- Well, our car is still "en panne" as we speak. We are still waiting for our radiator to arrive...it always takes a long time to get anything from the States. So we have been stuck at home on our end of the island. This is really the essence of what we call "Island Time", which means that you are on an island with no way to go and get what you need because they don't have it here...so you wait...and wait....and wait some more!
- Kami's VISA is still a mystery to us. We were supposed to have received a phone call from the government office here telling us to come in and sign a final paper giving us Kami's Carte Bleue (her VISA). We never did get our call and Kami's old VISA finally expired. So we went in and they told us there was a problem getting that final piece of paper. So they issued Kami a 2-month residency card and told us to come back at the end of January. Maybe the paper will be ready then....so we are again on "Island Time"!
- The kids' schooling is going well and they are on track to be on schedule for Christmas vacation! Yea! Every year, we have been traveling during the school year and that makes it very difficult to stay on schedule. It has been great to finally stay in one place and allow the kids to have a regular school schedule to follow.
- We are needing to send Elisabeth back to the Florida for her braces. The orthodontist believes that this will be her last visit. He thinks that her braces can finally come off! Ever since she has had the braces put in to open her sinuses, she has been able to breathe better and also to recover quicker from colds. We praise the Lord that this procedure has really made a difference for her!
Please keep praying for our family and our radiator....until next time!
Friday, November 30, 2012
Tuesday, November 27, 2012
Tropical Updates....
Well, it looks like another week stuck at home...yes, our car is "en panne". Which is french for broken down!
We replaced our water pump two weeks ago and our car began to have more problems. I took it back to the shop who replaced the water pump and they said it was either our radiator or the thermostat that was blocked up. We took out the thermostat but now have realized that the radiator is no good. After initially paying $494 for a radiator here, we realized that they gave us the wrong size as Josh and I tried to install it. Thankfully, my great father-in-law found the right one in California! The price to purchase it and ship it was $282. So we ordered it and it is on its way! So for now, our car is in the driveway and we are stuck at home!
But, at least now, I have some time to share some updates with you!
We replaced our water pump two weeks ago and our car began to have more problems. I took it back to the shop who replaced the water pump and they said it was either our radiator or the thermostat that was blocked up. We took out the thermostat but now have realized that the radiator is no good. After initially paying $494 for a radiator here, we realized that they gave us the wrong size as Josh and I tried to install it. Thankfully, my great father-in-law found the right one in California! The price to purchase it and ship it was $282. So we ordered it and it is on its way! So for now, our car is in the driveway and we are stuck at home!
But, at least now, I have some time to share some updates with you!
(Praise the Lord for Joshua and Maria who completed reading the New Testament and received their certificates!)
(Micah enjoyed his first Thanksgiving! He loved the sweet potato casserole!...I was glad that Kami was able to find a turkey for sale here. It just wouldn't seem like Thanksgiving without our traditional turkey meal!)
(We transformed our living room into our dining room for Thanksgiving. We had 4 guests who came to join us for our meal. We read a verse of Scripture, prayed, explained what Thanksgiving was all about, and then we each shared something that we were thankful for....It was a great day!)
(On Thanksgiving Day evening, it is our family tradition to pull-out our Christmas decorations from storage and to decorate our tree and home for Christmas! We were all so excited and the kids couldn't wait to get started!....neither could Kami!)
(Kami is the one who gets to place our star (which we've had for 18 years) on top of our tree. Although, due to the difference in electricity voltage here [220v], our little star won't be blinking this year!)
(Silas and Callie loved decorating. Although, at first, they couldn't quite understand that the ornaments were supposed to stay on the tree.)
We have already done our Christmas shopping. When Beth & Brenna went to Florida last month, we bought small gifts for each other via Ebay and the girls brought everything back with them in their suitcases. We have been wrapping their gifts and placing them under the tree. Do you think the kids can see those presents under the tree and survive for another month before opening them?
Saturday, November 17, 2012
You know you are a missionary when....
Our car was finally repaired yesterday. The new water pump was installed and there are no more coolant leaks! Yay!....now there are just oil leaks...plural.
But that is okay, because the oil leaks out at a rate that I can keep up with!
Also, since the car is fixed, Kami went to the store today for some much needed supplies and groceries. When she came back, she was so excited.
She shouted with glee as she entered the house, "It is really getting close to Christmas! The grocery store had 1 whole aisle with Christmas chocolates and toys!"
Then she came back to reality as the kids reminded her, "Mom, you've been gone from the States for a while when you think one 20-foot long aisle with a few Christmas things is amazing."
I am also reminded that we are a missionary family when my children exlaim, "Dad, can we drive to that one house that's decorated to look at their Christmas lights this year?!"
But that is okay, because the oil leaks out at a rate that I can keep up with!
Also, since the car is fixed, Kami went to the store today for some much needed supplies and groceries. When she came back, she was so excited.
She shouted with glee as she entered the house, "It is really getting close to Christmas! The grocery store had 1 whole aisle with Christmas chocolates and toys!"
Then she came back to reality as the kids reminded her, "Mom, you've been gone from the States for a while when you think one 20-foot long aisle with a few Christmas things is amazing."
I am also reminded that we are a missionary family when my children exlaim, "Dad, can we drive to that one house that's decorated to look at their Christmas lights this year?!"
Tuesday, November 13, 2012
Tropical Updates...
First of all, I would like to wish two very special folks a "Happy Birthday" from the Caribbean!
-Happy Birthday to Micah! On Sunday, he turned 7 months! He is now crawling all over the place and standing up on anything he can climb-up & hang-on to. I told Kami that I think we need a play pen!
-Also, Happy Birthday to my Father-in-law, Yale Willoughby! He is a great dad and I hope you have a great day today! (I heard that you are having steaks and baked potatoes for your birthday dinner...I think I have forgotten what a steak tastes like! Enjoy a second one for me!)
-We are still waiting for a call from the government office here on St. Barths asking us to come in and sign the last form that we are supposed to sign (at least that was what they last told us!). Then we should receive Kami's "Carte Bleue" which is equivalent to a 1-year VISA. Her current VISA expires on Friday so we'll see what happens!
-Our car is scheduled to be at the shop this Thursday to install the new water pump. Josh and I filled up the radiator and the reservoir last night to head to the store nearby. After we bought a couple of groceries & milk, we had to put in another 2 liters of water just to make it back home. It will be good to get our car back so that we can get back on the road!
- The kids' schooling is going great this year. They are slightly ahead of schedule, which I think this is the first time ever for our family! Yea! It will be great for them to take a full Christmas break this year.
-Kami is doing better with the pain in her chest. It has subsided quite a bit and only hurts her every so often when she is chasing Micah too much! Thank you for your prayers for her and for our family!
Until next time...
-Happy Birthday to Micah! On Sunday, he turned 7 months! He is now crawling all over the place and standing up on anything he can climb-up & hang-on to. I told Kami that I think we need a play pen!
(Here he is standing-up holding the coffee table...)
-We are still waiting for a call from the government office here on St. Barths asking us to come in and sign the last form that we are supposed to sign (at least that was what they last told us!). Then we should receive Kami's "Carte Bleue" which is equivalent to a 1-year VISA. Her current VISA expires on Friday so we'll see what happens!
-Our car is scheduled to be at the shop this Thursday to install the new water pump. Josh and I filled up the radiator and the reservoir last night to head to the store nearby. After we bought a couple of groceries & milk, we had to put in another 2 liters of water just to make it back home. It will be good to get our car back so that we can get back on the road!
- The kids' schooling is going great this year. They are slightly ahead of schedule, which I think this is the first time ever for our family! Yea! It will be great for them to take a full Christmas break this year.
-Kami is doing better with the pain in her chest. It has subsided quite a bit and only hurts her every so often when she is chasing Micah too much! Thank you for your prayers for her and for our family!
Until next time...
Tuesday, November 6, 2012
A broken water pump...waiting for a father-in-law!
I got to thinking, it has been a while since I have had to work on my car. Then I began to think about how it would be nice to have a car project to work on with my son Joshua....and as Kami would say, "The Lord gave you the desires of your heart!"
Now, we have a problem with our car...it pours out more water than you can put in! The water pump is bad and my father-in-law helped us to get one and our girls brought it back from Florida yesterday.
I thought it was going to be a quick job replacing the pump. Josh and I quickly took out the radiator & shroud, disconnected hoses & lines, took off belts and removed the fan assembly...(calling my Father-in-law after each step because things just didn't seem right.)
It turned out that this is no ordinary water pump fix. We literally have to pull the pulleys off and remove the front engine timing cover. So basically, we ran into a dead-end....I don't have a pulley puller to take care of this.
Now, we have a problem with our car...it pours out more water than you can put in! The water pump is bad and my father-in-law helped us to get one and our girls brought it back from Florida yesterday.
I thought it was going to be a quick job replacing the pump. Josh and I quickly took out the radiator & shroud, disconnected hoses & lines, took off belts and removed the fan assembly...(calling my Father-in-law after each step because things just didn't seem right.)
It turned out that this is no ordinary water pump fix. We literally have to pull the pulleys off and remove the front engine timing cover. So basically, we ran into a dead-end....I don't have a pulley puller to take care of this.
(We are in the West Indies and Josh is wearing a long sleeve shirt outside because the mosquitos were eating us alive!)
So after calling my father-in-law all day long, showing him pictures and asking him questions about our now "major repair"...we realized that this job takes more tools than I have on hand. We then made an appointment at a garage to put on the water pump...a week from Thursday. So, Josh and I put everything back together and filled up the radiator with fluid which drained out of the bad water pump almost as quickly as I put it in....So, at least Josh learned how to remove & install a radiator and adjust the tension on the belts so it wasn't a wasted day!
(I tried to talk my father-in-law into purchasing a plane ticket and bringing his tools with him here to St. Barths...he could get to see all of his grandkids and he could even get away from my mother-in-law for a few days! Heee...Heee...Heee)
Saturday, November 3, 2012
Our Personal Gospel Stop-Light !
We have been really thinking about how we can have more of an outreach in giving out the Gospel here on St. Barths. As I looked out of our glass doors from our living room into the road in front of our house, there sat a man in a truck staring back at me.
My first thought was, "Yikes, I need to close our curtains...this is creepy!" Then I noticed that the city had set up a portable stop-light directly in front of our front gate. They were doing some roadwork in front of our house.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, "I put that stop-light right in front of your door...making people stop right in front of your house...they are sitting there waiting for the Gospel."
So we gathered up our French Tracts and French invitations to our Bible study and started going to each stopped car and passing out the Gospel! Isn't it great! Instead of having to go out to hand out the Gospel, they are now coming and stopping at our house just for us!
My first thought was, "Yikes, I need to close our curtains...this is creepy!" Then I noticed that the city had set up a portable stop-light directly in front of our front gate. They were doing some roadwork in front of our house.
Then the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart and said, "I put that stop-light right in front of your door...making people stop right in front of your house...they are sitting there waiting for the Gospel."
So we gathered up our French Tracts and French invitations to our Bible study and started going to each stopped car and passing out the Gospel! Isn't it great! Instead of having to go out to hand out the Gospel, they are now coming and stopping at our house just for us!
Thursday, November 1, 2012
Tropical updates....
Well, our 2 oldest girls are in Florida...being spoiled by grandparents!
-So far they have eaten at McDonalds, Burger King, Sonny's BBQ, a chinese buffet, Steak-n-Shake, and a mexican restaurant....is there anything else? Oh, yeah, they have had home made steaks and my mom's awesome meatball & pork sausage spaghetti sauce! Since we have no fast food restaurants here on St. Barths and no restaurants that we can afford, the girls are taking advantage of all of the fast food they can manage to eat!
-Beth's orthodontist appointment went great. The orthodontist called us personally and told us that she can probably have her braces removed in 2 more visits! Yay! (Her braces were recommended by her pediatrician to enlarge her sinuses so that she can quickly recover from colds and flu's.) He wants to see her in 6 weeks but we talked him into 10 weeks. So it looks like she will be needing to get back to Florida in January.
They will be coming back to St. Barth's on Monday and we are looking forward to getting our girls back home!
We just finished off distributing 79 more of our "Gospel bags" into mailboxes here yesterday. We only have about 9 French John & Romans left and we are completely out of the French Gospel tracts that we pass out. We have located about 600 French John & Romans and are having them shipped to us but we will be needing more by next year (about 1,500 more).
Over the past couple of months, we have been contacted by several churches asking us about our needs. So I thought I would put a few right here in this post:
1. More French Ostervald John & Romans booklets
2. More French Gospel Tracts titled "Êtes-vous une bonne personne?" (found at www.livingwaters.com)
3. The funds to print more French invitations to our Sunday Bible studies.
4. More plastic door-hangers in which we place all of these items to put in mailboxes.
Also, please pray for more rain. We have had two days of good rain since last May and our cistern has been next to dry since then. Our last heavy rain came when tropical storm Rafael came by several weeks ago and it filled our cistern to about 3/4 full. But this water is quickly disappearing. We have been adding water to our cistern via a hose attached to the "city" water but the price is overwhelming. Please pray with us for rain as this will literally save us hundreds of dollars.
On a final note, Kami is doing much better. There are times when she needs to lay down and get her strength back but the pain in her chest is getting less and less. Thank you for your prayers for our family!
Until next time...
(Brenna & Grandpa)
(Beth making her famous potato chip cookies!)
-So far they have eaten at McDonalds, Burger King, Sonny's BBQ, a chinese buffet, Steak-n-Shake, and a mexican restaurant....is there anything else? Oh, yeah, they have had home made steaks and my mom's awesome meatball & pork sausage spaghetti sauce! Since we have no fast food restaurants here on St. Barths and no restaurants that we can afford, the girls are taking advantage of all of the fast food they can manage to eat!
-Beth's orthodontist appointment went great. The orthodontist called us personally and told us that she can probably have her braces removed in 2 more visits! Yay! (Her braces were recommended by her pediatrician to enlarge her sinuses so that she can quickly recover from colds and flu's.) He wants to see her in 6 weeks but we talked him into 10 weeks. So it looks like she will be needing to get back to Florida in January.
They will be coming back to St. Barth's on Monday and we are looking forward to getting our girls back home!
We just finished off distributing 79 more of our "Gospel bags" into mailboxes here yesterday. We only have about 9 French John & Romans left and we are completely out of the French Gospel tracts that we pass out. We have located about 600 French John & Romans and are having them shipped to us but we will be needing more by next year (about 1,500 more).
Over the past couple of months, we have been contacted by several churches asking us about our needs. So I thought I would put a few right here in this post:
1. More French Ostervald John & Romans booklets
2. More French Gospel Tracts titled "Êtes-vous une bonne personne?" (found at www.livingwaters.com)
3. The funds to print more French invitations to our Sunday Bible studies.
4. More plastic door-hangers in which we place all of these items to put in mailboxes.
Also, please pray for more rain. We have had two days of good rain since last May and our cistern has been next to dry since then. Our last heavy rain came when tropical storm Rafael came by several weeks ago and it filled our cistern to about 3/4 full. But this water is quickly disappearing. We have been adding water to our cistern via a hose attached to the "city" water but the price is overwhelming. Please pray with us for rain as this will literally save us hundreds of dollars.
On a final note, Kami is doing much better. There are times when she needs to lay down and get her strength back but the pain in her chest is getting less and less. Thank you for your prayers for our family!
Until next time...
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