It's lookin' different around here!

Things are starting to look a little different around the Warden home. The walls are all bare, the TV is sitting on the floor and all the book shelves are empty! The last few weeks we have been sorting through everything we have accumulated over the past 5 years. We had a large 2-day garage sale that was a huge success. Many people found treasures in our things which made us very happy! :)

We are now left with the task of packing up our things, deciding what to store here and what to take to Bolivia, and moving everything out! Craigslist has been good to us as we sold our washer and dryer 20 minutes after posting it. The buyers came today and threw in a little extra for our microwave. So we are getting a taste of what it will be like in Bolivia living without 2 of the major convinces we enjoy here in the US.

Many have asked what our time line is now that we have sold our house. It's amazing how vague everything was before we sold our home. Now it all VERY detailed!

• June 26th - close on the condo - move in with John's parents
• June 26-28th - visit from good College friends
• June 30-July 5th - In Phoenix with John's Family to see their new home.
• July 5th- 21st - finishing touches on packing for Bolivia, saying good-byes to friends in Cincinnati
• July 22nd - Aug 3 - In South Dakota spending time with Jennie's Family
• Aug 6 or 7th - Leave for Bolivia (We don't have the tickets yet...will know the exact date soon!

The summer is busy but we are looking forward to seeing so many of you! Continue to keep us in your prayers as there is much to be done between now and then! Thanks to all of you for supporting us along this journey and for being excited with us!

SOLD!

Over the past months, many of you have been praying along with us that we would sell our condo. This one roadblock has turned into the very thing that has prevented us from buying plane tickets, quitting our jobs, and officially starting our transition to Bolivia. It is with great joy we share with you that after 11 months, 54 showings, 5+ open houses, 1 bathroom makeover, and 7 flowerpot replantings, we now have a contract on our house! The Lord’s provisions are good, that in a market like this, we would sell our house and not lose money on the sale. Selling our home took longer than we would have hoped, but the Lord has eternal timing and we have already begun to see a glimpse of His hand at work.

One wonderful blessing we have received on the journey to selling our home has been the unbelievable amount of prayer support that has been lavished on us. So many of you have poured hours into praying for our condo to sell, and your encouraging words have been a blessing to us. We hope that God has strengthened your trust in Him, and that you too can take a moment to celebrate what He has done. There is great joy in recognizing the goodness of God in both the waiting and in the celebrating. This experience has significantly opened our eyes to the power of prayer support in our ministry. Thanks for your faithfulness. To God be the Glory!

We also celebrate God’s timing for another reason. Some of you may have noticed in our subtitle above that another change has come our way. Just over a week before we sold our home, we received an email with some updates on our ministry assignment. We have shared with many of you in the past that the ministry of Food for the Hungry in Bolivia relied heavily on USAID funding, which is given to the 15 poorest countries in the world. Bolivia has fallen to number 17 on this list and is no longer eligible for USAID funding. Because of this, FH has done some tremendous organizational restructuring in Bolivia. Instead of starting up new programs (like John would have been doing in Cochabamba), FH is going to focus on making their current programs stronger. They have decided that their ministry could utilize us best in another town called Sucre. We will still be doing the same work—training pastors in rural churches and helping those churches strengthen their ministry to their communities. The groundwork for this program has already been started in Sucre, but in order for it to progress, they are in need of someone with John’s skills to move the program forward.

This has been a big change for us to wrap our minds around, but after some thought and prayer, we feel God’s hand in this new change. We are also thankful that we had not sold our home yet when we received this news, as we may have already bought plane tickets to the wrong destination! God is good!

Ella Turns 2!

I can't believe my baby turned 2 years old this month!  She has been an absolute delight to have in our lives.  There are moments when I wish I could hold her like a little baby again.  But for the most part, each new stage seems to get better and better.  

We had two little celebrations for Ella.  Grandpa and Grandma Mach took Ella to the zoo, one of her favorite places.  We also had a party for Ella and her cousin's Emma and Olivia, Aunt Amy and Uncle great and her Grandma and Grandpa Warden.  Afterward we went to Ella's favorite park to play!  

Ella had a wonderful birthday.  She is still singing happy birthday to herself 2 weeks later!

Ella at the Zoo with Grandpa and Grandma Mach

Grandma Mach teaching Ella the art of catching a Peacock.

Ella enjoying the Polar Bears

1,2,3 GO.  Olivia, Ella and Emma on the triple slide!

Wheeeeeeeee!

Happy Birthday Ella!

Modeling her new outfit!

Maybe next year she will be able to blow them out by herself.

“A Glimpse of God”

I don’t know that I have ever been known for my poetic skills but I will give it a shot.  I would love to share a poem with you that I wrote for Jennie on Mothers Day.  I believe there is no greater reflection of God’s love to me than through the devoted caring practices of my loyal and loving wife.  Ella and I want her to know we love her on this special day.  

 

“A Glimpse of God”

 

I thank God today for the women he’s given

To brighten my life and help me enjoy livin’

 

She’s loving and serving and faithful and free

She makes feel special, she’s just right for me

 

A gift that grows deeper each day that we live

She pours out her life so much does she give 

 

As a mother she excels and goes the extra mile

The depth of her giving we shall never unpile 

 

An extraordinary mom that loves without asking

She serves my daughter Ella in her joy we live basking

 

I see in my Ella her beauty and love

Such joy that only comes from the gracious God above

 

She’s “mommy”, and “mine” and “thank you” and “now”

She’s always teaching and loving and forgiving somehow 

 

Her faith and patience we daily admire

Her presence and company we always desire

 

A woman with gifts that never seem to end

My wife, my partner, my best friend

 

May she always know how precious she is

A blessing to us and a daughter of HIS

 

Thank you Jennie there’s so much we could say

But we’ll end with WE LOVE YOU and ….

 

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY!!

We're Home!

It's hard to believe that 4 weeks of training is over already!  We returned to Cincinnati from Colorado Springs very early in the morning last Saturday.  We have been recuperating (John caught the sickness that was going around our group just before we left! :( ), unpacking, and getting back into the routine of normal life again.  

Our last week at MTI was much of the same as the first two weeks: challenging, emotional, stretching, and wonderful all at the same time.  Here are some of the topics we tackled:

• Moral Purity - the quote of the day was, "Your skills take you to the field, often your character takes you off the field."  We have an amazing challenge to abide in the Lord as the pressures of missionary life often cause many to stumble.
• Grief and Loss - This was a really good session!  We talked about the things we would be giving up by moving away from loved ones and our culture, and into a new one.  We were then allowed time to grieve these losses, which was an amazingly powerful and emotional time.
• Third Culture Kids - discovering the long term impact (pro's and con's) our children will face after living and growing up in another culture.
• How to say good goodbyes

Then of course came the time to say goodbye to so many wonderful new friends.  It was wonderful to share life in such a unique way with so many that are going through this same transition as we are.  We were blessed by many strong bonds.  It is amazing to realize that we leave Colorado and will be scattered around the world!

Thank you to everyone who prayed for us and are supporting us.  This was an amazing opportunity to learn and hear from God.  These things we learned were invaluable to our ministry on the field, our friendships, our marriage and our families!  

The MTI Gang!

Our dear friends, the Evans Family!

Ella and Cooper

Ella and Grayson

Ella and Eli

Ella and Jess

Of course, Ella and Sam

Focus on the Family

We had the opportunity to be out and about this weekend.  It was great to have a break and 'get away'!  We went to tour the Focus on the Family facility.  It was really neat!  They actually have a whole floor that is designed just like The Odyssey.  (Natalie - we took several pictures just for you!)  We went with our friends the Evan's and the Partin's.  Here are some of our pictures from the weekend. 

See that crazy slide...Ella was too short, and John was too tall...but Jennie was just right.

Ella with new Friends Joy and Dave

Come on Mom and take the picture already....I've got stuff to do!

I'm not sure who had more fun...Ella or John

The dressing up has begun!

Through the wardrobe to Narnia

Ella and John in Narnia

The Box

As we enter into the last week of training here at MTI in Colorado Springs, we thought we would update you on some of the events of the last week. It has been a challenging, insightful, and encouraging time and this past week brought about several new training elements.  There is one event that we would like to share with you in particular.  This event is one we will probably remember for years to come.  The exercise was called “The Box.”  This exercise was a simulation in which we were challenged to examine ourselves when put under extreme stress and adversity.  The whole premise of the simulation was completely factious and as participants we were asked to try to be as realistic and honest as possible in order to gain from the experience what was hoped.  The simulation started out by splitting the MTI class into two groups.  No words, or directions were given just a silent command and off we went, lined up in a straight line down to the cellar of the building.   At that point the two groups were directed into two separate small plywood boxes (separated from spouses) with very little ventilation and no light.  (All cell phones, pocket knives etc were left behind.)  The boxes were extremely small and you could barely stand up let alone sit in the space.  In fact I (John) could not stand up straight and was forced to hunch over for the full simulation.  The instructor then informed us that we were aid workers in an African nation and we were caught in the middle of a rebel attack.  We had escaped the immediate danger and fled to a near by school where we had found a small space in the basement to hide out…. No communication, food, or water would be given.  For the next hour of the simulation we were bombarded with loud gun and plane sounds and given specific decisions to make concerning our “simulated” situation.  The activity started off kind of light hearted but soon we became extremely uncomfortable and the decisions we had to make become more and more realistic and more and more emotional.  From deciding as a group which 4 people would have the opportunity to make an escape to safety on an aid helicopter to which 4 individuals would be volunteered into the hands of the rebel soldiers.   Over the course of the hour we were forced to deal with multiple physical discomforts; emotional fears concerning family separation, life decisions, and captivity; and the stress of making split decisions amidst a group of differing opinions.  The simulation was definitely a memorable exercise and it brought out many fears as well as tears concerning the “what if’s” of cross-cultural ministry.  God has certainly blessed this opportunity to learn through “The Box” experience and we look forward to the final week of training coming up.