It takes a minute to say hello and forever to say goodbye. -Unknown
Countdown: T-5 — Yesterday’s Surprise
Author: Juan David
I'm a follower of Jesus, living life in Perú. Stephanie and I have six children, aged nine and younger.
Countdown: T-6 — Waning Wednesday
Though miles may lie between us, we are never far apart, for friendship doesn’t count by miles, it’s measured by the heart. -Unknown
Countdown: T-7 — One Week Left
You know it’s love when you have been saying goodbye for how many times, but still you’re not ready to leave. -Unknown
Countdown: T-8 — Recuperation Day
You have been my friend. That in itself is a tremendous thing. Charlotte A. Cavatica
Countdown: T-9 — Thoughts from the Commissioning Service
Brethren, pray for us.
Countdown: T-10 — Lots of Work Done
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard. Winnie-the-Pooh
Countdown: T-11 — Our Full Empty House
Some people come into our lives and quickly go. Some stay for a while, leave footprints on our hearts, and we are never, ever the same. -Flavia Weedn
Countdown: T-12 — Moving Day-ish
So long as the memory of certain beloved friends lives in my heart, I shall say that life is good. -Helen Keller
Countdown: T-13 — Take Courage
True friends don’t say good-bye, they just take extended leaves of absences from each other.
Countdown: T-14 — Two Weeks Left
Farewell has a sweet sound of reluctance. Good-bye is short and final, a word with teeth sharp to bite through the string that ties past to the future. John Steinbeck
Countdown: T-15 — God Sees the Little Sparrow
You get a strange feeling when you're about to leave a place, like you'll not only miss the people you love but you'll miss the person you are now at this time and this place, because you'll never be this way again. Azar Nafisi
Countdown: T-16 — God Rested for You
Nothing makes the earth seem so spacious as to have friends at a distance; they make the latitudes and longitudes. Henry David Thoreau
Countdown: T-17 — Accidents, Attacks, and Answers to Prayer
Don't cry because it's over. Smile because it happened. Dr. Seuss
Countdown: T-18 — Friday Frenzy
People fear leaving their safe harbor of the known and venturing off into the unknown. Human beings crave certainty - even when it limits them. Robin S. Sharma
Countdown: T-19 — Of To-dos and Good News
You never really leave a place or a person you love: Part of them you take with you, leaving a part of yourself behind. -unknown
Countdown: T-20 — Visiting a Board Member
A farewell is necessary before we can meet again, and meeting again after moments or a lifetime is certain for those who are friends. Richard Bach
Countdown: T-21 — Three Weeks to Go
This is not the end. It is not even the beginning of the end. But it is, perhaps, the end of the beginning. Winston Churchill
Countdown: T-29 — Lots of Lasts
Less than a month....
Countdown: T-35 — Commissioning Service Planned
Life is hectic. Stuff is happening.
Countdown: T-40 — Forty Days and Forty Nights
In which to prioritize the most important things
Countdown: T-48 — To Georgia
Adventures find us wherever we go
Countdown: T-50 — The Bug Strikes Again!
Grab a bucket
Countdown: T-53 — Peru Visit: Complete
Home again, home again....
Countdown: T-54 — Peru Visit: Day 6
Well, we're done!
Countdown: T-55 — Peru Visit: Day 5
Water, water everywhere, and not a drop to drink!
Countdown: T-56 — Peru Visit: Day 4
Trip to Cuzco
Countdown: T-57 — Peru Visit: Day 3
Our first Peru church service
Countdown: T-58 — Peru Visit: Day 2
Of heifers and los pollos del cielo
Countdown: T-59 — Peru Visit: Day 1
Things go more slowly here
Countdown: T-60 — We made it!
And we're hungry!
Countdown: T-61 — Today We Fly to Peru
Uno! Dos! Tres! Va!
Countdown: T-62 — Tomorrow We Fly to Peru
I don't know about tomorrow, but I know who holds my hand.
Countdown: T-63 — Bathroom Remodel, Part 3.5
In which we look for water and hope not to find it
Countdown: T-64 — Bathroom Remodel, Part 3
How do you keep a P trap from leaking?
Countdown: T-65 — Bathroom Remodel, Part 2
Another half done! Only one or two more halves to go!
Countdown: T-67 — School Surprise
Bee quiet! Don't tell.
Countdown: T-69 — Bathroom Remodel, Part 1
Halfway there!
Countdown: T-70 — Pregnancy Update
Good news—We think...
Countdown: T-72 — Pregnancy Problems
You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you! Trust in the Lord always, for the Lord GOD is the eternal Rock. Isaiah 26:3-4 NLT
Countdown: T-73 — Water and Plants and Growing Toddlers
There’s a common theme if you just look for it.
Countdown: T-75 — Virtue or Vice?
Vices happen automatically—virtues do not!
Countdown: T-76 — A Difficult First Day for the Hursh’s
Expectation meets Reality
Countdown: T-77 — Lamar Hursh family moves to Peru
Today the Lamar Hursh family flies to Peru. Please pray for them during their travels and as they find their way and settle in over the next while. They will be alone in many ways until we get there, but they will be busy making friends in the meantime. Venimos pronto, hermanos!
Countdown: T-79 — What is true love?
Three things will last forever—faith, hope, and love—and the greatest of these is love.
Countdown: T-80 — Commissioning Service for Lamar Hursh
Go you into all the world...
Countdown: T-81 — Más Aflicciones
Isn't it incredible how a stomach bug can completely change your life?
Countdown: T-82 — Practice Makes Perfect
At least that's what they say about learning Spanish
Countdown: T-83 — Setting Up a POA and Updating My Will
While dodging Whooping Malaria Type-H
Countdown: T-84: Take 2
🎟 Tickets purchased! 🎟
Countdown: T-84 — Stress Strategies
* Not quite a silver bullet
Countdown: T-85 — What does Easter mean to you?
It has nothing to do with bunnies or chocolate.
Countdown: T-86 — Lowe’s Knows (but I don’t)
When easy things are difficult
Countdown: T-87 — A good Good Friday
Consider Him who endured so much pain for you.
Countdown: T-88 — Refocus
Earth and sky, woods and fields, lakes and rivers, the mountain and the sea, are excellent schoolmasters, and teach some of us more than we can ever learn from books. -John Lubbock
Countdown: T-89 — School Program Complete
An hour of fun, the product of weeks of work
Countdown: T-90 — Counting Blessings
More restful than counting sheep
Countdown: T-91 — So much to do, so little getting done.
On the hamster wheel...
Countdown: T-92 — Measuring by Jesus
Don't we all dream of being perfect?
Countdown: T-93 — Our Not-Yet-Great Dane
I'm gonna grow up to be a daddy!
Countdown: T-94 — Growing Grass
The rain is coming!
Countdown: T-95 — W. A. S.
Ultrasounds are ultra-cool.
Countdown: T-96 — Market Valuation for Our House
Sell the house? Or rent it?
Countdown: T-97 — Career Change
"Follow the yellow-brick road"
Countdown: T-98 — Vaccine Vonderings
To vaccinate or not to vaccinate? That is the question.
Countdown: T-99 — A Moving Slideshow of Peru
When all around is sinking sand, on Christ the Solid Rock I stand.
Countdown: T-100 — The Beginning of the End
Things are moving forward.
Why are you discouraged?
“I will put my hope in God! I will praise Him again—my Savior and my God!”
Saying Goodbye to Friends
How lucky I am to have something that makes saying goodbye so hard! -Winnie the Pooh
Visit to Peru, Scheduled
The tickets are purchased.
Post-Guatemala Update: 4 of 4
In which the update ends
Post-Guatemala Update: 3 of more
There is no way to politely sit in a stranger's lap.
Post-Guatemala Update: 2 of more
And so we landed in Guatemala City.
The Debilitating Power of Loss
Sometimes there is a war going on inside.
Post-Guatemala Update: 1 of more
Part of the trouble with me is that I am gifted with the skill of being directionally challenged.
Guatemala Bound!
Prayers appreciated!
Silence is Golden
I will not be posting for a while.
Wielding Your Sword
Sword fights at home and school and everywhere!
Tickets Secured
Thank you for flying Delta.
Headed to Guatemala
In focus this week is buying tickets for flying to Guatemala for the Latin American Pastors' Meetings. The meetings are designed for pastors and missionaries serving in Latin America to come together for instruction and encouragement. Several different Central American countries take turns hosting the event. This year they are hosted in Guatemala, which is … Continue reading Headed to Guatemala
Do you have snow?
You know the verse about being washed whiter than snow?
Spanish: Report on “The Experiment,” in which we kinda survive
We covered a few week's worth of material in the book this week, and it seems like it's sticking, so I'm going to count that as a successful first week. It was about the worst week we could have tried the more intense Spanish learning in because we ended up having something going every evening. … Continue reading Spanish: Report on “The Experiment,” in which we kinda survive
Anne Turns Eight . . . at 6:10
And she might be inviting you all!
How do you say _honey_ in Spanish?
We practically have the language learned!
Your First Line of Defense
How is it that the devil most often has gotten you to stumble?
Spanish: Phase Two, aka “The Experiment”
In which we try to learn a language overnight!
Peru Weather in January
Doesn’t 6° sound terribly cold? Even if you know it’s Celsius? Shiver!
To Love Mercy
Mercy is the attribute of God that sympathizes with us and forgives us.
Chicken Scratches and Choices
You have to value something before you are willing to work for it.
Abbey Hates Peru (for about three minutes)
"Never, ever, ever!" she wailed two evenings ago. Completely inconsolable.
Cave Man Use Word. Speak You.
Learning Spanish is turning me into a Neanderthal at suppertime.
Change
Life is a seemingly chaotic storm of change.
Spanish: “Dios Está Aquí”
God is here: How beautiful it is!
Peru: The Last Inca, Killed in Jesus’ Name
Can you love your enemy and shoot him down at the same time?
Confirmation Bias
If you're wondering whether or not you have confirmation bias, the answer is yes.
Spanish: Blue Buffalos and Pink Cows
The buffalo is an animal, and not a cow. You can rest your mind on the topic.
Life, Love, and 125 Celebrations
Important things should be remembered. Really important things should be celebrated.
Spanish: It’s so much easier than English! #fakenews
I think I just heard an evil laugh in the background.
Spanish: _b_ and _p_
Bobby bounces ball with his playful puppy.
Agents of Mercy
Every child is a fool, and the most dangerous thing they will encounter in life is their own foolishness. -Paul David Tripp
Guinea Pigs: Pets or Pork?
¡Buen provecho!
