I'm Finally Here!

Photo Journalism...

I figure you'd rather look at pictures over reading a bunch of boring text...so, I'm here to try to make both camps happy...Consider this a little photo journal of my time in Cyprus.  Thank you for understanding that I can't write one daily.  I REALLY like my new amazing MacBook Pro (thanks Mom & Dad!), but I don't like it THAT much to be on it all day=)

Let the adventures begin!!!

I'M HERE.

I finally made it through the baggage claim area.  I literally was the LAST person out of there.  Watching that carousel spin and spin with no sightings of the bags is never a fun thing.  I heard a Greek Cypriot lady calling "Hutchinson," so I waved my hand.  That's me - seeing as I was the only blondie in the place.  "Your bags will arrive tomorrow."  I now have them, but all I could do was laugh at the time.  Above is Emma and Darlene.  Tim said that I held the record for making it out of the Larnaka Airport with the least amount of bags...None.  Praise the Lord they did come the next day.

Good to be on land.

Tim and Emma help me with my backpack and guitar.  Tim made a joke, "Well, at least you have the guitar.  That's all you need, right?"  I giggled in a delerious, jet-lagged sort of way.  God is so faithful to provide for our every need.  I made more of a big deal about the bags than it really was - it just makes me laugh how little we truly do need.

Fresh Larnaka Air.

Emma, me, and Darlene in front of the Larnaka Airport.  Abby is not pictured - we then drove to pick her up from ballet.  Both of the girls dance, so I definitely brought my ballet slippers, toe shoes, tights and dance clothes...I'm sure many dances will be choreographed in their living room.

Home Sweet Home.

Above is our home.  Emma and Darlene pose to show you how large it is.  We live on the top floor, and the landlords live downstairs.  The church meets here every Sunday morning and Wednesday night.  It is such a blessing from the Lord for the Mattox family, and they totally use it to bless others (like me, too).

Very exciting...the front door.

Emma walks through the front door.  For those of you that like to see where I am everyday - just picture this door, and I'll be walking through it at least once, twice, three, four, five,...maybe even...ok, you get the picture.  Thank you for praying for me in my goings-out and my comings-in.

Church Family.

At the far left is one tired, jet-lagged Lindsey - this is the first night.  The church came over for a welcome dinner.  It was so wonderful meeting everyone.  As the blogs continue, you'll get to meet more.  Abby is the one with the long, brown hair.  Oliver is in the read shirt.  He is 11 years-old, and he is so excited to start playing drums with me on Sunday mornings.  Also, he received a surfboard from his older brother in England, so I'm sure we'll be surfing together.  One more interesting tid-bit:  Oliver and his parents, Mary & John, have the last name Hutchinson - exact same spelling.  I know we've got to be related.  I saw pictures of John as a child, and he reminds me so much of some of my uncles and my dad.  We'll see.

Incredible History.

Cyprus has innumerable historic ruins.  This is an old tower that is actually just down the street from Tim and Darlene's home.  We took some fun pictures by it and in it one night that we watched the sunset.

How Great is Our God!

Speaking of sunsets...this is what one looks like over the Mediterranean Sea.  I keep saying ocean, but it's called "The Sea."  My vocabulary will soon change, especially with so many different cultures here:  British, Greek Cypriot, South African Cypriot, Russian, Indian, Filipino, Scottish, Austrian...and this was just in the first 5 days.  I love to see such a diversity of God's people in one place.

Photo Opportunity...

For those of you that know me pretty well, I try not to miss any.  Darlene and Tim - my Cyprus Parents.

Climbing in Ugg Boots...never smart.

Emma and I try to get a closer look inside.

Choose Your Adventure.

Isn't this so cool?  It would be so fascinating to hear the story behind this tower.  It was obviously a look-out of some sort being so high above the Sea.  My favorite part is the stairs.

Sister-sister.

Emma and Abby on our balcony in the front of the house.  Sister love...ah, I miss you Chels!!!

Welcome Sign.

The sign that Emma and Darlene held while I exited the Airport.  The kids from the Sunday school at church colored it for me.  I now have it up in my room.

Where I Sleep.

Finally, this is my room.  I now have surf magazine pictures up on the wall, along with ballet paintings from an old calendar.  Each day, it becomes more and more like home.  I took my brother and mom on a virtual Skype tour this morning.  They were able to see a 360 degree view of the house, my room, the view from the balcony of the Sea...Tanner commented on how clean my closets were.  I told him that Emma had just helped me organize, and now she constantly is wearing one of my beanies around the house.  I love being able to be a big sister to these girls.  We brush our teeth together every night.  It's quite fun.  

Thank You Jesus.

More to come...but I do need to stop and thank the Lord Jesus, for without Him, none of this would happen.  He is working out His perfect plan on the island of Cyprus, and I'm just excited to be a small part of it.  Lord bless you for reading this and for praying.

Glory to God!

Please forgive me for slacking in my updates.  

Thank you all for visiting my blog!

Countdown.  Well, the last entry said, "23 Days."  Now, it's only 4.  I'm amazed at how many little details need to be taken care of before one moves their life to another country, and I'm sure I'll board the airplane on Tuesday (11/18/08) remembering something else...however...God has given me so much peace, and I know He will take care of those things.

Family.  My family is excited for me and sad, too - of course we will miss each other, but when the Lord is totally directing something, it's incredible how He prepares our hearts to say good-bye to the familiar and hello to the next journey.  

Total Blessing.  I'm so thankful for my mom - she'll be taking care of all my mail and banking, which will be a huge blessing.  I'm sure my dad will be sending me guitar strings and surf wax.  My sister wants to come and visit during her spring break - that would be so fun!  And, as for my brother, he's just excited to start riding my horse, Molly, when I leave. His dream would be to train her to shoot guns from her back...I'm not sure how that will go, seeing as she is quite a bundle of energy...Tanner could handle it, though.  His new favorite thing to watch on TV is old Bonanza re-runs...Little Joe, look out! 

Support Dinner.  Calvary Chapel Skyline put on a support dinner for me on Saturday, November 1.  It was so great to see how God is providing for all my needs, even down to the simplest of things like a new backpack (my old one traveled the world, and it's time for it to retire).  If you came to the dinner, thank you.  My cup runneth over. 

 

Worship Conference.  Also, I just got back from the Calvary Chapel (CC) Worship Leader's Conference at the Bible College in Murrieta.  Five of us from CC Skyline went, along with one from CC Malibu.  God refreshed my perspective of worship leading and encouraged my heart, along with challenging me to step it up in the area of really evaluating why God has called me to be a worship leader and what that means.  He is worthy to be worshiped, hands down, and how dare I take any glory or attention away from Him.  I am so thankful for all the pastors and worship leaders that made the conference so great.  There were people there from all up and down California, Arizona, Wisconsin, and even a guy from New Zealand.

 (above: Me, Ken, Nate, Sloan, Heather, and Ric enjoying a very delicious meal at the conference.)

Getting Ready to Leave.  I do ask for prayer for all my preparations before leaving.  My room is in utter disarray right now, but come Tuesday morning, I'll have a surfboard bag, 2 suitcases, my guitar, and a back pack.  I fly out of LAX at 9:30am on Tuesday, November 18th.

My Grandpa.  Remember the Disneyland pictures?  Well, my Grandpa is in ICU right now, and it does not look good.  Please pray for the entire Hutchinson family.  If the Lord takes him home, I just pray for His peace that passes all understanding.  It will be SO hard for me to be away, but I know that God is so much bigger - He will take care of everything!

Thank you so much for praying for me.  I pray Jesus blesses you in your faithfulness to support me and the island of Cyprus.

Love Lindsey

Cyprus in 23 Days.

The red star in the middle of the picture is Cyprus. It is directly south of Turkey and west of Syria, and I am moving here in less than 30 days...wow.

I have had my ups and downs, but never has the Lord left me nor forsaken me. In fact, His promises continue to ring true, even today as I ponder what to pack, what pictures to bring, how many pairs of shoes to leave behind, etc... Even in the details, He is so faithful.

The picture below is a close-up of the island:

I will be living in the west pink area on the coast in a city called Paphos (or now the correct European Union spelling - Pafos). Cyprus is split. The northern section is Turkish Muslim, and the southern area, where I will be, is mostly Greek Orthodox. Please pray for unity on the island, as it is very divided right now.

Current Progress:

*I have my plane ticket.

*I have all my luggage - just need to pack.

*I got oversees health insurance - total answer to prayer.

*My church is putting on a support dinner this weekend on November 1st - if you are in the area and would like to come, please let me know - I would LOVE to have you there.

*I am still working until November 6th, which is a blessing for extra dinero.

*I will be attending the Calvary Chapel Worship Leader's Conference in Murrieta from November 10-13th, which I am so excited about. I really believe God will use this in a BIG way to prepare me to move to Cyprus and deepen my heart for worship.

*Also, Tim and Darlene have been ordering a few things and having them sent to my house here, so I can pack them - saves on shipping. So, I get to bring over some dance CD's for the Cyprus dance teacher and dead earthworms and crayfish for a dissection unit for the girls and their homeschool program...yummy =) Thankfully, they are sealed and preserved in bags.

May the Lord bless you all. I know this was a little bit longer than usual. I thank you all for your prayers. Love Lindsey

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Disneyland with Gramps!!!

My dad and I really wanted to take my Grandpa on Soarin' Over California at California Adventure...little did he know, he was in for way more than just that =)

While we were in line, I asked my Grandpa if he went on 'It's a Small World' when it was first built. He looked at me with the most mischievous smile and said, "Angel Babe, I'm a virgin." I had no idea that he had NEVER in his 87 years of life been to Disneyland...

Well, a fun time was had by all, and Grandpa walks with a little more spring in his step after visiting the Happiest Place on Earth.

Let the adventures begin...even the tram ride from the parking lot can be fun!

Granpa and Dad in front of the Western Pacific Train that was converted into an icecream shop.

In line for Soarin' Over California. Grandpa Lew knew about each one of these planes. In fact, he worked on many of them.


The Cars display.

Grandpa said that Radiator Springs really was a town on the way to Mexico, where people would overheat...I bet he would like the move Cars =).

Always ready to goof-off!!!

Pictures are so much better than actually buying things.

Pluto was so excited that Grandpa came over to say hello.

Something smells fishy...pew.

I don't even like fish!

Bear Mountain in the background.

Grandpa and I in front of the Magic Kingdom.

Paparazzi shot by Dad - I love that he got the top of the bush in the picture =).

Waiting in line for the Disneyland Railroad.

All Aboard!

Kickin' back on the train - Grandpa was such a trooper.

Say, "Mickey Mouse."

Cruella De Vil was hilarious - she never broke chacter once.

Grandpa couldn't stop smiling.

Saying our sad good-byes to Disneyland and California Adventure.

High School Musical 3!!! So, my sister and I have seen it twice already, and it's only been out for 4 days...what can I say, I love good wholesome, cheesy singing and dancing!

Thanks for enjoying our Disneyland Adventure.

The End!!!

a horse is a horse of course...

Welcome to pictures from the Reyes Adobe Days Weekend!

Our family has lived in Old Agoura since all of us kidlets were born. On Saturday, October 4th, my brother, sister, and I were in the parade to celebrate our community. Then, Sunday, October 5th, I competed in the Gymkhana play day with our friend Kari. Chelsey did the announcing. It was a great weekend, filled with horses and police cars...read on to find out...

Tanner on Baby, Chelsey on Diego, Me on Molly.

This might just have to be hung on the wall or sent out as a Christmas card.

Chelsey's first love, Diego. Isn't she cute?
We've wrangled Tanner into riding, and he's doing a mighty fine job. He's so handsome in his cowboy get-up.

Self-portrait of Molly and me.

Oh, it looks like Baby loves Tanner...well, we later found out that this horse is not too fond of men...oh well...we got some great pictures out of it...Haha!
Chelsey and Diego make such a cute pair.
Our friend Kari rode Chelsey's horse Liberty Belle in the parade and the play day.
Hey! Look at us...Molly is so cute.

END OF PARADE

Welcome to the Gymkhana Events!!!

We honored all those who have served or are currently serving in our armed forces, while we sang the National Anthem...Tanner, a man from the neighborhood, Tara (another neighbor), Uncle Marty, and my cousin Jonathan...Thank you Jesus for this country!

Chelsey did a fantastice job announcing! Since she broke her back in February, she didn't think it would be a good idea to compete just yet.

Kari makes her way around a corner barrel on Libby.
Libby is light as a feather.

Yeah Kari!!! First place!
Molly and I are determined to stay on course.
YeeHaw!! My fast quarterhorse...check out my posture...I can't even sit that straight in a chair! Haha!
Ally-oop! Molly went over these little jumps this year...last year, she didn't want to have anything to do with them. We placed Fourth in this event...Hurry Scurry.Yeah! We got First in the Barrier Crawl...you ride up as fast as you can to a cardboard box, stop your horse, get off, hope your horse doesn't go anywhere, crawl through the box, get back on, go around the box, and race back to the start...SO FUN!!!

This is the swing on our front porch...how classic is this shot. I would loved to hear the stories of each one of these pairs of boots.

See...I told you police cars :) After the play day, Kari, Chelsey, and I headed over to the actual Reyes Adobe carnival...the police officers had a demo car and locked us in to see what it felt like...I didn't like it AT ALL. Did you know the back seat is hard plastic...well, I don't plan to sit in another one any time soon. LET US OUT!!!

I hope you enjoyed these pictures...I had fun putting this together.

Love Lindsey