Hola familia y amigos!
What a wonderful week! I cannot believe we have already been here that long. It is just so amazing to finally be on this side of things. We are still working through things with the house, but otherwise we are settling in. Our transition has been relatively smooth. I am finding my way around the grocery stores and getting things set up in our apartment. I did laundry yesterday and Eden has experienced many firsts. I will try and give you an overview of our first week. I know we can say without a doubt that the Lord has been so gracious in preparing us for this journey. Each of our steps has been guided by him and we can see so much more of the big picture. And what a beautiful picture it is!
We arrived at our apartment on Friday evening. It is cute little place. It is actually like a little house. We have a wonderful kitchen and living area, a bathroom with a shower and 2 bedrooms. Nanna has one and Bart, Eden and I are in the other. God reminded me to pack her little air mattress so she is at home sleeping on it. He also gave me the foresight to bring a small pool for her. She not only plays in it, but we use it as her bath tub. She hasn’t quite been ready to give those up and our shower is actually large enough for it to fit inside. We have hot water and 2 small air conditioners which we are already using less and less. I keep turning up the temperature because I am getting cold! After locating a couple of pillows we are all sleeping well. We are in bed early, like 8:30 or 9, but up early – the sun is all the way up and very bright by 5:30am! This night owl never imagined she could function on these hours, but here I am!Saturday we did some shopping and just getting settled in at home. On Sunday, we went up the mountain to Refugio Solté. We took in the sights and just enjoyed being “home”. Bart and I have felt homesick for this place ever since we left last year. It was so good to be back. For those that have been here you will not recognize so much of it. So much as been done, but there is so much more to do. God continues to grow his vision for it and with that the work grows.
Monday I ran errands – exchanged money at the bank, did some internet and computer work, and back to the grocery store. I go to the store every day. And that seems pretty typical. Fruits and veggies only keep for a day and you just don’t have much space to store things. Also, with the humidity – things just go bad sooner! Tuesday was similar but we spent some time up at Refugio Solté again.
Monday I ran errands – exchanged money at the bank, did some internet and computer work, and back to the grocery store. I go to the store every day. And that seems pretty typical. Fruits and veggies only keep for a day and you just don’t have much space to store things. Also, with the humidity – things just go bad sooner! Tuesday was similar but we spent some time up at Refugio Solté again.
Wednesday, we spent time here at home and then I took Eden and Nanna to the beach. I now know where the expression like a fish takes to water comes from. That was Eden and the beach. To watch her, you would think she had grown up going to the beach every day of her little life. She immediately took to the water and just had an absolute blast!
Thursday was laundry day. We spent the day washing clothes visiting with other ATC staff and enjoying the beautiful scenery. God showed me something too! While I was washing the water pump went out and I couldn’t get it restarted right away. I finally did, but it had slowed us down by about an hour. I was really wanting to able to leave before dark because I am still not quite used to driving on the 4-wheel drive required roads in the dark. Anyway, after I was finished putting our last load in the dryer, I saw the trees moving outside. I went out and up in a tree on the property of this house was a family of monkeys. There were probably about 6-8 of them ranging from adults to 2 that were pretty young. I called Nanna and Eden out and we got to enjoy watching them eat and play as our laundry finished. What God reminded me of as we watched was that if the water pumped had worked the whole time, we would not have been there to enjoy the monkeys. Just that little reminder that what we see as a delay or an inconvenience could actually be so we can be where we need to be to fully enjoy what God has given us. It just kind of brought a little perspective to this entire process! And Eden got to see her first monkeys up close and personal.
It does rain everyday and I know those of you in Texas are wishing we could send some your way. It has not damped Eden’s playing in any way!
Each day I marvel at the beauty God has put in this place and at his deciding to bring us here. We had very few questions and doubts before getting here and I can tell you whole heartedly that we are where God wants us right now. Everything we have done before now had been to prepare us for here, even down to the fact that we have both previously drive standard transmission vehicles – our little Suzuki Jimmy is manual transmission! We also watch Eden and we know she was created for this place. Will we be here forever? We do not know, but we know this is where God wants us right now! Bart is actively working and guiding the project already, Eden is having more fun than she ever has, and as for me – I am still unsure of my role with ATC, but I know God has a plan and I am at peace just caring for my family right now and helping out when and where I see a need I can meet.
We love you and thank you so much for helping us get here. We covet your prayers for our continued easy transition and that we can get everything wrapped up ad finalized in the States. Pray that things with the house continue to move forward and we will be finished with that in a few weeks! We thank you each for your prayers, for those of you that are supporting us financially, and for all of the encouragement we have received as we settle in.
Take care and God Bless!
Heather
Heather
Posts
