Our Ft. Worth Home: OVERWHELMING

Many of you read about our horrible situation with our past tenants in our Ft. Worth home. Here is the link Horrible Home Situation. And many of you read about our situation with our house back in 2008 when we were trying to leave the country to come to Ecuador and our property manager majorily dropped the ball but God provided in ways beyond our imagination. Here is the link Property Manager drops the ball.
All of those experiences mentioned above were overwhelming to say the least but God constantly showed us that He is in control. 
Since our last tenants, Ms. Barbara Terry,  we have not been able to rent our home.  She made it impossible to rent because she would not sign a release of agreement on our home.  The renters help pay for our mortgage so this was getting even more overwhelming. Finally, at the end of October she did sign.  In November, we decided to go with another property manager other than Bridge Lease because we felt like they did not represent us well in the midst of all of the problems we had with the previous tenants.  Our new property manager went into our home and shared with us all of the minor/ major work our house needed.  It was a long list so once again we were overwhelmed wondering how could our house have gotten in such horrible shape when we had so many contracted people "overseeing" our home. We were later told that we possibly had a leak in the foundation.  Those of you who have never had that done lets just say its thousands of dollars to repair and our home warranty company would not cover it.  So a 2nd opinion was done on our home and they reported that there wasn't a leak (praise the Lord) we just needed  more work done on the foundation.  This was still a lot of money but not even close to what we were looking at if it were a leak.

In the midst of what seemed like a bleak and yes once again overwhelming situation the Lord brought some wonderful people into our lives to remind us of His goodness, provision, love and care for us.  My eyes are filled with tears as I write this because HE overwhelms us with His goodness!  Our friends/neighbors had at some point mentioned that if we needed anything like help in getting the house cleaned up etc.. to call on them and they could gather a group of friends from church to help out.  We didn't take them up on this offer right away because it just seemed like a lot of work.  Finally, after looking at our budget and the cost of all these things we thought lets just give them a call because at this point any kind of help would mean one less person to hire. 
Our neighbor, Carrie, got on it right away and started to organize a group of church friends to help out.  At some point she was talking with her boss (one of our supporters) about our home situation and that she was in the middle of organizing a group to come out and work on it.  Her boss mentioned that he would share this with his Christian Business Mens group and see what would come about.  These men whom we have never met took on our home as a project and they each pitched in to contract someone to paint, put new carpet, fix tile, cabinets etc... in our home.  Isn't that AMAZING!  God uses complete strangers to be vessels of His love and answers to prayer!!  Once again the Lord shows us that He is the I AM, the Provider, the Sovereign Lord and that he LOVES us, and once again we are overwhelmed in a beautiful way.  Thank you business men, friends and family for being vessels of His Love in despondent times.

The adventures of having a baby in another country

He was so tiny he fit in our stocking!  
 
It has definitely been an adventure to have had a baby in another country.  Some adventures we loved some made us wish he was born on US soil.

When your pregnant or have a baby in your hand in this country:

• you get bumped up in lines (awesome b/c sometimes you have to wait for hrs.)
• people are very helpful (normally everyone minds their own business and does their own thing) 
•  people move out of the way in the side walk (usually they just bump into you not thinking twice about it, it's not meant to be rude).
• your rude apt manager forgets they hate you (Yes!)
• everyone including little kids feel the need to give you advice & comment on your body

-We had our baby at a birthing ctr. it was a great experience

- Gave birth on a birthing stool
- To get his birth cert. was a huge headache:

• hours (not exaggerating) of waiting in line to then be told we needed another document that's not on the requirements list they gave us hours ago.
• it took 3 wks w/the same thing mentioned above happening every time
• insisted on putting me down as a single mother. Their arguement was your not considered married when your in another country.
• advised to get married in this country

Diapers, wipes, formula all cost about the same as it does in he US w/ the exception that there are no coupons or discounts.

It's been fabulous to receive baby packages from so many friends & family!

Mari gets 3 months of maternity leave and returning only 80% of her scheduled hours.

10 Best Family Moments in 2010

1. Mateo Asher joining our family.
2. Mari becoming an American Citizen.
3. Mari's sister and mom coming to visit.
4. Our Valentines date was great fun!
5. Making Operation Brown Bag lunches with 2 other missionary families.
6. Ben's sister visiting us.
7. Thankful that we only lost 4 supporters!
8. Mari's surprise skype baby shower from friends in Ft. Worth.
9. Watching the boys enjoy our Christmas advent calendar activities.
10. While walking I hurt my leg. Ethan says "mommy lets stop and pray b/c God can heal it".

OUR FAMILY HAS GROWN BY 2 FEET!

MATEO ASHER HERNANDEZ TUTEN

BORN ON NOV. 27TH, 2010

5LBS

Mateo means gift of God
Asher means happy, blessed in abundance
When Mateo was in the womb our last ultrasound picture showed him with a huge smile! He truly is our Gift from God.

Top 10 Ministry Blessing of 2010

1. An entire family coming to Christ b/c their son heard the gospel at school!
2. Sharing Gods hope with a mom whose family was in crisis during a counseling session.
3. 2010 Womens Summer Missions Team from MMBC ministering alongside of  us.
4. Discovering that Mckinney Church moms were getting together with their kiddos to decorate over a 100 Operation Brown Bags to send to us for lunches for the street children.
5. Having some parents of students at our school share "To see  how your family works together to serve is a blessing".
6. Singing at the top of our lungs praise songs in the inner city with 65 poverty stricken children.
7. Having a student I mentored 2 yrs ago write me and share with me how she was blessed by our time together and it has helped her now that she is in college.
8. Started and co-lead a bible study with some of the missionary women in our community has been a blessing!
9.  To discover that one of the Asian students in our bible study 2yrs ago had now come to Christ. We just planted the seed!
10. The joy and desire in our boys faces as they passed out flowers & chocolate to mothers on Mothers day!

Modern Day Knight- Father/Son 6th grade campout

One of the many things future 6th grade boys look foward to is the Father/Son Camp out Ben has put together for them.  For some of these familes camping is a foreign concept and even worse they have never tasted a Smore :).  Ben uses the book Raising a Modern Day Knight as a guide when he meets with the fathers before the camp out.  Then our hope is that the fathers take these principles to connect at a deeper level with their boys and for them to challenge them to be men of virtue.
This year all of the fathers participated! One father in particular travels a lot and at the beginning of the school year when he heard of this outing asked Ben if he could plan it when he was in town so he could be with his son on this special outing.

Virtual Baby Shower

 
The Lord blessed us with some great friends in Fort Worth who blessed us with a virtual baby shower.  You may ask how does that work?  Well these friends from FW prior to the shower sent me a package with the baby shower themed decorations, napkins, plates, cookies and some candy.  The package also had some beautiful baby clothes for Mateo.  They set this up through Ben (because it was a surprise for me) a date and time for us to Skype and they had invited our friends to come to the Vozeh's house.  Once on Skype ( a computer program) we could see our friends in FW and they could see us here in Ecuador and the shower began!  It was a very special time for me and I felt so blessed!

The school here also planned a shower for us.  Baby items here are very, very expensive so some co -workers contributed in a money gift we were given $175 total to use for all those odds and ends we need.  To give you an idea of the cost of things: 1 onesie $9 (not any particular name brand), 4pk flannel receiving blankets( those thin small ones)- $45 yup i said $45, a car seat about $300 for an average one nothing fancy.

Bens students and their moms threw a shower for him.  We received lots of diapers! Ben and I were touched by their desire to love on us.
We were showered with love!!!

those little feet that wander the street

We had a neat opportunity to join a ministry that has a school on wheels for street children in the historical area of Quito. They meet out there 3 times a week and randomly the children come to get a "break" from their work ridden day. 

As we walked up to the plaza where the tent was set up I saw 2-7 yr olds holding their little wooden case in their hands where they carry their shoe shining equipment.  I saw little ones (still too little to put them to work) just wandering the plaza "playing" while their guardian/parent worked selling candy or other knick knacs, I saw little faces that didn't know how to smile, blood shot eyes that hadn't slept well in days, little bodies that probably haven't eaten a full meal in months. 

Our goal was to be instruments of our Lord by helping put a smile on their face by giving them at least 5 minutes to be a child by coloring, singing and making a craft that would be useful to them.  Many of them rushed as they colored because they would get in trouble if they were caught not selling.  My friend Beth, brought her guitar and she filled the plaza with her melodious voice putting smiles on those little faces (it took a couple of songs before the kids allowed themselves to smile at the silly songs) and drawing a crowd of children and adults to our little huttle. The rest of the time we decorated tote bags that the MMBC Summer Ladies team left this past summer. I left the plaza feeling excited having had a chance to be Jesus to these little ones but I also left feeling overwhelmed by the extreme poverty and horrible experiences many of these children have had in their short little life.  I pray for those little feet that wander the streets on a daily basis early in the morning to late, late nights, may the Lord protect their bodies, hearts and minds. 

Just because were a family

We have been told quite a few times this school year by people how great it is to have a family ministering together at the school.  A parent shared "you two are a wonderful team at our school".  It never hit me until now how just being a stable family in our community ministers to others. I always thought our family is involved in ministry therefore we are ministering to others but not just because we are a family we minister to others with that alone. Does that make sense?  It was encouraging and a different perspective we had not thought about.

a 3rd grader leads his whole family to Christ

One of the new families that enrolled at our school this year ALL came to the Lord in a matter of a week. It was amazing!  The school has a week called Spiritual Emphasis Week and they have chapel everyday with a special speaker.  The particular young student was very curious and enthralled with everything that was being talked about.  He would go back to class asking lots of questions and wanting to know more.  One of those days he decided  he was ready to make a decision to accept Christ! Later that week mom came to discuss with the school some school things and then asked about her sons excitement for Spiritual Emphasis Week. It was explained to her and she too accepted Christ that day.  At the end of the week they ended with a grand finale where the kids were going to present to their families the songs and lessons they had been learning all week.  That evening the father also accepted Jesus Christ as His Savior! 
Isn't that beautiful! This is what we are all about PLANTING seeds for His kingdom! And its even more fun when you get to see them grow!

Establish the Work of our Hands

It's that time of year when our school starts asking if we are on board for another year.  Please pray with us as we seek Gods will on this.  The ministry He has established here for us has been wonderful and we know He is using us to touch the lives of students and their families, street children and other missionaries but we also know for a fact that He has used this ministry to teach us and mold us in so many ways as individuals and as a family. 

Join us in prayer as we seek His blessing for the coming year and clarity and discernment as we follow His leading.

Surreal

If I had to describe last weeks government upheaval in one word it would be: SURREAL.  Your going through all the motions of evacuation, fear, anxiety and your hearing outside your window the sounds of "war" yet it still seems like in any minute you will wake up from this nightmare.

I must confess that my morning started with a very bad attitude towards the culture differences we face on a daily basis. As I was out and about in the city getting errands done I was continously reminded of these things that so annoy me.  Little did I know how petty they would be in a couple of hours.  As I normally do I set out to pick up Aiden from pre-school but there was something not normal about my drive over, I just couldn't put my finger on it.  People were out in the street everyone with a panicked look on their face and it seemed like everyone was running "home".  Once I got to Aiden's school they briefly shared that something happened to the president and we needed to get home soon.  Still confused I now new enough to also wear that panicked and worried look on my face.  Maria who watches Aiden on the days I work was waiting for me at home and told me there was a strike on the street and that something was happening to the president.  I told her to go home because things may get worse and I would hate for her to be stuck here away from her family at this time.  Ben calls me and says "the school is in lock down mode and I want you to come down here. I need to go."  Once again all these bits of pieces of information are only feeding my anxiety.  I get to school and everyone has a serious, horror stricken face.  I try to smile as I walk with Aiden so he won't ask me whats wrong.  I go and get Ethan out of class and then I go find Ben.  Ethan is full of questions and I try to find ways to explain to a 6yr old what is going on.  As I try to explain I find myself holding back my emotions in order to be strong for them.  Finally, I see Ben and I feel relieved.  I wanted to get the kids home because I felt like we would be safer there but that meant Ben would have to walk home after all his kids were picked up.  Feeling torn between my "mother bear" instincts and the need to stay together, we stayed until every child from his class was picked up. 
As we waited at school we heard reports about the situation outside: police and miltary have seized the airport, looters and thieves are out taking advantage of the situation, people have already gotten robbed on our street, the president was taken hostage and much more. 
Ben was finally released from his teacher duties and we packed about 6 other teachers and our family in the car so that no one had to walk home in this unsafe situation.  Ben rode in the car holding his handy dandy ax he keeps in the car.   The streets seemed bare and we saw no sign of looters or thieves. We made it home safe! For the next 7hrs we kept the news on to keep abreast of the situation. Our family gathered to pray for the country, the president and our safety.  Though I am sure the boys didn't totallly comprehend I think they sensed that something wasn't right and they chimed in with their sweet innocent prayers for this country and the president. 
Trying to keep calm and normal in our home for the sake of our children was relatively easy until night came and the "war" against the military and police began.  I sat there watching the tv screen recalling all those horror movies where there is gov't upheaval and I thought here we are living it.  The news showed shots of looters, empty stores that had been robbed, people breaking into places. The shooting was only a couple of miles away so we could hear it all, what we saw on tv echoed in the street into the windows of our home causing me to feel somewhat uneasy.  I just kept thinking what if this doesn't end soon, I am pregnant, our boys are so young, the airport has been seized we can't even leave, how long will our food last.... I had countless horrifying thoughts not having experienced this before in any form or fashion my imagination ran wild.  I just kept praying and was thankful that we felt somewhat safe at home and that we had internet and phone connections so that we could communicate with friends and family in this time.
At 10:30 p.m. the president was rescued and though the shooting between military and police didn't seize I felt comfortable enough to put my mind and imagination to rest for the night. 
Morning came and the mayor came on the news and in a very calm way said "we will proceed with this day as any other normal Friday, the police are back to work and businesses are up and running".  We still felt a bit uneasy so we layed low and didn't do much or go out. Since then things have settled though the U.S. Embassy sent an advisory letting us know that this country was still in the "state of exception" until Oct. 8th and to take precautionary measures as we go out and about.  As we spoke with seasoned veteran missionaries they said they couldn't recall a time the school was evacuated or a time that a strike led to shooting between armed forces and police or that the airport was seized.  They said this was the first time they felt the most present danger because usually it was strike and people were upset and transportation would close down but they never felt the effects of it. 
This was just a recalling of events from my perspective: an unseasoned to the third world, pregnant, missionary woman.  I am sure Bens perspective would be very different and a lot shorter than mine:).