A Hiatus

Hello again. I'm back from an unplanned three-month hiatus. There wasn't a reason for the long silence. I just got distracted by life and its many demands. Friends often ask how we are adjusting to being back in the States. I never have a good answer to that question because part of adjusting (or readjusting) is disequilibrium. Whenever I move to a new place or adjust to a new/old culture, I lose my sense of balance for a while. It takes a few months before I can move beyond just living and be able to process the experience or write about it. Maybe this explains my inability to blog over the past few months. In any case, I hope to return to writing and keeping in touch with all of you. I've missed you.

An Empty Harvest

Last night I chatted on Skype with my closest friend from Vietnam. She only had a few minutes because she was busy overseeing relief efforts for those affected by typhoon Ketsana. The typhoon hit central Vietnam late last week destroying homes, flooding towns and fields, and ravaging the rice crop that most of Vietnam's people depend upon for their livelihood. Harvest time is quickly approaching, but Vietnam's rural poor will have nothing to reap from their flooded fields.

My friend wrote in a recent e-mail, "Over 44 communities where we have been working have been impacted by this storm. Most of these communities are totally dependent upon agriculture – they don’t have stores or markets – everyone has farms and they eat what they produce. However, they have lost all of their crops in what they describe as the worst storms they have ever experienced."

She adds later in the e-mail, "The areas are completely isolated as all of the bridges have collapsed. There is no transportation and no electricity. The little food that is left in the area is being sold for astronomical prices. While the situation is terrible now, it is catastrophic in the long term... With all of the crops gone they will face long term food shortages. Most will be forced to borrow at crippling interest rates (10% per month) in order not to starve."

My friend and her husband have worked with Food for the Hungry in Vietnam for more than a decade. They partner closely with local churches and church leaders. They train the churches to serve and support their communities and encourage them to undertake development projects with the resources they have available. These poor, rural churches have built homes, dug latrines, and even laid roads that connect villages to major highways and allow them to market their crops more effectively.

Now, these churches are trying to reach out to their communities with nothing to give. My friend writes, "The churches are doing all that they can to help. No one else that has been able to get there yet. As much as possible we would like to help the churches as they seek to serve. We would really appreciate your prayers- that God would provide for them and that He would use this storm to further His work in these areas."

I have never used this site to solicit help for Vietnam, but I am compelled to do so now. My friend and her husband are using their own savings to help churches provide immediate relief for their communities. They have a network of people in place who can reach those worst hit by the storm. Now they need to get rice and other staples into their hands. If you would like to help, please visit Food for the Hungry's donation page for Vietnam (click here).

Also, please pray for these churches and church leaders. Pray that they will demonstrate the love of Christ in their communities and that they will know how to offer hope to people who have lost everything.


*The Food for the Hungry donation page says that donations are for "Friends helping with Special Southeast Asia Relief." Any donations made on this site will go directly to our friends in Vietnam.

Just Look!

The other day I was working on something at the desk while Daniel played with Caleb behind me. Caleb was commissioning Daniel to draw various Cars characters on the Lightning McQueen magnetic sketch pad (the next generation of the old Etch-a-Sketch). Daniel could hardly finish one picture before Caleb swept it away with the magic eraser bar and placed his order for the next one. As Caleb was about to swipe away McQueen himself. I heard Daniel exclaim, "Just look at it first!"

My ears pricked up. Poor Daniel. He had worked hard on his Lightning McQueen, even to the point of fake headlights and detailing. It was all lost on Caleb who was already planning Mater and Sally and Flo and Ramone and Red and Lizzy and Doc and....

I stifled a chuckle at Daniel's dilemma, but was suddenly reminded of a conversation I had recently. A friend was talking about how much fun they have traveling and doing things with their older children. I was green with envy. The few activities that I can edge in between naps and meals and bedtime are almost always plagued by whining, potty accidents, fatigue, hunger, bickering, or downright resistance. (Usually from the boys.) Most days I just stay home and maintain routine for the sake of sanity and simplicity. As my friend was describing walking tours in England and a planned backpacking trip through Europe, I found myself longing for our boys to be older--more mature and less needy. I started having visions of camping and biking trips, deep conversations about something other than Blues Clues or Barney, visits to museums, cross-country road trips, and junkets to explore all the fascinating places in Southeast Asia.

As I recalled this conversation and my subsequent discontent, I couldn't help but replay Daniel's words. "Just look!"

How often does God want to take me by the shoulders and say that same thing. Just look. Take time to see what I've made for you before you swipe it away and move on to the next thing. It's for you. Enjoy it. At least pause and look at it.

Coincidentally (or providentially), I read this prayer this morning in The Valley of Vision, "...thou hast of thy pleasure created life, and communicated happiness; thou hast made me what I am, and given me what I have; in thee I live and move and have my being; thy providence has set the bounds of my habitation, and wisely administers all my affairs. I thank thee for thy riches to me..."

Train my heart toward gratefulness, Father. Help me not to tolerate the antics of my children, but to pause and enjoy all the things that will be lost when their childhood has passed. Make me content with the blessings and challenges of this stage even while I look forward to watching my boys grow and learn and change. Help me to look--to stop and see that you are good.

The Whining Chair

I designated a chair in our basement/playroom as the whining chair this morning since whining has been a theme this week. Caleb spent the better part of the morning sitting there. After his last exodus from the chair he started complaining yet again. I said to him, "Caleb, if you want to whine you have to do it in the chair," thinking, of course, that this would stem the complaints. Instead, he gathered a couple toys, clambered into the chair and whined softly to himself while driving his motorbike up and over the chair back. Maybe we all need a whining chair now and then.

Interesting News Piece on Vietnam

Click here for an interesting news piece on Vietnam. A friend sent us this clip several weeks ago and I am just now getting around to watching it. Believe it or not, the footage of traffic and flooding made me a little "homesick" for Ho Chi Minh City.

The Pusher

We just got back from Michigan where we celebrated my grandma's 75th birthday. We also had a chance to see many of you at the "homecoming" open house my parents hosted. It's always good to catch up. Thank you to everyone who came.

I borrowed a book from my mom and started reading it this morning while Caleb slept and Nathan lay on our bed with his thumb in his mouth watching a Baby Einstein video. It isn't really a book book. It's more like a devotional. It's a collection of Puritan prayers called The Valley of Vision. This morning I read a prayer addressed to the Trinity. The following caught my attention:

O Holy Spirit, I thank thee that in fullness of grace thou hast exhibited Jesus as my salvation, implanted faith within me, subdued my stubborn heart, made me one with him for ever...thou art willing to help my infirmities, to show me my need, to supply words, to pray within me, to strengthen me that I faint not in supplication.

Maybe I was not properly pensive this morning, but this made me chuckle. A story immediately flashed to mind. I spent a year teaching at a school near Beijing, China before I graduated from college. Food and housing were provided by the school as well as transportation once each week into the city and a small (VERY small) stipend for other expenses. I learned early on that there were certain things that my budget couldn't cover--like taxis. To accommodate, my roommate and I figured out how to use the bus system.

It is difficult to describe a Chinese bus (circa 1998) for anyone who has not lived overseas. Imagine a metal box with worn tires and black exhaust. Now fill the box with so many bodies that seated passengers are forced to lean out from open windows and those standing jockey for breathing space. Buses such as these require three staff--a driver, a caller (who shouts from a window to attract passengers and to warn off other motorists), and a pusher on the ground. The pusher has the most strenuous job. It's his duty to ensure that every willing passenger (and an occasional passerby) are wedged, crammed, shoved, shimmied, and otherwise helped onto the bus. His job is made doubly difficult by safety standards which won't allow the bus to move if the doors are not properly closed.

A fellow American teacher was waiting patiently at a bus stop for just such a bus. When the contraption pulled up to the stop already bursting at the joints, she balked and said she would wait for the next one. The pusher would have none of it. He grunted and led her by the elbow to the step which was the only space left. She stood as far inside as she could get. Unfortunately, the pusher miscalculated. American derrieres are not as compact as their Chinese counterparts and the safety doors could not close. The driver furiously kept pressing the lever and the doors opened and closed again and again on the same obstruction. My friend made a valiant attempt to flee, but before she could maneuver she felt two hands firmly planted on her bottom. The pusher gave it his best and finally the doors wheezed shut.

This was the image that came to mind when I read Puritan prayers this morning. I must say that I'm thankful the Holy Spirit is just as determined as that Chinese bus pusher. There are days when I need a good shove from behind--a little help to get on the bus.

Up and Running

Phew! Our shipment arrived from Vietnam and (several new parts later) Daniel finally has my computer back up and running. Now I have no excuse for neglecting to write except, of course, a grassy lawn, sunny days, and two little boys.

I thought I would include some pictures below of our new home. We feel so blessed to be living here. Our unit is part of a complex that is reserved for missionaries temporarily living back in the States. When we arrived, it was fully furnished and decorated. There were dishes in the cabinets and a few staples in the refrigerator. The couple who take care of our unit and function as landlords even found a fun cowboy quilt for Caleb's bed. It was a nice touch especially given his latest Toy Story phase (for a while he dragged his Buzz and Woody dolls everywhere). I didn't get pictures of the boy's room because they were napping, but here is the rest of the house.

Front entrance/Living room

Kitchen/Dining room

Basement/Family Room
(This was before all of the boys' toys arrived. Imagine a LOT more clutter.)

Our Bedroom

There is one extra bedroom and the room that the boys are sharing. There is also a laundry/storage room in the basement, but I can't imagine you would find that very interesting. As always, our home is open to friends passing through. We would love to have you visit.