A Vacation Suggestion for Families

Thought I'd post a quick plug for a great vacation spot for families. This weekend we went to Santa Claus, Indiana to celebrate Jadon's birthday at Holiday World and Splashin' Safari Waterpark. We have been wanting to take the kids to an amusement park, but they're still so short that they can't ride most of the rides at the major parks like Six Flags. A few families we know had gone to Holiday World a couple of years ago and had a great time. We looked it up online and thought it looked like a lot of fun.

Many of the rides have similar height requirements as the bigger parks, but this one has lower ones if they ride with an adult. Since we wouldn't let them go without an adult anyway, that worked great for us. Ian & Lynnea could ride everything, and Jadon & his friend, Ethan, were able to ride all but the roller coasters and one or two other rides. They could all ride all of the water rides. Most of the water rides have large rafts for 4 or 5 people, so that makes the slides more fun, too.

Some of the perks at Holiday World that you don't find at other parks include: free drinks (Pepsi products, gatorade, lemonade, etc.) all day long, a family-friendly atmosphere, very nice staff, free lifejacket use, and food prices that are similar to a McD's rather than jacked up prices found at most tourist places.

The one thing that we will do next time is plan a two day trip rather than one-a dry day and a wet day. There is way too much to do in one day, so we did miss some of the rides and didn't get to see the shows. It did help us that there were scattered thunderstorms all day, so the park wasn't busy and the lines were short. Longer lines would have made us miss out on even more of the rides.

If you are looking for a fun, safe, family-friendly vacation for your family, I would highly recommend trying it out. It's in southern Indiana, which is pretty centrally located for those east of the Mississippi.

In My Own Strength

If you know me at all, you know that I have the most wonderful family and church family anyone could ever ask for. I love them all very deeply, and the Lord has used them in many ways to heal my heart. Because of them, I have been able to not only accept our geographical location, but to also begin to embrace it and serve excitedly. Over the past month, though, I had some major setbacks in that area and could not understand why. Through a lot of prayer and soul-searching, I believe that I know what I did to cause that.

Things have gotten much better over the past year or so. When we went to Albania in July, I was excited to share my story about how the Lord has worked and who He has brought into my life. I wanted to tell of God's faithfulness to someone as undeserving as me. On our last day there, I had the opportunity to do just that.

In preparation for that time, though, I never considered needing God's strength to do it. I asked for His words and His wisdom, but never His strength. I could see only how well I had been doing and feeling, and did not take into consideration the old feelings my story would bring up. Because it was our last day, it came right before I had 24 hours on airplanes to sit and think.

Then, when I got back, I got into a car for over 36 hours to get the kids from Wisconsin, and followed that with a trip home for my grandma's funeral. All of the travel combined kept me away from Northbrook for 5 weeks. Therefore, I had time to dwell on the old feelings without ever being in a place to be reminded of where God has brought me and who He has put with me. I was weak, tired and thinking on the wrong things-the old things.

God says in 1 Peter 4:10-11, "Each one should use whatever gift he has received to serve others, faithfully administering God's grace in its various forms. If anyone speaks, he should do it as one speaking the very words of God. If anyone serves, he should do it with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen." (italics emphasis mine)

In all we do, we need to do it in His strength, so that in all of it, He may be praised. I forgot I needed His strength, and I suffered the setback because of it. I am thankful even more for the loving support of my family & church family, for the time to recover and be refreshed, and for a God who renews my strength when it is gone.

For Parents Who Hurt

I have always loved nature-lakes, rivers, mountains, wild animals. One of the things I have found as my kids grow is that, although I still love these things and enjoy the peace of being surrounded by them, these times also bring sad, uncomfortable feelings. This morning I woke up in a basement (really, people have nice basements you can sleep in) with a window overlooking a beautiful lake with the sun just peaking in. And I was absolutely overwhelmed with guilt-so much so that I almost couldn't get out of bed. The choices we have made to live where we do means that my children will rarely get to experience this kind of peace & beauty. They can't even ride their bikes around the neighborhood without fear of something bad happening to them. I worry that they will resent me for that, that they will grow up wishing they had experienced so much more.

Don't get me wrong. We do as much as we can to give them those kinds of experiences. We take them camping (although we haven't been able to do that since someone stole our trailer hitch from our front yard), go on vacation to small towns and pretty places, and bring them home to Minnesota & Wisconsin whenever we can. But the guilt and fear remains constant-even if sometimes in the back of my mind.

This morning as it overwhelmed me, though, that feeling like we are messing our kids up forever, the Lord gave me a passage that I have read many times. Joel 2:23-26 says, "Be glad, O people of Zion, rejoice in the Lord your God, for He has given you the autumn rains in righteousness. He sends you abundant showers, both autumn and spring rains as before. The threshing floors will be filled with grain; the vats will overflow with new wine and oil. 'I will repay you for the years the locusts have eaten-the great locust and the young locust, the other locusts and the swarm-my great army that I sent among you. You will have plenty to eat, until you are full, and you will praise the name of the Lord your God, who has worked wonders for you; never again will my people be shamed.'"

I know many parents who feel the same way I do-some live in an unsafe, unloving place; others live in a nice place surrounded by family, but one of their kids is picked on and rejected; some are missionaries who believe firmly in their calling, yet one or more of their children don't fare well on the mission field; many just simply don't have the money or time to give their children even some of the simpler opportunities they wish they could. We all do the best we can as parents, yet there are always things we wish we could do better. We can hold on to the promise that God is our ultimate Father. He loves and cares for all of His children, our children, much better than we ever could. And He will redeem the years the locusts have eaten. The years where they, and we, could have had much more. (I don't mean material things here. Unless they are necessities, they are not important.)

We love and support our kids, raise them in the faith and knowledge of Jesus Christ, give them as many opportunities for growth and health as we possibly can, and trust God with the rest. He can take both what they have and don't have, what they have experienced (good and bad), to teach them and make something beautiful of their lives. Knowing that, I will try to let go of some of the guilt and shame of what I can't change or do and do the best I can with what I have. And I hope this encourages some of you to do the same.

Taking Time

I know I haven't yet posted my reflections on the Albania trip. That's partly because we have been very busy, and partly because I am still trying to be ok with being back here. This week I hope to have time to write some of my thoughts and feelings about the trip and our experiences. For today, though, I want to share about our yesterday.

One of the areas that the Lord has really been working in me is to be able to relax and just enjoy time with people. I have a tendency to either think about things that I should be doing instead of just sitting around talking, or I think about how much I don't belong in whatever group I am with and that maybe they would have more fun without me. Neither of those things is healthy. They both take away from my ability to enjoy people and their ability to really know me, which, like my pastor says, is robbing people of relationship.

For those of you who don't know what our month has been like, here's a quick recap: The weekend of the 4th of July, Mark & I took the kids to Wisconsin to spend three weeks with my parents. We drove the 36 hour round trip in 3 1/2 days. Four days later I left for 10 days in Albania. Three days after getting back from Albania, we left to drive back to Wisconsin to pick up the kids. We got there Friday night and had to leave Saturday morning to drive back to Tennessee.

My grandma has been ill, and I really wanted to see her on this trip. In order to do that, though, we added about 5 hours of drive time to an already long trip. We needed to leave my parent's house first thing in the morning to make that visit and drive a good part of the way back to Tennessee. My niece, who I haven't seen in years, invited us to breakfast on our way out of town. We left two hours later than my goal, but we had such a great time eating breakfast with her and meeting her fiancee.

We then drove over to Minnesota to see my grandma. On the way, we realized that our new route home would take us very close to our best friends from college. We also knew that stopping there would put us way behind schedule. We just couldn't be that close without at least calling them, though, so we did. They were so excited, and we made plans to eat dinner with them.

We got to grandma's about 2, and visited with her for an hour & a half. It was such a special time. The kids talked with her and spent some time playing outside. I shared my Albania pictures with her, and Mark took some pictures. It was worth every bit of driving out of our way just to have that time with her.


We left grandma's and drove down to the cities to see Kari & Greg. I love watching how easily our kids mix and play together, even though they hardly ever get to see each other. Mark & Greg headed out to the grill to hang out. We didn't have to worry about whether they would have anything to talk about like wives often do. When they left, Kari said, "Ok, you've been here at least 5 minutes. How's your marriage?" No small talk necessary. We could just jump into the important heart stuff, because no matter the distance, that connection is always there. We spent 3 hours at their house eating, talking and enjoying our kids together. I wouldn't trade that time for any number of miles behind us.


The funny thing is, we found a new way back to Tennessee from their house that is actually about 2 hours shorter than any way we've driven before. I sit in a hotel room in Iowa, 7 hours from Jackson, and realize that the time we spent with people yesterday was so much more important than anything else we could have done. And I am thankful for the lessons God teaches me in preparation for times like that.

One More Update

Well, we are back in Jackson. Saturday and Sunday were VERY busy, and I didn't get time to post any updates. So, today I will post an update on our weekend. Later, when I've had time to process a bit more, I'll write some of my reflections. Right now I'm not so sure I'd make it through.

Saturday morning we went to Shkoze for the children's ministry meeting. They are absolutely adorable! A lot of the same kids were there, but there were quite a few smaller ones we hadn't met yet.

Mary, Norman & Lela led the children in worship. I love to hear them sing!

We taught them "Inright, Outright, Upright, Downright" in Shqip. That was fun!

We did the chair skit, and then Matt explained how we can get stuck in sin, and no matter what we or others try to do to set us free, only prayer and Jesus can do that.

Bethany from California told the story of Joseph interpreting dreams while Carol drew out the story.

The kids did some Scripture memory games that they had a lot of fun with.

They had snack & a craft outside. We also had some time just for hugs and talking.

Saturday night we were back at the Brewer's for youth group. We sang some of the same songs from the morning, did the Jesus vs. Satan sin skit that we had done at Berti's church, and Meg & Wayne shared their testimonies. We played a really fun game that broke the light three times. Afterwards we all walked for ice cream :)





Sunday morning we had church in Shkoze. The worship just brought me to tears. The thought of all of us, from every tribe, tongue and nation worshiping Jesus together in heaven moves me every time. I shared my testimony, and Fredi shared the sermon. It was very difficult to say goodbye to the ladies we came to love so much so quickly.



Sunday evening was our last church service with the Brewer's. This one was in their home. Carol shared her testimony and Norman gave the message.


A lot of tears were shed that night as we said goodbye to the kids and the Brewer's. We had a wonderful time of prayer with the family before we left. I am always amazed at how strongly the Lord knits together the hearts of His people through Jesus. They will be missed more than they will ever know.

More About Our Albanian Adventure

Well, when we said it would get crazy-busy, it did! Sorry I haven't posted in a while. We have been going non-stop since Wednesday morning. Here are a few pictures:

These are from the English class we got to teach. The kids were so much fun!



Hervin & Sedika came over for dinner. We really enjoyed spending time with them and meeting their children, Joel & Edon.



I got to teach the lesson at the ladies Bible study in Shkoze. What a blessing to be able to open the Word with these precious women!



Carol also got to share her testimony at one of the church plants outside of town. I don't have pictures of that, but I know it went very well. She also had the opportunity to teach the leaders of the Roma ministry how to make jewelry so that they can teach the gypsy women they minister to.

While Carol was teaching the women the jewelry making, Wayne, Meg, Cindy & I listened to a power point presentation on the Roma Gypsy ministry and prayed with the men who lead it. It was very interesting.

Today, Saturday, we have a VERY busy day. We will start out with children's ministry this morning, youth this afternoon, and church this evening. It's hard to believe we only have two days left. This trip has flown by. I'm not sure any of us are ready for it to end.

Albania Update 3

There is way too much to post in one entry, especially since it takes 15 minutes to upload two pictures. Tuesday afternoon we went to the gorge with two of the Brewer's. Nathan is still sick, and Mary was not able to come. I think Norman & Bethany really enjoyed it, though. I know we all did!

Yesterday was a great day! We visited with Memli & Louisa, a missionary couple we met the last time we were here. We had a wonderful time of fellowship & prayer in their home.

After lunch, we headed up to Shkoze, the village we will be working in a lot with the Brewers. Carol taught them how to make jewelry, and Meg taught them how to make ribbon bracelets. They loved learning both, and were excited that we were coming back on Friday.

For dinner we were invited into the home of Jona & Elda, two girl's we met on our last trip, and their parents, Tusha and Xhavid. There are no word to say how blessed we felt to be in their home and eat a meal of rice & beans (which was REALLY good). The ladies moved to the bedroom to talk, and the men watched soccer in the living room. We were there for three hours. It was one of my best Albanian moments ever.

Albania Update

Wow, have we been busy! And our real intense ministry stuff doesn't even start until Wednesday. Yesterday Carol spent most of the day meeting with local missionaries and seeing the school in preparation for moving here. Meg, Erin, Emily & their friend Sarah went to Bethany Children's Home to spend time with the kids. I don't have pictures of those, because I wasn't there :) Matt, Wayne, Caleb & I painted the Wright's living room, dining room & hallway. When you see the pictures, you'll understand why!




I'll post some after pictures when we get the apartment put back together. It look's great!

Last night we went to a combined Bible study of Matt's young adult class and Cindy's worship team. Wayne taught a great lesson on "All We Like Sheep". It was great to visit there with some old and new friends.



Just for fun, here are a couple of extra pictures of Albania.

These are two gypsy children we passed on the street.

This is in a shopping mall we walked through on the way to the Wright's from the bus stop.

Today we are spending some more time with the Brewer family, who we will begin ministering with tomorrow. We are going to a place called the gorge, where all the water runs down from the mountains. We will be able to swim & climb on the rocks. Pray for us through the rest of the week. We will be much busier. I will continue to post updates as often as possible, but we won't be home much.

Finally in our Second Home

Carol, Wayne, Meg & I arrived in Albania on Saturday. It was an eventful, but fairly easy trip. We were extremely amused by the airport security screener who wasn't quite sure what to do with the 9 bottles of soy sauce we had packed for Matt. I wanted to take a picture of his face, but learned my lesson about taking pictures in security areas the hard way the last time we came over here. In Munich we had a 40 minute layover and were taking off from gate 25. The gates were labeled 1-24 and 26-40. Hmmmm... I saw a lady in a restaurant wearing a yellow vest who looked like she might know her way around. I interrupted her lunch to ask where gate 25 was. She said, like it made perfect sense, "It's right through that store." Of course! Why didn't we think of that? When they called our flight, we went through the gate, where there was a perfectly good plane connected to the ramp. Instead, we walked down 5 flights of stairs only to find ourselves locked in a glass room. Luckily there was a man from Colorado, who Carol nicknamed John Locke, who had done this before and assured us it would be ok. Then, 5 minutes after we were supposed to take off, a bus came to get us. The bus ride was 15 minutes long and took us WAY out of the airport, past the small planes in the back, to a lot with three planes on it. Finally, a half hour after our scheduled take-off, we left. Catching the bus from the airport into Tirana was also an adventure, and got us to Matt & Cindy's just 2 hours behind schedule. Good thing we have a flexible team :)

Saturday night we walked to church and were all doing very well. We enjoyed seeing many of the people we remember from our last trip. When the sermon started, which was actually very interesting, we all started falling asleep. We ended up having to leave church early. We got our first ice cream and went to bed.

Sunday morning started off with a trip to a new church plant that Caleb has been helping to start. We had a prayer time with Berti (the pastor) and Ava (his wife) and their friend, Sonida. Then 8 children between 5 and 15 showed up. They really enjoyed the worship, singing and clapping a lot. I taught a lesson on Luke 5 while Carol drew a picture of the men lowering their friend through the roof to Jesus. Caleb & Meg sang a song, and then Wayne, Caleb & Meg did a skit. Afterward, we had a snack and visited with the kids.





When we were leaving the church, three cows greeted us in the alley. Here's a picture that shows how close they were to our taxi.


Sunday afternoon we went shopping in Kruja. Afterwards, we helped Cindy prepare dinner for the Brewer's, who are the family we will be working with the rest of the week. Mary & Norman came, but their kids, Bethany & Nathan, couldn't make it. We will meet them tomorrow. We are really looking forward to the rest of the trip. We have a very busy schedule, but the work is perfect for our team. We can't wait to see what the Lord does through this week!

You Never Know Who's Watching

Wow, I stink at updating this. I need to get better than once a month. What's really bad is that I think of things every day I'd like to blog about, but when I have time to sit down & actually do it, I've forgotten what those things were.

Tonight I had a conversation with an acquaintance that I knew many years ago. In the course of our catching up conversation, she mentioned some very specific ways that I had impacted her life in a positive way. That absolutely blew me away. I knew her at a time in my life when I could not have felt more invisible. Thinking back to that time, there isn't a single person I would name that I impacted, good or bad. We had just moved to Tennessee. I was depressed, lonely, and WAY out of place. I was a young newlywed with a baby and another one on the way. I didn't look, talk or act like anyone here. I wanted to ask her if she had me confused with someone else.

We all feel invisible at times. We don't measure up. We aren't doing anything important. Nobody sees or hears us. We feel like nothing we say or do matters. We need to always remember that, even when we aren't aware of it, people are watching. They are listening. What they see or hear can impact their life positively or negatively for a long time. So often I forget that. I confess that I say & do things that don't honor Christ or other people. I pray that I will always be mindful that people are watching. They, and the Lord, deserve my best.