7 years and counting ...

The 7 year Journey has been a long one, but hey .... It's just a drop in the bucket! We were invited to Switzerland to teach and it just happened to be the same week as out anniversary! How cool is that! Now I can say, I totally love Switzerland! It's beautiful! Most of the trip was spent in Bern, CH. Bern is a lovely town and the people are so warm and inviting. I never realized how wonderful it would be to speak German! After several days of teaching at the bible school we had a weekend free, rented a car and went to Paris. Paris for our 7 year anniversary! Today I came across a little journal entry from my trip ... 

When we were preparing to get off the plane in Brussels I smelled BO. When getting off the plane in Geneva it smelled like goat cheese. 

I went to the airport at 11:30 Monday morning in FT Lauderdale, and arrived at the airport in Geneva, CH at 10:30 Tuesday morning! I grabbed breakfast; a burger which consisted of tomato sauce, herbs, fresh mozzarella cheese, and sliced tomatoes. It was delicious (I ate somethig similar again at lunch, and will most deffinately be making them back in southflorida!) Everything is in French - and thanfunkfully by knowing Spanish I could understand the French well enough to buy my train ticket and catch the train to Bern. To my surprise, the closer we got to Bern the names of the cities became more German, and the people began to speak more German! I began to realize I understood NOTHING!  So I frequently find my self smiling, nodding, shrugging, and making hand motions with absolutely NO clue as to what is going on! 

I love it! Without understanding a word, I love how upbeat, expressive, and polite the people are! 

Rene met me at the train station (he had been in Berne over the weekend and 4 people receive the Holy Ghost on Sunday for the first time!), we dropped off the bags and headed over to the home where the bible school is being held! After a long day of class and dinner with local pastors and Missonary Charles Robbinette we crashed! It was a long 48 hours with only around 4 hours of sleep, and it's just getting started! Thankfully, I was able to rest and am now refreshing for this evenings classes.

Tonight Rene told me that tomorrow I could, "sleep on the way to Paris." I looked at him and then began to explain that as a kid I could not even go to sleep at Gram's house for fear that I may miss something! SLEEP on the way to Paris? What is he thinking!!! :)

36 hours in Paris. 

(Plans changed and we ended up spending a few "extra" hours Sunday morning) 

The road trip to and from Paris was one of my favorite parts of the trip. The landscapes were gorgeous in Switzerland.

Life is Busy. Life is Full of Purpose!

Rene just kissed me bye before leaving the house and said "God Bless You!" We both cracked up!! Haha

Don't forget the purpose of life ...

The NEW @ IDP

SO, here are a few cool links for you to check out in your free time. The new Iglesia de Pentecostes website is up and running and we've also created blogs for different ministries in the church. It's a great way to stay connected with what God is doing at IDP! The website is full of great resources on the plan of salvation, teachings, sermons, and also links you to the ministry blogs. Since the blogs are new they are pretty empty but go ahead and follow them so you can enjoy the info that's coming!

The NEW Website

Mujer Real

The Students

Somos Uno

Zoo Days

Grandpa Nelson moved up north not long after baby Nelson was born. He was able to come visit for a few days right before Emma was born. We had such a wonderful time with him and his girlfriend Betsy. Here are some pictures from our two trips to the zoo. 

Summer 2011

Wow. We've been so busy for weeks now! We have camp next week and then it should slow down a bit, but Princess University is just around the corner! The year is FLYING right by us once again. A lot has gotten accomplished & that is what's the most important! :)

Nelson - Worship

Recently we were going through the whole "donde esta sus ojo's? la boca? la lenga?" ("where are your eyes? your mouth? your tongue?) and so on when I asked him, "Nelson, can you worship?" He looked at me very thoughtfully and a second latter jumped. He then jumped again, and again. My heart was so overwhelmed with joy ... He gets it! On another day I saw him all alone, pacing back and forth across the room. He would occasionally pause, jump, clap, and lift his hands ... 

Today we were still in the car before service when he began saying something weird that he says for "iglesia" (church) and pray ... he said it several times when I asked "you want to go to church to pray?" he said yes. Then during worship he started trying to tell me something as I got closer he said, "papi pray, papi pray ... pray, pray" as he watched the people on the platform ... it was pretty amazing

You have taught children and nursing infants to give you praise.  

They silence your enemies who were seeking revenge. 

Psalm 8:2

Motherhood times TWO! It's wonderful!

It is wonderful! I have no complaints or frustrations! God has blessed us with two beautiful children and it is truly a joy to spend each and every day with the two of them!!! Baby Emma is two weeks old and big brother Nelson is doing his best to take care if her! The first night we were home he brought his quilt to cover her. It was precious! So far everything has gone pretty smooth. Emma is a very good sleeper so that just makes things alot easier.

THE NEW .... relocation

We would like to introduce you to ...

So we got some really exciting news today and wanted to share it with all of you! God is up to something great - as always! We've been going through the process of looking for a location, and all of the paper work with the district for a few months now ... And have now received the "word" ... Just read below ... ;)

Dear Brother Rubio:

You have been approved by the Florida District Board to relocate your church from Cooper City to Miramar. You may consider this email your written permission as required by the Manual of the United Pentecostal Church International.

We wish you the very best in your move.

Sincerely,

C. Patton Williams

Florida District Superintendent

Merry Christmas 2010

This December has been packed full of fun with friends and family! Here are just a few pictures to keep you up to date. We will have more coming before long! Enjoy and just imagine that you're right here with us! :)

MERRY CHRISTMAS EVE 2010!!!!

(by clicking on the slide show you're able to view the photos in their picasa album)

The Holidays

I just love this time of the year! We have had a wonderful holiday season thus far, and still have so much to look forward to! Living in Florida has changed the whole holiday "feel" for me (Rhona). Being with all of you for Thanksgiving would have made the day perfect, but thankfully we were able to spend the day with wonderful friends! I just wanted to share the pictures with you all. Just click here to enjoy a Thanksgiving 2010 slide show.

Big News

"The secret is out - I'm going to be a Big Brother!!!"

August the Birthday Month

Nelsons 1st and Rene's 31st


Rhona's 25th


you can click on the slide show to view all photos on picassa if you would like to see them larger. we had a great time in august & just wanted to let you all be apart! :) hugs and kisses to the family. miss you all dearly.

Princess University:::August 2010

Colombia 2010

Here are some photos from our trip to Colombia! What a beautiful time we had there! It was an amazing country to visit. Nelson was able to meet a whole new world one that hopefully we will revisit soon! He seemed to enjoy it very much - all the attention that is :) He's a very active baby so he did great with all of the walking, bus rides, taxes, mountain hiking, and new foods! What a wonderful child we've been blessed with! I hope you enjoy looking through these photos even though most of you will not recognize any faces. :) We love you all dearly!

(click on the photo of nelson to view the entire album)

Beautiful Life

Isn't amazing how full our days can become. So full that at times we forget to see it's beauty. Look for the beauty in every activity that fills your day. Without them life would be dull. :) Here are some of the beautiful moments life has brought our way!

The marriage and family conference was a huge success! Our families were very encouraged and left with a ton of resources! I missed quite a bit of it because Nelson was teething, and I can not wait to get the DVD next week so I can watch all of it! The Orueta's were with us from Thursday - Monday and were an amazing blessing to the church here! Worship & the Word were totally powerful on Sunday! You can pass the service on to any of your spanish speaking friends :) (link)

Nelson is extremely hyper these days! Wow - That's all I know to say. He's sitting up on his own in the high chair which is really cool. He loves to laugh  &  likes his new sippy cup. He jumps when you stand him up and bounces to the beat when he hears music. It's totally cute! :) 

This weekend we have ESL training & it looks like we will have a good turn out! 

Everyone is really excited about kicking ESL off this coming month! 

I hope you'll begin to notice each and every beautiful moment God sends your way!

January 2010

Wow. We are practically into the second month of 2010! Crazy right? So we've been busy busy - 

Nelson is almost 6 months. New Years Day we went to a park by the beach, but it started raining. So we had our first official "Beach Day" yesterday. It was a beautiful day! Nelson was in awe of the birds and even noticed the blimp flying by. He slept all the way through the night in his own bed for the first time this month. I scram when I heard him cry and realized it was already day light (7:40 to be exact)! He is eating some solids ( sweet potatoes and malanga) and having his cereal. Honestly, He loves to eat! He is also sitting up on his own very well now! 

The Church is growing! We have had an exciting month! Last sunday we had our largest attendance yet: 95. We've had 9 baptized and 4 received the Holy Ghost. 

Bummers: the card from our camera broke so we haven't been able to get pictures other than on the cell phone.

Upcoming events to keep in your prayers: 

Marriage Conference & ESL training this next month!! 

We love and miss you guys! 

Life UPdate!

So, it's been a while since we've updated and alot as happened! This is just a quick little update on our lives. As I'm sure you have all heard Baby Nelson came into the world at 4:50 August 11, 2009 weighing 7lbs 7 oz and 19.5 inches long. He's the most beautiful little boy you've ever seen! Totally sweet. I'm posting some pictures because some of you do not have facebook & have been missing out on all of the excitment!

The church is doing incredible! We have been averaging in the mid 60s. We are having service Sunday afternoons at 2:00, Tuesdays are prayer and discipleship classes, and Thursday worship and small groups. Rene is now preaching on the radio each Monday at 1:00. The website for the program is now up and running. (tiemposdelaverdad.com) This week was the second week to air & we had 31 hits on the website from monday to tuesday which was very exciting. Feel free to visit or pass it on to any spanish speaking friends/family you have! Also the church website has alot of resources. (los-pentecostales.org) We update the website with photos pretty often & hopefully we will soon have video testimonies posted. It's beautiful to see what God does with lives that were totally destroyed and in pieces.

We can't wait to see all you Arkansas folks soon!

Love you all.

The Way of Wisdom

Proverbs 4:4-9, 12-15, 18

Get wisdom, get understanding: forget it not; neither decline from the words of my mouth. Forsake her not, and she shall preserve thee: love her, and she shall keep thee. Wisdom is the principal thing; therefore get wisdom and with all thy getting get understanding. Exalt her, and she shall promote thee: she shall bring thee to honour, when thou dost embrace her. She shall give to thine head an ornament of grace: a crown of glory shall she deliver to thee.

When though goest, they steps shall not be straitened; and when thou runnest, thou shalt not stumble. Take fast hold of instruction; let her not go: keep her; for she is thy life. Enter not into the path of the wicked, and go not in the way of evil men. Avoid it, pass not by it, turn from it, and pass away. 

But the path of the just is as a shining light, that shineth more and more unto the perfect day.

NELSONS ROOM :)

Baby Rubio. Maternity Photos