One more round down south...

On Friday, September 5th we took off on a 10 day journey through Peoria, Atlanta, Columbia...


C A M P I N G

We left Chicago after picking up Samuel from his school (first grade) and found a campground near Ottawa, IL. This was the first time we had spent the night in a tent as a family and we had a lot of fun and realized we were not fully prepared for camping. Now we know that having a working flashlight is very handy. We also learned that when you bring a stove and propane, its also good to bring matches. The best part was looking up at the stars as we lay on our sleeping bags in the tent where 80% is net (we didn't put on the rain/wind cover). The next morning, Rebeca and Matthew were the first to get up so they took a walk and got this picture.




Then Samuel went for a bike ride and we got this one.

P E O R I A

Stayed with our friends Jeff and Kristine Davidson for a few days while we visited their church and shared with them about Mexico. We also had opportunity to briefly share at a "mommy" group that Kristine is involved with as she is looking to broaden their focus on missions both local and global. On other big news, God's timing would have it so that our van would completely become unsafe for driving, right when we were there. Through a set of circumstances, we were able to trade it in and get a seven-year upgrade on our Dodge Caravan. The new 2005 van is a safer and sturdier vehicle for our trip to Mexico and for ministry use while we are down there. Praise God for His generous provision!

C O L U M B I A

After picking up my mom at my grandmother's place near Atlanta, we drove to Columbia where we stayed with John and Bethany Reed, my younger brother. That night we put up the tent again in John's back yard and my older brother Jamie brought his two oldest kids and the two of us spent the night in the tent with the four kids. Fun memory-building times with the cousins.

We had an opportunity to share about Mexico with a few of John's friends in an informal setting right in their living room. We were also able to see my mom sing with the Columbia International University 60th anniversary Ambassador's choir, where she had been the pianist during college days in the late 60's, early 70's. My brother Tim and Craig and their families got together with us for supper and then the next day we had a picnic with Fran (my dad's sister) and Judy (my dad's brother's wife) who were in town.

A T L A N T A

The group who had gone to Ecuador in July had a picture party and we were able to join them on Saturday to reminisce. It was great to see over half of the 23 who went and great to introduce them to Lina and the kids. They also were gracious to let us share our vision and heart about Mexico and an opportunity to invite them to join our support team. We stayed with Kirk and Connie Johnson (she's running a marathon in November, so the next morning ran 12 miles!!). We then went to Johnson Ferry Baptist Church, which had sponsored the Ecuador trip and met my aunt Joan and Chuck and the family for a quick lunch before heading on our trip to Chicago.

Warmer weather, new opportunities

For eighteen days this month, we have been adding significant mileage to our van. Our trip to South Carolina and Georgia has been a blessing to us as we have been able to spend time with both family, which we had not seen for almost a year, and friends, some of whom we had not seen for much longer. We have counted nine different beds where we have slept. The kids have been so flexible and excited about the next day's adventures. We are so thankful for their adaptability when out of their regular context. On a number of nights we have still been able to read a Bible story. In the picture, Samuel is reading an Old Testament story out loud while Rebeca tunes in.

The main purpose of our journey to the south has been to share about our vision for ministry in Mexico so people can better understand what we will be doing and how they can support with both prayer and finances. We have also initiated some form of contact with three different churches where our friends/family attend. As we continue sharing about Tenancingo, our hearts continue to be encouraged as others get excited about this opportunity God has opened up for us.

Goodbye Futon!

This journey we are making as a family to Mexico has a definite impact on each of us. Recently, we realized how much it is touching our son Samuel's life. As a way to gradually get rid of furniture and things, we have begun posting some furniture items for sale. One of the first items was a futon which was actually given to us a few years ago. For the last few months, the kids have enjoyed climbing all over the futon, as well as laying on the top of the back side as they watched TV. Although both Lina and I had been talking about this plan, we had not looped the kids into the matter.

We found an interested buyer who ended up coming to take the futon while I was at work. Upon my return, Lina informed me that Samuel had been upset by the futon going out of the home. He was sad and even began to cry as he realized what was going on. My heart was touched as she shared with me how Samuel had reacted. I realized how the decisions we are making with our lives are having a big (and will have an even bigger) impression on our kids. We took this as an opportunity to remind Samuel how everything we have has been given to us by God and that "He gives and takes a way" but we will always "bless His name." (see Job in the Old Testament).

Even though we can't always exactly anticipate them, we expect situations like this will become more and more frequent. What a blessing to have real life situations through which to instruct and teach our children about the things that matter most. Please be remembering them in prayer as you think about it.

A bold initiative and a move

Summer may be full of R&R for some, but we're gearing up for a busy next two months as we have set a goal of meeting with three individuals/couples/families per week between now and Labor Day. We are doing this with the direct purpose of sharing our vision, passion and needs related to life and work in Tenancingo. Our intent is to be very direct in asking folks to consider financially supporting our ministry and that can be a delicate task. We need prayer for focus, joy, boldness, wisdom and good balance with work and family life.

Our lease is up @ the end of August and our landlord will not go month-to-month. He would require us to commit at least until April 2008 if we renewed our lease. So we are looking at alternatives. Our most obvious and likely one would be to move in with Lina's brother Isaac who has graciously opened their home for us to live with them; this may be through the end of the year depending on how the rest of our support discovery goes.

Charlotte and back (John and Bethany's wedding)

I've been wanting to add a brief summary of our trip to my brother John's wedding on February 17. It was a good one. We drove down on Wednesday night and got to spend some time with the family, albeit brief. We returned Sunday afternoon after an adventrous snowy night

Before the wedding
We drove down to SC to deliver a crib to my step-brother Craig and his wife Leah for their twin daughters. Felt good to leave our family crib (bought it when Samuel was born and Rebeca used it) with family. Then we went to pick up our tuxes at the mall and hung out with my older brother Jamie for a bit. That evening we had dinner with my younger brother Tim and his family as well as my parents (who had flown in from China a few days earlier). Finally, that night we drove up to Rock Hill, SC (near NC border) to stay with some family friends who have known Lina for years.

John commissioned me to pick up the pastor at the airport. He's a family friend who flew up from Orlando, FL. Samuel came with me and we drove him to the hotel near the church. We went out to eat at the Golden Corral. Meanwhile, Lina and Rebeca were shopping with Lina's friend in Rock Hill. When we arrived, we had about half an hour to get ready for the rehearsal. We ended up getting there late, but it all worked out well. The rehearsal dinner was at a Chinese Buffett place. Later that night I got to spend some time with John and a few other friends as we went out together.

The wedding
Was very organized and perhaps a tad more structured than what some of us were used to. However, there were some very special parts that made it memorable:

• Samuel did a great job walking down the aisle w/ his little pillow as ringbearer. He had a new black suit for the occassion along with a gold-colored tie. With his fancy black shoes, he looked handsome and knew exactly where to walk and stand on the stage (marked with a special masking tape "X")



• Rebeca walked down with her basket full of bright red petals but was only throwing out one petal at a time. She took a long time to walk down the aisle and at one point when she threw more than one petal, she reached down and picked up the extra one and put it back in her basket. It was cute for a while, but eventually John asked me to go get her, so I walked down from the stage to pick her up. By now she had made it to the front row. When I picked her up, she protested since she wanted to throw petals all the way to her place on the stage. She asked me to pick her up. I had her in my arms for most of the wedding ceremony. It was special :)



• Well-selected worship songs led by Phillip Biddulph (a fellow missionary kid from Spain and joint owner of John's interpreting business). A former roommate of John's played the guitar and it sounded beautiful.



• Lighting the candles to the song "In Christ Alone" And in general seeing the love John and Bethany showed each other.



• A good word from the pastor, who had been my dad's youth pastor.



• The reception was a good time with family and friends. It was a good meal, company, dancing, which ended around 10:30 or so.... which meant our journey back to Chicago began just after 11 PM

Return trip
We drove up North Carolina with a goal of crossing the southwest tip of Virginia and getting into West Virginia to stay for the night. As we crossed into the border it started snowing hard. We drove a little more and got to the point where I was going 25 MPH, the fastest I could safely drive on the interstate which I had to myself. It was snow-covered and I had a hard time even seeing the lanes. Thankfully the side rails and median gave me certain guidance. We arrived in Beckley, WV shortly before 3AM, only to find an exit with 3 to 4 inches of snow on the ground and a Courtyard that was booked full and where the receptionist told us that each of the 14 hotels in town was also booked full (apparently good skiing season). Recommended a hotel 20/30 mins out of our way or else go to Charleston an hour away. We decided on the latter. After recharging w/ a small cup of reception area coffee, we took off. We made it to Charleston a few minutes after 4 AM and checked in to sleep. The kids transitioned from the van to the bed just fine. We woke up around 8:30, got some groceries and took off on the rest of our cold journey. Made it to Chicago around 6 or 7 PM.