Vida de la Confianza

My husband and I purchased a beautiful piece of land in December with a deep ravine leading down to a creek running alongside part of the property. In order to help us stay as debt-free as possible (and because of an intense work schedule), we are moving slowly on the whole process, with plans to live in our RV while we do the work.  Our first step is getting the fence up-and it is currently about half-way done.  Here is a picture of the first half of our fence...

...and part of our creek right after heavy rains.

We bought our blueprints this week for a home that is called Vida de la Confianza.  After a quick internet search, we found a few pictures from someone else who had built the same home in South Dakota.  I am primarily posting all the pictures below for myself so I can reference them all in one location in the future as needed.  None of the pictures are my own-they came from Google Images, originally from Houzz.com.

Exterior pictures (these were mostly small images, so many are not clear, but there is nothing I can do about that).  They made a few changes to the original plan, turning the garage to a different angle, plus some of the exterior surface materials are different than the architect calls for.  (We will probably also make some changes in this area.)  We bought the plan for a slab foundation, but this has the basement foundation, so it won't look exactly like this, but very similar.

Exterior back porch-ours will look very different as we don't have a basement, and exterior deck will be cement, just a few inches above the ground. 

View from front porch (ours will be cement).

View of front porch from road.  They chose different windows than the architect called for.  Because we will have a slab foundation it will sit much lower to the ground, so that will changes the looks some as well.

I like their porch ceiling, not sure what (if anything specifically) the architect called for.

I can envision rocking chairs or a porch swing out here some day overlooking our land.

This is a backyard view-again, we won't have the basement or wooden decking.  

Another back yard view into the house.  This doorway opens into the breakfast nook.  In the house plans this is actually windows, so again, the builder made some changes.  Further down to the right, out of view in the picture, is the french-style doors that open out from the living room, plus a doorway into the master.

A more clear picture of the front porch.  Before we had even seen this picture we had discussed a similar front door.

Moving inside...

This picture was taken standing in the kitchen and looking out to the living room to the right of the staircase and foyer/dining room to the left of the staircase. In our plans, this staircase will actually be going the opposite direction in an enclosed space, so where the staircase stands in the picture will actually be a full wall.

This view is just as you step in the front door and look to the right.  This seating area is shown as the dining room on the blue prints, and we will use it that way.

View from the kitchen sink into the living room. We would like a farmhouse style sink.  We really like the hammered bronze look.

View from living room into the kitchen.  The doorway on the far right side of the picture is supposed to have a small wall directly to the left of it...big enough for a coat closet with it's door on the other side of the wall.  It appears that they opted for more cabinetry instead, probably because they changed the floor plan of the kitchen a bit.

This is my favorite of all the pictures, as it shows the living room, kitchen, and breakfast nook, so you can see the layout pretty well.

Another good view.  This picture reminds me that I don't like sectionals!  Thankfully I will get to choose my own furniture.

The builder staged this dining room as an additional seating area.

My husband will more than likely build a beautiful wooden table for this space.  We have found some inspiration for our table at World Market.

I love the wooden accents-door, trimwork around the windows and along the floors.  Again-where the stairway is will just be a closed-in wall.

Here the builder made some changes near the fireplace to include some built-ins, which we probably won't do-I think the brick-work will actually extend higher than shown.  Since 2 of the living room walls are just open to the next room, we will have limited space for a tv.  We have talked about using the space above the fireplace for the tv, or hooking up a projector and having a motorized screen that can be raised when not in use.  The door to the left of the fireplace will lead to the staircase.

More detail of the fireplace, and the doorway into the master bedroom.

Kitchen.  The dishwasher will be just to the left of the sink.

Kitchen again...The builder made some significant changes to the kitchen as well.  Fridge will be placed where the cabinetry on the far right is located.  There will be a large pantry just to the left of the doorway. 

Since my husband is chef we plan to upgrade the oven and stovetop and add a hood vent. We will also add a pot-filler and we want a brick backsplash.  I would like white or off-white cabinets, and will probably go with granite counter-tops.

Here is a view of the breakfast nook...the builder replaced the windows with a sliding glass door.  I'm not sure what kind of seating we will do here.

And again, turned just slightly.

The builder made some significant changes to the walkway between the house and the garage, as well as just inside the entryway to the house from the garage.  This is one of those areas.  Our plan will still include washer/dryer hookups but won't be laid out like this at all.

 I believe this is where the builder chose to enclose the covered walkway from the garage to the house.  We will likely enclose ours as well.

And the same area from the opposite direction as it appears the builder chose to add a few closets on the right...

Master bedroom.  Door on the far left opens to the living room.  The door on the right is a walk-in closet.

 

In this picture the closet is located on the left and the bathroom to the right of that.  The un-seen wall where the photographer is standing has a door that opens up to the back deck.

This is one of the bedrooms that we will use as an office.  I couldn't find any pictures of the 3rd bedroom, although it will be similar size.  We will use it as the guest room.

Master closet.  I think it may actually have been altered some as well.

This bathroom will be shared between the office and guest room (again-some changes made by the builder).

I believe this is the 1/2 bath with alterations in the hallway to the garage.

Master bathroom.  I like these square sinks.

This is Bonus Room 2 which we plan to use as a music room.

The stairway opening will be from the opposite side so there will just be a plain wall where the stairway is with the stairway entrance in the other bonus room.

Another view

Bonus Room 1.  We will probably add a bathroom in here, and perhaps some storage space.

Another view...

This is an exciting venture for us-we have not built a home before, so I am sure we have much to learn as time progresses.

Reaching America

This year I began a new endeavor-I started the process to obtain credentials with the Assemblies of God.  In order to meet the educational requirements, I enrolled in NTDSOM-North Texas District School of Ministry.  Each month this year (minus a one month break in the summer and also in December) I take a new class, which includes mostly personal study times, and once a month I come together with the class to hear lecture and take the exam.

Here is a picture of this month's book-and my blanket as I enjoy being able to study from the comfort of my own bed.

This month we are studying Assemblies of God History, Missions, and Governance.  I found the chapter on U.S Missions (the first part of chapter 12) the most intriguing as my husband and I are U.S. missionaries.

Much of the U.S. Missions material was somewhat of a review for me.  When we attended Candidate Orientation two years ago, we learned about the role of the U.S. Missions (which I usually refer to as AGUSM) as related to being a facilitating and sending agency-the department appoints us as we go through the missions process.  We are a part of the Missionary Church Planters and Developers Department, which is led by Darlene Robison.  She has been an incredible support, advocate, and cheerleader to us and I can't imagine being on this journey without her!  There are 6 other departments that we got to know in our missions process-chaplaincy, Chi Alpha, Intercultural, Teen Challenge, MAPS, and Youth Alive.

There was also some material in the text that I learned from regarding U.S. Missions.  Much of the historical information I had minimal knowledge prior to this course.  The chapter described how the department grew throughout the years.  Starting off in in the early part of 1900's, the "department" was referred to as pioneer evangelism, and then in 1939 it became it's own official department-Home Missions and Education Department, with the first director being Fred Vogler.  At that time emphasis was primarily on church planting and Bible institutes.

Over time, specialized ministries began to pop up as the need arose.  Prisoners, various ethnic groups, Native Americans, and other special needs groups were added to the list of areas receiving missionaries.  (These areas of ministry were the reason the various departments I listed above were created.)  Over time, the department changed names again to the Division of Home Missions in 1971 and to U.S. Missions in 2003.  The current AGUSM director is Zollie Smith.

Names, dates, and places are probably some of the most difficult things I have trouble remembering.  The stories, though, stick with me.  As I read the material about the different departments, my mind went to the missionaries I know in some of those departments within AGUSM and what incredible work they each represent.

Chaplaincy-Nate and Sarah Moore are fellow North Texas missionaries, and friends of ours, to the rock climbing world.  They can relate to the lifestyle of rock climbers because they live that lifestyle day in and day out.  They live out of their van and follow the rock climbing scene around the nation.  I don't know many people who could live the way they do.

Chi Alpha-Lennon and Christal Noland are also North Texas missionaries, and happen to be one of our neighbors, as we both currently live in missions housing.  After serving on the campus through Chi Alpha missions in San Angelo, they went to North Carolina before coming back to Texas to serve as directors to all North Texas Chi Alpha missionaries.  Since his time in this new role, we have seen an influx of Chi Alpha missionaries begin to seek national appointment.  I am excited about the work he is doing for the department, as our work as Youth Pastors has shown us first hand that many students turn away from God in their college years.

Intercultural Ministries-Steve and Sandra Hogue are AGUSM missionaries out of Florida.  They specialize in adoption and foster care-specifically training the church to fill the need as foster, and potentially adoptive parents, and in turn giving kids a chance to hear about God.  Since so many orphans in America come from various ethnic groups, they were placed in this department.  I can't remember how many kids they have-but it is over 10!  This is certainly a calling, and no doubt God has His hand on this family!

Missionary Church Planters and Developers-Josh Holder (and what is his wife's name?  Remember that thing up above where I said I wasn't good with names?  Prime example!)  Josh and his wife moved to New Orleans (I believe from Illinois) to work with the low income in the crescent city.  He sticks out in my mind, as we (Mercy Chefs) had responded to tornadoes in Reserve, Louisiana a couple months ago, and since it was just a few miles away from his city, he came and joined us one day to help out.  He regularly works with the homeless, and in the cold of winter made sure his outdoor friends had plenty of blankets to keep warm.  This type of work is very close to my heart as we work with the homeless regularly in Dallas and Fort Worth.

Teen Challenge-Paul Ecker is one of the first U.S. missionaries I think I ever met.  When John and I first married was when we began attending an A/G church, and our pastor invited him out to our church annually.  He typically brought the Teen/Life Challenge guys out with him, and their music ministry always touched me.  They sang "My God is real..." with such passion-they knew He was real because of the change He had made in their lives.  On a side note, Paul was originally from Philadelphia and I always laughed at his reference and desire for Tastee Cakes-which at the time was a treat reserved only for the east coast, but has since become available in Texas.  But I digress!  Again-this is one of those ministries that you really must have a heart for, and Paul definitely is in his niche!

MAPS-Ken and Peggy McGowen entered my life a few years back.  I worked at the district office at the time, and they had an opening for a part time front desk receptionist.  Ken's current MAPS assignment was at Lakeview Camp as an electrician.  Peggy applied for the receptionist to give her something to do during the day.  She was so sweet to work with and an incredible encourager.  Since their assignment at Lakeview, they have been to many places around the country-California, Maine, and Florida among others, and also out of the country to Senegal through A/G World Missions.  I love to see what God can do through the layperson's abilities to further the Kingdom!

Youth Alive-Kyle and Janelle Embry are North Texas Youth Alive missionaries.  They work so closely with the district youth department, particularly at summer camps, and provide incredible training to teenagers through their Together Trainings (which we have participated in when we were youth pastors) which prepare students to lead Bible clubs on their school campuses.  The thing they are most known for is their Seven Projects-school assemblies where they typically teach on secular topics such as bullying, and then invite the students to a local church later that night and preach a gospel message.  During Candidate Orientation we met another Youth Alive couple who were pioneering a Youth Alive in their district and one of their biggest troubles is churches understanding why this type of ministry is needed.  I was shocked-Youth Alive is such an integral part of district life and camps here in North Texas that I simply cannot imagine not having such a vital ministry. 

While history is not one of my preferred courses of study, there was enough material in this month's book to keep my attention.  Some was stories of real people and what they accomplished.  Other had information that I could relate to for one reason or another.  As this month comes to a close, I am looking forward to my next study on the book of Acts.

Road Trippin' in the Fall

Nothing soothes me more than a road trip.  When I'm stressed and busy, there is nothing quite like a road trip to help me unwind.  Last month, it was almost as if God just placed the perfect opportunity for me to enjoy a road trip.  In the midst of an incredibly busy schedule in multiple areas of life, plus additional stressors flying at me, we had a missions meeting scheduled in St. Louis.  My hubby was at a Mercy Chefs site in Mississippi the full week prior to the event and was going to have to drive to St. Louis directly from his feeding site.  I considered flying to St. Louis and meeting him there, but in the end, decided a road trip was truly what I needed-alone time with God on the road.

I stopped many times along the way; the first stop was in Hulbert, Oklahoma at Sequoyah State Park.  I just enjoyed the beauty of the area for a little while...the changing color of the leaves, the view of the lake, pine straw (we don't have pine trees in our area of Texas), the sound of the leaves crunching under my feet, even the smell of the forest.  As I was leaving town, I saw a tin man that I just had to stop and take a picture of. 

Spavinaw State Park was my next stop.  This was a gorgeous little park...a dam was on the far end of the park, and a huge cliff ran the full length of the campgrounds, with a creek running below the cliff.  The foliage here had lots of colors spread throughout.  Most Oklahoma State Parks are free to visit (camping does have a charge), so it was nice that I was able to stop at several of them without paying an entrance fee.

Once I left the state park, I crossed the bridge, and drove up a small incline on the other side of the lake to this gorgeous view.

Later I stopped in Bernice at Grand Lakes State Park.  It had a nice cement trail along the lake there.  I was very impressed with the parks in Oklahoma.  As you can see, it was starting to get dark, so it was my last stop of the night.

I spent the night in Miami, Oklahoma, one of the stops along Historic Route 66.  I did a quick check on TripAdvisor and Yelp to figure out what unique restaurants were in the area, and came across multiple great reviews for Waylan's Ku-Ku Burger.  I wasn't incredibly hungry, so I ordered the Ku-Ku fries (essentially chili cheese fries) and a drink.  I'm not sure why I forgot tot take a picture of dinner, but this was a great choice that I would love to go to again with my hubby or kids.

The next morning, I decided to drive along Historic Route 66 for a little while.

I stopped briefly in Riverton, Kansas at the Rainbow Bridge.  It is the last surviving Marsh arch bridge along the whole road.  It is only open to one direction of traffic, and a new bridge is just east of it, which most traffic now takes.

After that I stopped in downtown Galena, Kansas just a block or two off Route 66 to catch a glimpse of Tow Mater.

It was at this point that I realized my slow trip was about over, as I had to get on the road to our conference.  I had a wonderful time decompressing, and my road trip with detours was just what I needed to relieve stress.  I got back on the interstate in Missouri to be greeted at the welcome center by this guy.  I thought this might mean I would be experiencing a great deal of road construction, but thankfully the slow-downs were minimal.  

It was great to be reunited with my hubby after about a week.  We had a wonderful conference, and enjoyed a little bit of St. Louis before having to head back home.

A Visit From My Mom

This summer I promised my mom we would come for a visit....and then my boys' schedules got in the way.  Since we couldn't go there, we flew her down here for a few days.  We had an enjoyable time!

Saturday we stopped at Barbec's, a local breakfast joint that boasts the best biscuits in Dallas.  I ordered the SOS since the biscuits were my whole reason for visiting.  They did not disappoint.  What did disappoint was my photography skills.  The pic I took was so blurry I am not sure you could identify what was on the plate.  We all loved the food-and the great prices!  

After that we stopped just down the road at the Dallas Arboretum.  I have been wanting to visit the arboretum for a long time, and I am really glad that when I finally got around to going, they were celebrating Autumn at the Arboretum.  Such a pretty time of year!

Aside from the pumpkins and gourds, the views of White Rock Lake were gorgeous as well!  The weather was ideal.  I am glad I finally got around to visiting this Dallas gem! 

We also ate a whole lot this weekend!  My hubby fired up the smoker, and he smoked pork ribs, pulled pork butt (and made some Carolina bbq sauce to go with it), and chicken leg quarters.  The boys wanted to take my mom to El Pollo Regio as well while she was here (she loves Mexican and always requests it when she comes to Texas); she ended up treating us for our birthdays this year there.  We went by the Dallas Farmer's Market, and she picked up a first for her...fresh (not dried) pintos.

Sunday after church we were having a special buckle series for kids (mini rodeo), and it was the first week of that.  Mom enjoyed getting to see the little kids participate.  My hubby got some great shots of the action!

We had a great visit, and she is already planning her next trip down.

Fall is coming

Most people have a favorite season.  Mine is summer.  I love the warmth, the sun, the beach.  I love the ability to go outside barefooted late at night without getting cold.  Taking the top off the Jeep without having to look for a jacket.  Sand between my toes.

These days I am reminded frequently that fall is coming.  Morning dew has arrived back on the scene on a daily basis.  There have been a couple mornings where I didn't dare leave home without a jacket.  Fall allergies are, well, just that.  It is definitely the changing of a season.

And while my favorite season will be gone for a while, I take comfort in knowing some of my favorite things are about to go down in the upcoming months:  hot soups to bring warmth, pumpkin-flavored anything I can think of, cozy evenings by the fire, and the beauty of fall foliage that God created for us to see.  Even today on my walk, I have begun to see the pretty colors, and heard the sound of the leaves dancing in the breeze along the pavement.  Knowing the season is changing isn't always easy, but realizing it is just a season helps put things in perspective.

"To everything there is a season; a time for every purpose under heaven."  Ecclesiastes 3:1

A Day in the Life of a U.S. Missionary

About six years ago I taught a weekly discipleship Sunday School class to teenagers, and one of the things we did each week was pray for one of the missionaries our church supported.  I would email the missionaries in the week before their prayer emphasis to find out what their needs were.  During this time, I frequently found myself wondering, "What exactly does a missionaries day look like?"

Fast forward six years.  My husband, John, and I have now changed roles into U.S. Missionary Candidates with the Assemblies of God.  We work with an organization called Mercy Chefs.  In short, we respond when disaster strikes to feed the victims, volunteers, and first responders a restaurant quality meal in the midst of their hurting.  Today I found myself laughing when I had the same thought, "What exactly does a missionaries day look like?"  No two days are alike.  Today was unique, with its own set of challenges, but God had His own way of blessing us as always.

We have been on Fall Tour the past two weeks-meetings with pastors, where we give a brief explanation of our ministry in hopes that they can help us reach one of our current goals:  becoming fully funded.  We have traveled all over North Texas during these two weeks.  I still have a full time job that I have been juggling-and am very blessed to have a boss who is understanding of our role and love for missions by allowing me to take vacation time!  Ultimately, I will join John full time on the field, but for now, I am working while we are raising our budget.  Today there were no Fall Tour stops, so I got up extra early, made sure to get my devotions in, and then headed to work to get caught up on what I have missed the past few days.  Part of the U.S. Missions process requires we meet with a coach every few weeks, and today happened to be a coaching day as well.  So I took a break from work for a conference call.  During this call I had a realization that I am still not sure how to handle, "Do I have time for my job?"  The one day I was able to work this week, and here I am still doing my missions job.  Please pray with me about this-I absolutely love my job, but I don't want to stay a moment longer than the Lord wants me to work.  Since we are not fully funded and my department is in the midst of a major transition, this decision is a difficult one to make!

After the coaching phone call, John left to pick up the mobile kitchen.  We drive a dually 5th wheel truck which tows the 37 foot mobile kitchen trailer to each disaster site.  It has been in the repair shop getting a new hot water heater, and some other repairs.  While towing it back home, one of the dually tires had a blow out, and hit the tire next to it, causing it to blow out as well.  Did I mention he was in a school zone while school was dismissing?   Praise the Lord, He kept John safe!  Yes, life is always interesting with large equipment involved.  We are no strangers to vehicle issues.  Nearly every trip we have been on we have experienced some sort of truck or trailer trouble.  He called me at work-thankfully I was just a few miles away and was able to bring him a better jack than he had on board.  Again I found myself questioning, "Do I have time for my job?"  Wow, twice in one day I had this thought.  What is going on?  Lord, I need you to provide! Trailer removed from the fifth wheel, two tires taken off the truck, one spare put on, trailer re-attached to the 5th wheel, and driven just a short distance to a local restaurant.  I was grateful today that we live in a small town where I knew the restaurant owner by name, and she had no problem with us leaving it there a while.

My boss happened to be away from the office when I left work for the tire incident, so I had texted him to let him know what was going on.  He asked if we were getting rained on, because where he was, less than 20 miles away, it was pouring rain so hard that he had to pull off the highway.  Wow!  The Lord was really watching over us!  Thank you Lord for holding off on the rain!

Fast forward four hours...all six tires on the truck are replaced, and I head back to work while John heads back to the restaurant to pick up the mobile kitchen.  I spent an hour at work, and meanwhile, John gets a call...there has been severe flooding in Arizona and New Mexico, and we need to respond.  He brings the Mercy Chefs trailer to the house to load it-when it was in the shop, we had pretty well emptied all the equipment out of the kitchen into our garage.  We began by pulling all the equipment out of the garage and into the driveway...speed racks, warmers, coolers, a grill (not usually taken on our trips, but the generator has been acting up, so we need an alternative method to cook in the event it wants to quit, and thus not allow us to use the stove), Cambros, 18 cases of to go boxes, 6 folding tables and chairs, 2 easy up tents, 2 boxes of t-shirts for our volunteers, and lots of other boxes.  John worked on repairing a wheel on one of the warmers, and then...the rain began.  Again, the Lord was watching out for us.  It never rained too hard, mostly just a light sprinkling, but the cool air that came with it was a welcome change.  About that time, our boys, 16 and 18 years old, got home from church.  We wanted to go to church tonight, but had been a little pre-occupied!  They helped us get the mobile kitchen loaded a lot quicker than we could have ourselves.  Again, a little miracle from God that he sent at just the right time!

Partially unloaded from the garage awaiting to be uploaded onto the trailer

The rest of the evening has been spent moving the truck to a large parking lot for deployment, getting necessary laundry done, ironing a chef coat, packing a bag, and making final plans.  Well, there it is..a day in the life of a U.S. Missionary.  A day unique to itself, with its own bit of challenges, but time and again God proving Himself to have it all taken care of.

Would you please pray for the victims of this terrible flood?  Would you please pray for John as he heads towards southwest to respond to this disaster?  Would you please pray for volunteers to help in the relief effort, not just with Mercy Chefs, but also for all the other relief organizations?  Would you please pray for us and we continue to raise funds?  Will you please pray for God to speak to us about His timing for me to be able to join John full time on the field?