Up in the air junior birdman...

It was an early morning for us. Valerie and I were up at 4:30am and woke the kids at 5:30 so that we could catch the bus at 6am. Everything has gone very smoothly for us...an incredible blessing. The children have been well behaved. The flights have been prompt. The service has been friendly. And, Valerie's feeling well! Delta is hosting a free demo Wi-Fi service so I'm taking advantage of it while the children are sleeping. We should arrive in Kansas City in about 45min to some very happy parents/grandparents! We'll be in town for 10 days to visit primarily family. We may get a chance to see a few friends along the way, but family and packing is the main focus this time.

G*d has been very gracious to us during these last eight weeks. We've made some great friends, learned from amazing people and grown together as a family. It's been an amazing time of preparation!

I might take this time to answer some concerns about our family going overseas.

Imagine someone trying to expand his/her business. If there are well-established businesses that are able to meet the needs of the people around them, the businessman will move to meet the greatest need. There is approximately one person serving approximately six million lost persons in SA.

We are NEEDED elsewhere. We're not going for our own good and we're not trying to change the culture of people, just the destination. We're excited to see people honoring the L*rd in their own culture, in their own tongue. It's an extremely difficult task to undergo, especially when not everyone agrees, but we know we're called and we're not upset with anyone who cannot agree.

For those who do agree...

Please pr*y that G*d will help others to understand why we're going

For everyone...

Please pr*y for a good transition

Love,

The Colliers

DC Talk

This past week proved very helpful, getting to meet with people serving the same peoples whom we will be serving. We had many questions answered. We are so appreciative of the attention so many people have given to the details on logistics, ministry, and relationships. We feel priveledged to be a part of this team! We are still waiting to get final confirmation on the language that we'll be learning. Whatever we learn, we're going to TRY to involve the whole family. We don't want to leave anyone out!

Saturday, I had the great pleasure of attending my first NASCAR race! Valerie had been praying that G*d would provide something great for me, for my birthday and He did! A friend came up and said that someone had asked if he could find someone who would like to go that evening. He found me! It was awesome! I'm glad I had earplugs.

Yesterday, Abby got her ears pierced. I'll post pictures when I have my camera close at hand.

Today, we spent the day in Washington, DC. We had the opportunity to share with people of nationalities similar to those we'll be serving. It was a great time! The kids were wonderful during the entire process which wasn't easy...for any of us! By the end of the day, Valerie wasn't feeling so great, but G*d is good and she's getting to rest now.

Please pr*y for...

our last round of innoculations, tomorrow

our preparation during the next three weeks

Valerie to feel good, consistenly

Rest Easy...

After a VERY long week, this weekend was a wonderfull welcome treat! We had the opportunity to take in the Richmond Childrens Museum. You can see from the picture, that the boys were more than ready to leave! We had a great time as a family off-campus, enjoying a flexible schedule. Yesterday, when Valerie had her time off-campus with the girls, Elizabeth got her ears pierced! She's very excited to show anyone who wants to see and even for those people who haven't expressed an interest.

This week should be pretty low-key. Today, Abby got "BJ Bear". She was very excited about the opportunity to bring him home to include in our family experiences. We actually have our exit interviews which is difficult to imagine that we are to that point already. We're looking forward to seeing friends and family during our short time before heading out.

Please pr*y for:

Our upcoming DC trip (We're hoping to engage those nationals of our new country.)

Opportunities to engage those around us (If we're not sharing here, what would make us think we'd share overseas?!)

Preparation for our upcoming transition back home (Sept. 24-Oct. 4)

Thanks! We love you all!

Sincerely,

Rick and Company

Little Run...

Saturday, some people from our training group ran in a half marathon. The race was good...pretty flat, lots of humidy and lots of people (1,300). I think I finished 427. It was a fun race.

No news is good news?

There are a couple of ways to take the title when a person says those words. In this instance, I will disagree! A couple of weeks ago, when we were scheduled to get our innoculations, Valerie decided she didn't want to get any. So, she decided to pull the "I'm pregnant" card! Can you believe it? I would have held her hand, given her a lollipop, ice cream, but she wouldn't settle for any of that.

We had the first appointment on Friday and confirmed our thoughts. We'll have the ultrasound on Wednesday. But, as it stands right now, we're expecting an April baby. The children are all very excited! The girls are pulling for a girl and the boys for a boy.

Valerie has felt somewhat sick most days. She did have four days in a row with little to no nausea. We're hoping that she will fair this week as it's supposed to be a long one. We have contingency training in which we'll be given preparation on how to handle the "hot" situations.

I'm looking forward to this time. We have been very blessed with the preparation given to us during our time. The leadership does a wonderful job providing sound biblical/doctrinal preparation with practical application...this week being a good example of such training.

I didn't include a picture of Andrew last time. This picture was taken while preparing for his bath. He loves playing on the playground (ground rubber for ground covering-That's what's smeared all over his face.) and in the sandbox. We usually dump about 1/2 a cup of sand out of his clothing afterwards.

Please pr*y for:

Valerie's pregnancy

Collier Child "Cinco"

The Word of G*d to be hidden in our hearts so that we are prepared in and out of season. (Our new family Psalm is Psalm 127.)

G*d's preparation of our people group....fertile soil!

A few little things...

Life has certainly been rolling by. A typical day for us begins with the children waking up between 6:30 and 7am. About 7:15 to 7:25am, we head out the door for the cafeteria to have breakfast in the cafeteria. At 8am, we head back to our "quad" (actually should be called a tri as we only have three apartments because we have bigger families) for small group worship. At 8:45am, we head out the door to take the children to school. The boys are on one side of campus and the girls are on the other, but it works out well as most everything is in a line for us. Most families aren't that fortunate.

VJ and I are in class from 9am until noon. Sessions usually involve learning about persecution, definition of the church, spiritual worship. The sessions are led by amazing people so it's usuallly quite an experience! We have lunch in the cafeteria from noon until 1pm. (It's nice to have lunch with just adults.) After lunch, we typically have two more hours of sessions similar to the morning sessions. Then we pick up the children. (That's always a great time because they are so excited to see us!) We'll play on the playground (We have a great playground just outside of our quad.) for a while, have the girls practice violin for a short time, and then head to dinner around 5pm.

After dinner, it's usually more playground (pg) before heading in for baths. (They always need a good scrubbing after the pg as the surface is recycling rubber with a sandbox, too.) Then we'll read a book or two before a Bible story and bedtime takes place around 8pm.

This week Elizabeth got BJ Bear, the girls' class "pet". She got to take him home for a couple of days and do everything with him. Abby was line leader and is currently preparing for her class play starring in the lead role as food police, patroling the eating habits of others!

Shorty...

I just have a second before walking to dinner, but it'll be something. So far some of the fun things we've enjoyed are: sharing the G*spel, meeting new friends, going fishing, going into Short Pump to eat pizza, "Skyping" family, getting inoculations, classes, meals in the cafeteria, and more. I've tried a couple of times to insert video, but so far, no luck. I'll keep trying. I'll have more soon!

Love,

Rick (and family)