Get ready, get set, go go go

I just read a newsletter from good friends of ours. They spent their last month in the States. One of the first things they mentioned was how busy things feel here.  I have to say that I totally agree. We are in the "mess" of working, camp, and trying to unpack.  I keep telling myself I wasn't on vacation, I moved. I have not had much "extra" time to organize and unpack. Mostly I tell myself that because it makes me feel better.

Thursday marked a official month that we have been  back in Pennsylvania.  If you followed our blog you would see we've been quite busy.

How have we been feeling? It's confusing to be in the place we are in.  We hold our hearts tightly and experience emotions at odd times.  What will Goodbye look like this time?  Can I really do this again?  Do we invest in relationships again? What activities do we choose to do because they will be the last for perhaps 3 years?

I personally am enjoying the "greenhouse" of working at Good News Camp. It in some ways feels like a "mini" Esperanza. The children enjoy being cared for, playing games, singing songs and learning about God's word

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What are our next steps?

We've had a month to re-adjust, start jobs, meet with friends.


Our main focus is now fundraising.  We are looking to fill up our calendars! I know this seems counterproductive when I was just talking about being so occupied.

We are excited to tell our story. We want to share things and pictures that haven't been posted on the blog, and re-connect with those who have chosen to support us through our last term.

Our MST is changing. If you have an excitement for what we are doing, we would love to talk to  you. Fundraising is a big job and really we can't do it alone.

A Little Q & A

I have started to notice the "out of the honeymoon" stage has come into our lives recently.  One thing that Nathanael said he really would miss about Belize is the laid back lifestyle.  Here we have much to do, and it feels like less time to do it in. 

We are working on being as clear as possible with you, so I thought I'd have a question/answer post.


What are we doing?

Nathanael is working for North Penn School District's ESY (Extended School Year) with two students. Spring is working part time for Child Evangelism Fellowship's Good News camp, and a homecare agency.  The children go to daycamp where Spring works, and are involved in outside activities as well.  We are still working on unpacking and organizing. 

How long will we be in PA?

That is a good question and if you know the answer please inform us.  Really our answer this time is similar to last time. We have to raise all of our funds before returning to Belize.  The earliest we could leave PA is January 2017.  Fundraising could take longer than we expect and we might not leave till June 2017 or June 2018. 

Are you on furlough?

The short answer to this one is no.  Since we were mission interns through Eastern Mennonite Missions, our term ended with us returning June 21st.  Nathanael started his job here June 22.  We have committed to another term with EMM but right now we are working, fundraising, homeschooling, and planning for our next term.

Where are you living?

We have the huge blessing of living with my parents. My children were able to return to the same house they left in August 2015.  We are grateful for the adjustments my family has been willing to make to allow us to stay here. We still own our house in Lansdale, and that is rented. 

What are your next steps?

We had a MST meeting this past week. Some people are changing their positions, or have had to leave the MST because of other commitments. We are praying about people to join in the vision with us. The main goal is for the MST to come alongside us in our efforts to fund-raise

Most obviously our next step is fundraising. We are working at filling our August and September schedules.  We are looking for opportunities for ways to share the vision God has given us.

If you have a unique way for us to share (meet with your friends for dinner, speaking at MOPS) we would love to have a conversation with you.  If you have a passion for missions and want to be involved in our MST, please feel free to contact us. Having a MST is an important part of what allows us to minister.  It is a way to be involved in missions right in your backyard.

Pictures are from our time at Global Fair. We didn't have a table this year since we just arrived in PA 2 weeks prior to Global fair. We did enjoy seeing old friends, good food and getting re-connected.

Thank you! Thank you no really THANK YOU!!

Thank you to those who financially supported us:
You made it possible to:

•   eat every day
•    travel and reach a greater population, training sign language interpreters
•    have internet so we could connect with others, conduct school, send financial reports, and even do YouTube channels!
•   have furniture to sit on, beds to sleep on, and a table to eat at
•   work with other people on a medical team in Dangriga
•   meet new Deaf people
•   communicate and befriend shop owners in our community

Thank you to those who supported us through prayer
You made it possible to:

• serve in church
• reach people with the word of God in Church
• teach Sunday school
• babysit for Friday night Bible study
• open doors with the ministry of education
• start an interpreter training program
• function as a family in a new place
• continue on even as we missed friends and family
• make connections with others

Thank you to those who sent us care packages
you brightened our day, pockets and sometimes stomachs
 we were able to get things we really wanted and sometimes needed

Thank you to those of you who connected directly with us through facebook, instagram, e-mail, skype, or texting.  You made us feel like we weren't alone.

Thank you to those who helped prep our house before we return.  You made us feel like we had a place to stay.

Thank you to the people who welcomed us home at our "Hello" party.  We were so blessed to reconnect and share a little about our journey

Thank you to the people who have blessed us with out us asking, both financially and spiritually.  who have listened, provided services (without accepting payment), helped us, watched our kids, and loved on us.

Thank you to our MST who "held down the fort" at home. Thank you for coordinating for us, praying, connecting us to the right people, and caring for our kids. 

Thank you to Hopewell as our sending church for being the one who supported us as we found our calling and walked with us in this journey; then welcomed us back. 

We realize that no matter how hard we try or how many times we say thank you it can't be said enough. We appreciate everyone who has impacted our lives this past year.  Each one was a blessing and a gift to us.  Thank you for the blessing you decided to sew into the Kingdom of God and the growth of the Deaf community in Christ. 

The videos are from last weekend when we were able to attend the Moyer Family Reunion.  What a great time to spend catching up on each other's lives!  The children enjoyed running around the farm and playing with cousins.

We are here...

I had a conundrum over the title.  We are back seems appropriate, yet some things in Pa have changed.  Our church for example has huge parts that we had never visited before.  We are still finding home as a family, so that one was out.

No matter what the title is, we have arrived safely in Pa.  After a lot of packing, storing, re-packing, selling, and throwing away, bus trips, plane trips, and sharing beds; we made it here.

The children rode in our van with Nathanael's step mother and my mom while my brother drove us.  (and the luggage).  Nathanael insisted our first stop be to get a cheese steak.  We had great intentions of stopping at Pat's or somewhere famous. We ended up at a random pizza shop but from Mark and Nathanael's description the cheese steaks were awesome. I held out for Trader Joe's.   At the cash register, Nathanael was told he had to use the chip in his credit card. Mark explained to the cashier that we are "foreigners" to which the cashier laughed, until he explained why.  We also made a thrift shop run before we made it to my parent's house.

My mother was a bit worried as we hadn't communicated to her and she couldn't figure out why it would take us so long to get from the airport to Sellersville.  We have since made successful trips to the library ( I have to limit my kids to books, reminding them we will return to the library soon!), grocery shopping, several thrift shops, and Five Below.

We were delighted by the MST who gave us a welcome home party.  It was so nice to spend time talking and learning more in person about what has happened in the past year.

Nathanael, the kids, and I have really started into a "normal" summer routine for us.  Nathanael has the privilege of working in ESY (extended school year). The children are at CEF daycamp for most of the summer along with doing other activities.  I am working at CEF camp this year along with starting a homecare job.














We are thankful for the privilege of having a break before we have started "back" into our routine in PA. We are so thankful to those who have been helping us with this transition...more about that in our next blog post!

The Joy of reading

I distinctly remember the first time I ever read through a book. I was about 5. My mom kept me home.  She taught me some but mostly it was about learning about what was around me.

I remember picking up a Dick and Jane book, and devouring it.  I just wanted to read more.

This became the "mantra" of my life.  Books are something I love. They are a "friend" when I'm lonely. They help me wind down from a long day. They instruct me.  They open me up to a new way of life.  I have glasses because of my desire to read.  I would sit by our nightlight and read until I fell asleep

Since we've been in PA I have again realized how much I missed the access to books.  Wow! I exclaim to myself as I observe rows and rows of nice like new books in our local library.  Nathanael had to pull me out of our local homeschool used book sale.  I tried hard to only buy books I thought we would use and not all of the ones that delighted me.

Delight!  That is the word I would use to describe how I feel about reading.  While we were on our vacation, Nathanael insisted I try the blue fish pedicure.  He captured a few pictures of what it was like for me.  The first sensation I felt was ticklish. I just couldn't stop laughing.  

I have been reading through a series of books where the author imagines what it would be like if Jesus was physically with us.  Each person Jesus is with he takes absolute delight in.  I think to myself I would like to capture that, to come to a greater undersanding of how much he delights in me. It may look like how I feel about books or that feeling I had with the fish, I couldn't withhold my laughter.  I am going to continue to read, and to continue to find delight in the world around me.

We can't do it all!

We are about to fully step into the next portion of our journey.  As we get back from Belize, Nathanael and I both will be walking right into two things.. jobs and fundraising!

We have differing opinions about what we feel about dropping into both of these things so quickly. I can say we are quite thankful that EMM requires missionaries to take a vacation, and that we took ours before jumping right into everything in in "the States"

I am going to take a moment to admit something I've been "hiding" since we have been in Belize.. I have a "house helper"  I have hesitated to admit it.  This is mostly because I think there is a stigma that we are somehow "on vacation" since we lived in a tropical country, this adding to our luxury.

The truth of the matter is that everything took me longer.  Getting drinking water involved loading it onto a bike, walking 1/4 of a mile and returning with full (heavy) 5 gallon containers of water.  Not having a dryer meant every single item of dirty clothes had to be carried up to our washer to get washed, then down the steps, hung up to dry, then folded and put away.  EMM actually has "house helper" in the budget.  When our house helper had her mother die, and was unable to come for 8 weeks, I fell apart. The task of keeping a house was overwhelming.

A few weeks ago, I was reading our old Skype messages.  A friend of ours had sent Nathanael messages in April.  He was talking to us about the fact that many missionaries he knows have had similar trials during fundraising. He reminded us that it is first a spiritual battle.

Our last Sunday school lesson was about how every piece of the armor of God is important.  You can't just depend on one.  The same is true with us.  We have been blessed by living in Belize for a year, serving and working among the Deaf.  We feel called to continue this journey, but we again are unable to do it alone.

In the process of reading the Skype message, I realized that before we even step into fundraising, we need to be asking for prayer. We need to be covering our steps spiritually. We can't go with our armor half on.  We need to expect that the devil will be against the plans of the Lord.  We can't do it alone!

We ask that as we step into this next monumental part of our journey, that you would be praying with and for us.  We are indebted to the prayers of the saints and we covet them!  Thank you so much.  

Saying Goodbye

I told Nathanael I'm not myself today. I supposed it's good intuition to know that this is the truth. We have spent the past two weeks or so saying goodbye, sometimes more than once.  In the midst of raising children, packing, maintaining a house in a developing hot country, we are facing our transition.

I am a reader. I've been immersing myself in books.  I had finished the Lord of the Rings series at 3am one day. As someone who KNOWS what will happen it was driving me nuts. Couldn't we just get to the exciting part and throw the ring into the mountain?  When do they get to be heroes? Frodo and Sam discussed this as well. Frodo specifically talked about how we weren't meant to know what will happen.

I returned one of my kindle unlimited books.  I was just getting to the exciting part. It was a mystery and I was finding out the "what" of the story that kept being implied.  Yet as it got interesting, I returned the book.  You see I hate mysteries. The day I returned the book, I realized why.  I find great security in knowing what will happen.  Stepping into the unknown is scary for me, even if it's a better place.

Jesus Deaf Church had a goodbye party for us on Friday. (thus the pictures)We are so thankful to Nancy for giving us such a lovely send off. Even I cried and I am a "after griever". It is wonderful to feel like you made an impact. I spent the last weekend cuddling kids I'll miss in Sunday school and divvying out presents for them, using up the rest of our treasures from the US.

We are saying goodbye.  Although we "knew" this for a while, we really have no clue what returning will look like. Sure we're coming "home".  We realize that we are irrevocably changed, as are you.  A year changes a person!  We may not "fit in" to the way we pictured and our friends may have changed.

And so we face the goodbyes, and hello's.  We are thankful for both. We are thankful for a knowing, not just in our heads but in our hearts and visibly that we are loved. We continue to face the unknowns and tread forward, on the path God has for us. We are slowly discovering the journey is what has value, and to love just being a part of it.

As I can't seem to get this song out of my head I'll share it here: