yes, we're here!

Do you remember the Shire, Mr. Frodo? It'll be spring soon and the orchards will be in blossom, and the birds will be nesting in the hazel thicket. And the whistle in the summer barley in the Lower fields. And eating the first of the strawberries with cream. 

Do you remember the taste of strawberries?
-Tolkien

It's been over two weeks now since we landed in Seattle

and tasted strawberries again.

Jet lag, a tough trip, sickness, and exhausted minds and bodies from all that went before

left us very thankful for the loving welcome of family and for time to rest and be quiet.

Mark and his sister on a hike at Wallace Falls

Amy pulls out her watercolors

We've enjoyed time outdoors in some beautiful Seattle sunshine

breathing deeply of the cool, dry air.

Mark found and bought a car which we plan to drive cross-country in coming weeks

while Elise and Amy are studying a drivers manual in anticipation of learning to drive.

We've made intrepid forays into American grocery stores, 

stocked with more food options than seems believable.

Mark and Michael doing minor repairs to our 'new' Taurus

 Amy and Elise (below) flew to the east coast days after landing here,

where sweet friends cared for them,

(THANK YOU, G family!!)

and took them to the Student Orientation and Registration session

at the university they will attend this fall.

(They were gone just 5 days, and are back in Seattle again with us now!)

Thanks for the photo of Amy and Elise at Orientation, MEG! 

And Michael's been enjoying good cousin-time.

They've done some r/c building together, and went for a maiden flight this afternoon.

 Now that we've had time to rest, and to acclimatize back into American culture,

we're looking forward to spending time with more family and friends here in the NW.  

For any of you in the area who would like to get together, let's do it soon!

two suitcases and a carry-on

   Look around the house. If you were asked to whittle it all down to just two suitcases and a carry-on, what few things would make the cut?  Grandma’s cookie lifter.  All the handmade cards from our children.  The clothing that’s not yet threadbare.  A dog-eared book or two.  The computer, of course.  Snacks for the journey, and a pile of good-bye notes from friends.  Toothbrush.  A stuffed animal from childhood, and a Filipino sarong.

And so it is that when a man walks along a road, 

the lighter he travels, the happier he is;

-Tertullian

  That’s where we are now, all packed, ready to leave Davao tomorrow on an early morning flight.  Home and belongings have been distilled into a few suitcases.  They’re heavy enough, though we’ve left behind so many possessions that composed our home.  Our hearts are heavy too as we leave our place of service, our community of the family of God – loved ones we may never see again this side of Heaven. We will board the plane sad but grateful, smiling because it happened.

a few of our farewells

   As we disembark Tuesday evening, after over 30 hours of travel, we’ll be entering another world – yes, our own home culture, but somehow so foreign after daily life in S.E. Asia.  We may look just the same on the outside – Michael a little taller, Amy and Elise more sweet, Mark a little more handsome.  But inwardly we’ve been changed, impacted in inexplicable ways by these people and this place.  

So we zip up our suitcases, memories packed in tight, giving all thanks to God for His gift of these five years.

Go in peace! 

I will not say: do not weep; 

for not all tears are an evil.

J.R.R. Tolkien

 

We’ll see our American family and friends soon! 

How we’re looking forward to seeing your dear faces again!

14

 Can it be?

Michael turned 14 this week.

 To celebrate, the family drove to a field outside of the city

where Michael and Mark did some flying 

while their women watched and admired.

 It was really fun - for all of us!

 (Thanks, Elise, for the photos!)

 

 What a great way to celebrate a birthday.

 Per Michael's request we continued the celebration with dinner out - 

what could be better than pizza on your birthday?

 Because of some cocoa that didn't quite taste like chocolate,

the birthday cake was not exactly the success I had hoped.

 So we enjoyed a special treat of gelato instead.

Yum!

Happy Birthday, Michael.

You've been a delight to our lives,

a blessing to our family.

And we pray that God will bless your year with good things.

You crown the year with Your goodness.

Psalm 65:11

morning flight

 

They rise early on weekday mornings,

before the air heats up and causes too much current,

and head to the school field for a flight

On this particular morning, friends had heard about the 6 am flights

and came to watch

Michael flew the r/c plane he had most recently made from scratch,

out of foam board and hot glue and various hardware components saved up

Mark chose to fly his Reaktor,

assembled from a kit

The group of watchers grew,

friends who had seen the planes from a distance, and came for a closer look

and our friend, K, got a bit of advice and launched his own r/c plane.

This hobby has been a great one for where we live.

The guys are able to download free designs from 

Flite Test, and Michael has learned fundamental

principles of aerodynamics just by

listening to the free podcasts and videos from the same site.
(And of course through hours of building and repair.)

It's a hobby Mark and Michael have been able to share with friends,

and with a field so close to our home, they can fly almost any day of the week,

so they're getting in lots of flying time as well!  

The only real downside is that when our daughters are away from home,

the entire dinnertime conversation is sometimes conducted entirely 
in the foreign language of push-rods and FPV and lipo batteries.

But it's a small price to pay.

It is possible to fly without motors, 

but not without knowledge and skill.

-Wilbur Wright

the spit's maiden voyage

“Once you have tasted flight, you will forever walk the earth with your eyes turned skyward,

 for there you have been, and there you will always long to return.” ― Leonardo da Vinci 

 

 Mark and Michael went this morning to Davao's

Crocodile Park,

where there's a small airstrip for R/C planes.

 There Michael launched his hand-made Spitfire

 and savored the taste of success as it soared to the clouds.

“Flying might not be all plain sailing, but the fun of it is worth the price.”
― Amelia Earhart