Family Fun

Most of the time I am miles apart from my mother on Mother's Day.  However,  due to us being in the city for Caleb's graduation it was an extra blessing that we could spend the weekend with my parents.  With coming from a family of 15 children it is not that often when we are in the city and get to see all of them within two days.  What a treat it was to enjoy some great family time together!

Crossing the Finish Line

Last Saturday we had the joy of making a trip to Chicago to witness our oldest son Caleb, graduate from Moody Bible Institute.  Caleb has spent the last couple of years studying at Moody through their distant learning program.  It has not been an easy journey for Caleb as he has juggled working shift work, as well as being being a husband and dad and involved in our church.  He sacrificed a lot, especially in sleep, to finish strong.  However, Caleb graduated with highest  honors with his
Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies.  The morning of graduation Moody hosted a special breakfast for all the distant learning graduates and their family.  It was a very meaningful time and really added to the joyous occasion.  Before Caleb crossed this finish line he started the race in getting his Masters of Divinity in Biblical Languages.  If you think of him you can pray for him as he continues to juggle life with work, family, and his continuing education.  He finished his first Greek class and is starting on his first Hebrew class.  So the middle of the night studies continue.  Way to go Caleb!  We are so very proud of you!

A Breath of Fresh Air

With over half of our children living hundreds of miles away we greatly value any time we get to spend with any of them.  Last week Ruth was able to come home for five days.  Her life is busy as she works full time and is going to school to become a nurse practitioner. Therefore, it was so very special to have her home.  Since Ruth hasn't been home for 16 months she met Gavin and Evie for the first time.  😄 And it was great for the rest of her nieces and nephews to get reacquainted with their Auntie Ruth.  We made some of her favorite meals, enjoyed a couple of walks together, and of course shared many cups of coffee as well.  How we treasure the special memories we made together.  

Building Bridges Through times of Transition

Times of Transition can be very hard on families and especially their children.  Missionaries and MK's go through more transitions then most people in life.  Everyone navigates transitions in a different way, with a wide range of emotions and coping skills.  As I invest in our children I talk a lot about all the transitions that they will be going through and what are some healthy ways to cope with them.  I have my mock bridge set up.  They walk across it under "normal" conditions.  Then they put on some glasses that are covered with wax paper which shows how hard it is to cross a bridge when you are going through transitions.  There is no way to cross the bridge without falling off.  However as a friend walks a long side them giving them a hand they can make it across the bridge without falling.  It is just an illustration of how important it is to have a good support system when going through those transitions.  We then spent some time trying to build bridges.

MK Caregivers Summit 2017

This past week I was able to attend the MK Caregivers Summit which was held in Kansas City.   This year the topics covers were: Millennial & Emerging Generations, MKs/TCKs: Engaging Today's Culture, and Values and Communication Styles. Our keynote speaker was Jonathan Catherman.  He was an exceptional communicator and he shared a lot of valuable things.   This conference is always a high light of the year when I can get together with other MK Caregivers from many different mission organizations.  Resources and ideas are shared.  It is always a great time spent worshiping and being challenged and encouraged to keep pressing on in ministering to our MK's and missionary families.  

Our NTM Team

Dunking Donuts

While I was in MO. I was able to connect with one of our former students.  He invited some of his friends over and we had a donut making party together.  The donuts turned out great and I really enjoyed meeting some pretty cool people.

New Tribes Mission MK Summit

The past couple of days I had the privilege of being a part of the New Tribes Mission MK Summit.  Unfortunately due to the weather and health issues several people had to cancel out at the last minute.  However, we had a good group of people come together to to talk about how we can serve our families and MK's better.  We had a couple of teachers from our MK schools, a couple of home school coordinators from overseas, MK care personnel, and the rest of the North American team that came together for these meetings.  It was a great time to gather, connect, and to find out what we are all doing,  and how we can work together more effectively, and in the end help our families.