Believe it or not :-)

OK.... I know I'm going to have to have photographic proof for you all to believe me, but I will get to that at a later date.

So we have the students coming down this week, and Matt is driving them. Which means it is the perfect opportunity for Ryan to hitch a ride back up to Oregon to buy us a car. See, we sold all but one of our cars before we left (well, we sold some of them, and left the rest for Mason to deal with :-D-- thanks man!), but anyhow- we have been looking online for and economical car- like a Corolla- for us to drive back to Oregon in. The Lord sure blessed us when He called us to serve in another country- and then it happened to be the one that is only a day's drive away!!
Just a couple of days ago, Ryan found the car on Craig's List that we felt like we should buy. It was a very good deal, and the listing had been updated, and the price lowered because the owner had been hit by a truck in the car, and it now had a dent in the hood. No big deal, right?! It will be residing in Mexico! It will fit right in with a little dent on the hood. So we offered him a little lower than that, and he said he would take it. So as of yesterday around 3:00 in the afternoon, we had a deal with the guy (who is in Eugene btw) to buy a car that bluebooks for twice what he was going to sell it to us for, and my dad was going to be kind enough to drive to Eugene- last night at like 5:00- to give him the money, and drive the car back to Roseburg. Ugh.... try buying a car from a thousand miles away sometime!! DO NOT reccommend it!!
SO...... my dad gets to Eugene, test drives the car, and calls me to tell me that he thinks it is a good deal, and that he will go ahead and buy it. He drives the car back to just around the corner from where the owner was, just to call me again and ask me another question, and....... WHAMM.... a guy backs his van right into the car.
What? You say..... YOU HEARD ME!!! He got hit.... in a car he had yet to pay for!!
And I was on the phone with him when it happened! (might I add here, that he was NOT driving and talking on the phone!!! He had pulled over....)
So, to sum this up-- We bought the car anyways. It had been hit right in the same spot as the original dent, and is not in super bad condition. Ryan says he can fix it-- although he hasn't actually seen it yet :-D
To make things even more complicated, the owner of the car did not have insurence, and the guy who was driving the van did not have insurence, and my dad's insurence is probably not going to cover it because it was not his car......... But there is a slight possibility that our insurence might cover it.....
Anyhow. We now own a dented car. That gets almost 40 miles to the gallon, and has fewer miles than any car we have ever owned :) Dent or no dent- it is a blessing. And we will see what happens with the damage next week when Ryan gets to Oregon to survey the situation.
God works in mysterious ways! His ways are SO far above my own! I don't even begin to assume that I really know Him. Isn't that a hard one to imagine?! He has left us with a manual written by His hand, and a world created by His voice, so that we can get just the slightest idea of just how majestic He really is- and we don't know the half of it!! What an amazing experience heaven will be!

As for the goings-on here at the base: We are getting some things painted. This week I painted Asa's bedroom. He was too scared to sleep in his room alone, so we moved him into Taiah's room-- but she is an 8 year old girl, and we are hoping to change his mind about his room by letting him pick the colors for it. We will see how that worked tonight :) - He chose lime green, and two shades of blue by the way ;) photos up.

Memorie has been painting some in her house too- but I will let her tell you about her schemes over at www.Frosland-familia.blogspot.com (now you have to update Mem ;-P )

I believe that Ryan and Corinne and Kayla are working on the Casa de Juan today-- getting it primed and painted for the female students who will be staying there. We have some more rearranging to do too..... i promise i will get photos when it is all situated!

One more thing before I close-- Happy Birthday this past Wednesday to my baby girl!! She is now eight years old, and will be starting THIRD GRADE in a few weeks!! I love you Taiah Shalom!!
________________________________________________________________
So when I get up in the morning, I read a section from wherever I am studying (Ecclesiasties right now), then I read the Proverb of the Date. A concept that I thought was common-- but may actually not be :) ..... see, there are 31 Proverbs. Perfect!!! One for every day of the month, and sometimes a couple extra ;)
So this morning I read chapter 30. Wow. I am always amazed by this chapter! It is SO amazingly deep! Agur writes the chapter. He is discribed as "Agur the Wise, son of Jakeh". And, Boy was he! He gives us a list of which things in life, and which behaviors in life, are important to him. He speaks about lying, and decieving. He speaks about obedience to parents, and about a generation that curses it's father, and is pure in it's own eyes, and has lofty eyes, and who devour the poor and needy. (Sound like a familiar generation to you??)
He starts the chapter off by procaliming that he is "more stupid than any man" and that he does not "have knowledge of the Holy One.". That verse stood out to me! Who am I to think that I have acheived anything, or have obtained any wisdom, or knowledge of God? He is FAR above me! And I would not even begin to profess to "have Him figured out". There is SO much more to God that we will only know when we are standing with Him in our proper home, in our proper body.
He goes on to say "Every word of God is pure, He is a sheild to those who put their trust in Him." ..... Thank you God, for being MY shield! He is my fortress- I will never be shaken!!
And in the following verses, he asks God to give him neither poverty nor riches- because he doesn't want to be full and deny God, or to be left poor and steal, or profane His name. But he asks for God to "feed me with the food allotted to me". AMEN! God please bless me in exactly the ways which you have prepared for me!! Let me not ask for more- or refuse what you try to give me!!
He finishes off the chapter by saying "If you have been foolish in exalting yourself, or if you have devised evil, put your hand on your mouth."
I am positive that God granted my mother with this wisdom decades ago! :)
Come on--- all you mom's have said it!
If you don't have anything loving to say- DON'T SAY ANYTHING AT ALL!!!
Right?

Until Monday~
><> Shae

Uh OH!!! It's TUESDAY!!!
Told you not to hold your breath ;)

The Frosland's got here Saturday afternoon! YAY!!! I have never seen 4 kids so happy to see eachother.ever.they.were.stoked.
Sunday We all went in to church at Horizonte, then went out to La Bufadora. (Nate thought he needed churros;)

Yesterday we tried to help Mem get her livingroom bailed out and the furniture put in a somewhat welcoming formation :-) , then Lance and Maricela (and Gustapo) came over yesterday to welcome Nate and Memorie. We also took the tour of the orchards and checked the compost and the grapes- which- btw, are delicious! (the grapes..... not the compost....)

I guess I totally forgot that it was monday yesterday, because I spent most of the day just visiting with Mem, and letting the kids tear up their rooms.

We have had a heat wave the past two weeks! It had been nice and cool for a month, and then- bam!- it was 103!!! We don't have a pool for the kids... so I drug out the inflatable raft, and filled it with water... VIOLA! A kiddie pool :-D

The most exciting news of the week though.... : Ryan and Nate are in town right now, helping Noe and Blanca move some things into their new house (which they have been waiting for for two years!!).... and they are coming back with....... drum roll please...... A STOVE!!!! YAY!!!
Two of them actually... one for me, and one for Mem :-D
I have been cooking in an electric skillet for 6 weeks! So I am very excited for the luxury of a stove and an oven! (Thank You to a donation made to the church for us to buy the stove!!).

Taiah's birthday is tomorrow. My baby girl is eight years old. I distinctly remember telling her on her first birthday that she was not allowed to grow anymore. She deliberately disobeyed me.

She is completely healthy, and was back to her old self in 10 days! Thank you for the prayers!!!.........
She is beautiful, and loving, and helpful.... she is wise and intelligent beyond her years.... she loves her brother, and all little kids. She loves to craft, and read, and learn. She hates to write, and she hates peas. She loves animals, and thinks that this place should be a farm-- there is way too much property to not have at least one cow, horse, duck, goose, and multiple chickens and pigs.... along with the obvious: a DOG and a cat! She could tell you an hour long story about any event that has ever happened to her. She is our talker. :)
I love you Taiah Shalom, and I hope your day is awesome-- even if your friends are "a million miles away". :-)

We are preparing to receive students in a week and a half or so. It will be so strange to all of the sudden have so many people running around! We had several quiet weeks with just the girls, until Saturday..... now the base is bustling with the yells and laughs of little people. Add to that 5 young adults, and we have ourselves a little community :) ... which-- if you know me-- is right up my alley!!! I have been having social interaction withdrawals!
I got to listen in on the RCF Staff meeting this morning.... well kind of.... there was mostly just static (we'll have to work on the microphone situation), but it felt good to just be there ;) I got to hear Kelly laugh, and Phil joke, and i got to tell everyone a little about what we've been up to.

I will be starting school soon too-- as soon as i make a trip to the States to pick up the mail. My curriculum is partially purchased... we'll work on the rest later :) I have been getting some pressure to send the kids to school here in San Antonio! Yikes! Although I would LOVE for my kids to be fluent in Spanish.... I can't do that. I don't put my kids in school in the States! So pray that I would be able to find a group of homeschooling moms who support my decision to be my children's' teacher. Some of you know how It goes :)

Pray with us for the preparations for starting school. Pray that we would ALL be walking in God's will. Pray next week for Poncho-- who will likely be hanging from a rope down our well!
Pray with us that all of our hearts would be soft and sensitive to each other while we minister together.
(new photos!)


http://picasaweb.google.com/117744570327177560832/GoingsOn?feat=directlink

First- headline news: Welcome to the world Eli William! Born August 10th, weighing in at just over 6lbs! This tiny little guy makes 5 Nephews for us (plus we have 4 Nieces :) We can't wait to squeeze you little man!
Congratulations to Ryan's sister Shawnee (and Max :).

As promised~ It's Monday, and I'm on the ball ;) (don't get too used to it- it's very unnatural for me).

This past Monday, Taiah came down with something. I assumed it was some sort of virus. She had a very high fever for two days, then, although her fever broke, she continued to be very sleepy monday-thursday. Thursday she began to feel better physically, but was still lethargic, and had an off-and-on mild fever. Sunday she really freaked me out by waking up with a stiff neck. She complained that she couldn't turn her head, and she couldn't touch her chin to her chest. She was, however, not running a fever at this point. I referenced, and cross referenced her symptoms. The only thing that came up was meningitis. The delima was whether it was viral, or bacterial (which can quickly become very dangerous). ~If you ever need to know anything at all about meningitis, I can tell you all you need to know :-) .... I am now aware of everything that is, or has ever been posted on the internet, or in the 2003 edition of the American Medical Journal concerning both viral and bacterial meningitis.
At this point, she is still a little more tired than usual, but her range of motion is improving, and her fever has been absent or very mild (99F). I believe that she did contract a virus that led to meningitis. They will not prescribe any antibiotics for it (since they are ineffective against a virus), so I am just waiting it out. She has been taking an anti-inflammatory for her neck pain, and getting plenty of rest and water. She says she feels fine. :) But is still not her peppy self. Please pray that she would be completely healed- it is simply TOO quiet around here with her ill :)

Thursday we made a trip to the States. We needed to get our post office box and had some mail to pick up in San Diego. After an hour long drive, and a two hour long wait at the border- followed by a 35 minute drive into Chula Vista, we made it to the PA where we got our mail box (45 minutes after we began the application process, i might add :-). Even though it is not very far from the Ranch to the border, it is an ALL DAY EVENT! We got back around 6:00pm.

Other than that- every day has just been filled with chores. Cleaning here, and mopping there. Washing and folding and organizing. Watering and trimming and sweeping and vacuuming. The Cocina is looking great! We moved a couch out of the House of Juan into it, and put up some of the furniture that was donated. The dorms will have one dresser each (although we need two more) and the House of Juan has a dresser and a nightstand with a lamp and a table. I will take some pictures to show you once everything is a little more complete. We still need to get paint to paint several more rooms. We also moved the bunks in the dorms in such a way that we can now sleep 6 people in each room! Comfortably even! :)

God has been showing me how to listen for Him even when everything seems very quiet. Not much has been going on-- just the everyday. But God has met with me each day to show me what He is doing here to prepare for the work. The fellowship with our friends here has been a huge blessing to us. We feel so joyous that the ministries in this valley are becoming unified, and are anxious to see how we will all work together for the furthering of His Word.
Lance and Maricela have been by several times, and Noe and Blanca came by Saturday. We have also had visits from neighbors, and were blessed this morning by a surprise visit from Mark Garrett (from Days Creek).

Now, I am anxiously awaiting the arrival (this Sunday) of our neighbors :)
Nate and Memorie and their girls will be leaving Roseburg this Friday-- that's right--in 4 SHORT days!! And hope to be here on Sunday! YAY! Asa will be so excited to see Elsa!
Pray for their preparations, and their trip. Pray that their initiation will be smooth, and the girls will feel safe and comfortable here. This process is all too fresh in my mind- and I know that for every miraculous thing that God does to prepare the way for us- there is a bump in the road to keep us trusting and relying on Him! James tried to warn us of this ;-)

That's my wrap-up for this week..... talk to you in seven days :-D


"if My people who are called by My name will humble themselves, and pray and seek My face, and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land." 2 Cr. 7:14

Blogger Bum??

Boy! I can't seem to find time to post to this blog.... even though things have been very slow around here since the team went home a weeks ago! I need to make some kind of schedule for my posts...... so how about this: I will make an effort to post a new post every monday. Sound good? ok. then it's a deal. You check in every tuesday, and leave me comments ;), and i will do my best to think of some exciting things to post every Monday.

So here is the wrap up of the past two weeks:

We had the RCF youth team here from July 26th, to August 3rd. That group included 16 of our favorite 15-20-somethings and 4 chaperons. They were SUCH a blessing to have around!! Ryan and I had fellowship with Matt, Ted, Kevin, and Kristy, while the kids were thoroughly entertained by all of their teenagers! The kids did a lot of traveling to check out the different ministries in the valley (Casa Hogar, Carmen Serdan, and The Colonia Mixteca), plus they had several projects here that they helped us out with. They did A LOT of landscaping- which was WAY overdue, and helped us to start a compost bin, and began the grooming of the trail up to the crosses.

I would be happy to admit that it was very tiring and very time consuming to provide meals for 16 hungry youth, 6 adults, and two kids. You would not believe how much food that entails! But it was SOOOOOO much fun for me! I loved every minute of it, and had help from all of the youth. (I didn't even have to wash dishes ;).

The group left early Tuesday morning (Aug.3rd), and left behind Kayla Carroll, and Corinne Borelli. Kayla will be here with us for two months, helping me to get things done before the students get here in late August. She is also hoping to spend some time at Carmen Serdan, where she feels God is calling her to serve in January after she is done with the last bit of her schooling. My kids are loving every moment of that :-) They love their Kayla. Corinne will be here for a month, and go home sometime around the time when students start to get here. She is helping out with the day-to-day too..... so far we have painted La Cocina! Yay! Which was very much needed. We hope for the kitchen/dinning hall to be the fellowship hall for the students. It is getting there, but still needs some things. We had some very generous donations from RCF- we received a few pieces of furniture that we are thinking about putting in there. I also have a couple of couches that I might put in there..... I will update photos when we get it all put together :)

While the group was here, we started a brick composting bin. Kayla and I finished that last week. The first compartment is now happily rotting, and we are moving on to the second bin, and hoping that the first batch will be ready in about 8 weeks so we can harrow the soil this fall, and plant this spring!

The front corner of the property has been an overgrown mess for a long time, and it had been on Matt's heart to make it a more inviting scene. So the kids got down on their hands and knees and were up to their elbows in weeds and dirt for a good 8 hours. It looks AWESOME!! We will get some grass and ground cover planted , and maybe a bench placed there (since the locals like to use the shade as a resting spot :). They also raked out the orchard, which had all the leaves from last fall still laying around. It looks much better now, and keeps the dining patio much nicer :) ...... now Ryan is working on digging watering rings into the soil around all of the trees. We are fortunate enough to already have met a local man from La Colonia who knows ALL about trees and plants. YAY!! So as soon as Poncho finishes working for our neighbor, we will have him come and show us what needs to be done to keep the trees healthy, and most importantly (in my humble opinion ;) graft some branches into our Avocado trees to make them bear fruit!!!!

Before we left Roseburg, we had quite a few people ask what we needed for the Ranch. So I posted a blog post here to let you all know what it was that we would be needing, and Kelly also put a list in the bulletin. Well, you guys came through BIG time! (see photo below). Nate came with the group (in his Jeep, and also Don Pierce went ahead of the group with a trailer) to get some of his stuff moved down here in preparation for their family joining us as staff here. The trailer was unpacked as soon as the youth were here to help out, and not only were we excited to see some of our things that we had to leave behind (like the kids' bikes and toys!), but I was overwhelmed with the amount of donations that were packed in there for the ranch!! There were sheet sets, pillows, dressers and night stands, lamps, school supplies, curtains and fabric, a case and a half of light bulbs!, and dishes and silverware for la cocina. You guys ROCK!!

After the group left, it became VERY quiet here :) ...... Our family had become accustom to this after having been here for two weeks alone prior to the arrival of the group-- but I think Kayla and Corinne might have been shocked by the emptiness of the Mexican Outback when no one is around :) We have coyotes at night in our yard, and birds chirping all day, but other than that- there is not much noise at all..... and it's not like you can just jaunt into town and hang out at the church like we were all used to in Roseburg. After a few days of rest, we made a trip into town for groceries. That was a nice break from the norm. Then we went to church yesterday and took a trip out to La Bufadora (a local tourist site) afterwards for some AMAZING fish tacos, and souvenir shopping. We will be heading into the states to get a post office box and pick up some mail at a family member's house sometime in the next few days. It is a long drive, but kind of nice to break up the monotony.

Our first student will be arriving next week. Then we expect the Frosland family about a week after that, and sometime at the end of the month, the rest of the students will be arriving. We also have tentative arrangements for a small group from the Fellowship to come for a short visit (and to deliver our tractor!!) in the beginning of September. And at some point ( :-D ) my parents and my sibs and nephew will be making their way down for a visit (right guys??)

So that is the past, the present, and the future as far as I can see :)
We have had a blast this past month. It is definitely feeling like home here. We are learning the ropes, and I have been picking up as much Spanish as I can retain! :) (hopefully the kids will pick it up and teach me though, because this old brain doesn't work like it used to! :)

Pray that God would have his hand over everything we do! The school will be starting in about 4 weeks- and this is a Genesis of sorts...... we don't have all the details ironed out :) So we might be making up some stuff as we go. But we know that God has set before us exactly what He has been planning for all of eternity- and He will cause it to work out exactly how it should. We are just excited to see it happen. We can already see how awesome it is going to be! We have been able to spend time with our dear friends Lance and Maricella Ward, who live just up the valley in Guadalupe, as well as Noe and Blanca, who live in Ensenada. They are just as excited as we are to see what God is going to do on this Ranch!

Pray for our continued health and safety. We have not had any health issues- other than a mysterious rash that Taiah broke out with on and around her eye just before the team got here two weeks ago. It has healed and looks great. We have encountered all sorts of interesting creatures- to say the least. As we speak (or as I type :-D) Ryan is up the hill trying to put an end to the rattlesnake that Corinne had a close encounter with a few days ago. No one has ever seen a rattlesnake on the property, in all the years that RCF has had it-- but there is definitely one up there now..... and Ryan is determined to see it die. ..... PS.... he HATES snakes!!
So pray that all of the scorpions and tarantulas and snakes would find happy homes far far away from our houses :) (I'm sure Memorie would appreciate these prayers too!)

Pray for our obedience to The Lord in all that we do! We are willing to move as He would have us, and pray that He would make clear to us the actions we should take daily.

This is the Monday August 9th edition of this blog--- tune in next week ;)
Here is the link for the photos : http://picasaweb.google.com/117744570327177560832/GoingsOn?feat=directlink

"For thou art my rock and my fortress; therefore, for thy name's sake, lead me, and guide me"
Psalm 31:3