Six years ago today we entered into the world of grand parenthood as our first grand child, Aurora, entered the world. Since then the Lord has blessed us with three more grandchildren. Now I can hardly imagine what our lives would be like without these precious blessings God has brought into out family.
Aurora you have brought so much joy and happiness into our lives. You are such a vibrant little girl and I love making incredible memories together with you. Whether we are in the kitchen baking, making tea hats, or singing karaoke together, it is always so much fun hanging out together. I love and treasure these precious times together. I am looking forward to making so many more memories with you. Keep loving on people and bringing joy into this world. I know God is going to continue to use you to touch so many lives.
Happy 6th Birthday Aurora!
I have been very poor in posting anything these last couple of weeks. Two weeks ago we celebrated Kristina's 30th birthday. The next day we took off on a 2,000 mile trip. Our first stop was to Raleigh, NC to see Ruth and Glenn and also to pick up Titus for his Christmas break. We then headed up to Chicago for my family's Christmas party and to see my parents. Then we headed back home. We are thankful that over all those miles we hit no rain or snow. We are enjoying having Titus home and before we know it, we will be on the road driving him back to university.
Last night we had the GREAT privilege to witness 15 of our students graduate. It has been a GREAT joy to get to know these dear people who love the Lord and desire to serve him. We know God has amazing things in store for them as they walk with the Lord and are open to His leading. Please be praying for our students and their children as this chapter of their life ends and a new one begins.
Happy Anniversary Seth and Camille! God has blessed you with two precious children. Enjoy these years of making some amazing family memories with your little ones. They will grow up way too fast. Keep investing, serving and loving each other. Have fun walking down the path of life together.
Things are winding down here and in ten days our third semester students will be graduating. As I have worked with our student families with children I am always looking for ways to invest in them and to cheer them on. Since six of our children will be leaving and moving away, I was looking for a way that they could make some great memories together with friends before they leave. I thought about doing a photo booth and my daughter-in-law Kristina very graciously agreed to be the photographer. Here is just a small snap shot of some of the fun and memories that were made. Please be praying for the children that are facing a major move ahead.
Tonight we had an "Open Market" for our children in the training. We had three vendors set up for the children to buys things at. One was from Indonesia, another from Hong Kong, and another from Venezuela. The children had a fun time bartering to buy fruits, vegetables, candy, and other things. It was an opportunity for the children to experience trying to buy something as our vendors spoke different languages. This was another fun activity to expose them to different languages and cultures.
As most of you know I have a heart for M.K.'s and love to see them thrive. Part of preparing and training our students is to help prepare their children (who are future M.K.'s) for the changes and transitions ahead. The last transition activity I did with our families was called "Cultural Transplant". We made some comparisons between transplanting a plant into a new pot, and how missionary families are being uprooted and transplanted into a new culture. Please be praying for our students and their families and all the adjustments they soon will be going through.
