Our First 3 Weeks

Wednesday, January 17, 2007
Update
Dear Friends and Family,

Please forgive us for the delay in getting an update out. Mark showed me how to " blog" today, so I may now be the official " blogger".On Saturday, Jan. 6th we got a German Shepherd puppy. We named her "Gabi " after one of our precious German friends back in Spartanburg. Our friend says she is honored and we hope she really feels that way. We meant for it to be an honor. Gabi has been great for the whole family, but especially the kids. As many of you know, we gave our 2 dogs, Striker and Shooter, to a sweet young couple in Gaffney. They love them and are giving them a great home. Our last week has been spent continuing to get settled, which for us has included continuing to deal with the BATS!!! As of Thursday, Jan. 11th the bats are officially gone. The owners of our house sent Gorge (we lovingly call him Bat Man) once again to flush out the bats and reseal the space between our ceiling and roof. That, along with duct tape on the cracks of the ceilings and closets, has remedied the bat situation. A new use for Duct Tape. Maybe we will send this in to the company to help with their marketing.

On Wednesday, Jan. 10th Daniel Ortega, was inaugurated into office. We stayed home that day, per the advice of other missionaries and our new Nicaraguan friends. During the inauguration, which lasted all day, we heard gun shots frequently. This is a way of celebration for the Sandinista party. The day before the inauguration we were doing errands in the city of Managua all day and we saw many policeman and army men. We were told that they were there to prevent rioting. Overall things have seemed calm here politically.

Thursday, Jan. 11th was not only de-batting day, but it was also our children's first day of school at NCA, Nicaragua Christian Academy. They all had a good first day, and said that they liked the school. For lunch they eat Nicaraguan food and so far we have not had any complaints. They wear uniforms to school which consist of a white shirt, navy blue pants (or skirt for Markie), black belt, and black shoes. For PE they wear royal blue shorts or gym pants and a white T shirt. Stephen will get to play on the basketball team and Luke will play on the soccer team if the soccer team gets off the ground.Friday, Jan. 12th we received a call from the school. Philip was hit right beside his eye with a swing on the playground. No stitches were needed, but his new PE shirt was speckled in blood, and he is now sporting a nice black eye.

Saturday, Jan. 13th we traveled to a small town called Mesatepa, to buy some furniture for our house. A young Nicaraguan College student, named Marisol, whom we met our first day here, went with us to interpret. Mesatepa is a small town in the mountains 45 minutes from Managua that has many street side stores that sell handmade furniture for inexpensive prices. We were able to find some bedside tables and a small desk for Markie.Sunday, Jan. 14th we went to the missionary church, International Christian Fellowship, to lunch at the mall with some of the missionaries, and then home. Our guard leaves at 2:00pm on Sundays, so we have to be home by then. Our house cannot be left unattended at any time. Our night guard comes at 6:00pm each night.Monday, Jan. 15th Mark and I started our Spanish lessons. Our teachers name is Freddy and he is an excellent teacher. His testimony is amazing. He is 33 years old and until he was 17 years old he was unable to speak clearly due to a problem with his vocal cords. His family could somewhat understand him, but no one else could. Because of this he turned to fighting to release his anger and frustration. He has actually fought professionally. After his surgery, he had to undergo one whole year of intensive speech therapy in which he had to learn how to talk. Now the Lord uses him to teach English to Nicaraguans at the University and Spanish to Missionaries. He is even using some of the techniques that he used in his speech therapy to help Mark and I in our pronunciation. God really can take the hard places in our life and use them for His purposes!Tuesday, Jan. 16th Mark and I went into Managua while the kids were in school to register our family with the American Embassy. We should have done this sooner, but we have just not made the time. Even though it is the American Embassy the employees are Nicaraguan and do not speak English. After 45 minutes of trying to communicate why we were there, we went through the security checks and got to the appropriate place to get the forms. When the man gave us the forms, which are in Spanish- by the way, he politely smiled and told us that we would have to come back between the hours of 1-3pm, take a number and wait to talk to the appropriate person. :) Welcome to Nicaragua! Even at the American Embassy.Wednesday, Jan. 17th Mark and I had our second Spanish lesson and our teacher is convinced that we will be conversing fairly in 3 months and well in 6 months. We hope he is right. We have been able to communicate basic things (we even ordered Pizza over the phone, with Stephen's help), but knowing the language will be a tremendous help in our ministry. We want to take this time to thank all of you for your prayers and support. Without you we would not be here. Remember that you are a part of what God is doing in Nicaragua. Please continue to pray that God will help us to develop relationships with Nicaraguans. This is key to what we will be doing. Also please continue to pray for our children. They are adjusting well, but Markie especially is struggling with being homesick. Again, we love all of you and would love to hear from you. We have a Vonage phone line that enables us to have our former Spartanburg number. If anyone would like to call from Spartanburg this is a local call for you. You will not be charged. We were not sure if everyone understood this. Our number is: 595-1582. ~ Love, The Quillens
Posted by ********** at 2:52 PM
3 comments:
Tony, Courtney, Caroline, Camille, & Vivian said...
We are glad you are doing well! Caroline, Camille, & Vivian say "Hey Markie, we love you". We will pray for God to bring many new friends your way and opportunities to share his love with the people there. By the way, they are calling for possible snow showers here tonight. Love, Tony, Courtney, Caroline, Camille, & Vivian
January 17, 2007 8:16 PM
Pastor Lee & Miss Renee said...
Hello Quillen family!We just wanted to let you know that we miss all of you and we agree with the other Quillen family that Markie will soon have many new friends there! As well as the boys. Sorry to hear about Philip's encounter with the swing...ouch! Luke, we hope everything works out for you to play soccer. Stephen, hope you do well on the basketball team too.We're glad to hear the bats are finally gone - that was a really interesting story!We know you will all enjoy your new puppy, we're sure she will be a joy for you to play with.We will continue to pray for you in children's church. Keep in touch! We love all of you!!Pastor Lee & Miss Renee
January 19, 2007 9:44 AM
BackesHouse said...
Hey Quillens!!I'm so happy that you have a blog. I can't wait to read how the Lord will use you and your obedient hearts. We'll be praying for all of you.Love, The Backes'Marc, Jenni, Trey and Josh
January 21, 2007 5:57 PM