July Family Happenings

On July 19th. and 20th. the entire Philbrick/Gibbons family was together in Maine for the first time in 10 years. The 29 family members included mom & dad Philbrick; us and our four kids; Dave, Lena and their three kids (one more due next month) on furlough from Spain; Mark, Tammy and their eight boys visiting from Penna.; Matt, Kathy and their four from Indiana.

All nineteen (soon to be 20) grandchildren are pictured below.

The only granddaughters!!! (Kristi & Kati - back right). With 12 "Philbrick" grandsons, the family name is thought to be eternal.

No home was large enough for everyone to sit down for supper Sunday night so the church basement provided a comfortable place to be together for pizza after church!

Below: Debbie with sisters in law Lena (Spain), Tammy (Penna) and Kathy (Indiana)

One of the few sunny days in the month of July was the 20th!!! God was especially gracious to provide such a beautiful day to be together at the home of mom and dad Philbrick.

The "older" generation challenged the kids to a game of volleyball. If the kids thought they had the cat in the bag, guess again. Though winded and spent up, the wheezing old geezers won!!!

On the evening of the 20th. around 45 or 50 including immediate family and a few long time friends gathered to honor our two graduates from high school: our niece Silvia (mk from Spain) and our son Andy.

Above, Andy and Silvia are remembered from a few years ago!

below: Kati, Danny, Silvia & Nathan (niece and nephew from Spain), Kristi and Andy sing a special number in English and Spanish.

Andy and Lena play while Debbie's brother Dave sings to his daughter Silvia.

Uncle Mark (Penna) and Grammie sing to the graduates.

Nothing could be more meaningful that having Pastor Grampie bring a challenge from God's Word.

Uncle Matt closes in a prayer of dedication for the graduates.

below left to right: Mark & Tammy, Matt & Kathy, Mom & Dad, Dave & Lena, Tom & Debbie

The Philbrick family

Below: siblings - Debbie is the oldest. The rest fall the order of their age from left to right.

"Isn't it, just, just - wonderful?????"

Matt & Kathy

Dave & Lena

Grammie & Grampie

May & June 2009

We're grateful for an uneventful trip from Argentina to GMSA International Headquarters in Fort Lauderdale, Florida on May 8th! In Argentina we host short term workers, colleagues, work teams and friends all year long, so we're accustomed to airport runs! Danny summed it up well while we were checking in at the airport outside of Buenos Aires, "yeah, we're finally the ones travelling"!!!! It had been four and a half years since Andy, Kristi and Danny had been in the USA.

While at GMSA headquarters we had a full schedule. May 12-15 Tom participated in teaching in this year's candidate orientation school and Debbie cared for the candidate's children while home schooling Kristi and Danny. The 18th-21st was General Council, US Board and other meetings.

While in Florida we enjoyed attending Emily Steward's (mk from Chile) baccalaureate and graduation from high school, fellowshipping with colleagues and board members and being hosted by Raul & Jane Villalba our U.S. Office Manager and Bookkeeper.

A major highlight was the acceptance of James and Donnelle Morrell and family and their appointment to Argentina as missionaries. Lord willing, James and Donnelle will be working full time with us on the camp project in Argentina and in a new church planting team.

The Morrell family.

***If you're located in and around the New England states and would like the Morrell's to present their ministry in your church or to another group, please contact me!

On May 26th. we departed Fort Lauderdale for Maine. The second day of our journey we picked Kati up in Beckley, West Virginia where she was doing her first practicum as a requirement for her major at Northland International University.

After lunch with Kati's friend we continued on to Hagerstown, Maryland where we crossed paths with Debbie's brother Matt and family for supper. They were also traveling! We arrived in Maine near noon on Friday the 29th. In spite of a lot of rain and traffic along the way, it was an enjoyable trip as a family.

above: traveling through the Appalachian Mountains

Because Danny and Kristi are on the Argentine school schedule they will continue studies through the U.S. summer, though on a more flexible schedule. They're troopers!!

Some of our first friends in Chivilcoy were Adriano, Sara and their daughter Ana (Aylen was added later!) Though they attend a Korean church in Buenos Aires, two hours away, Adriano and Sara have been a great blessing to us personally and to the ministry in Chivilcoy. We were able to help them get their daughter Ana enrolled at South Merrimack Christian Academy in New Hampshire for her junior and senior years of high school. Ana graduated on June 6th. What a privilege to attend and later receive our friends for a visit where we're hanging our hats in Maine during these furlough months!

below: Adriano, Sara, Grammy and Grampy Philbrick

On June 15th Debbie's brother and family arrived from Spain where they are missionaries. For Tom, Andy, Kristi and Danny it had been ten years since we'd last seen them! Debbie and Kati saw them two years ago when Kati came to begin college.

above & below: enjoying one of the few sunny days renewing our relationship after so many years. We're grateful that all the cousins have hit it off so well!

Our young entrepeneurial children and their cousins have gone into the strawberry business! Mom's & dad's are taking their early morning turns shuttling them to the "u-pick" berry farm, back home for breakfast then down to the only four corners in town where they spend the day until everything is sold out!

above: Kristi, Nathan, Danny and Andy (missing: Silvia)

Kati is working at a local grocer to earn money for college and just sent in for an appointment to obtain her driver's license after fulfilling 35 hours of driving time on her permit. Since kids cannot drive until they're 18 years of age in Argentina ours are a little behind by U.S. standards.

above: Debbie and Kati taking their own picture while enjoying a picnic together near the Maine coast.

Our kids along with cousin Silvia have enjoyed using their talent together at our home church in Maine.

above left to right: Kristi, Danny, Andy and Silvia play the guitar

below: Kati at the piano


Kati and Andy (below) playing the piano together.


And what's going on in Argentina? We praise the Lord for GMSA General Director Terry Thompson and his wife Carol who are taking our place in Chivilcoy. Please pray for a fruitful ministry during our absence!

The first phase of construction on the new church building has gone very slow, and just now what was projected is finished.

above: kitchen area to the back with serving window

below: one of the new bathrooms

above: a view of the multi-purpose room (three sliding doors) and kitchen (right)

below: a view of the multi-purpose room from the roof looking down

below: the kitchen, two bathrooms (tall doors) and stairs up to the terrace.