My apologies to those who live in colder climates but this is our idea of a snow day in Southern California! Sixty tons of snow was brought in to make sledding runs one Saturday morning. It was such a gorgeous day the snow didn't last long!



Thursday, Feb. 22, 2007

We have received good news from MCC! We have been invited to serve in Zambia! We get to stop saying “if” we go to Zambia and begin saying “when” we go to Zambia. We are thrilled and panicked and eager and scared. Brendan is excited although he is a little worried about being eaten by lions. That should be the least of his fears since mosquitoes that carry malaria or tiny life forms in the water that will keep him near a toilet for a long time are more of a threat. Jason is just excited that he will go on an airplane again. He has no clue how long that flight will be yet.

When we received the news last week, we were relieved to finally know that we were accepted. However, our start date was a bit nebulous since Mindolo Ecumenical Institute in Zambia issued an invitation letter that wanted us to start in August but MCC invited us to the orientation at the end of October and leaving following that in November. We also haven’t heard anything about schooling for the boys yet which is a big concern for us. In our Tuesday Bible Study we were talking about Luke’s parables of things lost and found. I suddenly had the realization that I need to accept being in a perpetual state of things being both lost and found. (This wasn’t the focus of the study as Pastor Jennifer had much more profound things to teach but this is what struck me.) For some odd reason, I had the feeling that once we were accepted, then all would be good. But I found that there were still more unanswered questions and issues left open. I felt irritated and anxious but realized later it was because of the unrealistic expectations I had. If I am to survive, I will need to rejoice and celebrate when I get answers, when things are “found,” and persevere in patience with the things that remain lost. Today we heard back from MCC that we are invited to attend the orientation in Pennsylvania July 10-20 after which we will return home for a few weeks and then depart in August. MCC Service Workers generally leave straight from orientation but they are allowing us to come home in between which will allow us to move our belongings up to Spokane and to attend a Smith family gathering in early August. I am very thankful for how things have worked out in that area, though there are some things that we will miss because of the timing of orientation. Now, one of the big areas that is still “lost” is schooling for the boys. But I will rejoice with what we know now and wait for news on that.

We spent President’s Day long weekend in Fresno with Kevin and the cousins. Rhonda was in Canada working with Ministry Quest. Peter spent a day and a half in the Fresno Pacific University library perusing resources that he can’t get at Fuller. He was also able to meet with the Dean and get his name on the radar for future teaching positions. I was able to spend time with Sarah, a childhood friend, and Marci, my mentor from college. It was wonderful to reconnect with both of them. Meanwhile, Brendan and Jason relished the time with cousins. I rarely saw Brendan the whole time as he was busy playing club with Adam and Grace, or jumping on the trampoline. Jason soaked up the attention of his older cousins, Justin and David. We watched two of Justin’s basketball games, visited the zoo, played in the gym at Kevin’s junior high, and had a movie night. I managed to read the entire novel “The Other Boleyn Girl” by Philippa Gregory and now I finally understand King Henry VIII and his many wives. I love learning history through well-written fiction. Though we missed Rhonda, it was nice to be able to spend time with just Kevin and let him beat us at a few games of Cities and Knights of Catan.

In awe of the macaws at the Fresno Zoo


Riding the train around Roeding Park


Adam, Brendan and Jason being crazy on the trampoline