a jillion reasons why

new blog!

2010-11-05T07:45:00.001-06:00

Hey, everyone. Here is the link to our new blog where we will have posts about our family!

www.alittlebitblessed.blogspot.com

a much needed vacation

2010-06-25T20:13:00.006-05:00

We had a great time earlier this month going to Destin, FL with family! We got there just a few weeks before the oil did! The beaches were beautiful but there was a lot of algae in the water.

Most of our time was spent reading, eating, and going to the beach. We entered week 15 of the pregnancy while we were there. It was the first week that I started feeling better. I didn't get sick the entire time I was there!!

The boys enjoyed cooking shrimp and eating oysters at the house we rented. The house was just a block from the beach so it was super convenient for evening strolls. My favorite part was eating crab legs at the Crab Trap. They were so good and I ate them all! We also got to watch fireworks over the bay one night.
My dad and brother rented a scooter and a sail boat but Matt and I decided it would be best if I didn't ride either one, partly for safety reasons but mostly because I would have been nauseous. The week was just going too well to get nauseous.

life is really good!

2010-05-31T09:36:00.009-05:00

Well, we've got big news. We're pregnant! Woo hoo! We are about 13 weeks along now. It has been so fun to see our baby on the ultrasound and hear its tiny heartbeat on the Doppler. We feel so blessed and so excited. We were praying and trying for a little while now, but of course, God's timing is always perfect and we're thankful for the patience He gave us while we waited.

I am just starting to "show". Nothing too exciting, I mostly look like I ate too much at the Chinese buffet but it's still fun to see that the baby is growing and making room for itself. Right now he/she is about the size of a peach (we'll figure out the sex of the baby around week 20).

We started taking pictures, this is me at 12 weeks.

Our 9 week ultrasound was so exciting, it's hard to see, but the head is on the left. The little round bubble is the yolk sack, that will go away soon. You can kind of see "his" little hands tucked up at his sides. We could see the tiny flutter of the heart on the ultrasound but it's not visible in the picture.

highlights

2009-12-12T17:38:00.014-06:00

It's Christmas-time and I haven't blogged in 6 months! Yikes! What a crazy, fast year this was. Let's take a look at how great it was...
We got to spend lots of time this year with our neice, Bella! We saw her in Little Rock, St. Louis, and Columbia, MO.

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We had a fun Cinco de Mayo party with our friends, and then went on a cruise. Our garden was hard work, but a lot of fun.
In August we went camping and a bunch of our friends came out for the day.

Thanksgiving was at our house this year. My family and grandparents came and we ate a ton of food! 40 pounds of fried turkey ended up being too much for 9 people so we had leftovers for a few days. My Meema got a speeding ticket on the way over here from Tulsa. Dad and Matt kept busy with the birds.

Halloween was spooktacular, of course. We had a costume party with home-made costumes for me and Matt. Matt was a Lego man and we papier mache'd his head! If you ever want to strengthen your marriage and gain more patience, try papier mache-ing together! I was princess Leia from Star Wars and yes, those are actual honey buns on my head. The gown was sewn from a white sheet and I used alluminum foil to make my belt. So fun!

Most recently we attended the second annual Ugly Christmas Sweater Party at the Wheelock's house. It was awesome. The sweaters were wild and the food was great. We wore the same sweaters as last year because they are hideous.

I think the best part of this year has been getting to know the couples in our lifegroup. We have great friends that we get to see each week to study God's word. They are a huge blessing and encouragement.
Christmas is quickly approaching and we are so excited about seeing our families and going to Disney World!

key west

2009-07-08T20:03:00.006-05:00

This year we took a Carnival cruise to Key West. Apart from the storm in the Gulf, it was a wonderful, relaxing trip! Seriously, people were injured from the rocking of the boat. But we enjoyed good food and fun in the sun, especially when we docked at Key West. It was such a beautiful place. Our boat docked at 6:30 in the morning so we walked down Duval street until we got to the "southernmost part of the USA". Then we sat on the beach and had some coffee until the shops opened at 10:00.

The other destination was supposed to be the Bahamas but the storm was so bad that they couldn't dock the boat! Bummer! Oh well, we still got to enjoy a fantastic new towel animal each day. By the way, does anyone know what this one is??

el jardin

2009-05-25T18:24:00.025-05:00

Our latest ongoing project has been our garden. After a lot of hard labor and money (dirt gets expensive!), we have finally completed it for this season! We originally started everything from seeds indoors in like February (not a good idea). When we had beans climbing up the chandelier in the kitchen we decided we should just wait for warmer weather and start from scratch outside. So far so good. We've got the workings of future tomatoes, pole beans, okra and cucumber. On the other side of the patio we just planted some black beans, a variety of peppers, and more okra because the other ones aren't looking so good.

So exciting! Can't wait to enjoy the fruits (and veggies) of our labor! We have fruit already developing on the cucumbers and tomatoes.

Here's a shot of the entire backyard...standing in the corner as far as the new fence would allow us to go. Check back soon for more photos of our backyard adventures!

hemming

2008-12-21T08:59:00.004-06:00

I just hemmed my own jeans!! Matt and I found some great deals on Black Friday at the Banana Republic outlet in Branson and so I got two pairs of jeans. But when I got home I realized they were way too long so I called around and found out it costs $15 to get a pair of jeans hemmed. Then I found this website where it shows you how to hem jeans while keeping the original hem at the bottom. So I tried it with my new sewing machine and it worked! No need to spend $30 when I can do it myself!

I just wanted to share this valuable information with everyone since it is a very useful skill. It was sooo easy and you don't even have to cut them. Here is the link to the website so all you crafy cats can do this too!

http://www.daciaray.com/?p=38

One Year

2008-12-18T16:12:00.008-06:00

Last weekend Matt and I rented a cabin at Devil's Den with our favorite outdoorsey couple, Amy and Eli. What fun we had. The cabin was perfect and cozy. Suprisingly, there was a tv there with cable and since none of us have cable in our homes, we got sucked in to watching some pretty crazy shows. But it was a great time to relax.

It had been a while since any of us had been to Devil's Den so we enjoyed the hikes and caves very much. It's never a dull day when you get to see bats, a salamander,lots of green moss, and Matt hanging from a tree.

It was also the weekend before our one year anniversary!! Wow, it was a wonderful year full of exciting changes and huge blessings. We feel so incredibly blessed to have each other. Despite having to work hard in the real world, we wake up every day and think "could it really get any better than this?!"

monkeys and softball?

2008-09-17T19:39:00.006-05:00

Wow, we are continually amazed and humbled by the enormous blessings God has been pouring on us. Matt's job has been great, he really likes the people he works with and his income has been completely supporting us so far. I graduated on September 6th and was super excited to accept a position as a nurse in a new children's clinic that is opening on October 1st. It is in Bentonville, very close to our home, and I'll have the same work hours as Matt! I am sooo excited!I have been training this week and I love it! We had a nice break before I graduated and were able to go to Destin with my family. (see picture) We didn't do anything but sleep, eat good food, and play on the beach - and we loved every minute of it). Earlier this summer we went to Tulsa and Mema Gunselman took us to the zoo! It was really hot but we saw some funny animals and this ADORABLE monkey!! He was so playful. I could have watched him all day.

The church that we found up here has been wonderful in so many ways. We have met some great friends and a few of the couples live in our neighborhood! This fall we will start a young married couple "life group" and we will focus on glorifying God through our marriages as well as serving people in need. Matt joined the church's men's softball team and has really impressed me with his athletic talent. They have games every week this fall and he really enjoys the time with the guys. One thing that I love right now is being able to step outside after dinner and enjoy the end-of-summer weather. Matt and I like to walk around barefoot and check out the yard and then take a walk around the neighborhood. Sounds very Arkansan, I know, but I love it.

la casa

2008-04-28T16:21:00.002-05:00

First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes...a house!
We bought a house! Matt and I have been looking at houses in the Bentonville area since he got the job at Wal-Mart. We found a great deal on a 3 bedroom, 2 bath house in Centerton. It's about 3 miles west of Bentonville. We are so excited! It is the perfect place to start our family.

We've been learning so much together about how big God is and how everything is in His hands. We feel so blessed for everything we have but know if we lost it all we would still have all we need in Him.

Nursing school is awesome... and hard and gross and tiring. But I love it. This semester I've been able to experience many different areas of nursing. So far my favorites have been labor & delivery, hospice, same day surgery, and clinics.
I just need a little more practice with IVs. Any takers?

back to bloggin'

2008-01-09T10:26:00.001-06:00

Well, I'm back on the blog. Matt and I got married on December 16th and went to Disney World for our honeymoon! We had a blast. There was even an exhibit in Epcot on Oaxaca! The exhibit was about the brightly colored, hand-carved wood animals that Oaxaca is famous for. Outside we took a picture with Donaldo.
Our wedding was perfect, it was everything we wanted. The chapel was beautiful and all our friends and family were there. We had some touches of Mexico at the reception with bottled Mexican sodas and Mexican food. We loved every second of it. It really was the perfect day. Now I've moved in to Matt's apartment and we're getting our lives meshed together and we love it. We feel like kings now that we have a blender and breadmaker and other appliances we've never owned before. We really have everything we need.
Matt will finish his last semester of school for his MBA this spring and I am starting my third semester of nursing school. We didn't have any new year's resolutions but we did decide to read the Bible in a year, which neither of us has done before. So far it's going well and we love reading and learning together. Life is good.

home sweet home

2006-11-01T14:56:00.000-06:00

Most of you have kept up with the news about Oaxaca recently. There have been riots and protests in Oaxaca City for 5 months now. It got terribly out of hand when policemen were being shot and the American reporter was killed. Troops had been stationed in Huatulco, a city about 2 hours from Roca Blanca. They moved in to the city on Sunday to put an end to the violence and rioting. Fortunately, we were already on the road and out of the State when this happened. We left early Saturday morning and began our 45 hour drive trip. God really kept us safe and healthy. We had no car trouble, good weather, and very little traffic. Our only problem was being stopped at the border. We told them we came from Oaxaca and they pulled us over and x-rayed our car. It was a little scary at the time but really cool to see a giant moving x-ray machine. They searched our car but didn't take anything from us and we were soon in the USA. It is so good to be back with my family and friends.

Our time at Roca was incredible. We served on the mission field, grew closer to God, and made friendships with some amazing people. Matt and I will tell a little of our tale on Sunday, November 5 at the Grove Church. I can't wait to see everyone. Thank you all for your support and prayers.

2006-10-18T13:45:00.000-05:00

Isidro takes more corn to the Ixtayutla region!

down by the riverside

2006-10-16T16:32:00.000-05:00

We went to Nopala again this weekend to take James to see the church. James has been coming to Roca since he was 15. He is now in his 30s and is married with 2 kids. His stories are really crazy. On his first trip here in the 80s he went to a town called Jamiltepec where for the first time he saw deliverances, healings, and a guy levitating off the ground. No joke. He said the guy was lying on his back floating like 10 inches in the air. So James walks over and starts trying to push him down. I probably wouldn’t have believed that story a year ago, but after being here and seeing strange things myself, I can totally picture it. So a few years ago James quit his job and started a coffee company to support the churches that Roca started in Oaxaca. It's Oaxacan coffee that is roasted in Springfield. It's very yummy. Check out his website: www.oaxacafe.com.

The church in Nopala is doing very well. They have had some hard times with renting a house but things are settling down. Instead of having church on Sunday, they took everyone to the river for baptisms. It was beautiful and joyful. We started out singing and then James read about baptisms and then it started to rain a little. Matt's joke is that there can now be no theological conflict because they were all sprinkled and dunked.
There were 6 people who were baptized. Each one of them came up out of the water and hugged someone and cried. It is such an amazing thing to see, especially in a town with almost no Christians and with much opposition of the Catholic Church.
Update on the corn in Ixtayultla- over $1000 has been given to buy food! So as soon as the rain stops here and the roads are less dangerous they will be taking more loads up to the people.

Also, we will be leaving for home in 2 weeks. I’m sad to leave but very excited to get home. We’ll be driving again so it will take a while. Please pray for safe travel and favor at the border.
I love you all!

panixtlahuaca

2006-09-26T10:41:00.000-05:00

This weekend we drove a group to a village called Panixtlahuaca. They held a conference to educate children’s ministry leaders. This was awesome because of the great need for outreach to children in this area. They also preached at church about the importance of disciplining children and showing Christ’s love.

It was a good trip. Rough, but good. It was a 6 hour drive on curvy, dirt roads. But the scenery was beautiful. Men with guns were running up and down the streets when we got there Friday night. We didn’t shower all weekend and they weren’t prepared for gringos so they didn’t prepare any of the food with purified water. Matt and I sat around and entertained the kids most of the time. We walked to the local market where I bought supplies for my exciting new hobby – embroidery. We left for Roca at 5:30am on Sunday and got stuck several times in the mud and pushed our way up the hill until the sun finally came up. It was great fun.

Once again it was an amazing experience of witnessing God’s presence among an indigenous people group and knowing that this area is changed because of the work of the base. Panix was a hard village to reach, not only because of its curvy washed-away roads, but also because of the resistance of the Catholic Church. I’m never trying to offend Catholics when I talk about the Catholicism here. It’s just that here it has been twisted into this idolatry and witchcraft that still carries the Catholic name. Anyway, Duane had told us stories about them blocking the roads and carrying guns and being robbed when they tried to reach the people there. Panix was the first village to have a martyr. The very first Christian there was shot because of his faith. He was shot many times in the chest, died, and was driven down the mountain. Toward the end of the 6 hour drive the man came back to life! He’s still alive and kicking. Matt met him at the base last month and we talked to him when we went to the church service in Panix. His name is Juventino and he’s the cutest little old man I’ve ever seen. My only question is – since he came back to life, does that still make him a martyr?

Good news!! We applied for Roca to be represented as a mission organization at the Passion07 conference and we were accepted! This is amazing news because it will expose the work of the base to 20,000 college students. Matt and I will go to Atlanta in January to pray for students and encourage them to get involved with missions. We’ll also talk to them about our experience on the field at Roca. We are so excited!!! Please pray for us because our deadline to send in our photos, videos, and agency fee of $500 is fast approaching.

corn

2006-09-16T18:33:00.000-05:00

There has been some sad news from the Ixtayutla/El Mosco area recently. The people there are running out of food. Specifically, there is no corn, which is what their tortillas are made of. Duane and some base workers took two truckloads of corn and fish up 2 weeks ago. People wanting to buy some corn stopped them several times along the 8-hour drive up the rugged mountain. They couldn't sell it to them or they would be out by the time they got to where the problem was worst. In addition to being out of corn, they are also in need of sugar and other basic cooking ingredients. It was heartbreaking for those who went on the trip to see this devastating hunger. The people of Ixtayutla are starving.
This is a product of many things. One is simply that a spirit of poverty lives in this entire area. Also, many men have left this region to work in the States, leaving their fields unattended. They might send money to their families, but it doesn't matter because there's no food available to buy.
God only knows what the solution to this problem is. We can help by sending truckloads of food and ministering to the people.
Please pray for this area, that God will move in big ways and change the hearts of His people and that He would provide for them the food that they need.

white rock

2006-09-04T13:42:00.000-05:00

Pictures from our boat trip around Roca Blanca (the white rock).

This is Allison, a girl from the last team that was here. She will be moving to Mexico soon to do missionary work for 10 months.

The boat driver of the other boat randomly jumped in the water and caught these awesome sea turtles with his bare hands!

nopala

2006-08-30T13:49:00.000-05:00

There was an amazing group of people at the base this past week. Our time with them was precious. We all went to Nopala to see how the church was doing and visit some other churches in the area. There is a lot of religious oppression in this area from the idolatry and Catholicism. The women of the Nopala church held a women’s conference last Saturday. Around 30 women came and about half were unbelievers. Everyone came to Christ. It was a beautiful celebration of women and their love for God. My grandmother crocheted scrunchies that we gave to the women and they loved them. We also brought Spanish Bibles and taught them how to look up verses. It was wonderful. We all spoke a little bit about who we are as women in Christ.

Matt, Tim, Arnulfo, and Rebekah got to attend a church service in Cerro de Aire. They said that the worship was amazing and that it was good to see both young and old whole-heartedly worshiping God. Sunday we went to church in Nopala. It is held at the house where the mission team lives. It’s a small but passionate church. A few of the new believers from the women’s conference came. That night we went to Tiltepec for another church service. The Catholic oppression was very obvious in this church. Many women wore veils, no one smiled, and the worship team looked like zombies. There was no joy in this place. Please pray that the pastor will be strengthened during his training at Roca Blanca to bring a revival of joy to his church.

The kids in this town were adorable! And there were bunches of them everywhere. The whole town is on a 75 degree incline hill and the children run up and down it like it’s nothing. They taught us how to count to three in Chatino and we told them words in English.
While we were there we had an earthquake! I slept right through it but everyone said it was pretty scary.

There are about 30 pastors from local village churches here at the base for the Pastor’s Conference. They have meetings about ways to improve their churches and programs. Did you know that half of the population in Mexico is under the age of 18? Maybe 2 of these 30 churches that were represented had a good solid children’s ministry program. We must reach the children. This is something that is very heavy on our hearts. Please pray for the children’s programs to be strengthened.

Matt and I have been working on a system that will allow us to do most of the work we do here from the States so that when we go back we will still be actively involved with the work of Roca Blanca. Matt has developed a new database of supporters and visitors and it is awesome. It is much more organized and efficient. From the States he will maintain the database and I will correspond with supporters by writing thank you letters, making phone calls, even visiting local churches.

Today a lady named Janelle spoke at the pastor’s meeting. She is Chatino and she speaks Spanish and English. She just got back from a 3-month trip to Tunisia. It is her heart's desire to reach the Muslims with the Gospel. She was raised near the base and she said that the thing that impacted her most was seeing teams come down to the base year after year. Because of this and the influence of Duane and Sue (the founders of the base) she wants to take the Gospel into a new place. She will be returning to Tunisia for a year to study Arabic and French.

The harvest is plenty, but the workers are few. Luke 10:2

Prayers needed:
-pray for the administration of the base to stabilize and strengthen so that Duane and Sue can spend some time in the States raising support
-pray for the new surrounding churches, that they can break free from this religious oppression so that the people can find true Freedom
-pray for our continued good health and safety
-school started on Tuesday. Pray for the students as they prepare to be the future pastors and worship leaders of the indigenous churches in this area
-pray for the churches and their children’s ministries; that leaders from the church would rise up and strengthen the programs to reach the children
-pray for Janelle; that God uses her in mighty ways to reach the Muslims

amuzgo

2006-08-14T10:42:00.000-05:00

Friday night Duane asked if Matt and I would like to accompany him to the town of Amuzgo for the weekend. We accepted and headed out on Saturday morning. Along the way we stopped in Pueblo Nuevo to pray with Gerardo's mom. Gerardo is a student at the base. A few months ago a man with a machete mistakenly entered in their home, thinking it was someone else's home, and attacked their family. He wrestled Gerardo to the ground and swung the machete at his mom, cutting her head open. She was taken to a hospital and is recovering but there is still a large part of her skull missing, leaving her brain covered only by skin. She has to be extremely careful not to hit her head. Her memory and vision are coming back, but she has lost the ability to read. They can’t afford the $5,000 surgery to fix her skull. We prayed for God to heal her head and her heart. She still has strong faith and knows that God is good. She also completely forgives this man, who is in the local prison. Matt feels lead to go there and minister to him.

After we left Pueblo Nuevo we headed over to the church in Amuzgo. Duane's purpose in going was to see the progress that the church has made there. We ate lunch with the pastor, Alejandro, and his family. What an interesting man! He speaks Amuzgo, Spanish, and English! He lived in the States for 8 years and owned a landscape company. He became a Christian and left his comfortable life in the States to come tell his people about Jesus. Now he has a church of about 300 Amuzgans, the first ever to become Christians.

We stayed the night at our friend Soco's house. We love Soco very much. She will be coming to Tulsa in January to study English for a year. Her father has a similar story in that he also went to the States, became a Christian, and came home to tell his family about Jesus. His family, however, rejected him, when he came back. And it wasn't until years later, when Soco accepted Jesus at a youth conference at Roca Blanca, that his family understood and accepted his decision. There is a lot of witchcraft and idolatry in the mountains of Mexico. It’s real and scary. They cast spells and put curses on people. That’s why it is so incredibly important to be strong in Faith when you come here. Soco’s mom used to practice “healing” with potions and things until she became a Christian. Now people come to her for real, spiritual healing and prayer. Their family has opened an Internet café near their house where they minister to the local people. Matt and I learned how to do the embroidery that the women do on the hand made clothes in the mountains!

Church the next morning started at 7 and lasted until 11!! Duane spoke and the pastor had to translate from Spanish to Amuzgo. Everyone looked beautiful in their hand made embroidered clothes. The people are so passionate and excited. It was wonderful to be a part of it. Our purpose here really sunk in during this service. We saw these people as another tribe that has been reached: the first Amuzgos ever to enter the Kingdom. They are reached because of the work that Duane established at Roca and the pastor who has dedicated his life to missions. What an amazing feeling it is to play a small but vital role in such a beautiful movement. Thanks to all of our supporters who are making such an eternal difference.

After church, Soco cooked a wonderful lunch and we ate way too much. They just kept feeding us! Everyone was so generous. Soco’s mom gave be a beautiful shirt that she made and sent us home with some more food. We stopped again to pray for Gerardo’s mom on the way home and we also stopped to see Cata, a cute little old lady who has known Duane for 30 years. Cata and her husband were the first Christians that Duane and Sue met when they came to this area 32 years ago. She told us of a dream she had where she went to heaven and everyone was dressed in white robes, dancing. She asked if she could dance, too. They told her, “not yet, you’re not here yet, go back and you can dance when you get to heaven.” And she woke up. Precious.

blood, sweat, and Cheer

2006-08-02T13:39:00.000-05:00

Spanish school is over! We had a month of intensive Spanish classes taught by our Korean teacher, Joe. It really was great getting to know the other students who came down just for the class. Matt's Spanish has improved tremendously and I am more confident when I speak. We all lived in a house in Cacalote for the month of July. There was a lime tree out back by the wash station so we made fresh squeezed limeade a lot. We even threw in some green oranges to make a drink we call 'limorangeade'. It was a tasty treat on those really hot, sticky days.

Lately we have been working on strengthening the correspondence that the base has with supporters in the States. We've been writing letters, mailing reminders, and designing new stationary. There are some groups coming in this week to prepare for as well.
Lee and Clay Morton, our friends from Fayetteville, were studying Spanish in Oaxaca City and they came down to visit the base. It was wonderful to have their company and share with them the awesome work that the base does.
A couple weekends ago, we were awakened with the news that the base had flooded. We had been living on the outskirts of the base for Spanish school so we fortunately weren't there when the waist deep waters invaded. It happened at night while it was raining. Part of the retaining wall broke and the nasty lagoon water came in. Everyone was really scared because they have seen snakes and alligators in that lagoon.
So anyway, we came to the base to help and it was terrible! The entire office building and the praise and worship building had flooded. We had to move out all of the furniture so that we could take out the carpet. And just like your favorite episode of Trading Spaces, when we pulled up the soppy carpet there was fabulous Mexican tile under it all!!
Everything was dry and back to normal in a few days and I think everyone realized that tile is much more practical than carpet.

There has been some tension at our church in Cacalote. Pastor Bartolo has been working full time at the base and taking care of his wife who has been very sick. He and his daughter, the worship leader, have seemed a little disappointed in their congregation. The other Sunday they scolded the people for not bringing their Bibles. Things are improving, though. Last week they had a box of Bibles ready for the ones who didn't bring one.
I'm still teaching English to Miriam. Our friend Socorro asked for help writing her thesis. She travels 9 hours to Oaxaca City each Saturday for classes. She will be studying English in Tulsa for a year starting in January. I can't wait to bring her to church at the Grove!

Matt and I have been experiencing the second phase of our culture shock. The first 2 month euphoric phase was great because everything was new and exciting; like cold showers, washing laundry by hand, and eggs and beans. Recently, however, the showers seem to be getting colder and it's just really hard to wash clothes by hand. The other day I couldn't even eat dinner. I was hungry, but I just couldn't do it. Matt had a similar experience a few days later. We are handling it gracefully and know that it's only temporary.
Please pray for us:
-pray that God will use me in whatever way I am needed here
-pray for financial blessings for the base
-pray for our church in Cacalote; that a strong leadership will emerge
-pray for joyful spirits in all situations

I love you all so much.

fishy fishy

2006-07-10T11:01:00.000-05:00

Last week Duane sent me and Matt into the small town of Pueblo Nuevo to interview a pastor named Doro. He had been suffering from a brain tumor for the past three years but doctors wouldn't operate because of the possible complications like physical or mental impairment. Finally they decided to do the surgery in April but they told him it would take two separate operations and that he probably wouldn't recover well. So his family and church met in their homes and fasted and prayed for three days. Their prayers were very specific. They prayed that the surgeon would remove the tumor in just one surgery and that Doro would recover completely and quickly. And that's exactly what happened. The doctor came out of the surgery after nine hours and said that he got it all. Doro was out of the hospital in one week and completely recovered a month later. He ended his story by saying, "God is big and His mercy is big. What He did was a miracle."
We used this story in the Roca Blanca July newsletter that we wrote for the base.

Two Sundays ago at our church in Cacalote God's presence was undeniable. People were dancing and singing and crying and sweating. It was beautiful. The Spanish school students really loved it. Pastor Bartolo's wife has been sick, please pray for her. Also, pray that Bartolo and his family will not let the illness rob them of the joy they have in Christ.

We made it through our first week of Spanish school! Our Korean teacher, Joe, is great and we're learning a lot. Well, I'm a little bored because we're starting with the basics but it's good review. We have nine people in our class and we're all on different levels. We start our day with devotionals that we each lead on a different day. We all enjoy this time and we are learning a lot about each other and about God. Matt talked about patience and the need for continual sanctification. I talked about the importance of seeing things through eternal eyes and how it changes the way we relate to and treat each other. I used the example from Mark 14 about the woman and the alabastar jar. It sparked a lot of conversation and made people think about what it is that they have a hard time sacrificing for Jesus.

There was a Korean team from Houston, Texas that had been in the mountains this past week. While they were there they planted fruit trees, did village clean up, and did door to door food distribution while they ministered to the people. They all really enjoyed it and felt like they were making a difference in the people's lives. Pretty much all of them got sick up there from the food and one guy came back with a fever of 106! They recovered well and on the last day we took them to Puerto to play and shop. Matt, Joe, Roger, and I got up at 5:30am and went deep sea fishing. Beautiful! It was sunrise and the little boat jumped over the waves and I just laughed the whole time because it was so much fun. But then the two dramamine I took kicked in and I was pretty delirious. Our boat was motored by two locals and they put four lines into these rod holders at the back of the boat. About thirty minutes into the trip we hooked our first fish. Roger, the Korean secret service agent from Houston, strapped this rediculous thing on his waist that holds the fishing rod and sat down for the twenty minute reel-in of the beastly sailfish. It was tragically beautiful as it sparkled in the morning sun, wrestling its inevitable death.
(see pictures)

The second fish was equally enormous, but didn't put up near as big of a fight because he just couldn't stomach it. LITERALLY! When we got it to the boat it had already died because it swallowed the hook and Matt ripped its stomach up through its throat while he reeled it in. We only caught two but they weighed about 130 pounds each. The fishermen took one fish and we got the other one and it fed the whole base. Delicious!

4,000 miles of excitement...

2006-06-27T13:44:00.000-05:00

It feels so great to be back at the base. Our trip to the border was unbelievable. We left last Saturday with two Suburbans, a Honda CRV, ten people and a lot of stuff. About an hour into the trip Matt noticed that our Suburban wasn't driving very well so he pulled over right as it completely bit the dust. We waited for 5 hours at a gas station while a local mechanic tried to fix the thing but it was hopeless so we all piled into the two remaining cars and went on our way. At 9pm that night we ate at a 100% all natural/organic restaurant in Acapulco and kept driving until we got to San Luis del Rio which is about an hour north of Mexico City. We got to our hotel (Hotel O' Puente) at 4am, slept til 9, and got back on the road at 2pm.
Dinner Sunday night was...strange (to say the least). Sue ordered us a plate of meat. Gross. See picture for vivid details. (Potential parasite entry number 1)

Stopping at the restaurant was great though because it gave us a break from the road and some entertainment. There was a man outside the restaurant that played an awesome air guitar and has some sweet dance moves. He tried his best to serenade me, but somehow I resisted the temptation.
After we left we got lost in the city for a little while but eventually found our way out and made it back on the road. Somewhere around 3:30am our remaining Suburban died on the Mexican superhighway. This is where the fun really began. The Honda went to the nearest toll booth to call for a tow truck while the rest of us entertained ourselves on the side of the highway. There wasn't room for all of us inside the tow truck so we had to ride in the Suburban on top of the flatbed tow truck for almost two hours. We were all slap-happy so anything anyone said was hilarious. Watching Bernardo pretend to drive while falling asleep at the wheel was worth the breakdown in itself. Then we got to the Bible school in Nuevo Laredo at 6am and took a 4 hour nap before getting back on the road. Our Suburban was fixed very quickly by replacing just one fuse but little did we know that the problem really wasn't fixed. We ate our leftover meat with scrambled eggs for breakfast. (Potential parasite entry number 2)
Crossing the border was uneventful and not very scary. Matt, Dalene, and I waited at a Wendy's while the Mexican boys got their visas at the border. I've never seen anyone eat as much as Matt did while we were at Wendy's. It was great to be back in the States.

We made it to Austin before the Suburban started having fits. It died the first time on the highway outside of Austin. Matt and Bernardo changed the fuse and got us back on the road. Needless to say, this happened four more times before we made it to the Chevy dealership. By this time Matt was feverish and sick so we called our dads and they came to get us.
My dad came to Durant, OK to pick up Bernardo, Checo, Juan Carlos, and myself, while Matt's dad came to pick up Matt, Rebecca, and Arnulfo. On the way, Arnulfo was amazed as to how easily Matt's dad put away a quarter-pounder, a large fry, a 20 piece nugget, and a large diet coke. It was pretty funny. Once they got to Rebecca's house, they were welcomed with open arms and Rebecca's mom gave Matt some chicken noodle soup and a dry shirt since his fever caused him to sweat through the other. He started feeling a little better and contemplated going to the hospital, but decided to try to sleep through the night. By 5:00am, he decided that he needed to go to the ER. He got hooked up to an IV, got some fluids and meds, and got feeling much better...especially once visited by the entire Gunselman family. Nothing like being served a happy meal in a hospital bed while in a stylish hospital gown to make a man feel better.
After spending a few days in Tulsa we were ready to start the journey back to Mexico. We left early Saturday morning and drove to San Antonio, Texas. That night we ate some amazing BBQ with Matt's aunt and uncle on the Riverwalk. The next morning we left at 4am and got our visas at the border and picked up our Mexican friend Rene who helped us drive through Mexico. The scenery was spectacular!!!

The drive back was much less eventful and we got to spend the night in a nice hotel in Cuernavaca. We got back to the base at 6pm after a grand total of 10 days of traveling. The end.

bittersweet

2006-06-14T11:00:00.000-05:00

The short term team from Corinth, MS left this past weekend. It was sad to see them leave, I didn´t realize how attached I would get to the teams. They cried as they prayed for us, and we cried because in the midst of our work we didn´t even realize how much we meant to them. I look forward to working with the other teams that are coming.
The last worship service was on Monday night. Indescribable. We had communion in a way that I have never experienced before. The entire 4 hours of the worship service was devoted to communion. Then we had the opportunity to wash eachother´s feet. I´ve never done this before and I cried as a girl I barely knew washed my feet and told me how grateful she is that I am here and that she knows God will use me in a big way. It was such a beautiful experience.
This week has been spent mostly in the office developing a strategy to improve the administration of the base. We are also brainstorming about ways to bring in money long term to the base. One way they want to do this is to build villas by the beach so that retired professionals or skilled workers can come live for 1-3 months and teach the students a trade. It would be a one-time donation of $20,000 and you could stay for up to 3 months every year with everything provided.
Matt and I have to drive to the border on Saturday with 10 other people from the base to get our visa's extended. We oficially expire and become illegal on the 19th. It will take us 3 days to get where we need to go and then we will pick up a Suburban that has been donated to the base and drive it back which will take another 3 days. As if that's not exciting enough, there have been strikes and riots in the state of Oaxaca because the teachers aren't getting paid enough money. Two of our own missionaries are trying to get out of Oaxaca City today because of the tear gas bombs, gun shots, and cars being set on fire outside of their hotel. If they keep blocking the roads we may not be able to leave Oaxaca to get to the border. Please pray for this.
There is a man who started a coffee company called Oaxacafé that buys coffee beans from the indigenous people and sells it in the States to bring money to the base. He and his family are here this week and he told us that they are opening a Oaxacafé coffee shop in Fayetteville!! It will be by Harps and La Huerta on Mission/Crossover. This will be such an amazing opportunity to bring awareness to the base and its mission! Forget about Arsaga´s and start going to Oaxacafé!

2006-06-05T15:10:00.000-05:00

Matt made it back safely from the mountains. It can be very dangerous in the rainy season because the rain washes the roads away. They have recently been exploring a new territory to plant a church. Once you´re in the mountains you come to this huge Indiana Jones river that you can´t cross by foot or boat so you have to grab on to this metal cable that runs about 6 feet above the decaying ¨bridge¨ and use only your hands to kind of monkey-bar across to the other side. OR if that sounds too scary you can hike a little further up the mountain and sit in a basket while some person pulleys you to the other side. Matt seems really excited about going but I think I might just stay at the base.
This week I am translating in the clinic for a dentist from Mississippi. He is a really nice man and is very gentle with the patients. I am loving this, I really think I want to be a nurse.
Also in the evenings I am teaching English to the worship leader of the Cacalote church. She is 21 and has the most amazing voice. It is easier for her to learn English when I write thing out. The other day I felt a little nervous when she asked me to spell ¨eight¨. It´s embarassing to teach English, nothing makes sense.
Dios les bendiga.

so much to do!

2006-05-31T19:09:00.000-05:00

Monday morning we had a staff meeting about everything that´s happening on the base this summer. There are so many short term teams coming and so many things we have to plan. There are many needs here. The founders of the base are getting older and they are the only ones who really get out there and raise support. When they are gone this place might not make it. The base serves as a bible and music school to train pastors from Mexico to start churches in the unreached areas of the mountains. This is working! And their churches are spreading to more unreached tribes. With all the different dialects in the mountains this is the only way to reach them. It is so amazing because their unique cultures stay the same but God is changing their hearts and this whole area is becoming a more loving, peaceful place.We must find a way to raise the support they need.
Remember Franco? He and some people from the base minister at the prison in Pochutla on Tuesdays. We didn´t get to go yesterday because there was another staff meeting but we plan on going next week. The women are there for all sorts of things and some of them have children that live in the prison with them. We are going to take toiletry items and some Bibles to them. If anyone has access to Spanish Bibles or ministry tools they would be very useful to us because they´re hard to find around here. You can talk to Dave (dave@thegrovechurch.org) about getting those shipped to us.
Matt left Monday for the mountains with 4 other construction workers who don´t speak English. I´m only a little worried. The other day we were eating dinner with some Chitino guys (nearby indigenous tribe) who were here for Rebeca and Arnulfo´s wedding. So of course Matt tries to talk to this guy who we´re not even sure speaks Spanish. Turns out he does and also speaks a little English. His nickname is ¨shrimpy¨ so Matt was trying to say ¨nickname¨ and he ended up saying ¨fart¨instead and everyone laughed except us because we didn´t know what was going on.
Mexican weddings are very fun. They had a band that followed the bride and groom down the street and there was lots of food, laughter, and twinkle lights.
I have been helping in the clinic this week. I had to move there for 2 weeks until a room opens up. The only place left for me in the clinic was the top bunk bed in the hottest room and there is no mattress. So I´ve been sleeping on the floor of the office because it has an airconditioner. This weekend the next short term team will be here and there will be lots of work to do.
Here is my prayer list-
Pray for God´s will for the base, and for a plan to raise support.
Pray for Matt´s safe return from the mountains.
Pray for God to give me a humble heart to serve wherever I am needed.
Pray for my Spanish, I usually pick it up again very quickly but I am struggling this time.
Thanks for everything.

El Jardin

2006-05-27T10:32:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was our free day and we went into Puerto Escondido to shop. Matt and I checked out some internet cafes and laundromats. We ate lunch at a restaurant called El Jardin. It is owned by a Christian Italian man named Franco. Franco looks like a 56 year old Jack Johnson with eyes as blue as the ocean. He is famous around here not only for having great food but for witnessing to others in his own special ways. Puerto is known as one of the best surfing beaches in the world. A few years ago there was a tournament and several surfers and some of the ESPN crew were eating at Franco's restaurant. They seemed down so Franco asked what was wrong and they explained that they were sad because there were no waves and they wouldn't be able to do the tournament. Franco said to them with his Italian accent, "I know the very Guy who makes the waves, I call for the waves." So the surfers chuckled and asked him to pray for the biggest waves ever seen in Puerto. The next day everyone showed up for the tournament and the announcer said over the speaker that there was magic in the air; that these were the biggest waves ever seen in Puerto. The tournament was amazing and the next day the waves were gone and everything was back to normal. Except for the surfers, who now have a little more respect for Chrisians and are a little closer to knowing God.

the first week

2006-05-26T12:53:00.000-05:00

This week has been amazing. Half of our team went into the mountains to do medical clinics. The rest of us stayed on the base. Bethany and I are staying in an amazing resort room that looks over the ocean. We love to sit in the hammock and just watch the waves. It is so stinkin´ hot here. We have been sweating the entire time.
The girls have been painting the house of Charles and Elli, two local missionaries who have lived here for 16 years. The boys have been cementing a new floor for the chruch in Cacalote. Pastor Bartolo is so excited about the new floor, it brings a smile to his face each time he looks at it. Last Sunday we went to church there and some of us taught the children´s ministry lesson. We made butterflies out of coffee fliters and clothes pins and the kids painted the wings with watercolors. It was so beautiful to watch them paint. Pasor Bartolo asked me and Matt to lead the children´s ministry each week. That is such a blessing for me because I was sad to leave the children´s ministries at the Grove.
In the little town of Cacalote lives Ernesto´s family. He has traveled the world and lived in Canada, London, Switzerland, and Mexico but he wants to raise his kids in a place without so much materialism. He has a flat screen TV which looks a little out of place in his hut of a restaurant/house. He has 5 beautiful children and they are learning English and speak it very well. Ernesto makes these mango smoothie drinks called liquados and is also an amazing pastry maker.
Matt´s really excited about getting to work with Manuel, Chepe, and Renaldo. He hopes they will keep him working hard will be able to build relationships with them. He also met a guy named Pepe who wants to help teach him Spanish. He is so eager to learn and his Spanish is getting better everyday.

Q&A

2006-05-15T07:49:00.000-05:00

So, Jill, what are you doing this summer?
Well, I just quit my job and I'm leaving for Mexico to serve the missionaries at the Roca Blanca mission base.
Really? Where is this place in Mexico?
As you can see on the map, it is just south of Acapulco. It's a great mission base and bible school and it's right on the coast.
What will you be doing there?
Everything! Our church is sending 21 people as a short term team to do some construction and medical clinics. After the team leaves, Matt Schilb and I will stay and work on the base. We will be helping the missionaries with the construction of a church and we will also be traveling into the mountains with them to reach the indigenous people.
What do you mean traveling into the mountains? Isn't this place on the beach?
Yes, the Base is. The missionaries travel in the back of a cattle truck for 6-8 hours to reach the people in the mountains. Then they stay at a smaller "base" in El Mosco. Aaron and his wife Jenny live in this village and they are working on building fish ponds to raise Tilapia so there will be food during the dry season when the people can't grow crops.
How long will you be there?
We will come back sometime in December.
Do you need any special shots for this?
Just the usual. Typhoid, Tetanus, and Hep A. I'm also taking some anti-malarial medicine that makes me really sick.
Will you be able to make phone calls and get online?
I think so. Occasionally we will have to travel into the nearest town, Puerto Escondido, to shop and do laundry and we can use the phones and computers there.
Wow, Jill. It sounds great. Are you scared at all?
Not really. I'm a little nervous about packing everything but mostly I'm really excited. I can't wait to tell everyone what's going on down in Mexico. Please keep in touch. I'll talk to you soon!

almost there

2006-04-30T14:47:00.000-05:00

We leave in less than two weeks for Mexico. I am so excited that I can hardly stand it. I'm trying not to have any expectations about the trip, which is kind of easy because I don't really know exactly what I'll be doing.
I think it's wonderful that Matt is going, partly because he's a really great guy but mostly because he speaks English. We are going to have so much fun.
It's so important to have people praying for us while we're gone. Here are some things to be praying for before we leave:
-pray that God will prepare us for what we will learn and how we will grow
-pray for unity and love for our short term team
-pray that God will humble us and give us servant's hearts
-pray for safe travel and good health

reminiscing

2006-04-11T20:33:00.000-05:00

"This place is an oasis. I can only imagine the beauty God has for us in heaven. Right now we are sitting in the dining area; a straw thatched roof eating area in the midst of the lush trees. Some boys are playing the guitar and I can hear the waves crash as the sun tucks itself beyond the horizon."
-Jill, 2 June 2005