Fly Away Baby

My first thought upon waking this morning, as I tried to focus my eyes on the clock, was, "is she there yet?!"

I am engaged in a curiously doubled dilemma. We took Kate to the airport for her flight to Ireland which will launch her 10 months of Missionary service. Additionally, she is no longer in possession of her cell phone, having decided to get a local Irish phone instead of racking up enormous costs with her US phone. Therefore we did not receive a call from her to notify us that she was boarding the aircraft, safely arrived in Frankfurt, securely awaiting her connection from the right terminal in Frankfurt, boarding the final flight or happily arrived in Ireland!

When she was in Switzerland and hopping all over Europe to Rome, Germany, and France we at least had the knowledge that she was a mere phone call away. Now the cellular umbilical is cut and she is on... her... own.

(sniff, sniff)

So this is what that separation feels like.

Over the years we have spent enough collective time "waiting for Kate" to have discovered a cure for Cancer,... (if we were so inclined and gifted). Now we are once again waiting, this time to hear from her.

I know that she is so very excited; over the moon excited, to actually be embarking on this phase of her life. She has been preparing for it for so very long. Leaving behind family and fiance is in no way simple for her. But she knows deep within herself that this time in Ireland is what she needs. That is ample proof to me that this really is God's will for her. The Lord has plans for her that we cannot from this vantage point imagine. Our prayers go with her.

Now for some photos-











Now, phone,... RING!

Addison

What a blessing to see friends old and new. We have had the rare pleasure of enjoying both categories of friendship this weekend. Addison Soltau was a dear friend of ours in Florida; Associate Pastor at our church, Sunday School teacher, fellow Mission Committee member for Jim. Addison was born in Korea to Missionary parents, eventually served for 17 years in Japan as a missionary himself, and has taught Missions at various Seminaries. Our church invited him to come speak on missions this weekend since somebody on our missions Committee suggested him.

Addison arrived late Friday evening and Saturday we were able to steal him away for several hours of "touring' the area and reminiscing. Any tour during the Summer with us involves taking our "Amish run" down through upper Lancaster County for the purpose of acquiring locally grown produce, seeing the beautiful landscape and getting a glimpse of a simpler lifestyle. This Saturday presented us with absolutely perfect weather for our run and Addison was intrigued by the Plain people- though he has experienced many different cultures, they are rather unique.

Saturday evening John and Annie Sallade graciously hosted a pot-luck dinner for those of our church's Elders, Deacons and Trustees, with spouses, who could come. Also invited were the young missionaries who are soon to be launched to foreign fields from our congregation. After dinner in their lovely backyard Addison spoke to us briefly about being an "Intentional Missionary Congregation". The challenges to thinking missionally are many, and often difficult to identify from the inside. Quite thought-provoking at least, and has caused me to closer examine what I believe to be true of the Gospel and how my life reflects those beliefs.

Sinclair Ferguson once said that what we believe about God comes right out of our fingertips. Meaning, we live out moment to moment what we truely believe, whether it matches what we say or not. Do I really believe that Christ is sufficient to save the lost with whom I come in contact, or do I believe that my eloquence- or lack thereof- must play a role? Do I really believe that these neighbors of mine will spend an eternity in Hell if they die outside of Christ, or do I believe that their comfort now is enough? If others in generations past were driven to risk their very lives for the sake of sharing the Gospel with foreign tribes, can I step out of my "comfort zone", (how I loathe that term) and risk ridicule in order to tell my coworker that Christ is the only way to the Father? Is Christ- my Bridegroom- so lovely, so desirable, of such importance to me, that I must also introduce Him to everyone I meet?

Sunday morning Addison gave the sermon at church as well as speaking to the combined Sunday School classes. His text was from Jeremiah 1:1-5, concerning Jeremiah's call to prophesy not only to Judah, but also to the nations. For the evening service he expanded on the topic, looking more closely at Jeremiah's inadequacy to fulfill his call and God's sufficiency to equip him once called. This again struck a chord deep within. To what have I been called to do or be that I have felt adequate? Wife, mother, study leader, even friend- for each I am an inadequate vessel. Only by trusting Christ and clinging to His Word can I hope to do any of these well. Each of these callings are too important to do less than well, and my own best won't cut it. I must have Christ. I must.

The other delightful company we had this weekend will have to wait for another post. I've run out of time and must be responsible now to some of my many callings!

Irish Eyes Are Smilin'!

It's official! Kate has been invited to come to Dublin, Ireland as an intern with the Mission to the World, (MTW) missionaries there! She will soon receive her "welcome packet" and begin working with her MTW contact on things like budget and fundraising. Then once her funds are in place and her ducks in a row she will fly away to the Emerald Isle for an 11 month stay!

She has already established a blog, called Jeepers, to record her stay and keep those of us on the homefront updated on her doings. I am so excited for her. How amazing is it that the baby we named eighteen years ago, "Kate Kelly" , would be going to Ireland to serve in Missions?! She is practically beside herself with excitement.

Meanwhile, it is another lovely, warm, promise-of-Spring day. When I got into the van after work at 1, the interior was warm! Yay! I just love the feeling of sun-warmed car in the early Spring! There are yard chores to do, flower beds to prepare and maybe even veggie beds to organize, but today I am going to enjoy the sunshine and we are grilling tonight!

Update From Haiti

Jim has called twice and emailed once from Haiti. He and the guys arrived safely with no undue burdens getting through customs. Below is an excerpt from his email.

Saturday we travel to Lagonav (Ile De la Gonave) via ferry boat. We will visit one of the churches and meet some of the folks Ben is developing as leaders. On Sunday we will worship at 2 of the churches on Lagonav. It should be quite a weekend - with no electricity to boot!

Thus far no signs of rot gut or sundry ailments. Although I have seen a very large rat and some scorpions...

The little bit we have seen of the people, poverty, and pestilence was quite an eye opener. Most of our time has been at the house with the Hopps working on the porch... Yesterday, we did go to the pool and beach at the Kaliko Beach Resort near the Hopps' home. It was nice, I found some nice shells.

While they are traveling away from the home base they are out of touch by phone of email. As it happens, Jim's cell phone hasn't worked since they arrived- he thought it would, but there must not be the right kind of service. It's probably a good thing that his phone is off and he can be completely free of that particular taskmaster while he's away.

John Flavel would agree... it's providential.

Meanwhile, today was Pinewood Derby day for Isaac! His last Derby as a matter of fact. the Webelos one year ahead of his den did not compete- Isaac's was the oldest group to run their cars. It was, as always, an exciting event. I know Jim hated to miss it. Photos to follow once my Cuz Heidi sends them out!

Today Erin brought up our neighbors log splitter and with the help of her friend, Erin, they split up several loads of the cut tree that is stacked in the yard. Kate, Bekah and Isaac went out for a turn later. We hope to have most of it finished before Jim gets home- something off of his list of things to do.

Survivors

We have survived our personal plague while hearing reports that others are battling the same illness. This is the time of year when we fill conversational gaps by saying, "sure seems to be going around!" Ain't that the truth.

So, since we are back on our feet much has happened. Isaac and Jim spent a bracing several hours with the Webelos at the Daniel Boone Homestead doing outdoorsy winter stuff- so sorry to have missed that myself ;-). Between the outdoor cooking, team activities and shivering, Isaac ended up being the only Scout- of any age- to have his thrown tomahawk actually stay in the target! How cool is that?!



In one week Jim will be in Haiti with our Pastor Wendell and another member of the Missions Committee from church, Dave Lucas. They will be visiting a Missionary family there for a week in an attempt to determine how our church can partner with and help them in the future. Instead of merely throwing money at them, we want to truly become involved in their ministry, by sending people to help and possibly in other ways that we haven't yet seen. It ought to be nice and warm for the guys, but certainly not exotic. The travel warnings issued by the CDC and the State Department are enough to make one think very carefully before packing to leave!

Meanwhile, Kate had her telephone interview with MTW and knows that she will be going abroad for an internship, but not to Berlin. Her interviewer gave her a couple of possibilities, but we are as yet uncertain which will work. Where she goes depends upon the needs of the Missionaries already in the field, so, once again, she is waiting to hear back from MTW. Evidently the agency headquarters in Atlanta has also been hit with the flu, so we wait, with empathy and understanding...

Last night we enjoyed the rare treat of watching the Lunar Eclipse. Friends were over for dinner and we were finishing up when someone mentioned the eclipse. It had been overcast and snowing for the entire afternoon and into the evening, so I figured we had missed our chance to see it, but when we checked the clouds were gone and the stars clear! We could see the moon from our back porch, so we bundled up and stood in the cold to watch the moon turn red! Are the stars really brighter when it is that cold out, or was that my imagination? Couldn't help but think of my Grandmommy, and wish that I'd paid closer attention to her lessons about the night sky...

Okay, this is not our shot of the event- our camera isn't quite sophisticated enough to capture such a shot.

Things are in motion at church now for the Ladies' Bible Study that I will be leading beginning Tuesday, March 4th. I'm very excited, and very nervous. Having been a student, then a facilitator in Bible studies for years, I have never led one myself and am feeling, oh, ... inadequate to the task? That's far better than feeling invincible, I suppose. Humbled, I am driven to Scripture and prayer in a whole new way. This could only be good for me in that respect. My prayer is that this will be a blessing to others, and when questions arise I would have the wisdom to know when to answer and when to realize that I don't have an answer. May God be glorified through our time spent in His Word.

Winter Is Sure Settling In!

The past couple of weeks have been busy between getting settled with Kate home again and winter weather disrupting our routines a few times. Kate has begun work with a "friend-of-a-friend" who owns an internet-based retail business. She has been packing orders for shipment and enjoys the flexible hours. She is still filling out applications for "real jobs" to sustain her until she is finished with the application and preparation process with Mission to the World. Once that process is complete she will be jetting off to (hopefully) Berlin to intern with a Missionary family there, possibly this spring.

We've spoken to Nathaniel several times and, as expected, his adjustment to Hawaiian life has been painless. He has received the Christmas gifts that we ordered for him- yet still can't get the math of the time differences straight. When he texted the news that he'd gotten his packages I'd just fallen asleep. The phone going off on the bedside table caused an adrenaline surge that shot me out of bed! Still, I'll take that any day over wondering if he got his gifts and how he liked them. This year he'll be able to be on the phone with us when he opens his presents instead of in Iraq emailing us about them!

Last week we celebrated Isaac's 10th birthday! It's hard to believe that our baby is already in the double digits. Since he has lately become quite the carnivore, we took him to Texas Roadhouse for dinner where he chose his own steak before we were seated- and ate all twelve ounces of it- medium well! The next night we took one of his friends to play laser tag; Jim and the girls played along as well. Now that Jim has experienced Laser Quest, I have a feeling it won't be long before the kids talk him into it again!

Saturday the 15th was our Church's Christmas Brunch for which I've been planning the menu and organizing volunteers to cook. This has been happening annually for a number of years with the exception of last year. So I've never been to one, yet have been hearing the stories for the entire year we've lived here. When Annie, who hosts and coordinates the brunch, asked me if I'd be willing to help I said, "of course"! But being in charge of the food was more than a little intimidating. Fortunately our church is blessed with many willing volunteers and good cooks. So I give all the credit for the success of the food to this group of ladies. I chose what I like to eat, (my primary talent) and they did the cooking!

The cool thing about the brunch though, is that we once again had Andree Seu come speak to us.! She spoke at our retreat in September and I have been reading her articles in World Magazine for years. Her writing touches my heart and listening to her speak gives me a voice for when I read her each week. So very down to earth, she spoke on joy. When God promises us the fruit of the Spirit it isn't for someday, it is for today. As Christians we need to exercise "muscular faith" and take hold of those promises now- regardless of the circumstances. Before she spoke I had the "joy' of introducing Kate to her, as Andree had been at L'Abri in the 70's. They discussed the changes that have apparently seeped in since the passing of the founder, Frances Schaeffer. What a treat for Kate to talk to someone who already knew what L'Abri was and had been there in the "glory years".

Meanwhile we have had a bit of snow and a whole lot of ice. Two ice storms disrupted power- most recently for the whole day this past Sunday. School was delayed once and yesterday I canceled school for our family because we'd spent the night with friends and it was simply too hectic to get everyone to the right places in time! The ice storms have damaged many of our trees, breaking branches and toppling whole trees even! We are still hoping for some real snow that stays so we can go sledding. It's funny though, after the storm has passed and the sun breaks through, all of the trees look like crystals blazing in the sunshine! And once the melting starts it's as if Aslan has returned to Narnia!

Finally, Erin has recently announced that she is now a vegetarian... sniff. Yes. Evidently her health teacher had a class on just where our meat comes from and the various processes it goes through and the additives with which it is, um, altered/ polluted/ poisoned (?), and decided that she'll consume it no more! For health reasons, of course. I'd like to get a hold of that propaganda-pushing health teacher and... well, maybe not. So mealtimes have an added dimension, and I have to think more in planning! (Not more thinking! Nooooo!) She's determined though, and ridicule is not allowed. She is my one athlete and far be it from me to discourage self-discipline and the desire for healthy habits.

That's all for now. I hope to be posting more often- we'll see! Cheerio!