1,000,000 that have a relationship with Jesus Christ on this island. There are many towns that have no Christian church.

So, we continue to pray and seek solutions for the schooling situation for our boys. Here it is mandatory that kids go to school at age 3! There is also a law that teachers cannot correct or repremand students. So, as you can imagine, the classes can be chaotic. So, we have to decide what to do (it is also illegal for Spaniards to home school).

I will try to post some pictures at some point. I don't have any pictures on this computer I'm using. If not now, then when we get back to the states.

Thank you for your prayers!

Tenerife or Bust

And we're off!!!

Ok, well not quite yet... but tomorrow Levi and I take off to join Nathan in Tenerife. We covet your prayers for traveling mercies and opportunities to love those around us as we have 24 hours of travel ahead of us. We will arrive (Lord willing) around 1:30pm PST on Thursday.

Continue to pray for the ministry happening there as the team wraps up their main outreach activities. Many good doors have been opened, and several people seem soft towards the gospel.

Pray also for Nathan and I as we seek God's will for our future ministry. Oh, and since you'll already be praying for so much, you could pray for Elijah as he's without mommy and daddy for two weeks :-(

We had a wonderful time at Christ our Hope Bible Church's family camp last weekend. Here are two pictures of Elijah at camp, and one pic of Nathan in Tenerife (who apparently has shaved off his beard!)

I'll update again from Tenerife as soon as I can!

Two Weeks Down...

As I sit here typing in my parent's computer room, I can see five deer out the window in front of me. There is even a small spotted fawn not 30 yards away. It's so relaxing being out in the country! Elijah has enjoyed taking tractor rides with Grandpa, and I even took him on a walk to the house I grew up in. Everything has changed so much in the canyon where I grew up. It makes me feel old!

Nathan has been in Tenerife now for a week and a half, and we've managed to talk on the phone almost every day. It sounds like they are keeping a very busy schedule, but he's told me of several people he's been able to share the gospel with in the last few days. Be praying for David and Juan Carlos in particular. To read updates on the team, click here and then click on Tenerife, Canary Islands.

Tomorrow the boys and I leave for Christ our Hope Bible Church's family camp. Then, on Wednesday, Levi and I are off to meet daddy. I got teary tonight tucking Elijah into bed and thinking about leaving him. I definitely don't recommend traveling so far without a child :-(

Anyway, here are some pictures from the last week.
















My parents' house

















Elijah and grandpa using the tractor
















The boys wrestling
















The results of leaving a 2 year old with a laptop unattended. Yes...those are KEYS laying on the table.
















The three of us missing daddy.



















Elijah at Sara's birthday party (after having found a pile of dirt...

Our First Week in Spokane

We've spent a full week in Spokane already, and what a full, fun week it was! Elijah and Daddy went on a two day camping trip with Uncle Bob and cousin Emmett. Elijah was the youngest kid there by 4 years, and he did a great job keeping up with the big boys. It's been great getting to meet some of my friends' babies and letting the kids get acquainted. It was also refreshing to spend a Sunday at our old church here (though I was there with my two and Jeannie's three kids... five is a lot more busy/difficult than two!) Both boys have loved playing with their cousins and bonding with uncle Bob and Auntie Jeannie. Today we moved to my parents' house where we'll be for the next week. I'm sure they'll have lots of fun with the bunny rabbit and hot tub :-) Today was also sad as we had to say goodbye to Nathan. He flew out this morning with the team to Tenerife. We're excited to see how God will use him, but Elijah wept the whole way home from the airport. I think he understands he won't see daddy for awhile. Here are some pictures of our fun so far.

We're in Spokane

Well, we arrived unscathed yesterday to Spokane, WA for our 6 week trip here and to the Canary Islands. We appreciate everyone's prayers as we try to discern God's will for our family's future. We'll keep you posted! Pray that the boys adjust to the time changes. Last night was a pretty hard night (a sleepless one for me).

I sure love these guys!

I can't believe we are just two weeks away from traveling to Spokane and then on to Tenerife. It's been over a year since we were last in Spokane, so it'll be wonderful to catch up with family and friends. I'm excited to see what God has in store with Tenerife. I'm looking forward to building some relationships with the Tenerifenos and learning more about the culture there.

Today Levi turned 6 months old. I can't believe it's already been 6 months since Christmas. Time flies way faster than I'd like it to. I am continually blessed by these two precious gifts God has given me. Potty training is happening full force with Elijah (Pray for me!) and Levi is sitting up quite well and starting to scoot about the floor... so life is staying interesting!

Last night we wrapped up our church's summer outreach for 2nd thru 8th graders. I got to teach the 6th grade and middle school (that's what they all call jr. high here) Bible Studies. In the middle school class I had 55 girls! I was encouraged by how soft hearted many of them were, and the soil seemed very fertile. Nine girls wanted to pray with me to make Jesus their Lord. I pray their faith lands on good soil and they continue to grow in their relationship with Christ. I gave my life to Christ when I was 12, so it was special for me to be able to share the gospel with so many 12 and 13 year olds.

Anyway, enough words... I know most people come here for pictures...

I think the boys are definitely starting to take on their own look. What do you think? Can you tell them apart? (There's about a 6 week age difference in these pics).

I discovered a nice big teether the other day. Still no teeth for Levi, but he acts like he's trying REAL hard to produce some.

Elijah decided to read books to Levi yesterday. It was priceless.

My Friend decided to send our boys on vacation this week. They had a great time! Thanks, Jen! :-)

Elijah found a new hobby today. I think he's got some rhythm!

Ok, so I just spent way too long trying to figure out how to attach witty captions to each of these pictures. But, alas, I can't get the words to line up with the appropriate pictures (I think blogger could use some help being more non-html-user.)

Anyway, in a nutshell, we went to the zoo yesterday with some friends. It was a lot of fun. There were six adults and five kids 2.5 and younger (Elijah was the oldest). So, it was slow going. One throw up, two soaked jeans, four nursings, two bottles, a few tantrums, and six hours later, we managed to see the whole park.

The coolest thing about Binder Park is that you can hand feed the giraffes! Elijah got a kick out of that, but I couldn't manage a picture of him in the act. I am puzzled by why all the zebras were brown and white, and not black and white. Oh, and I'm very interested in your caption ideas on the self portrait of Elijah and I that I took today. I laughed out loud when I saw how it turned out.

So, if you haven't already surfed away from my blog due to my wordiness, scroll down and enjoy the pics :-)