This week we took the kiddos to Canada to see Niagara Falls! Niagara Falls is actually two falls - the Horseshoe Falls has 90% of the water flow and the American falls has the other 10%. So fun and beautiful! Horseshoe Falls - 90% of the water flow. American Falls - 10% of the water flow.
Most mornings our family takes 20 minutes to watch our Thai language DVDs and practice our numbers/letters on a phone app as we're beginning to work on learning to speak and read Thai. The kiddos love the DVDs designed for children and are picking up on the language faster than their parents! We then usually take 10 minutes to learn about a fun thing to do in Chiang Mai. We want our little ones to be excited about our upcoming move and the city they'll soon be living in. Please be praying for us all to make progress in learning Thai, and for our children's hearts to be prepared to move to Thailand.
This morning he kiddos and I toured the Grand Rapids Fire Station. The firefighters were so sweet and we had so much fun! We even got to see a truck "take off to the rescue" at the end.
Isaac had a wonderful 4th birthday party! Isaac and his little friends danced to firefighter songs, "stopped dropped and rolled," played lots of games including hot potato (with a dalmatian), "Firefighter, Fighter, Dalmatian" (duck, duck, goose), enjoyed fire and water cupcakes, and opened presents. It was a very special day for our little Fire Chief! WE MADE IT! As of this morning we're at 85% of our needed monthly support and we qualify for our final training seminar before we leave for the field! Thanks so much to everyone who has prayed and partnered with us to get here! To God be the glory!
This week we had a missionary couple commit to start supporting us. They weren't the first though - in fact, we have 5 missionaries that are supporting us!
A couple of months ago we posted the picture above on our Facebook page. There is so much that is great about this quote, but over the past few months God has drastically changed how I think about these ideas, especially about who a “sender” is. Through the generosity of others, I’ve become convinced that there isn’t a division between “goers” and “senders,” but that ALL of us are called to serve as senders - even those that go! When the first missionary couple signed up to partner with us financially I was just very surprised, but over time (and as other missionaries have partnered with us as well), I’ve had to rethink a lot of things. Before, I definitely divided the world like the quote above does: some send and some go. Through the generosity and big hearts of others, God has been chiseling away at my heart. These missionary families are not only “going,” but are actively seeking to “send” in real ways as well! The big question: Why should going cause us to stop caring about sending others? The answer: It shouldn’t. We are ALL called to send in the ways that we are able. We have a passion for empowering the Church in Asia, but that shouldn’t stop us from caring about reaching the Islamic world or unreached people around the world! The two are not mutually exclusive. Spiritual gifts are not divided into mutually exclusive categories: those with the gift of evangelism can still show mercy, and those with the gift of service are still able to give generously. We don’t live in a world of “missionaries and other Christians,” but neither do we live in a world of simply “goers and senders.” We are ALL called to be senders in the ways that we are able. Jesus has given us the task of reaching all nations, and we must do all we can! To celebrate Abbie's 8th birthday we had a Frozen Party! The girls had a fabulous time decorating snowflake cookies, pinning the nose on Olaf, going on a Frozen scavenger hunt, watching the Frozen movie, and pelting snow monster Daddy with snowballs to get him to surrender candy. Tonight I cut out my peanuts' hearts for the 14 days leading up to Valentine's Day. For the first 14 days in February Greg and I put up a new encouraging heart up on their doors each night. Each heart says "You are..." and tells them something that we appreciate about them. On Valentine's Day their hearts say, "You are LOVED!" Since the boys share a room, Christian's hearts are red and Isaac's hearts are white to tell them apart, and since the girls share a room, Abbie's hearts are pink and Hannah's hearts are purple. Below is the template I use in case you want to bless your kiddos too!
Thank you so much for your prayers for Isaac! We're home and happy! Today was a special blessing – more than we could have asked or imagined! :)
Isaac’s test went very smoothly (much better than tests in the past), and we discovered that Isaac’s small right kidney is functioning at 50% which is wonderful – much better than we thought based on how it looks! The doctor also does not feel Isaac needs surgery as the primary purpose would be to prevent urinary tract infections and as of now Isaac has never had one. So we still have to monitor Isaac with regular ultrasounds and occasional kidney tests, but as of now things look really good. Our doctor also gave us his personal email address, so that he can keep up with Isaac even when we’re overseas – what a blessing! As an added blessing today while at the children’s hospital we saw nurses Erin West and Dennis Philpott from church. It’s always nice to be around smiling faces who you know are praying for you while in the hospital. :) Also, yesterday it “just so happens” that for our SG Girls’ Winter Bible Study this week we’re focusing on Psalm 139 - verse 13 says, “For You formed my inward parts.” I did a word study on “inward parts” and the Hebrew word for inward parts is “kilya” meaning kidneys. This verse literally says, “For You formed my kidneys.” How amazing is that?!? It was a great verse to reflect on today! Thank you for praying for us and rejoicing with us that Isaac’s right kidney is doing better than expected and surgery isn’t necessary as of now! |
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