Praises and Prayers
Halfway through October I realized I was NOT getting my end of the month stuff done. It was a relief to off-load some of my schedule and think “What actually doesn’t need to be done right now?” Normally, September is when I work hard on a bunch of videos from our missionaries around the world—this September, I redid the World Renewal website instead. And it is beautiful! 51 webpages created to help share so many beautiful stories, and connect people with so many wonderful things. And yes, I did dream (at night) about dropping and dragging different elements to new locations…it was a lot.
September was HOT. Who knows why they close the pools the first weekend: we needed those things open. My parents celebrated 45 years of marriage. Wow. Caid and Co. played another year at Bates Hendrick’s Street Fest—their 5th time! You can see the videos of their amazing set (I think the best EVER). I am starting my second year volunteering with the Immigrant Welcome Center, and they had this really cool Burmese cooking/eating night that my whole family (and lots of friends) enjoyed! It makes all the difference to put your money where your mouth is, and when I say and post things about immigrants: to actually get into the community and teach English to those who often never had a chance to go to school in their home country as kids. To have those friendships. To learn alongside them.
Craig and Carina put on an epic party at Turkey Run state park: it was really beautiful and brought together so many incredible people as we celebrate their marriage!! The wedding is coming up in November, and the excitement is rising! (The September celebration was because the wedding venue is limited, but friendships and wanting to celebrate together are not). Sofia had her first choir performance (with a speaking part that the Principal said she did the best at), I got to speak to 200 6th graders about my fabulous career, and 6th grade just pretty much rocks—thanks to an amazing group of teachers. Sofia is also inventing all kinds of stuff with her crochet skills. We can’t buy enough yarn to keep her satisfied.
October was a whirlwind as fall break was TWO WEEKS for the girls, with Caid getting the second week off with them, all the days leading up to my biggest work event of the year: our annual Mission Celebration! It was a juggle, but my husband was great, and I’ve got a great team at World Renewal and it all worked really well. My aunt Becky passed away, and fall break gave us a bit of flexibility to make sure to be able to meet and spend time with family that we haven’t seen for awhile. She lived a really wonderful, beautiful life, and it really was a celebration—until the grandchildren shared and we all felt the loss and emptiness as well. It was literally our family driving from the funeral to the wedding rehearsal for our dear friends Isaac and Anastasia. Life keeps you on your feet.
The wedding was beautiful, with Caid as the best man, the girls as flower girl and ring bearer, and me as the person who tells people when to walk down the isle and last minute MC (along with a friend who rocked it!). It was such an honor to get to speak to the kids at the missions conference of my friend’s church: putting together a REACH booklet, which expounds upon all I wanted to share in my REACH for Missions book (which still hasn’t gotten its proper promotion yet). The Covered Bridge Festival does not disappoint, even if the leaves hadn’t changed yet (they are getting good the end of October). And just like that, there are only two more months until the end of the year, and I’ve got many lists of what needs to be done before 2027.
Interweb Reads
From me: super excited about this website, this magazine, and about voting in the midterms (Where are the Conservatives?)
Other: “You Can See Everything” thoughts (Moore to the Point), the 7 stages of elder care (Courtney Martin), Ye that Labor (Sheila Joiner), The Trump-era laughter at Immigrant suffering is deforming our souls (Russell Moore), Quick Tip: Practice the 10-Trick (Kids + Faith), what does it profit (Sheila Joiner), Staying Still (Marilyn R. Gardner), How I changed my mind (kind of) on the death penalty (Moore to the Point)
Missions stuff: what does serving look like when situations become dangerous? (A Life Overseas), How many birthday cakes does a cross-cultural person need? (A Life Overseas), what 8 missionaries want you to know about Muslims (the Nerdy Christian), how to walk your family through the re-entry journey (A Life Overseas), A Life of Goodbyes (on the hidden grief of living between worlds) (A Live Overseas)
Christian life: Autumn: Losses and Joys (Marilyn R. Gardner), Learning from Elisabeth Elliot’s Epilogues (A Life Overseas), No idea what you’re doing? Girl, join the club (A life overseas), Voting as a dual citizen (Amy Medina)