Alicia's thoughts on a Bocachican Thanksgiving

       Your idea of thanksgiving is probably a nice cozy and warm room filled with the smell of turkey roasting in your oven. Mixed with the smell of a cinnamon coming from that perfect pumpkin pie. The children are bundling up filled with the antisapation to go and make a flying leap into a giant pile of leaves. You watch them chase each other laughing as they throw their handful of leaves at each other. Well our thanksgiving wasn't exactly like that ,but it seemed just as good. We had our thanksgiving feast, 2 turkeys and all the fixings, a lively game of charades and dessert covered with whipped cream! We had done this all with thankful hearts as we sat outside in the nice cool night air. Our advantage was having two families learn what thanksgiving was about and having everyone go to bed with a full stomach and a thankful heart. That qualifies it to be the best thanksgiving ever!


              Psalms 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise.

My how the time has flown by

Philippians 1:3 I thank God upon every remembrance of you.

Time is a funny thing. I remember time as a child being idle. One year to the next just seemed to creep by. From Thanksgiving to Christmas seemed to be the longest month ever. Even as an adult, when I have something to look forward to; time still seemed to slowly pass. I have had seven children and waiting to meet each one of them, time stood still. 

On April 3rd we started our process to move to Bocachica. From that point on time seemed to accelerate! The process to pack up everything we owned, to sell everything we were not going to take with us, and to finish the jobs we had before us made the time fly by. On October 30th our time came to say good bye to the only house my children have ever known and to board our plane for our new home awaiting us in Colombia. 

Saying our goodbyes was harder than I had thought they would be. Our friends in NC had become family to us. Our neighbors had loved our children more than I ever could have imagined. We had been blessed to have wonderful Godly friends help mold our family. 

When we left our house on Oct 30th it was 36 degrees and when we arrived in Bocachica to a tropical dream. The plants are a hearty green and the weather is typically 80+ degrees for this season. We have been welcomed with open arms from the staff that we now have communal living. 

Life here on the island is very different than what we are used to in the states. No more calm days on my street where our kids made the most noise in the neighborhood. Now we exchange that for music being played from house to house day in and night. It’s amazing how fast your get used to the sound and recognize the songs even if you don’t know the language. Here they are not custom to picking up after themselves as we are in America. The streets here a lined with trash and the animals roam freely. Most children here play with out parental guidance. They flock to us and desire attention. My kids play with them with no hesitation and the barrier of language has not become an issue. In fact we have many new friends for the kids. We now have worked out a schedule and we have daily visitors. All girls have playmates whom we see regularly.  One girl Kelly who is 16 has helped us with our insect bites. Her Grandmother makes this liquid called “cocolina” It is made from a root of a plant and mixed with rubbing alcohol and water. When we first arrived we looked like we had the chicken pox, and with our pale skin it was very noticeable. We put this medicine on every night and the bugs seem to leave us alone. 

The evenings here are so comfortable as the temperature drops with the sun going down. The boats in the water are beautiful to look at as the city of Cartagena starts to light up behind them in the distance. Most of all it’s my favorite time as we take a walk before dinner and visit families here who we are getting to know. It seems like a lot of attention can go to the kids as they are excited to see us, but the adults tend to stay in the back ground. Nate and I would like to establish some good relationships with the families here on the island. 

Stay tuned as in the next couple of months we will share what the Lord is doing in our lives. Please also look at the pictures Nate posted on our blog of the work being done on the clinic. We can’t wait for the first wing to open up and the difference it will make here for the locals to get medical attention. 

Thank you for your love, support and prayers for our family!

Blessings,

Nate, Tara and kids ;)

First week in Bocachica

Here are some pictures from our first week here. We will have some more coming soon.

Our new living quarters

Vincent's new friend to the dismay of Marley...

One of the rooms soon to be finished. We are working on getting two open by  the end of the year.

This is the picture of the left wing of the clinic, the government says they will allow the clinic to open if they can  finish this first half.

front view of the medical clinic

4 part septic system, when in operation will allow excess water treated to be available  for   watering plants.

Exit pipe in last chamber

Repairs we have been working on in the first two rooms, getting them ready for stucco and tile.

October Invitation

The mornings start off crisp, the afternoons heat up to a pleasant temperature and evening air makes you want to have every window in the house open. These are some of the many reasons why Fall is my favorite time of year. With the colors starting to change it reminds me of God’s beauty and how He uses seasons in our lives. I will be sad to leave NC. Though I am excited to see how in this new season of life I will used in different ways. I pray it will bring me even closer to Him.

    

Speaking of Fall, I heard this and thought I’d share! 

     Autumn is a season for big decisions -- like whether or not it's too late to start spring cleaning. This made me laugh,

after packing up a house…I have now realized…this is my first ever REAL spring cleaning…I highly recommend it to everyone! Sorting though everything and seeing how much we posses, I have found we hold on to so much stuff that we don’t NEED or use! I have a new perspective of what is truly important and needed. 

     Praises are in order! We are 85% funded and are moving forward with our plans in Colombia. We have been busy painting and packing, and getting our house ready to be rented. We are hoping to leave the last week in October.

    Over the summer the older girls celebrated their birthdays and they chose to spend it having quality time with their close friends. We have not only been diligent on packing, but trying to say our goodbyes, and have some last play dates with our friends.

     We appreciate all of your monthly giving, prayers and support to us as we move forward! It has been nice to see the many confirmations from the Lord over these past 6 months as we put our hand on the plow. 

Your invited!

Acts 13:3 “Then, having fasted and prayed, and laid hands on them, they sent them away.” 

On October 22 we the Ariels, will spend the day fasting and praying. All are welcome to join us. 

We request your presence on October 23rd at Antioch Community Church, at 8:00 a.m.  as we “break-fast“ and have a time of enjoying a breakfast feast and prayer. We’d love to share this time in giving thanks to the Lord and enjoying fellowship with you. 

  

Everyone is welcome to stay and join us for our church service at 10:00.   

Please RSVP to ariel.family.mission@gmail.com with the number of people attending the breakfast.  

Thank you so much for your love, prayers and support for our family. 

The Ariels

Please contact us for more information

regarding our ministry or information about

Bocachica at  ariel.family.mission@gmail.com

If you would like to support us you can mail checks to:

Antioch Community Church 

P.O. Box 40

Elon, NC 27244

 

Please write "Colombia" on the memo line.

*(remember your giving is tax deductible!)*

The challenge of John Stott

The challenge of John Stott

interesting look at large families

From a secular political  viewpoint, but none the less interesting.
http://www.frontporchrepublic.com/2011/08/the-family-centered-economy/

Potlucks a few recognizable bites via Jeremy Huggins

http://theotherjournal.com/2011/06/21/the-church-potluck/

our first newsletter

The first leg of the journey...

We aren't really going any where yet, but there are always first things to anything new. We have to have a first post. First we have to downsize possessions. We first have to count the cost. After you say first a lot it start to sound weird and even look weird. Salud to firsts.