Back to Texas - Day 1 - Polk City, IA

After three straight days of packing and exhaustion, we left for our long trip back down to Texas.

We said our goodbyes to Grandpa and Grandma Flinck and settled into the van. There was a major storm blowing through southern MN and we had to drive through it for an hour. Thank the Lord the storm had mostly run it's course as we drove down I-35W to Iowa.

A big thank you to David's parents for letting us crash at their place throughout the summer. They put up with our mess, noise, and crazy schedule. We will miss them as we return to Texas until Dec.

We left Brooklyn Park around 9 am...right on schedule (for once).

We drove 250 miles to Polk City, Iowa, in order to spend the rest of the day with Talitha & Dario C. and family. Upon arriving at 2 pm, we all went to the city pool for a quick swim and then out for supper at Cici's Pizza.

No naps for the kids today, due to the day's activities and playmates.

The kids turned into zombies at the tail end of supper, due to the long day of travel and an afternoon full of swimming. Above: Ben practically falling asleep while watching Tom & Jerry at the restaurant.

Little David, Sophia, & Jordan "just resting" in the booth.

Ben pretending to drive a race car at Cici's Pizza.

The kids got their second wind on the way home from supper, so we stopped at the Iowa National Guard Monuments to let the kids climb on the tanks.

Jordan is showing you all that there is a pilot inside the fighter plane.

There is a "little kid" in all of us.

Talitha & Kristi - peaceful best friends

You'd think that once we got home the kids would be dog tired, cause all the adults were beyond exhaustion. That would be a NEGATIVE...they all got their pj's on and watched a short video together in the den. Finally, we got them all in bed around 10 pm...way past their bedtime.

As, I finish up this post, Kristi and Talitha are chatting the night away upstairs (until who knows when). We have a long day ahead of us tomorrow. Up and at 'um early tomorrow with a 8:30 am departure time.

Thanks for checkin' in on our trip...come back again for the next leg of our journey back down to Texas!

Leaving for Texas (again)

We are off on the first leg of our journey back to RGBI language school. By the looks of the radar online, we will be traveling through a storm this morning.

Continue to pray for our family as we drive 5 hours to Polk City, IA. We are staying with some college friends for one night.

We will be posting travel updates as much as internet connection allows. Check back for more information and pictures.

Chile Facts: Volcanos

Following are some facts about Chile's volcanoes.

* There are 2,000 volcanoes in Chile, more than 500 of which experts say are potentially active.

* Around 60 volcanoes in Chile have been recorded to have erupted over the past 450 years, and experts say around 40 could begin to do so in the future.

* Chile has the world's second most active string of volcanoes after Indonesia.

* The country is home to two of Latin America's most active volcanoes: Villarica and Llaima.

* Llaima erupted on New Year's Day, spewing ash and molten lava and forcing dozens of tourists and staff to evacuate a wilderness park.

* Patagonia's volcanoes have traditionally been less active than those further north but the region, which cuts across Chile and Argentina, is home to towering snow-capped peaks and glaciers.




Source: Chile's National Geology and Mining Service.

Westbrook VBS - Part 3

Read Part 1

Read Part 2

The week of VBS came to a close on Friday. The Lord blessed all week with the attendance and opportunities to impact kids with the Gospel and Biblical truth. Above: Kristi is leading her class in some songs.

I'm not the greatest at puppets, but used of the Dino puppet our home church let us have for the week in Westbrook.

On Friday, the parents were invited to attend the closing ceremonies and hear what the kids have been taught all week. There was a time for banana splits afterwards to interact with the parents and grandparents.
Left: What the 5 ft. gutter full of ice cream looked like before.
Right: What it looked like after 70 people were served.

Our kids loved the toys/games they received for learning their verses and being there every night. They will enjoy them on our LONG trip to Texas, starting on July 31st.

On Sat., we took the kids to the city pool since we had the day off. Above: Ben looks like he is preparing for the 2016 Olympic Waterslide team.
Excellent form...look at those arms and feet!

A big thank you goes out to the members of IBC for their hospitality and care throughout the week. Above is the little home our family stayed in during the week. We enjoyed the time to develop relationships with the people of the church.

In Oct., our family will be sending a letter to each one of the children who attended VBS to remind and encourage them to come to the children's club at IBC. Please pray that fruit will come from the week of VBS and that all of these kids will grow up to be men and women of God.

Westbrook VBS - Part 2

Read part 1 of our time in Westbrook.

Before each night of VBS, the church hosted a light meal for the workers and VBS kids. We thought it was a great idea, since it gave the workers an extra 30 minutes to mingle and get to know the children. Thank you to all the ladies who brought food each night!

I kept teasing the kids that we would be eating dinosaur meat for the next meal...none of them bought it, but it was fun anyway.

Ben really loved his class time and crafts.
Our van is full of crafts, papers, markers, and stickers from the week of VBS.

Kaylee playing Play-Doh with one of the helpers. One funny story about her is...during class time, she kept whispering "Mommy" to Kristi while she was teaching the lesson. She wanted to sit on Kristi's lap while the story was being taught. Needless to say, she loves the attention.

God answered prayer over and above what we all prayed...there was a high of 39 kids on Thursday and an overall total of over 42 new contacts for the children's ministry in the Fall.

Ben and his "God created the World" craft.

Come back tomorrow for the final post
about our time and ministry in Westbrook.

Westbrook VBS - Part 1

Destination: Westbrook, MN
Population: 754 people
Dates: July 21-27
Ministry Opportunity: Teaching the Next Generation Biblical Truth

Immanuel Baptist Church invited us to help serve in their annual VBS. IBC is a supporting church of ours and we were glad to help in the children's ministry during the week.

David was asked to teach during the closing time. He summarized the theme and verse for the day, while weaving in facts about the country of Chile and why our family is going to serve as missionaries.

Kristi was the main teacher for the 2-6 yrs. group.
She had several helpers during the week that helped with the kids in her class.
One of the nights, their class had 14 kids!

Each night there were outside games and activities.
The most popular was the "dinosaur" rides.
Kaylee insisted on riding every night,
but had to learn a hard lesson of letting other take turns riding.

Above: Ben & Jordan's class

The week started out on Monday night with a surprising 25 kids.
For the small town of Westbrook, having 25 come on the first night was a big indication that God was going to give us an exciting and blessed week.
-------------------------
Come back again for part 2 of our time here in Westbrook.

Thank you for your continued prayer and support during these last few days of summer ministry before we drive back down to Texas on July 31st.

Southview Baptist Church

Last Sunday, we were serving at Southview Baptist Church in Richfield, MN.

After the morning services, there was a cookout with the teens and several seminary families. This summer has been full of cookouts, but we are not complaining...it is a great way to get to know the people of the church and spend time developing relationships.

Pastor Jeremy Stephens recently came to SBC to serve as pastor. He is working a part time secular job until the church can fully support him and his family. Pray for their family as they faithfully serve the Lord in the Richfield, MN area.

The little kid table full of energetic children ready to eat!

After a full day at SBC, we drove the 25 minutes back home and prepared for our week of serving at Vacation Bible School in Westbrook, MN, starting the next day.
Come back again to read how the Lord blessed at VBS.

Family Reunion 2008

Last week, we were able to take a few days off and travel north three hours to spend time at David's grandma's property. It was important to us to make more memories with Grandma Nelson.

In the future, her house will be used on furloughs
and will be a blessing to stay there during our travels in the Mid-West.

Grandma & Grandpa Flinck were able
to come up as well to spend some days with us.

One of the nights, we had a bonfire and invited

some college friends over to roast marshmallows.
Our kids had fun playing around the yard and bonfire.

On Saturday, the Flinck family had a reunion at a local park.
We were able to see several aunts and uncles.
Some of them we will not see again for several years.

Jordan, Ben, & Kaylee playing at the park.

One family member brought his boat,
so the boys were able to go on a ride with Grandpa around Trout Lake.

We were thankful for this family time,
and we will miss these times together
once we arrive in Chile in the very near future.

Welcome Little Collin

On our way home from our meeting in Wild Rose, WI,
we stopped briefly at the McLain's house
to meet their new little boy, Collin.

We all enjoyed holding the little bundle of joy (especially Kristi).

Thank you McLain family for your faithful prayer
and financial support through these past few years.
May God bless your "growing" family.

The short break from riding in our van
always helps the kids work the kinks out and let's them move around.
Above: Kaylee, Marisa, Jordan, & Ben playing imaginary instruments on the picnic table.
What a bunch of goof-balls!