It started with the September schedule - I WASN'T ON IT! And now, for the last two days, Paula, my manager, has conducted job interviews. Three yesterday and one more today. The interviews are for MY JOB! My first 'real job'. I've been working for the University for ten and a half years. I started working here right out of PA school. And it is a very odd feeling to know I am being replaced. As sure as I am that we are meant to go to Guatemala, this feeling of someone else taking my job just feels a little funny.
There is a sense of security that comes with getting a paycheck. Even greater security in knowing that you will keep getting a paycheck from the same place for about the same amount of money every month. For me, that will soon end. From the time that we were first contemplating this change, I knew that 'trusting' would be involved. I knew that if the Lord wanted us to move to Guatemala, He would provide for us. This week, it all seems a little more real, and the prayers asking for God to provide are spoken with a little more ferver.
Wednesday, July 30, 2008
Monday, July 28, 2008
Travel through Mexico
Six weeks from today, Don will be at the Mexican border on his way to Guatemala. Our friend Matt, who will be driving with Don, just made his trip home to the US from Guatemala through Mexico this past weekend. His trip was quite interesting. Click here to read his blog entry.
We are already praying for Don to have an uneventful and boring trip through Mexico. If you think of us, will you pray for his trip as well? We believe the Lord is more than able to cover this trip. In the Psalms it says that "some trust in horses and chariots but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God." In Mexico, US citizens often have no rights or "say so" which puts them at the mercy of the authorities in the country. The Bible tells us that "God's power is made perfect in our weakness" and that "His grace is more than sufficient". We are resting on these promises and will continue to pray to the Lord for His protection and guidance. We pray that Don will have a very boring story to share when he arrives in Guatemala. Thanks for reading and for praying!
We are already praying for Don to have an uneventful and boring trip through Mexico. If you think of us, will you pray for his trip as well? We believe the Lord is more than able to cover this trip. In the Psalms it says that "some trust in horses and chariots but we trust in the Name of the Lord our God." In Mexico, US citizens often have no rights or "say so" which puts them at the mercy of the authorities in the country. The Bible tells us that "God's power is made perfect in our weakness" and that "His grace is more than sufficient". We are resting on these promises and will continue to pray to the Lord for His protection and guidance. We pray that Don will have a very boring story to share when he arrives in Guatemala. Thanks for reading and for praying!
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Pull-ups, Peanut Butter and Packing
We are now at less than two months from when the kids and I get on the airplane. Don only has about 6 weeks before he starts driving south. Just saying that makes me have a little panic feeling! I am stumped on how to pack us!
When we have gone for 3 or 4 week trips, I have always been able to pack enough North American products to last us. Things like chocolate chips (their chocolate is terrible there - very bitter) and peanut butter. Sometimes I have had a hard time finding brown sugar or powdered sugar so I pack it. I have also always packed containers of Clorox wipes so the kids can wipe down the bathrooms everyday. This seems to help with germs and us getting the traveler sickness. I have also packed some canned goods in the past and snack things. I can't pack enough of most of these things to last us for 7 months! North American products in Guatemala are usually only purchased by the North Americans that live there. If we try to buy the same products that we purchase here, our living expenses will be much higher. We were asking our missionary hosts how much they think we need to budget for monthly groceries. Their response was that it depends on how "North American" we eat. We also have to pay for our checked bags this trip so I am trying to not pack quite so much. We have always maxed out the number of 50 lb. bags that we can take. Because Don will not be with us to help with baggage and we don't want to pay so much extra, we are trying to keep the number of bags down.
One thing that we have decided is that we cannot possibly take enough pull-ups for Samuel. He only wears them at night but we don't have enough room for seven months of nights. We aren't sure we could even buy them in Guatemala but if we could, they would be way too expensive. We have been having Samuel wear his big boy pants to bed at night. He was doing very well until the last three nights. We have two months to get him to where he has more nights without accidents than with!
Then we have the packing of the 4runner. There are certain rules about which things you can take through Mexico. We also have to have Don packed two weeks before the kids and I leave. Everything that he can't take will have to go with me or not at all. I have been really praying for the Lord's direction on all of this. It is making me think about what we NEED vs. what I would really like to have. This trip is just so different. We are going to have to get by with what we can purchase for the most part and not rely on what we can pack. It is all part of the adventure! We so appreciate your support and prayers! Thanks for reading!
When we have gone for 3 or 4 week trips, I have always been able to pack enough North American products to last us. Things like chocolate chips (their chocolate is terrible there - very bitter) and peanut butter. Sometimes I have had a hard time finding brown sugar or powdered sugar so I pack it. I have also always packed containers of Clorox wipes so the kids can wipe down the bathrooms everyday. This seems to help with germs and us getting the traveler sickness. I have also packed some canned goods in the past and snack things. I can't pack enough of most of these things to last us for 7 months! North American products in Guatemala are usually only purchased by the North Americans that live there. If we try to buy the same products that we purchase here, our living expenses will be much higher. We were asking our missionary hosts how much they think we need to budget for monthly groceries. Their response was that it depends on how "North American" we eat. We also have to pay for our checked bags this trip so I am trying to not pack quite so much. We have always maxed out the number of 50 lb. bags that we can take. Because Don will not be with us to help with baggage and we don't want to pay so much extra, we are trying to keep the number of bags down.
One thing that we have decided is that we cannot possibly take enough pull-ups for Samuel. He only wears them at night but we don't have enough room for seven months of nights. We aren't sure we could even buy them in Guatemala but if we could, they would be way too expensive. We have been having Samuel wear his big boy pants to bed at night. He was doing very well until the last three nights. We have two months to get him to where he has more nights without accidents than with!
Then we have the packing of the 4runner. There are certain rules about which things you can take through Mexico. We also have to have Don packed two weeks before the kids and I leave. Everything that he can't take will have to go with me or not at all. I have been really praying for the Lord's direction on all of this. It is making me think about what we NEED vs. what I would really like to have. This trip is just so different. We are going to have to get by with what we can purchase for the most part and not rely on what we can pack. It is all part of the adventure! We so appreciate your support and prayers! Thanks for reading!
Saturday, July 12, 2008
An Update
We haven't posted anything since the 3rd. How did that happen?? What have we been doing lately? It seems like we have been extremely busy but with lots of little things. Here are some of our "little steps" that are getting us closer to our trip.
Don ordered, received and attached a hitch to his 4runner. This will be very useful for us while in Guatemala. I don't know anything about that except that he is very excited!
We are trying to figure out how to keep our same phone number but put it on "hold" and enable the family staying at our house to have a different, temporary phone number. Are you confused? So was the lady at the telephone company. I think we got it figured out but the paperwork that she was going to send us never arrived. I think we may have to go to the office in person.
The whole family has been priming and painting the basement walls. Well, the kids helped the first day and decided painting wasn't all that much fun. Caleb (11) did help a second time and is doing a great job. Samuel (4) lasted about 20 minutes and has lost interest. We have three rooms to go then we will be ready for trim and cabinets and finishing the electrical.
We have purchased a laptop so that we can communicate via e-mail, update the blog and use it for school. However, none of us have had any time to even play with it.
We are working on getting as much school done as we can before we go. Next week, all the kids will be done with their reading curriculum for this coming school year. We have started history, handwriting and grammar. I am thinking of starting spelling as well.
Don and I also celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this past week. We stole away for lunch and then ran a bunch of errands. Isn't that romantic?? It was a fun afternoon and such a blessing to have an 11-year-old who can be in charge! The Lord is so good, people have been so generous and supportive and we feel so blessed. We are at 2 months and counting. Thanks for reading and coming along with us!
Don ordered, received and attached a hitch to his 4runner. This will be very useful for us while in Guatemala. I don't know anything about that except that he is very excited!
We are trying to figure out how to keep our same phone number but put it on "hold" and enable the family staying at our house to have a different, temporary phone number. Are you confused? So was the lady at the telephone company. I think we got it figured out but the paperwork that she was going to send us never arrived. I think we may have to go to the office in person.
The whole family has been priming and painting the basement walls. Well, the kids helped the first day and decided painting wasn't all that much fun. Caleb (11) did help a second time and is doing a great job. Samuel (4) lasted about 20 minutes and has lost interest. We have three rooms to go then we will be ready for trim and cabinets and finishing the electrical.
We have purchased a laptop so that we can communicate via e-mail, update the blog and use it for school. However, none of us have had any time to even play with it.
We are working on getting as much school done as we can before we go. Next week, all the kids will be done with their reading curriculum for this coming school year. We have started history, handwriting and grammar. I am thinking of starting spelling as well.
Don and I also celebrated our 15th wedding anniversary this past week. We stole away for lunch and then ran a bunch of errands. Isn't that romantic?? It was a fun afternoon and such a blessing to have an 11-year-old who can be in charge! The Lord is so good, people have been so generous and supportive and we feel so blessed. We are at 2 months and counting. Thanks for reading and coming along with us!
Thursday, July 3, 2008
Pampered Chef Anyone?
I am having a Pampered Chef party on Friday, July 11th and I wanted you to know about it! I am going to use all of the hostess credits for things to take to Guatemala.
One of the things that I would like to do at the Children's Home is teach some of the older girls how to bake. They are very interested in learning. Last time we were there, I taught a couple of them how to bake chocolate chip cookie bars and they were very excited. I am thinking that I can do a little better than that! I was also thinking that it would be great fun to get them some Pampered Chef tools to teach them and then leave for them to use. Things like the scoops for making cookies, muffins, breads etc. They could use some nice serving tools and spatulas. They spend alot of time everyday chopping vegetables for meals. I would like to bring them some nice vegetable peelers, knives, cutting boards. etc.
Also, I would like to bring some gifts for our hosts. I know that she likes bamboo spoons and she could use some other fun things. It is hard to get good quality kitchen items in Guatemala so this would be a treat for her. Plus, the kitchen that we will be using as a family has not really ever been used as a kitchen before. I would like to have a few things that I could use to cook for my family and then I would leave them there for the next person.
Why am I telling you all this?? Because if you need some Pampered Chef you can log on to the website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/rhonda, click on "Order Products" and put me in as the host, "Lori Allison". Anything that you would purchase would contribute to the hostess credits. If you are in the area and would like to attend, you are invited! E-mail us at the address to the left for info and directions!
We talked on the phone to our hosts in Guatemala last night. They did not have power all day there so we had a little trouble with the connection at first but eventually they got through and we talked for about an hour! They are very excited about Don coming and working in the clinics and about me helping them with their financial stuff. Talking to them makes this all the more real and it makes us even more excited to get there! Thanks for all of your support!
One of the things that I would like to do at the Children's Home is teach some of the older girls how to bake. They are very interested in learning. Last time we were there, I taught a couple of them how to bake chocolate chip cookie bars and they were very excited. I am thinking that I can do a little better than that! I was also thinking that it would be great fun to get them some Pampered Chef tools to teach them and then leave for them to use. Things like the scoops for making cookies, muffins, breads etc. They could use some nice serving tools and spatulas. They spend alot of time everyday chopping vegetables for meals. I would like to bring them some nice vegetable peelers, knives, cutting boards. etc.
Also, I would like to bring some gifts for our hosts. I know that she likes bamboo spoons and she could use some other fun things. It is hard to get good quality kitchen items in Guatemala so this would be a treat for her. Plus, the kitchen that we will be using as a family has not really ever been used as a kitchen before. I would like to have a few things that I could use to cook for my family and then I would leave them there for the next person.
Why am I telling you all this?? Because if you need some Pampered Chef you can log on to the website: http://www.pamperedchef.biz/rhonda, click on "Order Products" and put me in as the host, "Lori Allison". Anything that you would purchase would contribute to the hostess credits. If you are in the area and would like to attend, you are invited! E-mail us at the address to the left for info and directions!
We talked on the phone to our hosts in Guatemala last night. They did not have power all day there so we had a little trouble with the connection at first but eventually they got through and we talked for about an hour! They are very excited about Don coming and working in the clinics and about me helping them with their financial stuff. Talking to them makes this all the more real and it makes us even more excited to get there! Thanks for all of your support!
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