First Day Out and on Our Own!

Today was a light day of activities.  We decided to “venture out” to the Americanized mall that is about 3 blocks from our temporary apartment. We put Elleazah in her stroller and started walking. We quickly realized that the sidewalks here are not very stroller friendly let alone handicap/ wheelchair friendly. Many of the curbs can be 8- 12 inches high at the cross walk. I didn’t realize that I had taken such a simple thing as sloped sidewalks for granted while taking a walk with Elleazah around a neighborhood in the States.

Another thing I quickly realized was that strollers draw attention, not because strollers are rare, but because everyone is curious as to what is INSIDE the stroller. We received so many Uhhhh’s and Ahhhh’s, especially once she had fallen asleep.  As we were waiting to cross a street, for a car to make the turn, the driver nearly came to a complete stop to look into the stroller to see Elleazah.  Then the driver looked up at us and continued on her way! Wow. We had to chuckle at the attention a stroller/ baby can draw.   

While we were in the mall, it quickly became apparent that malls are not just for shopping, but for watching soccer games. Colombia was playing Peru and there were many TVs hanging from the ceiling, scattered throughout the mall with several couches lined up. The couches were always full and often had a couple rows of people standing behind the seated prospectors. Even by the food court, they had set up a hug screen and projecting the game on the screen. They set up an area for people to sit on the floor and watch the game. There were at least a hundred people in this section alone, many of whom were dressed in the yellow Colombian jersey. We didn’t need to sit and watch the game to know how Colombia was doing, someone who is blind could have been following the game based on the cheers and the Ohhh’s.

We also browsed a grocery store, I did some price comparisons from what I remembered from the states. A bag of baby wipes in the states I was able to buy a bag of 75 wipes for $1.50-$2.00, depending on the brand. Here, a bag of 100 wipes, costs just over $5.00. Wow! I am glad a friend from church invited me over one afternoon and we made a bundle of cloth wipes. Detergent (Tide) here costs about $7 for a bottle that is for 24 loads of laundry. Yeow! Lastly, I was excited to see my favorite fast food restaurant in the mall- a Subway. For my favorite sandwich, it costs $5 for a 6inch sub… twice the price from the States where it is a $5 footlong sub. Sad, I will probably have to wait until we return to the States to get a sandwich from there.  Even at the Burger King, a whopper value meal was over $7.  But, on the other side of things, you can buy potatoes for about $.25-$.75/ lb. depending on the type of potato because there are about 40 different types of potatoes here in Colombia. Bread rolls are about 25-35 cents. Broccoli, yellow squash and carrots were about 70 cents per pound.  Needless to say, we will be eating the fresh fruits and veggies. So, there you have it. Our first day out with many observations, though it was the first set of observations, I’m sure it will not be the last.

The start of the new chapter: travels

The next chapter has begun. Wednesday  July 13^th, with a peace that passes all understanding. The day is in God’s hands. He knows what lies before us in this Great  Journey. He  knows our flight schedule, where each of our bags are located, the weather in each of the cities we will have a layover at, and he knows whom we will sit next to and try to communicate to at customs after a long day of flying. He is sovereign and knows the details and I (Marlayna) am unusually calm with all the potential for frustration that lies ahead in such a long day of traveling with a baby. Normally, I carry enough anxiety for the family, but not today, which is truly God’s hand at work and an answer to prayer. 

We will  we arrive at the airport 2 hours before our flight scheduled to take off at 7:15am. We zip through security, not too many people there at 5:15am, which is good because not only do we have a lot of carry on items but we also are figuring out how to travel with a baby.  We get to the gate to find that the flight has been canceled! Hmmmm… what happens next, this has never happened to me.  They looked at our tickets and said that they put us on the next flight.  On the up side, our seats were upgraded for free, but that also means that we now have a 30 minute layover at JFK in New York! I’ve heard horror stories of the craziness there.  The realistic side of me knows that there is great potential for a delay in the flight to take off and land which can easily cause us to miss our flight, which would mean that we would probably spend the night in NY because the airline only sends one flight per day to Bogota. Yet, I was still rather calm.  God knows the situation; He is in control. During this long wait, we were thankful for the hot breakfast my mom had sent with us, which should hold us for most of the day.

Soon after boarding the plane, I start feeding Elleazah which lasted through take off… Yea, no fussing!  The first leg of the trip went smooth as we landed ON TIME, but now with a sleeping child… Yea, still no fussing. Wow, God is at work, so far so good. Due to being upgraded, we were one of the first ones off the plane and our connecting flight is only a few gates away. Praise God! I had time to make a run to the bathroom and change Elleazah’s diaper and add another layer of cloths to her to keep her warm.  A few minutes later, we started boarding our second flight. Yea!  Sadly, for this flight, Steve and I were separated, him in the front, me in the back, so he had to privilege of holding Elleazah throughout the flight. And fortunately we had discovered the previous day that Elleazah likes to chew on orange peels.  So during take off, she chewed on a part of a peel, since she refuses to take a pacifier, and not too long after take off, she, and Steve, had fallen asleep.  What a great picture! She woke up just before landing, which meant another feeding during a critical time for potential fussing. Yes, there was a bit of fussiness, but not too much, which I was thankful.

We exited the plane for an hour lay over, just to re-board the same plane (they needed to check passports this time) so we had enough time to grab some real food to carry us through the last leg of trip and the stressful customs.  Again, Steve and I were to be separated and he got to board early with Elleazah. While I was patiently waiting for the chaos  of the Spanish speaking crowd among the English instructions to calm down and for me to board I heard an attendant shout out… “Is anyone willing to receive a free upgrade to an exit row with more leg room?” Without hesitation, another girl and I raise our hands. So, I get to move up from the next to last row to the front! Which will bring me closer to Steve and Elleazah and allow us to get off the plane sooner, which will be key because you literally trot from gate to jockey for a position in a very long line to go through customs. We learned this from our visit to Colombia last year, because we were taking our time from the gate as people were nearly running us over; we asked each other why they were in such a hurry, until we reached the end of a very long line that took almost an hour and a half to get to the customs men.  However, this time, we were ready for the race, with our jogging stroller out, Elleazah in her car seat on the stroller, we were in trotting readiness and we were keeping up with the fastest of them (ah, yes, the competitive side coming out, but at least we were on the same team!) And as we were approaching the line, which was not as long as the last because we were nearer the front of the crowd, a man directed us to the right, because we had a baby…. Yea! An even shorter line! Now we only waited about 20-30 minutes to get through customs.  We reached the front and a man waved for us to come to him. Fortunately, or unfortunately, he spoke little to no English, and we speak, little to no Spanish, so it was rather quick, looking at our paperwork and bunching stamps.  Yea! Elleazah has her first stamp in her passport! So, we find our baggage claim area, grab a cart to load our four bags, go look for the bags because they have workers that pull all the bags off the carousel only to realize a bag is missing.  Urggg. I find a lady that speaks enough English for us to complete the report, Steve takes out the paperwork  so they know where to deliver the bag and how to contact us when it is located. We were hoping that the bag just didn’t catch the second flight considering we had such a short lay over  rather than the bag being stolen.  As we begin to leave the airport, we are realizing all that the bag contained, like Elleazah’s pack and play, which is her bed, most of the toilet tree,  a few of the cloth diapers and the accessories …urg, I hope they find it. And yet, there is a peace, which only comes from God trusting and knowing that He knows exactly where the bag is located.  If it is stolen, He knows who has it and I am fine with that (sounds crazy, right!) because the items are just things and we will learn to make due with what we have.  However, that was going to be the case, because the next day the airport called to let us know that received the bag the next day. Praise God, we were getting our last bag.

God has been so good to us as we have started this new chapter, what a blessing.

Please pray

1. For the transition. I am already feeling overwhelmed and lost by not understanding enough Spanish. They seem to speak soooo fast.

2. We get settled into an apartment we will have for the year.

3. Wisdom as we start making decisions here at the beginning of the with living situations, schedule, and helping at the school.

4.  100% support: we have not yet reached 100%. Prayer support is much needed, as we have felt God's hand on us the last few days in our new chapter, but we also need financial support.  Pray that the faithfulness of those who have said they would commit to help as well as pray for new supporters to come along side us to join us in this journey God has laid before us as we come to witness and disciple.

June update... preparing for our Great Adventure

June 2011

As the school year has come to an end, the last 3 months have been very busy. Fortunately, in addition to finishing the Parenting class, the Perspectives class, teaching Sunday school, and helping with the youth group, we were able to take a week during Spring Break to be refreshed by traveling and visiting family. During these past months, one of the more challenging leaps of faith for us was for Steven to resign from the stable, secure, and soon to be tenured position and for us to place our trust in God’s calling.

We are in the final stages of preparing to head to El Camino Academy in Bogotá, Colombia. It never ceases to amaze us how confusing and tedious it is working with bureaucracies as we attempt to obtain work visas. We think bureaucracies exist to help us grow in our attention to detail and patience. We are at the point now where we are investigating plane tickets, shipping options, and sorting through what we take, what we store, and what we purge.

During the middle of June, Steve will be helping with New Covenant Bible’s weeklong youth group Summer Camp in Lake Geneva, WI. He will be discipling a group of high school boys by leading them in Bible study, group discussions, team games and other activities. While Steve is at camp, Marlayna will be with Elleazah, working on packing and preparing to move our belongings.

Our final preparation before heading south will be at a pre-field orientation training provided by the Association for Christian Schools International. The two week training is held in Houghton, New York. We will receive training in cultural sensitivity, dynamics of working in international Christian schools, and building ministry relationships, specifically with kids who are trying to navigate between their home culture and their community culture, such as missionary kids. After this training, we will tie up loose ends here in the States for a few days before we make our transition to Colombia.

This last month and a half seems like it will be a whirl- wind of preparations, which is both exciting and overwhelming.

Please join us by praying for us as we transition to the mission field in Bogotá, Colombia:

1.      Our Spanish training was neglected amongst all the other classes & ministries. Pray that we can pick back up this very important skill so we can connect more effectively with the local people. (1 Corinth 9:20-22)

2.      Pray that we can “stay the course” and complete all the procedural tasks so we can get to Colombia successfully and in a timely manner. (Prov 23:19; Heb 12:1)

3.      Pray that in this time of stress, we may caste our cares upon the Lord and love each other by being patient and encouraging one another. (1 Peter 5:7; 1 Corinth 13:4-5)

4.      Pray that we trust and rely on Christ as we continue building a support network. We are currently at 75% of our needed amount for the first year. (Psalm 119:116)

5.      Pray that we will quickly become acculturated to the new surroundings and develop new relationships with the other missionaries and local people.

We are in need of more people who are interested in partnering with us in this mission. We would like to have you consider furthering your partnership with us by having us share with your local church, small group, or close friends about what we believe God has called us to do. Please let us know if you are able to do this.

We are very thankful for your partnership and encouragement. God has truly blessed us through YOU! If there is anything we can do to encourage you or lift you up to the Lord, please let us know!

March update... preparing for the Great Adventure

March 2011

The winter season is coming to a close and we eagerly anticipate the next season of our lives. This past season, has brought about our first major transition of the year. We are parents to a healthy girl, Elleazah Grace. We praise God for her healthy arrival with a rather uncomplicated delivery. 

We have also started preparing to head to the mission field, to El Camino Academy in Bogotá, the capitol city of Colombia. As part of Steve’s preparation, he has been meeting with our pastor and other men of the church on a weekly basis memorizing scripture, praying together, and discussing passages and articles as it applies to areas of ministry. From this group, Steve was given the opportunity to recite some of Ephesians during an evening service. It was a unique blessing to be given that opportunity to minister to others in our church. During the spring semester, he is taking a missions class called Persectives on the World Christian Movement (for more info, visit www.perspectives.org).  This class has been beneficial as he learns about the means God has used to establish and grow His Church throughout history and how we can participate in global missions and the advancement of God’s kingdom.

In preparation of advising a grade level at ECA, we have been youth group leaders at our church for our junior high and high school group.  We are also teaching the junior high Sunday school every other month, and we meet with a small group of junior highers each week. In Februrary, we and Elleazah enjoyed our 1^st winter retreat with the youth group. The theme of the retreat was “All for God’s Glory”, which stimulated many deep conversations. In addition, we have been preparing for our transition to Bogotá by learning Spanish through the Rosetta Stone software. It has been a challenge committing the time to the program as much as we have wanted, but we have seen some fruit from our labor! Poco a poco estamos apriendiendo español!*

A current 5^th grade teacher at ECA shares her experience as a grade-level advisor:

This past Friday I got the opportunity to go and serve alongside with my 5th grade class to their ministry. The ministry involves working with a church in a poorer neighborhood that offers a morning and afternoon children’s program that provides a meal and other various activities. The ministry shows the children genuine love, for most of them it is the only environment they’ll find this kind of attention.

As I sat at the back of the crowd, watching these 10 year olds share such a huge message that has been shared for thousands of years over millions of miles to billions of hearts, I caught a glimpse of the big picture: To witness these young students sharing with such passion and courage and with a huge future in front of them…reminded me of the great privilege I have to be teaching here at ECA. I’m serving and raising up what could be some of tomorrow’s ministry leaders, and from what I can tell, they’re already way ahead of some of us adults. To imagine what these kids will be like in 10 or 15 years, the lives they will affect; the change they could create.

Please join us by praying for us as we continue to prepare to head to the mission field in Bogota, Colombia:

1.      Please pray with Paul’s request in Ephesians 6:19-20 that as we share openly with friends, family, and co-workers about our intent to serve the Church in Bogotá, “words may be given [us] to boldly make known the mystery of the gospel… Pray that [we] declare it fearlessly, as [we] should.”

2.      Pray that we will “be very careful how we live, not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil” ~Ephesians 5:15-16. Specifically, pray for wisdom with the use of our time, as we balance work, evening classes (Perspectives class & a parenting class), learning Spanish, helping with our youth group, strengthening our marriage as we celebrate our 4^th year, loving & caring for Elleazah, and building partnerships for our service at ECA.

3.      Pray that we will apply what we are learning in the parenting class and “not exasperate our child, but bring her up in the training and instruction of the Lord” ~Ephesians 6:4.

4.      Pray that we trust and rely on Christ as we continue building a support network. We are currently at 44% of our needed amount.

We are in need of more people who might be interested in partnering with us in this mission. We would like to have you consider furthering your partnership with us by having us share with your local church, small group, or close friends about what we believe God has called us to do. Please let us know if you are able to do this and partner with us in this great adventure.