Passion for Paraguay

These folks are like family to us. Celebrating Norberto's birthday with a cookout and ice cream cake (a big favorite here) Preaching at the church of dear friends who are pastors in Kendallville, IN Speaking at the NAC 100th annual convention last night. We had a fantastic Children of Promise directors training. Here you see over 30 directors from all over the world. Our close friends, the Wagners after church at South Meridian During the week-long training, we had a few outings like visiting the Indy Children's Museum with all the directors. Another fun outing with the directors and Timmy's first bowling experience. He scored a 35 (without bumpers!) We've really enjoyed our time in Indiana. After the NAC conference ends, we'll be speaking at Church at the Crossing this weekend and will head up to Michigan right after the service.

We just got home from a memorable day with Thomas the Train. We've been looking forward to this special event for a long, long time (we started planning this from Paraguay). It was a total surprise for Timmy, so he only found out on the way to Connersville, that we were going to ride a real train and partake of all the fun activities involved in the Day out with Thomas events held around the U.S.! Here are some of our pics from our great outing: Seeing Thomas for the first time coming down the tracks! Really unsure of getting too close to Sir Topham Hatt Timmy and mommy on the train anticipating our departure Thomas! Trying out the hand pump car What a great day! We are so thankful that we had this unique opportunity as a family. Tomorrow we will be sharing at South Meridian church in Anderson, so if you're in the area, we'd love to see you!

This weekend we were in Ohio and were introduced to a very fun game called cornhole. It is played during OSU tailgating parties, church picnics and among neighbors. It's similar to a bean bag toss, but the bags are filled with corn. You get points for placing the bag on the board even if you don't make it in the hole. We learned that there's an actual Association (ACA) with rules, playing dimensions and player's stats. (who knew!) We are so excited because we can make this game in Paraguay and the young people will love it. We played cutthroat, but we weren't any competition to our friends who own their own boards. We're going to make up our own version, but use soybeans instead (soyhole anyone?) So, just wait until we come back in a few years...better watch out!

After some awesome visits all over the east coast, we are happy to be stable for three whole weeks! We have unpacked our suitcases and cleaned out the car and are delighted to fix our own meals and spread out in our happy abode for a few weeks. While we were so very happy to see friends on the road, our son was really craving some stability and his own bed. Thanks for your prayers for us on the road, we've been smooth sailing without any problems. Here's a few snapshots of some of our fun activities with our friends: Riding cowboy in Dayton, OH! Playing ball in near Pittsburg Eating ice cream cake with great friends in Jersey Shore, PA! Walking along the beach in CT. Enjoying fellowship with life long friends in VA Laughing and remembering the good ol' days with our Paraguayan friends in NYC. Recreation has been a healthy outlet for our long car rides and speaking engagements. This weekend we'll be in Ohio sharing at Maidenlane Church in Springfield, so if you...

There's nothing better than summer picnics with good friends! Have we mentioned how much we enjoy libraries? We go at least twice a week to read Timmy stories and to study for our sermon preparation. How much we desire to take libraries back with us to Paraguay! What an incredible resource. Oh, and the parks! They are truly incredible, almost like mini amusement parks. We preached in New Jersey last weekend and this Sunday we'll be in Dayton, OH sharing at Covenant Community Church. Giving Thanks- We are so thankful that we have the opportunity to connect with such dear friends. We are healthy and our vehicle is running well. We received beautiful new clothes from loving friends so we don't look like poor ragged missionaries when we speak at churches. Also, we are also delighted that we have a buyer for our truck in Paraguay! God's timing is always perfect.

It feels great to slow slow the pace of life down a bit this week after our move and travel to the U.S. Here are some of our snapshots since we arrived: Strolling through the park in Buenos Aires The expolit conference! Norberto was inspired, challenged, encouraged. Here's a picture with famous latin musician, Danilo Montero. Seeing Julie's family in Orlando. Here we celebrated a birthday and went mini golfing in the rain! Fishing at Tio Dennis' house Memorial weekend with our dear friends, the Briscoes in Virginia. Timmy caught his first fish! We are so grateful to special friends that have loaned us their vehicle during our stay here and friends who open up their home with loving hospitality. This week we begin sharing with churches, so thank you for keeping us in your prayers.

We're in the States, folks! We had a few crazy experiences in getting here. Especially hairy was the moment we were ready to check in at Buenos Aires and we realized that the customs official never stamped our passports into the country. That was a panic attack, for sure. Also another frustrating moment was when the official in Paraguay wanted to charge us a fee because I told him that a Paraguayan can also be a U.S. citizen and that we could call the US Embassy to prove it. That was a big mistake. They are NEVER wrong, of course. He told us to go out and show him all our documents and instead we just left! So far, Timmy loves the States! He can't get over all the big construction vehicles and the tower cranes. He loves frosties and the swimming pool! He does have allergies though, which is something new. We're praying that they pass soon. I believe we've made the transition back without much reverse culture shock (so far). Even after venturing into Target and ...