So, we've looked at something like 15 open homes this past weekend. What an experience that was! It's weird to walk into someone's home and poke in all their cupboards and rooms. You certainly get a different sense of who people are and what their houses are like.

After a fulll day of house hunting on Saturday we were feeling tired and quite discouraged. Sunday was a bit better and we managed to find our dream house....one we could walk straight into and make a home. But guess what....it's about $150,000 out of our price range!!! That was depressing :-( We did find another possibility. It was an okay location and a good price and didn't need much doing to it but now that I'm investigating the local schools around I don't know how suitable it will be.

One thing I found interesting was the "feeling" I got from certain houses. One was a particularly grungy place but there was an overhwleming feeling that violence had occurred there. It was sad. Then we visited 2 houses owned by hindu believers. They had their prayer closets full of gods and their red flag outside symbolising their place of blood sacrifice. One felt particulalry oppressive and left us both with thumping hearts and pounding headaches. I know that God is bigger than all of that. "Greater is He that is in me than he that is in the world".

So it was an interesting experience. This week we are off to make contact with a couple of land agents to see what they can do for us. We continue to pray.

Nige and I are about to embark on, perhaps, our most expensive venture. Tomorrow we fly to Auckland to spend 2 1/2 weeks, looking around at houses and schools for 2007. Our dream is to buy our very first home but we have never done anything like this before so feel quite unprepared. I think we will need a help guide :-) We are armed with a deposit and a preapproved mortgage so now it's shopping time.

Please pray for us in these next couple of weeks. We need to find the right house, in the right area and for the right price. It all seems very difficult as the area we are looking in is quite an expensive one. But we know that God has gotten us into this adventure and He will provide for us. I'll keep you up to date with how we go.

FRIENDS

Now I do love F.R.I.E.N.D.S. I've managed to watch pretty much every single episode they ever made and have laughed my way through the whole lot of them. But they're not the friends I'm talking about. On Sunday I remembered the friends I have in Ecuador.

At church this weekend there was a reunion for those who were in the youth group in the 1970's. Now that wasn't me might I add....I was only 2 years old when some of the started!!!! During the offering time they played a powerpoint show of their friends who had since passed away. Some had died really young. As in any montage like that NZers tend to play, as background music, "Friends" by Micheal W. Smith. That song always gets to me and this time was no different.

I have to admit that during the song I was looking at the reunion group to see who was crying. Just a curious little thing I like to do to suss people out. But then the words of the song hit me and I was the one bawling my eyes out. It wasn't because I was feeling sad for those who had died but it was more for those I had left behind in Ecuador. It's funny hw very little things set me off crying. I tried to cover up the rolling tears but in the end gave up. I just let them flow.

So here are the words to that song. Just for Linda, Cathy, Glenda, Lydia, Christine, David, Guy, Juan David, Melissa, Diana, Daniela, Ramiro, Alto refugio and many others. I miss you!

Friends by Micheal W Smith

Packing up the dreams God planted
In the fertile soil of you
I can't believe the hopes He's granted
Mean the chapter in your life is through

BRIDGE:
But we'll keep you close as always
It won't even seen you've gone
'Cause our hearts in big and small ways
Will keep the love that keeps us strong

CHORUS:
And friends are friends forever
If the Lord's the Lord of them
And a friend will not say never
'Cause the welcome will not end
Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

And with the faith and love God's given
Springing from the hope we know
We will pray the joy you'll live in
Is the strength that now you show

Though it's hard to let you go
In the Father's hands we know
That a lifetime's not too long
To live as friends

"Out of the Blue".

On Tuesday Nige and I snuck off to the movies. It is the cheapest day to go to them so we have been the last couple. Last week we saw "World Trade Center" which was a great movie and this week we saw "Out of the Blue".

Now I suspect that most of you have never heard of this movie. That's because it is a NZ movie based on a shooting tragedy in 1990. I remember it happenening.

Aramoana is on the peninsula near Dunedin (bottom of the South Island and my birth place). It is a very small, fishing community and as a family we used to drive there for picnics at the beach or on Sunday aftrnoons. In November 1990 this sleepy hollow hit NZ headline news because a man, named David Grey, took a gun and killed 13 people. Now this is unuual as you can only have a gun if you are a registered gun holder and requirememnts for that are pretty strict. Nothing like that had ever happened in NZ before (certainly not to that scale).

The movie was very well done and didn't focus on the blood and gore as much as the triumph of ordinary NZers. A 74 year old woman (who still lives) was a hero, dragging herself across gravel roads and bush to call for help. There were others who did remarkable things. It told the story of Grey himself, who was probably a paranoid Schizophrenic. It showed his struggles and delusions. A recluse in the community who had isolated himself totally from everyone else.

I have seen many news interviews with the makers of the film but was touched by one done with Stacey, the youngest survivor of this tragedy. She was just 3 and was shot in the stomach while her mother, father and 2 brothers were lying dead beside her. She has no living memory of the incident and the actors shared how they realised that, by doing this movie, they were actually creating some memories of her family and that terrible day, for her. It was moving to think about that as I watched.

So as much as NZ is the clean, green, safe country in the world bad things still do happen here and their memory lasts forever.

Toenails!

I looked down on mine this morning in horror. They are long and unpainted. Gross, gross gross! They seem to have be hidden under socks and shoes for so long that I have neglected them. I'm so used to seeing them on a daily basis under little, strappy sandlads that I had forgotten them entirely.

Time to pamper them I think. Maybe later today as this morning we are sharing with a bunch of little old people and then tonight I am speaking at a woman's group. I'm taking Tres Leches (three milks dessert) which is yum so hope they enjoy it.

Is it you?

Are you the lucky 1000 page viewer? Did the counter click over to that magical number when you entered? Drop me a note in the comments and I might just have a litle something for you!

Spring!

What do you think of when I say Spring? Is it suuny, yellow daffodils like this?







Or cute, fluffy lambs like this?






Or could it even be the gentle, colourful blossom on trees?







Perhaps it's more like this? Well that would be the truth if you were in NZ right now. Big, black rain clouds hover over the country. We've even had snow to low levels in the South Island. It's been freezing yet we have all these amzing, "warm" things to remind us it is actually spring. We should be in the middle of the spring season yet for much of the time it feels like the middle of winter. Now I don't think that is just because I've come from the tropics and haven't seen rain since April....it truely is miserable here. I'm looking forward to some summer sun, some clear blue skies and no wind! Bring it on!!!


The one, good thing about the weather is that it is nice to be able to snuggle up in fluffy sheets and a cosy duvet at night, with the electric blanket on. I haven't had one of those for years!!!! I think I'm going to have to invest in one for next winter 'cos if the weather is worse than this then, I'm going to need it.

The fourth and final term of the year has begun at school. And with it there have been a couple of changes....namely in the "walking to school" department.

This has been somethng that the boys have been super keen about but their parents (namely us) have not been so happy about it all. You see, for the last 8 years they have never walked any further ahead of us then our holding hands allowed. We have ALWAYS been there with them. They have never popped down the street by themselves for anything. Only recently have we allowed them to purchase their own food at the food court in the mall. But then that was only once we knew where they were going and could see them at all times.

Today we allowed them to walk, by themselves, to school. We live just 1/2 kilometre from the entrance and they only have to cross one road to get there. That road is patrolled by a school patrol that tells you when to cross and when to wait. They were so excited! I'm sure they felt quite grown up. Nige and I were feeling more apprehensive then they were....so much so, that we jumped in the car, drove to the school entrance and waited for them to walk in the front gate. All without them seeing us. Silly huh? But it made us feel better and we were quite happy for them to walk home after school.

So that was today's big lesson in living in NZ. We passed with flying colours I think and it was really nice to see them when they walked in the front door after 3 PM. I had even made muffins. Yum Yum!!! Now the big problem is that Nige and I have no reason to go walking in the mornings. That's not good, so we are going to have to bite the bullet and walk anyway. We'll see how long that lasts....if it ever begins :-)

Back in Palmerston North now after our trip home yesterday. The weather was supposed to turn all nasty and wet but we managed to get home again before too much hit. It was a beautiful day to leave Tauranaga and drive south.

We arrived in Taupo at lunchtime. This is a lake in the centre of the North Island and is quite a tourist spot. We popped in and visited Nigel's youngest sister for a few minutes and then had some lunch before continuing our trip down the island. Isn't it just gorgeous?

The next town of interest was Taihape (pronounced Tie happy). This is also known, in NZ, as the Gumboot capital (hence the picture of the big gumboot that stands in town). Every year they have gumboot throwing competitions. Being a farming community the gumboot can be seen everywhere!

We played "Can you name the next town" game with the boys, trying to educate them a little about NZ geography. They did pretty well and earnt a little money on the way but I think there was a lot of kiwi ingenuity being used with the prevalence of road signs :-) They're not silly are they?

By the time we got to Bulls we were just half an hour from home but tired and hungry so it was a quick trip to McD's for an ice cream to give us the last bit of energy to get to the house. Yay for McD's!!!!! Actually I snacked on a cheeseburger but the filet o fish looked pretty enticing as well.

So we have made it. Thankfully the weather held up although we did run into some snow swirls on the desert road (the road through the central plateau). Last night it snowed quite heavily for this time of year and that road was closed with some cars stuck so God was good to us. But Palmy is cold and I have hugged the fire most of the day and worn gloves to stop my fingers falling off.

I hope you're a little warmer than I am!

New Tickers.

I thought the old ticker was looking a little dull so tonight I have pottered around and created a couple of new ones. Can you believe it has been that long since we were in our heartland? I find it quite freaky. At times life in NZ can seem so normal and then at other times it feels a mile away from what I know or even understand.

The second one is a countdown to our 15th wedding anniversary. That seems like a mammoth milestone in itself these days. There are times when I feel like I've always been married. I can barely remember a time when Nige was not in my life. I like it that way :-)

Tomorrow we are driving back to Palmerston North. It is supposed to rain the whole way down which will be a bummer but the drive will only take 5-6 hours, depending on how many stops we need to make. I took some great shots at the beach yesterday and then again tonight of the sunset. It sure is beautiful here.

Blessings to you all.

So we're back....but now are away again :-)

Here's a couple of picis of us on the boat. That's me looking all pensive at the South Island. As much as I was born there and lived there until I was 16, it always feels a little like returning home when I see the South Island again. It was nice. The boat trips went really well. I popped a little pill and didn't feel yucky at all (well maybe just a little on the way down). The boys did really well too and Isy was happy to go on the big boat.....after all our coaxing beforehand.

We had a nice time catching up with family and meeting our wee niece, Grace who is 5 months old. She had her dediction on the Sunday and wore the gown that her mother and I had worn when we were both dedicated many years ago.



The top photo is my family (I know, I look a lot like my mum) and then the next one is my sister Neroli, her hubby Bruce and wee Grace. Cute huh? It was a nice time to be with them. We even managed to pop over the windy hill to Nelson where I caught up with my best friend from when I was 4!!!!! That was cool and she is still just the same. I remember the way she looked, her hand and facial expressions and even the inflections in her voice. It's funny how we are still so similiar to who we were when we were little.

Now we are at the other end of the North Island with Nigel's family in Tauranga. We drove up yesterday in our new car and are enjoying being here with them. We will be here until Thursday and then it is back to Palmerston North and school starts again on Monday. We're not feeling like we are resting too much and the list of things to do once we return to PN is getting bigger by the day but we are enjoying seeing people. This afternoon we are off to see Nigel's Grandmother so that will be nice.


We are now on DSL at home so that is nice. Now I can catch up on you all. This pici, of the super good looking couple, was taken at Grace's dedication. Spunky huh?

I'm going NUTS!!!!

I have been without a DSL connection for nearly two months! Two months!!! I'm going out of my mind!!!! I haven't been able to regularly read my blog buddies entries and I have been out of touch with you all for long periods of time. I'm missing my friends and all their life events.

The company that we have signed up with said it could take up to 2 weeks to be linked up. Two weeks!!!!! And that's with us wiring it all up! Two weeks!!!! In Ecuador it took just two days. You heard right....two days and they came, drilled the wee holes in the wall and wired us up. And that was a third world country! Come on NZ!!

I have lots of blogs things to write about but won't do that today. I will inundate you when we are finally connected. Oh what rejoicing there will be on that day. Tomorrow we're off to Blenheim. My sister,her husband and our wee niece (now 5 months old) live there and this is a big weekend for them. Grace, our niece, will be dedicated in church. It will be our first chance to meet her and we will get to hang out with my sister and hubby who we haven't seen yet. It will be a busy weekend but it will be a nice one.
The bit that won't be so nice is this...the Interisland ferry. Boats and I do not go very well together. Something to do with motion sickness, the rollicking waves and the meat pie smells. Yuck yuck yuck. My dad is the same so we may just find a spot to lie down and not move during the whole 3 hour trip. The ferry runs between the North and South Islands, cossing the Cook Strait. It is a very scenic journey...not that I get to see it much:-) At some point you can see the Southern Alps from the tip of the North Island. We have spent much of the week trying to convince Isaac to get on the boat. To date he is a lot happier about it but the true test will be as we board. He should be okay if we bribe him with lollies (candy) and meat pies. Yuck yuck yuck!!!!

Hi all!

It's great to be back, even if I am only borrowing a friends internet connection to chat with you all. We are working on our own connection which should be up and running in a couple of weeks so once that is done I should be in better communication with you all. I've missed you!!!

We are now in our home town of Palmerston North. It's great to be back on familiar ground but this place is SMALL! The town has just 66 thousand people living here which is tiny after the 3 and a half million of Guayaquil. It's a cute city; totally flat which is helpful as we are yet to get a car and are walking everywhere. We've eaten lots of yummy NZ food and are now trying to be better in the food department. My mum's scales say that I have lost 7 kilos in the last year without even trying so I am keen to not gain those back. I like mum's scales ;-)

But let me tell you.....it's cold! this is what I look like while I am typing this, except my scarf is a lot cuter (all pink/purple and fluffy). But my hand are frozen and I'm making lots of mistakes as my fingers begin to freeze over. There's no snow here nor even frosts but the wind is the killer. Today I got a sore ear after walking to collect the boys from school. That's what cold wind will do for ya.

The boys have begun school and are doing okay. The first couple of days have been tiring (they're used to finishing school in an hour and a half whereas now they have 6 hours of work) but today they were both really happy when we picked them up. It's nice to see a smile on their faces.

Nige and I have been hiding away from everyone this week a little but are now finding our feet and are ready to face the world. It will be nice to see people we care about again.

So that's it for this week. I'm hanging out for my own internet connection so will pray that it happens sooner rather than later. See you soon.

Can you believe it? We're in NZ and we're not leaving!!! Bizarre I know!

After 3 weeks in the USA and over 30 hours travelling (Charlotte-Atlanta-Indianapolis-Los Angeles-New Zealand!)on Saturday/Sunday we finally arrived on NZ soil at 7 AM Monday morning NZ time. The flights went well until the last one when my dear hubby felt unwell and ended up on oxygen for a couple of hours! Talk about a freak out!!! They even offered to have him wheeled out of the plane and customs area. I quickly replied that that wouldn't be necessary as his parents, who were waiting for us on the other side of the big doors, would have a mild heart attack if their only son was wheeled out. He did perk up towards the end of the flight and all went well.

We were met by Nigel's parents and brother in law and 2 of his kids (they are missios in North Africa) as well as the current director and his wife and a member of the SIM NZ council. It was so great to see them. Later on that day we hung out with the rest of the family that were in Auckland and called the rest of our families that weren't. It was so nice to hang out with people who understood how we were feeling. They gave us this helium balloon and also a lovely rose. How sweet.

As the plane landed in Auckland we all burst into tears. Partly, I think, from relief but more so from a deep sadness that this was it and we weren't turning back anytime soon. Nige asked if we had to fake being happy when we saw people and I replied that we had to, just for a couple of minutes and then we could be real again. It didn't even end up like that. We were happy to be with family again and then during the day were able to express our pain. They, having all been missios, understood. We didn't need to say anything. It was great!

We have slept reasonably well and are feeling a lot more alive than we did on Monday. We are all waking up early though as our bodies are telling us it is lunchtime when in reality it is just 5 AM. We got to see this lovely sunrise over Auckland on Tuesday morning. It is not my intention to see many of these in the future but for now they are beautiful :-)

So this week is all about hanging out with family (Nigel's family), farewelling his sister and family back to North Africa and then heading to Palmerston North and my parents on Friday where we will be based for the next 4 motnhs. The boys start school on Monday so that will be a good break for us all.

My internet access is rather sporadic at ths time so I will do my best to keep you up to date. Have a great week!

I have decided to follow Jesus.....No turning back. No turning back.

Yesterday, in chapel, I lost it. I know, I know, I tend to lose it more these days but yesterday I totally did.

It had been our turn to present our country to the rest of the SIM International staff. It was expected that we would present something about the NZ office but we really have no idea about that so decided to present Ecuador. I thought I would find it really difficult to see our friends and "family" on the big screen but instead I felt an enormous sense of pride. They were doing such a great job back there, serving the Lord with great gusto and I had had the privilege of serving with them. It was a joy to see them.......and then we sang.

It was the old song "I have decided to follow Jesus". You surely know the one I mean. Anyway I was singing it with great enthusiasm and then came to the words "no turning back" and I realised I was doing exactly that. I was not going back!!! That's when I lost it and couldn't sing any more (I'm such a woose!!!) It hit me...I'm not going back. Not today. Not tomorrow. Not next week even. I had visions of myself landing in Auckland airport on Monday morning and I felt my heart sink. I should be joyful as I will get to see family again but I was overwhelmed with sadness and a great sense of loss. It was hard to contain the tears.

Yet, I have decided to follow Jesus and I am glad to do it. I wouldn't want to be anywhere else in this world except in the midst of God's will for my life. I have no doubt that this is what He is asking of me now but the finality of it leaves me weeping. Then, yesterday afternoon we had a girly get together which was lovely. There I read Psalm 37 and found a part of a verse where it says".....and the Lord will lead me by the hand" (can't remember the verse number off by heart). I know that He is with me in all of this and I know that my tears don't threaten Him. In fact He encourages them and just loves me through them.

So I will sing:
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
I have decided to follow Jesus
No turning back
No turning back.

Shopping! A girl's passion!!

Since being in the USA we have done a bit of shopping and I have LOVED it!!!! The three boys in my life have tolerated it only as long as they get something nice and new as well. I don't mind that as it means I get to buy for them which I just LOVE as well :-)

The supersized Wal Mart was fun although we had to go back twice as in the first couple of hours we only bought for the three boys and the next hour or so was for me. We have managed to stock up our wardrobes and have even coped well with the "casual-professional" clothing status of the office. I have to admit that I have been feeling like I have been dressing up for church everyday. But it has been nice to "look" nice for a change instead of frumping around in capri pants and tshirts all week.

We bought our new computer the day after we arrived (a Mac of course!) and have even splurged out and bought a digital video camera so one day soon I will figure out how to upload a video onto my blog. We've never had a video camera before and this one is really cute so I plan on having a lot of fun with it (thanks Steve for putting us onto it). We've also bought ourselves some nice, comfy sports shoes for an excellent price (the US sure knows how to have a good sale price) so this should be an incentive to get walking when we get back to NZ. At least we won't have a car for a little while so walking should get us into a good habit. That's the plan anyway ;-)
So I found this pici on the web and figured it accurately represents my three boys feelings on shopping. Needless to say all the money has been spent and the suitcases will be well and truly full so no more shopping is on the agenda.......for now anyway!!!!!

"Wherever I lay my hat...."

So where is home? I remember the words of a song in the '80's which goes something like "wherever I lay my hat, that's my home" and I think this is true of me. Everyone else on the course with us are from a specific place. For example when they are asked "where are you from?" they answer, "Thailand", "India", "Burkina Faso" "Paraguay" etc. But when I am asked where I am from I have no answer. I get stuck! My heart answer is, of course, Ecuador but then could it even be New Zealand? I have no idea.

For now we are at home in the USA. We have laid our hat at the SIM US guest house and this is where we live. It feels like home. We generally know the rules and we can survive. We cleaned our little unit today and washed sheets (just like normal people on a Saturday) so now it feels even more like ours. The crunch will come next week when I have to pack again and tidy it up before leaving. That will be hard. Yet again we are leaving home.

Our next home will be for 5 days in Auckland and then a couple of months in Palmerston North where we will we living with my folks....in their home. That might be tough at times but it will be nice to reconnect with them. I am definitely looking forward to the day when I am in my own home, with my own stuff in the right places, and my own rules. That feels a long way away right now but I know the day will come.

"Dependence is a life based on prayer."

Yesterday one of our DID's (Deputy International Director) shared on finding the will of God for your ministry and for strategic planning. During his lesson he shared the above statement/thought which really hit home to me. Let me repeat it here....."Dependence is a life based on prayer". I know that I say I am dependent on God for all things but how reflected is that in my prayer life? I have been struggling to answer that question for the past few months.

I'm not a particularly good prayer warrior. I tend to offer up quick prayers at any time of the day, which I guess is not necessarily a bad thing. I have committed myself to pray daily for my blog buddy, Carol, who is living with cancer but then I sometimes struggle with my lack of faith. I have been reading her blog since February this year and at times didn't know how to pray. Sometimes I would pray for a quick and painless death (how faithless is that!!!) but I have grown in my faith, now praying, alongside of many others, for a full and complete recovery. I'm praying too for another blog buddy, Jemmers, that God would bless her with a healthy baby (it's funny how you become attached to someone without ever having met them). I'm anxious for the day when God answers these prayers.

But there are many times when I fail to pray. When I see situations in the world that just seem so big that I begin to wonder if even God could help out. Sometimes even the small things overwhelm me. And then come all those questions that I know everyone has asked at some point in their lives....does God even hear me when I pray? Why is He so slow in answering? Why doesn't He just step in and do something?

Then I have to look at how I pray. I'm not someone who has ever set aside a large amount of time to just pray and sit in silence. My brain goes in a million different directions and I feel like I spend most of my prayer time trying to keep my thoughts under control. But I do want to be a pray-er. I do want to communicate intimately with God, to have a life "based on prayer". I know in my heart that God answers and I desire to learn more about prayer so that when I do pray, it is effective and not self absorbed.

I have been taking a 52 week prayer course on the internet and have made it to week 8 so far. It is run my Eddie and Alice Smtih and consists of short email lessons once a week where the various aspects of prayer are taught. I haven't learnt anything too startling yet but having something to remind me to focus my prayers and be consistent in prayer is helpful.

So the question has to be asked......does your dependence on God reflect itself in a life based in prayer?

A New Ticker.

As you can see I have made a new ticker. This one tells us how long it will be before we hit kiwi soil again. For those of you in NZ the ticker will be about a day out as it is set on USA time but you'll get the general idea.

We have had a nice relaxing day today just hanging out at the guest house, eating yummy flavoured chips and ice cream and watching movies. I even managed to catch up on some sleep which felt nice. Lots of new people have been arriving throughout the day. Tomorrow we are off to church with some friends then it is back for the beginning of the leadership course. That is going to keep us busy for the next few weeks. We are looking forward to hanging out with new people and learning mnore about SIM. Our only concern is the dress code! We've been told it is casual-professional which doesn't seem to fit our, relaxed, jeans and tshirts. Thankfully we bought some new clothes this week. It should be fun!!!!

To Flush or not to Flush.

Okay so I'm really having difficulty with this one. After 8 years of carefully placing used loo paper in the rubbish bin beside our loo I now have the opportunity to flush it. Weird, I know, but it is totally throwing me off!!!! You see, the pipes and sewerage systems in Guayaquil are so stuffed that any little bit of paper flushed could cause a major blockage and a mess in the house. I have carefully trained my boys to not flush as well and now I have to untrain them. I panic everytime I flush that the water will all come flooding back to me. Gross huh?

Now, the other thing we are all struggling with is drinking water directly from the tap, but that's another story.

Green!

When you have lived in the concrete jungle of Guayaquil for the past 8 years, hitting lush, vast expanses of trees and lakes is quite astounding. It seems that large amounts of land are simply "wasted" with just trees and water. I can't help thinking about how many houses could be built there for poor people!

We arrived in Charlotte, North Carolina last night. We are staying in a wonderful guest house run by SIM USA. We have our own little apartment in a large house with others and it is great to hang out and watch English speaking TV. My boys are glued!!!!

Even though we are in the city (I think) we are surrounded by woods and there is no sound at all. Imagine that....silence!!!!! Supposedly we can see deer and raccoons during the day wandering around and even snakes sunning themselves on the road (I will be sure to keep my youngest boy from seeing them). It is unlike everything I am used to.

Disney World was a great time although 3 parks in 3 days was a LOT to manage. We were exhausted by the end of it....all "funnered" out (as we would say). I just loved seeing the boys faces light up at all the magic around them. They are so cute!!! It was money well spent and an adventure of a lifetime. The boys are already planning on visiting again but we're telling them they'll have to pay next time:-)

So now it's time to shop. We're off to a supersized Walmart today so that may take us a few hours!!! Fun though. SHOP! SHOP! SHOP!

Adios Ecuador

One more sleep! Can you believe it? Just one more sleep before we leave our heartland. Actually maybe I should be a little more specific.....it's just half a sleep before we leave. We have to be at the airport at 4AM so I am hoping to be finished packing and at least resting for a few hours prior to departure.

Things here have been hectic today. I think every man and his dog have visited us today and I'm still not packed! We've popped down to the airport to weigh our luggage and found that we have had to take out 12 kilos of stuff we intended to take with us. That was tough. But at least we were able to do it now and not early in the morning with a whole pile of people behind us. I've been through all my hand luggage taking out all lip gloss, toothpaste, hair gel, water....anything that would be considered, even remotely, like gel or liquid (you may have heard about the recent arrest of terrorists). So we are prepared for anything.

So now it is time for some final goodbyes. I have to admit that Ecuadorians are not good at goodbyes. They give you a hug and kiss and then say "But I'll see you at the airport". They just can't handle the finality of goodbyes but as a kiwi finalising that kind of stuff is really helpful to us and necessary. We've learnt how to walk the middle ground. Still it's tough. There have been lots of tears shed already today and I know more will fall once we are on the plane (I've packed lots of tissues). But now it's time for one final goodbye......Adios Ecuador. Gracias por todo. De ti he aprendido bastante. Has cambiado mi vida para siempre. Cuida de mis amigos y familia ecuatoriana. Siempre te llevare en mi corazon.....mi corazon latino.

Our trip home will take us to the USA for 3 weeks. We are having a week's long holiday which will include 3 days at Walt Disney World in Orlando, Florida and then several days shopping in Charlotte, North Carolina. Then we are attending a 2 week leadership course with our mission in Charlotte. Leaders from all over the world will be there and we will get to hang out and learn from each other and those in the International leadership team. The boys will have their own programme with the other kids which will include a little bit of school in the morning and then lots of raucous fun. We are looking forward to it all.
Disney has always been in our minds as a special "we survived leaving" treat. It is kind of like the icing on the cake....placating us after a tough couple of weeks of goodbyes. It's going to be hot there as it is the summer but we can handle anything after Guayaquil's heat!!!! We have done Disneyland in California a couple of times before but the boys were really little and don't remember it. This time we plan on doing all the big rides and ending the days exhausted. What fun!!!! I have my Mickey Mouse ears from last time so I won't make my poor family suffer through buying those again. Not that I wear them, mind you, but they are fun to have.

Now on the post below....I did write and post this on Sunday but somehow mucked up the date of posting so it has been hiding. Sorry about that. I will hopefully get to the internet cafe on Friday to write one final post from Ecuador.

The old place is starting to look quite empty. Yesterday we had our garage sale and managed to sell all the big priced or bulky items which was a real answer to prayer. All that we have left in the house now are a couple of boxes of bits and pieces that didn't sell. I'm hoping to make a couple of phone calls this week to see if there is anyone who wants any of the stuff otherwise we'll just pop it all out the front gate and some little man will find it all and take it home (probably the same one who goes through all our rubbish bags every night!)

Now it is onto scrubbing walls, bathrooms and floors to make it all nice for the owners to take it over again at the end of the week. We have moved into a little apartment beside our house (on the same property) and are living in slightly cramped spaces but it is good to have somewhere to lay our heads after a busy day of cleaning. The farewells are continuing which we are getting very tired of. It's hard to say goodbye to everyone but we know it is important to finish well with everyone. It's just so tiring!

So this week's plan is:

Clean the house and have it finished by Tuesday afternoon,
3 big farewells and several smaller ones
rest for a couple of days before we fly out on Saturday
Watch the season finales of the Amazing Race, Survivor (just love that programme), CSI and ER. That should give us some light entertainment in the evenings.

Tomorrow my blog buddy Carol is going for her 11th chemo treatment for cancer. Do pray for her and her husband Chuck as they face another tiring week.

PANIC!!!!!!!!

My lovely little ticker says that we have just 9 days left! It's hit single figures and now it feels like the time is truely flying by. I am busy packing suitcases at the moment and still seem to have a pile of stuff to stick in but the amount of stuff is not dropping in accordance with the number of cases I have left. Hopefully tomorrow stuff will suddenly weigh lighter and there will be more room. I can only but live in hope!

(Packing, packing, packing!!!! We're doing really well but because we are busy with boxes, brooms and mops I haven't got much time to chat so here is another story I wrote while working with prostitutes. Enjoy. This one always makes me stop and think.)

HAVING EYES TO HEAR

Today has been one of those "hard" days. The kind where you just want to lie on your bed and think about anything but what you have just done. Then kind where you just want to hide from the world and it's cruelty.

Today I helped tell a woman that she has AIDS. It's not a regular part of my job. In fact I haven't done it before but today was different. This woman required "special" treatment. Not only is she supporting two young daughters through her prostitution she is also both deaf and mute.

The news we had to give her was horrendous, made all the more difficult through an inability to communicate (on both sides).

We tried everything. We yelled at her (just in case she could hear). We tried sign language. We tried reading and writing, drawing, even charades. All to no avail. We became incredibly frustrated at our inability to give her some life changing news and she became frustrated at "hearing" something she would rather just ignore. In the end we believe she could lip read hence the news was given to her in this way but trying to keep her eyes on us was another thing. How seemingly easy it was for her to look away; to shut out the message that was being given to her and all the long term affects that it would have on her life.

I've thought about communication a lot today and I can't help but wonder if sometimes God feels like I did. There are many times in our lives when He wishes to tell us something and yet we choose to ignore Him. We choose to not see His lips, His handiwork as He communicates to us about every aspect of our lives and His purpose for it. Yes, there are times when the message is beautiful, soft, a delight to receive. In those times it is easy to have open ears and eyes....but what about those times when the message is a little more difficult?

Effective communication requires a willing communicator and a willing listener. Too often we are willing to communicate but how often do we actually take the time out to listen, to really listen to the One who desires to communicate with us in so many loving ways. Take time today to sit and listen. Be sure to use both your eyes and ears to hear all that the Lord wishes to say to you.

A difficult weekend.

This has been a hard one. It started on Friday when we were called to say that our friend was going to come in the hour to collect Hine (the cat). By then it was already 9:30 PM and my boys were already tired after a long day which had included haircuts....never their favourite activity! We made up a nice comfy box for her to sleep in and then cuddled and kissed her for the last time. Now, those of you who aren't animal lovers probably think we are quite strange but, as I have said before, this was like leaving behind a family member. Our friend arrived and we said goodbye as we put her in the box and taped her in. It was tough! She was quite calm which surprised me. Then the tears and howls of grief began. The boys were so distraught that they were, literally, throwing themselves on the ground, crying their broken hearts out. It was hard as a parent to watch on helplessly. Our poor friend didn't know what to do!!!! He had never seen such a strong reaction over an animal before!!! My hubby and he took the cat down to get a taxi and set them on their way to Manabi.

On Sunday morning we got an urgent phone call from our friend. We paniced as to what the news would be but he was just calling to say that she was eating and investigating the house and chasing rats!! YAY!!!! She was happy!!!! We were so pleased and I think knowing that has helped us all. I am really proud of my boys and how they have handled this difficult adios. Lots of preparation has gone into it all and that has been extremely beneficial for us all. Next was the farewell from church.

We knew this one was going to be really hard as we would be saying goodbye to friends of 8 years or so. The sermon was on being a friend and how Jesus is the ultimate friend indeed. Then came our special bit. The young people performed a mime about being a light to the world and gave us lit candles with the Ecuador flag on them.
Then our close friend presented us gifts on behlf of the church. As she hugged me tight she told me she had prepared something to say but she just couldn't get the words out. I know what she wanted to say....I wanted to say it too but the tears were getting in the way!

More speeches and prayers and then the young people performed a really funky dance which was really cool. We ate our favourite meal together, had a humungous cake and said goodbye. It was a special service that none of us will forget.

In the evening we visited a house church and had their farewll to us which included lovely words of honouring of us, more pressies and yummy food. We're going to be HUGE(R?)by the time we get out of here!!!!

The other night Isy asked when we would be saying goodbye to another friend. My hubby replied that it would be in a week or so. Isy said that was good as he had had enough of goodbyes. Poor thing. I thnk we are all feeling that way.

This was a tough weekend but a very special one. Last night we met a new christian who honoured us by saying that because of us and our work he had come to know the Lord and that we would never know the full impact of what we had done for the Lord here in Ecuador. May that be so!!! We take heart in that.

PS...I managed to upload the picis which is great! Here is one of Isy's final day at his chef school when they presented him with his proper chef's hat. Cute huh?