Oct. 12, 2006

Over a month has passed since my last journal entry. Much has happened in the last few weeks and I haven’t taken the time to journal along the way. So this will be more of a summary of the Smith household happenings.

Sept. 22-26 - Peter’s parents visit
We were delighted that Mom and Dad Smith came to visit us for a long weekend. Since my parents were still in China, we were all easily accommodated here at the house. We had a wonderful time together, catching up, doing projects and getting out to various activities. On Saturday, we drove out to the desert to a Benedictine Abbey called St. Andrews for their Fall Festival. The boys played in a jump house, Jason rode a pony, and Brendan and Peter spent time on a climbing wall. We bought two lugs of peaches on our way home which we are enjoying and which was frozen for cobbler with Mom Smith, and made into peach jam with Mom Dueck. Brendan had a soccer game which is always entertaining! We had such a wonderful time with Grandma Gail and Grandpa Roger and are thankful they could visit.




Sept. 27 - Mom and Dad home
Mom and Dad Dueck finally decided to come home after a month in Thailand, India, and China. They were pretty jetlagged but also very glad to see the boys, and us too I guess. We are settling into a new rhythm with everyone home, working, hosting friends and groups, etc.

Sept. 28 - Jail time
Peter decided it was time to do something about his awfully clean criminal record so he went and got himself arrested. Well, there was much more to it than that really. Several members from our church have been very involved in advocacy for hotel workers who want to unionize but can’t. A demonstration was organized and those who wanted to engage in civil disobedience were invited to receive training under James Lawson, a well-known activist during the civil rights era. The whole demonstration was very well organized reducing risk of violence and chaos. The police were informed and given paperwork ahead of time on all those wishing to be arrested to expedite the process. So Peter joined about 1000 protesters, 300 of which chose to be arrested, and was arrested on Thursday evening. He was finally released on Friday morning (his birthday) around 9:30 am but waited for those in his group to be released as well. Hopefully Peter will write up his own thoughts on the whole experience because I can’t do it justice. Being in jail was uncomfortable, tedious, dull, and disorienting. But overall, I think it was a good experience. Not only did this give Peter a chance to put into action his beliefs in peace and justice issues, but the demonstration was effective in pressuring Hilton and other hotels to hear the needs of its workers. More importantly, it was an act of solidarity with those who are often neglected and mistreated. The arrest itself was an inconvenience but isn’t something that will actually stay on his record because the infraction was just like getting a traffic ticket. It’s not everyday you get to be arrested and sit in jail on your birthday. I was thankful he made it home in time for his birthday dinner!

Brendan’s Birthday Party – Oct. 1
Brendan loves science and is determined to be a scientist when he grows up. So it seemed natural to throw a scientist party, an idea that was generated by my “Pink Piranha” Bible Study gals as we sat in our hot tub one evening. Peter and I had different experiments lined up starting with an egg driving a car and cracking when it crashed because it wasn’t wearing a seatbelt. We had stations with stacking ice cubes, experimenting with magnets, and building structures with toothpicks and marshmallows. Ty was our guest scientist and he explained what happens when something is cold (molecules huddle together to keep warm) and when hot (run away from each other to cool down). Then we made homemade ice cream in ziploc bags and they watched their ice cream liquid turn solid because of the cold (those molecules were huddling together!). Ty had a number of other experiments up his sleeve that kept the kids attention for an amazing amount of time. It may have helped that they were all wearing humungous safety goggles that he brought from his classroom. The big hit was when Ty shot a large plastic jug across the back lawn, and setting the grass on fire in the process. Pretty cool for 17 kids! Brendan decorated his own “volcano” birthday cake with exorbitant amounts of red, orange and yellow frosting and then ringed with plastic dinosaurs. Instead of receiving 16 gifts from friends, we decided to do a book exchange (another great idea that emerged from the hot tub conversation). Every child brought a book that we then hid in the back yard. The kids found the books and could exchange if both parties were amenable. We only had one child crying because of the book he was stuck with which I thought wasn’t bad given the number of kids present. It was a fun party and I actually learned quite a bit and enjoyed myself, not being interested in science at all. Brendan loved it which made all the planning and energy expended worth it!





Unfortunately, Jason missed the whole party because he came down with a fever and decided to take a nap, a very unusual thing for him. He really has good timing when getting sick. In Prague, he always came down with a fever the night that Peter and I planned a date and had arranged babysitters!

PMC Retreat – Oct. 6-8
Over the last month or so I have been working on a committee to help plan our church retreat. At times that was a bit stressful but it all came together in time for the weekend. Our theme was transition and change since our founding pastor left this year and we hired a transitional pastor until we find a permanent pastor. But it is also a theme that many of us personally relate to. We took the story of the Israelites camping out at the Jordan River, waiting to cross into the Promised Land, found in Joshua 3. God tells them they haven’t been this way before, to sanctify themselves, and then to stand in the water and see the wonders God will show them. So we looked at those three areas and had small group discussion and together made a “River Jordan” with paper and foil as part of our Sunday morning ritual in the service. It was a meaningful retreat and helped me process the transition that we are in. One thing our transitional pastor said was that sometimes the in between times can be a place where we are filled up and renewed before moving on to the next step. In many ways it is easy for us to be back in California this year, living with Mom and Dad, enjoying our church community and friends, being close to family again. When I can focus on these good things, I can see how God may be just letting me relax and enjoy these gifts.

The boys absolutely loved camp. The retreat was held up in the mountains near Big Bear Lake. Jason and Brendan had lots of friends to run around with and there was much to explore. We didn’t see much of Brendan as he went off with friends, making sure he could always see the main lodge. Both boys were absolutely filthy all the time from the dust but that was part of the fun. They had wonderful childcare workers that they felt comfortable with so Peter and I could fully participate in the sessions. I didn’t get much sleep the first night because the heater didn’t work in our cabin and I was freezing cold. But the next night it was working and I got a good night’s sleep. Saturday evening we always have a “No Talent” show and this year it was exceptionally funny. Ty and I did a skit spoofing ourselves on our Urban Dare which was fun for us. The boys were very sad to leave camp and come back home. It was a great weekend for all of us!