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

Trip to Yorkshire

Recently, Paul and I traveled up to Gateshead in Yorkshire to visit with a MTW family, the Schweitzers. Bill is in the US for 11 weeks raising support, leaving Pam and her five kids here. We had a great time getting to know Mark, Bethany, Mary, Anna and James, ranging in age from 9 to 1. God is really caring for this family and it was good to see that and spend some time with them. They are there working to start a church in that town. We first met them when Paul was their small group leader at MTW's training called Living in Grace. We really enjoyed reconnecting with Pam. She's a busy Mom involved in a home school co-op, along with other responsibilities. Bill returns the middle of December.

The drive to and from London was beautiful. We stopped in a little village called Ripponden where some of Paul's ancestors are from. We ate in a pub that was first opened in 1307 so we couldn't help but wonder if great, great, great, Grandfather Joah Carter ever ate there as well.

So, we thank the Lord for how he is caring for Pam and her children while Bill's gone. We also thank Him for our heritage, full of godly men like Joah Carter.

Trip to Ukraine

Paul and I recently spent 10 days in Ukraine. It was our first time there and we certainly hope not our last. We arrived in Odessa on a Thursday afternoon, went to Don and Nancy Underwood's apartment to reorganize a bit and prepare for an overnight train into the Carpathian Mountains to attend MTW's country retreat. Paul had fun singing "Senior Don Gato" to the kids during the talent show one evening. We had a great time getting to know different team members and enjoying the beauty of that part of the country.

After the weekend was over we got back on the overnight train back to Odessa. The next day we got on a bus and rode about four hours to Kherson to visit with the team there. We stayed with Jamie and Julia Thorton and had a good time getting to know them as well as the team there. It was fun renewing an old friendship with Mel and Cindie Pike and getting to know Melinda Wallace.

After our time in Kherson we rode the bus back to Odessa and enjoyed spending time with each of the team members there. it was great to visit the MK school run by David and Jill Martin. Don and Nancy Underwood were wonderful to stay with and Don gave us a great tour of the city. It was neat to see the Reformed church we'd heard a lot about through the years.

If you would like to see more pictures, here's a link you can go to: http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=1571471&l=fc57e&id=624702564

A week with Rinnie and family September 2008

I just got back from spending a week with Rinnie and her family in Orlando. It was great fun being with Rinnie, catching up with Erik and hanging out with Lauren, Meredith and Coriena. We did all sorts of fun stuff like swimming at the pool, going to the beach, making cookies, riding bikes to take Lauren to and from school, reading books, going to soccer, and just being home. If you would like to see more pictures go to: http://www.new.facebook.com/album.php?aid=60275&l=dc723&id=624702564

August/September 2008

Meg and Anna came to visit us for three weeks each, overlapping two of the weeks. It's been a lot of fun having them here although we haven't seen the sun a lot (a real trial for Meg coming from Tanzania) so haven't been able to do some other things we have enjoyed in the past. Anna had a really busy summer directing Chattanooga Sport Ministry--an outreach to innercity middle school girls so came home really tired. I found her like this one of her first days here... We had fun celebrating Meg's birthday a month late. Anna and I decided to make a cake shaped like flip flops since that's about all Meg wears in Dar es Salaam where she works.

The first week both Meg and Anna were here we had Holiday Bible Club. It was nice to have them here to help as they wanted. But it was also just a lot of fun for Paul and I as we both worked with the kids. We averaged around 50 kids this year with only 8 kids from our church (which is about all the kids we have). Most of the kids come from the neighborhood and many don't know Jesus as their Savior.

The next week we stayed in a self-catering cottage near Cambridge, taking our bikes with the hope that the sun would shine and we could ride around, seeing the sights. It rained most of the week so we ended up doing a little walking, a little biking, and driving. We saw some interesting stuff and also had a good time just staying at the cottage playing games or going on short walks from there. Here's a few pics from our time there.

Anna leaves in a few days and Meg a few days later... the comings and goings involved in missionary life. We love having the kids come and are always sad when they have to go. Hopefully, at least Anna can come again for Christmas and maybe even Meg. That would be wonderful!

July 2008

We had a full July. It started with our good friends, Mark and May getting married in our church in London. It was a fun day, celebrating God's goodness in bringing this couple together. We were thankful to have a small part in it.

The day after the wedding we headed for New York City to help with MTW's Prefield Training. This is a month long training for all new candidates going to the field. We were asked to mentor two families each. It was a great time of getting to know them and encouraging them through the different things they needed to do and write while in New York. We stayed in a little apartment in upper Manhattan in a predominately Dominican Republic neighborhood. It was interesting learning how to maneuver on the subways after London's underground system. Most of our time was spent in Queens so we learned that route really well. Our days were spent working in the churches we were assigned to with our families and interns, going to different training moduals in the afternoons and spending time with the families or others in the evenings. We tried to see a bit of the city on our days off. Here's a picture of everyone who was there. If you would like to see more, you can go to this website: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=52855&l=c6599&id=624702564

From PFT we went to see my sister and then my Mom. It was a short visit with Mom but I was very encouraged with how much stronger she was then the last time I saw her. It thrilled my heart to kneel down next to her and say, "Surprise, Mom!". She was so excited to see us--took my face in her hands and just giggled. We had a nice walk around the garden outside, ate lunch together, and had some ice cream. It was only a few hours but I am so thankful for even that.

Paul's his "family historian" so on our way to Canada to spend a few days with my sister Sally, husband Paul and daughter Becky, we stopped in Baldwinsville, NY to do some research. He found the house his great grandparents lived in and we spent the night in an Inn that used to be the mill owned by his great grandmother's brother. It was pretty cool seeing stuff and learning some more of the history. On our way back from Canada we visited a graveyard that had 8 or 10 of his relatives buried there.

Being in Canada was wonderful. We spent our honeymoon there, at my brother-in-laws family cabin, and went back again in 1975. That's the last time. We had such a good time with Paul, Sally, and Becky. Paul and Paul went fishing, Sally and I read a book together while we sat in the sun. We played games, talked, ate, went on boat rides and hikes, picked blueberries and made pies--it was great. After a busy month in New York City, it was nice to just relax and be with family. On our way back to the the Newark airport to head home, we spent the night with my sister, Margie and Bob and got to be there for Bob's 60th birthday celebration!

But it is always nice to get home again. So we are back in London looking forward to visits from Anna and Meg in the next few weeks.

Pre-field Training in NYC

Paul and I are spending the month of July in New York City, living in upper Manhattan, helping with MTW's pre-field training for their new missionary candidates. We've never done this before so are praying God would use us in the lives of the couples and their families we are helping through this training. We each have two couples to "mentor" and are enjoying getting to know them. We are spread throughout the city in different ethnic neighborhoods and the church where we have our meetings is in Queens. We are living in a predominately Dominican Republic neighborhood in a little flat on the fifth floor of a six floor apartment building (with no elevator :-}). Here are some pics of our neighborhood.

Each group of candidates is helping in a different church. I'm working at New Life Fellowship (Pete Scazzero is the pastor, author of Emotionally Healthy Spirituality) and Paul at Ascension Presbyterian (PCA). So basically we do whatever the church needs us to do. We just finish ed VBS and Paul's group will begin theirs next week. MTW's Global Training and Development department provide the training this month. Topics covered are things like language learning, contextualization, team issues, church planting, etc. There's lots more to it. We've only been here a week and have three more to go. We're praying for lots of energy, skill in mentoring, opportunities to be a witness in our neighborhood as we do things like laundry at the local laundry mat, and usefulness at the churches we are working in. We're learning the subway system and how to get around, where to find groceries, etc. Here's a picture of the families I'm working working with waiting for the subway.

A Day at the Beach

What do you think of when you think about going to the beach for the day. I think about wearing shorts and a bathing suit, feeling hot, swimming, ice cream on the boardwalk.... We went to the beach on Saturday and it was nothing like the above picture. I guess that's the difference between going to the beach in England and going to Atlantic City in New Jersey. But either way, it can be fun and we had a fun day. We took two coaches (around 70 folks) of ladies and families from the English classes at church as well as some random church folks and moms and kids from our kids' clubs at church. I'm not sure I took my sweat shirt off for more than five minutes and never even thought about putting my shorts on. But we enjoyed each other, played games, chatted, and walked along the beach. Paul and I took our kites and the kids enjoyed them (and even some of the adults). We won't have classes again until September but pray that God will give us opportunities to run into these ladies on the street or in the park and give us words to say that will be a clear testimony of God and His love for them.

A Week with Meg in Tanzania

I just spent a week in Tanzania with Meg. It was so good to go and just be a Mom as I followed her around. We didn't do anything special like take a trip to Zanzibar or take a few days off to go to a beach resort but instead I got to go to school with her and meet her students and go to her classes, go to her church (it took 7 daladalas/matatu/mini buses and 1 taxi), go on a field trip to Bagamoya (and see a 500 year old baobab tree along with other stuff), meet the soccer team she coaches on Saturdays, spend time with her housemates and two special young women Meg is sponsoring in school. It was wonderfull feeling the warmth of the sun and seeing the Indian Ocean again. Eating mangos and African oranges was great as well as going for Ethiopian and drinking a Stoney (ginger beer). I loved seeing familiar East African street scenes. But most of all I was just happy to be with Meg, see what her life is like, meet her friends, and just be together. If you would like to see more pictures you can go to the following link: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=43622&l=8096c&id=624702564

Garden, 2008

We finally got almost all our garden planted. Our soil is so bad so we've added sand and compost over and over. It's still got so many clay chunks but I couldn't wait any longer to plant. I'm so excited to watch these little plants grow and bloom. Already we have lots of flowers, most of which weren't there when we put the plants in a few weeks ago. I'm looking forward to watching the plants grow and spread and cover the beds. I'll be sure to post updated pictures at the end of the summer. We're enjoying being able to BBQ again and sit outside without winter coats on!