Meeting Shaun White on Furlough!

 Well, not really. But, I was reading a newspaper article this morning on the X Games and Shaun’s recent stellar feats which mirror my own. (Because I’m such an intense snow boarder! HAH!) 

Believe it or not, Shaun’s words resonated deep in my soul as he described the humbling experience he goes through during competition and as Jason Blevins, the writer of the article, attempted to explain to me what exactly it was that Shaun did on that mountain earning him a coveted gold.  “With a 21-foot air on the first hit of his first spin down the pipe and a series of technical tricks--including his famous double McTwist into a stylish alley-oop backside rodeo . . . On his second run, White upped his game with an X Games-record, 24-foot backside first hit and stuck a momentous run culminating in a frontside double-cork 1260 to earn an unbeatable 98 points.”  To which Shaun said, “I felt the hang time, I got to the top and was still kind of going . . .The heavy part of that is you come out of that with an amazing amount of speed.” Ok, so I’m reading English, but I have NO IDEA what Shaun just did! 

And how does that even remotely parallel my own experience? Let me ’tempt to ‘splain. When we’re asked about what we do in Uganda and how our life intertwines with the children and staff at New Hope, our answers are sometimes met with that “deer in the headlights” look. Our words alone seemingly don’t connect with the listener. For one, so many hold us in such high esteem, as if we’re on some loftier plane, that they keep themselves from fathoming our work. To top off the disconnect, we’ve just come out of Uganda “with an amazing amount of speed” and landed in the zone of a different culture. So, when we fervently desire to relate with friends, family and churches about the past six years of our experience, it’s often more difficult than expected. 

“Six years . . . it’s a pretty humbling title to hold. Next year, going for the seventh is going to be pretty intense too,” Shaun articulates his snow boarding career, but we could say the same about our last six years. The same amount of time Shaun has been honing his skills on mountains, we’ve been sharpening our focus and commitment to the children and staff at New Hope Uganda. I feel like saying simply, “Yeah, what he said.” Yes, six years on the mission field is pretty humbling. The spills, cultural crashes and faux pas, hurts, disappointments, victories and blessings all rolled into one big experience--too big to adequately explain. And the title, “missionary” does all kinds of weird things in the mind of the hearer who often tries to categorize us when they meet us. It ranges from “Wow. You’re so amazing. I could NEVER do what you do,” to an unresponsive indifference. 

Last week on our flight to Los Angeles, Geoff and I met a judge for the Lake Tahoe HuckFest Big Air Series for amateur skiers and snowboarders.  As he described what he does on the mountain and we answered his questions about New Hope, we were all enamored at each other . . . he at us for what we do, we at him for his skill. Yes, we found ourselves guilty of elevating each other above where we belong. And that’s what we do as human beings don’t we? We skew our comparisons to favor either one another or ourselves. Yet, creator God is the author of all our lives. The Master Gifter. The Master Planner. The Master Weaver.  One gift or plan is not truly more valued than another, for we’re all created for good works and to glorify Him. Where He chooses to place us for that task is not a matter of status, but of His intricate design--weaving each thread into the over all pattern of His Kingdom work. Do what is designed and planned for you and don’t feel less, don’t feel greater. The 70s cliche “bloom where you’re planted” comes to mind as well as the apostle Paul’s words in Corinthians, “The whole body can’t be an eye for where would the hearing be?” So, having said that, individually we are of equal value, though our specific forte in this life usually looks very different. Where we are, what we do and who we affect should be God-driven. God does not demand any of us to do anything other than what He’s planned. Whether at “home” or abroad, on the slopes or in the office.

Every two years we come home to the U.S. with enormous anticipation of seeing people--sitting down to catch up--”what’s been going on with you???” And also, admittedly, the hopes of sharing what’s been going on with us. In the six weeks we’ve been in the U.S. so far, we’ve observed many of your activities/lives here and said, “Wow. That’s amazing! We couldn’t do that!” And you know what? We’re not asked to. Nor are you asked to do what we do. 

Reconnecting and strengthening relationships with so many people is a contest of X-Game proportions! Not just because of the “language” and “comparison” challenges, but also the schedule. We have five months here. One and a half months are already vapor. In our hearts is the desire to see EVERYONE and talk, share, laugh, pray and make new memories! We make plans and sometimes they materialize beautifully and other times they disintegrate. Like this past weekend. We were to spend the entire weekend in Pueblo, CO reconnecting and celebrating with friends, but a 48-hour virus that ran through our boys infringed on set plans and derailed the schedule. Other times, schedules seem ill-matched from the get-go and it’s impossible to meet up. Then there is the whole geography thing. America is a big place and, even in five months, we can’t travel the whole length and breadth.

And so, having said all that, and WHEW I am wordy today (!), we long to be able to see and truly connect with so many, but find that impossibility exasperating. Often, having set a schedule, it can be daunting to realize how much movement here and there will be  required to keep the schedule. Please know that if we can’t connect this furlough our hearts have desired it to be otherwise! If we DO get to spend time together, let’s endeavor to hold each other in the esteem God has given us--His beautiful creations each uniquely gifted and suited by Him. 

You know how I love to include pictures, so just because I don't have any to "fit" the blog doesn't mean I can't throw some in anyway!

We got to spend two days in late December with some cousins and had a great time! This was an unexpected AWESOME dinner at Slattery's in Denver--a must if you're in the area!

Geoff's cousin Charlotte, Me, Dortha, Nicole, Lisa and Jerry

Grandma Dortha and cousin Mary, Lisa's daughter

Acacia 

Kevin and his silly string. Some of it is permanently displayed on Papa and Grandma's wall!

The cousins--Kevin, Kelton, Toby, Jayden, Kaven, Acacia and Mary

The young cousins, Kelton, Toby and Kevin

--Mary

Better Has No Finish Line

We are now beginning our second month of a five month visit to the U.S. I’m never sure what to call this time. Combined with the fact that emotional extremes occasionally surface (i.e. “I want this time to be over yesterday,”  “I wish it could last indefinitely”) some of the many terms “furlough,” “home assignment,” or “home leave” only further confuse me. Be that as it may, I focus on maximizing the moments throughout each day. Rest. Visit. Travel. Write. Exercise. Play. Study. Speak. Share. Explain. Show. Organize & Plan for tomorrow, next week, next month and ultimately our return to Uganda.

We took the first month “off” to rest and focus on the family over the Christmas and New Year’s holidays. And then the traveling began. 

 Our first speaking engagement was in a new church with new faces.  It was quite encouraging and energizing to be invited to share in a church family in which more than 95% of the group had never met us. We were warmly and enthusiastically received and had a chance to say THANK YOU face-to-face to people who, in the past two years, have helped us maintain and improve our rental property in Pueblo, Colorado--people with a heart to go above and beyond though they previously had no personal knowledge of us!  We also reconnected with former neighbors and good friends and the kids made new memories with friends they fondly remembered!

Josh and Toby. Former neighbors, still good friends.

Bonus visit as Josh lives very close to the Blickensderfer's where we stayed in Pueblo. The kids didn't want to say good-bye!!!

jumping on the Blick's trampoline

Sheldon Hoover, The Britton's and the Wood's

 Next up was an overdue journey to South Dakota to see our North American Director Gary Wood and his lovely wife Louise, and visit with Sheldon Hoover who, with his family, will be arriving at New Hope in July to manage the Enterprise Farm operations. We also had a serendipitous evening with a young couple who might be coming to serve in the New Hope medical clinic and help with homeschooling our kids.  Another  welcome surprise was an invitation to speak to the church where the Wood’s attend. Both Geoff and Sheldon spoke at the Wednesday evening gathering and Geoff also shared at the men’s prayer breakfast on Friday. We were blessed to see our kids fitting right in with the other kids and also to laugh and talk with people who have been to New Hope over the past six years. The second day there our kids were invited to have a “play date” (such a foreign term to us since our kids run free with all their friends everyday at New Hope).  I THOROUGHLY enjoyed talking life, homeschool, church, ups&downs, travels, books, hopes and dreams with the mom while the kids ignored the 4 degree temp as they played football, threw snowballs and ran around. And speaking of maximizing the moments, we detoured over to Mt. Rushmore and spent a couple of hours being amazed at how such a magnificent feat was accomplished!  Because it is colder weather these days, we pretty much had the place to ourselves!!

This week the kids have had the grandparents to themselves (including swimming, art and guitar classes, the rodeo, a dog show and a coin show!!!) while Geoff and I in California for another speaking engagement.  We landed in Los Angeles and were able to spend a full day with Bela in her hospital palace with her nurse attendants who dote over her. A quick and enjoyable overnight visit to Geoff’s sister Lisa followed by more quick visits with some dear, long-time friends in Vallejo filled Tuesday and Wednesday.  Thursday was career day at St. Patrick’s-St. Vincent’s, Geoff’s alma mater.  Not only did Geoff have the privilege of talking to three different groups of current students, but also caught up with long-time friends as well as interacting with some interesting new people. With career day finished, we took off for the City--SAN FRANCISCO!!--our favorite in the world. The weather was awesome and we walked ALL OVER in the sunshine and explored some areas that would have been boring for the kids, but fun for us. 

Enjoy some photos of our San Francisco gustatory adventure that still give us a smile!

We leisurely found our way “home” to Long Beach via beautiful Hwy 101 yesterday. Just as we exited the inland farm areas and wound through the canyons toward the ocean the sunset burst through the panoramic view and thrilled us with brilliant orange, pink, yellow and red hues. The deep ocean blue against the intense sunset made it difficult to keep our eyes on the road! We had to stop and snap a shot. 

Along the N. Cal to S. Cal route I caught a momentary glimpse of a billboard, “Better Has No Finish Line.” It was too much of a flash for me to know what was being advertised or promoted, but it got me thinking.  The positive perspective, of course, being that there is always room for improvement. Never give up. Keep pressing on. Cowboy up. And in less cliche and more spiritual terms, our relationship with our Father God is in a progressive state of daily change. We can never fully know Him, but that should not deter us from continual seeking. We never “arrive” at perfection, but that should not inhibit us from desiring to reach each day for His best for us. We will always be consistently moving toward inward renewal though our bodies are pushing daily toward ultimate deterioration. Yes, in all the above respects, such a billboard message was encouraging. But, on the negative side, it speaks of never having enough. Keeping up with the Joneses. The grass is always greener. Just a little bit more. If I can just get this “xxxxx”, I’ll be happy. If I can lose more/gain more weight. yada yada yada.  

So much of the positive bent is what we want, so much of the negative bent is where we live. Ouch. 

Being in the U.S. has been relaxing and refreshing, but also disappointing. Bombarded with the insatiable drive for more so permeates this society and can get very tiring. Not only for us “foreigners,” but for those deeply entrenched in it--aware or unaware. Fighting to maintain a “minimal materialistic” view is tough, honestly. After driving through the beautiful vineyard areas along the California coast, we thought we’d venture online for a gander at what it might cost to someday live on and run a vineyard. HAH! that was some piece of financial reality!

And so, I’m thankful for the drive to move with God’s plans, His best, His desires and to live governed by His wisdom.  May I never be more set on or more focused on anything more than on HIS WAY.

Santi and Geoff share some giggles before we all have to go our separate ways. Laura and Beto are running the Tinker Bell Half Marathon starting at 5 a.m. tomorrow, so they are spending the night near the Marathon site. Geoff and I will spend the night with Bela in the hospital.

We’ll keep you updated as we navigate through the next few months. The balance of January and most of February will be spent in the Denver area, but we’ll be back in S.Cal toward the end of February and stay through the beginning of April. It’s a wild adventure--life with God is NEVER boring! 
--Mary