Little video of Catelyn's swim class!
Some of Ella!
Since Daddy and Ella didn't make much of the cut in the last post...here's some. :)
Cheese!
I love this picture of them!
My new skill!
Catelyn...you're getting me wet...AGAIN!
I love taking baths with my sister!
Hi!
Cheese!
I love this picture of them!My new skill!
Catelyn...you're getting me wet...AGAIN!
I love taking baths with my sister!
Hi!
This past week
This week has been a fun one! I turned 30 last Friday and Catelyn started swim lessons this week.
My birthday was a nice time with some old and new friends. Thursday night (the day before my birthday), Corey and the girls took me to dinner - my favorite place - Red Robin (I LOVE the BBQ Whiskey Chicken Wrap!). Then the evening of my birthday we had friends over for a cake party. I've looked forward to being in my 30s and now it is finally here. :)
Mommy is 3 decades, and I'm 3 years!
Mommy and Ella at Mommy's birthday dinner!
Mommy and Catelyn at Mommy's birthday dinner! Catelyn's holding the gift that she got Mommy - a Princess Belle toy!
Come on, Mommy...let's open your presents!
This past Monday, Catelyn had her first swim lesson. She will have classes Monday and Wednesdays for the next 4 weeks. She did such an amazing job! They had her jumping into the pool, putting her head under water, floating on her back and stomach, and practicing swimming with her head in the water (while being held by the teacher) - and this all the first day! I'm so proud of my little girl! She loves her class!
Speechless and Smiling
This morning I had one of those moments...you know them...when you find yourself stopping and sitting with a smile on your face because a rush of sweet thoughts just flooded your mind...you are in awe of God. That was me just a little while ago.
This past weekend we made a very quick trip to Moorpark, CA. We were invited to come and share a little bit about our future ministry in Aceh, Indonesia. These opportunities are always wonderful, edifying, and encouraging. We enjoy the blessing of sharing what God has and is doing around the world. However, this weekend was different...I'm considering it to be one of the most encouraging times in my life so far. This Body of believers at Cornerstone Moorpark showed us so much love and support that we left giving God praise. Only His Spirit could evoke such love and genuine hospitality. We were embraced, cared for, and prayed over SO many times. What joy and peace and comfort it brings to know that there are people who genuinely desire and DO pray for us (and all those serving overseas). Thank you Cornerstone Moorpark for partnering with us to extend God's love and truth to a people who are far off. We are privileged and blessed to serve alongside you as we seek to make Christ's Name known and adored! Your example has left me smiling.
-Megan
This past weekend we made a very quick trip to Moorpark, CA. We were invited to come and share a little bit about our future ministry in Aceh, Indonesia. These opportunities are always wonderful, edifying, and encouraging. We enjoy the blessing of sharing what God has and is doing around the world. However, this weekend was different...I'm considering it to be one of the most encouraging times in my life so far. This Body of believers at Cornerstone Moorpark showed us so much love and support that we left giving God praise. Only His Spirit could evoke such love and genuine hospitality. We were embraced, cared for, and prayed over SO many times. What joy and peace and comfort it brings to know that there are people who genuinely desire and DO pray for us (and all those serving overseas). Thank you Cornerstone Moorpark for partnering with us to extend God's love and truth to a people who are far off. We are privileged and blessed to serve alongside you as we seek to make Christ's Name known and adored! Your example has left me smiling.
-Megan
Orientation - Week 1
We've completed the first week of our two-week Orientation training. The purpose of Orientation is to introduce us and familiarize us to living cross-culturally. We've learned quite a bit of interesting, useful, comical, and saddening things so far - and there is more to come for the second week.
Our class is made up of a diverse group of people...some from Washington, some from Michigan, some from Philippines and some from the Netherlands. The fun part is that two other couples from this class will be with us during language school (our first year in Indonesia)! So, it's been great spending time with them and getting to know them, and having our kids play together now. It will make the culture shock a little less drastic with familiar faces and friends.
One experience that we had during this past week was that our class went into the home of a group of Somali refugees (there were 5 women and 2 men). One of them spoke pretty good English, and another spoke very broken English...other than that, we were on our own to try to communicate and COOK Somali food with them! The afternoon with them was challenging, but it really was a wonderful experience. They were very friendly. I got to help the women make a dish called Salambo (I'm totally guessing at the spelling...and the actual word for that matter)! Our kids played with theirs. Catelyn experienced her first bee-sting at their house...she wasn't too excited about that, but after much trying, one of our classmates managed to communicate enough to get an ice-pack for her. The Somalians are Muslim and explained (through the one that spoke English) about how and why their food was halal (acceptable before Allah to eat). This was particularly interesting to me and Corey as we will be moving to a Muslim nation. We ate our meal on a large mat on the floor. Before we began to eat, they passed a bowl of water around so that we could wash our hands. The food was placed in the middle of all of us (about 20 of us in total) and we ate with our fingers (Catelyn really liked that part). The food was very good...rice, goat, potatoes, pasta, vegetables, corn (grits), a very spicy stew-like dish, homemade hot sauce, crepe-like pancake thing (though not sweet tasting) and bananas (which I think were suppose to be the dessert).
There were a few cultural things that we needed to remember to not offend them: to use our right hand when handing something to them (the left hand is the dirty hand), take off our shoes before entering the home, not to point the bottom of our feet toward anyone (this is difficult while sitting on the floor!), and we ladies were not to have our knees or above our elbows exposed (there is obviously more, but just giving you an idea). Their bathroom is used differently than ours...no toilet paper, there is no shower curtain but instead they have a jug to pour water on themselves while standing in the shower, the shampoo and soap are at the sink along with another jug of water to wash themselves at the sink. When I went to take Catetlyn to the bathroom, our new Somali friends were very kind and accommodating to quickly hand us a stack of napkins for our use...thank you very much!
All in all, we all had a great time and truly enjoyed experiencing a very small glimpse into another culture and being introduced to some of the differences that we'll be subject to as a guest in another country. We pray that God will give us great understanding and become great students of the Acehnese culture that we may lovingly and effectively bring the good news of Jesus Christ to them.
Here are a couple pics...one of our Orientation class and some of our fun experience!
Orientation Class Fall 2009
What we thought was our dinner until A LOT more dishes kept coming out!
Some of our new friends
The guys
The girls
Becoming Like One of These
It is amazing how much I learn from my child. I know that Scripture teaches that I am the one to disciple, encourage, and train my child in order to nurture her desire for a relationship with Christ, but many times I find that she is the one who teaches and encourages me in my walk with God. This morning was one of those times.
Catelyn and I were looking at pictures of some of the devastation from the earthquake in Indonesia a few days ago. We came to a picture that showed several buildings completely flattened with debris scattered all over. I explained to her that the ground shook really hard and that the roofs and walls of these buildings fell down...and that people were inside the buildings. I continued to share that some people have died, but that some people are still alive and trapped inside and they could be really hurt badly and that they haven't eaten or drank any water for three days. As she quietly stared at the picture she suddenly turned to me with a huge smile and said, "I want to go there and pick up the trash and carry those people to God and help Him put band-aids on their owies. And we can give them food and something to drink because they are probably hungry and thirsty." My heart melted at those beautiful words that poured forth from this 3-year-old. I told her, "Catelyn, I love your heart." Then we prayed together for the victims and for those helping, asking God to help them.
A few hours past and I began to be burdened with a nagging realization - I neglected to take the perfect opportunity to nurture my daughter's heart in loving others in deed, not simply in word. She felt moved to "do something" and SHE SHOULD. I want my children to grow to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers and so deceive themselves (James 1:22). I shared this with Corey, and we agreed that we will tell her that WE CAN help them. We can donate to MAF's Disaster Relief Fund to help our MAF team that is there RIGHT NOW serving, loving, and caring for these people. So, we explained to Catelyn that we can't be there in person helping right now, but that there are people there right now who are and we can help them by giving money to buy food, water, and band-aids so that they can help those people. We asked her how much money that she wanted to give to help and we would do it together as a family right then. She told us and we prayed together and did it.
I'm excited at more moments like these that allow us as parents to teach the TRUTH of God's grace and love...not just in word, but in our actions. Today, God taught me once again through the simple and untainted love of a child that God's love is simple...it doesn't matter how "big" our help is, it is simply that we choose to help. Thank you, Catelyn for your example, and thank You God for your constant reminders through the heart of a child.
"And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:2-4
Catelyn and I were looking at pictures of some of the devastation from the earthquake in Indonesia a few days ago. We came to a picture that showed several buildings completely flattened with debris scattered all over. I explained to her that the ground shook really hard and that the roofs and walls of these buildings fell down...and that people were inside the buildings. I continued to share that some people have died, but that some people are still alive and trapped inside and they could be really hurt badly and that they haven't eaten or drank any water for three days. As she quietly stared at the picture she suddenly turned to me with a huge smile and said, "I want to go there and pick up the trash and carry those people to God and help Him put band-aids on their owies. And we can give them food and something to drink because they are probably hungry and thirsty." My heart melted at those beautiful words that poured forth from this 3-year-old. I told her, "Catelyn, I love your heart." Then we prayed together for the victims and for those helping, asking God to help them.
A few hours past and I began to be burdened with a nagging realization - I neglected to take the perfect opportunity to nurture my daughter's heart in loving others in deed, not simply in word. She felt moved to "do something" and SHE SHOULD. I want my children to grow to be doers of the Word, not merely hearers and so deceive themselves (James 1:22). I shared this with Corey, and we agreed that we will tell her that WE CAN help them. We can donate to MAF's Disaster Relief Fund to help our MAF team that is there RIGHT NOW serving, loving, and caring for these people. So, we explained to Catelyn that we can't be there in person helping right now, but that there are people there right now who are and we can help them by giving money to buy food, water, and band-aids so that they can help those people. We asked her how much money that she wanted to give to help and we would do it together as a family right then. She told us and we prayed together and did it.
I'm excited at more moments like these that allow us as parents to teach the TRUTH of God's grace and love...not just in word, but in our actions. Today, God taught me once again through the simple and untainted love of a child that God's love is simple...it doesn't matter how "big" our help is, it is simply that we choose to help. Thank you, Catelyn for your example, and thank You God for your constant reminders through the heart of a child.
"And calling to Him a child, He put him in the midst of them and said, 'Truly, I say to you, unless you turn and become like children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.'" Matthew 18:2-4
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