Welcome Back

Jon took us to the airport in San Francisco at 10:00 p.m. Wednesday night--our red-eye flight was supposed to leave at 12:30 a.m.  For some unknown reason it was delayed until 1:20 a.m. We got off the ground and on our way about 1:30, and landed in San Salvador a little before 9:00 a.m.  Good news was that immigration and customs lines were very short.  Guillermo was there to pick us up and we made it "home" about 10:30 a.m.

You may remember we had a not-so-good return last October when the power to the apartment had been off for an extended period.  This time we left everything turned off and unplugged hoping that it would all start up when we got back.  However, it seems that nothing is ever quite that easy here.  

We came home to a refrigerator that wouldn't cool, a truck that wouldn't start and no internet service.  Little by little things are being repaired and getting back to normal.  Elmer came by late Thursday afternoon and put more coolant in the frig.  Guillermo brought over a heavy-duty electric charger on Friday morning to get our truck battery going again and I spent an hour on the phone with our internet provider troubleshooting the internet.  As of Saturday night, all three things were working, although the internet is still spotty and slow.  

It was awesome being back at VidaNueva, hearing Pastor Steve preach and catching up with all our friends.  We have a week here at home and then three consecutive weeks of campaigns.  

Snowy Sunday in Kansas City

Four days out from my gallbladder surgery I made it out of the house for the first time to go to church on Sunday morning.  When we left, it was extremely cold and snow was starting to fall.  By the time we got out of the service, the snow had covered our car, the parking lot and the roads.  The drive home was a bit treacherous, but we drove slowly and made it safely.

A Trip to Hayward

One of the amazing things about cataract surgery is that the recovery period doesn't come with a lot of restrictions.  It's pretty much limited to don't press or rub your eyes and don't let shower water hit you directly in the eye.  Otherwise, he's free to do whatever he wants, including playing golf and running.  

We knew before we came to California that Pastor Julio and Patty were going to be in the area while we were here.  They are presenting a family conference in a Hispanic church in Hayward; so we told them we would come to one of the evening services.

Because the rush-hour traffic across the Dumbarton Bridge between Sunnyvale and Hayward can be crazy, we left about 3:00 p.m. and arrived with no major delays.  We were able to explore the city and walk through the rather quaint, but almost empty (more shops were out of business than were open) stores.  The city hall and other government buildings were quite impressive, though.

We also had time to drive to Garin Regional Park and do a bit of walking.  We weren't dressed for hiking, so we didn't wander far from the parking lot.  These two pictures don't do justice to the scenery--the rolling hills were much greener than they appear.  

Iglesia Bautista La Roca wasn't too far from the park so we were one of the first to arrive.  Pastor Julio and Patty are in the area all week talking about how to have strong marriages and families.

We felt right at home in the Hispanic service!  Pastor Julio even played the piano for one of the hymns we sang.

After the service we went out to eat with Pastor Carlos, his daughter, Rebeca, (his wife, Isa, is battling cancer and her counts were too low for her to come to the service), Pastor Julio and Patty.  Carlos and his wife are both Salvadorans who worshipped at our church in San Salvador before moving to California to plant their current church. 

Bogota Campaign, Part 2

The whole team was in town and ready to be picked up by the bus on Sunday morning.  Iglesia Bautista Videa Nueva, Bogota is no longer meeting in the Holiday Inn hotel, instead they have their own place and we were all excited to see it.  

It was a great time of worship with people from the church, Costa Ricans and Salvadorans.  Randy Adams preached and David translated.  

We even celebrated Father's Day with them!

Secretary for a Week

It's been a long, long time since I worked as a secretary in an office, but I'm hoping it's like riding a bicycle.  The only problem is that this time I'm communicating in Spanish.   

Unfortunately, over the past two weeks both of the church secretaries left and Pastor Julio's wife, Patty, in addition to her regular duties as the administrator of New Life Christian School, was serving as the receptionist and "switchboard" operator.   Another one of the church employees has been helping out between her regular duties, as well.  However, Pastor Julio and Patty left on Wednesday for nine days in the states.  They are visiting their daughters in New Orleans and he is also going to preach at a missions conference in Texas. 

On Monday I spent the morning "training" with Patty.  She was especially concerned about having someone in the office to receive tuition payments from New Life parents.  It seems they come to the office various days and times to make their payments.  She also showed me how to answer and transfer calls.  Using the phone will not be the problem, instead, the challenge for me will be understanding the callers.  

Today is my second day and, so far, there haven't been any big disasters (as far as I know.)  This will be the most challenging task I've had in the last several years!  As I told Patty, I think I'm going to be "just a little better than nobody at all."  Please pray that I will be a help and not a hindrance.

Hayden is Here--Day 2

We walked to the hotel for the  9:00 a.m. service and Hayden ran into more friends from his last two mission trips--that boy is popular.  After the service, Hayden and I walked back to the apartment; we planned to go to the grocery store.  Unfortunately, we didn't realize that Stephen had the keys to the truck.  So, instead, we walked back to the hotel and waited for Stephen to finish playing for the 11:30 service and then ate lunch at Olive Garden.

We probably watched a baseball game in the afternoon; I don't really remember!  Then David and Maritza game by and we drove to Los Planes de Rendero to introduce Hayden to all th ings "corn."  He was a good sport and tried everything we put in front of him, although the crazy corn with mayo, mustard, black sauce and cheese was a little too much.

Later, Koky and Ena joined the five of us for pupusas at El Atico.  He definitely like the pupusas and the great view!  Of course, the company was outstanding, as well.  

Saturday and Sunday in Bogota

On Saturday morning we checked out of the Holiday Inn.  Bayron took the bus to the hotel to meet us.  Although we had seen it in action all week and we got our first taste of their mass transportation (Transmilenio) when we rode it to the apartment with Bayron.  We didn't become experts in the time we were there, but it with exclusive driving lanes, it was very efficient.  We also found it to be clean and safe.  A couple of times, we took a "normal" bus and found those to be the same.

Bayron and Terisa have a studio apartment, but they were very gracious hosts and offered us their bedroom.  We didn't spend a lot of time in the apartment because there was so much to see and do.  Saturday afternoon we went to Centro Comercial Titan, one of the largest malls in the city.

  
A big group of us (David and his family, Karen and Gabrielle, Bayron, Teresa and Marcos, Nadia and Pamela and us) ate at Sopas and Postres--typical Colombian food.  I ate Ajiaco, a soup made with chicken, three varieties of potatoes, herbs and a piece of corn on the cob.  It was delicious.  Stephen had some of the famous Colombia beef.  

Sunday morning we rode the bus to church--it was so exciting to have 13 visitors, fruit from the campaign.  The pastors were thrilled that one of the visitors brought his whole family.  It was an awesome time of worship with Gabrielle leading the singing, Alex on the guitar, Bayron on the bass and Stephen on the piano.

Sunday afternoon we took the bus to Usaquen, an area of Bogota where artisans set up their booths around the central park.  There were many street performers (musicians, mimes, comics, dancers, and more.)  We walked through and ate at Hacienda Santa Barbara, a colonial style hacienda that is now a shopping mall.  Alex, Normita, Paola, Nadia and Pamela met us for lunch.  

Ableas--a delicious, typical Colombian dessert! 

Nadia, Pamela and me

Stephen and Bayron finished off the evening playing cards--cribbage and golf.  It was a great day spent with great friends.  Loved seeing another part of the beautiful city of Bogota.

Sunday morning . . . . a new hymn

We really enjoyed the Sunday morning worship at Peninsula Bible Church. We sang the hymn "O Great God" . . . . love the depth of meaning in it's words:

O great God of highest heav’n occupy my lowly heart;
Own it all and reign supreme; conquer every rebel pow’r
Let no vice or sin remain that resists Your holy war.
You have loved and purchased me, make me Yours forever more.

I was blinded by my sin, had no ears to hear Your voice;
Did not know Your love within, had no taste for heaven’s joys.
Then Your Spirit gave me life, opened up Your word to me
Through the gospel of Your Son gave me endless hope and peace.

Help me now to live a life that’s dependent on Your grace;
Keep my heart and guard my soul from the evils that I face.
You are worthy to be praised with my every thought and deed;
O great God of highest heav’n glorify Your Name through me.

Mother's Day 2014

Spending Mother's Day with my children is something that happens very rarely.  In fact, the last two dates were May 10, 2004, when we were all together for Jon's college graduation, and last year, May 12, 2013, when we were all at Daniel and Shannon's together.  Yes, I'd say every 9 years qualifies as "rarely."

Yesterday it was back to a normal Mother's Day with a Skype call from Daniel and the kids and a phone call from Jon.  So grateful for technology.

Nevertheless, it was a great day which started off at Iglesia Bautista Vida Nueva, Crowne Plaza.

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Stephen plays the piano for the 9:00 am and 11:30 am service.  In between the services, I usually go for a walk (always trying to get my 10,000 steps in.)  Yesterday, I snapped some pictures of the cloud covered volcano and beautiful flowers around the hotel.

We finished off our our morning at church with this photo.  As I posted on Facebook, Stephen almost always has on running shirts and running shirts have reflective logos.  Therefore, it looks like his heart is emitting a bright light!  I just haven't figured out a way to block it without looking silly!  

We started a new Mother's Day tradition by having friends over for dinner and a movie.  We love spending time with David and Maritza Aguilar and

they had never seen "Nacho Libre."

Of course, we had Mexican food--chicken tortilla soup, guacamole and pineapple/mango salsa.  Perfect ending to a great Mother's Day.