The Joys of Moving

We were "released" from Home Ministry Assignment on Thursday, July 27! The responsibility of raising our support was finally over. God had answered prayer. Many of our partners renewed and increased their support in us. Thank you so much. You are making it possible for us to obey the call that God has placed on our lives.

We began the process of packing and packing and packing. Then the good-byes... to friends and family which are very hard to make.




Dad bought a used trailer and painted it. We loaded it up and headed out August 4, Sunday morning at 3:45 a.m. We spent Sunday night in Harrisville, Mississippi with Rev. Joe and Doreen Moore.

Monday we again left around 4:15 a.m. We were so excited when we crossed the Texas state line. Of course, we still had many hours left to travel. After a 15 hour drive, we arrived in McAllen, Texas around 7:00 p.m.



Now the unpacking begins! All the furniture has to be brought out of storage, dusted off, and put in place. Decisions after decisions! Boxes have to be opened and unpacked. More decisions about where to put things. Everything is dusty. There is evidence left by roaches. Yuck! Hopefully we aren't bringing any lives ones into the house. Of course the temperature of 103 degrees doesn't help the process. The airconditioning in the house does work well.



The kids get to choose their own bedrooms. They do NOT want to live together! Their rooms are set up and organized, pets and all. Our neighbors David and Angie Yoder have a swimming pool. Ariana especially loves that. She gets to swim several times a day. That has helped keep the girls occupied while Mom and Dad sweat through the unpacking process.

Ariana's 7th Birthday

Ariana celebrated her 7th birthday in Kentucky on June 27. I can hardly believe she is so big. She has learned to swim really well this summer. We are so proud of her.

Pets

We promised the girls during our furlough year that on our return to McAllen we would buy them a pet. They dreamed and planned about what they each wanted. Ariana decided that she wanted a turtle. Since we had a fish tank already, we thought that was a great idea. We bought a bird cage at a flea market for Ariela early last year. She was set on having some kind of bird. I suggested the finch because it sings less than other birds.

Light Family Reunion

The first Saturday of every August, the Light family gets together to eat and visit. Rachel and Jimmy Light open up their home and beautiful yard near Goshen, Ohio, for this event. We were able to attend the reunion this year before we finished HMA and returned for another term on the Mexican border.

What a blessing to be a part of a family with a Christian heritage. Many of Dad's family have been pastors and missionaries. We really enjoyed seeing relatives. Our girls loved playing with some of their second cousins and riding their bicycles.

Laura secretly invited David and Barbara Wilson to surprise Jorge. They have been good friends of Jorge's since the Wilsons were missionaries in Bolivia and Argentina.

Laura's brother Tim Light and his son Chris came to the reunion on their motorcycles. We were glad for the opportunity to spend just a little more time with them before heading back to Texas.