The very first thing we learned about our son was his name. His name "Arthit" in Thai, means "Sun", and that is his current "play name" which most Thai kids have, like a nickname.
We did not know if we would give him a new name or not, but after learning he is so young, we decided we will. We have had some possible names in the mix for the past couple of years, so we revisited those first. And after learning his play name is "Sun", we definitely wanted to incorporate that. But we also love names ending with "s-o-n" because we want his name to be a reminder of his identity. (And it sounds the same at the end so hopefully will be an easier adjustment for him.)
We all loved "Hudson" the best and thought it fit him the most compared to others we like. We also like the meaning and immediately thought of Hudson Taylor, a pioneering missionary to China. And because it is the name his first mother gave him, we will keep his Thai name as his middle name.
So, he will be Hudson Arthit Flagler.
Meaning of Hudson: The name Hudson is the transferred use of an Anglo-Scottish surname originating from a medieval personal name “Hudde” which itself has three possible origins. One, it’s widely thought to be a pet form of the Old Saxon name Hugh which comes from a Germanic word “hug” meaning ‘heart, mind, spirit.’ Secondly, Hudde is also thought to have formed as a nickname for Richard which also has Germanic origins meaning ‘power, strong, hardy.’ Lastly, it could be derived from the Olde English personal name “Hūda” with uncertain origin but which gave its name to places like Huddington in Worcestershire. The surname dates back to the 13th century in Scotland and England.
Tyndall's name is also an Anglo-Scottish surname.
And Hudson Taylor's name is actually James Hudson Taylor, so there's another brotherly connection with the name.
On other websites, we read that Hudson can mean "power" which is a strong family connection with Matt's "Powers" family--and middle name.
Tyndall James's name reminds us of William Tyndale who translated the Bible into English, and Hudson Taylor translated most of the New Testament into Chinese.
So, it all seemed to fit, and as we decided throughout the rest of the day, it stuck.
A verse we are associating with his name is 2 Timothy 1:7, "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind."
Funny side note: As I was researching multiple websites about the meaning of names, I read that Hudson was mostly used as a surname. It took me a minute to make the connection that my best friend Ginger married a Hudson in 2015, so it's now the last name of my dearest friend. So, even though it was not the reason we chose the name, it definitely was not a deterrent. And she promised me it wasn't too weird.
Hudson Arthit, you are loved!
Matt, Tricia, Tyndall and Hudson. Our life in Thailand.
Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Missions. Show all posts
Monday, October 23, 2017
Monday, May 9, 2016
Spring Semester Recap!
Spring semester at GES brought more changes for us. I started long-term subbing in Grade 1 for Kristin who was out on maternity leave. Tyndall changed classes to K-1 since he was (mostly) potty-trained and needing a little bit more structure. That meant he also changed to having a "farang" (foreign) teacher instead of just Thai teachers, so it also made it easier for us to communicate and understand how he was doing during the day. He has loved being in the preschool class, and it's been a great change for him.
Because my job changed from part-time to full-time, we needed a helper for Tyndall after school and around the house. God brought P'Nui into our lives, and she has become more than Tyndall's nanny, our house-manager, shopper, dinner-prepper, Thai teacher, but an incredible friend! She is a sweet sister in Christ, and it's so neat to get to know her heart for others and for Thailand! She's one of the worship leaders at her church and helped lead Thai worship at our lower elementary chapel one week. We are excited for her to start seminary soon, even though we won't get to see her as much! George and his family also help us out a ton, mostly on Saturdays when we teach Joy Club. We are so thankful for them as well and continue to learn so much through their friendship. These friendships have been unexpected blessings, but definitely some of the most treasured ones of our first year here!
My Grade 1 class was full of life and adventure. I had (most of the semester) 23 kiddos who kept me on my toes daily. I loved hearing different accounts of their days and having lots and lots of questions and opinions and comments from their little (and big!) personalities. :) Thankful that I was allowed to spend a few months with them and prayerfully show them more of Jesus. I look forward to seeing a lot of those relationships grow over the years. Now that Kristin is back from maternity leave, I'm spending time with the lower elementary ELW (English Language Workshop for Grades 1-3) teacher since that's what I'll teach next year.
Matt has enjoyed teaching Grade 2 again (it's what he taught when we were here in 2008-2009), and he will be teaching Grade 2 next year, which means he will have a lot of the students I had this semester. That should be interesting! I really love seeing Matt as a teacher! He cares so much for the kids but also enjoys teaching them new things. It's just neat to see!
One thing that I've really appreciated too is that we live approximately 143 steps from our classrooms. It's so nice to run home on breaks and (for me) have some alone time. Most of my lunch breaks, I get like 20 minutes to myself which can help recharge me for the rest of the day, and I usually get a mini Thai lesson from P'Nui during lunch as well. It's not always easy having the school right outside our home, but a majority of the time it's a blessing!
In addition to teaching the regular daily school schedule (7:30-4:40), we both did a lot of tutoring and continued to teach the Saturday school, Joy Club. This has had its pros and cons but overall, it's allowed us to get to know more students and build more relationships with parents as well as have more spending money and giving money. I think it also helps us enjoy our family time a lot on the weekends. Matt and I typically have an afternoon date on Saturdays and then Sundays are full days with meeting with our church, eating lunch at Que Pasa with friends, naps, then hanging out in the evenings (lately we've been swimming in the evenings which has been fun!) and prepping for the week.
We had our first visitors in March! Emily and Sheila came to Thailand for their Spring Break, which was way too short. They were troopers powering through jet lag and experiencing Thailand in such a short amount of time. We didn't see them as much as we would have liked (in retrospect, we should have taken some days off), but we were super thankful for the time we did hang out. Loved hearing about their adventures in Kanchanaburi and Cooking with Poo and their day trip to the beach. My favorite was hanging out at their condo pool and getting dinner and foot massages on their last day. Can't wait for our next visitors to come at the end of May!
So thankful for friendships that have grown this semester! This stage of life with 2 working parents and an incredibly active little by would be incredibly draining were it not for life-giving friends. The kind who bring coffee and random snacks to your classroom. The kind you go get massages with. The kind whose kids play with yours. The kind who babysit for date nights. The kind who come over for dinner and don't mind making themselves at home. The kind who do games. The kind who do movies. We are thankful.
Overall, we continue to love our new lives in Thailand. Sure, we have rough days and days where the cultural differences and not knowing the language are hard and challenging and frustrating. More of them lately with trying to do business-sy stuff. But that's part of living cross-culturally. And we understand a lot of those things better this time around. The cockroaches and spiders and snakes and smells and heat... still not our favorite things. But it's easier to take the good with the bad.
All that being said, we are super excited to have time in the States this summer. We miss our family and friends A LOT and can't wait to see everyone and have quality time with everyone soon. I'm also excited for everyone to see Tyndall and see how much he's grown and what an incredible little boy he is. It's going to be GREAT to see him playing with his cousins and our extended family again. Only about a month away, and lots of fun to be had in the meantime!
Pictures are on Facebook. I'll maybe add some in here later for my own sake, but for now, I feel accomplished having gotten this done. ;)
Because my job changed from part-time to full-time, we needed a helper for Tyndall after school and around the house. God brought P'Nui into our lives, and she has become more than Tyndall's nanny, our house-manager, shopper, dinner-prepper, Thai teacher, but an incredible friend! She is a sweet sister in Christ, and it's so neat to get to know her heart for others and for Thailand! She's one of the worship leaders at her church and helped lead Thai worship at our lower elementary chapel one week. We are excited for her to start seminary soon, even though we won't get to see her as much! George and his family also help us out a ton, mostly on Saturdays when we teach Joy Club. We are so thankful for them as well and continue to learn so much through their friendship. These friendships have been unexpected blessings, but definitely some of the most treasured ones of our first year here!
My Grade 1 class was full of life and adventure. I had (most of the semester) 23 kiddos who kept me on my toes daily. I loved hearing different accounts of their days and having lots and lots of questions and opinions and comments from their little (and big!) personalities. :) Thankful that I was allowed to spend a few months with them and prayerfully show them more of Jesus. I look forward to seeing a lot of those relationships grow over the years. Now that Kristin is back from maternity leave, I'm spending time with the lower elementary ELW (English Language Workshop for Grades 1-3) teacher since that's what I'll teach next year.
Matt has enjoyed teaching Grade 2 again (it's what he taught when we were here in 2008-2009), and he will be teaching Grade 2 next year, which means he will have a lot of the students I had this semester. That should be interesting! I really love seeing Matt as a teacher! He cares so much for the kids but also enjoys teaching them new things. It's just neat to see!
One thing that I've really appreciated too is that we live approximately 143 steps from our classrooms. It's so nice to run home on breaks and (for me) have some alone time. Most of my lunch breaks, I get like 20 minutes to myself which can help recharge me for the rest of the day, and I usually get a mini Thai lesson from P'Nui during lunch as well. It's not always easy having the school right outside our home, but a majority of the time it's a blessing!
In addition to teaching the regular daily school schedule (7:30-4:40), we both did a lot of tutoring and continued to teach the Saturday school, Joy Club. This has had its pros and cons but overall, it's allowed us to get to know more students and build more relationships with parents as well as have more spending money and giving money. I think it also helps us enjoy our family time a lot on the weekends. Matt and I typically have an afternoon date on Saturdays and then Sundays are full days with meeting with our church, eating lunch at Que Pasa with friends, naps, then hanging out in the evenings (lately we've been swimming in the evenings which has been fun!) and prepping for the week.
We had our first visitors in March! Emily and Sheila came to Thailand for their Spring Break, which was way too short. They were troopers powering through jet lag and experiencing Thailand in such a short amount of time. We didn't see them as much as we would have liked (in retrospect, we should have taken some days off), but we were super thankful for the time we did hang out. Loved hearing about their adventures in Kanchanaburi and Cooking with Poo and their day trip to the beach. My favorite was hanging out at their condo pool and getting dinner and foot massages on their last day. Can't wait for our next visitors to come at the end of May!
So thankful for friendships that have grown this semester! This stage of life with 2 working parents and an incredibly active little by would be incredibly draining were it not for life-giving friends. The kind who bring coffee and random snacks to your classroom. The kind you go get massages with. The kind whose kids play with yours. The kind who babysit for date nights. The kind who come over for dinner and don't mind making themselves at home. The kind who do games. The kind who do movies. We are thankful.
Overall, we continue to love our new lives in Thailand. Sure, we have rough days and days where the cultural differences and not knowing the language are hard and challenging and frustrating. More of them lately with trying to do business-sy stuff. But that's part of living cross-culturally. And we understand a lot of those things better this time around. The cockroaches and spiders and snakes and smells and heat... still not our favorite things. But it's easier to take the good with the bad.
All that being said, we are super excited to have time in the States this summer. We miss our family and friends A LOT and can't wait to see everyone and have quality time with everyone soon. I'm also excited for everyone to see Tyndall and see how much he's grown and what an incredible little boy he is. It's going to be GREAT to see him playing with his cousins and our extended family again. Only about a month away, and lots of fun to be had in the meantime!
Pictures are on Facebook. I'll maybe add some in here later for my own sake, but for now, I feel accomplished having gotten this done. ;)
Thursday, August 13, 2015
GoodByes and Closure
Our families are awesome. Our friends are beyond great. Our life in Charleston was good. It made leaving very hard. Especially because we were making new friends through the leaving, or reconnecting with old ones.
When we just began discussing the idea of heading back to Thailand, one of my fears/hesitations was how FAST it was going to be. We knew we would need to be in Thailand at the beginning of August, and it was the end of June when this came up. I talked to one of my good friends, Kristen Fransman, who was also in the process of moving overseas for missions. She said in some ways, she wished it would have been faster. Preparing for over a year and a half was difficult in lots of ways. That made me feel better. And I knew it was probably easier on my heart to not drag things out. Maybe harder on those we were leaving though.
July was FULL of tasks and packing and details, but it was also full of visits and special memories. I was intentional to soak things up. Enjoyed watching Tyndall playing with his cousins, with our neighbor Jaylen, with my business helpers Adrienne and Bekah. Enjoyed coffee and breakfast dates and family dinners and rides in the car. Taking in the little, everyday things that usually just fly by. It was special to be able to soak up those moments.
Those things made it easier to let go of the cars, the house, the 'stuff'. Majorly downsizing my Mary Kay business was one of the hardest for me. At first, it almost kept me from coming. I invested a lot of time, money, energy and prayers into my business for over 2 years. It was hard to be asked to let go of that. Eventually, I felt "released". I'm so thankful I had a year-end celebration with my unit and got to see most of them. I'm thankful that our meetings in Charleston had some special time for me to say goodbye. Though I'm not fully done with Mary Kay, it will be very different.
Rehoming Zoe was difficult. Thankfully, Zeb made the arrangements and found a family for her who is perfect. Mom and "Aunt" Brenda made the actual exchange which also made it easier. The hardest part was Tyndall asking for her. When we would come home from somewhere, he would say, "Zoe, we're home!" and wonder why she didn't come see us. We told him Zoe had a new family, and he would be okay with that. We told him we were moving to Thailand, and he always asked who else was coming. Precious boy.
The GoodByes were very hard. Very hard this time. I know Tyndall is going to be so different the next time most of our family sees him. I know our nieces are going to change so much. We know things will change. That's hard. Pray for all these relationships and transitions. We miss our family so much already, and it's really just the beginning!
 |
| Our special friend, Jaylen. He has been at out house almost everyday for the last year+. |
When we just began discussing the idea of heading back to Thailand, one of my fears/hesitations was how FAST it was going to be. We knew we would need to be in Thailand at the beginning of August, and it was the end of June when this came up. I talked to one of my good friends, Kristen Fransman, who was also in the process of moving overseas for missions. She said in some ways, she wished it would have been faster. Preparing for over a year and a half was difficult in lots of ways. That made me feel better. And I knew it was probably easier on my heart to not drag things out. Maybe harder on those we were leaving though.
July was FULL of tasks and packing and details, but it was also full of visits and special memories. I was intentional to soak things up. Enjoyed watching Tyndall playing with his cousins, with our neighbor Jaylen, with my business helpers Adrienne and Bekah. Enjoyed coffee and breakfast dates and family dinners and rides in the car. Taking in the little, everyday things that usually just fly by. It was special to be able to soak up those moments.
Rehoming Zoe was difficult. Thankfully, Zeb made the arrangements and found a family for her who is perfect. Mom and "Aunt" Brenda made the actual exchange which also made it easier. The hardest part was Tyndall asking for her. When we would come home from somewhere, he would say, "Zoe, we're home!" and wonder why she didn't come see us. We told him Zoe had a new family, and he would be okay with that. We told him we were moving to Thailand, and he always asked who else was coming. Precious boy.
The GoodByes were very hard. Very hard this time. I know Tyndall is going to be so different the next time most of our family sees him. I know our nieces are going to change so much. We know things will change. That's hard. Pray for all these relationships and transitions. We miss our family so much already, and it's really just the beginning!
Here We Are Again! (Thailand)
It's our 12th day in Thailand, so I figure it's time to start catching up and processing/documenting things before I get too far behind!
I LOVE having the blog book from this blog last time around, so I know this will eventually be a great resource of looking back and remembering the great things God does! An "Ebenezer stone" of sorts.
I guess I should start with how we got here. I remember being on the beach one day with Matt and Tyndall. We did it a few times this summer, which was super nice. We were talking about our long-term goals for our family and our dreams for the future. Our current situation (at the time) was not sustainable. Matt was working 3+ jobs, and we literally had opposite schedules. Our family time was pretty limited, and we felt very stressed and worn thin. It was not fun seeing my husband like that when he is generally such a laid-back, easygoing guy. So, we had known that something needed to change and had been tossing around options for awhile.
On our beach day, (June 23rd), we decided for sure to sell our house and simplify our life. Get rid of STUFF. Live more simply. We met with our realtor the next morning and were thrilled with finding out the state of the market and our house's value. We could pay off all of our 'bad debt' and start fresh. But the "where do we live?" was harder to answer. We talked about what we wanted... to live with more purpose. To be able to do ministry as a family. We looked into Cares again. We looked into other schools overseas, and we even applied to a few. And then we started talking about being back at GES. For some reason, it seemed quite obvious. Things would already be somewhat familiar. We would know some people already. It wouldn't be as HUGE of an adjustment as the first time since we would already somewhat know what to expect. Within that next week, we applied, we interviewed, and we were offered positions. (Matt's IDEAL position, by the way, which wasn't available when we first started interviewing only a few days earlier!) We had lots of conversations in the meantime and started throwing the idea around to family... Tyndall and I actually were able to be with my family in Saluda the weekend of July 4th which was wonderful family time! While I was there, the house went under contract after only 4 days on the market.
So we decided. Back to GES. It was confirmed in our hearts, in our spirits in so many ways. Just a few days later, the house contract fell through... time for the 'test'. Did we really want to go? Was this the right timing? Lots of prayer and conversations and Scripture, and we still knew we were to go. So we continued selling all our things, closing down my Mary Kay business, preparing to go. Visas, passports, original documents all mixed in with the details of selling a house and packing up our household. Then the house was under contract again, after only 5 days this time. I was VERY happy to be done with showings. Keeping the house tidy and leaving for extended periods of time with Zoe and Tyndall was harder than I imagined it would be. :) But, we made it, and it was a pretty short amount of time. Thank You, Lord!
The whole process was only a few weeks... less than 5 weeks. Kinda crazy. Very faith-stretching. Very humbling and even painful in some ways. But, through it all, we pray we are being made more like Jesus. Less earthly stuff. More focus on eternal matters. As hard as it is to leave family, especially this time with Tyndall, we knew we were supposed to be heading into this new, different season. So, here we are again!
I LOVE having the blog book from this blog last time around, so I know this will eventually be a great resource of looking back and remembering the great things God does! An "Ebenezer stone" of sorts.
I guess I should start with how we got here. I remember being on the beach one day with Matt and Tyndall. We did it a few times this summer, which was super nice. We were talking about our long-term goals for our family and our dreams for the future. Our current situation (at the time) was not sustainable. Matt was working 3+ jobs, and we literally had opposite schedules. Our family time was pretty limited, and we felt very stressed and worn thin. It was not fun seeing my husband like that when he is generally such a laid-back, easygoing guy. So, we had known that something needed to change and had been tossing around options for awhile.
On our beach day, (June 23rd), we decided for sure to sell our house and simplify our life. Get rid of STUFF. Live more simply. We met with our realtor the next morning and were thrilled with finding out the state of the market and our house's value. We could pay off all of our 'bad debt' and start fresh. But the "where do we live?" was harder to answer. We talked about what we wanted... to live with more purpose. To be able to do ministry as a family. We looked into Cares again. We looked into other schools overseas, and we even applied to a few. And then we started talking about being back at GES. For some reason, it seemed quite obvious. Things would already be somewhat familiar. We would know some people already. It wouldn't be as HUGE of an adjustment as the first time since we would already somewhat know what to expect. Within that next week, we applied, we interviewed, and we were offered positions. (Matt's IDEAL position, by the way, which wasn't available when we first started interviewing only a few days earlier!) We had lots of conversations in the meantime and started throwing the idea around to family... Tyndall and I actually were able to be with my family in Saluda the weekend of July 4th which was wonderful family time! While I was there, the house went under contract after only 4 days on the market.
So we decided. Back to GES. It was confirmed in our hearts, in our spirits in so many ways. Just a few days later, the house contract fell through... time for the 'test'. Did we really want to go? Was this the right timing? Lots of prayer and conversations and Scripture, and we still knew we were to go. So we continued selling all our things, closing down my Mary Kay business, preparing to go. Visas, passports, original documents all mixed in with the details of selling a house and packing up our household. Then the house was under contract again, after only 5 days this time. I was VERY happy to be done with showings. Keeping the house tidy and leaving for extended periods of time with Zoe and Tyndall was harder than I imagined it would be. :) But, we made it, and it was a pretty short amount of time. Thank You, Lord!
The whole process was only a few weeks... less than 5 weeks. Kinda crazy. Very faith-stretching. Very humbling and even painful in some ways. But, through it all, we pray we are being made more like Jesus. Less earthly stuff. More focus on eternal matters. As hard as it is to leave family, especially this time with Tyndall, we knew we were supposed to be heading into this new, different season. So, here we are again!
Thursday, September 6, 2012
Compassion Children
The last weekend of August, I had the opportunity to volunteer with Compassion International at a Beth Moore conference in Charleston.
I was soooo excited to go and get to serve in this way. We have come to love Compassion and our sponsored girl, Gift, over the past 2+ years since we started sponsoring her.
There was something special about being at a conference with 9,000 (mostly) women worshiping God and learning more about Him. It was also very special that the conference planners know that giving is a huge part of worship. They had opportunities for people to give to other great organizations like Samaritan's Purse as well. The worship leader shared about his heart for Compassion, how he has gotten to meet one of his sponsored children and how sponsoring a child helps him teach his children about perspective. They also showed a video of lives who had been changed as a result of the ministry of Compassion.
After that section of the conference, we were very busy at the Compassion booth. We got to help ladies find children with the same birthdays as their child, or children who were in a certain part of the world, or who had certain physical traits. It was very special. After my second shift, I learned that there were about 400 children who got sponsored that weekend... wow! What a blessing!
But my mind was truly blown by just how many children still need sponsors. Sponsors in places like America, where people pay $60 to go to a conference for 10 hours. Sponsors who probably get to go on trips and eat out at restaurants while there are children in other places of the world without the basics. We're talking basics, like regular food and clean water.
I'm not judging. I'm just challenged. I'm asking: How do we balance the blessings we've been given with the needs of many in this world? Would love to know your thoughts on this. I am well aware that there's no one-size-fits-all answer. What does Scripture say, and how does that fit into our modern-day culture?
Seriously... I'm asking. :)
I was soooo excited to go and get to serve in this way. We have come to love Compassion and our sponsored girl, Gift, over the past 2+ years since we started sponsoring her.
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| During a worship song that I snuck into the auditorium for. |
There was something special about being at a conference with 9,000 (mostly) women worshiping God and learning more about Him. It was also very special that the conference planners know that giving is a huge part of worship. They had opportunities for people to give to other great organizations like Samaritan's Purse as well. The worship leader shared about his heart for Compassion, how he has gotten to meet one of his sponsored children and how sponsoring a child helps him teach his children about perspective. They also showed a video of lives who had been changed as a result of the ministry of Compassion.
After that section of the conference, we were very busy at the Compassion booth. We got to help ladies find children with the same birthdays as their child, or children who were in a certain part of the world, or who had certain physical traits. It was very special. After my second shift, I learned that there were about 400 children who got sponsored that weekend... wow! What a blessing!
 |
| a small portion of the available children |
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| Click on this picture to be taken to the Sponsorship Page. |
I'm not judging. I'm just challenged. I'm asking: How do we balance the blessings we've been given with the needs of many in this world? Would love to know your thoughts on this. I am well aware that there's no one-size-fits-all answer. What does Scripture say, and how does that fit into our modern-day culture?
 | ||
| I've been in a VERY similar hut. This was not just for show. It's reality for a LOT of people. |
Monday, September 12, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
A Mini Gburg Reunion
CCC Gatlinburg Summer Project 2002 "The Beast of the East"
Kurt & Morgan (a Gburg marriage!), Dan, Tricia, Brandon, Amber W
Kurt, Dan, Brandon (The Guys)
Shannon Maloy, Morgan, Tricia, Ansley Hammond + 2 kiddos, and Amber. 
The whole gang (left to right):Amber & her fiance Sherief Khalil,
Kurt & Morgan Brewer,
Dan & Shannon Maloy,
Brandon, Ansley, Myra Grace & Mackey Hammond,
and the Flaglers
It was lots of fun to get together. Interestingly enough, much of the same crew (though switch Ginger Henry for the Hammonds) had a get together on Cinco de Mayo in 2007. Maybe we will have to make it more of an annual tradition? :)
Would any of you out-of-towners join us?
Tuesday, April 12, 2011
Excited for My Mom
Matt's Dad and Grandpa are currently in Romania working to build meeting places for churches there. And my Mom is planning on being part of a mission trip in July.
We are thankful to be part of families who value making Jesus famous in other countries.
Here's a letter from my Mom about her trip. (You can click on the image to make it larger or email me for a PDF version.)
Would you consider praying for her and her team and also giving financially if you're led?
We are thankful to be part of families who value making Jesus famous in other countries.
Here's a letter from my Mom about her trip. (You can click on the image to make it larger or email me for a PDF version.)
Would you consider praying for her and her team and also giving financially if you're led?
Saturday, April 9, 2011
A Story About Having 8 House Guests
Once upon a time there was a young married couple who had just moved into a new apartment. That apartment happened to be 2 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The couple's church was hosting about 80 middle schoolers from Atlanta who were coming to Charleston to do service projects for the community. The couple's church said they needed host homes, so the couple volunteered to host 2 or 3 youth for the week, knowing it would be a little tight, but they wanted to help and thought it would be fun.
A few days before the youth arrived, the couple who had just moved into the apartment found out that they were hosting not 2 or 3 youth but EIGHT youth + a chaperone! After a mild panic attack, the young wife calmed down and realized that middle schoolers can sleep on the floor and share a bathroom. They would be on a mission trip, after all, not a luxury vacation, right? So, the young couple cleaned and prepared their apartment for the arrival of their guests.
On Saturday night, they arrived, around 10:30 pm, with lots of suitcases, sleeping bags, pillows, and personality. The neighbors surrounding the apartment surely did not know what hit them when it sounded as if a stampede of elephants was entering the apartment breezeway. The girls shuffled in, and the couple realized there were not eight girls + a chaperon but SEVEN girls + a chaperone, and they breathed a sigh of relief. Every little bit helps, they thought.
Through the week, the girls were wonderful guests. They didn't complain about sleeping on the floor or sharing a bathroom. They were great with the giant dog that lived in the apartment and even took her out to go to the bathroom occasionally. They brought their own breakfast foods, but the young wife made pancakes a couple of mornings and french toast one morning just so they could start the day off with hot breakfasts. They didn't mind that there weren't enough chairs or places at the table. They didn't complain about having to eat on tv trays every morning. All of their other meals were eaten with the big group at other locations.
The girls were out and about around town most of the week, but when they were home, they laughed and talked and played games and watched movies in the apartment's theater. They told stories and tried to talk louder than each other so each could be heard. The sweet chaperone would quiet them down, and they would giggle. And they spent lots of time with blow dryers and hair straighteners and changing outfits.
All in all, it was a good week. But when the girls and their chaperone left on Friday morning, the young wife let out a sigh of relief. And then started cleaning. And she wondered whether or not she would host 7 middle school girls again. She's still wondering. :)
A few days before the youth arrived, the couple who had just moved into the apartment found out that they were hosting not 2 or 3 youth but EIGHT youth + a chaperone! After a mild panic attack, the young wife calmed down and realized that middle schoolers can sleep on the floor and share a bathroom. They would be on a mission trip, after all, not a luxury vacation, right? So, the young couple cleaned and prepared their apartment for the arrival of their guests.
On Saturday night, they arrived, around 10:30 pm, with lots of suitcases, sleeping bags, pillows, and personality. The neighbors surrounding the apartment surely did not know what hit them when it sounded as if a stampede of elephants was entering the apartment breezeway. The girls shuffled in, and the couple realized there were not eight girls + a chaperon but SEVEN girls + a chaperone, and they breathed a sigh of relief. Every little bit helps, they thought.
Through the week, the girls were wonderful guests. They didn't complain about sleeping on the floor or sharing a bathroom. They were great with the giant dog that lived in the apartment and even took her out to go to the bathroom occasionally. They brought their own breakfast foods, but the young wife made pancakes a couple of mornings and french toast one morning just so they could start the day off with hot breakfasts. They didn't mind that there weren't enough chairs or places at the table. They didn't complain about having to eat on tv trays every morning. All of their other meals were eaten with the big group at other locations.
The girls were out and about around town most of the week, but when they were home, they laughed and talked and played games and watched movies in the apartment's theater. They told stories and tried to talk louder than each other so each could be heard. The sweet chaperone would quiet them down, and they would giggle. And they spent lots of time with blow dryers and hair straighteners and changing outfits.
All in all, it was a good week. But when the girls and their chaperone left on Friday morning, the young wife let out a sigh of relief. And then started cleaning. And she wondered whether or not she would host 7 middle school girls again. She's still wondering. :)
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Unreached People of the Day --->
Please notice the unreached people of the day widget today. I've had the opportunity to visit Kyrgyzst@n and see what God is doing there. He is truly at work, especially this last year since there has been a revolution and some ethnic violence. Honestly, please take a minute to pray today.
And pray for all of the people who live there in order to share about Jesus, including some very special friends of mine. Thanks!
(And you can click on the link above or on the picture beside this post for more information on how to pray.)
And pray for all of the people who live there in order to share about Jesus, including some very special friends of mine. Thanks!
(And you can click on the link above or on the picture beside this post for more information on how to pray.)
Friday, January 14, 2011
2011: We're Moving!
So, as predicted, in this post over a year ago, 2010 was a year where we stayed put. We didn't move in 2010. The first year since we've been married, and the first year for me with no moving at all since 2000!!! In fact, the condo was the place we've stayed the longest (almost double!) than any other place we've lived in our married life. We enjoyed some of the stability. But...
... as I wrote about in this post last June, we have been wanting do the the Cares ministry in Charleston. This week, things have been finalized for us to move into Bolton's Landing here in West Ashley in order to be the Cares team there! We'll be moving over there on February 18th. We're so excited! 
It will be quite an adjustment as we learn to change our schedules around to focus more on our neighbors and building relationships with them. This is one of the reasons I am taking a break from grad school. We'll be planning about 3 events per month for our community and doing visits to neighbors when they move in, when they are close to being out of their leases, and also if we hear someone is sick or in need of some company.
But, we feel like this will be a great fit for us, and a great opportunity to meet lots of new people and hopefully for us to be able to invest into people's lives.
... as I wrote about in this post last June, we have been wanting do the the Cares ministry in Charleston. This week, things have been finalized for us to move into Bolton's Landing here in West Ashley in order to be the Cares team there! We'll be moving over there on February 18th. We're so excited! 
It will be quite an adjustment as we learn to change our schedules around to focus more on our neighbors and building relationships with them. This is one of the reasons I am taking a break from grad school. We'll be planning about 3 events per month for our community and doing visits to neighbors when they move in, when they are close to being out of their leases, and also if we hear someone is sick or in need of some company.
But, we feel like this will be a great fit for us, and a great opportunity to meet lots of new people and hopefully for us to be able to invest into people's lives.
Monday, October 4, 2010
'Gift' of Compassion
We recently started sponsoring a little girl in Thailand through Compassion. Her nickname is Gift. We got a letter from her recently and are so excited for how we can be part of her life. A small sacrifice of $38/month is totally worth being part of how God is working in this little girl's life. 
Do any of you blogging friends sponsor a child through a similar organization? How do you keep in touch? What works well? 
Wednesday, September 8, 2010
Two Years ago This Week...
... we moved to Thailand.
Been missing it some lately. Been missing these kids a lot.
The video is about 8 minutes. Pray for these kiddos as you see them. Pray for how God is working in Thailand.
Been missing it some lately. Been missing these kids a lot.
The video is about 8 minutes. Pray for these kiddos as you see them. Pray for how God is working in Thailand.
Friday, June 4, 2010
Outward Bound
Okay, so after a pretty dark season in our lives, I'm happy to report that we're both experiencing kind of an 'awakening' of sorts. Just not so down, not so stressed, not so overwhelmed and more content. This is a HUGE blessing.
There were many steps involved, but I would say one of the main contributing factors has been finding a great church that we're excited to be part of. River Church is a new church in Charleston that really matches up with the God of the Bible. It's Christ-focused, as well as outward-focused. Our second week there, we heard this sermon about reaching our spheres of influences. Matt and I both walked away from church that morning very convicted about our current situation. We loved God but had fallen into selfish and self-centered laziness. Just became too focused on our own comfort and well-being. We both knew things needed to change.
Since then, we have been growing again in our relationship with Christ. He's good, y'all. Even though we both 'knew better' than to end up where we were, God hasn't held that over our heads. He welcomed us back. He's showered His love on us. And He has again challenged us to share His love with others.
Matt said that Sunday morning that being involved with such a great church made him want to do CARES again. I agreed. I had the same feeling actually, the same morning. We've taken a few weeks to mull it over and become brave enough to try it again. We've prayed to make sure this is something from God and not just ourselves. We feel led to pursue it, though we don't have a guarantee it will work out.
CARES is a ministry with Apartment Life. We actually were part of it in Texas. We became a CARES team in May of 2008 and moved to a different part of DFW to implant ourselves into an apartment community. The purpose of a CARES team is to plan events and do visits with and for the neighbors in that community. It helps them to get to know each other and form friendships to not feel so isolated in that type of living situation. Through the events and visits, we can build relationships with lots of people and love on them and share our lives-- and our relationships with Christ!
After 3 months in Bedford, TX, we had just started getting to know people and forming good friendships when we heard about the Thailand opportunity and decided to move there. So, it was cut short. Now we'd like to continue with the CARES ministry here and be able to start something new here together.
We applied last year when we first moved back but backed out right before the personal interview process because we didn't really know our work situations or church situation at the time. Now that we are pretty settled into jobs and getting plugged into a great church, it is a much better time. So we've applied and will probably have a face-to-face interview next week. We are ready to start being more outward-focused. I'm excited.
There were many steps involved, but I would say one of the main contributing factors has been finding a great church that we're excited to be part of. River Church is a new church in Charleston that really matches up with the God of the Bible. It's Christ-focused, as well as outward-focused. Our second week there, we heard this sermon about reaching our spheres of influences. Matt and I both walked away from church that morning very convicted about our current situation. We loved God but had fallen into selfish and self-centered laziness. Just became too focused on our own comfort and well-being. We both knew things needed to change.
Since then, we have been growing again in our relationship with Christ. He's good, y'all. Even though we both 'knew better' than to end up where we were, God hasn't held that over our heads. He welcomed us back. He's showered His love on us. And He has again challenged us to share His love with others.
Matt said that Sunday morning that being involved with such a great church made him want to do CARES again. I agreed. I had the same feeling actually, the same morning. We've taken a few weeks to mull it over and become brave enough to try it again. We've prayed to make sure this is something from God and not just ourselves. We feel led to pursue it, though we don't have a guarantee it will work out.
CARES is a ministry with Apartment Life. We actually were part of it in Texas. We became a CARES team in May of 2008 and moved to a different part of DFW to implant ourselves into an apartment community. The purpose of a CARES team is to plan events and do visits with and for the neighbors in that community. It helps them to get to know each other and form friendships to not feel so isolated in that type of living situation. Through the events and visits, we can build relationships with lots of people and love on them and share our lives-- and our relationships with Christ!After 3 months in Bedford, TX, we had just started getting to know people and forming good friendships when we heard about the Thailand opportunity and decided to move there. So, it was cut short. Now we'd like to continue with the CARES ministry here and be able to start something new here together.
We applied last year when we first moved back but backed out right before the personal interview process because we didn't really know our work situations or church situation at the time. Now that we are pretty settled into jobs and getting plugged into a great church, it is a much better time. So we've applied and will probably have a face-to-face interview next week. We are ready to start being more outward-focused. I'm excited.
Friday, January 29, 2010
Grad School?
My Facebook status currently says: 
Matt and I may or may not have applied for grad school last night. Got some interesting responses already:
Well, we did. Not sure if we're ready to spill all the beans because let's be honest: Matt and I can be pretty fickle people, and we tend to jump into things pretty quickly.
Where did this come from?
1) Matt loved teaching in Thailand and really thinks it might be what he would like to do as a career, as scary as it sounds to commit to a whole career.
2) If he does decide to teach, he needs to get certified.
3) He would want to teach overseas again.
4) If he is a teacher overseas, I would like to go with him.
5) It's easier for him to get a teaching job overseas at a school which will hire me too if I also have a teaching degree.
6) Though teaching in Thailand definitely had it's wonderful moments, it mostly drained me and I thought I didn't want to be a teacher anymore, even that's what I thought I would want to be from middle school forward (besides a wife+mom!)... BUT we think if I have training and more prep time, I will probably feel more competent and enjoy it more.
7) We have to do something we love and that makes a difference for eternity.
8) Recently, I got a letter from one of my fourth graders that made me cry and I had one of those "ah-ha moments" when I realized that though it wasn't always easy, it was a place I saw God working.
9) Aimee was a teacher, and in her shortened life, there were sooooo many lives God used her in as their teacher, who have come to know Him as a result. Pretty inspiring!
10) The application was free, and we'll only be charged if we actually enroll. ;)
What may be the result?
-Masters of Teaching, with concentrations either in Elementary Ed, English Ed, or Special Ed.
-Majority of coursework done online but 3 classes on campus.
-Nationally (and Internationally) recognized teaching certification for the both of us!
Now what?
1) Finish the applications. (Transcripts to be exact)
2) Get financial aid, LOTS of it.
3) Get started. It's only 12 classes, but they all have to be completed within 5 years.
What do you think? Really.
And, it probably goes without saying, but we'd really love your prayers for this next (possible) step and for financial aid to work out because we are not sure if we will follow through if we have to take out student loans.
Matt and I may or may not have applied for grad school last night. Got some interesting responses already:
Well, we did. Not sure if we're ready to spill all the beans because let's be honest: Matt and I can be pretty fickle people, and we tend to jump into things pretty quickly. Where did this come from?
1) Matt loved teaching in Thailand and really thinks it might be what he would like to do as a career, as scary as it sounds to commit to a whole career.
2) If he does decide to teach, he needs to get certified.
3) He would want to teach overseas again.
4) If he is a teacher overseas, I would like to go with him.
5) It's easier for him to get a teaching job overseas at a school which will hire me too if I also have a teaching degree.
6) Though teaching in Thailand definitely had it's wonderful moments, it mostly drained me and I thought I didn't want to be a teacher anymore, even that's what I thought I would want to be from middle school forward (besides a wife+mom!)... BUT we think if I have training and more prep time, I will probably feel more competent and enjoy it more.
7) We have to do something we love and that makes a difference for eternity.
8) Recently, I got a letter from one of my fourth graders that made me cry and I had one of those "ah-ha moments" when I realized that though it wasn't always easy, it was a place I saw God working.
9) Aimee was a teacher, and in her shortened life, there were sooooo many lives God used her in as their teacher, who have come to know Him as a result. Pretty inspiring!
10) The application was free, and we'll only be charged if we actually enroll. ;)
What may be the result?
-Masters of Teaching, with concentrations either in Elementary Ed, English Ed, or Special Ed.
-Majority of coursework done online but 3 classes on campus.
-Nationally (and Internationally) recognized teaching certification for the both of us!
Now what?
1) Finish the applications. (Transcripts to be exact)
2) Get financial aid, LOTS of it.
3) Get started. It's only 12 classes, but they all have to be completed within 5 years.
What do you think? Really.
And, it probably goes without saying, but we'd really love your prayers for this next (possible) step and for financial aid to work out because we are not sure if we will follow through if we have to take out student loans.
Friday, June 19, 2009
From Campus Crusade's Website
This is an excerpt from an email that I received from Campus Crusade today. Great perspective.
Campus Crusade's correspondence centers serving the Middle East, North Africa and surrounding nations have received more than 6.2 million contacts over the past year from people seeking Bibles, books about Christ and answers to specific questions about Him. That's 17,000 requests every day from people who hunger to learn more about Jesus.
To view the whole letter, click here. And there's a video here. (Sorry I couldn't figure out how to put it in here.
Kinda helps put things in perspective for me.
Let's pray and give and go! :) Feel free to ask me if you would like more information.
Campus Crusade's correspondence centers serving the Middle East, North Africa and surrounding nations have received more than 6.2 million contacts over the past year from people seeking Bibles, books about Christ and answers to specific questions about Him. That's 17,000 requests every day from people who hunger to learn more about Jesus.
To view the whole letter, click here. And there's a video here. (Sorry I couldn't figure out how to put it in here.
Kinda helps put things in perspective for me.
Let's pray and give and go! :) Feel free to ask me if you would like more information.
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