Hey whoever you are! : ) Thanks for checking my blog... For the next week or so while we're travelling I will be posting on our other blog and rather than copy things here, I'm just going to ask that you check over there (or subscribe to that blog if you use a reader) to see if there is anything new. It will make my life just a little simpler and that's probably good. : ) Thanks!
Click here to go to GRACE & PEACE.
Blessings!
Melissa
Friday, January 28, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Just about finished packing...
Amazing! And still (ummm... recalculating...) 10 hours before we board the first plane! I had a frightening thought a little while ago about travelling all day and through tomorrow night (incl. layovers) and going straight to the Peruvian MB Conference from the airport... wondering what I'm going to look like. I was relieved when I remembered I would have my suitcase with me so at least I can change clothes somewhere along the way! I have so little idea what to expect on this trip... It's really a good thing the kids aren't coming. I'm a much more relaxed traveler without needing to care for them.
I need to finish packing if I want to sleep tonight (which I do!), but wanted to mention Lowell has written something over here : http://familiaens.blogspot.com/2011/01/and-here-we-go.html that you can read to find out how you can pray for us if you feel the desire to do that!
Hopefully we'll be updating while we're travelling. I am more convinced than ever this is what we're supposed to be doing. I CAN NOT believe how at peace I am feeling right now and have been all day when normally packing for trips stresses me out like nothing else. (Not to mention that we're leaving the kids for way longer than ever before!) Totally supernatural peace, friends.
God really does do miracles.
We appreciate your prayers for all the reasons my hubby mentioned in the other post... so go read that one if you want to know more. : )
Hasta luego!!!
I need to finish packing if I want to sleep tonight (which I do!), but wanted to mention Lowell has written something over here : http://familiaens.blogspot.com/2011/01/and-here-we-go.html that you can read to find out how you can pray for us if you feel the desire to do that!
Hopefully we'll be updating while we're travelling. I am more convinced than ever this is what we're supposed to be doing. I CAN NOT believe how at peace I am feeling right now and have been all day when normally packing for trips stresses me out like nothing else. (Not to mention that we're leaving the kids for way longer than ever before!) Totally supernatural peace, friends.
God really does do miracles.
We appreciate your prayers for all the reasons my hubby mentioned in the other post... so go read that one if you want to know more. : )
Hasta luego!!!
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Settling without Settling
This has been quite an intense month since returned from Abbotsford. It's been a lot. It's been good. There have been some days that have been frustrating as we tried to figure out why it was so difficult to get internet hooked up, why it was so difficult to get a dryer that worked, why the plumber kept making things worse instead of better... Last week Lowell wrote on our other blog about my cousin Karen passing away suddenly a couple of weeks ago. Dealing with the little annoying stuff and grieving my cousin's death and trying to get settled in a new home and new "job" again all at the same time, I realized, was probably good preparation for when we move to Peru. Surely we will be grieving saying goodbye to many, dealing with new roles, and dealing with frustrating details in a new place all at the same time as well.
It's an odd dynamic to be trying to get settled in while knowing that in possibly less than 9 months we will be uprooting and resettling again. I wonder if I will remember what it feels like to really be settled? How to get there? The other day I was reading Genesis 11 and was struck by verses 31 & 32.
In the meantime, we are super excited that at the end of next week, we will be (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!drumroll please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) flying to Peru!!!!! It will be a short trip, but I can not wait to get my feet on Peruvian soil. We are excited about meeting our Peruvian brothers and sisters and visiting churches and exploring a few cities where we may end up living. I expect that by the time we leave we will be even less tempted to settle in Fresno...
But let's all of us remember that none of us are ever supposed to be completely settled anywhere on this earth. Our real home is heaven and until we get there, our hearts will never be completely satisfied. They aren't meant to be. Like Noah and Abraham and Sarah...
It's an odd dynamic to be trying to get settled in while knowing that in possibly less than 9 months we will be uprooting and resettling again. I wonder if I will remember what it feels like to really be settled? How to get there? The other day I was reading Genesis 11 and was struck by verses 31 & 32.
"Terah took his son Abram... Lot... and... Sarai, ... and together they set out from Ur... to go to Canaan. But when they came to Haran, they settled there. Terah lived 205 years, and he died in Haran."It's interesting to me that Abram's father set out on a journey, but settled before he reached his destination. We need to find a certain degree of settled-ness here, but not so much that we decide to stop! Like being a tree that's been uprooted and placed in a temporary pot awaiting its final transplantation. Like holding our breath. Like treading water. All things that are okay for a while, but not too long or you'll die or pass out or drown. God knows how long we can and will live like this.
In the meantime, we are super excited that at the end of next week, we will be (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!drumroll please!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!) flying to Peru!!!!! It will be a short trip, but I can not wait to get my feet on Peruvian soil. We are excited about meeting our Peruvian brothers and sisters and visiting churches and exploring a few cities where we may end up living. I expect that by the time we leave we will be even less tempted to settle in Fresno...
But let's all of us remember that none of us are ever supposed to be completely settled anywhere on this earth. Our real home is heaven and until we get there, our hearts will never be completely satisfied. They aren't meant to be. Like Noah and Abraham and Sarah...
"All these people were still living by faith when they died... And they admitted that they were aliens and strangers on earth... Instead, they were longing for a better country - a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared a city for them." Hebrews 11:13, 16Here or in Abbotsford or in Peru, we are always aliens and strangers longing for heaven. And if we live by faith, God will not be ashamed to be called our God. Let's pray and long for that!!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
In Between
We're halfway in between Abbotsford and Fresno! I'm excited to see our CA friends and family again, but still sad to have said goodbye to our new friends from Canada. (Silly side story... We have a Uhaul trailer with a Saskatchewan license plate and walking through a parking lot tonight I wondered if the people looking at us thought we were Canadian. The fact that our kids happened to be singing "O Canada" might have thrown them off as well. I even caught myself tonight - I think for the first time! - ending a sentence with "eh?" The kids thought it was funny - especially since I didn't do it on purpose! I guess my resistance finally wore off. : ) What great timing!)
It's hard for me to put into words how much these people have impacted me in the last 3.5 months. I respect these people and love these people and have learned from and with these people SO MUCH. Not since I was living on campus in college have I bonded so deeply and so quickly with anyone. I know, I know... I'm being a bit dramatic and emotional. But this weekend I said goodbye to these people and to our downstairs friend and to our kids' teachers and others and all those goodbyes make you realize how much people mean to you. Knowing that you are going to be scattering to 5 different countries (plus the people staying there in Canada) makes it even tougher.
I don't know anyone who claims to like goodbyes. I don't think we're supposed to. It helps us long for Heaven where we won't have to say goodbye anymore.
So for now, we're in between. In between Abbotsford and Fresno. In between our home in BC and our next home in CA and another one someday in Peru. In between being a developer and a stay-at-home-mom and being missionaries. Between being born and dying. In the middle of life on earth, on our way to eternity in heaven.
The picture above was taken at the end of our commissioning service on Friday and as we were standing there, Kevin Boese was singing a blessing to us (a song he wrote). (My goodness, it was so hard not to cry.) I can't remember all of the words, but will leave you with some of them as you navigate your own "in betweens".
Bless you sweet friends... I miss you already.
It's hard for me to put into words how much these people have impacted me in the last 3.5 months. I respect these people and love these people and have learned from and with these people SO MUCH. Not since I was living on campus in college have I bonded so deeply and so quickly with anyone. I know, I know... I'm being a bit dramatic and emotional. But this weekend I said goodbye to these people and to our downstairs friend and to our kids' teachers and others and all those goodbyes make you realize how much people mean to you. Knowing that you are going to be scattering to 5 different countries (plus the people staying there in Canada) makes it even tougher.
I don't know anyone who claims to like goodbyes. I don't think we're supposed to. It helps us long for Heaven where we won't have to say goodbye anymore.
So for now, we're in between. In between Abbotsford and Fresno. In between our home in BC and our next home in CA and another one someday in Peru. In between being a developer and a stay-at-home-mom and being missionaries. Between being born and dying. In the middle of life on earth, on our way to eternity in heaven.
The picture above was taken at the end of our commissioning service on Friday and as we were standing there, Kevin Boese was singing a blessing to us (a song he wrote). (My goodness, it was so hard not to cry.) I can't remember all of the words, but will leave you with some of them as you navigate your own "in betweens".
May the peace of Christ go with you
Wherever He may send you
May He guide you through the wilderness,
Protect you through the storm
May He bring you home rejoicing
At the wonders He has shown you
May He bring you home rejoicing
Once again into our doors...
Tuesday, December 14, 2010
Prophetic Panettone?
Sometimes God takes my breath away, makes me laugh and almost cry at the same time.
The other day Lowell brought home a recent MB Herald magazine. In it was a story written by a former MBMSI missionary to Peru called "The Peace of Panetón." It was a touching story about the missionary sharing "Panetón" with some Peruvian neighbors and experiencing peace on earth in that moment of breaking bread together. The story explained that "Panetón" is "absolutely essential to Christmas in Peru." I had no idea! J I read the story without realizing that "Panetón" in Peru is the same Panettone that shows up in North American grocery stores at Christmastime. Eventually I figured it out. And then I remembered.
LAST YEAR at Christmas, as we were out shopping in Fresno for who-knows-what, Lowell decided to buy a loaf of Panettone. On a whim. No reason. And then he declared that eating Panettone was going to be one of our new Christmas traditions.
Wow.
We had no idea how exactly right he was.
But God knew.
And this year, I’m looking forward to sharing a loaf of Panettone on Christmas Eve with our family.
It’s tradition. J
Monday, December 13, 2010
Heart's Cry
Would you stop a minute and please pray?
This is Lowell's brother Rigo. I got to meet him when he was visiting in Canada last month. His people - WHO ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST - are experiencing severe flooding. I talk all the time about my house being a disaster, but they are in the middle of a REAL disaster. While you likely don't know Rigo or the people of Panama, you might be reading this because you care about our family. Lowell's heart is breaking for these people that he knows and loves, so would you pray for them for our sake if nothing else?
Thank you... Here's what Lowell wrote on our other blog.
Tonight my heart is aching for people that are hurting. I have been contacted over the past few days by friends and brothers in the MB churches in Panama, specifically in the Darien jungles and the city of Yaviza. Severe flooding there recently shut down the Canal for the first time for weather since 1914, demonstrating the severity of the situation.
An email tonight from my friend Obdulio indicated there is widespread loss of housing and property throughout these communities in the Darien. Families are being hosted in Yaviza, even though 80% of the houses there are without power, and there is some lack of water and food. The Pan American highway into the Darien is flooded, preventing most resources from reaching the people.
Here is a picture of El Salto, one of the communities in the Darien, from my brother Rigo:
Friends and family, pray for God to bring the resources necessary to restore the lives of these people. Pray that He will use this event to His glory, and that His church will be able to be an effective partner in this community restoration.
Thanks for letting me add this into the mix of this week.
Lowell
This is Lowell's brother Rigo. I got to meet him when he was visiting in Canada last month. His people - WHO ARE OUR BROTHERS AND SISTERS IN CHRIST - are experiencing severe flooding. I talk all the time about my house being a disaster, but they are in the middle of a REAL disaster. While you likely don't know Rigo or the people of Panama, you might be reading this because you care about our family. Lowell's heart is breaking for these people that he knows and loves, so would you pray for them for our sake if nothing else?
Thank you... Here's what Lowell wrote on our other blog.
Tonight my heart is aching for people that are hurting. I have been contacted over the past few days by friends and brothers in the MB churches in Panama, specifically in the Darien jungles and the city of Yaviza. Severe flooding there recently shut down the Canal for the first time for weather since 1914, demonstrating the severity of the situation.
An email tonight from my friend Obdulio indicated there is widespread loss of housing and property throughout these communities in the Darien. Families are being hosted in Yaviza, even though 80% of the houses there are without power, and there is some lack of water and food. The Pan American highway into the Darien is flooded, preventing most resources from reaching the people.
Here is a picture of El Salto, one of the communities in the Darien, from my brother Rigo:
Friends and family, pray for God to bring the resources necessary to restore the lives of these people. Pray that He will use this event to His glory, and that His church will be able to be an effective partner in this community restoration.
Thanks for letting me add this into the mix of this week.
Lowell
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