Big developments make for a really busy life!

Well it's been a while since we've updated anyone with any information. Needless to say we've been super busy with life here. Sorry that it's been so long since we've updated you all but I hope you'll understand here in a second.

After we came back from our Christmas vacation in California we got right to work. The first week back we hosted a small team of men from Visalia who came to help us get the tutoring center remolded. The trip was great and everything turned out wonderfully. Next I helped Dustin move the Photo site into the shop. We made my storage space into a classroom and made a small hall type space into a darkroom. Now we have two sites right next to each other and things are going great.Feb was the beginning of school for Ella and Judah and I started classes again at the shop. It's been a little slow but we're getting back in the groove. Also Judah turned 4 on the 13th!! had a lot of fun at his Batman party. The week after that we hosted the women's trip which was also a ton of fun.

So now for the big news and probably the thing that's taking most of the time. This last year Erin and I started to feel very restless in our house that we're renting. After having someone break in, other things get stolen through the gate, and a TON of things breaking we started asking God for somewhere new. I started a fast and began believing God for a place of our own. Every day I'd look online for houses to rent or buy and I'd try to take new roads home every afternoon in order to find something... and then we did!! I sent an email to a lady about a large plot of land up in the hills about 10 minutes from our current house because the price of the land was about 1/4 the price of anything I'd seen. She didn't get back to me so I called her. It was probably about the fifth time that I left a message that she actually called me back to tell me that she'd sold the land... But her sister had one right next to it and she wanted to sell too! It was just days before we left for Christmas that I went up and walked through it with the owner... It was pure Jungle on a 45 degree slope... Not really what we wanted but we were willing to think about it. While walking around on the lot the owner (Ricardo) kept offering me fruit and I kept telling him no... He finally asked me why I wouldn't eat and so I told him I was fasting and praying for a new place to live... It turns out that they are Christian also and really wanted to help us out!

So now, in order to save time... cause I know most people don't want all the details, I'll summarize it all for you. They had a different lot and wanted $40 per square meter... Not happening. He said they'd give us a deal... Through an email while we were in Ca he said $13 per mtr!!! We said OK!! We asked some supporters for a loan and they said yes!! We agreed but then found out they meant 13,000 colones ($26).... No go.... They lowered it to $20 and we said yes again...

So we are now in the process of buying a plot of land that is about 11,000 sq ft. We have some great new Christian friends who will be our neighbors. We live outside the city in the mountains.We have sloths and toucans on our property. We will save over $100 a month paying a loan rather than rent and we'll have something to show for it in the end. We started building the house yesterday and the walls and floor should be done by Saturday. We now have another story to tell about Gods faithfulness and how he answers prayer...

So there you go. That's about as short as I could make it. I work everyday till 4 and then go up to the lot and work... Erin is still being mom but now without my help. She's already packing boxes getting things ready to store. Oh yeah... the house is only going to be 625sq ft... So we

have to store a lot of stuff away until phase 2... We'll let you know about that later. So it doesn't really suffice to say we're really busy! Please pray for us. We are trying to get all of this done without having to take time off so that the shop doesn't suffer. Also starting tomorrow I will be camping out up there to make sure that no one steals anything. Pray for our stress levels and that God will continue to show his provision through this process. Pray also that everything goes smoothly so that we can finish before the rain hits... If the rain comes we may have to wait until november to finish:( Thank you all so much! We appreciate your support, both financially and in prayer. Know that you are one of the ways that God is able to bless us and the people we work with here. Blessings,

Jeremy for Erin, Ella, and Judah

Christmas 2010 in California

Another picture collage by Smilebox

Thank you to all of you who made this holiday season full of memories for our family! We had a great time in California visiting family and friends and arrived back in Costa Rica yesterday. The time flew by going from house to house decorating, baking, shopping, and playing games. Our kids did exceptional considering the business of it all. They would have preferred to stay outside the entire time, but the almost constant rain kept them in. When the sun did break through, they enjoyed going to the park at Nana and Grandpa's (Erin's parents) and zip-lining in Meemaw and Papa's (Jeremy's parents) backyard. For a few days we got to go to the snow and stay in a cabin at Hume Lake (Thanks Dentons!). This was Judah's first time and Ella's since she was very young. We built a fast sled run and spent almost all day in the snow. It was a lot of fun for us as a family and we know the kids did not want to leave!

We hope you all had wonderful holidays with family and friends and are looking forward to this new year. We are and and are also excited for all God has planned! Blessings in the new year!!

Merry Christmas Everyone!

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Coming to a Close

Here we are the first of December and the first full school year is coming to a close for Ella and Judah. This has been a year full of firsts for all of us and a lot translating on my part (Erin) of homework assignments. There really is no better way to learn than to crash and burn I've discovered. Countless times I've arrived at an event to find out I obviously didn't quite understand what my kids were to be dressed in. So frustrating for me, Jeremy can attest. As a mom trying to figure it all out, I've laughed, I've cried. I keep telling myself, it doesn't matter, it doesn't matter : )

Jeremy and I sometimes think about when we arrived in Costa Rica and how we felt so sad when we'd go to the park or McDonalds and saw the look on our kids faces. They were in the dark as to what was going on around them because of the language. Now, it literally takes maybe one minute and they've made new friends, it doesn't matter where we are! It makes my heart so happy that they've adapted. I don't know how many times I've heard someone say to Ella, "Wow, you speak better than your mom!" I roll my eyes and smile politely : / Ella doesn't cease to remind me of that either, how sweet she is. But seriously, they are doing amazing in their Spanish and Ella has just loved school. She effortlessly joins in with her friends and always has stories to tell us. Judah always tells us about his friends Eduardo, Camila, and Oelia (sp?). And then there's that kid, Samuel, the biter. Seems like every schools got one. I always ask Judah what he does afterward, "Oh, nothing." Bless his little heart. Funny story, his teacher told me one day there was a boy in his class that was biting (mordiendo). Sad thing is that I heard that there was a kid in his class that was dying (muriendo)! I said, "Oh, no, how awful!" Then I realized when she showed me the bite mark on Judah, things weren't so bad.

So to wrap up their years, I'll be baking some cookies for the 4 teachers my kids have. People here LOVE gringo cookies. It's a foreign concept to them I think. Baking, cookies, and things that we make in the states on a regular basis are not the norm here. Most people use their ovens just to store things in. So I don't think I can go wrong there. I'm happy for vacation time, un-rushed days with my kids, baking (and taste-testing) together, Christmas songs, and hot cocoa. Now if this rain would just stop and let us take a nice walk to the park, that would be nice. Hope you're all having fun preparing for the holidays. Be blessed!!

Is it that time again???

These last 3 months, I don't really know where they went!! I can't believe it is time yet again to leave the country for our visas. The guy at the bank the other day reminded me while checking my passport to pay a bill, that I had 10 days left before having to leave. I found it funny and odd since I was just there to pay a bill. Oh well, guess he was just looking out for me. We've weighed our options and we'll be going to Panama like last time. We'll be waking up around 4:30 Fri. morning to catch our bus around 6:00. The bus ride is around 7 hours? Last time it was a blur of people getting on and off, trying to entertain my kids (or force them to sleep ;), and also trying to not give them too much to drink since their is one stop 1/2 way through the trip. Yes, no bathrooms on the bus. Besides all of this, it is nice to not think about driving and to just enjoy the view. I'm always trying to remind myself (as if I forget) where we live and the beauty that surrounds us. This bus ride gives me PLENTY of time to take that all in.

Having been to this place just 3 months ago, it's fresh in my mind the things I'll be doing differently this time around. One being we've borrowed hiking packs to haul our things around instead of our normal traveling luggage. This proved difficult crossing the bridge at the border. I really wish I had a photo, but imagine if you will: Massive, old railroad bridge, full of holes. It's now used for cargo trucks and other vehicles to cross so they've covered up the rails with slats of wood to make driving across it possible. With two little kids in tote, backpacks, rolling luggage (didn't roll so well on bridge), and pillows, we slowly made our way across. Thanks to our friend Cailah who helped us, I would've been much more stressed out had she not been there. Now we know, luggage on our back will make for smoother and safer travels. We just keep saying, it's another adventure, it's another adventure. More stories to tell. We've rented a one-bedroom studio in Bocas del Toro, so we'll see how it measures up. We'll let you know. If it was just Jeremy and I, we're fine staying and relaxing at the house. With the kids, we'll be looking for a place to let them run in the sand to enjoy the time. Hopefully everyone gets a little of what they want : ) Does life slow down? Will it forever be speeding up? I sure hope not. Please pray for us that our travels are safe, our kids are healthy and happy, and that we can extract all things good from our 3 days there.

Till we return, hope you're enjoying fall and the beauty and abundance it brings.

"Be joyful always; pray continually; give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus." 1 Thess. 5:16-18

Elvis Update:

Update: Elvis came to class this morning and stood outside, too embarrassed to say anything. He just waited thinking I couldn't see him. I told him I was really glad that he came back and I needed to talk to him. When all of the guys came in I asked them what we should do... As a group. They agreed that our first consequence wasn't really fair so we'd let him back in but only if we made a contract that we could all follow. I re-explained the benefits of living in community and being "on a team." and then we listed some specific things that would hurt our team in the shop then we came up with consequences. I think we took a huge step forward as a group! They are really understanding why we need to be together! thank you all for your prayers! I was so glad that I slept all through the night without being worried about the whole situation. And although Elvis never said anything I could tell that he was very repentant and wanted to make things right.



So after that we skipped the lesson on the router and talked about "us" and then I taught them the standard measuring system (inches/feet) which led to fractions... It was a really great day.They are all at least 14 yrs old and haven't learned how to add or subtract fractions but after today I think they might get it! Oh and Elvis broke three rules today and had to do 30 sit-ups =)

Discipline

I guess it's all part of the deal. When working in a place that doesn't have much structure, where the teachers in public school just don't show up, where kids get most everything that they want if they whine, I'm gonna have to be the one to put some sort of structure in place. I mean who's going to teach these kids about the real world? Who's gonna help them to understand the value of punctuality, or respecting the property of others? Who's going to give them second chances? To say sorry and help them understand the tough love? I mean, there's no love coming from your boss when he fires you, right? Well today I had to discipline one of my students who hasn't really ever done anything wrong. Here's the situation:

I now have three classes in the shop, A, B, and C. A is open to everyone so it's just basic following the rules. B is a set group so I am trying to teach them about the effects that one persons misbehaving can have on the entire group. For example; Rule #1 is to arrive on time. I give them five minutes after class starts to arrive. At five minutes I lock the gate. Well this last week a kid came 45 minutes late and wanted to come in. I asked the class if they wanted to let him in and they said yes. I then explained to them that his punishment was to be shut out and if they wanted to let him in we all had to "pay" something. We decided that everyone would do 20 push-ups and he would do 30. It turned out to be a good experience and now we are beginning to work and think as a group. For the first time I had someone say they didn't want to pay for someone else's mistakes... That's huge in a culture that doesn't say anything against anyone else to their face! Anyways it gave me an idea. I decided to make the same kind of "deal" in group C as well!

Group C is full of my older kids who mostly have decided to drop out of high school. Their friends and mothers call them lazy and good for nothing.... They might not be too far off of the lazy part. They do something until it's hard and then go back to sleep. Anyways, in my class C we have a problem. They always throw the tools on the ground. I think you can understand why that's bad so I wont go into it. So just yesterday I confronted them, told them that we needed to come up with a consequence for leaving the tools on the floor that we would all pay, including me. I explained to them the concept of being a team and how we look out for each other. I told them to pick up after each other because they're invested in the team. I told them that they needed to learn what it is to help each other out in order to help themselves and how we can't do everything on our own in life. It went well and they seemed to respond well. I told them about the other class' push-ups and they said that was a good idea. Then I said, " well what happens if someone wont do it?" they responded by saying that they couldn't be a part of the team... Seemed reasonable to me. After all, they're all friends, they can pressure each other into doing the right things. Right?

Well today as I was walking around I found 2 clamps on the floor... at first it was funny. I was kinda laughing and telling them I needed to see them do the push-ups etc. None of them moved!! I reminded them of the consequence for not doing the punishment and they all started to move... You need to understand that To be kicked off the team is to be kicked out of the shop until January ... Well Daniel did his but the other two couldn't do more than 2!! It was crazy! Ella can do more than that!! They whined and cried fro about ten minutes until the end of the class... So I said," you have two minutes and if you don't do it... See ya in January!" At this point I was still thinking they'd do it... Well Bryan decided he would.. It took him another ten minutes to do it but one-by-one he got them done... Then there was Elvis... He whined and cried, said he couldn't do them, said he'd do sit-ups, but he never moved... I reminded him that it wasn't my rule... They made the rule together and now we couldn't break it... It's a contract! The end of class came and went and Elvis just sat there... The guys started poking at him verbally and I told him I'd count to 5 and if he just started we'd wait for him to finish (it's the softy in me i guess) So I counted... really slow.... Then at three I said he'd have to leave when I got to five if he hadn't started... Well I got to five and told him to leave until January.... Oh crud!! This is one of my kids that probably needed this the most. He isn't a bad kid! He's probably the poorest in every way you could think of! And I just kicked him out! I still feel really bad about the entire situation. I never thought we'd have to kick someone out!

I guess this blog is a prayer request for Elvis and me. For Elvis (or Mono as we call him) That he wouldn't be bitter and he'd get rid of the stubbornness that he showed today. For me that I can let it all go and actually sleep tonight. I don't know how I could have avoided it. Would it be acceptable to let him break the rules knowing that now they'd never take my rules serious and they'd never learn about the team concept? I don't know. I keep thinking it over in my head and I can't make it go any other way...

The only saving grace will be the other guys.... I told them about how the other class chose to pay the price with their friend in order to let him back in... True, in class B it was just a day, this is the entire trimester, but I told them if they each did another 20 and he did 40 he could come back.... I just hope that overnight he'll change his stubborn heart and come back repentant... What an opportunity for me to tell about how Christ took our place and how we are to be to each other!!

Thanks for reading! Sorry, I just needed to vent and ask people to pray. Please comment if you read this and pray. I just feel so sad for Elvis and want Jesus to touch him through what I'm doing. Have a good evening =)