Uncle Peanut

Our dear friend and teamamte, Alex Fine, will be leaving Tuesday, after having completed his one year term here with CLF Costa Rica. This weekend was his last to be in the ministry areas and today was especially tough, as it was his last church services in both Tejarcillos and Los Guido. Alex has officially been named a member of our family and will forever remain as one. He is known as "Uncle Peanut" to our three children and they love him as if they have known him their whole lives. He has made a huge impact in the lives of so many here in the ministry and in our family as well. We will miss him greatly, but at the same time, we know that he will go into the world and take the message and continue to make an impact for Jesus wherever he goes.

Would you please pray for him as he begins a month-long trip around Central America and also as he searches for what God has planned for him in this next chapter of his life.

Also, if you could pray for the adjustment of our children to daily life without Uncle Alex. Thanks!


Alex and his family and our family

Homeschooling update

Well, we had a really great week of school despite me and Audrey both being sick this week. I suppose we will experience periods of great accomplishments in any given week and some where we hardly accomplish any...However this week proved to be one that we accomplished so much. We began studying South America and specifically this week, Brazil. The kids enjoyed hearing some common words they knew both in English and Spanish spoken (I am sure incredibly INcorrectly, however spoken nonetheless...) in Portugese, the main language of Brazil. We also began studying the rainforests and other tropical forests, and we reviewed our trip to the forest last week with Matt's parents. We also attempted to make a Brazilian chocolate dessert that appears to be something like a cookie, maybe something like a Mexican wedding cake, but much more moist...Anyhow...I say attempted because it didn't quite come out like we thought it would...It is made with sweetened condesed milk, cocoa, and butter...and you are supposed to cook it and then roll the dough into ball and cover them with sprikles...however, they never set up...Kelly (she is curretnly serving with our team) was with us the day we were doing this and she and I had also decided to try to make the Nicaraguan version of an arepa. An arepa is a wonderful Venezuelan food that Coco has made several times and we just love. It is something like a pita, but more moist, and you cut it open and fill it with really whatever you'd like: cheese, vegetables, meat, etc. But the Nicaraguan version is a littler sweeter and more like a pancake. We ate them a couple of weeks ago in La Carpio and Melinda had figured out how to make them and so Kelly and I thought it would be fun to make them, too. So, we had made them by the time we realized that the Brazilian cookies were not going to become cookies but more like a sweet chocolate icing of sorts. So we, well, Ethan says that it was his idea, to combine the areaps and the Brazilian cookie-wanna-bes and make our own multi- cultural dessert...And they were fantastic! It was also a great lesson about making the most out of every situation, no matter what!

Earlier that same day, we took a field trip to a nearby greenhouse. We have studied how plants and animals work together in their exchange of different gases and also the greenhouse effect. So, in order to get a better understanding of exactly how a greenhouse works, what it looks like inside and how plants grow...we headed to the greenhouse. It was fun and the gardener was nice to let us look around.

It is funny the looks I get when I explain that I am the kids teacher and I teach them all their classes in our home. Sometimes, the looks are simply because the person I am talking to has never heard of such a thing. Other times, it is somewhat offensive as if I am not sending my children to school because I think the schools are not good enough. Often times it is just a look of "This woman is plainly crazy!" But, it is one of those cultural moments I just have to learn to live with. Homeschooling is just not heard of here. Apparently, according to Meg, children can be homeschooled here, but they have to complete 6th grade (I think) before they can begin taking classes in their home. (Meg would like to homeschool Mariana and Valeria in the future).

Anway, the gardner gave me one of those "crazy" looks, but was very kind and we looked all aroud and he even gave us a little lesson on orchids and how they grow, which was an added bonus!

We are reading about Nate Saint right now. The kids really love the book and my prayer is that one day my children have the courage to stand firm in the call God will place on their lives, whatever it may be, even when there will be persecution, suffering and that they will never feel peace staying "comfortable."

If I haven't said it before, I'll say it now: I LOVE homeschooling!"

home sweet home...

Well, Matt's parents left Tuesday morning realllly early...it was very hard to have had them here then have them leave...I think this will always be the hardest part of serving so far away from family and loved ones. But we made the most of the time we had here with them and look forward to another visit from them sometime soon.

We are currently staying at the mission house. Thre are these crazy bugs here that live in the wood and basically eat it, but I don't think they are considered termites...I don't know the specifics, I just know that they leave these little wooden balls as evidence of their existence. Anyway, since we moved in to our house, we've noticed them, but only in the girls room. So, our landlord is tearing out their ceiling and replacing it and then fumigating the entire house...So, we've got to stay out until Saturday morning. Thankfully, we have are able to stay at the mission house. But, the point is, I have more pictures to post, but I won't be able to until after the weekend...stay tuned!

Audrey said the cutest and sweetest thing to me tonight...

We were laying in bed together and I was reading her a story. I could tell that she was watching me and all of a sudden she said, "Mommy, I like this part of your lips" and she touched my bottom lip. Then she said, "Mommy I want to be like you" and smiled the sweetest smile up at me. Earlier, she was cracking Kelly and I up with some really hilarious things she was saying. Sometimes it is as if she is so much older thanwhat she really is...

One thing you could pray for...I have felt sick again for the past few days. This is the fourth time since February that I have been sick with basically this ame thing. A mild sore throat, dry cough, body ache and just really tired. It lasts a few days then goes away...but the tiredness I guess really hasn't ever went away...I think it is probably time to go to the doctor...but I have really been avoiding going. Could you pray with me about what this is?...if anything...thanks :)

Oh yeah...we had a GREAT homeschool day tofay...We needed to do some catching up and we were able to get through almost two days worth of material today! It was really fun today! Keep praying for more days like today :) We are studying the rainforests and other tropical forests as well as South America. Both Ethan and Isabelle are on their way to knowing all the countires on South America- let me remind you they are only 8 and 6!!!! Homeschooling is amazing!

Manuel Antonio

We have enjoyed the past few days with Matt's parents, Roger and Sue. They arrived late Tuesday night and we were up until almost midnight with them just talking :)Wednesday we went to La Carpio with them and it was, to say the least, an eye-opening experience for them both. But, it was a good day and we enjoyed watching them both interact with the people whom we love from La Carpio. That night, they stayed with the kids and Matt and I went to the prayer service in Tejarcillos. I think they enjoyed time with the kids alone and were all watching a movie when we got home :)

Thursday morning we left around 5:30 in order to get out of the city before 6:00 am. Thursday is the day we are not supposed to drive in the city limits or we could get a ticket. So, in order to be out of those limits, we had to leave pretty early. The trip took about 4 hours and that included stopping for breakfast. We had not expected to be able to get into our room right away, but thankfully it was ready when we arrived and so we got in right away. We unpacked and got ready to go to the beach. We drove down to the beach and found it was not quite what we had expected...but made the best of it. It was very touristy, but we had a great time regardless. We came back that afternooon and all of us jumped in the pool at the hotel. Later, Sue and I made tacos for supper.

Friday morning we decided to head to Manuel Antonio National Park. The park itself contains three beaches, one of which is considered one of the best beaches in Costa Rica. So, we bargained a price with one of the guides and eventually settled on an affordable price for us and hired him to direct us through the forest and. We were all so glad we hired him because he showed us so much that we never would have seen without his guidance. He also brought a telescope that he set up so we could view the insects and animals that he was describing. This was great because we could use it to take so much better pictures. After about two hours of walking we made it to the first beach, which is where we stopped. It was the beach that is considered one of the best, and it was almost like swimming in a natural pool. It is called Playa Manuel Antonio (playa tres), simply, Manuel Antonio beach (beach number 3). We saw so many amazing creations. Right away we saw a three-toed sloth high up in a tree with a little baby. We saw several different insects like a poisonous pygmy grasshopper, poisonous butterfly, dragonflys, forest crabs, owls, bats, deer, and monkeys- white-faced monkeys, spider monkeys and also howler monkeys. After walking through the trails, we stayed at the beach for several hours. We had brought lunch with us and so we ate and then enjoyed the water. It was raining but that didn't stop us from enjoying the water. It was so calm and we were able to go out quite far. We stayed until the park closed- about 4:00, then headed back to our hotel. After swimming in the pool for a little bit, we all got cleaned up and then went down to the restaurant and ate supper there (Sue and I were too tired to cook, although we had brought enough food to cook both nights...) We enjoyed a great evening with each other and the food was FANTASTIC! It was a barbecue place and we had chicken and ribs! They were so good! I haven't had bbq ribs in over a year and they were great!

Saturday we slept in a little and then the kids went swimming for a little bit. Sue, Matt and I got packed up and ready to go. We had decided to leave a little bit early and head to a spot we had seen many times but had never stopped at. We thought there was a spot with a beach and a restaurant and we thought we try it for lunch. We ended up finding it and it ended up being pretty good. After a short walk along the beach, we headed back to the house. We all rested for a while and had supper and then watched some old home movies before going to bed.

Today we went to church in Tejarcillos and afterwards enjoyed lunch with Neris and Rogelio in their home. This afternoon we have been relaxing. Tonight we are eating supper with the rest of our team. We are not sure of our plans for tomorrow, which is their last day here...

Here are some pictures of Manuel Antonio...


Mama sloth and baby (oso perezoso)


Golden web spider: This spider spins a web so strong it can capture a hummingbird.


If you look closely you can see several bats hanging on the tree trunk. It was absloutely amazing to all of us how our guide, Mario, could spot the things he pointed out to us. The use of the telescope was really so wonderful.


This is a poisonous pugmy grasshopper. It becomes poisonous because it eats poisonous plants, which in turn, create venom in him. The venom houwever is not harmful to himself.



This is a beautiful butterfly that is poisonous as well. It becomes poisonous through the same process as the grasshopper above. You can tell the level of poison from the intensity of the color of its wings. We saw othres that were not as poisonous and had much less intese red on their wings.


This was a huge bamboo tree. Mario said it was only about 50 years old. I thought it was so beautiful.


beautiful dragonfly


This lizard was hiding in the brush


Two walking sticks (I believe they were mating...)

The trip to the park was like a dream field trip for the kids. Ethan told me several times that it was one of the best days for him. He thanked me for bringing him there, to which I said to be thankful that Pappy and Mimi had come, because we would not have been able to go had they not come. The day was filled with so much learning and it was wonderful. Even though we never cracked open a book, we spent the entire day learning about the forest and the animals that occupy it. I have several things planned for the following week that we will continue to learn about what we learned in that day.


This was the view from the lookout that was at our hotel. One morning I sat up here and watched all the birds waking up and singing. It was wonderful. I wish I could have gotten pictures of all them.


The beach...


Mateo and Brooke <3


Mommy and Izzy


Pappy and Audrey dancing


Pappy and Iz dancing

More pictures to come later :)

Mis suegros...

Just a quick note to say that Matt's parents (my inlaws or "suegros") are arriving in about an hour!!YEAH!! We are very excited and have many things planned for a short trip...but it will be great! Tomorrow we will be in La Carpio with them in the morning and then we'll give them a night with the kids at the house while Matt and I go to the prayer service. Thursday morning we are planning to leave very early to head to a beach in Costa Rica called Manuel Antonio- it is supposed to be one of the best beaches in Costa Rica! (we'll take any excuse to go to the beach, as we do not have many opportunities!!) We'll get back Saturday and then have church Sunday. Monday we had talked about taking a hike to the cross, an area located above Tejarcillos. There are actually three crosses and we hope to be able to make the hike to the top of the mountain. We'll see how the week goes!

The wedding Sunday was beautiful and the time spent with them was wonderful! We were able to spend the entire day with them on Monday and the leaders from Tejarcillos as well.

We've had a great week and look forward to this time with Matt's family. PLease pray especially for the opportunity to share the gospel with them, for their hearts to be opened, and for God to work through all those they'll encounter in this next week. We believe God has planned for them to be part of his family and our pray is that this might be the time they would choose to follow Him. Please join us in these prayers.

No update yet on the house in Frankfort- please keep praying!

Down on Main St.

Please pray for the sale of the house we were living in before we moved to Costa Rica. In the way that only God does things, this house has not been a financial burden to us while we have been on the field. However, it has become a financial burden to the owners, who are our dear friends.

We ask that you life the sale of this home in your prayers. There is a showing of the house tomorrow, Sunday 9/14, for a family that seems quite interested. Our prayer has always been that the house be sold to a family that would continue to minister to the hurting people in the neighborhood.

Please pray that God would provide all the details that need to be in place for the house to be sold and the financial burden be lifted from our friends.

"Padrinos"

Well, another first in our Latin life happened yesterday. This one is unforgettable in such a sweet way...

Jonathan and Rebeca, the young couple we were witnesses for a week or so ago in their civil wedding ceremony, will be married tomorrow, Sunday, in the ceremony in the church. Yesterday, they asked us if we would be "padrinos" for the wedding ceremony. I actually was somewhat confused because I hadn't heard that word for awhile and wasn't exactly sure what it meant, but I thought it meant godparent (which it does...) but in the case of a wedding, it means "best man" or "bridesmaid"- the honor attendants in a wedding ceremony. So, it was quite an honor to be asked this and we feel so blessed that they would consider us for this role.

They are a sweet young couple and my heart's desire is to see them grow in their walk with the Lord. Jonathan currently works long hours for a decent wage for Costa Rica, however small for our American standards. But he works hard all week long to provide for Rebeca, her daughter Sheila, and the baby Rebeca is about to deliver. However, he has such a strong desire to serve the Lord in a greater capacity and it is my heart's desire to see God use him in mighty ways in the growth of the Tejarcillos church and in even more ways as well.

Please pray for this young couple and their new life together. Please pray that Matt and I can be encouragers to them both, that we can always speak Truth into their lives, and that our friendship would continue to grow.

Stains...

I have a friend whose blog is titled "A glimpse into my heart...stains and all..." Isn't that just a great title? My friend and I have shared our testimonies with each other- both complete with many stains...but what I love about her is that you can see Christ so clearly through those stains and the mark they've left on her life...

I know many people with the thought that missionaries are these "superspiritual" people who've got this thing we call life figured out. Maybe you are thinking that missionaries are those people who have it all figured out so they are the ones qualified to go, right? If you are one of those people and do not want your bubble burst (and it hasn't already been burst by reading previuos entries about our lives...), take heed and do NOT read any further...The reality is that, most of us (at least most misionaries that we've met over the past two years) are exactly the opposite of "superspiritual." When I hear the word "superspiritual" I think of the Pharisees. Which leads me to not want any part of "superspiritualism." What you'll find in our lives are pasts that were marked with stains that are now washed whiter than snow. But along the way, we fall, and thus stand up and once again, find our knees stained from the fall. The beauty of our God is that his mercies are new every morning and his grace is sufficient to get us up and standing once again and to keep us moving forward, forgetting what is behind and straining forward to what is ahead. (Phillipians 3:13) Our lives are full of examples that show how weak and un-qualified we are for the life we've been called to live. However, unfortunately at times, I beleive we've also exhibited moments that come close to being "superspiritual." I personally have (figuratively) covered my knees in an effort to hide those stains. I have trouble letting it show sometimes that I DO NOT...I repeat...I DO NOT have it all together. But, it is super hard for me to admit that sometimes. I do not like to fail...so I try really hard to make it seem there are no stains. But thankfully my God won't allow me to live my life that way. He has given me a Companion who will not let me hide for long. The Holy Spirit has helped me work through this desire to hide my stains from the world this past year. He has given me friends like the one I've been talking about in this post to help me see the better way, although maybe much more difficult, is to allow God to shine through those moments when my stains are the most noticeable. I am so thankful for the many people God has blessed me with the privelege of calling friends. Praise be to Him who is greater than he that is in the world!

One other thought, the one that actually lead to this post came to me as I was reading in a devotional book called Voices of the Faithful. It is a compilation of hundreds of devotionals from actual IMB missionaries from across the world. Beth Moore gives the intorduction to each chapter- and I just love her way with words and her willingnes to embrace the stains she carries and use them for God's glory. Many people speak of sacrifice today. Living here in Costa Rica sometimes does not seem like a sacrifice with the almost perfect weather (not counting the rain) and most modern conviences. The one thing that really feels like a sacrifice is being away from family and loved ones. If there is one thing that makes everything else seem out of whack it is that for me. For Matt it is something else. But what I cry out most to the Lord about is the deep pain that comes from not being near them. Recently we've been trying to plan a reunion for November with our families. We have to leave the country and had thought about trying to meet at least our parents and possibly a few other family members in Florida. (Florida because sometimes we can find fairly cheap flights from here to there). So, we've been looking for quite sometime. While the flight is fairly cheap, it will still be over $1200.00 to fly there and then we would have the cost of the hotel and a rental car...So, we've pretty much decided not to do that. We've thought about heading to Indiana and for a laugh checked prices for tickets. We can fly to O'Hare for less $350.00 a person, but you can do the math and with 5 of us it just is not cheap...So, here I sit today and wonder "Why, God, does it have to be so hard to be away from them and so hard and so expensive to even get to see them once or twice a year?" Well, my answer came in the form of several scriptures that are dear to my heart... "If anyone would come after me, he must take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life for me will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me will save it." (Luke 9:23) My single greatest challenge is daily dying to myself in order to allow Christ to live more fully in me. This involves the endurance to deny myself the pleasures of my flesh- like having my family and loved ones close by. The second scripture that spoke to me was Galations 2:20, "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me." WOW! To love me so much, that he gave his life for me...and I cry to him because I miss my family...And finally, the third scripture God gave me today was Romans 12:1 where we are urged to "offer our bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God" and this is being our spiritual act of worship. This is the part that really hit home tonight. The sacrifice of leaving behind my family to follow the call God has placed on our lives is only bearable when I remember that what we sacrifice for Christ, He will turn to gain. It is not my life to live anymore. I've been crucified with him and He now lives in me. But when I feel most deeply affected by the distance that physically separates my family and I, God is asking me to turn that into worship of Him. I asked myself tonight when the most moving times of worship have been in my life. They've been when I've felt intense, deep pain. And that is how He spoke to me tonight. As much as I desire to spend time with our families, that may not be what he has planned for us for November. I've got to praise Him either way. No matter how deep the pain, I've got to use it to worship Him and to bring Him glory. Beth Moore says it best this way, "God seems to whisper, Worship Me with it, (Beth). Bring that ache to My altar, and I will esteem it as a lavish offering. Trust Him. Worship him. And count your loss but gain."

More about being a homeschooling missionary mom...

Well, today is another example of my life as a missionary homeschooling mom...

Isabelle woke up this morning with a horrendous cough. (It was mild when she went to bed last night...but way worse this morning). She seems to physically feel ok, but she is extremely tired and has the unintentional "I'm sick" look on her face. So, she asks me what we have to do today and I begin to explain our day of school for two hours, then Mommy leaves for La Carpio and school with Daddy for a fwe hours more...then we all meet back up and head to Tejarcillos for the prayer service. Audrey, who had been quietly eating her fruit loops, looks up at me with her sweet little face and says, "Mommy, can you please just stay home with me today?" OK- OBVIOUS OPPORTUNITY TO SPEND SOME QUALITY TIME WITH HER!!! So, even though I had already lifted to the Lord what I should do today (ministry or family), without knowing that Isabelle was worse this morning, but knowing that we were behind in school this week...I went to the Lord again in prayer. So, I made the choice to stay home today from La Carpio and have spent it homechooling two children, one who is sick, trying to make the most of my day with my youngest little one and getting some other much needed things accomplished. Matt took over for the nature walk with the kids (not really a walk because Iz wasn't feeling that great to go on a real "walk") outside in the area around our house. They gathered some intersting leaves from the plants growing right on our street. During this time I went on a walk with Audrey to an area near our home to get a few things done and to take advantage of the no rain and sunshine. And it was an excuse to take her and get her favorite treat :) and a frozen cappuccino for me...it isn't the REAL thing but it is a close second and it cost about $1.25 for a 20 oz size!!! So, we enjoyed some one on one time and being able to talk- and can that girl ever talk!!!! So, we got back and ate lunch and she laid down for her nap...Matt and I made some decisions about his parents visit and what we are going to do while they are here and also spent some time working on Math (not our formal curriculum but with the Pattern Blocks I ordered) with both Ethan and Isabelle.

So, how do we do this, anyway? How are we as parents of three young children in the prime learning years supposed to balance the draw of ministry with the nurturing of our family? Today, it was obvious for me. Today was a day that our three kids needed me to be their mom. Why or how could I choose anything else? Isn't that what God has gifted me to do as my first and most important ministry. And won't that send a better message to the women I minister to and serve with than anything else I could ever do or say? That is the message the Lord laid upon my heart today and I thank him for the opportunity to be home today.

So today we ask you to pray for our family as we grow more and more as servants of the King and watch God work in the ministry here. Matt and I both are sharing the homjeschooling responsibilities, but really the brunt of the ministry is on his shoulders. And so we ask you to continually petition the Lord on our behalf to keep our God first, our family second (our marriage first and then our children, and our ministry third. Thanks for praying!

Homeschooling as a missionary mom...

So, I thought I would give you a look into our homechooling day. This is my first time homeschooling and I really have no idea what to excpect or sometimes even what to do for that matter (Lord, please allow my children to learn despite my weaknesses). We've been officially "doing" school for a week now. So, we start the day with the Bible lesson. This varies from day to day and week to week, but generally there is a scripture to memorize each week and then a passage from a great text we are using. We are actually going to be looking and studying different people groups and countries and the prominent religions of the world throughout the year. Ethan and I have had some great discussions already and we've only looked at Buddhism and Animism (there are many different forms of this but it is basically the belief of evil spirits and the need to make peace with them). I am so proud (boasting in the mightyness of our God!) that Ethan was able to give me a solid defense of the differences of Christianity and these two religions. It made my heart swell! We have begun preparing our world map with pictures of all "our missionaries" from all over the world now that we pray for. Then we make an easy transition to geography. I love the emphasis on geography in this curriculum, which is so totally ironic because I remember hating geography in school. We are studying maps and globes and their differences, and have moved into studying the different parts of a map like latitude, longitude, the compass rose, etc. And the kids also make geography notecards to learn the terms we are using. We have science every day, and the kids make a notebook page for every lesson. They are going to be priceless to me in the future I know it! We are going to need to rent a storage space if we homeschool all the way into high school..that is for sure. The kids really caught on to the idea of notebooking- capturing their thoughts on the lesson by drawing a picture and/or capturing them with words. We have silent reading where they each read for about 15 minutes each day and we try to read together at some point during the day- I have to work on this because it is totally my fault that we have not done this well. I hope that by Friday or Monday we will have started Math. We also have different activities that allow them to work on their handwriting and English compostition skills, although I have chosen to not use a formal English curriculum, but am relying more on dictation and verbally retelling the story at this level and a few other tecniques that I researched.

So, maybe you are reading this and have homeschooled before...maybe you have never homeschooled and like me have wondered or are wondering "Just how does that work?" Well, I think that if we lived a normal life, our daily schedule would be fairly similar from day to day. I think that because our lives are becoming so intricately intertwined with ministry, our daily schedule is just not so normal...We have committments within the ministry, different schedules for every day of the week and our "Saturday" or day off is actually Thursday. So, Monday we start school around 11:00 am and work into the afternoon and even after we get into the ministry area. Tuesdays is about the same. Wednesdays we start at 8:00 and I leave for La Carpio around 10:30. Matt takes over then and takes the kids on their weekly nature walk. This is a part of the curriculum I LOVE as well! The go outside and spend time looking at the world God has given us to live in. They find something unique in nature that they want to journal about and they either draw a picture of it paint it paste it in their notebook- somehow capture the piece of nature. Then we try to research and find out what it is and as much information as we can about it...Also, Matt has plans to take the kids through the discipleship book we use in the ministry as well. Thursdays, we are going to try to keep free from school if possible, but we may do some catch up on these days. Fridays are a normal day of 8:00 - 12:00. We will try to do art projects on Fridays as well.

The kicker is that both last week and this week already, there are pulls from the ministry that get us away from our routine. Last Tuesday for example...and then today turned into almost the same kind of thing- we were home for about 2 hours in the middle of the day today, which part of the time was used to eat lunch and the other to do some of our lessons. Then, we left agian and did not get home until about 7:00. This is bound to happen again and again...My question for those who've had HS experiencing (or even if you just have advice...) How can I make this work? I am going to have to really get them to focus tomorrow and the rest of the week. The crazy part is that I am completely not stressed about it because I have peace that God will take care of all these days like this for me and somehow they'll all three come out bright intelligent young people...at least that is my prayer!!!! Could you join me in my prayers about this...

So, today I did at least get a glimpse of hope that it may be working...I was talking with Isabelle on the way to Tejarcillos and she was asking me how to spell something and I asked her to sound it out. I was helping her with a sound and I said the sound of and 's' to illustrate the double 's' in the word and Audrey said "S" as plain as if she has always known that that sound went with that letter!

Today we were talking about the Towere of Babel and how God mixed all the people up and made all the languages. The first part of that passage (Genesis 11:1-9) of scripture talks about the "plain" of Shinar. After reading the passage I had Isabelle retell the story in her own words to Ethan and I. She starts out like this: "Well, first there was one language and then the plane landed and they started to build the city." I was really perplexed. Where in the world did she get that a plane had landed anywhere-especially since we were reading Genesis! I mean maybe if we were in the New testamnet and you know, she thought Jesus lived in more modern times or something...but...I was confused. So I asked her where the "plane" was in the story. Ethan said "Mom it said that they found the "plain" and settled there." So, that was a good lesson on words that sound alike but are spelled differently. And a cute one at that!

BY THE WAY!!! We need your PICTURES!!! Can you send us your pictures? We are trying to post as many of you as we can on our Wrold map so we can remember you in prayer each day! Please email us a recent picture and include your whole family if you can!!! That would be great!!!!

Week in review...

What a week its been...Let me give you a brief recap...
Tuesday we started the day early as we do every Tuesday. We leave the house around 8:15 and head to Tejarcillos for a weekly prayer time that has proven to be so wonderful. We stayed in Tejarcillos for a little bit afterwards and then headed back to our house with a young couple from the church. Jonathan and Rebecca and her daughter Sheila. We ate lunch together at our home and then we headed out about 2:00 for the office here that remains me something like the County Clerk's office in your normal US town. Jonathan and Rebecca had an appointment with a civil lawyer to legally become married and they had asked us to be their witnesses. So, we got to the office about 10 minutes early and then began the "processing of paper work" which took 1 hour! Around 3:30 we were all called back and Matt and I were asked a few simple questions and then the ceremony began. It was quick and simple and now they are legally married! I found it interesting the things the woman was saying to them about marriage being a sacred unit and that they as a couple needed to make sure they were always communicating about children, finances, who will work to provide for the family, divorce and so on. When she asked them if they had rings to exchange, they replied that they wanted to wait until the ceremony in the church to exchange them, at which her face (the attonrey's) lit up. She asked them what church and Rebecca replied "a Christian church." She proceeded to tell them that she was Catholic, but that they needed to recognize that when they took their vows in front of the church they were not only marrying each other but also allowing God to be the center of their marriage- it became not a marriage of two, but of three. She had not been mean before, but brisk and to the point. As she began talking with them about the church, her entire composure softened and it felt as if the mood lightened. It was pretty cool. We soent the entire day with Rebecca, Jonathan and Sheila and it was fun to get to know them better. Here are a few pictures....


The Newlyweds :)
Legally they are married today, however they consider their church wedding their official wedding! :)


The happy family


Our fammily and theirs :)

So, needless to say, Tuesday was not so much a school day as it was a ministry day, however, it was time well spent that I would not trade :)

Wednesday I left for La Carpio around 9:30 and spent a wonderful day there! Doña Panchita started a new group with 5 young people. Matt decided that it would be best for me to continue to minister in La Carpio each week and he volunteered to take over the school responsibilities on Wednesdays. So he and the kids had a great day and I think it actually hoooked him a little more on the homeschooling thing. He commented on how much fun it was! The curriculum we are using is so great and the learning activities are very practicial in demonstrating the lesson. So, after La Carpio, Matt met me at this plaza near the Tejarcillos rotunda and we headed to the prayer service. After the prayer service we went and ate supper and then went to the airport to pick up Alex. He had been in the states for a week for a wedding. We got home around 9:45 or so, maybe 10:00.

Thursday is our "day off." We are trying very hard to make this day a family day and nothing more. We will probably do a little bit of school, but some days, like yesterday, maybe not. We will treat it more like a Saturday because it is the only day we have just as a family. So, we relaxed and Matt and I caught up on some things we needed to get done. The most fun part of the day was that Matt found our home movies from when the kids were little (well, littler than they are now...). They are all VHS tapes so we pulled out the little tv/vcr combo that was given to us before we left and we all piled up on our bed and watched home movies for awhile. They were are so priceless. Seeing Audrey after just being born, watching her grow, seeing a few of when Ethan and Isabelle were so little- it was great. It made me wish we still had a video camera. When we moved we left the one we had because it would not hold its charge. It was just great looking back all those years ago and to remember they way they were. It was fun!

Today is Friday and we have school day (yes, we will actually do school today). The best thing about homeschooling, is as I have said many times already, the flexibility. We will use Saturdays as a make up day to catch up on the things we didn't finish throughout the week. So, it has been abusy week, and we are entering a busy weekend! We are looking forward to Sunday. We will be having a combined church service for Los Guido, Tejarcillos and La Carpio on La Finca to celebrate the Day of the Child here in Costa Rica. It should be great fun! PLease pray specifically for no rain. It has been raining when I have woken up every day this week!

Happy Birthday Mom!!!

By the way, today (Monday) was my mom's birthday!

Happy Birthday, Mom! I miss you and I LOVE YOU!!!

(Anyone who sees my mom can give her like a million hugs from me, ok?)



Me and my two moms
(My mother-in-law, me and my mom when we were in the states in April)
My mother-in-law is up for grabs for hugs as well... :)

Audrey Ann

I had to post this as well about Audrey. She has become her own little person lately. She is growing like you won't believe and she says some really funny things. Her facial expressions always have been so...well..expressive...and that has increased dramatically lately as she learns news ways to acentuate what she is feeling by twisting her face in new creative ways.

The other night we were out to supper with the team that was here, Stan and Carol and Carrie and Kenyan. Stan and Carol treated our whole team to dinner. So, Audrey and I are sitting across from Coco and Melinda and Noemy, who is Melinda's roomate and was Ethan and Izzy's music teacher at Sojourn. Audrey leans over to me and says "Mommy, Coco speaks 'Panish and Melinda speaks 'Panish and Engish and Noemy speaks "Panish and Engish and you speak "Panish and Engish and...me too!" And then she just laughed like that was the coolest thing in the world. Then she said very thoughtfully, "That means Coco needs to learn to speak Engish!" Coco agreed! :)

Today, Melinda was at our house for a team meeting and as she was getting into her car, the girls and I were standing out front waving good-bye. As Melinda is backing out of the driveway, Audrey grabs me and excitedly says, "Mom! Meleenda know how to drive a car! Meleenda know how to drive a car! That means you need to learn how to drive a car, too!" Guess she can't remember all those years I spent driving her around as a baby...She has never seen me drive here. I have driven Meg's car a fwe times when I've borrowed it, but I don't think I've ever had anyone with me. I have not attempted to drive van because it is large and a stick shift and well...too be honest I tried once and it was so embarrassing because the alarm went off and i couldn't get it to stop and...well...let's just say it was enough for me!!!

Anyway, I wanted to share those precious memories with you!

(OK! Now I am really going to bed!!!!)

School starts in the McClain house!

Today we started homeschooling! It was a gerat day! We started everything but Math and English, both of which we will begin next week. The best thing about homeschooling, in my opinion, which works so well with our life, is the flexibility. Today, Matt an I had a meeting that started at 7:00 am (What? You thought that now that we were missionaries, we'd get to sleep in or something?) and then another one back-to-back to the first one at 8:30. We were done around 10:30...I think...and so the kids and I started right away after the meetings. We got as much as we could done before 2, which was when we headed to Tejarcillos for the afternoon. I took our stuff whith us that we needed to finish for the day (I bought this really cool storage container set the other day that I beilieve will really help me stay organized... and I have used it twice now to transport school books and stuff when I know that I'll have time to work on them. It is plastic which is important now that it is rainy season...)Anyway, I knew the kids and I would be at the Neris and Rogelio's house today because we stay behind to watch the car and so while there today, we finished up the rest of our lessons. It was the perfect amount of time we needed and it felt so good to have finished the day!

Today I gave the kids (Ethan and Isabelle) a geography quiz. The curriculum we are using is from My Father's World and the focus is heavy on geography. So, the first quiz (yeah- I know...I'm gonna gain the rep of being a pretty tough teacher- pop quiz first day...) was a blank map of the world with clues to fill in each of the 7 continents, the equator and the North and South pole. Ethan got every single one right- WITHOUT my help!!! I thought for sure he must have studied the map before but he said no, he hadn't. It was pretty cool. So, then we looked at blank maps of each of the 7 continents and he filled in only what he knew, even if it was just the continent name. He got a little confused between Africa and South America because I gave him the continent maps each seperately. First he marked South America as Africa but as soon as I handed him Africa, he realized his mistake and changed it- yes, I let him correct his mistake!!! I'm not that tough!!!

Anyway, I was quite impressed and pleased, Iz was very good at listening to the clues on the world quiz and got each one right, as well. I think her favorite part was when I gave her the word clues for remembering where to put north, south, east and west on a copass. I have always used Never Eat Sour Worms to remember it by (I think my third grade teacher Mrs. Wehr tought us that...) and when I told Iz that she must have laughed for ten minutes and you know what- she remembered it and it stuck with her when I gave her clues about a continent being North or south, etc...I allowed her to look at her completed World quiz and compare the blank continent quizzes to the world one to be able to find the answers. For both Ethan and Isabelle, Europe and Asia were the toughest. The Arctic Ocean was tough for Ethan to remember as well, but he remembered the other three oceans. It was cute during this part of the lesson because Audrey piped up and said "Remember we went to the ocean. We were there in NicaWagwa and there were crabs there!"

I didn't do much with her today, she hung out with Daddy. I have a couple pictures of the day, but the camera batteries are dead and I don't want to wake Matt up to go find more...it is REALLY late now, I need to go to bed...so I'll post them tomorrow hopefully...

Tomorrow, we will be gone in the morning and into the afternoon, and will start school when we get back. We will work into the evening tomorrow. It is so great to be able to flucuate our schedule like this! I hope it continues to work well for us. Wednesdays Matt and I have decided for me to continue to go to La Carpio and Matt will continue the afternoon lessons with the kids. This will also give him some time with htem without Mom around...I am happy because I was a little torn about what I should do abiut La Carpio and homeschool and so when he volunteered to do afternoon school and thought I should continue in La Carpio- I was very excited! I can't wait to surprise Luisa (my friend from Los Guido whom I'm partnered up with) because she thought my last day was last week.

Tomorrow (Tuesday) Matt and I are taking a young couple from Tejarcillos to their lawyers office so she can perform their civil wedding ceremony. We will be acting as their witnesses. It is an honor and privelege to be able to be part of their marriage in this way. I first met the wife-to-be, Rebecca, on my first trip here in June 2006. Her daughter was onlt about 18 months old at the time and now she is one of my best little buddies. I am looking forward to hte day with them.