Jim and Melanie's Excellent Adventure

Florida

2012-01-13T08:36:00.000-06:00

We have returned to the U.S. for a short time to attend a conference with ReachGlobal LatinAmerican/Caribbean personnel, and to visit friends and family.

Our first week has been spent in Florida at the conference for ReachGlobal. Being the "new kids on the block" it has been great to meet other missionaries serving in Latin America and learn from them.

ReachGlobal Missionaries and Leadership

We are currently experiencing some readjustments:

We are flushing the toilet paper in the toilet.

It's just so weird now to do so,

and I feel like I'll cause plumbing problems each time I flush it.

The LSU-Alabama game was in English.

The over abundance food everywhere we go.

We are excited to see family and friends on our next stop in Alabama!

See you soon!

Christmas Costa Rican Style

2011-12-31T21:01:00.000-06:00

This Christmas provided us with many new experiences.

We didn't quite feel like it was Christmas, and we missed our family deeply.

However, it was a grand party here in San Francisco de Dos Rios that felt much more like a 4th of July celebration back home.

The party started the first weekend in December with a street fair in the park located one block from our apartment. There were people selling crafts, food, and live music all afternoon and evening. With a cool breeze wafting through the open windows, we enjoyed listening to the music each evening. The festivities ended on Sunday night with a grand fireworks show.

No matter where you go in San Jose, you will find manger scenes in all the public places. The grocery store near our house has a big manger scene right in front of the giant Christmas tree.

One interesting fact - Baby Jesus isn't placed in the manger scene until Christmas Eve, so up until Christmas Eve the mangers are usually empty.

Making tamales is another Costa Rican Christmas tradition. Jim along with our new teammates, Dave and Angie, were invited to a Tico family tamal-making evening (I was with the girls and grandbaby in AL). Tamales here are a bit different in that they are square and wrapped in plantain leaves.

After attending services at our church, Christmas Eve was spent with just the two of us in our apartment. I'm sure you are picturing the two of us celebrating quietly at home, but your picture isn't correct. Nope, we were introduced to another Latin American tradition - fireworks to celebrate Christmas Eve. We're not talking about a few sparklers and black cats in the backyard, but real honest-to-goodness fireworks. After eating with the family on Christmas Eve, the Costa Rican families celebrate with their own fireworks shows. It started about 8:00 p.m. and lasted until well after midnight. In addition to fireworks, we experienced dogs barking at the fireworks, and car alarms being set off by the fireworks.

Our new experiences continued Christmas Day. A fellow ReachGlobal missionary, Judy, invited Dave, Angie, Jim and me to Christmas dinner. We had delicious grilled pork with mango salsa along with other great food on the patio in 70 degree weather.

Need to wash your hands? Here you go!

Our celebration culminated with a trip to the fiesta in Zapote - another Christmas tradition here. Many families spend the evening of Christmas Day at the opening of the fiesta. Again, it felt more like the 4th of July with tons of carnival rides, food venders, and carnival games. The highlight of this fiesta is the bull fighting that takes place throughout the entire week between Christmas and New Years Day. We didn't go inside the ring to watch, but we were able to watch all the action on a giant TV screen outside the bullring.

Christmas is a celebration here, and we look forward to having friends and family come celebrate with us next year.

HAPPY NEW YEARS!!!

Fun Stuff

2011-12-22T21:21:00.001-06:00

The day after graduation, Jim left for Nicaragua, so I decided to try to fly stand-by to Alabama where I could see several of my favorite people at once. I was successful in securing a seat on both planes, and I arrived to a house full of loved ones.

I planned to take many pictures, but playing with Baby Wilson was a much higher priority.

I'm having to get all my silliness out now, because in just a few short years my granny games will cause Wilson terrible embarrassment. However, we had a great time being silly!

I had a bit of culture shock returning to the U.S. When I deplaned in Atlanta, the number of white people was shocking - there were so many! This is not my new normal at all. I also found myself struggling to remember that I could flush the toilet paper. It's amazing how quickly you can adjust to a new way of living. I know that prayers of friends and family have helped with the transition in Costa Rica, and God has graciously put us in a place where we feel at home.

Costa Rica is an amazingly beautiful country. We accompanied a team from Dallas to a retreat in Quepos, and the team spent a few hours at the beach one afternoon. This is a pic I took, so you can imagine how much more beautiful it was in person. This was our first time at the beach, so we look forward to visiting again when we can stay longer and enjoy the beauty.

We Are Officially Graduates

2011-12-08T19:21:00.001-06:00

Instituto de Lengua Española

Although our language learning is far from over, we have completed our time in language school. YAY!! We have benefitted tremendously from our time at the language school, and we have had amazing teachers. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend focused time learning Spanish.

However, we are excited to be able to engage more actively in ministry.

Our graduating class

Our Costa Rican pastor - speaker @ graduation

We are deeply grateful for the prayers and support during this past 11 months. The difficulties we have faced have and the opposition from the enemy have given us assurance that learning Spanish is critically important to our ministry here in Latin America.

We were blessed to share our celebration at the language school with most of our ReachGlobal teammates, and . . .

they took us to lunch at a soda (small restaurant) owned by one of Jim's ESL students.

Again, thank you for being a part of this journey with us!

Costa Rican Beauty

2011-07-09T17:27:00.000-05:00

Volcán Arenal

Hope came for a visit to Costa Rice at the end of June. It was a time a of joy for us,

and we were able to travel to Volcán Arenal. While staying at Arenal,

we were struck with the incredible beauty of Costa Rica.

Look at the size of this fern leaf

Now that rainy season has started, the plants are lush and bright.

La Fortuna Waterfall

We hiked down about 500 hundred steps to the bottom of the waterfall. It was breathtaking! The beauty and the roar of the waterfall captured us, and we were in awe of the artistry and power of God.

It felt surreal being in the midst of all this! Although we don't get to enjoy nature like this in the city where we live, we are blessed to venture out once in a while to enjoy it.

In an area that's part of the compound where we stayed, we were able to see some interesting creatures. One evening just before dark a howler monkey made quite a racket.

Glad there was fence around this guy! He was just cooling off.

Come visit and we will enjoy together!!!

It's Been A Long Time

2011-06-25T18:47:00.001-05:00

Granada, Nicaragua

It's been so long since we have posted as life has taken us on a whirlwind ride the past few months and we've hardly had time to catch our breath.

So . . . here is a brief recap of the whirlwind.

MARCH

We made a visa trip to Granada, Nicaragua at the end of March, and look who we found! Our dear friends from Esteli, Nicaragua met us one evening for a special time together. Also a short-term team from Alabama arrived in Managua, and made the trip down to Granada for a visit. It was encouraging and uplifting to see dear friends!!

They actually ate this!

APRIL

We returned to the U.S. in April to meet with family to make long term plans for Jim's parents. We were in Alabama for a week, and then we traveled to Texas to meet our new grandson.

Wilson Joseph Hancock

April 2, 2011

6 lb. 7 oz.

19 1/2 inches

It was a joy to spend time with Wilson and his mom and dad!

First Easter

Wilson's visitors at Easter - Tia Hope, Great Granny, and Great Papaw

MAY

We returned to Costa Rica, and 10 days later received word that Jim's dad was hospitalized and not expected to live. We rushed back to Alabama, and Mr. Wilson passed away on May 13 from heart failure. We will miss him even though we know he is in a much better place.

http://www.legacy.com/obituaries/adn/obituary.aspx?n=james-wilson&pid=151096521

We were overwhelmed by the love and support we received from everyone during this difficult time. We are so grateful for the love and prayers sent our way! Our hearts were wrapped in comfort from the love and prayers.

JUNE

At the beginning of June our daughter, Candace, suffered severe complications from mastitis. She was hospitalized for a few days, so I returned to the U.S. to help with the baby and other things around the home. Thankfully, Candace has began to get better and will soon be back on her feet. While she has been recovering, I have enjoyed this precious time with little Wilson, Candace and Mark.

Until next time - blessings to you and your family!

Reality Check

2011-03-27T21:34:00.000-05:00

Caño Island

All the photos in this post were taken a few weeks ago when we visited the southern part of Costa Rica. We had the opportunity to go with a group to the little fishing village of Sierpe. I chose these pictures that display the beauty of God's creation in contrast with the ugliness we sometimes see & experience. The uninhabited island we visited is part of a national preserve, and the beauty was unbelieveable! I've also included a couple of pictures that I hope will bring a smile to your face.

The Local Sierpe Ferry

Reality check: We have recently been reminded of the fact that we need to be careful. We need not be fearful for we are in the hands of God, but neither can we be careless. As with any big city around the world, there are always people looking to gain at expense of others. Whether in the halls of the politicians or on the streets, it is the same everywhere.

A couple in my grammar class fell prey to a scam on the city bus, and the gentleman was pickpocketed. A lady dropped some magazines as they were exiting the bus, and as the couple helped her retrieve the magazines the thieves struck silently and effortlessly. Within the hour it took for them to get home and call the credit card companies, over $8000+ had been charged to their cards.

I had a experience that hopefully will fulfill my quota for the rest of the time we are here. J Thankfully I was not the target, and I was not involved in any way except as a witness to an assault. While walking home from school one afternoon, I stopped at the intersection in front of our apartment to wait for traffic to pass. I waited and waved to friends across the street while one car pulled up to the stop sign and another car pulled quickly in front of the first car. As I started across the street, a man jumped out of the second car with a gun and ran to the passenger's side of the first car. At that moment I was only inches away from the guy with the gun. Talk about a heart attack!!! I took off running, and I'm sure it is the fastest I have ever run in my entire life. The friends across the street took off running at the same time, and we all ran inside our gate. The guys from the second car robbed the first car, and they were already gone by the time we got inside the gate. Our Tico (what Costa Ricans call themselves) neighbor called the police, and we later learned that the guys in the second car had been following the first car since it had left the bank. We are thankful no one was hurt in the incident! This scare reminded us that we always need to be aware and watchful. We had become a bit too comfortable with our surroundings, and we weren't as watchful as we should have been. We now take much more care when out and about. We are also grateful that this isn't a regular occurence in our neighborhood!

And finally . . .

You never know when you will find English - this is on the Sierpe River.

Next week I'll share some more beauty of Costa Rica.

Melanie

Saturday Mornings

2011-02-21T16:09:00.003-06:00

Every Saturday morning, I walk to the Feria (Farmer's Market) here in San Fransisco. Usually the sun is bright and warm, and the rows of fresh produce line both sides of the walkway. Even if I don't buy a thing, it is a delightful experience. People are buying fresh produce for the week, visiting with acquaintances, and enjoying the beautiful morning. The Feria takes place in a local park, so the sound of children playing provides background music.

The vendors are helpful and patient with me and my poor Spanish. The first week I took off to the Feria by myself, I had to ask for the price of items at least three times before I could understand the cost. One vendor finally gave up and asked me to hold out my money so he could take the proper amount. After he took the right amount and said it again, I finally understood. (Well, duh!) After a month of Saturdays, it now only takes one repetition for me to get the right amount, and if it is an even amount I might even get it on the first try. It's the cincuenta (50) added to the end of something that always messes with me!

Fresh vegetables for the week are purchased and taken home to be cleaned. Here is this week's supply:
papaya (la papaya) (for a friend)
bananas (los bananos)
Clementines (las mandarinas)
watermelon (la sandia)
cilantro (el culantro)
new potatoes (las papas)
pineapple (la piña)
lettuce (la lechuga)
carrots (las zanahorias)
oranges (las naranjas)
broccoli (el brocoli)
cauliflower (la coliflor)
honey (miel)

After getting everything home, the fruits with peels get a good washing. Then the veggies get a special bath to kill little organisms that might make us sick. After an hour or two of soaking, everything is washed thoroughly. Needless to say, it is an all morning affair to purchase and clean the week's produce. Although it takes quite a bit of time, it is well worthwhile. Everything is so fresh and tasty, and hopefully the pesticides are mostly gone! Generally, food is quite expensive in Costa Rica, but most of the things purchased at the Feria are reasonable. Just to make you jealous, the pineapples are usually about $1.25-1.50 each. However if it isn't grown here, the price is at least double the price in Texas or Alabama.

If you ever visit, I'm sure you will enjoy a trip to the Feria!

Have a wonderful week!

(Next weekend we will be out of town, so check back late Monday for pictures of our trip.)

Until next week,

Melanie

Multicultural Day

2011-02-05T20:17:00.067-06:00

Jim, Samuel, Hae Su

Friday was a relaxing holiday from class at the Instituto Lengua de Español (the Spanish Language Institute). We spent the day seeing sites around San Jose with our new Korean friends, Samuel and Hae Su. Let us introduce you to these gentlemen. Samuel is originally from Korea, and he has been a missionary in Argentina for the past 13 years. He doesn't speak any English. Hae Su is a 23 year-old young man from Korea, and he has been in Costa Rica for about 2 months. He speaks a tiny bit of English and he knows only a few words in Spanish.

Cafe Brit Coffee Tour

Samuel and Jim have struck up a friendship because of the bond between their pastor hearts. They have enjoyed getting to know one another by communicating in Spanish. Although neither is quite fluent in Spanish, they manage to talk and share with each other.

Hae Su is living with his uncle here in Costa Rica while he studies Spanish for his future international job in Korea. He is one of my classes where the teacher mothers him and is always calling him, "Little Chiquito."

Hae Su, Mel, Jim, Samuel

Picutre this - two Korean gringos accompanied by two U.S. gringos sightseeing in a Latin American country with a bit of Spanish, Korean, and English being spoken throughout the day. We caught ourselves laughing at the conversations that were a mix of Spanish (Jim-Samuel), Korean (Samuel-Hae Su), and English (Jim-Melanie).

Bouganvilla at Cafe Brit (it's so beautiful in person)

However, as the day came to a close we were touched by the kindness, love, and frienship we experienced. The love we share through the bond of Christ is overwhelming and amazing no matter where we are or what language we speak. We are so thankful that God has allowed us to have many brothers and sisters in Christ. As we begin this journey to work in Latin America, we are reminded that no matter where we or how far apart we may be, we are united with bonds of love that are strong and deep.

It's the Same But Different

2011-01-29T08:13:00.027-06:00

Life in San Jose, Costa Rica makes me feel as if I'm living in two paralell worlds simutaneously. In many ways our life is the same, but in many ways it is quite different. At times life feels "normal" and familar, and then something will make me stop and say, "Wait a minute. . . "

Here are just a few observations.

Same: Get up, take care of the responsibilities of the day, come home.

Different: Be home to stay by 5:30 p.m. for safety reasons. Since we don't have a car, we walk or take a bus everywhere we go. Although we want to blend with the Ticos (Costa Ricans), we don't! We stand out like a flashing light, so it's best not to be out walking after dark. One night we were out with friends until 11:00 p.m., and we felt wild and crazy!

Same: Favorite movies on TV, Top Chef, House Hunters International, UFC, loud commercials, The Today Show, Law and Order

Different: These shows will appear on various channels. There isn't HGTV or Versus, but you can catch your favorite shows from these networks on a random channel. Another strange moment occurs when we are watching a movie in English, and then suddenly the commercials come on in Spanish. It's these moments that remind me that "we're not in Kansas anymore."

Same: Church service with worship, offering, sermon, familiar songs

Different: Church services last for at least 2 hours. Most churches have about an hour for worship, and then another hour for the sermon. (You know Jim will be happy when one day he can preach here for an hour and no one will complain!) Many of the songs are ones we sing at home, but of course they are in Spanish. Feeling comfortable with the format, but completely out of place with the language makes one feel a bit confused.

Same: Bathroom with shower, toilet, and sink

Different: (Warning - this one is a bit nauseating!) We can't flush the toilet paper (ugh). This one has been difficult! The plumbing systems can't handle the paper products, so we must dispose of them in a garbage can. At first we just couldn't handle this, but we are becoming accumstomed to the process which isn't as awful as it sounds - I promise!

We will post more thoughts next weekend. In the mean time, have a wonderful week!

(Pictures are from our neighborhood)

Melanie

San Jose, Costa Rica

2011-01-04T14:32:00.011-06:00

We have arrived in San Jose, Costa Rica. After almost two years preparing to serve with ReachGlobal, we are beginning our time in Latin America. We will spend one year in San Jose studying Spanish at The Spanish Language Institute. The picture is the outside of our apartment complex. We have found it easy to give directions to our apartment because it is the only "blanco" or white building on our street. We don't have a street address, we just give directions based upon nearby landmarks.

God was kind to us in our travels to Costa Rica. We fly standby, and that can be quite stressful. You never know when a seat will be available. We arrived at the airport in Huntsville, AL at 5:00 a.m. on Sunday (Jan. 2) with 10 pieces of luggage. It took Hope, JD, Jim, and me to get it all to the check-in counter. We were advised to bring everything with us and pay extra baggage fees as it is the cheapest way to get freight to Costa Rica. We thought we might have to pay as much as $800 to get all 10 bags here. The first blessing was that we only had to pay $250 for extra bags and overweight bags. Wow! Next, we were able to get seats on all our flights with no trouble, hand-wringing, or waiting. We are so blessed!

We were met at the airport in Costa Rica by a gracious friend, and she hauled us and ALL of our luggage to our apartment. That brings us to another blessing. The ReachGlobal communications director for Latin America had secured an apartment for us. When we arrived, we were delighted with the apartment. It is clean and bright, and some of the furniture is better than what we have had in our home the past few years. It all matches! The pictures are all of our apartment.

The communications director tooks us to HiperMas (Wal-Mart in Latin America), and Pequeno Mundo (Big Lots) to buy household items. Wal-Mart must be the anti-christ as they are taking over the world. I didn't even get lost because the HiperMas was laid out just like the Wal-Mart in Jacksonville.

Jim was able to communicate in Spanish to get our internet/cable ordered. We should be online sometime next week. Once we have internet, you can contact us via Skype. We will have our Skype active when we are at home. You can call us from your phone @ 256-850-0525. This is a U.S. number, so there will be no international charges. If you have a Skype account, our Skype names are jim.wilson.efca and melanie.e.wilson.

The first language boo-boo has been made. I should know better because Jim did this one when he was learning Spanish. We were in a restaurant talking with the waiter. I was trying to tell the gentleman that I would be able to speak some Spanish in one year. Instead of one "year," I said one "an_s." Uh-oh!!!! Shouldn't talk about body parts like that!!!

We ask that you pray for us as we begin our language studies.

Trusting God

2010-08-10T22:13:00.000-05:00

At the end of our time in Alaska this summer a terrible tragedy occurred. Our nephew, Elliott, was killed in a tragic accidental shooting. Our family is devastated. As we grieve the loss of this amazing young man, please pray for God's love, wisdom, and strength for the family. The lyrics of Steven Curtis Chapman's song, "I Will Trust You" express much of what we feel at this time.

I don't even wanna breathe right now
All I wanna do is close my eyes
But I don't wanna open them again
Until I'm standing on the other side

I don't even wanna be right now
I don't wanna think another thought
And I don't wanna feel this pain I feel
And right now, pain is all I've got

It feels like it's all I've got, but I know it's not
No, I know You're all I've got
And I will trust You, I'll trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand, even then I will say again
You are my God, and I will trust You

God, I'm longing for the day to come
When this cloudy glass I'm looking through
Is shattered in a million pieces
And finally I can just see You

God, You know I believe it's true
I know I will see You
But until the day I do

I will trust You, trust You
Trust You, God, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

You are my God, and I'll trust You
And with every breath I take
And for every day that breaks
I will trust You
I will trust You
And when nothing is making sense
Even then I will say again

God, I trust You
I will trust You
I know Your heart is good
I know Your love is strong
And I know Your plans for me
Are much better than my own

So I will trust You, trust You
I trust You, God, I do
Even when I can't see the end
And I will trust You
I will trust You, I will
Even when I don't understand
Even then I will say again

I will trust You, I will trust You, I will
I know Your heart is good,
Your love is strong,
Your plans for me are better than my own
Yeah, Your heart is good
Your love is strong
Your plans for me are better than my own
And I trust You
You are my God
And I will trust You

ALASKA

2010-07-12T14:09:00.000-05:00

Although we have been away for many years, Alaska still feels like home. When we return for a visit, we are in awe of God's majestic beauty found here in Alaska. As we drove to my dad's home this weekend, the beauty of the snow capped mountains left us breathless.

Another highlight has been visiting with our families. Being several thousand miles apart, we rarely see our sisters, nephews and nieces. It brings joy to our hearts to be with them!!!! :-)

Jim had the privilege of preaching at Kenai Lake Baptist church which is nestled between an emerald green lake and a towering mountain peak. We've also been meeting with individuals and church leaders to share the vision of our strategic ministry of equipping pastors and leaders in Latin America. We're convinced God has provided us with sovereign appointments which will help advance God's kingdom work. This trip has reminded us of God's awesome, creative wonders as well as His wonderful, sovereign wisdom.

While riding bicycles through a local park, we came upon this mama moose and her little calf. We were able to watch them for several minutes while we waited for the baby to join the mother. With mama on one side of the path, and baby on the other, we didn't dare ride between them for fear of being charged.

MTI - LANGUAGE ACQUISITION TECHNIQUES

2010-06-27T16:52:00.006-05:00

We began the summer by attending a two-week language acquisition course at Mission Training International located just north of Colorado Springs. The course is designed to prepare us for language learning. We definitely had a new experience learning how to make bilabial fricatives, glottal stops, and many new phonetic sounds not found in English. Haven't worked with those lately have you? :-) Our perspective on language learning was broadened, and we returned home with a "toolbox" of activities to help us learn Spanish more quickly and with deeper comprehension. We left with a sense of excitement about language learning

One of the most thrilling parts of the experience was meeting fellow missionaries going to all parts of the world. Sometimes we feel hopeless and inadequate at reaching the world. After hearing about ministries to Muslims, to tribes in remote areas, and to many other places, we came away excited by the mighty way God is working throughout the world.

(Thanks to Katie & Jonathan for the photos!)

Please pray with us as we begin our support team building in earnest. We know God will provide, and we try not to worry too often about the task. If all finances are in place by the end of the year, we hope to arrive in Costa Rica for language school in January 2011.

Costa Rica

2010-01-18T20:17:00.016-06:00

REACHGLOBAL CHURCH PLANTING CONFERENCE
Orosi Valley, Costa Rica

We were privileged to travel to Costa Rica in November to partcipate in a ReachGlobal Church Planting conference. The conference was sponsored by ReachGlobal, and it was exciting to see the teaching being done mostly by Latin Americans. Latino pastors and church leaders from all over Latin America were present, and we were thrlled to see people from so many countries working and learning together.

While at the conference, we met many of our ReachGlobal Latin American team members. Meeting with our team leaders helped us gain a clearer vision for the work being accomplished, and the urgent need for training church leaders.

While helping the ladies cook for the event, I had "Spanish lessons. " Needless to say I provided much entertainment with my poor pronunciations.

TICO LADIES PREPARING FOR CHILDREN'S EVENT

The conference was held at a church camp located in a beautiful mountain valley. Words cannot describe the beauty of the Costa Rican moutains and the lush vegetation. We were surrounded by mountains covered with coffee and banana plantations. The Orosi River flowed beside the campground, and it's rushing waters put us to sleep each night. Every day we had fresh "limonade" made with limes plucked just that morning.

OROSI RIVER

Jim was able to stay an additional two days in San Jose. Touring the language school we will attend was a highlight of this portion of his trip.

THE SPANISH INSTITUTE

http://thespanishinstitute.com/index.html

Please pray for us as we begin the support team building process in earnest. God has blessed us with several team members, and we are thankful for their faithful support as we raise our monthly and one time support needs.

Fall Update

2009-09-15T20:46:00.019-05:00

Just a short update on our latest. Jim returned from a fantastic trip to Nicaragua with team members from three different churches at the end of August. After returning home he had to finish writing the curriculum for a trip to Nicaragua in October. Currently he is enjoying Nicaragua with dear friends from FBC Conway. Needless to say, he's staying out of trouble with all this work!!! In November he will travel to Guatemala and possibly Costa Rica. I'm a little sad that I have to keep my day job and cannot travel with him.

We have been looking for a house in Jacksonville as the house we were renting was recently sold. Through contacts with some friends at church, we rented an adorable older home that was clean. Being clean usually isn't that big of a deal, but after looking at a couple of houses I have a new appreciation for cleanliness or even the ability to reach the state of cleanliness. I felt rather ill after leaving two disgusting homes. Scarcity of rental property in Jacksonville had me a bit stressed, and I've been stretched to trust God on the little things in life.

I am enjoying teaching at East Side Elementary in Jacksonville. I had a good laugh this past week at the thinking of one of my students. He has been trying to impress another boy in the class, and as a result was getting in a lot of trouble. To try to help him do better I pointed out the fact that he never got into trouble when the other boy was absent. I asked what he thought of the pattern he saw on his behavior chart. He thought for a couple of minutes and then blurted out, "He cursed me!!" We are now trying to "break the curse."

SOLD!!!!

2009-07-30T17:22:00.007-05:00

God has been so gracious to us!!! After juggling many different events in the past several weeks, we finally got our house on the market. God brought a buyer in less than a week (HUGE SMILE)! We are so thankful, and we give Him the praise for providing a buyer.

August will be a busy month for us:

*Completion of our relocation to Texas 8/1

*Jim preaches in Ft. Smith, AR 8/2

*Training with Jacksonville School District 8/3-6

*Close on the sale of our Conway home 8/7

*Back to Texas 8/9

*Attend BodyBuilders Support Team Building

Class in Fayetteville, AR 8/10-11

*Work starts for Melanie in Texas 8/13

*Jim is off to Nicaragua 8/22

WHEW! We'll have to stop and take a deep breath sometime soon.

THANKS FOR PRAYING FOR US!!

For Sale

2009-06-29T08:16:00.008-05:00

As you can see the "For Sale" sign is in the front yard. Feelings of excitement and sadness rush through as I view the Wilson domain from the street. This sign represents another exciting step toward our new ministry in Latin America, but it is also the sad closing of a door to our everyday life in Conway. We have loved living here!!!

The ReachGlobal process has been stretching, intensive, and humorous at times. Many personality assessments were completed for team building, and all the results were posted on the walls at the Readiness Event we attended. Side-by-side our posters showed how opposite the two of us are in personality type. When Jim's arrows went left, mine went right. Where my graph went up, Jim's went down. We knew this about ourselves, but I just had to laugh out loud to see it on paper! I guess it's true that opposites attract! Together we make a great team - it just causes some friction at times! :-)

Here's my chart that was on the wall for all to see. I don't have Jim's chart, so just picture everything the opposite of mine! This is just too funny! Marriage counseling 101!

Sorting Through 25+ Years of Stuff

2009-06-15T17:39:00.012-05:00

Going through 25+ years of stuff has brought the realization that we have tooooo much!! Why have I kept all this stuff for so many years? It is amazing how moving to Central America has made me evaluate the need to keep things. Now, only the dearest memories are safely tucked away in a box. Hope and Candace should be happy with this process as their job will be much simpler when we leave this all behind and permanently reside in Heaven. :-) Seeing representations of your life laying around the living room floor is quite hilarious!

By the way, moving isn't fun!!!

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Here are some pics of San Jose, Costa Rica where we will spend the first year of our ministry learning Spanish. I will enjoy being able to speak to Hope & Candace in Spanish!

ReachGlobal - YAY!!!!

2009-06-05T21:58:00.000-05:00

Last night we were accepted as staff with ReachGlobal!!! After an intense week of assessing and learning, we have become a part of the ReachGlobal family. This week has allowed us to get to know the organization, and we feel it is a good fit. We are glad this part of the process is completed, and now we are moving forward with our plans to go to Latin America. We still don't have many details about where we will be eventually located, but we know that we will be spending our first year in Latin America at a Costa Rican language school. Now comes the next part - building our support team. Please pray for us.

Also, please continue to pray for our family through this time of grief.

2009-05-18T14:06:00.000-05:00

We are grieving for our family with broken hearts for their deep pain. Ken (Jim's brother) and Dawn lost their oldest son, Jordan, on Tuesday (5/12). Jordan was a 20 year old young man attending Baylor University. We wish we could do something to ease the pain, but we know God is the only one who can meet their needs in this devastation. Please pray for our family at this time.

Minneapolis Bound

2009-04-17T21:22:00.000-05:00

We are so excited! We received an invitation to attend a ReachGlobal the first week of June in Minneapolis, MN. This will be a time of getting to know ReachGlobal, and ReachGlobal getting to know us. At the end of this week, a decision will be made by both ReachGlobal and us as to whether we will become a part of the Latin American team.

A couple of weeks ago, Jim made the transition to Jacksonville, TX to be an interim pastor at Fellowship Bible Church. This church was our first pastorate after seminary. It was a little strange to see him packing up his things, and leaving an empty side of the closet. Our little dog, Bella, is so sad he left that she is sleeping on his discarded clothes.

In Home Interview With ReachGlobal

2009-03-21T09:34:00.000-05:00

After a 3 1/2 hour in-home interview, we are patiently waiting for ReachGlobal to let us know if we've been accepted to attend a Readiness Event. We should be contacted around the 15th of April with an invitation or rejection. The next Readiness Event takes place in June, and after spending a week with ReachGlobal at the Readiness Event, they will offer an invitation to join the team or not.

The gentleman from ReachGlobal who came to our house was exposed to the real Wilsons as it was a crazy week for both of us, and we couldn't fake anything. :-) JD and Hope graciously agreed to be a part of the interview, and hopefully they have a clearer picture of our future possibilities.

The questions asked of us were follow-up questions based on our responses to the Written Application. It wasn't difficult - just long!!! We were able to understand the mission of ReachGlobal a little better.

Jim has spent the entire week packing up his office at FBC Conway. Today he had to break down and rent a U-Haul trailer to move all his books and files. May I say - he has plenty of resources! (ha)

Please keep us in your prayers as we begin to make the transition. Jim will be moving to Jacksonville, TX next week to begin an interim pastorate while we pursue moving to Latin America. I will be staying in Conway until the end of the school year, and until our home sells.

Next Steps

2009-03-07T08:24:00.000-06:00

We have completed the initial steps in the application for ReachGlobal (www.efca.org/reachglobal/). The paperwork was quite extensive, but it gave us the opportunity to see the focus of the organization through the questions that were asked. In a few days, a representative of ReachGlobal will make a home visit (sounds a little scary) to finalize the application process. If we are accepted by ReachGlobal, we will attend a Readiness Event and then begin the next step of the process.

During this time we will be getting our house in Conway ready to put on the market, and Jim will start working with Fellowship Bible Church in Jacksonville, TX beginning April 1st.

While going through this transition, we have enjoyed having Candace and Mark here with us! This is the first time Candace has been back home for more than 3-4 days since she left for college 4 1/2 years ago. We have enjoyed every minute of our precious time together. Now, if JD & Hope were here it would be perfect. Mark and Candace have seen first hand the chaos of our current lives, and can say with us - life isn't boring!!!

Our New Adventure

2009-03-04T06:19:00.001-06:00

Here is Jim's announcement to our church about our new adventure to Central America. It gives the details of what we will be doing.

Following God is seldom easy. At times He’s hard to figure out, and at other times He asks us to make difficult decisions. In the Spiritual Warfare series, the Practical Atheism Equipping Class, and now in Habakkuk, I’ve been teaching that we have a natural passion for comfort and predictability. The problem is that God doesn’t often cooperate with that. Comfort and predictability are not the fields in which trust takes root and flourishes.

Now, I get to swallow a dose of my own medicine and practice what I’ve been preaching. God has opened a door of opportunity for Melanie and I and we are confident He is leading us to walk through the door. My passion for Latin America has been obvious over the past five years and God is giving us an opportunity to have a strategic and hopefully significant ministry in Latin America. This opportunity involves a move to Central America where Melanie and I will live and serve.

This passion for cross-cultural ministry has been growing for more than a decade. I’ve seriously considered moving to Nicaragua in the past but the timing has never been right. Our daughters were finishing high school and then going through college. Now that they have both graduated from college and have married wonderful men and have established their own families, Melanie and I have a greater sense of freedom to follow God in this new adventure. It will be difficult to not live close to family and friends, but God’s call is clear.

God has blessed and equipped me with a good theological education, almost three decades of pastoral experience, and a good measure of cross-cultural involvement. I will be using all this to continue the Bible Institute ministry and expand it through establishing new Bible Institutes and mobilizing other churches to duplicate what we have been successful with. I will also write and teach in other theological education settings. I will also focus on Latin American pastors by investing in a mentoring and coaching relationship with them. Melanie will have opportunities to develop relationships with wives and explore a wide variety of opportunities to serve in her gifting.

This move will, of course, take time and money. We will be spending the next year to two years raising the necessary funds to make this ministry possible. Then we will go to Costa Rica for a year for Spanish language school. After that, we will decide just where we will live and serve.

God is not only not easy to follow, God also has a sense of humor. When I graduated from seminary, I thought there were two things I would never do: Plant Churches and Be A Missionary. Well, after seminary I planted two churches and now I’m going to be a missionary. Unpredictability and Irony make God fun to follow even if it’s not easy or comfortable. The first church I planted was in East Texas and they have recently experienced a couple of years of turmoil. I have maintained close relationships with three of the elders there and I have been a long-distance advisor as they have gone through this turmoil. God has laid it on their hearts and on mine and Melanie’s heart, that we can help them regain a sense of stability and growth. So, we will be making a move to Fellowship Bible Church in Jacksonville, Texas to serve that local church while we raise the funds for our journey to Central America. I will make that move in April after I complete my series on Habakkuk. Melanie will stay here until she finishes her teaching responsibilities at Sallie Cone.

As we move on to another setting, I want to give you some assurances. First, this move is taking place because passion and opportunity have finally converged. It is not taking place because I have a problem with Fellowship or that the elders have a problem with me. Second, I want to give you my assurance that in my judgment, the elders here are a great group of men who truly operate with the best of Fellowship in mind. They deserve your respect and they deserve to be followed according to Hebrews 13. Third, the staff here is loaded with skill and integrity. As Ken leads the staff, I want to encourage you to honor and respect the work they do among you.

We will remain involved in the ministry of Fellowship and Tommy will tell you about that. I want to tell you that the time we have spent in this great church has been a source of growth and development for Melanie and myself. We have learned so much from you. We will be better Christians and servants because of your impact on us. Your love, friendships, support, encouragement, challenges, have enriched our lives. We will deeply miss the regularity of contact, but know that we will take with us the good things you have built into us. Our prayer is and will continue to be that Fellowship continues to flourish.