Belated Post from 1-24-12

On the Tuesday that the Mason's were visiting, we decided to go on a "little" trip to visit a coffee plantation up in the mountains.  Now we had a brochure that said that la finca hamburgo was only 30 some miles away, but let me tell you, it took about 2 and 1/2 hours!  The road out of Tapachula was nice...and paved...  It's also where we stopped to take pictures of this natural arch of bamboo trees.

But then halfway into the trip when we really started to climb the mountain, the single lane road turned to dirt...and it became curvy and VERY bumpy.  The picture below doesn't really do the road justice.  And the bumps weren't helping those who had to use the umm, facilities either, but thankfully we were able to find some decent outhouses at a little school!

La finca hamburgo has a beautiful restaurant overlooking the mountains.  In the far distance, you could also see the Pacific Ocean on the horizon.

A classy restaurant in a relaxed atmosphere.  We chose to sit on the large veranda.

Beautiful flowers were sitting on each table.

La finca hamburgo - the coffee plantation.  We'd love to take a tour sometime.

Young coffee bushes.

Coffee being shelled at the plantation.

Even though the ride was seemingly long, we had a very fun day together (and the food at the restaurant was delicious)!

Dear blog readers,

You have my deepest apologies for not posting in sooooo long!  What happened, you ask?  Well, since the last I posted, my in-laws were still here, half of our family got sick, then I spent three days with a fever, doing nothing.  And since then, I think my energy and inspiration have flown right out the window!  Of course, the high heat and humidity doesn't help anything either!!  And if I'm honest, homesickness has been running through the family...and it will leave you half depressed, wondering how on earth you can continue on.

But, (and I say this while holding my breath), I think we're seeing the light at the end of the tunnel.  While we're still craving American foods very badly,  =)  and still get lonely and discouraged, our hearts are being ministered to with some TLC from our Heavenly Father.  Thank you so much to those of you who pray for us.  We appreciate it more than words can say!

Hopefully, this post will be the start of many more posts (that are posted in a timely fashion, of course)!  I still have things to share from when the Mason's were here as well as an update on our "newly fashioned" Santo Domingo church.

And since I hate to post without a picture, here's one from a drive we took through the mountains when the Mason's were here (more about that later).  It's a beautiful natural arch made from bamboo trees.

More Seminar Pics

Just a few pics from today's morning service.

Telling a children's story.

Playing the concentration game.

The adults were enjoying the children's service too!

Guests, Earthquakes, and Seminars!

They've arrived!  Welcome Mason's! 

We have some happy little boys in our house right now!  =)

Last evening and this morning were spent running around for supplies for the Child Evangelism seminar.  We also had a 6.3 earthquake rock our world for about 30 seconds today!  (Check this link for the details.)  I was at Walmart when it happened, and the shelves were just swaying back and forth.  I heard some glass falling off of shelves and breaking, and then I saw where some food jars/bags had fallen off of shelves and broke.  But other than maybe a few minor things, it appeared that the rest of the city had no major damage.

Despite the excitement of the day, our seminars started this evening, and we had a decent turnout with our people and also some visitors from a local pentecostal church.

Some girls helping with the song, "I Have Decided to Follow Jesus."

"Whisper a Prayer in the..."

Parker enjoying some cookies and drink during a break.

Father and son doing an excellent job teaching.

Gertie helping with the song, "Oh be careful little ears..."

The B-I-B-L-E

Tomorrow we're looking forward to a morning service for the children, and then more seminar sessions in the afternoon, complete with hands-on training!

Something that made me smile today!   =)

Taylor's lego creation...complete with a man up in that car who is no doubt
hanging on for dear life!!!  Don't you love kids' imaginations?

Today...

Today...I'm admiring the beautiful blue sky!

I'm also thankful for electricity!  Last week around two in the morning, a transformer blew, and we were literally, "in the dark."  It was a very miserable night to say the least!!  No air conditioner to keep us from sweating, and no option to open the windows for a breeze.  (The windows are boarded up to keep out the sun and also to provide a frame for the air conditioner.)  And with the above mentioned things, it was pitch black...and I'm a gotta-have-my-night-light sort of gal!  =)  At any rate, we all survived!

Today...I'm also taking pics of Parker.  He's too cute and growing up too fast!  At 21 months, he has finally mastered the art of walking!  He's been ABLE to do it for a few months, but has never WANTED to do it consistently without our command, until now.

Today...I'm also thinking how long it's been since I last posted!  And so, I'm working on a post about our special New Year's Eve service in Santo Domingo.  Hopefully I'll get that up on the blog soon.

Today...I've got some excited kids!  Why?  Because their Pappy and Grandma Mason are coming to visit on Friday!  While here, they (the Mason's) will be holding two separate Child Evangelism seminars in our churches.  Michael has been working hard in translating the different session materials and handouts, and the Mason's have been working hard creating visualized songs and helps, etc...  We're looking forward to a busy, yet fun time together!

And this, my blog friends, is some of my thoughts today.  And now, I best go get things ready for our prayer meeting/Bible study tonight!

New Year's Eve Service

Once again this year, we held a special New Year's Eve service in Santo Domingo.  It was also a special service in which we celebrated our "new church."  The building you see below, was given to us to use for church - free of charge.  We just have to pay the electric and water, etc...

The people there have lots of plans for this building, but for Sat. night, we were just happy to be in our own building, instead of someone's house.

We were thankful that some of our Tapachula church people as well as some local visitors were able to come.  The service was filled with God's presence.

A very sweet man from Santo Domingo.  Hno. Benjamin helped lead in the service.  He is also currently studying in our Institute Bible classes to become a pastor.

Would you like to listen in as the people sing a praise chorus?

   

And then, we sang.  You'll notice the below picture (that Kyle took) holds some very interesting faces!  =)  That piece of music Michael is holding was originally laying on the piano, but between the fact the lighting was very dim, and that although I can read Spanish very well, but don't always know what I'm saying, I simply couldn't see a thing and had now idea what words came next.  We ended up quitting the song with some laughter, then Michael tried holding the music - which was almost as bad because he couldn't hold his hands still...so by the third song, he got to sing a solo!!!