Weekend Update

Saturdays have an entirely different feel to them here at the Mission. Our list of things to accomplish was as long as ever, but it's much quieter and there are only a few employees around. It's certainly not the same as hearing the teachers calling out instructions, the children reciting grammar and bible lessons, and especially the children's laughing and playing. I missed that today. I guess I'm used to the sounds of children around for some reason. :)

I love it here. I've been meaning to say that, but I haven't been able to describe exactly why. Tonight I think I realized how to sum it up best:
I have never experienced anything as fulfilling and rewarding as being squarely in the middle of God's will for my life. The joy it brings is beyond my ability to describe.

Tomorrow we will attend church here at the mission, and enjoy the singing and praising of our new neighbors. It is a great experience, even though at this point I hardly understand a word they're saying. I did venture out into the village without an interpreter today, and I'm starting to be able to communicate a few things. I'm fine right up until someone starts replying to me, then I'm lost. The locals get a great kick out of my struggling, however.

Please pray for safe travel to the city and airport on Monday to pick up next week's mission team. And that Jason and I don't starve while cooking for ourselves.

Shopping for chicken in Haiti

Here is the rundown:
Fixed things (lights, truck horn, other truck seat)
Cleaned things (house, office, extra rooms, kitchen)
Broke one thing (playing with electricity, trying to fix something)
Shopped for some food things (in Archaie, the nearest "large" town)
Moved furniture things for upcoming mission team visit
Spent some time this afternoon sitting with the head cook and her family in the village.

Today's best tidbit, as decided by moi:

Here is a tip, if you find yourself shopping for chicken in large quantities at an importer/distributor in a third-world country...
Don't ask if you can have fifty pounds of said chicken in the form of chicken breasts.
Even if you have an interpreter, it doesn't work. Trust me on this. They find it very funny and apparently a strange request. I actually think they thought we were demented somehow.

Since this experience, I have been taking special note of the chickens in the area (including those on our property here). They do have that part of the body, but I guess I just can't ask for it. Another adjustment to make, I suppose.

I'm wiped out after a big day, and looking forward to a shower and some rest. I wish you all well.

I had a great time talking to (over the internet with a web-cam) and seeing my lovely wife and three littlest ones at home tonight. Britt & Paige - I love you and miss you, I'll hopefully talk to you soon. :)

Friday

Britt spoke about the move to Haiti at a chapel service today. It was at the school she attended from 4th to 8th grade.

She did a nice job explaining her thoughts and struggles and made me smile with her easy delivery. Her cutest comment, after she spoke and took questions, was in answer to a question about the high temperatures in Haiti she said:
"I am kind of a sweaty person you know, so sometimes it might be pretty hard to stay cool and sleep at night."

Those of us still in Big Lake are off to Tina and Matt's place for the weekend.

Quote of the day: "I have been all things unholy. If God can work through me, he can work through anyone." ~St.Francis of Assisi~

First post from a world away

As Tara has already shared, I arrived safely at our new home this afternoon. Thank you for all of your prayers. The country I've seen so far seems no different than any other time I've visited. There is no feeling of insecurity or danger, just the usual necessary awareness of your surroundings. The media reports really do seem to be blowing the safety aspect out of proportion. I met a man from New York last night who pointed out that two years ago, there were 770 murders in the city of Port-Au-Prince. It is a city that is home to over four million people. That same year, the city of Chicago had nearly 1,900 murders with a population of less than three million. I haven't heard the Press and State Department shutting down travel to Chicago and declaring it a disaster, unless I missed it since Tuesday. Yes, things are a bit more heated right now due to the elections, but what I'm trying to say is...the reality of this place is better than reported as far as danger is concerned. And one more time, I'm safe and sound. All glory and honor to God for having His hands carry us here safely and showing us over and over again that He is sovereign.

Since arriving, I've been travelling with Jason (serving with us at Lifeline, from Michigan), Robenson (an employee of Lifeline who interprets and works with the children), and Pastor Rony, who leads the congregation in La Digue. We have had some laughs and enjoyed the work we've done so far.

We stayed in a "guest house" in Port-Au-Prince last night that is run by a missionary family working for C.S.I. Sounds exciting, I know, but we didn't do any forensics :( It stands for Christian Services International, and they have a beautiful home and fed us great meals and we had wonderful fellowship with a work-team visiting from Ohio. They are here building a school in a small village near the Dominican Rep. border.

The most interesting story so far is this:
I received my Haitian Driver's License today (Much quicker than I've ever gotten anything from the government at home). I watched the man type it up in front of me on a typewriter straight out of the 1960's. That was actually kind of fun. It was not fun when about 15 minutes later, I was forced to turn our truck around to circumvent some traffic issues. I followed another truck in front of me onto a side street and we were met by a police officer who kindly informed me that this was a one-way (unmarked, mind you) street and I would be ticketed. He took my brand-new Haitian Driver's License and walked away down the street and around the corner. This concerned me a little bit, so we parked the truck and Robenson and I followed him for about three blocks (I can see my license in his hand the whole time) back to his "squad" - a 1991 Suzuki Sidekick. Through my interpreting friend, I learn of the "crime" and it's penalty (loss of my brand new Haitian Driver's license) until a fine is paid and a court appearance and so on and so forth. There was quite a bit of negotiating and forehead rubbing and chin scratching between the two Haitians, and before I knew it, I was paying the fine of $100 on the spot (100 Haitian dollars, about twelve U.S. dollars). Then I received my license back and upon questioning my interpreter learned that we had just basically paid a bribe and we had better get on our way. I left the scene thinking "Great, I've been in-country less than 24 hours and I've already been stopped by the police, lost my brand new Driver's License and bribed a police officer."

Obviously, that was the worst part of my day, and I was excited to get out of the city and home to this village. Jason and I are trying to unpack at the moment, and remember why we packed certain things, and why we forgot to pack others. Tomorrow we will get organized for next week's mission teams and figure out what else we forgot. I'll check in again soon, and hopefully I will not have had any more encounters with "Haiti's Finest" in the meantime.

Love you all-
Troy

Random (and unrelated) Thoughts

There are a lot of cool things that have happened in the last six months. It has been amazing to watch God answer prayer after prayer, removing obstacles and opening doors for us. Some of it defies logic. If you judge the future based on your past experience, it would be safe to bet we have only just begun to see God at work. That is exciting to us.

As a mom, I look at the work ahead differently than Troy. Everything is examined from a caretaker's point of view. I think about how different aspects of the job or the new culture will effect our kids first. He just shrugs his shoulders and gets to work. ;)

We had always planned that Troy would go ahead of us for a week, maybe two. Then we found out that two large teams would be living in the mission house and that the container would not clear customs until early February. I couldn't imagine introducing the kids to their new home with 15 guests and none of their toys or books or familiar things. So,that is why we are waiting three weeks to go.

I have recieved lots of encouragement over the past few weeks via email. It has helped so much.

This is from a friend in North Carolina ... (jumping in mid-letter)
"There will be bad days. You will get frustrated with your kids, you might fight with Troy. You may feel (as I do sometimes) like everything hinges on whether or not you can pull yourself together. I want to make sure you know it does not! It all hinges on a wonderful, Holy God who has already counted you faithful. He's not sending you to Haiti so that you can impress Him. He's sending you to Haiti so that He can amaze you! It's all about Him."

I think this particular paragraph of my friend's letter meant something to me because it is easy to trick yourself into thinking you have to be perfect. Like, since we really believe that we should be in Haiti, and that God is leading us there ... then we better not ever screw up while we are working down there. We better have a perfect day with perfect attitudes every day. Ha, good luck to us!

The most important reminder of the whole letter was that I cannot really impress God. He knows me and He knows that as hard as I try I will still have days where I freak out about some insignificant thing. (Basically, this is guaranteed.)He is okay with that and He plans to amaze us with His love, grace, forgiveness and perfect provision. ~Tara

Off he went

According to the American Airlines web site Troy landed at 2pm in Port au Prince. He is staying in town tonight at a guest house so I won't hear from him until tomorrow. As soon as I do I will post.
Saying goodbye was ... uh, I don't know if I know what word I am looking for. I guess it was mainly just a surreal afternoon together. We ended up finally leaving my mom and dad's house at around 1:30 (after one false start and turning back to get the internet telephone that Troy needed.) We went to walk around the Mall of America. We let the kids ride a few rides and Britt and Paige went to spend some of their Christmas gift cards.
The contrast between where we were standing last night and where we are headed was very real to us. We stood watching our kids run from bright lighted rides to jumping in huge balloons, passing 10 places to get any food you can imagine, on to lego-land...total sensory overload.

Troy has since landed in a country without a single department store, mall, or amusement park. 99% of the children have no idea what legos are. Beyond that, most of the children count themselves lucky to get a plate of rice and beans once a day. It is a sobering contrast. It hit us in a different way last night. I for one just kept reflecting on how incredibly lucky we are to have the prosperity and the opportunities that we do.

Because the mall is right near the airport we got to watch quite a few planes landing and taking off. Jack-Jack (Noah's nickname) kept screaming "Haiti - Haiti - Haiti" ... it seems that telling the kids we would go on an airplane to Haiti has confused Jack into thinking that airplanes are actually called "Haiti."
After we left the mall at about 8pm we went and stayed at a hotel near the airport. The seven of us were packed in like sardines - it was a lot of fun. We watched Madagascar together. When the movie was over we prayed together and Troy went around to say goodnight to everyone and hug them goodbye so he would not have to wake them up to say it at 5am. It was dark in the room and he had started to cry by the time he was done. We were hugging and crying but the kids did not know it because it was so dark. It had been quiet for a few minutes and then Noah started fake snoring ... we all busted out laughing. What a goofy 22 month old! He's learned what snoring is from hearing "Pa-Pa." Now he does an excellent immitation. (Dad, now even your youngest grandchild is mocking you.) ;)
Laughing while you are crying is the best. My sister always quotes a line from Steel Magnolias and says "laughter through tears is my favorite emotion." It was a good way to get over crying and go to sleep.
This morning when I dropped Troy at the ticketing level and we were both crying again he says: "This was your idea." That made me laugh. It wasn't really, but I knew what he meant and it was another good tension/sadness breaker.
We are back to Big Lake now. We stopped at the mall so Britt could return something that lost its appeal in the night??? The photos below are from today.





Please pray for my sweetie. I recognize that military wives all over the USA handle seperation after seperation for months on end ... I am amazed by them. Troy and I have never been apart for three weeks in 9 years of being together ... maybe if he was not so wonderful and sweet it would be easier. I guess I have a good problem on my hands..!?! 
~Tara~

Before I go...

I am having a hard time sitting down and writing this, because my mind won't stop and compose a coherent thought. It's been like that all weekend. This weekend flew by, and we were blessed to spend time with some of our best friends and family.

Friday night I said goodbye to my friends at work, and kissed a paycheck goodbye also. I don't know which was harder. Just kidding, I'll definitely miss the paycheck. Ok, that was for my friends from work, who know that I will miss them and have appreciated working with them.

Saturday we had lunch and dinner with friends (fattening up before the arduous journey). Sunday's church service was bittersweet. I loved being able to play with my friends on the worship team one more time, and having another chance to be encouraged and commissioned for the work ahead. It was hard to say goodbye, though. Thank you to all of you who are supporting us and praying for us. It has made this journey easy so far. The hardest parts may still be ahead, but mountains have already been moved, so I know we can press on in faith.

I got to spend Sunday evening with my parents. We had a nice time catching up and having another meal (out to eat, of course). I'd better not get on a scale anytime soon. They are adjusting to the idea of the grandchildren being so far away, but glad that we'll still be in contact through modern technology.

By the end of Monday, I'd given up completely on any sense of order while packing my bags. But, it's done and I'm ready. I'm sure that I've forgotten things, and that I overpacked and probably have doubles and triples of things I might never need, but forgive me - I've never packed bags for moving to a third-world country before.

I am looking forward to getting on the plane Wednesday, so that the preparations and worries can be behind me. I am dreading getting on the plane on Wednesday, because I will miss my family while we are apart. It has been wonderful to have a few extra days to spend together before I leave, and I pray that the time will pass quickly for them until we're back together. Please pray for them and for Tara's travel with the five kids, I wish I could take some of their luggage ahead with me to lighten her load.

I'm excited that the time is here, and don't feel any fear about it.

"You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you."

-Isaiah 26:3-

"Ou menm, Bondye, w'ap ba yo kè poze! Moun ki toujou kenbe pwomès yo, wi, w'ap ba yo kè poze, paske yo mete konfyans yo nan ou!"

PS- I had to look the Creole version up, I'm not exactly fluent yet.

Monday Night Madness

Troy is on the phone ... and on the phone...and on the phone. So I may as well update you. Today we officially used up our last active brain cells. Troy determined that he needs a police report to bring to Haiti saying that he is not a criminal. (There is some irony there.) That police report is in our adoption paper work at a friends house in St.Paul. (Don't ask.) Then we realized we forgot to give the guitar to Troy's friend Jim, for safe keeping, even though we were with him for lunch and talked about the hand-off. (Troy's Taylor guitar is his baby, Jim is trusted.) Then Troy went to St.Cloud for one immunization because our regular Dr. did not have it. He goes tomorrow for the other two. Troy will not be getting Hepatitis A, B or Typhoid Fever. Nice. Nothing like waiting till the last minute though.

Then we registered with the State Dept and filled out our Agape mail application. (The way we will get mail in Haiti.) Then we called American Airlines to ask about weight restrictions on the luggage because it changes now and then. While we were chatting with the AA reservations lady she asked "So, you said you are going to Haiti? Let me pull up your reservations." She went on to tell us that Troy's one-way ticket to Haiti on Wednesday would not be honored without having either a visa OR a return (round-trip) ticket. That was news to us. (He has a visa, but it is not in his hands yet, it is in Haiti waiting for him.) It definitely felt like divine intervention. (Actually, I am sure it was.) Had Troy shown up at 5am on Wednesday, they would have turned him away or required him to buy a new ticket at a hefty price. Lifeline spent the afternoon fixing that situation and we are back on track for a Wednesday 6am departure.

Dad took us to dinner tonight, Troy's last time to Applebee's for a long while ... unless they discover a market for the "Neigborhood Bar and Grill" in Haiti. Seems unlikely.

Tomorrow once we get rid of the guitar, find the police report and get immunized, we (the whole gang) are going to go do something fun ... maybe a museum or something, just to get away and be together where there is no phone or computer so we can enjoy some family time before life changes. That's my version of today's news. Troy promises a post before he leaves. ~Tara

Friends

So ... yes, these are some of our friends that we will miss. The ones we won't miss aren't pictured. KIDDING! We don't have pictures of everyone. We WANT to have pictures of everyone. Maybe if you are a good friend you will mail us one, that way we would have an updated photo of you for our refridgerator in Haiti. (This is a guilt trip, please respond accordingly.)

There are two really new babies (pictured) that we got to kiss this weekend. There are FOUR babies coming in 2006. (Belonging to three couples above, but not Kris and Amie because they both have husbands and are not a couple...phew!) If we are not one of the first to recieve news of the birth/adoption of the four 2006 babies, we will not be happy. Make a note of that. We love babies.

We'll be watching the mail.

Grandma's worry sometimes

Making her WORLD WIDE WEB debut, Dorothy Porter. (Pictured with Uncle Rick and Cousin Nikki) Mother of 6. Grandmother to 19 grandkids,40ish great-grandkids and 3 great-great grandkids. Yikes!That is a lot of procreating.

My dad is printing the web-log entries off (Troy hates the word "blog") and sending them to my granny in Omaha, NE. (Is it a web-log once it leaves the web and is printed on paper? I think it ceases to be a web-log and is just a boring old journal at that point. Maybe not.)

She told us when we hugged her goodbye last weekend that she had supported & prayed for missionaries since she was 24 years old (that is more than 60 years) but now that it is one of her grandkids, (and five of her great's) she is not so sure about it all.

We love you Gran! Don't worry, we will be okay! Below are some verses that our friend from New Joy (our church) sent to me to encourage me. Hopefully they will encourage you.

From Marcy:
"This is the first verse that came to my mind when I read your email:

I Samuel 20:42 (NASB) Jonathan said to David, "Go in safety (peace - NIV), inasmuch as we have sworn to each other in the name of the LORD, saying, 'The LORD will be between me and you, and between my descendants and your descendants forever.' " Then he rose and departed, while Jonathan went into the city. Also these:
Matthew 6:34 (NASB) "So do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will care for itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own."
Mattthew 28:20 . . . and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age." Matthew 28:20 (NASB)"

Coincidence?

(Photo at taken at Beth's house, Tabarre, Haiti Spetember 2005 - after a morning run)

When we first started thinking that we should look into serving in Haiti, we spent a few weeks trying to discern if we were on the right path. One of the first things we prayed was that we would have some sort of confirmation, a tangible way that we could see that we were at least correct to be looking into the possibility.

At that time, in early July, I was getting ready to run Twin Cities Marathon. I was on a yahoo group for marathon training. I had been on the group since January.

Minnesota had a very hot summer as did a lot of the country. People were posting and complaining about how difficult it is to train in summer heat. A post came up that said "Try running in Haiti, I train for marathons in Haiti!" It was posted by Beth who has lived in Haiti for 16 years and has been a runner for 10. She had been on the yahoo group for a long time but had never posted before that day.

On the surface it might not sound like such a big deal. But the group has only 700 people on it. We had both been on it for many months and she chose to post for the first time within a day of us starting to pray that the Lord would show us if we were at least correct to be exploring the opportunity to serve in Haiti. Beth was our first tangible confirmation.

After Beth posted we started trading emails and she became a great encourager and friend to me, and then to Troy. How cool that I found a friend who likes running and lives in Haiti! We were able to stay with them in September for a night and Beth and I even got to run together.

Meeting Beth is one of many examples from the last five months of how God confirmed that we should keep moving forward.

So many people don't think God answers prayer in tangible way, they miss the answers that God gives because they chalk it up to coincidence. We say there are no coincidences!

"Coincidences are spiritual puns." ~G.K. Chesterton

"What you have to ask yourself is what kind of person are you? Are you the kind that sees signs, sees miracles? Or, look at the question this way: Is it possible that there are no coincidences?" ~Unknown

Thursday's Thoughts

This evening Troy is at his last Worship/Praise team rehearsal at church. It is so weird that he is going already.

It seems like two days ago that we first started praying about moving to Haiti. Two days can really fly by.

Britt and Paige had fun harassing my dad tonight. He told us that he is leaving on Tuesday and won't be back for a couple weeks. They gave it all they had trying to lay on the guilt ... that he should stay with us instead of going. Their efforts went without the desired result.

On the flip side ... when dad got home from Texas last weekend, the night after us, Isaac walked into the room where dad was reading his newspaper and said "Hey Grandpa, what are you doing here? Why aren't you in Texas? This is OUR house."

So, Isaac continues to be confused about the plan and who lives where. He is especially confused about who makes the house payment at 131 Powell Circle West!

Dad will come back in time to take us all to the airport in February. Thank goodness, we'll miss having a guy in the house. Isaac is not much for unclogging the toilet (which he has clogged) or shoveling snow or just making us all feel safe. Dad, are you sure you want to go to Las Vegas?

Quote of the day:
I know that God will not give me anything I can't handle. I just wish that He didn't trust me so much. ~Mother Teresa

Mouvman Avans Non Jezi (Moving forward in Jesus)

We have been flying around town like crazy people making sure everyone has their teeth pulled, their immunizations up to date, their eyes checked and perscriptions updated. We feel a bit insane.

The list of things to do is steadily dwindling though, so we must be doing something right. Troy has the most pressure since he leaves first, but lucky for him he has an excellent personal assistant. ;)

During the times that we feel overwhelmed with the lists and the impending move we are trying to remember that we are not alone. There is a verse in Jeremiah that says "Behold, I am the Lord...is anything too difficult for me?" The answer of couse is "NO" none of this is too hard for Him! So, we just need to keep reminding ourselves not to try to do it without praying and trusting in His strength to carry us through.

A while back our pastor's wife sent us an e-card that said "It is not the size of the mountain, but the strength of the mountain mover." Those reminders are important in these busy and somewhat daunting days.

In these last few days that Troy is here we may skip a few blog updates. We want to stare at each other instead of the computer screen. :)

Thanks for checking on us. MUCH LOVE from all of us to you and yours.

On being joyful, by Paige

I think that Isaac is the most joyful person in the whole world...and I am not kidding. If you are down, Isaac will make you happy. Ike can make anyone laugh.
He is great. Somtimes he is so joyful that he gets giddy.
He is beaming in every photo that we take.When we let little things get us down,we need to remember Isaac and how to him everthing is so great.
Even if to us it is bad.
Nothing bums him out. Our family is needing to remember that in Haiti we will be down somtimes missing family and friends or Dunn Brothers(my favorite coffee place) or Target ...whatever it might be. We need to remember to try to be like Ike.

~Paige

Britt - 4 teeth = goofy

Paige and I are happy to report that Britt is back from having her wisdom teeth pulled. She is totally out of it and we are having fun laughing at how many times she repeats the same question. "Where are my glasses, where are my glasses ... and where are my glasses" along with, "Why didn't Paige have her tooth pulled, How did I get here, where are we, where are we going" and "Is my tounge huge?"

Thanks for remembering her, it went well and she is currently sleeping soundly. By the time she wakes up she should be making more sense which will be sad for Paige who is getting a real kick out of it. ;)

Deep Thoughts on Change, by Paige

This is an old story, but I like it so it is worth re-telling.

In 2001 I took a job that would require me to travel about 30% of the time. Troy and I had been married about three years and Paige and Britt were 6 and 11 years old.

On my first trip to Atlanta for a week away from home, all three of them brought me to the airport. It was before 9/11/01 so they were able to come past the ticketing area and we ate dinner at a restaurant, while we waited for my flight to leave Minneapolis.

I was all teary and sad about leaving them and said, "Change is really a hard thing to deal with. I don't like it." 

Paige looks up from her food and says, with a lot of enthusiasm, "YEAH, I agree change stinks, I like dollars!"

Do we live here?

So, we moved out of our house in Zimmerman on December 19th. We stayed in Big Lake until December 24th. We stayed in Texas until January 4th. We stayed in our second hotel room on the way home from Texas last night.

When we walked into the room Isaac said "Is THIS our home? Do we live HERE?" He is grinning ear to ear like usual so it does not seem to be affecting his attitude...but he is definitely confused about all of this moving around.

We have final confirmation in the form of an airline ticket, that Troy will be leaving at 6am on January 18th. The six of us will spend the next 11 days fighting over him. He finishes up his work with TDS on Friday the 13th. He has loved his job and the people he works with, he said he cannot remember ever feeling sad to leave a job but in this case he is.

We continue to feel your prayers and love, and for that we THANK-You!

Britt feeling 'bloggy'

(I am still in Texas. I was the lucky one voted to fly one-way back to Minnesota with Noah. There is no way he could do a 24 hour car ride ... so I benefit! My family left yesterday and are somewhere in the middle of the USA. Here is Noah in a less than happy moment of our vacation.)

I am feeling compelled to share a 'praise' and thankfulness that I am overwhelmed with right now. I want to thank God for giving us this awesome vacation and the perfect timing of renting out the house (even though it was really not fun leaving). I am just really thankful for the two weeks that I got to spend in this beautiful part of the country and for the perfect weather. I also am SO thankful for the perfect timing of this trip and how great it all worked out that we all got to be together one last time.

It feels bittersweet. Currently, I am sort of dreading leaving here (Texas/paradise/vacation/away-from-reality). Not just because it is a beautiful place and has been a blast, but because of what going back means. Returning to Minnesota means a month long of good-byes. Thinking about it makes me feel really sad but at the same time excited. It is just the weirdest feeling. I am happy to be going to Haiti and know that it is God's perfect plan for me and my family. "....To everything there is a season, a purpose for everything under the sun...."
Reality is sinking in. Please pray that we are all able to get through the next month. I know that the devil will definitely seize up this time to attack us and veer us off the right path. I just pray specifically for smooth transitions. As Dad leaves mid-month and we are left without him; I just pray that we all remain tight (w/ each other) and tight with God. I also pray that I become closer to God and be able to grow a lot on this crazy journey before us.
Jeremiah 29:11.
~Britt
PS- I get my wisdom teeth pulled out on Monday. I am a little nervous, if you think of it please pray for me.

It made a difference for that one

People sometimes wonder why anyone even tries to help in places where there is so much that needs fixing. Haiti is just one of many places in the world that seems beyond help.

We have found ourselves thinking that way at different times too. We know that the issues in Haiti are much bigger and deeper than anything we can solve or even 10,000 ministries of our size can solve.

When we were visiting with John McHoul (who has been in Haiti for 16+years) last September, we asked "Doesn't it get you down that even though you work and work you still don't see many big or lasting changes?"

This is not an exact quote but John said something similar to "Every day it gets me down, but I am here because God asks me to be here and to try - so the changes I may or may not see is not really what it is about."

We were thankful for John's perspective for many reasons. We want to be where God wants us, whether we can see change happening or not we are just attempting to walk in step with his plan for our lives. We believe that we can make a difference to some people, some of the time and as long as we are willing to go where God leads us - then the rest is up to Him.

The Starfish story:
One day, an older man was walking along the waters edge, as he was walking along the shore, he looked down the beach and saw a human figure moving like a dancer. He smiled to himself at the thought of someone who would dance on the beach, and so, he walked faster to catch up. As he got closer, he noticed that the figure was that of a young man, and that what he was doing was not dancing at all. The young man was reaching down to the shore, picking up small objects, and throwing them into the ocean.

He came closer still and called out "Good morning! May I ask what it is that you are doing?"

"The young man paused, looked up, and replied "Throwing starfish into the ocean."

"I must ask, then, why are you throwing starfish into the ocean?"

To this, the young man replied, "The sun is up and the tide is going out. If I don't throw them in, they'll die."

Upon hearing this, the older man commented, "But, young man, do you not realize that there are miles and miles of beach and there are starfish all along every mile? You can't possibly make a difference!"

At this, the young man bent down, picked up yet another starfish, and threw it into the ocean. As it met the water, he said, "It made a difference for that one."

First goodbye

We were all doing so well. We were implementing the, if you don't talk about it, it is not real approach. (Some might call it denial.)

Last night at New Year's Eve dinner dad decided to pray. He prays about the upcoming year and all of the changes it will bring for our family. It was nice but it wrecked what we had going which was to not talk about this being our last time together as a family. Half the table was crying when he finished praying.

The trip is wrapping up. The first of the 12 of us headed out today. This morning (New Year's Day) Matt (our Brother-in-law) left to go back to Minnesota because he has to be to work on Tuesday. Troy and Matt were friends in college (even roommates at one time) and now they are brothers-in-law; so it will be a difficult thing for them to not see each other for a long time.

The goodbye's have officially begun.

Uncle Matt with Aidan (nephew/cousin), Hope & Isaac - enjoying a New Year's Eve ride.