Land of Our Sojourn

Kylie and I have been working hard at praying together lately. It's a bit embarassing, but for 12 years of marriage now we really haven't established a consistency in praying together. We have times of praying individually every day and we pray with our kids in the morning and the evening, but unfortunately for the most part we have just let it go... knowing it would be great if we did, but resigned to the fact that it's hard to find time. Well, last April I became aware of the ministry of Family Life and began listening to the podcasts of their radio program. It was really great to hear good thoughts and content throughout the week. It helped me remember the significance of my role as a husband and father as well as evaluate what I want to be true of my family and how to get there. I began implementing lots of little things and seeing a lot of fruit. Then came the Family Life Oneness Prayer Challenge. The challenge was to begin praying together every day for 30 days. I...

Last week we had the privilege to attend our area retreat. We went to another island to a city with higher elevation. The clear air and the cooler temperatures were wonderful! Our kids were cold and asking for jackets. ;) We spent too much time at a beautiful outdoor mall enjoying shopping, Starbucks, and Wendy's. We had a thoroughly enriching time with other area workers. And B had some neat opportunities to lead some worship as well.  But by far what ministered to our hearts was seeing the kids enjoy the kids program that some westerns came to put on for them. They played tons of games, did loads of crafts, and came back to the hotel singing all sorts of songs. They made new friends and told us many stories. It was a joy to see them enjoying a program that they rarely get. Overall it was a priceless week together. 

About 3 months ago we realized that work had gotten to the point where we could not rest and relax without getting out of town. So we found some good tickets (can't get anywhere without flying) and got out of town for 3 days. Our kids are so accustomed to air travel that just going to the airport and getting on a plane is like an amusement park for them. We found a nice hotel that was in the middle of a big city. Even though this particular city is not very beautiful the hotel had a wonderful garden area, play place, pool, and beautiful restaurant on top of the hotel.  We laughed as we watched the kids absolutely thrilled by a small kiddie pool and small play place. We said to one another 'That's the blessing of having no parks in our town - we are all easy to please.'

Last week the family piled in the car to just get out of the house and follow B on an errand. He was heading to a Catholic retreat center on the edge of town to try to solidify a reservation for an event we are hoping will happen in July. B had been there once before and said it felt a bit like a park, and since there are ZERO here, we all were excited at the prospect of walking around in nature even for just a bit. As we drove there the kids were asking all sorts of funny questions. We live in the tropics on the equator but most of their books refer to life in the US with seasons and terrain we never see. So Abi (having recently been introduced to the Little House series) was asking if there were woods or panthers outside of our town. After explaining the best I could I told B that I really wanted to take the kids to a zoo the next time we were in a place that had one. "They're the perfect age!" I exclaimed. At the retreat center the kids and I wandered aroun...

Even though it takes a lot of work, it is always nice to get away from our city for awhile. This past week we took two flights to another island for a leadership conference with our company. Our kids absolutely love to fly! We have to take a whole day now for packing on the front end and resting on the back end. Traveling can be so exhausting with 3 little ones. Our time at the conference was really nice. It is always great to be with other Westerners and to speak English with people who know and understand your situation. We had wonderful meetings where we were challenged to think through how we communicate in our culture and re-examine if we are sometimes communicating things we don't mean to with our actions and the way we use our time. It was very challenging! We feel like we are coming back with some good tools for learning. Even though we have been here 8 years, we still often feel that we have so much to learn. The even was jam packed! We were up at 6 to get kids dress...