Special Visitors!

This month Jorge had the special blessing of having several of his family members visit him in Colombia for the first time ever!  They were able to spend 3 weeks there and visited Bocachica, Cartagena and Bogota.

Jorge with his sisters, Lupita & Isabel, and his younger brother, Chava in Cartagena.

Our cute nieces, Karen and Blanca with some children from Bocachica, waiting for cell group to start.

Lupita, Blanca, Isabel and Rocio on the Chiva bus in Cartagena.

Hanging out at our home in Turbaco, just outside Cartagena.

Yolanda, Rocio, Erika, Isabel, Blanca and Karen sightseeing in Cartagena.

Jorge with Karen and Blanca in Cartagena.

24th Anniversary

Jorge and I celebrated our anniversary a week early this year because Jorge will be heading back to Colombia tomorrow.  February 23rd will be our 24th! 

A Great Thanksgiving!

We had a really great Thanksgiving this year...made special for a few reasons:

1.  House renovations were completed and mom and I got moved in and ready THE DAY all our company arrived!  Phew!!  Check out mom's beautiful new kitchen!

2.  Jorge got back from Colombia in time to spend the holidays with me!!  It was so good to have him back after 2+ months apart!  

3.  After many, many years of being far away from family on Thanksgiving, it was so nice to be TOGETHER for this one!

4.  Good eatin'!

5.  Kurt, Lucha and Sam visiting from Colorado! (My brother and SIL)

6.  Our friend, Nini, visiting from CHILE!!  We first met Nini when she came to Bocachica with a team from her church and then we met up with her again on our 2012 trip to Chile.  Now Nini is studying in a Master's program at Duke University, just a few miles up the highway!

7.  Our newlywed friends, Mariceli and Rob, visiting from Charlotte.  Mariceli recently moved to the USA from Colombia and she and Rob JUST got married a few days before Thanksgiving!  We first met Rob many years ago when he led outreach teams to Bocachica from the YWAM-Denver base.

8.  Having an international gathering right in our own living room!  Over the weekend we had five countries represented:  USA, Mexico, Colombia, Chile and Brazil!

and...

9.  Being with my Mama!!

Weekend in the Mountains

The only thing more perfect than spending a long October weekend in the North Carolina Mountains is spending it with life-long dear friends!

Mom's birthday on the Great Smoky Mountains Railway!  Celebrating the big 7-0!

Mom and Carole, her BFF from way back!

Picnic lunch along the Nantahala River.

Perfect Fall weather!

Visiting my BFF and her family in TN! 

April and I go back all the way to Kindergarten.

Seeing another of my childhood buddies who now lives in Asheville

Ginger just opened her new business, Poppy Handcrafted Popcorn in Asheville so we went to check it out!  Super yum!!

BFF's are the Best!

Today, Mom and I got to have lunch with Christa and Barbara, my sweet BFF from high school and her mom.  What a treat to get to visit and catch up with old friends who love and support you unconditionally!  

Jorge's Oath Ceremony

On August 29, 2014 Jorge attended his oath ceremony to become a U.S. Citizen.  Unfortunately I wasn't able to be there because I was in the hospital but I am so grateful and blessed by sweet friends who made the day extra special for him!!  I know he never expected anyone else to go so he was surprised and blessed by the love and support shown!!  He spent the whole night before this at the hospital with me.  He slept all night in a chair and the next day went to the ceremony straight from the hospital!   Receiving his citizenship was a huge answer to prayer and will make our lives easier as we will no longer need special permits to travel outside of the country.  Now Jorge can come and go as he pleases!  And don't worry, Jorge is still passionately proud of his Mexican heritage... fortunately Mexico recognizes dual-citizenship so now he will be able to enjoy the benefits of both! 

Wedding Adventures

Since we got our car a month and a half ago, we have driven 5000 miles!!

Last month we drove down to Mexico for our niece's wedding celebration.  It took us 2 days to get there and along the way we got to visit with my Uncle Bill and Aunt Betty in Alabama.

Once in Mexico we had a great time seeing our family again!  Several came up to Nuevo Laredo for the wedding and there were 21 of us sharing one bathroom for three days!  We had fun spending time together in between the wedding festivities... staying up late talking, sitting around together, eating and laughing.  We slept in every available spot...some in beds, some on the pull-out sofa bed and others on the floor.

Our first day there, Jorge and I were able to be present at our nieces civil wedding.  In most Latino countries a wedding consists of two ceremonies:  a civil  (legal) wedding ceremony, and a church (religious) wedding ceremony.  Our niece, Gaby, was just 4 months old when Jorge and I got married and since we have watched her grow up, it was especially meaningful to be able to be with her on this special occasion.

The church wedding was held the day after the civil wedding at a Catholic church.

After the wedding there was a big sit-down dinner and party for over 400 people that went on until 2am, complete with plenty of Mexican wedding traditions and fun.

After that party ended they moved it to the groom's aunt's house where the party continued on all night long and all the next day.  After a nap the newlyweds hosted a barbeque and later opened wedding gifts.

We love our Gaby and wish her and Toño all the best in the years to come!

There are lots more wedding photos here!

We Got It!

We have been on the look-out for a vehicle ever since before we left Colombia in October.  We've been spreading the word, looking in the newspaper, searching on Craigslist, visiting used car lots and everything in between.  It's been a bit overwhelming but we finally found it!  We had some funds set aside for this but it wasn't quite enough and so we were especially grateful to receive 4 unexpected cash gifts from my mom, my dad, my grandmother and a friend... and that made all the difference!  We wound up with a '07 Ford Escape and we are very grateful to God for His provision!!

Memory Lane

Yesterday we had a special visit with some "old" friends we hadn't seen in about 20 years!  During my Junior and Senior years in high school I had an after school babysitting job taking care of Carrie and Clint.  Both of them were in our wedding!  The last time I saw them, Carrie was about 16 and Clint was about 13... Twenty years later and both are married, each one with two beautiful children of their own!  Pictured above is Clint by my side and his wife, Theresa is beside him (his little boy and girl are sitting with their Uncle Shane on the couch).  Next is their mom, Retha, with her husband, Scott.  On the opposite end of the couch is Carrie and her hubby is on the couch with their two daughters sitting to the left.  It was so neat to catch up on their lives and to spend some time with this loving family!

Snowed In!

Jorge and I returned to North Carolina a few days ago and what a surprise to find ourselves in the middle of one of the biggest snow storms NC has had in a very long time!!  We arrived on Sunday and Wednesday afternoon the snow started to fall and it kept going until Thursday afternoon!  What a thrill it was for us to enjoy the BEAUTY of the snow falling and the FUN of playing in it!!  What a blessing it was that we arrived to NC 3 days BEFORE the storm arrived because as a result of the storm, thousands of flights were cancelled!  What a bummer it would have been to have gotten stuck on the other end!!

Sorry for the lack of subtitles on the video but Jorge is just sending a special greeting to our friends in Colombia.

Surprise!!!

Yesterday we celebrated Jorge's birthday with a SURPRISE party!  His brother and sisters helped pull it all off and invited a bunch of Jorge's old friends from their youth when they used to all play soccer together on a local team.  Jorge never suspected a thing and was totally surprised and blessed by all our conniving behind his back! 

Check out the rest of the birthday photos here!

Monse's Quinceñera

After our adventure leaving Colombia, Jorge and I were finally able to meet up again at his home in Lazaro Cardenas, Michoacán (Mexico) on Oct. 18.  I made it just in time for our niece's Quinceñera party.  As you may know, in Latino culture, that is when a girl turns 15 years old and it is usually a pretty big deal.  In a lot of ways it is similar to a wedding and if the family can afford it (and sometimes even if they can't!) they usually plan a big shindig.  Jorge's family threw a big party for Monserrat and Jorge was honored to be invited to perform the religious ceremony.

With Monserrat on her big day.

Getting ready to start the ceremony.

During the ceremony.

Click here to see more photos!

Look Who's Here!!

MOISES DAVID CRUZATE REYES

 
Samy and Marley had their baby on Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 7:50 am!  Marley was just starting her 37th week of pregnancy so we weren't expecting him for another 2 to 3 weeks yet and his early arrival caught us all by SURPRISE!!  But it was a wonderful and welcome surprise indeed!!  Marley had a really great birth experience and we could see God's favor shown to us in so many small details!  We are so thankful and feeling very blessed!!

It all started on Tuesday at 2:00 am when Marley was feeling some strong contractions.  Once she realized they were coming steadily she had Samy time them and they were every 5 minutes with each contraction lasting about 1 minute.  This went on for the next 2 hours and at 4:00 am they decided to wake us up.  We heard Samy at our window and when he told us about the contractions our first reaction was that it was probably a false alarm.  But once I heard that this had been going on for 2 hours already I quickly got up and brushed my teeth and got dressed to go upstairs to see how Marley was doing.  We all just giggled with excitement and amazement because we couldn't believe this was happening so soon!!  So we decided to get the first boat that leaves Bocachica each morning around 5:30 am.  The timing of Marley's labor was just so perfect because we didn't have to run around in the middle of the night trying to find a boat and we didn't have to go in the middle of the day when the heat is unbearable.

We woke up Blanca and Alexandra to let them know what was going on and we all 6 huddled in a circle and prayed as a family together before heading out.  Jorge and I left the mission with Samy and Marley and walked to the dock. Bocachica was silent and I could still see the stars in the sky and there was lightening off in the distance lighting up the clouds.  Marley was very calm and she handled the situation like a pro!  We got to the dock at 5:15 am and we had to wait about 20 minutes for the boat to fill up with passengers and then we took off for Cartagena.

Once we arrived to the city there were no taxis around so we had to walk about 4 blocks before we were finally able to find one.  As we got in the taxi the Colombian national anthem was playing on the radio so we new it was 6:00 am on the dot (the national anthem plays every day at 6am and 6pm).  We heard the first verse which says something like, "Oh unfading glory! Oh immortal joy!  In furrows of pain... goodness germinates now!"  We just looked at each other and laughed at how appropriate the lyrics were for that moment! 

So we got to the hospital and were put in a room at 6:30 am where they checked her vital signs and got a brief history.  At this point we were thinking that they might send us home to come back in a few hours or something like that but we at least wanted to get her checked first.  Then they took her to another room where the doctor would examine her.  The first time that they checked her was at around 6:50 am and she was already 7 cm. dilated!  They put in an I.V. and told us they would take her upstairs.  Samy was in the waiting room with Jorge and I was with Marley.  They said that I could be with her until the moment that they took her into the delivery room.  We were thinking that we might be there a couple of hours or so until she fully dilated.  But we were in for another surprise!  The wheeled her up to the 2nd floor and I was tagging behind, trying to keep up and then they went through a set of double doors and the man held up his hand and told me, "this is as far as you can go!" and they zipped into the delivery room and left me outside practically with my mouth open, wondering what had just happened!

I found out later that as soon as she went in they checked her again and she was already 9 cm dilated!  Then a couple of minutes later she was 9+ cm.!  So the doctor got her ready to deliver and after only 5 pushes the baby was born at 7:50 am!!  (The total process lasted less than 6 hours!)  I was out in the waiting room trying to get some things that the nurse had asked me for... clothes for the baby and a diaper and some other things and once I got everything I sat down to wait, thinking I'd be there for a few hours at least.  I heard the baby's first cry but I didn't think it was him.  I assumed that there were other women in the room giving birth and that Marley still had a few hours to go.  I never dreamed that it would happen so fast!  Just a few minutes before 8 am I went to the nurses desk and asked them if they were going to be able to give me some reports every now and then to know how she was progressing.  The nurse said to me, "Oh, are you with the girl who just went in?... well she already had her baby."  I couldn't believe it!!  So, I could go on and on telling about it but I'll stop here and just say that God showed us much grace and favor, Marley did a great job, and Moises was born strong and healthy weighing 6.6 pounds and 19.6 in. long.  He is so adorable and we are all so happy and thankful and are reveling in this joyous occasion!

YOU CAN SEE PHOTOS OF ALL THE FUN HERE!

So precious!

PS:  I just wanted to share, for those of you who don't know this, we were asking God to bring little Moises a little early so that we could have time to enjoy him before we have to leave on sabbatical on Oct. 12.  We were hoping for a week or maybe 2 weeks if we were really fortunate.  But God in his generous mercy and grace has given us a whole month to enjoy this precious little gift!  We are so thankful!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!