Here are some pictures of our 2nd week. Most are from our walking excursions around the city.

The White House

The Changing of the Guard




Some things here come in bags rather than boxes or cartons.

Like Salt

Milk

And Turkish Tortillas. Who knew?

It was a treat to see real grapes growing in our friends backyard. We had some and they were sweet. We spoiled Americans have to learn to spit out the seed though. We just got used to seedless! =-)

This is a picture of our friends backyard and guest house. Don't you just love the old fashioned dryer? I haven't used one of these since I was a kid. Brings back many memories.
Also, some faces have been blurred to protect identities! =-)

Josiah having Fun! All shoes are to be taken off at the front door and are not worn into the house.

The girls after one of our walking excursions!

Remember, some faces have been blurred to protect identities. Our kids could not stand to just look, but thanks to Ms. Tricia and Ms. Barbie, they have done well and pocketing thier pals. You can ask them for more details! =-) This is a wonderful toy selection isn't it?

Now most locals go shopping at the local food bazar. Here is one that we visited.

They still serve tomatoes here! =-)

Josiah and Mikayla enjoying some strawberries. I know they are small and look like raspberries, but they truly are some of the smallest and sweetest strawberries I have ever had.

Finally, this was our trip to the local discount icecream store. Notice the wonderful selection behind me. You actually pay at the window, then off to the right, they fill your order. Another thing that comes in a bag here is icecream. You can see the bags right below my elbow.

Our first week in Central Asia

Following are some pictures of our week here in Central Asia. We are in our temporary housing and are in search of a permanent place.

Notice anything different about the egg carton?

Remember, don't flush the paper!

Our micro oven! I don't mean micorwave, just micro!

We're HERE!!!!

30 Hours later, 3 plane rides, 4 security checks where you have to take off your shoes and pull out all liquids in 3 oz bottles, and 2 lost carry-ons, we are finally in Bishkek. All of our luggage, that we origianally checked, made it in one piece and with all items still there. We were picked up at the airport by our contacts and stopped at this sign to make our arrival official.

This is a picture of our first official meal. Apple, bannana, goldfish, bread, cheese, butter, andx sausage. We ate at about 7am Bishkek time.

The God of details and MIRACLES!!!

Rhesa and I have defintely believed from the beginning of this journey, that God was the the God of details. By this I mean that He was taking care of even all of the little things that we did not even see. It has been a blessing to our lives to see how God works everything out. Honestly, I, the planner, was getting a little nervous at times, because I wanted to know how everything was going to work out. Now we come to you with one of the most important details, and in our eyes, a MIRACLE!
As many of you know, we had asked everyone to pray for the sale of our house and our vehicle. My parents decided to purchase our vehicle from us. Praise the LORD. This was a blessing. The only other thing holding us here was the sale of our home. Now this was going to be a feat in itself. The Houston housing market is not that great. Our house had already shown 16 times, and although we had a lot of traffic, we had no one who would leave any suggestions or even make an offer. We were getting very discourged. We knew God had a reason for us still being here, but we could not fully understand. We just kept praying that God's will would be done through it all, and that he would give us patience to wait on Him.
Well, we got word from our realtor that someone had finally made an offer, only this offer was different. As she began to tell us the story, Rhesa and I could not believe it. She told us that there was a family from our church who had approached our pastor and wanted us to be free to do what God was calling us to do. This family was willing to donate the whole amount for our house plus closing costs. They gave the whole amount to the church so that the church could purchase the house and use it as a second parsonage. How amazing is that. That God would speak to this family, and more than that, that this family would choose to be obedient to what God was asking of them. GOD IS GOOD! Now I know that some will try to explain this away, but there is no explaining. The only explanation that there is is GOD! In a society where we say that God does not do miracles anymore, I say , you are not looking in the right places. Miracles happen everyday all around us, we just have to be in tune with HIM. We have to be able to recognize God at work.
We are so excited as we have been able to share this story with some. We have been able to see how God is using what He did to strengthen the faith in others. It's not about us, but completely about God moving in ways that we never imagined.
Our closing is set for the 3oth of June. If everything goes well, and we actually close that day, we will be heading to Dallas to spend some time with my family, then we are off. We have already purchased our tickets and will be leaving the country on the 13th of July. God is good and His timing is perfect!

We are trying to get ready to leave. We have been advised to take warm clothes for the cold winter we will be encountering. We went out to find winter clothes, in the middle of our wonderful Houston summer. Today my thermostat read 101. Nice!!! Anyway, several stores later, and several exhausting hours of shopping, we found snow suits, gloves, thermal underwear, and snow boots. You should have seen the look on the faces of the people at the stores when we asked if they had winter clothes!!!! Priceless. At one store, I went in and blunt out asked for children's snow suits. They asked why, I told them, and literally, I had 3 ladies, my mom, sister, my niece, and myself all looking through the store to find clothes for the three kids. I think we are ready for winter. The first pictures are the results of all of our shopping extravaganzas in Houston. Remember, summer, 101, really hot!!!

Did someone say SNOW BUNNIES?

The aftermath!

I think Hurricane Rita came back!

Ruthy Loves taking pictures!

Ruthy decides to think about it!

Josiah GQing!!

Look out ladies!!!

A serious shot. Rhesa said he looks like a banker, or a preacher.

Mikayla styling in her new snow boots!

TOO CUTE!!!

Great shot. Shows her personality!

Where we are GOING!

Just wanted to show you all where it is we will be serving.

This map gives a larger picture of the area of the world where we will be in.

This is a map of the country we will be serving in. The Capital city is where we will live.

Preparing for Hope

Greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ

As we get closer and closer to the time of our departure, we get more and more excited. Honestly, we also get a little scared and sad all at the same time. We are completely trusting that God is in control, and we are leaving everything, our possessions, and our families, to follow what God has called us to. As we have had the opportunity to share with you what God has and is doing in our lives, we have also been reminded of how good and faithful God is. My prayer for you is that as you go about your day, you may experience His presence, His love, His mercy, and His grace, and that you may bestow them on someone else who needs to hear about what He has done for you. In preparing for the CIS, I have begun to think about what an awesome opportunity we have. In speaking with our private Russian tutor, we have come to find out that she grew up in Siberia. Her family was one sent to exile there. She literally does not know where she comes from, who her extended family is, or any of her background other than the fact that she is Russian. She is part of a large number of people who have been stripped of their identity, and who long to be a part of something bigger. The country we will be serving in is much like this. They are a people lost, now knowing who they are, and struggling to find somewhere to belong. Many try to find themselves in Islam, but to no avail. We have a message to share of hope, love, and of someone that they belong to. The message of Jesus Christ is that hope and to Him is who we all belong to. The knowledge that there is someone who knows you, who you are and where you are from, and who loves you, can be one that transforms lives. Also, the knowledge that you belong to a brotherhood of believers all around the world, that your Christian family is very extensive, can also change the lives of those who many times literally have no one else. We thank you for your commitment in supporting us either through prayer, giving or both. May God bless you and from our family we would like to say thank you for your support. We would also like to make you aware of a new website that the Church of the Nazarene has created for all Mission Corps volunteers. Some had asked us if there was a way to give by internet, or if there was a way to set up a monthly automatic withdrawal from your checking account. The answer is yes. You can still send your support to the General Treasures office if you would like, or you can use this new website to give your monthly support. The direct address for this webpage is: http://web.nazarene.org/goto/rodriguezfamily

Again thank you for your commitment.