heading to China...the final stop of the ATW Semester!

We are heading into China tonight where facebook and blogs are blocked by the government. We will be able to receive normal emails so please stay in touch. We will be home December 17th. We would appreciate your prayers for our team in our final weeks of this incredible journey. We are excited to see all that God has in store for us during our time in China. We also will be preparing as a team to re enter into our lives at home after this experience. Thank you for every bit of encouragement and prayer support you have given us. We are in awe of all the Lord did in each one of us during this 4 month process. Now on to the last country...number 10... CHINA!

Bali

Johns Journal has a few new posts...click on the right side of the page

We are currently in Bali and enjoying this beautiful place. It's lush, tropical, warm, and gorgeous. The culture is fascinating and we have found a Starbucks. :) We have been warmly greeted by Adam's friend, Nicki, who planned an amazing two weeks for us. We are comfortable and enjoying the rest after a rigorous few weeks. We arrived here from India as a tired and sick team. ( we had at least 10+ get sick) We are now well and thriving as a team. God has united this group in so many ways and it's astounding to see the growth and community coming out of this experience. We feel as if we are in the home stretch now, which is exciting at the thought of being home, but this thought puts a pit in most of our stomachs as we aren't ready for this special time to end. We will spend Thanksgiving together as a family of 30 in Bali...a Thanksgiving none of us will ever forget!

India

Our time in India has been rough in some ways and amazing in many other ways. The hot and humid conditions have taken a toll on us physically and the chaotic mix of sounds and smells through town can be nerve racking at times...but we have been inspired and loved on by an amazing staff at the Lutheran Center in Mumbai. They love the Lord and they love His lost children. I have learned so much simply by their example. I have learned about humility and service in India. I have learned from them a great example of hospitality. Each community center or home in the slums or church we have entered has welcomed us and shown us the beauty of the people here. The colors and patterns of the clothing here is incredible and so unique. Our family has battled a little bit of sickness during our time here, and receieved more bug bites than we can count but this experience is priceless and I thank the Lord we have been given the chance to get a glimpse into the Indian culture. God is moving powerfully here and many are coming to the Lord. We met countless Hindus who now follow Jesus and heard the stories of healing and salvation. Hallelujah! (on a side note, something I have loved during our travel is that Hallelujah is spoken in every language the same. So no matter what church we are in we all sing and say Hallelujah together even if we don't understand another word that is spoken.)
We have two more days in India and I have been sick with a bad cough, sore throat, achiness and fatigue. Please pray that I am well to enjoy our final moments and to travel on Monday night. John and Macho leave a day earlier to fly through Singapore to get Macho's visa. The kids and I will fly with the team and meet them in Bali.
Can't believe we are almost on to our 9th country already! Please click on JOhns Journal...he wrote two more entries about his time preaching in India and a cute story about Jack. Jack and Naomi are doing well and I am continually amazed at God's grace on them. They have had to get used to cold bucket showers, spicy food or pretty much living on rice and bananas, going to bed on the floor super hot and being taken to different places in the slums. It's definately not Ladera Ranch anymore!!! :) It's hard and it's eye opening and I know God is using this in Jack and Naomi just as much as in JOhn and I. Our hearts will never be the same after this experience. I pray God uses each and every moment of this trip to shape and form us more and more into what He has for us!

Kenya stole our hearts

Kenya was an amazing experience. Like I had said in the previous post, I had looked forward to going back to Africa for the last five years. Landing in Kenya, we were greeted by the most amazing group of men from the Lutheran Church. We spent the next two weeks falling in love with Kenya, the church, the men and staff of the church and the culture. The weather was gorgeous, the land is beautiful and the people are even more amazing. We spent the two weeks working at the church in the slums playing with children, making home visits, and learning how the church is reaching the street boys and orphans in their area. It's heartbreaking and hope filling at the same time which is an odd thing to experience. We were blown away at the work this church is doing. Their gates are open and the courtyard is filled with orphans that wander in off the street, glue sniffing young men, women making crafts to support their womens ministry, pastors counseling, and a feeding program every day at 1 to feed kids that can't afford a meal for the day. It felt like a place that was welcoming, non judgemental and that just showered people with God's love daily. We came to serve and we ended up learning more than I could ever have given back. I don't think I have sang or clapped that much in two weeks time ever! I can't get enough of the unabandoned worship and passion and joy that they experience. In the midst of a lot of need and heartache, a group of people exists that know Christ's love and grace and SHARE it with their community. I feel blessed to have spent two weeks with them.

Israel and Egypt

We leave in just a few hours for Kenya. I have looked forward to returning to Africa SO much! I can't believe it's finally here.
We haven't had internet too much so I haven't been able to post or upload pics as much as I had thought. I want to summarize our last two weeks quickly to give you a taste of what we have seen.
We had one full week in Israel. We experienced many different emotions while being there. To walk where Jesus walked and be in the towns that I have read in the Bible my whole life was amazing. Walking the streets of Jeruselum left many of us frustrated and disappointed with the commercialism and we felt as if we wanted to see it 2,000 years ago not modern and with tourist trinkets all around. But soaking up the Jewish culture and walking through the city walls and gates was incredible. As we headed out into the countryside it was as if every piece of scripture was alive to me picturing Jesus walking on the Sea of Galilee and teaching and healing through out the region. Walking the Mt. of Beatitudes and going out on the Galilee were a highlight. Naomi had such amazing revelation during this whole experience. We headed out on the boat and the waves were pretty big and the boat was crashing over the waves. She was crying as she was nervous of the big waves and of getting sea sick. As soon as we got out and turned around the entire sea got really calm after a few minutes and then she enjoyed it so much. We also looked into the sky and saw a rainbow. We all weren't used to experiencing the sabbath in Israel and therefore weren't prepared for NO food places to be open. So we went the entire day with no food and finally got back to eat a late dinner. That night as we were going to bed i was praying outloud with the kids and thanking the Lord for his provision and for allowing us that experience today and for being able to walk where He had walked. Then Naomi interrupted me and said, "I have a thankful thing to add". She went on to express how God calmed the seas today for her just like he did for them. Then He also cleared up the rainy skies and gave us a rainbow just like He did for them. Then we were hungry all day and she said just like they complained and said there wouldn't be enough fish and bread and then He multiplied it, today He allowed us to get food after a hungry day when everything opened. It brought tears to my eyes as I saw her faith and how amazed she was that God did all the same things for her today that He did for "them" as she kept referring, all those years ago. God is teaching us all so much through this experience, even little Naomi at 6 years old.
We were very blessed by other travellers while we were in Jeruselum. We were staying at the hostel with a group of Calvary Chapel Bible College students living there for the semester. They were a great encouragement to us and we got to worship in the streets with them. A crowd gathered of almost 100 people and it was amazing to worship in Israel with fellow Christians. It was a special moment God gave us.
Another treat was getting to know two Austrailian ladies travelling through Isreal. They were in their 70's and on fire for the Lord and were SUCH a tremendous blessing to our group. It was like having wonderful spiritual mothers with us for the week. They even went to church with us and on some of our excursions. They were like a much needed present for our group of encouragement and joy half way through the trip. What a delight! They walked our group to the bus, gave big hugs good bye and prayed over our group. We left them as they waved good bye to us all holding the Concordia Eagles shirt Macho gave them. It was precious!
Returning to Egypt was difficult at first. The elements of crowds, dirt, flies, and HEAT are a little abrupt to our senses. An oasis in the desert for us was seeing my parents!!! We had three days with them and it was the perfect boost in the middle of the trip for our family. I was able to relax and be cared for which was so amazing after weeks of leadership and planning. My parents are amazing to us and to the kids. Jack and Naomi were thoroughly happy to be with them and they even went to the pyramids with us which was such a treat! Seeing the pyramids was surreal and floating down the Nile for two days on an old fashioned felucca boat was a once in a lifetime trip. The team got to have a "weekend" with no class and just floating, swimming and sharing meals and sleeping on the boat. We just returned to Cairo today via overnight train. We have crossed the half way point of our trip and today marks the end of our crazy travel schedule through Egypt, Jordan and Israel. We will settle down into our two week schedule in each of the remaining countries doing classes and outreach work.
We head to Kenya tonight and I have looked forward to returning to Africa so much! I know this part of the trip will be unlike any other part. Africa and the culture and people are going to amaze us and I can't wait to see what God has in store for us. Please be praying for our team for safety and health and for His guidance. We start to take malaria pills this week and of course I ask that you pray for this to work okay in Jack and Naomi's bodies.
Love you and miss you friends and family so much!

Catch up blog :)

We have been with out internet off and on for the past 10 days or so, therefore not much blogging. We have also been on the road travelling a lot and having crazy adventures. We have been super busy but loving it. We left Turkey last week and flew to Cairo, Egypt. We landed and were instantly hit by the hot desert air. We squished our entire team of 30 and bags into 2 minibuses which was hot, crammed and very funny at the same time. We headed into the Sinai desert for our 5-6 hour ride that resulted in an 8 hour experience of driving late into the night through the desert, getting stopped at every police check point along the way and paying money or convincing them to let our huge group through. It was definately a crazy experience and everyone had great and funny attitudes through it all. This is why I love travelling with this group of students. We finally pulled into the Bedouin camp at the base of Mt. Sinai at 1a.m. The bedouin men greeted us warmly to their tent with a fire and tea. We were instantly in love with this location. We all sat extremely exhausted but content until 2:30 in the morning drinking tea and lounging. We woke to the most amazing desert landscape and mountains around us. We hiked to the Monastary and then returned to the camp to rest for our night hike up Mt. Sinai that was to come. We set out at 6pm with our packs on our backs and dinners in hand. We stopped an hour into the hike to eat dinner at Moses's Rock and then contined to hike for 3 more hours. Naomi rode a camel that led the way! Hiking up Mt. Sinai at night lit by the moon and stars was absolutely surreal. We hiked the back way so we didn't see any one else the entire trip. Our bedouin guide took us the special route. The peacefullness of the night gave me time to reflect and think about Moses hiking the mountain to hear from God. I couldn't believe I was here! The hiking was strenous (although I got to sit on Naomi's camel for awhile) but I believe those few hours of heading up the dark mountain was one of my favorite moments of my life. I will never forget it. We all gathered at the top to make the final ascent up the 750 steps of repentance. EXHAUSTING, but with some stops along the way we did it! The kids went up every step on their own and we were SO proud of them. We arrived at the top and were so excited to see we were the only ones spending the night on the top that night. We picked our spots, set up our sleeping bags and had a great worship time. This once again will be a moment I will never forget. Worshipping and falling asleep exposed on the very top of Sinai. This sleep didn't last too long as we awoke to the sounds of tourists arriving at 4a.m. By 5a.m. we were all up and sitting squished towards the edge to await the beautiful sunrise. It was gorgeous. We lingered and enjoyed it long after all the other tourists had headed down. We then packed up and hiked a very difficult and hot hike back through amazing scenery. I was so proud of Jack and Naomi yet again. Most of us adults said it was the hardest hike we had ever done. We arrived back at camp exhausted, dirty, smelly, and hungry, but SO satisfied and amazed at God's creation and the story of God's people!
We spent one night on the Red Sea which was refreshing en route to Jordan. (Another trip that should be 2 hours but took about 7, this is turning into our theme. :) We camped in the middle of the Wadi Rum desert and then rode camels the next day for 5 hours deeper into the desert. This was hilarious to watch 30 camels trekking through the desert. What a dream come true, a crazy fun adventure! That night we slept literally in the middle of the desert with nothing but sleeping mats on the sand and some food they brought for us. We had class and worship and church the following morning in a cave. Once again we left the desert smelly, hungry, dusty, tired, sick of flies, and hot but feeling so grateful to experience God's glorious landscape and beauty!
We arrived in Petra yesterday and were SO happy to take a shower and have a nice meal and soft bed. AHHH! I realized that I hadn't slept on a real pillow in a long time as I have been using the pillow that we took from the plane. :) The best part of Petra was seeing my Mom and Dad. They arrived yesterday as well with their tour. Jack and Naomi were able to have some great grandma and grandpa time again today after touring Petra. They swam and had food and watched cartoons in their hotel bed (They were mesmerized with the Disney channel as they hadn't seen TV for 7 weeks) We go seperate ways tomorrow but we will see them again in a week back in Cairo. I am so thankful for seeing them! Ahhh it's the best!
Thank you SO much for all the prayers and encouragement we receive. We feel so blessed to be on this adventure and have felt covered in prayer and protection. We have seen God completely protect and pave the way for our group. We have made new friends in every country that feel divinely arranged! Through this seven weeks God has been so real and tangible to us. I can see Him working in my life and it's a priveledge to walk with this team and see Him shape and mold their hearts through these experiences.
We leave in two days for Israel and I know this will be life changing and monumental in all of our lives. Please keep us in your prayers as we travel.
Much love!

Naomi the star of Turkey!

Naomi, with her blonde hair and big eyes, is quite popular here in Turkey. She gets patted on the head at least 10 times per day. She is given free things almost anywhere we go. The most precious moment was in Cappidocia last weekend. Naomi and I were happily walking back to the hostel when she tripped and fell in the uneven sidewalk. She was crying super hard as I carried her inside with a bloody knee. The young man who worked at the hostel jumped into action. He said in broken English, "I help you" and the next thing he had out the first aid kit and was cleaning her knee, putting medicine on it and bandaging it. He then went to the kitchen and got her an ice-cream bar. Within minutes she was all smiles. These experiences will be some of my most memorable from this trip. The kindness of strangers so far from home is comforting and so loving. I am thankful for these moments.

Hospitable Turkey

We arrived last Monday in Istanbul, Turkey. We were blown away at such a beautiful and fascinating city. John and I both voted that it might be one of our favorite cities. We got to explore and soak in the history and fascinating streets for two days before our long bus ride to Ankara, the capital and our home base for two weeks. We visited the largest mosque in the entire Islamic world and had an amazing time of learning together as a group. The stories of this day are worth an entire posting by itself at a later time. :) God is good! Our contact here has introduced us to some incredible Turkish people who have welcomed us and taught us about their country and culture. We are still blown away as a team that we are blessed to have these experiences and get to learn by being right in the middle of these different cultures. Over the weekend we took another long bus ride (getting quite used to these and thankful that there are 25 super fun and loving college students to entertain Jack and Naomi!) to go to Cappidocia and were absolutely blown away at Gods creation. It's jaw dropping looking at the formations of the earth and the caves that nomadic people lived in thousands of years ago. Then these caves were lived in by the persecuted Christians years and years later. There are still carved out churches and frescos of Jesus and angels. You could see the elaborate secret cave homes and tunnels. Jack and Naomi climbed and explored for hours.
Unfortunately John got his first taste of food poisoning but we are so thankful that he got well very fast. Please be praying for others on the team who are recovering from colds. This team has become like a traveling family and it's such a praise to have this unity and support around us.
And the Turkish people make us feel comfortable and at home here. They are warm, hospitable, super helpful, smiley, loving, and adore Jack and Naomi. Daily they are patted on the head, have their cheeks squeezed, are given a little toy, asked questions and just stared at with huge smiles...and of course Jack and Naomi are eating it up.

Good bye Russia

I am packing up as we leave very early to leave Russia in the morning. As I reflect on our time here I wanted to highlight a few things...
The church that hosted us were a body of amazing people. They housed and fed us for 11 days and were such a joy to worship and pray with. Immanuel church holds a special place in my heart as it reminded me very much of our Saddleback Covenant church body.
The people from Mercy Ministries...Paul, Sergei and Olia have amazing hearts for the Lord and servant hearts for Gods people. it will be a sad good bye tomorrow. Thay taught and imparted a lot to me and I am so thankful for the opportunity to be around them.
Our times in the boardinghouse and orphanage were incredible for our family. For me personally it was hard to see so many kids with out a mother or father. As I walked around the baby orphanage I found myself just praying constantly for these little ones. There was a special room for the disabled children that mainly remain in their cribs most of the day. Most were sleeping or blankly staring as the nurse told me they were in a vegetable state. But one little girl had her full mind but was paralyzed. Since she is an orphan she is left at thus facility with nurses helping her but not able to be near her at all times. They have dressed up stuffed bunny in a nurse costume so when they are not there she has someone to look at. As soon as I leaned over her crib, this 2 year old little girl just lit up. We spent only 10 minutes together but she smiled and made cooing noises the whole time. She loved peek a boo. She was precious to me and I know the Lord loves her beyond what we can conceive. It broke my heart to leave her alone with only the bunny to look at. This moment I realized that much of what we will see on this trip is going to break my heart. Lord please be with this little girl tonight who I don't even know her name. Please give her a peace and joy that only comes from you. Thank you for letting me meet her.

Milk

The past few days all Jack has been craving has been cold milk. I have been proud of the kids for trying so many new foods. Naomi has liked the soup and cucumbers of Russia but other than that both of them have had a hard time with potatoes as the heart of most of our meals and the milk is always warm. So this morning Jack woke up and said, all I want today is some cold milk, can we please try to find some. So we took our usual bus towards the church and got off one stop early to go to the store. We found ice cold milk, batteries and some gum all while being stared at because we were speaking English. We went to check out and I handed the woman our credit card just to have it not work. It randomly doesn't work at some places in Russia for some reason. So I scrounge up the little cash I had with me and had to return all the stuff but had just enough for the milk!!! Yah! As we walked to the church I was laughing inside at how funny and different this experience is right now...I have no money left except for bus fare, I have no phone on this trip, we are wearing the clothes that i washed in the sink last night, and it's 11am and we are walking down the street in Vladimir so happy with our milk :)

Praise

Thank you for all your prayers yesterday. It was amazing to see everyone use their creative gifts to be a blessing at the boarding house yesterday. Macho did his games with the children which seem to translate into every culture or language we are in. The kids were very serious, timid and didn't want to participate at first. Then within three minutes almost every child was up holding hands with the team in a big circle. We were repeating funny songs and dancing around and it was a joy to see the kids feel free and fun! Then Mai with some of the team, led songs like "Deep and Wide" and we taught the kids the motions. They were loving it. Then it was time for the big play. Brock within just a short 1 hour prep time, created an amazing play of Daniel and the Lions Den. John got to play King Darius and did quite a job. I saw his VBS experience coming out. Jack and Naomi got to play the lions. :) Sergei translated while Brock narrated and the team acted out each part. It was AMAZING and I had goosebumps the entire time. I felt so far from home, sitting in the yard of this boardinghouse in rural Russia, but yet it felt like home and all the years of telling stores to the children in a small room of our church in Mission Viejo. God's stories are amazing no matter where you are telling them. After the drama, Brock told the kids that we need not fear, that God watches over us, and that we can trust in Him at all times. We then spent the rest of the time doing the kids chores along side them, painting, harvesting potatoes and of course some soccer. That seems to be a universal bonding game no matter where we go! In fact Jack has turned into quite the up and coming soccer player. :) I am so thankful for this opportunity and all that it's teaching Naomi and Jack as well. They are learning to serve others and they are learning by watching this team dive into whatever project or opportunity is laid before them. Just yesterday I saw Naomi sitting on the swing at the orphanage and some little boy her age came up and she got off, motioned for him to sit, and then proceeded to push him on the swing. This may seem small but it meant a lot to me. Naomi can't speak to these children as they all speak only Russian, but she is able to help them in little ways and she didn't have to be told by me to get off and help this boy. She just did...and minutes later I saw her run down the hill to pick potatoes with some of the girls. Then I looked over and saw Jack making up a game of throwing apples with the boys from the orphanage. This all makes my heart so happy and I felt a renewed sense of thankfullness that we are getting to be on this journey as a family.

Prayer

Please pray for us today as we head to a non Christian boarding house. We will be working, playing games, music and a drama to share the gospel. Thank you

Russia

After 25 hours of being in the air and over two days of travel we finally made it. We felt very thankful that the longest distance of travel is over and that it went far better than we had thought it would go. This team of students is such a blessing to be with. They make the adventure so amazing and so much fun for Jack and Naomi. A fascinating part of this journey is going to be seeing the similarities and the major differences between all the cultures we are going to see. I felt strangely at home right when we arrived in Russia. I think this is because Vladimir is such a special place for my sister and I have heard her talk about the people and places for so many years. Its pretty amazing to now be here! The heads of Mercy Ministries Paul and Sergei have been incredible and the church here accepted us so warmly. The women from the church have made us the most amazing meals and we eat as a team in the basement of the church. We have felt very taken care of. We spent the day harvesting potatoes at a boardinghouse and also played with the children. We will be going back next week to do music and drama with the kids and share the gospel. Worshipping together with the Russian congregation has been a highlight as well. Last night during our thursday night worship time the men that live in the church came down to join us. It turned into an amazing Russian/English prayer and worship time...it was so powerful and we ended in singing You are the God of this City in a dark church praying for these Russian men to shine Gods light in this city! Thank you Lord!

Last day in Argentina...

We had a great last full day in Argentina. Nicole, Adam and Martha surprised us with a great homemade breakfast and I got the chance to lead morning devotions. I read Isaiah 145 and we discussed how MIGHTY our God truly is. We had final classes and then our family headed out for an adventure to find some tennis courts. Click on John's journal to see his write up about playing tennis with Jack.
Tonight John and I got to head out on a date night thanks to Adam offering to babysit. We were so thankful for the time to be together and have a nice meal out. The kids loved staying back and having tacos with everyone.
Tomorrow we will go to church and then start the loooong journey to Russia via a 14 hour flight to New York, an all day layover followed by an 8 hour flight to Finland and another 2 or so hours to Moscow.
We have had such an amazing first leg of this trip and I am so thankful for all that the Lord has done in and through this team. Thank you for your prayers and encouragement.
Off to Russia...

Great day

We had a day off today which was a much needed thing. We spent the morning sleeping in and slowly waking up as a team. It was a catch up morning. It was so nice to have breakfast and catch up on emails, pictures and just spend time all together in the hostel.
Of all places to go back to, the kids were very excited to head to the cemetary again. Their main reason was to bring food so they could feed the cats. The cemetary has so many cats and Naomi especially couldn't wait to get back there to check on them. John took Jack and Naomi there for the afternoon to have some Daddy time with them. They loved it and figured out the cats love french fries.
I spent the afternoon with the girls on the trip. We took the subway to the botanical gardens to explore and find a place to sit and hang for awhile. This group of girls is a whole lot of fun so far! God has handpicked such a unique group of girls with so many different personalities and giftings. It's really neat getting to know them all. Becca suggested that we do affirmations and led the team in this. It was such a special time to hear each girl get affirmed and to see the unity and joy this brought. We then shared our personal goals for the trip and it was so precious to see the vulnerability and their hearts for the Lord shining through. What an amazing group of women and I'm blessed to get to be a part of this journey with them.
We came home to quite a suprise and the guys of the team planned a candelit dinner for us. They pushed all the chairs and tables from the entire hostel into the lobby and set up one huge dining room table. They served us drinks, salad, pasta, hot chocolate and ice cream...and they even serenaded us! It was quite a night...thank you guys...you blew us away!
Thank you Lord for this team and for the experiences you have already given us as a group.

Our life is very different in Argentina...

Our family is sleeping in bunk beds and wearing our clothes multiple times each. In fact Jack says he loves this because he only has to shower every 3 or 4 days and he gets to sleep in the same clothes he wore that day. He is in boy heaven!

We wake each morning to the sounds of the team waking up and the creaky bar doors opening from each room. Then we usually brush our teeth with a few people at a time which is funny and bonding. :)

Breakfast consists of coffee and toast and the bustle of good mornings with all the students

Morning devotions and worship is an amazing start to the day. The sound of 30 voices praising the Lord in the morning is incredible!

John and Adam then lead class from about 10:30 to 1 while I homeschool Jack and Naomi or we explore the city for a bit. Today we walked to the laundromat and got our clothes washed!

Lunch is usually a sandwich from the corner. Jamon y queso

The afternoons are spent with L.I.F.E. Argentina serving in the slums of Buenos Aires. We play with the kids, tutor them in spanish and math, and just love on them. The kids melt our hearts and it's a joy to be with them. It's such a blessing to watch Jack and Naomi jump in with two feet and play games, make friends, and serve in any way they can too. This experience has been so amazing for them already.

Dinner is super late in Argentina but definately worth it as it has delicious food...and of course the gelato has been a hit for everyone.

Nights are late and there hasn't been much sleep but we are feeling like a family in our hostel. There is always someone studying, someone playing worship on a guitar, someone trying to get a hot shower, a group up laughing or talking, and people coming home with stories of what they experienced.

Monday night bible study and late night Thursday worship are part of our routine now as well. We have explored the awesome streets, markets and culture. The city is bustling and we are picking up on Spanish. We took tango lessons and I even joined in on an impromtu drum line dance in the street. I think we have a video so that might surface at some point. :)

As I write this I am sitting on my bottom bunk which definately makes me feel like we have a whole new sense of "normal" for us in the next coming months. :)

This group of students is absolutely amazing...each one of them. They are adventurous and fun and a pleasure to travel with. I have been blown away by the joyful attitudes and "let's go for it" gusto of this team. They even threw Jack a suprise party on his birthday at McDonalds with gifts and all. They pour love on Jack and Naomi all through the day and it's a huge answer to pray!

Thank you so much for all the encouraging comments and emails. We truly appreciate the prayer and have been blown away at the blessings God has bestowed on us as a team.

Glimpses of the first few days

Happy Birthday Jack

9 years ago my baby boy was born. John and I are blessed beyond words to have Jack...what a fun and amazing boy to raise. Crazy to think that nine years later I would be waking up in a hostel in Argentina, no shower in days, with a team of college students on this incredible journey to say Felix cumpleanos to Jack!!! Thank you Lord for Jack and this opportunity...truly amazing! The woman from the hostel just came by our room to gush over Jack and rub his head and pinch his ear and sing Felix cumpleanos...what a great start to his birthday.
John and Adam just headed out to teach the team in the famous and amazing Recoleta cemetery...pretty dreamy to get to lecture in these crazy locations. I believe they will be sitting by Evita's gravesite.
Later today we will be with Life Argentina working in the slums with the children again. It's heartbreaking to see the conditions but amazing to see the joy in the childrens faces. We pray for God's love and light to shine through us and also that our hearts would be changed and broken for those around us.

Buenos Aires

We arrived yesterday after almost a full 24 hours of traveling. Travelling with 30 people is quite fun and thankfully went very smooth for our first experience all together. Unfortunately after flying one 8 hour leg and then another 5 hour leg we were delayed in the air because of fog and then even had to land in Uraguay for a few hours while we waited in the plane before taking off again to Buenos Aires...therefore an extra 4hours in the plane :). The adventure has begun. Jack and Naomi were champs and slept and played for the whole time. Love those seat back entertainment systems for long flights.
The drive through the city made us so excited to be here. Naomi was fascinated by all the laundry hang drying out the tall city apartments. I can already tell it's a very warm culture and we can't wait to explore it. The weather is cold and wintery and I am so happy we packed some warm clothes. The hostel is like an old Argentina home with a courtyard and tall ceilings. We have a room for our family with two bunk beds and the rest of the team are in rooms of 4 or 8 bunk rooms. We all share a few bathrooms and there isn't much privacy so we will definitely be getting to know each other. :). It feels homey already and we have a big living room for devotions and class time which is great.
We had only been here about an hour yesterday and we walked next door to the empanadas cafe and all the guys in our team had befriended an Argentinian grandma and were sharing a meal with her practicing their Spanish and ended by praying with her. God is so good to begin the trip with experiences like this right away.
Breakfast this morning in the hostel was coffee and bread with dulce de leche jam on it. Jack and Naomi loved it and are hoping we have this every morning. :)
We begin our work with Life Argentina this afternoon working with the children in the "villas" or slums of Buenos Aires. Please be praying for us.
Gracias!!!!

1hour till take off

We are sitting in LAX waiting to board for Buenos Aires...the Concordia send off was awesome. Everyone has their passports and we are all together...all 30 of us. Great start!!! Thank you for all your prayers

only a few hours to go...

It's 8pm the night before we leave for the adventure of a lifetime. It's almost surreal. We are actually packed and our backpacks are waiting by the door. Getting the house to leave for 4 months and getting everything in order to leave the pets was about as difficult as packing. :) We had an amazing send off at church this morning. We feel covered and supported in prayer...it is such a blessing to have so many friends and family behind us in this journey. We had a tearful good bye to my parents today as well. SO happy they will be with us in just 2 months in Egypt. We meet up with the team at Concordia in just 12 hours and then after a University send off we are on our way to LAX. Buenos Aires here we come...

3 day countdown

VBS ends today...what a great week. We have had time with family and friends and have felt so supported by every message, prayer and encouragement we have received.
Please continue to pray for us this weekend as we finish packing, prepping our house, final preparations and good bye's. We have a whole mix of emotions going on right now and I can even see that the kids are experiencing it too.
Just checked the weather...Argentina is having the coldest winter in the last 40 years and Russia is having a heatwave...this makes packing a challenge :)

9 days till take off...

We are 9 days away from the adventure of a lifetime. The packing, the preparations, the visas, the lesson plans, the homeschooling plans, the immunizations and on and on can get tedious and exhausting but the 4 months ahead of us keeps us excited and pressing forward. We are about to embark on a dream opportunity that the Lord has blessed our family with.
We have the opportunity to lead a team from Concordia University this fall semester on a trip literally Around the World. We will cover 10 countries in the next 4 months along side a team of 25 college students. John will be teaching this group along with another professor and friend, Adam Lee. I will be homeschooling Jack and Naomi which I am sure will be a mixture of hard, great and everything in between. It will be new for all of us! :)

The group will spend 2-3 weeks each in Argentina, Russia, Turkey, Israel, Jordan, Egypt, Kenya, India, Indonesia and China. The dates of the trip are August 16th- December 17th, 2010. In every country we will not only be studying but experiencing the culture and trying to immerse ourselves in it. We will take part in many service projects such as teaching English in China, volunteering for an Indian orphanage, serving in the slums of Kenya and India and Biblical and historical research projects in Israel, Jordan, Kenya and Turkey.

I don't think I mentioned yet that we are doing this all for $27 per day and only taking backpacks. :) This challenge actually excites me believe it or not. But check back for later posts to see how this is actually working out. :)

The story of how God brought this amazing opportunity to us is a story for another time. (a future post) We are blown away and beyond thankful to have this chance. We greatly appreciate your prayers and we have been so blessed by the love and support we have received in the planning of this trip. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU!

We hope to update often with tales of the journey, pictures, prayer requests, and stories of what God is showing us around the world. If you click on John's Journal to the right of the blog, he will have his reflections on a seperate page. So check that out as well.