Mexico Trip report

Hello all!

I know it's been a really long time since I've been posting, but since I actually have something noteworthy to talk about, I'm back.  For those of you who don't already know, my family and I went on a trip down to Mexico this weekend with YWAM to build a house for a needy family.  

We left this Friday morning and drove down to the San Diego base where we met the three other families and drove down in two large vans across the border to the base outside Tijuana.  This base that we were staying at for the weekend was their brand new base, so we were the first team to stay in it...it was so nice that it barely felt like being on a missions trip at all :)  We had heaters in the rooms, oh so comfortable mattresses, flushable toilets (nonexistant in Mexico), and potentially hot showers!  Friday night we had a very American dinner (chicken and mashed potatoes) and played some icebreaker games with the entire team. 

Saturday morning after breakfast we drove out to the work site where we would be building the house.  It was about an hour's drive, partly along the beach and partly up in the hills...it was some of the most gorgeous country out in the hills, especially after the rain.  Yes, it did rain...almost the entire weekend.  It was raining pretty steadily when we arrived and only stopped occasionally before starting up again throughout the entire day.  The house building was able to continue despite the rain, but the painting had to stop each time, only to be resumed again to touch up the paint the rain washed off.  Twas quite an adventure to be sure, working in the mud and rain and freezing cold.  Before stopping to go back to the base, we had the walls up and most of the roof on, and had started painting the walls outside.  Although typically the house would be much further along by that time, we were still over halfway done.  Getting back to the base, we were dismayed to learn that the water was out and that there would be no showers for us.  Praise the Lord for the base director's wife...she graciously allowed those of us who wanted to, to come over to her apartment and use her hot showers.  Wonderful!!!!   After a delicious meal of carne asada tacos, we hung around and played card games until bed.

Sunday morning dawned cold but sunny.  Driving out to the house was much easier this time around as the roads had dried up quite a bit.  Although it rained some, it was quite a bit drier than Saturday.  Finishing the house took a bit longer than expected, so we weren't completely done until 4 or 4:30.  When we gave the family the keys to their house, it was absolutely amazing to see their reactions as they saw the house, and the furniture and groceries.  It really made me stop and think about how much we are blessed with here in America, and how much we take for granted.  Since we left the site about 5 or 5:30, and still had to pack up our things back at the base, we didn't get home until after midnight...but it was an amazingly wonderful experience for the entire family.  

Also...pictures will be up shortly at www.flickr.com/photos/elizabethbush/  

~Elizabeth

Dominican Republic trip

Hello all!  I know it's been a very long time since I've updated this blog, but I have some very exciting news for you all!!!  The Lord has provided an opportunity for my mom and I to serve Him in the Dominican Republic from November 6-12, 2008.  We consider it a privilege to serve our Lord Jesus Christ in this way.  Our Grace Church of Orange group consists of 25 youth and parents led by Matthew Holbrook, Rebekah Holbrook's brother.  Rebekah serves with Kids alive at an orphanage and school in Monte Plata, DR.  We have a busy schedule which includes kids programs, youth programs, Speechless outreach, door-to-door outreach, work projects, date nights for house parents, and church services.  

We covet your prayers for all of those activities as well as in the following areas:

 No lost luggage-we have 15 extra suitcases with food and
 props/costumes
 Team Unity 
 Show Christ's love through our actions
 Share the love of Christ effectively regardless of the
 language barrier (Spanish)
 Spiritual Growth
 Protection from spiritual darkness and illness
 Go with the flow attitude
 Relationships developed with the children in the orphanage
 God to be glorified in all we do
 Adaptation to time (4 hours later) and weather change (89
 degrees and very humid)
 Limited mosquito bites
 Souls saved
  
 Colossians 3:17
 And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it
 all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the
 Father through Him.
  
 You can keep updated on us through these 2 sites, though
 internet access is unpredictable.
  
 Team Blog
 www.domincanupdates.blogspot.com 
  
  
  Rebekah's Blog
 www.web.mac.com/tiarivka/Site/Blog/blog.html

 Tina and Elizabeth

Pictures!!

Go Dad and Josh!!!  They cleared this entire of weeds in one morning!
Joshua and Sarah on Tinker and Heart getting ready for  our trail ride.
Daddy on Sunday, Mom and Hannah on Diamond, and Grandpa on Roper. (I rode a horse named Berry) 
Mom and Hannah riding through the woods.

The girls had fun playing in the hose in Michigan.
Grandpa helped Sarah begin to learn how to ride a bike, she did  a great job.
I had  a lot of fun riding 'round the neighborhood with Dad . 
Dad also helped Sarah in her bike riding.

Mom helped Hannah start off on her bike.

  Josh riding his bike around the neighborhood.

We're Home!!

Hurrah!!! Last night at about 9PM, we finally arrived home, a couple days ahead of schedule even!!! Monday 

morning we left Wyoming and drove from there straight through to Draper, Utah which is about a half hour south of

Salt Lake City. Spending all day in the car seeing nothing but flat empty plains got a bit monotonous, so we were all very excited

to get into the more mountainous regions of Utah. Like on our way out, the biggest thing that stands out about Utah is the very

red rocks there. We arrived in Draper in time for dinner with my mom's friends the Bells. They had moved out there several

years ago as missionaries to start a church there, along with some other friends of my moms. The church is celebrating its

10th anniversary this year, and it is definately thriving. We were able to take a tour of the church before leaving Utah, which was

exciting.

Monday night we stayed with the Bells (thank you so much Mr. and Mrs. Bell for your gracious hospitality.) It was great

to have the time to catch up with them on what they've been doing there. Tuesday morning after breakfast we went to visit

the Robies, some other friends of my moms who started the church along with the Bells. Together Mr. Bell and Pastor Robie pastor

South Mountain Community Church. After visiting the Robies we went and visited SMCC. I was amazed to see how big it is.

They meet in a warehouse which they've been busy renovating.

From the church, we left Draper, Utah and set off on our 10 hour drive home through Utah, Arizona, Nevada, and finally

back home through California. Out in the desert it got extremely hot, 115 at the warmest. We got home late last night and

are now busily unpacking suitcases, putting away clothes, doing laundry, planning trip to the grocery store, etc. It sure is good

to be home again. Thank you all so much for your prayers for our safety! More pictures to come soon!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

back in the 'burb again

Well, we are back on the road again!  On Saturday, we left Michigan and started heading back home through Indiana and around Chicago, Illinois.  From Illinois we went north through Wisconsin and Minnesota.  Both states looked quite a bit like Michigan with the forests and cornfields and very green surroundings.  We could see why it was so green there, as it rained most of the day.  We crossed over the Mississippi River at the border of Wisconsin and Minnesota, which was exciting.    For dinner we ate at an A&W, where Joshua had been wanting to go for a while.  Then we crossed over the border to Sioux Falls, South Dakota where we stayed the night.  I think we set our record for most states in a day on Saturday.  Six states in one day!!!

Yesterday we traveled through South Dakota and the Black Hills National Park.  In the afternoon we went to Mount Rushmore and hiked around a bit.  I took lots of pictures which I'll post soon.  It was really cool to learn the dimensions of all of the faces.  For instance, we learned that George Washington's nose is 21 feet long, while all other noses are only 20 feet long.  Also, I hadn't known this, but there's a hall of records behind Lincoln's head which was intended to house important American documents and explain the purpose for the monument.  Also we visited the Crazy Horse Monument.  It was amazing to see not only the progress they've made since it was started in the 1940s, but also what it'll look like when finished.  Only the head is completed right now, but when finished it'll be the largest manmade monument in the world, taller even than the Washington Monument.  

After leaving South Dakota, we drove to a small town in Wyoming called Lusk.  Today we're going to try and make it to Salt Lake City, so we can spend tomorrow with some friends of my mom outside Salt Lake City.  And by Wednesday we should be home, so I can post the rest of the pictures.

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth

Biking Adventure

Hello again from Michigan everyone.  Today is our last full day here, as we're leaving again and heading back home tomorrow morning.  We all have greatly enjoyed our time here horseback riding, bike riding, attending sports games, hunting for cherries, and much much more.  Up until yesterday the weather here has been absolutely gorgeous.  Yesterday though it really started heating up as well as being much more humid than it's been otherwise.  So yesterday afternoon the girls went outside and played in the hose for a little bit to cool off.

On Wednesday afternoon the whole family minus Grandma went down to Grandpa's condo to ride bikes.  I realized after getting on that I must have known how to ride a bike before, it seemed so easy.  I rode around the neighbor hood a few times with Dad, and Mom and Josh too.  It took Josh a bit longer but once he got it, he was doing awesome riding around the neighborhood by himself.  Even Sarah and Hannah were riding a bit by the time we went inside.  After we had been riding for a little bit though, it started to rain!!  We went inside to the condo for a bit to wait it out, then left to get ice cream at Culver's.  A very delicious treat!  

Yesterday the boys left early in the morning to go to a Detroit Tiger's baseball game.   While they were gone the girls went antique shopping in Lawrence and painted our nails.  That evening we met Aunt Denise and Heather at Olive Garden for dinner.  

And I had completely forgotten, but we did something fun and different last Saturday!  After breakfast, we went to a fish hatchery and went fishing!  None of us girls had been fishing that we could remember, so that was very fun.  We got a tour of the fish hatchery and saw where they raise the fish, and then got to fish in the rain!  We all enjoyed ourselves very much.  Pictures coming soon!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth  

Weekend on the Farm

     Hello again everyone!  We've definately enjoyed this weekend here at the farm.  We arrived here late Friday and enjoyed a delicious meal with Grandpa and Grandma Shirley.  Everyone slept very well here at the farm that night, in comfortable beds at last.  Thank you Grandpa and Grandma for your gracious hospitality in allowing us to stay here!

     Saturday morning was spent adjusting to our new surroundings and time, as everyone slept in quite late and took some time getting settled in.  That night we went to an indoor football game for the Kalamzoo Xplosion team.  This was their last game to determine who went to the championship game, and they won!  It was quite the experience for our family, as none of us had been to an indoor football game before.  The stadium was about half the size of a regular football field, and they played music (quite loud!!!) nearly the entire game.  Not music our family typically listens too either ;)  On our way home from the game we had a nice rainstorm with a good deal of lightening, very beautiful.  

     On Sunday while Grandpa and Grandma Shirley went to church, our family had church here at home thanks to Pastor Sciarra's online sermon :)  Some of us have gone out various times over the weekend hunting for cherries.  Sadly, a few days before we got here, raccoons got to the rest of the red cherries.  So Dad, Grandpa, and Josh have been out almost every evening raccoon hunting.  There are still some yellow cherries left though, as well as some black cherries that haven't ripened yet, so we have been getting a few.  Sunday evening Aunt Denise joined us for pizza, and we got to see her new yellow bug, very cute car.  

Monday afternoon we had a special treat.  Grandpa joined our family to go horseback riding at a nearby farm.  All of us enjoyed it very much, especially Hannah.  She provided us all with a running commentary on nearly the whole ride.  While on our ride we saw a couple of deer, and also the scenery was just gorgeous.  I'll make sure to post pictures sometime this week.

Today we've just been hanging around the farm, our cousin Joe was here working today so all the guys were out working on the orchard.  This morning Mom took the three girls into Bangor, the nearest town to get groceries to make cookies.  While there we stopped in at a darling antique store.  My mom found some candlewick glass and a couple of old books, An Old-Fashioned Girl by Louisa May Alcott, and The Little Colonel by Annie Fellows Johnston.  Also I found a cute hand crocheted pillow and an Anglo-Saxon grammer book.  But my favorite find there was a 1920s compact organ!!!!  Sadly we really have no way to get it home plus it's a bit beyond my price range, so sad.  I'm still sorta hoping against hope that I'll find a way to buy it since I've always wanted to play on an organ.   This afternoon the girls made chocolate chip cookies which everyone has greatly enjoyed.  And tomorrow our family is starting on a new adventure, learning to ride bicycles!!   Should be lots of fun and I'll be sure to post about it tomorrow!

Under the mercy,

Elizabeth Bush