Christmas Carols In Spanish!!

This Christmas we were able to sing Christmas carols at an elderly day-home as well as a few other local ministry sites. This was great language practice and a beautiful opportunity to love and connect with the community. Georgia and Reese were both happily engaged and energized by the opportunity to connect in this way. We still have these new Christmas songs running through our heads and sung in our home -- well into February!

Whole chickens, bone soup, and muffins...oh my

My friend Sofia taught me how to cook chicken over an open fire.  But first, I had to learn to process a whole chicken. There were points of the process that I wished for a machete. Too much bone sawing just makes a stomach churn.  It's on my Christmas list!  Even the our local butcher is pleased as punch that this white lady buys whole chickens -- neck, feet, guts and all.  Keeping it real? I still have to pep-talk myself to process these deliciously fresh cluckers. But, I'm learning....

To the right you see a typical soup with bone and all.  The flavor is amazing but using fingers is a must!

On the left is Reese and her friend Amelie making something like blueberry muffins.  They don't grow blueberries here in Ecuador but we've found a small black-ish berry that works great!! Baking is a big part of each week because we have to make everything from scratch.  We love this because it's healthier and we are learning to organize our days to make time for this necessity.  In fact, the girls are becoming quite the little sous chefs!

Home...on the trail

A day at the river is just what the doctor ordered.  Shell is a small jungle town of about 3,000 people.  We could step out our door and walk about 10 minutes and be in the jungle.  But, this really wouldn't be wise as we are learning which plants are poisonous, which caterpillars will sting you and exactly where the hospital is located!!  So, you can imagine that this Colorado family was overjoyed when another missionary family invited us to hike down to the river with them and roast hot dogs.

The hike was beautiful and just long enough to make us sore the next day but not long enough to ensue groaning and moaning from the kiddos.  Glorious!

Then, we come upon the river and the other kids jumped in the river...like no big deal!  There are piranhas in Ecuador...but they quickly informed us that they live farther south of where we were. So, Georgia followed suit; without hesitation she jumped in the river and rode the current.  There were moments of stress -- flash to Tina screaming at Georgia to signal that she's okay as the river rushes over her head -- but we count it a win in our book.  That girl goes and gets it.

We are a family of hikers and having a trail like this near our house is a big life bonus.  We feel at home on the trail.  God's so faithful to give us pieces of home wherever we go.  What a  Mighty God we serve.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches and glory.  Philippians 4:19

Where in the world are the Ferry's?!?

Welp, we just transitioned off of one year spent in language school in Costa Rica to learn Spanish.  Are we fluent? Nope. Do we have a leg up in the transition to another country? Yep.  Thank. The. Lord.

Language learning was a trip.  We woke up early, twisted our brains, made fools out of ourselves constantly and learned to navigate everyday life in a Latin city.  We were trained up and taught.  It was a stretch of the will but we look back with gratitude for the opportunity.  Now as we are in Ecuador and we are able to slide in a bit easier because of our year in Costa Rica.

We are now settling into the house where we will be living until the beginning of January.  Our friends, who are also missionaries, will be vacating their house as they are back in the US for a 4 month trip and we have been tasked with animal care and house-sitting. We are thankful because this allows us time to look for our own home without pressure and displacement in a hotel as we search.  Yahoo!

Chris and I are busy learning the ropes of a new house and town.  There is no Yellow Pages here so we have to shadow and take notes.  Some of them read, "pay electric bill to Cynthia in the meat shop. closes from 1-2 for siesta." and, "neighbor across the street may yell at you for making noise.  he's just grumpy...don't worry about it." and, "bread costs 12 cents per roll. baking happens twice a day - 9am and 5pm." and, "everyone is talking about parasites. remember to ask further questions about detection and treatment."  The notes go on and on...

Georgia and Reese start school the 20th (their walk to school is pictured above). They are nervous but excited to settle into a little community.  Reese has 1 other little girl in her class and Georgia has 5 kids in her class and they both will have their first male teachers.  Lots of new!!

We will share more as we know more...  Already we have seen how there is a path leveled and readied before us. We are ready to settle in for the long haul of what God has planned.  Our foundation is the same although our location has changed.

Give thanks to the Lord for he is good, for his steadfast love endures forever. 

Psalm 136

On the road again!

We flew from Costa Rica to Ecuador on two flights, in one afternoon.  All our bags arrived without any issues and we flew through customs despite our 'in process' status with our visa.

After touch down in Quito's new airport our friend, Remiro, took us to rest at the guest house.  We talked the entire hour-long ride -- in Spanish!!  This was so much fun after trying to communicate with him for 3 years with almost no language skills.

Three days in Quito were filled with government offices, shopping and logistic organizing for our transition to the small town of Shell.


On our way to Shell (a 4 hour drive from Quito) we took 3 days in a tourist town named Banos, to rest, reflect and pray as a family.  We did some swimming in the local hot springs and swung from a tree house overlooking the beauty that surrounds the area.  Although we didn't sleep well (our minds are just to busy these days to shut down), we did down-shift a bit and felt ready to transition to Shell on day 3.  

For who is God, but the Lord? And who is a rock, except our God? - the God who equipped me with strength and made my way blameless. He made my feet like the feet of a deer and set me secure on the heights. Psalm 18:31-32

Goodbye Little Blue House

Today we leave Costa Rica.  This house has been a haven in a huge transition.  It's blue cement walls, two palm trees in front, termites and cockroaches will be missed...well, at least some of it will be missed.  We didn't have matching plates or many comforts but it was our home.

Packed up are our 8 checked bags and 4 carry-ons.  We travel with the basics and will set up another home in Ecuador.  

It feels really nice to have so little with so much to look forward to.  

Patience Is A Virtue...

Visas are a reality of living abroad.  We received 1 out of 4 visas in Costa Rica. Each application was identical but 1 was approved and 3 denied.  Thankfully "being in process" is enough to stay in the country legally. This is how things go...  

Now, we are working to acquire our Ecuadorian visas and have an amazing lawyer to help with the process.  We did not want to hit any unnecessary glitches and lose time and money.  Still, much of our time as of late has been spent in government offices, on websites, phone calls and scanning and emailing document after document AND the process is expensive!

Even after all this, we charge ahead incredibly excited to have visas in Ecuador.  We are trusting His perfect timing for receipt of these visas (we can't leave Costa Rica until we have them in hand) and, in faith, have booked airline tickets for an August 3rd departure. 

Our last visit to a government office was to have our fingerprints taken.  This process took almost 5 hours!  Lots of waiting without explanation, paying for somethings that seemed a little "off" and PATIENCE.  It's amazing how this process is like a boot camp of holiness and dependency on God.  May we go deeper still in our trust in Him and live joyfully in the midst of the refining fire.