A Bracelet

I've worn this bracelet for several years now. Someone I love gave it to me. It didn't cost very much, but it represents a memory and a whole lot more. I haven't taken it off since that day. It's looking pretty worn now, scratched up and stretched out, missing some of the beads that were once there but the knots are strong and the color unfaded. If I twist the beads a little there's still some shine left to them. Things are kinda tough between the one who gave me this bracelet and me and so our relationship looks a little like it--kinda worn, scratched, stretched...but I know that underneath some of the hurt that has gone on there is a strength in what has knotted us together in the past and the shine underneath reminds me of what we once looked like and can look again. "The one who calls you is faithful and He will do it". God is faithfully teaching me much through this.

The English Classes

God has been so kind to me in giving me a place teaching English to ladies as a ministry of our church here in London. There's a wonderful team of involved and I feel privileged to be one of them. We have four levels of classes from the very beginners to an advanced class. I've been teaching the very beginners. It's great to be involved in the lives of these ladies at a time when they are feeling very vulnerable and alone. We desire to represent the Lord well to these ladies, being Jesus's hands and feet as we love them and come alongside of them. Having learned Kikamba when we first went to Kenya, I know how hard it can be to not be able to communicate so I want to be a friend and help as I can. Here's a picture of most of my class. Three aren't in the picture. The ladies come from Iraq, Sri Lanka, India, Poland, Syria. Malaysia, Somolia. We have lots of fun together just learning the basics of English. I do pray God gives me the privilege of seeing some of them come to know Him--some already do!

We're having a BBQ this Friday for the classes and their families and friends and are hoping for about 100 to come. We've been having 39 ladies coming to class each week. A friend will be presenting the Gospel in a very simple way. I'll add some pictures after it is all over. PRAY!

A Trip to Vienna

Paul and I had the opportunity to visit MTW missionaries in Vienna May 13-16. Nancy Deibert teaches at Vienna Christian School and Ursula Spooner has a counseling ministry. Art, her husband, long time MTW missionary is now retired. Vitaliy and Marissa Voytenko (Ukraine) were also there to have their baby, Leo Elijah. I had the privilege of mentoring the Voytenko's at Cross Cultural Internship Training in January/February so it was great to be able to meet Leo who was only 12 days old. We also met MTW associates, Dennis and Cynde Morgan who were there assisting Ursula in her counseling ministry.

We thank the Lord for opportunities like this one to visit MTW folks to encourage and support them in any way we can as they serve the Lord where they are. There's more pictures on facebook if you are interested. Just go to this link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=216416&id=624702564&l=3cc8766518

Mother's Day

Yesterday, Paul took me to Syon Garden Centre to buy a lilac bush. My kids asked him what I might like and since lilacs have always been my favorite flower and since I keep stealing the flowers that are hanging over the fense at the front of our flat, he thought, it was time to get our own. A special thank you to my children for this gift of love. I will look at and be thankful for my children who wanted to make me feel special today. You certainly have.


I understand the other part of my gift is to be a new motorcycle jacket!! Yahoo.....sure will be great to have a jacket that fits and maybe looks a little more feminine then wearing one of Paul's :-). Again, thanks to my kids who not only love me but want to keep me safe.

A Praying Life by Paul Miller

My home church, Annapolis EP, gave all the women at the Europe Women's Retreat the book A Praying Life. I've really appreciated it. I'm reading it at a time in my life that I want to understand prayer better. As I put away my journal for 2009, I read my last entry. It talks about things I've been praying for over the year and even years that were still seemingly unanswered. The beginning of the book talks about a "quiet cynicism or spiritual weariness that develops in us when heartfelt prayer goes unanswered." That's kinda where I was as I began this year.

Towards the end of February, after nearly six weeks in Europe, I headed back to the US (Paul was in Dar es Salaam visiting Meg). Wil and Amy along with Anna met me at the airport and we went out to dinner. As we waited for a table to become available, Amy suggested we play a new word game Wil had. He loves games so Anna and I thought nothing of it. Wil put letters out on the bench for us to spell as many words as we could. If we could use all the letters, that would be a winning score. So we were madly putting letters together when Anna suddenly yelled "pregnancy"!. One of those long time, heartfelt prayers had been answered. We all teared up and I just stood amazed at God's kindness. It was so great to write in my journal this wonderful answer to prayer. The baby is due in October. There are still others, waiting to be answered, and as I continue along reading A Praying Life, many quotes are helping me along.

I do long to see answers to my prayers. Of course, I long to see my answers, what I think would be best. These aren't selfish prayers, that aren't about me, but my children, my Mother, a dear friend...Miller says "Don't be embarrassed by how needy your heart is. The point of Christianity isn't to learn a lot of truths so you don't need God anymore." I know I need God. I know I need His answers to my prayers. But I still struggle with defeated weariness. "If Satan can't stop you from praying, then he will try to rob the fruit of praying by dulling your soul. Satan cannot create, but he can corrupt." And I do find my soul dulling as the months and years go by.

But as I continue reading this book I am reminded again that God isn't finished with any of our stories yet. In fact, "I am called to trust that God sees what I see. In fact, he sees beyond what I see. He sees the whole story and is completely trustworthy to be at work on a grand scale, in the minutia, and even in my own life." If God is sovereign, He controls the details, if God is loving He will shape those details for good, if God is wise He will do what I need not what I think I need, if God is patient then He will take the time needed to do all this. Put that all together and we have a "divine story". And in that is my hope, confident expectation as my Dad used to say.

Last Stops on HMA Trail

Tomorrow we head for Colorado Springs. We'll hit the road running as we pick up a rental car and head for Lennox, SC to visit with the church there over the weekend. Then Monday, the 15th, we take a few days to travel to Montrose, CO and the church there. The trip should be beautiful as we cross over the Rockies to the Western part of the State. Then on the 18th we cross back over part of the Rockies to Colorado Springs and two churches there. We are looking forward to seeing several of our supporters along the way that we haven't spent time with in a while. Should be a great way to end this six month long Home Ministry Assignment.

A few sad things happened today. We said good-bye to our 1993 Honda that we have had for over seven years. We bought it in 2002 to have for our son's wedding. Since then our son and wife used it on their honeymoon, we've used it while in the US, several of our daughters have used it while at Covenant College, Meg used it while on HMA last year, and our oldest daughter used it before their move to Kenya last year. It has really served us well and has a ton of memories tied to it but it was time to pass it on to another MTW family whose son is heading off to college.

We also got word today that our five fish we've had for five years disappeared out of the little pond in our back garden. When we bought the fish they were about an inch long and they grew to be around eight inches. We are guessing a a herron may have discovered them and are hoping their demise was as painless as possible, considering... Our granddaughter, Joanna, will be especially sad next time she comes to visit since she has said that feeding the fish is her favorite part of the day.

Since we last posted something, Paul has travel to Tanzania to visit Meg, I've been to Spain for a Europe women's retreat, Paul's been to New Mexico to see his Mom and I've been to Pennsylvania to see mine. We are now in Atlanta and have had good times with both my sisters here as well as nephew and family and my niece. We've had good meetings with the Spiritual Life Department at MTW (which includes another nephew) as well as a celebration dinner welcoming three new members onto a part of our team. Mmmmm, busy times!

We hear the shower in our flat in London isn't working and in fact the whole bathroom needs to be retiled. Please, please, please be done before we arrive on the 27th!!!!! Although that puts a bit of a worry into our arrival, we are so looking forward to getting back on March 27th.

Our Little Trip To Germany

Paul and I left Zaventem, Belgium yesterday, February 10th for a few days in Germany. We've been helping with Mission to the World's Cross-Cultural Ministry Internship (formerly known as pre-field training). At CCMI we don't see a whole lot of each other since we "mentor" different new candidates and attend different churches. It's been a good but long month so we've been looking forward to a few days to be together, going to two towns where our great grand-fathers came from. Monday, the 15th we split for a week and Paul is going to Tanzania to see our daughter, Meg, and I am going to the Europe Women's Retreat in Spain.

So, around 4:00 yesterday we started our journey after renting a car from the Brussel's airport. We'd woken up to snow which continued off and on all day and as we left Belgium and entered Germany, the snow just got worse and worse. It was beautiful and not so dangerous but still we had to be cautious. We had dutifully booked a B & B on line so had put the address in the GPS and didn't think another thing of it....just kept following "Daphne's" instructions. We thought the trip would take about 3 hours so should have wondered when it came up that it would take five hours. But forward and onward. Then we came to a dead stop. The traffic was bumper to bumper, it was dark and we didn't have a clue where we really were--no map. Then suddenly everyone was being directed off the autobaun, onto some narrow little streets, covered in snow and snow still coming down. We had to just trust the GPS and continue on. It was crazy. We got put back on a different highway and still with bumper to bumper, mostly stopped traffic. I decided to look ahead on the GPS and see where in the world we were going. Then we discovered that the B & B we were heading for was still three hours away (would get us in if the traffic was moving, at midnight) and totally far south and east of where we actually wanted to go. So I plugged in "lodging in the area", we took the next exit, found a nice hotel and settled in for the night. Since we had promised to pay on arrivial the original B & B, last night was a very expensive night. Because of our agreement we still need to find a bank to pay at least one nights worth of compensation to them. Sheesh, what a mess!!

Then, this morning Paul woke up with symptoms of food poisening and a terrible cramp in his leg. So it took us a while to get off and get headed in the correct direction and to the right town. We got to Pommern where my great grand-father came from. It is a wonderful little village. We walked around, took some pictures and headed on to Rheda where Paul's great grand-father is from. And so here we are, at another B & B looking forward to a day walking around Rheda tomorrow. Oh, and it has snowed most of today as well. I few times I was pretty nervous as we winded our way through little towns and villages with snow covered streets, but Paul did a great job of driving and we are getting ready for a good nights sleep. He still isn't feeling great, but much better then at 5am this morning. When I can I'll post some pictures. It is beautiful here.

Thirty Years in Missions!

With gratitude to our partners!
Some of you have been following us, praying and giving to our support for 30 years, and we want to share our celebration with you. Thank you so much for your faithfulness. You are a wonderful encouragement to us and your partnership has touched many people in many places.
Paul & Liz Meiners, London, England

Appointed to Kenya Sept 8, 1979 by World Presbyterian
Missions







Enjoying ministry and life from England, Sept 2009


In these 30 years our family has grown from 4 to 15: Rinnie & Erik Hersman (Lauren, Meredith, Coriena) - working on moving to Kenya for his work with ushahidi.com; Wil & Amy Meiners - teaching in Murphy, NC; Sarah & Kirk Ward (Joanna, Sam) - inner city St Louis where he is music director for New City Fellowship; Meg - MTW teacher & sports ministry in Tanzania; and Anna - case worker with a foster care agency in Chattanooga, TN.

1981, Muruu, Kenya









Wil & Dik Dik







1983, Muruu, Kenya





1989, Nairobi, Kenya











visiting Germany 1992





2003, hiking in Kenya







Christmas 2007






Sam Ward, in utero that Christmas

Our life has involved many national partners and travels, as these pictures reflect.

Driving to Dar es Salaam, Tanzania





With Daniel & Lena Kithongo, colleagues in Muruu days






Some roads are more fun!









Sarah & Paul when visiting friends in Egypt







With kids in a quake zone








The English language class at our church in London and its teachers





Liz teaching her class










Paul and a West African village elder










Paul preaching in a sister church in London that was between pastors









Paul with Jamie Thornton,
Kherson, Ukraine

We have been blessed by your friendship, supported by your prayers, amazed by your faithful support, and reminded of God’s care because you are his agents in keeping us on the field. As we work with missionaries to help them thrive long-term rather than just survive for a shorter time on the field, it is wonderful to see how you are providing the same kind of support for us.

We will be in the US on Home Ministry Assignment Oct-Mar.

Pre-field Training in New York City

Paul and I had the privilege of working with the Global Training and Development Team of MTW the month of July. This particular training is for missionary candidates who are heading for their field of service within the year.

We helped mentor three couples through this process and Paul led a seminar on MTW's child protection concerns and policies.

We stayed in the same apartment we were in last year. Although it is about an hour or so by subway to the church where we met for meetings as well as the churches we were working in, it still had a bit of a feeling of home which was nice.

We got to see a bit more of New York City this time, walking around Greenwich Village and going to Ellis Island. But most of our time was spent helping the couples we worked with through their assignments and other issues that came up as well as helping with teaching Sunday School and VBS in two very ethnically diverse churches.

I very much enjoyed getting to know the Treadwells who are heading for Ethiopia next month and Paul the Donahoo's (heading for England) and the Roman's (heading for Bulgaria). It is hard to believe that on September 8th we will have been with MTW for 30 years. Doesn't seem that long ago we were in the shoes of these young couples, heading out for the first time.

If you would like to see more photos of our time in New York just go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3347609&l=c0976b578d&id=624702564

In a split second things can really change.

A week and half ago Paul and I were excited about the weekend in front of us. We had two motorcyle trips planned. On Saturday we were planning to go to a place south of London called Oakhurst Cottage to see how the common folk lived in the 1600's. The day was beautiful--that in itself a rare treat. Anyway, I was sitting at my desk doing some email while Paul was outside my window getting his motorcycle ready for the trip. Suddenly I heard a gasp, looked out the window and saw Paul holding his right thumb. Anyway, short story even shorter, it had gotten caught in the chain and the upper third cut off. We grab what we could think of and headed for the emergency room. Then we were transported by ambulance to a hospital that had a hand specialist unit. They were not able to reattach his upper thumb which was really sad. But they fix up what was left and 12 hours later, we were home again...a bit in a daze and wishing we could start the day over again.

We knew we needed the prayers of friends as we began to process what had happened and the ramifications of it all so sent out an email to friends and family. The responses back were overwhelming and we felt cared for and loved. Some sent great Scripture passages where we found comfort and encouragement. Others were humorous which also brought comfort and encouragement. Our daughter wrote that she would be praying for complete healing..."well, if you were a starfish it would be complete". Another friend said he was sure Paul would give him a "thumb's up" if he had one....and the list could go on. It was good to hear chuckles coming from Paul's office as he read so many emails from friends and family. We felt overwhelmed by the reponse and so grateful.

The stitches are due to come out on Thursday (June 11th). Paul loves to work with his hands. As a friend of his and Paul used to say to each other during times of frustration or weariness from the work, "let's go make some sawdust". Losing even a third (from the first joint up) of his thumb will limit what he can do. We are praying for good healing and adjustment.

The Wards come to visit us in London

Sarah and her two kids, Joanna (3 years old) and Sam (1 year old), came to visit us in London for two weeks. It was a great time together. Kirk joined us after one week which was really nice. Joanna's biggest wish was to see Big Ben so that was at the top of the list of activities once Kirk arrived.

But we did all sorts of stuff together. Sarah helped me design and plant my flower garden, along with Joanna and Sam's help. We went for walks, to the Museum of Natural History, Kensington Palace, Kew Gardens... The most fun was just hanging out together, talking, drinking tea, playing with the kids, going to Charity shops, playing games. Here's a few pictures of our time but there are lots more if you are interested at http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=111935&id=624702564&l=92c41f9401 and http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=112223&id=624702564&l=c62d559909

My Mom, March 2009

I flew to see my Mom on March 5th. I got to Quarryville around 7:30pm and went down to her room to see her. She recognized me right away. It was wonderful to hear her sweet little voice call me by my nickname and be so happy to see me. I didn't stay long 'cause I was so tired from the trip (about 17 hours, door to door). Our daughter, Meg, arrived about 8:30pm. She'd driven up from Chattanooga. What a treat....seeing both my Mom and Meg in one evening!

March 6th...Here's what I wrote in my journal. "I'm sitting here at Quarryville. It's peaceful and quiet, two of the things I've always loved about visiting Dad and Mom here. Now, though, Mom lives in the Convalescent Unit and Daddy's in heaven. I miss walking into my parent's apartment, seeing my Dad in his chair, and the safety net my parents put around me when I would come to visit...the laughter and fun. But I am so thankful to see my Mom happy and content where God has her now, although she longs for heaven." Here's Meg, showing Mom her pictures of her life in Tanzania. Mom was very responsive, so much stronger and talkative then last time I saw her.
Margie, my sister, also came for a few of the days I was there. We went for a nice walk, a drive, fixed Mom a curry dinner, went to church, had lunch with my Aunt and Uncle and cousin and family. It was really a special time. Mom was up for it all...so much stronger and observant. I asked Mom to pray for our curry dinner and she thanked the Lord "for our little party". It was so sweet. Here we are after eating.
It was hard to say good-bye to Mom. She's just so thrilled to have us come and visit. I'm not sure when I will see her again but I continue to pray that God might allow me to be with her when He decides to take her home to Him.
If you'd like to see more pictures just go to http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=2304841&l=517db&id=624702564

Christmas, 2008

Anna arrived early Christmas morning. She's the only one of our children who could come this year. We had a great time though. She's so low key and easy to have around. We ate Christmas dinner at the church with about 50 other folks who were without family. It was fun. In England before eating you pull a cracker with the person next to you and then you wear a silly hat through the meal. Here we are serving the food with our hats on. Anna struggled to make it through the day and ended up asleep on the couch with Curious George. We basically took walks, played games, talked, she slept, we worked some. One day we went to High Halden, but Paul's already blogged about that. For our birthdays we went to see The Secret Life of Bees and made a day of it in the city and that was fun. Paul also got me a mini laptop to have when we travel so I don't have to share with him. Overall, it was just a nice time of being together. I wondered if I would be sad that there were only the three of us, but although we missed the others, we really had a good time. Life is getting back to normal. English classes and Bible studies start next week, Paul goes on Saturday to meet with one of the Presbytery committees, he's busy in his office, etc. We find ourselves wondering what God has in store for us and our family in 2009. We are excited to start another year with Him.

Some Time in the US

Paul and I had some meetings in the US early December and decided to take the rest of our vacation and add it on to see our kids and Moms. We started out in Chattanooga with Anna (and her housemate Esther) who lives in our house in St. Elmo. We spent a week redoing our kitchen floor and other odd jobs then having Wil and Amy over for Thanksgiving dinner. The floor turned out looking great.

From there we went to see Wil and Amy. It is always so relaxing in their home in Murphy, NC. They live out in the woods so it's peaceful and beautiful. We played lots of cards and got to see one of their indoor soccer matches. It was nice to visit their church and meet some of their friends.

On to Orlando to see Erik, Rinnie and the girls. It was so fun to be with them all. We took Erik and Rinnie out to dinner the first night and it was good to have uninterrupted conversation and catch up on what's happening with Erik's business ventures. The rest of the time we spent playing with the girls and talking with Rinnie. We made a gingerbread house and cookies, went for walks to feed the ducks and read a ton of books. We miss our granddaughters so much.

Next stop was our Moms. Paul went to Las Cruces and I went to Quarryville with my sister, Sally. We both had good visits and found our Moms to be doing pretty well. I was very encouraged, actually, since the last time I saw Mom she could hardly walk. This time she was walking some (with her walker), eating better, holding conversation, and singing Christmas carols. Her voice may not be what it once was, but she loved singing. I think the most special moment for me was when we were ready to leave she prayed for my sister and I. We were both in tears, hearing Mom's sweet voice talking with the Lord about us.

After our meetings at MTW we went on to Kirk and Sarah's. It was great to see Sam since the last time we saw him he was just born (March 2008). Joanna was so cute. When we got there she said "Come on, Granny, here's our room". So we shared a room with Joanna and just had a blast. We got to be there for her third birthday. It was fun chatting with Kirk and Sarah, and just spending time together. We went to see the house they are buying so are happy we'll be able to envision them there once they finish the renovations and move in.

After that, we were on the plane back to London to get ready for Anna to arrive Christmas day. But that is another blog post..... If you'd like to see more pictures of our time in the US you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885549&l=c9450&id=624702564 and
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1885332&l=5898f&id=624702564

Another Historical Exploration

On my birthday this past Monday Liz, Anna and I went to High Halden, Kent, south east of London, to visit the hometown of Stephen Mercer. He was the father of Rinnie Mercer Fuller and maternal grandfather of my maternal grandfather, Harlow Mercer Fuller.

We visited St Mary’s Church in the village of High Halden, which is a Church of England church. You can find information and see pictures of it at www.thefriendsofstmarys.org and at www.kentchurches.info by looking under High Halden. This church dates to the 13^th century. We didn’t look for gravestones there since I don’t have any indication we have ancestors buried there. According to the information I have, Stephen Mercer and all his six siblings were born in High Halden, so they may well have been baptized in that church. In about 1829 they all immigrated to NY state and did well there.

We visited St. Mildred’s C of E church in Tenterden, a larger town just a few miles from High Halden, and found John & Mary Mercer’s gravestone. They were the grandparents of Stephen Mercer. The dates fit with the family records and “The Mercer Family” dates. Some of the inscription is unclear, especially around the lower names, presumably of other children who died at younger ages and are buried in that site. Nearby is the stone for Thomas and Charlotte Mercer of a younger generation (died 1849 & 1874), but I don't know how they might be related. If you want to download the pictures in this post just right-click on them as choose “save as”. Paul