Window (Part II)
11 months ago
One crazy trip
June 28-Aug 8
Here’s a condensed summary of the past 6 weeks since we left our home in Morton:
42 days on the road
5600 miles
12 different beds
14 states (IL, IA, NE, CO, NM, TX, LA, MS, AL, FL, GA, TN, KY, IN)
It seems exhausting and in some aspects it was. Thankfully only one of those 12 beds was less than optimal. We got stuck with a smoking room with stained walls, floors, ceilings, at a hotel on our way to Texas. Other than that, we’ve been blessed by the hospitality of many friends and family along the way.
We are in Bluffton now staying with the Kipfers. We had moved all of our belongings to Bluffton before we left so we’ve been able to sort through a few things and even feel a bit more “settled.” We emptied out the Jeep, took off the troublesome used bike rack and boy did that feel good! I’ve never enjoyed using a shop vac in 90 degree heat so much! I think the Jeep even breathed a sigh of relief as it was unloaded.
Now our next stop: Haiti. Sunday, August 16 we leave for Haiti for three weeks. We’ll be spending time with Rich and Amber Pfister and their family who recently moved to Haiti with LSM. We’ll also be getting acquainted with LSM’s Homes of Hope for orphans.
As we continue to travel and prepare for Ethiopia, we very much appreciate the continued prayers and support.
Heritage
Since we've left Texas, we've covered the Southern coast of the country fairly well. We drove east, spent the night in New Orleans, stopped to see a good friend in Gainesville, FL for dinner, and then landed in LaBelle, FL at my grandparents' place, Vic and Dorothy Beer. We enjoyed some quality time with the Beer family, and Kevin also had some time with his side of the family on the east coast of Florida.
I feel very blessed to have been able to spend time with my grandparents. I truly enjoy them so much. I love their sense of humor, their stories from times past(even if a few of the same stories are told multiple times), how they exemplify love, generosity, grace, and their traditions. One of their traditions that I've grown to appreciate more and more is morning devotions spent around the kitchen table. Grandpa and Grandma have their coffee and breakfast and then have morning devotions together and with whoever else is around the house. There's something about the combination of consistency and sincerity of that morning ritual that brings me comfort and joy. I know my grandparents love the Lord and the Word (they live it out every day) and I appreciate their desire to start their day in that way. In addition I appreciate how they gently invite others to participate in this time of devotion. What a heritage! I hope that when Kevin and I are 80 years old, we too can sit around our kitchen table with friends, family, or even strangers and share morning devotions together.
I feel very blessed to have been able to spend time with my grandparents. I truly enjoy them so much. I love their sense of humor, their stories from times past(even if a few of the same stories are told multiple times), how they exemplify love, generosity, grace, and their traditions. One of their traditions that I've grown to appreciate more and more is morning devotions spent around the kitchen table. Grandpa and Grandma have their coffee and breakfast and then have morning devotions together and with whoever else is around the house. There's something about the combination of consistency and sincerity of that morning ritual that brings me comfort and joy. I know my grandparents love the Lord and the Word (they live it out every day) and I appreciate their desire to start their day in that way. In addition I appreciate how they gently invite others to participate in this time of devotion. What a heritage! I hope that when Kevin and I are 80 years old, we too can sit around our kitchen table with friends, family, or even strangers and share morning devotions together.
Don't mess with Texas
We thought we'd give a quick update of where we are now. Saturday we arrived in Temple, Texas where Staci (my sister) and her husband Brent just moved. Brent just started his residency at a hospital here in Temple. Staci and Brent have an adorable house decorated beautifully in their modern IKEA-like style with accents from their travels to India earlier this year. 
On Sunday after church we drove to an area south of Austin and tubed down a river. Afterwards, we spent a little time in downtown Austin and then went to this great Mexican restaurant for dinner. It was very authentic and delicious! Unlike any other Mexican restaurant I had been to.
We'll be in Temple until Wednesday when we'll be heading East eventually landing in LaBelle, Florida at my grandparents' place.
Stay tuned for more adventures!
MTI Adventures
We've been learning quite a bit here at MTI. Some of the learnings happen in the classroom, while the majority happen outside of that venue through experiences while building community with our fellow MTI-ers or during our free time.
We enjoyed the top of the ridge, took some pictures, and then started feeling raindrops. And I started getting a bit fearful. Every afternoon here in Colorado we've had some combination of hail, rain, and lightning so I figured that was coming. Kevin and I decided to go on down the mountain while the other 4 stayed up top. We began our descent. And the rain started coming down harder. And then the lightning and thunder. So we scooted down the steep parts, climbed over rocks, still not exactly sure of the path. Then we came to the wooded area. We could make out a trail maybe half the time. The thunderstorm continued. We just tried to keep descending, hoping to make it to a distinguishable path at some point. I was praying. Hard. Kevin was focused on the task at hand and somewhat oblivious to my concerns.
Finally, my heart racing and my anxiety surging, we made it to the bottom of the mountain, not too far from where we actually began the ascent. We heard some yelling from our fellow hikers who had found shelter at the top to wait out the storm. They had noticed we made it out and were rejoicing with us. We were still about 3/4 mile from our safe haven of the MTI building (where our dinner was awaiting). So we walked for a while, through mud and pouring rain. Then we decided to jog. Still through lots of mud and pouring rain. A bolt of lightning flashed nearby...way too close to my liking. So I just ran harder. Kevin, still not sharing my concerns, jogged along with me.
So, we did make it back safely to our room. Being our introverted selves, no word was spoken about my fear or Kevin's lack of fear during this adventure.
Lessons learned: We both need to communicate more openly. Thunderstorms concern me more than Kevin. Despite these facts, we seem to handle stress alright. Which is a good thing since another thing we've learned at MTI is how much stress missionaries face overseas.
We had one interesting experience just last week. Kevin and I decided to go for a leisurely walk after class one afternoon before dinner. We were walking along and saw a group from MTI heading off on a hike and they invited us to join them. So we did.
The hike started out nicely along a clear path. Soon though we were scrambling up rocks and going up some more challenging terrain towards the ridge of a small mountain behind MTI. Part of the group turned around about half-way there, but we continued on with the rest. I was never quite sure of what, if any, path we were on, but hoped our leaders were not leading us astray. Well, we made it to the top and enjoyed some beautiful views. 
The hike started out nicely along a clear path. Soon though we were scrambling up rocks and going up some more challenging terrain towards the ridge of a small mountain behind MTI. Part of the group turned around about half-way there, but we continued on with the rest. I was never quite sure of what, if any, path we were on, but hoped our leaders were not leading us astray. Well, we made it to the top and enjoyed some beautiful views. 
However, I could not ignore the dark clouds overhead.
We enjoyed the top of the ridge, took some pictures, and then started feeling raindrops. And I started getting a bit fearful. Every afternoon here in Colorado we've had some combination of hail, rain, and lightning so I figured that was coming. Kevin and I decided to go on down the mountain while the other 4 stayed up top. We began our descent. And the rain started coming down harder. And then the lightning and thunder. So we scooted down the steep parts, climbed over rocks, still not exactly sure of the path. Then we came to the wooded area. We could make out a trail maybe half the time. The thunderstorm continued. We just tried to keep descending, hoping to make it to a distinguishable path at some point. I was praying. Hard. Kevin was focused on the task at hand and somewhat oblivious to my concerns. Finally, my heart racing and my anxiety surging, we made it to the bottom of the mountain, not too far from where we actually began the ascent. We heard some yelling from our fellow hikers who had found shelter at the top to wait out the storm. They had noticed we made it out and were rejoicing with us. We were still about 3/4 mile from our safe haven of the MTI building (where our dinner was awaiting). So we walked for a while, through mud and pouring rain. Then we decided to jog. Still through lots of mud and pouring rain. A bolt of lightning flashed nearby...way too close to my liking. So I just ran harder. Kevin, still not sharing my concerns, jogged along with me.
Lessons learned: We both need to communicate more openly. Thunderstorms concern me more than Kevin. Despite these facts, we seem to handle stress alright. Which is a good thing since another thing we've learned at MTI is how much stress missionaries face overseas.
Update - Colorado arrival
We thought we’d give a quick update on our life here lately since we’re behind in our blog posts. Our life has been kinda crazy over the past week – okay, it’s been extremely crazy. We just arrived in Palmer Lake, Colorado for three weeks of training through Mission Training International (MTI). It’s called SPLICE and covers the Spiritual, Personal, Lifestyle, Interpersonal, Cultural and Endure/Enjoy aspects of preparing for cross-cultural missions. We’re excited for this opportunity and time to seriously look ahead to Ethiopia.
Before this we had a whirlwind week of selling a lot of our things at a good ole’ Morton garage sale, then frantically packing the rest to move over to Bluffton to store. During the drive from Bluffton back to Morton, I (Kevin) even picked up a speeding ticket in the lovely town of Wolcott (in a 25 MPH zone???). We packed our stuff up anticipating closing on our home sale in mid-July with a gentleman we had agreed on an initial contract with. Unfortunately, we just received word today that the “gentleman” is pulling out of the deal. This means we get to sell our home while being halfway across the country. Everything should be in place to make this happen, but it’s disappointing and more difficult. Maybe this is part of God’s way of preparing us for the flexibility and perseverance needed in our future jojurney. Or just part of these “adventures” that we wrote about for the LSM blog: Loving Shepherd Blog
Before this we had a whirlwind week of selling a lot of our things at a good ole’ Morton garage sale, then frantically packing the rest to move over to Bluffton to store. During the drive from Bluffton back to Morton, I (Kevin) even picked up a speeding ticket in the lovely town of Wolcott (in a 25 MPH zone???). We packed our stuff up anticipating closing on our home sale in mid-July with a gentleman we had agreed on an initial contract with. Unfortunately, we just received word today that the “gentleman” is pulling out of the deal. This means we get to sell our home while being halfway across the country. Everything should be in place to make this happen, but it’s disappointing and more difficult. Maybe this is part of God’s way of preparing us for the flexibility and perseverance needed in our future jojurney. Or just part of these “adventures” that we wrote about for the LSM blog: Loving Shepherd Blog
Here are some answers to questions we get asked
Where are you going?
We plan to be in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which means “New Flower”. It’s a city of over 2.5 million people and is becoming quite advanced in terms of infrastructure and technology. The United Nations and African Union both have headquarters there. Coffee is the number one export in Ethiopia – they claim to have “invented” it.
What will you be doing?
We are working with Loving Shepherd Ministries (loving-shepherd.org).
They currently have a Home of Hope for orphans in the city, most of whose parents have died of AIDS. We’ll be working with that home, starting another one that will house young women wanting to leave prostitution, and partnering with another ministry in the city working with the same population. We’ll be overseeing all LSM Ethiopia operations, and working to develop counseling and vocational training / microenterprise programs to help rehabilitate the women and provide them with another means of providing for themselves. The home will have a house mother to care for a girls and a coordinator to help with operations. There are an estimated 40,000 women and girls trapped in prostitution in Addis.
What language do they speak?
In Ethiopia, the primary language is Amharic. It’s a Semitic language, which means it belongs to the same family as Arabic – making it difficult to learn. We will begin some preliminary self-study and will go to language school once we arrive. We’ll be working closely with Ethiopian ministry workers who will be translating our training materials and adapting them to Ethiopian culture.
When are you leaving?
We leave for Ethiopia in mid-October. Starting the end of June, we’re going to begin more formal training, including time in Colorado for cultural training and also Haiti to observe LSM’s operations there.
Do you need to raise support?
Our personal needs and travel are taken care of. However, the Home of Hope we’ll be working with needs funding for operating costs and startup. The operating costs are about $1,000 per month and the initial startup cost will depend on whether the home is built, purchased, and rented. There is a link at the left side of this page for more info.
We plan to be in the city of Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, which means “New Flower”. It’s a city of over 2.5 million people and is becoming quite advanced in terms of infrastructure and technology. The United Nations and African Union both have headquarters there. Coffee is the number one export in Ethiopia – they claim to have “invented” it.
What will you be doing?
We are working with Loving Shepherd Ministries (loving-shepherd.org).
They currently have a Home of Hope for orphans in the city, most of whose parents have died of AIDS. We’ll be working with that home, starting another one that will house young women wanting to leave prostitution, and partnering with another ministry in the city working with the same population. We’ll be overseeing all LSM Ethiopia operations, and working to develop counseling and vocational training / microenterprise programs to help rehabilitate the women and provide them with another means of providing for themselves. The home will have a house mother to care for a girls and a coordinator to help with operations. There are an estimated 40,000 women and girls trapped in prostitution in Addis. What language do they speak?
In Ethiopia, the primary language is Amharic. It’s a Semitic language, which means it belongs to the same family as Arabic – making it difficult to learn. We will begin some preliminary self-study and will go to language school once we arrive. We’ll be working closely with Ethiopian ministry workers who will be translating our training materials and adapting them to Ethiopian culture.
When are you leaving?
We leave for Ethiopia in mid-October. Starting the end of June, we’re going to begin more formal training, including time in Colorado for cultural training and also Haiti to observe LSM’s operations there.
Do you need to raise support?
Our personal needs and travel are taken care of. However, the Home of Hope we’ll be working with needs funding for operating costs and startup. The operating costs are about $1,000 per month and the initial startup cost will depend on whether the home is built, purchased, and rented. There is a link at the left side of this page for more info.