Olivia officially entered the world of school this past month, joining Mommy at her FIRST 5 Preschool in Ivanhoe. She is one of two three-year-olds in the class, and doing well! She loves doing "homework" and even won the "Catch of the Day" award one day for being an "enthusiastic singer." :) Proud to be a Big Girl, we hope her love of learning continues for a lifetime!
On Monday September 10th I (Jeff) climbed half dome with 3 close friends and co-workers (Dave Hansen, Hector Pinto, and Jonathan Thompson). For those who don't know half dome is in Yosemite National Park. It is about an 8.2 mile hike in which you gain around 5,000 feet of elevation. It was a tremendous day of hiking and fellowship. The view along the trail and from the top were absolutely amazing! If you're a hiker and have never climbed it, it is a must do. Worth the trip from anywhere in the world! Here are a few pictures to help illustrate the point.
Looking up at half dome from the trail
Standing at the base of the cables before the final assent
Views from the Top!!
On Saturday September 8th we had the Students International Fundraising Banquet. It was a fabulous night! Just under 400 people came to hear about what God is doing through SI. It was a fun evening for us of connecting with new and old friends. To put the icing on the cake about $40,000 was raised for SI!! Praise God!
We're a little behind in our blogging, but here are some pictures from a few weeks ago when my (Tracey's) parents were out here for a visit. We confess, we did NOT take these pictures--they did. But we are taking the liberty of posting them anyway! We hope you enjoy!
We'd also like to give you an update on our lives since returning to "normal"--we're doing pretty well adjusting back to California life, I think. It's always with mixed feelings that we come home. I personally have been enjoying being in one place and not having to live out of suitcases, and the kids seem to like having a little more routine in their lives. Olivia talks about Costa Rica and "Gualamala" a lot, and says she would like to live in Costa Rica. Jeff has had a little harder time coming home and would be ready to move to Costa Rica tomorrow if he could. Oral surgery two weeks ago didn't help (ouch!), but that seems to be on the mend now. Mentally, we are making lists in our minds about what to keep, sell, store, and give away. However, we are also trying to live in the present and enjoy this next year together in Visalia. We had a get together last week with some people who want to go with us to CR. It was a wonderful time! Please be praying that God would continue to lead clearly in each of our lives. I told somebody yesterday that we are walking on the road that leads to Costa Rica, and so far it has been a very smooth one! May it continue to be so!!
"One time, when I was in China by myself, a girl asked if God and Jesus were together when they made crocodiles and elephants. I said no they weren't together that one time when I was in China in Pasadena. Mommy where's China?"
A snippet from our conversation this evening on the way home from church. We learn so much from Olivia! In reality it is amazing how much our kids teach us about the most profound subjects in life.
If you have never been to California's Central Coast, it is something to add to a list of to-dos. It is full of rough, rocky coastlines, grassy hills, sandy beaches that double as treasure coves, and tide pools that hint at what must live deeper in the ocean. We were privileged to visit there again last week with our friends the Thompsons (that's Tricia with the whale carcass), and Alipaz,' Hector Pinto, and also the Pittmans who are the field directors for the new SI Fiji site (they are the family sitting on the rocks). It was a wonderful time of relaxing and hanging out. We stayed in Morro Bay and traipsed around some great beaches in the area. The weather was perfect, and the kids had the time of their lives running around in the sand and waves. The following pictures will help tell the story:
The culmination of our 6 week family adventure was 2 weeks in Antigua, Guatemala. We stayed at the home of Fernando and Marianela Saravia, who are our dear friends, as well as field directors for SI Guate. The first week was busy as Jeff helped facillitate a "vision trip"--a group of about 15 people who are interested in leading groups to one of the SI sites, either short-term, or through academic programs (semesters, J-terms, etc.) There were also a few people who came along just for the ride to see what SI is all about. (If any of our dear readers is interested in something like this, let us know--there will be other trips like this in the future. . .)
We had a great time visiting ministry sites (education, appropriate technology (cisterns and water purification), agriculture, art, social work (working at Hermano Pedro Hospital with people with special needs), and health care) We also had a lot of fun with the Saravias, and their girls blessed us immeasurably with many evenings of babysitting so that we could attend meetings with the vision group, go to dinner with Fernando and Marianela, etc. They took us to a great new restaurant in Antigua called Palacio de India. We also got to spend some time with our friends Jose and Norita and their girls. They took us to a great zoo in Guatemala City and then to their home. Jose has done some graphic design work for SI and has expressed interest in running a site where he would teach those skills to youth. (Please pray for them--they are considering CR with us!)
Ending our trip in Guatemala was a refreshing reminder of why we love what God is doing through Students International and why we will continue to be a part of it. It was encouraging to see the unity of the SI staff, as well as the powerful transformation going on in the lives of individuals in the communities where SI ministers and in the lives of students and outreach participants. We are happy to be home, but so thankful for our time this summer in CR and Guate. Many thanks to all of you who have prayed for us during our travels--we were keenly aware of God's grace hovering over us! Please continue to pray for guidance and wisdom as we feel out the details for moving to CR next year! Until our next post--The Dixons
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