Family Camp!

That’s what you get when you throw a tractor, a bunch of tents, monster marshmallows, barbecue grills, a lot of water balloons and most of the church family into the parking lot for 36 hours!

Yes, I did say the parking lot.  So wasn’t quite as roughing it as going to a “real” (designated) camping area, but our parking lot does have “boonies” (grass and not just pavement) and we did have Honey Buckets for the weekend (to create outhouse ambiance—and not clog up our sensitive toilets in the church).  AND since our camping site was so local, it was super convenient for people who had to still go to work on Saturday be able to camp as well.   

Jocelyn & Megan at dinner on Friday evening. 

Abby & “Snickers” a hybrid wolf.

Water balloon launchers!

Haha, this was so fun to watch….  a still photo really doesn’t do it justice.  Mr. Ross brought his tractor (and a couple other motor vehicles purely for the enjoyment and entertainment of the kids).  The guys all threw water balloons at the kids riding around in the trailer, and the kids all threw water balloons back.  The ladies all watched and laughed.  Who knew having an open field for a campsite could be so much fun? 

Campfire, s’mores and worship :)  A sweet time together.

So family camp was pretty much awesome…  it was so much fun just hanging out and catching up with everybody…. meeting new church members and just sharing life together.

Relationally,

Jocelyn & Brian

In other news…

In a hemisphere south of us…  work is still going on.  Check it out on our teams new blog http://www.lightinaction.org/blog/

Joel hard at work in the Rock House

Cynthia in a scene from Episode #6…  strategically filmed 2 weeks ago while no one can tell that she’s pregnant!  Arlen & Cynthia are expecting child #3 in January :)

Thanks!!!

This last weekend we had our “pounding”….  It was lovely to sit back and relax for 2 days after moving and unpacking and just hang out and visit with people who stopped by and brought us stuff.  Here’s a little bit of some of the spoils we were blessed with :)

Like I said, that’s just a wee bit—a fraction really.  We have a fridge and pantry full of food, and aside from “borrowing” the apartment we’re living in, we are also borrowing a very nice couch, chairs, 2 dressers, hangers, sheets and towels, some kitchen things…..  and wow, the list goes on.

We are humbled…. and really thankful.  And encouraged…  and overwhelmed!  Thanks to everyone for meeting our practical needs in a physical, tangible way!  We truly serve a God who gives good gifts to His kids—- and we are definitely experiencing it!

 

 

And I said last week we’d update ya’ll on what’s going on with our visas.  So.  Here we go….

Everybody has heard of “Plan B.”  Plan A doesn’t get so much publicity because it’s usually rather quick and painless.  Occasionally there’s a “Plan C” rolling around, but even rarer is “Plan E” for our visas.  Yes, we’ve done our homework, and we really think this one is going to fly (no pun intended)…  So anyway.  Lots of details that involve both the Chicago Consulate and the San Francisco Consulate, re-doing some of the same paperwork, doing some new paperwork, getting it all in the right places with the appropriate amounts of money.  And a lot of waiting.  We’re waiting right now—for 2 sets of paperwork to come to us (some from Brazil, some from Missouri) but we are also working ahead on stuff we know we’ll need (like background checks).  So….  What does all this really mean?  We are hoping to head back by the end of October/early November.  That’s quite an optimistic hope, but there it is anyway.  Our “Plan B” is early January.  It’s rather pricey to travel during the last half of November/most of December, and it would be kind of sad to miss spending holidays with family by just a couple weeks.  So that’s where we’re at with visas. 

Thankfully,

Jocelyn (& Brian)

 

In other news…

Something I appreciate even more than before we went to Brazil is…  the public library (I hadn’t been to one of those in 6 months!)

And we just read this book.  And really really enjoyed it.  We have a disgustingly large amount of things in common with the author and hence, we have lots of things to learn from his experience.  Anyway.  If you ever come across it, or are looking for a fun book to read, we highly recommend it :)

Foxes have holes, birds of the air have nests, and missionaries live with people (and occasionally by themselves….)

While we have very much enjoyed “communal living” (living with people in their houses (or in their chicken coops))… we are excited to be moving into our “own” place for a couple of months!  My parents own a condo and it just happens to be empty right now, and they’ve graciously offered it to us for the next couple months while we’re here :) 

So exciting!  Today, we pulled a bunch of our stuff out of storage…  kitchen things we haven’t seen in more than a year…  picture frames…  our books….  we’re borrowing a couch, a couple of dressers and a microwave from some friends who are living in an already furnished house right now…

Don’t worry though—we won’t get too comfortable…!  As we unpack in this lovely apartment (the nicest place either of us have ever lived in!) I revel in the fact that all our clothes are in a real walk-in closet…  but at the same time, it doesn’t “make me happy.”  I will enjoy having a master bathroom as long as we live here (no bathroom in our chicken coop!) but it doesn’t bring me real joy.  I love the fact that I have a washer and a dryer in a hall closet exclusively for our personal use…  but I wish that I could disassemble the washer and ship it to Brazil to replace our team’s washer that has so many little issues.  For real—we are thrilled to be home in WA and living on our own for a bit, but we also miss our little 9x9 cement and screen housie and our team and our work in Brasil…       

Anyway.  After a long/lazy absence from blogging, we hope to return to our regularly scheduled Monday night blogs…  Coming up soon—more ever evasive and ominous Visa DETAILS (boring, yet necessary) …  Until then, enjoy a few somewhat random pictures, and “in other news” :)

Domestically,

Jocelyn<>< 

 

At Nathaniel & Danielle’s wedding in New Hampshire (worthy of it’s own blog, but since a picture is worth a thousand words, it’s just going to have to do).

 

Just before our flight to Seattle!  Brian with all our stuff…  rather tired (I looked even worse!) 

 

Visiting with Joshua last week :)  We spent 3 days with him at his house in Bremerton and enjoyed the hike and view at Green Mountain.

Unpacking in the bedroom….

and…

In other news….  You’re invited to a POUNDING!!!

What is a “pounding?”
A pounding is an event (much like a housewarming party or open house), where guests bring gifts of food (a pound of this, or a package of that) to help a family who just moved in set up their kitchen. Really, it's just an excuse to have people over-- there's no pressure to bring anything :)

How do I participate in the pounding?
Come stop by and see our temporary home for the next few months. Enjoy some coffee, have some funnel cakes, visit with us and bring something to help fill our fridge and pantry if you’d like to. As we are going to be living here for just a short amount of time, we would like to ask for just consumable things (food, household cleaners, etc…) and not things that we will need to give away or store in a few months.

When can I poun—er, when is the pounding?
Saturday, August 7th, 2pm-10pm & Sunday, August 8th, 2pm-8pm

Where is Brian & Jocelyn’s pounding?
Monroe!  Our apartment is on Currie Road (off of Fryelands Boulevard).  Send us a message and we’ll send you some more info (just don’t want to much personal info on the web)…

Hope to see you soon!