some challenges

February has been a difficult month. We traveled to Ecuador to fulfill our visa obligations for the children's resident visas, but found the country shut down for two days when we arrived
for a national holiday. So our 2 day trip became a four day trip. It was full of bus rides and vomit from Lauren. However, Guayaquil is a nice place.

Then last week our house was visited by some men early one morning. They broke through our front door and took our new desktop computer and monitor while Caleb and Jacob watched through
bleary eyes. It was about 5am. I came downstairs and escorted them to their taxi, slowly realizing
we had just been robbed.

The heat is hot, and sleeping is getting harder. Our fears of another break-in combined with
the weather have made for some long nights. We would appreciate prayers for our encouragement, faith, and joy. The good news? God is on his throne and is renewing our hope in Him.
nos vemos,
dale

Been a little busy

We moved in our house Jan 5 and we are still unpacking some.
It takes a while to find where to put all our stuff, and we were constantly
running out of closet space or shelf space. I have bought many small tables and
bookshelfs from the part of town called the "mayorista"
It is a little dirty and smelly in places, but the prices are good.
It's like a game to see how many tables and shelfs you can stack up on top
of a taxi and tie down.
The Twin Lakes group has come and gone and it was great.
The Peruvian kids had a blast, and the missionary kids did too.
Our kids are adjusting well; probably better than me and mom.
Happy New year to all and keep praying for us.

A few photos

We have been using taxis a lot lately, but today we all walked down to the Plaza de Armas, or the town square.
It has been perfect weather here, with a cool breeze and mostly sunshine. They say the weather should be
continually getting warmer though. Still a few weeks away from moving into our house, so we are having some school with the kids and I am going one flight downstairs and "working" some in the Peru Mission office.
To see all our photos, usually when we get a weekend away, go to this website
www.picasaweb.google.com/daleinperu
Here are photos of Zachary at the square, a shot from our balcony looking at the traffic,
and one from the inside.

Peruanas?

I am updating from an apartment in downtown Trujillo while we wait for our house to be ready.
Thanks to Brad Ball for securing a place for us and other folks who plan to come here and need some housing during
the transition. We arrived in Peru late Tuesday night and spent Wedneday and Thursday finishing the process of getting our resident visas and green cards. So now we are official. Hence the title "peruana" the word for peruvian.
After several years and another child it is strange to finally be here. But again just a testimony to God's faithfulness and sovereignty. Maybe in a few days I'll post some photos of Trujillo and such.
But enough of this English, where did I put that spanish grammar??......

Fall Fun

Today, Saturday the 27th of October, we spent at my mom's to celebrate my 38th birthday.
It was a good day, watching the kids play with their cousins, and watching MSU beat
Kentucky in Lexington. I am graying more in my hair lately, possibly due to
some stress or just genetics. We are now planning to leave for Peru November 27.
Our support has grown enough to leave and we are hoping for some more these next
few months. This coming Thursday we will ship our container.
I will be glad to get that behind me.

We are thankful that God has blessed us with a place to stay, more financial support,
lots of medical equipment to take, and spiritual refreshment.
Pray this next month as we continue to home school our kids and make final
plans to move. Happy thanksgiving to all

Change of plans, again

It seems like we are always getting ready for Peru, but never quite getting there.
Once again we are in Mississippi and not leaving for Peru when we thought we would.
A few weeks ago I found out our account was lower than expected, so we have put off
departing until November. We need to raise about $10,000 quickly, and also get about $1000 more in monthly support. I am most to blame, or all to blame, for not paying attention to our finances enough. Please be in prayer that God will move in the hearts of his people to supply our lack.
Meanwhile we are in a guest home the Jackson area and Susan has started homeschool.
Last week someone donated 5 kidney dialysis machines to the mission! What a tremendous blessing.
We seem to be slowly but surely filling up our container with medical supplies to make our clinics in Peru top notch.
It is great being home, but we kind of miss the routine of language school, and our friends we made. Thankfully MS is cooling off now; so we missed most of the brutal summer heat.
I am visiting churches and making more phone calls, mailing out letters, and getting our container ready to ship ( which is a big ordeal).
We trust God to lead us in his perfect will, and for the grace to follow.
dale

Leaving Los Ticos

It's over now, all but the crying.
We have our graduation ceremony in two days, and then fly back to
Mississippi for a month. It has been a great time here in
San Jose learning a lot of Spanish and making some great friends.
God has helped and blessed and provided for us and our children,
but we are ready for the next step. These next few months will be hectic and stressful,
moving around a lot and making a lot of visits with friends and churches.
We hope we don't loose too much Spanish while away from latinos.
Remember to pray for us and keep us posted on your lives also.
hasta luego
dale