What a Cutie!

Can you help but love this little guy? This is our nephew, Joshua. When we met him in January, it was love at first sight! After spending a week with him and his parents, Gerson and I decided it was time for US to have a baby! I've often heard babies are contagious! I'm starting to believe it!A picture is worth a thousand words. . .

Do you think they're a John Deer family? This is Andy, my younger brother, and his wife, Elissa, with their first son, Joshua. What a good-looking family!

I think Joshua likes his daddy! Don't you want to tickle his little belly?

"Look, Mommy! It's daddy! He wants me to smile again!"

Picture Perfect

After I went through all our retreat pictures, I realized I didn't have pictures of the scenery at the resort. Gerson and I went to this same resort for the first part of our honeymoon, so I went back to our honeymoon pictures and found more scenery shots of where we spent our retreat. As you can see, it's beautiful!

There are sidewalks that jig and jag throughout the resort. Of course, there is no quick way anywhere! The paths wind and definitely take the scenic route! It's easy to get lost! Thankfully, there are signs placed strategically in case one loses his way!

In the background of the above picture you can see a cabin. We didn't stay in a cabin during our honeymoon; rather, we rented a suite. However, for retreat we stayed in one of the cabins like the one above. Each cabin has 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, a kitchenette (no stove or microwave, but it did have cabinet space and a sink), and a living room. For retreat we shared our cabin with the Zimmerman family. The parents and their 2 smallest children took the two rooms that shared a bathroom. That left the master bedroom with a private bath for Gerson and me! It worked out nicely.

Even on our honeymoon, Gerson was anxious to play beach volleyball. However, since there were only two of us, that didn't work out well! During retreat, he played for HOURS. See how thin Gerson was when we got married!? We've both put on some weight since then!

Spiritual Food

We were blessed to have Pastor Dave, his wife Christy, and the worship leader, Mindy, from one of their satellite churches, come to minister to us during the week of retreat. They are from Nappenee, Indiana. Although we certainly ate well during retreat, the highlight was the spiritual food we received from these servants of God.

Mindy used her musical gifts to help enter times of beautiful and meaningful worship to our Lord. It was wonderful for me to sing in English! I think most of the missionaries felt that way, since when we go to church here in Bolivia, the worship is in Spanish. English is still our heart language! Gerson was a trooper, and since the lyrics were projected onto a screen, he sang along in English unless he know the same song in Spanish.

Also, notice in the above picture that I am wearing my FIRST materinity outfit!!! My parents sent me a box with the Feldmens, who came to work with the school-aged kids. My mom and Aunt Betsy went shopping for me! This was the outfit my aunt bought for me. I'm going to have a wait a few more months to wear the rest of the clothes! Thanks, Mom and Dad and Aunt Betsy!!! We're enjoying all the goodies! I think Gerson has eaten all his Almond Joy candy bars!

Most mornings we had two sessions together as adults. Pastor Dave always spoke in one, challenging us spiritually. Twice during the week, we broke into 2 groups --- men and women. Pastor Dave took the men and his wife, Christy (in the middle in the picture), spoke to us women.

I really enjoyed this time with Christy as she shared real stories from her life and how God has brought her through. She's been in ministry alongside her husband for many years, so she knows the struggles and difficulties we face when we are in full-time ministry. It was wonderful to hear her share from her heart and challenge us as women in ministry.

As I said, Pastor Dave did most of the sharing with us. He did a series of messages taken from John 15-17. It was great to "dig deep" and hear Truths from the Word -- once again in ENGLISH.

Pastor Dave and his wife know my parents. They met at Vennard College way back in the 70's. It was wonderful to catch up with them. Gerson and I had the opportunity to sit with them one time at summer. They are truly a remarkable couple who love the Lord.

These it the location where we had our sessions. As you can see, the accomodations were very comfortable. It was well-lighted, the seats were comfortable, and we had coffee/tea/water available at every session. Believe it or not, we DID NOT always sit in the same seats! Gerson and I sat in a different place in almost every session!

Gerson and Cathy also had the chance to minister through music at retreat. Most of the missionaries have heard Gerson sing, so when the talent show got cancelled due to a lack of people signed up to DO the talent, Gerson was asked to sing a duet with Cathy as special music before one of the sessions. The sang a song based on Psalm 27.

After hearing Gerson play the guitar and sing, Mindy asked him to join her for one of the times of worship through music! Gerson was happy to have a chance to serve in this way. It was wonderful to see him involved in music ministry again.

Rick and Lori were in charge of retreat this year. That means they had to make all the arrangements -- from the contacting the speakers to reserving the place where we stayed. It was a BIG task! They did a great job.

One of the things they planned was a session on July 4th where we sang some patriotic songs and said "The Pledge of Allegiance" together. Notice they even docorated the conference room -- see the flag hanging behind Rick? Also, the night of July 3rd we had a bonfire with S'mores, patriotic songs, and, of course, fireworks! All of this was very special for us Americans who are far from family, and holidays are often the most difficult times to be separated.

Throughout the week, it was not only the adults who were getting spiritual food. The children had their own session with the Feldmens and 3 teenagers they brought with them. They worked with the elementary children. Cathy and Ruth worked with the toddlers. Volunteer in Action, Jon, worked with the youth. On the last day, the children did a short program for the adults, showing us what they had learned throughout the week. They studied the 10 commandments, and during the program they sang a song that would help them remember what they had studied!

All in all, it was a fabulous week. I praise the Lord for leaders who understand the importance of getting away, resting, and being fed. I praise the Lord for meeting with us in a real and personal way. I praise the Lord that I have the privilege of being HIS daughter and serving HIM here in Bolivia. What a blessing!

Let the fun begin!

Once we arrived at our destination, it was time to unload the car. This is usually a task I detest, but the resort had these wonderful wooden carts to help us take our belongings to our cabins. Talk about service!

Cathy, Gerson's sister, was invited to go to retreat with us this year to help with the children. There were a LOT of children present this year! There were 3 babies who stayed with their parents during the sessions. Cathy and her sidekick, Ruth, were in charge of 6 children -- the toddlers who aren't in school yet! Talk about having their hands full! Cathy did a great job and enjoyed being in a 5 star resort for the first time!

Notice that although there is a beautiful pool in the background, Gerson and I have long sleeves on! Although the temperature continued to rise during the week, I never could convince myself to get into the chilly water! Instead, I spent my free time reading and playing games with friends. Gerson spent his free time playing beach volleyball. Cathy spent her free time resting, trying to recuperate for the next session with the kids!

During some of our free time, we played the Wi (Is that how you spell it?). Our friend, Miriam, brought one from the States. Gerson and I had been introduced to the Wi when we were in the States visiting my high school friends in January. It was fun to be able to play again! I have to admit, I'm still not very good!

Gerson built up a fan club with the younger missionary kids (MKs). They all love him! In the background is a small pond with paddleboats. We went paddleboating once during the week. The thing that surprised me the most was the goldfish that was about a foot long! (I kid you not!)Incredible!

See? Even the little girls love him! I didn't get a picture of him with Danielle Newman, but one day he was giving her an especially hard time -- teasing her without mercy. Instead of getting upset, she looked at him and said, "Get down here!" and pulled his head down and gave him a huge kiss on the cheek! I think he was speechless for about 2 seconds! I laughed and told Danielle she is one of the only ladies I allow to kiss Gerson!

We're not in Kansas anymore!

Our WGM Bolivia retreat this year was held a 5 star resort called Rio Selva. Our yearly retreat gives us a chance to get away from the stresses of ministry for 5 days and be renewed and refreshed, both physically and spiritually. We were excited to get away from the daily responsiblities and take time for our souls to be fed!

Now, the ironic thing is that this 5 star resort is in the middle of nowhere! It´s about a 45 minute drive from where we live, on the outskirts of Santa Cruz. Notice the sign in the picture -- it reassured us that even though it didn't look like a road that would lead to a resort, we were indeed on the right trail! Follow the arrow!

The dirt road continued . . . winding around . . . leading us to . . . hmmm . . . where?

And finally leading to something that resembled civilization!

Whew! We made it!

And, finally, the brick road leading to "Oz"!

Welcome back, Miriam!

If you remember back, I did a posting about the ¨Great Exodus¨ of missionaries every summer. Well, the good news is that even though we always have missionaries leaving the field for some reason, we also have missionaries RETURNING.

Our friend Miriam returned to Bolivia just a little over a week ago! She may look familiar to you if you´ve looked through our postings. While we were in the States, we were able to go out to eat with her at Pizza Hut on our road trip to Florida. Anyway, Miriam came back to Bolivia for our retreat, as well as for two work teams she is in charge of in July.

Unfortunately, Miriam doesn´t have all her funding in, so at this point she will have to return to the States at the end of July. BUT, we serve a BIG God and we trust He will provide what she is lacking! Meanwhile, she is putting faith into action by moving into the apartment next to us. Yup. She´s our new neighbor! As you can see, she has a LOT of work to do to make her little apartment home! When I took the picture, she was a bit overwhelmed, wondering where to start!

One of the places Miriam wanted to visit right away was her favorite restaurant, Los Lomitos. I have to admit, the food is incredible! Miriam was such a regular customer during her last term that the waiters KNOW and REMEMBER her -- by name! They were thrilled she was back! Miriam invited us to go with her; then she invited Liz, another WGM missionary and teacher at the Santa Cruz Christian Learning Center, to come along. Meanwhile, I invited Crystal, our field treasurer. In the end, the Newman family, whose children I taught when I lived in Trinidad, was on our compound when we were headed out, and so we asked them to join us! It turned out to be quite the dinner affair!

After dinner, we were FULL. Liz, Crystal, Miriam, Gerson and I all piled into our vehicle. Before we got to far, we (all the gals, that is) decided we NEEDED ice cream. I mean, there is always room for dessert, right? We began chanting, "Bits and Cream!" Gerson, being the wise man that he is, quickly adjusted his road plan to pass by our favorite ice cream shop. He knew he would have mutiny on his hands if he decided NOT to give in to our demands. (Like I said, wise man!)

Bits and Cream is an amazing ice cream chain based on the United States cold stone ice cream shops. (I've been out of the country so long, I don't even know if the cold stone is a TECNIQUE in the States -- as it is here -- or the name of an actual chain?!) Anyway, what you see on the cold stone is a Plaf Plaf -- 2 types of ice cream, 2 different additions (oreos, gummy bears, etc.), and one topping (stawberry, pineapple, etc.). Yup, heavenly.