Looking Ahead to September 08 (and beyond)

After the end of the three week point of our semester, our family has finally settled into what will be our normal routine until Dec., save some extra trial/blessing that God might add to the mix.

The purpose of this post is to summarize what has been happening in our lives here in the last four weeks, and then share what is ahead of us in Sept.

Summary of the last 4 weeks

-Arrived here at RGBI
-Our Ford mini-van was totaled in a car accident on Aug. 10th
-David started classes on the 12th
-Getting back into the daily rhythm of study and classes
-Started faithfully attending the Spanish services at Iglesia Bautista del Valle (Valley Baptist Church)
-Attempting to resolve the insurance process in the loss of our mini van.
-Getting to know the new families (or new students) in the missionary language school.

What's coming ahead in Sept. (and beyond)

-Kristi will be homeschooling and would appreciate your prayers for daily wisdom and strength in teaching Jordan and Ben while at the same time keeping Kaylee occupied and out of the way.

-Amidst David's busy school and study schedule, there are many things to accomplish this fall in the early stages of our possible departure for the field in Jan. 09. These things usually deal with the communication of emails to the field, supporters, and family; researching airline prices and shipping costs. All of these things take time and we would appreciate your prayers for time management in dealing with these affairs.

-We have three papers that we still are looking for in MN (thanks Mom and Dad) that need to be faxed to the insurance company in order for them to send us the settlement check. Which, by the way, is the hidden blessing in this whole ordeal. Lord willing, we will be receiving back double the amount that we thought we could have sold the van for this coming Dec. Praise the Lord for His provision, timing, and orchestration in the car accident. Please pray that we can resolve this insurance claim soon.

-Since we will not be driving back to MN in Dec., we have already started the long process of "weeding" through our stuff here in Texas and making mental notes of what things need to be given away, what things need to be shipped to MN (to be later shipped to Chile), and what things need to go with us on the plane to MN. Yes...Dec. is a ways away, but we don't want to leave this for the last week. With David in school, he will be studying up until the last day we are here in Texas. The Lord has provided a great price for five one-way plane tickets for our family from Harlingen, TX to Minneapolis (non-stop).

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Our family thanks those who have been praying for us during these last few weeks. God has lead us down some paths that we wouldn't have chosen, but we have seen His mighty hand and plan through it all.

Thank you to those who have been faithfully reading and commenting on the blog, sending us emails, letters, and even packages in the mail. All of the above encourage us and remind us of your love, care and concern for our family and ministry. Kristi was especially pampered of late with many "Happy Birthday" letters, cards, e-cards, and care packages in the mail. Thank you for thinking of her and remembering her on her special day. I was able to take her out to eat (without the kids) during her birthday weekend.

*A quick update on our status with Hurricane Gustav...it looks like Gustav will be heading north of us (but who knows with gulf storms). We will keep you posted if anything changes here in the next few days.

Come back again to find out what God is doing in and through our family here at language school in south Texas.

The Origin of the Potato

(taken from a recent online article)

The Irish hungered after it...
Dan Quayle couldn't spell it...
Russian cooks swear by it...
and China is its biggest producer.

Now the potato is at the root of an Andean war of words over where exactly it originated.

Peru and Chile, longtime rivals, are each laying claim to the humble vegetable, which experts agree is indigenous to South America and was spread to Europe by Spanish colonists in the 16th century.

At stake is the reflected glory of being the home of the "patata" (or "papa" in the Quechua language of the Andes), celebrated this year in the UN Year of the Potato.

Chile brought the dispute to a boil by disputing the bulk of scientific evidence. The Agriculture Minister then stated that in fact the potato first sprouted on Chile's southern Chiloé Island.

The blowback from Peru was predictably starchy, stating that "the potato has its origins in Peru near Lake Titicaca and Chile's variety is nothing more than 'a little grandchild' of Peru's great and original potato. Read the whole article here

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Good grief! Can't we all get along and just enjoy the potato, instead of fighting over its origin?

(photo taken in Antofagasta, Chile, in Jan. '07...and man was it GOOD!)

Cultural Spotlight: Tardiness

Taken from a recent online article I read...

Anyone who’s been to Chile knows that punctuality is not a national strong point. But they may not know that tardiness is costing the country a fortune. A new study estimates that tardiness cost Chile between $160 million and $343 million in 2007.

This is a slight improvement over 2006, when the cost of lateness was upwards of $385 million, according to the organization's calculations.


Chile is far from the worst in the region. Similar studies have estimated that in Peru, 84% of people admit to tardiness, costing the country $5 billion a year, and a 2003 study in Ecuador, put annual losses at $2.3 billion.


Chile Senate Vice President Baldo Prokurica, however, finds these losses unacceptable, and wants the government to tackle the problem. “Chile has a terrible habit of being late,” he told El Mercurio.


The Senator feels that he personally a victim of constant tardiness. On April 9, he suspended a special congressional session because Chile’s economics minister arrived 45 minutes late. “He said he was meeting with the president,” explained Prokurica, “but that’s no excuse.”


Tardiness is a cultural problem, says Prokurica. “In developed countries, it’s unacceptable to show up late for a meeting. But in Chile we have a warped conception about being on time. If someone arrives on time, people think, ‘Does this guy not have anything better to do?’”


Prokurica has proposed a three-part plan to combat the bad habit nationally. He wants the President and interior minister to launch a campaign for punctuality within the government. He also wants to promote punctuality in schools and to promote punctuality with a national ad campaign. (Source)

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Obviously, there are major implications for ministry in Chile. Training people that tardiness goes beyond a cultural issue...at the heart of it lays the issue of stewardship of the time God gives each and every one of us.

Please pray that we would be balanced in our schedules and punctuality, at the same time have wisdom and discernment in teaching Biblical principles of stewardship to Chilean believers.

In Memory of John Prado

Yesterday, we heard the news of the homegoing of John Prado, a fellow GMSA missionary co-worker. To many of us he was a mentor, an adopted uncle, an example of faithfulness, and a witness for the Gospel. After quietly singing "It Is Well With My Soul", John fell asleep and passed into the loving arms of His Savior after a long battle of liver problems and cancer.

We would like to honor him by sharing
how he has impacted our lives in many ways.

John has impacted our lives
by his love for the Bible and the God of the Bible.

The above picture is of John and his wife, Helen, during a preaching session at missionary conference (2004). He cherished the Word of God and it fleshed out in his practice of weekly handing out Bibles to Chileans. His favorite thing to do was to go to the local police station and give Bibles as gifts to the officers and inmates.

John has impacted our lives by his unique ability
to share Christ with people.

Above is a picture of John in a small town in the Elqui Valley during my visit in Jan. 2007. His mannerisms, his smile, his countenance, his patience with people have impacted many lives.

John has impacted our lives with his love
of the camping ministry at El Molle.

His contributions to the camping ministry in the North have impacted many for Christ. Only few know of the many hours and labor John personally put into the camping ministry. After some have said that the camp property was too small or not effective, John continued to have a vision and continued to impact children and adults for Christ. Above is a picture of John sharing his heart for the camp ministry to my dad during our visit in Jan. 07.

John has impacted our lives with his love
for the ministry in the small towns located in the Elqui Valley.

We will always associate the Elqui Valley with John Prado's name. His heart for this difficult ministry was drilled into my heart during our visit with him. I am sorry we couldn't have made it to Chile faster, so that our family could have assisted in some small way with his ministry to this needy valley.

John has impacted our lives
with his social and friendly nature.

Simply put, John was always talking to somebody...young or old. His special ministry was to the MK's. He loved them dearly, and often would tell them funny stories, and buy them candy without their parent's permission. Kristi has fond memories of "Uncle John" and will miss him. If only our children could have been more exposed to Uncle John.

John has impacted our lives
with his constant and silly sense of humor.

John was genius at turning a phrase with English and Spanish.
You would always laugh around John. He was always a joke-ster.

The story behind the above picture is: When my dad and I were visiting John, he took us up the Elqui Valley to visit some towns and sites. He wanted us to see the statue of the Virgin Mary that overlooked the valley. While there he told us of the stories and superstitions of the people in how they actually believe that Mary protected the Valley and provided prosperity to the people.

During this rather serious talk, John started to get a bloody nose (signs of his illness). He stopped what he was saying and turned to the statue and jokingly asked Mary for forgiveness for saying bad things about her.

We ask you to pray with us for his wife, Helen, during these upcoming days as she goes through the grieving process and the transition to life without "Her Jonny".

We thank you, Father, for your servant, John Prado. He has been a faithful and humble servant for You for many years. We don't necessarily ask for him to come back from your Holy presence, but we desire to communicate our feelings of loss. He is with You now and we are confident in Your promise of Eternal Life to all who believe in Your Son, Jesus Christ. Guide and direct Helen's paths now as she continues to serve You.

May all who knew John remember to press on with the same fervour, heart, humor, and love that John fleshed out on a daily basis. In the wonderful name, and through the mighty blood of Your dear Son, Jesus Christ. Amen.

Watering Down Protests

Protesting is a little different in Santiago, Chile. “The anarchists decide to take over our campus about three our four times a year,” said Cesar from the University of Chile. “We’re surprised it has not happened yet this year,” he added, “It’s very normal.”

May 1 was the holiday for the International Day of the Workers. As usual in Chile, the peaceful labor union marches were interrupted by occasional rioting.

There are always a number of young people who take it upon themselves to try and break things (obviously windows are just symbols of capitalist oppression) and fight the cops that are employed for crowd control. They do it in the name of labor, sometimes socialism and occasionally anarchy, but I don’t think the real workers appreciate it very much. It confuses the legitimacy of the unions with the chaos of the troublemakers.

“Every year, it’s always the same,” a local mother sighed as she watched the news. “They get together, throw rocks and someone gets hurt.”

Chile’s civil police, the carabineros, are pros at dealing with this sort of thing. They even have a special crowd control tank with a high powered water hose as a turret. It’s called a guacon, named after a breed of spitting llamas. When an impromptu protest breaks out downtown and stops traffic, the guacon cut things very short. I guess it’s hard to protest when you’re soaking wet.

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As I read the above online article about "Watering Down Protests", my thoughts turned to the tendency of ministries, churches, and Christians to "Water Down the Gospel".

We would ask that you pray that our family will not water down the Gospel, but share, in a loving way, the truth of the Cross of Christ, His burial, and His resurrection. While using water to stop protests is evidently effective, we know that watering down the Gospel is not effective in the hearts and lives of people. The true Gospel and Biblical truth is the only way to be effective in changing Chilean lives and families.

Please continue to pray for our family as we desire to minister effectively in the needy country of Chile.

God's Protection & Path

For the last week, we have been settling in for our last semester of language training here in South Texas. There have been a few setbacks (humanly speaking) that we have faced immediately before the semester started. God has been testing our faith and we desire to respond in a right and godly way. It is a daily mental struggle to fully trust in God's path, because we so often think that "our way" would have been better, faster, or wiser.

Now let me back up a little bit...

Last Sunday, Jordan, Ben, another MLS student, and I were in a major, two-car accident on the way to AM services. Kristi stayed home with Kaylee, who wasn't feeling well. We praise the Lord that no one was injured or killed in both vehicles. It all happened so fast. In every detail of the day, we have seen God's sovereignty in orchestrating the events. It was a rough day for me (David) due to the accident and the reminder of the brevity of life. God has been helping me deal with this one moment at a time. As for Jordan and Ben, they took the whole thing in stride. They thought the whole thing was COOL (you know...with all the police, firemen, and ambulance vehicles).

Our Ford Windstar was probably totaled (still waiting to hear from our insurance agent) and we have been amazed to see how the Lord is providing for our future vehicle needs. Many have offered their second vehicle when we need to make some errands or go to church. The Neimeyer family (Baptist Mid Missionaries to Chile) are letting us their van for the rest of the semester to use. The Rio Grande Language School community has been very encouraging to our family during this time of trial and we love them all dearly.

Since the day of the accident, I (David) have been on the phone most of the time dealing with the long and detailed process of insurance and police paperwork. I would appreciate your prayers, as this process is not conducive to my daily heavy homework load and desired family schedule.

Rejoicing in:

-God's Protection

-God's Perfect timing and plan

-Another day of life

Struggling with:

-Balancing homework, family, and dealing with the process of insurance

Please pray for:

-Wisdom in upcoming decisions due to the accident

-Mental adjustments for David as he is back in language classes

-A fair compensation from the insurance company

Due to not being hooked up to the internet for over a week, plus the recent accident, we are slightly behind on our ministry blog. It is our intention to catch up in the very near future. We thank you for your prayers and support during this time of "faith" testing. We love you all!

Continue to check the blog for updates on this development.

In closing, I wanted to share something that I read just a few days after the accident that was an encouragement. I read a puritan poem entitled, "God is the Source of All Good" during my devotional time and here are a few lines that the Lord used to encourage me amidst this time of losing our van.

"...Thou hast made me what I am ,
and given me what I have;
In thee I live and move and have my being;
Thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation,
and wisely administers all my affairs.

...Impress me deeply with a sense of thine omnipresence,
that thou art about my path, my ways,
my laying down, my end."

Back to Texas - Day 6 - RBGI

Part One
Part Two
Part Three

From Wichita Falls, TX, we drove most of the day to RGBI. We arrived just after suppertime. Our classmates, Paul & Roxanna greeted us and helped unload the van. It was great to see them again and we're very thankful for their help. I was not looking forward to the unloading process.

Above: What our living room looked like after unloading. We pretty much left it like that for the night, since we all were exhausted from the trip.

The next day, the kids reacquainted themselves with all of their toys that we left in Texas.
It kept them busy while we started the unpacking process.

Over the summer, RGBI remodeled our bathroom.
We now have a shower that doesn't leak!
They installed a new tile, sink, wall, and shower fixtures.

On 08-08-08, we invited the Wilson family over for supper to celebrate Paul and Roxanne's 24th wedding anniversary. We also watched the opening ceremony for the Beijing Olympics. It was a great time of fellowship and relaxation before the rigors of school pile on us.

Hurricane Dolly had gone through the area two weeks prior, and the grass was growing like crazy. I volunteered to mow a couple of hours to help RGBI catch up with all the work. During my high school and college years, I worked at a golf course mowing, so I love to mow. The downside of mowing that day was all the chigger bits I got on my legs, due to not wearing long pants.

The kids were invited to Jesse's birthday party.
Jesse is Jordan and Ben's best friend here on campus.

So the first week was relaxing and we were able to get a lot of things done in preparation for school to start the following Tuesday.

Then it happened....

Come back to hear what that "it" was.

Back to Texas - Day 3 - 5 - Wichita Falls, TX

On day three, we drove another 295 miles from Wichita, KS to Wichita Falls, TX.
Finally, we are back in the Lone Star State.

Just before getting back into the van after eating, Jordan and Ben often run around trees or play with sticks to get out all the wiggles. Sitting in the van for hours takes a toll on the kids (and parents).

We arrived in Wichita Falls and met the pastor and his family. Pastor Lukas Counterman is sort of related to David...David's sister, Bonnie, married Lukas' younger brother, Simeon. We have been looking forward to getting to know them in a better way. On Sunday, we were able to share our ministry in the services of Messiah Baptist Church.

As always, the kids made friends quickly with the many children of the church.

David preaching during the evening service.

It got up to 108 degrees throughout the weekend, and provided incentive for the kids to stay in the pool. We had several opportunities for family swim times at our hotel's outdoor pool.

We enjoyed our three nights in Wichita Falls and the opportunity to serve and get to know the members of Messiah Baptist Church. We look forward to following what the Lord will do in this ministry by following the church's blog.

Our next leg will be the longest day of our whole trip. From the top of Texas to the bottom. If only Texas was as small as the waffles we ate at the hotel. We appreciate your prayers as we travel and then settle back into our apartment at RGBI.

There is much to do once we arrive:
-unpack
-get groceries
-buy textbooks
-clean apartment
-get our brakes replaced on the van

Come back again to read about our final leg of our trip.

Back to Texas - Day 2 - KC & Wichita

Back on the road at 8:30 after a long & busy first day.
We left Polk City, IA to drive the 3.5 hours to Kansas City, MO.

One might ask, "What exactly do you guys do in the van while traveling?"

Well...

David - drives mostly, calls family & friends on the cell phone, listens to sermons and the Albert Mohler Radio program on his iPod (which, by the way, today's episode was excellent...highly recommend it!)

Kristi - calls her mom & friends on the cell phone, hands out snacks to the kids, sometimes drives, occasionally reads and sleeps.

Jordan - makes forts out of his blanket and anything else he can find within reach.

Ben - writes stories in his journal & looks through binoculars

Kaylee - plays with her white kitty and dolls, picks on Jordan (who sits right next to her) and does the most napping.

We stopped in at David's childhood best friend's house for lunch. Ryan Prigge was the brother David never had and competed together in everything imaginable growing up. Moving to another country will be difficult in the fact that these meetings with special people in our lives will be few and far between.

Group shot: Our family with Ryan and Erin Prigge and their daughter Olivia.

After lunch, we were back on the road heading through Kansas. Funny story: Ben, when he realized what state we were in, said, "Jordan! This is the state where Dorothy lived."

We were all still pretty tired from yesterday's activities,
so we all took our turns taking naps.

Except for, you guessed it, Mr. I Am Allergic To Naps, Jordan.

Today's total mileage was 422.
We arrived at our hotel around 6 pm, and we all jumped into the outside pool to cool off. It was mid-90's all throughout Kansas today. This weekend in Wichita Fall, TX, looks like a scorcher...forecast calls for 105 degrees! Yuck.

Thanks for checking back with us on our journey back to Texas. We are thankful for a safe day of travel and air conditioning in our van. Continue to pray for us as we travel on our next leg of the journey tomorrow.