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Giving Thanks !!!

And so much to be thankful for!!! For many years we have been drawing a paper tree and everybody puts leaves on it in Nov. Each leaf has something we are thankful for on it.
I put up the first leaf with just Tatiana and I and she said she was thankful for regals, presents. Later Daniela added her first and she is thankful for comieda, which is dinner and food in general. So sweet to see their little hearts start to sense blessing as being there.
Thank you Lord for all these blessings you give us that we don't have to worry about not getting tomorrow. Salvation, a home, a bed, clothes, food, friends and family that love us. We are so grateful !! As we think on this line we can't help but think of all the people that have given: time, money, clothes, gifts, prayers, and love to our family during this process.
A great big thanks to God for all of you.
May He bless you all richly!!!

Only a week?

Wow, it has only been a week!! Time has a way of becoming irrelevant. There have been so many changes. When we left Cali we were all wearing shorts and flip flops. We traveled last Sat. for 14 hours. We left the hotel in Bogotá at 12 noon to be 3 hours early as required for an international flight. We stood in line for a long time!! Thank you Lord for the really nice lady next to me in line because, my escort in Bogotá spoke hardly any English. The representative started to ask questions out of the normal train of thought and he had no idea how to get me to understand what they needed. The credit card run through on the phone that I had given to pay for the change in schedule had not worked and I needed to pay for that again. Ivan was by my side curious and watching everything. Melissa had pulled the others over to the side to sit in a group with all the maletas(backpacks).

We flew out of Bogotá for Panama City and Tatiana was quite scared. We bought Chicklets and all three kids were chewing away like crazy. I sang them the flying song from Peter Pan which they have watched and loved and they really did quite well they gave us lunch. The flight was less than 2 hours.

When we arrived in Panama City we had one hour to switch flights. We did not know the language, had no help and we were the last off the plane. We hiked / ran through the terminal after a bathroom stop and when we got to the gate they told us wait. So we sat on the ground. They then told us the gate had been switched so we got up and ran another 5 gates or so and got to the right one. They would not let us sit down until we were searched. So once again they went through all of our stuff. They took a bunch of Melissa's cosmetics and wouldn't let the kids have water. Once we got through we sat for about 5 minutes before it was time to board.

There was a fight for the window seat, we only had one. The lady that was sitting with us left after less than 5 minutes. Another window seat, a gift from God. People on this flight were MUCH LESS understanding. We hadn't even taken off and this big guy in front of Daniela had turned around 2 times and finally said "can't you make her stop kicking the seat?"

My thought was, "you should be glad she isn't screaming at the top of her lungs."

We spent the 6 hours trying to get the kids not to kick the seats in front of them. After they served dinner, Tatiana fell asleep on my lap. Daniela switched from Melissa in the middle of Ivan and her to next to mom and fell asleep on the other side. I spend the flight with both arm rests up and trying not to move, but very very grateful because no body was screaming and that was my personal fear. Ivan fell asleep on Melissa and when we landed in Dulles at 12:20 PM all three were asleep. We had to wake them and carry 6 carry-ons. Melissa got 2 and I carried Tatiana. They did so well, they just wanted to see Dad. We didn't get to see him for more than 1 1/2 hours. We had to wait in a long line to get through customs, give them the paper work, wait, pick up all our luggage 6 LARGE pieces, along with carry-ons and sleepy kids and go through a second line. Right at the end Tatia started whimpering Popi, Popi. When we saw dad she hid behind my legs and would not greet him.

We then proceeded outside. This was the biggest shock of all!!!
I had been telling the kids frio, frio, which means cold. I had a talk with Ivan and explained the seasons and that it snowed in Virginia. I had told them that it snows in January, but not often in Nov. We got hit with temp. in the teens when we walked through that door to outside. All six kids fell asleep on the ride from DC to our home in Richmond. Matt has grown at least an inch or two, and he sat next to Daniela, the energitic, physical child and did great!!!
We got home at 4am. Everybody woke up and the kids wanted to bike ride. Hint for anyone trying this later. Don't put the bike on the front porch if you are getting in the middle of the night. Daniela went right to exploring. She went upstairs and straight into Nikki's room, since it was first and stuck her hand into the fish bowl. She responded with a bewildered look. All three LOVE the fish!! (breaded, fried etc.) Matt & Nikki each have a Beta. We all finally got to sleep and the kids like clockwork woke at 6am. OK, it was probably 6:30.
I woke up also being programed to do so.

We all ate desayuno(breakfast) and by 9 decided to try church. The kids were up for it and we had gone every Sunday in country, so we showed up late, sang sweet precious worship songs that we could understand in English and when they dismissed the kids, Matt went with Ivan, Nikki with Daniela, and Mom with Tatiana. Melissa was home in bed. She had inadvertently locked her door and we assumed(wrongly) sleep was her highest priority. The kids did great considering everything!!! One of the first people we saw was a young lady that had graduated from college for speech therapy and was fluent in Spanish and she greeted Tatiana in my arms in Spanish. I saw her wonder and relax some. Thank you Tara, Thank you Lord. The Wesner's were on puppet ministry and Soraya is from Mexico and was also able to help Tatiana not feel so scared, but after about 20 minutes she said she wanted to go home and ride her bike. We checked in with the other kids and they all said they were tired. surprise, surprise so we left.
The rest of the week was a blur, lots of sweet friends stopped over to greet us, made meals for us and welcomed us all home. Friends have done so much!! Hats and gloves so needed Sunday night gifts from the Johnson's. We tried to keep it low key for the week, but the kids had classes and despite advice to stay home we went out
Tue. to take Matt to Spanish class,
the teacher had Ivan read the memory verse and he was so proud.
Wed. to chemistry lab
Chris thank you for your wonderful hospitality it was so fun!!
Thursday Tatiana stayed with Dad and we took Matt to History co-op and older 2 to Walmart and the local library. They got a card and there is a section of children's books in Spanish. Another great big Thank you Lord.
We have so much to be thankful for!!! We are very aware of God's grace and kindness towards us as we all adjust to these huge changes.

Please pray:
For comprehension and communication. We need to understand each other.
For health, Dad getting over bronchitis, Mom & Melissa hot summer to freezing cold and kids totally new everything.
For grace for all of us to desire to lay down our lives and serve one another with love.
For mom to find a schedule that works for all.
OH YEA!!
another evidence of God's kindness. The Monday after we got home it snowed big puffy beautiful flakes. We all rejoiced, rushed to dress and bundle and by the time we got outside there was no more snow falling. We were able to make a few small "balls" from the cars. So lovely and the first time they had seen snow in their lives.
I know this is really long and if you are still reading. thanks for caring!
May the Lord fill your lives with His love, peace and joy,
Rejoicing In-Christ, Shirlene for the Jones'
Aside:
Ivan is pronounced with a long e sound, the v sounds like a b, and "on" on is the final sound.
More like E-bon'.

Week 1

It's been a bit of a whirlwind week. More to come...

C'mon Get Happy!!

The Jones family will be united tomorrow at Dulles Int. Airport as Shirlene and Melissa escort Ivan, Daniela and Tatiana home to the good ol' US of A! It's adios Colombia and Hola! America. Dad , Nikki and Matt will be traveling to Dulles to pick up 5 passengers, 6 large pieces of luggage and 6 carry-ons.

All this is made possible by the Richardson's volunteering their 15 passenger van for our jaunt. The Richardsons voted to see if they wanted to lend us the van. Present for the vote were Craig and Donna, Blair, Brynn, Grant, Kam, Kendall, Hayley, and Corby. Instead of waiting for Jori's absentee ballot to arrive, Craig announced that his vote counted as 10...thus ending the suspense and speculation of voter fraud and disenfranchisement.

Shirlene suggested that I not drive on the way home because los niños will want to spend time with me. Following the 2 hour drive we should be arriving home at about 4AM Sunday morning where a slumber/pajama party is planned in the family room. Everyone is invited! BYOP (bring your own pillow) We will understand if you can't make it. Besides, the kids will be asleep!

Also our home phone number 320-5551 will no longer be in service. We are using mobile only from here on out. Bill 814-5726 and Shirlene 512-9734.

Ciao, Ciao Brown Cow

The Last Days

Hi everyone!
I just talked with my lovely wife via land line. Internet use for them in Bogota is not reliable. Shirlene and Melissa et. al. arrived in Bogota Monday morning and had a full agenda to find a place to live and get the kids in for their final physician check ups. She found them a lovely one room hotel to live in until the kids get their visas from the embassy. They thought they could do that today (Tues.) but the American embassy was closed in observance of Veteran's Day. They were assured it would be completed by tomorrow so Shirlene called the airlines to get their tickets changed. Unfortunately, COPA didn't have any available flights until this coming Saturday at 4PM. Which would put them touching down in DC at 1AM Sunday. It should be an exausting week for them as they are living in tight quarters with no food provided. Then the long flight home followed by passing through US Customs. Please continue to pray for my Shirlene's and Melissa's strength, stamina and endurance. If anyone is currently praying for patience for them...please stop.

Para Ivan de Papi

No va a ser largo, hasta ahora estamos juntos otra vez.
(It won't be long now until we are together again.)

Mi niña necesita un hombre para proteger y servir a ellos.
(My girls need a man to protect and serve them.)

Para establecer un ejemplo para la fuerza para obtener a través de estos pocos días.
(To set an example for strength to get through these few days.)

Necesito su ayuda Ivan.
(I need your help Ivan.)

¿Podría ser ese ejemplo para ellos?
(Would you please be that example for them?)

Te Amo Ivan,
Papi