My Sunday School Classroom

I had mentioned over here that my classroom is now decorated and I was going to get some pics to share with you...well, here they are!

Stars to put stickers on for saying their verses and good behavior!

Our class name "ESTRELLITAS" {little stars} above our chalkboard which is hidden by the flannelgraph backdrop

The adorable car curtains that another teacher made for our class, they are so bright and fun!

See the flower and airplane wall stickers? They are perfect in here and below is our memory verse contest poster.

Our current bulletin board--We are learning about Super Heroes of the Bible and they are LOVING IT!

It turned out so cute, even I just want to sit in there and look at all the fun, colorful things that are there to see! Of course, it looks even better when it is full of little munchkins. I love these kiddos and am sure going to miss them!

P.S. If you are interested in checking out the lessons that we are using and doing a fun super hero theme, check out this great Sunday School lesson website for lessons in English and Spanish!

Sunday Services in the New Building

 Wow! Another week has zipped by! Seeing that it is Saturday and almost time for church again, I figured I better let you know how our services went last week. We had a great day in our new building, filled with food, fellowship, worship, and people! It was such a blessing to be able to enjoy and use this beautiful space that the Lord has provided. It still seems a bit surreal that it is really ours (the church's, not Matt's and mine)!

Here's some things that I am thankful for regarding last Sunday Services and our new building:

1. Seeing the church full of excited, happy people
2. Having enough classrooms for everyone, with teachers and kiddos enjoying their new space
3. A safe place for the kids to play outside (and not worry that they are in the street!)
4. Nice bathrooms (the property has 4!!!)
5. A real nursery for my Brenna to be in
6. A beautifully decorated international dinner with LOTS of yummy food
7. The spirit of unity amongst the people, along with a willingness to pitch in and help take care of their new church building

Singing Sunday School Songs

Look at those big helpers!

My "little stars" class--such handsome little men

 By the way...after church the other teacher and I (pictured above) decorated our classroom--it looks so cute! Will try to get a pic of it tomorrow! :)

"God's Treasures" Class

"Bible Explorers" Class

"Followers of Christ" Class

Adult/Teen Class

Argentina table

Decorating the China table

Mexico table and some of the FOOD!

FULL auditorium! :)

It was a wonderful and blessed day and I know that there will be many more in the future! Can't wait for tomorrow!

His Glorious Church

Have I kept you in suspense long enough?! You haven't been holding your breath all this time, have you?!

Recently, I posted about our upcoming move preparations and hinted at another move going on down here. Let me tell ya all about it...

"...Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it; That he might sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the word, That he might present it to himself a glorious church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing; but that it should be holy and without blemish."

Ephesians 5:25-27 

The church that we have been privileged to be a part of here has been renting a building. Property is very expensive here in the central part of our town and unfortunately the prices are only continuing to rise. For the past 10 years, the pastor/church has only been able to afford renting a renovated house to meet in. Thankfully, the church is growing and this space is NOT meeting our needs anymore. The teenagers have been having Sunday School outside on the patio for months because there is no room for them. Now that it is fall time and getting quite chilly out they have come back inside and booted me and my class of littles into the itsy-bitsy hallway. Seriously, it is tiny! It is quite the sight to behold all of the classes get into their rooms and get situated before we can begin teaching. It is truly a science; the classes have to be dismissed and set up in such a way that everyone can get to their proper spot and set up, then once you are in your area, you are in for the long hall. Hope you didn't have to go to the bathroom 'cause there's no escaping! In fact, I pin up my flannelgraph background on the back of the bathroom door! Let me tell ya, it definitely makes me feel more like an authentic missionary! It is "do with what ya got" all the way!

So, after many attempts to raise funds and purchase a property, I am very happy to announce that we are days away from moving into our very own church building! Renovations/cleaning/decorating are all in the works as we prepare to have our first services in the new place this coming Sunday, complete with an international dinner to wrap up our missions month. It is so exciting to see how the Lord has provided for His people, especially after seeing closed door after closed door. But, as always God knows best and is in control. Our pastor showed interest in our newly purchased property over 6 years ago and the owners were not interested in selling at that time. However, they recently put the place up for sale and they couldn't believe that after all this time our church was still looking to buy and they were very pleased to sell it to us! God is so good!

Here's a little glimpse:

Front entrance--the door is open, come on in!

Auditorium--I can't wait to see it full of people!

Fellowship hall/Classroom

Sunday School Classroom

My Sunday School Room to teach my "Little Stars" :)

Beautiful backyard (Teenagers S.S. class is the small building in the back on the right)

Paddle Ball Court at the very back of the yard

 So much space and potential! There are more Sunday School classrooms, bathrooms, kitchen, grill, off-street parking, and best of all no more renting!! Such a blessing to see the Lord answer prayer and meet the needs of his people. Will try to update again soon with pics of our first Sunday!

"I Just Can't Take It Anymore!!!"

AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!!!

Just kiddin'...{sheepish grin}

Have you ever felt like that? And really wanted to scream it at the top of your lungs, too? Yep, I think we have all been there a time or two. Any mama with a fussy baby can certainly relate. Or how about a college student struggling to cram for a test, finish projects and papers, work, do their ministries, clean for white glove inspection, and keep their eyeballs propped open with toothpicks? How about that person that is fighting an uphill battle against dreaded cancer or some other painful, horrible, life-threatening disease or the loved one that is watching helplessly from the sidelines, full of pain and grief?

Or maybe it is just as simple as this:

I really need this sign! ;)

So many things are all about attitude. It's about acting not reacting. Making a conscious choice and not being carried away by what is happening around us.

It's so easy to let the circumstances in life get us down and steal our happiness. If you are doing, "Alright, under the circumstances..." You are not doing alright at all; what are you doin' under there?!!! Easy to say, harder to do.

This is what our ladies' Bible study was about last Thursday night. The lie (as women) that we believe about our circumstances, "I can't take it anymore!!" "I can't handle this!" "I want out!"

Although we have all had those moments in our lives where we have felt like that, we cannot allow ourselves to dwell, live and wallow there. Because a lie is exactly what it is. And if we tell ourselves a lie long enough, we will believe and it will turn into the truth.

Also, in part, the statement is true. In and of myself, I can't take it anymore! BUT, we are not alone. We are daughters of the King and joint-heirs with Jesus. We have all-power given unto us through Christ.

What a blessing and relief to know that I do not walk through this world, with its heartaches and trials, by myself. My favorite verse puts it best:

 "The LORD is on my side; 

I will not fear: what can man do unto me?" 

Psalm 118:6 

 Jesus is on my side. He can carry me through anything that He sends my way. It's hard to remember when tragedy strikes, but the truth is that whatever I am facing passed across the desk of God first. He may not want it to happen, but He is allowing it for my good and His glory.

Another verse that helps me so much during moments of great difficulty is I Cor. 10: 13:

"There hath no temptation taken you but such as is common to man: but God is faithful, who will not suffer you to be tempted above that ye are able; but will with the temptation also make a way to escape, that ye may be able to bear it."

It is tempting to think, "I can't deal with this!" It is tempting to throw up my hands and say "It's too much, I quit!" But, he promises to provide us a way of escape, not that we will escape the trial, but find a way to bear it. How can that be? When we give it all to Him. He has broad shoulders for carrying our heavy loads.

"Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light."

Matthew 11:28-30

Sweet rest in the midst of the storm. The weight will be lifted. If we only give it to Him and leave it there! So often as women we are tempted to pick up that silly burden again. Why would we want to do that?!? It's in such strong, capable hands.

Is that smoke coming out of my ears??

The wheels are turning and the thoughts are flying, that's for sure. I am preparing to give my first ever, all in Spanish mind you, Thursday night ladies' Bible study. That's tomorrow night, in case you forgot what day it is. Yikes!!

The good news is that I do not have to write my own lesson and try to speak freely in Spanish {this time}. Our pastor and pastor's wife are out of town teaching at an institute this week, giving Matt and I the opportunity to step in and practice/teach. Hubby has done this before and has the much harder job of doing it all "from scratch". You really do feel like smoke comes out of your ears then!

Thankfully, for me our pastor's wife has been using a book (Lies Women Believe: And the Truth that Sets Them Free by Nancy Leigh DeMoss) and going through chapter by chapter with a fill in the blank work sheet. I just have to study the notes and read through them with the ladies, making sure to give them the words to fill in and adding my own examples and thoughts as we go. Wheeewww!! That's intimidating enough for me, especially for my first time!

By the way, this is an excellent book, and I highly recommend it. No matter what stage of your life that you are at, you are sure to be "caught" believing one (or probably many) of these lies that Satan has so skillfully incorporated into "normal" thinking. Thank the Lord, we have the wonderful Truths found in His Word to set us free and transform and renew our minds! It is good, convicting stuff and something I will most likely need to hit the reset button on by reading it over again and again, lest I fall back into the devil's sneaky traps!

**Note: I do not own the book myself at this point, therefore I am not sure if the verses are KJV only nor if I agree with everything in the book. I am not saying that I am in complete and total agreement with the findings in the book or the beliefs of the author. However, I can say that it has definitely been a helpful tool in pointing out some areas in my life that need some work. Everything that I have heard in our Bible study is very Biblically sound and thought provoking!

So, between studying for class tomorrow {your prayers are MUCH appreciated!}, trying to put some thoughts together about a very interesting book I just read (more coming soon on this), reading up on Abraham Lincoln quotes (really good stuff!) I have had/ still have a few other things on my agenda, too.

Such as:

Wipe 2 kids non-stop runny noses

Attempt to make meals--1 epic fail {frown}, 1 yummy pot of chili {smile and tummy full of warm goodness}

Homeschool planning {scary} --reading, searching the 'net for info., curriculum, ideas, etc.
Thinking--"My kid can't really be old enough to start school!?!" and "Once I start down this homeschooling path I will be on it for the next 20 years {at least!} !!!" followed by "I am so not ready for this!" {And the kicker is I went to college for teaching elementary ed.--ha! Still a scary feeling to know that your kids' education rests solely in your hands, although it really does for every parent, whether you teach them yourself or not!!)

Making invitations for our monthly ladies' mtg.

Bulletin boards (those always seem to need to be changed again, don't they?!)

Sunday School Lesson--What am I teaching about again?

Planning for Clara's 4th birthday next month--actually I am still in denial! {j/k, sort of}

Oh yeah, and to top it off, we are starting up classes again soon, possibly next week. It will only be for 3 hours a week, but still....ugh! Aren't I supposed to be teaching school, not in school?

Time to rearrange our schedule again and see if we can make this work...hmmm....

Just to name a few...

As missionaries we always have to be looking down the road, not just a few weeks or months, but to the next year or two. Planning for furlough, saving for plane tickets, deciding where to start our own church, what funds/supplies we will need to get started, what things we need to bring back from the states, when to go to the states and for how long, writing prayer letters, scheduling meetings...

So, yep, that's definitely some smoke I see coming out of my ears... I guess I have a good reason for it, or 2 {3, 14, 79} ha! Don't misunderstand, I am not stressing out or complaining, just sayin' that there's a lot going on in the old noggin', and sometimes it overheats a bit. Do you ever feel like this? What wife and mom doesn't.

I'll be back soon to let you know how Bible study, among other things on my list, are going...

Little Fishers of Men

Bright little faces, looking up at me. Waiting to see what Bible story I have to share with them on this super sunny, sticky Sunday morning. We have met once again in our little {and I do mean little!} class room to see what God has for us today. My love for the kids and desire to teach them God's Word fights and struggles against my ole' carnal flesh that screams in my ear, "Get me out of here!" it says, "I can't breathe, it's unbearably hot and muggy and are these kids even listening to a word I am saying?!" Exasperation--can easily set in, if I let it. But, back to those beautiful, smiling faces. They seem unphased by the stifling heat that causes the sweat to run down my back and across their hairlines and off their sweet little cheeks. They are there, waiting expectantly, eager to learn. Such potential in empty little minds waiting to be filled with God's truths!!

Recently, we started talking about the life of Christ. I love the look on these itty bittys faces as the stories in the Bible come alive to them. At Christmas time, we talked about Jesus' birth, then how he went to church {just like them} as a boy and knew all about the Bible, and a few weeks ago we talked about his fishermen friends and how they became Fishers of MEN!

So, naturally, they wanted to be little fishermen, too. Aren't they just too cute?!! They enjoyed this game so much; little foam fishies in a bowl of water and a lil' fishin' pole to "yank" them out with. Even Ethan got in on the action; mommy put him in his stroller and he promptly reached up and grabbed the bowl of water and dumped it all over himself! And it was COLD, too! If you could have seen him jump and sputter in that moment! lol ;) So funny!

However, the best part of this lesson is to think that these children, so small and innocent, probably will never be fishermen, but hopefully will all grow up to be Fishers of Men! Think of it! They have started so young to absorb like little sponges the wonderful things waiting for them in the Bible. Lord willing, one day they will see their need for a Saviour, continue to grow in grace and in the church, and go on to share that Good News with others who have never heard. What Light can be brought to this sin-darkened world in the hands of these sweet "babies"! They are such a blessing and a gift, just oozing with potential, from the Lord!

May I be found faithful in teaching, training, preparing, and praying for these Little Fishers of Men!
♥, ♥, ♥ them!! :)

Sincere Prayers from Little Lips

Last Sunday--what a day! Thankfully we had recovered enough to be in our place at the Lord's House. I am so glad that the Lord gave us the strength to make it through the day, because it would have been a shame to miss all that went on.
First, it was Mother's Day here in Argentina. Unfortunately, just as this nasty "bug" attacked our home, it hit a lot of other church members' homes as well, so the attendance was down. In fact, when Sunday School started it looked like we were only going to have my 2 kiddos in our class. However, we took over the next class of 4-7 year olds, too, as the teacher and her kids, you guessed it, were out sick. My co-teacher and I wound up with 12 kids and she shared with them a wonderful lesson about Hannah and baby Samuel and praying and leaving your worries with God. Then it was Craft Time!! The other teacher and I had prepared some soap bars, all grated up, for the kids to make sachets for their moms. Let me tell ya, they will get plenty of fragrance out of those things; those soaps had a very strong scent! Midst a bit of craziness helping all the kids put their soap shavings in their little cups in pretty colored layers and hot gluing the tulle on top, writing notes, etc., we came out victorious and each child left with a smile on their face and a nice little gift in their hand to take to their mom.

Our Mother's Day Craft

A Closer Look

All the pretty layers of soap shavings

BUT, that was not the best part of the day...
Sunday night we had a "home coming" at our church. 2 sisters, that had made some poor decisions and gone astray from the Lord and from their church family that loves them, returned! That's right, although they had forsaken God, He never forsook them, and gently led them back to the fold. What a joyous and emotional time! Everything is not all squared away yet, they still have some fences to mend and things to make right, but they made that first o-so-difficult step!

HOLD ON NOW...even that, as wonderful as it is, is not the best part, to me!
 Ok, here it is...
My sweet little daughter...hmm...have I ever told you how amazingly thoughtful and sweet she can be?!

My sick girly, recouping on the couch last week

She never ceases to amaze me and this week was no different. You see, last week the 2 sisters had promised to come, but had not been able to make it. So, especially as the older girl used to be Clara's babysitter, I told her that we needed to pray for them to come back to church. Poor Clara was so disappointed last week when they never showed up. She looked up at me with those big, sad eyes of hers and said, "Mama, they didn't come." If you could have seen her; it was so sad and pathetic. Well, every night before bed we have Bible story time and Clara prays. Lately, as she is getting older, I have been telling her to chose what she wants to pray for. This week, every night without fail or prompting, in spite of being icky-sicky, she so fervently and innocently prayed for the girls to come to church this week. And they did! Don't you see what a victory this is?!! My little girl got to witness first hand the power of prayer.

My little girl is not so "little" anymore

When we arrived at church, the girls were on the sidewalk talking to Pastor and I said, "Look, Clara, they came! The girls are here!" She rushed inside to give them hugs and kisses and even asked me to sit with them during the song service. How could I say "No"?! There were many tears shed before the service began, and during the singing I noticed that the older girl had burst into tears all over again. Later I found out, much to my surprise, that she had started to cry because Clara had told her, "I prayed for you, and you came!" What a miraculous, eye-opening, heartwarming experience for my 3 year old sweetie and her old, skeptical mama! Little lips that offer sincere prayers to the Lord from little hearts that aren't so blackened and stained with the sin of this world {as mine is}, I think the Lord has no choice, but to listen and answer!

Such a sweet girl...

Needless to say, I am so thankful to be a mama, especially to this wonderful little girl that is growing up and learning to pray right before my very eyes! ♥

...with a beautiful smile and a kind ♥

♥ Me & My Babies on Mother's Day in Argentina! ♥

Happy Mother's Day from Argentina!

Time Out at the Tea House

Wow, I guess I have some catching up to do. The ladies of our church went to a tea house for our July ladies mtg. a couple weeks ago. Even though time has quickly passed me by and I am just now sitting down to write about it, I just can't pass up sharing with you what a nice time we had.

We had 9 ladies who ventured out on a rather dreary, rainy Friday afternoon to be warmed through and through by the companionship of sweet friends and hands wrapped around warm, soothing cups of tea in any flavor imaginable. I, not being much of a tea fan myself, had some nice mint tea with plenty of sugar and that suited me just right :)

Reading my devotion

 I had the privilege (and job, boy was I nervous and it takes a lot of prep. work to speak in another language) to give a very brief devotion on the subject of friendship. I must admit I am a big chicken {bawk, bawk} and because I wanted to enjoy the rest of our time instead of suffering from a giant "brain-overload" headache, I had the whole thing written out. I took a few ideas from the life of Ruth (my favorite lady in the Bible) and tied it in with being a good friend. Needless to say, it was short, sweet, and to the point. (For me, the normal chatty-Cathy, it's hard to do much more than that at this point :( :) But, like most things in my life, I am working on it and God's still working on me, remember?!!!

Tasty treats 

Doesn't it look nice?!

Later, we all enjoyed these simply delicious little sandwiches and desserts, along with scones and pastries and an assortment of spreads to put on them. Of course, the best part was that we didn't have to make them or share them with our kids; just sit back, relax, and Enjoy!

Exchanging secret pal gifts

Me and my secret pal, Norma
We had each other as secret pals :)

We also had a lot of fun and laughs revealing our secret pals of the past few months. I think my secret pal was rather stunned to find out that I was her secret pal, too. (I am just so clever that I had it figured out--haha!)

I also thought that this would be a great time to introduce you to some of the sweet ladies at our church. They are all unique and they are all a blessing to me in their own unique way. I love each of them and am so glad that the Lord has given me this time to learn from, love, and work with these special ladies.

Me and my hard-working Pastor's wife, Angela
She is such a help and blessing to me in countless ways!
She gives of her time, talents, and treasures to the Lord, to our church, and to me.

Our Sunday School teachers:
Flavia (left) teaches the 4-7 yr. olds
Yanel (right) co-teaches the 0-3 yr. olds with me
Love these ladies and their sweet spirits!

Yanel and Claudia
Claudia joined our church a few months ago and is jumping in with both feet!
She wants to be involved and soak up God's Word. Such an encouragement to me!

My dear friends from church
Back (left to right): Angela, Claudia, Yanel, Me
Front: Flavia, Carmen, Marta, Esmeralda, & Norma

I am so blessed to count these ladies among my friends, especially since it takes them an extra special amount of patience to put up with me--Both in language skills and personality! It was so nice to have this little outing together with Christian friends!