Time for a Check-Up

After a summer of strep throat three times and feeling totally exhausted and tired all the time Ruth was able to get in to the doctor today for a check-up. Since there are not enough doctors in town it took three and a half weeks for Ruth to get in to see our family doctor. The doctor feels like Ruth is now actually recovering from "mono". She still gets tired very easily and doesn't have the stamina she had before. Right now she is also battling a cold. So if you think of her she would appreciate your prayers that she can totally kick this thing and get back to "normal".

Getting to Know You Barbecue

Yesterday our classes started up again here at the training center. We have a great bunch of students that have started up and we look forward to getting to know our new students better. Last night the first year staff hosted a barbecue for our first year students. It was good to connect and get to know each other a little bit better. We are looking forward to a great year ahead!

First Day of School 2007

Every family has family traditions. And we have a family tradition that we do with the first day of school. Ever since I started home schooling in the tribe many years ago, I always tried to make each first day of the new school year special. Most kids are not excited about going back to school after a nice summer break. So I have always hung up streamers, written the kids a note of encouragement, and had a special breakfast to start off the day. So this year was no different. I once again tried to get into the spirit of "Happy New School Year!" I bought the kids a little surprise. I found some really good backpacks with some awesome padding on the shoulders and up and down the back. Ruth has a lot of back trouble and often times Titus would carry her backpack to school as it was so heavy. We are hoping the better padding will help avoid those sore backs. The kids were up and ready to go and then 15 minutes before school started Ruth said to Titus, "We have 15 minutes of summer break left, what should we do?" Well, those minutes were taken getting out the door and walking down to school.

The End of Summer 2007

Today was the last day of the kids summer break as school starts up for them tomorrow. All our students have arrived and tomorrow our classes here at the training center also start up. Ruth happened to have the day off of work, YES! Therefore after church we took off for a city about an hour and a half away and spent the day hanging out together. We let Ruth drive there so she enjoyed getting some behind the wheel time. It was good to spend the day together. We are adjusting back to being a family of four. Although we sure miss the boys, we want to continue making some special memories with our dear children that are still here with us.

Togetherness

It was a busy full summer and with our anniversary in June around jungle camp it is not really a good time to celebrate. So yesterday we finally got away on a real date. We went for a drive and stopped off at several interesting places and hiked around. We went out for supper which was a nice treat. It was so good to "get away" before our semester starts on Monday.

Signs of Life

This first picture is what it looked like right outside our place last week. The next picture is what it looked like this morning. It was pretty quiet up our way as the student apartments were empty but about six days ago our second year students started returning from their summer break. Starting on Monday our new students started to arrive. It is so nice to have our students back and we look forward to getting to know the new ones. Please be praying for the families who are still traveling that they will make it here safely. And also pray for all our students as they settle in and get adjusted to life here. Our classes start on Monday.

A Taste of ltaly

A friend of Ruth's who lived in Waukesha, WI. for a couple of years would often talk about "Divino Gelato Cafe". He highly recommended that Ruth make a visit to this cafe. It is a neat little Italian ice Cream cafe. They advertise their cafe as: A place to experience a little bit of Italy. So before we left Waukesha Ruth wanted to be able to experience a little bit of Italy. Ruth went for the mint chip and it was indeed well worth the trip and a place we will have to visit again.

Will Work For School Bill

Today was the first official day of classes for Seth and Zachary at Bible school. They will also start filling out applications and applying for jobs so they can pay off their school bills. If you think of them, pray that they will both find jobs in the near future. THANKS!

Moving In

Although we all felt bagged, Saturday morning found us unloading the van and helping the boys move into their rooms. Seth is in a room with seven other guys and Zachary is in a room with four other guys. Although they both changed rooms from last semester their rooms are kiddie corner from each other. Caleb was at school helping move his brother-in-law in so it was nice for our paths to cross for a few minutes. Although we will miss Seth and Zachary it will be nice for them to be closer to Caleb again and they always enjoying hanging out with him.

Destination Waukesha

We were on the road and all was going well until we were about 9 km. from the border. Then all of a sudden we were at a stand still. We have made all sorts of family memories and now we have a memory of our 2 1/2 hour wait at the border. Although the wait was a bit long the border crossing went very smoothly. It was so good to get back on the road again!












Our trip went well after our long wait at the border. That was before darkness fell upon us. The rear lights on Seth car would only light up if he had his brakes on. So we knew we had to do something as we could not make it 3 1/2 more hours with no lights. Therefore we pulled off the highway in IN. and Vern and Seth went to work on his car. We were VERY thankful that it was not a major repair. Seth's car had blown a fuse and PRAISE the LORD the gas station just happen to stock those fuses. We were not thrilled with another unexpected stop but it only took about 15 minutes to fix and we were SOOOO thankful that things worked out in such a positive way and we could continue on to our destination. Due to all the stops we didn't pull into Waukesha until around 2:00 a.m. EST. And although we were very tired from a long day we were thankful to be there safe and sound.

Taking Off

In 15 minutes we will be taking off for Waukesha, WI. We were going to leave first thing this morning but Seth had an appointment that could not be changed. We will be taking three vehicles with us. One is Seth's, one is ours, and the other is a van we are bringing to Waukesha for a friend. We would REALLY appreciate your prayers for us as we travel. It will be a long haul. THANKS!

Party Time

It seems like we have had quite a bit of activity the last few days in helping the boys get ready for their next semester at Bible school. There have been trips to Wal-Mart, the bank, getting some blood work done, and the list goes on. Ruth came home from work and decided we needed to party a little bit since it was the boys last night with us. So she ordered a couple of pizzas and picked up some chicken wings and chips. It was nice to take a break from the running around and enjoy some good food and a few laughs together.

Packing Up

Well, the summer break is now over for our boys. The last few days they have been packing up in anticipation of our departure on Friday morning. Classes start up for them on Monday morning.

Some Assembly Required

We bought an exercise bike and I was excited to try it out. But when we picked it up at the store I cringed thinking a possible nightmare awaited us as we tried to put the thing together. Reading the instructions at first glance it almost seemed like we would need a manual to tell us how to figure out the instructions in the manual. (sigh) Vern's first comment when we got everything out of the box was "I bet we don't have all the pieces." We worked away trying to decipher the instructions and bit by bit the bike did come together for us. When all was said and done we were missing a piece. However, later when we cleaned up all the garbage from all the wrapping we did indeed find the missing piece. VICTORY WAS OURS!!!

Smoking!

As I had mentioned in my last post I have been trying to cook up a bunch of the boys favorite meals before they go. One of Seth's favorite meals is a Mennonite dish that is served with what we call "farmer sausage". You can't buy anything that tastes anything like it here in the area. And it also just so happened that the local grocery store had a sale on pork for $1.00 a pound. Well if you connect the dots you will realize there was only one thing for us to do and that was to mix up a batch of "farmer sausage" ourselves. Usually it takes several days to order in casings. (what we stuff the sausage in). But since Vern has built a relationship with one of the local butchers we were able to get a few casings in order to make our sausage. The recipe is quite easy as all that is in the sausage is curing salt and pepper and then many hours of sitting in a smoke house. It was a success and it was enjoyed by the family.

Buen Provecho!

With Zachary and Seth soon leaving to go back to Bible School I have been trying to make a lot of their favorite meals before they leave. One family favorite is something called an "arepa". This is something that is sold on the streets and in many shops in Venezuela. An arepa is either deep fried or pan fried with a little oil. It is made with a white corn meal that you can usually only get in special stores here in North America but it is sold everywhere in Venezuela. There are many different things you can put inside an arepa such meat, cheese, tuna, or egg. (You can eat it with your hands like a sandwich or you can eat them open faced with a fork and knife. Our family enjoys putting meat cheese and all sorts of hot sauces on them.) We all enjoyed having a taste of Venezuela. (smile)