Just Me and Blanco

Wes has to be in Dallas for a week for some work training. I spent my first night alone...just me a Blanco. I thought I would feel protected with a dog - but then I realized that he is just an 11 week old puppy that loves people, including strangers. He is not a protector yet! I went to a devotional last night and got home just before a thunderstorm rolled through. Scary movies always have a thunderstorm...I tried very hard not to remember any scary movies I'd seen. SCREAM was the first scary movie I ever watched - I watched it in middle school secretively behind my parents back (I was 12 and it was rated R...why we thought that was cool I don't know!). I had nightmares for weeks and finally confessed what I had done! I wish I would've stopped there with horror movies...SCREAM is funny now when I think about it, others are not so funny - like The Chainsaw freak.

On the bright side, I was able to read more of Blue Like Jazz, and I've really enjoyed it. I was also able to talk with my mom (who is also alone right now because my dad is traveling for business). Conversations with her are always easy going and fun.

Laura and I will be going to Dallas on Wednesday to meet up with our husbands. I'm already looking forward to it - a great time to get away for a while and to have a relaxing weekend with family. Until then, it's just me and Blanco!

The Problem Lies Within

I (Ellen) just began reading Blue Like Jazz this week and I am really enjoying it. It's a book, though, that you have to take time to think about - much like Irristible Revolution, which Wes is wrapping up. One chapter is called Problems. In this chapter the author reflected on a time that he and a close friend went to politically protest in honor of global poverty and the War on Terror. He and his friend felt that this would be an excellent way to share their opinion and request for change. So they made signs and held them extra high and yelled as loud as they could. But nothing happened - they weren't even noticed. Troubled, the author went home and wondered why he even went to protest when he wasn't noticed and nothing changed about global poverty or the War. His convictions that day are applicable for all of us.

He realized that he wasn't actually doing anything to help global poverty come to an end - he just made a sign and held it high. Was he more concerned with actually helping people or being politically active? His response was that he wanted to be known as a politically active person, but when it came down to it, what he was fighting for politically did not match up to his day to day life. He confessed that he wasn't giving (tithing) to his local church who has a great homeless ministry. How interesting - he was willing to make signs, scream, and stand for his convictions, but when it came down to it, his actions didn't say that he really cared.

It may seem easy to think that he's awful - What small, thin faith he has. But the more I think about it, the more I've got stories like that. There are times that I talk about how the church needs to change this or that, but I seldom do anything about it. Much less, pray about it. So I have to ask: Do I want to have the label of a consistent church go-er or do I want to be Jesus in a dark world? Do I actually do things to help people or do I just talk about how awful the world is, or how church isn't done "right"?

The authors conclusion and conviction was that the core, underlying problem isn't political, but the problem was deep within himself. He realized that if he would have a heart check-up and change his perspective and actions, then something could actually happen. He believes that we all need to recognize our own brokenness before we can actually change or help anything going on around us, whether that is poverty, hunger, abuse, sexual immorality.

So I'm asking you - do you think you need a heart check-up? Maybe it's time that we accurately diagnose the problem and then make the appropriate and necessary changes.

Chew, Chew, Chew

Well, Blanco has kept our hands full! In fact, our hands are getting a little worn out! It's been a little over 1 week and he's already gotten taller - he's so precious, but the reality of puppy world has set in for us. This is the reality - puppies love to chew on anything! I mean anything! Although this may be fun, cute, and priceless, Blanco's favorite "chewable toys" are our hands...he literally attacks our hands. This was cute, um, maybe the first couple times, but now it really hurts! In a sea of chewable dog toys, he chooses to attack the hands that feed him, hold him, and take him on numerous potty adventures!!! No matter how many times we say no and offer a chewable toy, he leaps for our hands!

We know that all puppies go through a chewing phase, but we aren't sure if all puppies attack their owner's hands at every opportunity! We are praying that this hand eating phase will die out soon...even more, we sure hope that Blanco won't try to eat our friend's hands. If you're coming over soon, you may want to wear some gloves! Haha.

Meet Blanco

We have a dog! He is a nine week old Miniature Schnauzer, and he is keeping our hands full. His current past times consist primarily of chewing our hands off (going through a major biting stage), eating, sleeping, and going potty (outdoors . . . mostly).

We are super pumped about having him and promise to be good parents. We broke down and purchased a dog crate for the training, he is liking it a lot better than the cardboard box we originally had, which was dug out of the United dumpster.

We have both wanted a puppy for a long time now so we are excited to share a few pictures with you.


Ellen and Blanco


Wes and Blanco

We're Back

Ellen and I got back from Chile Monday morning. We are now back into the swing of things this side of the equator. We are excited to have a low-key weekend ahead of us. We haven't had a whole lot of time to be still since we got back. There is a major need in our hearts and souls to spend some time giving this dream back to God. Not as if we don't want it, quite the opposite. More than ever we are anxious to run with this, but we believe this dream is God given. By giving it back to Him we are saying that we recognize it will require His blessing, His guidance, and His timing.

God was so faithful to us on our trip. We prayed prayers for safety, health, clarity, direction, and unity. He has answered them all and so we boast together in the faithfulness that God has shown us.

Please continue praying for us as we try to hand over to God this throbbing desire in our hearts to grow the Body of Christ in South America. Pray that God will add to our team people with diverse gifts and a deep passion for the lost and searching in our world. Pray that we will be present minded also, not forgetting that God has a will for how our lives should be lived TODAY. Thank you for your prayers while we were abroad; they were answered.

The Oregon of the South (Concepcion, Chile)

This is downtown Concepcion. It is super clean and trees are everywhere. There are lots of buses, but a lot of people own their own cars, too.


We had lunch with Vick and Pam who are missionaries of the Independent Christian Church. They helped us learn a lot about the Chilean culture.


This is a neighborhood in Concepcion. The streets are typically wide, lined with nature, and most areas have playgrounds for children.


Our meeting with Maria Jose, a Campus Crusades representative in Concepcion. We met with her on the largest campus in Chile, Universidad de Concepcion.




Our team on the campus of the Universidad de Concepcion. The campus is so beautiful. The leaves on the trees are changing colors and everything is fall.




Us having lunch with Rick and Laurel, missionaries to the First Assemblies of God church here in Concepcion.

We've had the opportunity to learn a lot about the Chilean culture and the need for work here. In fact, we were planning on staying in Concepcion for 2 1/2 days and then go to Temuco, Chile. We read and heard a lot that Temuco is very evangelized - in fact, the most evangelized city of Chile. After prayer and conversations, we decided not to go to Temuco and spend more time in Concepcion. This is now our 4th day and we are loving it. We have been able to see the city and learn about the history. This trip is more of a qualitative trip - getting a feel for the cities and getting a yes or no. Later, we will take a more quantitative trip - learn more about the cost of living from groceries to furniture to housing. However, because we are staying here longer, we are going to get a jump start on some of the details. So, today (Friday) we are going to meet with some Realtors about houses and apartments. They usually have abundant information about the city and neighborhoods, etc. We will be meeting with one shortly. We hope to fly to Santiago Saturday night and spend the evening and Sunday with Kelly Grant's team. We are eager to talk with them about their experiences.