great is Thy faithfulness

My silence here at our blog has been only in order to quietly enjoy these last few days 

before Amy and Elise leave for college.

Tomorrow we'll load up their things and say goodbye to this sweet season of life,

beginning a new, very different chapter for all of us.

But we've been savoring this time,

so Tuesday we loaded up a borrowed truck (thank you, J and T!)

with borrowed bicycles (thank you, N and R!)

and headed for a day trip to one of our very favorite places, Jekyll Island.

 This quiet little island off the coast of Georgia is amazing in its diversity.

In our three-hour bike ride we enjoyed the rocky Driftwood Beach,

...the stately Historic District,

(yes, Joan, Spanish Moss drips elegantly on Jekyll, too!)

 ... mysterious marshes filled with marsh birds and zillions of dragonflies,

...sun speckled forest with shy deer, and sandy beaches rolling in dunes.

 It's a place full of wonderful memories for us5, so appropriate for this bittersweet time.

Recreating a favorite laugh from 2004 at J.I.

We're giving thanks for God's profound goodness over the years,

in all the diverse places and things He's brought us through as a family.

Barbara, Amy and Elise 10 years ago at Jekyll Island

Though it will be dreadfully painful to say goodbye to you, Elise and Amy,

as you leave gaping holes in our home,

we're grateful for the memories.

 

And we are tremendously excited for you, 

 delighted at the opportunities God will give to you,

and confident that our faithful God will go with you!

Great is Thy faithfulness, O God my Father;
There is no shadow of turning with Thee;
Thou changest not, Thy compassions, they fail not;
As Thou hast been, Thou forever will be.

Great is Thy faithfulness!
Great is Thy faithfulness!
Morning by morning new mercies I see.
All I have needed Thy hand hath provided;
Great is Thy faithfulness, Lord, unto me!

 excerpt from the hymn by Thomas O. Chisholm, 1923

 

hard rock

The LORD lives, and blessed be my rock, 

and exalted be my God, the rock of my salvation...

2 Samuel 22:47

When Mark suggested a stop at the Carlsbad Caverns in NM,

I was delighted.

It's always seemed to me a beckoning, mysterious sort of place.

Mark, Amy, Elise and Michael enter at the Natural Entrance

...from the end of the earth I call to you when my heart is faint. 

Lead me to the rock that is higher than I...

Psalm 61:2

Mysterious, yes.

Other-worldly, worship-inspiring.

Almost everyone inside spoke in whispers, and I'm not convinced that it was just out of obedience to the park ranger at the entrance who encouraged us to talk softly. 

 The sheer magnitude of this subterranean world is truly awesome.

Trust in the Lord forever,
for the Lord God is an everlasting rock.

Isaiah 26:4

No lens could do it justice.

Even in our God-less age,

His handiwork is still reminding people everywhere of His eternal might and glory!

I won't be down in those caverns again...

at least not anytime soon.

But  His handiwork is all around me,

every day,

if I'll only notice.

declaring His praise

"Behold, I am doing a new thing;

now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?

I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.

The wild beasts will honor Me,

the jackals 

and the ostriches,
 

for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert,

to give drink to my chosen people,

the people whom I formed for Myself

that they might declare my praise."
Isaiah 43:19-21 

Declaring His praise as we see the wonders of His hand across our nation,
and as we wait to see the new things He will do...

All photos above from Joshua Tree State Park, CA, and the Desert Museum of Tucson, AZ

(btw: yes, I do realize that those are NOT jackals and ostriches!  but they're close enough!)

all very good

As part of the Holy Week Retreat last weekend,

our family joined the church on a very special excursion.

We met at the dock and boarded a large pump boat, 

off for the day to visit coral reefs and a beach where we could together enjoy the beauties of this country.

 I was surprised at how many of our friends had never been on a similar boat trip before.

We've had the privilege of doing this many times, and I'm afraid that we sometimes take it for granted.

 Because it was so new to many, it was all the more fun,

as we savored it in a fresh way through their eyes.

 And while we sat out enjoying the sun,

 our beautiful Filipino friends carefully slathered on the sunblock,

since in their culture, light skin is coveted!

 At one of the dive spots, Michael hangs out on an outrigger with friends.

 There was some great snorkeling, (Elise and Amy above)

with multi-colored coral and fish.

 Many tried snorkeling for the first time,

 and others were content to hang out in the shade, enjoying the water and the fun!

We reminded our Filipino friends that there's nothing like this in our home country -

 God has graced the Philippines with much beauty.

And we will miss the beauties of these people and of their land.

But they will continue to be reminders of the goodness of our Lord,

and of the far greater loveliness of the eternal fellowship in the place that He is preparing for all of us!

God saw all that He had made, 

and behold, 

it was very good. 

Genesis 1:31

team travel

Early last Wednesday morning our whole family arrived at the airport,

ready to join the school ISAC teams (International Schools Athletic Competition)

on a trip to Subic for the spring tournament.

We were excited...it was Amy and Elise's last tournament,

and our first time to go cheer them on!

 Sleepy teammates converge at the airport

The boys load all of our luggage on the bus

 In Manila we met up with our boy's basketball team;

they had taken an earlier flight that morning.

(What gentlemen.)

 And we started our 3-hour bus ride to Subic.

Much of it was through Manila traffic, 

but we also got to see some beautiful countryside (above).

Subic itself is unlike any other place we've been in the Philippines.

The strong American military presence here up until 1992

  left much reminiscent of America - 

military housing is now considered an upscale neighborhood,

and hotels and restaurants left from 20 years ago still dominate the landscape.

 Even our host school was once a DOD campus.

 Though our girls didn't place in the finals,

they played strong, and gave those teams a run for their money!

 We loved cheering our teams on,

and seeing their strong character and sportsmanship on the field and off.

Elise (center) warms up before a game

Amy warming up with a teammate.

Though Subic had a very American feel,

there were reminders that we were not in California.

The banana trees (above) right outside the soccer field fence attract monkeys.

We didn't see any during the games, but the athletic director told us that

occasionally monkeys will steal balls off the field during a game!

Michael and a friend saw some monkeys at the side of the road watching our bus go by,

and one host family told our girls to close their bedroom window,

because otherwise monkeys would come in to join the party.

Amy cools off after a game

 It was an intense three days, with three games the first day,

and the blazing sun required our girls to get lots of hydration, 

sunscreen and rest.

But it was also a fun three days filled with time sweating and laughing together,

supporting and encouraging each other, and experiencing life with host families from other cultures.

 It was a time to be built up and encouraged by our coaches,

 

all of whom helped our team remember to care for themselves
 physically, emotionally and spiritually,


and to find joy in the experience,

finding their identity not in winning, but in God.

Thank you, coaches!!

 "A life of frustration is inevitable
for any coach whose main enjoyment
is winning."
-Chuck Noll

A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.

Chuck Noll

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/coach.html#dtrqQqALWuMYgSvr.99

A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.

Chuck Noll

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/coach.html#dtrqQqALWuMYgSvr.99

A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.

Chuck Noll

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/coach.html#dtrqQqALWuMYgSvr.99

A life of frustration is inevitable for any coach whose main enjoyment is winning.

Chuck Noll

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/keywords/coach.html#dtrqQqALWuMYgSvr.9

there and back again

While Mark was away in another S.E. Asian country,

this (below) was his home away from home:

The open-air deck (upstairs) is where Mark and his roommate slept, 

for the sake of a little bit of air flow on those hot, stuffy nights.  

 E, a little girl who helped out around the house, 

poses by the only running water source at the house - an outdoor tap. 

 Mark does his laundry -  each cycle required a manual fill and drain, 

and the clothes had to be moved into the spinner after washing.

(Great time to pause and give thanks for my washing machine...)

 The upstairs of the house where the 14 staff members slept.  

Through the 'Hobbit Hole' at the back of the photo is the balcony that was Mark's room.

(Notice his mosquito net-covered mattress on the floor?)

Mark poses with F, his room mate for 3 weeks.

F's servant's heart was so evident as he voluntarily swept and mopped 

the dusty upstairs floor every morning before work,

singing as he cleaned.

Above: a few shots from around the city.  Its claim to fame is that it's at the equator.  This friendly man on a scooter not only showed Mark the way to the equatorial monument, but also gave him a ride there!

Mark ran almost every morning he was there. 
He took this cool shot of one of his running companions on a hazy morning.

Mark had a few opportunities to explore the city - usually with his fellow-workers (top).

The little guy on the bottom left was a little wary of this strange man, but with some prompting from his mom gave Mark a thumbs-up.  And the friendly "bus" driver on the bottom right talked excitedly to Mark until he figured out that Mark didn't understand his language.

The world is a book, 

and those who do not travel read only a page.

- Augustine

We're so thankful you're back home, Mark,

but grateful too that you could make this journey...

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

Saint Augustine

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_travel.html#pR217bVq82LIsTTG.99

The World is a book, and those who do not travel read only a page.

Saint Augustine

Read more at http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/topics/topic_travel.html#pR217bVq82LIsTTG.99

Michael climbs a volcano

Last Monday morning, Michael got up at 3 AM, 

packed last-minute essentials in his bag, 

and headed to the airport.

There he met up with his classmates, and boarded a plane for the island of Luzon

to participate in his second Outdoor Education experience.

Photo by Michael

 They traveled by bus to "Base Camp" where they joined with students from Manila to make a group of over 200 middle schoolers.  From there they split into three travel groups, 

rotating to visit three different locations during the week.

Michael's first day's trip was to Taal Volcano, about 30 miles south of Manila.

(Okay, Michael didn't take this one!) photo credits: Wikipedia

 Taal is the second most active volcano in the Philippines, with 33 recorded eruptions.

It's been pretty quiet since 1977; long enough to make it an interesting but safe place to explore!

 His group boarded a barge (above) pushed by one boat and pulled by another (see below) 

toward the island volcano (which you can also see in the photo below)

 Here they set up camp, and then hiked across the island 

of volcanic rock to the volcanic lake in the center.

Michael and a friend at the overlook

They swam in Lake Taal

Michael poses by a steaming hot fumarole

and explored the beach around it, carefully avoiding hot spots in the rock,

and these burning fumaroles; cracks in the earth's crust emitting steam and gasses.

Michael said that this one (above) was a little frightening, with no bottom in view

He had other adventures last week too, including learning to dive,

killing and cooking a chicken for dinner, 

ministering to kids from a local school,

snorkeling, competing in games,

and sleeping out under the stars, on a bed of coral rock.

He was happy to get back to a mattress, a hot shower and flushing toilet, and something other than PB 'n Js for lunch, but he loved the experience, and has some fabulous memories as a result.

Thanks to all of the adults who led these kids on such an adventure!  

We're thankful for each one of you!