Today was a special day for Greg and I as we were official appointed as ABWE Missionaries!
There were some amazing moments throughout this process - forming some incredible friendships with 24 other missionaries, sharing our heart with the ABWE board, learning how to share our vision with other believers so they can partner with us, but one of the most meaningful times was yesterday when our Pre-Field candidate class wrapped our arms around each other and sang "Great is Thy Faithfulness." "Great is Thy Faithfulness" is a particularly special song to Greg and I as we sang it at our wedding and we would like the song sang at our funerals, so it seemed incredibly fitting that our Pre-Field Director asked us to sing this special hymn as we concluded our training and began "the middle of our journey." On July 8th Greg and I celebrated the blessing of being married nine years! We've been blessed to serve in full-time ministry for eight of those years - two years as missionary English teachers in China and six years in pastoral ministry. Over this time God has blessed us with four beautiful children, and our oldest turned eight-years-old today (how did that happen?!?). Now it's time for us to begin the next phase of our journey as we raise support to serve God by training church leaders in Southeast Asia. God has been faithful in bringing Greg and I together and providing us with all we've needed throughout the past nine years as we began our ministry journey. God will be faithful to provide for us as we seek to minister in Asia. And God will be faithful to provide us with His grace when it's the end of our time on this earth. From beginning to middle to end we will praise God for "Great is His Faithfulness!" “Great is Thy faithfulness,” O God my Father, There is no shadow of turning with Thee; Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not As Thou hast been Thou forever wilt be. “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!” Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me! Summer and winter, and springtime and harvest, Sun, moon and stars in their courses above, Join with all nature in manifold witness To Thy great faithfulness, mercy and love. “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!” Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me! Pardon for sin and a peace that endureth, Thine own dear presence to cheer and to guide; Strength for today and bright hope for tomorrow, Blessings all mine, with ten thousand beside! “Great is Thy faithfulness!” “Great is Thy faithfulness!” Morning by morning new mercies I see; All I have needed Thy hand hath provided-- “Great is Thy faithfulness,” Lord, unto me! Here is the 7 minute version of my testimony that was recorded in 2012. If you've never heard my story before - here it is! :) Today we picked 11 pounds of strawberries! We're freezing them for smoothies, making lots of strawberry sauce for shortcake, and of course eating oodles of fresh, sweet berries! I think Isaac at eat least 30 while we were picking - haha! :) Hannah officially started rolling over yesterday! We find Hannah on her tummy more than her back now. :)
Most 2-year-olds sleep with a special blanket or stuffed animal. My 2-year-old sleeps with a tractor. I even have to cover the tractor with a blanket so it can go "Night Night" too. I love my little man. :)
Dear Christian and Abbie, You’re done with school for the year! I’m so proud of you for finishing Kindergarten and 2nd grade! You worked hard this year and it’s time for a nice long summer break! Here’s our basic summer plan: 1) Each morning, just as usual, immediately after breakfast you must complete your morning tasks lists (shower, brush teeth, get dressed, clean rooms, and make beds) before you can begin your fun days. We want to start each day off right with clean bodies and rooms, so we’re ready to go out and do something fun. 2) Almost every morning we will go out and do something fun! We’ll be heading to the park, zoo, gardens, children’s museum, library, or we’ll have friends over for a playdate. It’s time to get away from home for a little bit each day. 3) Each day after lunch, when Isaac and Hannah are napping and the lunch dishes are done, we will read together for 20 minutes. Christian, you will read a classic book on your own. Abbie, you will read to me. After reading I will set a timer for 1 hour of screen time – that’s it. If you whine or complain when the timer goes off, you have lost screen time for the next day. If you do not turn off your devices immediately when the timer goes off, you will have lost screen time for the next day. If you ask for screen time at any point during the day, you will have lost screen time for the next day. I know you want screen time. You will get it for 1 hour after reading. Don’t ask for more. The rest of the day is all yours to do whatever you want! This summer I want you to spend lots of time outside – running, climbing trees, coloring with sidewalk chalk, swinging, making up games, and using your imaginations. It all sounds amazing right now, but there are going to be some afternoons when you’re feeling bored. When you feel bored it’s YOUR job to figure our something to do, but to get you started here are 30 ideas: 1) Color a picture. 2) Color with sidewalk chalk. 3) Paint. 4) Paint the sidewalk with water. 5) Play a game. 6) Invent a game. 7) Read a book. 8) Climb a tree. 9) Play basketball. 10) Play baseball. 11) Play frisbee. 12) Play hide-and-seek. 13) Play tag. 14) Play with play-doh. 15) Blow bubbles. 16) Build a fort. 17) Build a sandcastle. 18) Build with legos. 19) Build with k’nex. 20) Build with Lincoln logs. 21) Catch butterflies. 22) Do a puzzle. 23) Ride your bikes. 24) Ride your scooters. 25) Make a fairy house. 26) Dress-up in costumes. 27) Write in your journal. 28) Write a letter. 29) Write a story. 30) Have a squirt gun battle. These 30 ideas are being posted up on our refrigerator and that’s all the help you’re getting from mama this summer. If you come to me and say, “Mommy, I’m bored!” then what I magically hear is “Mommy, I need a chore to keep me occupied!” I will not hesitate to give you as many cleaning tasks as necessary to keep you occupied, but I suggest you think of something more exciting to do…unless you randomly feel like cleaning. The summer is a time for you to explore different places, to play what you want to play, to create something new and exciting, and to run, jump, flip, and just have fun! Enjoy yourself! Love, Mom Tomorrow Christian and Abbie finish their last day of Kindergarten and 2nd grade. We're all super excited for summer break, but I know there will be moments of boredom too. So I'm being proactive this year and I wrote this letter to my kiddos. It's going up on the refrigerator after I read it to them tomorrow afternoon. I'm hoping I won't hear "I'm bored!" very often this summer. :)
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