Hair!

I was finally brave enough to give Elizabeth a haircut:

Just kidding!

But, seriously! Here’s how her hair looked after the much-needed trim:

This was only her third trim ever!

We all like how much healthier her hair now looks – highlighting her natural waves.

And while we’re on the topic of hair... Check out this hairdo:

When Elizabeth saw how I’d pinned up my hair that morning, she said: “With your hair like that, you look like the soccer player – like the one with a 10 on his shirt!”

That’s the closest I’ll ever come to being anything like Forlán! (Hee! Hee!)

Remembering today...

Marcos played his first soccer game for the Cavaliers – the same team Jona played for in seventh and eighth grade...

Today DJM crawled around on the grass for the first time – and even ventured out onto the field! But his Mommy cut short his fun when he started stuffing fists-full of grass into his mouth...

Today at Tío Esteban and Tía Esther and Marcos’ house, Elizabeth and DJM ate ñoquis for the first time... (Yum!)

Today marks five months since Jona’s Home-Going...

Night approaches...

We remember... We sorrow...

We have A Sure Hope!

Jesus said:

“I am the resurrection and the life;

he who believes in Me will live even if he dies,

and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.

Do you believe this?”

(John 11)

Sweetness!

My Sweet Little People!
(What more need I say?!)

¡Feliz Cumple, Flor!

Espero que hayas pasado re-lindo hoy...

¡Te queremos pilones!

More Multiple Milestones

Here’s an attempt at a catch-up post...

We celebrated multiple milestones in January with Elizabeth turning five and DJM three months old. In July we were once again celebrating multiples with Elizabeth’s “Half Birthday” and DJM’s nine-month milestone.

We went to a favorite tearoom in Montevideo (filled with childhood and teen memories for me) to celebrate with Elizabeth.

She’s our Little Artist, constantly surprising us with her creations. Here’s a sample:

Notice that she copied the penguin on her shirt

(from the previous picture).

She made great progress with her reading lessons, although other demands tended to crowd out the regularity of lessons. And she’s now enrolled (part-time) in a local pre-school – which she loves! We’ll also be “road-schooling” as well. (In theory, that will look like “home-schooling” – but we’ll see...)

Very happy about her first day of K-5!

She loved our time in Uruguay and was conversing fluently in Spanish by the time we left.

Being out at “The Ranch” in Totoral was a real highlight!

This is DJM’s “official” nine-month picture.

He was already becoming quite a handful!

Look at those long toes!

DJM weighs nearly 21 lbs – compared to Elizabeth’s 41 lbs! He measures 30.5 inches “tall” – compared to Elizabeth’s height of 45 inches – keeping him at 98% or 99% on the growth chart. He’s wearing mostly 12M pants right now.

He’s still very much my “Milk Baby” – but he’s (finally!) sleeping through the night, allowing me to get some nice six, seven, or even eight or nine-hour stretches as well! I now have a new lease on life!

He has eight teeth now! And he loves standing!

He eats very well and seems excited about new flavors. New items on his menu are too numerous to recount, but some of the more exciting (or unusual?) include plain white yogurt, hummus, peaches, and strawberries.

He wasn’t too sure about plain white yogurt at first.

His Daddy pretended to share mate with him.

(But that’s just the angle of the camera...)

He loves to ride on his Daddy’s shoulders!

He went from “commando crawling” in Uruguay (and something that looked more like lunging than anything else!) to tentative crawling to racing around on all fours.

“Catch me if you can!”

He’s now unashamedly trying to get into everything!

Trying to get him to stay still for a posed picture is becoming more and more of a challenge, too! Here’s how the ten-month photo shoot went:

We’re so thankful for our little people!

Psalm 67

On our ministry blog, Good News from a Distant Land, John Mark shares thoughts from Psalm 67, thoughts regarding the nations – appropriate for the evening of 9/11.

If we would allow this psalm to renew our minds, our interest in these places would go beyond our own national security, beyond our questions about the economy and price of gas, and beyond even a love for democracy and freedom. The writer of Psalm 67 prays for the nations to be rightly related to God...

Read the entire post.

Psalm 2: A Summary of World History

Why are the nations in an uproar

And the peoples devising a vain thing?

The kings of the earth take their stand

And the rulers take counsel together

Against the LORD and against His Anointed [Messiah], saying:

“Let us tear their fetters apart

And cast away their cords from us!”

He who sits [enthroned] in the heavens laughs,

The Lord scoffs at them.

Then He will speak to them in His anger

And terrify them in His fury, saying:

“But as for Me, I have installed [poured out] My King

Upon Zion, My holy mountain.”

[Think of His Work on Calvary!]

[The Anointed One speaks:]

“I will surely tell of the decree of the LORD:

He said to Me, ‘You are My Son,

Today I have begotten You [referring to His resurrection!]

[See Acts 13!]

‘Ask of Me, and I will surely give the nations as Your inheritance,

And the very ends of the earth as Your possession.

‘You shall break them with a rod of iron,

You shall shatter them like earthenware.’”

[The Holy Spirit speaks:]

Now therefore, O kings, show discernment;

Take warning, O judges of the earth.

Worship the LORD with reverence

And rejoice with trembling.

Do homage to the Son, that He not become angry, and you perish in the way,

For His wrath may soon be kindled.

How blessed are all who take refuge in Him!

This same King said:

“All authority has been given to Me in heaven and on earth. Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.”

(Matthew 28)

(We’re thankful for our senior pastor, his careful exposition of God’s Word, and his burden for “taking the Word to the world” – beginning right here wherever we each live and work.)

A Compelling 9/11 Testimony!

Peter Scheibner, a senior cinema student at BJU, portrays on video the compelling testimony of his own father, Steve Scheibner, an American Airlines pilot whose life was spared when a more senior pilot bumped him from Flight 11 scheduled to go from Boston to Los Angeles on the morning of September 11, 2001.

In My Seat also draws a parallel to the Ultimate Substitute, who willingly gave His life for our eternal welfare. Praise be to God for His unspeakable gift!

Trying to catch up...

We're back in the good ol' USA, trying to get settled, recover from jetlag, and adjust to the late summer heat! (Etcetera!)

You can read our summer (Uruguayan winter!) ministry report on our ministry blog.

We miss our beloved Uruguay very much, but we remain encouraged in this stage of ministry God is giving us among North American churches as well. Do pray for us!

After almost a month of internet issues and sporadic connections (in both hemispheres!), I'm hoping to do some catch-up posts...

Thank-you for reading – and, most of all, for continuing to pray for our extended family!

Pray for us!

For those who pray for us from time to time, please pray that we will be in Uruguay in 2012.

As JM wrote in April of last year:

We don’t know everything that must take place between now and then in order for this to happen. We do know that everything that will take place between now and then has been designed by God to conform us into the image of Jesus, the end to which we have been pre-destined by grace alone. (Romans 8:28-29)

Our responsibility and the task at hand: To love and serve God and neighbor in His strength among His Church.

Soon enough He will say: “Set them apart for the work to which I have called them.” (Acts 13:1-3)

Until then we say: “If the Lord wills, we will live and begin service in Uruguay in 2012.” (James 4:13-15)