We are connected!

Praise God for how much He's done on the last month! Almost  month has passed since we landed in Tenerife, and we now are settled into our home, our kids are beginning to speak a little bit of Spanish, we are well acquainted with the people at church, getting to know our neighbors, and our hearts are growing for the work to be done here.

As of today, we have internet and phone! We are so thankful for modern technology.

This weekend, Nathan will be at a youth retreat for church, and he preaches on Sunday. We are also hoping to have a few of the young men who loiter downtown over for dinner. Nathan has been able to share with them a bit, and they have expressed a desire to eat meatballs (of all things). So, I now have some home-made meatballs in the freezer awaiting their visit.

For those interested, our new home phone number is:

011 34 922303759 

Here are some pictures from the last week or so, and a couple of videos.

 

 

In Tenerife!

It's been a little over a week now since we landed in Tenerife, and what an adventure it's been! We are so thankful for the countless ways we've seen God's faithfulness, and for the many who are supporting us financially and through prayer so that we can be here.

The kids did fairly well with all of the flights getting here. They actually haven't seemed to skip a beat since we got here. They are super energetic and excited to be in new settings. They are slowly learning the new rules of apartment living (like, though shalt not throw matchbox cars off of the 3rd story balcony onto the restaurant below, and though shalt not scream in the hallways and push everyone's door bells). It's been cute hearing them say, "hola" and "adios" to people as well as learning to give "besitos" or kisses on the cheeks which is the custom here.

We are thankful to the Albrechts who have graciously let the five of us stay with them. We're also excited that God has provided us with a duplex to rent, starting next week! It far exceeds what we were hoping for, and I think it'll provide the kids with a very homey, fun, and safe place to grow the next few years.

Our days have been filled with getting to know people, learning the lay of the land, studying some culture, and mostly- with shopping for housing, transportation, cell phones, and now furnishings. It's enough shopping to make even the most avid shopper nautious!

It's been interesting seeing people's reactions to us having 3 kids and another on the way. In this culture, the average family has 1.1 kids, so they think we are quite the the oddity. We get gawked at and hear many crazy comments. Sadly, the "morning after" pill is readily available over-the-counter here, so family planning is quite simple.

Here are some pictures of the last 10 days...

Tickets and Tennessee

We have officially PURCHASED tickets after several waves of reserving them for different dates. We officially leave from Grand Rapids (instead of Chicago) on April 7th (instead of the 12th). We are so excited for what lies ahead. Thank you for your prayers!

We have been enjoying a great visit with Nathan's family in TN. The boys are loving the sun (and the rain!). We've gotten time with Nathan's parents, two of his brothers (and their families), and our friends, the Koehlers, (some friends from GR who moved to Atlanta).

Here are some pictures from our time thus far...

Cleared for Take Off!!

On Tuesday, just four hours into our drive to Tennessee to visit with Nathan's family, we received a phone call from the Chicago Spanish Consulate saying that Julie and the kids' visas are all ready! So, we are cleared to leave for Tenerife! Praise the Lord for His perfect timing and His provision- He moved the hand of those in the visa office sometime late last week, as it takes 48 hours for the news to arrive in Chicago so they can call us. We are very thankful and excited.

We have reserved tickets for April 12th as that is the first date that has reasonable ticket prices.

Thank you for praying with us and for us! We are thankful for you and for our Lord who is in the process of building His church all around the world!

Nathan, Julie, Elijah, Levi, Eliana, and ???

Some Family Fun

Nathan had some much needed time off of work which afforded us some great family time Monday and Tuesday. We were able to go on long walks, go to the butterfly gardens, eat hot dogs and ice cream, and just enjoy each other. Elijah got what is now his new favorite toy as it caters to his recent obsession with saxophones. He walks around playing music everywhere we go. Elijah brings his new big dinosaur on all of our walks too. We are so thankful for the warm sun and glorious blue skies God has granted over Grand Rapids the last few days!

Control

I'm realizing, time and time again, that I am not in control. You'd think I'd just learn the lesson, but God graciously keeps giving me circumstances to remind me that HE is the sovereign, and not myself.

Our last two weeks, in a nutshell: Discover I'm pregnant, shock- then excitement, reserve airline tickets for Tenerife as word of mouth was our visas would be ready last Friday, get rid of more furniture, start bleeding, worry about miscarriage (God is good), Levi develops high fever and lethargy, urgent care, antibiotics, blood work, ultrasound, baby is ok (God is good!), Elijah develops strep throat, antibiotics, learn visas are no where near ready, Spain makes it clear it is THEIR decision IF we get to come, cancel reservations, Julie has a melt down, Nathan frantically picks up shifts at Starbucks so we don't lose insurance, I pull out my neck (God is good), Levi draws a mural on all walls and surfaces of his room, daylight savings robs us of a precious hour, Elijah won't eat or drink...

But in all of this, we are seeing that GOD IS GOOD! His ways are truly not our ways, but His ways are good. We covet your prayers during all these transitions and trials.

On the cuter side of things, Eliana now likes to play dress-up! She puts hats on all by herself, and necklaces. I helped with the gloves :-) She even walks around with a purse at times! It's incredible how boys and girls are programmed so differently!

Some News...

While we find ourselves still in Grand Rapids, and curious at God's timing, we were finally given a glimpse of why He allowed our visas to be delayed. Saturday we learned that despite medical precautions (Nathan is officially in the 1% of men that have super healing bodies) we are expecting our 4th child! We were quite shocked, but we are thankful knowing that God is sovereign, and that He has chosen to expand our family. On Tuesday we were able to have an ultrasound and see the baby and heart beat.

We also learned today that our visas had been stalled as the office in Tenerife awaited a "tax" needed to proceed. So, hopefully tomorrow that issue will resolve, and Lord willing, we'll have our visas next week.

Our kids are excited about the move- so much so, that Levi has officially renamed himself, "Diego." We may let it stick since that's way easier to say in Spanish than explaining why our son is named after blue jeans.

Here are a couple pictures from the last week.

(Our Small Group going away party. We sure love these guys!)

A long needed update...

I have been confronted with the utmost of love by my wonderful mother-in-law that it has been far too long since I updated my blog. Life is a constant whirlwind these days with trips and visits and goodbyes and sorting through a whole house and enjoying our three little blessings. So, I realize in my flurry of activity I've probably lost all followers of this blog. But, none the less, for Nana's sake, I'll update.

We have been astounded by God's provision and grace over the last few weeks. In two weeks, He provided the $800 a month we needed to get approval to move to Tenerife. We are officially at our minimum $ to go (but there is still more support they'd like us to raise.) We have received Nathan's visa, and we are still awaiting mine and the kids. Once they come, we'll purchase tickets, and Lord willing, travel on March 3rd.

We are so excited for what lies ahead, and also sad as we say goodbye to our wonderful church family and biological families. We were blessed to be able to fly to Spokane for a week (last week) to say goodbye to my family. Upon our arrival to Grand Rapids, Nathan's parents came from TN. Nathan is enjoying a week of Biblical Counseling training (NANC) in IN with his dad, while his mom stays here to help me with the kids.

I know, I know, enough words. Elijah turned FOUR today. Eliana turned ONE last month, and Levi turned TWO on Christmas.

Without further ado, here are a few pictures:

Our family

Me and my dear new friend, Svetlana

Our send off from FBC

Levi's 2nd Birthday... a long reason why we do cupcakes for him!

Our little man

Elijah is taking a sport's sampler class at the Y. He's loving it.

Three kids in a tub... rubba dub dub.

Eliana's 1st Birthday

Nana and her cake maker helpers

Compton-side cousins: Ephraim, Elijah, Emmett, E?, Levi, Ellie, and Eliana

Elijah blowing out his FOUR candles on his cool dinosaur cake

Elijah and Emmett are best buds. They got to have a sleep over at grandma and pa's

Eliana with Grandpa and Daddy (aka "BAAAH"