Day 2 (Fremont, NE)

Sunday morning came way too early since we all went to bed late. My back has been giving me problems lately due to all the packing and loading of our storage unit this past month. Needless to say, I didn't sleep very well.

We all made it to Sunday School on time and enjoyed the time to connect with the members of Calvary BC again. Pastor Love preached on "The Prince of Peace" from Isaiah.


(Above) We filled a pew with our family and the Love boys.

After a great lunch, we all took a much needed nap. I worked on a new powerpoint during most of the afternoon, since I was updating the church during the evening service. Speaking of speaking, I lost my voice the day before (probably from talking to Adam too much in the van).

I was seriously thinking I wouldn't be able to speak at all for Sunday night service. My voice held up, thought raspy and mostly whispering tones, and I was able to give our update and challenge the people from Heb 11:1-10.


A big thank you for Grandma and Grandpa Flinck for Kaylee's new Sunday dress. She was so cute today and enjoyed her new clothes.

After the evening service, we eat pizza and the kids played games while the adults talked. We let the kids stay up way past their bedtime, since this was the last night we were going to spend with the Loves.

The plan is to leave around 9-ish AM on Monday to drive the 500 miles to Norman, OK to spend the night in a hotel. Hopefully we will be able to enjoy some warmer temperatures in OK. The weather here in NE has been bitterly cold and very annoying for getting children in and out of the minivan.

Thanks for continuing to pray for our family on this trip down to language school.

Come back again to hear about Day 3!

Fully Loaded (the Sequel)

What's that they say about sequels?
That they are never as good as the original.
Well...after loading our storage unit to the gills, we loaded our minivan.

After a long night of last minute packing and cleaning, little sleep, and goodbyes to family, we left MN around 11 am with light snow in the air.

Ben's spot is in the back seat surrounded by bags and Kaylee's mattress.

Kaylee wasn't so sure about her spot when I put her in the car seat. She has all the book bags surrounding her.

Jordan probably got the best seat in the van...right next to the DVD player:)

We drove just a little over an hour before stopping for lunch at "The Golden Arches Supper Club" for lunch. That is where we met up with the Adam Love family and caravaned the rest of the way to Fremont, NE. Adam and I were in our van (with our three kids) and Kristi and Kelly were in their van (with their three boys). We talked and talked and talked until West Des Moines, IA where we stopped for supper at Arby's.

Between our three and their three, the decibel level tripled and I'm sure the cleaning crew had to work late because of our families.

After supper, Kristi came back into our van for the 2.5 hour drive to Omaha, NE, where we met up with the Williams family (individual supporters) for a few hours.

Kaylee, Biscuit the dog, Katie, Chicken the dog, Jordan, and Ben.

All the kids were able to burn off some steam at the house playing with the dogs. Kristi and Liz spent time chatting, while James and I watched the Patriots vs. Giants game on NFL network. We had a great time and enjoyed getting to know the Williams family in a better way.

From Omaha, we drove another 30 minutes to Fremont to unload and spend the night at the Love's house. It was past 10:30 when we arrived and we were tired (more like exhausted).

We were thankful for the night's rest in a welcoming home.

Thank you for your prayers for our long trip to Texas.

Come back again for Day 2 of our trip to language school.

Fully Loaded

After 30 days of loading our storage unit, it was picked up this afternoon. We loaded it to the gills, and unfortunately we still have several tubs left to pack and store (somewhere).


We tried to use every square inch of the unit.


The truck came right on time and picked it up in 15 minutes.


Notice all the snow and ice we had to shovel in our driveway over the last week.





The unit will be stored in a nearby warehouse until we come back to MN in May. Lord willing our support will be at 100% and we will be able to pack it into a separate shipping container for Chile.

It has been a rough week...sore muscles, headaches, and many hours of babysitters.
Thanks to all the have been praying for us during this stressful week.

We have one more full day of packing last minute things, cleaning, and loading our minivan for Texas. We leave on Saturday morning.

Our travels will go as follows:
Saturday - Monday morning - Fremont, NE
Monday - Driving to Oklahoma City, OK (hotel)
Tuesday - Driving to San Antonio, TX (hotel)
Wednesday - Arriving at language school (unloading and unpacking)
Thursday - Friday - Settling in to our new apartment
Monday - Registration

We will try to post updates while on the road as time and Internet connection allow.

One last funny story...my parents took Kristi and I out for Chinese tonight and had a great time of conversation and memories. We all ate a fortune cookie (and not that we put any stock in what they say) and here's is what mine said...

Travels from nesting space will take you to a broader cultural horizon

How's that for being appropriate for the occasion?

Christmas 2007

We had Christmas a couple days early so all of the extended family could be in attendance.


Kaylee and Hannah played in the kitchen sink together and loved every minute of it.





Ben and Jordan playing dress up with their new wigs.


My dad's gift was appropriate.


Mom and the rest of the ladies put on a big spread for supper.


Kaylee's Christmas smile (extra big)


This will be the last Christmas with Grandma and Grandpa for a while.
Ben and Grandma sat together during the reading of the Christmas story.


Lincoln Logs !!! Jordan and Ben were very excited to build houses and buildings.


On Christmas Eve morning, our family went to Grand Rios waterpark to use up the gift certificate a friend gave us. The kids loved it and they burned off tons of energy.

Surprise Visit From Friends

Last week we had a surprise visit by a family from Fargo. They are members of one of our supporting churches. They were in the area doing some Christmas shopping and called to ask if they could stop by.


They brought gifts for each one of us to use on our upcoming trip to Texas.


New Hot Wheels cars for Jordan and Ben.




Fruit snacks for the long trip south.


Thanks Harrison & Bella for stopping by to play with the kids.
Thanks Jim & Ciara for thinking of our family.



Our family is very grateful for all who have expressed their love and support during these last days in MN. Many have shared gifts, meals, their time, and their labor to help us get ready for our big move. We have several more days of cleaning and last minute packing. The container will be picked up on Thursday. We will leave on Saturday morning (9 am).

Please continue to pray for our upcoming trip. We will attempt to update the blog while on the road, so look for those adventures.

Merry Christmas 2007

Merry Christmas from the Flinck family.

Front Row: Ben, Jordan, Hannah Dunnette (my cousin's daughter), Kaylee, Kristi, and David

Middle Row: Nancy Flinck (mom), Leona Nelson (grandma), Muriel Dunnette (aunt), and Amy Dunnette (cousin)

Back Row: Cary Flinck (dad), Ken Nelson (mom's step-brother), Mavis (second cousin), Randy Dunnette (uncle)

Not pictured: David's sister Bonnie and family (living in NJ) and David's cousin and family (serving overseas)

SS Christmas Program

Sunday night (Dec. 16th) was the SS Christmas program. This will be the last Christmas program (at our home church) in which our boys will be able to participate.




Ben is our resident clown. He was singing with "extra" emotion.


Jordan & Ben had a couple duets and quoted 1 John 4:10.
They did a great job.


Jordan and his many different sitting positions. He is just like his dad...can't sit still.




J, B, & K after the program. The shot wasn't the greatest, but the best from the three takes.

We will miss our sending church and it's ministry to our family. In Texas, we will be attending a Spanish speaking church on Sunday mornings, so it will be a big change especially for our children. They will also start the immersion into the Spanish language. Please pray for their adjustment and attitudes amidst change.

Judy's Cookie Day

Every year, three weeks before Christmas, our dear friend Judy hosts a "Cookie Day" at her apartment. She invites all her family, co-workers, and friends to join her for fellowship and time to decorate Christmas cookies. We make it a point to go each year!


The dinning room table is full of "options" and the kids have at it - no limits.


The boys brought their friend Michael with them to enjoy the experience.


Like I said, the table is full of options...a little kid's dream.


The kids made four cookies each to take home and eat.


Thank you Judy (and others) for the many hours of work that go into "Cookie Day".
Thank you for opening your home to others and giving us the opportunity to meet your friends and co-workers.

Come back again to view pictures of the boy's last SS Christmas program at Berean.

Pastor & Wives Christmas Fellowship

Monday night (Dec. 10th) Kristi and I were able to attend the Pastor & Wives Christmas Fellowship meeting in Stillwater, MN. We traveled over with several other couples from our church in the church van.



This was the last time we were able to mingle with pastors from the area. There were a great number of churches represented which was encouraging. We saw some old friends and met some new ones around the table and during the fellowship time. One of the things we will miss when we go to Texas and Chile is these times of fellowship with large numbers of pastors. We respect these pastors and glean from them when listening to them.



One of Kristi's highlights was the opportunity to hold a friend's baby.

Come back again as we share about Judy's famous "Cookie Day".

SS Christmas Party

Last Friday night, we dropped the kids off at Grandpa & Grandma's and attended our Sunday School Christmas party. This will most likely be our last one and it was a special time with our friends. We enjoyed adult conversation, games, food, and a Bible lesson from Pastor Matt Fure.



We will miss our Home Starter Sunday School class. Over the last several years our class has "lost" several couples to the ministry (the pastorate and the mission field). The local church is a great place to develop relationships and accountability, but also a great place to train and send families out into full time ministry.



Kristi and her good friend Stacy.

An Evening with Judy & Heidi

We are blessed to have some wonderful individual supporters who interact with our family on a regular basis. Since we are about to leave for Texas, we are running out of days to spend time with an ever growing list of family, friends, and supporters.



Last Thursday night, we spent the evening with Judy and Heidi for supper and craft time. We had a blast and appreciated this time of conversation and laughs.



Both Judy and Heidi have a wonderful ministry to our children. They care for them and reinforce Biblical truths and character. There have been countless times where they have watched our kids so we can go out for supper (in quietness).



For our craft time we painted Christmas suncatchers.






Thank you Heidi & Judy for the wonderful evening. We will miss you and our times together.

Thank goodness for email huh?