Please Don't hold this against me :o)

Things I learnt in Alabama

Possums sleep in the middle of the road with their feet in the air.

There are 5,000 types of snakes and 4,998 live in Alabama. There are 10,000 types of spiders. All 10,000 live in Alabama, plus a couple no one's seen before.

If it grows, it sticks; if it crawls, it bites.

Onced and Twiced are words.

It is not a shopping cart, it is a buggy.

It's not a garden hose or simply a hose, it's a "hosepipe" (one word). Knowed is a word too! (I knowed I wasnt supposed to do that; but I did)

Fire ants consider your flesh as a picnic.

People actually grow and eat okra. (and like it!)

Mama-nem means the whole family. ("Are mamanem comin?")

There ain't no such thing as "lunch". There's only dinner and then there's supper.

Backards and foreards means I know everything about you.

Jeet? is actually a phrase meaning "Did you eat yet?"

You know you're from Alabama if:

1. You measure distance in minutes.

2. You've ever had to switch from "heat" to "A/C" in the same day.

3. Stores don't have bags; they have sacks.

4. You see a car running in the parking lot at the store with no one in it, no matter what time of the year.

5. You use "fix" as a verb. Example: I am fixing to go to the store.

6. All the festivals across the state are named after a fruit, vegetable, grain, insect or animal.

7. You install security lights on your house and garage and leave both unlocked.

8. You carry jumper cables in your car…for your OWN car.

9. You know what "cow tipping" is.

10. You only own four spices: salt, pepper, chili powder, and ketchup. Let’s not forget pepper sauce for the turnip greens!

11. The local papers cover national and international news on one page but require 6 pages…for sports.

12. You think that the first day of deer season is a national holiday.

13. You find 90 degrees Fahrenheit "a little warm."

14. You know all four seasons: Almost summer, summer, still summer, and Christmas.

15. You know whether another Alabamian is from east, west, or middle Alabama as soon as they open their mouth.

16. Visiting Wal-Mart is a favorite pastime known as "going to Wal-Marts."

17. You describe the first cool snap (below 70 degrees) as good chili weather.

18. A carbonated soft drink isn't a soda, cola, or pop... it's a Coke, regardless of brand or flavor. Example "What kinna coke you want?"

19. Fried Catfish is the other white meat.

20. You understand these jokes.

Great post!

This a good post on "missions". Thought you might want to visit it.

Facing your Giants by Max Lucado

For me this book was right on time. Lucado put you in the history looking at David's life. He used scripture and imagination to illustrate how we can face our giants of today. Though I wish I could face them with victory like David I seem to fail or back down like David. I take that back, I am victorious some days then it seems I go two steps back. Never the less God is King and in control. One of Lucado's quotes I liked, "Giants. We must face them. Yet we need not face them alone. Focus first, and most, on God. The times David did, giants fell. The days he didn't, David did. (Page 8).
As I was preparing to come to the field now 4 years ago. I was told by the IMB that I had to loose weight to continue the process. (Some 50 lbs) I put so much effort in loosing weight, getting in shape, participating in 10 triathlons, adventure races, running my first ultrathon of 50 kilometers. Now looking back, even though getting in shape is important and especially for me, I wish I would have put just as much effort into preparing spiritually. I'm not saying I didn't, just that looking back I think I could have done things differently. Now looking ahead with half my term left, I'm trying to catch up. It has become my spiritual ultrathon. Disciplining myself, lifting spiritual weights, working through the small injuries, and doing the long spiritual runs on the weekends. 24 But that matters little. What matters most to me is to finish what God started: the job the Master Jesus gave me of letting everyone I meet know all about this incredibly extravagant generosity of God. Acts 20:24 (MSG)
As we dive more into the book of Lucado, I look forward to seeing what God is going to show me through the life of David.

Year and Five Months and Two AGMs.

Well we just returned from our second AGM (Annual General Meeting) and we are glad to be home. We were able to see some friends we haven't seen in a while and make new friends. Listening to good preaching and going over new ideas with leadership. Visiting with some of our language school friends helped us to realize that they are going through some of the same struggles we are, and dealing with them in different ways.
I've got a good question to anyone that would like to chime in. First we know God is going to take care of us. We know what he has done for us in the past. We know by his Word how he performed miracles in the Bible. We know all the facts. Why is it so hard to believe in those facts? Why is it we let emotions control our decisions? For us on the field we know we were called to missions but yet we have such a pull to our home country. So much that it overcomes us. I know the answer is in the God's Word but how do we apply it to our flesh? Can we apply it to our flesh?

Seeking God

I'm trying not to become a blog junky by no means. I read my share of blogs. especially of my fellow missionaries from around the world. I just read the latest from "Tales from Middle Earth" I thought is was worth sharing. Please keep all the missionaries in you prayers. One thing that I was taught early on and am experiencing even more. The front lines are lonely. I feel that God has called us not only to the front lines but maybe he calls us to the front lines so he can get us alone. That is not grammatically correct but makes sense to me.

Garrett is Back!?

Garrett and his buddies made it back for Monte Argentina. They went to participate in a youth camp that is host by the Word of Life Ministries. They do a great job of evangelizing the kids and starting them off on the right foot in discipleship. Garrett came back with great stories and memories that he will not forget. I’m so thankful for the WOL ministries and their love for the Lord. If you want to know more about them click here. On the subject of Salvations we had an answered prayer with one of the guys that went. Williams is his name. He made a profession last Tuesday night and we will start discipleship once we return from Paraguay in a week and half. Thanks for all your prayers and we look for to hearing from you all.

Russian Red Neck?

First let me clarify, I'm from Athens Alabama. I have studied cross cultural adaptation but this takes the cake!
Live!!! From Russia!!!
Theee Leningrad Cowboys!!!

"Facing your Giants" by Max Lucado

I’m reading one of the best encouraging books I’ve read in a while. “Facing your Giants” by Max Lucado. It is some good reading. I would encourage any Christian to read it and especially my fellow missionaries. When I finish it I’m thinking of taking each chapter and sharing how it has helped me see God’s will for my life.

Adapting....

In my post before last, I talked about adapting to different things on the missionary field. I’m going to attempt to explain a little about what I was talking about. I am going to use terms I understand and not big words or phrases that the average person in church doesn't. Especially me. What I have found reading many blogs. The “elite” continually use words that are not any where in the Webster’s or any other reference I use. My grammar is not perfect and I will misspell words. So with that said off we go.
Adapting to language and culture….
Well, for me I can not separate the two. I wish I could explain how they are not separate but to me you have to learn the culture if you are going to learn the language as well. Let me give you a little history of my language learning. We went to Costa Rica to learn the Spanish. I worked hard to learn vocabulary and verb conjugation. I learned real quick that no matter hard I tried, my mind would reject any rational explanation to why they go around the block to say a very simple statement. When we left Costa Rica I felt I could at least go to the grocery store and buy food for our family. When we arrived here in Uruguay, I promise you I thought they were using some tribal language because it did not sound like Spanish. (there are no tribes or Indians here, they were run out or killed out in the conception of the country. So many different sounds, not to mention different words but I didn’t realize so many different words till after another six months in the country was I able to understand simple statements. Now I have spent the past ten months or so trying to work on conversational skills.
Now how adapting to the culture has effected adaptation to language… Well if you can’t understand what they are saying and how they are saying it. You can’t understand the explanations they are giving for why they do certain things. Yes people have written papers on the culture of Uruguay. (A very few) I have learned that those people wrote about the people where they lived and in this short time Uruguay I have learned that the people in the urban setting are very different people than the people in the “campo” (country). They have a few things in common but probably most common thing is the drinking of “mate”. That is another post as well. Till next time…I will post more about adaptations.

Ticket and a License to Drive

Sounds simple…go done to pay for a ticket. (Running a red light and driving without a licences...well not really I had Ala and a Costa Rican just not what they wanted as the time because there has been times those would have been fine.) Where was I, oh yes paying a ticket. Off I went to pay on Tuesday but forgetting that this is the time for vacations so they close at 1:30pm everyday till school starts back. So I go back on Wednesday to pay, getting to the window the guy tells me I have to go across the street for someone to assign value to the points on the ticket so they will know what to charge. Off I go; arriving to a puzzled look on another gentleman’s face and telling me no they should know what the value. Back across the street, the original guy asks a lady there in the office what to do and thank goodness she had the original copy of my ticket to discuss price and why I was driving without a license. I went on to explain the best I could in Spanish that we were in the process but had not received our “cedula” (social security #). And that we were told my immigration that we could drive on our North American licenses with our passport. Well they had not heard that so I paid a hefty fine for driving without a license.
Next page…We (Teresa and I) were off this morning early to stand in line to attempt to get our license. The first gentlemen took our passports and stateside drivers license found our visas from us entering the country in November(from going home for my dad’s death) seeing this and stated that our visa was to expire in February 26 and that our license would be good till then. Well seeing this we went to the gentlemen I talk with yesterday and asked him what we could do to obtain a license.
I and you don’t have the time for me to explain what all happened but that is just a taste of what we deal with daily. He went on to tell me "don’t worry if you get a tick just bring it to me and I will take care of the fine". Until you can get your “cedula”. What fun.

Ministry Meaning

What is the meaning of Ministry? I guess the meaning is different for different people. For me, it is my life. I have had a hard time adapting that into my vocabulary. But over the last two years adapting to a different language, a different culture, a different people I live with and different people I work with, has had a very deep, deep effect the way I look at ministry. Adapting to a different type of work I definitely don't want to forget that. So saying that when I say I need to look at the calendar to see what we will do in the ministry I'm actually saying, "Let’s look at the calendar to see how we are going to schedule our lives into what God has planned for us this year".
Adapting to a different language...well that has definitely not happened yet. I want to so bad to really share what is on my heart in regards to the Word. It might shock some but it is not happening. I have studied, talked and went way out of my comfort zone and still have not progressed to where I want to be. They tell me (they being the vets) that some just don't get it the first term. Well that answers why so many don't come back after their first. This whole tongue thing I wish it was a gift still given. I sure would be praying, and not privately either.
Adapting to a different culture...well that is not all that bad for me. My wife and kids not sure. Well CoraBeth has adapted but she was 9 when we got here. Garrett not sure. Teresa...you'll have to ask her yourself.
Adapting to a different people... nope, nope, nope, I'm trying but that is one thing I won't adapt to but just acept that is the way the people are. I don't have the English vocabulary to explain. I love them and except them and that is the best I know how to do at the moment.
Adapting to a different way of work...nope, nope, nope, not sure if that will come around. Teresa and I talked about that last night. She doesn’t know how I keep from going crazy. When I say I was a bricklayer it really goes much deeper than that. I took large masonry projects (i.e., schools, hospitals, grocery stores.) was give a schedule (deadline) and then asked to do some impossible tasks with literally no one on the crew. I would then start hiring, recruiting, begging, motivating and begging to do more. I loved the fast pace work schedule. I loved looking back at the end of the day and seeing what we had accomplished physically and then after the job was over all the friendships that had been formed by everyone accomplishing what they didn't think they could.
I just started laughing because after rereading what I wrote...it is exactly what God has asked me to do here. I'm just having a hard time seeing the results. That is probably the biggest thing I'm having problems with.
Sorry this is so long...I working on blogging on a regular basis.
Not sure if anyone passes buy but this has been good to write about anyway.
May God Bless your "Ministry"!!!!

No Pony Tail

No there is no pony tail. Some thought we were joking.

WE tried to stop her but this is what she really wanted. My little girl is growing up.