'...among the nations...among all peoples'

Well, it's been a while since we posted - sorry. Life has just gotten faster and faster these days. Anyways, just a quick note to update you all on the trip to Europe and Africa last month. As you know I was able to visit a couple we sent out (from CCFreiburg) to Luxembourg to start a bible study. They are doing well and it was great to see their fist child also - he's a cutie! I stayed there overnight and then headed down to the border between Germany and Switzerland to visit my godchild and her family.

Again, I stayed there overnight and then took another train to Freiburg to visit the church I used to pastor. It was a great time seeing all the people there, but more importantly, it was awesome to see what God is continuing to do in the fellowship through the current pastor. For me, it was confirmation that we heard God correctly and made the right choices. And it was funny/weird - I thought being in Freiburg would make me miss living there, but in actuality, it didn't - another sign that that is not our 'home' anymore. Of course, we miss the people and the ministry there, but we also know that God is finished with us there.

And that is why I also visited Cape Town, South Africa - to see what the needs are and to just seek the Lord about the possibility of serving Him in Africa. The pastor of Calvary Chapel Cape Town and his wife were gracious hosts and answered many questions, showed me the town a bit and explained their vision for their city. It was awesome to just get to know them and their 2 daughters, and to see what the Lord is doing in their fellowship and their city. In any case, I was hoping God would make it clear one way or another if our next missions journey would take us to South Africa, but alas, I didn't get a clear answer.

I did, however, get confirmation that we ARE to go back out on the foreign mission field - that was something we weren't 100% sure about either. We were ready to go back out, but we were also ready to stay in the USA and serve here - whatever the Lord wanted. But on this trip, the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 96, especially verses 2-3 -

'Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.'

It just burdened me once again to go and to proclaim the good news AMONG the nations and AMONG the peoples. I have to admit, we were beginning to get a little too 'comfortable' in SoCal, so this was just a timely reminder to what we as a Phamily are called to. So pray with us and for us, as we continue to seek the Lord about where, and of course when and what exactly!

PS - I will have to one day find time (right...) to share a little more about Cape Town - it's a wonderful city. I loved it there.

'...among the nations...among all peoples'

Well, it's been a while since we posted - sorry. Life has just gotten faster and faster these days. Anyways, just a quick note to update you all on the trip to Europe and Africa last month. As you know I was able to visit a couple we sent out (from CCFreiburg) to Luxembourg to start a bible study. They are doing well and it was great to see their fist child also - he's a cutie! I stayed there overnight and then headed down to the border between Germany and Switzerland to visit my godchild and her family.

Again, I stayed there overnight and then took another train to Freiburg to visit the church I used to pastor. It was a great time seeing all the people there, but more importantly, it was awesome to see what God is continuing to do in the fellowship through the current pastor. For me, it was confirmation that we heard God correctly and made the right choices. And it was funny/weird - I thought being in Freiburg would make me miss living there, but in actuality, it didn't - another sign that that is not our 'home' anymore. Of course, we miss the people and the ministry there, but we also know that God is finished with us there.

And that is why I also visited Cape Town, South Africa - to see what the needs are and to just seek the Lord about the possibility of serving Him in Africa. The pastor of Calvary Chapel Cape Town and his wife were gracious hosts and answered many questions, showed me the town a bit and explained their vision for their city. It was awesome to just get to know them and their 2 daughters, and to see what the Lord is doing in their fellowship and their city. In any case, I was hoping God would make it clear one way or another if our next missions journey would take us to South Africa, but alas, I didn't get a clear answer.

I did, however, get confirmation that we ARE to go back out on the foreign mission field - that was something we weren't 100% sure about either. We were ready to go back out, but we were also ready to stay in the USA and serve here - whatever the Lord wanted. But on this trip, the Lord spoke to me through Psalm 96, especially verses 2-3 -

'Sing to the Lord, bless His name; Proclaim the good news of His salvation from day to day. Declare His glory among the nations, His wonders among all peoples.'

It just burdened me once again to go and to proclaim the good news AMONG the nations and AMONG the peoples. I have to admit, we were beginning to get a little too 'comfortable' in SoCal, so this was just a timely reminder to what we as a Phamily are called to. So pray with us and for us, as we continue to seek the Lord about where, and of course when and what exactly!

PS - I will have to one day find time (right...) to share a little more about Cape Town - it's a wonderful city. I loved it there.

Just some randomness

Ok, so while I'm at it I'll put up some random pictures too :-). These are just some pictures from different things over the last couple of months, and for anyone who's interested, some of the cakes I've made in the last couple of months

Pictures...finally!

It has been way too long since I've posted anything here....sorry about that! Facebook has sucked me in, and even there I don't do a whole lot!
I just wanted to post some pictures of the time the kids and I had with visitors while Davey was gone to Germany and South Africa (which was a great trip, but I'll let him post on that another time ;-) ).
We had a great time with the girls while they were here...while everyone was healthy at least ;-).
We spent a day in San Diego and then a day at the Santa Rosa Plateau, which is a nature preserve about 20 minutes from our house, it is really beautiful up there!
So here are the pictures:

Just some randomness

Ok, so while I'm at it I'll put up some random pictures too :-). These are just some pictures from different things over the last couple of months, and for anyone who's interested, some of the cakes I've made in the last couple of months

Pictures...finally!

It has been way too long since I've posted anything here....sorry about that! Facebook has sucked me in, and even there I don't do a whole lot!
I just wanted to post some pictures of the time the kids and I had with visitors while Davey was gone to Germany and South Africa (which was a great trip, but I'll let him post on that another time ;-) ).
We had a great time with the girls while they were here...while everyone was healthy at least ;-).
We spent a day in San Diego and then a day at the Santa Rosa Plateau, which is a nature preserve about 20 minutes from our house, it is really beautiful up there!
So here are the pictures:

Duuuude...

Well, it was bound to happen. I knew that when we moved back to SoCal that eventually, something like this was going to happen. It was inevitable. I was just hoping that it wouldn't happen so soon, I mean, we have only been here 7 months or so. But it did happen this past week. The unthinkable, inevitable.

A co-worker and I were in the company truck on our way to work late one night (yes I worked nights this whole past week. But that's a story for another post). Anyways, we were driving to the job-site, just chatting (can't remember what about though), nothing special. And then suddenly out of nowhere, it happened........the words 'dude' and 'man' and 'cool' slipped out of my mouth. All in ONE sentence (as in 'duuude, that was like totally cool, man')! I haven't used the word 'dude' in that context like in 10 years! And in combo with 'cool' and 'man' - not since...well, I can't remember when! AHHH, the SoCal surfer/skater vernacular had slipped back into my life!

When I realized what had just happened, I was hit with shock at first and then embarrassment. Out of the corner of my eyes, I furtively glanced over at my co-worker to see if he noticed anything strange in what I just said. He didn't. And he's even from Nevada. So it was all good. We got to the job-site ( I didn't say much else during the rest of the night - too fearful of what I might say next!), did our job and got home again without another 'duuuude' slipping past my lips. Now I just have to watch out for 'rad, awwwesomme, fer sher, sweeeeet, gnarly' and other forms of verbal coolness. ;-)

Duuuude...

Well, it was bound to happen. I knew that when we moved back to SoCal that eventually, something like this was going to happen. It was inevitable. I was just hoping that it wouldn't happen so soon, I mean, we have only been here 7 months or so. But it did happen this past week. The unthinkable, inevitable.

A co-worker and I were in the company truck on our way to work late one night (yes I worked nights this whole past week. But that's a story for another post). Anyways, we were driving to the job-site, just chatting (can't remember what about though), nothing special. And then suddenly out of nowhere, it happened........the words 'dude' and 'man' and 'cool' slipped out of my mouth. All in ONE sentence (as in 'duuude, that was like totally cool, man')! I haven't used the word 'dude' in that context like in 10 years! And in combo with 'cool' and 'man' - not since...well, I can't remember when! AHHH, the SoCal surfer/skater vernacular had slipped back into my life!

When I realized what had just happened, I was hit with shock at first and then embarrassment. Out of the corner of my eyes, I furtively glanced over at my co-worker to see if he noticed anything strange in what I just said. He didn't. And he's even from Nevada. So it was all good. We got to the job-site ( I didn't say much else during the rest of the night - too fearful of what I might say next!), did our job and got home again without another 'duuuude' slipping past my lips. Now I just have to watch out for 'rad, awwwesomme, fer sher, sweeeeet, gnarly' and other forms of verbal coolness. ;-)

Riverside County Fair and Date Festival

This past week, our company serviced the kitchen fire suppresion systems and fire extinguishers on the food trailers at the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival in Indio, out in the desert past Palm Springs. It was a lot of fun learning how to service the fire suppression systems installed in these kitchen on wheels. But it was a lot of work - we worked 12-13 hours a day for 3 days straight to get all the food vendors' trailer kitchens serviced, cleaned and upgraded before the fair opened. And man, it is amazing (and sick)to see how much grease gets collected up in the hoods and ducts over the professional-grade deep-fryers, griddles and gas burners! I am talking literally an inch thick of hardened grease, fat and oil that you have to chip off in chunks as big as Oreos (and it's black like Oreos too)!

And speaking of Oreos, I serviced a trailer known as Chicken Charlie's - this guy is famous for deep-frying just about anything. Like Oreos, Pop-Tarts, cheesecake, frog legs, White Castle sliders, s'mores, peanutbutter sandwiches, watermelons, Twinkles (umm, that sounds good!), assorted veggies (my favorite - cored zucchini with a hotdog stuck in the middle, then dipped in batter and deep-fried - sounds good).

And one of the most interesting concoctions he invented - deep-fried Coca-Cola! How the heck do you do that!?!?! Well, he mixes Coke syrup with a bit of flour, deep-fries it, then tops it off with more Coke syrup and powdered sugar! Talk about sweet! But it makes me really want to try it, being a Coke lover and all. ;-) He ain't called the Deep Fry King for nothin'!


PS - Here's a short video from YouTube of Chicken Charlie fryin' up some Pop-Tarts! That looks really yummy!

Riverside County Fair and Date Festival

This past week, our company serviced the kitchen fire suppresion systems and fire extinguishers on the food trailers at the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival in Indio, out in the desert past Palm Springs. It was a lot of fun learning how to service the fire suppression systems installed in these kitchen on wheels. But it was a lot of work - we worked 12-13 hours a day for 3 days straight to get all the food vendors' trailer kitchens serviced, cleaned and upgraded before the fair opened. And man, it is amazing (and sick)to see how much grease gets collected up in the hoods and ducts over the professional-grade deep-fryers, griddles and gas burners! I am talking literally an inch thick of hardened grease, fat and oil that you have to chip off in chunks as big as Oreos (and it's black like Oreos too)!

And speaking of Oreos, I serviced a trailer known as Chicken Charlie's - this guy is famous for deep-frying just about anything. Like Oreos, Pop-Tarts, cheesecake, frog legs, White Castle sliders, s'mores, peanutbutter sandwiches, watermelons, Twinkles (umm, that sounds good!), assorted veggies (my favorite - cored zucchini with a hotdog stuck in the middle, then dipped in batter and deep-fried - sounds good).

And one of the most interesting concoctions he invented - deep-fried Coca-Cola! How the heck do you do that!?!?! Well, he mixes Coke syrup with a bit of flour, deep-fries it, then tops it off with more Coke syrup and powdered sugar! Talk about sweet! But it makes me really want to try it, being a Coke lover and all. ;-) He ain't called the Deep Fry King for nothin'!


PS - Here's a short video from YouTube of Chicken Charlie fryin' up some Pop-Tarts! That looks really yummy!

Wie Geht's or Como Esta??

This past Sunday in the Spanish Fellowship, I met a couple who had lived in Germany for a long time. And we spoke in German!! That was the first time I got to speak in German for an extended time. Wow, my German is rusty - I had to really concentrate to find the right words. Anyways, they are a neat couple - she is Mexican and speaks English, Spanish, German and he is African-American and speaks English and German. I am praying that they will come back this Sunday so we could speak in German a bit more. ;-)

Wie Geht's or Como Esta??

This past Sunday in the Spanish Fellowship, I met a couple who had lived in Germany for a long time. And we spoke in German!! That was the first time I got to speak in German for an extended time. Wow, my German is rusty - I had to really concentrate to find the right words. Anyways, they are a neat couple - she is Mexican and speaks English, Spanish, German and he is African-American and speaks English and German. I am praying that they will come back this Sunday so we could speak in German a bit more. ;-)

Quinceañera

Quinceañera is the Latin American (or mostly Mexican - I am not so sure exactly) party for a girl who is turning 15 years old. Technically the party is called 'Quinceaños' which literally means '15 years', while the girl turning 15 is called 'la Quinceañera'. It is kind of like a Sweet Sixteen party in American culture or a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Jewish culture.

It is a festival marking the end of the girl's childhood and her beginning as a young woman - she cease to be 'la niña' and becomes 'la señorita'. In Catholic tradition, it is also the time when the young lady dedicates her life to God (and even to the Virgin Mary I heard). Over the years, Christians have changed it a bit so that the young girl dedicates her future to the Lord Jesus. Usually it starts with a service (Mass for Catholics) - the priest/pastor gives a message, then the young lady dances a Waltz with her male companion. All in all a very touching time.

This last weekend, I got the chance to 'officiate' at my first Quinceañera - to give the message exhorting the young lady to become the woman that God has called her to be and to follow the Lord Jesus wherever He leads her. Also to pray for her at the end of the evening. The young lady is the godchild of a couple in the Spanish Fellowship and she is a neat young girl. She accepted the Lord about 3 years ago and already feels called to become a missionary in Africa (coincidence??). Anyways, we really enjoyed learning the traditions of the Mexican culture, getting to know members of the Spanish Fellowship better and seeing this young lady dedicate her life to Jesus. Oh yeah, and we ate LOTS of authentic Mexican food. I mean LOTS. And real stuff - not Taco Bell or Green Burrito stuff - but food made by real Mexican ladies in their homes! Ummmmmmhhh.

PS - pray for some of the young lady's family and friends who don't know Jesus as Lord. I preached on Romans 1.16 - where Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Pray that the seeds planted will take root.

Quinceañera

Quinceañera is the Latin American (or mostly Mexican - I am not so sure exactly) party for a girl who is turning 15 years old. Technically the party is called 'Quinceaños' which literally means '15 years', while the girl turning 15 is called 'la Quinceañera'. It is kind of like a Sweet Sixteen party in American culture or a Bar or Bat Mitzvah in Jewish culture.

It is a festival marking the end of the girl's childhood and her beginning as a young woman - she cease to be 'la niña' and becomes 'la señorita'. In Catholic tradition, it is also the time when the young lady dedicates her life to God (and even to the Virgin Mary I heard). Over the years, Christians have changed it a bit so that the young girl dedicates her future to the Lord Jesus. Usually it starts with a service (Mass for Catholics) - the priest/pastor gives a message, then the young lady dances a Waltz with her male companion. All in all a very touching time.

This last weekend, I got the chance to 'officiate' at my first Quinceañera - to give the message exhorting the young lady to become the woman that God has called her to be and to follow the Lord Jesus wherever He leads her. Also to pray for her at the end of the evening. The young lady is the godchild of a couple in the Spanish Fellowship and she is a neat young girl. She accepted the Lord about 3 years ago and already feels called to become a missionary in Africa (coincidence??). Anyways, we really enjoyed learning the traditions of the Mexican culture, getting to know members of the Spanish Fellowship better and seeing this young lady dedicate her life to Jesus. Oh yeah, and we ate LOTS of authentic Mexican food. I mean LOTS. And real stuff - not Taco Bell or Green Burrito stuff - but food made by real Mexican ladies in their homes! Ummmmmmhhh.

PS - pray for some of the young lady's family and friends who don't know Jesus as Lord. I preached on Romans 1.16 - where Paul says he is not ashamed of the Gospel for it is the power of God to salvation for everyone who believes. Pray that the seeds planted will take root.

Muede....

Ok, David hat schon was geschrieben, er war schneller :-). Ich versuche dies auf Deutsch zu schreiben, bitte entschuldige die fehlern!

Wie David sagte, wir sind sehr beschaeftigt. Ich arbeite 2 teil-zeit Jobs aber die sind wirklich mini. Eine mache ich in der Germeinde, ich putze Abends in der Schule dort und der andere ist nur ab und zu am Wochenende spaet abends oder frueh morgens, wir zaehlen Ware in geschaeften (Warenbestand ?). Beide Jobs machen mir spass, aber ich bin es nicht gewohnt Abends immer weg zu sein. Ich bin aber wirklich froh wie Gott das alles organisiert, dass David hier bei der Kinder sein kann. Ich werde ab jetzt nure 2 Tage der Woche in die Gemeinde arbeiten und wahrscheinlich 1 oder 2 Mal im Monate Inventur machen, so das geht.

Das Leben heir ist einfach hectisch! Mann faehrt so viel dass die Zeit einfach vergeht. Manche Tage bin ich kaum zu Hause weil ich so viel Fahrerei machen muss! Ich lerne meine Tage anders zu organizere.

David macht 2 vollzeit Jobs. Er arbeitet jeden Tag 8 stunde, manchmal mehr und er lehrt Mittwochabends und Sonntag Morgens PLUS er hat die Kinder 2-3 Abende wo er die alle Abendessen geben muss und ins Bett bringen muss. Er macht wirklich viel, ich habe einen amazing Mann!

Aber zwischen durch machen wir Zeit dinge als Familie zu machen. Wir besuchen die Grosseltern ein oder zwei Mal die Monat. Wir fahren oft im Zoo oder Wild Animal Park. Wir gehen auf dem Spielplatz und Freunde dort zutreffen. Wir gehen im Museum um Neues zu sehen und lernen. Ich mag es dass wir 2 Mal die Woche Schule zu Hause haben, es ist schoen die Zeit mit den Kindern zu haben und sehen wie sie lernen und helfen dabei zu.

Ich will oefter posten...ich hoffe dass ich es schaffen kann :-). und ich werde auch das gern auf Deutsch machen. (es ist gute Uebung fuer mich).

So bis zum naechsten Mal!

Muede....

Ok, David hat schon was geschrieben, er war schneller :-). Ich versuche dies auf Deutsch zu schreiben, bitte entschuldige die fehlern!

Wie David sagte, wir sind sehr beschaeftigt. Ich arbeite 2 teil-zeit Jobs aber die sind wirklich mini. Eine mache ich in der Germeinde, ich putze Abends in der Schule dort und der andere ist nur ab und zu am Wochenende spaet abends oder frueh morgens, wir zaehlen Ware in geschaeften (Warenbestand ?). Beide Jobs machen mir spass, aber ich bin es nicht gewohnt Abends immer weg zu sein. Ich bin aber wirklich froh wie Gott das alles organisiert, dass David hier bei der Kinder sein kann. Ich werde ab jetzt nure 2 Tage der Woche in die Gemeinde arbeiten und wahrscheinlich 1 oder 2 Mal im Monate Inventur machen, so das geht.

Das Leben heir ist einfach hectisch! Mann faehrt so viel dass die Zeit einfach vergeht. Manche Tage bin ich kaum zu Hause weil ich so viel Fahrerei machen muss! Ich lerne meine Tage anders zu organizere.

David macht 2 vollzeit Jobs. Er arbeitet jeden Tag 8 stunde, manchmal mehr und er lehrt Mittwochabends und Sonntag Morgens PLUS er hat die Kinder 2-3 Abende wo er die alle Abendessen geben muss und ins Bett bringen muss. Er macht wirklich viel, ich habe einen amazing Mann!

Aber zwischen durch machen wir Zeit dinge als Familie zu machen. Wir besuchen die Grosseltern ein oder zwei Mal die Monat. Wir fahren oft im Zoo oder Wild Animal Park. Wir gehen auf dem Spielplatz und Freunde dort zutreffen. Wir gehen im Museum um Neues zu sehen und lernen. Ich mag es dass wir 2 Mal die Woche Schule zu Hause haben, es ist schoen die Zeit mit den Kindern zu haben und sehen wie sie lernen und helfen dabei zu.

Ich will oefter posten...ich hoffe dass ich es schaffen kann :-). und ich werde auch das gern auf Deutsch machen. (es ist gute Uebung fuer mich).

So bis zum naechsten Mal!

Random Fotos

Hi all, it's been a while since we uploaded fotos of the kids. So here are just a bunch of them, all pretty much random. They are of Zachy's birthday at that end of Nov, when he got a skateboard. Then a few fotos of the kids trying out the skateboard a week later. Other fotos of Christmas, of Zachy's Christmas musical (where he was dressed up as one of the three wise men) and of whatever else happens to be on our camera! ;-)

PS - you can turn on the captions for the fotos by clicking on the speech balloon at the bottom left of the fotos.

Random Fotos

Hi all, it's been a while since we uploaded fotos of the kids. So here are just a bunch of them, all pretty much random. They are of Zachy's birthday at that end of Nov, when he got a skateboard. Then a few fotos of the kids trying out the skateboard a week later. Other fotos of Christmas, of Zachy's Christmas musical (where he was dressed up as one of the three wise men) and of whatever else happens to be on our camera! ;-)

PS - you can turn on the captions for the fotos by clicking on the speech balloon at the bottom left of the fotos.

Our Humblest Apologies

Hi all, I wanted to apologize to all those who are trying to stay up to date with the happenings of the Phamily through our blog. You might have noticed it hasn't been updated on a regular basis in the last few months. Or at least not as often as we used to. As you know life has taken a turn for the busier lately - Becks works 2 part-time jobs outside the home and homeschools the kids as well as being a mom and wife.

I work a full-time job and lead/pastor the Spanish fellowship at our church, as well as being a 'house-husband' on the nights that Becks is working. So obviously, we don't sit down at the computer much anymore. And when I do, it is to prepare Sunday and Wednesday messages/teachings for the Spanish fellowship. So please forgive us for not posting more often, for not returning emails quicker and for not answering on Skype or whatever. Life happens! And for us at a faster pace than before. Thanks for understanding and still being our friends. ;-)

PS - you can still check us out on Facebook, we don't update too often except to maybe change our status. And of course you can still visit the blog, we will do our best to keep that updated with news.

Our Humblest Apologies

Hi all, I wanted to apologize to all those who are trying to stay up to date with the happenings of the Phamily through our blog. You might have noticed it hasn't been updated on a regular basis in the last few months. Or at least not as often as we used to. As you know life has taken a turn for the busier lately - Becks works 2 part-time jobs outside the home and homeschools the kids as well as being a mom and wife.

I work a full-time job and lead/pastor the Spanish fellowship at our church, as well as being a 'house-husband' on the nights that Becks is working. So obviously, we don't sit down at the computer much anymore. And when I do, it is to prepare Sunday and Wednesday messages/teachings for the Spanish fellowship. So please forgive us for not posting more often, for not returning emails quicker and for not answering on Skype or whatever. Life happens! And for us at a faster pace than before. Thanks for understanding and still being our friends. ;-)

PS - you can still check us out on Facebook, we don't update too often except to maybe change our status. And of course you can still visit the blog, we will do our best to keep that updated with news.