Our Boots are on the Ground!

*******Many thanks to all of you who prayed for us, gave us monetary donations, sent us texts and helped us in anyway over the past few weeks! We appreciate your willingness to serve us in this time of transition! God is so faithful!!!*******

Andy and I started traveling south and west Saturday, July 18. We wanted to get to the west side of Oklahoma City and it took us a little over 10 hours. The next day, we drove another 10 hours and got to Las Cruces, NM. Monday the 20th, we got to Nogales, AZ and ran a few errands. Limon (Joel Leman) and 2 Wulf boys met us there and crossed the border with us. After getting our visitors visa, we continued on down to CVE. We will forever remember that we officially moved to Mexico on our 12th anniversary!!

The grandparent house was available for us to temporarily move in. Because we hdan't had Covid tests, we needed to stay separate from everyone on campus. Tuesday I decided to stay and get the house situated while Andy and Denver (masked:) went back up to Nogales, AZ to unload the moving truck. Special thanks to Barry and Joyce Kloter for driving that for us!

Thursday we were able to go back up to Tuscon to pick up Mom Z, Elise and our kids. We had rented an Airbnb to stay in until Monday morning. Saturday afternoon, Andy and I needed to get our COVID tests done so that we could integrate fully into CVE life once we got back to campus. We had a wonderful time exploring Tuscon! We were able to visit the Desert Museum, take a sunset hike, swim a lot, and visit with Kevin & Annie Wulf.

Monday morning we dropped Mom and Elise off at the airport and headed for the border. We got through fairly easy and arrived at campus early afternoon.

Tuesday morning, we woke up to negative test results so we were able to come out of quarantine. Andy was especially excited to get back to work after almost a whole year off!

He was able to work at the restaurant for the day and the kids got to join in Joy Camp!

Except for Aria, who is stuck at home with me! She wanted to go visit a little boy her age named Niko, so we went over to their house for a bit.

The kids have also started EXPO classes (Like 4-H). Sierra has been working on donuts, Malaya on sugar cookies and Clayton on a shelf.

Life for me is much more laid back here than in the States for now. The house is tiny and takes no time at all to clean up. The older two are helping with laundry (please let it last) and I've had the ability to just sit and be still. I've also made time to sort through pictures on the computer. I want to start making photo books for us to be able to remember special times. I started our Costa

However, my headaches have been super frequent this past week. I'm going to try regularly taking my vitamins, oils, water, and staying out of the heat. I also have my prescription Imitrex I can take and since tomorrow is August, I can order a refill.

Something I wasn't expecting (or forgot) was the tiny little thorns that attach to the bottom of our shoes. I stepped on one barefoot in the house and it felt very, very sharp. Both Clayton and Malaya have managed to pop a bicycle tire because of them. I found out Walmart sells these tubes that are filled with slime so anytime something punctures a tube, it self-seals. Probably going to have to invest in some of those in the near future.

We've had one really good rain so far since we've been down here. It was glorious! People on campus say that it is really dry for this time of year; typically Magdalena would be getting a shower every afternoon. Tonight looks cloudy, so I'm hopeful one will roll in soon.

The people of CVE have done a wonderful job of welcoming us in. At one point, Clayton told me, "Mom, the people here are so nice. They are always saying 'welcome' with a smile and asking how we're doing." I couldn't agree more!

Prayer Requests:

1. School is a stressful thing to think about for everyone: the principals, teachers, students, parents and caregivers. No doubt its going to be different. Prayers for peace and understanding.

2. For Andy to integrate well in his new positions at work.

3. For my headaches to not rear their ugly head.

Thanks so much for reading and for praying!

22 But Jesus turned him about, and when he saw her, he said, Daughter, be of good comfort; thy faith hath made thee whole. And the woman was made whole from that hour.