Furlough - Part 2b: Cincinnati - Missions Conference

The final segment of our furlough was a weekend event, hosted by Hope Church, to bless, celebrate and connect with all of the churches foreign missionary partners.  The event was called "Growing Further Weekend."  This four day event was filled with a great deal of sharing, reconnecting, relaxing, and fun.  

On Thursday evening we enjoyed a wonderful dinner served and cooked by our good friend Bruce Worth.  Of course, we stuffed our selves with his incredible BBQ ribs and beef brisket.   After the dinner the missionary partners had an enjoyable fellowship time with the Hope Church leadership team and elders.  The High School ministry organized a hilarious time of games copying the game show "Minute To Win It."  (This was the first time we had ever heard of this new game show.   As to be expected our table (Warden's, Dunn's, and Ewing's) won the whole competition.  

On Friday morning we experienced a really special time of fellowship with Pastor Stephen Kirk and each missionary partner.  Each partner was asked to share how the Gospel is impeded in their culture.  This lead to a 2 hour discussion and fascinating stories, facts, and cultural insights.  It was amazing to hear how many of the same threads of fear based obedience, corruption, and animistic worldviews were underlying challenges in each culture represented.  From Japan to Bolivia to India to Russia to the Islamic world God is at work doing mighty things amidst the pain and oppression.

On Saturday evening we enjoyed a another great evening of fellowship as the church was invited to enjoy the Niederman Farm.  An outdoor farm "event" with activities for children, adults, grandparents and everyone in between.  From pig races, to bonfires, and blow up jumping rings for kids it was truly a  family affair. 

Finally, we ended the conference with a Sunday morning service where we introduced ourselves and our ministries to the church congregation, (John also preached both services) and then spoke in various church community groups.  (Once again we owe a special thank you to the Hope Church Kids ministry for their incredible party and generosity to our family.  God has truly used you to bless and encourage our family.)  It was a blessed morning as the fellowship with friends and the opportunity to share our heart with the church was a special encouragement.  In the evening, to close the conference, we participated in a coffee house discussion where people had an opportunity to ask questions about our ministry and hear more about what our everyday work looks like.  

The Growing Further weekend was a special blessing to our family and ministry.  We left feeling very encouraged and ready to return and continue in the ministry God has laid upon our hearts.  The weekend was a great opportunity to connect again with Hope Church and receive a tremendous amount of energy from supportive church friends and the other ministry partners laboring around the world.  May God bless our friends in India, Japan, Russia, Mexico, and the Islamic World as they follow His calling and share the transforming message of the Bible to people in search of life, peace, and hope, all around the world.          

Group picture of Growing Further Weekend Participants.  

A special time of prayer with friend and Hope Church member Jim Kuhn.

John participating in a "Minute To Win It" game 

Jennie mastered the M&M elevator game.  

Our beautiful Ella even helped the team out by winning a game.  Her parents were so proud!

Feeding the cows at Neiderman Farm

Furlough - Part 2a: Cincinnati, Family and Friends

As you can imagine our time in South Dakota went by very quickly.  It was sad to leave our family in SD but we had our time in Cincinnati to look forward to!  Luckily, our flights from Sioux Falls to Cincinnati went smoothly and John and Roseann were there to pick us up!

We went straight from the airport to visit John's sister and her family. (Amy, Greg, Emma and Olivia Dowling)  While Emma and Olivia are a few years older than Ella, they were so good with her.  The three girls immediately went up to the "play room" and we didn't see them again until we had to call them down for supper.  Later in the week, Ella had her first official "sleep-over" with the girls and also went to see them play in a few of their soccer games.  She had a blast!

Ella also spent some quality time with grandma and grandpa throughout the week.  Feeding the ducks, going to the park, and eating lunch at McDonalds were a few of the highlights.  Ella loves to spend time with her grandparents and enjoyed our trip back to the States and the chance to soak in the extra attention.

On Sunday evening John was invited to attend the Red's playoff baseball game with his brother-in-law Greg.  Although the Reds lost John was thrilled to see his first Reds game of the year and spend some time with Greg.  Thanks Greg!  

In the evenings we enjoyed our new family game of five crowns with John's parents.  It was a nail-bitter down to the end, but John came out victorious in our 2 week long tourney.

Throughout the time in Cincinnati we enjoyed many of our favorite restaurants (Chick-Fila, Olive Garden), watching college football (OK, that was one of John's highlights), shopping at IKEA, enjoying the beautiful fall weather, and spending time with those we miss and love a great deal.

Enjoying Grandpa and Grandma Warden

Aunt Amy, Uncle Greg and Cousins Emma and Olivia

Cousins!

We also had the opportunity to visit with many of our friends.  It was amazing to see how all of their kids had grown in the past year.  There were actually 7 babies born in our Journey community since we have been gone!  We also attended our old Tuesday night Bible study group, that is still going strong.  We appreciated the fellowship and years of great friendships and spiritual growth.  On Saturday evening we attended the community bonfire and enjoyed catching up with many of the couples we have such great memories with.  Ella had a wonderful time playing with all the kids she hadn't seen in over a year.  

Addy

Squeezed in the middle of our trip was a brief but enjoyable visit from Jennie's good friend Erin.  Jennie and Erin spent a year together in Kenya after college and have shared a special relationship ever since.  As well, John's good college friend Cam also drove down to Cincinnati for an afternoon.  As always, it was good to play a game of frisbee golf, talk about sports, and catch up on life.  There is never enough time to spend with friends but we are thankful for the moments we had with important people in our lives.  

We were also blessed to spend some quality time with our good friends, Matt and Francesca Jensen.  It was a blessing to share good food, fellowship, and some great games of Rook.  I won't name names, but I do believe that the females went undefeated the entire time we were home!  This was also the first time we had met their son Matteo face to face.  Ella and Matteo hit it off.  She enjoyed making him laugh.  He sure is a cutie.  

Niederman Farm with Matteo

AHHH...relaxation!

Feeding Ducks with Grandma

We had a great time in Cincinnati!  The time went by really fast, but it was a blessing to see so many friends and family.  It was a good reminder of how many people are at "home" thinking and praying for us.  Thanks to all of you who made us feel so welcome while we were home visiting!  Already looking forward to the next time!

Furlough - Part 1: South Dakota

We made it!

The first 2 weeks of our month stay in the States took us to South Dakota to see Jennie's side of the family.  Of course getting there was quite the adventure.  Anytime you have to take 5 flights to get to your final destination, you are just increasing the chances that something could go wrong.  And that something went wrong on flight number 3.  We were all settled in the plane headed to Miami from Santa Cruz, Bolivia, when the captain announced that the plane that had just landed on the runway had blown a tire.  So our quick little hour layover in Santa Cruz ended up being a 4 hour layover.  We already knew that we would miss our connecting flight in Miami for Chicago.  However, after a series of near miracles, we were able to get a late night flight to St. Louis, arriving after midnight. We spent 3 hours sleeping in a hotel and caught a 6am flight to Chicago the next morning, allowing us to make our original flight into Sioux Falls, South Dakota by 10am!  It was a lot more flying and a LOT LESS sleep but we made it as originally planned!

Ella enjoying her Grandpa and Grandma Mach

Once in Sioux Falls, we had a nice time seeing family and running errands.  Hello MAC store!  We had to get our computer fixed after our helpful daughter tried to clean our laptop screen with furniture polish.  Outside of Sioux Falls, most of our time was spent in Yankton, South Dakota where Jennie's parents live.  In Yankton we relaxed, ate lots of good food, and enjoyed great time with Jennie's family. We also spent a Sunday sharing about our ministry with one of our supporting churches, Calvary Baptist.

Another highlight of our trip was Jennie's cousin's wedding in Des Moines, IA.  Ella was one of the flower girls and she had a blast!  It was also another opportunity to see more of Jennie's.  A wonderful time...and wonderful fall weather.  Never thought we would be swimming outside in Oct.

Ready to walk down the isle....

Success!

Swimming in the outdoor hotel pool, Oct. 1st!

We had a wonderful time with family, and Ella had a blast hanging out with her Grandpa and Grandma, GG, and Uncle Dan and Aunt Katie (and lots more family)! Below are some more pictures from our time.

Ella the dentist...and her brave first patient.

Grandpa, Uncle Dan and Daddy took Ella to the zoo!  (aka Three Men and a Baby)

Helping Grandpa mow the lawn.  Tough work!

Telling Stories to Grandma

Best family pic attempt.  Uncle Dan is apparently shifting to the next gear?!?

Hangin' out with Uncle Dan and Aunt Kate... and a big moose!

Story time every night with Grandpa.

Roasting hot dogs and smores at Lewis and Clark Lake

Where have we been?????

Wow, I was surprised to look at our blog and see that we haven't blogged since August!  But we do have a good excuse!  We have been in the States for the past month and actually got to share with many of you face to face!  It was wonderful to see family and friends even though the time went by really fast.  Thanks to so many of you out there that made our time there so fun and special.  We have lots of pictures and stories to share from our trip, so be on the look-out.

In the meantime we are still unpacking, re-adjusting to the altitude and slowly getting back into our routine here in Sucre.  John is back in the saddle at work again.  Ella started school again today and walked right in those doors like she hadn't missed a day!  And I am working on getting our fridge and pantry stocked up again so I can feed all of us!  

More posts to come....

FH Missionary Retreat 2010

Once a year FH holds a retreat for all it's missionaries serving in Bolivia.  This year only 3 families were able to attend but we had a wonderful time.  We spend the weekend at a house called Samay Hausi, a Spanish style hacienda several thousand feet down the mountain from Sucre.  It took just under 2 hours of going up, around, and back down a mountain (on a rocky, dirt road) but was well worth it once we got there.  

We spent the mornings in sessions lead by Phil and Jan Train, who have been serving as missionaries here in Bolivia for 30 years.  (And have also become dear friends of ours.)  The morning sessions were wonderful!  Topics included:

  Intimacy with God

  Intimacy with our calling

  Marriage strengthening

  Raising children

We had the afternoons to enjoy God's creation.  If felt as if we were literally dropped in the middle of the mountains.  There was a river bed just a 10 min hike from the home, with gorgous views and lots of soft sand.  Ella was so excited to be able to go to "the beach."  

Here are some pictures from the weekend.  

The Entrance

Dinning Room

View of the courtyard from the terrace.

Our closest neighbors!

Playing in the river

Ella had a blast in the sand

Couldn't help taking the "view from the feet" shot at the "beach"

Group photo!  We had a wonderful time and can't wait for next year.  

Santa Cruz!

After a crazy June and July, we decided to take a little mini family vacation to Santa Cruz, Bolivia.  Santa Cruz is in the low lands of Bolivia, normally it's tropical, hot, and humid.  Well...when we arrived, it was cool and windy!  Luckily, it warmed up nicely and we really enjoyed our time there, catching up with each other.

We spent our first two days in the city doing some shopping, as Santa Cruz has a lot more "stuff" than what we have access to in Sucre.  Some highlights included shopping at the "Hyper-Maxi", a supermarket very similar to what we are used to at home.  We were able to stock up on some food items that we don't normally have in Sucre.  Another highlight was eating at a Burger King!  (I never thought that eating at Burger King would EVER be a highlight for me, but the smell of fast food did remind me of home!)  

We found the city of Santa Cruz to be VERY busy, especially after living in our tranquil Sucre.  So we were more than ready for our next destination.  We headed just out of the city to the Biocentre Guembe, a 16 acre nature preserve.  We enjoyed the butterfly house, the bird sanctuary, horseback ridding, watching the ostriches, playing at the kids park, and of course swimming in the pools.  I should mention that because of the cold front that recently moved through South America the water was down right frigid!  However, that didn't stop Ella from spending all afternoon "just letting her feet swim!"

Mountain Christian Team from New Mexico

The end of July brought another team from Mountain Christian Church in New Mexico.  This church has become special to us as this was the third team this church has sent to Bolivia in just a year an a half! Many of the members of this team we had meet before so it was fun to see familiar faces again.  

The team was involved in a number of activities.  They helped work on building a new house for the family that takes care of the FH office in the Horno Ckasa neighborhood.  They also worked with the community to pick up trash in the streets (there was LOTS of it!)  They participated in teaching the kids about good dental hygiene as well as spent a lot of time with their sponsored kids, and many many more activities.  

MC has a special relationship with the neighborhood of Horno Ckasa.  They are involved in a program that FH calls C2C (Church to Community).  Through members of their church, they sponsor over 30 kids in this community.  They have also funded several projects including new bathrooms for the school and a new brick home for the caretakers of the office, who are currently living in a mud home.  Something that really stood out on their third visit was the impact of this church physically being in the neighborhood with these families.  Their financial impact has been multiplied 10 fold because of their commitment to literally walk alongside these families and the FH staff in relationship.  We, along with this community, can't wait for their next visit!