Chris's 2nd Post

Here’s a quote from a book I am reading called Radical by David Platt. Krista and I began reading it after many of our friends from SB Community Church recommended it (thanks to Todd for the e-copy).

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“This brings us to the crucial question for every professing or potential follower of Jesus: Do we really believe He is worth abandoning everything for? Do you and I really believe that Jesus is so good, so satisfying, and so rewarding that we will leave all we have and all we own and all we are in order to find our fullness in him? Do you and I believe him enough to obey him and to follow him wherever he leads, even when the crowds in our culture – and maybe in our churches – turn the other way?”
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What a challenging question. We still do not know how this adventure here in Argentina is going to turn out. I am hoping and praying that the Lord will give us the privilege to bring practical help to many along the way with the good news of Jesus. However, when I read the quote above I was struck by the fact that, however our work in Argentina turns out, we have had the great privilege to make a statement to God with our actions that He matters more to us than anything. It was hard to sell our cars, our stuff back home, to leave our family and friends, to leave the beach and surf, to walk away from a great job, and move here to Córdoba, Argentina.

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In one sense, it all seemed so crazy. Those people who know me well know that I am a very deliberate, careful, risk-averse person and what we have done seems so out of character for me.

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But, what a privilege it was (and is) to have the chance to say with our actions that Jesus IS worth abandoning everything for. God has been so real in my life. I have seen Him do amazing things and He has changed me. I DO want to share the treasure that I have found in Jesus with others, and if God permits us, I want to help others in His name.

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As I stood there on the day of our massive garage sale before we left our home in Santa Barbara, I looked around at all of our friends who were helping us to sell most of our possessions. Then, I looked at all of the people who were buying our stuff. I was deeply moved by the craziness of it all. As I said goodbye to my secure job and the people I enjoyed working with, I was also struck by the cost of what we were doing. As I said goodbye to our amazing community of friends and our wonderful family back home, I couldn’t believe we were actually leaving. It was almost impossible to leave my brother Brad and know that I would not be able to talk to him every day or to surf with him for a long time. Since we have arrived here, we have encountered many challenges, and I have found myself saying to myself numerous times, “What in the world have we done?”

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I was struck deeply this Christmas with the realization that by coming to earth as a baby, God made an unfathomable sacrifice for us. He risked it all. God himself became vulnerable and entrusted the care of His only Son into the hands of a young, poor couple from a small town in Israel.

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So, no matter what happens here in Argentina, God has given us a unique opportunity to say with our lives that He DOES matter more than anything else. This whole journey has been so scary, but also exhilarating. No small sacrifice of our compares to the sacrifice that He made for us in coming to earth as a baby and later dying for our sins to save us and bring us to Himself.

Feliz Navidad...

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So, here we are in December – summertime – celebrating Christmas in a different land, as foreigners, away from family and friends. Somehow, this culture stress and homesickness seems appropriate as we wait for the arrival of our God to come to save us in the form of a baby.

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2010 has been a year of change and joy and sadness and peace and chaos all wrapped up into one (it’s still missing the pretty bow). As we celebrate the birth of Christ down here in Argentina and wait expectantly for his coming, we are reminded of how all-knowing, gracious, and good He is. He has a profound love for each of us and I happen to find that amazing.
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These words were written by the prophet Isaiah about 740 years before the birth of Christ. They speak of Jesus's coming with truth and strength.

[Isaiah 9:2, 6-7 (NCV)]
“Before those people lived in darkness, but now they have seen a great light.

They lived in a dark land, but a light has shined on them.
A child has been born to us;
God has given a son to us.
He will be responsible for leading the people.
His name will be Wonderful Counselor, Powerful God,
Father Who Lives Forever, Prince of Peace.
Power and peace will be in his kingdom
and will continue to grow forever.
He will rule as king on David's throne
and over David's kingdom.
He will make it strong
by ruling with justice and goodness
from now on and forever.
The Lord All-Powerful will do this

because of his strong love for his people.”
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He loves you and we love you.
Blessings on you and your family this Christmas season.
Chris, Krista, David, Andrew, & Johnny Frohling

Bessie, Heat, and Electrical Problems

So, as you know, we spend a lot of time in our car. Her name is Bessie. Yes, it's true, I've finally succumbed to naming an auto. This habit of my close girlfriends has always, um, bothered me, but Bessie needed a name. She's a good, old girl and has already seen us through a lot in the one month that she's been a Frohling.

Today, however, she got too hot and bothered and decided to stop. In a dangerous neighborhood, in 100 degree heat, and in the middle of the day (where everything is closed because people are siesta-ing because they were up too late eating dinner).

What do you do when this happens in a foreign country, where the language escapes you in times of stress, and when you have 3 boys sweating in the back seat?

Here's what we did:

• Prayed that God would miraculously fix our car. We're very close to Him, but today was not the day for Bessie miracles.
• Found a mechanic who could diagnose, but unfortunately not fix, the problem. It's electrical. She just won't start.
• Called our seguro (insurance) and asked them to send a tow truck.
• Looked for a kiosko to find something cold to drink (none were open because of the siesta). Instead we found helado at an air conditioned Grido.
• Waited for an hour for the tow truck to arrive.
• Communicated with the tow-truck driver where we live and all pile in the truck and get a ride home with Bessie on the back. We were under the impression that he would drop us off and then take Bessie to his taller to fix her problem.
• Sweat until we're dripping. Johnny was on my lap, David on Chris's and Andrew was straddling the gear shift. I looked over at Andrew and just started laughing uncontrollably when I saw the brown streaks all over his face - a precious Andrew mixture of dirt and sweat - and the dots of perspiration on his upper lip. What. Are. We. Doing???
• Arrive home and the tow-truck driver begins asking us where we want him to put the car. "Is it safe on the street?" he asks. "Um, What?" responds Chris. Needless to say, something got seriously lost in the translation.
• I got out of the truck, shook off my sweat - in a very ladylike way, I must add - and calmly offered him something cold to drink. Turns out, the tow-truck driver can only make one stop, and our house was it.
• Figure out what-the-heck-to-do-now with our car that won't start. Oh, yeah, Bessie is her name.
• Be very, very thankful for our 3 boys, who never, not one-single-time, uttered one word of complaint. They continue to amaze and teach me. I had to catch myself several times, during this 2.5 hour excursion, when I wanted to "comment" on the heat and my thirst and the ridiculous situation we were in. Instead we talked about the grand Argentina adventure. (Did you know that Chris and I are NOT adventurists? Seriously. This is a very true statement and therefore these "adventures" do not always sit well with us.)
• Bottom line? She got towed to another mechanic who we have confianza in and they're going to get her back to tip-top shape. However you say THAT in Spanish.

Now, I'm enjoying some Argentine wine, cleaning out the the boys' backpacks (we found out today that today was their last day - clearly it was a bad Spanish language day), and figuring out what to make for dinner. Ice cream won't cut it. We did that yesterday.

Have a fabulous weekend.

PS These pictures were obviously not taken today. You can use your imagination of the dirt and sweat that actually occured today.

Stages

So, tonight during dinner we were talking about the different stages each of the boys has been in. David happened to be a very easy 2 year old. Andrew and Johnny were NOT. They like hearing about the things they did when they were "little". Like Andrew dumping my entire wallet down the heater chute or shoving as many quarters as he could into the car CD player when I was otherwise occupied - probably changing a diaper or something. Or how Johnny only grunted and screamed for the first 2 years of his life.

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Right now, Andrew doesn't require much. He is very easy and aims to please. David and Johnny, however, are in, um, different stages.

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I said to David, "It seems to me that right now, you are in the process of testing out the waters. Seeing how far you can push...."

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Then I looked at Johnny and said, "I think you're in the same place, buddy-boy. You like to test the waters too."

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To which he responded, "No I don't! I just jump right in!!!"

He is, obviously, very self-aware.