Furlough Highlights - Take 5

Well, the Marcum family is actually back in Cochabamba (we arrived safe and sound with all 3 kids and all 7 bags on Thursday), but I wanted to finish posting pictures of our furlough.

After Wichita, we traveled to Estes Park, CO for Josh's Sikes family reunion. His mom's family rent out the biggest cabin in the YMCA every other year. There are usually around 200 people present at the reunion, and we enjoy nightly devotionals, horseshoe tournaments, and the beauty of the Rocky mountains. The girls got to play with countless cousins (or were the 2nd cousins, or 1st cousins once removed - I can't ever keep all that straight!) We even got to take in a rodeo. I didn't get to do quite as much visiting as I would have liked - much of my time was spent running after toddlers - but all in all, it was a great time!


We went on a short hike with all the kids.


At the rodeo - one of the best I've seen actually!


Can we say "bed head"?


Josh's grandparents celebrated their 60th while we were there.


Here are Josh's grandparents with all the great grandchildren that were present the last morning.


Our family picture

Furlough Highlights- Take 4

Wichita-
We stayed a couple nights with the Harrolds, a very special family. They support us in a variety of ways - financially (both in their contributions to our work and Van's and Justin's management of our finances), spiritually (in their prayers), emotionally (Donna and I communicate through email and blogging)... We are very thankful for you guys!

We really enjoyed the short time we were able to spend in Wichita with them. We even got a chance to visit the zoo! We stayed up late nights talking about old college friends and our lives (and trying to get our children asleep!) Michaela slept in Addison's room and we got our first taste of what sleep overs might be like in the future! A lot of giggling and silliness! We enjoyed yummy food - thanks Donna and Mary Ann - and new toys together! We still hope to get you guys down to Bolivia some day so we can return the hospitality.

At the zoo with the gorillas!


Addison, Michaela and Eliana at the zoo


Baby Clark and baby Jana


Playing in the pool together

Furlough Highlights - Take 3

Fourth of July-
We spent the 4th with Josh's Marcum family in Oklahoma, near the ranch his grandad owns. We rented out a big hunting lodge - that place was amazing! They had hunting trophies everywhere, a long hallway decorated with old newspaper clippings (dating from Pearl Harbor and every major headline since then! I felt like I was in a time capsul), and the rooms were like hotel rooms. Anyway, the kids had fun cooling off in a wading pool that Papa bought for them and we all enjoyed visiting with the family, water skiing on the lake, devos at night and grilled meat and fire crackers on the 4th.

Swimming in the pool - even Jana got in!


Doing sparklers with Daddy


Jana with her Great-grandad


The girls in their special independence day shirts that Nana bought

Furlough Highlights - Take 2

Red River Family Encampment -
We went to Red River, New Mexico to meet Josh's folks for a Christian family encampment that happens there every year. His parents have been trying to talk us into coming for years, and we finally made it happen this year. We enjoyed being with them, the singing, the speakers (especially one class on being real for your kids), and getting to see a lot of people we wouldn't have seen otherwise. The girls had classes too, but I had a hard time getting them to go. Most of the pictures of family that I posted earlier are from Red River - but here are a couple from the actual camp.

A picture from the balcony of the condos where we stayed. It was beautiful - and cold (if you can believe it!) in the middle of June. I was glad for bringing jackets and pants for the girls.


Night time worship with 1500 others in the big top tent.

Furlough Highlights

Well, we're over half-way through our furlough travels and I thought it was about time to post some pictures and highlights of our trip so far.

Brownwood-
We spent 2 weeks in Brownwood visiting our overseeing congregation of Austin Ave. We enjoyed staying with Leroy and Ruth Thompson. They were gracious enough to make the sacrifice of time and energy to keep our family for the full 2 weeks, even though they are great-grandparents in their own right. They have a house on Lake Brownwood and we enjoyed the peace and beauty of being there - and the girls enjoyed the swimming and the See Doo. We are very thankful for them both. Here are a few pictures of our time.

Leroy is a retired general in the Air Force. He met Ruth on duty in Japan where they fell in love and married before moving back to the States. They have a beautiful family and such stories to share of their life together. Ruth is a wonderful cook and they made Japanese food for us for many of our meals together - yummy stuff like skiaki and tempura (I know I'm not spelling those right, but that's how they sounded to me! Feel free to correct me.)


Leroy and Ruth kept saying they didn't know what they were going to do with themselves without our kids around when we left. The wonderful thing is I know they were telling the truth. They loved our girls - especially Jana - and were so great with all three of them.


Josh took the girls to a beach near the lake one day.


When it wasn't too hot, we spent a lot of time on their porch swing. Jana loved being outside.


We had meals with various families from the church - I don't have time to mention the wonderful visits we had with everyone, but here are 2 places we got pictures at. Doug and Sharon Rogers had us over for fajitas and then he let the girls bottle feed 2 baby goats. They thought that was pretty cool!


We also enjoyed being outside with Jim and Betty Hampton in their beautiful backyard. The girls loved the hammock, the swing and the sandbox.

Pictures

Seeing as we just bought a new camera, we don't have a lot of pictures to post. Most of these we bummed off of grandparents - but we hope you enjoy!


Nyanya and the girls


Eliana playing the piano - I think she's going to be talented - Look at that posture!


Jana's first time to meet Nana and Papa


Michaela and Uncle James - Have I mentioned how much Michaela loves playing with James?


How sweet is this picture?


The fam


The fam x2


Papa and Michaela


Daddy and his little girl

Furlough Reflections

1. Everything is so neat and clean!
2. Driving is actually enjoyable: roads are repaired, drivers follow the rules and respect each other. I just have to say, the US has the most amazing infrastructure for transportation from interstate highways to railways. Although I do miss cheap public transportation that is readily accessible (i.e. taxis and buses). Bolivia has those in abundance.
3. Everything is kid-friendly (well, minus the infamous self-flushing potties): restaurants always have crayons and boosters and bathrooms always have changing tables. And there are so many clean, safe playgrounds.
4. You never realize as a parent how many things there are to tell your children they should (or in this case should not) do. We were having lunch at Josh’s alma mater, Harding grad., and just as Josh got up to explain about our work in Bolivia, Michaela pulled the fire alarm! An attractive red switch at her level… it was just asking to be pulled. And who would have thought to tell her about fire alarms and that they are off limits? Of course, the fire trucks are obligated to come. I have never been so embarrassed. The dean of the school had to go explain to the fire chief that a little 3 year old from Bolivia who didn’t know any better had done the deed.
5. You know you are a parent of a missionary kid when their new favorite toy is a water fountain.
6. Never go out to eat in a restaurant after a long day on the road – you’re just setting yourself up for a melt-down in the restaurant (this one comes from experience.) Better order pizza to the hotel room.
7. DVD players in cars are one of the greatest inventions ever made!
8. I love shopping at Walmart and dollar stores.
9. Bookstores and libraries have to be one of my favorite places to go.
10. Friends, family and supporters go out of the way to make you feel at home.
11. 4 part harmony singing is a beautiful part of our church heritage.
12. It is great to reconnect with people after 2 and a half years.
13. It sure gets hot.
14. Medical care in this country is expensive.
15. Furlough is a terrible time to have your camera give up the ghost. Pictures are pending as soon as we buy a new one.

More reflections to come. Inspired in part by Brett Emerson’s blog.

Automatic potties? - no, thank you!

Our first day here, we had a traumatic experience in the bathroom. We made a runto Target to buy some things. At one point during that overwhelming experience, Michaela had to go potty. We found the bathroom and got her on the potty only to have it flush loudly as she was sitting down. Poor thing was scared to death - must have thought she was going to get sucked down - it took me two minutes to calm her down and after that, there was no going potty there.

The only problem was that night on the plane, somehow the potty flushed on her again (the flight attendant assured me they are not automatic, so one of us must have bumped the flush button). I spent 5 minutes trying to coerce her to sit down to no avail. When we finally surfaced from the bathroom, the last 2 rows on the plane looked at me like I had been trying to murder my child in the bathroom (I guess she had been screaming fairy loudly!)... Oh, well.

Anyway, now I have to physically demonstate to Michaela that a potty is not self-flushing.

I have just one question for you - what was the silly person thinking who designed that potty?? I hope he or she gets flushed down!!

We're here - finally!

Well, we finally made it to my parents house on Wed. night about midnight. It has been an adventure already! For those who haven't yet heard the story....

We ended up leaving Cochabamba about 9:45 on Sunday night, even though we were on the 8:00 flight. Aerosur canceled our flight and bumped us to the 9:15 flight which didn't actually leave on time (we were kicking ourselves for not getting on the 8am flight, but found out later they canceled that one too - so we would have been in the same boat anyway!). We knew we were pushing it (our American flight left Santa Cruz at 11:30) but we still thought we might have enough time to make it. We landed in Santa Cruz and Josh went to pick up the bags while the girls and I raced to the American counter (where I was first in line by the way!) where we waited... and waited...

Apparantly the American employees had already checked everyone else through and were all upstairs (being shortstaffed) where they were handling the gate check-in. So we waited for about an hour and a half until the plane had left until someone came to attend to us. At which point they told us that there was no space on the next day's flight, and they would put us on standby. We had to be back at the airport at 6:00 the next morning.

At this point, the kids were loosing it. We made it to a hotel about midnight, (on the way in the taxi, Michaela said "I want to go home." And I thought, "It's going to be a long 2 months."), where we crashed. As Michaela got into bed, the sweet thing said, "Thank you, Lord." Our children sure help put things in perspective.

After a restless night of sleeping with a 3 year old (Josh slept with Eliana, and I don't think he slept much better), we all got up at 5:30 to make it to the airport at 6:00 - only to find a horrendous line! Apparantly everyone else (not having little children) showed up at 5:00. We stood in line for an hour and a half, navigated airport taxes, security and customs only to arrive at the gate to be turned away. The flight was too full. We had to come back the next day and do it all again!!

This time we headed to La Quinta (our favorite place to stay because it has apartment style rooms with a kitchen, and I was desperate to wash and sterilize bottles. I have never mourned the ease of nursing so much as on this trip!) We spent a nice day (as nice as it can be with 3 grumpy kids who are running off of 5 hours of sleep), although Michaela and Jana started coming down with a really bad cough.

The next morning we hauled ourselves to the airport again. The line was much shorter, but when we arrived, they informed us the flight was full - again! - and if we wanted to ensure our seats on the flight, it would be $800 per ticket! I looked at them like they were crazy - did we look like millionaires?? At this point all 3 kids started crying at once, the attendent went to talk to his manager - and wonder of wonders, they waived the fee and got us on the flight (although we were sitting in 3 different seats!) I don't know if it was out of pity or the fact they were plain fed up with 3 fussy children!

The flight actually went pretty well - we got our seats switched around and ended up sitting all together. The kids did well and we arrived in Miami at around 4:30... I have never been so tired or so glad to get somewhere!

We enjoyed a day in Miami (it was supposed to be 2 days) with the Holways (our coworkers from Memphis) and then boarded another flight to Detroit, where we arrived about 11pm on Wed. It was so good to be at my parents finally! We touched down to the announcement that the Red Wings had won the finals - aahh, Detroit!

The next day we took the girls to the doctor because Jana's cough had become much worse and she was showing signs of a urinary tract infection - I sure missed my Dr. Monroy (and his prices) - but the doc was real nice and we got an antibiotic for her and thankfully she's doing much better.

Other than that, we've just been getting ready for our big road trip and enjoying a few events with the Livonia church - one of the churches that provides half our salary. And of course time with the grandparents and Uncle Matt. Nyanya and Babu watched the girls one afternoon so we could go on a date for our anniversary. We saw the new Indiana Jones movie - complete with Dr. Pepper! - did some shopping and went out to eat. Might I say that as much as my parents enjoy the kids, we are wearing them out - although "we" wear me out too!

We leave tomorrow for Memphis - keep us in your prayers and hopefully I'll have some pictures to post soon.

Furlough Schedule

Well, furlough 2008 is upon us. We are crazy busy trying to get everything ready to leave on Sunday (what to take/ what to leave, house stuff, ministry stuff - neither Josh or I are sleeping very well). Keep us in your prayers as we will be traveling Sunday night with 2 lap babies and a 3 year old - and for the next 2 months will drive over 5000 miles with stops in 9 different states. We are mainly looking forward to seeing so many of you - our family and friends. But also to interstate highways, Walmart shopping, Starbucks coffee, and 4 part harmony singing!

June 1- Depart Cochabamba
June 2-3- Arrive Miami, Miami w/ Holways
June 4- Depart Miami, arrive Livonia
June 5-8- Livonia
June 9- Travel to Memphis
June 10-11- Memphis with the Huffards
June 12- Travel to Brownwood
June 13-19- Brownwood
June 20- Travel to Red River
June 21-24- Red River
June 25- Travel to Brownwood
June 26-July 2- Brownwood
July 3-5- Indiahoma, OK
July 6-7- Wichita with the Harrolds
July 8- Travel to Estes Park, CO
July 8-12- Sikes Family Reunion in Estes Park
July 12- Travel to York/Seward
July 13-14- Seward with the Barnacles
July 15- Travel to Coldwater, MI
July 16- Travel to Livonia, arrive Livonia
July 16-27- Livonia
July 28- Aug 1- Stephens family vacation
Aug. 2-3- Livonia (pack)
Aug 4- Depart Cochabamba

Happenings

Here's some pictures of some of the latest ministry "happenings".
- Josh finished up his preaching seminar this last weekend. He shared with me that it's been one of the most rewarding classes he's ever given. He broke up the class in three weekend sessions: one in March, one in April and one in May. He had about 15 students: half were leaders from our congregation, and the other half came from churches around the country. It was a great oppourtunity for these Christian brothers to rub shoulders and also recieve some specific training on how to preach and study the Bible.




- The men took advantage of the end of the rainy season to have their annual men's campout. Lots of male bonding time!


-The youth had a movie night where they watched "Guardians of the Sea" - a very good movie by the way - and afterward had a corresponding devotional. The youth group is really blossoming, and the great news is that another one, Bruno, is planning to be baptized on Sunday!

Happy Birthday, Josh!

My husband turned 31 last week. I was thinking that I've only been able to celebrate 10 of his birthdays with him - only a third of his life, and yet how marriage melds you, until it seems like you've been a part of this person forever. How thankful I am to have been an integral part of these last 10 years. I couldn't have asked for a better and more faithful life partner.

Anyway, I guess last week was one of those ministry moments where you see for a brief minute the benefits of all the time and energy you've invested in people and in a work. One of the brothers, Gaston, decided he wanted to throw Josh a party. Well, generally, we are a family that prefer to do more quiet celebrations here at home, but at his insistence, we eventually gave in. And it grew from a simple lunch party to a whole church dinner party! Everyone showed up at Gabriella's house, who had graciously agreed to host the party - Gaston cooked 8 chickens for everyone - everyone pitched in to help with the cost. And Josh felt very blessed by the demonstration of everyone's love. As I looked around the room, I felt a mixture of emotions - naturally we are so excited about our furlough. After all, it's been 2 and a half years since we were back. But at the same time, I'm thankful in a way that it's been that long, because I felt that night what a family we have become here, and how I will look forward to coming home to Bolivia and seeing these familiar faces again.

Happy Mother's Day!

You may be thinking this blog is a little late - but actually the Bolivian mother's day was just yesterday. Josh and I decided we would celebrate Bolivian mother's and father's day - thinking it would be easier to remember with the advertisement that goes on here. (Who are we kidding? We still have to remember to call our parents on the days the US celebrates!)

Anyway, Michaela's day care had a special program last week for the mothers. Michaela had to dress up as a clown. They would have some singing and dancing and saltenas for a snack. Michaela even had a solo - she was supposed to sing her ABCs. We were looking forward to seeing if that bit actually happened. The day rolled around - we had a screaming fit as we tried to put the costume on. (Thanks to my mom for the costume. It is actually a bunny costume she made for me and my sister, but it worked good for a clown too!) But as soon as I painted her face, she thought it was pretty cool.


When we arrived at her daycare thought, it was to discover that apparently parents here rent professional costumes for events like this. All the other kids were wearing real, brightly colored silk clown costumes complete with wigs and everything! Oh, well, I still thought Michaela looked pretty cute.

The program started... All the other kids were singing... Michaela just stood there. Josh and I started to laugh after a bit - remembering that we had told the head teacher upon enrolling that our daughter was very advanced for her age... you sure couldn't tell from her performance!


Her solo rolled around. She sings the ABCs like a pro at home, but after about a mintue of just standing at the microphone - they whisked her away.

And then came the real laughs... instead of just standing there, she began to play with her bow on her costume.

Like this...


And this...


Josh and I were rolling.

The finale rolled around and Michaela finally came out of her daze. They did a clown dance, and I guess she finally decided to get with the program.


All in all, it was a fun morning. I'm sure this is just a taste of all the future programs we have to look forward to.

My pride and His all-sufficiency

Piggybacking off my last post: every child is different - even out of the womb. As much as our 3 girls look alike - they all looked very different to me. There were differences in how they wanted to be carried (Eliana wanted to be carried facing forward), how they went to sleep (Michaela loved to be swaddled), eating habits. And Jana has her own set of preferences. Lately, much to my dismay, she's been refusing to nurse. She wants the bottle!

With Eliana, I shot myself in the foot because I didn't make her take a bottle from an early age - and she never did take one, and the switch over to a sippy cup was a battle. With Jana, I have pushed both the pacifier and the bottle (for my ease, and also because of the fact that we'll be traveling so much this summer). And I think that's part of the reason she has decided she likes the bottle better.

But I also think my body is tired after 3 pregnancies in 3 years and I'm not producing the milk she needs. I noticed a change in sleeping habits - waking up more frequently. And then the other day Jana wouldn't (or couldn't) nurse and cried and cried. I finally mixed some formula for the first time and the poor kid drank it like she was starving. Since then, I've had to give her at least one bottle a day.

I'm one of those moms who really enjoys nursing, which has been the hardest part of all this. I enjoy the physical closeness, the knowledge that my milk is best... and let's get real, the fact that it's only something mommy can do - at this age, I'm everything to my baby. And that's where the pride part comes in. I like being able to tell a Bolivian that my baby nurses (most assume if you're rich that you automatcially will have a c-section and give formula). Pride.

But the reality is - I can't be it all for my children. That's where His all-sufficiency comes in. He is everything to me - and I have to turn over everything to Him, even my children.

I thank God I live in a day and place and am on a salary where I can buy formula for my baby. I know she will be healthy. And so I cried about it some, and then gave it over to God - asking Him to be it all for me - and for my baby.

May His all-sufficiency be obvious in your life as well.

Gifts and Personalities

It's amazing as a parent to watch your children grow and learn and to notice similarities and differences between them. Of course, you always hear how every child is different, and you know it cognitively, but to see it in action... well that's something else. And of course, you always doubt if, as a parent, you're reading too much into it because, well, they're your children, so of course they're talented. But, at risk of looking foolish, I'm going to go out on a limb and say I think my children have certain talents even at this young age. Eliana is our musical child - she loves music, dancing, and rhyming words. She's learned some words and phrases solely from the rhythm. And Michaela is our artist. She loves painting, coloring, and lately - drawing on the magna pad my parents sent for her birthday. The other day she came to show me what she drew, and I have to say - I thought it was pretty good for a 3 year old. (Remembering back to my art class in college and kid's development stages, she is very advanced for her age!) Anyway, I took a picture to preserve it and here it is below. And in case you can't see it - it's a person - complete with eyes, mouth, nose, body, arms, and legs!

Visit from Matt

We were blessed this last month with a visit from one of Josh's good friends from college and grad. school days. Matt Bogard came down for about a week to visit the work here. He's searching for God's direction in his future and wanted to see what work in Bolivia was like. We enjoyed our time with him (especially Josh!) and did a variety of things that would help him see what daily life is like here in Cochabamba. And of course, no visit to Cochabamba is complete for a first time visitor without a trip to the Cristo statue. Here's our newest family picture overlooking the city. Unfortunately, we don't have one picture with Matt! How terrible is that!

Prayers for Bolivia

One of the blessings of being on a team is the fact that each person brings their own giftedness to the team. Jeff Forbess has the gift of linguistics - both in English and in Spanish (and I'm sure whatever other language he put his mind to learn). He just posted a blog that requests your prayers for political peace in Bolivia, and because I know that I will never be able to put it as well as he has, I ask you to read his blog post and join us in prayer for this country. Thank you!

Fun with Family

Jenny and Erik and Zion came to visit us this last week from Sucre. I am thankful to have at least some family living in the same country with us! We had a good time visiting about our different works, about kids, and everything else under the sun. We did some shopping and even had time to go for an ultrasound for Jenny to find out if they're having a girl or boy. We celebrated Michaela's 3rd birthday with them too (more on that to come!). Here's some pictures from their visit.

Can we say "mug shot"? I don't know why they were so serious. And the mark on Zion's chin was from learning to climb the ladder on the slide.


We went to a place called Langostura about half an hour from Cochabamba that has paddle boats, a play ground, a zip line and serves good fish.


How precious is this picture?! Jana with her Aunt Jenny.


All together now... And I promise that is NOT a beer bottle in the foreground. It's a type of juice called Jugo de Valle that comes in bottles here.

Pictures of Jana

I've been trying for weeks to get a picture of Jana smiling - and can't seem to get it timed right. The following picture is the best I could do...


We also went to get some professional pictures done. We had some done for Michaela at 2 weeks; Eliana was a month; Jana... well, we didn't get around to it till 2 and a half months - but they turned out super cute. Don't worry, grandparents! We ordered you guys some copies that we'll distribute on furlough...

Cross Cultural Moment, Anyone?

For all of you who have ever lived or spent much time overseas.... Have you ever had one of those moments when you're walking down the street and see someone wearing something that you wish you could just go up to them and ask if they REALLY know what their clothing says??? Well, one of the sisters at church just gave Jana the sweetest little outfit - and I'm quite sure that she didn't know what it said. When Josh and I opened it up, we nearly died laughing! I just don't know how I'm ever in good conscience going to put the following outfit on my baby!

The 3 Amigos

At risk of being redundant - I used the same title as Laura did on her blog - but it just seemed too perfect. I still can't believe we all have babies born within a month of each other! It'll be just as fun watching these 3 grow up together as it has been watching our other "3 amigos" (see previous blog) grow up together.