Category Archives: Settling In

teammates

John and Karen Stodghill

Teams are important. As the old expression goes: “No man is an island.” In many arenas of life, we find that working with others is not only a necessity but is part of who we are as social beings and is healthy not only for us as individuals, but also for the greater promotion of the work that we set out to do together. From organizing social events to working together in business to ruling and governing nations – teamwork is important.

“Two are better than one, because they have a good reward for their toil. For if they fall, one will lift up his fellow. But woe to him who is alone when he falls and has not another to lift him up! Again, if two lie together, they keep warm, but how can one keep warm alone? And though a man might prevail against one who is alone, two will withstand him– a threefold cord is not quickly broken.” – Ecclesiastes 4:9-12

Continue reading teammates

2016 – Yielded

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

Our First Year in Uruguay

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)IMG_20151031_223408. 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

Doing the Laundry and Learning a New Way of Life

When our family first moved to St. Louis, Missouri from California in 2001 there were several new things we had to learn and experience. The one that stands out the most to me were the tornadoes. We had heard that air raid sirens would sound when a tornado may be coming, and that that was a signal to get to the safety of the basement. I asked as many questions as I could so to prepare for when it happened. I remember clearly the first time the sirens went off. Continue reading Doing the Laundry and Learning a New Way of Life

Settling In

After 4.5 months in Uruguay, we were blessed this week to receive our belongings from the US. It was a happy, if somewhat chaotic reunion! To give a little history, when we left San Diego in January 2014 we chose to send a small quantity of our things (a container that is 7 feet by 7 feet by 4 feet, and another about half that size) by boat to Uruguay. We researched and considered either shipping all of our things, shipping nothing, or compromising with a small amount, which is what we chose. We heard horror stories of missionaries having a terrible time getting their things out of customs, but, knowing that manufactured goods are very expensive in Uruguay, we decided to go ahead and take the risk. Continue reading Settling In