Tag: Furlough

October 2021 Report

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Mission Conference and Marriage Conference

At the beginning of the month we were able to attend MTM, (Missionary Training Ministry) in Mountain View, Arkansas.  This ministry is a great blessing to all missionaries and sending churches. 

Later in the month my wife and I were able to attend the Homebuilder marriage retreat.  This is something that we wanted to do for years but were not able to do before.  It was a great weekend to spend together away from the kids for a few days.  The kids had a lot of fun with their grandparents while we were away.

Passports Sent off for Renewal

One of the things that was on our list to finish early was the renewal of the kids’ passports.  Passports for children are only good for 5 years.  The renewal process takes between 16 and 12 weeks to renew and have back.  That is one more thing that we can cross off our list!

Oklahoma State Meeting and Time with the Churches

We were able to attend the Oklahoma state association meeting held in Vian, OK.  It was a great blessing to be able to reconnect with so many brethren that we had not seen in so long!  We are also thankful for the opportunities this month to share and fellowship with several chuches in the area!

Thoughts from Stacie

Family Time
I’ve been having a hard time keeping up with what day it is. Time is passing so quickly. Some of the plans we had for October got moved on us. While I hate to mention the “C” word, but one person at a meeting we attended early in the month had gotten sick and tested positive for Covid. So we had to change some of our travel plans just in case we had gotten too close to that individual during the meeting. Thankfully none of us got sick and we were able to enjoy the extra time with our oldest two children. Joshua and Ruth both had a day off at the same time so we were able to plan a family field trip to a Heritage Village and the Zoo. It was such a blessing to have all our children together. We also enjoyed having one Sunday that we were able to attend Church altogether as a family.

Weekend Get Away It has been at least 4 and a half years since Scott and I have been able to spend more than just a few hours together away from our children. In Argentina we weren’t comfortable leaving them all overnight much less for a weekend. So we took advantage while on furlough of having family nearby to watch our children while we got away for a much needed alone time as as a couple. The retreat really helped us step away from the hustle and bustle of everyday life and take a good look at our marriage and family. The end of November Scott and I will be celebrating our 25th Anniversary. I can’t think of any better way to celebrate than spending quality time together at a marriage retreat in Branson.

Bonus Pictures

October 2021

September 2021 Report

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We made it safely back to the US!
Thank You for Praying!

We are very thankful for your prayers as we travelled!  We would not have made it had it not been for God’s people praying!

A Large To-Do List

We have already crossed of at least 11 important things off our list in the first week and a half of being back.  Pray for us that we will be able to find a time to rest. 

Faith Promise Conference and a Great Conversation

It was a great blessing to be invited out to West Monroe, Louisiana by Hyde Park Baptist Church for their faith promise conference.  The whole time spent there was a tremendous blessing to us.  What a blessing to have a time to be with God’s people! 

Please pray for a lady that we spoke with on our last night in West Monroe.  We were recommended a Mexican restaurant in town to eat on Sunday night.  We spoke with the waitress in Spanish and later had the opportunity to speak with the owner for at least ten minutes after our meal.  Please pray for her and her family!  Her name is Norma and her mother’s name is Rosa.  Her mother and father are in Mexico with COVID.  The concern for them was evident as we spoke.  Pray that the Lord will continue to touch her heart with the need for the Savior!

1,000 Gospel of John booklets printed

Thoughts from Stacie

Travel Preparations

So a lot actually happened in September but it feels like multiple months. Actually just the trip itself and all the airports we had to go through felt like it belongs in it’s own month but there really was a whole lot that went on besides that. The first thing we had to do was prepare to go. At the beginning of the month we had to make sure all bills we normally pay monthly were paid ahead for six months. Then we started going through our things and deciding what we were going to take and what we would leave behind. Once we had our belongings somewhat organized we then had to pull out and dust off all our suitcases from the different areas of the house where we had them stored for safe keeping. 

Then we had to determine which instruments we were going to bring and which we would leave behind. Then we had to figure out how to pack the instruments. We waited to pack the rest of our things until the Friday we had our Covid Tests done. That in itself was a fun experience. (I don’t have room in this report for all the experiences we went through to get to the United States. That will have to wait for a blog post… or two… or three.)

Covid Tests

An Argentine friend of ours that was about to travel to Europe around the same time we were recommended her friend to us that could do our required Covid Tests and get our results back the same day. They were expensive but worth the speed we were able to get the results back in. The younger three children had their throat swabbed but the rest of us had the ones that go in the nose. That was quite an experience but praise the Lord, all tests came back negative and we finally felt free to finish packing.

Crazy Travel Drama

So I’m going to have to do a blog post of all the crazy stuff that happened in order for us to leave Argentina. Getting to the first airport with all our luggage and children was quite an event. It took a trip by car to get our luggage and half the family to the airport. Then being held up at a traffic checkpoint, finally getting released with just a warning, and finally parking the car, picking up the two remaining children, and a crazy taxi ride to the airport. Then we had to fly to Buenos Aires, Argentina get off the plane, retrieve all our suitcases, find transportation to the next airport for our departure flight (Another long story in which one taxi driver almost dropped me and three children off at a Holiday Inn.) 

Once we finally got to the airport there was a whole lot of things we had to do just to leave the country but to spare the details and make a long story short… We barely made our flight by the skin of our teeth. I was the last passenger to board the plane with flight personel running with me with a two way radio saying they are with the last passenger. It was such a relief to finally be on board that plane. There was a couple of other things that occurred during the flight but I will save that for a future blog post. 

We arrived in Houston and had no problem catching our final flight to Dallas. My parents and our daughter, Ruth, met us at the airport. We were also surprised by Bro. Chase Reynolds and Bro. Jonathon Smith greeting us with a basket of goodies and they were there to help Scott retrieve and load our luggage into the van my parents brought to pick us up. Of course a crazy trip wouldn’t be complete without a tire blowing out on our way to my parents’ house from the airport. 

We did finally made it to my parents’ house in Hillsboro and were so happy to spend a few days with our eldest son and daughter and even getting to see my brother’s and sister’s families before we headed off to the Missions Conference in West Monroe, Lousiana. God is good and we praise Him for helping us make it safely to see our family and friends.

Thank you so much for praying or us! God hears and answers each and every one.