These days I am so excited to see what the Lord is doing in our hearts and in our home. It is really amazing to see his hand at work, knitting us into a family!
The first couple weeks, I literally felt like I was just surviving the days. I would wake up and go non-stop pretty much the entire day, falling exhausted into bed at night and basically feeling like I had just accomplished the very basic things...then little by little the routines have been established, and everyone knows what the "game plan" is and that has made a huge difference.
It is a joy to hear the the children playing together, and laughing. It is a joy to hear them pray and thank God for making us a family!
Thank you for your prayers for us during this time of transition. We are seeing progress day by day, and we know that it is the result of many, many prayers being said on our behalf.
The construction on the church continues to move forward. We ask you to join us in praying that the Lord would provide the funds needed to finish this work.
Plans for the Ladies Conference is moving forward. We have invited two of our sister churches in Portaviejo. The Ladies are getting excited. Please keep this conference in your prayers. Pray for Sharon Smith, as she prepares her lessons, pray for the ladies from our church who will be helping make this conference a success. There are about 6 ladies working with me to pull off this special event. There are ladies working on organizing a nursery and child care. Others, helping to organize refreshments, music, the craft time, and ice breaker activities. It has been a huge blessing that so many have been willing to stand up and take on a responsibility to put this conference together. Please be praying that God will use this conference in the lives of the ladies in our church, and also will be an opportunity to introduce Christ to many friends and neighbors.
God Bless you has you serve him this week!
Joy
Sunday, October 10, 2010
Sunday, September 26, 2010
It's a new week!
We had a pretty good first week of school in the Anzalone house. Teaching 3 children, 2 of them ESL with some learning differences was quiet a challenge. They did pretty well, though and I was thrilled when we took Mateo to the doctor on Tuesday, and she asked him what color a wooden bead was and he said, "Blue"....and he was right! Then he named the other ones too..."green, red, yellow"... Sometimes you think nothing you have said or done has gotten through and then something like that happens and you know it actually did! :-)
We were able to get both Mateo and Carla to our doctor this week, for a general check-up. That was good. We were also able to meet and interview a Physical Therapist, who is going to start working with Mateo tomorrow.
The construction on the auditorium is continuing. Please be praying with us, as we are trusting the Lord to supply the needed funds to finish this work.
We are also planning a Ladies Conference the end of October. Sharon Smith will be here to speak. The ladies are very excited about this.
Tony is teaching a personal evangelism course on Thursday nights. Last week was the first week, he had 19 show up.
We had 112 this morning. That is a little down from the previous weeks, but then we were thinking it is nice to have a "down" Sunday, and still have 112!!!!
I really appreciate your prayers as our family continues to make adjustments for the 2 precious children the Lord has brought to us. We received word this week that the "official assigning" as taken place, so that is a blessing. We are looking at about 30 days for our court date, at which time the adoptions will be finalized. Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy
We were able to get both Mateo and Carla to our doctor this week, for a general check-up. That was good. We were also able to meet and interview a Physical Therapist, who is going to start working with Mateo tomorrow.
The construction on the auditorium is continuing. Please be praying with us, as we are trusting the Lord to supply the needed funds to finish this work.
We are also planning a Ladies Conference the end of October. Sharon Smith will be here to speak. The ladies are very excited about this.
Tony is teaching a personal evangelism course on Thursday nights. Last week was the first week, he had 19 show up.
We had 112 this morning. That is a little down from the previous weeks, but then we were thinking it is nice to have a "down" Sunday, and still have 112!!!!
I really appreciate your prayers as our family continues to make adjustments for the 2 precious children the Lord has brought to us. We received word this week that the "official assigning" as taken place, so that is a blessing. We are looking at about 30 days for our court date, at which time the adoptions will be finalized. Thank you for your prayers.
God bless you as you serve him this week!
Joy
Sunday, September 19, 2010
Some new photos!
Dressed up and ready to go to church. 
Mateo and Carla's first trip to the beach. I think they liked it! :-)
Ready to go to church, again. This was their first Sunday here.
Our first day home, a neighbor was having a 1st birthday party for her baby...so we dressed up and went over for a little while.
What's happening now....
The last few weeks have been quiet an adventure for our family! We arrived home in Manta, on Friday evening, the 10th. The first week has been one of adjustments. We have worked on getting ourselves a little more organized.
The kids are doing great! Mateo, is a happy a little boy. He is very loving and usually very cooperative. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do.
Carla is a sweet little girl. She is usually very happy and plays well with her brothers. She loves playing with our little dog Ellie.
Teddy is filling the role of Big Brother, with very little difficulty. He has his moments, but then every child does. He love having a brother and sister to play with.
Life has changed drastically for Tony and I, but we are loving it! We start our day early, Tony is usually up before 6:00 and I'm up between 6:00 and 6:30. Once we get the last child in bed at night, around 8:00 or 8:30, we are pretty much exhausted. I've been getting in bed at night by 10:00 and fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up bright and early and ready to start the day again. The children fill my day.
This week, we will be starting school. I appreciate your prayers as we get this underway. I have taught school for years, and had classes between 15 and 25, but the idea of homeschooling these 3 is a little overwhelming. Yet I know that nothing is impossible with God and that he will supply what I need.
Pray with us too, that the Lord would complete what he has started in us, and that the adoptions would be finalized quickly and with very little hassle.
God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy
The kids are doing great! Mateo, is a happy a little boy. He is very loving and usually very cooperative. He wants to do everything his big brother and sister do.
Carla is a sweet little girl. She is usually very happy and plays well with her brothers. She loves playing with our little dog Ellie.
Teddy is filling the role of Big Brother, with very little difficulty. He has his moments, but then every child does. He love having a brother and sister to play with.
Life has changed drastically for Tony and I, but we are loving it! We start our day early, Tony is usually up before 6:00 and I'm up between 6:00 and 6:30. Once we get the last child in bed at night, around 8:00 or 8:30, we are pretty much exhausted. I've been getting in bed at night by 10:00 and fall asleep almost immediately, but wake up bright and early and ready to start the day again. The children fill my day.
This week, we will be starting school. I appreciate your prayers as we get this underway. I have taught school for years, and had classes between 15 and 25, but the idea of homeschooling these 3 is a little overwhelming. Yet I know that nothing is impossible with God and that he will supply what I need.
Pray with us too, that the Lord would complete what he has started in us, and that the adoptions would be finalized quickly and with very little hassle.
God bless you as you serve Him this week!
Joy
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