Life in a fishbowl

Check it out!!!!

2012-02-22T20:10:00.000-08:00

Head on over to the CdC blog and check out why I am sweeping so often these days!! It's so pretty that I can't stand even a little dirt on it!

Milestones

2012-02-19T19:12:00.001-08:00

First there was Ben in 2006...

Logan decided it was his turn this year....

Not one to be bound by cultural norms, Eli asked to join in as well....

Please disregard the filthy mirror.

A picture is worth a thousand words....

2012-01-08T19:01:00.000-08:00

Marshall family tradition states that every Christmas Eve after opening the presents in your stocking, you will be forced to don the pajamas that were in that stocking and enjoy a family photo shoot. This gives us and now you fine folks a chance to see how we've changed and grown....matured. Obviously we've matured as one can easily see by looking at the proof below.

Season of Change

2012-01-06T20:49:00.000-08:00

So for the last four years or so, Jon and I have been having a lot of conversations about our family, the ministry and our place in it. It has been a pretty crazy time; although when you're in the camping ministry, crazy is normal. We felt like we were running from one thing to the next because that's what had to be done to keep up. Jon began to feel really stressed out and that carried over into the family and our time together. Our conversations became more serious...is this just a phase? can we make changes that will protect our family? is it time for us to move on?

Out of those conversations came the realization that the role Jon was playing as executive director was not really a role that he enjoyed. He gets energy from working directly with people...introducing them to camp and Puerto Rico. He also loves to work outside on projects and with his hands. I often pointed out that he would come home from a day of simply mowing the grass in camp with more energy and excitement for the ministry than from a day in the office or working in the director role.

Many talks were had with the camp board about the future of camp and our place in it. They could also see maybe there was a better role for Jon. This past September it was decided that Jon would no longer be the executive director, and the board began to search for a person to fill that role. Thankfully, it was a short search! Jerry Olson and his wife DeAnna (former missionaries to Bolivia) will be joining us soon, and Jerry will fill the role of director.

We are so excited! As Jon's wife, I could see a change in stress level almost immediately after the decision was made. He's back with energy and excitement and love for the ministry! He is now the MAT Director. Basically he is in charge of all of the work teams that come from the states or the island on short term mission trips. He will be working on projects with them, doing ministry around Puerto Rico with them and introducing them to the island and it's people.
Our God is so good to us. He gives us passions and desires and then graciously works out the details for us so that we can serve Him doing the very things we love. What about you? Are you serving God doing what you love?

Accion de Gracias

2011-11-23T19:08:00.001-08:00

Tomorrow we will all be invading my parents home. There will be 15 of us in all, 7 who are under the age of 12, maybe more if anybody else drops by. I expect a lot of eating, playing, laughing, arguing from some of the younger crowd and maybe even some dancing! Thank you Lord for giving us more food than we can eat, a house with more rooms than we need, and a healthy loving family. I pray that you all have a wonderful Thanksgiving full of family, fun and food.

I'm in Burger King right now

2011-11-08T13:48:00.000-08:00

waiting for Eli to get done with her ballet class. It smells really good in here. But I am NOT going to buy anything. Even though it is 5:10 the magic "I'm hungry" hour.
By the way, there is a group of school kids here on a field trip or something. They must be sixth or seventh graders. Have you all noticed the raging hormones of this age? It's still kind of cute and awkward, but WOW....just now there were girls chasing boys into the bathroom while squealing and giggling. Ugh, my two oldest are headed that way.

Anyway, I'm not buying anything because we have been trying to be very conscious of how we spend our money so as not to waste it on stuff we don't need. I took Logan to the doctor today, and here in Puerto Rico that means waiting your turn for a really long time. Then we went to get the meds and that also means waiting a really long time. It just so happens that we ended up waiting over the lunch hour. Another "I'm hungry" hour. But the temptation to spend money on Taco Bell was also resisted much to Logan's despair. I almost gave in just be cause he's so pathetically cute when he is sick. But NO. We made it home without shelling out cash for food that is bad for you anyway. Little by little we will change our ways for the better!!

So what have you all been doing lately? Around here things have been pretty quiet. Some dog washing, car washing, painting fingernails, playing Othello (that game drives me insane), planting flowers, Oh..we had two retreats that went really well.. I love seeing and hanging out with our campers!, we made a couple of costumes for the fall festival (read fake Halloween because here in PR there is no sweet neighborhood full of old people who love our kids and want to give them candy), we read a lot of books, Ben has been shooting BB guns with Mr. Gamble to make sure they work for the men's retreat coming up, Jon has been finishing the water slide...still...one day we will slide...actually today I did a dry run for fun and ended up with a HUGE wedgie, have I mentioned that it is BEAUTIFUL here?? fast becoming my favorite time of the year here in Puerto Rico. It's like the end of a summer day but continually. Warm. Shady. Light breeze. Not many bugs. Cool at night. Beautiful starry sky with a huge moon that was out last night when I walked to the office to ransack the camp meds in search of ibuprofen for Jon's foot because it hurt where he had dropped the 4x4 on it while working on the water slide. Sigh. Oh, we also went to a place that makes surfboards by hand. It is a ministry to get kids of the streets. I have pictures and will put some up and tell you about it soon.

Well, I hope that you have all been well and enjoying life with your families and kids. Let me know what you've been up to!

Because some of you may like to look at pictures like I do, I thought I'd leave with a look at what we do here in PR when it rains!!

Today was a day.

2011-10-25T20:22:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately not a day that I will look back on as one of my better days. Do you ever have days when you wake up and it's like a cloud is around you that you can't shake? Actually I didn't even notice right away. Then I heard myself saying no over and over again. I'm usually a yes mom. If it's not harmful and if we aren't going anywhere or doing anything, I will typically say sure why not to the kids requests. Not today though.

Once I realized it, I tried to undo the damage. Did you ever notice that those moods can be contagious? The kids picked up on it and were being snarpy with each other and easily frustrated by little things.

Why am I like that at times? Beside the obvious fact that I still struggle with sin everyday. I thought about it a lot today, and I came to the conclusion that it happens when I stop putting others first. The others in this case were my kids. There were things that I wanted to do today. Not important things, just things. So when their needs intruded, I got cranky. Wow, that sounds so ugly. But it's the truth.

I'm happy to say that the day ended better than it started. I got really good snuggles with Logan. I tucked Eli in twice even though she is notorious for requesting a post snuggle tuck long after she is supposed to be asleep. And I didn't get upset with Ben when he jokingly threw a glass of water at me. Eleven year old boys can be soooooooo fun. It was kind of funny how surprised he was that his bed was all wet even though I was sitting on it when he decided to douse me.

What are you reading?

2011-10-23T20:07:00.000-07:00

I'm always looking for good reading material. Last year while in the states someone gave me a copy of Radical by David Platt. It sat on my shelf until about three months ago when I started reading it. I can say truthfully that me gustó mucho. One of the best books that I have read in a long time. Mostly because it really made me think about a lot of things. What's most important in life? Do my day to day actions line up with my beliefs?

If I believe that the one and only God of the Bible is the answer to all of the pain and lonliness and suffering in this world, why am I not actively and daily seeking people to share that good news with.

If I believe that this same God wants me to help meet the physical needs of those around me, why don't I use my resources more wisely so that I can help more people.

What do I teach my children? Not with words or sermons, but with my actions. They are watching every move I make. What do they see me spend my money on? How do they see me spend my time? How much of my time is spent on things that really matter not at all in light of eternity. How often do they see me reaching out to the hurting and lost?

I forced Jon to read the book too. We balance each other well. He is a realist and brings me back to earth when I have flown off into the sky. I must admit that my mind had already gone to places like the jungles of Brazil....how will the kids handle eating large spiders over a fire as we learn the language of the unreached amazonean tribe so that we can share our God with them? I'm back now, and I realize that God hasn't called us there...yet. But he has called us to be faithful with what he has given us and to always live in a way that others will be drawn to him.

So as a first step we are focusing on our finances. Where do we spend our money? What are we placing importance on simply with the things we purchase? How many shoes do we need? More accurately for us, how many books (me) and movies (Jon) do we need around the house? What about birthdays and holidays? I have been saying for the last 8 years on so that Christmas was going to be a low key affair. It never fails that I get sucked in to the temptation and fun of buying way too much. Things that a month later are forgotten or lost. I want our family to be content with less. And so we are evaluating how we spend, and making some institutional decisions that will change the way we live. My hope is that we will grow a little closer to living what we believe.

The way we learn

2011-10-20T21:03:00.000-07:00

As a homeschooling mom, I think a lot about education and how kids learn and what's important to learn and what's the best way to ensure that kids learn and many, many other things. Oddly enough, I never thought that I would ever be a homeschooling mom. It was not something that I wanted to do AT ALL. But life happened, things changed, Eli had boys kissing her in kindergarten while the teachers looked on and smiled....and here we are three years later.

When we first decided to homeschooling, I asked advice from a few of my veteran homeschooling friends. They sent really long emails that were very helpful.  My friend Mrs.Green, with whom I used to sing "Love shack, baby, love shack" very loudly on the way back to college from somewhere, recommended a book to me.."100 Top picks for Homeschool Curriculum". This book started out by having you identify your educational priorities and style preferences. It made me think a lot.

Turns out my biggest priority is to instill a love of learning in my kids. I want them to enjoy learning.  As for style preferences, I felt drawn to Charlotte Mason and still do. I love the idea of whole books. I love the emphasis on art and music and nature. I find however that following a strict CM curriculum is pretty intense with three kids. I'm not an intense person. I'm a bit spontaneous and like to have the freedom to play fake school all day or walk on the beach on a rainy day if the whimsy strikes us . So we have settled into a sort of relaxed/book focused education.

Even though I love what we do and how we do it, there are times when I freak out.  Usually it's during a conversation with someone about the advanced classes they are taking in order to graduate early so they can start college at 12 and have a Phd by 14 and start working in their $500,000 a year salary job.   I come away from these conversations feeling very inadequate and have to fight the temptation to require of my children eight hours of research paper writing the next day. Then I argue with myself for the next few days and ask questions of myself. What's really important in life? Is having a well paying job the goal? Do I even remember half of the things I learned in college? Do you have to go to college to be "successful"? Who writes in cursive anymore anyway?

I would love to hear from you. How do your kids learn? How do you learn? What does school look like for you and your family? What are your educational priorities and why??

School days....

2011-10-19T20:07:00.000-07:00

This morning Logan woke me up by putting a pencil in front of my face. Then he explained to me while I tried to understand him through the fog of sleep that today we were doing school with desks. Umm, what?

Mom, I set up the trays and have chairs and all of the books are on them and you will be the teacher and you have a chair and let's go!

Sure enough when I was finally concious enough, I found it just as he described. He had taken the TV trays and set them up for Eli, Ben and himself. He had all of the books out ready to go.

So we had school. We gave ourselves fake names just because that makes it so much better. I was Mrs. WormWood. Logan was Justin Beaver. Yes Beaver, not Beiber. I asked that specifically and he assured me that his name was BeaVer. Eli's name started out as Notebook Girl because she was late to school and that's the name Logan chose. She protested and changed it to a name more becoming a young lady like herself...Isabel. Ben was rolling his eyes through the entire thing and remained Notebook Boy.

We sang songs to start...."Today is a sunny day" sung to the tune of "Here we go loopdy loo". "The days of the week song" sung to the tune of "O, my darlin". At one point Logan got out the rolling pin because we had no ruler and every school needs something with which to smack students on the back of the hand, right? It was required that I give homework. So I did. I wrote I love you on a piece of paper for Logan's homework. He gave himself and A+++.

School broke up quickly so that Eli and Logan could organize another school day. Eli/Isabel was the Math teacher. Justin B/Logan was science teacher. Mrs WormWood/yours truly was the spelling teacher. School was held outside in the fort. Sunny the dog also attended. Notebook Boy/Benjamin declared himself to well educated to attend a school like this one and took the day off.

Isabel and Justin Beaver at school

Isabel the Math teacher

The scientist creating a secret formula

Mr. BeaVer explaining the technical terms of the experiment

Did I tell you about the time....

2011-10-11T20:47:00.000-07:00

Yes, that is a power pole. Yes, it is on the ground. When this happened we had three work groups from the states and our summer staff staying in camp. It was the middle of our last camp which is a day camp, and two groups from Puerto Rico were due to come to camp that weekend. We were without power for three and a half days. What fun!!! I think that it was during that time that Logan had hot chocolate and Oreos for breakfast one day.

Tra la la....

2011-10-06T21:09:00.000-07:00

I am a music geek. That's why I enjoy Sing Off. And now my daughter enjoys it too. Eli enjoys it for reasons like pretty dresses and songs she recognizes. I enjoy it for sounds like these:

AWESOME!!

Love is not jealous....

2011-10-01T07:49:00.000-07:00

Jon and Eli got back from their trip to Wisconsin a couple of days ago. Jon has been telling me about all of the people that he saw and spent time with and chatted with. I'm not jealous. Not at all. I'm also not lying. Or being sarcastic. Next women's reatreat need to be in Puerto Rico.......

A discovery and a revelation

2011-09-22T21:01:00.000-07:00

So on Monday Eli and Jon boarded an airplane to the States. The reason for the trip was two-fold. One, a board meeting for camp. Two, helping out Jon's parents around the house for a week or so. Actually, three-fold....three, giving Eli and Jon some time to spend together on her first Daddy/Eli trip. Since they have been gone I have made a discovery. Logan talks...a lot. A whole lot. I thought that Eli talked a lot, but if it's just me and her at home, she will usually become absorbed in something and not talk that much. Logan doesn't do that. He just chatters on and on and on and on. Incessantly. His conversations are sometimes interesting. He's always cute. I always love him. I have to admit that sometimes I think in my head what Benjamin, the ever loving big brother, says out loud..."Logan, could you just be quiet for a few minutes?"I also have had a revelation since they left. Eli stayed by herself with Grandma and Grandpa for a couple of nights while Jon went to the board meeting. Thinking she may be a little nervous, I called her the second night. My call was tolerated, and she answered my questions with good, yes, no and ok. That was it. Haven't talked to her since. I thought to myself, "What's the deal? Doesn't she miss her mom?” Then I realized, she's just like me. I'm the girl who flew alone to Brazil at sixteen, stayed for two months and called my parents exactly once. Now I have a small idea of what my parents went through. Sorry mom and dad.

Bonjour

2011-09-21T08:00:00.000-07:00

For some reason this summer the kids went through a french bonjour phase. Meaning that for about a week they walked around saying bonjour while making the appropriate face and goatee stroking hand motions. Not really sure where this came from. but it was funny. For those of you who can't bring this image to mind, here's Ben's version. He is, of course, sporting the magic marker facial hair.

Here is the swimming pool version with Logan providing the vocals and Eli the motions.

A peek inside the mind of a six year old

2011-09-18T18:18:00.000-07:00

Last night at four o'clock in the morning, I felt something soft and warm crawl into bed beside me. It was Logan. Here is the conversation that followed:

Logan- Mom, I had a nightmare. I was getting eaten by a Boa.
Me- Ooh, that would be scary.
L- Are Boas dangerous?
M- They can be if you're an animal. Are you a bunny?
L- No.
M- You're fine then.

A few minutes later as we were walking together back to his bed...

Logan- Look at that light on the floor (it was coming through the skylight). Why is it green?
Me- Um, I don't know.
L- Maybe a meteor hit it.

A few more minutes later as we were snuggling in his bed....

Me- What was your favorite part of the party?
Logan- The cake. The presents. My toys.
M- We sang Happy Birthday a lot of times. (The party was for everyone in the family that have birthdays in September)
L- Yeah, we sang one, two, three, four, um, five times.
M- That's a lot of singing.
L- There are a lot of people in the world. About a hundred and fifty.
M- That's a lot of people.
L- Yeah. A hundred here. A hundred there and a hundred there.

He's a Lil' Dragon now, and he LOVES it.

Dance fever

2011-09-13T19:29:00.000-07:00

Eli, who by the way just turned nine this past Saturday which is incredible to me, was a busy girl this summer. She went to a complete month of ballet camp from 8 until 3 everyday. We are homeschoolers who are getting out of bed at 8 (if mom has anything to say about it!), so getting up in time to be in Ponce at 8 took a little bit of getting used to. We did good though, and Eli enjoyed herself a lot. She had sore muscles for a week or so as she got used to dancing 6 hours a day.

At the end of the month they put on a show. Mostly stuff from the movie Rio. It was cute. They also did a "fashion show" which I wasn't to thrilled about, but it was pretty tame. Eli was also very cute trying to be cool. She is still way to innocent to pull it off....yay!!

In other dancing news, we got the chance to see a free ballet show. Kaylah, Eli, Shayna and I got dressed up and went to the show. We soon found out why it was free. HORRIBLE!! We entertained ourselves taking dumb pictures of ourselves.

Ahh, what a fun girls night out. It's a good thing that we can entertain ourselves!

Where did the summer go??

2011-09-12T13:15:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it's already halfway through September. We officially started back to school last week. Well, whatever school is for us, but that is a whole different post. That means though, that summer is definately over. Sometimes when you live on a tropical island right next to the beach, it's hard to recognize fall. I thought it might be good to review the summer so that I could share with you all everything that happened and all of the fun things that we did. This will not be in chronological order of any kind or be organized in anyway. Sorry Kaylah and other Kaylah type personalities! That's not how I roll. Umm. Did I really just say that? What a weirdo I am!

Hmm....what to start with? Oh, I know. I think that both Jon and Benjamin will be happy for me to share these with all you fine folk! I usually cut the boys hair. However, I don't really enjoy doing it. I always try to get them to go to a barber or other haricutting establishment. Jon hates to spend "waste" money on that. I convinced him this summer during the middle of counselor training using the valid excuse that I was too busy and unable to attend him properly. So off to Chapu aka local barber man they went.
(Pause. Kaylah offered to cut their hair, but I declined. Perhaps you can see why after you look at this picture of the first and last haircut she gave Benjamin a few years ago....I love you Kaylay!)

Unpause. Here in Puerto Rico when boys get there hair cut 99% of the time they use the "maquina" which is that shaver razor thingy. My personal opinion is that those haircuts can look a bit funky. So Jon specifically asked Chapu to use scissors on their hair which he did. Here are the results:

I laughed really hard. Actually the entire summer staff laughed really hard! It was a much needed stress relief to laugh like that. And in reality the haircuts themselves were fine, we just neglected to request no styling products. Jon of course used this as proof that barbers are waste of money.

Miss Irene

2011-08-30T18:51:00.000-07:00

Hurricane season in the Atlantic begins June 1st and end November 30th. Wow, that's six months! Imagine if there were a hurricane every month. There is potential for a lot of damage in that time! Fortunately for us, we live in Puerto Rico, and typically storms go north of us or south of us...something about the Puerto Rican Divide. Actually I'm not sure that's a real thing. I've just heard my dad talk about it a lot. He knows a bunch of wierd random facts. Sometimes he makes things up I think. (Don't tell him I said that!) For us (meaning the Marshalls) here in PR, storms usually go like this.

Two days before a storm is due to hit us: Oh, there's a storm coming? Huh. Let us know if it's still coming in a couple of days.
One day before: Really? It's still headed this way? Ok, well is it big?
Day of storm: It's coming today. Well, Jon do we have batteries and candles? OK, we're good! Then we pick up the toys in the backyard and put some panels on the back of the house, and sometimes Jon has to tie down some things in camp.
Later while the storm is actually happening we do things like this:

Swordfighting marathon with the King of Narnia a.k.a. Logan

Swimming pool time for the two youngest and craziest which during storms means costumes are donned in the pool because it's darn cold out there!

The sane people of the house had a Settlers marathon. Actually now that I look at it, there are no sane people in any of these pictures. Who won that game people???? Oh that's right...ME!!

That's what most tropical storm/hurricanes are like here at CdC. That being said, every ten years or so there comes a storm that actually packs a punch and hits us hard. I think when that one comes there will be no playing in the pool!

*I don't mean to make light of the damage that Miss Irene did after she left us. We are praying for the people who are left with the heartache and cleanup.

Weather report.

2011-06-27T18:59:00.000-07:00

Dignified madness is decending.....

2011-06-27T18:09:00.000-07:00

Every year around this time things start to happen. Camp fills with people. Our house fills with people. Swimming pools find there way into our living room. The annual Kaylah vs Julio prankfest begins. My children suffer through way more movie/video game playing than typically aloud. A lot of strange things get cut out of rubber. Impromptu dance parties erupt. Supper, on ocasion, consists of gogurt and ritz crackers. I thought you might like a peek into the madness...

All pretty normal stuff around here!

Good neighbors...

2011-06-22T15:13:00.001-07:00

These were taken a while ago, but I saw them today and they made me thankful for good friends and neighbors.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Alone.

2011-05-20T11:18:00.000-07:00

painting by Sookyi Lee

Somehow I found myself in a quiet house this afternoon all alone. I'm not sure how it happened, but I think it should become a common occurence.

Reason #3

2011-05-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

I think that pictures will better express reason number three for me. I love that my family can experience this on a daily basis. What a place to grow up! What a place to see and experience God's majesty and greatness!

The rocks win.

2011-05-02T18:14:00.000-07:00

In the past couple of weeks my boys have decided to see which is harder, the human body or rocks. The results are in:

Reason #2

2011-03-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

My dad for a large part of his life was involved with racing. He worked at a machine shop that built racing motors. Drag racing motors. Or stock car. I can't really remember. We went to the races often in my younger years. Racing is fun. Stick shifts are fun. Motorcycles are fun. Dirt bikes are AWESOME!!! These things all lead me to reason # 2.

I love driving in Puerto Rico!!!

Driving here is a very fluid, flexible thing. Roads are good. If there is no road, one can easily be made. Oops, I missed my turn. No problem, I'll just back up! Pulling out onto a busy highway is a dance between you and the rest of the people. Give and take. My turn, your turn. If you don't make your needs known, they will be ignored! Need to stop and chat with your neighbor for a few minutes? No problem, I can wait. If I can't wait, I can always make a new road! There are often cows, horses or people picking mangoes off of the mango trees in the middle of the road. Patience is a very good thing. Generosity is also good, and I find usually practiced. This of course is not always the case. During rush hour to and from work or school things can get a bit dicey. But if someone is too impatient and honks at you from behind, just slap the top of your car to let them know they are free drive over you if they need to.

Our Eli

2011-03-25T14:23:00.000-07:00

We know when Eli is sick. She becomes calm and quiet. It is a very obvious change from her normal state of constant motion which includes things like somersaults in bed while "snuggling", watching movies upside down and dancing instead of walking somewhere.

This way of living life to the fullest is also reflected in her artistic endeavors. Ever since she was little, she didn't just paint a picture on paper. It was a full body experience.

She hasn't changed much since she's gotten older. She has however branched out to other "canvases".

If you happen to be visiting when inspiration strikes her, don't be surprised if you become part of the masterpiece!

He's home.

2011-03-18T14:35:00.000-07:00

In the past few years, Jon has had to travel three or four times each year to the States. Usually those trips are from five to seven days. We are always fine while he is gone. Fine meaning able to get through the day to day routine of life without needing any help. Benjamin and I together can even handle the super heavy and amazed bags of trash. We eat. We play. We learn. We have fun. We even sleep, mostly crowded together in the same bed, but we sleep. We can do life on our own. We don't need him to do life with us. But without him, there are several things missing daddy's good morning hugs, his silly and slightly insane laughter, kissy slams, wrestling matches, and a sense of wholeness that all of us together creates. We may not need him, but we want him.

He just got back from one of those trips. It was twelve days long. Much too long. By the second day, Logan was marking out all of the days left on the calendar hoping that real life would follow his commands, and daddy would come back tomorrow. The first night he was home again I could feel the difference. It's as if we had all been holding our breath without even knowing it,and we finally were able to let it out. The bed was really crowded that night as one by one the kids snuck in to be together.

A hint of dead iguana!

2011-03-02T14:29:00.000-08:00

It has been a crazy couple of weeks. We've had two retreats, a sick doggy that almost died and needed to be nursed back to health, a ballet show to get ready for, a friend and her three year old staying for a week and a husband getting ready to leave for a twelve day trip.

Needless to say, the house looked like someone had picked it up, shaken it all around and then sat it down again. Disaster zone.

I usually don't enjoy housework, weird I know, but today It was kind of nice to not go anywhere and get the house back in shape. Actually, we all cleaned. Eli and Logan cleaned their rooms, Ben cleaned the toilets, I cleaned the back porch....taking a break once to bury a dead and very smelly iguana...washed the dishes, and swept all of the floors.

I know that tomorrow the floors will get dirty again ( the joy of living on the ocean), and the dishes will need washed again, but for now the house is clean. *sigh* we lit candles too, so it smells like vanilla with just a hint of dead iguana!

Kids are awesome!

2011-02-22T02:23:00.000-08:00

We just finished a retreat for 9 to 12 year olds. It was all about emotions and how to handle them in a Godly and self controlled way. (I was thinking of Benjamin when I realized that would be a good theme for this age!) Angela and Francis, two of our counselors (see picture below), were the teachers. They did a great job of helping the kids understand in creative, fun ways how our emotions can be good or bad depending on our actions, and how the Holy Spirit can help us control them and use them in a good way.

We had a bunch of new kids this weekend (about 10). Every night before we send the kids to their cabins, we stand in a big circle "mano a mano" (holding hands) and pray. On Friday I happened to be standing next to one of the new girls, and she excitedly told me, "I just got here, and I love it already!" It's awesome to hear something like that! That means that God's love is being poured out on these kids through the counselors and staff.

I am reminded every time we have this age in camp of the differences between boys and girls. It's hilarious. Saturday morning I woke up around 7:15 because I could hear the boys from what I thought was their cabin. I decided to go and let the counselors know that it was OK to take them outside to play before breakfast sincethat was still over an hour away. As I left the house though, I saw several sleepy counselors already outside playing with a bunch of wild, energetic boys. I was informed that they had been awake since 6:30. I went to wake up the girls, and as I entered I saw smiling faces everywhere. I was told by equally sleepy counselors that the campers had been awake since 6 planning what they were going to wear that day.

On Sunday as we were going into the comedor to eat lunch, some parents arrived to pick up their son. He was one of the new kids and decided to eat before he left. As he came in I commented to him about this, and he said, "Yeah, the food here is great, a lot better than my mom's at home!" I was glad that his mom had stayed outside to wait for him!

Reason #1

2011-02-15T10:59:00.000-08:00

      Things I love about where I live.......

We have lived in Puerto Rico for eleven years now, going on twelve. It's the longest I have ever lived anywhere in my life. Wow, that's weird. I just now realized that.   The next longest place I have ever lived was Biloxi, MS where I was born and lived until I was ten. I loved Mississippi. It was warm, even when it rained. We lived on a Pringle Circle which was just like it sounds, a big circle. Whenever it rained, the sides of the street would fill up like a warm swimming pool. So much fun for a kid!!!!   Our back yard was to an empty field full of wild blackberries and big piles of fire ants. Also fun for a kid. Have you ever watched them go crazy when you poke them with a stick? That field ended in a Burger King parking lot. Also fun for a kid. French fries close by, ordering at the drive through on you bicycle, running over ketchup packages.....ahhh the memories.

I love thinking back to Mississippi. It was a great place to grow up. Now I sit and think what are my kids going to remember and love about the place where they are growing up. We get a lot of groups coming through camp, and we hear a lot of opinions about the way things are done here in PR. And while some things are less than ideal, I love this place. So I thought I would start to share with you why. (These will not be in any particular order, just as they come to me randomly.)

Warmth

It's warm here. Almost all of the time. Actually it's cold inside of most buildings, so cold that when you go outside you sigh and relax back into a comfortable warmth. I love it. It was like that in Mississippi at night too. Freezing inside...walk outside....ahhhhhh so cozy and warm.   There are times when it's a bit too warm, but that is sooooooo much more preferable to the other.

Not just the weather is warm though. So are the people. Smiles, hugs, kisses all very, very normal. Loud outbursts upon seeing someone they know. Reactions to movies and songs. I have to say that whenever we go back to the States I am really taken aback by the first handshake. "What's this? A hand? Do I kiss it? Oh that's right, it's for shaking!" It takes a few times to get back in the habit!!

Se habla español.....

2011-02-09T14:29:00.000-08:00

So the other day I was talking to Eli about learning Spanish and why she should. We live in Puerto Rico, honey; people in Puerto Rico speak Spanish.

People always ask me if our kids speak Spanish fluently; and when I tell them not really, they wonder why since they were born in Puerto Rico and have lived there all of there lives. Learning another language has so many different stages: the everything sounds like goballygook stage, the oh he just said house cool I know that word oh know now I missed the rest of the sentence stage, the I can carry on a one on one conversation with a person speaking slowly stage, the i understand everything being said stage but have a hard time speaking stage, the only speaking in the present tense stage, the i'm tired so I can't even speak English stage, the I'm afraid to make a mistake so I won't say anything stage, and the list could go on and on..... Ben, Eli and Logan are in one or another of theses stages depending on the day, their attitude, who their with or any number of other things.

I am convinced that most language learning is a result of being surrounded by speakers of that language. Eli is helping me to prove this idea true. Lately we have had a lot of Spanish speakers over to play, and she has suddenly adopted some new phrases. The part I find the funniest is that she not only picks up the Spanish, she picks up the Puerto Rican attitude...the volume level, the hand motions. So fun to watch and hear. ¡Me encanta!

More kid quotes......

2010-11-20T18:48:00.000-08:00

Logan- I need water. My lungs are drying.

Eli- I'm so thirsy, I could drink out of an elephant's trunk.

Ben- Why does it have to be my canines?

Eli- (said from the car the day we drove for twelve hours) When I look that way I can see 3 things: the mountains, my nose and the signs.

Ben- (probably said that same day) There's nothing to do but use my imagination.

Eli- Red hair.....now there's something you don't see everyday.

Logan- Mom, you don't want to see what I'm doing.......

Noche de Tacos

2010-11-18T15:15:00.000-08:00

Jon and I have realized over the years that we are really bad at a couple of things. Perhaps you can guess the first one when you look at how often I post things on this blog. Long distance communication is not something that comes naturally to us unfortunately. We are and have been working on that with varying degrees of success.

We are also not so good at cultivating community.

The weird thing is that we both like people, we like to talk, we like to hang out, we like to have people at our house. For some reason though it rarely happens on its own. There are some people who just show up or call and say "come pick me up, I want to come over." I won't mention any names....Stephanie "I'm comin to your house this weekend" Almonte! Personally, I love it when they do that. And if they left it up to me or Jon it might not happen since we are severely lacking in the let's do something today category.

Recognizing these flaws has made us try to be intentional about creating community here at camp. I live ten feet from Julio and Beth's door. I have hung out with Beth for a period of more than 10 minutes with her maybe once in the past month. That's no good. Realizing that part of the problem is just life and busyness, we decided to start "taco night". Everyone has to eat right? We all eat around the same time, right? So why not do it together once a week. Tonight was the first "taco night" we have had since before summer (due to camp busyness and our trip to the states). Here's a peek at what it looked like:

Imagine my kitchen with it's beautifully tiled floor and fully functional electrical abilities...ahhh imagination....now imagine three tables set up together, Logan is helping to put cheese into the bowls, Eli wants a yogurt cause "they're really good mom", Beth (who later will stand for 45 minutes by the refrigerator making up weird magnet phrases in spanish..un momento bien duro..with Stephanie, oh yeah, she and Fred came late and finished off all of the food) is cutting up a to-ma-toe, the elders Mr. Lawrence and my dad are in a deep conversation about something very serious and entertaining, oops....Logan just spilled a bunch of cheese onto the table. "Don't worry mom, I got it," said while swiping it all onto the floor. Sunny, the golden retriever, is trying to scratch down the back screen door because Grandma is here and needs to pet her immediately. Sit down everyone so we can pray.......Ben, put the book down and come here to eat. Mr. Dave comes back with a big bowl of ice for drinks which Grandma eats later for desert because Mrs. Barbara is not here and she usually brings that. It was decided that Jim, the new guy from Michigan, will be the desert bringer now. Hear that, Jim? Hey old timers....sit down so we can start. So they sit down together and show Ben the almost 11 year old how to be obnoxious (like 11 year old boys need help with that) by hitting the bottom of your cup with your fork. Logan, don't take a bite; we're going to pray.

Thank you Lord that even though we are not very good at this community thing it happens anyway. It's fun. It's good. It's important. Buen provecho!

Mr. Jim

2010-11-12T17:02:00.000-08:00

So about a year and a half ago Julio, Beth and I went up to Grace Adventures in Michigan for their staff training. We braved the cold wet June weather, ate at the Olive Garden (not available in PR), played with Chase and Mia at Mr. Don and Mrs. Sandy's house, and learned a lot about training a camp summer staff. It was a great time. While we were there, we met a lot of really fun people. One of those persons was Mr. Jim Gamble. Not to long ago Jon (the hubby) recieved an email about a guy who was interested in coming to Puerto Rico to work at camp. Lo and behold, it was Mr. Jim. So Monday Mr. Jim arrived to a soggy Campamento del Caribe to begin working as the program director. Finally today we had a nice sunny pretty mosquitoe filled day for him. Those of you who have been to Puerto Rico and campa before may want to write to him and give him any advise or must see/do things. I'm sure he would appreciate it!

Quotes from our trip 1

2010-11-10T01:47:00.000-08:00

Eli (after smelling a skunk)- They have skunks in America?!!

Invitan, invitan......

2010-11-10T01:44:00.000-08:00

I'm five now!

2010-09-30T16:22:00.000-07:00

More from Maddie....

2010-09-19T02:37:00.000-07:00

So while I was a dores in Puerto Rico for July, I kept a journal every day. I came home and it was eaten by my car. Luckily, I was able to find it in the abyss my car threw up. So while I was sitting for a 3 hour layover in GA (and waiting for my alabama girls to come say hello!) I wrote a list of things I learned. And since I've found my notebook, I'll share for funsies.

-Bugspray! Bugspray! Bugspray!

-OFF is false advertising.

-Carry anti-itch gel with you everywhere.

-You can still be late on Puerto Rican time.

-Everyone makes mistakes.

-Everyone has on a mask. Look behind it.

-Puerto Ricans are 98% of the time more fun than most Americans (excluding the cool gringos who spend their summers at Campa, duh)

-God is always talking. Are we listening?

-Be childlike in faith...and energy.

-Cold showers are glorious.

-Gnats (prounounced: guh-nats) and mosquitoes are sent from Hell.

-Fanny packs are entirely legit.

-Grace NEVER runs dry.

-Dishes and dancing go together.

-Never mock the "cool" guy's walk. Theresa will make you show him how he walks.

-The appropriate response to "Buen Provecho" is "Gracias" in a high-pitched screechy voice.

-Ingrid Michaelson is universally loved.

-Not all girls are stupid.

-Being yourself is more than enough.

-Not everyone acts out of selfish purposes.

-People love you.

-Skype is vital.

-Wear watershoes on mud night and run away from boys with agression.

-Never get seconds on rice and beans, there will be more the next meal.

-God is always there.

-When your roommates start a prank war with one of your FEW HEALTHY OGFs move to the other cabin laugh at them endlesslesly.

-Love. I learned about loving for others and how others genuinely love and have a passion for Christ, and love me.

-"I do not want my image of God, I want God." - C. S. Lewis

-NEVER EVER EVER volunteer to clean someone else's living space. Especically if it has been occupied by males.

-The opposite of love is fear, and we often tend to live through fear instead of love.

This was written by Maddie Poole from North Carolina. I liked it and thought you might too.

Sal y Luz

2010-09-18T03:10:00.000-07:00

There is a retreat this weekend in camp. Right now 36 kids (ages 9 to 12) are playing, having fun and learning more about how to be salt and light in their world. Please pray for them. Pray for Francis who is learning to be a camp director by doing. She is a college freshman with a heart very willing to serve and fill a need. Pray also for Desiree who is being used of God to teach the kids. Pray for Angel who is running the games for us. And pray for the counselors who are with the kids 24/7 this weekend.

Two adults, three kids and a car.....

2010-09-17T07:58:00.000-07:00

(Someone below is growing up WAY to fast!)

Well, we have started our journey across the US to visit some churches, friends and family on the west coast. We decided to take some days together as a fam and see some cool stuff on the way out. It's been great so far. Logan isn't quite understanding the traveling thing though. He wanted to go to a park today that we left behind in Minnesota. We have been doing a combo of staying with Grandma and Granpa in WI, on church floors in Mankato, MN, and in hotels. Always an adventure. We are currently in Keystone, SD.

(the monkey found a tree in Grandma's yard...)

(looking at "the three heads" as Logan calls Mount Rushmore)

2010-07-30T21:08:00.000-07:00

It's now 4:04 in the morning. I'm in the office waiting for the Dores (our summer helpers) to pick me up in our van so that we can go the airport. They are all going home today after three weeks of fun and work. Thank you girls for all of your hard work, your good attitudes and willingness to do whatever was needed. It was fun getting to know you all. If you happen to read this early, please pray for their trip home. (Tamara, or as I like to call her Tanisha!, got sick the day before they left.)

Logan says really cute things.

2010-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Even when he is really sick and doesn't feel good at all. He and Eli, who have both been waiting all year for their camp to start, are sick. They both succesfully attended the first day of camp, but Eli hasn't been back. Logan tried to go today, but went downhill quickly after shooting his arrow during the Bible story of Jonathan and David.

So after a day of lab test to rule out Dengue Fever and sitting in the doctor's office with a roomful of crazy kiddos and puking four times....ahh the memories....I gave him a quick bath to help bring down his fever and got him ready for bed. Then we had this conversation...

Me: how's your head honey?

Logan: It hurts bad. If you were me, you would know how it feels. Do you wish you were a beaver?

Me: A beaver?

Logan: Then you could live in a jam.

It has been a crazy last week of camp here. Things like this keep me sane!

A Dore's Perspective

2010-07-29T15:17:00.000-07:00

(I was waiting to post this until I found a picture of Laura. Then I realized that camp would already be over by the time I had time to get a picture. So here it is sans picture...)

Being a Dore at CDC is tough work sometimes. It takes Spiritual and physical strength. You have to do things that you might not want to do, but if you don't, who will? You have to keep the mindset that you're doing this for God. No matter how hard it is. Because sometimes God expects us to do hard things. It helps us grow and that's what we want. And this is the perfect environment for growing closer to God. You're constantly surrounded by God's people and they're constantly encouraging you and helping you when things get rough.

Along with the hard work and pain, there's also life-long relationships being built with your fellow Dores as you laugh and make memories. The singing and dancing makes it all worth the sweat. Even though some of us might be missing our own families, we know we have each other to rely on. We all understand that God brought us together to honor Him with everything we do here, and we thank Him each day for this opportunity. I know we don't have to worry about leaving this place with a feeling of regret, because God has truly blessed our work here and He will continue to do so.

A typical Dore day consists of loads of fun, but a lot of work and minor injuries that we can laugh at. After all, even roses come with thorns. While we work, we're able to watch the campers and listen to them laughing, and it helps to know that we're a part of all this. As a Dore, I can say my life will definitely be changed for the better after this experience and, God-willing, I will be back.

Laura Leddy=)

OFF vs. CUTTER - No Competition

2010-07-22T06:14:00.000-07:00

Close your eyes and take a deep breath. Imagine the roar of the ocean and the rustling of the palm trees. In your legs and arms you start to feel a tingle. Suddenly the sensation has taken over your entire body. Happiness? Excitement? Nerves? Worries? It's none of these things; it's mosquitoes. Everyday I wake up hot and sweaty. I climb down my ladder and get ready for the day. After ignoring the afro my hair has turned into I change clothes, walk outside and take a bath. A bath in bug spray that is. And if I ever forget to put it on, I'll be reminded within 5 minutes of being outside. And I don't use the wimpy bug spray from the states, I use the heavy duty hardcore Puerto Rican bug spray. My theory is if the people who live here use it, it must work. And NONE have been using Off, Cutter is where my loyalty lies.

Today is the last full day of the second week of camp. My mind can't wrap around the time that has flown by. This time next week, I'll be avoiding to prepare to pack up and go home. I've learned so much while I've been down here. I've made new friends, new memories, new sweat records. I've accomplished more than I imagined. Coming down here, I was hoping to improve my Spanish, have an awesome summer and an even more incredible tan. Of course, with some God thrown in there. I've learned one Spanish word, my vocabulary might be worse than before because annunciation isn't a big thing down here. My tan is pretty pathetic and you can play "connect-the-dots" with my bites. My summer has been incredible and God has been in every step I've taken. Being here, I've broken down my own barriers and opened up to unsuspecting people. My generalizations about people have been cast to the side and I now can look for the real person, not just the mask they wear. I've also been able to strip away the masks I've been holding up to God. My own masks I've been hiding behind, and the ones that I've hidden Him behind. As C. S. Lewis said, "I do not want my image of God, I want God." And I'm now on the road to finding Him for who He is, not who I make Him to be.

My favorite part of camp is seeing the counselors interact with the campers. All of the counselors have been doing a fantastic job. They get crazy, energetic, hyped up when they're about to fall over from exhaustion. They encourage, inspire, and help their campers. It's been a blessing to get to know the counselors better and to see what they've over come to get where they are and how they choose to spend their summer; teaching kids about our Father.

Being here, as cheesy as it may seem, has been a life-changing summer. I haven't taken a hot shower since I've gotten here, and I haven't wanted to once. I also haven't been able to have my phone. So when I get it back, I don't even know what I'll do with it. I put on anti-itch cream like lotion, and I cut all my shirts into tank tops. I sweat so much; and I don't have any clue what's going on in the world, but I can't imagine being anywhere else. There's no where else in the world I'd rather spend my last few weeks of summer. This is my fourth trip to Puerto Rico, my first camp experience, and I don't want to go home next week.

-Maddie (Madison, Madeline, Madds) Poole!

Mi papá es un oso.

2010-07-19T02:13:00.000-07:00

This is MacKenzie. This year I had the opportunity to spend the summer at Campamento del Caribe and after my first week of summer camp I am amazed at the many ways the Lord had shown his presence.

I came down to Puerto Rico to take pictures and videos of the camp and put together videos for the end of the week. I began by filming some footage of the counselors at 3 am while they were all peacefully sleeping. Theresa and Beth woke up each counselor to ask them each a random question, that became the introduction video for the campers to meet their counselors. I really began to feel like I was apart of something bigger after that. Then the first week of campers arrived and there was a crazy and unbelievable amount of energy around camp. The worship was incredible and I loved the enthusiasm the children sang and danced with. Also, the interaction of the counselors and campers was enjoyable to watch, as friendships were created and campers looked up to counselors as heroes. One night, the camper's activity was a mud relay and included a complete coating of mud on all the children participating. It was so fun to hear all the giggles and screams, as they all enjoyed each other and the mud.

The numerous ways God has been working in my heart and on this camp in the last week are amazing, and I am so thankful to be able to have this opportunity for the summer.

You have officially been trained.

2010-07-05T23:47:00.000-07:00

Well, counselor training is over. It was a great week full of good classes and fun. This year for the first time we did a series of classes on worldviews. It was really good, and we all learned a lot. Our speaker Nick Rosas, was thought provocative and interesting. We also had a great time during the Staff Hunt (seven of us went disguised to the mall and the counselors were sent to find us). Fun stuff!

The counselors have gone home for a week to wash clothes, finish last minute details and rest up. They come back on Saturday, and Sunday camp officially starts!

July 11-16 Junior Week (9-12 yrs old)

July 18-23 Senior Week (13-17 yrs old)

July 26-30 Chiqui Campa (5-8 yrs old)

Please be praying for this summer....safety, health, unity, campers hearts, Nick (the teacher) and all the other many things that go on at camp.

Downloading....

2010-06-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Counselor training began on Monday. We have around 25 young adults and teenagers here learning how to be a counselor. Here at campa that means learning things like...

what to do with 15 kids who don't know each other the first night in your cabin
what kind of world view may your campers believe
what does it mean to be a servant to your campers
why making a fool of yourself can break the ice
what to do if one camper is dominating the cabin devotions
why do we need to treat and eight year old differently than a 12 year old
how to keep each other accountable in a loving way

....plus much much more. We have had three days of class after class after class. Brains are working hard. Stretching, growing, thinking, synapses are firing, neurons are doing whatever it is that they do....

Up tomorrow: Fourteen hours of camp crammed into two!

Must be a camp shopping list

2010-06-23T17:15:00.000-07:00

7 Dodge Balls

4 Basketballs

4 Soccer Balls

cough drops

Face paint

4 jars of pickles

12 packages of black bean seeds

4 bottles of sunscreen

4 baby bottles

rubber bands

Monster horseshoe set

hot sauce

Jumbo bottle of Peptobismol

construction paper

magnets

band aids

compasses

bag of potting soil

1400 water balloons

4 packs of lifesavers

4 bags of salsa

60 tennis balls

and much more....

Unichallenge 2010

2010-06-18T17:28:00.000-07:00

Coming and going.....

2010-06-17T08:30:00.000-07:00

It's summer now so that means people, people people everywhere. This week we said goodbye to Madelyn my niece. She stayed with Grandma and Grandpa for about six weeks this summer. There was much fun to be had by all. Overnighters, snorkeling, nighttime trampoline jumps, and campfires are just a small part of the fun.

So we said goodbye to Madelyn and hello to Kaylah....

Kaylah is another one of our nieces, and she will be here all summer as the leader of the Dores. The Dores are the people who make camp run during the summer. They do a lot of different things including run the kiosko, wash dishes, set up for games and run the water slide. Here's Kaylah now to tell you a little bit about herself and let you know of her prayer requests for this summer.

Hey Everyone! I'm Kaylah and I just finished my sophomore year at Multomah Bible College. This is my fifth time in Puerto Rico and I am so excited to be apart of this awesome ministry for another summer. Please pray that I will have the energy and strength to keep up with the 12 Puerto Rican and American helpers that will be here. Also, please pray that I will have wisdom to meet the emotional and physical needs of the workers. Thank you so much for your support and prayers!

Throughout the summer, you will be hearing/reading from some of the summer helpers about life at camp. So keep coming back and checking us out. Let us know if you have any questions or comments for us, we'll be glad to answer them.

I'm sick of Old Navy!

2010-06-09T14:26:00.000-07:00

I enjoy shopping. And often I enjoy shopping at Old Navy...cute, cheap clothing...good sales. However, I have had my fill. Thanks to our finance director, Jannise, we were able to set up a promotion table in Old Navy for a week. So, with the help of some of our counselors, we spent a LOT of hours hanging out in the store. Today we passed out our last flyer and gladly exited the premises. I don't think I'll be shopping there any time soon. Although there was a really cute shirt that I saw.......

He now has God in his heart!!

2010-06-04T21:53:00.000-07:00

Monday night while I was snuggling with Logan before he went to sleep, he asked me how he could have God in his heart. For the last month or so, he has been saying things like, "Mommy, I want to see God." and "But, mommy, I want to be with God."

So after a very interesting conversation, Logan asked God to forgive him and to come be in his heart.

Transformation of a room

2010-06-04T21:40:00.000-07:00

For the last week, I have seen my husband in five minute bursts. I would wake up to an empty bed, see him for a few minutes at breakfast or lunch, then a few more minutes so that he could say goodnight to the kids, then I would go to sleep in an empty bed. (Oh wait, I did see him Thursday morning for two hours straight in the staff meeting!) What has he been up to? Slowly transforming this....

into this....

and ultimately this....

Those of you who have been to Puerto Rico and used the lounge for worship or late night games of signs know that putting 33 beds in this room is a squeeze. But with 200+ people coming on Monday, we are using every nook and cranny we can find.

Please be praying for camp this week.

(Oh...Jon finally finished today! And this evening we sat down together all five of us for a dinner that lasted a lot longer than five minutes!)

Trampolines and crabs...

2010-05-31T04:02:00.000-07:00

The Three Kings (celebrated January 6th here in Puerto Rico) brought my kids a trampoline this year. Since then if you can't find them, most likely they are in the trampoline playing. It has been used as a house, reading nook, jedi training arena and many many other things. Here they are with their cousin Madelyn who is visiting for a while.

It's been pouring outside for the last few days. That just makes the trampoline more fun and slippery though.

When the rain comes, crabs come out too. Last night there were people with flashlights all along the road and the property in front of camp. Sunny, our big goofy puppy, even chased a little old man back to his car. So Jon, Julio and Fred (friends of ours) decided at midnight to go out crab catching. They came back 45 minutes later with a bucketful of about ten big land crabs. These crabs live in deep holes in the ground; and when their homes flood, they come crawling out.

Logan woke me up this morning in the same crab catching mood as his daddy was the night before. So first thing we went out and sure enough within five minutes had caught ourselves a little critter.

We're going to be crowded!

2010-05-29T02:02:00.000-07:00

Camp normally has 160 beds available for people to sleep in. This year World Changers (a group that comes every year for three weeks in the summer) will be bringing 230 people. This has caused us to do some very creative cramming....

add on a shower room here...

put 14 extra beds here (triple decker bunks)...

We even had to construct about twenty new beds from wood to use in the lounge and chapel which are both going to be makeshift dorms. Mealtime will be interesting as well in our dining hall that seats 150.

World Changer Staff arrives the 1st of June with the rest of the group coming in the 6th. Please pray that all the changes can be made by then and that we can really serve this large group in a way that is pleasing to God. Our prayer is that they go away from CdC having felt His presence and love during there stay with us.

Logan learned to snorkel recently

2010-05-26T02:38:00.000-07:00

Now he does it whenever and wherever he can.

Just a peek..

2010-05-26T02:23:00.000-07:00

Here's a quick peek at the last few days in our home/life

Thursday

staff meeting in the morning, staff played the unichallenge games to make sure they were ready, ballet and baseball at night

Friday

graduation in the morning for campers, ballet at night, plus last minute shopping for the unchallenge

Saturday

Unichallenge all day, ballet rehearsal and show at the mall, baseball game (the last one YAY!!!)

Sunday

out of the house at 6:45 to get to church in San Juan, three services promoting camp, baby shower for friends

Monday

Jon to the airport for a trip to Michigan (board meeting)

Tuesday

another graduation for some of our counselors, ballet

Wednesday

pick Jon up from airport, swim lessons for kiddos

¡Gracias!

2010-05-22T13:37:00.000-07:00

Well, they just announced the winner of the fourth annual Unichallenge. Mambo Cayllo (a small group from the San Juan area) won for the second year in a row. Glennview, the group that has been wanting to win for 3 years, came in second again. They lost by 1 point.

Thank you for all of your prayers and thoughts. We got through the day with minor scrapes and bumps on the head. The biggest injury happened when everything was all over and a girl trip while celebrating their victory. She ended up being fine though, just a nice shiner! I'll put pictures up as soon as I can, so that you can see the fun.

Pray, pray , pray

2010-05-21T14:31:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow is the Unichallenge, ane there will be around 100 people here to play crazy, high-energy games. We always have a paramedic on hand. Today our paramedic called and told us that he wouldn't be able to make it because he had something unexpected come up. Although Jon has some medical experience and there will be a couple of nursing students participating, we will be without a person who has been trained in emergencies and without the equipment that our paramedic friend usually brings. Please pray that things go smoothly and that no one gets seriously injured.

IT'S COMING!!!!

2010-05-20T15:20:00.000-07:00

The Unichallenge numero 4 is only two days away!

For those of you who don't know what in the world I'm talking about......Four years ago we decided we wanted to do something to bring churches together. Here in P, churches don't mingle much. There is not a sense of unity and camaraderie. We think there should be. We are all basically looking to do the same things...bring people to Jesus, help people to grow in their relationship with God, reach out to our communities. So why can't we help each other do those things and be supportive of one another. So with the help of some crazy college counselors, we settled on a day of extreme competition followed by worshiping together. The Unichallenge was born.

It's a day of sweat, mud, dirt, sore muscles. A lot of fun. So far we have six different teams of 12 people each signed up. This year a church named Glennview is looking to win. They have been sure of victory for the past two years only to be crushed in defeat. Apparently they are taking no chances this year and have been training for the past few months. We'll let you know how their story ends!!

Getting started...

2010-05-19T16:09:00.000-07:00

I have a best friend. Her name is Heidi. We talk on average three times a year. It's OK because she understands that while I am horrible at daily, weekly even monthly communication, I love her and think of her all the time. She also know this about me and appreciates not having to feel guilty for being that type of person herself. While this works well for us, it doesn't work so well for the Marshalls who are missionaries and need to keep people, friends and family aware and involved in the happenings of life here at camp. SOOOO.....we are getting started. A habit needs to be formed.