April Madness

Whatever your hand finds to do, do it with all of your might, for in the grave, where you are going, there is neither working nor planning nor knowledge nor wisdom.

Ecclesiastes 9:10

Well as mentioned last month there were some transitions on the way for our family that have turned into "April Madness" with all of the travelling Matt has transitioned into. We knew coming here that his role would involve a lot of travel, but instead of slowly transitioning into it as we thought he jumped in head first!

These trips have been some great opportunities for him to get to know our teammates better and to both observe and be involved with some training/equipping of national believers here to be sent out to plant. Matt took two trips in a row that led to him being away from home a total of eight nights. In these trips he has been able to see much of the eastern part of the country and also get a better idea of his role here. 

We are so very thankful that in the last month God has provided some new teammates for us that have been in country for two years, but just transferred to our team. The husbands name is also Matt so we are now joking that they are "Team Matt." They are a very sweet family and we look forward to working together to advance the Kingdom here.

Most of you are aware that we had a brief medical scare with Andrea upon Matt's return from his trip last week. Local doctors would simply guess at what was going on and were contradicting each other in their diagnosis. This led to our on field medical coordinator suggesting that we leave immediately for our capitol city to get everything checked out.

So with a one day turn around we left on flight to get everything checked out. Thankfully with no appointment available Andrea was able to get into the doctor the afternoon we arrived. The doctor diagnosed two benign tumors that were slowly becoming active, which he expressed it was good that we came in. The same afternoon the tumors were able to be removed with a fast procedure using laser technology. We praise God for this report and for the finances to travel to the capitol city as our city does not have the proper technology to either diagnos or remove the tumors.

They say that there is "No rest for the Weary," and we are starting to believe it. We returned from our medical trip only for Matt to turn around and  take a day trip to our focus area to network with some pastors. Overall a good trip with some promising partnerships.

Upon returning home from this trip we received another praise! Of our team made up of three families, only one family has a vehicle. We found out yesterday that a used vehicle with no AC has become available for us and the other family to share. We had been praying about a better means of transportation to become available as this will help cut down transportation cost and assist in Matt's travels to our bordering state.

Once again Matt is leaving on an overnight train trip to a large city twelve hours south of us to pick up a Maruti Suzuki Omni E Van. We will post a picture of a similar vehicle from google images, but we are not sure of the actual condition of the one we will be driving.

Here are a few needs:

• Continued adjustment to travelling so often.
• National Partners for Matt to invest in.
• Andrea and Elliot as they are at home.
• For Andrea to be able to narrow her scope of ministry in our city.

Transitions on the Way

Month three of living here is in the books, which is hard to believe when we realized last night that 25% of 2012 is already over. It has been a fast three months in our initial phase of being here. These three months have been filled with setting up house, learning language, and getting to know the people that we are living amongst and ministering to, which we are especially looking forward to sharing about Easter this weekend.

Although all three of those are still in process and two of those will only continue, there are some transitions on the way, especially for Matt. He has slowly started to travel more to our focus area for a mix of vision trips and as a way to network with the existing believers already there to see what the Holy Spirit is already doing. In the next month he will probably be gone 10-12 nights from home, which will only continue each month from there.

We are excited about this transition because it means that he will finally start doing what we came here to do; but we also know that the transition of being away from home for as much as up to two weeks a month will change our family dynamic. Especially since he will be traveling anywhere from 3-8 hours away so he will not be able to get home quickly if needed. We appreciate your prayer as we embrace this transition in pursuit of seeing some of the most lost areas in the world no longer staying that way.

Here are a few immediate needs that you can be lifting up:

• As mentioned for the transition of Matt traveling more often.
• He is also dealing with car sickness on some of these trips so pray against that.
• For opportunities to share this week of Easter.
• Continued language learning.
• For Andrea to be able to further the relationships with the many women that live nearby.

Our temporary mode of transportation.

Hills/Mountain view from our porch.

Another hill/mountain view from the neighborhood.

 *Note these views of the hills/mountains only happen on a clear day, which unfortunately hasn't been often since we arrived here, but we love it when they do.*

Our South Asian Home/ Nuestra Casa en SA

So we have been here three months and just now getting around to posting photos of our house. This is in part because it has taken us this long to get everything as it is pictured (Andrea painted something in each room so the walls are not empty) and we still do not feel like we are finished with the set up phase as the AC's will be getting installed this week and we are still in need of a few other things. We are very thankful for this house being provided for us and although it has its flaws, we are making it feel homey. We hope you enjoy and look forward to your visit!

Ya hemos estado aqui por tres meses y recien pudimos postear algunas fotos de nuestra casa. Esto es en parte porque nos ha llevado bastante tiempo el poner la casa en orden hasta lo que se puede ver en las fotos y Andrea pinto en cada habitacion algo para que las paredes no esten tan vacias. Sentimos que esta etapa no se ha terminado ya que los aires van a ser instalados esta semana que viene y aun faltan otras cosas. Estamos muy agradecidos por la provision de esta casa y aunque tiene muchas fallas, estamos tratando de hacerla mas como nuestro hogar. Espero que les gusto y esperamos su visita!

The Front of our House

Side View

Back View                                                                   

Elliot's Room

This animals were painted before Elliot was born by Andrea and brought from the States for his room.
Estos animales fueron pintados antes de que Elliot nazca por Andrea y fueron traidos para su habitacion.

The chocolate wall was pink and the light blue was orange. Matthew painted it and Andrea did the final touches with the white tree! La pared de color marron era rosada y la celeste era naranjada. Matthew pinto y Andrea le dio los retoques con el arbol blanco.

Changing stating (is an old desk table)
Cambiador de paniales (es un viejo escritorio)

His bed mosquito net
Su cuna con la tela mosquitera

Guest Room

This bed is made by 2 twin size beds, but it is very comfy and waiting for you!
Esta cama esta hecha de 2 camas, pero es muy confortable y esta esperando por tu visita!

Kitchen

Living Room

This is in the top of our front door, "Jesus is Lord"!
Esto Andrea pinto arriba de la puerta "Jesus es el Senior"!

Dinning Room

You might be wondering: why they have curtains on the wall? Is because  our house has a humidity issues.
Se estaran preguntando porque hay una cortina en la pared? Es porque nuestra casa tiene problemas de humedad. 

   

Master Bedroom