Annual New Year's Party - Movie Theme

This year's theme at the McDowell's annual New Year's Party was movie/tv stars, and as you can tell, people had fun with it! I was Elle Woods from Legally Blonde, but we didn't get a good picture of it.

It's Edward!!!! AHHHHH!!!!!

We are the Three Amigos!

Dad was "Tim the Tool Man" but you can't really tell from the picture

Forrest as "Dr. House"

Manuel as "Zorro"

Christmas in Bountiful

Usually we travel to Denver, Colorado every other year to visit Matt's extended family, but this year we decided (along with Matt's brother and sister) to visit his relatives in Bountiful, Utah. We stayed with Matt's Aunt Chris and Uncle Pat, in their beautifully renovated Victorian home. Grandpa Gordon and Uncle Scott joined us from Denver. I will admit that it was a little crazy......all together we had about 18 adults and 8 kids under age 5 for all of the festivities!!!

Matt's brother Andy had proposed to his lovely girlfriend Jenny a couple days before arriving and we were all super excited for them. They also allowed me to take some engagement photos of them (see below for a couple of the pictures) to practice my photography skills. I had SO much fun!

Here are some other highlights: (from Matt)
Ellie unknowingly put Dawn Dishsoap in the dishwasher resulting in the machine overflowing with bubbles.
Aunt Chris got fake poop thrown at her (see picture below). Later Alan put the poop in the shower and guess who found it....Ellie!
Jenny received her initiation into the family by unwrapping the spooky head...

There was an unfortunate lack of snow, so we took the kids up to Park City (home of the 2002 winter Olympics) to find some snow for them to play in.

These and many other fun memories were made this year. Hope you enjoy the photos of the craziness!

Callie with her new dolls

Cousin Abby and Callie with their matching dolls

Alan put fake dog poop on the living room floor, then picked it up with a paper towel and threw it at Aunt Chris!

Matt and Andy with their matching shirts with a picture of Aunt Chris on the front and the caption "my favorite aunt"....too funny!

Matt's cousin Wizzy holding the creepy head (this was what Jenny unwrapped).

Andy and Jenny

Crazy Family Picture at Park City

Cousins: Kaylie, Blake, Zach and babies Callie and Abby

Coffee and Culture

I (Matt) like to people watch, and there's something that I find especially fascinating about watching people from another culture interact.

French class was always one that I enjoyed, and though I can hardly string a sentence together now, at one time I was pretty good at it. It wasn't that I was especially good at verb conjugation, or remembering the tenses, it was that I really worked hard at contorting my mouth and puckering my lips to get that accent just right. It wasn't easy! But for me it wasn't just about learning a language, it was about being able to fit into a culture.

Me "fitting in" in Paris :)

All of my hard work at the French language culminated in the ultimate test, which I both passed with flying colors, and failed miserably! The setting was a small cafe on a cold winter day in Paris. Sitting there with a friend of mine who had grown up in Paris, I felt especially confident about fitting in, and I was ready to try my French! When the waiter came to our table I chatted with him (in French) about the weather, about his nice cafe, and then ordered a toasted ham sandwich with fries. "What would you like to drink?" he asked me. Since it was such a cold day, and my friend and I had been walking around Paris seeing the sights, nothing sounded better than a tall mug of hot coffee. "I'll have a coffee." The blank stare I got from the waiter keyed me in right away that something wasn't right about that, but I didn't know what! My friend looked at me with a smirk. "Are you sure you don't want something else?" The color coming to my cheeks was part indignation at being second-guessed about my drink choice, and part embarrasment that I might have just made a cultural boo-boo. "Um, no, I'd like a coffee." The waiter looked at me and finally said, "Oh, you're American!" :) My disguise was busted! He then went on to say that I had him fooled until I ordered a coffee with my meal. Turns out that in France coffee is a post-meal beverage, is much stronger, and comes in a small shot glass. We all had a good laugh about my unintentional cultural mis-step.

I remember that experience because of my delight in being able to blend into the culture for a while, but also for the mild embarassment of being "outed" as an American!

There is such a richness to culture that can only be fully appreciated when we approach it with an open mind, and try our best not to project our values onto theirs, but to fit in. As we prepare to move our family to Indonesia I know we'll never be able to fully blend in simply because of our blonde hair and blue eyes, but I look forward to learning about the way they see the world. And I'm excited that our kids will grow up with not only a rich worldview, but a humble appreciation for the way other people do things. And I'm sure we'll have LOTS of new and embarrasing stories on this adventure as we learn a new language and culture!

Winter Coffee Challenge

As Matt and I reflect on this season of giving, we are so thankful that we have already received the ultimate gift of all, the birth of a savior, Jesus! It is the meaning behind this gift that has inspired us to proclaim His name to every corner of the earth.

We are thrilled to be a part of a missions organization, Mission Aviation Fellowship, that is overcoming barriers to transform lives around the world. Through meeting peoples' physical needs and providing much needed resources, our pilots, mechanics, disaster response teams and more are making Christ known in some of the most remote places on earth and sharing with them the importance of Jesus' birth and promise to return. Matt and I are so excited to be among the many serving Him in Indonesia! But we can't do it alone... WE NEED YOU!

WINTER COFFEE CHALLENGE

While we celebrate this glorious and festive season of love, lights, and the gift of abundant life in Christ Jesus, we ask that you prayerfully consider helping us make Christ known in Indonesia by answering this simple question: How much money do you spend monthly on specialty coffee drinks? $25, $50, $75?

Would you consider spending that amount as a monthly supporter of our ministry with MAF?

Our goal is to be at 30% of full-funding by January 1, 60% by March, and 100% funding and on our way to Indonesia by the end of 2012. This is a lofty goal, but we know that with God's help and His people generously giving, we can reach Indonesia soon! If you would like to be a part of our Winter Coffee Challenge there are several ways you can give.

DONATE ONLINE: You can log on to www.maf.org/scheer, click the DONATE tab and set up a payment arrangement or electronic funds transfer under the "Support a Missionary" link. If you choose this method, please make sure that donation/giving is allocated to Matt and Ellie Scheer - Missionary ID: 9094.

SNAIL MAIL: Another great way to start giving is to mail a check to the MAF Headquarters - P.O. Box 47, Nampa, ID 83653. With this option, we ask that you make the check payable to Mission Aviation Fellowship and add 9094 to the memo line.

PHONE A FRIEND: For those of you who like to hear a friendly voice at the other end of the phone to assure you that everything has been handled properly (I am definitely one of these people) you have the option to speak with our Donor Services personnel. They are a great bunch of MAF staff at our headquarters in Idaho and will make sure that your giving is done with ease. Simply dial 1.800.359.7623 to phone a friend!

With any of these options, we would love to hear that you have begun giving! It will give us a great chance to catch up with you and help us keep our records straight.
For more information or to let us know you have joined our Winter Coffee Challenge, contact us via email at mscheer@maf.org.

The Scheer Adventures - MICE!!!

After over two months of being away, including about six weeks in the Seattle area, we finally came back to our home in Spokane. Little did we know that a huge, disgusting, surprise was waiting for us. The entire house had been infested by mice....every last corner! I was finding mice poop in drawers, in between linens on high shelves, on beds, counters....everything. It was horrible! We were exhausted after driving for over 4 hours with the kids, cat, trailer, and car top carrier full of stuff, and then had to deep clean the whole house and sanitize everything. We've been doing laundry non-stop for almost 3 days! On top of that, our computer wasn't working at first and our front faucet has a huge leak, in which Matt is going to have to climb into our crawl space to fix the pipe. Let me just say that we've been more than a little stressed. The last 3 days have been a whirlwhind of cleaning and trying to get settled in again, but we are finally getting caught up and are feeling a little better about things. I will say that other than this unexpected setback, it is good to be home.

Wrapping Up Our Time in Seattle

Our time in Seattle was extremely encouraging and we were able to meet with several friends, family, and churches during our time there. It was a busy time, involving coffee meetings, dinners, dessert nights, and parties, but many new people joined our financial and prayer team and were excited about serving Indonesia through us! We are so thankful for those who have come behind us, not only financially, but also in prayer and encouragement. We also had a great time staying at my parent’s house and spending so much time with them and my brother Rich. If we didn't get to see you while we were in the area, please don't feel unimportant....it was a crazy time and we all were sick for a while, so we will probably be contacting you the next time we are in town (which will be soon!).

Blake loves his sister!



Eating Gumbi



Future missionary kids. Taken the night we met with the Reeds and the Linds. The Reeds are going to Indonesia with us and the Linds are going to Congo short term. From left: Amelia, Callie, Jenna, Blake, and Levi

Fall Pictures

While we were in the Seattle area our friend Sonja Morgan, who is a professional photographer, took some pictures of us at Bellevue park. She did an amazing job!