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365 Czech Republic

Thirty Eight

As of Today Bethany is 38 weeks pregnant with baby #3 and she got a good report today during he second to last check-up. After next week’s appointment, she’ll be transferred to the care of the hospital who will see her for week 40 should that be required. Things work a little bit different here in Czech for these kinds of appointments, but I would say overall it’s been a pretty similar experience as to what we’ve had in the States.

Outside Sillyness (5/12/15)

Following her appointment this morning, we headed over to our friend Lauren’s house because she’s the one helping us with all the details at the Czech hospital and will be Bethany’s doula as well as translator. She just wanted to nail down all of the details and make sure everything was ready to go in regards to paperwork and the birth plan. There are still a few things left to fill out and seems that there’s always a lot of paperwork to do in Czech, but we’re excited to be nearing the finish line and meet our new daughter!

Since Lauren and her family live near the JV office, I decided to just go in and work for bit even though the office was mostly closed today. Usually everyone takes the two days following the conference for a little time off because of just how busy things are and the big push leading up to conference. It was nice and quiet there today and I had about an hour to get some emails out and follow up on a few outstanding items from the week. Everyone should be back in tomorrow and we’ll keep rollin’ with projects and all the other things going on.

I try to keep a book with me when I’m out and about, just in case I get a moment or two where I’m waiting or have time to read. When I went to pick up Bethany her meeting was going a little longer so I ended up reading in the car which I had parked in the shade. I’m really enjoying this book Gospel-Centered Counseling and it’s focus on how the gospel changes how we help people. There is one quote in particular that stood out to me today that I think is just helpful. Bob Kellemen writes on pages 34-35,

Typically we ask God and seek help from each other to change our feelings and our circumstances. God is in the change business, but a very different type of change–heart change, Christlikeness–presenting everyone “perfect,” or mature, in Christ (Col. 1:28).

Listen to the song of eternity–it’s about celebrating Christ’s victory and the Bride’s purity for God’s glory! We look at our lives and want instructions or explanations. What we need is imagination and vision to see life today in light of eternity..

I quoted more for the context, but it’s that last sentence in particular that stood out to me. We do need to be able to see our life today in light of eternity. That takes work to do, but if we look at each day through the lens of the gospel narrative we will begin to see our story as part of the greater story that the Lord has written which started with Creation and ends with Consummation. When we view our lives as part of the greater story we get a bigger picture of what the Lord is doing and can see His hand more clearly in the details in our lives. I need to take those truths to heart and remember that God is working in all the details of our lives in light of eternity. That’s a wonderful truth and a great reminder to me today.

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365 Czech Republic

Looking to Easter

Looking to Easter (3/22/15)

I sat by myself up in the second story of church this morning because everyone in the family is sick. With the kids having coughs, sneezing, and runny noses we weren’t about to put them in to their classes and Bethany hasn’t been able to stop coughing all day. It probably doesn’t help that it was rainy and about a high of 35 degrees today, but needless to say the sickness continues. I’ve had a sore throat all week, but today was my best day yet and I really didn’t want to miss church. I did my best to follow along with the message and all I can say is that I heard the word for “now” a lot. I’m not exactly sure what that was all about it, but I’m glad I was there with God’s people.

Looking to Easter (3/22/15)

Back at home, however, Bethany didn’t really want to lose the entire day so she spent some time with the kids decorating for Easter. When I got back they had hung up a big sign that our church in the States made for us which says, “He is risen” in Czech. It was up above our couch and now we get to see it and enjoy it. Also, the kids put up little sticky letters on one of our doors which says, “Happy Easter!” Above is a photo of the big sign and below is a photo of the kids with their door decorations, including the little egg basket above them and the little sticky eggs you can see behind them.

Looking to Easter (3/22/15)

It’s always a joy to look to Easter. Even though we won’t be celebrating the risen Savior in our own language, I’m looking forward to seeing how our Czech church will celebrate. And I had the added joy of listening to Avery today as she talked about how “Easter is about Jesus rising from the dead!” It’s such a simple truth coming from her lips. Jesus did rise from the grave. He has power even over death! It’s those truths that have changed the hearts of many and by His grace will continue to be proclaimed to the nations. I’m really looking forward to Easter Sunday. It’s one of the best days of the year and I’m thankful that my family was helping me prepare my heart for the celebration of remembering our risen Lord.

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365 Czech Republic

Making Us More Like Jesus

Only seconds after publishing last night’s blog, I heard Avery cry from the room her and Titus were asleep in. They had been a sleep for a few hours by that point and I really didn’t think much of it. I closed the lid of my laptop and heard her crying again and then I heard Bethany’s voice calling for me. “Avery just threw up all over the bed,” she told me as I entered the room. That was around 11:30pm.

Before Zach and Kara left the flat we were staying in last night, we made plans to join them for church. Zach was going to meet us around 9am today and help us manage the trams over to their church. But as soon as we began to get Avery out of bed and into the tub where we could clean her up, I realized it was going to be a long night. I texted Zach that church was probably not going to happen, and I’m honestly glad I did. It took us about 30 minutes to get Avery cleaned up, her hair washed, and all the bed coverings taken care of. Avery was in a better mood and said she was hungry. We had some bananas and pretzel so she ate some of that was happy. She laid back down and went to bed but we still had all these dirty clothes that we were hoping to wash. It was now just past midnight.

Last half-day in Prague (3/1/15)

Since we were in downtown Prague I figured I would go down to the little shop at the bottom of the building and buy some laundry soap. Amazingly, it was open and so I purchased the soap and ran back upstairs. Upon inspecting the German packaging some more (and translating it on my phone) I realized I had actually purchased fabric softener. So went spent some time researching shops near us where I could find a brand that I knew was actually soap. I went back outside and walked down a few different streets and blocks and nothing else was open so back to the little shop I went. I spent a good amount of time staring at the bottles and trying to figure out which one was not fabric softener, made my selection, and bought a second bottle of soap. I went back up to the 5th floor where I did more research only to find out second time that I just bought another bottle of fabric softener! A little defeated and sad we decided it was just time for bed and we would deal with it in the morning. That was 1am.

Avery threw up again at 2am and then at around 4am. We repeated the same process at 2am that we did the first time with a clean up but at 4am she didn’t have much on her stomach. Titus and Avery were both awake for the day just after 6 and I honestly think the most sleep we got was from 6-8am when let the kids watch something on the iPad because we were exhausted. When I did wake up I went back down to another store that I recognized, bought the soap that I knew was correct, and we started washing everything this morning. The lack of sleep hurt my cold sickness recovery and I just didn’t feel well at all and went back to bed for another hour.

Last half-day in Prague (3/1/15)

We made plans to have lunch with Zach and Kara as well before we got our train back to home today (I’m actually writing this post while on the train). I wasn’t feeling great, and we missed our first tram, but we did end up joining them. The food was delicious and I was really glad we got to spend a little more time with them. This afternoon they helped us get packed up, played with our kids, and then get checked out of our flat on eventually on to the train that we’re now enjoying.

Last half-day in Prague (3/1/15)

The day is ending much better than it started and for that I’m grateful. It was a hard night but for now it’s over. I’m sure I had nights like Avery’s when I was little. By God’s grace we make it through and you spend a train ride thinking about how hard it was, but also how gracious the Lord was. We had a great weekend and really sweet time with our friends and for that we’re very thankful. You never know how the days will go, but I guess that’s part of the “fun” of life! We’ll be home in a few hours and maybe another long night is ahead of us, only the Lord knows? What I do know is that God is using it all to sanctify us and make us more like His Son. And when I think about it like that, it makes it all worth it.

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365 Christianity Czech Republic

Czech After Dark

I should probably stop going to the store here at night. It seems that every time I do something eventful happens.

Tonight I took the kids to the store and it actually takes me longer to get the kids into the car than to drive there. You could almost walk, but it’s just far enough to make it worth taking the car for a quick trip. As we were driving, there was one car in front of us that was about to turn into the same store parking lot. All of a sudden they swerved left as if to avoid something. I wasn’t following them closely so I slowed down, but through the headlights I realized what they were trying to swerve around: a woman.

Praise the Lord, they missed her but it definitely shook them up because I saw them hit the brakes and pause for a moment while I was coming up behind them. The woman was stumbling around the edge of the snowy sidewalk with a large purse and as we passed her I realized quickly that she was drunk. There weren’t many other cars around so I stopped my car not far past her and turned around to watch her in hopes she would get back on the sidewalk safely. To my surprise, she did the exact opposite. She walked in to the middle of the road and began raising her hands and walk straight towards the oncoming traffic. I could see headlights coming down the road and because of how dark and not well lit the street is I thought I better turn around and do something!

I flipped the car around at the store entrance. Titus said, “Daddy why are we going back?” and I can’t really remember what I told him because I was a little worried in that moment. My plan was to either warn the oncoming cars by flashing my lights or try to think of something else so nothing terrible would happen. Thankfully, by the time I got back on the road she had moved herself toward the sidewalk but was struggling to stay standing. The kids and I drove by her again and I just watched to make sure she was going to stay off the street, which it looked like she was. I genuinely thought in that moment that I was going to witness something horrific which is why I turned my car around. Praise the Lord, nothing happened.

I realize in some sense that drunk people are relatively common around the world, and I’ve seen my share of them in the States. But I have definitely seen more here in the past 8 months than I’ve probably seen in my life time. According to some sources, Czech is ranked 6th in a list of “alcohol consumption per capita.” On Thursday morning I went to the store at 10am and it was very busy. The one thing that stood out to me was that 80-90% of the shopping carts had numerous large bottles of beer or some kind of alcohol. It’s very prominent here. I also realize that beer and alcohol aren’t the problem in this country. They are simply the manifestation of a bigger problem, a heart problem the Bible calls sin.

Whether sin comes out in drunkenness, anger, selfishness, lying, or pride, it’s all the same in the eyes of the Lord. It’s universal for all men, including me. In fact, outside the grace of God, I’m really not much different than a drunk woman playing a horrific game of chicken with oncoming traffic. But that’s the beauty of the gospel of Jesus! He gave his own life for all of that sin. One of my favorites verses in the Bible is in John 19 when Jesus says, “It is finished.” Those are His dying words, but they mean life to the world. “It is finished” means that sin has been conquered. Every sin that has ever been committed in the past, present, or even in the future has been paid for by the blood of Jesus. As one songwriter wrote, “It is finished. It is done. To the world Salvation comes. Hallelujah, We’re alive. Hell was silenced when You cried “It is finished.

After leaving the store with the kids, I found myself scanning the sidewalk for the woman. I didn’t see her and hopefully she made it to where she was going safely. I don’t know where she stands with the Savior, but if it’s true that this is one of the most atheistic countries in the world then it’s likely she doesn’t have a relationship with Jesus. This is just a deep reminder to pray for her and this country. It’s also a reminder for myself to continue to push hard into the language so we can communicate the truths of the gospel with the people we meet and come in contact with or even the ones we see stumbling down the street.

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365 Czech Republic

A Good Work

In Philippians 1:3-6, Paul writes these words after his initial greeting to the church in Philippi,

I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now. And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.

Those words rang loud in my heart tonight as I writing a few different emails to some of our supporting churches in the States. I sat here tonight praising the Lord for the many different people God has used to send us to a place like Czech to bring the gospel of Jesus. There is a “partnership in the gospel” that amazes and humbles me. And then there’s a promise that a “good work” is going on in our lives and the lives of our supporters that God promises to complete! This too is amazing and humbling. I praise God tonight for the work He is doing around the globe to not only call others to Himself, but to work in the ones He calls to make them more like Jesus every single day.

Poland, Czech, Poland (2/12/15)

We had the joy today of going to another doctor visit as a family where we got to hear the baby’s heartbeat. Titus thought we would see an ultrasound, but that wasn’t on the docket today. The doctor gave us a good report that everything looks normal thus far. Praise the Lord for his continued grace with our third child.

Poland, Czech, Poland (2/12/15)

Poland, Czech, Poland (2/12/15)

I took a short trip with my team and another missionary to Poland today to, believe it or not, look at some t-shirts at a printer. Next month we’ll be ordering around 4,000 shirts that will be worn by as many young people around Central and Eastern Europe and our team was asked to meet the printer in Poland and pick out a nice shirt. These are for this summer’s camps where thousands of young people will hear the gospel for the first time. It was a fun little trip and even though picking a shirt sound trite, I know that they represent an opportunity for some young man or woman to come to Christ. That is my prayer and I will ask you to join us in praying for the hearts of these young people to be open and ready to bow the knee to Jesus.

Poland, Czech, Poland (2/12/15)

This afternoon we had our third day in a row of language practice with our friends Jenny and Landen (you can see them in the photo above). Today was a very encouraging day because by the end of it we could hear a simple sentence and know what’s being communicated. For instance, Jenny could say “I went to the post office by car” in Czech, and Landen, Bethany, and I could understand. Then, we were able to build different sentences ourselves and say them back in Czech. It’s a little to explain the process of how we could come to that point so quickly, but we were even surprising ourselves that we could do it! It’s weird how just speaking the simple sentences over and over you start to hear the nuances of the language and can kind of just, for lack of a better word, feel the right words come out. Like I said, it was really encouraging and I’m excited about our progress in such a short amount of time.

Our language lesson went a little late tonight so we decided to actually go back over to Poland tonight with Jenny and Landen for a quick dinner. They had never been to this fast food place that has cheeseburgers and chicken, so we decided to all go together. It was a great finish to a full day and I’m just happy tonight as we get ready for bed. God is so good and so faithful. It’s such a joy to serve the King.

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365 Christianity

Thy Perfect Light

Driving home this evening I saw a lot more houses and trees with Christmas lights. From what I have been told, Czechs usually don’t decorate until Christmas Eve or a few days before Christmas. Based on what I saw tonight, that’s definitely true because even our own landlord had Christmas lights hanging from her balcony and a little wreath on our shared front door (shown below).

The Door (12/22/14)

I made a stop at the grocery store when I got town and the place was crazy. There were a ton more cars than normal and people were in super shopping mode. Christmas Eve is the day they open presents here, so I guess I was just caught in the middle of the last minute gift shopping. Everything was on sale, so I honestly don’t blame them. I actually made a stop at a second store for some other items and it too was full of people, and both stores had vendors outside selling live carp (that’s fish), which is a tradition here.

But as I was out, I was listening to the carol “We Three Kings” as sung and arranged by Steven Curtis Chapman. I’m sure I’ve heard the song a thousand times, but the words just really sank in tonight. Maybe it’s the fact that I’m aware of just how spiritually dark Czech is, but the song ministered to me as I saw the flickering lights and Christmas shoppers.

The carol walks through the life of Christ from His birth, death, and resurrection. The refrain ends with a line that just stuck with me today that says, “Guide us to thy perfect light.” I think I’m interpreting this correctly, but the light here is Christ. The imperfect star the kings are following is just leading them to a perfect light, the source of light, the Light of the World.

As I listened, my heart was heavy for the Czech people. So many will hang lights and celebrate this year without any knowledge of the True Light, Jesus Christ. My heart was filled with compassion for the many around the globe who will exchange gifts and travel to see family, again, without an understanding of the gospel of Jesus. My prayer tonight is that God would guide the lost to the Perfect Light this Christmas. I hope He uses me to do it, and I hope He uses many others around the world as we celebrate the birth of Jesus.

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365 Czech Republic

Winter Things and Christmas Time

After yesterday’s 6 hour extravaganza, the thought of the driving back to the JV office was thrown out by the time I got home last night. In fact, we didn’t drive at all today and that’s mainly because the roads are still frozen. Well, the roads and our driveway. I walked outside this afternoon to bring the trashcans in from the street and realized that I didn’t really have to carry them back in, I could just slide them. That’s when inspiration struck! If the trashcans can slide, and I can slide with my shoes on, I bet the kids can slide!

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Bethany was hoping for me to bring in the Christmas decorations from the garage. The walk across the driveway was dangerous and the kids really wanted to come outside too. I remembered we had purchased a sled at the store a few months back that has wood with metal on the bottom. It slid wonderfully across the driveway so I loaded the kids on there and we did laps around the yard. The ice was probably a half inch thick and it’s still below freezing outside so it wasn’t breaking at all. After a few minutes I slid the kids into the garage where there’s no ice and dropped them off. Bethany and I loaded Christmas decoration boxes on to the sled and I slid them back to the apartment. We had a lot of laughs and fun and here’s a few photos:

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Once we got everything inside, we began to unbox a few things and casually start decorating. We’re hoping to go buy our Christmas tree this week (maybe tomorrow). A few years ago Bethany found a Playmobile nativity scene at Goodwill. We haven’t set it up in year’s past because the kids were smaller and the pieces are too small for really young kids. But this year we got it out and hand fun setting it up with Titus and Avery. Here’s some photos of the scene and the kids playing:

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Winter Things (12/2/14)

Avery was really excited about the baby Jesus. She was taking care of him throughout the night and making sure he had his “blankie.” Before we put the kids to bed Avery had grabbed Jesus and his blankie and said, “Can baby sleep in my bed?” It was hard to say no to that, but Bethany explained that he was just too little for her big girl bed. So Avery quietly returned him to his place in the manger…with his blankie, of course.

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365 Czech Republic

Learn Me Something

Doing language learning is worse than going back to school for one reason: you can’t read the directions. Both of the books we have used have used to study Czech employ the theory that if they put the directions in Czech we will learn. In reality, all this does is frustrate me because it takes me an extra three minutes per question to type out the Czech in to Google Translate just to figure out what I’m supposed to do!

Tomorrow morning we have our second lessons with our new Czech teacher, Tamara, but it might be interesting because both the kids are sick and right now and will likely be coming with us to her house. Normally, Titus would be in preschool, but he’s coughing and sneezing and all of that so we decided we’re going to keep him away from the other kids for a day and see how it goes. Hopefully we will still be able to focus on lessons with the kids there.

Learn Me Something (11/18/14)

This morning we had our weekly International Team meeting and we spent some time walking through Philippians 2:1-11. I’ve actually memorized a chunk of that passage and I think it may be one of the most amazing and difficult passages in the Bible. Amazing in it’s theology, reach, and Christ’s example, but difficult to apply, especially as we think about being a humble servant. We were challenged this morning to do just what the text says, “…put on the mind of Christ…” in our service and work here and humble ourselves the same way Christ did.

No matter how many times I hear that or read it in my Bible, it’s hard. It’s hard to apply that when I walk in the door to my family. It’s hard to apply it on my ministry team. It’s hard to apply that in line at the grocery store. It’s hard to apply that in the local church. It’s just hard. Serving with humility is hard, mostly because our sinful flesh fights it. At least I know mine does. But no matter the difficultly or the fight, I do hope and pray that I would seek to have the mind of Christ and serve here humbly. Not only does that show the Gospel in my actions, but it gives God the glory and that’s most important.

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365 Czech Republic

Even Sundays Are in Jesus’ Hands

As much as I love Sunday, they have quickly become one of the hardest days of the week for our family. I don’t know exactly what it is, but it just seems like everything about the morning routine on Sunday here in Czech is really difficult. I believe I actually said to Bethany this morning, “Sunday is my least favorite day of the week here.” Mostly that was said in frustration with just trying get out of the house, but I also think it’s just a lot of change and adjustment to living here and doing church here.

My Hope Is Built (11/9/14)

That’s probably why I was so encouraged by a blog post that I read today that wasn’t even meant for me. Oh, for sure the Lord knew I needed this reminder, but the author of the article actually wrote it for missionary wives. The title of the post is “He’s Got Missionary Wives in His Hands” and I initially read it thinking I would pass it along to Bethany, but the more I read the more helpful I realized it was for my own soul. The entire article is bathed in Scripture, but her list of “…God’s particular, far-reaching, steadfast love, which he shows to us…” is so helpful, especially on Sundays. Here’s the list in it’s entirety:

    You and your family are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your decision to move is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your ministry training is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your ministry fundraising is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your culture shock is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your children’s schooling is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your personal finances are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your healthcare options are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your family’s health is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your living situation is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your language learning is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your travel and transportation are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your food options are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your homesickness is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your family back home is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your friendships back home are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your new friendships are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your opportunities to serve using your gifts are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your husband’s ministry is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your personal ministry is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your ministry successes are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your ministry failures are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your marriage is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your children are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your growth in Christ-likeness is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your teammates and coworkers are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your suffering is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your visits home are in Jesus’ hands.
    Your safety is in Jesus’ hands.
    Your future is in Jesus’ hands.

Isn’t that helpful? Every item she mentions is something Bethany and I have discussed and tried to work through during this process, especially as we have moved and been here for a few months. I’m so thankful that it’s all in Jesus’ hands. Even Sundays are in Jesus’ hands.

My Hope Is Built (11/9/14)

That simple reminder became a really big one tonight as my teammate Daniel called me on the phone. Unbelievably, he was robbed a second time in less than a week (photo above of the car with the window smashed in). The only difference is instead of taking cash like they did on Tuesday, tonight they stole about $5,000 in camera equipment which Daniel uses on our team. In fact, the camera still contained all of the footage Daniel took on Friday night when we were at the EXIT tour event. Daniel and his roommate have been working with the police again tonight to see what they can do, and Lord willing, the stuff will be returned. Either way, it’s another reminder that it’s all in Jesus’ hands.

My Hope Is Built (11/9/14)

This evening we went to a friend’s house to celebrate Rachael’s birthday. We had the joy of giving her the “gift of words” where we share about her and the things that we appreciate about her. It’s something the Josiah Venture team regularly and I always find it special. Rachael has been a joy to get to know and our family is thankful for her ministry here! Happy birthday, Rachael.

My Hope Is Built (11/9/14)

On our way home from the party tonight I literally got us lost. We live like one mile from where our friend’s house is, but it was really foggy tonight. After turning left on a road I couldn’t see, we ended up crossing the river into Poland. It’s the first time in my life I’ve taken a wrong turn that made me end up in another country–all of which happened with two minutes of leaving the party. This tells you two things: 1) I’m still learning where we live 2) We live literally next to Poland…it’s crazy! Well, it’s a good thing getting lost is in Jesus’ hands because found our way back and finally made it home safely.

Titus gives his thumb of approval on the day.

My Hope Is Built (11/9/14)

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365 Czech Republic

C is for Caterpillar, K is for King

We were back in full swing today after taking a few days away as a family. I returned to the Josiah Venture office to begin working on new projects. With conference over, we’ve got a few projects that have backed up. But during conference we showed clips of young people from this year’s summer ministries. Since the conference was so focused on higher level leadership training, we wanted a way to bring people back to the “why” of ministry. One of those videos that was shown before one of the sessions is probably my personal favorite. It’s short, to the point, and I love how this young man talks about his faith in simple and plain English. This particular student is from Czech Republic, not far from where we live. Watch and enjoy this short, but clear testimony of a changed life.

Back at home Bethany treated today like Monday because we were on vacation so the kids did “school” in the house. They painted the the letter “C” and made little caterpillars. Bethany tries to have some organized time with them and do a craft which is great or days like today when it was pretty gray and rainy. Here are the kids working on their craft.

C is for Caterpillar (10/1/14)

Here’s the final result. They are looking great!

C is for Caterpillar (10/1/14)

Tonight, after dinner, we played a little flashlight tag in the house. Titus and I were a little better at hiding than the girls because every time we would get remotely close Avery would start to giggle, thus revealing her and mommy’s location. Still we had a lot of fun and I got this photo of Titus heading down the hall to find the girls.

Flashlight Tag (10/1/14)

We’ve had quite the battle today with getting our radiators working in the house. As the temperatures begin to drop outside, and we begin to prepare for colder days, I wanted to make sure we can get the heat working. I’ve never had to use radiators, and they are a lot different than central heating (like what most people have in the States). Today our landlord came over really early and it was kind of frustrating to communicate the problem. Eventually she got it working and it was great. However, tonight as I was writing about it, the radiators stopped working again and then one of the handles popped off the radiator in the living room. I’m pretty bummed at the moment because this is not an easy process with the language barrier. Please pray for us that the heat would work and we would get this issue resolved. I am trying to have patience, but being cold is not my thing!

One last thing that’s much better than being cold is that another spot opened up for Titus in the local preschool. We’re not holding our breath because of what happened last time, but Lord willing he’ll be starting on Oct. 13th and will go a few days a week. We’ll be sure and keep everyone posted on that as we get more info. Thank you for praying for this! Goodnight.