Jesus in my heart and daddy in my tummy!

The other day I called Mandy at home and she didn't sound too thrilled. She informed me that she went upstairs for a minute and that Myleigh unlocked the fridge and Porter and her got out the milk, lemonade, and juice. They pored it all over the floor making a sea of stickiness. Myleigh then got a box of Goldfish out of the pantry and dumped them in the drinkable pool. Mandy said she stood for two minutes just staring as our two children sat in their underwear (oh and they took off their clothes) playing in a pool of beverages covering the entire kitchen. I won't tell you what happened after those two minutes.

When I got home that day Myleigh came and sat on my lap telling me about her "adventure" and that she was spanked twice for it... the intire time I was biting my lip trying desperately not to laugh... As she told the story in a subtle whisper of what happened there was excitement in her eyes and she wore a faint smile, she was telling me a great secret.

I asked Myleigh if she new that making that mess was wrong and she looked at me and her demeanor changed.. she said "Yes papa" I told her that I loved her even though she made such bad choice to do something she new was wrong.

Later that night Myleigh had been telling Porter about How Jesus loves us even when we do bad things or lie (I'm sure no one has had a problem with their kids lying), Porter proceeded to say how good Jesus is and how bad and mean I was (I think he didn't like it that I wouldn't give him a Popsicle before dinner). Then they ran over to me and started wrestling with me. Porter and Myleigh stopped and asked/stated " Are you Jesus?' Then they both smiled, laughed, and said together "Noooo" Myleigh then ran off...but Porter stayed. He told me "Jesus is in my Heart and daddy is in my tummy!" As if I didn't understand he put his hand gently on my knee and said it again wide eyed and with raised eyebrows. "Jesus is in my Heart pointing to his chest and daddy is in my tummy" Porter then turned and ran away.

After a day passed I asked Myleigh about the kitchen incident and she graciously explained it all.

The liquids were used to make a lake and it had turned into ice (milk gave it an icy effect I suppose) Myleigh got the Goldfish crackers to be little people...Turning Myleigh and Porter into Giants. And we all know giants wear nothing but underwear. An icy lake would be slipper so they had to slide around, and fall to the ground.

Good times!

Bluea The Dog

One day Iwas driving home...Mandy was just a few minutes ahead of me. The phone rang, it was My lovely wife... after only a few words something told me to be suspicious... and then it happened.

Mandy started by saying "I was driving home and a pack of puppies ran in front of the car. I was scared that they were going to get hit so I pulled over; all of them ran through the field except one. I picked it up and put it on Myleigh's lap and then I drove to the church where all the other puppies ran too. I talked to a lady and she said we could keep her!"

"Wait your telling me the dog is in the car sitting on Myleigh's lap" I said.

"Yes, and shes hugging it and talking to it like its a baby.... Carl its so cute!" Mandy Said so sweetly.

Needless to say we kept her!

Family and Missions Update

Sometimes i forget to post to this blog... sometimes its a week sometimes a year:) ... but I'm working on it... so i decided to intermix several updates into one post so everyone is not inundated with 20 separate posts... (did i use inundated right-i meant excessive amounts)



I will do this in bullets to keep it simple: the bold is the bare bones and if it interests you read on....otherwise... move on...

Planning on departing for Jamaica in the middle of August. We just sent in for the kids passports... Porter looks dazed and Myleigh has this very intense smile on her face.

The Paper work for our work permit is being put together for final approval of the A/G Jamaican National Church. It is all due to go down on May 20th. Please pray for God's favor. Then we have to fill out lots of paper work and send it to the Jamaican Government and wait for their approval. What a process.

We close on our house at 4:15 Monday May 3rd. What a blessing not to have double payments. God taught us a lot about many things threw that process. I will post about them later.

100% of our cash budget is raised! This is used for upfront costs (plane tickets there and back, vehicle for the muddy mountain, deposits and insurance premiums)

Porter is pretty much potty trained! No diapers in Jamaica what a blessing and savings that will be. He only wheres a pull up at night, such a big boy... all grown up. It was an interesting time... especially when he started going outside.... i better not digress, that will be for another time.

About 77% of our Monthly Pledge support is raised! We are still in need about $900 a month in support for the two years that we are there. We are confident that the Lord will continue to prompt people to join us in serving the children at the City of Refuge. Like the fish and loves of bread...the boy gave what he had and the Lord blessed it and multiplied it. We (us and those who give) must trust the Lord to take what we give, no mater the size of the offering, and know that he will make it enough.

Mandy staring in the Marshfield Musical Oklahoma...AdoAnny i think (I'm sure its not spelled right) I think the show is at the end of June. My house is like a musical...even the kids sing songs (yes porter too) from Annie, Oklahoma, and the king and I...

I'm LUCKY I only got one ticket from teh highwya patrol!(in my sweet $900 1981 Mercedes 300 turbo diesel Station Wagon) I guess driving a car with expired Oklahoma plates, still not titled in your name, no recent inspection and no proof of insurance in the state of Missouri is not a good thing. I sure learned my lesson it cost me $85, but i got it titled and licensed after tracking down one of the previous owners and getting her to notarize the title so i could license it. What an ordeal

Science sample Curriculum's were donated to the City of Refuge. A school gave us 3 sample curriculum's k-6 (ones they look at for book adoption but don't end up adopting) to take with us to the city of refuge. they are all new and although only have one text book per grade and missing a few components will be an undeniable asset to the school at the city of refuge. over 1600 leveled books on science topics where included. The teachers manuals will be invaluable to those who work with us and come after us. Praise the Lord for the generosity of His people. I will post a picture... its reall a lot of stuff... It will have to be shipped in a container.

Mandy dislocated the Dogs elbow by hitting it with the car. Myleigh thought she was dead and i thought I was going to have to put her down. But no broken leg or shattered shoulder just a dislocated elbow. Bluea the Dog is doing great after about 3 weeks of recovery... She is a great dog..We love her lots. Yes all post pics of her as well.

OH yes and my children enlightened me on a subject of great confusion! We were driving home and Myleigh was telling Porter that kitty's are girls and cats are boys.... then she proceeded to tell me that puppies are girls and dogs are boys... I don't know where they get all that crazy talk... I mean when i was a kid i thought all cats were girls and all dogs were boys... I guess the apple doesn't fall that far from the tree... now does it.

ahhhh that's all I can think of... right now... Sorry we haven't done a better job of keeping everyone informed. Thanks for being apart of our lives!

Why are you going to Jamaica?

That's a good question and the answer is simple, yet involves a complex web of events. The truth is, there is a story behind this simple answer and chances are you will have one of two responses to it. The 1st response might be, "This guy has a loose bolt or two"or something like that. The 2nd response might sound like this, "Wow!" or "That's amazing." To which ever response you prescribe is OK, because over the last few years I've responded in both ways. Eventually as time passed, I began to think "Wow, this is amazing."

So here is the simple answer. "God called us to Jamaica." Simple enough isn't it, it's only 5 words. No.... God did not speak to me in a booming audible voice; "leave your family, friends, and all that you know and go to Jamaica." It was more subtle and stretched out over a long time. The call is connected to our personalities, dreams, passions, and life events and of course some "very strange coincidences", so it took us awhile to connect the dots, but eventually we did and as we reflected on the past we began to see how God had prepared us for this all along. Over the next few weeks, we would like to share parts of our story with you to testify to Gods goodness.

The posts will be labeled "The Call" and be dated, so fallow along and join us on our journey to Jamaica.

Forgive us!

We haven't done a good job updating our blog... partly because I think it has to be perfect...and partly because I'm old school... so I'm sorry

We do want to touch base with every one and hope that you will fallow along with us as we update you on our journey to Jamaica and beyond. We Hope your doing great but I got to go my students will be coming back from library soon. I'll check back in with you later.

God bless, and thanks for sticking with us!

A Glimpse Into Jamaica

Street Food - Kingston: reveals the culture, the community and the dark underbelly of life in Jamaica - all through the island's cuisine.

Part 1

Part 2

The Swanson Chronicles

We will be sharing about the journey God is taking us on as we respond to His call on our lives. To find out more, we invite you to go to our website at http://www.carlandmandyswanson.com/.

Nine years ago, God began a call in our hearts to work at a children’s home. In 2006, Carl was asked to portray Steve Puffpaff (the director of the City of Refuge Children’s home in Jamaica) in a mission’s documentary. Through a series of events, it has become clear that God has shaped our lives to fit like a puzzle piece into the picture He is painting at the City of Refuge Children’s Home in Jamaica. God has led us to accept His call to teach for two years at a school located on the property.

We hope that you are blessed by this blog! We plan on sharing about our progress on our way to Jamaica!