What to do with an Armadillo . . .

I spent a month in Texas looking for an armadillo but I didn't see a "real" one until I got home!  Look at what I found in cousin Dave's house:

An armadillo instrument!

 

From the mouth of a teen . . .

Neighbor Nancy, Matt and I were driving over to church (this almost sounds like a bad joke!) to pick up vehicles for the cousins who had flown to a wedding in California.  (It was much easier to park them there than in our driveway!)  We were talking about gross things/people we had seen at the Y.  Our favorite conversation went something like this:

NN:  Have you ever swam with the guy with the really hairy arms?

Matt:  Like how hairy?

NN:  Maybe two inches long!

Matt:  There's a solution for that?

NN:  What?  That's how God made him!

Matt:  WAX!

Fixer-upper . . .

Check out these before and after pictures of the AFM from the Canary Islands.  She's back to beautiful!

Kicked out!

There we were yesterday - Neighbor Nancy (of family photo fame!) and I - at another (unkown) neighbor's home for the Master Gardener Tour.  We had seen the sign for over a week and thought, "Wouldn't it be fun to go?"  So we walked over and started looking at plants when we were stopped by a very gracious lady who informed us that this was a fundraiser for the Master Gardeners and that there was a fee if we wanted to look further that she had to enforce because the President of the Master Gardeners was there!  We left, laughing all the way home because - we had been kicked out of the Master Gardeners Tour!

It got even funnier this morning when, while I was walking the dog, I was stopped by the Master Gardener neighbor herself as she drove by me.  She apologized for what had happened yesterday and invited us over at any time to look at her garden.  I guess we weren't the only clueless neighbors who had stopped by!

Meet Serenety

While searching "Mercy Ships Links" today, I came across this post - "Meet Serenety" written by one of the nurses on the ship.  I don't even know her name.  I enjoyed it and I hope you enjoy it too.

We sat in a restaurant eating tapas under the shade of a large tree and she gently said,“I really don’t understand how I got here”  Which is a strange yet understandable statement. Serenety is a young, fun, adventurous Chinese woman who serves alongside me on the Africa Mercy. She started last November in Sales and is a wonderful cheery face that serves me coffee every now and then.

Serenety chose her own name a few years ago. She chose it because it means peace. Her Chinese name is Liu Ting. Ting means beauty & elegance; Liu is the name of the first ever female Chinese astronaut. This ‘Liu’ isn’t the only Chinese woman making waves in history. Serenety is the first ever Chinese crew member on the Africa Mercy; she was also the first Chinese person to come to Texas and complete the training program for Mercy Ships.

Serenety came from a north western province of China called Lanzhou. From a province full of factories, to the red dirt and pine smells of summery Texas, to the chaos of Congo. It’s an understatement to say that Serenety had to cope with a lot of new cultures. When I first met her, she delicately pointed at something and asked “what is this?” I replied with “oh yeah it’s not very good cheese, it’s some processed stuff ” thinking that she was just as unimpressed with this ‘orange jack’ fellow as I was. But I was wrong. She meant “what is cheese?”. .. as a Brit it’s difficult to imagine a world without cheese. This was the first of many situations where I was suddenly flung into this sweet woman’s shoes, realising that she was in a very foreign world where nothing was familiar.
Serentey found God in 2011 in an underground church in China. After 4 years of sleepless nights, struggling with depression and looking for answers; she came across a book that recommended finding a religion. She visited a government church and talked to people there until they showed her the way to an underground church. During her first visit she explains how she felt overwhelmed by the atmosphere and by the goodness she could see all around her. She had never heard of Christianity before this point.

The people she knew at home in China said that she wouldn’t be able to achieve her goals of going abroad and joining Mercy Ships because she is a small Chinese girl who is too weak. Without a shadow of a doubt I can tell you that this woman is the bravest person I have ever met. Serenety doesn’t believe me when I tell her she is brave, but she is learning each day that God can use any one from any background for his kingdom.


There are many stories about Serenety that illustrate this but I will share just a short one.
I shared awhile ago about my trip to the prison in Point Noire, Congo. Serenety asked me one day what it was like. I told her it was a great experience but it was a little scary and quite intimidating. The next time I spoke to her she told me she went to the prison too. She said that she was scared and didn’t like the atmosphere, or the eyes that were upon her and vowed (in her head) never to go back . Then she prayed to God that he would put the right people in that place as she felt ill-equipped and too inexperienced to help. However, as she sent up those prayers a Chinese man came out from behind a wall. Serenety was there with a fellow missionary. Together they spoke to him and Serenety translated in her respectful and gentle way. They listened to his story. He had been imprisoned because he had killed another Chinese man.  He was a 50 year old fisherman and after being bullied and beaten by the Captain of his ship, he was overtaken by anger and he killed the Captain. He was sentenced for 30yrs in this Congolese prison. Serenety went back to see him with a Chinese Bible and later that man gave his life to God and was baptised in a prison that doesn’t even have running water.

Serenety keeps telling me that she is weak and that she is unable to God’s work, but I don’t think that’s what God thinks. He is using her mightily for his kingdom. She didn’t think she was the right person and God showed her that she was the perfect person.
She said“Even if I think I can not do something, God always provides people and resources for me”
God has much planned for the future of this brave woman from China!

 

July Family Photo (sort of!)

It counts only because Sam is the man behind the camera and he'll be having shoulder surgery tomorrow so we thought maybe he shouldn't join us as we celebrated Matt's adoption finalization seventeen years ago - "Happy Matt Day!" - at Sand Creek Adventures . . .

Corey (the other brother by another mother), Matt, Micah and me!

Clip!

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wave!

Jump!

Ham it up!

Fly!

 

Called!?!

. . . in to the principal's office!  So Micah could share with her middle school principal her time with Mercy Ships!  Kate was officially done with Micah on June 6 as Micah will now be in high school,, but she cared enough . . .  "God, continue to bless that woman as she blesses our children."

Missing Africa . . .

. . . just a bit!

From the eye of a child . . .

Eight-year-old Andy sent us this with a thank-you!  I'm torn between "isn't this great?" and "Wow!  I hope we really don't look like that!"   

Yesterday . . .

I went outside and didn't sweat . .  .

You gotta love Minnesota!

I think I might do the same thing today!

We're home!

A final walk down the circular staircase . . .

and one last drive out the gate . . .

 

a half hour delay in Dallas and we're home!

It gives me great pleasure to say that after a month at the International Operations Center and serving six times on board, we still fully believe in and support the ministry of Mercy Ships.  To God be the glory! 

Happy 4th of July!

As the sun sets on our time in Texas, we did our ship farewell just a bit backwards!  We knew everyone still on base was going to the fireworks tonight and we wanted to say good-bye, so we walked over to the meeting point and gave every person in each van a farewell hug.  What a joy!  What a privilege to meet these people who will soon be joining the ship in Africa!

We had originally thought to join the party, but a slip on the Loft stairwell yesterday has left me with a sprained ankle and I wanted to be able to cruise through the airport tomorrow.  We depart from the IOC at noon on Saturday and we hope to be hugging our family by six p.m.!  Blessings to you all . . .

Our part is done . . .

Kids' on Boarding ended for Micah and I at noon today.  Jenny will be staying next week to provide care for the two children who are left as we fly home tomorrow.  Thanks for joining our journey.  We leave you with a few fun shots . . . 

Double delight - Addison and Alyssa and Rebecca and Grace

Bridging their transition to the good ship Mercy

We're going on a journey that never ends!

It has been my quest . . .

Ever since we arrived to see a Texas armadillo!  I've been telling every one - I don't even care if it's road kill - I want a picture!  (I think the new CEO of the ship was a bit surprised when I told him that last night as he was taking us out for dinner with his family!)  Bless my boss who this afternoon gave us a Texas armadillo magnet!  Not quite the real thing, but we only have 36 hours left to find one!

 

KOB Open House

Tonight we had the first ever Kids' On Boarding Open House!  It was spectacular!  Micah put together a great slide show, the kids gave the five statements of faith from "Believing God" by Beth Moore and I think almost everyone showed up!   Here's a picture of Micah with her new friend, Marina, who will be working with our friend Henry Gwani in the HR Department on the ship . . .

 

Another great day!

It's hard to believe this is our last full day of Kids' On Boarding before we head home.  We had lots of fun and of laughs as we played "Move it, Move it".

 One of our chaplains, Dianna, stopped by to play because she wasn't able to attend our open house tonight.    She had a blast!  And the kids did, too!

This afternoon we went "down on the ward" and showed the kids what it could be like to go down and visit patients.  Here we have a cleft palate, burn contracture and tumor patient coloring.  Hopefully, it brought a deeper understanding . . . 

   

Splash Kingdom!

We spent our day at Splash Kingdom and had a fantastic time!  I led a group of young women who found it most enjoyable to float around in the lazy river - no tubes, no slides, no hassles!  It was most xcellent!

 

Mckey, Minnie, Mighty . . .

When I swim in the morning, I swim blind - no contacts, no glasses.  Yesterday morning, I stepped into the pool and "saw" this big brown leaf and all I could think was, "I don't want to keep swimming into it," so I went to pull it out.  Imagine my surprise as I peered closer and discovered that that leaf was actually a little brown mouse swimming his heart out!  The thought of swimming next to him was more terrifying than pulling him out, so I found one of the pool toys and rescued the poor little fella.  He must not have been too bothered by the chlorine because he wasn't passed out on the deck when I left!

 

African Survivor!

We divided the kids into two teams this afternoon and had a game of "African Survivor!"  Here they are:

 

No armadillos!

But there were more than just alligators at the Alligator Park today - including specimens like our former summer house guests, the tarantula and the bearded dragon!

Charlotte so wanted to hold a snake - an albino python!

She got stuck holding the alligator when the owner got a phone call!