Update on Sam

First of all, it is my father-in-law that is experiencing heart problems and not my husband. Sam Sr. and Ellen would really appreciate your prayers. Pray for wisdom as they have to decide where and what treatment is necessary.

My Sam is in the Dominican Republic and loving it! The weather is extremely hot and humid. The house where he is staying doesn't use fans. Fortunately, Sam took a fan! We were given the heads up from another missionary that has traveled to the DR. Sam is getting good rest at night which is important. Sam is speaking to national pastors and wives. His topic is The Christian Home. He is speaking every evening from 5-10pm. Pray for stamina and that his voice will hold out. We are able to talk each morning via Skype phone. It costs us 8.7 cents a minute. Technology is so wonderful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Us girls are enjoying some girlie time this week while Sam is gone. We've had fun staying up late and watching gymnastics from the Olympics. We are continuing our homeschooling also in Sam's absence. We are in our fourth week!!! Both girls are doing extremely well! Nicole and I are learning about invertebrates--spiders, worms and ants!!!!!!!!!! We even get to do experiments! So cool!! Natalie is zipping through Spanish 2! We might have to pick up another language as I don't think there is a Spanish 5.

Basketball is going well. Nicole is showing that she has more strength and can even make some baskets!!! Of course the hoop is lower for her age group. Natalie has enjoyed being back with some of her friends that she has had since she started b-ball back in 2004. Pray that some of these families will allow God's Word to touch their hearts.

Applesauce!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I went to Walmart the other day here in Mexico City and to my surprise I found Mott's Applesauce with cinnamon!!!! I grabbed three of the six jars! I had to leave a few jars for the other Americans in the City!!! We haven't had applesauce in over a year and boy was it yummy!! We had it for lunch the day I bought it and then we turned around and had it on our French Toast the next morning. Yesterday I found an Applesauce Cake recipe on Food Network that was just fabulous!!!! I know to some of you this is a strange thing to get excited about such a simple everyday thing. Now if I could just get them to import Mt. Dew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Super Hubby!!

I just have to brag on my hubby!!! This month we celebrated 23 years of marriage!!! It has truly been the best 23 years of my life!! Sure, we've had our bumps along the way, but we've had a lot more smoothness the longer we've been married!

This past week Sam did something that I know most men would never do for their wives. He grilled in the rain. I mean it was a down pour. We got over an inch and a half of rain in an hour. This is normal for us during rainy season. Unfortunately, the down pour started right when we needed to grill. We had saved up space in our bellies for this meal of chicken, grilled onions and cactus. Yum, yum! We also had guests over; Jim, Ruth Hornbrook, their kids and Ruth's twin sister, Becky. Most husbands would tell their wives to use Plan B and not grill in the rain. But not Sam!! The funniest thing is that the rain stopped immediately after the grilling was done. I'm not kidding. The food was heavenly...including the cactus. If you haven't had grilled cactus then you are really missing out in life! Sam very often sacrifices his comforts for others. When he is dead beat tired, he takes Nicole for a bike ride. When he is exhausted from a day at Seminary because he started his day at 4:45; he will take us to the Mall. I'm so thankful for my husband and I hope the Lord gives us many more years together!!!

School Started!

Yep. That's right. We started school this week!! I know it's early but we are planning on taking a long Fall Break in October to go to Indiana for a counseling conference,to purchase a newer vehicle and most importantly, to visit family and friends. The laws down here keep changing and in September we won't be able to drive our van from 5:00-11:00 am during the week. We already can't drive on Thursdays and one Saturday a month we have to park the van. Basically we will have half a vehicle. We need to get a van that is about '05 or '06. Then we will be able to volunteer to be in the emissions program and we will qualify to drive everyday of the week!!! This will last until our vehicle is eight years old. Our van is '00 and therefore the limitations. Supposedly, these new regulations will cut down on the contamination in the air. We think it is to get folks to buy newer cars and the car dealers are padding their pockets.

Anyway, back to school. We are homeschooling the girls this year. We all have a new appreciation for this method. I'm doing more actual teaching with Natalie which makes her day more enjoyable. I'm back to learning all about Geography, Biology and my addition facts!! I didn't learn these things very well the first time around so hopefully by the third time I will get it!!

We also started piano lessons again!! Both girls are hitting the keys pretty hard!!! They will be hitting the court next week as basketball starts up again!!!! Yippee!!! We are looking forward to seeing all our friends from basketball again!!

Our girls!

I thought I'd take the time to tell you all about the girls. Both are doing extremely well. They have enjoyed a week at the Texas border the beginning of June. They had fun shopping, swimming and eating at their favorite places like Taco Bell!! We had two gals that I've mentioned in an earlier blog that came and visited us for two weeks. That was a lot of fun for my girls. All of us girls stayed up late several nights while Myranda and Lauren were here and we played Dutch Blitz. We had some pretty close games!! Monday the girls will begin piano!!! Natalie has been on a recess of sorts since we returned to Mexico a year ago. Nicole is starting piano classes this time around! She has really enjoyed practicing so far but it has only been a couple of days!!! In August the girls will start basketball again. Both girls have been missing their friends from basketball. It is good exercise and great opportunities! We have been doing Math all summer. Both girls are very good in Math so we are working ahead. Nicole picks things up pretty quickly. I think having two older sibblings helps. Speaking of sibs. Nathaniel (Nate) is doing great in the States. He is working for Purdue University this summer on a maintenance crew for one of the dorms. It is very physical work and no airconditioning! He has had great opportunities to share his testimony this summer. Nathaniel still has two years left in college. After he finishes his undergrad at Purdue he plans on attending Seminary. We really miss Nathaniel and can't wait for him to get here for his Christmas break!! We have already purchased his ticket!! My parents will also come for a visit over the holidays!! We are so thrilled to have family coming! Hopefully this brings you up to speed with our children. They are growing up so fast. Natalie will be a freshman in highschool this fall and Nicole will be in the second grade. It doesn't seem possible!

Sign Language Bible Studies

Our Thursday Afternoon Bible Studies continue to stretch us. Why? Sam does them via sign language. Natalie does most of the translation but Sam is picking up more and more signs all the time. I am picking them up at a much slower pace but it is slowly coming. This week we worked on a song that we hope to sign to the church and encourage our deaf folk to sign when we sing. We are singing in Spanish, The Glory of the Cross. Pray with us as we continue to minister to these special people that God has brought across our path. We never dreamed we'd be doing this type of ministry but we are learning it is a big need here in the City. There are so many deaf people around us that need befriending so that they too can hear the gospel. The Bible Studies helped the deaf folk understand more what typically goes over their heads on Sundays.

Fantastic Two Weeks!

For the past two weeks we have had the privilege of hosting two wonderful young ladies in our home. Myranda and Lauren Cady are from one of our supporting churches in Livonia, Michigan. These two gals came down to help us this summer in conducting English classes, paint the patio and office and other ministries. We had so much fun serving together. Below I have uploaded albums (thanks to my daugher Natalie!) of our time together. We love having guests and summer time is one of the most fruitful times for us to have English classes as an outreach to our community. We would love to have English classes every summer! Pray that we soon would be in a building so that we can develop this ministry even more!


Myranda and Lauren helped our family lead English classes in one of our church families homes as an outreach. Lazaro and Idalia were so kind to allow us to move in each afternoon to conduct the classes. We packed out the house with 25-30 kids each day. Myranda did a fabulous job of sharing the Hudson Taylor missionary story in Spanish at the end of each class. We so enjoyed our English classes and agreed that we could do this fun stuff all summer long! Not sure that Lazaro and Idalia could do it all summer!





One of the things we always do with our visitors is to take them to sites around the city. This past weekend we took Myranda and Lauren downtown. We got to see the Zocalo, Latin American Tower, plus many other old churches and buildings. One highlight was watching the lowering of the Mexican flag in the town square. It is amazing to get up above the city and see how many miles the city spreads itself.




Las Estacas is a natural spring water resort. We went there with our family, our two guests along with another missions team. The place is unbelieveable! This is where they filmed the first black and white Tarzan movie way back when. The water is crystal clear. They have places to snorkel, a high dive that lets you drop down into the "hole" where the spring water pushes you back to the top after you jump in! There are also swimming pools that are filled with this unbelieveably clear and fairly warm water! The landscaping is also impeccable! I enjoyed taking snap shots of the lily pads! If you come and visit us we will have to take you to this paradise!




Here are a few fun shots from the past two weeks! We also went to the Pyramids this past Monday! God was good and it began to rain as we got in the car to return back to Mexico City!