Coming and going

As we enter Holy Week, Refuge is in a state of normal flux. People are literally coming and going. Yesterday – Saturday – Jim & Jessica flew off to Guatemala for a week long exploration of what the Lord may be calling them to do. I've known this couple for many years now and Jessica has had something of a homing beacon going off within her for ministry – specifically, cross-cultural ministry – during all that time. At different seasons of their lives they have hosted a Bible study in their home or oversaw the youth ministry at another fellowship they used to belong to but Jessica's passion for missions has never really dimmed. In fact, it was this passion that factored into their pursuit of adopting three Columbian triplets in 2011. While Jim has always been a supportive spouse, in recent years something has been stirring within him to the point that this week he and Jess travel together not just to visit their friend Anita who serves at an orphanage just opening up outside of Guatemala City but to essentially, “spy out the land.” We're all waiting to see what will come of this exploratory journey.

Soon to be living with a Guatemalan zip code?

Hope to be running down this road soon

They are not the only ones from Refuge who will be out of town this Easter. As I shared a few posts ago (see Back to Africa), a group from here will be traveling to Africa to reconnect with some friends we met their last year. Troy, Tina, Sheryl, Hanna, Hunter, Charis, Emma and myself will be flying out of Chicago tomorrow – Monday – afternoon on a long circuitous flight to Nairobi (where we hear it's spring there.) While there, we will be praying, sharing, visiting, walking (and as far as this muzungo is concerned, running), seeing the neighbors who live a couple of ponds apart from us.

Down but not out

About the time we will be heading for home, Duane & Lois will be returning for a six-week visit to the Philippines. Their original plan had been to return there sometime in February but then there was the accident. Last fall, while cutting down a tree in his backyard, Duane broke a couple of vertebrae in his neck and suffered nerve damage to his left eye when a large branch from that tree landed right on top of him. Several months later, his neck brace is off but his eye remains in a “cross-eyed” position. While the accident may have cramped Duane's style a bit, he has continued to do here what he normally does “over there” - father and mentor people. It's just that this time we have been the beneficiaries. But they miss their friends there and so they are going for a visit. Most exciting for Duane, he will be traveling up to Palanan to stay in his nipa hut in Dibunko, the Agta village where he has spent so much time over the last ten years or so. 

Who could blame him wanting to get back here?

He's had a lot of face time

Our son, Ed, has been home on spring break this past week but sadly, it has come to an end and so he will be returning to UW-Superior this evening. It has been wonderful having him around the house and having to maneuver around all the stuff that goes with him – books, movies, clothes and such. We've watched some movies together, gone out for dinner or ice cream a time or two, he got to connect with his siblings, a few of his friends, and his former boss (and an elder at our fellowship), Troy. It's been restful and renewing for him but later this afternoon he'll head back to school. The fact that he'll be home in less than two months makes leaving for him a little more easier.

Janet has had face time, too

Janet & Lynn have been in Texas the last few weeks visiting their son and daughter-in-law and being present for the birth of their second grandson. Through exchanged posts on facebook they have been enjoying themselves capitally but later this week they will have to say good-bye and head reluctantly for home. For how long is not clear to them. Perhaps they'll resettle in the Houston-metro area or perhaps they'll stay here for awhile. Time will tell.

Soon to be together again

Tara and Lyla are slated to fly out of Des Moines tomorrow to return to Colorado where Justin awaits them. Tara has been staying with her folks this last month or so due to complications that have arose with her pregnancy. While I'm sure she is eager to get back to her husband a heaviness is upon their family given the grave prognosis the doctor has given them regarding the little girl that continues to form within her.

Meanwhile Deborah remains at sea aboard the USS Mahan about half way through her five month deployment in the Mediterranean. At the same time, her husband, David, is moving to China for the next six months doing some business consulting. It's a separation they are not keen to prolong any longer than necessary but that is where his work is taking him.

Deborah's  home for the past few months

Comings and goings are the flow of our lives whether that going is down the street to school or across the ocean for a visit. Lord willing, we will all return to our places soon enough with stories to share of the things we saw and heard. And of course, we'll post the pictures on Facebook just as soon as we get back.

I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
2 My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.

3 He will not let your foot slip—
    he who watches over you will not slumber;
4 indeed, he who watches over Israel
    will neither slumber nor sleep.

5 The Lord watches over you—
    the Lord is your shade at your right hand;
6 the sun will not harm you by day,
    nor the moon by night.

7 The Lord will keep you from all harm—
    he will watch over your life;
8 the Lord will watch over your coming and going
    both now and forevermore.

Psalm 121, NIV