~Because you Prayed...~

God has worked so many MIRACLES! This post will be a BOOK...but there were so many times where "God was There" ...that I just HAD to share! =)
The Long, Long, L.O.N.G. night is past…and I can blog at last! =) Wow! Where do I begin?  I guess…I’ll start at the beginning. =) The Lord helped us as Kimberly, Sarah, and I got all the laundry washed, hung up, dried, and packed or folded and put away before we left.  (The Lord held back the rain so things could dry and we got lots of laundry done! Things that could not wait for 4 1/2 months to be washed...like the boy’s comforter, etc. ) We were able to get everything we wanted to take, packed and ready to go by 3:00 P.M.  JUST THAT MORNING Bro. Jimmy had “just happened” to ask for the cell phone number of the driver of the van in which his girls ride to school each day.  Soon after that is when Phillip called to tell him that our van had cancelled on us and did he have any suggestions.  His van is the one who ended up taking Bro. Jimmy, Sis. Farly and our family and all of our luggage to the airport.  Coincidence? Hardly! =)

~ONE HOUR BEFORE WE LEFT FOR THE AIRPORT Phillip decided to check email before packing up our computer…and that is when we got an email saying that there was a furnished apartment that we could rent if we were interested!!  (The owner hadn’t wanted to rent to us since “we are so many”, but the Lord must have moved on her heart and she decided that she would let us rent her apartment for our first month if we liked what we saw when we arrived!) Isn’t God awesome?!!!!!!!!!!!

We got to the airport and were a tad concerned that every thing would weigh in ok. (I always breathe a SIGH OF RELIEF when that part is done!) Come to find out the website AND our travel agent had given us the wrong info.  We could have packed 20 more lbs. in each big suitcase!!!!  So, they let us check 5 of our 6 carry-ons as well.  That made it SO MUCH easier to travel with 2 babies!! =)~Bro. Jimmy, Sis. Farly, our family and our luggage outside the airport.~

We then headed to McD’s to have a quick bite and last minute time with Bro. Jimmy and Sis. Farly.  Each time we say goodbye to our DEAR Colombian friends it gets HARDER! 

~We left with tears in our eyes and lumps in our throats.~

After we ate we were running to get in line to go through customs when the lady who had checked us out met us and told us that we had to go and pay taxes for Baby Mary.  Phillip ran to do that but due to a problem with their system it took quite awhile.  He then came back to me…concerned that we HURRY as to not miss our flight!  As we were walking very fast toward our gate, that same lady arrived to call ahead and tell them we were coming and escort us to our plane. =)  (God takes GOOD CARE of His people!=)
God gave us a GREAT 5 hour and 20 min. flight with an airlines called TAM.  They gave us service with a smile!  Before they served us the first of 2 Delicious HOT MEALS and drinks…they passed out HOT WET WIPES for us to wash our hands first. =)  
Baby Mary "visiting" with the people in the row in front of her.=)

~Phillip, Mary, Elijah, and Noah. 
(Phillip was giving me a break and holding Baby Mary, for we knew that the rest of the night I would have her on my lap.)~

~Kimberly, Sarah, and I.~

~Thank you for praying…Mary and Elijah both slept some on both planes!~

~We arrived in Sao Paulo, Brazil at midnight our time…only to discover that it was 3:00 AM their time!  So, we had just lost 3 HOURS of our night! =( We waited our 3 hour layover here…on seats that are NOT made for one to lie down.  So, I made myself a bed on the HARD floor hiding behind some seats and this tired Mommy slept while Phillip and Kimberly took turns watching a VERY AWAKE Mary! =)~

Our second flight went beautifully as well and we arrived in Buenos Aires, Argentina this morning at 8:00 AM their time (6:00 AM our time.) We went through customs and found out that we had to pay $140 US per person entrance fee into Argentina! Whew! We weren’t expecting that! (Thankfully you only have to pay that entrance fee once every 10 years!)
Then Phillip took the kids and I and our 3 carts of luggage (which all arrived safely!=) to sit down while he ran to do very necessary business like withdrawing money, exchanging it, checking email to see if he had heard back from that apartment, finding transportation for us, etc.  We waited there for 3 HOURS…the longest 3 hours of my life. =)  It wouldn’t have been so hard if there had been a playground or something to entertain some VERY tired children.  Thankfully towards the end Phillip started taking a very active Elijah with him where ever he would go. 
~Here's where we waited while Phillip did everything he had to do before we could leave the airport.~

Phillip called the realtor named Thomas from the apartment and he said we could come and see it and meet the owner. Phillip found us transportation…but we had to ride in 2 separate vehicles.   The girls and I in one, and Phillip and the boys in another…a 45 min. ride in a VERY LARGE unknown city…having NO CELL PHONES to keep in contact…HOPING that we arrived at the same destination. Thankfully we did.  The girls and I arrived first, and then shortly thereafter Phillip and the boys arrived. =) The apartment is very nice and very roomy for a 2 bedroom apartment. 
I had been praying that if it were God’s will that we could go straight to an apartment rather than camp out in a hotel for days, for I only wanted to have to settle ONCE. After the owner met us she told us that if we want to rent her apartment for the full time we are here…we may!!!!! God worked a miracle and they are taking our word that we will finish paying them as soon as we can.  (For...Remember that we weren't prepared for the nearly $1,000 in entrance fees that we had to pay at the airport!)  

Have I mentioned that we serve an AWESOME GOD?!! 

I'm posting this from a table in our new apartment...We have internet too!  (Which means we won't have to drag our kids to dirty internet cafes.)
I’ll post pics of our apartment later! THANK YOU FOR PRAYING! We’re here safe and sound and we like what we have seen of Argentina so far.  Now, we hope to get settled in…AFTER we get some sleep! =)