Thursday, February 26, 2009

Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Sickness has hit again.... But we are all well, now!

The fever virus hit Christian on Friday night and lasted until Sunday evening. Preston was struck with the stomach virus on Sunday afternoon. Thankfully, his illness was short lived. But to follow policy, they had to stay in for 24 hours to ensure that they were completely well. They both missed school on Monday. We were all back on track by Tuesday.

Today we have started having sessions on Storying, in which stories of the Bible are told orally. Sometimes this is out of necessity because a population is illiterate, but other times storying seems to work better at getting people's attention as they hear the story told. We will be having sessions on Storying through Friday. We have also been practicing Storying techniques in a smaller group on Tuesday evenings.

Tonight we will be having a dinner with our regional team at the home of our Regional Leader here in Richmond. This should be a good time of gathering together.

Friday, February 20, 2009

The First "Shot Day"

Today was our first day for immunizations. It was not a day that Preston had looked forward to, but everyone did well. Charlotte had to get two shots, I had to get one, and all the children had one each. They were all very brave and did not cry. The whole immunization process went fast. We were in and out in a matter of about 5 minutes. After having shots, we decided it was a great day to go to Krispy Kreme! Between the five of us, we ate 16 doughnuts! It was amazing!

This week has gone by quickly. It's hard to believe that we have been here almost 4 weeks! We are enjoying building friendships, and getting to know so many people who have a heart for seeing the world reached for Christ. This week our sessions have been on doctrine; and training for discipling national Christians and training them to lead others to Christ and start churches, and in turn training them to start new churches and train leaders.

Tomorrow we have plans to go and visit my Aunt and Unlce - Fonceil and David Blake who live about 30 minutes away in Mechanicsville, VA. It should be a great day of rest and relaxation as we enjoy some family time.

Friday, February 13, 2009

A Good Week

This has been a good week in many ways. We have all been well and have been able to attend all the sessions. The weather has been unseasonably warm and has been very enjoyable. The sessions have been inspiring and have challenged us. The sessions have emphasized church planting and we have heard messages relating to the church plants in Acts. We have also heard true stories from missionaries on the field. As we hear what God is doing all over the world, it inspires us to go and tell. It also helps us to realize how at times the work may be slow which could lead to discouragement. Please, please keep us in your prayers. We NEED your prayers. This task that God is leading us to do is not something we can accomplish on our own strength.

Monday, February 9, 2009

Dr. Reverend Most High K Elliot Mullis

Kris Mullis is the new pastor of First Baptist Church Elba. This is something that has been on the top of my prayer list for some time. I believe that Kris will lead this church to do great and wonderful things for the Lord. I am sorry to say that now that Kris is on that side of the Pea River I can no longer be his friend. Oh wait! - I don't live in Enterprise anymore - so I can still be his friend.
Pray that God will bless this church and their new pastor.

Saturday, February 7, 2009

The Week in Review

This week has had its ups and downs. Christian had to miss three days of school this week due to being sick with the flu. Therefore, Charlotte and I had to switch out on going to sessions so one of us could be home with her. She was able to go to school on Thursday and Friday.

Dr. Rankin spoke three days this week on the subject of spiritual warfare. We know that spiritual warfare is very real and we know that Satan will attack us as we strive to serve the Lord as He has called us to do. Dr. Rankin shared a lot of true stories of how some have fallen as Satan has attacked them, but also encouraged us with examples of how so many missionaries have remained true to the Lord in spite of hardships and struggles. We must be constantly put on the armor of the Lord to be on guard against Satan's tactics so that we can stand firm.

Yesterday we had a regional meeting with everyone who will be in the Middle America Region. We will be spending a lot of time with some of these families, as several will also be with us during language school. We have also begun listening to Spanish CD's to become more familiar with hearing the spoken language. We are required to listen to 15 minutes of Spanish per day while we are here.

Today, we basically have the day off as we don't have any meetings to attend. We had planned to go to Washington D.C. today for the day with two other families since we are only an hour and a half away. However, Preston woke up this morning with a fever of 102, so needless to stay we had to cancel our plans. We are all a little disappointed because today is a beautiful day and the temperature is supposed to be in the high 60's which is much warmer than the rest of the week has been. Hopefully, we will have another time to go and sight see in D.C.

Monday, February 2, 2009

Sick Child at FPO

As you have probably figured out by some of our posts, we are living in very close quarters during these two months of FPO. As a result of this, we have seen quite of few sick people - mainly children. This morning, we had a sick child of our own. There are three families living in our building, and each family has at least one sick child, and they all have the same symptoms - sore throat, fever and chills. Christian is the one we have sick. She still had a fever tonight, and the rule is the child has to go 24 hours without fever before going to school. She missed today, and Charlotte stayed home with her. They will have to stay in tomorrow, also. Hopefully, the other children won't get what she's got.

The weather has been very mild the last couple of days with temps in the 60's. Now the weather has drastically changed, and there is a chance of snow tonight. Tomorrow will be a very cold day! Let's just say, I'm glad God called us to Costa Rica.