~THE BABY...ALIVE...OR DEAD?~

~Sunday morning service~

Thank you for your prayers...our Sunday started out calm, cool, and collected! Bro. Raymond Shreve was in town to be with his pastor and family, but he got to be with us on Sunday! He had a man with him named Alec, which is a Colombian too. I was a little nervous riding in his nice, rental car, with all of us white faces,(WHICH TO PEOPLE HERE MEANS MONEY) and heading to the DANGEROUS area where our Sunday morning service is held. BUT GOD PROTECTED US ONCE AGAIN! God's presence was so CLOSE during our hour of singing, with testimonies, tears, and rejoicing in God. Then Bro. Shreve preached, and God anointed and helped him. There were some that came to the altar to pray too!
~Sunday evening service~

After church, we passed out the cookies and were visiting, when a young couple who was in the service (for the last part of it) asked Phillip to PLEASE PRAY FOR THEIR 1 MONTH-OLD BABY THAT WAS SICK! Phillip asked if it was a boy or girl...and they unwrapped the babies face and he looked into a sweet BABY BOY'S FACE! So, Bro. Shreve and Phillip and all of us began to pray and ask God to please touch their baby...us having no clue why he was sick, or how sick he was. Then Bro. Shreve and Phillip talked to the crying, UNSAVED parents and explained that it was GOOD that they were in church, and that they needed to put God first in their lives! (THE BABY'S GRANDFATHER IS A PART OF THE GUERRILLA ARMY, AND HAS COME TO OUR CHURCH A FEW TIMES!) Then they left the church, and we continued to visit with others, and were getting ready to get a family picture, with our visitors, when all of the sudden someone CRIED OUT..."THE BABY...PASTOR, THE BOY!!!! So, Phillip and I ran outside thinking that our Noah had fallen off of the HIGH PORCH of the house we use for our church. BUT, NOAH...WAS STANDING THERE FINE! We looked around and saw that there were about 20-30 people STANDING AROUND WEEPING, AND THE PARENTS OF THE SICK BABY STANDING THERE WAILING...AND THEN THE DAD PULLED BACK THE BLANKET...AND I SAW ONE OF THE SCARIEST SIGHTS I HAVE EVER SEEN...! THERE LAY THE BABY...A SICK, YELLOW/GRAY COLOR OF D-E-A-T-H, WITH HIS EYES ROLLED BACK IN HIS HEAD!" Oh, I cannot tell you how HORRIBLE that moment was for all of us, BUT ESPECIALLY THE PARENTS! Phillip and I began to weep, and PRAY OUT LOUD, and then Phillip went into the USA mode...and grabbed his cellphone to call an ambulance...THEN REMEMBERED THAT WE WERE 45 MINUTES UP INTO THE MOUNTAINS, and that no ambulance would get there in time! Then, the Daddy of the baby looked at Phillip and PLEADED..."Can y'all take us in this car?" and pointed to Bro. Shreve's rental car. (THANK GOD HE HAD THAT CAR!) We said yes, Phillip threw me the keys to our house, and some money for a bus...and he and Bro. Shreve jumped into the front, and the POOR, DISTRAUGHT COUPLE WITH THEIR BABY jumped into the back of the car...and they sped away like LIGHTENING!!! Phillip said that God helped Bro. Shreve drive FAST, But SAFELY, flashing lights, and honking the horn...and flying down the mountain. (Literally, Dogs and people jumping out of their way!) While Bro. Shreve drove, and the parents WEPT...Phillip PRAYED OUT LOUD!! They arrived at the hospital...and as soon as the Medical people saw the baby they went into action. Phillip and Bro. Shreve had to wait outside, and the parents took turns coming out to tell them what was happening. BUT EACH TIME THEY WOULD COME OUT...IT WAS THE SAME SAD NEWS..."They cannot get any vital signs on our baby!" Each time they would talk to the parents about putting God first, and then pray with them! Finally, the Daddy came out...and said, "I BELIEVE THAT GOD CAN HEAL MY BABY, IF HE WANTED TO!" And Phillip and Bro. Shreve told the Daddy that God could raise up that baby, and that he could serve God, and he could possibly be a pastor of this church, or a missionary someday...but that it was up to his parents to raise him to love God. So, they prayed one more time, and then he went back in...and about 10 minutes later he came out and said, "The baby is stabilizing enough so that they plan on transferring him to another hospital!" PRAISE GOD!! THAT WAS A MIRACLE!! So, Phillip gave the Daddy a little money, and his phone number and told him to call him if he needed him and also to call us later and give us a report! (since the Daddy is to poor to have a phone, for Phillip to call him) And then Phillip and Bro. Shreve came running home in enough time to eat with us and then run to our Sunday evening church service! (While Phillip and them were at the hospital, the man Alec, the kids and I came home on a bus! Thank God that Alec could help us to get home!)
~Bro. Shreve, Alec, our family, Shreve's pastor & wife, & some of our church people.~

We had a nice Sunday dinner, and then ran out the door for church again. God helped in that service too, and several people prayed. Then we came home, had a snack, and had a nice visit! It was so refreshing having Bro. Shreve and Alec with us, and we had a GREAT day in the Lord! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!! PLEASE KEEP PRAYING FOR THE BABY...MICHAEL DAVID, AND HIS PARENTS!
~Kimberly, Bro. Shreve, Phillip & Alec visiting~

~MORE PRAYER NEEDED!~

PLEASE PRAY!!! There is a lot of dangerous activity by the Guerrilla Army going on IN THE AREA OF ONE OF OUR CHURCHES--LOTS OF BLOOD SHED! Yesterday they shot and killed a man, on the corner BY OUR CHURCH! (THERE IS MORE GOING ON, BUT I ASKED PHILLIP NOT TO TELL ME ANY MORE!!) PLEASE PRAY NOT ONLY THAT GOD WILL PROTECT US...BUT THAT THE BLOOD SHED WILL QUIT...AND GOD WILL SAVE SOULS!
~Nevertheless I am continually with thee: thou hast holden me by my right hand. Psalm 73:23~

~Happy Birthday GG~

NOW ON A BRIGHTER NOTE.....

Happy Birthday to my Grandmother! She turns 85 today~~April 29th!
I wish I could be with you GG to help Celebrate your special day.
I LOVE YOU TONS!!!

~Our family with GG, her brother Uncle Walter, and cousin Alyssa~


~GRANDMOTHER~

G-OD BLESSED OUR FAMILY BY GIVING US YOU!
R-IGHT OFF THE BAT, WE KNEW YOU WERE TRUE BLUE.
A-LWAYS THERE, AND SHOWING US THAT YOU CARE!
N-IGHT AND DAY, WE KNOW THAT WE HAVE YOUR PRAYER!
D-O KNOW THAT WE LOVE YOU SO MUCH...
M-ANY ARE THE TIMES WE HAVE FELT YOUR SWEET TOUCH. (HUGS!)
O-LD? NO, NEVER...BUT WHY DO YOU HAVE CRACKS IN YOUR FACE? (Inside joke)
T-HE SIGN OF ALL OF THOSE YEARS THAT GOD HAD TO GIVE YOU GRACE! (WITH US YOUR GRAND KIDS! =)
H-OW CAN I EXPRESS FROM SO FAR AWAY HERE IN COLOMBIA, WHAT YOU MEAN TO ME?
E-VERY WORD SEEMS TO FAIL ME...BUT YOU ARE THE WORLD'S BEST GRANDMOTHER YOU SEE!
R-EALLY, YOU ARE A GOOD CHRISTIAN, LOVING, SWEET, KIND, CARING,... AND ALL WE NEED YOU TO BE! =)

~A HEART TO HEART CHAT~

My friend Sarah Fry posted a blog about some of her favorite things. I wrote this comment in her comments, and decided to share it with you!

~SOME OF MY FAVORITE THINGS~
BAKING something fun To eat!
Burning yummy smelling candles, a treat!
Drinking a hot cup of a flavored tea,
and spending time with my dear family! (and more! =)
(It's true...if I'm feeling low...TO THE KITCHEN TO BAKE I GO!)

~WELCOME, pull up a chair, and lets have a CHAT! Would you like a HOT, CAPPUCCINO MUFFIN, and a cup of milk or hot tea? =) A missionary, just like any other Christian (or person) has their low times. We are trying to START 2 churches here, and 1 in Medellin, "FROM SCRATCH"! Our people know NOTHING about God, His Word, etc. So, there are times when in the HUMAN we can get a little discouraged. One week, everyone is in church and seeming to be doing well...then the next 3 weeks, there are only 5 other people in church besides us. =) AND SINCE WE ARE IN THE RAINY SEASON, THAT CAN MAKE YOU FEEL LOW TOO! BUT, GOD HAS CALLED US HERE, AND THIS IS HIS WORK, AND WE PLAN TO STAY ON OUR KNEES BEFORE HIM AND WATCH HIM LEAD OUR PEOPLE! One person has said, "I LIVE ON THE MOUNTAIN TOP...BUT I'M NOT ALWAYS HOME!~ SMILE! So, since our family was a little down this week, we baked more goodies than normal, and here are some of the things we made this week, and a few pics. (THROUGH PRAYER AND PRAISE...God has helped us and we are ENCOURAGED IN HIM! =) THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS!!
~Homemade star and butterfly shaped biscuits, and gravy~
~Homemade Flour tortillas~
~Peanut butter cookies, with kisses on top~

~A slide show of some of the goodies we've made, and a few extra pics!~

(If anyone wants any recipes, just let me know!)

Phillip has his own blog now, on our website, www.holyvision.org
Or you can go directly to the blog with this link: http://www.holyvision.org/phillip_s_blog

~Happy 10th Wedding Anniversary!~

My dear brother-in-law Michael Dickinson and his lovely wife Beth have been married 10 years today~~April 26th! Congratulations Michael and Beth!
We are HAPPY for y'all! We love and miss y'all tons!

~Marriage is a promise that is shared by only two~~a vow to love and dream and plan together all life through!~

~A sermon in shoes~

"Oh, to be His Hand extended!
Reaching out to the oppress'd.
Let me touch Him, let me touch Jesus.
So that others may know and be blest!"

That is my prayer...that others will see the Saviour in me. Every day we see hurting people all around us: there are the poor and needy, there are the un-wed Mothers, the teenage Mothers, the broken homes, the drunkards, the drug addicts, and the list could go on...BUT EACH OF THESE ARE IN NEED OF A HEALER...A SAVIOUR! Everywhere we go and everywhere we look here we see someone who has just been beaten up, or someone walking down the street with tears streaming down their faces, or their lives wrecked by sin. WE HAVE THE ANSWER TO THEIR PROBLEMS...IT'S JESUS!!! GOD GAVE HIS ONLY SON TO D-I-E TO SAVE THE WHOLE WORLD FROM SIN! I cannot imagine giving my Noah to die for a good person...let alone a wicked person...but that is exactly what our GREAT GOD DID! If I had been the only person, I believe that Jesus would have still died for me. PEOPLE ARE WATCHING OUR REACTIONS, AND OUR LIVES! I am a missionary's wife...but I am first a wife and Mommy. Most of you Mommy's know that it seems that all we get done: is washing dirty dishes, washing, folding, and ironing laundry, cleaning floors, etc. BUT...if we can realize that we are TOUCHING LITTLE LIVES FOR CHRIST while we are doing our daily tasks...for they are SEEING JESUS IN US...OR ARE THEY? Let us daily TOUCH JESUS in our private time with the KING OF KINGS...so that we may go and touch others for Him too.
J-esus, O-thers, and Y-ou...what a wonderful way to spell JOY!!

~Only fear the Lord and serve Him in truth with all your heart; for consider how great things He hath done for you. 1 Sam. 12:24~

(Janet, Noah and I with some of the people from our church...babes in Christ!)

~WET WEATHER, MISS HEATHER!!~

(When I was a little girl, I was riding my tricycle around in the rain, holding a HUGE umbrella. Someone took a picture of me, and put it in our school year book with the above caption! =)
The night before Phillip left to go to Ecuador for a few days to try to get our visas (WHICH HE DID ACCOMPLISH...PRAISE THE LORD) he wanted to have some family time. So, he suggested that we take the kids to the park. We got all ready and opened the door to leave, and it was sprinkling! We ran and got in a taxi to take us to the park, and while we rode we PRAYED that Jesus would help it to stop raining. BUT, it just rained the harder! UGH! So, the taxi driver let us out in front of the park, and then we saw right away that THE PARK WAS CLOSED! Thank the Lord we had our rain coats with hoods on, for it was raining harder by then. Phillip asked me what we should do then, and I remembered that about a mile away was an ice cream shop with an indoor PLAYGROUND! So, we walked that mile in the RAIN, and by the time we got there we were SOAKING WET AND COLD!!! We were HOPING that the ice cream shop would have something HOT to eat...but, all they had was ice cream! BRRR!!! Just as we got inside the door of the ice cream shop...IT STARTED RAINING "CATS AND DOGS" (WE WERE THANKFUL WE DID NOT HAVE TO WALK IN A "POODLE"!!! =) So, we ordered ice cream and ate it while are teeth chattered...and while the kids played at the indoor playground...DAY SAVED! =)
Phillip tried to take a picture of our family with the kids in the playground... we were soaking wet, freezing, but happy! =) (Note the 2 blue Frisbees on the table...that we WERE going to use at the park!)
(I could not post this earlier, for Phillip took the camera with him to Ecuador...at my suggestion...for it's not every day one is in Ecuador! =)

"PASTOR...LEAVE NOW!"

~BUT THE LORD IS FAITHFUL, WHO SHALL STABLISH YOU, AND KEEP YOU FROM EVIL. 2 THES. 3:3~
(Our church, before we painted it, and put in new lights.)

~We had a good Sunday in the Lord! Due to circumstances beyond our control...only Phillip could go to church today. (The kids and I had church here!) There were 24 in the service this morning, and God helped. Phillip has been trying to have classes before church on Sunday mornings....teaching the people in preparation for baptism...but every time about 2 to 4 people come. So, today he switched it and let out service about 11:45 and then taught the baptism class for those last 15 minutes, and there were 8 or more people that stayed. YEA! The ones that want to get baptized later on, have to attend these Christian Beliefs classes. There are several ladies that want to get baptized, but they are living in sin. Please pray that God will save their souls and change them, not just for our sakes, but FOR THEIR SAKES!
~As you know our churches, are in one of the WORST areas of Colombia...the Guerrilla ("army" that is against the government, and is VERY DANGEROUS, kidnapping, and killing whom they desire!!!!) is very prevalent in Corinto. Here, people from the USA...are looked at as "MADE OF MONEY!" So, our family is in more danger of being kidnapped for that reason, ...THE GUERRILLA IS THINKING OF RANSOM MONEY!!) Phillip had just finished teaching the baptism class and was preparing to leave the church, when a girl came up to him with a message from her mother..."PASTOR...LEAVE NOW!!" So, Phillip quickly gathered his things, and LEFT! There was a group of men (probably a part of the Guerrilla "army") drinking or drunk near the church...and Phillip had to walk past them to go and wait for his bus to get home. THANK GOD FOR HIS PROTECTION! THANK YOU FOR YOUR PRAYERS FOR OUR SAFETY...WE NEED EVERY PRAYER!

(church)

(Us in the front of our church...and NO I DID NOT DECORATE THE FRONT! =)

~"Our" Missions service at IHC!~

(Throw away your magnifying glass...our dear friend Gaylerd Miller just sent me a closer view of Bro. Plank and My Moma speaking to us on the phone! =)

As I already mentioned, I (WE) LOVE IHC...but could not attend this year. BUT THANK THE LORD FOR THE STREAMING AUDIO, we got to "attend" every service in our home here in Colombia. IT WAS AWESOME! It was the next best thing to being there! =)
Some of you may have heard that during the Wednesday afternoon International service, Bro. James Plank telephoned 4 missionary families and interviewed them LIVE in front of the IHC crowd. We got the privilege of being one of the missionary families. Since we were listening to every service on the Audio Streaming...WE HEARD THAT JAMES PLANK WAS HAVING SOME OF THE MISSIONARIES' MOTHERS TALK, BEFORE HE CALLED AND TALKED TO THEIR MISSIONARY CHILDREN! THIS WAS A TOTAL SURPRISE TO WE MISSIONARIES! So, I sat by our computer and wept while Moma talked about my sister Laura Hausman's and my missionary call, (while Keith Bailey was calling Phillip on the cell phone preparing us to talk to Bro. Plank)...then James Plank got on the phone with us, and we talked to him and got to talk to Moma too. She was crying and I was crying, and it was a VERY touching, SPECIAL time. Although before the phone call we did have butterflies in our stomachs. =)

~Be strong in the Lord, and in the power of his might. Eph. 6:10~

(James Plank also called my brother-in-law Daryl Hausman in Romania, Sally Sebo in Romania, and Marc and Melodie Sankey in Mexico!)
A dear friend Linda Massengill took a couple pics while Moma was on the platform and sent them to me! =)

(NOW...IF YOU GET OUT YOUR MAGNIFYING GLASS...you'll see that this is when Moma and Bro. Plank are talking to us on the phone! =)


(This is a pic of Janet Sankey talking, and all of the Mothers sitting on the platform, including my dear Mother!)

DRUM ROLL~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~

WELL...My man got home late last night from Ecuador...WITH 5 COLOMBIAN RELIGIOUS VISAS WITH OUR NAMES ON THEM!! PRAISE GOD! After 10 MONTHS of trying to get these visas, TONS OF PAPERWORK (SEE PIC BELOW), and spending Thousands of dollars...we now have our visas good for 2 years! GOD IS GOOD! Phillip had lots of answers to prayer to tell us about last night! THANKS BUNCHES FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS!!

~Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say on the Lord. Psalms 27:14~

(PHILLIP WITH THE HUGE STACK OF PAPERS (OVER 1,000 PAGES!)HE HAD TO TURN IN IN ORDER TO GET OUR VISAS!)

WE ARE VERY HAPPY TO HAVE OUR DADDY HOME! He bought each one of the kids a musical instrument from Ecuador. Kimberly~an Indian wooden flute,(with it's own cloth case), Sarah~a real animal skin drum, and Noah~his very own REAL guitar! The kids are thrilled with their gifts. He bought me a neat sweater, and 2 CUTE skirts ($2.50 each), and a nice wallet. Kimberly made Daddy an Apple Crisp, which he (and we) enjoyed last night.

~Inter-church Holiness Convention~ (IHC)

Oh, It's IHC time again, I wish we could go!
I've only missed attending 7 years of my 33, you know!
To walk in and smell the familiar smells
And see all of the books, Cd's and pads and pens for sell.

To see familiar faces, dear friends, and greet each other,
And spend happy times with my Father and Mother.
To feel God's presence in a very special way...
Yes, I'll miss it....but I guess I'll be OK. =)

All of you that get to go....COUNT your blessings and enjoy it for us! =) We are praying for a special sense of God's presence in the services. Dad Sankey wrote me that we might be able to hear it live by going to a certain link. YEA! I have already listened to the first IHC service and cried and was praising GOD! I tried to put the link on here, but the blog won't let me! SORRY! =(

Since we were in Costa Rica at Spanish school last year, our last year to attend IHC was 2005...so I've included a few pics from that year!

MaryBeth, Heather, Susanna, & Kelly~





My precious Kimberly, Noah & Sarah~



Kimberly and Sarah singing in the kids choir~




Michelle, Susanna, Heather, Janet, & Kelly~


Trust ye in the Lord forever; for in the Lord Jehovah is everlasting strength.
Isa. 26:4~

~Our weekend~

"For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us." Romans 8:18~
I was struggling with an infection and was afraid it might be a kidney infection...but I think it's not. I'm feeling better Thank the Lord.
On Friday we walked the mile (pulling our metal cart to carry everything home in)to our closet grocery store and got groceries. Yesterday we went to the fruit and vegetable market and got what we needed for the week. Colombia is blessed with a lot of nice fruits and veggies. Kimberly made bread again by herself, and even kneaded it and put it in the pans, let it rise and BAKED IT while I was taking a nap. Good job Kimberly!
No word from Phillip today. But please keep praying...he should find out tomorrow or Tuesday if we get our visas. Since we have been working on them for 10 months now, it would be nice to get that behind us...BUT GOD KNOWS!!
"And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28~

(Us on Christmas Eve at the Becker's house!)

~Our Sunday~

The kids and I had a quiet day of worship here at home today. It just is not safe for me to drag my 3 kids ALONE, carrying the heavy keyboard, the stand, the suitcase with hymn books, the cookies and WALK A MILE TO CATCH A CROWDED BUS TO RIDE FOR AN HOUR ONE WAY TO CHURCH (And also trying to make sure my kids do not get run over as we cross the streets!) A LOT OF TIMES THE BUSES ARE SO FULL OF PEOPLE THAT WE HAVE TO STAND IN THE AISLE, AND TRY TO BALANCE HOLDING OUR THINGS AND WATCHING THAT NOAH DOES NOT FALL OUT THE OPEN DOOR. And after church we'd have to do it all over again. I do not feel safe riding in a taxi alone with 3 children either. (AND MOST TAXI DRIVERS HATE TO TAKE US TO THOSE POOR, UNSAFE AREAS WHERE OUR 2 CHURCHES ARE...and a lot of times they try to over-charge us!) TO SAY NOTHING OF THE FACT THAT WE LIVE IN THE KIDNAPPING CAPITAL OF THE WORLD!! So, today we listened to 2 of my Dad's sermons on CD.(Edgar Bryan) To quote my sister Laura Hausman, Daddy's my 2nd favorite preacher, now that I married a preacher. =) We also gathered around the piano and sang songs in ENGLISH, prayed together, and listened to Bible stories on CD.


SKYLINE CHILI!!
Some of you may remember my first attempt to make Skyline chili here in Colombia.
1. When Phillip bought "hamburger", THEY SOLD HIM HORSE MEAT!! UGH!
2. We could not find cheddar cheese, so used white goat's cheese, BUT IT HAD HAIR IN IT!
3. The spaghetti turned into ONE HUGE LUMP! (IT ALL WAS SOOO NASTY!!)
Well, today now that I know where to find all the good ingredients I made Skyline again and it turned out DELICIOUS! YEA!
Thanks for stopping by, you are just in time for WARM Choc. chip coffee cake! And THANKS BUNCHES FOR YOUR CONCERN AND PRAYERS FOR PHILLIP, FOR US, AND FOR THE VISAS!

Update on Phillip! And a house pic!

Phillip who is in Quito, Ecuador trying to get our religious visas called me and said he will not get his interview with the consulate until next week. So, he had to change his airplane ticket to fly home NEXT TUESDAY. (He was supposed to come home tonight. =( Thanks for your prayers for him, for our visas, and for the kids and I.

When we moved into this house, we had so much furniture to buy that we saved OUR bedroom furniture for last. (Because it was hidden upstairs out of public view. =) So, we slept on this mattress for 6-7 months! It was not the "prettiest bedroom" you have ever seen. =)



Thank the Lord in February, God helped us to get this nice bed and 2 night stands for a GREAT Deal! We are THRILLED with the pretty bedroom that we have now. Kimberly told me that she thinks that it looks like a FANCY hotel room! =)

~No one can have too many friends!~

God worked it out that we got a SURPRISE trip back to the USA for Christmas!!! HOW FUN! So, while we were back there, we got to see some of our dear FRIENDS! I decided to include some pics for you to see. (obviously I may not have pics of everyone we saw, so if there's not a picture of y'all....I'm sorry!)

Pastor and Mrs. Eisenhart~


Our directors, Bro. and Sis. Becker~


The Beckers "kids" & ours too~


The Kemps and us~


Janie, Susanna, Steff, & I~


Regina & I~







Rob, Steff, & us~





Melinda, Susanna & I~




Sarah & I~





The Holladays, & I~






Roseanne, Nora, & I~









The Edwards, & Noah~






Janet, & we girls~





Bro. Boardman, & us~

Phillip is Gone again....

I'm beginning to think that it has fallen my lot to stay at home and keep the "home fires burning" while he travels around preaching and taking care of our paperwork. SMILE! No, really he had to leave today to fly to Quito, Ecuador to change our Colombian visas from tourist to religious visas. (He had to fly outside of Colombia to do this!) I will NOT go into all the details of the NERVE-RACKING day, STOMACH IN KNOTS, and all that went into us getting him and our papers ready to leave today. It was UNREAL!!! But God answered prayer and now he's on his way. Please pray that God will guide him, protect him, and help him to get our visas, IT IT'S GOD'S WILL! [Quito, Ecuador is where the missionaries Jim Elliot and Nate Saint and 3 others flew into (YEARS AGO), before they went to the place in Ecuador where they were going to ministry, and were killed by the Indians.] Phillip is supposed to come back late Saturday night. The kids and I are doing fine, missing Daddy, but fine. Thanks for your prayers!! (Phillip just called and he arrived safely in Ecuador. Thank the Lord!)

Our good friends from college (GBS), DeWayne and Renee Joslin came with a work team in February. We had a lot of fun, remembering things from our college days, and laughing over DeWayne's hilarious stories.

COLORED eggs?

OK...I already mentioned some about our "Easter Sunday dinner" being on Saturday and then me getting sick, but I wanted to tell you a few things that made our Easter DIFFERENT FROM NORMAL!
I had no store-bought Easter egg dye (the kids love to do it for fun, like art class =) and THEY DO NOT SELL THE EASTER EGG DYING KITS HERE IN COLOMBIA! Since I was sick, I did not have the energy to make a "homemade natural dye" (from beet, or raspberry juice, etc.), so I just let the kids COLOR our COLOMBIAN, NATURALLY BROWN EGGS with their MARKERS. SMILE!
This year, we did not want give our kids a bunch of candy for Easter...(for we spent lots of time and money at the dentist in Costa Rica, and some of them still need more work done). Usually, on the Monday after Easter, we take them to McDonalds or a place like that to celebrate, and we all eat and they play. For eating at McDonalds is a rare treat that they LOVE! (HERE, McDonalds is EXPENSIVE, THE CHEAPEST HAMBURGER IS AROUND $3.00). This month we are having to spend a lot of money trying to get our Colombian visas, so the McDonalds trip was not an option. SOOOO...We just gave the girls some fun, pink, spray-on lotion from Avon, and Noah some Sponge Bob Shampoo, that I had gotten at a GREAT SALE at Avon. They were happy, and their teeth were too. =) (Besides since they have a Mommy that LOVES to bake, and bakes ALL OF THE TIME, they get their share of sweets and goodies.) It was a different, but fun Easter.

~My precious FAMILY is more than an heirloom to me~

God worked it out that we got a SURPRISE trip back to the USA for Christmas!!! HOW FUN! So, while we were back there, we got to see some of our dear family! I decided to include some pics for you to see. (obviously I may not have pics of everyone we saw, so if there's not a picture of y'all....I'm sorry!)

Uncle Scott and Aunt Libby Sutherland and family~ Hobe Sound, FL

My dear parents, Edgar and Martha Bryan, and my precious Grandma Bryan in Canada~





My great brother Lincoln Bryan and sweet wife Lyn, Virginia~





Kimberly, Sarah and Kelsea Bryan~

My nephew Keith Bryan that is TOPS, holding little Noah, Virginia~

My sweet cousin Esther Roush Miller, Tennessee~








My GG and Alyssa Miller our cousin, Tennessee




My best cousin Susan Hunt, Jeff and Alexis, Georgia~





Our great brother Michael and his sweet wife Beth Dickinson, and precious Isaiah~



The sweetest in-laws in the world, Dad and Mom Dickinson, and us, Arizona~