1~ tomorrow we will be moving into our possible home, while our friends who live in it currently will be out. WE WILL BE ALONE (but we will have other missionaries that we can call but we will be living by ourselves) pray that we won't be all huddled up in a corner please!
2~ praise!! we got our Colombian ID's!!
3~ tomorrow us and some team members will haul all 27 bags to the place where we are staying for this week.
Tuesday, April 29, 2014
Monday, April 28, 2014
Prayer requests
1~ we would be able to learn Spanish quickly.
2~ we MIGHT have a house to live in, but some friends are living in it now, so we would have to wait till middle of June to be settled in our own home if that works out. I want to live in our own house now, but please pray that God will give me some patience.
3~ tomorrow we get our Colombian ID's, so pray that goes smoothly.
Sunday, April 27, 2014
Prayer requests
1~ praise!!! we found a place for our church to meet at and met lots of really sweet people.
2~ tomorrow we have to get our blood drawn! yikes! please pray that all goes well, with my biggest fear being shots.
3~ i would be able to continue friendships with friends back in the States.
2~ tomorrow we have to get our blood drawn! yikes! please pray that all goes well, with my biggest fear being shots.
3~ i would be able to continue friendships with friends back in the States.
Saturday, April 26, 2014
Prayer requests
Hey there!
I have a new idea. Every Friday I will update a full long blog spot, but the other days I will just list 3 prayer requests for the day. Starting today i'm just going to list 3 prayer requests for today.
1~ we are figuring out where we want to have church, and we may have to have it at the house where we are staying, and then we would have to move all 27 bags. pray that we will find a conference center to host our church.
2~ i would make friends
3~ we would all have a little grace towards each other, living all in the same room. we are all stepping on each others toes.
I have a new idea. Every Friday I will update a full long blog spot, but the other days I will just list 3 prayer requests for the day. Starting today i'm just going to list 3 prayer requests for today.
1~ we are figuring out where we want to have church, and we may have to have it at the house where we are staying, and then we would have to move all 27 bags. pray that we will find a conference center to host our church.
2~ i would make friends
3~ we would all have a little grace towards each other, living all in the same room. we are all stepping on each others toes.
Friday, April 25, 2014
We finally made it to Bogota!!
WE ARE HERE
Praise the Lord we made it! We arrived with ALL of our bags. It's totally amazing. Wednesday night, our last night, our church prayed for us and we said final goodbyes to sweet friends. My dad had to finish building a house, i know, crazy right?, and finish packing so he stayed in Memphis. My mom, Brook and I headed down with our carry-on bags to Southaven, MS. To meet at Mi Peublo for dinner with my mom's side of the family. We loaned a 15 passenger van, from our church for our 27 bags, that my dad would bring the next morning, to the airport. We arrived at 9:30 with my grandparents, and met my dad there at the airport. My dad brought along one of his close friends to help him. We had my dad, his friend, my grandfather, my mom, a man from the airport, and myself helping with the luggage. It still took us one hour to get it from the van, to the checking point, & then check all of it. My dad bought two huge boxes, that he and myself packed IN the Memphis airport. Crazy, i know. After we finally packed everything, and all of the luggage was checked, we said goodbye to my grandparents. It was especially hard saying goodbye to them, because we see them all the time, so that's one more thing that's going to be different. Once we wiped most of the tears away, we hauled our carry-ons through security and settled into our gate. Thankfully, our flight didn't take off till 11:30, so we had a little time. With all of our 27 bags plus our carry-ons we flew to Atlanta. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. The first thing we did was find the nearest Chick-Fil-a. You never know how good something is till you don't have it. Soon we headed to our gate. Being the only Americans in the gate was a little scary, but we are just going to have to get used to it. The take off was oh so scary. There is no turning back now! But i was soon relaxed reading about the royal tour and Kate!! The flight from Atlanta is only 4 hours, so its not bad at all. As soon as we got off the plane it really was the most weirdest, shocking, intense feeling. All the signs were in Spanish, all the people were Colombians. Once we finally got to customs none of the people spoke English. It took 5 minutes to say, ''we are here for work.'' The lady was very kind, but she just didn't speak any English. As i said before all of our bags arrived with us! What a relief!! Transporting 27 bags plus our carry-ons, just ourselves was NOT so fun. After some hard work, some gentlemen came and offered to help, and as you can guess we gladly excepted. We soon saw some old friends who we knew from Memphis, who are missionaries down here, (not with MTW). O my gosh it was so so good to see a face that we knew. Our team leader and one other leader from MTW came to help us too, so that was good as well!! We were sooo thirsty after all of that, but our sweet missionary friends got us safe bottled water & some sandwiches, knowing that we would be thirsty & hungry. They had ordered van to come & get our 27 bags. We rode with our friends, because there was NO room for us in that van!!! We are now staying with some other MTW missionary family, who we just met last night for the first time. They have an eleven year old girl and an eight year old son. We haven't met their kids yet, because they were asleep last night, and had school this morning, and then had other stuff after school, so we won't meet them till later. We had lunch at this place called Crepes & Waffels. I DID EAT THERE! and it was pretty good. I had some type of cheese (it wasn't cheddar, because they don't have that here) with peeta bread. After lunch we went to the local grocery store. It was so interesting seeing how much more things cost down here. Everything is at least double the price than what you would normally find in the States.
at lunch Brook got a grape smoothie/drink
my meal, WHICH I DID EAT
our view from lunch
Praise the Lord we made it! We arrived with ALL of our bags. It's totally amazing. Wednesday night, our last night, our church prayed for us and we said final goodbyes to sweet friends. My dad had to finish building a house, i know, crazy right?, and finish packing so he stayed in Memphis. My mom, Brook and I headed down with our carry-on bags to Southaven, MS. To meet at Mi Peublo for dinner with my mom's side of the family. We loaned a 15 passenger van, from our church for our 27 bags, that my dad would bring the next morning, to the airport. We arrived at 9:30 with my grandparents, and met my dad there at the airport. My dad brought along one of his close friends to help him. We had my dad, his friend, my grandfather, my mom, a man from the airport, and myself helping with the luggage. It still took us one hour to get it from the van, to the checking point, & then check all of it. My dad bought two huge boxes, that he and myself packed IN the Memphis airport. Crazy, i know. After we finally packed everything, and all of the luggage was checked, we said goodbye to my grandparents. It was especially hard saying goodbye to them, because we see them all the time, so that's one more thing that's going to be different. Once we wiped most of the tears away, we hauled our carry-ons through security and settled into our gate. Thankfully, our flight didn't take off till 11:30, so we had a little time. With all of our 27 bags plus our carry-ons we flew to Atlanta. We had a 3 hour layover in Atlanta. The first thing we did was find the nearest Chick-Fil-a. You never know how good something is till you don't have it. Soon we headed to our gate. Being the only Americans in the gate was a little scary, but we are just going to have to get used to it. The take off was oh so scary. There is no turning back now! But i was soon relaxed reading about the royal tour and Kate!! The flight from Atlanta is only 4 hours, so its not bad at all. As soon as we got off the plane it really was the most weirdest, shocking, intense feeling. All the signs were in Spanish, all the people were Colombians. Once we finally got to customs none of the people spoke English. It took 5 minutes to say, ''we are here for work.'' The lady was very kind, but she just didn't speak any English. As i said before all of our bags arrived with us! What a relief!! Transporting 27 bags plus our carry-ons, just ourselves was NOT so fun. After some hard work, some gentlemen came and offered to help, and as you can guess we gladly excepted. We soon saw some old friends who we knew from Memphis, who are missionaries down here, (not with MTW). O my gosh it was so so good to see a face that we knew. Our team leader and one other leader from MTW came to help us too, so that was good as well!! We were sooo thirsty after all of that, but our sweet missionary friends got us safe bottled water & some sandwiches, knowing that we would be thirsty & hungry. They had ordered van to come & get our 27 bags. We rode with our friends, because there was NO room for us in that van!!! We are now staying with some other MTW missionary family, who we just met last night for the first time. They have an eleven year old girl and an eight year old son. We haven't met their kids yet, because they were asleep last night, and had school this morning, and then had other stuff after school, so we won't meet them till later. We had lunch at this place called Crepes & Waffels. I DID EAT THERE! and it was pretty good. I had some type of cheese (it wasn't cheddar, because they don't have that here) with peeta bread. After lunch we went to the local grocery store. It was so interesting seeing how much more things cost down here. Everything is at least double the price than what you would normally find in the States.
Brook's meal (a waffle )
Monday, March 17, 2014
I HAVEN'T POSTED IN FOREVER
I'm so terribly sorry, we have been so busy these past weeks. Well, we managed to get our visas and got the green light to buy our tickets, which is HUGE. We learned we don't have to be at 100 percent to go to language school. I spent half of my spring break in Brandon, MS with my little sister spending time with our cousins. The other half my family and I traveled to Atlanta, GA to get visas. While we were there we met up with my dad's side of the family to say goodbye. Saturday morning we headed to the MTW office. When ever any of their missionaries are about to go to the field, everyone at the office gathers around and prays for them. It's special and sweet to see everyone come gather around and pray for you. People should do it more often. Saturday night we traveled back home, we are trying to be at our church every Sunday. For some random reason my laptop ism't letting me download photos, but i'll try to post some tomorrow. If you want me talk about anything special, like MTW, Bogota, me & my family anything please leave a comment. Please keep us in your prayers!
I'm so terribly sorry, we have been so busy these past weeks. Well, we managed to get our visas and got the green light to buy our tickets, which is HUGE. We learned we don't have to be at 100 percent to go to language school. I spent half of my spring break in Brandon, MS with my little sister spending time with our cousins. The other half my family and I traveled to Atlanta, GA to get visas. While we were there we met up with my dad's side of the family to say goodbye. Saturday morning we headed to the MTW office. When ever any of their missionaries are about to go to the field, everyone at the office gathers around and prays for them. It's special and sweet to see everyone come gather around and pray for you. People should do it more often. Saturday night we traveled back home, we are trying to be at our church every Sunday. For some random reason my laptop ism't letting me download photos, but i'll try to post some tomorrow. If you want me talk about anything special, like MTW, Bogota, me & my family anything please leave a comment. Please keep us in your prayers!
Thursday, February 27, 2014
THURSDAYS
Sooooooo sorry I didn't post anything yesterday, but it was a crazy day. Today is day 3 of the missions week. Today I'll be taking about Shiloh's Shelter for missions week. Today is my youth leader's birthday! So me and my best friend surprised her. Hayden is the best youth leader anyone could ask for, & I'm so thankful that God put her in my life! Now I'm going to be talking about Shiloh's Shelter in India. This business has not officially stared yet. This is my uncle's sister & her family, Shiloh being his niece. They are missionaries to India, and they have been there two years. Shiloh is starting her own business. It's called Shiloh's Shelter. her website. It's a place for baby girls & girls to come to as a safe place. Click here to see a video about Shiloh's Shelter. Hopefully, you should be able to tap/click that link & go see a slideshow for Shiloh's Shelter. Anyway, when Indian women get married, the bride's family has to pay a ton of money to the groom's family, so girls are considered burdens. Most girls don't even make it to age 10.
Last summer their family spent 6 months in the U.S. My mom, me, and Brook met up with Shiloh & her mom. She really inspired me & helped me, because she was my age when they moved to India. They returned to India right after Christmas, around the time we left for Belgium. Please be praying for Shiloh's Shelter and their family.
Shiloh & her family
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Tuesday, February 25, 2014
TUESDAY
Honestly, tonight i really just didn't feel like blogging. And came close to it, but thankfully i did. Continuing missions week i'm am going to be talking about a dear family, the one i mentioned yesterday. This family isn't missionaries out of the country, but they are in Memphis. First off i want to give you their blog link, so you can hear more about their story. here's their blog, you should read it, it's pretty inspiring. I mentioned this yesterday, but we have known them for 11 yrs. We met at our old church our old church's website I'm not quite sure how we heard about Fellowship, but we were members there for 7 yrs. The Ottinger family is a family we will never be able to forget. Mark & Tona have been married for i think 16 yrs now, and they have four children, all adopted. Yesterday i told you how old they were & where they are from. They started their adoption process in 2000. Not knowing about this, a couple months later, they received a letter saying congrats on baby Camden. Some random people supported everything, even the trip to South Korea. Still today, they don't know. Isn't that the most amazing thing you have ever heard of ?! And Mia, ahhhh she is one of my best friends and one of the sweetest people i know. She was adopted FOUR MONTHS AFTER CAMDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They had a 10 month baby boy & now a four month baby girl! That to me is incredible how they got through those first few years. Mallie is Brook's best buddy. She was adopted at age 3. We were there at the airport when she was brought home from China. I can remember the happiness on their faces when they got to meet their new baby\big sister. Dax, the youngest was adopted before Mallie. Save the best for the last, aww little Dax. He was adopted in 2004 & had a liver transplant in 2008 because of liver failure due to being born with congenital CMV. He was diagnosed with liver cancer at the time the transplant, but has been cancer free since his transplant!!!!! We thank God that he is still here with us, he's a precious gift from the Lord.He is now healthy & happy. DAX ISN'T THE LAST, SURPRISE THEY ARE ADOPTING FROM CHINA AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay, they are adopting another little girl from China! Just like Mallie. Her name is Mae Yosell. I don't know that much about her, but if you read their blog, which you should, she talks about it. They still need to finish raising support before they can go to China. Their goal is to raise $35,000, & they have raised $26,000 already. If you can give please do, it would mean sooooo much to the Ottinger family. Please do what you can to help this family. If you would like to give, you can give through their blog, (it's linked above). If you can't give that's ok, but please be praying for them that they raise the support they need.
Mia
Mallie
Dax
Honestly, tonight i really just didn't feel like blogging. And came close to it, but thankfully i did. Continuing missions week i'm am going to be talking about a dear family, the one i mentioned yesterday. This family isn't missionaries out of the country, but they are in Memphis. First off i want to give you their blog link, so you can hear more about their story. here's their blog, you should read it, it's pretty inspiring. I mentioned this yesterday, but we have known them for 11 yrs. We met at our old church our old church's website I'm not quite sure how we heard about Fellowship, but we were members there for 7 yrs. The Ottinger family is a family we will never be able to forget. Mark & Tona have been married for i think 16 yrs now, and they have four children, all adopted. Yesterday i told you how old they were & where they are from. They started their adoption process in 2000. Not knowing about this, a couple months later, they received a letter saying congrats on baby Camden. Some random people supported everything, even the trip to South Korea. Still today, they don't know. Isn't that the most amazing thing you have ever heard of ?! And Mia, ahhhh she is one of my best friends and one of the sweetest people i know. She was adopted FOUR MONTHS AFTER CAMDEN!!!!!!!!!!!!!! They had a 10 month baby boy & now a four month baby girl! That to me is incredible how they got through those first few years. Mallie is Brook's best buddy. She was adopted at age 3. We were there at the airport when she was brought home from China. I can remember the happiness on their faces when they got to meet their new baby\big sister. Dax, the youngest was adopted before Mallie. Save the best for the last, aww little Dax. He was adopted in 2004 & had a liver transplant in 2008 because of liver failure due to being born with congenital CMV. He was diagnosed with liver cancer at the time the transplant, but has been cancer free since his transplant!!!!! We thank God that he is still here with us, he's a precious gift from the Lord.He is now healthy & happy. DAX ISN'T THE LAST, SURPRISE THEY ARE ADOPTING FROM CHINA AGAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yay, they are adopting another little girl from China! Just like Mallie. Her name is Mae Yosell. I don't know that much about her, but if you read their blog, which you should, she talks about it. They still need to finish raising support before they can go to China. Their goal is to raise $35,000, & they have raised $26,000 already. If you can give please do, it would mean sooooo much to the Ottinger family. Please do what you can to help this family. If you would like to give, you can give through their blog, (it's linked above). If you can't give that's ok, but please be praying for them that they raise the support they need.
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| Camden |
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| Mark & Tona |
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| All of the Ottinger kids a couple years ago |
Monday, February 24, 2014
MONDAYS :(:
Normally, Mondays are the worst, but this Monday is ok. You will see why down below. This week i'm going to do a missions week on the blog. Talking about other missionaries, prayer requests, and just how YOU can help people all over the world. I will still be talking about our day to day life & putting pictures up, but i'll be focused on missions week. It's just gonna be for this one week. DAY 1 OF MISSIONS WEEK
First, i'm going to tell you about two of our future team members. Their names are Ross & Angela Floyd. here is their blog, if you would like more hear more about them, which i strongly recommend The Floyds have seen first hand darkness that consumes the people of Latin America and have felt God's call to go. Ross' call was confirmed through a nine month-month mission term in Lima, Peru, where he helped coordinate short term teams and worked with a orphanage. Angela has participated in numerous mission trips around the world since age fourteen, but God has grown her particular passion for Latin America. Both natives to Georgia, Ross and Angela met in Valdosta, Ga., while in collage and were married in 2007. Since then, they have worked with church plants and a revitalization ministry in Atlanta. During this time, they fell in love with living and serving in an urban setting. The Floyds serve with MTW in Bogota, Colombia, a densely populated setting. They coordinate short-term mission teams and handle administrative tasks. They are also involved in outreach and discipleship with young adults, helping to grow the local church. Their interest in music, tattoo, and art subcultures are key aspects of reaching young people in Bogota. Please pray for them and for the name of Christ to be exalted in Bogota and to the ends of the world.
Now more about the day. Today we did some school, and then we spent the atfernoon at some dear friends that we have known for 11 yrs. Tomorrow they are going to be my point, for missions week. They have four sweet children, all adopted, Camden (13) from South Korea, Mia (12) from Memphis,TN, Mallie (10) from China, Dax (9) from Memphis,TN, and a little girl on the way from China. Their story is amazing.
Here is Mallie, Brook's best buddy
(this picture is not from today) but this is how they surprised everyone
Normally, Mondays are the worst, but this Monday is ok. You will see why down below. This week i'm going to do a missions week on the blog. Talking about other missionaries, prayer requests, and just how YOU can help people all over the world. I will still be talking about our day to day life & putting pictures up, but i'll be focused on missions week. It's just gonna be for this one week. DAY 1 OF MISSIONS WEEK
First, i'm going to tell you about two of our future team members. Their names are Ross & Angela Floyd. here is their blog, if you would like more hear more about them, which i strongly recommend The Floyds have seen first hand darkness that consumes the people of Latin America and have felt God's call to go. Ross' call was confirmed through a nine month-month mission term in Lima, Peru, where he helped coordinate short term teams and worked with a orphanage. Angela has participated in numerous mission trips around the world since age fourteen, but God has grown her particular passion for Latin America. Both natives to Georgia, Ross and Angela met in Valdosta, Ga., while in collage and were married in 2007. Since then, they have worked with church plants and a revitalization ministry in Atlanta. During this time, they fell in love with living and serving in an urban setting. The Floyds serve with MTW in Bogota, Colombia, a densely populated setting. They coordinate short-term mission teams and handle administrative tasks. They are also involved in outreach and discipleship with young adults, helping to grow the local church. Their interest in music, tattoo, and art subcultures are key aspects of reaching young people in Bogota. Please pray for them and for the name of Christ to be exalted in Bogota and to the ends of the world.
Now more about the day. Today we did some school, and then we spent the atfernoon at some dear friends that we have known for 11 yrs. Tomorrow they are going to be my point, for missions week. They have four sweet children, all adopted, Camden (13) from South Korea, Mia (12) from Memphis,TN, Mallie (10) from China, Dax (9) from Memphis,TN, and a little girl on the way from China. Their story is amazing.
Sunday, February 23, 2014
Sundays
SUNDAY FUNDAY
Today at church we were commissioned. We stood in front of the whole church. They had us do it at both services. Today there was a missionary from Dubai preaching, like mentioned yesterday, it's missions week. He mentioned us a whole lot in his sermon, which was fun. our church's website, if you want to learn more The man standing next to us is one of our pasters, Ed Norton.
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Here we are standing in front of our church
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They prayed for us
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My parents in front of the church
My grandparents & my aunt came to see us, and after church got lunch at Swankys. It was great to see & hangout with them. After lunch we came home and just relaxed, and that was nice. 2 hrs. later i had to go to small groups. Small groups happens every Sunday night. You can learn more about small groups in our church's website above. I love talking & hanging out with everyone, & eating great food. After small groups we all go outside to wait for parents to pick us up, & while we are waiting, we always play this game gaga ball. It's in this pit (not like a underground pit) with a ball & you hit to hit people's knee's and below to get them out, It's a fun game.
Today at church we were commissioned. We stood in front of the whole church. They had us do it at both services. Today there was a missionary from Dubai preaching, like mentioned yesterday, it's missions week. He mentioned us a whole lot in his sermon, which was fun. our church's website, if you want to learn more The man standing next to us is one of our pasters, Ed Norton.
My grandparents & my aunt came to see us, and after church got lunch at Swankys. It was great to see & hangout with them. After lunch we came home and just relaxed, and that was nice. 2 hrs. later i had to go to small groups. Small groups happens every Sunday night. You can learn more about small groups in our church's website above. I love talking & hanging out with everyone, & eating great food. After small groups we all go outside to wait for parents to pick us up, & while we are waiting, we always play this game gaga ball. It's in this pit (not like a underground pit) with a ball & you hit to hit people's knee's and below to get them out, It's a fun game.
Saturday, February 22, 2014
Party rockers in the house tonight
PARTY ROCKERS
Last night I had my belated birthday party. It was soooooo much fun! I got some great gifts from some great people & had fun eating, hanging out, & of course prank calling. We watched Tim Hawkins & the One Direction movie. I wanted to watch the Royal Wedding, put no one let me :( ! For desert we had a cookie pie.
This is me & one of my dear friends Kate
HACKED SELFIES :)
i'm trying to be artsy
So, if you can tell this is my ''cookie pie''
Today after the game we had lunch at Panera. It was so great catching up with these girls. I would say other than a few girls these girls are my very best friends. Even though we didn't win, we had a great time. The score was 18 (other team) to 1 (us). But, i'm still really proud of them for trying their best. Here i have some pictures from the birthday party & the lunch from today. Sorry, i couldn't take pictures of the game. Their coach & our youth leader has her birthday next week, so we surprised her by giving her a gift card & some cake. Tonight they are having a missions dinner, because it's missions week at our church. I can't take pictures there:( Anyways, since it's missions week, we are going to stand up in front of our whole church & one of the elders is going to pray for us.
Last night I had my belated birthday party. It was soooooo much fun! I got some great gifts from some great people & had fun eating, hanging out, & of course prank calling. We watched Tim Hawkins & the One Direction movie. I wanted to watch the Royal Wedding, put no one let me :( ! For desert we had a cookie pie.
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| Our awesome youth leader enjoying her cake |
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| The cookie pie for her birthday |
Friday, February 21, 2014
first post!
Friday night birthday party\Bible Study Lunch
Tonight i'm having a belated birthday party, since my birthday was in Belgium.
We are just having some snacks, cookie pie, & popcorn. I'm having 6 of my closest friends over to spend the night. Last year I had a party at someone else's house, & we went swimming in their indoor pool, & even spent the night! This year we are lowering the standards! Even though it won't be exactly 5 star, we will still have fun & enjoy this sweet time. This morning\afternoon I guess, we had lunch with some sweet CBS ladies(Community Bible Study). It's a wonderful bible study for women & children of all ages, & goes through the books of the bible. We have met & made some great friendships & people. This is how we discovered Independent Presbyterian Church
(our church). CBS was meeting at IPC & we went to a service & we were hooked. We had lunch at On the Boarder. I got a really cute scarf from one of sweet ladies for a late birthday present. I'll show you it in the pictures from tonight. Tomorrow morning i will try & post some birthday pictures.
Brook is enjoying her steak taco
& her fries (so did everyone else!)
BEST CAKE EVER (made by one of the ladies)
Tonight i'm having a belated birthday party, since my birthday was in Belgium.
We are just having some snacks, cookie pie, & popcorn. I'm having 6 of my closest friends over to spend the night. Last year I had a party at someone else's house, & we went swimming in their indoor pool, & even spent the night! This year we are lowering the standards! Even though it won't be exactly 5 star, we will still have fun & enjoy this sweet time. This morning\afternoon I guess, we had lunch with some sweet CBS ladies(Community Bible Study). It's a wonderful bible study for women & children of all ages, & goes through the books of the bible. We have met & made some great friendships & people. This is how we discovered Independent Presbyterian Church
(our church). CBS was meeting at IPC & we went to a service & we were hooked. We had lunch at On the Boarder. I got a really cute scarf from one of sweet ladies for a late birthday present. I'll show you it in the pictures from tonight. Tomorrow morning i will try & post some birthday pictures.
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