The alarm rings at 7am. We probably don’t need to wake up so early to make it to school at 8:30, but it is our first week, and our first experience with “morning school”. It is March and autumn is beginning in the Southern Hemisphere. I kick myself that I didn’t go to bed earlier—life happens on a later schedule here and I haven’t yet disciplined myself to go to bed early. I wake up the two boys, one in 5th and one in 4th grade, who attend a local school, and move on to my chores, amazed at how productive I can be when the house is quiet. Continue reading My Life as a Missionary Mom→
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The long, relaxing summer days are coming to a sudden end. The new school year starts again this Monday. Summer seemed to fly by. It is never long enough. But there is also excitement over new routines and new experiences. In my almost 19 years as a parent, I always saw us as a family of die-hard homeschoolers. But, I am now preparing for our second year in a local, private school. Last year we sent our then 4 and 8 year old children, reasoning that they were young enough to pick up the language. This year we are also sending our 11 year old. It was clear that in order to gain fluency in both the language and culture he had to attend school. Our church plant is small and without any other children, and his weekly lessons weren’t enough. Continue reading A New School Year→
During our recent team transitions, we have been blessed to have a 2 week missionary intern, Akerra Tarver. She is a student at Pepperdine University and is in the middle of a year abroad program in Buenos Aires. Even though her time with us was short, she was able to give us great help, especially with the children.
Akerra is the oldest child of a large family and is far away from home. We just sent out our oldest daughter far from home to start college. Akerra became a big sister to our teenagers, baking with them, watching shows with them, going out with them and just being a friend. Continue reading Missionary Kids, Transitions and Our Intern Akerra→
One of the hallmarks of missionary life is the inevitability of saying goodbye. Things change fast in the world of missions, and missionaries must be able and willing to move. Indeed our family has moved many times in our 16 years of being in ministry. While we are not moving now, we have been saying goodbye to family–our actual family and our missionary family. Continue reading Goodbyes and Hellos→
What is it like to live without a car? What challenges does that present to the large family? Growing up in suburban America, it always seemed somewhat romantic to think of city living, where care ownership is optional and everywhere you need to go can be reached on foot or by bus. We have been living this city life now for 15 months, and I wanted to share our experiences.
It is the start of a fresh new year. We have a new baby set to arrive in April. We said goodbye to our oldest who will begin college in the U.S. this month. We also said goodbye to our only teammates, the Richlines, for their year long furlough, and will say hello to a new family that will minister with us for the year. Ray will begin preaching every week in Spanish, as well as taking over many responsibilities of the church plant. Continue reading 2016 – Yielded→
On October 17 we celebrated our first complete year in Uruguay. It was also fitting that this very same week was the week we finally received our visas to be Uruguayan residents (we have been on tourists visas until this time). It is no exaggeration to say that we have had dozens of appointments at various government offices, plus a few setbacks, to complete all the necessary paperwork. Continue reading Our First Year in Uruguay→
“Uruguay needs what this conference has to offer,” said a missionary to Ray during our Reformation Conference. He was referring to the solid Biblical teaching that was the center of the conference that Montevideo’s two Presbyterian churches put on jointly. Indeed, we have heard exciting news from surrounding countries in South America–Brazil, Argentina, Paraguay and others–of a great resurgence of Bible-centered, Reformed theology. Too often false teachings, a focus on great signs and extraordinary experiences, and a lack of Biblical knowledge have been running free through the evangelical world in Latin America. But the Holy Spirit has been at work as well, creating a hunger and thirst for God’s Word. It is to this end that the second annual Reformation Conference has been hosted in Montevideo as a way to provide education on the basic foundation of the Protestant Reformation, calling all Christians back to a faith that is focused on Christ alone, faith alone, grace alone, Scripture alone, to the glory of God alone. Iglesia Presbiteriana del Uruguay, offered their facilities for the venue and Dr. Charles Telfer, Professor of Biblical Languages at Westminster Seminary in Escondido was our speaker. He lectured about the work of John Calvin, Johannes Cocceius and the little known reformer Campegius Vitringa – highlighting their contributions to our understanding of the Bible and theology as well as their commitment to truth. Continue reading Second Annual Reformation Conference→
Does God care about the little things in life? Should we bother him with the little things like losing keys? Is it too much to ask that He use us to bless other people? As Christians we believe that God ordains all that comes to pass and we believe He cares for us. I want to introduce you to an amazing little book that reminds us of how God works even amidst the minutia of life. It is called No Ordinary Days and was written by long time MTW missionary Dianne Smalling. In it she shares story after story from her years in ministry of expecting God to be at work in her life and through her life. Some stories seem amazing. Other stories seem ordinary. But this is not a book of how amazing the author is or how different the missionary life is from regular life. Instead, she highlights how ordinary people can anticipate God at work through the ordinary events of daily life. As I was reading it I was reminded of how I have seen God at work in my own life. Even just in the time we’ve been here, I would have similar stories to tell. But I was also reminded of how often I overlook God’s hand at work in my day to day life. Opportunities are lost. Gifts go by unnoticed, or are noticed briefly and forgotten. Continue reading No Ordinary Days→
I have a couple pieces of happy news to deliver. First, we have a new baby on the way! If all is healthy with this tiny, developing life he or she should make an entrance sometime in April. As always, the children are very excited. Several of them have been praying for a new sibling. I am privileged to be carrying this little human being as he gets his start in life. Continue reading A New Baby and a New Intern→
