Park

Just a quick photo that a team member took of Jen and Micah at the park after going to the market.

A quick update

Sorry we have not written in a couple of days. It is very very busy right now. Everyday has been spent shopping going from one confusing store to the next and then back to the same store again. Apartments here do not have closets so we have to buy wardrobes for the rooms. The wardrobes are made of particle wood and run anywhere from 200 to 600 Lev which is equivalent to 140 to 420 US dollars. The more money the thicker the particle wood! Real wood is out of the question! Everything just takes longer in general. For instance going grocery shopping without the ability to read what you’re buying. If the picture explains the product then you better know how to cook it because you won’t be able to read the directions and the cooking measurements are in metric measurements. You can’t buy a carton of milk. It comes in a bag or a box. The largest amount of milk I have been able to find is 1 Liter, so that lasts about one day in our house =) Vanilla is sold in small packets and you add water to it for your recipe. It’s one serving and is sold as such and is pricey (for my taste). We did find Nestle chocolate mix and so we had our first glass of chocolate milk today! This was a huge victory for this chocolate milk loving family! All in all, we have not adjusted to the time change so we are very tired and buying all household goods is tasking!

So the kids. The kids are doing exceptionally well. They are still adjusting to time changes but seem to be catching up quicker than we are and this could soon be a problem if we have exhausted parents and well rested active children! =) We are in our apartment for the first time tonight
(It is 10:00pm right now for us) They were excited to see all their toys we packed up in May today! It’s been a little like Christmas today! If we were smart we would have wrapped up those toys from May and passed them off =)

There is so much to catch you up on but I am really anxious to get into bed! The people in Bulgaria were tickled at the sight of the boys sleeping and we hope you enjoy the pictures too. We will definitely post some pictures of our area and apartment soon!
With love!!!
Jenn

Phillips in London falling down, falling down, falling down

The Phillips are in London for the night and we are falling down in praise to our awesome God who is Soverign of all things and timing! (all the boys in this family have plain fallen asleep!)

Hello friends and Family!!
Well the first leg of our jouney was beautiful. There was a hiccup at the gate when boarding and they checked Cameron's guitar and our stroller all the way through to Sofia. This unfortunatley required us to carry Ben, hold Micah's hand and drag 4 backpacks and three small suitcases as we made a dead sprint through security and the airport. While waiting in the security line Ben declared he was carrying a liquid and since he knows the security rules quite well he decided to release it all before getting to the counter. Unfortunatley for passengers behind us, this unknown liquid trailed us all the way through the security check before the janitor arrived. Yeek! =/

So you may have guessed it, we missed our connection! Fortunatley since it was British Airways fault they have booked us hotel to stay in for the night. We are waiting in the airport for 4 1/2 hours until our hotel can check us in at 12. We will fly out for Bulgaria tomorrow at 8:30am and our prayer is that all 16 of our bags will be waiting for us. We are very exhausted but also running on some adreniline so it is balancing out for now. I think Ben will not make it for our 12pm hotel check in. They took a 2-3 hour nap on the flight but it was from 4-7pm and so they were awake all "their" time zone night. It is 4:18 for them but they seem to be waiting for the sun to set in their new time zone. Oh well, that makes transition fun I guess =)

I just looked over at my boys and Cameron is holding a dvd player in his lap asleep, Ben is multi-tasking by playing with a squishy dog he got at his birthday party and watching the video that sways with Daddy's sleep patterns. Micah is next to me and he has taken over my game on the nintendo DS and should be happily occupied for a while. We are sitting in an area of the airport that is not crazy and so we will relax until we take a bus for the hotel.
Thank you all for your prayers, please continue them and lift up flights, rest, luggage, and arriving tomorrow!
Love you all so much!

So a couple of London things I have noticed is the word "Cheeky" spoken everywhere. Also people watching doesn't go over so well because they just watch you back and it gets a little uncomfortable and weird =) This of course is just my observation and I do not speak for London as a whole. I do not understand the change I got back from my coffee in "Pounds". Since we didn't understand the currency, we asked a man what the appropriate tip would be for carrying our luggage and he said "We aren't like Americans, Brits are stingy and tipping little is not considered rude." So I'm not sure what the amount actually was that was pulled from our pounds but I guess it was the right amount? =) I am realizing just how big the little changes will be in our lives! =)

I know a secret...

Corpus Christi: Day 19

Cameron called the embassy today and they informed him that our visas are still in the application process. If the embassy schedule is true to their forty business day timeline then our visas should arrive by November 19th and we can process our flight arrangments.

We have enjoyed our time with family but it has also been exhausting going from house to house. After this weekend we will take some much needed time to rest and pack. Some highlights during the last two weeks were beginning a house church ministry to shut-ins in my grandparents neighborhood. Our first meeting was beautiful and we had scheduled to meet the following weekend, however my grandfather was placed in the hospital in San Antonio and we spent some time driving Granny up to see him. Another highlight has been reconnecting with churches in the area that were instramental in our christian growth. I have been attending a Bible study during the week at one of these churches and it has been a tremendous blessing.

During this third week in Corpus, Cameron and I have shifted to what we call "survival mode" and have needed some rest and attitude adjusting. We said quite frequently this week, "When we get to Bulgaria..." "When we have a house of our own again we will..." "When we have a schedule again..." and the "When we" goes on and on and on. God has revealed to us that there will always be those "When we get there" or "when this or that happens" and that we need to rest in the shadow of His wings here and now. We are called to live each day in the present and not look to tomarrow. God's grace is sufficient for us today and God reminded us of the words of Paul in Philippians 4:11-13
"...for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I am. I know both how to have a little, and I know how to have a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content-whether well-fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. I am able to do all things through Him who stegthens me."
In times of exhaution God reminds us that He will not give us more than we are able to carry, however we "super-humans" can add to our load when we choose to take on more than He has given us or when we do not set boundaries in our lives. We serve a God that tells us to dwell in the shadow of His wings and he will lay us in the green pastures, He will lead us beside quiet waters, and He will restore our soul, EVEN in Corpus Christi on Day 19, 20 or 30.

Be Blessed,
Jennifer and Cameron Phillips

Goodbye

 
We arrived to Corpus Christi on October 3rd and we have started the process of saying our goodbyes with family. We were given the priviledge of staying with friends as we travelled and getting to say goodbye to them along the way. We have put alot of miles on the car and all that driving gave me time to reflect on the relationships we have left behind. Each relationship added so much to our lives. Every mile on the road was filled with a thought of what we left behind and a prayer that we added to their lives the knowledge of God's love. My heart is squeezed when I consider what I "added" to their lives. I cringe at the thought that I might have failed some of them by only leaving behind laughter, good memories, or a sweet friendship. All of these things are great, but if I didn't add to their lives a knowledge of Jesus and His gift of salvation to them then I have failed them as friends. So as we drove away from each home I knew I could reflect and regret or reflect and remain striving towards purposeful relationships that lead our friends to a knowledge of eternal life through Christ.

We are spending the next two weeks dividing our time between our parents and waiting for our visas to arrive. We do not have an exact departure date but we have been told that we could receive our visas in two weeks or two months. So with a time frame like that we are living as if we only have two weeks left with family and should extra time be given to us then we will embrace it and use it! We are thankful for so many things in our lives and mostly thankful that we serve a God who is leading us on a journey to share His love with everyone we meet!
Thank you for praying for our family!
Jennifer Phillips

Count your blessings!

We are ending the "Power Boots" journey hopefully on Sept 27th! It will be here in no time and we are praying Ben has made a full recovery and the bones are healed correctly.
This "Power Boot" journey I admit has been very easy. I thought it was normal that Ben has done so well or that maybe he is just an exceptional kid but the truth is I over looked the power of answered prayers and God reminded me.
Last Saturday I went to a hair salon and while I was being dunked in the shampoo bowl I listened to the conversation next to me.

"Our family is finally going to be better! We have been prisioners in our home since my two year old went into two walking casts. He has been so miserable since he broke his legs. Always complaining about itching and whining about his casts has driven me insane! Anyways we got them off finally after six weeks and we're going swimming."

I kind of laid in my shampoo bowl wide eye'd and amazed. We haven't had anything similar to her complaints and life has hardly had a hiccup since getting the casts on. As I continued to lay in the bowl I started to process our good experience...Was Ben just stronger and braver and an exception to the norm? Did we just handle things better or are our casts made of top line material? The answer to all of these thoughts was a definate NO. The truth is prayers were answered and I had failed to notice and/or give God thanks for them. So to correct a very sad oversight I would love to take a moment to say THANK YOU GOD!!! You are amazing, faithful and this girl LOVES YOU! Second THANK YOU to everyone who took time to pray for our family, you're prayers were answered!
With Love,
Cameron, Jennifer, Micah, and Benjamin

An AMAZING GOD size Recovery

Ben began walking on his own Saturday and played at the park and went out for yogart that afternoon. He has been on Motrin all day and has not complained of any pain. The Loratab was causing some constipation issues and so we are using only Motrin unless Ben needs something stronger which fortunately hasn't been the case. I am posting some pictures of Ben from surgery to Saturday so you can see the answers to prayer for yourself. Thank you so much for the prayers lifted to our Mighty God!