Still in Philly

In a manner of speaking, we are still in Philly. With only three weeks left of our HMA we are doing our best to get around to our supporting churches. This past weekend we were in North Carolina and the weekend before we were in Ocean City, NJ. We’ll be visiting a church in Lancaster this coming Sunday and then we’re looking forward to speaking at our home church in Philadelphia the following weekend. During the week we’ve been able to visit with many of our friends to catch up on what has been happening in their lives the past two years and to relate our experiences as well. We’re thankful for each opportunity to share what God has been doing in Chile.

Since December we’ve been staying with a friend in Philadelphia whose husband had been with Dave on the first short term trip he took to Chile 10 years ago this month. Looking at some of the photos from that trip brought back many memories. God truly does work in mysterious ways to accomplish his purposes. Stanley is now one of the cloud of witnesses cheering us on from his heavenly mansion. And we have loved being here on Fairhill Street with his wife and daughter who have made us feel like we still have a home in Philly.

Philadelphia

Exit 2011

This New Year’s Eve found us in Lancaster celebrating with Dave’s brothers and sisters. In between games of darts, round robin ping-pong and tons of food, we managed to have some good conversations. Noisemakers helped bring in the New Year with lots of laughter. A few fireworks in the neighborhood reminded us of how far away we were last New Year’s Eve when we were in Valparaiso, Chile watching  the biggest fireworks display we had ever seen. No matter where we are geographically, and whether with family or friends,  the beginning of a new year is something to celebrate.  Thank God for a new year!

Welcome 2012

Home for Christmas

Dad told my Mom that he planned to  make Christmas dinner until he was 80. And he did it! Dad turned 80 in early December and on Christmas Day he was in the kitchen preparing the beef for our family gathering on the 27th. Of course, he and Mom had already made their special candy, cookies and pies. I helped Mom make an old-fashioned black walnut cake with brown sugar frosting….no one ever goes away hungry from “Grandma’s” house.  It was a full house this year. My brother, who lives in the same town, was there.  My sister and her husband had all 3 of their adult children there from Colorado and South Carolina. We were back from Chile, and all our kids, except Sarah and her family, were there as well.  Dad loves to have all his kids and grandkids come home for Christmas (or anytime for that matter!). We have created lots of memories of family times in Hanover, and I cherish each one.

The Friday before Christmas we were able to gather with Dave’s side of the family in Lancaster.  Dave’s Mom had come  from Wyoming with his sister and her husband, so this was a special reunion. The two brothers and two sisters who live in Lancaster were there, too, along with a generous number of nieces and nephews. One of Dave’s nieces and her husband offered their home for the occasion and did a great job of hosting. They enjoy playing games and  roped the majority of  us into playing “picture down the lane”.  It was hilarious! Laughter really is good medicine. I needed a good dose to make up for the tears I invariably shed at each farewell.

Dad and Mom are at home in their kitchen

A full house

Grandma IS getting shorter!

Game night in Lancaster

Our drawings produced many chuckles

Dave and his Mom

Enjoying the Christmas Season

It’s great fun to be back in Philadelphia to enjoy many of the Christmas traditions we established while living here more than 25 years. One of our first expeditions was to go with our youngest daughter to cut down a Christmas tree. That’s always an adventure no matter where we go. This year we tried a new (for us) tree farm; although the selection was sparce, we found a nice little one for Sharon’s apartment.

Later that day we were able to meet our grandson, Sammy (and his parents!), in the Macy’s store in center city for the famous light show. Formerly, Wanamaker’s, this light show has been a tradition for many families since 1956. Sammy loved the lights and music, but he was especially fascinated by the huge brass eagle in the center of the store.  Macy’s also houses the Christmas Village based on Charles’ Dickens Christmas Carol. Dave, Sharon, Ben and I had a chance to visit that display earlier in the week. We were the last ones passing through for the evening and had the place to ourselves, so we were able to get a few photos.

We’ve also  done the requisite Christmas baking. I use an old recipe from a Mennonite cookbook to make sand tarts. The goal is to roll them out paper thin, but I’ve never quite achieved that. Even Dave got roped in to helping decorate them this year. Ben had his chance to help with cookie decorating when we visited Dave’s sister.

I love Christmas music, so when we have an opportunity to hear live performances, I’m ready to go. This year we had friends participating in an outdoor brass ensemble, so we headed for the address in Willow Grove and joined the group gathered for this unique concert. Also, thanks to a birthday gift earlier in the month, I was able to attend the Christmas concert put on by Peter Nero and the Philly Pops which included a performance of the Philadelphia Boys’ Choir. What a treat!

Of course, visiting family and friends is, for us, the best part of being here in the States this Christmas. We will spend as much time as possible reconnecting with those who have supported and encouraged us these past two years while we have been in Chile. It has been a busy, but happy season!

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More To Celebrate

The first weekend we were back on the East Coast, we headed to my hometown to celebrate my Dad’s 80th birthday. My birthday is just 3 days (and a few years) after his, so it was great to be home to celebrate together again this year. My sister had baked a cake for each of us, so there was no want of calories for the weekend. I’m so thankful God has blessed Dad with a long life and good health.

Mom decided since we (and my niece and nephews, as well) would be home for Christmas this year, she would put up a tree. She wanted Ben to have some sense of tradition. Since she had plenty of help to bring down the decorations from the attic, we went to work. It was fun to see ornaments I remember from 50 some years ago and others my kids have given her through the years. I’m glad Mom still has a zest for life and a desire to keep the old  traditions going.

Family Times in Illinois

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We took the long way back to Philly from Costa Rica, stopping in Bloomington, Illinois to visit our oldest daughter and her family. She and her husband had moved there not long after we left for Chile, so we were anxious to see where they lived. Thankfully, they have a spacious house and the gift of hospitality. We arrived just 2 days after Josie’s third birthday, so we started celebrating from the day we arrived in the States and haven’t stopped yet! We were able to see Harry’s kindergarten and Josie’s pre-school. Dave accompanied Harry as he rode his two wheel bicycle at “dangerously fast speeds”, while I followed Josie around the block on her tricycle.We visited the local zoo and just had a good time getting to know our grandchildren. (Josie was born while we were in language school, so we’ve had very little time with her.)

Sarah and Nate had also graciously extended an invitation to our other daughters to join us for Thanksgiving. So Michelle, with her 2 year old Sammy, and 2 month old Miriam, accompanied by our youngest daughter, Sharon, flew in from the East coast to liven things up some more!  We had a whole week of enjoying all four of our grandchildren under one roof! It was a noisy Thanksgiving, but we were all full of thanks to be together. We were even more thankful that Michelle’s husband was able to join us for the weekend. He missed Thanksgiving and the Peoria parade, but made it in time for ”Christmas” which we celebrated that Sunday.

Obviously, we packed a lot into a short time, but we loved it! (Well, maybe not the 6:15 wake-up call from some early bird grandkids!) We never know when we’ll all be together again, so we appreciate every opportunity we have.  

Note: apart from a few common colds, no one got really sick this year:)

Trout fishing

This story deserves it’s own post, although it took place during our trip to Costa Rica. Our friends (and former fellow-students), Jacob and Courtney Folk, live on a volcano outside of San Jose. Another friend from our “school days”, Brendon Blowers, drove us to their home for a weekend visit. Just below their home is a small restaurant with a “pond” outback. Visitors catch their own trout with a simple line (no pole), the man who owns the restaurant cleans them, and his wife fries them. You can imagine the fun we had even in the rain! It was a good thing some of the guys caught 2 trout, because I would have gone hungry otherwise. Dave and I both agree it was the best meal we ever ate in Costa Rica. Since we were all a bit damp and chilly, Dave got a fire going in the  big outdoor fireplace so we could roast marshmallows. This was a dining experience to beat all!

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Return to Costa Rica

What a difference it made returning to the Spanish Language Institute as a guest, rather than a student! Not that we were treated differently, but we were much more relaxed and able to enjoy our time there. Instead of studying on the terrace as was our custom between classes when we were students three years ago, we simply appreciated the view.

It was an honor for Dave to be one of the speakers at the Spiritual Emphasis Week the institute holds for its students each trimester.  He had been invited by Stu and Ruthanne Batstone of World Harvest Mission to join them in bringing messages of repentance and faith to the student body. The majority of the students are prospective missionaries, but even missionaries need to learn to repent and turn again in faith to a loving Father who waits to welcome them back. In addition to the chapel times, we were able to interact with students as they invited us to join them for meals. We’re thankful for each conversation.

We were happy to find many of our teachers still at the institute and enjoyed catching up with them. There were also several fellow students who stayed on as missionaries in Costa Rica whom we visited. What a rich time we had recalling memories from our student days and being encouraged as we see God blessing their current ministries.

We were especially thankful that Ben was able to reconnect with some special friends he had made when we lived in Costa Rica. He even had an opportunity to attend the English speaking Saturday night youth group at AMCA house.

Last, but not least, we enjoyed a few days at the beach, thanks to a car loan from a friend. One might get tired of the daily rain, the humidity, and the darkness settling in at 6:00 p.m. year round, but one would never get tired of the beaches or the lush colors of the tropical rainforests.It was great to be a visitor back in Costa Rica!

It started raining soon after we arrived….

but the rain makes the country green!

Enjoying the view from the terrace

A few of the faithful

One of my former teachers

So glad to see the Janzens again

Visiting the Folk family in the mountains

Ben and his friend, Austin

We enjoyed our day at the beach!

Progress and Purpose

As we wrap up almost two years in Chile and head back to the States for a short while, we want to pause and remember how faithful God has been to us during this time, particularly with our language learning. We often feel discouraged about our (in)ability to speak and understand Spanish, but when we look back we have to admit we’ve made a lot of progress. And when we take into account that Dave’s first sermon in Spanish was Good Friday of this year (with him reading it), and that since then he’s been able to teach a weekly Gospel Transformation class to a small group of pastors and elders, plus a Sunday School class, as well as a whole weekend at a youth conference, we have to give thanks to God. Dave thoroughly enjoys teaching in small group settings and is passionate about the power of God to transform lives. The positive response encourages us to press on in our struggle with the language and gives us reason to return after our visit to the States.

Sunday School class

Ben’s School Play

The last month of October is theater week at Ben’s school. It’s a major event with every class from pre-school through 12th grade presenting a play one of four evenings during the week. The 11th and 12th grade classes get to present their plays in Quillota’s theater on the final night, while the other classes perform on stage at the school. Every year one or two of the classes do an English play. This year 6th grade did The Wizard of Oz and the sophomore class did something about the Beatles. The accents were strongly Chilean, but we were impressed with what they were able to do, especially at the 6th grade level.

Ben was pretty comfortable with his role. He played the part of an American tourist here in Chile! He said his lines in Spanish, though, and did a great job! The play counted as part of his Spanish language grade, so it was a fun and relatively easy way for him to get a good grade. It was also nice to be included in an impromptu party with some of his classmates afterwards at a restaurant nearby. It’s always fun to celebrate with friends after a job well done!

Ben is tall, but his friend is the tallest guy in the school