Kate's First Day of School

Today was Kate's very first day of first grade (the American equivalent of kindergarten). WHAT?!  We had a great day celebrating my BIG little girl.  

 Brian, the Biscuit Boss, made her biscuits with a back to school theme.  He's so great!

My baby! So big! Where on earth did the time go?!

Walking to school. Holding daddy's hand. Love.

Outside her school.

So big! (Have I already said that? I just can't believe it!!!)

In Macedonia, going to first grade is a big deal. So they had a little welcoming program for the kids.

 There was a band of recorders, dancers, a violinist, and a play put on by the fifth graders of the school. 

After the big show, we headed to Kate's classroom where we met her teacher and she got a chocolate bar. (Thomas was officially jealous.) Then, they sent us home.  They ease kids into school here, which I love. So tomorrow, Kate will only go for an hour, and it will increase a little each day.  We took her out for lunch, made chocolate chip cookies to share with the neighborhood and had... wait for it... Mac and Cheese imported from America with dinner!

We all made it through Kate's first day of school with no tears (if you don't count Thomas crying for his own chocolate bar). Tomorrow, we will leave her there, and we would appreciate your prayers as she has forgotten a lot of her Macedonian. Pray that she remembers it quickly and that she makes some good friends.  

The Baby-- Photo Bomb

Beware, you are about to get bombed with chunky baby cuteness...

3 months

4 months

Throwback

Thomas at coffee with friends two years ago.  

He had a big cup of whipped cream.

Here's to lots more coffee and good convos with friends. Cheers!

Getting Settled

We are finally back in Ohrid and it feels wonderful to be home.  We found a great house back in a wonderful little neighborhood.  We even have a semi-yard. Granted there is no grass, but the little plot of cement is our plot of cement, and we are excited about it. It is the closest thing to a yard we have had with kids in Macedonia. They are enjoying riding their bikes around our 4 foot by 5 foot yard, and I am happy because there is a nice fancy gate that separates them from the road.  Kate and Thomas have already made a few friends, and I am so happy to be in a neighborhood with lots of little kids. God is so good to answer our prayers. He knows how to give good gifts to His children, and I am so thankful.

This is our house.

We are still working on getting our place set up. We have two floors of the house, but the bottom floor is still occupied with tourists. So we are basically still living out of suitcases.  In my down-time (aka while I nurse Isaiah cause what other down-time does a mom of three who is moving have), I have been scanning pinterest for some design ideas, not that we can do much to our rented home, but I am so excited to make this place "ours."

While we have been getting set up, the kids have had to occupy themselves a lot...

Isaiah went for a swim in the laundry.

Thomas terrorized his little brother. Notice only one of them is smiling...

Kate read some books to keep Isaiah busy.

Isaiah smiles at me every time I walk by with another box to unpack.  Sweet baby.

And Kate learned to ride her bike without training wheels. Golly, she's getting big!

Thank you to all of you who prayed for a place for us. The One who is faithful provided all that we needed and more.  Pray that we will build good relationships with those around us and that those relationships will bear fruit to the glory of God.  

The Trip

We finally made it to Macedonia after a long but wonderful time in the states. We went to church with my mom and dad, got loved on and prayed for by the precious people at their church, climbed into the church bus, and we were off.

We hit McDonald's one last time (no more McDonald's in Macedonia. Boo.), and the kids got their last Happy Meal toy for a while.

 Then we hit the Charlotte airport with great force. 

Thomas' face and shirt say it all.

We said our final goodbyes to Granna and Poppa, and Kate and I cried all the way through security. We were those people that made a scene at every turn. With insane amounts of luggage (12 suitcases, five carry-ons, five pieces of hand luggage, and a carseat), two preschoolers, an infant, and a stroller, it felt like the whole world was staring. First with checking in that much luggage, and then crying through security, we got lots of "Oh!"'s and "Poor thing." Once we were through security and were trying to gather our stuff back up for the trek across the airport, one lady said "You guys deserve a medal. You are the family of the year." Yes, ladies and gentlemen, we have an audience. I do appreciate her encouragement though.

The kids did great on the flights, and they even did good in the airport. Airports tend to be way boring for kids. You can only look around the stores and watch the planes take off for so long. 

That is where the moving sidewalks come in very handy. If you can find one of those, you can run the kids around and around until they are good and worn out--which makes for good sleeping on the planes.

 But the planes are super exciting for the kids. On the giant planes, they have their own TV filled with games and movies. They have their own neat blanket and headphones that they get to take out of the hermetically sealed plastic bags like it's the best present ever. You would think the bathroom was Disneyland. The meals are exciting... at first, and then you pull out the goldfish you packed in one of the 10 carry-ons you have. They love that a very smiley lady keeps bringing by drinks. They fit perfectly in the seat. In fact, they have room to curl up and sleep, right there... in one seat. Amazing! And when all of that excitement wears off, there is always spending time looking out the window. The world becomes miniature and the kids thought it was fascinating. It was fun to show them the beautiful snow-capped mountains of Europe. Kate commented that the mountains looked like an ice-cream sundae. The clouds are puffy and beautiful. Every bounce of turbulence made them giggle like they were on a roller-coaster.   They had a blast on the trip, and stayed pretty happy most of the time. God is good!!!

And now that we are here, they are super happy. Because of some hold-ups in looking for an apartment, we have been hanging out in a town about 2 hours away from our town.  Our team here has loved on all of us, and it has been wonderful to be reunited with them.  

 We LOVE these guys!!!

Thanks so much to all of you who prayed for the trip. Keep praying as we are still far from being settled.

Brethren, Pray for Us

I read this a week or so ago in Spurgeon's Morning and Evening. I thought it to be appropriate to pass on here.

"Brethren, pray for us." 1 Thessalonians 5:25 

This one morning in the year we reserved to refresh the reader's memory upon the subject of prayer for ministers, and we do most earnestly implore every Christian household to grant the fervent request of the text first uttered by an apostle and now repeated by us. Brethren, our work is solemnly momentous, involving weal or woe to thousands; we treat with souls for God on eternal business, and our word is either a savour of life unto life, or of death unto death. A very heavy responsibility rests upon us, and it will be no small mercy if at the last we be found clear of the blood of all men. As officers in Christ's army, we are the especial mark of the enmity of men and devils; they watch for our halting, and labor to take us by the heels. Our sacred calling involves us in temptations from which you are exempt, above all it too often draws us away from our personal enjoyment of truth into a ministerial and official consideration of it. We meet with many knotty cases, and our wits are at a non plus; we observe very sad backslidings, and our hearts are wounded; we see millions perishing, and our spirits sink. We wish to profit you by our preaching; we desire to be blest to your children; we long to be useful both to saints and sinners; therefore, dear friends, intercede for us with our God. Miserable men are we if we miss the aid of your prayers, but happy are we if we live in your supplications. You do not look to us but to our Master for spiritual blessings, and yet how many times has He given those blessings through His ministers; ask then, again and again, that we may be the earthen vessels into which the Lord may put the treasure of the gospel. We, the whole company of missionaries, ministers, city missionaries, and students, do in the name of Jesus beseech you "Brethren, pray for us."

Spurgeon, Charles (2011-01-10). MORNING AND EVENING: DAILY READINGS (pp. 240-241). Wilder Publications. Kindle Edition. (emphasis mine)

It's Time to Go... almost

We are coming to a close of our stateside assignment.  We have had a blast hanging out with family, worshipping with our church family, visiting with churches and prayer partners, meeting new people, enjoying American cuisine and doing some fun things American style.  But the time has come to pack up and head back to the real work.  We have been cleared medically, and now we are just awaiting visas before we can fly out.

Right now we are just enjoying our last few days with family, Brian and Thomas are treasuring their last rounds of golf, and we are trying to prepare ourselves spiritually for what lies ahead.  God has placed us in a beautiful cabin in the middle of no where, with no internet, and I am sure it is for our good.  We have been able to spend so much more time in the word and in prayer without the distraction of the world wide web.  He is getting us ready, filling us up, reminding us that He never leaves us and that He goes before us. He always has and He always will.  He is faithful.  We are stepping back into a situation we haven't been in since we first hit the field 7 years ago. We are going to be without teammates in our town, and we just don't know what life is going to look like.  But we know that God does.  He will give us vision. He will give us the strength to obey Him every day. His love alone compels us, and His love is from everlasting to everlasting.


Mandi's song echos our heart.   "Go tell the friends and go tell the folks, my heart is torn but it's time I go cause these feet of mine were made for foreign shores.... I'm gonna let it shine."

Mandi Mapes | "Let It Shine" from AsiaStories on Vimeo.

Our Precious Dovers

It has almost been two years since we said 'goodbye'.  And a little over a month ago, we were able to say hello once again.  The day they rolled out of Ohrid with a very sick little boy, not one of us thought, this is goodbye forever. I know they didn't. And me? Well, I thought, they would be back in a few weeks or at most, a couple of months.  And then the phone call came.  It's cancer.  Our sweet Josiah was diagnosed with luekemia. We were broken.

If you have ever lived overseas for any amount of time, you know that the people you work with and minister with become your family. They become as close (sometimes even closer) than blood relatives. You do birthdays, holidays, church, prayer meetings, good days, and bad days together, all in one another's living rooms. Your kids become best friends. They see you at your best, in your element. And they see you at your very worst. They walk with you in the darkness. You fit together to form a brighter light than you could be alone.  You work with one another's strengths and show grace in one another's weaknesses.  They get you, and they get what you are about. You are knit together in the bond of the Holy Spirit, and people, there is no greater bond than that!  You are family. Everlasting family.

That is the relationship we had with the Dovers. It was deep. And when the word 'cancer' came, we were a world apart. We weren't there to hug their necks, hold their hands, sit with them, cry with them, pray with them.  We cried and prayed alone.  And it was almost 2 years before we would hug their necks and sit with them again.

Last month, by God's great provision, we were able to meet up with them and spend a few days catching up and loving on one another. It was wonderful, and for me it was very therapeutic. I was reminded how very much I love those Dovers! They are amazing people who love Jesus with all that they are.  They have been a picture of faith and perseverance in all that they have endured these last few years, and it is a pleasure to call them friends.  

Who says you can't turn a hot tub into a swimming pool?!  

Sweet Jennifer and me! LOVE her!

Thomas and Noah were just little guys when we said goodbye, but they reunited and became fast friends. They both share a love for rocks. What else do you need?

For those of you who have prayed for Josiah, thank you. He is doing good.  He has less than a year of treatment left. Praise the Lord. Continue to pray for them as they not only walk with Josiah through his battle, but as they walk with other families who have children with terminal illnesses in their new ministry role at Habit for Hope.  Pray that one day they will get a chance to come to Macedonia to say their goodbyes to all that they suddenly and unexpectedly had to leave behind.  And just because I know that God can do exceedingly more than I could ever think to ask or imagine, let's go ahead and pray big: pray that God would send them back to serve alongside us in a few years. :) It can't hurt to ask. :)