Isaiah's Two!

Our littlest Bug is TWO! (Dear Jesus, unbreak my heart!) He's my baby who has celebrated each of his birthdays in a different country: born in the states, his first in Macedonia, and #2 in Asia. He is one wildly international baby. I'm not sure whether it's a curse or a blessing, but he seems to be my child who just rolls with whatever as long as there are juice and crackers at hand. He has certainly kept me on my toes this last year. He's into everything.  He's basically Curious George without all the hair.  But man, we are so madly in love with him and his big blue eyes.  He knows how to melt our hearts when he throws his chubby little arms around our neck and squeezes tight. I'm smitten.

His birthday pancake which he couldn't have been less enthused by. 

His birthday consisted of all things golf. Shocker. He even got to hit two whole trays of balls by himself at the driving range. And as "airbuses" flew overhead while he hit balls, he was in his own little version of heaven.  

I did a golf cake (not my best cake ever) which he totally didn't get. Fail! But he was happy about all the sugar, and it tasted amazing! He got golf and "airbus" presents, and he was happy to be the star of the show all day.  

Isaiah Hunter, we are so beyond blessed to have you in our lives. We thank God for you every day.  You were made in His image to be loved by Him and to walk in Him. He knows your every thought. He formed you. His thoughts toward you are more in number than the sand and He loves you with an everlasting love.  He sent His only Son to die for your sins, my son.  He is pursuing you relentlessly, and you will never have true rest until you rest in Him. May you live your life for Him and His glory. May you abide in Him and walk in the fullness of His strength.  I pray that you will be a man of wisdom and integrity and that you will be a servant-leader, always pointing people to Christ. May all that you do be done in love and may you live with your eyes set on the hope of heaven that never passes away. He will strengthen you. He will help you. He will uphold you with His righteous right hand. He is for you! We are for you! We LOVE you!!!  

Water Fight

What started out as a New Year's Festival to wash away sins has turned into a massive country wide-water fight. When the whole city shuts down for three days to throw water at each other, things can get pretty wild. And "wild" is most definitely an understatement. The whole city is in a CRAZY, albeit friendly, water fight.  

Beautiful, wet children stand on the side of the road with bowls full of water and buckets ready to throw water at anyone who crosses their path: cars, people on scooters and any other form the passer-by may take. 

We had heard lots of warnings and even some fun commentary about the city during Songkran. Keep your mouths closed. Put all electronic devices in ziplock bags. You are not safe anywhere.  Just when you think you've dodged a bullet grabbing your bread and milk from the local store, someone will step around the corner with a loaded gun. They will not yield even though you are unarmed and beg them not to. And so, you close your mouth, squint your eyes, find your car, and run. You will not come out unscathed, but the water dries fast and because it is so ridiculously hot, you will actually be thankful that your mascara is running and your hair is wet and frizzy... again. 

The heart of the war takes place downtown by the moat. So we armed ourselves with big (so we thought) water guns and water to refill our weapons, and we headed toward the sound of the shrills and the water flying through the air. 

Cell phones protected and weapons pumped, we rolled down the windows of our truck and quickly realized, our water guns didn't hold a candle to the friendly enemy who drenched us and our truck with a big grin and a large laugh. 

Brian stopped off and got us some bigger guns, but still, we were easily defeated.

But my goodness, we had a wet and wild blast.  

Kate and Isaiah only had fun if the windows stayed up. 

Don't let that look fool you, she was not a fan of the water flying through her window.

I begged Thomas to take a walk with me through the war zone, but he couldn't muster the courage. I couldn't necessarily blame him. It was brutal out there. No one was safe. There were guns of all shapes and sizes. Guns with teddy bears and Spiderman. Water-backpack guns. Buckets with strings to dip in the moat to pull out water for their next victim. Buckets of ice were being melted and pelted at grandmas and children alike. There were even what I can only describe as water rocket-launchers.  I suppose we were safer in the car with mouths far out of range from getting moat water shot in them.  

 Even though we stayed in the car, we all came home drenched, but we didn't go down without a fight. I was just thrilled to not be sweating for the first time in weeks.  It was glorious, and I seriously had way more fun than any of my children. I thought to myself if only all wars were fought with water, this world would be a much happier place....

However...

The tables filled with flowers, Buddhas, and small cups of water brought it all back down to reality for us. As we sat at dinner the first night of Songkran and watched people bow to a statue before they poured water on it and then on themselves, we realized this is no game. Sure, we had a blast spraying and getting sprayed by perfect strangers for three days, but at it's heart this holiday is an attempt to be made pure, to be made clean. It is true, every country, every religion, every person is looking for restoration, for cleansing. It's at the heart of every religion because it is at the heart of every man. We need cleansing. We need saving. We need life. If only water could have done it... But our sin that hates and slanders and murders deserves death. Blood must be spilt. Water isn't enough to clean me up in my dirtiest, darkest place. We are dead in our sin.... "But God, being rich in mercy because of the great love with which he loved us, made us alive together with Christ--by grace you have been saved." (Ephesians 2:4-5) He has given us the opportunity to be made clean, white as snow. He will cast our sin as far as the east is from the west. And He will not remember them. We can be made pure forever. Jesus has already done all the work as he poured out his spotless blood on the cross for you and for me. And as He rose, He spoke to the nations, Sin has no dominion over you. Death has no more sting. So pray for the people here and the people of the world who have yet to hear that they are loved and accepted by the eternal saving God. People who have yet to hear that they can be made clean not because of their good works or their washing in the water but because of what Jesus did for them in an act of radical love. Pray that they will hear, accept, turn from their sin and lean into the cross of Jesus. Pray that they will be made clean.

Made to Worship

A move around the world changes a lot of things. I have focused a lot on the changes--the new and different that have invaded our life.  It is easy and even comical (because it's better to laugh than to cry) to write home about the newness. But there is one thing that remains the same. One thing that encompasses people from all sides of the globe. Wherever you are, you will find yourself surrounded by worshippers. From America, to Africa, to Europe, to Asia, the soul of every person on every continent is worshiping something. The secular religion professor at any liberal arts university will claim people created religion to make them feel better, to ease the pain of life, to create some sort of ethics system, to be at the center of their cultural workings.  If you have read any manner of Christian apologetics, most scholars agree that we were made, created to worship.  I would agree. We've all heard it described different ways: There is a hole inside each person that they are searching to fill. There is a longing and yearning for more, for higher, for bigger in each person--a longing we live our lives to satisfy whether we are aware of it or not. We are all drawn to things bigger than we are--the depth of the sea, the grandeur of the mountains, the beauty of rolling hills, the mystery of caves and caverns, the vastness of outer space. I have seen it play out in two different cultures and two different religions, and I am convinced now, more than ever, that all beings will find something to put weight in, something to worship. They must. 

I have observed, in silent brokenness, as my two host cultures bow to things that are not big enough, nor great enough, nor worthy enough to bear their worship. On the outside, the worship could seem beautiful and enchanting.  In Europe there are sounds of bells and scents of incense. There is holy water, beautiful churches painted with ornate pictures of holy gatherings. There is the glow of candles. Kissing of icons. Gifts laid at altars. Bows of humility and money given to saints past. Prayers for healing. Men in robes and people who kiss their ring and ask that they pray to God on their behalf. A room where only those men can go. There are people crossing themselves and hoping all that they have done will be enough. There is great reverence for things sacred. There is great fear of God. He is far off, distant and terrifying.  

In this part of Asia, it really doesn't look that different.  There are ornate buildings, temples, with beautiful banners, pillars, and giant golden or even jade statues. There is a glow of candles, smells of incense, bows to metal carvings, and offerings of food and flowers. The holy men of this religion wear clothes of orange or white--clothes that have no stitch. They have shaven heads and live a simple life hoping to gain some favor for their families and themselves for the next life. And here, there is also great respect, great reverence, great fear for the gods and spirits they worship.  

Like the people we worked among in Europe, the people here can't be sure if they will make it out of this world in right standing with the one they worship. They all admit it. In both places, there are good luck charms and acts of desperation just in case their system of worship fails them. In Macedonia, it was a horseshoe nailed to the front of a car or the door post of a house. It was a tree branch that had been blessed by a priest hung over an entry way. It was fasting from meat and oils to cleanse oneself. It was water, blessed by the priests, placed on their childrens' feet and foreheads to ward off the evil spirits. They read their horoscopes, see fortunes in leftover coffee grounds, and visit witch doctors when healing doesn't come through the church. Peace is foreign. Hope nonexistent. True love unknown.

Here in Asia, there are spirit houses in the yards of most homes and businesses. Candles are lit and food offered every new day to those spirits in hopes that it will appease them. They are terrified of being haunted by loved ones that have gone on before them, and ghosts are a reality to them. Reincarnation is imminent if they are not good enough in this life. They send their sons off to be monks in hopes that it will gain them favor in the next life. 

Peace is foreign. Hope nonexistent. True love, unknown. 

There is still much I don't understand about this new world and its religion. I may never grasp the history and reasons for why they do what they do.  But I have a sweet message for them, the same message I carried to Macedonia. Peace has come. Hope is here. There is true love for the taking. 

I, like all of them, am a worshipper.  I find that some days I battle to worship the one true God. I'd rather focus on myself and my rights. I put weight in things, other than God. Some days my family and our happiness becomes my god. The way I spend my money, the house we live in being exactly the way I want it, my reaction to others when they revile me, laugh at me, or even cheat me; the worry that occurs when the house is quiet and fear rolls through my heart and mind--all of these things show the position of my heart as it bows to self instead of bowing to the one who Created me. Even the very work I do in these foreign lands, which most people would call good work, can become my god, and there have been times it has. My heart is prone to wander.  But my Father speaks to me, to the nations, saying, 

"I am the Lord, that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols... And I will lead the blind in a way that they do not know, in paths that they have not known I will guide them. I will turn the darkness before them into light, the rough places into level ground. These are the things I do, and I do not forsake them. They are turned back and utterly put to shame, who trust in carved idols, who say to the metal images, 'You are our gods.'" Isaiah 42:8; 16-17

It is God alone, that can carry the weight of our worship because He is transcendent and immanent. He is holy, set apart, bigger than us, far above us. He is the Creator of it all. But He is also with us. Big enough to create me, sustain me, and hold me together and small enough to live in me, strengthening me, loving me, abiding in me. He's the only god who has ever made such a beautiful extraordinary claim. Therefore He is the only god that can bear the weight of our worship, adoration, and love. We can trust Him. He is immovable, and at His Name every knee will bow in Macedonia, in Asia and around the world.

We were made to worship the God of the universe who is a God of love and forgiveness. He is the God who accepts us as we are. He is the God who makes us into something more beautiful than we could ever be on our own. He is the God who promises eternal life as joint heirs with His Son, Jesus, who He sent to die the death that we deserved because we could never be good enough. He doesn't makes us work for our salvation. He already did it all. It is finished. 

He is holy, but oh! He is approachable, kind, full of mercy and grace. He is a God who says, I love YOU, all of you and I want best for you.  He is a God who hears our prayers and who answers when His children call on Him. He is the Great I Am, and He is the only one deserving of man's worship and adoration. Oh how my heart longs to see the worshipers of Macedonia bow only to the One True God. I long to see those in Europe and across this new country where I now live worship the one true and good God in spirit and in truth. 

Perhaps the secular religion professor is partly right. All religions are created to make us feel good, to help us hope.  But my friends, the Christian scholars are on point. You were made to worship the one who made you. It's in you. What you choose to worship can make or break you. And whether you call yourself religious or not, I promise you, you are worshiping something. So today as I beg you to pray for the lost of this world and for those working among them, I also ask that before you do, you examine your heart to see if you, too, have become a worshipper of something other than our great God. Maybe you are worshiping something alongside God, but it is He alone who is worthy of our worship.

Sticky Falls and The Walking Street

Last weekend we decided to go exploring. There are lots of fun and interesting things to do in and around our new city, and we had been chomping at the bit to get out and enjoy some of them.  Everyone was finally well, and while our little Thomas still had four stitches in his head, we decided to not let that detour our plans.  Saturday we headed out to the sticky waterfalls which is a natural waterpark of fun! Hiking through the cool mountain water is the way to hike in this green jungle heat. 

 We had a blast climbing up and down the falls--I'm talking off the charts on the fun-ness scale. It is a giant natural (with the major on the nature) waterpark where the climbing up is as fun as the going down. It's more fun, in fact, since the sticky falls are, well, sticky, there's no sliding down, until you hit a mossy spot and then things can get wild. We almost lost Kate. I think Brian caught her by the ankle and she dangled for a minute. At least that is how it played out in my mommy brain.  But that one moment of terror was light and momentary compared to all the wet and wild fun we had. And as you can see in the background of the picture above, the people enjoyed watching us enjoy ourselves. The paparazzi followed us into the mountains too. A couple of them just cut in between our littlest man and us to grab him and get some selfies with him. He cooperated for the most part, and when he made it clear that he was done, they just took pictures from afar.  (And sweet, protective reader, our little one is ok. We are making sure he is safe and happy.)

We all loved it and will make it a regular stop. And you can see more pictures of our waterfall shenanigans here.

After getting Thomas's stitches removed, we decided to head on down to the Sunday night walking street. It's another kind of jungle where the only coolness was the sweat dripping down our backs.  The Sunday night walking street is a treasure to anyone looking for state fair like foods with an Asian flair, souvenirs of any kind, foot massages, and even live music and dancing. Basically it is the state fair that rolls out every Sunday night.

We found a parking lot and rode the Song Teew in.  You remember those? The truck with the benches in the back.  This was Kate's first ride and every person has to document their child's first ride in a Song Teew.  

So pretty.

There's the food. I mean, this was like 1/1000th of the food. There are little vendors set up like this every where. Fried food, wrapped food, food on a stick. Blended fruits, wrapped fruit, fruit on a stick. Pink noodles, green noodles, noodles on a stick. Ok, so I haven't seen noodles on a stick, but I wouldn't be surprised...

Here we have a yummy potato on a stick. The potatoes are crispy, salty, and oh so good. 

There's wrapped veggies, also known as the spring roll, served with sweet and spicy sauce. There's wrapped banana, fried with sweet sauce on top. And then there's the fried milk. Yep, fried milk. If that's not straight out of the state fair, then I don't know what is.

(Ok, so I called it banana milk for the first 15 seconds. Whatever.  I have had three children. The end.) And can we just replay and watch how Thomas keeps chewing and chewing and chewing? I guess he eventually swallowed it. The consistency left much to be desired. Think cottage cheese, except sweet, with a crunchy outside and sweet creamy syrup on top.  

Kate loved her meat on a stick accompanied with peanut sauce.

After walking forever looking at cultural beauties and bargaining with their sellers, why not top the night off with a foot massage?  We haven't had our feet rubbed down yet, but it's on our list of new things to do.  Stay tuned...

The Mask

No, this is not a picture of an overcast day. This is smoke--the cause of the black lung-- that has descended on our city in full force. And gross. Just so gross! We are all coughing, with scratchy throats and itchy eyes.  The hard working farmers are all burning off their rice fields, and all of the smoke is sitting in the bowl of our city. So on this try something new Tuesday, we decided that because it literally hurts to breath, we would do as the locals do and get our very own masks to shield us from some of the fumes. 

And now we are all ready to venture outside into the never-ending fire-pit in hopes that we won't get the black lung. And would you just look at Little Doogie Howser 1, 2 and 3. Are they not the cutest?!  I'm thinking Isaiah's mask won't do much in the way of protection since it hangs off his little face, but man, he looks cute. We may just have to cover his whole face with a bandana like this fella' did.

He's covered from head to toe.

And I guarantee he is smiling while I shoot this picture of him. :)

We hear this will go on for a few weeks and will get worse before it gets better.  I can't even... Worse!? But God promised that when I walked through the fire He would be with me. And even though Kate loves her mask, we probably won't go as far as wearing it all over town. But we're braving the fire--the 100 degree temps and the smoke.  And praying that the sick and weak feeling from constantly breathing in carbon monoxide will end soon.  

A Little Macedonian Dancing Throwback

Because it's still Thursday somewhere in the world, I decided to post a little throwback from our last night in Macedonia with some of our very best friends whom we miss immensely!!!

This is one of my favorite memories ever!!! Maybe one day I will get to dance that dance with these precious friends again! Oh I LOVE them so very much!!! I think of them and so many others from Macedonia every time I drink my coffee, every time I read from my Macedonian Bible, every time I breath. Oh! So! Much! Love! My heart is still a little broken from the goodbyes. But man am I thankful for the internet where I can still see their sweet faces and hear their voices.

Don't you just love this?!
So while I may not know the date when I will get to hug them, dance with them, and of course, drink coffee with them again, I will pray for them every single day.  Will you also join me in praying for these precious people, the people of Macedonia?

Getting Settled

Mercy! It's been a while. I've had emotions and feelings and thoughts and so many things I want to write down, and absolutely no time to do it.  So here's a little (very tee-tiney little) recap of what has been our life the last few weeks.  

We are finally moved into our house. We are still missing quite a few things that make up a westerner's home, but for the most part we are settled. We are crazy about our new neighborhood where there are plenty of people out riding bikes and playing in the streets.

Our stuff from Macedonia was delivered the very day we signed the lease for our house. Talk about good timing.

And so the last few weeks have been full of ripping open boxes and trying to find a place for all of our stuff. When we weren't doing that, we were carting our poor-pitiful-bored-out-of-their-minds children to the stores with fridges, ovens, fans, dishes, rugs, beds, mattresses, wardrobes, tables, couches, and ant cabinet (there's something for you to chew on) and so on and on and on. And while it may sound fun to some, fun is not the word I would use to describe shopping to furnish your new home in a foreign land.  Three babies in tow, one of them being carted off by someone who wants to take selfies with him, the other two playing bumper carts in the washing machine department, a foreign language, foreign currency, little to no direction and hot. Y'all, it's hot. And at the end of the day, every day, when we just wanted to plop on our couch, there wasn't one.

Until three days ago when our beautiful new comfy couch was delivered! Who knew I would ever be so thankful for somewhere soft to sit!

In the middle of all that jazz, we are still in the midst of language learning where we will be for the rest of forever.  We LOVE our language tutor. She is just the greatest. I wish I could put her in my pocket and carry her around with me every where, and then I wouldn't need to learn the language because she could translate for me. That would be wonderful! But alas, no such nonsense is going to happen. So I must press on and study, study, study, because knowing the heart language of the people you live among matters, and it speaks volumes of love. We are so thankful for the opportunity and time we have to learn it.

Our try something new (that I actually remembered to take a picture of) was riding in a Song Taaw. It's a truck with benches in the back that'll cart you around town on the cheap.  

Isaiah was cuddly that day... for like two minutes. There are no pictures of the moments when he was hanging his little blonde head out the window or the moment he decided to hang from the handle bars across the top like a monkey. We're basically a traveling circus.

Thomas loved the ride!  

We are happy, healthy and slowly adjusting to life here.  We are thankful for sunny days and a small yard to play soccer and golf in. We are thankful for new kind neighbors who always throw our ball back over the fence and smile while we practice this new language with them. We are thankful for new friends. We are thankful for you praying for us. We are thankful you gave sacrificially so that we could be here doing life among a people who are shrouded in darkness. We are so thankful for God's mercies that are new every day. We are thankful that His grace is sufficient for those times we lost it on our bored, hungry children. We are thankful that He has carried us every single solitary step. We are thankful that He will continue to carry us. He is teaching us all so much. (Deep sigh full of love!)

And so tomorrow we will venture out into this over-polluted city. We will drive by these people and all the others like them, and we will remember why we do what we do. We will remember that Jesus loves us and Jesus loves them. And just as He did, we will strive to deny ourselves and lay our lives down for the sake of His great Name in this new place.

The Body in Action Again

Isaiah is getting better. We think.  He was fever free for about 4 hours today which is the longest he has gone in over four days. He played ball for a while and ate some crackers which is a good sign. Praise the Lord! We still don't have a diagnosis, but it is looking like it isn't anything serious and that the meds they are giving him are working.  Thank you for praying us through this!

I have said it before, and I will say it loudly again.  I love the Body of Christ!  Here we are in a new town a bagillion miles away from anything familiar, we have no home, we don't know the language, our babies have all but gotten over jet-lag, and our little Bug is sick in the hospital. It could be dark, lonely, stressful. And to be sure we have had those moments of stress and feelings of lostness, of loneliness.

But there She is. Brothers and sisters, children of God, members of the same Body, loving one another like crazy, bearing one another up in prayer and in real, live, practical ways. She does wild things, compelled by love her Savior and her brothers and sisters.

As we sit with our Isaiah as he fights fever and infection, I keep thinking about all that the Body of Christ here in SE Asia and around the world has done for us over the last few days. And my heart is full of thankfulness!

Sitting with our kids until late, late at night while we rush our burning hot baby to the ER. 

Bringing by bags of snacks and goodies. 

Sending texts, fb messages and calling to say, "I'm praying." 

Bringing by a delicious dinner because hospital food is bad everywhere! 

Sending homemade magically delicious coffee cake warm out of the oven. 

Keeping our Thomas so that he can play and not be cooped up in the hospital room. 

Grabbing our Kate from school, helping her with homework, and washing her clothes so that she has a uniform for school tomorrow. 

Keeping our kids over night even though it isn't really convenient, and it certainly isn't easy. But poor little Isaiah didn't have to have a screaming fit again because his beloved daddy left. He got to keep his mommy and daddy by his side tonight. 

 

And people all over the world praying for our boy to be healed and for our family to get through this.

Once again I am in awe of the Body of Christ. Y'all, those people here who are making giant sacrifices for us aren't doing these things because we have been the best of friends for years and years. They have known us for like five minutes, and yet here they are serving me and my family by stepping in where we are weak and bearing us up so that we can get through this muck and mess.  It's God's beautiful grace poured out on me yet again.  I'm so undeserving. I have never done anything like this for these families who are serving us. They aren't just paying it forward or paying me back. No, they don't owe me anything. They simply love Jesus and because of that, they love me, they consider me family and they have treated me as such. It is wild and reckless and beautiful.  And I am so thankful!  I love seeing and being a part of God's plan for His church as it is lived out in practical ways all over the world. I love that some of you have stopped dead in your tracks to intercede on our behalf. I love that some of you haven't stopped praying since you heard he was sick.  I love calling you wonderful people my brothers and sisters. Thank You for loving us so well!!!

Something New Tuesday--The Coconut

We were so excited about this one.  It was gonna be great. Our new favorite. The most delicious thing ever.  It looked glamorously tropical, exotic, and just plain fun. On every other corner, throughout the market, on the side of the road, in the night bazaar, outside the grocery store, in big giant buckets of ice they sat ready to become our favorite thing in this new land.  

Thomas and Brian ordered it. The sweet smiling man cut the top off of it and stuck a straw in it.  

And together we sipped. And yet again, we tried something new and didn't love it.  

Thomas said "It tastes dirty." I think the proper food network terminology for that is "earthy."

I suggested putting a lime in it and drinking it all up.  Thomas didn't think it would help. Thomas had the best idea, take it home and add some sugar. My boy. So we tried that too. Still, um, earthy. Sweet. But earthy.

So how do you drink these things and enjoy it?  Is it one of those "acquired tastes" or is it just something you drink when you are stranded on a desert island? Clearly people around here love it or else it wouldn't be everywhere. So maybe we will acquire a taste for it, or maybe not.