The Most Wonderful Time of the Year

This is the first time for all of us to celebrate Christmas outside of the United States. Although I was still living in Spain in December 2005, I was back in the U.S. for Christmas, so it didn’t feel that different. Thailand, though, is a completely different story.

One of the reasons it doesn’t feel “Christmasy” here is that it is still 80 degrees most days. The early mornings and late evenings get a bit cooler, but on the whole it still feels like a warm September in Indiana. I know that cold weather in December doesn’t happen in most of the world, but for Hoosiers, cold weather and snowy landscapes go hand-in-hand with Christmas.

Another reason is that seeing Christmas decorations is unusual, not expected. Some stores have Christmas decorations, but most houses and streets don’t show any signs of the Christmas season. We do have some decorations up in our home, although it is not much in comparison to what we would have done in Indiana.

Small Family Christmas Tree

While it feels strange to us to still be wearing shorts and sandals in December and to not see Christmas lights as we drive down the road, it has been a good reminder for me about what Christmas really is. So many of the things that I associate with Christmas are not actually necessary at all. Christmas decorations, snow, carols, and cut-out cookies are all really nice; however, none of them are essential in order to celebrate Christmas.

Not having as many of the “extra” Christmas traditions has helped me focus more on the birth of Christ. I’ve thought more about the sacrifices that Mary and Joseph made in order to help bring Immanuel into the world. I’ve reconsidered why Christmas is my favorite time of year: If I never had snow or family nearby for Christmas, would I still want to celebrate Christ’s birth? Am I excited about the familiar, happy traditions, or the moment when the Word was made flesh and forever changed our relationship with the Father?

Don’t worry, we’ve still had several of the familiar traditions. We had the other interns and fellows over to our house to decorate cookies, watch Christmas movies, and drink hot cocoa. We also had a church Christmas party, complete with a Christmas play. We will also get to be with my mom for Christmas Day, which will be an extra-special treat!

IJM Chiang Mai Interns, Fellows, and Families

We wish each of you a very merry Christmas, and hope that you are surrounded by people that you love. But if you are not, may you still feel the love of the One who sacrificed his Son to bring you closer to Him. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!

Prayer Support Team

Last summer, we asked our friends and family to consider supporting us in prayer during our time in Thailand. Those who agreed chose one week where they committed to praying for our family every day. During their designated week, we connected personally with that person or family, updating them on some specific prayer requests that we have for that time frame. This has been incredibly fun and uplifting for us, because we get to talk to so many friends and family members in person. We have updated people through email, FaceTime, Skype, and regular phone calls. It's great to catch up with them and hear about what they've been doing since we left, and also tell them about our lives in Thailand.

Our amazing support team has selected weeks through the beginning of January 2017. If you are interested in joining our team, please visit our Prayer Support Page. There you can see a list of which weeks are still available in 2017. Please send me an email (listed on the page) if you decide to take a week. If you already supported us in the past and want to take another week, feel free!

Another way you can receive prayer updates is by joining our prayer email list. At the beginning of each month I send out an email with specific updates for our family and the IJM office. I also occasionally include a picture. 😀 To join this list, just send me an email (listed on the Prayer Support Page) and I will take care of the rest. If at any time you no longer want to be part of the email list, simply reply with "unsubscribe".

We are extremely grateful for each person who has lifted us in prayer over the last five months. Thank you, thank you, thank you!! We have seen some very specific answers to prayer happen, and we know it is because we have such an awesome army of people praying for us. Here is just one example of how prayers have been answered for us this year:

     In June, our family decided to go to Hong Kong over Christmas because our visas require us to leave Thailand every 90 days. My mom is going to meet us there, and we thought it would be a great place to enjoy Christmas together. At that time, we thought our visas would allow us to enter Thailand as many times as we needed to in one year on the same visa. However, we found out just before we left that our visas expire every 90 days, requiring us to re-apply at a Thai consulate outside of Thailand. The Hong Kong consulate's website doesn't list the kind of visas that we have as an option, so I needed to contact them to be sure we could in fact receive visas there. I started trying to contact them mid-October, both by email and phone. After weeks of trying to get in touch, to no avail, I enlisted the help of some of our prayer partners. Lo and behold, that week I got a response both by phone and email, and they are able to give us visas!! I can't express what a relief this was, and an obvious answer to prayer!

Lantern Festival

Last week was one of the most famous festivals in Chiang Mai. Most people refer to it as the Lantern Festival, but really it is the combination of two Thai holidays: Loy Krathong and Yi Peng.

Floating krathongs on the Mae Ping

Loy Krathong is the "Festival of Lights", and is celebrated mainly by floating krathongs down a river or other large body of water. Krathongs are made of banana tree stems, banana leaves, candles, flowers, and other various materials. They can be simple or extravagant, and range in size from small to very large. E really wanted to float her own krathong, so we purchased one made by some teens to benefit a hill tribe school.

E purchasing her krathong

The area of the river where you could float the krathongs was PACKED, but E was brave and fought the crowd to put hers in the river. I went down with her to make sure it all went okay, and luckily there were two gentlemen who were actually placing the krathongs in the river. It was also a great spot from which to view the floating lanterns. E and I agreed that it was a good experience, but maybe we wouldn't do it again due to the large crowds. 😀

Crowd making their way to the river

Yi Peng celebrates the full moon of the second month (by the old Lanna kingdom calendar) by floating paper lanterns in the air. The lanterns are supposed to bring good luck, both to those who send it and to those who receive them after they've burnt out. If you've ever seen the movie Tangled, it's a very similar experience! E and B have been waiting to go to this ever since we told them we were moving to Thailand.

There is a bridge in the central part of Chiang Mai where most of the lanterns were sent up, which was right next to where we floated E's krathong. Needless to say, the crowd was overwhelming, so we opted to float our lantern a bit down the street, but still in the same general area. Our lantern was actually given to us by a sweet couple we saw after floating the krathong. They had two lanterns and offered one to us so we could enjoy it with our kids. So kind!

E and B getting ready to float the lantern

This year's celebration was toned down due to the passing of His Majesty King Bhumibol Adulyadej, but usually includes a parade and several big events. We ate some street food before floating the krathong and lantern; however those two events gave us enough excitement for the evening, so we didn't mind that the other events had been canceled. After we floated the lantern we got some ice cream to cool down (it's still in the 80s here every day) and headed to our car. We had parked on the top level of an open parking garage, so we watched the lanterns float there as well.

View from the parking garage

This was a highly-anticipated festival for our family, and it did not disappoint! We learned some lessons about when to arrive and how to navigate the crowds, so we are better-informed if we ever come back. The pictures don't really capture how magical it was to see all the lanterns floating. If you ever come to Thailand, add this to your must-see list!

Bua Tong Sticky Waterfalls

Today was a national holiday in Thailand, so I had the day off from work. We took advantage of the long weekend and took a short trip to a local favorite--Bua Tong Sticky Waterfalls! These waterfalls are one-of-a-kind because you can climb right up the rocks. These rocks aren't slippery (hence the name "sticky") due to a mineral deposit that interacts with the limestone and gives them a slightly rough feel.

There are three levels you can climb, with stairs going down along the side for those who weren't as adventurous. We chose to take the stairs down and the waterfalls up! The kids had a great time, especially E. She couldn't get enough of climbing up the waterfalls. She went up each one with Scott before coming down and allowing me to do one without holding the baby. B was less enthusiastic, but he did finally climb the last one with me and E. Two of our sweet friends, Madeline and Jen, came with us and helped us wrangle all the children.

By the time everyone had climbed to the top once, we were tired and hungry! We ate a picnic lunch at the very top under a shade tree. E really wanted to climb the waterfalls again, this time going all the way up without stopping. Scott and I went with her while Madeline and Jen entertained the boys. I think we'll all be a little sore tomorrow!

It was a very fun day at Bua Tong Waterfalls! The weather was perfect and the company was sweet. Couldn't have asked for a better time!

KL and Singapore

At the end of September our family went on our first visa run. Due to our visa type, we have to leave the country every 90 days and re-apply for visas. For our first run we went to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Singapore. It was a really great trip!

Flying to KL is really easy and cheap, and the city is very fun! Some of the activities we did there include: touring the Petronas Towers, exploring the Batu Caves, visiting Chinatown, and seeing the KL Bird Park. The main reason we were there, though, was to apply for new visas. I was extremely nervous about this because approval of visas is up to the discretion of the approver. There are certainly guidelines you should follow when applying for a visa, but ultimately it is up to the person who is working that day. A lot of prayer and preparation went into our application, to make sure we had all our documents in order and had the best chance at getting new visas. Thankfully, our applications were approved without any problem!

Waiting in line for our Thai visas

Petronas Towers at night

Inside Batu Caves

Chinatown

KL Bird Park

Our kids loved KL! Even though all the attractions we visited were amazing, I think E liked the Petronas Towers the best. B definitely preferred the Bird Park, since he’s been obsessed with birds for the last couple of years. They truly enjoyed their first hostel stay, too, because we all got to sleep in bunk beds! We highly recommend BackHome Hostel if your family ever visits KL!

Skywalk of Petronas Towers

Feeding the birds

Once we had our new visas we could really relax! We took a short flight over to Singapore and had a few days to just relax and have a true vacation. You might already know that Singapore is one of the cleanest cities in the world. It’s also a lot less crowded than KL, which made it easier for us to explore.

We did a lot of amazing stuff in Singapore: rode the Singapore Flyer, visited the River Safari, went to Little India, spent a day on Sentosa Island, and toured Gardens by the Bay. E has been dying to go to the beach, so our day at Sentosa Island was especially fun for her. She’s also a little obsessed with India, so getting to spend some time in Little India eating real Indian food and getting a henna tattoo was exciting! B loved the River Safari, keeping with his love for all things animal-related. X loves everything, so it’s hard to tell which was his favorite. He was happy just to be with his momma all day every day (usually on my back in the Tula).

Singapore Flyer

B at the River Safari

Little India

Burying Daddy in the sand

Gardens by the Bay

X's favorite way to travel

Some days it’s hard to believe that we’ve been in Thailand for 90 days already, and other days it feels like we’ve been here for much longer. We truly enjoyed our time away as a family and are so thankful to have our visas reinstated. We highly recommend both KL and Singapore as tourist destinations!!

The Kids Are Alright

As we prepared to move to Thailand, arguably my biggest concern was how the children would adjust to being in a new place away from their friends, family, and everything they knew. This was the first time for them to leave the United States, and while they have had a small exposure to foreign languages, they had never been immersed in a non-English speaking culture.

If you’ve ever considered moving to another country, or even just traveling to one, with small children, this has probably been a big concern of yours, as well. Let me just assure you that our children have adjusted wonderfully. I would argue that the transition has been the easiest on them! They take all the new things in stride and see the adventure in everything we do, even though most of it is different than what they’re used to. Of course, they miss their friends and family members that they’re used to seeing all the time. We try to make that easier by FaceTiming the grandparents regularly and emailing/texting/Facebooking other friends and family members when we really miss them. The time difference makes that a bit difficult since our kids are generally asleep when most children in the States are awake, and vice versa. However, we try to make it happen so that they can connect with their friends every once in awhile.

Anyway, here are some examples of how the kids are loving life abroad:

Trying out her camera at the White Temple in Chiang Rai

Enjoying our first high tea

E has been the most excited about Thailand from day 1. She couldn’t wait to see new things, learn the language, and try the food. She is doing part of our Thai tutoring with us each week, and is very enthusiastic about using her new-found knowledge. She’s doing wonderfully with homeschooling, also, and is a big helper for Scott while he tries to wrangle all three children all day.

B's first Thai haircut

Feeding the elephants

B was not nearly as excited about moving to Thailand, and I would say he is still the least enthusiastic about being here. It’s not that he doesn’t enjoy living here, it’s just that he still hasn’t quite grasped how far away we are from Indiana. He often asks to see or do things that would be easy to do in Indiana, but impossible to do from the other side of the world. He also doesn’t have a great concept of time, so when we told him we were going to live here for a year, he didn’t quite understand how long that truly was.

There are many things he loves about Thailand, though. There are lots of new animals that he gets to see up close often. (Geckos in our house! Chickens across the street! Elephants!!!) He loves spending all this extra time with Scott, E, and X. He and E played together well before, but now they’re truly buddies. B has also warmed up to Thai food. Before we moved here, he didn’t like rice, eggs, or shrimp (those are staples in Thai cuisine). He now eats all three willingly, and even requests them sometimes!

Loving his first tuk tuk ride

Taking a cruise on the Mekong River

As you can see by the above pictures, X is a dare devil! He loves to try new things and has really enjoyed trying new modes of transportation in Thailand. He’s also pretty happy to be with at least one of his parents and siblings every waking moment. He loves Thai food, especially dragon fruit!

If traveling or living abroad with small children is something you’re thinking about, do it! It really is a great time to expose them to new things, and they are still young enough, and not set in their ways enough, to embrace it. We’d love to answer any questions you have before you go!

Cultural Adjustment

We have lived in Thailand for more than two months! In some ways, that’s really hard to believe, but in other ways, it feels like we’ve been here for a long time. Like everyone who is experiencing a new culture for the first time, we’ve had a bit of a cultural adjustment. For those of you who have lived abroad before, this will be a familiar feeling.

[If you’ve never lived abroad or traveled abroad for an extended period of time, you might find this explanation of cultural adjustment from Princeton useful: https://www.princeton.edu/oip/practical-matters/Cultural-Adjustment.pdf ]

Every person experiences cultural adjustment (or as others might call it, culture shock) differently, and each period doesn’t necessarily have a defined beginning or end. You might also revisit a period briefly, depending on your situation. Hence, I can only tell you my experience as an individual. If you want to know how Scott and the kids feel, you’ll have to ask them!

For me, I think the honeymoon period was brief. I really love my job and could not be happier about working for IJM, but our house was a bit of a disappointment. It was pretty dirty when we moved in and the outdoor kitchen with oven, which I had been ecstatic about before we arrived, was not as awesome as I had expected. That, coupled with the fact that we did not have a vehicle for our first week here, made our living situation less than ideal. We also realized how tragically useless our Thai language knowledge was, and for me it felt a bit overwhelming to try to communicate with people when I had literally no idea what they were saying.

That paragraph might’ve been a little depressing, but trust me when I say we are so happy here! The point of this post is to say that Thailand is starting to feel like home. We have adopted the attitude that we are going to be here for a year, so we might as well learn to live here and not worry about the differences so much. Here are a few differences that we’ve embraced lately:

1. Bugs

In the States, I did not tolerate bugs in my home. If they wanted to live their life outside, that was fine, but once you entered my house you were probably not going to live very long. In Thailand, bugs are inevitable. The houses are not sealed quite as well so bugs can get in everywhere. There are also tiny ants that swarm your kitchen and dining room if you leave a speck of food anywhere (you can imagine how easily that happens at our house!). So, I’ve had to adjust to living with a few more bugs than I would like. We obviously don’t let them get into our food or bother the children, but I am less maniacal about killing every bug that I see.

2. Lack of Air Conditioning

Central air is just not a thing here. We have individual air conditioning units in our bedrooms, but the other parts of our house do not have air conditioning. The weather is not too hot right now, so this really is not a big deal (ask me again during hot season and I might have a different answer). It does mean, though, that we can’t set the temperature of our living spaces, and sometimes I am sweating just watching tv. Sweating while cooking or washing dishes is a given. Many restaurants and other public spaces do not have air conditioning, so you might be sweating while eating, shopping, or working. Again, it’s only in the 80s here, so no one is in danger of heat stroke, but it has pushed us out of our American 72-degree comfort zone.

3. Thai Language

Learning foreign languages is something I prided myself on before we moved to Thailand. I speak Spanish and have learned small amounts of Mandarin and Italian in the past with relative ease. However, Thai is a whole new ballgame. We tried to find some good resources before we moved for learning the language, but there just isn’t much available (or at least, we didn’t find it). Thai is a symbolic language, so reading signs was impossible. It’s also a tonal language, so you could say the same word with a different tone and have a totally different meaning. We didn’t have a Thai tutor our first month here, and it was very frustrating to try to communicate with other people when we had no idea what they were saying. As you can imagine, we resorted to a lot of hand gestures and grunts in the first few weeks! Now, however, we have an excellent Thai tutor and have begun to pick up the language. Admittedly, we are limited to conversations about food and shopping, but we have made a lot of progress.

4. Being Barefoot

In Thai culture, it is disrespectful to wear shoes indoors. This is particularly important in places like temples, but also applies to a person’s home. We don’t wear shoes at our house, which is not such a big change since we did the same in Indiana. My office also leaves their shoes outside, so I spend the vast majority of my day barefoot. I knew this would be the case before we came and I thought it would be weird. However, it now feels totally normal to teach without any shoes on. Sometimes I almost feel strange wearing shoes for more than ten minutes. :)

Elephant Nature Park

This weekend we visited the Elephant Nature Park in Mae Taeng District. It was an incredible experience! The Elephant Nature Park is a conservation park that rehabilitates elephants who have been abused or disabled. The elephants roam freely inside the park and can choose to do whatever activities they would like. All the elephants do have a mahout near them at all times, though, to make sure everyone is safe.

Our amazing day started with a walk through the park and meeting several of the elephant "families". Most of these families aren't biologically related, but they have chosen to live together as a herd. Then we fed an elephant a snack of watermelon, corn, squash, and cucumber. The kids loved it!

 

After lunch, we gave an elephant a bath! Since many of the elephants are disabled, they aren't able to go into the river on their own for a bath. It was a much muddier experience than we were anticipating, but still unbelievable!

It was such a great day observing the elephants and getting to interact with them. If you're ever in northern Thailand, this is a must-see!

This is the park's oldest elephant---she's 90!

Chiang Rai

Last Friday was a national holiday in Thailand, so I had the day off. We decided to use the opportunity to visit the neighboring province, Chiang Rai. It was beautiful and we had a great time! Here’s an overview of our trip:

Friday

We headed up Friday morning and ate a delicious lunch at Charin Garden Restaurant. It was suggested to us by one of my co-workers because they have homemade pie! Desserts like cake and pie are not very common here, so we were thrilled to eat some authentic pie. We even contemplated coming back on our way home. :)

After lunch we went to the White Temple (Wat Rong Khun). E has been looking forward to visiting here because it looks like something out of Frozen! It’s a relatively new temple with some contemporary paintings on the interior (e.g. Spiderman, a minion, George W. Bush, etc.).

Later that afternoon we went to Chiang Rai (the city). We stayed at a lovely guesthouse within walking distance of downtown. We ate a delicious dinner at Destiny Cafe (supports Destiny Rescue) and watched the clock tower show. In the evenings, at the top of every hour, the clock tower has a light show which ends with a lotus flower opening to reveal a golden treasure. The kids loved it!

Saturday

Saturday morning we drove up to the Golden Triangle, where the borders of Thailand, Myanmar, and Laos meet. The Mekong River separates the three countries. We took a river boat cruise along the Mekong to get a closer view of Myanmar, then stopped in Laos to do check out the local market. That made Laos the official second foreign country that our kids have visited!

Sunday

We spent Sunday at Singha Park, in the southern part of Chiang Rai Province. This park has over 3,400 acres, including fields, orchards, a tea plantation, zip lining, rock walls, restaurants, and animals. Unfortunately, it rained all day, so we didn’t get to see as much as we had hoped. Despite the rain, it was still a beautiful visit. We look forward to going back on a sunny day!

Real Life

I’ve been struggling for a few weeks to think of a good topic for a blog post. Life has been pretty “normal” here, and there haven’t been any big events that warrant a post. Here are a few small events that have made it feel less like a vacation and more like our real life:

Last Saturday I drove our car for the first time! You may or may not know that in Thailand, drivers drive on the left-hand side of the road, and the steering wheel is on the right-hand side of the car. Scott has been doing this flawlessly for weeks, but for me driving was a big deal. Granted, I only drove to the local grocery store next to our neighborhood, which required about 30 seconds of driving on the highway. Still, I had to park, back up, merge with traffic, etc, and no one died!

I also caught a pan on fire. We have a gas stove and oven outside our house in what is basically an enclosed porch. I had started to heat the oil and went back inside to grab something else from the kitchen. Big mistake! The oil caught fire and I had to put it out with some flour. Nothing was damaged and no one was hurt, but it definitely reminded me that this is our residence and if something goes wrong, we need to find a solution, not call on someone else to fix it.

Our outdoor kitchen

We had our first doctor visit last Sunday. E had a slight fever for a few days that just wouldn’t totally go away, so we took her to the hospital to make sure she hadn’t contracted some tropical disease. There aren’t really individual doctor’s offices here, everyone just goes to the hospital if they need to see a doctor. We were very impressed with how clean and efficient the hospital was, and how cheap it was to receive good medical care. Everyone we interacted with also spoke English, which was a relief since I didn’t know how to describe her symptoms in Thai. (Or describe anything, really, in Thai.) E just had a basic infection and is feeling much better now!

Waiting area in the pediatric clinic

This week we tried real street food for the first time. There is a market on select days at a plaza that we frequent and we bought food there for dinner. We weren’t super adventurous this time, but we do plan to go back and try some other things (i.e. fried insects) another time. The market has many individual tents and some tables behind the tents where you can sit and eat your food. We had all settled down with our individual food choices and were in the middle of eating when it started to sprinkle. This in itself is not a huge deal, but since it is rainy season we knew that it could quickly become a downpour. We scarfed as much of our food down as we could, then ran for shelter outside a nearby McDonalds. We were all pretty soaked by the time we got to our car, but we did get to see a beautiful rainbow while we waited for the downpour to let up. (Spoiler: it never did.)

Waiting out the rain at Meechok Plaza

These events and many others have helped us learn how to live like residents instead of tourists. We’re looking forward to acclimating more and more to Thai culture!

Deep Grief, Great Hope

The last week or so has been difficult for the IJM community. If you haven't heard, one of the lawyers on IJM Kenya's staff, along with his client and taxi driver, were abducted and killed following a court case at the end of June. The lawyer, Willie Kimani, was working a case of police corruption and brutality, areas which he had spent his whole legal career fighting. He was a dedicated lawyer, husband, and father, and will be dearly missed by all who knew him. The client, Josephat Mwenda, had been a victim of police abuse of power and was trying to receive justice. The taxi driver, Joseph Muiruri, was simply doing his job, which cost him his life.

The people of Kenya and the IJM community have been deeply grieving the lives of these men. This incident has sparked outrage in Nairobi over police abuse of power, which is unfortunately too common for many Kenyans. Thousands of people have come together to make sure that justice is done in this case, and that Willie, Josephat, and Joseph's deaths are not in vain. IJM is asking for people to sign a petition to ask the President of Kenya to take decisive action in this case and to remove the Deputy Inspector General of the Administration Police in Kenya, on behalf of every innocent person abused by his police force. If you haven't done so yet, please sign it here.

This case has affected me more than I anticipated. I did not know Willie personally, but I have identified with him in part because he and I are the same age and both have young children. I have been especially grieving for his wife this week as she embarks on a new life that she didn't expect, which will be significantly more difficult without her husband. The IJM family is committed to taking care of her and her children, but it will not be an easy road. There are many full-time staff, whom I do know, who, like Willie, do risky work on behalf of those who have no voice. This incident has been a chilling reminder of the reality of the threat of violence and the importance of IJM's work toward ending injustice against the poor.

Despite this great loss, IJM is not going away; they are committed to this fight because they believe that God desires justice for the world's poor and oppressed. He has called them to this fight, and they will continue in it until it is finished. They have hope that this incident will be a turning point in Kenya and that it will forever end police impunity in Nairobi.

Isaiah 61:3 says, "To all who mourn in Israel, he will give beauty for ashes, joy instead of mourning, praise instead of despair. For the LORD has planted them like strong and graceful oaks for his own glory." This verse really struck me this week as we prayed for IJM Kenya and the global IJM community. The LORD sees our grief, but He wants to give us hope because He intends for us to persevere. He has put us in this situation to bring Him glory. Pray for IJM Kenya; pray for the global IJM community. Pray for all those who are mourning, that they might receive God's joy and see Him glorified.

Settling In

We made it to Thailand!! We arrived last Wednesday and have been settling in to our new house and new job as best we can over the last few days. Many things about our house (and Thailand in general) are different than what we're used to in Indiana, but we are slowly figuring out how to best go about getting things done. We've had some conversations with the kids about using the word "different" instead of "weird" to describe things that are foreign to us, and it's been a good exercise for us all.

Over the last several days we've gotten cell phones, home internet, and a washing machine, and started the process of buying a car. We couldn't have done many of these things without a lot of help from co-workers who are teaching us to navigate Thai culture and translating on our behalf. We quickly realized that we're going to need to learn some Thai if we want to interact meaningfully with those outside of my workplace. We hope to get a tutor to teach us all some Thai soon!

Everyone we've met here has been really wonderful toward us, and we're looking forward to plugging into some community once we get some reliable transportation (hopefully this week!). We also should be able to do Skype/Facetime and email on a regular basis, so if you'd like to connect with us in those ways, just let us know! We miss you all and hope you have a great Independence Day!

Thank You

Big, big news---as of today we are FULLY FUNDED! Between the amounts pledged by supporters and funds received, we have reached our fundraising goal. We cannot say THANK YOU enough to the many, many generous friends and family who have donated on our behalf. We know that there are thousands of organizations to which you could give your money, and we are incredibly humbled that you chose to give to us.

To be perfectly honest, fundraising was the only part of this adventure that I was dreading. I really hate asking people for money, even when it's for a great cause. Even if we were super careful with finances and purchased as little as possible to prepare for the trip, there was just no way that we could self-fund a year abroad with three kids. So, we sent our letters and visited churches and asked lots of people for money. Then our already-large budget had to be significantly increased due to some underestimated costs that we didn't know about until after sending our letters. But you know what? People gave with cheerful hearts and did not bemoan our asking one bit (or at least, didn't do it to our faces ;) ). God has provided us with all the funds we needed, even covering the increased budget! We are overwhelmed with gratitude.

If you had been planning to donate to our family but haven't yet, we suggest donating to International Justice Mission here. Your gift to their organization will go to their global work of fighting oppression of the poor in the form of human trafficking, property grabbing, sexual assault, unlawful arrests, etc. We strongly believe in IJM's work and know that your donation will be used wisely.

Again, THANK YOU to each and every person who donated to our family. God calls some of us to go, and He calls others to give. Thank you for saying "yes" to His leading. We are looking forward to an incredible year, thanks to your generosity!

Amazing Grace

Often, when we read or talk about the 35 million people who are being oppressed in some form of slavery, it becomes overwhelming and seems impossible to do anything about. In these times it is helpful to draw inspiration from those who have gone before and done impossible things. One of our favorite inspirers is William Wilberforce.

William Wilberforce was instrumental in ending the slave trade in England. He was a member of Parliament and campaigned for the abolition of the slave trade for 18 years before seeing it accomplished. His tireless work changed millions of lives for the better, and should be an inspiration to us all.

If you're interested in learning more about his life and work for the abolition of the slave trade, you should check out the book Amazing Grace by Eric Metaxas. It is Wilberforce's biography and gives good insight into his struggle against those who thought the slave trade would never be defeated. A movie, based on the book, was made in 2006, starring Ioan Gruffudd and Benedict Cumberbatch. Both are excellent! The title comes from Wilberforce's relationship with John Newton, the writer of the hymn Amazing Grace. John Newton was a slave ship captain who, after converting to Christianity, gave up his ships and repented of his involvement in the slave trade. He then became a member of the clergy, and Wilberforce was part of his church as a young boy. Newton relayed stories of the atrocities of the slave trade to Wilberforce and helped convince him to continue the fight in Parliament to bring about its abolition. Consequently, the song was a favorite of Wilberforce's.

William Wilberforce also gave one of my very favorite quotes regarding the slave trade: "You may choose to look the other way, but you can never say again that you did not know." This quote really gripped me as I was learning more about the various forms of slavery that exist in the world today. There are steps that can be taken, and are being taken every day by brave abolitionists, to help end modern slavery. We can no longer be neutral about oppression and violence. Our family is choosing to take action by joining the work of an influential organization that is fighting slavery head-on. What will you do?

Happy Birthday, Mom!

A Letter to My Mom on Her Birthday

To my first teacher: Thank you for teaching me that life is bigger than our little town, and that I could be anything and do anything I wanted. For instilling in all of us a passion for learning and a compassion for others. For sharing your sense of adventure and love for other cultures. For pointing me to Jesus through every circumstance, especially the difficult ones that were painful and didn't make any sense to my young mind.

To my biggest supporter and fan: Thank you for coming to every ball game, cheerleading event, track meet, and academic competition to cheer for me, even though my performance was rarely remarkable. For saying yes when I decided, as a teenager, that I wanted to go to Boston and Australia in the same summer, without you. For being excited for me when I chose to study abroad for a semester, and coming to visit me so I could be with family on Thanksgiving. For celebrating me when I got accepted to medical school, and loving me when I decided I didn't want to finish. For hugging me when I finally chose to be a teacher, so that maybe I can influence and encourage students as much as you do.

To the best grandma: Thank you for showing me how to love my kids without condition. For encouraging me as a mom, even when I know I'm messing it up. For baby-sitting so that I can maintain a level of sanity and enjoy some kid-free time with my husband. For adoring my kids and giving them the same love and support that you gave to us (along with a lot of free stuff).

And, above all, thank you for taking on our passion for IJM, even though it wasn't on your radar previously. For saying "I'm so proud of you," when I told you we were moving your grandbabies to the other side of the world. For reading and investigating more about oppression and violence against the poor because you knew it was important to us. For coming to every church we spoke at to hear more about IJM, give emotional support, and help wrangle the children. For hosting a fundraising event at your house on our behalf. For becoming an advocate for our mission and sharing it with all your people, too.

We can't thank you enough for everything that you do for, with, and because of us. I hope I am half the mother you are, and if I am I know it will be because of your example, love, and support. Happy birthday, and may you know how very much you are loved this year!