August

It's been a full month in the Marcum house. We hosted several events out at our house; God has blessed us with a big yard and big kitchen which makes it feasible to have large groups of people out from the church. We had a team day before the Forbesses left for furlough, and then invited all the school age kids and their families out for a hot dog roast and games, and then hosted our small group for a grill out the following week as well.



The following week, we left for a few days of much needed vacation. We drove about 3 hours over the mountains (a spectacular drive!) to a tropical area of Bolivia called the Chapare, and stayed in a nice hotel in a town called Villa Tunari. Michaela really enjoyed the playground (the park as she calls it) and the water slide. Mom enjoyed reading the last Harry Potter book (thank you, Katie!), and the restaurant open all day. Dad enjoyed swimming with Michaela, relaxing and reading as well. And Eliana just enjoyed hanging out.




We also visited a wildlife refuge in the area called Parque Machia. They have lots of parrots and monkeys (which just run free) and a few other smaller animals as well (an otter looking thing - I'm not sure what the name is). Michaela really enjoyed being in close proximity to the monkeys - although I was a little nervous. The day before a little girl had returned to our hotel with her finger bit! We escaped with no monkey bites, although one did try to climb up the sling I had Eliana in and stole a roll of my film!



I also took the opportunity of some free time to take some pictures of the girls (thanks again for the dresses, Jauna)! Enjoy! And click on our flickr badge to see more pictures of the girls and from the last couple months as well!





We were ready to get home, though. Apparantly, Eliana doesn't like sharing a room with the rest of us - we had several restless nights (but she sleeps all night at home!). We're getting ready to gear up for a round of fall events - a new study for our small group, Josh teaching a new class at the contact center, a ladies day once a month, a family encampment in November. We continue to be excited about the way God is working and feel very blessed to be here serving Him!