We Are Bulletproof

We got our vaccinations today - ouch! We are protected against hepatitis A & B, menigitis, typhoid, tetanus, yellow fever and cholera. There is no vaccine for malaria, so we have to take pills weekly - so I guess I can now say "I'm on the pill" (haha).

Africa? What is Juan thinking?

Hi everyone, this is Juan. A lot of people have asked us how we came to our decision to go to Africa. Here are the intimate details of the road that has brought me here. I'll let Christine share her own thoughts. I have had this dream in the back of my mind as far back as I can remember. Ever since I was a young adult, I never felt that the life I was living made much sense. That is, working my butt off at school so that I can get a good job so that I can get the nice house and car and be 'successful'. And a lot of people I talked to shared this feeling, but we all got sucked in despite this. It seemed obvious back then that there had to be more to life.



But it's not that simple. God has a divine plan, and we are all a part of it. I know that 5 or 10 years ago, I was not ready to do what I'm about to do. God`s plan has divine timing. Many of you may not know this, but I didn't believe in Christ before I met Christine. Then my life took a 180 degree turn. She introduced me to Him and I fell in love. It was an amazing experience. I remember sitting in my room, back when I used to live with mom and dad, and cracking open the Bible for the first time. I didn`t know what to expect. I opened up my heart just a little bit so I could see what all the fuss was about - and He blew it wide open. I remember crying uncontrollably and inexplicably for a long long time. I felt something I had never felt before, and I began to apologize profusely to Jesus for shutting Him out for so long. I will never forget that moment in my life.



I remember also that before I met Christine, I never felt at peace. I was really nerdy and unpopular and was always thinking I would never meet the girl of my dreams, and that I would have to grow up alone. And those kinds of thoughts are scary and humbling. When I met Christine, it's like I finally found someone who appreciated the real me, and I no longer had to pretend. I found peace. I know that Christine is who God intended me to be with. I know this because I simply cannot remember my life before I met her.


I think this is my long-winded way of saying that 'I grew up'.


Anyways, I had always been afraid to tell Christine of my dream to leave this life for a better, less comfortable, but way more purposeful one. She might have thought I was crazy, and it may very well have caused some pretty serious issues in our marriage. Then, about 2 years ago, she told me that she had this dream - the very dream that I had! WHOAH!!! I didn't even know how to react! I mean, 'the girl of my dreams' is just an expression right? :) Wow. So we started talking about it. Could we really do it? Is it realistic? Would our friends and family support us? We would leave behind everything we knew. Could we live with less? Are we crazy? The decision was not easy. It was back and forth for two years. There was no shortage of excuses. Then two of my really good friends did it. They left everything they had for a greater purpose. Up until then, I didn't think I could do it, but watching them step onto the narrow path gave me inspiration. It's an interesting irony: making the choice to give up EVERYTHING you have gives you the opportunity to do ANYTHING. Anything. How many of us really believe we can do *anything*? All of a sudden, everything that has you bound is no more. You are totally free to pursue what is really in your heart.



I have learned that nothing happens without God`s will, and so I know now that everything that has happened to me has been to mold me, and it will never stop. I am at point in my life where I am ready to step onto that narrow path. And the scary thing to me is that I am not afraid. I should be. I really should be. There are many risks: leaving our lives behind, an unforseeable amount of unknowns, disease, going hungry, getting hurt, seeing real suffering, seeing death, etc etc etc. There is real cause for fear. But God says that love conquers all fear. And we know that He is watching over us - He has our backs. And with Him in our corner, we are not afraid. We will overcome and we will persevere. He has already done so much for us, and all we have done is made a choice. We are choosing to go find Him. And I believe we will find Him.


Please pray for us and for our families and our friends. Even though it is only Christine and I going, I can feel that everyone else is helping to carry our load. Thanks you guys. God Bless.

Juan's cell phone is no more

I've given my cell phone to mom and dad. To reach us, use Christine's cell. My cell is currently forwarded to Christine's cell, but when my parents reach the island, they are going to change the number to a Nanaimo number.

The Mission is Waiting for Us!

The mission contacted us on Wednesday and told us that they are very excited about our coming and that they are ready to receive us! That's awesome news! I asked Bishop Paul a flurry of questions regarding our accomodations, food, length of stay, money, etc etc etc. He replied to my long email with a one-liner:

"King Jesus and The King Himself will take care of everything do not worry. Your life is in a safe Mighty Hand of the King Himself trust Him, sing and praise Him, and we are praying for you."

Gotta love it :)

Juan's Last Day at Work

Yesterday was my last day at work. I tried not to choke up when I was saying my goodbye speech. I have a lot of love for the guys on my team. We've become really good friends over the past 5 years and I am thankful for you guys - you made working at TC awesome. I walk away with some wicked memories:

1. Los Cuatro Fantasticos: el loco coco, el banano borracho, el guapo jugador, latino caliente - Mike, Bobby and Sais - you're like brothers to me
2. Mexico
3. Rick's jokes - somehow they got more funny the more he told them
4. mountain biking
5. Brian's faces and mannerisms - "help me to understand..." - there are way too many quirks to list
6. the "Bobby Foul Mouth" counter
7. Nam's giggles
8. dirties
9. Juan the virus, Juan no bug me, St Juan the virus
10. "Hey Juaaaan...."
11. Chris' storming off
12. sexy shirt
13. Shawn's "To be honest..." along with that face he always makes
14. David's overly intelligent jokes which he usually had to explain to us
15. Timmies
16. Thayne's knee-slapping laugh
17. Bokumbob
18. the corporate jet and el presidente
19. Mike's sense of humor and his humility and his electronic addictions and the fact that we had to coordinate our wardrobes because we shopped at the same store
20. our nicknames:bobster the lobster, juanster the monster, saister the molester
21. sargaent rancy
22. not bloody mikely!
23. Bobby's genuine niceness and the fact that he laughed at all of my jokes
24. mike's spanish lines: loco fuego en el bano, una botella de vino tinto por favor
25. the spanish line I taught Bobby: te ves bella en la luz de la luna - you look beautiful in the moonlight
26. the inseperable John and Ken
27. Loris and Dong's wedding in Hawaii, Mike taking poor Dong out of commission on his wedding night
28. our dinosour names: the duck-billed blubbardpus, the wooly maiermoth, the tearradactyl, the velasquez raptor, the kehoesaurus, the hermo-erectus, the liu-clear winter
29. our chinese names: sy ban ya, lay tsee laam
30. the many times I argued with the girl at JugoJuice about the price of my juice - and especially the time she handed me an oversized calculator so I could do the math myself
31. ....and there's lots more, I just can't remember it all right now!!!!!!

The team had a caricature made for Christine and me - it blows my mind! It's absolutely priceless. Thanks fellas. I mean it. Thanks.


Well, I am officially retired. Dad and I are going to go golfing, but I gotta be back in time to make dinner for Christine. She brings home the bacon.