Christmas Decorations!!!

Here are some pictures of our apartment decked out for Christmas! We didn't want to buy too much since this is our last Christmas overseas, so we were blessed to get the "extras" from our supervisor's house! And they were some pretty great "extras!" Of course I added some of my own creativity :) and used my nativity scenes that I purchased in Colombia & Ecuardor. Check it out!

Welcome to our little apartment! :)

The table...facing outside to the porch

Sliding glass doors...looking outside to the porch.
Can you see the lights on the palm trees?
Our Christmas tree...still in progress!

The book shelf...

Side table and our 2nd little Christmas tree

Looking up the stairs to our rooms....


Looking into the kitchen...

A view from the stairs into the living room...

Haha...this is Colombian Beach style...some bows

on our little plant by the hammock

Our porch railing decorations...

Looking out at the "back yard." The complex put up lights

on all the palm trees. It actually looks really good!

At night when I turn on the lights...it actually feels like Christmas...well, "feels" as in my heart gets in the Christmas spirit! It's 95 degrees + outside! Kids are swimming in the pool all day long...and I'm sunburned from yesterdays evangelism trip around the barrios! haha! What a different way to experience December! :0) Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Update on My Little Chunker

My Little Chunker ~ Caleb' Andres

He's growing up so fast! He's not even 3 months old yet!

Sebastian and Caleb' are igualitos! They look just

alike expect for their skin color!

Sweet little Cherry! Always wantin' some lovin'!

Haha...this is such a cute picture!

Tio Alejo with Sebastian & Cherry


Tia Sarita, a visiting friend, and Yolima with the kiddos
(please excuse the naked little kids!) :o)

This is the day I came home with lollipop and dirty little

hand prints all over my white pants! But I wouldn't

have it any other way!

Please continue your prayers for Yolima and her family. It's impossible to make a life change in this culture without the help of the Holy Spirit. Please pray that she would desire to follow the Lord whole-heartedly! Pray that the distractions of this world would fade away and she would seek after Jesus!

Strange ways to say "Happy Birthday"

So I'm being totally serious when I say that singing "Happy Birthday" and then cutting and eating the cake in a normal fashion is ALL I want to happen on my birthday!


For Colombians....it's just not good enough.



Since we recently celebrated birthdays for Brian, my supervisor, and Pedro, one of our Colombian ministry partner's...I decided I would bake them a cake and we'd have a little "celebration" at our weekly team meeting. Boy did I underestimate what they would do!


First they were asking me where the eggs and flour were....and I said, "what?" Ha...they wanted to throw eggs and flour on the birthday boys...and they were serious...and they wanted to do it in MY house! Haha....if you know me, you know that's not going to fly! I try to keep the place clean, not deliberately mess it up! So when I wouldn't give in to the eggs and flour...they just used the CAKE!


Before I knew what was happening...they had splattered icing all over Pedro and Brian...and then started coming at everyone else! I think I'm the only one that managed to escape the fiasco....but that might have had something to do with the look on my face when I told Jonathan he better think carefully before he came any further at me with that spatula of icing...

The Birthday Boys, getting splattered with icing

And now they start attacking other people....

Jon smearing across Mabel's face....

Mariella using the spatula for it's intended purpose....

Pedro...happy as can be to have been "iced"

Reminder for January: I just want to sing "Happy Birthday" and eat my cake...not wear it! :)

Urgent Prayer Request!!!

Hey Prayer Warriors! I need your help! :) I just found out that I need to try to renew my US passport before I leave for Christmas vacation OR try to renew it while I am in the States. It's not that my passport is about to expire...it's that my Colombian Visa expires in January, and I just found out that I need at least 6 months left on my passport for them to renew my CO visa! I was given "old rules/now false" information a few months back...that's why I'm all of a sudden finding myself in this mess!

If I try to renew it in Colombia...I might not have it back in time to travel home for Christmas. If I try to renew it in the US over the holiday...I might not have it back in time for my return flight to Colombia!

You can see where this gets interesting! So please be in prayer for me, that the Lord would give me immediate wisdom as to what I need to do! And in either option...pray for a FAST renewal of my passport! :) Thanks!